Am returning to the game after a pretty long break. So with all changes in the last few months which is currently the best class to pick up if you looking to push Greater Rifts and how are the classes looking going into 2.1.2 ?
Are Witch Doctors still OP ? And what about Demon Hunters and Monks? I ain't looking to play Barb or Wizard. Played Crusader and found it pretty boring after a while.
Monk is the best as far as fun goes and variety of builds. Most classes have such subpar builds that they aren't fun playing (or after playing that style only for hour after hour gets boring). I've played DH almost exclusively season 1 because M6 is so OP, but I have the most fun playing the monk. I say play a game for fun, make a monk.
For solo GRs there are only two classes that can go GR45 or higher: barbarians and DHS. (There are 13 individual players that have achieved GR45-47 on non-DH/barb, but those are outliers that might just have hit a triple Conduit rift). The barb gets there by clearing a rift in no time with full Raekor set (which takes quite some practice) and then requires a Conduit to kill the Rift Guardian, which means you can't finish 95% of your GR40+ rifts. The DH simply has by far the best damage with the popular lightning build, and can be immortal thanks to Nighstalker passive, some CDR, and perma Smoke Screen.
Choosing DH means you'll have a much easier life getting ~5 ranks higher than with any other class, but the class is rather dull right now and does not have any variety at all (there's just no other gear than Marauder set to wear). The best variety, in my opinion, can be found for the WD; Jade is still the #1 spec for Greater Rifts, but a mixture of the pet build combined with the Tiklandian Visage has helped people to manage GR40+ with a bit of luck. And if you are fine with clearing mid-30s for fun, you can run a lot of different pet builds, or even Carnevil which is an insanely fun spec.
And of course it depends on what you want to do. Choose a class that's most fun to you. Unless you've got perfect gear, there will be people with rank 60 gems and absolutely perfect gear that you cannot beat, plus they've been running thousands of rifts to get the top rankings. You can get on the leaderboards, but you need a lot of time and luck to break into the top 100 or higher (it's not impossible, but just tough). So... choose whichever class you like. Of the three classes you mention (WD, DH, monk) I'd suggest WD if you want fun and diversity and DH if you just want the easiest way to the top. Both also excel in groups; DH as DPS and WD as support. Monk is the weakest class in solo rifts, useless in groups, and is pure button smashing which is not for everyone - and if you dislike barb and crusader I honestly think you'd be bored of the monk after a week or so. It'll be a lot of fun with the next patch, but until then... don't go for it.
M6 DH for trials, DPS for group Greater Rifts (if you are chasing leaderboard spots).
Raekor barbarian or Firebird wizard for T6 (no other class or spec come close for mobility and kill speed).
Tiklandian Fear WD or zDPS crusader for any group Greater Rift (latter is highly desired because it's a major L2P support spec).
Except if you build the latter two, you can't farm on your own unless you run a hybrid pet doctor. But even then if you just want to farm T6, a Firebird wizard or Raekor barbarian would be your best bet.
I don't know how the change to Raekor barb will impact its T6 abilities (I have limited knowledge on the build, my own barb is only partially completed). As long as FC's charges are affected by CDR, I can still see it crushing T6. Of course, it'd be nice to have Gloves of Worship included for Empowered Shrines, as I see many barbs doing for T6.
"Best" depends on how you define your goals. Since you specifically called out GRifts, DH and Barb stand apart in solo. Both have playstyles that can be considered fun or boring, depending on your preferences. WD and DH are probably a part of every group GRift.
"Fun" to play depends on your preferences as well. Proof07 and Bagstone covered much of it already.
WD, Crusader and Monk each have a zDPS build possible that can allow you some variety in playstyle. Monk is not well ranked in solo GRifts. Crusader has a Phalanx build many consider annoying for solo/dps in non-season. In season, they have a second dps build available with Condemn. WD is probably the most versatile, doing well solo and group, but no longer the absolute top for solo.
Barb, while very strong, has to fish for lucky rift layouts at the absolute limits of GRifts, due to the build lacking single target dps. DH is great solo or group, with two builds possible, although one is clearly top. Frost fire sentry build is very passive, which some like and others detest. The passive nature will be changing with 2.1.2. Ball Lightning build is stronger and more active, but relies on a "gimick" perma-smokescreen that will be getting changed in 2.1.2.
Thanks all for your responses. Every one of you went into great detail. I played a Monk just after patch 2.0.1 came out. I thought it was fun but the damage I felt was on the bottom side. Never got really far into DH since I again felt that they took too long to kill things in the lower levels till around level 20.
I never actually got to level up a WD. Someone powerlevelled my WD to end game. But their end game was pretty fun.
Played a Barb and just didn't like its playstyle or their sets. WW is fun but I hate that you don't have much options.
I am just burnt out on the Crusader to be honest. I've leveled them twice - once when ROS came out and then again when I picked the game up on the Xbox 360.
I ain't really looking for the most OP class. I would much prefer choose a class with a fun playstyle.
Cons:
Much of the gear required can be quite rare; Tasker and Theo, Quetzalcoatl, Starmetal Kukri, The Furnace, Mask of Jeram, etc.
Not going to top solo Grifts, but can still run as high as most.
Pros:
Good solo or group
**Most variety with Pet doc, Jade doc, zDPS/support, and even hybrids that can do well
I've never really felt weak at any stage of progression. Other classes often have parts while working T1 up to T6 where I felt my damage or my survivability was lagging behind the other. For instance, while gearing my Sader, there were times I upped Torment because I survived so well, but then I killed so slow it wasn't fun or my wizard was just the opposite.
**To me, this is the biggest decider, all else being equal
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Am returning to the game after a pretty long break. So with all changes in the last few months which is currently the best class to pick up if you looking to push Greater Rifts and how are the classes looking going into 2.1.2 ?
Are Witch Doctors still OP ? And what about Demon Hunters and Monks? I ain't looking to play Barb or Wizard. Played Crusader and found it pretty boring after a while.
DH is the best atm.
http://eu.battle.net/d3/en/profile/Twoflower-2131/hero/47336841
Choosing DH means you'll have a much easier life getting ~5 ranks higher than with any other class, but the class is rather dull right now and does not have any variety at all (there's just no other gear than Marauder set to wear). The best variety, in my opinion, can be found for the WD; Jade is still the #1 spec for Greater Rifts, but a mixture of the pet build combined with the Tiklandian Visage has helped people to manage GR40+ with a bit of luck. And if you are fine with clearing mid-30s for fun, you can run a lot of different pet builds, or even Carnevil which is an insanely fun spec.
And of course it depends on what you want to do. Choose a class that's most fun to you. Unless you've got perfect gear, there will be people with rank 60 gems and absolutely perfect gear that you cannot beat, plus they've been running thousands of rifts to get the top rankings. You can get on the leaderboards, but you need a lot of time and luck to break into the top 100 or higher (it's not impossible, but just tough). So... choose whichever class you like. Of the three classes you mention (WD, DH, monk) I'd suggest WD if you want fun and diversity and DH if you just want the easiest way to the top. Both also excel in groups; DH as DPS and WD as support. Monk is the weakest class in solo rifts, useless in groups, and is pure button smashing which is not for everyone - and if you dislike barb and crusader I honestly think you'd be bored of the monk after a week or so. It'll be a lot of fun with the next patch, but until then... don't go for it.
Raekor barbarian or Firebird wizard for T6 (no other class or spec come close for mobility and kill speed).
Tiklandian Fear WD or zDPS crusader for any group Greater Rift (latter is highly desired because it's a major L2P support spec).
Except if you build the latter two, you can't farm on your own unless you run a hybrid pet doctor. But even then if you just want to farm T6, a Firebird wizard or Raekor barbarian would be your best bet.
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"Fun" to play depends on your preferences as well. Proof07 and Bagstone covered much of it already.
WD, Crusader and Monk each have a zDPS build possible that can allow you some variety in playstyle. Monk is not well ranked in solo GRifts. Crusader has a Phalanx build many consider annoying for solo/dps in non-season. In season, they have a second dps build available with Condemn. WD is probably the most versatile, doing well solo and group, but no longer the absolute top for solo.
Barb, while very strong, has to fish for lucky rift layouts at the absolute limits of GRifts, due to the build lacking single target dps. DH is great solo or group, with two builds possible, although one is clearly top. Frost fire sentry build is very passive, which some like and others detest. The passive nature will be changing with 2.1.2. Ball Lightning build is stronger and more active, but relies on a "gimick" perma-smokescreen that will be getting changed in 2.1.2.
Thanks all for your responses. Every one of you went into great detail. I played a Monk just after patch 2.0.1 came out. I thought it was fun but the damage I felt was on the bottom side. Never got really far into DH since I again felt that they took too long to kill things in the lower levels till around level 20.
I never actually got to level up a WD. Someone powerlevelled my WD to end game. But their end game was pretty fun.
Played a Barb and just didn't like its playstyle or their sets. WW is fun but I hate that you don't have much options.
I am just burnt out on the Crusader to be honest. I've leveled them twice - once when ROS came out and then again when I picked the game up on the Xbox 360.
I ain't really looking for the most OP class. I would much prefer choose a class with a fun playstyle.
Cons:
Much of the gear required can be quite rare; Tasker and Theo, Quetzalcoatl, Starmetal Kukri, The Furnace, Mask of Jeram, etc.
Not going to top solo Grifts, but can still run as high as most.
Pros:
Good solo or group
**Most variety with Pet doc, Jade doc, zDPS/support, and even hybrids that can do well
I've never really felt weak at any stage of progression. Other classes often have parts while working T1 up to T6 where I felt my damage or my survivability was lagging behind the other. For instance, while gearing my Sader, there were times I upped Torment because I survived so well, but then I killed so slow it wasn't fun or my wizard was just the opposite.
**To me, this is the biggest decider, all else being equal