Lots of skill points leftover for mageazon

[Vash]

Hey all...my mageazon is level 64. Has 1 in bow/crossbow prereqs as well as 1 in guided. Maxed Frozen Arrow and Immolation Arrow. Also 1 in every passive except for Avoid where there are 7 points. None in Jav skills.

I currently have 8 unspent skill points. I have done all of the "skill point" quests in normal and nm but I haven't entered hell yet.

Anyone have any ideas where I should spend all my leftover points?

Some info:
1) I do not plan on making this character "1.10 compliant". I won't put points into future synergy skills. I really don't understand why people are "preparing" their characters for 1.10. Just make new ones when the patch comes out! :P

2) Putting more points in Guided probably won't do much since I'm only using a Kuko anyway.

3) I currently have +3 to Bow skills and +2 to all skills (Que'Hegan and and a rare amulet). I can expect to get an additional +2 to all skills in the future (+1 circlet that I will eventually gamble :D and a +2 amulet replacement). Perhaps I will also get my hands on some +skill grand charms.

4) I've been lazy and have not been using decoy much. I sometimes cast decoy into an unexplored room when I'm feeling...dilligent. The level 3 ( 1 +2) Valk and my prayer merc have been doing fine by themselves.

5) I'm wondering about evade. Ice in his mageazon guide recommended it. I believe I asked around about evade lock a while ago but didn't get a straight answer. Is it really an issue? If not, I suppose I'll put more points there (though I'd still need another skill to pour points into in addition to evade).

[Casperi]

Looks like it's time to build up your passive skills. First thing is, boost your Pierce up to 55% so you'll get over 100% with Kuko (which has 50 on it).

Next, add to the D/A/E skills to taste. I like them at around 40% each. I have never been "locked" by a dodge skill in 1.09 long enough to cause worries.

After that, you could increase Valkyrie. Once you get to hell mode, your level 3 valk may not be as useful. I personally like a stong valk that can survive several hits, so I can keep Decoy on my right click to reposition during combat - instead of constantly recasting a weak valk.

One point in Guided is fine for a mageazon. You have plenty of mana to fuel it, and you're just using GA's autohit feature to deliver the elemental damage of your equipment. So, you don't need the extra physical damage or the reduced mana cost.

Hope that helps,
Casperi
with level 80 SC Mageazon

[Occhidiangela]

IIRC, it was fixed when the Expansion was released.

I'd recommend more points in Pierce, and Give Valkyrie a few more to survive better in Hell.

[jms]

Getting a nice piece % is key with that build.

I'd recommend more points in valkyrie too, but keep in mind that her AI is still terrible. What this amounts to is that most of the time, your valk'll be taking in the scenery, and you'll have to combat cast her. You want to balance the strength of your valk and the amount of mana it takes to recast her (which obviously depends upon your leech and initial mana pool). The downside of having to combat cast valk is that you'll need a filler skill while your casting timer gets back in sync. Except for using that time to fire off a few rounds of multi, there's no great solution to this that I know of.

Alternatively, you could use decoy for combat casting, and let the valk saunter over. I always found that decoy went down too fast--however, if you want to make a significant investment in the skill, that might be the way to go. I never had the free points to try that out.

[Vash]

The % on pierce will be 49 at the next level. I haven't been putting points into pierce since I expect to get an additional +2 skills in the future.

I don't think putting more points into Decoy would be a good idea because my decoy is as frail as the zon herself (even more frail since the decoy does not have evasion skills). I'm guessing the decoy will die way before the time duration runs out anyway.

Thanks for your suggestions...I'll put more into evasion skills and Valk.