So just for farming the new weapons I for the first time tried monk.
I used Ianna set as it’s kindof pets like WD.
I only have one ancient item and ehtreal weapon.
That is bracers that OMG gives 50% damage reduction after using any spirit regenerating hit!!!
And then I have the offhand that gives 40% damage reduction after teleporting forward.
And skills that gives 40% increase to all elmental reduction and 35% dodge and 20% damge reduction to all but physical damage.
This set then together with mantle of channeling and goggoks switness I more or less can’t die on T16.
If I stand in 3 frost on floor that explodes my monk takes like 25% damage.
My WD in ancient gear would be killed, unless full stack of lacumba and even then he would be at 1-2% life with at least 4-5 ancients.
Standing in a big blob that exoplodes my monk took 50% damage. This kills my WD outright in same kind of gear.
I’m only at paragapn 600, but the differance is insane and as WD I even run with level 60 damage reduction gem and gogok at level 40 or so.
Where are WD DR items. So as a monk who died maybe at RG in something like 2 seconds I have 90+ % damage reduction and some 40+ dodge.
As WD if you at gear that is pushing T16 and you die a RG it’s game over, if enough time to need to go to other area and get the lacumba stacks before going back to RG.
This is joke.
I also tried the tempest rush set and it’s a bit less powerful in DR but it does more damage and with the right ehtreal it will be as powerful in DR as Ianna set.
Can we get something like this also as long any pet hits enemy we take 50% less damage.
and as long as we have tick going or channeling we get 40% dodge. I mean this is just not fair. 
Short answer: nowhere.
WD is like the child that blizzard never wanted…
For a more detailed response:
- You might want to try using unity (+ one on merc)
- Try using aquila cuirass (works for darts build… dunno if usable for spirit barrage too)
- Try some defensive passives… gruesome feast, jungle fortitude and zombie handler for example
- Try using soul harvest with armor rune… gives +50% armor (100% with sacred harvester)
- Try using fear with frightening aspect rune… gives another +50% armor
- Try pairing ice climbers boots with stone gountles (ice climbers negate all disadvantages of the gloves, leaving you with up to +250% to armor buf
- Try socketing rubies - very effective with the previously mentioned 3 points
- Try using wildebeest’s gizzard (best defensive gem immo)
- If T16 is all you want to survive, you can just replace your defensive gem with boon of the hoarder and put on goldwrap belt together, and you are essentially immortal. Put avarice band ring power in cube for even more survivability and quality of life.
With that i can speed run GR100 with a darts build using LoD… GR110 is my max currently on seasonal HC. I would say about GR120 is the most you can reliably clear with this build, without farming paragon level 2000+ or playing recklessly dangerous GR levels and fishing for nice pylons.
The point is not that I can’t do T16 and survive the point is that as WD our options is more or less only things that is available for every other class including monk.
Why is monk not forced to use gizzard, aquila, unity ?
If I would put aquila, unity on my monk also he would end up having something like 99% DR.
I challenge you to try and get that kind of DR on WD and with the Ianna set and water mystic monk is not even melee class any more since their skill will travel as far as any ranged class and it goes all way through pack of mobs. So it pierces too.
Imo this monk set is just OP I don’t think even necro sets come close to this.
As i said, Blizzard doesn’t care much for the WD. Mostly because the players play the Monk more. Therefore as Blizzard sees it, Monk = $$$ and WD = $. So Blizz likes the Monk more.
Is that just and fair? Of course not. But few things in life are…
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As best I can see, you are using the Zuni set. Zuni is very squishy, especially early in a rift when you don’t yet have the max number of fetishes, which Zuni’s uses to reduce damage.
I looked at your WD characters as of Friday night, 8/13. I have a few suggestions:
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With the Zuni set, the best defense is a good offense. You are missing the Dagger of Darts weapon and the Carnevil helm. These are must haves for Zuni in high level rifts. I repeat, must haves. You should use your blood shards to gamble for these, if you have shards.
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Use Carnevil and the Mask of Jeram (put one or the other in the Cube.) If you’re missing one of those, in the interim, use Leoric’s Crown in Kanai’s Cube to get the gem buff, and use an Amethyst in your headpiece.
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Zuni is a ranged attack set. You have the Firebats skill. Lose it, it’s a close range skill that is contra-indicated for the Zuni set. Better choices are Piranhado or Hex (less mana expensive than Piranhado, but inferior), or Horrify (less mana expensive than Piranhado, but inferior). These are crowd control skills let you attack and take less damage.
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I am not a fan of the Short Man’s Finger, I don’t think the Gargy Zombie Dog does enough damage. If you have a pair of Unity rings, use them instead.
I know the darts are better I just don’t like the playstyle.
And as thrash are now there really isn’t really any “ranged” build that can avoid damage.
It’s impossible to avoid all damage.
The zuni set dungeon shows how it could be used and that would work quite well if there would be a change to the set. 6 piece set bonus no ranged enemies in rifts or GRs 
Myri, I don’t mean to say that one can avoid damage. I’m saying that Zuni builds using Fetish pets and Poison Darts are the best build for Zuni. Using pets and darts does get you out of range of melee attacks, and that is a defensive strategy for limiting damage.
Certainly you can use another play style, but it will be challenging (as you acknowledge), and there aren’t many (any?) items that will facilitate those alternative styles. But hey, take it to the max as much as you can.