Diablo III - Loot 2.0

[orrion]

I think there's a new void zone type thing that some monsters spawn that also deals arcane damage. It looks like desecrate but is purple. Either that or its jailer and its bugged because I can walk out of it...

It's called Wormhole and it doesn't do damage. It teleports you from one hole to the other.

And yeah some of the new affixes are absurdly strong. That lightning storm one is pretty ridiculous since it hits extremely fast. The ice orb thing is bad too since with all the effects on the screen it's hard to see it coming towards you (not to mention its terrible if you're melee).

Thunderstorm doesn't seem too powerful, but Frozen Pulse needs to be more noticeable.

When you reset quests the only one to drop a legendary is skeleton king (and will be diablo when they fix it). The other bosses all drop a guaranteed legendary on your VERY first kill, if you're below level 60.

No they don't. I'm leveling a hardcore wiz and didn't get any legendary from the Butcher or Magdha.

[The_Jackal]

This is the form my madness has been taking of late.

I'm envisioning it as a VERY tanky build (shield, not fetish, and itemize primarily for int, vitality, armor, resists). Obviously not viable until RoS is out, but once Creeping Death comes into play, I think it's got great potential, if you can build tough enough. Pets are basically there to distract incoming damage and let the DOTs do their work.

[huttj509]

It's called Wormhole and it doesn't do damage. It teleports you from one hole to the other.

It does damage similar to the damage Jailer does, if you get sucked through. Not much, but it adds up.

[The_Jackal]

So, tried the build out on Normal, with even my weak gear, it's hilariously fun, even without Creeping Death. Locusts melt all the weak chumps, and I put haunt on all the tough ones. With haunt feeding me mana, I can then spam Spirit Barrage nonstop, which serves admirably for nuking down bosses, and having a screen full of distractions considerably dilutes the risks of evil boss mechanics.

[orrion]

It does damage similar to the damage Jailer does, if you get sucked through. Not much, but it adds up.

I've noticed Jailer damage, but not Wormhole. I guess because it saves me more often than not. For instance, I spawned a champ pack at a shrine today, and they boxed me in. The champ hit me with a Wormhole and ported me out. Thanks, stupid mob!

[Dhavaer]

Apparently my RNG is a massive MC Hammer fan. I got three versions of Hammer Jammers today, one on my monk and two on my demon hunter.

[Chen]

It's called Wormhole and it doesn't do damage. It teleports you from one hole to the other.

Hmm never stayed in one of those long enough to realize what it did I guess. Just instinct to get out of the fire I suppose :P

Thunderstorm doesn't seem too powerful, but Frozen Pulse needs to be more noticeable.

Really both thunderstorm and frozen pulse are bad because if there's a lot going on on-screen its easy to miss them for longer than some of the other affixes which ends up making them much worse (frozen pulse especially since it slows you). I think it has to do with the color of them. Both are bluish white which I find is much more difficult to pick out of the background effects that are always going on. Forget if you're using something like slow time which is itself a bluish color...

No they don't. I'm leveling a hardcore wiz and didn't get any legendary from the Butcher or Magdha.

Well they're supposed to. The end bosses anyways. So Butcher, Belial, Azmodan and Diablo (along with the Skeleton King). There are blue posts regarding this on the blizzard forums (can't access those from here to link though).

[Karoht]

Have to seriously disagree with you on Health Link. It's nothing by itself, but it is incredibly dangerous if you're fighting something with a couple of other nasty affixes because you generally can't kill any of the mob until you kill them all. This means that, instead of a normal pack that gets steadily weaker throughout the fight, a Health Link mob is just as dangerous at the end as it is in the beginning.

If I can separate one, I get to murder all of them for much less effort.
With use of Stuns/Knockbacks/Fear and good kiting, this tactic works just fine. Made particularly easy in groups but still quite possible solo.

FYI, it's my go to tactic VS Fire Chains as it basically negates the ability altogether if they are far enough apart.


Last night, epic fight.
I'm looking for the Act 3 Keywarden on Torment II. Note that my Witchdoctor has JUST stepped into Torment II, and this build is still in the experimental stages.
So I see a pack of the Fallen, and they are moving crazy fast. I'm good with that, but the minute I spray one of them with Acid Cloud, all 5 of them scatter. Gone in a blink of an eye. So I wander forward to try and find them.
Keywarden.
Elite Pack 1
Elite Pack 2
Blue Pack 1
Blue Pack 2

Now, at this point Torment II is a challenge. I can pick my way through but I have to be smart about it. When I see stuff like this I normally just run for it. So why didn't I run this time?
Experience and Treasure shrines are within easy reach, and I've got enough Pool of Vision bonus XP racked up to ding twice. So with a high reward potential, I decided to just pull up my pants and do this.
Act 3 Keywarden sprays frost patches everywhere, and boy do they slow you down in a hurry.
All 4 packs are Fast Vampiric. 2 of them had Arcane, 3 of them had Poison Enchanted, 2 of them were Frozen. Desecrate was in there as well. Come at me bro!

I run the Lifesteal Zombie Dogs. I actually let them die and only pulled them out if I was starting to get low, in order to do a controlled burn on these guys. I damaged all of the packs and the Keywarden down to about 10% or lower health. I click the shrines and make my final push. What happened?
As luck would have it, they swarmed me at exactly the right moment. I hit Confuse, retreated slightly, and sprayed AoE everywhere.
No key sadly.
3 Legendaries and 1 Set Piece (Mumasama's (Witchdoctor Off-Hand) to complete my set) and a pile of rares makes up for the lack of Key though.

[orrion]

I find it hard to believe you ran into 4 packs and the keywarden at once, unless you decided to kite them all though the zone for some reason.

I've seen things like it when people are searching for the act 2 keywarden and trail some packs behind them as they're looking for him, but I've never seen more than 2 packs occupying a single screen. 4 + keywarden in Stonefort is a stretch.

[Traab]

I find it hard to believe you ran into 4 packs and the keywarden at once, unless you decided to kite them all though the zone for some reason.

I've seen things like it when people are searching for the act 2 keywarden and trail some packs behind them as they're looking for him, but I've never seen more than 2 packs occupying a single screen. 4 + keywarden in Stonefort is a stretch.

I know that I personally have fought three packs at a time by accident. Though that was hell difficulty and awhile ago. Also, whats the deal with the keywarden anyways? I was playing through normal, just getting back into things when I fought one in act 2.

[huttj509]

I know that I personally have fought three packs at a time by accident. Though that was hell difficulty and awhile ago. Also, whats the deal with the keywarden anyways? I was playing through normal, just getting back into things when I fought one in act 2.

In Act 1, 2, and 3, there are keywarden mobs who, on Torment difficulty, can drop keys (25% chance on torment 1).

These keys are used with a plan from a keywarden in act 4 to craft devices.

These devices open portals to miniboss double-fights (such as Kulle and Magda at the same time). It's random which of 3 portals is opened, so to make sure you get the one you need if you're missing a part you need 3 devices to open them all in one game.

These fights can drop body parts, which can be used to craft a legendary ring which is pretty good for passing to lower level characters.

In the expansion, a fight against Diablo summoning allies will be added, and the ring will be buffed, but using different keys/body parts, so you can't stock up now. Also, the devices will open specific portals, so while keys/organs will still be drop chance, there's no longer the chance of "will I even get the right portal?" I'm still pallin round with my brother trying to get a ring made before the expansion hits though.

[Karoht]

I find it hard to believe you ran into 4 packs and the keywarden at once, unless you decided to kite them all though the zone for some reason.

I've seen things like it when people are searching for the act 2 keywarden and trail some packs behind them as they're looking for him, but I've never seen more than 2 packs occupying a single screen. 4 + keywarden in Stonefort is a stretch.

Believe what you like. I have a completed set and 3 Legendaries to show for it.

I have personally seen the Keywarden sitting in the middle of blue and elite packs. Among other absurdities.
Don't forget that the Keywarden can also pat.

[The_Jackal]

I find it hard to believe you ran into 4 packs and the keywarden at once, unless you decided to kite them all though the zone for some reason.

I've seen things like it when people are searching for the act 2 keywarden and trail some packs behind them as they're looking for him, but I've never seen more than 2 packs occupying a single screen. 4 + keywarden in Stonefort is a stretch.

Also, have you played a Pet class? AI pets have a habit of finding trouble, and the more you have, the more directions you can find trouble in.

[orrion]

Believe what you like. I have a completed set and 3 Legendaries to show for it.

I have personally seen the Keywarden sitting in the middle of blue and elite packs. Among other absurdities.
Don't forget that the Keywarden can also pat.

I ran into a goblin and 2 packs next to each other the other night in Act 4.

Still never seen 3 or 4 at once, let alone combined with a Warden. Plus your 4 legendaries in that fight, on only Torment II... it just piles long shot on long shot on long shot on long shot.

Also, have you played a Pet class? AI pets have a habit of finding trouble, and the more you have, the more directions you can find trouble in.

Stonefort is a fairly linear map - there's not a lot of directions for the pets to wander off in. I do have a witch doctor, and I've never seen them chase anything halfway across a map. Or even close.

I know that I personally have fought three packs at a time by accident. Though that was hell difficulty and awhile ago. Also, whats the deal with the keywarden anyways? I was playing through normal, just getting back into things when I fought one in act 2.

Keywardens used to not appear unless you were on Inferno difficulty because that was the only difficulty you could enable Monster Power on. They had a 10% drop chance per Monster Power (10 levels).

Now they're in the game on every difficulty, although I don't know what the percentages of the keys are anymore.

The Act 1 warden is in Fields of Misery, the Act 2 warden is in the Oasis, the Act 3 warden is in Stonefort, and the Act 4 warden is in the first Spire level.

Each warden drops a specific key, and you combine the three keys for an Infernal Machine. The recipe for the Machine is off the Act 4 warden, who can also drop any of the three keys.

When you have a Machine, you can open a portal after Act I is complete in a house in Tristram. You can open 3 portals per game, and fight a set of "ubers" that each have a chance to drop a sprecific part to the Hellfire Ring (sold by Squirt in Act 2). The uber sets are Skeleton King and Magdha, Siegebreaker and Kulle, and Ghom and Rakanoth. They are pumped up versions of the bosses.

At 70, there will be new keys, new Machines, and new Hellfire rings. No idea if the wardens or the ubers are the same.

[Derjuin]

Just found one of the new legendary hats with unique mods - this one was a Wizard hat (The Magistrate) that had the mod "Frost Hydra now occasionally casts Frost Nova". I was skeptical at first, since my experience with Frost Hydra is negative, but it's pretty nice to have something using frost nova when decidedly difficult packs of enemies crop up. It's not super reliable though, unless you have piles of Toughness and can stand next to the hydra. :\

[huttj509]

Now they're in the game on every difficulty, although I don't know what the percentages of the keys are anymore.

The Act 1 warden is in Fields of Misery, the Act 2 warden is in the Oasis, the Act 3 warden is in Stonefort, and the Act 4 warden is in the first Spire level.

Each warden drops a specific key, and you combine the three keys for an Infernal Machine. The recipe for the Machine is off the Act 4 warden, who can also drop any of the three keys.

When you have a Machine, you can open a portal after Act I is complete in a house in Tristram. You can open 3 portals per game, and fight a set of "ubers" that each have a chance to drop a sprecific part to the Hellfire Ring (sold by Squirt in Act 2). The uber sets are Skeleton King and Magdha, Siegebreaker and Kulle, and Ghom and Rakanoth. They are pumped up versions of the bosses.

At 70, there will be new keys, new Machines, and new Hellfire rings. No idea if the wardens or the ubers are the same.

Keys:
Torment I: 25%
Torment II: 28%
Torment III: 33%
Torment IV: 38%
Torment V: 43%
Torment VI: 50%

Dunno if body parts are the same.

[Fleeing Coward]

I find the multiple elite/rare packs completely believable since I've run into them myself but I too am skeptical about the 4 legendary/set part. I run my witch doctor on Torment 3 solo and I often don't get that many in a whole act let alone off 4 mob packs and a keywarden.

[Dhavaer]

Today I discovered that you can't have two of the same unique equipped at once. I guess it makes sense, but it still surprised me when my second Broken Promises would only compare to my first.

[orrion]

Keys:
Torment I: 25%
Torment II: 28%
Torment III: 33%
Torment IV: 38%
Torment V: 43%
Torment VI: 50%

Dunno if body parts are the same.

They are. And I still can't get an Eye off Siegebreaker and Kulle to save my life.

Just found one of the new legendary hats with unique mods - this one was a Wizard hat (The Magistrate) that had the mod "Frost Hydra now occasionally casts Frost Nova". I was skeptical at first, since my experience with Frost Hydra is negative, but it's pretty nice to have something using frost nova when decidedly difficult packs of enemies crop up. It's not super reliable though, unless you have piles of Toughness and can stand next to the hydra. :\

A control build with Cold+Lightning is something I'd want to experiment with at 70, but I'm just grinding out exp before Reaper.

Overall I love the legendaries with special stuff. I've got wrists that make picking up gold give experience, and I've got Nemesis Bracers that spawn champion packs from shrines. They're awesome - find a shrine, equip bracers, spawn pack. Only problem is that the pack can sometimes spawn around you and pin you in, and they need to fix that.

Elemental damage is also awesome. Picked up a Moonlight Ward. Now I need a Gesture of Orpheus or Slorak's Madness for an Arcane build.. got a Slorak last night finally, but it didn't roll a socket.

[pffh]

Do paragon levels still give the same stats as before is it just the paragon points now?

[Karoht]

Do paragon levels still give the same stats as before is it just the paragon points now?

Just the points which you allocate. At most you lost 300 main stat and 100 in the rest. Which, given the stats on new gear, isn't hard to replace. Before patch my Witchdoctor was JUST breaking 2100 int with Paragon 30. Now I'm rocking 3300.

[orrion]

Do paragon levels still give the same stats as before is it just the paragon points now?

It's just points. Magic Find is basically gone from the game, so Paragon levels no longer give that.

The way it works is that every time you get a Paragon level, it cycles through the 4 categories. So Paragon 1 gets a "Core" point, Paragon 2 gets an "Offense" point, Paragon 3 gets a "Defense" point, and Paragon 4 gets a "Utility" point. Paragon 5 goes back to "Core."

It cycles that way until Paragon 800 (which maxes every category), after which all points go to "Core" in your main stat categories - Int, Str, Dex, and I think Vit.

The patch yesterday changed it so that now you can throw as many "Core" points into Int/Str/Dex as you want beyond 50.

[The_Jackal]

Just found one of the new legendary hats with unique mods - this one was a Wizard hat (The Magistrate) that had the mod "Frost Hydra now occasionally casts Frost Nova". I was skeptical at first, since my experience with Frost Hydra is negative, but it's pretty nice to have something using frost nova when decidedly difficult packs of enemies crop up. It's not super reliable though, unless you have piles of Toughness and can stand next to the hydra. :\

I got the magistrate on my wizard, 'Castle Bravo'. Here's her build: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/T.../hero/14034753

It's pretty damned effective, when you can stack it with other slows/freezes to keep the enemy stutter stepping toward you, and getting them slowed down that much makes it much easier to drop rocks on them from space. Very satisfying.

[Psyren]

It's just points. Magic Find is basically gone from the game, so Paragon levels no longer give that.

And good flipping riddance. Now they can make the game challenging for the folks who optimize damage/defense, without absolutely crushing the ones that sacrifice those stats to get a decent MF going. And no more switching to Gull+Rhyme or Dual P Babas right before the final blow.

[Derjuin]

Here is the spec I've been using for my wizard to tear Torment a new one. Molten Impact meteor practically 1-shots unique/champion packs, if it crits (appr. 4-5 million!! damage with Arcane Dynamo up) and if that fails to kill them, frozen orb (positioned just right, ofc) obliterates the remainder. I've used this on Torment 1, 2 and 3, and it works great. For 4+ I use Arcane Hydra and replace my helm with an old Mempo of Twilight (hooray +atk speed hats) because the Frost Hydra is less reliable and I /need/ the enemies slowed.

[The_Jackal]

And good flipping riddance. Now they can make the game challenging for the folks who optimize damage/defense, without absolutely crushing the ones that sacrifice those stats to get a decent MF going. And no more switching to Gull+Rhyme or Dual P Babas right before the final blow.

Agreed. I always felt that Magic find was a lazy mechanic, even back in Diablo II. Of course, they didn't quite finish the job, having never re-mapped the Topaz helmet buff (Should have it give you crit chance or something). Still, until RoS drops, Magic find is needless, I'm stockpiling teh golds.

Here is the spec I've been using for my wizard to tear Torment a new one. Molten Impact meteor practically 1-shots unique/champion packs, if it crits (appr. 4-5 million!! damage with Arcane Dynamo up) and if that fails to kill them, frozen orb (positioned just right, ofc) obliterates the remainder. I've used this on Torment 1, 2 and 3, and it works great. For 4+ I use Arcane Hydra and replace my helm with an old Mempo of Twilight (hooray +atk speed hats) because the Frost Hydra is less reliable and I /need/ the enemies slowed.

I'm sure that totally devastates when it hits, but I feel like the trade-off in sustained damage has got to be rough. Wouldn't Star Pact be better for you, overall?

[Derjuin]

I'm sure that totally devastates when it hits, but I feel like the trade-off in sustained damage has got to be rough. Wouldn't Star Pact be better for you, overall?

I've tried star pact, and it honestly lacks the OOMPH that I use Meteor for. It's not a spell I use often, so I don't notice the cooldown, really. It's probably just a playstyle quirk of mine . I tend to use blades/frozen orb more than meteor, and save meteor for high HP enemies/packs. However, you CAN try out Meteor Shower, which does almost as much damage as Molten Impact (7 possible hits for ~220% each), though getting all seven to hit the same enemy is a pain.

[The_Jackal]

I guess my attitude is that I want one signature spell and one AP dump, and everything else in my build should support those two. Maybe I'll try shaking up my build and adding molten impact in lieu of Comet and see how I like it.

[Traab]

Well that sucks. I just killed skeleton king for the first time with my character, no legendary drop. Just the yellows.

[Derjuin]

So...Haedrig. You and I have not always seen eye-to-eye...and sometimes your crafts tend to be a bit crappy. I may have even said that they were a "waste of time" and that it was better to "sell the mats on the AH and hope for a good drop"...

but now...

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oh my glob