Diablo 3: Your main champion

[z22]

Choose your main Diablo 3 champion and post why you chose that champion.

After watching the class preview videos I debated between Barbarian and Wizard as those seemed closest to my play preference and the other 3 just didn't interest me much. I mostly choose HULK SMASH types characters in RPGs (computer and board/RP games) with wizardly types a distance second.

I would have picked Necromancer had it been a choice.

[AaronSofaer]

Barbarian.

Leap.

[forgeforsaken]

I would have picked Necromancer had it been a choice.

WD can be built pretty much as a necro summoner.

[z22]

Barbarian.

Leap.

Damn you're fast. The poll is up now so you can choose "BARBARIAN!!!!".

[Joe O'Malley]

Monk for me to start with. I like the in-close fighting combined with healing and cc effects. I'm only level 8, since, well, I've only been able to successfully log on for two hours...

...Of course, my session was terminated after 2 hours and I was unable to log back on, so gods above only know if I even still have a character, or what kind of shape it's in.

[BleedTheFreak]

Well, I picked Wizard the first two times this poll came up, may as well go for the Wizard trifecta!

[Telefrog]

Why does this poll allow multiple checks?

I choose them all!

[z22]

Why does this poll allow multiple checks?

I choose them all!

I figured some folks had multiple "mains". I always focus on one character but a lot play many "classes" as their main.

[KevinC]

Witch Doctor because awesome accent and fucking spiders and bats!

[RepoMan]

Monk because HIYAH KABOOM KERSMACKY BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM BLOOOOOSH!!!!!

In Soviet Russia, monk headbutts YOU.

[RichVR]

Monk. Knockback and heal. Close up and personal.

Edit: I also applaud another D3 thread. It will annoy the hell out of some people.

[FieryBalrog]

wizard, because of teleport which i don't have yet.

[Pogue Mahone]

All will know of the exploits of Barbara Ann the Barbarian and fear her. Go on, fear her!

[stusser]

Barbarian. Wizard is my favorite class, but I'm reasonably positive I'll have to kite in nightmare+ difficulty, and I hate kiting.

[z22]

Only 33 votes so far but I thought the Barbarian would lead and the Witch Dr would take (it) up the rear.

[skyride]

Barbarian because you get a wide variety of weapon types. I really wanted a polearm barbarian but it seems like that won't be very viable compared to barbarian only giant weapons.

Wizard and WD would be my next choice. I didn't like Monk or DH as much in beta.

[lordkosc]

Barbarian for me, as all my friends went Wizard.

I have fallen in love with the leap skill.

[stusser]

You totally don't need to use barbarian-specific weapons or belts. They aren't any better than non-barbarian items at a given itemlvl. You just have the flexibility to use them if a nice one drops.

There's a passive that gives extra fury generation using barbarian weapons, but that same passive gives different equally attractive bonuses for other weapon types.

The leap skill is where I jumped into elective skill assignment. I want both ground stomp and leap and don't care about weapon throw or the defensive shout on normal mode. Ground stomp is a much better defensive skill anyway.

[Gendal]

WD can be built pretty much as a necro summoner.
This is why I started playing a WD but it doesn't seem to be the case, or at least you never get the zoo style summoner like in D2.

Every account I have read says it's underpowered and you are much better off going with out pets. Some people seem to have luck with Sacrifice and various runes but it doesn't seem worth it, and it doesn't stack up power wise with just avoiding summons.

Still early though and I am hoping they are wrong.

[Kyrios]

Demon Hunter, because too many people I know in RL are starting off with Wizards, and my second choice is GIVE ME A WINDFORCE RIGHT NOWWWW!

You bet your ass I'm saving wizard-y looking items at various level requirements for my second run, though.

[Qmanol]

Demon hunter because I always choose the archer. Always. I'm sure I had some reasons in the past but now it's just a tradition and NOT TO BE QUESTIONED.

[ReptileHouse]

Wizard. I love(d) sorcs in D2, so just carrying over from that.

Entirely possible I'll change my mind after playing the other classes. :)

[Exodor]

Demon hunter because I always choose the archer. Always


Me too. Why get up close and messy when I can just stand back and fill things with arrows?

[Jørn Weines]

For single player it was going to be (and was, for a while) the witch doctor. Then I discovered that my client had defaulted to the Americas servers and not Europe so now it is a monk. For coop I'll probably go for wizard.

PS: Is there some sort of organized scheme to get more threads on D3 than there were for Skyrim?

[bandidoquest]

Wizard. No special reason, just the class with the best gameplay in my opinion.

[Arakis99]

I chose demon hunter because I wanted to shoot things with a bow/crossbow.

[divorced]

Demon Hunter all the way baby!

[charmtrap]

Demon Hunter...Rapid Fire, Caltrops and Vault. Eat flaming lead, demon!

[sluggo]

Barbarian.

I'm just a simple caveman. I like hitting things with a stick.

[Badesumofu]

I almost always choose Wizard/Mage/Sorcerer in these games. Also, the back-story was pretty interesting.

[lordkosc]

My friend has a Demon Hunter that is Grenade / Chakram focused, it is lovely to watch, and anything in front of him is usually dead in seconds, unless it has a ton of HP.

[beloved one]

Playing witch doctor, because I really liked how much damage you could deal with that int siphoning skill. Sometimes don't use the pets, although lately I am to distract and drop health orbs. I don't really consider the pets as much damage, but it does let you kill minor enemies just by running by, instead of wasting time actively attacking.

Spent the first levels using all firebats and triple shot blowgun even after other abilities were available. Later I transitioned into using decaying zombie (3 skill) as my primary aoe... which let me switch the primary and secondary attacks to fire and forget kind of spells - spider queen and the slow spell with its damage upgraded. I basically focus my items towards damage, so I solve the mana situation with passives (both the +20%/1% mana regen and the 15% mana as health).

[Jag]

Interesting that Monk is the lowest. I'm hearing from some hardcore friends that Monk has the best survivability for Nightmare, etc.

[skyride]

Monk will be the last class I will play because insta-sheathing weapons to punch just looks retarded.

[RichVR]

I went out of my way to make sure that my Monk has fist weapons. He will never use a sword or axe. That's just not right.

[Becoming]

I find the idea of punching monsters with an axe very appealing myself.

[AaronSofaer]

It would have been pretty awesome if the Monk was hitting things with the hilt of his weapons, Equilibrium-style.

[Alan Friesen]

Yeah, my monk (Rasputin) refuses to use non-monk weapons. Dual fists of fury for now!

[instant0]

It would have been pretty awesome if the Monk was hitting things with the hilt of his weapons, Equilibrium-style.

Yes; Give us Gun-kata!

[TheRock]

Witch Doc......really loving the bats....bats all around...going in circles and letting loose the bats!

[Daagar]

WD has so much stuff on-screen that after a fight I find myself still trying to kill things, which I discover are my own creations (zombie dogs, spiders, whatever).

[Demolira]

I went Demon Hunter, as it was closest to the Amazon I used to play.

However, I'm learning that D3 is quite a different experience, as enemies don't just approach from the side of the screen.

[Wolff]

Going sword and board barb now so much fun! Barb was a bit boring at first but now have a bunch of skills that chain nicely aoe pull stun, leap aoe armor buff, bleed that heals me, and cleave that explodes enemies for aoe damage!

[The Bitter Cynic]

Sledgefist the Barbarian!

Becuase he goes bam! bam! BAM!

[RichVR]

For a while I had my Monk using a staff (forget what it was called). But the slower attack speed made a difference. So back to fist weapons it was.

For Cynic:
http://i.imgur.com/2aPMZ.png

[André Costa]

Before i got the game, i thought that i was going with the Barbarian but after trying the Monk, i haven't played any other of my characters :)

[RichVR]

I like the Monk as a killing machine. But I also like that he has a pretty good heal as well. You can heal yourself and pop a pot. That makes a difference. I started a Demon Hunter and am enjoying her as well. Does every class have a self heal?

[corsair]

The Witch Doctor.

Why? Because he told me what to do!

Ooo eee, ooo ahh ahh, ting tang,
Walla walla, bing bang

[Daagar]

Unlike Andre, I'm currently torn between monk and barb. I seem to really enjoy melee compared to the ranged style of the others so far. Mostly I think because I play sloppy so I like the protection of a barb and self-healing of the monk. Wiz and others are great until I get surrounded, then I fail to break away and feel awful squishy. Will come back to them someday, I'm sure. But for now need to settle on one!

[RichVR]

Thanks corsair, now I can't get that fucking song out of my head.

[The Bitter Cynic]

For Cynic:
http://i.imgur.com/2aPMZ.png

Awesome. That made me smile.

[Ranulf]

I went out of my way to make sure that my Monk has fist weapons. He will never use a sword or axe. That's just not right.

Such a lack of imagination. :) I find it fun playing a wizard or monk with swords. Axes are silly though.

So far from beta and retail, I prefer Demon Hunter as Bowazon was my favorite in D2. Barbarian and wizard are in second, then monk and witchdoc. Wizard sure seems gimped early on though. Charged bolt or whatever they call it now seems worthless.

[RichVR]

Awesome. That made me smile.

And that made me smile. Cool.

[Tyjenks]

Always a hitting things with big things class. Barbarian.

[Kelan]

Picked the Barbarian here mainly because of Cleave in the beta. I didn't research any higher end skills, but am loving it so far.

The reason I never played the warrior style class in Diablo I was all the damn succubus running around shooting at you and could never run them down. That still happens some on some creatures in Diablo III, but nowhere near as annoying and I use the chain pull leash thing a lot too for those.

[Ginger Yellow]

My main is a Witch Doctor. Currently going with Spirit Walk, Soul Harvest, Gargantuan, and either Hex or Acid Cloud, with darts and bats as my mouse attacks.


Wizard sure seems gimped early on though. Charged bolt or whatever they call it now seems worthless.

Funnily enough, judging from the forums, Wizard is OP in inferno right now, against bosses anyway, because of the way one of the skills works.

[DeepT]

What skill or skill synergy is the "over powered" part?

[Murbella]

energy armor with the 35% max hp thing might be quite strong against a single target that doesn't hit really fast (ie a boss) with the player having very low health. It doesn't seem like it would be useful in other situations though.

[Ginger Yellow]

energy armor with the 35% max hp thing might be quite strong against a single target that doesn't hit really fast (ie a boss) with the player having very low health

Yeah, it's this one. Low health wizards with this skill/rune combo and high health regen can tank bosses. Of course, with the lower emphasis on bosses vs D2, it's questionable how useful it is to spec for that situation.

[Destarius]

I love my wizard's disintegrate spell. It is a beautiful thing to watch.

[Gendal]

I switched to the Monk after being disappointed in the lack of a Zoo summoner option for the Witch Doctor and I was not disappointed. The Monk is like an easier 'daddy don't hurt me' mode so far and I am almost finished with Act1 Nightmare. Every single fight has been the Monk just going toe to toe and kicking the targets ass. I only ever moved about when a boss would summon a fire or poison pool underneath me.

Skill line up doesn't seem to matter much either, I can make anything work and I never once touched the Auction House.

This all looks like it's just starting to change now near the end of Act 1 Nightmare, I actually had to run and recharge a skill before killing a pack of elites.

[forgeforsaken]

I switched to the Monk after being disappointed in the lack of a Zoo summoner option for the Witch Doctor and I was not disappointed.

I just don't see this. You can get 4 dogs, the Gargantuan, and 4-6 (not sure of the number) fetish guys that replenish when you kill things. Add on top of that the Spider Queen, the Hex Shaman, and maybe even the Giant Toad.

[Gendal]

I just don't see this. You can get 4 dogs, the Gargantuan, and 4-6 (not sure of the number) fetish guys that replenish when you kill things. Add on top of that the Spider Queen, the Hex Shaman, and maybe even the Giant Toad.
Everything I read says it's pretty ineffectual compared to straight up aoe/dd damage. It doesn't have to be as good, but I wanted it to be close and lots of people are saying it isn't. If it's still working in the higher difficulty levels that would be great, let us know!

[DeepT]

I love my wizard's disintegrate spell. It is a beautiful thing to watch.

What rune do you use with it? I use the one that has a chance to cause monsters to explode. I found a neat trick to use. I use chain lighting to soften them up then I use the beam to kill the weaker ones really fast (since they are closer to death) which may lead to a chain reaction of monsters exploding. The beam seems thinner in this mode, and I wonder if it is harder to hit multiple mobs with it. It doesn't say anything about that in the description of the rune, but graphically it is a thin line.

[RepoMan]

Wow, monk is in the rear! How exciting, I love playing the underdog. And I don't understand it at all, the monk is like the best character EVER. Seriously, I don't remember having this much fun playing any ARPG or practically any action-oriented game. The monk's all about motion, about controlling the battle by not being in the wrong place ever.

Hundred Fists + Exploding Palm + Lashing Tail Kick = scatter the bastards all over the screen then blow them up one after another. That's the "Go away!" strategy.

Actually I'm not yet sure whether Exploding Palm + Cyclone Strike + Crippling Wave might not be even more fun -- that's the "Come here!" strategy. Awesome how even by level 15 you have such a choice of playstyle just with this one character. And Exploding Palm just never gets old, it's like Fist of the North Star, Diablo style.

[Wolff]

While you may be playing the qt3 underdog class monk is the current fotm op class , it's the majority of what I see on streams and public games. From what Ive read it's the only class that doesn't have to go full defensive for late hell/inferno at least at current gear levels.

[stusser]

My understanding is that the only class that can reliably solo inferno champion groups is the wizard due to its very high damage and ability to kite indefinitely. Of course people are still gearing up, but from what I've read, inferno champions will just wtfpwn anyone-- they one-shot players without defensive cooldowns active, and 2-3 shot when they are. This leads to players trying to maintain defensive cooldowns 100% of the time and running away when they refresh.

I have no interest in kiting, so unless this is changed, I guess I won't make it past hell. That's cool though, I'll definitely get my money's worth.

[ShivaX]

Demon Hunter is the FotM for Inferno because of SS/Prep abuse.
Wizard is next in line.
Everyone else is below that someplace (ie they don't have broken abilities/gimmicks that let them beat things they shouldn't be able to)

[Destarius]

What rune do you use with it? I use the one that has a chance to cause monsters to explode. I found a neat trick to use. I use chain lighting to soften them up then I use the beam to kill the weaker ones really fast (since they are closer to death) which may lead to a chain reaction of monsters exploding.

I just drop an Arcane Hydra and then hose everyone down using a convergence disintegrate. It's a wife beam so I tend to catch everyone quickly. Right now I get about maybe oh, 7 seconds of beam time before I need mana, but almost everything dies in that time. I like just holding down the button and watching the numbers melt away (I play with HP numbers displayed).

[quarryman]

Monk here.

Surprised to see it getting such little love in the poll...

[Alan Friesen]

I've brought both a monk and wizard to level 24, and a barb and DH to 9. Hands down the monk is the most enjoyable class. I love how he can get into the fray, pull in with cyclone and then push back with the secondary kick. Love how tactile he feels -- as good as the barbarian but far more agile. Awesome class for soloing, too.