Gr 125 1.4k paragon. 650 paragon on vitality. 600k Hp. I am starting to feel like rampage is better than nerves of steel. Wish i had more paragon to test CoE variants and etc. Build really is amazing. Still having a blast this season before going back to my DH next season. ^^
5 Likes
S20 - GR115, 11:21, and it was a horrible set of maps/elites, 966 Paragon.
Pretty happy with that as my goal was 110 solo.
4 Likes
Rampage is our #1 passive and should always be taken. It buffs with strength so it helps offense and defense.
This is a clear of GR 120 (3:03 to spare) with IB’s and ItF. I’m beginning to think that my 122 clear was me pushing 
. I’m still not sure the best way to play this setup. I dropped WotB/IP/BoM a few times, I’m not a very disciplined player. Sorry about the sound, not sure what I did wrong there.
Setup:
https://www.d3planner.com/818711250
Edit: Here’s a change that might improve this setup. Switch out IAS on IB’s for LoH. Equip Lamentations and cube Mantle. Finally, exchange IP for Falter or Killing Spree.
https://www.d3planner.com/869501817
1 Like
https://www.d3planner.com/663888518
My Barb’s,
I just cleared a GR 120 w/ 2:58 to spare using the above edit version of IB’s/ItF (and it was a horrendous set of maps on my first try). The previous version took about five keys of phishing to get the right conditions for a clear.
3 Likes
IB’s/ItF GR 121 3:03 to spare.
https://www.d3planner.com/663888518
3 Likes
Grats on the clear, but I think you’re at the stage where Ancient Spear / Rage Flip is going to get you a good few GR levels purely because of grouping multiple packs up next to a Conduit. Also, unless I just missed it being done, there didn’t seem to be a lot of hard-cast Rends being used in density.
1 Like
I only hard-cast two or three time, if that. I saw noticed that I was getting good progression without it.
Thx, I don’t really enjoy Flip Rage, but maybe I can switch out Falter for Flip Rage. I can give that a try.
Finally able to do a decent GR124 NS with like more than 4 minutes left. Such a shame it was only 124. I’m pretty sure I can achieve up to 127/128 but I’m still noob with rage flip and hell of unlucky with Pylons…
1 Like
Hard cast Rends benefit from Area Damage. So, in density, it’ll really ramp up your damage and clear big packs a lot quicker which, if you’ve grouped them up with Spear, will really improve the clearance times.
Good luck.
1 Like
I’m going to try IB’s/ItF/CC to see what happens.
classical mistakes made:
a) u fought on the first elite pack allthough it was the only one. instead u should have aggroed it and moved forward to the next pack to built up densitiy
b) as u moved forward u insta clicked the Lightning pylon. this should allwys be avoided. instead u should have gathered up at least threee elites and wohle lotta trash to get a huge density and xp buff
1 Like
You’re right. Unfortunately, I not a disciplined player, in any case, thanks for the tips. I’m going to work on that.
1 Like
The thing about swapping stats for LpF or LpH is that it doesn’t really make the build stronger, more efficient, or offer an alternative style of play. All you’re really doing is swapping a few runes around, but the optimal play style is still going to be the same: group several screens of density, hard-cast, and drag what’s left to the next multi-screen bloodbath.
I always encourage folks to play the build in the way they enjoy playing it–first and foremost, the game should be fun, and however you achieve it, A-friggin’-men. But I think it’s worth looking at “variants” and asking whether or not they actually do anything, or whether they’re just different ways to roll gear and select runes.
The optimal way to play is always going to involve hard-casts (since that’s all that procs AD) and Rage Flip (best grouping skill in the game). After that, it’s just about working with what you have on hand. Lots of setups function, but many of those are less efficient, less powerful, or less convenient than the more widely-used (optimal) setups discussed in the guide.
So, while I do endorse trying things out and having fun, I also ask players to consider whether they’re actually doing something different, or just exploring something that, ultimately, will lead them back to the established setups.
You can see the limitations on healing in your video. Your health globe is all over the place, even with Wrath and Band of Might active. Compare that to my 125:
And note that in my video, I’m also combatting game-crashing lag, which means my healing is even more erratic than normal.
1 Like
Thank you Free for your input and thank you and everyone for celebrating my quirky accomplishments with me, it mean a lot to me.
3 Likes
WW/Rend: IB’s/ItF/CC:
https://www.d3planner.com/875805828
https://youtu.be/SulO6FNFK4E
I think I found a winner. Cleared GR 122 (Rank 568 and for the first time w/o phishing) with 38 seconds to spare. I did hard-cast as well. And yes, I recognize that I made some major mistakes, your welcome to point them out if you’d like (I’m sure it will help me in the future). I died three times. The first was because the kids broke my concentration, the last two consecutive time was because my called my me and she broke my concentration (scouts honor).
I did a clear of GR 121 (Rank 599) @ 4:55. It was a good rift according to my standard and I did make a few mistakes. The biggest mistake in this clear was that I failed to record it. 
Hey y’all: Been lots of clears posted lately, and I just want say: NICE WORK!
I haven’t been around much due to writing my dissertation, but I do stop in every day and read posts. And to folks like Dallo, Meteor, Phoenix, Blayze, and Diehard, keep pushing, and keep posting your clears!
I’ll try to post more constructive feedback soon.
1 Like
I want to offer some constructive feedback on the clear. First off, nice work! You had two really crappy floors to contend with, but you did a good job of getting through them. You also had a good RG fight–very controlled, very well-executed.
That said, there are some points to consider. First, if you’re not going to use Rage Flip (or, at the very least, Demoralize), there’s no point in using Into the Fray. Remember, Into the Fray increases your CHC based on the number of nearby enemies. The more enemies you pack tightly around you, the more you benefit from ItF. But very often, you’re fighting lone elites, or small groups of trash, and thus you’re not really getting much benefit from taking ItF over Swords to Ploughs.
I also think you need to reconsider Rage Flip. See where you’re at by 2 minutes into the video? You should have been there, elites and trash in tow, 15 seconds into the map. And you could have done that with Rage Flip. GR 122 at your Paragon and main stat is not an issue–you’re going to clear lots of them regardless of the setup you use. But as you push higher, grouping becomes more and more important, because you need to make lots of progress in a very small window of time. There are two factors that will influence your ability to do that: grouping and density. You can’t influence the latter, but you can control the former.
To an extent, Demoralize also works, but it doesn’t let you pull from across the screen, and it won’t let you move elites and big clumps of trash as quickly. I’m not sure why you’re hesitant about Rage Flip, but it’s only going to improve your clears.
I don’t think Overpower is a good fit for the build because, again, you’re not grouping effectively, and the benefits you are receiving from Killing Spree are not being optimized. It’s also overkill when coupled with ItF; if you effectively group density, ItF alone will probably cap your CHC, and Killing Spree’s bonus is wasted. I would drop Overpower for Rage Flip or Demoralize.
Finally, you’re using Crimson’s, but I’m not sure why. The Crimson’s variant only does more damage than the Core build when you can afford to trade Band of Might for CoE. Right now, you’re doing less damage than you would with the Core build. I encourage you to switch back to the Core build.
Hard-cast Rends should be used precisely and carefully–ideally when you’re in an Oculus with significant density. Again, if you don’t group density, you aren’t getting much benefit from hard-cast Rends.
Finally, let’s talk about Life per Hit. You have 5 Life per Hit rolls that could be traded for the following stats:
- Helm: Vitality
- Ring: CHC, CHD, or CDR
- Slanderer: AD
- Rogue: CDR
- Bracer: Vitality
So, you’ve traded approximately 1600+ Vitality, 10-18% CDR, and 24-48% AD for Life per Hit.
If you ask me, that’s a bad trade. Just the extra AD alone will, in dense maps, make up for more than ItF’s damage, and Swords to Ploughs is likely going to make it easier to survive. Switching back to the Core build and dropping the Life per Hit rolls is going to free up more Vitality, more CDR, and more damage via AD.
I think it’s an interesting experiment, and it can definitely go higher (and should at your Paragon), but I’m not sure why you would want to do it this way when it doesn’t offer any difference in game play (and is less efficient overall to play).
1 Like
Some observations on Ambos/Doom vs IB after a few hours of GRs today:
IB feels smoother and tankier than Ambo. The smoothness I’m guessing is attributable to wind shear vs blood funnel/weapon master and the IAS bonus. I feel pretty vulnerable with Ambos and def hit the Ground Stomp more often (not necessarily a bad thing since I use FnR).
I would have expected Ambo to hit harder given the Furnace and extra Phys dmg on Doom, but to be honest it’s not that noticeable. I am not sure the extra cube slot and stats from Doom outweigh the 30% dmg buff from IB. If it does, it’s very marginal.
For speed GRs I like Ambos because I “feel” like I’m hitting harder but that’s probably just my imagination and I also prefer Blood Funnel (which is noticeably superior to Swords/Ploughshares).
Hypothetically, if the DPS advantage to Ambos is real, it would require a super dense rift to for the Ambo set to pull ahead of IB imo. I think for 95% of the GRs we’ll see, IB will outperform (which is what the data on the ladder suggests)
1 Like
Just a question. Why the enchantress as your follower? Normally she’s only taken for her Attack Speed aura, but the build doesn’t really benefit from AS. Taking the Templar gives you some healing, and you have increased fury generation.
1 Like