- Jun 11, 2018
- 654
- 9
- 3
Matriarch Lena – Pit-Running WWS Strafer
I love the idea of running the Pit. The problem, though, is that I had never built a character really geared toward running that area, and I tended to deal with far too many S&Es and deaths using the characters I already had available. I had also never built a pure strafer. So to kill two birds with one stone, I created Lena, a strafer designed to MF the Pit (at low players settings). Here are the results.
Stats/Skills:
Name: Lena
Class: Amazon
Experience: 1254386908
Level: 87
Naked/Gear
Strength: 79/105
Dexterity: 291/352
Vitality: 140/150
Energy: 15/15
HP: 642/722
Mana: 144/184
Stamina: 290/290
Defense: 72/1427
AR: 8219
Damage: Normal (MA): 858-1400
Strafe: 736-1197
Multiple Shot: 643-1050
MF: 250
Block: 48
GF: 155
FR/W: 55
FHR: 32
IAS: 65
FCR: 0
Pierce: 102
Resistances:
Fire: 138/98/38
Cold: 131/91/31
Lightning: 139/99/39
Poison: 105/65/5
Skills (no plus skills except for valk pre-buff):
20 – Strafe
20 – Penetrate
20 – Valkyrie (cast at 23 on ‘Harmony’ switch)
15 – Multiple Shot
9 – Pierce
5 – Critical Strike
9 – Pre-requisites
98 total – done at level 87
Gear:
Short version:
Helm: Stealskull socketed with Camphor JoF (50% MF, 25% IAS, 7% resist lightning)
Amulet: The Cat’s Eye
Weapon: Perfect Upped Witchwild String socketed with Realgear Jewel of Carnage and Ruby Jewel of Carnage (232% ED, +30 max damage)
Armor: Tal Rasha’s Guardianship socketed with perfect topaz
Gloves: Crafted Hitpower gloves (25% fire res, 20% IAS, KB, +9 strength)
Ring: Ravenfrost (19/228)
Belt: Razortail
Ring: Rare with 5% life leech, AR, cold and poison res
Boots: 31% War Traveler
Switch weapon: Harmony Diamond bow for transportation and valk pre-buff
Long version:
Charms:
Short Version:
Assortment totaling 457 AR, 57% MF, 155% GF, All res 3%, lightning res 19%, poison res 23%, 7 strength, 2 dex, 28 life, 22% FHR, 7-10 cold damage, 1-26 light damage, 15 poison damage
Long version:
Mercenary:
Short version:
A2 NM Offensive
Tal’s Mask
Duriel’s Shell
The Reaper’s Toll
Long version:
Also I periodically dusted off a Goblin Toe and Kelpie Snare for boss fights.
Questing, thoughts, etc:
I never really expected a character with 700 life to seem this safe. Sure, I did die twice, but unless I really got caught out of position, I rarely ever felt in any real danger. The Valkyrie was a fantastic tank and helped take a lot of the heat off the merc, which I think is a key to this build because this strafer was not a very fast killer in tougher areas, meaning that the tanks had to hold up a little longer than usual. I preferred to level Valk rather than Decoy (giving Valk a life synergy) as I didn't feel a need for Decoy and I liked the Valkyrie getting her gear upgrades. My first death was caused by the Hell Gidbinn quest monster pack spawning directly on top of my face. They weren’t particularly dangerous but I took several hits simultaneously and was dead before I even realized what had happened. The second death was a OHKO from a PI Hell Temptress unique in hell WSK hitting me with a death ball while amped. Other than those two instances, everything else was pretty manageable. I played Normal and Nightmare on /p8 and Hell on /p3. I wore the Arctic Gear set until level 28, at which point I equipped Skystrike and took on Duriel. That bow is fantastic for twinking a bowazon, and easily carried me until I could equip a regular WWS with two +13 max damage jewels at level 39. That bow dealt plenty of damage until I could equip my end-game weapon at level 65 (see below for a note on this).
I chose to invest heavily in both Strafe and Multiple Shot, and I don’t regret it one bit. Multi was great for thinning out large or diffuse packs while strafe was good for tougher or fewer foes, or when large groups were lined up tight in interior spaces, or had been thinned out first by Multi. Strafe was also useful for scouting ahead, hitting multiple slow movers scattered in various directions around me, and keeping dolls at bay. Few, fast moving enemies in wide open areas were irritating generally due to their ability to move out of the way of strafe arrows, while generally not providing enough mana from leech when using Multi. Vampires were probably the worst with this. To deal with immunes, WWS comes with a built-in level 20 Magic Arrow. Not the quickest killer, but it was great to blast away with Magic Arrow until Amp went off and then fire a strafe volley or two before the Amp was overrode by Decrepify from the merc. Generally, Amp lowered PIs resistance enough for strafe to outpace magic arrow, whereas Decrepify-broken PI resulted in my strafe arrows barely making a dent, thus having me prefer magic arrow until Amp proc’d, but with only a 2% CTC Amp, the enemies were often dead from MA before Amp went off anyway.
So, Witchwild String – the little bow that could. Most are well aware of the benefits (and drawbacks) of this bow, but I’d like to add my experiences to the discussion. Since I don’t have a WF or Faith, and I wanted to make a relatively affordable MFer anyway, WWS seemed like a great option. I had a perfect (170% ED) WWS lying around, so I decided to splurge on some nice jewels to see just how much damage I could squeeze out of it. I traded for a 30/15 Realgear Jewel of Carnage (Thanks @Zylo!) and found a 32/15 Ruby Jewel of Carnage with my newly-minted LK runner Marina; something about solid %ED with an even +30 to max damage just sounded nice, so in they went! As an aside, due to the relatively low and tight damage range of a Diamond Bow, these two jewels together slightly out-damage 2x Ohm, so that’s neat. The end product was 232% ED, +30 max damage, and 87% deadly strike – not bad at all! When you consider the level 20 Magic Arrow, 2% CTC Amp, and the scaling deadly strike, this bow can also save a lot of skill points from PI solutions and Critical Strike (my actual chance to do double damage is sitting at ~92% right now - so only gaining on average ~1% more double damage per CS point). This was largely what allowed me to use both Strafe and Multiple Shot effectively while still hitting 100% pierce, maxing penetrate, and having a maxed (unsynergized) Valkyrie. Lots of delicious mods on this bow, indeed. With the jewels I added, it did plenty of damage for comfortable and fast /p3 Pit runs, but even at /p3 it still wasn’t quite hefty enough for some of the tougher areas such as late Act 5 in Hell. It does the job, but it’s no Windforce, there’s no question about that. 40% res all is just a great bonus, due to bowazons already having so much trouble with resistances.
Here is what the bow looked like before upping, here it is after upping, and here it is with the jewels. One question for the audience – why, after upping to a Diamond Bow and getting the expected level requirement of 61, upon adding two jewels with a highest level requirement of 58, did the requirement to use the bow go up again, to 65? I have no idea what interaction is causing that, so any insight would be appreciated!
As for other gear choices, I focused on MF and IAS first, with secondary considerations to FRW, pierce, and resistances. The Cat’s Eye is perfect for its 20% IAS, 30% FRW, and +25 dex. Due to the DS on WWS, Highlord’s wasn’t even seriously considered in this spot. For gloves, it was hard to not use Laying of Hands, but as I don’t yet have Giant Skull, and I seriously wanted knockback for this build (not regretted for an instant! What a great CC mod and merc saver – no piles of ghosts chewing him up when they’re constantly getting knocked back), I set about crafting some KB/20% IAS gloves. In planning gear, I only cared about those two mods together and anything else was gravy. Although I didn’t score any nice gloves with MF (and a level req <95
), I did get my current pair with a very welcome 25% fire res and a nice strength boost. Stealskull was the perfect helm with dual leech, IAS, FHR, and MF – this helm almost feels custom built for a MFing strafer (thanks @hackedagainanda for trading me the 50%er!). Add in an IAS jewel and that’s 25% IAS, plus a little lightning resistance on top. War Traveler is always great for bowazons with that nice +15-25 damage and often-hard-to-come-by-on-bowies MF. Tal’s armor ended up being a pretty key piece of equipment for this build, as it accounts for nearly half the total MF and provides some desperately needed resistances to get in the ~33% range (what I consider fairly minimal for fire and light, even for a nice safe bowazon). Razortail for +dex, +damage, and to reach 100% pierce, Ravenfrost for CBF, +dex, and AR, and an AR/life leech/resists ring helped round out the rest of the gear. Total MF = 250%, with good (bowazon) resistances, 65% IAS to hit the 8 frame (63%) Multishot and Magic Arrow, and 5/3/7 strafe (56%), breakpoints, 32% FHR (7 frames), minimal D/A/E shenanigans (no +skills), and ~8.2k AR – good enough for >80% CTH in the Pit. I did find AR to be a bit of an issue with no AR boosters besides Penetrate, but I focused heavily on that in charms and it did the trick well enough.
I really went back and forth on how to effectively design this character for quite a while before settling on the current build. The “other” 3 piece Tal’s combo (Mask, Armor, Belt) was considered, but that would cost me additional points in Pierce (and only 80-85% pierce total rather than 100%) and some FHR, while adding some resistances and extra leech, and roughly breaking even on MF. Plus having to look at that damn mask all the time. It was a really close call, but in the end 100% pierce was probably the deciding factor as everything else was so close.
Alright, I think that’s about it for analysis. Finds were rather scant, with the major exception being a Crown of Ages found during a couple of quick test Pit runs before proceeding with the rest of Hell. Hellforges were Io in NM and Pul in Hell. I also found Gull, Fal, Fal, Lem, a Captains GC, Fletcher’s GC, Sparking GC, Windhammer, Viperfork, 4os Rune Master, some decent MF/IAS gloves, 15% DR SoE, and a boatload of normal and exceptional sets and uniques. As I tend to be easily entertained, here is a redundant redundancy. This was a delightful situation with 3 unique Unravelers in this room, and 1-2 more in adjacent corridors. That situation took a while to whittle down safely. Shooting through doors at Decrepified enemies was especially satisfying. I rolled non-cursed ancients and the fight was easy enough once I got Talic separated and my merc and valk could tank the other two while I fired away, before dealing with Talic as a group (yes I know Madawc is still alive in this pic). Hell WSK was quite tough, and Baal himself was a nightmare until I gave the merc Kelpie. Here is the LCS with Strafe and Multishot (with Might). Don’t forget the 92% chance to deal 2x damage!
Well, this makes character #5 of what has evolved into a “family sept” for me. Sure, there are only 5 of us in my family, but using a couple of female names we were kicking around before finding out our boys’ genders made creating a couple more characters easy enough. The last two will be a trap-laying assassin (my wife… fortunately she has a good sense of humor and laughed when I told her what character and build she was going to get) and a fishymancer (didn’t want any of my boys to be a creepy necro, so I'll take that hit), both very well-geared with >400% MF, but I’m currently on the fence about writing them up due to the extreme cookie cutter aspect each will possess… we shall see. I’m also slowly working on an untwinked bowazon, so I may do a WT with that char and eventually consider moving her to the untwinked 99er thread (similar to @sir_cyclops and his trapper).
Well, as always this is a bit long-winded so if you’re still here, thanks for reading! Questions and comments welcomed.
I love the idea of running the Pit. The problem, though, is that I had never built a character really geared toward running that area, and I tended to deal with far too many S&Es and deaths using the characters I already had available. I had also never built a pure strafer. So to kill two birds with one stone, I created Lena, a strafer designed to MF the Pit (at low players settings). Here are the results.
Stats/Skills:
Name: Lena
Class: Amazon
Experience: 1254386908
Level: 87
Naked/Gear
Strength: 79/105
Dexterity: 291/352
Vitality: 140/150
Energy: 15/15
HP: 642/722
Mana: 144/184
Stamina: 290/290
Defense: 72/1427
AR: 8219
Damage: Normal (MA): 858-1400
Strafe: 736-1197
Multiple Shot: 643-1050
MF: 250
Block: 48
GF: 155
FR/W: 55
FHR: 32
IAS: 65
FCR: 0
Pierce: 102
Resistances:
Fire: 138/98/38
Cold: 131/91/31
Lightning: 139/99/39
Poison: 105/65/5
Skills (no plus skills except for valk pre-buff):
20 – Strafe
20 – Penetrate
20 – Valkyrie (cast at 23 on ‘Harmony’ switch)
15 – Multiple Shot
9 – Pierce
5 – Critical Strike
9 – Pre-requisites
98 total – done at level 87
Gear:
Short version:
Helm: Stealskull socketed with Camphor JoF (50% MF, 25% IAS, 7% resist lightning)
Amulet: The Cat’s Eye
Weapon: Perfect Upped Witchwild String socketed with Realgear Jewel of Carnage and Ruby Jewel of Carnage (232% ED, +30 max damage)
Armor: Tal Rasha’s Guardianship socketed with perfect topaz
Gloves: Crafted Hitpower gloves (25% fire res, 20% IAS, KB, +9 strength)
Ring: Ravenfrost (19/228)
Belt: Razortail
Ring: Rare with 5% life leech, AR, cold and poison res
Boots: 31% War Traveler
Switch weapon: Harmony Diamond bow for transportation and valk pre-buff
Long version:
Lena's Stealskull
Casque
Defense: 234
Durability: 24 of 24
Required Level: 35
Required Strength: 59
Fingerprint: 0x2148d7b0
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+25% Increased Attack Speed
+10% Faster Hit Recovery
5% Mana stolen per hit
5% Life stolen per hit
+221% Enhanced Defense
Lightning Resist +7%
50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Camphor Jewel of Fervor
Camphor Jewel of Fervor
Jewel
Required Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0x2aa8eea0
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Increased Attack Speed
Lightning Resist +7%
The Cat's Eye
Amulet
Required Level: 50
Fingerprint: 0x6e0fd7fb
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Faster Run/Walk
+20% Increased Attack Speed
+100 Defense
+100 Defense vs. Missile
+25 to Dexterity
Lena's Tal Rasha's Guardianship
Lacquered Plate
Defense: 856
Durability: 55 of 55
Required Level: 71
Required Strength: 34
Fingerprint: 0x13f37a04
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+400 Defense
Cold Resist +40%
Lightning Resist +40%
Fire Resist +40%
Magic Damage Reduced by 15
112% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Requirements -60%
Set (2 items): +10% Faster Cast Rate
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Perfect Topaz
Perfect Topaz
Required Level: 18
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 1 - 40 Lightning Damage
Armor: 24% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Shields: Lightning Resist +40%
Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0xde066c5c
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+228 to Attack Rating
Adds 15 - 45 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
+19 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
Cold Absorb 20%
Cannot Be Frozen
Stone Whorl
Ring
Required Level: 43
Fingerprint: 0xb9d164b7
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+114 to Attack Rating
5% Life stolen per hit
+22 to Life
Cold Resist +18%
Poison Resist +9%
Razortail
Sharkskin Belt
Defense: 105
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Level: 32
Required Strength: 20
Fingerprint: 0xc4ac843e
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Piercing Attack
+10 to Maximum Damage
+144% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
+15 to Dexterity
Attacker Takes Damage of (Based on Character Level) 87
Pain Hand
Chain Gloves
Defense: 8
Durability: 16 of 16
Required Level: 59
Required Strength: 25
Fingerprint: 0x2d2deb94
Item Level: 96
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 4 Frost Nova when struck
+20% Increased Attack Speed
Knockback
+9 to Strength
Fire Resist +25%
Attacker Takes Damage of 4
Repairs 1 Durability in 20 Seconds
War Traveler
Battle Boots
Defense: 136
Durability: 48 of 48
Required Level: 42
Required Strength: 95
Fingerprint: 0xeb19585e
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+25% Faster Run/Walk
Adds 15 - 25 Damage
+185% Enhanced Defense
+10 to Strength
+10 to Vitality
40% Slower Stamina Drain
Attacker Takes Damage of 8
31% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
+30 Maximum Durability
Lena's Witchwild String
Diamond Bow
Two Hand Damage: 109 - 162
Durability: 21 of 40
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 89
Required Dexterity: 132
Fingerprint: 0xf9fd140f
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
2% Chance to cast level 5 Amplify Damage on striking
Fires Magic Arrows
232% Enhanced Damage
+30 to Maximum Damage
87% Deadly Strike (Based on Character Level)
All Resistances +40
Required Level +7
2 Sockets (2 used)
Socketed: Ruby Jewel of Carnage
Socketed: Realgar Jewel of Carnage
Ruby Jewel of Carnage
Jewel
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xb6afa57d
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
32% Enhanced Damage
+15 to Maximum Damage
Realgar Jewel of Carnage
Jewel
Required Level: 37
Fingerprint: 0xa25eeadb
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
30% Enhanced Damage
+15 to Maximum Damage
Harmony
Diamond Bow
TirIthSolKo
Two Hand Damage: 112 - 134
Durability: 33 of 40
Required Level: 54
Required Strength: 89
Required Dexterity: 132
Fingerprint: 0x3b25339f
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Level 10 Vigor Aura When Equipped
214% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Minimum Damage
+9 to Maximum Damage
Adds 55 - 160 Fire Damage
Adds 55 - 160 Lightning Damage
Adds 55 - 160 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (85 Frames)
+4 to Valkyrie
+10 to Dexterity
Regenerate Mana 20%
+2 to Mana after each Kill
+2 to Light Radius
Level 20 Revive (25/25 Charges)
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Tir Rune
Socketed: Ith Rune
Socketed: Sol Rune
Socketed: Ko Rune
Tir Rune
Required Level: 13
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +2 to Mana after each Kill
Armor: +2 to Mana after each Kill
Shields: +2 to Mana after each Kill
Ith Rune
Required Level: 15
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +9 to Maximum Damage
Armor: 15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
Shields: 15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
Sol Rune
Required Level: 27
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +9 to Minimum Damage
Armor: Damage Reduced by 7
Shields: Damage Reduced by 7
Ko Rune
Required Level: 39
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +10 to Dexterity
Armor: +10 to Dexterity
Shields: +10 to Dexterity
Casque
Defense: 234
Durability: 24 of 24
Required Level: 35
Required Strength: 59
Fingerprint: 0x2148d7b0
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+25% Increased Attack Speed
+10% Faster Hit Recovery
5% Mana stolen per hit
5% Life stolen per hit
+221% Enhanced Defense
Lightning Resist +7%
50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Camphor Jewel of Fervor
Camphor Jewel of Fervor
Jewel
Required Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0x2aa8eea0
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Increased Attack Speed
Lightning Resist +7%
The Cat's Eye
Amulet
Required Level: 50
Fingerprint: 0x6e0fd7fb
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Faster Run/Walk
+20% Increased Attack Speed
+100 Defense
+100 Defense vs. Missile
+25 to Dexterity
Lena's Tal Rasha's Guardianship
Lacquered Plate
Defense: 856
Durability: 55 of 55
Required Level: 71
Required Strength: 34
Fingerprint: 0x13f37a04
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+400 Defense
Cold Resist +40%
Lightning Resist +40%
Fire Resist +40%
Magic Damage Reduced by 15
112% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Requirements -60%
Set (2 items): +10% Faster Cast Rate
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Perfect Topaz
Perfect Topaz
Required Level: 18
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: Adds 1 - 40 Lightning Damage
Armor: 24% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Shields: Lightning Resist +40%
Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0xde066c5c
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+228 to Attack Rating
Adds 15 - 45 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
+19 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
Cold Absorb 20%
Cannot Be Frozen
Stone Whorl
Ring
Required Level: 43
Fingerprint: 0xb9d164b7
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+114 to Attack Rating
5% Life stolen per hit
+22 to Life
Cold Resist +18%
Poison Resist +9%
Razortail
Sharkskin Belt
Defense: 105
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Level: 32
Required Strength: 20
Fingerprint: 0xc4ac843e
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Piercing Attack
+10 to Maximum Damage
+144% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
+15 to Dexterity
Attacker Takes Damage of (Based on Character Level) 87
Pain Hand
Chain Gloves
Defense: 8
Durability: 16 of 16
Required Level: 59
Required Strength: 25
Fingerprint: 0x2d2deb94
Item Level: 96
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 4 Frost Nova when struck
+20% Increased Attack Speed
Knockback
+9 to Strength
Fire Resist +25%
Attacker Takes Damage of 4
Repairs 1 Durability in 20 Seconds
War Traveler
Battle Boots
Defense: 136
Durability: 48 of 48
Required Level: 42
Required Strength: 95
Fingerprint: 0xeb19585e
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+25% Faster Run/Walk
Adds 15 - 25 Damage
+185% Enhanced Defense
+10 to Strength
+10 to Vitality
40% Slower Stamina Drain
Attacker Takes Damage of 8
31% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
+30 Maximum Durability
Lena's Witchwild String
Diamond Bow
Two Hand Damage: 109 - 162
Durability: 21 of 40
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 89
Required Dexterity: 132
Fingerprint: 0xf9fd140f
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
2% Chance to cast level 5 Amplify Damage on striking
Fires Magic Arrows
232% Enhanced Damage
+30 to Maximum Damage
87% Deadly Strike (Based on Character Level)
All Resistances +40
Required Level +7
2 Sockets (2 used)
Socketed: Ruby Jewel of Carnage
Socketed: Realgar Jewel of Carnage
Ruby Jewel of Carnage
Jewel
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xb6afa57d
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
32% Enhanced Damage
+15 to Maximum Damage
Realgar Jewel of Carnage
Jewel
Required Level: 37
Fingerprint: 0xa25eeadb
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
30% Enhanced Damage
+15 to Maximum Damage
Harmony
Diamond Bow
TirIthSolKo
Two Hand Damage: 112 - 134
Durability: 33 of 40
Required Level: 54
Required Strength: 89
Required Dexterity: 132
Fingerprint: 0x3b25339f
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Level 10 Vigor Aura When Equipped
214% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Minimum Damage
+9 to Maximum Damage
Adds 55 - 160 Fire Damage
Adds 55 - 160 Lightning Damage
Adds 55 - 160 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (85 Frames)
+4 to Valkyrie
+10 to Dexterity
Regenerate Mana 20%
+2 to Mana after each Kill
+2 to Light Radius
Level 20 Revive (25/25 Charges)
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Tir Rune
Socketed: Ith Rune
Socketed: Sol Rune
Socketed: Ko Rune
Tir Rune
Required Level: 13
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +2 to Mana after each Kill
Armor: +2 to Mana after each Kill
Shields: +2 to Mana after each Kill
Ith Rune
Required Level: 15
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +9 to Maximum Damage
Armor: 15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
Shields: 15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
Sol Rune
Required Level: 27
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +9 to Minimum Damage
Armor: Damage Reduced by 7
Shields: Damage Reduced by 7
Ko Rune
Required Level: 39
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +10 to Dexterity
Armor: +10 to Dexterity
Shields: +10 to Dexterity
Charms:
Short Version:
Assortment totaling 457 AR, 57% MF, 155% GF, All res 3%, lightning res 19%, poison res 23%, 7 strength, 2 dex, 28 life, 22% FHR, 7-10 cold damage, 1-26 light damage, 15 poison damage
Long version:
Gheed's Fortune
Grand Charm
Required Level: 62
Fingerprint: 0x7387a5b0
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
112% Extra Gold from Monsters
Reduces all Vendor Prices 10%
36% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Steel Grand Charm of Greed
Grand Charm
Required Level: 35
Fingerprint: 0x38b1d2eb
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+117 to Attack Rating
33% Extra Gold from Monsters
Amber Small Charm of Strength
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x49921546
Item Level: 62
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Strength
Lightning Resist +10%
Coral Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 20
Fingerprint: 0x77246b01
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+13 to Life
Lightning Resist +9%
Steel Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 49
Fingerprint: 0x94c8878f
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+33 to Attack Rating
+15 to Life
Shimmering Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0x2ed9899f
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+5% Faster Hit Recovery
All Resistances +3
Iron Small Charm of Good Luck
Small Charm
Required Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0x79702af
Item Level: 83
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+14 to Attack Rating
6% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Boreal Small Charm of Dexterity
Small Charm
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0x8f05f84
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 7 - 10 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
+2 to Dexterity
Bronze Small Charm of Fortune
Small Charm
Required Level: 18
Fingerprint: 0xcf616f05
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+4 to Attack Rating
5% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Bronze Small Charm of Storms
Small Charm
Required Level: 37
Fingerprint: 0xa1a3d016
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+12 to Attack Rating
Adds 1 - 26 Lightning Damage
Septic Small Charm of Fortune
Small Charm
Required Level: 18
Fingerprint: 0xde72b91b
Item Level: 59
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 15 Poison Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
4% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Bronze Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0x7c8e4b2f
Item Level: 59
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+5% Faster Hit Recovery
+11 to Attack Rating
Jade Grand Charm of Balance
Grand Charm
Required Level: 15
Fingerprint: 0x22e13750
Item Level: 38
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+12% Faster Hit Recovery
Poison Resist +23%
Steel Large Charm of Greed
Large Charm
Required Level: 44
Fingerprint: 0xc09bee05
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+71 to Attack Rating
10% Extra Gold from Monsters
Iron Small Charm of Good Luck
Small Charm
Required Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0xc851a81d
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+13 to Attack Rating
6% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Steel Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 35
Fingerprint: 0x8e203d95
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+112 to Attack Rating
Steel Large Charm of Strength
Large Charm
Required Level: 44
Fingerprint: 0x6a8e6f9a
Item Level: 66
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+70 to Attack Rating
+5 to Strength
Grand Charm
Required Level: 62
Fingerprint: 0x7387a5b0
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
112% Extra Gold from Monsters
Reduces all Vendor Prices 10%
36% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Steel Grand Charm of Greed
Grand Charm
Required Level: 35
Fingerprint: 0x38b1d2eb
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+117 to Attack Rating
33% Extra Gold from Monsters
Amber Small Charm of Strength
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x49921546
Item Level: 62
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Strength
Lightning Resist +10%
Coral Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 20
Fingerprint: 0x77246b01
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+13 to Life
Lightning Resist +9%
Steel Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 49
Fingerprint: 0x94c8878f
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+33 to Attack Rating
+15 to Life
Shimmering Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0x2ed9899f
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+5% Faster Hit Recovery
All Resistances +3
Iron Small Charm of Good Luck
Small Charm
Required Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0x79702af
Item Level: 83
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+14 to Attack Rating
6% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Boreal Small Charm of Dexterity
Small Charm
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0x8f05f84
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 7 - 10 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
+2 to Dexterity
Bronze Small Charm of Fortune
Small Charm
Required Level: 18
Fingerprint: 0xcf616f05
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+4 to Attack Rating
5% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Bronze Small Charm of Storms
Small Charm
Required Level: 37
Fingerprint: 0xa1a3d016
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+12 to Attack Rating
Adds 1 - 26 Lightning Damage
Septic Small Charm of Fortune
Small Charm
Required Level: 18
Fingerprint: 0xde72b91b
Item Level: 59
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 15 Poison Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
4% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Bronze Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0x7c8e4b2f
Item Level: 59
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+5% Faster Hit Recovery
+11 to Attack Rating
Jade Grand Charm of Balance
Grand Charm
Required Level: 15
Fingerprint: 0x22e13750
Item Level: 38
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+12% Faster Hit Recovery
Poison Resist +23%
Steel Large Charm of Greed
Large Charm
Required Level: 44
Fingerprint: 0xc09bee05
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+71 to Attack Rating
10% Extra Gold from Monsters
Iron Small Charm of Good Luck
Small Charm
Required Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0xc851a81d
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+13 to Attack Rating
6% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Steel Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 35
Fingerprint: 0x8e203d95
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+112 to Attack Rating
Steel Large Charm of Strength
Large Charm
Required Level: 44
Fingerprint: 0x6a8e6f9a
Item Level: 66
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+70 to Attack Rating
+5 to Strength
Mercenary:
Short version:
A2 NM Offensive
Tal’s Mask
Duriel’s Shell
The Reaper’s Toll
Long version:
Name: Razan
Race: Desert Mercenary
Type: Off-Nightmare
Experience: 79938558
Level: 87
Dead?: false
Naked/Gear
Strength: 190/205
Dexterity: 153/153
HP: 1847/1994
Defense: 1359/2129
AR: 1937/1937
Fire: 186/146/86
Cold: 216/176/116
Lightning: 186/146/86
Poison: 186/146/86
Duriel's Shell
Cuirass
Defense: 662
Durability: 45 of 150
Required Level: 41
Required Strength: 65
Fingerprint: 0x27af1fa
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+173% Enhanced Defense
+108 Defense (Based on Character Level)
+15 to Strength
+87 to Life (Based on Character Level)
Cold Resist +30%
All Resistances +20
Cannot Be Frozen
+100 Maximum Durability
Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Death Mask
Defense: 108
Durability: 18 of 20
Required Level: 66
Required Strength: 55
Fingerprint: 0x871ed17c
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
10% Mana stolen per hit
10% Life stolen per hit
+45 Defense
+60 to Life
+30 to Mana
All Resistances +15
The Reaper's Toll
Thresher
Two Hand Damage: 37 - 444
Durability: 54 of 65
Required Level: 75
Required Strength: 114
Required Dexterity: 89
Fingerprint: 0x85ea814c
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
33% Chance to cast level 1 Decrepify on striking
215% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
Adds 4 - 44 Cold Damage Over 0 Secs (7 Frames)
13% Life stolen per hit
33% Deadly Strike
Requirements -25%
Race: Desert Mercenary
Type: Off-Nightmare
Experience: 79938558
Level: 87
Dead?: false
Naked/Gear
Strength: 190/205
Dexterity: 153/153
HP: 1847/1994
Defense: 1359/2129
AR: 1937/1937
Fire: 186/146/86
Cold: 216/176/116
Lightning: 186/146/86
Poison: 186/146/86
Duriel's Shell
Cuirass
Defense: 662
Durability: 45 of 150
Required Level: 41
Required Strength: 65
Fingerprint: 0x27af1fa
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+173% Enhanced Defense
+108 Defense (Based on Character Level)
+15 to Strength
+87 to Life (Based on Character Level)
Cold Resist +30%
All Resistances +20
Cannot Be Frozen
+100 Maximum Durability
Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Death Mask
Defense: 108
Durability: 18 of 20
Required Level: 66
Required Strength: 55
Fingerprint: 0x871ed17c
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
10% Mana stolen per hit
10% Life stolen per hit
+45 Defense
+60 to Life
+30 to Mana
All Resistances +15
The Reaper's Toll
Thresher
Two Hand Damage: 37 - 444
Durability: 54 of 65
Required Level: 75
Required Strength: 114
Required Dexterity: 89
Fingerprint: 0x85ea814c
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
33% Chance to cast level 1 Decrepify on striking
215% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
Adds 4 - 44 Cold Damage Over 0 Secs (7 Frames)
13% Life stolen per hit
33% Deadly Strike
Requirements -25%
Also I periodically dusted off a Goblin Toe and Kelpie Snare for boss fights.
Questing, thoughts, etc:
I never really expected a character with 700 life to seem this safe. Sure, I did die twice, but unless I really got caught out of position, I rarely ever felt in any real danger. The Valkyrie was a fantastic tank and helped take a lot of the heat off the merc, which I think is a key to this build because this strafer was not a very fast killer in tougher areas, meaning that the tanks had to hold up a little longer than usual. I preferred to level Valk rather than Decoy (giving Valk a life synergy) as I didn't feel a need for Decoy and I liked the Valkyrie getting her gear upgrades. My first death was caused by the Hell Gidbinn quest monster pack spawning directly on top of my face. They weren’t particularly dangerous but I took several hits simultaneously and was dead before I even realized what had happened. The second death was a OHKO from a PI Hell Temptress unique in hell WSK hitting me with a death ball while amped. Other than those two instances, everything else was pretty manageable. I played Normal and Nightmare on /p8 and Hell on /p3. I wore the Arctic Gear set until level 28, at which point I equipped Skystrike and took on Duriel. That bow is fantastic for twinking a bowazon, and easily carried me until I could equip a regular WWS with two +13 max damage jewels at level 39. That bow dealt plenty of damage until I could equip my end-game weapon at level 65 (see below for a note on this).
I chose to invest heavily in both Strafe and Multiple Shot, and I don’t regret it one bit. Multi was great for thinning out large or diffuse packs while strafe was good for tougher or fewer foes, or when large groups were lined up tight in interior spaces, or had been thinned out first by Multi. Strafe was also useful for scouting ahead, hitting multiple slow movers scattered in various directions around me, and keeping dolls at bay. Few, fast moving enemies in wide open areas were irritating generally due to their ability to move out of the way of strafe arrows, while generally not providing enough mana from leech when using Multi. Vampires were probably the worst with this. To deal with immunes, WWS comes with a built-in level 20 Magic Arrow. Not the quickest killer, but it was great to blast away with Magic Arrow until Amp went off and then fire a strafe volley or two before the Amp was overrode by Decrepify from the merc. Generally, Amp lowered PIs resistance enough for strafe to outpace magic arrow, whereas Decrepify-broken PI resulted in my strafe arrows barely making a dent, thus having me prefer magic arrow until Amp proc’d, but with only a 2% CTC Amp, the enemies were often dead from MA before Amp went off anyway.
So, Witchwild String – the little bow that could. Most are well aware of the benefits (and drawbacks) of this bow, but I’d like to add my experiences to the discussion. Since I don’t have a WF or Faith, and I wanted to make a relatively affordable MFer anyway, WWS seemed like a great option. I had a perfect (170% ED) WWS lying around, so I decided to splurge on some nice jewels to see just how much damage I could squeeze out of it. I traded for a 30/15 Realgear Jewel of Carnage (Thanks @Zylo!) and found a 32/15 Ruby Jewel of Carnage with my newly-minted LK runner Marina; something about solid %ED with an even +30 to max damage just sounded nice, so in they went! As an aside, due to the relatively low and tight damage range of a Diamond Bow, these two jewels together slightly out-damage 2x Ohm, so that’s neat. The end product was 232% ED, +30 max damage, and 87% deadly strike – not bad at all! When you consider the level 20 Magic Arrow, 2% CTC Amp, and the scaling deadly strike, this bow can also save a lot of skill points from PI solutions and Critical Strike (my actual chance to do double damage is sitting at ~92% right now - so only gaining on average ~1% more double damage per CS point). This was largely what allowed me to use both Strafe and Multiple Shot effectively while still hitting 100% pierce, maxing penetrate, and having a maxed (unsynergized) Valkyrie. Lots of delicious mods on this bow, indeed. With the jewels I added, it did plenty of damage for comfortable and fast /p3 Pit runs, but even at /p3 it still wasn’t quite hefty enough for some of the tougher areas such as late Act 5 in Hell. It does the job, but it’s no Windforce, there’s no question about that. 40% res all is just a great bonus, due to bowazons already having so much trouble with resistances.
Here is what the bow looked like before upping, here it is after upping, and here it is with the jewels. One question for the audience – why, after upping to a Diamond Bow and getting the expected level requirement of 61, upon adding two jewels with a highest level requirement of 58, did the requirement to use the bow go up again, to 65? I have no idea what interaction is causing that, so any insight would be appreciated!
As for other gear choices, I focused on MF and IAS first, with secondary considerations to FRW, pierce, and resistances. The Cat’s Eye is perfect for its 20% IAS, 30% FRW, and +25 dex. Due to the DS on WWS, Highlord’s wasn’t even seriously considered in this spot. For gloves, it was hard to not use Laying of Hands, but as I don’t yet have Giant Skull, and I seriously wanted knockback for this build (not regretted for an instant! What a great CC mod and merc saver – no piles of ghosts chewing him up when they’re constantly getting knocked back), I set about crafting some KB/20% IAS gloves. In planning gear, I only cared about those two mods together and anything else was gravy. Although I didn’t score any nice gloves with MF (and a level req <95
), I did get my current pair with a very welcome 25% fire res and a nice strength boost. Stealskull was the perfect helm with dual leech, IAS, FHR, and MF – this helm almost feels custom built for a MFing strafer (thanks @hackedagainanda for trading me the 50%er!). Add in an IAS jewel and that’s 25% IAS, plus a little lightning resistance on top. War Traveler is always great for bowazons with that nice +15-25 damage and often-hard-to-come-by-on-bowies MF. Tal’s armor ended up being a pretty key piece of equipment for this build, as it accounts for nearly half the total MF and provides some desperately needed resistances to get in the ~33% range (what I consider fairly minimal for fire and light, even for a nice safe bowazon). Razortail for +dex, +damage, and to reach 100% pierce, Ravenfrost for CBF, +dex, and AR, and an AR/life leech/resists ring helped round out the rest of the gear. Total MF = 250%, with good (bowazon) resistances, 65% IAS to hit the 8 frame (63%) Multishot and Magic Arrow, and 5/3/7 strafe (56%), breakpoints, 32% FHR (7 frames), minimal D/A/E shenanigans (no +skills), and ~8.2k AR – good enough for >80% CTH in the Pit. I did find AR to be a bit of an issue with no AR boosters besides Penetrate, but I focused heavily on that in charms and it did the trick well enough.I really went back and forth on how to effectively design this character for quite a while before settling on the current build. The “other” 3 piece Tal’s combo (Mask, Armor, Belt) was considered, but that would cost me additional points in Pierce (and only 80-85% pierce total rather than 100%) and some FHR, while adding some resistances and extra leech, and roughly breaking even on MF. Plus having to look at that damn mask all the time. It was a really close call, but in the end 100% pierce was probably the deciding factor as everything else was so close.
Alright, I think that’s about it for analysis. Finds were rather scant, with the major exception being a Crown of Ages found during a couple of quick test Pit runs before proceeding with the rest of Hell. Hellforges were Io in NM and Pul in Hell. I also found Gull, Fal, Fal, Lem, a Captains GC, Fletcher’s GC, Sparking GC, Windhammer, Viperfork, 4os Rune Master, some decent MF/IAS gloves, 15% DR SoE, and a boatload of normal and exceptional sets and uniques. As I tend to be easily entertained, here is a redundant redundancy. This was a delightful situation with 3 unique Unravelers in this room, and 1-2 more in adjacent corridors. That situation took a while to whittle down safely. Shooting through doors at Decrepified enemies was especially satisfying. I rolled non-cursed ancients and the fight was easy enough once I got Talic separated and my merc and valk could tank the other two while I fired away, before dealing with Talic as a group (yes I know Madawc is still alive in this pic). Hell WSK was quite tough, and Baal himself was a nightmare until I gave the merc Kelpie. Here is the LCS with Strafe and Multishot (with Might). Don’t forget the 92% chance to deal 2x damage!
Well, this makes character #5 of what has evolved into a “family sept” for me. Sure, there are only 5 of us in my family, but using a couple of female names we were kicking around before finding out our boys’ genders made creating a couple more characters easy enough. The last two will be a trap-laying assassin (my wife… fortunately she has a good sense of humor and laughed when I told her what character and build she was going to get) and a fishymancer (didn’t want any of my boys to be a creepy necro, so I'll take that hit), both very well-geared with >400% MF, but I’m currently on the fence about writing them up due to the extreme cookie cutter aspect each will possess… we shall see. I’m also slowly working on an untwinked bowazon, so I may do a WT with that char and eventually consider moving her to the untwinked 99er thread (similar to @sir_cyclops and his trapper).
Well, as always this is a bit long-winded so if you’re still here, thanks for reading! Questions and comments welcomed.
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