ok last question
wf+might merc > wf+faith merc?
or faith+might merc?
or should i not go faith neither atmas cus there will be nec and pala in group?

This post was edited by ZhMoon on Dec 21 2025 11:27am

I never plan my builds based on external help, cuz I solo p8.
Now, ofc both atmas and faith are useless if you have a nec+pala providing amp and fana at all time.
You guys will be hugging each others?

WF + might pride merc + hustle on swap is the highest dps. I already told you that. It will be even better if you have a fana pala following you. And yeah, just swap atmas for a 18 fcr amy.
Have 20fcr on circ and 10 on ring, for the 48fcr bp.
There is no other armor option than enigma if you play in group.

Those are very important details that you should have mentioned at start.

This post was edited by SinsOfTheSun on Dec 21 2025 11:40am

Since 2.6, I prefer pure strafe over the typical multi/strafe.
They fixed the server vs client discrepancy that was causing strafe to fire at 3fpa instead of 2, and was shortening the end of the animation when firing continuously and not firing the last few arrows. This silent fix from 2.6 resulted in nearly +50% overall dps for strafe. Now, even in situations where monsters are not lined up at all, while multi used to be better, now strafe feels just as good. But strafe is better in all other cases.
And since strafe requires less ias, I really don’t see how a multi+strafe LoD build can compete with the new 2.6 pure strafe zon.

I prefer enigma over fort, because the very small dps difference is nothing compared to the extra mobility from tele and 45frw.
You can’t team play without tele anyway.
If solo p8, I normally finish my run faster by using mobility over some lil extra dmg.

Both hydra bow (WF) and GMB (faith) have the same WSM of 10.
It makes it easy to plan both at the same time.

With lvl 14-15 fana, you need only 50ias for max strafe speed 4+(2)+6
But even 35ias is only making the whole 10 arrow sequence 1 frame longer 4+(2)+7
1/10th of fpa is nothing, so don’t aim for 50ias at all cost if your build doesn’t allow it without sacrificing dmg and/or survivability and/or mobility.

So… if you use faith GMB on self, then you can get that 50ias from LoH + 2x 15/40 jewels in a nice rare circ with fcr.

If you use WF and put faith on merc, you already have 35ias on it (as you should socket it with a 15/40). Already reaching 2fpa for the 8 middle arrows, but you should still use LoH, making you reach the last bp already without the need of any ias on circ.

The last option is to not use faith at all.
WF + pride might merc will reach the highest possible dps.
Without BoS, you need 120ias to reach the 2fpa middle strafe arrows.
35 WF
20 LoH
45 magic Circ
20 cats eye = 120 -> 4+(2)+7
But then you don’t have amp (but you can have a source on swap, or use reaper on merc instead of pride).
Using magic arrow to kill immunes is also a good option in areas with low quantity of phys immunes.

But the common go-to for a pure glasscanon WF+might merc is to have hustle bow on swap, trigger BoS, then you only need 80ias (or 60 for 1 frame slower end strafe animation).
35 WF
20 LoH
30 rare Circ = 85 -> 4+(2)+6
And this way you still have atmas for amp.

This post was edited by SinsOfTheSun on Dec 21 2025 01:20pm

I use all the above setups. I like changing it from time to time, just for the different playstyle and pros/cons.
But if I had to choose only 1?

WF 15/40 on self
Enigma
LoH (for cows I use 20ias/10cb/15dex gloves)
Razor
Wartrav
Atmas
Raven
10fcr rare ring with life leech, stats, res, ar
Rare circ: 2zon, 2os, 20fcr, 30frw, stats, res
Sockets: 2x rare jewels 30ed/9dex with extra res/ar/life/fhr/dmg to demon/undead whatever. Or 40ed magic ones with any useful suffix.

Merc:
Faith Matri
CoH
Giant skull with 2x 15/40
She reaches max speed, also has KB, tanky enough.
So it’s a nice duo when you both tele (so she stays in range for fana) and both trigger tons of KB. Paired with your high chance to dodge, this build is able to telestomp at melee range and survive the most dangerous amp+fana pack, even without a single point in vita.
(I mean, bad luck can happen, but it’s very rarely dying)

The downside of a pure glasscanon is that diablo and baal can kill you suddenly. Baal is easy to deal with good positioning, as long as he doesn’t quickly tele+cast while you are strafing. But diablo’s ring of fire can 1-hit KO you if you don’t have enough life and fire res (it’s not guaranteed you’ll dodge it) and if you are stuck in a strafe animation then you can’t side-step his firestorm. You can still deal with him by using GA instead of strafe and staying close to a wall to guarantee you won’t get hit by his ring of fire.

Any questions left?

This post was edited by SinsOfTheSun on Dec 21 2025 01:44pm

thank you so much for all your answers, i truly greatly appreciate the time you have committed to helping me out. i will start building my bowa after Christmas

These guys gave you great advice, and because I choose a different approach, I may come off as "Blah!"

D2Lod Strafe vs Multi... I always chose Strafe... so D2R fixed the frame rate issue with animation graphics... what, people didn't think for themselves... Blizzard finally caught up over 25 fucking years and realized their mistake.

Anyway (enough of my rant), to put it simply, Bow damage is reduced to 75/25 ratio... All Skills... HOWEVER, each Base point to Strafe adds 10% damage... so 20 base stats equals 200% right... more than any other Bow damage skill (multistrike etc)

In LoD, the best IAS to reach with Windforce is 90% (89 cap) for it to be valid. Every arrow (10 max) had a CtC mods from other items worn, whereas Multi Strike relied on the 2 center(centre) arrows dealing 200% less damage (wah, wah wahhh).

Anyway... it is based on Play Style... get locked into position spawning 10 arrows (auto aimed) vs a 24 spread of arrow judging radius based on your Cursor etc.

The people above that posted did not list things for testing in D2r v 2.06.

What I Achieve So Far:
Knockback: This is a must to have, especially for Hardcore. Even though you Freeze MOST monsters, some immunes need to be trapped at a distance safe to your zon.
Mana Leech: Definately required for this build as Freezing Arrow is a mana guzzler (5+% is suitable for the Iron Frostmaiden)
Life Leech: This comes in very handy (5+% is suitable for any Frostmaiden)
89% IAS Bp: This is the lowest breakpoint that I would suggest you to achieve with your build. (using Might Aura Merc with Pride)
Pierce: 100% is MYideal, but, it is not a requirement

My Item Setup:

Andariels Visage: You may wonder why I use this item instead of a 120/45/Life or FRW circlet/coronet/tiara/diadem.
#1 +2 All Skills: This helps with: Battle Orders, Battle Command, Saves skill points for better use.
#2 20% Increased Attack Speed: Helps reach my IAS bp by adding a 40ed/15%ias Jewel
#3 8-10% Life leech: Well, I do not have to worry about buying that expensive ring.
#4 25-30 Strength: Since I am using Windforce, this helps me save stat points for Dexterity.

Windforce: You may wonder why this bow for a Frostmaiden instead of ICE Gmb or other.
#1 This yields the most physical damage, and this is needed versus all the cold immunes
#2 20% Increased Attack Speed: Helps reach my IAS bp by adding a 40ed/15%ias Jewel
#3 Has knockback, making room to use the best PvM gloves: Laying of Hands
#4 Has 6-8% mana leech, this means you have cheaper magic/rare ring option, like 18+str/dmg/ar/res

Laying of Hands: This is Missile/Melee PvM characters best glove, but, I will delve into it's benefits for new people:
#1 20% Increased Attack Speed helps to reach your desired IAS bp
#2 350% Enhanced Damage versus Demons, all bosses, and alot of tough monsters are Demons
#3 50% Fire resistence. Most attacks in certain areas are Fire.
NOTE: With Andy's Visage/Windforce (40ed/15ias jewels) and Laying of Hands, you reach the 89% IAS breakpoint
....... 9 FPA normal/Freezing Arrow: This is a good base for bowazon and leaves ammy spot open, unless using a Faith Merc
....... You also get Knockback, Life Leech and Mana Leech... 3 items covering basically everything a bowazon needs.

Fortitude: One of the most common armors for Bowazon (PvP or PvM)
#1 300% enhanced damage can not be scoffed at.
#2 25-30% all resistences helps
#3 hp/lvl 8-12 (in eighths), i.e. +(1-1.5) to Life per Character Level is always good for any character

Razortail: This is the most common belt for a PvM Bowazon, even PvM Javazon.
#1 This has +33 to Pierce, this combined with level 9 Pierce skill, you reach 102% (100% pierce)
#2 +15 Dexterity is always welcome on a bowazon.
#3 +10 to Maximum Damage

Ravenfrost: This is extremely common for MOST builds, but, Ideal ring for Frost/Icemaiden
#1 +(15-20) to Dexterity for Bowazon is gold
#2 Cannot be Frozen, this is ideal.
#3 +(150-250) to Attack Rating is also helpful
#4 Adds 15-45 Cold Damage [100 frames (4 sec.) Normal], ideal for Freezing Arrow

Rare Ring: There are a number of combinations, some extremely expensive. I concentrate on Strength.
#1 You need 17+ Strength mod
#2 Minimum or Maximum damage is a bonus
#3 up to +120 to AR ("Platinum") or up to +150 to AR (coupled "Platinum" and "of Radiance") bonus
#4 up to 11 all res and/or 30 single res bonus
#5 Life &/or Mana Leech is a bonus(WF has ML & Andy's has LL)
#6 up to +15 to Dexterity bonus
#7 5% Bonus to Attack rating bonus (Sun.. also gives +5 Light Radius)

War Travellers: Most PvP bowazons use these, but also ideal for PvM builds.
#1 Adds 15-25 Damage which is very good
#2 10 Strength is very helpful
#3 10 Vitality is very helpful
#4 (30-50) % MF, you are PvM, so some MF is good.

Amulets:
I switch from Mara's to Atmas (keep in your inventory).
..Mara's for Pre casting Valk, Battle Command & Battle Orders: Alsoif entering dangerous areas like: Throne Room.
..Atma's when it is safe to start killing



With the above build, it is a Strafe / Freezing Arrow build with a Maxed out Valk, and the best suited Merc is Pride , Might aura and Fort merc.

IAS for PvM is a joke, just stick to the medium and build up a strategy, otherwise you are all sheep to the slaughter.

thank you your advice and time, friend

No problem, I think I made a mistake in the details of % given with each base point in Strafe... it is 5% not 10% ... Still totals 100% more dmg compared to Multi.