I have a couple of rolling gear questions for this build.
I have a shoulder that has 8% RCR already, so I can also get 8% CDR too. However, it seems like the 15% Explosive Damage would be more DPS. Which one should I choose?
The second question is how to roll my WOH. Do I roll 940 Vit or 21k LoH to 10% Damage?
8% CDR = +8.7% EB damage.
In this instance, I would definitely take +15% EB damage. Nice options to have.
Sorry for asking this as i couldn't see those details while watching the vid on my phone, but are you using a halo of arlyse ? Or have you considered it + ice armor, as your Viz pal Jaetch did ? I couldn't see what rings you equipped ...
Still, a great alternative to TR+SS. Gotta try. What solo GR could you reach compared to your personnal best ?
Do you know if nilfur's affix applies to each single meteor of the shower ? Which means meteor shower would be terrific against a single target ...
A WoH is already hard to find, but an ancient one ... lol
Edit : forgot to say : w/o frost nova you had a non CDR dependant build, which is a real change in 2.2 wizard builds. So i still believe Arlyse would be the real deal !
I use Focus and Restraint. This isn't a solo build, but a build made for speed rifts which usually range from GR34-45.
I don't use Halo because there really is no need for THAT much defense at the cost of THAT much offense. Especially at these "lower" levels.
Jaetch uses the Halo ring in his solo runs GR55+.
Each meteor "rock" gets their own individual Nilfurs bonus as far as I know. Making it extremely easy to hit the top bonus on the boots.
Some CDR is still required for more Flash damage, more teleports and more cold snaps, however you must balance CDR with RCR as well !
group random (as u see on video). zdps wd is just as example, because he dont have good pull utility. season bracers is mandatory. with this item you have best pull utility in game and not bad damage.
actually im select build depends of group. FB good choice if group already have good single target damage and low/middle pull utility.
I understand the Folly bracers are really good for CC and control, but i strictly said "NON SEASON" so i don't have access to them.
Also Ancient Parthan Defenders are really good at keeping you providing damage reduction, so they are definitely worth using too.
Let me start off by saying, this has been a great patch, and wizards are in a "good" place. We have multiple builds that have different functions and many are viable.
With that said, most of my play time have been devoted to speed rifts which have dominated the current meta game for the past 2 seasons. As long as XP remains in its current state for greater rifts, I don't foresee this meta changing any time soon. With how wizards were pre patch, I would have often resorted to using my DH or ZDPS character for the sake of efficiency, but no more of that, I love my wiz, and wanted to use her full time now since wizards were viable.
So what ? Since I knew I'd be spending a lot of time grinding in this fashion I was set on finding a build I can comfortably sit down and have a reliable build regardless of group composition for pick up games.
From my experiences, I've play tested a lot of builds for speed runs, 5-20 hours per build usually before I can get enough data where I can move on. Non seasons. Speed runs is defined as GR34-45.
To summarize builds that I've spent time playing for speed rifts:
I don't want to go into too much details about gearing for each individual build, I've included the weapon set and the main damage dealer for quick reference. I've used my discretion when it came to gearing them as best I can to ensure my results are not completely skewed. In many instances, the gear was interchangeable and the weapon sets offered similar damage output anyways.
If specific questions please feel free to ask.
All sets besides DMO4/Tals6 I've used Focus and Restraint as well.
There are certainly MORE options out there, and then everyone has their own variation of that option. It's awesome for build diversity. In any event, most of the builds are actually pretty close in terms of ability to deal damage, mobility and survivability.
The build that I personally gravitated towards and I feel is the best mix of DPS/ speed/ defense is a WOH based wizard.
1) Trapped - best DPS option, must include
2) Bane of the powerful - strong DPS option for quick runs, we have 0 elite damage
3) Molten Gizzard - works well with force armor, good survivability gem
Stat choices and prioritization:
1) RCR% - Need a bit to manage your EB and meteor spam (I run 28% CDR, 24% RCR)
2) Explosive Blast % - better DPS
3) Meteor % - better DPS
Gear choices
Tals6 - Off hand, amulet, glove, chest, pants, belt
Nilfur Boast boots
Leorics Crown
Ancient Parthan Defenders
WOH
Shoulder - open slot, I use Skeleton king shoulders
Substitution choices:
1) Cold snap >>> Force weapon
The inclusion of cold snap is basically an added control mechanic to the build. It triggers
Parthan defenders for the reduction bonus when calamity stun is not enough, as well as controls tough crowds for Thunder crash nukes.
2) Dominance >>> Elemental Exposure
Trading DPS for survivability for lower levels or stronger teams
3) Molten Gizzard >>> Esoteric Alteration or DPS option (Taeguk, Gogok, Toxin, Pain Enhancer)
Esoteric works well in place of Gizzard gem, however I've leaned more on the Gizzard lately after initially hesitant. It's really grown on me.
4) Calamity + Ice Blades + Cold snap >>>> Wormhole + Siphoning Blades + Frozen mist
This is a quick 3 skill adjustment for faster groups, you maintain all 4 stacks and add wormhole for more map coverage. This is only needed for really fast groups where you feel you are falling behind too often. Cold snap is replaced in these types of rifts because generally a faster group means you are crushing content, so extra damage reduction isn't necessary.
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This is my take on the WOH build, it incorporates Meteor shower into a WOH build. Thunder-WOH ? Flash-Shower? Sure.
I've incorporated Meteor Shower into the WOH build. IMO, the meteor damage from Tals is too strong to ignore completely. Look at all the variations of builds that include meteor shower ?
Initially I had Thunder Crash / Chain reaction / CDR instead of Shower / Flash / RCR, but the Flash version of the build does considerably more damage especially AOE from the Shower. The slight drawback from slightly lower CDR for teleport is still reasonable.
Flash EB does comparable damage to Chain Reaction after a couple points of CDR ~9%. It does however require more AP to generate the damage.This allows some flexibility for other stats such as RCR to improve your spam. Be wary about too much CDR, because flash will start consuming too much AP and you will not have enough to regenerate your resources fast enough to spam meteors. To further calculate damage output of flash against Chain reaction the following formula can be used (thanks Vishnu) - (1-x) = (1-CDR of Flash)(1-0.1764). This equation will give you the corresponding CDR needed to for CR to match the output of Flash. The biggest difference in damage output is the type of damage being dealt. Meteor Shower takes care of WOH's AOE weakness, and map coverage leading to more damage dealt overall.
Compared to other builds I consider this variant the most consistent and most impactful regardless of group composition. It doesn't require any "set up" to deal damage upfront which is great for these types of speed runs. This was also one of the traits that attracted me to this build was the lack of set up to deal damage. From my experiences, DMO6/ Frozen orb and Aether Walker/Meteor shower are comparable top tier builds for speed runs. But there are certain weakness that both builds suffer from.
DMO6/FO has probably the best burst damage against the RG, unloading a ton of charged up 1.5-4B bombs at the RG is devastating, however the bubble set up during the actual run doesn't lead to very efficient use of your character. Faster groups will leave you dropping a bubble and dropping 1 orb to kill stragglers, and you'll be teleporting to keep up. I didn't find this fun. Also the In Geom isn't exactly a strong weapon.
Tals6/Aether Walker/ Meteor shower is the best mobility spec obviously with the AW wand. The meteor showers with Tals6 also does considerable AOE damage with no setup time, albeit you need to swallow the meteor cast delay *ARG*. The problem I found while play this build is that the mobility trump card this build has, is usually overkill. You will be front line almost always in the group, and in slower groups that mobility is wasted. Damage output is also limited by resources, and without ample optimization, this build just doesn't work well. Thoughtful consideration into RCR, resource management skills and gear are needed to make this build shine.
Meteor shower-WOH offers great damage output and burst, along with some CC capabilities. Indirectly your character also becomes a pseudo tank for the rest of the team since you are in the front lines of the action all the time.
In terms of mobility, this was my greatest concern with this build compared to Aether Walker or even In geom focused builds, however, as mentioned I've made small adjustments to the build for those out of control groups, otherwise moderately CDR allows for a couple second delay between teleports makes it a bit more reasonable. Illusionist also assists in movement speed so it's included in this build as well.
And the icing on the cake, another HUGE bonus of this build is that it allows for the use of Leroics Crown. The Crown doubles up your XP ruby bonus making this build the clear winner in XP rate compared to other wizard builds without sacrificing too much that you break and gimp your character.
Incredibly fun build to play, and provides excellent consistent damage via WOH, and AOE dps from meteor shower. I'm really enjoying the build right now and it performs well in these types of greater rifts.
Wanted to make a guide for people that want to be more involved in these speed runs and how they can improve efficiency. Just sharing my experiences since this is the relevant meta right now. Also from a wizard main perspective.
The premise is to complete these "lower" greater rifts (30-40GR) at speeds that out pace the EXP you earn from T6. The big difference in these low GRs is that there is no loot to pick up (until the end), and nothing to distract you while killing things unlike T6.
Currently, EXP % on gear like hellfire ring / Ruby in helm / etc is scaling well in GRs. So at the very least, slot a Ruby in the helm and re-adjust your gear accordingly to take advantage of the EXP.
Ideally a good group will aim to hit the <3 min clear mark. There will be instances where you get a really bad lay out with bad EXP per mob monster types, but those are not very often. If your group is entering consistent 5+ min clears, the GR level is getting too high.
The sweet spot GR is dependent on group, but I found that very strong groups can clear GR37-38 consistently around <3mins, whereas slightly slower groups can clear 34-35 consistently around the same time. Keep in mind, lowering the GR does not mean an overall decrease in clear speed. This means opting to clear GR30 when your group can clear GR35 at nearly the same speed is a mistake.
As a general rule, GR35 is a the sweet spot for most random compositions.
Best group composition:
You are either DPS or support character. Support characters generally acquire more EXP per hour due to their flexibility with adding EXP gear. Support characters generally open the rift in open games since they are "leeching" at times, DOUBLE the EXP.
DPS characters are there for DPS, they can sneak EXP gear on if it does not hinder their team's performance. They are not expected to open the rifts.
Best support (ZDPS)
***Crusader (health globes / crowd control)
**Monk (Crowd control / Buffs)
WD (zdog- health globes / crowd control)
WD (fear - crowd control / DPS buff)
Best DPS
***DH (Must have in competitive group / RG and elite DPS)
***Barb (Trash clear AOE specialist)
**Monk (Bell-wuko build / AOE)
WD (Pet for elite DPS / Jade for Burst)
Wizard (Trash clear / Herding)
Crusader (Unknown, zero experience with one)
The best composition will comprise of AT LEAST2 DPS, and 1 Support. There is usually 1 spot that is flexible, this is usually where the Wizard can slot in. The stars indicate importance and preference for the class in public groups. As you can see Wizards and WD are getting the shaft, they do not fill either role as well as the other classes and are not the primary choice for groups. Ideally 1x DH and 1x Crusader is almost a MUST-HAVE to form a group around.
A good composition will make a big difference in the quality and smoothness of the clears. However, from experience this is very much a team oriented exercise. You can have the #1 DH in the world as your DPS, but they can't do it alone. You need the support and you need the rest of the group to carry weight. This isn't T6 where you can 1 shot everything and move along regardless of your party and its members. EVERYONE should be able to contribute.
UN-Optimized Compositions
The reason Crusader is listed so highly as a support is because of its synergy with DHs and resource management. Without a Crusader spawning health globes, DH's may need to adjust gearing or skills to make up for the lack of globes. This can be remedied with a faster more powerful group, but slower groups with less DPS will find they are out of resources too often to consistently achieve good clear times. DH generators and Cindercoat usage help alleviate some of this resource problem. Keep this in mind.
NO DH in group compositions generally mean less upfront damage and longer elite and RG clear times. Mid 30 clears with reasonable speed is normal, but higher GRs will require more time especially against the RG.
Monks are very synergistic with Barbs much like Crusader and DHs.
Wizard specific Analysis
Unfortunately Wizards are getting a bad rap for these runs, rightfully so, they do not fit either niche properly. We are more for support then DPS. A DH fully set up outputs at least 4-5X that of a well geared Wizard. So lets understand that we don't truly belong in the DPS role in the same way like DH or Barb.
I've been messing around with different variations of skills to best mix the two types together, DPS/support.
Our skills and passives don't help us very much in this context either since none are overly synergistic with the other and none are really better then what other classes can provide. Such skills like Big bad Voodoo or Health globe spawns from Crusaders are just much more potent or synergistic with the group then anything wizards can provide.
I haven't figured a proper configuration for a go-to build yet for Wizard in speed rifts, but some ideas here:
1) All Wizards should run ideally both Conflagration / EE. Both these buffs extend to the group.
2) Having Slow Time - Time Warp can be beneficial to boost damage. The coverage is large enough that given the increase density will make the skill more considerable.
3) Frost Nova becomes a reliable source of Crowd Control as well as group buff. This in combination with Cold blooded is worth consideration if the other passives (conflag / EE) are covered already.
4) Black hole is a double edge sword. On one end it is a great spell, offensive and defensive. On the other end it screws up Barbs with the "infinite zero" life on mobs effect, and it breaks fear from WDs. Use this carefully.
5) Teleport does not need to be worm-hole. In these rifts, the density restrict movement and finding a group that is fast enough to warrant wormhole will be rare. Use any other rune instead. I suggest Calamity for Arcane elemental stack.
6) Apocalypse is still recommended for its reach and the easy application of the Pain Enhancer / Toxin effects. Staple gems are Toxin, Pain Enhancer and Zei's.
7) WOH oriented builds -CAN- be very effective. Offering more front loaded damage instead of DOT based damage. The drawback ? Lower RG damage and reaching necessary CDR levels while NOT slotting a diamond in helm. I feel this might be the go-to version in the near future.
8) You do not want to be lagging behind with a wizard. If anything you should be slightly ahead to kite monsters closer to the support / DH. This allows to keep the DH's in the back end of the group, gives the support class some leeway on errors and generally just makes you feel useful. Illusionist and high CDR on gear is recommended. Even trading some damage for CDR is advisable.
9) Double hydra builds can also be very effective depending on gearing and optimization.
10) Wizards are surprisingly resilient to death. Force Armor for anything higher then GR35 is recommended. The extra survivability compared to DHs allows us to play riskier, maintain our pools longer, even tank a hit or two for the DHs to support them. Dominance and Unstable Anomaly round out our defensive passives, both are serviceable for these rifts.
These are only suggestions and observations of things that MAY work for wizards if you have no other classes to play and want to get involved in these groups. The easiest and least frustrating solution is roll more characters even if they are mildly geared. It's difficult to get into groups with wizards nowadays, but if you have no option but want to play you definitely want to tailor your set up to help the group as much as you can. Your own personal damage output is secondary.
Gameplay
-Support is generally leading the group and setting up the elites for the DPS. Barbs and monks have the ability to move ahead of DHs in groups while still being effective killing mobs.
-Support should always wear Nemesis Bracers. Very important !
-If applicable, the support should pick up health globes to fuel the DHs.
-If applicable, the Crusader should continue bringing enemies from far away closer to the sentries
-Wizards need to be careful with black hole placements and should use blizzard's reach to herd mobs.
-Crusaders need to be careful with horse pull mechanics.
DHs be mindful of sentry placement and manage their resources especially when RG is ready to pop.
-Barbs should have Chinlick belt equipped and be mindful of "strength in numbers" buff distance.
Need to knows / Helpful tips
1) Gear for the long haul (10+ runs), as a wizard make sure your passives give the group buffs as a priority instead of your own personal buffs (Conflag and EE are a MUST, especially over glass cannon). Make sure all your passives and skills are properly set to avoid problems in the rift. Make sure you are optimized for what you are doing. If you need help just say "spec me please".
2) Make sure to gamble enough to keep your bank ready to accept the next runs shards. Each run turns in around 150-200+ shards. Make sure your bank is hovering around 250-300 so you don't leave shards on the ground, going back to gamble and having the party wait around.
3) Make sure there is 1 opener for multiple rifts, this ensures smooth runs and opens and lessens confusion. If you are opening, be mindful of the group, if someone says "wait", wait, also do not wait around too long to open the next, most likely the group is ready and waiting for you to open. If not there is 30 seconds for them to finish what they are doing so don't worry.
4) Always leave room in your stash.
5) If there is a break, or down-time between runs that exceed the 30 second timer delay, go look for a pool, this not only helps you but your team mates as well. Common areas are Cemetary / Southern Highlands / Road to Alcanus / Tower of Damned (both levels) / to name a few. In Campign mode, go to ACT V, last quest and speak to the enchantress. There are numerous pools in a small area. Do not complete the quest. Open rift as per regular afterwards.
6) Keep the low keys you want to NOT USE on another character. When a rift is opened, the game will automatically use the lowest key available in your chest and character at the time of the open. This is important if you have low keys you want to save for other runs later on.
In summary:
-You gain more EXP per hour
-You get more Blood shards per hour
-You waste less time farming keys to run
-You can upgrade mid level 30s into mid level 40s easily
-Legendary loot is comparable, especially when considering shards spent
-You will get less materials overall. (less whites/ blues/ yellows/ gems/ death's breaths)
I want to make this guide here to help those looking for groups outside of T6. The best place for pick up games is to join the communities. They are constantly spamming chat looking for party members to do these runs. Its a great way to get loot and EXP, at minimal time investment via farming frags or trials.
Sigh I had a long reply written out but I guess it didn't accept my post.
@Blay
I agree that considering over concentrating on a single stat is not the best strategy for gearing and optimization.
I do not agree about the 1:10 rule, that is often misinformation even to give to new players, it is pretty much inaccurate.
The 60 FPS is your personal FPS, I believe the game calculates at 6 FPS this is what I remember.
An interesting not that while casting hydra my DOT tick was reduced more then casting Black hole, this leads me to believe that hydra takes more frames to cast.
To accurately determine average damage, I think we need to figure out how much damage we are losing per cast and how much casts of each spell we are performing in a given te. This is obviously too tedious to do.
I would have liked to do a test on the FPS / damage lo molten impact since that would apply to this thread.
In summary I can agree that Cindercoat is a must wear if you can wear it. Hexing pants is competitive with Magefists as a secondary item to use, although less consistent it offers more damage upside. I prefer Leoric's Crown for some utility for T6. Arguments can be made for Gloves of Worship as well as a fun item to use for T6.
I did a couple runs with no buffs/ gems/ etc against Ghom. I recorded them and analysed each individual tick and any time they would change while my wizard was in motion, not in motion or casting.
1) DOT dynamically updates yes
2) As soon as you cast a spell, the DOT will drop, counting it as a "stop", the drop in damage looks like it is determined by how many frames you are stopped for. So it does help to cast your spells faster to reduce the amount of your DOT drop, but it does indeed drop, and is calculated at very small intervals. So any type of stoppage will reduce your DOT. I believe BDF was saying 6 frames per second, this sounds about right. My DOT with hexing debuff was 10M and with it up was 22M. The DOT i saw after a spam of Blazar was 20M.
3)Versus a Cindercoat it is not consistent enough to warrant its use, especially consider that Cindercoat has +30% reduction as well. Versus Magefists, it poses an interesting trade off. The damage from Hexing is better then 20% fire in most set ups, but it is less consistent. Magefists would probably what I would choose if I had the choice to go that route..
Its a trade off of potential DPS versus consistency. As with most things, consistency is usually what I would recommend.
[quote="Boozor"]From what I read about hexing pants is that the DOT updates abnormally fast. So any kind of stop/cast motion, and it will decrease the size of the DOT.
I haven't revisited hexing pants since 2.0 so I can't be 100% sure how it works now but that is what I read about it thus far.
For a Wand of WOH explosive blast build it definitely would challenge for a spot since your constantly on the go.
Well yeah, the DOT will drop the moment you stop moving or when you cast spells. But on the other hand, hexing pants buffs ALL our dps instead of only firebird, that 25% applies to toxin and PE, which is nice against white mobs. It's a playstyle change and you gotta keep in mind to move at all times, but the dps increase is there.
To give some numbers, I have :
* 5M5 fire sheet dps with hexing pants + fb hands when I move
* 3M9 fire sheet dps with hexing pants + fb hants when I don't move
* 5M1 fire sheet dps with magefist + fb pants
My magefist aren't perfect so the 5M1 can be improved (I lack 0.5% CHC, 3% CHD, and I have 642 int on them).
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I am a big fan of the hexing pants, but it was in builds that could utilize the benefits of the it without really suffering the negatives (pet doctor/ shot gun crusader).
The 25% applies to the gem DOTS your right, but it also decreases them as well. Your stats with the pants on show a small gain with active as well, leading me to lean towards consistency as opposed to potential.
In any event, do we have any information on whether a stop/cast motion (example cast blizzard) will cause the drop in FB DOT? There is usually a slight moment where you stop, but the buff is still active from what I remember.
If the buff is still active when casting blizzard or blackhole, then this definitely becomes a much more attractive and fun option.
The highest damage set up for ONE HANDER is actually Endless Walk set with SOJ, using Cindercoat, and Magefists. The downside to this is I prefer using Leoric's Crown, 25% CDR or the EXP or MF boosts are much nicer then another 4-5% damage. So overall I still would choose SOJ/RORG set up over Endless walk set. For two handed set up, the Endless walk set will lose a lot of its value since CHD you gain from the Endless Walk set won't have as big of an impact on the overall DPS compared to a 1-handed set up. Same idea applies to Increasing fire% in 1 handed and 2 handed set ups.
It's impossible to have SoJ + Endless walk, and Cindercoat + Magefist. That's 5-piece firebird without RoRG.
What about hexing pants vs Magefist? With the hotfix on firebird, the dot is dynamic and hexing pants works on firebird dot. Hexing pants give 25% class A buff while magefists give 20% fire damage, which we have a lot of in a devastator setup. The AP regen bonus is a nice perk as well for T6 farming. What do you think?
Keep up the good work man!
From what I read about hexing pants is that the DOT updates abnormally fast. So any kind of stop/cast motion, and it will decrease the size of the DOT.
I haven't revisited hexing pants since 2.0 so I can't be 100% sure how it works now but that is what I read about it thus far.
For a Wand of WOH explosive blast build it definitely would challenge for a spot since your constantly on the go.
As Jalatiphra stated, the effect stacks until the infinite DOT threshold is reached and then the 3000% burn kicks in.
Until then there are stacking temporary DOTs that occur as you cast blizzard and other fire skills.
Yes in many situations the monster will die in a single cast of blizzard. Mainly this happens in solo, sometimes multi players. However, I keep in mind that I am almost always running in 4-man groups so I would like to be able to kill elite packs by myself. Many people will say that you have overkill DPS even for groups... however, I aim to KILL the elite as I run through them without missing a step, so that is why the gearing seems a bit over kill. In some cases, you spam all your abilities, you reach the 3000% burn DOT right away and it does give you some extra damage to finish off the elite. So the 6 piece is a MUST use.
I've re-visited some of the calculations, and since I do not own a Ancient Furnace (which is still best in slot) and am currently using an Ancient Devastator and Ancient Firebird Off hand. The highest damage set up for ONE HANDER is RORG/SOJ / Cindercoat/Magefists. So overall I still would choose SOJ/RORG set up over Endless walk set. For two handed set up, the Endless walk set will lose a lot of its value since CHD you gain from the Endless Walk set won't have as big of an impact on the overall DPS compared to a 1-handed set up. Same idea applies to Increasing fire% in 1 handed and 2 handed set ups.
Will there be anything changed the way a wizard speedfarms T6 Rifts with 2.1.2? I only know the boss range nerf, but it shouldnt affect well geared T6 group runs?
Thanks
Currently this build is under some review.
It works fine as is, but I want to improve its efficiency especially with the increases to monster density.
Right now, I would suggest using Conduit instead of Force Weapon for better resource management, and to sacrifice some HP and defensive stat rolls for either skill % or area % rolls on gear.
The gains are marginal, but right now we don't need the extra toughness from all the defensive stats.
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Great run and congrats on huge achievement !
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8% CDR = +8.7% EB damage.
In this instance, I would definitely take +15% EB damage. Nice options to have.
Would keep vitality over LOH on the WOH.
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I use Focus and Restraint. This isn't a solo build, but a build made for speed rifts which usually range from GR34-45.
I don't use Halo because there really is no need for THAT much defense at the cost of THAT much offense. Especially at these "lower" levels.
Jaetch uses the Halo ring in his solo runs GR55+.
Each meteor "rock" gets their own individual Nilfurs bonus as far as I know. Making it extremely easy to hit the top bonus on the boots.
Some CDR is still required for more Flash damage, more teleports and more cold snaps, however you must balance CDR with RCR as well !
Thanks for reading.
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I understand the Folly bracers are really good for CC and control, but i strictly said "NON SEASON" so i don't have access to them.
Also Ancient Parthan Defenders are really good at keeping you providing damage reduction, so they are definitely worth using too.
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Focusing a bit more on consistency where you don't need a specific group composition to function properly.
Also mentioned that this was for non seasons for folly bracers was not available to me.
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Inspired by Vishnu's WOH thread: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/17260468500
Let me start off by saying, this has been a great patch, and wizards are in a "good" place. We have multiple builds that have different functions and many are viable.
With that said, most of my play time have been devoted to speed rifts which have dominated the current meta game for the past 2 seasons. As long as XP remains in its current state for greater rifts, I don't foresee this meta changing any time soon. With how wizards were pre patch, I would have often resorted to using my DH or ZDPS character for the sake of efficiency, but no more of that, I love my wiz, and wanted to use her full time now since wizards were viable.
So what ? Since I knew I'd be spending a lot of time grinding in this fashion I was set on finding a build I can comfortably sit down and have a reliable build regardless of group composition for pick up games.
From my experiences, I've play tested a lot of builds for speed runs, 5-20 hours per build usually before I can get enough data where I can move on. Non seasons. Speed runs is defined as GR34-45.
To summarize builds that I've spent time playing for speed rifts:
1) DMO6 / In Geom + Triumvirate / Frozen orb
2) DMO4 + Tals6 / SS / Hydra + Meteor Shower
3) Tals6 / SS / Hydra + Meteor Shower
4) Tals6 / Aether Walker / Meteor Shower
5) Tals6 / Aether Walker / Heat wave
6) Tals6 / Grand Vizier / Thunder crash
7) Tals6 / WOH
I don't want to go into too much details about gearing for each individual build, I've included the weapon set and the main damage dealer for quick reference. I've used my discretion when it came to gearing them as best I can to ensure my results are not completely skewed. In many instances, the gear was interchangeable and the weapon sets offered similar damage output anyways.
If specific questions please feel free to ask.
All sets besides DMO4/Tals6 I've used Focus and Restraint as well.
There are certainly MORE options out there, and then everyone has their own variation of that option. It's awesome for build diversity. In any event, most of the builds are actually pretty close in terms of ability to deal damage, mobility and survivability.
The build that I personally gravitated towards and I feel is the best mix of DPS/ speed/ defense is a WOH based wizard.
Here is my spec for sake of discussion:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/wizard#aQOPYh!iXdg!ZcYYZZ
Here is the game play video of a random group I logged in on:
https://youtu.be/D1Mhct-_ARk
Skill choices:
1) Glacial Spike - Strictly for cold stack
2) Calamity - Standard evasive, mobility skill, doubles as the arcane stack
3) Force armor - to survive
4) Flash - lightning stack, and DPS
5) Cold snap - defensive skill, Ancient parthan trigger
6) Meteor Shower - Fire stack and AOE DPS
Passive choices:
1) Audacity - multiplicative 15% damage
2) Astral Presence - AP management
3) Illusionist - mobility and escape
4) Dominance - Survivability
Gem choices:
1) Trapped - best DPS option, must include
2) Bane of the powerful - strong DPS option for quick runs, we have 0 elite damage
3) Molten Gizzard - works well with force armor, good survivability gem
Stat choices and prioritization:
1) RCR% - Need a bit to manage your EB and meteor spam (I run 28% CDR, 24% RCR)
2) Explosive Blast % - better DPS
3) Meteor % - better DPS
Gear choices
Tals6 - Off hand, amulet, glove, chest, pants, belt
Nilfur Boast boots
Leorics Crown
Ancient Parthan Defenders
WOH
Shoulder - open slot, I use Skeleton king shoulders
Substitution choices:
1) Cold snap >>> Force weapon
The inclusion of cold snap is basically an added control mechanic to the build. It triggers
Parthan defenders for the reduction bonus when calamity stun is not enough, as well as controls tough crowds for Thunder crash nukes.
2) Dominance >>> Elemental Exposure
Trading DPS for survivability for lower levels or stronger teams
3) Molten Gizzard >>> Esoteric Alteration or DPS option (Taeguk, Gogok, Toxin, Pain Enhancer)
Esoteric works well in place of Gizzard gem, however I've leaned more on the Gizzard lately after initially hesitant. It's really grown on me.
4) Calamity + Ice Blades + Cold snap >>>> Wormhole + Siphoning Blades + Frozen mist
This is a quick 3 skill adjustment for faster groups, you maintain all 4 stacks and add wormhole for more map coverage. This is only needed for really fast groups where you feel you are falling behind too often. Cold snap is replaced in these types of rifts because generally a faster group means you are crushing content, so extra damage reduction isn't necessary.
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This is my take on the WOH build, it incorporates Meteor shower into a WOH build. Thunder-WOH ? Flash-Shower? Sure.
I've incorporated Meteor Shower into the WOH build. IMO, the meteor damage from Tals is too strong to ignore completely. Look at all the variations of builds that include meteor shower ?
Initially I had Thunder Crash / Chain reaction / CDR instead of Shower / Flash / RCR, but the Flash version of the build does considerably more damage especially AOE from the Shower. The slight drawback from slightly lower CDR for teleport is still reasonable.
Flash EB does comparable damage to Chain Reaction after a couple points of CDR ~9%. It does however require more AP to generate the damage.This allows some flexibility for other stats such as RCR to improve your spam. Be wary about too much CDR, because flash will start consuming too much AP and you will not have enough to regenerate your resources fast enough to spam meteors. To further calculate damage output of flash against Chain reaction the following formula can be used (thanks Vishnu) - (1-x) = (1-CDR of Flash)(1-0.1764). This equation will give you the corresponding CDR needed to for CR to match the output of Flash. The biggest difference in damage output is the type of damage being dealt. Meteor Shower takes care of WOH's AOE weakness, and map coverage leading to more damage dealt overall.
Compared to other builds I consider this variant the most consistent and most impactful regardless of group composition. It doesn't require any "set up" to deal damage upfront which is great for these types of speed runs. This was also one of the traits that attracted me to this build was the lack of set up to deal damage. From my experiences, DMO6/ Frozen orb and Aether Walker/Meteor shower are comparable top tier builds for speed runs. But there are certain weakness that both builds suffer from.
DMO6/FO has probably the best burst damage against the RG, unloading a ton of charged up 1.5-4B bombs at the RG is devastating, however the bubble set up during the actual run doesn't lead to very efficient use of your character. Faster groups will leave you dropping a bubble and dropping 1 orb to kill stragglers, and you'll be teleporting to keep up. I didn't find this fun. Also the In Geom isn't exactly a strong weapon.
Tals6/Aether Walker/ Meteor shower is the best mobility spec obviously with the AW wand. The meteor showers with Tals6 also does considerable AOE damage with no setup time, albeit you need to swallow the meteor cast delay *ARG*. The problem I found while play this build is that the mobility trump card this build has, is usually overkill. You will be front line almost always in the group, and in slower groups that mobility is wasted. Damage output is also limited by resources, and without ample optimization, this build just doesn't work well. Thoughtful consideration into RCR, resource management skills and gear are needed to make this build shine.
Meteor shower-WOH offers great damage output and burst, along with some CC capabilities. Indirectly your character also becomes a pseudo tank for the rest of the team since you are in the front lines of the action all the time.
In terms of mobility, this was my greatest concern with this build compared to Aether Walker or even In geom focused builds, however, as mentioned I've made small adjustments to the build for those out of control groups, otherwise moderately CDR allows for a couple second delay between teleports makes it a bit more reasonable. Illusionist also assists in movement speed so it's included in this build as well.
And the icing on the cake, another HUGE bonus of this build is that it allows for the use of Leroics Crown. The Crown doubles up your XP ruby bonus making this build the clear winner in XP rate compared to other wizard builds without sacrificing too much that you break and gimp your character.
Incredibly fun build to play, and provides excellent consistent damage via WOH, and AOE dps from meteor shower. I'm really enjoying the build right now and it performs well in these types of greater rifts.
Thanks for reading, comments, questions below.
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Hi,
Wanted to make a guide for people that want to be more involved in these speed runs and how they can improve efficiency. Just sharing my experiences since this is the relevant meta right now. Also from a wizard main perspective.
The premise is to complete these "lower" greater rifts (30-40GR) at speeds that out pace the EXP you earn from T6. The big difference in these low GRs is that there is no loot to pick up (until the end), and nothing to distract you while killing things unlike T6.
Currently, EXP % on gear like hellfire ring / Ruby in helm / etc is scaling well in GRs. So at the very least, slot a Ruby in the helm and re-adjust your gear accordingly to take advantage of the EXP.
Ideally a good group will aim to hit the <3 min clear mark. There will be instances where you get a really bad lay out with bad EXP per mob monster types, but those are not very often. If your group is entering consistent 5+ min clears, the GR level is getting too high.
The sweet spot GR is dependent on group, but I found that very strong groups can clear GR37-38 consistently around <3mins, whereas slightly slower groups can clear 34-35 consistently around the same time. Keep in mind, lowering the GR does not mean an overall decrease in clear speed. This means opting to clear GR30 when your group can clear GR35 at nearly the same speed is a mistake.
As a general rule, GR35 is a the sweet spot for most random compositions.
Best group composition:
You are either DPS or support character. Support characters generally acquire more EXP per hour due to their flexibility with adding EXP gear. Support characters generally open the rift in open games since they are "leeching" at times, DOUBLE the EXP.
DPS characters are there for DPS, they can sneak EXP gear on if it does not hinder their team's performance. They are not expected to open the rifts.
Best support (ZDPS)
***Crusader (health globes / crowd control)
**Monk (Crowd control / Buffs)
WD (zdog- health globes / crowd control)
WD (fear - crowd control / DPS buff)
Best DPS
***DH (Must have in competitive group / RG and elite DPS)
***Barb (Trash clear AOE specialist)
**Monk (Bell-wuko build / AOE)
WD (Pet for elite DPS / Jade for Burst)
Wizard (Trash clear / Herding)
Crusader (Unknown, zero experience with one)
The best composition will comprise of AT LEAST 2 DPS, and 1 Support. There is usually 1 spot that is flexible, this is usually where the Wizard can slot in. The stars indicate importance and preference for the class in public groups. As you can see Wizards and WD are getting the shaft, they do not fill either role as well as the other classes and are not the primary choice for groups. Ideally 1x DH and 1x Crusader is almost a MUST-HAVE to form a group around.
A good composition will make a big difference in the quality and smoothness of the clears. However, from experience this is very much a team oriented exercise. You can have the #1 DH in the world as your DPS, but they can't do it alone. You need the support and you need the rest of the group to carry weight. This isn't T6 where you can 1 shot everything and move along regardless of your party and its members. EVERYONE should be able to contribute.
UN-Optimized Compositions
The reason Crusader is listed so highly as a support is because of its synergy with DHs and resource management. Without a Crusader spawning health globes, DH's may need to adjust gearing or skills to make up for the lack of globes. This can be remedied with a faster more powerful group, but slower groups with less DPS will find they are out of resources too often to consistently achieve good clear times. DH generators and Cindercoat usage help alleviate some of this resource problem. Keep this in mind.
NO DH in group compositions generally mean less upfront damage and longer elite and RG clear times. Mid 30 clears with reasonable speed is normal, but higher GRs will require more time especially against the RG.
Monks are very synergistic with Barbs much like Crusader and DHs.
Wizard specific Analysis
Unfortunately Wizards are getting a bad rap for these runs, rightfully so, they do not fit either niche properly. We are more for support then DPS. A DH fully set up outputs at least 4-5X that of a well geared Wizard. So lets understand that we don't truly belong in the DPS role in the same way like DH or Barb.
I've been messing around with different variations of skills to best mix the two types together, DPS/support.
Our skills and passives don't help us very much in this context either since none are overly synergistic with the other and none are really better then what other classes can provide. Such skills like Big bad Voodoo or Health globe spawns from Crusaders are just much more potent or synergistic with the group then anything wizards can provide.
I haven't figured a proper configuration for a go-to build yet for Wizard in speed rifts, but some ideas here:
1) All Wizards should run ideally both Conflagration / EE. Both these buffs extend to the group.
2) Having Slow Time - Time Warp can be beneficial to boost damage. The coverage is large enough that given the increase density will make the skill more considerable.
3) Frost Nova becomes a reliable source of Crowd Control as well as group buff. This in combination with Cold blooded is worth consideration if the other passives (conflag / EE) are covered already.
4) Black hole is a double edge sword. On one end it is a great spell, offensive and defensive. On the other end it screws up Barbs with the "infinite zero" life on mobs effect, and it breaks fear from WDs. Use this carefully.
5) Teleport does not need to be worm-hole. In these rifts, the density restrict movement and finding a group that is fast enough to warrant wormhole will be rare. Use any other rune instead. I suggest Calamity for Arcane elemental stack.
6) Apocalypse is still recommended for its reach and the easy application of the Pain Enhancer / Toxin effects. Staple gems are Toxin, Pain Enhancer and Zei's.
7) WOH oriented builds -CAN- be very effective. Offering more front loaded damage instead of DOT based damage. The drawback ? Lower RG damage and reaching necessary CDR levels while NOT slotting a diamond in helm. I feel this might be the go-to version in the near future.
8) You do not want to be lagging behind with a wizard. If anything you should be slightly ahead to kite monsters closer to the support / DH. This allows to keep the DH's in the back end of the group, gives the support class some leeway on errors and generally just makes you feel useful. Illusionist and high CDR on gear is recommended. Even trading some damage for CDR is advisable.
9) Double hydra builds can also be very effective depending on gearing and optimization.
10) Wizards are surprisingly resilient to death. Force Armor for anything higher then GR35 is recommended. The extra survivability compared to DHs allows us to play riskier, maintain our pools longer, even tank a hit or two for the DHs to support them. Dominance and Unstable Anomaly round out our defensive passives, both are serviceable for these rifts.
These are only suggestions and observations of things that MAY work for wizards if you have no other classes to play and want to get involved in these groups. The easiest and least frustrating solution is roll more characters even if they are mildly geared. It's difficult to get into groups with wizards nowadays, but if you have no option but want to play you definitely want to tailor your set up to help the group as much as you can. Your own personal damage output is secondary.
Gameplay
-Support is generally leading the group and setting up the elites for the DPS. Barbs and monks have the ability to move ahead of DHs in groups while still being effective killing mobs.
-Support should always wear Nemesis Bracers. Very important !
-If applicable, the support should pick up health globes to fuel the DHs.
-If applicable, the Crusader should continue bringing enemies from far away closer to the sentries
-Wizards need to be careful with black hole placements and should use blizzard's reach to herd mobs.
-Crusaders need to be careful with horse pull mechanics.
DHs be mindful of sentry placement and manage their resources especially when RG is ready to pop.
-Barbs should have Chinlick belt equipped and be mindful of "strength in numbers" buff distance.
Need to knows / Helpful tips
1) Gear for the long haul (10+ runs), as a wizard make sure your passives give the group buffs as a priority instead of your own personal buffs (Conflag and EE are a MUST, especially over glass cannon). Make sure all your passives and skills are properly set to avoid problems in the rift. Make sure you are optimized for what you are doing. If you need help just say "spec me please".
2) Make sure to gamble enough to keep your bank ready to accept the next runs shards. Each run turns in around 150-200+ shards. Make sure your bank is hovering around 250-300 so you don't leave shards on the ground, going back to gamble and having the party wait around.
3) Make sure there is 1 opener for multiple rifts, this ensures smooth runs and opens and lessens confusion. If you are opening, be mindful of the group, if someone says "wait", wait, also do not wait around too long to open the next, most likely the group is ready and waiting for you to open. If not there is 30 seconds for them to finish what they are doing so don't worry.
4) Always leave room in your stash.
5) If there is a break, or down-time between runs that exceed the 30 second timer delay, go look for a pool, this not only helps you but your team mates as well. Common areas are Cemetary / Southern Highlands / Road to Alcanus / Tower of Damned (both levels) / to name a few. In Campign mode, go to ACT V, last quest and speak to the enchantress. There are numerous pools in a small area. Do not complete the quest. Open rift as per regular afterwards.
6) Keep the low keys you want to NOT USE on another character. When a rift is opened, the game will automatically use the lowest key available in your chest and character at the time of the open. This is important if you have low keys you want to save for other runs later on.
In summary:
-You gain more EXP per hour
-You get more Blood shards per hour
-You waste less time farming keys to run
-You can upgrade mid level 30s into mid level 40s easily
-Legendary loot is comparable, especially when considering shards spent
-You will get less materials overall. (less whites/ blues/ yellows/ gems/ death's breaths)
I want to make this guide here to help those looking for groups outside of T6. The best place for pick up games is to join the communities. They are constantly spamming chat looking for party members to do these runs. Its a great way to get loot and EXP, at minimal time investment via farming frags or trials.
Post questions/ suggestions below !
Thanks for reading.
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Sigh I had a long reply written out but I guess it didn't accept my post.
@Blay
I agree that considering over concentrating on a single stat is not the best strategy for gearing and optimization.
I do not agree about the 1:10 rule, that is often misinformation even to give to new players, it is pretty much inaccurate.
The 60 FPS is your personal FPS, I believe the game calculates at 6 FPS this is what I remember.
An interesting not that while casting hydra my DOT tick was reduced more then casting Black hole, this leads me to believe that hydra takes more frames to cast.
To accurately determine average damage, I think we need to figure out how much damage we are losing per cast and how much casts of each spell we are performing in a given te. This is obviously too tedious to do.
I would have liked to do a test on the FPS / damage lo molten impact since that would apply to this thread.
In summary I can agree that Cindercoat is a must wear if you can wear it. Hexing pants is competitive with Magefists as a secondary item to use, although less consistent it offers more damage upside. I prefer Leoric's Crown for some utility for T6. Arguments can be made for Gloves of Worship as well as a fun item to use for T6.
Good theory crafting!
Heres some more hexing pants talk on our clan site. http://www.forum.vizjereiclan.com/index.php?/topic/602-what-is-the-best-way-to-test-hexing-pants/#entry10858
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Ok i'm pretty conclusive in my findings.
I did a couple runs with no buffs/ gems/ etc against Ghom. I recorded them and analysed each individual tick and any time they would change while my wizard was in motion, not in motion or casting.
1) DOT dynamically updates yes
2) As soon as you cast a spell, the DOT will drop, counting it as a "stop", the drop in damage looks like it is determined by how many frames you are stopped for. So it does help to cast your spells faster to reduce the amount of your DOT drop, but it does indeed drop, and is calculated at very small intervals. So any type of stoppage will reduce your DOT. I believe BDF was saying 6 frames per second, this sounds about right. My DOT with hexing debuff was 10M and with it up was 22M. The DOT i saw after a spam of Blazar was 20M.
3)Versus a Cindercoat it is not consistent enough to warrant its use, especially consider that Cindercoat has +30% reduction as well. Versus Magefists, it poses an interesting trade off. The damage from Hexing is better then 20% fire in most set ups, but it is less consistent. Magefists would probably what I would choose if I had the choice to go that route..
Its a trade off of potential DPS versus consistency. As with most things, consistency is usually what I would recommend.
Anyway, thats too bad for hexing pants.
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To give some numbers, I have :
* 5M5 fire sheet dps with hexing pants + fb hands when I move
* 3M9 fire sheet dps with hexing pants + fb hants when I don't move
* 5M1 fire sheet dps with magefist + fb pants
My magefist aren't perfect so the 5M1 can be improved (I lack 0.5% CHC, 3% CHD, and I have 642 int on them).
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I am a big fan of the hexing pants, but it was in builds that could utilize the benefits of the it without really suffering the negatives (pet doctor/ shot gun crusader).
The 25% applies to the gem DOTS your right, but it also decreases them as well. Your stats with the pants on show a small gain with active as well, leading me to lean towards consistency as opposed to potential.
In any event, do we have any information on whether a stop/cast motion (example cast blizzard) will cause the drop in FB DOT? There is usually a slight moment where you stop, but the buff is still active from what I remember.
If the buff is still active when casting blizzard or blackhole, then this definitely becomes a much more attractive and fun option.
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I haven't revisited hexing pants since 2.0 so I can't be 100% sure how it works now but that is what I read about it thus far.
For a Wand of WOH explosive blast build it definitely would challenge for a spot since your constantly on the go.
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As Jalatiphra stated, the effect stacks until the infinite DOT threshold is reached and then the 3000% burn kicks in.
Until then there are stacking temporary DOTs that occur as you cast blizzard and other fire skills.
Yes in many situations the monster will die in a single cast of blizzard. Mainly this happens in solo, sometimes multi players. However, I keep in mind that I am almost always running in 4-man groups so I would like to be able to kill elite packs by myself. Many people will say that you have overkill DPS even for groups... however, I aim to KILL the elite as I run through them without missing a step, so that is why the gearing seems a bit over kill. In some cases, you spam all your abilities, you reach the 3000% burn DOT right away and it does give you some extra damage to finish off the elite. So the 6 piece is a MUST use.
I've re-visited some of the calculations, and since I do not own a Ancient Furnace (which is still best in slot) and am currently using an Ancient Devastator and Ancient Firebird Off hand. The highest damage set up for ONE HANDER is RORG/SOJ / Cindercoat/Magefists. So overall I still would choose SOJ/RORG set up over Endless walk set. For two handed set up, the Endless walk set will lose a lot of its value since CHD you gain from the Endless Walk set won't have as big of an impact on the overall DPS compared to a 1-handed set up. Same idea applies to Increasing fire% in 1 handed and 2 handed set ups.
Edited post due to 5 piece bonus calculations!
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http://youtu.be/1jh9BUnpVTE
Runs ranging from 1:20 to 2:16, all using same build listed in this thread with slight variations for group synergy.
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It works fine as is, but I want to improve its efficiency especially with the increases to monster density.
Right now, I would suggest using Conduit instead of Force Weapon for better resource management, and to sacrifice some HP and defensive stat rolls for either skill % or area % rolls on gear.
The gains are marginal, but right now we don't need the extra toughness from all the defensive stats.
Will update after more time for testing.