**OFFICIAL** Diablo 3 Thread

[sweenish]

I would say to go for gear first, then worry about the legendary gems. Better gear will help you clear faster more than trying to grind gems will help you clear faster.

When you do decide to start leveling gems, your last finished grift level should be 10 higher than the gem level you are shooting for. This guarantees a 100% chance of an upgrade. Finishing grift 13 will let you level a gem to 3, guaranteed. Knowing this will let you level gems faster, as you'll know when you can stop a grift. More finished grifts in a shorter time nets faster gem ranks.

Once you aren't able to get ten higher, the chances drop by 10%, I believe. So, if you're looking to get a gem to rank 21, clearing 31 is a guaranteed upgrade, 30 is a 90% chance, 29 is an 80% chance, etc. Rule of thumb in that case to try and at least have a 70% chance, otherwise do a different gem.

Now, if someone who is better than me says otherwise, do what they say. The best I have is a rank 5 gem on T2.

 

[ChairShot]

I solo as well because I farm keys these days... and not a lot of people do that! (havent checked the communities however...)

I'll get back on the T4-T6 clan runs soon however I still want my SoJ!

 

[ChairShot]

I would say to go for gear first, then worry about the legendary gems. Better gear will help you clear faster more than trying to grind gems will help you clear faster.

When you do decide to start leveling gems, your last finished grift level should be 10 higher than the gem level you are shooting for. This guarantees a 100% chance of an upgrade. Finishing grift 13 will let you level a gem to 3, guaranteed. Knowing this will let you level gems faster, as you'll know when you can stop a grift. More finished grifts in a shorter time nets faster gem ranks.

Once you aren't able to get ten higher, the chances drop by 10%, I believe. So, if you're looking to get a gem to rank 21, clearing 31 is a guaranteed upgrade, 30 is a 90% chance, 29 is an 80% chance, etc. Rule of thumb in that case to try and at least have a 70% chance, otherwise do a different gem.

Now, if someone who is better than me says otherwise, do what they say. The best I have is a rank 5 gem on T2.

I think you nailed it

highest gem I got is a level 15... and highest grift I did was 22. Had a 70% chance to upgrade and failed

 

[stlcardinals]

...Knowing this will let you level gems faster, as you'll know when you can stop a grift. More finished grifts in a shorter time nets faster gem ranks.

I find it better to upgrade every keystone at the end of the grift until you fail. Don't focus on upgrading legendary gems. Just keep grinding out grifts and you'll upgrade the gems anyways.

 

[Denithor]

lol i solo because i'm afraid of getting someone killed and them bitching me out..


yeah that's sad.


though good news is i almost have my monk level 70. god damn are they powerful

Getting killed, while HC, I presume? Because otherwise...just silly!

I must have done something wrong with my monk, or they've substantially improved them with 2.1, because mine was nowhere near as strong as either my WD or now my Crusader.

 

[PowerYoga]

Monks are bottom tier along with barbs right now. People typically bring them for group buffs, not so much massive DPS.

 

[darkewaffle]

Ehhhh tried greater rifts with two friends last night. Wasn't terrible, I got two legendary gems but I can't say they seem that interesting. Exploding Palm is much less amusing now lol, but overall I think the buffs have upped my monk's damage a fair bit despite my toughness plummeting. I might fool around with it a little more, but at the end of the day it's still mostly same old same old.

 

[PowerYoga]

There are some really good gems and some only shine on lvl 25. Bane of the powerful is awesome, at rank 25 its like 45 seconds of increased damage after an elite pack and a permenant +15% damage to all elites. Bane of the trapped is nice for my barb build, but mine's not rank 25 yet so i don't know how big the slow radius is.

 

[Tweak155]

Monks are bottom tier along with barbs right now. People typically bring them for group buffs, not so much massive DPS.

Sounds like you're grouping with the wrong monks. Pandemonium can carry me to 32/33. I imagine he is even better solo.

Honestly I think Wizards should do way more damage than they currently do given how squishy they are. Either add some toughness or add some damage.

The best Wizards cast AOE spells and just run away hoping not to die. Go back in, cast more AOE then run away. That's fine for some play styles, but when a monk just stands there and takes it, AND does more damage, something seems off.

 

[PowerYoga]

Sounds like you're grouping with the wrong monks. Pandemonium can carry me to 32/33. I imagine he is even better solo.

Honestly I think Wizards should do way more damage than they currently do given how squishy they are. Either add some toughness or add some damage.

The best Wizards cast AOE spells and just run away hoping not to die. Go back in, cast more AOE then run away. That's fine for some play styles, but when a monk just stands there and takes it, AND does more damage, something seems off.

Not really, with force armor and illusionist you never get 1 shot and its very hard to die. That's more than I can say for the melee characters (but I don't know much about crusader).

At rift 35+ monks and barbs get chunked very quickly without a host of defensive traits and skills, and that just eats in to the dps. It's also bothersome to switch amulets (electrified anyone?) and some enemies are just not melee friendly.

Typically for Grift 35+ you're bring 1 WD and 1 monk for support/tanking and 2 DH for the DPS. There's no doubt barbs and monks are weaker compared to the other classes right now.

 

[JimKiler]

So, I finally got into grifts, seems to be a better legendary drop rate than in normal rifts. My first two runs through netted me two legendaries and two gems each, for a total of about 40 minutes of play. Got a new pair of pants that give 82% boost to primary skills which boosted my Justice damage to the point it actually does something. Added two maxed rubies to the sockets and suddenly T1 isn't as hard as it was previously.

So far I have just been upgrading my grift key one step at a time and collecting as many legendaries as I can on the way up, haven't started using the gems yet. Which ones are the best ones to use? Is it better with relatively low gear to continue like I am or to start leveling the gem(s)?

I just got a few rift keys, do the rift guardians drop grifts so i can do the more advanced rifts?

The problem with this game for me is simply that things progress faster in a team, but the spirit of mooching dominates. I gave a perfect roll hex pants to someone in my group - didn't have a use for it - when I'm in a good group I don't mind as I just want to perfect my wizard.

But I spend most of my time jumping from group to group as there are always undergeared people trying to mooch at higher torment levels, and it becomes stupid wasting shards or rift keys in these situations.

I've pretty much given up now, but if any eu players are active I'd be very happy to group with you

I tried to join a friend once in his already started rift and I died so quickly twice that I will not do that again and only join groups that are at my difficulty level from now on.

 

[Tweak155]

Not really, with force armor and illusionist you never get 1 shot and its very hard to die. That's more than I can say for the melee characters (but I don't know much about crusader).

At rift 35+ monks and barbs get chunked very quickly without a host of defensive traits and skills, and that just eats in to the dps. It's also bothersome to switch amulets (electrified anyone?) and some enemies are just not melee friendly.

Typically for Grift 35+ you're bring 1 WD and 1 monk for support/tanking and 2 DH for the DPS. There's no doubt barbs and monks are weaker compared to the other classes right now.

Really, this reply doesn't really address why a melee class would do more damage than a range class.

 

[Schfifty Five]

I just got a few rift keys, do the rift guardians drop grifts so i can do the more advanced rifts?



I tried to join a friend once in his already started rift and I died so quickly twice that I will not do that again and only join groups that are at my difficulty level from now on.

Grift guardians do not drop any type of keys. The only way to get higher level Grift keys is to do well in the trials or to beat a Grift level within the allotted time and have the lady ghost person upgrade your current level Grift key.

 

[PowerYoga]

Really, this reply doesn't really address why a melee class would do more damage than a range class.

I never said that. I said people bring monks for group buffs, not because they do massive DPS. This goes barb as well.

 

[Tweak155]

I never said that. I said people bring monks for group buffs, not because they do massive DPS. This goes barb as well.

I don't know why you quoted my post then, because that is what I was saying which you followed with "not really".

Those 2 passives you mentioned will not keep a Wizard alive in 30+ level rifts, not a chance. At least, not without sacrificing enough DPS to not be able to progress. This is why the most effective Wizard builds right now are DoT's / AoE's and run away, because your damage alone will not keep you alive.

 

[PowerYoga]

I don't know why you quoted my post then, because that is what I was saying which you followed with "not really".

Those 2 passives you mentioned will not keep a Wizard alive in 30+ level rifts, not a chance. At least, not without sacrificing enough DPS to not be able to progress. This is why the most effective Wizard builds right now are DoT's / AoE's and run away, because your damage alone will not keep you alive.

Because you responded with this:

Sounds like you're grouping with the wrong monks. Pandemonium can carry me to 32/33. I imagine he is even better solo.

I have no idea what you're trying to argue here.

Those 2 passives you mentioned will not keep a Wizard alive in 30+ level rifts, not a chance. At least, not without sacrificing enough DPS to not be able to progress. This is why the most effective Wizard builds right now are DoT's / AoE's and run away, because your damage alone will not keep you alive.

You don't "tank" in GR30+. The best defense is in not getting hit and mages and DHs excel in that. Force armor makes it so its not possible for you to get 1 shot, and illusionist makes you run away quicker (and also resets your CDs when you get hit so you can port away with +15% speed). What's so hard to understand that this makes wizards more survivable than barbs or monks when this synergizes perfectly with their dot and run playstyle?

 

[JimKiler]

Grift guardians do not drop any type of keys. The only way to get higher level Grift keys is to do well in the trials or to beat a Grift level within the allotted time and have the lady ghost person upgrade your current level Grift key.

Thanks I am brand new to the rifts and grifts part of D3 and learning as i go.

 

[Tweak155]

How does this:

Not really, with force armor and illusionist you never get 1 shot and its very hard to die. That's more than I can say for the melee characters (but I don't know much about crusader).

Respond to (your quote of my post) this?:

Sounds like you're grouping with the wrong monks. Pandemonium can carry me to 32/33. I imagine he is even better solo.

You make no sense.

All I'm trying to say is that melee classes should not be doing more damage while also being able to stay in one spot (relatively). The more you have to move, the more damage you should be able to deal in a single hit is really what it comes down to.

 

[PowerYoga]

I see where the confusion is. Let's reorder my posts.

Honestly I think Wizards should do way more damage than they currently do given how squishy they are. Either add some toughness or add some damage.

Not really, with force armor and illusionist you never get 1 shot and its very hard to die. That's more than I can say for the melee characters (but I don't know much about crusader).

Sounds like you're grouping with the wrong monks. Pandemonium can carry me to 32/33. I imagine he is even better solo.

At rift 35+ monks and barbs get chunked very quickly without a host of defensive traits and skills, and that just eats in to the dps. It's also bothersome to switch amulets (electrified anyone?) and some enemies are just not melee friendly.

Here's the summary:

- wizards are not squishy taken into account of force armor and illusionist. Taking survival skills does not detract from their dps much at all. Barbs and mnks have a much hard time escaping without burning cooldowns and explicitly taking survivability traits that lower dps dramatically since they must stand in melee range.
- melee classes don't do more damage either because of needing to take survivability traits/skills or because they need to run away to not get instagibbed (molten, electrify).

Keep in mind this is grift 30+, not talking about the trivial levels that can be overcome with gear. Depending on how well you're geared you can probably "tank" up to 35 without moving too much. After that it's pretty much a 1 shot fest if you get hit by anything big.

 

[waterjug]

reduce level enchant is bugged. Just spent 25M doing about 150 attempts on this one bracers thing that could only have like 8 options, hoping to drop it from 70 to where my monk is for leveling purposes. Didn't come up once.

 

[ArenCordial]

Force armor makes it so its not possible for you to get 1 shot, and illusionist makes you run away quicker (and also resets your CDs when you get hit so you can port away with +15% speed).

I'm pretty sure Force armor doesn't work that way. Some guys tested it on the official forums and found that if the hit is greater than your max hp, Force armor's effect doesn't trigger. However if the hit is less than your max hp it does work and will reduce the damage.

Granted I haven't tested this yet myself as I've mostly been on my Crusader, but I thought I'd pass it along.

 

[Adrenaline]

I did GR 34 on my WD. That got me ranked 323.

Zombie dogs died nonstop on 34 and 35. I am going to try Horrify for an armor bonus. It only lasts 12 seconds though.

 

[pandemonium]

You're the only reason I can get a gem past 25 right now lol.

Tanks are good for that, distracting the baddies so you can do your stuff and not worry about getting your face smashed in. ^^

We should try a little progression group sometime, but I don't know when it will be since I work odd hours and this weekend will likely be occupied by other stuff for me. DaTT and Ordrius and I did a little progression last weekend. Would be fun to keep that going!

 

[Tweak155]

Tanks are good for that, distracting the baddies so you can do your stuff and not worry about getting your face smashed in. ^^

We should try a little progression group sometime, but I don't know when it will be since I work odd hours and this weekend will likely be occupied by other stuff for me. DaTT and Ordrius and I did a little progression last weekend. Would be fun to keep that going!

<- Ordrius. I can solo maybe 27 and beat the timer (die once or twice). I can finish higher levels, but not within the time.

Some of my gear is off because I switched from ice to fire... when I get a full set of fire gear like I had for ice, I'll be much better.

Ice I could survive a lot more, but it just took too long to do anything.

 

[waggy]

what's a good build for a new monk? just hit 70 the other night.