The state of Wand slingers: Undeniable proof why wands are not viable and why GGG should fix them

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Consequence wrote:

That gem is the Cast on Crit gem.

I don't get it.

What is so powerful?

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TheAnuhart wrote:

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Consequence wrote:

That gem is the Cast on Crit gem.

I don't get it.

What is so powerful?

Look at the available weapon mods for Wands. You have all the good ones available to other weapon types: Ei attack speed, +dmg, + elem dmg, + crit chance...etc. BUT, on top of that you have the implicit + spell dmg mods which are exclusive to wands and the explicit spell dmg mods exclusive to wands, daggers, staves and scepters. Wands being the only ranged of those choices.

Now look at the cast on crit mechanic.

Lets say you have a fast attacking high crit chance wand with +spell dmg. If you are using multiple projectiles and you role a crit, you crit vs every mob you hit. Add in chain, fork or pierce and you can crit most if not all the mobs on the screen and many off it in 1 attack. For ease sake lets assume you hit 10 mobs. The cast on crit gem will cast 10 spells(whatever spell linkedk) all free of mana. 1 attack = 10+ spell casts which are effected by the +spell dmg on the wand.....

Add in the power syphon mechanic and its effect on crit and you will see how the dmg can spiral.

well, I'd say that if you need already LMP/GMP + Chain + power siphon + cast on crit, you already have 4 links used.
If you wanna use crit strike multiplier, you then need a 6L to link the speel you wanna use on crit.

So it can be really powerful with a 6L since the spell will benefit for those 4 powerful support gems as long as it's a projectile, but with a 5L, you basically need to sacrifice crit multiplier and faster attack/WED/inc crit chance to use it.

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Fruz wrote:

well, I'd say that if you need already LMP/GMP + Chain + power siphon + cast on crit, you already have 4 links used.
If you wanna use crit strike multiplier, you then need a 6L to link the speel you wanna use on crit.

So it can be really powerful with a 6L since the spell will benefit for those 4 powerful support gems as long as it's a projectile, but with a 5L, you basically need to sacrifice crit multiplier and faster attack/WED/inc crit chance to use it.

What if you just put 2 copies of the same spell into 6-L? Let's say, Power Siphon + GMP + chain + cast on crit + Ice spear + Ice spear.
This combo is cheap, and doubles damage dealt via spells, while crit multiplier wont give you such powerful benefit.

I think, though, that chain is a pretty poor choice, damage penalty is too high and there are no useful spells, that can use it, except Ice Spear, but it deals pretty inferior base damage.

If you choose melee weapon, though, you may want to try Spectral Throw:
Spectral Throw + GMP + cast on crit + spell + spell + power charge on critical
Works fine with daggers.

The main issue with wands, though, is very simple - WANDS LACK AOE SKILL. Yes, i know about GMP, chain and pierce gems, but they cant make single-targeted skill as viable for AoE damage, as AoE skill with proper supports can be. Most time in the game you want to deal AoE damage. AoE damage with wand is inferior (despite singe-target damage is OK). Unless new, specifically-designed AoE will be implemented, situation with wands remains the same.

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Consequence wrote:

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TheAnuhart wrote:

"

Consequence wrote:

That gem is the Cast on Crit gem.

I don't get it.

What is so powerful?

Look at the available weapon mods for Wands. You have all the good ones available to other weapon types: Ei attack speed, +dmg, + elem dmg, + crit chance...etc. BUT, on top of that you have the implicit + spell dmg mods which are exclusive to wands and the explicit spell dmg mods exclusive to wands, daggers, staves and scepters. Wands being the only ranged of those choices.

Now look at the cast on crit mechanic.

Lets say you have a fast attacking high crit chance wand with +spell dmg. If you are using multiple projectiles and you role a crit, you crit vs every mob you hit. Add in chain, fork or pierce and you can crit most if not all the mobs on the screen and many off it in 1 attack. For ease sake lets assume you hit 10 mobs. The cast on crit gem will cast 10 spells(whatever spell linkedk) all free of mana. 1 attack = 10+ spell casts which are effected by the +spell dmg on the wand.....

Add in the power syphon mechanic and its effect on crit and you will see how the dmg can spiral.

Wait..

You are saying the procced spell fires once for each enemy crit, not once per crit roll?

If so, that is the stupidest design I've ever heard of.

Any hope I had left in GGG (as faith went a long time ago) is almost gone with the many events around 1.0.

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TheAnuhart wrote:

Wait..

You are saying the procced spell fires once for each enemy crit, not once per crit roll?

If so, that is the stupidest design I've ever heard of.

Any hope I had left in GGG (as faith went a long time ago) is almost gone with the many events around 1.0.

It would be useless otherwise.

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MortalKombat3 wrote:

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TheAnuhart wrote:

Wait..

You are saying the procced spell fires once for each enemy crit, not once per crit roll?

If so, that is the stupidest design I've ever heard of.

Any hope I had left in GGG (as faith went a long time ago) is almost gone with the many events around 1.0.

It would be useless otherwise.

Well, this is why I originally thought it was.

But it's gone from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Why on earth didn't they come up with something in between. And yes, there are ways.

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TheAnuhart wrote:

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MortalKombat3 wrote:

"

TheAnuhart wrote:

Wait..

You are saying the procced spell fires once for each enemy crit, not once per crit roll?

If so, that is the stupidest design I've ever heard of.

Any hope I had left in GGG (as faith went a long time ago) is almost gone with the many events around 1.0.

It would be useless otherwise.

Well, this is why I originally thought it was.

But it's gone from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Why on earth didn't they come up with something in between. And yes, there are ways.

I would recommend you actually try builds IN ACTION before you criticize so harshly. If it is SO overpowered, as you suggest, why aren't any of the streamers using this mechanic? Litterally, none of them are taking advantage of the new mechanics.

On the surface, this mechanic seems OP. But go ahead and try to design a build like this and you too will see how hard it can be to work out the details. In particular how are you going to deal with reflect. This is a crit build after all and if it is a relect pack you aren't taking about 1 spell being reflected back to you by a pack of mobs your talking about 10 spells being reflected back. There are ways around this but it requires very precise character design that often leaves you lacking in some other area. Currenty, I have a double strike toon who uses melee splash and EK on crit. It is a very fun way to play and it is working very well. But it is hardly overpowered. It is also very difficult to manage gear wise. As far as DPS I would say it is amazing in packs, but only ok in 1v1.

Pew Pew wander! I find wanders quite ok, the only issue is that crafting a good wand is really hard.

Is everyone talking about ele or phys wanders? Because if ele then I have literally no idea how can you call them bad if they are even stronger then before 1.0.