03-28-2003, 10:40 PM
Hi Saga_Keeper,
I've played a thrower/frenzarian hybrid and he was a lot of fun to play. Throwing gives you heaps of tactical flexibility, a great safety-first option when you face a really tough mob, plus it's a change of pace - avoids monotony.
I went for maxing both my masteries (Sword was the back-up for me), and put about 10 into each of War Cry, Battle Orders and Frenzy. One point-investments in all other war cries and all the other combat skills except WW. I didn't pump Double Throw as the AR bonus didn't seem to justify it. I had about +5 skills from equipment.
I chose to use War Cry for defence because I had no good armour at the time. However, there's a case for keeping STR low and wearing light armour anyway - I think the STR req for flying knives is low - if you can find some nice ones. The DEX reqs are high generally for throwing weapons, so it would be ideal to choose your non-throwing weapons to fit this. Lightsabre is an obvious thought, or better still two of them. However, as I don't have even one Lightsabre, I can't speak from experience on that point.
War Cry worked well with the build. By Hell difficulty, I was often using throwing in panic-mode - ie, get in trouble due to Frenzied run speed (plus rashness), panic-cast War Cry, back off and start throwing as the Fanat-enchanted hordes surged towards me. When they get close enough, War Cry again and back off some more. Grim Ward helped as well.
I used a Holy Freeze merc. It may be that Might would have been a better choice, but it's good to be able to keep your distance (and because they're moving slower, you've done more damage by the time they reach you). Or a cold Iron Wolf - I used one of those from Normal A3 to NM A2 and he was great, but I don't know if he'd have worked as well in late NM or Hell.
On the choice of throwing weapons, I would bear in mind that knives and axes fly faster through the air and have bigger stack sizes than javelins, but the best javelins have the highest damage. I found knives and axes more fun. They create an almost constant stream of iron in front of you, like a physical Inferno.
Another advantage of javelins or axes is that you could use them for your Frenzy weapon as well - Spear/Axe Mastery work with them in melee (I don't think there's any mastery that boosts knives in melee, but others may know better). That would allow you to keep your weapon switch for a big two-hander for Berzerking, or a shield set-up for resists. You'll tend to lack a little for skill points, so may not find many points for Nat Res (I had just one plus adders).
Throwing is not a particularly high damage build, but it is powerful if you define power as the ability to handle a lot of different situations.
Good luck with your character.
I've played a thrower/frenzarian hybrid and he was a lot of fun to play. Throwing gives you heaps of tactical flexibility, a great safety-first option when you face a really tough mob, plus it's a change of pace - avoids monotony.
I went for maxing both my masteries (Sword was the back-up for me), and put about 10 into each of War Cry, Battle Orders and Frenzy. One point-investments in all other war cries and all the other combat skills except WW. I didn't pump Double Throw as the AR bonus didn't seem to justify it. I had about +5 skills from equipment.
I chose to use War Cry for defence because I had no good armour at the time. However, there's a case for keeping STR low and wearing light armour anyway - I think the STR req for flying knives is low - if you can find some nice ones. The DEX reqs are high generally for throwing weapons, so it would be ideal to choose your non-throwing weapons to fit this. Lightsabre is an obvious thought, or better still two of them. However, as I don't have even one Lightsabre, I can't speak from experience on that point.
War Cry worked well with the build. By Hell difficulty, I was often using throwing in panic-mode - ie, get in trouble due to Frenzied run speed (plus rashness), panic-cast War Cry, back off and start throwing as the Fanat-enchanted hordes surged towards me. When they get close enough, War Cry again and back off some more. Grim Ward helped as well.
I used a Holy Freeze merc. It may be that Might would have been a better choice, but it's good to be able to keep your distance (and because they're moving slower, you've done more damage by the time they reach you). Or a cold Iron Wolf - I used one of those from Normal A3 to NM A2 and he was great, but I don't know if he'd have worked as well in late NM or Hell.
On the choice of throwing weapons, I would bear in mind that knives and axes fly faster through the air and have bigger stack sizes than javelins, but the best javelins have the highest damage. I found knives and axes more fun. They create an almost constant stream of iron in front of you, like a physical Inferno.
Another advantage of javelins or axes is that you could use them for your Frenzy weapon as well - Spear/Axe Mastery work with them in melee (I don't think there's any mastery that boosts knives in melee, but others may know better). That would allow you to keep your weapon switch for a big two-hander for Berzerking, or a shield set-up for resists. You'll tend to lack a little for skill points, so may not find many points for Nat Res (I had just one plus adders).
Throwing is not a particularly high damage build, but it is powerful if you define power as the ability to handle a lot of different situations.
Good luck with your character.
- Cartimandua