Curse

Squire Heats · Sep 03, 2008, 10:22 AM // 10:22

Playing as a CoP mes in some areas (eg Duncan, VS farm, Tank and Spank) energy can be a problem with a lot of builds, so I started to play;

[Mes Cry;OQZDAasjS4iIDdeLB2gfAiOtMA]

I'm not sure that code will work so ill insert a picture of skillbar also (link)

Basically the ebon ward you keep up all the time providing a 60% chance of faster skill recharge (provided R10 ebon). Add in a 20% recharge on weapon and this means Cry will more often than not recharge pretty fast, this provides problems as you burn through 10 energy each CoP and you are casting like a madmad.......

Some people take echo (E) to have even more CoP but this is unworkable for any extended periods of time, unless there is a BiP.

The new(ish) Lyssas aura, with 14 in inspiration this will give you an extra 4 pips of energy regen. This is enough to maintain the ward and other spells quite effectively without any other support in the form of other people hexing or bipping you etc.

attributes can be spread easily, not a lot is required in illusion to maintain conjure phantom, meaning 14 in inspiration is easy to attain with runes (I use +4). conjure serves as a spammable skill (maintians Lyssas and CoP can trigger off it) and it has the bonus it is easy to see on enemies-(some hexes look the same as necro hexes on targets leading to wasted CoP dmg etc)

Some skills in the build can be swapped, ie for the new VS farm conjure phantom may be swapped for ignorance or a skill of your choice etc

Overall this build may not be the best spike of cry dmg, but it does stands up well on its own as well as complementing any other party members with the ward-the faster recharge is very effective and too often overlooked.

The build can also be used for HHway as the ward complements the others, however this may not be as good as Assassin Promise builds but makes a change

The grammar and explaining in this post are probably appalling but I know that

Any feedback welcome (not the grammar though)

upier · Sep 03, 2008, 11:48 AM // 11:48

My initial problem with it is that you are not only using a sup rune, you are also using your elite slot on e-management and THEN you are also using 2(!!) MORE slots on e-management.
That to me is a MASSIVE overkill. So I'd seriously look into that.

Second of all - I don't see the point in using Ether Nightmare AND CP. I'd seriously dump one of them.

Squire Heats · Sep 03, 2008, 12:04 PM // 12:04

you can swap out the sup runes if you don't like them to still achieve 14 insp, the energy management is required.

Now if you have echo up and CoP that means you can cast every 3 sec with the ward (6 second recharge from ward and 2 of the spell); lets alter this to account only for 60% recharge (this doesnt count my weapon 20%) then this 3 sec converts to 4.8 sec on average between CoPs. so you are using 10 energy every 4.8 seconds on average while arcane echo is up with CoP. On top of this you are needing to recast the Ebon ward, the conjure when nightmare runs out, and conjure etc. This build is consistent dmg and yet it can still run out of energy, if say I swap the elite for Echo you will be dry of energy in no time. Try it in temple of balt or something, it does look like a lot of E management but to be frank thats what it needs.

upier · Sep 03, 2008, 01:30 PM // 13:30

No, no, no.
I do get that you are running out of energy and that you need those skills. My suggestion was rather how about modifying your build so that you do NOT need them?
Which means that you need to ask yourself what is the basis of your build and what are the skills that you want or need to keep. And then try to support those skills with as little as possible e-management options.

Basically if I understand you - you want to run Ebon Battle and AE-ed CoP. Which means I'd look into cheap hexes to trigger CoP instead of EN/CP. Possibly things like [images of remorse] or [shrinking armor]. And then since you are running high Inspiration - maybe something like [drain delusions] which at 14 (which you can achieve by running 8/12/10 AND no sup rune) Inspiration will give you back 15 energy (on par with GoLE) BUT you get to use it twice as often.
And then I'd check if you still need AI or LA. You might gain a slot or even the elite slot that way.

Squire Heats · Sep 03, 2008, 01:37 PM // 13:37

I see what you mean, I'll give that a shot

Magikarp · Sep 03, 2008, 04:09 PM // 16:09

Ether Nightmare for Ebon Sin or FH!, and I would consider Conjure Nightmare over Phantasm if you really really want Auspicious.. otherwise.. drop both and take Clumsiness and Shrinking Armor or Images of Remorse.

also, only use major runes at the most.. and i dont even suggest those tbh. minors mean more hp, more hp means more.. not dying!

Tyla · Sep 03, 2008, 05:10 PM // 17:10

I would get rid of Auspicious Incantation, Ether Nightmare and Conjure Phantasm.

Degen in PvE sucks, and you don't need 3 energy management skills. Another upside to Ether Nightmare being taken off your bar is that it saves you a PvE skillslot for EVVS, FH, YMLaD and other PvE skills. You can use any hex for CoP to trigger, providing it's a Mesmer hex, and just blast away until they're dead. The degen will make little difference. If you really want the degeneration, go with Shrinking Armour or Conjure Phantasm to trigger CoP. I myself would either go with Shrinking Armour or Mind Wrack, because they are cheap, spammable and make CoP blow shit up. And hey, Cry of Frustration is a pretty awesome skill in PvE for chancing on AoE interrupts.

lord_shar · Sep 13, 2008, 04:19 AM // 04:19

I already use a very similar set-up on my Elem/Mes:

Energy Storage 16 (12 + 3 + 1), Inspiriation 12, Domination 3

[skill]Mind Wrack[/skill][skill]Arcane Echo[/skill][skill]Cry of Pain[/skill][skill]Echo[/skill][skill]Glyph of Lesser Energy[/skill][skill]Ebon Battle Standard of Wisdom[/skill][skill]Auspicious Incantation[/skill][skill]Deep Freeze[/skill]

Notes:
========
-Mind Wrack for a cheap long duration hex with fast recycle time
-Arcane + CoP + Echo for damage and interrupts
-Ebon Wisdom Standard for rapid-fire CoP's
-Glyph + Auspicious + Deepfreeze for snaring and +64 energy per cast.

The result is a build with 3x CoP, fast skill recharge 48%+, AE-snare, and mass-energy generation. This set-up allows my elem to cast virtually non-stop.

Age · Sep 15, 2008, 12:52 AM // 00:52

I never really thought of trying my Ele as Mesmer as that is what it started out as.

daze · Sep 15, 2008, 02:48 AM // 02:48

Just curious, but would [channeling] not be a viable e-management skill since you will be spamming spells? If the mob is big enough, you could easily cut your skill costs in half.

lord_shar · Sep 15, 2008, 09:10 PM // 21:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by daze

Just curious, but would [channeling] not be a viable e-management skill since you will be spamming spells? If the mob is big enough, you could easily cut your skill costs in half.

Sounds worth-while... I'll test it out on my build since I'm running 12 Inspiration anyway.

MercenaryKnight · Sep 15, 2008, 09:29 PM // 21:29

Only thing about channeling is aren't you supposed to be within aggro range for it to return energy? Where as for spiking down in a group you'd be wanting to just barely get to aggro range, cast your spike and be done.

MisterT69 · Sep 15, 2008, 09:33 PM // 21:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by MercenaryKnight

Only thing about channeling is aren't you supposed to be within aggro range for it to return energy? Where as for spiking down in a group you'd be wanting to just barely get to aggro range, cast your spike and be done.

Yeah, you're a mes, not a tank. To take full advantage of channeling you're gonna get pretty damn close to the enemy, which isn't a good thing for a caster. Stick w/auspicious if you need help w/energy, but don't be running into the middle of a mob just because you brought channeling.

lord_shar · Sep 15, 2008, 10:20 PM // 22:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by MisterT69

Yeah, you're a mes, not a tank. To take full advantage of channeling you're gonna get pretty damn close to the enemy, which isn't a good thing for a caster. Stick w/auspicious if you need help w/energy, but don't be running into the middle of a mob just because you brought channeling.

If agro-range is required, then I'll stay with the [skill']Glyph of Lesser Energy[/skill][skill']Auspicious Incantation[/skill][skill']Deep Freeze[/skill] combo. As mentioned previously, this nets over 64 energy per cast, and with a default 95-energy tank, my elem never has any real downtime.

daze · Sep 16, 2008, 07:18 AM // 07:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by MercenaryKnight

Only thing about channeling is aren't you supposed to be within aggro range for it to return energy? Where as for spiking down in a group you'd be wanting to just barely get to aggro range, cast your spike and be done.

I guess i see your point. I guess just am good at kiting so i can easily stay in aggro range of the whole mob and use my minions/mele to distract the enemies attention. And since you are doing Massive AoE damage anyways, wouldn't it be wise to have multiple enemies in your aggro bubble. Once you've aggroed one enemy, the whole group is aggroed anyways.
And on another note, Don't the enemy healers stand in the back anyways with the rest of the casters? Which means, aside from trying some sort of worthless flank maneuver to reach the healer, you would need to basically have the whole mob in your aggro bubble.
I have never been able to, and have never seen anybody be able to reach the healer while keeping only the healer on the edge of the aggro bubble.
And IMO anybody who casts AoE damage on melee before casters seriously needs to recalculate their strategy. Melee enemies never stand still, let alone stand together.