jaymovez
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Effective Gearing in Act 3
Armor VS Resistance
In this guide I will discuss some of the key stats necessary to be an effective botter in Inferno act 3 difficulty.
Most of the information pertain to melee classes, though some of the information here may prove to be useful
for all classes, as I discuss gearing properly for effective damage reduction.
After changing some of my gear/skills to balance armor and all resist (which is discussed in this guide), my monk
no longer dies while botting in act 3.
A lot of people still do not understand how Armor and All resist are related. Hopefully after reading this, you can
save a lot of money by gearing your characters more efficiently.
The main reason why many have death issues, is due to ineffective gearing and skill use. For the most effective
damage reduction, you have to have a ratio close to 10 Armor: 1 All resist. For example, it is much more
effective to have 10000 armor and 1000 all resist, than say, 5000 armor and 1500 all resist.
Why? Because damage reduction is calculated multiplicatively. So what does this mean?
Effective health formula: HEALTH / [(1-"reduction from resist")(1-"reduction from armor")]
This means that having too much or too little of either all resist or armor is inefficient. For example, if you have
1200 all resist, but only 6000 armor, your damage reduction is actually lower than if you were to have more armor
and less all resist.
Also, due to the fact that there are diminishing returns (DR), having too much of either stat becomes less and less
valuable, the more you stack it.
Many people copy one's spec or gear without really knowing what they are lacking. For example, using Time of Need
(Mantra of Healing - Increase 20% all resist) when you already have 1000 resist, but only 5000 armor. Or using
Hard Target (Mantra of Evasion - Increase 20% armor) when you already have 9500 armor, but only 600 all resist.
You may also be gearing solely for all resist, and not caring about armor (which many people tend to be doing), yet
armor is just as effective in reducing all damage, not just physical. So if there is one thing you get out of reading this,
it should be that: "My armor to resist ratio should be as close to 10:1 as possible."
The easiest way to explain is this:
10 x 1 = 10
9 x 1.1 = 9.9
7 x 1.3 = 9.1
5 x 1.4 = 7
So, the greater the disparity between Armor and All resist values, the lower your effective damage mitigation.
I have tested this myself and it really is amazing once you start balancing those numbers. Before, I didn't care too
much for armor, and it was at around 7000, while my all resist was at 1300. My bot was still dying once in a while.
After balancing armor and all resist as close to 10:1 as possible, my bot now has 0 DPH consistently.
If you want more information with serious mathematicians going at it, check out this thread
Another great read about the topic: Survival for the Average Player
Which goes further into diminishing returns and efficient distribution of stat points. In summary it basically says:
"To get the most bang for the buck, add more points into whatever is lower whether it's resists or armor and you'll
get more % reduction for those points."
-Contributed by badoodles
My Monk's Stats
If I had a barb, I'd bot with the barb because it's easier and less costly, but I don't. Monk's are still the second
best botting class, and when geared/spec'ed correctly, they can be very efficient botters.
What is the "best" spec for monks? There isn't one. There are many different ways to spec a monk. Some say they
are doing fine while dual wielding with lots of LoH and damage, while others say 1H + Shield is the only way.
Although dual wielding may do more damage, it is much more expensive to have the gear to efficiently bot act 3
with it. Personally, I prefer 1H + Shield, as it gives me a lot more armor and all resist. The damage from 1H + Shield
isn't necessarily low, as my monk is doing 50k DPS while being unkillable
After some trial and error, working with various skills and gear sets, this is what I use now. Keep in mind, you should
vary your skills according to what you need. As mentioned before, if you lack resist, use Time of Need (+20% all resist).
If you lack armor, use Hard Target (+20% armor). I was actually botting with Conviction/Overawe, but I found it to be
more efficient to not die at all by using Mantra of Healing/Evasion. Perhaps I will change back to conviction once I
have better gear.
Here are my current skills: Monk - Game Guide - Diablo III
Blind VS Seven Sided Strike
Some people prefer blind, others prefer seven-sided strike. Both are fine choices, but in my experience, the only way
my monk will die, or get close to die, is from AoE damage, such as getting stuck with desecrations and arcane turrets.
Blind does not really help during these situations, nor do I ever actually die when packs are actually physically hitting me.
Although the short 30% damage increase from blind may prove to be highly useful. Though, seven-sided strike is very
powerful as well, ever since the buff. It's a personal preference really.
Note: "note about blinding flash that if you use the +30% holy damage rune and sweeping winds with giles trinity it casts
the blind first and sweeping winds right after, meaning that you'll get a insanely high dps (100k dps for me) sweeping winds
(it takes a snapshot of the dps when you cast the spell and keeps it up until it runs out)"
-Contributed by Gorthor
Edit: I now highly recommend trying Blind with Faith in the Light for +30% damage. If you are using Giles Trinity,
your sweeping winds does really become insanely powerful.
Passives
Other than the two necessities: Sieze the Initiative and One With Everything, there are a few good
choices for the 3rd passive. I was actually using Transcendence for a while, until I realized it was completely
useless. Every time I mantra it will heal for 3100 health. I can get that in 2 hits, and it really becomes useless once
you have higher HP.
Resolve might be useful for those taking heavy melee damage, such as those using dual wield. However, as
mentioned before, damage from packs hitting me is not the problem for me, but the AoE's. People have tested Resolve
with AoE damage, and it was found to not reduce AoE damage by 25%. It MAY reduce the newly casted AoE's, after
you hit the mob, but this is unreliable.
Guardian's Path - obviously if you are dual wielding.
Beacon of Ytar - I've tested this as well, it seems very useful to have lower CDs on everything (serenity, breath,
seven-sided strike), but it usually does not help the bot in tough situations, while another passive can be working at all times.
Sixth Sense - is a great choice if you have a good amount of crit, and especially when using evasive mantra.
Gear
Armor/All Resist
Stay near 10:1 armor to resist ratio.
As mentioned above, I had 7000 armor and 1300 all resist (using Time of Need), and my bot was still dying. After learning
about the 10:1 armor to resist ratio, I switched my mantra to Hard Target for 20% armor and increased my evasion
further by using Sixth Sense. By increasing my armor to 9200 and having my resist around 1100, I am much closer now
to the 10:1 ratio
On every piece of armor, you should always have some form of resist. Whether that's all resist, or your elemental resist.
I have all resist and lightning resistance (my highest element) on almost all of my gear, except a few, which still has just
lightning resist.
Life on Hit
Of course, just having armor and resist isn't everything. Life on Hit is very important for monks. Many people roll with 500+,
or some even said that they were using life steal, even though life steal is reduced by 80% in inferno. I guess if you were
dual wielding with very high DPS, it could work.
I roll with 1550 LoH. I would say LoH is as important as armor and resist for monks. Some of you may think this is very hard
to achieve, but it really isn't. My LoH primarily comes from 2 sources, my weapon and amulet. My ring also gives me a bit as
well.
I would say try to aim for around 1200 LoH, having a weapon with 700 LoH and amulet with 500 LoH is not too expensive
HP/DPS
After you've taken care of armor, all resist, and LoH, you should look into increasing your HP with vitality and life %, as well
as increasing your damage as much as possible. The more damage you have, the faster you will do runs, and the faster you
will kill packs, before they get to kill you.
Block
Block is somewhat important as well, but personally, I don't focus too hard on the block %. For me, if I see a shield that can
give me much more armor/resist and crit VS a shield that will give me more block, I'd definitely take the armor/resist/crit.
Why? Because block does not help with AoE effects. You can block elemental damage and range/melee hits, but as mentioned,
those are none of my concern any more. It is a good stat to have though, to mitigate more damage. I would say try to get around
20-24%+ block (including Helm of Command +8% block) if possible, otherwise get the shield that will give you better stats.
Here is my recommendation for the minimum stats required for efficient act 3 farming (including buffs/enchantress):
? 950+ All resist
? 8000+ Armor
? 1200 Life on Hit
? 45,000 HP
? 35,000 DPS
My gear has a lot to improve in terms of damage, but if you can gear some what close to what I have posted in the
picture above, you can efficiently farm act 3 with nearly 0 deaths.
As you get higher in paragon levels, you can start replacing your MF equipment for more efficient gear.
That's all I have to say for now, I hope this guide has been helpful to some of you
Good luck with your gears!
Armor VS Resistance
In this guide I will discuss some of the key stats necessary to be an effective botter in Inferno act 3 difficulty.
Most of the information pertain to melee classes, though some of the information here may prove to be useful
for all classes, as I discuss gearing properly for effective damage reduction.
After changing some of my gear/skills to balance armor and all resist (which is discussed in this guide), my monk
no longer dies while botting in act 3.
A lot of people still do not understand how Armor and All resist are related. Hopefully after reading this, you can
save a lot of money by gearing your characters more efficiently.
The main reason why many have death issues, is due to ineffective gearing and skill use. For the most effective
damage reduction, you have to have a ratio close to 10 Armor: 1 All resist. For example, it is much more
effective to have 10000 armor and 1000 all resist, than say, 5000 armor and 1500 all resist.
Why? Because damage reduction is calculated multiplicatively. So what does this mean?
Effective health formula: HEALTH / [(1-"reduction from resist")(1-"reduction from armor")]
This means that having too much or too little of either all resist or armor is inefficient. For example, if you have
1200 all resist, but only 6000 armor, your damage reduction is actually lower than if you were to have more armor
and less all resist.
Also, due to the fact that there are diminishing returns (DR), having too much of either stat becomes less and less
valuable, the more you stack it.
Many people copy one's spec or gear without really knowing what they are lacking. For example, using Time of Need
(Mantra of Healing - Increase 20% all resist) when you already have 1000 resist, but only 5000 armor. Or using
Hard Target (Mantra of Evasion - Increase 20% armor) when you already have 9500 armor, but only 600 all resist.
You may also be gearing solely for all resist, and not caring about armor (which many people tend to be doing), yet
armor is just as effective in reducing all damage, not just physical. So if there is one thing you get out of reading this,
it should be that: "My armor to resist ratio should be as close to 10:1 as possible."
The easiest way to explain is this:
10 x 1 = 10
9 x 1.1 = 9.9
7 x 1.3 = 9.1
5 x 1.4 = 7
So, the greater the disparity between Armor and All resist values, the lower your effective damage mitigation.
I have tested this myself and it really is amazing once you start balancing those numbers. Before, I didn't care too
much for armor, and it was at around 7000, while my all resist was at 1300. My bot was still dying once in a while.
After balancing armor and all resist as close to 10:1 as possible, my bot now has 0 DPH consistently.
If you want more information with serious mathematicians going at it, check out this thread
Another great read about the topic: Survival for the Average Player
Which goes further into diminishing returns and efficient distribution of stat points. In summary it basically says:
"To get the most bang for the buck, add more points into whatever is lower whether it's resists or armor and you'll
get more % reduction for those points."
-Contributed by badoodles
My Monk's Stats
If I had a barb, I'd bot with the barb because it's easier and less costly, but I don't. Monk's are still the second
best botting class, and when geared/spec'ed correctly, they can be very efficient botters.
What is the "best" spec for monks? There isn't one. There are many different ways to spec a monk. Some say they
are doing fine while dual wielding with lots of LoH and damage, while others say 1H + Shield is the only way.
Although dual wielding may do more damage, it is much more expensive to have the gear to efficiently bot act 3
with it. Personally, I prefer 1H + Shield, as it gives me a lot more armor and all resist. The damage from 1H + Shield
isn't necessarily low, as my monk is doing 50k DPS while being unkillable
After some trial and error, working with various skills and gear sets, this is what I use now. Keep in mind, you should
vary your skills according to what you need. As mentioned before, if you lack resist, use Time of Need (+20% all resist).
If you lack armor, use Hard Target (+20% armor). I was actually botting with Conviction/Overawe, but I found it to be
more efficient to not die at all by using Mantra of Healing/Evasion. Perhaps I will change back to conviction once I
have better gear.
Here are my current skills: Monk - Game Guide - Diablo III
Blind VS Seven Sided Strike
Some people prefer blind, others prefer seven-sided strike. Both are fine choices, but in my experience, the only way
my monk will die, or get close to die, is from AoE damage, such as getting stuck with desecrations and arcane turrets.
Blind does not really help during these situations, nor do I ever actually die when packs are actually physically hitting me.
Although the short 30% damage increase from blind may prove to be highly useful. Though, seven-sided strike is very
powerful as well, ever since the buff. It's a personal preference really.
Note: "note about blinding flash that if you use the +30% holy damage rune and sweeping winds with giles trinity it casts
the blind first and sweeping winds right after, meaning that you'll get a insanely high dps (100k dps for me) sweeping winds
(it takes a snapshot of the dps when you cast the spell and keeps it up until it runs out)"
-Contributed by Gorthor
Edit: I now highly recommend trying Blind with Faith in the Light for +30% damage. If you are using Giles Trinity,
your sweeping winds does really become insanely powerful.
Passives
Other than the two necessities: Sieze the Initiative and One With Everything, there are a few good
choices for the 3rd passive. I was actually using Transcendence for a while, until I realized it was completely
useless. Every time I mantra it will heal for 3100 health. I can get that in 2 hits, and it really becomes useless once
you have higher HP.
Resolve might be useful for those taking heavy melee damage, such as those using dual wield. However, as
mentioned before, damage from packs hitting me is not the problem for me, but the AoE's. People have tested Resolve
with AoE damage, and it was found to not reduce AoE damage by 25%. It MAY reduce the newly casted AoE's, after
you hit the mob, but this is unreliable.
Guardian's Path - obviously if you are dual wielding.
Beacon of Ytar - I've tested this as well, it seems very useful to have lower CDs on everything (serenity, breath,
seven-sided strike), but it usually does not help the bot in tough situations, while another passive can be working at all times.
Sixth Sense - is a great choice if you have a good amount of crit, and especially when using evasive mantra.
Gear
Armor/All Resist
Stay near 10:1 armor to resist ratio.
As mentioned above, I had 7000 armor and 1300 all resist (using Time of Need), and my bot was still dying. After learning
about the 10:1 armor to resist ratio, I switched my mantra to Hard Target for 20% armor and increased my evasion
further by using Sixth Sense. By increasing my armor to 9200 and having my resist around 1100, I am much closer now
to the 10:1 ratio
On every piece of armor, you should always have some form of resist. Whether that's all resist, or your elemental resist.
I have all resist and lightning resistance (my highest element) on almost all of my gear, except a few, which still has just
lightning resist.
Life on Hit
Of course, just having armor and resist isn't everything. Life on Hit is very important for monks. Many people roll with 500+,
or some even said that they were using life steal, even though life steal is reduced by 80% in inferno. I guess if you were
dual wielding with very high DPS, it could work.
I roll with 1550 LoH. I would say LoH is as important as armor and resist for monks. Some of you may think this is very hard
to achieve, but it really isn't. My LoH primarily comes from 2 sources, my weapon and amulet. My ring also gives me a bit as
well.
I would say try to aim for around 1200 LoH, having a weapon with 700 LoH and amulet with 500 LoH is not too expensive
HP/DPS
After you've taken care of armor, all resist, and LoH, you should look into increasing your HP with vitality and life %, as well
as increasing your damage as much as possible. The more damage you have, the faster you will do runs, and the faster you
will kill packs, before they get to kill you.
Block
Block is somewhat important as well, but personally, I don't focus too hard on the block %. For me, if I see a shield that can
give me much more armor/resist and crit VS a shield that will give me more block, I'd definitely take the armor/resist/crit.
Why? Because block does not help with AoE effects. You can block elemental damage and range/melee hits, but as mentioned,
those are none of my concern any more. It is a good stat to have though, to mitigate more damage. I would say try to get around
20-24%+ block (including Helm of Command +8% block) if possible, otherwise get the shield that will give you better stats.
Here is my recommendation for the minimum stats required for efficient act 3 farming (including buffs/enchantress):
? 950+ All resist
? 8000+ Armor
? 1200 Life on Hit
? 45,000 HP
? 35,000 DPS
My gear has a lot to improve in terms of damage, but if you can gear some what close to what I have posted in the
picture above, you can efficiently farm act 3 with nearly 0 deaths.
As you get higher in paragon levels, you can start replacing your MF equipment for more efficient gear.
That's all I have to say for now, I hope this guide has been helpful to some of you
Good luck with your gears!
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