netmc
04-12-2005, 01:24
I've always thought about writing a guide for one of my favorite builds. Well here it is. This is just a first draft. Please feel free to critique and site any errors I might have. Thanks
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This is my guide for a bow weilding assassin. I have played this character up to level 81 in hell on hardcore, so I know this build is viable. It just needs to be played cautiously.
A bow assassin was one of my favorite characters in 1.09, and again in 1.10/1.11. I think she is fun to play and takes quite a few people by surprise when they see a bow assassin.
Stats:
STR: Enough for end game bow/equipment.
DEX: Enough to have a decent AR -- amount depends on equipment.
VIT: Everything else.
ENGY: None.
Equipment:
Since using any weapon without a proficency has no AR bonus skill, DEX and AR are very important. All equipment must center around this first. The second area to worry about is resistances. All bow weilders have trouble in this department. Lightning resistance is the most important because of souls/gloams since lightning pierces. All other elemental attacks should be stopped by your merc and shadow.
Helm:
Visionary - The BEST helm in the game for a bow assassin is a helm/circlet with the VISIONARY mod. It gives 1% AR bonus per level. You can wear one at level 18, and shop for one at level 25. I can't stress this enough. This helm is a must for this build. Without it, you will need huge amounts of DEX or AR granting gear. If you are lucky, you can gamble a circlet with the visionary mod along with some resists or maybe even some skills. Any AR granting gear you wear will be enhanced with this helm.
Mavina's Diadem - This is a good helm if you can pair it with 2 other set items for the 50% AR bonus. You will also get +1 to all skills, and the partial set bonuses of +20 strength and +30 dexterity. My own choices would be the gloves for another +15 dexterity, and the belt for the faster run/walk and 5% mana leech. If you can pick up the entire set except bow, you will also get bonuses of 50% resist all and 131-252 cold damage added to your attack.
Howltusk - Knockback and chance to flee. Great on crowd control. Frees up bow and gloves from having to have knockback.
Guillaume's Face - 35% crushing blow and 15% deadly strike. The extra strength is just bonus.
Giant Skull - Knockback, strength, and 1-2 sockets
Normal: Rare visionary circlet with resistances.
Nightmare: Rare visionary circlet with resistances.
Hell: Rare visionary circlet with resistances.
Armor:
Angelic - This is the best to wear from level 12 to the end of nightmare. With the bonuses from the other pieces of the set, it is great. An additional 150 def, and 50% fire res.
Rattlecage - 25% Crushing Blow, 40% chance to flee. If you go the crushing blow route, this is for you.
Treachery - This runeword is a very nice armor to have. Most bow assassin builds max venom. This armor gives you level 15 venom without spending any skill points. It allows you to use those points in rounding out your trap skills and synergies. Also beneficial to it are the +2 to Assassin skills and the +45% IAS. This allows you to hit the fastest bow breakpoint (using a -10WSM bow) with only 1 point in Burst of Speed.
Other - Any other armor you have that add resists or something else you need. This character is a ranged attacker, and will not be in the front lines. Defense is not as important as the other beneficial mods.
Normal: Angelic
Nightmare: Angelic/Treachery
Hell: Treachery
Amulet:
Angelic - This is the best to wear from level 12 to the end of nightmare, and maybe into hell as well. The best part is the AR bonus granted when wearing the angelic ring with any other part of the set. Most people choose to wear the amulet with the ring(s). I like the +75 life with 2 items, and the +1 all skills when wearing 3 items.
Mahim-Oak Curio - This is a good alternative amulet to wear. It's important bonuses are +10% AR, +10% resist all, and +10 to all stats.
Atma's Scarab - 20% AR bonus. The chance to cast amp isn't as big of a deal as it seems. Depending on your equipment setup, most of your damage will NOT be physical. It will be a combination of all the elements, and amp won't make as big of an impact.
Metalgrid - The +400-450 AR bonus on this amulet makes it one of the better amulets. The bonus enhanced by a visionary helm would give you +724-814 AR by the time you can equip this ammy at level 81. The 25-35% resist all is a must considering the low resistances bow weilders have. The +300-350 defense is just icing.
Other - Any other amulet that grants AR, RES, Life, Skills and such. AR and RES being primary.
Normal: Angelic
Nightmare: Angelic
Hell: Metalgrid
Rings:
Angelic (x 2) - This is the best to wear from level 12 to the end of nightmare, and maybe into hell as well. It depends if you have another source of AR granting gear.
Raven Frost - The +150-250 AR and +15-20 DEX bonus is a requirement. The other mods are all gravy.
Other - Rare - Something with DEX and AR, resistances, etc...
Normal: Angelic x 2
Nightmare: Angelic x 2 or Angelic and Raven Frost
Hell: Raven Frost/Angelic x 2 or Raven Frost and Rare/Angelic
Boots:
Sander's Riprap - 40% FRW, +100 AR, +10 Dex, +5 STR. This is the only set of boots that grant AR directly.
Sigon's Sabot - 20% FRW, +50 AR (2 items) and 50% magic find (3 items)
Gore Rider - 10% Open Wounds, 15% Crushing Blow, 15% deadly Strike, 30% FRW.
Goblin Toe - 25% Crushing Blow
Gorefoot - 2% mana leech, 20% FRW
Rare/Crafted - +Dex, Resistances, FRW.
Normal: Sander's Riprap/Sigon's Sabot
Nightmare: Sander's Riprap/Sigon's Sabot/Gore Rider
Hell: Sanders's Riprap/Gore Rider/Rare/Crafted
Gloves:
Sigon's Gage - +20 AR, +10 STR, +30 IAS (2 items). Partial Set Bonus of 10% Life Leech (2 items) and +100 Defense (3 items).
The Hand of Broc - 3% Dual Leech
Clegaw's Pincers - Knockback, 25% Slow Target
Venom Grip - 5% Crushing Blow, 5% Life Leech
Lava Gout - 2% Level 10 Enchant (101% AR Bonus), 20% IAS, 24% Fire Resist
Dracul's Grasp - +10-15 STR, 25% Open Wounds, 7-10% Life Leech, 5% Level 10 Life Tap
Soul Drainer - 4-7% dual leech. -50 defense per hit, 8% Level 3 weaken
Crafted Hitpower - Knockback plus other mods
Rare - +AR, Resists, +DEX, etc...
Normal: Sigon's Gage
Nightmare: Sigon's Gage/Lava Gout/Crafted Hitpower
Hell: Lava Gout/Soul Drainer/Crafted Hitpower
Belt:
Sigon's Wrap - 4 slots, 20% Fire Resist, +20 life plus partial set bonuses.
Wilhelm's Pride - 5% dual leech
Goldwrap - 10% IAS, 30% MF
Bladebuckle - +10 Dex, +30% FHR, +5 STR
Razortail - +10 Max Damge, +15 DEX, Piercing Attack (33%)
Rare/Crafted - Resists, Dex, etc. This is a good place to fill in any mods/resists you are missing.
Normal: Sigon's Wrap
Nightmare: Sigon's Wrap/Razortail
Hell: Razortail/Crafted/Rare
Bow:
Wizendraw - +50-100 AR, fires magic arrows. You will go through a LOT of arrows as a bow assassin. This helps limits the trips back to town for restocking.
Kuko Shakaku - Enhanced damage, 40-180 fire damage, Piercing Attack (50%), fires explosives arrows.
Witchwild String - Enhanced damage, fires magic arrows, chance to cast amp, 1% deadly strike per level, resist all +40%, 2 sockets.
Magewrath - Hit blinds target, 15% mana leech, +200-250 AR, +10 Dex.
Goldstrike Arch - 200-250% enhanced damage, 50% IAS, +100-150% AR bonus.
Demon Machine - Fires explosive bolts, +632 AR, piercing Attack
Buriza-Do Kyanon - +35 Dex, Piercing Attack, 80% IAS
Eaglehorn - +6 AR per level, +25 Dex, ITD
Hellrack - 100-150% AR bonus, 20% IAS, 63-324 Fire/Lit/Cold Damage, 2 sockets.
Harmony - 4 socket bow runeword
Normal: Kuko Shakaku
Nightmare: Kuko Shakaku/Goldstrike/Magewrath/Demon Machine/Harmony
Hell: Hellrack
Skills:
Martial Arts: None
Shadow Disciplines:
Burst of Speed - 1+ Enough to hit a comfortable frame rate with your gear. 11 frames per attack for crossbows, 9 fpa for bows is max.
Shadow Master - 20
plus any pre-reqs
Traps:
Death Sentry - 20 Max this to help clear areas when the first monster dies. Very useful as the creatures get more HPs.
Lightning Sentry - 20 Synergy for Death Sentry
All points needed - 69 points out of 110 at level 99. You can use the remaining points to further synergize lit sentry, build up a couple of fire based traps, or go max venom. Your choice.
Cheap Build Strategy:
Starting out. Put points in the pre-reqs needed for death sentry and shadow master. 1 point in Burst of Speed.
When you have 60 strength, equip sigon's belt, gloves and boots.
At level 12, equip angelic armor, 2 rings, amulet (hardest to find). Use the best bow you have until you can equip wizendraw at 26, then kuko at 33. You now have 150% mf, outrageous AR, and some decenet traps/shadow to back it all up.
The explosive portion when firing kuko will always hit. AR is not an issue. Your physical damage and other elemental damage is dependent on the arrow actually hitting, but you will always do some damage with the fire portion.
While you are wearing 2 angelic rings, you will have plenty of AR. You can swap out the visionary helm for a 3 socket helm with ptopaz for 72% additional MF. You can run any of the normal/nm bosses without too much trouble to find some better gear for hell. Also, you can rush people thru nm for their forges.. :)
Near act 4 and 5 of nm, kuko won't be doing as good of job. Fortunately, death sentry and lit sentry should be maxed by then, and you can depend more on your traps and shadow to finish out nightmare.
Harmony runeword. Look for a 4socket/normal blade bow or great bow for harmony. These are the fastest bows available for the assassin. If you find a normal (white) bow from nightmare or hell, you can socket it with larzuk for 4 sockets. The runes needed Tir + Ith + Sol + Ko, can be found from nm/hell countess or nm council. Nm countess can only drop up to ko, so you might
need to cube a few runes to get the ko. A harmony bow will take you through the rest of nightmare easily, and in the first couple acts of hell without difficulty (solo).
Acts 3 and further in hell will *really* need a better bow/crossbow. Using harmony is doable, but VERY slow.
Overall, this build is very cheap for normal and nightmare. It can get expensive when outfitting for hell. Hopefully, this will interest more people into trying a bow assassin build. :)
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Questions, comments, and critiques may follow.. Flames are automaically extinguished.. :)
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This is my guide for a bow weilding assassin. I have played this character up to level 81 in hell on hardcore, so I know this build is viable. It just needs to be played cautiously.
A bow assassin was one of my favorite characters in 1.09, and again in 1.10/1.11. I think she is fun to play and takes quite a few people by surprise when they see a bow assassin.
Stats:
STR: Enough for end game bow/equipment.
DEX: Enough to have a decent AR -- amount depends on equipment.
VIT: Everything else.
ENGY: None.
Equipment:
Since using any weapon without a proficency has no AR bonus skill, DEX and AR are very important. All equipment must center around this first. The second area to worry about is resistances. All bow weilders have trouble in this department. Lightning resistance is the most important because of souls/gloams since lightning pierces. All other elemental attacks should be stopped by your merc and shadow.
Helm:
Visionary - The BEST helm in the game for a bow assassin is a helm/circlet with the VISIONARY mod. It gives 1% AR bonus per level. You can wear one at level 18, and shop for one at level 25. I can't stress this enough. This helm is a must for this build. Without it, you will need huge amounts of DEX or AR granting gear. If you are lucky, you can gamble a circlet with the visionary mod along with some resists or maybe even some skills. Any AR granting gear you wear will be enhanced with this helm.
Mavina's Diadem - This is a good helm if you can pair it with 2 other set items for the 50% AR bonus. You will also get +1 to all skills, and the partial set bonuses of +20 strength and +30 dexterity. My own choices would be the gloves for another +15 dexterity, and the belt for the faster run/walk and 5% mana leech. If you can pick up the entire set except bow, you will also get bonuses of 50% resist all and 131-252 cold damage added to your attack.
Howltusk - Knockback and chance to flee. Great on crowd control. Frees up bow and gloves from having to have knockback.
Guillaume's Face - 35% crushing blow and 15% deadly strike. The extra strength is just bonus.
Giant Skull - Knockback, strength, and 1-2 sockets
Normal: Rare visionary circlet with resistances.
Nightmare: Rare visionary circlet with resistances.
Hell: Rare visionary circlet with resistances.
Armor:
Angelic - This is the best to wear from level 12 to the end of nightmare. With the bonuses from the other pieces of the set, it is great. An additional 150 def, and 50% fire res.
Rattlecage - 25% Crushing Blow, 40% chance to flee. If you go the crushing blow route, this is for you.
Treachery - This runeword is a very nice armor to have. Most bow assassin builds max venom. This armor gives you level 15 venom without spending any skill points. It allows you to use those points in rounding out your trap skills and synergies. Also beneficial to it are the +2 to Assassin skills and the +45% IAS. This allows you to hit the fastest bow breakpoint (using a -10WSM bow) with only 1 point in Burst of Speed.
Other - Any other armor you have that add resists or something else you need. This character is a ranged attacker, and will not be in the front lines. Defense is not as important as the other beneficial mods.
Normal: Angelic
Nightmare: Angelic/Treachery
Hell: Treachery
Amulet:
Angelic - This is the best to wear from level 12 to the end of nightmare, and maybe into hell as well. The best part is the AR bonus granted when wearing the angelic ring with any other part of the set. Most people choose to wear the amulet with the ring(s). I like the +75 life with 2 items, and the +1 all skills when wearing 3 items.
Mahim-Oak Curio - This is a good alternative amulet to wear. It's important bonuses are +10% AR, +10% resist all, and +10 to all stats.
Atma's Scarab - 20% AR bonus. The chance to cast amp isn't as big of a deal as it seems. Depending on your equipment setup, most of your damage will NOT be physical. It will be a combination of all the elements, and amp won't make as big of an impact.
Metalgrid - The +400-450 AR bonus on this amulet makes it one of the better amulets. The bonus enhanced by a visionary helm would give you +724-814 AR by the time you can equip this ammy at level 81. The 25-35% resist all is a must considering the low resistances bow weilders have. The +300-350 defense is just icing.
Other - Any other amulet that grants AR, RES, Life, Skills and such. AR and RES being primary.
Normal: Angelic
Nightmare: Angelic
Hell: Metalgrid
Rings:
Angelic (x 2) - This is the best to wear from level 12 to the end of nightmare, and maybe into hell as well. It depends if you have another source of AR granting gear.
Raven Frost - The +150-250 AR and +15-20 DEX bonus is a requirement. The other mods are all gravy.
Other - Rare - Something with DEX and AR, resistances, etc...
Normal: Angelic x 2
Nightmare: Angelic x 2 or Angelic and Raven Frost
Hell: Raven Frost/Angelic x 2 or Raven Frost and Rare/Angelic
Boots:
Sander's Riprap - 40% FRW, +100 AR, +10 Dex, +5 STR. This is the only set of boots that grant AR directly.
Sigon's Sabot - 20% FRW, +50 AR (2 items) and 50% magic find (3 items)
Gore Rider - 10% Open Wounds, 15% Crushing Blow, 15% deadly Strike, 30% FRW.
Goblin Toe - 25% Crushing Blow
Gorefoot - 2% mana leech, 20% FRW
Rare/Crafted - +Dex, Resistances, FRW.
Normal: Sander's Riprap/Sigon's Sabot
Nightmare: Sander's Riprap/Sigon's Sabot/Gore Rider
Hell: Sanders's Riprap/Gore Rider/Rare/Crafted
Gloves:
Sigon's Gage - +20 AR, +10 STR, +30 IAS (2 items). Partial Set Bonus of 10% Life Leech (2 items) and +100 Defense (3 items).
The Hand of Broc - 3% Dual Leech
Clegaw's Pincers - Knockback, 25% Slow Target
Venom Grip - 5% Crushing Blow, 5% Life Leech
Lava Gout - 2% Level 10 Enchant (101% AR Bonus), 20% IAS, 24% Fire Resist
Dracul's Grasp - +10-15 STR, 25% Open Wounds, 7-10% Life Leech, 5% Level 10 Life Tap
Soul Drainer - 4-7% dual leech. -50 defense per hit, 8% Level 3 weaken
Crafted Hitpower - Knockback plus other mods
Rare - +AR, Resists, +DEX, etc...
Normal: Sigon's Gage
Nightmare: Sigon's Gage/Lava Gout/Crafted Hitpower
Hell: Lava Gout/Soul Drainer/Crafted Hitpower
Belt:
Sigon's Wrap - 4 slots, 20% Fire Resist, +20 life plus partial set bonuses.
Wilhelm's Pride - 5% dual leech
Goldwrap - 10% IAS, 30% MF
Bladebuckle - +10 Dex, +30% FHR, +5 STR
Razortail - +10 Max Damge, +15 DEX, Piercing Attack (33%)
Rare/Crafted - Resists, Dex, etc. This is a good place to fill in any mods/resists you are missing.
Normal: Sigon's Wrap
Nightmare: Sigon's Wrap/Razortail
Hell: Razortail/Crafted/Rare
Bow:
Wizendraw - +50-100 AR, fires magic arrows. You will go through a LOT of arrows as a bow assassin. This helps limits the trips back to town for restocking.
Kuko Shakaku - Enhanced damage, 40-180 fire damage, Piercing Attack (50%), fires explosives arrows.
Witchwild String - Enhanced damage, fires magic arrows, chance to cast amp, 1% deadly strike per level, resist all +40%, 2 sockets.
Magewrath - Hit blinds target, 15% mana leech, +200-250 AR, +10 Dex.
Goldstrike Arch - 200-250% enhanced damage, 50% IAS, +100-150% AR bonus.
Demon Machine - Fires explosive bolts, +632 AR, piercing Attack
Buriza-Do Kyanon - +35 Dex, Piercing Attack, 80% IAS
Eaglehorn - +6 AR per level, +25 Dex, ITD
Hellrack - 100-150% AR bonus, 20% IAS, 63-324 Fire/Lit/Cold Damage, 2 sockets.
Harmony - 4 socket bow runeword
Normal: Kuko Shakaku
Nightmare: Kuko Shakaku/Goldstrike/Magewrath/Demon Machine/Harmony
Hell: Hellrack
Skills:
Martial Arts: None
Shadow Disciplines:
Burst of Speed - 1+ Enough to hit a comfortable frame rate with your gear. 11 frames per attack for crossbows, 9 fpa for bows is max.
Shadow Master - 20
plus any pre-reqs
Traps:
Death Sentry - 20 Max this to help clear areas when the first monster dies. Very useful as the creatures get more HPs.
Lightning Sentry - 20 Synergy for Death Sentry
All points needed - 69 points out of 110 at level 99. You can use the remaining points to further synergize lit sentry, build up a couple of fire based traps, or go max venom. Your choice.
Cheap Build Strategy:
Starting out. Put points in the pre-reqs needed for death sentry and shadow master. 1 point in Burst of Speed.
When you have 60 strength, equip sigon's belt, gloves and boots.
At level 12, equip angelic armor, 2 rings, amulet (hardest to find). Use the best bow you have until you can equip wizendraw at 26, then kuko at 33. You now have 150% mf, outrageous AR, and some decenet traps/shadow to back it all up.
The explosive portion when firing kuko will always hit. AR is not an issue. Your physical damage and other elemental damage is dependent on the arrow actually hitting, but you will always do some damage with the fire portion.
While you are wearing 2 angelic rings, you will have plenty of AR. You can swap out the visionary helm for a 3 socket helm with ptopaz for 72% additional MF. You can run any of the normal/nm bosses without too much trouble to find some better gear for hell. Also, you can rush people thru nm for their forges.. :)
Near act 4 and 5 of nm, kuko won't be doing as good of job. Fortunately, death sentry and lit sentry should be maxed by then, and you can depend more on your traps and shadow to finish out nightmare.
Harmony runeword. Look for a 4socket/normal blade bow or great bow for harmony. These are the fastest bows available for the assassin. If you find a normal (white) bow from nightmare or hell, you can socket it with larzuk for 4 sockets. The runes needed Tir + Ith + Sol + Ko, can be found from nm/hell countess or nm council. Nm countess can only drop up to ko, so you might
need to cube a few runes to get the ko. A harmony bow will take you through the rest of nightmare easily, and in the first couple acts of hell without difficulty (solo).
Acts 3 and further in hell will *really* need a better bow/crossbow. Using harmony is doable, but VERY slow.
Overall, this build is very cheap for normal and nightmare. It can get expensive when outfitting for hell. Hopefully, this will interest more people into trying a bow assassin build. :)
--------------------------------------
Questions, comments, and critiques may follow.. Flames are automaically extinguished.. :)