Alright, buckle up folks. Felt like diving back into D2 runewords today, specifically those tasty ones for bows. Been itching for a killer Matriarchal Bow setup for my Zon.
The Initial Disaster
Started off way too cocky. Dug into my stash, grabbed some socketed bows I hoarded ages ago. Thought, “Eh, Harmony runeword seems cheap enough. What’s the worst that could happen?” Chuckled to myself as I slammed Tir + Ith + Sol + Ko into some random Diamond Bow I found in Nightmare cows. Big mistake.
Why? Harmony’s cool, but that Diamond Bow? Slow as cold molasses. Felt like firing bricks instead of arrows. Merc almost tripped over himself trying to fire it. Straight-up disappointment.
Getting My Act Together
Sat back, chugged my cold coffee. Needed focus. Remembered the basics people forget:
- Get the Right Base: Speed kills. Scoured Ancient Tunnels like a madman. Needed a Matriarchal Bow base, 4 sockets, preferably superior. Took hours. Got lucky with a decent +3 Bow Skills one eventually.
- Runeword Choice Matters: Harmony’s cheap, yeah, but Faith? Faith melts faces. Needed Jah + Ohm + Eth + Eld. Yeah, expensive as hell. My stash cried when I pulled that Jah out.
- Location Matters Too: Rolled the sockets at Larzuk? Nah. Cow level drops are unpredictable. Found the base unsocketed. Used the Horadric Cube recipe – Tal Ammy + P Amethyst + normal bow. Sweated buckets clicking Transmute. Got the magic 4 sockets. Thanked the loot gods.
The Big Slam
Heart pounding like I was facing Baal himself. Laid out the runes in the exact order: Jah first, then Ohm, Eth, finally Eld. Held my breath, moved that bow over the runes in my inventory grid. Clicked ’em together.
The moment of truth. Watched that glorious orange text pop up: “Faith”. Chucked it onto my A1 Merc Rogan… Holy damage, Batman! Fanaticism aura kicking in, arrows flying like machine gun fire. Hell cows stood zero chance. Pure, unadulterated carnage. Felt stupidly good.
Lessons Hammered In
- Don’t waste high runes on trash bases. Patience = power.
- Speed is EVERYTHING for bows. Forget raw damage sometimes.
- Cube socketing is your friend. Saved me grinding Larzuk quests.
- Runeword order ain’t optional. Screw it up? Congrats on your new paperweight.
Been shredding stuff nonstop since. Might try Crafting Blood Bows next time… if I ever get more Amns. Go smash Hell cows yourself. Later.