yo, got some basic gear, got ariocs needle and some other stuff. wanna to make some low budget ladder early spearzone. Never made it before, seems like fun and challenge to me.

Got any clues, advices? Dunno yet what i use as main skill jab/fend or impale. got also +5impale spear ama but low level req like 30+lvl.

Anyone tried it before?

Fend: Can't use d/a/e, it interrupts the attack cycle. Biggest focus is big damage, life leech, defense and life. Also no valkyrie since no d/a/e which is a big loss, it means you are left to calculate the battle circumstances more realistically, can't just rush head first into anything, no extra help other than a2 merc. One option is to use stone runeword and use the lvl 16 clay golem, but it dies quickly in hell mode.

One thing that makes jab/fend/impale viable is critical strike, i.e. double damage.

I haven't tried using d/a/e, it can possibly work if you keep it at a low level. You can test it out and report back.

But fend is a pretty fun build as long as you have the right gear. You mow down enemies quite quickly. In hardcore it is pretty much impossible, need ultra high end gear and even then it's never a sure thing. Must evaluate every boss pack. Or just stay in nightmare.

Oh, and a high end weapon is eth upped hone sundan.

http://classic.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/exceptional/uspears.shtml

I've tried that, and botd, botd gives more rounded bonuses, but hs is a very strong contender. Don't bother buying non eth.


Jabzon is a thing too, i've made it once and it's quite fun. Can go one or two handed. Demon's arch makes for a very quick jab and decent damage too. Lol i remember the animation being slowed while the hit check sound going like a chainsaw ^^ I think it's like 7 hits per second or so.


Impale i've tried as well, making it in hcl (yes..) ... It is a special kind of build, you have to be patient, lol. But i seem to remember that once the animation has launched, the hit check is performed even if the enemy runs away. You deal big damage, but obviously you have to watch your spacing so you don't get overrun or take a big hit from a boss. I remember visibly taking chunks of life off the bosses, very much fun. Mephisto taking 10% off each hit, fun as hell. A good piece of advice is to use weapon switch; Faster weapons for low hp enemies and a big damage one for bosses and others. You soon learn that you want to kill things in one or two hits, and not hit once and leave the monster with 10-20% hp left, that feels very wasteful.

This post was edited by Taurean on Dec 28 2023 08:54pm

thanks for repost. I will play on hardcore mod, since i switched only to hc ^^

If i go into impale, i would like to use eth botd ofc. As u know, impale destroys weapon pretty fast, so botd is imo best option because of cannot be destroyed mod.Ofc its pretty much expensive, especially on begining of ladder, so i will stick to some low selffound gear, before i get some hr's.

Firstly i wanted to put much points into evades etc, but after taking into consideration what u wrote ...i need to think about it. ofc critical strike is must.

Going to level up, cause just started a char and lets see how it works on nightmare ^^

Nice. Yes, try with mid-level gear first. Don't buy expensive stuff until you know, lol.

Report back when you've tried for a period of time.

Was playing a bit. First ama ripped at lvl 40, was going into jab/impale, but it was so hard to through act1 nighmare so i died before i enter den of evil ...

Second attempt was into fend ama - and she's still alive ;]. Was going much better. I have maxed valkyrie for tanking, critical hit, penetration and ofc fend ^^ Until I obtained lvl 81 was running with some crap spears I gambled or found. It was very nice when i get low titans - non eth ofc (something like 16x ed), but it goes much better with fend +i could use a shield (double brillianted mosers), so I didnt have to worry about resistance. Found also thunderbigor belt, so with titans i was spmming lightning fury into bigger group of monsters, and then fending last standing monsters.

Now i'm finally lvl 81, so i can use my total perf ariocs needle but ... My resistances on hell are crap, i dont have max block (how when i dont have even the shield ;p) Im using shako umed, tg bellt, 2x raven, waterwalks (found today low goreriiders), lying of hands as gloves, metagrid - ar and good resis (thx Juli :>) and peace armor (i know it destroys my valkyrie, but im on the way to making duress soon) Bought today a low ama torch, so got a nice boost to stats/res/skills.

My merc is using (or will, cause he needs 4 more lvl) eth glladiators bane instead of eth rocksfleece, reapers toll (was using low insight almost for whole time) and face of horror atm (gonna switch it to tal mask or natalya helmet - got both options on mule). PLaying is pretty fun, in solo game i can kill almost everything 1 by 1 or in smaller groups. Problem comes out when got to fight with very big group of monsters with enchanted boss, with some scary combos like fanatism, boosted speed, immunes, enchanted lightnings/fire etc. In 4 ppl game its almost impossible to play, and dont wanna think about 8ppl game ...

Still long way to get botd in eth matriarchal pike +3java, but this is my goal ^^ I think i need to get lvl 85and check how it goes with mo better equipped merc. Need also more ias and resistance. Dmg is also a little problem, because im not killing so effectively in chaos sacntuary and a5 on hell. I will invest new skill points into inner sight, maybe it will help out a bit, still got 2 more restats avaible.

Thats how it looks for now. Any suggestions?

This post was edited by Insi_Cannabis on Jan 10 2024 07:47pm

Sorry for late answer, i was banned for 2 months.

That's nice. It is typical to struggle with resists. Kira's guardian, making sure it has at least 65% all resist, and then an um rune in it, will help a lot. Harlequin crest is a great helmet, but resists are that important that it may be better to switch. Also, you get cannot be frozen, which frees up ring slot. Using that helmet on merc as well is not a bad option. The cannot be frozen mod is simply that good, also the extra resists, increases survivability a lot.

I can see the point when you go 2-handed. That is the art of using a spearzon; Leeching life and constantly dealing damage to stay alive, and reading the game so you don't get overwhelmed. It is very typical to get overwhelmed with boss packs, thus you have to start kiting. It is simply a part of the game to do that. But considering; This is something almost any character must do in hell mode, no matter how good the gear is, sine the right boss pack can almost instakill any character.

Using reaper's toll on merc is the right idea, slows the enemies and boosts your damage too. That's a good option and probably the best one.

Try considering these items:

- Treachery either as permanent armor, or for pre-boosting fade. You can use treachery on yourself, and if you can afford it or find a lo rune, use fortitude on yourself and switch with merc when treachery has proced on you. Fade gives a big resists boost along with physical damage resist bonus. Duress is decent, i would consider treachery instead however.
- Thundergod's vigor is decent, but i recommend switching to string of ears. Those stats may seem unimpressive, but they do make a difference. 6-8% Life Stolen Per Hit (varies)
Damage Reduced By 10-15% (varies)
Magic Damage Reduced 10-15 (varies)
- Ring 1: Rare ring with resists and leech.
- Ring 2 + amulet: Consider using angelic combo for the massive attack rating boost, if that is a problem at all. If not, another rare ring can be the most profitable. Wisp projector is an option with the lightning absorb, along with a spirit, oak sage for more hit points or spirit of wolverine for more damage and ar for both you and merc; But those spirits have very low hit points and die easily. So you should have call to arms on switch to use that.
- Amulet: Metalgrid is actually a decent option. The defense bonus helps too. Along with valkyrie, you can use the iron golem charges occasionally to divert enemy attention further. It will die quickly, but sometimes it can be a help to have a third diversion factor. But a good rare amulet can outperform it. The cat's eye can be considered too, the dexterity bonus also increases defense.
- Boots: I also had a hard time choosing between waterwalks and war travelers. That life boost is very helpful. It is a choice one must make oneself. Gore riders too, with the crushing blow, helps a bit, and i can see that point with duress too, it does boost damage a lot.

Post 2 coming in 5 minutes since i get a long cooldown period between each post now.

- Gloves: Dracul's grasp can be something to consider. Even more life leech, and the big bonus factor there is life tap charges, of which you can use on undead monsters to leech even off them. That is a huge game changer. The big problem there is merc with decrepify from reaper's toll. So that is a big issue one has to figure out for oneself. You can cast life tap on a group of undead, then work your way in the pack in a different angle from the merc, thus he will slow his part of it, while you leech where you are attacking. And when the pack is smaller, it becomes easier to deal with and you take less damage, lessening the need for life tap. But it's just a suggestion.
Weapon: Arioc's needle is something i would have wanted to try myself. But i don't think it would outperform botd, so when you get that, you will see a huge difference. The other ace in the hole here is ethereal hone sundan upgraded to elite spear. It has 40% crushing blow, lessening the concern with this from other gear slots. 3 socket holes makes for a great variety of spesific uses. I would consider trying to get this. You will be surprised.

Getting resist charms is a must. After that, life/hit points is the most important stat.

Using demon's limb's enchant charges on you and merc is also essential, boost attack rating a lot. Use a hel rune in it if the strength req is too high.


Spearzon is typically difficult to use in hell mode. There is no getting around having to kite enemies and play tactical, using valkyrie often. Also maybe picking battles and not running headfirst into everything, especially in hardcore. But with optimal gear, it can be a fun experience. It does mow down enemies quite fast, and leeching that much life is fun too.

i have extensively tested zons with physical based attacks + spears. it is interesting how the build works but it suffers from lack of effective crowd control. because your not using a shield the build lacks high damage reduction and block. you have to pray evade works or having a high defense so it lowers the chance of hits landing and they usually land. instead of relying on block / dr the survivability mechanism is life leach / mana leach and this is not very effective if you get fhr locked. so you would need to meet higher and higher fhr break points. the build does work with an ebotd war pike but has poor ias but the damage is good. you can kill stuff just its just slow and requires specialized gear that is a little bit hard to find.

for pvm your better off using a cookie cutter cs zon + infinity merc, if you want pvp use a guided arrow faith bowzon with the highest frw possible. zons are not highly useful pvm except in a very narrow set of use cases like high level fast leveling that requires killing baal really fast so you use a cs zon in a full game.