The old Dodge/Avoid/Evade question

[slam]

The old Dodge/Avoid/Evade question

What is the current consensus for the skill point allocation for Dodge, Avoid, and Evade? I searched through 6 different Amazon guides that I have saved here at work and they are a bit conflicting with some claiming Avoid to be the most important, some claiming it to be the least, and others claim Evade is where it’s at.


My build initially was to be a Strafe/FA hybrid but I found a Witchwild string and because of the magic arrow, never needed to invest in a back up skill so I have only 24 points invested in the Bow tree to reach max Strafe. So I currently have between 22 and 60 points to invest in the Dodge/Avoid/Evade skills – yes, maxing them would be overkill, but I use razor tail so don’t need many points in pierce, valk is at 14 with +3 skills and does ok with that. My chance to hit seems to be ok, or at least with such a high output of arrows, you don’t notice things missing so much. I say 22 points are available, just incase I do decide max Pierce, Penetrate, and Valk, but I doubt I will so I potentially have up to 60. I’m really just asking where the emphasis on the defensive skills should be.


Thanks

 

[Superhal]

if you use valk wisely, you'll never need d/a/e. imho, these only need to be raised if you are pvp. for pvm, any amount is fine and you may never miss it.

what i did was max valk and synergize it with decoy. now my valk fears nothing and my decoy is pretty buff without the casting delay.

but, if you have your heart set on d/a/e, i would recommend avoid, because i'm never in melee range. evade is ok if you are too lazy to scout ahead with decoy/valk and just run in blind, turn around, and run out screaming.

if you have @22 extra points, i would recommend lightning fury as a backup skill for pi's. it's cheaper than freezing arrow, and doesn't need synergies.

 

[Leohappy]

if you use valk wisely, you'll never need d/a/e. imho, these only need to be raised if you are pvp. for pvm, any amount is fine and you may never miss it.

Don't forget that d/a/e also synergize Valkyrie so it's not just for "personal" use.

While I can't really say which is better (since all are needed in various situations), I tend to just put points to all of them, until they have approx. even amount of % (I'm talking PvM here).

 

[slam]

Thanks SuperHal. Last things First: I considered the Strafe/LF hybrid for a while, and even a Strafe/LF/FA hybrid. This Amazon has definitely become a bit of a magic finder these days and I'll be putting an Ali Baba/Rhyme on switch so no room for my Titans. I am sure that one of the skills would end up being forgotten about anyhow. My Javazon is another build I am just starting on.

This is officially my wife's character though I tend to use her a lot (the Amazon I mean). My wife is not as defensive minded as I am and she will run blindly ahead so the defensive skills are more for her benefit. Though I might not be too hasty in using the saved points yet incase I do decided to go the route you took. I'll just pay attention to her weaknesses as I next play and will make a decision and report back then.

Penetrate seems to be a common choice but doesn't it become a bit redundant at high levels. What is a probably chance to hit at level 90, 95, 99? The Amazon is currently level 81 and I will definitely be taking her to level 90 at least and her equipment is as follows:

Her gear setup is
Upped Witchwild String (Shael/Nef)
Laying of Hands
Skullder's Ire (Perfect Topaz)
Harlequin Crest (Perfect Topaz)
Razortail/Goldwrap
War Travelers
Ravenfrost
Dual Leech Rare ring (only one I've ever found)
Cat's Eye

Like I said, I think Strafe just gives you the illusion that you are hitting more than you really are because of the number of arrows and the speed at which them are fired.

 

[Liliel]

Well personally I just put in 1pt and let the +skills handle it. Of course, this only works if you have a fair amount of it on your gear.

 

[SlainByPain]

16 in each (with +skills) should be enough.

 

[Wmeredith]

I go 5 in each.

 

[Dacar92]

I also go 5 in each.

If I had the extra points, I would spend 5 in each d/a/e and then max out the valk. I think I usually put only 1 in decoy, and that seems to be enough. I don't use decoy too much. The synergy with valk is only a bonus. But I always find that a maxed valk with + skills (up to 25 or 27?) and that valk is nearly unstoppable.

 

[Superhal]

i would let her do it and then complement her no matter how it turns out so that she feels a sense of ownership on the character.

zons are so easy to play, it's very very difficult to mess one up.

 

[ramian]

zons are so easy to play, it's very very difficult to mess one up.

i messed up my first zon rather easily but dumping too many points into guided and multishot...

anyhow, i try to keep my d/a/e at 50%. she seems to be surviving better than my 1st messed up one.

 

[Superhal]

the old joke was you just needed one point: guided arrow. nowadays, all you need are a few points in valk.

 

[pbrdrinker]

I searched through 6 different Amazon guides that I have saved here at work and they are a bit conflicting

key word here WORK you gotta love someone who does thier D2 research at work.

 

[RetroStar]

What's the suggested skill lvl in D/A/E for PvP? I heard it's 12 hard pts into each.

 

[slam]

I searched through 6 different Amazon guides that I have saved here at work and they are a bit conflicting

key word here WORK you gotta love someone who does thier D2 research at work.

i'm trying to cut back but.... damn, i'm addicted. if what i'm doing at work right now wasn't so tedious, there might be hope for me, but right now, d2 seems much more appealing.

and besides, i like to use my home time for actually playing so researching at work seems to be the best solution

 

[Arutha]

i'm trying to cut back but.... damn, i'm addicted. if what i'm doing at work right now wasn't so tedious, there might be hope for me, but right now, d2 seems much more appealing.

and besides, i like to use my home time for actually playing so researching at work seems to be the best solution

nice to see i'm not the only one, I was beging to think i was lazy or something.

 

[harley98]

when i use a bow or jav skill (ranged attack) dodge/evade/avoid are not an issue, 1 point is all you'll ever need with +skills. but they do help your valkyie, so i put some extra points into dodge for that reason after i max valkyrie, penetrate, critical strike and decoy.