This build pairs Spirit Barrage with the spirit theme of Rush of Essence to allow for spamming your abilities. Horrify with Frightening Aspect, Soul Harvest and Gruesome Feast provide significant boosts do your damage and defensive stats allowing you to get by with mediocre gear. You can use the version shown here for fast AoE clearing of the lower MP levels through Grave Injustice or swap in more traditional abilities like Zombie Bears and Acid Cloud for the higher MP levels.
Feedback and/or criticism is welcomed and appreciated as always
I caught this in the YouTube comments, but I'll post again here just to avoid confusion:
It's my fault for not being specific enough, but I'm talking about it being the best "rune" for single target damage in relation to the other "runes" for Spirit Barrage. You are entirely correct that Zombie Bear can still do more damage to a single target when you're right on top of it.
That aside, I actually have tried Haunt with a number of runes:
Consuming Spirit (Used as a crutch until I had a LS weapon) Draining Spirit (Experimented with as an option for mana when I didn't have full Zuni's) Lingering Spirit (Tried using it as a passive damage boost, didn't work very well) Resentful Spirit (Tried once, but the shorter duration makes it impossible to maintain it AND Spirit Barrage)
Ultimately I wasn't satisfied with Haunt as once sufficiently geared, it only gets in the way of the build. It DOES work well in conjunction with Spirit Barrage in PvP though. Easiest damage you'll ever do.
At first I thougt 'been there, done that'. I've tried a ton of different builds, But you get used to playing a certain way and don't realize the potential of certain skills. Like Severance. SW to me is all about movement (Jaunt), healing (Healing Journey) or mana regen (Honored Spirit). I've never even thought about staying on top of a mob to get full damage from Severance. Umbral Shock I've tried and tested many times over.
Keep up the good work dude. Love trying out weird builds.
It's an interesting variation but for low MPs, it doesn't stack up very well against Acid Cloud build variations (fast mob death and correct passives give you all the mana return you need), and for high MPs it doesn't stack up well to Bears build variations (using VQ plus Spiders would let you spam a higher damage spell like Bears as infinitely as you are spamming Spirit Barrage). A single-target spell for your main damage output is severely limiting. Granted you runed it for the extra hits but those are at very low weapon damage. That said, if you enjoy this type of play style more, that's important so keep on keeping on.
Nice to see another guide from you in ironically about a build that I am sort of usin in mp6 atm. What I do wonder is that with those extra spirits would SB be close to as useful of doin a whole run of grind when you switch bears to BBW? And if GF is to be used on a mp like 6 and beyond with around 80k DPS, as on trash one could get a few of them but on bosses they are more on rare end of the line. Its really hard right now decide because of the possible options as bears use quite a bit of mana but when you get rid of them the GF doesnt live up to its full potential.
If you're doing higher MP levels, try combining Barrage and Bears. Drop Grasp of the Dead for Bears and Gruesome Feast or Grave Injustice for Spirit Vessel, whichever you prefer. You open on elites with Barrage and switch to Bears when they're on top of you. The temporary mana boost from Rush of Essence allowing you a few extra seconds of Bears before you have to switch back. You can also pick up one of the mana crutches to further spam Zombie Bears. Big Bad Voodoo with Rain Dance or Spirit Walk with Honored Guest are strong candidates.
It's an interesting variation but for low MPs, it doesn't stack up very well against Acid Cloud build variations (fast mob death and correct passives give you all the mana return you need), and for high MPs it doesn't stack up well to Bears build variations (using VQ plus Spiders would let you spam a higher damage spell like Bears as infinitely as you are spamming Spirit Barrage). A single-target spell for your main damage output is severely limiting. Granted you runed it for the extra hits but those are at very low weapon damage. That said, if you enjoy this type of play style more, that's important so keep on keeping on.
Yeah, the point of these guides, at least for me, is to find aberrant ways of playing the game. The most likely method of doing so being these theme builds. Your points are entirely accurate, but since I never go above MP3 unless I'm making these guides, it's not something I worry about.
You should try the Barrage Bear variation from above and let me know if that feels more on par with the Acid Cloud and Spider Bear builds.
I'm currently using a Barrage + Bears variation and loving it. MP6 is doable solo although it's obviously not as efficient as on lower MPs.
I've tried a pure Bears build and a Bears + Spiders + VQ build, and while both are fun to play I'm really fawned on the variation I'm playing now. Bears are very powerful but can be tricky to use against Wallers or enemies that you need to kite a lot. With Bears + RoE + Barrage you have strong burst against groups or single target with your back to a wall, and a strong sustained attack that can be used at long range and ignores most walls.
The other change I made was substituting Horrify for Zombie Dogs w/ Life Link for a constant 10% DR rather than 800 armor. Truthfully I'm not sure off the top of my head which would be better in terms of sheer damage reduction but I've used that on other builds with good results.
I'm currently using a Barrage + Bears variation and loving it. MP6 is doable solo although it's obviously not as efficient as on lower MPs.
I've tried a pure Bears build and a Bears + Spiders + VQ build, and while both are fun to play I'm really fawned on the variation I'm playing now. Bears are very powerful but can be tricky to use against Wallers or enemies that you need to kite a lot. With Bears + RoE + Barrage you have strong burst against groups or single target with your back to a wall, and a strong sustained attack that can be used at long range and ignores most walls.
The other change I made was substituting Horrify for Zombie Dogs w/ Life Link for a constant 10% DR rather than 800 armor. Truthfully I'm not sure off the top of my head which would be better in terms of sheer damage reduction but I've used that on other builds with good results.
Zombie Dogs are actually a solid choice given that you've dropped Grasp of the Dead. Now you have guaranteed dogs and DR. The only thing Horrify can offer you is the long fear so that is what you should base your decision on. If you have problems with elites getting too close, then Horrify is a good option. Given that you have Zombie Bears, I don't expect that to be the case, so Dogs will likely serve you best
No one (but me) has up-voted this thread/guide? Impossibru!
Awesome guide. I'm currently using this weird Pet build (link) as they make me feel like I'm playing in a group; but I'll give your build a try later this week.
I'm back with another guide! If you missed my last guide for a Hand of Ytar Monk, you can find it here:
This build pairs Spirit Barrage with the spirit theme of Rush of Essence to allow for spamming your abilities. Horrify with Frightening Aspect, Soul Harvest and Gruesome Feast provide significant boosts do your damage and defensive stats allowing you to get by with mediocre gear. You can use the version shown here for fast AoE clearing of the lower MP levels through Grave Injustice or swap in more traditional abilities like Zombie Bears and Acid Cloud for the higher MP levels.
Feedback and/or criticism is welcomed and appreciated as always
It's my fault for not being specific enough, but I'm talking about it being the best "rune" for single target damage in relation to the other "runes" for Spirit Barrage. You are entirely correct that Zombie Bear can still do more damage to a single target when you're right on top of it.
That aside, I actually have tried Haunt with a number of runes:
Consuming Spirit (Used as a crutch until I had a LS weapon)
Draining Spirit (Experimented with as an option for mana when I didn't have full Zuni's)
Lingering Spirit (Tried using it as a passive damage boost, didn't work very well)
Resentful Spirit (Tried once, but the shorter duration makes it impossible to maintain it AND Spirit Barrage)
Ultimately I wasn't satisfied with Haunt as once sufficiently geared, it only gets in the way of the build. It DOES work well in conjunction with Spirit Barrage in PvP though. Easiest damage you'll ever do.
Keep up the good work dude. Love trying out weird builds.
D3Progress: http://www.diabloprogress.com/hero/emberos-1608/Emberos/51824579
If you're doing higher MP levels, try combining Barrage and Bears. Drop Grasp of the Dead for Bears and Gruesome Feast or Grave Injustice for Spirit Vessel, whichever you prefer. You open on elites with Barrage and switch to Bears when they're on top of you. The temporary mana boost from Rush of Essence allowing you a few extra seconds of Bears before you have to switch back. You can also pick up one of the mana crutches to further spam Zombie Bears. Big Bad Voodoo with Rain Dance or Spirit Walk with Honored Guest are strong candidates.
Yeah, the point of these guides, at least for me, is to find aberrant ways of playing the game. The most likely method of doing so being these theme builds. Your points are entirely accurate, but since I never go above MP3 unless I'm making these guides, it's not something I worry about.
You should try the Barrage Bear variation from above and let me know if that feels more on par with the Acid Cloud and Spider Bear builds.
Also, just posted the next guide for a Sleet Storm Wizard
I've tried a pure Bears build and a Bears + Spiders + VQ build, and while both are fun to play I'm really fawned on the variation I'm playing now. Bears are very powerful but can be tricky to use against Wallers or enemies that you need to kite a lot. With Bears + RoE + Barrage you have strong burst against groups or single target with your back to a wall, and a strong sustained attack that can be used at long range and ignores most walls.
The other change I made was substituting Horrify for Zombie Dogs w/ Life Link for a constant 10% DR rather than 800 armor. Truthfully I'm not sure off the top of my head which would be better in terms of sheer damage reduction but I've used that on other builds with good results.
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/Whysperr-1828/hero/13404654
Zombie Dogs are actually a solid choice given that you've dropped Grasp of the Dead. Now you have guaranteed dogs and DR. The only thing Horrify can offer you is the long fear so that is what you should base your decision on. If you have problems with elites getting too close, then Horrify is a good option. Given that you have Zombie Bears, I don't expect that to be the case, so Dogs will likely serve you best
Awesome guide. I'm currently using this weird Pet build (link) as they make me feel like I'm playing in a group; but I'll give your build a try later this week.