Screenshots from the 2.6.7 PTR at Blizzcon indicate that the 200% increased damage affix for Rend on Lamentation will be removed.
In the simplest possible terms, this is a humongous nerf, and will nuke the build’s potential.
I am calling on the Barb community and the greater community of D3 players to join me in asking the developers to reconsider.
Barbs have finally been able to feel powerful, even if it’s only with a single build. GR 140 is the new bar for solo. Demon Hunters, Witch Doctors, Necromancers, Wizards, and Crusaders have all achieved such clears, or come very close. The initial 2.6.7 buffs put our Rend build in that ballpark.
The total removal of the 200% Rend multiplier on Lamentation is equal to a minimum nerf of 7 Greater Rift tiers, possibly more considering the build will rely, once again, on Whirlwind to deal a significant chunk of damage. This will make the build more reliant on fishing for proper GR conditions, more frustrating for low-Paragon and early-Season players, and more demanding in terms of gear and rolls. It also completely destroys the potential to use a Rend Barb in speed-experience runs (typically called Rat Runs), and destroys the potential to create new, exciting, and more inclusive party compositions.
Removing a 3x multiplier (200%) absolutely nukes the build into oblivion.
Barbs being able to clear 140+ is not game-breaking. It brings Barbs into the playing field of other classes, and gives Barb players something they have never had the opportunity to experience: a build that is truly, wildly powerful and fun right out of the box.
Look at the global leaderboards. Look how far behind we are!
That is not okay!
Look at Diablo Progress and check the non-Season rankings. Globally, Barbs don’t appear on the board any higher than RANK 298. Our class is such trash that we can’t crack the top 200 clears in the world.
That is not okay!
Wizards and Necros are able to clear 147+ but Barb and Monk should be relegated to 130+??
That is not okay!
All other classes but Barb and Monk are allowed to clear 140?
That is not okay!
A 10K Paragon Barb should be able to clear 140. With the nerf, that same Barb will struggle to clear 133.
THAT IS NOT OKAY!
Here’s some nifty info to help folks realize why Lamentation should not be nerfed at all.
The following is a not-table that shows the top Season and non-Season clears by class across the North American, European, and Asian servers.
╔═══════╦═════════╦═════════╦═════════╦══════════╗
║ Class ║ NA ║ EU ║ AS ║ Averages ║
║ ║ S/NS ║ S/NS ║ S/NS ║ S/NS ║
╠═══════╬═════════╬═════════╬═════════╬══════════╣
║ DH ║ 132/138 ║ 133/140 ║ 130/137 ║ 131/138 ║
╠═══════╬═════════╬═════════╬═════════╬══════════╣
║ WD ║ 135/142 ║ 138/142 ║ 134/138 ║ 135/140 ║
╠═══════╬═════════╬═════════╬═════════╬══════════╣
║ Wiz ║ 140/143 ║ 138/142 ║ 144/143 ║ 140/142 ║
╠═══════╬═════════╬═════════╬═════════╬══════════╣
║ Nec ║ 138/138 ║ 138/143 ║ 142/142 ║ 139/141 ║
╠═══════╬═════════╬═════════╬═════════╬══════════╣
║ Sader ║ 136/137 ║ 133/138 ║ 136/137 ║ 135/137 ║
╠═══════╬═════════╬═════════╬═════════╬══════════╣
║ Monk ║ 130/132 ║ 130/135 ║ 130/134 ║ 130/133 ║
╠═══════╬═════════╬═════════╬═════════╬══════════╣
║ Barb ║ 130/132 ║ 130/135 ║ 127/133 ║ 129/133 ║
╚═══════╩═════════╩═════════╩═════════╩══════════╝
This is from leaderboard data taken in-game, by region, on 11/9/2019.
I draw several conclusions from this table.
First, Seasonal data should be discarded. The Triune buff, like next Season’s killstreak bonuses, will result in some truly outrageous clears. I didn’t include Paragon here (though I did note it by clear), but non-Season clears, which represent only the most persistent and well-geared players give us a good idea about the parity between classes.
If we take the average non-Season clears of all classes by all regions, we get 137.7, which we’ll round down to 137 since GR clears don’t round up.
So, the average of all classes’ non-Season GR clears is 137.
How do individual classes compare to that in their non-Season clears?
╔═══════╦════════╦══════════════════╦═════════════════════════════╗
║ Class ║ + / - ║ Nerfed in 2.6.7? ║ If Nerfed, ║
║ ║ Parity ║ Y/N ║ New + / - Parity (estimate) ║
╠═══════╬════════╬══════════════════╬═════════════════════════════╣
║ DH ║ +1 ║ N ║ NA ║
╠═══════╬════════╬══════════════════╬═════════════════════════════╣
║ WD ║ +3 ║ N ║ NA ║
╠═══════╬════════╬══════════════════╬═════════════════════════════╣
║ Wiz ║ +5 ║ Y ║ +4 ║
╠═══════╬════════╬══════════════════╬═════════════════════════════╣
║ Nec ║ +4 ║ Y ║ +2 ║
╠═══════╬════════╬══════════════════╬═════════════════════════════╣
║ Sader ║ 0 ║ N ║ NA ║
╠═══════╬════════╬══════════════════╬═════════════════════════════╣
║ Monk ║ -4 ║ N ║ NA ║
╠═══════╬════════╬══════════════════╬═════════════════════════════╣
║ Barb ║ -4 ║ N ║ NA ║
╚═══════╩════════╩══════════════════╩═════════════════════════════╝
Even with the nerfs, Wizards are still very likely to clear above 140. More important, classes that aren’t getting nerfed are still in the 140+ field: Witch Doctors and Demon Hunters.
3 of the seven classes will clear 140+. Another 2, Saders and Necros, will be on the cusp, and Monk may well be there with the additional buffs to the new set.
If Lamentation is nerfed to 0% (no multiplier) it is a -7 GR loss from the build right out of the gate. If we use the PTR 140 clear as the bench mark–and we will because it is the highest factual clear we have–that lowers the Rend build to 133. Experienced, high-Paragon Barbs may push upwards of 135, making it a 5 tier loss, and perhaps a few will reach 137, making it a theoretical 3 tier loss.
But losing a 200% multiplier is not, as we all well know, a 3 tier loss. And 137 would be, for the very top group of players who push Barb, the current average of all non-Season GR pushes.
In other words, if Lamentation’s multiplier is completely removed, Barbs will be, at their absolute strongest:
- at or below 2.6.6 non-Season GR averages
- 5 or more GRs below WDs and Wizs
- 3-5 GRs below DHs
- 2-4 GRs below Saders
Is this what buffs are supposed to look like? Consider that right now, at this very moment, Barbs the top Barb clear wouldn’t even rank in most other classes’ top 20. Worse, most folks who play Barb aren’t going to push the build to its limits–they aren’t ever going to come close to the GR 140 accomplished in PTR because that took 10k Paragon and perfect gear.
Oh, that’s right. About Paragon…
Here’s a little food for thought about 2.6.6:
- The highest NS WD clear at 142 was with 9k Paragon
- The highest NS DH clear at 140 was with 10k Paragon
- The highest NS Sader clear at 138 was with 10k Paragon
- The highest NS Monk clear at 135 was with 7k Paragon
- The highest NS Barb clear at 135 was with 10k Paragon
My conclusion?
Data isn’t perfect in a game where all these numbers have to contend with GR environments, fishing, gem levels, gear quality, and player skill. What’s more, we aren’t accounting for which builds clear what tier. For example, the 135 Barb clear was done with Vile Charge, one our strongest builds, and a build that relies on “wall-charging,” a gimmicky mechanic in which players get around skill restrictions by repeatedly slamming into walls. For builds that don’t rely on broken gimmicks like wall-charging, the highest actual clear is 130. So, the ability to clear GR 140+ at 10k Paragon is not some crazy outlier that indicates a need for nerfs. It is the new solo standard that almost all classes are approaching or have already achieved, one from which Barbs have been excluded.
Ulmaguest, one of the most accomplished players of several classes on the NA server, sums it up:
So let me get this straight, the main argument for nerfing Rend Barb is that it did a 140 with paragon 10,500 in PTR, and that 140 or higher is “too high” for Barb, and that the only classes where doing 140 is acceptable are Wizard and Necro, because they’re getting nerfed.
That’s the argument, right?
Well now we’ve got three 142 WD clears (one in EU, two on US) and a 140 DH clear in EU. With bullds that will not be getting nerfed in the patch.
So what’s the argument now? That WD and DH are OK for 140 but 140 is too high for Barb?
There’s a clear level of bias in people calling Barb to be nerfed.
We are thrilled that the new Monk and Crusader sets have received considerable buffs to their new sets, and we do not advocate for nerfing other classes in any way, shape, or form. I, and the greater Barb community, hope the devs will reconsider this complete nerf, and we hope that our HOTA and SLAM items will receive additional buffs to make them more competitive.
In conclusion, what do we need?
- Keep Lamentation’s multiplier
- Bigger multipliers on Remorseless and Fjord Cutter
Barbs have been garbage for years. Let’s get Barbs into the 140 playground! All it takes is what’s above!
