Hi, this is a lvl 60 WD currently solo'ing through Inferno. I have downed The Butcher Solo yesterday using a balanced spec. At the moment I'm farming gear to progress through Act 2 solo (the jump from Act 1 is huge).
For all the newly WD's out there I thought I might share my experiences with Inferno so far and the build I'm using to farm Champion Packs. This build is designed to be balanced, so I don't need to switch between skills for bosses to maintain the Nephalem buff.
First thing you'll notice on Inferno is that pretty much anything will oneshot you
The Champion Packs will seem impossible at first. So after finishing Nightmare and Hell with ease, I got rid of Vision Quest to allow for more flexibility and survivability.
Poison Darts - Splinter DartsPoison Darts are extremely effective in single target DPS and because this build doesn't include Vision Quest, I had to pick low mana cost abilities. Also, the darts can all crit individually, that's why I picked Splinter over any other rune. (And with some increased attack speed, seeing your WD shoot like a gattling gun is awesome)
Firebomb - Roll the BonesThe reason I picked Firebomb over all the other AOE spells is once again because of mana costs. You're thinking, huh? Why not use Ghostbomb, the lvl 60 tier rune? I was thinking the same. But the big advantage Roll the Bones has, is that it can bounce to enemies out of your sight and you will want to inflict as much damage before you need to kite. And kite you will!... A lot.
Grasp of the Dead - Desperate GraspUsually, people would recommend Unbreakable Grasp rune and I would agree. But with Solo you will need this skill a lot and those extra few seconds will save your life.
Spirit Walk - Healing Journey / Honoured GuestSpirit Walk is a must. It is your main "OH SH*T" button and allows you to get out of nasty situations. Also works great on bosses who can grab you e.g. Butcher and Diablo. Depending on your mana regen I'd suggest to pick either Healing Journey or Honoured Guest. (I use Honoured guest).
Gargantuan - BruiserThis is where it gets interesting. Most people just getting into Inferno will say their pets are useless since they die real quick. I've noticed that with the right play, the Bruiser is a real life saver. Why not Restless Giant you say? Because he doesn't interrupt. The stun/interrupt is super against Champion Packs.
Fetish Army - Devoted FollowingThis Voodoo Skill is the second 'tanking' skill that you need to save for champion packs. Together with the Gargantuan and your Follower, these will give you time to actually stop kiting and nuke for a few moments.
PassivesPierce the Veil. You will need the extra damage and with Poison Darts and Firebomb as main nukes, you won't be affected much by the Mana cost increase.
Jungle Fortitude. I took this skill to prevent from being oneshotted
Bad Medicine. You will be using Poison Darts most of the time so this, combined with Jungle Fortitude, will help you survive nasty blows.
PlaystyleThis build is all about flexibility and balance. Unlike burn builds that include Vision Quest, this time you will have the choice when to use Fetish Army or another pop on Gargantuan.
When encountering a Champion Pack, first thing you do is put down a Grasp and run backwards. Always run into areas that you already discovered! Otherwise you'll most likely run into more mobs. By this time your follower and first Gargantuan should be tanking, allowing you to nuke with Poison Darts.
I prefer killing Champions one at a time instead of aoe'ing them down, because the faster you burn down 1-2 enemies, the easier it will get.
Keep kiting backwards and putting down Grasps on cooldowns. About 10 seconds in your first Gargantuan should be dead (*tear) and this will be the time you'll want to pop Fetish Army. This gives you another solid 10-15 seconds to fully nuke those first few Champions. It is crucial that you don't pop all your cooldowns at once!
After the fetishes die, keep kiting while popping your second Gargantuan and maintaining your Undead Grasp-kiting-Poison Dart-pewpew rotation.
Inevitably, enemies will get to you, in which case, Spirit Walk will be extremely effective. If you are unable to down 1-2 Champions during those 2 Gargantuans and 1 Fetish Army, it will probably be a good idea to buy or farm new gear
Also, while this build is about survivability, it still packs a mean punch. I'm doing 20k-ish dps and pretty much raped The Butcher after a weapon upgrade.
I hope this helps any who are trying Inferno!
I really like this build man, but what gear should you start focusing on? Like a weapon with high intelligence or just high dmg? And what is the benefit of using the shields made for the wd over a shield with high defense and high int/vit?