Curse

yesitsrob · Mar 16, 2006, 07:04 PM // 19:04

skull crack, dwarven battle stance

cleave isn't bad it's just in the shadow of eviscerate in most situations - a lot of warrior elites really suck.

i think amity has limited use, unyielding aura i don't care for.

ranger gets crap like poison arrow and quickshot aint too great right now

eles.. mm, thunderclap i guess

Naxohs Seralna · Mar 16, 2006, 07:23 PM // 19:23

What was ether renewal like before it was nerfed? I keep hearing that it was overpowered. o.O

kimahri · Mar 16, 2006, 07:49 PM // 19:49

I saw Mind Freeze written here somewhere, Mind Freeze is great if u do the right combo. Mind Freeze+Maelstrom on monk FTW!

My vote goes 2 Signet of Judgement.

Autumn_Leaf · Mar 16, 2006, 08:11 PM // 20:11

skull crack
plague sig isn't bad ,but its nowhere near useful enough for people to use it

Finch · Mar 16, 2006, 08:50 PM // 20:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naxohs Seralna

What was ether renewal like before it was nerfed? I keep hearing that it was overpowered. o.O

Ether Renewal was very overpowered before it was nerfed. Most people ran a E/Mo smiter and that would be their energy management and their healing. If used right, it could easily bring your health and energy all the way back up.

twicky_kid · Mar 16, 2006, 08:52 PM // 20:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimahri

I saw Mind Freeze written here somewhere, Mind Freeze is great if u do the right combo. Mind Freeze+Maelstrom on monk FTW!

My vote goes 2 Signet of Judgement.

so 35 energy 7 seconds casting and double exhaustion for 6-7 seconds of shut down if the freeze isn't removed.

Might as well go with diversion for 2 second casting (fast cast) and 10e. 6 second shutdown or they get a skill disabled for nearly a minute.

Mind freeze is horrible in any instance you can put it in because there are better options.

The other reason I don't use melee interrupts is because they do not interrupt your attack for the interrupt like rangers do. Rangers fire their interrupts soon as you hit the button. Melee interrupts make you wait until you current attack is over with whether you are using a skill or not. That can put their timing off by even more.

The Lich Ranger · Mar 16, 2006, 08:56 PM // 20:56

Id say that martyr is a lame skill

dgb · Mar 16, 2006, 09:23 PM // 21:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Lich Ranger

Id say that martyr is a lame skill

I take it your the PvE kind...

twicky_kid · Mar 16, 2006, 09:25 PM // 21:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Lich Ranger

Id say that martyr is a lame skill

Hands down the best condition removal on the game.

LouAl · Mar 16, 2006, 09:47 PM // 21:47

Martyr is great, IW plus a mimicked 100 blades is GREAT, Dwarven Battle Stance is great (10 seconds of shutdown for 10e...not bad), Keystone sig is fun if usd with mantra of inscriptions, leech sig, sig of humility, sig of weariness...

Mind Burn is pretty bad 15e, exhaustion, and 20 sec recharge
IMO Healing hands is pretty lame, its like a weak mark of protection (with faster recharge)
Sig of Judgement is bad
Quick Shot is baaadd
Skull crack would be cool if it wasn't elite/didn't take so much adrenaline, as is it is bad

onyo · Mar 16, 2006, 10:02 PM // 22:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phoenix Ex

The worst has to be: UnYielding Aura

unyielding aura kicks ass in RA and TA when your on a kill-count arena.
prolly quickshot is worst imo. also i really dont think charge should be an elite. it sucks for an elite

swordfisher · Mar 16, 2006, 11:09 PM // 23:09

Charge only sucks for an elite if you only think about yourself. If you're operating with a team, and using *tactics* it can give you a tremendous advantage. See: split team tactics.

(and even so, using charge means you can have frenzy and your runspeed boost at the same time- having cake AND eating it)

chumsy · Mar 16, 2006, 11:52 PM // 23:52

About Unyielding Aura:
Noone remembers the Unyielding Aura -> Divine Intervention -> cancel Divine Intervention trick?

Also I've noticed that when the monk dies, the Unyielding Aura enchant goes away, but the ally enchanted with Unyielding Aura stays alive even though its gone.

What's so bad about bringing a dead ally back with full health and mp at the cost of 5 mp and 2 second cast?
The ally should be able to make use of that +20-60 mp (depending on job type) that you gave him/her.

Hell, if I were a monk in an Ele team, I'd let one die and keep ressing him/her with Unyielding Aura for full mp every time he/she runs out of mp -
run out of mp? No problem. *cancels Unyielding Aura; Ele dies; recasts Unyielding Aura on dead Ele; Ele comes back with full mp*
__________________________________________________ ___________________________________________
Battle Rage is more likely the worst after Keystone sig.
Gaining double adrenaline isn't worth all the possibilities of losing all adrenaline.

Examples (assuming that you're using adrenal skills to make the most of this):
Use res sig and lose all adrenaline - is anyone ever encouraged not to bring res sig?

Use endure pain, healing sig, or any other form of healing/health-buff, and lose all adrenaline - you healed, but you just disabled yourself.

Use warrior cunning and lose all adrenaline - might be able to hit that stance tank, but got nothing to hit him with now.

Use wild blow and lose all adrenaline - even though it is an attack skill, you still lose all adrenaline because its the side effect of wild blow, not Battle Rage.

Battle Rage ends and lose all adrenaline - unavoidable, even refreshing it before it ends causes it to "end" for an instant.

Use any NON-ATTACK adrenal skills, and lose all adrenaline - hmm, the point of Battle Rage was for the extra adrenaline, but you can't use around half of all adrenal skills available without losing all adrenaline - adrenal shouts, stances or skills (i.e. Watch Yourself, Bonnetti's Defense, Riposte, etc)
Also since it it is elite, it can't be coupled with other elite adrenal skills, furthur reducing the number of adrenal skills, you can use with it.

Minus Sign · Mar 16, 2006, 11:57 PM // 23:57

Someone put in Water Trident. After the update, take a closer look at that bad boy. 5 mana...Knockdown on moving foes. Can anyone say W/E KD build?

For Warrior I'd have to put my money on Skull crack. Its too situational to be an Elite.

Quick Shot gets my vote for Ranger; there are just too many better ways to get a fast arrow out.

Shield of Deflection for monks; there are, again, better ways to do the same thing. And Shield or regen is a close second.

For necros, I don't hear anything good about Lingering Curse. Tried it a few times in PvE and PvP; its kinda the great skill that isn't.

Mesmer gets Fevered Dreams; again, too situational for Elite slot.

Lastly; for Eles I call out Ether renewal. Another skill with tons of potental, but its been nerfed into the ground due to up time and recharge.

phasola · Mar 17, 2006, 12:00 AM // 00:00

Glimmering Mark

Megamanfan · Mar 17, 2006, 12:45 AM // 00:45

I've had lots of fun farming Charr Carving during the special events with my R/W using Read the Wind + Frenzy + Quick Shot. DPS? Holy cow!

Also, I always take Charge! and Balanced Stance when I run people. Catch me now you effing worms!!!

Ensign · Mar 17, 2006, 12:50 AM // 00:50

Quick Shot got hit really hard by the interrupt aftercast update. Before Quick Shot was a great skill for firing off some extended spikes, like Dual -> Quick -> Distracting -> Quick. Now the 3rd attack has to be normal speed, neutralizing the fourth and pretty much putting an end to this sort of pressure spike.

It isn't a bad skill at all. It's still a pretty solid pressure skill (stacks another 33% bonus attack speed onto whatever you're doing) and it's really spammable, it just doesn't really have a place right now.

The really terrible elites are those which are so bad that even when it has the effect you want you won't run it because it's so bad. Prominent examples are Mind Freeze and Skull Crack.

Peace,
-CxE

Mr_eX · Mar 17, 2006, 03:08 AM // 03:08

Most elite skills aren't bad, they're simply crude. They can work in simpler builds (Word of Healing comes to my mind,) but they're not always the most effective choice in advanced builds (Healing Hands, Offering of Blood.)

For the record, Keystone Signet has a lot of potential that will be harnessed in future chapters.

My vote goes to Amity without question.

myword · Mar 17, 2006, 08:17 AM // 08:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lasher Dragon

Well, I play little to no PVP, so I suppose that influences my opinion quite a bit.

I suppose I have been coddled by the ranger elites, most of which stand just fine on their own. I must admit I am utterly addicted to Oath Shot.

you're still spot on with your logic though, signet of midnight sees little to no usage outside of Random Arena.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DV Morpheus

There is no worst elite skill.

Every elite skill has a good use in PvE and PvP, but when and where to use each one is situational.

yea, my uber otyugh's cry build held halls for 3 hours just now

Quote:

Originally Posted by Synthetic

I would cast surge, then immediately after cast orb. Surge and orb would strike almost immediately and orb was a guaranteed hit since the target was knocked down. If you want to use a lightning elite I think that it is better then mind shock. It has an unconditional KD and comparable damage to shock. The delay on surge compliments orb well since it provides a decent spike when they both hit at the same time.

except that surge pretty much gives your target away, assume you're talking about random arena with no monk
otherwise, CoP/veil/smite lightning surge and dodge the lightning orb!

soul less · Mar 17, 2006, 03:21 PM // 15:21

Its funny, Unyielding Aura is one of the most amazing skills but is one of the most misunderstood because of its mis-use by people who equip it or have had it used on them.

Lets see...

Fast res
res'd to FULL health AND energy (qualifying it as the best situational heal)
maintained as long as the monk can maintain it as opposed to vengence.
Death penalties no longer apply when aura is on <---.

I can't count the amount of times I have saved an entire party by having three people up on aura at the same time and maintaining it easily. I have even gone up to four. Fow, Uw, Tombs, Thunderhead, almost every pve mission in the game has a credited success to aura. PVP is a little different due to high amounts of enchant removals.

Do you have to drop it eventually? Yes a monk would be stupid not to. May you have to drop someone in mid battle? Yes I weigh the lives of those aura'd versus the existing lives of those in the party. If you are an aura monk should you pack a regular res? Yup.