Quote (Kylva @ 13 May 2016 16:01)
Hi,
You want best bowa setup and you seek advice to build a a pure physical one… That's contradictory, I'm afraid. Imho, best PvM bowas are frost-strafers, as they are:
(1) cheaper to build,
(2) easier to 'drive',
(3) harder to kill, and
(4) kill significantly faster (phys zons kill cold immunes faster, let's say 2x faster, but they kill non-cold immunes a lot slower, say 10x.. so, overall, cold bowas are clearly faster).
The only advantage of physical zons is that they are not manaholics.
I presume you know how to play a PvM bowa, won't include a strategy section. If you need any advice about that, just lmk.
After getting a nice bow (goth, +2, 20 IAS, 194 ed, +18 max, 135 ar, -30 req) I decided to give phys babes a try. Here's how i built mine:
CLASSIC 1.1x PvM PURE PHYSICAL BOWAZON
STATS
Stat as much dext as you can. If you are not a dexazon, your phys dmg will suck, no matter how much dmg you get from items. Frostazons can work perfectly with just 300 dex, but physical zons need al least 400. Building a phys zon with just, say, 30 more dex than a frost-strafer is absurd (30% more phys dmg vs 1,6 to 8 k direct cold dmg and 585 k -yes, up to 585 k- splash cold dmg).
You will have to minimize points assigned to str and vita. Low str means you need a low str bow (-req goth or a rune; rune's phys dmg is lower, which is bad for your build) and/or str items. Low vita means you will be easier to kill… not good for a hardcore char.
- Str: enough for gear. Mine was 67, 30 naked (20 from amu, 10 from Sigons).
- Vita: mine was 100, but i've played bowas for years and I'm SC. Every extra pt you put here will mean lower dex -> lower dmg. Leech life to keep your life orb full during fights. I had 21 ll (Boneflesh + Sigons + Dual leech ring)
- Mana: nothing. Your mana needs are pretty low; with only 4 ml I never run out of mana.
- Dext: all remaining pts. I managed to get 437 at lvl 89 (incl. 20 from PE helm & armor, 30 from rings)
SKILLS
Build is done at lvl 88-89, when you already hit diminishing returns in all key skills. Go for 90 for better mf.
- BOW:
Go for max Strafe; forget Multi, it sucks for PvM.
Thus, 20 to strafe and just one to prerequisites.
Magic arrow one-point wonder: has a dmg bonus, uses no arrows, mana cost tends to zero, pierces, and will let you kill immunes (must be combined with psn and/or open wounds).
Guided arrow very useful too, it let's you kill fast running (ie, De Seis, Bone Ash,…) or dangerous (vg., uniques with nasty auras, reanimators,...) mobs.
My bowa reached 273-870 strafe, 305-963 magic, 311-992 guided (lvl 89) with Biggins (261-832 strafe and 289-912 magic with Howl).
- PASSIVE:
- Valky Tree:
-- 20 to Inner Sight: lowers mobs' def by >1 k, thus making all your arrows always-hit (or almost).
-- 1 to other prereq (Slow Missiles and Decoy).
-- Go for a lvl 8-9 valky, counting pts from +skill itms. Don't waste pts here.
- Dodge Tree:
Go for 50% in all 3 skills (13-8-13, counting +skill itms). This will not only help you directly, but will make valky and decoy harder to kill which is crucial for your survivability.
- Right Tree:
-- 65-68% Critical Hit (counting +skill itms)
-- 2-3 Penetrate: as your dext will be high, and you lower mobs def with Inner, AR should't be an issue for you. Before assigning pts to Pene, go kill a decent monster (uniq) and check your % to hit on stats screen, then wear Sigon helm and see how much it improves. Not much…
-- 75% Pierce (lvl 12, counting +skill itms). Pierce is your main dmg skill: critical can only do 2x dmg, pierce can do 5x dmg. 75% pierce means a 25% chance to get perfect piercing (pierce 4, hit 5 mobs).
GEAR
You need as much dmg and dex you can get from gear, with minimum str cost. You don't need high defense, life, or resistances (valky, decoy, dodges, life leech and good positioning and strategy will keep you alive). Don't need mana itms either, just some leech from 1 item will do. Don't need frw (if you run too much this means you are not a good pvm bowa); ofc, don't need fhr (you are not supposed to be hit often, so why waste a precious bonus?). Don't need cbf; hfd enough.
You'll often have to choose between life and dmg items... can't have both. More life seems safer, but imo, killing faster is actually safer (juves, life leech, and good strategy compensate for low life).
IAS is more important for physical zons than it is for frost-strafers (FA just needs 12 fpa attack to freeze-lock mobs). Mine reached 50 IAS (20 from bow, 30 from sigons), which translates to 11 fpa (2,27 attacks/sec) for single arrows [BPs: 22, 35, 56] and 10/3 fpa (2,5 attacks/sec = 25 arrows/sec) for strafe [BPs: 26, 42, 46].
I prefer cheap and simple builds: I'll choose uniq/set items whenever possible.
- Helm:
First choice: Biggins (ideally, PE sock)
Alternate: Either Face of Horror (for str and resis) or, Howltusk (uniqs/champs don't flee, kb can help you vs fast nasty creatures... like vipers).
As HC char, perhaps best helm will be FoH, then Howl, then Biggins.
- Armor:
Boneflesh (ideally, PE sock): low str req, life leech, and OPEN WOUNDS. You won't be able to kill immunes without OW and it is priceless too when fighting great number of monsters as you keep 'damaging' them between hits. Its main drawback is movement penalty; your low vita means low stamina.
Alternate: Iceblink is great in norm/nm. Hawkmail nice when high lvl babas/dins lead parties. They will kill for you. Hawk makes you faster, avoids freezing and gives more res. I've got a PR Hawk from a 'free itms' game.
Forget gz armors (tri-res, etc...) you don't need that, and nothing kills faster and safer than boneflesh. Forget Twitch… You will kill faster and safer with OW and life leech than with 20+ IAS and fhr.
- Gloves and belt:
Sigons. Forget Death, crap for PvM. Sigons combo give you much needed boni (IAS, str, def, resis, life, life leech, 4x4 belt,...). If your bow has 20 IAS, you could reach 60 IAS (10 fpa), switching Sigon Belt for Goldwrap (then you will have to use Sigon boots to keep gloves IAS bonus). Keep in mind that going from 11 fpa to 10 fpa only increases your attacks/sec from 2,3 to 2,5 (= 1 more attack every 5 sec of continuous shooting… nothing to write home about imo).
- Boots:
Any random rare pair will do. You don't need 30/10, 20 enough; some dex and some resis will suffice. If you don't get hfd from rings, get it from boots. I love simplicity, so I use Sigon Boots too. Forget Gobs, CB sucks for rangers (and further nerfed vs bosses)
- Amu:
+2, min/max dmg, str or dex, prism (great if stacked). A +1 amu with good dmg/dex can be better than a +2 lacking those boni.
- Rings:
Rares with as much min and/or max dmg as possible; dex is a must (or str). One resis is enough. One of them must have hfd (if not, see boots).
- Bow:
This is the weakest point of this build, you need an extremely good bow to succeed. Damage is the most important stat; +skills, IAS and dex almost mandatory too. Cold or poison dmg would be the icing on the cake (either in-bow or via sock; I'd go for PE over PSaph, but the opposite can work too).
High dmg bow almost always means using a goth. A good rune (perhaps a large siege or cedar) can do too, their lower str req will allow you to stat more dex. Forget doubles, razor, etc...
If you level her solo and legit (I strongly recommend full walkthrough to develop your skills and to know your babe's performance), best starting gear is full Arctic set with Cathan mask and ring (cold and fire dmg, IAS, str, life leech, etc...) with a soj; Etlich.
When you meet req. lvl and str, get Sigons and switch Arctic armor for Iceblink and Arctic bow for a decent rune (doubles and razors good here), equip your dmg rings. This can comfortably take you to 5x level and breeze through nm. I'd wait till 67 to go hell (+2 amu).
Try to reach 20 Strafe and 75% Pierce asap. In norm/nm, lvl 4 Valky, 40-50% Crit and 40% on 3 dodges are enough. Once you get that, build Inner, strengthen Valky and get desired levels in remaining skills.
Assign single arrows to left button; strafe and spells (valky, decoy, slow, inner, TP) to right button. Binding strafe to space key makes easy to get it back after using a spell.
Well, that's all regarding pure physical pvm zon. But as I said before, a frost-strafer will outperform a phys bowa both in killling speed and safety.
If you reconsider your choice, here is how to build a frost maiden
CLASSIC 1.1x PvM FROST-STRAFE BOWAZON
STATS
- Str: just for gear; this means 100 (hard pts + itms)
- Vita: 100 or 125. I'd start first with 125 and once you are skilled, restat to 100.
- Mana: zero
- Dex: all remaining pts.
SKILLS
- BOW:
-- Cold tree: 20-1-20
-- Central tree: 20 Strafe, with prerequisites
- PASSIVE (all figures counting +skills from items):
-- Valky tree: 8-9 valky; rest, prerequisites
-- Central tree: 13-8-13
-- Right tree: 50-60% critical, 100% penetrate, 75% piercing
GEAR
You need skills (for cold dmg and general build 'solidity'), and dmg for strafe (phys dmg allows u to leech and kill immunes). You need mana, try to leech from as many itms as possible. With 20-25% ml u can shoot FA almost non-stop (and 1 strafe volley will instantly fill mana pool).
- Armor: Silks (+1, ml, def... and style :P). Secondary: Boneflesh for double immunes (carry it on backpack), Iceblink for norm/nm/a1 hell.
- Helm: Tarn (+1). Secondary: Howl (for KB; flee is bad for you; you want them packed, not spread, to get the most out of area dmg).
- Gloves & Belt: Sigon
- Boots: Sigon (100 MF with perf Tarn = decent drops), or random rare boots
- Amu: +2, MANA LEECH, min dmg, prism; str/dex good addition. CD will allow you to sock bow with PE (great to kill cold immunes [CIs])
- Rings: rares 9 min, MANA LEECH, one resis enough, one of them hfd; max dmg, dex or str good but not at the cost of min and ml. SOJs not good, they lack dmg and ml (bigger mana pool is useless if you can't replenish it; potting is lame and ineffective). Can use them as 'bo sticks' to pump up valky before entering dangerous places (vipers 2, book temple, cow portal,..).
- Bow: Don't need a gz bow, just a good one: +2, decent ed, mana leech, cold AND psn dmg would be perfect; dex is secondary, albeit good ofc. When your bowa is high lvl (80+) you'll be hitting diminishing returns; you can use a +1 bow if it offers better dmg than your +2.
DON'T-USE-WIZENDRAW!!! Although it can be considered for a hybrid cold-fire bowa (see Guigeek's Wizenazon), any random +2 bow is better than Wizen for a hybrid cold-phys bowa, not to mention a high-ed one.
FA has 3 components: direct CD, splash CD, physical dmg:
1) Direct CD: Wizendraw's -35% CR means it deals 35% more CD than a plain bow (not skilled). +2 bows deal 22% more dmg than a plain bow. Thus, Wizendraw just deals 13% more direct CD than a +2, not 35%. That's approx. 150 more CD per direct hit
2) Splash CD: CR reduction only applies to direct hits, not to splash dmg. This means Wizendraw's splash dmg is 22% lower than that of a +2 bow, which can make a huge difference: coupled with perfect pierce (pierce 4 mobs, hit 5), which you'll get with 1 on every 4 arrows with 75% pierce, FA can deal up to 350x your CD. That's up to 583,450 (yes, almost 0,6 Mio CD per arrow!) with a +2 bow. As Wizendraw's splash is 22% lower, you can loose up to 128,000 splash CD per arrow... 128 k area dmg lost per arrow vs 150 more CD per direct hit... c'mon xd
3) Physical dmg: even a critical max dmg hit from Wizendraw would be lower than a min dmg hit of a +2 goth with a decent ed. Physical dmg is very important; in addition to its direct dmg effect (which allows you to kill faster, both immunes and non-immunes) it makes you leech the mana you need to shoot FA.
Wizendraw is useless vs CIs. Cold resis reduction is pretty useless in hell, as most cold immunities are well above 100% (150% CR - 35% CR = dead bowa). High ed +2 bows kill immunes.
Last, and ofc not least, let's not forget that a +2 bow improves ALL your skills. ALL. You get two more levels on critical, penetrate, pierce, strafe, magic, guided, FA, decoy, valky, etc... thus making the build significantly stronger (hits harder, dies less).
K.
PS: I apologize for poor writing, english is my 3rd language.Awesome guide! I vouch. #1 pvm bowa on europe
