Okay, so I gotta tell you about my latest Diablo 3 deep dive, man. This time it’s all about the Crusader, specifically those top-tier builds everyone’s buzzing about for 2023. Needed a change from my Demon Hunter, you know?
The Grind Begins: Gear Up
First thing, I knew I wasn’t starting from scratch. Had my level 70 Crusader sitting there collecting dust. Jumped right into some high-level Nephalem Rifts – got lucky fast, actually. Found Blade of Prophecy pretty quick. But man, the real hunt was for those Valor set pieces. Spent hours yesterday running Greater Rifts like a madman. Blood shards everywhere! Finally, after maybe 50 Kadala gambles, got the last piece. Full Aegis of Valor set? Check.
But that’s just the shell. Needed those key legendaries:
- Fate of the Fell: This one sucked. Must have run Halls of Agony dozens of times looking for that specific two-hander. Almost gave up when it finally dropped from a random treasure goblin in a T16 rift. Felt so good!
- Strongarm Bracers: These actually weren’t too bad. Kadala hooked me up after dumping like 2000 shards.
- Got Furnace cubed too for that elite damage. That made a huge difference.
Did some bounty runs too – needed Ring of Royal Grandeur, obviously. Took a few tries because Act 1 bounties kept giving me crap. Finally got it on the third run.
Testing the Waters: Holy Shotgun vs Fist of the Heavens
Started testing out the builds everyone says are top dogs.
- First tried the Holy Shotgun setup. Tons of holy beams firing everywhere? Sounds awesome. Felt kinda squishy at first, though. Getting used to positioning right up in the mobs’ faces was rough.
- Switched gears to the Fist of the Heavens variant. Using Heaven’s Fury procs alongside Fist of the Heavens – Fissure? Man, the screen just explodes with lightning and holy fire. This felt… smoother? Massive AoE clear, wiped whole screens instantly. That’s when I knew I was onto something.
Refining and Pushing Higher
Had the gear, had the basic playstyle down. Time to optimize and push my limits.
Paragon points were next. Pumped Critical Hit Damage and Strength hard. Then went into Movement Speed and All Resist for toughness. Pretty standard.
Getting the right stats on gear? That was the real grind. Needed more Cooldown Reduction to keep Akarat’s Champion up almost constantly. Found a great amulet with Holy Damage % and Critical Hit Damage – sacrificed some Strength for it, totally worth it.
Gems? Slapped a big Bane of the Trapped in my weapon. Taeguk for stacking damage/resist since I’m constantly spending resource. Bane of the Stricken for pushing high-level rift guardians. Didn’t have a perfect 150-level one, but my level 80 worked okay.
Played smarter too. Learned to group mobs with Steed Charge and pull elites together with Condemn. Started timing my big damage bursts better. Went from struggling in GR 100 to clearing GR 115 consistently within a few hours. Still have room to push higher too.
Why This Matters (To Me, Anyway)
Look, Diablo 3’s all about the chase, right? Finding that perfect piece, optimizing your build just right. This Crusader build, man… it hits different. The sheer visual chaos, the power surge when everything clicks. It reminded me why I keep playing.
Blizzard’s 2023 patches and season themes definitely shifted things around – balancing, new mechanics, you name it. Seeing how the Fist of the Heavens setup adapted and stayed top-tier? That was cool to experience firsthand. It’s not just numbers on a guide page; it’s the explosions, the speed, the power trip.
Ultimately, this deep dive wasn’t just about following a guide. It was the grind to find the gear, the frustration of bad drops, the thrill when it all comes together. That’s the real Diablo experience, and why messing around with the best Crusader builds this season felt so damn satisfying.
