I might be shouted upon for making a separate topic for my question, but well, I guess it can't be helped.
I haven't played since the times of the attack speed nerf on items, and back in that day I was mostly enjoying the hydra/blizzard kiting build.
As of right now, I've been getting to 60 with the cookie-cutter arcane orb spam build, but it can't do anything against MP10 mobs. I've checked some guides and I don't really like the playstyle of CMWW. That's why I'm currently interested in the Archon build, Jaetch's hybrid looks especially nice.
I have around ~500 mil available to upgrade my current gear, my friend can probably give me some more in case it won't be enough. But I believe I won't be able to pay 1kkk+ for a piece of gear anyway, so a CC mempo might be impossible for me to obtain.
My tag is Beatrice#2650; I mostly play with a friend of mine, who is another wizard, but sometimes I'm playing alone, so I'll be also looking for tips on the follower (Scoundred/Ench, not sure which is better for Archon). That friend of mine will be using another build and would probably supply me with frost novas, so Coldblooded will probably occupy one passive slot in my future build.
What I wanted to ask is how should I start with gearing up. I guess I need to replace almost everything (if not everything at all), but it's hard to start upgrading your gear even when you have money, when you have no idea how much EHP you need to farm act3-4 MP10.
So... If you would be so kind, give an old man (...not really) some tips, will ya?
You can definitely do Archon on MP0-1. And I wouldn't call Arcane Orb cookie-cutter. Cookie-cutter back when you were still playing was Blizzard-Venom Hydra. Now Archon and CM/WW are cookie-cutter builds.
As for gearing to play Archon, you'll need to tweak your skill set and the way your gear is oriented (but not by much).
1. Since your crit chance is at a good level, use either this skill set or this one or this one... or a dozen other variations. In all cases, keep either Living Lightning or Wicked Wind as your main skill. You need it for refreshing Archon if you somehow pop out of it before the cooldown is up. Frost Nova and/or Diamond Skin is essential for when you're not in Archon form. Deep Freeze Frost Nova is preferable since it temporarily shoots your crit chance up enough to proc Critical Mass to refresh Archon. Diamond Skin can be added for more survival, though you will have to give up a damage boosting stat (such as Sparkflint). As for passives, you can ditch Unstable Anomaly if you're not having trouble surviving. You can use Glass Cannon or Galvanizing Ward in its place, or take out another skill for Cold-Blooded (if you use a Scoundrel equipped with Buriza. But in virtually all cases, you must have Magic Weapon and an Armor skill to go with Archon, your refresher ability, and your defensive skill.
2. Switch your helm for one with critical hit chance and socket. Andariel's Visage is an incredibly cheap option for huge DPS gain, though try and pick one with low fire penalty. Otherwise, Tal Rasha's Guise of Wisdom is a good choice. You probably can't afford a good Mempo, so skip that for now.
3. Get a one-handed weapon with similar stats to what you have now, but with life steal. It will make life as an Archon wizard immensely easier (you can almost play with your eyes closed). It will be pricey with high int and crit damage to go with the socket, so you can skip on the intelligence if required.
4. Get a Triumvirate. As long as you have a black weapon (which you currently do, "min-max" damage, not +fire, +holy, etc.), the bonus from Triumvirate will greatly amplify your overall damage output. Try to get one with at least 220 average damage, with decent intelligence and preferably with some vitality.
5. Your armor is definitely on the low side., You can definitely add more on your bracers and boots. If you're getting an Andariel's for your helm, you'll have to replace some resistance as well. Tack it on by mixing it onto your gloves, your belt and bracers for now. I suggest crafting bracers. It won't take long for you to find something much better than what you have now.
6. When you can, replace one of your rare rings with Zunimassa's Pox or replace your boots with Zunimassa's Trail. The 130 intelligence bonus from the set is nothing to laugh at. I would recommend Pox because it always comes with crit damage and all resistance. All you need to do is find one with crit chance to start. Getting a 3-piece Zuni set won't hurt either, since there's the bonus resistance that comes with three pieces. If that's the case, get a Zuni Trail with at least high int and high vit. If your budget allows, get one with all resistance as well. If, however, you want to run only two pieces for the 130 int bonus, I suggest getting the Pox and Trail and switching your chest with Tal Rasha's Relentless Pursuit. If you get a high vit and armor one, you'll be able to retain some of your survivability (which will even out if you get a Zuni Pox) while also drastically increasing your DPS because of the attack speed that comes with the Tal Rasha chest.
That should be enough to start. I won't suggest switching your pants for Inna's Temperance or bracers for Lacuni Prowlers just yet because your EHP needs work first. The bonus move speed can wait until later.
Also, MOST IMPORTANTLY, please read Bagstone's gear guide for wizards. Almost everything I just wrote out is covered in that guide.
P.S. Please don't do MP10 until you're... well... heavily, heavily geared. You're in MP0-2 mode right now. Take it step by step. In addition, there's no point in farming MP10 unless you have maxed out magic find, e.g. you're paragon 100 and you just want to maximize loot drops per kill. You, on the other hand, should be farming MP0-3 at most to gain higher paragon levels to start. If you want to do MP10 for EXP, you'll have to stick with mindlessly grinding Keep Level 2 for the most efficient EXP gain. But you're not at that level quite yet.
Just to add a small point to Jaetch's excellent response. If you really really really want to run MP10, I think Cave of the Ancients in act 1 is better xp per hour than keeps. You just have to skip the elite in there and kill all the trash mobs. I was getting some 60 mil xp per hour with a paltry 270k dps set with Archon - teleport AND killing the elite (which really slows the run down).
Otherwise, forget about high MP if you want to kill elites to farm DEs as well as gain xp. Stick to lower MP like said above and just speed run through zones. With 200k dps I think MP1-2 was most efficient for me. Sure I could run MP4-5 but it just took too long to kill elites and even the trash mobs took 1-2s to kill. If the elites take more than 10-20s to kill your efficiency is going to drop significantly.
Still, I'd like to mention one important thing. First of all, I've bought a non-CC mempo with quite high int and EHP stats. It was quite cheap for me, got it around 3 mil. What I still can't do (even after your great tips) is to get an idea of where to start. As I've already said, I have ~500 mil to spend, but I don't know how much should I spend on various pieces. I know for sure I shouldn't be buying a top-notch Mempo (CC) or Lacunis; but what about the rest?
And another question: how much gold (and, as a matter of fact, raw EHP/DPS stats) do I need to be able to comfortably farm higher MP levels? Actually, in my current gear I have no problems with arcane orb in act3 MP4-5. I have to kite a lot in case of phasebeasts and stuff, but still those 500k AO crits with my currently huge APoC do their job well (unless I face RD since I have neither LS nor good LoH).
And, returning to the question of the gold I'll need, while I do realize I have no real chance to get stuff like CC mempo, I also don't really want to resort to low budget choices that are really subpar; I want to try and make the most use of those 500 mil, investing most of it (if not all of it) the best way possible, boosting both DPS and EHP as much as I can.
Good day to you, mighty wizards of this forum.
Rather than creating another "returning wizard asks for advice" thread I'm posting here. I've read Bagstone's guide and your input in this topic, but I'm hoping for to get a word of advice on gearing my wizard. I stopped playing after I had beaten Diablo on Inferno in June but recently I decided to give it a try and farmed some gear(didn't have any good drops in 18 paragon lvls that could be sold for more than 50k on AH) mainly from picking up gold and selling trash rares to vendor. Here's my armory Melisandre-2747 (edited as this is my first post to bypass restrictions). Back in the days, I used hydra blizzard build, but always wanted to try archon(I'm aware that CMWW is more efficient on high MP levels and in coop , but I really like Archon play style and aesthetics much more).
So now I'm running archon build mostly on MP2, sometimes MP1. Sometimes solo, sometimes with my monk buddy. I never had more than 1m on my hands(as you can see my gear is rather poor), but recently my other friend(he used to play a lot after I stopped playing ) told me that he's kinda sick of d3 and doesn't have much time to play anyway will take a break, so he wants to give me around 350m gold when he has some spare time.
I'm not good with AH and it's prices, thus I ask for your input on how to spend this "fortune". Especially I'd like to hear from Archon badass guru aka Jaetch. I guess there are 2 ways in my situation: 1) buying as many gear pieces as I can, to get the maximum increase in DPS and EHP 2) buying a couple of good pieces(well I can't afford 1-4 billions for a piece of gear, so it's only good in relation to 1) ) and getting other good replacements later.
Obviously buying more cheaper pieces (option 1) yields better increase in DPS and EHP but hurts in the long run, and option 2 gives less increase in DPS and EHP. I'm not sure what should I do, but I'm a tiny bit more inclined to option 2.
I've thought about keeping Andariel's visage as I won't be able to buy crit Mempo any time soon, perhaps I should also keep my Triumvirate (though doesn't have +6\+6\+6% elemental dmg) to swap it for a better one later on. My weapon has dexterinty(yeah :D) and no lifesteal so I probably should replace it.Was planning to get a "black" rare with 1050 ish dps, lifesteal , CD , socket. Or should I exclude a socket and get more dps on it?
I was considering getting zuni boots + zuni ring, witching hour, tal rasha's amulet and maybe tal rasha's chest(I'd have to get Inna's or Lacuni to keep 24% ms if I buy this chest I guess).
Offtopic : btw that's the deal with a decent Buriza (so I can use cold blooded passive) with good freeze chance and chance to pierce costs like 100m on AH, that's like my character weapon budget if I spend 1\3 on a weapon (considering my 300-400m budget).
So all of you advices are welcome, thanks in advance.
Wiz, with enough DPS, MagiWeapon / Blood Magic is enough. I particularly am fond of the "one bigger upgrade" rather several small ones, unless the small ones are really cheap (1~2 mil).
All of your gear can have changes. Your build is good, but your gear does not help your build. For instance: Shock Pulse + Living Lighting is very effective with high attack speed and critical chance. You have a fairly good amount of critical chance (on the 40ish), but lacks attack speed.
Your Tyrael Might lacks "Damage to Demons". That's what you should look on those plate.
Your Andariels Visage takes much fire damage (more than 10%).
With your current gear, I'd stay on MP1, and would not think of buying a Buriza right now. A Buriza would help you more on higher MP's, on lower MP with 150k DPS you can blast through everyone without the need to freeze them.
For Archon you want to stock Int, Critical Chance, Critical Damage. On higher-end gear, you'll need to stock attack speed also, to help you eliminate archon's cooldown.
Take a look at my wizard: The plate, chest and boots were inexpensive (I bought them for less than 10mil all, on US servers), and they helped my EHP a lot. Than you can focus your other gear on DPS.
My 2 cents. Jaetch, Loroese and Bagstone are better on advice then me.
Wiz, with enough DPS, MagiWeapon / Blood Magic is enough. I particularly am fond of the "one bigger upgrade" rather several small ones, unless the small ones are really cheap (1~2 mil).
Exactly. :-)
I think a lot of gear can be replaced and significantly improved for under 1 million, and that should be done.
I think one of the weak spots are your gloves. For high DPS it's really important to get to high crit chance/crit damage levels. Your gloves seem to have nice stats (so much int, some vit, and pickup radius!), but these stats are almost wasted because you want close to max crit chance (8+) on gloves for sure. If possible some crit hit damage. Don't get ones with IAS right now, trifecta just makes the price for gloves insane; after getting CC/CD you can focus on high int or maybe even high EHP stats first.
Another weak spot, in my opinion, is your chest. Tyrael's looks fine because it has MS and AR, but it lacks vitality. If you were to get a Witching Hour, Lacuni's, or Inna's pants, you would lose a lot of vitality on either of these slots, and you should try to get this back somewhere else - chest. Also, a chest with three sockets would be better; you can add gems for more DPS, or for the beginning while you lack EHP you can add vitality here.
I'm on a break from D3 so I'm not sure about prices currently, but you should really just try to get small updates for almost every slot that don't impact your budget that much. For example, get Zuni boots+ring, Vile Wards, Tal Rasha chest, cheap WH, cheap Lacuni's, cheap Inna's, better gloves/amulet. If you get 350m and you spend a maximum of 5m on 10 slots, you still have 300m to buy 1 or 2 major upgrades - could even be a Mempo with crit, a high-end Witching Hour, an insane Echoing Fury.
@WizOfOz, once you tack on a couple of more minor upgrades, start crafting bracers and shoulders. It won't take you long at all to craft one or the other that is significantly better than what you have right now. And if you think about it, a couple 100Ks and a few tomes and essences will grant you two big upgrades to sit on for a little while.
For gloves specifically, try to pick up a combo of crit chance and crit damage, especially if you're running Archon, you want your beam ticks to crit. That and, like Bagstone said, your chest should be the first pieces to move.
I dont see why so many wizards go so far for the Mempo..
Sure its nice to get the extra IAS, but looking at Tals helm, I'd say you can get some really nice ones very cheap..
I got this one for 1.7m, yes it does not have all res like the Mempo, but all res is easier to get than theese stats.. http://eu.battle.net...2/hero/22115612
Also I have another question..
When looking at my weapon, it has 3% LL, and I am really considering if I want to swap it for a higher dps weapon and then be forced to use Blood Magic on my Magic Weapon..
So the question is, how much dps do I need to increase my weapon with to make up for the 15 % extra damage I get from Force Weapon?
Hope this post makes any sense
Swapping Force Weapon to Blood Magic will make you lose 5% DPS. Just load your character into some spreadsheet/tool and check the details, but it's not really that important. What's more important is that you'll lose half of your life steal by switching to Blood Magic. If you're barely surviving right now or feel that you're a bit squishy, you either need some more EHP or get a weapon with LaK to compensate. This should be of more concern than DPS at this point.
About the Mempo vs Andariel's: this topic has come up a couple of times and it was actually one of the starting points why I wanted to write the guide and have an advantage/disadvantage discussion in there.
Mempo has extremely good EHP - always: it has high AR and high life% by default, and is quite cheap with an additional vit or armor roll. Andariel's can never roll that high EHP, as it has neither AR nor life% or vit or armor by default, and can only roll one random stat. To add on that, it has this stupid fire damage taken debuff, which can make this helmet deadly - for the wearer. Try to visit Vault of the Assassins with a 25% Andariel's. It's like walking through hell barefoot.
In terms of DPS, Andariel's might look better at first sight: it always has IAS and crit, Mempo only IAS, and both roll high int by default (not considering the 2/3 of dex/str helmets here obviously). If you look at absolutely high-end characters who can afford a Mempo with max crit, they will still have higher DPS with a Mempo than with an Andariel's (because the 4.5% crit are fixed on the latter). If you don't belong to this group who is maxing out gear for billions, you can't just go for straight DPS, but you also need to take a look at your EHP. Furthermore, most people see a socket as mandatory for helmet, which makes the one random roll on Andariel's already a mandatory socket roll. The ruby and therefore the socket might not be that useful on higher MP levels... but then again you really don't want to miss out the EHP from a Mempo. After all, if you are a glass canon and just want to max DPS for little money, yes, take a look at Andariel's. But it's definitely a choice that has some heavy drawbacks and will cost you money in the end (EHP stats on other slots).
I'm still sitting on ~400 mil, even though I didn't upgrade a lot of stuff. I can do MP7 confortably with elites melting before my eyes while I face-tank them even with RD on.
I think the easiers way you can increase your dps right now is to to upgrade those silly jewels you have in your chest,and then find a new weapon..
With 400m you should be able to find a 12xx damage black weapon, that have the stats you seek, maybe it takes some searching, but I am pretty sure it can be done..
You mean 12xx with CD, socket and lifesteal and int ? or what stats did you imply?
I could only find 11xx with all of these stats
Why do people buy so much gold when they have no idea what to do with it?
None of the two people asking for help here said they BOUGHT gold. You realize there are other ways to get gold, right? Your post comes across as extremely offensive and provocative. WizOfOz was given 350m by his friend, he didn't buy anything.
Well, spending 60 mil on 3 radiant star topazes gave me a whopping boost of 5k buffed DPS. Not sure it was the best investment I could possibly have made. :c
Well, it's fine really. Still, while I agree that I had to get those radiant star topazes sooner or later, it's the question of the ratio 'price:upgrade'. With 60 mil, I believe I can upgrade my DPS way more than 5k buffed... I just simply don't know how (even after weeks of AH monitoring). This AH monitoring actually allowed me to make about ~200 mil simply by flipping stuff.
But! When I sit on my 400 mil (just sold my previous weapon, which I bought for 15m, for 60m - even my new weapon costed me way less while being much better) and think 'I need to upgrade this and that', I go to AH and all I see is either stuff around 20-30 mil which would not really upgrade my DPS/EHP that much, and 1-2 bil gear. Nothing in the price bracket I'm looking for.
If we put those chest armor topazes aside, my personal opinion is that my priorities should look like this at the moment:
- Get inna's pants with int and vit - I check every ~hour to try and snatch a pair cheap. Almost got one pair sitting at 1d 12h, but someone was faster.
- Think of a way to make up for lost EHP from my current depth diggers.
- Find a ring to replace my current rare one, which will give me at least +5-10k dps buffed.
- Continue crafting amulets and gloves, while trying to snatch a cheap TR ammy or probably a fine trifecta rare one.
- Once I establish some fine EHP, break Zunimassa set and get a TR chest and some other second ring.
- Get rich and get a 6CC Mempo.
- Get even more rich and get a 1300+ dps, 80+ CD, 1.4 APS, 100+ int, socket black weapon
- Get even even more rich and make marquise gems
Am I correct with this list of priorities? If I am, or if I'm not, my main question still remains: how much gold should I set aside for each of my 'problematic' slots?
P.S. To the guy speaking about buying gold... I've been constantly wondering, who are those people that sell items for 50% (or less) of its price and buy items for 200% (or more) of its price... Well, if a person is amazed at such smallish amounts like 300-500 mil arising by the time someone hits lvl60, my question is probably answered.
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I might be shouted upon for making a separate topic for my question, but well, I guess it can't be helped.
I haven't played since the times of the attack speed nerf on items, and back in that day I was mostly enjoying the hydra/blizzard kiting build.
As of right now, I've been getting to 60 with the cookie-cutter arcane orb spam build, but it can't do anything against MP10 mobs. I've checked some guides and I don't really like the playstyle of CMWW. That's why I'm currently interested in the Archon build, Jaetch's hybrid looks especially nice.
I have around ~500 mil available to upgrade my current gear, my friend can probably give me some more in case it won't be enough. But I believe I won't be able to pay 1kkk+ for a piece of gear anyway, so a CC mempo might be impossible for me to obtain.
My tag is Beatrice#2650; I mostly play with a friend of mine, who is another wizard, but sometimes I'm playing alone, so I'll be also looking for tips on the follower (Scoundred/Ench, not sure which is better for Archon). That friend of mine will be using another build and would probably supply me with frost novas, so Coldblooded will probably occupy one passive slot in my future build.
What I wanted to ask is how should I start with gearing up. I guess I need to replace almost everything (if not everything at all), but it's hard to start upgrading your gear even when you have money, when you have no idea how much EHP you need to farm act3-4 MP10.
So... If you would be so kind, give an old man (...not really) some tips, will ya?
Thanks in advance.
DiabloProgress
D3up
Okay, now that that's out of the way...
You can definitely do Archon on MP0-1. And I wouldn't call Arcane Orb cookie-cutter. Cookie-cutter back when you were still playing was Blizzard-Venom Hydra. Now Archon and CM/WW are cookie-cutter builds.
As for gearing to play Archon, you'll need to tweak your skill set and the way your gear is oriented (but not by much).
1. Since your crit chance is at a good level, use either this skill set or this one or this one... or a dozen other variations. In all cases, keep either Living Lightning or Wicked Wind as your main skill. You need it for refreshing Archon if you somehow pop out of it before the cooldown is up. Frost Nova and/or Diamond Skin is essential for when you're not in Archon form. Deep Freeze Frost Nova is preferable since it temporarily shoots your crit chance up enough to proc Critical Mass to refresh Archon. Diamond Skin can be added for more survival, though you will have to give up a damage boosting stat (such as Sparkflint). As for passives, you can ditch Unstable Anomaly if you're not having trouble surviving. You can use Glass Cannon or Galvanizing Ward in its place, or take out another skill for Cold-Blooded (if you use a Scoundrel equipped with Buriza. But in virtually all cases, you must have Magic Weapon and an Armor skill to go with Archon, your refresher ability, and your defensive skill.
2. Switch your helm for one with critical hit chance and socket. Andariel's Visage is an incredibly cheap option for huge DPS gain, though try and pick one with low fire penalty. Otherwise, Tal Rasha's Guise of Wisdom is a good choice. You probably can't afford a good Mempo, so skip that for now.
3. Get a one-handed weapon with similar stats to what you have now, but with life steal. It will make life as an Archon wizard immensely easier (you can almost play with your eyes closed). It will be pricey with high int and crit damage to go with the socket, so you can skip on the intelligence if required.
4. Get a Triumvirate. As long as you have a black weapon (which you currently do, "min-max" damage, not +fire, +holy, etc.), the bonus from Triumvirate will greatly amplify your overall damage output. Try to get one with at least 220 average damage, with decent intelligence and preferably with some vitality.
5. Your armor is definitely on the low side., You can definitely add more on your bracers and boots. If you're getting an Andariel's for your helm, you'll have to replace some resistance as well. Tack it on by mixing it onto your gloves, your belt and bracers for now. I suggest crafting bracers. It won't take long for you to find something much better than what you have now.
6. When you can, replace one of your rare rings with Zunimassa's Pox or replace your boots with Zunimassa's Trail. The 130 intelligence bonus from the set is nothing to laugh at. I would recommend Pox because it always comes with crit damage and all resistance. All you need to do is find one with crit chance to start. Getting a 3-piece Zuni set won't hurt either, since there's the bonus resistance that comes with three pieces. If that's the case, get a Zuni Trail with at least high int and high vit. If your budget allows, get one with all resistance as well. If, however, you want to run only two pieces for the 130 int bonus, I suggest getting the Pox and Trail and switching your chest with Tal Rasha's Relentless Pursuit. If you get a high vit and armor one, you'll be able to retain some of your survivability (which will even out if you get a Zuni Pox) while also drastically increasing your DPS because of the attack speed that comes with the Tal Rasha chest.
That should be enough to start. I won't suggest switching your pants for Inna's Temperance or bracers for Lacuni Prowlers just yet because your EHP needs work first. The bonus move speed can wait until later.
Also, MOST IMPORTANTLY, please read Bagstone's gear guide for wizards. Almost everything I just wrote out is covered in that guide.
P.S. Please don't do MP10 until you're... well... heavily, heavily geared. You're in MP0-2 mode right now. Take it step by step. In addition, there's no point in farming MP10 unless you have maxed out magic find, e.g. you're paragon 100 and you just want to maximize loot drops per kill. You, on the other hand, should be farming MP0-3 at most to gain higher paragon levels to start. If you want to do MP10 for EXP, you'll have to stick with mindlessly grinding Keep Level 2 for the most efficient EXP gain. But you're not at that level quite yet.
Hybrid Archon playstyle sample (for future references):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hApu2o6uHRM
Armory | YouTube | Twitter | Clan Site
Otherwise, forget about high MP if you want to kill elites to farm DEs as well as gain xp. Stick to lower MP like said above and just speed run through zones. With 200k dps I think MP1-2 was most efficient for me. Sure I could run MP4-5 but it just took too long to kill elites and even the trash mobs took 1-2s to kill. If the elites take more than 10-20s to kill your efficiency is going to drop significantly.
Crusader DPS and EHP Spreadsheet, meant for Crusaders
My Wizard
I have a lot more understanding now.
Still, I'd like to mention one important thing. First of all, I've bought a non-CC mempo with quite high int and EHP stats. It was quite cheap for me, got it around 3 mil. What I still can't do (even after your great tips) is to get an idea of where to start. As I've already said, I have ~500 mil to spend, but I don't know how much should I spend on various pieces. I know for sure I shouldn't be buying a top-notch Mempo (CC) or Lacunis; but what about the rest?
And another question: how much gold (and, as a matter of fact, raw EHP/DPS stats) do I need to be able to comfortably farm higher MP levels? Actually, in my current gear I have no problems with arcane orb in act3 MP4-5. I have to kite a lot in case of phasebeasts and stuff, but still those 500k AO crits with my currently huge APoC do their job well (unless I face RD since I have neither LS nor good LoH).
And, returning to the question of the gold I'll need, while I do realize I have no real chance to get stuff like CC mempo, I also don't really want to resort to low budget choices that are really subpar; I want to try and make the most use of those 500 mil, investing most of it (if not all of it) the best way possible, boosting both DPS and EHP as much as I can.
I believe that even my current gear (500 mil still unspent) is way, way more than enough for MP3...
Rather than creating another "returning wizard asks for advice" thread I'm posting here. I've read Bagstone's guide and your input in this topic, but I'm hoping for to get a word of advice on gearing my wizard. I stopped playing after I had beaten Diablo on Inferno in June but recently I decided to give it a try and farmed some gear(didn't have any good drops in 18 paragon lvls that could be sold for more than 50k on AH) mainly from picking up gold and selling trash rares to vendor. Here's my armory Melisandre-2747 (edited as this is my first post to bypass restrictions). Back in the days, I used hydra blizzard build, but always wanted to try archon(I'm aware that CMWW is more efficient on high MP levels and in coop , but I really like Archon play style and aesthetics much more).
So now I'm running archon build mostly on MP2, sometimes MP1. Sometimes solo, sometimes with my monk buddy. I never had more than 1m on my hands(as you can see my gear is rather poor), but recently my other friend(he used to play a lot after I stopped playing ) told me that he's kinda sick of d3 and doesn't have much time to play anyway will take a break, so he wants to give me around 350m gold when he has some spare time.
I'm not good with AH and it's prices, thus I ask for your input on how to spend this "fortune". Especially I'd like to hear from Archon badass guru aka Jaetch. I guess there are 2 ways in my situation: 1) buying as many gear pieces as I can, to get the maximum increase in DPS and EHP 2) buying a couple of good pieces(well I can't afford 1-4 billions for a piece of gear, so it's only good in relation to 1) ) and getting other good replacements later.
Obviously buying more cheaper pieces (option 1) yields better increase in DPS and EHP but hurts in the long run, and option 2 gives less increase in DPS and EHP. I'm not sure what should I do, but I'm a tiny bit more inclined to option 2.
I've thought about keeping Andariel's visage as I won't be able to buy crit Mempo any time soon, perhaps I should also keep my Triumvirate (though doesn't have +6\+6\+6% elemental dmg) to swap it for a better one later on. My weapon has dexterinty(yeah :D) and no lifesteal so I probably should replace it.Was planning to get a "black" rare with 1050 ish dps, lifesteal , CD , socket. Or should I exclude a socket and get more dps on it?
I was considering getting zuni boots + zuni ring, witching hour, tal rasha's amulet and maybe tal rasha's chest(I'd have to get Inna's or Lacuni to keep 24% ms if I buy this chest I guess).
Offtopic : btw that's the deal with a decent Buriza (so I can use cold blooded passive) with good freeze chance and chance to pierce costs like 100m on AH, that's like my character weapon budget if I spend 1\3 on a weapon (considering my 300-400m budget).
So all of you advices are welcome, thanks in advance.
http://eu.battle.net/d3/en/profile/Melisandre-2747/hero/3943460
http://d3up.com/b/507995
Wiz, with enough DPS, MagiWeapon / Blood Magic is enough. I particularly am fond of the "one bigger upgrade" rather several small ones, unless the small ones are really cheap (1~2 mil).
All of your gear can have changes. Your build is good, but your gear does not help your build. For instance: Shock Pulse + Living Lighting is very effective with high attack speed and critical chance. You have a fairly good amount of critical chance (on the 40ish), but lacks attack speed.
Your Tyrael Might lacks "Damage to Demons". That's what you should look on those plate.
Your Andariels Visage takes much fire damage (more than 10%).
With your current gear, I'd stay on MP1, and would not think of buying a Buriza right now. A Buriza would help you more on higher MP's, on lower MP with 150k DPS you can blast through everyone without the need to freeze them.
For Archon you want to stock Int, Critical Chance, Critical Damage. On higher-end gear, you'll need to stock attack speed also, to help you eliminate archon's cooldown.
Take a look at my wizard: The plate, chest and boots were inexpensive (I bought them for less than 10mil all, on US servers), and they helped my EHP a lot. Than you can focus your other gear on DPS.
My 2 cents. Jaetch, Loroese and Bagstone are better on advice then me.
Wizard | Demon Hunter
Exactly. :-)
I think a lot of gear can be replaced and significantly improved for under 1 million, and that should be done.
I think one of the weak spots are your gloves. For high DPS it's really important to get to high crit chance/crit damage levels. Your gloves seem to have nice stats (so much int, some vit, and pickup radius!), but these stats are almost wasted because you want close to max crit chance (8+) on gloves for sure. If possible some crit hit damage. Don't get ones with IAS right now, trifecta just makes the price for gloves insane; after getting CC/CD you can focus on high int or maybe even high EHP stats first.
Another weak spot, in my opinion, is your chest. Tyrael's looks fine because it has MS and AR, but it lacks vitality. If you were to get a Witching Hour, Lacuni's, or Inna's pants, you would lose a lot of vitality on either of these slots, and you should try to get this back somewhere else - chest. Also, a chest with three sockets would be better; you can add gems for more DPS, or for the beginning while you lack EHP you can add vitality here.
I'm on a break from D3 so I'm not sure about prices currently, but you should really just try to get small updates for almost every slot that don't impact your budget that much. For example, get Zuni boots+ring, Vile Wards, Tal Rasha chest, cheap WH, cheap Lacuni's, cheap Inna's, better gloves/amulet. If you get 350m and you spend a maximum of 5m on 10 slots, you still have 300m to buy 1 or 2 major upgrades - could even be a Mempo with crit, a high-end Witching Hour, an insane Echoing Fury.
@WizOfOz, once you tack on a couple of more minor upgrades, start crafting bracers and shoulders. It won't take you long at all to craft one or the other that is significantly better than what you have right now. And if you think about it, a couple 100Ks and a few tomes and essences will grant you two big upgrades to sit on for a little while.
For gloves specifically, try to pick up a combo of crit chance and crit damage, especially if you're running Archon, you want your beam ticks to crit. That and, like Bagstone said, your chest should be the first pieces to move.
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Swapping Force Weapon to Blood Magic will make you lose 5% DPS. Just load your character into some spreadsheet/tool and check the details, but it's not really that important. What's more important is that you'll lose half of your life steal by switching to Blood Magic. If you're barely surviving right now or feel that you're a bit squishy, you either need some more EHP or get a weapon with LaK to compensate. This should be of more concern than DPS at this point.
About the Mempo vs Andariel's: this topic has come up a couple of times and it was actually one of the starting points why I wanted to write the guide and have an advantage/disadvantage discussion in there.
Mempo has extremely good EHP - always: it has high AR and high life% by default, and is quite cheap with an additional vit or armor roll. Andariel's can never roll that high EHP, as it has neither AR nor life% or vit or armor by default, and can only roll one random stat. To add on that, it has this stupid fire damage taken debuff, which can make this helmet deadly - for the wearer. Try to visit Vault of the Assassins with a 25% Andariel's. It's like walking through hell barefoot.
In terms of DPS, Andariel's might look better at first sight: it always has IAS and crit, Mempo only IAS, and both roll high int by default (not considering the 2/3 of dex/str helmets here obviously). If you look at absolutely high-end characters who can afford a Mempo with max crit, they will still have higher DPS with a Mempo than with an Andariel's (because the 4.5% crit are fixed on the latter). If you don't belong to this group who is maxing out gear for billions, you can't just go for straight DPS, but you also need to take a look at your EHP. Furthermore, most people see a socket as mandatory for helmet, which makes the one random roll on Andariel's already a mandatory socket roll. The ruby and therefore the socket might not be that useful on higher MP levels... but then again you really don't want to miss out the EHP from a Mempo. After all, if you are a glass canon and just want to max DPS for little money, yes, take a look at Andariel's. But it's definitely a choice that has some heavy drawbacks and will cost you money in the end (EHP stats on other slots).
How do I spend those 400 mil efficiently?
http://eu.battle.net/d3/en/profile/Beatrice-2650/hero/26790084
I could only find 11xx with all of these stats
None of the two people asking for help here said they BOUGHT gold. You realize there are other ways to get gold, right? Your post comes across as extremely offensive and provocative. WizOfOz was given 350m by his friend, he didn't buy anything.
But! When I sit on my 400 mil (just sold my previous weapon, which I bought for 15m, for 60m - even my new weapon costed me way less while being much better) and think 'I need to upgrade this and that', I go to AH and all I see is either stuff around 20-30 mil which would not really upgrade my DPS/EHP that much, and 1-2 bil gear. Nothing in the price bracket I'm looking for.
If we put those chest armor topazes aside, my personal opinion is that my priorities should look like this at the moment:
- Get inna's pants with int and vit - I check every ~hour to try and snatch a pair cheap. Almost got one pair sitting at 1d 12h, but someone was faster.
- Think of a way to make up for lost EHP from my current depth diggers.
- Find a ring to replace my current rare one, which will give me at least +5-10k dps buffed.
- Continue crafting amulets and gloves, while trying to snatch a cheap TR ammy or probably a fine trifecta rare one.
- Once I establish some fine EHP, break Zunimassa set and get a TR chest and some other second ring.
- Get rich and get a 6CC Mempo.
- Get even more rich and get a 1300+ dps, 80+ CD, 1.4 APS, 100+ int, socket black weapon
- Get even even more rich and make marquise gems
Am I correct with this list of priorities? If I am, or if I'm not, my main question still remains: how much gold should I set aside for each of my 'problematic' slots?
P.S. To the guy speaking about buying gold... I've been constantly wondering, who are those people that sell items for 50% (or less) of its price and buy items for 200% (or more) of its price... Well, if a person is amazed at such smallish amounts like 300-500 mil arising by the time someone hits lvl60, my question is probably answered.