DiabloFans

Well, based on your needs, you want cyclone strike to pull in enemies (duh!), a spirit generator to support your spirit spenders, dashing strike for mobility, and a mantra for group benefit. This leaves you with two slots to fill with control and survivability. I'm running with an aggressive cyclone strike build, depending on your situation you may want to replace the ally and the secondary attack, as well as choose a more suitable mantra and spirit generator for your needs. For instance, you can try something like this.
In the aggressive build the spirit generator is a high damage ability, because I like to deal some damage too. The secondary attack (exploding palm) is there to battle the elites: I mark one with the palm, so that it receives 20% extra damage, and I try to keep the elites together so that they all take the explosion gamage when the marked elite dies. Exploding palm along with cyclone strike are expensive, so I compensate it with the air ally and use his active ability whenever I need to pull an extra pack or immediately use exploding palm. I have no issues with survivability, so I use mantra of conviction and activate it from time to time. I use chant of resonance passive to lower the cost of mantra activation. Since I have no healing abilities and use heavy spirit consuming abilities, I chose transcendence as my second passive. One with everithing is a great passive, you have no need for it if you only have all res gear, though there's no point in having such gear in RoS (enchanting), so you probably will want this passive anyway. Dashing strike is there for mobility. By the way it allows you to go through some walls, the main rule is: you must be able to get to this point by simply holding your move button. So if you are trying to dash into a room that is separated with a breakeable door, you'll have no luck. But you can often jump through a wall into an adjacent room, that is connected to the room you are currently in by a mile-long passage with no doors along the way. Comes in handy when farming Act III keep. The same rules apply for waller elites: if there is a way out, you can dash through their walls. If they closed you shut, you won't be able to jump through.
As for the second (defensive) build, it's, well, way too defensive in my opinion, but it will work. The spirit generator is used to debuff your enemies, inner sanctuary is meant for elites so that they take more damage and you take less, while cycloning them inside the circle and letting your friends do the damage dealing. The mantra and seize the initiative along with one with everything are pure survivability, serenity with this rune can save your friends. Fleet footed increases your moving speed and is able to exceed the 25% cap. So if you are speed capped, you can add fleet footed to achieve 35% ms. With dashing strike + falling star rune your friends may face difficulties in keeping up with your speed, so you can change the passive to something else, I guess.
As for paragons I suggest capping the speed and putting everything else in dexterity. Other points go to crit chance, life on hit and all res or armor.
The stats are dex, crit, crit damage for offense, and resistances, armor and vitality for defense. You'll want life on hit or some passive healing to stay alive. Attack speed is something between offense and defense: it makes your life on hit work better, it increases your damage, it helps you generate more spirit, but crit chance and damage are way better for your dps. There are no breakpoints that I'm aware of.
As always, it's better to test the things to get a picture of how the variations of your desired build work and apply the changes you feel better suite your needs. Hope this will help you.

I'm considering Garaddon as my main char name (monk). It was my tauren's name in WoW, which I got used to. The name itself was simply taken from here: http://www.wowwiki.com/Tauren
Other than that I don't really care. Maybe something that'll make my friends laugh 'cause I'm going to play with them mostly.

Nice thread btw!

Quote from youwillneverknow

The angel of patience was slain by the lesser demon Jaywilsonon, Lord of Sloth.

But they told me it was the Lord of Polishing! For the greater good!

Quote from Keiser

Even my female Blood Elf Paladin in WoW I had some connection to because I was looking over her shoulder, but it wasn't on a personal "this is a reflection of me" level, a closer analogy would be that while playing WoW I was reading a book.

Exactly my thoughts. I mentioned my belf toon in the thread earlier and wanted to say that, but for some reason I didn't. When I role-play a character, I start to imagine what would the character do rather then what would I do. And that really feels like reading a book. I like playing RPGs this way much more. Of course the game character can get some of my real character traits, 'cause I'm it's creator, but I won't imagine myself in int's place. But nevertheless I almost never play female characters in games with serious role-play elements. But diablo and WoW? No problem at all.

I guess "early" is like "early in the morning". So we only know that one early morning this year the game will finally be released.
I also see a "Not so soon was also too soon" article coming

But why isn't Bash telling us when the D4 release date is??? I'm pissed off and sick of their lies and conspiracies... That's not how you treat a customer!

When I saw Diablo III on the timeline there was a glimpse of hope that it will hint at the release date.

I've been quite hesitant to post my thoughts about my build until I have personally tested it in inferno (past act 2 specifically) to see how it would work.

Mainly due to the large amounts of similar posts from people who suggest builds for inferno that contain one of the two following flaws :

(1) Not being fully tested in harder acts of inferno

(2) Being highly gear dependent builds that require certain stats to work

After enough playing to get a good feel for it with all the possible champion packs and such, I can gladly say that this build will enable you to survive and kill things SLOWLY but SURELY in inferno, in order to gear up enough to the point of trying out more varied/fun builds.

This is mainly a build focusing on extreme survival for farming inferno purposes until you can get your stats past a comfortable point to try out less defensive builds.

Link to the build here

Skill choices and Rune decisions explanation :

Skill Choice : Crippling Wave
Rune Choice : Concussion

(1) Out of all your spirit generators, Crippling wave is probably the most well rounded one, with good AOE damage spread (compared to deadly reach)

(2) despite lower weapon damage percentage than WoHF , it still does more overall damage, mainly due to the AOE aspect

(3) Slowing down enemies is more valuable for hit and run during fights than the benefits granted by other generators

(4) Concussion rune adds 20% damage mitigation from enemy hits

(5) 20% slower attack speed on enemies also means less damage taken per second


Skill Choice : Sweeping Wind
Rune Choice : Bladestorm

(1) Out of all your spirit spenders, Sweeping wind is the most well rounded, with the best overall Damage output over longer fights than any other spirit spenders (Due to AOE damage, almost permanent uptime if you keep the 3 stacks up without needing to spend extra spirit for more damage, and no cooldown)

(2) it has the highest spirit cost of any possible spirit spender (75 spirit) , which enables it to synergize well with the transcendence passive (which we are using in this build), therefore you can use it as an emergency heal (4650 Life) if both serenity and breath of heaven are on cooldown.

(3) Bladestorm rune is without doubt the most useful rune for sweeping wind, increasing the damage dramatically

Skill Choice : Breath of Heaven
Rune Choice : Circle of Life

(1) A very powerful healing spell, at a relatively low spirit cost and moderate cooldown, a definite must have

(2) Circle of Life rune increases the healing to 8063 - 9675 life , which is even better

(3) Transcendence passive synergy adds 1550 extra life when it's used , making the total healing amount received 9613 - 11225 life

Skill Choice : Serenity
Rune Choice : Peaceful Repose

(1) A shield that makes you invulnerable for 3 seconds, as well as immunity to all control impairing effects, again a skill that is a must for survival.

(2) Peaceful Repose rune allows it to also function as a secondary heal for 6202 - 7752 life

(3) Transcendence passive synergy adds 620 extra life when it's used , making the total healing amount received 6822 - 8372 life

Skill Choice : Blinding Flash
Rune Choice : Searing Light

(1) chances for enemies to miss translate directly into extra dodge for your character, more survivability.

(2) Searing Light rune makes this even more valuable by making the chance for elite enemies to miss attacks on you increase to 60%

Skill Choice : Mantra of Evasion
Rune Choice : Backlash

(1) Since monk is overall an avoidance tank, not a vitality tank like the barb, therefore mantra of evasion is a more powerful choice by amplifying his avoidance even further

(2) Backlash rune selection was mainly due to this build being very highly defensive, and the only source of damage coming from crippling wave and sweeping wind, therefore it would be useful to add a little extra damage through a defensive ability like the mantra,
Also since you will be dodging attacks for a good majority of the time, this would mean the 35% weapon damage AOE is a semi-passive ability, that stacks with sweeping wind (making the total passive aoe damage around you reach a total of 95% weapon damage most of the time)

(3) spamming the mantra whenever it's on cooldown adds an extra dodge chance (more survivability) which in turn also makes sure the backlash rune proc uptime is maximum (more AOE damage), while having the relatively medium cost of 50 spirit ensures it's also useful as a semi-heal through Transcendence passive (3100 Life)

Passive Skill Choices explanation :

Passive Skill : Resolve

(1) reducing incoming damage through your own attacks by 25% is a huge damage reduction amount.

(2) synergizes well with concussion rune for crippling wave (they stack multiplicative)

Passive Skill : Seize the initiative

(1) converting your main attribute for damage into a survival stat is a win-win strategy, stacking high dexterity to do more damage will automatically ensure you have more damage reduction without investing in any other stat

(2) High dexterity investment will also increase your dodge chance, which will increase your survival as well as your AOE damage from Backlash rune for Mantra of Evasion.

(3) High attack speeds from high dexterity stacking will translate to more spirit generation, which will translate into more cooldown usage, and therefore more heals overall through Transcendence passive

Passive Skill : Transcendence

(1) utilizing any spirit spending ability into providing additional heals is definitely the most useful passive ability for a monk.

(2) Impressive synergy with almost all of the skills chosen in this build.


Notes and further thoughts regarding the build :

(1) Focus on stacking Dexterity and Vitality as your two main stats, as well as weapon damage (Duh!)

(2) Focus on stacking + all resists as your secondary stat

(3) For more early survival, use a good high damage 1h weapon with a shield, don't use a Daibo or dual wield early on in inferno, the extra armor from a shield is worth the trade-off in damage until you have better overall gear

(4) Tackle mobs slowly but steadily, use your cooldowns to effectively heal whenever you need, even by using an ability like the mantra or sweeping wind if your main healing spells are on cooldown

(5) try to maximize your dodge against bosses by using blinding flash + mantra consecutively as you stand to hit them, followed by serenity to give you a further 3 seconds where you can stand and damage without getting hit.


Any further critique and discussion is more than welcome, however bear in mind that this is not a late game build, but rather an inferno starting/farming survival build that enables you to effectively seek out better gear

"Dark visions haunt Leah once again..."

Hello You Guys!!

Here's the Super Diabolesques Valentine's Day Special!!

Featuring the brand new Character:Klya Bash, the Barbarian!





art by Ismael Bergara

Have a happy valentine's Day with your special someone!!, or your computer, or your beta account, or your pets, or yourself.... or a smurf...

Quote from CherubDown

My calculation isn't perfect unfortunately. It's about 0.2 off and I'm not exactly sure why. If anyone can figure it out, I'd love to know what I've got wrong.

All the values displayed in-game are rounded to 1 or 2 decimal places. The actual values have more significant figures than that, which will lead to small errors since you are calculating based off the rounded damage numbers.

Quote from CherubDown

As for equipping two-handed weapons, there's a thread here on the matter and the formula is quite simple:

1.15*(W1_dps + W2_dps)/2

The 15% increase is an incentive to use 2-handed weapons.

Your explanation does not match your equation and the linked thread. What you mean is that equipping 2 one-handed weapons (dual wielding) will increase your average attack speed by 15%. This is something entirely different from equipping "two-handed" weapons which take both hands to hold a single weapon. ;-)

Quote from NullerGnuen

So isn't it basicly just (your average damage * attack speed) ? ...

That's exactly how it works.

It would definitely be nice if the game displayed average attack damage (and perhaps average attack speed) in addition to dps. As far as I know, spell damage scales based on average damage, no average dps. Attack speed effects how quickly you can use a skill with no cooldown. Overall the skill systems seem fairly balanced to account for this, but there are some builds that would benefit from faster attack speed and others that would benefit from larger average weapon damage.

Oddly enough, I don't believe this topic has been addressed, and if it has, please let me know.

I've been doing some research about how dps works, and I think I have (sortof) figured it out. Most of this info is based on actual in-game numbers.

I'd like to start this off by saying damage is not DPS. This may seem obvious to most, but it's important to distinguish the two.

According to Jay Wilson, your damage is based on your weapon. Simple enough:


You can figure out your actual weapon DPS by

(W_lower+W_higher)*(W_speed_factor)/2

where W_lower is the lowest dmg your weapon can do, W_higher is the highest, and W_speed_factor is your weapon speed.

Or you can figure it out by simply looking at that giant number the game throws at you :). That settles damage and weapon DPS, but what about overall DPS? According to the game,




Interestingly, Blizzard has decided to include your crit factor and crit chance into your overall DPS. So I decided to try to figure out a formula for the whole thing, and this is what I've come up with:

(W_dps)+(W_dps * dmg_increase_factor) + (W_dps) * (crit_factor) * (crit_chance)

where W_dps is your weapon's dps, dmg_increase_factor is the factor by which your damage is increased (based on your primary attribute), crit_factor is your crit damage increase, and crit_chance is obviously your chance to crit.

My calculation isn't perfect unfortunately. It's about 0.2 off and I'm not exactly sure why. If anyone can figure it out, I'd love to know what I've got wrong.


As for equipping two weapons (duel wielding), there's a thread here on the matter and the formula is quite simple:

1.15*(W1_dps + W2_dps)/2

The output of this formula can be replaced by the W_dps in the previous formula. (Thanks chippydip and romique for the correction and clarification) The 15% increase is an incentive to use 2-handed weapons.

One day, I was bored during school so I decided to look at the items in D3. Mostly the Legendaries. After paying attention to just the names, I noticed some WoW references. Looking further, I found some names even referencing popular media. These are just a few of the Legendaries, and the ones that I got the reference to.


WoW-related Legendaries

Did someone say Thunderfury? http://us.battle.net...tem/thunderfury
So one of the legendary swords in named Thunderfury. And it is no coincidence that it is WoW related when the description of the item is

The son of Al'Akir wielded this mighty weapon during his ill fated battle with the Lord of Fire.

Cataclysm http://us.battle.net.../item/cataclysm
This weapon, I believe, is more of a reference at the latest WoW Expansion. There is nothing really special about it at this moment but its description is

A weapon of myth and legend. Some say that to use it is folly—that it will rip the land asunder and boil the oceans.

The Murlocket http://us.battle.net...m/the-murlocket
Blizzard trend of all things Murlock continues into their newest game. Even the picture of the Murlocket is the face of a murlock.
This amulets description is

Dredged from the murky shores of Lake Chu, this disturbing amulet emits strange sounds when held to one's ear.

Warmonger http://us.battle.net.../item/warmonger
This sword, is almost an exact replica of another weapon from WoW. Both blades share the same name and looks so this is clearly a WoW reference.
This swords description though, isn't a reference to WoW.

Brandished by the demon Draorm at the Fifth Battle of the Diamond Gates.

Thanks to Compher for finding this.'

Gehennas http://us.battle.net/d3/en/artisan/blacksmith/recipe/gehennas
These pants share a common name with a boss from the old raid, Molten Core. If you guessed Gehennas, then you are correct. But so far, that is the only connection I can find.
The description on these pants is

These pants are the result of an unfortunate bargain struck between the demon Skelon and an unwitting human.

Blizzard Legacy Games

Blackthorne's Sword http://us.battle.net...ckthornes-sword
This is a reference to one of Blizzard's ealier games, Blackthorne. In the game, you play as Kyle Blackthorne but he usually uses a shotgun. This being Diablo, a shotgun would be out of place. So instead, he gets a sword.
There is currently no description for this weapon.
Thanks to Compher for finding this.

Outside References

THIS! IS! SPARTA! http://us.battle.net...the-300th-spear
This spear is both a reference to history and a movie. Both are based upon the Battle of Thermopylae and the 300 Spartans, among about a thousand warriors, who defended the one way into Greek Territory for seven days against the vast Persian Army.
This spears description is

They fought against incredible odds, down to the last warrior.

The Hot Gate http://us.battle.net...em/the-hot-gate
Little known fact, Thermopylae means Hot Gate. It derives its name from the hot sulphur springs that reside there.
There is currently no description for this item.
Thanks to zerObit for finding this.

Bezoar Stone http://us.battle.net...em/bezoar-stone
This name became popular in the sixth Harry Potter book when Ron was poisened by some mead and Harry shoved a Bezoar Stone down Ron's throat. But a Bezoar is actually a ball of anything and everything that gets stuck in the stomach.
The description of this strange Spirit Stone is

This stone has passed through much to attain its magical properties.

Not Slytherin, Not Slytherin http://us.battle.net...he-sporting-hat
The name of this hat is most likely a little twist of the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter Books/Movies. But that is all to go on as there is no current description for this item. I'm just hoping that it is gray, covers my eyes, and talks.

Batman! http://us.battle.net...-the-dark-night
This is obviously a reference to the Dark Knight, AKA Batman. The previous owner was a man named Bayne. As a commenter on the page has stated, Bruce + Wayne = Bayne. And all of us who have played WoW know how Blizzard is with names. /cough Harrison Jones /cough
The description of this cape is

"Those who seek to do evil are a cowardly and superstitious lot." —Demon hunter Bayne

Utility Belt? http://us.battle.net.../vigilante-belt
Nothing really points to this being a reference to Batman's Utility Belt but just the name, Vigilante Belt, has gotta reference it. The picture of it even looks a bit like the utility belt of Batman.
The description for this low level belt is

He stalked his prey by dark of night, separating the evil ones from their lives .

Kill http://us.battle.net/d3/en/item/kill
Nothing really appears special about this dagger. It's purple, looks to have spikes on it, but that is it in terms of the dagger. Until you look at the description. It is a quote that was made by the Joker in the Dark Knight. So with that in mind, the dagger being purple fits.
The dagger's description is

"In their last moments, people show you who they really are..." —Unknown

Thanks to zerObit for finding this.

Can't Touch This! http://us.battle.net.../hammer-jammers
Hammer time! These little pants are obviously a reference to the famous pants worn by MC Hammer in the song, You Can't Touch This. The picture of the item looks pretty close to the actual pants and I'm expecting them to be very baggy when worn in game.
These shiny pants have the description

These large pants cannot be touched.

Phalanx Lock http://us.battle.net...em/phalanx-lock
Little known fact, the Greeks created a formation of heavily armed infantry that had them all squished very close to each other. And isn't Diablo all about creating the most heavily armed warrior? This shield does not have a current description

Beckon Sail http://us.battle.net...tem/beckon-sail
Reference to the Actress Kate Beckonsale whom is the star of the Underworld movies. While a vampire seems more of a target of the demon hunters, she prefers using ranged weapons, guns, and it fits that a cloak is named after her.
The description of the cloak is

Favored by those who do their fighting in the underworld.

Thanks to Doomscream for finding this.

Lamentation http://us.battle.net...tem/lamentation
What is Best in Life? Barbarians of course. This belt is a reference to Conan the Barbarian. Conan was asked by a Mongol General, "What is best in life?" Conan responded with, "To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women." And this Might Belts description is almost exactly the same.

Ideal for crushing your enemies and driving them before you.

Thanks to Doomscream for finding this.

Etrayu http://us.battle.net/d3/en/item/etrayu
A tale that never ends. That is what the warrior, whom last used this bow, felt. The name might also be a reference to the Neverending Story. In the book, there is a boy warrior by the name of Atreyu. So anyone can easily see the reference there.
The description for this bow is

The warrior surveyed the dead and dying arrayed about him. There would be more—many more. He felt as if he were trapped in a tale that would never end.

Thanks to Compher for finding this.

Logan's Claw http://us.battle.net...tem/logans-claw
This fist weapon is a reference to the X-Men character, Wolverine. But he also goes by the name, Logan. If you don't know, Wolverine has three claws on each hand. Which is exactly like the picture on this weapon. The description also hints at releasing the beast.

Bearing this weapon can release the feral beast within.

Thanks to Compher for finding this.

Kymbo's Gold http://us.battle.net...tem/kymbos-gold
This amulet is most likely a reference to boxer, Kimbo Slice. He wears a necklace that is a closed fist. This amulet's picture appears to have two hands on it that could reference the necklace.
The description for the amulet is

This heavy amulet was originally crafted for the fiercest of all fighters. Only the strongest can claim the right to wear it.

Tanks to Compher for finding this.

Mempo of Twilight http://us.battle.net...mpo-of-twilight
This is a helmet with the picture of a samurai mask. A mempo is also a mask that samurais use so the connection fits. While I could not find evidence of a media reference, the description talks about how it was used by the last of honor-bound warriors.

The helmet of the last of the honor-bound warriors. He roamed the far east long ago and lived and died by his code of honor.

Undending War http://us.battle.net...pe/sanitys-edge
This sword has nothing really special involved with its name. But it's description is what is used as a reference. It is a quote by George Santayana who is a plilosopher.

Only the dead have seen the end of war.

Also, this weapon could be new or subject to change due the name, Sanitys Edge, in the link.
Thanks to zerObit for finding this.

Nutcracker! http://us.battle.net...item/nutcracker
Before you say, "This is Diablo! Why is there a play reference?" I would like to say this is not a reference to the play. But it is a very painful weapon as described by its description.

Each strike lands with enough force to crush a boulder.

Thanks to zerObit for finding this.

Fenrir's Tooth http://us.battle.net...m/fenrirs-tooth
This axe has two possible references. Both involve a wolf. One of those two is a reference to Harry Potter and the werewolf Fenrir Greyback. The other one, is a reference to Norse Mythology, whom Fenrir was a monstrous wolf.
There is currently no description for this axe.
Thanks to zerObit for finding this and thanks to sunturion for the Norse reference.

Barter Town Pads http://us.battle.net...arter-town-pads
This is a reference to the movie, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. In the movie, Max finds a place called Bartertown and has an arena in it called the Thunderdome. The description references a town that has an arena in it.

Used in the arena in the center of the city of Kalden, the famed "Barter Town."

Thanks to monolith38 for finding this.

Pride of Cassius http://us.battle.net...ride-of-cassius
This is Might Belt is a reference to famous boxer, Muhammad Ali. If you did not know, Muhammad Ali was born as Cassius Clay but then changed it when he joined the Nation of Islam, a Islamic group of African-Americans. This Mighty Belt even describes Muhammad Ali in its description.

He moved swiftly and he struck hard. Truly the greatest warrior to have walked the land.

Thanks to monolith38 for finding this.

Blind Faith http://us.battle.net...tem/blind-faith
This helmet appears to be referencing the first Star Wars movie, Episode IV: A New Hope. In the movie Ben Kenobi gives Luke Skywalker a helmet that doesn't allow him to see. Ben tells Luke, "Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them. Stretch out with your feelings!" And the description for this helmet is almost like that quote.

Do not trust your eyes; they can deceive you.

Thanks to monolith38 for finding this item and thanks to Keiser for the reference.

The Grin Reaper http://us.battle.net...the-grin-reaper
This one is a bit obvious but still. This Voodoo Mask is a reference to the infamous, Grim Reaper. Now then, is there a Grin's Scythe for my Witch Doctor?
This Masks description is

Death wears many faces.

Quetzecoatl http://us.battle.net...tem/quetzecoatl
This Voodoo Mask is a reference to an Aztec Deity, who is the "feathered serpent" or Quetzacoatl. My guess is that ingame, the mask will resemble the face of a feathered serpent, much like the Aztec God.
This Mask currently has no description.

Odyn Son http://us.battle.net...n/item/odyn-son
This is most likely a reference to Thor, the Norse God of Thunder. Thor was the son of the god Odin, ruler of Asgard. Thor also weilded a one handed hammer called Mjölnir. While the names don't fit, the description of this hammer helps drive the point home.

This hammer rumbles with the sound of distant thunder.

Thanks to Tenhi for finding this.

Justice Lantern http://us.battle.net...justice-lantern
How cool would it be if you could play D3 as the Green Lantern? Well we wont find out anytime soon. But this ring should substitue that feeling with the ability to pretend being the Green Lantern.
This rings description is

Once worn by the self-appointed guardians of Sanctuary, who were said to feel no fear.

Thanks to Tenhi for finding this.

PVP References

String of Ears http://us.battle.net/d3/en/item/string-of-ears

This is most likely a reference to the PvP system in D2. If you did not know, when you killed someone in D2, their ear would drop. And this belt is just MADE of ears. And the description helps reinforce the theory.

A proud fighter displays the ears of those he has slain in battle.

That is all of the interesting Legendary names that I noticed. Did I miss any? Most likely. And that's where I am asking ya'll to find more that I didn't really notice or didn't get a reference to. I intentionally left out the references to past Diablo games because it is expected that items will reference the past games.

Note - All items are not finalized and are subjected to change at anytime that Blizzard so chooses. None of the items have finalized stats yet and probably wont until close to or on release.

Nice,

and its the first time I realised the A from Diablo is turn on the other way..

Can't forget to get your exercise when your grinding inferno!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBHukvrhPtU