Alright folks, let’s talk bows for your Amazon. Been tinkering and farming my ass off lately trying to find that sweet setup everyone raves about. Figured I should write down what actually worked for me, you know, none of that theoretical stuff.
Starting Out – What Was I Using?
Honestly, when I first fired up the game again, my Zon was stuck with some crappy rare bow. Felt like shooting toothpicks. Damage sucked, clear speed was slow, total nightmare in Hell difficulty. Basically, I kept dying like a noob. Needed an upgrade, bad.
Went digging through my rune stash. Found a few decent ones – couple Ko runes, couple Nefs, nothing crazy. Didn’t have the high-end stuff yet like Jah or Ber obviously. Needed something I could actually make, like, yesterday.
The First Build Attempt – “Harmony”
Saw people talking about “Harmony” runeword. Sounded alright, gives Vigor aura for running around like a maniac. Needed Tir, Ith, Sol, Ko. Looked in my stash: had Tir, had Ith, had Sol… Ko? Yeah, had two Kos. Perfect.
Found a 4-socket Blade Bow base just chilling in my stash. Didn’t even remember picking it up! Slapped those runes in: Tir, Ith, Sol, Ko. Boom, Harmony.
First impression? Huge improvement. The elemental damage was nice against physical immunes, and that Vigor aura? Man, zooming across the map felt great. Used this for quite a while farming Countess and Pits. Solid budget choice, totally worked.
Craving More Power – Hunting for “Faith”
Harmony was cool, but you start hearing whispers about the real deal – “Faith.” The Fanaticism aura? Yeah, sign me up. But look at those runes: Ohm, Jah, Lem, Eld. Jah? Jah?! That thing is rarer than a unicorn.
Got farming. Seriously, farming my ass off. Countess runs on repeat. Lower Kurast chests. Anywhere dropping runes. Forget gambling, just grinding. Finally, finally, scored a Jah rune off a random ghost in Chaos Sanctuary. Felt like winning the lottery. Got super lucky finding that Ohm too, wasn’t expecting it.
Snagged a 4-socket Superior Grand Matron Bow with +3 Bow Skills. My hands were sweating! Placed ’em in order: Ohm, Jah, Lem, Eld. Click. Done.
Huge difference. Fanaticism aura means faster attacks and more damage. My Valkyrie got tankier. Felt like my Amazon finally got the weapon she deserved. Blasting through cows and Mephisto like they were nothing. Night and day upgrade. Cost me ages though.
The Other Options – Things I Tried Briefly
You hear about other stuff too:
- “Brand” (Jah+Lo+Mal+Gul): Got the runes after a while. Tried it in a Demon Crossbow. The Amp Damage proc? Annoying delay. The Bone Spears? Look cool, but honestly felt kinda weak compared to Faith’s raw output. Switched back fast.
- “Ice” (Amn+Shael+Jah+Lo): Another Jah sink! Made it in a Matriarchal Bow. The Freezing Arrow synergy sounded nice. Damage was okay, really strong against crowds… but slow attack speed felt awful after Faith. The Holy Freeze aura slowed everything down too much for my liking. Didn’t stick with it.
- “Mist” (Cham+Shael+Gul+Thul+Ith): Cham rune? Forget it. Didn’t even bother hunting that down. Looks okay on paper, but the cost? Just… no.
The Bottom Line – What Actually Worked
So after all that grinding and testing, here’s the deal:
- New / Budget?: Harmony is your friend. Runeword: Tir + Ith + Sol + Ko. Easy runes to find early-mid game. Stick it in a decent mid-tier bow. The elemental damage and Vigor aura get the job done without breaking the bank. Saved my skin.
- Want the real end-game power? Save for Faith. Runeword: Ohm + Jah + Lem + Eld. It is a slog to get the runes. You will farm. You will cry. You will get bored. But man, when that Faith finally goes off… it’s magic. That Fanaticism aura makes everything better – your damage, your speed, your Valk. Top pick, hands down, if you can stomach the grind.
Sure, Brand and Ice have their moments, and maybe Mist if Cham drops in your lap. But seriously? Harmony carries you until Faith. And Faith just smokes everything else for pure bowazon joy. That’s been my experience, anyway. Whatever floats your boat, happy hunting!