Monday, August 31, 2015

Diablo 3 Video - Why Rush Past the Best Part? \ Enjoying the Loot Hunt in Season 4 [ZiggyD Gaming]

I wanted to make this video to provoke some of you into thinking about how you might be rushing past the best parts of Diablo 3 Season 4- the Loot Hunt! There's not really any drawback to taking an extra couple of days or even weeks to enjoy the loot hunt a little more - especially if you were never aiming to be a top of the leaderboards contender in the first place!

Here's Moldran's Video of his uber 20 hour barb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3ITz...

As always, do what you find most fun whether that's rushing or not - but if you've found yourself rushing and getting bored more quickly as a result then maybe it's time to approach D3 RoS a little differently!

CONNECT WITH ZIGGYD:
Web → http://ziggyd.tv/
Twitter → http://twitter.com/ziggydstarcraft
Facebook → http://www.facebook.com/ZiggyDTV
Support Me → http://ziggyd.tv/support
Livestream → http://twitch.tv/ziggydlive

Diablo III is a loot-based action-RPG from Blizzard Entertainment on the PC, PS3 & Xbox 360. Reaper of Souls is it's first expansions pack. You can purchase & find more info on the game here: us.battle.net/d3

Heroes of the Storm - "Who should I buy?" Spending your gold wisely (Monk Patch) by [GetEquipped]

PREFACE: THIS IS NOT A TIER LIST. This is more of a buyers guide for people wondering how to get the best heroes for their gold. They will be judged not just on their ability to complete their role, but also in how many comps they can fit in, how many comps they can counter, the difference between skill floor and skill ceiling, and how likely they are to be tuned in the next balance patch. So if you ask "WHY DIDN'T YOU MENTION KAEL'THAS?!" It's because they're going to patch out his Living bomb soon.

As more people play the game, and level up and prepare for Hero League, a question I often see in chat is "Hey, who I should I buy?" and then people give a wide array of answers, from personal preference, to "Flavor of the Month" (Hence forth abbreviated to FotM) to just trolly suggestions.

I know it takes a long time to farm up that 10K gold, and the decision to fill out your roster isn't easy, so I'm writing this post to help people who are still on the fence.

I will be breaking down heroes into 4 catagories, slightly different than the ones Blizz uses, and even different than what I have used before. (Instead of "Shield" or "Mace" for warrior, I may just say Tank. For "Flex" supports, I may even call them a DPS)

These will be
  • Tank
  • Healer
  • Damage Dealers (R/M)
  • Flex/Fill
Further more, I will use 3 categories. The "Best Buy" pick, which is usually more expensive, but you will get your gold worth, the "Value Buy" pick, a cheaper pick, probably off the meta, but still performs well, and the "Buyer Beware," heroes that I believe, or even have been specifically mentioned of being tuned very soon. These are picks that may be top right now, but may be trashed by balance changes or just a very high skill cap, and may not be ideal for a person unfamiliar with the role.

And finally, I want to say, that these are only suggestions. The choice is ultimately up to you. If you really want to get Kael'thas because you think he's awesome, or played a Belf Fire Mage in WoW, go for it. If a playstyle doesn't work for you, as if you're more of a Defensive player, and I recommend a highly aggressive melee DPS, stick to what you enjoy.
Let's get started.

TANK! Get everybody and their stuff together. OK, three, two, one let's jam.

This is, from my own experiences, the least desired role in Hero select. People will rush to a DPS, people may even highlight a healer, but no one wants to be the Meat Shield. Which is odd, because this is probably the best role to "lead" from. You decide when to engage, who gets locked down, when to retreat. Granted, not everyone will use their best judgement, but if you do your job well, then you can be the factor that tips the scales.
  • Best Buy: Johanna Price: 10K Gold
She has everything. Strong Initiation, peel, immune to CC, blind, a 60% slow, huge shield, great talent diversity, huge tracts of land! She fits into almost any comp and shuts down almost any other. Her biggest weakness is lack of mobility. She's a bit of a glacier and can be a pain to reposition in the heat of battle. But being overlooked by 2 balance patches, and the rise of Leoric hindering her winrate, it's safe to say, she'll be a top pick for the forseeable future.
  • Value Buy: Elite Tauren Chieftain, Muradin Price: 2K Gold
"BUT ETC IS TERRIBLE RIGHT NOW!" No, no he's not. He's still incredibly effective at creating space. What "sucks" is he can't push or clear waves, which is kind of important on larger maps or if they're tied to the objective (Infernal Shrines, Spider Queen) He still has great CC, good initiation, good sustain, and mobility. He just can't shove anymore until 16.

Muradin is another great choice. With the rise of Auto-Attack based assassins and the nerfs to "Imposing Presence," his "Reverberation" talent will really shine. He also has good CC, Avatar and Stoneform are great, his leap still makes him "unstoppable" but again, he suffers a bit with the prominence of Leoric, Which brings me to my last one
  • Buyer Beware Leoric Price: 10K Gold
Leo's rise caught a few people by surprise. Seemingly designed as a "tank buster" to counter the double tank meta, he really shown his potential as of late. MVP Black put him to amazing use at MSI, and people may see him as a "must buy" now. But his winrate seems a bit too high, he does his job a bit too well. Even though nothing has been mentioned, I have a feeling some of his defensive stats may be tuned down. But if you're about the FotM, and want a strong pick for TODAY, then I would probably get this guy above Johanna.

HEALER! Doctor! Doctor! Can't you see I'm Burning! Burning!
Another role no one wants. A good support is hard to find, and if you main support, you probably own them all anyway, and don't need this guide. You also probably have color coordinated all your skins with mounts, because you need to find some solace from the idiocy of your teammates ("No, Illidan, don't go back in, I JUST HEA- and he's dead... and now he's raging... well, at least my pony matches.")
  • Best Buy Uther Price: 7K Gold
For those that read my support guide, this shouldn't come as a surprise, for those that haven't read it, why not? Here it is. READ IT, AND LET YOUR HATRED CONSUME YOU!.

Uther is everything you need in a man, supportive, dependable, bearded. While he doesn't get a 10 on anything, being solid 7s in every area is enough to make him a top pick. He has good single target helas, CC, utility, an AOE heal which can be surprisingly effective DPS, and can even be a bit tanky, but not recommended. His two heroics shore up any gap your team might have, be it good engage, to protect the squishy
  • Value Buy Malfurion Price: 2K Gold
Malfurion lacks in a few key areas, mainly burst heals and cc/interrupts (Twilight Dream competes with Tranquility.) He makes up for it in sheer output. The amount of healing this guy can put out is second only to LiLi with Kung Fu Hustle, with the added bonus of being able to AIM HIS DAMN HEALS! He can talent into good wave clear with "Moonburn," Innerv is always desired, and can pick up MULE at 7 which is a must on Sky Temple. Personally I would pick this guy over Uther in drafts, as he's a lower skill cap, lower CDs, and you can pull off some cheese with "Hardened Focus."
  • Buyer Beware Rehgar Price 7K Gold
"BUT REHGAR IS AMAZING, AND HE JUST GOT REWORKED!" I know, I know, but he is a bit higher skill cap than other healers. His big heal has a delay, he lacks any CC outside a slowing totem. You need to know how and when to use your passive and lightning shield to it's fullest potential, and he doesn't have access to some key talents like MULE and Shrink ray, which can make some fights an uphill battle. But hey, he's free this week, try him out, and see if he's right for you

DAMAGE DEALERS! "Killing is my business and Business is good!"
Note: I'm going to list 2 per, as damage dealers (Not just "assassins") are a bit more situational. I'm also throwing melee and ranged in here as almost all melee not named "Zeratul" are a bit undertuned. I might change this format on the next one I do, breaking them apart.

You know, I'd rather deal with Attack Damage Carry (ADC) mains in LoL than Assassins mains in this game. Yeah, both are whiny and spoiled brats with a superiority complex, but at least ADCs were expected to have good mechanics and knowledge. You miss a skill shot in a critical fight; well, "gg, can't hit arrows." You don't know how to position and don't know target priorities? "gg, no focus" You position poorly, split push, get caught trying to solo a camp, "gg, ADC won't group." Assassins here will find any excuse to blame teammates. Vaulted in 1v4? "Johanna won't engage!" Died trying to contest a point for no reason while everyone is soaking "I guess my team doesn't know what objectives are!" Get's nailed by a Stitches Hook because of poor awareness "Stitches is so OP!" (RIP Buddy ;n;)

Anyway, if you're reading this, then you're not one of those cunts, because you have no idea which assassin to buy. Well, here are my suggestions.
  • Best Buys Sylvanas and Jaina Price: 10K Gold
I see Jaina as Anti-personnel (Team fights with protection, prolonged conflict, objectives close to lanes/forts) , Sylv as a Shock troop. (Solo, high risk "behind enemy lines" work, sabotaging and disabling. Think of maps where you want 0 attention, like Spider Tombs)

Both of these lovely ladies have recently received nerfs, but they're still very strong. Jaina can still kite, burst, clear waves, and her water elemental is still tankier than Stitches! (Sorry buddy.) Only downside is that she's squsihy, but that's how most assassins are. At least you have a permaslow on Jaina.

Sylv is a bit different, while she can do a considerable amount of damage, and can take care of herself; she's not a "team player." She has 1 AOE damaging ability on her W, the upgrade reduces the range by 25%, she can't target her Q, and E is an escape. But her silencing arrow is amazing initiation. But she works best in the shadows, when people are distracted. This is the character you want to give all the Spider gems and coins to. When a fight breaks out, she's able to turn in while the fodder go at each other's throats over a watch tower.
  • Value Buys Tychus and Zagara Price: 4K Gold and 7K Gold, respectively
I'm surprised Tychus hasn't seen more play. He's the "tankiest" of all assassins, having the one of the highest health pools for a ranged damage dealer, access to Regen Master, First Aid, Stone Skin, great wave clear, a short dash, self peel, can go Ability build or AA build. I think people are still reeling over his massive nerfs, but right now, He's slightly above average, and that's a great place to be.

As for Zagara, she has seen a ton of play. Great harass, vision, can shove lanes and merc camps hard, Maw is a poor man's Void prision. Only issue is that she's made of something flimsy, like paper mache... or Radditz. But ganks are very easily avoidable with just tumor placement. Get vision on your sides, and cover your escape for the speed boost. Tumor Clutch at 4 is criminally underrated, lowers CD and removes mana cost. Just remember, A.B.C.!
  • Buyer Beware Kael'thas and Zeratul Price: 10K
BUT THEY'RE SO GOOD RIGHT NOW! PICK OR BAN EVERY GAME! YOU'RE AN IDIOT IF YOU DON'T GET FREELO! Well, yeah, they are strong, but Kael is getting is chain bomb stacking explosion nerfe- I mean "fixed", and Zera has been on the devs radar for a really long time. There's a saying, the tallest blade of grass is the first to get cut. They may be the FotM, but all that attention doesn't bode well.

FLEX/FILL! Wake up, wake up, it's da first of da month! Get up, get up, so cash yo' checks and come up!

Think of these as 50/50, Half X/Half Y. These are less defined, a bit all over the place, they're almost always be an asset to the team. but don't expect to be received without some abuse if you're trying to fill one of the big three roles with them. I will say, these are luxury picks. They are by no means essential, but if you're looking to round out your hero collection, or fill some gaps, these may be for you.

And for the Buyer beware section, it's more of "heroes I hope are getting buffed soon." Not instabuy, but keep an eye out if they're on sale.
  • Best Buys
    • Abathur: 10K Gold: Yes, he's very reliant on his team, but he can get work done! He can soak EXP, shove lanes, pseudo-support with symbiote. While he can't carry anymore, he can grind out teams with constant pressure
    • The Butcher: 10K Gold I hate this hero, I hate it when people play him, people who don't know how to cancel their E, don't know how to reset their AA, constantly get caught. But I will say, GODDAMN! He is effective in the right hands. Does amazing damage, point and click stun, can duel anyone besides LiLi (No, I'm not trolling. Lili's blind will destroy him.) Just know when to go in.
    • Brightwing: 7K Gold: "WAHHH BW NERF BAD, WAHHH!" Yeah, she can't outheal stupid anymore, it sucks, but she still brings great utility. Vision, CC, peel, some "off healing," shields, her talented Pixie dust is the ONLY spell shield that can be applied in the game, not to mention global presence. Plus, I think she's due for some love.
  • Value Buys
    • Tassadar: 4K Gold: Oh Tass, the support that never was. While I don't think he can solo support, his access to almost all the utility support talents means the REAL support can invest all their talents into healing. But even as a "DPS" pick, he does good damage, is incredibly safe, and his Plasma Shield and MULE on Haunted mines makes him Freelo for that map.
    • Murky: 7K Gold: I genuinely believe Murky can fit in any comp. Now, will your teammates? Uhh...? He was left untouched with the "mage nerfs" "Living the dream" is still the same. He can shove lanes, CC lock an opponent, really good damage and as slippery as a slimy frog.
    • Tyrande: 7K Gold: She's probably my favorite support. Good healing, damage, vision, CC, and dat ass! Now I know why Illidan still crazy for that booty. I honestly think she can be a full support in solo queue, but your team might not have faith. Plus, if you already have a healer, more points into OWLS!
    • Raynor: 2K Gold: Ol' "Jimmy" got a little bit of love last patch. Higher base AD, and his old passive at 7, along with Seasoned Marksman buffs and Imposing presence nerf give him a nice niche as persistent ranged damage. He's as Vanilla as you get, but still effective.
  • Dark Horses Like I said, these are more of ones you may want to keep an eye on, but no promises.
    • Stitches: 7K Gold: Stitches sad, Stitches play too rough, now no one want to play with Stitches =(. I actually think he's going to get buffs soon, mainly because of the Bikini skin.
    • Nova: 10K Gold: Lot of nerfs by association. Wouldn't be surprised if she got some love next patch
    • Sonya: 4K Gold: They're going to fix her eventually! A man can dream!



SOURCE

Heroes of the Storm - Free Hero Rotation - September 1-7

  • Raynor
  • Muradin
  • Jaina
  • Uther
  • Zagara
  • Illidan (level 12)
  • Azmodan (level 15)
Source

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Heroes of The Storm Video - WTF Moments Ep.12 [Heroes of the Storm Highlights]

Heroes of the storm WTF Moments episode 12
Have any good fun/fail/win moments to submit? Do it here : http://www.heroesWTF.com or HeroesWTF@yahoo.com
Subscribe http://bit.ly/1QWeSwe

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeroesoftheS...

Music:
Action Hero 6 - Jon Björk by Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com)
Kevin MacLeod ~ "River Valley Breakdown" (incompetech.com)
Kevin MacLeod ~ "Winner Winner!"(incompetech.com)
Hands Way Up - Gunnar Olsen (Youtube library)
Bike Rides - The Green Orbs (Youtube library)
Kevin MacLeod - "Movement Proposition" (incompetech.com)
Kevin MacLeod - "Mechanolith" (incompetech.com)
Kevin MacLeod - "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" (incompetech.com)
Kevin MacLeod - "Fig Leaf Times Two" (incompetech.com)

Outro Music:
The Lost Vikings 2 Music: Smugglers Cove

Big Thanks to Submiters !

heroes of the storm eternal conflict

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...

WoW Wallpaper [by revenger96]

revenger96

Hearthstone Video - The Grand Tournament is Weird... [Disguised Toast]

Because he's the hero Hearthstone deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian. A watchful protector. A Disguised Toast.

Subscribe to Disguised Toast! ►http://bit.ly/1cRxhZa

Visit our Website! ► http://disguisedtoast.com
Like us on Facebook! ► http://facebook.com/DisguisedToast
Follow on Twitter! ► http://twitter.com/DisguisedToast

Credits:
Production Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound: http://www.epidemicsound.com
https://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/...
https://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/...
https://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/...
https://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/...
https://www.reddit.com/r/hearthstone/...

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Diablo 3 - Patch 2.3.0 Now Live

PATCH FEATURES


New Feature: The Ruins of Sescheron

The frozen wasteland that is the Ruins of Sescheron are now open for exploration! Filled with new enemies, traps, and environmental hazards, you'll be able to explore the region and learn more about what befell the barbarians of Mount Arreat. Explore the Immortal Throne and obtain the ultimate treasure: Kanai's Cube.



New Feature: Kanai's Cube

Kanai's Cube is a new artisan that offers a slew of new recipes to fully customize your items and catalogue your Legendary powers. Several recipes are available to players immediately upon acquiring Kanai's Cube:

    Extract Legendary Power: Destroy an item to add its Legendary power to your catalogue of collected powers. Once a power has been extracted, it can be equipped to your character without the need to equip the item. Players may have one Weapon, one Armor, and one Jewelry power equipped at a time. Players may only equip powers from items that their characters can normally equip and use.
    Reforge a Legendary Item: Completely re-rolls a Legendary item as though it had dropped for the first time. This includes any powers that may have been previously enchanted on the item. Note that reforged items may re-roll as either Ancient or non-Ancient, so reforge at your own discretion!
    Upgrade Rare Item: Upgrades the quality of a level 70 Rare item to Legendary. This item will roll as a randomized Legendary that shares that item's equipment type.
    Convert Set Item: Converts a Set item to a randomized piece of gear from the same Set. For example, if you convert a pair of Asheara's Finders, you could get Asheara's Custodian, Asheara's Pace, or Asheara's Ward in return.
    Remove Level Requirement: Removes the level requirement from an item, allowing it to be equipped by a character of any level.
    Convert Gems: Converts 9 of any color gem to 9 of any other color.
    Convert Crafting Materials: Converts 100 normal, magic, or rare Crafting Materials to 100 of another type of non-legendary Crafting Material

To aquire Kanai's Cube, visit Zoltun Kulle in New Tristram, Hidden Camp, Bastion's Keep Stronghold, or The Survivor's Enclave in Adventure Mode. He'll be quite pleased to guide you on your way.



New Feature: Season Journey

Each player approaches a new Season a little differently and we wanted to celebrate individual player successes. Beginning in Season 4, you'll be able to track your personal progress through the Season Journey interface.

A player's Season Journey is divided into chapters, each with their own descriptive goals and achievements. The further you advance in your Season Journey, the more difficult the milestones become and you'll find there are challenges for every level of player. Completing the highest level Tiers will unlock new portrait frame rewards to celebrate your accomplishments.

COMPLETE PATCH NOTES

Starcraft 2 - iNcontroL Talks: Huge LotV patch and update [iNcontroLTV]

-- Watch live at http://www.twitch.tv/incontroltv

Discussing the big removal of macro mechanics and some of the other huge changes to Legacy of the Void

Heroes of the Storm Video - Muradin Jump Tactics - Tips & Tricks [BlinksHotS]

Quick Video about how to play with and against Muradin's Jump.

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/coL_Blinks
Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/theblinks

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Hearthstone - New TGT Decks from Popular Streamers [by malero]

I've been adding all of the decks that I have found interesting from some of the popular Twitch streamers:


Druid
Reynad's TGT Combo Druid
Firebat's TGT Beast Druid


Hunter
Kolento's Lock and Load Hunter


Mage
Amaz's TGT Tempo Mage
Kibler's TGT Dragon Mage


Paladin
Trump's TGT Muster Paladin
Reynad's TGT Muster Paladin
Firebat's TGT Aggro Paladin


Priest
Reynad's TGT Dragon Priest
Lothar's TGT Dragon Priest
Noxious Aggro Priest


Shaman
Amaz's Totem Shaman
Trump's TGT Totem Shaman


Rogue
Kolento's TGT Mill Rogue
Forsen's Pirate Rogue


Warrior
Kolento's TGT Bolster/Dragon Warrior Warlock
Forsen's TGT Handlock

SOURCE

Hearthstone Video - Aviana One Turn Kill [HysteriA]

The Aviana dream happened live on stream with a little help from our good pal RNGESUS

watch me live on twitch: www.twitch.tv/hysteriahs
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HysteriAHS
Subscribe to my Channel: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c...

Music used:
"Epic Sax Guy" remix of Run Away by Sunstroke Project & Olia Tira ESC
Outro: Hearthstone 8 Bit - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6HfW...

Monday, August 24, 2015

Heroes of the Storm Video - Epic Plays Of The Week \ Episode #43 (Kharazim Edition) [KendricSwissh]

Epic highlights, funny fails, big plays or pure randomness -
••• My personal Heroes of the Storm moments of this week!
••• Send your own epic replays / links to kendricsquest@yahoo.com
----------------------------------------

­­---------------------------------------­-­--
••• Big thank you to #mionix for supporting my channel! Feel free to check them out as well at http://www.mionix.net
••• Hit me up on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KendricSwissh
----------------------------------------
­­---------------------------------------­-­--
••• Video Credits:

Sturmgeist13 (via replay)
Tephea (via replay)
Czlowieknikt (via replay)
Nirriti (via replay)
Lootenant (via replay)


Honorable mention:

Sauerkraut for being super healthy and super yummy.
----------------------------------------
­­---------------------------------------­-­--
••• Music by

#1 Era - Ameno (Dubstep Remix)

#2 F777 - Shaolin Warrior

#3 JonConstantine - Rocky Theme (Dubstep Remix)

#4 Benny Hill Theme (Djurpark Remix)

#5 Ludacris - Move b**** (Styles & Complete Remix)

#6 The Cure - Lullaby (WirokS Remix)

- Kevin MacLeod (http://www.incompetech.com)
- TeknoAxe (https://www.youtube.com/user/TeknoAxe)
- Adrian von Ziegler (https://www.youtube.com/user/AdrianVo...)
- Machinima Sound (https://machinimasound.com/)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...

Diablo 3 - Countdown Clock for S4 Start @ NA & EU

NA

EU

Heroes of the Storm - Free Hero Rotation \ August 25-31

  • Li Li
  • E.T.C.
  • Rehgar
  • Sgt Hammer
  • Gazlowe
  • Kerrigan (level 12)
  • Leoric (level 15)

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Starcraft 2 Video - Hell It's Aboot Time Day 1 Highlights/Game Recaps! [TatyGG]

10 hours of games condensed to 15 minutes!

Game recaps for people who missed the stream. Quality was low in the middle because with all the stream issues I ended up watching on high quality not source, and didn't notice for a while. Everything will be better on day 2.

Watch here: http://twitch.tv/basetradetv, http://twitch.tv/wardiii
follow basetrade: @BaseTradeTV, @ZGGaming, @Rif_Kingz

Basetradetv - you obviously have my permission to play this on stream, considering it's your content in the first place, although the music may mute that part of the vods, I'm not sure.

My Twitter: http://twitter.com/TatyGGTV
My YouTube: http://youtube.com/TatyGGTV

Hearthstone Video - Tournament Misplays #5 - MISSED LETHALS: ATLC EDITION [Disguised Toast]

PC Broke. Video was made on potato-powered toaster. Please excuse slow content. Thank you for the understand. Pls copy pasterino in comments.

You can find VODs of all the ATLC games on Amaz's channel! - https://www.youtube.com/user/amazhs

Subscribe to Disguised Toast! ►http://bit.ly/1cRxhZa

Visit our Website! ► http://disguisedtoast.com
Like us on Facebook! ► http://facebook.com/DisguisedToast
Follow on Twitter! ► http://twitter.com/DisguisedToast

Friday, August 21, 2015

Diablo 3 Video - GR69 + Shenlong's Spirit: Generator build (Patch 2.3) [Quin C]

watch live @twitch.tv/quin69
twitter me @quinrex

http://ptr.d3planner.com/182125796 (written guide - when dfans updates, there will be a more detailed version)

Diablo 3 Video - PTR 2.3 Demon Hunter \ Hungering Arrow Generator Build [MeatHead Mikhail]

Hey guys, today I show a cold Hungering Arrow generator build using the Unhallowed Essence set. With the ability to cube Buriza in patch 2.3, we can finally get some serious pierces on a generator. Although I haven't pushed too far, I did clear G53 pretty easily with upwards of 4B crits after multiple pierces. In addition, you have a ton of damage mitigation and well over 50k Life on Hit with the new Leech passive, making this the 'DH facetank' build. Enjoy & discuss!

Build: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator...

Demon Hunter Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

Legendary Gems:

Bane of the Trapped: https://youtu.be/4DI_exBJj3U
Iceblink: https://youtu.be/UWScHbOf5-4
Simplicity's Strength: https://youtu.be/whH6ei_kMoY

Patch: PTR 2.3

-

Thanks for watching and Thumbs Up if you like the video! Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions in the comments below and be sure to check out:

Stream: http://www.twitch.tv/meatheadmikhail

Web: http://www.meatheadgaming.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/meatheadmikhail
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/meatheadgaming

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Heroes of the Storm - History of HotS meta so far [by r_gg]

Disclaimer:
I don't claim to be an expert in Heroes. I am not a progamer. Not even a very good gamer in fact. Most of the stuff I wrote were heavily inspired by posts I've read in the Korean community (such as this and this).
I wasn't always there to witness all the stuff that happened, so some of the stuff I'm just going by what I read/heard. I just wanted to share what I read, and also add a few spins of how I interpret the HotS meta as a spectate thus far. I'm sure there are parts where I'm blatantly wrong, so feel free to point those out so we can have a more complete picture of how the game evolved over the year.
Also note that what I say leans heavily towards KR meta, since I'm getting 80% of the content from the Korean post I linked, and it's the meta I've been following most actively in recent times. (Sorry NA/EU T.T)

Overview / TLDR(?)

We have seen several big shifts in the HotS meta, and with the new Monk patch, I think we are about to see the meta shift in big ways again. Before we all get caught up in it, I wanted to take a time to look back on how the meta shifted over the years.
Here are patches and the big trends in meta that were prevalent in HotS so far. Patches before Jaina are ignored because I don't know much about it, and I believe Jaina Patch was when ranked play really started.
  1. Jaina~Thrall Patch - Double Support meta
  2. TLV~Sylvanas Patch - A table of two Tanks
  3. Kael'thas~Butcher Patch - Mage/Bruiser meta

Double Support meta - "You were not prepared!"

Double support meta started to emerge from Jaina patch, due to the following factors:
  • Buffs to Imposing Presence from 30%->50%, making it difficult to deal with the front line.
  • Nerfs to assassins such as Nova, making damage (especially burst damage) hard to come by.
With the lack of overall lack of damage in the game, it was possible for a double support setup to out heal most of the damage coming from an enemy with just a single support. You could simply out sustain the opponent till one member of the enemy team drops and win the fight.
Stitches was the King in this meta, because you could simply hook an enemy and create a 4:5 situation. Not to mention his unbelievable tankiness and sustain at the time. Illidan was the perfect assassin for double support, because you can ignore the front line and jump straight into the backline and wreck the squishies, combined with his strong sustained damage, ability to reduce damage, dodge CC, gain more health, etc.
The meta game at this point focused heavily on Illidan and how to counter Illidan (CC-heavy comps).

A tale of two Tanks.

I think we all know the two tanks that defined this era: Diablo and ETC. The TLV patch brought in fixes on Diablo's shadow charge had incredible effect on the hero's viability. ETC was already a rising star towards the end of Thrall patch with the discovery of his split-push build, and the slight nerfs to Stitches was enough to push him to the top spot. Buffs to heroes like Jaina and Tyrande, discovery of Azmodan dunk stacking, and introduction of Sylvanas started to supplement the lack of burst damage.
Double support + Illidan was still a very dominant composition, but it started to show its limits. The Lost Vikings also emerged to be very strong, and gained in popularity especially in China. You also the beginnings of double Warrior compositions with heroes like Tyrael and Arthas. We saw a fair amount of creative strategies come and go such as Blood-for-Blood composition, protect-the-Hammer, Azmodan stacking, Double-bomb Zeratul, Backdoor Abathur, etc.
Now at this point, people were wondering why Blizzard never once touched the double support comps when the double support / Illidan has been so prevalent for such a long time in the meta. We soon found our answer: Because Kael'thas was coming.

Mage/Bruiser meta

Kael'thas was the nail in the coffin to the Double Support meta. The level of AOE damage provided by Ignite build was enough to throwaway the thought of trying to win a sustain fight, as him alone could out damage at least one, even two healers. In addition, the reworks on Diablo and ETC turned out to be a miss, making it difficult to rely on a solo-tank at the front line.
It was inevitable for the mages, Jaina and Kael'thas to dominate the meta. But Blizzard most likely anticipated it, and already had an answer: the bruisers. Bruisers served as natural counters to the mages, because they could infiltrate the backline while tanking some damage and keep the mages in check. The bruisers can take advantage of the mage's lack of escape and hard initiate the enemy caught out of position. The fixes to Anub'arak, combined with rediscovery of Tyrael, tanky Johanna, and the relatively buffed Muradin made way to the Double-Warrior meta especially in KR/China. (Now did Blizzard purposely under-tune the solo-tanks during the rework to purposely make room for the bruisers to emerge as a counter to mages?) The emergence of Bruiser/Dive comps also signaled a rediscovery of Arthas as an excellent counter to deal with the warriors.
Taking advantage of strong sustain and respectable damage output of these warriors, 3-warrior compositions also rose in popularity (mostly KR). However, the anti-warrior-warrior Leoric and discovery of 3-warrior meta's weakness in early pushing power slowly pulled the meta back to double warriors.
Of course not to forget, Zeratul is also the star of this meta with his ability to snipe enemy squishies. The nerfs to Brightwing hurt the support pool to mostly Malfurion, Rehgar and Uther, with "Who get's the LiLi!!" strategy becoming a common occurrence in the competitive scene.

What is next?

With the next patch, it seems like Blizzard is starting to address the issue of weak auto-attack damage dealers, and seem to shift focus to sustain damage. The rise of auto-attack dps should act as the counter to bruisers, as it becomes difficult for bruisers to find an opportunity to dive in, as they can get kited and focused down at any point in time. The increase in number of supports and Cleanse rework will hopefully shake up the meta a bit.

SOURCE

World of Warcraft - Jaina - The Shattered Soul Fanart [by TamplierPantier]

DEVIANTART

Diablo 3 Guide - Fastest 1-70, Gearing and Paragon farming strategies by Garfm

How to start a new season (season 4)

In this guide I will discuss every topic you could imagine for getting started and getting started FAST most importantly in a new season. I will be covering how to prepare for the season start, different strategies for leveling from 1-70 plus my own strategy for leveling, level 70 gearing strategies, and paragon farming.

TLDR/TLDW : Prepare by writing down skills for 1-70, Level by Cursed Chest bounties, Halls of Agony Level 3 and Rifts, collect Kanai’s cube mats while gearing to gear faster, gear pool to gear even faster(read the post if you wanna know what that means), 2-3 xp/leech builds most efficient for farming paragon levels.

Video Guide: https://youtu.be/HZuJ6OftFbU
Bounty Map: http://imgur.com/j08EaYG
DH notes/cheatsheet: http://imgur.com/Zgjsv61

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword
Preparing for the Season
1-70 Leveling Strategies
Level 70 Gearing Strategies
Paragon Leveling Strategy

Foreword
I realize many of you may have heard some of these tips before and while I will be combining ideas and information that has been spread out into one place. I will also be providing my own insight on existing ideas and providing to my knowledge "original" tips, tricks, and strategies or at least ones that have been kept somewhat secret. For those interested in reading something (I hope) you have read no where else before skip to Hybrid leveling strategy and gear pooling.

Preparing
Preparing for the season is mostly about cutting out the time you would normally spend in game wondering what to do next, you might think it is not important but that time will start to add up if you don’t prepare. So to prepare for the new season I suggest doing a few things. First of all knowing when the season will start. Season 4 starts Friday August 28th at 5:00 p.m. PDT for North America. Europe and Asia start times can be find here: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/19842943/season-3-ending-soon-8-7-2015 . Next you will want to figure out what class you will be playing and who you will be grouping with whether it be friends, clanmates, or random players. I highly advise forming a 4 man group for fastest leveling (sorry solo players), because of the group xp buff. Knowing what class and who you will be partying with ahead of time will allow you to get started on your journey from 1 to 70 the second the season goes live, instead of fiddling around with that once it has already begun. Additionally you may want to form a party or pick your characters based around group synergy as well. Having a person dedicated to bunching up mobs will be nice, could be a monk, crusader, or witch doctor (however wd pull comes very late into leveling). Probably the most important thing you can do to prepare though is to write out a detailed list of what skills and keys tasks you will be doing and at the levels you need to assign those skills or do those tasks. This will help cut down a lot of time wasted checking your “new” skills every 5 levels and wasting time deciding what skills to change. You can check my DH notes/cheatsheet http://imgur.com/Zgjsv61. I list out every skill and rune I will take, what level I will take them at, and which key they will go on. I also have other key tasks in that list which I will discuss later. Two finals things to do for the season is to know what difficulty you should be playing on and what leveling strategy you want to do, doesn’t matter too much which strategy as long you know what you are going to do once you enter the game. As for the difficulty you should be on a difficulty where you 2-3 shot most white mobs and also note that expert is the least efficient difficulty so its advised to either bump it up one above or drop one below.

1 to 70 leveling strategies
There are 3 fairly well known strategies to level from 1-70 at the beginning of a season. I will explain all of the strategies and my own hybrid strategy that involves using all 3 of the strategies. I will also include the “Key tasks” that are on my list that I mentioned early when I explain my hybrid strategy.

Cursed Chests
Pros: High Density, Completion Reward(chest, handin xp & gold)
Cons: Inconsistent (don’t always spawn)
This method involves doing cursed chest bounties over and over until you reach level 70. The reasoning for this strategy is that the cursed chests you will be looking for provide a lot of easy to kill mobs and are generally harmless and you get the resplendent chest, and bounty xp and gold. The cursed chests you will be looking for include: Cursed Chapel act IV, Cursed Bellows act I, Cursed Cellar act I, Cursed Court act I, Cursed Grove act I, Cursed Hatchery act I, and one that most people don’t mention but I really like it Cursed Peat act V - Paths of the Drowned. All the waypoint locations can be seen in the Bounty Map http://imgur.com/j08EaYG. So you look for the corresponding bounty(ies) in each act (only one should spawn per act as a bounty). If they spawned go complete the bounty if not remake the game and look again. Repeat until level 70.

Halls of Agony
Pros: Consistent, High Density, Low threat.
Cons: Boring, No guaranteed bonus rewards.
This strategy is to go to Halls of Agony level 3 in act I and clear out the entire floor leave the game and repeat. This is claimed by many to be the fastest although I think it is very debatable I think all 3 strategies are nearly equal each having its pros and cons. Pros to this strategy is its consistency since it is always there and the high density low threat mobs that Halls of Agony level 3 provides. Its packed with mostly slow moving skeletons.The con to this strategy is that it becomes boring as hell when done repeatedly for hours. So once again you just clear the entire floor back out and remake. Some people choose to do Halls of Agony levels 1 and 2 as well but they tend to have lower density.

Rifts
Pros: Increased Legendary droprate, Bloodshards, Hand in Bonus.
Cons: Random Density, Random Mobs.
This strategy explains itself fairly well you just do rifts until you hit level 70. Since you no longer needs keys to enter rifts you can now just do rifts back to back until 70. Reason behind doing rifts is for the increased legendary drop rate in rifts so you can upgrade your gear faster than you normally would, which can make a big difference. If you have ever gone for a couple levels without finding any major upgrades you know that feeling of the monsters becoming increasingly difficult to kill. Doing rifts should help prevent that from happening. However the drawback to rifts is the random mob types and random density which can slow things down.

Hybrid Strategy
Pros: Somewhat Consistent, Bloodshards, Hand in Bonuses.
Cons: A lot of teleporting around.
Ok so I am going give a brief overview of the rotation and reasoning behind the strategy then go into detail of the exact plan and key points I’m going to hit while leveling from 1-70. So the rotation will be go into a Rift and start clearing as normal. Once 1 or 2 people find big upgrade getting a big power spike we will then teleport back to town. I’m sure someone will ask for me to define a “big upgrade/power spike” while it all depends on how you and your group feels so adjust the following example to something that feels right. Here is an example: If your progression is <25% look for 75% dmg increase combined among members (ie 3 people each find weapons increasing damage by 25%), progression <50% 50% dmg inc, <75% 30-40% dmg inc, <100% 20%dmg inc, if you find no dmg increase proceed to the next step after finishing the rift. From there we will look for the cursed bounties I listed in the cursed bounty strategy and clear any of them if any spawned, once we do that we will also go clear halls of agony level 3. Then we will head back into the rift finish it hand it in and reset the game. Philosophy behind this strategy is that you gain the benefits of getting increased drop rates and once you hit a power spike you can take advantage of the guaranteed easy xp of Halls of Agony and easy xp and loot of potential cursed chest bounties. Only downsides are the extra time spent teleporting around and again the uncertainty of rift mobs and density. Here are the exact steps I will be doing while trying this strategy.
LVL 1: Steal Follower Weapons & Find Cursed Chest Bounty or Easy Boss Bounty.
Why?: The chests rewarded at the end will provide initial blues/yellows to get you started.
LVL 1-12: Do cursed chest bounties and halls of agony.
Why?: Guaranteed easy mobs to get through the first few levels.
LVL 6-7: Check Fence Merchants in Act I and Act II for rings.
LVL 10-12: Check Fence Merchants in Act I and Act II for amulets.
LVL 10 -14: Switch to Campaign go through until you can kill Skeleton king.
LVL 18: Kill Skeleton King.
Why?: First time killing SK guarantees a Leoric's Crown being lvl 18 ensures socket. Put ruby in the socket.
LVL 18-70: Run Hybrid Strategy rotation.
LVL 45: Craft lvl 60 Weapon roll reduced lvl req on it.
LVL 60: Craft lvl 70 Weapon roll reduced lvl req on it.

General Tips for All Strategies
Keep an eye out for the following items.
Leoric’s Signet: %xp roll.
Puzzle Ring: save for lvl 70 put into cube for greed’s realm.
Bovine Bardiche: save for lvl 70 cow level.
Nagel Ring: Provide huge burst dmg while lvling.
Craft lvl 60 Weapon roll reduced lvl req on it.
Craft lvl 70 Weapon roll reduced lvl req on it.
Craft and wear Cains if you find the recipe for %xp.

Level 70 Gearing Strategies
Bounties First Strategy
So this first strategy for gearing up is definitely up for debate since I have not tested it. So once you have hit 70 spend your blood shards and go get Kanai’s cube. Use up your puzzle rings and Bovine Bardiches if you found any. The reason you may want to start bounties first depends on what items you found while leveling up 1-70. If you found something worth extracting right away you can start doing bounties otherwise doing rifts and greater rifts first will be the best to gear up. So do bounties until you have the item or items you want extracted early in the cube then switch over to rifts asap because they will give much more reward until you are ready to farm mats again at t6+.(Thank you to mhgd3 for replying and correcting me here).

Rifts First Strategy
Alternatively you could start doing rifts right away and start looking for a weapon and set pieces that way since there is the increased chance of finding legendaries in rifts and you get more blood shards. After obtaining sets and once you can do about t6 or higher you can start farming bounties for the mats to reroll legendaries and extract them.

Gear Pooling
This is a strategy that I almost never hear people talk about which surprises me because it is so strong. Maybe I am out of the loop or maybe people are just too greedy and that is why it has not caught on yet but here it is. Note that this strategy will work with either of the ones previously mentioned. So what you will do is get in a party with 2 or more players of the same class as you that you trust(clanmates or friends, usually best). Determine who is going to carry (I recommend whichever person will be playing the most) then everyone will pool all of their important set pieces to the carry. For example if it were DH’s the three people being carried would give the person who is carrying EVERY piece of Marauders, Natalya’s, and Unhallowed Essence. Pool set pieces into the carry until he has finished one then bump up the difficulty as high as you can, which will most likely be t6 to start and then ease your way up. The carry then carries (hence the name) the other 3 through t6 until they finish their sets. The carry should also be handing set pieces out to the group that he finds since he obviously already has a set. To restate the person carrying should be the one who plays the most incase people leave before they finish their sets the carry will hopefully be online when you regroup. This is a super effective method for gearing up fast if you have trustworthy people to do it with because even if just one person has a set finished it will be enough to crank up the difficulty and the entire party will find gear faster and level up faster.

Paragon Leveling Strategy
So as many of you may know %xp has changed from Season 3 to Season 4. The xp is now shared with the entire party instead of just the one person wearing xp gear. They also changed Greater Rift keys so you can no longer recycle keys. This means the paragon farming meta is going to shift. Now when you are running greater rifts you will want 2-3 people wearing “leech” setup even though now it would be more appropriate to call it xp build or something since they are no longer leeching but helping the entire party gain more xp. So the builds for an xp build will essentially be the same as they were last season give or take a few skills due to the cc changes. I have a feeling running 2 people with full xp gear and 2 dps (maybe with a few pieces of xp gear on them) will be the most efficient way to farm xp but it is still up in the air as things will shift once the season pans out. Also since keys were changed there will also need to be some experimenting with exactly which greater rift level will be the most efficient for most groups. Now that it takes longer to get greater rift keys, since you can’t recycle anymore, you have to find the sweet spot between doing grifts fast but also doing one of high enough level so you get the full value out of your greater rift keystone. I imagine having times between 7-10 minutes will end up being the sweet spot but it needs to be tested further.

SOURCE