Beta Impressions
I finally had a chance to play in the Beta after a friend (thanks Chris!) got access and gave me his info so that I could play. First of all, I want to say that it definitely feels like a "Diablo" game. It has a lot of the visceral game-play that we've come to love from this franchise. And while the loot in the Beta is not super exciting, I did find it fun to tweak out my toons and plow through mobs in 4-player PUGs.
I played up to level 12-13 on each character class to try to get a comprehensive sense of the different skills and how they worked together. One thing I quickly realized was that there were three primary abilities that I really wanted:
a good multi-target ability such as Cleave,
a good single-target nuke (for tough mobs, champions and bosses) or snare,
and some kind of movement power such as Leap Attack.
Having a good multi-target ability is absolutely essential since more often then not, you are trying to kill large groups of mobs. Killing them one at a time is horribly inefficient and doesn't make you feel like a bad-ass at all. Also, being able to destroy barrels/urns/etc more than one at a time is also very important. Statistically, the odds of an urn dropping something decent is very low, but there are so many of them! I wouldn't be surprised if there were 1,000+ urns in the Cathedral and Royal Crypts combined.
For the tougher mobs and bosses, I found it very nice to have a good single-target attack or a snare such as the Wizard's Frost Nova. I though all 5 classes were adequate in this regard. My detailed impressions of each one is below.
Finally, I found that a movement power was important to keep the action fast-paced, especially once I started out-gearing the content a little. The Wizard is the only class that does not have a movement power by level 13 with Teleport being a level 18 utility skill. I will not cover the Passives in much detail, and I will not discuss the Runestone effects for skills since that is still actively being worked on by Blizzard.
Barbarian
The Barbarian is a beast -- and I mean that in the best possible way. The Barbarian has the strength of Conan the Barbarian and the agility of Blake Griffin. Good AoE damage, good movement, and getting to be a brute... What's not to like?
Fury Generator
I wasn't a huge fan a Bash since knocking enemies back makes it harder to kill them! Cleave was by far my bread and butter skill for most groups of mobs with a Leap Attack whenever it came off cooldown. Ground Stomp was also a good skill, and more helpful before my gear improved, but later on (since your skill slots are limited), I always slotted Leap Attack over Ground Stomp.
Fury Spender
Most of the Fury Spenders had some redeeming qualities. Hammer of the Ancients deals good damage and is also good at dealing with groups. Threatening Shout was my least favorite since, in Diablo, killing faster is a lot better than taking less damage. Battle Rage was fine, especially since you can keep 100% uptime on it as it lasts 30 seconds; although remembering to click it every 30 seconds is a little annoying. Weapon Throw is decent because of the slow, but not as useful in single player where you primarily need to be in melee range to deal damage. A much better skill when playing alongside ranged heroes. Finally, Rend was fairly situational since it useless on mobs that die fast, but it is multi-target so it is useful against Champion packs. It's also a decent Fury Spender for boss fights as well given that it hits hard, but you don't want to spam it since the bleed effect takes 3 seconds.
Situational
Ignore Pain is a fine skill since it allows you to Leap into dangerous packs and staying alive doing some good damage. The duration of 5 seconds is a little short so you need to be careful to not be too reckless. As your gear improves, Revenge is probably the better situational skill since when it procs, you deal more damage and heal up. In that regards, it is useful with the same dangerous packs as Ignore Pain, although you don't control when it procs.
Beyond Level 13
Barbarians get a second movement power with Sprint at level 24. Not sure if it has a cooldown, but if it doesn't, it will be amazing as you can spam it 4 times in a row with its cost of 20 Fury. Furious Charge looks worse to me than Leap Attack since I doubt it will allow you to do it over a railing and such. Ancient Spear also doesn't impress me; if I just pulled an enemy to me, why does it matter if they are slowed? Seismic Slam deals good AoE damage, but knocks back; this might be good for Inferno difficulty, but I doubt knockback will be all that useful until then. Whirlwind will probably be a staple for AoE damage as it was in Diablo 2. Overpower seems very solid, especially if you have a good crit rate. Earthquake is channeled for 8 seconds which probably makes it a little too situational despite the decent damage. Call of the Ancients looks very solid, especially for solo play; the cooldown is long at 2 minutes, but you're only really using it for Champion or boss fights where I expect them to shine. Wrath of the Berserker has the same 50 Fury cost and 2 min cooldown as Call of the Ancients and is the better skill when your gear gets better (how much better will need to be seen). But hey, you can slot both.
Passives
Ruthlessness seems very good, especially with crit heavy gear. Nerves of Steel is great for a tank build and should be very good in co-op where the Barb is taking the lion's share of the punishment. Tough is Nails is another solid tanky Passive. Bloodthirst looks solid; keep in mind that there is a lot less life leech in Diablo 3 than there was in Diablo 2. Animosity also looks solid.
Expected Build
Cleave, Leap Attack, Sprint, Whirlwind, Call of the Ancients, Wrath of the Berserker.
Demon Hunter
The Demon Hunter was the class where I had the hardest time killing things around levels 5-6 until I finally got a decent upgrade to my main Hand Crossbow. That could easily be due to some bad luck getting upgrades (or conversely, good luck on other toons). As you may already know, gear matters a ton, and some simple hand-me-down loot can make a bid difference in the early power curve. The Demon Hunter is a solid ranged class with a decent mix of skills. I also had no problems managing both my Hatred and Discipline effectively and I personally like this dual resource system.
Hatred Generator
Hungering Arrow is a solid first skill, but the pierce is not reliable enough to rely on this skill for AoE packs. Evasive Fire is a tough skill to get used to since you can find yourself constantly doing backflips and making it hard to control your position; I suspect this skill is much better when playing co-op with a Barb or Monk. Both Bola and Entangling Shot are decent, but preferred the latter as if generates 4 rather than 3 Hatred. I didn't care for Grenades much because it seemed a little clunky and not as good as the other options.
Hatred Spender
Impale is a very deadly single target attack with no cooldown. Rapid Fire didn't seem to do as much damage as the other options; so while using a mini-gun on your enemies was cool at first, it quickly got old. Chakram isn't as good as Elemental Arrow since it is harder to control and it deals slightly less damage for the same Hatred cost. I loved Elemental Arrow as my go-to AoE skill.
Discipline
Caltrops was lackluster for me, for the same reason that all slow-acting skills are; really only useful when playing solo against hard hitting packs of Champions, and that's just way too situational. Vault is a solid movement skill that you can spam three times in a row. Combined with the Tactical Advantage Passive, Vault is a great movement skill. Shadow Power is a very solid skill that I found myself using against all harder packs and on boss fights.
Beyond Level 13
Spike Trap seems like the kind of skill that might be useful on Inferno level difficulty, but probably not much until then. Fan of Knives seems like a great AoE skill with its very high damage and slowing effect (it does have a 10 sec cooldown); I expect it to be a staple skill of the Demon Hunter. Multishot may replace Elemental Arrow is my primary AoE skill; will have to see. I have a hard time believing that Strafe will be better than the other options given the "random" aspect of it. Cluster Arrows have a hefty 50 Hatred cost which will make it hard to justify a skill spot for it. Finally, Rain of Vengeance suffers from the same problem (40 Hatred) and it takes 5 secs to deal the damage (not sure if channeled or not, but doesn't matter all that much). On the Discipline side, I like Marked for Death and Preparation. Problem is that I can't see having 4 Discipline skills on my bar leaving only one Hatred Generator and one Spender.
Passives
I loved Tactical Advantage; it was certainly the passive that I was the most aware of in terms of being able to constantly notice how good it was. Fundamentals can allow you to free up a Hatred Generator skill slot and open you up for some different builds. The Demon Hunter Passives are the most difficult for me to assess; I expect to go through a lot of variations before feeling comfortable with my last two Passives.
Expected Build
Entangling Shot, Elemental Arrow (or Multishot), Fan of Knives, Vault, Shadow Power, Marked for Death. It's also possible that I will forgo Entangling Shot for the basic attack and the Fundamentals passive which increases the damage of the basic attack by 100% and restores 4 Hatred essentially acting as a Hatred Generator and freeing up another skill slot.
Monk
The Monk is Bruce Lee to the Barbarian's Conan. What he lacks for in bulk, he makes up for with speed. Playing the Monk is not unlike playing 3D fighting games (albeit without a selection of different fighters to choose from). While both the Monk and Barb are melee characters, they felt very different from one another which is good. The Monk also has the only party heal skills which I am sure will come in very handy in co-op play especially.
Spirit Generator
Fists of Thunder's downfall, as I have written for some of the Barbarian skills, is that it knocks back, but you need to be in melee to deal damage. Deadly Reach had its uses, but I preferred the better AoE of Crippling Wave. I also liked Exploding Palm as my Spirit Generator although I think Crippling Wave is probably better overall.
Spirit Spender
Blinding Flash is cool, but like many such skills, I'd rather have skills that allow me to kill faster than defensive skills (with some exceptions). Lashing Tail Kick is the only knockback skill I actually liked. The reason is that you can Dashing Strike into combat (an amazing skill), and then follow that up with some quick combinations of Crippling Wave and Lashing Tail Kick -- a very deadly combination of moves. Breath of Heaven is a great healing skill, and amazing in co-op since it heals allies as well. Cyclone Strike is very interesting (I will hear Tobi Wan yelling "Black Hole" every time I use it). I played around with Inner Sanctuary, but found it too situational as a purely defensive skill, although would not be surprised if it becomes a great tool in co-op play on Inferno level difficulty.
Mantras
Mantra of Retribution, being offensive, was a lot better than Mantra of Evasion
Beyond Level 13
Sweeping Wind doesn't seem as good as the other options since it will be hard to keep 3 stacks of Vortex given the brief 5 second duration. Way of Hundred Fists seems like the best single-target skill. Frankly, none of the higher level Spirit Spenders look all that exciting to me. Wave of Light deals a truckload of damage, but at the cost of a whopping 100 Spirit. Mantra of Healing is only something you would use if you didn't have Breath of Heaven, but the latter is probably better (although it does cost 50 Spirit). Mantra of Conviction is probably best for solo play, but doesn't seem as good as Mantra of Retribution in some cases.
Passives
I really like Fleet Footed since I am a big fan of anything that makes you move faster, especially when leveling; this is the type of passive that I would use until the monsters start getting much tougher. Seize the Initiative looks very good since as a melee class, you will be getting hit, and Attack is one of the most important damage stats anyway. If you're going a crit heavy build instead, then Sixth sense is the better choice. Exalted Soul could be very good, but that will depend a lot on your build. Near Death Experience looks like a great defensive passive. One with Everything looks absurdly good; one of the best passives for any class -- combined with either Initiative or Sixth Sense and your Monk becomes quite the Tank.
Expected Build
Crippling Wave, Lashing Tail Kick, Dashing Strike, Breath of Heaven, Mantra of Retribution (or Conviction), and not sure on the last spot; perhaps Serenity as a very short-duration, but excellent defensive cooldown.
Witch Doctor
Let me start by saying that the Witch Doctor was probably my least favorite class to play to level 13. The three main reasons are the fact that a lot of their skills are slow-acting, Spirit Walk is the worst of the movement powers (since you can't use it to jump over ramps or go through doors that are not yet opened), and of course, and you don't get Sacrifice (which causes your Zombie Dogs to explode) until level 16. I reserve the right to like the Witch Doctor once I can make my Zombie Dogs explode!
Physical Realm
Poison Dart is a fine starting skill, but the damage on it is too low to be considered an effective single-target skill. In fact, single-target damage appears to be the Witch Doctor's biggest weakness. Plague of Toads, Zombie Charger, and Corpse Spiders were good, albeit slow, AoE damage spells that basically did the same kind of thing. On the other hand, I did enjoy Firebats which makes it look like you are actually breathing fire; this skill is channeled and I found it very effective for dealing with most AoE situations.
Spirit Realm
Haunt is another decent spell, but like most of the Witch Doctor spells, it is slow as well. It does have good damage so should be a solid spell for Champions and Bosses. Horrify is a solid defensive spell, but it's a melee defensive spell for a class that prefers to fight at range or let your stupid, incompetent, and disappointing minions do the fighting for you. I was very unimpressed with Spirit Walk as a movement power as I wrote above; I guess "unhindered" in this context means that you can move from NPCs and monsters. I feel that it needs a little something more to make it worth a skill slot.
Command
I loved my Zombie Dogs, and my biggest regret in the beta was that I could not get to level 16 to unlock the Sacrifice spell! Zombie Dogs are cool, but exploding Zombie Dogs should be awesome. I didn't care too much for Grasp of the Dead although it should be more useful as an effective slow while playing against harder foes. Hex was a little too situational for my liking.
Beyond Level 13
Gargantuan seems like it could be a great spell especially for solo play; reminds me a little of the Amazon Decoy. Big Bad Voodoo seems like the best of the 2 min co-op cooldowns as it affects your entire group. Fetish Army is another 2 min cooldown skill, but this one should come in more useful during solo play.
Passives
I liked Vermin because I used Firebats a lot once I unlocked it at level 9. I also like Zombie Handler, possibly altering my build below to include Gargantuan; I especially like it for solo play. Spirit Vessel looks amazing as a defensive passive if I understand it correctly. Vision Quest is also interesting depending on your build.
Expected Build
Firebats, Haunt (or Spirit Barrage), Spirit Walk (assuming it gets some kind of buff), Summon Zombie Dogs, Sacrifice, and Big Bad Voodoo. For solo play, I will almost certainly include Gargantuan and the Zombie Handler Passive.
Wizard
The Wizard is the only class without an early movement power as Teleport only unlocks at level 18. As such, I could not evaluate this skill, but judging from Diablo 2, it should be rock solid. However, to prevent the Diablo 2 teleport abuse, this skill does have a rather long 16 second cooldown. Despite this, I did enjoy playing the Wizard and I especially like some of the utility that a Wizard can bring to a co-op with Frost Nova and, at higher levels, Slow Time.
Signature
I liked both Magic Missile and Electrocute. Shock Pulse was a little too unpredictable and preferred Electrocute to it for AoE situations. Spectral Blade seemed lackluster compared to the other alternatives, especially when factoring in the Offensive spells (which do cost a lot more Arcane Power).
Offensive
I enjoyed Arcane Orb as a great AoE damage skill. Wave of Force was good, and should be an even better skill as the difficulty increases. Disintegrate was... ummm... like the C'Thun red beam -- once geared it was essentially a death ray. Energy Twister was a little too unpredictable for my liking.
Utility
Frost Nova is a great utility spell. I really found that the Frost Nova and Wave of Force combo (they have cooldowns of 12 and 15 secs respectively) was quite deadly. Due to the skill limitations, I could never find a spot for Frost Armor on my bar even though it is solid. Magic Weapon is a solid 2 min buff (much better than the mere 30 sec buffs). Diamond Skin was just way too situational for my liking. At higher level, I expect Teleport to be the more effective avoidance spell while also being a great movement power. Finally, Storm Armor was also hard to fit on my bar. The Wizard seemed like the class where I really wanted to have 8 skills I could use at any time, and that's a good thing because it means I am going to have to make some difficult choices.
Beyond Level 13
Explosive Blast is slow, and more dangerous than your alternatives, so doubt it will see much play. Hydras should be a solid skill for both Champions and Bosses. Ray of Frost seems like a great skill at higher difficulties. Arcane Torrent seems decent, but with only 6 skill slots at level 24, it might not make the cut as an AoE skill; same goes with Blizzard (which may not even slow per the current tooltip). Meteor, on the other hand, hits hard enough that I can see it making the cut. To be honest, I feel like the Wizard has a lot of options, and the choices will probably ultimately depend on how the Runes affect the spells. That's probably true for most skills that I brushed over in this piece.
Passives
Glass Cannon gives a nice 20% damage boost, but at the cost of fragility. As the saying goes "best defense: no be there". Illusionist and Unstable Anomaly both look like good defensive passives. Evocation also seems solid depending on your build.
Expected Build
1 Signature spell (really not sure which), Wave of Force, Ray of Frost, Frost Nova, Teleport, and Archon (assuming it makes me feel like when my Demo Warlock hits Metamorphosis).
Be sure to check out D3Inferno.com for all the latest reverse-engineered patch info, item data, and more!
1
I finally had a chance to play in the Beta after a friend (thanks Chris!) got access and gave me his info so that I could play. First of all, I want to say that it definitely feels like a "Diablo" game. It has a lot of the visceral game-play that we've come to love from this franchise. And while the loot in the Beta is not super exciting, I did find it fun to tweak out my toons and plow through mobs in 4-player PUGs.
I played up to level 12-13 on each character class to try to get a comprehensive sense of the different skills and how they worked together. One thing I quickly realized was that there were three primary abilities that I really wanted:
Having a good multi-target ability is absolutely essential since more often then not, you are trying to kill large groups of mobs. Killing them one at a time is horribly inefficient and doesn't make you feel like a bad-ass at all. Also, being able to destroy barrels/urns/etc more than one at a time is also very important. Statistically, the odds of an urn dropping something decent is very low, but there are so many of them! I wouldn't be surprised if there were 1,000+ urns in the Cathedral and Royal Crypts combined.
For the tougher mobs and bosses, I found it very nice to have a good single-target attack or a snare such as the Wizard's Frost Nova. I though all 5 classes were adequate in this regard. My detailed impressions of each one is below.
Finally, I found that a movement power was important to keep the action fast-paced, especially once I started out-gearing the content a little. The Wizard is the only class that does not have a movement power by level 13 with Teleport being a level 18 utility skill. I will not cover the Passives in much detail, and I will not discuss the Runestone effects for skills since that is still actively being worked on by Blizzard.
Barbarian
The Barbarian is a beast -- and I mean that in the best possible way. The Barbarian has the strength of Conan the Barbarian and the agility of Blake Griffin. Good AoE damage, good movement, and getting to be a brute... What's not to like?
Fury Generator
I wasn't a huge fan a Bash since knocking enemies back makes it harder to kill them! Cleave was by far my bread and butter skill for most groups of mobs with a Leap Attack whenever it came off cooldown. Ground Stomp was also a good skill, and more helpful before my gear improved, but later on (since your skill slots are limited), I always slotted Leap Attack over Ground Stomp.
Fury Spender
Most of the Fury Spenders had some redeeming qualities. Hammer of the Ancients deals good damage and is also good at dealing with groups. Threatening Shout was my least favorite since, in Diablo, killing faster is a lot better than taking less damage. Battle Rage was fine, especially since you can keep 100% uptime on it as it lasts 30 seconds; although remembering to click it every 30 seconds is a little annoying. Weapon Throw is decent because of the slow, but not as useful in single player where you primarily need to be in melee range to deal damage. A much better skill when playing alongside ranged heroes. Finally, Rend was fairly situational since it useless on mobs that die fast, but it is multi-target so it is useful against Champion packs. It's also a decent Fury Spender for boss fights as well given that it hits hard, but you don't want to spam it since the bleed effect takes 3 seconds.
Situational
Ignore Pain is a fine skill since it allows you to Leap into dangerous packs and staying alive doing some good damage. The duration of 5 seconds is a little short so you need to be careful to not be too reckless. As your gear improves, Revenge is probably the better situational skill since when it procs, you deal more damage and heal up. In that regards, it is useful with the same dangerous packs as Ignore Pain, although you don't control when it procs.
Beyond Level 13
Barbarians get a second movement power with Sprint at level 24. Not sure if it has a cooldown, but if it doesn't, it will be amazing as you can spam it 4 times in a row with its cost of 20 Fury. Furious Charge looks worse to me than Leap Attack since I doubt it will allow you to do it over a railing and such. Ancient Spear also doesn't impress me; if I just pulled an enemy to me, why does it matter if they are slowed? Seismic Slam deals good AoE damage, but knocks back; this might be good for Inferno difficulty, but I doubt knockback will be all that useful until then. Whirlwind will probably be a staple for AoE damage as it was in Diablo 2. Overpower seems very solid, especially if you have a good crit rate. Earthquake is channeled for 8 seconds which probably makes it a little too situational despite the decent damage. Call of the Ancients looks very solid, especially for solo play; the cooldown is long at 2 minutes, but you're only really using it for Champion or boss fights where I expect them to shine. Wrath of the Berserker has the same 50 Fury cost and 2 min cooldown as Call of the Ancients and is the better skill when your gear gets better (how much better will need to be seen). But hey, you can slot both.
Passives
Ruthlessness seems very good, especially with crit heavy gear. Nerves of Steel is great for a tank build and should be very good in co-op where the Barb is taking the lion's share of the punishment. Tough is Nails is another solid tanky Passive. Bloodthirst looks solid; keep in mind that there is a lot less life leech in Diablo 3 than there was in Diablo 2. Animosity also looks solid.
Expected Build
Cleave, Leap Attack, Sprint, Whirlwind, Call of the Ancients, Wrath of the Berserker.
Demon Hunter
The Demon Hunter was the class where I had the hardest time killing things around levels 5-6 until I finally got a decent upgrade to my main Hand Crossbow. That could easily be due to some bad luck getting upgrades (or conversely, good luck on other toons). As you may already know, gear matters a ton, and some simple hand-me-down loot can make a bid difference in the early power curve. The Demon Hunter is a solid ranged class with a decent mix of skills. I also had no problems managing both my Hatred and Discipline effectively and I personally like this dual resource system.
Hatred Generator
Hungering Arrow is a solid first skill, but the pierce is not reliable enough to rely on this skill for AoE packs. Evasive Fire is a tough skill to get used to since you can find yourself constantly doing backflips and making it hard to control your position; I suspect this skill is much better when playing co-op with a Barb or Monk. Both Bola and Entangling Shot are decent, but preferred the latter as if generates 4 rather than 3 Hatred. I didn't care for Grenades much because it seemed a little clunky and not as good as the other options.
Hatred Spender
Impale is a very deadly single target attack with no cooldown. Rapid Fire didn't seem to do as much damage as the other options; so while using a mini-gun on your enemies was cool at first, it quickly got old. Chakram isn't as good as Elemental Arrow since it is harder to control and it deals slightly less damage for the same Hatred cost. I loved Elemental Arrow as my go-to AoE skill.
Discipline
Caltrops was lackluster for me, for the same reason that all slow-acting skills are; really only useful when playing solo against hard hitting packs of Champions, and that's just way too situational. Vault is a solid movement skill that you can spam three times in a row. Combined with the Tactical Advantage Passive, Vault is a great movement skill. Shadow Power is a very solid skill that I found myself using against all harder packs and on boss fights.
Beyond Level 13
Spike Trap seems like the kind of skill that might be useful on Inferno level difficulty, but probably not much until then. Fan of Knives seems like a great AoE skill with its very high damage and slowing effect (it does have a 10 sec cooldown); I expect it to be a staple skill of the Demon Hunter. Multishot may replace Elemental Arrow is my primary AoE skill; will have to see. I have a hard time believing that Strafe will be better than the other options given the "random" aspect of it. Cluster Arrows have a hefty 50 Hatred cost which will make it hard to justify a skill spot for it. Finally, Rain of Vengeance suffers from the same problem (40 Hatred) and it takes 5 secs to deal the damage (not sure if channeled or not, but doesn't matter all that much). On the Discipline side, I like Marked for Death and Preparation. Problem is that I can't see having 4 Discipline skills on my bar leaving only one Hatred Generator and one Spender.
Passives
I loved Tactical Advantage; it was certainly the passive that I was the most aware of in terms of being able to constantly notice how good it was. Fundamentals can allow you to free up a Hatred Generator skill slot and open you up for some different builds. The Demon Hunter Passives are the most difficult for me to assess; I expect to go through a lot of variations before feeling comfortable with my last two Passives.
Expected Build
Entangling Shot, Elemental Arrow (or Multishot), Fan of Knives, Vault, Shadow Power, Marked for Death. It's also possible that I will forgo Entangling Shot for the basic attack and the Fundamentals passive which increases the damage of the basic attack by 100% and restores 4 Hatred essentially acting as a Hatred Generator and freeing up another skill slot.
Monk
The Monk is Bruce Lee to the Barbarian's Conan. What he lacks for in bulk, he makes up for with speed. Playing the Monk is not unlike playing 3D fighting games (albeit without a selection of different fighters to choose from). While both the Monk and Barb are melee characters, they felt very different from one another which is good. The Monk also has the only party heal skills which I am sure will come in very handy in co-op play especially.
Spirit Generator
Fists of Thunder's downfall, as I have written for some of the Barbarian skills, is that it knocks back, but you need to be in melee to deal damage. Deadly Reach had its uses, but I preferred the better AoE of Crippling Wave. I also liked Exploding Palm as my Spirit Generator although I think Crippling Wave is probably better overall.
Spirit Spender
Blinding Flash is cool, but like many such skills, I'd rather have skills that allow me to kill faster than defensive skills (with some exceptions). Lashing Tail Kick is the only knockback skill I actually liked. The reason is that you can Dashing Strike into combat (an amazing skill), and then follow that up with some quick combinations of Crippling Wave and Lashing Tail Kick -- a very deadly combination of moves. Breath of Heaven is a great healing skill, and amazing in co-op since it heals allies as well. Cyclone Strike is very interesting (I will hear Tobi Wan yelling "Black Hole" every time I use it). I played around with Inner Sanctuary, but found it too situational as a purely defensive skill, although would not be surprised if it becomes a great tool in co-op play on Inferno level difficulty.
Mantras
Mantra of Retribution, being offensive, was a lot better than Mantra of Evasion
Beyond Level 13
Sweeping Wind doesn't seem as good as the other options since it will be hard to keep 3 stacks of Vortex given the brief 5 second duration. Way of Hundred Fists seems like the best single-target skill. Frankly, none of the higher level Spirit Spenders look all that exciting to me. Wave of Light deals a truckload of damage, but at the cost of a whopping 100 Spirit. Mantra of Healing is only something you would use if you didn't have Breath of Heaven, but the latter is probably better (although it does cost 50 Spirit). Mantra of Conviction is probably best for solo play, but doesn't seem as good as Mantra of Retribution in some cases.
Passives
I really like Fleet Footed since I am a big fan of anything that makes you move faster, especially when leveling; this is the type of passive that I would use until the monsters start getting much tougher. Seize the Initiative looks very good since as a melee class, you will be getting hit, and Attack is one of the most important damage stats anyway. If you're going a crit heavy build instead, then Sixth sense is the better choice. Exalted Soul could be very good, but that will depend a lot on your build. Near Death Experience looks like a great defensive passive. One with Everything looks absurdly good; one of the best passives for any class -- combined with either Initiative or Sixth Sense and your Monk becomes quite the Tank.
Expected Build
Crippling Wave, Lashing Tail Kick, Dashing Strike, Breath of Heaven, Mantra of Retribution (or Conviction), and not sure on the last spot; perhaps Serenity as a very short-duration, but excellent defensive cooldown.
Witch Doctor
Let me start by saying that the Witch Doctor was probably my least favorite class to play to level 13. The three main reasons are the fact that a lot of their skills are slow-acting, Spirit Walk is the worst of the movement powers (since you can't use it to jump over ramps or go through doors that are not yet opened), and of course, and you don't get Sacrifice (which causes your Zombie Dogs to explode) until level 16. I reserve the right to like the Witch Doctor once I can make my Zombie Dogs explode!
Physical Realm
Poison Dart is a fine starting skill, but the damage on it is too low to be considered an effective single-target skill. In fact, single-target damage appears to be the Witch Doctor's biggest weakness. Plague of Toads, Zombie Charger, and Corpse Spiders were good, albeit slow, AoE damage spells that basically did the same kind of thing. On the other hand, I did enjoy Firebats which makes it look like you are actually breathing fire; this skill is channeled and I found it very effective for dealing with most AoE situations.
Spirit Realm
Haunt is another decent spell, but like most of the Witch Doctor spells, it is slow as well. It does have good damage so should be a solid spell for Champions and Bosses. Horrify is a solid defensive spell, but it's a melee defensive spell for a class that prefers to fight at range or let your stupid, incompetent, and disappointing minions do the fighting for you. I was very unimpressed with Spirit Walk as a movement power as I wrote above; I guess "unhindered" in this context means that you can move from NPCs and monsters. I feel that it needs a little something more to make it worth a skill slot.
Command
I loved my Zombie Dogs, and my biggest regret in the beta was that I could not get to level 16 to unlock the Sacrifice spell! Zombie Dogs are cool, but exploding Zombie Dogs should be awesome. I didn't care too much for Grasp of the Dead although it should be more useful as an effective slow while playing against harder foes. Hex was a little too situational for my liking.
Beyond Level 13
Gargantuan seems like it could be a great spell especially for solo play; reminds me a little of the Amazon Decoy. Big Bad Voodoo seems like the best of the 2 min co-op cooldowns as it affects your entire group. Fetish Army is another 2 min cooldown skill, but this one should come in more useful during solo play.
Passives
I liked Vermin because I used Firebats a lot once I unlocked it at level 9. I also like Zombie Handler, possibly altering my build below to include Gargantuan; I especially like it for solo play. Spirit Vessel looks amazing as a defensive passive if I understand it correctly. Vision Quest is also interesting depending on your build.
Expected Build
Firebats, Haunt (or Spirit Barrage), Spirit Walk (assuming it gets some kind of buff), Summon Zombie Dogs, Sacrifice, and Big Bad Voodoo. For solo play, I will almost certainly include Gargantuan and the Zombie Handler Passive.
Wizard
The Wizard is the only class without an early movement power as Teleport only unlocks at level 18. As such, I could not evaluate this skill, but judging from Diablo 2, it should be rock solid. However, to prevent the Diablo 2 teleport abuse, this skill does have a rather long 16 second cooldown. Despite this, I did enjoy playing the Wizard and I especially like some of the utility that a Wizard can bring to a co-op with Frost Nova and, at higher levels, Slow Time.
Signature
I liked both Magic Missile and Electrocute. Shock Pulse was a little too unpredictable and preferred Electrocute to it for AoE situations. Spectral Blade seemed lackluster compared to the other alternatives, especially when factoring in the Offensive spells (which do cost a lot more Arcane Power).
Offensive
I enjoyed Arcane Orb as a great AoE damage skill. Wave of Force was good, and should be an even better skill as the difficulty increases. Disintegrate was... ummm... like the C'Thun red beam -- once geared it was essentially a death ray. Energy Twister was a little too unpredictable for my liking.
Utility
Frost Nova is a great utility spell. I really found that the Frost Nova and Wave of Force combo (they have cooldowns of 12 and 15 secs respectively) was quite deadly. Due to the skill limitations, I could never find a spot for Frost Armor on my bar even though it is solid. Magic Weapon is a solid 2 min buff (much better than the mere 30 sec buffs). Diamond Skin was just way too situational for my liking. At higher level, I expect Teleport to be the more effective avoidance spell while also being a great movement power. Finally, Storm Armor was also hard to fit on my bar. The Wizard seemed like the class where I really wanted to have 8 skills I could use at any time, and that's a good thing because it means I am going to have to make some difficult choices.
Beyond Level 13
Explosive Blast is slow, and more dangerous than your alternatives, so doubt it will see much play. Hydras should be a solid skill for both Champions and Bosses. Ray of Frost seems like a great skill at higher difficulties. Arcane Torrent seems decent, but with only 6 skill slots at level 24, it might not make the cut as an AoE skill; same goes with Blizzard (which may not even slow per the current tooltip). Meteor, on the other hand, hits hard enough that I can see it making the cut. To be honest, I feel like the Wizard has a lot of options, and the choices will probably ultimately depend on how the Runes affect the spells. That's probably true for most skills that I brushed over in this piece.
Passives
Glass Cannon gives a nice 20% damage boost, but at the cost of fragility. As the saying goes "best defense: no be there". Illusionist and Unstable Anomaly both look like good defensive passives. Evocation also seems solid depending on your build.
Expected Build
1 Signature spell (really not sure which), Wave of Force, Ray of Frost, Frost Nova, Teleport, and Archon (assuming it makes me feel like when my Demo Warlock hits Metamorphosis).
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--Muaziz
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