PvM Wind druid advice

[foofighter]

PvM Wind druid advice

Heya, am in a bit of a quandary at the moment re. my wind druid. He is massively twinked :undecided:, lvl 68 at the moment just having killed nightmare diablo. Tornado and hurricane have already been maxed and im about 10/11 points into twister, cyc has about 12 in it already. Gear:

Jalal's (Which is better, this, shako, nightwing?)
HOTO
Spirit shield 35%fcr
Enigma archon plate
Glooms Trap (plan on getting arachnid's as soon as i hit the insane lvl req)
2x SOJ
Sandstorm Treks
Frostburn (should i switch to magefist, i had mana problems earlier on and just havent changed)
Mara's
Switch: CtA

I just went through the Chaos Sanctuary 3 times (nm) in about 2 mins each on players 8, no trouble at all, except the first run when i ran towards lord de seis and almost instantly died, dont know why...(first time :cry: ) So i have no trouble surviving (bout 1800 life with BO and OS), but i dunno about two things:

1. Should I switch out my jalal's for something else?
2. Seeing as i have gone the max block route, should i use stormshield, or shall i keep spirit? Im kinda liking it because as i did not realise earlier, teleporting on top of someone with a bear means they basically cant hit me so block isnt that important!

Damage is about 3050 for tornado, 1050 for hurricane btw...

Any other pointers would be cool!

EDIT: Also, my merc atm is a Freeze merc with Vampiregaze, Fort, and Bonehew. I have heard Reaper's Toll is a good idea for a wind druid...better than infinity? Mana is not really a prob (900+ with BO, less if i get rid of the frostburns) so i dont need insight i dont think. What is the best choice?

 

[inanefedaykin]

Don't get max block with a spirit, it takes way more dexterity then its worth. Also, for PvM you in no way need max block. You have a one point oak sage up right?

 

[foofighter]

I wasnt planning on getting max block with spirit, i just thought that since i had put lots of points in dex planning on using stormshield i might as well switch. The question is, do i keep putting dex points in every so often and then switch to stormshield when i get to lvl 73 or stop putting points in and make do with spirit (i already have about 140 base dex!) I have a level 7 oak sage actually (higher with skills obviously), cos i didnt fancy going through most of hell with only one point, but im leaving maxing that till last now. What about on the merc front? Also, jalal's, or sumthin else? Ive also seen that a good high lvl windy can do 6k with tornado and 3k with hurricane, cant see myself getting anywhere near that, even with anni and torch...maybe the rest of the synergies will do it for me...

 

[DayDream]

Shako because of mf.

 

[inanefedaykin]

Shako is good for mf, Jalals is better all around.

 

[furiousFenrir]

figure I might as well add my question to this thread. I am also a PvM Wind druid. I was wondering what you guys think I should do for a merc and what gear to equip the merc with. I am trading off my auradin towards the merc gear so shouldnt have a problem getting the gear so go top gear for what you would put on the merc. I am ashamed to say this will be the second merc I have used in 6 or so years.... so ya thanks Trevor

 

[Verashiden]

Do you plan to Chaos with your windy? If so, a low damage Insight would be best since he won't be killing anything anyways and he'll survive maiden long enough for you to run like a wuss .

 

[furiousFenrir]

Verash would using faith on a act1 merc be beneficial at all?

 

[foofighter]

I also have merc issues. I have an insight i could give him, but sincemost of his damage is done by tornado, is it worth it, other than to deal with cold immunes? Or should i go for reaper's toll? or something else? Also im single player so no keys, no ubers no nothing

 

[inanefedaykin]

@foofighter
Ok, first misconception. Tornado does physical damage while hurricane does cold.

For single player you're not using hoto or enigma so the massive mana drain that is teleport no longer exists and you'll be using spirit instead of hoto so you gain massive mana there. You'll be fine with just mana pots and maybe a silkweave so go with reaper's toll.

@Fenrir
Not really. Since you'll be teleporting you'll probably be looking at insight, or if you don't mind constant mana pot spamming consider a reapers as well to break physical immunes. Armor and helm really depend on what you're doing with the char, as Vera said if you're doing chaos you'll want a low damage insight for your merc to counter iron maiden so armors like fort are kinda useless. Consider Shaftstop, Gladiator's Bane, Crown of Thieves, Vampire Gaze, Gangel, Rockstopper or anything similar.

 

[furiousFenrir]

Kay thanks inanefedaykin. I have glad bane and vamp just sitting in my inventory on a mule so I will put them to use then. Now hopefully my faith bow and some extras can get me an insight. Thanks again. Oh and thanks Foofighter for letting me in on your thread.

Trevor

 

[inanefedaykin]

Hmm, I wonder if PDR and DR work against Iron Maiden.

 

[Tiidus]

Id say switch to Shako over Jalals any day. Shako is very underated, but mass life, mana 2 skills and dmg reduce is v hard to beat.

My first choice would be a gg rare helmet or coa though.

And for your block question. If your using spirit u need no dex and all vit. If you do wanna go the block route then use stormsheild.

I like all vit and spirit because it allows for more dmg and druids r tanks anyway, but its a personal preference.

 

[foofighter]

@ inanefedaykin: I did realise that nado was physical, thats why i was thinking that infinity was probably not worth it since it would only increase hurricane damage, not my main killer.

Also, i am using hoto and enigma in single player, teleporting makes killing so much quicker, and safer given that physical attacks dont hit me with a bear stacked on top, and even then my mana is over 900 with BO, so no problems really. I think reaper's is a good idea though and will switch to it as soon as my merc reaches right level/strength, using amn/hel bonehew atm.

 

[foh pally]

for the helm just socket a jalals with a perfect topaz. You sacrifice some mf put gain alot more useful stats. besides the mf is easily compensated for. here's my mf:
jalals 24
2x nagels 48
nigma 81
baba 141
wartravs 35
and I also have goldwrap available 35 i think.

total mf is 339
if your usin hoto just put baba on switch. that is if you can do w/out a cta i got like 1850 life between base vit/gear/ oak sage.
If your lacking power you can always switch out the nagels with sojs/bks that won't kill you either

 

[Verashiden]

Id say switch to Shako over Jalals any day. Shako is very underated, but mass life, mana 2 skills and dmg reduce is v hard to beat.

My first choice would be a gg rare helmet or coa though.

And for your block question. If your using spirit u need no dex and all vit. If you do wanna go the block route then use stormsheild.

I like all vit and spirit because it allows for more dmg and druids r tanks anyway, but its a personal preference.

Massive life and mana = about 150. Don't forget that life/mana per level is not BOable and not affected by Sage.