Alright so let’s get straight into it. Last night I decided my Amazon desperately needed a serious bow upgrade for Hell difficulty. Kept getting smashed in the Chaos Sanctuary, total mess. Figured, time to hunt down the actual best bows people keep talking about.
The Frustrating Start
Started like everyone else does, I guess. Using some crapped-out rare bow I found off a random Fallen in Act 1 Normal. Pathetic. Did Blood Runs for hours thinking she might drop something decent. Know what I got? Mostly junk magic bows and some cracked leather armor. RNG is a cruel mistress, man. Moved on to farming Mephisto in Nightmare, hoping for that Buriza everyone mentions early on. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Killed that floating bugger at least fifty times. Got annoyed and went to bed. Not a great start.
Finding My First Big Upgrade
Next day, decided to try Ancient Tunnels in Act 2 Hell. Cold immune suckers mostly, so my Merc could handle those. Just running through, popping chests, killing the occasional pack. And bam! From a random weapon rack near the end, out pops a Buriza-Do Kyanon. The Ballista! Stats looked wild – crazy damage, pierces everything, slows targets? Absolute game changer for my budget build. Slapped that baby on my Amazon faster than you can say “Multishot”. Suddenly clearing rooms felt smooth as butter. Still need those high-end bows though, right?
The Windforce Grind
Alright, target number one: Windforce. That Hydra Bow legend. Everyone wants it. Heard Hell Mephisto is the easiest boss to farm it from. Camped outside his ugly Durance of Hate portal for ages. Countless runs. Legit lost track after run number two hundred something. Drops were mostly trash – Cathan’s Rings, Isenhart’s Breastplate, why does he love that garbage? Then one run, tired as hell, not even paying attention… he finally drops it. That unmistakable Hydra Bow graphic. Nearly fell outta my chair. Grabbed it, identified, saw the stats: massive damage, knockback, crazy dexterity boost. Felt like winning the dang lottery. Immediately respecced my Amazon for pure physical damage. Total beast mode unlocked.
Trying for Faith Runeword
But hey, gotta test the competition! Faith seems to be the top contender, especially for elemental builds and mercs. Needed a 4-socket Bow base first. Found a decent-looking Grand Matron Bow while running Pindle. Rushed it to Larzuk in Act 5 for the quest socket reward. Praying for four sockets. Phew! He gave me the four holes. Now the runes: Ohm, Jah, Lem, Eld. Ohm and Jah? Ouch. My rune stash was pathetic. Back to farming Countess and Lower Kurast like a madman. Took forever, traded some pgems for an Ohm finally. Jah felt impossible… then randomly found it opening a damn chest in the Stony Field during a Hell Cow run! Couldn’t believe it. Scooped up Lem and Eld easy. Slammed those runes in the bow. Boom. Faith. That Fanaticism aura is nuts, super smooth attack speed. Feels different from Windforce – faster, maybe slightly less raw punch per hit, but the speed and aura boost are killer.
Weighing Them Up
Honest truth after using both? Both are amazing. Windforce is like a sledgehammer. Massive damage, knocks enemies back so they barely touch you. Perfect for pure physical Multishot/Strafe builds just mowing things down. Faith… that aura changes everything. Speed is incredible, feels so responsive. Also fantastic if your merc is packing a physical aura like Might. Easier to enable elemental stuff if you lean that way. Personal preference for straight murder? Probably lean towards Windforce just for the sheer brutality. But Faith is a very, very close second.
What About Budget Options?
Look, not everyone has a Jah rune kicking around. Before I got my Buriza, I used a Harmony in a cheap bow base (found a +3 Bow skills Mat Bow!). Super easy runeword: Tir, Ith, Sol, Ko. The Vigor aura it gives? Best mobility skill ever. Lets your whole team zoom around. Decent elemental damage too. Carried me through most of Nightmare easily. Goldstrike Arch is another you find off NM or Hell Meph sometimes – its damage boost against demons and undead shreds in Chaos runs and Baal waves. Definitely a solid temporary workhorse.
Anyway, that’s the real-deal journey. Months of grinding, some serious luck, and way too much time staring at loading screens. But hey, seeing those big numbers fly and crowds evaporate? Totally worth it. Find what bow fits your style and go kill some demons.