Curse

Theli · Apr 11, 2008, 03:22 PM // 15:22

depends the situation.
HA: I use +7 a lot, sway +7vs phy with +10slash shield, and rspike +7vs phy +10 piercing shield. And its the same vs others spikes (rt spike, icy veins, sf etc) in those situations more armor is better and ur knowing which type of dmg u're recieving. Againts balance I use +30hp wep and some shield that fit the situation.

but thats for HA where gimmicks are so popular.
For gvg as JR, Tommy, Ensign and the others said, +30 is better than armor.

resume: +30hp is better except those case when u face pure elementals or pure physicals (HA spikes) where +7al is better... +5al>+7al for general use, but for general use +30hp>+5al

Horseman Of War · Apr 11, 2008, 03:41 PM // 15:41

I dont know which class you are playing... but as a midline (albeit paragon, with higher armor anyways) I go with my +5al spears usually... but I have both and use both. I also have a collection of shields to really jack up my armor in any situation.

Im a big fan of +5al, but its not always the best.

ps. sunspear of shelter ftww hehe

urania · Apr 11, 2008, 05:19 PM // 17:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sun Fired Blank

TA: I used to have armor and shield swaps for condition heavy setups that could push daze beyond the removal of Mending Touch, but I honestly don't need those anymore due to Foul Feast. I swap a Martial Weapon of Warding versus the occasional ele and conjure frontliner setups, a Martial Weapon of Fortitude for sadly limited use versus the rare shovespike, and a Martial Weapon of Defense for strangely mixed teams. My primary Shield Swaps are: Slashing (vs. Axe, Cripslash, Wounding Strike), Blunt (vs. Magehunter's), Lightning (vs. Ride the Lightning). You could take other swaps but you don't need them. If you honestly need your Earth (vs. Shockwave), Piercing (vs. R. Spike), and Fire (vs. Searway / Mind Blast) swaps, you're probably not very good, and swaps aren't likely to help you.

My default setup for Mo/W ZB TA monk (but roughly applies to any caster):

- Base Energy Set: Martial Weapon of Shelter ("I have the power!"), Shield of Fortitude ("The Riddle of Steel")
- Efficiency Set: Adept Staff of Enchanting ("Aptitude not Attitude")
- Low Energy Set: Martial Weapon of Shelter ("Brawn over Brains"), Shield of Fortitude ("The Riddle of Steel")
- High Energy Set: Wand of Memory ("Seize the Day"), Focus of Aptitude ("Live For Today")

If you're not a monk, it's likely that you don't require a low energy set or a high energy set. In TA, when I play midline, I usually have a second efficiency set in place of the high energy set.

Karla, do you use a Sword / Focus as your base set? If so, could you post your weapon swaps?

first of all, a monk or any caster needs shields vs all damage. being prepaired for all is ftw.

also, dying in low set is always good and sometimes those additional 30 energy on high set can win kills. so saying u dont need them is wrong.

the set i use most is my shield set, and 40/40 for ZB, but since wail owns it just too hard i started runnign WoH again. As a Woh monk i use the normal set with 47 energy is a +30 hp & +5 energy sword with a 20/20 artifact, rest is the same as with other builds.

Byron · Apr 15, 2008, 07:22 PM // 19:22

Health is always better. I tried out +5 AL when the new PvP system came out (ie, hitting the J button instead of re-rolling the whole character). It seemed a boon with the +10 shield inscriptions. But it's not. I couldn't sit in the shield set like I wanted to, and it ended up almost useless. Furthermore, skill-damage bonuses and mesmer damage (like what you get during spikes) is armor ignoring.

Jam Jar · Apr 20, 2008, 03:36 AM // 03:36

This is how my friend described it. If you encounter a hard spiking group, that 30 hp can save your life. Since most spikes use +damage and strike through armor, that 30 hp can really save your ass.

On the other hand, +7 to physical and elemental might be a better choice in RA and sometimes TA. RA generally dont' have Vent or TS, so they're screwed. And in TA, it's pretty hard to do a heavy spike with 3 people (assuming you have a monk).

Div · Apr 20, 2008, 03:41 AM // 03:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ensign

I would consider +armor over +health on my shield set *only* if I never left my shield set. Health on your shield set is a defensive bonus that you get regardless of whether or not you were on that set when the damage came in.

If you only use one weapon set ever and never switch consider armor mods in formats where DP doesn't matter, ala arenas or HA.

I was going to post something like that, but then saw Ensign already posted it.

deluxe · Apr 29, 2008, 08:08 AM // 08:08

I remember when we all we're running around with 98 armor boonprots :P That made a difference.

60+10, +5+5 nerfed sword, 8+10 shield.

JR · Apr 29, 2008, 08:14 AM // 08:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by deluxe

I remember when we all we're running around with 98 armor boonprots :P That made a difference.

60+10, +5+5 nerfed sword, 8+10 shield.

+Armor while enchanted was always pretty bad. The Charr at the gates sword was decent though.

Lady Callingwell · May 06, 2008, 02:29 PM // 14:29

+ health is allways usefull, + armor conditionally. That's about it actually

Normally a well comunicating/moving team shouldn't die to plain pressure before VoD and the primary risk are spikes. On spikes people generally use skills which (largely) ignore AL like all the bonus damage on attacks, domination skills, life stealing, air magic coupled with cracked armor, spear of lightning etc. so normally the damage mitigation from armor on a spike is mediocre, and inferior to + health.

When DP start acumulating the gap between armor and + health starts widening further (less damage is needed to kill you so less can be mitigated by armor while the amount of extra time added by + health is nearly unaffected by DP {deep wound gets a bit more effective I think, reducing the effective health bonus to +24 after you drop below 500 health but remains stable after that}).

Lord Natural · May 06, 2008, 05:06 PM // 17:06

I like +7 in arenas, just because there's not the same spike potential as in HA/GvG. Can always switch to the +30 if things are looking bleak. Better to just use +health in 8v8 where it's all about the spike.