- Aug 5, 2005
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PvP Sidewinder (PJ, CS, GA) v1.0
by Liquid_Evil
Originally posted May 10, 2005
Note: This guide was originally written for BNet. Please bear in mind it may recommend items not found or permitted in Single Player.
The PvP Sidewinder Guide (Version 1.0)
This Amazon variant is based around my experiences in PvP and although it also fairs well in PvM it is written from a 1.10 dueler's standpoint. I'm a huge proponent of multiple forms of damage and in this guide we will look at all aspects of this build.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Stat Placement
III. Skill Placement
IV. About the Skills
V. Formulas
VI. Gear Selection
VII. Dueling Strategies
VIII. Thanks
I. Introduction
A duelist in the Blood Moor spies his prey, what looks to be a bowless Amazon'¦He rushes forward expecting to put this pitiful creature out of her misery in seconds. The startled Amazon moves quickly to fill the air with poison. His life drains away as he inhales the toxic vapors, he has seriously underestimated his quarry, but this realization has come too late as the Amazon now strikes with lightning fast precision. Countless bolts of energy are released directly into his body until he can take no more and finally collapses. Yet another ear has come to know its new home strung around the neck of this deadly creature. Enter the Sidewinder.
What is a Sidewinder and why does it work?
It's a character subclass focusing primarily on the skills Poison/Plague Javelin and Charged Strike, supplemented slightly with Guided Arrow. This variant works because it combines three forms of damage in the forms of both ranged and melee. Opponents must, in order to withstand your attacks, change equipment from standard fighting gear to a more defensive-based setup (poison length reduction, damage reduction, and lightning resists/absorb). Depending on their class, this will probably significantly lower their damage, attack rating, defense, and/or life. The opponents who choose not to don appropriate gear will usually die. This variant is also effective because of its lack of a need for a good attack rating; this is because ALL of the skills employed are of the Auto-hit variety. Sidewinders can also use items to stack/absorb against specific opponents with very minimal sacrifices to their own damage output and life.
side-wind-er n.
1. A small rattlesnake (Crotalus cerastes) of the southwest United States and Mexico that moves by a distinctive lateral looping motion of its body and has two hornlike scaly projections above its eyes.
2. A powerful swinging punch delivered from the side.
3. A devious hybrid Amazon duelist who has mastered the art of killing with Charged Strike, Poison/Plague Javelin, and a dash of Guided Arrow.
II. Stat Placement
They are pretty standard PvP character stats.
Strength- Just enough to equip all of your gear
Dexterity- Enough for max block
Vitality- Everything you can spare
Energy- None
III. Skill Placement
There are basically two subvariants to a Sidewinder: Lightning Based and Poison Based. There are pros and cons regarding each. The Lightning Based is usually regarded as more dangerous to melee characters and the Poison is a more all-purpose build. Unless you have a way of powering up Plague/Poison Javelin (4 Facet Armor, Bramble, etc), I would suggest the Poison-Based variant as its P Javelin skills don't need powered as they have more raw points.
*Lightning Based*
20 Charged Strike
20 Lightning Bolt
20 Lightning Fury
10-13 Poison Javelin
7-10 Plague Javelin
1-6 D/E/A
1 Valkyrie
1 Guided Arrow
1 Critical Strike
Rest into Poison Javelin
*Poison Based*
20 Charged Strike
20 Lightning Bolt
20 Poison Javelin
20 Plague Javelin
1-6 D/E/A
1 Valkyrie
1 Guided Arrow
1 Critical Strike
Rest into Lighting Fury
D/E/A
Your +skill items will boost those passive skills to a semi-respectable level. I chose not to add more than 1 point into Dodge, Evade, and Avoid because the returns are so terrible at higher levels. 1 point in each and boosted by +skills has worked fine for me. You will have no need for attack rating or piercing so points in Penetrate and Pierce are not advisable.
Guided Arrow
Some choose not to place a point here, but if you take that route then you've just limited your bow options to two: The Widowmaker or Magewrath. Both give benefits to Guided Arrow which should be the only arrow you ever fire.
IV. About the Skills
Charged Strike is an auto-hit skill, meaning that no matter how poor your attack rating is, or how high your opponent's defense is, you will always hit. By 'hit' I mean that each attempted hit will release all of your Charged Bolts, the prod still goes through the AR check. Guided Arrow, Lightning Bolt, and Lightning Fury are all auto-hit skills as well. Your Poison and Plague Javelins have attack ratings listed on the character stat screen but they matter not. The green clouds they create will poison anyone who ventures through them. So basically, opponent defense and block mean nothing to us (with the exception of blocking GA). Each lightning bolt released from Charged Strike is counted as a separate missile, so each is rolled separately when determining damage. What this means is that the more bolts that hit the target, the better your chance of doing your average damage is. However, since each bolt from CS is rolled separately, overabsorbing opponents can get mountains of health back with each strike.
Synergy Information
Charged Strike
Lightning Fury: 10% lightning dmg/level
Lightning Bolt: 10% lightning dmg/level
Power Strike: 10% lightning dmg/level
Lightning Strike: 10% lightning dmg/level
Plague Javelin
Poison Javelin: 10% poison dmg/level
Poison Javelin
Plague Javelin: 12% poison dmg/level
After +skill items, try to attain of these Charged Strike skill levels. An extra bolt hit at that level can have devastating consequences.
Level 25 - 8 bolts
Level 30 - 9 bolts
Level 35 - 10 bolts
Level 40 - 11 bolts
Depending on which skill you want to use will change where your skill points will go. Plague Javelin has comparable damage but over a much shorter time frame, making it look the better skill. However, I have found it much harder to effectively use because of its slow rate of travel and lengthy casting delay. I recommend the use of Poison Javelin over Plague Javelin in most, but not all, situations.
How should Poison Javelin be powered for *Lightning-Based* Sidewinders?
Poison-Based Sidewinders will have more powerful Poison/Plague Javelins because they simply have more raw skill points invested in them. However, Lightning-Based Sidewinders must increase their Poison attacks differently. They have three options for powering their Poison/Plague Javelins, either by maxing Poison Javelin itself, maxing Plague Javelin to synergize it, or a combination of the two. I did some tests with a 45% Bramble to help illustrate where points should be spent when trying to boost your Poison Javelin damage. The numbers in the parentheses are the skill levels after +skill items are applied while the numbers before them are the raw points spent.
Poison Javelin -1(20)
Plague Javelin -20(39)
Total Poison Javelin Damage- 13,103 - 14,523 over 46 seconds = 300 average poison damage per second
In this first test we see that relying only on max synergies and +skill items to boost Poison Javelin isn't a very good idea.
Poison Javelin -20(39)
Plague Javelin -1(20)
Total Poison Javelin Damage- 27,866 - 28,341 over 84 seconds = 334 average poison damage per second
In this second test we see that maxing Poison Javelin and no synergies and relying on +skill items to boost raw Poison Javelin even further is slightly better than our first option was.
Poison Javelin -11(30)
Plague Javelin - 10(29)
Total Poison Javelin Damage- 25,981 - 27,463 over 66 seconds = 404 average poison damage per second
In this test we see that an even mix of Poison Javelin and its synergy Plague Javelin is a significantly better choice than either of the above options.
Poison Javelin - 14(33)
Plague Javelin - 7(26)
Total Poison Javelin Damage- 29,102 - 29,777 over 72 seconds = 408 average poison damage per second
In this final test we see that a mix of Poison Javelin and its synergy is the superior choice, not quite an even split with Poison Javelin slightly more weighted than its synergy.
I cannot give you definite, optimal skill placement regarding Poison Javelin and its synergy because gear is so varied between players. A general rule of thumb would be that Bramble users should probably split their points evenly between Poison and Plague and non-Bramble users should put more of an emphasis on getting Poison Javelin higher.
V. Formulas
Faster Hit Recovery Breakpoints
%FHR Needed/ Frames
6- 10
13- 9
20- 8
32- 7
52- 6
86- 5
174- 4
Aim for 52 or 86 faster hit recovery if you wear a Bramble, if you do not, try for 20, 32 or 52. An 8 frame FHR should be the absolute, bear minimum.
VI. Gear Selection
I've tried to list them in the order in which they are suited for this variant listed from top to bottom as best to worst (in my opinion).
HELMS
Griffon's Eye- +1 skill, enhancing your Charged Strike bolts and lowering opponents lightning resists
Crown of Ages- +1 skill, good damage reduction and 1-2 sockets just waiting for poison or lightning facets
Harlequin Crest- +2 skills, nice chunk of life and mana with a little damage reduction to finish her off
WEAPONS- JAVELINS
Thunderstrokes- Good skills and negative enemy lightning resists make for the perfect weapon, but always remember to repair them after every few duels so you don't run out
Titan's Revenge- Good skills, faster run, huge stat bonuses'¦these would be a great secondary choice but the -enemy lightning resists mod isn't found on many items and I find it too hard to pass up
WEAPONS- BOWS
Windforce- Unless you have problems using a bow with knockback, this is the best bow in the game
'Faith' or 'Brand'- On Ladder, some very damaging bows
Upgraded Goldstrike Arch- Very fast and a good damage output.
Widowmaker- +3-5 Guided Arrow and unresistable magic damage.
Cruel Elite bows- A good combination of speed and damage.
Eaglehorn- Slower than the above bows, but packs a punch. The ITD and AR mods on it are next to useless however.
ARMOR
'Bramble'- This runeword armor can double or even triple your poison damage, making it leagues ahead of any other. It has great poison resists and FHR to boot.
'Chains of Honor'- Great resists and +2 skills
Jeweler's Armor of the Whale s/4 Poison or Lightning Facets- A great 'Bramble' alternative offering more life and -enemy resists.
'Enigma'- Nice +2 skills and strength bonus but the Amazon's casting rate makes for a slow, clumsy Teleport
Duriel's Shell- A tasty exceptional armor that has great resists, some life, and CBF for freeing up a ring slot.
Ormus Robes- A cheap armor for those who want more damage in the lightning department, not much else to offer.
BELTS
Verdungo's Hearty Cord- This sexy little number offers 10-15% Physical damage reduction, replenish life, some FHR, and a good chunk to life. Couple this with a Stormshield and you've got max or next to max PDR.
String of Ears- A belt that offers 10-15% Physical damage reduction'¦not much else special about it but if you can't get a Verdungo's and need the PDR then this is your best bet.
Trang-Oul's Girth- If you can find 50% PDR from other gear choices, this is a good belt offering life and CBF
Thundergod's Vigor- A belt offering +stats, +max lightning resists and more lightning skills
GLOVES
Godly Rare or Crafted- Look for 20% IAS and +2 Javelin/Spear skills among other good mods. The IAS can help your Guided Arrow as well as your Charged Strike.
Lancer's Gloves- +3 Javelin/Spear skills
Trang-Oul's Claws- 25% Increased Poison Damage seems like a lot but you'll find yourself dealing more damage with a pair of Lancer's.
BOOTS
No pair really stands out in particular, look for resistances, FRW, +life, and +stats.
SHIELDS
Stormshield- This is a must-have for about any PvP character, great blocking, some resists and a whopping 35% PDR. Couple this with a Verdungos or String of Ears to get a max PDR. This is the best shield and should be used about every duel. Only a 4-Perfect Topaz and a 4-Perfect Sapphire shield could be used to replace it against specific opponents.
RINGS
Bul-Kathos Wedding Band- Some minor +life and +1 all skills
Stone of Jordan- Some mana and +1 all skills
Ravenfrost- A great all around ring. It has CBF, 20% Cold Absorb, and dexterity to help achieve max block. The attack rating isn't necessary, so just try and get one with +20 dexterity.
A Dwarf Star (15% Fire Absorb) and a Wisp Projector (10-20% Lightning Absorb) should be kept in the stash for specific opponents.
AMULETS
Godly Rare or Crafted Amulet- +2 Amazon skills, potential for lots of life, good resists, strength, dexterity
Mara's Kaleidoscope- +2 skills, minor stats, and great resists
Lancer's Amulet- +3 Javelin and Spear skills and depending on the suffix, can have other good mods
A Nokozan Relic (Fire Resists) and an Iratha's Collar (Poison Length Duration) should be kept in the stash for specific opponents.
CHARMS
Harpoonists- +1 Javelin/Spear Skills
Also, don't neglect FRW smalls and Annihilus
by Liquid_Evil
Originally posted May 10, 2005
Note: This guide was originally written for BNet. Please bear in mind it may recommend items not found or permitted in Single Player.
The PvP Sidewinder Guide (Version 1.0)
This Amazon variant is based around my experiences in PvP and although it also fairs well in PvM it is written from a 1.10 dueler's standpoint. I'm a huge proponent of multiple forms of damage and in this guide we will look at all aspects of this build.
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Stat Placement
III. Skill Placement
IV. About the Skills
V. Formulas
VI. Gear Selection
VII. Dueling Strategies
VIII. Thanks
I. Introduction
A duelist in the Blood Moor spies his prey, what looks to be a bowless Amazon'¦He rushes forward expecting to put this pitiful creature out of her misery in seconds. The startled Amazon moves quickly to fill the air with poison. His life drains away as he inhales the toxic vapors, he has seriously underestimated his quarry, but this realization has come too late as the Amazon now strikes with lightning fast precision. Countless bolts of energy are released directly into his body until he can take no more and finally collapses. Yet another ear has come to know its new home strung around the neck of this deadly creature. Enter the Sidewinder.
What is a Sidewinder and why does it work?
It's a character subclass focusing primarily on the skills Poison/Plague Javelin and Charged Strike, supplemented slightly with Guided Arrow. This variant works because it combines three forms of damage in the forms of both ranged and melee. Opponents must, in order to withstand your attacks, change equipment from standard fighting gear to a more defensive-based setup (poison length reduction, damage reduction, and lightning resists/absorb). Depending on their class, this will probably significantly lower their damage, attack rating, defense, and/or life. The opponents who choose not to don appropriate gear will usually die. This variant is also effective because of its lack of a need for a good attack rating; this is because ALL of the skills employed are of the Auto-hit variety. Sidewinders can also use items to stack/absorb against specific opponents with very minimal sacrifices to their own damage output and life.
side-wind-er n.
1. A small rattlesnake (Crotalus cerastes) of the southwest United States and Mexico that moves by a distinctive lateral looping motion of its body and has two hornlike scaly projections above its eyes.
2. A powerful swinging punch delivered from the side.
3. A devious hybrid Amazon duelist who has mastered the art of killing with Charged Strike, Poison/Plague Javelin, and a dash of Guided Arrow.
II. Stat Placement
They are pretty standard PvP character stats.
Strength- Just enough to equip all of your gear
Dexterity- Enough for max block
Vitality- Everything you can spare
Energy- None
III. Skill Placement
There are basically two subvariants to a Sidewinder: Lightning Based and Poison Based. There are pros and cons regarding each. The Lightning Based is usually regarded as more dangerous to melee characters and the Poison is a more all-purpose build. Unless you have a way of powering up Plague/Poison Javelin (4 Facet Armor, Bramble, etc), I would suggest the Poison-Based variant as its P Javelin skills don't need powered as they have more raw points.
*Lightning Based*
20 Charged Strike
20 Lightning Bolt
20 Lightning Fury
10-13 Poison Javelin
7-10 Plague Javelin
1-6 D/E/A
1 Valkyrie
1 Guided Arrow
1 Critical Strike
Rest into Poison Javelin
*Poison Based*
20 Charged Strike
20 Lightning Bolt
20 Poison Javelin
20 Plague Javelin
1-6 D/E/A
1 Valkyrie
1 Guided Arrow
1 Critical Strike
Rest into Lighting Fury
D/E/A
Your +skill items will boost those passive skills to a semi-respectable level. I chose not to add more than 1 point into Dodge, Evade, and Avoid because the returns are so terrible at higher levels. 1 point in each and boosted by +skills has worked fine for me. You will have no need for attack rating or piercing so points in Penetrate and Pierce are not advisable.
Guided Arrow
Some choose not to place a point here, but if you take that route then you've just limited your bow options to two: The Widowmaker or Magewrath. Both give benefits to Guided Arrow which should be the only arrow you ever fire.
IV. About the Skills
Charged Strike is an auto-hit skill, meaning that no matter how poor your attack rating is, or how high your opponent's defense is, you will always hit. By 'hit' I mean that each attempted hit will release all of your Charged Bolts, the prod still goes through the AR check. Guided Arrow, Lightning Bolt, and Lightning Fury are all auto-hit skills as well. Your Poison and Plague Javelins have attack ratings listed on the character stat screen but they matter not. The green clouds they create will poison anyone who ventures through them. So basically, opponent defense and block mean nothing to us (with the exception of blocking GA). Each lightning bolt released from Charged Strike is counted as a separate missile, so each is rolled separately when determining damage. What this means is that the more bolts that hit the target, the better your chance of doing your average damage is. However, since each bolt from CS is rolled separately, overabsorbing opponents can get mountains of health back with each strike.
Synergy Information
Charged Strike
Lightning Fury: 10% lightning dmg/level
Lightning Bolt: 10% lightning dmg/level
Power Strike: 10% lightning dmg/level
Lightning Strike: 10% lightning dmg/level
Plague Javelin
Poison Javelin: 10% poison dmg/level
Poison Javelin
Plague Javelin: 12% poison dmg/level
After +skill items, try to attain of these Charged Strike skill levels. An extra bolt hit at that level can have devastating consequences.
Level 25 - 8 bolts
Level 30 - 9 bolts
Level 35 - 10 bolts
Level 40 - 11 bolts
Depending on which skill you want to use will change where your skill points will go. Plague Javelin has comparable damage but over a much shorter time frame, making it look the better skill. However, I have found it much harder to effectively use because of its slow rate of travel and lengthy casting delay. I recommend the use of Poison Javelin over Plague Javelin in most, but not all, situations.
How should Poison Javelin be powered for *Lightning-Based* Sidewinders?
Poison-Based Sidewinders will have more powerful Poison/Plague Javelins because they simply have more raw skill points invested in them. However, Lightning-Based Sidewinders must increase their Poison attacks differently. They have three options for powering their Poison/Plague Javelins, either by maxing Poison Javelin itself, maxing Plague Javelin to synergize it, or a combination of the two. I did some tests with a 45% Bramble to help illustrate where points should be spent when trying to boost your Poison Javelin damage. The numbers in the parentheses are the skill levels after +skill items are applied while the numbers before them are the raw points spent.
Poison Javelin -1(20)
Plague Javelin -20(39)
Total Poison Javelin Damage- 13,103 - 14,523 over 46 seconds = 300 average poison damage per second
In this first test we see that relying only on max synergies and +skill items to boost Poison Javelin isn't a very good idea.
Poison Javelin -20(39)
Plague Javelin -1(20)
Total Poison Javelin Damage- 27,866 - 28,341 over 84 seconds = 334 average poison damage per second
In this second test we see that maxing Poison Javelin and no synergies and relying on +skill items to boost raw Poison Javelin even further is slightly better than our first option was.
Poison Javelin -11(30)
Plague Javelin - 10(29)
Total Poison Javelin Damage- 25,981 - 27,463 over 66 seconds = 404 average poison damage per second
In this test we see that an even mix of Poison Javelin and its synergy Plague Javelin is a significantly better choice than either of the above options.
Poison Javelin - 14(33)
Plague Javelin - 7(26)
Total Poison Javelin Damage- 29,102 - 29,777 over 72 seconds = 408 average poison damage per second
In this final test we see that a mix of Poison Javelin and its synergy is the superior choice, not quite an even split with Poison Javelin slightly more weighted than its synergy.
I cannot give you definite, optimal skill placement regarding Poison Javelin and its synergy because gear is so varied between players. A general rule of thumb would be that Bramble users should probably split their points evenly between Poison and Plague and non-Bramble users should put more of an emphasis on getting Poison Javelin higher.
V. Formulas
Faster Hit Recovery Breakpoints
%FHR Needed/ Frames
6- 10
13- 9
20- 8
32- 7
52- 6
86- 5
174- 4
Aim for 52 or 86 faster hit recovery if you wear a Bramble, if you do not, try for 20, 32 or 52. An 8 frame FHR should be the absolute, bear minimum.
VI. Gear Selection
I've tried to list them in the order in which they are suited for this variant listed from top to bottom as best to worst (in my opinion).
HELMS
Griffon's Eye- +1 skill, enhancing your Charged Strike bolts and lowering opponents lightning resists
Crown of Ages- +1 skill, good damage reduction and 1-2 sockets just waiting for poison or lightning facets
Harlequin Crest- +2 skills, nice chunk of life and mana with a little damage reduction to finish her off
WEAPONS- JAVELINS
Thunderstrokes- Good skills and negative enemy lightning resists make for the perfect weapon, but always remember to repair them after every few duels so you don't run out
Titan's Revenge- Good skills, faster run, huge stat bonuses'¦these would be a great secondary choice but the -enemy lightning resists mod isn't found on many items and I find it too hard to pass up
WEAPONS- BOWS
Windforce- Unless you have problems using a bow with knockback, this is the best bow in the game
'Faith' or 'Brand'- On Ladder, some very damaging bows
Upgraded Goldstrike Arch- Very fast and a good damage output.
Widowmaker- +3-5 Guided Arrow and unresistable magic damage.
Cruel Elite bows- A good combination of speed and damage.
Eaglehorn- Slower than the above bows, but packs a punch. The ITD and AR mods on it are next to useless however.
ARMOR
'Bramble'- This runeword armor can double or even triple your poison damage, making it leagues ahead of any other. It has great poison resists and FHR to boot.
'Chains of Honor'- Great resists and +2 skills
Jeweler's Armor of the Whale s/4 Poison or Lightning Facets- A great 'Bramble' alternative offering more life and -enemy resists.
'Enigma'- Nice +2 skills and strength bonus but the Amazon's casting rate makes for a slow, clumsy Teleport
Duriel's Shell- A tasty exceptional armor that has great resists, some life, and CBF for freeing up a ring slot.
Ormus Robes- A cheap armor for those who want more damage in the lightning department, not much else to offer.
BELTS
Verdungo's Hearty Cord- This sexy little number offers 10-15% Physical damage reduction, replenish life, some FHR, and a good chunk to life. Couple this with a Stormshield and you've got max or next to max PDR.
String of Ears- A belt that offers 10-15% Physical damage reduction'¦not much else special about it but if you can't get a Verdungo's and need the PDR then this is your best bet.
Trang-Oul's Girth- If you can find 50% PDR from other gear choices, this is a good belt offering life and CBF
Thundergod's Vigor- A belt offering +stats, +max lightning resists and more lightning skills
GLOVES
Godly Rare or Crafted- Look for 20% IAS and +2 Javelin/Spear skills among other good mods. The IAS can help your Guided Arrow as well as your Charged Strike.
Lancer's Gloves- +3 Javelin/Spear skills
Trang-Oul's Claws- 25% Increased Poison Damage seems like a lot but you'll find yourself dealing more damage with a pair of Lancer's.
BOOTS
No pair really stands out in particular, look for resistances, FRW, +life, and +stats.
SHIELDS
Stormshield- This is a must-have for about any PvP character, great blocking, some resists and a whopping 35% PDR. Couple this with a Verdungos or String of Ears to get a max PDR. This is the best shield and should be used about every duel. Only a 4-Perfect Topaz and a 4-Perfect Sapphire shield could be used to replace it against specific opponents.
RINGS
Bul-Kathos Wedding Band- Some minor +life and +1 all skills
Stone of Jordan- Some mana and +1 all skills
Ravenfrost- A great all around ring. It has CBF, 20% Cold Absorb, and dexterity to help achieve max block. The attack rating isn't necessary, so just try and get one with +20 dexterity.
A Dwarf Star (15% Fire Absorb) and a Wisp Projector (10-20% Lightning Absorb) should be kept in the stash for specific opponents.
AMULETS
Godly Rare or Crafted Amulet- +2 Amazon skills, potential for lots of life, good resists, strength, dexterity
Mara's Kaleidoscope- +2 skills, minor stats, and great resists
Lancer's Amulet- +3 Javelin and Spear skills and depending on the suffix, can have other good mods
A Nokozan Relic (Fire Resists) and an Iratha's Collar (Poison Length Duration) should be kept in the stash for specific opponents.
CHARMS
Harpoonists- +1 Javelin/Spear Skills
Also, don't neglect FRW smalls and Annihilus