Curse

clay · Apr 14, 2005, 04:40 AM // 04:40

Class: Warrior / Elementalist

Attributes: (cost) '+' indicates Rune attributes
Strength: 11+1 (77)
Hammer Mastery: 10 (61)
Earth Magic: 10 (61)

Total attribute points used: 199/200

Skills: [Attribute] (Energy, Cast Time, Recharge TIme)
1) Earth Shaker [Hammer Mastery] (0,0,10) Hammer Attack: All adjacent foes are knocked down. This is an elite skill. (50% failure chance with Hammer Mastery attribute of 4 or less.)

2) Hammer Bash [Hammer Mastery] (0,0,6) Hammer Attack: Lose all adrenaline. If Hammer Bash hits, your target is knocked down.

3) Belly Smash [Hammer Mastery] (5,0,30) Hammer Attack: If this attack strikes a foe who is on the ground, the resulting dust cloud will blind nearby foes for 8 seconds.

4) Rush [Strength] (0,0,4) Stance: For 18 seconds, you move 25% faster.

5) Flurry [none] (5,0,5) Stance: For 5 seconds, your attack rate is increased, but you deal less damage.

6) Armor of Earth [Earth Magic] (10,1,15) Enchantment: For 30 seconds, you gain 48 armor, but move 26% slower than normal.

7) Glyph of Lesser Energy [none] (5,1,30) Glyph: Your next spell cost 15 less energy to cast.

8) Aftershock [Earth Magic] (10,1,10) Spell: Nearby enemies are struck for 75 damage. Knocked down characters are struck for 48 additional damage.

What do you guys think?

Kityn · Apr 14, 2005, 05:11 AM // 05:11

What is your strategy with this build?

Sausaletus Rex · Apr 14, 2005, 05:16 AM // 05:16

I think it's been done before.

And I don't mean that in a bad way. Just that Earth/Hammer War/Ele seems to be one of things that keep cropping up over and over again. That means either a) A lot of people are very wrong. or b) There's something there that keeps drawing people. And, I think it's pretty obvious to see what. Knockdown+Aftershock. I don't like the Earth line for a Warrior or a Ranger because it lacks the "Conjure Mud" to make it really shine. If it had a way of pumping up weapon damage it'd be the best Elementalist line hands down. As it is you're left with Aftershock trickery.

You're doing a good job of it here. It'll take you a while to get charged up to it but you can chain Earth Shaker into Hammer Bash and get a good 5~6 seconds of continuous knockdown on a single target. You can't beat that kind of disruption. The AoE effect of Earth Shaker means you can catch some other enemies with it too. That gives you plenty of time to land an Aftershock or a Belly Smash. You'll benefit greatly from an IAS - I'd go with Frenzy over Flurry because you'll lose less energy that way - as it'll get you more adrenaline so you can use Earth Shaker more quickly. An IAS boosts your weapon damage by roughly 50%, too.

I'm not sold about Belly Smash, though, unless you're planning on playing in PvE or something. Blindness is nice and all, and AoE Blindness is only better, but only if you're facing a lot of melee characters who'll cluster around you. I'd replace it with something like Crushing Blow which will cause a Deep Wound making your damage much more effective against that single target. Still, you're a hammer Warrior so it's not really about the damage so much as it is the disruption.

Armor of Earth is a curious choice. You're a Warrior, speed is key. You don't want to intentionally slow yourself. Again, in PvE where the enemy will swarm you, it's not a bad idea. But I'd drop it, and Strength as a whole, to pick up Tactics and just take Watch Yourself! instead. A little less energy to spend means you can drop GLE and pick up another skill there, too. Or one of the Wards which are nice and quick to cast and are uncounterable unlike the enchantment based Armor of Earth.

clay · Apr 14, 2005, 06:09 AM // 06:09

forgot to say...this is a PVE build...and my first build

Sausaletus Rex · Apr 14, 2005, 06:33 AM // 06:33

A good stab at your first build, too, by the way. Hammer/Earth's a cliche but it's a cliche for a reason, it's a solid and readily available way to go.

That it's PvE does change the picture somewhat. How a build works and whether it's successful depends, in no small part, on the situations it's placed into. There are different demands and criteria that will make it pass or fail.

As a Warrior in PvE you have a very important role: meatshield. You are a tank, you want to attract the enemies attention and keep them off of your more vulnerable teammates. You've a good start of it here, though, although I think you could do some things better.

Belly Smash looks a lot better now, of course. You can use it to blind those hordes of monsters you'll be tanking and reduce your damage. AoE knockdown makes sense their, too, as you'll again damage or disrupt those mobs making your tanking job and the job of your healers a lot easier. You'll want to go something like Earth Shaker -> Aftershock -> Hammer Bash -> Belly Smash for the best result and probably Bash an "off" target so they don't get taken out too quicly.

Rush is a poor choice for a speed boost. You want Sprint. Rush is adrenal so you can't use it before a fight and in PvE that's when you really need your boost, you want to sprint ahead of everyone and engage the enemy first so they'll focus on you. There's not a lot of chasing to be done and your adrenaline won't last long enough for you to use Rush between one camp and the next, in most cases. So, either take Sprint or drop it altogether - speed buffs and snares aren't so essential to a Warrior in PvE as they are in PvP.

Of course, the reason you probably liked that one is obvious. You're not going to have a lot of energy. Flurry is a much better choice for a tank than Frenzy because you won't take as much damage, but it's also more costly in terms of energy. It's 5 energy every 5 seconds not 5 energy every 8 seconds. So, constantly running Flurry, which you'll want to do to keep your adrenaline costs low, is an expensive proposition. Too expensive, actually, as that gives you the equivallent of 1 pip of degeneration and will bleed you dry in short order. Not a big concern in PvE, maybe, as you'll be recharging between battles but you don't have a lot of energy to spare here. Armor of Earth and Aftershock aren't helping, either. As I said before, I'd consider dropping Strength and boosting Tactics instead. Strength gives you armor penetration but as a tank damage is a secondary concern, what you really want to do is survive. Watch Yourself offers a lot of the protection of Armor of Earth without the energy or casting costs and you can keep it up indefinitely, too. You can also then use Bonnetti's Defense an adrenal stance which will give you energy. As a tank you'll take a lot of hits and that will pretty much fill you right up so you can keep recasting Flurry and Aftershock and the rest.

Also, equipment. Just a pair of Stonefist Gauntlets change this build considerably. As would some runes to go with what I take it is your Str headgear. But beyond that, there's armor choice and the sorts of mods you'd like on you hammer. Vampiric is a good choice for a tank, you'll get a bit of healing as you add damage to your attack. Zealous could work, too, as you'll want the energy. But you should think about your equipment because it's just as vital a part of things as your skill choices.