RAFFSTER’S Poison Java-Nigma-Zon Guide
RAFFSTER’S Poison Java-Nigma-zon Guide
A. Introduction
B. Skill Placement
C. Equipment
D. Stat Placement
E. Other Stuff
F. Dueling strategies
A. Introduction
One of the most unforgettable duels I had back in S1 ladder is when I met this really uber godly poison javazon build. What made this poison javazon stand out from the other javazons I’ve encountered (whether in leveling or in dueling) is the fact that this build is one of the few Amazon builds that rely heavily on teleporting as part of its dueling strategy. It was such an awesome build that I decided to create one myself back in S1 ladder and made an even more refined version of it in S2 ladder. I think that this javazon build ranks among the best PvP javazon builds.
This build is my most versatile PvP character so far because it is able to beat almost any other type of dueler, regardless of class and build. Very few characters can withstand the devastating effects of a 50K poison javelin, let alone those who have not maxed out their poison resists. As soon as your opponent is reduced to just 1 life, the follow through of very fast successive guided arrows ensures victory. One of the main drawbacks of this build is that it’s a lot more expensive than most other poison javelin (PJ) builds
The main difference between this and the other PJ builds is that this build was created to overcome the barriers or shortcomings of the other PJ builds. This build:
1. Uses a CTA bow on switch that allows the player to cast Battle Orders and fire Guided Missile without compromising one or the other. Most other PJ builds either use a different bow on switch (no Battle Order) or a regular CTA flail + shield (no bow).
2. Uses Enigma to teleport to a better PJ launching position, tele away from very dangerous melee characters and the STR points provided by Enigma could be placed in VITality. The faster run walk of Enigma also helps a great deal. Other PJ builds often times cannot get out quickly enough when faced with a very powerful melee build.
3. Hits a very high level of IAS that makes firing Guided Arrows very effective especially against teleporting characters. Other javazon builds often times get screwed up because they cannot keep up with very fast teleporting characters.
4. Unlike other pure PJ builds, this build has maxed out Lightning Fury which makes it extremely viable in PvM (as in cow games) as well. Almost good enough in PvM like a regular lightning javazon.
B. Skill Placement
This PJ build, just like the other PJ builds depend mainly poison damage to bring its opponents to their knees.
Main skills:
Poison Javelin (max)
Plague Javelin (max)
Lightning Fury (max)
1 point in each skill pre-reqs for guided arrow
Rest of the points in Guided Arrow
Secondary Skills:
1 point in all the passive and magic skills
(with your items + to skills you should have +10-11 to get Dodge, Avoid and Evade to over 50%)
1 point in Jab (on those very rare occasions when you get up close and personal and you have to bash your enemy with your javelin, 1 point goes a long way)
*You can put 1 in Impale and Fend but I think that it’s unnecessary. If you have to fight multiple opponents melee with this build you’re doing something wrong.
Build should be complete around L80.
C. Equipment
This build is highly dependent on the equipment. The closer you are to having the same items I recommend, the more effective this build will be.
Main equipment:
Weapon: Titan’s Revenge (best ED and LL you can get, eth recommended, upped okay but not necessary)
Armor: Dusk Shroud Enigma
Helm: Best 2 os Crown of Ages you can get (15% DR more important than 30 resists) socketed with 2 x 15 resist all / 15 IAS jewels. (or 2 15 ias jewels) :: Secondary helm: 2 os Giant Skull (2 x 15/15 or 2 x 15 ias jewels)
Shield: Stormshield (socketed with a 5/5 poison facet die). No other shield is recommended for this build. (But carry around a Monarch socketed with 4 orts in case you run across trapasins who love to nked kill).
On switch: CTA Hydra Bow (preferably CTA on a +3 skills Grand Matron or Matriarchal Bow) I goofed up here but I got a +6 BO on my hydra bow so I’m not changing this.
Secondary equipment: (This is my personal preference and could vary according to your taste, perhaps even change according to whom you’re dueling with.)
Rings: 1 x Raven (pref.perfect) & 1 x SOJ (SOJ because you’ll need as much mana as you can to teleport as much as you need). Carry around some manalds to help you through regular leveling so you won’t have to keep on buying mana potions.
Amulet: Primary: Highest Maras you can get (the +2 skills is invaluable and the higher your resist the quicker you can get max resists in hell), Secondary: Metalgrid (the higher than maras resists is really nice and the high defense could make it harder for you to get hit).
Gloves: Primary: Rare or crafted +2 java skills, 20 IAS, Knockback, other mods :: Secondary: Trang’s gloves (for poison), Laying of Hands or Lavagout (for IAS and Fire Resists)
Note: If you can get a godly gloves with knockback it will be extremely useful. You can spam guided arrows to knock opponents back to buy enough time to recharge your PJs and when then get close enough fire those devastating plague javelins at will.
Boots: Primary: Eth Sandstorm Trek or Upped high defense Gores.
Belt: Primary: Arachnid (the +1 to skill adds 5K to your plague javelin damage and also makes teleporting a little bit faster) :: Secondary: 15% DR Verdungos or Nosferatu’s (for it’s 10% IAS)
Note: To reach the 9/3 IAS breakpoint for a Hydra Bow you need at least 89 IAS. That’s why it’s best if you can get a CTA Matriarchal Bow instead of any other bow.
Charms:- The best annihilus you can find. Resists will be more important than stats, if given a choice.
- At least 8x Java Charms with Life (the higher the life the better, of course)
- 2 x 15 Resist All GCs with either 20 Life or Faster Hit Recovery
- The remaining spaces with high damage poison charms (313 if you can get them). When your Guided Arrow hits your enemies the poison from these charms will lower their lives faster drastically).
D. Stat Placement
STR enough to use all your gear (If you already have all your items before you start your character, make sure you count exactly how much +STR you have from items so you only allocate enough STR only so that all the +STR will let you use your heaviest item. If you don’t have your items already, make a good estimate so you don’t waste too much points on STR.)
DEX enough to have max block with Stormshield
VIT everything else goes here
ENE not a single point here
E. Other stuff
This is a very equipment dependent build. If you end up using different equipment (especially if you don’t use Enigma or a CTA bow) it’s going to be a totally different build.
Leveling:
Pretty fast to level once you get a few points in lightning fury.
Merc selection:
Act 2 nightmare Holy Freeze with Infinity Cryptic Axe, Eth 2000+ Def Fort and Andy’s Visage with an 40 ED jewel goes best with this build. The conviction in INFINITY helps blast away those lightning immune creatures after they’re life plummets with your incredible poison damage.
Other recommendations:
Carry a complete set of lightning absorb equipment: 2 x 20 LA wisps, TGods, Monarch with 4 ORTs and Highlord’s amulet just in case you run across those nasty trapasins who hug the town entrance. Don’t use all this absorb gear in regular dueling though, that’s bad manners.
F. Dueling strategies
General strategies. (Plague Javelin is better because it has a cloud effect).
1. This is a run throw and run build. While it’s good at tanking in PvM, it will die quite quickly if fighting a very powerful melee opponent (Conc/WW barbs, Charge Paladins, WW Assassins). If you are fighting anybody that needs to get close to you to do damage, throw a plague javelin and run into your own poison cloud. 90% of the time your opponent will find himself going right into the poison cloud and that’s the beginning of the end for him.
2. The recharge time for the poison/plague javelin is approximately 4 seconds so make sure you don’t just throw them anywhere (although this is normally the tendency). Try to calculate where your opponent is heading to the next. What I usually do is teleport around to confuse them and when I’m near enough I spam the plague javelin.
3. Remember that you have Guided Arrow as backup fire power. You can actually begin any confrontation by spamming Guided Arrows and appear like you’re a regular bowazon and when the enemy is close enough switch to your main weapon (Titan’s) and blast them with a plague javelin.
4. Once your opponent is hit and he’s not a 5K Life Vita Barb, it often takes less than 10 seconds to bring someone’s life down to just 1 hit point. As soon as you’re certain that you’re opponent has “swallowed†the poison cloud, just follow through with your Guided Arrows.
5. Summon Valks or Decoys to distract your opponent. But I’ve learned that only noobs fall for that strategy.
6. Use slow missile sparingly. I personally think this is the lamest way to win (because you will win for sure if you use this) so if lame is your way then go ahead and use slow missiles.
7. Lighting fury works best when you’ve lowered a melee opponents life very close to zero and you just need a few lightning javelins to completely destroy them. (It’s dangerous to switch to bow when a BOTD WW/Conc barb can still 1 hit kill you). Not a good idea to switch to your CTA bow unless your opponent is far away.
8. For sorcs you’ll end up using your Guided Arrows more than your Plague Javelin. But you need to land at least 1 Plague Javelin to really wipe them out more quickly.
9. Practice teleporting around and throwing plague javelins in different directions. Learn to use the environment to know where to teleport during dueling. When fighting against melee characters I like teleporting in between obstacles so the melee character can’t get to me that fast. An enigma WW barb can be a problem but what I do is throw a plague javelin and go into it to make the WW barb follow right into my trap.
Most difficult enemies I’ve faced so far:
1. 1 Hit Kill Charge Strike Lightning Javazons. These guys are the most troublesome builds against this build. Surprisingly most of them run very fast. It’s critical that you stay away as far as possible from this build which is where the teleport from Enigma comes in very handy.
2. Auradins/FOHers. Unless I switch to some serious fire and lightning absorb gear it’s almost impossible to beat these builds. Best thing to do is come close to them as possible and land that plague javelin somehow. My auradin’s fire and lightning pulse can kill my javazon build in less than 6 “pulses†in hell mode. Of course I can be lame and wear maximum resist/absorb gear…
3. Frozen Orb-Blizzard / Fireball-Meteor / Lightning-TS Sorcs – These sorc builds can be a total pain because they teleport fast enough to avoid getting stuck in that poison cloud. Same tactic of going into your own poison cloud is useful here because often times they’ll follow right into your trap. Use Guided Arrows to keep them away and plan for your plague javelin launch.
4. Fellow Poison Javazons – Just don’t get stuck in their poison clouds and you’ll be fine. Here’s where your “key difference†becomes obvious. Spam them with Guided Arrows and they’re toast.
5. Godly bowazons – could be the most difficult enemy for this build (maybe even moreso than auradins). You can’t trade guided arrows with them because they do MORE damage so switching to your CTA isn’t the best idea. The way I’ve won against bowazons is to teleport right onto them immediately cast a plague javelin. Tele away and spam with GA.
I’ll post more dueling strategies as I become more experienced with this build.
As always your feedback, comments and suggestions are most welcome.
RAFFSTER’S Poison Java-Nigma-zon Guide
A. Introduction
B. Skill Placement
C. Equipment
D. Stat Placement
E. Other Stuff
F. Dueling strategies
A. Introduction
One of the most unforgettable duels I had back in S1 ladder is when I met this really uber godly poison javazon build. What made this poison javazon stand out from the other javazons I’ve encountered (whether in leveling or in dueling) is the fact that this build is one of the few Amazon builds that rely heavily on teleporting as part of its dueling strategy. It was such an awesome build that I decided to create one myself back in S1 ladder and made an even more refined version of it in S2 ladder. I think that this javazon build ranks among the best PvP javazon builds.
This build is my most versatile PvP character so far because it is able to beat almost any other type of dueler, regardless of class and build. Very few characters can withstand the devastating effects of a 50K poison javelin, let alone those who have not maxed out their poison resists. As soon as your opponent is reduced to just 1 life, the follow through of very fast successive guided arrows ensures victory. One of the main drawbacks of this build is that it’s a lot more expensive than most other poison javelin (PJ) builds
The main difference between this and the other PJ builds is that this build was created to overcome the barriers or shortcomings of the other PJ builds. This build:
1. Uses a CTA bow on switch that allows the player to cast Battle Orders and fire Guided Missile without compromising one or the other. Most other PJ builds either use a different bow on switch (no Battle Order) or a regular CTA flail + shield (no bow).
2. Uses Enigma to teleport to a better PJ launching position, tele away from very dangerous melee characters and the STR points provided by Enigma could be placed in VITality. The faster run walk of Enigma also helps a great deal. Other PJ builds often times cannot get out quickly enough when faced with a very powerful melee build.
3. Hits a very high level of IAS that makes firing Guided Arrows very effective especially against teleporting characters. Other javazon builds often times get screwed up because they cannot keep up with very fast teleporting characters.
4. Unlike other pure PJ builds, this build has maxed out Lightning Fury which makes it extremely viable in PvM (as in cow games) as well. Almost good enough in PvM like a regular lightning javazon.
B. Skill Placement
This PJ build, just like the other PJ builds depend mainly poison damage to bring its opponents to their knees.
Main skills:
Poison Javelin (max)
Plague Javelin (max)
Lightning Fury (max)
1 point in each skill pre-reqs for guided arrow
Rest of the points in Guided Arrow
Secondary Skills:
1 point in all the passive and magic skills
(with your items + to skills you should have +10-11 to get Dodge, Avoid and Evade to over 50%)
1 point in Jab (on those very rare occasions when you get up close and personal and you have to bash your enemy with your javelin, 1 point goes a long way)
*You can put 1 in Impale and Fend but I think that it’s unnecessary. If you have to fight multiple opponents melee with this build you’re doing something wrong.
Build should be complete around L80.
C. Equipment
This build is highly dependent on the equipment. The closer you are to having the same items I recommend, the more effective this build will be.
Main equipment:
Weapon: Titan’s Revenge (best ED and LL you can get, eth recommended, upped okay but not necessary)
Armor: Dusk Shroud Enigma
Helm: Best 2 os Crown of Ages you can get (15% DR more important than 30 resists) socketed with 2 x 15 resist all / 15 IAS jewels. (or 2 15 ias jewels) :: Secondary helm: 2 os Giant Skull (2 x 15/15 or 2 x 15 ias jewels)
Shield: Stormshield (socketed with a 5/5 poison facet die). No other shield is recommended for this build. (But carry around a Monarch socketed with 4 orts in case you run across trapasins who love to nked kill).
On switch: CTA Hydra Bow (preferably CTA on a +3 skills Grand Matron or Matriarchal Bow) I goofed up here but I got a +6 BO on my hydra bow so I’m not changing this.
Secondary equipment: (This is my personal preference and could vary according to your taste, perhaps even change according to whom you’re dueling with.)
Rings: 1 x Raven (pref.perfect) & 1 x SOJ (SOJ because you’ll need as much mana as you can to teleport as much as you need). Carry around some manalds to help you through regular leveling so you won’t have to keep on buying mana potions.
Amulet: Primary: Highest Maras you can get (the +2 skills is invaluable and the higher your resist the quicker you can get max resists in hell), Secondary: Metalgrid (the higher than maras resists is really nice and the high defense could make it harder for you to get hit).
Gloves: Primary: Rare or crafted +2 java skills, 20 IAS, Knockback, other mods :: Secondary: Trang’s gloves (for poison), Laying of Hands or Lavagout (for IAS and Fire Resists)
Note: If you can get a godly gloves with knockback it will be extremely useful. You can spam guided arrows to knock opponents back to buy enough time to recharge your PJs and when then get close enough fire those devastating plague javelins at will.
Boots: Primary: Eth Sandstorm Trek or Upped high defense Gores.
Belt: Primary: Arachnid (the +1 to skill adds 5K to your plague javelin damage and also makes teleporting a little bit faster) :: Secondary: 15% DR Verdungos or Nosferatu’s (for it’s 10% IAS)
Note: To reach the 9/3 IAS breakpoint for a Hydra Bow you need at least 89 IAS. That’s why it’s best if you can get a CTA Matriarchal Bow instead of any other bow.
Charms:- The best annihilus you can find. Resists will be more important than stats, if given a choice.
- At least 8x Java Charms with Life (the higher the life the better, of course)
- 2 x 15 Resist All GCs with either 20 Life or Faster Hit Recovery
- The remaining spaces with high damage poison charms (313 if you can get them). When your Guided Arrow hits your enemies the poison from these charms will lower their lives faster drastically).
D. Stat Placement
STR enough to use all your gear (If you already have all your items before you start your character, make sure you count exactly how much +STR you have from items so you only allocate enough STR only so that all the +STR will let you use your heaviest item. If you don’t have your items already, make a good estimate so you don’t waste too much points on STR.)
DEX enough to have max block with Stormshield
VIT everything else goes here
ENE not a single point here
E. Other stuff
This is a very equipment dependent build. If you end up using different equipment (especially if you don’t use Enigma or a CTA bow) it’s going to be a totally different build.
Leveling:
Pretty fast to level once you get a few points in lightning fury.
Merc selection:
Act 2 nightmare Holy Freeze with Infinity Cryptic Axe, Eth 2000+ Def Fort and Andy’s Visage with an 40 ED jewel goes best with this build. The conviction in INFINITY helps blast away those lightning immune creatures after they’re life plummets with your incredible poison damage.
Other recommendations:
Carry a complete set of lightning absorb equipment: 2 x 20 LA wisps, TGods, Monarch with 4 ORTs and Highlord’s amulet just in case you run across those nasty trapasins who hug the town entrance. Don’t use all this absorb gear in regular dueling though, that’s bad manners.
F. Dueling strategies
General strategies. (Plague Javelin is better because it has a cloud effect).
1. This is a run throw and run build. While it’s good at tanking in PvM, it will die quite quickly if fighting a very powerful melee opponent (Conc/WW barbs, Charge Paladins, WW Assassins). If you are fighting anybody that needs to get close to you to do damage, throw a plague javelin and run into your own poison cloud. 90% of the time your opponent will find himself going right into the poison cloud and that’s the beginning of the end for him.
2. The recharge time for the poison/plague javelin is approximately 4 seconds so make sure you don’t just throw them anywhere (although this is normally the tendency). Try to calculate where your opponent is heading to the next. What I usually do is teleport around to confuse them and when I’m near enough I spam the plague javelin.
3. Remember that you have Guided Arrow as backup fire power. You can actually begin any confrontation by spamming Guided Arrows and appear like you’re a regular bowazon and when the enemy is close enough switch to your main weapon (Titan’s) and blast them with a plague javelin.
4. Once your opponent is hit and he’s not a 5K Life Vita Barb, it often takes less than 10 seconds to bring someone’s life down to just 1 hit point. As soon as you’re certain that you’re opponent has “swallowed†the poison cloud, just follow through with your Guided Arrows.
5. Summon Valks or Decoys to distract your opponent. But I’ve learned that only noobs fall for that strategy.
6. Use slow missile sparingly. I personally think this is the lamest way to win (because you will win for sure if you use this) so if lame is your way then go ahead and use slow missiles.
7. Lighting fury works best when you’ve lowered a melee opponents life very close to zero and you just need a few lightning javelins to completely destroy them. (It’s dangerous to switch to bow when a BOTD WW/Conc barb can still 1 hit kill you). Not a good idea to switch to your CTA bow unless your opponent is far away.
8. For sorcs you’ll end up using your Guided Arrows more than your Plague Javelin. But you need to land at least 1 Plague Javelin to really wipe them out more quickly.
9. Practice teleporting around and throwing plague javelins in different directions. Learn to use the environment to know where to teleport during dueling. When fighting against melee characters I like teleporting in between obstacles so the melee character can’t get to me that fast. An enigma WW barb can be a problem but what I do is throw a plague javelin and go into it to make the WW barb follow right into my trap.
Most difficult enemies I’ve faced so far:
1. 1 Hit Kill Charge Strike Lightning Javazons. These guys are the most troublesome builds against this build. Surprisingly most of them run very fast. It’s critical that you stay away as far as possible from this build which is where the teleport from Enigma comes in very handy.
2. Auradins/FOHers. Unless I switch to some serious fire and lightning absorb gear it’s almost impossible to beat these builds. Best thing to do is come close to them as possible and land that plague javelin somehow. My auradin’s fire and lightning pulse can kill my javazon build in less than 6 “pulses†in hell mode. Of course I can be lame and wear maximum resist/absorb gear…
3. Frozen Orb-Blizzard / Fireball-Meteor / Lightning-TS Sorcs – These sorc builds can be a total pain because they teleport fast enough to avoid getting stuck in that poison cloud. Same tactic of going into your own poison cloud is useful here because often times they’ll follow right into your trap. Use Guided Arrows to keep them away and plan for your plague javelin launch.
4. Fellow Poison Javazons – Just don’t get stuck in their poison clouds and you’ll be fine. Here’s where your “key difference†becomes obvious. Spam them with Guided Arrows and they’re toast.
5. Godly bowazons – could be the most difficult enemy for this build (maybe even moreso than auradins). You can’t trade guided arrows with them because they do MORE damage so switching to your CTA isn’t the best idea. The way I’ve won against bowazons is to teleport right onto them immediately cast a plague javelin. Tele away and spam with GA.
I’ll post more dueling strategies as I become more experienced with this build.
As always your feedback, comments and suggestions are most welcome.
