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.
The best way to Lead is too 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.
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.
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.
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
This post was edited by tric-isHUGE on May 3 2007 03:07pm