Plan for First Build: Mavs MF Zon

Here's my plan for my first char of D2R (and possibly my main due to time restrictions).

A bow-focused Amazon with Freezing Arrow as main attack, and Exploding Arrow for cold immunes. Full Mavs set for gear, with Harmony on switch.
Geared up with lots of MF (of course). I intend to do MF runs either solo or around ~P3. This will be a very fast-moving build due to Vigor from Harmony (required for efficient MFing, since no Enigma).

Please leave feedback / suggestions!
GEAR

Most importantly: Act 2 Might Aura mercenary with Insight weapon -- unlimited mana. Mavs does significantly less cold damage than say, a twinked build based on the Ice runeword and Infinity merc, so we will be firing more volleys and need lots and lots of mana.

Full Mavs Set
Switch: Harmony in a Matriarchal Bow.
Ammy: Highlords (no question)
Ring: Raven Frost (no question)
Ring: BK? Rare dual leech?
Boots: War Traveler (no question)
Sockets
Mavs Bow: Ist
Mavs Diadem: PTopaz
Mavs Armor: PTopaz
SKILLS

Max Freezing Arrow and its one synergy
Max Exploding Arrow and its one synergy
1 in Magic Arrow, Multiple Shot, and Guided Arrow (situational)
1 in Decoy
1 in Penetrate (elemental bow skills actually have great AR, unlike Strafe / multi)
Enough in Pierce for ~90% (we don't have Razortail with full Mavs)
Prereqs
Rest in Critical Strike (a few)

Rationale:

These skills look SUPER fun to play with high Pierce % -- plenty of D2 videos showcasing pure cold Ice bowazons and it looks great. This will be less powerful but more versatile, safe, etc.
This build looks like it requires actual skill and tact to perform its best. Lining up enemies to get the most out of Pierce.
Mavs gives high res, +6 all skills, solid IAS, and MF. Can easily hit maxed Hell res with full Mavs. Can easily hit 9-frame attack breakpoint (with Mavs bow as well as with Harmony on switch if Matriarchal Bow).

Obviously, Mavs boosts cold damage pretty significantly (check out the gloves!!).

Harmony looks really fun, and REALLY fast obviously due to Vigor. Revive charges? Don't mind if I do! It will also have slightly higher physical and fire damage (from Exploding Arrow) than full Mavs -- so situationally I will actually attack with Harmony. If I start suffering elemental damage I can either run (very quickly) to a better position, or simply switch back to full Mavs for that 75% hell resistances.

I've read the Dodge, Evade, and Avoid skills cause more trouble than they're worth.
I've read Decoy can be even more effective than Valkyrie if used properly.
For both of these reasons, I won't go down that part of the passive tree at all. Harmony with other +skills gives ~level 12 Valkyrie for free. Valk damage will be poor, and Decoy will be a better tank, but maybe still nice to have both, we'll see.

This build is affordable!
(Highlords could be pricey early on -- so just use any amulet and put a Shael in the Mavs bow at first, to hit the same attack speed breakpoints without Highlords)

Sick of starting as sorc every time I get back into D2!
Have never yet played a Zon seriously so this will be fun.

Thoughts?

I will say it seems like a fun idea, I agree making a MF sorc every time gets boring.

I'd say there are a few things that would worry me about the build:

1) Boss kills are going to be slow, as you are mostly elemental, they will have high resistance. You'll probably need to rely quite a bit on your merc

2) Until you get the full set, you are missing a lot of MF and resistance. Most of the set is relatively easy/cheap to come by. The armor will take some doing, but the Diadem is a pretty rare item, it might take some time to get your hands on one. Until then you'll be running around with ~100 MF. While not nothing, you combine that with a slower boss kills and running everywhere, you are only going to get a fraction of the # of runs in, with a fraction of the MF other classes can have.

3) You need to have at least a point into Dodge/ Evade/avoid. M'avs will give you +6 to them, With what you've stated as your skill plans you'll still get that in the 70-80 range.

4) You'll be kind of lacking on LL since your only source will be a single ring.


All that being said, Bowazons are fun. Although I've never tried one as a mf character, so can't comment on how that'll work out. I'd just suggest going into it knowing there will be a fairly large gab in effectiveness vs the top mf builds.

Mav's Helm is also rare as fuck lol

Just some food for thought as well: there's the Fishyzon which can quicken boss killing quite a bit.

Appreciate the feedback. It’s true bosses will be much slower than alternatives. But I’m planning to do a variety of large PvM runs up to lesser bosses, killing everything on the way and sprinting between mobs. targeting keys at first before I can afford all the Mavs pieces, then try Chaos and WSK.

This build should be very good for keys, especially Arcane Sanctuary since the monsters line up on the catwalks…incredible splash damage procs piercing through those lines. The wraiths in AS cannot drop weapons, armor, helms etc so they drop tons of jewels, charms, rings/ammys, gems — good early currency and stuff that can be valuable without much MF.

Bowzon as first character is brave should be fun

https://d2.maxroll.gg/d2planner/ox0106y7

(latter with Valkyrie)

https://d2.maxroll.gg/d2planner/6c0106yn

Wolfie83 wrote: 4 years ago

https://d2.maxroll.gg/d2planner/ox0106y7

(latter with Valkyrie)

https://d2.maxroll.gg/d2planner/6c0106yn

mfzon.jpg

Thanks for speccing it! Hmm maybe the Ist in Mavs bow is not worth it. Could just trade that Ist for a decent ED jewel, or cold facet.

moonlit wrote: 4 years ago

Here's my plan for my first char of D2R (and possibly my main due to time restrictions).

A bow-focused Amazon with Freezing Arrow as main attack, and Exploding Arrow for cold immunes. Full Mavs set for gear, with Harmony on switch.
Geared up with lots of MF (of course). I intend to do MF runs either solo or around ~P3. This will be a very fast-moving build due to Vigor from Harmony (required for efficient MFing, since no Enigma).

Please leave feedback / suggestions!

GEAR

Most importantly: Act 2 Might Aura mercenary with Insight weapon -- unlimited mana. Mavs does significantly less cold damage than say, a twinked build based on the Ice runeword and Infinity merc, so we will be firing more volleys and need lots and lots of mana.

Full Mavs Set
Switch: Harmony in a Matriarchal Bow.
Ammy: Highlords (no question)
Ring: Raven Frost (no question)
Ring: BK? Rare dual leech?
Boots: War Traveler (no question)
Sockets
Mavs Bow: Ist
Mavs Diadem: PTopaz
Mavs Armor: PTopaz

SKILLS

Max Freezing Arrow and its one synergy
Max Exploding Arrow and its one synergy
1 in Magic Arrow, Multiple Shot, and Guided Arrow (situational)
1 in Decoy
1 in Penetrate (elemental bow skills actually have great AR, unlike Strafe / multi)
Enough in Pierce for ~90% (we don't have Razortail with full Mavs)
Prereqs
Rest in Critical Strike (a few)

Rationale:

These skills look SUPER fun to play with high Pierce % -- plenty of D2 videos showcasing pure cold Ice bowazons and it looks great. This will be less powerful but more versatile, safe, etc.
This build looks like it requires actual skill and tact to perform its best. Lining up enemies to get the most out of Pierce.
Mavs gives high res, +6 all skills, solid IAS, and MF. Can easily hit maxed Hell res with full Mavs. Can easily hit 9-frame attack breakpoint (with Mavs bow as well as with Harmony on switch if Matriarchal Bow).

Obviously, Mavs boosts cold damage pretty significantly (check out the gloves!!).

Harmony looks really fun, and REALLY fast obviously due to Vigor. Revive charges? Don't mind if I do! It will also have slightly higher physical and fire damage (from Exploding Arrow) than full Mavs -- so situationally I will actually attack with Harmony. If I start suffering elemental damage I can either run (very quickly) to a better position, or simply switch back to full Mavs for that 75% hell resistances.

I've read the Dodge, Evade, and Avoid skills cause more trouble than they're worth.
I've read Decoy can be even more effective than Valkyrie if used properly.
For both of these reasons, I won't go down that part of the passive tree at all. Harmony with other +skills gives ~level 12 Valkyrie for free. Valk damage will be poor, and Decoy will be a better tank, but maybe still nice to have both, we'll see.

This build is affordable!
(Highlords could be pricey early on -- so just use any amulet and put a Shael in the Mavs bow at first, to hit the same attack speed breakpoints without Highlords)

Sick of starting as sorc every time I get back into D2!
Have never yet played a Zon seriously so this will be fun.

Thoughts?

I’ve done a cold bowazon before, it’s one of my favorites. For pure mfing purposes you don’t even have to worry about physical damage, just get the hardest hitting Freezing Arrow you can and start farming Ancient Tunnels endlessly.

Before level 24 you can shop a staff with Teleport charges from Ormus in a3 normal, so you can tele a bit. This will open up farming meph if you know the durance 2 map.

Not worrying about physical you can focus on really easy but fun gear like a bow with 5 shaels, Edge, any other fast attacking bow or a Melody runeword in a +bow skills base for higher damage.

Mav’s set is great with this build. I’ve always wanted to try the Ice runeword too. Tons of fun to be had.

I’ve got a level 82 Freezing Arrow/ Strafe hybrid build on path of Diablo currently. I know it’s not the base game, but it’s a lot of fun.

@havelox, nice. That’s the thing, there are so many solid untwinked options at every level and price tier. It’s basically a caster that happens to need a bow, which makes things a lot easier in some ways than the pure physical proc builds (Faith).

So cold immune aren’t too slow without Exploding Arrow option? I’m concerned about that, hence spending some resources on phys damage (Highlords, War Travs). But maybe I should avoid the PTopaz minor MF boost, and crank the damage with 3x cold facets? Minus enemy res is so huge especially without Infinity.

moonlit wrote: 4 years ago

@havelox, nice. That’s the thing, there are so many solid untwinked options at every level and price tier. It’s basically a caster that happens to need a bow, which makes things a lot easier in some ways than the pure physical proc builds (Faith).

So cold immune aren’t too slow without Exploding Arrow option? I’m concerned about that, hence spending some resources on phys damage (Highlords, War Travs). But maybe I should avoid the PTopaz minor MF boost, and crank the damage with 3x cold facets? Minus enemy res is so huge especially without Infinity.

There are no cold immunes in Ancient Tunnels, and the Mausoleum. Since this is for MF you don’t need to be good at clearing all of hell. You just need to be able to clear any of the lvl 85 areas.

If you can get to act 1 hell you are set for the Mausoleum, getting to act 2 you should be able to do it with a solid act 2 mercenary handling some of the cold immunes while skipping others. With that you are good to go, and can farm away.

I’ve had a lot of success with Edge on my Fury Druid. That has got me as far as act 2 hell, I wonder what a zon could do with it, because you will get a lot of extra Ed against undead/demons.

But yea a physicial/cold hybrid should be a workable build. If it were me I enjoy Strafe, just because it is similar to Fury/ Zeal I have fun with it.

I also don’t know about the cold facets. Everyone and their mother is going to be a blizzard sorc, I bet cold facets will be incredibly expensive, I wouldn’t count on them too much in my build.

havelox wrote: 4 years ago

There are no cold immunes in Ancient Tunnels, and the Mausoleum. Since this is for MF you don’t need to be good at clearing all of hell. You just need to be able to clear any of the lvl 85 areas.

If you can get to act 1 hell you are set for the Mausoleum, getting to act 2 you should be able to do it with a solid act 2 mercenary handling some of the cold immunes while skipping others. With that you are good to go, and can farm away.

I’ve had a lot of success with Edge on my Fury Druid. That has got me as far as act 2 hell, I wonder what a zon could do with it, because you will get a lot of extra Ed against undead/demons.

But yea a physicial/cold hybrid should be a workable build. If it were me I enjoy Strafe, just because it is similar to Fury/ Zeal I have fun with it.

I also don’t know about the cold facets. Everyone and their mother is going to be a blizzard sorc, I bet cold facets will be incredibly expensive, I wouldn’t count on them too much in my build.

Oh wow yeah I forgot those two lvl85 areas have no cold immunes, that's wild, thanks!!

Full Mavs with Harmony on switch should do just fine in there without any fire damage. Ignoring the fire skills give soo many skill points too. Can definitely get crit and Pierce pretty high. I'm not a huge Strafe fan but maybe if I can eventually make a Wrath I will feel otherwise XD that looks pretty fun to just have instant free Decrepify all the time on switch. 4 seconds isn't much but can just quickly fire one round of Strafe to reactivate it on multiple enemies, even spread out ones haha. I'm wondering if Chaos Sanctuary would actually be viable with Wrath on switch (for Lord De Seis and the other cold immune Oblivion Knights). In areas where monsters have 50% DR, Decrepify would literally double physical damage -- merc would melt them then, with Guided Arrow focus firing to quickly get things under control. Until then, there's always Spellsteel ! Thirty charges should be plenty for Chaos Sanctuary.

Could also survive Pit with Decrepify...otherwise I think the CIs there are too fast.

Noemard wrote: 4 years ago

I agree making a MF sorc every time gets boring.

Agreed MF sorc every single ladder is boring AF, but as a new undergeared MF character, you can't beat its speed with not only Teleport but more importantly, Static Field. I wish more classes were even CLOSE to as viable so i don't feel pigeon-holed into always making one first. However, i don't spend too much time with my MF sorc and quickly make another class my main.

Noemard wrote: 4 years ago

While not nothing, you combine that with a slower boss kills and running everywhere, you are only going to get a fraction of the # of runs in, with a fraction of the MF other classes can have.

Honestly with the no game creation limit anymore, Moonlit can just run Pindleskin, Shenk the Overseer and Eldritch the Rectifier over and over. Or even limitless Travincal runs.


PS. I LOVE HOW ALL THE SKILLS AND NAMES CREATE TOOLTIPS OMG. :O

BillyMaysed wrote: 4 years ago

Noemard wrote: 4 years ago

While not nothing, you combine that with a slower boss kills and running everywhere, you are only going to get a fraction of the # of runs in, with a fraction of the MF other classes can have.

Honestly with the no game creation limit anymore, Moonlit can just run Pindleskin, Shenk the Overseer and Eldritch the Rectifier over and over. Or even limitless Travincal runs.

Very fair point, I did not consider that when I posted

Here's a different approach than what I originally was thinking (dropped the fire damage):

https://d2.maxroll.gg/d2planner/ig0106wy

Pretty solid damage, both cold and phys, with good crit odds, and just the pure nastiness of having Wrath on switch, to stay safe and increase damage against cold immunes. Hopefully that would be enough to handle the fast CIs in Chaos Sanctuary and Pit.

So, how did you get on??

I respecced to hybridzon since the physical damage and speed of Mav's bow is just too low to mana leech properly and handle single targets quickly.

Current build maxes Freezing Arrow (and its synergy), Penetrate, and Lightning Fury, with the rest in Charged Strike (for bosses). It really does well. Titan's Revenge is just broken, even one point in Jab can handle the occasional monster with immunity to both cold and lightning. Harmony does great physical and elemental damage and make WSK runs very fast even without Teleport.

Overall this is the most versatile build I've ever played, and so much fun. The Key is you need decent phys damage on bow and AR in order to mana leech and Pierce. Lightning Fury and Charged Strike are both just so broken in their own ways, it's very very powerful even with budget gear. But lightning alone is garbage in WSK -- Freezing Arrow completely dominates Burning Soul packs and the throne room itself. Only one wave in the throne is cold immune -- and they go down easy enough with LF.

With just Titan's, Harmony, Treachery, and some form of mana leech, you can easily solo p5 Worldstone Keep. For Baal himself, p1 is easy with this skill setup. Baal p3+ needs maxed Charged Strike, which is fine, just need some attack rating charms to make up for the non-maxed Penetrate then.

I'm currently about to respec into my end-game gear of CtA ( Matriarchal Bow), CoH, and rare Circlet. Can't wait. Then will try solo p8 WSK+ Baal runs. CtA is really an amazing bow for this since speed, damage, and +skills are all necessary, and obviously Battle Orders gives you freedom to pump dex if you need more AR.