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At the beginning I tried out different specs which I can't quite remember but didn't fair too well. I found Diamond Skin to be quite worthless because its' absorb amount doesn't stack, most mobs just eat through it too quick. Frost Nova I decided wasn't useful anymore as well because it requires you to be in melee range (unless they Vortex or Jailer you) and stopping them for only 2-3 seconds wasn't enough to get good distance on them.
Then I tried an Arcane slowing spec for some time: http://us.battle.net...QOSR!Ufa!YaYcZa
It was solid for Act 1 farming. High in DPS with the Disruption Arcane Missiles and your Arcane Hydra could apply the slow debuff however, it did not fair well in Act 2. Keeping uptime on the 30% slow was unreliable due to it only being 30%; they would catch up to me quite quickly. Having to stand in place to channel Arcane Torrent was almost impossible on most packs of mobs too. I imagine this type of build would work best with full out burst dps gear.
Later on I found this build: http://us.battle.net...QSOR!XYT!cYYZYb and I must say it has been working out quite well. Originally I had my doubts, assuming I would die before I could get a proper kite routine going on a group. Also I didn't think the decoys from Fracture Teleport were going to be all that useful, I expected them to die in one hit. To my surprise they could take 2-3 hits and would also run interference; they aren't clip-able.
My strategy, albeit quite simple and obvious to most, has been to slowly creep forward into a new area, if I see a mob first I drop my Venom Hydra then pop a Blizzard between me and the "front-end" of the pack. Then kite of course! Obviously save Teleport to get out of trouble(jailer, waller, if neither when they get close to drop decoys), it is very very handy, and then Seeker Magic Missile to stack Arcane Dynamo, which I often use the 5 stack buff for a Venom Hydra if I can.
For the record I am only sitting at 27k DPS(after force weapon), 5671 Armor(energy shield), ~300 All Res, 1640 int.
Act 2 hasn't been too ridiculously difficult with this spec. Certain champion packs I avoid at all costs: Fast/Mortar on melee groups and Invulnerable minions on any group. I'll tend to clear out alcoves to "stash" a champ pack there for safekeeping...my safekeeping. Jailer and Mortar isn't much of a problem with teleport. Jailer used to scare the hell out of me but now I just poof away
.I actually just cleared all of Act 2 while typing this post out. Kule's Lab area after the oasis was VERY simple. Lots of corners to kite around and easy slow skeletons. I died probly only 10 times the entire quest line.
Belial wasn't too bad, I realized if you drag your mouse in circles to make your character spin in place he won't smash on you but to the sides of you. Most things in game try to drop things where you're going to be, rather than where you are currently. For example mortar, have you guys noticed they throw mortars in front of where you're running? Same deal with his claw smashes and green bombs. Maybe it was a fluke, but after 4 tries of just flat out trying to out run it and getting smashed, I tried spinning in circles and then dodging it, made things easy. The smash never actually killed me cause force armor absorbed "most" of it.
Some Tips:
-Always get 12% runspeed on boots, its way too important, never settle for less.
-If your weapon has a socket use the green crit gem, never red. It doesn't scale like more crit damage does. This is assuming it's at least a 400 or so dps weapon.
-For Reflect Damage champions: Either have life leech on your weapon or save a decent piece(s) of gear with +Life on Hit to switch in when you encounter one. And use your Hydra sparingly because you don't gain life from them hitting, just the reflected damage.
-Don't grab every health globule, leave some behind. You'll be happy to see it sitting there when you're kiting and need some health.
