Introduction

I’ve been playing the Binding of Isaac for a while, having gotten into it watching some twitch.tv streamers like lethalfrag and cobaltstreak play it live. It’s an addictive game, with elements of a shooter and adventure game mixed in an interesting, highly replayable way. It offers tons of challenges, unlocks, secrets, and makes learning about the new items and overall game extremely fun.

Living Room Gaming

Lately I’ve also embarked on something of a return to “couch” gaming, at least some of the time. Playing games in the living room with a nice HDTV is the perfect setting, and just recently software and hardware have started making it convenient to play computer games in the living room. This article will let you know how to configure your living room computer, or HTPC (Home Theater PC) to play The Binding of Isaac.

Setup

I’ll have to assume you already have your HTPC set up and working with your TV because there are too many variables to consider. Luckily The Binding of Isaac does not require any sort of powerful computer, so pretty much anything should do. Unfortunately it is a Flash based game, so much older machines may struggle somewhat. In that case be sure to turn down the detail and resolution settings in the game. This article assumes you are running Windows on your HTPC. Windows 7 and higher will make installing the controller much easier.

Onto what you’ll need:

• Step #1: Get an XBOX 360 controller.
  I would recommend a wireless 360 controller with the wireless USB receiver. The receiver is a little dongle that will plug into a USB slot on your computer and the wireless 360 controller can connect to that. The Xbox 360 controller is widely compatible with any games that support a controller, and integrates extremely well into windows and many other programs.
• #1: Wireless XBOX 360 Controller & #2: Wireless USB Gaming Receiver for Xbox 360 Controllers
• OR Simply get a wired Xbox 360 controller

• Step #2: Install Steam and set up Big Picture Mode
• This one is pretty straightforward. I’d recommend purchasing The Binding of Isaac on Steam, or at least add your game key to your steam library (most Binding of Isaac keys should be able to be added).
• Steam and info about it’s Big Picture Mode can be found and installed from here
• Once steam and its Big Picture Mode are set up, all you need to do is hold down the big “X” button on your Xbox 360 controller, and steam will automatically start up. This gives a great interface for you to select and start games on your HTPC.
• You’ll want to go into your Steam settings and select to start Steam in Big Picture Mode

• Step #3: Set up JoytoKey
  Unfortunately the Binding of Isaac does not natively support any gamepad / controller / joystick. This is likely because it is a flash based game (one of the many limitations that will be fixed in The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth title that should be released around the end of the year!) As hinted at in the game’s options screen, to control TBoI with a gamepad, you need to install “JoytoKey”
• Download JoyToKey here (yes the website is very plain, but its a handy and simple program to have)
• Download customized JoyToKey config file here (right click, save as, OR find the .ZIP here). Add this Binding of Isaac JoytoKey config file by simply copying it into the same folder as JoyToKey (for example C:\Program Files\JoyToKey\ )

• Alternate Option #1: If you don’t want to use Steam’s big picture mode, you could consider setting up a .BAT (batch) file. It should be possible to run one file to load up JoyToKey, the Binding of Isaac, and also wait a few seconds then send the “F” keypress to go fullscreen. However when I tried to use a batch file for this purpose, unfortunately JoyToKey had an error where the custom configuration files would not load. I don’t know what causes this.
• Alternate Option #2: If you run “XBMC” to play media on your HTPC, you can set it up to launch JoyToKey and the Binding of Isaac: Wrath of The Lamb using a plugin called Advanced Launcher. This plugin / addon can run any standard executable file. Personally, I have Advanced Launcher set up to run Steam Big Picture Mode.
• Alternate Option #3: You could just use a wireless keyboard to control the Binding of Isaac without needing JoytoKey at all. However that’s really not in line with the convenient “couch-gaming” theme of this article!

Troubleshooting

One problem I ran into was Windows’ zoom level was turned up on my HTPC to allow websites to have bigger text by default. Unfortunately this will cause the game to be zoomed in and cropped off, so you can’t use this setting. (Note: many games have this issue with that windows feature). To find it, right click on the desktop, click Personalize > Display. The option is titled “Make it Easier To Read What’s on Your Screen”

It seems there is a configuration file bug in JoyToKey – the program has to be launched by itself in a standard way. I’m not sure on the details, but trying to launch JoyToKey using a batch file resulted in not having the config files loaded.

Play the Game!

Now to play, simply hold down the middle button on your XBOX 360 controller and it will load up Steam in Big Picture mode. You can use this to select the Binding of Isaac or any other game you want. The Binding of Isaac won’t launch in fullscreen, so after it loads you’ll have to hit “F” on your keyboard to go fullscreen. From there, everything can be controlled with the controller. (Right trigger to advance through menus, and use the right joystick to select which “isaac” you want to be!

Some handy Xbox 360 Controller Controls:
(using the above listed JoyToKey config file)

• Right Trigger (Space): use a spacebar Item, or Skip cutscenes, or Advance in a menu
• Right Shoulder button (Q): use tarot cards
• Left Trigger (Shift): drop a bomb
• Left Joystick (WASD): movement
• A/B/X/Y buttons: fire tears in that direction (alternately you can use the right joystick, but I find this less accurate)
• Start (escape): Pause / Menu (note that you will need to use a mouse to click the Return to Game button if you hit start)

Conclusion

The Binding of Isaac (and I recommend the Wrath of the Lamb expansion highly)! Is a perfect game to play from the comfort of your couch. Using one of the above methods, or some variation, it can be integrated seamlessly into your HTPC’s controls. I highly recommend using XBMC as the front-end for your HTPC, and using the methods here everything can be controlled with a beautiful interface, using a handy controller (hint-the Xbox 360 controller mentioned here also works flawlessly as an XBMC remote).

Post a comment for any questions or clarifications. I will be writing further articles about couch-gaming and HTPC setup in the future. If you like the website, please consider clicking on one of the Amazon links before placing any order at Amazon. This will help to cover the costs of the website.

Gun Violence and a public push for a debate on new gun control laws is a hot topic, especially after even more recent shootings. I was interested in what the actual, unbiased statistics were as far as how many gun related murders are committed each year in the United States. I did my own digging around on the FBI’s website for violent crimes here: Crime in the United States – FBI Statistics

The result might be shocking to some of the people raising an outcry, and especially to the media who seems to be covering the issue nonstop.

The Straight Statistics:

1995: 16,305 murders involving firearms (a 46.3% increase compared to 1985)

2007: 10,129 murders involving firearms (out of 14,916 murders total)

2011: 8,583 murders involving firearms (out of 12,664 murders total)

Results: Murders involving firearms have dropped by 50% in the last 15 years roughly. They have also been steadily decreasing a substantial amount each year over the past 5 years.

The Media

The real issue here could be seen as the media. Media exposure in our daily lives and fast online social communication of media coverage is currently making every issue into a far bigger deal than it would have seemed in the past. This quickly leads to more people taking more actions and taking more action than ever before. This applies to all issues, not just gun control, and could very well be a good thing in many cases. However it is important for us to always consider the facts, rather than go off of what we hear on a 15 second news snippet.

You be the judge on what to do with this information, and please feel free to check these stats and also share any other interesting ones you may find.

DOTA 2 can be extremely difficult to get into. Here is a list of what heroes you should try out when first starting the game. These heroes are all selected because they are fairly straightforward and do not require a lot of experience with the game or the specific hero in order to contribute well to your team. Other heroes may require difficult aiming, timing, or control in order to play but you should be able to hop right in.

Don’t take this list to mean these are somehow only “noob” characters. With experience, these champions will be as powerful and helpful as any of the others — you will just have a better chance of starting out well with these.

For your first time, its not a bad idea to try out some of the items on the recommended item list. This will at least help you to avoid purchasing items that will be next to useless for your chosen hero.

Recommended Starter Heroes for DOTA 2 Beginners:

• Support Role: Lich, Tidehunter, Crystal Maiden, Venomancer, Ogre Magi
• Semi-Carry Role: Sven, Chaos Knight, or Spirit Breaker
• Carries: Skeleton King, Viper, or Drow

Intermediate / Middle of the Road Difficulty Heroes:

For more alternatives, try some of these heroes. They aren’t quite as easy to pick up, but are also not the best choice for beginners for various reasons:

• Faceless Void (bad chronos kill teammates)
• Lone Druid
• Clinkz
• Luna
• Tinker
• Bane
• Wisp
• Outworld Destroyer
• Lycanthrope
• Weaver
• Kunkka
• Shadow Demon

Hardest Heroes to Learn or Control:

• Meepo
• Chen
• Enchantress
• Invoker
• Rubick
• Broodmother
• Visage
• Storm Spirit
• Puck
• Brewmaster

Disagree with this list or have other heroes to suggest for either the difficult or easy list? Give your reasoning in a comment below!

eBay has recently offered a new option for insurance service when printing USPS postage / shipping labels for your auctions. There is really no information to be found on which service does what, or which is insurance option might be better. Here I’ll give a quick but thorough rundown of what each has to offer:

USPS Insurance – The Old Option

• USPS’s own insurance seems to be slightly more expensive on cheaper items (roughly below $50), but slightly more expensive on more expensive items (above $100-200).
• Claims take weeks at minimum, or possibly months to pay out, and the general consensus of users appears to be that USPS will drag their feet intentionally.
• USPS Insurance is backed by the government and has more credibility and history
• You’ll need to call or go to the post office (likely several times) and fill out paperwork in order to file a claim on a damaged or lost shipment.

ShipCover – The New Option

• ShipCover will be slightly cheaper on expensive items, but slightly more expensive if you are purchasing cheaper coverage.
• From reading the actual testimonials of users, it appears ShipCover is much faster and is more reliable than USPS in paying out claims. This could be because it is a newer service and they need to build trust, but regardless comparing the experiences of users on various forums around the internet, ShipCover seems to offer a much better service in actually paying out claims when you need them.
• Labels printed with ShipCover insurance are NOT labelled as insured. The only person that knows the package is insured is you and eBay. Your buyer won’t know that insurance was purchased. More importantly, anyone handling the package in transit won’t know, which could keep it safe. (Only higher value items would be likely to be insured — a better target for theft).
• ShipCover is not backed by the government and is not a legal insurer. On the shipping label page on eBay’s website, when you are selecting the insurance type, you can click to view the legal terms of ShipCover, which seems to be a California based business. Basically what the legal speak says is that ShipCover can go bankrupt at any time and all pending claims would dissolve into thin air so you would be out of luck. For a government insurer like USPS insurance, this risk is not present.
• Filing of claims is handled online through forms on eBay/Paypal and is quick.

Sidenote:

As a final sidenote–the main issue some users seem to have is whether or not postage fees are covered–remember, you need to enter the total coverage amount you want to purchase, regardless of which service you use. If you sell an item for $50 and postage is $10, you must enter $60 as your coverage amount. You’ll also have to pay slightly more for the additional coverage.

Conclusion

I would currently have to recommend ShipCover over USPS Insurance when shipping on eBay. This is solely because claims are currently being paid out reliably and quickly, while on the other end of things I have read widespread testimonials that USPS drags their feet for weeks or months before paying out claims (if ever).

As long as ShipCover continues to keep up a reputation of fast claim payouts, they are the easy choice — even if it will be slightly more expensive.

iHome iP46 Portable 30-Pin iPod/iPhone Speaker Dock

• Great Sound
• Built-in Lithium Battery lasts for 10 hours unplugged!
• Auxiliary input for other audio sources
• SRS / Extra speaker chambers for “bigger” sound

This speaker dock is the one I personally chose to give as a gift after weighing all the options available online. Its priced at or below all of the competition, but offers extras in the form of the built in rechargeable lithium ion battery, which automatically charges when plugged into the wall. This means no messing around with AA batteries! It also has a simple, compact design that matches or beats any of the other available options. It is compatible with pretty much all models of iPod and iPhone. This is available in the perfect price range of around $60 – 70. Anything cheaper will be cutting corners for quality, and anything more expensive you would probably want to be looking at a more complete sort of sound system. . View the iHome iP46 on amazon here!

Alternative Choice

Altec Lansing IMT320 30-Pin iPod Speaker Dock

• Altech Lansing is a high quality name brand in audio
• Portable and compact
• Great design aesthetics — iDevice looks great plugged into this

Cons:

• Lacks some of the audio features of the iHome iP46
• Requires AA batteries for portable power

This is a great alternative to the iHome iP46. I prefer the appearance of this Altec Lansing model, however what sold me on the iHome product was the built in rechargeable lithium ion battery. If you go with this Altec Lansing model you will need to mess with AA batteries if you plan to use it on the go (which is one of the main reasons to get a speaker dock). Check out the ALtec Lansing IMT320 Speaker Dock at Amazon here!

How to Determine the Dock Compatibility of Your iPod Touch Generation 1, 2, 3, 4, etc / iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S, 5, etc

To keep it simple, you simple need to determine if your iDevice uses Apples new (smaller) “Lightning” connector, or if it uses the old standard 30-pin connection. Devices that use the Lightning connectors will need an adapter to connect to the 30-pin dock connection devices.

The devices listed above, and most devices still on the market today (in 2012) use the old standard 30-pin connector. If in doubt, or unless the product specifically states that it is designed for the brand new iPhone 5 Lightning connector, then it uses the old 30-pin connector. What this means is if you are buying a dock for yourself or a friend, you simply need to know if their Apple device is very new (iPhone 5 or later). If so, keep in mind they will need to buy the adapter in order to have full compatibility.

Any questions or comments, please feel free to leave a message!

The Change:

Recently in mid November 2012, Gmail seems to have implemented a change that I can’t find any information about. All of the sudden, whenever you have text highlighted while reading an email, then you click in the reply box, the highlighted text will be copied in your reply. The rest of the original email (which would normally be fully quoted in your reply) is deleted.

No Big Deal? Think Again

Seems like a trivial change? Perhaps, but in my regular workflow, I am constantly copying information from an email and then replying. The extra 15 seconds or so this change takes per email can add up when you’re trying to get through dozens (or hundreds!) of emails!

I have searched, but have not been able to find an answer on how to change / disable this to return to the old settings. If any readers know, please leave a comment! The closest I could find was an old about.com article that seems to have been written back when this feature was an option in Google Labs. However this “feature” currently can’t be found or disabled in Google Labs, or in any other settings that I could find.

For now, here are the alternative solutions:

#1 Of course the easiest thing to do is simply click an extra time before replying to make sure no text is selected. However after years of habitual workflow, this is tougher than it sounds.

#2 If you’ve already accidentally had text highlighted, then clicked to reply, you can click “Discard” to reset the reply box. Unfortunately doing this is pretty frustrating to do over and over again.

This article will be updated if and/or when I find the solution to this issue.

Black Friday officially starts in only a few short hours. After scouring the ads released by retailers and the resulting compilations by dedicated customers, I’m willing to share my pick as the best budget HDTV deal of Black Friday 2012.

Check the current price of this deal here: Haier 32-Inch 720p LCD HDTV

Without a doubt there are a small handful of other good budget deals out there this year, but this one manages to break the sub-$100 barrier. Although it’s an off brand, and you should not expect this TV to last for 10 years or have amazing quality, this is perfect for a secondary bedroom or work0ut room TV, a kid’s TV, or for those few of you out there who still need to upgrade from an old tube set.

All other notable deals for 32″ tv’s this year are still around the $150 price range. That’s a great price too, which just makes this Haier deal at Amazon’s website look even better.

How to Get This Deal:

Unfortunately this product won’t have a large stock so only the dedicated will take advantage of this price. After watching how Amazon has handled the deals so far this year, here’s what you should do to maximize your chances of getting this:

• Keep checking the link for this product on amazon manually to check the price. (See below for link)

• The standard price is showing as about $180 right now. If you see the $97 price, add it to the cart and purchase immediately

• Follow Amazon on Facebook. They posted their previous hdtv deals ONLY on their facebook status shortly before they went live.

Link to the HDTV Deal:

Unfortunately this is one of the deals that is not displayed on Amazon’s website. Nobody knows when it will go live; at this point all we can do is continue to check the price. Below is the link to the product, if you see it at $97, be sure to purchase it immediately because it will go quick!

$97 Deal: Haier 32-Inch 720p LCD HDTV

For most sellers on eBay who operate as even a semi-serious hobby or part time small business, feedback is so important that in most cases it’s worth it for the seller to do almost anything to avoid a negative feedback. Even one or two negative feedbacks can heavily impact future sales, and too many can quite realistically destroy eBay sellers–either scaring off the majority of buyers, or even having the seller’s account suspended.

The Problem

The disconnect, and the big problem with eBay’s current feedback system, is that sellers want to make their buyers happy. However, through a combination of impatience and a lack of computer/website knowledge, many buyers don’t even give sellers the opportunity to fix problems. For most non-eBay online retailers out there, the customer would just be a little upset and go about their lives without taking any further action. However eBay makes it so easy for customers to leave feedback that they almost always will at the slightest unhappiness.

The crazy part is that there are so many sellers out there who want all of their buyers to be happy, and would bend over backwards to avoid a negative feedback. eBay had a good idea with their Top Rated Seller and ranking of search results–although I’m sure it frustrates many sellers to no end–it really encourages sellers to maintain high feedback ratings.

Unfortunately there are so many cases where not only is it NOT the seller’s fault, it is actually the buyer’s fault that there is an issue. Some examples of this are buyers not reading the description of products, not giving the correct shipping address, or not having a working email address.

The Solution

The solution to this issue is simple. When a buyer clicks to leave negative feedback, they are taken to a screen that has a short preset message from the seller, and the buyer is required to email a message to the seller, wait for 24 hours, and then forced to read the seller’s response before a negative feedback can be entered.

Simple, right? This encourages more buyer-seller communication in the event of an issue, which is always a good thing! It also doesn’t leave the seller on the hook for the buyer’s impatience or incompetence.

The seller the has 24 hours to reply to the buyer before the buyer is allowed to leave negative feedback. After that time, the buyer can leave negative feedback, but will first be shown the seller’s response. The seller’s response would generally be an offer of a refund, or an explanation of what might have happened (a storm caused shipping delays, or clarification on how to use a product, etc).

This completely fixes the problem of buyers who are simply impatient and do not want to take the 15 seconds to email a seller who would be happy to go out of their way to fix an issue. This makes everyone happy and makes eBay a more positive, effective marketplace (something eBay seems to strive for).

A Side Note

A secondary aspect of this should be that eBay requires buyers to receive some sort of email at their registered email address before they can enter negative feedback (and also periodically). As many as 5% percent of buyers in the past have had email addresses that simply did not work, for example because they switched to a new email address. This means if an issue arises, the buyer might email a seller, but the seller’s reply just goes into limbo and is never read.

With the vast selection of weapons in Dark Souls, it can be a little daunting to figure out where you should invest your titanite and soul stockpile. I’ve tested every single weapon available in the game, and I’ve played through the game multiple times, with a number of different types of character builds. Because each weapon scales based off of a certain stat (like strength or dexterity), where you have spent your stat points will be a big decider on what weapons will be the most effective for you.

Also, a quick note: before you invest your stat points by leveling up, its a good idea to have a plan for your character, rather than spreading your levels around every stat. A good starting point for any character is to level your strength to 16, and your dexterity to 14, then add a few points to vitality. This is a very versatile start and will allow you to use a good selection of weapons until you decide exactly how to proceed. The builds below will provide a quick recommendation on where to place stats to start, and the stats will be listed in order of importance. Note that the stats are not necessarily listed as end-game–rather this is a minimum you should aim for in a standard playthrough. Also, do NOT waste stats on Resistance!

The weapon rankings are based off of many factors. The required stats to use the item have to be stats that you would normally have in the listed build. The “moveset” of each weapon is also very important (how fast it swings, how long is the range, how wide / sweeping is the swing of the weapon in case your enemy is dodging).

Strength Build

For builds based of maximizing Strength. This is not a common build, and will be generally less effective in Player vs Player duels. The benefit is using the impressive super-heavy weapons, and shields with incredible stability that can easily block any attacks indefinitely. Playing single player your goal will be blocking attacks, then counterattacking with your heavy weapons. This will stun/stagger the enemies and allow you to continue your followups. Wearing heavy armor and having good vitality (HP) will also allow you to eat an enemy attack or two since your swings take so long, and you’ll often be 2-handing for maximum damage and stagger ability. Also consider enough points in intelligence (25) to use Crystal Magic Weapon, OR enough points in faith (30) to use Sunlight Blade / Darkmoon Blade  for temporary increased weapon damage.

Recommended stats: Strength: 45-50, Vitality 30+, Endurance 30+, (optional: Intelligence 25 for Crystal Magic Weapon), Dexterity no higher than about 14-16

Recommended weapon upgrade path: Normal +15 on a weapon with a high strength scaling

Weapon rankings for Strength Builds (higher ranked is first on the list):

• Zweihander (strong attack slams enemies into ground, great range, great swing coverage)
• Claymore (great swing coverage)
• Black Knight Greataxe (relatively fast, great coverage, great range, cool strong attack uppercut, but easily parried)
• Bastard Sword
• Great Club (great rolling attack with huge range/coverage, but otherwise lacking moveset)
• Large Club (great rolling attack with huge range/coverage, but otherwise lacking moveset)
• Sunlight Straight Sword
• Darksword
• Dragon King Greataxe (slow, limited range, but strong 2 hand attack AoE effect!)
• Demon Greataxe (slow, limited range, limited swing coverage)
• Stone Greatsword (fun to use as a switch weapon because its strong attack casts an AoE slow spell)
• Dragon Bone Fist (for fun only – very low damage, very low range, but strong attack is like Ryu / Ken’s dragon punch!)

Shields:

• Grass Crest Shield (useful for 2 handing your weapon because this still improves stamina recovery)
• Balder Shield (lightweight, good damage reductions, can parry)
• Greatshield of Artorias (heavy, but amazing stability and damage reductions, also blocks status effects)
• Havel’s Greatshield (ridiculously heavy, but amazing stability and the best damage reductions – magic fire etc!)
• Eagle Shield (lightweight, low STR requirement)
• Parrying Dagger (lightweight, can be used as an alternative in case you need to parry)

Vitality Build

For builds based on maximizing your Vitality and Endurance for super survivability, then relying on lightning, fire, or chaos ascended weapons to increase damage (rather than relying on stat based scaling on weapons for damage). Your goal with this build will be to get to Anor Londo’s Giant Blacksmith (or the Catacombs Blacksmith) so you can upgrade a weapon to lightning / fire as quickly as possible.

Recommended stats: Vitality 41-45+, Endurance 35+, Limit stats to: Str 16, Dex 14

Recommended weapon upgrade path: Lighting +4 / +5, Fire +9 / +10, (optionally Chaos if you are able to play with 10 humanity all the time)

Weapon rankings for Vitality Builds (higher ranked is first on the list):

• Uchigatana (very fast, causes bleeding damage, good charge and rolling attacks)
• Claymore (low stat requirements, good range, and strong/high damage attacks that can stagger enemies)
• Dragon Slayer Spear (one of the longest ranges in the game, also has a special projectile attack. medium damage)
• Partizan (wide strong attack swing, good charging attack, good range, can attack from behind a shield)
• Estoc (very fast attack, can attack from behind a shield, limited range, very limited swing coverage, low damage)
• Bastard Sword (low stat requirements, decent damage)
• Blacksmith Giant Hammer (unfortunately you have to kill the Giant Blacksmith in Anor Londo for this. good damage.)
• Quelaag’s Furysword (bonus damage up to +10 humanity, very high fire damage. limited range and limited swing coverage)
• Barbed Straight Sword (fast attack, limited range, but also causes bleeding)
• Washing Pole (requires more stats in STR/DEX than is recommended for Vitality Build, but otherwise good range and speed)
• Shotel (good alternative / switch weapon, its strong attacks ignore enemy shields)

Shields:

• Eagle Shield (highest stability shield that has low stat requirements. can’t parry however)
• Grass Crest Shield (bad for blocking, but gives stamina regen bonus)
• Balder Shield (good damage reduction and can parry, but not nearly as stable as eagle shield)

Dexterity Build

For builds based on maximizing Dexterity. This can often involve high backstab critical damage, but is not necessary. Note that Dexterity also slightly increases your spell cast speed, so consider using pyromancy spells as an alternative. Also consider enough points in intelligence (25) to use Crystal Magic Weapon, OR enough points in faith (30) to use Sunlight Blade / Darkmoon Blade  for temporary increased weapon damage. Using one of these weapon spells allows your weapon to then scale well off of both dexterity AND faith / intelligence at the same time.

Recommended stats: Dexterity 45-50, Vitality 35+, Endurance 35+, Limit stats to: Str 16 and 1-2 attunement slots max

Recommended weapon upgrade path: Normal +15 (on a weapon with S, A, or B dex scaling)

Weapon rankings for Dexterity Builds (higher ranked is first on the list):

• Uchigatana (bleeding damage, fast attacks, good moveset)
• Bandit's Knife (gets a very high critical backstab bonus, also does bleed damage)
• Iaito (bleed damage, good moveset, good damage)
• Quelaag's Furysword (scales of both Dexterity and Humanity, and does fire damage)
• Balder Side Sword (fast attack. mediocre damage)
• Ricard's Rapier (fast attack, can attack from behind a shield, limited swing coverage)
• Claw (bleed attack, fast, decent moveset, but low range)
• Lifehunt Scythe (extra high bleed damage, but also causes bleed on yourself so you need bleed resist like Bloodshield)
• Priscilla's Dagger (does not have the backstab bonus that other daggers do, but higher dex scaling)
• Painting Guardian Sword (good dex scaling, but limited range and moveset is not great)
• Great Scythe (medium damage, medium range, but adds bleed effect. moveset is not good however)
• Black Bow of Pharis (highest damage bow for dex characters)
• Notched Whip (works with miracles but not magic weapon. low dmg, but some damage goes through shield and has bleed)

Intelligence Build

For builds based on sorcery and the intelligence stat. You'll want to ascend regular weapons to either magic (best for early / mid game) or enchanted (best for late game once your intelligence is in the 40 range). Of course you also get to benefit from using sorcery spells. The best sorcery spells for PvP are Crystal Homing Soulmass and Crystal Soul Spear. For a regular playthrough you'll find that once you get a good catalyst, and a high ~40 points in intelligence, you'll be one or two-shotting a lot of the enemies with your spells from a safe distance and it becomes very easy.

Recommended stats: Intelligence 45-50, Vitality 30+, Endurance 20+, 2-3 Attunement slots at least

Recommended weapon upgrade path: Magic +5 (early/mid game), Enchanted +5 (late game). Required upgrade materials are titanite shards, green titanite shards (magic), blue titanite chunks / slabs (enchanted).

Weapon rankings for Intelligence Builds (higher ranked is first on the list):

• Moonlight Greatsword (slow but good swing coverage, uses dragon scales, has projectile strong attack, one of the highest damage INT weapons)
• Moonlight Butterfly Horn (great range, can attack from behind a shield, good INT scaling)
• Enchanted Uchigatana (fast attacks, causes bleed damage, medium short range)
• Enchanted Estoc (fast poke attack, can attack from behind a shield. low damage)
• Enchanted Claymore (good damage, slow swing but has good swing coverage. low stat requirements)
• Enchanted Falchion (found in Duke's Archives so it is already upgraded for you, but otherwise mediocre)
• Lightning Avelyn (triple fire attack, useful for a swap weapon to take pot shots)

Catalyst rankings for Intelligence Builds (higher ranked is first on the list):

• Best: Tin Crystalization Catalyst (highest damage, but halves sorcery castings)
• Intelligence Over 40: Logan's Catalyst
• Intelligence 28-40: Sorcerer's Catalyst
• Intelligence under 28: Oolacile Ivory Catalyst

Faith Build

For builds based on the Faith stat, enabling the effective use of miracles.

Recommended Miracles: Darkmoon Blade, Sunlight Blade, Wrath of the Gods, Sunlight Spear, Great Heal, Great Magic Barrier

Recommended stats: Faith 45-50, Vitality 30+, Endurance 30+, 3-4 Attunement slots at least

Recommended weapon upgrade path: Divine +4 / +5 weapon for regular use AND/OR regular +14/+15 weapon along with the Sunlight Blade or Darkmoon Blade enchantment buff (only lasts a few seconds, so this is best used for short term duels or boss fights)

You could also choose Occult, but Divine is slightly better in pretty much every situation, even though Occult +4/+5 has the higher A faith rating, the actual overall weapon damage compared to Divine +4 / +5 with B faith rating is about the same (or Divine is better). Sidenote: For extra damage in PvE, use Divine in areas with skeletons and use Occult in areas with Silver/Black Knights.)

Use these extremely handy weapon damage spreadsheets to compare Divine vs Occult and you will see that Divine weapons are the better choice: Occult Weapon Damage Spreadsheet or Divine Weapon Damage Spreadsheet

Best Talisman to use for  Faith Builds:

• Early game, use the Thorulund Talisman (best up to about 26 Faith)
• Mid game, use the Canvas Talisman (best up to about 43 Faith)
• Late game, use the Darkmoon Talisman (best at 43 Faith or higher)

Best weapons for Faith Builds (higher ranked is first on the list):

• Divine Claymore
• Uchigatana (dash in with your weapon then cast Wrath of the Gods miracle)
• Recommend some others in the comments!

Warning: Avoid overuse of the Wrath of the Gods miracle in PvP. Most players consider it extremely cheap.

If you have any corrections, additions, or comments about any of the builds or choices let me know! If you provide good reasoning, I'll be updating the guide over time, as well as updating it for new items once the DLC / Expansion "Prepare to Die Edition" is released.

The video cards suggested here are all listed as officially supported by Blizzard, and the specs will all be aimed to maximize performance with this game specifically. This may mean slightly different choices than you would want for an FPS or other type of game.

You’ll be able to benefit from my research — just pick your price range and find the card that was determined to be the best value for that range. To research this article I took on the not-so-hard task of playing the D3 beta and retail game from release date on to test the strain on systems, and while doing so I experimented with and tweaked all of the in game graphics settings to determine what their real-world effects on performance and quality were. I’ve also scoured benchmarks and video card reviews from many sources, and taken into account many opinions from various forum discussions and reviews among other knowledgeable users. Rest assured, the results you’ll find here are the same you’d come up with after hours of research on your own.

Low Budget Video Card Choices

These cards will be the best value for playing this game specifically. One great advantage the game is designed to work well on older and less powerful systems. In fact, as far as new triple-A PC games go, Diablo III will likely be one of the most forgiving on your computer hardware for a long time. The detail level and lighting effects can scale down gracefully if needed, there is limited view distance, and although a lot of enemies and effects may be active on screen at once, this is still less taxing than most other modern games.

If your budget is tight, and you only plan to play this and possibly older games, choose one of these options and you wont be disappointed. Even these low budget cards easily exceed the minimum required specifications.

Graphics settings recommended for low budget:

• Resolutions: 1024 x 768, 1280 x 1024,  1440 x 900, or 1680 x 1050
• Graphics Quality: Medium, High

Best Choice in the $50-75 Range:

Sapphire Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 Video Card

Model # 100326DDR3L
Reason: Sapphire is a trusted brand that has been around for a very long time. They offer some higher end cards, but are best known for their great budget options. I’ve personally owned two Sapphire cards that have run perfectly for many years, and this specific card consistently gets the highest reviews at this price range. Medium or high graphics settings will run just fine at mid-range resolutions listed above with this card.

Best Choice: $100 or Less

HIS Radeon HD 6750 1GB 128 bit GDDR5 Video Card

Model # H675F1GD
Reasoning: One step above the Sapphire card listed above, you’ll be able to handle high graphics settings as long as you’re using a medium or low resolution listed above. Or, if you happen to be using a larger monitor and want to run at 1920 x 1200 or 1920 x 1080 resolutions, this card will be able to handle it at medium graphics settings. Choose this card if you want to play with maximum / high graphics settings, are on a budget, and have a medium sized monitor (such as a 20, 21, or 22″ monitor). This is the highest rated card at this price range.

Mid-Range Video Card Choices

Mid-range video cards are your ideal choice if you want to max out all the graphics quality settings with maximum screen resolutions on a medium to large monitor. You wont have to worry about any low framerates or skipping because cards in this pricerange will have plenty of horsepower for this latest game from Blizzard. These choices will also allow you to play a wider range of other modern games at preferable settings. As covered above, for this game in particular, you will not need a super high end video card to max out the graphics performance. That makes this price range ideal for your best value.

Graphics settings recommended for mid-range:

• Resolutions: 1920 x 1080, 1920 x 1200
• Graphics Quality: High, Ultra (Maximum)

Best Choice: $125 – $150 Price Range

EVGA Geforce GTX 550 Ti - *Editors Choice!

EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti FPB 1024 MB GDDR5

Model # 01G-P3-1556-KR
Reasoning: This was an extremely easy choice. The EVGA GTX 550 Ti is by far the most popular card and best value card in a wide price range. There are also often rebates on Amazon which drop the price on this card ridiculously low, so check the above link for information on that. Ask anywhere and the near unanimous opinion will be to go with this card unless you’re looking to spend an extra $50 or more. EVGA cards have great warranties and I’ve personally used one on my main gaming system with great results. This card has near perfect reviews and is the top seller in its category/price range all over the internet. There really is no better choice in this price range, making this a real no-brainer.

High End Cards

To be perfectly honest, there is little point of spending this much if you only plan to play D3. Only go with these high end choices if money is no object, if you want to future proof your system for other modern games, or you plan to play at uncommonly high resolutions or with multiple monitors such as in an Eyefinity (Radeon cards) or 3d Vision Surround (NVIDIA cards) setup. However for multi-monitor setups, be aware that fog of war will still apply, so even though the extra monitors will show parts of the map that would otherwise be off screen, you wont see any monsters there and there will often be just pure darkness.

Best Choice: $200 – $250 Price Range

MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB Twin Frozr II OC

Model # N560GTX-Ti
Reasoning: Although you don’t need a card this powerful for this game, this is one of the best options at its price range. Like the other cards suggested it gets great reviews and is one of the most popular cards on the market. With this card you won’t have any need to upgrade for a few years, and you’ll be able to play any new game with ease. One of the key features of this card is advanced cooling – two large fans and an improved heatsink mean it runs cool, is quiet, and can be overclocked further.

Conclusion

$50-75 – Low Budget / Value:  Sapphire Radeon HD 6670 1GB
$100 or less – Low Budget / Value: HIS Radeon HD 6750 1GB
*$125-150 – Medium Budget: EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti
$200-250 – High End Card: MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB Twin Frozr II OC

*Editors Choice: EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti ($125 – $150 mid-range budget). For only a few dollars more than the low budget options, you can easily max out all of Diablo 3′s graphics settings at any resolution, and you’ll have plenty of power to run other modern games with high settings as well. This is easily the best value card in the current generation.

Check the links for each card above for active rebates at Amazon, which can commonly knock an extra $10-$25 off the price!