05-06-2004, 07:44 AM
I built a softcore witchy zon with 400 dex, 90% IAS, tal's armor/head/belt for magic find. I upgraded her bow to get extra damage. The bow was mid-range in the enhanced damage department. I found that she could not kill fast enough in hell to be useful for magic find, at least in my personal expectations for softcore. Specific observations:
The 2% chance to cast amp is not nearly often enough. Strafing PI bosses in the (Hell) river of flame took some minutes to kill just one boss, with most of the time spent waiting for the amp to go off so I could do some damage. Adding atma's for the 5% amp was much better, though the killing was still too slow for my tastes.
Laying of hands was nice for the extra damage vs demons, but the chance-to-cast blocks _all_ your skills for a short while when it goes off, which was annoying at times. Gloves with crushing blow worked much better
overall, as they gave a comparable amount of extra damage, against all foes, and did not have the annoying chance-to-cast delays.
Regarding strafe speed issues mentioned in the other responses: I found that there was a visible difference between the strafe speed at 90% vs 80%, namely, at 80% the arrows do not overlap vs a single target; at 90% they do.
Also, I recently learned that strafe arrows have a next-hit delay attached, so only one arrow can hit per 4 frames against a single target. :angry: This explains something I had observed and wondered about: My guided arrows were much more effective at taking down Diablo than my strafe arrows. (This was in nighmare--I wouldn't suggest strafing Hell Diablo, even in softcore. :) ) Apparently my 2-frame strafe, plus the 4-frame next-hit delay meant that at most half of my strafe arrows could hit.
I've still got my Witchyzon hanging around, so if the Lurker's can suggest some way to help her kill fast enough to be fun in Hell, I'm all ears. :)
Cheers,
Jimbowe
The 2% chance to cast amp is not nearly often enough. Strafing PI bosses in the (Hell) river of flame took some minutes to kill just one boss, with most of the time spent waiting for the amp to go off so I could do some damage. Adding atma's for the 5% amp was much better, though the killing was still too slow for my tastes.
Laying of hands was nice for the extra damage vs demons, but the chance-to-cast blocks _all_ your skills for a short while when it goes off, which was annoying at times. Gloves with crushing blow worked much better
overall, as they gave a comparable amount of extra damage, against all foes, and did not have the annoying chance-to-cast delays.
Regarding strafe speed issues mentioned in the other responses: I found that there was a visible difference between the strafe speed at 90% vs 80%, namely, at 80% the arrows do not overlap vs a single target; at 90% they do.
Also, I recently learned that strafe arrows have a next-hit delay attached, so only one arrow can hit per 4 frames against a single target. :angry: This explains something I had observed and wondered about: My guided arrows were much more effective at taking down Diablo than my strafe arrows. (This was in nighmare--I wouldn't suggest strafing Hell Diablo, even in softcore. :) ) Apparently my 2-frame strafe, plus the 4-frame next-hit delay meant that at most half of my strafe arrows could hit.
I've still got my Witchyzon hanging around, so if the Lurker's can suggest some way to help her kill fast enough to be fun in Hell, I'm all ears. :)
Cheers,
Jimbowe