Hey all. A Twitch streamer who was streaming one of my studio's games convinced me to go ahead and buy the expansion and play. I'm a long, long time Diablo fan, but like man, D3 left me kinda bummed/bitter.
I have a level 60 barbarian who was nicely geared up for the old days. Though I quit right about the time Paragon levels came out so I never gained those.
I had to decide if I should try the new class or the new Act first. I made a Crusader figuring I need to re-learn how to play.
I often like to read up via guides and such to understand what has changed and what sort of systems I need to be aware of.
What guides, faqs, etc. should I read to get prepped to understand what has changed, what is new, and what I should really know about?
I kinda want to just hop on my barbarian and try the new act, but I don't even know what difficulty I should use now or anything like that. I don't know about all these tons of new, interesting systems added, how crafting has changed, how abilities have changed, all that.
I have LEAP and CHARGE currently. They are great, but its still annoying as hell when simply trying to attack a mob that is moving away that they are always able to stay just out of range (due to the fact that you have to STOP first, then attack).
I was wondering if even an 8% or 10% movement speed boost from boots would be enough to counter that.
Trash the shield, get a stormshield with 23% block or higher and maybe the 11% block ring ( cant think of the name right now ) and you'll be able to beat the rest of the game. Honestly your gear is pretty good.
Thanks.
I really hope Stormshield, Justice Lantern, and String of Ears aren't a necessity. You have to give up a crapton of other stats just to get the block % or "exotic" resists (resist melee/ranged/elites). If you gotta have those, I'll get them, but I'm hoping its not vital. Not to mention the Stormshield looks retarded.
I have the Helm of Command, though mine is only average. I could definitely improve by getting a better one - though it would still be 8% block.
Sounds like its just my resists. If that's the case, no problem. I can work on that. Its just a matter of camping the AH hard enough until I find the right stuff.
Also, how much of a gain is worth a hefty price.
For example, is it worth 17 million to get this net change:
-34 armor
+73 strength
+62 vitality
+12 resist all
I *think* it is, but I'm not sure if I should just be a little more patient.
]I would replace something with Ignore Pain: Ignorance is Bliss. It really is a life-saver. You could be down to 20% health and get up to full health in a second. I never play without it if I'm gonna be in melee range.
Yeah, everyone seems to have Ignore Pain. I like having at least ONE ability that's different from pure cookie cutter, and it works so well in our duo. I'll change it if I have to, but I'd rather figure out how to get strong enough with my gear that I can stand toe to toe and live - even when frozen.
I like Superstition. More damage reduction is never bad, especially up against Arcane+Molten+Electrified+Plagues packs. It'll really shine in situations like that.
Do you really think Superstition works? Seriously, every time I use it there seems to be no difference. I think its either broken, or gets applied separately and last so the mitigation is crap.
Anyway, if you're going for a total tank spec (Which I assume you are, based on your gear. I would like to know what your skills are) you should have as your passives: Nerves of Steel, Superstition, and Tough as Nails. Those three provide the most defense.
#6 is probably the most expendable, but it works so great in our duo for clumping up mobs for revenge and wiz AoEs. Plus the stun, short as it is, helps a lot.
I will try 3 defensive passives. Do you really think superstition does anything? I have tried it and barely noticed any difference at all. I have a feeling that superstition gets applied LAST in a separate calculation, and as a result does very little once you have good armor and resists.
try getting another shield with more block , around 27% + is good enough, and if u can afford justice lantern
when playing with your wife , i suggest using seismic slam with shattered ground, theres a very good topic in this forum explaining how to play a ranged barb, it will give you some insight
*reduces melee/ranged " stats are garbage once u get high res + war cry (impunity)
I'm working on the shield. Its really hard to find one with 25%+ block that still has good stats. Even at 20-30m they still suck :(.
I'm kicking around the idea of getting a Justice Lantern. Again its a matter of finding one that isn't a total rip off with good stats.
I don't really want to go seismic slam. The idea of a ranged or partially ranged barb doesn't interest me. I'm trying to get to a point where I rarely even have to kite.
The 'exotic' stats are nice, I used to have a 20% melee reduction String of Ears and a nice Helm of Command, but haven't noticed an increase in damage when I replaced them. Justice Lantern is pretty much worthless now unless you really feel like stacking block chance. I wouldn't bother with them honestly unless you find a great deal on something AND it gives you decent amounts of the stats you are looking for.
Ok, that's a good thing to know. I had a sinking suspicion that these exotic stats weren't that great - or that they get applied last and thus are reducing damage at a time where its already reduced, and thus the % is small. Would love to know how that works.
Multiplayer does make it harder (which is kinda lame).
With the enchantress my armor is almost 11k and my DPS gets a nice bump from her attack speed buff as well.
My concern is that I have been neglecting the "exotic" stats like "reduces melee/ranged/elite damage by %". I don't know exactly how well they work and they seem pretty rare. Furthermore, I don't think you can search for them on the AH (and even if you could, with only 3 parameters allowed it would be hard to fit that in).
For survival, is it enough to stack ARMOR, RESIST ALL, and VITALITY?
For damage is it enough to get as much STR, CRIT chance, and CRIT damage as I can (after getting as much of the above as possible)?
If I am looking for the right stats, that's a help right there. If I am looking for the wrong stats, obviously that's a problem.
Lastly, should I get some movement speed on my boots? Is that a "necessity" for barbarians?
One thing that I find incredibly annoying is the fact that you cannot move and attack at the same time. Perhaps more specifically, the fact that when you are chasing something you'll never get to attack it until it stops, because to start attacking you stop FIRST, then start trying to swing, at which point you don't swing.
How much movement speed do you need to counter this problem?
Is 8% enough? 12?
In D2 barbs got movement speed as a passive and it really helped with this problem. But in D3 we don't get that, and the movement speed rune for frenzy is too much of a sacrifice to pick up.
Do I need to start finding some "reduces damage from melee %" or "reduces damage from elites %" or is it enough to just keep stacking armor, resist all, and vitality (along with strength, crit chance, and crit damage to gradually raise DPS as well)?
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I am now level 66 and getting better gear steadily. I upped my difficult to HARD and I am doing the bounties and rifts.
Here is my barb currently:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/Cambios-1735/hero/1684767
My current skill setup:
I went ahead and started Act V on normal. Not sure if I should bump it up.
With 2 hander ("offensive"):
With sword and board ("defensive"):
I have a level 60 barbarian who was nicely geared up for the old days. Though I quit right about the time Paragon levels came out so I never gained those.
I had to decide if I should try the new class or the new Act first. I made a Crusader figuring I need to re-learn how to play.
I often like to read up via guides and such to understand what has changed and what sort of systems I need to be aware of.
What guides, faqs, etc. should I read to get prepped to understand what has changed, what is new, and what I should really know about?
I kinda want to just hop on my barbarian and try the new act, but I don't even know what difficulty I should use now or anything like that. I don't know about all these tons of new, interesting systems added, how crafting has changed, how abilities have changed, all that.
Thanks!
Nice tip.
Still a huge pain in the ass. D2 didn't have mobs scattering like cockroaches.
Does anyone know if a little movement speed remedies this problem? Or is it still not enough, necessitating that you run past them before attacking?
I was wondering if even an 8% or 10% movement speed boost from boots would be enough to counter that.
Thanks.
I really hope Stormshield, Justice Lantern, and String of Ears aren't a necessity. You have to give up a crapton of other stats just to get the block % or "exotic" resists (resist melee/ranged/elites). If you gotta have those, I'll get them, but I'm hoping its not vital. Not to mention the Stormshield looks retarded.
I have the Helm of Command, though mine is only average. I could definitely improve by getting a better one - though it would still be 8% block.
Yeah, everyone seems to have Ignore Pain. I like having at least ONE ability that's different from pure cookie cutter, and it works so well in our duo. I'll change it if I have to, but I'd rather figure out how to get strong enough with my gear that I can stand toe to toe and live - even when frozen.
Do you really think Superstition works? Seriously, every time I use it there seems to be no difference. I think its either broken, or gets applied separately and last so the mitigation is crap.
I don't farm goblins, though its annoying as hell that as a barb I pretty much can't hope to kill them a lot of the time.
I'm talking about all the random ass mobs that constantly run away - a stupid and annoying mechanic that I have no idea why D3 has so much of.
1) frenzy + sidearm
2) rush + the heal
3) warcry + impunity
4) revenge + heal
5) leap + armor
6) ground stomp + vortex
#6 is probably the most expendable, but it works so great in our duo for clumping up mobs for revenge and wiz AoEs. Plus the stun, short as it is, helps a lot.
I will try 3 defensive passives. Do you really think superstition does anything? I have tried it and barely noticed any difference at all. I have a feeling that superstition gets applied LAST in a separate calculation, and as a result does very little once you have good armor and resists.
I'm working on the shield. Its really hard to find one with 25%+ block that still has good stats. Even at 20-30m they still suck :(.
I'm kicking around the idea of getting a Justice Lantern. Again its a matter of finding one that isn't a total rip off with good stats.
I don't really want to go seismic slam. The idea of a ranged or partially ranged barb doesn't interest me. I'm trying to get to a point where I rarely even have to kite.
Ok, that's a good thing to know. I had a sinking suspicion that these exotic stats weren't that great - or that they get applied last and thus are reducing damage at a time where its already reduced, and thus the % is small. Would love to know how that works.
With the enchantress my armor is almost 11k and my DPS gets a nice bump from her attack speed buff as well.
My concern is that I have been neglecting the "exotic" stats like "reduces melee/ranged/elite damage by %". I don't know exactly how well they work and they seem pretty rare. Furthermore, I don't think you can search for them on the AH (and even if you could, with only 3 parameters allowed it would be hard to fit that in).
For survival, is it enough to stack ARMOR, RESIST ALL, and VITALITY?
For damage is it enough to get as much STR, CRIT chance, and CRIT damage as I can (after getting as much of the above as possible)?
If I am looking for the right stats, that's a help right there. If I am looking for the wrong stats, obviously that's a problem.
Lastly, should I get some movement speed on my boots? Is that a "necessity" for barbarians?
How much movement speed do you need to counter this problem?
Is 8% enough? 12?
In D2 barbs got movement speed as a passive and it really helped with this problem. But in D3 we don't get that, and the movement speed rune for frenzy is too much of a sacrifice to pick up.