felixbavaria1
New member
Q: What is a throwzon?
A: An Amazon that throws javelins (actual, physical javelins, not uber chain lightning), with the help of her passive tree that gives her crowd control, attack rating, and the chance to hit multiple enemies. At the same time, she has a viable melee option. Other names could include Java-Jabazon, or ranged passivezon.
The core idea is to combine the tankiness of a daggerzon (shield, fast blocking with thrusting weapon) with a viable ranged option. The obvious disadvantage is that there is no javelin equivalent of Fleshripper. The obvious advantages are that javelins have higher melee range and higher base damage than (throwing) knives, and you can Jab with them, making you hit extremely fast.
Q: Why not just make a LF zon?
A: Because it's been done a million times before, and the sound of javelins flying through the air and piercing through monster flesh is so much more satisfying (evil laugh).
Q: How do you play her?
A: The main active "skill" is Throw, usually applied against groups of enemies lined up in a row, to be able to pierce. Lightning Bolt is used against Stone Skin and PI, as well as high defense monsters. Jab is used against priority targets (e.g. revivers), single enemies, and bosses. Lightning bolt is a 1-pointer, since the straight damage from the skill is not significant, and unlike the weapon damage part, it is not modified by str / dex / might / critical strike. The skill itself is pretty good also against non-PIs, since it is independent of AR, which partly offsets the -25% weapon damage penalty. Jab needs only 1 point as well, but more points give it a nice AR bonus, so I chose to dump all remaining points there.
Max valk is godly. At level 28, she has a decent chance to become immune against elemental damage, has 4.5k life, and 675 STR with a crit chance of > 60%. She tanked Hell Duriel, Mephisto, Bremm Sparkfist with Blood Lord backup, etc.
Decoy is awesome crowd control when maxed. You can literally sort through loot while merc and Valk take on Hell Act V Horror Archers and suchlike. It can usually last for at least several seconds even against very tough monsters. It can block mummy sarcophagi when placed carefully, and separate Minions of Destruction (because they will keep pushing it back).
Overall, this is the safest build I've ever played. She never died once despite having less than 800 life when starting Hell.
Skill setup at level 85:
Inner Sight: 1/4
Critical Strike: 10/13
Dodge: 1/4
Slow Missiles: 1/4
Avoid: 1/4
Penetrate: 20/23
Decoy: 20/23
Evade: 1/4
Valkyrie: 20/23
Pierce: 4/7
Jab: 15/20
Poison Javelin: 1/6
Lightning Bolt: 1/6
Damage with Might aura:
Jab: 656-1268 (AR: 6523)
Throw: 691-1367 (AR: 4320)
Lightning Bolt: 506-1111
All with 62% chance of critical strike. LCS
Gear:
Tarnhelm (39% MF, socketed with 20% ED, 1-46 lightning damage, 18% FR jewel, upgraded)
One of my favorite items for untwinked play. It dropped in Act III Normal, what more can you expect. The jewel dropped in Act III NM. Cannot socket javelins, so it went into the helmet.
Amulet of Luck (35% MF)
Never found an amulet with MF and another useful property.
Titan's Revenge (169% ED, upgraded)
In Act III Hell, keeping up the MF at all times finally paid off when this dropped from a container in the Spider Cavern. The Pul to upgrade it dropped in the Hell Countess tower (the Countess herself dropped Sol and Nef runes). I think it is best in slot for this build. The item geared towards the build, Thunderstroke, is actually much worse (less physical damage, no FRW, no replenishing mod).
Before that, she used gambled javelins up to Throwing Spear in Normal, a Savage War Javelin found in Act V Normal, a rare Harpoon (upgraded from Throwing Spear) with 104% ED throughout most of NM, a Ferocious Harpoon of Evisceration, shopped from NM Anya, and the Hell Imbue, applied to a Balrog Spear found in the Sewers:
"Smoke" Russet Armor
This is hands down the best MF armor for untwinked Hell. Yes, it does not have any MF on it, but it allows you to focus all other gear slots on MF. Lum runes are cheap in 1.13. This character found six (!).
"Rhyme" Tower Shield
Again, it's hard to imagine anything better suited for this character: +skills not needed, MF + GF boni, CBF saves ring slot, max block even with less dex points, etc.
Chance Guards (25% MF, upgraded)
Dropped from NM Summoner, again one of the best items for untwinked single-pass. Worst possible MF roll, though (range is 25-40).
"Eagle Grip" crafted Hit Power ring (10% all res, 9% CR, +53 AR, 1-19 lightning damage)
Ran out of ingredients for Blood rings, this is not bad but it has no MF and the Frost nova basically never triggers since she does not get hit.
"Corpse Cord" crafted Blood Belt (2% LL, 10% OW, +32 life, +5 STR, +24% LR, +19% FR)
The very first try to craft a Blood Belt at the start of NM.
Garnet Ring of Fortune (21% FR, 24% MF)
Found somewhere in Act III Hell - was plain 24% MF before.
Coral Light Plated Boots of Luck (28% LR, 32% MF)
No luck at all gambling or finding boots. This was the best gambling result, and it could have been shopped in Normal difficulty.
Charms:
Life, mana, res, AR, MF, FHR, poison + cold damage
Switch:
Valkyrie's Throwing Spear / Lidless Wall
Stash:
Athletic Gauntlets / Maiden's Amulet (level 28 Valk prebuff with weapon switch)
Rare War Javelin with 20% IAS, ~ 150 fire + cold damage (PI / LI killer)
The General's Tan Do Li Ga (Act boss debuff)
Merc:
Mizan, Might enchanted Town Guard
Cruel Giant Thresher (236% ED) 'Amn'
Acquired in Act V Hell at Larzuk's one-stop shop for big sticks. Sadly it only got 1 socket, because there was a 40% ED jewel sitting in the stash. Before that, a chippie re-rolled War Pike with 82% ED and 'ShaelAmn' inscription. Before that, a "Honor" Partizan socketed with the recipe, and this beauty from Act III Normal, upgraded:
Marshal's Circlet of Life Everlasting (+25 DR)
From a circlet gambling spree (~ 10 M gold) before entering Hell.
'Lionheart' Diamond Mail
The Fal finally dropped in Act IV Hell.
She developed a love-hate relationship with Mizan. OTOH, he provides a significant damage boost to her and the Valk. OTOH, he loves getting personal with Cursed Aura Enchanted Venom Lords and suchlike. Actually he spent most of Act IV pushing daisies, while Mikado and the Valk cleared out the areas slowly but steadily. He became much more powerful after acquiring the Lionheart armor. Before that he had an 88% MF Gothic Plate, which was of no use any more since he constantly was either dead or getting his kills stolen by the Valk.
Stats:
Notable S/U finds (> 143 total):
Dangoon's Teaching
Tal Rasha's Lidless Eye
Stoneraven
Dark Adherent
Swordguard
Goldstrike Arch
Raven Frost
Dwarf Star
Haemosu's Adamant
Islestrike
Aldur's Rhythm
Butcher's Pupil
Endlesshail
Arm of King Leoric
Spirit Forge
Kuko Shakaku
Razortail
Skin of the Flayed One
Whitstan's Guard
Rite of Passage (2x)
Silks of the Victor
Spectral Shard
Sigon's set (5/6)
Milabrega's set (4/4)
Lenymo (2x)
Hellforge: ? / Sol / Fal
Highest rune find: Pul
Other questing notes / screenies:
I really enjoyed this run. Thanks for reading!
A: An Amazon that throws javelins (actual, physical javelins, not uber chain lightning), with the help of her passive tree that gives her crowd control, attack rating, and the chance to hit multiple enemies. At the same time, she has a viable melee option. Other names could include Java-Jabazon, or ranged passivezon.
The core idea is to combine the tankiness of a daggerzon (shield, fast blocking with thrusting weapon) with a viable ranged option. The obvious disadvantage is that there is no javelin equivalent of Fleshripper. The obvious advantages are that javelins have higher melee range and higher base damage than (throwing) knives, and you can Jab with them, making you hit extremely fast.
Q: Why not just make a LF zon?
A: Because it's been done a million times before, and the sound of javelins flying through the air and piercing through monster flesh is so much more satisfying (evil laugh).
Q: How do you play her?
A: The main active "skill" is Throw, usually applied against groups of enemies lined up in a row, to be able to pierce. Lightning Bolt is used against Stone Skin and PI, as well as high defense monsters. Jab is used against priority targets (e.g. revivers), single enemies, and bosses. Lightning bolt is a 1-pointer, since the straight damage from the skill is not significant, and unlike the weapon damage part, it is not modified by str / dex / might / critical strike. The skill itself is pretty good also against non-PIs, since it is independent of AR, which partly offsets the -25% weapon damage penalty. Jab needs only 1 point as well, but more points give it a nice AR bonus, so I chose to dump all remaining points there.
Max valk is godly. At level 28, she has a decent chance to become immune against elemental damage, has 4.5k life, and 675 STR with a crit chance of > 60%. She tanked Hell Duriel, Mephisto, Bremm Sparkfist with Blood Lord backup, etc.
Decoy is awesome crowd control when maxed. You can literally sort through loot while merc and Valk take on Hell Act V Horror Archers and suchlike. It can usually last for at least several seconds even against very tough monsters. It can block mummy sarcophagi when placed carefully, and separate Minions of Destruction (because they will keep pushing it back).
Overall, this is the safest build I've ever played. She never died once despite having less than 800 life when starting Hell.
Skill setup at level 85:
Inner Sight: 1/4
Critical Strike: 10/13
Dodge: 1/4
Slow Missiles: 1/4
Avoid: 1/4
Penetrate: 20/23
Decoy: 20/23
Evade: 1/4
Valkyrie: 20/23
Pierce: 4/7
Jab: 15/20
Poison Javelin: 1/6
Lightning Bolt: 1/6
Damage with Might aura:
Jab: 656-1268 (AR: 6523)
Throw: 691-1367 (AR: 4320)
Lightning Bolt: 506-1111
All with 62% chance of critical strike. LCS
Gear:
Tarnhelm (39% MF, socketed with 20% ED, 1-46 lightning damage, 18% FR jewel, upgraded)
One of my favorite items for untwinked play. It dropped in Act III Normal, what more can you expect. The jewel dropped in Act III NM. Cannot socket javelins, so it went into the helmet.
Amulet of Luck (35% MF)
Never found an amulet with MF and another useful property.
Titan's Revenge (169% ED, upgraded)
In Act III Hell, keeping up the MF at all times finally paid off when this dropped from a container in the Spider Cavern. The Pul to upgrade it dropped in the Hell Countess tower (the Countess herself dropped Sol and Nef runes). I think it is best in slot for this build. The item geared towards the build, Thunderstroke, is actually much worse (less physical damage, no FRW, no replenishing mod).
Before that, she used gambled javelins up to Throwing Spear in Normal, a Savage War Javelin found in Act V Normal, a rare Harpoon (upgraded from Throwing Spear) with 104% ED throughout most of NM, a Ferocious Harpoon of Evisceration, shopped from NM Anya, and the Hell Imbue, applied to a Balrog Spear found in the Sewers:
Code:
Cruel Picket
Harpoon
Throw Damage: 38 - 110
One Hand Damage: 28 - 71
Quantity: 80
Required Level: 30
Required Strength: 25
Required Dexterity: 118
Fingerprint: 0xe7f0e7c0
Item Level: 52
Version: Expansion 1.10+
104% Enhanced Damage
+2 to Minimum Damage
+64 to Attack Rating
+187% Damage to Undead
+188 to Attack Rating against Undead
Adds 21 Poison Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
6% Mana stolen per hit
Required Level +5
Ferocious Harpoon of Evisceration
Harpoon
Throw Damage: 39 - 173
One Hand Damage: 28 - 132
Quantity: 80
Required Level: 37
Required Strength: 25
Required Dexterity: 118
Fingerprint: 0x8e73ee38
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
118% Enhanced Damage
+56 to Maximum Damage
Doom Thirst
Balrog Spear
Throw Damage: 122 - 194
One Hand Damage: 100 - 197
Quantity: 80
Required Level: 53
Required Strength: 127
Required Dexterity: 95
Fingerprint: 0xe71d56e0
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
205% Enhanced Damage
+5 to Maximum Damage
+155 to Attack Rating
+119% Damage to Undead
+143 to Attack Rating against Undead
Replenishes quantity
Titan's Revenge
Matriarchal Javelin
Throw Damage: 119 - 227
One Hand Damage: 105 - 195
Quantity: 140
Required Level: 55
Required Strength: 107
Required Dexterity: 151
Fingerprint: 0x3faa15e3
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Javelin and Spear Skills (Amazon Only)
+2 to Amazon Skill Levels
+30% Faster Run/Walk
169% Enhanced Damage
Adds 25 - 50 Damage
8% Life stolen per hit
+20 to Strength
+20 to Dexterity
Increased Stack Size
Replenishes quantity
Required Level +7"Smoke" Russet Armor
This is hands down the best MF armor for untwinked Hell. Yes, it does not have any MF on it, but it allows you to focus all other gear slots on MF. Lum runes are cheap in 1.13. This character found six (!).
"Rhyme" Tower Shield
Again, it's hard to imagine anything better suited for this character: +skills not needed, MF + GF boni, CBF saves ring slot, max block even with less dex points, etc.
Chance Guards (25% MF, upgraded)
Dropped from NM Summoner, again one of the best items for untwinked single-pass. Worst possible MF roll, though (range is 25-40).
"Eagle Grip" crafted Hit Power ring (10% all res, 9% CR, +53 AR, 1-19 lightning damage)
Ran out of ingredients for Blood rings, this is not bad but it has no MF and the Frost nova basically never triggers since she does not get hit.
"Corpse Cord" crafted Blood Belt (2% LL, 10% OW, +32 life, +5 STR, +24% LR, +19% FR)
The very first try to craft a Blood Belt at the start of NM.
Garnet Ring of Fortune (21% FR, 24% MF)
Found somewhere in Act III Hell - was plain 24% MF before.
Coral Light Plated Boots of Luck (28% LR, 32% MF)
No luck at all gambling or finding boots. This was the best gambling result, and it could have been shopped in Normal difficulty.
Charms:
Life, mana, res, AR, MF, FHR, poison + cold damage
Switch:
Valkyrie's Throwing Spear / Lidless Wall
Stash:
Athletic Gauntlets / Maiden's Amulet (level 28 Valk prebuff with weapon switch)
Rare War Javelin with 20% IAS, ~ 150 fire + cold damage (PI / LI killer)
The General's Tan Do Li Ga (Act boss debuff)
Merc:
Mizan, Might enchanted Town Guard
Cruel Giant Thresher (236% ED) 'Amn'
Acquired in Act V Hell at Larzuk's one-stop shop for big sticks. Sadly it only got 1 socket, because there was a 40% ED jewel sitting in the stash. Before that, a chippie re-rolled War Pike with 82% ED and 'ShaelAmn' inscription. Before that, a "Honor" Partizan socketed with the recipe, and this beauty from Act III Normal, upgraded:
Code:
Storm Impaler
Lance
Two Hand Damage: 58 - 230
Durability: 21 of 25
Required Level: 30
Required Strength: 100
Required Dexterity: 78
Fingerprint: 0xaf09c78b
Item Level: 23
Version: Expansion 1.10+
35% Enhanced Damage
+4 to Minimum Damage
+15 to Attack Rating
5% Mana stolen per hit
5% Life stolen per hit
Required Level +5
EtherealMarshal's Circlet of Life Everlasting (+25 DR)
From a circlet gambling spree (~ 10 M gold) before entering Hell.
'Lionheart' Diamond Mail
The Fal finally dropped in Act IV Hell.
She developed a love-hate relationship with Mizan. OTOH, he provides a significant damage boost to her and the Valk. OTOH, he loves getting personal with Cursed Aura Enchanted Venom Lords and suchlike. Actually he spent most of Act IV pushing daisies, while Mikado and the Valk cleared out the areas slowly but steadily. He became much more powerful after acquiring the Lionheart armor. Before that he had an 88% MF Gothic Plate, which was of no use any more since he constantly was either dead or getting his kills stolen by the Valk.
Stats:
Code:
Name: Mikado
Class: Amazon
Experience: 1052167753
Level: 85
Naked/Gear
Strength: 140/165
Dexterity: 200/225
Vitality: 160/160
Energy: 15/25
HP: 698/831
Mana: 141/169
Fire: 180/140/80
Cold: 153/113/53
Lightning: 183/143/83
Poison: 128/88/28
MF: 190 Block: 85
GF: 325
FR/W: 30
FHR: 28
IAS: 0
FCR: 0
Name: Mizan
Race: Desert Mercenary
Type: Off-Nightmare
Experience: 72344818
Level: 84
Dead?: false
Naked/Gear
Strength: 184/209
Dexterity: 148/163
HP: 1727/1777
Fire: 178/138/78
Cold: 178/138/78
Lightning: 178/138/78
Poison: 178/138/78Notable S/U finds (> 143 total):
Dangoon's Teaching
Tal Rasha's Lidless Eye
Stoneraven
Dark Adherent
Swordguard
Goldstrike Arch
Raven Frost
Dwarf Star
Haemosu's Adamant
Islestrike
Aldur's Rhythm
Butcher's Pupil
Endlesshail
Arm of King Leoric
Spirit Forge
Kuko Shakaku
Razortail
Skin of the Flayed One
Whitstan's Guard
Rite of Passage (2x)
Silks of the Victor
Spectral Shard
Sigon's set (5/6)
Milabrega's set (4/4)
Lenymo (2x)
Hellforge: ? / Sol / Fal
Highest rune find: Pul
Other questing notes / screenies:
- Being an untwinked MF-oriented javazon can be excruciating since there are so many useful, and not too rare, unique bows and spears in the game (as Maltatai's zon would say, "I am not a bowazon").
- One of the most intense fights was in Act II Nightmare: Stairtrap in Sarina's temple, featuring Holy Freeze Yeti + Flesh Hunter bosspack (not Sarina's). Portal parked the Yetis to the left (room was empty), then re-entered from the stairs, ran to the right and slowly worked towards the main room, where Sarina was easily defeated.
- In Act II Hell, Mizan was imprisoned for poor performance. Ironically, that's exactly where we want him to be in that situation: doing nothing while staying alive and still providing his damage bonus. A similar situation had occurred in Act I Hell - this is the optimal fighting position, Mizan!
- The Halls of the Head had a brutal entrance on level 1. Champ Unraveller pack, several regular packs, and mummies, no chance to make a stand in the first room. Ran to the right, Unraveller boss pack. Managed to establish a foothold next to the stairs down to level 2 and slowly worked back.
- We could not defeat Coldworm in Hell difficulty, as she was LE in addition to being natively CE and PE (unique poison enchantment). It meant that everytime someone was hit by a bolt, s/he would suffer her poison explosion damage, which is huge. Before that, we had to fight a PI/LI flies boss next to her lair, so she had plenty of time to spawn so many maggots that there was no chance without a heavy AoE attack. A quick sprint to the chest to grab the staff, followed by TP out saved the day.
- Hell Ancients: first try was successful. whirler: blessed aim, spectral hit; leaper: extra strong, spectral hit; thrower: lightning enchanted, mana burn. The thrower did heavy damage (250-ish), but we managed to get him throw at NW pillar while being murdered by merc + valk. Got leaper to 50% health using similar tactic, then ran around in circles throwing spears at him to trigger OW. Finally took a deep breath and rushed at him, finishing him off with Jab. Only the whirler left, he whirled back and forth between decoy, merc and valk, not doing real damage, so I assumed he could just be tanked, which was true. Total potion usage: 5 super healers.
- In Hell WSK 1, we finally found a Lem rune ...
- Baal dropping a green breast plate was symptomatic of Hell Act Boss drops.
I really enjoyed this run. Thanks for reading!
They ARE horribly irritating, aren't they?
