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View Full Version : Which Bow for Hybrid?


Cozmo
16-07-2008, 00:50
Hi All,

I'm building a LF/MultiShot amazon and I'm trying to decide on a bow. The bow will only be used on LIs. I can't afford Faith or Windforce, atm, so here are my options:

Up'd Lycanders
Eaglehorn
Harmony in Grand Matron Bow
Harmony in Matriarchal Bow

The eaglehorn is pretty much out. It does about the same damage at lvl 70 as an up'd Lycander's (slightly more at higher levels), but its mods pale in comparison.

The Matriarchal Harmony's damage is a lot lower than the others, but it is much, much faster. I'm not sure that makes up for the significant damage loss, though.

The GM Harmony does comparable physical damage to the up'd Lycanders, though I don't find the mods as useful. However, it adds 55-160 fire, cold, and lit dmg. Since I'm only using the bow on LIs, that adds up to 110-320 additional elemental damage on top of its physical damage, putting its total damage far beyond the other bows. I know that non-physical damage isn't increased by dex, +damage, might aura, etc., though, so is this extra damage insignificant in the long run or a deciding factor?

The Up'd Lycander's is the way I'm leaning. Its physical damage is in line with GM Harmony and Eaglehorn, it has 20% IAS, +4 skills (nice since points are scarce on a hybrid), Mana Leech (frees up an equipment slot), and can be socketed with a shael or IAS rune since it isn't a runeword.

So what do you all think? You'll probably notice that I left out the WWS. I'm not considering that one for this build. I've tried it before and, while its theoretical damage can be quite good, amp damage needs to proc in order to deal worthwhile damage. It is only a 5% chance and while it procs at a decent rate, it isn't often enough for my tastes. Even when it does, the radius of the curse is pretty small, so not everything is affected. It also relies on deadly strike, which doesn't stack with critical strike. I already have a high CS skill in my build, so that feature goes to waste. All in all, I feel it doesn't compare to the other bows I've listed. Feel free to recommend another bow, though, if I've left something obvious out. Thanks! And sorry for the long read ;)

Plinko
16-07-2008, 05:08
Can't say that I've tried them all but I'm digging the Harmony Matri option.

It's good enough to mow down LI+PI uniques without wasting too much time (I only have 2 points total in the bow tree as well). I am using one at the moment.

Regular LIs also drop quick enough with a few multi-shot sprays.

Choman
16-07-2008, 10:01
1 bow comes to mind when considering your situation: Upp'd Witchwild strings socketed with whatever you desire. The chance to cast amp damage is critical for those LI+Physical immunes. Believe me, the small + elemental damage from Harmony is nothing in hell...Not sure if they still have a link to the WWS guide somewhere on these forums but basically, it's almost as powerful as a WF when upped and considering the deadly strike and Amp damage. Plus the speed is incredible. I love watching my WWS zon liter the screen with arrows with no additional ias asside from the two shaels in the bow. Also, you might wanna consider the strengh req for upped lycanders and grand mat. Of course if you have the str req already, it's a mute point.

sevencreature
16-07-2008, 14:12
Plus WWS's innate 20 Magic Arrow anihilates (well, a bit slowly :-) those pesky ultra-PI bosses.