Vengeful Bitch/Bastard build

[Treesh]

I figure this build won't last too long in hell or inferno because it depends on you taking some damage, but it's quite fun so far. Some of the skill choices seem a bit wonky and a bit counter to the idea of taking damage to dish out damage, but I don't want to die doing this either.

While fidding around with this build, I did find out that crippling wave + rising tide actually generates spirit more quickly (in situations where you have a lot of mobs around you) than fists of thunder + quickening because it seems to calculate it on hit rather than use. Since most of the damage comes from the main hand only, it's best with a two hander rather than two quick one handers. The biggest problem I've run into so far is that Ally, Sweeping Wind and Mantra of Retribution will kill the mobs more quickly than I can get in a hit or two with crippling wave so I need a bit more spirit regen currently. When she gets a bit bigger, I'll probably take a peek at some of the higher runes, but that's her build currently.

Edit: Now that she's 54 and in hell, there's been some minor tweaking to the build. I'd like to switch out chant of resonance for something better, but right now her spirit regen is next to nothing and while I can damage things while running, it's nice to get extra spirit while I'm running away and waiting for some cooldowns to come off. I may swap out chant for beacon of Ytar though. I'll have to test and see.

Edit2: And of course after I decide to test Ytar vs resonance, I get shielded mobs and remember WHY I like the little bit of extra spirit regen. Good design by blizzard to not be able to generate spirit off the shielded mobs, but darnit all the same.

Edit3: Her passives change with changes in gear obviously, but her active skills have remained basically the same with some minor rune swapping. Still in act2 hell and doing ok despite being undergeared again.

Edit4: Inferno version of her build.

[PapaSmurf]

I figure this build won't last too long in hell or inferno because it depends on you taking some damage, but it's quite fun so far. Some of the skill choices seem a bit wonky and a bit counter to the idea of taking damage to dish out damage, but I don't want to die doing this either.

While fidding around with this build, I did find out that crippling wave + rising tide actually generates spirit more quickly (in situations where you have a lot of mobs around you) than fists of thunder + quickening because it seems to calculate it on hit rather than use. Since most of the damage comes from the main hand only, it's best with a two hander rather than two quick one handers. The biggest problem I've run into so far is that Ally, Sweeping Wind and Mantra of Retribution will kill the mobs more quickly than I can get in a hit or two with crippling wave so I need a bit more spirit regen currently. When she gets a bit bigger, I'll probably take a peek at some of the higher runes, but that's her build currently.

Wave of Light - Explosive light is an amazing skill. It is really so much better than the other Wave of light runes. The range is HUGE. I played around with a build that would through skills and items try and maximize spirit regen then use this skill as the primary damage dealer. It takes a little time to figure out how to "AIM" it but you can hit mobs that are at the edge of the screen.

[Treesh]

Wave of Light - Explosive light is an amazing skill. It is really so much better than the other Wave of light runes. The range is HUGE. I played around with a build that would through skills and items try and maximize spirit regen then use this skill as the primary damage dealer. It takes a little time to figure out how to "AIM" it but you can hit mobs that are at the edge of the screen.

That's why I use that one. It's good damage, great range, AOE, and when you run across a missile dampening mob looks REALLY COOL. I just have to remember to watch how I use it when I've got reflecting damage horde mobs. That can hurt a little bit. When I get into hell I may have to switch it out with one of the lashtail kicks instead to get a bit more survivability, but since this does have a little knockback too, I might not. I'll just have to see. Of course, if I had more crit gear on (it's been a low priority for her), I could probably switch out the passive that has more spirit regen when using staves.

Edit: Decided to switch back to retaliation rune on mantra of retribution. Too damned many ranged attacks.

[Treesh]

Well, the crazy girl has now hit inferno. Killed Diablo (which took forever) and headed right on into inferno with that gear. Somewhere in act 4, I did switch out her passives so she's running one with everything instead of chant of resonance since I finally got a hat and weapon with some spirit regen on her and she added in breaking wave rune on Crippling Wave rather than the rising tide that she had. It's a bit slow going since her DPS is sub [/align]par right now, but she's making her way. =)

[Frag]

Any clue if the mantra is doing pre-mitigation or post-mitigation refection, yet Treesh? Or should I go test it? ;D

[Treesh]

Any clue if the mantra is doing pre-mitigation or post-mitigation refection, yet Treesh? Or should I go test it? ;D

Haven't tested yet. =) I do know that I need mitigation in order to survive the hits, but haven't tested to see how it affects the reflected damage. I do know that it only takes a mallet lord two hits to kill himself on my mystic ally though, which was immensely satisfying.

[Treesh]

I am now officially calling this one dead in inferno. With how it is right now, the damage is just too spikey to be fun. In the other parts of the game, it was a fun little game to walk the line between killing and being killed. If I try to progress at all in inferno, I just end up dead with this build so I swapped some things around and she's back to progressing again. Sad to see it go, but it was darned fun while it lasted. =)

[swirly]

Over on the basin there is a thread about Barbs and Overpower+Crushing Advance which is their reflect damage type skill. http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d3/forums/...g-advance/ being the link. It talks about reflect seemingly not only making the mob take the damage, but preventing that damage from hitting you as well. I'm wondering if you are seeing that on the monk too or if that is solely something that is happening with that Barb skill. Do you both take the damage from the 40% or does just the mob?

Another issue brought up there is that the reflected damage seems to trigger life on hit items. So if you are standing in a poison puddle that is ticking a lot it will then trigger life on hit each time and actually make it so you live forever. So I'm curious if that happens with the Monk as well.

These things could be either bugs or features. I've no clue at all. If they happen the same with all reflect skills then I feel like the damage not going through is likely on purpose. The life on hit stuff feels like a bug to me though.

[Kevin]

These things could be either bugs or features. I've no clue at all. If they happen the same with all reflect skills then I feel like the damage not going through is likely on purpose. The life on hit stuff feels like a bug to me though.

The damage not going through makes the reflect aura a defacto 40% damage reduction, I can't see that being intentional as that would be a huge buff and if it does work I'm only running Retribution with the retaliation rune for a nice 60% DR aura. Honestly though I don't think it stops damage from getting through as I take more damage with it up than with evasion - hard target up and that only give me about 5% additional DR with about 13% more avoidance. 60% DR would be more than that.

[Treesh]

Over on the basin there is a thread about Barbs and Overpower+Crushing Advance which is their reflect damage type skill. http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d3/forums/...g-advance/ being the link. It talks about reflect seemingly not only making the mob take the damage, but preventing that damage from hitting you as well. I'm wondering if you are seeing that on the monk too or if that is solely something that is happening with that Barb skill. Do you both take the damage from the 40% or does just the mob?

Another issue brought up there is that the reflected damage seems to trigger life on hit items. So if you are standing in a poison puddle that is ticking a lot it will then trigger life on hit each time and actually make it so you live forever. So I'm curious if that happens with the Monk as well.

These things could be either bugs or features. I've no clue at all. If they happen the same with all reflect skills then I feel like the damage not going through is likely on purpose. The life on hit stuff feels like a bug to me though.

I think that's barb only. I know I was still getting hit with retribution aura up. I took the same amount of damage running retribution aura as I did when running mantra of conviction. About the life on hit, I don't know. Don't have enough of it to make a marked difference.

I'll double check about the mantra though to make sure I'm remembering properly.

Edit: Double checked and yeah, retribution does NOT reduce damage taken. I had the same three mobs beating on me, didn't attack, took off my shield so I'd stop blocking and messing up the trials, always took the same amount of damage, with it up, with it down, with conviction on instead.