30 replies to this topic

[Projaxs]

Hello my fellow WDs My name is Projax and some of you may already know me from youtube.

I decided to post here my "theorycraft" / build / guide or whatever you think it is

This topic is based on Moldran method how he farm legendary and he said that he is not sure about wd if they can compete WWs in terms of farming mp0-3

So at first lets look on the basic Projax builds. All are focusing on Acid cloud. You may ask why. Well basicaly because its our most powerfull AoE ability.

It all started with this build which I called the running acid:

http://eu.battle.net...YdUT!aTY!ZaccaZ

I used that build alot in 1.0.4 with about 80k dps unbuffed. It was great because when I ran out of mana i could spam firebomb. Also i picked up the pets to soak the ranged attack for me and to tank big nasty mobs.

But so far it wasnt so efficient as zombie bears. So i decided to try something else that could compete other spec (i hate zombie bears)

And then Ive Got the idea about sacrifice dog to gain mana and i called this build The acid king:

http://eu.battle.net...VdUT!ZTY!YabcaZ

I kept the gargantuan because his dmg is great and he still can tank some !@#$ty mobs that could kill me. Anyway I swaped Firebomb for Poison dart because its stronger and great to shot single mobs down.

the big change here is that you are nonstop spawning dogs from killing and then sacrificing them to @%%@**@! elites or to gain mana.

Finaly I got to the point when i gather better gear (150k dps unbuff lifesteel and loh) and then I started to play more offensive.

so this is the final build called The Acid Armagedon:

http://eu.battle.net...XdUV!YZT!YaZcab

the main point of the build is same but still there is big difference. Its completely petless. Instead of Gargantuan We get horify with "sprint" rune that gives us the speed to compete WWs

Now when Im done with the chronology of making my AC based builds .. we can move to the real thing.

there are two youtube videos of mine which represent both the acid king and the acid armagedon build. One is for farm MP3 the other is for MP1.

You maybe ask why the hell are you going low Mps with your gear. Well guys the answer is simple its the most effective way how to lvl up paragon fast and how to get most of the loot. Its quite sad but its true. There is no real reward in going higher MP (above 3).

Im doing 60-70 mil xp/hour both in mp1 and mp3 but in mp1 actualy you get more gear (sadly enought). In Mp1 you almost oneshot everything and elite pack is matter of few seconds. IN MP6 I can stuck on elite pack even for 3 minutes

Here is another question you maybe ask. Why acid rain. Bears are better.

Well not realy bears are realy great for single target or elite packs. But for higher areas AC is unstoppable.

Itemization:
Well this is tought one - At first you realy need one thing to make this build works and its "thing of the deep" which gives you +20 picku radius which is the essence of the build.
You have to stack crit chance and crit hit dmg because those are two primary stats for AC WD.
Remember that Attack speed is just fake dps stat for AC Wds. So dont use items that increase ur dps only because there is attack speed its nonsence.
Try to get LoH or Lifesteel to make you immune to reflect dmg affix

In the videos you can see how you should play and what should you be aware of.

1.st MP3farms :
this is older video about how can u make up to 70mil xp per hour with good gear

2.nd MP1farm (moldran method) :
this is the new video where you can realy see that wd maybe the best farming class (or one of the best) with this Ive got like 8 legendaries in 2 hours which is great. Avarage run lasts for about 8-9 minutes and avarage xp per hour is something about 60mil per hour.

So if u like my guide and my videos you can support me on youtube (subscribe to my channel). And you can also ask me ingame for some tips. Im sure im not the greatest WD but Im trying to be atleast usefull for our comunity. I started to make videos because i didnt see any good wd doint that so far

Ill keep this updated with new videos and new information (changes in the build) etc.

[Emberos]

Currently running something very similar to your "Armageddon build".  I'm fully confident like you are that there isn't a much faster way for WDs to farm XP/Legendaries.  The only difference is I have Gargantuan in for Poison Darts and Soul to Waste rune instead of Vengeful Spirit.  At low MP levels, I don't ever need to cast a primary for mana and the Garg does help keep things safer.  On the rare occasions I do get low, I sac puppies to get full up again.  Double speed of Horrify and Spirit are where it's at for sure.  The other thing is I'm using Visage of Giyua and Stone of Jordan both with an extra 7% Acid Rain crit as it's pretty much the only damage spell other than Sac -- I don't even need 4 pc Zuni regen on this build at low MP levels.  I've been grabbing footage for a run as well -- probably be posted later today.

[Beasty30]

Thanks for the post. I ll go over it later. But did u actually farm 2-3 levels with it and had >50k xp/hour?
I doubt that you can reach those numbers as witchdoc. Unless you dont count iding/vendortime etc in.

[Projaxs]

well Im at 61 mil xp/hour with iding items.

on mp3 i was at 66 mil xp per hour.

I dont use leorc anyway. could do better :/


Its all about good gear and lot of practice atm im running one run in 7-8 minutes - down from 8-9

[aerialus]

I'm running similar build, but I would change couple of things, especially for higher mp like mp3.
Get more mana regen and zombie bear reduction (full zuni set), and then instead of dart, use bears vs elites. It melts elites in 2-3 seconds at mp3 with your dps, easily. Problem is to have enough mana for both acid rain and bears.
Garg is not helping much, mass confusion paranoia or rune with stun, allows you to catch any ranged pack, and prevent them from running away, for enough time to kill them. It is huge help in such fast exp runs, consistent fast elite kills, regardless what annoying elite type it is.

Edited by aerialus, 10 November 2012 - 11:04 PM.

[Emberos]

Beasty30, on 10 November 2012 - 07:48 PM, said:

Thanks for the post. I ll go over it later. But did u actually farm 2-3 levels with it and had >50k xp/hour?
I doubt that you can reach those numbers as witchdoc. Unless you dont count iding/vendortime etc in.

WDs can and do . . . if they can get off the Bears are the best train.  For kicks, I just recorded a run using my variation of this build (swapped out Garg for MC Paranoia -- good advice Aerialus) and put in a 50 mil xp / hr pace.  I'll let it render later tonight when I'm done playing and post it tomorrow.

Projaxs, on 10 November 2012 - 10:27 PM, said:

well Im at 61 mil xp/hour with iding items.

on mp3 i was at 66 mil xp per hour.

I dont use leorc anyway. could do better :/

Its all about good gear and lot of practice atm im running one run in 7-8 minutes - down from 8-9

All good points -- Leoric's could push this even higher (I'm only using hellfire ring on myself and follower as well).  Even with very little practice with the spec, I did a 50 mil xp / hr run.  If I keep at it, I know the run times will come down and I'll be pushing 60 mil an hour as well.  You just have to be diligent and keep yourself moving forward at all times. The spec allows us to move through the content extremely fast -- if you don't stop, don't loop back for marginal loot or to kill a straggler, etc. you can jam alot of xp / hr and get a high number of legendaries in the process.

EDIT:  speaking of legendaries, just had 3 drop from a single treasure goblin -- was recording so that's definitely going to make the out-take reel

Edited by Emberos, 11 November 2012 - 04:37 AM.

[Beasty30]

Hm, gonna hardcore test my xp/hour today then.
I have like twice your dps, but i think big part of it is that i have too much attackspeed.
Maybe i should get rid of my innas, but i would miss movementspeed then :/

Any other suggestions? http://eu.battle.net...214/hero/125643
Without mf main/offhand i have 220k dps, my health doesnt change I have around 900ar.
I just started again with the 1.05 patch, open for any help

Btw do u reset the alkaizer run if you dont have 5 stacks after tower of the damned 1?

Edited by Beasty30, 11 November 2012 - 05:52 AM.

[Emberos]

Character sheet dps can definitely be very deceptive.  For instance, my char sheet currently shows 106k but char sheet doesn't take into account the additional 14% Acid Rain crit.  Considering I almost exclusively use that for damage, that would push my crit from 35% to 49%.  If char sheet used 49% crit, I'd be into the 135-140k range.  

Char sheet also doesn't take into account 31% damage against Elites (from belt and ring) -- not sure whether or not it takes into account 6% Arcane from ring and 8% poison from boots.  Finally, as you noted, attack speed is a big factor in amping many people's char sheet dps -- but it really doesn't have that much of an effect on a WD Acid Rain spec so it's misleading.  I only have 9% attack speed (Lacunis don't come without it) so I'm not getting much placebo effect char sheet dps there either.  If I had 35-40% attack speed, my char sheet would show way higher but it really wouldn't do much for me.

Long and short, I don't get too wrapped up in what the char sheet says -- I really focus on what I know is going to amp in-game damage and breeze me through the content.  Main thing I'm trying to add currently is more INT, crit, crit damage.  Basically as I get enough paragon to retire magic find gear (I run fully capped), I'm replacing it with more of the pure dps stats that will matter in game.  I also need to add in a bit more defense stats mainly for reflects damage packs so I'm not waiting on cool downs when I hit them.

On your setup, if you have funds, you could lose Innas and pickup movement speed on a pair of crit Lacunis if you have budget.  Then add in a pair of high INT 2-socket pants to replace Inna.  Honestly, you've got a really nice gear setup for the most part (I wish I had a 6% crit Hellfire ring).  Even without the pants/bracer swap you should be zooming.  Spec is the other big factor -- Even if you continue to use Bears, Gruesome Feast might not be a bad pickup.  GF jumps even my under-stated char sheet dps into the 190k range when it's stacked and you are missing that.  5 stack Siphon / 5 stack GF is up for a good part of the runs we're doing and that is a huge difference as well.

[Beasty30]

Thanks, yeah i use feast now its really working well. I just made a level with around 44mill/hour. That still seems to be really really bad compared to your hourly :/ I guess my route is just bad i kinda change it up a bit sometimes just cause it got a bit boring.
If I loose my innas for lacunis it would be an even trade with attackspeed tho and i wouldnt get allresi either. I ll do some calculations with it.
Thanks for looking at my char!

Also wd upgrading seems really fun right now. I played a barb pre 1.04 and it was impossible to even find anything in ah that would give me green numbers.

For the hellfire ring it took me around 20 attempts. I just collected the mats to craft 12 in the end to get less frustrated by the results. It worked the 10th one was the 6% crit

Edited by Beasty30, 11 November 2012 - 10:26 AM.

[Projaxs]

I dont reset run when i dont reach 5 stack in TotD 1 - it just happens sometimes. Anyway yeah attack speed increase our dmg on paper but in real its not that effective

[maka]

@Emberos: your (excellent) post reminds me once again that I really want the old skill damage system in D2's character screen back.

[Beasty30]

Yes, Emberos profile really convinced me. To me 7% crit is like 20k dps to me, that and the >30% vs elites means he actually has easily >200k dps vs elites.
I m looking forward to that farm video. I want to see how hard that acid cloud hits with a skorn compared to a good 1h with decent gear.

Edited by Beasty30, 11 November 2012 - 07:25 PM.

[Emberos]

Beasty30, on 11 November 2012 - 05:36 AM, said:

Btw do u reset the alkaizer run if you dont have 5 stacks after tower of the damned 1?

Projaxs, on 11 November 2012 - 01:42 PM, said:

I dont reset run when i dont reach 5 stack in TotD 1 - it just happens sometimes.

I actually don't run Core of Arreat and Tower of the Damned anymore to start my run.  I don't know if they changed the percentages or what but it was pretty much becoming the exception rather than the rule that I had 5 stacks after leaving those two zones and hitting Crater.  Most common was 4 stacks but sometimes even 3 stacks.  I've been starting off in a different zone . . . more to come on that

[Beasty30]

Ok so i bought the poisoncloud SoJ, the Helm with 8% and I got an awesome deal with on a 1390 dps skorn with 1250 loh and 200% crit. Cost me only around 30mill total. Usually I pay around 200mill a slot on my maingear at least if i want to upgrade and those a small upgrades.. So this was really fun to buy

This is what i saw on my first run: http://i49.tinypic.com/apm4g.jpg
This is without the 28% of the SoJ on elites and without the 15% crit of poisoncloud. This means the realdps on packs fully buffed is around 500k dps.
First run of my usual route took me 9mins with Iding and I got around 10mill xp. This means i get easily >50mill xp an hour now. I ll test it in party later.

Thanks Emberos for the input. I run a slightly different build, but poisoncloud with SoJ and Skorn is really the bomb At least for solo play.

Edited by Beasty30, 12 November 2012 - 08:01 AM.

[Azri]

good stuff. I have tested this over the weekend ( invested few mils into my WD). I running close to 55xp mil per hour (mp0). Its fun, fast and I am getting the drops so there is no reason to run higher MP at the moment. I have found 11 legendaries and 2 set items over 4.5 hr gameplay. Sadly they were completely useless

[DenkaSaeba25]

Thanks. I've finally been able to get rid of decay abilities and play a very offensive build

[Emberos]

Beasty30, on 12 November 2012 - 07:58 AM, said:

Ok so i bought the poisoncloud SoJ, the Helm with 8% and I got an awesome deal with on a 1390 dps skorn with 1250 loh and 200% crit. Cost me only around 30mill total. Usually I pay around 200mill a slot on my maingear at least if i want to upgrade and those a small upgrades.. So this was really fun to buy

This is what i saw on my first run: http://i49.tinypic.com/apm4g.jpg
This is without the 28% of the SoJ on elites and without the 15% crit of poisoncloud. This means the realdps on packs fully buffed is around 500k dps.
First run of my usual route took me 9mins with Iding and I got around 10mill xp. This means i get easily >50mill xp an hour now. I ll test it in party later.

Thanks Emberos for the input. I run a slightly different build, but poisoncloud with SoJ and Skorn is really the bomb At least for solo play.

Glad it worked for you as well -- vid is done rendering and I'll post that as well now in a separate thread.

Azri, on 12 November 2012 - 08:30 AM, said:

I have found 11 legendaries and 2 set items over 4.5 hr gameplay. Sadly they were completely useless

I feel your pain

[Projaxs]

Hello guys . New video is coming tomorow - 2 runs in a row 66 mil xp per hour and some legendary too   (yday 15 legendary in 5 hour)

[Emberos]

Projaxs, on 12 November 2012 - 04:48 PM, said:

(yday 15 legendary in 5 hour)

15 legendaries in 5 hours . . . pffft, I got 3 in 30 seconds

In all seriousness, 66 mil xp per hour is zooming.  Very good stuff.

[Beasty30]

Emberos, on 12 November 2012 - 05:27 PM, said:

Projaxs, on 12 November 2012 - 04:48 PM, said:

(yday 15 legendary in 5 hour)

15 legendaries in 5 hours . . . pffft, I got 3 in 30 seconds

In all seriousness, 66 mil xp per hour is zooming.  Very good stuff.

Nvm Video is up

Edited by Beasty30, 12 November 2012 - 05:47 PM.