YES, I am still working on the Archon guide. But I picked up a new weapon and wanted to play with it other than in Archon, so I experimented with Ray of Frost - Sleet Storm.
I decided to use my normal Hybrid Archon gear set and run my take on the build.
There are occasionally some issues with AP when I'm only dealing with one target. But I just wanted to see how the build would work with nearly 2 APS. Oh well.
I tested this in arguably the most difficult area of the game: The Great Span, Act IV MP10:
Fortunately for me, I did not encounter any elite Mallet Lords. That would have been disastrous.
All in all, it was pretty fun and went far better than when I initially tested it out nearly five months ago back when the build was still "under construction."
The gist of it is relying on Sleet Storm as a constant channeled AoE spell, making it your primary damage source as well as your heal (with life steal). Explosive Blast and Reactive Armor are supplementary. Frost Nova - Deep Freeze is used to raise crit chance for more APoC. Blood Magic is optional, but I like having more healing power. Diamond Skin - Prism is very useful for maintaining AP.
Wouldn't something like Shocking Aspect be better for Storm Armor?
(pretty sure the answer is No, otherwise you would be using it but I'd like to hear your reasoning on it)
The logic behind Reactive Armor is that you're constantly getting hit by something. And because this build isn't nearly as tanky as a SNS wizard, you need all the help you can get with life return.
It'll work a lot better with a hard-hitting two-hander, but that's a different gearing strategy that revolves on incredibly slow attack speed and only 10 APoC.
Wouldn't something like Shocking Aspect be better for Storm Armor?
(pretty sure the answer is No, otherwise you would be using it but I'd like to hear your reasoning on it)
Short answer is no.
Long answer is no, as long as you don't have someone freezing. The reason is SA is only really great if you're using WW since WW can proc it several times per cast. SS and other channeled skills might proc it a bit more than expected, but you basically get about 1/5th to 1/10th the number of procs from SS as WW. I did some math on it over on the official forums and as long as mobs are hitting you more often than once every 3s or so you get more damage from reactive armor.
Personally I have to use Prismatic Armor to survive with the build because I only have around 400k EHP unbuffed and only about 226k dps in my SS gear.
I actually don't think Frost Nova is necessary in this build—Teleport would be a lot more useful—as it's a little counterproductive with Reactive Armor. But, it works. Take less damage and up crit chance for APoC, or take more damage and try healing more with Reactive Armor.
I decided to use my normal Hybrid Archon gear set and run my take on the build.
I just changed two pieces:
- Storm Crow (10 APoC, 6 cc, 8 lightning, 4 elite)
- Triumvirate (10 APoC, 8.5 cc)
I also used the same passives as I normally use, and for skills I changed four, and one rune:
Skill set
Gear stats
There are occasionally some issues with AP when I'm only dealing with one target. But I just wanted to see how the build would work with nearly 2 APS. Oh well.
I tested this in arguably the most difficult area of the game: The Great Span, Act IV MP10:
http://youtu.be/HHAC5QOchys
Fortunately for me, I did not encounter any elite Mallet Lords. That would have been disastrous.
All in all, it was pretty fun and went far better than when I initially tested it out nearly five months ago back when the build was still "under construction."
The gist of it is relying on Sleet Storm as a constant channeled AoE spell, making it your primary damage source as well as your heal (with life steal). Explosive Blast and Reactive Armor are supplementary. Frost Nova - Deep Freeze is used to raise crit chance for more APoC. Blood Magic is optional, but I like having more healing power. Diamond Skin - Prism is very useful for maintaining AP.
For more info on the build, as I'm no SS specialist, you can check out some pointers over here.
Armory | YouTube | Twitter | Clan Site
Wouldn't something like Shocking Aspect be better for Storm Armor?
(pretty sure the answer is No, otherwise you would be using it but I'd like to hear your reasoning on it)
It'll work a lot better with a hard-hitting two-hander, but that's a different gearing strategy that revolves on incredibly slow attack speed and only 10 APoC.
Armory | YouTube | Twitter | Clan Site
Short answer is no.
Long answer is no, as long as you don't have someone freezing. The reason is SA is only really great if you're using WW since WW can proc it several times per cast. SS and other channeled skills might proc it a bit more than expected, but you basically get about 1/5th to 1/10th the number of procs from SS as WW. I did some math on it over on the official forums and as long as mobs are hitting you more often than once every 3s or so you get more damage from reactive armor.
Personally I have to use Prismatic Armor to survive with the build because I only have around 400k EHP unbuffed and only about 226k dps in my SS gear.
Crusader DPS and EHP Spreadsheet, meant for Crusaders
My Wizard
Armory | YouTube | Twitter | Clan Site