DiabloFans

I chose the dodge just because it seems immensly practical. I would vote for an offline mode/single player mode but I've been alright with the online-only requirement as long as the game has been out, so I suppose I've gotten used to it now.

I would take either PS3 or Xbox 360, but would prefer 360 :).

I guess what bugs me about this whole thing is the sigil more than the FoS. I'm very much a completionist, and I find a lot of entertainment in trying to fully complete the game. Having an unlockable in a game that you can't unlock is frustrating, and hopefully understandably so.

And, like someone said... kinda pissing in the wounds of those who didn't get into the closed beta.

The timing can be counted as a blessing or a curse for me....

Since the beginning of the year I was planning on going on a trip, but I was also counting on a Q1 release for d3. As time went on and the Q2 release was finally announced I was worried I wouldn't get a chance to play the game as it came out.

I leave for Uruguay for 6 weeks on May 20th so I will only have 5 days to play... but at least I get to play!

Hey guys,

I'm not too eloquent with words so I'll let the video do the talking. I highly suggest you watch all 30 minutes.... We have a chance to stop a cruel criminal, and the more people know, the better!

"Joseph Kony is the world’s worst war criminal. KONY 2012 is a 24-minute film that explains everything he’s done and how he can be stopped. This year."

http://www.kony2012.com/


Watch the video and then spread the word!

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/wizard#eSifjl!Tfh!YbYacb

This is will likely be my first character that I build. It's designed for a balance between survivability and damage output. I chose two offensive spells, two utility offense skills (which also have defensive benefits), and two defensive skills to achieve this. Can't wait to try it!

I would have paid to get into the beta.

The reason blizzard can't sell beta keys though is because they're testing servers, not gameplay. They need a controlled amount of people playing to stress test. If they sell keys that kinda defeats the purpose.

The video seems to be pretty outdated seeing as it doesn't match the description and you can cast more than one at once.

Interesting theory with Arcane Torrent runed with mines. It would have to replace hydra of course, but it still serves the same sort of fire and forget purpose as well as dealing more damage. I agree with you on this one!

I was really worried when the rumors about "assigned" skill slots were going to be a big change. Elective mode is great news on that front. I'm glad I won't be forced to choose certain skills in certain slots.

As for the runestones. Part of me really loved the idea of the rare hunt for the perfect runestone. I will miss that part but Jay brings up some logical points with inventory management. It's sad to see a really cool part of the game cut, but the changes make sense. Can't wait to give it a shot in the beta!

Quote from SeppukA

i prefer Ray of Frost Golden - Cold Blood becouse of Reduce casting cost to 0 Arcane Power per second..Thast is amazing skill whitout arcane power

Yea, I'm not sure what's up with that. I have a feeling the website is incorrect on that, because that is just silly. I really like disintegrate with alabaster for now, we'll see what ray of frost holds in the future :).

Quote from Meld

I would highly recommend Energy Armor with the Obsidian rune instead of Ice Armor.

Having this active will reduce any hit against you to only 38% of your max life, even if it would have been more.

Will save you many times over in HC, that I promise.

I agree great skill. I think however I will largely stick with ice armor and the "cold aura". Energy armor will be more situational and I will switch to it whenever I enter a boss/miniboss encounter.

Quote from ultra4

then firewall hydra, i dunno no synergy, i guess you just like it (you know there is only 1 hydra at a time now? no spaming
electrecute golden, is good, then lazer with axplosions

ok, i cant point out something really wrong, but the build is safe, but... is it fun? it doesnt seem to have any flavor. No real prob, but no spice.

I chose Hydra out of my experience in Beta. I found that I was really only using one damage dealing spell. I wanted to make sure I did not waste any slots on spells that you had to be constantly casting. Hydra is great for the reason that I will be able to cast it and it will do work on it's own. It may not be much damage, but it's extra damage nonetheless.

As for whether the build is fun or not? Well, I can't say I've gone too overboard on being safe, I don't think dying would be anymore fun :).

Thanks for your input; I was considering indigo rune for teleport as well but it seems like a little bit more a game of chance that monsters would go after the decoys... If only it could be tested.

This is a build I made with Hardcore in mind. Survivability is key but I wanted to sacrifice damage done as little as possible.

http://us.battle.net...RbPi!UgS!baZYac

Electrocute w/ Golden:

This is your left click utility/single target damage. This is not meant to be the main damage dealer but rather recharge my arcane quickly with the gold rune and take down single targets when most of a mob is cleaned out.

Disentegrate w/ Alabaster:

This is the damage dealer of this build and the primary spell to be using. It does a nice amount of damage, pierces through enemies doen't sufficient AoE damage. Plus, with the Alabaster rune there's a chance of not only doing damage far, but also wide. This skill however does have a big con in that you can not simply cast and run. Kiting may be a challenge with this skill.

Hydra w/ Crimson:

This is a nice offensive utility skill; a fire and forget skill. It's damage will be nice on top of disentegrate. The frost damage isn't as much as some of the other runes, but the slowing effect will be vital in keeping monsters distant from me.

Ice Armor w/ Indigo:

This one is absolutely vital with the passive. It will slow down any attackers who are able to hit me and with the Indigo rune it will slow down any monster that gets close to me giving me even more of a chance to escape damage. With the passive it will also be constantly healing me.

Familiar w/ Alabaster:

While the little extra damage will be nice, the Alabaster rune is what makes this skill good. Should I fall below 25% health the familiar will absorb the next attack I take. This should be vital during boss/champion fights especially where large damage will be dished out.

Teleport w/ Obsidian:

This was a must for me when I was playing a HC sorc in d2. There are times when you are about to get overwhelmed and you just need to get out of there ASAP. With the obisidian rune you will also be taking less damage after teleporting affording you more chance to escape.


---Passives---


Galvanizing Ward:

This helps me in several ways. The extra 120 seconds will help conserve arcane and let me focus on casting other spells. What is absolutely vital though is the constant health regeneration. I won't always be able to focus on potions or always be able to escape right away. The health regeneration will be fantastic.

Blur:

Simple. Take less damage from enemies!

Unstable Anomoly:

Very cool passive. When things get bad and I start taking a lot of damage you can be below 20% health without knowing it. Not only will this push enemies back but it will be a great indicator of "OH CRAP, I'M ABOUT TO DIE" so I can teleport, use potions, or whatever it is I'll need to do to survive.



I'm pretty happy with the build so far. I think it has strong damage potential while having enough options to keep me alive. Some of the weaknesses that I can see so far is that casting Disintegrate has me standing in one spot; I won't quite be able to run and gun as much. However, it does deal very steady damage. That and I have several utility skills to keep up. It may be challenging to stay on top of my armor, familiar, and hyrda whilst dealing damage. I'm super excited to test it out!

Quote from deleo

Mf pretty much buys you more tickets in the lottery. You might get lucky and cash in, but there are more people that are not so lucky and wont cash in.

This is how I feel.

Let's put it this way.

Let's say you have a 1/1,000,000 chance of finding a valuable item. You get +100% mf gear. Your chances go up to 1/500,000. That's quite the difference! However, the chances are still very slim that you are going to find a valuable item at all.

Now with gold find it is different. Say you can make 10,000 gold an hour. With +100% gf gear you are looking at 20,000 gold an hour instead. Long term this is a great difference... 2 million gold is a lot more than 1 million gold. Giving up that gold find for magic find is essentially paying for that difference.

Quote from kendro1200

You should never really look at the zombie dogs as a source of damage (unless you have sacrifice as well) but as a source of damage mitigation. Damage done to them is damage not done to you, and if you pick up the indigo rune they help absorb even more damage.

I agree with this. WD is very much spell based class, but with my experience doesn't have the damage output that the wizard does. That and the fact that you will run out of Mana here and there, it is important to have space between you and the mobs.

As far as I know MF only increases the number of magic items you will find. It does not change the quality of items you roll. You simply find more magic items. There is still a great element of chance to it.

Gold find however is different. It's always there. By applying GF bonuses your guaranteeing an increase in your wealth. Greater wealth means greater items and you will be able to even more effectively find items/gold with your better items.

I think the question becomes will gold really be worth that much? I think the answer is yes. There are many effective gold sinks to keep it from continually circulating in the game (crafting, upgrading, and repairing). This will keep gold a precious commodity for a long time.

I think an effective strategy for people will be to start with Gold Find. It is the sure way to work your way to better gear whether rolling items through crafting or buying through the AH. Once you have the gear you want, it may make more sense to switch to MF to find those big ticket items.

Hi Diablofans,

I've been lurking around this site for awhile now keeping up with the latest Diablo 3 dish, I've finally decided to sign up for a couple of reasons. The beta key contest was the biggest motivator, but I'm really hoping to find a strong community of people that I will be able to play with when the game comes out within the next century (give or take a few hundred years?).

I've played Diablo for over a decade, and I'm still as huge a fan as ever. It holds a special place in my heart and I'm super excited for Diablo 3. I really got involved in Diablo 2 and played for many years, and still occasionally play here and there. I play both softcore and hardcore modes, and I've leaned more toward hardcore mode in my later years.

I also have actually played the Diablo 3 beta, though I do not have a key linked to my account (rather, I'm lucky enough to have my brother who got a key). Playing that and interacting with some of the people in-game has really got me pumped about meeting some other Diablo fans. I hope to be seeing you all around and getting to know you guys!

-Tweanut