I don't know where to start. I don't know if it's my items or my choice of powers, but I can't play on anything harder than mp3. I die fast and I can't get my dps above 55k. I just don't get it. How do so many people not have a problem with the wizard? I have an EF/TRI combo as weapon, my resistances in the 700-800 range...

Posted by muhawk83 at 11/21/2012 07:58 PM

I don't know where to start. I don't know if it's my items or my choice of powers, but I can't play on anything harder than mp3. I die fast and I can't get my dps above 55k. I just don't get it. How do so many people not have a problem with the wizard? I have an EF/TRI combo as weapon, my resistances in the 700-800 range...

Attach your D3 profile or send us a link and we can get you an eval.

look at the top right hand of the page, click account.
click on profile and just make sure beyond anything that your battle tag is correct.
At that point, there are many experienced people to help you out. If you get Khan to help you with wizard issues then you are getting the best of the best.

@yoyo Too kind. I'm sure there are better.

As Ernest Hemingway said: “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”

Posted by Khan at 11/21/2012 08:43 PM

@yoyo Too kind. I'm sure there are better.

As Ernest Hemingway said: “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”

Haha @Khan trying to refuse his reputation on this site. You are to generous.

Thanks all!! I put my battle tag in there. I think I have around 20 mil liquid to buy stuff. So its not really too much. I appreciate your help!! :-)

I had the exact same problem breaking the 50k to 60k damage zone. I played around with a few builds and upgrades to find the best combination of fun and not breaking my fingers for my play style. You look like you're going for a similar playstyle to what I've been doing. Keep in mind, this is looking at group play or key farming otherwise I'd suggest sticking to MP1 for farming speed.

I'm not seeing any APoC which is fine but it means you'll probably want to add a signature spell to the mix so you have an attack when you're low on AP. I like using Spectral blades, usually with healing but you can go deep cuts for a bit more dps (looks like you have the vitality for it). You could also add diamond skin for more survivability. For these I'd probably drop hydra and archon. This way you can rush in, freeze, meteor and blade then hit diamond skin to stay alive until you're ready to freeze again. Critical mass in place of galvanizing ward will speed up your freezing and diamond skin quickly too.

For gear, try bumping up your crit chance, look for an amulet with 7 to 10% and maybe a ring as well. It might also be worth changing up your weapon for something with attack speed, crit damage and a socket. I like daggers for this job but if you can find a wand that does it all even better (although they will cost you a lot). Obviously black to take advantage of your source. You might also want to look into Tal Rasha's chest piece for more IAS.

Feel free to check out my setup which you should be able to pick up similar gear for less than 20 mil (based on what you already have). My skills are currently setup for farming but with this gear and a few skill changes I'm able to handle MP5 without much trouble solo (although RD elites are still a pain). Also feel free to join me if you want to see my setup in action and do some key/uber farming.

@muhawk83

1) I'd increase your crit chance and crit damage. That will increase your DPS substantially. You can find deals for them on:
a) Rings
b) Amulet
c) Withing Hour Belt - IAS and CD in a neat package

2) Inna Pants - For me this controversial because I stopped using them in favor of Blackthorne Pants for their LOH and VIT. However, if you want a quick DPS and movement speed boost, thats usually the way to go. I have enough DPS and just need a cushion of survivability during MP8 and higher runs. The Blackthornes do that.

3) Natalya's Set - Here's where I give you a pricey recommendation. The boots plus a ring will give you an extra 7% crit chance. So if you get a Nat's ring with attack speed and crit chance, you get an additional 7%. Add the fact that the boots give you movement speed and its a winner in my book.


The elephant in the room question is: "What playstyle are you attempting?"

If solo archon, you're on the right track with no APOC but you need 24% movement speed and much more crit chance and crit damage for efficient farming. I'd shoot for 40% crit chance and 220% crit damage.

If a group play CM wizard (Frosty Wind Meteoric Time Bubbler and all its iterations), you'll need at least 20 APOC and 2.6 attack speed to contribute to a perma-freeze. Perma-freeze sounds cheesy but its efficiency in group play can't be denied. Ask @baldy or @phamalot about how much less stressful MP9 runs are when two CM Wizards can lock down your targets for you.

If solo/group kiter, I can't really help with that as I dislike the build for its lack of efficiency.

Posted by Khan at 11/22/2012 10:31 AM

If a group play CM wizard (Frosty Wind Meteoric Time Bubbler and all its iterations), you'll need at least 20 APOC and 2.6 attack speed

Just to be precise about this -

When using Wicked Wind as your CM proc spell, there are breakpoints tied to your Attacks Per Second.
Refer here: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/6794871641
2.5080 33
2.7258 33
2.7378 36
2.9913 36
3.0030 40

What this means is that for WW to tick 33 times you need to show an APS of at least 2.51. This also means that WW will still only tick 33 times at 2.73 APS, and that you must have 2.74 APS for it to tick 36 times.

2.74 is the fundamental magic number for the spec. Given 50CC and 20 APOC, a 36 tick rate basically ensures to keep as much of a lock as possible on a single target (which means minimal stuttering; absolute total 100% permanent freezing a single Uber boss or KW is impossible). Tick rates higher than 36 will generate other effects as normal, such as APOC and LOH, but there is testimony on that forum which indicates that 3 APS+ does not substantially help with CM use - due to limitations of the game and how the user's input is handled. Reaching that high of APS does tend to require sacrificing EHP due to gear choices as well (such as the aforementioned Blackthorne's pants versus Inna's pants).

Meanwhile -

Your current gear choices and logical upgrades clearly dictate you should use Archon as your main offense. Considering the nice LS Fury you have, support it with Sparkflint, Force Weapon, and Scramble. Put in Glass Cannon over Cold Blooded, since nothing will be frozen while you're in Archon, and your current EHP is rather high. Get some CC and your paper DPS should be 100K easily, buffed or not - and that's enough for low MP runs.

edit: Oh, but you want more than MP3?... Here's the issue with Wizard about this. Archon is good for low MP runs only. Past MP4 you basically need to have Top 10 Worldwide Wizard sheet DPS to run Archon effectively. MP5 and up, CM Frost is the only way to live. Even then, you need to spend billions in gold on gear to run CM Frost with enough paper DPS to kill things quicker than (what feels like are) minutes at a time on like MP7+.

If I were you I'd be content to blast low MP with Archon. As MP escalates, the higher rates of XP/MF/GF opposed to the higher enemy HP is not in the player's favor, particularly since all drops have the same roll probabilities regardless.

Posted by Ammostiel at 11/23/2012 04:34 PM

This also means that WW will still only tick 33 times at 2.73 APS, and that you must have 2.74 APS for it to tick 36 times.

Actually that post was edited on 11/3. If you scroll down he says the breakpoint for 36 ticks is actually 2.7273.

And I could be wrong, but I assume what Khan meant by the 2.6 attack speed was for your base value, which could then boost over the 2.73 breakpoint with stretch time.

So...I did the whole crit chance and crit damage thing...I was walking through mp3 with a buddy of mine...that's crazy!! Thanks guys, I'll keep working on it, before you know it, I'll be the one doing give aways!