Introduction
In this article we will talk about the 4-Player Push most effective tactic available (META) to place high on the leaderboards. It’s possible to clear the current Greater Rift cap of 150 in just a few minutes when fully optimized, even with only 3 players. However, such fast clear times require extreme dedication to fishing and team coordination to be achieved. Check our Greater Rift Post for more in-depth mechanics and the current top clears with all the individual character compositions for every Season on our rankings page.
General Strategy
In an effective 4-Player group META, every party member has a defined role with different tasks. Here is an overview of the 4 roles usually played and tasks each role is best at:
Trash Killer
Nova Necro, Natalya DH, Meteor Wiz, Scythe Necro
This position usually requires a build with good Area of Effect (AoE) damage like Death Nova or Meteor and huge temporary buffs like Arcane Attunement, Spellsteal, Assimilation etc. The main task is executing the damage rotation properly in order to progress through the Rift. With a double-support setup, the build must also be powerful enough to finish off the Rift Guardian by equipping Bane of the Stricken.
Rift Guardian Killer
Rathma Necro, Corpse Spider WD, Invoker Sader, Impale DH
The RGK requires a build that revolves around high single-target damage, often combined with fast attack speed skills to stack Bane of the Stricken.
Main Support
zBarb, zDH, zMonk
The main Support role requires good pull abilities, good overall damage & toughness boost. The main task here is to pull monsters together (for Area Damage value) for the Trash Killer, drag Elite packs along, scout the map and keep up damage & toughness buffs.
Secondary Support
zDH, zMonk, zNec
The second Support usually provides even more toughness and damage buffs to the group. The main task here is often very simple: Keep up all buffs while sticking close to the damage dealer. Sometimes the second Support also helps to scout the map and engage enemies.
In double support setups, the most played choices are zBarb and zDH for a strong combination of pulling ability & damage, toughness and utility buffs. Without a Barbarian in the group, a zMonk with Cyclone Strike or a zDH with Natalya's Vengeance (4) Bonus can be used to pull enemies together.
Trash Killer
Concept
During Season 31 there one obvious big winner - Necromancer. As far as Trash Killers go, two Necro builds stand far above the rest: LoD Death Nova and Masquerade Bone Spear.
Both builds are similar in the way their damage grows with the number of targets they fight, thanks to Bloodtide Blade and Blighted Marrow respectively. This property makes them ideal for Trash Killer role. Between these two buidls, Bone Spear deals substantially more damage but has way smaller effective AoE and needs to stay at a distance to maximize damage. In comparison, Death Nova is a very simple "walk in and blast everything to smithereens" build, but the damage is not as high. That being said, both builds are way stronger than they need to be and will absolutely decimate GR 150 even at low Paragon.
The alternative to normal Trash Killer + Boss Killer team is to combine 2 Trash Killers that can also bring a decent amount of single target damage - in this case it's 2 Bone Spear Necros. In such teams it may be wise to have at least one of them run with Bane of the Stricken to ensure a smooth boss kill, although it becomes unnecessary at hihger Paragon where Rift Guardian's average life expectancy is under 10s with a Power Pylon.
The Trash Killers are supported by a zBarb pulling Elites and grouping monsters together with Ground Stomp Wrenching Smash. On top of that, the Barb provides massive toughness buffs with Ignore Pain Mob Rule and War Cry. Additional offensive and defensive buffs are provided by the zDH.
Rift Guardian Killer
Concept
If you want to delete the Rift Guardian smoothly and consistently it's best to recruit the help of yet another Necromancer, this time specialized in single target damage.
Rathma Army of the Dead Necromancer is by far the best boss killer in Season 31, capable of killing the Rift Guardian in single Army of the Dead cast at higher Paragon. If your Trash Killer somehow happens to be not a Necromancer, then Rathma RGK also brings Frailty to the party which is a powerful group buff.
There are other RGK builds that can kill the boss relatively quickly but none come close to the raw power of Rathma and none bring anything significant to the party other than their damage.
As an RGK, simply follow the team during the Rift, try to pull enemies along and survive as much as you can. Your time to shine is on the Rift Guardian where you can unleash your full potential.
Supports
Concept
The Trash- and Rift Guardian Killer are supported by a zBarb pulling Elites and grouping monsters together so that their team can hit many targets at once. On top of that, the Barb provides massive toughness buffs with Ignore Pain Mob Rule and War Cry. Additional offensive and defensive buffs are provided by the zDH.
Gameplay zBarb
The standard zBarb play around the Trash Killer's Convention of Elements rotation, aggros and pulls monsters with Ancient Spear Rage Flip and pixels enemies with Ground Stomp Wrenching Smash.
Gameplay zDH
During DPS windows, make sure you apply all your buffs/debuffs properly (Multishot every 3 seconds, spread out Guardian Turret and spam Entangling Shot or Strafe). Try to help out the group in other ways, e.g. breaking walls with Bottomless Potion of Kulle-Aid, taking Wormholes that might spawn in dangerous places, etc. Especially on large pulls, make sure you re-apply Entangling Shot often and early enough.
More Alternatives
Check out our for Rift Trash Killer Tier List or our Rift Guardian Killer Tier List for even more choices!
Conclusion
While on average Season 31's theme as not as powerful as some others, from Necromancer's point of view it absolutely is, and the way Necromancers can decimate even the highest tier Greater Rifts is downright unholy.
Enjoy Season 31 and good luck on your Leaderboard rank. May RNGesus be with you!
Credits
Updated by wudijo.