I've only hit the enrage twice and it was due to illusionist. I now know to just not use a shield for those packs and it shouldn't be a problem. I wanted to mention the enrage because depending on how much dps you have... certain packs may take awhile and you might need to increase your dps by dropping the shield. The best thing about using a shield is that you can change it at any time without resetting NV.
I don't like the idea of dropping back an act because it's more than a 4% dropoff since I care about the rates for lvl 62 and 61 as well which would make it about an 18% dropoff.
I know I know.... it's no fun to use a shield. It takes forever to kill things and you don't get to see high numbers. But you know what? I'm loving using a shield in 1.0.3.
I hardly die in Act 3 when I'm using a shield. The only problem I have is that sometimes I will hit the enrage on rare packs since my dps is only 20k before soul harvest. Even if this happens... it'll happen after I've already killed 1-2 of the mobs so the next time will be easy.
There are a few things you need to know about using a shield though. Don't be afraid to re-equip your offhand if the fight calls for it. I typically always use my shield on white mobs since they still die quickly and it avoids any surprise deaths/soul vessel procs from ranged attacks. Once I hit a ranged group I decide if I'll need my shield or not. Some packs are easy to kite with no ranged abilities and you know you won't get hit... that's when I equip my offhand. Also, I've found that illusionist groups are easier if you use the offhand. I'll often hit the enrage if I try using my shield for those groups.
Affixes that are easy with shield:
Relfects damage
Vortex
Teleport
Mortar
Fast (unless it's a mob that normally hits really hard)
Playstyle:
I play exactly like I do without a shield. I still kite, I still try to avoid being hit (although sometimes I'll knowingly take a ranged attack to do more dps) and I'll still run when they get close. Use common sense... if the attack will hurt a lot and you aren't at full... kite. Potions are key when you're fighting a difficult pack (one that will hit you a lot) and keep an eye on health globes. When things only hit you for 5-10k, health globes are VERY helpful.
It's a standard kite build that has jungle fort and soul harvest for healing. Soul harvest is important because your dps will be really low and you'll need the boost. Don't be afraid to use soul harvest at every opportunity... you aren't a glass cannon anymore.... it's not the end of the world if your cooldown is down for spirit walk when you need it. The extra dps + healing from soul harvest is worth that risk. The heals from hex and soul harvest are usually enough to keep me nearly topped off.
My Stats:
I don't have the best gear in the world. I don't use the RMAH (except for selling gear) and I haven't purchased anything expensive on the gold AH yet. I was able to get this with vit + resist all + int pieces mostly. My shield is just a blue shield (1k+ armor, 17% block, 70-80 resist all, 90 vit). I'd like to add some IAS and crit/crit damage but that starts to get really expensive. Once I get to 30-40k dps I think farming will be extremely easy.
20-24k dps
600-650 resists
40k HP
4k armor
So if you want to be less of a glass cannon but you don't want to go full tank... give a shield a try and play like you normally do! It's a lot safer (and therefore cheaper)
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I don't like the idea of dropping back an act because it's more than a 4% dropoff since I care about the rates for lvl 62 and 61 as well which would make it about an 18% dropoff.
I hardly die in Act 3 when I'm using a shield. The only problem I have is that sometimes I will hit the enrage on rare packs since my dps is only 20k before soul harvest. Even if this happens... it'll happen after I've already killed 1-2 of the mobs so the next time will be easy.
There are a few things you need to know about using a shield though. Don't be afraid to re-equip your offhand if the fight calls for it. I typically always use my shield on white mobs since they still die quickly and it avoids any surprise deaths/soul vessel procs from ranged attacks. Once I hit a ranged group I decide if I'll need my shield or not. Some packs are easy to kite with no ranged abilities and you know you won't get hit... that's when I equip my offhand. Also, I've found that illusionist groups are easier if you use the offhand. I'll often hit the enrage if I try using my shield for those groups.
Affixes that are easy with shield:
Relfects damage
Vortex
Teleport
Mortar
Fast (unless it's a mob that normally hits really hard)
Playstyle:
I play exactly like I do without a shield. I still kite, I still try to avoid being hit (although sometimes I'll knowingly take a ranged attack to do more dps) and I'll still run when they get close. Use common sense... if the attack will hurt a lot and you aren't at full... kite. Potions are key when you're fighting a difficult pack (one that will hit you a lot) and keep an eye on health globes. When things only hit you for 5-10k, health globes are VERY helpful.
Build:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/witch-doctor#aZkdUR!ZVW!aaaZZa
It's a standard kite build that has jungle fort and soul harvest for healing. Soul harvest is important because your dps will be really low and you'll need the boost. Don't be afraid to use soul harvest at every opportunity... you aren't a glass cannon anymore.... it's not the end of the world if your cooldown is down for spirit walk when you need it. The extra dps + healing from soul harvest is worth that risk. The heals from hex and soul harvest are usually enough to keep me nearly topped off.
My Stats:
I don't have the best gear in the world. I don't use the RMAH (except for selling gear) and I haven't purchased anything expensive on the gold AH yet. I was able to get this with vit + resist all + int pieces mostly. My shield is just a blue shield (1k+ armor, 17% block, 70-80 resist all, 90 vit). I'd like to add some IAS and crit/crit damage but that starts to get really expensive. Once I get to 30-40k dps I think farming will be extremely easy.
20-24k dps
600-650 resists
40k HP
4k armor
So if you want to be less of a glass cannon but you don't want to go full tank... give a shield a try and play like you normally do! It's a lot safer (and therefore cheaper)