[v6d] Bow Druid Guide , by vadust.

Hello guys. Yes you read right this is a Druid guide and that's not all, it about Bow Druid!

Note: This is not a newbie friendly guide so if you know nothing about this mod or want an easy and very effective build then go and try something else.

Overview: I will give basic advices to all players that never tried bow druids or tried and failed hard, so let's begin!
Features:Many players dislike idea about universal character build concept(same skill plan and almost same gear used(hate me hard   ), and think that in this mod it is impossible, and i will try to destroy that myth also will give good( i really think so) feedback for MarcoNecro about bow druids( if he really need it LOL).

No beautiful words just serious advices:
1.Basics.If you will want to be a bow druid from lvl 1 then you will have very bad times because better,easier and faster to throw away your gray useless bow and switch to staff and be a caster druid, that use Elemental( i like it most, you can always use HB or RoF after 24lvl) and Pagan Rites all the way from Blood More to Radament's death. We start with sigs of gold and you can always create few more characters for more sigs also we can cub 3 sigs of gold to get 1 great sig of gold that give much more! Best base gear from nothing are secret jewelwords that require gray item with 1 socket and 1 jewel( for tier 1 yes for higher tier it a bit different but we dont need that). Buy armor from Akara, belt,boots,cap,glovers from Charsi( if they dont trade atm 1 white item then you can leave town and come back to check again and items that they trade will be others, also Akara trade staves )and jewels with cheap price from Gheed. So we created many jewelwords at lvl1 and after we hit 5 lvl we are able to do lc0 challenge and it will be easy because we got much mana( thx to jewelwords) and we got Elemental skill so all what we need are run in circles near boss and atack traps and after him with Elemental skill. After we can change staff to nef rw, armor to ith rw, glovers for nef rw,belt for eth rw and make honorific boots (do what you want with your cap )for easy resists. In act2 we can hire exemplar mercenery and give him tal rw in spear. With this setup we can easy move to act 5 and can do not hard meph runs for crystals.

2. I really dislike painful untwinked way to lvl this guy so i always make arcan crystals from Andy/Sewers/Meph runs. So we need to find right gear for our bow druid. All know gift box that Grizwold drops so we can use his gifts for us, like ( from amazon we can pick splint mail armor, from assassin chain boots) and after we can upgrade them. Imo i realy like to gamble high tier 2-4 when im at act 5 and with lvl ~45 and after convert them into uniques that i need. About what we need: I really dont want to say that my combination is best but i can explain why i pick each item; Armor= Splint mail tu6 because of dr% and elemental damage, Boots=Chain boots tu6 because of aa and hp also some tcd, Glovers=Chain glovers tu6 because of dex bonus,ias,frw and AR, Belt= Plated belt tu6 because of frw/ias/fire damage( yes yes you can pick tu heavy belt if really think it will be better for you!!!), Helm=Antlers tu6 because of dex% and 10% avoid!!!!!!!!(if you dislike pick tu6 crown or wolf head)and ofc a Bow=(We can chose btw viper and recurve, viper got very laggy ctc and recurve got everything what we need so i always pick recurve) Recurve Bow tu6 and Locus Hive Arrows or basic white arrows with - fire/light/cold enemy res.

3.Sockets and Upgrades. Perfect amethyst in weapon because of AR, 5 Perfect Ambers,Bloodstones,Onyxs,Turquoises in Armor,Belt,Glovers,Boots. Mo your weapon with ed for 350 ed and AR(you need 30k at the start of destruction to be happy everywhere there) mos everything else with ias(if you need it : you can always check this speed calculator for breakpoints)and with ll mos, armor,belt and cap with ed for 350ed, everything else with resists(if you will still need them), after with fhr for breakpoint that you need (86 for begining 152 after) with - enemy res to get -100fire/cold/light with charms in ideal.

4. Skills and stats.We use bow so we need to put points in bow tree: 1 point Nova Shot, max Elfin Weapons( until you hit 995 ed because now this passive got 1000ed cap), Goodberry,Force of Nature(because of sweet elem damage even 1k is something!), Lifeshield(after brc ofc lol and we will talk about it latter), 1 point in Mythal(if you need it and know when you will need it, for example vs act bosses), i dont use Pagan Rites becuace i dislike reanimates but you can put 1 point there to heal your self faster, everything else in Cascade or Spore Shot( what you like more). Stats: dex for 30k ar before destruction, everything else in str. Our main skills are: Cascade,Spore Shot and Nova Shot which depend on situations. You can self buff your self with druid stave 9 druid skills (in ideal) and can use Elixir of Power(perfect Sapphire   tp scroll) that give   15 all skills for 60 seconds.

5.Lc1. You need ~5k AR and ~10k def to be happy. Also you can use Caracter Orb with 30% ll( YES LOL, free life leech !!!!!!!!!!). Steamroll that angry womens and make a charm.

6.If you heard about hatred dunc lvling then you can make exp potions(perfect emerald +tp scroll, with 500 craft points) for very fast 90 lvl but again if you know what you are doing. Most readers ignore this . You can always lvl by passing act by act on terror and it is not hard to hit 120 in tcows after terror Baal.

7.Lc2.Talrasha got about 100(125/150????) elem pierce so stacked resists are our friend here, once you got them challenge become a joke.

8.Brc. SO we finished Terror and already got 120 lvl and now we need brc reward but before we need to remember few tips.
We need a rare druid stave with 9 druid skills(pick any rare druid stave in the middle of terror or after t a3 and reroll it with oils) for self buff with berry. We need more defence so we need to start make high lvl rws in sacred items like: Vith rw belt,Nih rw armor, Lo rw druid helm(dr, ctc arrow)and Yul rw in sacred Viper bow. Better to craft jewels with Ber rune for 2%str/1 aa, 2% ll, ar, something else(first 3 affixes on 1 jewel are already hard to get).
Butcher/Gold/King Koth are not hard at all. For amazons you can slowly lure them in 1 clean place one by one and after kill them all together( long but 100% success). For t Fautz you need to hit ~100-150k def and this part is very hard for us. Or you can start farm anywhere on destruction (tamoe plains for example or somewhere else) for some set parts/ sus.

9.Destruction and Uber tips. You finally finished brc( yes i know t fautz is a pain).If you still haven't did any uber on destruction then now you can start it.
Butcher: you need 1 or 2 summons at 1 moment for him to get that red mark on the Floor.Once you see it run to it and butcher will folow you( if you cant tank him and you really cant !! then use 1 or 2 summons( i mean your own Acid Fiends) so they can tank him while you will kill him, if mark gone then repeat what you did before( i really hope all know this strategy).
Tal Rasha: Same like it was at lc2 just stack resistances.
King Koth: This Uber Check your defense(higher defense= higher success).
Akarat: We got problems here because his minions got 50% ctc Hammer in our face that hit hard also they cast Hammertime(MOAR HAMMERS!!) so we need to step back from them always and avoid triggered hammers, use spore shot and nova shot here, if you will not be able to do that then leave it until you will have better gear.
Jitan:He and his minions are more deadly then Akarat uber, for this you need very high defense ( as much as possible) because of tons of Towers also be aware of their singularity on death( there is one little trick, they dont cast fortress if you fight with them in melee range, sometimes it helps).You can always run away from them in red portal or  lure them one by one( if you will go in town guardian's fortress towers will instant disappear but this not work for Jitan.
Bartuc: Here we need everything same but we need to use minions all the time because minions have no def( or very low, i have no idea) to kill golems fast.This uber require very good survivability (defense and hp) and good damage for faster Bartuc's killing.
Judgment Day: Seriously switch to elemental caster/summoner setup to do this because you need summons and elemental damage skill that can be used from distance( Rain of Fire FTW ).
Brother Laz: Forget about it. Guys i know that this sounds ridiculously but im working here and will do my best to do this.
Creature of Flame: Like for Jday Uber.
Infernal Machine: Bow skills ftw!
Death Projector: Same.
Azmodan: Mb you fail many times before your first charm but all what you need is to rush to boss and then Nova Shot him Back to Hell!
Rathma Square: Same.
Cathedral of Vanity: High defense and hp. Try to lure as many Nuns as possible in the entrance little room and ofc lure away Inarius from Crystall ball. Kill Ball, kill everything else. Hard but possible.
Toraja: Seriously this uber not for us but if you got blink from something then you can do it by using blink's stun. Long and boring.
Vizjun: Max possible defense,hp,damage. We cant rush to boss like barbarian so we need to move slowly and kill everything on our way. Beware of mines and nukes!!!
Kurast 3000 BA: Lure Skeletons away from totems, destroy totems,kill everything else.
Island of the Sunless Sea:Kill everything with bow skills. Biggest problem is Malic's Punishers that can instakill you so try to use Rain of Fire skill on him and avoid his punishers.
Khalimgrad:Req high def/hp/poison resist. Try to lure yellow balls away.
Tran Athulua:If you got high defense/hp/damage/ll and can tank arrowside then just smash them all, if not then move slowly and avoid any arrowside.
Fauztinville:Same like in Vizjun uber. Necrobots are really big pain here.
Ghosts of Old Bremmtown:Same like in TA. If you can't tank some of them when they pounce you then forget about it .
Kingdom of Shadow: YOU MAD????????? Just check my video and it will be your answer .
Duncraig:Spore Shot and Nova Shot for ice balls. Move slowly.Try to avoid all barrels. Hard at first attempt easy with some practice. Assur got 250 fire pierce, BEWARE OF ASSUR!!!
Cow Level: Steamroll them. Bull Prince Rodeo: Nova Shot him at any "right" conner.
Belial: Are you lost your mind??? Just check my video.
Currently working on: Brother Laz, Astrogha, Quov Tsin ( Guys i don't need advices here, yes i know what i need to do i just need time).
Ultimative ubers:
Chrysaor: We can leech from elementals, so we need to avoid most of their attacks, get ax much max res as possible. Chrysaor is not a problem for use, just use Nova Shot and always be few steps away from him so he will simple run on you and sometimes will use his skills(that hit hard). Not very fast but very possible. Open Wounds stop his heal.
Currently working on Secret Chrysaor and all other Ultimative ubers( once again i dont need advices and strategies i just need some more time to try what i want).




You can use what ever you want and like. Set is a very good option, Sus too, and dont forget about rws. I just want to say about bows.
I really liked su Viper Bow because of 50% ctc Arrow with few more items that give ctc Arrow + spore shot you become a real broadside machine( what very help in vizjun and fautz because each arrow deal our elemental damage). If you have Shaa'd rune then you can try Dirge Druid bow rw. Imo it is a best option but again only for me mb.
Arrows: Hanabigami is a best choice because of everything what it have.
Armor: We need DR% as much as possible and we need defense and skills and tcd so: Nih/Auhe/Ultra(if you hited 152 fhr from jewels) rws.
Glovers: i really like SSSU Gauntlets because of everything what they got.
Boots: SSSU Greaves because of everything they got.
Belt: i pick Ghal rw one because of def and everything else.
Helm: There are a lot of choices but i pick Taha rw: skills/dmg/stats%/tcd/res.
Rings and amulet: Emp band with lottery recipe up, Teganze Pendant Amulet wth lothery recipe because of max hp and other bonuses and all of them a very useful for use( except max mana lol), + many endless light umos( hard farming is hard, blabla-ers go away).
On switch: rare druid stave with 9 druid skills / set druid stave with 10 druid skills / Bryn Celli Ddu ssu Flamen Staff with 10-14 druid skills.

Mine items:

Bow

Armor

Helm

Boots

Gauntlets

Belt

Rings,amulet,quiver

Yes 1000 AC for this or mb a bit more :Pi will mo arrows in future for next ubers.
Helm


Yes guys a forgot to upgrade all jewels and found that only today

Trader's Chest and character screens:





Butcher, Tal Rasha, King Koth, Akarat, Jitan, Bartuc, Jday, K3K, IOSS, TA.


Creature of Flame, Death Projector, Infernal Machine, Rathma Square, Azmodan, Khalimgrad ( FULL run!!), Ghosts of Old Bremmtown, Ureh.


Duncraig FULL run!!!, Vizjun.


Fauzt(short run), Cathedral of Vanity, Inarius summon quest, Cow level( short run), BPR, Belial, On the way to Chrysaor
( sewers act 3) and Chrysaor.



Special Thanks to Brother Laz and MarcoNecro for MXL and UMXL, Guys that spend time for reading,watching this.
Any feedback, questions are welcome.

waiting for video all cool.

Yay Vadust! Looking good! Mr. "I think guides are the worst thing."

To get Ureh Charm u can switch to traprat and use dexcrafts, kra armor rw and such. Even i succeeded and im quite the noob !

for akarat:

usually left area (upper kurast) and the entrance to kurast causeway is very crowded, so summon them at the left and run to the right, huge cascade seek range shoots lots of arrows in the direction of Boss, 2-3 tries and you will suceed

just spam elvensong to area and wait follower to rape their fathers hahah really having insane FUN here with my charmer druid....

Screenshots added now time to edit videos a bit.

Videos added.

Traprat wrote:To get Ureh Charm u can switch to traprat and use dexcrafts, kra armor rw and such. Even i succeeded and im quite the noob !

I dont even need to do that .

RollsRoyce wrote:for akarat:

usually left area (upper kurast) and the entrance to kurast causeway is very crowded, so summon them at the left and run to the right, huge cascade seek range shoots lots of arrows in the direction of Boss, 2-3 tries and you will suceed

Problem that his minions die fast and you have about 5 second to kill him before he will heal himself.

...best part

Toraja: Seriously this uber not for us but...

but you are using quite alot toraja GR

Videos are great, havent seen a Bowdruid which is that strong in a while, but you could exchange rings and switch on 21% AA emp band

Why dont you guys use "nopickup" ? I cant farm without it , its so disturbingly annoying.