6.24.2014 Incombustible Orchard Map Lightning

Yarmilla - Standard
Mods - Monsters have extra fire resistance, Patches of shocking ground
Quantity: +19%

Currency Expended:
7 Alteration
2 Augmentation

Currency Gained:
4 Transmutation
4 Alteration
1 Augmentation
4 Chromatic
1 Chance
3 Scrap
1 Bauble

Maps Gained:
Crypt (L66)
Tropical Island (L66)
Ghetto (L68)

First of all, this run made up for blanking 3 runs in a row with map drops!  More on that later.

This run was harder than my first venture into an Orchard map.  I still suffered two deaths, but I didn't have much trouble with the boss this time.  The map started with a mod on it, but given how hard the map boss hits, I was picky about avoiding anything that would deal out extra damage or give everything on the map extra projectiles.  As such, this was an expensive run for a level 66 map in terms of dumping a fair amount of currency into it.

I think there were three factors leading to my deaths clearing the main section of the map.  I had plowed through the 1st orchard map so easily, I was over confident and charged in front of my minions.  Second, while there were typical statues and porcupine beast in this map, there were also puncture inducing dogs.  Those things are dangerous, especially when standing on shocking ground, which would be the 3rd factor.

I balanced this out by improving my strategy for dealing with the section of the map containing the boss.  I didn't move after coming up the stairs until I cleared the initial wave that pounces on you after entering the small section of the map.  With the crowd greatly reduced, I was more cautious while trying to locate the boss.  Once the boss burst out of the ground, he could clear a group of six zombies with a single blast.  I ran down the stairs a few times to bring more zombies back with me, but in the end I don't think that was the key to the fight.

The first thing I noticed was that by using statue spectres raised from the map, I had two nearly immortal minions.  I don't know how may hit points those things have, but they seem to have no trouble staying alive, even when fighting rare monsters or the map boss.  The second improvement in my strategy was keeping a wall of ice between me and the map boss.  That greatly cut down of the amount of running away that I needed to do.  I would have leveled easily without the deaths, and probably would have with even a single death.  Still, the experience was pretty good, about a quarter of a level.