Advice sought: M'av's Zon.

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

Hey gang.

My first-ever character that I created on Bnet was a Strafeazon, Felice. I
stopped playing her around lvl 45 as I wasn't getting anywhere fast, I
didn't think she was particularly party-friendly and I'd got keen on getting
a few other characters built. So I built a few variations of frost zealots,
one with Gris' set, Lugonn, one with stormlash, Chill-Bill, one with a
cresent moon phase blade, Lugonn-misift, refining the build as I went. I
like frost zealots. All patriarchs.

I built a skellimancer, Dyre-Liche, he's just about lvl 92 now. My MF guy.
He has 450% MF with Leorics arm, 550% with a Gul dagger. Then I built a TO
skellimancer as well, Spare-ribs, because I had the set. (He's boring) Both
patriarchs.

Then I made a dual-scourge-wielding frenzy barb, Kuhal. He's fun but I need
lower latency (ping times) than I currently enjoy to be able to play him
safely. Actually, I can only really safely play my skellimancers as I get
wicked lag-spikes. He got his patriarch though. with a Stormlash in his left
hand and a Horizon's Tornado in his right he takes anything down in seconds.

Then I built a Meteor/FO/FB Tal's sorc with a Spirit monarch, Kyllikki.
She's pretty cool, 400% MF. Not really my style of play but fun all the
same. She got her matriarch no trouble.

Along the way I started a hammerdin, Culluket. I got him to mid-mightmare
and got bored silly with him. With two Spirits he's just too powerful and no
challenge to play. At around lvl 49 I decided I didn't like him. No
patriarch for him.

And then I found the final piece of the M'av's set a few days ago. I decided
to go back to working on my zon, Felice. However, on examining all the mules
I couldn't find the M'av's bow. It had gone astray. I put out the word for
another one and my ever-reliable friend and procurer of items didn't let me
down. I proceeded to lvl Felice up to lvl 70 so I could equip the set. She
had been using a Burrito and a demon machine until then. I also built her a
Harmony Chu-ko-nu that wasn't too bad.

So now she's wearing the full M'av's set. It's quite fast and her damage has
increased by a good 70% IMO. Early on I decided on strafe, I had good
success with it in 1.09. However, I'm undecided what else to use as an
attack. Here's my skill allocation as it stands, bearing in mind that the
set adds 6 to everything:

Strafe - maxed
Dodge, Avoid, Evade - 3 hard points in each
1 in Valk and prerequisites
1 in pierce and pre's giving 63% chance to pierce
8 hard points in critical strike, giving me 62% CS

I have 31 skill points saved up.

My boots are Silkweave, mainly for the +5 to mana after each kill. I haven't
invested points in energy and I find I run out on occasion. All my stat
points are used at the moment, she has 666 life. (Well, Diablo is Spanish
for the devil)

Jewelery consists of various rare items giving some strength, AR and 8%
life-leech. It was mainly selected for resists though. My resists are fine,
except fire is a little low. I have a few charms, in fact only four vertical
rows free.

A while ago I rushed her through to her hell hellforge in the company of
Dyre-Liche as I was entertaining thoughts of scrapping her. At lvl 70 she is
relatively comfortable in act one hell as she is. However I need to improve
her kill-rate considerably before she'll be comfortable progressing further.
She has a HF desert merc, currently equiped with Shaftstop, a Shaeled
Blackleach Blade and Rockstopper. This is open to change. He'll be getting a
Reaper's as soon as he's old enough and as soon as I get my arse into gear
and cube some runes I'll upgrade the Shaftstop to a Boneweave and probably
give him a Vamp Gaze (found one tonight) or a Tal's hat.

I need suggestions on skill allocations and socketing. I like MF so am
tempted to P-Topaz the hat and coat unless anyone can give me a pressing
reason not to. 15% IAS jewels don't work in armour right? I don't know what
to socket the bow with. Will a Shael make a difference or should I go with a
37% enhanced damage jewel (my highest)? Or maybe an Amn? Are ther any
easilly reached break-points for IAS? I don't have a Highlords but could
maybe trade for one if it's really going to help.

I'm told M'av's Zon's are a little out-of-favour these days as they have
trouble cutting it in the later acts in hell. What do you all think my
friends? Can I make this a viable build? I like to MF but she'll never be a
great MF character as the M'av's set has 100% MF and, with a Gheeds and
maybe a couple of 7% SCs if I have room she's never going to be a real
producer, although she just found me a 33% res all Viper in the Tamoe
Highlands. With a couple of P-Topazes in the hat and coat I could maybe get
MF up to 200%. Not a lot compared with some of my other characters but it
gives me an incentive to play a character. You know, a chance of finding an
SoJ is a great incentive to play. 🙂

All input greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
--
~misfit~



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

~misfit~ wrote:
>
> I need suggestions on skill allocations and socketing. I like MF so
am
> tempted to P-Topaz the hat and coat unless anyone can give me a
pressing
> reason not to. 15% IAS jewels don't work in armour right? I don't
know what
> to socket the bow with. Will a Shael make a difference or should I go
with a
> 37% enhanced damage jewel (my highest)? Or maybe an Amn? Are ther any
> easilly reached break-points for IAS? I don't have a Highlords but
could
> maybe trade for one if it's really going to help.
>
> I'm told M'av's Zon's are a little out-of-favour these days as they
have
> trouble cutting it in the later acts in hell. What do you all think
my
> friends? Can I make this a viable build? I like to MF but she'll
never be a
> great MF character as the M'av's set has 100% MF and, with a Gheeds
and
> maybe a couple of 7% SCs if I have room she's never going to be a
real
> producer, although she just found me a 33% res all Viper in the Tamoe
> Highlands. With a couple of P-Topazes in the hat and coat I could
maybe get
> MF up to 200%. Not a lot compared with some of my other characters
but it
> gives me an incentive to play a character. You know, a chance of
finding an
> SoJ is a great incentive to play. 🙂
>
> All input greatly appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> --
> ~misfit~

Hi I think Mav zonz were born to be cold archers. with her set maxing
freezing arrow and cold arrow--the first 1 not the middle that just
adds freeze time points there don help much cuz 20 puts there will just
add like barely 1 second in hell. cold charms are better 1 cold adds 1
second no matter how much cold dam it do so you add 1 sec for every 4
you put in her stash. socketing best cold gems u have in her hat and
armor also help. waterwalk would be better boots than silkweave cuz
they give big boost to life and they boost dex and for a bow zon more
dex mean more damage and they need all damage boost they can get. for
amulets eye of etlich can add up to 10 seconds freeze time they can get
like 2-10 but i don know how u tell that just use what ever 1 seems to
make freeze last longest crecent moon ammulet is what my mav zon use
tho cuz it has 11 mana leech that plus mav belt give her 16% which is
enuff even in hell catseye might also be better than highlords cuz it
adss ias plus it adds like 20 something to dex or 25 im not sure but
that boosts damage to. rings can be at least 1 ravenfrost if u use
freeze arrow it adds to freeze time and even for just strafe it boosts
dex to so it help damage too. my mav zon other ring is a life lecch
ring with fire and lightning resist but if u use crecsent moon amulet
and put amn in bow u could use 2 ravenfrosts. I think might merc is
better than holyfreeze for either strafe or freeze. if freeze u can use
that to keep monsters back and even if not with valks decoy and merc
that enuff usually to hold em back a nef on bow can help to and the
might will help damage. also on valks 1 guide said higher level the
valk the better weapons they can have it said breakpoints r lvl 8 valks
can start using excpetional stuff like lances and 17 valks can use
stuff like warpikes. and it not like synergy if u can get it with plus
skills stuff it still works. to get nice freeze arrow max freeze arrow
max the cold arrow that gives damage boost to freeze arrow get valk to
at least 7 or higher and get pirece as good as u can. My mav zon can
freeze most things in hell for 5 seconds cept for cold immunes and some
monsters have -freeze duration in hell that is added to regular hell
freeze nerf all monsters get. She does best in cows cuz cows dont have
cold immunes and even 1s who do it just the boss not his gang so it
easy to kill all his buddies till just him and then strafe or if he
cold immune and pi use the magic damage on arrow from mav set to kill
him it can take awhile but just long notdangerous cuz it will be just
him if u kill all his buddies. my zon also have demon limb on switch to
add little fire damage and merc has obedience so he can enchant himself
and add fire damage to so in cows a boss would need to be fire immune
cold immune magic immune and pi to be TOTALY unkillable for her. she
can do diablo ok by herself hardest is the flesh things that make
babies they are cold immune and tuff bosses can make babies as fast as
u kill and the keep strafe arrows from going to adult baby makers as
much as u want. and if they have bad stats like fanatcism plus amp or
something they can be a REAL pain run over your merc and valk and decoy
fast and the you if u starfe to much cuz strafe can hold u still for
long time sometimes that is y i put nef on bow to keep em back. A good
freeze arrow makes throne room minions easy only things that r ALWAYS
cold immune are those skeletons the mummies come with but strafe take
em out easy and hers isnt even maxed. Baal is real pain though he
blocks lots cant be frozen so lots of arrows wont even leech for u and
those fingers can mess up your strafe last few times I did baal runs
with zon i was with orion lightning fury zon and it was quicker to just
get better melee chars for baal after throne room is cleaned out. so
neways I hope that helps msg me and we can play more with my mav zon
and u can see exactly what she do and I can tell u her stats and stuff
better.

Kaytie

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 02:29:15 +1300, "~misfit~"
<misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> wrote:

>Hey gang.
[major snippage]
>And then I found the final piece of the M'av's set a few days ago. I decided
>to go back to working on my zon, Felice. However, on examining all the mules
>I couldn't find the M'av's bow. It had gone astray. I put out the word for
>another one and my ever-reliable friend and procurer of items didn't let me
>down. I proceeded to lvl Felice up to lvl 70 so I could equip the set. She
>had been using a Burrito and a demon machine until then. I also built her a
>Harmony Chu-ko-nu that wasn't too bad.
>
>So now she's wearing the full M'av's set. It's quite fast and her damage has
>increased by a good 70% IMO. Early on I decided on strafe, I had good
>success with it in 1.09. However, I'm undecided what else to use as an
>attack. Here's my skill allocation as it stands, bearing in mind that the
>set adds 6 to everything:
>
>Strafe - maxed
>Dodge, Avoid, Evade - 3 hard points in each
>1 in Valk and prerequisites
>1 in pierce and pre's giving 63% chance to pierce
>8 hard points in critical strike, giving me 62% CS

Het misfit!

i'm just toying around with a bowazon and i felt like i had to add
some thoughts here. Kaytie is very right with her verdict that
mav-Zons are all about cold damage. The Set gives 25% Cold damage (or
reduces CR by 25%, cant remember exactly), either way, its a good idea
to go with FA for a mavs zon. The other important thing to know about
a mavs zon is that she really does not need much IAS to reach a 2
frame strafe. Its 60% IAS iirc, but better check the calc mentioned
above. Anyway, if you're considering a frostmaiden, you better put
some points in pierce, thats one of your prime objectives, besides the
obvious max-attack-skill - max-synergy thing.

FA deals damage each time it hits a target, and the damage has a
radius. So, if you hit a critter, the cold "explosion" triggers and it
hits the target, and the one right beside him. then the main arrow
hits the next target, booms and hit the "second" target from the first
hit, and the first target too. you can get insane amounts of cold
damage with a high level pierce 🙂

To see some effects, my Bowazon (a bit more physical built, with Windy
and stuff) kills as fast, and sometimes faster with her puny ~700 FA
as with her 700-3.5k Strafe. Brought to you by 98% pierce .-)

Passives are a bit high on your built, the main thing to remember
about bowazons is: Avoid any, i mean ANY enemy contact! Stay away, let
your merc and your (hopefully strong) Valk tank those bastardos! Never
ever get hit! That should be your mantra, and as a Zon, you have the
tools to realize a 0-Hit-Gameplay (Decoy - one of the most useful
spells in the game, Slow missiles). So, if you position yourself
right, you dont need to deal with enemies, thus rendering DAE useless.
(or almost useless)

Cheers, Kai

 

[alice]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

~misfit~ wrote:
> Hey gang.

Hi.

> I built a skellimancer, Dyre-Liche, he's just about lvl 92 now. My MF
guy.
> He has 450% MF with Leorics arm, 550% with a Gul dagger. Then I built
a TO
> skellimancer as well, Spare-ribs, because I had the set. (He's
boring) Both
> patriarchs.

Because he looks very pale? Yeah, at one time I had my necro equipped
in TO, it wasn't long before I gave him a major makeover.

> So now she's wearing the full M'av's set. It's quite fast and her
damage has
> increased by a good 70% IMO. Early on I decided on strafe, I had good
> success with it in 1.09. However, I'm undecided what else to use as
an
> attack. Here's my skill allocation as it stands, bearing in mind that
the
> set adds 6 to everything:
>
> Strafe - maxed
> Dodge, Avoid, Evade - 3 hard points in each
> 1 in Valk and prerequisites
> 1 in pierce and pre's giving 63% chance to pierce
> 8 hard points in critical strike, giving me 62% CS
>
> I have 31 skill points saved up.

Start adding to cold arrows I guess. Crit Strike may be too high,
perhaps it would have been better adding to Pierce.

> My boots are Silkweave, mainly for the +5 to mana after each kill. I
haven't
> invested points in energy and I find I run out on occasion. All my
stat
> points are used at the moment, she has 666 life. (Well, Diablo is
Spanish
> for the devil)
>
> Jewelery consists of various rare items giving some strength, AR and
8%
> life-leech. It was mainly selected for resists though. My resists are
fine,
> except fire is a little low. I have a few charms, in fact only four
vertical
> rows free.

Mavina adds pretty decent resist right? I don't know if it also has LL
and/or ML. But your choice of jewelries should probably include
Highlords / Cat's Eye (most popular choices for bowazon) and Raven
Frost (CBF). The other ring should probably be a leech ring of some
sort. If nothing else, Manald Heal should work, and this can free up
your boots slot in favor of Sandstorm, War Trav, or Marrow - since you
said you wear your current jewelry for Str.

> A while ago I rushed her through to her hell hellforge in the company
of
> Dyre-Liche as I was entertaining thoughts of scrapping her. At lvl 70
she is
> relatively comfortable in act one hell as she is. However I need to
improve
> her kill-rate considerably before she'll be comfortable progressing
further.
> She has a HF desert merc, currently equiped with Shaftstop, a Shaeled
> Blackleach Blade and Rockstopper. This is open to change. He'll be
getting a
> Reaper's as soon as he's old enough and as soon as I get my arse into
gear
> and cube some runes I'll upgrade the Shaftstop to a Boneweave and
probably
> give him a Vamp Gaze (found one tonight) or a Tal's hat.

Your merc will most likely need to tank a lot more, so I'd suggest to
keep the DR items you already put on him. Perhaps Might will be more
useful than HF since you'll have cold skill.

> I need suggestions on skill allocations and socketing. I like MF so
am
> tempted to P-Topaz the hat and coat unless anyone can give me a
pressing
> reason not to. 15% IAS jewels don't work in armour right? I don't
know what
> to socket the bow with. Will a Shael make a difference or should I go
with a
> 37% enhanced damage jewel (my highest)? Or maybe an Amn? Are ther any
> easilly reached break-points for IAS? I don't have a Highlords but
could
> maybe trade for one if it's really going to help.

I'm quite sure IAS jewel works in armor. You may need to check the IAS
breakpoint and poke a jewel or two as necessary. Don't forget about
the possibility of Shael-ing the bow if it helps reaching certain
breakpoint. Cat's eye is another alternative to Highlord, it also has
IAS.

> I'm told M'av's Zon's are a little out-of-favour these days as they
have
> trouble cutting it in the later acts in hell. What do you all think
my
> friends? Can I make this a viable build? I like to MF but she'll
never be a

Out but not forgotten. Faith is much more preferrable for those who
can afford it. I reckon Mavina to be a good set too. Mavzons can solo
most areas with no problems, but they might have difficulty with end
bosses, for example Diablo's bone prison can be a major pain. Of
course in your case, you can clear CS with her then bring in any of
your zealots to off Diablo.

> great MF character as the M'av's set has 100% MF and, with a Gheeds
and
> maybe a couple of 7% SCs if I have room she's never going to be a
real
> producer, although she just found me a 33% res all Viper in the Tamoe
> Highlands. With a couple of P-Topazes in the hat and coat I could
maybe get
> MF up to 200%. Not a lot compared with some of my other characters
but it
> gives me an incentive to play a character. You know, a chance of
finding an
> SoJ is a great incentive to play. 🙂

Once you find an SoJ, you may lose a great deal of interest in the game
since you have nothing more to accomplish. A lot of other yellow &
blue rings are much more useful than an SoJ, for example FCR / 15+ str
/ 10+ resist all, 40 MF, and double leech / resist / AR, either one of
these is valued more than 10x SoJ in the trade market. So it's time to
pick up all those blue & yellow rings from Den of Evil, eh?

> All input greatly appreciated.

If you can have Shady to bring any of your necros (or hers? I think she
has one too right?) along, Amp Damage is very Strafeazon friendly.

> Thanks,
> --
> ~misfit~
>
>
>
> ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet
News==----
> http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
120,000+ Newsgroups
> ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption
=----

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

Kai Scholz-Starke wrote:
> On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 02:29:15 +1300, "~misfit~"
> <misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> wrote:
>
>> Hey gang.
> [major snippage]
>> And then I found the final piece of the M'av's set a few days ago. I
>> decided to go back to working on my zon, Felice. However, on
>> examining all the mules I couldn't find the M'av's bow. It had gone
>> astray. I put out the word for another one and my ever-reliable
>> friend and procurer of items didn't let me down. I proceeded to lvl
>> Felice up to lvl 70 so I could equip the set. She had been using a
>> Burrito and a demon machine until then. I also built her a Harmony
>> Chu-ko-nu that wasn't too bad.
>>
>> So now she's wearing the full M'av's set. It's quite fast and her
>> damage has increased by a good 70% IMO. Early on I decided on
>> strafe, I had good success with it in 1.09. However, I'm undecided
>> what else to use as an attack. Here's my skill allocation as it
>> stands, bearing in mind that the set adds 6 to everything:
>>
>> Strafe - maxed
>> Dodge, Avoid, Evade - 3 hard points in each
>> 1 in Valk and prerequisites
>> 1 in pierce and pre's giving 63% chance to pierce
>> 8 hard points in critical strike, giving me 62% CS
>
> Het misfit!
>
> i'm just toying around with a bowazon and i felt like i had to add
> some thoughts here. Kaytie is very right with her verdict that
> mav-Zons are all about cold damage. The Set gives 25% Cold damage (or
> reduces CR by 25%, cant remember exactly), either way, its a good idea
> to go with FA for a mavs zon. The other important thing to know about
> a mavs zon is that she really does not need much IAS to reach a 2
> frame strafe. Its 60% IAS iirc, but better check the calc mentioned
> above. Anyway, if you're considering a frostmaiden, you better put
> some points in pierce, thats one of your prime objectives, besides the
> obvious max-attack-skill - max-synergy thing.
>
> FA deals damage each time it hits a target, and the damage has a
> radius. So, if you hit a critter, the cold "explosion" triggers and it
> hits the target, and the one right beside him. then the main arrow
> hits the next target, booms and hit the "second" target from the first
> hit, and the first target too. you can get insane amounts of cold
> damage with a high level pierce 🙂
>
> To see some effects, my Bowazon (a bit more physical built, with Windy
> and stuff) kills as fast, and sometimes faster with her puny ~700 FA
> as with her 700-3.5k Strafe. Brought to you by 98% pierce .-)
>
> Passives are a bit high on your built, the main thing to remember
> about bowazons is: Avoid any, i mean ANY enemy contact! Stay away, let
> your merc and your (hopefully strong) Valk tank those bastardos! Never
> ever get hit! That should be your mantra, and as a Zon, you have the
> tools to realize a 0-Hit-Gameplay (Decoy - one of the most useful
> spells in the game, Slow missiles). So, if you position yourself
> right, you dont need to deal with enemies, thus rendering DAE useless.
> (or almost useless)

Thanks for the in-depth reply Kai, much appreciated.

I've heard stories about your strafeazon, apparently a force to be reckoned
with.

Cheers,
--
~misfit~



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

Alice wrote:
> ~misfit~ wrote:
>> Hey gang.
>
> Hi.
>
>> I built a skellimancer, Dyre-Liche, he's just about lvl 92 now. My
>> MF guy. He has 450% MF with Leorics arm, 550% with a Gul dagger.
>> Then I built a TO skellimancer as well, Spare-ribs, because I had
>> the set. (He's boring) Both patriarchs.
>
> Because he looks very pale? Yeah, at one time I had my necro equipped
> in TO, it wasn't long before I gave him a major makeover.

Yeah, he looks sick.

>> So now she's wearing the full M'av's set. It's quite fast and her
>> damage has increased by a good 70% IMO. Early on I decided on
>> strafe, I had good success with it in 1.09. However, I'm undecided
>> what else to use as an attack. Here's my skill allocation as it
>> stands, bearing in mind that the set adds 6 to everything:
>>
>> Strafe - maxed
>> Dodge, Avoid, Evade - 3 hard points in each
>> 1 in Valk and prerequisites
>> 1 in pierce and pre's giving 63% chance to pierce
>> 8 hard points in critical strike, giving me 62% CS
>>
>> I have 31 skill points saved up.
>
> Start adding to cold arrows I guess. Crit Strike may be too high,
> perhaps it would have been better adding to Pierce.

Ok. I hope it's not too bad.

>> My boots are Silkweave, mainly for the +5 to mana after each kill. I
>> haven't invested points in energy and I find I run out on occasion.
>> All my stat points are used at the moment, she has 666 life. (Well,
>> Diablo is Spanish for the devil)
>>
>> Jewelery consists of various rare items giving some strength, AR and
>> 8% life-leech. It was mainly selected for resists though. My resists
>> are fine, except fire is a little low. I have a few charms, in fact
>> only four vertical rows free.
>
> Mavina adds pretty decent resist right?

Not bad, I'm still needing to suppliment. The set gives 100 resist all,
meaning zero resist all in hell.

> I don't know if it also has LL
> and/or ML.

ML only, 5%.

> But your choice of jewelries should probably include
> Highlords / Cat's Eye (most popular choices for bowazon) and Raven
> Frost (CBF).

Ok, have Cat's Eye and a couple of good Ravenfrosts to choose from.

> The other ring should probably be a leech ring of some
> sort.

I think I'll have to keep the 8%LL ring, it's the only LL I have.

> If nothing else, Manald Heal should work, and this can free up
> your boots slot in favor of Sandstorm, War Trav, or Marrow - since you
> said you wear your current jewelry for Str.

Sorry, I don't wear it for strength, it just has +16 st on the ammy. I don't
need it for the strength, I need it for the +10 res F/C/P and +37 res L (as
well as holy bolt charges which I'll never use)

>> A while ago I rushed her through to her hell hellforge in the
>> company of Dyre-Liche as I was entertaining thoughts of scrapping
>> her. At lvl 70 she is relatively comfortable in act one hell as she
>> is. However I need to improve her kill-rate considerably before
>> she'll be comfortable progressing further. She has a HF desert merc,
>> currently equiped with Shaftstop, a Shaeled Blackleach Blade and
>> Rockstopper. This is open to change. He'll be getting a Reaper's as
>> soon as he's old enough and as soon as I get my arse into gear and
>> cube some runes I'll upgrade the Shaftstop to a Boneweave and
>> probably give him a Vamp Gaze (found one tonight) or a Tal's hat.
>
> Your merc will most likely need to tank a lot more, so I'd suggest to
> keep the DR items you already put on him. Perhaps Might will be more
> useful than HF since you'll have cold skill.

<sigh> So I've got to train a merc again? LOL, I had a might merc, changed
to HF and only just got him up to Felice's lvl.

>> I need suggestions on skill allocations and socketing. I like MF so
>> am tempted to P-Topaz the hat and coat unless anyone can give me a
>> pressing reason not to. 15% IAS jewels don't work in armour right? I
>> don't know what to socket the bow with. Will a Shael make a
>> difference or should I go with a 37% enhanced damage jewel (my
>> highest)? Or maybe an Amn? Are ther any easilly reached break-points
>> for IAS? I don't have a Highlords but could maybe trade for one if
>> it's really going to help.
>
> I'm quite sure IAS jewel works in armor. You may need to check the
> IAS breakpoint and poke a jewel or two as necessary. Don't forget
> about the possibility of Shael-ing the bow if it helps reaching
> certain breakpoint. Cat's eye is another alternative to Highlord, it
> also has IAS.

I'll look at going with Cat's Eye. As Shiflet (I think) pointed out, I
shouldn't need maxed resists if I stay back. However, you've seen my style
of play Alice, I'm not very good at staying back.

>> I'm told M'av's Zon's are a little out-of-favour these days as they
>> have trouble cutting it in the later acts in hell. What do you all
>> think my friends? Can I make this a viable build? I like to MF but
>> she'll never be a
>
> Out but not forgotten. Faith is much more preferrable for those who
> can afford it. I reckon Mavina to be a good set too. Mavzons can
> solo most areas with no problems, but they might have difficulty with
> end bosses, for example Diablo's bone prison can be a major pain. Of
> course in your case, you can clear CS with her then bring in any of
> your zealots to off Diablo.

Good point. Kuhal likes killing Big D too.

>> great MF character as the M'av's set has 100% MF and, with a Gheeds
>> and maybe a couple of 7% SCs if I have room she's never going to be
>> a real producer, although she just found me a 33% res all Viper in
>> the Tamoe Highlands. With a couple of P-Topazes in the hat and coat
>> I could maybe get MF up to 200%. Not a lot compared with some of my
>> other characters but it gives me an incentive to play a character.
>> You know, a chance of finding an SoJ is a great incentive to play.
>> 🙂
>
> Once you find an SoJ, you may lose a great deal of interest in the
> game since you have nothing more to accomplish.

I doubt it, I'll still be playing. I need to find an SoJ for each of my
characters and I'm always making more. 🙂

> A lot of other
> yellow & blue rings are much more useful than an SoJ, for example FCR
> / 15+ str / 10+ resist all, 40 MF, and double leech / resist / AR,
> either one of these is valued more than 10x SoJ in the trade market.
> So it's time to pick up all those blue & yellow rings from Den of
> Evil, eh?

I always ID all rings that drop. Not often do I find a good one though.

>> All input greatly appreciated.
>
> If you can have Shady to bring any of your necros (or hers? I think
> she has one too right?) along, Amp Damage is very Strafeazon friendly.

How very true. Thanks for the input Alice.
--
~misfit~ (Off to train a new merc)



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

"~misfit~" <misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> wrote in message
news:42207950$1_1@127.0.0.1...
> Hey gang.
>
>
> Then I made a dual-scourge-wielding frenzy barb, Kuhal. He's fun but I
> need
> lower latency (ping times) than I currently enjoy to be able to play him
> safely. Actually, I can only really safely play my skellimancers as I get
> wicked lag-spikes. He got his patriarch though. with a Stormlash in his
> left
> hand and a Horizon's Tornado in his right he takes anything down in
> seconds.
>

Kuhal should use an Earthshaker.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

My my, doesn't "~misfit~" <misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> look good in that
trenchcoat:

>Hey gang.

Hey.

Thought I'd chip in with tae's mavina build from this season, if I can
remember it (I'm sure or Kai or WD will chip in with corrections).

Near as a I can recall, she maxed the damage synergy for Freezing Arrow (Ice
Arrow? It's been a while since I had a look), but only build up Freezing
Arrow itself very gradually, as her preference was to keep the mana cost down.
Personally I would have maxed freezing anyway, and chugged potions if need by
(I had a couple of maxed FA builds in 1.09, and one in season 1 of 1.10 too,
and liked them), but that's how tae planned hers out, and it worked very well
for her.

Strafe was maxed, if I recall, so was her Valkyrie, and I think she left the
rest of the passives at the base point, to be pumped up by the +skill boosts
on the set, and pumped up her Decoy, not only to increase the life on the
valk, but to give her a long lasting, tough, third tank.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

Stephen van Ham wrote:
> My my, doesn't "~misfit~" <misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> look good in that
> trenchcoat:
>
>> Hey gang.
>
> Hey.
>
> Thought I'd chip in with tae's mavina build from this season, if I can
> remember it (I'm sure or Kai or WD will chip in with corrections).
>
> Near as a I can recall, she maxed the damage synergy for Freezing
> Arrow (Ice Arrow? It's been a while since I had a look), but only
> build up Freezing Arrow itself very gradually, as her preference was
> to keep the mana cost down. Personally I would have maxed freezing
> anyway, and chugged potions if need by (I had a couple of maxed FA
> builds in 1.09, and one in season 1 of 1.10 too, and liked them), but
> that's how tae planned hers out, and it worked very well for her.
>
> Strafe was maxed, if I recall, so was her Valkyrie, and I think she
> left the rest of the passives at the base point, to be pumped up by
> the +skill boosts on the set, and pumped up her Decoy, not only to
> increase the life on the valk, but to give her a long lasting, tough,
> third tank.

Thanks Stephen.

I thought I had heaps of points saved but obviously not enough. I maxed
strafe and (mistakenly) put three points each in DAE, a waste I now realise.
Since then I've pumped pierce to the stage where I have 89% and the next
point would still be 89% and have points in freezing arrow. I also put a few
points in CS which I thought was a good idea but apparently wasn't.

My valk is a one-point wonder (7 with +skills) and I'd like to put more
there but she gets bonus' from the points in DAE and a few other places I've
put points so she isn't piss-weak. Similarly decoy, one point. Where are you
supposed to get all these points from? 🙂 My next point or two will
probably go into valk, not sure yet.

I'm just training a new merc. I'd just got my HF guy up to speed after
sacking my might guy, only to get another might guy. Got him at lvl 44
(Griez only had one might guy available and of course he was the lowest lvl
of them all. If I'd realised how slowly he was going to go up I would have
started another game and tried my luck) and got him up to lvl 60 last night.
Felice is 72 now so he still has a way to go. I gave her a 40% Gheeds to try
to maximise the time I'm spending lvling the merc but nothing so far.

Cheers buddy,
--
~misfit~



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

My my, doesn't "~misfit~" <misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> look good in that
trenchcoat:

>I thought I had heaps of points saved but obviously not enough. I maxed
>strafe and (mistakenly) put three points each in DAE, a waste I now realise.

I'm sure it probably helped you a lot in the shorter term, though. It always
seems to come back to what kind of gear/merc/connection/style you're planning
for.

>My valk is a one-point wonder (7 with +skills) and I'd like to put more
>there but she gets bonus' from the points in DAE and a few other places I've
>put points so she isn't piss-weak. Similarly decoy, one point. Where are you
>supposed to get all these points from? 🙂 My next point or two will
>probably go into valk, not sure yet.

Well, there are a little of ways to skin the murloc (sorry). I've sometimes
found a 7 point valk a little brittle in late hell, especially in 1.10 with
the casting timer (unless they changed that since I last played a lot, hehe).
But, there's the proviso there that depends a lot on what your merc is geared
up with (since I tend to play so many characters and not trade much if at all,
sometimes some of my mercs end up using some modest stuff, and can be a little
brittle in some spots if the valk keels over and I can't freeze things), and
whether you're up against monsters that are vulnerable to cold (and thus can
be frozen).

Yeah, the extra points in D/A/E and CS could/can be considered, in hindsight
and with the +6 to passives from the set in place, of questionable return. A
built for mavina set bowazon can turn out a little different from a bowazon
that is put into a mavina set later on, as you'd seen.

Unfortunately the synergy calculator I'm looking at doesn't have the numbers
for freezing arrow, but you could perhaps do a little manual math (or find a
calculator that has them). Yes, while I mentioned that I probably would max
FA anyway, as you say, given what you've already invested, you might struggle
to do that.

>I'm just training a new merc. I'd just got my HF guy up to speed after
>sacking my might guy, only to get another might guy. Got him at lvl 44
>(Griez only had one might guy available and of course he was the lowest lvl
>of them all. If I'd realised how slowly he was going to go up I would have
>started another game and tried my luck) and got him up to lvl 60 last night.
>Felice is 72 now so he still has a way to go. I gave her a 40% Gheeds to try
>to maximise the time I'm spending lvling the merc but nothing so far.

Yes, Might is certainly a good choice if everything else in the build is
clicking. Will this guy be getting the usual decrepify stick? ;-)

I think you're really going to have to play it by ear. I'd certainly pick up
a single point in freezing arrow to start with (that will still leave you with
20 something points to play with), and place the rest of your points on an as
needed basis. Work up the valk a little if you think you need it (of course,
the more you level, the stronger your valk and merc are going to become
anyway...), or keep on working up freezing and/or the synergy, depending on
how much you want to use it to supplement your other elemental damage against
PIs, or just use it as a crowd controller (in that case, leave it low and make
sure you have a few cold damage charms in your pack instead).

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

My my, doesn't Stephen van Ham <svanham@xtra.co.nz> look good in that
trenchcoat:

>Well, there are a little of ways to skin the murloc (sorry). I've sometimes
>found a 7 point valk a little brittle in late hell, especially in 1.10 with
>the casting timer (unless they changed that since I last played a lot, hehe).
>But, there's the proviso there that depends a lot on what your merc is geared
>up with (since I tend to play so many characters and not trade much if at all,
>sometimes some of my mercs end up using some modest stuff, and can be a little
>brittle in some spots if the valk keels over and I can't freeze things), and
>whether you're up against monsters that are vulnerable to cold (and thus can
>be frozen).

I forgot to mention the Decoy, too, as how you end up using makes a difference
(not as much as it does with a spearazon, though, hehe).

Incidently, if memory serves, a single point valk with maxed decoy has the
same life as a maxed valk with single point decoy (although the valk will miss
out a few things in terms of resistances? and higher level gear), but you'll
get a much stronger decoy as a result. Something else to consider. I
recently (well, a few months ago now, I guess) read a writeup of all dex
bowazons where people were getting very similar results with 20 valk/1 decoy
as others were with 20 decoy/1 valk.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

Buddabing wrote:
> "~misfit~" <misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> wrote in message
> news:42207950$1_1@127.0.0.1...
>> Hey gang.
>>
>>
>> Then I made a dual-scourge-wielding frenzy barb, Kuhal. He's fun but
>> I need
>> lower latency (ping times) than I currently enjoy to be able to play
>> him safely. Actually, I can only really safely play my skellimancers
>> as I get wicked lag-spikes. He got his patriarch though. with a
>> Stormlash in his left
>> hand and a Horizon's Tornado in his right he takes anything down in
>> seconds.
>>
>
> Kuhal should use an Earthshaker.

Hey!!! A fellow Saga of the Exiles reader!!
Cool.

You noticed I have a Lugonn as well? And a Felice.
--
~misfit~



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

I think it was "~misfit~" <misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> that wrote
something like...

>Buddabing wrote:
>>
>> Kuhal should use an Earthshaker.
>
>Hey!!! A fellow Saga of the Exiles reader!!
>Cool.
>
>You noticed I have a Lugonn as well? And a Felice.

Hey, I recognise some of them sort of now you mention it. I just
reread Intervention recently and may go on to read the rest of the
books in that story universe soon. Especially since I've forgotten
who the Hydra was for certain. I think I remember, but I'm not sure.
Which is cool. Means it'll be that much more interesting reading
them. : )

Ashen Shugar
--
The lions sing and the hills take flight.
The moon by day, and the sun by night.
Blind woman, deaf man, jackdaw fool.
Let the Lord of Chaos rule!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

Ashen Shugar wrote:
> I think it was "~misfit~" <misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> that wrote
> something like...
>
>> Buddabing wrote:
>>>
>>> Kuhal should use an Earthshaker.
>>
>> Hey!!! A fellow Saga of the Exiles reader!!
>> Cool.
>>
>> You noticed I have a Lugonn as well? And a Felice.
>
> Hey, I recognise some of them sort of now you mention it. I just
> reread Intervention recently and may go on to read the rest of the
> books in that story universe soon. Especially since I've forgotten
> who the Hydra was for certain. I think I remember, but I'm not sure.
> Which is cool. Means it'll be that much more interesting reading
> them. : )

Intervention is like the fifth book or so and is a bit of a sequel. The
earlier ones are the best by far, well worth reading. (The Many-Coloured
Land, The Golden Torc, The Non-Born King and The Adversary) They're where I
got the nick ~misfit~ from, after all the people who chose exile, they kept
refering to them as misfits. Ever since I read the series many, many years
ago I've looked upon myself as a misfit, in the sense the books use the
term.

Julian May wrote a few after Intervention but they weren't popular and are
out of print now. I tried to get them a while ago.
--
~misfit~



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

I think it was "~misfit~" <misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> that wrote
something like...

>Ashen Shugar wrote:
>> I think it was "~misfit~" <misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> that wrote
>> something like...
>>
>>> Buddabing wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Kuhal should use an Earthshaker.
>>>
>>> Hey!!! A fellow Saga of the Exiles reader!!
>>> Cool.
>>>
>>> You noticed I have a Lugonn as well? And a Felice.
>>
>> Hey, I recognise some of them sort of now you mention it. I just
>> reread Intervention recently and may go on to read the rest of the
>> books in that story universe soon. Especially since I've forgotten
>> who the Hydra was for certain. I think I remember, but I'm not sure.
>> Which is cool. Means it'll be that much more interesting reading
>> them. : )
>
>Intervention is like the fifth book or so and is a bit of a sequel. The
>earlier ones are the best by far, well worth reading. (The Many-Coloured
>Land, The Golden Torc, The Non-Born King and The Adversary) They're where I
>got the nick ~misfit~ from, after all the people who chose exile, they kept
>refering to them as misfits. Ever since I read the series many, many years
>ago I've looked upon myself as a misfit, in the sense the books use the
>term.
>
>Julian May wrote a few after Intervention but they weren't popular and are
>out of print now. I tried to get them a while ago.

I had to go and check the books but yeah, the Saga of the Exiles was
written first, then Intervention, then "Jack the Bodiless", "Diamond
mask" and finally "Magnificat". I think he must have had most of the
story pretty clear in his head right from the beginning though. At
least he seems to have gotten it all to fit together really well.

I guess one good thing about being a poor uni student was that I very
rarely passed up any opportunity to browse through 2nd hand books. : )

Ashen Shugar
--
The lions sing and the hills take flight.
The moon by day, and the sun by night.
Blind woman, deaf man, jackdaw fool.
Let the Lord of Chaos rule!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

"~misfit~" <misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> wrote in message
news:42232a76$1_1@127.0.0.1...
>
> Julian May wrote a few after Intervention but they weren't popular and are
> out of print now. I tried to get them a while ago.
> --

Were there more than nine books?

4 Saga of Pliocene Exile
2 Intervention
3 Galactic Milieu

I had to wait a looong time for Magnificat, but it was worth the wait.

I wish she would write some more, but most of the loose ends are tied up
pretty nicely.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo (More info?)

Buddabing wrote:
> "~misfit~" <misfit61nz@hooya.co.nz> wrote in message
> news:42232a76$1_1@127.0.0.1...
>>
>> Julian May wrote a few after Intervention but they weren't popular
>> and are out of print now. I tried to get them a while ago.
>> --
>
> Were there more than nine books?
>
> 4 Saga of Pliocene Exile
> 2 Intervention
> 3 Galactic Milieu
>
> I had to wait a looong time for Magnificat, but it was worth the wait.
>
> I wish she would write some more, but most of the loose ends are tied
> up pretty nicely.

As I said, I've been told by my local library that they are out of print,
the Intervaention ones and Galactic Milieu anyway. The woman looked into it
while I waited.

There were three Intervention books;

1. Surviellance.
2. Metaconcert.
3. Intervention.

I only read Intervention. Interestingly, Metaconcert and Surviellance were
written after Intervention yet they are listed in that order. So there were
ten books written about that world AFAIK. Actually maybe eleven. In the same
year as she wrote The Adversary she published "The Pliocene Companion". The
only info I've found about it (haven't looked very hard) is that it's a
collection of stories by Julian May. It could be The Exiles series all in
one volume, I don't know.

Actually, on this page:

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Julian_May.htm

I see it listed as a collection so it probably is the first four in one.

The series finished in 1996 with Magnificat. Since then she has written two
more trilogies under her own name, Rampart World ('98-'01) and Boreal Moon
('03-'05). I don't know if they are related to the Galactic Milieu/Exlies
books or not. I just discovered this info while Googling for more books by
her to request from my local library.

She also continues the old author's tradition of writing under psuedonyms
and has written at least seven books as "Ian Thorne" and at least one other
psuedonym as well.
--
~misfit~



----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----