should i get teleport with reduced damage taken or familiar with 40% more dmg?
If you believe that spectral blade counts as a melee hit (3 melee hits?), then I would think you'd want to use Crimson instead of Indigo in Magic Weapon to do more damage. Even if you think that the 70% damage is over 3 seconds instead of per second, that's 23% more damage instead of 18%.
I also think you need to worry a bit more about staying alive. Obviously, we will need to wait until the game comes out to see how this build works in the later difficulties, but I'd imagine that staying alive will be the name of the game. I would consider energy armor over storm armor and maybe Alabaster for for magic weapon to recover health quickly.
I took Obsidian Magic Weapon, in my build listed above, because we know for a fact that it affects Spectral Blade. Increasing the physical damage boost has a definite increase in Spectral Blade damage. There is no wording there about that extra boost needing a melee attack. If we are sure that Spectral Blade counts as melee attacks, I am still not sure that we would want a Crimson runestone in there, because not only will knockback keep the enemies from attacking us, but also that 70% bonus damage dealt will be Fire damage, thus subject to different defensive mitigation than the weapon damage that Spectral Blade deals. Can the Fire damage crit? Will we be stacking lifesteal on gear, which will only benefit from that melee damage done? I think the latter question is the most important, in which we could substitute any physical boosting stat for 'lifesteal'.
It replaces Wand Attack in the Left Mouse slot. If you notice, every other skill the Wizard chooses goes to the Action Bar.
Aren't you able to set any ability to the left mouse button? I have seen many wizard beta playthroughs that set Magic Missle to left-click. I am pretty sure the ability being set there is no indication of a particular attack type, sorry.
I believe Spectral Blade is unique in applying weapon effects such as lifesteal because it does Weapon Damage. Electrocute does Lightning damage, so it would not apply any lifesteal effects.
should i get teleport with reduced damage taken or familiar with 40% more dmg?
I really like where your build is going! I think all of the active skills you chose are the best ones, with only minor room for rearranging.
-Spectral Blade, check!
-Magic Weapon can be used with any rune other than Golden, since Spectral Blade will not require AP.
-Alabaster Frost Nova is great, but requires 5 enemies being around. If you use Crimson Frost Nova, your whole group benefits, and you will also do much more damage against groups 4 or fewer!
-Yes, Crimson Familiar is pretty much mandatory with any build that intends to maximize the damage it does.
-Obsidian Storm Armor seems to be the strongest melee dps version of that skill, though Golden Ice Armor would give you greater survivability against melee and Crimson/Alabaster Energy Armor are good too.
-As your last skill Obsidian Arcane Orb is great, since you can cast it on your way into a fight and you can then just renew it whenever you see fit. If all four orbs explode, it seems to definitely be the strongest choice as your pre-battle setup spell. (Better than Hydra, Energy Twister, etc)
Blur is a mandatory passive to help with the frailty of the Wizard class, but I think your other two may need tweaking. Temporal flux will only slow people next to you through Arcane Orb, which does not help you that much. Also, only two of your spells require AP, so I'm not sure Power Hungry is needed either. Galvanizing Ward will definitely fit your build well, and so will either Arcane Dynamo or Unstable Anomaly. Arcane Dynamo will build up through Spectral Blade spam, boosting the damage of your following Arcane Orb cast, and Unstable Anomaly will give you a little protection if you get caught taking too much damage. Personally I would choose Arcane Dynamo, but the third passive is completely up to you and what you find most useful using this build as you progress through the higher difficulties. Enjoy!
Edit: If survivability becomes an issue, replacing Arcane Orb with Diamond Skin or Obsidian Teleport would greatly help, as well as changing your Armor spell to mitigate the greatest source of damage you are taking, (Crimson Energy Armor vs elemental damage, or Golden Ice Armor vs physical damage). Consider adding Evocation to your passives if you do select another active skill with a cooldown.
Edit 1: Replaced Mirror Image with Frost Nova. Forgot about that Alabaster effect!
Edit 2: Switched runestones around, turned Alabaster WoF slot into a choice of three spells. 3rd passive also a choice now between two, thanks a bunch oneoftheorder!
Edit 3: Replacing Shock Pulse and WoF with Hydra and Crimson Familiar/MI.
Edit 4: Added Solo Lightning Wizard build and explanation.
As explained in http://www.diablowiki.net/Critical_hit#Wizard , scoring a critical hit will deal double damage as well as an additional effect according to the element of that attack. From a wizard PvE perspective, extra fire and poison damage is nice, arcane silence is lackluster against monsters, but what truly stuck out to me was frost and lightning critical hits. A frost spec focused on critical hitting, freezing the enemies, would almost solely focus on Blizzard. As fun as that sounds, the much quicker "stun" spec that doesn't need to focus on narrow ground effects is clearly lightning. Constantly stunning monsters for your group will be greatly beneficial and definitely viable in any part of the game!
Until we learn the exact numbers on how precision works, if there is diminishing return, etc, we shall focus on the build!
1) Energy Armor - Alabaster:Pinpoint Barrier
An obvious first choice. Regardless of diminishing returns, we want more critical hit chance, and precision gives us that.
2) Electrocute - Alabaster:Forked Lightning
Here we go! Chain this spell to crit up to 3 targets, who then release more bolts to crit more targets. This is the spam spell in the build, giving you the ability to potentially CC an unlimited number of targets while your team hacks and zaps away!
3) Hydra - Indigo:Lightning Hydra
Until we know the final damage numbers for sure, the best rotation seems to be Hydra until out of AP, Electrocute spam until full, repeat.
4) Slow Time - Alabaster:Stretch Time
Our main stun spells have all been taken, so this slot will go to further increasing your utility. As a supporting wizard, the first choice is clear in selecting Slow Time, increasing the frequency in which you and your allies cast/attack with an Alabaster runestone. More spam = more stuns = more utility.
5) Frost Nova - Alabaster:Deep Freeze
Save this spell to use defensively if you must, but it is here for the offense! Get into range of 5 enemies, click button, receive buff, then proceed to spam Hydra / Electrocute. Fairly self-explanatory, ladies and gentlemen. This skill is mandatory!
6) Familiar - Crimson:Sparkflint *OR* Mirror Image - Crimson:Mirror Mimics
Familiar gives you a solid increase in damage, while Mirror Image may net you more damage and crits if the images cooperate. Choice is up to you.
For passives I have picked Evocation, Glass Cannon and Prodigy. Evocation is a must-have, since two or three of the active skills chosen do have cooldowns. Glass Cannon is free damage, and while I am aware that I stated this build is to be used as utility while you let your teammates deal the damage, free damage is free damage. The last passive skill should be Prodigy, decreasing Electrocute spam time to get back to casting Hydras faster.
ADDITIONAL Builds Section!
Solo Lightning Wizard - http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/wizard#QdRSZW!fYd!aaYZac
-This build will have a few changes focused on the idea that playing solo you would want to both deal more damage and kite the enemy more.
1) Crimson Slow Time: This will increase the damage monsters take from your Hydras, which Alabaster would not do, while keeping them at bay.
2) Obsidian Magic Weapon: This will passively increase the damage you and your Hydras do. This slot could be replaced with Crimson Familiar if it buffs your Hydra damage as well, or Crimson Mirror Images if they are smart enough.
3) Astral Presence: Prodigy was put in the last build because it was based on the fact that you had plenty of time to sit around shooting Electrocute. Soloing enemies with such a squishy class will require running regardless of how often enemies are stunned, so this passive boost to AP regen should prove to be better. *In-game data needed to verify this conclusion*
1) Another thread was posted somewhere that said fire damage carried over from a weapon to spectral blade, and that magic weapon enhances damage as well. No information I have seen has been posted about poison, lifesteal, etc, but I would imagine these effects carry over as well. Check beta gameplay videos on youtube to see the area of effect, but it is in a 20 yard area in front of you. (more of a square or circle than a cone.)
2) This is an educated guess, but I read the ability description as the 3 turtle shells in mario kart. The total damage is a little double that of a Crimson runed Arcane Orb if you walk directly into a mob and all four explode, which I think to be of course great damage, but fair considering the risk you take going into melee range, especially on higher difficulties.
3) The familiar is widely accepted as to increasing all of YOUR attacks by 40% damage, since increasing his 5 damage by 40% is really quite negligible. There are threads as to if this increases base damage, total damage, etc, but it is all (melee and spell) of the ways you distribute damage points to the enemies.
4) Critical hits freeze targets for 2 seconds. The answer to your question then is yes, there are two ways to keep enemies frozen in an Alabaster Blizzard. (Thus the reason it is called frozen solid ) Damage is so low on this to compensate for the incredible utility. If damage was close at all to disintegrate, arcane orb, etc, noone would use those spells over blizzard.
Hope I helped. Disclaimer: No beta play experience, and my answers come from what I have read on forums or deciphered myself using logic!
Great start! A couple things:
1) RoF does not get the 120% boost from AT! It is cold damage! I do not know if you added the 120% in your calculations, but it does not make sense to put up the debuff then cast cold spells until it is down, Someone beat me to this!
2) We definitely should compare Energy Armor Alabaster with Disintegrate rotation, crit that mess up! Speaking of which, do you have the calculations for precision exactly? Are you assuming we put all of our level up points into Precision, then multiplying that by 40%? And I did not know if it is known the scaling of crit chance per level, or if there are diminishing returns on it... Critting spells seems like a strong idea, though!
Edit: If we were to try the Energy Armor Alabaster with the AT/Disintegrate rotation, we would need a MM phase to regen, requiring multiple calculations like the ones you did at the top with MM Crimson, Golden, Prodigy, etc...
Well, it seems you have galvanizing ward to keep up the armor buffs as well as increase health regen, but Prodigy would increase DPS through better AP regen. Which one are you keeping in your final build?
I am curious what your reasons are for excluding crimson (or alabaster) Slow Time and crimson Mirror Image (assuming RoF, ArcOrb, Storm Armor, and Familiar are non-negotiable; points I would agree with.) I can see an argument for Frost Nova over Slow Time, given that it provides a lasting effect instantly rather than having to drag creatures into a field you place (and alabaster is not good for damage/AP efficiency, even if it might be ok for non-sustained dps.) Mirror Image is a little harder to exclude in my opinion, unless we assume a very unintelligent AI. So long as ArcOrb is providing decent AoE capability, I would think that WoF is unnecessary, even if convenient, so the < 1.4*(15sec/25sec) = 84% damage increase (or, with Evocation, 105%!) would easily trump it. Evocation would also increase the dps output from the Frost Nova debuff, taking you from 1.1*(4sec/12sec) = 36.7% to 1.1*(4sec/9.6sec) = 45.8% increase. (Mirror Image can do, at most, that much increase in straight damage, but probably slightly or substantially less, based on AI behavior.)
Crimson MI may add further value/dps by keeping the Frost Nova debuff up for you sometimes meaning you needn't switch out of your dps spell. I assume MI is not capable of casting MI (since I doubt Blizz wants to risk either self-sustaining Images, or exponentially-growing Images), and if we are lucky, they may even no better than to recast buffs they already have up, meaning they may be limited in a build like this to just your 2 direct dps spells and the Frost-Nova-like utility spells (in this case, only Frost Nova.) If this is the case, their %-of-theoretical-max-damage efficiency may indeed be quite high.
I believe the spell slot you are intending to replace with MI is currently being held by MM Golden, which is a strong AP regenerative spell, and doing so will yield a DPS loss that needs to be calculated. The only space in which MI could occupy in this build is the same space as Frost Nova/Slow Time.
To focus the discussion, I believe the next math that needs to be done is to help us choose between Frost Nova, Slow Time and Mirror Images, as well as between Disintegrate Crimson (Alabaster is too random) and Arcane Orb.
What I am wondering is at what point is the damage of the signature spell secondary to its AP regenerative effects? Is Golden Electrocute with Prodigy the best spell to cast in an AoE pull (3+ monsters), with your damaging rotation being AT debuffed enemies getting disintegrated?
Also, DKR, I believe AT Crimson debuff needs to be in the rotation, as it seems to be quite a big buff to damage, but only arcane. Does AT need to be cast before MM spam, since it will increase that damage by 20%, and does this make MM better than the other sig spells?
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Aren't you able to set any ability to the left mouse button? I have seen many wizard beta playthroughs that set Magic Missle to left-click. I am pretty sure the ability being set there is no indication of a particular attack type, sorry.
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I believe Spectral Blade is unique in applying weapon effects such as lifesteal because it does Weapon Damage. Electrocute does Lightning damage, so it would not apply any lifesteal effects.
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I really like where your build is going! I think all of the active skills you chose are the best ones, with only minor room for rearranging.
-Spectral Blade, check!
-Magic Weapon can be used with any rune other than Golden, since Spectral Blade will not require AP.
-Alabaster Frost Nova is great, but requires 5 enemies being around. If you use Crimson Frost Nova, your whole group benefits, and you will also do much more damage against groups 4 or fewer!
-Yes, Crimson Familiar is pretty much mandatory with any build that intends to maximize the damage it does.
-Obsidian Storm Armor seems to be the strongest melee dps version of that skill, though Golden Ice Armor would give you greater survivability against melee and Crimson/Alabaster Energy Armor are good too.
-As your last skill Obsidian Arcane Orb is great, since you can cast it on your way into a fight and you can then just renew it whenever you see fit. If all four orbs explode, it seems to definitely be the strongest choice as your pre-battle setup spell. (Better than Hydra, Energy Twister, etc)
Blur is a mandatory passive to help with the frailty of the Wizard class, but I think your other two may need tweaking. Temporal flux will only slow people next to you through Arcane Orb, which does not help you that much. Also, only two of your spells require AP, so I'm not sure Power Hungry is needed either. Galvanizing Ward will definitely fit your build well, and so will either Arcane Dynamo or Unstable Anomaly. Arcane Dynamo will build up through Spectral Blade spam, boosting the damage of your following Arcane Orb cast, and Unstable Anomaly will give you a little protection if you get caught taking too much damage. Personally I would choose Arcane Dynamo, but the third passive is completely up to you and what you find most useful using this build as you progress through the higher difficulties. Enjoy!
Edit: If survivability becomes an issue, replacing Arcane Orb with Diamond Skin or Obsidian Teleport would greatly help, as well as changing your Armor spell to mitigate the greatest source of damage you are taking, (Crimson Energy Armor vs elemental damage, or Golden Ice Armor vs physical damage). Consider adding Evocation to your passives if you do select another active skill with a cooldown.
Edit 2: My first attempt at this build would be something like this: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/wizard#XWQOaV!eWV!YcZZZZ The toss-ups would be which rune to put in Diamond Skin, and which Armor spell to take.
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Edit 2: Switched runestones around, turned Alabaster WoF slot into a choice of three spells. 3rd passive also a choice now between two, thanks a bunch oneoftheorder!
Edit 3: Replacing Shock Pulse and WoF with Hydra and Crimson Familiar/MI.
Edit 4: Added Solo Lightning Wizard build and explanation.
As explained in http://www.diablowiki.net/Critical_hit#Wizard , scoring a critical hit will deal double damage as well as an additional effect according to the element of that attack. From a wizard PvE perspective, extra fire and poison damage is nice, arcane silence is lackluster against monsters, but what truly stuck out to me was frost and lightning critical hits. A frost spec focused on critical hitting, freezing the enemies, would almost solely focus on Blizzard. As fun as that sounds, the much quicker "stun" spec that doesn't need to focus on narrow ground effects is clearly lightning. Constantly stunning monsters for your group will be greatly beneficial and definitely viable in any part of the game!
Until we learn the exact numbers on how precision works, if there is diminishing return, etc, we shall focus on the build!
Stun Support Wizard - http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/wizard#QdRSZh!fYc!aaYaaZ
1) Energy Armor - Alabaster: Pinpoint Barrier
An obvious first choice. Regardless of diminishing returns, we want more critical hit chance, and precision gives us that.
2) Electrocute - Alabaster: Forked Lightning
Here we go! Chain this spell to crit up to 3 targets, who then release more bolts to crit more targets. This is the spam spell in the build, giving you the ability to potentially CC an unlimited number of targets while your team hacks and zaps away!
3) Hydra - Indigo: Lightning Hydra
Until we know the final damage numbers for sure, the best rotation seems to be Hydra until out of AP, Electrocute spam until full, repeat.
4) Slow Time - Alabaster: Stretch Time
Our main stun spells have all been taken, so this slot will go to further increasing your utility. As a supporting wizard, the first choice is clear in selecting Slow Time, increasing the frequency in which you and your allies cast/attack with an Alabaster runestone. More spam = more stuns = more utility.
5) Frost Nova - Alabaster: Deep Freeze
Save this spell to use defensively if you must, but it is here for the offense! Get into range of 5 enemies, click button, receive buff, then proceed to spam Hydra / Electrocute. Fairly self-explanatory, ladies and gentlemen. This skill is mandatory!
6) Familiar - Crimson: Sparkflint *OR* Mirror Image - Crimson: Mirror Mimics
Familiar gives you a solid increase in damage, while Mirror Image may net you more damage and crits if the images cooperate. Choice is up to you.
For passives I have picked Evocation, Glass Cannon and Prodigy. Evocation is a must-have, since two or three of the active skills chosen do have cooldowns. Glass Cannon is free damage, and while I am aware that I stated this build is to be used as utility while you let your teammates deal the damage, free damage is free damage. The last passive skill should be Prodigy, decreasing Electrocute spam time to get back to casting Hydras faster.
ADDITIONAL Builds Section!
Solo Lightning Wizard - http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/wizard#QdRSZW!fYd!aaYZac
-This build will have a few changes focused on the idea that playing solo you would want to both deal more damage and kite the enemy more.
1) Crimson Slow Time: This will increase the damage monsters take from your Hydras, which Alabaster would not do, while keeping them at bay.
2) Obsidian Magic Weapon: This will passively increase the damage you and your Hydras do. This slot could be replaced with Crimson Familiar if it buffs your Hydra damage as well, or Crimson Mirror Images if they are smart enough.
3) Astral Presence: Prodigy was put in the last build because it was based on the fact that you had plenty of time to sit around shooting Electrocute. Soloing enemies with such a squishy class will require running regardless of how often enemies are stunned, so this passive boost to AP regen should prove to be better. *In-game data needed to verify this conclusion*
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2) This is an educated guess, but I read the ability description as the 3 turtle shells in mario kart. The total damage is a little double that of a Crimson runed Arcane Orb if you walk directly into a mob and all four explode, which I think to be of course great damage, but fair considering the risk you take going into melee range, especially on higher difficulties.
3) The familiar is widely accepted as to increasing all of YOUR attacks by 40% damage, since increasing his 5 damage by 40% is really quite negligible. There are threads as to if this increases base damage, total damage, etc, but it is all (melee and spell) of the ways you distribute damage points to the enemies.
4) Critical hits freeze targets for 2 seconds. The answer to your question then is yes, there are two ways to keep enemies frozen in an Alabaster Blizzard. (Thus the reason it is called frozen solid
Hope I helped. Disclaimer: No beta play experience, and my answers come from what I have read on forums or deciphered myself using logic!
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RoF does not get the 120% boost from AT! It is cold damage! I do not know if you added the 120% in your calculations, but it does not make sense to put up the debuff then cast cold spells until it is down,
Someone beat me to this!2) We definitely should compare Energy Armor Alabaster with Disintegrate rotation, crit that mess up! Speaking of which, do you have the calculations for precision exactly? Are you assuming we put all of our level up points into Precision, then multiplying that by 40%? And I did not know if it is known the scaling of crit chance per level, or if there are diminishing returns on it... Critting spells seems like a strong idea, though!
Edit: If we were to try the Energy Armor Alabaster with the AT/Disintegrate rotation, we would need a MM phase to regen, requiring multiple calculations like the ones you did at the top with MM Crimson, Golden, Prodigy, etc...
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I believe the spell slot you are intending to replace with MI is currently being held by MM Golden, which is a strong AP regenerative spell, and doing so will yield a DPS loss that needs to be calculated. The only space in which MI could occupy in this build is the same space as Frost Nova/Slow Time.
To focus the discussion, I believe the next math that needs to be done is to help us choose between Frost Nova, Slow Time and Mirror Images, as well as between Disintegrate Crimson (Alabaster is too random) and Arcane Orb.
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Also, DKR, I believe AT Crimson debuff needs to be in the rotation, as it seems to be quite a big buff to damage, but only arcane. Does AT need to be cast before MM spam, since it will increase that damage by 20%, and does this make MM better than the other sig spells?
There is much math to be done...