The Great Race; a proposal for "Khalim" awards

[Crystalion]

But does it really matter? I mean, once you've poisoned them that's it.                                                                         
Although at a couple of points you'll have to wait for the mob to die.
I'd be interested in the thrower results anyway, best way to compare is with real data ;)

a) yup, they will die soon, but live long enough to be a threat in later acts. I can remember getting killed several times in CS by monsters waiting to die.

B) I don't wait.

Hmm. Very interesting points of view. Since this is the workshop and not the Armory I'll make a few comments (though "IRL" I'd bow to either of your results in practice)...

Both the Blaze Sorc and PJav builds want to avoid certain kinds of situations and seek out others. At higher game difficulties this is likely to be a problem. It seems very unlikely to be an insurmountable problem in normal through clvl 40 however. Some of the better solutions to situational problems with the build can be spot-solved by location rushing (act/waypoint). So in that respect this is a difference in ease and efficiency depending on whether the build is a "bootstrap" or a "reward-rush" character.

PJav skills only work with Jav class weapons, and apparently thrusting (1h jav, dagger type) weapons have a decent block frame rate for shield using amazons, whereas all other weapon types have a sucky block frame rate.

Interestingly, IIRC, Barbarians have a really good base speed with javalins. Looking at the D2data numbers, the only thing I can see in favor of throwing axes (2 base types) over Javalins (5 base types) is quantity. The means the Blood craft recipe (throwing axes) is probably relevant (did you mention that yet? I know the guides you refer to do) as the automods for it are nicer than the Safety craft recipe (Javalins). Still, a PJav'er won't be throwing as many Javs as the double throw barb throws axes.

I don't recall whether only throwing mastery applies (i.e. no double mastery via axe mastery) when you are throwing, not meleeing...?

Throwing daggers (2 base types), OTOH, have the highest quantity, and are the only one of the 3 types (Jav, axe, dag) to have the "of piercing" aka ITD mod available. Of course they don't have a craft recipe, so qlvl is relevant for the sake of doing imbue rushes--hmm, others are better at this than I, but it looks to me like the affix is clvl req 18, alvl 25, so only the elites have high enough qlvl to work. Still, I'm rather found of ITD so it's a thought (an important thought, if you aren't a class with huge AR bonus to throwing... both Paladins with Holy Shock and Sorc with Enchant come to mind).

Assassins are a special case. They have throwing AR problems as well, but a huge variety of things they can throw (any weapon other than throwing potions contributes) at high speed (5 per second, with area spamming). For them socketing a cruel with some Eths is quite easy and the use of uniques and runeword items as good throwing fodder can be simply amazing (Blade Fury transmits effects).

In other words, any v1.10s argument that a Barb, with Throwing Mastery and Double Throw, trumps the PJav technique for net utility, is going to run smack into the probability that a properly equiped Assassin is the uber thrower now, for pure damage and effects delivery (again, apart from the amazon only poison cloud effects). Arguments can still be made based on other class skills as to which you prefer, of course.

Even this pales if you have a decent Enchantress to bless you. When you have that, Blade Fury is still good, but Multishot begins to look just silly good. Since charges are rather limited for MS for other classes, the obvious answer there are the Exploding Arrow bows.

For example, if your bootstrap (fresh ladder) plan includes two accounts (self or by friend) and you can get a decent Enchantress going, then a clvl req 15 Ravenclaw bow becomes an uber leveling tool (and, of course, why not also give one to your Rogue hireling?). If you are so lucky as to get a Kuko (iirc clvl req 33) and a Razortail belt for arrow piercing, so much the better.

Of course, if rushing is the goal, Druid summons would be a reasonable choice, but Necro summons (Blessed Aim merc I suspect) all Enchanted would be obscenely good (fyi, Skel Mages don't benefit, but afaik ranged revives do).

In fact, this is so super uber that I suspect Enchant should be nerfed to do less +fire if you aren't the Sorc herself or her minions--perhaps a duration nerf in that case would do as well. Such a change would still make the Sorc herself very interesting in combo with the new items and runewords granting her various minions.

So one of the more interesting Great Race questions is getting a Sorc to level 40+ (assuming no prior Enchantress available, and that she has to dump almost all her points into an accelerated Enchant build plan). The bootstrap plan I'd consider would have you using two players, and you'd bootstrap a Static Field Sorc first, and then usually use her to help others (including the Enchantress) achieve their build plans in normal, and the Enchantress to help others in nightmare and hell (and sometimes in normal, in preference to the SF assist). For the SF bootstrap Sorc, since Blaze is so effective, one could presumably keep your skill point investment down (using Leaf or some other suitable but not-too-hard to get staff) while building her levels and maxing her Static Field.

Yes, I'm suggesting that any competent two person team will find better bootstrap strategies than any poor unfortunate solo player--even if they have two accounts--can find, since they must fundamentally rely on the power of item acquisition ramp-up (even though runewords make that quite a Holy Grail in v1.10).