Woo this guide is on the main page news. :Thumbs Up:
While Act 3 may get you better quality gear in the long haul, you need to make some money first to be able to get there. Using this monk i'm gearing up my barb for 0% MF so I can do Act 3 runs. Within a week of using this build I found a bow that I sold on RMAH for $100. Although that is not something that's going to happen very often, I've found quite a bit of good/sellable gear by only doing 2-3 runs a day (approx 1 hour 30 minutes).;
Read the guide on how to build. Watch the video to see it in action.
This guide creates a Monk with high magic find and average offensive and defensive stats with the purpose of doing solo Act 1 butcher runs.
DISCLAIMER: I realize that there are many that power game and do things such as magic set swapping and other things to maximize numbers. This guide is not aimed at you. If, however, there is something I missed that would help then please send me a message.
Left Click: Fists of Thunder (Thunderclap) - It allows you to jump back into a fight, helps keep your Sweeping Wind up by closing the gap, and allows you to travel quicker through levels by attacking breakable objects.
Right Click: Sweeping Wind (Blade Storm)
ALTERNATE: Sweeping Wind (Cyclone) - If you have 15% crit with a fast attack speed, pick this instead for much greater DPS.
Slot 1: Breath of Heaven (Infused with Light)
ALTERNATE: Seven-Sided Strike (Fulminating Onslaught) - This is really fun to use.
Slot 2: Serenity (Peaceful Repose)
ALTERNATE: Serenity (Ascension) - At 35k HP, this is the better option.
Slot 3: Blinding Flash (Faith in the Light)
ALTERNATE: Blinding Flash (Searing Light) - I don't like this as much because of the lack of damage output, but many people run with it.
Slot 4: Mantra of Conviction (Overawe)
ALTERNATE: Mantra of Evasion (Hard Target) - If you don't have good enough gear yet to run with Conviction, run with this to survive long enough to farm some items/gold.
PASSIVES: Resolve, One With Everything, Seize the Initiative
3.Gear
Stat priority on all items → MF, DEX, Resistance, VIT
Get at least 10% crit chance. A little bit of gold find goes a long way. Since monk has One with Everything passive, you can save a ton of money on buying items with one high resistance on every item as well as Magic Find and DEX. I recommend poison or cold since those are not wanted by anyone. A breakdown of how I buy my items is below:
Helm → High magic find (MF + Topaz), Resist, DEX, VIT (biggest MF potential)
Weapon → High dps is most important, try to get a socket and IAS/DEX
Shield → MF, Chance to Block, DEX, Resist, VIT
Then you should start equipping your enchantress with a 1k weapon with intelligence, and everything else with as much INT and MF as you can find, with a little VIT on the side. Her skills should be Charm, Powered Armor, Erosion, Focused Mind.
4.Item Hunting
I start at Northern Highlands and run to see if the Watchtower is there. If it is not, I start at festering woods. Get at least 2 stacks of NV before moving on to Leoric's Manor. Go backwards for an elite, then continue on to Halls of Glory Level 1 with at least 3 stacks. Then continue on to Butcher.
When approaching a group of Elites, get ready to right click Sweeping Wind as soon as you teleport to your target. Start getting those stacks up while watching your health. If it does down quickly, pick a minion and focus on them while popping skills back to back starting with Blinding Flash and Aura. Pop heal once you get halfway on life, and always be ready to trigger Serenity if things get out of control.
General tips
With good enough MF and 5 stacks of NV your MF should be around 300%.
Ignore blues until your first trip back to town, which should be around The Warden.
The focus should be on exploring the map for elites and goblins, not getting to the next section.
Kill everything in Halls of Agony level 3.
5.Conclusion
I hope you found this mini-guide useful! It will be updated periodically.
While Act 3 may get you better quality gear in the long haul, you need to make some money first to be able to get there. Using this monk i'm gearing up my barb for 0% MF so I can do Act 3 runs. Within a week of using this build I found a bow that I sold on RMAH for $100. Although that is not something that's going to happen very often, I've found quite a bit of good/sellable gear by only doing 2-3 runs a day (approx 1 hour 30 minutes).;
I'm working on a short (less than 5 minute) video of my stats and a run through to show how this guide looks in action. Look for it after the weekend.
Thanks for the info thundersteele. I didn't realize MF didn't effect ilvl. That has been removed.
- With good enough MF and 5 stacks of NV your MF should be around 300%.
- Ignore blues until your first trip back to town, which should be around The Warden.
- The focus should be on exploring the map for elites and goblins, not getting to the next section.
- Kill everything in Halls of Agony level 3.
5.Conclusion