Elric of Grans,Apr 26 2003, 10:45 PM Wrote:`Boo hoo, people look down on me because I need to pay money to cheat, but at least I'm not one of the people making these items, or causing Blizzard troubles. Just leave me alone, boo hoo.'

Elric of Grans,Apr 27 2003, 03:45 AM Wrote:I have a Cracked Sash that my friend, The Smith, hacked down to 0 durability:

Quote:Pfft, my Desert Amazon would like to introduce him to the sharp end of her Pike!

Quote:Originally posted by CelticHound
(edit2: note to Atega: I believe Foxbat objects - and if so I agree - because the article is sensationalist tripe. I think they hosted it just to stir things up and get more page hits. Surely, someone must be able to come up with a better rationalization for cheating than that clown did. At least don't make the flaws quite so painfully obvious.)

Quote:Excellent!! Congratulations to Grand Matron Hippolyta, Champion of Hell

Looks like you caught a key point, that a True Amazon should be able to take out ANY creature, by herself, there should be nothing that sends her home packing or moaning.

I had two Amazons in D2, but was sad by the tediousness of melee combat. Compare thunk thunk with an axe or sword(/shield) with blasts of multishot or lightning fury. Part of my 'problem' was trying to recreate these personalities from D1, where they just tore things up in melee combat, and killing speed was almost equal between melee, bow and magic - it was truly a choice of situation and preference which you went with. Going into it without such emotional baggage or with an expectation for slower going at high lvls would help for D2. Here's the rub... the Amazon was designed to be very tough at low lvl, and progressively less shackled until at the highest lvl she was a killing machine. The D2 system meant that she had no particular problems at all before lvl 30, got tough in NM, and became tedious in Hell, just the opposite!

For the Amazon variants, let me first describe their D1 intent:
- Jungle amazon had to be low armor. This took away the 'invulnerability' that a high AC fast block rogue had. Also, many D1 AMZ's abandoned the bow at high lvls, the Jungle Amazon favors the bow.
- Desert Amazon - descendents of Valkyrie and Amazon alike, masters of the spear
- Mountain amazons had no D1 counterpart. They were envisioned as an amz tribe that loved to use height to their advantage by using javelins and boulders(!)
- Barbaric Amazon - those who eschew juju, cousins to the Barbarian
- Amazonian Spellbinder - Amazon tradition in the Sorceress class


How does this translate to intent for D2?
- Jungle Amazon - low AC, at most breastplate and probably lighter. They use *bow*, not javelin, as their main attack.
- Desert Amazon starts to look more like a typical Spearazon build at higher lvls, but still packs a bow and s/s and knows how to use them)
- Mountain Amazon
> Other than the training and role, what would be the
> difference between them and the next Javelin Amazon?
By 'rule', nothing in gear and skills, but hopefully by the higher lvls you've build up a style and role that does differentiate. What I would likely do is to choose a skill other than the uber Ltning Fury for my main attack, and bring that out only when fighting 'mortal enemies' like succubus and their friends. Sadly, LtFury only became uber with one of the patches, when I build mine up, painstakingly, it was a very so-so skill. Poor girl also maxed the clvl 30 melee lightning skill, a TRUE dog. One stylistic point to keep in mind with playing a mountain AMZ would be to always STRIVE to get on high ground for your attack. (Even if it's just a few feet above your foe, like in-pit vs top-of-pit in the bloody foothills). Lure things back to stairs on the Plains of Despair, etc. (dangerous ;P)
- BAR-AMZ:
> It sounds like this one is mostly Axe, Sword Shield,
> whatever...is that right?
Pretty much, except not 'whatever'! Axe and Sword are by far preferred as traditional Amazonian wpns. There is a slight unwritten preference for Crossbow over Bow for Bar-Amz's (all other AMZ types have a tendency to prefer the Bow over the Crossbow, although that's not a hard-n-fast thing)
- Amazon Spellbinder: > this one I am most interested
> it! Any spell restrictions? Should there be a
> balance between melee and magic? Anything else?
Absolutely! There must be a balance, and ability to handle a melee situation if you had to without running away. Given the class-specific nature of D2 spells
(opposite from D1) this leaves two very distinct options for the spellbinder:
1) Magezon (AMZ class) - a total focus on elemental bow attacks (perhaps with pois from javelin, and lightning from jav only for cold/fire immunes) She specializes in a special breed of magic where the spell 'component' is the arrow itself, imbueing her attacks with elemental power. Sadly the timer system gutted the Magezon, but it's still playable in a variant sense.
2) Sorcazon (Sorc class) - a Sorc with the mindset and attitude of an Amazon. She'll likely pump strength at least partially, have a decent lvl cold armor and strive to have non-useless AC, and a decent skil in EACH of the three trees - again, striving for balance and having NO creature that is immune to her arts! She would not wield an orb unless it have great combat stats, viewing these as wienie juju sticks that sissy ladies use. Thus combat orb, combat staff, sword and shield, or a bow, would be her choice. Like many other amazons, she'll give strong consideration to Goblin Toes. Even here, there are two strong sub-routes: melee focus with max cold armor, high lvl static field, thunderstorm, firewall dropped on a foe she's meleeing to keep it there... or more of a ranged attacker, with a knockback bow and blizzard, or something like a wicked fast sword and chain lightning. You're right, the spellbinder has a LOT of very interesting possibilities. I was playing one, planning to max cold armor, wield Khalim's flail and Golbin toes, have good Tstorm, near max Chain lightning and a little firewall. Alas she had slogged through about lvl 30 before I retired from D2.

Good luck!
Charis

Quote:Seluku: As others have said, if you're bored; There's tons of Mods you can play on

FoxBat,Apr 27 2003, 10:00 AM Wrote:I don't find much point in the constant bashing, maybe communities need to demonize people to confirm their own values, but I don't.

Brista,Apr 27 2003, 06:51 AM Wrote:I have to say what an utterly utterly brilliant piece of sensationalist journalism by Flux!

Especially when paired with his almost simultaneously published article on The Most Annoying People on Battle.net here:
http://www.diabloii.net/columnists/flux16.shtml

(You'll find the writer in question fits into a good 50% of the categories)

My first reaction to A Hacker's Plight was to be quite cross, then I decided it was almost parodic, then I read Flux' new column and practically feel out of my chair :D

I think the worthy CanisMortifer has had a rather large "Kick Me" sticker attached to his rump by a certain devious website administrator


As for the Diinet thread that followed this one stood out to me:

Does this mean we might expect Canismortified in Seven Lances soon trying to buy our YIN runes through Paypal? No wonder Foxbat is cringing

Great entertainment!

Incidentally back before D2 there was an urban myth about a "secret cow level" that many of us fell for. In D2 it came true. I'm just wondering if the playful Blizzard D3 team get their hands on this thread if there might be a cracked set Easter Egg in D3....

Quote:1) Magezon (AMZ class) - a total focus on elemental bow attacks (perhaps with pois from javelin, and lightning from jav only for cold/fire immunes) She specializes in a special breed of magic where the spell 'component' is the arrow itself, imbueing her attacks with elemental power. Sadly the timer system gutted the Magezon, but it's still playable in a variant sense.

Quote:I've been reading a couple of posts here and there throughout said thread, and Iz-GOod mentions a psychoanalyst-type by the name of Kohlberg, and that he has a sort of chart that defines how people come to what they believe is right and wrong. Or something along those lines. I found an article on Kohlberg's chart/principle/whatever at Notre Dame's site. You can find the article here.