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Diablo II: Lord of Destruction is a trademark of Blizzard Entertainment.
This is version 1.04 of this FAQ, last updated 18/1/03. This version of the FAQ was
written for Diablo II: Lord of Destruction version 1.09. Some information may be
incorrect for other versions of the game.
Revision History
v1.04
*Corrected a slight error. Try and work out where! :)
v1.03
*Added permission for IGN to post this FAQ.
v1.02
*Added permission for Cheat Happens to post this FAQ.
v1.01
*Added a section on Mercenaries. I can't believe I forgot them.
*Corrected a few minor discrepancies in the stats of my equipment (I WAS writing
from memory..)
*Added permission for Gamespot and Neoseeker to post this FAQ.
========================
|| TABLE OF CONTENTS ||
========================
1) Introduction And General Commentary
1a) Introduction
1b) Multishot vs Strafe vs Guided
1c) Physical Immunes: Your Nemeses
1d) Choosing a Mercenary
2) Stat & Skills Distribution
1a) Stat Point Distribution
1b) Bow & Crossbow Skills
1c) Passive & Magic Skills
1d) Spear & Javelin Skills
3) Suggested Equipment
3a) My Equipment
3b) Recommended Equipment
4) Acknowledgements
==========================================
|| INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL COMMENTARY ||
==========================================
So, why did I write this? Well, after being a GameFAQs regular for just about
two years now, I thought it might almost just be time for me to write an FAQ
of some kind, and since I happen to be playing D2:LoD obsessively at the moment..
Anyway, I *would* be writing one for the Sorceress, except that my current Sorc
was made pre-LoD and is, as a consequence, fairly ineffective. With the way the
Sorceress was completely turned around in LoD, I'm not as sure as I used to be
about how to build an effective one (maxing Firewall and Fire Mastery and playing
nowhere but the Bloody Foothills doesn't count as "effective" in my book, thanks)
and will hold off that until I get around to making a Charged Bolt sorc or
something. Anyway, my Amazon is currently level 83 and doing pretty well in Hell
difficulty (first time I can claim that for a character.. heh..) and I thought I'd
write up what strategy I've gleaned so far. Don't follow this blindly, please,
and remember that I could be wrong about anything... this is all opinion and
suggestion and should be treated as such, with a grain of salt. This guide deals
with a "bowazon", or bow-using Amazon. If you wish to create an Amazon specialising
in javelins or spears, or hardcore Amazons, I don't cover strategies for them here
as I have not played them myself.
---------------------------------
| Multishot vs Strafe vs Guided |
---------------------------------
IMO, this is the basic trinity of bow skills. In general, most treat Guided Arrow
separately, but what irritates me is the apparent tendency for a lot of Amazon
players to think that Multishot and Strafe are mutually exclusive. If you ask me,
get both. Multishot, Strafe and Guided are all useful skills to have at high levels
(don't max Multishot, tho.. waste of points to take it past 15 or so). Believe it
or not, but the Amazon has no real bow uberskill that people can mindlessly max and
use for the rest of the game.. there's three that are useful situationally, which
means you might actually have to use strategy (gasp!) to use the right one at the
right time.
If the enemies are bunched up tightly, use Multishot on them. Works particularly
well with piercing effects. If your Multishot is a high level, you may be able to
change "bunched up tightly" to "all on one side of your character".
If the enemies are spread apart around you, use Strafe on them. And if you're beset
by hordes of, say, those damn teleporting Demon Imps, Burning Souls (not sure which
I detest more..) or otherwise extremely-irritating-to-hit enemies, Strafe 'em into
oblivion. And use Strafe when you want to use a skill that simply looks freakin' cool.
Just watch out for the Strafe lock.. if you've got Death Lords, Undead Stygian Dolls or
some other fast-moving, hard-hitting melee enemy after you, it's unwise to use Strafe.
Same if you're fighting spellcasting enemies such as Blood Lords and their meteors, or
Hierophants and their blizzards.
Against single or a few enemies (particularly hard to hit ones), use Guided Arrow with
a decent level Pierce or a good piercing bow (especially Buriza-Do Kyanon Unique
Ballista). A piercing Guided Arrow can whittle down a unique or Act Boss's health
incredibly quickly. And, it's very useful for "scouting ahead" and eliminating enemies
before they can even see you. I usually have Guided on my left mouse button, and switch
between Multishot, Strafe, Slow Missiles and Valkyrie on the right button (they're
hotkeyed to A, S, D and F for easy reach).
----------------------------------
| Physical Immunes: Your Nemeses |
----------------------------------
Some of the biggest threats your Bowazon will face are enemies or uniques with the
"Immune to Physical" attribute. This basically hurts in two ways:
1) All physical bow damage you do will be totally useless, forcing you to rely on
(usually a small amount of) elemental damage
2) Since only elemental damage will have an effect and elemental damage does not
work with mana/life leech, you WILL NOT be able to leech off these enemies and will
consequently need to keep a closer eye on your health and mana (you should carry
some mana potions just in case you run out of mana versus a physical immune)
Firstly, this is not the BEST way to deal with physical immunes. The best? Ally with
a sorceress. :) But, the second best way is to find a bow with a lot of elemental
amage (and equipment that adds to it if possible) and possibly also add to it with
an elemental bow skill of your choice (but this is by no means necessary as I will
explain). Where to get a bow with a elemental damage? Well, firstly, if you have the
Buriza-Do Kyanon Unique Ballista, the 21-196 cold damage on it will do nicely,
especially if you spam Guided Arrows at the enemy and let the 100% piercing do its work.
If, like many, you don't have an uberweapon like the Buriza yet, the Skystrike Unique
Edge Bow will do nicely with its 1-250 lightning damage and 2% chance to cast a level
6 Meteor (from use the chance seems to be more than 2%..) and an even better unique bow
to use is the Kuko Shakaku (I hope I spelled that right..) Unique Cedar Bow which has
piercing attack (albeit not 100% like the Buriza), 40-160 fire damage, and +3 (THREE) to
all bow skills and another 3 to Immolation Arrow. With it, you don't even have to invest
in elemental bow skills IMO because it gives you a level 6 Immolation Arrow for free (plus
other bonuses to bow/Amazon skills). The only disadvantage it has over Skystrike is the
slower firing rate. If you can't find a good unique bow with elemental damage, a bow
socketed with six perfect emeralds will do the job (but very sloooowly... spamming guided
arrows will be useless) or otherwise, a bow socketed with six Ort runes will do 6-300
lightning damage. In addition, other equipment (such as circlets) can add to your
elemental damage.
It helps to have two elements of damage handy (I have the Buriza *and* Kuko Shakaku ready)
in case you encounter an enemy immune to Physical AND your bow's elemental damage.
Yes, these are rare and you could just avoid them, but then you'd have to live with the
knowledge that your character can't quite handle everything, wouldn't you? :)
Some also like to max a elemental bow skill - generally either Freezing Arrow or
Immolation Arrow (but the underrated Ice Arrow is also a contender). This can add about
300 or 400 damage to your attacks, but using one (particularly Freezing and Immolation)
can drain your mana very quickly (level 20 Freezing Arrow costs 28 mana and level 20
Immolation Arrow costs 25..). Also, you won't be able to hit your enemy multiple times
per arrow as you can with Guided Arrow and elemental bow damage. In any case, I will
discuss this in greater detail, as well as which to choose in the Skill Distribution
section - but remember that maxing an elemental skill is 20 skill points used for the
sole purpose of killing physical immunes that are not also immune to the skill you
choose. The damage is otherwise pitiful compared to regular bow damage, and Freezing
Arrow's other useful effect, the freezing, only requires 1 point to be effective (and
I would recommend you put one point into it for that purpose, because it's very useful
in that respect)
------------------------
| Choosing a Mercenary |
------------------------
You will need to select a suitable Mercenary/Hireling for your Amazon. The mercenaries
available are:
ACT 1 MERC (ROGUE)
I can't really recommend a Rogue, since all they will do is fire arrows that will
be considerably less effective than yours (all they use is Cold or Fire Arrow and
Inner Sight, so they're definitely outmatched in the skills department). I'd pick a
merc that offers something you don't have.
Update: I've read that these mercs, given exactly +3 skills on equipment (pluses to
Amazon skills will work, so a Cliffkiller & Tarnhelm or other +1 helm is a good
combination) will use a very damaging shortish range lightning attack. Sounds like a
glitch to me, tho, and while I've not tested it myself I've heard enough reports to
be fairly sure of its veracity. So does this make these mercs more useful? IMO, not
really. All they still have to offer is damage. I really prefer a merc to complement
my damage with, say, an aura rather than contribute to the damage themselves, as I do
plenty of damage already.
ACT 2 MERC (TOWN GUARD)
Their damaging and fast Jabs and auras make this merc the best, IMO. The auras mean
they actually benefit you directly instead of just providing an extra target. The
auras are:
Offensive: Blessed Aim (Normal, Hell) or Might (Nightmare)
Defensive: Defiance (Normal, Hell) or Holy Freeze (Nightmare)
Combat: Prayer (Normal, Hell) or Thorns (Nightmare)
I would recommend the Might merc, an Offensive one hired in Nightmare to make your
arrows to significantly more damage (my max damage goes from about 2200 to about 3400
with my merc's Might aura) since you won't need defence or AR that much, Prayer is
pretty useless, Thorns isn't very useful either and Holy Freeze can be duplicated by
Cleglaw's Pincers and Multishot, or Freezing Arrow.
ACT 3 MERC (IRON WOLF)
Well, firstly, the only one you should consider hiring is a Cold one. Even then,
he's not that useful, generally freezing one enemy at a time when you can freeze
entire groups with Freezing Arrow. The damage he does is pitiful and there's not
much of a way to aid it through equipment (since he has to equip a damn sword, grr..)
so I don't recommend him. Sazabi's set is ideal for these, but most people don't exactly
have those lying around.
ACT 5 MERC (BARBARIAN)
The Barbarians are tanks, basically, although to be honest I've found that Town Guards
actually seem to die less. In any case, I'd rather have a beneficial aura than a tank,
especially seeing as you already have a Valkyrie (the best tank there is) so I'd skip
this one in favour of a Town Guard.
================================
|| STAT & SKILLS DISTRIBUTION ||
================================
---------------------------
| Stat Point Distribution |
---------------------------
So, what to spend those 5 stat points per level (and a bonus 5 per difficulty) on?
Well, we will start with the most straightforward:
Energy: Zero
You should never spend any stat points at all in Energy. The initial score of 15 is
fine. You can wear equipment & charms with bonuses to mana, at least until you get a
decent amount of mana leech, which you'll need a bit of. Manald Heal Unique Ring is
reasonably common, and is excellent for starting due to the 4-7% mana leech (my Amazon
at first wore two and even now still wears one). Just any jewellery with mana leech
will do well, as will one of the several unique/set belts with 5% mana leech (Wilhelm's
Pride; Orphan's Call Set Battle Belt, M'avina's Tenet; M'avina's Battle Hymn Set
Sharkskin Belt and Gloom Trap Unique Mesh Belt come to mind..) but those can be rarer.
Look for it in an amulet and circlet also, of course, and then any on your bow will be
a bonus, as Windforce is the only "uber" bow to possess mana leech (leeching of any
kind, really..) and you certainly shouldn't expect to find one. If you're maxing a
elemental arrow skill, you may be tempted to invest in Energy.. but you've already
spent 20 skill points for the sole purpose of killing physical immunes, so I certainly
wouldn't advise that you sink stat points into it too...
Dexterity: The Sky's The Limit!
This is where most of it goes. To increase your damage (Dexterity increases damage for
bows the same way Strength increases damage for melee weapons) and keep your Attack
Rating manageably high you'll need to pump Dexterity a LOT. Every single spare point
you have that you're not spending on Strength (up to a prereq number) or Vitality
(assuming you decide to get any Vitality at all.. more on that later) should go in
Dexterity. My Amazon currently has about 350+ Dexterity (off the top of my head.. don't
calculate the numbers and email me saying it's impossible to have that much because I
may have remembered it slightly wrong) including the +35 Dexterity bonus from the
Buriza-Do Kyanon.
Strength: 72, 97, 108, 110, 134
Strength needs to be increased only so far as to wear your target equipment. Firstly,
if you think you can manage on Ward Bows alone (I don't recommend it) then you only
need to take Strength to 72, which will allow you to use a Ward Bow and wear all normal
armour except full plate mail and ancient armour (tower shields don't count because
you can't wear them anyway). 97 is the requirement for a Crusader Bow, which is about
equal to a Ward Bow.. also, the Eaglehorn (one of the "uber" bows) is a Crusader Bow.
All normal armour except Ancient Armour with this one. 108 Strength is the requirement
for a Grand Matron Bow, the best choice if you intend to find a "standard" bow, and
also for M'avina's Caster (another very good bow, particularly if you have the rest of
the set.. good luck finding it and some of the other pieces) and will allow you to
wear all normal armour and some exceptional and elite armour (Archon Plate, notably).
110 is the requirement for the Buriza-Do Kyanon, one of the "uber" bows and my weapon
of choice (partially because I don't HAVE the Eaglehorn or Windforce :) ) and lets you
wear about the same armour (this is the value I recommend you increase Strength to).
Finally, if you somehow get your hands on the Windforce before you make your Amazon,
134 is the Strength requirement for the Windforce and other Hydra Bows. As the Windforce
is the only Hydra Bow worth using, I wouldn't increase your Strength this high without
good reason ("good reason" being actually *having* the Windforce).
Vitality: Some or Nothing
When faced with Vitality, you have a choice. You can either add to it as well as
Dexterity to get more life (Amazons get 3 life per point of Vitality, which isn't bad)
or you can choose not to add anything at all to it, leaving it at its initial value of
20 and solely putting points into Dexterity. If you think you're skilled enough to avoid
being hit, by all means go for the latter. That's what I'm doing, and it's manageable
especially with equipment such as Hwanin's Refuge (which gives a massive +100 boost to
life) and a high level Valkyrie tanking for you. In general, I find that not adding to
Vitality makes for a more cautious gameplay approach, and I find it nicely challenging
and strategic (you'll often need to use tactics like using Guided Arrows to "scout ahead"
and recasting your Valkyrie ahead of you when playing solo in Hell) and if you think you
can manage, go for it. It is easier to find bonuses to life on equipment (duplicating
points added to Vitality) than enhanced damage (duplicating points added to Dexterity)
after all.
Pros: Save on Arrows, yay! Mana cost goes down with levels.
Cons: Damage increase is awful. Useless in general.
Recommended Points: 1 (prerequisite)
Comments: Worthless, worthless, worthless. This skill's only purpose is to let you
fire an arrow without using one up. Seeing as arrows and bolts are dirt cheap and a
crazy thirteen points are required to achieve a mana cost of 0, this skill is
completely pointless. And, of course, you'd still need arrows for every OTHER bow
skill, so all this would do is save you from using arrows when you use a normal
attack, and when you get Guided Arrow you should be using it INSTEAD of your normal
attack. The damage increase is pitifully tiny, it doesn't "always hit", and it does
physical damage. Any further skill points in this one after the single prereq point
are wasted.
Pros: Small amount of elemental damage. Always hits.
Cons: Terrible damage, and no other reason for using except a certain bug.
Recommended Points: 0 (1 if you intend to get Immolation Arrow)
Comments: Again, any points here past the prereq point for Immolation Arrow (if
you're getting it) are wasted. The damage is simply nothing in any difficulty past
Normal and other bow skills offer much greater damage. Currently (as of v1.09) there
is apparently a bug (I have not tested this myself as I do not have Fire Arrow)
which causes ALL damage dealt by Fire Arrow to be fire damage and not just the
additional damage. This, as you can imagine, would make it very useful against
physical immunes.. that is, if you want to exploit a bug which will be fixed sooner
or later rendering any points you invested in this skill for the sole purpose of
the bug to be completely wasted. It also always hits, which is nice, but then so does
Guided Arrow, which also provides a decreasing mana cost and increasing damage bonus
at higher levels.
Pros: Minute amount of elemental damage. Always hits. Chills enemy.
Cons: Damage is awful. Why chill when you can freeze?
Recommended Points: 1 (prerequisite)
Comments: No more than one point here, either. The chilling is nice, but Ice
and Freezing Arrow freeze your enemy, and you can get chilling effects by
equipping things with cold damage (the Eye of Etlich is especially good) or
Slows Target items such as Cleglaw's Pincers. Duration is nice, tho, and
considerably higher than Ice and Freezing Arrow's freezes, but it still
isn't worth the skill points at all. However, you need to have one point in
this skill in order to get Guided Arrow. You do need Guided Arrow, so I
recommend you put one point in Cold Arrow and one only.
Pros: Great for hitting lots of targets quickly. Fires fast. Devastating
with piercing.
Cons: You only do 75% of your base damage, which sucks. High mana cost at
higher levels. Enemies can't be hit by more than one arrow each.
Recommended Points: 12-14
Comments: One of the three key bow skills, used for hitting enemies in
clusters as was said above. The -25% damage is certainly a problem, so
don't use this on just one or two enemies unless you need to quickly slow
them with Cleglaw's Pincers or something. It's dependent on your attack
rating, so you won't always hit. Points past 12-14 are not worth it, as
the arrows cover a large enough area already by then and further points
will raise the mana cost to prohibitively high levels. Something to know
about Multiple Shot is that the further you click from your character, the
closer together the arrows will be, and the closer you click to your
character, the more spread out they will be. Depending on the size of the
group, set the spread of your arrows appropriately.
Pros: Always hits. Adds elemental damage. Hits multiple enemies.
Cons: High mana cost. Damage is too small to be useful.
Recommended Points: 0 (1 if you intend to get Immolation Arrow)
Comments: Another skill you're better off avoiding. The damage is very low
and dwarfed by Immolation Arrow's, so there's really no reason to invest
points here. Multishot can hit multiple targets with quite a lot more
damage.
Pros: Alright elemental damage. Low mana cost. FREEZES! Freeze length
increases with more points.
Cons: Not as much damage as Immolation or Freezing arrow. Freeze length
is cut down greatly in Hell difficulty (1/4). Only hits one enemy.
Recommended Points: 1 (as a prereq) or 20
Comments: This is an interesting skill. The damage starts off low, but
ramps up considerably at later levels.. it's still quite low, but a
respectable amount compared to other elemental bow skills up until this
point. Unlike Freezing Arrow, additional points will increase the freeze
time. The big advantage this skill has over Freezing Arrow is its low mana
cost, which makes it more feasible for spamming against phys immunes
(Freezing Arrow costs more than 3 times as much mana for 50% more damage,
making Ice Arrow MUCH more mana efficient). Of course, it only hits one
target compared to Freezing Arrow's large area of effect, so it's your call
on whether you want to get this or one of the other two if you choose to
max an elemental bow skill.
Pros: Seeks and destroys. Fantastic range. Damage bonus. Low mana cost
that DECREASES with more levels to become a REALLY low mana cost.
DEVASTATING with piercing. Always hits.
Cons: Only hits one enemy. That's about it.
Recommended Points: 20
Comments: Another of the key bow skills.. and against single enemies
or even small groups of enemies, it ROCKS. I would suggest putting it
on your left mouse button (particularly at high levels just about any
mana leech at all will leech the casting cost back and more), where it
basically increases the damage of your arrows greatly, makes them seek
out targets (often before said targets can see you) and makes them ALWAYS
hit. That's right, it's superior to Ignore Target Defence, and it's in a
skill (and one that increases damage, not adds a miniscule amount like most
of the elemental bow skills) that practically makes the Eaglehorn obsolete.
In particular, if you have the Buriza-Do Kyanon, this is THE skill to get.
A constant stream of these will kill bosses in seconds. If you're cautiously
advancing through somewhere dangerous, fire a few through doorways and watch
them to see if they branch off. Then cast your Valkyrie ahead or fire more.
Use them to kill way offscreen monsters before the monsters even know you're
there. Use them to kick ass in duels :)
Pros: Highest damage elemental bow skill (marginally higher than Freezing
Arrow). Lasting fire. Always hits.
Cons: Damage still isn't that high. Insane mana cost. Lasting fire's damage
is so pitifully low it might as well not be there. Casting delay ruins it.
Recommended Points: 0 (20 if you really, really want it)
Comments: Well, as far as elemental bow skills go, I really can't see any way
in which this is superior to Freezing Arrow. The damage is about 50 higher at
level 20, and the casting cost is about 3 lower. Big whoop. The radius of effect
is TINY, the lasting fire does such pitiful damage it's useless, and the skill
just otherwise does damage and no other effects and will make you run out of mana
quickly vs. phys immunes. And most damning of all, the one-second casting delay.
One second might sound like a short time, but compared to Ice and Freezing Arrow
(both of which don't have a casting delay at all) it is an eternity. In the space
it takes to fire one Immolation Arrow, you could fire two Freezing Arrows with a
fast enough bow. Or two Guided Arrows that, with decent Pierce, would hit the enemy
at least twice each, and if you had 200 elemental damage on your bow (easy to get)
they would do 800 elemental damage in total. If you really want this skill, max it,
but I can't recommend it.
Pros: Auto-aims. Damage bonus. Fires several arrows at one target when a Valkyrie,
Decoy etc is around, which Multishot cannot do. Mana cost does not increase with
levels. AWESOMELY COOL.
Cons: Often not as fast to kill bunched-up enemies as Multishot. Strafe-lock is
nasty.
Recommended Points: 12-20
Comments: Strafe is a love-it-or-hate-it skill, I would say. Still, I think you
should invest pretty heavily in it, because it's very useful. When practical, you
should use Strafe, because it is crowd control without the damage penalty (a damage
bonus, actually). Strafe auto-aims, which is great for killing large groups of
hard-to-hit enemies quickly like Demon Imps.. you can only kill one at a time with
Guided Arrow. And of course, it's a supremely cool skill just to look at. Watch out
for Strafe lock, however, and don't use it in any situation where you might suddenly
have to move quickly (charging melee enemies and Ghoul Lord meteors come to mind)
Pros: Freezes groups of enemies at once. Can freeze entire armies with Pierce.
Good damage for an elemental bow skill. Always hits. Full bow & elemental damage
applied to all targets in radius, unlike Exploding Arrow.
Cons: Freeze length is too short and does not improve with levels. Insanely
high mana cost. Actual damage is still quite low.
Recommended Points: 1 or 20
Comments: A good skill if only for the freeze effect. It's very short, but you can
add to it with items like the Eye of Etlich (which adds a "secret" number of seconds
to the freeze time) and various sources of cold damage (which add one second each I
believe). If you have good Pierce or the Buriza, you can fire one of these and freeze
a huge group of enemies - and the full damage is applied to EVERY enemy hit by the
splash damage, not just the one you hit directly with the arrow. As are chances to
cast spells on striking - try it on a group of enemies with decent piercing and
Goldstrike Arch or Skystrike for an impressive display. I would suggest at the least
that you put one point in here for the sheer usefulness of freezing groups of enemies,
and more if you need an elemental bow skill - but be sure to consider Ice Arrow as well
because Freezing Arrow's mana cost is outrageous. Fortunately, it has no casting delay,
so you can spam it (while you still have mana, that is :P)
Pros: Erm.. lights up enemies. Duration is freakin' ages at high levels.
Large area of effect. Constant low mana cost.
Cons: Slow Missiles also lights up enemies and is far more useful. Defence
reduction is insignificant except in early stages of game. Diminishing
returns.
Recommended Points: 1 (prereq)
Comments: Useless, really. The defence reduction won't make a difference
past act 1 or possibly 2 Normal because it's a straight number and not a
percentage, and suffers from huge diminishing returns at higher levels (er,
why? It's not like it would be unbalancingly high otherwise..) Duration is
huge, but who cares? You'll forget all about this skill when you get Slow
Missiles.
Pros: A passive chance to do double damage is incredibly good.
Cons: Diminishing returns at higher levels.
Recommended Points: 6-8
Comments: You definitely want this skill, because it is in effect all the
time and DOUBLES your damage when it activates. Put about 6 to 8 points in
it (8 is recommended unless you have +2 to skills) to get it to around 50%
and leave it at that, because extra points won't really increase it enough
to be worth the points. However, those 6-8 points will be a fantastic
investment.
Pros: Grants a straight percentage chance to avoid melee attacks, works while
attacking.
Cons: Heavy diminishing returns. Not that useful to a Bowazon.
Recommended Points: 2
Comments: As with most of the dodging skills, this skill shouldn't be invested
into heavily but 2 points will give you a good benefit which can be further
enhanced by +skills. Dodge isn't that useful for a Bowazon because it only works
while standing still, and you shouldn't be standing still within melee range of
enemies (unless you're lagged..). It's a solid skill, however, because it gives a
straight chance to dodge (unlike shield blocking % which is modified by dexterity)
and works while attacking (unlike defence which is reduced to 1/3) - but generally
more useful to a more melee Amazon such as a Spearazon or Tankazon.
Pros: Makes enemies with ranged attacks much less threatening, low mana cost,
stupidly high duration at higher levels, lights up enemies, large radius of effect.
Cons: Only the duration increases with more points. You still have to dodge ranged
enemy attacks, it's just easier to.
Recommended Points: 1
Comments: Useful, but one point is all you need here as further points only increase
the duration (not worth extra points). This skill will make it very easy to dodge
enemy missile attacks as they will move at one-third of their normal speed - just
make sure that you DO dodge them as they hurt just as much as before. It can
sometimes also be tricky to get close enough to the ranged enemies to use this, but
once you do you can cast it on entire groups at once. Makes enemies like Oblivion
Knights quite a bit less threatening, and useful in duels (don't use it on orb sorcs!)
Pros: Provides a straight percentage chance to avoid ranged attacks while standing
still. Well suited to a Bowazon.
Cons: Heavy diminishing returns.
Recommended Points: 2
Comments: As with Dodge, 2 points is the best idea here. Useful for a Bowazon if
you are standing still and attacking a group of ranged attackers, although you
should really be trying to dodge their attacks with Slow Missiles instead. However,
it's useful if you're Strafe locked.
Pros: Passively increases attack rating by a percentage! No diminishing returns.
Cons: None, really, unless you spend points here that could be better spent elsewhere.
Recommended Points: At least 1, more as necessary
Comments: Well, you should have at least 1 point in this for the 35% bonus (and
more from +skill items). If you find that your attack rating is so low that your
to-hit chance is suffering, put more points in. Note, however, that your to-hit
chance will AUTOMATICALLY suffer if you fight enemies that are a much higher level
than you, so take that into account and don't put points in blindly. In general, if
you've maxed a lot of what you want to, extra points in here if you have some spare
won't hurt... just don't go overboard if you have other places to spend them.
Pros: Provides an extra target for enemies. Extra arrow fired in Strafe. Mana
cost DECREASES with levels, unlike Valkyrie.
Cons: Has the same life as you and will therefore not live long. Increasing
the duration is pointless as it will generally die before the duration runs out.
Recommended Points: 1 (prereq)
Comments: Not worth more than one point, as I've found it simply dies too quickly
to be useful (and it's immobile...) You might want to have an extra one out when
using Strafe as it adds an extra arrow, but I've never bothered. In general, this
skill is made COMPLETELY obsolete by Valkyrie.
Pros: Works while moving! Works for ANY attack, even area-of-effect spells like
Firewall.
Cons: Heavy diminishing returns. Evade lock can be a problem.
Recommended Points: 2
Comments: 2 points again here for best effect. This one has the heaviest
diminishing returns of all the avoidance skills, so don't invest any more points
into it. It's handy for dodging all kinds of attacks while running, tho,
especially as your defence is nullified (or reduced to 1/3.. can't remember..)
while running, and it's saved me from countless hits. Just watch out, however,
as you can get "evade-locked" in the avoidance animation... however, this doesn't
happen that often, so don't worry too much about it.
VALKYRIE
Level Mana Cost Life
1 25 362
2 29 422
3 33 483
4 37 543
5 41 604
6 45 664
7 49 724
8 53 785
9 57 845
10 61 906
11 65 966
12 69 1026
13 73 1087
14 77 1147
15 81 1208
16 85 1268
17 89 1328
18 93 1389
19 97 1449
20 101 1510
(Note: The Valkyrie also gains percentage bonuses to damage, attack rating and
defence with levels. However, I did not list them here because frankly, they're
not in any way important and I couldn't be bothered writing them out.)
Pros: Ungodly amount of life that scales up with difficulty & players. A "meat
shield" that costs nothing but mana. Can be recasted to move.
Cons: Ludicrously high mana cost at higher levels. Doesn't actually KILL
anything. Slow and stupid.
Recommended Points: 11-12
Comments: The Valkyrie will be your main "meat shield" and is such, incredibly
useful. I wouldn't be able to survive Hell difficulty without this skill. The Valk
takes hits instead of you, basically... think of her as a decoy with a lot of life
that can move. Don't expect your Valk to be able to kill anything, because she sucks
at it (which is why the percentage bonuses she gets aren't important). All that
matters is her life, basically. Her base life increases over difficulty levels (I
don't have the actual numbers but from observation it seems about 2x in Nightmare
and about 3.5x in Hell) and also increases proportionally to the number of players
in a game - ie in a 4 player game she will have 4 times her base life. All of this
makes the Valk an incredible tank to keep enemies busy. Unfortunately, she is sloooow
and constantly skulks behind you instead of running ahead to engage the enemy, which
means you'll have to get used to recasting her to move her. It'll use up half or all
your mana, but one or two Multishots should get that back right away with sufficient
mana leech. In dangerous dungeon areas like the Durance of Hate, try firing Guided
Arrows ahead through doorways to look for enemies, and if there is some, recast your
Valk ahead into the room and kill the enemies while they attack her. 11-12 points in
Valkyrie will give her enough life to generally survive easily, and if you get much
more you'll be hampering your ability to recast and move her (believe me, you WILL
need to do this very often). Your Valk will not regenerate like a merc, so in general
if her health bar turns yellow or red, recast her.
Pros: Passive. As it provides a chance for your arrows to pass through a target,
you can get many hits from one arrow. Elemental arrow effects like Freezing Arrow
apply to every target hit if the arrow pierces several. Devastating with Guided
Arrow and very powerful with Multishot too.
Cons: Diminishing returns. Doesn't always help. The Buriza makes it redundant.
Recommended Points: 0 or 1 if you have the Buriza. Otherwise, about 5-10.
Comments: Firstly, if you have the Buriza or even intend to get it, don't put more
than one point in this skill (don't even put one if the Buriza is the only bow you
use). This is because the Buriza has a built-in 100% piercing attack that makes
points in this skill totally useless (and kicks ass, btw ^_^). Otherwise, I would
recommend about 4-5 points and letting +skill items take it higher, but some like as
many as 10 or even 20 (although I question the value of taking it from 15 to 20 when
you're spending 5 points to get 5 percent extra chance..) - it's up to your preference
and playing style, basically.. if you use the skills it works best with (Freezing,
Immolation, Guided Arrow) heavily or duel a lot you'll want more points in it. With
a good level of Pierce, a single Freezing Arrow can freeze entire armies and a Guided
Arrow can hit two or three times and Multishot hits entire groups instead of the front
lines.
----------------
| My Equipment |
----------------
This is the equipment my Amazon is currently using... not all of it is my target
equipment, of course. The item statistics here were taken from the Arreat Summit
(www.battle.net/diablo2exp/)
HELM
Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest (Death Mask, Tal Rasha's Wrappings Set)
Defense: 99-131 (varies)(Base Defense: 54-86)
Required Level: 66
Required Strength: 55
Durability: 20
10% Life Stolen Per Hit
10% Mana Stolen Per Hit
All Resistances +15
+45 Defense
+30 To Mana
+60 To Life
Simply an awesome helm, basically. The 10% dual leech is fantastic, the
resistances are nice, the defence is good, and the mana and life bonuses
are great. I have mine socketed with a perfect ruby so that it adds 98 life
instead of 60. That's nearly 100, and greatly helps me keep fairly high life
with only 20 vitality. The only thing it lacks is Damage Reduced By %...
Vampiregaze has this, but I'd only want a v1.08 one as the v1.09 one doesn't
have as much DR%, and both versions lack as much dual leech as Tal Rasha's mask,
and also lack the resistances and life/mana bonuses. There isn't much better
than this when it comes to helms for an Amazon.
ARMOUR
Hwanin's Refuge (Tigulated Mail, Hwanin's Majesty Set)
Defense: 376-390(Base Defense: 176-190)
Required Level: 30
Required Strength: 86
Durability: 36
+200 Defense
10% Chance To Cast Level 3 Static Field When Struck
Poison Resist +27%
+100 To Life
Certainly not the best I armour I could have.. I'm wearing this for the +100
life, basically, which I need... the other mods aren't particularly good. I'm
aiming to get a Shaftstop for here, which I will socket with a perfect ruby for
+98 life, just about as much, and it will have 30% damage reduction and higher
defence to boot. Also, Tigulated Mail is "heavy" armour, which means it makes
you move slower than if you're wearing "medium" or "light" armour and also drains
stamina faster.
WEAPON
Buriza-Do Kyanon (Unique Ballista)
Two-Hand Damage: (85-102) To (142.5-415.5) (113.75-258.75 Avg)
Required Level: 41
Required Strength: 110
Required Dexterity: 80
Base Weapon Speed: [10]
+150-200% Enhanced Damage(varies)
+ (2.5 Per Character Level) 2.5-247.5 To Maximum Damage (Based On Character Level)
Adds 32-196 Cold Damage - 4 Second Duration
Piercing Attack (100)
Freezes Target +3
+75-150 Defense(varies)
+35 to Dexterity
80% Increased Attack Speed
As said above, the enhanced damage on this is variable (mine has 194%). This is
basically the second or third best bow there is for an Amazon. Damage is the best
on any bow other than Windforce, 80% increased attack speed brings it up to the same
speed as most longbows, it adds a large amount of elemental cold damage and duration
(makes Freezing Arrow freeze for ages..), freezes target (not that useful, since it
only happens sometimes and lasts a VERY short time), gives a small boost to Defense
and a massive boost to Dexterity, and has a 100% piercing rate making Pierce redundant
and making skills like Multishot, Guided Arrow and the elemental bow skills devastating.
A fantastic weapon. Mine is socketed with a Nef rune for knockback, to compensate for
my non-use of Cleglaw's Pincers. I believe that the Nef rune IS the best choice for
socketing in this bow. Why? Well, firstly, due to the way Increased Attack Speed
actually increases the attack speed for different weapon classes and in varying amounts..
to cut a long story short, socketing a Shael rune will make next to no difference in
the Buriza's firing speed, trust me. The only other contender would be something that
gives enhanced damage such as a 40% enhanced damage jewel or an Ohm rune, but they don't
exactly grow on trees and again, my Buriza already has nearly 200% enhanced damage and
a little more won't make a HUGE difference. I'd really rather have the knockback to
stunlock enemies and keep them off me. An interesting fact: This weapon's name is
Japanese for something along the lines of "Blizzard Cannon" :)
GLOVES
Laying of Hands (Bramble Mitts, The Disciple Set)
Defense: 79-87 (varies)(Base Defense: 54-62)
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 50
Durability: 12
+25 Defense
20% Increased Attack Speed
+350% Damage To Demons
Fire Resist +50%
10% Chance To Cast Level 3 Holy Bolt On Attack
Simply fantastic gloves. The main feature of these gloves is the whopping +350% damage
to demons boost. This will make you do 4.5 times as much damage (notice the plus sign..)
as usual against Demon-class enemies - and seeing as Demon-class enemies are very common
(and all the Act bosses are demons) this is very, very useful. They also provide 20%
increased attack speed, which is helpful (except if you're using the Buriza, in which
case it barely makes a difference). The huge +50% boost to fire resistance is GREAT,
seeing as the most damaging attacks in the game are fire attacks. They also have decent
defence, and an annoying tendency to make you constantly fire off Holy Bolts when
attacking (cool at first, very annoying in quite a short time). I can't really think
of any other gloves I'd rather be using.
BOOTS
Aldur's Advance (Battle Boots, Aldur's Watchtower Set)
Defense: 39-47
Required Level: 45
Required Strength: 95
Indestructible
40% Faster Run/Walk
+180 Maximum Stamina
10% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
Heal Stamina Plus 32%
+50 To Life
Great boots... they basically have everything you'd generally want on boots. 40%
faster run/walk is the fastest you can get on boots, they give a huge boost to
stamina and make it regenerate faster (you'll never run out ^_^), a large boost to
life (very useful for a low vit amazon like mine) and 10% Of Damage Taken Goes To
Mana is useful against Mana Burn enemies. And Indestructible, although that's just
gravy, really. There are probably better boots than these, but I can't really think
of any at the moment.
BELT
Gloom's Trap (Unique Mesh Belt)
Defense: 79.2-102.5 (varies)(Base Defense: 35-40)
Required Level: 36
Required Strength: 58
Durability: 16
16 Boxes
+120-150% Enhanced Defense(varies)
5% Mana Stolen Per Hit
Increase Maximum Mana 15%
Regenerate Mana 15%
+15 To Vitality
-3 To Light Radius
Good belt. High defence, a very useful 5% mana leech, +15 to vitality (which
translates into +45 life for an Amazon) and some mana and mana regen bonuses.
I'm trying to get String of Ears, however, as it's better.
AMULET
The Eye of Etlich (Unique Amulet)
Required Level: 15
+1-5 To Light Radius(varies)
+1 To All Skill Levels
3-7% Life Stolen Per Hit(varies)
Adds (1-2) to (3-5) Cold Damage(varies)
Cold Duration: 2-12 Seconds*
+10-40 Defense vs. Missile(varies)*
Fantastic amulet.. I really can't think of many I would rather have. The +1
to skill levels is nice, but the main feature is the much needed life leech
(mine has a perfect 7%) and the added cold duration is also VERY effective if
you use Freezing Arrow. The only amulet I would really rather have is Crescent
Moon for the dual leech, and even then I would lose the +1 skills and cold
duration, so I don't want it THAT much (the max life leech is lower than Etlich's
and I don't really need more mana leech).
RING 1
Manald Heal (Unique Ring)
Required Level: 15
4-7% Mana Stolen Per Hit(varies)
Replenish Life +5-8(varies)
Regenerate Mana 20%
+20 To Life
A great ring, mainly for the mana leech (mine has an almost perfect 6%) and the bonus
to life (again useful for a low Vit amazon). The Replenish Life and Regenerate
Mana are gravy and not really needed. I wouldn't really want any other unique
ring instead of this because no others have mana leech, although some rare rings
might be worthwhile.
RING 2
Death Turn (Rare Ring)
Required Level: 48
Adds 1-18 Lightning Damage
4% Life Stolen Per Hit
Fire Resist +11%
Cold Resist +17%
Lightning Resist +30%
Poison Resist +11%
I found this rare ring a while ago (forgot where) and it's great because it has
some life steal AND resistances (in particular a lot of lightning resistance).
Here I will list the stats and a short commentary on what I believe to be the ideal
equipment in each category. I will of course forget things, so don't worry if your
favourite (insert type of equipment here) isn't listed because I can't remember
everything. This is just what I'm aiming to get.
HELMS
Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest (Death Mask, Tal Rasha's Wrappings Set)
Defense: 99-131 (varies)(Base Defense: 54-86)
Required Level: 66
Required Strength: 55
Durability: 20
10% Life Stolen Per Hit
10% Mana Stolen Per Hit
All Resistances +15
+45 Defense
+30 To Mana
+60 To Life
I've already said above why this one is good, especially when socketed with a
perfect ruby or Um rune.
Vampiregaze (Unique Grim Helm)
Defense: 122-252 (varies)(Base Defense: 60-125)
Defense: 60-125
Required Level: 41
Required Strength: 58
Durability: 40
+100% Enhanced Defense
Adds 6-22 Cold Damage - 4 Second Duration
15% Stamina Drain
6-8% Life Stolen Per Hit(varies)
6-8% Mana Stolen Per Hit(varies)
Damage Reduced By 15-20%(varies)
Magic Damage Reduced By 10-15(varies)
A very good helmet, although the v1.09 version is considerably worse than the
v1.08 version (which always had 8% dual leech and 25% damage reduction) and
therefore, not that necessary. It lacks life/mana bonuses and resistances like
Tal's mask, which is unfortunate, but many would say the damage reduction makes
up for it.
Valkyrie Wing (Unique Winged Helm)
Defense: 215-297 (varies)(Base Defense: 85-98)
Required Level: 44
Required Strength: 115
Durability: 40
+150-200% Defense(varies)
+1-2 To Amazon Skill Levels(varies)
20% Faster Run/Walk
20% Faster Hit Recovery
+2-4 To Mana After Each Kill(varies)
Alright if it has +2 Amazon skill levels, but I'd rather have a rare circlet
with that and some leech, myself. That, and Great/Winged/Spired Helms look
terrible on the Amazon :) The v1.08 version of this is far, far better.
Harlequin Crest (Unique Shako)
Defense: 98-141
Required Level: 62
Required Strength: 50
Durability: 12
+2 To All Skills
+ (1.5 Per Character Level) 1.5-148.5 To Life (Based On Character Level)
+ (1.5 Per Character Level) 1.5-148.5 To Mana (Based On Character Level)
Damage Reduced By 10%
50% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
+2 To Strength
+2 To Dexterity
+2 To Vitality
+2 To Energy
A great helm, although it's better for say a Sorceress than an Amazon, lacking
important things like leech. The life and mana bonuses are great, tho, but it's
very rare and I wouldn't bother trying to get it myself.
MY RECOMMENDATION: Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest - I simply feel this has the best
combination of mods out of all these helmets, barring a v1.08 Vampiregaze.
ARMOURS
Twitchthroe (Unique Studded Leather Armour)
Defense: 57-60
Required Level: 16
Required Strength: 27
Durability: 32
+25 Defense
25% Increase chance of blocking*
20% Faster Hit Recovery*
20% Increased Attack Speed
+10 To Dexterity
+10 To Strength
The 20% IAS on this armour is very good, and the +10 to Strength and Dexterity
are okay. The rest of the mods aren't too useful, and the defence sucks (not that
it matters that much). Many Amazons use this, but the IAS won't make that much of
a difference if you use the Buriza.
Rattlecage (Unique Gothic Plate)
Defense: 328-335
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 70
Durability: 55
+200 Defense
25% Chance of Crushing Blow*
Hit Causes Monster To Flee 40%*
+45 To Attack Rating
Two useful mods here - Crushing Blow and Hit Causes Monster To Flee. Both are
of utility, and the defence is alright, but there are still lots of better
armours out there IMO.
Basically Twitchthroe with a lot more defence, 5% less IAS and 5 more Dexterity.
My comments are basically the same.
Shaftstop (Unique Mesh Armour)
Defense: 517.4-684.8 (varies)(Base Defense: 198-213)
Required Level: 38
Required Strength: 92
Durability: 45
+160-220% Enhanced Defense(varies)
Damage Reduced By 30%
+250 Defense Vs. Missile
+60 To Life
IMO, this is where it's at. The defence is good, but the main feature is the
30% damage reduction, which is amazing. Since Bowazons can't use Stormshield,
this is the most DR you will be able to get. And, +60 to life is very good, and
if you socket it with a pruby, it will become +98, very useful for low Vitality
Amazons.
Hwanin's Refuge (Tigulated Mail, Hwanin's Majesty Set)
Defense: 376-390(Base Defense: 176-190)
Required Level: 30
Required Strength: 86
Durability: 36
+200 Defense
10% Chance To Cast Level 3 Static Field When Struck
Poison Resist +27%
+100 To Life
If you're a low Vitality Amazon, then this is what you use until you can get
Shaftstop. (still using it myself :) ) The +100 to life is pretty much necessary
to have on your equipment.
MY RECOMMENDATION: Shaftstop - the damage reduction is pretty much the best mod
you can get on an armour, AND it has a large life bonus (one of the other very
important mods on armour). Especially if you're using the Buriza and don't benefit
much from IAS, this is the armour to get.
Great to start off with, and some Bowzons continue to use these for their whole
career. These will keep melee enemies off you with Multishot as they knock them
back AND slow them down by a lot. And they're powerful to the point of being fairly
cheap and unfair in PvP.
The Hand of Broc (Unique Leather Gloves)
Defense: 13.3-14.8
Required Level: 5
Durability: 12
+10-20% Enhanced Defense(varies)
+10 Defense
3% Life Stolen Per Hit
3% Mana Stolen Per Hit
Poison Resist +10%
+20 To Mana
The dual leech is nice, but there isn't really enough of it. Again, good for
beginners, but not too much help to higher level characters.
Laying of Hands (Bramble Mitts, The Disciple Set)
Defense: 79-87 (varies)(Base Defense: 54-62)
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 50
Durability: 12
+25 Defense
20% Increased Attack Speed
+350% Damage To Demons
Fire Resist +50%
10% Chance To Cast Level 3 Holy Bolt On Attack
IMO, these are *the* best gloves in the game for any non-spellcaster, giving
IAS, a huge boost to fire resistance and most of all, a MASSIVE damage boost
to demons (quite a common enemy type which the five act bosses also share).
MY RECOMMENDATION: Laying of Hands - basically for the reason I said above. There
aren't too many good gloves for weapon-based characters in the game, and these ones
are outstanding.
BOOTS
Treads of Chthon (Unique Chain Boots)
Defense: 22.4-24.6
Required Level: 15
Required Strength: 30
Durability: 16
+30-40% Enhanced Defense
+12 Defense
50% Stamina Drain
30% Faster Run/Walk
+50 Defense VS. Missile*
+10 To Life
Good to start off with, but overshadowed by Aldur's Advance once you reach
higher levels.
Goblin Toe (Unique Light Plated Boots)
Defense: 28.5-32.6
Required Level: 22
Required Strength: 50
Durability: 18
+50-60% Enhanced Defense
25% Chance of a Crushing Blow
-1 To Light Radius
Damage Reduced By 1
Magic Damage Reduced By 1
+15 Defense
The Crushing Blow is fantastic, but the one problem these boots have is a lack
of faster run/walk. If you can get it on other items or can stand moving like a
turtle (that's how it feels after using 40% boots anyway) then these are good. Just
remember that Crushing Blow doesn't work on unique or boss monsters.
Gore Rider (Unique War Boots)
Defense: 114.4-162 (varies)(Base Defense: 43-53)
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 93
Durability: 34
+160-200% Enhanced Defense(varies)
30% Faster Run/Walk
10% Chance Of Open Wounds
15% Chance Of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike
Requirements -25%
+20 Maximum Stamina
Great. High defence, faster run/walk, *crushing blow* (albeit less than Goblin
Toe) AND deadly strike. Only thing it lacks is life bonuses.
Aldur's Advance (Battle Boots, Aldur's Watchtower Set)
Defense: 39-47
Required Level: 45
Required Strength: 95
Indestructible
40% Faster Run/Walk
+180 Maximum Stamina
10% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
Heal Stamina Plus 32%
+50 To Life
Also great, as they have all the "boot" mods. 40% faster run/walk, HUGE boost
to stamina, and you even recover it faster! Also a huge life bonus (for boots)
and a "vulpine" modifier (10% damage taken goes to mana) that helps against mana
burn uniques.
MY RECOMMENDATION: Gore Rider - Fantastic for the crushing blow AND deadly strike,
but low Vitality bowazons may prefer the stamina and life bonuses on Aldur's Advance.
Personally, I'd rather use Gore Rider even on my low Vitality bowazon (but I don't
have it)
BELTS
M'avina's Tenet (Sharkskin Belt, M'avina's Battle Hymn Set)
Defense: 81-86 (varies)(Base Defense: 31-36)
Required Level: 45
Required Strength: 20
Durability: 14
+50 Defense
20% Faster Run/Walk
+5 To Light Radius
5% Mana Stolen Per Hit
Has the relatively common and useful 5% mana steal on a belt, as well as 20% faster
run/walk. While it's overshadowed by other belts, I still keep it for when I need to
run fast (PvP for example)
Wilhelm's Pride (Battle Belt, Orphan's Call Set)
Defense: 64-75 (varies)(Base Defense: 37-42)
Required Level: 42
Required Strength: 88
Durability: 18
+75% Enhanced Defense
5% Life Stolen Per Hit
5% Mana Stolen Per Hit
Cold Resist +10%
The dual leech is great, although it doesn't have much else. Still, a very good belt.
Gloom's Trap (Unique Mesh Belt)
Defense: 79.2-102.5 (varies)(Base Defense: 35-40)
Required Level: 36
Required Strength: 58
Durability: 16
16 Boxes
+120-150% Enhanced Defense(varies)
5% Mana Stolen Per Hit
Increase Maximum Mana 15%
Regenerate Mana 15%
+15 To Vitality
-3 To Light Radius
The useful 5% mana steal and other good mods - gives you more mana and makes you
regen it faster, and gives a large boost to Vitality (equates to 45 life for Amazons).
The defence is also amazing for a belt.
String of Ears (Unique Demonhide Sash)
Defense: 90-113 (varies)(Base Defense: 29-34)
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 20
Durability: 22
16 Boxes
+150-180% Enhanced Defense(varies)
+15 Defense
6-8% Life Stolen Per Hit(varies)
Damage Reduced By 10-15%(varies)
Magic Damage Reduced 10-15(varies)
Fantastic. Up to 8% life steal (most there is on a belt) which is very useful, and
best of all, up to 15% damage reduction (and magic damage reduction, but that's
nowhere near as useful as it used to be). And even more defence than Gloom's Trap.
The v1.08 version of this is very good because the life steal, damage reduction
and magic damage reduction are always at their maximum (8%, 15%, 15)
MY RECOMMENDATION: String of Ears - While it lacks mana leech, it makes up for it
in a large amount of life leech and the damage reduction is simply amazing.
AMULETS & RINGS - Not done yet. Coming soon, hopefully. In short, Eye of Etlich is
a pretty good amulet and Manald Heal is a pretty good ring, although I'm sure there
are plenty more.
The Arreat Summit (http://www.diabloii.net/diablo2exp) For providing a lot of the
information - in particular, the statistics for the skills and equipment. The equipment
statistics were copied and pasted from there because I am lazy. :)
Blizzard North for making such an amazingly addictive game with the most replay value
I have seen on any game, ever, and producing a great online service like Battle.net for
absolutely free.
The users of the GameFAQs Diablo II: Lord of Destruction message board for their help,
support and general community - you're great people to be on a message board with. Thanks.
GameFAQs and CJayC for hosting this FAQ - it's much appreciated.
