So today I tried cooking up some wacky Crusader build for Diablo 3 – heard this “strongest” thing floating around. Figured I’d give it a spin since I’m stuck on GR 105 like forever. Grabbed my dusty Crusader, barely touched since last season.
The Gear Mess
First up, gotta find the right crap. Spent like two hours gambling with Kadala, burning blood shards like confetti. Needed some Akkhan’s set pieces. Shoulders? Easy. Pants? Fine. That dang chest piece? Wouldn’t drop. Literally got five pairs of gloves first. Typical. Finally said screw it, used the Cube to convert a spare set piece into the chest. Felt like cheating a bit, but hey, time’s ticking.
Next, the flail. Needed the “Gyrfalcon’s Foote” thingy. Ran like fifteen regular rifts hunting goblins. Nothing. Swore my mouse was gonna break from all that clicking. Then finally, some trash mob in Act 1 coughs it up. Stats were garbage though – rolled a socket instead of %dmg. Used the mystic to reroll stats until my gold pouch screamed. Took ten rerolls just to get a barely decent damage boost.
Fumbling With Skills
Opened up the skill menu, felt lost. This build runs Blessed Hammer. Haven’t touched that since… ever? Slapped it on left-click. Needed some weird combo:
- Iron Skin with Flash rune? For zooming. Ok.
- Steed Charge obviously, gotta go fast.
- Provoke to get more Wrath? Makes sense.
- Laws of Valor with Critical rune? Fine.
- Akarat’s Champion – mandatory. Obviously.
Passives felt like a guessing game. Took Heavenly Strength ’cause big weapons. Long Arm of the Law to keep Law active? Indestructible so I don’t pop like a balloon? Seemed decent enough.
Testing It Out (And Dying)
Took this hot mess into a GR 95. Spawned near poison pools, instantly got swarmed. Hammer spinny animation looked silly. Forgot how squishy Crusaders are before Akarat pops. Died faster than my motivation to run Neph rifts. Swapped to Esoteric Alteration gem instead of Bane of the Powerful. Less damage, sure, but breathing’s nice.
Second try felt better. Spammed Provoke, hit Steed Charge to reposition like crazy. Iron Skin for “oh crap” moments. Key was keeping Akarat’s Champion up constantly – cooldown felt tight though. Found a sweet spot: group up elites, dump all hammers, run circles like a madman while they melt. Cleared it in about 8 mins. Not amazing, but hey, progress.
Higher Grind (Literally)
Pushed to GR 100. Got an awful Rift – narrow caves, those freezing lassos guys everywhere. Died THREE TIMES to the same frozen elite pack. Almost rage quit. Changed the Law rune to Unstoppable Force for less Wrath problems. Got a better rhythm: Steed Charge into pack > Provoke > Spin Hammers > Run away screaming. Finished with like 30 seconds left. Felt janky but worked.
Tried a GR 105 next. Got lucky with wide open map and Khazra trash mobs (hate those goatmen though). Played super aggro, dragged elites into huge groups. My flail proc kept shield up, felt tanky finally. Cleared it with almost 3 minutes left! Highest I’ve ever pushed on my Crusader without help. Still messy, still chaotic, but damn… it actually chunks stuff down fast once you get moving.
Honestly? Was it the “strongest”? Dunno. Strongest I’ve played? Yeah. Still feel like I’m just spamming buttons though. Definitely eating through rifts way faster than before. Might push 110 next after some more ancient farming… probably tomorrow. My wrist needs a break.