pvm hybrid help!

[moranor]

pvm hybrid help!

I need a char to clear the parts in hell my orb/tk sorc won't which is mainly river of flame and CS (travincal partially, I might want to try pits too). I was originally thinking about doing a pure bowazon but I have a bunch of titans lying around so I thought I'd go with a hybrid but are they still viable in 1.11?

I don't really want to trade for gear if I don't absolutely have to, what I've got to work with is SoE, Razortail, Laying of Hands, Ravenfrost, Titans, Goldstrike (extremely bad stats), WWS, Buriza, Tal's Mask and Shako.

I know MS is quite crappy compared to what it once was but it's still supposedly really good in RoF and CS, but I think that since I only have low damage bows the lack of crowd knockback will probably kill me. I'm not sure which (x-)bow / skill (MS/Strafe) to go with so any suggestions would be nice (strafe would probably better for council). Everyone says WWS is awesome with strafe but I don't have the runes to upgrade it

For shield I was thinking Whistan's or Mosers (don't have yet) but suggestions would be nice

Preliminary skills lvl 90 (prereq 6-7):
LF 20
Strafe / MS 16
Penetrate 15
Pierce 0-9
Critical Strike 9
D/A/E 10/5/10
-------
101 total

Thanks in advance for any advice:smiley:

edit: This build is very 1.09... do I need synergies for LF for it to work well?

 

[slayer37]

Re: pvm hybrid help!

I was originally thinking about doing a pure bowazon but I have a bunch of titans lying around so I thought I'd go with a hybrid but are they still viable in 1.11?

Viable? They rock IMO. I recommend you go over the newly made guide of Kijya's "Gunslinger" which is just the hybrid build you are contemplating now. All you need to know is more or less in there already.

I don't really want to trade for gear if I don't absolutely have to, what I've got to work with is SoE, Razortail, Laying of Hands, Ravenfrost, Titans, Goldstrike (extremely bad stats), WWS, Buriza, Tal's Mask and Shako.

I got through the game so many times with almost the same gear you have now. I'm missing ravenfrost in your list though. You can just imagine how poor uniques-wise I am. :grin:

I know MS is quite crappy compared to what it once was but it's still supposedly really good in RoF and CS, but I think that since I only have low damage bows the lack of crowd knockback will probably kill me. I'm not sure which (x-)bow / skill (MS/Strafe) to go with so any suggestions would be nice (strafe would probably better for council). Everyone says WWS is awesome with strafe but I don't have the runes to upgrade it.

I myself is more in favor of strafe but MS is no way crappy IMO. But for places like RoF and CS, I'd go with strafe since the place is filled with narrow pathways / corridors where monsters bunch up making strafe all the more suitable. MS is usually better in wide places like the most of Act5. I suggest you get both MS and strafe and use both accordingly as the situation arises.

Preliminary skills lvl 90 (prereq 6-7):
LF 20
Strafe / MS 16
Penetrate 15
Pierce 0-9
Critical Strike 9
D/A/E 10/5/10
-------
101 total

Looking at your skill distribution, I recommend putting less in D/A/E since you are ranged (MS/strafe and LF)... just make sure you keep away from crowds and actually sidestep projectiles/spells instead of tanking. If I am to place your points, I'd go something like this:

LF - 20
Strafe - 20
Multi - 10
Pene - 20 (if you have AR gear then less could be placed here... LF is autohit so no AR needed)
Crit - 12
Pierce - 1 (you have razortail)
Rest in Valk. (I try my best to include Valk in all my zon builds but that's just me)

or you could go with:

LF - 20
CS - 20 (best boss killer for zons no questions asked)
Multi / Strafe - 10
Rest the same.

 

[moranor]

Re: pvm hybrid help!

Thanks a lot for the reply

Are you referring to Charged Strike? Never tried that one
Would it be worth getting the strength for Lycander's Flank just for killing bosses with it?

Also, would a lightning rainbow facet be a waste for LF/CS? I'm thinking a single one won't make a big difference

Thanks again

 

[Ugla]

Re: pvm hybrid help!

Yes, they refer to Charged Strike. Though far from being at its full power with mere one synergy, it's still a capable boss-killer. This skills really shines on a pure lightning javazon, but it's worth its points on various hybrids as well.

Why would you wish to use Lycander's Flank (a ceremonial pike) against bosses? :scratch: It has the same amount of +skills as Titan's, and will likely be a lot slower. Plus, you don't even have a free slot for it if you plan to use a bow against the LIs :wink3:

Lightning facets are nice, but once again, they are mainly useful for pure javazons, greatly increasing damage against broken LIs. I'd better save the facet until you are sure how your gear will look like.

 

[crawlingdeadman]

Re: pvm hybrid help!

be sure to check out the guide at the top o' the forum too. also there's a few in the zon show off thread (in my sig as "My Zon").

 

[moranor]

Re: pvm hybrid help!

I checked it out now, thanks, can't believe I missed it
All the armours / shields mentioned there are pretty expensive though so I was wondering if anyone had any cheaper armour suggestions

The only thing I can think of is Shaftstop but I don't know if I need the DR


Also, I just found an Eaglehorn, but is it worth using? I remember it being awesome back in the day but is WWS better for strafe nowadays?

 

[crawlingdeadman]

Re: pvm hybrid help!

good alternate armors are:
vipermagi
treachery
duriels shell
lionheart
duress
twitchthroe
there are tons of possibilities, see what you think you'll need. i'd go with a lot of armors before i used shaftstop though, it's more of a melee armor. i like viper and consider it a mini chains of honor. very few armors support both sides of your damage like chains though. they're either geared more for +skills or for bow side.

shields are easy. spirit, lidless, or splendor are top notch alternates. past that mosers and whitstan are also good. sigon is useable too, though it only offers a +skill and not much else.

i like wws and have used it numerous times, but i have heard of people using and being successful with eaglehorn.

 

[moranor]

Re: pvm hybrid help!

I wish I could edit posts here heh

I think I'll go with the eagle because then I can ignore penetrate and do something like:
Crit 9
Pierce 9
CS 20
LF 20
Strafe 20
MS 10
D/A/E 1/1/1

The only annoying thing is that I'll probably need to shael the bow and then I can't use LoH because they don't give KB. Oh well, can't have it all

 

[crawlingdeadman]

Re: pvm hybrid help!

craft 20 ias knockback gloves.

 

[BlushNine]

Re: pvm hybrid help!

All the armours / shields mentioned there are pretty expensive though so I was wondering if anyone had any cheaper armour suggestions

Quad Fervor Armour=60 IAS is pretty easy to make for those on a budget. 15 IAS jewels aren't too hard to find and a 4 socket armour of your taste. You will find that Eaglehorn is a slow bow.

Spirit Shield is easy to make +2 Skills and lots of resistances.

The only annoying thing is that I'll probably need to shael the bow and then I can't use LoH because they don't give KB. Oh well, can't have it all

Normal Attack, Multiarrow, Guided Arrow
No Fanaticisicism Aura      
Frames  -10 0   5   10      
15                  0       
14              0   5       
13          0   10  15 <<< You have 20 IAS.   
12      0   10  15  25      
11      10  20  30  35 <<< 20 more you will have 40 IAS. 
10      25  40  50  60     Your attacks are 2 frames quicker
9       45  65  75  90      
8       75  105 125 150     
7       145 200 240 295

STRAFE
                           No Fanaticism Aura                     
                           Strafe Sequence         -10  0    5    10   
                           7,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4+8                  0    
                           7,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4+7             0    5    
40 frames total strafe >>> 6,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3+7   0    0    10   15 <<< 20 IAS 
39 frames total strafe >>> 6,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3+6   5    15   20   30 <<< 40 IAS
                           5,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3+6   -    -    35   45   
                           5,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3+5   15   30   40   50   
                           5,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3+4   40   60   70   80   
                           4,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2+5   60   90   105  120  
                           4,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2+4   80   115  135  160

It depends. I'm guessing you don't have a Faith on your merc and you have no other IAS other than the gloves. If this is the case I wouldn't bother Shaeling it. 20 more IAS would net you a faster normal attack speed which is what Guided and Multiarrow are based on. But since you are mostly using Strafe in Chaos territory you will only shave 1 frame off your entire 40 frame strafe sequence on that bow, that last shot from your spray. If you plan on getting enough to reach 120IAS then your Strafe Sequence takes a dramatic cut of 11 frames off the whole sequence going from 80IAS to 120IAS, because all your shots are now 1 frame quicker, not just the last shot.

edit: This build is very 1.09... do I need synergies for LF for it to work well?

I've used LF without synergies. It's not a quick killer but it will kill. Unfortunately, its rare to see alot of monsters bunched up in Chaos and LF does better in larger crowds. For example LF no synergies works decently in cows.