(07-14-2012, 12:14 AM)MongoJerry Wrote: Are you sure you're OK with 23% crit, though? I was targeting getting around 30% before making a transition to Inferno.
Yep, Diamond Skin or Frost Nova are always available 95% of the time, and that's with using Diamond Skin extremely aggressive. One of the most helpful tactics I learned is to always open with Diamond Skin in fights- don't save it for dangerous situations. This allows you to walk in, get off a ton of meteors (by then you've taken a lot of damage and DS is runnign out), so you Frost Nova, Spectral blades a few times, and rinse and repeat. It feels like cheating at times. But this tactic and build truly unlocks once you get about the following stats: 120+ Toal Arcane Power, 15+ AP on Crit, 20%+ to Crit, 10k+ DPS, 200+ Resists, 50k+ life, either LoH or high Life after Kill, decent shield, 65%+ DR. Once I got around those stats it felt like I switched a light and the build became a walking avatar of destruction (for late hell/early A1 Inferno).
The best part is every piece of my gear is very mediocre, so there's a ton of potential for upgrades. I didn't have very many resources in hardcore so I couldn't buy very good single piece items, which left me with buying average stuff all around. I can't imagine how good this build will be with 30% Crit, 1k+ LoH, 18k+ dps, high block/resists/life/etc.
edit - also, you're not as far away as you think. Thanks to the increased hell act 3 drops I was able to get this gear in 4 days just playing at night after work. It's insane how many rares drop in the quest run from Machines of War to Azmodan.