Entering Hell, need to tweak my build...

[Elric of Grans]

I played Normal and Nightmare using a cold-themed build. I had a lot of fun with it (though late Act III and Act IV were becoming pretty difficult), but it will definitely not be viable in Hell and beyond. Before I start, yes, I know about Elective mode: I choose not to use it.

Primary: Shock Pulse/Piercing Orb. Sadly, no cold options here. Shock Pulse was great fun in Normal, and Piercing Orb kept it a strong option through Nightmare. I assume it will continue to be good across the rest of the game, but no one seems to use it. Is there some bad point I am failing to notice?

Secondary: Ray of Frost/Snow Blast. I use this on single targets or tough targets I need to selectively remove ASAP (eg Soul Lashers). The inability to kite makes it a lot harder to use than the omnipresent Arcane Orb, but I have been able to work it into my playstyle so far. Is it Hell/Inferno viable?

Defensive: Originally Frost Nova/Cold Snap, now Diamond Skin/Crystal Shell. In Nightmare, I was finding Frost Nova was not covering enough situations well enough and switched. Based on MongoJerry's comments, Diamond Skin sounds perfectly viable in Inferno.

Force: Blizzard/Frozen Solid. I will likely change the rune when I unlock more, but for the moment this is pretty good. A chance for an opponent to take more damage? Hell yeah! I have been laying corridors of Blizzards that enemies walk through, while pelting them with Shock Pulse. Definitely not as easy/powerful as the conventional Hydra strategy, but will it remain viable in higher difficulties?

Conjuration: Ice Armour/Crystallize. I have had a lot of fun with this rarely-utilised skill, but I do recognise it is too unreliable for the higher difficulties. I hate both Magic Weapon and Energy Armour on principle (they should just be passives!), but do I have to use one of them? Has anyone used Familiar at higher difficulties? Are the Runes all fairly viable, or very situational?

Mastery: Archon/Teleport. I recognise Mirror Image is probably necessary in Inferno difficulty, but Archon is just so much fun to use! Would I be able to continue through Hell with Archon, or is Mirror Image too important to leave out?

Passives: Blur, Astral Presence, Cold Blooded. All pretty self explanatory, really.

I currently use a one-hander and a source, but anticipate I will need to switch in a shield. Will I need to do so ASAP, or is that more of an Inferno concern?

[Chesspiece_face]

When you say you have noticed some problems towards the end of Nightmare what would you say is the core of these issues? Damage? Defense?

Just a brief look over your build and I would say most of it can and will be fairly viable through Hell at least. Frost Nova as your only defensive skill obviously is far too weak. I also have some feeling that having Diamond Skin as your only defensive skill in Hell will be weak as well (if slightly less so). It's possible that you could swap to Mirror Image and maintain your non-elective mode plan. If you do this you may find that you would need to change a passive to Evocation (for the reduced cooldowns) or Illusionist (for the reuse of Mirror Image).

The big issue after this is a question of damage output and if Shock Pulse is enough damage when added to Blizzard to efficiently take out enemies. Ray of Frost is situationally useful but will probably find less use the farther you get into Hell.

[Elric of Grans]

I think the core of my problems in Nightmare came down to specific enemy types, particularly Heralds of Pestilence, Soul Rippers and Hulking Phasebeasts. All three decimate ranged characters (two regular Heralds wiped out Diamond Skin in two seconds!), and the latter two completely bypass Blizzard rendering my core attack useless. Corrupted Angel and Morlu caster Elites were problematic for much the same reason, though the regular ones fell quickly enough to Ray of Frost.

Defensively, I was fine most of the time beyond hard counters to ranged characters (eg off the screen Oppressor charges). Life is higher than my Demon Hunter had at the same stage, which is probably a good sign. Offensively, I may have been a little on the low side. I only have my Demon Hunter to compare with, but I am sure she was putting out better DPS at that point in the game (not sure if the two classes make a good comparison). Against real trash enemies (eg skeletons, ghouls) they were falling to a sneeze (Blizzards cause much sneezing), but anything with a little backbone, or a smart enough AI to not stand in the cold, took a lot of killing.

[MongoJerry]

I loved Ray of Frost, as my comments in other threads here will attest, and I was sad to let it go for other skills. I think people really underestimate how many single target dps situations there are in this game, and even in champion/elite packs, it can be so crucial to be able to focus fire burn a mob down to reduce how many mobs in a pack are coming after you. As the health of mobs go up, the more I liked Ray of Frost. If you're going with the cold sorc theme, I think you need to keep it. Obviously, Arcane Orb and Disintegrate are better in AOE situations, but if that's not what's bothering you then, feel free to keep Ray of Frost. (Note: I swap in Ray of Frost for many fixed boss and miniboss situations for its high single target dps).

It's your defensive skills that I think need adjustment. I just think it's impossible to combat a lot of champ/elite packs without at least two defensive skills at your disposal. Since you are not going to use Elective Mode, that means you absolutely have to swap out Archon for Mirror Images. I know, Archon is so much fun, but it's a skill that is better used when your gear is overpowered for the level you are playing at when you can power it up and keep it going for an extended time. When the difficulty ramps up, it just won't be up long enough for it to be viable -- well until you have a lot of +critical hit and +life to hit gear to support it. Regarding the Defensive skills, I just don't know what I'd do without Teleport-Fracture. Frost Nova and Diamond Skin are both great, but I just can't see not having Teleport-Fracture whenever a champ pack has Vortex, Jailer, or even Frozen (get out before the crystals pop).

Regarding the armors, if you were playing hardcore, I'd say you have to get Energy Armor - Prismatic or Force Armor end of story. However, since you're playing softcore, I say have fun, keep using the ice armors, and let us know how well they work. Frag and I were just talking today about how people still really haven't figured out everything about this game, yet. He was noticing how people are valuing Barbarian gear completely wrongly on the softcore auction house, for example, and how people really underestimate some of the tanking and surviveability skills of the Witch Doctor. You might just find that we've all been underestimating the Ice Armors all this time.

[Elric of Grans]

I will definitely swap Archon for Mirror Images; I can see why you would both suggest it. Teleport has definitely been a consideration for me. There have been a few situations where I would have liked it, but the cooldown is what stops me. The shorter cooldown on Diamond Skin, along with how it combines nicely with Ray of Frost (focus fire for longer), makes it more appealing.

Ice Armour is identical to dodge. It is extremely good, when it procs. I had Rakanoth use his one-shot attack on me and he was frozen out of it! That must have been something like 15-20K damage negated Other times, however, I can go long periods of time where it does little (though, the Rune increases my armour, so I at least get some damage resistance out of it). I have considered swapping it out because of that unreliability. When it freezes something big and I can focus Ray of Frost on it, the skill feels over-powered; when it does not proc, it is a little underwhelming. Then again, I have not checked out how Ice Reflect works yet; if it is a full-on Frost Nova (freezing effect and all), that could be extremely juicy.

[Chesspiece_face]

Regarding the armors, if you were playing hardcore, I'd say you have to get Energy Armor - Prismatic or Force Armor end of story. However, since you're playing softcore, I say have fun, keep using the ice armors, and let us know how well they work. Frag and I were just talking today about how people still really haven't figured out everything about this game, yet. He was noticing how people are valuing Barbarian gear completely wrongly on the softcore auction house, for example, and how people really underestimate some of the tanking and surviveability skills of the Witch Doctor. You might just find that we've all been underestimating the Ice Armors all this time.

I have a feeling that after 1.03 Frost Armor with the Chilling aura is going to be very strong. Maybe not as strong as the Energy Armor choices, but totally viable. I just tested it a bit in A3 Inferno and it is very strong in certain situations. The biggest reason it is unviable now is that you absolutely need Energy Armor to not get 2 shot from mobility mobs. We'll see if the damage/health changes to Inferno in 1.03 are enough to open up viability to other armors.

[Quark]

Teleport's long cooldown is somewhat negated by Illusionist. Last night I was running Mirror Images (Duplicates) and Teleport (Wormhole), honestly as an accident as opposed to my usual Teleport (Fracture). It worked well and I might keep it because of Illusionist.

When you cast Teleport (Fracture), your original (5, in my case) mirror images die and get replaced by the 2. But If I'm running Wormhole w/ Illusionist, I can quick cast Mirror Images then Teleport far away, leaving 5 Mirror Images right in the mix of things and you not.

[MongoJerry]

Teleport's long cooldown is somewhat negated by Illusionist. Last night I was running Mirror Images (Duplicates) and Teleport (Wormhole), honestly as an accident as opposed to my usual Teleport (Fracture). It worked well and I might keep it because of Illusionist.

When you cast Teleport (Fracture), your original (5, in my case) mirror images die and get replaced by the 2. But If I'm running Wormhole w/ Illusionist, I can quick cast Mirror Images then Teleport far away, leaving 5 Mirror Images right in the mix of things and you not.

But when you do that, you're using your two defensive cooldowns simultaneously, leaving you vulnerable. The idea of having two defensive skills is to alternate your defensive cooldowns so that hopefully one is always available -- or at least coming off cooldown soon.

[Archon_Wing]

Nearing the end of HC nightmare for my wizard, so it might be time to reevaluate stuff. Frozen elite enemies would be a great hazard unless I can insert mirror images in here.

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/wi...adW!ZbYbab

I noted that with the snowbound rune, everything consumes so little mana that I could use cold blooded for even more slowing. Illusionist is so that I can panic teleport away more readily. I'm also not sure how much diamond skin will hold, though it's been very valuable lately. I will of course get force armor or the last one.

Edit: Wait, so Blizzard doesn't benefit from cold blooded by itself? I'm getting contradicting answers from searching. In that case, temporal flux seems like a nice option once I get seeker.

[MongoJerry]

Nearing the end of HC nightmare for my wizard, so it might be time to reevaluate stuff. Frozen elite enemies would be a great hazard unless I can insert mirror images in here.

As Mr. Miyagi says, "Best block - no be there." Teleporting away to a safe spot is a good counter to Frozen. If you get caught anyway, there's a good chance the mobs will attack your duplicates while you're Frozen. Plus, the mobs will also be snared by your Blizzard and probably won't catch up to you anyway.

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/wi...adW!ZbYbab

I noted that with the snowbound rune, everything consumes so little mana that I could use cold blooded for even more slowing. Illusionist is so that I can panic teleport away more readily. I'm also not sure how much diamond skin will hold, though it's been very valuable lately. I will of course get force armor or the last one.

Edit: Wait, so Blizzard doesn't benefit from cold blooded by itself? I'm getting contradicting answers from searching. In that case, temporal flux seems like a nice option once I get seeker.

Dunno about Cold Blooded. I haven't used it. Experiment with it on and off and see if the damage numbers coming off Blizzard change. I wouldn't bother with Illusionist, as it'll be rare in nightmare and hell that you'll take a full 15% from a single hit. I'd use Evocation instead, which has the side benefit of helping your Diamond Skin as well.

You already have a strong slow with Blizzard, so there's no need for Temporal Flux. If Cold Blooded doesn't work, then consider Astral Presence, Galvanizing Ward, Glass Cannon or Arcane Dynamo.

Finally, I usually see Blizzard/Hydra wizards use some form of lightning signature spell. Electrocute - Lightning Blast or Chain Lightning and Shock Pulse - Piercing Orb seem popular.

[Archon_Wing]

Nearing the end of HC nightmare for my wizard, so it might be time to reevaluate stuff. Frozen elite enemies would be a great hazard unless I can insert mirror images in here.

As Mr. Miyagi says, "Best block - no be there." Teleporting away to a safe spot is a good counter to Frozen. If you get caught anyway, there's a good chance the mobs will attack you duplicates while you're Frozen. Plus, the mobs will also be snared by your Blizzard and probably won't catch up to you anyway.

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/wi...adW!ZbYbab

I noted that with the snowbound rune, everything consumes so little mana that I could use cold blooded for even more slowing. Illusionist is so that I can panic teleport away more readily. I'm also not sure how much diamond skin will hold, though it's been very valuable lately. I will of course get force armor or the last one.

Edit: Wait, so Blizzard doesn't benefit from cold blooded by itself? I'm getting contradicting answers from searching. In that case, temporal flux seems like a nice option once I get seeker.

Dunno about Cold Blooded. I haven't used it. Experiment with it on and off and see if the damage numbers coming off Blizzard change. I wouldn't bother with Illusionist, as it'll be rare in nightmare and hell that you'll take a full 15% from a single hit. I'd use Evocation instead, which has the side benefit of helping your Diamond Skin as well.

You already have a strong slow with Blizzard, so there's no need for Temporal Flux. If Cold Blooded doesn't work, then consider Astral Presence, Galvanizing Ward, Glass Cannon or Arcane Dynamo.

Finally, I usually see Blizzard/Hydra wizards use some form of lightning signature spell. Electrocute - Lightning Blast or Chain Lightning and Shock Pulse - Piercing Orb seem popular.

Thanks for the advice. I guess there's no point planning for situations that you shouldn't get in the first place. Those fractured illusions have saved me from some rather fatal projectiles.

I guess I'll be testing out cold blooded. The temporal flux idea was mostly for amusement purposes, since seeing enemies try to limp over to my hydras is funny.

Electrocute seems to have a somewhat short range and difficult to aim but I'll see what happens there. Currently my tactic is throw stuff off the screen and hope they hit. :p I prefer my first sight of my foes to be of them dead.

[MongoJerry]

Electrocute seems to have a somewhat short range and difficult to aim but I'll see what happens there. Currently my tactic is throw stuff off the screen and hope they hit. :p I prefer my first sight of my foes to be of them dead.

Yep. Experiment with it. The different runes make Electrocute work very differently, and Shock Pulse-Piercing Orb is fun to play around with, too. By the way, I do like Magic Missle-Seeker, too, but I wanted to make sure that you knew about other options that people often use. Electrocute gives you another AOE to burn groups of mobs down while they're snared with your Blizzard and the single-target damage, while not as good as Magic Missle, isn't too bad, either.

[Archon_Wing]

In act II of hell; still doing well with Piercing orb as opposed to seeker. However, i think I stacked too much life and 3.5k dps doesn't seem to be cutting it at all. So in an effort to stop kiting elites halfway across a dungeon, I decided to just go for a weapon with higher dps but has less health mods (38k ---> 33k health); found this on bid and won it for a measly 10k. If this doesn't work , I can just buy a better weapon... unless I get killed of course. :p

Reflect damage and teleport elites seem to be my bane, I'm very worried about reflect damage; so I should only attack with DS on when they have it?
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff247...hot095.jpg

Also, Azmodan fatty will be an issue. I remember almost dying to his fireball in nightmare. Now I know better and would use fracture images to block, or use one of the pillars to absorb the impact.

I also changed to Force Armor, but on second thought, it shouldn't be needed in hell.