05-27-2012, 07:26 PM
I have been converted! It took a long time to convince me to give up Ray of Frost and to stop using the 20-yard radius version of the Arcane Orb, but gosh darn it, Hydra is just too amazing and the 20-yard radius Arcane Orb is too much of an Arcane Power hog. I knew I had changed to the right build for me, when I started playing it naturally after just a few minutes.
My new build is:
Magic Missle -- Attunement (will change to Seeker when I get back there)
Arcane Orb -- Tap the Source (reduces Arcan Orb cost from 35 to 20 AP)
Hydra -- Venom
Magic Weapon -- Force Weapon (will change to Energy Armor -- Force Armor in late stages of Hell)
Teleport -- Wormhole
Diamond Skin -- Crystal Shell
I was initially worried that this build would lack single target dps, but it really doesn't. I can cast the hydra on top of the target I want to kill first and then spam cheap Arcane Orbs at the target to get nearly the same single target dps that I had with Ray of Frost -- Snow Blast. In the meantime, the ability to spam Arcane Orbs and the way the Venom Hydra lays down poison pools simply destroys aoe packs.
In addition, I like how Arcane Power efficient this build is, which frees up a lot of passives. I used to constantly hear "Not enough Arcane Power," and I had to have every AP generating passive in order to keep shooting in a fight. Now, the only AP generating passive I'm using is Astral Presence, and I'm starting to wonder if I need that anymore.
My new build is:
Magic Missle -- Attunement (will change to Seeker when I get back there)
Arcane Orb -- Tap the Source (reduces Arcan Orb cost from 35 to 20 AP)
Hydra -- Venom
Magic Weapon -- Force Weapon (will change to Energy Armor -- Force Armor in late stages of Hell)
Teleport -- Wormhole
Diamond Skin -- Crystal Shell
I was initially worried that this build would lack single target dps, but it really doesn't. I can cast the hydra on top of the target I want to kill first and then spam cheap Arcane Orbs at the target to get nearly the same single target dps that I had with Ray of Frost -- Snow Blast. In the meantime, the ability to spam Arcane Orbs and the way the Venom Hydra lays down poison pools simply destroys aoe packs.
In addition, I like how Arcane Power efficient this build is, which frees up a lot of passives. I used to constantly hear "Not enough Arcane Power," and I had to have every AP generating passive in order to keep shooting in a fight. Now, the only AP generating passive I'm using is Astral Presence, and I'm starting to wonder if I need that anymore.