Multiple Shot (special)

Clvl: 6
Prerequisites: Magic Arrow.
Effect: Splits one arrow into several.
Properties: Can be blocked, dodged, works with all passive skills, steals life/mana, treated as normal attack, can be resisted/negated via physical resistance/immunity, damage decreased by 25%, maximum of 24 arrows in a single volley.
Synergy from: None.
Synergy to: None.

Multiple Shot (which will hereafter be referred to as "MS") gives your amazon her first AoE attack: a spread volley of arrows that can be controlled with practice. For example, targeting an target with MS sends your arrows in a nice tight formation that spreads out as if goes further (though only one arrow will hit an target), but targeting any point between your bowazon and the target will fan out the pattern and MS aimed directly in front of your character will have an exceptionally wide spread (and if you're using a lot of arrows, it shows). Multiple Shot is invaluable in areas where your bowazon has to attack a lot of targets at once with full mobility (i.e., cow level). At the highest levels, MS sends out the most arrows in the shortest amount of time.

Now for the bad news. MS's damage is cut to 75% normal arrow damage — physical and elemental damage — making it an ineffective attack against small groups; it's most effective against large groups where all of MS's arrows can be used to their fullest effect. Multiple Shot's only benefit per slvl is more arrows, so expect diminishing returns around slvl-10 or so, as the spread isn't a huge improvement at even slvl-20. While leeching, damage, and deadly/critical strike work with the total volley, everything else (crushing blow, freezing, knockback, spells cast on striking, and so on) is limited to the center two arrows of MS's spread.

Second, MS makes its To-Hit check once per target and only once: if one arrow misses a target, they all miss that particular target. A twenty-arrow volley against five targets will only result in five hits at most: all other shots are wasted. If a target is missed, it has no bearing on whether or not the neighboring target will be hit from other arrows of the volley. Let me repeat that one more time: if one arrow misses a particular target, then every arrow misses that target.

And finally (and this is a biggie) MS tops out at slvl-23: at that point, the skill hits its hard cap of 24 arrows, yet the mana cost will continue to rise with no improvements whatsoever. Thus, you don't ever want to have anything higher than an slvl-23 MS after +skill adjustments; a bowazon focused in this skill will have to ration her points very carefully, making sure to stop at exactly slvl-23.

Because of its increasing mana cost and lack of damage, it's recommended that MS be kept low and tossed aside in favor of Strafe in single player games. In multiplayer, mana costs aren't a concern, as sufficient mana leech makes the cost of a slvl-20 MS negligible. At slvl-10, MS can cover most corridors and snipe monsters from afar. Because of this, I use MS to lure unseen targets closer to my bowazon so I can use more damaging attacks like Strafe and Freezing Arrow. Note that MS's lowered damage is nullified against large groups, as MS gains 100% more damage per level because of the extra arrow and Pierce makes the skill even more damaging.

If MS is chosen, an assigned hot key is recommended.