DMO Arcane Orbit Wizard Skills and Runes

Last updated on Oct 23, 2024 at 09:00 by Deadset 3 comments

On this page, we explain how to choose and use your skills when playing DMO Arcane Orbit Wizard in Diablo 3. Updated for Patch 2.7.8 and Season 33.

Active Skills
Left Mouse Button Spectral Blade Icon Spectral Blade Barrier Blades Barrier Blades Right Mouse Button Teleport Icon Teleport Safe Passage Safe Passage 1 Arcane Orb Icon Arcane Orb Arcane Orbit Arcane Orbit 2 Slow Time Icon Slow Time Exhaustion Exhaustion 3 Explosive Blast Icon Explosive Blast Chain Reaction Chain Reaction 4 Ice Armor Icon Ice Armor Crystallize Crystallize
Passive Skills
1.

Rotation

The major offense mechanic of the progression build lies in Arcane Orb Arcane Orb, repurposed for close combat with the Arcane Orbit Arcane Orbit rune and amplified by the DMO set 6-piece bonus. Your defenses rely on the passive armor buff of Ice Armor Ice Armor, the set-induced damage reduction while Slow Time Slow Time is active, and on the combat-dependent bonuses of Spectral Blade Spectral Blade Barrier Blades Barrier Blades and the Explosive Blast Explosive Blast Chain Reaction Chain Reaction plus Orb of Infinite Depth Orb of Infinite Depth combo. Your mobility cooldown, Teleport Teleport, should be used offensively and defensively depending on the situation: sometimes it will close the distance to a fight so you can drop Slow Time Slow Time and Halo of Arlyse Halo of Arlyse freezes, and other times it will get you out of dangerous affixes. Do not hesitate to take advantage of the Safe Passage Safe Passage defensive buff, as Illusionist Illusionist will reset Teleport Teleport's cooldown multiple times during a fight. Remember to balance periods of stationary fighting for the Endless Walk set damage bonuses with bursts of movement to a fresh fight, as the interaction between your Halo of Arlyse Halo of Arlyse and Ancient Parthan Defenders Ancient Parthan Defenders depends on the number of frozen enemies, and ones you have already frozen get progressively resistant to it.

2.

Skills and Runes

Spectral Blade Spectral Blade will serve multiple purposes in the build; firstly, it counts towards the DMO set 2-piece requirement, reducing Slow Time Slow Time's cooldown for every cast. Secondly, as a signature skill it falls in the category of The Shame of Delsere The Shame of Delsere belt, resulting in 50% faster attack speed and up to 12 Arcane Power per hit, regenerating your AP reserves lightning fast when pushing with the progression spec. Thirdly, it will empower your Arcane Orbit Arcane Orbit with the stacking mechanics of Triumvirate Triumvirate and Arcane Dynamo Arcane Dynamo, or simply act as a proc for your Focus Focus and Restraint Restraint bonuses during speedfarm. You can tailor Spectral Blade Spectral Blade after your needs, and for GR progression we recommend the defensive function of Barrier Blades Barrier Blades.

The basic long range spender Arcane Orb Arcane Orb is transformed into a close combat powerhouse with the Arcane Orbit Arcane Orbit rune. Affected by the DMO 6-piece damage buff, detonating twice through the power of Unstable Scepter Unstable Scepter and boosted even further by Triumvirate Triumvirate and Arcane Dynamo Arcane Dynamo stacks, these orbiting arcane globes will chew through your enemies' health. Make a point to recast Arcane Orb Arcane Orb at least with a stacked Triumvirate Triumvirate (3 Spectral Blade Spectral Blade attacks), but ideally after you fully stack up Arcane Dynamo Arcane Dynamo as well (5 Spectral Blade Spectral Blade attacks).

Slow Time Slow Time is integral to DMO setups, amplifying the damage of multiple skills against affected enemies, as well as cutting incoming damage by 60%. You will augment its damage reducing properties with another 25% from the Exhaustion Exhaustion rune during GR progression.

Explosive Blast Explosive Blast will be part of both the progression spec and the speedfarming variation, serving as protection for the former, and a main damage dealer for the latter. You will be taking the multiple explosions of the Chain Reaction Chain Reaction rune, quickly maximizing the damage reduction benefits from the Orb of Infinite Depth Orb of Infinite Depth source. An alternative for the slot when progressing in GRs is found in the defense and damage amplifier Magic Weapon Magic Weapon Deflection Deflection. This long lasting steroid remains quietly in the background and procs consistently off Spectral Blade Spectral Blades and Arcane Orb Arcane Orbs. This variation allows you to run The Furnace The Furnace in the Cube for a significant damage increase against elites, but limits your overall damage reduction (see this build's gear page for more information). Deciding between these two variations is up to personal preference, as their performance in GRs is very comparable.

When pushing Greater Rifts, immediate repositioning will often be required — evading a bad affix, engaging fresh enemies for Ancient Parthan Defenders Ancient Parthan Defenders procs, or simply to gain a Toughness buff without losing maxed Endless Walk bonuses. Teleport Teleport will fulfill all these purposes with the damage reduction of the Safe Passage Safe Passage rune.

For additional protection in GRs, we will be using Ice Armor Ice Armor with the massive bulwark of Crystallize Crystallize. The short reach of the build will inevitably put you in melee brawls, refreshing your Crystallize Crystallize stacks constantly. The added value from Halo of Arlyse Halo of Arlyse will bring excellent crowd control on top of the mitigation, solidifying Ice Armor Ice Armor as the defensive spell of choice.

3.

Passives

Reworked into a comparable function to other cheat deaths, Unstable Anomaly Unstable Anomaly gives you one shot at dodging a lethal situation. Operating on a standard 60-second cooldown and adding a 3-second stun to nearby enemies — plus a solid 400% max life shield for 5 seconds — it will become a constant companion to your Greater Rift pushes. An alternative to this passive is Unwavering Will Unwavering Will, synergizing with the static fighting style of the build and adding significant Toughness with the 20% Armor buff.

Another powerful survival tool is hidden in your Illusionist Illusionist passive, feeding additional CDR into your Slow Time Slow Time and turning Teleport Teleport from a strategic cooldown into a constantly available asset. The requirement of 15% life taken per hit is calculated prior to mitigation and translates into “any hit taken” in high Greater Rifts. The additional 30% movement speed after using some of the build's core abilities is just icing on the cake.

Audacity Audacity is a natural inclusion in melee range spellcasting builds like this one, bringing an impressive 30% multiplicative damage increase against enemies within 15 yards.

Arcane Dynamo Arcane Dynamo synergizes excellently with the GR progression build that already has a signature skill buildup mechanic from Triumvirate Triumvirate. Offering the whopping 60% multiplicative increase of your next spender with fully stacked Flashes of Insight, Arcane Dynamo Arcane Dynamo necessitates a 5 Spectral Blade Spectral Blade to 1 Arcane Orb Arcane Orb rotation for the pushing build.

4.

Changelog

  • 23 Oct. 2024: Skills and passives reviewed for Season 33.
  • 10 Jul. 2024: Skills and passives reviewed for Season 32.
  • 10 Apr. 2024: Skills and passives reviewed for Season 31.
  • 10 Jan. 2024: Skills and passives reviewed for Season 30.
  • 13 Sep. 2023: Skills and passives reviewed for Season 29.
  • 22 Feb. 2023: Skills and passives reviewed for Season 28.
  • 26 Aug. 2022: Skills and passives reviewed for Season 27.
  • 14 Apr. 2022: Guide reviewed for Season 26.
  • 06 Dec. 2021: Reviewed for Season 25.
  • 22 Jul. 2021: No changes required for Season 24.
  • 02 Apr. 2021: No changes required for Season 23.
  • 20 Nov. 2020: No changes required for Season 22.
  • 01 Jul. 2020: No changes required for Season 21.
  • 12 Mar. 2020: No changes necessary for Season 20.
  • 22 Nov. 2019: Reviewed for Season 19.
  • 23 Aug. 2019: Reviewed and approved for Season 18.
  • 17 May 2019: Guide was reviewed and approved for Season 17.
  • 18 Jan. 2019: Information was reviewed and approved for Season 16 with no changes required.
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