Quote (Smart_Player @ Wed, Aug 13 2008, 12:30pm)
@sorrowfulhatred I have one interesting question - How come this thread is named "The future of Zons" since it concerns only and solely the Bowa- Branch of the Zons !?
I remain fan of the Java Branch of the Zons - do you think a build of the Java- Branch can be contrived - approximately 2/3 as successful as what you have contrived and shared here !?
Well, generally when you think of amazons, you think of bow and arrows, however I just wanted a catchy title without paying 5-10 fg for it LOL!
I considered it the future because it was meant to inspire people to try out things beyond the simple character builds that have (some) been around for nearly a decade (zzzzz...) A lot of cheesy and terrible character builds can actually, and surprisingly, be worthy of building and maintaining (telly zon? no ed armor? I mean... look at the kick-sin). The truth of the matter is, almost any character build imaginable can be excellent if you're willing to stick with it and learn how to use it correctly/successfully.
That being said, far cast has made the java zon a frowned upon char in general, but some of the best javazons I've ever known or dueled were non-fc telly-zon variants: Max block + max dr + dodges + high ias/fcr + skill
Skill accounts for at least 60-70% of a character's success rate in my opinion. And that takes a lot of patience and a lot of dueling and "know-how" from experienced zon users. When I made a javazon, I used a lot of what I learned as a bowa-pro to my advantage and strategy.
Conceivably, you could come up with a build that is original (and not necessarily as off-the-path as my bowa here..) and it still be excellent. An openwounds/slow ga attack on switch with cs or plague (requires a lot of running) on other side is an example. Don't be afraid to go out of the box, and if you see potential, don't be afraid to stick with it..