Diablo 2: Resurrected
Athena - Level 99 Javazon
Ever since Patch 1.10 introduced the new powerful Runewords, Runewords started to replace Unique Items and turned out to be the dominant parts of a Character's gear. Since they can have a great impact on your builds and pretty much every high end build relies on some demanding Runewords, High Runes became the desire of every player. Even though their rarity was reduced significantly on Patch 1.13, it's still a huge grinding process finding few of those. Investing time and developing a character around a rewarding area is perhaps the most effective way to obtain them.Athena - Level 99 Javazon
The Secret Cow Level run by a Javazon is known to be one of the best combinations for this task. The Javazon below is fully optimized for Cow runs, build to even deal effortlessly with Terrorized Cows at players 8, hitting every necessary break-point, dealing massive damage and taking advantage of every little detail to make the rune grinding journey as profitable as possible.
Athena in Greek Mythology was a unique Goddess born from the head of the almighty Zeus. She was a Goddess associated with war and wisdom. This Javazon uses the thunder powers of her father and along with her fighting capabilities and the tactical mind leaves no choice to the enemies than to surrender.
Positive
+ Players 8 TZ Cows
+ High Survivibility
+ Fast Clear
+ Balanced around everything
+ Free socket for customization
Negative
- Loot Clutter
- Thunderstroke Quantity
- Cow King Immunity
Stats
We are planning to use Thunderstroke and Spirit which are the two most demanding items so our stats will be set around them. Add the necessary points to Strength and Dexterity after equipping the gear and use the rest points to Vitality.
- Strength: 156
- Dexterity: 151
- Vitality: Rest
- Energy: None
Nothing new or fancy here. Lighting Fury is our main skill so maxing it along with its synergies is the first step. Charged Strike can be used when we target lower packs or stronger Cows such as Champion and Uniques. If you really need it, Decoy can sometimes help with herding and preventing the Cows from targeting the Hireling but the Skill Points are not enough so we need to make careful choices. One point in every Passive Skills will do wonders and since we are not going to use Razortail a few more points in Pierce are ideal.
Gear
Due to the way Lighting Fury works any budget gear will usually get you through the Cows. This alone can give you an idea of how powerful a Javazon can become against Cows with an optimized gear. As we are planning to run only Cows for only High Runes, the Gear is developed specifically for that purpose. There are two setups I would like to mention, the Basic and the Advanced.
- The Basic Setup is by no means a cheap setup but it's considered to be the standard Javazon build which works perfectly fine.
- The Advanced Setup just pushes it even further allowing us to Run even Terrorized Cows at Players 8 to ensure maximum experience and efficiency from drops while maintaining solid speed.
| Equipment | Basic | Advanced |
|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Titan's Revenge | ThunderStroke |
| Shield | Spirit | Spirit |
| Armor | Enigma | Enigma |
| Helm | Griffon's Eye | Griffon's Eye |
| Gloves | +2 Jav / +20% AS | +3 Jav / +20% AS |
| Belt | Razortail | Arachnid Mesh |
| Boots | Silkweave | Silkweave |
| Rings | Ravenfrost / Rare (10% FCR) | Ravenfrost / Rare (10% FCR) |
| Amulet | Highlord's Wrath | +2 Amazon / 10% FCR |
The whole point of the Advanced setup is mostly the extra FCR breakpoint. Amazon has awful FCR frames and the extra breakpoint may not seem like a noticeable improvement at first. However, Teleport is being used a lot both for speed and herding constantly therefore, hitting the next Breakpoint which happens in main hand will make the runs feel a lot smoother and faster over time. Apart from the FCR, the Advanced gear focuses on more damage as well. We get a few more Skill points in our Javelin Tree and cover the appropriate breakpoints, weakness and necessary attributes. Let's analyze deeper our Advanced gear.
- ThunderStroke seems like a bad option due to Titan's Revenge existence. There are two main reasons to choose Thunderstroke over Titan's Revenge. The first one is the Attack Speed and due to the changes the build received in the advanced setup it's needed for the next break-point. The second one is obviously the better damage and more damage is always needed when dealing with high player settings. With Terrorized Cows we have one more reason to invest in more damage and leave the convenient bonuses of the Titan's Revenge aside. The aim of this build is to run Terrorized Cows at Players 8 just as fast and take advantage of the massive experience we can collect. With the extra Quantity Throwing items received in D2R, Thunderstroke's Quantity is now just enough to get you through a Cow Run so one of the main problems is also solved.
- Spirit is one of the most important items since it provides plenty FCR but other than that it also shines with the rest bonuses. It literally offers everything we need with Skill points and Mana being the most important attributes after the FCR. Aiming for a near perfect FCR is important though.
- Enigma is almost always the number one choice when it comes to speed. Teleport is important for faster runs but also very important to keep your Hireling alive and for Herding. The massive FRW is a great bonus, the skill points improve our damage even more, the damage reduction is always handy against Cows.
- Griffon's Eye is simply the best choice without anything coming even close. The massive bonuses to our lighting damage combined with the FCR which we sorely need make this item truly irreplaceable. On top of that, depending on your play-style you can socket this with anything you need since all the important attributes are covered.
- Magic Gloves with +3 to Javelin and +20% Attack Speed are what we are looking for to maximize our damage. Rare Gloves with +2 to Javelin and +20% Attack Speed but with some extra attributes such as mana steal are a great alternative. Resists are not needed thus, even Life Steal would work better.
- Arachnid Mesh offers the bonuses we need to perfectionate this build. Aside from the 20% FCR which is the main reason we need this belt we get an additional Skill Point and additional mana, both extremely important.
- Silkweave is the one and only choice for boots that can greatly help with a massive problem which is none other than mana. On such builds, boots don't have much to offer offensively anyway so Silkweave take this spot without a second thought.
- Ravenfrost is obviously important for the Can not be Frozen attribute. You can always add a Cham on Griffon's Eye but then again there aren't many better rings to choose from especially when Raven Frost provides some dexterity and mana. For the second Ring, a Rare one with 10% FCR with dual leech and some extra mana will do more than enough.
- A Crafted Amulet with +2 to Amazon Skill Levels and 9%+ FCR (as long as Spirit is at 35% FCR) will complete our build. If the Amulet rolls with some more Mana Steal then look no further.
- Cta and Spirit on Switch are too important. The extra Skill Point and health are great but more importantly the Hireling's Health is what matters most. Hireling's Survivibility increases a lot. Last but certainly not least, Cta is gives a huge mana bonus.
- Faster Cast Rate: 99%
- Attack Speed: 35%
- Faster Hit Recovery: N/A
- Faster Block Rate: N/A
- Resistances: N/A
- Can not be Frozen
- Mana Steal
Frequently Asked Questions
You may not have noticed how many options and possibilities there are around a Javazon. Not only you can alternate between many items but the Cow Runs are quite unique with its huge density and only melee mobs. Below we will try to answer few of them most frequent questions players have.
Titan's Revenge vs ThunderStroke
Titan's Revenge has always been the ideal weapon to use with Lighting Fury no matter the circumstances. The Increased Quantity and the Self-Repair Status well already two very strong points whereas Thunderstroke suffered heavily in that part. Needless to say, Titan's Revenge simply offers a lot of useful bonuses that make it a lot more convenient to use in every aspect. Luckily, the Quantity of throwing weapons was increased in D2R which gave Thunderstroke a major boost to cover one of its crucial weaknesses. Titan's Revenge still remained the better weapon though since you didn't really need the extra damage. However, with the introduction of Terror Zones, Thunderstroke can make a huge difference jumping from regular Cows at Players 7 with Titan's Revenge to Terrorized Cows at Players 8 with Thunderstroke. Thunderstroke can help you keep up with the same speed but take advantage of all the massive experience as well.
Should I go for 100% Pierce?
Going for 100% is of course very powerful and works wonders with Lighting Fury. The main thing with our current build is that it is too powerful for 100% Pierce to make a noticeable difference. 100% Pierce would mostly shine on under-powered builds. Let's not forget that we already have high Pierce so most of the time Pierce will apply to many targets. Choose Razortail if your character seems weak against Cows but make sure to swap the belt if you can deal quite fast with them.
Do I really need "Can not be Frozen"?
Cows are all melee monsters so what chances are there to be hit by a boss pack that happens to carry the Cold Enhanced attribute? This was my initial thoughs and I was farming for a long time without CBF. Half of the time I ended up being frozen. How does that happen though? The Boss packs happen to carry the Cold Enhanced attribute very very often. Being hit by any of the minion packs will get you Frozen. If the boss pack is also Lighting Enhanced, any of the Lighting Bolts will get you Frozen. Killing the Boss of the Pack will release a Frost Nova which will get you Frozen. Teleporting close to such packs can happen frequently which will get you Frozen. The Freezing length will last long enough to severely slow you down so yeah, get a "Can not be Frozen" attribute somewhere in your gear and keep going.
How to Deal with the Mana Problem?
Pumping Lighting Fury to high levels will require more and more mana. Dealing with the mana issue is a priority and luckily we have plenty available options.
- Silkweave Boots are one of our best assets since they Increase our Maximum Mana and provide +5 Mana per Kill.
- One of our Rare Rings which must have 10% FCR can also spawn with Mana Steal and additional mana.
- The Crafted Amulet can also spawn with Mana Steal and additional mana.
- Small Charms with more mana are to be preferred than with more life.
- Call to Arms will give a huge mana boost.
- Use Javazon Gloves with Mana Steal
- Socket your Helm with a MPK Jewel
- In case you prefer a Cham in your Helm the Raven Frost can be replaced with another Rare Ring with Mana steal or with a Stone of Jordan.
Cows are our main targets and High Runes the reason we are running them. Anything that delays that will prevent reaching our goals. Thunderstroke has also a limited quanityy so using it on trash mobs is not advised. However, killing boss packs that happen to be in your way such as the Rakanishu minions will do no harm since one Javelin is enough and it's done in not time at all. The same applies inside Tristram. If you happen to run into a bunch of minion monsters you can throw a Javelin and check the loot but for the most part don't go killing nearby minion packs.
What Should I pick up?
This is mostly a matter of personal preference since depending on your needs you know better what items are valuable to you. However, if you don't lack anything and you just need High Runes you should restrict your picks severely in order to keep the flow of hunting the high Runes running. With also a limited inventory, picking too many items will delay the whole progress. You may want to leave Flawless Gems, regular Base Items, worthless uniques and so on to the ground and focus only on items that can have a greater or equal value with High Runes such Grand Charms, Small Charms, Jewels and perfect bases.
Do I need a Lighting Sunder Charm?
Back in 1.14d it was a bless to have the Cow King immune to lighting since you could slaughter Cows without restricting yourself around that area with the fear of killing him. In D2R this bless has turned to be a curse now that the Cow King can be killed without losing access to the Cow Level. The Cow King seems to drop several items and many Unique Cows tend to be Immune to Lighting as well which is quite annoying especially when they are Aura Enhanced or Cursed. Whether or not a Sunder Charm deserves a spot in your inventory by replacing a skiller is bit of personal preference. Personally I prefer using a Sunder Charm which in combination with out Thunderstroke helps us dealing very fast and gaining some extra loot.
What should I carry in my Inventory?
Depending on what makes you comfortable, the empty space that you want to keep in your inventory is once a gain a bit of personal choice. Skillers, Torch, Anni, Cube and Small Charms with Mana are the basics. I would consider Tome of Identify a must since due to lack of space you would want to instantly identify Charms and Jewels. Tome of Town Portal is not necessary as you won't be going to Town. Make sure to complete a Cow run in one go. Keys are also quite annoying to carry but I would prefer to have them with me. Chests tend to drop Um-Gul runes some times.
HirelingThe Hireling plays quite a passive role as he only has one major job, which is to carry the Infinity, and one lesser role of tanking the Cows which will keep them away from us. The Infinity is of course the reason we need to stick to an Act2 Mercenary. Regarding his Aura we have two choices; Defiance for some extra safety or Might for some extra Leech. Both choices are excellent but personally, I would go with Might to ensure I won't face any mana issues throughout the run. Any form of offensive gear can be completely avoided not only because our Javazon deals all the damage but also because the Cows hit really hard so we need to dress him with defensive gear to make sure he can survive. Gear with "Physical Damaged Reduced" in that case is ideal.
Act 2 - MightWeapon: Infinity
Armor: Shaftop (ethereal + Upgraded)
Helm: Vampire Gaze (ethereal + Upgraded)
Conclusion
Farming for High Runes can end up in an extremely tedious procedure. During your farming period it's almost certain you will be discouraged plenty times and unfortunately investing time is the only thing you can do. Building an appropriate character and farming effectively in the best areas will definitely reward you sooner. Hopefully, the Javazon above can help you with that task as the only thing that will slow you down is the loot clutter.
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