So here’s our best understanding of every class’s best build right now. We’ll kick things off with my main class, Necromancer, which has a very clear top build pick right now: a bone build.
Best Highest Damage Build For ALL Classes
That’s because it’s either bone spear or bone spear with bone spirit. The new bone spirit build is awesome, and I’ve been testing a lot over the last few days. It allows for this incredible burst, which is much better in AOE and offers much better essence generation than ever. You can be popping bone spirits twice in about 3 seconds, and then after a brief recovery, just do it again. It’s pretty much one-shotting every mob pack you go through, so it’s great for speed clearing.
Necromancer Bone Build: An In-depth Look
Let’s explain why briefly. With the changes to bone spirit, we can now rely on two aspects. There is the shattered spirit aspect, which causes bone spirit to burst outwards in these many splinters, dealing up to 400% times damage, on top of generating six essence per enemy hit. This also addresses the awkwardly small AOE radius of the bone spirit itself, making it better for that clear.
So now, we combine with, say, the other aspect, swelling curse, which helps bone spirit consistently crit. Sure, that’s important, but also raise the max essence for 15 seconds based on the amount of enemies hit. So it’s crushing those mob packs with the details in mind. Then, it even had a slight damage buff. Outside of all of that, you don’t lose that much to run it. You’re still going to be running Bone Spear and just rely on that outside of spirit bombs you’re doing.
Essence Management and Tactical Advantages
We tackle the insane essence cost via bone spirit generating it on itself, the classic exposed flesh aspect and the new bone prism details. Bone prism provides 25 essences plus an extra five per every enemy trapped within, so that could instantly be a full bar of essence during mob clear.
But also, it’s providing 25 plus essence every time you place the wall, right. But also, when it ends, it gives you another 25, even when it’s landing on nothing. It’s a minimum of 50 essences peruse that can be scaled up by resource generation affixes on your gear. And with Bone Spirit being on such a short cooldown, which is reduced even more through the build, it’s really impactful on Essence gen.
Limitations in Endgame Viability
All of that is great, but it’s not enough to make this relevant to the current endgame. As I saw in the comments of my video about this building concept, people were surprisingly unimpressed by the ability to absolutely dumpster mob packs instantly. It’s really satisfying; it’s fantastic for leveling XP or farming out glyph XP, obviously. But the burst is not high enough for the true boss health you’re going to be dealing with in the form of Durial, Malthus, and of course, Uber L Earth. The best build, in that case, is just classic old bone spear, relying on corpse explosion to enhance that consistent DPS.
Necromancer’s Endgame Strategy
While barbarians and similar classes are effortlessly defeating bosses with a single hammer strike or combo, the bone spirit in Necromancer’s arsenal doesn’t deliver comparable burst damage. Achieving a significant hit, say around 10 million damage with optimal settings, pales compared to other classes that can inflict double that damage through numerous hits simultaneously or larger singular hits.
Therefore, the classic bone spear, known for its consistent high DPS, outshines bone spirit builds when it comes to boss fights. This is particularly true in the current endgame scenario, where the focus is on farming Durial for Ubers and Malou for Unique Stones. For these activities, the true bone spear remains the superior choice, underscoring the relative lag of Necromancer when compared to other classes.
Barbarian’s Dominant Builds
The Barbarian class is not facing the same issues as the Necromancer. The most effective build currently for Barbarians seems to be a combination of Hammer of the Ancients and Whirlwind. This combo gained popularity in the previous season due to its incredible DPS capabilities, both for single targets and AOE. The inclusion of the charge ability has further enhanced this build, offering great utility and making it a staple in many Barbarian builds.
Charge not only aids in clearing vaults with its movement speed and AOE burst but also serves as a reliable source of Unstoppable. The strategy involves a dynamic use of Whirlwind to generate Fury quickly, followed by powerful Hammer slams. The synergy within the build, including aspects like unrelenting Fury and weapon master Paragon, facilitates a unique playstyle that integrates the three primary damage abilities effectively.
Sorcerer’s Competitive Edge
On the other side, Sorcerers, despite losing the potency of ball lightning from the previous season, remain strong contenders. The current leading build reverts to the Blizzard setup, which was the second most powerful build in season 2. This build offers a blend of high single-target DPS and exceptional mob clearing capability, thanks to the combination of Blizzard and Ice spikes. The damage output allows for rapid clearing of enemies, while the inherent tankiness of the build enables Sorcerers to withstand significant damage, making it an effective strategy for both leveling and endgame content.
Sorcerer’s Mastery in Season 3
Breezing through the game’s challenges is a hallmark of the Sorcerer’s current build. Stacking numerous blizzards on a target can rapidly deplete a boss’s health bar while deploying a blizzard on a group of enemies ensures their swift defeat. A single blizzard can annihilate any cluster of enemies, even at the highest difficulty levels. Beyond the raw damage output, this build offers extensive control over the battlefield, chilling, freezing, and slowing foes. The Sorcerer’s barriers further enhance survivability, effectively nullifying incoming damage and allowing for aggressive positioning.
Mana management is streamlined within this build, thanks to multiple sources like teleportation, flame shield, and deep freeze, each providing significant mana boosts when needed. This build’s efficiency makes dungeon runs trivial, positioning the Sorcerer as a top contender for the fastest dungeon-clearing class in the current season.
Rogue’s Adaptation and Versatility
The beginning of season 3 brought concerns for Rogues due to the nerfing of twisting blades, but the class remains balanced and diverse. The introduction of improved ranged capabilities, particularly the penetrating shot, has shifted the focus. This build, enhanced in the latest patch, now offers a significant increase in critical strike chances and AOE damage, making it a formidable choice for clearing mobs. The addition of the Beastfall boots allows for a unique strategy, enabling Rogues to amplify the damage of their core abilities dramatically.
While penetrating shots dominate in terms of popularity, the versatility of the Rogue class is evident in the persistence of other viable builds like barrage and rapid-fire combinations. Despite ongoing testing and adjustments, the Rogue class maintains its strong presence in the game’s current meta.
Rogue’s One-Shot Build Phenomenon
A remarkable clip by YouTuber mppi showcases an explosive Rogue build capable of delivering hundreds of millions in damage in an instant. This strategy, reminiscent of last season’s combo point break kills, utilizes the Banish Lord’s Talisman and the newly introduced Beastfall boots to amplify damage significantly.
The setup involves meticulous preparation, including banishing, setting traps, and triggering Unstoppable to unleash maximum power in a single rapid-fire attack. This build has demonstrated its potential by defeating formidable bosses like Durial and Malus in a single strike, offering an efficient method for farming high-level content.
Druid’s Emerging Builds
Druids, much like Rogues, are exploring new build possibilities, especially with the introduction of poison-focused strategies. The classic werewolf tornado remains a staple for leveling and endgame content, but the spotlight is now on the innovative lightning storm build. Enhanced by new gear that increases strike frequency and damage, this build has transitioned from a mob-clearing focus to a viable single-target DPS option.
The recent improvements to Aven’s Wrath, turning it into a multiplicative damage boost, have significantly enhanced its effectiveness. This build’s adaptability, allowing for rapid, controlled strikes, makes it particularly potent against bosses, marking a significant evolution in Druid’s strategy.
Conclusion and Future Prospects
As the meta continues evolving, Rogues and Druids are at the forefront of experimenting with new and potent builds. The Rogue’s one-shot capability and the Druid’s versatile lightning-storm approach highlight the dynamic nature of build optimization in the current season.
These developments, fueled by recent patches and gear enhancements, suggest an exciting period of innovation and testing within the community. As new strategies emerge and existing ones are refined, the landscape of effective builds is likely to shift, promising further discussions and analyses in the future.
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