Saturday, April 21, 2012

Hit Power Gloves

Hey fellow zons

I'm gonna craft some hit power gloves for my wws strafer but I'm wondering if I should use chain gloves or heavy bracers or even vambraces?|||unless you can't meet the strength requirements for vambraces, i don't think it'd make a huge difference between those 3.|||Well I'm hoping for a mana or life leech spawn and in that case would that add to the level req for vambraces?|||Why do you want to use vambraces? And is it really worth it?

the normal way people - I anyway - craft gloves is by shopping them at one of the vendors at lvl 69-ish and craft with that characters.

Vambraces are rare if they are even sold. And that little bit of extra defence isn't worth it.|||Why do you shop them and not just use one that you find randomly?|||because it's more interesting to have knowledge about the ilvl. And when you shop, you know the ilvl exactly.

It's not that big a deal, though it's easier. Else you need to have a high character or a only search high alvl places. Not that big a deal though I find shopping easier.

And when you shop them, you can buy them in large quantities. You buy them when you have found the runes. No need to hunt the gloves too.

Forinstance, you can trade rals for orts. And perfect saphires for other gems. etc.

It's more convenient and you really don't need the extra defence on the gloves.|||Hmm, ok. I have been searching the guide sticky for crafting info but I'm not seeing anything. Can you elaborate a bit on why you craft at level 69?|||Seems you must have missed it, anyway here's superdave's glove crafting guide, as linked from the sticky:

http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/s...d.php?t=348851|||Ok so if I am starting to understand...

The reason my hit power gloves I just crafted with 20% IAS and 3% Mana leech had a required level of 94 was because they also had Poison Nova charges. And the reason they had Poison Nova charges was because I crafted them with level 90+ chain gloves on a level 93 char.... right?

Or maybe I am way too tired to make sense of all this....|||IMO clvl 71 seems to be the ideal level to do the actual crafting with since A) it's the minimum lvl to guarantee 4 affixed and B) you minimize the chances of crafting items with ridiculous requirements by limiting the affix pool. As for the OP the quality of the input item doesn't exactly matter for the defense difference, what's important is knowing the ilvl of the item so you know which mods can spawn using the formula (0.5clvl+0.5ilvl = craft lvl)..

Myth's PvP Javazon Guide

This is an edited version of the guide I wrote in 2005 of my PvP javazon, I'm in the process of rebuilding it and didn't find any new guides that I liked so I thought I'd edit mine and share it with you guys. I'm Sorry, it used to be color coded and I might of screwed up some parts while removing the tags. I realize it might be hard to skim through the item section, but I have yet to think of a better way to list them without having to remove item stats.

Table of content

1.General playing style of this character.

2.Pros&Cons

3.Skill points distribution

4.Stat points distribution

5.Equipment

6.Dueling Strategies

7.Final Look

8.Misc Info

9.Conclusion

10.Credits&Disclaimer



1. The Javazon is pretty straight forward to play but requires practice to be truly good against every build. Obviously fighting at close range with charged strike is a way to play it, but you'll also have to be patient and snipe out most of your enemies with lightning fury. Being patient and know when and how to come in and go out of melee range is the key to a succesful javazon.

2.Pros of the Javazon

High damage

Good resists

Decent Dodge/Avoid/Evade

Max block

Very Flexible (Melee and Range)

Cons:

Lots of setups to switch to

Problems against Elemental druids

Costly Gear

3.Skill points distribution.

This can vary from preferences, but that's how mine is.

Max Charged Strike (Primary Skill)

Max Lightning Fury (Primary skill)

Max Power Strike

Max Lightning Bolt

5 into Evade

1 Dodge [Pre req]

1 Avoid [Pre req]

1 Jab [Pre req]

1 Poison Javelin [Pre req]

1 Plague Javelin [Pre req]

Rest into Lightning Strike (You should have 10 by level 90)



Reasons for the selection: You probably realized I listed 2 primary skills, the reason I did this is because depending on the matchup you might use one as primary and the other as secondary. I chose to Max Power Strike instead of Lightning Strike because I find it more useful. If you ever want to do REAL Melee (skill with AR and close combat) you have Power Strike. I chose Lightning bolt over Lightning Strike because I already have 2 close combat skills and don't need another one. I put 5 into Evade because I find it's the most useful of the 3 defensive skills (Dodge/Avoid/Evade) I am moving most of the time so Dodge and Avoid become useless since they require you to stand still or be attacking. Charged Strike and Lightning Fury are self-explanatory.

4.Stats

Strength: Enough for gear

Dexterity: Enough for Max block with your blocking shield.

Vitality: Everything you can spare, you need all the life you can get.

Energy: You don't need it for this build.



5.EquipmentThis character is the only one I played with that many setups, I have so many different items for every situation that it doesn't fit in my stash anymore.

Helm: Lots of choices here, basically there are 4 helms to use, but you can be original and use some others.

Shako, Overall great helm, I use it for most of my public dueling.

Defense: 98-141 (varies)

Required Strength: 50

Durability: 12

+2 To All Skills

+ (1.5 Per Character Level) 1-148 To Life (Based On Character Level)

+ (1.5 Per Character Level) 1-148 To Mana (Based On Character Level)

Damage Reduced By 10%


50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

+2 To All Attributes

08 Valkyrie Wing, nice against necros and other fast teleporting/running characters.

30% Faster Hit Recovery

30% Faster Cast rate

30% Faster Run/Walk

30% Increased Attack Speed


These mods are invaluable, this is the ONLY helm that gives you 3 VERY useful mods. WATCH OUT FOR DUPES!!!

Kira's Guardian, nice helm for stacking resists against hard hitting Sorcs and other Javazons.

Defense: 90-170 (varies)(Base Defense: 40-50)

Required Level: 77

Durability: 25

+50-120 Defense (varies)

+20% Faster Hit Recovery

Cannot Be Frozen

All Resistances +50-70 (varies)


Griffon's Eye, if you need more damage and some -Resists% to enemies. This is a damage helm.

Defense: 150-260 (varies)(Base Defense: 50-60)

Required Level: 76

Durability: 20

+100-200 Defense (varies)

+1 To All Skills

+25% Faster Cast Rate

-15-20% To Enemy Lightning Resistance (varies)

+10-15% To Lightning Skill Damage (varies)


Rare Circlets, Try to get one with some of these mods.

+2 Amazon Skills

+Resists

+Faster Run/Walk

+Life

Magic Damage Reduced by X ammount

Sockets



Amulet: There are 4 main Amulets I (or would if I had them) use.

Cat's eye, This is my All-around amulet, everything on it is useful.

Required Level: 50

30% Faster Run/Walk

20% Increased Attack Speed

+100 Defense Vs. Missiles

+100 Defense

+25 To Dexterity


Faster run/walk is always nice to have, with this you can go in and out of a fight with ease. I'm a speed freak so I like it when my characters hit high breakpoints. In my opinion, Speed>Damage. The +100 defense always help, less chances to get hit. The dexterity bonus is HUGE, helps ALOT when getting Max block.

Mara's Kaleidoscope, I use this against hard hitting elemental users, I don't use it often but it comes handy in some duels.

Required Level: 67

+2 To All Skill Levels

All Resistances +20-30 (varies)

+5 To All Attributes


The +2 Skill levels bonus adds to your damage/defense skills. Resists are key here, that's why I use it most of the time. Finally, +5 stats is always nice.

Crafted Amazon Amulet, I have yet to find a really good one, but if I had one I'd use it often. Look for these mods.

+Amazon Skills

+Resists

+Stats

+blocking % or +Run/Walk Speed

You can't have Blocking and Run/walk on the same amulet so it might be a good idea to find both types.



Body Armor: 3 Choices here, they all depend on the kind of character you duel.

Chains of Honor, I use this most of the time when dueling in public games, overall great armor.

+2 To All Skills

+200% Damage To Demons

+100% Damage To Undead

8% Life Stolen Per Hit

+70% Enhanced Defense

+20 To Strength

Replenish Life +7

All Resistances +65

Damage Reduced By 8%


25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

This is your main resistances boost. The +20 strength and 8% damage reduction are also very nice additional mods. The +2 all skills is always nice to have, boosts your Damage/Defense skills.

Enigma, This is for the fast teleporters and runners, use this when you don't need resists and want to flee attacks or catch someone.

+2 To All Skills

+45% Faster Run/Walk

+1 To Teleport

+750-775 Defense (varies)

+ (0.75 Per Character Level) +0-74 To Strength (Based On Character Level)

Increase Maximum Life 5%

Damage Reduced By 8%


+14 Life After Each Kill

15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana

+ (1 Per Character Level) +1-99% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (Based On Character Level)

Lots of great mods on this armor too, boosts your life and defense by a nice amount. Also this gives +2 skills, HUGE Run/Walk bonus and damage reduction of 8%.



Twitchthroe, this armor when upgraded is very nice, you won't use it often but it comes handy when Melee dueling ( Talking about real melee, use of Power Strike as your main attack) lots of nice mods on this.

Defense: 57-60 (varies)(Base Defense: 32-35)

Required Level: 16

Required Strength: 27

Durability: 32

+25 Defense

25% Increase chance of blocking

20% Faster Hit Recovery

20% Increased Attack Speed

+10 To Dexterity

+10 To Strength


When upgraded, this armor can have a maximum defense of 506, it's not alot but the mods on it are VERY nice. +Blocking % saves you lots of stats points, 20% Increased Attack Speed helps you reach a nice breakpoint and +10 strength and dexterity are always nice to have.



Weapons: Only 3 choices here, they're all javelins.

Titan's Revenge, try to get those Upgraded and ethereal if you can, it won't add to your lightning damage but will boost your physical damage by a nice amount.



Required Level: 42

Required Strength: 25

Required Dexterity: 109

Max Stack: 140

Base Weapon Speed: [-10]

(Amazon Only)

+150-200% Enhanced Damage (varies)

Adds 25-50 Damage

+2 To Amazon Skill Levels

5-9% Life Stolen Per Hit (varies)

30% Faster Run/Walk

+20 To Strength

+20 To Dexterity

Replenishes Quantity [1 in 3 sec.]

Increased Stack Size [60]

+2 To Javelin and Spear Skills (Amazon Only)


Everything on it is good, only thing missing is Increased Attack Speed. This gives a total of +4 to javelins skills which brings your lightning damage up by a good amount.



Thunderstrokes, Great Javelins, but I still prefer Titan's. Use this if you really need speed and damage. Also, try to get a pair of +4 Javelin Skills.

Throw Damage: (87-105) To (165-198) (126-151.5 Avg)

One-Hand Damage: (75-90) To (135-162) (105-126 Avg)

Required Level: 69

Required Strength: 107

Required Dexterity: 151

Base Weapon Speed: [-10]

Max Stack (80)

(Amazon Only)

+150-200% Enhanced Damage (varies)

Adds 1-511 Lightning Damage

15% Increased Attack Speed

-15% To Enemy Lightning Resistance


20% Chance To Cast Level 14 Lightning On Striking

+2-4 To Javelin and Spear Skills (Amazon Only) (varies)

+3 To Lightning Bolt (Amazon Only)

Damage is the key on those Javs, I wouldn't use this as an all-around weapon.

Lancer's Matriarchal Javelin's of Quickness/Swiftness, You don't see many of these because they are EXTREMELY rare, but they are big damage dealers.

Stats you need on those:

+3 Javelin Skills (Magic prefix)

+1-3 Javelin Skills (Base mod)

30%-40% Increased Attack Speed (If using a 60/60 Shield, you can get away with the Swiftness suffix)

These are, in my opinion, the best Javazon vs Javazon weapon.



Shield: Lots of choices here, I'll try to give the most useful ones.

Stormshield, Overall great shield, I use it for most of my duels and this is my main shield when public dueling.

Defense: (136-504) - (151-519) (varies)(Base Defense: 133-148)

Required Level: 73

Required Strength: 156

Chance to Block: Ama/Asn/Bar: 72%

+ (3.75 Per Character Level) 3-371 Defense (Based On Character Level)

+25% Increased Chance Of Blocking

35% Faster Block Rate

Damage Reduced By 35%

Cold Resist +60%

Lightning Resist +25%

+30 To Strength


Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 10

Indestructible

Great Mods, boosts your defense, resistances, strength and gives you a nice bonus of damage reduced by 35%!



Jeweler's Monarch of Deflecting, socketed with:

20/-20, Shield socketed with 5/-5 lightning facets, not a good choice in my opinion, you give up too much for these mods.

60/60, 60 Resists and 60% Increased Attack Speed. This shield is plain godly, you might not want to get this if you're not very rich. This can be used against casters and other high elemental damage dealer, but it's best suited for a CS vs CS Zon.



Moser's Blessed Circle[/COLOR], Great shield if you're on a budget.

Defense: 156-179 (varies)(Base Defense: 47-55)

Required Level: 31

Required Strength: 53

Chance to Block: Ama/Asn/Bar:62%

Durability: 64

+180-220% Enhanced Defense (varies)

+25% Increased Chance of Blocking

30% Faster Block Rate

All Resistances +25

Gem Sockets (2)


Decent mods, I'd use Stormshield over this for regular dueling though.



Gloves: Not too many choices here, mainly rare gloves.

Rare +2 Skill/20% IAS, I have 2 pairs, +2 Javelin skills with 20% Increased Attack Speed and other mods (Stats/Resistances) and a pair of +2 Passive skills with 20% Increased Attack Speed and once again, other mods such as stats and resistances.



+3 Skill/20% IAS Magics, Some people prefer these over rares, try to get +3 Javelin Skills and 20% Increased Attack Speed. Passive skills can also be used.



Rings: Again, not too many choices here, only 3 rings I can think of.



Raven Frost, Nice ring, gives Cannot be Frozen mod which is a must for PvP.

Required Level: 45

+150-250 To Attack Rating (varies)

Adds 15-45 Cold Damage, 4 sec. Duration (Normal)

Cannot Be Frozen

+15-20 To Dexterity (varies)

+40 To Mana

Cold Absorb 20%




Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band, Other nice ring, I don't use it alot though.

Required Level: 58

+1 To All Skill Levels

+ (0.5 Per Character Level) 0-49 To Life (Based On Character Level)


3-5% Life Stolen Per Hit (varies)

+50 Maximum Stamina

The +1 All Skills helps your damage and defensive skills, the life is always nice to have.



Rare Ring, if you can get your hands on a nice rare ring do it. Be sure to get most of these mods.

-Life

-Dexterity

-Strength

-Resistances

-Attack Rating

Belt: I don't change belt often because I don't feel the need too, but here are some options.

Thundergod's Vigor, Adds to your Lightning Fury and the +10% max lightning resists and +20 absorb are a must against other javazons and lightning users.

+160-200% Enhanced Defense (varies)

Adds 1-50 Lightning Damage

5% Chance To Cast Level 7 Fist Of The Heavens When Struck

+20 Lightning Absorb

10% To Maximum Lightning Resist

+20 To Strength

+20 To Vitality

+3 To Lightning Fury (Amazon Only)

+3 To Lightning Strike (Amazon Only)


This is my main belt.

Verdungo's Hearthy Cord, This belt should be used against melee mostly, only 3 great mods.

+90-140% Enhanced Defense (varies)

10% Faster Hit Recovery

+30-40 To Vitality (varies)


Replenish Life +10-13 (varies)

+100-120 Maximum Stamina (varies)

Damage Reduced By 10-15% (varies)

Adds to your life, gives more damage reduced by % and adds to your hit recovery.



Rare belt, you can try and get a nice rare belt, it might not be the best choice but I'll list it too. Try to get these mods.

-Faster Hit Recovery(24%)

-Strength(25+)

-Life

-Resistances



Boots: Mostly rare boots here.

Legit rares, No uniques/sets can be as good as a nice pair of rares for this build.

-Faster Run/Walk

-Faster Hit Recovery

-Stats

-Resistances



Aldur's Advance, These are the boots I use most of the time since I don't have some nice rare ones. They have huge Faster Run/Walk and nice bonus to life.

Defense: 39-47 (varies)

Required Level: 45

Required Strength: 95

Assassin Kick Damage: 37-64

Indestructible

40% Faster Run/Walk

+180 Maximum Stamina

10% Damage Taken Goes To Mana

Heal Stamina Plus +32%

+50 To Life

Fire Resist +40-50% (varies)




Switch: No real choices here, use Call to Arms (CTA) and a Spirit

Charms

10x Shimmering Small Charm of Vita

9x Harpoonist's Grand Charm of Vita

1x Annihilus

1x Hellfire Torch

This covers the equipment section, I'll list some setups I use in the dueling Strategies so you know what to use against

what character.



6.Dueling Strategies

1. Amazons

Bow: Easy fight, keep pushing them, trow some lightning furys at them and hope they start running back. They usually don't have much resists so sniping them or even CSing (DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT try to run and CS them, if they aren't too far and aren't shooting at you then you can try, but if they start spamming Guided Arrow you'll lose.) will take them down in a hit or two.

Equip: Against pure damage bowazons (3/20/20 builds) use DR% and R/W%, you don't need resists here and Run/Walk helps you dodge and run away from arrows. If you're fighting a poison bowazon (290 builds) equip Sandstorm Treks and go hunt them down, "Poison length reduced by %" is also helpful but don't sacrifice for it. If you have some, good, if you don't that's ok.

CS Zons: well, not to many strategies here, WALK to them and CS. Positioning is a major factor in CS vs CS, it's basically the same as Zealot positioning. (Get just in range to hit them and they might not be able to hit you)

Gear: Some of you might not agree with me here, but I feel my setup is better than the usual cookie cutter "damage" one.

Helm: Kira's or Griffon's Eye, depending on how much resistance you stacked. (Highest -Resists a Javazon can get and still be effective is 60)

Armor: Chains of Honor

Weapon1: Lancer's Matriarchal Javelin of Quickness (If your gloves don't have 20%IAS)

Weapon2: Thunderstrokes (If your gloves have 20%IAS)

Shield: Jewelers Shield of Deflecting with 4x 15%IAS/15%Res (Yes, VERY expensive)

Gloves: +2 Jav/Stats/Resists/IAS

Belt: Thundergod's Vigor

Boots: Stats/Resists Boots

Rings: Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band

Amulet: Crafted +2Skills/Life/Lightning Resists/Blocking%

This gives you INSANE Lightning resistances, you will not take much damage and you will still deal a decent amount.

Poison Javazons: Fight them like Bowazons, Dodge and Snipe. Remember they have a cooldown on Plague Javelin so it might give you some time to get in and hit with a CS or two.



2. Assassins

Traps: Easy fight if you know what you're doing, run around and dodge the traps, don't run in and try to CS, stay far away Dodge and Snipe. If she has too much resistances, let her burn her mana pool by running around and dodging, when you see her running out of mana (She will avoid casting traps too often and will Mb less.) THEN you can run in and CS. If you get stunned by Mb (which should not happen if you followed instructions I gave you), run BACK and not forward, Mb sends you backward, if you run away from her, the Mb will send you far away and she'll eventually stop casting and wait for you to come back.

Equip: Stack resists against them, most are fairly weak so you won't have too much problems.



Ghost Sin: They usually have insane resists so Sniping isn't your best choice, if they cast traps, run away and play like the trapper, they'll eventually run out of mana and stop casting Traps, use this at your advantage.

Bramble Sin: Stand Still and wait for them to WW, Shift+Click is your friend.

Equip: Use Sandstorm and some DR% here.



3.Barbarians

Concentrate: Easy fight, run to them and CS, you won't need more then CS hits to kill them.

WWBarbs: Slap on some DR Gear, be sure you have 75% Block and go fight them! If they use teleport your fight will be 10x easier, usually what I do is stand still and use Shift+Click. If they teleport, 99% of the time they will land RIGHT on you, hold shift and click, they're done. The smart ones will try to use range to their advantage, don't move and keep the Shift+Click, your javelins are range 3 too.

Singers: I never dueled those so I can't tell. Gear wise you should go Run/Walk + FHR.

Trowers: Play them like bowazons, you can get in and CS them since they don't have guided arrow.



4. Necromancers

Bone Necros: Slap on lot's of Run/Walk and Passive Skills. Play on the safe side, let them come to you and Snipe. They are like bowazons with much more resists and damage.

Poison Necros: Use Thunder God's and Snipe them. They are very easy to skill, usually takes 1 or 2 CS.

Summoners: They aren't seen often, but throw lightning furies on the minions and watch them die, when you feel it's safe jump in and CS the necro.

5.Paladins

Hammerdins: Most of them will teleport on you, I found a nice little trick that work wonders against them. First, stand still and wait for them to teleport, when you see them casting click South-West VERY CLOSE to your character, the hammers won't hit you at all and you can land in 2 or 3 CS. You might want to practice your timing with a friend for this one, it takes some time to get used to.

For the ones that don't use teleport, Snipe them and CS when you can get close enough or you feel comfortable doing so.

Zeal/Sacrifice: Hit them with CS, they are one-hit kills.

Smiters: I haven't dueled many but I duel them like Melee ones. You might wanna play on the safe side here, use DR and FHR.

FoHers: Use lots of Passive skills and Lightning resistances stack here and try to run in and CS them, when you see them casting STOP and wait for the FoH to land on you, you'll avoid it 50%+ of the time and if it ever hits you you won't take TOO much damage.

6.Druids

Melee: Not much to be said here, WALK to them and CS a bit, shouldn't take more than a few hits.

Wind: I found these to be pretty tough, they always keep me stunned and their Absorb shield is a real pain when they recast it. First thing to do is take care of the minions, snipe them with Lightning Strike and they should be gone. If the druid is offensive you might have some problems, I usually try to keep running around and dodge the tornados and snipe now and then until he's dead. If he's defensive I suggest you snipe him often, charge in and CS once he's low on HP (30% and less should be good) BE SURE TO HAVE AT LEAST 40% DAMAGE REDUCE AGAINST THEM!!! it is EXTREMELY important if you wanna survive a few hits. You should focus on +Javelin Skill stuff instead of +Passive for them, they tend to keep you dodge locked (mostly offensive druids) and it hurts.

Fire: I haven't fought many so I can't really tell. What I suggest is try to run up to them and CS while dodging the Volcanoes and Fissures. If the CS method isn't working (probably because you get knocked back by the boulders), run around and snipe him. Try to know when they're on cooldown and when they aren't this should help you dodge Volcanoes and Fissures. Remember, boulders have a range, if you stay out of it and snipe there isn't much they can do.

7.Sorceress

Lightning: Gear up with your CS vs CS setup and run up to them if you can, if you can't just snipe, they shouldn't do any real damage to you.

Cold: Those are a bit tricky, learn to predict where they will use Blizzard and when, if you can dodge Blizzard and the Frost Bolts you should win easily. Be sure to have a decent amount of resistances as those hurt badly. I suggest you use +Passive over +Javelin skills here.

Fire: Same as above mostly, except you need to be VERY good with the dodge. sniping is probably your only option seeing as every Fire sorc has 200% FCR these days. Again, stack +Passive so you can dodge/evade most of the fireballs/firebolts.



7.Final Look Will post some screenshots of mine when I finish building it. It might take a little while so if any of you have one built up, feel free to send me your screenshots.



8.Misc InfoI added the IAS and FHR Tables for you guys.



FHR Frames

0% 11

6% 10

13% 9

20% 8

32% 7

52% 6 *

86% 5

174% 4

600% 3

IAS Frames

0% 14

6% 13

16% 12

30% 11

52% 10 *

89% 9

*Minimum required with any equipment setup.

FCR Frames

0% 19

7% 18

14% 17

22% 16

32% 15

48% 14

68% 13

99% 12

152% 11

9.Conclusion I hope you liked this guide, and for you people who decide to create this char, I hope you enjoy your play time with it as much as I did! If you have any questions, feel free to post here or PM me.



10.Credits&Disclaimer This guide is the work of Myth (RPGForums.com/Diii.net) and was written and posted for RPGForums.com/diii.net

Please do not reproduce without permission from Myth. All Information taken was found from the following sites



The Arreat Summit

http://diablo2.ingame.de/tips/calcs/...p?lang=english - Weapon Speed Calculator.

Thanks to Raziel for his awesome guide layout (Helped me with mine :P)|||Looks like a well written guide, i'm surprised there isn't a single comment yet |||Just gonna write a comment then.... The only thing I thought of was to mention SoJs (the life on bk= Nonboable =Not that valuable) AND the FCR table for amazons.. even though it sucks. it is necessary when you duel Bone necros..

Mention the rare helm option...

Mention telesync too.|||You could list the breakpoints you reach (fhr, ias) + next ones.

Also what is your exact damage and stats? I know that "it depends", but I would like to know how much str you have put.

Im building a javazon now.

I would also say that 20life/5 resist all charms are better than ones with life; actually I wonder if 5resist isnt better than 20 life.|||Added rare circlet options and FCR breakpoints (Even though I don't think teleporting is such a good idea with a Javazon)


Quote:








Just gonna write a comment then.... The only thing I thought of was to mention SoJs (the life on bk= Nonboable =Not that valuable) AND the FCR table for amazons.. even though it sucks. it is necessary when you duel Bone necros..

Mention the rare helm option...

Mention telesync too.




The reason I didn't mention SoJs is because even though the life from BK is non-boable, 40+ life is still better than the mana you get from a SoJ (I really don't see why you would need that mana as I never had any problems with mine.)


Quote:








You could list the breakpoints you reach (fhr, ias) + next ones.

Also what is your exact damage and stats? I know that "it depends", but I would like to know how much str you have put.

Im building a javazon now.

I would also say that 20life/5 resist all charms are better than ones with life; actually I wonder if 5resist isnt better than 20 life.




The breakpoints I ALWAYS reach are marked with a * (52% FHR and IAS), no matter what equipment I put on, you NEED these 2. But I usually use a 89%FHR and 52% IAS for my all-around dueling.

I'd give you the exact number of STR/DEX I used to have, but sadly I lost the character (along with all the gear) when I quit playing D2 for a while.

The Shimmering Small Charms of Vita I listed happen to be 5%All / 20 Life SCs |||good post, thanks for hte guide|||Alright I didn't read too much into this, just a few questions I had in a brief skim

why 5 points into evade?

why is griffon's eye just a damage helm?

why aldur's? why is shadowstep not mentioned?|||I don't recall why I put 5 points in Evade, but I know I rebuilt this character a few times and this was the one I prefered. With good FHR you won't get Evade-locked so dodging a missile attack here and there was just a bonus for me.

I labeled Griffon's as a damage helm because that's all it gives you, damage. +100-200 Defense isn't what I call defensive.

I guess you could use Shadowdancers, but they aren't ideal. Aldur isn't ideal but it has good FRW% and fire resists which make them "okay" until you find that good pair of rare.|||the 4 extra points in evade should go into lightning strike.

Griffons should be the only helm a pvp java should use since the -resists is so extremely powerful

...shadow dancers have 30 fhr 30 frw and huge dex, Huge dex = more vit which is bo-able.

btw very unlikely you will hit 86fhr with your current charms, and 86 is the magical number, since it make fb sorcs and wind druids easy...unless they hit their max fhr/fcr bps.|||Why using aldur boots and no gore?? Thought gore were the best boots for javazons

Rly nice guide

All-round bowazon

Hi

I would like to make an allround bowazon, but can only find guides for specific places.

Can I make a pure strafer that can do it all? And which bow is THE BEST. Faith? BoTD?|||Ice maiden can stand her ground anywhere (strafe + frozen arrow). It only has minor problems with frenzytaurs, since they don't freeze. Most cold resist enemies will still freeze (lower duration though), so you can kill them with strafe after freezing. Leaves you with cold/phys immunes to deal with, but a 1 point fire arrow will work wonders.

Not the fastest killer, definately not good for area MF (since shattered courpses leave no loot), but it's an allround build.



About the best bow, that depends on your build. Faith is fast, BotD has good physical damage, Ice rw bow will give you extra cold damage and extra freeze time, (upped) Witchwild string will give deadly strike and amp, (the list goes on )...|||If youre gonna be that specific.. then for an all around bowa http://i41.tinypic.com/5fotw6.jpg might be the best.|||dont ever make BotD in a bow unless you want it for style. wind force and faith are the tops. there are many other choices that work though.


Quote:








Not the fastest killer, definately not good for area MF (since shattered courpses leave no loot), but it's an allround build.




wrong! this is a myth that i try to stamp out whenever i see it. i've used my fishy zon to run everything and i can say for a fact that i've killed many-a cow with FA, they drop loot whether they shatter or not.|||Quote:








dont ever make BotD in a bow unless you want it for style. wind force and faith are the tops. there are many other choices that work though.



wrong! this is a myth that i try to stamp out whenever i see it. i've used my fishy zon to run everything and i can say for a fact that i've killed many-a cow with FA, they drop loot whether they shatter or not.




I think those darn necros started this, since you cannot use CE on, or resurrect into skellies, a shattered corpse. That's probably where this rumor started.|||i say we blame the pallies, they wanted the corpses for redemption. i say they should just pot the lazy bastards! *shakes fist*|||I blame the greedy greedy Hork barbs, they just want to go through Cows after everyone else is gone and hork all the beef for second drops!!

Torches & Bows

Does the 5% chance to cast Firestorm apply to arrowstrikes? If I had a strafer, would each arrow have a 5% chance to cast firestorm?

Also, what's the damage on firestorm?|||Negligible, so don't worry about it.|||Yes, the chance to cast firestorm will be triggered by ranged attacks, including bowzons using strafe (however multi can only trigger it from center arrows).

As for damage:


Quote:








Roughly:

Phys Dmg/Frame: 0.6875 - 0.9375 (17.1875-23.4375 per second)

Fire Dmg/Frame: 1.875 - 2.28125 (46.875-57.03125 per second)

This is per cell. A player would probably be hit by 3 cells per second.




Firestorm caused more lag then it was worth in general and was a major factor in causing games to drop pre 1.13. Now that the chance to cast has been lowered (25% before but now 5%) I'm sure it'll be less of a problem but I haven't been playing too much lately so can't really tell. Before there was a period when you could rarely have 2 amazons spamming attacks while using torch in the same game without crashing it.|||The move from 25% to 5% has definitely reduced the number of crashes, but packed Baal games will still drop if I start strafing or multi'ing too often.|||Quote:








The move from 25% to 5% has definitely reduced the number of crashes, but packed Baal games will still drop if I start strafing or multi'ing too often.




i agree with everything lifted says and would add fury to the mix. the old game-dropping reasons are there, they're just 20% less likely to happen.|||80% less likely to happen, technically, they just happen on 20% fewer shots of your total

I actually like Firestorm on a strafer. It adds a noticeable bit of AoE damage, the physical gets a bonus on Amped monsters, and its some fire damage vs PI targets, especially big ones that get hit by many, many cells per proc|||It's too laggy for my taste, even if it adds a bit of damage, I still prefer to live without it.

The 5% seems a nice change, but on a Strafer that isn't much of difference, since the Amp from Atma's processes quite frequently at the same rate.|||Thanks for the input all!

I just traded for an Atma's, and combined with my new Windforce I'm able to go through the Chaos Sanc without any problems!

Frostmaiden effectiveness

Hey, I need some help from Amazon pros.

The Frostmaiden is the only build I haven't really tried, yet always wanted to.

I was thinking to build one this ladder, but I'm a little worried about her effectiveness in hell

I was planning to run river of fire/cs/wsk/pits/cows. How does it look in players 1 and players 8?

Equipment I have in mind:

Nightwing's Veil

Crescent Moon

Waterwalks boots/Wartravs

Razortail

+2/3 bow/20 IAS/goves

Ravenfrost/soj?

Ice gmb/mb

forti

merc (dunno here which is better):

insight/infinity act 2

faith act 1

Will she kill fast or will I have to always worry for mana and not dying? Or should I make a Gunslinger instead?

what fun factor would you give it (1-10)?

hlap plox|||Crescent Moon, I thought you meant the runeword at first, i was like huh?

There's a very thorough guide for frostmaiden in the stickies which includes gear advice. I'd go with a +3 Bow Skills amulet, you can get an Insight Might merc for mana, and you can get a dual leech ring instead of SoJ and be +2 skills ahead.|||Quote:








... +3 Bow Skills amulet...




no such thing.|||From the aforementioned "Ice Maiden" guide, a few lines about a "Faithful Frostmaiden":


Quote:








One gripe I have with Ice is it's lack of physical damage compared to Faith. Especially if made in a Mat. Bow for the faster speed. Both are competent Freezing Arrow cannons; where Ice has the better FA damage, Faith has the versatility of speed and higher physical damage of the arrows, as well as large the AR% bonus (300% on top of Penetrate and Fanaticism's AR%) to allow high chances to hit, and potentially higher +bow skills to keep Multishot and Magic Arrow as 1-point wonders yet still be high enough for end-game use. Actually, I prefer to have Multishot no higher than slvl 15, since the mana cost generally becomes detrimental to your upkeep as you get higher, and there's rarely cases when there's 15 or more monsters in a single group. Even then, with 100% pierce, you'll be hitting most of the monsters in any given mob more than once, so a high level Multi is not needed.

Contrary to your guide, I don't recommend placing your extra skill points into another Bow skill after Freezing Arrow+synergies and Strafe are maxed. Those points would be better served in maxing out Valkyrie IMO, as it lets you make use of three of the best tanks in the game; Valkyrie, Decoy, and your Mercenary. Maxed Valkyrie sends her life into the near-immune levels, especially if she's prebuffed with +passive skills at slvl 35 or above. She also makes for an OK supplementary damage source. Sure, slvl 17 is when she gets her War Pike, but when she's at slvl 35+ she makes it hurt.

Personally I'm a Faithful Frostmaiden Fanatic. I'm the type of guy who prefers a well-rounded character with 2 or more elements focused on to allow easy times with all monsters, regardless of immunity. Faith allows nearly the same numbers of Freezing Arrow damage, with almost twice the physical damage per arrow hit, as well as a greater chance to hit against all the monsters of Sanctuary (+300% AR and ITD versus just ITD alone). I also roll with a maxed Strafe, so she'll be just as potent as a pure Strafer as well. The best of both worlds, I suppose, just how I like it.




I'm entirely with Eilo. An FA strafer with Faith is a fantastic way to still play up the benefits of FA (with extraordinary AR) while also maintaining pretty great damage thanks to Strafe. I'm running a 7fpa one currently whose Strafe dmg is 1k-5.5k and whose FA dmg is 1.2k-6.4k plus 2.2k in cold damage (with a Might/Pride merc). That. Versus carrying an Ice: Strafe @ 900-2.6k and FA @ 1.2k-3.1k and 2.8k in cold damage with all other gear (and the merc) exactly the same.

It's a wonderful build that can run anything AND contribute positively to Baal runs with FA's freeze time.|||The Ice Matriarchal Bow Frostmaiden build is viable in hell, but it loses effectiveness in games with more than 3 players games fast.

Playing alone it is quite powerful, but contrary to the Blizzard Sorceress, it relies in DPS, not sheer numbers(although the blizz sorc DPS is insane).

I would advice, however, using a Mara's and Chains of Honour instead of Crescent Moon and Fortitude. If you can get a +2 Amazon amulet with better mods than Mara's, go for it. And go with Insight/Might merc. The build is expensive but fun.|||I'm not entirely sure why everyone's advocating Insight for a zon that relies on FA.

The mana regeneration offered by Insight isn't nearly enough to account for any rapid and consecutive usage of FA. In fact, as long as you've got mana leech somewhere, a single Strafe or MS into a pack of monsters would immediately do more for your blue globe than Insight. AND it frees up your merc to help with YOUR damage.

Infinity and Pride too expensive? Fine. Use Reaper's Toll! It's an incredible boost to your physical dmg, especially if you're not using Atma's.|||Quote:








I'm not entirely sure why everyone's advocating Insight for a zon that relies on FA.

The mana regeneration offered by Insight isn't nearly enough to account for any rapid and consecutive usage of FA. In fact, as long as you've got mana leech somewhere, a single Strafe or MS into a pack of monsters would immediately do more for your blue globe than Insight. AND it frees up your merc to help with YOUR damage.

Infinity and Pride too expensive? Fine. Use Reaper's Toll! It's an incredible boost to your physical dmg, especially if you're not using Atma's.




Mana regen also depends on your mana pool. There's a formula in the AS (under the basics section) that can tell you how much mana you regenerate per second. You can figure out how many attacks/seconds you do, how much mana per second you use, how much mana you need to regenerate, and what the base mana to get that kind of regen should be. Last patch I ran a full mageazon from an Insight without any leech. Insight CAN be a viable option, but as with all options, it all boils down to how you use it.

Also, if you're playing untwinked, what do you think you'll find first/easier, reapers or Insight? It's easily the most damaging budget weapon you can stick on a merc (210%ED, 45%CS). And ON TOP of that, you get the mana bonus, the dual heal bonus (only with prayer merc),... Why are people are so blinded by the aura they don't see the other very good bonusses?|||To your second point, Kardinaal, I agree. Insight is valuable for reasons apart from mana regeneration. However, for mana regeneration, it's not very valuable at all to a Frostmaiden not looking to invest points in energy. Consider the following:

If I have a Frostmaiden with a mana pool of 300, I'm naturally--i.e., just because I have 300 in the blue globe--regenerating 2.5 mana per second. If I'm using Insight (with slvl 17 Meditation) and have the same mana pool, I'm regenerating 20 mana per second. That's great.

Now, let's say that same Frostmaiden has a slvl 26 FA, and she can fire at an 8fpa rate. There are, typically, 25 frames per second, which means I can fire three arrows per second. At slvl 26, FA costs 21.5 mana. I'm depleting 64.5 mana per second, but only recovering 20/sec thanks to Insight

What is a help, however, is my mana leech, which, as you'll see, is really doing the bulk of my mana recovery work. Let's assume 3k in physical damage from a single arrow and 6% mana leech for the sake of this exercise. In hell, my mana leech is cut by two-thirds, so if in normal I'd take away 180 mana in that single arrow, I'm only really recovering 60. That seems fantastic...way better than anything Insight's Meditation could be doing for me. And if, because of physical resistances, natural monster leech drain numbers, or just lower physical damage, I only garner 15 mana on my next arrow, I'm still in a pretty good place because maybe that next shot also pierced and hit two other monsters.

So leech!|||Well, that's why I opted for the crescent moon.

But faith>ice for the frostmaiden? That's sad as ice seemed sooo sexy...|||Faith is faster, more physical damage (thus more leech). Ice offers more elemental damage and extra protection with the holy freeze aura. So once again there is no best bow, it's all about playing style. If you find yourself using mostly FA with the occasional strafe for leeching, I'm pretty shure Ice will be the faster killer (you'll need more leech though). If you just use FA for freezing, then strafe everything to death, faith will be better. Choose which will be your main skill, and get the bow that suits it best. Or get both and use weapon switch to alternate between them so you don't have to choose.

Fort armor advice

Ladder. Found a Lo with my strafezon today (and a Gul seconds later, dumb luck), so I'd like to make Fortitude armor. I have a superior Wire Fleece 14% ed, 13% max dur, 549 defense, no sockets. I'd need to use my last socket quest for the 4 sockets. I'm wondering if this would be an ideal armor to make Fortitude with? Would the max dur factor make it insanely expensive to repair? I use Demon Limb on switch already (10k+ to repair per charge) and have little in the way of GF or MF. So she doesn't collect much wealth. Current gear is WF, LoH, Stealskull, Gores, Duress, Ravenfrost, Credendum, rare ring....

Or should I just run the pits for a decent DS, AP, etc to cube for the sockets?|||I like Wire Fleece.

Unnecessary STR requirement compared to Archon Plate, the most popular light armour, but I like the looks.

Being Superior, the expenses will be HUGE to repair, but the Amazon won't be getting hit often, so this won't be a problem. I'd say, go for it.

My Strafer has a Forti and Faith bow. The extra gold in Faith helps in those expenses with lots to spare, I even have to gamble with her to spend the excess gold.|||I wouldnt make it in that. For me, its a 15ed that matters(for resale value, Im not planning on selling it, but you never know in the future )

And if you make it in a enhanched durability armor, the repair cost is gonna go skyhigh, so my advice is to make it in a 15ed Archon Plate or 15ed Dusk Shroud.|||because of insane rals drops, i wounder even care what armor you making any runewords, there's like 100% to find ral before your dura is 0.|||I also like the looks of Fleece. Best looking armor for a Zon IMO (splint mail family also looks good though if you like the shiny look).

And while Rals are common, I prefer the lazy route of just using non-excep armor and gold to repair. =)|||The skimpy armors definitely fit the sexy big-bosom style of zons better so Archons and other bigger armors that hide that are not the way to go|||http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Armor_Appearance

Archon looks downright ugly. I like Splint and Studded families the best, as I said above. Dusk looks a little too simple but at least it's not the horrorshow of Archon.|||Yeah I usually pick my armor for looks, rather than the extra ~20-40 point difference in base def. Light elite armors, of course. I have a 4os sup Wyrmhide ElSolDol waiting for me to get a Lo for it Last season her Fort was a GH, that was good for a shiny gold look. Too bad Scale Mail is heavy, I'd love to rock the all-black zon suit.

Mavinazon Socket Suggestions

Currently i have a maxed lvl 86 FA/Strafe Mavinazon which i really enjoy using and i was wondering what the best jewels would be to socket helm + armor + bow. I have read something about either adding IAS or ED jewels to both helm + armor and usually socketing the bow with a shael. I currently possess a few 15IAS jewels, some mid range ED jewels and 1 good 31ED/+13 max damage jewel. I want to increase the damge of stafe which is of course lacking with this build. Dexterity is over 350+ so thats not an issue. Is it worth it to use those jewels or is there a better solution? Advice and suggestions are appreciated.|||So, first question: can you afford a Faith bow? If you can get a Faith on your merc, you can hit 8fpa (or 7fpa if you use one of the IAS jewels in addition to Shael'ing the bow)...otherwise with Mavina's set--even with a Shael in the bow, 15IAS jewels in your helm and armor AND Cat's Eye--you're stuck at 9fpa.

For the biggest boost to your damage (and your attack speed), you could build as follows:

Shael the bow. IAS the helm/armor. Use that 31ED/+13 Max Dmg jewel in helm/armor. And give your merc some Faith (even slvl 12 Fanat would get you to 7fpa).|||Quote:








Use that 31ED/+13 Max Dmg jewel in helm/armor.




Nonono. Its a waste of a good jewel as ed/max is bugged in armor/helms/shields. (unless it was fixed in the last patch..?)|||Thanks for responding. I Forgot to add this is a SP character and use a might merc for support so ladder rune words are out. I do not use RWM either. Yeah i dont know the technical details of achieving fastest strafe speeds so thats good to know. Didnt know about that ED bug either. So it would be better to save those jewels and at least socket the bow and equip Cats Eye or Highlords Wrath?|||Since Faith is out, you can, at best, achieve 9fpa. Currently, if you're just running Mav's set, you've got 10fpa. Shael the bow and then go for Atma's Scarab (amp!) to increase dmg. If you haven't got Atma's, then go for Highlord's, I guess, as it'll at least offer more dmg than Cats Eye.|||I do have Atma's Scarab which i forgot about as an alternative. Just to clarify,

adding any sort of ED to helm+armor will have a negative effect because of an existing bug? Does that apply to all armor and helms as well currently? I guess i will at least shael the bow and switch to Atmas for now.|||After playing a Mav FA/Strafer for a long time I realised a few things;

1) Due to Mav's set using a Bow, Helm, and Gloves, the only way to get knockback is by socketing a Nef in the bow. I really don't think anything in the bow is as good as a Nef.

2) With a Nef in the bow you only have two options for hitting 9/3. You can put a 15ias jewel in the helm and another in the chest, or you can use highlords or cats eye as your amulet.

3) Your FA absolutely owns anything not CI, so I didn't think Cold Facets were worth it. If you want to gem your chest/helm for damage then a +15 Max Damage Jewel in each is the way to go.

4) War Travs are better than Gores. I prefer Travs on most Bowazons but it's a lot closer for the majority of builds. However the Mav set cripples your bows physical damage so that 15-25 adds a much much much larger % of physical damage for a Mav strafer than it does for regualr zons using Faith/WF/WWS/etc

I can't tell you what I ended up deciding was best because it was that long ago. If I remade her today I would think that Atma's is bleh seeing as though you have FA for PI's, so I would go Highlords + 15max jewel helm + 15max jewel chest + Travs.

Stuff about bugged Jewels;

It's been a while so I might be a tad off but iirc it's only jewels with +ED%/+Max that were bugged. I think Blizzard got sick of every zon being encouraged to use duped ED/Max jewels in 4soc 100life armor and 3soc helms as it further encouraged duping. Around 1.10? or so they hotfixed the jewels so that if placed in helms or chestplates they only gave 15max damage and ignored the other stat entirely. They definately still worked in weapons and 'plain' 15max or ED jewels work fine obviosuly. The bug was simply that if a jewel had Enhanced Dmage AND Max Damage on it then only one applied if placed in armor.

Again my details might be a bit off because this was aaages ago, but really all you need to know is that there's nothing wrong with using single-mod jewels in armor.
|||Thanks for all the input and explanations guys. I have been using Travs and Highlords Wrath so i guess nefing the bow and socketing max jewels sounds most ideal.

Is it time to remake? Opinions needed:)

Hey all, thanks for taking the time to look. My amazon, morecowsplz was the first character i got geared up this ladder. Her entire purpose was to run the cow level in all difficulties for lld items and the occasional sweet rune drop and nice socketables in hell.

But, do to the dis respectfulness of people in public games she can no longer make the portal in any difficulty. Her gear is focused on running fast, throwing javelins fast, and being protected if she gets swarmed (she uses the gloom runeword, which has saved my life countless times with its chance to cast dim vision when she gets hit)

So i figure she is basically useless now, but i was wondering whether there is another area she could run, or if i would be better off making a new amazon?

(Her skills are set up for a high damage charged strike and lightning fury, plus a valkyrie who can't damage but can tank with the best of them)|||You dont have to retire her....you can make a new char and get them up through Hell Baal, and they can open the portal for your amazon. Since you apparently like to cow in public games, its not as big a deal to drop the leg somewhere, swap chars and open a portal, then swap back to your zon to clear cows. Just make sure to never actually run cows with your opener or stay partied in-game....just in, open, and out.

This also has the advantage of, now that you've already been king-marked, you can kill the king as much as you want with your zon now and it wont hurt you or anyone else.

This is why I never party when cowing in public games, though...someone ALWAYS has to be a dumbass and thinks its hilarious to kill the king. If you dont party, you wont get king-marked even if someone does kill him.|||Hell no, the javazon is the fastest killing build in the game, it is the fastest runner in almost every area, theres plenty of butt kicking for even a non-cow java.|||you should have been using another character to make portals all along so that you could kill the king with her (though that's not always the easiest thing to do). letting the king live is a shame.|||Well i kept her alive, thanks for the suggestions. I actually almost always cow in private games, its the very few times I join a pub for the better drops that it's been ruined I've been trying making the portal with another character, and it's been going pretty good. I just do some mfing with my sorc while i wait for the game to perm, then jump in and slaughter me some cows.|||Chaos is good for javazon. The light immunes are so weak that you can stab them to death.

Strafezon gear setup, advice?

Hey guys.

I recenty made a Strafezon in HC and she is a blast. Right now she's ripping up NM Chaos with an upped WWS. Can you take a look at my end game gear and tell me if you have any tips/upgrades?

Windforce - Shael (40 ias)

Treachery (45)

Kiras - Um?

Laying of Hands - (20)

Tgods (HC, it's a must for the souls)

Highlords (20)

2x Ravens

Switch: CTA - Sigons (sigons for the block if I need to run away)

War Travs or Gores, can't decide.



120 Ias for strafe with WF, is that the correct BP I'm aiming for? I would like to use a Might Merc for tanking over an A1 Faith merc.

I like the mix of treachery and Kiras for resists. I just prebuff the Treachery by letting some A1 carvers beat on me for a second. Plus the 45 ias from it will help me get to the BP's. Venom is ok, but no dmg from Fort though

The only thing missing is a sorc of LL, maybe a LL/resists/stats ring? Or should I give up the LoH for a Crafted pair of gloves? PvM only so the LoH might be a keeper.

What about Atma's? Is it a must? I could put an Ias jewel in the Kiras, and replace the Highlords. I'd be at exactly 120.

Thanks, any advice is greatly appreciated!|||You're doing an overkill on IAS for a strafer, check the amazon bp's link in my sign for details. I'm sure you'll find that loosing a bit IAS for more ed and other damage mods will be beneficial.

As for amulet you really should go with atmas on a pure strafer, no reason not to and you need to be able to handle the PIs.

Sigons? As a strafer you should have more then enough dexterity for blocking with almost any shield even if you're on HC. Also note that the blocking speed is horrible for amazons when using swinging weapons so I wouldn't count on a cta switch for blocking (unless I'm missing a thrusting weapon CTA can be made in ).

Yes, using a LL ring is advised, shouldn't be hard to get a good one, if nothing else you can some craft blood rings.|||Quote:








You're doing an overkill on IAS for a strafer, check the amazon bp's link in my sign for details. I'm sure you'll find that loosing a bit IAS for more ed and other damage mods will be beneficial.

As for amulet you really should go with atmas on a pure strafer, no reason not to and you need to be able to handle the PIs.

Sigons? As a strafer you should have more then enough dexterity for blocking with almost any shield even if you're on HC. Also note that the blocking speed is horrible for amazons when using swinging weapons so I wouldn't count on a cta switch for blocking (unless I'm missing a thrusting weapon CTA can be made in ).

Yes, using a LL ring is advised, shouldn't be hard to get a good one, if nothing else you can some craft blood rings.




I was just worried about getting stuck in a slow Strafelock. I'm a scrub when it comes to reading those tables, I'm just looking for an X/2 strafe. How much do you recommend with a WF? It looks like 50 or 80 ias for an X/3? Is that a big difference in speed?

My logic was the faster the better to keep the KB going and keep them away from me. More Atma procs too.

If I took off the Treachery I would probably opt for a CoH over a Fort anyway. If I can free up gear it's going to be for more survivability over ED% and stuff like that.

Sigons is for the +1 to BO from CTA. WF is 130ish str, and I don't really want to go to 156 for a Spirit to get another +1 skill on my BO. The blocking will rarely be used, but it's better than running away with a bow out.

Pretty new to zons, I find strafe so much fun. I'm no expert, that's why I wanted to run it by you guys.|||The strafe speed bug demonstration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSQc9LHSXp8

Basically as far as we know now you're gaining only speed on the starting and ending frames of the strafe cycle, in other words you'll gain only 1 frame going from 50 IAS up to 120. When a full strafe takes about 37 frames (10 arrows fired at 50 IAS) that is only a 2.7% improvement (1/37).

CoH is a better armor then treachery for a pure strafer no doubt, good res, damage and some mf. Not to mention CoH has the LL you where missing

Now that you mention it there's not really much else to gain from any other shields, you could go with splendor or lidless for a bit fcr when casting bo but that's not really of great importance.|||There is no /2 strafe, /3 is the fastest that the server actually processes. /2 is just a client-side graphical error.

CoH is a waste over Fort, too, i think...you're only getting ~45% more resists, the +skills do very little, and especially in HC you shouldnt be taking that many hits anyway. Fort's huge ED bonus means you're far more likely to keep monsters in hit-recovery lock (you have to hit them for 1/14th of their max life, IIRC) which keeps you safe. You can also prebuff SA in a fire or something, for some extra def. I think even Lionheart would be better than Treachery for a pure strafer, with the big life bonus and dex/ED

Lidless also provides you with the +1 for BO, if you dont want to bulk up for Spirit, plus a little extra def, though it shouldnt matter much. If you have the time and wherewithal to switch to your shield to block an attack, you probably should have enough reaction time to just avoid it in the first place...blocking while running is capped at 25%, too.|||Awesome. Thanks so much guys, very helpful.

Java vs LI - dmg boost, or fishy?

So assuming a CF/LF javazon who can't afford Infinity/Griffs yet and prefers to deal with LIs with good ol' Jab instead of going all hybrid fishy, I was wondering if there were other easily achievable means of pumping phys dmg apart from the ones listed off the top of my head;

-Upped (eth if possible) Titans

-Lots of Crit Strike

-Might merc

-LoH

-Fort

-Some CB (Gores etc)

-Highlord's?

-Did I forget anything not ridiculously xpensive that would work?

Another question.. Even with lots of IAS, good res and some of those damage boosters above, would a few points in FA with a cheap Harmony STILL drop LIs faster? I'm essentially wondering if I should tweak gear or respec to fish... Any suggestions appreciated!|||I'm guessing, but I'll bet changing your equipment a bit and sticking them with titans will be far better than FA. Far.

I've done both ways and the fishy just blew my mind. Since both attacks are ranged they allow you to keep your distance and go with more offensive equipment. You don't really need anything other than +skills.

Any +2helm, spirit monarch, titans (non-eth so you can repair), tgods, torch and +2jav gloves puts you very comfortably past level 30 LF/CS/plague jav.|||Quote:








I've done both ways and the fishy just blew my mind.




+1 for fishy mind-blowing...

Respecs are cheap (or free for the first 3...), I say try a fishy for yourself. You'll never go back to jabbing


Quote:




Another question.. Even with lots of IAS, good res and some of those damage boosters above, would a few points in FA with a cheap Harmony STILL drop LIs faster? I'm essentially wondering if I should tweak gear or respec to fish... Any suggestions appreciated!




Would a few points in FA and cheap harmony drop them faster? Probably not.

But of course the fishy spec maxes FA and CA.

To me, the benefit of the fishy build isn't faster killing speed (although it does kill packs of LI's more quickly because of the AE), it's safety and MF. While you're wearing fort I'm wearing skullders with a topaz and getting 120+ MF. While you need CB on the gores, I'm fine with travs and more MF. I get to use a lot more MF, and also I get to FREEZE souls, and I get to fight at a distance. It's wonderful, especially against fanat enchanted packs of LI's and other nasties like that.

Also, fishyzon gear is dirt cheap. Bonus.

If you just prefer jab, I guess I can't blame you. But have you actually tried a fishy, or do you just think you prefer jab? |||Nope, never actually tried the fishy way yet which is why I was askin... I'm used to Jab and stuff so I was curious if it was actually worth trying different routes, which by the sounds of it is. I will definitely respec and give it a shot, worse that can happen is another respec. Thanks for the input!|||Just thought I'd post a quick update in case anyone's going through the same thing...

So I respec'd to Fishy and gave it a shot; granted, the best bow I got up to date for testing was Lycander's but I found FA really isn't much damage and hogs mana like a hole in the ground. Could definitely be an IAS issue (didn't lookup BPs yet) but that would just worsen the mana problem IMO. Some item tweaks eventually fixed that...

In the end FA definitely wins because of Freeze + AoE + Pierce, which also lets my merc do more work... though I did run into a few Cold/Light imunes so Jab + Might still has its uses and is far from obsolete.

Maybe I just expected too much damage-wise initially, but on second thought I guess it's more about safety and versatility than raw damage. +1 for Fishy then!

is 12fanta faith gonna keep me from owning chaos?

hey guys i finally got the runes to make my faith and the darn fant came out as 12...so i have a gmb faith with 12 fanta +5 bow skills



Is this thing still gonna be wicked if i get some ias gear. I just wanna run chaos, baal, pit, etc like its my job. so this is strictly pvm.|||strictly pvm and strafe? no problems at all, really. my first two self-rolled faiths were both 12's so you have my sympathy.|||wanta fanta, dontcha wanta?

and yes, 13+ fanat only is a concern for MS/GA/FA users to hit the highest BP using the usual gear setup, which leaves little room to squeeze in any extra IAS...

I guess your best fallback option short of rolling another Faith would be to drop the Fort for a 4os armor with an IAS jewel and 3 15+ max jewels. I think +max jewels will give you better damage, multiplied out, than 40%ED jewels, but not sure.|||heh, was in wrong place...|||Thanks guys for the help I like that idea with the 4 soc armor maybe I can find one with high def +life tho I've seemed to have trouble farming for em in the past.|||Def doesnt matter at all on a bowa. Focus on a light armor instead.|||another option would be to go for treachery armor, cheap, 45% ias with useful mods like venom and chance to cast fade when struck.

/thraxorius|||An other option would be to simply settle at 8 fpa.

You trade off some damage for more flexibility and more robustness. Certainly with a low level fanaticism, this is the best option.|||You dont need to reach the last IAS breakpoint to be able to kill very fast. With lower IAS, you can use Razortail and Atma amulet. Actually I would prefer one bp lower and use Atma/Razortail, instead of full speed and Cats/HL and Nosfe belt.|||for helm would 2 soc gskull with the knockback be the best bet or would i be better off with something else?

Strafezon trouble with Hell Diablo

I have a level 89 amazon built to run the pits and chaos sanc. She can do both of these areas very well, but her trouble is Diablo. Everytime I clear CS, Diablo tears me a new one. I have low fire res (21) and low-ish life (700), so his torch and fire ring really hurt. I have read suggestions about trying to position yourself right where he spawns, because when you are so close, his fire attacks won't hurt you.. but I can't get it right and keep dying. When I try and stay far away, he always ignores my valk and decoy even when I try to cast them behind him or near him. I used to have reaper's toll on an A2 merc, so Diablo would be decrep, and I could kill him. With the A1 merc, I can't figure it out. What do you suggest?

Skills are:

20 strafe

20 valk

20 penetrate

~10 multi

~8 decoy

~4 pierce

rest in critical strike/dodge/evade/avoid

Equips are:

WF

Stealskull (Ptopaz)

Dusk Fort

Highlords (trying to get an atma's)

Razortail

LoH

dual ravenfrost

War Travs

torch/anni/mf charms

Merc:

7/7/19 vamp gaze

treachery

faith crusader (1skill 15fanat)|||Well, while you can run him without any resistance, even in the negatives, depending on your skill, I'd rather be on the safe side and max at least Fire and Lightning resistances.

It's not that hard, make do with charms if you don't have the equipment necessary.

Also, Gore Rider boots are a better choice when running bosses, as Strafe and Crushing Blow will drop his life quite quickly. When you get that Atma's his life will really go down fast.|||Travs work out fine for me: the +damage is nice to have even on a non-MFer. CB's effectiveness is pretty tiny for ranged attacks on bosses. My equipment is very similar to yours except I use a dual leech ring instead of one raven, Kira's helm instead of Stealskull, and Atma's instead of Highlords. You could also try a Dwarf Star or Rising Sun if you need more help against fire. Good luck!|||Quote:








Travs work out fine for me: the +damage is nice to have even on a non-MFer. CB's effectiveness is pretty tiny for ranged attacks on bosses. My equipment is very similar to yours except I use a dual leech ring instead of one raven, Kira's helm instead of Stealskull, and Atma's instead of Highlords. You could also try a Dwarf Star or Rising Sun if you need more help against fire. Good luck!




this is kinda dumb: "my equipment is very similar" except for over half of it.|||Hey buddy, let's tone down the snark a little bit.

Helm: different

Ammy: he's going the same place anyway

Armor: same

Weapon: same

Ring 1: different

Ring 2: same

Glove: same

Boot: same

Charms: same

Please let me know how over half of our equipment is different, or take back your knee-jerk attempt at criticism. Alternately, perhaps we can continue an attempt at a constructive conversation, in the spirit and intent of my original post.

In that vein, I'd like to clarify that the changes between our equipment directly contribute to the survivability of my build. I realize that part of the goal of this character is to magic-find, but remember that the priorities of MFing are (1) survivability (2) attack power (3) %MF in that order. You may wish to use equipment such as the Shako which boosts skills (for passive defenses), life, damage reduction, and MF, and socket accordingly to further patch the necessary holes. Remember that 200-300 MF is plenty to start, and you can easily get halfway there using just charms in the inventory, so feel free to optimize your equipment for the first two priorities (stay alive, kill stuff). Good luck!|||Quote:




CB's effectiveness is pretty tiny for ranged attacks on bosses.




While nerfed in ranged attacks, if anything, CB shine on bosses. Don't forget that Strafe fires a minimum of 7 arrows, each carrying 15% of applying CB. This is very significant.

It's a matter of personal taste either using Gores or Travelers, but if you intend to kill act bosses, Gores is a no-brainer.|||@curby i'm not your buddy and it wasnt snarky. tone doesnt translate well, sorry.|||Have you considered putting any points into Guided Arrow? I have an 83 strafezon with somewhat similar equipment (no Fort or Torch, but I do have an Atma's), and she hasn't had much trouble with Diablo since she was 80. Fire a few GA's, run, Fire a few GA's, run.|||On the last Ladder I made an Daggerzon based on the guide in the sticky.

It was quite fun but rather slow in the killing department.

One thing I noticed is that when running norm and nm diablo I never really got hurt by the big D and his flames.

Im guessing its due being so close to him, but I don't really know.

I never got to hell Diablo with the build, but I would imagine that the same could work there.

Just put on some LL, CB and a good dagger (I used a Ghostflame) and it might work out.

Just to try something different

Anders|||Replace one of the RFs with a Dwarf Star ftw.

Guided Arrow question

Does guided arrow no longer penetrate? I haven't played an Amazon in a while, so maybe this changed a while ago. You used to be able to use guided arrows to kill a single large target, because it would penetrate, u-turn, and attack again.

What do bowazons use now against large targets? I'm trying a Mav FA/Strafe Zon.

*Vesticle|||Guided Arrow doesn't penetrate. My Strafezon still uses it to kill Diablo without much hassle.|||you mean pierce. penetrate involves AR. and no, it doesnt as Losmir said.

need some opinions on my strafezon gear

hi, so i'm playing a strafezon now and so far i can solo pretty much anywhere in hell mode, but i have this "feeling" that i'm not killing fast enough

here's my gear set up:

-Faith matriarchal bow w/ lvl 15 fanatacism

-mavinas diadem w/ 15ias jewel socketed

-fortitude

-atmas amulet

-20ias kb gloves

-razortail

-ravenfrost and mana leech ring

-gores

i chose faith in a matriarchal bow because i wanted to hit the break point easier and so i could shoot faster, i dont know if this is right but i used a weapon speed calculator and it said all i needed was 8% ias more to reach the bp for faith in a mat bow....not sure if it's right or not, sounded to good to be true, so that's why i used this type of bow.

i'm thinking now i should've have used a Grand matron bow instead, i know i won't reach the 9fpa bp, but will i still be in the 8fpa range with my same gear set up? 45ias from mavs and 20ias from gloves, which would be 65ias, i'm not gonna put on highlords or nos coil unless i really have to, to reach the 8fpa.

also another bow i was thinking is a shael'd windforce, if i use this would i hit the 9fpa bp or 8fpa bp with the same gear set up? so 40ias from wf, 45ias from mavs, 20ias from gloves, which would give me a total of 105 ias. Can WIAS be calculated into the total IAS to reach the bp or is that seperate?

and i just wanted to add, i'm not gonna be using a merc, so no faith merc or pride/might merc, etc...because most of the time they don't follow me and just wander off and they die so easily by diablo

thanks for reading this, hopefully it's not too long :x |||You should read my thread right underneath yours. They just answered some of these questions for me.


Quote:








The strafe speed bug demonstration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSQc9LHSXp8

Basically as far as we know now you're gaining only speed on the starting and ending frames of the strafe cycle, in other words you'll gain only 1 frame going from 50 IAS up to 120. When a full strafe takes about 37 frames (10 arrows fired at 50 IAS) that is only a 2.7% improvement (1/37).




And...


Quote:








There is no /2 strafe, /3 is the fastest that the server actually processes. /2 is just a client-side graphical error.




BTW the bow we were discussing was a WF that I was going to hit 120 Ias for, until I heard this. With no Fanat at all btw.

So aim for 50 Ias.

Also with a WF, you can use LoH instead of those crafted gloves since you get another source of KB, that dmg to demons might help. You should be able to upgrade your helm as well.

Faith Mat bow would be better for PvP or a Multi Zon |||Are you strafezon or MS/Strafe? You're talking about 8/9 FPA BPs, which are the BPs for skills like MS, GA, and FA, not Strafe...

if you're pure strafe, then you can eschew IAS entirely since you have more than enough from the fanat on your bow alone. 2os Giant Skull with 2 +15 Max/XXX jewels (not 15 max/enhance damage, thats bugged) and either LoH for the +EDvD, or maybe Blood crafted gloves for 10% CB.

Also, you need a merc, its really not negotiable. The benefits they provide through tanking, damage, and especially auras are a substantial fraction of your total effectiveness. I really dont know why you have a problem with them "wandering off" either, and a properly equipped merc should be able to SOLO diablo relatively easy, let alone merely survive him. Tals helm, ebugged Treachery, and an elite Obedience in an A2 Might merc will be almost completely hands-free for you, and provide you with a substantial boost to your damage...if you can get him a Pride, even moreso.|||@crushingblow: thanks for the reply and link, really helped me a lot i was playing around with a windforce build yesterday and it's pretty cool. although i do wish i can shoot faster though, seems slow but i'm killing enemies pretty fast surprisingly

ya, mavs diadem is just a temporary thing for the ias, i'm trying to make a 120/45 helm so i can get that extra damage, my other option though is a kiras tiara i could really use the resistance badly

ya i starting to see that faith is more pvp oriented although it's still good for pvm. i just made myself a "wrath" bow and wow this is such a great weapon i'm starting to like it more than windforce :x the 30% ctc decrepify is so awesome.....

@droid: yea i'm a strafezon, sorry i don't know too much about zons too much but i hear a lot about breakpoints for strafe, MS, GA, that i just blend them all together i guess that isn't right thing to do hehe

oh i didn't know putting 40ed/15ias jewels in giantskull is bugged, that's good to know o.o

well i dont mind using the merc, they are very useful yes, but when i do nihlathalk runs or baal runs those vipers wipe him out, same with those succubus looking minions that are physical immune and shoot red balls (forgot their name) And with diablo, he gets killed by the firestorm. Although i gave my merc another try and seems to be doing fine, just playing carefully and tp'ing out when necessary.

i'm using ebugged fortitude atm, is treacher more better? and i'm using obedience as you suggested instead of reapers toll and it works really well |||ED/IAS jewels arent bugged, though 40/15s are almost assuredly duped

ED/+Max jewels are bugged, because the ED only applies to the +Max from the jewel

Vipers and Pit Witches can be annoying, yes, but just keep a couple of purples in your belt for your merc and you should be fine. Also, Call to Arms is extremely useful for keeping your merc alive, and apparently you can afford it. I'd stick with your current merc gear setup, eFort is much better than Treachery, and if you can get an eth elite Obedience, so much the better too.|||Quote:








BTW the bow we were discussing was a WF that I was going to hit 120 Ias for, until I heard this. With no Fanat at all btw.

So aim for 50 Ias.




Sorry, just to confirm, because I keep getting confused about this too.

according to the strafe IAS breakpoint guide, WindForce has 10wsm, which means:


Quote:




10 WSM Bow

0% IAS 15/4

3% IAS 14/4

11% IAS 13/3

26% IAS 12/3

42% IAS 11/3

46% IAS 10/3

80% IAS 9/3

120% IAS 9/2

157% IAS 8/2




But since there is no such thing as /2, the highest I can get is 9/3, in which case i need 80% IAS, but because WF has built in 20% IAS, all i'm really looking for is 60%?

thanks|||I wouldnt even bother with any BPs at all. Raw WF puts you at 13/3, even if you dont use any other IAS, the most you're shaving off going to 9/3 is four frames out of 43. Shael the WF and use LoH, and you get 3 of those 4; the last really isnt worth sacrificing other equipment.|||Quote:








Sorry, just to confirm, because I keep getting confused about this too.

according to the strafe IAS breakpoint guide, WindForce has 10wsm, which means:



But since there is no such thing as /2, the highest I can get is 9/3, in which case i need 80% IAS, but because WF has built in 20% IAS, all i'm really looking for is 60%?

thanks




Yes, 60 ias for 9/3. Those are calculated with the base weapon in mind, so any Ias modifiers on the bow will count towards your bp's.

I've been playing this build a lot lately and I agree with droid. Shael the WF, use a pair of LoH. 10/3 is more than enough, it's not worth the sacrifice elsewhere in your gear to get 1 extra starting frame.|||Personally, I just go for the: 26% IAS 12/3 (Wf and LoH).

Javazon - Armor Replacement Suggestions?

So I'm working my way through Hell (lvl 71 atm), really enjoying my Lightning Javazon. I used the Angelic set trio for twinking purposes, but have found it hard to part with some of the mods, even though I can probably do better, now that I've accumulated some currency. In short, what combination of reasonably-priced items would you recommend to replace my Angelic Mantle (chest), Angelic Halo (ring), and Angelic Wings (amulet). I would lose the following mods:

+1 skills

+95 life

+50 mana

+50% MF

+852 Atk Rating (12/level)

+10 dexterity

+ 50% fire resist

Dmg reduced by 3

+150 Def

20% Dmg taken goes to mana

I don't have any runes above Um at the moment, so Enigma or CoH aren't on the table =\

Thoughts?|||Smoke runeword will give you great resists. Lionheart runeword will give you resist and stats. Skin of the Viper Magi will give +1 to all skills and resists. For rings, Ravenfrost if you don't have it already. Dwarf Star gives decent safety. Nagelring for mf. A magic ring with +mana. Amulets, Eye of Etlich for +1 to all skills. Or any rare/magic amulet with +Amazon skills.|||I'd say skin of the vipermagi for your armor...highlord's for ammy...ravenfrost for one ring and a manald for the other. Then you can save up your funds for a CoH and hopefully find yourself a dual leetch ring.

HoS|||Thanks for the suggestions. I should have mentioned that I do have a Ravenfrost (great choice), Shako, Titan's, Spirit shield, Razortail and LoH.

I can nab a Vipermagi from another character, and since my resists are sorta low, I may socket it with an Um. I'll also target a +Ama skills ammy.

Amazon God of Fire

I had been reading in the battlemaid guide about an amazon that uses trangs parts, phoenix shield, and wiz spike. Does anyone know what kind of skills this type of zon would use?|||First, it's a very strange and probably weak build. So be warned.

The skills this amazon would use are the same as the battlemaid guide suggests. If I remember correct, the battlemaid guide is focused around zeal as an attack skills and combines zeal with strong tanking abilities through the passives.

Your suggestion has the same focus on taking abilities through the passives - so that's high valk and decoy, and points in dodge, evade avoid* - though it uses the fire skills from trangs as the attack part rather then zeal - this means btw that you don't want points in critical strike and penetrate.



*:maxing these out is good for 102 points. however, diminishin return hit hard with skills like d/e/a. So you may want to consider getting a second attack from somekind to counter fire immune monsters.|||I cannot imagine how much this build would suck, though, with only L18 FB/L13 FW without +3 Fire Mastery (full set, which Zons cannot complete)

You'll be doing a couple hundred fire damage, even with lots of +skills and facets and Phoenix. Other than kicks and giggles, why would you do this when zons have Exploding Arrow, which will do exactly the same as FB but to much better effect? And, honestly, you'll do more elemental damage with Harmony and 1-pt Strafe than you ever can with Trangs' Fireball/wall....hell, Kuko and a couple +fire damage SCs will do more than that would with just regular Attack.

edit: oh and dont forget Zons have the worst base cast rate of any class...|||Thanks for the info|||BTW, is there a good fire build out there for a zon?|||not really, fire is rather underpowered compared to ice since Immo Arrow is timered and doesnt freeze targets...check the stickies for Magezon (Fire+Cold arrows) or just build a Frostmaiden or Fishyzon, but instead of FA, pump Exploding Arrow.|||Just entered act5 nm with my magezon and it's has been easy going so far.

I have fire arrow and exploding maxed and using them as main for now. In the process of maxing Frozen arrow and cold arrow. 1pt in prereqs, crit, penetrate, pierce, dodge, evade but not avoid.

Using

harmony bow in +2 bow skill mat bow

+2 bow 20ias res gloves

razortail

peace in dusk

crescent moon amu

2 random crap rings

random crap circlet

random crap boots

misc crap charms

So as you see very cheap items. Will be interesting to see if I can make it in hell... might need some upgrades.

~80 str

~180dex

~100 vit

buriza, a viable weapon in hell mode?

i was wondering is buriza a good crossbow for hell mode? I was looking at the stats and it like almost like a windforce except in a crossbow, the most defining feature on the bow is the 80ias it comes which is pretty sweet

if it works like this, then all i need is an additional 40ias from gear (gloves & amulet or helm) then i will reach the 120ias bp easily

well the only thing that makes me sketchy about this is that i hear crossbows arent that great for strafing and are a tad "slower" than bows |||crossbows are capped in terms of speed as compared to bows which potentially can attack faster. but buriza is still a decent weapon, even non-upgraded.

it may strafe slower, but if you're careful enough to distance yourself + knockback, it shouldn't be a problem.|||I've always thought it was the best budget weapon. What other comparable options are there below stuff like WF and faith?|||wws, there should be a guide somewhere (witchwild string)|||Quote:








I've always thought it was the best budget weapon. What other comparable options are there below stuff like WF and faith?




Eaglehorn is a very viable options as well. Witchwild String is another one. I prefer Eaglehorn and Buriza over WWS though.|||Eaglehorn looks good. I've tried WWS and seen the guide and the DS/amp combo makes sense, in reality though amp doesn't proc enough to make up for the crap damage. I tested both for a while using weapon swap, and burrito cannon seemed to kill faster.|||Yes, Buriza is viable. Upgrade it if you want, either way it will work.

Kinda OT here, but since this turned into a bow discussion...So if you use an Eagle, your AR is moot right? Because of the ITD?

So a Vita build around Eagle would be do-able you'd just have to find a way to get more damage from it since you wont be pumping dex too much? I guess Fort over CoH would be mandatory in that case.

Putting a Jah in a WF would accomplish the same thing right?|||Quote:








Yes, Buriza is viable. Upgrade it if you want, either way it will work.

Kinda OT here, but since this turned into a bow discussion...So if you use an Eagle, your AR is moot right? Because of the ITD?

So a Vita build around Eagle would be do-able you'd just have to find a way to get more damage from it since you wont be pumping dex too much? I guess Fort over CoH would be mandatory in that case.

Putting a Jah in a WF would accomplish the same thing right?




itd doesn't work on uniques, champs, super uniques n bosses. so ar still plays a part. =)|||Buriza ownz.. clears 8p hell cs very fast, check it out:

|||awesome, thanks for the replies everyone i think i might give buriza a try, seem's like a fun crossbow to use hmmmm :o

so i was wondering what How much ias should i aim for? including buriza's wias it comes with?

@zrk: that vid is pretty cool although i don't like how he skipped that physical immune in the beggining his gear is pretty sweet but quite costly

Piercing attack - don't need Pierce skill?

My bow Amazon started using her new bow - Kuko Shakaku and I noticed something. It has Piercing attack (50) as an attribute. Does this mean I can skip putting points into the Pierce skill until I start using a bow that doesn't have a piercing attack?

OR does the bow attribute and the skill work together additionally? Could I add the razortail belt for even more?

Once I hit 30 and unlocked the best skills, I've found myself wishing I had more skill points to spare.|||Quote:








My bow Amazon started using her new bow - Kuko Shakaku and I noticed something. It has Piercing attack (50) as an attribute. Does this mean I can skip putting points into the Pierce skill until I start using a bow that doesn't have a piercing attack?




The pierce on the bow and the pierce from the skill are identical. They stack by a simply addition - same with razortails btw.


Quote:




Once I hit 30 and unlocked the best skills, I've found myself wishing I had more skill points to spare.




For what skills do you need all those points? With the 50 pierce, more then one point is over kill at lvl 30. Though I would still try to get one point in there. It should be a much large increase then a point elsewhere.|||I always recommend at least the 1-pt into Pierce, it will get boosted by +skills gear and stack with any other Pierce mods you have from equipment..|||The only time you dont put 1 pt in Pierce is if you're planning on sticking with Buriza, which has 100% pierce

Otherwise all your Pierce sources add together. Generally the rule of thumb is 9 points in Pierce after +skills to reach 100% pierce with Razortail, since no endgame bows have innate pierce

Wanting To Build A Frostmaiden.

Thanks to anyone who can help me out with this; I have been away for far too long from D2 and just recently found my way back home to it after a...five year or so undesired "sabbatical" from the game and last night I allowed myself to put the game back on my computer and made an amazon that I am hoping to be able to level up into a decent frostmaiden.

I have a few questions so please forgive me if I come off as sounding like a complete idiot- I have been reading over the forums for a few hours and finally bit the bullet and made an account because I thought this might be easier then just digging for the info the way I have been most of the morning. I spent a good few years being a fool for this game but after all the time away I remember enough just to be confused. >.<

One- I am eyeballing making the runeword Ice later on and wanted to know if anyone had/knew a good strategy to build a decent frostmaiden for that bow. I found this thread that I believe I am going to use:

http://diablo.incgamers.com/forums/s...d.php?t=614373

and just wondered if anyone had any thoughts/suggestions/ideas/feedback to leave. I considered other runewords and other bows already- I have made up my mind about what I want to build, I would just like to have some decent feedback on how to do it the best way possible, from the beginning.

I believe at this point I am level twelve with the character- the first zon I ever built was a clusterfrak and I want to build this one right from the very beginning. I have been hording points (I believe I put some in dex already as well as one in cold arrow) until I could get some good advice on where to put what when and such. I saw that now we can respec (something I goobered over since if I had my original Radiant now I could just remake her- but alas!) so I am guessing that I could always just try to build her and if I am not happy then take advantage of that but I believe in trying to do things right the first time around.

I would appreciate any ideas and suggestions for a good strategy that I can start now- like should I keep hording the points until a certain level or should I start to place them now?

And any ice/frostmaidens that are out there now- do you have any words of wisdom for me? I had a level ninety a few years ago but she was my very first character and I really messed her up; by the time she was in the eighties I had hobbled her considerably just because I did not start out with any definite goals in mind- so any help now would be sorely appreciated.

I am trying to nail down a strategy now, while I am still in the early stages, so any help in how to build her stats would be greatly loved. (My strategy now, as far as I have one, is an Act II Holy Freeze Merc with an aim to max out Valkyrie.) So far I am thinking my ideal stats would look like this:

Strength: 87 is about all I am focused on, since I want Ice.

Dexterity: Around 320?

Vitality: Ranging from 100 to 150?

Energy: Base?

I have officially read so much my eyes have crossed. @.@ I would sorely appreciate any one that can suggest if I am on the right track or if I am on the boat to Screwedville.

Thanks!
|||Ah man, I really wanted to leave some constructive information but honestly, I found the italics got so annoying that I couldn't finish reading the whole (long) thing and actually had to reply about it, so that's my first tip...



Basically, with respecs now do yourself a huge favor and don't hoard any stat/skill points like the old days, you'll be weak and frustrated until later levels; just use whatever you have then tweak it later if you have to; it's free for the first 3 times anyways.

Also, you mentionned the runeword Ice; though it seems like an excellent bow for the build, I don't suggest necessarily building your first character around one specific weapon requiring HR(s), because odds are if you're just starting out again (and not cheating) you won't be able to afford it for some time... Better to plan a character around the skills first, determine suitable gear options, then obtain stuff as you go depending on luck, wealth, and availability.

That's all I got for now but I have little experience with pure bowazons so I'm sure someone else could have more details for you.|||wow i think the tl;dr there is "been away for 5 years, and need general advice for building a frostmaiden" No one likes it when anyone just posts an overabbreviated text-speak "need hlp plz", but there's a certain point where being too garrulous will come off just as obnoxious...

To echo, Ice is definitely something that will take a LONG time to save up for, so dont plan on getting one. With respec, I'd start off with a hybrid build (LF/CS/Strafe or LF/CS/FA) or a MS/Strafer, all the guides you need are in the stickies, and you can respec later when you eventually acquire an Ice MB. You're on the right track more or less with stats...although you probably wont need that much VIT ultimately, I dont think.|||OP - I think you've got it sorted out pretty well. Thing is, the beauty of this game is the random drops, so, especially as a first character, you're just at the mercy of what pops up and gambling with whatever money you have. Maybe you'll get lucky and find some items with trade worth. Save those PGems and runes!

As far as getting ICE, you probably won't find the exact runes you'll need to make it, even with a long long time of playing. So hope you find some other high runes to trade for the ones you want, or some elite items that you can trade for them. Even once you get the runes, putting them in the right bow is critical, and finding it can be a capital bee-itch. Most people say to use a Grand Matron bow because of the +amazon skills.

In between that, and as you level, there are some good budget bows and other equipment that fit the Frostmaiden theme.|||Hey!

Ive just recently started again too but anyways I made FrostMaiden (Ice, Nightwing etc) last season (1.12) and i can give a few pointers:

First try and get a Full Mavs set. You probably can pick all this up for around Um-Mal, hopefully ul get a lucky HF This set is a great start to a Frostmaiden and can serve you well throughout hell.

Now Cold Immunes... on my character I used Strafe to deal with these and a Might Merc, its rare you will come across a dual immune but you can use Magic Arrow to deal with those.

Another problem is Mana, Freezing Arrow is costly and to cover this an Insight on your Merc and a Dual Leech ring will help.

To get the highest possible attack speed you want to make your Ice bow in a Mat Bow +3 skills as its easier to get the maxium frame for Freezing Arrow a, now I cant remember the exact IAS you need but I think its around 50.

Charm wise you want to stack as many Bow skiller you can find, they go really cheap, now for Cold charms you want a few to add more 'Freeze' time as in Hell its drastically reduced.

Gearing up for Hell id get as many + skill mods as you can find, this will also add points to Pierce which really adds the damage up when Freezing Arrow goes through groups.

For end game gear I suggest Nightwings Veil (highest cold dmg you can get) socketed with 15ias/ED jewel, Highlords, Chains of Honour, Ice, 2 SOJ's/Raven/Duel Leech, +2/20ias gloves, Boots your choice but i went with Travs, Razortail

Good luck on your Frostmaiden Ive just bin on mine on Non Ladder and I had a right blast! |||Quote:








Basically, with respecs now do yourself a huge favor and don't hoard any stat/skill points like the old days, you'll be weak and frustrated until later levels; just use whatever you have then tweak it later if you have to; it's free for the first 3 times anyways.

Also, you mentionned the runeword Ice; though it seems like an excellent bow for the build, I don't suggest necessarily building your first character around one specific weapon requiring HR(s), because odds are if you're just starting out again (and not cheating) you won't be able to afford it for some time... Better to plan a character around the skills first, determine suitable gear options, then obtain stuff as you go depending on luck, wealth, and availability.

That's all I got for now but I have little experience with pure bowazons so I'm sure someone else could have more details for you.




Yeah, I know- I read that I type too much on every forum I post in. xD I tend to be a bit more thorough and detailed-minded on everything I do, it seems. I just really wanted to slap up what I had pretty much mapped out for myself and see what more current opinions I would get in return. It has been so long since I played that I just wanted to try to get as much feedback as possible- instead of chopping it up into little posts I just thought one long one would be better.

Thanks for the tips, by the way- especially with hoarding the points; that is how I used to do it and I'd rather not, especially now that I know you have three free respecs. Thank you for telling me that, I did not know that and I am glad I do. @.@ I thought there was only one, for some reason; I have no idea where I got the idea that you could only pick the quest up once...but somewhere along the lines I did.

I appreciate your feedback and the tip about not hoarding points. As for the Ice bow that I want being expensive- I completely agree and I know I probably will not end up getting it (or at least not anytime soon) because for one I do not have as much free time as I used to when I first started to play and for another I am not sure if I could rustle up good enough items to trade for whatever I need anyway (not going to rely on drops because I doubt I could get all the stuff I need for it, not with my MF). I am not gonna cheat, this is just the item I want to have as my goal- the "dream item", so to speak. Before it was the entire Mav's set, which was nice, but this time I would like to try something a little different.

Thus, Ice.

I am building her around skills first, which seems to be working out pretty well so far. I got lucky my first time around because I had some friends that had been playing for a long while before me and I pretty much had the full Mav's set in my inventory, waiting on me to put on as I leveled; this time I do not have that and rather enjoy the challenge I have in front of me.

Thanks again for the tips. ^.^ Sorry I hurt your eyes. xD



Quote:








To echo, Ice is definitely something that will take a LONG time to save up for, so dont plan on getting one. With respec, I'd start off with a hybrid build (LF/CS/Strafe or LF/CS/FA) or a MS/Strafer, all the guides you need are in the stickies, and you can respec later when you eventually acquire an Ice MB. You're on the right track more or less with stats...although you probably wont need that much VIT ultimately, I dont think.




Got ya. ^.^ Duly noted on typing too much; I get that all the time, I just abhor text-speak and generally thought this would be better. Again, I am detailed-oriented and I keep forgetting people do not like to read like I do. xD

Yeah, I know Ice will be hard (if not impossible) to get at the rate I am currently going. I just meant that is what I am projecting for. I really like the idea about just respecing later if I can eventually get one. Very good idea- I am thinking about going as a strafer, in my current mood. I played with MS some as well on my first cold zon but I think I ended up preferring strafing in the end. Thanks for the tip about vitality- the more I read up later after posting this the more I started thinking that, too.



Quote:








OP - I think you've got it sorted out pretty well. Thing is, the beauty of this game is the random drops, so, especially as a first character, you're just at the mercy of what pops up and gambling with whatever money you have. Maybe you'll get lucky and find some items with trade worth. Save those PGems and runes!

As far as getting ICE, you probably won't find the exact runes you'll need to make it, even with a long long time of playing. So hope you find some other high runes to trade for the ones you want, or some elite items that you can trade for them. Even once you get the runes, putting them in the right bow is critical, and finding it can be a capital bee-itch. Most people say to use a Grand Matron bow because of the +amazon skills.

In between that, and as you level, there are some good budget bows and other equipment that fit the Frostmaiden theme.




Thank you very for the tips. ^.^ Yeah, I have already started to hoard what runes I have found and I remember how PGems were valuable; I was very pleased to come back to the game and find that much had not changed. xD

What you mentioned about trading and such for what I would need for Ice is pretty much how I am hoping to do it. I remember trying to put together a BotD a long while back and sometimes I thought it would be finding the perfect bow that would be the hard part, not hunting the runes. >.< I was thinking of aiming for the GM bow for that very reason.

You rock. ^.^ I appreciate your posting and feedback. Have a good week!



Quote:








Hey!

Ive just recently started again too but anyways I made FrostMaiden (Ice, Nightwing etc) last season (1.12) and i can give a few pointers:

First try and get a Full Mavs set. You probably can pick all this up for around Um-Mal, hopefully ul get a lucky HF This set is a great start to a Frostmaiden and can serve you well throughout hell.

Now Cold Immunes... on my character I used Strafe to deal with these and a Might Merc, its rare you will come across a dual immune but you can use Magic Arrow to deal with those.

Another problem is Mana, Freezing Arrow is costly and to cover this an Insight on your Merc and a Dual Leech ring will help.

To get the highest possible attack speed you want to make your Ice bow in a Mat Bow +3 skills as its easier to get the maxium frame for Freezing Arrow a, now I cant remember the exact IAS you need but I think its around 50.

Charm wise you want to stack as many Bow skiller you can find, they go really cheap, now for Cold charms you want a few to add more 'Freeze' time as in Hell its drastically reduced.

Gearing up for Hell id get as many + skill mods as you can find, this will also add points to Pierce which really adds the damage up when Freezing Arrow goes through groups.

For end game gear I suggest Nightwings Veil (highest cold dmg you can get) socketed with 15ias/ED jewel, Highlords, Chains of Honour, Ice, 2 SOJ's/Raven/Duel Leech, +2/20ias gloves, Boots your choice but i went with Travs, Razortail

Good luck on your Frostmaiden Ive just bin on mine on Non Ladder and I had a right blast!




Heya. ^.^ Thank you guys for posting- I appreciate all the help I can get and after reading what you guys wrote I feel much better about what I have in mind.

I adored Mav's. I had the full set years back and really loved that set; I agree with everything you said about it. Thanks for tips on what runes I can maybe aim to trade it for; I have been out of the loop so long I pretty much feel like I know just enough to confuse myself more then if I was completely new.

I really appreciate the tips on how to deal with immunes and the tip about the ring and what gear you would recommend. Mana is already seeming to be the biggest issue here; I do not remember it being so bad on my original cold zon but I had much better gear, too. I did not even want to try to think about what gear to aim for because at this point in the game I feel like I am too low-level to worry about it. I was hoping someone like you would post, someone who has a good grasp on what I am wanting to do and had some good gear ideas. Playing with the stats and the skills are one thing...it's a whole other mess to start thinking about what gear and such. @.@

Thank you for wishing me good luck. ^.^ I am glad you are having fun with your Frostmaiden- thanks for the tips and being so nice! Good luck on this Ladder (if you are playing) and your Non-Ladder- thanks again for all the help!
|||So...many..words....|||Yeah, I am a little on the wordy side. >.<

Now I kinda wish I had not posted so much but at least I got some viable feedback. xD

Take care!
|||Some items I thought of

Endlesshail - bow, usable at 36, cold damage and the name fits, loved using this on my Amazon

Duress - runeword body armor, Shael Um Thul, usable at 49, has cold damage and tons of other great mods

You might find a good deal on a Buriza too, that's a great xbow for the Frostmaiden theme.

Ravenfrost rings, awesome, with cold damage

Eye of Etlich, cold damage amulet with +skills and a hidden bonus I've heard about|||loquacious is one thing...

but you see this button? [I] Resist the urge to click it before you start typing.

Stressing every single word you type is just about as bad as SHOUTING EVERY SINGLE WORD

A sans-serif font is also much easier on the eyes to read, especially when you're typing so much.