I enjoyed doing a wirte-up for my previous Matriarch, so I figured I would do another. This one is unique in that, unlike every other one I have seen, the character being presented has attained two top-tier titles rather than one.
My character of choice for this project was a Magezon. A Magezon is a build I have never tried before and I was interested in playing one or a very similar build in both Classic and LoD, so it was a logical selection. Valhalla, I present thee!
Baroness Valhalla - Magezon
Code:
Character name : Valhalla
Character type : Amazon
Character level : 65
Character exp : 199172855
Strength : 80
Energy : 15
Dexterity : 50
Vitality : 270
Life : 1012 / 988
Mana : 289 / 111
Stamina : 398 / 398
Fire res : 75
Cold res : 49
Lightning res : 58
Poison res : 67
LCS
Skills
Passive and Magic Skills
Bow and Crossbow Skills
Gear
Valhalla
Helm: Rune Casque
Amulet: Havoc Talisman
Weapon: Doomslinger
Armour: Goldskin
Gloves: Death's Hand
Ring1: The Stone of Jordan
Belt: Death's Guard
Ring2: The Stone of Jordan
Boots: Storm Trample
Spoiler
Rune Casque
Death Mask
Defense: 112
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Strength: 55
Required Level: 25
Item Version: 1.10+ Standard
Item Level: 51
Fingerprint: 0x550dfb14
+9 to Life
+29% Enhanced Defense
+15 to Attack Rating
Fire Resist +25%
Lightning Resist +21%
+1 to Light Radius
10% Faster Hit Recovery
Havoc Talisman
Amulet
Required Level: 40
Item Version: 1.10+ Standard
Item Level: 76
Fingerprint: 0xbcae6648
+13 to Energy
+29 to Mana
+3 to Maximum Damage
All Resistances +17
5% Mana stolen per hit
+1 to Amazon Skill Levels
Doomslinger
Repeating Crossbow
Two-Hand Damage: 10 to 21
Required Dexterity: 50
Required Strength: 40
Required Level: 28
Crossbow Class - Fastest Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Standard
Item Level: 76
Fingerprint: 0xc63d3b55
+15 to Life
+75% Enhanced Damage
+1 to Amazon Skill Levels
30% Increased Attack Speed
Piercing Attack [35]
Goldskin
Full Plate Mail
Defense: 405
Durability: 70 of 70
Required Strength: 80
Required Level: 28
Item Version: 1.10+ Standard
Item Level: 62
Fingerprint: 0x1de6e037
+150% Enhanced Defense
All Resistances +35
Attacker Takes Damage of 10
100% Extra Gold from Monsters
+2 to Light Radius
Death's Hand
Leather Gloves
Defense: 3
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 6
Item Version: 1.10+ Standard
Item Level: 28
Fingerprint: 0xed5459b8
Poison Resist +50%
Poison Length Reduced by 75%
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
30% Increased Attack Speed
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
The Stone of Jordan
Ring
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Standard
Item Level: 62
Fingerprint: 0x9d42f71a
+20 to Mana
Adds 1-12 lightning damage
Increase Maximum Mana 25%
+1 to All Skill Levels
Death's Guard
Sash
Defense: 22
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 6
Item Version: 1.10+ Standard
Item Level: 8
Fingerprint: 0x7e5a555a
+20 Defense
Cannot Be Frozen
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
All Resistances +15
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
The Stone of Jordan
Ring
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Standard
Item Level: 62
Fingerprint: 0xa06dcab1
+20 to Mana
Adds 1-12 lightning damage
Increase Maximum Mana 25%
+1 to All Skill Levels
Storm Trample
Mesh Boots
Defense: 40
Durability: 16 of 16
Required Strength: 65
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Standard
Item Level: 90
Fingerprint: 0x22216036
+15 to Attack Rating
Fire Resist +39%
Lightning Resist +20%
Cold Resist +32%
22% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
+1 to Light Radius
30% Faster Run/Walk
Gameplay
Valhalla was a rather frustrating character to play. While I do not consider her to be bad, she, like many Classic characters, feels rather gimped compared to her LoD counterpart. As far as Zon builds go, the Magezon is actually one of the better ones in Classic, although that is faint praise, as Zons (and Necros) have never been regarded as particularly good in Classic. I will admit that Valhalla was extremely potent in NM, but her lack of power in both Normal and Hell significantly detracted from her fun factor.
Gearwise, I made an effort to equip Valhalla with a bow from beginning to end, although I abandoned my conviction a short way into Act II. At the time, Ravenclaw's damage was wearing thin and I was only dumping points into one-point-wonders and Cold Arrow, which is only really useful as a synergy. I ended up quipping my new favourite twinking combination of The General's Tan Do Li Ga + Swordback Hold, which, while slow due to a lack of AoE, was incredibly safe and effective. Once Freezing Arrow became available, Wizendraw and the SoJs got slapped on for the sake of increasing damage, while all the other gear was left alone until Hell due to a lack of necessity. Once in Hell, two respecs were utilized in order to properly optimize skills and gear. Doomslinger proved a far cry from Wizendraw in terms of Freezing Arrow damage, but the pierce and buff to skills made it a somewhat more desirable weapon for dealing with the trials and tribulations of Hell. I do think the final gear could have been improved in some areas, but it was sufficient for clearing CS, which is really all that matters.
Valhalla ended up have very different experiences in each of the three difficulties. In Normal, a relatively low damage output until Act IV resulted in tedious gameplay. In NM, the overpowering damage of Freezing Arrow led to feelings of nigh invincibility. In Hell, the need to balance damage for the sake of dealing with immunities yielded an aura of lost potential. The situation with Normal I find acceptable, but Hell was just disparaging. Even after reducing Freezing Arrow to increase Exploding Arrow damage through respecs, many frustrating situations were still encountered. One prime example was The Countess, who always spawns CI/FI, but the worst situation arose in CS when Infector of Souls spawned CI/FI three consecutive times. Given that CS takes nearly forver to clear with a Magezon, this was completely infuriating. Even when IoS did not finally spawn CI, Lord de Seis did, although the Valkyrie actually proved capable of handling him, which was not the case with IoS. I do not expect Hell to always be a cakewalk, but I do expect what is quite possibly the best Bowzon build in Classic to do a little more than just barely scrape by. For the record, both Normal and NM were played through at /p8, while Hell was played through at /p1.
Deaths
Valhalla experienced the following deaths:
Hell Forgotten Tower - For some reason I was under the impression that The Countess only had one fixed immunity, so I decided to dash through the tower repeatedly until she spawned with a manageable combination. Since I was not really interested in experience, I made a habit of just running past most of the monsters along the way. On one of the runs Valhalla got swarmed on all sides, she was unable to break free with a few shots while chugging pots, and I ended up fumbling the escape key, which lead to her first death. This prompted me to actually check the immunities on The Countess and introduce my face to my palm.
Hell Flayer Dungeon - This was another death by swarm which occurred as a direct result of me fumbling the escape key. Actually, I probably just spammed the key an even number of times, so the S&E screen never opened. In any case, I was rather frustrated with my laptop when D2 informed me of Valhalla's second death.
Hell Diablo - This death was just plain cruel. The battle against Diablo was actually going quite well when he suddenly decided to trap Valhalla in a cage and blast lightning in her face. I probably has enough time to open a TP and escaped, but that response was not obvious at the time.
Drops
Nothing worth mentioning.
Matriarch Valhalla - FA + Strafe Bowzon
Code:
Character name : Valhalla
Character type : Amazon
Character level : 75
Character exp : 455782724
Strength : 77 (122)
Energy : 15 (20)
Dexterity : 82 (152)
Vitality : 291 (306)
Life : 1116 / 1071 (1812)
Mana : 271 / 126 (408)
Stamina : 444 / 429 (722)
Fire res : 52
Cold res : 52
Lightning res : 52
Poison res : 52
LCS
Skills
Passive and Magic Skills
Bow and Crossbow Skills
Gear
Valhalla
Helm: M'avina's True Sight
Amulet: Mara's Kaleidoscope
Weapon1: M'avina's Caster (Shael)
Weapon2: 'Call to Arms' Crystal Sword
Armour: M'avina's Embrace
Shield2: Lidless Wall
Gloves: M'avina's Icy Clutch
Ring1: Raven Frost
Belt: M'avina's Tenet
Ring2: The Stone of Jordan
Boots: War Traveler
Spoiler
M'avina's True Sight
Diadem
Defense: 208
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Level: 64
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0x612c06fc
+25 to Mana
+150 Defense
Replenish Life +10
30% Increased Attack Speed
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
+1 to All Skill Levels
50% Bonus to Attack Rating
All Resistances +25
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
Mara's Kaleidoscope
Amulet
Required Level: 67
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xadd7ca49
+5 to Strength
+5 to Energy
+5 to Dexterity
+5 to Vitality
All Resistances +22
+2 to All Skill Levels
M'avina's Caster
Grand Matron Bow
'Shael'
Two-Hand Damage: 40 to 207
(Amazon Only)
Required Dexterity: 152
Required Strength: 108
Required Level: 70
Bow Class - Fastest Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 94
Fingerprint: 0x62206db9
+188% Enhanced Damage
+50 to Attack Rating
60% Increased Attack Speed
Fires Magic Arrows
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
Adds 114-377 magic damage
10% Chance to cast Level 15 Nova on striking
+2 to Bow and Crossbow Skills (Amazon Only)
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
Socketed (1: 1 used)
Call to Arms
Crystal Sword
'AmnRalMalIstOhm'
One-Hand Damage: 18 to 54
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Strength: 43
Required Level: 57
Sword Class - Very Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x2462fa88
+260% Enhanced Damage
Adds 5-30 fire damage
7% Life stolen per hit
Replenish Life +12
30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
40% Increased Attack Speed
+4 to Battle Orders
+2 to Battle Cry
+4 to Battle Command
Prevent Monster Heal
+1 to All Skill Levels
Socketed (5: 5 used)
M'avina's Embrace
Kraken Shell
Defense: 1112
Durability: 48 of 48
Required Strength: 122
Required Level: 70
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 88
Fingerprint: 0x8a7014b6
+350 Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 10
Requirements -30%
+2 to Passive and Magic Skills (Amazon Only)
10% Chance to cast Level 3 Glacial Spike when struck
+300 to Defense (Based on Character Level)
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
30% Faster Hit Recovery
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
Lidless Wall
Grim Shield
Defense: 332
Chance to Block: 45%
Durability: 70 of 70
Required Strength: 58
Required Level: 41
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 94
Fingerprint: 0x31d29a4e
+10 to Energy
+120% Enhanced Defense
Increase Maximum Mana 10%
+1 to Light Radius
20% Faster Cast Rate
+1 to All Skill Levels
+5 to Mana After Each Kill
M'avina's Icy Clutch
Battle Gauntlets
Defense: 95
Durability: 18 of 18
Required Strength: 88
Required Level: 32
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 59
Fingerprint: 0x8e92a21d
+10 to Strength
+15 to Dexterity
+50 Defense
Adds 6-18 cold damage over 6 seconds
56% Extra Gold from Monsters
Half Freeze Duration
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
Adds 131-252 cold damage over 4 seconds
+20% to Cold Skill Damage
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 76
Fingerprint: 0x2335afc7
+20 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
+229 to Attack Rating
Adds 15-45 cold damage over 4 seconds
20% Cold Absorb
Cannot Be Frozen
M'avina's Tenet
Sharkskin Belt
Defense: 86
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Strength: 20
Required Level: 45
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 66
Fingerprint: 0x849153ad
+50 Defense
5% Mana stolen per hit
+5 to Light Radius
20% Faster Run/Walk
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
All Resistances +25
***Partial Set Item Bonuses***
The Stone of Jordan
Ring
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xbbb019a6
+20 to Mana
Adds 1-12 lightning damage
Increase Maximum Mana 25%
+1 to All Skill Levels
War Traveler
Battle Boots
Defense: 139
Durability: 48 of 48
Required Strength: 95
Required Level: 42
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xdd29750c
+10 to Strength
+10 to Vitality
+190% Enhanced Defense
+15 to Minimum Damage
+25 to Maximum Damage
+30 Maximum Durability
Attacker Takes Damage of 6
34% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
25% Faster Run/Walk
40% Slower Stamina Drain
Pratham (Mercenary)
Helm: Vampire Gaze
Weapon: 'Insight' Voulge
Armour: 'Duress' Archon Plate
Spoiler
Vampire Gaze
Grim Helm
Defense: 252
Durability: 36 of 40
Required Strength: 58
Required Level: 41
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 94
Fingerprint: 0x3eca81c2
+100% Enhanced Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 13
Damage Reduced by 19%
Adds 6-22 cold damage over 4 seconds
8% Life stolen per hit
6% Mana stolen per hit
15% Slower Stamina Drain
Duress
Superior Archon Plate
'ShaelUmThul'
Defense: 1455
Durability: 11 of 69
Required Strength: 103
Required Level: 63
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x39cd4115
+197% Enhanced Defense
+19% Enhanced Damage
Fire Resist +15%
Lightning Resist +15%
Cold Resist +45%
Poison Resist +15%
Adds 37-133 cold damage over 2 seconds
Increase Maximum Durability 15%
40% Faster Hit Recovery
33% Chance of Open Wounds
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
-20% Slower Stamina Drain
Socketed (3: 3 used)
Insight
Voulge
'RalTirTalSol'
Two-Hand Damage: 30 to 75
Durability: 38 of 50
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 27
Polearm Class - Normal Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 43
Fingerprint: 0xf702b9c1
+5 to Strength
+5 to Energy
+5 to Dexterity
+5 to Vitality
+260% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Minimum Damage
Adds 5-30 fire damage
+75 poison damage over 5 seconds
23% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
+4 to Critical Strike
35% Faster Cast Rate
236% Bonus to Attack Rating
+2 to Mana After Each Kill
Level 16 Meditation Aura When Equipped
Socketed (4: 4 used)
Gameplay
I was hoping to equip Valhalla with all of M'avina's Battle Hymn as soon as she was converted, but she ended up being five levels shy of wearing the weapon and armour. To compensate, I equipped Valhalla with Lycander's Aim and a 'Lionheart' DS, both of which were sufficient for clearing most of NM and rapidly running Pindle to level up. Once the full set was equipped, gameplay was fairly straightforward, although I was not the biggest fan of Strafe as a backup skill; it was decent for killing single targets, but it tended to whittle down a groups a bit too slowly for my tastes. With the exception of some levelling runs in NM, all LoD content was completed at /p1.
Deaths
Valhalla experienced the following death:
NM Ancients - Having just donned the entirety of M'avina's Battle Hymn, I was under the impression that Valhalla would be untouchable for the remainder of NM. As such, my entire strategy for doing battle with NM Ancients involved simply holding down the LMB to spam Freezing Arrow whilst reflecting on my life. This was apparently a poorly conceived strategy, as Korlic had no trouble sending Valhalla to Valhalla once he was able to bypass Dodge.
Drops
Hellforge - Ort/Sol/Gul
Nothing worth mentioning.
Other Thoughts
-For some reason I have only one Bow and Crossbow skiller in my stashes, while I have full complements for the other Zon skill trees.
-I was quite disappointed by the severe lack of worthwhile drops.
-Pratham is my new favourite Mercenary name.
Overall, I am glad Valhalla is finally finished. I did not explicitly hate playing her, but I will most likely not be playing a Classic Bowzon again anytime soon. As a LoD FA + Strafe Bowzon, Valhalla was a bit more satisfactory, although I think I would prefer utilizing uniques, skillers, and runewords for a bit more oomph; if I find another Lo, I may try something similar with an 'Ice' bow. As far as recommendations go, I would say that a Bowzon wearing M'avina's Battle Hymn is pretty fun, while Classic Zons in general should probably be avoided if you desire any sort of powerhouse. Speaking of powerhouses, my next project is most definitely not one of those, so look forward to a write-up on that in the near future.
Thanks for reading,
skipjack|||Congrats on your zons
Wait, no pts in Pierce in classic? That means you only get 35% from the weapon itself? This must have seriously hurt the build, imo.|||
I knew something was off when I was playing. I actually did have a point in Pierce for the longest time, but I most have forgotten to reassign it after the second respec. I am now very much annoyed.|||lol @ pierce!
That is a bummer! No telling how much more fun you would have had with her!
It took me a minute to realize this was the same 'zon...
Did you run Classic to finish quicker, to get the Baron/ess title? Or because you like the ending screens better?
I really enjoy Diablo Classic's splash screen and the Title Screens always looked cooler to me. LoD backgrounds are just plain.|||pierce is for nubs. no wait i mean no pts in pierce is for nubs.
what a nub.
nice dual mat/baroness. i wish the baroness title carried over into exp, its so much cooler|||Lol Nightfish!
Congratulations
Would you say this is a character you enjoyed?|||Thanks everyone!
@coju: I am fairly certain I would have finished much faster if I had played LoD from the beginning, as I always intended to complete Act V in all difficulties anyway and the vastly superior gear options of LoD would have allowed for much faster gameplay. My primary reason for first completing the game in Classic was experimentation. I have a respectable amount of experience with Classic, but I have never had the luxury of playing a Classic Zon build that was a veritable killing machine outside Cows; a Magezon seemed the most likely candidate, but my experiences with Valhalla is quite indicative of that not being the case.
@Crocodile Dundee: The King and Queen titles for HC Classic are the best.
@Nightfish's Heterosexual Life Partner: I would say I enjoyed the character in NM Classic and all of LoD. Freezing Arrow is a great skill plagued by some less than stellar backups. If I were to try something similar in the future, I would probably equip a high end Gothic Bow and utilize Freezing Arrow in conjunction with one of the physical damage Bow and Crossbow skills rather than waste so many points on trying to achieve adequate Exploding Arrow damage.|||First of all, I always always wanted to make a character that used 2 pieces of Death's set through Hell, but I always figured it would be tedious with only 2 rows for potions. You did it, and with one of my favorite characters (FA/EA zon), too. Kudos for that!
On the other hand, I cannot understand the fact that you didn't put even one point in pierce. That's what Magezons are about, darn it... Neat boots though.
M'avina's Strafe+FA zon is a cool one. Definitely on my list of future things to try. Good use of Penetrate there. I'm a bit surprised by the choice of boots. Gore Rider would have been a better choice in my opinion, unless you were hoping for some cool finds.
Grats on both your zons!
--Greebo|||WTF moment of the year nominee
Do you also hear the voices? *now you have to rebuild*
Congrats on an interesting gal nevertheless
|||Whoops...Congrats on the Baroness/Matriarch. Bowazons > all other D2 characters.
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