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Building a Diablo III Wizard to solo Inferno difficulty
With patch 1.04's new paragon level system, there's been a definite increase in the number of people getting back to playing Diablo III. Every class was buffed in the patch, and only a small handful of skills and items were nerfed, leaving everyone to pore over the skill windows and come up with new builds. Barbarians definitely made it out of the patch in the best shape, with huge buffs to Bash and Rend, buffs to two-handed weapons, and a whole host of new legendary weapons to aim for. Wizards, on the other hand, weren't so lucky. For all the buffs described in the 1.04 wizard preview devblog, not much has really changed. The Energy Twister nerf backfired hilariously, and all of the underpowered spells and runes that were buffed are still pretty useless. Energy Armor is still a mandatory skill, most Wizards are still running Critical Mass builds, and the new legendaries aimed at Wizards don't seem to make any sense from an itemisation standpoint. So how should you build a solo Wizard in 1.04? In this guide, I detail three highly effective Wizard builds and give tips on gearing for each of them following patch 1.04.
EVE Evolved: Five awesome carrier tactics
The world of EVE Online's capital warfare is most often a numbers game. Alliances commit forces to a fight knowing that victory is almost assured if they have significantly more ships than the enemy. But not all capital pilots and corporations are created equal; some can pull off incredible tactical plays that act as force multipliers, increasing the effectiveness of every man on the battlefield. Rooks and Kings alliance has a long history of fighting above its weight by employing highly effective cooperative strategies, so it's no surprise that four out of my five top capital tactics come from the alliance's awesome PvP videos. I think it's safe to say that if Rooks and Kings brings fewer capital ships than you to a fight, you're still vastly outnumbered. In this week's EVE Evolved, I showcase videos of five awesome carrier tactics, each with a video of the tactic in action.
Enter at Your Own Rift: Looking for groups
Like some of you, I feel that RIFT's Update 1.2 can't get here soon enough. A good content update, in my opinion, has a little something for everyone, and in talking with Trion Worlds last week, I definitely got that feeling from this patch. The team is catering to endgame players with Slivers, build-enthusiasts with a fifth role, rift-runners with new types of dynamic events, and people who aren't content to merely spam my Twitter feed with accomplishments but must now do so from inside Facebook as well. I'd be lying if I said I'm not planning on spending huge amounts of time assembling dashing and fashionable outfits for my characters once the wardrobe is in the game, too. I'm all about outfits in Lord of the Rings Online, so it's great to see RIFT bring this type of system into the game (unlike some other stubborn studios, which shall remain nameless). Players like to feel powerful while looking incredible, and this outfit system will hopefully allay some of the complaints of similar-looking toons. Above all this in Update 1.2 towers one of the biggest changes to the game yet: the Looking for Group (LFG) tool. Designed to assemble teams of players to tackle dungeons and group quests, the LFG tool will certainly change how we play RIFT. Will it be a good change or bad? That's the $1,000,000 question, which I will tackle after these brief messages, by which I mean, "after the jump."
Enter at Your Own Rift: Zero-sum game
Ever since I started following RIFT, I've been entranced by the wide-open -- but not limitless -- class system. After all, the virtual world and everything populating it is only half the game; the other half resides in the avatar that sticks with you while you explore it all. Many MMOs have interesting ways of letting you build and grow your character, but sooner or later they come to a point where there's little more to be done other than incrementally increasing your stats by gaining better gear. Not so with RIFT, as even a level 50 can drop a few coins to shape a completely new build from scratch. No longer are we bound to a rigidly defined creation; we are free to experiment, tinker, and try out these roles to our hearts' content. With RIFT's soul system, there are a few ground rules that everyone learns early in the game. You can have up to three souls in your archetype active at any one time; you can only spend as many points in a build as you have in levels (such as 10 points at level 10); and you'll end up with 66 points at level 50, which means that you'll at least dabble in a second soul tree with every build. And while you can certainly spread soul points across all three trees, today I wanted to look at the benefits of a zero-point soul, the "third wheel," if you will, of builds.
Rift classes and capital city detailed
As if a bunch of free beta keys weren't enough, Massively is proud to present even more goodies from Trion Worlds' upcoming Rift MMORPG. This time we have a detailed look at the lore behind the Guardian capital city of Sanctum, a new video of the city, and a ton of screenshots related to the Archon, Paragon, Shaman, and Riftstalker classes. Archons are support specialists who steal their opponents' strength and convert that raw energy into beneficial magic. These mages bolster their allies and unleash potent kinetic blasts, quickly turning the tide of battle. The Paragon wields two weapons to perfection, devastating his enemies. Paragons specialize in dealing consistent damage, and can also hit their enemies from range. The Riftstalker is a defensive specialist who bends the planes to enhance her constitution and shift in and out of the physical dimension. These highly skilled and survivable combatants keep their opponents' focus while easily evading incoming blows. Finally, the Shaman binds the power of the icy north to her very being, wreathing herself in pure elemental force. This power augments a Shaman's attacks, making her a powerful melee combatant, and provides shields and reactive healing Hit the jump for the lore and video. %Gallery-108036%
Rift's Archon soul revealed
Looking for more information on Rift: Planes of Telara? Well, first you should check out our exclusive hands-on, direct from Gamer Day II. After you've digested that, MMORPG.com has some interesting info regarding the newly announced Archon soul, a support specialist class that allows you to convert your opponent's strength and energy into usable magic. Trion's new twist on the traditional mage archetype focuses on buffing friends and allies and is a formidable combatant in its own right. That said, the Archons can also be quite vulnerable, especially during the period just after they've infused allies with their life force (and just prior to feeding off an enemy to regain their strength). Check out some background lore as well as a few class particulars at MMORPG.com.
EA's admirable beginnings remembered
This past week, Next Generation continued its gaming industry retrospective with a look back at the formative years of Electronic Arts. Originally conceived by industry luminary Trip Hawkins to be an independent publishing house for fresh talent, EA now resembles more of a Matrix-like incubator of human wage slaves producing endless, disposable iterations of worn-out franchises.But the company everyone loves to hate wasn't always that way. The article stirs up fond memories of some of the best computer games the early eighties had to offer. Who needed ABC afterschool movies when you could play Archon, M.U.L.E., and The Bard's Tale until dinner? But the publish-only model eventually gave way to development aspirations, and then the fun began! Read all about some of EA's most infamous acquisitions, and what steps the über developer needs to take in order to repair its tarnished image.For instance, EA is doing its part to make gaming more attractive to the female demographic, so the company can't be all bad. Right?
