Been trying a lot of things out lately but nothing seems to really compare to this spec. Typical groups I run with we clear fast and easily but elite packs and bosses seemed to take a while. I had a full support build going and thought I would try adding a bot of DPS in there. This spec is the result and I couldn't be more pleased.
First of all I like this spec a lot because of it's flexibility. If hex better fits the situation I can change it out if needed without affecting the overall spec. It's all based around one ability, Spirit Barrage.
This ability is extremely under rated, the range on it is ridiculous and although costly Vision Quest negates that even with the increased mana cost. Now weapon speed is a notable factor with this ability. Because of tuat I prefer 1.40 weapons as you end up casting extremely slow without it. As long as you keep your abilities on cooldown mana wont be an issue even with big bad voodoo active. Your single target damage output is insane and the rest of your build is defense and survivabilty oriented. As far as rune I run spell steal. Mana is useless and the others drastically change the spell. Aoe is semi viable but again, changes the spell too much.
Now again flexibility is amazing. I prefer dart and snakes for kiting or triple dart for dps filler. Meaning I wanna save my big cooldows for a elite pack instead of wasting them on fodder just to spirit barrage.
I don't view 80% Grasp of the Dead as an option. It's just too good, practically a root.
Spiritual Walker or Hex Heal/Hex Increased damage work well. I've done a lot of switching and die a lot less since I went walker. Easy choice in hell and inferno.
Now I wish I could use soul harvest but I'm rarely ever in range to use it and Mass Confusion's utility is hard to give up. I think I'm sticking with the utility and the damage output is actually pretty decent. Stun amd increased damage are also viable.
Big bad voodoo is another one o dont really see as an option with this build. Although the rune is. Duration, damage, and heal are all very good depending on the situation. Mostly though I rune damage.
Passives are not flexible with this build. Sustain amd utility is the goal.
Alright that is the build. Let me know what you think. Playstyle is "sniper" / kiter and offers both great damage and utility. The range on Spirit Barrage is the key, it hits forever away, even on crap off screen. While kiting you can quickly turn, get one off, and run again without hardly stopping.
We farm Nephalem Valor farm the last stage of Act 1 as WD, Monk, Barbarian and i play a support build.
Poison Dart - Splinter
Wall of Zombies - Pile On
Spirit Walk - Jaunt
Big Bad Voodoo - Slam Dance (+30% dmg)
Fetish Army - Legion of Daggers (+3 melee Fetish's)
Gargantuan - Restless Giant
Passives:
Jungle Fortitude
Spirit Vessel
Pierce the Veil (+20% dmg, +30% mana cast)
It's a cooldown heavy build, made for absolutely tearing through elite packs (The Barbarian is on an insane cooldown related build aswell)
Normal ''trash'' mobs in the instance are fine to handle without cooldowns and elite packs and the Butcher die insanely fast.
We actually managed to get the achievement to kill the Butcher in under 2 minutes on Inferno difficulty with that build.
Personal DPS from this build might seem low, but with Pierce the Veil, Poison Dart spam is actually extremely high dps, especially if you get some rings/necklaces with increased attack speed.
I'm currently at just over 18k dps (Mind this is without Soul Harvest, as it's pretty shit on bosses without adds), whilst maintaining around 36k hp.
I use a very similar build and I absolutely love it. Trash mobs aren't too big of a deal without using the cooldowns and it completely obliterates Elites and makes bosses go down fast aswell. I am curious if you have tried the Fetish Sycophants passive? I use it with poison darts and I usually have 3-5 fetishes up at all times. Its like having Fetish Army up constantly! If you feel safe without the benefits of Spirit Vessel I highly recommend it. You mentioned you have rings with attacks speed... I can only imagine the amount of Fetishes you would have summoned, I bet you could get 5-8 easily
How is the valor buff working? Are you seeing a significant increase in loot with it?
This is what I've been using for NM. I just started, but it has been working amazingly well. I usually play alone because I like to explore/level at my own pace, but I have included support skills for when I feel like playing with others. Feel free to critique!
Decided to pop into this thread to see if I could figure out what I could do better. I've rarely died so far and one-shotted every boss, but that's because I've only done Normal on my WD. I'm almost done with Hell on my Monk and have seen what's coming up with the insane trash packs, so I'm worried about how my WD will manage. Things just don't feel... solid. I'll definitely experiment with all of your ideas and see what's best for me!
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Been trying a lot of things out lately but nothing seems to really compare to this spec. Typical groups I run with we clear fast and easily but elite packs and bosses seemed to take a while. I had a full support build going and thought I would try adding a bot of DPS in there. This spec is the result and I couldn't be more pleased.
First of all I like this spec a lot because of it's flexibility. If hex better fits the situation I can change it out if needed without affecting the overall spec. It's all based around one ability, Spirit Barrage.
This ability is extremely under rated, the range on it is ridiculous and although costly Vision Quest negates that even with the increased mana cost. Now weapon speed is a notable factor with this ability. Because of tuat I prefer 1.40 weapons as you end up casting extremely slow without it. As long as you keep your abilities on cooldown mana wont be an issue even with big bad voodoo active. Your single target damage output is insane and the rest of your build is defense and survivabilty oriented. As far as rune I run spell steal. Mana is useless and the others drastically change the spell. Aoe is semi viable but again, changes the spell too much.
Now again flexibility is amazing. I prefer dart and snakes for kiting or triple dart for dps filler. Meaning I wanna save my big cooldows for a elite pack instead of wasting them on fodder just to spirit barrage.
I don't view 80% Grasp of the Dead as an option. It's just too good, practically a root.
Spiritual Walker or Hex Heal/Hex Increased damage work well. I've done a lot of switching and die a lot less since I went walker. Easy choice in hell and inferno.
Now I wish I could use soul harvest but I'm rarely ever in range to use it and Mass Confusion's utility is hard to give up. I think I'm sticking with the utility and the damage output is actually pretty decent. Stun amd increased damage are also viable.
Big bad voodoo is another one o dont really see as an option with this build. Although the rune is. Duration, damage, and heal are all very good depending on the situation. Mostly though I rune damage.
Passives are not flexible with this build. Sustain amd utility is the goal.
Alright that is the build. Let me know what you think. Playstyle is "sniper" / kiter and offers both great damage and utility. The range on Spirit Barrage is the key, it hits forever away, even on crap off screen. While kiting you can quickly turn, get one off, and run again without hardly stopping.
Any questions?
I use a very similar build and I absolutely love it. Trash mobs aren't too big of a deal without using the cooldowns and it completely obliterates Elites and makes bosses go down fast aswell. I am curious if you have tried the Fetish Sycophants passive? I use it with poison darts and I usually have 3-5 fetishes up at all times. Its like having Fetish Army up constantly! If you feel safe without the benefits of Spirit Vessel I highly recommend it. You mentioned you have rings with attacks speed... I can only imagine the amount of Fetishes you would have summoned, I bet you could get 5-8 easily
How is the valor buff working? Are you seeing a significant increase in loot with it?
This is what I've been using for NM. I just started, but it has been working amazingly well. I usually play alone because I like to explore/level at my own pace, but I have included support skills for when I feel like playing with others. Feel free to critique!