Bowazon in Hell

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Joseph Blewewtt - 24 Jan 2008 19:53 GMT

I've been thinking of trying to build a Bowazon, but some of the
articles I've read suggest that she's not viable soloing in Hell. Can
anyone suggest a viable build for this character, and is the outlook as
gloomy as I've read?

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Ulandx@hotmail.com - 24 Jan 2008 21:32 GMT

>I've been thinking of trying to build a Bowazon, but some of the
>articles I've read suggest that she's not viable soloing in Hell. Can
>anyone suggest a viable build for this character, and is the outlook as
>gloomy as I've read?

What?Not viable in Hell?
I play HC this ladder,have a 87 Pally and 84 Bowazone.
I have absolute crap gear on both of my chars by the standards of
the regulars in this group,for example it seems to be impossible
to find a rune higher than Hel or "Goldwrap"-belt for mf-ing,so I use
Sigons Belt,Gloves and Boots at level 84,no joke.

Strafeazone or Fanazealot are my favorite classes,Zone for
mf'ing,Pally more for fun and max kill speed,mostly used for
running Countess.
That said,the Zone is absolutly capable of handling most stuff in
Hell,prominent exception being Baal,problem being the Valk
keeps distracted by those weed thingies.And Baal turning his
attention to the Zone slows down kill speed severly.So my
favorite mf-target with her is Diablo,who absolutly causes
no problems with the right tactics (and bow,see thread "Weird" above).

Well,there is not much variety in skill distribution.
Max Strafe,Valk and Decoy.Some points in Critical Strike,I wouldnt
spend more than 7 hard points because of diminishing returns.
Then the one point wonders Dodge,Avoid and Evade to make the
Valk stronger.
A lot of Bowazone players swear on Pierce,I am not a big fan of it
cause some Bows have built in Pierce and the mobs need to stand
in a row nicely to make it really effective.
I rather spend points in Penetrate for more attack as it seems always
too low compared to my pally who has easily 5500 Attack while my
zone hovers around 2500.
At 84 I have 5 left over skill points,atm I am leaning to put them in
guided arrow for Boss kills and PIs(at least it makes sure you hit
with the "Harmony" bow for elemental damage).
I see some Zone players advocating for Freezing arrow for crowd
control,again this also its not my thing,I have the Valk and Decoy for
this,better to put points in things which speed up kills like the
aforementioned Penetrate and Guided Arrow.

The major drawback of a Bowazone is that there is only one bow
which is really good - Buriza d' Canyon - who can say no to
Pierce and Freezing mod paired with ultra high damage,only
negative is the high Str requirement on the updated Buriza,in
HC I use a non-upgraded one to save points for Vitality.

Again,this all is from the viewpoint of a rather poor player,I have no
illusions that I can kill the "Ubers" one day,being able to kill Baal
and getting little improvements from time to time is rather enough
for me.

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jcrud - 24 Jan 2008 23:39 GMT

>> I've been thinking of trying to build a Bowazon, but some of the
>> articles I've read suggest that she's not viable soloing in Hell. Can
[quoted text clipped - 47 lines]
> and getting little improvements from time to time is rather enough
> for me.

I concur. My clvl 85 strafeazon does quite nicely in hell with m'avinas
and buriza. I use freezing arrow as a boss killer. The trick to
playing a bowazon is to learn to use decoy. The only tough part is
Diablo and Baal. For some reason Diablo always targets me not my
minions. Could be the buriza as someone suggested earlier. IDK. I'm
thinking about using deamon limb on switch for the enchant but I don't
know how much that would give me. Delerium crown works wonders here too
for the lvl 18 confuse (iirc). Merc is an act1 bow merc. She's good
but damage only about 500. What's the best merc for a bowazon?

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Ulandx@hotmail.com - 25 Jan 2008 08:31 GMT

>>> I've been thinking of trying to build a Bowazon, but some of the
>>> articles I've read suggest that she's not viable soloing in Hell. Can
[quoted text clipped - 57 lines]
>for the lvl 18 confuse (iirc). Merc is an act1 bow merc. She's good
>but damage only about 500. What's the best merc for a bowazon?

Deamon limb - too much fumbling,I have a Harmony bow in second weapon
slot,though I use deamon limb on the rare occasions when I feel
insolent and go after Baal.
Delerium crown - I dont use any crowd control equipment,even no
knockback gloves,as mentioned above thats what the Valk and Decoy
are for.
Merc - Sure,a Holy Freeze or Might act2 hireling would be nice,but as
I run mostly Diablo with my zone it makes no sense with all the
Oblivion Knights around so I go with a Act 1 Rogue merc as she knows
much better as the Act2 merc to stay away from monsters.

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Ulandx@hotmail.com - 25 Jan 2008 09:06 GMT

> I'm
>thinking about using deamon limb on switch for the enchant but I don't
>know how much that would give me.

Tested it for you,as I said too much fumbling,even needed to throw
in some str charms.
Enchant raised attack from 2400 to 3600 for the negligible cost of
10644 gold. :) . Seriously,the costs can hurt in the long run imho.
Better to spent the money for gambling,got some nice yellow rings
and even a Ravenfrost from Gheed lately,although I already had 2. :)
Back on a mule with it. :)

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Bingain - 24 Jan 2008 23:52 GMT

> What?Not viable in Hell?
> I play HC this ladder,have a 87 Pally and 84 Bowazone.
> I have absolute crap gear on both of my chars by the standards of
> the regulars in this group,for example it seems to be impossible
> to find a rune higher than Hel or "Goldwrap"-belt for mf-ing,so I use
> Sigons Belt,Gloves and Boots at level 84,no joke.

Nice perspectives. Some supplements below.

> Strafeazone or Fanazealot are my favorite classes,Zone for
> mf'ing,Pally more for fun and max kill speed,mostly used for
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
> too low compared to my pally who has easily 5500 Attack while my
> zone hovers around 2500.

Penetrate is essential nowadays unless you have a high end ITD
bow and use GA for bosses.

> At 84 I have 5 left over skill points,atm I am leaning to put them in
> guided arrow for Boss kills and PIs(at least it makes sure you hit
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> this,better to put points in things which speed up kills like the
> aforementioned Penetrate and Guided Arrow.

If you have high AR, I'd go for Magic Arrow instead of GA. At
decent level it costs no mana, adds magic damage, and doesn't
use arrows at all. GA auto-aims and can shoot around corners,
but you may not find this feature that necessary in PvM.

> The major drawback of a Bowazone is that there is only one bow
> which is really good - Buriza d' Canyon - who can say no to
> Pierce and Freezing mod paired with ultra high damage,only
> negative is the high Str requirement on the updated Buriza,in
> HC I use a non-upgraded one to save points for Vitality.

I haven't been on b.net for a couple of months, but I think an
Eaglehorn won't cost much. I like that bow a lot; decent damage,
+dex, ITD, etc, and rather cheap. It might dish out slightly
less damage than Buriza on paper, but since it's faster, the
damage over time should be higher. A bow is also much more
stylish, in my opinion. Of course, if HRs are flying around, a
Windy may be quite affordable as well.

> Again,this all is from the viewpoint of a rather poor player,I have no
> illusions that I can kill the "Ubers" one day,being able to kill Baal
> and getting little improvements from time to time is rather enough
> for me.

Even with Faith bow and other uber equipment, I don't believe a
bowie can ever be a good uber hunter. For physical combat chars,
CB is a key, but it's nerfed too much for ranged attacker.
Furthermore, without a shield or skill-provided resistance, she
can hardly have enough resistance, not to mention replacing some
defensive gears with CB items.

Bing

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Ulandx@hotmail.com - 25 Jan 2008 08:36 GMT

>> Again,this all is from the viewpoint of a rather poor player,I have no
>> illusions that I can kill the "Ubers" one day,being able to kill Baal
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
>Bing

I was unclear,sure I dont want to go with the Bowie after the "Ubers",
thats what the Pally is for maybe someday I have an inventory full
of vitae,shimmering small charms and a BotD weapon. :)

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