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So, I just want ALL the WD spells. Therefore, I'm having difficulty filling in some blanks in my build. I've loved the summons since I first saw the WD, so that's the overall theme. Here's what I've got in mind thus far:

http://us.battle.net...tor#YTV!YdW!ZcZ

I'm pretty set on the passives. The only thing I might change is swapping for um...Jungle Fortitude, maybe - just to help out the pets if I'm not getting enough health globes for Feast to be effective. Now, here are the skills and runes I'm contemplating filling in those blanks:

1. Poison Dart: Spined Dart or Splinters
2. Firebomb: Pyrogeist
3. Grasp of the Dead: Unbreakable Grasp or Death is Life
4. Haunt: Resentful Spirit (tooltip is broken but I believe it increases the dmg over less time)
5. Locust Swarm: Pestilence
6. Mass Confusion: Devolution

and the "less important, but I still like them" skills
7. Acid Cloud: Rune?
8. Soul Harvest: Rune?

So, anyone have any ideas, advice, or favorite combos in the listings above? Or anything I left out that people might be a better alternative? Granted, this will be difficult to really decide until after release, but I'm curious to see what people think.

Holy crap Thum. That's kind of brilliant. I guess I'm so used to WASD movement in games I never thought of doing this. Definitely trying it out!

Damn all of y'alls (and the internet in general) sound logic! When I read someone's reasons for saving for the AH, I'm like, "that sounds like a great idea! I'll do that instead." Then someone else comes along, and I'm convinced theirs is a better option.

Just wondering what people are planning to use their gold for when the game is released. My initial thought, since I'm a huge pack rat, is get get those Shared Stash slots as fast as possible. But, I'll definitely want to split some off for Artisan training, which will definitely add up fast.

Edit: First attempt at making a poll - didn't mean to make the who voted part public, and not sure how to edit it now!

Haven't been able to play the beta much due to performance issues, but logged on tonight and it just about changed my mind on having the WD be my main. Even at level 10 with decent beta gear, the dogs die INSTANTLY on SK, even when I'm trying to maneuver my way out of danger. I don't want them tanking everything for me (even though you end up taking ghastly amounts of damage when they're not alive), nor do I mind recasting it (or exploding them when I hit that level), but they feel completely useless at the moment. Hopefully with more skills and skill-variants..er, runes, the class will come together better, because I still love the overall class. Just not psyched where it ended up.

On a side note, I also am not enjoying the order in which the WD skills unlock anymore. Darts feel weak and Firebats eats mana like crazy now. The other classes just feel immediately powerful.

Quote from Molster

Ill never get use to it, every time I have to open it up, and hit that dumb arrow until I find the right spell, I get mad

OMG YES. What's even worse for me if that you have to hit 'ACCEPT' at the bottom, and I always forget and have to reopen the window, click through to find the spell, etc. Yes, it's most definitely a trivial thing, but it is a terrible design. And, I know things change over the course of development, but the current skill UI seems to go against everything the DIablo team has talked about online and at Blizzcon.

Thelonious

I just wanted to come here to concede that, as of patch 13, Firebomb really is useless, and I retract all previous statements regarding its usefulness. Firebats forever!

First of all, calm down. Second, I don't believe I even mentioned runes at all. Third, you said Firebomb does less damage and costs more mana than Firebats. That is incorrect - Firebomb does indeed cost more mana than Firebats (443 > 295), but Firebomb does MORE damage than Firebats (155% > 100%) per activation. Again, this is difficult to compare since Firebats is a channeled spell and Firebomb is a single cast, but Firebomb has a higher base damage per mana ratio than Firebats. Firebomb does .3499 damage for every point of mana spent; Firebats does .3390. That is a fact. Whether it's a miniscule difference or not, Firebomb is a more efficient spell as far as mathematics goes. In fact, most spells seem to be balanced this way and do a specified amount of damage per mana spent that is in line with increasing cost. If a spell costs ALL your resource, but does 10000% damage, you'd use the shit out of it regardless of the situation. The fact that a spell costs more mana is irrelevant without taking other factors under consideration (again, in most cases). Also, as a side note regarding the range - all numbers and runes aside, you can hit enemies farther away and on different levels with Firebomb - something that will undoubtedly come into play in later difficulties. Last, I said Firebats is still an awesome spell (with arguably MUCH better runes), but each has its advantages.

Well, a few things are hard to judge right now. First, since some skills aren't in the beta, it's hard to judge their actual usefulness. If the spread from Locust Swarm turns out to be incredible, for example, then it may be the most efficient Physical Realm for the mana/dmg. Second, it's difficult to compare spells with different types of casting - Firebats being channeled, Firebomb being a single cast. That said, I'm not seeing how Fire Bomb is "weak/cost a little too much." Compared to Firebats (which is also relatively short-ranged), Firebomb has a slightly higher damage to mana ratio. It is also a full AOE as compared to only enemies in front of you. I'm not saying Firebats isn't useful (because it is super awesome to use), but in no way is Firebomb weak for its cost.

In the first build, using Vision Quest and having 2 of the 4 cooldown skills as your pets seems pointless. If they're already out and alive, what is the point in wasting the mana to resummon them just to gain the mana regen benefit? Vision Quest needs more synergy with the longer cooldown skills like Big Bad Voodoo and Fetish Army.

Now, the second build is very close to what I had in mind. I'd personally sub in something else for sacrifice - like Firebomb, Acid Cloud, or even Locust Swarm. When I first saw in it videos, Grasp of the Dead looked really useless. But, after using it in the beta, it drains enemies like a beast. Granted that's Lvl 13 versus lower level mobs, but it's awesome. Fights would be Grasp (for the slow) -> Soul Harvest while your pets move in -> Bombard enemies with Firebomb/Acid Cloud/Locust -> finish off stragglers with Spirit Barrage to get back some mana and move on.

"I hate this thing and I am angry at everyone involved, but I am going to purchase it anyway." The Blizzard community is a psychiatrist's wet dream. There has to some medical terminology for individuals who do this to themselves.

On a side note, I finally got around to pre-order the Collector's Edition today, and, while I'm still eager for release news, it has strangely calmed me very much knowing I have a guaranteed copy.

I literally just pre-ordered mine today, put $10 down, and the remaining total is $98. Thus, before tax, it's around $99.

Unless they think we are really stupid or they don't want to be deemed complete liars, Blizzard is going to have to announce a release date BEFORE or way way waaaay AFTER this whole Korea debacle. And, since they're not going to do announce anything before it's resolved, nothing good is going to come from this situation.


Also, regarding the whole leveling excitement past 30 in the couple posts above, what would people think about only having Runestones drop from Nightmare difficulty and up? That way, you would only have your regular skills through Normal, but you still get the excitement of each level. Then, when you hit Nightmare and on you get Runestones to keep everything new and exciting. However, it may not work well thinking about it now - what if someone doesn't play past normal? They would miss that whole mechanic of the game, and it's been Blizzard's philosophy cater to everyone. Oh well, just a thought.

My favorite part is the ENORMOUS gap in the timeline between LoD and D3.