05-14-2012, 10:39 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-14-2012, 11:02 AM by MongoJerry.)
In order to make sense of all of the skills available to the Wizard, I started crafting some potential builds in order to make some sense of it all. These builds are entirely based on the skill description, and the skills may end up playing very differently in game than the way I currently imagine. Also, keep in mind that I tend to play hardcore, so I tend to focus on survivability rather than pure damage.
With that in mind, here's my idea for an Arcane Wizard:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/wi...XUb!YbaZbY
This Wizard is all about movement and crowd control -- slowing mobs and their attacks down, pushing them back when they get too close, and teleporting away when it's no longer safe. The Temporal Flux passive, which slows enemies hit by arcane damage by 30% for 2 seconds, is a key component of this build.
SKILLS
Magic Missle - Attunement: With the Attunement rune (generates 4 Arcane Power per hit), this spell is designed to be an easy way to quickly fill up the Arcane Power orb. If it turns out that AP isn't difficult to regenerate, then I might choose the Seeker rune instead in order to potentially hit mobs around a corner.
Arcane Orb - Arcane Nova: Designed to be the primary aoe spell, hitting mobs in a 20 yard radius for 175% weapon damage and due to the Temporal Flux passive, slow them by 30% for 2 seconds. I chose the Arcane Nova rune, because I don't yet know how big "10 yards" versus "20 yards" is on screen. I just thought, "double the yardage equals four times the area." If it turns out that 10 yards is typically big enough to hit most mobs, then I can increase the damage with Obliteration or decrease the casting cost with Tap the Source.
Wave of Force - Impactful Wave: I'm imagining this to be like the boomkin knockback skill in WoW. If it is like that, then it'd be a useful spell to use to force mobs back (with 200% weapon damage dealt, too), and the Impactful Wave rune adds a 2 second stun on top of that. It'll be interesting to see if this works on champions or lesser bosses.
Energy Twister - Gale Force: I needed a strong single target damage spell to use against bosses, and I'm hoping that Energy Twister moves fast enough that it can be used effectively against a target while there's a lot of moving around. I chose Gale Force, because I needed to add some extra damage to a build that otherwise skimps on damage. However, Mistral Breeze is a good option if Arcane Power becomes an issue. Or Storm Chaser, if that means that the spell is free entirely.
Teleport - Reversal: The signature spell of a Diablo sorceress/wizard class imho. It's great for both getting into and out of trouble in a hurry. I like the Reversal rune the best, because I can imagine cases where I might telport from around a corner to within line of sight of a boss, cast a boatload of damaging spells, and then teleport back before the boss obliterates me.
Slow Time - Perpetuity: This seems like a "must have" spell for all Wizard builds, since ranged attacks are the most dangerous to Wizards. Perpetuity was chosen, because I suspect I'll want the spell up as much as possible.
PASSIVES
Astral Flux: Increases the maximum AP and generates 2 AP per second. I initally had Prodigy (generates 4 AP per signature spell hit), causing Magic Missle to generate even more AP. However, it's nice to have the extra AP generating passively no matter what you're doing. Other options could be Critical Mass or Power Hungry.
Temporal Flux: This is the must-have passive for this build, since it slows mobs by 30% for 2 seconds every time they are hit by arcane damage. It'll be interesting to see if champions and minor bosses are affected by it.
Evocation: Reduces cooldowns by 15% -- allowing Wave of Force, Teleport, and Slow Time to be used more often. Yummy!
Additional comments: I was suprised to end up not using any of the mage armors. I could see potentially replacing Wave of Force with Storm Armor - Scramble, if Wave of Force ends up not being as good as I am currently imagining it to be. Or, Energy Armor - Prismatic Armor could be useful for pure damage reduction purposes.
With that in mind, here's my idea for an Arcane Wizard:
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/wi...XUb!YbaZbY
This Wizard is all about movement and crowd control -- slowing mobs and their attacks down, pushing them back when they get too close, and teleporting away when it's no longer safe. The Temporal Flux passive, which slows enemies hit by arcane damage by 30% for 2 seconds, is a key component of this build.
SKILLS
Magic Missle - Attunement: With the Attunement rune (generates 4 Arcane Power per hit), this spell is designed to be an easy way to quickly fill up the Arcane Power orb. If it turns out that AP isn't difficult to regenerate, then I might choose the Seeker rune instead in order to potentially hit mobs around a corner.
Arcane Orb - Arcane Nova: Designed to be the primary aoe spell, hitting mobs in a 20 yard radius for 175% weapon damage and due to the Temporal Flux passive, slow them by 30% for 2 seconds. I chose the Arcane Nova rune, because I don't yet know how big "10 yards" versus "20 yards" is on screen. I just thought, "double the yardage equals four times the area." If it turns out that 10 yards is typically big enough to hit most mobs, then I can increase the damage with Obliteration or decrease the casting cost with Tap the Source.
Wave of Force - Impactful Wave: I'm imagining this to be like the boomkin knockback skill in WoW. If it is like that, then it'd be a useful spell to use to force mobs back (with 200% weapon damage dealt, too), and the Impactful Wave rune adds a 2 second stun on top of that. It'll be interesting to see if this works on champions or lesser bosses.
Energy Twister - Gale Force: I needed a strong single target damage spell to use against bosses, and I'm hoping that Energy Twister moves fast enough that it can be used effectively against a target while there's a lot of moving around. I chose Gale Force, because I needed to add some extra damage to a build that otherwise skimps on damage. However, Mistral Breeze is a good option if Arcane Power becomes an issue. Or Storm Chaser, if that means that the spell is free entirely.
Teleport - Reversal: The signature spell of a Diablo sorceress/wizard class imho. It's great for both getting into and out of trouble in a hurry. I like the Reversal rune the best, because I can imagine cases where I might telport from around a corner to within line of sight of a boss, cast a boatload of damaging spells, and then teleport back before the boss obliterates me.
Slow Time - Perpetuity: This seems like a "must have" spell for all Wizard builds, since ranged attacks are the most dangerous to Wizards. Perpetuity was chosen, because I suspect I'll want the spell up as much as possible.
PASSIVES
Astral Flux: Increases the maximum AP and generates 2 AP per second. I initally had Prodigy (generates 4 AP per signature spell hit), causing Magic Missle to generate even more AP. However, it's nice to have the extra AP generating passively no matter what you're doing. Other options could be Critical Mass or Power Hungry.
Temporal Flux: This is the must-have passive for this build, since it slows mobs by 30% for 2 seconds every time they are hit by arcane damage. It'll be interesting to see if champions and minor bosses are affected by it.
Evocation: Reduces cooldowns by 15% -- allowing Wave of Force, Teleport, and Slow Time to be used more often. Yummy!
Additional comments: I was suprised to end up not using any of the mage armors. I could see potentially replacing Wave of Force with Storm Armor - Scramble, if Wave of Force ends up not being as good as I am currently imagining it to be. Or, Energy Armor - Prismatic Armor could be useful for pure damage reduction purposes.