Interesting^.
At higher GR Levels, would you say that this build is heavily reliant on CoE Ring?
I think I’ve hit a brick wall at GR117.
My results are very much the same with a) AZ + APD + CoE, and b) Aughilds + RoRG + Echo Fury.
Hi Rage,
Wow! Thank you for the detailed reply, analyses, and suggestions. The video was extremely helpful, as it highlights how 99% of my barb failing to clear 123 is operator error, and <1% is attributable to gear, mob type, affixes, maps, or anything else I can blame besides my player skills…
First evidence of that is despite reading your excellent guide, I still failed to pair APDs with AZ. So I took my AZ that has 19% cold, 10% damage, and 10% CDR, 3k sheet damage, and tried 10 times. No luck. I am not able to clear the rift in time for the rift guardian. I just cannot do enough damage in a timely manner. The lightning, frozen, poison, and fear forces me to disengage and lose time. I then swapped out Nerves of Steel for Rampage. The damage went up, but I still couldn’t finish as any misstep will lead to death, which makes me squishy, so that I instantly die upon ressurrection.
So I switched to my primal EF and Morticks, with life per hit on the bracer. On the 3rd key, I got the Adria map with bad mobs (lightning). However, I was able to use a Power pylon and a Conduit pylon to kill 1 elite pack and nearby trash each and managed to stay 1 min ahead. I popped Raziel with 55 seconds left, having just used WOTB to clear the last 1% of trash. He killed me with 20 seconds left (one and only death), but I finished with 7 seconds to spare!
Again, thank you for taking the time to help out this barb. The video was very helpful to pace myself, see the the strategy (when to pull mobs vs skip vs how to engage elites).
Liked and subscribed.
Thank you again!
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Why’d you delete your question about Strongarms? I saw it earlier but didn’t have time to answer.
I’ve seen people using them, mostly on the Asia server. A good pair can theoretically add up to around 12% damage, at times, though you are unlikely to see all of that benefit, all of the time. Ultimately, I think a defensive bracer is usually going to be better, since this build is a bit on the squishy side. I tried out the Strongarms myself, in a “push” setting, and just kept dying.
The CoE and Aughild setups are both good. I prefer the former, others the latter… but you can’t really go wrong either way, although you need to play a little bit differently to maximize the benefits of each.
I bet you can get above 117… you have, what, maybe 13.5k str? I bet you can go as far as 120 with some good maps and mobs.
No problem, man, let me know if you have any more questions. Actually, speaking of which:
When you die, you generally want to run away from density a little bit, towards a somewhat isolated mob. And while your character is still in “ghost mode”, you want to basically just mouse over that mob and hold down the key for Furious Charge. This ensures you get your BoM buff up right away. Cast War Cry and Battle Rage asap. Then, you want to get your 10 stacks of Frenzy by whacking that mob, which gives you that 60% defensive bonus. THEN you’re ready to charge back into density and resume murdering your enemies.
Well done on the 123 clear! And I’ll bet you can continue to progress further. Practice really helps a lot with this build. When I first cleared 123 myself, I found it pretty challenging, but after another month of playing the build (and without any major gear/augment/paragon upgrades) I ran 15 consecutive 123s without a failure.
Practice makes perfect!
Edit: An update: Jedizinid has done 139, on the NA server. 10.5k paragon.
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Thanks Rage. So I was running Strongarms with Unity, (dropped CoE). Unity equals no near deaths, so I could drop Nerves of Steel for Brawler or Rampage, then replace all the Diamond Gems with Ruby’s. While the tankiness of Unity is really nice and more aggressive, the overall damage is probably a tad lower than CoE or the Aughild set-up.
Definitely a good bit lower. CoE gives roughly 56.7% more damage, while Rubies + Strongarms would be about 23.2% - at most- at your paragon, and considerably less at higher paragon and in the course of actual gameplay. Toughness from Unity definitely comes in handy, though!
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Speaking about unity, since I had the chance to get a primal (crit chance, strength rolled to CHD, Elite dmg and crowd ctrl reduction), I decided to give it a shot for fun and it’s amazing how much tankier it makes us.
Damage wise though…meh
I also tried Strongarm, but since it is DIBS, I found it didn’t bring much (thx again Rage for this post : List of Multiplicative and Additive sources for Barb ). And it definitely felt weaker in terms of tankiness. Since I am not good at decrypting the calculations behind Diablo 3, I only talk about my feeling in game.
Also, in my quest of an elite hunter build (Aughild version) I wondered if I wouldn’t be better off with another passive than Rampage. I realized that I am not able to keep the buff up reliably.
I one key-ed GR125 but GR126 feels like hitting a wall (p 2050ish). Damage on normal monters was ok, but I loose too much time on elites. I usually complete the rift in 16 minutes. Maybe I am going the wrong way thinking that I can only focus blues and yellows. I guess I’m gonna have to adapt and stick to the guide with CoE and APD.
The other main damage options are Brawler, or, if using EF, Weapons Master (and make sure EF is in your main hand). All of these options have significant plusses and minuses.
WM of course can only be used with EF, and offers the lowest bonus (about +7% dmg).
Brawler is slightly better on damage (+8%) but requires having several enemies near you, i.e. useless for single target.
Rampage offers by far the largest max damage boost (+25%), but in a push, you definitely drop stacks quite frequently. It’ll really only make a big contribution with certain mob types, full of easy-to-kill trash (Boggits, Swarms, Ghost Combo, etc).
So yeah, there’s no perfect choice there.
Well, 125 is a very solid clear at that paragon, so if that’s as far as you go, that’s still good work.
If you really like Aughild I don’t know that you need to abandon it. 엔류 cleared 134 with that setup, with 3200 P and 26k str, which is super impressive. I would continue to elite hunt, though I think if you have some easy-to-kill trash mixed in with those elites, that will help you out (for oculus spawns + Rampage stacks, if you keep using that passive). Ultimately, when you get near the damage wall, you really kind of need a good map, with good mobs, plus a power and a conduit. A bit of fishing may be required.
All that said, certainly give the CoE setup a solid try, then go with whichever variant feels more comfortable to you.
Agree with Ramage stacking, you really have to commit to the mobs with Rampage.
Stupid question, but what is the main part of the build that procs the 2 Set Bonus; “You deal double damage to Feared, Frozen or Stunned enemies.” (Obviously the Freeze if you’re using AZ too).
It’s the freeze from AZ, or the fear from EF. Both of these can proc through the Bastion’s Revered chain, and effect multiple targets.
For single target, it’s also Frenzy’s “Smite” rune… but this only works on the enemy you are directly attacking- can’t proc through the chain.
Hi Rage,
I have been using IK HOTA as RG killer in off meta group pushes with my friends (WD & DH as DPS, and a heal monk), but to little success (GR118 highest clear). I feel like I’m pulling everyone back with my lack of damage.
So I’ve been contemplating whether to roll a H90 Frenzy build or a zBarb. What would be your recommendation?
Thanks!
Hey w4nk,
For off-metas, H90 can do a pretty good job of killing the RG. I’ve got a section in the OP about specialized RGK setups, but if that seems like too much trouble to you, then the plain-old “main” build can get the job done as well.
That said, a zBarb will be welcome in nearly any party. So if you want to maximize the number of groups you can play with, or level up your gems to 150, or grind a ton of paragon, then zbarb is the obvious choice.
If you’re not concerned about any of that stuff, then I’d go with the Frenzy RGK.
A new question - I’ve got another azurewrath that has AS 7%, CDR 10% but 16% cold skill. Does it better than my current one? Thanks.
https://www.d3planner.com/274608204
Your current one is better.
Hello Rage: I have a question about AS and CDR.
I currently have 10% CDR on each of my weapons, 8CDR on my SHD, and 8CDR on my COE. With diamond in my helm, that gets me to 46% CDR, 1% shy of doing WOTB 2 cold cycles on, 1 cold cycle off. With my GLO that has 8% CDR, I can get my CDR to 50.23% which works. However, doing that means I can only have 7% AS on my AZ and 7% on my CR. If I put 7 AS on my GLO, then I’m back to 46% CDR total. Am I missing something or do I need to find quadfecta gloves with CC/CD/CDR8/AS7 to have both the better Frenzy breakpoints AND optimal WOTB sync with cold? Try as I might, I can’t seem to find the optimal combination of gear to get 3 AS7 stats and 47+% CDR. Thank you.
Hey NetSmasher,
So for CDR, you need 5 total rolls, plus the diamond in your helm and paragon. Several of those rolls on gear can be a bit off of perfect. For instance, if you had a 9% roll on each weapon, and 3 7% rolls on other gear, this would put you at 47.55%, which is enough.
For AS, keep in mind that rolls on weapons and rolls on armor are not the same! If you look carefully at a speed roll on a weapon, you’ll see that it’s called “Increases Attack Speed by X%”. On armor, it instead says “Attack Speed Increased by X%”.
The way it works is this: rolls on weapons apply only to that weapon, and act as a separate multiplier. So if you have a mighty weapon with a base 1.30 aps rate, and you get a 7% roll on it, it’s increased to 1.39 (1.30 * 1.07 = 1.391). But that roll on your OK won’t speed up the attack of your AZ.
All the rolls on your armor are then added together before being treated as a separate multiplier. So, if you have a 7% roll on your gloves, and another on a ring, plus 10% in paragon, and 15% from dual wielding, then this adds up to 7 + 7 + 10 + 15 = 39%.
So now, your attack with your MW that had a 7% roll on it is going to be 1.39 * 1.39 = 1.9321, shown as 1.93 on your character sheet. And if in the other hand you have a sword, with a base 1.40 aps, this will move up to 1.40 * 1.39 = 1.946, shown as 1.95 on your character sheet.
Anyway, to get around to actually answering your question: YES, to have both better Frenzy breakpoints and WOTB sync, you need to find quadfecta gloves. They don’t need to have perfect rolls, though. Mine have only 6% AS (and aren’t ancient), and this is fine. Even 5% is fine, as you only need to get to 12% total AS rolls on your armor. And even if both your gloves and a ring had only 5%, you can still take the Enchantress, whose “Focused Mind” ability adds 3%.
Also: you don’t really want AS on your AZ. It doesn’t help you, as it doesn’t get you to the next breakpoint. AS on OK = good, AS on AZ = useless.
So, to recap, in an ideal situation, you want:
5 rolls of CDR, not all need to be perfect
AS roll on OK
2 rolls of AS on armor (neither needs to be perfect)
For you in particular, until you find quad gloves, you’ll have to choose between having the right amount of CDR and the right amount of AS. Keep in mind, too, that if you don’t have that 2nd AS roll on your armor, then the 1st one isn’t doing you any good either, and you’d be better off with AD or damage range in that spot. And if you fall below the 46.67% CDR breakpoint, then the same thing is true for those CDR rolls: If you’re missing one of them, then two other rolls aren’t doing you much good, and you’d be better off with different rolls in those spots.
I know that’s confusing… let me know if you need more clarification.
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Hi Rage
So helpful. I didn’t know difference between AS on sword vs mace vs mighty weapon.
So I think I will focus on CDR first as I have the gear. I will keep searching for OK with 7 AS and 10 CDR first before switching to quadfecta gloves.
I assume in off meta group the AS from BBV will push my AS into next breakpoint .
Thank you and I’ll keep pushing!
Thank you
Re: BBV:
Yeah, that’s 15% AS, and will definitely get you there!
Am I doing something wrong or d3Planner is not considering the 300-400% damage from the undisputed champion belt? Trying to compare my normal one (464 str/400% frenzy) against a ancient one (617 str/380% frenzy/3.6% freeze) with potential 500+ str from caldesan.
Give me a D3 planner link to your current build and I can help you out.
Edit: nevermind, I found it.
The ancient belt will cost you 4% damage from a lower affix, but will gain you about 4.25% damage from added Str (assuming a 550 point augment). The value of the extra Str will go down as your paragon goes up, though.
Bottom line is that both belts are pretty good, and about equal.
this is it: _https://www.d3planner.com/856391775
Ooops. Just saw your reply! Thanks!