While Amazons are powerful
and interesting in the Diablo II game, I've never been as fond of
them as I am of other characters. In the past, I've praised the
Paladin for having a diverse skill set, offering up many different
playing options, yet the Amazon's skills are at least as varied.
Both melee and ranged combat are viable options, putting her one
up on the Sorceress. And yet, I haven't played many Amazons, or
much enjoyed the ones I did play.
Of course, my dissatisfaction
could be because my early experiences with the character were very
frustrating. For my first Amazon, I wanted to try bows, but couldn't
find any powerful ones and didn't want to take an hour to finish
off Normal Diablo. Instead, I wound up using a spear, and quickly
discovered that Jab was the only skill worth using. (This was in
the hoary days of v. 1.0, of course.) Much later, I tried a Javazon,
and had the opposite problem: the big sticks made killing too easy,
especially with Lightning Fury. I didn't even have to aim... just
clicked the mouse a couple of times and everything died. After that,
I went off to play the other classes, and never looked back for
long.
Now, many versions later,
I understand that the Amazon has been overhauled for the better.
In particular, while Jab was nerfed by making it dependent on weapon
speed, the other spear skills were improved. Back when I first tried
it, Fend was nothing but a slow mockery of Zeal, and the "lightning
damage" spear skills were pathetic. Now, if they really are
more useful, a Spearazon might be fun. If not... it's back to Jabbing
again, and I'll need some attack speed boosts to compensate for
the nerf. Extra movement speed might help too, for closing in on
those pesky archers and mages. Come to think of it, could a melee
fighter gain much from lots of extra movement? There are "speedazons",
but they use bows. I've never equipped anyone like that, which makes
it a good thing to try now.
My plan is: a pure Spearazon,
with as many boosts to attack and movement speed as I can lay my
grubby little hands on. At high levels, her main attack skill will
probably be Fend, but I'll try the lightning skills to see how they've
changed. No Pikes -- I'll restrict myself to fast spears like the
Brandistock class. They have serious dexterity requirements, as
do Amazon-specific spears, so she won't have any problem hitting
things. Doing enough damage might be difficult. A big investment
in Critical Strike would be a good idea, and if I can swing it,
some gear with Crushing Blow. But speed takes priority.
All I need now is a name
and a personality. Hmm... she'll be a fast girl with a high dexterity,
relying on skill and technique more than muscle. She might not even
be strong enough to handle the really big sticks. Every now and
then, there might be a few sparks, but mostly she'll come in fast
and fend of anyone who tries to get near her. Most importantly,
she must have a sense of humor. I know the Amazon sounds very noble
in-game, but I'm in the mood to write something just plain SILLY.
Besides, any woman who's built like that better have a sense of
humor about it. Her name will be Bodiccea, after a tribal warrior
woman of the British Isles who rebelled against Roman rule. Apparently,
she was a hottie too.
