You won't be able to just replace WW with Disintegrate.
I tried a bit of this today. I didn't switch any gear around, but simply swapped WW with Disintegrate. My observations:
VS a large group of mobs, Disintegrate DOES work almost identically to CM - perhaps even better because you can choose a Disintegrate rune such as Volatility. However, you are right the build simply does not work vs one target. The build is simply unsuitable for Ubers, and that's probably a stake through it's heart.
You could try swapping all the IAS to Crit/Crit %, and going up to 30 APoC, but I'd say it probably wouldn't make a difference.
It would suck all the IAS gear painstakingly squirreled away was suddenly useless in 1.09, but I agree there seems to be no substitute for WW if it's overnerfed.
I am idly wondering, depending on whether they nerf CM, could Disintegrate run the build? You could probably make a few modest switches, like Disintegrate instead of WW, and maybe some minor tweaks here and there. You could probably switch all the IAS for +crit % and crit chance and EHP stats, because I think IAS is counterproductive for channeled spells?
My point is the other builds work, and people can clear MP10 with them and not die much, if at all. However, they have to gear and build for it more than CMWW and Archon.
I would amend this statement to be "My point is the other builds work, and people can clear MP10 with them and not die much, if at all. However, they have to gear and build for it more than other classes." otherwise I totally agree. There's, in my view, a definite gap between classes like WD/Barb/Monk, and Wiz (outside of CM) who are considerably more fragile.
There's disintegrate builds, Arcane Torrent builds, Sleet Storm, meteor builds, etc. All of them are MP10 capable, but I think most are more about high enough survivability, whereas CMWW Is mostly just about high CC+APS with some armor and resist and you are suddently MP10 viable.
The problem with these builds is you die. A LOT. They quite literally have a fraction of the survivability. Disintegrate and Sleet Storm require you to stand still much of the time. If they nerf CM/WW, I mean, really nerf it, the wizard class will be for the masochists out there.
Just because Archon is likely to be nerfed in the future doesn't mean you can't still use it now, or gear for it. The gear isn't getting nerfed. It'll still be useful for other builds.
It'll likely be nerfed in the same patch as Cm/WW, though. The point is very valid that the gear will likely be still usable, because every skill set pretty much wants the same things. damage, intelligence, survivability.
No word yet on what exactly patch 1.09 will contain. The itemization changes, maybe not, the skill changes, they've hinted this is in.
Travis Day was talking about nerfing CM/WW during the anniversary stream, specifically WW's proc co-efficient. Do you guys think Cm/WW will still be viable? Is there perhaps another spell to drive the build if they lower it too much?
One subsection of the guide I might be helpful is where you can pick up some defensive stats or Effective Health Points, should you need more. Keep in mind that the precise value of EHP stats fluctucate depending on other factors (mostly if you've gotten the stat elsewhere) Exact EHP numbers can be found on a site such of d3up.com.
I will attempt to outline some of the more popular/powerful legendaries to give you an idea of which defensive stats you can roll on them, should you want to boost your Effective Health to survive, or to change your skills from something Defensive to something more offensive, such as Energy Armor to Shocking Aspect.
I simmed my toon, to give you an idea of how beneficial each EHP stat is, in my case:
As you can see, there's quite a few options here. Thankfully, most legendaries only roll 1-2 random stats. But it's not a matter of picking the best stat all the time; you have to keep in mind which slots can roll which stats, and what exactly your toon needs. Also, something to keep in mind is this list is based on 1 point of the stat. Armor, on a chestpeice, can roll up to 397. A perfect +armor roll, on a chestpeice, would be worth 17777.66 EHP in my case. Turning on Force Armor would increase that number to 23998.66 EHP!
Tal Rasha's Relentless Pursuit (2 stats)
+Resistances is generally the most useful one. The other notable stats, to go with it, are +Armor, + Vitality, +% Hp, and -% damage taken from melee/ranged/Elite attacks.
Witching Hour: (3 stats)
+Resistances, +% HP, Int/Vit, Int, +Armor
Chantodo's OH (1 stat)
+Vit, +%HP, +Int/Vit, +APoC, +socket
Storm Crow (1 stat)
+Socket, +Int, + int/Vit, +All Resist, +Armor, +% HP
Blackthorne's Jousting Mail (2 Stats)
+Armor, + Resistances, +Socket, +Int/Vit, +Int
Lacuni Prowlers (3 stats)
+Int, , +int/Vit, + Armor, + All Resist, - % Damage taken
I wonder when exactly a Marquise Ruby beats out a Marquise Emerald for CM/WW? Our higher Crit % would mean Emerald is better, or is there a point where Ruby begins to outpace?
The Plan: Acquire enough IAS to get the 2.73 Breakpoint and an Open Socket Chantodo's. I suspect an Emerald > Ruby. Or was.
The Catch: Requires about 8% more IAS from Gear. Makeable but upgrading Hellfire Ring to IAS, preferably with Crit/Crit damage.
The Questions: What % Crit do you need to drop Cold Snap for Bone Chill; Can you ever drop Evocation for Glass Cannon? Should I use Scoundrel's 3% or +% damage buff? Is about ~600 resistances about right?
Don't think anything else will be able to fill WW's niche, then?
I tried a bit of this today. I didn't switch any gear around, but simply swapped WW with Disintegrate. My observations:
VS a large group of mobs, Disintegrate DOES work almost identically to CM - perhaps even better because you can choose a Disintegrate rune such as Volatility. However, you are right the build simply does not work vs one target. The build is simply unsuitable for Ubers, and that's probably a stake through it's heart.
You could try swapping all the IAS to Crit/Crit %, and going up to 30 APoC, but I'd say it probably wouldn't make a difference.
It would suck all the IAS gear painstakingly squirreled away was suddenly useless in 1.09, but I agree there seems to be no substitute for WW if it's overnerfed.
I would amend this statement to be "My point is the other builds work, and people can clear MP10 with them and not die much, if at all. However, they have to gear and build for it more than other classes." otherwise I totally agree. There's, in my view, a definite gap between classes like WD/Barb/Monk, and Wiz (outside of CM) who are considerably more fragile.
The problem with these builds is you die. A LOT. They quite literally have a fraction of the survivability. Disintegrate and Sleet Storm require you to stand still much of the time. If they nerf CM/WW, I mean, really nerf it, the wizard class will be for the masochists out there.
It'll likely be nerfed in the same patch as Cm/WW, though. The point is very valid that the gear will likely be still usable, because every skill set pretty much wants the same things. damage, intelligence, survivability.
No word yet on what exactly patch 1.09 will contain. The itemization changes, maybe not, the skill changes, they've hinted this is in.
I disagree. WW barbs have far better survivability. Not sure about damage, though.
I will attempt to outline some of the more popular/powerful legendaries to give you an idea of which defensive stats you can roll on them, should you want to boost your Effective Health to survive, or to change your skills from something Defensive to something more offensive, such as Energy Armor to Shocking Aspect.
I simmed my toon, to give you an idea of how beneficial each EHP stat is, in my case:
+1 Armor 44.78 +1 Dexterity 100.16 +1 Intelligence 30.17 +1 Strength 44.78 +1 Vitality 320.48 +1 Resist All 301.67 +1% Life 2,664.98 +1% Block 0 +1% Melee Reduce 3,436.47 +1% Ranged Reduce 3,230.28 +1% Elite Reduce 3,473.42
As you can see, there's quite a few options here. Thankfully, most legendaries only roll 1-2 random stats. But it's not a matter of picking the best stat all the time; you have to keep in mind which slots can roll which stats, and what exactly your toon needs. Also, something to keep in mind is this list is based on 1 point of the stat. Armor, on a chestpeice, can roll up to 397. A perfect +armor roll, on a chestpeice, would be worth 17777.66 EHP in my case. Turning on Force Armor would increase that number to 23998.66 EHP!
Tal Rasha's Relentless Pursuit (2 stats)
+Resistances is generally the most useful one. The other notable stats, to go with it, are +Armor, + Vitality, +% Hp, and -% damage taken from melee/ranged/Elite attacks.
Witching Hour: (3 stats)
+Resistances, +% HP, Int/Vit, Int, +Armor
Chantodo's OH (1 stat)
+Vit, +%HP, +Int/Vit, +APoC, +socket
Storm Crow (1 stat)
+Socket, +Int, + int/Vit, +All Resist, +Armor, +% HP
Blackthorne's Jousting Mail (2 Stats)
+Armor, + Resistances, +Socket, +Int/Vit, +Int
Lacuni Prowlers (3 stats)
+Int, , +int/Vit, + Armor, + All Resist, - % Damage taken
Nat's Bloody Footprints: (1 stat)
+int, +int/vit
Ice Climbers (3 stats)
+Armor, +Vit, + Int/Vit
Vile Ward: (2 stats)
+Int, +Vit, +Int/Vit, +Life %.
Inna's Temperance: (1 stat)
+Armor, +All Resist, +Vit, +Int, +Int/Vit
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/Venaliter-1813/hero/54964
The Plan: Acquire enough IAS to get the 2.73 Breakpoint and an Open Socket Chantodo's. I suspect an Emerald > Ruby. Or was.
The Catch: Requires about 8% more IAS from Gear. Makeable but upgrading Hellfire Ring to IAS, preferably with Crit/Crit damage.
The Questions: What % Crit do you need to drop Cold Snap for Bone Chill; Can you ever drop Evocation for Glass Cannon? Should I use Scoundrel's 3% or +% damage buff? Is about ~600 resistances about right?