Before we get started, I want to thank you all so much for the warm reception to this new blog series and for your amazing level of participation. My inbox is overflowing with entries, and while I may not be able to feature all of them, I know I'll never be wanting for new builds!
Over the past month, we've featured four very different Theorycraft Thursday builds—each unique, thematic, and powerful in their own way. Now, it's time to vote your favorite! The individual whose build wins the community vote will be invited to join me and a few members of the Diablo III development team over on Twitch.tv/Diablo to chat, have fun, and play the game! We'll talk about the winner's featured build, how it's improved based on feedback, alternative ways to customize the build, and whatever else strikes our fancy.
Haven't kept up with recent featured builds? Well, here's a quick review of the past four weeks so you can catch up!
- ZiPS "Unholy" Monk
- Squirrel's "Barbari-Care" Barbarian
- Leviathan's "Zoosader" Crusader
- BrvzerX's "Electro-Stun God" Wizard
Week 1 - ZiPS' "Unholy" Monk
We started off our Theorycraft Thursday journey by exploring everything a Monk isn't—poisonous, greedy, and downright devilish. Emphasizing theme over mechanics, this build focused on utility, flashy effects, and tons of gold! ZiPS#1834 created it using the gear he found along the way, and while his hero wasn't focused on numbers, he showed us that not every build requires efficiency to be fun.
ZiPS presented a strong visual theme with his build.
Week 2 – Squirrel's "Barbari-Care" Barbarian
Our next entry focused on one particular mechanic, the almighty Health Globe, and took it to the extreme. After acquiring a Razor Strop belt, Squirrel#1221 was inspired to explore their newfound damaging capabilities. Presented against the backdrop of a battlefield doctor, this build represented equal parts theme and mechanical execution.
Synergistic skills ensured Squirrel always had a plethora of Health Globes available.
Week 3 – Leviathan's "Zoosader" Crusader
Leviathan#1356 showed that the Witch Doctor isn't the only one with an army at his disposal! Balancing complementary items with effective skills, the miniature contingent commanded by this build packed a powerful punch while also offering survival options necessary for Hardcore play.
Sadly, Leviathan’s original Zoosader fell in battle shortly after submission, but Buffy lives again as Leviathan continues to revise and revisit this build!
Week 4 – BrvzerX's Electro-Stun God Wizard
Lightning danced from the fingertips of this Wizard build, as BrvzerX#1972 focused on crowd control and group support! Highlighting a huge amount of complimentary items (and tolerating my perennial pun-tacular presence), this build exhibits a lightning-rod focus on Electrocute, requiring little more than that one signature spell to stun your way to glory.
Getting pretty static on the puns here—I’ve only the energy for so many more!
Now Vote For Your Favorite!
Which build did you enjoy the most in the past four weeks? Select your favorite in the poll below. Don't delay, though! Voting ends Friday, 30 @ 4:00 p.m. PDT.
As noted, the winner of this vote will be invited to stream with me over on Twitch.tv/Diablo along with a couple members of our development team! We'll have details closer to the broadcast, but in the meantime – don't forget to send in your builds to TheorycraftThursday@blizzard.com.
We'll see you next week!