True... RoT indeed is a lifesaver <3 not only does it proc LoH but if u hv any other % chance to it will also proc it very frequently. In my case i use Echoing Fury wpn and in solo play the % to fear proc almost all the time on any mob u target (useful to spread elite pack apart n pick em 1 by 1 .. also by careful positioning i am able to "fear" tough eites/warden to a corner@spot where my garg/bruiser will constantly stun, my templar bashing all the while it hv the skull on its head unable to do anything). It also can be used to safe your @$$ for example if u r jailed u can fear them away when they close in on u. If u r using a weapon w/out % chance, u can try experiment using gloves with % chance affix (ive tried some & found % to stun @ immobilise helpful). Best part is u will nvr go oom using RoT as compared to Acid Rain.

Tested!! Worked like a charm
Luckily i found an Azurewrath few week back (at first decided to sell or brim) but tried to give it to my Templar and found out that he ocassionally freeze mobs which make it easier for me to hit it with bear. It has been on my Templar eversince.
After reading the earlier post i decided to give it a try using it as my own weapon. And here are some results:

1st Test (using just my 10.4% chance to freeze Azurewrath)
- Tested on Phase Beast in core & Demonic Tremor in Keep 3; enemy gets frozen 70-80% of the time while using RoT, switched to Acid Rain and get approximately same result but larger AoE radius means more mobs gets frozen. However it is mana intensive (cannot spam like RoT) since white mobs die anyways and only tough elites with high hit point that needed to be frozen i stuck to using RoT (still hv a small AoE radius which can freeze 2-3 targets that are packed together)

I decided to buy an Azurewrath with higher %chance to freeze, so i browsed the AH (sniped 1 with 14.4% and higher dps than mine .. i think 15% is the max) and got the idea of trying to see if %chance to freeze will proc w/out using Azurewrath (belts n ammy hv that %CtF). So i buyout a Tal's Brace with 3.1%CtF.

2nd Test (using just 3.1%CtF Tal's Brace + Sun Keeper)
- Tested on an elite pack Demonic Tremor in Keep 3; CtF proc very low .. i would say less than 30-40% of the time.

3rd Test (using 14.4%CtF Azure & 3.1%CtF Tal's Brace)
- Tested on same subject as above (i switched wpn b4 they r dead); almost 90% proc

After all the testing i decided to just run with the 14.4% Azure and gave my old 10.4% Azure to my Templar (dps drop of almost 20k but very effective crowd control). Decided against using Tal's Brace as it will further drop my dps if i didnt use my Witching (need the ias to freeze lock effectively anyways). Made a tour of Field of Slaughter where in the past i kept getting chased and owned by elite pack of Demonic Tremor .. this time around i managed to keep them frozen RoT (Freeze) > Bears > RoT (while waiting mana regen) > Bears = gg

p/s: The weapon will repel undead affix on Azure is also handy especially in places like Keep. So damn funny to see the mobs gets knocked back away from me n my templar (no more getting swarmed by undeads). Will test this build on Ubers tonite and will post the results later.

This post has been edited by Gecko: Nov 12 2012, 06:53 PM

Gear Setup to try out the freeze build:

Sniped an Azurewrath 8xx dps with 14.4% FoH (max is 922 dps 15% FoH) @ 1 mil
Buyout The Star of Azkaranth ammy with 3.7% FoH @ 4 mil
Buyout Tal Rasha Brace belt with 3.1% FoH @ 3.5 mil (best belt would be Witching with % FoH @ any rare with ias & % FoH)

Total spend = 8.5 mil > 21.2% FoH



Tested on mp3 solo play & mp5 coop/party play: mobs frozen 80-90% of the time. Acid Rain for large mobs & RoT on single targets.
Skills for mana management: Blood ritual passive, Spirit Walk - mana regen rune & Horrify - mana regen rune.
Gameplay: Acid Rain until about 1/2 @ 2/3 mana pool > SW closer to remaining mob & use Horrify .. rinse n repeat ... if few mobs left @ mana low switch to RoT.

Having some LoH gear in the setup would be a lifesafer. I have around 700-800 LoH from pants & rings.

This post has been edited by Gecko: Nov 13 2012, 04:07 AM

Just found a ToTD



If anybody interested in getting this item i'm willing to let it go at a cheap (below AH) price.

@snoopyguy
Yes.. uber bosses do get frozen altho the freeze time on ubers are noticeably much shorter as compared to elites @ white mobs.

@whyseej00

I'm also a newbie with only 2 mths D3 playing experience, WD being the 2nd toon i rolled after DH. I am surely no sifu but willing to provide some help n insight based on my own experience. However i'm not sure what specific advice ure looking for.. if gear upgrade is what u meant then i would highly suggest that your next upgrade should be Zuni's boots (provide damage from % to poison, high intel, vitality and most importantly MS which u seem to be lacking). Try to look for one with at least some AR Roll (can be expensive) or physical resist (helpful to mitigate RD elites) or cheaper option is health from globe (makes using health pot very efficient in those emergency situations). Since u already hv the helm, getting the boots will also grant u the set bonus of 130 intel.

I'd be happy to help if u hv any more questions regarding gearing @ build diversity. I also have some old gears & some extra newly found wd gears (which will be an upgrade to ur current gear) that i am willing to loan (so u can try it out to see if it fits ur playstyle) @ sell at a lower than AH price.

This post has been edited by Gecko: Nov 16 2012, 09:18 AM

Another alternative to gain back mana fast is using Poison Dart - Spined Dart (29 mana per target hit). I usually use it (damage is low but just for mana recovery) during ubers. It works pretty well with my "freeze build" as PD/SD has a high proc rate (2.0), it keeps the uber boss frozen while i spam Bears (PD/SD = freeze lock + mana regen, Bears = damage). I can take care of ZK while my party member finish of SB. Hex-Jinx is also a good skill to hv as it 80% of the time will perma-hex ZK disabling him from casting spells.

For more info regarding WD skills & its proc coefficient rate:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key...ZJcHdkN0E#gid=3
(Credit goes to ZzEzZ from Premiere)

@2890

Thanks bro ... the ward is self-found (Act 2 Warden drop) but the chest was bought from AH for 14M (lucky snipe last min hehe). Personally i like my belt on my WD the most (also a self-found lucky drop).

Fastest way to get high dps is to use an open socket weapon (preferably 900 dps n above.. put in at least a 70% CHD emerald) with Critical Hit Damage% roll (50% n above) then get as much Critical Hit Chance% on your jewelry (rings n ammy), gloves, helms (rare helms with CC quite cheap @ use andariel visage), bracers (lacuni with CC is expensive but strongarm @ any rare will do), pants (inna will cost u quite a sum).

Getting an open socket + CHD 1h-weapon with Lifesteal roll will be very expensive though. From my own experience even a max 3% LS on weapon wont be enough to mitigate RD on higher MP when using Bears. So better get one with LoH (or stack LoH via jewelry)... RoT procs LoH very high and u can use it on RD elites (ocassionally use Bears when SW is up).

From your current gear setup i can see that you are stacking MF%, if farming for items is your fancy then i suggest get this weapon...



Switch your rings n ammy to those that gives CC, MF from Sun Keeper should make up for it. My own WD can farm items on MP3 with 400%MF efficiently using this weapon.
You might also want to give the Gruesome Feast/Grave Injustice build a try as its a good synergy skill set that grants you mana regen/dps boost/cooldown reduction on skills. It will make your farming time faster.

This post has been edited by Gecko: Nov 18 2012, 11:35 PM

@whyseej00

I hv some suggestion regarding LoH stacking on WD gears:
- Unity ring with high intel roll (avg dmg + LoH + CC + %dmg to elite) perfect ring for WD or alternatively farm organs n craft until u get a Hellfire with at least LoH roll.
- Blackthorne Jousting Mail pants, the only pants that has LoH
- Ouroboros ammy (Intel + Vita + LoH + avg dmg + CC) is the best option with reasonable budget (i got mine for less than 5m). A similar rare ammy with same stats (only diff being the rare ammy has CHD too) will be in 7 figures range (i lost bid twice when the rare ammy bid went more than 50m).

My current gear setup grants me approximatey 1k LoH and its almost 0 to max health using a few Acid Rain spam (spamming RoT on SB on mp6 with health maintain at 100%)

This post has been edited by Gecko: Nov 19 2012, 01:32 PM

Any WD not using ToTD in need of pickup radius & boost in damage? Looking to trade this item with something of similar value (Tal's armor @ Nat's boots are 2 items on top of my wish list)

Imho WD has the most diversified builds possible to suit any occasion. I'm no expert but just to share my own experience and my personal builds which i find useful so far in my time playing my WD. My build revolves around switching my weapons (a socketed Echoing Fury for highest dps doing solo high mp key run, a socketed Sun Keeper for max MF doing solo xp/item run on mp0-3 & finally a 14.4& chance to freeze Azurewrath for uber runs @ high mp coop games). My other gears remians unchanged iwth the exception of my rings (hellfire when doing xp/item runs & Unity when doing ubers @ high mp games). I will briefly try to lay out my build and the reasons for choosing each skills.

1st of all i like to point out WD benefits more from LoH as compared to LS. Unless you're using 2-h wpn setup, 3% max LS on 1h-wpn wont be enough to mitigate RD on high mp games (try unleash your bears on RD elites when youre max buffed with SH & GF bonus and see how fast u die .. lolz). And we all know how much a high dps Skorn with LS can cost do we? So my builds will focus on 1-h + mojo setup. I prefer to stack LoH on other gears rather than the weapon itself bcos i will still hv LoH even when i switch weapon. My current LoH comes from pants, rings & ammy for a total of 1k LoH and its more than enough for any situation.

Build 1 (weapon=socketed echoing fury 1.1k dps; Total dps=110k)
This build i use for high mp solo games (usually key runs on mp5-6 bcos sumtime the fear proc of fury irritates party members in coop games)
Primary: RoT (fastest attack - insta hit due to no travel time, very high LoH proc to give u health & mitigate RD, can hit behind wall/obstacles etc)
Secondary: Bears (highest damage available to WD .. nuff said)
Skill 1: Spirit Walk/Honoured Guest (previously i used Jaunt but i find that HG gives u the much needed mana regen.. more explaination in playstyle)
Skill 2: Hex/Jinx (a new found skill i cant life w/out now as it gives dps > 20% dmg to hexed target, a crowd control utility in dicey situation)
Skill 3: Soul Harvest/Vengeful Spirit (dps booster + mini nuke from VS)
Skill 4: Gargantuan/Bruiser (i choose Bruiser for the constant stun my garg does which helps to keep target in place to hit it with bears)
Passives: Gruesome Feast (mana regen & dps from globes), Grave Injustice (life/mana regen + CD reduction), Pierce the Veil (dps boost)
I only have 10 mana regen per/second (i dont use my zuni helm for the xtra 20 mana regen from set bonus) from ToTD + mana regen from GF/GI and i rarely oom unless against tough elites @ RD elites (RD not so much as i dont spam bears on RD). A high mana pool will help greatly (i get mine from ToTD & rare helm).
Playstyle: I skip @ herd single/small number mobs into a larger pack .. once u hv/see a huge pack of mobs .. SW into middle of pack (approximately 1/3 in bcos ur bears will star coming from behind so to hv some mobs behind u will benefit this), hit hex (to hex some targets so that they get xtra 20% dmg from bears), hit SH (beng in middle of pack ensure u get 5 max target harvested for nice dps boost & VE give a mini nuke damage), unleash bears until u run out of mana (or u can save some mana .. u will still gain some mana back from the Honored Guest of SW). Bears will totally mow down if it was a white mob pack so u dont need to run back out into safety b4 SW duration is over but against Elites timing is key so that u still have ample time to get out to safety. Check ur dps sheet and u can see dat u hv gained 50-80% dps boost from SH & GF/GI combo .. your skills will also hv reduced CD so u can repeat this combo for next mob pack (SW, SH & hex having same CD time makes it perfect to chain this combo ... ive read some build utilising Horrify/Stalker which also useful > added armor + increase MS). Proceed to nxt pack of mobs and they will die much faster due to the increase of your dps. Repeat & Rinse.
Special situation: against RD elites u need to opt a diff tactic, only use bears when SW is up.. spam RoT from "safe" places such as behind walls/obstacles (this is helpful against elite with !@#$% affix such as Arcane). Against Vortex @ Teleport (or those nasty Phasebeast who can teleport behind u) u might want to skip using Hex but only use it when u get vortexed @ the mob teleport next to u.. hex hv saved me many times in such situations.
Extra tips: %Fear from Echoing Fury comes in very handy when u r about to get surrounded by mobs or when u r jailed. Using RoT and target closest mob to u will trigger fear and make it run away from u, so basically u can use this to your advantage by splitting tough mobs apart and focus to kill 1 by 1.

Build 2 (weapon=14.4%Chance to Freeze 8xx dps Azurewrath; Total dps=60k)
This build i mainly use for coop games doing Ubers @ key runs at high mp (unless theres already a perma-freeze CM wiz in party) and altho it has low dps it makes up for having a great crowd control by Freezing mobs regularly and almost "invincible" (from very low health to max in just few Acid Rain spam).
Primary: Poison Dart/Spined Dart (for fast mana regen .. 29 mana per hit but u have to do some kiting/positioning as compared to using RoT)
Secondary: Acid Cloud/Acid Rain (larger AoE = more ticks = more frozen mobs = more health gained from LoH procs.. also vry nice since u dont need to do precise aim compared to RoT).
Skill 1: Spirit Walk/Honoured Guest (instead of using it to get into mobs in this build it used to kite @ get out of dicey situation such as arcane sentries, molten etc .. and ofc the mana regen)
Skill 2: Hex/Jinx (same as above build but in the case of ubers .. u can solo ZK and keep him perma-hexed while your party members finish off SB .. your party members will love you for this as its also make killing any warden a piece of cake)
Skill 3: Bears (i left out SH as i dont SW into mobs and my dps is alrdy low so having bears add another damage dealer skill)
Skill 4: Gargantuan/Bruiser (same as above)
Passives: Bad Medicine (enemy deal 20% less dmg will benefit your whole party ... since ur attack are mainly poison and DoT attack dis will be triggered most of the time) @ u can use Jungle Fortitude if u want to, Blood Ritual (ive tried VQ b4 but find BR is more beneficial when it comes to mana management .. u also get life regen which helps), Spirit Vessel for uber runs (2nd life) Circle of Life for just key runs (to get free 3 zdog without having summon zdog on skill set)
Note: The highest amount of % Chance to Freeze can be obtained thru Azurewrath (15% max), The Star of Azkaranth (5% max) & Rare/Leg/Set belts (5% max ... witching hour with 5% is the best but good luck with that .. lolz). However from my own personal testing & play time i find that a high %FoH (12% n above) is enough to keep mobs frozen regularly (Acid Rain being a DoT make freeze occur more often.. even PD/SD triggers Freeze which i switch to when theres single target left.
Playstyle: Basically u run around mobs while spamming acid rain (time the attacks few seconds apart) to keep mob packs frozen while your party member n garg dps. When you are oom, stop at a safe place to use PD/SD n gain back mana. SW is used to get out of sticky situation and Hex helps too. When only few targets left u can focus on 1 target and use PD/SD (alternating with AR few sec apart) while keep spamming bear (spam bear when the target is hexed gives best result).

Build 3 (weapon=socketed Sun Keeper 1k dps with 43%MF; Total Dps=93k)
More or less the same skill sets as Build 1 but with some changes in gears (hellfire with MF). Some ppl say dat MF is not so important @ doesnt affect drop so much but i beg to differ. From my own experience playing my 2 toons (WD n DH), in comparison my DH hardly get drops regularly (none in terms of sellable items above 10m) while my WD get drops regularly and so far have got few items worth over 50m each. The image of my stash below is the legs/sets i found in the past 2 days (only 10% of those came from my DH).



For solo play i choose Templar for my helper (some mana regen from him) & most importantly Templar can tank like a champ (equip him with an Azurewrath & Stormshield .. relic n jewelry stack vita .. chance to block relic also very nice).
Give it a try and i would appreciate any feedbacks so i can further improve/tweak my own build.

This post has been edited by Gecko: Nov 21 2012, 04:22 PM

Glad u find it helpful. CC is good when u hv high CD (an open socket wpn with a high base CD roll is needed ... will cost u a lot tho). Ias imho is wasted on WD if your main damage dealer is Bears.. as higher ias mean u will OOM faster when spamming bears.
On the other hand LoH i think is a "must have" on any WD builds. Think of it this way .. your primary attack skill (RoT or any 1 of your choice as health generator .. mana regen too if u use Poison Dart/Spine Dart) & secondary attack skill (Bears) as the damage dealer. In WD case mana = damage so how u manage your mana is very important. On a lower level farming (for xp @ item) having a larger mana pool is better (bcos u wont run out of mana b4 all enemy is dead) BUT on higher MP level ... mana regen will start to shine. I use an open socket rare helm with intel + vita + max mana + 6% CC for low lvl farming & switch to my Zuni Vision on high lvl mp games for the 20 regen.

I've tried using BBV during ubers b4 and find the long CD to be a hindrance... and BBV/SD being a stick totem that doesnt move, it only helps when the target is not moving n stays within the AoE of BBV. Hex/Jinx on the other hand has lower CD time plus its a moving shaman that follows u around.. so as long as u stay close to a target (lets say ZK), the target will keep getting hexed. If u feel u need zdog as xtra tanker/take aggro, try the Circle of Life passive (as long as u kill mobs u will hv zdog). Most build ive come across will use Circle of Life + Sacrifice/Pride .. its a good synergy considering that the zdog will become suicide bomber that deal huge dmg + pride gives u back mana.

I am repeating the same advice i gave b4 on an earlier post regarding LoH gearing:
Pants - Blackthorne Jousting Mail
Ring - Unity
Ammy - Ouroboros

This post has been edited by Gecko: Nov 21 2012, 06:00 PM

1- change weapon to preferably "black" wpn (no elemntal damage, just physical dmg) as it will benefit most from %to poison dmg from Zuni Boots. If u hv mana probem find an open socket ceremonial knife with base critical hit damage roll of 80% n above. Another alternative is the legendary mace Echoing Fury (Fury being a fast wpn make it suitable for your primary attack Ghost Bomb ... and Fury is a "black" wpn too.
2- get more critical hit chance from your gears: zuni helm n zuni ring with cc is pretty expensive so best option for u now is to find a rare ammy with cc @ cheaper option is to get the legendary Ouroboros ammy (intel/vit/LoH/CC/avg dmg).
3- change your mojo to another with higher avg dmg (200 n above) with higher CC.
4- change belt to Witching Hour ... ias n chd from WH will boost your dps considerably. WH can be a bit pricey if hv good roll on it (vita/ar). I have an unused WH (100 intel + 7 pickup radius + default stats such as ias/chd). If u can get some more pickup radius from other gears u can opt to not use ToTD mojo and go for Ukhapian Serpent for more dmg.

I rarely put legendary items for sale in GAH as i prefer to trade/sell directly to friends bcos its a win-win situation for both parties (usually i just put up rares i found during farming in GAH). If u r really interested in the Witching Hour, i am willing to let it go at a reasonable price (20-30% off market price ... try to check the AH 1st for a WH with such stats ... use 100 intel & 7 pickup radius as filter). I was toying with the idea of using it on my WD and ditch the ToTD and go for an Ukh (i already have 13 pickup radius w/out ToTD .. gloves + bracers). The current WH i'm using can be sold at a higher price since it has a vit + AR roll.

LoH really make a big difference does it? If u can withstand few hits u dont need to worry bcos as long u have mana, u can leech back health very fast.

Getting an EF with base cd roll + open socket + LS can be very expensive... just get one with base cd roll + open socket + maybe intel & vit (even with 3% max LS wont be enough to counter RD at higher mp if u use bears.. u will end up killing urself spamming bears on RD lolz). My current EF has only OS + intel + vit 1.1k dps (sniped it at arnd 7-8 mil). I still hv my previous EF with 1093 dps + 154 intel + 184 vit + 2.8% LS in my stash if u want to try it out and see if the LS can enable u to spam bears on RD (ive tried and died most of the time when i forgot to stop spamming after SW duration is over).

I find Blood Ritual passive shines the most especially if u use a lot of high mana cost spells. 15% less mana for the price of health (u can get the health back easily using LoH). But if u hv a small mana pool, i guess SA would be a better choice.

Bad Medicine > Jungle Fortitude as it benefits the whole party as long as ur attack is poison-based (even ur pets can trigger BM, Zdog/Rabid @ Garg/Big Stinker)

This post has been edited by Gecko: Nov 23 2012, 04:41 AM

Its not a bad roll either

The stats:
303 armor (99% perfect, 305 being the max)
100 intel (100% perfect unless u get a 2nd intel roll from the 3 random rolls)
9% ias (100% perfect)
38% CHD (76% perfect, 50% CHD being the max)
Out of the 3 random rolls, the pickup radius is a good roll.
+7 pickup radius
+39 Lightning Resist (not too bad as it helps with LE Elites)
+19% Gold Find (xtra gold when farming is always nice)

My current witching is better as it has AR & Vita:
300 armor
99 intel
9% ias
35% CHD
Random rolls:
122 vita (very hard to find on witching & can be super expensive)
+31 All Resist (again another sought after stat on witching)
56 str (the only "bad" roll altho its not wasted as str=armor)

Comparing the 2 belts, the 1st one will give more dps (more CHD) but less EHP. However the pickup radius can give me option not to use ToTD and i'm sure the 2nd belt will be easier to sell at a high price.

This post has been edited by Gecko: Nov 23 2012, 08:21 AM