Strafe or Multishot?

[DaemonJosh]

Sorry if this gets asked a lot, but I was wondering if either Strafe or Multi was significantly superior to the other. And how many points do you recommend each skill would require for use as my primary crowd control skill?
Many thanks.

[lamentarsi]

actually this is a question for which you would have been flamed to death not so long ago...
and it´s one not very easily answered. it really depends on what kind of amazon you are going to make...
but as a general rule: multi doesn´t have to be maxed to be good. i would suggest you get it up to 10-11 arrows per shot.
strafe on the other hand actually gets better the more points you put in it. so you might as well max it.
i could tell me more if you could tell me what kind of build you have in mind.
later.

[DaemonJosh]

Yes, it's all this new 1.10 malarkey that's got me confused.
Basically, I'll be going untwinked and solo through the game. Plans are to max Freezing Arrow and Cold Arrow, get up to 70% Pierce, up to lvl17 Valk, probably max GA, points in Penetrate as required, and points in either Strafe or Multi.
If they're roughly equally useful (though obviously in different situations), I might go with Multi, just because I likes it.

[lamentarsi]

ah. o.k. this makes it a little clearer :)
well i like multishot a lot better than strafe, too. but it´s just aesthetics.
i have a lvl 89 bow amazon with maxed magic arrow, maxed strafe and 8 or so in multi.
and indeed i use both for different situations.
but i think if you are only going to put points in one or the other, i would definetely go strafe, especially if you are going untwinked. cause you need really good gear to make multi work in certain areas in hell.
in the pit for example multi works just as well as strafe, sometimes even better. but the monsters will laugh at your multi in act 5 if you don´t have really really good gear (wf, to be precise and a lot of pdamage charms)
to make it short: multi is only useful in some situations while strafe is useful in pretty much all situations. so i´d definetely go strafe.

[DaemonJosh]

Thanks very much - I'll probably go with Strafe. Strafe seems to me as a better choice for killing groups that are spread across the screen, whereas multi is best for bunched-up groups, which I'll probably be using Freezing Arrow on.

[XZON]

Thanks very much - I'll probably go with Strafe. Strafe seems to me as a better choice for killing groups that are spread across the screen, whereas multi is best for bunched-up groups, which I'll probably be using Freezing Arrow on.

sorry but you have that backwards. Strafe is much better than multi if the monsters are in a pack or lined up in someway. reason is that more that one arrow from a strafe volley can hit the same monster thus you kill much quicker. Multi is good for open areas when you can not get them in a group as the spread of arrows means that you will hit each monster around 2.2 to 3.2 times per second. you also avoid strafe lock which can really stink when you get surrounded. Use strafe & some strategy (don't get surrounded) & you will be better off.

[Ryshenron]

dont max guided..its a one point wonder these days

[CoRRuPt-OnE]

@XZON - one strat for that would be to use a combination of FA and Strafe. With monsters frozen you wont have to worry about being surrounded so much.

[XZON]

@XZON - one strat for that would be to use a combination of FA and Strafe. With monsters frozen you wont have to worry about being surrounded so much.

sure. I should have been more clear. I don't mean surrounded like 20 monsters on top of you from all sides, I meant 20 monsters in different all different directions. A spinning straffer takes away from the advantages of strafe. Group them, freeze them & strafe them. Sounds like a perfect plan.