Some (kinda) Newbie Questions

[Davemetalhead]

I only recently reached 70 so not very experienced with the end-game. I can just about clear a rift in T1 with my Wizard, not overly quickly, but not too slowly either.

I only play solo, I have no interest in public games.

So a couple of questions -

Set items, specifically the class sets - where do these drop? Are they plans, drops from mobs, or from gambling?

When it comes to gambling, is it just really just a case of "buying" an item from the NPC (forgot her name) over and over until I get what I'm looking for? Should I try gambling for all the slots, or only armour? Weapons? Rings & amulets?

I notice that Rifts seem to go on and on, multiple levels - is there any benefit to keep going after killing the Guardian? I'm not really bothered about efficiency, I just enjoy toodling along.

Should I try Greater Rifts at T1, or should I wait until I can comfortably clear T3+ Rifts?

Black Mushrooms - WTF?

TIA

[Pendulous]

The specific class sets drop randomly like everything else. However, they only drop on Torment level 1 or above. While it's not nearly as hard to reach torment as it was, you still may need to work your way up to it.

Gambling is just as random as drops, but you've got a better chance of getting legendary and set items. You're probably best off looking up items you want, then gambling for that item slot. Weapons, rings, and amulets are really expensive, but if you don't have decent weapons, I've found it's the biggest block to advancing to torment as a new 70. Also, I do believe that certain items can only come from gambling. I may be wrong on that.

People may have differing opinions on this, but I feel you're best off quitting a rift after the boss is dead. Quicker rifts means faster blood shard earning. I would think, though, that it's only that way if you've got a stash of keystone fragments.

I don't know the benefit to greater rifts outside the only place you can get gems, so I would think if you don't need the gems, you don't need the rifts.

It's been a long time since I farmed for the Staff of Herding, but here's the wiki page on it: http://diablo.wikia.com/wiki/Black_Mushroom

[Danas]

Hey guy !

First, class specific set drop from everywhere : mobs, chest, corpse, jar .... and gambling. Some other non-specific set can be craft.

For greater rift, don't hesitate to start now =) it will give you legendary gems you need, and it permit to upgrade these gems. keep in mind that Greater rift lvl25 = T6.

[Davemetalhead]

Thanks for that.

So is there a database of some sort to see where items drop? Something like Wowhead?

Another question - does the level of the character influence the quality of crafted gear? Can I craft a legendary level 70 weapon with a level 1 character and will it be as good as crafting it with a level 70 (bar the obvious RNG)? I'm asking because I'm thinking of playing a Wiz in the new season but of course most drops and crafts will have INT as a stat and I'm thinking about gearing for the Templar follower.

[Calzaeth]

Anything drops anywhere. There are VERY few exceptions to this general rule.

[Kelimbror]

So is there a database of some sort to see where items drop? Something like Wowhead?

The only item you need to know specifics on is the Ring of Royal Grandeur. That drops from caches on Act 1 bounties only. Everything else for the most part drops from anything in the game and Kadala. Most people level via bounties to accumulate keystones, then farm rifts going forward.

[Saravat]

Re: Crafting - yes, if you are wanting to craft a couple of things for your Templar, you can just roll a level 1 str-based character and use them to craft level 70 items.

There's debate over whether to close rifts as soon as the boss is dead or complete them. Basically, do what you enjoy most. As mentioned, closing a rift when the rift guardian dies means you grab your shards for gambling and start another rift faster - so if blood shards are your focus, that is likely your best approach. There's something to be said for continuing, though - especially with the new goblin types that may pop up (which include a goblin that drops blood shards). Do whichever you prefer - either way is great.

You DO want legendary gems, and you do want to level them, which requires doing greater rifts. One of the other nice things about greater rifts is that you can challenge yourself to see how high you can push the greater rift level (you can do this in groups as well), so it adds another element to the game. Try them any time - they'll scale up gradually, and it's up to you how hard you do or don't want to push them.

The only item drops tied to specific zones or activities are the bounty cache drops for each act, and you can google for a list - you probably won't actually need any of them except the Ring of Royal Grandeur (Act I). All other items can drop anywhere, so there's no need to try and farm a specific zone. Just play the game

[Davemetalhead]

Marvellous, thanks all.

[announced]

class set items can drop from anything, but rifts are generally your best odds because you can encounter blood thieves. blood thieves drop tons of blood shards when killed, up to 400+ and sometimes more. the more shards u have the more u can gamble at kadala

gambling is just a matter of buying the same item over time hoping for success. never do rings/ammys or weps until your other slots are finished

its better to do rifts fast and efficiently. rifts have been limited to around 4 lvls now, if u can speed along through those on wizard then you are better off then closing at the rg. generally u should never close at RG cause blood thieves and other gobs can spawn just beyond that rg. most of the time they do. most bads in pugs will close rifts immediatly and lose out on blood thieves and other amazing gob packs. too bad for them.

greater rifts are good for collecting gems and upgrading them, better stick with rifts and get your set pieces. id start with firebirds or tals (helm) then chest, gloves, legs, shoulders, offhand, and belt if u want tals. (tals is a bit tricky to gamble for because 1 slot is a neck which costs too many shards)

black mushroom is just an item for the staff of herding. whimsyshire is overrated anyway so i wouldnt trouble yourself with it.

btw for crafting. make yourself a devastator wep for a starter firebird build. it comes with fire dmg and usually int and a socket. try for an ancient one
heres more info on it.
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/artisan/b...ipe/devastator

[ymirsson]

Rifts and Greater Rifts have a flat 100% increase in legendary dropchance, and that indeed includes set pieces. Don't go farming outside, it's not worth it.

[rated]

I only recently reached 70 so not very experienced with the end-game. I can just about clear a rift in T1 with my Wizard, not overly quickly, but not too slowly either.

I only play solo, I have no interest in public games.

So a couple of questions -

Set items, specifically the class sets - where do these drop? Are they plans, drops from mobs, or from gambling?

When it comes to gambling, is it just really just a case of "buying" an item from the NPC (forgot her name) over and over until I get what I'm looking for? Should I try gambling for all the slots, or only armour? Weapons? Rings & amulets?

I notice that Rifts seem to go on and on, multiple levels - is there any benefit to keep going after killing the Guardian? I'm not really bothered about efficiency, I just enjoy toodling along.

Should I try Greater Rifts at T1, or should I wait until I can comfortably clear T3+ Rifts?

Black Mushrooms - WTF?

TIA

Set items can drop from any mob. Some items only drop on torment difficulty so ideally you want to be running t6 all the time. Your only choice here is to just kill mobs and more mobs and hope for the best. Aside from bounty caches there are no static drops from mobs. (that means everything is based on RNG/randomness)

You gamble for what you want or need. Need shoulders to finish that set piece ? That's what you're gambling. You'll notice Rings, amulets and weapons cost a lot more blood shards so you might find it beneficial to gamble the less expensive items til you get majority of the gear you're wanting.

Continuing on after the Guardian is a personal choice. Most people keep going so they don't run out of rift keys as fast. If this is not an issue for you, or if you're perfectly fine grinding new rift fragments after you run out, all the power to ya.

A lot of people continue on as they can clear a t6 rift in under a minute, leaving you thin on rift keys rather quickly.

greater rift difficulty is a bit different than t1 through to t6. Higher the grift level, the harder it is.

[Davemetalhead]

Thanks all for the info so far - but now I'm back with another question ...

When it comes to gambling, does it matter what difficulty you're playing in? I have a seasonal Barb at 70 who can't yet play in Master mode (let alone Torment) - should I gamble whilst in Expert mode, or just save my shards until I finally find gear good enough for me to get into Torment?

Edit: Just a thought - with the gear I have, could anyone maybe suggest a better build than that I'm currently using, something that might help me push on into Torment? http://eu.battle.net/d3/en/profile/D.../hero/58582019.

[rated]

I'll quote a blue from a year ago as I think it answers your question and still applies

The chance that Kadala will give you a Legendary item does not change based on difficulty. So, in theory, a player could obtain a class set item without ever leaving Normal difficulty. To put it another way I'll use the original example of gathering Blood Shards in Master difficulty, and spending them in Torment VI. The chances to obtain a Legendary item (and the pool of possible items) from Kadala in Torment VI is exactly the same as Master, since that chance (and item pool) is static.

http://www.diablofans.com/builds/539...0-55-whirlwind
6WW 4IK WW build

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/15700042524
Thread on d3 forums with a bunch of resources and information on guides etc

Start there. Your current build is a mix of everything and will never work. Figure out a specific skill/set build you want to build around, copy it then come back asking questions.

[Davemetalhead]

Having never played a public game I'm thinking of having a crack at one or two tonight, a question I have though - how is loot handled? Does it just drop like in single-player, and is it, in that case, the first person to pick it up gets it? Are there etiquette rules I should abide by that aren't obvious (no drama, be polite/friendly etc)?

[Kelimbror]

Having never played a public game I'm thinking of having a crack at one or two tonight, a question I have though - how is loot handled? Does it just drop like in single-player, and is it, in that case, the first person to pick it up gets it? Are there etiquette rules I should abide by that aren't obvious (no drama, be polite/friendly etc)?

All loot is personal, pick up everything you want. Other than that you generally just stick with the group and contribute as best you can. Don't go into a higher difficulty that you can't handle on your own and then hang back letting everyone else dog it out. Feel free to leave at any time because it scales based on number of people.

[Davemetalhead]

All loot is personal, pick up everything you want. Other than that you generally just stick with the group and contribute as best you can. Don't go into a higher difficulty that you can't handle on your own and then hang back letting everyone else dog it out. Feel free to leave at any time because it scales based on number of people.

Ah, OK - so a set item or legendary drops for me, no-one else will see that?

I can manage T1 on my Barb, it's a bit slow but I can do it. I wanted to join public games because I've read that there is more chance of legendary and set items dropping that way - I was hoping to join games on T2 or T3 but I guess that might be taking the mickey!

[Kelimbror]

Ah, OK - so a set item or legendary drops for me, no-one else will see that?

I can manage T1 on my Barb, it's a bit slow but I can do it. I wanted to join public games because I've read that there is more chance of legendary and set items dropping that way - I was hoping to join games on T2 or T3 but I guess that might be taking the mickey!

Correct, any items that drop are yours and you can have them all. There is a greater chance of legs/xp/gold in groups. It's well worth doing. Not joining groups above your level serves two purposes:

1) You aren't being a d-bag
2) You're actually saving your own time too

Since it scales on each person, if you join a group and can't give 1/4th of the effort, it makes it take longer for everyone including you. I would start with T1 and see how it feels. As long as you can do T1, go for it. There's no value in playing under T1 really.

Most people won't communicate at all, so it's just organic leading/following and blasting monsters. Most groups (I don't know why) will continue through a rift even after the guardian is dead. I'm sure there's some logic behind this, but I don't personally like it. It feels awkward and your bags get full too often. I haven't been in a single group yet this season that hasn't just continued through the entire rift causing people to awkwardly leave or port to town and just hang around.

Don't take that to mean you will have a bad time, because you can drop and join a new group at any time and there's no hard feelings b/c of how scaling works.

[Davemetalhead]

Marvellous - ta muchly.

[Davemetalhead]

Any tips on upgrading gems? The highest grift I've managed was 25 although the guardian killed me 3 times I managed to get through the rest of the mobs without too much of an issue. Normally I've been stepping up a rift one by one using the portal-out and coming back with 4.5 minutes to spare method, and then around grift 12 or 13 upgrading a gem, however I've noticed now that the gems have a pretty low chance of upgrade. The highest gem I have is at level 10, and in a level 11 grift it only gave me a 60% chance to upgrade - failed all three times.

Do I need to run higher level grifts to upgrade a gem past certain levels? Is it better to run lower grifts with ease and speed and hope an upgrade happens, or slowly clear higher grifts to get a higher chance (assuming that's how it works?)

[Kelimbror]

Do I need to run higher level grifts to upgrade a gem past certain levels? Is it better to run lower grifts with ease and speed and hope an upgrade happens, or slowly clear higher grifts to get a higher chance (assuming that's how it works?)

If you want to play solo then you'll have to do what you can do. Perhaps you could evaluate your gear/spec and find improvements. The only other option is to play with higher geared players in pub games or with your clan/friends. When I do gem upgrades I run with a friend who can basically pull 2-3 of us through higher grifts on their own. We just try and keep up and die as little as possible.