Quote (Hippie_DK @ 19 May 2018 22:06)
This does sounds like alot of fun. As does the Trap/kicksin :O
Edit: How many hugs do I have to throw around, for you post your gear/builds?
None ^^
At the start of a ladder, i typically look for socketed bows and stick preferably Topazes in them. 3 x 1-7 lightning damage quickly adds up, especially combined with Multishot. Hunter's Bows are the quickest at low levels, so i use them. If i can get my hands on the Arctic Set, that is a winner that makes Tomb leveling much easier, but it is hard to get very early, not to mention expensive.
I don't necessarily like to buy gear early in a ladder, but a good bow is almost mandatory to make good progress a little faster than slowly. So i typically try to buy Skystrike, Riphook, Kuko Shakaku and any of these mid-level unique bows. Cliffkiller makes Nightmare much easier. Eaglehorn is the bow i like to get for starting Hell Chaos runs, and of course Eldricth/Shenk. Ignore Target's Defense helps immensely with hitting enemies, hard to stack up AR early in a ladder. Harmony is a great runeword too, which is on par with Cliffkiller. The Vigor aura makes the flow of gameplay better, but running too fast in HC can be risky, because of lag spikes/rubber banding. I'd rather run slow and survive, than suddenly find myself 2 feet away from an Extra Strong boss pack. Then again, i make it a standard way of gameplay to throw up Decoys at the edge of the screen almost 100% of the time. It is slow and painstaking, but it saves your life.
My standard end gear is the normal Bowzon setup: Faith GMB, Razortail, Kira's Guardian Um (for HC. For SC, i can understand the decision to use a 3 x 15/40 Circlet or similar), Laying of hands, War Traveler. 10 Max damage Grand Charms, Life/Resist/FRW Small Charms.
For an early armor, i try to find a 3-4 socketed armor and stick rubies in them. Treachery is a preferable choice, it boosts damage from Strafe (my main skill) a lot. The trouble with Treachery and Bowzon is that in order to get Fade to trigger, you must get hit first. And getting hit as a Bowzon is risky and not strategically efficient. Your Decoy, Merc and Valkyrie should be taking the hits. So even though i use Treachery for the IAS bonus as soon as i can make it, i usually stick it on the Merc, as soon as i find a better defensive option, such as maybe Lionheart, Duriel's Shell and any other mid-level unique. This ladder, i actually ended up using an Ethereal Prudence, because of it's extremely good defensive options. The preferred option is of course Fortitude, but it is very expensive to make, i couldn't afford it this season.
Atma's Scarab/Cat's eye - Nearly identical, Cat's Eye make you run faster, and gives a flat Dexterity bonus which results in a couple hundred more damage, if you have Might + Concentration from your Merc, but Atma's may be a little more efficient until that point. When you use the combination of ITD + Strafe + 5% CTC Amplify Damage, it will trigger much more often and you will deal a lot more damage. Ideal for Eldricht and Shenk runs. Cat's Eye may be more efficient for general gameplay.
For rings, Raven Frost is of course a great option when you can get it. CBF is very valuable, but when you get a bow with ITD, and Kira's Guardian which gives CBF, there is really no other use for it other than the Cold Absorb and Dexterity bonus. So when i can max out my Cold Resists in Hell mode, i usually switch out the Raven Frost with a good Rare ring. The other ring slot i use a Wisp Projector on for two purposes: 1) Added Lightning protection, and 2) Heart of Wolverine, for added damage both on me and the Merc. You can use Oak Sage, but it tends to be very careless and wanders right into any monster, getting killed every 10-20 seconds. The HoW seems to be a little more aware and defensive, and can take a couple of hits.
Other than this, i just use whatever rares i find along the way and make due. That is the fun part.