I have little doubt that DIII is going to be an awesome game while I am playing it. However I feel that there have been some changes from DII (for better or worse) that will limit the time I spend with the game compared to the years I played DII. Things like RMAH and easy respecialization, which I really have no problem with, may affect the long term playability. I imagine I won't be playing a year from now unless an expansion happens to be released at the time.
Have we heard anything about gems possibly being used as ingredients in high level blacksmith recipes? This could help with eventual saturation since they are not destroyed upon removal from items.
This is a witch doctor build based on using zombie dogs and Gargantuan to hold off enemies while damage over time spells are applied. Mana issues should be alleviated by the use of Spiritual attunement and Haunt (draining spirit). Survivability will be increased by the use of zombie handler and jungle fortitude. Tricky situations can be avoideed using Mass confusion. This build may be a bit slow going, but it should be consistant and reliable.
I have read in several posts that basic melee attacks were taken out of the game. Does this mean that Witch Doctors have no ability to actually swing any of their weapons or have I misunderstood?
I think it would be neat to have this feature. The cooldown would be needed, as you mentioned. I plan on playing a Witch Doctor and I know that builds focused on single targets such as bosses and groups would be very different. Then again, I don't suppose most of us really know what bosses are going to be like, so perhaps they could be similar if the Skeleton King is any indication.
I was really looking forward to the trading aspect of the runes and even hoped they would expand on it by adding random stats as other items have. However, I understand the shortcomings of that system. I very much look forward to testing out and since I never got to avtually play with the old system, I won't feel like I am missing too much.
Back when I was a kid, I got a fairly good indication of how good a game was going to be by the size of the game manual. This, of course was not likely 100% true, but that is the way I felt at the time. Nothing excited me more than opening up a game box (back when the game boxes were huge) and seeing a lovely thick game manual. Before I actually played a game, I would read the manual from cover to cover. This actually prepared me to play the game so that I would not be completely lost at the start.
I hate to use the ol' "back when I was a kid" line, but things have changed. I don't necessarily think it was a bad thing either. I don't know how long it has been since I read a manual from cover to cover, or at all in fact. Perhaps I am just being nostalgic, but I kind of miss those days.
I don't know exactly the point I am trying to make with this post, but it somehow seems relevant.
How exactly does poison damage work in DiabloIII? Do all poisons stack, or do newer poisons overwrite older ones? Also, do repeated applications of the same skill just extend the duration of the damage-over-time or are they additive?
I am definitely considering using some poison damage in my build, but it would depend on the exact mechanics of it.
It is related to all the spell effects and stuff on the screen. After play testing with more than 4 players, they felt the screen was getting way too cluttered.
I will never understand the feelings of entitlement that are found on the internet. Blizzard has made its name by making game the right way no matter how long it takes. Sure, I would love to have Diablo III out as soon as possible, but not if it means that it is released in a state that Blizzard feels is inadequate. This is actually somewhat reassuring to me that they are sticking to their old ways and are not being influenced by outside factors as many people suggest.
Sorry, i posted this in its own thread instead of the sticky. Now it is in its proper place:
In my opinion, corpse explosion from the Necromancer in Diablo II is the coolest spell in any game that I have ever played. So I sought out to try to find a spec that would have a somewhat similar feel in Diablo III. The main focus of this build will be Zombie Dogs and Sacrifice. Creative use of passives and runes should allow a player to pretty much spam sacrifice as a Necromancer would Corpse Explosion in Diablo II. It is likely that this build will just be for fun and not the best for Hell and Inferno difficulties.
Skills:
Zombie Dogs (Crimson): Of course these walking corpses are our ammo with some added fire damage from rune effect.
Sacrifice (Alabaster): This will be the main attack spell. The runed effect will allow 70% of explodinated dogs to respawn a dog for further explodinating.
Gargantuan (Indigo): This guy will hold baddies off while dogs are recycled. The rune effect is personal preference, but this one adds a cleave to arsenal.
Firebomb (Crimson): This will be the secondary attack for when there is a low supply of dogs for some reason such as a single tough target.
Big Bad Voodoo (Alabaster): This will help buff yourself, your pets, and allies. In addition, the rune effect will help supply dogs as enemies that are killed in its effect have a 75% chance of spawning a dog. This lasts 20 seconds, so during this time, it should be a be an endless supply of dogs.
Mass Confusion (Alabaster): This will supply some crowd control in addition to adding dogs upon enemy death so you can spam Sacrifice.
Passives:
Zombie Handler: No brainer so you can have 4 dogs out and increase the health of Gargantuan
Pierce the Veil: For a massive damage bonus with increased mana cost
Circle of Life: 10% mana returned when using health globes. I may consider Tribal Rites to help with Big Bad Voodoo cooldown.
Assumptions and Synergies:
-Being able to spam acrifice will depend on the speed of dog spawning after their death or after an enemies’ death. If this takes to long, it will be hard to spam.
-This build will be somewhat dependent on cooldowns. Dog cooldown is 60 secs. Big Bad Voodoo is 120 (90 with Tribal Rites) secs. Mass confusion is 60 seconds. The 70% respawn in conjunction of any of those cooldowns should provide for sufficient dog supply, but it is hard to say at this point. And you always have Firebomb for backup.
-Does Pierce the Veil work for spells with no mana cost?
-The only spells that appear to actually have a mana cost are Zombie Dog, Gargantuan, and Firebomb. If all goes to plan, mana will not be much of an issue.
-This will really only be effective on most of the game where you are fighting groups of enemies. A change of skills may be required for bosses.
So if you were a fan of Corpse Explosion in Diablo II, perhaps this or a similar build may the way to go! Who knows if it will at all be effective, but it will certainly be a blast! … see what I did there?
In my opinion, corpse explosion from the Necromancer in Diablo II is the coolest spell in any game that I have ever played. So I sought out to try to find a spec that would have a somewhat similar feel in Diablo III. The main focus of this build will be Zombie Dogs and Sacrifice. Creative use of passives and runes should allow a player to pretty much spam sacrifice as a Necromancer would Corpse Explosion in Diablo II. It is likely that this build will just be for fun and not the best for Hell and Inferno difficulties.
Edit: Sorry, the sticky wasn't there when I started typing!
Skills:
Zombie Dogs (Crimson): Of course these walking corpses are our ammo with some added fire damage from rune effect.
Sacrifice (Alabaster): This will be the main attack spell. The runed effect will allow 70% of explodinated dogs to respawn a dog for further explodinating.
Gargantuan (Indigo): This guy will hold baddies off while dogs are recycled. The rune effect is personal preference, but this one adds a cleave to arsenal.
Firebomb (Crimson): This will be the secondary attack for when there is a low supply of dogs for some reason such as a single tough target.
Big Bad Voodoo (Alabaster): This will help buff yourself, your pets, and allies. In addition, the rune effect will help supply dogs as enemies that are killed in its effect have a 75% chance of spawning a dog. This lasts 20 seconds, so during this time, it should be a be an endless supply of dogs.
Mass Confusion (Alabaster): This will supply some crowd control in addition to adding dogs upon enemy death so you can spam Sacrifice.
Passives:
Zombie Handler: No brainer so you can have 4 dogs out and increase the health of Gargantuan
Pierce the Veil: For a massive damage bonus with increased mana cost
Circle of Life: 10% mana returned when using health globes. I may consider Tribal Rites to help with Big Bad Voodoo cooldown.
Assumptions and Synergies:
-Being able to spam acrifice will depend on the speed of dog spawning after their death or after an enemies’ death. If this takes to long, it will be hard to spam.
-This build will be somewhat dependent on cooldowns. Dog cooldown is 60 secs. Big Bad Voodoo is 120 (90 with Tribal Rites) secs. Mass confusion is 60 seconds. The 70% respawn in conjunction of any of those cooldowns should provide for sufficient dog supply, but it is hard to say at this point. And you always have Firebomb for backup.
-Does Pierce the Veil work for spells with no mana cost?
-The only spells that appear to actually have a mana cost are Zombie Dog, Gargantuan, and Firebomb. If all goes to plan, mana will not be much of an issue.
-This will really only be effective on most of the game where you are fighting groups of enemies. A change of skills may be required for bosses.
So if you were a fan of Corpse Explosion in Diablo II, perhaps this or a similar build may the way to go! Who knows if it will at all be effective, but it will certainly be a blast! … see what I did there?
I think part of the issue is also the style that developers have gone for in Diablo III. They have stated they are going for an environment that is more of a painting style. Personally, I love this style, but can certainly understand it is not everybody's cup to tea. I think this combined with the less than perfect feeds are causing the perception of smudged environment.
Blizzard has said that the weapon swapping feature was too confusing for many players since they may not know the feature existed and thought they lost their weapons when they swapped and there was nothing in the second set.
-Gerahben
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This is a witch doctor build based on using zombie dogs and Gargantuan to hold off enemies while damage over time spells are applied. Mana issues should be alleviated by the use of Spiritual attunement and Haunt (draining spirit). Survivability will be increased by the use of zombie handler and jungle fortitude. Tricky situations can be avoideed using Mass confusion. This build may be a bit slow going, but it should be consistant and reliable.
-Gerahben
The new skill clip of Big Bad Voodoo shows a Witch Doctor stabbing with a dagger, but perhaps that was made before the changes. http://us.battle.net/d3/en/class/witch-doctor/active/big-bad-voodoo
Thanks for the clarification!
I hate to use the ol' "back when I was a kid" line, but things have changed. I don't necessarily think it was a bad thing either. I don't know how long it has been since I read a manual from cover to cover, or at all in fact. Perhaps I am just being nostalgic, but I kind of miss those days.
I don't know exactly the point I am trying to make with this post, but it somehow seems relevant.
I am definitely considering using some poison damage in my build, but it would depend on the exact mechanics of it.
-Gerahben
-Gerahben
In my opinion, corpse explosion from the Necromancer in Diablo II is the coolest spell in any game that I have ever played. So I sought out to try to find a spec that would have a somewhat similar feel in Diablo III. The main focus of this build will be Zombie Dogs and Sacrifice. Creative use of passives and runes should allow a player to pretty much spam sacrifice as a Necromancer would Corpse Explosion in Diablo II. It is likely that this build will just be for fun and not the best for Hell and Inferno difficulties.
Skills:
Zombie Dogs (Crimson): Of course these walking corpses are our ammo with some added fire damage from rune effect.
Sacrifice (Alabaster): This will be the main attack spell. The runed effect will allow 70% of explodinated dogs to respawn a dog for further explodinating.
Gargantuan (Indigo): This guy will hold baddies off while dogs are recycled. The rune effect is personal preference, but this one adds a cleave to arsenal.
Firebomb (Crimson): This will be the secondary attack for when there is a low supply of dogs for some reason such as a single tough target.
Big Bad Voodoo (Alabaster): This will help buff yourself, your pets, and allies. In addition, the rune effect will help supply dogs as enemies that are killed in its effect have a 75% chance of spawning a dog. This lasts 20 seconds, so during this time, it should be a be an endless supply of dogs.
Mass Confusion (Alabaster): This will supply some crowd control in addition to adding dogs upon enemy death so you can spam Sacrifice.
Passives:
Zombie Handler: No brainer so you can have 4 dogs out and increase the health of Gargantuan
Pierce the Veil: For a massive damage bonus with increased mana cost
Circle of Life: 10% mana returned when using health globes. I may consider Tribal Rites to help with Big Bad Voodoo cooldown.
Assumptions and Synergies:
-Being able to spam acrifice will depend on the speed of dog spawning after their death or after an enemies’ death. If this takes to long, it will be hard to spam.
-This build will be somewhat dependent on cooldowns. Dog cooldown is 60 secs. Big Bad Voodoo is 120 (90 with Tribal Rites) secs. Mass confusion is 60 seconds. The 70% respawn in conjunction of any of those cooldowns should provide for sufficient dog supply, but it is hard to say at this point. And you always have Firebomb for backup.
-Does Pierce the Veil work for spells with no mana cost?
-The only spells that appear to actually have a mana cost are Zombie Dog, Gargantuan, and Firebomb. If all goes to plan, mana will not be much of an issue.
-This will really only be effective on most of the game where you are fighting groups of enemies. A change of skills may be required for bosses.
So if you were a fan of Corpse Explosion in Diablo II, perhaps this or a similar build may the way to go! Who knows if it will at all be effective, but it will certainly be a blast! … see what I did there?
-Gerahben
Edit: Sorry, the sticky wasn't there when I started typing!
Skills:
Zombie Dogs (Crimson): Of course these walking corpses are our ammo with some added fire damage from rune effect.
Sacrifice (Alabaster): This will be the main attack spell. The runed effect will allow 70% of explodinated dogs to respawn a dog for further explodinating.
Gargantuan (Indigo): This guy will hold baddies off while dogs are recycled. The rune effect is personal preference, but this one adds a cleave to arsenal.
Firebomb (Crimson): This will be the secondary attack for when there is a low supply of dogs for some reason such as a single tough target.
Big Bad Voodoo (Alabaster): This will help buff yourself, your pets, and allies. In addition, the rune effect will help supply dogs as enemies that are killed in its effect have a 75% chance of spawning a dog. This lasts 20 seconds, so during this time, it should be a be an endless supply of dogs.
Mass Confusion (Alabaster): This will supply some crowd control in addition to adding dogs upon enemy death so you can spam Sacrifice.
Passives:
Zombie Handler: No brainer so you can have 4 dogs out and increase the health of Gargantuan
Pierce the Veil: For a massive damage bonus with increased mana cost
Circle of Life: 10% mana returned when using health globes. I may consider Tribal Rites to help with Big Bad Voodoo cooldown.
Assumptions and Synergies:
-Being able to spam acrifice will depend on the speed of dog spawning after their death or after an enemies’ death. If this takes to long, it will be hard to spam.
-This build will be somewhat dependent on cooldowns. Dog cooldown is 60 secs. Big Bad Voodoo is 120 (90 with Tribal Rites) secs. Mass confusion is 60 seconds. The 70% respawn in conjunction of any of those cooldowns should provide for sufficient dog supply, but it is hard to say at this point. And you always have Firebomb for backup.
-Does Pierce the Veil work for spells with no mana cost?
-The only spells that appear to actually have a mana cost are Zombie Dog, Gargantuan, and Firebomb. If all goes to plan, mana will not be much of an issue.
-This will really only be effective on most of the game where you are fighting groups of enemies. A change of skills may be required for bosses.
So if you were a fan of Corpse Explosion in Diablo II, perhaps this or a similar build may the way to go! Who knows if it will at all be effective, but it will certainly be a blast! … see what I did there?
-Gerahben
-Gerahben
-Gerahben
-Gerahben