I feel that now's about as good a time as any to give an update on my progress in Diablo 3. Not that anybody would (or should) care. I'm mostly doing this as a personal journal to refer to later.
2 weeks after patch 1.0.4 I can safely state that I enjoy Diablo 3 much more than before the patch. Before, I was in a kind of lull and was just going through the motions. In fact I used to spend most of my 20 minutes a day on the AH, wheeling and dealing. I played actively only on weekends. But now, I would like to play at least 3 hours during the week and 6-8 hours on the weekend. Unfortunately I've got other things to do so my time is limited. But still, I really feel like playing the game as much as possible.
My characters
I made a bunch of mistakes in D3, that I will admit. The first was starting to play with a Demon Hunter. The other was abandoning it for a Monk and then spending more than 100 hours on this character. The one thing that I did right was leveling my Wizard to 60, although she was the last one there. In retrospect, I should've started with the Wizard from the beginning. These days the Wizard has become my main and she's by far my most favorite class. In fact, if Blizzard doesn't do anything to fuck up her skills (read "nerf"), I can safely say that I won't play another class until my Wizard hits Paragon level 100.
The Monk is Paragon lv 2 and while he's very resilient, it comes at the cost of DPS and 22K is not nearly enough to have fun in Act 3 (Inferno) where he's at right now. He can kill boss packs - eventually - but it takes a very long time. And that's not fun to me. All my other classes (Barbarian, Demon Hunter and Witch Doctor) are 60 but I have abandoned them a long time ago and they don't tempt me in the least.
The Wizard
Andromeda, as she is called, is my pride and joy. She's Paragon 13 as of this writing. She has progressed to Act 3, just before Cydaea. I am confident that with her current equipment she can finish the rest of Inferno. But I'm in no rush. I like to smash everything without effort. I like being overpowered. It felt awesome to finish Acts 3+4 on Hell with 12K DPS on all of my characters. I want to feel the same thing with the Wizard in Inferno. She's not there yet, but she's inching closer.
Speaking of stats, she does 57K+ DPS (with the Enchantress follower), with 20.5% crit chance. Unfortunately her crit damage is only 50% because I was going for a Critical Mass build before I decided to go in a different direction. Her attack speed is pretty awesome at 2.22 attacks per second. Her defenses are nothing out of the ordinary because I kind of play a glass-cannon build. She has 26K life, 5000+ armor and between 200-300 resistances. Best of all, she has over 1000 life per second regeneration because that's something I like very much. It helps enormously, especially when kiting.
Here's my build. Incidentally this build is available at level 54.
The gameplay
What I love about the Wizard is that, using the above build, she obliterates-exterminates-devastates everthing in Act 1. She one-shots trash mobs and 3-5 shots boss packs. She's a vicious killing machine. Act 2 is almost the same but for some reason I feel that I make more gold farming Act 2, as well as find more boss packs. She hardly ever dies in these two acts. Act 3 is very doable but sometimes she dies if I'm not careful and I meet the wrong affixes on boss packs. But whenever I want to feel like a god, I go to acts 1 or 2 and zap everything with my finger of doom.
Finances
I will admit that I suck at making money in D3. This hasn't been a big priority for me until now so I didn't spend countless hours researching and playing the market. Well, ok, I have a couple of strategies that work but they simply provide a bit of additional income. The most I saved was a bit over 7 million. Thing is, I feel that now's not the best time to waste money on upgrades. I made the mistake of buying a good weapon for 3 million (a bargain at the time) right before patch 1.0.4. That weapon was quickly upgraded post-patch with something that was much better and only cost 1 million. And I barely managed to sell the original for less than 100K. Oops. Yeah, I made many of these stupid decisions which ended up costing me a lot of gold. Anyway, I plan to wait another month or two before I start to spend more seriously. Prices will only go down (as more good loot is found over time). The only spike I anticipate is when the PvP patch is released but I doubt that will happen before November. My problem is thay my equipment is pretty decent right now and it is becoming harder and harder to find cheap upgrades that don't cost millions. Suffice to say that I can't afford any good legendary item. But that's ok. It takes time to build kick-ass equipment.
Just don't ask me to lend you money if you see me in game. A dude I played with a couple of times wanted to borrow some but I was like, dude, I barely have enough for myself and now you want me to trust you when I don't even know you? Sorry dudes but I don't lend gold and that's final.
On the Real Money side, I'm inching close to $30 which is pathetic. On the other hand, as I said, I don't play the AH so whatever I sell is stuff I find on my own. Unfortunately most of what I find is crap (but you can relate, right?). First, I want to cover the cost of the next expansion ($40 likely). Second, I'd love to cover the cost of the game x 2 (I bought 2 copies), or $120.
Goals
I don't have big ambitions but my long term goal is to reach Paragon level 100 with my Wizard. The way I play, I doubt this will happen in less than 2 years. But fuck it, I've waited 10 years for this game. 2 years of actually playing it won't be so bad.
My short term goal is to reach a sufficient amount of DPS to steamroll Act 3 and possibly Act 4. I don't care much for Act 4 because I hate everything about it (and drops are supposed to be the same) so I would be satisfied to stick to Act 3. I want to kill mobs as easily as I do in Act 1 today. That's my fantasy. For that, I estimate I need at least 65K DPS. I'm only about 9K short so I shouldn't have big problems getting there in the next several weeks. Once I can cruise through Act 3, I will finish Inferno once and for all and continue farming for 1337 items.
Conclusion
To those who quit, sorry but I still enjoy Diablo 3. I believe it will become even more enjoyable as they continue to fix some of its issues. I just hope they don't nerf my favorite class, the Wizard, in any significant way. Yup, there's still life in this here game.
Showing posts with label Wizard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wizard. Show all posts
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012
Character names
Today, in world premiere, I'm going to reveal the names that I will give each class when Diablo 3 is released. I talked before about class and gender choices and I can safely say, after playing each gender for each class in the beta, that I have made a final decision.
Demon Hunter - Male - Prometheus
I picked the name for two reasons. First, there's Prometheus in Greek mythology whose story I find extremely fascinating. I mean, stealing from the gods, defying them to the very last, that takes balls man! Besides, the male Demon Hunter can very well be Greek, with his darkish looks. The second reason is that my most anticipated movie this year is, you guessed it, Prometheus.
Wizard - Female - Andromeda
The Wizard fires galaxies and Andromeda is one of my favorite galaxies, so there you go. Besides, I think the name sounds really cool.
Barbarian - Male - Orion
I have always liked the name Orion, as it applies to the constellation and the mythical character. OK, I admit that Orion The Hunter might be better suited for the Demon Hunter but in my mind it feels like this is a very good name for the Barbarian.
Monk - Male - Rasputin
In a departure from Greek mythology, I am naming my male Monk Rasputin. Why? Well, it should be obvious. Diablo 3's Monk evidently hails from Russia, and that beard is a dead giveaway. Not that I admire the real Rasputin or anything, but I think the association (and coincidence) is funny.
Witch Doctor - Female - Arachne
I struggled with this one for a long time. Finally I turned back to Greek mythology and settled upon the name Arachne. Why? Because the Witch Doctor plays with spiders, among other things.
So these are my choices. I'd be interested to hear some opinions/criticisms. I would also enjoy it if you shared your own characters' names in the comments. Come on, don't be shy!
Demon Hunter - Male - Prometheus
I picked the name for two reasons. First, there's Prometheus in Greek mythology whose story I find extremely fascinating. I mean, stealing from the gods, defying them to the very last, that takes balls man! Besides, the male Demon Hunter can very well be Greek, with his darkish looks. The second reason is that my most anticipated movie this year is, you guessed it, Prometheus.
Wizard - Female - Andromeda
The Wizard fires galaxies and Andromeda is one of my favorite galaxies, so there you go. Besides, I think the name sounds really cool.
Barbarian - Male - Orion
I have always liked the name Orion, as it applies to the constellation and the mythical character. OK, I admit that Orion The Hunter might be better suited for the Demon Hunter but in my mind it feels like this is a very good name for the Barbarian.
Monk - Male - Rasputin
In a departure from Greek mythology, I am naming my male Monk Rasputin. Why? Well, it should be obvious. Diablo 3's Monk evidently hails from Russia, and that beard is a dead giveaway. Not that I admire the real Rasputin or anything, but I think the association (and coincidence) is funny.
Witch Doctor - Female - Arachne
I struggled with this one for a long time. Finally I turned back to Greek mythology and settled upon the name Arachne. Why? Because the Witch Doctor plays with spiders, among other things.
So these are my choices. I'd be interested to hear some opinions/criticisms. I would also enjoy it if you shared your own characters' names in the comments. Come on, don't be shy!
Friday, April 20, 2012
The beta Wizard
Since I finished leveling my Wizard to level 13, two patches were released, one of them wiping all characters in the process. Now the beta is in patch 18 but not much has changed between patch 16 and now so this Wizard overview remains relevant, but I was forced to start a brand new Wizard thanks to the character wipe. It's a shame because my previous one was really well equipped.
The Wizard is, essentially, the direct descendant of Diablo 2's Sorceress. Many spells are similar but there are plenty of new ones as well. If you liked D2's Sorceress, you'll most likely feel at home with the Wizard, although the resource system differs.
I picked (and will pick in the full game) a female Wizard. She's cute beyond words. I already concluded that the male looks too juvenile and inexperienced, barely a whelp, while the female is more like his older sister.
The Wizard uses a different resource than the Sorceress in Diablo 2, namely Arcane Power. Arcane Power (AP) is a purple swirly-sparkly plasma thing and also the fastest recharging resource in Diablo 3. You start with 100 AP and a later passive skill gives you another 20. From what I can tell, you can't go higher than that, but there are ways in which to boost regeneration rate, including items and other skills.
While the Wizard is somewhat constrained by her Arcane Power, because powerful spells tend to use a lot of it, she can switch to her primary skills which are free to cast, while AP recharges.
Read my quick primer on how skill slots work in Diablo 3, if you don't know that already.
Next is a review of all the skills and runes in the beta, broken down by skill slot, with the usual disclaimer that these are my own opinions and tastes.
Primary (left mouse - slot unlocked at level 1)
Lv 1 - Magic Missile
This is first spell you start the game with. It does 110% weapon damage as Arcane. Early on this is your bread-and-butter skill but I found myself using it even later at level 13 when I was fighting the Skeleton King. For that encounter, this is the best primary skill because it allows you to stay at range and it also gets a rune, making it more powerful than the other primary skills.
Lv 6 - Rune - Charged Blast
Your first rune at level 6 will improve Magic Missile so that it now does 143% damage. No reason not to use it.
Lv 13 - Rune - Split
At level 13 Magic Missile gets its second rune which makes it slightly more powerful and also gives it a little bit of an AoE. This rune splits your missile into 3 missiles which hit for 50% damage each. Since the trajectories of the 3 are very tight, in many cases you will hit the same monster with a salvo, for a total of 150% damage. This rune is definitely worth it if you like Magic Missile.
Lv 3 - Shock Pulse
Shock Pulse is the direct descendant of Diablo 2's Charged Bolt. Here, it doesn't work so well. You fire 3 bolts but the range is short (about half the screen) and the bolts are chaotic. Even the skill tooltip mentions "medium range" and "unpredictable". The only way this spell felt useful was for firing it at point-blank range, where all 3 bolts had the chance to hit.
Lv 9 - Rune - Explosive Bolts
This rune attempts to make Shock Pulse better but the skill was crappy to begin with so it won't help a lot if monsters who die explode for additional AoE damage since they are so hard to kill anyway with this skill. I guess this skill could be made to work by getting lots of items with high attack speed increase and spamming the crap out of this skill. Even then, it brings you uncomfortably close to the action.
Lv 11 - Spectral Blade
I never understood the point of Spectral Blade in Diablo 2 and I was prepared to dismiss it in Diablo 3, yet I find myself really liking this skill. This is a short range skill which hits the monsters in front of you for 135% damage. You don't use your weapon directly, but instead a series of "spectral blades" slash the air in front. This spell is pretty good for finishing off stragglers or smashing objects. I can see myself using it even at higher levels, with caution. In the beta, once you get some good equipment, you can go all melee-wizard and kill everything in hand-to-hand combat. Well, except for the Skeleton King. That's the only place where I switch back to Magic Missile so I can take him comfortably at range.
Secondary (right mouse - slot unlocked at level 2)
Lv 2 - Ray of Frost
Ray of Frost is one cool spell and you get it very early as your first secondary spell, at level 2. It projects a beam of frost that damages the target for 215% weapon damage, also slowing it by 30% for 3 seconds. Since you are vulnerable early on, this spell will get a lot of use. The only downside is that it can burn through your Arcane Power quickly if you keep the mouse button pressed. I found that it's best to use it in short burts. What's interesting is that at level 28 you get a rune which allows you to cast this spell for free.
Lv 7 - Rune - Numb
This rune simply increases the slowing down effect of Ray of Frost from 30% to 60%.
Lv 5 - Arcane Orb
One of the most used spells in the beta arrives early, at level 5. Arcane Orb does 175% weapon damage to all monsters in a 10 yard radius from the point of impact. It's a very potent spell but the high Arcane Power cost means that you can't fire it more than 3 times before your Arcane Power is entirely depleted. Another thing to watch out for is that the orb doesn't move very fast so you will have to "lead" moving targets if you want to hit them. In the beta, Arcane Orb is my secondary spell of choice. I just love AoE.
Lv 11 - Rune - Obliteration
This rune makes Arcane Orb even deadlier, increasing the damage to 228%. It also turns the orb red, from light purple.
Lv 12 - Arcane Torrent
Either Arcane Torrent sucks or else I couldn't get the hang of it. This spell reminds me a lot of Arcane Missiles from WoW because it fires a few missiles that deal 175% damage to all enemies at the point of impact. While the animation is pretty cool, with the missiles arcing out from your fingers and speeding towards the target, the range is medium and the aim is imprecise. Besides, the length of the animation means that it takes a precious second or two before the missiles hit. Sorry but I just didn't like this spell. Arcane Orb is a lot more predictable and does more damage thanks to the rune.
Defensive ("1" key - slot unlocked at level 4)
Lv 4 - Frost Nova
As your first defensive skill, at level 4 you get Frost Nova, another great spell. This used to deal damage in addition to freezing all nearby enemies for 3 seconds but Blizzard has removed the damage component. Nonetheless, this spell is really cool because you can wade into a group of monsters, freeze them and then blast them with Arcane Orb. They won't even know what hit them. Oh, there's a 12 second cooldown.
Lv 12 - Rune - Shatter
This rune improves Frost Nova by causing monsters killed while frozen to have a 50% change of releasing additional Frost Novas. This is pretty nifty for creating a chain effect of destruction but in the beta you won't be able to see the effect a lot in action because monsters die so quickly, very often on the first hit, once you are well equipped.
Lv 8 - Diamond Skin
Diamond Skin is another defensive skill that you can choose to use instead of Frost Nova and it acts like an energy shield which absorbs a set amount of damage for 6 seconds. I've seen people using it to "tank" with their Wizard, in concert with Spectral Blade. It can certainly be used to that effect if you so choose. Just remember that Diamond Skill doesn't last indefinitely, and when it expires you will find yourself vulnerable again.
Force ("2" key - slot unlocked at level 9)
Lv 9 - Wave of Force
At level 9 your 4th skill slot is unlocked and you get one of the most awesome Wizard spells. Wave of Force does a massive 200% weapon damage to enemies all around you, knocking them back AND slowing them down by 60%. It has a 15 second cooldown so you can't spam it, unfortunately. I just love this spell! It works especially well in concert with Frost Nova. Gather a bunch of monsters, freeze them and then blast them with Wave of Force. It's buckets of fun!
Lv 13 - Energy Twister
Energy Twister is one of those skills that feel pointless, useless, badly designed or all of the above. You fire a mini-tornado which spins randomly across the screen and fizzes out midway, dealing damage to monsters it hits, IF it hits. This spell is so random, not to mention costly, that it constitutes pure masochism to use it. Maybe runes can make it better but in the beta it is truly pointless.
Passive Skills (1st slot unlocked at level 10)
Level 10 is for passive skills. Yay!
Lv 10 - Blur
This one decreases melee damage you take. Fairly pointless at this level and I'm not sure I'd take it even later, outside of PvP because a Wizard is supposed to stay at range. If you get hit by melee enemies, you're not doing it right. I'm sure I will swallow my words in Hell/Inferno but we'll see.
Lv 10 - Power Hungry
Here's a very nifty passive. This one allows you to gain Arcane Power when you're healed by a health globe. Pretty cool. Since Arcane Power can be a problem if you like to blast away with costly spells, this passive allows you to recover your resource more quickly.
Lv 13 - Evocation
This passive reduces your cooldowns by 15% but I'm not sure how useful it is. The only spells that can use it are Frost Nova, Wave of Force and Diamond Skin. However the reduction is very small, meaning that you'll gain a couple of seconds which doesn't seem enough. I would just skip this one and keep Power Hungry.
Next, I will talk about my level progression from 1-13.
Level Progression
Level 1
Magic Missile is the only spell at your disposal. Luckily it doesn't cost anything to cast so knock yourself out using it.
Level 2
Ray of Frost is the cool skill which comes immediately at level 2. Use it whenever you have Arcane Power. Remember, shorts bursts are better.
Level 3
Shock Pulse is your second primary skill. My advice? Skip it.
Level 4
Frost Nova, woohoo! Use it whenever it's off cooldown, when you're surrounded by monsters and when you're in dire straits or trying to escape.
Level 5
Arcane Orb can replace Ray of Frost if you wish. I suggest doing so. You can now take out huge groups of monsters with a couple of blasts.
Level 6
Rune your Magic Missile with Charged Blast.
Level 7
If you are still using Ray of Frost, now's the time to rune it with Numb.
Level 8
You can choose to replace Frost Nova with Diamond Skin. If you want to go melee-Wizard, it's not a bad idea.
Level 9
You get your 4th skill slot as well as Wave of Force. You will love this new spell with a passion, if you're anything like me.
You also get Explosive Bolts which augments your Shock Pulse. Skip it.
Level 10
A couple of new passives become available. Choose Power Hungry.
Level 11
Arcane Orb is now awesomer thanks to Obliteration.
Level 12
A new skill, Arcane Torrent. Skip it.
Shatter enhances Frost Nova. Equip it.
Level 13
Energy Twister, the most useless spell in the beta. Ignore it.
You also get Evocation as a passive but I suggest keeping Power Hungry.
This concludes my discussion of the Wizard in Diablo 3's beta (patch 16, subject to change in future patches or the final game). Here's my level 13 build. Though I run primarily with Spectral Blade, I switch to Arcane Missile for the Skeleton King fight so I can stay safely at range.
If played recklessly, the Wizard can be seen as a glass canon but in the beta it's hard to judge how effective or fragile it will be since it's fairly easy to out-level and out-gear all the monsters. Once the Wizard becomes powerful like that, she will rip through her enemies like a screaming banshee. But that's valid for all classes, in the beta. The Wizard was a lot of fun to play and, once again, because I love ranged classes so much, I will have a hard time choosing between her and the Witch Doctor, of course, after I get tired of the Demon Hunter.
Also read:
The beta Demon Hunter
The beta Witch Doctor
The beta Monk
The beta Barbarian
The Wizard is, essentially, the direct descendant of Diablo 2's Sorceress. Many spells are similar but there are plenty of new ones as well. If you liked D2's Sorceress, you'll most likely feel at home with the Wizard, although the resource system differs.
I picked (and will pick in the full game) a female Wizard. She's cute beyond words. I already concluded that the male looks too juvenile and inexperienced, barely a whelp, while the female is more like his older sister.
The Wizard uses a different resource than the Sorceress in Diablo 2, namely Arcane Power. Arcane Power (AP) is a purple swirly-sparkly plasma thing and also the fastest recharging resource in Diablo 3. You start with 100 AP and a later passive skill gives you another 20. From what I can tell, you can't go higher than that, but there are ways in which to boost regeneration rate, including items and other skills.
While the Wizard is somewhat constrained by her Arcane Power, because powerful spells tend to use a lot of it, she can switch to her primary skills which are free to cast, while AP recharges.
Read my quick primer on how skill slots work in Diablo 3, if you don't know that already.
Next is a review of all the skills and runes in the beta, broken down by skill slot, with the usual disclaimer that these are my own opinions and tastes.
Primary (left mouse - slot unlocked at level 1)
Lv 1 - Magic Missile
This is first spell you start the game with. It does 110% weapon damage as Arcane. Early on this is your bread-and-butter skill but I found myself using it even later at level 13 when I was fighting the Skeleton King. For that encounter, this is the best primary skill because it allows you to stay at range and it also gets a rune, making it more powerful than the other primary skills.
Lv 6 - Rune - Charged Blast
Your first rune at level 6 will improve Magic Missile so that it now does 143% damage. No reason not to use it.
Lv 13 - Rune - Split
At level 13 Magic Missile gets its second rune which makes it slightly more powerful and also gives it a little bit of an AoE. This rune splits your missile into 3 missiles which hit for 50% damage each. Since the trajectories of the 3 are very tight, in many cases you will hit the same monster with a salvo, for a total of 150% damage. This rune is definitely worth it if you like Magic Missile.
Lv 3 - Shock Pulse
Shock Pulse is the direct descendant of Diablo 2's Charged Bolt. Here, it doesn't work so well. You fire 3 bolts but the range is short (about half the screen) and the bolts are chaotic. Even the skill tooltip mentions "medium range" and "unpredictable". The only way this spell felt useful was for firing it at point-blank range, where all 3 bolts had the chance to hit.
Lv 9 - Rune - Explosive Bolts
This rune attempts to make Shock Pulse better but the skill was crappy to begin with so it won't help a lot if monsters who die explode for additional AoE damage since they are so hard to kill anyway with this skill. I guess this skill could be made to work by getting lots of items with high attack speed increase and spamming the crap out of this skill. Even then, it brings you uncomfortably close to the action.
Lv 11 - Spectral Blade
I never understood the point of Spectral Blade in Diablo 2 and I was prepared to dismiss it in Diablo 3, yet I find myself really liking this skill. This is a short range skill which hits the monsters in front of you for 135% damage. You don't use your weapon directly, but instead a series of "spectral blades" slash the air in front. This spell is pretty good for finishing off stragglers or smashing objects. I can see myself using it even at higher levels, with caution. In the beta, once you get some good equipment, you can go all melee-wizard and kill everything in hand-to-hand combat. Well, except for the Skeleton King. That's the only place where I switch back to Magic Missile so I can take him comfortably at range.
Secondary (right mouse - slot unlocked at level 2)
Lv 2 - Ray of Frost
Ray of Frost is one cool spell and you get it very early as your first secondary spell, at level 2. It projects a beam of frost that damages the target for 215% weapon damage, also slowing it by 30% for 3 seconds. Since you are vulnerable early on, this spell will get a lot of use. The only downside is that it can burn through your Arcane Power quickly if you keep the mouse button pressed. I found that it's best to use it in short burts. What's interesting is that at level 28 you get a rune which allows you to cast this spell for free.
Lv 7 - Rune - Numb
This rune simply increases the slowing down effect of Ray of Frost from 30% to 60%.
Lv 5 - Arcane Orb
One of the most used spells in the beta arrives early, at level 5. Arcane Orb does 175% weapon damage to all monsters in a 10 yard radius from the point of impact. It's a very potent spell but the high Arcane Power cost means that you can't fire it more than 3 times before your Arcane Power is entirely depleted. Another thing to watch out for is that the orb doesn't move very fast so you will have to "lead" moving targets if you want to hit them. In the beta, Arcane Orb is my secondary spell of choice. I just love AoE.
Lv 11 - Rune - Obliteration
This rune makes Arcane Orb even deadlier, increasing the damage to 228%. It also turns the orb red, from light purple.
Lv 12 - Arcane Torrent
Either Arcane Torrent sucks or else I couldn't get the hang of it. This spell reminds me a lot of Arcane Missiles from WoW because it fires a few missiles that deal 175% damage to all enemies at the point of impact. While the animation is pretty cool, with the missiles arcing out from your fingers and speeding towards the target, the range is medium and the aim is imprecise. Besides, the length of the animation means that it takes a precious second or two before the missiles hit. Sorry but I just didn't like this spell. Arcane Orb is a lot more predictable and does more damage thanks to the rune.
Defensive ("1" key - slot unlocked at level 4)
Lv 4 - Frost Nova
As your first defensive skill, at level 4 you get Frost Nova, another great spell. This used to deal damage in addition to freezing all nearby enemies for 3 seconds but Blizzard has removed the damage component. Nonetheless, this spell is really cool because you can wade into a group of monsters, freeze them and then blast them with Arcane Orb. They won't even know what hit them. Oh, there's a 12 second cooldown.
Lv 12 - Rune - Shatter
This rune improves Frost Nova by causing monsters killed while frozen to have a 50% change of releasing additional Frost Novas. This is pretty nifty for creating a chain effect of destruction but in the beta you won't be able to see the effect a lot in action because monsters die so quickly, very often on the first hit, once you are well equipped.
Lv 8 - Diamond Skin
Diamond Skin is another defensive skill that you can choose to use instead of Frost Nova and it acts like an energy shield which absorbs a set amount of damage for 6 seconds. I've seen people using it to "tank" with their Wizard, in concert with Spectral Blade. It can certainly be used to that effect if you so choose. Just remember that Diamond Skill doesn't last indefinitely, and when it expires you will find yourself vulnerable again.
Force ("2" key - slot unlocked at level 9)
Lv 9 - Wave of Force
At level 9 your 4th skill slot is unlocked and you get one of the most awesome Wizard spells. Wave of Force does a massive 200% weapon damage to enemies all around you, knocking them back AND slowing them down by 60%. It has a 15 second cooldown so you can't spam it, unfortunately. I just love this spell! It works especially well in concert with Frost Nova. Gather a bunch of monsters, freeze them and then blast them with Wave of Force. It's buckets of fun!
Lv 13 - Energy Twister
Energy Twister is one of those skills that feel pointless, useless, badly designed or all of the above. You fire a mini-tornado which spins randomly across the screen and fizzes out midway, dealing damage to monsters it hits, IF it hits. This spell is so random, not to mention costly, that it constitutes pure masochism to use it. Maybe runes can make it better but in the beta it is truly pointless.
Passive Skills (1st slot unlocked at level 10)
Level 10 is for passive skills. Yay!
Lv 10 - Blur
This one decreases melee damage you take. Fairly pointless at this level and I'm not sure I'd take it even later, outside of PvP because a Wizard is supposed to stay at range. If you get hit by melee enemies, you're not doing it right. I'm sure I will swallow my words in Hell/Inferno but we'll see.
Lv 10 - Power Hungry
Here's a very nifty passive. This one allows you to gain Arcane Power when you're healed by a health globe. Pretty cool. Since Arcane Power can be a problem if you like to blast away with costly spells, this passive allows you to recover your resource more quickly.
Lv 13 - Evocation
This passive reduces your cooldowns by 15% but I'm not sure how useful it is. The only spells that can use it are Frost Nova, Wave of Force and Diamond Skin. However the reduction is very small, meaning that you'll gain a couple of seconds which doesn't seem enough. I would just skip this one and keep Power Hungry.
Next, I will talk about my level progression from 1-13.
Level Progression
Level 1
Magic Missile is the only spell at your disposal. Luckily it doesn't cost anything to cast so knock yourself out using it.
Level 2
Ray of Frost is the cool skill which comes immediately at level 2. Use it whenever you have Arcane Power. Remember, shorts bursts are better.
Level 3
Shock Pulse is your second primary skill. My advice? Skip it.
Level 4
Frost Nova, woohoo! Use it whenever it's off cooldown, when you're surrounded by monsters and when you're in dire straits or trying to escape.
Level 5
Arcane Orb can replace Ray of Frost if you wish. I suggest doing so. You can now take out huge groups of monsters with a couple of blasts.
Level 6
Rune your Magic Missile with Charged Blast.
Level 7
If you are still using Ray of Frost, now's the time to rune it with Numb.
Level 8
You can choose to replace Frost Nova with Diamond Skin. If you want to go melee-Wizard, it's not a bad idea.
Level 9
You get your 4th skill slot as well as Wave of Force. You will love this new spell with a passion, if you're anything like me.
You also get Explosive Bolts which augments your Shock Pulse. Skip it.
Level 10
A couple of new passives become available. Choose Power Hungry.
Level 11
Arcane Orb is now awesomer thanks to Obliteration.
Level 12
A new skill, Arcane Torrent. Skip it.
Shatter enhances Frost Nova. Equip it.
Level 13
Energy Twister, the most useless spell in the beta. Ignore it.
You also get Evocation as a passive but I suggest keeping Power Hungry.
This concludes my discussion of the Wizard in Diablo 3's beta (patch 16, subject to change in future patches or the final game). Here's my level 13 build. Though I run primarily with Spectral Blade, I switch to Arcane Missile for the Skeleton King fight so I can stay safely at range.
If played recklessly, the Wizard can be seen as a glass canon but in the beta it's hard to judge how effective or fragile it will be since it's fairly easy to out-level and out-gear all the monsters. Once the Wizard becomes powerful like that, she will rip through her enemies like a screaming banshee. But that's valid for all classes, in the beta. The Wizard was a lot of fun to play and, once again, because I love ranged classes so much, I will have a hard time choosing between her and the Witch Doctor, of course, after I get tired of the Demon Hunter.
Also read:
The beta Demon Hunter
The beta Witch Doctor
The beta Monk
The beta Barbarian
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Class genders revisited
A looong time ago before I was even dreaming of getting into the beta, I made a tentative decision about which genders I would choose for each class in the full game. Now, after gaining some experience with all the 5 classes, I thought I could make a more informed decision. I was wrong. I hadn't yet seen these class armor set videos. Make sure to watch them, they are definitely worth it.
Here are my impressions after watching these videos.
Barbarian
I like the sets a lot. The look very barbaric, especially the early ones. Later ones are really awesome. These make me want to play a Barbarian.
Demon Hunter
I mentioned repeatedly that I would be playing the Demon Hunter as my first class. The sets are okay-ish but some of the helms are ridiculous.
Monk
The Monk's sets are the ugliest of the bunch. It makes both genders look like clowns.
Wizard
The clothes themselves are very good but many of the shoulders and helms but are ridiculous.
Witch Doctor
I like the Witch Doctor's sets a lot. The hats, especially, are awesome. I can only imagine how cool they look when actually playing the game.
And now for some revised impressions of each class gender.
Barbarian Male
The Barbarian male is the actual Barbarian from Diablo 2, only aged about 20 years. I like the dude. He looks powerful and experienced and he won't take shit from anyone.
Barbarian Female
I was planning to play a Barb female because I like how she looks. She has nice curves, she looks powerful and muscular. But I dislike her voice and she reminds me too much of Fiona, the ogre from Shrek. Besides, she could easily be the male Barb's daughter, much less experienced and a lot more naive.
Verdict
I choose the male Barbarian.
Demon Hunter Male
This dude looks like a jerk. I hate his hunched-over posture and how he holds his arms at his side. Also, he's too thin.
Demon Hunter Female
Her posture makes her look like a stuck-up bitch.
Verdict
It's hard to make a decision here. I think I'm gonna go with the female, as she seems to be the lesser of two evils.
Monk Male
I like the male Monk. He reminds me a lot of Rasputin, with his beard and accent. He looks suitably powerful and I liked how items in the beta looked on him.
Monk Female
I don't know what to make of her. She doesn't seem to be related to the male in any way, not even by race. Are they both Russian? They could be, but something about her doesn't click.
Verdict
I choose the male Monk.
Wizard Male
The male Wizard looks like a wimpy 16-17 year old. He could be the female Wizards younger brother.
Wizard Female
She is smoking hot, especially without armor. I'm in looove with her.
Verdict
Female Wizard all the way!
Witch Doctor Male
What the hell is wrong with this guy? Not only is he shaking like he's got Parkinson's (at his age the chances of that disease are high) but he's got a damn potbelly! Oh and I don't like his voice. Not the accent, just the voice.
Witch Doctor Female
She's much better than the male, and hot looking to boot. And she doesn't shake.
Verdict
Female Witch Doctor all the way!
The class set videos have definitely helped me in my decision-making but unfortunately the Demon Hunter suffers from both lackluster sets and annoying character design. But that's purely my opinion so feel free to disagree with me in the comments.
Here are my impressions after watching these videos.
Barbarian
I like the sets a lot. The look very barbaric, especially the early ones. Later ones are really awesome. These make me want to play a Barbarian.
Demon Hunter
I mentioned repeatedly that I would be playing the Demon Hunter as my first class. The sets are okay-ish but some of the helms are ridiculous.
Monk
The Monk's sets are the ugliest of the bunch. It makes both genders look like clowns.
Wizard
The clothes themselves are very good but many of the shoulders and helms but are ridiculous.
Witch Doctor
I like the Witch Doctor's sets a lot. The hats, especially, are awesome. I can only imagine how cool they look when actually playing the game.
And now for some revised impressions of each class gender.
Barbarian Male
The Barbarian male is the actual Barbarian from Diablo 2, only aged about 20 years. I like the dude. He looks powerful and experienced and he won't take shit from anyone.
Barbarian Female
I was planning to play a Barb female because I like how she looks. She has nice curves, she looks powerful and muscular. But I dislike her voice and she reminds me too much of Fiona, the ogre from Shrek. Besides, she could easily be the male Barb's daughter, much less experienced and a lot more naive.
Verdict
I choose the male Barbarian.
Demon Hunter Male
This dude looks like a jerk. I hate his hunched-over posture and how he holds his arms at his side. Also, he's too thin.
Demon Hunter Female
Her posture makes her look like a stuck-up bitch.
Verdict
It's hard to make a decision here. I think I'm gonna go with the female, as she seems to be the lesser of two evils.
Monk Male
I like the male Monk. He reminds me a lot of Rasputin, with his beard and accent. He looks suitably powerful and I liked how items in the beta looked on him.
Monk Female
I don't know what to make of her. She doesn't seem to be related to the male in any way, not even by race. Are they both Russian? They could be, but something about her doesn't click.
Verdict
I choose the male Monk.
Wizard Male
The male Wizard looks like a wimpy 16-17 year old. He could be the female Wizards younger brother.
Wizard Female
She is smoking hot, especially without armor. I'm in looove with her.
Verdict
Female Wizard all the way!
Witch Doctor Male
What the hell is wrong with this guy? Not only is he shaking like he's got Parkinson's (at his age the chances of that disease are high) but he's got a damn potbelly! Oh and I don't like his voice. Not the accent, just the voice.
Witch Doctor Female
She's much better than the male, and hot looking to boot. And she doesn't shake.
Verdict
Female Witch Doctor all the way!
The class set videos have definitely helped me in my decision-making but unfortunately the Demon Hunter suffers from both lackluster sets and annoying character design. But that's purely my opinion so feel free to disagree with me in the comments.
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