I saw a few threads on relative class damage in the Beta. I saw quite a bit of anger, and general antagonism on every side of the issue. I wanted to throw my two cents out there, and thats what it is worth. At the same time, i wanted to see what other opinions were about relative class numbers.
I am not going to go into the % dmg for each skill for each class, but I did try out the Witch doctor, Monk, Wizard, and Barbarian to lvl 13 in patch 15.
As far as overall killing power my generic impression was:
1. Barbarian (48dps using 20.2 dmg 2H and str items, cleave/hammer for aoe and frenzy for SK)
2. Monk (39 dps, using 16.5 dmg 2H staff, and dex items, Tail kick for aoe, fists for singe/aoe)
3. Wizard (39 dps, using 20 dps 2H sword, and int items. Freeze beam runed for aoe for everything)
4. Witch Doctor (40 dps, using witchdoctor 1h and off hand and int items, Bats, toads and darts)
Even discounting the slight gear difference, the barbarian was able to absolutely slaughter everything in his path in a crushing rage. Cleave one shotted packs of mobs in 4 person game. Frenzy with 75% speed buff on 20.2 dps 2H spanked the SK fast.
Monk was able to breeze through packs of mobs with no risk, killing packs fast, but not as fast as the barbarian by a small margin, even discounting the gear difference.
Wizard moved about as fast as the monk. The freeze ray runed hits very hard, and can be constantly spammed.
WD moved a bit slower, but had his minions and no/little defensive risk.
DH (lvl 11) totally unimpressive even with 16 dps bows.
Monk is able to contribute aoe healing, and aoe blind.
Barbarian, aoe stun.
Wizard, aoe freeze.
Obviously defense is going to play a massive role in HC, where i will be dwelling. I just wanted to give my overall impression of the class dmg in the beta, for what little it is worth.
I felt like all 4 classes (not the dh) could pretty much tear the beta to shreds with top lvl 13 gear.
I played a DH to lvl 11, and saw many others, and I will say i was not impressed. They spent alot of time running away and kiting, while all 4 of the others just slayed everything very very fast.
Well this was just an impression of a tiny part of the beggining of the game.
The DH does get this nice spinning blades skill that seemed to do ok dmg, and he could basically sit back and let the spinning blades do their thing. I am quite sure every class will be super cool at top levels in badass gear. I just couldnt get into the DH, and a bowazon was my favorite character in d2 ( I had 4 lvl 95+ HC char).
And to your point about mobility and slow/stopping mobs, the DH had alot of mobility and control options. I am just more of a brute force kind of player.
While I'm still trying to figure out the Gear stuff, I will say that the Witch Doctor can just become a monster with Soul Harvest. When I get a stack of 5 on that stuff I get double my DPS numbers. I'm not well geared on my toons but I'm running about 24DPS on my WD unbuffed and something close to 42DPS when I get a stack of 5 on Soul Harvest.
I'm glad youre finding the classes to be quite balanced, i'm sure Blizzard will continue fine tuning class balance well into release. I think choosing your initial class well depends on a few factors. Some players don't care about efficiency/speed and they just go with whichever class seems the most fun, cool! Other more intense players should pick according to their playstyle i.e attempting to solo the game (with follower) calls for a very different approach (class/build choice) than playing in groups. Personally, the only class I've eliminated is the Monk for my first play through though I'm becoming less impressed with DH too. :[
WD will be able to keep up in damage once he starts getting some decent Mojos.
DH will be able to keep up in damage once he starts getting some good quivers. The basic quivers you find in the beta alone give +10% attack speed. Considering that dual wielding gives +15%, its pretty fair to assume that Quivers with additional affixes (specifically greater versions of wounding) will rock!
Wizard was my best in patch 15 with DPS just a hair under 48 with 16.x DPS wand and a source with intelligence on items plus 1 ring of wounding 2-4 dmg.
Done testing. Ready to play for real. Fix the UI and social features and let's get this show on the road Blizz! Seven weeks is a long time.
I'm feeling that the barbarian is just plowing through everything at the moment. AoE packs, solo monsters, SK, everything.
I don't know the numbers, didn't run them, but he feels the "best." And the barb is DEFINITELY the first one I'll be rolling, followed closely by Wiz most likely. CAN'T WAIT!!!
The problem with the DH in beta is that it has no aoe skills. The closest to aoe you get is a runed Entangling shot. Spaming that has given me very good results.
I agree with OP besides his last point on the DH. I have regular gear some dex some not, wi th 17.6 dps bows, and I literally shred everything. Not in the AOE sense of the other classes, but pretty fast. As well with vault runed and preparation, you can effectively use it 6 times before you have no more discipline and it allows for super fast running of levels. While barb is my main, with wizard a close second, DH will undoubtedly be my 2.5 or 3rd champion I roll. With her ability to kite she allows for a more skilled play style and I personally think she's strong as hell.
WD on 4th place? U gotta be kidding. The only reason WD could be behind - he doesn't have leap - so he can't move through dungeon that fast. I don't even stop with my WD, by the time i reach a pack of mobs, their loot is already waiting for me.
Soul harvest, runed firebats pierce through mobs like a knife through butter +grasp of the dead (fantastic spell). Also haunt, that tears apart bosses and elite packs.
I think that is generally true, not sure if WD mana nerf might have been a little excessive. I also felt like the DH might have needed a very slight buff, not sure. These beta observations are probably worthless anyway.
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I am not going to go into the % dmg for each skill for each class, but I did try out the Witch doctor, Monk, Wizard, and Barbarian to lvl 13 in patch 15.
As far as overall killing power my generic impression was:
1. Barbarian (48dps using 20.2 dmg 2H and str items, cleave/hammer for aoe and frenzy for SK)
2. Monk (39 dps, using 16.5 dmg 2H staff, and dex items, Tail kick for aoe, fists for singe/aoe)
3. Wizard (39 dps, using 20 dps 2H sword, and int items. Freeze beam runed for aoe for everything)
4. Witch Doctor (40 dps, using witchdoctor 1h and off hand and int items, Bats, toads and darts)
Even discounting the slight gear difference, the barbarian was able to absolutely slaughter everything in his path in a crushing rage. Cleave one shotted packs of mobs in 4 person game. Frenzy with 75% speed buff on 20.2 dps 2H spanked the SK fast.
Monk was able to breeze through packs of mobs with no risk, killing packs fast, but not as fast as the barbarian by a small margin, even discounting the gear difference.
Wizard moved about as fast as the monk. The freeze ray runed hits very hard, and can be constantly spammed.
WD moved a bit slower, but had his minions and no/little defensive risk.
DH (lvl 11) totally unimpressive even with 16 dps bows.
Monk is able to contribute aoe healing, and aoe blind.
Barbarian, aoe stun.
Wizard, aoe freeze.
Obviously defense is going to play a massive role in HC, where i will be dwelling. I just wanted to give my overall impression of the class dmg in the beta, for what little it is worth.
I felt like all 4 classes (not the dh) could pretty much tear the beta to shreds with top lvl 13 gear.
I played a DH to lvl 11, and saw many others, and I will say i was not impressed. They spent alot of time running away and kiting, while all 4 of the others just slayed everything very very fast.
Well this was just an impression of a tiny part of the beggining of the game.
Enjoy
And to your point about mobility and slow/stopping mobs, the DH had alot of mobility and control options. I am just more of a brute force kind of player.
http://huntersc.tv
DH will be able to keep up in damage once he starts getting some good quivers. The basic quivers you find in the beta alone give +10% attack speed. Considering that dual wielding gives +15%, its pretty fair to assume that Quivers with additional affixes (specifically greater versions of wounding) will rock!
Done testing. Ready to play for real. Fix the UI and social features and let's get this show on the road Blizz! Seven weeks is a long time.
I don't know the numbers, didn't run them, but he feels the "best." And the barb is DEFINITELY the first one I'll be rolling, followed closely by Wiz most likely. CAN'T WAIT!!!
This. You can more than quadruple your dps if your soul harvest hits 5 enemies.
I suspect it levels out in usefulness with better gear, though.
Soul harvest, runed firebats pierce through mobs like a knife through butter +grasp of the dead (fantastic spell). Also haunt, that tears apart bosses and elite packs.