Lycander's Aim second best after windforce?

[huangfusong]

Lycander's Aim second best after windforce?

I just started playing again and have a strafeazon "and then some". Put points in valkyrie, multishot, strafe, and some passives to get a feel for what I would like in a pure build. I've put very little in life to add more dexterity, though I did give myself some extra strength as a buffer for equipment.

I've struggled to find a good weapon. Many guides say Withwild String, so I upgraded that and added 2 15% increased attack speed jewels, but it still can't compare to trusty Lycander's Aim (the jewels did not add any noticeable speed increase), which seems to kill enemies faster than anything else (I don't have a windforce yet). I haven't even socketed LA yet and it kills bosses noticeably quicker than my best efforts with WS, eaglehorn, or any others. Am I not using the other bows right? Maybe my skills or equipment are throwing things off? WS has a large amount of damage more shown in my character screen plus it shoots magic arrows -- which LA doesn't.

I've switched off between the following: (last is current choice)

helm: always delirium, can't beat it
gloves: lava gout, dracul's grasp, laying of hands
feet: gire rider, war travelers
belt: always goldwrap
ring: always raven frost + carrion vine
armor: peace runeword, 1x upgraded twitchthroe (need more runes for 2x upgrade)

looking for any advice to take full advantage of my bowazon.

 

[Aiglos]

There are two keys with WWS -- speed and high level strafe. As a bow it really is ONLY for strafers. Don't bother with the jewels unless they have great second mods. SHAEL it X 2...

Lycander's is good, no doubt. Upgraded and socketed it WILL solo you through Hell. Of all the uniques there are only five I trust implicitly to do their job and do it extremely well. I'll list them in what I consider there order of effectiveness:

1. Windforce (Obviously, it's the king of all the unique...with a Shael it's just a beast).

2. Goldstrike Arch. SURPRISE!!! I have soloed Hell with GA -- it's a GREAT bow. It has HUGE damage since it's Gothic, it has unbelievable speed built in, and it gets a HUGE bonus to damage to demons and undead. Where does the glory end? The big bonus to your attack rating -- that's where. I consider Goldstrike to be in the same league as WF, but that's entirely my opinion...and I am probably certifiably crazy. But if you want to get really nasty -- up this bad boy and then socket it with one of three things: Shael, a 40/15 (if you have one:azn: -- but any ED/IAS jewel will do above 25), or a ED/All res jewel). Paired with Treachery, Lionheart, or Smoke this bow is uber-death on an extreme budget.

3. WWS/Lycander's Aim -- one is a conventional high-damage Amazon bow with great mods. The other is an unconventional bow that allows a zon to skip Atma's and frees up her merc so he doesn't have to wear Reapers Toll. They are both excellent. And it just depends on what you want to use them for. If you're going to be a strafer then up and double SHAEL WWS. If you're going to be a Frostmaiden or just a more conventional bowie then go with Lycanders.

4. Eaglehorn. Yep, it's just good. If you're going to use the socket quest on it then you have to SHAEL it.

Of all these suggestions, however, I would say that if you can't swing a Windforce (which costs about 1 HR on East Ladder) then you should go with GoldStrike Arch (with Shael) plus Treachery. Stick on LOH, Metal Grid, a Raven, a dual leech + res ring, Valk Wing or Tal's -- I would go with Tals for the dual-leech and res plus a hefty bump to life -- and either Aldur's boots (these boots actually have really nice mods and 40% FRW) or Nat's boots, plus Credendum belt, and you're going to have (if you completed both Anya quests in Nightmare) then very close to positive res in Hell. If you find that to be too difficult to get around then I would suggest that you stick w/ Goldstrike and use Treachery as your prebuff armor while going with Smoke in a high def Wire Fleece.

We've all gotten so spoiled to COH, Fort, Faith and such...that we forget that there are PLENTY of viable ways to solo (even if it's slower than we would like) in HELL.

EDIT: Just as a sidenote, although it will be far more difficult, you might also consider Lionheart (with its great bowie mods) and full Iratha's (which gets unbelievably stellar mods for bowies and javas -- + dex and increased IAS plus Nearly 75 res should never be this cheap). That leaves you with both rings and boots open along with Armor. Lionheart is probably your best bet to maximize damage, but SMOKE may be your best bet to maximize res and FHR. Both are really good choices. In fact, with a good enough Metal Grid and this setup you might be veeeeerrrry close to 75 all res in Hell. You'll definitely hit 75 fire, and if you are lucky enough to stumble upon either a tri-res boot to replace Aldur's or Nat's or a quad res ring then you just might slip over the line. If you find that you can live without the extra 20 res then drop the SMOKE and go Lionheart with a Treachery prebuff for boss runs -- remember, Treachery's Fade lasts almost five minutes and will max your res and give you 15% damage reduction.

 

[jimmah]

Don't forget a Harmony in a elite bow (gmb, mat bow, great bow, blade bow), it's a good alternative and a perfect switch when running (and summoning valk).