I really dig the Archon/Arcane Slow model, actually. I find Blizzard/Hydra a little too kite-ish for a co-op game (especially with teleport), but the Arcane one seems great. I thought, actually, about having things like Temporal Flux and keeping my rotation very Arcane based. I've just been so into Electrocute as a Signature. Missile seems so slow. @_@ Is it really as viable as something with more spread like Electrocute? That being said, would the Arcane Dynamo "next time you use a non-signature" apply to Archon or a consistant stream of Dis? Just questions I'm having. XD
I hate Meteor. I don't know - too slow for me, and too much AP. But on the other hand, I find Arcane Hydra to be a God.
I asked a question very similar to this about a month ago with 1.03, but now that my friend and I are bordering on Inferno (Act 3 Hell atm) I need to know what the hell I'm doing. XD
So, let me break it down.
A majority of the build threads are very solo-based and I only ever play with my friend. She still hasn't decided between her Witch Doctor her Barb for her main yet, so I don't know who I'll be playing with, but I'm using my Wizard for sure. (She loves the new buffs for pets on WD, but her Barb has leap XD)
Now, here's what I want to specify.
A lot of builds are all Critical Mass/Storm Chaser. But this is something Blizzard will nerf - if you don't think that will happen you're very naive. And I really don't want to play off the bugs of the system - I'd rather enjoy my rotation and not have to make this same 1.05 thread in another month. So Storm Chaser for crits - not interested. That being said, if CM is useful for other things, I would totally take that up. XD
I also don't want a melee wizard. I just like ranged classes. Personal preference.
I probably need Teleport of some kind, I'm sure. You know. To not die.
Beyond that, I really really love Archon and Disintegrate. I don't know why, but everyone hates Dis. But that and Chaos Nexus has only done me justice since I got it. So I'd like to know what's up with that.
Passives elude me. They all seem so incredibly subpar that I can't decide.
And if at all possible, a build for both bosses and standard mobs would be lovely.
I never specifically looked for Life Regeneration, but have often found enough of it on pieces that had the affixes I was targeting. I'm currently working on increasing my Life on Hit.
I heard Life on Hit and Life on Kill are just too low to even matter. I mean, Life on Hit might make you a bit formidable, but ultimately, you wanna be able to regenerate life without being in the way of danger. Then, Life on Kill seems... just stupid in Inferno. It seems more logical to me to have normal health regen.
Galv ward was something I was really interested in. I mean, not having to refresh armor every two minutes is pretty great and all, but I heard one of the best ways to survive as a wizard - especially with illusionist/fracture - is to have an HP regen of like 700-1000 HP per second. That way it only takes you maybe 5 or 6 seconds before you can take another clear hit, and kiting with wizards is relatively easy for such a short burst in time.
- Venom hydra is a must with any melee partner. This is the most powerful skill against immobile monsters in the wizard arsenal. By far. It scales directly with the displayed DPS number, including crit and IAS.
- Having a way to hitstun mobs will greatly improve the survivability of your partner. You want burst damage to do that, so either meteor/star pact or arcane orb.
- About archon/disintegrate: imo they are viable if you can burn down mobs so fast that they cannot reach you, which is only possible solo (mob health grows 110%/player) or with top tier gear. Or in 4-players party where you can often manage to have no mobs on you. But in a 2-players party, you get aggro quite a lot.
- For this very reason, take at least one defensive skill. If you keep only one, teleport/illusionnist is the most versatile.
- You can go the WW/CM route without being melee, High crit chance/AP on crit needed on gear. WW on your partner mobs should immediately refresh whatever skill you have on cooldown.
-So. Drop Magic Weapon for Venom Hydra?
-I'm still sketchy on Arcane Orb vs Dis. I just think Dis has more... power. But that might be a feeling - not an actuality. And I can literally burn through every single person there is if we're in a corridor or something. All the enemies walk in a straight line.
-Archon - not worried about damage output. XD But I figure I'll have teleport to get some extra ground if I need it against mobs. That's an additional 35y every time I get attacked. Plus Fracture will keep their attention. Thinking this might help Dis. But it's like I said - not sure about Dis vs. Arcane Orb yet. I just really dig Dis.
Fairy <3 Long time no see. God, you're /always/ on your monk though. XD
I would love a few pointers. Right now I'm a bit occupied with other things, but I wanna try a few different builds when I hit 60. Gotta get there first, though. >.<
O.O Huh. Send your concerns to the wonderful, dreamy mathematician that gave us those stats. The link is a few posts up. I definitely didn't make those up. XD But I'm sure if you tell him your theory, he'll work on another tier of EHP so we don't die. That'd be cool.
Though I hope my friend will hold most of the aggro if possible... >.<
Oh. And if there's a thread posted already that has a pretty good stat division for wizard, a link would be amazing. I remember finding one on battle net, but I haven't been able to find it again. Just a good break down of what stats I should really be striving for and which ones should be priority.
Thanks bunches Loroese! All that info helped a lot. I don't know much about the wizard stat build yet and this is all really helpful. I do plan on doing Disintegrate and Piercing Orb route for the AP boost. No way I can stick with Dis all the time without a signature, I'll bet. Not with multiplayer.
Maxyim - I have actually thought about doing a melee wizard, but I just don't think I'd enjoy it. I always love ranged classes. I like to be very out of the way. Not looking at health all the time. That sort of thing. Though I swear, Frost Nova is the coolest damn thing I can imagine. It has saved my ass so many times.
Speaking of Frost Nova, anyone have any recommendations for what skills to switch up when it comes to bosses? I figure Dis and piercing Orb would sort've suck against a boss. And something like Frost Nova could probably come in handy if I get aggro when I'm playing with my friend.
Movement speed on boots 12% and
Armor, HP, and Resistance has to make an EHP of 118k.
Skills I will be using:
Teleport - Fracture
Energy Armor - Focus Armor
I'll probably also use the Archon, Disintegrate, Piercing Orb route. My extra would be Magic Weapon.
That's what I know so far. If anyone has anything to add, please do.
Notably, what stats I should be looking for on other pieces of gear, and I'm still in the air for 1h vs. 2h.
~Peachie
Edit: Don't know enough about passives to decide yet, but I'm thinking the one that lets me teleport after basically every hit sounds good. XD Illusionist, yes?
Okay. That actually helps a lot. And I'll probably use Teleport - Fracture over Mirror Image if Teleport goes through walls. That stuff always bothered me on my DH when I wasn't using Vault.
I'd also be interested in reading that other thread you talked about on maximizing force armor. If you find the link, post it for me.
So just the total EHP matters? What about the subcategories? Is it just as systematic to have any degree of HP if it means I have more armor? Or should I be aiming for a certain HP range and a certain armor range and a certain resist range? Just curious.
~Peachie
P.S. What else gets you out of snares like jailer? Because I probably need at least one of those available to me, right?
when i'm playng with my barb friend, i'm using a build of DIsintegrate/chaos nexus, Shock pulse/piercing orb, Archon/Improved archon, magic weapon/force weapon, Teleport/Wormhole and Energy Armor/Force Armor.
with a good geared barb the need to kite is almost non-existent, so I can stay still and channel, DIsintegrate and Archon, for fun and good damage,
/cut
At such a low level Wizard, I'm using disintegrate now. And I love it!! If my friend keeps her barb, I would love the idea of using it all the time. It's such a badass attack. Less good for bosses, I'd imagine, though.
Don't have Archon yet, but I have been very interested in it.
I'll tell my friend what you said about Barbs vs. WD. I really would like a fun build. Monotony will wind up being the death of this game, otherwise.
I know the stats I should generally stack - I just don't know how high. Like how much int, resist all, movement speed, ias, crit %, and crit damage I should be aiming for.
Passives sort of elude me, too. With the DH, there were only like 5 good passives. Wizard has more like 10.
I'm mostly making this post because I see a lot of "solo wizard" builds up and about. But my friend and I /always/ play together. We prefer it that way. So I wanted to know a few things in regards to my wizard for a game like that.
Firstly, I'll preface this by saying /I have no build/. My wizard is level... what, 23 or something? My main is a Demon Hunter - level 60, just beat Hell - but I just can't deal with Blizzard messing with the playability of my class right now. Say whatever you want about DHs being overpowered, I really don't care. Fact of the matter is, they have nothing past awkward running around for survivability. Every other class has summons or defenses. You rely on the luck of dodging for a DH. But I digress. Point is, I want a class that isn't so Diablo 1. So I'm playing a Wizard. I am low level. I have no build. But I do intend on getting to Inferno and playing through it. So even though I probably won't take /any/ of this advice for another week or so, I wanted to start the topic now.
My concerns.
I want to do damage. My friend will likely be a Barbarian, though she's leveling a Witch Doctor at the moment because she is a bit unconventional. Regardless - both classes will give something tankable to occupy the mobs. Which means my main concern is damage.
However. I want a few ways to save my ass if worse comes to worse. Maybe a mob targets me. Maybe I'm being impatient and running ahead of my friend. Maybe I'm jailed or frozen or something. So I need a way not to die.
The two builds I have seen so far that seem reasonable to me are the Arcane Orb one and the Piercing Orb/Blizzard one. The first, though, it seems uses no signature spell because you never attack enough to run out of AP. With a tanking class with me, that will be pretty useless. The latter seems focused on saving AP for kiting like teleports, blizzards, hydras, blah blah blah. But if I'm not kiting, it won't be very useful for me either. So I need a very nice in-between. Something that outputs a fuckton of damage while giving me the survivability to kite a mob for a few seconds for my friend to rez while still being able to take a hit or two.
Wow. Long winded, Peachie...
The worst part of all this is, though, that this isn't even my biggest concern!!
I'm sure in the next 100 patches I'll be switching my build up all the damn time. And by the end of it, when Blizzard gets their way, I'll be able to use any attacks I want with any rune I want. So this whole 1.0.3 thing seems a little trite to care so much about. So my main concern, actually, is stats. (Yes, yes, they'll probably change these around another 100 times too, but they're a little more stoic than spells in my book. I think since the IAS thing, Blizzard has been pretty okay with stat priority.)
Obviously Int is best. And Int gives you... .1 resist all for every 1 point of int, yes? And it does something to damage. What I know is, Int is good. Get int. Movement speed on boots is also important.
I also know strength gets me armor boosts and dex gives me dodge boosts. I'm not sure how useful either of those stats are for wizards. I know neither of them are worth giving up a different stat, but I'm pretty sure dodge, up to 100, gives very good dodge chances before the diminishing returns. But they're the lowest in stat priority, right?
The other big question I have in this section is 1h vs. 2h. Like I said. Wanna do damage. I also am really sketchy on IAS now, since I have no idea what's different.
So. Inferno build. Actually, screw that. End game build. By the end of the game, end of Inferno, what stats should I be aiming for? I know these will take me a while to get, but I like knowing what I'm aiming toward.
If it's possible, try to list the best items to use to get said things. Like movement speed is best on boots. That sort of thing.
And just remember, when replying, this is for a wizard build in MULTIPLAYER. AP will be used more, kiting will be used less. But defenses and kiting still matter.
Sorry I'm a little wordy. First post.
~Peachie
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I hate Meteor. I don't know - too slow for me, and too much AP. But on the other hand, I find Arcane Hydra to be a God.
So, let me break it down.
A majority of the build threads are very solo-based and I only ever play with my friend. She still hasn't decided between her Witch Doctor her Barb for her main yet, so I don't know who I'll be playing with, but I'm using my Wizard for sure. (She loves the new buffs for pets on WD, but her Barb has leap XD)
Now, here's what I want to specify.
A lot of builds are all Critical Mass/Storm Chaser. But this is something Blizzard will nerf - if you don't think that will happen you're very naive. And I really don't want to play off the bugs of the system - I'd rather enjoy my rotation and not have to make this same 1.05 thread in another month. So Storm Chaser for crits - not interested. That being said, if CM is useful for other things, I would totally take that up. XD
I also don't want a melee wizard. I just like ranged classes. Personal preference.
I probably need Teleport of some kind, I'm sure. You know. To not die.
Beyond that, I really really love Archon and Disintegrate. I don't know why, but everyone hates Dis. But that and Chaos Nexus has only done me justice since I got it. So I'd like to know what's up with that.
Passives elude me. They all seem so incredibly subpar that I can't decide.
And if at all possible, a build for both bosses and standard mobs would be lovely.
I'll check back regularly!
~Peachie
I heard Life on Hit and Life on Kill are just too low to even matter. I mean, Life on Hit might make you a bit formidable, but ultimately, you wanna be able to regenerate life without being in the way of danger. Then, Life on Kill seems... just stupid in Inferno. It seems more logical to me to have normal health regen.
I might be wrong though.
~Peachie
~Peachie
-So. Drop Magic Weapon for Venom Hydra?
-I'm still sketchy on Arcane Orb vs Dis. I just think Dis has more... power. But that might be a feeling - not an actuality. And I can literally burn through every single person there is if we're in a corridor or something. All the enemies walk in a straight line.
-Archon - not worried about damage output. XD But I figure I'll have teleport to get some extra ground if I need it against mobs. That's an additional 35y every time I get attacked. Plus Fracture will keep their attention. Thinking this might help Dis. But it's like I said - not sure about Dis vs. Arcane Orb yet. I just really dig Dis.
~Peachie
I would love a few pointers. Right now I'm a bit occupied with other things, but I wanna try a few different builds when I hit 60. Gotta get there first, though. >.<
I'll talk to you soon on D3.
~Peachie
Though I hope my friend will hold most of the aggro if possible... >.<
~Peachie
Thanks tons.
~Peachie
Maxyim - I have actually thought about doing a melee wizard, but I just don't think I'd enjoy it. I always love ranged classes. I like to be very out of the way. Not looking at health all the time. That sort of thing. Though I swear, Frost Nova is the coolest damn thing I can imagine. It has saved my ass so many times.
Speaking of Frost Nova, anyone have any recommendations for what skills to switch up when it comes to bosses? I figure Dis and piercing Orb would sort've suck against a boss. And something like Frost Nova could probably come in handy if I get aggro when I'm playing with my friend.
Opinions needed.
~Peachie
Movement speed on boots 12% and
Armor, HP, and Resistance has to make an EHP of 118k.
Skills I will be using:
Teleport - Fracture
Energy Armor - Focus Armor
I'll probably also use the Archon, Disintegrate, Piercing Orb route. My extra would be Magic Weapon.
That's what I know so far. If anyone has anything to add, please do.
Notably, what stats I should be looking for on other pieces of gear, and I'm still in the air for 1h vs. 2h.
~Peachie
Edit: Don't know enough about passives to decide yet, but I'm thinking the one that lets me teleport after basically every hit sounds good. XD Illusionist, yes?
Okay. That actually helps a lot. And I'll probably use Teleport - Fracture over Mirror Image if Teleport goes through walls. That stuff always bothered me on my DH when I wasn't using Vault.
I'd also be interested in reading that other thread you talked about on maximizing force armor. If you find the link, post it for me.
~Peachie
So just the total EHP matters? What about the subcategories? Is it just as systematic to have any degree of HP if it means I have more armor? Or should I be aiming for a certain HP range and a certain armor range and a certain resist range? Just curious.
~Peachie
P.S. What else gets you out of snares like jailer? Because I probably need at least one of those available to me, right?
At such a low level Wizard, I'm using disintegrate now. And I love it!! If my friend keeps her barb, I would love the idea of using it all the time. It's such a badass attack. Less good for bosses, I'd imagine, though.
Don't have Archon yet, but I have been very interested in it.
I'll tell my friend what you said about Barbs vs. WD. I really would like a fun build. Monotony will wind up being the death of this game, otherwise.
I know the stats I should generally stack - I just don't know how high. Like how much int, resist all, movement speed, ias, crit %, and crit damage I should be aiming for.
Passives sort of elude me, too. With the DH, there were only like 5 good passives. Wizard has more like 10.
~Peachie
Firstly, I'll preface this by saying /I have no build/. My wizard is level... what, 23 or something? My main is a Demon Hunter - level 60, just beat Hell - but I just can't deal with Blizzard messing with the playability of my class right now. Say whatever you want about DHs being overpowered, I really don't care. Fact of the matter is, they have nothing past awkward running around for survivability. Every other class has summons or defenses. You rely on the luck of dodging for a DH. But I digress. Point is, I want a class that isn't so Diablo 1. So I'm playing a Wizard. I am low level. I have no build. But I do intend on getting to Inferno and playing through it. So even though I probably won't take /any/ of this advice for another week or so, I wanted to start the topic now.
My concerns.
I want to do damage. My friend will likely be a Barbarian, though she's leveling a Witch Doctor at the moment because she is a bit unconventional. Regardless - both classes will give something tankable to occupy the mobs. Which means my main concern is damage.
However. I want a few ways to save my ass if worse comes to worse. Maybe a mob targets me. Maybe I'm being impatient and running ahead of my friend. Maybe I'm jailed or frozen or something. So I need a way not to die.
The two builds I have seen so far that seem reasonable to me are the Arcane Orb one and the Piercing Orb/Blizzard one. The first, though, it seems uses no signature spell because you never attack enough to run out of AP. With a tanking class with me, that will be pretty useless. The latter seems focused on saving AP for kiting like teleports, blizzards, hydras, blah blah blah. But if I'm not kiting, it won't be very useful for me either. So I need a very nice in-between. Something that outputs a fuckton of damage while giving me the survivability to kite a mob for a few seconds for my friend to rez while still being able to take a hit or two.
Wow. Long winded, Peachie...
The worst part of all this is, though, that this isn't even my biggest concern!!
I'm sure in the next 100 patches I'll be switching my build up all the damn time. And by the end of it, when Blizzard gets their way, I'll be able to use any attacks I want with any rune I want. So this whole 1.0.3 thing seems a little trite to care so much about. So my main concern, actually, is stats. (Yes, yes, they'll probably change these around another 100 times too, but they're a little more stoic than spells in my book. I think since the IAS thing, Blizzard has been pretty okay with stat priority.)
Obviously Int is best. And Int gives you... .1 resist all for every 1 point of int, yes? And it does something to damage. What I know is, Int is good. Get int. Movement speed on boots is also important.
I also know strength gets me armor boosts and dex gives me dodge boosts. I'm not sure how useful either of those stats are for wizards. I know neither of them are worth giving up a different stat, but I'm pretty sure dodge, up to 100, gives very good dodge chances before the diminishing returns. But they're the lowest in stat priority, right?
The other big question I have in this section is 1h vs. 2h. Like I said. Wanna do damage. I also am really sketchy on IAS now, since I have no idea what's different.
So. Inferno build. Actually, screw that. End game build. By the end of the game, end of Inferno, what stats should I be aiming for? I know these will take me a while to get, but I like knowing what I'm aiming toward.
If it's possible, try to list the best items to use to get said things. Like movement speed is best on boots. That sort of thing.
And just remember, when replying, this is for a wizard build in MULTIPLAYER. AP will be used more, kiting will be used less. But defenses and kiting still matter.
Sorry I'm a little wordy. First post.
~Peachie