Multi/Magic/Lightning Fury Hybrid

[Euro-Crash]

Hello Everyone!

I am sure many of you may know me from the Paladin forums. My account on USWest is Jar-Jar-Binks. Some of you may know me from the realms as well. Having built to perfection a Frost Zealot capable of handling ANY situation, I decided to undertake a new challenge.

It has been some time since I have built an Amazon, and my primary reason behind not building one was an assumed cost of doing so. When I first started, Amazon builds were tremendously expensive. After evaluating a build following the release of the new Ladder runewords, I found that there was one build that was reasonably potent and great fun to play - but was not prohibitively expensive.

I will be posting a guide based on what I was able to acquire and use for this build. There are some items (Annihilus) that will vary and you may adjust your build accordingly. For starters, let's take a look at the gear:

Helmet: Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest +15ias/15rez jewel

Some may argue that there are better helms available, but I contend that this is by far the best helm available for this build. Socketed with the jewel gives it tremendous statistics. Let's examine them...15% IAS, 30% resist all, 60 to life, and 10% dual leech. I do not see what more could be desired.

Amulet: The Cat's Eye

Since this build is focused on attaining as much dexterity as possible, while maintaining an 8fps attack and a decent amount of FRW, this amulet really shines. Granting 25dext, 20ias, and 30frw there is not much that can compete.

Ring #1 and Ring #2: Ravenfrost (20dext)

While the added attack rating is indeed very nice, the main concern here is squeezing out as much dexterity as possible. Acquiring two of them with 20 dexterity would be best. Oh, and did I mention that equipping at least one will prevent your Amazon from being frozen. Not much else to say here.

Gloves: Sander's Taboo

After successfully crafting a pair of Hit-Power gloves with 20% IAS, I found I did not notice the Knockback as much as I thought I would. This lead me to believe that having the added LIFE granted by the Sander's Taboo along with the IAS was much better. If you can craft a pair with 20% IAS, dexterity and LIFE, then by all means use them. Else, Sander's is my top pick.

Boots: Waterwalk

Yes...I said it. Waterwalk. But why? Although the added damage from a pair of War Traveler's can be quite nice, and their 10 to Vitality and MF% is a strong temptation, the effects of the Waterwalk to me are undeniably better.

These boots will grant 15 to dexterity and 45-65 to life...which in comparison is 15-35 more life than that granted by War Traveler's. IMHO, these boots are well worth it...and they have a much lower strength requirement, and this allows us to conserve attribute points.

Armor: Fortitude Archon Plate

Yes it does weigh more than a Dusk Shroud, but we will be surpassing the strength requirement for an Archon Plate on or way toward equipping a Grand Matron Bow, Troll Nest, and Matriarchal Javelins - and the durability is MUCH higher.

The main reason to use the Fortitude Rune Word here is to again gain as much damage as possible, and maintain our ability to acheive a level of resistances that is acceptable. I chose an archon plate since I was going to have enough strength for items that were heavier...and because of its durability.

Belt: Razortail

While most people would recommend a different "better" belt, I tend to disagree. The Razortail has 33% Pierce on it and 15 dexterity. If you are intent on attaining a high level of dexterity, and conserving your points rather than investentint them in PIERCE, then this is the belt for you. Personally, I would not go any other way.

Weapon: FAITH Grand Matron Bow

For the purpose of maintaining a high rate of fire, and getting as much damage as possible, 15 resist all, along with the +skills, the gold find and chance to reanimate slain monster - this is THE bow of bows.

I was successful in rolling a 3/2/14 Faith GMB (it had +3 to begin with) and I have never been the same. This bow is magical...and I would do whatever it took to acquire. I would not choose anything other than this bow.

Weapon #2: Thunderstroke

What was that? Yes, the Thunderstroke seems to be a better javelin for this build for one reason...Lightning Fury is going to be used UN-Synergized, which means the +4 Javelin Skills (potential) will be needed. Also needed is -15% enemy resistance to lightning and the added 1-511 lightning damage to attack.

The only negative issue with this weapon is it does not possess the "Replenishes Quantity" modifier. If I had it to do over again, I would still choose these.

Shield: Dream Troll Nest

I can't really tell you why you would not want to use this shield. It gives resistances has good defense, and has the all important Holy Shock aura when equipped. In my opinion, adding lightning damage is a good thing. I chose this shield as I could not see using any other item in this slot...and the other items were also much heavier. IMHO, this is the way to go.

Charm(s): Annihilus, SC's (with the mods you NEED)

It is very important to base this build off an Annhilus to allow for the most efficient use of your attribute points. If you do not have one, it is not impossible to build this character, however you will need to make the appropriate adjustments to your attribute points as you will not have as many to spare.

[Euro-Crash]

IN this section I will be discussing the distribution of attribute points. At clvl 90 (all reward quests) you will have 460 points to allocate as you see fit. With an Annihilus small charm, you will have additional points to spare. Base levels for the important statistics are:

Strength: 20
Dexterity: 25
Vitality: 20

I left Energy out because as many of us know, it is quite simply just not necessary. In anycase, you can see that the modified statistics (using my Annihilus) are:

Strength: 39
Dexterity: 44
Vitality: 39

Moving on to the actual investment of hard points - our heaviest item the Grand Matron Bow has a strength requirement of 108. In my situation, I had to make an investment of 69 points. This left a total of 391 attribute points.

Vitality was based on my own comfort level. Since the equipment listed gives a total of 245-265 life, I felt that a humble investment in Vitality would be more than adequate. Considering that each level grants an additional 2 to life and that with the rewards quests another 60 life can be obtained - not to mention the availability of 20 to life SC's (some with tasty second mod's) - I felt it necessary to be satisfied with a hard point investment of only 46 points.

This pushed my vitality up to 85, and at clvl 85 my Amazon currently has a total of 722 hit points. This can be bumped up to 900 with the addition of 9 small charms. It can be bumped up even more if I feel uncomfortable with the addition of more 20 to life SC's. This meager investment in points left me with 345 attribute points to spare.

Moving onto my favorite attribute of all for an Amazon. With the gear selected a total of 114 gets added to our base dexterity of 25. This nets 139 dexterity. If you are completely off your rocker like I pride myself to be...you will DUMP the remaining stat points you have into dexterity to reach an unearthly 484 dexterity. WIth the addition of 8 SC's possessing 2 dexterity you will have acheived 500 dexterity...Isn't that cool? I think so too!

Thus when modified by the Annihuls and the items, you should see something similar to:

Strength: 108
Dexterity: 484 (500)
Vitality: 85

[Euro-Crash]

Finally, we get to the meat of our guide. That is, how does this megadex Amazon plan on taking out her foes. Well...let's first look at our mercenary. The mercenary of choice for this build is of course a MIGHT merc (Act II - NM- Offensive). This will indeed boost your damage...but not as much as I like.

I prefer to squeeze out every last bit of damage and with this build, there are NO exceptions. If you cannot get a hold of a PRIDE polearm for your mercenary do not fret...it is not entirely necessary, it's just a personal preferance. My merc is equipped with:

Helmet: Andariel's Visage (RAL)
Armor: Fortitude Dusk Shroud (low durability = merc armor)
Weapon: PRIDE Colossus Voulge (lvl 16 Concentration)

This I find to be a good boost to our main damage skills. Skill points are allocated as follows:

-20 Lighting Fury (3 pre-req's) = 23 points
-20 Magic Arrow = 20 points
-20 Multi-Shot = 20 points
-14 Critical Strike = 14 points (20 with +skills)
-xx Penetrate = xx points (adjust to taste)
-1 Pierce (enough for ~100% pierce) = 1 point
-1 Dodge (adjust to taste) = 1 point
-1 Avoid (adjust to taste) = 1 point
-1 Evade (adjust to taste) = 1 point
----------------------------------
Total: 80 + xx points

I believe this allows for great flexibility in your allocation of skill points. If you are using a Demonlimb to self-enchant, you do not need a tremendous boost from Penetrate to acheive a high AR. It would even be possible to venture into the possibilty of adding yet another attack to your arsenal...personally I am trying to decide whether or not to go with JAB or with GUIDED ARROW.

I have experienced great success with this build...and that is why I am putting it out for your review. Please let me know what your thoughts are...I am interested in your input. Thank you!

[itsPizzarific]

nice job, this is a pretty unique hybrid build but the possibilities are really almost endless with hybrids .. strafe / lf probably being the most common

i have a fa / lf zon and im about to make a multi / charged strike zon

with the extra skill points, you may want to get a level 17 valk or increase or passives .. i think you have enough offensive skills

great job :)

[Chimaira]

Very nice guide...:)

[Euro-Crash]

UPDATE

This I find to be a good boost to our main damage skills. Skill points are allocated as follows:

-20 Lighting Fury (3 pre-req's) = 23 points
-20 Magic Arrow = 20 points
-20 Multi-Shot = 20 points
-17 Critical Strike = 17 points (20 with +skills)
-13 Penetrate = 13 points (adjust to taste)
-4 Pierce (enough for ~100% pierce) = 4 points
-1 Dodge (adjust to taste) = 1 point
-1 Avoid (adjust to taste) = 1 point
-1 Evade (adjust to taste) = 1 point
-1 Jab (adjust to taste) = 1 point
----------------------------------
Total: 98 points used at clvl 87

[DudSpud]

-20 Lighting Fury (3 pre-req's) = 23 points
-20 Magic Arrow = 20 points
-20 Multi-Shot = 20 points
-17 Critical Strike = 17 points (20 with +skills)
-13 Penetrate = 13 points (adjust to taste)
-4 Pierce (enough for ~100% pierce) = 4 points
-1 Dodge (adjust to taste) = 1 point
-1 Avoid (adjust to taste) = 1 point
-1 Evade (adjust to taste) = 1 point
-1 Jab (adjust to taste) = 1 point
----------------------------------
Total: 98 points used at clvl 87

Just nit-picking here, but it's 101 points. Or did you mean only 10 in penetrate, so 13 with + skills?

Still, a very nice build if you can get your hands on Faith. And maybe not even. I played with a zon named Stumbeluna in a few AB games before she got her hands on Faith, and she was mowing 'em down pretty good.

One thing that makes me nervous is the lack of Valk, but I guess you are killing pretty quick in any event. You could probably put less/ one point into penetrate as the Faith has ITD, so you would only be hurting against Act bosses.

DudSpud

[Euro-Crash]

Just nit-picking here, but it's 101 points. Or did you mean only 10 in penetrate, so 13 with + skills?

Still, a very nice build if you can get your hands on Faith. And maybe not even. I played with a zon named Stumbeluna in a few AB games before she got her hands on Faith, and she was mowing 'em down pretty good.

One thing that makes me nervous is the lack of Valk, but I guess you are killing pretty quick in any event. You could probably put less/ one point into penetrate as the Faith has ITD, so you would only be hurting against Act bosses.

DudSpud

I did. Good catch...I was wondering where I was getting all mixed up. Even with ITD, and 470 dexterity my AR is not what I would like it to be. I am one of those crazy kids who likes to have a 95% chance to hit everything...INCLUDING act bosses.

At this point I am at an 81% chance to hit Hell BAAL. I imagine after adding a HEL'd Demonlimb to my stash for self-enchant, I may see that number shoot up a bit. As it stands my AR is quite disgusting...LOL.

I have decided to stop using the PRIDE polearm and go with something else. My mercenary is quite a tank...and to increase his effectiveness (and mine) there were a couple of options I was considering.

Option #1:
---------
-Guillame's Face (CHAM)
-Eth. Up'd Hone Sundan (BER+AMN+AMN)
-Eth. Fortitude Wire Fleece

Option #2:
----------
-Guillame's Face (CHAM)
-Eth. Reaper's Toll [perfect LEECH] (LO)
-Eth. Fortitude Wire Fleece

Option #3:
----------
-Andariel's Visage (RAL)
-Eth. Infinity Great Poleaze
-Eth. Fortitude Wire Fleece

Option #4:
----------
-Dream Bone Visage
-Eth. Dragon Wire Fleece
-Eth. Infinity Great Poleaxe

Option #5:
---------
-Andariel's Visage (RAL)
-Eth. Phoenix Great Poleaxe
-Eth. Fortitude Wire Fleece

I am looking to make the most out of using a merc. Damage output is good, its just gaining that edge over the rest of HELL that I am after. I am leaning toward the 100% CB route, though the Deadly Strike looks appealing as well. The enhanced ability to hit a target (CONVICT - lower target defense) is also appealing...and the chance to cast Decrep is quite sexy too...I just don't know.

Truth be told, I do mow down EVERYTHING...it's just a matter of dealing with those act bosses. My merc has no leech...he dies...I end up running and gunning...no fun. I need to make my merc a tank so he can take the heat while I lay down a suppressing fire. I cannot quite comprehend why I cannot hardly make a scratch on the act bosses...its quite perplexing.

[DudSpud]

OK, if it's a matter of dealing with those act bosses...

Elemental aura would seem useless unless stacked, and the only one he could stack would be fire, and that just doesn't cut it.

If the bosses are killing him quickly, he needs to slow them down and get tons of leech, while smacking them, but good. Short of going with HF and pride on him, I would say keep the might merc and use Reaper's toll for the decrepify, 33 % DS, cold (more slowing), and up to 15% life leech. Decrep slows, reduces their damage, and increases yours. Probably best to socket is a Ber, if you can afford it, or amn for more leech.

As for armor, I see two options: ultra-high defense like eth Stone or DR like upp'ed NON-eth Shaft or eth NON-upped Shaft (eth bonus doesn't carry over when armors are upped...). Maybe I'd go with the Stone with a defiance merc. For might, I would go with the DR because he will get hit, and hard. Also worth noting is perfect Leviathan, which adds up to 50% ED and better def, though 5% less DR. Socket either with Ber for more DR goodness.

Helm, I say Guillaume's for the CB, FHR, DS. Socket with Ber for DR or Um depending on his resists (at this lvl, they should be near perfect). With Guillaume's (Ber), Leviathan (Ber), and Reaper's (Ber) you have 41% DR, 55% CB, 5X% DS, and 33% CtC Decrep with a 6-7(? can't remember exactly) FPA Jab.

Good, yes, but is it good enough? You tell me, I don't have the Bers...

Good luck,
DudSpud

[Lyrs]

Suggestions:
LF clears all non-LIs. Max
CS = BEST Boss killer. Max
Mult/Strafe = Max whichever is your choice
Split the rest between Passives

I use Eaglehorn so the ITD and AR makes the build shine.

[Euro-Crash]

If the bosses are killing him quickly, he needs to slow them down and get tons of leech, while smacking them, but good.


The bosses are only killing him because he has no leech. His ability to tank them is decreased because of this.


Short of going with HF and pride on him, I would say keep the might merc and use Reaper's toll for the decrepify, 33 % DS, cold (more slowing), and up to 15% life leech. Decrep slows, reduces their damage, and increases yours. Probably best to socket is a Ber, if you can afford it, or amn for more leech.


I am well familiar with this weapon and its effects...this is why it was something I was leaning toward. The mod's on it are just far too tasty to surpass...and to be truthful, I do not know why I wanted to squeeze out more damage by stacking a third aura. The chance to cast decrepify is simply HUGE. Also, you are correct in your idea to add a BER rune to this already lovely weapon.

Combined with the Guillame's Face, the merc will then be blessed with 48% Deadly Strike, 55% Crushing Blow, 15% Life Leech (potential), ITD, 33% chance to cast decrepify, CBF, and 30% FHR. This is quite nice and considering his damage output will be reaching nearly 4K, he should survive much better.


As for armor, I see two options: ultra-high defense like eth Stone or DR like upp'ed NON-eth Shaft or eth NON-upped Shaft (eth bonus doesn't carry over when armors are upped...). Maybe I'd go with the Stone with a defiance merc. For might, I would go with the DR because he will get hit, and hard. Also worth noting is perfect Leviathan, which adds up to 50% ED and better def, though 5% less DR. Socket either with Ber for more DR goodness.


I do agree, these are indeed nice armors. I have a Lvl 91 Frost Zealot on NL, his merc is equipped with an Up'd 190% Duriel's Shell (SHAEL), Guillame's Face (SHAEL), and Reaper's Toll (AMN). This merc NEVER dies...save for the nasty case of Iron Maiden. I am thinking by getting many of the same mods and increasing damage output, my ZONS merc should do substaintially better.


...a 6-7(? can't remember exactly) FPA Jab. Good, yes, but is it good enough? You tell me...

It's 6 fpa Jab...since the lvl 14 Fanaticism gives him a bit of help. This I think should be more than adequate....and at the cost of only one BER rune. At the moment, I am in need of only an Eth. Reaper's Toll (or Perf Reaper's Toll), a BER rune, and a LO rune to complete my Eth Fortitude Wire Fleece (found one with 709 defense - should net around 2100 defense).

My analysis of charms has lead me to believe that I should probably use (search for) the following small charms:

+2 dexterity/+5 resist all - 8 charms (looking)
100 pdsc's - 7 charms (not entirely necessary)
5% FHR - 4 charms (current)
20 life/11% light. resist - 3 charms (looking)
20 life/11% cold resist - 3 charms (looking)
20 life/11% fire resist - 3 charms (looking)
20 life/11% poison resist - 3 charms (looking)
Annihilus - 1 charm (current)

I think that adding poison might be a worthwhile investment, only after the other charms have been located....please let me know of your thoughts.

[DudSpud]

Lyrs, just a note - in addition to fanatacisms AR boost, Faith is also ITD.

The bosses are only killing him because he has no leech. His ability to tank them is decreased because of this.
OK, my mistake, I didn't realize it was just a leech problem. Will the up to 15% from Reaper's (Ber) take care of this alone? What helm are you going with - Guillaume's for the CB or a LL one? And yes, if only leech is needed to keep him alive, then Fortitude is a great choice.

Oh, and if your going with Reaper's, wont that break most PI's? If so, you could follow Lyrs suggestion, and skip MA in favor of ChStr. ChStr is incredible against bosses. Of course, that goes against the ranger flavor of your build, and I would be nervous about getting that close with low HP and no DR.

My analysis of charms has lead me to believe that I should probably use (search for) the following small charms:

+2 dexterity/+5 resist all - 8 charms (looking)
100 pdsc's - 7 charms (not entirely necessary)
5% FHR - 4 charms (current)
20 life/11% light. resist - 3 charms (looking)
20 life/11% cold resist - 3 charms (looking)
20 life/11% fire resist - 3 charms (looking)
20 life/11% poison resist - 3 charms (looking)
Annihilus - 1 charm (current)

I think that adding poison might be a worthwhile investment, only after the other charms have been located....please let me know of your thoughts.
Hmm... I didn't realize your resists were that bad (8*5 + 3*11 = 73 - so your around, what, 0-10 each?). If it were me, I would go with anni, 1 pdsc just to prevent heal (they should be dead before it ends), the life/FR and LR charms to get to max, replace the fhr's with max/ar/fhr (cost is no object!) and the rest max/ar/lifers. Raven's should take care of chill. With leech and what, an 8 fps multi, no one should give you any grief. Of course, being able to brag about max all res has its charms (sorry, I couldn't resist (sorry again)).

And then there are Jav skillers to up the LF damage...

Just my 2 cents,
DudSpud

[Euro-Crash]

OK, my mistake, I didn't realize it was just a leech problem. Will the up to 15% from Reaper's (Ber) take care of this alone? What helm are you going with - Guillaume's for the CB or a LL one? And yes, if only leech is needed to keep him alive, then Fortitude is a great choice.


No worries. IMHO, it is a leech issue...his health regenerates too slow and he has ZERO leech. This is something in my experience that has always lead to a DEAD merc.


Oh, and if your going with Reaper's, wont that break most PI's? If so, you could follow Lyrs suggestion, and skip MA in favor of ChStr. ChStr is incredible against bosses. Of course, that goes against the ranger flavor of your build, and I would be nervous about getting that close with low HP and no DR.


Indeed. The CS option requires me to get close...too close for comfort. The only reason I added JAB to this build was in the event of that ODD cow getting too close, I have something to make him think twice...it has been working quite well. I happened to have enough +skills to get past the damage penalty for JAB.

I don't think using JAB against bosses (save for Normal and Nightmare) would be a wise decision. It just doesn't make sense.


Hmm... I didn't realize your resists were that bad (8*5 + 3*11 = 73 - so your around, what, 0-10 each?).


Yes, they aren't anything to be too proud of. I am trying to remedy that. I am also thinking of switching up to Laying of Hands to get a hearty boost to my DEMON DAMAGE and to gain a substantial increase in my fire resistance. This would mean fewer charms.


If it were me, I would go with anni, 1 pdsc just to prevent heal (they should be dead before it ends), the life/FR and LR charms to get to max, replace the fhr's with max/ar/fhr (cost is no object!) and the rest max/ar/lifers. Raven's should take care of chill. With leech and what, an 8 fps multi, no one should give you any grief.


I have the Annihilus, and a 100 pdsc is not completely out of the question. That is two charms. With a the added 50% fire resist, and the 7% I am at presently, I will use three 20 to life/11% fire resist charms (with Waterwalks, I can push my fire resist up to 80%). This is now five charms.

Lightning resist is also an issue for me. With FORT it is possible to push Lightning resist up to 80% as well. To do so would require the eight proposed 2 dexterity/5 resist all small charms, along with the intended three 20 life/11% Light. resist small charms. This serves two purposes - a) pushes dext to 500; b) pushes light res to 80%. This totals sixteen charms.

With the 40% cold absorb, I am not as worried about protection from cold. I think that obtaining 45-50% resistance to cold will be satisfactory, hence there is no need to acquire cold resistance small charms.

Poison is an issue that I would really prefer to not deal with, but again...45-50 poison resist should be satisfactory as well. This means that a total of 16 small charms will be needed. This takes up four columns in my inventory leaving six open columns to expand into.

I play with scrolls of TP in my belt...and I have done so for a very long time (hence no silly book to keep in my inventory).


And then there are Jav skillers to up the LF damage...


Do you think this might be over-kill? I can add these sure, but I am not sure where else to go. Thank you for your help Dud...it seems you and I are once again on the same page. Nice to know someone is interested in helping to iron out the bugs in a hybrid build for 1.10.

[Euro-Crash]

UPDATE

Made some minor gear and merc tweaks. I made a nice FORT for my mercenary...happened to roll it in an Eth Wire Fleece (709 base defense). It came out beautifully...2142 defense, and 30% resist all.

I also equipped my merc with a Reaper's Toll (non-eth was satisfactory for the moment) and equipped a Guillame's Face (CHAM). He is proving to be one hell of a tank now...and far more valuable than he was with the PRIDE Colossus Voulge.

Also, I sacrificed 40 hit points from the Sander's Gloves and opted for the Laying of Hands gloves. This adjustment increased my fire resistance to a suitable level and allowed me to stay at the same frame rate for attacks. The other benefit that I noticed immediately was the 300% damage to demons modifier. THIS is what is making all the difference in this build so far.

I am in the process of finding a Demonlimb to socket with a HEL rune, and I am looking to move my merc from the non-eth Reaper's Toll to an Eth. BER'd Reaper's Toll (provided the leech is at 15%).

Points from levels 90-99 may be distributed among the D/A/E tree, or quite possibly dumped into JAB to reach lvl 15 JAB with +skill items. It is a geat single target skill. Magic arrow is great at a distance as a single target skill and LF and Multi are both proving to be excellent room clearing attacks.

More updates as the saga continues...

[DudSpud]

I play with scrolls of TP in my belt...and I have done so for a very long time (hence no silly book to keep in my inventory).

Same here. I have never understood why people use a tome. I have a TP on top of my second stack of juvies, and I know if I accidentally hit it, it really is time to bug out.

Do you think this might be over-kill?

This gave me a chuckle. Faith, Fortitude, 500 dex, Merc with Ber'ed Eth perf Reaper's, and you ask if a few Jav skillers might be over-kill!:D It's all over kill - you've got a sick build with incredible equipment. I thought what we were going for was over-kill, tweaking it to make just that much better.

As for the skillers, my thinking was this. What could be improved, either defensively or offensively. Not much to do with the bow side (OK, maybe re-roll for a perf Faith - I don't think you're THAT rich...), resists could be taken care of with some charm room to spare, and the best defense is a good offense, so I thought about ways to increase the LF damage. The only thing I could come up with is either socketing facets or skillers.

Thank you for your help Dud...it seems you and I are once again on the same page. Nice to know someone is interested in helping to iron out the bugs in a hybrid build for 1.10.

It has been my pleasure to play the build vicariously through the discussion, and I got some great ideas for my (poorer) self. Thanks.

DudSpud

[itsPizzarific]

so jab and magic arrow are your boss / solo target killers?

im planning on making a hybrid similar to this one except swapping out lightning fury for charged strike+lightningstrike and ill use tstrokes instead of titans since i wont be throwing at all

gl finishing up your build :)

[Euro-Crash]

Same here. I have never understood why people use a tome. I have a TP on top of my second stack of juvies, and I know if I accidentally hit it, it really is time to bug out.


I usually play with 3 columns filled with re-juvs and TP scrolls in the 4th colum. The two slots taken up by a tome are a waste IMHO...and the only time I play with a tome is at lower levels and when I don't have an inventory full of charms.


This gave me a chuckle. Faith, Fortitude, 500 dex, Merc with Ber'ed Eth perf Reaper's, and you ask if a few Jav skillers might be over-kill!:D It's all over kill - you've got a sick build with incredible equipment. I thought what we were going for was over-kill, tweaking it to make just that much better.


Thanks for the compliment. I think that the build is going splendidly. Moving to a Reaper's is definitely an improvement...as well as the Laying of Hands. The 300% damage to demons is definitely better than the 285% enhanced damage received from the PRIDE polearm my mercenary was wielding. Why? MOST of the monsters (including act bosses) are DEMONS.

A point of interest...Dexterity not only affects your chance to hit, but it also affects your defense. The FORT armor is a major plus, when the shiver armor is cast on myself I reach 6K defense. When my mercs shiver armor is triggered he hits 8K. This is why I am leaning toward more points into JAB...I actually want to take at least a couple of hits to trigger the shiver armor. Investing in the Dodge tree would make this harder to trigger.

WIthout the 15ias/15rez jewel I am at 7% resist to all. I rushed through HELL last night and got a GUL...think that could snag a jewel this tasty? Hmm...with that jewel I would be at 22% resist all. With the Laying of Hands I am at 72% Fire Resist. One 20life/11% fire rez would put me at 80% (where I want to be). [1 charm + Anni = 2 charms]

Moving toward the other areas that need resists...Three of each of the following 20life/11% cold resist, 20life/11% poison resist would put me at 55% cold/poison resist. This I feel would be satisfactory...as I have 40% cold absorb from the dual Ravenfrosts. [6+2 charms = 8 charms]

Poison? The only monster I have ever encountered that deals an insane amount of poison damage is Achmel...all other poison issuse are counter-acted with a high amount of leech and high damage...life bulb that gets drained is quickly replenished.

Coming in with 22% light resist is going to require five 20life/11% light resist charms, and ONE 20life/5 resist all charm. This puts us at 80/60/80/60 resists in hell with 40% cold absorb. I am comfortable with this...and it brings our charm total to [8+5+1 = 13 charms] which takes up a total of 3 columns of an available 10. This leaves room for if the charms are arranged properly, 4-7 Javelin GC's...I think going with 4 will suffice, preferably with 5-6 dext on them...and to prevent monster heal, a 100pdsc will fit snugly into our plans.


As for the skillers, my thinking was this. What could be improved, either defensively or offensively. Not much to do with the bow side (OK, maybe re-roll for a perf Faith - I don't think you're THAT rich...),


Well...hehe...I won't comment on my wealth, it is impolite. But I will say that rerolling for a perfect FAITH (with lvl 15 Fanaticism, instead of mine that is at lvl 14 with +3 B&C/+2 All) would only grant:

+17% Enhanced damage (my attack)
+9% Enhanced damage (party attack)
+5% to attack rating

The attack speed would stay the same, and IMHO, it would be very stupid to reroll the bow to get lvl 15 Fanaticism as the benefits would be minimal.


resists could be taken care of with some charm room to spare, and the best defense is a good offense, so I thought about ways to increase the LF damage. The only thing I could come up with is either socketing facets or skillers.


If arranged preperly, I will have 12 remaining spots in my inventory, which is more than ample to pick up various items I may wish to keep in my travels. I think this will be good to do. With the added +4 to java skills, I would be looking at a total of +9 to javelin skills when using LF. THis would push LF to 1-940 lightning damage per bolt, with 30 bolts and -15% enemy resistance to lightning. Not sure but that's VERY sexy on paper...

As for JAB, if all remaining points from level 90 to 99 are invested in JAB, along with the +8 java skills, it would be at slvl 19. This would net an added 39% damage and an added 172% to attack rating. Not too shabby for a third backup attack. All said and done, this ZON has four very potent and extremely viable attacks...JAB, MULTI, MAGIC ARROW, LIGHT. FURY. I think this covers really any situation you would encounter in hell...AND...

Each of the attacks is developed enough to make a difference even in larger games played in HELL difficulty. Please be sure to offer any input...and Spud, let's think about the poor man's version of this build (not intended to be an insult)...there has to be a way to make this work at a lower cost.

As for me, it's off to NM cows to find charms, jewels and runes!

[Euro-Crash]

UPDATE

With the addition of a 15ias/15resist jewel, the build will use the following charms:

8 * 2 dext/5 resist
4 * 20 life/5 resist
4 * Javelin Skill GC's (with second mod if possible)
3* 100 pdsc

This leaves 3 columns of unused space in my inventory (twelve 1*1 slots). I think this will be satisfactory.

As for a cheaper version, I was only able to come up with the following:

Helmet: Tal Rasha's Mask (15 IAS jewel)
Gloves: Laying of Hands
Belt: Razortail
Amulet: Cat's Eye
Armor: Lionheart Archon Plate
Weapon: WF (SHAEL)
Weapon #2: Thunderstroke
Shield: Spirit
Ring #1: Ravenfrost
Ring #2: Ravenfrost

Not sure exactly how cheap that is...but it should certainly be more accomadating on one's budget than the equipment I mentioned earlier.

[shmiddy]

i think some good blood gloves would be better than sanders
the 15-25 damage added from wartravs is better than the dex from waterwalks.

[Euro-Crash]

i think some good blood gloves would be better than sanders
the 15-25 damage added from wartravs is better than the dex from waterwalks.

Don't need anymore leech (10% dual leech). The 15-25 damage on the War Travs may be better...but I lose the potential for 80% fire resist...and Waterwalk give more life than WT. I have considered this...

I did make an update that swapped Laying of Hands for the Sander's gloves as I was encountering a minor issue with boss battles. I found the 350% added damage to demons to be of more value that 40 life.

[Dacar92]

I think Euro will rewrite this guide, but for now, I thought it deserved to be stickied until he can do that. :D

[DudSpud]

Crash put a lot of thought into his posts, and I personally think he will make a nice full guide out of what he already has. One comment that did not come up in the thread that I hope is addressed in the guide is KB. Many seem to say that a bowzon must have KB to fend off the rushing hordes. And they are right - because they are strafers.

Crash, on the other hand, recommends multi, and thus, doesn't need KB. In his build, he gets 20+ arrows fired every 8 frames, whereas a typical 9/2 strafer would need 54 frames to get off the same number of arrows (assuming the best case scenario of a 10 arrow strafe cycle). Thus, a multizon hits the same monster with higher frequency than a strafer does, and thus doesn't have as much a need for KB as a strafer does.

Oh, and congrats on the stickie status Crash!

DudSpud

[Euro-Crash]

Crash put a lot of thought into his posts, and I personally think he will make a nice full guide out of what he already has. One comment that did not come up in the thread that I hope is addressed in the guide is KB. Many seem to say that a bowzon must have KB to fend off the rushing hordes. And they are right - because they are strafers.

Crash, on the other hand, recommends multi, and thus, doesn't need KB. In his build, he gets 20+ arrows fired every 8 frames, whereas a typical 9/2 strafer would need 54 frames to get off the same number of arrows (assuming the best case scenario of a 10 arrow strafe cycle). Thus, a multizon hits the same monster with higher frequency than a strafer does, and thus doesn't have as much a need for KB as a strafer does.

Oh, and congrats on the stickie status Crash!

DudSpud

Thank you for the accolades Spud. Your contribuiton to this thread should be noted as well. You sent me back to the drawing board on a couple of occasions and I would like to give credit where it is due.

Indeed a Multi-Zon is a thing to behold if built according to this guide. I would however like to re-write the guide with some considerations toward those who cannot acquire some of the items mentioned. Although, I must admit...a good portion of the items used were not all that difficult to acquire.

I will be working on this tonight...hopefully a new version will be up and quite possibly the guide will be moved to the strategy compendium when it is in its final version.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this thread.

[itsPizzarific]

congrats on the stick m8, gl with the next version :)

[yiuman]

this may be a stupid question, but why magic arrow? I know its a different type of damage, and not many things resist magic, but the damage just seems so low compared to the other options! Can anyone explain?

[Euro-Crash]

this may be a stupid question, but why magic arrow? I know its a different type of damage, and not many things resist magic, but the damage just seems so low compared to the other options! Can anyone explain?

The goal of this build is versatility. Adding Guided Arrow would be nice...but it is a physical attack. Using the cold arrow tree requires too many points...unless of course you wished to deviate from this guide and build your own hybrid.

Magic Arrow adds another dimension of pain to the build. Low Damage? I think perhaps you have been misled. Using this guide and the items I currently have equipped, I have a nice amount of damage generated by this skill.

I will be adding Guided Arrow at clvl 90. This will yet again add another dimension of pain to the build. While it is true that Guided Arrow always hits...and DEXT is not important for this attack, DEXT makes Guided Arrow hurt! Needless to say with 475-500 dexterity, even one point in guided arrow should be MORE than adequate.

I have not yet come up with a name for this build as it successfully employs Magic Arrow, Multi Shot, Lightning Fury, Jab, (and Guided Arrow) in its arsenal. It is a tremendously versatile build...it can handle ANY situation (ANY).

[Euro-Crash]

I think Euro will rewrite this guide, but for now, I thought it deserved to be stickied until he can do that. :D

Introduction:

[hr]

I am sure many of you may know me from the Paladin forums. I have been playing Diablo II: LOD for about 5 years now. My account on USWest is Jar-Jar-Binks. Some of you may know me from the realms as well. Having built to perfection a Frost Zealot capable of handling ANY situation, I decided to undertake a new challenge.

The new challenge I decided to undertake was to create an Amazon capable of handling any situation - using a mix of Javelin and Bow skills that allowed for both crowd control and single target domination.

It has been some time since I have built an Amazon, and my primary reason behind not building one was an assumed cost of doing so. When I first started, Amazon builds were tremendously expensive.

After evaluating a build following the release of the new Ladder rune words, I found that there was one build that was reasonably potent and great fun to play - but was not prohibitively expensive.

I will be posting a guide based on what I was able to acquire and use for this build. There are some items (Annihilus) that will vary and you may adjust your build accordingly.

[hr]

For starters, let's take a look at the gear:

Helmet: Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest +15ias/15rez jewel

Some may argue that there are better helms available, but I contend that this is by far the best helm available for this build - socketed with a 15ias/15rez jewel gives it tremendous statistics. Let's examine them...15% IAS, 30% resist all, 60 to life, and 10% dual leech. I do not see what more could be desired.

If this particular jewel is out of your range, a simple 15% IAS jewel will suffice – resistance to elemental attacks will have to be compensated for in the form of charms.

Amulet: The Cat's Eye

This build is focused on attaining as much dexterity as possible, while maintaining an 8fps attack and a decent amount of FRW, this amulet really shines. Granting 25dext, 20ias, and 30frw there is not much that can compete.

Ring #1 and Ring #2: Ravenfrost (20dexterity)

While the added attack rating is indeed very nice, the main concern here is squeezing out as much dexterity as possible. Acquiring two of them with 20 points to dexterity would be best. Also worth mentioning is the “Cannot Be Frozen” modifier and the 20% cold damage absorption on each. Not much else to say here.

Gloves: Laying of Hands

After successfully crafting a pair of Hit-Power gloves with 20% IAS, I found I did not notice the Knockback* as much as I thought I would. It may be worthwhile to craft a pair of Hit-Power gloves to some, but for me I found that another pair of gloves was better suited toward this build.

Using Laying of Hands (set Bramble Mitts), gives tremendous power to this build. The gloves come standard with 20% IAS, +25 Defense, 350% Damage to Demons,
Fire Resist +50%, 10% Chance to Cast Level 3 Holy Bolt On Striking.

While the damage output may not be visible on your character screen, the added 350% Damage to Demons is absolutely huge. This is because nearly every monster you encounter in the game (including Act Bosses) is a DEMON. The 50% Fire Resist is also a huge benefit. I would not recommend any other gloves.

*NOTE: I thought it necessary to add a small segment on Knockback. Since this build focuses on damage output through dexterity, achieving an 8fpa shot rate, and using MULTI-SHOT rather than STRAFE, the benefits of Knockback were something I saw as minimal for two reasons:

1) The damage done with multi-shot using the gear recommended will cause monsters to enter hit-recovery thereby accomplishing a pseudo-knockback.

2) Using this guide, multi-shot will send a blast of 20+ arrows every 8 frames. My Amazon currently sends a volley of 26 arrows per attack (with 3 attacks per second). Most of the time monsters are intercepted by my mercenary and Decrepified before they have a chance to reach me. If they pass him, they are flattened before they reach me.

This led me to believe that Laying of Hands was the superior choice for gloves on this particular Amazon build.

Boots: Waterwalk

Although the added damage from a pair of War Traveler's can be quite nice, and their 10 to Vitality and MF% is a strong temptation, the effects of the Waterwalk to me are undeniably better.

These boots will grant 15 to dexterity and 45-65 to life...which in comparison is 15-35 more life than that granted by War Traveler's. IMHO, these boots are well worth it...and they have a much lower strength requirement, and this allows us to conserve attribute points. The other benefit of these boots is the ability to achieve 80% Fire Resist in HELL.

Many people have questioned my judgment on this particular item…but I contend it is hands down the best choice. Remember that this build focuses on high dexterity and achieving a respectable hit-point pool using life granted from items.

Armor: Fortitude Archon Plate

Yes it does weigh more than a Dusk Shroud, but we will be surpassing the strength requirement for an Archon Plate on or way toward equipping a Grand Matron Bow, Troll Nest, and Matriarchal Javelins - and the durability is MUCH higher.

The main reason to use the Fortitude Rune Word here is to again gain as much damage as possible, and maintain our ability to achieve a level of resistances that is acceptable. I chose an archon plate since I was going to have enough strength for items that were heavier...and because of its durability.

This will undeniably be one of the more expensive items for your build…my advice is to find the lower runes for the plate, then find a respectable archon plate to put them in, and begin the process of finding yourself a LO rune. Hands down this is the best armor to use for this build.

Belt: Razortail

While most people would recommend a different "better" belt, I tend to disagree. The Razortail has 33% Pierce on it and 15 to dexterity. If you are intent on attaining a high level of dexterity, and conserving your points rather than investing them in PIERCE, then this is the belt for you. Personally, I would not go any other way.

Weapon: FAITH Grand Matron Bow

For the purpose of maintaining a high rate of fire, and getting as much damage as possible, 15 resist all, along with the +skills, the gold find and chance to reanimate slain monster - this is THE bow of bows.

I was successful in rolling a 3/2/14 Faith GMB (it had +3 to begin with) and I have never been the same. This bow is magical...and I would do whatever it took to acquire. I would not choose anything other than this bow.

As of March 22, 2005 this bow was trading for 3-5 IST runes. Run the pits, find items to trade for some IST runes and get a hold of this bow. You will never be the same. While it is true that a WF will do more damage per shot, the FAITH GMB will do more damage over time because of its ability to reach an 8fpa shot-rate with relative ease.

Weapon #2: Thunderstroke

Thunderstroke seems to be the best javelin(s) for this build for one reason...Lightning Fury is going to be used UN-Synergized, which means the +4 Javelin Skills (potential) will be needed.

Also needed is -15% enemy resistance to lightning and the added 1-511 lightning damage to attack (this enhances your JAB damage and your initial throw damage as well). Since Jab will be used as a single target skill, adding lightning damage (or any other form of damage) would be very wise.

The only negative issue with this weapon is it does not possess the "Replenishes Quantity" modifier. If I had it to do over again, I would still choose them.

Shield: Dream Troll Nest

I can't really tell you why you would not want to use this shield. It gives resistances has good defense, and has the all important Holy Shock aura when equipped. In my opinion, adding lightning damage to your attack is a good thing – it enhances your JAB damage and your initial throw damage.

I chose this shield as I could not see using any other item in this slot - the other items were also much heavier. It is quite possible to roll a Dream shield with over 400 defense.

Charm(s): Annihilus, SC's (various)

It is very important to base this build off an Annihilus to allow for the most efficient use of your attribute points. If you do not have one, it is not impossible to build this character, however you will need to make the appropriate adjustments to your attribute points as you will not have as many to spare.

For me, I am focusing on finding the following collection of charms. I would recommend a similar strategy in your procurement of charms.

8*2dext/5rez small charms
4*Javelin Skill grand charms (with second modifier if possible)
4*20life/5rez small charms
3*100pd small charms

This charm configuration should leave 3 empty columns in this builds inventory – leaving plenty of room to pick up any items you deem worthy of retrieval.

[Euro-Crash]

Moving onward to the distribution of attribute points – we have reached my favorite subject. At clvl 90 (all reward quests) you will have 460 points to allocate as you see fit. With an Annihilus small charm, you will have additional points to spare. Base levels for the important statistics are:

Strength: 20
Dexterity: 25
Vitality: 20

I left Energy out because as many of us know, it is quite simply just not necessary. In any case, you can see that the modified statistics (using my Annihilus) are:

Strength: 39
Dexterity: 44
Vitality: 39

Moving on to the actual investment of hard points - our heaviest item the Grand Matron Bow has a strength requirement of 108. In my situation, I had to make an investment of 69 points - leaving a total of 391 attribute points.

Vitality was based on my own comfort level. Since the equipment listed gives a total of 205-225 life, I felt that a humble investment in Vitality would be more than adequate.

Considering that each level grants an additional 2 to life and that with the rewards quests another 60 life can be obtained - not to mention the availability of 20 to life SC's (some with tasty second modifiers) - I felt it necessary to be satisfied with a hard point investment of only 46 points.


This pushed my vitality up to 85, and at clvl 88 my Amazon currently has a total of 697 hit points. This can be bumped to ~900 with the addition of 9 small charms of vita. This meager investment in points left me with 345 attribute points to spare.

With the gear selected a total of 114 points are added to our base dexterity of 25 - netting 139 dexterity points. If you are completely off your rocker like I pride myself to be...you will DUMP the remaining stat points you have into dexterity to reach an unearthly 484 dexterity. With the addition of 8 SC's possessing 2 to dexterity you will have achieved 500 dexterity points – which coincidentally is the direction I took with this build.

Thus when modified by the Annihilus and the items, you should see something similar to:

Strength: 108
Dexterity: 484-500
Vitality: 85

Finally, we get to the meat of our guide. That is, how does this Amazon plan on taking out her foes? Well...let's first look at our mercenary. The mercenary of choice for this build is of course a MIGHT mercenary (Act II - NM- Offensive). Equip your mercenary as follows and he will be nearly invincible.

Weapon choices for mercenaries sometimes are a bit unreasonable. I asked a friend what he intended to use…he said, “I have an EBOTD War Pike” and laughed at my selection. His mercenary may indeed do more damage, but my mercenary is probably 100% more useful.

Helmet: Guillame’s Face (CHAM)
Armor: Eth. Fortitude (use a high defense plate as base ~700+)
Weapon: Reaper’s Toll (needs 15% leech – socket with BER)

Your mercenary will be blessed with the following attributes if you equip him in this manner - 48% Deadly Strike, 55% Crushing Blow, 15% Life Leech (potential), ITD, 33% chance to cast decrepify, CBF, and 30% FHR.

Skill points are allocated as follows:

-20 Lighting Fury (3 prerequisites) = 23 points
-20 Magic Arrow = 20 points
-20 Multi-Shot = 20 points
-17 Critical Strike = 17 points
-11 Penetrate = 11 points
-1 Jab = 1 point
-1 Cold Arrow = 1 point
-1 Guided Arrow = 1 point
-4 Pierce (enough for ~100% pierce) = 4 points
-1 Dodge (adjust to taste) = 1 point
-1 Avoid (adjust to taste) = 1 point
-1 Evade (adjust to taste) = 1 point
----------------------------------
Total: 101 points (complete at level 90)

This allocation gives the best mix of versatility and killing power. Your room clearing skills are Multi-Shot and Lightning Fury (also used for crowd control). Your single target domination skills are Magic Arrow, Jab, and Guided Arrow. Jab is risky in the higher difficulties…but I use it on NM ancients. Guided Arrow is for use in PK and your encounters with bosses. Magic Arrow works quite well against physical immunes.

I have experienced great success with this build...and that is why I am sharing it with you. This build can solo any area of the game and has enough in her arsenal to deal with ANY situation – including a little PK. While some of the items may be seen as high end, the majority of the items used for this build are relatively inexpensive. All that said, this is a great build…and I am sure you will be successful if you use this as a template for your build.

[Euro-Crash]

I have experienced great success with this build...and that is why I am sharing it with you. This build can solo any area of the game and has enough in her arsenal to deal with ANY situation – including a little PK. While some of the items may be seen as high end, the majority of the items used for this build are relatively inexpensive. All that said, this is a great build…and I am sure you will be successful if you use this as a template for your build.

I have been rushing 5-6 player games in HELL. The only trouble spots seem to be ANYA...this is quite possibly the perfect Amazon build. Any situation, any area, any game size...any mission...she handles it.

Please try it out to confirm. I can only tell you of success...but in all honesty you have to see this.

[Dacar92]

You'll be able to find this in the build guide thread stickied at the top of this forum. I have unstuck it and it will sink, but you will still able to post from the sticky above.

[Euro-Crash]

You'll be able to find this in the build guide thread stickied at the top of this forum. I have unstuck it and it will sink, but you will still able to post from the sticky above.

Thanks bud!

I think there are some minor formatting issues. There are some second tier weapons you could add to this build for those less fortunate who cannot afford the items I used for my build. However, I think the overall appearance of the guide is just fine. What do you think?

[Dacar92]

It would be excellent if you could add 2nd tier weapons and even starter weapons/gear setups. That would make people happy, who, like me, are not rich :( , and do not trade.

Then I willl format, check for errors, and then send to Elly for inclusion in the SC. But I still have to do the others here, first.

[Stumbelina]

I only recently came upon this guide, and I can say that this type of build will work extremely well, as I have been using something very similar for a long time. Going for maxed physical damage will kill nearly everything long before it approaches you, and the few things that don't die can be taken care of with another skill reserved for that purpose.

While my Stat points are spent similarly, there are a few things that separate the way I do things. I sacrifice a bit of dexterity (mine's about 435) to use more MF, and I use an Atma's Scarab for the ctc Amp Damage. When the amp damage goes off, not much lasts more than a couple shots of multi.

And, I sacrificed more damage to give myself speed. I'm using a Faith Matriarchal Bow instead of the GM, and can hit a 7 frame attack with only 45% ias, 20 of which comes from the highly recommended Laying of Hands gloves.

Both are personal preferences, but there's one thing I can certainly recommend. For those pesky PI monsters, if you're not going to use an Atma, Cold Arrow is another option. Both Cold arrow and Fire arrow, despite being low level skills, convert a percentage of your physical to elemental, and with this build you'll have tremendous physical damage. This will take out PI monsters quite well without a tremendous cost in skill points, and works extremely well with the pierce you already have. I find that this skill will take out PI's in 8 player games despite my having only a level 8 cold arrow. Of course, eventually, the Atma's Scarab will kick in, cast Amp Damage, and the whole pack will go down in seconds.

Congratulations on the excellent build.

[Dacar92]

Welcome to the forums! I am glad you like Crash's build guide. Differing opinions and alternative character builds, that are successful, are what makes the Amazon a fun class to play.

[shrapner]

just wanted to say...

built a zon based on your build and she's doing great

good job

[MaStAViC]

My girlfriend is building an Amazon and I am currently looking at this guide and Kijya's guide. The problem is that Euro-Crash's guide is now over two years old; is the build still viable? Also, are there any suggested skill or item changes? Thank you.

[Sarumatix]

Not sure, but I was thinking about building something like this for awhile, so I started one today :).

[boogiesmack]

My favorite setup for a merc is a Delirium Bone Visage with a Doom Polearm. This gives the Holy Freeze aura which allows you to use the Might merc. Also, the Crazy mods on the Delirium helm make it easy to pick apart monsters while they smack each other. This also helps keep your merc alive vs IM since the Oblivion Knights are often confused before they can cast IM. Body armor can be anything, preferably something with life leach.