Hello, I'm a longtime lurker who suddenly decided to write a guide.
All characters I play are soloed through all difficultys and often without little twinkage (simply because I rarely have any "money").
I read and tried both the LF/PJ Javazon and the WS K MF-er. While I liked them both the first one lacked bosskilling potential and the second had the problem that I simply do not like switching weapons all the time and the damage on Freezing Arrow was kinda shoddy with +13 skills.
So I decided I'd create a hybrid instead and it works surprisingly well. The build has a few problems of course but most do after all.
Anyway.
Pros
- Awesome AoE in Lightning Fury and Plague Javelin.
- Good single target damage in Charged Strike.
- Can solo all areas even though some places like
Maggot Lair will be a major hassle.
Cons
- Souls are Poison/Lightning Immune so either you'll just have to
run or you need a well-geared merc and a good spear on switch.
Jab also works but nonethless it'll be slow.
- Kinda slow against smaller groups too.
- High focus on having the right kind of gear, +skills > everything else.
Can manage without good stuff but doesn't get terribly effective in hell
until you got at least +8-10 skills. In other words there are better builds
for your first character. There are on the other hand also much worse.
Stats
No surprises here.
Strength for gear (Probably 156 for a monarch but could be around 100 if you're gonna use a Mosers instead or even lower if you have a Torch, Anni and a spare Tyraels Might.)
Dexterity for max block
Rest Vitality
Base energy
Skills
20 Charged Strike
20 Lightning Fury
20 Plague Javelin
20 Poison Javelin
1 Pierce
5 Prereqs
This means the build is done at roughly lvl 75.
From here you'll have 10-20 more points to spend depending on how much leveling you can stand.
What you do with those points depends on how rich you are and what you want to do with the build.
D/A/E - Always a solid choice, especially if you have lots of +skills. I'd probably put at least 1 in each but add more if you like going toe-to-toe with your foes.
Valkyrie - You could reach lvl 17 with good gear, hell you could put points in D/A/E and still get 17 in Valk with good enough stuff. I'm not too sure the build needs it though, I've cleared WS K without neither Valk nor merc. It is handy in the Throne Room though.
Decoy - Instead of a Valk simply using decoys could be a nice addition since they keep the mobs away from you and your poor merc.
Pierce - Getting 100% pierce is good so if you don't have a Razortail yet or if your +skills arent enough with it (You need +8 skills with Razor to get 100%, +30 skills aren't enough without...) you could always add some points here.
Charged Strike synergies - For faster bosskilling, if you can reach +20 Java skills this probably is a solid choice, you could after all with enough work max out a synergy for a crazy 200% damage increase to it. If you got a Enigma also then screw sorces for farming bosses.
Fend - If the souls (one of the few mobs more or less immune to this build) irks you enough that you feel you have to kill them having a spear on switch and getting a few points in Fend could help you sleep better. Problem is of course that the build uses none of the gear normally associated with melee characters. But with enough +skills and maybe some points in Penetrate you'll do ok. Also there's the Fend-bug which means D/A/E gets much worse if you pick up a spear, on the other hand you'll have no defensive capabilities whatsoever so it'll really only be against souls and similar.
That should be it for skills, if someone has a idea for a good complementing skill please tell me about it.
Gear
Before we get into examples of what to wear some breakpoints would probably be in order.
According to this topic here you need 10, 30 and 50 IAS for a 10, 9 and 8 frame attack respectively.
Getting 50 IAS shouldn't be terribly hard if you put your mind to it but 30 is alright too.
The block rates are 13, 32, and 86 for 4, 3 and 2 frames.
FHR isn't that needed since you got max block usually and you shouldn't be up in the mobs faces anyway. But here goes;
Frames FHR
11 0
10 6
9 13
8 20
7 32
6 52
5 86
4 174
3 600
Anyway, except for a bit of IAS what we want is mainly lots of skills and enough resists that we can survive in hell as usual.
Helm
Crown of Ages - Skills, resists, FHR, DR, slots for more resists/FHR. What's not to like? Oh right, the strength recquirement. If you use a Spirit you might as well pop in a few points more though. It's also pretty expensive if you want good resists and 2 slots.
Kira's Guardian is a cheaper CoA with loads of resists and a bit of FHR. Oh, and Cannot Be Frozen freeing up a ring-slot.
Use Griffon's Eye if you for some reason fancy having even more Lightning Damage. It's pure offense though so plan the rest of your gear for it.
The same goes for Andariels' Visage with its +2 skills and 20% IAS. Be mindful of the -30% Fire Res though.
Shako - A cheaper alternative but +2 skills and 50% MF is of course never wrong.
An even cheaper alternative is Peasant Crown, it does have +1 skill and FRW so it's perfectly useable.
Armor
Top of the line is of course Enigma but the build works very well without it. But if I had the money I'd get one without blinking.
Bramble with Trang-Oul gloves can make for some fun poison damage, it lacks +skills on the other hand but if Plague Javelin is your favourite part of the build go ahead.
Tyrael's Might is without a doubt pretty awesome and has everything you could possibly want from a armor except for the lack of skills. On the other hand the CBF means you can let go of the Ravenfrost and use another BK or SoJ instead.
Peace (Shael+Thul+Amn) is a good cheaper alternative, +2 skills is always nice.
Duriel's Shell and Shaftstop are two other good cheaper armors, when you get a better one stick it on your merc instead.
Skullder's Ire is the eternal choice for MF'ers and has +1 skill so if you haven't got anything else or wears a Shako already it's a viable choice.
You could use Skin of the Viper Magi of course thanks to +skill and resists but there are without a doubt better choices.
Shield
Stormshield and Mosers Blessed Circle are two good defensive shields, Mosers is cheap too and has rather low str req. (53 against Stormshields 156)
On the other hand Spirit gives you skills, FHR and resists and you can easily make one yourself with a little work.
Before that Rhyme (CBF, 25% resist all. Shal+Eth) or Whitstan's Guard (if you want max block more than resists) works well.
Weapon
Titan's Revenge is the only logical choice really with its skills, FRW, +20 Dex and so on.
Thunderstroke is good for bosses and can be kept on switch.
If you want to use a spear on switch instead for LI/PI-mobs you can't go wrong with a Arioc's Needle.
Then there's always Call to Arms with a Spirit if you got some money to spare.
Before you get your Titans you'll do fine with javelins bought in the store, all your damage is magicbased and doesn't care about AR after all.
Belt
Razortail is what you'll usually use unless you have obscene amounts of +skills.
Since it's cheap and easy to find low alternatives are irrelevant.
Arachnid Mesh is what you'll use if you do have obscene amounts of +skills and lots of points put in Pierce. Honestly the difference in damage from +1 skill is so small that you'll do better just respeccing and strapping on your Razortail instead.
If you really need that last 10% IAS to get a 8 frame attack Nosferatu's Coil could work too.
To be honest when you reach +8 skills or so the majority of your attacks will pierce anyway so getting a lower frame on your attacks might be a better idea.
Gloves
What you'll want is a pair of +2 java skills, 20% IAS gloves. Craft a pair, gamble them
or whatever but just make sure you�ll get ahold of a pair. Meanwhile...
Bloodfist is I guess your first stop or if you really need that FHR.
Frostburns is another cheap alternative if you need more mana.
Trang-Oul's Claws is like I mentioned a fun pick while waiting for those +2 java gloves since they make sure your poison damage stays relevant.
There is also Thundergod's Vigor if you're really that scared of souls or want a extra push to LF, perhaps useable with Griffon's Eye?
Boots
Marrowwalks, Waterwalks, Sandstorm Treks, whatever strikes your fancy really. Use what you need here, hell Tearhaunches are cool if you really need resists.
Preferrable though is a pair of blood boots since you can get resists, LL and FRW that way.
Then there's always War Travelers if you're gonna MF.
Amulet
Mara's Kaleidoscope really, kinda expensive but well worth it if you can afford one. Otherwise I'd gamble a +skills/resists amulet and use while I save money.
On the other hand there's the 50% IAS breakpoint to shoot for so Cat's Eye and especially Higlord's Wrath could be interesting with their +20% IAS and HW's +1 skill and 30% Lightning Res. They're cheaper than Mara's too.
Rings
Raven Frost is of course great for its Dex and Cannot Be Frozen.
Other than that SoJ and Bul Kathos are of course great, more skills is always useful.
Natures Peace can be cool too due to Monsters Rest In Peace. You can always have one in your inventory for certain areas.
Also there's the matter of set items which I thought I'd cover down here.
Two or three parts of IK are pretty nice for example. The belt gives good resists and lots of strength and the gloves gets you +25% IAS with two parts. Preferrable though is the boots with +life, FRW and 25% mf with two parts. Nonethless crafted gloves, Razortail/Nosferatus and Treks/Blood boots are always better but if you haven't got that yet.
Then we have Mavina's where the diadem is of particular interest since it has +30% IAS and +1 skill with another part. What part to use could be a problem though. The armor can be nice with its +2 to Passive/Magic (If you're getting a Valk for example) and so can the belt with its FRW (Rare on a belt to say the least) but to be honest Mavina's really isn't that impressive for this build.
Finally remember the jewels, if you're fond of your Razortail there's always a +15%IAS/30%ED jewel or similar you can fit in your helm.
To be honest I've never had much interest in jewels, crafts and stuffing my inventory full of charms but for those of you who do I suggest getting your last resists this way (I don't ignore resists charms though, not that stupid
, especially if you're using a Spirit instead of Stormshield or Mosers.If you can get a Torch and Anni that'll help the build immensely of course, thankfully a torch isn't that expensive these days either. Anni on the otehr hand...
Mercenary
The only ones I'd recommend are Act 2 Mercs, specifically Defiance, Holy Freeze and Prayer.
The Defiance mercs generally survive the longest but Holy Freeze mercs gives amazing control. Finally there's the Prayer merc with a Insight which is a terrific choice if you're playing lots in parties. Since prayer synergies with the Meditation in Insight you'll get double healing.
And unless you're ok with chugging pots like crazy even on higher levels a Insight is a good investment anyway so a prayer merc could be the best choice unless you really want a holy freeze one. If you are ok with chugging pots Reapers Toll and Kelpie Snare are as usual good choices instead.
If you're filthy rich there's always the runewords Doom on a defiance one and Infinity on a freeze merc, though the conviction aura doesn't lower poison resists so it is of less use than one might think.
My favourite merc armor has always been Shaftstop but I heard Fortitude is kewl if you can afford it. Honestly though. Kelpie Snare, Rockstopper and Shaftstop will get your merc through hell easily.
If you can get a Reapers Toll/good Insight, a eth Shaftstop/Stone and a Blackhorns Face/Andariels Visage you're set.
Leveling
I'd start with getting a spear and putting a point in jab. It gets you to level 6 quickly. At 6 you can get Poison Javelin, a fine skill early on. 5 points in it should be enough, then save your points for Charged Strike and Plague Javelin at 18, 10 points in each should be affordable. At 30 it's 1 in Pierce and then you max out LF. You'll be doing baalruns here though most likely. Nightmare will be a breeze with with your high LF. After LF I'd max CS and PJ.
Now we're level 70-75 after more baalruns and ready to tackle Hell. After you've maxed Poison Javelin the question is where to spend your last skill points. Luckily the guide covers that too.
Strategy
I am not a expert javazon player but I do well enough that I very rarely die and can solo all areas in hell without merc/valk. Neither am I rich, higher runewords than Spirit is usually beyond my reach.
Anyway, map Charged Strike to your left button and LF/PJ to your right.
If the enemies aren't immune to poison nor lightning I open up with a PJ, herd them a bit and run to a good position for LF whereafter I unleash the fury in their faces. After a few LF I pop another PJ, run up and finish off the last one with Charged Strike.
Against bosses I usually just keep up PJ and stab them with CS.
Since Plague Javelin does 20-40k over 15-20 secs I throw a PJ on lightning immunes and just wait for them to die while I finish off the others.
A quick reminder is that hitting LIs procs LF too so PJ, quick shift to LF and kill all the non-LIs.
If they're immune to poison just position yourself and use LF. If it's a small group of PIs use CS instead.
Really, there's nothing special to the playing style. Just make sure you move around a lot and practice angles with LF. Plague Javelin also needs a bit of practice since the hit-box is rather odd, everything the spear hits gets poisoned and then everything that stands in the green clouds when they spawn, not when they're trickling off. Seeing LIs run through 5 poison clouds without turning green will piss you off no doubt but just throw another spear at them.
Areas I recommend for the build is Worldstone Keep even though there's souls there, just start a new game or run past them. There's just so many friggin mobs running around there it's a LF paradise. The LIs dies in one PJ anyway.
The Cow Level goes without saying, just be careful with the PJ. I've almost killed the king a couple of times.
Nihlathak works wonders too, he dies in a single LF if you aim it right.
On the other hand Council is best left for other builds, as is Maggot Lair and the Pit. (Too many LI's, there's better places to farm anyway)
She is more or less my Baal and Cowrunner, it's what she excels at so I'll leave the other areas to other characters.
Well I hope someone out there will find the guide useful. I'd happily update it if I get feedback on how to better it. Also be nice, it's my first guide.
|||I saw that there were no comments... so here's one... btw, jab = 1 hit wonder, could take care of the souls...|||Yeah I guess, Jab is automatically in the build anyway.Anyway, I'm fully aware this guide is nothing special and perhaps adds nothing new but I'd like to hear that then. I'm a big boy and if the forumgoers here think it blows I'd like to hear that. Preferrably I'd also like to hear what's wrong with it so I can learn something. The guide was partly for myself so I could gather what I knew about the build and I thought I might as well share.
A reaming would be fine but zero replies felt kinda harsh...|||I run a similar build in pvp which hits a higher fcr bp, but that isn't necessary for pvm. One thing I did notice is that this build has very low ias, I'd personally try to hit at least 55% ias since it will make your lightning skills do that much more damage and it's just fun playing like a machine gunner. Maybe swap out maras for highlords or cat's eye, 2jav 20ias gloves, nosferatu's belt, and a 15ias jewel in either the helm or ss to exceed the 55% bp. The increased speed with titans would also make it easier to take out the phys/light immunes.
You should really work decoy into your build too, since they are great at distracting monsters so you can poison/herd them and do bad things to them.
I'm not sure anymore, but I believe that fend is bugged to miss if you go in dodge animation (which is lame because it almost completely ruins 2 handed spear builds
).Other than that, nice guide, its a fun and pretty effective build.|||Thanks, I guess I should add breakpoint tables and what to shoot for.
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