Diablo II Single Player Thread - 2

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Silence does come with 20% IAS though, while Harmony doesn't AFAIK. So even though you cannot make silence in anything other than a speed 10 bow, it's effectively -10 with the runeword. The -10 weapon speed matches the speed of anything you can make Harmony in. I don't recall the names offhand, but the only -10 elite bows are the elite versions of the hunter and composite bows. I do not recall what the speed rates are on class specific bows, like a GMB.

That said, it certainly could work. You would be getting stronger bow skills in exchange for lesser passive and magic skills. But Harmony does come with bonus Valkyrie skills, so attaining level 27 on the Valk will still be doable - perhaps even easier depending on how many +valk skills you get on your Harmony.

I guess my larger point was I didn't see how switching from Silence to Harmony suddenly made you an Ice Maiden if you weren't also changing your skills. Since the cold, fire and lightning damage would be carried by your stafe attack as well, it sounds like you're definitely an elemental amazon, and a pretty damn good one at that with Infinity equipped on a merc. I do think the switch is a good idea and may well result in a better end-game character if you can live with lower resists (holy glass cannon Batman!). I just misinterpreted your previous post to mean that you were switching gear AND skills.

 

While it's true that you don't need to max strafe to get the maximum of 10 arrows - I believe you get 5 at skill level 1, and you get one extra up to level 6, you do get a damage boost of 5% for each additional skill point beyond that. So it's not like you don't get anything by making Strafe - which makes it unlike Multishot where more arrows do not necessarily correspond to more damage beyond a certain point.

But that's a secondary consideration to the discussion of Pierce. Remember that Pierce suffers from serious diminishing returns. Pierce at slvl 9 + Razortail will make 100% of your arrows that hit pierce their target. (In order for Pierce to activate, you have to hit first, and Strafe is not autohit like the elemental arrow skills. However, with your humongous dexterity score and an Infinity merc, AR probably won't be much of a problem.) Slvl 8 Pierce + Razortail gives a 98% chance to pierce, which is probably good enough.

It's probably possible to get Pierce to slvl 8 or 9 with one hard point and +skill items. There's no way that you'll get an additional 33% (or anywhere close) by pumping a few more points in Pierce. Slvl 10-14 in Pierce gives only a 2% boost to chance to pierce, it drops to 1% after that, and eventually you need to spend two points for a 1% increase. Even if you took Pierce all the way to slvl 20 (which you wouldn't, I'm just emphasizing the diminishing return rate), you're pierce would still only be 85%. So it doesn't seem prudent to spend point beyond level 9. We know you're getting +2 skills from your armor, helm, and amulet. So one hard point already gets you to slvl 7. A SoJ and/or a grand charm would get you to slvl 8 or 9, and there's only marginal benefit going further than that.

The decision is really between living with around ~70% chance to pierce versus using Razortail. So the question would be, is there any other belt out there that would justify using it based on what you're losing? Arachnid Mesh would give you +1 skill, but given your equipment choices it's not like you're going to need that extra +1 to get your valk to 27, and one extra point to your bow skills isn't going to do a ton when you're already going to have around +10 bow skills. You may be able to argue for T-Gods if you really are having issues with lightning resistance, but it's not like you couldn't fix a resistance problem with a few charms.

To go with my experience from my WWS zon (who had very different equipment but a very similar skill setup), I did NOT use Razortail, but that's because at the time, I didn't have one. I would have used it if I had it. So it's possible to go without a Razortail, but I considered that choice sub-optimal. I do not recall what belt I did use, but I'm sure I would remember if it was something I considered a great choice. Even though I had fewer +skills than you have (I had +6 to passive/magic), I still only spent one hard point in Pierce.

I got to thinking about some of your other equipment selections, and if you're going with Harmony + Infinity merc, I think there's a much better choice out there for a helm rather than Shako: Nightwing's Veil, if you have one. It gives +2 skills just like Shako, but also 10%-15% (variable) enhanced cold damage. With an Infinity merc effectively doubling that, it's nothing to sneeze at. It also has a few other useful mods - up to +20 dexterity, cold absorb, etc. Best of all, even though it's a Spired Helm, it comes with -50% requirements, so the strength requirement is still under 100. I think the level requirement is 60-something, so in the same ballpark as Shako.

 

Slow missile actually works wonderfully against gloams. Once it's activated you can actually run away from a lightning bolt. The only downside is it's area of effect is about the visible screen. So you actually have to be able to see a gloam in order to activate it, which of course means the gloam can also see you. So you have to be quick on the trigger for it ot work. More points adds duration, not AoE, so it's not like you can pump it for beyond the screen range.

Those gloves have some +bow skills on them, right?

 

I have no defense. I can only think that because of the comma, I mentally separated them into two different items, even though it was obvious that the +2 bow skill was referencing the gloves, and not the bow. I'm an idiot - this is not news.

 

I'm in nightmare now, partway through Act I. Grizzly is maxed, and I'm back to pumping Fire Claws. I'm not sure how many hard points I've invested thus far, but seeing as how every point from levels 1-49 that didn't go into Grizzly or a prerequisite went into Fire Claws, I imagine it's pretty well developed already. 20 points in Grizzly, probably about 12-15 prerequisites and one-point wonders, and 7 hard points in Dire Wolves means that Fire Claws has to be almost done too.

However, I'm still going with the WW and using primarily Fury. Once the damage on Fire Claws starts cranking up, I'll switch back to a bear and use FC, and only go back to Fury against FIs. I'm thinking that the one mod I'm going to be missing is CB - the best I can do is get a pair of crafted gloves, and that's still only 10%. So I'm thinking of something like keeping Fleshrender or some big-ass maul on switch - Bloodtree Stump seems like a pretty obvious choice with a 50% chance of CB and res all 20% so that my resistances don't plummet when I switch seems like a sensible option for use against bosses and other really high life foes.

Otherwise, against regular monsters in p1 in hell, I have high hopes. Even with a relatively low damage weapon, with HoW and WB bonuses, I'll be doling out about 1k physical damage - about half of what you really want in hell difficulty. But I'll also be doling out 4k fire damage. So against non-FIs, 4k fire damage on a 5 frame attack sounds pretty darn good.

 

Finished Act I NM last night - got my Holy Freeze mercenary. I'm leaning towards eventually making this guy more of Shock/FC build once I get to hell, only relying on a physical attack for fire immunes. With any luck my beefy grizzly and merc can handle some of them, especially if they are stunned, but I do have a Plan B up my sleeve if my minions prove they aren't up to the task.

 

Boss killing is not a bowazon's specialty. Bowazons are basically more effective the more enemies there are on the screen. It's not that you'll have difficulty with bosses, it's just that it will take longer than it would with other characters. Even if you have CB, since it's works at only half effectiveness with missile weapons, it will still take a while. But with a screen full of monsters, no character - not even a sorceress - can clear it quicker than a bowazon.

 

Maxed Grizzly is insane in nightmare. I also have one atm, I'm testing an elemental build that utilizes both fire and wind. Shame Twister is such a poor substitute for Shockwave.

 

I got to (but not through) the Arcane Sanctuary last night. I broke out the WB for the Claw Viper temple. I got sick of getting and hit and knocked back by the Claw Vipers. So I stunned their asses and beat them down with FC. Even though I haven't invested in the synergy yet - my last level up finished FC - I was doing very respectable damage with FC. Granted it's only NM, but I'm pleased with the outcome thus far.

And yes, a level 28 Grizzly is a tank. I don't think he's died yet.

 

Finished Act II NM. I've now started to really ramp up my FC damage. I've maxed Grizzly and Fire Claws, and I'm working on the first synergy to FC - Firestorm. I should have the first synergy done before I even enter hell difficulty, especially seeing as how I'm planning on leveling to 76 in NM.

I don't bother leveling in normal, because the only thing leveling to 55 or whatever accomplishes is that you gain like one level in Act I and II in NM. Going straight through, I was level 55 when I fought Duriel. I would have been about two levels higher if I leveled in Normal before proceeding.

However, I do like to have all my end-game gear equipped by the time I start hell, and that means level 76, when I can equip Aldur's Deception, which will also be when I finally put the helm on as well. All of my other end-game gear has long since been equipped. Spirit was equipped at level 52, and everything else had level requirements in the 40s or less. So the final equipment will be Aldur's for the helm, armor, weapon, and boots, SoJ/RF Rings, Communal Ammy with DR, Spirit, upped Nightsmoke, rare gloves that give 20% IAS, and 20+% resists in cold, lightning, and poison.

Those last two pieces are definitely optional, and may be changed. While that gear allows me to max out my resists in NM, I don't think I'll need both of those to max them out in hell. I haven't done NM Anya yet, and I get +50% res all from the complete set, so I should have some wiggle room in the resistance department. If I don't need the resists from my belt slot, I'll look into String of Ears - possibly T-gods for the vitality and lightning absorb. Alternatively, I'll change out Nightsmoke for Credendum for added resists, and then get rid of the gloves for some blood crafts. The CB won't be much, but the recipe is about as cheap as you can get (requires a measly Nef rune), so it's not like I cannot make multiple crafts and pick up something that's at least halfway decent. The point being, if I don't need both the gloves and the belt for resists, I'm wasting an item slot by keeping them equipped. Those gloves are just 20% IAS if I have my resistances covered.

Which means the only thing I'm slightly concerned with is AR once I hit hell difficulty. I've invested exactly zero in dexterity, and I'm relying completely on equipment for boosting it. Granted, with the set it question, that's a substantial amount due to the huge attribute bonuses - +45 to energy and vitality, +60 to dexterity, and +65 to strength. I also have a RF for additional dex/AR.

However, once I get through hell with this character, I'm going to respec him over to the Rabies/FC build. Other than Spirit, RF, and the ammies, that will require a complete gear changeover as well.

 

Thoughts and musings:

First of all, I'm amused that you still have Etlich equipped as your amulet. I know that the cold damage is useful to this build, but I assumed you'd have graduated into a +2 skills ammy by now (although I guess you're a little short of being able to equip Mara's).

I would definitely get your valk to level 27 before doing anything else. In fact, after you base build is finished, I'd put any other skill points I'd get into Valk, all the way to 20 hard points. (I don't know if I mentioned this before, but the affixes that the valk gets on her gear is equal to valkyrie level * 3. While there's technically no cap for this, there are no affixes higher than level 90 (+2 skills on ammy and circlet), so level 30 is when she can get any affix. That said, it's impossible to tell what equipment she spawned with beyond general terms based on her armor color, so you'll never know if she has a +2 ammy/circlet (unlikely) or not (very likely). However, she's guaranteed all rares and all elite - when applicable - as soon as she hits level 27.)

While your equipment doesn't get any better past level 27 in terms of item type and level 30 with mods, there's no cap on all the other bonuses the valk gets. For example, each level a valk will gain an additional 25% damage, 40% AR, and 10% defense. She also gets almost 100 life (I think it's exactly 92, but I'm not positive on that). And you get an additional 2% res all for each point with no cap on that either. So there's really no downside in maxing it eventually.

The other thing to consider is that strafe (or multishot in some instances) is probably going to be your best damage option for anything that isn't physical immune, so upping the synergy to FA is going to help against 20% of enemies, whereas a pumped up valk is going to help against 80% of enemies. Unless Infinity increases your cold damage to several times what your strafe damage is, in which case I may change my suggestion. (Note that the damage increase is not shown on the character sheet. You have to multiply it yourself to see what your cold damage is against non-CIs.)

Regarding the might versus holy freeze merc, I think you're completely right. There's no way the damage increase to holy freeze from infinity is going to do match the added damage everyone gets from might. If you really want a bit of enemy slowed X%, you can just keep on re-casting the valkyrie until you get one that spawns with blue armor. That's the cold one, and while she doesn't proc holy freeze, she does add cold damage to all of her attacks, so she will be able to slow anything she gets close to. (There are eight different valk spawns, so it may take a bit, but you can summon her in town, and just talk to the local healer to recover your mana every few castings. The eight types include red, blue, yellow, and green - which correspond to the appropriate element, white - +damage per level, silver - +AR per level, orange - attacker takes damage and another color that I cannot recall at the moment.) You can also throw a Kelpie Snare on your merc as well, and with both of them slowing enemies, you'll have a quasi-holy freeze experience anyway.

With Drac's I'm not sure if it's going to be super-helpful for your merc, simply because he doesn't have a fast attack. Lifetap is immunity to death for anything that attacks quickly, but I don't know if the merc qualifies. (That said I don't have Drac's so I haven't tried it myself.) It certainly can't hurt though. Your valkyrie should have such high life, that she should die very infrequently anyway.

 

Seraph's is the one that gives an additional bonus to paladin defensive auras, right? Hmmm... I'm not sure which way I'd go with that one. The +AR on Seraph's should be pretty meaningless - with an Infinity merc, you're going to be at or very near the 95% hit cap anyway. I think it's an equip and see type thing. See how much damage you really get from equipping a Seraph's. (It should be more than what is actually listed on the item.) I don't think I've ever used Cat's Eye - it never really did that much for me. Then again, I usually try to get +skills and/or resistances out of my amulet spot.

 

Does having 5 attacks per round (for a mercenary) qualify as "fast enough"? Admittedly, quite a feat to pull unless you're a pally yourself, using Fanaticism.

Just for the record, a Might merc wearing an ethereal Infinity stick (or anything in that caliber), boosted by Fanaticism and Fortitude armor, packs quite a punch even in /p8 games. Given something appropriate to attack, you can expect him to rack a kill every 2-3 seconds or so all by himself. On /p8, no less.