Share your build...

[ima_nerd]

I find Soul Rippers to be far deadlier. Phase Beasts you can at least kite to a point, while Soul Rippers have such huge range with their tongues (to say nothing of the damage, which trumps Phase Beast).

At least you can dodge the tongues. If you see one squaring up to your position you can run perpendicular and avoid it about half the time (in my experience so far). Phasebeasts just pop up behind you (or if you're actively kiting, usually on top of you). And with their range it's really hard to avoid getting popped at least once, which is usually pretty devastating.

Learning how to properly kite is a skill that takes practice to get right, and relies heavily on situational awareness. That said, knowing when (and where) to place your Caltrops so you're not constantly out of Discipline, combined with Numbing Traps for those times when you do get cornered, and Impale - Impact to break the flow of mobs while kiting, as well as spamming it to tear down a mob's health rapidly are all essential things to learn for your build. 2.1k DPS is plenty for NM, although your health could definitely use some work.

I think I'll take your advice and regem to up my HP. This is the first thing I've encountered in D3 that's really made me step back and evaluate the decisions I've made on skills and gear. I have the Diablo skills to kite properly but when there's 3 champ + 4-5 normal Phasebeasts coming at me from one direction and I can only run away in the opposite direction then 2-3 of them TP to where I'm trying to run... I think it's the environment of narrow walkways more than anything that's really hurting me.

Somewhat aside - am I an idiot for not being too impressed with SS? I think I'd rather Vault twice for a little more discipline (or less depending on runes).