Exploding Arrow

Exploding Arrow is an Amazon Skill in Diablo II.

Lore
''Another gift of Hefaetrus, an Amazon warrior practiced in this skill can imbue the arrows that she fires with the ability to explode upon impact. The resulting detonation not only allows her to damage her intended target, but also anything caught within the explosive blast. The sight of a full battalion of Amazon archers firing a volley of such arrows is eerily beautiful. Many warriors, having witnessed good friends consumed by the flames of these arrows, vow never to fight against Amazon warriors ever again.''

Synergies

 * Gives synergy to :
 * Fire Arrow: +14% fire damage per level.
 * Immolation Arrow: +10% fire damage per level.
 * Receives synergy from :
 * Fire Arrow: +12% fire damage per level

Exploding Arrow is the second in the line of Fire Arrows for the Amazon, and is essentially an upgraded version of Fire Arrow. Upon contact with an enemy (to-hit not required) or an obstacle, this spell causes an explosion, dealing fire damage to every enemy in the radius. The arrow itself maintains its usual effect (deals damage, leech, and any other miscellaneous effects like Crushing Blow and such), as well as possibly piercing if the to-hit check passes. Any fire damage effects from equipments, charms, and possibly an Enchant buff or Holy Fire aura from certain equipments are not only added to the arrow itself, but to the explosion as well. If the arrow pierces, it may hit an additional enemy (or an obstacle) and cause a second explosion, and so on.

Although this skill also has an upgrade in Immolation Arrow, Exploding Arrow has the benefit of not having any cooldown timer, allowing the Amazon to spam it rapidly. Although the base damage is low, with enough supplemental external fire damage the damage per second of this skill can surpass Immolation Arrow, and possibly even Freezing Arrow. An Amazon with dedication to this skill and the right equipment can still become a very effective character, as long as she has some sort of backup plan against the common enemies immune to fire on higher difficulties.

Skill Progression
Damage Radius: 3 yards

Items
Several ranged weapons fire exploding arrows when using normal attack: Non-class-specific ones are an excellent choice for ranged Enchantresses and Holy Fire paladins.
 * Raven Claw, Long Bow: level 3
 * Hellcast, Heavy Crossbow: level 5
 * , Chu-Ko-Nu: level 6
 * Kuko Shakaku, Cedar Bow: level 7
 * Blood Raven's Charge, Matriarchal Bow: level 13
 * , missile weapon runeword: level 15