Hello all,
I’ve been posting in here quite a bit lately so I apologize for the abundance of posts and dumb questions, still learning!
I’m looking to learn more about Builds. I’ve been playing with a couple people who keep mentioning “you need builds,” or “check out Builds and how to make them” but I have no idea how, so I figured I’d give the Forums a shot.
Any help would be much appreciated! Thank you!
Hello,
As a start, I suggest you have a look at the D3 builds described on the icy-veins website
Mouse-over the Class you’re interested in and click on a build guide you might want to look over. (Note: Make sure you click on the links for all three pages to see detailed information on a particular build).
Same thing here. The most popular and recent builds are shown. Or you can click on a Class to see recent, popular build guides for that Class. You can also click on the View all Builds button to see a list of all the builds. However, keep in mind that some of those builds may be outdated. The good thing is: All the information is contained on one page. There may be gameplay videos embedded, which can be helpful.
Lol was explaining the game to my sister and she said “but what are these builds you keep talking about?” Builds are a combination of skills and items that produce good results. As noted above there are several resources to look at for builds for each class.
There are several people on YT that explain in detail how the build works, what skills and why with videos of gameplay as well. Id highly recommend Bluddshed, Raxxanterax, Wudijo, Lord Fluffy (mostly Necromancer) & Filthy Casual.
‘Builds’ is just the word used to make sure all your skills and gear (along with assorted stats) are all working in sync with each other.
For example - if you are playing a Demon Hunter and you are wearing the Unhallowed Essence set (which gives bonuses to your Multishot) you want to be using a Yang’s Recurve Bow and a Dead Mans Legacy quiver because those work ‘in sync’ with the Multishot skill. You wouldn’t be using a Karlei’s Point dagger and a Holy Point Shot quiver and the Impale skill with that armor set.
Also you want the stats on your gear to match your skills. Using the above Unhallowed Essence set you want to make sure your helm has +% Multishot damage on it, instead of, say, +% Sentries damage. You don’t use Sentries with that armor set, so go to Mystic and change that if needed.
Likewise with the Unhallowed Essence you wouldn’t wear Zoey’s Secret belt as it works with DH pets. Pets are used with Marauders / Natalya’s armor set.
Those are just some examples, there are myriad combos that go into making a ‘build’.
Hope I haven’t confused you. Just make sure your gear, skills, passive skills, legendary gems and Kanai Cube choices all work in harmony with each other instead of being all over the place and not complimenting each other.
Edit: Technically you could just throw on a bunch of random pieces that have nothing to do with each other and it would still be considered a ‘build’. Just not a very good one.
Everything posted above is true.
But, a build is anything you play the game with.
For example: In Seasons that have the Conquests, The Thrill/Super Human, I collect Legendary items for all gear Slots. I replace them with Ancient items as I find them. (Not necessarily the same items). At the same time, I level a Legacy of Dreams Gem to Rank 50, at least.
By the time I’m ready to run Greater Rift 45 Solo, with no Set items equipped, I don’t worry whether the items complement each other or not. I don’t waste currency on enchanting any of their Properties. I don’t even change my Skills (Active or Passive). I only try to get as many Ancient items as I can before I run the GRift.
This is still a build. Some would call it an LoD build. But, it is not based on any Set items or Skills. And it allows me to successfully complete a Season Conquest.
Their information is correct and very good, but I will go one step further back in case you are old like me and semi-skilled on a computer. If you want more information on anything related to Diablo 3 just do a Google or Bing search. The “best build” always depends on the current version of the software that Blizzard is using. So if you search “Diablo 3 Best Builds” find a recent YouTube video or the information will be out of date. Many of the YT videos will be related to the seasons (each season last about 3-4 months and lets you start a new character/s). Season 21 ends 11/8/20. Soon there will be a slew of YT videos recommending best builds for Season 22. Aside from YT video, there are websites devoted to explaining and illustrating different builds. If you know what character class (Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Crusader, Wizard, Necromancer, Monk) you want to play you search for “Diablo 3 best Barbarian build” and you will be directed to a ton of sites discussing such builds. Of course much of the game then consists of trying to find the gear you need to equip your character for the build you want to play. If you are uncertain what character you want to play there will soon be YT videos out discussing which character classes will be the strongest and weakest in season 22. If you are new try playing a variety of character classes and see which ones you like. Hope you enjoy the game.
True, but it won’t be an effective one.
Even in builds using the Legacy of Dreams (gem) or Legacy of Nightmares (ring set) if you want to do higher level content with them you need specific legendaries due to them boosting damage of particular skills and/or elemental damage types, and preferably ancient as that gives a bigger damage / mitigation multiplier. Sure, putting random stuff on will work for a GR45, but that’s such a trivial level that pretty much anything will work. You won’t get away with just random equipment if you try a GR100.
You are absolutely correct. My point was that, by definition, a build is simply how you “build” your Character.
You could play your Character “naked” and that would be a build. Of course, at a certain Character Level you’d get 1-shot by trash mobs, even on Normal Difficulty.
Probably the best advice.
The forum can be absolutly the right spot for builds. Especially if you are going to play a barb, the builds in the forum are way more detailed, better explained and with more in-depth knowledge than on icy-veins etc.
A good starting point may also be Youtube and one of the streamers.
plain and simple explained step by step: Raxxanterax + Bluddshed
more in detail and with probably more knowledge behind: Wudijo
or you just do it by yourself, read the set-descriptions and experiment with the ingame-mechanics and then ask questions on the forum if you are unsure about certain interactions. Probably the best way
Thanks for all the help, everyone! I’ve been trying to do some research (watching videos, reading, etc.) to try and figure out how to do these builds.
Here’s where I’m at, and maybe you all can tell me whether or not I should be going about it this way or not: essentially, what I’ve been doing is GR’s, Rifts, Bounties, using Kanai’s Cube and the Blacksmith to upgrade items to try and get Legendary items, and so forth.
What I do, is if I loot an item and it’s better than what my character currently has, I equip it. I’m assuming this is not the kind of “build” that I want?
I’ve been looking at IcyVeins and see a bunch of builds. How do I go about getting those items other than just getting lucky and getting them via loot?
Thanks for all the help!
Most of the items are dropped randomly.
A useful tool is enchanting items at Mystic. If you find an item is “almost” what you want, roll one useless affix to something more fit to your build.
Kanai’s cube is another way to get an item. The “upgrade legendary from rare item” is very helpful tool.
Only a few items are craftable and can only be crafted. e.g. on the game guide of Repeaer’s Wraps, it shows “Plan”, “Cost”, “Materials” information. I.e, it is a craftable item and you need to search about how to find the plan and materials.
Some items can only get from bounty cache. (See game guide about bounty).
If you don’t know where to find a specific item, you can Google it, e.g. “D3 Yang”. Hints about the “Yang” bow will be listed.
If you still can’t find the information, you can post questions on the forum. Many players are willing to answer.
The seasonal journey is a good tutorial of learning the game. The quests lead you to most useful features of the game.
That depends. If you are playing a Barb, for example, and you are using the Immortal Kings set - if a chest piece for the Might of the Earth set drops (or Goldskin, Auguilla’s Cuirass, Tyraels Might, etc…) even if it gives better stats than the IK chest piece you have on, you wouldn’t equp it because then you (might) lose the set bonuses for having 2,4,6 pieces. Edit: But, by all means, if an item drops of the same type of item you are using that is an upgrade, swap it out.
Same with weapons. Say you are wielding the Istvans Paired Blades - you are getting the bonuses from using both as a set. If an Echoing Fury drops, even if it gives higher damage than one of the Blades, don’t put it on because then you lose the set bonus.
Also some legendary items give +% on certain skills. If a new item of the same type drops, make sure to keep that number in mind. It may give more +strength but less % on the legendary skill, so keep those sort of factors in mind also.
Those + or - numbers at the bottom of the item window when comparing items is just a guide. Don’t equip an item based solely on those. Consider the over all affect.
As for getting the items, that’s sort of the whole point of the game - killing and looting and getting gear. Also using Kadala and the cube. Sometimes you find what you are after, sometimes you don’t. Keep trying.
begin to understand why you need a build . look at a set you want to play and then look at what it gives high damage for. mundunugus WD gives high damage for spirit barrage for example so you want that as your signature spell probably… a signature spell is the one that will do most of your killing. then you need some buffs to protect you from damage or give you speed. a “build” is like a cooking recipe. you can religiously follow someone elses formula or use that formula as a framework and tweak it by trying small adjustments off the main theme to suit your play style. i would recommend the latter as so many experts dont know what they are doing.
Hi jawedig9, welcome to D3 
I took a quick look at your characters, and for your level this is pretty much the way to go. While you are improving your character and skills, you will want to keep your eye our for certain items.
Here is a good guide for the beginning Demon Hunter:
https://www.icy-veins.com/d3/demon-hunter-leveling-and-fresh-70-guide
And here is a good intro video for D3 in general
At this point in your journey you are learning how skills work and how your gear interacts. Have fun and experiment. What you learn now will really help with your future game play.
Those are his old heroes from 7 months ago - I know, I was helping him at that time. Yes, he was a beginner then. He is now playing on console and is much farther along.