Season 11

[Coldkil]

Meh, I really haven't bothered with that. You can do GR75 with a Rathma build and singularity. The current Necro meta is boring but I just try to avoid it.

I don't really care about meta honestly - but it just looks like no one even bothered to test/try how actually builds and sets worked on PTR; a playstyle that revolves around 10 seconds windows of total annihilation in the middle of doing literally nothing but porting around and it's way better than anything else provided means only that no one checked the actualy synergies beforehand.

[Cairhiin]

I don't really care about meta honestly - but it just looks like no one even bothered to test/try how actually builds and sets worked on PTR; a playstyle that revolves around 10 seconds windows of total annihilation in the middle of doing literally nothing but porting around and it's way better than anything else provided means only that no one checked the actualy synergies beforehand.

I agree with you, it is rather idiotic but the Wizard meta is a bit similar although not as extreme. I really hope Blizzard gives Necros a balancing pass after this season but I'm not holding my breath given the skeleton crew that is working on Diablo at the moment.

[Coldkil]

I agree with you, it is rather idiotic but the Wizard meta is a bit similar although not as extreme. I really hope Blizzard gives Necros a balancing pass after this season but I'm not holding my breath given the skeleton crew that is working on Diablo at the moment.

Yeah, Archon/MH builds are so crap to play i cringe. Not saying they're not powerful, but having basically nothing while you wait for Archon CD (when you're geared it's next to non-existant) is pretty crap imho. There's a lot of balancing issues coming out recently, plus the whole plethora of discarded skills due to no sets/legendaries buffing them or simply being tremendously undepar compared to the best choice.

[Temp name]

Got done with the season Journey, got an ancient weapon, did a 91.

Today has been a good day so far.
Except the 91 clear.. If I'd have gotten that rift as a 94 I'd still have done it in time, and I won't get a rift that good again

[Cairhiin]

Yeah, Archon/MH builds are so crap to play i cringe. Not saying they're not powerful, but having basically nothing while you wait for Archon CD (when you're geared it's next to non-existant) is pretty crap imho. There's a lot of balancing issues coming out recently, plus the whole plethora of discarded skills due to no sets/legendaries buffing them or simply being tremendously undepar compared to the best choice.

Yeah last season I played a Lighthing Hydra Wiz and it was really boring. I remember back in early season, I think it was S3, when melee stunlock Wiz was a thing (sadly nerfed into oblivion) and that was a whole lot more fun than the current Wiz specs. Heck I had more fun doing the conquest where you need to clear a certain GR level with 6 different sets as a DMO Wiz than I had the entire season playing Tals.

But I digress, Necro needs a massive balancing pass. The current meta cannot be what Blizzard intended. I find it rather ironic, Blizz introduces a Necro because of popular demand, and they manage to come up with something that is the polar opposite of the Necro in D2. Reviveds are rubbish. The normal skellies are a staple of the build but on GR75, they can hit a normal mob ad infinitum and still not dent its hit points and they're really just Skeletal Mage buff bots (some D2 Necro builds didn't even use skeletal mage). The golem feels out of place and is just a fancier version of a Gargantuan.

Another thing that I think needs serious looking into, is the rift layouts in greater rifts this season (in normal rifts they are even worse but I guess it doesn't so much matter - though they could make them a bit better on higher Torment settings, ie higher mob density and no cave layouts). But in GR this season seems to be a large amount of crap maps, more than any season before.

[Temp name]

But I digress, Necro needs a massive balancing pass. The current meta cannot be what Blizzard intended. I find it rather ironic, Blizz introduces a Necro because of popular demand, and they manage to come up with something that is the polar opposite of the Necro in D2. Reviveds are rubbish. The normal skellies are a staple of the build but on GR75, they can hit a normal mob ad infinitum and still not dent its hit points and they're really just Skeletal Mage buff bots (some D2 Necro builds didn't even use skeletal mage). The golem feels out of place and is just a fancier version of a Gargantuan.

I'd rather they fix the bugs with Necro before going into tuning.

Jesseth set not being able to activate on the same mob twice (Meaning if you die, you can't get the buff from the RG again), and mages being REALLY inconsistent are the biggest issues

[Coldkil]

I'd rather they fix the bugs with Necro before going into tuning.

Jesseth set not being able to activate on the same mob twice (Meaning if you die, you can't get the buff from the RG again), and mages being REALLY inconsistent are the biggest issues

Excluding bugs that need fixing, what baffles me the most is that Necro has quite a bunch of really nice items that create new synergies between skills and given how all sets are broad damage buffs you actually have room for experimentation - only to get destroyed by LotD + Corpse lance spam and Singularity+Simulacrum (that don't even have targeted legendaries but the ring that makes you cast 2 mages at a time).

[Cairhiin]

I'd rather they fix the bugs with Necro before going into tuning.

Jesseth set not being able to activate on the same mob twice (Meaning if you die, you can't get the buff from the RG again), and mages being REALLY inconsistent are the biggest issues

True, bug fixes go without saying. However, the current skills also really need balancing. The current play style is really bad and really nothing D2 Necro-like.

[Temp name]

Excluding bugs that need fixing, what baffles me the most is that Necro has quite a bunch of really nice items that create new synergies between skills and given how all sets are broad damage buffs you actually have room for experimentation - only to get destroyed by LotD + Corpse lance spam and Singularity+Simulacrum (that don't even have targeted legendaries but the ring that makes you cast 2 mages at a time).

Yeah, it's rather sad that we're forced into one of those two builds for high-end..

True, bug fixes go without saying. However, the current skills also really need balancing. The current play style is really bad and really nothing D2 Necro-like.

Personally I enjoy it, but I didn't come from D2 Necro

[Chemii]

Picked up WD again for the season, haven't smashed it since about season 5 and having a blast with the LoN SB build and firebats respectively, though I have changed the firebats build a bit from the meta as the knockbacks were pissing me off.

Frustrating start as it took me 3 days of constant farming to see even 1 drop of Sacred Harvester for it to be terrible. Thankfully four re-rolls in the cube gave me perfect roll ancient, possibly the best item I've ever received in the game to be truthful. Managed a 68 the first day or so but smashed a 72 when I got the new weapon

Building a LoN set is a nice goal to have also, a lot of my frustrations with metas come from class sets and how imbalanced they are but just coming back and not having to play Helltooth Garg to be competitive is amazing, I hated that shit and still do.

[Coldkil]

Yeah, it's rather sad that we're forced into one of those two builds for high-end..

Well, no one's actually forced. It's just the player mind tricking itself because of GR being an infinite progression. Actually, until you aim for ladder placement, you can play whatever build and have good results even if you don't push 110+ - climbing is literally useless, especially the speed at which you do it. Then the game focuses everything on GR pushing, but that's another story.

Personally I enjoy it, but I didn't come from D2 Necro

I playd D2 necro a lot, and i have fun with the D3 version - they're definitely two different things. Too bad that the strongest builds just play fugly and the builds i like don't seem to be that good. I'll play until the fun lasts then abandon the ship again.

[Temp name]

Well, no one's actually forced. It's just the player mind tricking itself because of GR being an infinite progression. Actually, until you aim for ladder placement, you can play whatever build and have good results even if you don't push 110+ - climbing is literally useless, especially the speed at which you do it. Then the game focuses everything on GR pushing, but that's another story.

As I said, high-end.

My group is trying to push for 100 right now and as a Necro I'm stuck with Rathma for 3 man (when our WD isn't there), or either Rathma or Trag'ouls for 4 man. When we break 100 I probably won't be able to stay Rathma for 4 man though.

[Coldkil]

As I said, high-end.

My group is trying to push for 100 right now and as a Necro I'm stuck with Rathma for 3 man (when our WD isn't there), or either Rathma or Trag'ouls for 4 man. When we break 100 I probably won't be able to stay Rathma for 4 man though.

Well, the math is pretty easy. 10GR levels = 4.8 monster hp. So to climb 10 levels you need 5 times the damage. That's pretty steep and shows how the power creep actually is and the difference between a good and bad build.

[Vertigo X]

Well, no one's actually forced. It's just the player mind tricking itself because of GR being an infinite progression. Actually, until you aim for ladder placement, you can play whatever build and have good results even if you don't push 110+ - climbing is literally useless, especially the speed at which you do it. Then the game focuses everything on GR pushing, but that's another story.

To add on to this... a lot of the high-end players aren't even pushing right now. It's not efficient. They're farming paragons at lower grifts. All these people concerned with hitting the highest numbers possible right now with low para and barely any augments just don't really get it.

[Temp name]

To add on to this... a lot of the high-end players aren't even pushing right now. It's not efficient. They're farming paragons at lower grifts. All these people concerned with hitting the highest numbers possible right now with low para and barely any augments just don't really get it.

They're starting to push on season now.

[Vertigo X]

They're starting to push on season now.

Oh I wasn't aware.

And as someone that's already put an insane amount of time in necro, I completely agree with what you've been saying. I hate being pigeon-holed into rathma or trag. The class doesn't really play anything like D2. Simlancer is just archon v2. While there are some high pushing builds it just doesn't feel diverse. To me it doesn't feel like necro. It's basically the reason I went back to my monk (balanced class with plenty of builds and options).

[Coldkil]

To add on to this... a lot of the high-end players aren't even pushing right now. It's not efficient. They're farming paragons at lower grifts. All these people concerned with hitting the highest numbers possible right now with low para and barely any augments just don't really get it.

It's not really a concern to me personally, but it's more a check on playstyles. Necro top builds are both passive playstyles revolving around 2 minute CDs when sets should be promoting the use of multiple skills. Well, they actually are, but some skill synergies that promote this clunky gameplay stayed unseen the whole PTR and until S11, which shows me how actually the whole beta was managed.

[Vertigo X]

It's not really a concern to me personally, but it's more a check on playstyles. Necro top builds are both passive playstyles revolving around 2 minute CDs when sets should be promoting the use of multiple skills. Well, they actually are, but some skill synergies that promote this clunky gameplay stayed unseen the whole PTR and until S11, which shows me how actually the whole beta was managed.

Army of the Dead rathma passive is all I have to say.

The class needs serious tuning and polishing.

[kaelix1]

I rolled barb and I feel I should have just gone pay to win with necro, getting 70 solo would have been much easier

I feel your pain, Barb have a harder time to reach 70 than rest of the class, WW is very picky when it comes to items/gems, but once you get the skull ring and little finger combo WW is another beast,combine with the fact that you always get a spot in high gr speed farm make Barb a good choice, you just need to suffer a little

[EyelessCrow]

I'm about to reroll to a different class. Necro RNG gods hate my guts. 12k shards on a freaking Tasker and Theo and still nothing. I think I have enough gloves of every set that I can reroll them and have all sets. Don't get me started on DB and trying to get that freaking Jesseth scythe. If I see one more god damned funerary pick I'm going to break something. I think I'm up to 15-20 in a row with maybe a scythe of the cycle thrown in there somewhere. I'm at 200 paragon and still using rare rings because nothing will drop...meanwhile I have 5 gifts -.-