I only have 75 mil to spend and was just wondering what would be the best build I should use for that small amount of gold. Is that enough to get an archon going or will my DPS still be too low?
In short, it depends. What do you want to do? Play in group or mostly solo, farm items/XP or uber bosses?
Kiting builds are probably cheapest, but many people are not too keen on that.
Archon is pretty awesome for farming, but doesn't work too well in groups unless you have decent gear and can do something during cooldown.
For uber boss fights or higher MP levels and when playing in a group, CMWW is probably a good choice. For 75M (which is not that tight of a budget imho) you should be able to build a ~70k unbuffed Archon or a low-dps CMWW wizard with high EHP for MP5. That's on EU server, don't know about prices on the US AH.
On US you should be able to get over 100k with Archon for that much money, maybe 150k depending on how patient you are with some things.
I agree with everything Bagstone said. It really does depend on what you want to do. With your money I'd recommend either a high dps Archon build for solo farming or a mid dps CM build with decent survival for higher MP levels so you can also group for ubers. For that much I would expect you could get a 50k DPS CM build that would be capable of farming MP5 or so solo at reasonable efficiency and probably group for MP6-7 ubers. If you're patient and a little lucky with the AH you can probably get more like 70-90k dps with decent EHP to faceroll MP6-7 (though MP5 or so might still be more efficient).
If you don't mind farming xp at a low MP level, you could spend say half on an Archon set and the other half on CM to do both. That's what I do but I spent quite a bit more on my Archon spec, and then another 10-20 mil or so on a few cheap CM pieces to be able to tank MP7 ubers and farm keys on MP6-7. I think farming with Archon at MP0-1 is reasonably efficient with as little as 50-75k dps, though with higher dps you can kill elites faster, but normal mobs mostly insta die at MP0 I would bet (Act 3 of course).
OK played the AH a bit and sniped some great deals and then resold them. Im up to 92 mil now. Can I throw together an Archon suit for that? I only want to farm Act 3 MP 0 till my eyes bleed for Paragon Exp. Is Archon good for that and will I have enough DPS to laugh at MP 0 and never die? Also does it matter if you go 1 hander and source or 2 hander? You cant buy a decent Skorn with Lifesteal for under 40 mil and Id rather not spend half my gold on a weapon unless thats the best thing to do? Id rather go with 1 hander and source so I can get more crit chance but that will also leave me with only 3% life steal at most. Is that enough to stay healed?
Yes, you can get a very good Archon set for that much gold. Anything over 100k dps is overkill for MP0, and you don't need much in terms of defensive stats either, because at MP0 mobs don't hit very hard at all.
It doesn't really matter if you go 2h or 1h+OH. The only major difference is you can only get up to 3% Life Steal with a 1h, but at MP0 that probably won't be much of a problem. Also, the life steal mainly only matters against damage reflect mobs, but with a decent amount of hp (30-40k) you should be able to kill the elites very fast so that reflect won't matter very much. You can also use Blood Magic rune for an extra 1.5% if you feel the need. In general, 1h+OH usually gives higher dps for the same price as a 2h, as long as you get a physical damage weapon and a triumvirate.
Yes, you can get a very good Archon set for that much gold. Anything over 100k dps is overkill for MP0, and you don't need much in terms of defensive stats either, because at MP0 mobs don't hit very hard at all.
It doesn't really matter if you go 2h or 1h+OH. The only major difference is you can only get up to 3% Life Steal with a 1h, but at MP0 that probably won't be much of a problem. Also, the life steal mainly only matters against damage reflect mobs, but with a decent amount of hp (30-40k) you should be able to kill the elites very fast so that reflect won't matter very much. You can also use Blood Magic rune for an extra 1.5% if you feel the need. In general, 1h+OH usually gives higher dps for the same price as a 2h, as long as you get a physical damage weapon and a triumvirate.
That pretty much sums it up. If you can get a good Archon build going for MP0 or MP1 and kill things quickly without dying, you're on your way. Keep farming at that level until you find some upgrades, which as of the current state of the game, shouldn't be all that difficult compared to months past.
Your dps will definitely suffer a bit because weapon dps plays a huge role in overall dps at high gear levels. My suggestion is try and snipe an auction with no max bid, as those tend to go for less than buyout weapons, which are overpriced a bit, imo. If you're on US side, I want to say you should be able to get a 1k 1h with life steal and a socket (and nothing else, just physical damage) for under 10 mil, preferably around 1-5 mil if it's low 1k. I've been pricing things a big, but I haven't bought a life steal weapon for a while and when I did it only cost me like 4-6 mil for a 1070 dps wand. If you're EU server, then the prices are probably a lot worse.
every 1 hander over 900 DPS with lifesteal and a socket is ridiculous expensive. Will I totally gimp myself with a weapon in the low 900s DPS?
Many people just look at DPS when they put weapons into the AH and don't value other stats as much. I once found a wand with socket, LS, crit damage and int - but only 7xx DPS, which was an upgrade to my 9xx DPS sword back then. The stats can compensate a lot for the lost DPS; weapons with 4-digit DPS or brown/green color just have this extra price tag.
So the answer is: no, you will not necessarily gimp yourself, just take a look at the stats. Just load your character into D3up.com and use the D3Bit tool to get a quick check for the resulting DPS for your wizard. It's sometimes difficult to do the quick calculation in your head, especially for weapons. Or you use Loroese's spreadsheet (link in his sig) ;-)
Which server are you on? I have a weapon without a socket but with ls that I don't use. It's a 9xx dps weapon. I will sell it cheaply (75k) if you are on US. Wetzeb#1968
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and
http://www.diablofans.com/topic/71380-guide-massive-guide-to-upgrading-wizard-gear/
In short, it depends. What do you want to do? Play in group or mostly solo, farm items/XP or uber bosses?
Kiting builds are probably cheapest, but many people are not too keen on that.
Archon is pretty awesome for farming, but doesn't work too well in groups unless you have decent gear and can do something during cooldown.
For uber boss fights or higher MP levels and when playing in a group, CMWW is probably a good choice. For 75M (which is not that tight of a budget imho) you should be able to build a ~70k unbuffed Archon or a low-dps CMWW wizard with high EHP for MP5. That's on EU server, don't know about prices on the US AH.
I agree with everything Bagstone said. It really does depend on what you want to do. With your money I'd recommend either a high dps Archon build for solo farming or a mid dps CM build with decent survival for higher MP levels so you can also group for ubers. For that much I would expect you could get a 50k DPS CM build that would be capable of farming MP5 or so solo at reasonable efficiency and probably group for MP6-7 ubers. If you're patient and a little lucky with the AH you can probably get more like 70-90k dps with decent EHP to faceroll MP6-7 (though MP5 or so might still be more efficient).
If you don't mind farming xp at a low MP level, you could spend say half on an Archon set and the other half on CM to do both. That's what I do but I spent quite a bit more on my Archon spec, and then another 10-20 mil or so on a few cheap CM pieces to be able to tank MP7 ubers and farm keys on MP6-7. I think farming with Archon at MP0-1 is reasonably efficient with as little as 50-75k dps, though with higher dps you can kill elites faster, but normal mobs mostly insta die at MP0 I would bet (Act 3 of course).
Crusader DPS and EHP Spreadsheet, meant for Crusaders
My Wizard
It doesn't really matter if you go 2h or 1h+OH. The only major difference is you can only get up to 3% Life Steal with a 1h, but at MP0 that probably won't be much of a problem. Also, the life steal mainly only matters against damage reflect mobs, but with a decent amount of hp (30-40k) you should be able to kill the elites very fast so that reflect won't matter very much. You can also use Blood Magic rune for an extra 1.5% if you feel the need. In general, 1h+OH usually gives higher dps for the same price as a 2h, as long as you get a physical damage weapon and a triumvirate.
Crusader DPS and EHP Spreadsheet, meant for Crusaders
My Wizard
That pretty much sums it up. If you can get a good Archon build going for MP0 or MP1 and kill things quickly without dying, you're on your way. Keep farming at that level until you find some upgrades, which as of the current state of the game, shouldn't be all that difficult compared to months past.
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Crusader DPS and EHP Spreadsheet, meant for Crusaders
My Wizard
Many people just look at DPS when they put weapons into the AH and don't value other stats as much. I once found a wand with socket, LS, crit damage and int - but only 7xx DPS, which was an upgrade to my 9xx DPS sword back then. The stats can compensate a lot for the lost DPS; weapons with 4-digit DPS or brown/green color just have this extra price tag.
So the answer is: no, you will not necessarily gimp yourself, just take a look at the stats. Just load your character into D3up.com and use the D3Bit tool to get a quick check for the resulting DPS for your wizard. It's sometimes difficult to do the quick calculation in your head, especially for weapons. Or you use Loroese's spreadsheet (link in his sig) ;-)