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| Nairul United States. April 24 2012 07:24. Posts 258 | Profile Blog # |
Introduction
Due to my boredom and giddy anticipation for Diablo 3 to come out, I’ve been spending more and more time with the skill calculator on Blizzard’s D3 website. The first question I tend to ask myself when staring at a blank skill calculator is, “what are the must-have skills?” I’m talking about those skills that seem so obviously beneficial they should be absolutely mandatory no matter what build you’re going for… the ones you simply can’t do without (with higher difficulties in mind). Putting aside all of those attacks that seem freakishly amazing (even though they probably are), I’m looking for skills that, based on the way they currently function and are described, a) don’t have the potential to be made obsolete by a patch that nerfs their damage from 2000% to 200%, and b) don’t have the potential to be “good on paper” but lead to massive disappointment once I get to actually try them out at level 30 (not that I’m saying Blizzard would intentionally make skills obsolete, I’m just pointing out the fact that we simply can’t be sure of anything until the game comes out, and that a greater amount of subjectivity goes into choosing attacks than into choosing buffs/cooldowns/defensive skills… but I guess this tangent kind of defeats my whole argument? Shh).
I’ve found that must-have skills tend to be 100% synergistic – that is, they provide some sort of baseline buff, and aren’t themselves offensive attacks. Furthermore, and this part is important, there are no tradeoffs (other than the loss of a skill slot), in that all they require is the attention of the player to refresh them. Thus, they reward those players who are smart enough not to forget to use them! (not that it’s hard, just sayin’). Given that criteria, there aren’t that many of these kinds of skills out there. I’ve only identified only 1-2 per class, and I suppose that’s a good thing, and also something the designers intended. Good job Blizzard?
In the section that follows, I list and describe what I deem to be the must-have skills for each of the five D3 characters. I also discuss the ‘maybe’ skills I was tempted to give must-have status, and my reasons for not doing so. But before I do, I’d just like to express my acknowledgement of the fact that D3 is not out yet and that these are my informed opinions based on months of beta gameplay, skill descriptions, and skill footage. In no way am I claiming to have ‘solved’ the game, nor am I attempting to profess my own undisputable D3 strategy! On the contrary, my whole motivation in writing this thread (besides pathetic boredom) is to get feedback on this topic. I’d like to know if you’ve come to similar conclusions, or if you disagree with any of my choices or even my whole premise (In which case, please be gentile!). For your convenience, I’ve made every skill reference a hyperlink to the specific Blizzard skill page so that you may re-familiarize yourself with the description if need be.
Barbarian
Must-have: Battle Rage
Like it. Love it. Gotta have it. Even ignoring the runes, Battle Rage is a great constant damage buff, pending a refresh every thirty seconds. I decided to start with the Barbarian because this skill is as plain and simple as they come: refresh, profit.
Must-have (in party): War Cry
I’m choosing this because it’s the quintessential Barbarian party buff. For solo play I could understand it being thrown aside, but if you’re the only Barbarian in your group then you better get this skill. I know armor seems boring, but it’s just another one of those easy refresh buffs they’ve blessed the Barbarian with. However, the thing that really sells War Cry is its runes – specifically, Impunity rune that turns it into a resistances buff (although Invigorate rune is quite good too). Granted, we can’t quite value resistances just yet. However, if they’re anything like in D2 (meaning, very very very important at higher difficulties), then we might end up relying on party buffs like War Cry, and self-buffs like the Wizard’s Energy Armor with Prismatic Armor rune (see below).
Maybe: Wrath of the Berserker
I’m hesitant to make Wrath of the Berserker a “must-have” only because it’s a self-buff, not a party-buff like Big Bad Voodoo (see below). That being said, cooldowns are important and this one is sick good, especially when you take into account the runes.
Witch Doctor
Must-have: Soul Harvest
Remember that more intellect means more damage for Witch Doctor and Wizard. Soul Harvest is a cool unique twist on the common refresh buff. Not only do you need to remember to cast it every thirty seconds, but you also have to make sure there’s an enemy within 16 yards (preferably five enemies, for maximum efficiency). Given that D3 monsters tend to be in groups, five shouldn’t be too hard to find.
Must-have: (in party) Big Bad Voodoo
Although this is a cooldown, I see Big Bad Voodoo as a must-have for party situations, and certainly still good for solo play. Perhaps one downside is that you and your allies have to be standing in the ritual area to gain the buff. However, judging by the Blizzard skill video (since the tooltip doesn’t give a range amount), the area of effect is huge enough for this not to be an issue. Plus, whenever I use this badass ability I’m going to shout “BIG BAAD VOOODOOOO” to my friends over Skype… they’ll know to stand in it.
Maybe: Firebomb
I can’t justify Firebomb as a “must-have,” but it needs to be mentioned. I know, I know, this goes against my whole ‘no attacks’ clause, but I’ve been in love with this skill ever since I got to try it out at Blizzcon 2009. Put simply, the mechanic is great. It’s one of those few mortar-style attacks that hits exactly where you tell it to hit, instead of a bullet-style attack that runs the risk of detonating on objects / unintended enemies. It’s also got that perfect balance between single-target and AoE. Toads, Spiders, and Bats are cool and all, but there’s just something about those attack mechanics that seem randomized, as in, you can’t quite tell where the mechanic starts and where it ends. Firebomb is the only Witch Doctor attack that has a no-funny-business attitude about it, and I like that.
Demon Hunter
Must-have: (in party) Marked for Death
A must-have for making boss kills go faster, especially in party situations. The runes for this skill are especially well-designed and give it a lot of options (AoE debuff, hatred generator, healer, etc.) Still, out of all the “must-haves,” I have to admit I’m the most unsure about this one. Maybe I felt the need to pick at least one for each class. Unfortunately, Demon Hunter is the class I know the least about. It seems even the research that went into writing this post couldn’t make up for the hours I’ve spent solely on designing Wizard and Witch Doctor builds… gogo casters.
Maybe: Archery (passive)
I’m hesitant on Archery because we don’t know what specific weapon types (if any) will be the go-to for endgame Demon Hunters, nor are we currently able to even guesstimate on the value of stats like %crit damage or %crit chance. As a former WoW player I’m inclined to follow the damage > crit protocol, but who knows if that will translate over to D3. Still, this passive seems more stable than something like Steady Aim, which is situational.
Monk
Must-have: Either Mantra of Conviction or Mantra of Healing
Lets face it, as a Monk you’re going to want to have one (and probably only one) Mantra. I’d say it’s between these two, Conviction is a solid damage buff, while Healing also stands out (especially with Time of Need rune for resistances). As for the other Mantras, they seem situational.
Wizard
Must-have: Familiar w/ Sparkflint rune
A bread-n-butter refresh buff.
Maybe: Archon
See my argument on Wrath of the Berserker
Maybe: Energy Armor w/ Prismatic Armor rune
See my argument on War Cry. I’m hesitant to make this a must-have because it’s not a party buff.
Whelp, that’s it. Sorry for the long post. Please give your thoughts and criticisms!
-NairulLast edit: 2012-04-24 07:25:17 |
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| 1Eris1 United States. April 24 2012 07:39. Posts 5797 | Profile # |
| Gah, reading this makes me realize that I am going to get so behind on my work from May 15th-May-22 |
| | Known Aliases: Tyragon, Valeric ~MSL Forever, SKT is truly the Superior KT! |
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| alQahira United States. April 24 2012 07:39. Posts 488 | Profile # |
| Good post. I think you're a little overly conservative. Maybe a followup post on your thoughts on the most efficient/powerful attacks? |
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| KiLL_ORdeR United States. April 24 2012 07:40. Posts 1433 | Profile Blog # |
On April 24 2012 07:39 1Eris1 wrote:
Gah, reading this makes me realize that I am going to get so behind on my work from May 15th-May-22
Reading this makes me happy that exams are over on May 8th XD.
And now i feel really bad for rubbing that in your face  Last edit: 2012-04-24 07:40:39 |
| | In order to move forward, we must rid ourselves of that which holds us back. Check out my stream and give me tips! twitch.tv/intotheskyy |
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| alQahira United States. April 24 2012 07:46. Posts 488 | Profile # |
| For example, wave of force seems like it would hard to turn down for wizards unless you were going with a very specialized build. Knockback, slow, and 200% weapon damage all in one skill? |
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| Nairul United States. April 24 2012 07:53. Posts 258 | Profile Blog # |
On April 24 2012 07:46 alQahira wrote:
For example, wave of force seems like it would hard to turn down for wizards unless you were going with a very specialized build. Knockback, slow, and 200% weapon damage all in one skill?
Perhaps, but to play devils advocate... knockback mechanics in general seem like a hindrance because they disperse clumps of enemies (and you would rather have them in clumps for AoE purposes). But maybe it could prove essential for survivability, who knows. |
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| English United States. April 24 2012 07:54. Posts 444 | Profile # |
On April 24 2012 07:46 alQahira wrote:
For example, wave of force seems like it would hard to turn down for wizards unless you were going with a very specialized build. Knockback, slow, and 200% weapon damage all in one skill?
Generally you'd want to clump up the mobs if you wanted to clear out a room faster. Wave of force spreads them out and therefore would lengthen the time it takes to kill them. |
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| skyR Canada. April 24 2012 07:55. Posts 11181 | Profile # |
| Wrath of the Berserker with Thrive on Chaos is basically going to be a perma buff in the higher difficulties until you get to a cut scene / talk to NPC part. But fury free 75s Earthquake is pretty good as well. |
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| HardlyNever United States. April 24 2012 08:48. Posts 892 | Profile Blog # |
It is too early to tell if there will really be any "must have" skills, that just outshine all the other options, that there is no build that wouldn't want to have them.
I honestly don't think there will be, or maybe 1 or 2 in the entire game for 1 or 2 of the classes. I think this game will be very diverse, but I might be overly optimistic. |
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| R0YAL United States. April 24 2012 09:09. Posts 1762 | Profile Blog # |
You can dodge any source of damage so I think Mantra of Evasion will have much more utility than Mantra of Healing.
On April 24 2012 08:48 HardlyNever wrote:
It is too early to tell if there will really be any "must have" skills, that just outshine all the other options, that there is no build that wouldn't want to have them.
I honestly don't think there will be, or maybe 1 or 2 in the entire game for 1 or 2 of the classes. I think this game will be very diverse, but I might be overly optimistic.
I don't think there will be any skills that are "must have" for every single build and for any and all situations (although the WD's Soul Harvest is pretty damn close to a "must have"). But within certain types of builds there will most likely be "must have" skills for each class. |
| | Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. |
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| R0YAL United States. April 24 2012 09:19. Posts 1762 | Profile Blog # |
On April 24 2012 07:55 skyR wrote:
Wrath of the Berserker with Thrive on Chaos is basically going to be a perma buff in the higher difficulties until you get to a cut scene / talk to NPC part. But fury free 75s Earthquake is pretty good as well.
I don't think Thrive on Chaos will be very effective. The investment it takes to be able to generate a constant 25 fury/sec is pretty substantial. You will most likely have to sacrifice as much power as you would benefit from the WotB. I'm not much of a fan of WotB but with Insanity rune plus Earthquake causes a hilarious amount of destruction. But i'm not a fan of any large cooldown ability in Diablo at the moment, hopefully I change my mind when I get to experience it because the Barbs "Rage" skills are really badass. |
| | Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. |
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| CruelZeratul Germany. April 24 2012 09:48. Posts 1726 | Profile # |
| Teleport for Wizards definitely, at least on the higher difficulties. |
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| DjRetro Chile. April 24 2012 10:22. Posts 298 | Profile Blog # |
On April 24 2012 09:48 CruelZeratul wrote:
Teleport for Wizards definitely, at least on the higher difficulties.
Too much cooldown. :/ Perhaps teleport won't be a "must-have" skill due to this. Who knows.
@OP: great post!Last edit: 2012-04-24 10:24:37 |
| | SpaceSynth-ItaloDisco-HiNRG http://www.radiostaddenhaag.com/ |
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| 1Eris1 United States. April 24 2012 10:34. Posts 5797 | Profile # |
On April 24 2012 07:40 KiLL_ORdeR wrote:
Show nested quote +On April 24 2012 07:39 1Eris1 wrote:
Gah, reading this makes me realize that I am going to get so behind on my work from May 15th-May-22
Reading this makes me happy that exams are over on May 8th XD. And now i feel really bad for rubbing that in your face
Exams literally start the 9th and 10th -_________-
At least I'll have something to look forward to when their over? : / |
| | Known Aliases: Tyragon, Valeric ~MSL Forever, SKT is truly the Superior KT! |
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| SnipedSoul Canada. April 24 2012 10:36. Posts 1691 | Profile # |
| I can't stand the thought of playing a monk without lashing tail kick. It just owns too much not to use. |
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| KiLL_ORdeR United States. April 24 2012 11:14. Posts 1433 | Profile Blog # |
On April 24 2012 10:36 SnipedSoul wrote:
I can't stand the thought of playing a monk without lashing tail kick. It just owns too much not to use.
Is that the first kick you get? Sort of a roundhouse with some flare? get's the fire rune? |
| | In order to move forward, we must rid ourselves of that which holds us back. Check out my stream and give me tips! twitch.tv/intotheskyy |
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| Zelc April 24 2012 11:27. Posts 109 | Profile Blog # |
| Keep in mind what context you're optimizing for. As an example, Soul Harvest might be really good if you want to load up on damage. However, if you're playing Hardcore with a pet build, you might prefer to kill a bit more slowly over putting yourself into a dangerous position to activate the buff. Not only that, but every skill here trades off with another damage or survivability skill you could have. |
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| Doraemon Australia. April 24 2012 11:31. Posts 9574 | Profile Blog # |
| reading this makes me sad that by the time i start playing my friends will be like level 40 something. sigh |
| | Do yourself a favour and just STFU |
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| SnipedSoul Canada. April 24 2012 13:31. Posts 1691 | Profile # |
On April 24 2012 11:14 KiLL_ORdeR wrote:
Show nested quote +On April 24 2012 10:36 SnipedSoul wrote:
I can't stand the thought of playing a monk without lashing tail kick. It just owns too much not to use.
Is that the first kick you get? Sort of a roundhouse with some flare? get's the fire rune?
Yes, once you have the fire rune thing it is so powerful. |
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| Nairul United States. April 25 2012 05:20. Posts 258 | Profile Blog # |
On April 24 2012 11:27 Zelc wrote:
Keep in mind what context you're optimizing for. As an example, Soul Harvest might be really good if you want to load up on damage. However, if you're playing Hardcore with a pet build, you might prefer to kill a bit more slowly over putting yourself into a dangerous position to activate the buff. Not only that, but every skill here trades off with another damage or survivability skill you could have.
I noted two things in the introduction: (1) that these skills have one and only one tradeoff, and that is the loss of a skill slot, and (2) I'm optimizing for high level difficulties.
That being said, I don't think Soul Harvest is as much of a glass cannon as you're making it out to be. It's inevitable that there's going to be clumps of monsters near you in D3. In my experience playing the beta, you don't need to go too far out of your way to use and refresh it, and the rewards are insanely good (huge DPS increase, and lets not forget Intellect gives +resistances).
What would a Hardcore "Pet" Witch Doctor build look like to you? Why would there be no room for Soul Harvest?
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