Curse

Plague · Aug 08, 2007, 10:19 PM // 22:19

I haven't written anything in a while, and my somewhat recent experiences with getting a Paragon to level 20, and attempting to create PvE and PvP builds, got me to thinking. So, I started writing, and ended up writing way too much.

Enjoy. Or complain. Both are fine choices.

----

As Guild Wars: Eye of the North approaches its release date, players around the world are anticipating a variety of changes, additions and surprises to Guild Wars. Some await the experience of playing through the final installment of the Guild Wars storyline. Others are eager to see the leadup to Guild Wars 2, and how Guild Wars will transition its existing gameplay into a new generation. Still others simply wish to see skills added, so that niches can be filled, and counters resolved.

One of the things people are waiting to see is the way Paragons will be treated, or as some would say, "fixed." To many players, the Paragon indeed seems damaged - a broken profession. Some might say the profession is simply misunderstood, as the Ritualist and Assassion professions, and to a lesser extent the Dervish, once were. Players often approach skills, environments and play factor within Guild Wars from a biased perspective. Upon the release of Factions, many players wished to use the Assassin like they would a Warrior: rushing into enemy forces at a whim to soak damage and remove enemy backlines. As players played, they realized the role Assassins played, and the profession's potential was partly realized. The profession did not change - the players changed. The Ritualist encountered the same issue. Players that began the profession in PvE found their characters to lack mobility and focus: they did not possess the staying power of a monk, nor the power of an Air Elementalist, nor the exploitive capabilities of a Necromancer; yet, the profession seemed to be an amalgamation of all three. The Ritualist, since that time, has found a home in PvP, where mobility is often unnecessary, enemy attack and defense patterns can arguably be more predictable, and the focus of combat is not with wiping out hundreds of enemies at a time, but in overwhelming specific targets. This may be the case with the Paragon. Players may be underestimating its capabilities. Still, something is amiss with the profession.

The first thing one might ask is, "What does the Paragon do?" This covers too large a space, so instead, it may be more proper to wonder, "What is a Paragon?" A Paragon is a mid-range attacker, much like a Ranger. Its possesses the second best armor level in the game, the attack power of a Warrior, and the range and speed of a Ranger's shortbow. A Paragon also possesses skills that use adrenaline, meaning it does not require energy to use certain skills. Its energy pool is also as large as most casters, although it relies on +2 energy regeneration (a limitation that can be circumvented using skills like Peace and Harmony.) A Paragon can also naturally use a shield - something only Warriors could once do. On paper, that sounds almost unfair. Physically, it can be argued that the Paragon is the best profession in the game. Certainly, it possesses what may be the best qualities of all of the professions: the energy-intensiveness of a caster, the range and speed of an interrupter, and the brute force and endurance of an attacker, as well as a tank. The harsh reality of the Paragon's situation, however, is that this potential often goes unused. Why is this so? The answer does not rest with the physical capabilities of a Paragon, so we must take a look at the Paragon's skill lines, and the abilities within them:

Paragons orient themselves almost exclusively around the use of Shouts, Chants and Echoes littering his skill panel. What are these three things? A Shout is an ability we have seen since Prophecies. Shouts are instant-cast abilities that often, although not always, affect multiple friends or foes on the battlefield. They can do nearly anything, from active healing to increasing movement speeds. They can even knock down incoming opponents. Most take energy to use, although some can be used when enough adrenaline is gained. A Chant is what you might think it is: a shout, except with a cast time. Chants affect all party members at once, and often supplement the next action of those party members, or the next effect on those party members. That is to say, chants are one-shot skills. They work once, then are used up, until the skill recharges and can be used again. Echoes are like Shouts in that they can do nearly anything. They also last for usually around 15 to 30 seconds. However, Echoes also have cast times, like a Chant, and can only be used on one targeted ally at a time. Some Echoes can be reapplied, over and over to the affected player, if a Shout or Chant ends on them, although there are very few of these.

Paragons also possess Spear Attacks and Signets. Spear Attacks are rather to the point, being skills used to supplement existing damage or apply conditions. The Paragon currently only has five Signet skills.

Now that we have looked over what kind of skills a Paragon can use, we'll move on to the actual skill lines a Paragon has at his disposal. We will cover primarily the elites of each group, to gain a better understanding of the overall nature of the attribute:

Command

The Command line has no inherent affect. There are literally no skills in this attribute line that are not shouts, chants or echoes. As one might expect, when a Paragon uses a Command, it is a vocal skill. There are three elite skills in Command. This is important, as Eye of the North will contain no new elite skills, making these the only three elites a Paragon will ever be able to use in Guild Wars:

"Incoming!"
Elite Shout. For 1...3 seconds, all party members within earshot take 50% less damage.
10 Energy
20 Recharge

Anthem of Guidance.
Elite Chant. For 10 seconds, the next attack Skill used by each party member within earshot cannot be blocked.
4 Adrenaline
1 Cast Time

Crippling Anthem.
Elite Chant. For 10 seconds, the next attack skill used by each party member within earshot causes Crippling for 5...13 seconds.
4 Adrenaline
1 Cast Time

These are the most powerful skills within the Command line. Most Guild Wars builds orient themselves around the use of an elite skill, so it is important to understand the elite you will be using.

"Incoming!" is an elite shout, meaning it has no cast time. It is merely shouted, and the effects are incurred. As such, it cannot be interrupted. At 10 energy every 20 seconds, it is not an energy-intensive skill. Its primary limitations are its recharge and its duration of effect. The skill itself only lasts for 3 seconds, even at an attribute maximum level of 16 in Command. However, a 50% reduction in damage is a very potent ability, excluding conditions and hexes that cause health degeneration that cannot be reduced. A single Paragon on his own will find this ability lacking, as it cannot be used repeatedly and it does not last for very long. A single Paragon will only be able to use this skill to prevent a spike in damage, if he is capable of seeing when that spike will arrive. In a typical 8 player setup for PvP, if there were, standard, two healers, it would take 6 Paragons using this skill to ensure that it stayed up for a nearly constant 50% reduction in all non-degen damage. However, even with 6 players with excellent coordination, there is a 2 second window of downtime with this skill, excluding skills that lengthen Shout times.

What we can determine about this skill is that it is designed so that multiple Paragons using it cannot permanently cripple an opposing team's ability to overwhelm one's own team. In a 4 player team, or a typical team setup with only one Paragon, this skill will not dominate the playing field, and may find difficulty in its use.

Anthem of Guidance, at only 4 adrenaline, can be spammed with fair regularity, ensuring that no matter how large your party is, all of your physical attackers will be able to land an attack skill through skills like Guardian, Shield of Deflection, Aegis and the various stances in the game that block attacks. There are many underlying problems with this skill. In the first case, the Paragon himself is an attacker. Spamming this skill, with a 1 second cast time, which can be interrupted, at 4 adrenaline, and with an affect that will only last for 1 skill means that your paragon may find himself constantly using this skill to supplement other fighters, with little time to actually spend for himself on wearing down an opponent. Coordinating a spike with this elite would also be very difficult. In a 4 man team, the elite is practically worthless, as a single attack skill from even 4 Paragons, without a healer, will not be enough to effectively take down most opponents. The same principle applies in 8v8: a team would have to be composed of almost exclusively physical attackers for this elite to shine; even then, it would only be useful against teams that use aegis chains or stances or any other form of blocking to handle most of their damage reduction. This elite ultimately performs as a possible counter to 8v8, coordinated combat. Alone, it cannot supplement damage, and being used by a Paragon looking to help himself, it will not lend the needed time or ability to circumvent enemy defenses, as he will spend most of his time casting the skill, which will only work for a single skill.

Crippling Anthem is another elite that works best in larger teams filled with physical attackers, that are using attack skills. It essentially allows all of your Assassins, Warriors, Paragons and Rangers to snare their respective targets at a whim. At 4 adrenaline and a 1 second cast time, it can also be used consistently, to provide a great amount of grief to an opposing team that relies on kiting, runners or melee attackers. However, this skill will not be nearly as useful in PvE, in which opponents die easily, are often ranged, and do not necessarily need to be snared. The skill also will be largely ineffective against teams that do not need to move or avoid physical attacks.

As for the rest of the skills in Command, we will quickly look at the skill descriptions of some more iconic abilities that mark the rest of the line:

"Shout. For 5...13 seconds, the next time target other ally would be knocked down, 1 nearby foe takes 15...63 damage instead."

"Shout. For 20 seconds, the next 1...4 touch Skills used against you fail."

"Shout. For 5...17 seconds, the next time target ally criticals, that ally also inflicts a Deep Wound for 5...17 seconds."

"Shout. For 5...17 seconds, target other ally moves 33% faster. This skill ends if that ally successfully hits with an attack."

"Echo. For 20 seconds, target non-Spirit ally has +10...34 armor against slashing damage. This Echo is reapplied every time a Chant or Shout ends on that ally."

"Chant. For 10 seconds, the next skill used by each ally within earshot cannot be interrupted."

As you might pick up from reading the descriptions, the skills of Command are very conditional. When they are not conditional, they either cannot be spammed or they will only target a single person.

Command, as a whole, suffers from having normal skills that fail to do anything truly dependable. When the skills are capable of performing, the effects can be seemingly random. As a contrast, Command's elites are often most useful in large-scale PvP combat, using other physical attackers. As a whole, Command works best with a variety team of physical attackers that is not working towards a spike in damage, but rather, in disrupting enemy forces by negating their defenses. A team using a Command Paragon is suited to be self-reliant, with a damage-intensive build that relies on constantly forcing a team to soak up a large amount of damage. A Command Paragon cannot be relied upon to actually command the flow of the match - merely to buffer everyone else. The lesson learned from the Paragon's Command line is that its skills there are usually party-wide, low energy but not entirely useful.

Leadership

Leadership is the Paragon's primary attribute. Each time an ally is affected by one of a Paragon's chants or shouts, that Paragon gains 1 energy for each ally affected. But hold on, there's a catch: to gain energy from more than one person (yourself), you must have an additional two ranks in Leadership. Thusly, at 16 Leadership, you will be able to gain energy for up to 8 allies. Of course, for people playing as a Paragon in Random or Team Arenas, Leadership above level 8 is worthless, excluding how it will buff your skills: level 8 Leadership gives you the potential to gain 4 energy. Although you may have 16 Leadership, if you only have 3 allies, you will never gain more than 4 energy. Most Shouts and Chants a Paragon can use are 10 energy or above, meaning Leadership does very little to assist in reducing energy costs. Only in situations with 8 players, or an area with many NPC allies, is it possible to actually gain energy (and then, only 3 energy using a 5 energy shout, or 8 from an adrenaline shout that affects multiple allies.)

This is the inherent flaw in the Paragon's primary attribute. Many players consider Leadership to be a broken primary for this reason. Increasing the attribute often does nothing more than a low attribute level would do, and when it actually can do more, the energy gain is nonexistent; for Paragons using many Shouts or Chants, the line does little to resolve energy problems, even though Shouts and Chants are the signature skills for the profession. Also, only one of the very few Shouts within Leadership actually affect multiple party members. There are only two non-elite Chants in Leadership, with one carrying a heavy adrenaline cost and a high cast time. As though not enough, Paragon shields never come with Leadership attributes, meaning that in order to use Leadership and a shield, a Paragon absolutely must split his attributes three ways, unless he intends to do nothing with his spear but gain adrenaline. Even a Warrior does not need to do this, being quite capable of finding a Strength-based primary shield.

Now, on to the elites:

Angelic Bond.
Elite Skill. For 10...30 seconds, all damage suffered by target other ally is divided equally with you.
10 Energy
2 Cast Time
5 Recharge

Anthem of Fury.
Elite Chant. For 10 seconds, all allies within earshot gain 1...3 strikes of adrenaline the next time they use an attack Skill.
5 Energy
1 Cast Time
10 Recharge

Defensive Anthem.
Elite Chant. For 4...9 seconds, each party member within earshot has a 50% chance to block incoming attacks. This Chant ends if that party member hits with an attack skill.
15 Energy
2 Cast Time
25 Recharge

Focused Anger.
Elite Skill. For 45 seconds, you gain 0...120% more adrenaline.
10 Energy
60 Recharge

Soldier's Fury
Elite Echo. For 10...30 seconds, if you are under the effect of a Chant or Shout, you attack 33% faster.
5 Energy
1 Cast Time
5 Recharge

Surprisingly, there is no elite Shout in Leadership, even though the attribute itself orients around Shouts.

Angelic Bond acts sort of like Protective Bond, a monk elite, would, aside from the fact that it cannot be removed, it is not sustained. This can work against the skill, however. With a 2 second cast time, and a 5 second recharge, it is nearly impossible to consistently keep this skill placed on all party members, at all times. It is also impossible to see when it has transpired. Also, as it is not sustained, it is necessary to place it back on a party member when it is assumed to have transpired. With its lengthy cast time, it is easily interrupted by most Rangers, Warriors or Assassins, although as a Skill, not a Spell, Mesmers will have a more difficult time of it. The skill, on its own, is very good. However, the means to which you might use the skill limit its overall usefulness. Its feasibility is limited when you consider the time spent reapplying this defensive skill on an offensive profession like the Paragon. That is, unless you are using a Paragon with mere token points in Spear Mastery.

Anthem of Fury is another spammable Chant that works best with a large group of physical attackers, notably other Paragons or Warriors. As with almost all Paragon chants, time is spent casting and repeating the skill rather than actually attacking. This skill can be very useful to an organized team filled with Warriors and Paragons, but otherwise, has absolutely no use to other party members, as the skill activates on use of an attack skill, not on a physical hit.

Defensive Anthem works as you might think it does. It is essentially the Paragon version of Aegis. A small team of two or three Paragons with maxed Leadership can keep this skill up indefinitely. However, with a high energy cost and lengthy activation time, once again, it can encounter problems on energy-intensive builds outside of 8v8 combat and is easily interrupted.

Focused Anger might be considered one of the best, if not the best, elite in the game for an offensive-minded Paragon. With a Ranger secondary, using Serpent's Quickness, this unremovable skill can be upkept indefinitely. However, the skill is currently bugged, and will not allow the player to gain adrenaline over 100%, even with other skills like Natural Temper, making an attribute level over 10 worthless. The issue for many Paragons using this skill, however, is that there are very few skills that use adrenaline for a Paragon outside of Spear Mastery. Even still, there are very few adrenaline-based Chants, and even fewer adrenaline Shouts that can actually affect all party members, another coincidental irony in Leadership's and the Paragon's overall design.

Soldier's Fury could easily be listed as a skill, although it is an elite echo. It cannot be cast on other teammates. This echo is closely related to the warrior stance, Soldier's Stance. Soldier's Fury, however, requires a cast time, although it does last a much longer time. Unfortunately for the Paragon, most Paragon Shouts are not sustained, so they cannot work with Soldier's Fury - the few that are have low recharges with relatively high energy costs, meaning that a Paragon can quickly drain his energy reserves unless he is in a team of 8 players. The few that are outside of the category, like "Lead the Way!", are relatively worthless to a Paragon, or do not directly benefit an active attacker. Chants, of course, last for usually 10 seconds, have cast times and often end after an attack is landed, or a condition is met, making them very poor, often random choices for accessorizing a Paragon that wants to attack as quickly as possible.

Now, for the normal skill descriptions:

"Shout. Target ally moves 25% faster for 1...4 seconds for each ally within earshot (maximum 20 seconds)."

"Shout. For 10 seconds, party members within earshot take 5...29% less damage from foes suffering from Burning."

"Echo. For 5...21 seconds, you attack 25% faster. This Echo is reapplied every time a Chant or Shout ends on you."

"Chant. For 10 seconds, the next attack Skill used by each party member within earshot also causes Burning for 1...3 seconds."

"Skill. If this Skill hits a knocked-down foe, that foe becomes Dazed for 5...13 seconds. Awe has half the normal range."

"Echo. For 20 seconds, if target non-Spirit ally hits a foe with more Health than that ally, that foe is set on Fire for 1...3 seconds. This Echo is reapplied every time a Chant or Shout ends on that ally."

"Signet. If target foe is Burning, you gain 5...13 Energy."

"Skill. For 4...9 seconds, you gain 33% more adrenaline while not under the effects of an Enchantment."

As a whole, Leadership is an attribute that rarely benefits from itself. Skills often will not work unless accessorized in some way with skill types that cannot be found within Leadership or Spear Mastery. Many skills do not benefit from having high a Leadership attribute, although they fail to perform very well at very low levels. This makes it difficult to create builds orienting around Leadership. Players using Leadership may find their place in large, 8v8 matches in which other players, like Tactic Warriors using "Watch Yourself!" can work with the Paragon to ensure his skillbar was not made in vain.

Motivation

No inherent affect. Almost exactly like Command, Motivation uses almost exclusively Chants and some Shouts; it also holds a single Signet, several Echoes and a single Skill. If one were to mix the skills of Command and Motivation together, it would be difficult to determine which goes where, as both lines essentially do the same job. The difference here is that in Motivation, skills only give allies energy, health, or remove conditions.

On to the elites:

"It's just a flesh wound."
Elite Shout. You suffer from a Deep Wound for 10...6 seconds, and target other ally loses all Conditions.
5 Energy
1 Recharge

"The Power Is Yours!"
Elite Shout. All party members within earshot gain 1...7 Energy. For 10 seconds, you have -10 Energy degeneration.
10 Energy
20 Recharge

Song of Purification.
Elite Chant. For 20 seconds, the next 1...3 skills used by each ally within earshot remove 1 Condition from that ally.
5 Adrenaline
2 Cast Time

Song of Restoration.
Elite Chant. For 10 seconds, the next time each party member within earshot uses a Skill, that party member gains 30...78 Health.
5 Energy
1 Cast Time
15 Recharge

The elites in Motivation are actually fairly useful, and could easily be mistaken on a Mesmer or Monk's skillbar.

"It's just a flesh wound." Monty Python would be proud. This is the best conditional removal skill in the game. It has no cast time, requires 5 energy and is a shout, allowing it to actually gain energy through high Leadership in a 8v8 match, and recharges after a single second. There is virtually no downside to this skill, aside from the Deep Wound, which can easily be removed with a skill like Remedy Signet. It can also be easily ignored, if you don't mind the drop in maximum hitpoints and the 30% reduction in healing that comes with it.

"The Power Is Yours!" Captain Planet would be... somewhat pleased. This skill can be very useful with almost any profession at your side. It won't restore an Air Elementalist spiker from 0 energy, or allow a Ritualist to suddenly lay down Anguish from 0 energy, but it does perform a wonderful role supplementing other players that have builds that can work on their own. The downside is both its range and the -10 Energy degeneration. This skill won't carry over to flag runners or melee attackers that wander out of range, but with the Paragon established as a midline fighter, this should not be a large problem. The -10 energy degeneration is a serious problem on many Paragon builds, as there are very few useful adrenaline-based skills that will ignore this problem. With low Leadership, it is also possible for this skill, on its own, to render itself unable to cast after it recharges, in some cases.

Song of Purification is a party-wide means of removing conditions. It is adrenaline-based, making it necessary to land attacks to use it consistently. It also carries a 2 second cast time, making it another easily-interrupted elite Paragon skill. Ultimately, this skill works best with larger parties, when the Paragon is not as prone to being blinded or interrupted, and the condition removal can see its full effects realized.

Song of Restoration is essentially a very poor Heal Party, and an even worse Light of Deliverance. The 78 health gain it carries at 12 Motivation for all party members is barely worth mentioning - it's a drop in the ocean. The 1 second cast time leaves it somewhat prone to interruption, although not as easily as Heal Party would be. The true problem with this elite lies in its 15 second recharge time. At well below 100 health gained, the skill cannot be spammed enough to effectively cover the party from even a small spike, or even in many cases, very shallow degen. It's true that this elite is essentially healing around 700-800 points of health across the entire party in a 8 man team, but the numbers don't match the effect. 650 points across 8 players is still only about 80 points per player every 15 seconds, which is hardly enough to truly be actively useful. This elite is, like many of the Paragon elites, truly useful only when paired with other Paragons running nearly the same build.

And now, the token normal skills:

"Chant. For 10 seconds, the next time each party member within earshot uses a Spell, that party member gains 30...78 Health."

"Chant. For 10 seconds, the next time each party member within earshot takes damage, that party member gains 15...63 Health."

"Echo. For 10...30 seconds, whenever a Shout or Chant ends on target non-Spirit ally, that ally gains 1 Energy."

"Chant. For 5...17 seconds, the next time each ally within earshot uses a Signet, that ally loses 1 Condition."

"Signet. Target other ally is healed for 40...88 Health. If you are not under the effects of an Enchantment, you are also healed for 40...88 Health."

"Chant. For 10 seconds, the next time each ally within earshot uses an attack Skill, that ally gains 1...7 Energy."

Motivation, as we learn, has a lot of skills that are drops in the ocean. That is, they potentially affect so many players on your team that they ultimately prove ineffective for each individual. The smaller the team becomes, the less useful the skills become. With almost all the skills in Motivation carrying a 1 second cast time, interrupters can easily anticipate when to safely strike. Skills that are especially effective in Motivation, like its sister attribute, Command, often prove difficult to place and keep on any more than one or two party members, and cannot be tracked to determine when they have ended. Motivation builds work best on large parties composed of very organized players. Motivation, on its own, is hardly as effective as almost any other profession that might take its place in a party roster. As such, it is best used as a supplement skill line for Paragons, or even other professions like Monks, that may want to bring a shield and use skills such as "It's just a flesh wound."

Spear Mastery

We won't cover a lot in Spear Mastery, because there's very little to cover. Every skill in Spear Mastery is a Spear Attack. The chances of landing a critical hit rise with higher levels of Spear Mastery.

The elites:

Cruel Spear
Elite Spear Attack. If this attack hits, you deal +1...25 damage. If it hits a non-moving target, you inflict a Deep Wound for 5...17 seconds.
7 Adrenaline

Stunning Strike
Elite Spear Attack. If this attack hits, you deal +5...25 damage. If it hits a foe suffering from a Condition, that foe is also Dazed for 4...9 seconds.
10 Adrenaline

Spear Mastery only holds two elites, and as such, these are the only two elite spear attacks that will ever be available in Guild Wars.

Cruel Spear does a very low amount of damage for such a high adrenaline skill, but it also applies Deep Wound to enemies that aren't moving. The resulting spike is small when compared to a Warrior skill like Eviscerate or even Final Thrust, and even a Dervish skill like Reaper's Sweep. Overall, this is a very weak elite for the conditional requisites, and it even lacks the small buildup to be a spammable attack.

Stunning Strike deals average damage for a spear-based attack, but also applies daze when it strikes players that already have a condition. This is one of the few Paragon skills that actually can be used in combination with another Paragon skill, Barbed Spear, Merciless Spear, or Blazing Spear, or one of the Leadership skills that apply Burning. It carries with it, however, a very high adrenaline cost of 10. Other professions that can Daze with their attacks, or combinations of attacks, can often Daze a target more easily than Stunning Strike, although Stunning Strike does not suffer from a slow attack animation, arc or the necessity to hit a target using a skill.

Basic skills:

"Spear Attack. If this attack hits, your target begins Bleeding for 5...13 seconds."

"Spear Attack. If this attack hits a foe suffering from a Condition, that foe is interrupted."

"Spear Attack. If this attack hits, you deal +5...17 damage. If this attack hits a moving foe, it deals an additional 5...25 damage."

"Spear Attack. Your spear moves three times faster. If it hits, you deal +10...34 damage."

"Spear Attack. If this attack hits, it deals +8...18 lightning damage. This attack has 25% armor penetration."

"Spear Attack. If this attack hits, you deal +5...17 damage. If you land a critical hit with this attack, target foe suffers from a Deep Wound for 5...13 seconds."

As it is, Spear Mastery is likely the worst weapon mastery attribute line in Guild Wars. Nearly all of the attacks merely apply around +15 to +25 damage. Spear Mastery suffers in that there are virtually no combinations to be performed in the line. There is no "Double Throw" to land successive hits from preparations or enchantments or vampiric modifications. There is no "Concussive Throw" to daze targets if hit using a skill. There is no "Splinter Throw" that hits targets around the initial target. Almost all Spear Attacks follow the same formula: throw, hit, apply small damage boost. Those that do not remove the damage boost and simply ensure the spear reaches its target, or that a weak condition is applied for a few moments. The strongest of Spear Attacks even have 3 second long animations that can only be covered by using attack speed buffs.

There is a single no-attribute elite:

Cautery Signet
Elite Signet. All party members lose all Conditions. You are set on Fire for 1 second for each Condition removed in this way.
2 Cast
15 Recharge

The saving grace of this elite is that it affects all party members, can be used another primary profession, and the downside can be quickly removed using Remedy Signet or some other condition removal, or even touched away to an enemy with Plague Touch. The 2 second long cast time is ripe for interrupts, however, and the 15 second recharge can make it difficult to counter condition-based spikes.

"Signet. You lose 1 Condition."

"Signet. If you are under the effects of a Shout or Chant, you gain 1 strike of adrenaline."

The other two skills, also both signets, speak for themselves. Signet of Aggression, which gains adrenaline, is used mainly to upkeep adrenaline in between fights, although a Paragon must stop to use a Chant in most cases, then use the signet, just to maintain the adrenaline, creating a very large downtime in between fights on large maps.

Conclusion

The Paragon is physically built as a fighter. It is capable of outputting tremendous damage, and is built to withstand attacks from both casters and physical attackers. However, the Paragon's skills do not lend to this idea. It is very difficult to create a stable build for a sustained attacker due to many variables:

*High cast times for an attacker's skills
*Skills that are irrelevant to an attacker
*Skills that do not benefit the primary attribute
*A primary attribute that does not benefit at high levels
*Skills that are weak when party-wide
*Skills that are too conditional when targetted
*Attacks that fail to meet the standards of an attacker

However, looking at the skills of a Paragon, it must be determined that a Paragon is, indeed, not a physical attacker at all! Or, to be more accurate, it is designed so that it can potentially be a physical attacker, or to be a support character with very high armor.

Common logic has it that the Paragon is a profession that does so much of everything, that is does nothing well. It is a profession that tries to cover so much area that it ultimately fails to produce effective results. This is partly true. Certainly, playing with a Paragon as a teammate, you will rarely see their results. If you see a healing boost indicated over your character, it will likely only be a very small amount of points, and so you will think nothing of it. If a chant is placed over your character, it will often vanish, from landing an attack or from being struck by an attack, before you can recognize it. Even small details, such as the fact that Paragon skills closely resemble one another, lends to many people failing to notice what a Paragon is doing. Paragons, as players play them now, will also fail to bring an enemy's hitpoints crashing down, and so are never noted for producing results in that fashion as well.

The Paragon, essentially, is designed to be unremarkable. That is not to say that it cannot outdamage some Warriors, or outheal some Ritualists, or even some Monks, but that it is difficult to tell when this occuring by the very nature of how Paragon skills so quickly appear and then vanish, or produce results that only they can see the grand scope of.

As more players try the Paragon for themselves, they will become more intricately aware of what happens when other players accompany them with their own Paragon. Veteran players of the Paragon that have realized the niche the Paragon has to fill in the Guild Wars metagame will be there to lend a hand to newer players.

It is possible that future Paragons may cease to play as Spear Mastery characters, and will focus on being defensive Chant tanks that use party-wide heals, condition removals and blocking skills to keep parties safe, like Protection Monks with an increased focus. Many PvP players that naturally ignore Paragons will lend support to players that wish to play them, as they may be less frequently the target of attacks and shutdown.

This, however, is all speculation. Eye of the North may bring with it, new skills that will make Paragons less of a niche profession and more widely available to players to analyze - even players that do not play in high-end 8v8 PvP.

Paragons, conclusively, play well with other Paragons. Paragons play well in very large parties. Paragons are rarely meant to be pure damage dealers, but to use their range and power to deliver extra damage as it's needed.

The profession is as misunderstood and questionable as the Ritualist once was. It is quite likely that the Paragon will find its home in PvP, much as the Ritualist did. However, it will take time, and experience on the part of all Guild Wars players, as the profession is a very subdued and misunderstood part of the Guild Wars world.

MrFuzzles · Aug 08, 2007, 10:52 PM // 22:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plague

it also comes with the energy regeneration of a caster: +4 regeneration.

I didn't read your entire post yet but I couldn't get past this bit. Doesn't paragon have only +2 energy regeneration pips?

Etta · Aug 08, 2007, 11:03 PM // 23:03

Yep, only +2 energy regen.

Skycluster · Aug 08, 2007, 11:27 PM // 23:27

You should put this in paragon place but then again...you do want this to be read by alot. I think after the major nerfs that paragons had...they were sortive dumbed down. I think they do excellent dmg, and I love their ability to burn. They can support handsomely its just...they are not recognized. The amazing thing is that shouts/chants can't be removed ^_^. Anyways theres always a vocal minotory necro in the nightfall crowds sortive annoying -_-. And I think they should be able to have more hex-removing skills >

.(only 1 atm)

Plague · Aug 08, 2007, 11:41 PM // 23:41

My mistake, I was actually going through a speciality build, made changes to my wording, realized what I did, said "I'll fix it later," then forgot to go back and change all of it.

Very convoluted.

VitisVinifera · Aug 08, 2007, 11:47 PM // 23:47

holy mackerel, no way I can make it through all of that

I have one recently uncovered beef with Paragons: anything less than a 8 person party, while playing PvE, and they are useless. You really need a full party to get any meager benefit out of using one.

MisterB · Aug 08, 2007, 11:55 PM // 23:55

Your analysis is quite long, indeed. It's also very flawed, and full of errors. I can understand why you deleted your Paragon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plague

The Ritualist, since that time, has found a home in PvP, where mobility is often unnecessary, enemy attack and defense patterns can arguably be more predictable,

Um, what?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plague

Its possesses the second best armor level in the game, the attack power of a Warrior, and the range and speed of a Ranger's shortbow.

Spears have the same range as a shortbow, but a shortbow has an attack interval of 2.0 seconds, and a spear is 1.5.

Paragons have 2 "pips" of energy regen, not 4 as MrFuzzles already pointed out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plague

Angelic Bond acts sort of like Protective Bond

It's nothing like Protective Bond, but it is somewhat similar to Life Bond.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plague

"It's just a flesh wound." Monty Python would be proud. This is the best conditional removal skill in the game. It has no cast time, requires 5 energy and is a shout, allowing it to actually gain energy through high Leadership in a 8v8 match, and recharges after a single second. There is virtually no downside to this skill, aside from the Deep Wound, which can easily be removed with a skill like Remedy Signet. It can also be easily ignored, if you don't mind the drop in maximum hitpoints and the 30% reduction in healing that comes with it.

That skill is target ally, meaning you gain only 1 energy from Leadership.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plague

Cruel Spear does a very low amount of damage for such a high adrenaline skill, but it also applies Deep Wound to enemies that aren't moving. The resulting spike is small when compared to a Warrior skill like Eviscerate

You compare Cruel Spear to Eviscerate, and then say the damage is low? Cruel Spear IS Eviscerate, at range, with 1 less adrenaline. It requires a non-moving condition for balance.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plague

As it is, Spear Mastery is likely the worst weapon mastery attribute line in Guild Wars.

Your opinion. I have no idea how you reach this conclusion.

It seems from reading your post that you played Paragon in 4-player PvP, or as the only Paragon in a group in PvE. Played that way, yes, the Paragon may seem weak. Unless you go 16 Spear, and take "GftE" that is.

AlienFromBeyond · Aug 08, 2007, 11:57 PM // 23:57

The benefits of a Paragon are certainly not meager in a full 8-man party Seamus

. There's Nothing to Fear!, Save Yourselves!, and They're on Fire! can provide far more party-wide protection than any monk could.

EDIT: Also, did you just suggest to use Peace and Harmony on a Paragon!? Ignoring the fact that it's a terrible elite, there's also the problem of Paragons always attacking so they can use their Adrenaline based skills.

ca_aok · Aug 09, 2007, 12:18 AM // 00:18

You neglected to mention the SS/Faction skills, and you didn't mention GFTE! in the command section, which is one of the most useful paragon skills in a heavy frontline party.

pork soldier · Aug 09, 2007, 12:38 AM // 00:38

Paragons are easily one of the top 3 most powerful pve classes, following necros and monks. They're also horribly broken in pvp, witness paraspike.

I really don't see what needs to be fixed, if anything the next balance update will probably tone down some of their skills. If you find the paragon weak you're playing it wrong.

Plague · Aug 09, 2007, 12:45 AM // 00:45

A lot of the things you point out are typos or me thinking of one skill and then talking about another. (It happens when you write something that long.)

I compare Cruel Spear to Evis in that you're typically getting more damage from the axe (randomly, given its wider damage range of course) and the assumed crit and damage bonus from not needing to split your attributes 3 ways. At 16 it's not going to matter, of course, but then I'm assuming most Paragons aren't running 16 SM.

And messed up with "It's just a flesh wound" and started thinking of "The power is yours" for a split second - long enough to type out the wrong thing.

Meant Life Bond, not Protective Bond, etc so forth. Typos, typing too fast = yay.

And no I wouldn't really use PaH on a Paragon. I was just throwing that out there since I talked out trying to use a Paragon as a virtual caster later on. As crazy as it seems, I've actually seen some Warriors using PaH with Endure Pain, Signet of Stamina and Infuse Health to act as healers. (Some people do weird things.)

Didn't mention GFTE since it doesn't follow the same routine as the rest of the Command line, and was just trying to paint a picture. I didn't figure the PvE skills were too relevant, although I will say a PvE P/W running Save Yourselves along with FA can be fun.

pork soldier · Aug 09, 2007, 12:48 AM // 00:48

Paragons have the same DPS as a warrior, at range, and can buff the entire party with offense or defense.

Top gvg guilds run 2 paragons often, top HA groups run paraspike often.

Tell me again what is weak about paragons, besides your ability to play one.

Plague · Aug 09, 2007, 12:55 AM // 00:55

I didn't say they were weak; I said most people don't know how to play one yet.

Mikael2021 · Aug 09, 2007, 12:58 AM // 00:58

Most of these replys didn't even read the entire thing and are just snapping back with one-liners. Well written by the way, I've been interested in the paragon class.. but contemplating whether to delete my characters to make one or not.

pork soldier · Aug 09, 2007, 01:07 AM // 01:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Plague

I didn't say they were weak; I said most people don't know how to play one yet.

Hell, most people don't know how to play guildwars. Obs mode is the single best way to learn to play a character you're unfamiliar with, if people still haven't figured out what's strong on a paragon then they aren't trying ^_^

Omniclasm · Aug 09, 2007, 01:10 AM // 01:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by pork soldier

Paragons are easily one of the top 3 most powerful pve classes, following necros and monks. They're also horribly broken in pvp, witness paraspike.

I really don't see what needs to be fixed, if anything the next balance update will probably tone down some of their skills. If you find the paragon weak you're playing it wrong.

Paragons are strong, I agree with that. However, they have SOOOO many useless skills, or totally conditional skills, that they are pretty limited on what they can actually use. Half the Command line is too conditional to take, half of the Leadership line just sucks, and about 75% of Motivation requires the team to be build around the Paragon.

I do agree though, Paragons using some of the 12-13 viable skills are pretty strong. No, I'm not a Paragon hater, my Paragon is the character I will use whenever a guildie needs help, and if I can I will take my Paragon hero. I do however think a lot of skills need changed around and reworked so that they are at least usable and worth putting on your bar.

Nevin · Aug 09, 2007, 05:40 AM // 05:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikael2021

Most of these replys didn't even read the entire thing and are just snapping back with one-liners. Well written by the way, I've been interested in the paragon class.. but contemplating whether to delete my characters to make one or not.

I agree with you after seen the first spew of posts. I have to admit, I find myself disliking the paragon for a variety of reasons. Although I quite enjoy using a fire mod and combining it with mark of rodgort + conjur flame for some high DPS+Degen. Along side the fact that the Paragon has one of the best 33% attack faster skills in the game, or utilizing its other flame inspired skills as well.

I personally believe chants are a large part of a Paragon's downfall, they pause their DPS output, and they can be interrupted. I think leadership needs to make chants cast faster.

MYSTERYouse · Aug 09, 2007, 08:07 AM // 08:07

Nice analyse, I started a paragon recently as a PvE char and this guide is a good starting point for a paragon. I am not very familiar with this profesion atm. since I am only at the starter island, but I am starting to like this class.

Maybe one point I am missing in your guide are PvE-only skills that has beed added, Spear of Fury, There's Nothing to Fear!. These can be sometimes usefull at some PvE situations.

Anyway thank you for your time youve taken for writing this guide!

Omniclasm · Aug 09, 2007, 10:41 AM // 10:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by MYSTERYouse

Nice analyse, I started a paragon recently as a PvE char and this guide is a good starting point for a paragon. I am not very familiar with this profesion atm. since I am only at the starter island, but I am starting to like this class.

Maybe one point I am missing in your guide are PvE-only skills that has beed added, Spear of Fury, There's Nothing to Fear!. These can be sometimes usefull at some PvE situations.

Anyway thank you for your time youve taken for writing this guide!

No PvE Paragon should ever be without at least "There's Nothing to Fear!", and
Spear of Fury is probably the best spear attack there is with decent KurLux factiion.

If ya new, I suggest going with Energizing Chorus, Ballad of Restoration, and "There's Nothing to Fear!" as your support abilities. EC helps you to power the other two abilities. There is also a bug with Energizing Chorus. If you start a chant, in this case Ballad of Restoration, then use a shout in that 1 second, Energizing Chorus actually reduces the cost of BOTH of them.

Add in some spear attacks and ya good to go. Some support with decent damage.

yesitsrob · Aug 09, 2007, 11:09 AM // 11:09

There's Nothing to Fear alone makes Paragons pretty much 1 of the best PVE classes... though it can be run as secondary and chained which actually makes it a bit stronger offering the equivelant of a heal party quite often. It's the best skill in the game right now, the monk skill Seed of Life is pretty retarded too but it doesn't compare to this.

Their DPS is only really matched by warriors, that goes for PVE and PVP. And their Leadership and Motivation line is generally very solid... Command isn't quite as good imo... There's quite a few more than 12 - 13 viable skills.

Off the top of my head - in some sort of random order of what is probably the more stapble skills on paragon bars i like

TNTF <- obviously
Aggresive Refrain, Go For The Eyes, Spear of Lightning, Merciless Spear
Defensive Anthem, Lyrics of Zeal, Aria of Zeal, Finale of Restoration, Song of Restoration, Chorus of Restoration, Mending Refrain, Angelic Bond, Sig Return, Anthem of Flame, Signet of Synergy, Focussed Anger, Wild Throw, Remedy Signet...

Obviously some of them skills are more useful than others... Lyrics and Aria of Zeal are just amazing - and just give very good Energy Management to your party. And I've probably missed some off the list... that was top of my head.

Paragons can singlehandedly make life very easy