Hi all,
I used to post here a long time ago under the name Hocus. It appears that name is still registered here but I've long since lost the password and don't have access to the email account it's registered to, hence the new account.
From the outset let me say that so far I've only read Sirian's initial post and Bolty's reply.
To give some context, I solo killed Inferno Belial on my Barbarian a couple days ago.
I share your frustrations with the state of melee in Diablo 3, Sirian. It seems that there is a disproportionate amount of melee unfriendly affixes on champions compared to ranged unfriendly affixes. You're also right in saying that, at least initially, you are forced to run away a lot, which would seem to be the antithesis of the Barbarian, the master of melee.
But there is hope. It does change. As was the case in Diablo 1 and 2, the melee classes are extremely gear dependant. I went from getting my arse handed to me in Act 1 Inferno, to now having Act 2 Inferno on farm status, thanks largely to several gear upgrades, as well as a major rethink of the skills I was using.
To explain more, my current build is the following:
Frenzy w/ Sidearm
Revenge w/ Provocation
Ignore Pain w/ Iron Hide
Leap w/ Iron Impact
Furious Charge w/ Dreadnaught
War Cry w/ Impunity
My passives are Nerves of Steel, Tough as Nails and Superstition.
The premise of the build is simple: I cycle through Leap and Ignore Pain cooldowns to tank all the incoming damage, then use Revenge to keep myself up. If the situation gets dicey, I have Furious Charge for a health top up or an escape. Leap can be used in the same way. In using this strategy, I am able to overcome the immense damage thrown my way, at least up until the end of Act 2 Inferno. Champions with Arcane Enchanted still wreck me, but I'm prepared to accept that.
I thought much the same way you did initially, but the answer really is, "It's the gear, stupid!" I managed to pick up a String of Ears with 17% damage reduction on it tonight and the difference is immense. The same applies to a buddy of mine who went from being killed repeatedly in Act 1, to picking up a Justice Lantern, Stormshield and String of Ears and putting Belial on farm status.
Anyway, don't give up hope, it does change later. There are many examples of supremely geared Barbarians clearing Inferno Act 2 and 3 with 2-hander builds, so you won't be forced to play a tank forever if you don't want to, as I have little interest in doing. Unfortunately it seems the optimal way to gear up is through being an AH Baron, (I made about 3 million today in sales) which I think should definitely change -- if Blizzard insists on making rares the be all and end all, then there should be some way to progressively obtain your goal, rather than having to endlessly farm Act 1 Inferno over and over, or get lucky with a drop. But I don't think it's as bad as people are saying it is, and with time, it will only get easier.
I used to post here a long time ago under the name Hocus. It appears that name is still registered here but I've long since lost the password and don't have access to the email account it's registered to, hence the new account.
From the outset let me say that so far I've only read Sirian's initial post and Bolty's reply.
To give some context, I solo killed Inferno Belial on my Barbarian a couple days ago.
I share your frustrations with the state of melee in Diablo 3, Sirian. It seems that there is a disproportionate amount of melee unfriendly affixes on champions compared to ranged unfriendly affixes. You're also right in saying that, at least initially, you are forced to run away a lot, which would seem to be the antithesis of the Barbarian, the master of melee.
But there is hope. It does change. As was the case in Diablo 1 and 2, the melee classes are extremely gear dependant. I went from getting my arse handed to me in Act 1 Inferno, to now having Act 2 Inferno on farm status, thanks largely to several gear upgrades, as well as a major rethink of the skills I was using.
To explain more, my current build is the following:
Frenzy w/ Sidearm
Revenge w/ Provocation
Ignore Pain w/ Iron Hide
Leap w/ Iron Impact
Furious Charge w/ Dreadnaught
War Cry w/ Impunity
My passives are Nerves of Steel, Tough as Nails and Superstition.
The premise of the build is simple: I cycle through Leap and Ignore Pain cooldowns to tank all the incoming damage, then use Revenge to keep myself up. If the situation gets dicey, I have Furious Charge for a health top up or an escape. Leap can be used in the same way. In using this strategy, I am able to overcome the immense damage thrown my way, at least up until the end of Act 2 Inferno. Champions with Arcane Enchanted still wreck me, but I'm prepared to accept that.
I thought much the same way you did initially, but the answer really is, "It's the gear, stupid!" I managed to pick up a String of Ears with 17% damage reduction on it tonight and the difference is immense. The same applies to a buddy of mine who went from being killed repeatedly in Act 1, to picking up a Justice Lantern, Stormshield and String of Ears and putting Belial on farm status.
Anyway, don't give up hope, it does change later. There are many examples of supremely geared Barbarians clearing Inferno Act 2 and 3 with 2-hander builds, so you won't be forced to play a tank forever if you don't want to, as I have little interest in doing. Unfortunately it seems the optimal way to gear up is through being an AH Baron, (I made about 3 million today in sales) which I think should definitely change -- if Blizzard insists on making rares the be all and end all, then there should be some way to progressively obtain your goal, rather than having to endlessly farm Act 1 Inferno over and over, or get lucky with a drop. But I don't think it's as bad as people are saying it is, and with time, it will only get easier.