07-17-2012, 05:09 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-17-2012, 07:29 PM by MongoJerry.)
I just had my first experience in Inferno with the new build. After rescuing Cain and helping Haidrig, my partner (monk) and I headed out into the fields toward the crypts to get the crown. A boss pack of fast, desecrator, jailer (something else) scavengers swooped down on me while my partner was distracted fighting a group of zombies... and I completely pwned them. I cannot describe how good that felt, because it was exactly that kind of pack that would have destroyed any of my ranged Wizards. Instead, I just calmly meteored, frost novaed, backed off slightly to get out of the desecrate, and repeated to take them down on my own in a two player Inferno game.
Our intention had been to just to farm up to the Skeleton King, but since we were doing so well, he and I continued through the Drowned Temple. His barbarian friend then joined us, and we decided to start a new farming game -- this time doing a "Cursed Hold" run. We first cleared the crypts to get our five stacks of Nephalem Valor, went to the forest to clear a few elite packs in the area, and then finally made our way down to the cursed hold, killing the Warden, and all the elites up to the Butcher. We debated in front of the entryway whether to take on the Butcher. I told them I'd do it with them if they really wanted to do it but that I was nervous about it and would be fine with not going in. I wasn't sure about the enrage timer and all, but they assured me that they had done it themselves in under two minutes before and that the enrage timer was 3 minutes, so I finally agreed to go in. And... we pwned him. And it wasn't like I was carried by my partners either, since they had the same level dps gear as I had -- around 11k. And when I said we pwned him, I mean we just pwned him completely. I had meteors raining constantly on the Butcher with a few Spectral Blades and Frost Novas mixed in. The dps output of the build just shined in the encounter. It was so much stronger than the old Venom Hydra and fire a few Magic Missles in between running around trick. We ended up killing the Butcher in under 2 minutes, so I got that achievement as well as the killing of the Butcher in Inferno (Hardcore) achievement.
Regarding the build, Teleport has been elevated in my mind from a nice extra skill to a key part of my build. Uses of Teleport include (but are not necessarily limited to):
1. Getting out of tight situations. This one's obvious, so I won't belabor it.
2. Kiting. In situations where I have to do a "fighting retreat" such as against Frozen, Arcane, and/or Fire Chains bosses, it's so helpful to have Teleport to move back to a safe spot, cast a couple Meteors, Frost Nova to hold the mob in place, Spectral Blade once or twice, teleport back, repeat. Then, when I start running out of kiting room, I can turn the fight around by teleporting to the other side of the mob pack and go the other way -- where hopefully there are healing orbs waiting for me.
3. Staying in fights longer. I love having Teleport specifically in arcane situations. I see the arcane sentry swinging in my direction, and without Teleport, I'd have to run out of the fight to get around the beam. But instead I stay in, cast Meteor, Frost Nova, Spectral Blade, and just as the beam is about to swing into me, bam! Teleport. Arcane is the most obvious situation, but there are other similar situations as well where knowing that I have Teleport allows me to stay in a fight longer.
4. Treasure Goblins. I open a Treasure Goblin fight by teleporting to the opposite side of the Treasure Goblin to force him to run in the direction that has already been cleared of mobs. Later, I use Teleport to catch up to him if he runs too far. Using Spectral Blade only (with maybe a couple of Meteors at the moment the goblin casts his portal), I have a good track record of killing Treasure Goblins so far.
Our intention had been to just to farm up to the Skeleton King, but since we were doing so well, he and I continued through the Drowned Temple. His barbarian friend then joined us, and we decided to start a new farming game -- this time doing a "Cursed Hold" run. We first cleared the crypts to get our five stacks of Nephalem Valor, went to the forest to clear a few elite packs in the area, and then finally made our way down to the cursed hold, killing the Warden, and all the elites up to the Butcher. We debated in front of the entryway whether to take on the Butcher. I told them I'd do it with them if they really wanted to do it but that I was nervous about it and would be fine with not going in. I wasn't sure about the enrage timer and all, but they assured me that they had done it themselves in under two minutes before and that the enrage timer was 3 minutes, so I finally agreed to go in. And... we pwned him. And it wasn't like I was carried by my partners either, since they had the same level dps gear as I had -- around 11k. And when I said we pwned him, I mean we just pwned him completely. I had meteors raining constantly on the Butcher with a few Spectral Blades and Frost Novas mixed in. The dps output of the build just shined in the encounter. It was so much stronger than the old Venom Hydra and fire a few Magic Missles in between running around trick. We ended up killing the Butcher in under 2 minutes, so I got that achievement as well as the killing of the Butcher in Inferno (Hardcore) achievement.
Regarding the build, Teleport has been elevated in my mind from a nice extra skill to a key part of my build. Uses of Teleport include (but are not necessarily limited to):
1. Getting out of tight situations. This one's obvious, so I won't belabor it.
2. Kiting. In situations where I have to do a "fighting retreat" such as against Frozen, Arcane, and/or Fire Chains bosses, it's so helpful to have Teleport to move back to a safe spot, cast a couple Meteors, Frost Nova to hold the mob in place, Spectral Blade once or twice, teleport back, repeat. Then, when I start running out of kiting room, I can turn the fight around by teleporting to the other side of the mob pack and go the other way -- where hopefully there are healing orbs waiting for me.
3. Staying in fights longer. I love having Teleport specifically in arcane situations. I see the arcane sentry swinging in my direction, and without Teleport, I'd have to run out of the fight to get around the beam. But instead I stay in, cast Meteor, Frost Nova, Spectral Blade, and just as the beam is about to swing into me, bam! Teleport. Arcane is the most obvious situation, but there are other similar situations as well where knowing that I have Teleport allows me to stay in a fight longer.
4. Treasure Goblins. I open a Treasure Goblin fight by teleporting to the opposite side of the Treasure Goblin to force him to run in the direction that has already been cleared of mobs. Later, I use Teleport to catch up to him if he runs too far. Using Spectral Blade only (with maybe a couple of Meteors at the moment the goblin casts his portal), I have a good track record of killing Treasure Goblins so far.