Been running T4 farming for the helm. Then, I was running Aughilds helm and bracers for that bonus to/from elites. I also prioritized lps and loh in paragon. Upon getting the helm, I switched in the strongarms and then followed guide suggestions for paragon points
Life%> All Res> Armor> Life Regen
Area Damage> Resource Cost Reduction> LoH=Gold Find Bonus http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/13138914261
I expected the helm to finally put me in viable T6 range. I expected a learning curve to a different but similar play-style to what was working best in T4. Unfortunately, that isn't what happened. I get stomped in T6. I backed off to T5. I do play more carefully than T4, but T5 is comfortable.
My question is, is this an L2P issue or did some of my stuff just not drop the right stats? If unity will ever drop for me, I'll try that over SoJ for solo.
But to be honest, here are some things to do (if you dont already do):
If you are running solo, use your templar with some CC items (TF, the block freeze shield, Ess of Johan etc.) to help get monsters away and some survival for you.
You should get a Rorg with CC or CD instead of Vitality
Get an Amulett without the +dmg roll and instead one with either Vitality or %Cold Dmg, depending on what you are lacking
Upgrade both gems, especially the Toxin gem for the 10% damage
If you still die too often try using a Blackthorns Belt + Amulett for some defensive stats
Other options for items would be more CDR on Shoulders + Gloves, and maybe CHD on Gloves if possible, and if you have sufficient mana reroll the Mana Regen on the head piece into CC
As Antyr said, your gear is fine, so it's probably rather a problem of getting into the Jade mindset.
The Jade WD is all about doing the right things at the right time - otherwise the monsters don't die, or you die, or both. And obviously you want the opposite to happen.
Besides the advice that Antyr gave you, here's something that helped me a lot in the beginning: get an Avarice Band, Boon of the Hoarder, and Goldwrap. You'll sacrifice some stats for that, but the toughness boost you get from killing smaller mobs around a pack helps tremendously on not having to focus on staying alive, so you can actually pay attention to learning the "how do I maximize my Jade damage output" part. Once you've internalized that and it's a natural process for you to Haunt/LS, go in, Harvest, go out, you can focus on the survival part (how to do all that without getting hit).
I too had difficulties when transitioning to the build form your typical Zuni / SMK. The play style is unique which is awesome but definetly takes some getting use to. I found the trick for me was learning the proper beat between piranhas and horrify, between the two you should be able to lock down most monster for long enough to LS, then get (depending on pack size) 1-3 haunts out with enough time left to either SH and GTFO, or (once again depending on pack size) spirit walk into the mob to lay down your SH. Many times I would fuck up, horrify too early and everything would release before I could get a SH out, or I would lay a shitty SH only hit 2 enemies, leaving me with a big ass cool down on my SH meaning I would have to retreat and wait. Finally, running into mobs that can't be CC'ed by pihranas was tough because I depended on the CC to set up my rotation.
That all being said, with enough rift practise my GR has been climbing I'm close to 30 now, and its all because I've gotten better at using the build, not because of the items. I do find it helpful to have a health pool of at least 450K, I was running with lower and would get squished really fast. I also rerolled some gear to have CD reduction, which helped when I fucked up a SH because the CD was shorter and I don't have to depend on grave injustice. ANyway your issue sounds very familiar to mine so I hope that some of this helps. But Antyr is right, your gear is pretty awesome you should be able to handle much more then you are describing.
Thank you all for the advice. Time to die...in the pursuit of learning the more careful style.
Edit:
What techniques do you use for Haunt? In T5, I've started spamming it a bit on packs. My understanding is that recasting it on an already Haunted mob doesn't help, just overwrites the dot. Is it in any way "smart"? Will it apply to mobs missing the dot first, for instance when they are indistinguishably stacked in a Piranado?
Edit, Edit:
Would Thing of the Deep plus Sunkeeper help in the learning curve? I don't think it would because the SH might be too small to eliminate elites and force me to SH multiple times more often, but thought I'd ask.
YOu are right, haunting an already haunted enemy simply refreshes the dot, however, with the run you are using the second haunt that comes out is 'smart, and does search out (as far as I know) a fresh target. So its important while casting it that you are choosing fresh targets for example with 3 casts of haunt using the resentful spirits rune clicking on the same target you will see your current target simply gets its dot refreshed and 3 other monsters will be haunted from the rune ability giving you a total of 4, but if you choose wisely you will have it applied to 6 monster instead. If I'm aiming at a P-nado, i try to choose the edges of it in a triangle, like bottom left bottom right top middle, to try and get fresh targets.
Sunkeeper is basically just a one handed furnace, but the low damage will mean your dots hit less hard so obviously furnace would be superior against any elite / boss, if you aren't in a greater rift I would just weapon swap when you need to. The Amazing thing about thing of the deep is the pickup radius it gives you which affects grave injustice, so if something dies from one of your dots because you missed it with a shitty SH or something then chances are you will still be in range to get the CD reduction from from GI meaning faster SH's, It also rocks because you suck in health globes from a far distance away which can be really great if you over played your hand and find yourself in a situation where you are taking damage, where as while using furnace could put you out of pick up range resulting in a death if you where desperate for a heal. So in conclusion, Furance for all out DPS, Sunkeeper / TotD for utility.
@iPeed Thanks for the clarification on Haunt. I likewise try to have the Haunt target different each cast, but it tends to be chaotic, so, it's hard to tell. Would love a small icon on the HP bar that indicates debuffs on the mobs. Your analysis on TotD matches my understanding, so, I'll probably stick with the Furnace and just L2P. Thanks.
@Albatare, thanks for the suggestions. My OP mentioned I'd try Unity if it would just drop for me =( As to the gems, my upgrade chances are at about 15%, so I started working other gems. I guess I might need to start upgrading keys to overcome poor trial results and increase my gem upgrade chances. Based on your comment, I believe I should at least try that. I suspect that until I get better at T6 play style, that might not go so well, yet. As to my third gem, I have two problems. My current ami I have to roll the chd to a socket, but my chd is already too low for the 1:10 ratio. I've been hoping for a better ami drop with maybe a natural socket and elemental damage. The second problem is my play speed. I played years of D2...but I did it Lan play only with friends who enjoyed full clears. I never learned to speed run. I'm trying to teach myself that play style but often catch myself dropping into old habits. This leads to Bane of the Powerful having terrible uptime until I can get to rank 25. That's why I prioritized it last for my gems to be leveled.
Again, thank you everyone for your time and assistance. I'm open to any other advice that comes, as well. Please don't mistake my explanations as excuses. I'm trying to incorporate all the advice, just explaining my thoughts as to why my stuff is the way it currently is, not suggesting my thinking was right.
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Been running T4 farming for the helm. Then, I was running Aughilds helm and bracers for that bonus to/from elites. I also prioritized lps and loh in paragon. Upon getting the helm, I switched in the strongarms and then followed guide suggestions for paragon points
Life%> All Res> Armor> Life Regen
Area Damage> Resource Cost Reduction> LoH=Gold Find Bonus
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/13138914261
I expected the helm to finally put me in viable T6 range. I expected a learning curve to a different but similar play-style to what was working best in T4. Unfortunately, that isn't what happened. I get stomped in T6. I backed off to T5. I do play more carefully than T4, but T5 is comfortable.
My question is, is this an L2P issue or did some of my stuff just not drop the right stats? If unity will ever drop for me, I'll try that over SoJ for solo.
thanks in advance.
But to be honest, here are some things to do (if you dont already do):
The Jade WD is all about doing the right things at the right time - otherwise the monsters don't die, or you die, or both. And obviously you want the opposite to happen.
Besides the advice that Antyr gave you, here's something that helped me a lot in the beginning: get an Avarice Band, Boon of the Hoarder, and Goldwrap. You'll sacrifice some stats for that, but the toughness boost you get from killing smaller mobs around a pack helps tremendously on not having to focus on staying alive, so you can actually pay attention to learning the "how do I maximize my Jade damage output" part. Once you've internalized that and it's a natural process for you to Haunt/LS, go in, Harvest, go out, you can focus on the survival part (how to do all that without getting hit).
I too had difficulties when transitioning to the build form your typical Zuni / SMK. The play style is unique which is awesome but definetly takes some getting use to. I found the trick for me was learning the proper beat between piranhas and horrify, between the two you should be able to lock down most monster for long enough to LS, then get (depending on pack size) 1-3 haunts out with enough time left to either SH and GTFO, or (once again depending on pack size) spirit walk into the mob to lay down your SH. Many times I would fuck up, horrify too early and everything would release before I could get a SH out, or I would lay a shitty SH only hit 2 enemies, leaving me with a big ass cool down on my SH meaning I would have to retreat and wait. Finally, running into mobs that can't be CC'ed by pihranas was tough because I depended on the CC to set up my rotation.
That all being said, with enough rift practise my GR has been climbing I'm close to 30 now, and its all because I've gotten better at using the build, not because of the items. I do find it helpful to have a health pool of at least 450K, I was running with lower and would get squished really fast. I also rerolled some gear to have CD reduction, which helped when I fucked up a SH because the CD was shorter and I don't have to depend on grave injustice. ANyway your issue sounds very familiar to mine so I hope that some of this helps. But Antyr is right, your gear is pretty awesome you should be able to handle much more then you are describing.
Edit:
What techniques do you use for Haunt? In T5, I've started spamming it a bit on packs. My understanding is that recasting it on an already Haunted mob doesn't help, just overwrites the dot. Is it in any way "smart"? Will it apply to mobs missing the dot first, for instance when they are indistinguishably stacked in a Piranado?
Edit, Edit:
Would Thing of the Deep plus Sunkeeper help in the learning curve? I don't think it would because the SH might be too small to eliminate elites and force me to SH multiple times more often, but thought I'd ask.
Sunkeeper is basically just a one handed furnace, but the low damage will mean your dots hit less hard so obviously furnace would be superior against any elite / boss, if you aren't in a greater rift I would just weapon swap when you need to. The Amazing thing about thing of the deep is the pickup radius it gives you which affects grave injustice, so if something dies from one of your dots because you missed it with a shitty SH or something then chances are you will still be in range to get the CD reduction from from GI meaning faster SH's, It also rocks because you suck in health globes from a far distance away which can be really great if you over played your hand and find yourself in a situation where you are taking damage, where as while using furnace could put you out of pick up range resulting in a death if you where desperate for a heal. So in conclusion, Furance for all out DPS, Sunkeeper / TotD for utility.
@Albatare, thanks for the suggestions. My OP mentioned I'd try Unity if it would just drop for me =( As to the gems, my upgrade chances are at about 15%, so I started working other gems. I guess I might need to start upgrading keys to overcome poor trial results and increase my gem upgrade chances. Based on your comment, I believe I should at least try that. I suspect that until I get better at T6 play style, that might not go so well, yet. As to my third gem, I have two problems. My current ami I have to roll the chd to a socket, but my chd is already too low for the 1:10 ratio. I've been hoping for a better ami drop with maybe a natural socket and elemental damage. The second problem is my play speed. I played years of D2...but I did it Lan play only with friends who enjoyed full clears. I never learned to speed run. I'm trying to teach myself that play style but often catch myself dropping into old habits. This leads to Bane of the Powerful having terrible uptime until I can get to rank 25. That's why I prioritized it last for my gems to be leveled.
Again, thank you everyone for your time and assistance. I'm open to any other advice that comes, as well. Please don't mistake my explanations as excuses. I'm trying to incorporate all the advice, just explaining my thoughts as to why my stuff is the way it currently is, not suggesting my thinking was right.