Unlabelled Diablo - Deadset's Compendium to Season 14 / Patch 2.6.1

6/16/2018 11:56:00 am
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Diablo - Deadset's Compendium to Season 14 / Patch 2.6.1

Deadset's Compendium to Season 14 / Patch 2.6.1

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 07:07 AM PDT

Heya, /r/Diablo! The 14th Season of Diablo brings a thematic concept to the forefront, starting off with the Season of Greed. For the duration of Season 14, all Treasure Goblin spawns will be doubled. While this won't shake the foundations of the established endgame, it will surely provide a handy treasure burst right at the start of the Season, as well as a shortcut to populate any of the missing cosmetic pets in your collection. If you're interested, you can also check out the Non-Meta Builds section at the bottom of the compendium, and try out one of those unorthodox builds! Let me know if you enjoy them, and I'll do my best to put up some more I have in mind.

-Deadset

>>LIST OF DETAILED GUIDES EVERY CLASS AND EVERY ACTIVITY<<

(No, really!)

WHY IS PATCH 2.6.1 A GREAT TIME TO COME BACK?

Patch 2.6.1 sees one of the biggest rebalancing efforts to the game since Patch 2.4, the strongest content Patch of the Reaper of Souls cycle. It builds on every good foundation set by it (class diversity, options for underused skills, introduction of mechanically interesting items) and skyrockets it to post-2.6 damage standards that has seen the likes of Lightning Archon and Trag'Oul Lancer builds. If you have ever craved a patch where multiple builds are considered top tier GR pushers and practically dozens of combinations are completely capable endgame farmers, this is the one.

BASICS GUIDES AND CONQUEST GUIDES

Before moving on to class impressions and recommendations, I just want to give a quick pointer to the new basics and conquest guides that I compiled recently. If you are new to the game, returning after a long break, or simply have friends that you want to get into Diablo, give those a read:

Beginner Seasonal Guide

Bounty Farming Guide

Regular "Nephalem" Rift Farming Guide

Greater Rift Farming Guide

Conquest Guides for Season 14

As a guide hub, Icy Veins receives a ton of messages on a regular basis for topics like these - I hope they are of use to the community and answer a lot of questions for Seasons to come!

BARBARIANS

(Haedrig's Gift: Raekor)

It was no secret that Barbarians were lagging behind most classes in terms of overall GR level completion. There has been a conscious effort to change that, just about quadrupling the power of all four sets and complementing items to bring back the oomph to the elder melee master class.

Immortal King (or Raekor) - Hammer of the Ancients IK's power has been vastly increased - from 400% on the 6p set to the whopping 1500%. Coupled with a push to bring HotA back in the hearts of Barbarians (Bracers of the First Men and Gavel of Judgment have both been buffed), this is probably one of the best times to give this classic skill a shot. If you crave unrelenting, visceral melee combat, HotA is one of your best bets, either with the easier-to-grasp Immortal King or the higher pushing Raekor variant.

Might of the Earth - Earthquake Never the build at the forefront, Earthquake is nevertheless steady, extremely satisfying and a feast for the eyes. Couple its wholesome rotation with the newfound buffs (the set, Girdle of Giants, and even viable Seismic Slam alteration items) and you really have a contender for Barb seasonal playtime. If you prefer to devastate a large area over precise shots, like to control the battlefield and gravitate toward feelgood rotations, Earthquake is your man… sort of.

Raekor - Furious Charge A build you either love or hate, Raekor still got its fair share of buffs and it'd be a criminal shame to pass it by. The Raekor spender variants got the short end of the stick with the massive increase to Standoff, further enticing the build path towards pure Furious Charge, but it has never felt so good - with the buff to Band of Might, you can now take actual punishment and retaliate in kind, instead of constantly tethering on the brink of oneshot. When played correctly, this is the most agile Barbarian build and it rewards experience with the class more than any of the others.

Wrath of the Wastes - Whirlwind You would think the reigning king of Barbarian builds multiple Seasons in a row wouldn't get a buff, but Blizzard were clearly unhappy with the class' performance as a whole. Both Wrath of the Wastes AND Bul'Kathos' Oath get a buff, topped off with a decent increase to Skull Grasp. There isn't much mystery to the playstyle, but if you're looking for a laid back, buttery smooth farmer with incredible pushing potential, look no further than this blender of a build.

CRUSADERS

(Haedrig's Gift: Akkhan)

Crusaders have been the odd child of the meta for quite a while, and even though Patch 2.6.1 brought out the heavy buff ammo for them too, it doesn't look like much is going to change in that regard. Never fear though! Hammerdin is buffed (as if it wasn't strong enough!), the quiet OP (imo, at least) Rolands got another numbers injection, the laidback Invoker Thorns is now a 110+ worthy pusher (?!), and… Akkhan got its buffs! And you probably know what that means:

Akkhan - Condemn …is once again a thing. The best farming spec for Crusaders (with the option to take Sage's to boot) can now plough through most GR difficulties known to men, largely thanks to the double 800% Condemn damage rolls on the Blade of Prophecy and Frydehr's Wrath. If you have ever vacuumed an enemy in a vortex of holy explosions, you know exactly what I'm excited about. Season 1 feels!

Akkhan - Blessed Shield Speaking of Season 1 feels, how about some pre-Season 1 feels! There was actually a time when Blessed Shield carried the then-subpar Crusader class through the lofty heights of Torment V and VI, but the din of bouncing doritos quieted down as soon as set buffs and seasonal items rolled in. The 2.4 reworks were not enough, but the 2.6.1 ones sure were. Captain America cosplay has never been closer to our reach, so Gyrfalcon-Jekangbord things up and get ready for the other best ranged Crusader build (alongside Phalanx - sob).

Akkhan - Holy Shotgun As if the feels weren't strong enough already. Holy Shotgun got a bump on the Fate of the Fell-Bracers of Fury duo, and coupled with the brushed up Akkhan and some block-based goodness it results in one of the tankiest, awesome looking playstyles in the game. Where the Invoker quietly thorns its targets to death, this Holy Shotgun build takes punishment to the face and retaliates in volleys of holy carnage. It is glorious. Try it. Build it. Live it.

DEMON HUNTERS

(Haedrig's Gift: Marauder)

I have long respected Demon Hunter in-class balancing; despite what class devotees might think, DHs held some of the biggest diversity towards the top end when other classes were in dire, one endgame build situations. While things have been spiced up a lot in Patch 2.6.1, DHs maintain a steady, if unsurprising roster in the GR heights.

Unhallowed Essence - Multishot I'll be the first to admit a heavy bias to Multishot, but what's not to love? Widest screen clear during farming (only WoL Monk comes close, but it's not as smooth), coupled with Yang's Recurve and Dead Man's Legacy Buffs and a set buff for good measure. This is the closest you'll get to competitive Multishot for GR pushing since Yang's introduction, so why not take the opportunity and reap screenfuls of demons with this classic?

Natalya - Rain of Vengeance Natalya is neglected no more. With a 500% to 3500% buff on the set and doubling Lord Greenstone's Damage potential, the favorite from the earliest seasons emerges back on the leaderboard. Sure, its damage dealing choices clash a bit internally (Fan of Knives vs. Grenades), but the set makes it work through sheer numbers and is still one of the coolest DH playstyles. Strafing around Matrix-style and dropping various explosives is one of the more exotic things you can do on a DH, bringing much needed variation to a traditionally ranged class.

Natalya/Marauder - Sentry Also building off the Natalya buffs, this build focuses solely on the Sentries, providing Demon Hunters with a cold, calculating playstyle cloaked behind a wall of turrets and animal companions. If you're craving a safer, hardcore-appropriate build, this is a solid option - especially early on in a Season.

Shadow - Impale The ninja newcomer from Season 10 got its own share of buffs - not just Karlei's Point smoother resource gain, but the set turned from the eyebrow-raising 40,000% damage bonus to the even more ridiculous 50,000%. This is another unique take on the Demon Hunter formula, diving fearlessly into point blank combat to plunge a dagger into the highest value enemy: a very fun assassination playstyle that I can heartily recommend to anyone.

Marauder - Cluster Arrow This playstyle requires patience. It requires understanding of the Demon Hunter basics - frailty, positioning, taking advantage of companions and summons, making the longest range shots possible. Is it a bit of a hassle? Maybe, but it will reward you with practically the highest pushing potential of the class. Not for the faint of heart, or those that dislike clusters of grenades (who are those guys though?)

MONK

(Haedrig's Gift: Inna)

I like punching things in Diablo 3. You probably do too. But after a while (several seasons-while), pummeling things with the generator spec gets old. To remedy that, both Sunwuko and Uliana received tremendous buffs that make them very competitive in the martial arts endgame. It's very important to note that the Kyoshiro's Soul interplay with Sunwuko has been rendered null and void, making SWK builds actually pleasant to play.

Sunwuko - Wave of Light I really, really like that build. If you dig my post from 2.4 back up, I loved it then and that hasn't changed much. Through Epiphany bugs, through the dreaded Kyoshiro's Soul upkeep, through the failing viability of the Sunwuko set, I've maintained this is one of the most pleasant builds to play. Imagine all the downsides above gone, and you can easily see why it's a top tier recommendation for the current season - smooth playstyle, massive AoE and a fun, fiery visual.

Sunwuko - Lashing Tail Kick The set-based cousin of the popular LoN spec, now more powerful due to 2.6.1 buffs. If you've ever played a LTK build, you know the deal - jump in, whirlwind kick the demons' teeth in, jump to the next pack. It's everything a Monk build should be, now made infinitely easier to gear for.

Uliana - Seven-Sided Strike One of the most visually satisfying builds in the game, Uliana received a long-awaited and deserved buff (from 250% to 2100% on the 6-piece), along with a generous helping of damage on The Fist of Az'Turrasq. This is a serious contender for one of the most fun rotations and visuals in the Diablo 3 endgame, and can easily carry you through a large portion of the GR progress without any thoughts of snapshotting ever crossing your mind. Highly recommended.

Raiment Shenlong - Generator The Monk bread and butter. There is nothing wrong with liking this spec, and if you haven't hopped onto Monk in a while, it's still a great choice. If you like to punch things hard and fast and don't fear managing survivability in the closest of melee combat, this build will still deliver.

NECROMANCER

(Haedrig's Gift: Pestilence)

The 2.6 newcomer largely received tame buffs in order to keep him in line with the old roster. Rathma, Inarius and especially Pestilence receive straight numeric buffs, while Trag'Oul loses half of its drawbacks. There have been a slew of item buffs as well, but many are still off the benchmark necessary to produce a fun and viable new build.

Pestilence or Trag'Oul - Corpse Lance The reigning king of the Necromancer playstyles makes a chameleon's shift to the Pestilence set, but retains all the strengths and unpleasantries of the playstyle. Crippling, long cooldowns are remedied by the utter devastation once Devour meets Land of the Dead. If you don't mind spending most of your time scouting, only to receive the largest damage spike in the game when CDs line up, the Lancer playstyles can be exactly what you're looking for.

Rathma - Skeletal Mage It's important to keep this build in mind for its excellent GR speedfarm capabilities, as well as the fact that it fills the summoner Necro niche. The intense resource interplay and general glassy feel of the build is richly rewarded with the best handling summons in the game, and excellent damage potential. If you like to keep a tight rein on your minions with precise commands, leading a menagerie of undead at your side in complete check, this build is the one for you.

WITCH DOCTOR

(Haedrig's Gift: Zuni)

While it hasn't resulted in any spectacular newcomers, the 2.6.1 buffs for Witch Doctors have undeniably brought up many playstyles devoured by the LoN Spirit Barrage dominance. The by-the-numbers boosts to Arachyr, Helltooth and Jade Harvester have bumped their strongest builds well within the 110 GR solo range.

Arachyr - Firebats WDs were only able to take a season's worth of breather between dominant periods of this build, and it's hard to overlook the reason. At the minimal cost of Ring of Emptiness upkeep (regular Haunt and Locust Swarm application), you gain a circular, no-aiming-required wave of Firebats obliteration around you. Simple, neat, and utterly effective.

Helltooth - Gargantuan The staple summoner build since Patch 2.4, the Helltooth Garg brings everything you'd expect out of a pet build: laid-back playstyle with automated minions, excellent sustain and protective options, and even some space for crowd control in the build. Increases to both the Mask of Jeram and The Short Man's Finger push the spec far past its old limits.

Jade Harvester My favorite alternate Witch Doctor playstyle and one of the oldest examples of interesting set execution, the Jade Harvester has been strengthened in the new patch to at least approximate the power of his set cousins. An excellent take on the melee spellcaster fantasy, this elderly Witch Doctor favorite trades the safety of range and hexes for aggressive dives and DoT consumption.

Zunimassa - Gargantuan This build thrives behind a thick wall of Fetish summons and is accompanied by lumbering, destructive Gargantuan brutes in another reendition of the pure minion playstyle.

WIZARD

(Haedrig's Gift: DMO)

One of the most exciting camps in the 2.6.1 PTR cycle, Wizards have successfully emerged from Archon captivity with two completely new, top tier builds. All the previous powerhouses are still viable, but lacking farming builds and endgame options for Wizards are some of the most welcome revisions to the new patch.

Firebird - Meteor Reaching for the heartstrings of Meteor lovers of Sorceresses past, the 2.6.1 rework to all items relevant to the skill results in a cohesive, visual feast of a playstyle. Channeling torrents of arcane energy to conjure destructive, burning meteorites this Wizard build is one of the most attractive options for the new season. Highly recommended, especially when you consider the high tier pushing Star Pact variant for solo AND group play.

DMO - Frozen Orb It's a little hard to tell which was more forgotten, the Delsere's Magum Opus set or the Frozen Orb skill. Regardless, their newfound marriage results in one of the most powerful builds of the upcoming Season! Combine the Frozen Orb nostalgia of sorceresses past with the oft-forgotten power of Slow Time wizardry and you have an awesome new playstyle that leaves enemies debilitated and helpless, watching their frozen death creep ever closer.

Tal Rasha - Explosive Blast More of an addition to these notes, but still very worth mentioning. Both Orb of Infinite Depth and Wand of Woh have been greatly increased in power, opening one of the most beloved farming playstyles back into the highest rift difficulties. This is without a doubt the build with Sage's that is the most fun to play and look at, so I can't help calling it out.

NON-META FUN BUILDS

One of my side-projects during the Season 13 downtime was to investigate some of the more unorthodox build paths for all classes. This resulted in the addition of one extra, non-meta build per class - and more could come over the course of Season 14 if you find those diversions enjoyable!

Seismic Slam Barbarian - a ruthless visual feast of a build, this cold-focused Barb spec is surprisingly tough and efficient;

Shield Bash Crusader - your best bet if you want to pound demon heads in Greater Rifts, if a bit on the clunky side;

Chakram Demon Hunter - the ninja star-throwing counterpart to multishotting builds, with comparable AoE and more fun visuals;

Tempest Rush Monk - a fun and under-appreciated build that balances the fluidity of rushing through enemies with some carefully timed bursts;

Generator Necromancer - a unique take on Inarius gameplay, focusing on lightning-fast scythe attacks and intensive resource interplay;

Grasp of the Dead Witch Doctor - a no-cooldown, no-resource take on making corpses rain from the sky;

Energy Twister Wizard - a surprisingly undervalued, but horrifyingly potent on the time-bending, whirlwinding destruction from seasons of yore.

Thank you so much for reading this and my guides! Good luck and have a great Season 14!

submitted by /u/the_deadset
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Force your way through S14 w/ TeamBRG! Leveling, Fresh 70 & MORE!

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 04:03 PM PDT

Well, 2nd time around with no relevant changes… here's hoping for "third time's the charm"? As always, here are the useful resources for a seasonal start: Also, please look at the end of the post!

Check out our Season 14 Start Guide

Leveling Guides

Fresh 70 Free Set Builds

Other Builds Guides

If you want to check out the other guides we have, head over to our D3 Directory Guide.

Good luck guys and I hope you get a good primal this season!

BTW We're looking for some feedback! Every season we always update, change, add to these guides.Many are due for a "cleanup" because I think a lot of improvement can be done on them. WE NEED YOUR FEEDBACK on the various guide types (leveling, fresh 70, speedfarming, etc).

We will be updating ALL these "general purpose" guides this season so we want all possible feedback so we can integrate your suggestions!

So please head on over and comment on our r/TeamBRG Thread

submitted by /u/BRGPrincess
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DiabloPatch 2.1.0 is here, with full screen support and difficulty selection in single player

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 02:31 PM PDT

For those who don't know about this, DiabloPatch is a patch for Diablo 1. It is meant to add features to the game and make it compatible with modern versions of Windows, while fully retaining the original spirit of the game. DiabloPatch does not modify the original game files at all. The game is patched in memory, making it easy to revert to the original game.

This new version finally supports full screen (requested by many)!

Download here

The other main new feature is the possibility to select the difficulty in single player. It is recommended to always select the same difficulty when loading a game from an existing save, and to change it only when creating a new game (otherwise, you will get a funny combination of enemies in the dungeon).

A few bugs have also been fixed. The full changelog is available here: https://diablopat.ch/download.php

As usual, feedback is welcome.

submitted by /u/_Bradlin_
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The Most Tilting Season Start Ever

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 08:24 AM PDT

https://i.imgur.com/CDRrGjW.jpg

Thanks for the Goblin buff Blizz but at the same time fuck you

submitted by /u/Ketsu
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Kadala season start loot table

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 05:20 PM PDT

Does anyone know where to find the spreadsheet of what to roll for for what specific class.

submitted by /u/landon95
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Season 14 Barbarian Starter Guide

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 01:16 PM PDT

Season of Greed Sweepstakes!

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 11:31 AM PDT

D2 and Pingzapper

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 06:53 PM PDT

Is PZ not allowed for D2? I seem to get (temporarily?) banned if I try login while PZ is active.

Decided to jump back in on D2 ladder with the reset today but playing from Aus so I wanted to get a more stable connection seeing as my ping kept spiking from 150-450+

submitted by /u/Novastride
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Diablo 2 Time!

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 08:16 AM PDT

Only twice a year can we get the entire diablo 2 community together!

This is gonna be sick!

What class are you running and why? I am going Us East SC, Sorc

I urge all of you to support Diablo 2 today on twitch. Here is the link for the "diablo 2" page on Twitch (not a specific streamer): https://www.twitch.tv/directory/game/Diablo%20II%3A%20Lord%20of%20Destruction

submitted by /u/djwaters22
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Season Journey Tracker with countdown - request for data!

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 12:34 AM PDT

As many of you have noticed, the season journey tracker has been updated a while ago already, and also has the usual countdown. What is missing though are the boss names (except for the ones we know from the "First Look" blog post).

=> http://d3resource.com/journey/ <=

Since the season is about to start in half an hour in Asia, maybe someone can help out by posting the missing boss names here as they go through the season journey? I'll update them as soon as I see them! Or, if we don't have data in ~10 hours, maybe someone from EU can help (I thought I'd play but my PC crashed yesterday).

Thanks, and good luck in the season!

submitted by /u/bagstone
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Season of Greed Artwork

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 09:22 PM PDT

Can anyone extract or find the goblin artwork in Battle.net in full resolution? It's damn pretty.

submitted by /u/kbuckleys
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Connecting since forever...

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 08:58 PM PDT

Is anybody else experiencing this? I'm from SEA and this has been going on for about 3 hours now. Tried rebooting my pc and till nothing... Any help?

https://imgur.com/a/w9iXVw1

submitted by /u/ValPetrichor
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Blizzard client (under Diablo tab) crashes Google Chrome

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 05:10 PM PDT

Like the title says, when i open up the blizzard client and click on diablo 3's tab, opening any of the things that are on its "page" i guess you could call it (anything that redirects you to a webpage to clarify) It crashes my google chrome entirely everytime I try to open up the browser from then and even afterwards and only continues to crash. I end up having to restart my PC, however I feel there's maybe a fix to this somewhere and I seekthe audience for help. Much appreciated.

submitted by /u/BrokenClutch
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How Do you guys start New Seasons?

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 10:48 AM PDT

Good day to all, I would like to know what your tips or strategies are at the time of starting a new season, I've been playing D3 for a long time, however I focus almost entirely on NS, but I managed to play a bit the S13 and it was quite entertaining, so that now that the S14 is about to start, I would like to know:

What do you guys do at the beginning of each season?

Thanks.

submitted by /u/Anidrex_UG
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Just had a goblin room at level 7, on my second rift.

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 08:28 PM PDT

Playing a crusader, and before the room, found a two handed flail that was a slight upgrade. Equipped it, and a few seconds later, realized that since I wanted to use Punish, I needed a shield.

I reequipped my one hand, and proceeded to stumble upon the goblin room. Me all excited, I used my spender to attack the goblins and when I ran out of resource, I realized I couldn't use my generator. After losing about 90% of the goblins, I realized I never equipped my shield, and facepalmed inwardly. I killed maybe 2 regular goblins out of that pack.

Just wanted to share a little story, enjoy the season!

submitted by /u/Jump_Jets
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What are these red flashes on the corpses in Bluddshed's s14 necro video

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 07:58 PM PDT

east NL item dump?

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 07:13 PM PDT

I'm trying to build a couple smiters, buddy and I are reliving nostalgia. Help me build a smiter or two with new non ladder chars! could be worth a couple bucks?

submitted by /u/funkbruthab
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When does s14 go live for PS4 EU?

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 12:39 PM PDT

Hi guys n gals

Sorry I know this has probably been asked already but when?

Is it same time as pc NA? (Don't know why it would be as we are EU.

submitted by /u/CluckyFlucker
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New to PC played on console.

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 05:09 PM PDT

Hello, Wondering if someone would be kind enough to speed me through seasonal campaign. I've played a bunch on console, just need a speed through campaign

submitted by /u/EmCeeSlickyD
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LFG Softcore US DH

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 04:50 PM PDT

Playing all night from launch

Hern#1462

Add me quick for group quick lvl and grind

submitted by /u/Hxrn
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Does console season start same time as pc?

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 04:25 PM PDT

Quick question about challenge rift / new season

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 12:28 PM PDT

Do you need to do the challenge rift once your seasonal character has been created? or can you do it now and redeem it when season starts in a few hours?

submitted by /u/xSiero
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LFG Hardcore season NA

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 03:59 PM PDT

Looking for 3 people to team up with I'm gonna rock a Crusader! Hopefully I can find a group

submitted by /u/Warwick4Prez
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3 man group LF zBarb season start

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 03:57 PM PDT

[NA SC]

Friends and I like to go hard first week or so of every season and finally want to go try hard and do a super meta group.

We got our 2 dps necs and znec but need a barb for rat runs and meta 4 man pushing.

http://prntscr.com/jvibmh http://prntscr.com/jvibow

These are of our #2 2s / 3s pushes about 2 weeks into the season, so we like to push early on :)

submitted by /u/Losiras
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When does the season starts?

Posted: 15 Jun 2018 02:43 PM PDT

I cant seem to find the date. Any help will be welcomed :)

submitted by /u/Dirtymeiplayer
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