Hello Everybody! I’m Back. I moved to console years back, had a baby, lost a baby moma, still proudly have my baby (huzzah!), and jumped back on D3 a few months ago on a whim & am excited for D4.
I doubt you remember me, but the last time I was active on PC was when Skorn was viable & last activity I really had on the forums was when Free, Nubtro & the old regulars were fleshing out the first Thorns Zdps Frenzy build.
I spent a good half hour last night reading through the entire post to get everyone’s perspective on the matter & frustratingly was delayed logging in to reply as my credentials had escaped me, resulting in a lock till 11 am PST. I would respectfully request some Blue clarification on some things( marked with example) but have no real expectations of a response. Here are some thoughts:
The Ninety Savages set is given to be utilized with 10 stacks from Bastion’s and all runes with Undisputed, that means:
-+50% Damage Reduction
-+25% Dibs (Maniac)
-+150% attack speed to Frenzy
-+50% movespeed
-+10,000% Frenzy Damage (along with x4-5 multiplier from Undisputed)
-Bonus splash attacks in between attacks, that given item mechanics will not trigger AD (Area Damage)
-Sidearm procs that if I last remember do not trigger exactly as read and do not proc AD
-A constant stun via Smite that will quickly run it’s course
-Double Damage for your Barbarian only (not the entire party) for feared targets
With the shouts, I am somewhat at a loss without testing. Is the effectiveness going to be the main skill duration & effect or will runes be considered? IE one thing to consider is will Hardened Wrath going to be +40% armor from the main skill along with +120% armor for 5 or 10 second? Will Veteran’s Warning jump up to 60%? Impunity to +40% all resistances? Will Warcry’s Bloodshed deal 40%? Will Threatening Shout’s falter be +50% Dibs for 6 seconds or 12? These are viable questions needing testing & tinkering.
My only concern is it will only affect the main shout with the rune not being considered. For instance, if runes were affected, Threatening Shout’s Intimidate would overclock movespeed reduction to +120%; effectively turning a soft CC into a hard one. If runes were not considered, Falter would remain +25% Dibs and there would be no gain from the main shout as it was replaced.
Conclusion: Frenzy damage (mind you I did not crunch the numbers) seems as if it will be viable on the single target, but the ability to handle density with AoE still remains pressing. The new splash effect from Bastion’s, if it follows the same rules as everything else, won’t trigger Area Damage. Sidearm seemed to have an internal cooldown on procs and only stacks Stricken on the first target hit if I am not mistaken. This leaves the main attacks on one target for Area Damage splashing on to surrounding targets. Shouts will help affect numbers for damage and survivability, but not assist in dealing with density. Lastly, everyone and their mother is right about relying on Fear for further damage. You have ten mobs in front of you, you fear them with Threatening Shout’s Terrify. You have basically two choices: A) let them run away in different directions crippling any Area Damage you have, or B) rely on having a stun like Wrenching Smash on the skill bar, immediately stun them & now have them immune to Hard CC. There are also the option of Earthquake’s Cave-in or Leap’s Call to Arreat, but both will still leave the targets scrambling in separate directions. Frankly given how other sets are synergized based on how you mobility works with your damage (some sets somewhat), such as WW with Rend or Leap with Avalanche, Fear is not synergistic with the ‘forward march’ style of Frenzy.
Subjective Solutions:
I’m not even going to touch on the shouts without testing, but I can say they will not be the solution to the Fear & dealing with density issues at hand.
Other sets have more than one attack working in conjunction of one another where this one merely utilizes Frenzy. Wastes was designed to allow for rending in between without the damage reduction dropping off. As with this set I believe in possibly utilizing one and/or another skill (and one sad item) that have never had any limelight beyond initial leveling; Revenge & Overpower. Both can be used while using Frenzy, both (with minor a minor tweak to Revenge & Saffron Wrap) have variety in viability to bring to the table & both are capable of proccing area damage. One issue that comes about is the use of Undisputed along with Saffron. Another solution is an alternative that opens up possible hybrids (as IK has in the past) to utilize the buff to shouts; a set belt. Undisputed’s buff of every rune being made apart of the set would allow Ninety Savages to be more in line with Raekors with Furious Charge.
Proposal:
New Class Set: Horde of the Ninety Savages
2-Piece Bonus: Double the effectiveness of all Shouts. Revenge gains the Provocation Rune in addition to Overpower gains the Crushing Advance Rune.
4-Piece Bonus: Each stack of Frenzy reduces damage taken by 5%. Frenzy gains the effect of all runes. Revenge has a 35% chance to gain a charge each time you are hit.
6-Piece Bonus: Frenzy, Revenge & Overpower deals 1000% increased damage per stack & the duration of Frenzy is tripled. Damage for Overpower & Revenge is tripled for enemies hit by frenzy.
7th set item to include Mighty Belt.
Undisputed Champion
Removed.
Bastion’s Revered
Frenzy now stacks up to 10 times. Frenzy deals 300-400% increased damage.
Saffron Wrap
The damage of your next Revenge or Overpower is increased by 50-75% for each enemy hit. Max 20 enemies. Increases the range of both Overpower & Revenge by 6-9 yards, but each now cost 10 fury.
Skill Reworks:
Overpower’s momentum no longer generates Rage but instead briefly knocks struck enemies up into the air. It remains physical.
Revenge’s Grudge no longer knocks enemies away but instead will break the shield of any shielded enemies struck. It remains lightning.
Frenzy’s Smite no longer stuns but emits a lightning bolt that deals 260% weapon damage & chains up to 5 targets. It also now converts Frenzy to lightning damage.
Frenzy’s Sidearm & Smite have their ICD’s set to .2 seconds. Their proc rates are included on their projectiles and are reduced to 40% from 75%.
Sidearm, Smite & Overpower’s Storm of Steel all stack stricken on the first enemy hit & all three are capable of proccing area damage.
Skill/Item Reworks reasonings:
I do not wish to be a pain & ask for complete overhauls of coding (except maybe for the longshot of Legacy of Dreams down below.) As such, I will prompt quick solutions. Though keep in mind if you do remember me, I speak mostly out off my @ss…like Ace Ventura.
Momentum is a rarely used rage gain even amidst the other runes of a rarely used skill. Changing to a knock up is a viable substitute to losing smite & it is within the players control to spam overpower or use it at a given time (to say utilize Strong Arm’s.) It also provides that brief cc on an AoE basis rather than the single target; a choice that is not necessarily needed to be picked if you wanted to choose another route, IE wrenching smash. Also if using all three skills, you want hits to come in to regen Revenge procs. There are plenty of skills/items that do this already that can mimic the coding in the area of effect for Momentum.
Smite’s stun is only viable when leveling. Using an OLD breakpoint calculator https://codepen.io/anon/pen/yOdVjd you can achieve 7 attacks from dual wielding 1.3 attack speed weapons (without gogok, sorc buff, IAS on Weapons or gear) with ten Stacks and Oathkeeper. Not having control of your hard cc on a single mob that will melt in front of you is a moot point as it will melt quickly. On a yellow elite or rift guardian while pushing GRs that is an entirely different matter. This code can be stolen straight from Thunderfury, though adjusted for damage, proc & without the move/attack speed reduction.
Grudge is as synergetic as Fear. Meaning it’s not. The whole idea of a Barbarian across pretty much all builds is to be in the thick of it, gather it up and smash. Having an attack that launches enemies in every direction does not help on this front. Artistically speaking when I hear the word grudge, the first thing that comes to mind is Edgar Allen Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado. To summarize to those who are not familiar, it is the short story of a man gravely insulted, gets his foe drunk, coaxes & leads him into a catacomb where he then chains him to a wall within an archway & bricks him in alive. That’s revenge off a grudge. Speaking solely of mechanics, this is an option that would greatly increase a Barb’s value in a group setting as the clock is ticking on a rift run & that shield eats time. Coded I would have it reduce shield duration upon hit to zero.
Saffron Wrap has been a long running joke. With this setup allows for the use of Zodiac & a better chance of hitting that cap of 20 enemies. With enough crit (with ticks also replenishing off sidearm/smite crits) this skill can constantly get off of cooldown quickly while using it constantly. Also keep in mind (if using) Revenge it requires hits to replenish & won’t eat zodiac procs. On the single target it is a stricken stacker & situational buff, whether choosing crit, more base dmg, etc.
Bastion’s extra attack is a band-aid that allows for more stricken stacks (more than possibly not being an item proc) you would think, but doe not solve the AD dilemma. With AD coming from 4 possible sources (Smite, Sidearm, Overpower/SoS & Revenge) and stricken stacking for each of them, the extra attack is no longer needed.
Undisputed becoming a set belt opens up shouts to be used in conjunction with RoRG for other builds that Raekors, Wastes & Earth could all benefits from. Choosing to make Bastion a set item would remove its possibility to be cubed & this keeps cube options more open with two belts not needing to compete (leaving the opportunity for depth diggers or a second ring).
Ultimately with this setup it leaves options besides Frenzy, three shouts, WotB & a mobility. You can easily also choose that route, but miss out on AoE. You could opt for crit with both OP & Revenge, providing more room other item affixes for other stats such as AD or CDR. You could take OP for the redirect & some AoE and not take the other to allow for other skill sets. Options.
Thoughts?
Longshot concept for Legacy of Dreams & a modified ‘Longshot’:
So with the cube options opening up & a frenzy set coming out, these are signs that D4 is soon to be upon us and the developers are seem to be saying ‘have fun!’ with the time remaining for D3.
If it is not too much to ask, what hold back a variety of different eclectic builds since the start are item procs not being able to proc AD. With LoN/LoD as far as I’m aware that has had any contest with main set builds has been one HoTA build; as HotA procs AD. It’s more than most definite that it would be too much work, but what about LoD: same stats, just the 25 rank also allows item procs a 10% or 15% chance to proc AD? Could you imagine the plethora of different item procs going off being boosted by CoE as your main multiplier? It would not be able to contend with other builds pushing GR’s I would assume, but still fun. Yet too much work I would assume.
Very lastly, if you don’t want Frenzy to follow suit with using WW, Leap or FC to get quickly out of trouble and through the crowd, could Harpoon with Ancient Spear be reworked? Most people who use the skill (minus BT) use Rage Flip to gather mobs on top of an occulus pop. Harpoon in that sense seems like a very redundant choice in comparison. Could it instead launch you forward 45 yards (or into the closest wall before)? I’m not even going to suggest it gathering mobs along the way, but that would be nice. =)
Thank you for your time.