Shield advice for Javazon

[Andersdhx]

Hi guys,

I've just reached baal and contemplate killing him and his minions for a while. I'm confused about what shield to use, either a SS or a spirit, I've read various places that a great divide seems to exist between these two.

I'm solely PvM, and I use infinity merc and enigma. I don't, however, sport a griffon, and therefore I dunno if I should use my only 5/5 light facet in a shako or in the SS?

I hope some of the knowledgeable Javazon players can help me out.

Cheers

Edit: Should mention that I'm SC
Also, what merc setup do you guys use? - I've tried crown of thieves + forti + infinity, but he dies to souls or wave 3, I wanted to try out guardian angel, but don't know how to get proper resist without kira, which would then get him 0 % LL

 

[Dazliare]

I'm not an expert, but I've played a couple different javazons, one with spirit and one with SS. For me, the long and short of it is that it's up to you. If you want more damage, go spirit. If you want to have max block, go SS. Personally, I prefer spirit.

As for the merc, forti + infinity + andariels/vamps is probably your best bet.

 

[pharphis]

I'd save the 5/5 for a griffon's eye and pop in ANY other lite facet into which slot(s) you prefer for the time being

 

[Cyrax]

Imo SS or spirit depends on how well you're at playing a javazon, playstyle and what kind of lvl you are. Spirit obviously gives more offensive capabilities. Which is why i'd say it's good for people with an offensive playing style. Especially coupled with lower lvls (pretty much anything below 97). That way you get faster runs and even if you die the loss in exp isn't that great. So i think the positives outweigh the negatives.
If you're going for 99 and are nicely along the way (lvl 97 or 98) i'd say a SS is better. Most of the time you won't have any trouble with spirit, but every once in a while Lister can be vicious and a SS can save your life there. And since you're high lvl it will save you a lot of experience you're not losing.
This ofc doesn't matter if you're good enough to stay alive no matter the circumstances. In that case it would be spirit all the way.

My merc used infinity, forti, vamp gaze. After switching out the valk for decoy he did fine. The valk tends to wander off, leaving the merc exposed (mostly to the hydras at wave 3). Whereas the decoy stays in place and takes the hits. And if needed teleport away until the hydras are gone. Just make sure to keep one row of antidotes for the merc, because the poison from wave 2 can be a real killer without.

 

[Andersdhx]

Imo SS or spirit depends on how well you're at playing a javazon, playstyle and what kind of lvl you are. Spirit obviously gives more offensive capabilities. Which is why i'd say it's good for people with an offensive playing style. Especially coupled with lower lvls (pretty much anything below 97). That way you get faster runs and even if you die the loss in exp isn't that great. So i think the positives outweigh the negatives.
If you're going for 99 and are nicely along the way (lvl 97 or 98) i'd say a SS is better. Most of the time you won't have any trouble with spirit, but every once in a while Lister can be vicious and a SS can save your life there. And since you're high lvl it will save you a lot of experience you're not losing.
This ofc doesn't matter if you're good enough to stay alive no matter the circumstances. In that case it would be spirit all the way.

My merc used infinity, forti, vamp gaze. After switching out the valk for decoy he did fine. The valk tends to wander off, leaving the merc exposed (mostly to the hydras at wave 3). Whereas the decoy stays in place and takes the hits. And if needed teleport away until the hydras are gone. Just make sure to keep one row of antidotes for the merc, because the poison from wave 2 can be a real killer without.

Cyrax, your vid of your javazon partly inspired this build, did you use the obvious gear for the zon? - Also, my decoy seems to disappear quite often, without it taking any damage, as if Baal nulifies it?

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[pharphis]

Decoy has a timer!

 

[Andersdhx]

Decoy has a timer!

I know, I know, but it can be in between rounds, seconds after it being cast!

Also, do you guys go for dodge, evade and the 3rd one?

 

[Excalibur]

Also, my decoy seems to disappear quite often, without it taking any damage, as if Baal nulifies it?

If you use teleport, decoy will disappear at once.

 

[Korlic]

Ok first things first. If you dont have Griffon, u will get problems with imunes I would suggest at least putting a -5 facet in your Shako, possibly also in your SS, IF you have decent resists. Otherwise Um or Perf. Diamond is opted for the SS. Another choice is having Thunderstroke on switch. However that means prebuffing with CtA and carrying the CtA-weapon in the cube. It could be done at Baal, since you have time in between mobs, but would be annoying.

 

[Cyrax]

Cyrax, your vid of your javazon partly inspired this build, did you use the obvious gear for the zon? - Also, my decoy seems to disappear quite often, without it taking any damage, as if Baal nulifies it?

Thanks for the advice guys.

I'd say she's pretty standard in gear:
Upped titans
Griffon's
Enigma
Mara's
SS
T-gods
WT's
Ravenfrost + SOJ
+3 java gloves with 19 dex

CtA + Spirit on switch

Only thing i can think of why you're decoy would appear, would be the reason Excalibur mentioned.

 

[frozzzen]

Spirit is way to go. I think I've dabbled with zons enough to recommend you that option with full confidence. Cyrax's setup is a bit on safe side, but I wouldn't make java that way. Fcr helps you greatly with teleporting, even if most of time I used cta/spirit switch for teleporting. Only reason to do so is cause I had 20/20 shield on main that allows for insane dmg output. That being said, nothing wrong with Spirit. It's great shield.

Without griffon's I'd probably do something like Shako(IAS jewel) HLW, upped Titan's Enigma, Spirit, 3/20 gloves (or any 20 IAS ones, shoppable fairly easy) RF, ring that would take care of your mana problem either with masss mpk 1.07 or high mana leech/high mana/resists, Razortail (seriously, this thing makes your otherwise broken damage even more broken; better than tgod's but I can understand fear of gloams if you decide to go that way) and whatever boots you want; WTs for MF, resists boots or whatever.

As far as resists go, you only need LR to run Baal, everything else is not really needed. Obviously, when you get Griffon's by all means use it. 25 fcr from it, 35 fcr from spirit and 10fcr ring would net you 70 fcr breakpoint that is great for javazons. But whatever you do, don't go for sub 55 IAS. It's not really like 105 fcr for sorc, but first thing when I'm making java is finding way how to get 55 IAS on her (HLW,20IAS gloves 15 IAS in hat more often than not).

You might want to check my zon mat thread. Gear is a bit expensive but it also has lots of advices how to do regarding resistances and area running, including Baal and CS.

Whatever way you decide to go with, java will always be strong. And even if you don't have -elr sources , *problems* you will encounter with infinity javazon pale comparing to any other character. She is just that strong, so save your facet for better days.

 

[japanzaman]

The 4 facet Jewelers Monarch of Deflection is your top offensive option, and Stormshield is the top defensive one. Spirit falls somewhere in the middle, probably more on the offensive side. I used SS for my hardcore zon, but would have preferred Spirit if using RWM.

 

[Grape]

Has anyone tried Head Hunter's Glory? Could be facete'd x 3 and comes with ok additions such as poison and fire res + some laek. :]

 

[JoeBruce]

Re: your side question about the Decoy disappearing when fighting Baal's minions. If memory serves, corpses are cleared out in between waves (presumably by Baal), and some player castables (maybe Decoy is the only one?) will get wiped out if they're in his little area. Or, it could be what someone else said about the teleporting; I don't know, I've never had a zon that could teleport

As for the shield, I always vote for crazy gear selection! Pull some elite unique shield you've never used out of your stash and go with that. Or some crazy high end runeword. Even if you switch back to one of the "standards," at least you'll have had some fun with the D2 items.

 

[japanzaman]

As for the shield, I always vote for crazy gear selection! Pull some elite unique shield you've never used out of your stash and go with that. Or some crazy high end runeword. Even if you switch back to one of the "standards," at least you'll have had some fun with the D2 items.

5/5 Faceted Medusa's Gaze all the way.

 

[Andersdhx]

Thanks for the help everyone, this definitely helped quite a lot.

I guess its time to switch the enigma back to the telezerker, and give the pit a chance to drop a griffon, despite me seeing 6-7 + green diadems so far!

In regards to the dissapearance of the decoy, it was due to my teleporting, duh.