Shock War, Balanced, Thumper - Guild Wars Forums

Someguynamedjack · Aug 05, 2006, 07:35 AM // 07:35

What are Shock War, Balanced, and Thumper teams, and what do they consist of?

Thx.

Sereng Amaranth · Aug 05, 2006, 08:39 AM // 08:39

Hmm, from memory....

Shock Warrior uses a W/E. Most of the time you'll see it as KDAS or KD/AS. Knockdown + Aftershock. Aftershock does double damage to people who are knocked down.

Balanced is just that. It has representatives from most classes.

Thumper = Bunny Thumper = R/W using a hammer. The hammer skill energy cost is lowered by Expertise. Tiger's Fury increases attack speed without the disadvantage that Frenzy brings.

Zui · Aug 05, 2006, 09:03 AM // 09:03

Common "Shock Axe"

12+1+3 Axe Mastery
Air Magic, Strength, and Tactics vary depending on the build.

1. Shock
2. Frenzy
3. Sprint/Rush
4. Eviscerate [Elite]
5. Executioner's Strike
6. Healing Signet/Penetrating Blow/Disrupting Chop
7. Bull's Strike
8. Ressurection Signet

A shock Warrior is any Warrior that uses "Shock" though... But most people are refering to a Shock Axe when talking about a Shock Warrior...

Common "Thumper" Build

12 Hammer Mastery
10+1+1(3) Beast Mastery
8+1 Expertise

1. Tiger's Fury OR Bestial Fury
2. Hammer Bash
3. Crushing Blow
4. Irresistible Blow
5. Ferocious Strike [Elite] OR Enraged Lunge [Elite]
6. Comfort Animal
7. Charm Animal
8. Ressurection Signet

Balanced = Balanced, and is essentialy refering to any non-gimmick team build. Balanced is not a charactar build.

P.S. The PvP fourm is a great place for asking PvP questions...

Someguynamedjack · Aug 05, 2006, 10:09 AM // 10:09

Thanks.
What does Non-Gimmic mean? Like anything thats not a tested build - like b spike, EoE bomb, dual smite, etc.?

Zui · Aug 05, 2006, 10:26 AM // 10:26

Actualy, gimmicks would be things like:

Blood Spike, Obsidian Flame Spike, Fast Cast Air Spike (All examples of Gimmick Spikes).

EoE bomb would also be a gimmick.

If you look at those builds, you notice they only really have one way of killing, Blood Spike = SS/Vamp, OB flame = OB flame, FC air = Gale/Orb/Strike, EoE bomb = Set up EoE/Sac/Res/Sac. Infact, those builds are almost entiely dependant on a single concept or skill to function, unlike say a team with 2 warriors, a shutdown mesmser, a smiter, a flashbot, a crippling shot ranger, a booner, and a blessed light monk, which can win a variety of ways, using a variety of tactics.

Gimmicks may be effective, but at a certain level of play, they stop being as effective. For example, a compitent team would simply get out of the range of EoE, interrupt EoE, or interrupt Light of Dywana to stop EoE bomb, doing such things against EoE pretty much equal an autowin. Alot of teams don't have the coordination, experience, or pack the tools to do that though, and thus get rolled by EoE.

Someguynamedjack · Aug 05, 2006, 10:50 AM // 10:50

What is a Obsidian Flame Spike? Hoiw is it set up? I dont see it on Guildwiki...I also dont see fast cast air spike on Guild Wiki

The build that you just described : "2 warriors, a shutdown mesmser, a smiter, a flashbot, a crippling shot ranger, a booner, and a blessed light monk" - is this the best balanced build?

Thanks for ur help.

Zui · Aug 05, 2006, 10:59 AM // 10:59

Obsidian Flame Spike is essentialy 5-6 E/Mos with Obsidian Flame, and alot of healing/defense spells. It's the same concept as every single other gimmick spike out there that seems to catch on in toumbs(now HA). You could duplicate it essentialy by taking Blood Spike, changing the Necros to Eles, and running Obsidian Flame and Glyph of Elemental Power instead of Shadow Strike and Vampiric Gaze. This one isn't seen much anymore though.

Me/E Fast Cast Air spike... Bunch of Mesmer/Eles, Gale, Orb, Strike, some with Blinding Flash, some with Windbourne speed, drain enchantment etc... They use Air Attunement and Elemental Attunement for energy managment. Was very popular, not so much after the recent nerf to Elemental Attunement, while still viable, it's just not anywhere near as good as it once was. (There was also a version of this with Chain Lightning, which resulted in the nerf of Chain Lightning)

P.S. While GuildWiki is a great resource, in terms of PvP team builds, and PvP individual charactar builds, it's always been... Lacking, to say the least.

Someguynamedjack · Aug 05, 2006, 11:01 AM // 11:01

Can you reccomend any other good balanced builds? or is the one that you mentioned "2 warriors, a shutdown mesmser, a smiter, a flashbot, a crippling shot ranger, a booner, and a blessed light monk" the best balanced build?

I am still new to this game. When I was on my first and 2nd day into this game, Guild Wiki seemed to contain a lot of information. But now that I learned more about this game, it seem to lack some information.

Zui · Aug 05, 2006, 11:21 AM // 11:21

The example of a balanced build that I used is in no way the "best" balanced build. Infact, balanced builds win by bringing tools to counter most everything, and then using those tools better than the opposition, meaning that player skill is > than the build, for the most part, hence there is no "best" balanced build.

It's not the charactar types in a build that make it good, it's the skills on every charactars bar, the role they serve, and how they work with skills on other charactars bars that make the build good.

If you're looking for builds though, try the PvP fourm here at GWguru.

If you're looking for more information on build types, try this article by Warskull: http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s....php?t=3069094

Sereng Amaranth · Aug 05, 2006, 05:08 PM // 17:08

A balanced build brings sufficient skills to cover offense, defense, crowd control via conditions, hexes, hex removal, and of course healing. Run skills are alsu present as they help in flag running and catching up to near-dead foes.

Former Ruling · Aug 05, 2006, 05:29 PM // 17:29

Common "Balanced" Build would be:
2 Warriors (1 Shock, 1 Charge/Bulls Charge is fine)
2 Monks (used to both be BoonProt, but now with Natures REnewel in HIGH use, most use Blessed Light)
2 Mesmers (Both Domination with things like E-Surge to suhtdown monks, or 1 domination and 1 Illusion using hexes and such to pressure the other team)
1 Elementalist (E/Mo, the common BlindBot Flag Runner with Deep Freeze)
1 Whatever (Rit, Ranger, Necro, Blah blah) (Can be a Rit Spirit Spammer, CripShot, Another E/mo called a "Warder", A Tainted necro, etc)

^ You can change out and pick and choose as you like.

As you can see the actual BUILDS used for the classes can be "flavor of the month" (just means the most popular build right now). "Balanced" just means it doesn't have a "Gimmick" to it - IE: 4-5 Elementalists with Obsidian Flame, or a Smiter and a bunch of Thumpers.

Popular "Gimmicks":
Ranger Spike (4 Rangers that attack the same target to "spike" him down, usually bring an Orders casting necro, some sort of flag runner, and monks)

Blood Spike/FoC Spike (again 4-5 players, necros this time, that cast their Blood magic spells like Shadow Strike at the same time to "spike" a target. FoC is Feast of Corruption, which is another spike choice involving hexes)

Obs Flame Spike (again...Alot of Elementalists that bring G. of Energy and Obs Flame to spike down a target [energy is so Flame doesnt cause exhuastion]..and the normal support)

EoE Bomb (1 Monk, 1 "Rezmer" [arcane/echos Light of Dwayna], and the rest Ranger/Necros that Sac themself to death with Blood is Power while EoE is up. Don't "need" the monk, but a monk primaries Mark of Prot is going to be much better than a rezmers, and the monk can "sort of" sac too with Infuse Health. Not as popular now factions is out since "Shelter" and "union" the ritualist spirits are brought on most teams now which makes EoE useless to kill people)

IWAY (probably the most famous. It has varients becuase it is so popular. Basically though 4 Warrior/Rangers with pets (pets die to make IWAY the skill last longer), 2 Necros - One Orders to add dmg, and One tainted with wells and such, a Trapper for support, and usually a Ritualist spammer now)

ThumpWay (Usually means Smite too nowadays. 3-4 Thumpers with the normal backline of Monks, a Flag Runner, and usually another class for support like an Air of Enchantment Smiter Monk,)

Aug 05, 2006, 07:35 AM // 07:35	#1
Someguynamedjack Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Aug 2006	Shock War, Balanced, Thumper What are Shock War, Balanced, and Thumper teams, and what do they consist of? Thx.

Aug 05, 2006, 10:50 AM // 10:50	#6
Someguynamedjack Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Aug 2006	What is a Obsidian Flame Spike? Hoiw is it set up? I dont see it on Guildwiki...I also dont see fast cast air spike on Guild Wiki The build that you just described : "2 warriors, a shutdown mesmser, a smiter, a flashbot, a crippling shot ranger, a booner, and a blessed light monk" - is this the best balanced build? Thanks for ur help. Last edited by Someguynamedjack; Aug 05, 2006 at 10:54 AM // 10:54..

Aug 05, 2006, 05:29 PM // 17:29	#11
Former Ruling Grotto Attendant Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Cedartown, Georgia Profession: R/	Common "Balanced" Build would be: 2 Warriors (1 Shock, 1 Charge/Bulls Charge is fine) 2 Monks (used to both be BoonProt, but now with Natures REnewel in HIGH use, most use Blessed Light) 2 Mesmers (Both Domination with things like E-Surge to suhtdown monks, or 1 domination and 1 Illusion using hexes and such to pressure the other team) 1 Elementalist (E/Mo, the common BlindBot Flag Runner with Deep Freeze) 1 Whatever (Rit, Ranger, Necro, Blah blah) (Can be a Rit Spirit Spammer, CripShot, Another E/mo called a "Warder", A Tainted necro, etc) ^ You can change out and pick and choose as you like. As you can see the actual BUILDS used for the classes can be "flavor of the month" (just means the most popular build right now). "Balanced" just means it doesn't have a "Gimmick" to it - IE: 4-5 Elementalists with Obsidian Flame, or a Smiter and a bunch of Thumpers. Popular "Gimmicks": Ranger Spike (4 Rangers that attack the same target to "spike" him down, usually bring an Orders casting necro, some sort of flag runner, and monks) Blood Spike/FoC Spike (again 4-5 players, necros this time, that cast their Blood magic spells like Shadow Strike at the same time to "spike" a target. FoC is Feast of Corruption, which is another spike choice involving hexes) Obs Flame Spike (again...Alot of Elementalists that bring G. of Energy and Obs Flame to spike down a target [energy is so Flame doesnt cause exhuastion]..and the normal support) EoE Bomb (1 Monk, 1 "Rezmer" [arcane/echos Light of Dwayna], and the rest Ranger/Necros that Sac themself to death with Blood is Power while EoE is up. Don't "need" the monk, but a monk primaries Mark of Prot is going to be much better than a rezmers, and the monk can "sort of" sac too with Infuse Health. Not as popular now factions is out since "Shelter" and "union" the ritualist spirits are brought on most teams now which makes EoE useless to kill people) IWAY (probably the most famous. It has varients becuase it is so popular. Basically though 4 Warrior/Rangers with pets (pets die to make IWAY the skill last longer), 2 Necros - One Orders to add dmg, and One tainted with wells and such, a Trapper for support, and usually a Ritualist spammer now) ThumpWay (Usually means Smite too nowadays. 3-4 Thumpers with the normal backline of Monks, a Flag Runner, and usually another class for support like an Air of Enchantment Smiter Monk,) Last edited by Former Ruling; Aug 05, 2006 at 05:32 PM // 17:32..

Aug 05, 2006, 08:39 AM // 08:39	#2
Sereng Amaranth Desert Nomad Join Date: Jun 2005 Guild: The Amazon Basin [AB]	Hmm, from memory.... Shock Warrior uses a W/E. Most of the time you'll see it as KDAS or KD/AS. Knockdown + Aftershock. Aftershock does double damage to people who are knocked down. Balanced is just that. It has representatives from most classes. Thumper = Bunny Thumper = R/W using a hammer. The hammer skill energy cost is lowered by Expertise. Tiger's Fury increases attack speed without the disadvantage that Frenzy brings.

Aug 05, 2006, 09:03 AM // 09:03	#3
Zui Desert Nomad Join Date: Mar 2006 Guild: The Benecia Renovatio [RenO] Profession: Mo/	Common "Shock Axe" 12+1+3 Axe Mastery Air Magic, Strength, and Tactics vary depending on the build. 1. Shock 2. Frenzy 3. Sprint/Rush 4. Eviscerate [Elite] 5. Executioner's Strike 6. Healing Signet/Penetrating Blow/Disrupting Chop 7. Bull's Strike 8. Ressurection Signet A shock Warrior is any Warrior that uses "Shock" though... But most people are refering to a Shock Axe when talking about a Shock Warrior... Common "Thumper" Build 12 Hammer Mastery 10+1+1(3) Beast Mastery 8+1 Expertise 1. Tiger's Fury OR Bestial Fury 2. Hammer Bash 3. Crushing Blow 4. Irresistible Blow 5. Ferocious Strike [Elite] OR Enraged Lunge [Elite] 6. Comfort Animal 7. Charm Animal 8. Ressurection Signet Balanced = Balanced, and is essentialy refering to any non-gimmick team build. Balanced is not a charactar build. P.S. The PvP fourm is a great place for asking PvP questions...

Aug 05, 2006, 10:09 AM // 10:09	#4
Someguynamedjack Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Aug 2006	Thanks. What does Non-Gimmic mean? Like anything thats not a tested build - like b spike, EoE bomb, dual smite, etc.?

Aug 05, 2006, 10:26 AM // 10:26	#5
Zui Desert Nomad Join Date: Mar 2006 Guild: The Benecia Renovatio [RenO] Profession: Mo/	Actualy, gimmicks would be things like: Blood Spike, Obsidian Flame Spike, Fast Cast Air Spike (All examples of Gimmick Spikes). EoE bomb would also be a gimmick. If you look at those builds, you notice they only really have one way of killing, Blood Spike = SS/Vamp, OB flame = OB flame, FC air = Gale/Orb/Strike, EoE bomb = Set up EoE/Sac/Res/Sac. Infact, those builds are almost entiely dependant on a single concept or skill to function, unlike say a team with 2 warriors, a shutdown mesmser, a smiter, a flashbot, a crippling shot ranger, a booner, and a blessed light monk, which can win a variety of ways, using a variety of tactics. Gimmicks may be effective, but at a certain level of play, they stop being as effective. For example, a compitent team would simply get out of the range of EoE, interrupt EoE, or interrupt Light of Dywana to stop EoE bomb, doing such things against EoE pretty much equal an autowin. Alot of teams don't have the coordination, experience, or pack the tools to do that though, and thus get rolled by EoE.

Aug 05, 2006, 10:59 AM // 10:59	#7
Zui Desert Nomad Join Date: Mar 2006 Guild: The Benecia Renovatio [RenO] Profession: Mo/	Obsidian Flame Spike is essentialy 5-6 E/Mos with Obsidian Flame, and alot of healing/defense spells. It's the same concept as every single other gimmick spike out there that seems to catch on in toumbs(now HA). You could duplicate it essentialy by taking Blood Spike, changing the Necros to Eles, and running Obsidian Flame and Glyph of Elemental Power instead of Shadow Strike and Vampiric Gaze. This one isn't seen much anymore though. Me/E Fast Cast Air spike... Bunch of Mesmer/Eles, Gale, Orb, Strike, some with Blinding Flash, some with Windbourne speed, drain enchantment etc... They use Air Attunement and Elemental Attunement for energy managment. Was very popular, not so much after the recent nerf to Elemental Attunement, while still viable, it's just not anywhere near as good as it once was. (There was also a version of this with Chain Lightning, which resulted in the nerf of Chain Lightning) P.S. While GuildWiki is a great resource, in terms of PvP team builds, and PvP individual charactar builds, it's always been... Lacking, to say the least.

Aug 05, 2006, 11:01 AM // 11:01	#8
Someguynamedjack Pre-Searing Cadet Join Date: Aug 2006	Can you reccomend any other good balanced builds? or is the one that you mentioned "2 warriors, a shutdown mesmser, a smiter, a flashbot, a crippling shot ranger, a booner, and a blessed light monk" the best balanced build? I am still new to this game. When I was on my first and 2nd day into this game, Guild Wiki seemed to contain a lot of information. But now that I learned more about this game, it seem to lack some information.

Aug 05, 2006, 11:21 AM // 11:21	#9
Zui Desert Nomad Join Date: Mar 2006 Guild: The Benecia Renovatio [RenO] Profession: Mo/	The example of a balanced build that I used is in no way the "best" balanced build. Infact, balanced builds win by bringing tools to counter most everything, and then using those tools better than the opposition, meaning that player skill is > than the build, for the most part, hence there is no "best" balanced build. It's not the charactar types in a build that make it good, it's the skills on every charactars bar, the role they serve, and how they work with skills on other charactars bars that make the build good. If you're looking for builds though, try the PvP fourm here at GWguru. If you're looking for more information on build types, try this article by Warskull: http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s....php?t=3069094

Aug 05, 2006, 05:08 PM // 17:08	#10
Sereng Amaranth Desert Nomad Join Date: Jun 2005 Guild: The Amazon Basin [AB]	A balanced build brings sufficient skills to cover offense, defense, crowd control via conditions, hexes, hex removal, and of course healing. Run skills are alsu present as they help in flag running and catching up to near-dead foes.