The best way to look at the MP comparison, which has been going around the threads a lot, is the relative increase in farm run time with each successive MP level. Neglecting the bonus item, the general conclusion was keep increasing MP level until it takes you about 10% longer to farm that level than the one below it. The reason was the relatively small MF gain per level. With the bonus item, we still need to know more about how it works. For example, does it work for EACH item that drops from a monster, or just when any items drops, there's a chance for ONE extra to drop? There's quite a bit of difference between the two and how it works can make a significant difference is how we decide what act to farm.
Example, going from MP1 to MP2, you gain 25% MF, but with no MF on gear, you already have 100 MF with NV, so you only go to 125% MF. That's a relative increase in legendaries of (225/200) = 1.125 times, or you gain 12.5% more legendaries on average. Monster health increases by 50% compared to MP1, and you only get about 7% more bonus items, so even if it applies towards each drop your net gain of legendaries is 1.125*1.07 = 1.2 or about 20% overall increase in legendaries, on average. So if it takes 20% longer to make a clear of your farm route, you about break even on the legendaries and gain a bit more xp, so it's worth it. However, if it takes 50% longer, because the mobs have 50% more health, it is not worth it because you can just farm the lower MP level faster to get more XP per hour, more legendaries per hour (on average), etc.
Similar analysis can be done for any increase in MP but it should be done on a level to level basis, not MP1 vs MP6, for example, because your decision is most likely going to be how high to crank it up.
As an Archon wizard I'll probably keep it at MP1-2 because if the mob hp increases much more I won't be able to keep Archon active which drastically slows my farm time.
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- Emberos
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This is a good part of why pvp took so long / never really arrived. That said, personally I would say it's a very bad direction to start nerfing pve skills for pvp balance.
As to Path of Exile, we'll see if PoE is the savior some claim it to be -- I'll play it and I'm sure portions of it will feel like, "why didn't blizz do that". Other parts will feel like, "man, blizz did this a ton better." From what I've seen of it on youtube, the combat doesn't look very fluid but it may be fun to mess around with the skill tree and other systems. Whatever the case, I'm fully confident that Blizzard is/has been watching and will take the good parts that make sense and improve Diablo with them. No, I'm not saying we will have a poe skill tree in D3 -- but I would not be surprised if they have people working on a map system to expand the D3 end game.
Copying the copiers is something WoW did over many expansions -- whatever competitor popped up, they'd mine it for the good ideas or innovative systems that would fit within WoW and improve their game. Over many iterations of failed competitors and new features put into WoW, this makes the wall to climb all that much higher for future competitors. Pretty sure, you'll see much the same in D3 and personally I look forward to where D3 will get to over the year(s) as these improvements get implemented.
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I will say starting in Core/Tower of the Damned over many, many runs, there is just an inconsistent # of Elite packs. When things go well, and you pick up 2-3 in each zone, those are the highest xp runs I did. However, on an average basis, running Skycrown and getting a consistent 4-5 every time often suited me better. In the end, I just kept alternating things to change it up, stave off boredom, and power through.
One thing I will say about short runs is that on any given individual run, they may give you a false positive in terms of being really, really efficient. If you have an exceptionally good 5 minute run and then just multiply that out by 12, it can seem by extrapolation that you are getting really high xp/hr. However, do 12 of those same 5 minute runs with all of their up and down variation (some being better than others), it starts to average down to match your longer 8-10 minute run zone setups.
Any rate, if you track enough runs, all these zones begin to even out quite a bit - anything that includes Keep Depths II, Arreat Crater 2, Fields, Rakkis will do quite well -- add in the other high-ish density zones in Act III for fun / variation. Honestly, more than zones, the best things you can do for efficiency are:
a ) run with xp gear (max xp gem in helm, two rings on you, and at least one ring on follower - hellfire/leoric's)
b ) run with 24% movement speed
c ) pick a build that focuses on max movement increase skills and uptime
d ) run at a MP that allows you to one-shot most white mobs and kill packs in 3-5 seconds
e ) don't backtrack, don't swing back and waste a cast on less than 4-5 white mobs, don't try to full clear a zone
f ) do keep moving forward always with minimal stops for casts
g ) if you are focusing on xp primarily, then only pickup items that have a chance of rolling for a big sell - legendaries, gloves, wrists, amulets, rings, and certain ilvl 63 1h weaps - or if you are max xp or bust, don't pick up anything. Personally, I always ran MF capped and picked up the above noted items.
Zones and mob density certainly matter (which is why Act III has become the de facto standard for efficiency). But, once I got it parsed down to the 7 or 8 zones worth running, focusing on actual spec, gear, and run mechanics was the thing that had a far larger impact on my efficiency versus any slight changes to which of the high density zones in Act III I ran or in what order I ran them.
All of that said, at this point, I've said screw efficiency (easier for me to do now playing inefficiently isn't a double-whammy on XP and Item find). Right now, I'm just playing the game at higher MPs, full Act runs, and enjoying playing D3 in a way that makes it feel like a game again. If I find something good, great, if not, so be it. At some point, efficiency running just becomes mind-numbing and doesn't feel like a game anymore.
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No they aren't!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y
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Still not sure why people don't understand a "farming" build is something you are going to run at MP3 and below (unless you are farming keys/ubers). The type of build you use at MP3 and below is likely to be different than something you would use at higher MP levels. This video does a good job of showing an effective farming build and share it with the community. It is not about e-peen. We can run up to MP10 too with different builds . . . it's just not a very effective use of time.
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Realm of Chaos - Ghom / Rakanoth - MP6
Realm of Turmoil - Seigebreaker / Kulle - MP6
Realm of Discord - Skeleton King / Maghda - MP6
Act III Keywarden Farming
Act II Keywarden Farming
Act I Keywarden Farming
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imIfRpc53k8
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I fought AH when the game first came out -- worked my way all the way through the end of Act I Inferno without 1 AH buy til I hit a brick wall at the beginning of Act II. I quickly realized the game required AH and went with it -- have even been very successful with it but it still just feels like something I live with, not something I'm happy about. Quite honestly, if AH economics take it in the pants due to this change, I could give a rats ass. The more the game moves toward us farming our own gear in a self-sufficient manner, the better as far as I'm concerned.
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A serial killer who likes to gamble has a gun to your head. He says he won't shoot you if you can roll a 6 on the six-sided dice he always carries in his pocket. He says you can have 1 roll or 10 rolls to get the 6, up to you. You say I'll just roll it the once cause I'll just have the same chance the other nine times anyway . . . .
/roll ./BAM!!
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A couple of things though:
1) if you haven't been doing any form of exercise, not so sure you should go from 0 to 35 miles a week. not so sure you will be able to.
2) if you do kick up the activity level (whatever amount), don't just stop May 15 -- keep going.
As for myself, around a year ago, I was in the worst shape of my life (60+ hour work weeks coupled-up with 20+ hour late night high-end raid guild weeks in WoW does not make for a healthy lifestyle). I quit WoW cold turkey back in May of last year and was 225 lbs at the time while standing only 5'9".
The first week I got on the treadmill, I did 2 miles in just under 30 minutes. That hurts to say as does the fact that, in complete honesty, it was only pride that got me to finish that 2nd mile in under the 30 minute mark. Inside my head I was having an identity crisis -- 20 years ago, I used to be the guy that could run sub-5 minute miles, ride centuries (100 miles in a day) on the bike, bench 315 lbs -- and there I was struggling to finish 2 miles in under 30 minutes. As I look at my Excel spreadsheet (where I track weight progress, mileage, etc.) that was almost exactly a year ago (4/21/11).
For me, that day was it -- couldn't be denied anymore -- I had to make the change. Fast forward to today, and my best mile running has greatly improved to sub-7 minute and, while I can't run multiple back-to-back miles at that pace, I can still get 6 miles and a cool down in under an hour workout. Not where it used to be but I'm 20 years older and I don't focus on running as much due to the impact and the fact I just like cycling more.
On the bike, 1 year ago, first time out, I was only able to complete 8.6 miles in 30 minutes. When I tried to pace it up and go longer a week later, I was only able to do 12.3 miles in 45 minutes before I fell off the stationary with an extreme calf cramp (another very humbling moment but I was committed at that point as well not to stay where I was). About 1 year later, I'm putting in just over 23 miles in a 1-hour session (improving each week).
As to the net of all this, instead of the 225 lbs I was at a year ago, today I was 173 pounds when I weighed myself. My waist went from 38 down to 32, my upper-body has a V-shape again and not an O shape
Last thing I'd say is, when Diablo 3 comes out May 15th, the workout doesn't stop. I definitely encourage people that aren't exercising to get out there and start but don't make it a 1-month thing, make it a lifestyle change. 1 hour a day devoted to keeping yourself fit will make you feel a ton better the other 23 hours. Move more, eat less / eat better, profit.