Quote (tehmuffin @ Aug 7 2008 11:41am)
all writtin by tric ty very much my man
Contents:
Introduction
Gear
Zon Basics
Dueling Styles
IAS table
Introduction:
LLD zvz is one of the most skill based duels you will find in d2. This guide will cover how to make a lld bowa, and how to duel with her. The primary focus is on pure bowazons and hybrids will not be covered in this guide. I wrote this guide to share my experience and knowledge so other people may make a zon, and to learn stuff from zons on other realms.
Gear:
Helms:
Peasant Crown - 15 max dmg jewel ( budget )
2passive skills 30frw 2open sockets � 15 to 24 max dmg jewels
The frw saves a ton of charm space and provides 2 skills for your passives. This is an excellent zon helm, and most top bowas use this helm
Artisans mask/crown of the wolf �
This is the pure dmg build helm. Getting up to 20 life and potentially a 72 max helm
Bows:
Upped Rogues Bow ( budget ) � Speed bow. Slightly lower damage but the speed easily makes up for it. Use max dmg jewel in this. ( shael will increase lvl req over 30 )
Superior Ashwood bow +3bow skills 5 open sockets:
mostly uses shaels/nef/dmg jewels. Never used one so cant say much about it
Classic Dupe Bows � cant comment on west or Europe, but eastNL has its share of sexy lld bows
RuneDart: arguably the best lld bow on d2. +2 skills 40ias 100 dmg make it very solid choice
Knock: Insanely high stat requirements, slow firing speed, only plus is the 160 max dmg. I recommend staying away from this bow.
Armors:
Twitchthroe (budget) � very slick armor. The 20ias can save you a shael in the weapon and 10 str can give you more for dex/vit.
Artisans Light Plate of the Squid. 3 open sockets and 61 to 80 life. This is the way to go if you got the Jewels for it.
Peace � this armor is a poor choice. The +2 skills isnt worth all the damage you miss out on.
Amulets:
EastNL: imp brow � one of the best choices, not too hard to come across
+2 passives skills squid mod � up to 80 life
Rare: +1zon/+2passives REP LIFE +life +resists
Angelics ( budget )
Rings:
Sojs - +skills and +mana. Hard to beat
Angelics ( budget ) � with ammy you get 6rep life 75 life and 10 dex.
Rare: Life mana dmg resists rep life.
Gloves:
Deaths ( budget ) � paired with deaths sash you get 30ias cannot be frozen and 15 res all
Bloodfists � would work well with twitch or upped rogues builds. Never tried them so tough to say
Belts:
Deaths ( budget ) � paired with the gloves you get some nice bonuses, tough to beat
String of ears � you lose some speed but you gain some nice dr. would only really work with faster bows
Goldwrap � this belt has 10ias on it. Not much use beyond that
Boots:
Sanders ( budget ) � 40frw is a huge plus ar and 15 stats.
Cow king � 20 dex and like 25-35 fire dmg. Adds over 100 dmg to my zon 30frw too
Rares � 30frw dex resists
Switch weapon:
Melee:
Javelin class - high damage eth/rep harpoons. Ideally with ias and ed, and if you can get amp then GG
Tactical:
Javelin - some sort of javelin with high dmg, amp is a must and knockback is pretty too
Scepter � magical with 15 replenish life. socket it with a nef if you want.
Scepter ( rare ) � look for 10rep life amp dmg. Socket with a nef if it doesn�t already have knockback.
Switch Shield:
Whitstans ( budget ) � very quick shield, good for blocking without slowing down too much
Artisans shield of Deflecting: quick block, and has 3 open sockets for max dmg jewels. A good pick for melee
Artisans shield of regeneration: slow block, 3 to 5 replenish life. socket with sols for dr, eths for mana rep. I don�t recommend dmg jewels because this shield is slow and you�ll lose a lot of fights up close.
Charms: These are the mods you�re looking for
Max dmg
Frw
Life
Max dmg is a prefix while frw and life are suffixes so keep an eye out for dmg/life and dmg/frw charms.
You can make a lld bowa with little cost if you use the items deemed budget above, and using 10x 10 max dmg grand charms, 5 3frw scs and 5 15 life scs. You�ll have around 630 max dmg which is enough to zvz with and around 420+ life ( if you invest some in vit )
Ideally you want 120 to 150 frw. You can have as little as 400 to almost 900 life depending what you�re more comfortable with. Keep in mind that the more life you have more likely you�re losing damage.
My zon has 1305 dmg and only 399 life. She is a pure dex build, who will get more life as I get the charms. You can get away with having so little life by religiously using your shield and walking, and dodging arrows altogether, but keep in mind 1 good hit can potentially kill you. 500 to 550 life is a very comfortable amount of life.
Skill Placement:
1jab
Max guided
55-60% crit ( more or less depending on avoid and evade )
I highly recommend getting valkyrie
1 penetrate ( jab ar )
1dodge
Rest in avoid and evade. This point it is mostly preference. Since you should be moving more than standing still I recommend a higher amount in evade.
Zon Basics:
If you�ve ever dueled bow vs bow, you�ll know that it is all about how well you shoot, your position, and your opponents position. You must be able to understand what advantages you have over your opponent, and use them effectively. Here are some things to look out for:
Guided Arrow: unless you name lock someone, this spell will travel to the place you clicked, and then lock onto a target. Because of this, at longer ranges your guided arrows will not lock on. It is wise to use your corners when shooting because they offer the most range.
Bottom: a typical gm zvz duel will start with the two duelers east and west of each other. The reasoning behind this is that being below your opponent gives you more room to click and potentially get a namelock. The skill and belt bar cuts off an inch or so from your range, so being below is almost always an advantage.
Corners: In the blood moor there will always be a giant rectangle or a slightly smaller square in the middle. They can make for some very boring duels, but keep in mind they are always there.
Leading: Most zvz duels people will not stand still. You have to shoot in front of your opponent to get a hit most of the time. The more experience you get the more you can read which way someone will strafe to. For example:
Map
�����������.
���������z2�.
�����������.
�����������.
������z1����.
Zon #2 is more likely to either run upwards or to the right than to the left because z1 has the bottom, and z2 is currently in z1�s upper corner. Keep in mind Corners, houses, bushes etc all influence where people will run to. If an arrow locks onto someone, generally people walk for a corner or wall to hide behind incase he got namelocked.
The best way to Lead is to shoot a few arrows directly at the zon, and the shoot two or three arrows leading to the left or right. You can nail several hits in a row if it is timed perfectly. Practicing and using this in a duel will bring you some success. It's a good idea to mix up your shot, try leading right away and shooting towards the zon's current location so as to cut him off rather than lead. Leading can also play a defensive role as you can create a wall of arrows to stop someone from running in a certain direction or towards an escape route.
Decoys: decoys are great arrow absorbers. At longer ranges they will only take an arrow, but when two zons are close to being on each others screens, a decoy will lure several arrows giving an immediate advantage to the owner of the decoy. Keeping one up is always an advantage, as it offers a safe zone to zons who are trying to get in close.
Keep in mind that decoys have a somewhat high mana cost. You will only have 8 mana pots for the entire duel, so don�t go too crazy on the decoys. Decoys offer valuable information to your opponent on how much you life you have if he gets close to it, and vice versa.
The best way to deal with decoys is to click closer to yourself so your guided arrows wont lock onto the decoy, or to just use multi shot.
Valkyries: These guys are awesome to have on your side. They can take several arrows, and the best part is when it gets stuck or gets too far away from you, it will teleport back onto your screen. Since you will be running a lot and so quickly, the valk will be teleporting, and can even land itself right in between you and your opponent, giving you the advantage. You will also find that the valk makes for a safe getaway because it runs slower than you, staying between you and your opponent. They also come in handy if you come into a jab duel. ( I have had a valk finish off my opponent while we were jabbing )
Switch Glitch: your weapon on switch can affect your previous fired arrows. Items like amplify damage, slow, knockback, open wounds. ( not sure about deadly strike or crushing blow ) Sexy melee harpoons with amplify damage = the way to go.
BM: certain things are bm in lld zvz. This includes: too much replenish life. running to replenish life, slow, slow missile, open wounds and excessive use of multishot.
Hydras: Chance to cast hydra mod is amazing! 10% of every hit you take will set off a hydra. the hydra is cast on the attacker so it works long rang. The Best part of this is not in the damage, but what hydra can do to a zon's dodges. Once i had a junk hydra ammy on, and it went off on the first hit of a jab fight. Sure enough we ended up dueling right ontop of 3 hydras blasting him, I won easily. Finding this mod on a zon ammy with nice life or rep life will make for some remarkable duels im sure.
Locks: Name locking onto someone means you are clicking onto the person with guided arrow. when this happens your arrows will immediatly attack the one who is name locked. Some ways to accomplish a name lock:
1. Run up and click onto the persons name. Very risky, but sometimes when attacking from below you can pull this off
2. Have jab on your left click with your spear/shield, and guided arrow on left click with your bow. you can run up attempt to jab, and if they run, simply pressing 'W' will pull out your bow and you will already be shooting name locked guided arrows.
3. Unsummon lock is very difficult and an effectie time to use it rarely comes up. i keep it on f8 just incase though. sometimes you will be able to namelock your opponent through a wall or house. Simply name locking with guided arrow is obvious and he'll sit and let you waste your mana and arrows. a good way to hide your namelock is by using Unsummon. it looks like you are standing still so he won't know you have him locked, and might retreat a bit, and walk into an area where your arrows can hit him. when he walks out of the path of a wall or house you switch to guided arrow and keep shooting until he runs off of your map.
Dueling Strategies:
I have witnessed several types of dueling styles people seem to use: defensive, aggressive, tactical, and the charge. The #1 thing you must remember is "dont be predictable"
Aggressive � this involves being very straight forward. Aggressive players are almost always taking a few steps in on their opponent, forcing them backwards. This works best when you have the bottom or have your opponent trapped or soon to be trapped ( or low on life )
The best way to handle aggressive duelers is to play defensively, or do everything you can to take away their initiative such as getting to his side or getting away from a wall or finding a corner to hide on.
Defensive � this involves staying far away at all times, and almost never staying on your opponents map for too long. You�re very likely to get hit by invisible guided arrows if you�re not careful. This is a very tough style to beat, but in turn it almost never wins itself. If an opponent gets too close you almost always take off running. Chasing a defensive player wont work unless you are at a fairly close range. I win every time someone tries to catch me when I�m playing defensive. I can shoot guided arrows and run away leaving you no time to shoot back and have a chance in hell of hitting me.
Tactical � this involves always getting the better position. Being below you�re opponent, getting your opponent into corners etc. This style is a mix of all the others ( and the most common ). You can at any time go directly into aggressive dueling and even play defensively due to having the better position and more room to work with. Time isn�t a factor when dueling like this.
Charge � charging is when you put on your shield and run down your opponent and try to get a name lock. This only works with higher life zons. It�s a great strategy, but against experienced zvzers you will almost always come out worse off. If you�re going to charge, make sure you do so when the time is right, and you�re close enough. Also, if you�re low on arrows or out this is often your only choice.
How to defeat the charge: if you�re dueling a known charger, make sure you make yourself a nice home close to the rectangle/square. Spam arrows as they approach, and then make your way around the corner. If they get a namelock, you can pull out your shield and walk to the other corner getting away almost always unscathed. If they don�t go for a namelock, but try to jab you, make sure you run and shoot at them, but stay close enough for the second they pull out their bow you can double back on them with your javs. This position comes up every now and then, and probably the most intense and difficult situation that can arise in zvz.
Tables: * aim for this breakpoint. I did not include any fhr breakpoints because your passive skills aren�t affected by fhr, and frw and life will prove more useful than fhr charms and gear.
Double Bow
IAS Frames
0% 12
8% 11
22% 10
42% 9
75% 8 * Rogues + deaths
Ashwood Bow/Rune Bow
IAS Frames
0% 13
9% 12
20% 11
37% 10
63% 9 *
105% 8
curtosey of Mei
Hell rushed lvl30 bowzon on useast non-ladder could have about:
150-1300 GA damage, 9fpa
750 life
120 frw
75 resis all
60% critical strike, 40% dodge, 55% avoid, 50% evade
Other than GA, zon should also get Jab/slow missle/decoy/valk/lightning fury.
Set keys that's close to "standing" key ([shift] by default) as your hotkeys. I use A,S,Z,X.
Other realms may have different build, but the dueling strategy would be similar. Here are some experience with my bowzon, all based on dueling other good lvl30 chars.
1. vs Bow zon
#1 rule: Do NOT run away from another bowzon after you can see her on your screen. The chance is, you are namelocked and the GA will follow you for screens. If you really have to get away, try run a little and switch to walk before the ga hits you. Or you can switch to java/shield side and start throwing/jabbing/lightning fury/lightning bolt.
Always cast a valk, and whenever the situation permits, cast a decoy between you and the other zon, to tank invisible GAs, or to attract locking GAs. Decoy is especially useful if you are rushing to another zon and try to jab her.
Multishots is better than GA vs bowzon that's running towards you, lightning fury is even better. Have a KB glove in your stash just in case the other zon decides to put it on, or get a gg java with kb.
Between two good bowzons, the duel can be long and Invisible GAs become the only hits that can be landed on each other. Some life replenish would be helpful.
Try to take the south side, because it give you a little more range of locking GA on opponent, because the bottom of the screen is covered by mana/life ball and other things.
Hide behind bush/corner/house to shake off the tracking GAs.
2. vs CS zon
Bowzon always win.
vs far cast CS zon, get general flail as switch weapon(50% slow), maybe cleg glove (25% slow/kb) too, put on extra frw and don't ever be in sight of the cs zon.
For a good manner duel, multishots is better than GA vs chars that run towards you, or use lightning fury. Put a crafted KB glove in stash just in case.
3. vs lightning/TS sorc.
Most time bowzon lose to a good lightning/TS sorc. If the sorc have 2k+mana and use ES/insight, zon will lose for sure.
TS will put you into evade/avoid animation, so sorc have extra time to tele on you and cast lightning. Try find a open terrain and continuelly run/ga/run/ga. Aim your ga somewhere between you and the sorc so it locks on the sorc, but need less time to travel back to the spot where the sorc would tele on top of you. Shoot ONCE and run away, repeat. Usually you have time to cast valk/decoy to tank TS, since the lighting cast speed is relatively low. Slow missle won't help much vs a good sorc, but it helps vs noobs. Another option is to use upped rogue's bow to get 8fpa ga, and shoot more frequently at sorc, that can probably lock her in place. Since lightning cast slower than fire ball, sometimes this works, but not always.
4. vs Fireball sorc.
50/50 chance vs fireball, without any +max resis/slow missle.
Similiar to dueling a lightning/TS sorc. Don't have time to cast decoy/valk, but Sorc can't TS you either. Just shoot/run/shoot/run.Circling f ball sorcs works best when they are name locking. be paitent versus f ball sorcs as in most of the time they will just try 2 telestomp u until there mana is depleted, be patient, circle the sorc when name locked and shoot when ur not being tele stomped. Stamina pots might be neccesarry
5. vs blizzard sorc.
Bowzon lose most duels. With hawkmail it can be a long duel, really depends on who has more life replenish.
First, typical lld cold sorc has -70 to -85% cold mastery, make sure the zon has enough resis. If the sorc is aggressive and tele on zon to cast ice blast, Zon can just duel like vs fire or light sorc, and usually wins. But the good ones would only cast blizzard on you from a distance, so they have a longer time to respond and avoid your ga. Zon should keep running before the blizzard landed on you, but if somehow you are already in a blizzard and the sorc is in GA locking range, stand still and shoot GA, usually the sorc can't tank you so she would retreat. Use combination of multishots (to the direction sorc might tele to) and name lock GA whenever it's possible.
6. vs trapper
Bowzon always win.
Run fast and stay out of the trapper's sight. If you are name locked and being Mind blasted, do NOT try to tank, run away immidiately before multiple traps being casted upon you.press w rapidly 2 easily escape mb lock, same applys for leap and any other stun move
7. vs Kicker
Bowzon win more, kicker have chance too.
Put on 100+frw, WALK south, mostly just throw lightning fury, GA when it's safe, don't try to tank with jab.
8. vs summon necro
Not sure about this.
The only possible way for bowzon to win is by multishots, with many frw, but I never tested it vs a good summon necro. With GA/Jab bowzon always lose.
9. vs p&b necro
Bowzon wins most of the time.
For a "good manner" duel, bone spirit is just too slow to catch bowzon, bone spear can't hit a running bowzon. Remember to cast valk/decoy to attract spirits, and shoot a few multishots before GA to destroy necro's bonewalls. Keep a distance with necro. BTW, I think recasting bone armor and many bonewalls is not bad manner, because otherwise necro stands no chance at all.
If the necro use bone prison/decrepify, zon can use the slow flail as switch weapon, and slow missle. The hard part is getting close enough to the necro to cast slow missle, be careful doing that. But once you get slow missle on necro, you can safely shoot bunch of GAs then multishots a few times to break bone prisons and then run away.
10. vs thrower barb
Bowzon always win.
The only possible trouble is when the barb throws invisible javas by dex/str glitch. Just keep a distance and constantly move, not in a easily predictable pattern, and GA.
11. vs WW barb
Bowzon always win.
Put on 150frw. And the goal is never get hit by ww, especially not by the desynched ww. If you run a straight line in a open terrain, you are not safe even you doesn't see the barb on your minimap. Don't be afraid, just zigzag or run in small circles in a rough terrain, and name lock GA the barb. Just don't get greedy and standing there shooting multiple arrows thinking the barb is still away, no, he's not, he's right at your ass. Shoot no more than 3 GAs at a time then run.
Edit: I find it's hard for bowzon to deal with a very fast running barb, like mine and merl's barb, the ww descych is insanely high. But both our barb has about 150frw (equal to about 320 pure gear frw). I guess no other barbs ever put on such high frw, that's why my zon felt it's easy. If you use any slow, the barb is doomed, but that's just low. A better way is to keep running, throw lightning fury right back even you don't see the barb after you. And when the ww desynch finally break (when the barb suddenly shows up on your screen), you may now have chance to shoot a few GAs then run again. A few stamina potions usually help.
12. vs FOH.
Bowzon always win vs a pure foh build.
Usually FOH is used as a secondary attack by different pally builds. Anyway, get some lightning resis, GA.
13. vs charger/zealot
Bowzon always lose to a good charger/zeal hybrid for a set of duels. But you may get lucky, or maybe the pally is just crap. Anyway, Walk and use lightning fury only, never switch to bow side.
14. vs smiter
For a "good manner" duel, bowzon always win vs a smiter without a charge switch setup. But a smiter who does decent charge damage has chance vs bowzon.
Just run and GA/multishot back, lightning fury if the smiter keeps charging at you.
If the smiter is using holyfreeze/general flail, bowzon will most likely lose. But the smiters who use these just for winning are usually noobs, so you can put on general flails/cleg gloves and try to kill them before they reach you.
15. vs hammerdin
Bowzon win most of the duels.
Hammers themself are not a threat if zon run fast and run in random directions. A good hammerdin will try to place hammers in front of you. Hammerdin can also carry damage gears and have about 2-2.5k charge damage. If the hammerdin charges you with slow weapon, pally will win more. be ready for a random charge from a hammerdin. be ready 2 switch to your shield. Get at least 120frw, name lock GA whenever you are not being charged, multishots in possible directions when you don't see the paladin on minimap. lightning fury and walk when being charged, jab occationally, but don't keep jabbing because the pally might switch to hammers. Recast valk whenever you have a chance. Get some life rep too if the pally like to runaway and regen.
16. vs fury druid
Bowzon always win.
Run fast (150+ frw), do NOT ever underestimate fury druid's speed, especially if he has feral rage activated. Shoot back with multishots, or lightning fury. Bowzon doesn't need slow or knockback to beat fury druids. .
17. vs tornado druid
Bowzon always win.
Run and shoot.
18. vs fissure druid
Bowzon always win, without any +max resis gear.
Again, run and shoot. It's similar to dueling a blizzard sorc, but the druid can not teleport and can not Ice blast you.