06-09-2012, 02:02 AM
(06-08-2012, 04:31 PM)RiotInferno Wrote: Thanks for the detailed post.
I spent most of my levels from the 40s-60 running Multishot ( Suppression Fire ) / Preperation ( Punishment ), but that all changed when i got Nether Tendrils.
I'm thinking of going back to MS, as it fires faster then NT, and I don't know if the life link helps me that much ( I know speaking against NT or SS as a DH is heresy )
How often does Brooding work for you? 1% doesn't seem like much, and I always seem to get tagged by something in Inferno, and if doesn't kill me, I can usually grab a health globe.
The build looks interesting! I might have to give bolas a try again at some point.
As I said, Brooding is pretty weak. 1% isn't much, even with 45k health, and you WILL get tagged in Inferno (especially from Reflects Damage). Unfortunately, we don't get many good Passives at all. They're all either too situational, too weak, or both, so there's not much I'd consider in its place. It helps a tiny bit when I'm able to kite for extended periods, but again if I get tagged from Reflects Damage it resets, and that's the one modifier I need the life regen for the most. Like Aid Station it mostly serves to top you off after a fight is already won, thus decreasing downtime between fights. I'm thinking about dropping Thrill of the Hunt back in their for the snare, but it does add just one more thing I have to keep track of in the middle of a big fight. It's also probably nerfed like every other CC in Inferno, although even my stun from Impact serves as an incredibly useful tool. I'm just not convinced it's worth it over the regen, despite how weak said regen actually is in practice. If it was a 1% lifesteal that's not affected by difficulty (more in line with the Barbarian's Bloodthirst) it would be MUCH more useful. For the time being it's really just a placeholder.
Now that I say that I think I will swap back to Thrill of the Hunt sometime soon to see how that affects my playing. I used it for a long time getting my DH up to 60, but it fell out of favor when I needed more life recovery. The DH has so much potential for their Passives (and even some of their Actives), but they're just so, so weak and situational compared to everyone else's. The Monk gets a passive that boosts his movement by 10% all the time, while ours is 15% only while we're at full Hatred - something that is usually only the case after a fight (sound familiar?) Don't get me wrong, as I said in the podcast it's my favorite class (despite not having played the rest of the classes much outside of the Beta). I love the complexity, the delicate balance of managing two resources, the constant movement and the tactical gameplay. It's an extremely engaging class, and your fragility makes almost every fight a real challenge for survival. The class just needs some TLC to improve its many shortcomings. As you say, certain skills are "required" to play it (even though that's a load of bull; a more accurate statement is that too many of our skills are so lackluster as to limit our options). That's one of the biggest reasons I've shied away from the Holy Trinity of Hungering Arrow + Smoke Screen + Nether Tentacles.
That, and I just love Bola Shot (despite it probably being one of the weaker generator skills we have).Just an FYI, my stats are as follows:
Strength 623
Dexterity 1421 (34.21% Dodge)
Intelligence 354
Vitality 1139
Armor 3419 (53.26%)
Damage 21545.87
Resistances 178 (37.29%) Phys / Fire / Light / Poison, 231 (43.54) Cold, 211 (41.33) Arcane / Holy
Life 45,359
My armor and resistances are a tad low compared to where I want them, but short of getting lucky on drops (or crafts, if I decide not to wait for 1.0.3, and I have gotten a few decent drops in Act I Inferno) I'll need many millions in gold to buy upgrades off the AH. I don't have a problem with that per se, but I simply don't have the inclination to farm endlessly for gold so my upgrades come slow. I'm really itching to try some crafts (my helm especially could use replacing), but it gets expensive so I've been holding off to see if I can "max" out on the AH before having to spend insane amounts of gold. We'll see.
One last note: Bola Shot is not for the impatient. You cannot fire it and expect mobs to start dropping immediately - especially with Imminent Doom. You have to plan your shots, and try to spread them around somewhat evenly. Often times a mob group will start to split apart, putting just enough room between one another for multiple Bola Shots to not overlap (the explosion radius is pitifully small). Because of the delayed damage it requires absolute dedication to positioning, target selection, and most importantly patience. However, it does have its positives. You can load up a Shielding mob with Bolas, and if you time it right they will start to explode just after the shield comes down. This allows you to take shots between kiting even when positioning (or bad luck) won't allow you to fire at the ones who don't have their shield up. Also, as I said earlier you can turn mobs into walking time bombs with some practice. The biggest challenge is keeping them close enough to their friends to make a big splash.
Oh! BTW I use the Templar with Heal, Loyalty, Charge and Guardian. Sometimes he wastes his heals (and especially his knockback / heal charge) at a time when you wish he wouldn't, but otherwise his heals are like mini potions and can help in long fights. I've debated trying the Enchantress as her armor buff would add more EH than the Templar's heals (and a constant one, to boot), but I haven't made the switch yet (mostly because she's too damn fragile). Again, just one of those things I'll probably tinker with a bit before settling in once more.
Roland *The Gunslinger*
