Quote from Thornagol»

In regards to transferring secondary stats, I wonder how game breaking it would really be overall. It could open new build opportunities tied to secondary stats that we have not thought of yet. I also think it would be cool if you could give up all secondary stats on the synthesized item for rolling a guaranteed affix. It would still be a random outcome, but you could ensure that you get what you want by sacrificing all the secondary goodness in the gear.

In most cases, I don't think it'll be a huge issue. But then when you're stacking +10 Discipline on every piece of gear (let's say that brings you to around 170+ Discipline)... geez. Same with other classes. A wizard with 300 Arcane Power?!

Maybe resources could be the only exception.

All I want for Christmas is...

The Item Synthesis System

Inspired by the item recipe systems of MOBA games like Dota and League of Legends, breeding from the Pokémon series, Persona fusion from the Shin Megami Tensei Persona series, and the good ol' Horadric Cube from Diablo II. I wonder how a system creating new legendary items from existing ones could work in Diablo III's environment.

DISCLAIMER: This system is 100% fictional and is not a feature in Diablo III: Reaper of Souls.

Originally I started wondering about an item recipe based system when stash space issues became a widespread topic in the community. I then started expanding on it a little more when players started struggling with finding specific legendary items, namely the notoriously rare ones like Wand of Woh or Starmetal Kukri (due to be adjusted in 2.1.2, but they're still going to be the rarest in their respective item types).

So I imagined a system—dubbed the Item Synthesis system—within Diablo III that allowed players to take a bunch of extra legendaries they have in their stash or on their mule characters and combine them into brand new items. These new items could be synthesis-exclusive, or they can be items you find normally through killing monsters and exploration.



Basic Limitations:

• Cannot use two legendaries of the same name (must be unique)
• Cannot use unidentified items
• Cannot use set items
• Cannot use legacy items prior to Patch 2.0.1 (vanilla)

The System
The basic system is simply combining two to six items in any order to form a new item.

Starting from triple combinations (three items used in the synthesis process), one “parent” item can be selected as the core, allowing the player to transfer a stat over to the “child” item. A primary stat can be inherited if and only if the child item is allowed to roll the stat naturally (e.g. a child quiver cannot inherit movement speed bonus). Any secondary stat can be inherited (to be discussed).



This will be UI based so the player can make the decision which stat to inherit. Let's say the synthesized child item normally comes with six random properties (four primaries, one secondary, one legendary power). Transferring a stat from a parent item ensures that one of the random rolls will be the inherited stat. The child item can still be enchanted by the mystic.

The synthesized item depends on the order which items are inputted. Its item type is determined by the final item selected in the synthesis process. Basically, when combining five different items, regardless of the order of the first four items, if the final item is a belt, the synthesized item type will always be a belt. But depending on how the first four items are ordered, it may not always be the same belt (to be discussed).

Example:
A player wishes to combine four legendary items: a Mempo of Twilight (helm), a Storm Crow (wizard hat), an Azurewrath (sword), and a Flying Dragon (daibo). The resulting item could be any of the following:

1. A helm (6 combos): if the Mempo was included in the synthesis last. Selecting the Storm Crow first, selecting the Azurewrath second would combine the two into a one-handed sword. The third and fourth selections would be the Flying Dragon and Mempo, respectively, and the pair would yield a legendary helm. The first pairing (Storm Crow + Azurewrath) that yielded the new legendary sword would be paired with the second pairing’s (Flying Dragon + Mempo) new legendary helm, yielding yet another new legendary helm.

First combo:
(Storm Crow + Azurewrath) + (Flying Dragon + Mempo) =
(legendary sword A1) + (legendary helm A1) = legendary helm A2

Second combo:
(Azurewrath + Storm Crow) + (Flying Dragon + Mempo) =
(legendary wizard hat A1) + (legendary helm A1) = legendary helm A3

Third combo:
(Storm Crow + Flying Dragon) + (Azurewrath + Mempo) =
(legendary daibo A1) + (legendary helm B1) = legendary helm B2

Fourth combo:
(Flying Dragon + Storm Crow) + (Azurewrath + Mempo) =
(legendary wizard hat A2) + (legendary helm B1) = legendary helm B3

Fifth combo:
(Azurewrath + Flying Dragon) + (Storm Crow + Mempo) =
(legendary daibo A2) + (legendary helm C1) = legendary helm C2

Sixth combo:
(Flying Dragon + Azurewrath) + (Storm Crow + Mempo) =
(legendary sword A2) + (legendary helm C1) = legendary helm C3


2. A wizard hat (6 combos): just like the helm example, as long as the Storm Crow was included in the synthesis last.
3. A sword (6 combos): as long as the Azurewrath was included in the synthesis last.
4. A daibo (6 combos) as long as the Flying Dragon was included in the synthesis last.

Using the sixth combo in the example, the resulting “legendary helm C3” can inherit a primary or secondary stat from any of the parent items (Storm Crow, Azurewrath, Flying Dragon, Mempo) selected as the core. However, the primary stat inheritance must be a primary stat that can naturally roll on any helm. If the Azurewrath has attack speed, the child “legendary helm C3” cannot inherit the attack speed. However, because Azurewrath’s chance to freeze is a secondary stat, “legendary helm C3” can inherit that secondary stat. The max value would have to be discussed. But it could be interesting if a player decides to stack freeze chance on every single piece of gear. How would it be calculated, though?

The final part of the system involves combining six different items. If all six parent items are of the same type and sub-type, the synthesized item has a chance of inheriting the legendary power from one of the parent items.

Example:
A player wishes to combine six legendary bracers: Lacuni Prowlers, Reaper’s Wraps, Trag’Oul Coils, Warzechian Armguards, Ancient Parthan Defenders, and Promise of Glory. The synthesized item will be a new pair of legendary bracers. This pair of bracers will come with its own unique power, but it also has a chance to inherit the legendary power from one of those parent bracers. There is a chance that no legendary power will be inherited. There is also a chance that a legendary power will be inherited and still be nothing as Lacuni Prowlers does not have a true legendary power.

Additional perks:
Using ancient items in the synthesis process increases the chance for the child item to be ancient, as well. The more ancient items used in the synthesis, the more likely the child will be ancient. If no ancient item is used, the chance for the child to be an ancient item is standard.

Synthesizing rare items (at least those weighted to be more rare through drops) will involve combining one or more rare items in a given recipe. The idea here is that if you cannot find a specific rare item, maybe you had the luck of finding another type of rare item. Some people just don't need Lacuni Prowlers, but they really want a Witching Hour. Perhaps a Witching Hour can be synthesized using several legendaries, including Lacuni Prowlers.

Discussion Stuff
My clan mate ChangBooster took some time to address some of the craziness involved with this system. This is, after all, incredibly broad and bare so there are definitely tons of overlooked concerns. Some things are feasible, others not so much (in fact, not at all), such as having a different synthesized result for every single combination.

Just to give a better picture of things, in a six-item combination, given that the sixth item is locked in place, there are 120 ways to combine the first five items. And that's just for six legendary items. There are nearly 400 unique legendary items in Diablo III. And we're talking two-item combinations, three, four, five, six. And we're not even talking about potentially using synthesis-exclusive items as combination fodder themselves. Does anyone want to calculate how many combinations there are, if there are no repeated results? It's a big number. As a result, there must be duplicate results for different combinations.

So here's ChangBooster's first concern:
So there you have it. It isn't feasible to have a unique result for every unique combination (where order before the final item doesn't matter). There must be duplicate results for different combinations. Assuming duplicate results will be a thing:
Yep. He also suggested having "fixed" recipes:
Now the next concern ChangBooster had was this:
The idea is that trying to get a six-combo synthesized item to spawn with double legendary powers will be ridiculously hard to do, let alone inheriting the legendary power you actually want, on top of whether or not you care if the synthesized item is ancient or not. That's tough if you want perfection. I think that's a good thing, though. And like ChangBooster said, a dedicated player could probably synthesize a good one every couple of months. Probably.

Moving on, his final concern is this:
I thought about this as I was making the video. While one of the goals for this system is to free up stash space, I could also see players hoarding even more in order to maximize their chances to synthesize an awesome item. The Strongarm example is a good one, considering how powerful its legendary power is. So for anyone wishing to synthesize specific six-combo legendary bracers, they may end up hoarding a dozen Strongarm Bracers. And that's just one piece in the synthesis recipe. They'd also need five other like bracers.

This is a situation where the proposed solution could in fact make the original problem even worse!

But those were ChangBooster's thoughts. What do you think?

I have some of my own concerns, too, such as whether or not making any secondary stat transferable to a synthesized item. It could be ridiculous. Having max resources in all 13 item slots? Having chance to freeze, blind, stun, etc. on all pieces? Sounds fun, but it could be game-breaking.

Again, this is just a Christmas wish. Could be something worth exploring. Could definitely be tweaked and adjusted, and definitely simplified a little.

You're going to reach a point where everything will 3-shot you and if you gear for more toughness, you'll realize you'll never complete a GR within 15 minutes.

I cleared GR43, no Conduit, without using an immunity amulet nor Etlich. I had 8 million fully buffed toughness.

Basically YOLO. Glass Cannon, all DPS.

I'd use the Mara's. It's better than what I have (int, 8X% CHD, 9.5 CHC, socket). You can at least roll off the intelligence on yours for fire. The DPS amulet I use is a generic Squirt's Necklace with 20% fire, 99% CHD, 10% CHC, socket.

I don't know how the change to Raekor barb will impact its T6 abilities (I have limited knowledge on the build, my own barb is only partially completed). As long as FC's charges are affected by CDR, I can still see it crushing T6. Of course, it'd be nice to have Gloves of Worship included for Empowered Shrines, as I see many barbs doing for T6.

The sharkbus!
Thanks for sharing, Booz.

If you're running fire, reroll the intelligence to a socket.

You would never not want a socket on jewelry nowadays.

M6 DH for trials, DPS for group Greater Rifts (if you are chasing leaderboard spots).

Raekor barbarian or Firebird wizard for T6 (no other class or spec come close for mobility and kill speed).

Tiklandian Fear WD or zDPS crusader for any group Greater Rift (latter is highly desired because it's a major L2P support spec).

Except if you build the latter two, you can't farm on your own unless you run a hybrid pet doctor. But even then if you just want to farm T6, a Firebird wizard or Raekor barbarian would be your best bet.

Sigh.

Those Furnaces. You know I struggled mightily trying to get to GR43 and that was while using my 3500 DPS, minimum elite, no vitality Furnace.

Get Firebird gloves with CHC/CHD/vitality. Yours are not worth looking at nor using.

Get the Firebird chest and switch RoRG with a fire SOJ (toss out the int for CHC/CHD).

Toss out your Bane of the Powerful for a Bane of the Trapped. You're losing massive DPS.

Toss out the BT belt for Witching Hour. If you don't have one, go find one. Yes, that means dropping the BT bonus. You don't need it.

Beyond that is L2P. The gear as it stands should let you clear GR38-39 minimum.

Well, it's not more of the new Hydra helping out because Firebird is currently bugged on the PTR (DoT effects do not trigger the infinite DoT unless a flat burst amount of fire damage initiates the cycle). It's more because enemies deal far less damage, allowing you to play more aggressively/recklessly on the offensive.

The first time I tried the PTR when it went live I was attempting GR46 and GR47. I didn't clear them on time because of the Firebird bug (huge DPS loss), but at least they're doable.

Just waiting on the next PTR patch and see which bugs get fixed and which updates go through.

Haven't really found any reliable resources on this, so I decided to make a post about wizard Trials.

I get that with all the talk about "L2P" and how it isn't that difficult to clear GR38+ with average Firebird gear, one of the biggest obstacles some players face is obtaining those GR38+ keys, especially players who run virtually 100% wizard in all their play time.

So for the solo players who cannot employ the services of a team or use a geared M6 DH to solo the trials, here's probably one of the better options:

Demo:

Spec:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/wizard#PliNSO!YWXR!YZccbY

Core gear:
- Smoldering Core
- Five Firebird pieces (helm, shoulders, gloves, pants, boots)
- Ring of Royal Grandeur
- Cindercoat

Recommended gear include a fire/CHC/CHD/socket amulet either as part of the Endless Walk set (Traveler's Pledge, Compass Rose) or a Hellfire Amulet. If not the Endless Walk set, then another high DPS ring, such as a CHC or CHD fire SOJ.

You want as high fire DPS as possible. No need to worry about elite damage in a Trial Rift.

Optional items include Reaper's Wraps for AP management. It really helps toward the higher waves when enemies don't die after a few Meteor Shower casts.

Notes:
The spec is pretty gear intensive. I tried with lesser gear before and the keys obtained were in the mid-30s, like 36/37 pretty consistently. Somewhat more optimized gear and extra Paragon points can push a little further. In a batch of 10 Trials, I obtained one GR40 key, four GR39 keys, four GR38 keys, and one GR37 key.

RNG obviously plays a factor. If you get Golgors, Exorcists and Armaddons late (e.g. wave 40+), it gets really difficult because of their natural high HP. Also, it's not possible to perma-lock enemies at higher levels simply because of AP issues. As soon as you miss a Meteor cast, mobile enemies like Exorcists, Phasebeasts, Winged Assassins and Lacuni Huntresses will scatter in every direction.

I would advise watching the video because it's easier to show than explain how the Trials go. It's a little L2P, but it's pretty straightforward.

Early waves (<30) can be completed with just Mammoth Hydra and scattered casts of Meteor Shower. A periodic Spellsteal helps. Cast Blizzard wisely because it's AP-intensive.

Mid waves (30-35) will require the mix of Spellsteal and Blizzard to hold enemies in place and buff subsequent spells. I usually prep with Spellsteal before Blizzard a split second before the wave starts to hold enemies in place.

Late waves (36-40+) will require all of the above with much more aggressive casts of Meteor Shower, repositioning of Hydra, character repositioning, as well as the utilization of health globes if Reaper's Wraps are included.

If anyone out there has similar gear and obtained low to mid GR40 keys, let me know if there are any changes you recommend.

Well, I think that's why a lot of players I know are waiting on the Delsere set. Firebird is the cookie cutter spec now, but there are other options for T6, they're just not nearly as fast. I still try to put random sets together (like the last iteration of my Ninja Wizard) for fun.

Devs already confirmed that the goal is to improve on the underused sets (like adding 6-piece bonuses). For wizards those would be Tal's and Vyr's, so we'll see how those get adjusted in the future.

All Battle.net is down right now, including the official websites.

I'm pretty much done for the night after reading this:

Quote from yuhanz»

dang it would have been even better if you passed him ( assuming that's him ) xD

Nah, I have three other clan mates in the Top 20 (can't see them on the list) who are also chasing GR43+. They're the ones joking that I was gonna get pushed out soon.

Quote from itirnitii»

Rank 9 so quickly. Guess I'll have to push harder. Grats Jaetch!

I fell from #6 to #10 in a month, so there was my excuse to start soloing again. The Top 50 or so normally don't move too much other than the same people leapfrogging each other once in a while. It'll be tough for anyone to top yours unless they go for GR43+. I did start to pressure my clan mates to hit Top 100 lately, so there's some movement there.

Clan mate threatened me that I was gonna get bumped out of Top 10, so I responded:

^ Yeah, that would be the newest one. I also have an older video of a GR35 clear with Woh.

Deleted the other thread for duplicate.