I main a Clairvoyant Spellbinder and I run two beams via Albrecht’s Commendation. Would I like a third for center coverage? Sure. Do I need it? Noooooo. The thing I like about multi-beams is area coverage and Devotion proccing. I bind the Imp’s Aetherfire to mine (what with it’s lack of noticeable cooldown) and it saturates the screen in moments with delicious confusion-generating fields of aether while I Devastate and Reap Spirit everything in sight (a little OFF slows and keeps things in the fire long enough to get some procs as well, and this sets everything up for the Widow’s Arcane Bombs from my Devastation; Eternity, 34% CDR, and Aeon’s Hourglass keep everything up almost all the time for max synergy).
A secondary benefit I’ve enjoyed from multi-beams is blasting through doorways at unconventional angles. I’m not one for “cheese strats” per se, but dueling the Dread and Ascendant Nemeses over and over again in close-quarters and warrens (ala Darkvale Gate, the Black Sepulcher, SoT, and similar twisty confines), I’ve come to appreciate how that off-set lets me squeak damage through unconventional sight-lines.
While I enjoy the multiple beams conceptually (as an old d20 grognard that used to make profligate use of the Split Ray metamagic feat), they certainly aren’t necessary for beam builds. Admittedly, my AAR is a just a Devo’ generator and a filler between Reaps and Devastations (though it still contributes significant damage with bigger ticks than I’ve ever seen prior thanks to new FoA itemization), and there have been times when a narrow/small stationary enemy has existed quite comfortably between the absolute apex of my beams (most commonly with skeletons and human-sized foes), just sweeping the things around still blows everything apart.
I think a decent compromise would be to increase/add a wider splash at the end of the beams. Track damage the same (one instance of AAR per target), but another “meter” or so of radius at the beams’ terminus point would overlap enough to splash targets caught in the auto-target 2 ray deadzone.
Most of my AAR builds don’t have the option to use the multi-beam items, so for me it’s no big loss. I have one build that has 3 beams and that is a nice bonus, but again, not required.
The things I hope come true are:
- Reduce the beams to 20 degrees for a tighter spread
- Give each item +2 beams instead of +1 since they don’t stack
- Set a cap at 5 beams total so you can’t have some 7 or 9 beam craziness… to me 5 is perfectly fine for the max!
- Give +beams to the Mythical Essence of the Grim Dawn and Fleshwarped Tome
No, these are necessary items for many builds. Without these single beam AAR will become impossible for some damage types.
Fleshwarped needed for aether for conversion.
Essence - needed for phys, aether and chaos for leech.
We already have items that give + beams and they do not collide with anything.
It’s a damage increase with each item and particularly if +beams gets increased to +2 beams for each item…
There’s literally no downside to this - it will be a BUFF. 
There should be more items with additional beams to AAR since, at this point in GD’s lifespan, we are lucky to get new additions.
For ten years there are single beams. Sure have more beams. But do not destroy single beam AAR.
AAR used to be single-target only and did not pierce for a long time. That was a blanket buff and this change is no different.
Different thoughts and opinions I guess… so I agree to disagree and leave it at that. 
+1 to all this
22.5 degrees is cleaner, gives a 45 degree arc with 3 beams, and a 90 degree arc with 5 beams.
This isn’t a geometry test. No one is going to make you calculate the distance between the beam tips.
how do 3 beams “disallow” 1 beam? Very easily, thrash clearance is not compatible to multi beams.
If multi beams builds allow facetanking 4 bosses at Shattered Realm, each beam doing full damage to separate boss and you are leeching from 3 beams, how can anybody say there is no disadvantage in 1-beam builds?
2-beams look ugly, i think everybody accepts it in this thread (maybe except Shraud as his point is not clear in this regard).
Albrecht’s Commendation is best in slot medal for AAR beams due to stats, resists and skill points it provide. Thank Crate for that so nobody has to “farm” spellbinder prefix anymore on Namadea Eye or Nacrathan Mark or anything like that.
If you don’t use it in your AAR build, you are simply gimping yourself.
The situation with multibeams for me is similar to the situation where we needed options to convert fire, lightning and aether damages on AAR to single damage type to maximize efficiency of the skill.
You have two signature sets for AAR: Spellbinder for AAR, Reap Spirit and Doom Bolt and Black Flame for AAR + Sigil of Consumption.
When you say “build properly”, what do you mean here? To break the sets? What is the point of these sets in such case if they don’t allow 3 beams?
Hallanx head provides +1 beam to AAR and converts everything to Vitality. Great. Can we please get same treatment for physical off-hand please?
No?
Why are certain damage types getting favoured instead of others?
This is simply inconsistent.
i reiterate below requests:
- Reduce the beams to 20 degrees for a tighter spread
- Give each item +2 beams instead of +1 since they don’t stack
- Give +beams to the Mythical Essence of the Grim Dawn and/or Fleshwarped Tome
- Set a cap at 3 beams total - more than fair considering +2 beams on other items so it is easier to balance and we have options which items to use instead of simply stacking everything with +1 beam
- add +beams on items for chaos, fire, physical and pierce beams
Options 2 and 3 are interchangeable, in my opinion.
had a hard time gauging it on dummy, but isn’t it worse than that/more impactful?
any boss you manage to overlap takes double dmg- and because of the width of the beam as seen in my pic, it’s impossible to not have some overlap hitting a target with both beams somewhere 
So doesn’t just put you in an aoe disadvantage, but even just on direct dmg disadvantage too, from “half” dmg if beam dmg stacks on ST
Seems more like if single beams are to be their own existence, +beam modifiers need some sort of penalty to even it out, or be on slots that blocks universal use, or “only” on the memes like phys AAR etc pierce conduit etc
Otherwise everything needs multi beams for the parity (and that would be boring imo)
Memes that went to SR 43… That is where I took my phys AAR Battlemage this patch. Sure they are not the fastest perhaps but no memes. It is actually the best AAR build for SR. Can also kill Rava and Calla.
Yes. That amulet for lightning AAR Inquisitor has it.
meme don’t mean bad 
that penalty was introduced when there was only one beam, so when you have 5 beams on lightning AAR this penalty has very little impact on total damage output, i think.
True but is there and should be elswhere also. Having more beams at no cost does not make sense.
Monsters can only be hit by one beam at a time, they do not stack or multiply damage. It’s for increased AoE only.
For that item the penalty is there to offset the large Electrocute on the modifier. The intended use for that item is to apply the DoT and move on.
Well, surprise-surpise, it is now 5-beams lightning AAR, who would have thought, right?
wonder how that works mechanically /“new tech”
but good atleast, so far, then it’s just the aoe disparity that needs to be addressed