Wizard Best-in-Slot Items

[kestegs]

I've been looking at those lately as well. The main issue I see is that ET isn't your main source of damage, but you could get a nice lockdown on stuff, and it would help you proc storm armor and diamond shards more, so maybe it's worth it.

[Dethklok]

Actually now that I think about it, Skull Grasp's lack of crit damage probably disqualifies it, but a quadfecta (trifecta + skill bonus) Mara's with more than 65 crit damage actually gives a quadfecta (trifecta + elemental) Tal Rasha's a run for it money. Remember that Explosive Blast is also a crit skill bonus, so you could go with that to increase functional DPS instead of the ET bonus (while still increasing CM procs somewhat). If you're going Meteor for DPS, I don't think its skill bonus (reduced AP cost) is going to have a huge impact.

[magicrectangle]

Meteor AP cost reduction is actually a pretty good stat if you're doing rocknado build.

As far as EB vs ET crit bonus, against a single target, you almost certainly gain more damage from ET crit, thanks to shocking aspect, and faster diamond shards and chain reaction cooldowns. For many target fights EB crit is probably better, as you can functionally cap your chain reaction cast rate.

For amulet I think a rare ends up being BiS for critical mass though, since no legendary can get attack speed, crit, crit damage, and LoH all together.

[Dethklok]

Meteor AP cost reduction is actually a pretty good stat if you're doing rocknado build.

I haven't tried rocknado, but I was under the impression that, at very high gear levels, you'd refill AP off WW so fast that it would be moot.

As far as EB vs ET crit bonus, against a single target, you almost certainly gain more damage from ET crit, thanks to shocking aspect, and faster diamond shards and chain reaction cooldowns. For many target fights EB crit is probably better, as you can functionally cap your chain reaction cast rate.

I disagree with your logic here. Although I sold ALL my wizard gear off to my wiz-loving coworker, I had a very solid windup for a while, and with about 50% crit chance and 2.52aps, I literally couldn't spam the abilities fast enough and would walk away from a successful run with a severe hand cramp. (Proof of concept? Check. Desire to play character further? Not so much.) Although I see how theorhetically more ET crit = lower cooldowns = more EB/shards, I don't think it practically has any effect due to the limits of the human hand. (Perhaps a well-designed bot could play windup better than a human.)


Of course, even if you're at your ceiling for the engine, extra crit chance/damage still deals more DPS, which is why we want it. So the question becomes: for a 2.74+ aps windup, what deals more damage straight-up, ET or EB?

For amulet I think a rare ends up being BiS for critical mass though, since no legendary can get attack speed, crit, crit damage, and LoH all together.

I think the same argument could be made against Zuni's Pox just as easily; plus, a rare can get more than 34% crit damage. There's a good chance the extra crit damage might matter more than the extra intelligence. Also, if LOH is a major concern, Skull Grasp might not be that bad after all. I guess the point is that it's tough to name definitive BiS in jewelery, at least for windup. Thinking about it, the best policy is probably to minimize stuff like ET/EB skill bonus and go for items that would work well if you decide to moonlight as an Archon.

[kestegs]

You may be right about the ET bonus actually giving more, but the point about the limitations of the human hand is also valid.

In the end I don't think a top wind up wiz should have AS on their amulet at all. You can get 9% AS on any slot besides boots. You can't get 900+ LoH or 100 CD or 10 CC or 300 int though. You can reach the 3.01 breakpoint without AS on your pants or amulet still.

My ideal wind up amulet would be:

90+ CD
10 CC
900+ LoH
High average damage
250+ int
Vitality

[DickScotchfist]

1. you can get ias on boots
2. 2.73 is the only bp needed, 3.0 is overkill except against ubers (and this is arguable).

My opinion anyway, just dropping in.

[DickScotchfist]

@ skullgrasp for BiS vs. windup builds:

I feel like someone either on here or bnet forums did the math and unfortunately this just doesn't work nearly as well as it seems it would at first glance. I unfortunately have nothing to back up what I've just said and realize that's sort of weak. In any case, it needs to be explored that's for sure. Though in the end, I doubt it will stand up to the +13%cc from a nat's set (other ring slot being zuni's for me, but I guess argument could place it there).

[psyadam]

there's a lot of talk about bis for cm. I don't think I really want to be cm because I just don't like the concept. What's the bis for a archon wiz like myself? Here's a link to my profile:

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/B...0/hero/3811259

[albabe]

Hi:

I realize I',m pretty late to this thread, but I was curious what you folks thought about Storm Crow as a Helmet?

[kestegs]

I personally don't think storm crow ever fits into any best in slot. It's a great starter to middle price range helm though, my CM wiz rocked one for quite a while.