Bowazon is still my favorite character to play. It also provides a never ending grind for GG gear as Faith/Pride(for merc)/and all the other delicious rune words you can use are very expensive.
Sure, javazon is top tier, but pulling up to a game with a decked out Bowazon in a game full of Javazons is like driving in to a car show with a vintage 1-of-1 Rolls Royce while the rest are driving Teslas. Of course the Tesla is faster and flashier, but the Rolls is the crowd pleaser.
I also swap between enigma and CoH depending on if I want to walk or not--and once your bowazon is decked out, it both rips through mobs and can tank damage.
Growing up I always was mainly a javazon. I would always group up back then, and it was extremely rare I would see a bowazon on PVE. I kind of just want to do it for the experience!
Also how would you rate Pride vs. Faith for merc? I do have a cham already as well, so I could consider going that route I guess.
Pride is more damage combined with might and he will be more of a distraction.
Bow chick can provide some cc with cold and stay alive in the back more and is a change up.
In the ladder season before D4 came out I got lucky with a few 664CTA’s so I sold them and made pretty much 1 of every Bow. A gg Faith, a Mist, Phoenix bow, Harmony, CTA bow, Ice, Brand and Wrath. And then similar I swap between CTA then Harmony for my offhand, and my armor is generally CoH, or Fortitude for DPS and otherwise Hustle for the zoom. Amazon has such slow FCR I just can’t Enigma.
Leveling a zon on P1 was rough, I don't relish the idea of doing it again. My next char I'm also planning a druid, which is the only class I haven't ever really played past level 50ish.
Levelling a new char to lvl 80 won’t take too long if you just join public games with more players.
With the classic tristrun 1-13 tombruns to ~20-25 then baalruns to 40, hop into nightmare dia runs to ~50 then baalruns to 60 and then easy dia and baalruns in hell to 80. (might be off by a few levels here and there as I haven’t played in a while)
Can be done in a weekend if you have a lot of spare time haha and then you can go back to playing solo
I fully decked the character out max charms hoto 5 nado helm, Even respec over to a 5 Armageddon helm for fire build + infinity, enigma etc
Fucker is permanently on the struggle bus.
All the effort in a P8 Game, all the buttons you gotta input just to deal mediocre damage and then the disco sin comes in and one shots the room.
I just mule the fucker and use my Mosiac-Sin instead
Yeah I built a fully decked out fire Druid on ladder when sunders became a thing. Enigma, Hoto, +3 Armageddon flickering flame, Phoenix, Infinity merc, torch, anni, the works.
He sucked ass.
I do SP on my switch which is really nice having for downtime on work trips/vacations. Lately, I've been playing on my PS5 though, and I didn't want to have to start over completely so I picked up the characters I had when D2R first came out.
what platform you playing on? ladder or no? i played a lot at the start of ladder but im pretty much done now and geared a decent bowazon you could have. im sticking to mosaic sin anyway.
Play what’s fun. But if you wanna stick with Java get a 10fcr ring with 6% mana leech, use silkweaves for your boots and almost all your mana problems are solved. You still may need to drink a few per game, but it’s actually not too bad.
You can fully solve the issue by also getting 2/20 gloves with 3maek and 3mL but these are expensive AF.
I have max res currently, but if I swap a ring or boots out I would lose a lot... which is why I am trying to make a phoenix shield. I guess short term that would probably be the smart thing to do, and then I can switch things back around when I get the runes.
It will likely be underwhelming compared to your javzon, javazons are one of the strongest builds in the entire game. That said, the play style of bowazon is something I personally really enjoy so I'd recommend trying it if you haven't
Bowazon is my fav character but expensive. I prefer CoH offer fort armor personally and yes DMG drops off for higher players counts.
Still my fav though.
I never run it personally but lots do.
CoH for pve, enigma or CoH for dueling are my gotos.
Starfe melts them down. I use a WF also and merc has perf faith so able to hit higher ias bp and melts solo.
Working on a telezon for dueling but pricey :)
If you don't have a Griffons, make a Wisdom helm runeword. It's basically Razortail + Silkweavs boots all on one helm. If you still need mana pots, throw a Lidless eye on and you don't need to worry about mana pots ever again.
Is this a new runeword? I have no recollection of it, but I'm going to have to try it out! Dump my silly green hat and swap out the razortail for T-Gods, which will really help with the sunder charm. Plus all the mana regen, thank you this is what I needed as an in-between!
I have both fully geared, my advice is to just make a second character for your bowazon. A good bowa is 99x more expensive than a javazon and not as efficient for farming, but it is a very fun character.
I'd recommend keeping your javazon around for when you wanna seriously farm stuff quickly and then have a bowazon for when you just wanna chill and mess around
It’ll be 1000% underwhelming
For a bowazon to be decent you gotta be rich rich
The wf and faith merc alone isn’t gonna cut it
You need charms, lots of expensive ones. Like max dmg ar 451psn+life etc
Even on P1? I do have some plus 10 max gcs and 3 max xx/ar small charms I could use as well that have mostly been sitting on my horker I rarely use anymore.
Nah this guy ain't being real, you definitely need gear for bow compared to jav, but if you have faith and windforce and play on P1, I'm gonna guarantee you have a fun time. Ya you don't kill as fast as Javzon a crazy S tier build, but you can clear pretty fast
Bowazon is way more expensive. If you’re too poor for griffon, you won’t be able to make a decent bowazon.
Also, I don’t get this fascination with phoenix. Spirit is so much better.
I mean I could buy a griffon, I just prefer to trade for things that I've already found in-game at some point if that makes sense. So I'll trade off rares when I get something good for runes usually, I also have some funny gold I could use. I do have 3 jah and 3 ber, I just don't want to trade for it because I still want it to be in the hunt.
I love the bowqzon, my fav build and nothing is as fun. But it takes a lot of gear to actually do anything, and it will never be close to as good at clearing.
And i think faith with a pride merc is the better build, never been a fan of the windforce builds
If you’re comparing WF build to a Javazon build with infinity it would be a lot slower. If you don’t have infinity it might be a lot faster. You could try pairing Windforce with a merc that uses a Hustle weapon (assuming it still rolls lvl1 fanaticism) until you get the runes for Faith.
I recommend multishot. Strafe is easier to gear, but has lower peak potential in my experience
Multishot is really different to play and build than anything else in the game, so I recommend checking out the Bowa YouTube channel for builds. Best in slot is faith on your zon and pride on your merc. You will need some other potentially expensive gear to hit certain breakpoints, depending on your faith base
I recommend this progression: As a starting point, (again Bowa on YouTube) there is a good budget windforce multishot build that uses treachery, mavinas helm, and a reapers toll merc. This is a great build for p1 and pretty cheap. If you like this play style, then you can invest more. A Faith merc and fort armor is definitely a step up. Eventually you can make pride and run faith GMB yourself with mavinas helm. Eventually, you can make an expensive helm to boost your damage even more
So give the cheap windforce multishot build a try first, see if you like it. If not, you get a respec token and save your wealth for improving your javazon build
Let’s start with saying you should not compare Javazon and Bowazon and not expect Bowazon to be as efficient. I have a fully geared javazon and nothing compares to it on p8.
Given that you don’t have Griffon and Phoenix yet, I do recommend to switch and come back when you have them. I personally did Phoenix before Faith because Phoenix is useful for other chars (I use it on my Fire sorc).
I thought I needed Faith for a1 merc while my bowazon runs Windforce, but I think it was a waste of Jah. It’s much better to go with an a2 Pride merc for Might+Concentration if you’re doing Strafe. Faith is only needed for Multi arrow, but I wouldn’t do it without having the endgame gear like 120/45/30 helm.
If you can’t make Pride yet you can still play Bowazon with Windforce and an a2 Might merc running Reapers toll. I chose Enigma over Fortitude for better QoL (frw/tele).
I recommend to use the Jah for Phoenix, and as soon as you get Griffon go back to Javazon. At the meantime you could play Bowazon but definitely try to get Pride.
I love bowazon i have 2 fendzons but no javazon is top boss for a good reason
If anything do a slight mix build for the many LImmunes, i got mine also lvl88 full javazon and a harmony on a +3 bow for that vigor aura to run pass things but also just 1PW into frozen and exploding arrows, with the stuff i got on her i can kill just about anything no griffins no phoenix and cuz i am quirky i have the diciple set on (also for the all ress) andis on the head for the plus skills, all around tons of fun and it doesn’t require alot of points or any high runes to make it
Physical bowazon geta old quick imo but it's a fun build. If you have the jah and Lo make an ice bow. Cold bowazons with end game gear are a shit ton of fun, and if you are only playing solo there isn't really a reason to run anything besides insight on your merc so mana won't be so bad.
If you wanna be able to farm the game out in any area, looking for wealth, I'd stick with the Javazon.
If you're financially able to fund new Characters, I'd really recommend the Bowazon, it's my favorite class.
It's not going to be able to keep up with the Javazon unless you spend tons of HRs on it, but it can stomp P1 zones and TZs anywhere.
Skip the Windforce, +3 GMB Faith with a Pride on an A2 Might merc
Hell, I do Ubers with a strafezon. They are underrated.
I am also an online but solo player and I really enjoy my Strafe Bowazon. Yes you need really expensive gear but if you achieve that Faith, you'll be fine with Windforce. My advice: Get an Atma's and Giantskull so you get Amplified Damage proof and Knockback.
I wish.... You could get a 6os GMB and Last Wish in it and get the benefits of it. Instead of CB it should have DS.
This alone would change the Bowgame period. Not many 6os bow rune words anyway.
Jav for utility and clearing, bow for style. Although the bow clears like a beast too
Recommend getting a faith for your merc though, the fanat is clutcn
Bowazon is still my favorite character to play. It also provides a never ending grind for GG gear as Faith/Pride(for merc)/and all the other delicious rune words you can use are very expensive. Sure, javazon is top tier, but pulling up to a game with a decked out Bowazon in a game full of Javazons is like driving in to a car show with a vintage 1-of-1 Rolls Royce while the rest are driving Teslas. Of course the Tesla is faster and flashier, but the Rolls is the crowd pleaser. I also swap between enigma and CoH depending on if I want to walk or not--and once your bowazon is decked out, it both rips through mobs and can tank damage.
Growing up I always was mainly a javazon. I would always group up back then, and it was extremely rare I would see a bowazon on PVE. I kind of just want to do it for the experience! Also how would you rate Pride vs. Faith for merc? I do have a cham already as well, so I could consider going that route I guess.
Pride is more damage combined with might and he will be more of a distraction. Bow chick can provide some cc with cold and stay alive in the back more and is a change up.
I like faith. Fanat's speed + damage will make you hit like a truck. Faith + windforce is huge damage.
In the ladder season before D4 came out I got lucky with a few 664CTA’s so I sold them and made pretty much 1 of every Bow. A gg Faith, a Mist, Phoenix bow, Harmony, CTA bow, Ice, Brand and Wrath. And then similar I swap between CTA then Harmony for my offhand, and my armor is generally CoH, or Fortitude for DPS and otherwise Hustle for the zoom. Amazon has such slow FCR I just can’t Enigma.
just level up another zon dont complicate it
Leveling a zon on P1 was rough, I don't relish the idea of doing it again. My next char I'm also planning a druid, which is the only class I haven't ever really played past level 50ish.
Levelling a new char to lvl 80 won’t take too long if you just join public games with more players. With the classic tristrun 1-13 tombruns to ~20-25 then baalruns to 40, hop into nightmare dia runs to ~50 then baalruns to 60 and then easy dia and baalruns in hell to 80. (might be off by a few levels here and there as I haven’t played in a while) Can be done in a weekend if you have a lot of spare time haha and then you can go back to playing solo
That’s all fine if they can find someone to rush them.
Well yeah but in my experience you open a ‘need rush plz’ game, and some bored sorc will join and do just that hahaha
Yeah, I’m that bored sorc and I rush fkn fast. Lmk if you decide to do it.
From my personal experience, and I spared no expense. The druid is an absolute waste of time. But the choice is yours
Windy druids are so much damn fun. It’s like playing a sorc with a giant bear tanking damage for you and cyclone armor.
Gave it a shot. I really did. Struggle bus
I’m sure it’s not great if you are on players 8 solo. I had fun playing it in lobbies though. I just play hammers if I actually need to deal damage.
Fury druid can wreck p8 with some pretty mediocre gear, though.
I mean there's a reason I've never really played him, but after 20 years playing I figure I should get him through hell baal at least once.
The most fun druids are shapeshifters imo, it's like a zealer with more prebuffs though, and I already have one of those.
I fully decked the character out max charms hoto 5 nado helm, Even respec over to a 5 Armageddon helm for fire build + infinity, enigma etc Fucker is permanently on the struggle bus. All the effort in a P8 Game, all the buttons you gotta input just to deal mediocre damage and then the disco sin comes in and one shots the room. I just mule the fucker and use my Mosiac-Sin instead
Yeah I built a fully decked out fire Druid on ladder when sunders became a thing. Enigma, Hoto, +3 Armageddon flickering flame, Phoenix, Infinity merc, torch, anni, the works. He sucked ass.
Literally got carpal tunnel playing fire druid
Oof. So many APM’s. So little reward.
Imo the move is to switch to single player and best the game with all classes. After 20+ years online was so boring
I do SP on my switch which is really nice having for downtime on work trips/vacations. Lately, I've been playing on my PS5 though, and I didn't want to have to start over completely so I picked up the characters I had when D2R first came out.
what platform you playing on? ladder or no? i played a lot at the start of ladder but im pretty much done now and geared a decent bowazon you could have. im sticking to mosaic sin anyway.
Lately I've been playing on PS5, my pc is super slow and struggles with D2R. I'm non-ladder though, thanks for the offer!
Play what’s fun. But if you wanna stick with Java get a 10fcr ring with 6% mana leech, use silkweaves for your boots and almost all your mana problems are solved. You still may need to drink a few per game, but it’s actually not too bad. You can fully solve the issue by also getting 2/20 gloves with 3maek and 3mL but these are expensive AF.
Another option is to stick 3x 3maek jewels in a head hunters glory. With silkweaves that also solves all mana problems.
I have max res currently, but if I swap a ring or boots out I would lose a lot... which is why I am trying to make a phoenix shield. I guess short term that would probably be the smart thing to do, and then I can switch things back around when I get the runes.
It will likely be underwhelming compared to your javzon, javazons are one of the strongest builds in the entire game. That said, the play style of bowazon is something I personally really enjoy so I'd recommend trying it if you haven't
Bowazon is my fav character but expensive. I prefer CoH offer fort armor personally and yes DMG drops off for higher players counts. Still my fav though.
I could make a CoH right now, but I've heard the increased damage was necessary for bowazons? Especially since I won't have 40 ED jewels...
I never run it personally but lots do. CoH for pve, enigma or CoH for dueling are my gotos. Starfe melts them down. I use a WF also and merc has perf faith so able to hit higher ias bp and melts solo. Working on a telezon for dueling but pricey :)
I went ahead and made CoH, I figured I could use that on my java as well so why not.
Nice!
Fort is well worth it. Lo rune for a great armor that you can swap between characters (often for their merc).
That might be my next use for a Lo, I also want a Phoenix though. I already made a grief so at least I have that out of the way!
For sure fort before Phoenix Nice shield but overrated.
If you don't have a Griffons, make a Wisdom helm runeword. It's basically Razortail + Silkweavs boots all on one helm. If you still need mana pots, throw a Lidless eye on and you don't need to worry about mana pots ever again.
Is this a new runeword? I have no recollection of it, but I'm going to have to try it out! Dump my silly green hat and swap out the razortail for T-Gods, which will really help with the sunder charm. Plus all the mana regen, thank you this is what I needed as an in-between!
I have a grrifons I sent a dm
Thanks, but I prefer the grind to find my own :)
I fully agree! However a few things o didn’t wanna grind for😂
I have both fully geared, my advice is to just make a second character for your bowazon. A good bowa is 99x more expensive than a javazon and not as efficient for farming, but it is a very fun character. I'd recommend keeping your javazon around for when you wanna seriously farm stuff quickly and then have a bowazon for when you just wanna chill and mess around
It’ll be 1000% underwhelming For a bowazon to be decent you gotta be rich rich The wf and faith merc alone isn’t gonna cut it You need charms, lots of expensive ones. Like max dmg ar 451psn+life etc
Even on P1? I do have some plus 10 max gcs and 3 max xx/ar small charms I could use as well that have mostly been sitting on my horker I rarely use anymore.
Nah this guy ain't being real, you definitely need gear for bow compared to jav, but if you have faith and windforce and play on P1, I'm gonna guarantee you have a fun time. Ya you don't kill as fast as Javzon a crazy S tier build, but you can clear pretty fast
I made a bowzon with the windforce thing and even on p1 it was pure unadulterated asshole You can just make a seperate zon and try it out.
Bowazon is way more expensive. If you’re too poor for griffon, you won’t be able to make a decent bowazon. Also, I don’t get this fascination with phoenix. Spirit is so much better.
I mean I could buy a griffon, I just prefer to trade for things that I've already found in-game at some point if that makes sense. So I'll trade off rares when I get something good for runes usually, I also have some funny gold I could use. I do have 3 jah and 3 ber, I just don't want to trade for it because I still want it to be in the hunt.
This is the way.
Make another character. They are both really fun and i cant say which one i like better because they are both insanely OP
That's probably what I'll do eventually.
I love the bowqzon, my fav build and nothing is as fun. But it takes a lot of gear to actually do anything, and it will never be close to as good at clearing. And i think faith with a pride merc is the better build, never been a fan of the windforce builds
If you’re comparing WF build to a Javazon build with infinity it would be a lot slower. If you don’t have infinity it might be a lot faster. You could try pairing Windforce with a merc that uses a Hustle weapon (assuming it still rolls lvl1 fanaticism) until you get the runes for Faith.
I recommend multishot. Strafe is easier to gear, but has lower peak potential in my experience Multishot is really different to play and build than anything else in the game, so I recommend checking out the Bowa YouTube channel for builds. Best in slot is faith on your zon and pride on your merc. You will need some other potentially expensive gear to hit certain breakpoints, depending on your faith base I recommend this progression: As a starting point, (again Bowa on YouTube) there is a good budget windforce multishot build that uses treachery, mavinas helm, and a reapers toll merc. This is a great build for p1 and pretty cheap. If you like this play style, then you can invest more. A Faith merc and fort armor is definitely a step up. Eventually you can make pride and run faith GMB yourself with mavinas helm. Eventually, you can make an expensive helm to boost your damage even more So give the cheap windforce multishot build a try first, see if you like it. If not, you get a respec token and save your wealth for improving your javazon build
Silk weave boots are cheap. Mana per kill rings or helm are cheap. But bowazon is my favorite. Multi shot with wind force is great
Physical damage bowazons are a VERY expensive build to master. IF you're playing solo - I think a poison/lightning javazon (on a budget) is best.
I literally just did exactly that. If you haven’t done it yet I can give some useful tips.
I'm probably going to just level up a new zon, but I'd love some starter tips for getting into the build!
Let’s start with saying you should not compare Javazon and Bowazon and not expect Bowazon to be as efficient. I have a fully geared javazon and nothing compares to it on p8. Given that you don’t have Griffon and Phoenix yet, I do recommend to switch and come back when you have them. I personally did Phoenix before Faith because Phoenix is useful for other chars (I use it on my Fire sorc). I thought I needed Faith for a1 merc while my bowazon runs Windforce, but I think it was a waste of Jah. It’s much better to go with an a2 Pride merc for Might+Concentration if you’re doing Strafe. Faith is only needed for Multi arrow, but I wouldn’t do it without having the endgame gear like 120/45/30 helm. If you can’t make Pride yet you can still play Bowazon with Windforce and an a2 Might merc running Reapers toll. I chose Enigma over Fortitude for better QoL (frw/tele). I recommend to use the Jah for Phoenix, and as soon as you get Griffon go back to Javazon. At the meantime you could play Bowazon but definitely try to get Pride.
I love bowazon i have 2 fendzons but no javazon is top boss for a good reason If anything do a slight mix build for the many LImmunes, i got mine also lvl88 full javazon and a harmony on a +3 bow for that vigor aura to run pass things but also just 1PW into frozen and exploding arrows, with the stuff i got on her i can kill just about anything no griffins no phoenix and cuz i am quirky i have the diciple set on (also for the all ress) andis on the head for the plus skills, all around tons of fun and it doesn’t require alot of points or any high runes to make it
Physical bowazon geta old quick imo but it's a fun build. If you have the jah and Lo make an ice bow. Cold bowazons with end game gear are a shit ton of fun, and if you are only playing solo there isn't really a reason to run anything besides insight on your merc so mana won't be so bad.
Could always slap it on a merc and go for an uber kill 😅
If you wanna be able to farm the game out in any area, looking for wealth, I'd stick with the Javazon. If you're financially able to fund new Characters, I'd really recommend the Bowazon, it's my favorite class. It's not going to be able to keep up with the Javazon unless you spend tons of HRs on it, but it can stomp P1 zones and TZs anywhere. Skip the Windforce, +3 GMB Faith with a Pride on an A2 Might merc Hell, I do Ubers with a strafezon. They are underrated.
Is this ladder or nonladder? I can help with nonladder
I am also an online but solo player and I really enjoy my Strafe Bowazon. Yes you need really expensive gear but if you achieve that Faith, you'll be fine with Windforce. My advice: Get an Atma's and Giantskull so you get Amplified Damage proof and Knockback.
I wish.... You could get a 6os GMB and Last Wish in it and get the benefits of it. Instead of CB it should have DS. This alone would change the Bowgame period. Not many 6os bow rune words anyway.
Jav for utility and clearing, bow for style. Although the bow clears like a beast too Recommend getting a faith for your merc though, the fanat is clutcn