Fields and Weeping are both commonly sited as standouts. You should probably hit the jail (where the Queen and the Warden are). I thought it felt reminiscent of KD2 when I went through it in PTR. Halls of Agony is also an area that a lot have singled out as being much improved. I'm not sure I'd say Halls is a great farming spot compared to others, but it is one area that shows a very noticeable improvement. Spider caves would be good as well but given the xp nerf to spiders/scorpions it might be as good as it may have been. Moon Clan cave, Festering Woods and the Watchtower should all be worthwhile to visit as well.
I ran through A1 from cathedrals to the Butcher and pretty much every zone felt a lot better. I can't speak to A2 though as I never did get around to going back and playing through it as well.
This all seems like premature over-reacting. They haven't even said when or how they MIGHT change it; just that they've been looking at it and it's on their wishlist to address at some point down the road. It's not 1.08. It may not even be 1.09. Any change is at least 3 months away yet.
Secondly, MP10 without WotB is perfectly doable for a barb. I manage just fine with multiple builds. It's slower sure (ToC adds about a x1.5-x2 eDPS multiplier ontop of everything), but that's the idea behind WotB in the first place. I personally don't think you're ready for MP10 (and shouldn't be in there) if you can't at least manage it without ToC propping you up. WotB should be about going into overdrive mode when needed, not a crutch to make the MP level even feasible for you. I have way more respect to a War Cry using HotA barb I see trudging his way through an MP10 game than I do for most of the raging idiots I usually see running off 3 screens ahead because if they lose their wrath they can't stay alive.
I can see perfectly well where Travis Day and the dev team are coming from. WotB, well ToC specifically, is just too alluring. That extra x1.5 or x2 eDPS without the hassle of Frozen or Nightmare is just so hard to pass up. You do feel like you're not optimal when you don't use it. Without perma-wrath though I may drop it entirely. I have little use for a skill that's active 15 seconds out of 120. The other runes don't really interest me much because of that. I think they should increase the duration to at least 30 seconds and cut the cooldown to 90 seconds, for starters. I'm not sure what to suggest for ToC itself aside from just increasing the fury require for each second of extension.
My biggest worry about all of this is that they change Into the Fray instead of WotB-ToC itself. If they do that then they mess with so much more than just the permawrath issue that they seem to be targetting.
If you're going for CM/WW then you will want to prioritize CC and IAS (or IAS to the point where you hit your desired breakpoint, 2.74 is generally there recommended. Lower works pretty well but doesn't hold a solid freeze as well). After that, you're going to want about 400k eHP (life after mitigation) or more. You will achieve that through a combination of raw life, armor and res all (actual mitigation) and sometimes some dex for dodge. I personally think that hitting your eHP with less life and more mitigation is the better way; it makes your LoH/LS more powerful if you have higher mitigation but in the end the total eHP pool is about staying alive and whatever way you get it is fine. From there on out, it's mostly about improving overall and dps.
I will dissagree about the Zuni gear not being good for CM/WW. It is actually very, very good... but usually in end-game builds. Zuni's set makes it harder to hit your aps breakpoint as it lacks IAS like Tal's set (dps is usually a bit lower too because of that) but gives you far better mitigation. Unfortunately, this means a trifecta Pox usually, and those are very, very expensive - which is why it's an end game gear spec for CM/WW mainly. If you feel you are not lacking in CC right now (I'd shoot for 50% or so), then you can stick with your ias/CD zuni ring. It's decent eHP because of the res all and zuni boots can be pretty solid to combine with them, giving you the 130 int bonus for dps. Once again though, this is a call you will make depending on how your other gear tallies up.
You profile lists no belt. Witching Hour is generally what you want for a wiz. I could say CM/WW, but really... it's just about BiS for all wizards. They get really expensive too for the top ones but I would look for one with two of the three possible eHP stats (vit, RA and +armor, whichever you need most) and let high int be secondary to keep the cost down. If you don't need the ias, then you can save money by looking at the 8% ias ones because they are cheaper. As much crit damage as possible would be good though as CM/WW usually lack that and Witching Hour is one of the few places they rely on to get some. If you just can't afford it, then look for a decent rare (int+vit+ra+armor) but don't spend a lot on it because eventually you'll want to move to a Witching Hour.
Lacunis are nice for the MS and the ias but are generally pretty crappy for eHP. Even if you get 6CC+armor+RA for max mitigation, they still are light on vit/life. If you're not hurting for aps, then a rare would be the best option I think. A lot cheaper too usually. With a rare you will definitely want the standard int+vit+RA+armor+CC combo (6CC+150int+100vit+70RA+450 armor total is the ideal but is tough to find).
Lastly, a Stormcrow is a very good option for CM/WW. APoC+LoH with int, vit and str for armor all included by default, plus it comes with a solid % elemental buff. The damage suffers a bit with a Chant's wand vs a black weapon, but it's still significant. They are also fairly reasonably priced. The ideal here is 400+ LoH, 10 APoC and 6CC but those do get a little pricey. You can pick up a 5CC or lower for a fraction of the price and not miss out on much. A CC Mempo does do more damage but also costs a lot more and depending on your other gear, is not necessarily better. There are also some good rare hats out there, especially if you want eHP+APoC+CC without spending a fortune but ultimately they can't catch the crow or mempo for total dps.
4
I ran through A1 from cathedrals to the Butcher and pretty much every zone felt a lot better. I can't speak to A2 though as I never did get around to going back and playing through it as well.
-dolynick
3
Secondly, MP10 without WotB is perfectly doable for a barb. I manage just fine with multiple builds. It's slower sure (ToC adds about a x1.5-x2 eDPS multiplier ontop of everything), but that's the idea behind WotB in the first place. I personally don't think you're ready for MP10 (and shouldn't be in there) if you can't at least manage it without ToC propping you up. WotB should be about going into overdrive mode when needed, not a crutch to make the MP level even feasible for you. I have way more respect to a War Cry using HotA barb I see trudging his way through an MP10 game than I do for most of the raging idiots I usually see running off 3 screens ahead because if they lose their wrath they can't stay alive.
I can see perfectly well where Travis Day and the dev team are coming from. WotB, well ToC specifically, is just too alluring. That extra x1.5 or x2 eDPS without the hassle of Frozen or Nightmare is just so hard to pass up. You do feel like you're not optimal when you don't use it. Without perma-wrath though I may drop it entirely. I have little use for a skill that's active 15 seconds out of 120. The other runes don't really interest me much because of that. I think they should increase the duration to at least 30 seconds and cut the cooldown to 90 seconds, for starters. I'm not sure what to suggest for ToC itself aside from just increasing the fury require for each second of extension.
My biggest worry about all of this is that they change Into the Fray instead of WotB-ToC itself. If they do that then they mess with so much more than just the permawrath issue that they seem to be targetting.
-dolynick
1
If you're going for CM/WW then you will want to prioritize CC and IAS (or IAS to the point where you hit your desired breakpoint, 2.74 is generally there recommended. Lower works pretty well but doesn't hold a solid freeze as well). After that, you're going to want about 400k eHP (life after mitigation) or more. You will achieve that through a combination of raw life, armor and res all (actual mitigation) and sometimes some dex for dodge. I personally think that hitting your eHP with less life and more mitigation is the better way; it makes your LoH/LS more powerful if you have higher mitigation but in the end the total eHP pool is about staying alive and whatever way you get it is fine. From there on out, it's mostly about improving overall and dps.
I will dissagree about the Zuni gear not being good for CM/WW. It is actually very, very good... but usually in end-game builds. Zuni's set makes it harder to hit your aps breakpoint as it lacks IAS like Tal's set (dps is usually a bit lower too because of that) but gives you far better mitigation. Unfortunately, this means a trifecta Pox usually, and those are very, very expensive - which is why it's an end game gear spec for CM/WW mainly. If you feel you are not lacking in CC right now (I'd shoot for 50% or so), then you can stick with your ias/CD zuni ring. It's decent eHP because of the res all and zuni boots can be pretty solid to combine with them, giving you the 130 int bonus for dps. Once again though, this is a call you will make depending on how your other gear tallies up.
You profile lists no belt. Witching Hour is generally what you want for a wiz. I could say CM/WW, but really... it's just about BiS for all wizards. They get really expensive too for the top ones but I would look for one with two of the three possible eHP stats (vit, RA and +armor, whichever you need most) and let high int be secondary to keep the cost down. If you don't need the ias, then you can save money by looking at the 8% ias ones because they are cheaper. As much crit damage as possible would be good though as CM/WW usually lack that and Witching Hour is one of the few places they rely on to get some. If you just can't afford it, then look for a decent rare (int+vit+ra+armor) but don't spend a lot on it because eventually you'll want to move to a Witching Hour.
Lacunis are nice for the MS and the ias but are generally pretty crappy for eHP. Even if you get 6CC+armor+RA for max mitigation, they still are light on vit/life. If you're not hurting for aps, then a rare would be the best option I think. A lot cheaper too usually. With a rare you will definitely want the standard int+vit+RA+armor+CC combo (6CC+150int+100vit+70RA+450 armor total is the ideal but is tough to find).
Lastly, a Stormcrow is a very good option for CM/WW. APoC+LoH with int, vit and str for armor all included by default, plus it comes with a solid % elemental buff. The damage suffers a bit with a Chant's wand vs a black weapon, but it's still significant. They are also fairly reasonably priced. The ideal here is 400+ LoH, 10 APoC and 6CC but those do get a little pricey. You can pick up a 5CC or lower for a fraction of the price and not miss out on much. A CC Mempo does do more damage but also costs a lot more and depending on your other gear, is not necessarily better. There are also some good rare hats out there, especially if you want eHP+APoC+CC without spending a fortune but ultimately they can't catch the crow or mempo for total dps.
-dolynick