Diablo 4 Builds
Build Planner
Map
Diablo 2 Guides
Forums
Support PureDiablo
Vessel of Hatred

Single pass untwinked P8 SC Bowazon or Fury Sin or DC Sin

D

duck

Member
Dec 13, 2013
79
51
18
Hi all. I probably won't be starting a new char anytime soon, but I'm curious about the viability of the following character builds for a SC P8 single pass untwinked run. So I thought to ask about it first. I have read through several pats/mats/guides for ideas.

As a preface, I want my characters to be almost 100% item reliant for damage. That means no immolation arrows, lightning fury, phoenix strike etc. I understand that it will be difficult, but I've done it with a Frenzy Barb and I'm pretty confident in doing it with my Fury Druid.

I also generally know the BiS builds. Given this is untwinked single pass, I will have to adapt to what I find or can reliably build/craft.

Please note that I'm not playing resurrected, so I believe some synergies are not available.

Bowazon
Most likely it will be strafe/magic arrow based. Would be difficult as bows damage are not the highest. I have a good feeling that Edge bows could last me for quite a while (incrementally upgrade Base), but I'm concerned about Hell. Also, does Magic Arrow deal with PIs?

Dragon Claw Sin
Max DC/CM/Venom. Not sure about the rest. Maybe Shadow Warrior? Or maybe Death Sentry, though ideally I'd prefer not to. Gameplay wise it should be similar to my Frenzy Barb. My main concern will be weapons though. Would it be correct to presume that I would be reliant on gambling elite claws closer to Hell? Or incrementally upgrade strength/malice claws.

Blade Fury Sin
My idea was to cloak of shadows and just kill from distance. Resurrected gave synergies to this skill, but I won't have access to it. What I read is that this build have several issues. Firstly, I can only use 1H weapons due to the damage penalty. Secondly, AR would be an issue, so ITD is highly encouraged. Any reliable weapons I could go for?
 
Last edited:
making a bowazon is such an adventure. There are a few variations and you will need to optimize a lot of things

one of the easiest approaches is to make a harmony bow which will take you straight to hell (p1-8)

in the mean time you will most probably decide how to build your character... have to say, Valk is very very strong and helpful esp in p8, but you can do without her. You can use an A2 merc or an A1 merc. You can use strafe, multishot, fire, cold, you can MF...
 
Last edited:
LouB said:
If you haven't already read Ceramic Weasel's Blade Fury thread here is a link to it Ceramic Weasel Blade Fury Analysis. It was written in 2009 so no hint of D2R synergies.

You should also check out Maxicek's Agressin guide for your Dragon claw Sin
Click to expand...
I actually read both guides prior to posting. Both guides shared plausible weapons from a twinked perspective. But from a single pass untwinked perspective, I was hoping for some ideas on weapon progression.

For example, a melee druid could aim for random Large Axe > Savage Polearm > incremental Insight upgrades. And if lucky, Obedience should be attainable.

A sword barb could go for strength weapons > incremental Honor upgrades. And if lucky, Oath rune word.

For both Blade Fury and DC Sin though, nothing reliable comes to my mind that allows me to do Hell.

Tabaz said:
making a bowazon is such an adventure. There are a few variations and you will need to optimize a lot of things

one of the easiest approaches is to make a harmony bow which will take you straight to hell (p1-8)

in the mean time you will most probably decide how to build your character... have to say, Valk is very very strong and helpful esp in p8, but you can do without her. You can use an A2 merc or an A1 merc. You can use strafe, multishot, fire, cold, you can MF...
Click to expand...

Ah I forgot Harmony Bow exists. The mods looks good. It appears that Edge Bow upgrades till I get a Ko, and Harmony in a good base should do the trick?

I'm quite certain it would be Strafe based. I'd also get L17 Val for the weapon upgrade. Rest into passives Penetrate/Crit/Avoid etc. Repeating my question though, does Magic Arrow deal with PIs? If so, I'd also max it. I also don't think PI/MI is common right? Which means this zon theoretically can deal with all monsters in Hell?
 
duck said:
I actually read both guides prior to posting. Both guides shared plausible weapons from a twinked perspective. But from a single pass untwinked perspective, I was hoping for some ideas on weapon progression.

For example, a melee druid could aim for random Large Axe > Savage Polearm > incremental Insight upgrades. And if lucky, Obedience should be attainable.

A sword barb could go for strength weapons > incremental Honor upgrades. And if lucky, Oath rune word.

For both Blade Fury and DC Sin though, nothing reliable comes to my mind that allows me to do Hell.



Ah I forgot Harmony Bow exists. The mods looks good. It appears that Edge Bow upgrades till I get a Ko, and Harmony in a good base should do the trick?

I'm quite certain it would be Strafe based. I'd also get L17 Val for the weapon upgrade. Rest into passives Penetrate/Crit/Avoid etc. Repeating my question though, does Magic Arrow deal with PIs? If so, I'd also max it. I also don't think PI/MI is common right? Which means this zon theoretically can deal with all monsters in Hell?
Click to expand...
I guess that there may be some alternatives for PIs. Haven't tried magic arrow though, which will most probably work, but I didn't want to make the investment as I typically use a source of amplify damage such as WWS on switch
 
Last edited:
Depends how patient you are imo. I would not recommend any of these P8 untwinked, they all suffer from relatively low damage. Actually I’m not sure I fancy them p8 twinked either :D

If I had to pick I would probably go for Blade Fury. Bowazon maybe, but definitely not DC. The claw damage is just too low, and you are at melee range.
 
  • Like
Reactions: little birdy
For Blade Fury, I think a passable budget weapon option is 'Strength' (AmnTir). The ED is certainly not impressive, but the Crushing Blow is very nice to have and works well with Blade Fury. And if you're playing in D2R then the changes to NHD allow you to work with Blade Sentinels and Blade Fury. You can dish out damage and Crushing Blow really fast. Max Blade skills plus max Claw Mastery is quite strong with a dual claw setup IME. You still need a solution for Physical Immunes though. 'Lawbringer' on an Act V mercenary is one option. Or a point in Death Sentry. Use Fade and Cloak of Shadows. It's a fairly strong and safe build.

I probably would not attempt to clear Hell difficulty untwinked at p8 with what I've described above. But it will certainly work at lower players settings. Maybe p8 as well with a lot of patience and careful play.
 
maxicek said:
Depends how patient you are imo. I would not recommend any of these P8 untwined, they all suffer from relatively low damage. Actually I’m not sure I fancy them p8 twinkled either :D

If I had to pick I would probably go for Blade Fury. Bowazon maybe, but definitely not DC. The claw damage is just too low, and you are at melee range.
Click to expand...
for my Bowazon, p8 might be a matter of MF that is, if you can get a WF and a WWS while you are carried by Harmony. WF makes p8 doable and WWS removes immunities. But this is my main char and I understand that things may not always work for everyone : )
 
I was looking at the Bowazon skill builds. Feels like so many skills are necessary, but so little points to distribute. Definitely need high level 17 Valk/20 Penetrate, some points in Dodge/Avoid/Evade, probably reach 50% with Pierce/Critical Strike.

For non D2R, Magic Arrow only converts like 1% into magic damage per level. I wonder if it's even worth max it. I do need a PI solutions though. I'm wondering if the elemental damage from the Harmony would be enough.

Also, is maxing Strafe even necessary? It just increases the ED, though I suppose I should view each ED increase to be multiplied by 10 times.
 
I guess that you need a high ctc, not necessarily 20 in penetrate

critical strike and pierce diminish with points and there is gear to improve them

why do you write that MA converts only 1% ? ... the tables are writing otherwise, don't they? If your issue are PI you can break the immunity with amplify damage

strafe has the advantage of hitting multiple targets. It is a very very good skill imho, the best for a bowazon. But skills are a matter of preference
 
Tabaz said:
I guess that you need a high ctc, not necessarily 20 in penetrate

critical strike and pierce diminish with points and there is gear to improve them

why do you write that MA converts only 1% ? ... the tables are writing otherwise, don't they? If your issue are PI you can break the immunity with amplify damage

strafe has the advantage of hitting multiple targets. It is a very very good skill imho, the best for a bowazon. But skills are a matter of preference
Click to expand...
Cuz I play 1.14D. MA is only 1% per level there I believe.

Worse case scenario will be A5 merc with lawbringer. But I very much prefer A2 mercs with insight.
 
maybe I am getting this wrong, but I am reading that the damage conversion pct increases with the level

doen't it ?

1714827111065.png
 
Tabaz said:
maybe I am getting this wrong, but I am reading that the damage conversion pct increases with the level

doen't it ?
Click to expand...
Yes, it does. Like duck said, it is only 1% increase per level, so at level 20 magic arrow would convert 20% damage into magical damage. That is not particularly impressive compared to one-point wonders such as berserk or lightning bolt but almost no one is immune to physical and magical damage at the same time. So long as you can prevent enemy healing and speed up the process with open wounds and whatever else a magic arrow bowazon could whittle down pretty much anything.
 
right, right...

but there are no immunities before hell... you may reach hell at level 60, so you are getting 60% dmg conversion which is not bad

if I was to play such a build, I would always be 10 levels above the are level and I would go on p8 to level my char over clvl80

in any case, one would need a very high level of MA if they go down that path... meaning, a lot of skill points from any piece of gear you can get them from
 
Last edited:
Tabaz said:
right, right...

but there are no immunities before hell... you may reach hell at level 60, so you are getting 60% dmg conversion which is not bad

if I was to play such a build, I would always be 10 levels above the are level and I would go on p8 to level my char over clvl80

in any case, one would need a very high level of MA if they go down that path... meaning, a lot of skillers from anywhere you can get them
Click to expand...
Haha. It's 1% per skill point. So 20% when maxed, without +skills.
 
hahaha, ofc it is... so you can hardly reach 35%... weak, as you said above

why does the basin keep the tables up to a skill point of 60? Had me fooled !

: )

but maybe 20% dmg is enough to get you through immunities... have you tested it ? For instance AM removes 20% of physical res so when it breaks an immunity you get less than this 20% of dmg to pass
 
Last edited:
I am not sure that MA is weak

but it is a big investment

instead, getting AM from gear gives you 20 skill points
 
Log in to Reply / Create Site Account or log in with BattleNet
 Discord
 Twitch
 GoogleGoogle
PurePremium
Remove ads & support the site - Get PurePremium
Top Bottom
Back
Estimated market value
Low
High