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Guide:Bowazon v1.09, by Rashalgar

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{{Guide_top|game= Diablo II|patch= 1.09|pve= Yes|pvp= Yes|class= Amazon|spec= Bowazon|author= Rashalgar}} =Introduction= In my opinion, the most versatile character in LoD is the bowazon. Well balanced in terms or both damage output and life, she is a force to be reckoned with whether it be in PvP or just plain old PvM. I may not be an expert on the bowazon, but I have created many variants, and I feel that my favourite is the classic, FA/Multi/Guide ~~now maintained~~ build. The following material is based solely on what I have experienced and I hope, will help improve the playing standards of LoD, both for newbies and uber rich people. =Equipment= ==Helms== The helm is one of the most important parts of the amazon. decide which you want to go for. you might want the blond look, or you might like the laudable freakish look. your choice. Below, I will list some helms that I believe best suited for bowazon play. they will be classified into, Poor, Standard and Excellent. '''Poor''' * Peasant Crown: Although many people dispute this helm, it is relatively good for a low level bowazon; with some life bonuses and +1 skills, its quite underrated.* Sigon’s Visor: An awesome helm with a HUGE AR bonus based on clvl, this helm might not leave our bowazon's head until she finds something better.* Guillaume's Face: Another cheap low lvl helm. With many attack modifiers, this helm adds that extra bit of spice to a bowazon.* Rockstopper: A cheap and good helm, this one offers decent defense coupled with nice resists and 10% PDR. '''Standard''' *Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest: Aah, good ole Tal’s. What other helm can possibly match the excellent mods this mask gives: with 10% dual leech, resists, life, this helm is on of the best helms in the game. Unfortunately, it looks utterly freakish on a zon. if you don't mind the look, this is the helm to go for.* Valkyrie Wing: Mostly a neglected helm, one can find its true power when amassing the power of frozen arrow. With +2 skills and mana per kill and faster r/w, this helm is vastly underestimated. the only let down is that this helm offers no leech. Definitely a keeper if you happen to adore FA.* Crown of Thieves: Nothing much to say here. 25 extra dex, insane life leech and even life bonuses, this helm deserves more attention from Amazons. '''Excellent''' * Mavina’s True Sight: ~~https~~With inherent IAS bonus, this is the only helm that allows an amazon to retain the cool look while having 45 IAS at the same time. Though vastly overpriced, this helm warrants notice because of its inherent IAS and cool look.* Vampire Gaze:Another great helm for a bowazon. this helm is one of the most popular helms out there, and there are good reasons for it. With dual leech ranging from 6-8%, PDR, cold dmg and other mods, this helm is absolute gravy. What's more, this helm makes you look deadly cool.* Stealskull: Nothing much to say here. a slightly watered down version of gaze, this helm offers 5% dual leech, mf and inherent 10 IAS. Good choice for all lvls. ==Armor== Now, on to the armour. The linchpin of an Amazon’s defence, armour plays a vital role in her survival. '''Poor''' * Crow Caw</~~www~~font>: Underestimated, yet not useless.~~purediablo~~this armour gives a nice IAS bonus and then some.~~com~~* Twitchthroe</~~strategy~~font>: Aah, good ole Twitch. Increase in blocking, inherent IAS and strength, dexterity bonuses, this armour is definitely godly for those who can’t attain better IAS gear. '''Standard'''* 60% IAS armour</~~diablo~~font>: This armour is invaluable to any bowazon. Unfortunately, this items can’t be fond -it has to be made. So grab a 4 socket light armour, socket 4 IAS jewels in and you’re ready to go.* Lionheart: A great runeword, it is often neglected. Insert in light armour as usual to retain maximum r/w benefits. With +life, bonuses to all stats, AND some ED, this runeword is awesome.* Smoke: Another runeword, this armour best serves its purposes when put into a high def armour. With some enhanced defence and massive resists, this runeword is no joke. '''Excellent''' * Shaftstop: Vastly popular, this armour combines decent def, a smashing 30% PDR, and life benefits to form the perfect bowazon armour. Definitely a keeper.* 160/60 xxx armour of the Whale: Almost impossible to get your hands on, this type of armour combines the best of both worlds in that it combines ED and IAS. With the suffix "whale", it can add up to 100 to life. Godly.* v1.08 Arkaine’s Valor: Many people might dispute me for putting this item on the list, but as I myself own a few from my old .08 playing days, I find that this armour's massive def and HUGE life bonus help a lot in PvM. What's the difference between 320 and 360 dex eh? You could add more to strength to use it. Considered one of the godliest armours in the game, Definitely worth using. ==Amulets/Rings== These tiny pieces of jewellery might make the difference between a godly amazon and a good one. Read carefully to attain maximum benefits. '''Poor''' * Eye of Etlich: Easy to get your hands on, it provides life leech and cold damage at the laudable clvl of 15. Worth using till even lvl 90+.* Manald Heal: As wth EoE, this ring provides mana leech at clvl 15. Awesome to use until even 90+.* Cathan’s Seal: An awesome low level ring, it provides 6% life leech at level 11. Cheap and good. '''Standard''' * Crescent Moon: With awesome leech and damage to mana, this is one of the godliest amulets in the game. Whether you use it for life leech or to fuel your mana hungry skills, it’s definitely worth using.* Bul Kathos’ Wedding Band: Slightly classier than an SOJ, it provides dencent life leech, life per clvl and even +1 skills. Great ring. '''Excellent''' * Atma’s Scarab: The key to destroying packs of devilish fiends, this amulet gives a bowazon the chance to cast Amplify Damage on hit. One of the best amulets in the game.* Highlord’s Wrath: 1 to all skills, Deadly strike per clvl, and lightning damage, and IAS, this amulet is very good. * Cat’s Eye: IMO, vastly superior to Highlord’s. with Faster r/w, Dex, IAS, this ammy provies a ton of bonuses for an Amazon. Great.* Mara’s Kaleidoscope: An awesome ammy that gives resists and + 2to skills, it might not be specifically suited to the Amazon, but it’s godly.* Rare dual leech rings: The ultimate rings. ==Belts== This section includes the main belts that an amazon should use. '''Poor''' * Goldwrap: With IAS and 30% mf, this belt is no joke. Definitely a keeper whether you cow or MF. '''Standard''' * Razortail: This Belt gives piercing per clvl, +max damage and a ton of other mods. Godly if you have enough IAS on the other equipment.* Wilhelm’s Pride: The only belt in the game to provide dual leech, it should be used as a stepping stone for better belts. '''Excellent''' * String of Ears: The only belt to provide PDR, it also includes a nifty life leech bonus that helps immensely. Godly.* Nosferatu’s Coil: The belt of choice for most bowazons, it provides IAS and life leech and even a wicked slow target. Be careful when using this belt though, it causes desynch with the server and an lead to death of a player. Use with extreme caution. ==Boots== These nifty items have their strength in allowing a player to run faster and keep him or herself safe. '''Poor'''* Infernostride: These wicked boots provide some fire damage and then some. Good for the mid level amazon, it even provides some cool effects like casting Blaze. '''Standard'''* Waterwalk: These boots IMO are the best in the game. With + life, dex and r/w, hese boots are godly.* Aldur’s Advance: Giving life, r/w and damage to mana, these boots are the cheapest alternatives to Waterwalk or War Travs.* Immortal King’s Pillar: These boots give some strength, life and r/w earning them a place in the standard category.* Cow King’s Hooves: Giving MF, fire damage, r/w and even a dexterity bonus all at level 13, this pair of boots are very good. '''Excellent''' * War Travellers: Adding damage, MF and even bonuses to vitality and strength, these boots are the best possible for a bowazon. The best mod is probably the 15-25 damage, as it will go a long way with your high dex.* Gore Rider: Most people underestimated these boots. They provide r/w and attack modifiers, making them close to the best attacking boots. ==Gloves== These provide many extra benefits, and sometimes even extra damage to a bowazon’s arsenal. Read on. '''Poor'''* Venom Grip: Underestimated and underused, these gloves are pretty decent: coupling poison resistance with poison damage and life leech, these gloves are good.* Ghoulhide: Damage to undead and mana leech might be the only reason you might want to use these gloves.* Chance Guards: These gloves are decent and add a helluva lot of mf and extra gold. Good for finding that extra bit of gold for resurrecting that low-level mercenary. '''Standard''' * Magnus’ Skin: These gloves add a nifty 20 IAS and 100 AR which make them very decent gloves.* Blood Gloves: Crafted gloves – these give your character chance of crushing blow, life leech, and sometimes even IAS and Knockback. Worth using and keeping if you get nice mods.* Safety Gloves: These gloves mostly come with 20 IAS and Knockback, the most worthwhile combo if you don’t want to socket a Nef in your bow.* Death’s Hand (in combination with Death’s Guard): Adding IAS, life leech, Cannot be Frozen, and even some poison resistance, it is vastly underestimated.* Sigon’s Gage (in combination with Sigon’s Visor and Sigon’s Sabot): This will give you 10% life leech, 30% IAS, 50 mf, AR, r/w and many more bonuses. A very underestimated and good partial set bonus. '''Excellent''' * Laying of Hands: Combining 20% IAS, 350% damage to demons, fire resist, and even a nifty holy bolt attack, you can't go wrong using these gloves.* Lava Gout: Also combining enchant with IAS and fire damage, these gloves are godly.* Hellmouth: If you don’t need the extra IAS, these are the gloves to go for. With awesome fire damage, fire absorb and wicked cool effects, using these gloves will make you look COOL. ==Bows== Finally, we come to the fun bit. The biggest part of the Amazon’s arsenal: pay attention because this is the most important section in this guide. '''Poor''' * Skystrike: An awesome low-level bow with insane elemental damage, this bow will add some nice effects to your attacks until you get a better one.* Riphook: An awesome low-~~bowazon~~level bow, it combines speed, slow and life leech to give you a great bow for a lower-level character.* Cliffkiller: This bow has pretty decent damage, and a nifty Knockback mod for keeping those pesky enemies away. '''Standard''' * Lycander’s Aim: A close to godly bow with awesome stats, it provides a whopping +4 to bow skills and some mana leech. In all other senses tho, this bow is decent: nice damage, speed, etc.* Goldstrike Arch: An awesome and fun bow to use, it provides high ED and a cool chance to cast FoH on attack which will invariably help you to trigger Amplify Damage more times. Definitely a keeper.* Kuko Shakaku: Not an awesome bow in many ways, but with great elemental damage, you can’t go wrong with this bow. '''Excellent''' * Buriza Do-Kyanon: Aah, the disputed, overpowered crossbow of LoD. Killer damage, freezes target, 100% pierce and awesome cold damage, this crossbow’s only letdown is that its sloooow.* Cruel Bows: These bows provide great damage, coupled with speed if you choose the right one. Great all-v1round bows for PvM or PvP.* Eaglehorn: Although many say this bow is overrated, I feel that it is not. Great damage and even a dexterity bonus, it has many other killer mods. A very powerful bow.* Witchwild String: Many will say that I am stupid for putting this bow here, but in truth it is vastly powerful. With deadly strike and chance to cast Amplify Damage, this bow kills. Its only disadvantage is that it has pretty low damage.* Windforce: Aah, the king of bows. You cant go wrong with this one. Crazy physical damage, mana leech and even Knockback. It’s godly. =Statistics= '''Strength''': 134 (for Windforce) will do the trick. '''Dexterity''': This is your element. Don’t go overboard though, adding about 320 is sufficient. '''Vitality''': Ranging from 100 to 150, never go below 100 or you might find it difficult to survive even one hit from a Hell Bovine. If you are into PvP, add more. '''Energy''': Base. =Tactics= Usually, when we talk about an Amazon, we talk about cowing. Remember, speed kills, so when you cow, this is the most decent gear you should use. * 60 IAS armour* 45 IAS helm* War Traveller* Atma’s Scarab* Windforce/Nefed Goldstrike Arch, your call here.* Laying of Hands (or gloves with IAS and Knockback)* Raven Frost is mandatory* Ring 2 is your call. Once you have 8 fps or less, killing cows shouldn’t be a problem. Wait for amp to trigger and then BOOM, they drop dead. =Skills= * Max Freezing Arrow * Max Multiple Shot* Max Guided Arrow* 1-098 Penetrate* 12~20 Critical Strike* 12 Pierce* d/a/e you can survive with 2 each* Rest of skills, once each Always remember, being an Amazon means you shouldn’t get hit. Thus, don’t go overboard with PDR, Vitality or d/a/e if you don’t PvP much. Always herd cows into one big group before you start mowing them down. Always keep in close contact with your party members, and take full advantage or their abilities, be it a Paladin’s aura or a Barbarian’s BO. When using slow or Knockback, be careful not to angle the monsters to them or they might just get caught in a whirling angry pack of cows. Always be considerate, and never insult another player even if they happen to be using an Ith bow. All round gameplay is slightly more difficult. Monsters don’t appear in tightly packed clumps, and monsters might move much faster and do more damage. A good skill to have in these circumstances is Strafe. Use strafe to our advantage, and take advantage of its huge damage bonus. =Mercenaries= As with all other characters, a good mercenary can make the difference between certain death and obvious survival. Choosing our mercenary is matter of preference, but below I have listed the 3 mercenaries I feel most suited to helping the Amazon. * Might mercenary (Act II Offensive Nightmare): The undisputed champion of damage enhancing hirelings, this is essential if you wish to boost your damage greatly. Equip him with lots of life leech, a good weapon and he’ll be fine.* Holy Freeze mercenary (Act II Defensive Nightmare): This is another viable mercenary. With a large radius and good PDR, he will virtually reduce all hits by half as he slows them monsters down. To make good use of the holy freeze mercenary, give him more life and leeching equipment rather than damaging equipment. The mercenary’s main job is to help you slow down those monsters, then provide you with easy kills, not charge at them and kill them. * Act 5 Barbarian: Easily the most tankable hirelings in the game, equipping this massive guy with a high damage sword and lots of leech and PDR will ensure than you will have a fully functional meat shield. Don’t worry about him too often, he will probably never die if he is equipped well enough. ==Mercenary Equipment== To ensure good survivability, a merc must have life leech. This can either be obtained from the helm socket and the weapon socket. My personal preference for equipping desert mercenaries is as such: '''Helm''': Vampire Gaze/Tal Rasha’s Horadric Crest '''Armour''': Shaftstop (ethereal)/Arkaine’s Valor '''Weapon''': Honour Cryptic Axe (Ethereal) Although the above setup might be slightly pricey, but it is well worth it and your mercenary is guaranteed to survive a few hits from those nasty cows before he drops dead or even kills them. =Increased Attack Speed= A significant part of the bowazon’s life which separates the pros from the normal people. If you plan to use Buriza, remember that power is more important than speed. Other bows for example, require speed to be effective. Examples include Goldstrike Arch, Witchwild String and Cruel Matriarchal Bows. As many tables can be found in the Diabloii.net Amazon FAQ, I wont bother to list ‘em down. Go check for yourself:) I hope that everyone appreciates this guide and will use it to make their amazons better, and nicer. I hope to see many more different amazons, apart from those gaze/shaft/burizons. Ugh! Remember, its just a game, so have fun:) ''Rashalgar''

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