A Summoner’s Path To Exile – Transitioning From League Of Legends To Diablo 3 [Videos]

The day has finally arrived, May 15th, 2012.  After over a decade of being faithful gamers and Blizzard fanatics, we have been rewarded with the third installment of one of the greatest franchises in gaming.  Diablo 3!

There is no doubt about it, Diablo 3 will be taking up peoples time that would otherwise be used to play LoL.  So, I figured that I could help in some people's transitions.  Follow me down my path to exile, and transition with me from LoL to Diablo 3.  (I still love LoL and have no plans on quitting)

the magic path: the wizard

The Wizard is the AP carry of Sanctuary.  Similarly to the role of AP carry in LoL, The Wizard brings high burst damage and utility to a fight.  She is a glass cannon, in fact, she even has a trainable passive skill called glass cannon.

Play your Wizard as Kennen - Their are several lightning abilities available to The Wizard in Diablo 3. When building down this path, you can get a play style similar to Kennen.  Using Shock Pulse or Electrocute will give you the aesthetic feel of your favorite lighting weilding Yordle.  To truly complete the Kennen feel, pick up the Paralysis passive skill for stuns on your lightning attacks.  Lastly, grab Storm Armor to simulate Kennen's Lighning Rush.

Play your Wizard as Le Blanc - The Wizard can also be played as a master of illusion and arcane power.  When building your Wizard as an illusionist, you will notice a play style similar to Le Blanc.  When playing the Wizard as a high mobility burst hero, you'll need to grab Glass Cannon as soon as you can.  The Wizard doesn't have too many single target nukes like Le Blanc, but you can make up for that by using Magic Missile as your primary spell.  Teleport will take care of all of your blinking needs.  And finally, make sure to pick up  Mirror Image and Illusionist to complete your Diablo 3 Le Blanc cosplay... ಠ_ಠ

The path of the forsaken: the witch doctor

The Witch Doctor is your typical pet class in any MMO.  The problem with that is, their really aren't too many champions in League of Legends that truly use pets.

Play your Witch Doctor as Yorick - Hmmmm, I think that no matter how you play The Witch Doctor, it will feel like Yorick.  Let's take it to the extreme then.  In order to summon the largest horde of minions, be sure to pick up the following: Corpse Spiders or Plague of Toads, Firebats, Summon Zombie Dogs, Mass Confusion, Wall of Zombies, and Fetish Army.  If you really want to mimic Yorick as closely as you could, grab Jungle Fortitude for a similar feeling passive.  And lastly, go old school Yorick and pick up Grasp of the Dead to get the feel of Yorick's original unreleased ultimate.

Play your Witch Doctor as a support - The Witch Doctor's kit can allow for your allies to be buffed and your enemies weakened.  Use Big Bad Voodoo to increase your party's attack and movement speeds.  Grab Horrify and Mass Confusion to peel enemies from your squishier allies.  And finally, weaken your enemies with your poisons and Bad Medicine.

The spiritual path: the monk

The Monk is a hybrid class.  He is jack of all trades, able to dps, heal, and tank all while buffing your party.

Play your Monk as Lee Sin - The Monk can be built to function almost identically to Lee Sin.  First you must take Crippling Wave to imitate Lee's Tempest/Cripple.  From there you can mimic everyone of Lee's abilities.  Lashing Tail Kick for his ultimate, Serenity gives a shield (OK, it's nothing like his sheild... but it's close enough), Dashing Strike as Sonic Wave.

Play your Monk as the mega support - The Monk's kit consists of a ton of abilities that lend utility to your party.  The Monk is the only character that can heal other players with his abilities.  Breath of Heaven and Guiding Light are must haves for this build.  You will need to rely on your heals and buffs to make your support Monk successful.  Cyclone Strike combined with Inner Sanctuary can allow for a complete reset of a fight (imagine Orianna ulting on a Kayle ulti.)

The warrior's path: the barbarian

The Barbarian is a tank, a huge badass tank to be exact.  There really isn't two ways to slice it, the Barbarian plays like a tank, well because he is a huge badass one...

Play your Barbarian as Olaf - OK, derp you might say.  It's pretty obvious that Olaf, our beloved berserker, is almost a mirror image of the Barbarian.  Weapon Throw is the equivalent of Olaf's Undertow, Bloodthirst feels similar to the Vicious Strikes active, and when you are ready to go ape $#!^... you got Wrath of the Berserker.  You honestly don't have to try to hard to make your Barbarian experience be reminiscent of Olaf.

The path of Stealth: The demon hunter

Say hello to Diablo's AD Carry.  This was the first character I played in the beta, and he was a beast!  You can build her as a dps machine, a stealthy assassin, or a cc bot.  However, no matter how you play your Demon Hunter, it will still always feel like you are playing an AD carry.

Play your Demon Hunter as a Vayne/Caitlyn hyrbrid - This is how I built my Demon Hunter the first time around.  Grabbing Vault instantly makes you feel like Vayne, tumbling around the map with almost no downtime on your ability.  To add to your elusiveness, take a lesson from Cait and pick up as many trap abilities as you can.  If you like to kite, this is the build for you.  You can constantly keep your enemies at a distance, while dropping some heavy dps from a safe range.

Oh, and always remember summoners... League of Legends comes before any other game.