Chaos Runner

[AnEvilPeanut]

So I wanted to make a Zon to do Chaos runs. I currently have a lightning sorc that does everything else but Chaos is just too difficult with my merc dying and all. Now I've never really made a bowazon before. What bow would you recommend? Windforce or Faith? Or something else? Also, any other gear suggestions would be great. I read the pit strafer guide and didn't really find the gear part much help.
How important/noticeable are the IAS advantages of Faith?
Thanks

[crawlingdeadman]

ias from faith is very noticeable and important. for a bowazon runing chaos i prefer the windforce/faith merc combo (such as the one krembanan wrote up (http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?p=4744535)) since a helpful merc is better than a dead one. check out my zon in my sig, she does chaos easily (and everything else really).

[maiku]

I use a Frostmaiden with Mav's set to run Chaos Sanc in Hell. Easy, fast, and safe, and Mav's comes with a nice 100% MF bonus besides lots of +skills and resists. I think of it as the Tal's Set for zons (especially Frostmaidens). I use an Act 2 Might Merc, but an Act 1 Merc with Harmony/Faith/whatever could be substituted. I haven't made my girl a dedicated CS runner, because she also does Pits, Countess (although I might dedicate that to my Frenzy Barb soon), and Worldstone Keep 2 & Baal.

Frozen Arrow does incredible damage to crowds and provides excellent crowd control by freezing enemies. For Cold Immunes, you Strafe and/or Multishot them. Combine this with a tough Valk and decent Decoy, you have a trick for every situation. For example, when Balrogs and OKs rush toward you, you can cast Decoy ahead to distract them and then hit enemies with a few FAs and explode the entire pack. You can cast a Valk right in Diablo's face to take off the heat. And you have D/A/E skills to help avoid the Lightning Hose of Death. (When attacking Diablo, though, it's important to have Crushing Blow and some kind of curse like Amp to knock out his life fast. Works well with Guided Arrow and Strafe, even if Strafe has the Next Delay bug. Position yourself careful and use Strafe to apply CB rapidly. He also becomes harmless if you or your merc have items with Slow. MF Blizzard Sorcs often use this trick with a Kelpie Snare + Blackhorn's on their Holy Freeze/Defiance Merc for Meph.)

Bowazons can have rather poor resists in Hell, so not all of them may make for good CS runners, but there are many ways to deal with this. Mav's offers a lot of power for pretty cheap. But there is better...

A Frostmaiden armed with "Ice" in a +3 MB or GMB would be more powerful. Outfitted with a Shako/Nightwing's, Skullder's Ire or Enigma, SoJs/Nagels, War Traveler's, Crescent Moon ammy, KB/CB +2 bow skill IAS gloves, etc. and lots of fast run/walk charms, I think, would make for a pretty impressive Chaos Sanc runner. Emphasis on speed and mobility. Use a "Harmony" Rogue for faster travel and extra elemental back up or a "Faith" Rogue for extra power and to hit breakpoints more easily.

Another option would be a "Brand" GMB Strafer. IIRC, some people here in the forum have reported that a "Brand" bow kills faster in CS than a "Faith" or Windforce because of its extra damage vs demons. Combined with Laying of Hands, you'd have incredible damage vs demons.