Hardcore Strafer

[reyla]

These forums provide a wealth of wonderful information for anyone making an Amazon. I found many useful tips to help me get my Hardcore ladder Strafer to lv 71 amidst all the LF/CS Amazons out there.

I am having trouble finding good information specific to a Hardcore Strafer though. In Hardcore, Vitality is king for non shield users. Alot of the info here talks about max Dexterity for dmg and AR or base Vitality MFers..base Vitality in Hardocre means you do not get past level 20 and max Dexterity means not enough points into Vitality.

I have a Hellrack unique crossbow. The STR req is 162 but it fortunately has 2 sockets. I put 2 Hel runes in it so now I only need 92 STR. I have 70 into STR and some on items so I will stay there until (If) I find a Windforce (134 STR Req) but I doubt I will because I will not enter Hell to find one until I have max NM resists and 800-1000 or so base life.

I want to keep pumping Vitlaity but then I am afraid I will find a godly bow and not have enough points for the DEX STR requirements.

Which one of these Bow types should I plan my stats around?

Matriarchal Bow STR 87 DEX 187
Grand Matron Bow STR 108 DEX 152
Hydra Bow STR 134 DEX 167
Crusader Bow STR 97 DEX 121

or any of the others?

I did not list crossbows since they are a bit slow for Strafe. Even though I will be using a Hellrack at lv 76. Gotta take what you can get.

I would appreciate any tips on stats for a Hardcore Strafer as adressed above. Thank you.

[killerxbabe]

Is this on the new ladder? What do you want to do with your zon endgame? Pit runs? That's usually what people are building a strafer for. Do you intend to max strafe? If so there are a lot of other offensive skills to be considered. A lot of people (even in HC) only put 1 point in strafe since the damage increase is not that great.

To answer your question though, short of Windy or some godly runeword the two best bows for a strafer imo are upgraded WitchWild String or (i know it's slow but ITD is really handy) Eagle. The ITD on eagle is great for solving your AR problem. Penetrate points are another solution. If hybrd and doing pit runs in HC, use lightning fury to decimate everything then strafe down the light immune archer packs with an Eagle and you won't have any AR problems. Except with the unique boss packs, then some guided and/or freezing arrow helps. Stick at least 1 point in Freezing arrow and with a few small 1-2 point cold charms that extra freeze time is a life saver.

[BigVF]

Most people aim for a unique bow to use for end game purposes, so if you're one of those people I suggest you go check out the str/dex requirements of whatever bow you may like. But in Hardcore, we know that most of these things don't come easily. I happen to play Hardcore, and have a level 86 Strafer who uses the runeword Harmony. (Tir + Ith + Sol + Ko) Personally I believe this is a runeword, and if thrown into a Matriarchal Bow you will have a great weapon speed (-10) and a usually have 1-2+ Bow skills. But back to the subject, unlike most builds you read about here, Vitality is a main point in building a Hardcore character, so you'll have to judge based on your funds and the number/quality of MF that you do on a normal basis. Based on this, you can shoot for a bow, whether it be a unique, or a runeword. Here's my Strafer setup.

USEast Hardcore Ladder
On-Point, Level 86 Amazon
20 Strafe
20 Penetrate
20 Valk
8 Critical Strike
4 Pierce
(The rest into Dodge/Evade/Avoid)

Tals Helm (socketed with 15 IAS jewel)
Duriels Shell (socketed with 15 IAS jewel)
Harmony Runeword Matriarchal Bow
24+ Life, 29+ All Resistance Amulet
Laying of Hands gloves
Wilhelm's Pride Belt
Tearhaunch boots
Leech/resist rings
Many small life charms along with poison damage and resistances.

Aim for attack speed, a slow strafer = death in Hell.