I am asking for suggestions for a duo co-op team on PS4 to run GRs at level 130 and higher. I will mention some details below to more specifically explain what we need, but the duo build suggestions for high GR push are what we are asking for if you don't want to read everything.
My wife and I have played D3 together in normal mode for a while, about 2 years. We both work and we have a very young daughter so our playtime is too limited to really do seasons. But we are looking for ways to improve our characters and take on really high greater rifts together. We usually follow the solo build guides and then alter them to fit our playstyle and limitations, but we could use advice on which classes work best together in a duo build.
So, the limitations: we play same screen co-op on the PS4 in normal mode. Mobility is a very big issue. One player cannot leave the screen to pull or group mobs together. Also, we often wind up at opposite ends of the screen and thus the next move must be made towards the center of the screen: one can't move forward, the other can't move backwards. Aside from better positioning, this can also result in one character being stuck in a trap or explosion with no way out. This can also cause visibility issues where mobs are really close to the character but are still off the screen causing us to get hit by unseen attacks. Because of this, we've found that tougher, more durable builds are generally better for us to help us deal with unexpected damage.
The next limitation is overall rift strategy. Because of the mobility issues, we are generally forced to deal with whatever is on the screen. Small packs are easy to skip, but not medium packs. What happens, one person will get through the medium pack faster than the other and we wind up stuck on opposite sides of the screen again, forcing us both to stop and fight.
The last limitation is targeting. On PC you can click on the mob you want to attack, on PS4 there is no cursor, so you target the nearest mob in your direct line of sight. This makes elite targeting harder.
Some additional details: we both have right at 2500 paragon. I made an exp gear set and we took turns running nephalem rifts for each other and we both have every character class at level 70. The best success we've had so far is me using a chan/vyr archon wizard and my wife using a pestilence corpse lance necro. The wiz does most of the damage, the necro uses the pestilence lance mechanics to spread crit chance and summon health globes using the corpses the wizard makes. The necro is not a pure support build, rather its a slightly reduced damage build that uses the archon freeze on hit to run in and cast novas to help cooldown resets with obsidian ring of the zodiac. The necro cannot use nova during similcrum/land of the dead because thats its biggest damage output chance; this is usually used when the wiz is out of archon form. The wiz has tons of toughness in archon but the necro is still somewhat squishy, so the wiz uses slow time and black hole to protect the necro. Both have teleport to somewhat combat the mobility issues. Sometimes this works great, but we have other characters that can out preform them, like rend barb or WD and so we are wondering about the potential of a better duo team. We've tried one of us running a pure support build, but because of the limitations it hasn't worked at all for us. So what we really need are two fighting builds with a good amount of toughness whose abilities augment each other that are able to handle whatever happens to come up on the screen. We only have enough materials to craft/cube starting gear sets for a few builds; any build can be considered but we can only do a few attempts before farming again. We know we can just test things out ourselves, but because of our limited play time we would prefer to save time by working on good ideas.
If you took the time to read that long post, I thank you very much. I wanted to provide as much detail of our situation as I could to help. Thank you for any suggestions!
Tough spot to be in for sure. I don't really have any advice but the only thing I can really think of as a potential solution is to maybe have another PS4 and TV setup and play on separate screens?
We talked about buying another PS4 right before I made the post actually. We were hoping we could find a good solution without doing that. It's hard to justify spending that much money on ourselves and not on our daughter, and we would really be spending it all for just one game (we don't currently play any other co-op games). However, it gives us an activity to do together and we both look forward to it. Other hobbies would be more expensive and we'd probably be doing those alone too. So we're split about 50/50 with pros and cons of buying another PS4. We do have an extra TV, so we wouldn't have to buy that, but we would need a second copy of the game.
We've also considered that we might not even be able to hit GR 130 with one PS4 even with a great team. Our Wiz/Necro group can do 114, but solo my wiz can do 122. My barb can do 128 and her WD can do 133 so thats why we were hoping to hit 130 in a group (we can't seem to get the barb and WD to work well together).
We would prefer to try a few more builds first before we determine if we need another PS4 or not. But that may wind up being the only option if we wish to go higher.
Looks like my original post got lost when replying. haha
In any case, as a dad of two kids and a married husband of 13 years to a non-gamer wife, go for it.
As long as you're taking care of your family and have your priorities in order (based on above it seems like you do) and most importantly your wife is in agreement, then you are in a good spot.
It's easy for parents and spouses to talk themselves out of things they want and like but again, if you're taking care of the things that matter, well, life is just too short not to enjoy simple pleasures while bonding with your wife, family and friends.
I've thought about what you said and I believe you are right. It felt selfish to want to buy another one, but really we haven't bought anything for ourselves since she was born other than things we absolutely have to have. She's our first one, and she will be 15 months old in about a week (5/4/2020). We're so concerned with doing what's right with her that we forget about ourselves. At 15 months we do understand we are just scratching the surface at being parents because its been mostly maintaining her basic needs and making sure she stays safe. We have a lot to go through still and a lot more to learn. I appreciate the advice, especially from someone who's been there before. I think you've talked me into it! Thank you for taking the time to read and post.
I went to Amazon and eBay and there are some reasonably priced used PS4s; I might opt to get one of those to save a little money. The PS4 does have a hard drive reliability issue, so I might have to get another hard drive too. (We had to replace our PS4 hard drive already). And right now we only have one active PSN plus subscription. Would we be able to play over local wifi without another PSN plus subscription or will both PS4s need the subscription to join each others game?
I know it can be hit or miss, but you might find a used but solid PS4 on Craigslist that may be a little cheaper too. I just did a search on my local Craigslist and someone in my area is selling a new one for $225. Used ones are about $195 in decent condition.
I totally forgot about the PS+ thing. The one nice aspect about couch co-op is anyone can play D3 on the same console as long as the primary person has a PS+ account if I remember correctly. So it would indeed require a separate PS+ account on another PS4 in order for you both to play together.
I did a quick search for discounted PS+ subs and CDkeys has it on sale for $35 at the moment on eBay. I'm pretty sure I've taken advantage of this before in the past.
As far as a copy of D3, get a used copy of Reaper of Souls maybe on eBay for $12-15 and get the necromancer pack for $15. PSN had a sale at the beginning of April for D3 Eternal Collection for $20 so you can always keep your eye out for that, though I prefer discs to digital.
I am asking for suggestions for a duo co-op team on PS4 to run GRs at level 130 and higher. I will mention some details below to more specifically explain what we need, but the duo build suggestions for high GR push are what we are asking for if you don't want to read everything.
My wife and I have played D3 together in normal mode for a while, about 2 years. We both work and we have a very young daughter so our playtime is too limited to really do seasons. But we are looking for ways to improve our characters and take on really high greater rifts together. We usually follow the solo build guides and then alter them to fit our playstyle and limitations, but we could use advice on which classes work best together in a duo build.
So, the limitations: we play same screen co-op on the PS4 in normal mode. Mobility is a very big issue. One player cannot leave the screen to pull or group mobs together. Also, we often wind up at opposite ends of the screen and thus the next move must be made towards the center of the screen: one can't move forward, the other can't move backwards. Aside from better positioning, this can also result in one character being stuck in a trap or explosion with no way out. This can also cause visibility issues where mobs are really close to the character but are still off the screen causing us to get hit by unseen attacks. Because of this, we've found that tougher, more durable builds are generally better for us to help us deal with unexpected damage.
The next limitation is overall rift strategy. Because of the mobility issues, we are generally forced to deal with whatever is on the screen. Small packs are easy to skip, but not medium packs. What happens, one person will get through the medium pack faster than the other and we wind up stuck on opposite sides of the screen again, forcing us both to stop and fight.
The last limitation is targeting. On PC you can click on the mob you want to attack, on PS4 there is no cursor, so you target the nearest mob in your direct line of sight. This makes elite targeting harder.
Some additional details: we both have right at 2500 paragon. I made an exp gear set and we took turns running nephalem rifts for each other and we both have every character class at level 70. The best success we've had so far is me using a chan/vyr archon wizard and my wife using a pestilence corpse lance necro. The wiz does most of the damage, the necro uses the pestilence lance mechanics to spread crit chance and summon health globes using the corpses the wizard makes. The necro is not a pure support build, rather its a slightly reduced damage build that uses the archon freeze on hit to run in and cast novas to help cooldown resets with obsidian ring of the zodiac. The necro cannot use nova during similcrum/land of the dead because thats its biggest damage output chance; this is usually used when the wiz is out of archon form. The wiz has tons of toughness in archon but the necro is still somewhat squishy, so the wiz uses slow time and black hole to protect the necro. Both have teleport to somewhat combat the mobility issues. Sometimes this works great, but we have other characters that can out preform them, like rend barb or WD and so we are wondering about the potential of a better duo team. We've tried one of us running a pure support build, but because of the limitations it hasn't worked at all for us. So what we really need are two fighting builds with a good amount of toughness whose abilities augment each other that are able to handle whatever happens to come up on the screen. We only have enough materials to craft/cube starting gear sets for a few builds; any build can be considered but we can only do a few attempts before farming again. We know we can just test things out ourselves, but because of our limited play time we would prefer to save time by working on good ideas.
If you took the time to read that long post, I thank you very much. I wanted to provide as much detail of our situation as I could to help. Thank you for any suggestions!
Tough spot to be in for sure. I don't really have any advice but the only thing I can really think of as a potential solution is to maybe have another PS4 and TV setup and play on separate screens?
We talked about buying another PS4 right before I made the post actually. We were hoping we could find a good solution without doing that. It's hard to justify spending that much money on ourselves and not on our daughter, and we would really be spending it all for just one game (we don't currently play any other co-op games). However, it gives us an activity to do together and we both look forward to it. Other hobbies would be more expensive and we'd probably be doing those alone too. So we're split about 50/50 with pros and cons of buying another PS4. We do have an extra TV, so we wouldn't have to buy that, but we would need a second copy of the game.
We've also considered that we might not even be able to hit GR 130 with one PS4 even with a great team. Our Wiz/Necro group can do 114, but solo my wiz can do 122. My barb can do 128 and her WD can do 133 so thats why we were hoping to hit 130 in a group (we can't seem to get the barb and WD to work well together).
We would prefer to try a few more builds first before we determine if we need another PS4 or not. But that may wind up being the only option if we wish to go higher.
Thank you very much for the response!!
Looks like my original post got lost when replying. haha
In any case, as a dad of two kids and a married husband of 13 years to a non-gamer wife, go for it.
As long as you're taking care of your family and have your priorities in order (based on above it seems like you do) and most importantly your wife is in agreement, then you are in a good spot.
It's easy for parents and spouses to talk themselves out of things they want and like but again, if you're taking care of the things that matter, well, life is just too short not to enjoy simple pleasures while bonding with your wife, family and friends.
/my2cents
I've thought about what you said and I believe you are right. It felt selfish to want to buy another one, but really we haven't bought anything for ourselves since she was born other than things we absolutely have to have. She's our first one, and she will be 15 months old in about a week (5/4/2020). We're so concerned with doing what's right with her that we forget about ourselves. At 15 months we do understand we are just scratching the surface at being parents because its been mostly maintaining her basic needs and making sure she stays safe. We have a lot to go through still and a lot more to learn. I appreciate the advice, especially from someone who's been there before. I think you've talked me into it! Thank you for taking the time to read and post.
I went to Amazon and eBay and there are some reasonably priced used PS4s; I might opt to get one of those to save a little money. The PS4 does have a hard drive reliability issue, so I might have to get another hard drive too. (We had to replace our PS4 hard drive already). And right now we only have one active PSN plus subscription. Would we be able to play over local wifi without another PSN plus subscription or will both PS4s need the subscription to join each others game?
I know it can be hit or miss, but you might find a used but solid PS4 on Craigslist that may be a little cheaper too. I just did a search on my local Craigslist and someone in my area is selling a new one for $225. Used ones are about $195 in decent condition.
I totally forgot about the PS+ thing. The one nice aspect about couch co-op is anyone can play D3 on the same console as long as the primary person has a PS+ account if I remember correctly. So it would indeed require a separate PS+ account on another PS4 in order for you both to play together.
I did a quick search for discounted PS+ subs and CDkeys has it on sale for $35 at the moment on eBay. I'm pretty sure I've taken advantage of this before in the past.
As far as a copy of D3, get a used copy of Reaper of Souls maybe on eBay for $12-15 and get the necromancer pack for $15. PSN had a sale at the beginning of April for D3 Eternal Collection for $20 so you can always keep your eye out for that, though I prefer discs to digital.
My wife and I agreed, and we wound up ordering another PS4 last night. Thank you again for your advice and time, we appreciate it very much!
Awesome, my dude!
Wishing you the best of luck on your GR pushes and that the RNGods look favorably on you guys with awesome loot!!
I want cheat gear can someone help