@Primarch: if you're suggesting HZON needs a better bosskiller, I disagree. Hammerzon currently stands as a pretty high tier build. It doesn't need anything atm, it works fairly cheap, it's super cookie-cutter already as well. I think all builds need to have something to figure out, otherwise, what's the point?
Uldy took about 25-min on first attempt as 130 hzon, playing semi SSF (i used a total 95 TG for danmaku+hele, both which can be replaced by crafts, which are even better for this battle). Anything else (but samael) isnt complicated at all, even laz is really doable (especially getting there).
Surely late lab stage bosses become tricky. Then again this build has so much going for it already, huge def, max block, max %DR, LL. It can jump to p8 farming right away as you're virtually unkillable on any phys-based zones, vizj, fauzt, dunc, you name it.
---
Regarding bowzon, ive also played this considerably this season. There isn't much reason to discuss this build as it's gonna receive considerable changes. However, I don't think it's nearly as bad as everyone made it look. Ive done most of ubers up to 125 included, at which point I respecced to a more tanky build because I wanted to test lab. Here are some of my observations, some of which will remain true after the tree is reworked:
- After cancerous struggle until you get a TU bow, this *has* to be the fastest char to run the 3 difficulties untwinked.
- Cheap as hell
- Probably the fastest movement in the entire game
- Very fun to play because there's so many active skills which shine in diff situations, and rewards proper play (as opposed to xbow nec where you spam vodoo 24/7). For example:
- Sun strike: mostly irrelevant, surprisingly good in places like fauzt however.
- Barrage: the skill for small rooms, also the "get off my face" skill. But also a the best boss-killer in certain encounters (kab, zt)
- Phalanx: brutally good boss killer, supposedly hard to use even though not really (just use spellbind).
- Wyrmshot: the farming skill, very strong.
- Rapid Wyrm: (oskill) it shines as a safe bosskiller for most early/mid content. Such as: QT, jday, belial. And even forest keepers.
Overall it's a really fun and interesting build that isn't really cookie cutter, which is partly what makes it so fun. There's a few niche situations currently where it can excel over other zon builds like hzon, mostly farming p1 places, like teganze (much better) or fauzt. The only current issue with bowa, is that it gets hard-countered in a few places, such as Ureh, and probably bremm. It's annoying, but not a huge deal.
This topic's feedback on bowzon was preceeded by the following statement:
"Bowazons are intended to rely on heavy rainbow damage"
The statement isn't true, and thus it pretty much invalidates all the feedback that follows it. There are no pre-defined rules on how a character is built, you build it the way that yields the best results (or the ones you look for). This means going full physical when we are talking about bowa. Certainly, bowzon historically was built on rainbow damage when pierce MOs existed, but the past is the past. LL is incredibly strong in this build, and replaces the need for reanimates. I also don't really understand how wyrmshot is a "low range" skill. And saying CB nerf neutered bowzon single target is just false, she does great, but most people neglect phalanx+spellbind combo.