magic arrow build

[Superhal]

magic arrow build

i'm thinking about making a zon with max magic arrow. i'm pretty much trying all the different builds that can use magic damage.

my dilemmas:
1. which bow? i've got a wf, but maybe a faster bow would be better? i'm planning on packing on the max damage charms. i have a decent mat bow for harmony, so i don't have to put any points into d/a/e for valk. heck, i might not need any of the valk pre-reqs at all, saving 6 points.

2. backup attack: i can't decide between 23 points for 1pt jab/20 LF or ms or strafe or an elemental arrow.

3. passives: 20 in crit and penetrate and pierce? definitely 20 pierce, but the other two i'm not sure. with all the savings i'm getting, maybe i can easily afford it all.

 

[YogiRat]

It's interesting that you post this since I have an untwinked bowzon working her way through NM with level10 MA and an 8FPS attack. To me, MA seems like the ultimate poorman's skill. Being untwinked, I have yet to find any mana leach items other than non zon weapons. It is a good skill for bosses but for crowds things get a little tough. I use strafe (I always do ) for large groups until my mana runs out and then MA.

Since you have plenty of gear, I'd go for any elemental skill and use MA for leach back. For bows an upp'd Riphook or Goldy should do. Harmony would be a bit redundant since you can take out PIs with strafe with that RW.

 

[Liliel]

Umm... is there a good reason to use maxed MA rather than just getting an upgraded ShaelShael WWS?

 

[citybird]

If you are playing untwinked then you cant count on a WWS with built in lvl 20 MA dropping.

If you are playing twinked then there is no reason not to use the MA from a WWS.

Another choice would be to go with a High Damage bow like WF or a runeword GMB and max MA and then buff it up with +skill itmes like CoH, Shako, Highlords, Crafted HP gloves with +2 B/XB Skills, Bow skill charms and an anni.

Personally I would try this with an upped Kuko for the +3 Bow skills and 50% Piercing Attack. The +skills would raise the MA damage.

 

[Superhal]

Umm... is there a good reason to use maxed MA rather than just getting an upgraded ShaelShael WWS?

you can get 4 to 5X the damge of an upgraded wws on a good bow, 1.5 to 2X as much on even a crappy elite bow or unique exceptional. as MA converts %phys to magic, the base phys is important.

also, i'm expecting somewhere in the neighborhood of slvl 28-35 MA, so i don't think the ma on the wws will add to it. most likely, it will just be ignored in favor of the actual skill points.

re: harmony: i think i can get more magic damage out of phys damage conversion, not to mention no resists vs monsters.

 

[Superhal]

tested it just now with a bunch of characters. no change in the displayed damage of MA with wws and +skills items. can somebody confirm or deny if +skills helps the ma on unique bows?

overall though, the only value i can see in this is if you can pump MA to 40 very easily, which would yeild @40% magic damage conversion. but, this would still not overcome the low damage on a wws.

 

[SlainByPain]

If you get something around lvl 40 MA, you might be able to do 2k magic damage. Still, I wouldn't suggest it.

 

[YogiRat]

The MA granted by the WWS only applies to normal attack, not the MA skill, thus +skills will not help. Also level20 MA is not displayed on your character screen. An easy way to test this is to put token points into MA and test it against regular attack with the WWS. Your LCS (lying character screen) will show higher damage/AR using MA but you will kill faster using regular attack. The only way I know of measuring the Witchys' reg attack is to use a skill planner.

Here is a pretty good build from the SP forum that utilizes MA.

 

[Superhal]

heh i've got cold feet now. i just levelled through 3, wore the hsarus set, and am staring at the skills.

things i'm thinking about:

1. why bother with ANY passives other than crit/penetrate/pierce? the only thing there is valk, and i can get a harmony bow for that.

2. jab is SO useful at early levels...just one point...

3. after i get 20 MA and crit/pen/pierce, what then? 20 inner sight?

4. i don't have an endgame bow for this char. basically, my best zon eq is on my pit runner, and i don't want to take her apart. she's using my wf and buriza.

5. i really want a jabber too, but the damage is so low.

 

[honkytonkyzonky]

Hey citybird

"yea, why max light fury? my straffer can take any monster in the game except dClone with a mixture of "cheap" and "expensive" gear."

I'd like to c that build if u don't mind?

 

[YogiRat]

1. why bother with ANY passives other than crit/penetrate/pierce? the only thing there is valk, and i can get a harmony bow for that.

Because you can afford to. High MA gives a huge AR boost so you may not need that many points into penetrate. But I recall reading here that bowskill AR displays are bugged. We may have to consult with RTB about this one.

2. jab is SO useful at early levels...just one point...

Yep a one point wonder. All my zons, even bowas have a point in it. But the damage doesn't scale up well. If you are really serious about going without D/A/E, give Fend a shot.

3. I still think you will need a crowd control skill.

4. Eh, Harmony or any fast unique should do.