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User Guide to Jab

Introduction

"Hunting in the dense rain forests of the Amazon Islands is fraught with many obstacles. Confining overgrowth and fierce indigenous animals conspire to make combat difficult, if not impossible. Early in training, Amazon spear-women must learn to overcome these conditions. By honing their hunting techniques to the point where they are able to deliver many powerful spear thrusts in rapid succession, they learn to finish off one opponent before turning to slay another. The jab is the most basic of skills designed to accomplish this tactic."   -- Diablo II Game Manual

One of the most outstanding skills in the Amazon's arsenal, this skill is useful for bowazons, javazons or jabazons alike. Even at level 1, the jab can make an otherwise super slow pike just as fast as a spear, hitting rapidly in succession. At higher levels, the damage increments make the skill a viable avenue to crushing the enemies swiftly.

Basic Statistics

Level 1 Skill, No Prequisites
Effect: Rapid Attacks with a thrusting weapon. 3 Hits.

When using this basic thrusting skill, the amazon will rapidly strike three times in the normal time taken to thrust once. The result produces heavy damage, especially when using a heavy damage pike (or possibly lances in the future) for a very low cost of 2 at level 1 and but 7 at level 21.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Cheap. In fact, grossly cheap, specially for an amazon that does not normally use jab, this skill is still worth mentioning. This skill has no prerequisites, can be learnt at clvl 1 and costs a measly 2 mana to use. With a decent pike, even 3% mana steal can recover more than enough mana to cover the cost of jabbing.

Ignores Weapon Speed. Jabbing totally neglects weapon speed. This is great for amazons since pikes (the best thrusting weapon in absence of lances) and some of the better spear-class weapons are slow weapons. Three strikes within a VERY short span of time simply makes meleeing much easier for amazons.

Weaknesses. Jab is after all a melee attack and this is the main problem. There is absolutely NO way an amazon can get good defence from DR, so they are more likely to get hit by enemies while attacking them compared to ranged amazons. Also, in the event on an onslaught by super MOBS of maggot youngs, I haven't quite found a way to kill them but instead turned to bows (think multishot).

Jabbing Strategies

Pike Jabbers
Attack from Far. Use or abuse the long range of your pike (range 5) to poke the enemies before they get into meleeing range. Back off slowly if needed to keep the enemies away from you. If you have knockback or howl on your weapon, all the better; the key being to keep a distance such that you can hit but they can't.

Protection First. Concentrate more on the Dodge and Avoid skills, since your main source of protection will come from there (since armor is hopeless). In this way, you will be less likely to be hit and interrupted during your jab.

Javelin Jabbers
High Block Shields. High block shields coupled with okay defence rating and good skill levels in avoid and dodge will make you very unlikely to be hit. Imagine -- 70% blocking, with 50% avoid/dodge will mean that only 35% of all attacks that break through your defence will hit you.

General Strategies
Thin out the crowds. When attracting a crowd, back off slowly, so that the enemies will not all come into melee range all at once. Then jab away at the nearest enemy (hopefully killing them) and backing off again when the next closest enemies start to come within melee range. This usually helps me thin out crowds.

More strategies would be thrown in when i encounter them...

General Notes

Actually, jab is a very simple "no-brainer" skill that is the essense of most amazons and requires little or no strategy. Much of these strategies are more for meleeing amazons and would be covered in details in the Jabazon Guide in time to come.

Any further nits, comments, flames are welcome to my e-mail address. Have a nice day!

Ice(BNR)
Versatility is strength...

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