Difference between revisions of "Amazon Bow and Crossbow Skills"

Revision as of 15:17, 14 December 2008

Amazon Skills
Bow & Crossbow Spear Passive and Magic

These skills modify the arrows or bolts fired in magical ways; splitting them into numerous shots, making them home in on a moving target, adding elemental damage, and so forth.

Bows vs Crossbows:
Bows fire more quickly than crossbows, but do less damage. Bows have always been much more popular (aside from the Guided Arrow bug and the Buriza during v1.09), chiefly since firing quickly is such a useful and fun talent, but it's possible to play successfully with a bow or crossbow. Bows are slightly more convenient since arrow quivers hold 350 arrows, while bolt quivers hold only 250 bolts.

Magic Arrow

Required Level: 1
Prerequisites: None
Synergies: None
Details: This is truly a magic arrow; fired without taking one from the quiver. It can therefore be fired when you are entirely out of arrows or bolts, and is helpful if you need to finish up a few last enemies before returning to town or scavenging for more ammo. There is also a bonus to attack rating and damage.

Magic Arrow can not be used with any of the other skills in this tree.
Since v1.09 this skill has enjoyed the added bonus of converting some % of physical damage to magical damage, thus making it useful against physical immune or resistant monsters.
- This damage is taken from the total shot damage, after bonuses from the bow, dexterity, charms, etc, are calculated.

Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Mana Cost	1.5	1.3	1.2	1.1	1.0	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.3	0.2	0.1		-0.1	-0.2	-0.3	-0.5	-0.6	-0.7	-0.8
Converts X% Physical Damage To Magic Damage	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
+X% To Attack Rating	10	19	28	37	46	55	64	73	82	91	100	109	118	127	136	145	154	163	172	181
Damage +X	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20

Lore: Far in the ancient past, Amazons found their glorious arboreal city of Tran Athulua under siege by the pirates of the Twin Seas. These cut-throats were determined to turn the Amazon Islands into their base of operations. The conflict lasted many months as the pirates laid in for a long siege. During the battle, supplies ran short, and the Amazon archers found themselves without ammunition. Realizing that their defense rested solely upon the ability of the archers to keep the corsairs at bay, the priests of the city prayed to Athulua to aid them. In answer, Athula infused the minds of the Amazons with the power to harness their natural spiritual energies. One by one the archers melded their determination and will into shards of physical force that they then unleashed from their bows by the thousands, firmly routing the corsairs back to sea.

Fire Arrow

Required Level: 1
Prerequisites: None
Synergies: Each point in Exploding Arrow: +12% Fire Damage Per Level.
Details: Fire damage is added to the regular physical damage of the arrow, along with an accuracy bonus. Exploding Arrow and Immolation Arrow add much more fire damage, and this skill was purely a prerequisite, until some improvements were added in v1.09.

Since the v1.09 patch, Fire Arrow has worked somewhat like Magic Arrow, in that it converts a % of physical damage to fire damage. This damage is taken from the total shot damage, after bonuses from the bow, dexterity, charms, etc, are calculated.
- There is still physical damage, some % of it simply counts as fire. For example, with level 2 Fire Arrow and a 1000 damage arrow, 5%, or 50 points of damage would register as fire, while 95% or 950 points, registered as physical. The small fire damage bonus of this skill adds onto that.

Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Mana Cost	3	3.1	3.2	3.3	3.5	3.6	3.7	3.8	4	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.5	4.6	4.7	4.8	5	5.1	5.2	5.3
Fire Damage	1-4	3-6	5-8	7-10	9-12	11-14	13-16	15-18	18-21	21-24	24-27	27-30	30-33	33-36	36-39	39-42	45-49	51-56	57-63	63-70
Converts X% Physical Damage To Elemental Damage	3	5	7	9	11	13	15	17	19	21	23	25	27	29	31	33	35	37	39	41
+X% To Attack Rating	10	19	28	37	46	55	64	73	82	91	100	109	118	127	136	145	154	163	172	181

Cold Arrow

Required Level: 6
Prerequisites: None
Synergies: Each point in Ice Arrow adds +12% Cold Damage Per Level
Effect: Adds cold damage to a normal arrow shot. This skill will chill and slow monsters, and adds a bonus to accuracy as well.

Since the v1.09 patch, Cold Arrow has worked like Fire Arrow, in that it converts a % of physical damage to cold damage. This damage is taken from the total shot damage, after bonuses from the bow, dexterity, charms, etc, are calculated.
- There is still physical damage, some % of it simply counts as cold. For example, with level 2 Cold Arrow and a 1000 damage arrow, 5%, or 50 points of damage would register as cold, while 95% or 950 points, registered as physical. The small cold damage bonus of this skill adds onto that as well.

Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Mana Cost	3.5	3.6	3.7	3.8	4	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.5	4.6	4.7	4.8	5	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.5	5.6	5.7	5.8
Cold Damage	3-4	5-6	7-8	9-10	11-12	13-14	15-16	17-18	19-20	22-23	24-25	27-28	29-30	32-33	34-35	37-38	41-42	45-47	49-51	53-56
Cold Length (seconds)	4	5.2	6.4	7.6	8.8	10	11.2	12.4	13.6	14.8	16	17.2	18.4	19.6	20.8	22	23.2	24.4	25.6	26.8
Converts X% Physical Damage To Elemental Damage	3	5	7	9	11	13	15	17	19	21	23	25	27	29	31	33	35	37	39	41
+% To Attack Rating	10	19	28	37	46	55	64	73	82	91	100	109	118	127	136	145	154	163	172	181

Multiple Shot

Required Level: 6
Prerequisites: Magic Arrow
Synergies: None.
Details: Each fire arrow or bolt splits into multiple shots. This skill gives the largest potential damage in the skill tree, since each arrow can strike multiple targets, and so many can be fired so quickly.

Each arrow does only 3/4 the usual attack damage.
Only one arrow from each Multiple Shot can hit a given target; you can't get up close and fire 15 shots at once into the same enemy, so per shot/per target, this skill does the least damage of any skill in the tree. Its power comes from the ability to hit numerous enemies with each shot.
The spread of the arrows is determined by how far from the Amazon the cursor is pointing when the skill is used. Aim next to the Amazon for a very wide spread. Aim near the edge of the screen for a tighter cluster.

Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Mana Cost	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23
# of Arrows	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
Damage -25%

Exploding Arrow

Required Level: 12
Prerequisites: Magic Arrow, Fire Arrow, Multiple Shot
Synergies: Each point in Fire Arrow: +12% Fire Damage Per Level
Details: Enchants arrows by adding explosive fire damage to them. The flame splashes enough to strike several monsters in a tight cluster, and there is an accuracy bonus as well.

Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Mana Cost	5	5.5	6	6.5	7	7.5	8	8.5	9	9.5	10	10.5	11	11.5	12	12.5	13	13.5	14	14.5
Fire Damage	2-6	7-11	12-16	17-21	22-26	27-31	32-36	37-41	44-49	51-57	58-65	65-73	72-81	79-89	86-97	93-105	102-116	111-127	120-138	129-149
+% To Attack Rating	20	29	38	47	56	65	74	83	92	101	110	119	128	137	146	155	164	173	182	191

Ice Arrow

Required Level: 18
Prerequisites: Cold Arrow
Synergies: Points in the following skills boost the effect of Ice Arrow.

Cold Arrow: +8% Cold Damage Per Level
Freezing Arrow: +5% Cold Length Per Level

Details: An upgrade to cold arrow, this skill freezes targets instead of just chilling them, and adds more cold damage and attack rating as well.

This skill does not convert any of the physical damage to cold, and is therefore largely useless in comparison to Cold Arrow, since v1.09.
Other players, bosses, and SuperUniques can not be frozen, and will be chilled instead.
Freeze times are cut by 1/2 in Nightmare and 3/4 in Hell.

Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Mana Cost	4	4.2	4.5	4.7	5	5.2	5.5	5.7	6	6.2	6.5	6.7	7	7.2	7.5	7.7	8	8.2	8.5	8.7
Freeze (seconds)	2	2.2	2.4	2.6	2.8	3	3.2	3.4	3.6	3.8	4	4.2	4.4	4.6	4.8	5	5.2	5.4	5.6	5.8
Cold Damage	6-10	12-16	18-22	24-28	30-34	36-40	42-46	48-52	60-65	72-78	84-91	96-104	108-117	120-130	132-143	144-156	162-175	180-194	198-213	216-232
+X% To Attack Rating	20	29	38	47	56	65	74	83	92	101	110	119	128	137	146	155	164	173	182	191

Guided Arrow

Required Level: 18
Prerequisites: Magic Arrow, Cold Arrow, Multiple Shot
Synergies: None.
Details: Guided Arrows will seek a target, changing direction and pursuing an enemy well off the visible screen. This skill adds considerable damage at higher levels, and since it always hits (bypassing defense, though it can still be blocked) it can be the best choice to kill very high defense monsters, such as Diablo and Baal.

If you do not target a monster directly, the Guided Arrows will seek the target nearest the cursor when you shoot.
Prior to v1.09 this was the best single target arrow skill, since Piercing worked with it, and allowed each arrow to hit the same target multiple times. This was a bug and no longer functions.
Guided arrows select a target based on the Amazon's line of sight. If a monster is behind a wall or other obstacle and could not be hit with a straight shot, the Guided Arrow will not acquire it, even if you aim to the side of the wall. (This sucks.)
This skill is very handy to finish off running targets, such as leapers, teleporting bosses, or other players in PVP, since once locked on, you can continue firing at them even if they are well off your visible screen.

Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Mana Cost	8	7.7	7.5	7.2	7	6.7	6.5	6.2	6	5.7	5.5	5.2	5	4.7	4.5	4.2	4	3.7	3.5	3.2
Damage +%		5	10	15	20	25	30	35	40	45	50	55	60	65	70	75	80	85	90	95

Immolation Arrow

Casting Delay: 1 Second
Required Level: 24
Prerequisites: Magic Arrow, Fire Arrow, Multiple Shot, Exploding Arrow
Synergies: This skill is boosted by points in the following skills:

Fire Arrow: +5% Average Fire Damage Per Second Per Level
Exploding Arrow: +10% Average Fire Damage Per Level

Details: Adds fire damage and creates a small firewall upon impact, dealing additional fire damage to any monsters who stand in or pass through the flames.

The fire damage isn't high enough to make this viable in Hell, or in larger games, but it can be a lot of fun playing solo.
Pierce works very well with Immolation Arrow, especially in narrow hallways such as the Maggot Hive.
With the casting delay, it's best to alternate some other arrow skill between Immolation Arrow shots. It can be paired nicely with Guided Arrow or Strafe, to help leech back enough mana.

Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Mana Cost	6	6.5	7	7.5	8	8.5	9	9.5	10	10.5	11	11.5	12	12.5	13	13.5	14	14.5	15	15.5
Explosive Damage	10-20	20-30	30-40	40-50	50-60	60-70	70-80	80-90	100-110	120-130	140-150	160-170	180-190	200-210	220-230	240-250	270-280	300-310	330-340	360-370
Fire Duration 3 Seconds
Average Fire Damage Per Second	8-10	14-16	19-22	25-28	31-33	37-39	43-45	49-51	55-57	60-63	66-69	72-75	78-80	84-86	90-92	96-98	101-104	107-110	113-116	119-121
+X% To Attack Rating	30	39	48	57	66	75	84	93	102	111	120	129	138	147	156	165	174	183	192	201

Strafe

Required Level: 24
Prerequisites: Magic Arrow, Multiple Shot, Cold Arrow, Guided Arrow
Synergies: None.
Details: Strafe can turn the Amazon into a machine gun, allowing her to fire a stream of shots from a single arrow. Since the Guided Arrow/Pierce bug was fixed in v1.09, Strafe is the best single-target skill in most situations.

Use Strafe on single targets, a few targets, or numerous monsters in a tight cluster. Each arrow does more damage than Multishot, and can hit multiple targets with Pierce.
Post v1.09, high level Strafe fires all 10 arrows every time, regardless of how many targets are in range. This makes it very useful against the last few monsters in a given pack, especially if they are spread out so a single Multishot could not hit them all.
Strafe benefits greatly from Increased Attack Speed. See tables and frame breaks for that here.
While firing Strafe the Amazon can not move until all the arrows have been fired. This could be quite dangerous in earlier versions of D2, when 20 or more arrows could be fired, but now that the number is capped at 10 it's not such a consideration.

Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Mana Cost: 11
Attacks up to	5	6	7	8	9	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
Damage +%	5	10	15	20	25	30	35	40	45	50	55	60	65	70	75	80	85	90	95	100
3/4 Weapon Damage

Freezing Arrow

Required Level: 30
Prerequisites: Cold Arrow, Ice Arrow
Synergies: None.
Details: Adds an explosive cold blast to a arrow or bolt, freezing the target and splashing several yards to the sides, potentially freezing adjacent enemies as well.

The cold damage adds to the arrow's regular physical damage.
This cold damage is not sufficient to quickly kill physical immunes late in the game. Fire Arrow and Cold Arrow are more effective for that with their ability to convert physical damage to elemental damage, if you have a big damage bow.
Other players, bosses and SuperUniques can not be frozen, and will be chilled by this skill.
Cold and frozen durations are 1/2 in Nightmare and 1/4 in Hell. Cold times stack from various items though, so with some charms and other mods Freezing Arrow can remain useful in Hell.

Level	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Mana Cost	9	9.5	10	10.5	11	11.5	12	12.5	13	13.5	14	14.5	15	15.5	16	16.5	17	17.5	18	18.5
Cold Damage	40-50	50-60	60-70	70-80	80-90	90-100	100-110	110-120	125-135	140-150	155-165	170-180	185-195	200-210	215-225	230-240	250-260	270-280	290-300	310-320
+X% To Attack Rating	40	49	58	67	76	85	94	103	112	121	130	139	148	157	166	175	184	193	202	211
Duration: 2 seconds
Radius: 3.3 Yards

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+'''Lore:''' Far in the ancient past, Amazons found their glorious arboreal city of {{iw| Tran Athulua}} under siege by the pirates of the {{iw| Twin Seas}}. These cut-throats were determined to turn the {{iw| Amazon Islands}} into their base of operations. The conflict lasted many months as the pirates laid in for a long siege. During the battle, supplies ran short, and the Amazon archers found themselves without ammunition. Realizing that their defense rested solely upon the ability of the archers to keep the corsairs at bay, the priests of the city prayed to {{iw| Athulua}} to aid them. In answer, Athula infused the minds of the Amazons with the power to harness their natural spiritual energies. One by one the archers melded their determination and will into shards of physical force that they then unleashed from their bows by the thousands, firmly routing the corsairs back to sea.
 ==Fire Arrow==