Support & ZBuilds

So, over in another thread I said some things about playing Support and ZBuilds, derailing the thread.

I want to ask the community about their thoughts on Zbuilds and playing Support. I do not question their usefullness, that would be crazy, but I’m wondering wether they SHOULD be such a big part of the multiplayer mode. I believe (but I could be completely wrong) that most players do not like to play them and would rather be a bada$$ DPS, RGK or TK. Also, why aren’t there more or indeed any dedicated support skills, Legendaries, sets if this was intended to be such a huge part of the game? There are some skills, but I just don’t think it was intended to have Zbuilds and believe that most players that play Zbuilds do so because they can’t get to the highest levels if they don’t (150 gems, More para). I know I have, just to get the 150’s for my solo builds and augments.

So, how do we FEEL about playing Z or Support? Do we enjoy it? Should it be required? Is there a way to make it (more) enjoyable? I’m really curious about what people think.

I will not and never have played a support character. It is counter-intuitive and antithetical to the concept of Diablo, overall. Also, it would require a 4-man group and I refuse to play with any randos.

Its great and fun to play, especially zbarb since you can move/drag elites. Adding more overall dmg to a team is the name of the game. You can make literally any kind of Z, but the better ones are Barb, DH, Necro, Monk.

2 man, 3 man or 4 man. DeadlyMouse is incorrect in his opinion. You can play in a 2 man group and help group up, give IP and provide DD through blind mechanics. This is a team mentality compared to solo mentality. You either have it or you don’t.

I want to take a moment to reply early to this.

I love playing support.

I am a WD main so back in the day creating Health Globes with 0Dog and combining it with Tiklandian/Horrify was amazing for me personally.

However While I do love support and support… support? - I also must agree with the logic from DeadlyMouse that having a ‘forced’ entire support character role in every 4-man meta group in Diablo as a series is indeed counter-intuitive.

It’s a game design concept more in line with an MMO VS an Action-RPG.

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So nice to hear from people who like playing support.

So, if I want to really try it and get your level of enjoyment from it… Which builds do you recommend when starting out? I hear zbarb is very effective, but also actually really hard. So what would be a support build that is easy to learn and fun in its way?

ZDH would be a good start. It is pretty simple to play.

It brings high dps for the group through Odysseys End. Multishot with Ice blink for 18% additional crit on enemies. There is a speed version and a push version. It super simple to play even in hard core.

You could try zbarb as well for speeds at start.

Znec is fun as well, but mostly used in rat runs.

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Yeah BigG is right. Try using ZDH for starters. It is quite simple to play in speeds. Big thing when wearing nems is to wait for all players or at least DPS to get pylons (power).

Build & maintain Momentum stacks throughout the rift for max move speed. Keep enemies chained so the dmg buff is applied through Odyssey End. Multishot when you stop on Elites.

When running speeds the idea is to go from elite pack to elite pack or big trash pack. Shoot multishot on the mobs when stopped. The debuff from the skill and Ice blink last 3 seconds so every 3 seconds MS will need to be reapplied. It is best to get into the habit of using the skills every few seconds when stopped. Use Wolf companion on cooldown usually when you stop so the dps are with you.

I played some zDH during S25 and have done a little zBarb on non-seasonal. While I mostly play solo I liked switching to support occasionally to keep things fresh.

And I’ll add my vote with other comments to start with zDH, it is pretty easy to play, there are several variants, and it can be very tanky so you won’t be dying all the time.

ZBarb has a bit of a learning curve on how to actually play it effectively in real rifts (guides help, but there’s a difference between theory and practice), but executing it isn’t super-difficult once you’ve gotten used to how it works.

to put it in rather simple terms -

if i wanted to play an mmo, id play an mmo.
but this is ‘Diablo’.
not ‘World of Diablo’.
(hope you get my point)

the only way i “support” anyone on d3 is giving friends free gear / gold via mail. they seem to like it, and as long as they’re satisfied, I’m satisfied.

edit:
just tossin in an example of “mail support” - i actually was playing in hardcore recently, had a friend having trouble with stayin alive.

gave a full marauder set, plus an elusive ring.
(i was saving in case my own DH faceplanted the ground). it was cool to see them making progress.

just my bit of input i guess.

Zbarb is by far the most fun role to play in groups(except in RATS). You are the leader of the group. You are responsible were to fight and when to move on. Constantly drag new mobs to the pack. Ground stomp on the DPS COE element and keep all your buffs up.
Last few seasons wizards been dominating on console as DPS. The play style is incredible booring thought. Literally standing still being immortal holding all the buttons.
Be a good DPS is all about gear and paragon. Be a good zBarb is about skill and game knowledge.

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