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Archon Speed Farming Act 3 Inferno (Updated Patch 1.0.7)

Wizard Farming Guide

By flashgordon79 on September 12, 2012
Last Updated: April 9, 2013

Contents of this Guide

Introduction

Monsterpower is the best Feature that was implemented in Diablo 3. You can rush through an act or make the game as challenging as you like. Your choice. In addition magic find gets more or less obsolete. And finally they nerfed the monsters damage per rank of Monsterpower by a huge amount. So its all about damage now. You only need to find the monster power rank that doesn't slow you down too much. Otherwise your Archon runs out more often.

This was my starting gear for the build prepatch 1.0.5. I was able to clear the farming spots in about 30 minutes. Monsterpower 2 is very similar to Patch 1.0.4. Hit points of the monsters are about the same but they do a little less damage.

At some point you will notice that it doesn't matter how much crit chance, crit damage or attackspeed you have. You won't even need arcane power per crit. The reason is that all the stats i mentioned before dont effect the Archon beam. So if you manage keeping Archon up all the time (drop it if your buffs run out and recast them) the only thing that matters is DPS. 

Ok you'll also need a little defense. Lifeleech (at lower dps life on hit) on your weapon can make surviving much easier.

What you get

  • "perma" Archon
  • 42 % more damage from skills
  • 75 % more armor (-10 % if you use Glass Cannon)
  • 65 % more restist all (-10 % if you use Glass Cannon)

What you need

  • About 30% crit
  • 15-20 Archane power per crit (to be able to spam Energy Twister and getting Archon up again)

  • About 600 to all resistances
    Dont forget you get 25% from Energy Armor and another 40% as long as Archon is up

  • 24% Movement Speed
    This helps a lot while trying to keep Archon up.

  • About 40k dps (unbuffed)

  • Lifeleech on Weapon (or life on hit)

  • Ruby in your head slot for more experience
    of course not mandatory but it helps a lot to speed up paragon leveling
At about 90k dps (buffed) you won't need Archane power per crit anymore. You can easily rush through the farmingspots at MP2 (or even higher).

Skills


  • Improved Archon for more damage. You can pick Pure Power for more Archon uptime or Teleport for more mobility. (not need if you have 24% movement speed on equip)
  • You can pick any rune you like. The chance to proc critical mass is the same for all runes since patch 1.0.5)
  • The rune Blood Magic (Attacks recover 1.5% of damage caused as Life) can also be a good choice
  • If you lack of  survivability this is your best choise. Another good choise would be Stormarmor - Scramble (25% movement speed for 3 sec after getting hit) Just play around a bit.

Passives


  • If your Archon runs out before it is ready again you can make it ready really quick by casting some energy twisters in a group of mobs. And you can "spam" Diamond Skin with enough Acanepower per crit. If you play MPs where you can keep Archon up all the time this is no longer needed.
  • Again more damage. Choose another defensive Skill if you lack of survivability.
  • And a little defense (if needed) Galvanizing Ward could be another solution. (Longer Armor uptime and some life per second)

Strategy

Start the game with the last Quest of Act 3. So you can do any section at any time. Its best to get 5 nephalem buffs before you get to the sections that give the most experience.

Leave out single mobs. Use Archon when you find a big group of Mobs to advance the timer from the beginning on. Only loot valuable Gear. Leave everything on the ground that does not have at least iLvl 63. (Rings, Amulets and Legendaries are surely an exception to this)

Best starting areas/waypoints with rather low dps/survivability in my opinion are (to get Nephalem buffs quickly):
  • The Keep Depths Level 1: 3 to 5 rather easy Elite Packs and loads of mobs to keep up Archon
  • The Keep Depths Level 3: 3 to 5 sometimes a bit more difficult Elites and again enough mobs for Archon

For higher dps and/or survivability:

  • The Core of Arreat: 2 to 3 elite packs that can be a bit harder than in the first two sections. This Area is rather small so it can be good to get nephalem Buffs more quickly
  • The Tower of the Damned Level 1: same as The Core of Arreat
If you got 5 buffs then get to the areas/waypoints that give big amounts of experience:
  • The Keep Depths Level 2: its really easy to keep up Archon there
  • The Bridge of Korsikk north: The mobs are rather strong there so you'll need at least 55k dps (buffed) to kill the monsters fast enough
  • Arreat Crater Level 2: You will need 24% movement speed to keep up Archon
if you want to take more advantage of your nephalem buffs you can go to these areas too:
  • Stonefort forward and backwards
  • Rakkis Crossing backwards
  • Arreat Crater Level 1
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