Need help with my new amazon

[NoobXDon]

so i am in the process of building two diff amazons. one is currently on hold as i build the other. the one on the back burner is my FA/LF with infinity/might merc.

the current zon i am working is a faith zon for PvM.

items:
kiras helm (open socket)
catseye / atmas
fortitude 1.25life /27 all resist
faith mat bow 15/2/2 (trading for a gmb or should i just keep the mat for more flexibility)
rare gloves +1bow/20ias/16 dex
nofs coil/razortail
gores/ war travs
4/4 dual leech ring prismatc
open ring slot (looking to buy another dual leech as i lack dual leech) possibly 20dex raven (but i already have CBF)

merc:
fort
tals helm (looking to buy eth vamp or eth andys)
pride eth CV

my zon is currently lvl 25. so i cannt equip any of my items yet.
i was hoping some zon experts could let me know about the following questions i have.

1) gmb or mat? i like the mat because i have flexibility with items... but i lose out on 100 weapon base dmg (which is huge when calc)
2) with my current bow i only need 45% ias to reach 7fps. that means my belt/ammy/socket in helm set ups can be different. i am not socketing the kiras until i figure out what i like best.
setups:
cats eye/ nofs /gloves = 45 ias. which would let me add a huge max dmg jewel or 40% ed jewel in my helm or even all resist (prolly not) what else could go in here if i have enuff ias?
atmas/ nofs/ ias jewel = 45 ias. i used to swear by atmas for pvm. it handles PIs and can clear a screen with 1 strafe followed by a multi.
cats eye/ razor/ ias jewel = 45 ias. saves me 9+ pts in pierce skill. i swear by pierce. as a multi/strafe/fa zon my damage is 2x or 3x depending on monster pack depth.

3) is ravenfrost a necessity if i wear a kiras? i guess the cold dmg will help with my FA and dex boost, but i need leech like no other.... 4/4 prolly will not cut it.
4) how well will this build hold up against a full chaos game? some say she can solo others say she can only solo 4+.

any input, ideas, questions, concerns are all welcomed. :thumbsup:
thanks for the help

[Flicker]

I"m not exactly the most "experienced" individual having just come back to D2 after a long break but I do love Zon's and I have some experience playing this exact build.

1) I've played with both the MB and GMB faith bows and I have to say that I fall into the MB fan club. The MB allows for far greater variety in gear selection and the ability to sort of "tool" for the occasion. I can't tell you how much I enjoy being able to equip Kira's and have almost max resist espcially for high levels when it sucks to die. Seeing as I also, I enjoy Magic finding the MB allows me to equip 300%+ mf and not lose too much speed.

The damage output for a GMB is much much higher. For me I've found it to be the difference (fully equpiped with merc) between a 5k multi and a 7k multi! That's a huge damage difference and feel I must point out that it is true that most gear you're going to use for a bowa will have IAS on it, even if you use a GMB most of the equipment will be similar to a MB build. Even as such, the GMB seemed to lock me into too many equipment slots and I found it to be much more of a glass cannon then the MB builds......but man was that some crazy fun damage to play with:grin:

2) The great thing about a MB is that I've played around with all of those equipment combinations and each of them has their own strengths. When I'm geared up to kill I usually use Cat's eye, Razor, and Laying of Hands. I found Laying of Hands extra damage to demons and the hard points saved from Razor to be great. All your equipment choices seem sound though...heck I'll often equip Atma's to help kill big bosses and help parties out by amping.

3) Raven is great and I usually wear a kira's. The extra dex and cold are helpful and I'll be honest, I'm too lazy to go look for something better. If it aint' broke, don't fix it.

As far as leech goes, I've got a dual leech ring only a little better then yours and I barely have leech issues. If I run into a problem I just use a pot...that's what they are there for and you can always find more.

4) Most of the time I'm in single player games magic finding but I've played in enough 4+ player games to know a MB can clear chaos without a lot of issues. Heck, I can clear 3 player games with full magic find without issues. As far as full chaos games go, I know for sure the GMB could clear without issues, but I don't see why the MB couldn't do the same. The MB is going to have to take a few more shots but seeing as how fast you shoot it shouldn't take that much more time.

I hope that helps and I suggest you look for Wmeredith's "one bad bowie" topic. His bowa was the inspiration for me to rebuild an amazon and I've found it to be the best and most entertaining D2 character I've played to date.