The Amazon is more of a ranged attacker than melee fighter however she does posses options if you want to go that route.  The trouble for the Amazon is that manna is a definite concern for this character. In addition to generating a sufficient manna pool, the  best friend of any Amazon is dexterity.  Thus said, amazons are not going to have the plethora of strength and vitality of the paladins and barbarians.  So get the best armor your character can get for the strength she has and spend points on dodge, avoid, and evade.  These skills increase your chances of attacks missing you when they would have hit with out the skill’s intervention. Combine with a good shield and you’re off to a good start.  Stay way from close combat with groups and watch your resistances.

Offense:

The Amazon can go two (or three if you want to break it down that far) routes in offense. First off you have the bow skills.  I really have found the bow elemental attack skills to be lackluster and the damage from bow’s to be not that great in later levels.  This doesn’t mean that the bow isn’t a good weapon, like everything else it has it’s limitations.  If you go this route put skills into crowd control options and do the best with her elemental attacks.  Of the two routes Immolation arrow is probably the best (explosion damage plus ground fire damage).  Don’t fall into the trap of ignoring the other element at your disposal though, as immolation arrow will do nothing against a fire immune creature.

People I’ve played with (and my self for that matter) have had better luck by going the javelin/spear route.  This presents a different set of options, with crowd control skills the barbarian and paladin only wish they had as it gives you opportunities to go close range or long range.  Don’t focus on your early skills, as you’ll get far better ones later on (plague javelin, lightning fury to name a few). But make sure you have fast attack weapons and keep your javelin class stocked and you’ll have no problem.  The only gripe I have is that throwing weapon counts in act II and III are low, you’ll find your self heading back to town a lot to refill your javelins as there are a plethora of schmucks in the later act.

Crowd Control:

For the bow, spend points in Dexterity to boost your bow damage and then equip your self with multi-shot, strafe, and magic arrow.  Multi shot is the best “fire from the hip” skill as it fire’s off all at once (however it only does ¾ of your normal damage). Strafe is a little better as it gives you a damage bonus so you’ll eventually overcome the ¾ limitation but it takes a little time to fire off.  Magic arrow is a saving grace for any Amazon as it let’s you fire off shots while using no arrows. This skill is best used when you need to head back to town for supplies but still have a couple of stragglers hanging around.

For javelin and spears, spend points on Plague javelin, and the chain lightning skills available at level 30.  Charged strike is also a good one as it shoots out charged bolts to weaken enemies standing behind the front lines but the chain lightning is the better investment.  Use your poison and chain lightning skills wisely as one has a wait time before it can be used again.  It’s also best to use your plague javelin on tight bundled groups before they start charging you.  By the time it takes them to walk up to you they will already be hurting from the poison and a couple of hits will finish them off.

Boss Strategies:

For melee fighters (via the spear) use high damage skills and the decoy or valkerie if you have them to keep the boss distracted. I caution against impale as it’s very slow and can damage your weapon.  For bow and javelin throwers use your high damage attacks and don’t stay in one spot. Use your mobility to avoid ranged attacks directed at you and take out the minions (if any) before you take on the main guy.

Summoned/Hired minions

Any of the hired mercenaries are good but get one that works to your fighting style. Front line mercenaries (acts 2 and 5) will draw the crowd away from you while close support (acts 1 and 3) will hang back and fire at enemies from afar.