Help on my Bowazon build!

[DaveTheGreat]

Help on my Bowazon build!

First off I HAVE read the guides, the ones that seemed to apply to me anyways. And they just left me more confused :cry:

I had a bowazon way back in the day, and they have always been my favorite variety of character. So now as my paladin hits level 85, I feel I should remake my beloved bowazon. I don't really know how to do this, its been a long time since i've played... so i'm just going to say what I was going to do, and then ask a bunch of questions

I wanted to make a amazon that utilizes strafe, and thats about all I knew. The guides left me with more questions than answers :grin:

How much do I put into strength?

Should I really not put any into vitality?

What other skills do I use? And how much should I put into them?

Whats all this I keep hearing about IAS? And why is it so important to strafe?

Is strafe fun?

Are my questions stupid?

Well thats about all, someone needs to write a bowazon guide for dumies rop:. I actually do have some fairly decent equips I could get for her, more if I trade off junk on mules. Thanks for reading T_T

 

[KhalidasRevenge]

Re: Help on my Bowazon build!

You sound like I did when I started playing D2X again after 5 years lol. Its ok...we have to get started again somewhere. Anyways, as for your zon:

-Strafe IS an alternative to Multi but can be quite a pain...although some ppl perfer strafe I suggest you use multi because with Strafe you will get caught in Strafe-Lock (once you use strafe you cannot move/stop firing until strafe is complete) and this can mean death in normal and nightmare - WILL mean death in Hell. Also, I personally prefer Multi bc you can hit multiple targets at once.

-IAS is important for a zon no matter what skill you use (guided arrow/strafe/multi...so on and so on) so you can set off volleys of arrows - quicker you shoot, more arrows = more dmg. Kill them before they get you. Plus no one likes having zero killing speed. There are several breakpoints in IAS - the most important being 105% IAS. You can hit this easily if you find a good bow with high IAS (ie goldstrike) and use a few other items. There are quite a few gloves with 20% IAS that are cheap/easy to get.

-As for stats (str, dex, etc): get enough STR for your equip. If you can get windforce you will need 115 (I think-trying to remember off the top of my head). STR doesnt matter otherwise - all your dmg comes from DEX. DEX - just pump it, the more DEX the more dmg. As for VIT, if you feel more comfortable with having more life, put 100 or so into VIT. Really it is on your playstyle. Dont waste a single point into Energy. As long as you can get some decent leech gear you should be good (vamp gaze is good for this).

-Skills: 1 into pre-reqs, max multi/strafe(whichever you use), max guided arrow(for bosses/single enemies), some ppl like to use frozen arrow but I put one in just for the freeze ability. Its up to you if you want to use valk but I would put 1 pt into all passive tree except critical strike/penetrate/pierce - put a couple into pierce and critical strike - max penetrate for the AR increase. (this will ensure all your arrows hit)

I read alot of guides too when I made my zon not too long ago (my first since original D2) and this is the general guidelines I followed and it worked out pretty well for me - anyways goodluck :thumbsup:

 

[skilledlord]

Re: Help on my Bowazon build!

I am believing you are player versus monster player. I would pick strafe over multi arrows. Multi arrow takes up a huge amount of mana and there is no extra damage from it. For strafe, you get extra damage. This allows you to kill more monsters faster even if you are not using the top bows in the DII Expansion game. When I used strafe, I hired myself a good mercenary, act 2 holy freeze, nightmare, defensive. And I stayed back, and used strafe, and they died.

I would put points into vitality until you want. Damage is not so important unless you are pure pvp.

 

[KremBanan]

Re: Help on my Bowazon build!

1. How is you budget? Can you afford all the goodies? Faith, Wf, Fortitude etc etc
2. Strafe vs Multi = use both! They are equally good, but in different locations. Multi for open areas, Strafe for narrow paths.


Now, for your questions:

How much do I put into strength?
Enough to carry your heaviest equipment, but remember to calculate in the strenght you get from items(Anni, Torch, +str from other items)


Should I really not put any into vitality?
Depends. If you can afford the high-end items, you should be fine with 0 vita. This because, you will kill fast before the monsters come close. Also Valk and Merc will tank for you. If you have low/mid items, there is nothing wrong with putting soem points there. Just dont go overboard with Vita.


What other skills do I use? And how much should I put into them?
Also depends on items, but normally pure physical bowazons go for Maxing Strafe, 10-15 Multi(after +skills), 16 critical strike(after +skills), Max Penetrate(1pt if you use Faith), 9 pierce(after +skills and with Razortail belt), 1 pt Freezing Arrow), 17 Valkyrie(after +skills, but maxing it aint bad either)


Whats all this I keep hearing about IAS? And why is it so important to strafe?
IAS - Increased Attack Speed
There are several 'breakpoints' for IAS and those bps are different depending on what bow you use. Search for a post made by Kiijya, it has all the info you need.


Is strafe fun?
Yes


Are my questions stupid?
No

 

[DaveTheGreat]

Re: Help on my Bowazon build!

Thanks for all the info. My old zon was a guided arrow/multishot bowazon, so I figured I'd try strafe this time around. So here she is, East ladders newest bowazon.

Double_Shot
lvl 16
45 str
75 dex
20 vit

All bow tree skills and passive tree skills have one point in them (minus fire shot)

And shes doing a miserable 14-28 damage :embarassed:

I was going to continue just doing one point in the skills I will, then go all out strafe as soon as I can. I currently have 7 unspent points.

Since when I came back to the game I made a holy shock paladin first, I may actually have some fairly decent equipment to give her. A lot of this is coming off my pally, as I plan on really only playing on the zon now. I have no idea what any of this is worth or how good it is, so don't laugh at me

I have a(n)...
Laying of hands, has IAS which seems to be a big deal
Andariel's Visage, found it yesterday, I was so excited seems to be quite good
Crown of thieves, nifty
Ghost armor, not sure if I got that right, the +1 skills unique armor
Kuko Shakuku, spelled that wrong, seems to be ok for lower levels
Endless hail, +4 strafe, no idea if its good or not
2 Crescent moons, nifty
Manald heal ring, nifty

And I really think thats about it :|
I would say what I need mainly is armor, a good higher level bow, and a ravefrost :cloud9: As I said, I have a fair amount of decent equipment and pgems, so hopefully I can afford something good.

Are there any pieces of equipment that are essential for me have?

And (I know this isn't the place), if anyone has something they would be willing to trade me, feel free to drop me a pm :thumbsup:

 

[zarirazz]

Re: Help on my Bowazon build!

laying of hands and andy's visage are great potential end-game items..
crown of thieves is nice on a merc.

the ghost armor (spirit shroud) is a great early level access to cannot be frozen. great for strafing before getting that ravenfrost at level 45. endlesshail is a decent mid-game weapon too..

here are some cheap, useful gear recommendations that are end-game viable..
lionheart (hel lum fal) or smoke (nef lum) for armor. lionheart is a great general purpose armor while smoke is great for resists.
razortail. if you want 100% pierce
harmony, wws, goldstrike arch. all are relatively easy to find with decent damage output.

 

[DaveTheGreat]

Re: Help on my Bowazon build!

Haha, so I have mine and my mercs helm set for the rest of the game :tongue:

Is razortail that pierce belt?

And whats this "Faith" I keep hearing about?

 

[zarirazz]

Re: Help on my Bowazon build!

^^some bow..

Faith
4 Socket Missile Weapons
Ohm + Jah + Lem + Eld
Level 12-15 Fanaticism Aura When Equipped (varies)
+1-2 To All Skills (varies)
+330% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
300% Bonus To Attack Rating
+75% Damage To Undead
+50 To Attack Rating Against Undead
+120 Fire Damage
All Resistances +15
10% Reanimate As: Returned
75% Extra Gold From Monsters

 

[DaveTheGreat]

Re: Help on my Bowazon build!

Oh dear, sounds awesome. Also sounds expensive, shouldn't get my hopes up...

 

[DaveTheGreat]

Re: Help on my Bowazon build!

And thats why I don't play sp :wink3:

 

[WrongdayJ]

Re: Help on my Bowazon build!

. . .Is razortail that pierce belt? . . .

Yes, Razortail gives you a big boost to your pierce. Combine it with about 7 points in the Pierce skill and you'll see a huge increase in your killing speed with regards to crowds.