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PvP, PvM MeleeZon (Axe/Sword/Mace/Scepter/Dagger Maiden)
i have heard about this build before but never payed it much thought...one day dueling with my bowazon the room cleared so i was messin around with some guy. i put a razors edge and whitstans shield on...needless to say i got owned by his javazon, but when we meleed i could win some. this sparked my interest because if a bowazon with a mediocre axe and mediocre shield can win some against a well equipped (189% eth up'd titans / stormshield) zon...then maybe a well equipped melee zon could win em a lot. so i decided to make a little guide to get input before i waste my life on this build...so here goes...
Idea: The idea of the build is to be able to tank, while dealing damage quickly and efficiently.
Stats :
Strength: This one totally depends on gear...the ideal setup for me would require exactly 99 strength to equip items in order without need for strength gear. If you play untwinked (not recommended...) aim for maybe 120~150 because this is a melee tank and heavy items makes her the man
Dex: Dexterity is used for the two main reasons here...block and AR. AR can be avoided through good gear selection, but blocking will always be important. Enough to block with your stormshield (or shield of choice) is required, then judging by how you load up penetrate add to get your AR to a decent level
Vitality: Not much to say here, its the staple of almost any build...all spare points, as much as you can
Energy: You shouldn't be needing any at all, BASE
Skills: The tree that makes amazons excellent melee characters is the Passive and Magic Tree, that is where all points should go.
Inner Sight: 4 points
This is a very nice skill that further negates the need for high AR. With the four points your can spare and skills you get from gear/charms over -150% is taken from your opponent's defense
Dodge- 20 points, MAXED
Avoid- 20 points, MAXED
Evade-20 points, MAXED
We want to get as much as possible out of these skills because this is what keep the melee zon alive and swinging
Decoy- 1 point, prereq.
It is a nice skill for PvM, it is a good way to tie up archers and it can be a unique way to kick off duels, 1 point is enough
Slow Missiles- 1 point, prereq.
also a nice skill because it can crush any ranged char in PvP if manners dont matter to you, and it rapes ranged monsters in PvM
Penetrate- 20 points, MAXED
This is an awesome skill, it will do wonders to your attack rating.
Valkyrie- 4 points
With the remaining points you can get 4 into valk, you never know when u might need her, and even at a low level she can hold her own when you need it.
This skill setup uses 110 skill points, that requires a level 99 character...obviously few will ever attain that even with any other build, so here is a max order:
1st: Critical Strike: Take it to about 15 then finish it off later
2nd: Dodge: Max it next
3rd: Evade: Max it next
4th: Penetrate: Max this one next to make the game a little smoother for you
5th: Avoid: this ones next
6th: Finish off any other skills and work on inner sight and valk
ITEMS
Items are probably the most important part of the meleezon. With no weapon masteries, selection is a big part of your success.
Some things to look for are:
Resists
FHR
Damage Reduce
Crushing Blow
Deadly Strike
+Stats
ARMOR
BEST: Leviathan Kraken Shell
for obvious reasons...take a look at it, this armor just cant be bested imo
Very Good:
Bramble Runeword
Arkaines Valor
Fortitude Runeword
Good:
Enigma
Gladiators Bane
A nice rare
Average:
Shaftstop
An ok rare
Poor Man's:
Rattlecage
HELMET
Best: Crown of Ages Corona socketed Ber+Pul
excellent defense, resists, fhr...come on this thing is perfect
Very Good:
Giant Skull Socketed with 2 Ums
Veil of Steel Socketed with Shael
Vampire Gaze Socketed 7%FHR 15RES jewel or Um
Good:
Shako
Andy's Visage (the - to res is what makes this one not very good or best)
A Good Rare
Average:
Valkyrie Wing Socketed Shael (nice FHR)
Rock Stopper Socketed Um (mega resists)
Poor Man's:
A rare/magic with fhr, def, or strength
Peasant Crown
WEAPON- this is the most importand part of the build I think, a choice must be made here though...damage, or speed? You can attain amazing damage b ut without sacrificing a lot of your tanking ability you will be slower...you can have a very fast dagger or flail but you might take a dive in pure damage.
Best: In my opinion the Famine Runeword is the best weapon for this build.
Famine Zerker
Famine Legendary Mallet
BoTD Zerker
Eth Fleshripper
Eth Deathcleaver
Very Good:
Azurewrath
Frostwind
A good Rare
Good:
Heaven's Light
The Redeemer
Griswold's Redemption with 40/15s
Average:
Sazabi's Cobalt Redeemer Cryptic Sword
Headstriker
Djinn Slayer
Poor Man's:
Rare weapon
Crushflange Mace (crushing blow)
Gloves:
Good:
Dracul's Grasp
A good rare
IAS Gloves
Steelrends (these are very nice but pick one of the above before these, the strength is just too much for most and the others offer nice advantages e.g. ias, life tap, resists...)
Poor Man's:
Bloodfist- these are pretty good if you dont have one of the above
Boots:
Best: Marrow Walks
amazing stats and bonuses
Good:
Treks
Waterwalks
Goreriders
Wartravs
Poor Man's:
Goblin Toe - not bad boots here
Rings
Preferred setup would be 2 perfect or near perfect raven frosts
Rares, Bks, almost anything can work here
Amulet
Preferred would be Metalgrid
but any of the duped rares or good uniques will work
Belt:
Best: Thundergods Vigor
Nice stats just perfect
Good:
Verdungoes
Nosferatus Coil
A nice rare
Average:
String of Ears
Poor Man's:
Bladebuckle
Goldwrap
Magic/Rare
Death's Set
Arctic Set
SHIELDS:
Best: Stormshield Socketed with whatever you want
obvious...
I'd Say if you cant get that then use Whitstan's Guard with a shael in it...nothing really comes close to a nice ss
CHARMS:
A perfect Anni owuld be nice, but any anni will help with your steep str reqs
A few Passive an dMAgic gcs with assorted second mods are always a bonus to skills, if you gain 1% to avoid then thats one more time you can win a duel...thats my philosophy
3/20/20s or poison charms can't hurt either
Have a CTA or a Harmony bow on switch for escapes or boostin up
Merc:
Botd War Pike
Eth Stone
Eth Gaze
Only use the merc if youre going pvm...hes bad manners and will just get owned pvp
well thats what i have so far...let me know
constructive criticism only pls
i have heard about this build before but never payed it much thought...one day dueling with my bowazon the room cleared so i was messin around with some guy. i put a razors edge and whitstans shield on...needless to say i got owned by his javazon, but when we meleed i could win some. this sparked my interest because if a bowazon with a mediocre axe and mediocre shield can win some against a well equipped (189% eth up'd titans / stormshield) zon...then maybe a well equipped melee zon could win em a lot. so i decided to make a little guide to get input before i waste my life on this build...so here goes...
Melee Maiden
Idea: The idea of the build is to be able to tank, while dealing damage quickly and efficiently.
Stats :
Strength: This one totally depends on gear...the ideal setup for me would require exactly 99 strength to equip items in order without need for strength gear. If you play untwinked (not recommended...) aim for maybe 120~150 because this is a melee tank and heavy items makes her the man
Dex: Dexterity is used for the two main reasons here...block and AR. AR can be avoided through good gear selection, but blocking will always be important. Enough to block with your stormshield (or shield of choice) is required, then judging by how you load up penetrate add to get your AR to a decent level
Vitality: Not much to say here, its the staple of almost any build...all spare points, as much as you can
Energy: You shouldn't be needing any at all, BASE
Skills: The tree that makes amazons excellent melee characters is the Passive and Magic Tree, that is where all points should go.
Inner Sight: 4 points
This is a very nice skill that further negates the need for high AR. With the four points your can spare and skills you get from gear/charms over -150% is taken from your opponent's defense
Dodge- 20 points, MAXED
Avoid- 20 points, MAXED
Evade-20 points, MAXED
We want to get as much as possible out of these skills because this is what keep the melee zon alive and swinging
Decoy- 1 point, prereq.
It is a nice skill for PvM, it is a good way to tie up archers and it can be a unique way to kick off duels, 1 point is enough
Slow Missiles- 1 point, prereq.
also a nice skill because it can crush any ranged char in PvP if manners dont matter to you, and it rapes ranged monsters in PvM
Penetrate- 20 points, MAXED
This is an awesome skill, it will do wonders to your attack rating.
Valkyrie- 4 points
With the remaining points you can get 4 into valk, you never know when u might need her, and even at a low level she can hold her own when you need it.
This skill setup uses 110 skill points, that requires a level 99 character...obviously few will ever attain that even with any other build, so here is a max order:
1st: Critical Strike: Take it to about 15 then finish it off later
2nd: Dodge: Max it next
3rd: Evade: Max it next
4th: Penetrate: Max this one next to make the game a little smoother for you
5th: Avoid: this ones next
6th: Finish off any other skills and work on inner sight and valk
ITEMS
Items are probably the most important part of the meleezon. With no weapon masteries, selection is a big part of your success.
Some things to look for are:
Resists
FHR
Damage Reduce
Crushing Blow
Deadly Strike
+Stats
ARMOR
BEST: Leviathan Kraken Shell
for obvious reasons...take a look at it, this armor just cant be bested imo
Very Good:
Bramble Runeword
Arkaines Valor
Fortitude Runeword
Good:
Enigma
Gladiators Bane
A nice rare
Average:
Shaftstop
An ok rare
Poor Man's:
Rattlecage
HELMET
Best: Crown of Ages Corona socketed Ber+Pul
excellent defense, resists, fhr...come on this thing is perfect
Very Good:
Giant Skull Socketed with 2 Ums
Veil of Steel Socketed with Shael
Vampire Gaze Socketed 7%FHR 15RES jewel or Um
Good:
Shako
Andy's Visage (the - to res is what makes this one not very good or best)
A Good Rare
Average:
Valkyrie Wing Socketed Shael (nice FHR)
Rock Stopper Socketed Um (mega resists)
Poor Man's:
A rare/magic with fhr, def, or strength
Peasant Crown
WEAPON- this is the most importand part of the build I think, a choice must be made here though...damage, or speed? You can attain amazing damage b ut without sacrificing a lot of your tanking ability you will be slower...you can have a very fast dagger or flail but you might take a dive in pure damage.
Best: In my opinion the Famine Runeword is the best weapon for this build.
Famine Zerker
Famine Legendary Mallet
BoTD Zerker
Eth Fleshripper
Eth Deathcleaver
Very Good:
Azurewrath
Frostwind
A good Rare
Good:
Heaven's Light
The Redeemer
Griswold's Redemption with 40/15s
Average:
Sazabi's Cobalt Redeemer Cryptic Sword
Headstriker
Djinn Slayer
Poor Man's:
Rare weapon
Crushflange Mace (crushing blow)
Gloves:
Good:
Dracul's Grasp
A good rare
IAS Gloves
Steelrends (these are very nice but pick one of the above before these, the strength is just too much for most and the others offer nice advantages e.g. ias, life tap, resists...)
Poor Man's:
Bloodfist- these are pretty good if you dont have one of the above
Boots:
Best: Marrow Walks
amazing stats and bonuses
Good:
Treks
Waterwalks
Goreriders
Wartravs
Poor Man's:
Goblin Toe - not bad boots here
Rings
Preferred setup would be 2 perfect or near perfect raven frosts
Rares, Bks, almost anything can work here
Amulet
Preferred would be Metalgrid
but any of the duped rares or good uniques will work
Belt:
Best: Thundergods Vigor
Nice stats just perfect
Good:
Verdungoes
Nosferatus Coil
A nice rare
Average:
String of Ears
Poor Man's:
Bladebuckle
Goldwrap
Magic/Rare
Death's Set
Arctic Set
SHIELDS:
Best: Stormshield Socketed with whatever you want
obvious...
I'd Say if you cant get that then use Whitstan's Guard with a shael in it...nothing really comes close to a nice ss
CHARMS:
A perfect Anni owuld be nice, but any anni will help with your steep str reqs
A few Passive an dMAgic gcs with assorted second mods are always a bonus to skills, if you gain 1% to avoid then thats one more time you can win a duel...thats my philosophy
3/20/20s or poison charms can't hurt either
Have a CTA or a Harmony bow on switch for escapes or boostin up
Merc:
Botd War Pike
Eth Stone
Eth Gaze
Only use the merc if youre going pvm...hes bad manners and will just get owned pvp
well thats what i have so far...let me know
constructive criticism only pls