Mavina Zon - Assessment please?

[Mperor]

Hey guys,

This is how my Mavina Zon is currently, despite the huge damage drop after switching into the bow for my Ballista, I don't know, she shoots pretty fast, thought I'd ask a few questions:

Str: 130ish.
Dex: 150ish
Vit: 140ish
Energy: Base.

She maxed:

Strafe
Freezing Arrow

1-What would you suggest maxing next between Cold Arrow (Or whichever that gives synergy to Freezing Arrow) and Valkyrie (for Uber tank)?

2-Would you suggest socketing a Shael into my Mavina Bow? I'm currently missing the Diadem, but was planning on maybe getting a IAS Jewel in it when I get it - or (unlikely) on the armor. I was never good with math, so I don't know how the whole strafe breakpoint thing works. Any info would be cool.

Thanks.

Thanks.

[maiku]

Hey guys,

This is how my Mavina Zon is currently, despite the huge damage drop after switching into the bow for my Ballista, I don't know, she shoots pretty fast, thought I'd ask a few questions:

Str: 130ish.
Dex: 150ish
Vit: 140ish
Energy: Base.

She maxed:

Strafe
Freezing Arrow

1-What would you suggest maxing next between Cold Arrow (Or whichever that gives synergy to Freezing Arrow) and Valkyrie (for Uber tank)?

2-Would you suggest socketing a Shael into my Mavina Bow? I'm currently missing the Diadem, but was planning on maybe getting a IAS Jewel in it when I get it - or (unlikely) on the armor. I was never good with math, so I don't know how the whole strafe breakpoint thing works. Any info would be cool.

Thanks.

Thanks.

Heya, good choice. Mav's is a nice set for Frostmaidens.

1. Between the two, I would recommend maxing Cold Arrow as soon as possible. You'll want to kick out some heavy cold damage, then allow Mav's generous +skills to raise your Valk. In the absence of a strong Valk until higher levels, make sure to give your merc with decent equipment (high defense armor, nice leech from his helm or weapon, hard-hitting "Insight" or other) so he can kind of substitute as a temporary Valk until you can put more points into yours and get her up to at 17+ with items on. Frozen Arrow freezes and kills enemies quickly, which usually lessens the danger to your minions as well as yourself.

2. What you socket into the bow depends on what amulet you're using (+skills rare/crafted amulet, Highlord's Wrath, Cat's Eye, Atma's Scarab, etc.) or if you plan to receive enough IAS from your equipment alone. For fastest Strafe with Mav's GMB, you need 120% IAS to reach the last breakpoint. This can be achieved by socketing the armor & diadem with IAS jewels and putting a Shael in the bow and it also gives you many options to choose for amulets. (This is the route I took on my Mav Frostmaiden. I wanted to use a +2 skills ammy, so it required me Shaeling my bow as well as two IAS jewels in armor and diadem.) If leaning more toward a strong FA slant, seek +skills amulets. If looking for more Strafe, then you might think more along the lines of an Atma's Scarab. If you want to stick a nice jewel w/ ED or +min/max damage in the bow, then use a Highlord's Wrath or Cat's Eye to make up the IAS which would've come from the Shael.

One more suggestion. I think if you plan to use Strafe, it's good to have more Dexterity to start to squeeze more damage out of the bow. You'll want to eventually end up with 250-400 Dex or so. Mav's will give you excellent resists, boost your D/A/E skills to 40-50% with only 1 point invested in each skill so you rarely get hit, and you should have a sturdy Valk + Merc as you get higher and higher. All of these mean you do not need to invest tremendously in Vit, unless you're playing HC and want to be absolutely safe in every circumstance. If playing SC, Mav's offers incredible safety and you will rarely die or get injured. I have only 430 health or so on my Mav Frostmaiden and she can run around Chaos Sanctuary and Worldstone Keep without some of the problems of my Eaglehorn Strafer, who has -30 to -40 all resists. A stray elemental shot or lightning bolt can kill my regular Strafer if I'm not careful. My Frostmaiden can get hosed by Hell Diablo's Lightning Hose of Doom for a few seconds, even if Merc and Valk are dead, and still survive, when I'm running CS and killing Diablo for drops. The safety of this set is incredible for a Bowazon.

[Mperor]

Hey there - thanks for the input.

I was thinking about using Atma as ammy for the Amp to pump my dmg up as much as I can... So then I guess it's all about Shaeling the bow and IAS'ing the helm and armor.

I read somewhere that it was suggested she gets 800 life, I'm in the 400ish now I think, will possibly dump the rest into DEX.

Thanks for the advice. :D

[maiku]

With Atma's, you'll be doing really nice damage Strafe damage, and your high Strafe will make it likely that Amp triggers like crazy. I suggest using Goblin Toes or Goreriders for boots, so you can take advantage of a little Crushing Blow along with the Amp (Amp makes CB more useful for Strafe by removing %PDR or immunity from enemies).

400+ life is very safe with Mav's. My Frostmaiden dies once in a blue moon, and usually not because of my play style, but inevitable things like lag/dropped games (which is why I don't play HC). It's more common for my Strafer to get killed because of her terrible resists. Anyway, with Valk, Decoy, and Merc, you should rarely be hit so long as you stay behind the "minion wall" and position Valk and Decoy as needed. Gloams, etc. will be a joke in Worldstone Keep, because you can tank their blasts and knock them out quick with FA.

If you need more life, stack a few +15-20 life small charms. And don't neglect +max damage charms because you're going for more damage (and these'll be enhanced by the Amp + Crit Strike). :thumbsup: