I recently started playing again and decided to try the whole CM thing. I assembled a set of gear and at the moment a can farm MP6 rather decently. I'm having a hard time finding any upgrades for my gear though. The whole attack speed break point thing keeps confusing me, and well I just don't know which item to improve. Budget is about 50 mil. Here's the profile.
Nat ring + boots is the best combo, imo. Crit chance is king on CM, and nothing will get you more then the nat boots + ring combo.
There is another way to get Nat's 2-pc Bonus but you may lack like about half a piece of AR more or less, depending on gear and obtaining methods. Helm + Ring, it does work, you just got to set it up correctly. I have an EU Wiz that differs from my US Wiz. My US Wiz uses the Nat's Ring + Boots combo, and my EU one does the Helm + Ring combo. But you can still obtain 2.73xx APS breakpoint.
I recently started playing again and decided to try the whole CM thing. I assembled a set of gear and at the moment a can farm MP6 rather decently. I'm having a hard time finding any upgrades for my gear though. The whole attack speed break point thing keeps confusing me, and well I just don't know which item to improve. Budget is about 50 mil. Here's the profile.
Also, is there any way to incorperate a socketed helm into this build without losing the Arcane on crit?
Thanks!
APS breakpoints
The major one, 2.3001, 2.5001, 2.73xx ... and so on.
Like ff9 explained initially about the Attack Speed, it aids in knowing the number of ticks.
To obtain 2.5001 APS breakpoint, you will also have to look into your "Chantodo's Will + your total overall gear's Attack Speed Bonus %", combined.
With that said, normally people go for the 0.24 or 0.25 Chantodo's Will. Those that do not, will find themselves, pressuring to MAX OUT Attack Speeds and then lose another stat or lack foundation stats for survivability.
0.24 Chantodo Will, you will want 53% total Attack Speed Bonus from Gear (not counting the Enchantress' 3% Boost, ever)
0.25 Chantodo's Will, you will want 52% total Attack Speed Bonus from Gear
Every 0.01 drop from your weapon's +0.xx, you will require 1% more SPEED.
For obtaining the 2.73xx APS breakpoint, which is actually more comfortable for the MOB DENSITY factor, you will want at least 66% Attack Speed Bonus from Gear for a 0.25 Chantodo's Will
Onto the gear
Your current budget of 50M will be tough.
AR Tal's Chest is rather for High Paragon Levels. Don't get me wrong unless you have the budget for those Double Vitality High AR ones.
Why do I say this? When you are starting out Paragon Leveling, your base +Vitality is low, so you also struggle with HP issues to sustain damage, of course, I am not saying to stack HP alone, there is usually a balance, to be "well-rounded".
Next, many people do struggle in upgrading because they have prioritized AR, too early too often, at a lower budget, then they "lock" themselves up. Of course, I am not saying it's a bad thing to not focus on AR, one must put a certain amount of attention. With that said, I normally would always end up being short of HALF-a-Piece of AR, or 1 entire slot of AR. By that I mean I am at like "+385 AR or at +420 AR", when I am suppose to sit around 440 and above from Gear Alone.
Ideally, looking at your current setup. You are short of 3% Attack Speed Bonus from Gear Alone to hit the 2.5001 breakpoint, yes you may be able to use Enchantress to obtain that, but only in Solo Mode.
You are using 3 vit gems in your current chest. So that looks rather defensive and if you wish to push your MP, you may want to look more offensive, just like your choice of 2-socket BT Pants.
Okay, let's try to avoid making you change too much but just list the possible options.
1) Armored Tal's Chest >>> 162+ int / 184+ vit / 9% Attack Speed Bonus ... hopefully above 665 total Armor Defense
2) Then switch out those 3 vit gems for INT GEMS.
3): Higher AR VIT BT Pants >>> 190+ vit / 60+ AR / 400+ LoH
Chest and Pants go hand-in-hand as a Wizard, I know more for CM Wiz.
Option 1) Armored Tal's Chest = use High AR BT Pants
Option 2) AR Tal's Chest = use ARMORED BT Pants
Efficiency via CM Rotation will be better than using a HF Ring, every slot that boosts the performance of the CM passive is important for the CM Wizard.
You could try to use the 2-pc Nat's option, however there is one major problem as a Low Paragon, which you are sort of past-it, and that will be the HP issue, I know this from trying Nat's 2-pc as a Paragon Level 12 on EU side, which wasn't really my main and I did not have a big budget. So I end up losing 8k HP trying out the Nat's, I had to sacrifice more budget onto the Boots to reduce this effect by almost half, thus only losing 4.5k HP.
However, the most standard idea is the 2-pc Zunim Bonus of 130-int. It is very often, unlikely to beat that 2-pc Int Bonus. But it makes you fall back into the "rather conditional" SPEED Pox.
To answer your other question about the Life on Hit (LoH) + Arcane Power on Crit (APoC) for finding a way to obtain socket for the helm slot.
This is where it can become rather expensive, not to say, it WILL get expensive.
Scenario 2) 400+ LoH BT Pants + 1 piece of jewelry (aka your rings and the amulet)
Scenario 3) Single big LoH from Amulet (often crafted if your RNG is crazy)
Arcane Power on Crit (APoC)
Storm Crow is the ideal way and most often some people don't like to use the Crit Mempo (as it also really expensive for some people) However, let's discuss its scenarios.
Scenario 1) Crit Storm Crow + Chantodo's Will
Scenario 2) Crit Mempo + Chantodo's Will + APoC Source
There is a Scenario 3 but it's part of the Nat's method.
Scenario 3, I could show you my EU WIz as an example, if you need to see Scenario 3.
I hope this helped without reading much of the other guide. I'll let others interject suggestions and corrections if they find problems. I may have typo'd but I highly doubt so.
imo, nat helm + ring is only worth it if you have the following:
Nice Int trifecta ammy with LoH OR AR
Zuni boots with 70+AR and armor or double vit and tri-pox.
You also need an apoc source for a nat's helm, and those are expensive. You will also need ias on bracers to reach 2.73, so you are stuck with lacuni's.
Nat's helm is the hardest to gear to work correctly, and to make it competitive with mempo, maybe even more expensive. Storm crow is the easiest/cheapest, and you can find nicer EHP chant forces for the price compared to apoc forces.
I still think for chant users, mempo with apoc source is the ideal way to go, along with a nat's boot + ring combo. It's probably the easiest way to reach 89% mitigation, and the reduced damage from melee from nat's boots is very nice. It's also easier for me to maintain 2.73 since the helm has ias on it. That way I don't necessarily need IAS in the bracer or ammy slot.
I still choose to use lacuni's atm because I have no usuable trifecta ammy (just a couple of trash ones I crafted), and having 24% movespeed is nice.
EDIT: However, that being said about the Mempo, I truly believe that storm crow is the true endgame helm for CM wiz, because then you can use lifesteal swords or daggers and still get enough apoc with the source and crow helm. Going the 300k dps dagger/sword route also lets you relax on defenses a little bit (still need 87-88%) and stack HP instead.
imo, nat helm + ring is only worth it if you have the following:
Nice Int trifecta ammy with LoH OR AR
Zuni boots with 70+AR and armor or double vit and tri-pox.
You also need an apoc source for a nat's helm, and those are expensive. You will also need ias on bracers to reach 2.73, so you are stuck with lacuni's.
Nat's helm is the hardest to gear to work correctly, and to make it competitive with mempo, maybe even more expensive. Storm crow is the easiest/cheapest, and you can find nicer EHP chant forces for the price compared to apoc forces.
I still think for chant users, mempo with apoc source is the ideal way to go, along with a nat's boot + ring combo. It's probably the easiest way to reach 89% mitigation, and the reduced damage from melee from nat's boots is very nice. It's also easier for me to maintain 2.73 since the helm has ias on it. That way I don't necessarily need IAS in the bracer or ammy slot.
I still choose to use lacuni's atm because I have no usuable trifecta ammy (just a couple of trash ones I crafted), and having 24% movespeed is nice.
EDIT: However, that being said about the Mempo, I truly believe that storm crow is the true endgame helm for CM wiz, because then you can use lifesteal swords or daggers and still get enough apoc with the source and crow helm. Going the 300k dps dagger/sword route also lets you relax on defenses a little bit (still need 87-88%) and stack HP instead.
Yeah I just wanted to make it different for my EU side.
1) BT Amulet + BT Pants make that 2-pc bonus work for that HP issue (yeah this gets expensive if you make a true non-pure freeze BT Amulet [in which a lot of people use that when they just want to pure-freeze role, kinda like the pure-buff Guiding Light monks]
2) Yes, my rare ring in terms of +int is comparable to a non-Average Damage Regular Crit Pox.
3) Crit Nat's Helm has the high +Armor that also helps with people who I've seen gear between the "rather low" 3k to 3.3k Armor "somehow" (and no they werent using Glass Cannon, they somehow don't know how to get the +Armor on top of their standard AR requirement to have the "optimal mitigation values" that some people here tend to use those "84 to 89% mitigation" things.
EDIT: I actually find that this total Armor Defense Rating the most common mistake, not about the All Resistance part. I always see really low Armored, especially those people who never went for the Armored Tal's Chest at low Paragon Levels, they went for the "AR Tal's only good for expensive ones", you lose double vit, you lose +Armor at the beginning, then you gear it all weird and already start out with really low Armor Rating, I've seen some Wiz go down to 2.9k to 3k as a CM, their gear looks fine, it's just that they dont know how to make things go hand-in-hand, and I see them only knowing about "Vile Wards", making it work "the hardest".
4) I didn't say that mine was a low budget but it is actually pretty easy to get to 2.73xx with Nat's Helm. And for me, I have +442 AR from gear alone with that Nat's setup.
EDIT: I have 201k unbuffed as a low Paragon, and my next point (#5 i'm still short of DPS from my source) will show that I can still be a lot more unbuffed, of course this not your typical near-ending 300k+ DPS setup, unless you start slacking some resistance. And when I mean slack some resistance, I mean at endgame using the boosted base Int from being a Paragon 90 to 100, and then using your overall Int to give you the bare minimum AR instead of having 1 slot of AR (yeah I know people do this quite often)
5) Yes I do have an APoC source on my EU Wiz and it was still relatively cheaper as the Average Damage on my 9-APoC source, can still give me at max around 11k more dps if i get a much much much higher Average Damage roll.
6) Yes I totally agree with the Crit Storm Crow in your EDIT is the true endgame to open up room for the Lifesteal Black Damage Weapon, but I was just trying to make my EU side different from the US side, to make the game interesting for me.
7) Stuck with Lacuni, I don't mind Lacuni, I know 24% MS issint quite necessary but I actually prefer sidestepping faster whenever I am doing my CM rotations, one this keeps me awake, and two you can easier "move against" a beam, instead of taking a full 2-second blow as each swipe you, if somehow they placed some before you started, or that Fast Affix messes things up to get them to cast in-between cc's.
Anyways, I'm just having fun with builds, it works and my EU wiz at Paragon 36 has 688 or 689 total res after adding Int (EDIT #2: my poor crafted Int Shoulders has +54 AR and +111str so i'm also not at 700+ yet), and 3852 armor (not including Enchantress because I finally turned to the Scoundrel), yeah I am using my previous Zuni Boots with the rare ring (almost comparable to the non-Average Damage Crit Pox because I still need the IAS on that slot, like you said, the speed from Nat's Helm loss so it troubles the non- Tri Pox (now this one is REALLY expensive, which I don't have).
I still think for chant users, mempo with apoc source is the ideal way to go, along with a nat's boot + ring combo. It's probably the easiest way to reach 89% mitigation, and the reduced damage from melee from nat's boots is very nice. It's also easier for me to maintain 2.73 since the helm has ias on it.That way I don't necessarily need IAS in the bracer or ammy slot.
For 2.73xx, just for your information (no argument, just to verify your counting.
9 from chest, 9 from gloves, 9 from rare ring OR nat's ring + 9 from belt, 9 from source, 9 from Lacuni
= 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 = 54%
+ 9 from helm = 54% + 9 = 63%, you're actually still short of 3% for a 0.25 Chantodo's Will. [Note: I bolded the above thing for you]
Yeah I use BT Pants, unless you're using the Inna's Pants, then yes you can put less work to the Amulet but not really for the Bracers.
BIG EDIT: I guess a second speed ring slot (cheaper) like a Speed Litany [placeholder method] would let ease to an easier time for the bracers slot.
I'd just like to note that the 2.73 is overkill unless you do Ubers, 2.51 is fine for all purposes and lets you get other offensive stats as opposed to stacking IAS, which is great if you're on a relatively low budget and gives you much broader gearing options.
Well, I guess that's subjective... I prefer to stay at 2.73, as it provides better stunlock against single yellow elites and thus reduces the amount of EHP necessary. Higher APS also contributes to DPS but helps against these "leftover single elites", higher EHP is overkill 90% of the time.
I think 2.5 is minimum for a CMWW build to truly function like it should. 2.73 is the sweet spot and what most people should aim for. 3.0 is only really worth it for Ubers.
And yes, when talking about CM requirements, its usually assumed that its for full offensive SNS.
As far as Nat's helm, I dont really like that choice either. Storm Crow is usually the most ideal choice as it offers apoc which frees up the off hand slot, so its a cheaper choice for higher dps. Mempo is a nice choice for ehp and ultimately the most dps and it makes it easier to reach higher APS breakpoints. Nat's helm offers no attack speed or apoc.
Completely agree with Bagstone, 2.5 just feels a little wonky and I'd rather spend the extra money getting to 2.73 than the extra defense that 2.5 requires. In the end, the higher a/s you have, the more effective your LoH is, the less you need to spend on defense. I'm sure I'm a corner case, but I run mp10 very very well at 370k EHP (d3up).
Again, I'm not saying it's the ideal, I am saying I am trying out another build, I do have Nat's Ring + Nat's Boots as my US Combo, and I do have both Crit Storm Crow or Crit Mempo for the main US side to switch for.
EDIT #2: I just thought that it'd be nice to discuss about how Crit Storm Crow is one item covering two aspects (the LoH + APoC) and ofc the CHC, but I wanted to "challenge myself in fixing up both the LoH and APoC, especially the LoH in a different way, and actually also using the BT Amulet as a DPSer (since i want to really know why the CHD & CHC BT amulets are so expensive for a reason and I saw why after I tried this "weird build") than a pure-freezing cheap way because the "non-Crit Hit Damage BT Amulets aka the plain CHC BT Amulets" are also considered for really budget builds.
Besides, it only makes one think more on how to set it up towards 2.73xx while still having the LoH (until you craft a gg amulet that covers that base), or until you have budget for a gg-LS Black Damage Weapon, infact it's not even so much about the budget but whether the "market" has the right non-Chantodo's for you to use to not make you lose in some way, whether defensive or offensive.
I just wanted my other side to be different, initially i started out with all the standard ways, the Crit Storm Crow, then the Crit Mempo (of course mine's not 6, so I could change it up)
I don't know why people dont bother trying other pieces of gear, it's almost like saying the Tal's Chest doesnt suit the Monk builds, or the 2-2-2 Monk setup (IK + Nats + Inna's), all those are just different ways to gear, if I reach the same goal, and not lack too much, it works, there are many out there that mix it all strange and lack eHP.
And yes, I want to note and admit that I am sure everyone has had the time when they missed 1 slot of AR before people realized how to use Rare Bracers, and normally the Gloves slot is not easy to get the AR either initially, and if you ever did, you locked it up. And then some people would obviously not miss the AR if you happened to go with the 3-pc Zuni (in which then you force the IAS on another slot)
Anyways, I really honestly can say the same for people who went for Tal's Chest on Monk, or again that 2-2-2 monk setup whether budget effective or not, it doesnt matter because the "Standard Legendary items" seemingly suits the way to play.
EDIT #3: Since I am not using my Nat's Boots, i am using my previous AR Zuni Boots, so it'll match but almost the power of Crit Mempo in terms of the INT loss, and my Crit Nat's Helm happens to also have 193-int, of course that's for "my case", but I am listing it out so that you realize how much I am really losing in terms of Primary Stat.
To make EDIT #3 more clear: My Crit Nat's Helm has 193 int, my high-AR Zuni Boots has 152 int (this is semi-low int) but Primary Stat adding both together, seemingly makes it less apparent on how much I'm losing compared to the "standard builds" except the IAS and AR and the Life%. The Life% went to the BT Amulet, the IAS went to the BT Amulet, the major loss would be that AR. For those who favor Crit Storm Crow, then the AR issin't going to be questioned.
EDIT: And also to note, like i mentioned again, some people still end up with 3k to 3.3k armor at the end which doesn't seem to fit the "optimal mitigation values" I know I have seen ALOT of people with this.
I recently started playing again and decided to try the whole CM thing. I assembled a set of gear and at the moment a can farm MP6 rather decently. I'm having a hard time finding any upgrades for my gear though. The whole attack speed break point thing keeps confusing me, and well I just don't know which item to improve. Budget is about 50 mil. Here's the profile.
http://eu.battle.net/d3/en/profile/Coenan-2534/hero/30641916
Also, is there any way to incorperate a socketed helm into this build without losing the Arcane on crit?
Thanks!
It explains all the break points pretty well :-)
There is another way to get Nat's 2-pc Bonus but you may lack like about half a piece of AR more or less, depending on gear and obtaining methods. Helm + Ring, it does work, you just got to set it up correctly. I have an EU Wiz that differs from my US Wiz. My US Wiz uses the Nat's Ring + Boots combo, and my EU one does the Helm + Ring combo. But you can still obtain 2.73xx APS breakpoint.
APS breakpoints
The major one, 2.3001, 2.5001, 2.73xx ... and so on.
Like ff9 explained initially about the Attack Speed, it aids in knowing the number of ticks.
To obtain 2.5001 APS breakpoint, you will also have to look into your "Chantodo's Will + your total overall gear's Attack Speed Bonus %", combined.
With that said, normally people go for the 0.24 or 0.25 Chantodo's Will. Those that do not, will find themselves, pressuring to MAX OUT Attack Speeds and then lose another stat or lack foundation stats for survivability.
0.24 Chantodo Will, you will want 53% total Attack Speed Bonus from Gear (not counting the Enchantress' 3% Boost, ever)
0.25 Chantodo's Will, you will want 52% total Attack Speed Bonus from Gear
Every 0.01 drop from your weapon's +0.xx, you will require 1% more SPEED.
For obtaining the 2.73xx APS breakpoint, which is actually more comfortable for the MOB DENSITY factor, you will want at least 66% Attack Speed Bonus from Gear for a 0.25 Chantodo's Will
Onto the gear
Your current budget of 50M will be tough.
AR Tal's Chest is rather for High Paragon Levels. Don't get me wrong unless you have the budget for those Double Vitality High AR ones.
Why do I say this? When you are starting out Paragon Leveling, your base +Vitality is low, so you also struggle with HP issues to sustain damage, of course, I am not saying to stack HP alone, there is usually a balance, to be "well-rounded".
Next, many people do struggle in upgrading because they have prioritized AR, too early too often, at a lower budget, then they "lock" themselves up. Of course, I am not saying it's a bad thing to not focus on AR, one must put a certain amount of attention. With that said, I normally would always end up being short of HALF-a-Piece of AR, or 1 entire slot of AR. By that I mean I am at like "+385 AR or at +420 AR", when I am suppose to sit around 440 and above from Gear Alone.
Ideally, looking at your current setup. You are short of 3% Attack Speed Bonus from Gear Alone to hit the 2.5001 breakpoint, yes you may be able to use Enchantress to obtain that, but only in Solo Mode.
You are using 3 vit gems in your current chest. So that looks rather defensive and if you wish to push your MP, you may want to look more offensive, just like your choice of 2-socket BT Pants.
Okay, let's try to avoid making you change too much but just list the possible options.
1) Armored Tal's Chest >>> 162+ int / 184+ vit / 9% Attack Speed Bonus ... hopefully above 665 total Armor Defense
2) Then switch out those 3 vit gems for INT GEMS.
3): Higher AR VIT BT Pants >>> 190+ vit / 60+ AR / 400+ LoH
Chest and Pants go hand-in-hand as a Wizard, I know more for CM Wiz.
Option 1) Armored Tal's Chest = use High AR BT Pants
Option 2) AR Tal's Chest = use ARMORED BT Pants
Efficiency via CM Rotation will be better than using a HF Ring, every slot that boosts the performance of the CM passive is important for the CM Wizard.
You could try to use the 2-pc Nat's option, however there is one major problem as a Low Paragon, which you are sort of past-it, and that will be the HP issue, I know this from trying Nat's 2-pc as a Paragon Level 12 on EU side, which wasn't really my main and I did not have a big budget. So I end up losing 8k HP trying out the Nat's, I had to sacrifice more budget onto the Boots to reduce this effect by almost half, thus only losing 4.5k HP.
However, the most standard idea is the 2-pc Zunim Bonus of 130-int. It is very often, unlikely to beat that 2-pc Int Bonus. But it makes you fall back into the "rather conditional" SPEED Pox.
To answer your other question about the Life on Hit (LoH) + Arcane Power on Crit (APoC) for finding a way to obtain socket for the helm slot.
This is where it can become rather expensive, not to say, it WILL get expensive.
Life on Hit (LoH)
Scenario 1) 400+ LoH Crit Storm Crow + 400+ LoH BT Pants
Scenario 2) 400+ LoH BT Pants + 1 piece of jewelry (aka your rings and the amulet)
Scenario 3) Single big LoH from Amulet (often crafted if your RNG is crazy)
Arcane Power on Crit (APoC)
Storm Crow is the ideal way and most often some people don't like to use the Crit Mempo (as it also really expensive for some people) However, let's discuss its scenarios.
Scenario 1) Crit Storm Crow + Chantodo's Will
Scenario 2) Crit Mempo + Chantodo's Will + APoC Source
There is a Scenario 3 but it's part of the Nat's method.
Scenario 3, I could show you my EU WIz as an example, if you need to see Scenario 3.
I hope this helped without reading much of the other guide. I'll let others interject suggestions and corrections if they find problems. I may have typo'd but I highly doubt so.
Sincerely,
Lotware
1) CMWIZ PL91, [EU]PL62 Crit NatsHelm; 2) 0-CD Dogs since MID-FEB 2013 PL44;
3) "Stunball Barrage" (Tball+F@W) Vengeance DH PL43 (1slot for H.Globe + PUR slot);
4) Lazy-Dbl-LS Monk PL48
5) Fundamental Barb (least played)
Nice Int trifecta ammy with LoH OR AR
Zuni boots with 70+AR and armor or double vit and tri-pox.
You also need an apoc source for a nat's helm, and those are expensive. You will also need ias on bracers to reach 2.73, so you are stuck with lacuni's.
Nat's helm is the hardest to gear to work correctly, and to make it competitive with mempo, maybe even more expensive. Storm crow is the easiest/cheapest, and you can find nicer EHP chant forces for the price compared to apoc forces.
I still think for chant users, mempo with apoc source is the ideal way to go, along with a nat's boot + ring combo. It's probably the easiest way to reach 89% mitigation, and the reduced damage from melee from nat's boots is very nice. It's also easier for me to maintain 2.73 since the helm has ias on it. That way I don't necessarily need IAS in the bracer or ammy slot.
I still choose to use lacuni's atm because I have no usuable trifecta ammy (just a couple of trash ones I crafted), and having 24% movespeed is nice.
EDIT: However, that being said about the Mempo, I truly believe that storm crow is the true endgame helm for CM wiz, because then you can use lifesteal swords or daggers and still get enough apoc with the source and crow helm. Going the 300k dps dagger/sword route also lets you relax on defenses a little bit (still need 87-88%) and stack HP instead.
Yeah I just wanted to make it different for my EU side.
1) BT Amulet + BT Pants make that 2-pc bonus work for that HP issue (yeah this gets expensive if you make a true non-pure freeze BT Amulet [in which a lot of people use that when they just want to pure-freeze role, kinda like the pure-buff Guiding Light monks]
2) Yes, my rare ring in terms of +int is comparable to a non-Average Damage Regular Crit Pox.
3) Crit Nat's Helm has the high +Armor that also helps with people who I've seen gear between the "rather low" 3k to 3.3k Armor "somehow" (and no they werent using Glass Cannon, they somehow don't know how to get the +Armor on top of their standard AR requirement to have the "optimal mitigation values" that some people here tend to use those "84 to 89% mitigation" things.
EDIT: I actually find that this total Armor Defense Rating the most common mistake, not about the All Resistance part. I always see really low Armored, especially those people who never went for the Armored Tal's Chest at low Paragon Levels, they went for the "AR Tal's only good for expensive ones", you lose double vit, you lose +Armor at the beginning, then you gear it all weird and already start out with really low Armor Rating, I've seen some Wiz go down to 2.9k to 3k as a CM, their gear looks fine, it's just that they dont know how to make things go hand-in-hand, and I see them only knowing about "Vile Wards", making it work "the hardest".
4) I didn't say that mine was a low budget but it is actually pretty easy to get to 2.73xx with Nat's Helm. And for me, I have +442 AR from gear alone with that Nat's setup.
EDIT: I have 201k unbuffed as a low Paragon, and my next point (#5 i'm still short of DPS from my source) will show that I can still be a lot more unbuffed, of course this not your typical near-ending 300k+ DPS setup, unless you start slacking some resistance. And when I mean slack some resistance, I mean at endgame using the boosted base Int from being a Paragon 90 to 100, and then using your overall Int to give you the bare minimum AR instead of having 1 slot of AR (yeah I know people do this quite often)
5) Yes I do have an APoC source on my EU Wiz and it was still relatively cheaper as the Average Damage on my 9-APoC source, can still give me at max around 11k more dps if i get a much much much higher Average Damage roll.
6) Yes I totally agree with the Crit Storm Crow in your EDIT is the true endgame to open up room for the Lifesteal Black Damage Weapon, but I was just trying to make my EU side different from the US side, to make the game interesting for me.
7) Stuck with Lacuni, I don't mind Lacuni, I know 24% MS issint quite necessary but I actually prefer sidestepping faster whenever I am doing my CM rotations, one this keeps me awake, and two you can easier "move against" a beam, instead of taking a full 2-second blow as each swipe you, if somehow they placed some before you started, or that Fast Affix messes things up to get them to cast in-between cc's.
Anyways, I'm just having fun with builds, it works and my EU wiz at Paragon 36 has 688 or 689 total res after adding Int (EDIT #2: my poor crafted Int Shoulders has +54 AR and +111str so i'm also not at 700+ yet), and 3852 armor (not including Enchantress because I finally turned to the Scoundrel), yeah I am using my previous Zuni Boots with the rare ring (almost comparable to the non-Average Damage Crit Pox because I still need the IAS on that slot, like you said, the speed from Nat's Helm loss so it troubles the non- Tri Pox (now this one is REALLY expensive, which I don't have).
1) CMWIZ PL91, [EU]PL62 Crit NatsHelm; 2) 0-CD Dogs since MID-FEB 2013 PL44;
3) "Stunball Barrage" (Tball+F@W) Vengeance DH PL43 (1slot for H.Globe + PUR slot);
4) Lazy-Dbl-LS Monk PL48
5) Fundamental Barb (least played)
For 2.73xx, just for your information (no argument, just to verify your counting.
9 from chest, 9 from gloves, 9 from rare ring OR nat's ring + 9 from belt, 9 from source, 9 from Lacuni
= 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 = 54%
+ 9 from helm = 54% + 9 = 63%, you're actually still short of 3% for a 0.25 Chantodo's Will. [Note: I bolded the above thing for you]
Yeah I use BT Pants, unless you're using the Inna's Pants, then yes you can put less work to the Amulet but not really for the Bracers.
BIG EDIT: I guess a second speed ring slot (cheaper) like a Speed Litany [placeholder method] would let ease to an easier time for the bracers slot.
1) CMWIZ PL91, [EU]PL62 Crit NatsHelm; 2) 0-CD Dogs since MID-FEB 2013 PL44;
3) "Stunball Barrage" (Tball+F@W) Vengeance DH PL43 (1slot for H.Globe + PUR slot);
4) Lazy-Dbl-LS Monk PL48
5) Fundamental Barb (least played)
Well, I guess that's subjective... I prefer to stay at 2.73, as it provides better stunlock against single yellow elites and thus reduces the amount of EHP necessary. Higher APS also contributes to DPS but helps against these "leftover single elites", higher EHP is overkill 90% of the time.
And yes, when talking about CM requirements, its usually assumed that its for full offensive SNS.
As far as Nat's helm, I dont really like that choice either. Storm Crow is usually the most ideal choice as it offers apoc which frees up the off hand slot, so its a cheaper choice for higher dps. Mempo is a nice choice for ehp and ultimately the most dps and it makes it easier to reach higher APS breakpoints. Nat's helm offers no attack speed or apoc.
EDIT #2: I just thought that it'd be nice to discuss about how Crit Storm Crow is one item covering two aspects (the LoH + APoC) and ofc the CHC, but I wanted to "challenge myself in fixing up both the LoH and APoC, especially the LoH in a different way, and actually also using the BT Amulet as a DPSer (since i want to really know why the CHD & CHC BT amulets are so expensive for a reason and I saw why after I tried this "weird build") than a pure-freezing cheap way because the "non-Crit Hit Damage BT Amulets aka the plain CHC BT Amulets" are also considered for really budget builds.
Besides, it only makes one think more on how to set it up towards 2.73xx while still having the LoH (until you craft a gg amulet that covers that base), or until you have budget for a gg-LS Black Damage Weapon, infact it's not even so much about the budget but whether the "market" has the right non-Chantodo's for you to use to not make you lose in some way, whether defensive or offensive.
I just wanted my other side to be different, initially i started out with all the standard ways, the Crit Storm Crow, then the Crit Mempo (of course mine's not 6, so I could change it up)
I don't know why people dont bother trying other pieces of gear, it's almost like saying the Tal's Chest doesnt suit the Monk builds, or the 2-2-2 Monk setup (IK + Nats + Inna's), all those are just different ways to gear, if I reach the same goal, and not lack too much, it works, there are many out there that mix it all strange and lack eHP.
And yes, I want to note and admit that I am sure everyone has had the time when they missed 1 slot of AR before people realized how to use Rare Bracers, and normally the Gloves slot is not easy to get the AR either initially, and if you ever did, you locked it up. And then some people would obviously not miss the AR if you happened to go with the 3-pc Zuni (in which then you force the IAS on another slot)
Anyways, I really honestly can say the same for people who went for Tal's Chest on Monk, or again that 2-2-2 monk setup whether budget effective or not, it doesnt matter because the "Standard Legendary items" seemingly suits the way to play.
EDIT #3: Since I am not using my Nat's Boots, i am using my previous AR Zuni Boots, so it'll match but almost the power of Crit Mempo in terms of the INT loss, and my Crit Nat's Helm happens to also have 193-int, of course that's for "my case", but I am listing it out so that you realize how much I am really losing in terms of Primary Stat.
To make EDIT #3 more clear: My Crit Nat's Helm has 193 int, my high-AR Zuni Boots has 152 int (this is semi-low int) but Primary Stat adding both together, seemingly makes it less apparent on how much I'm losing compared to the "standard builds" except the IAS and AR and the Life%. The Life% went to the BT Amulet, the IAS went to the BT Amulet, the major loss would be that AR. For those who favor Crit Storm Crow, then the AR issin't going to be questioned.
EDIT: And also to note, like i mentioned again, some people still end up with 3k to 3.3k armor at the end which doesn't seem to fit the "optimal mitigation values" I know I have seen ALOT of people with this.
1) CMWIZ PL91, [EU]PL62 Crit NatsHelm; 2) 0-CD Dogs since MID-FEB 2013 PL44;
3) "Stunball Barrage" (Tball+F@W) Vengeance DH PL43 (1slot for H.Globe + PUR slot);
4) Lazy-Dbl-LS Monk PL48
5) Fundamental Barb (least played)