Curse

Watermelon Tacos · Oct 01, 2009, 11:42 PM // 23:42

My WS build right now is OgCkkyq0axuEA2FIz1bp42oH5GBG

I was wondering if it was better to go 12 12 and use GDA instead of conviction.
Also, I was wondering if conviction is better than armor of sanctity.

Ty in advance

RyuujinZERO · Oct 02, 2009, 02:19 AM // 02:19

Conviction/GDA and Armor of Sanctity arn't really comparable as they serve different roles, and all 3 skills have a time and a place, so you may want to switch them around situationally:

Great Dwarf Armor is an enchantment and it only costs 5 energy; this means you essentially get it "for free" because it'll trigger mysticism when it ends and pay off most of it's cost. It also leaves room for a stance. Unlike conviction it doesn't provide any blocking. However, it can be stripped!

I'd take GDA if you think the biggest threat in an area is going to be from spellcasters, especially elementalists and massive enchantment stripping isn't going to be an issue.

Conviction is a stance, so you're gonna have to pay a larger energy overhead to run it (No subsidy from mysticism), also it requires earth prayers. However the 50% block rate will drasticlly reduce damage from martial sources, additionally it can't be stripped by anti-enchantment skills.

I'd take conviction in outtings where there are a lot of rangers or warriors but less magic users, ie. consulate docks HM, drakkar lake or if enchantment stripping will be a problem.

Armor of Sanctity provides damage reduction reduction is great at stopping many weak hits but is virtuallyuseless against spikes or mid-to-heavy damage sources. Since you have to actually get a condition onto an attacker to benefit from it it's completely useless at preventing damage from ranged sources unless you bring a spell or something that can spread conditions at range before you get hit by the opening salvo. It's certainly not a replacement for GDA or Conviction. (It has a place in PvP but since GDA is on the list this is for PvE amirite), using in tandem with one of the above is certainlya good idea but don'tuse it by itself

Lux Aeterna · Oct 02, 2009, 09:54 AM // 09:54

Conviction, unless you're dealing with stance removal.

Scythe O F Glory · Oct 02, 2009, 04:13 PM // 16:13

Don't use defensive skills. Instead, kill them before they have a chance to do damage to you.

House Silvermoon · Oct 02, 2009, 04:32 PM // 16:32

get monks who know how to preprot bad monster ai.

mage767 · Oct 03, 2009, 09:01 PM // 21:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scythe O F Glory

Don't use defensive skills. Instead, kill them before they have a chance to do damage to you.

With advice like these floating around, no wonder you see the following types of bars among so called experienced dervishes:
1) D/Rt 'spirit spammer'
2) D/A 'discord caller'

Fact is, most people don't know how to balance dervish for PvE. In NM, pretty much any crappy bar you bring will work, but for PvE HM, some defensive skills are useful, combined with a hero who can watch over you while you focus more on damage/conditions.

Ccat · Oct 03, 2009, 10:00 PM // 22:00

Armor of Sanctity seems the likely option. Even if it didn't have the damage reduction it's still brilliant.

~ Dan ~ · Oct 04, 2009, 01:23 AM // 01:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by mage767

for PvE HM, some defensive skills are useful

Yeah, like SY for your party, and PS on a hero for you.

Cuilan · Oct 04, 2009, 03:11 AM // 03:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scythe O F Glory

Don't use defensive skills. Instead, kill them before they have a chance to do damage to you.

OR you can bring attack skills with a fair recharge time with a couple damage buffs. Then you would have room for defense or tools.

Kinda pointless to have more than 5 attack skills. It's like a monk with a bar of only heal.

Hotboxin240 · Nov 27, 2009, 07:01 AM // 07:01

Unless I know I have to tank some mean pve boss, AoS stays on my bar, or I just set buffs+ias+damage. My defensive spirits, infuser, and protter have 0 problem keeping me alive in most places. If they aren't going to be so useful use AoS, as a tank your going to be surrounded and why not flick on weakness + damage reduction? Synergize with a hero, enfeebling blood on a necro is a nice way to spread around some conditions, as well as weaken armor. Both are great depending on your area, but I've always found more use in AoS generally.

Axel Zinfandel · Nov 27, 2009, 07:16 PM // 19:16

Summery of this thread thusfar= My opinion is the only valid opinion, all others suck.

Can we stick to the OP's question please? Go bicker elsewhere.

On the OP, Conviction against heavy melee areas, but AoS is very.. multipurpose, being that it reduces damage from things by a high set ammount, rather then a % like +armor does. AoS is also more easily strippable.

IF you plan on running that low of Earth Prayers, stick with Conviction. AoS shines more at a high attribute level.

I've always thought of GDA more as a prot then anything else, because it's useful when used as such (on people other then you).

Zodiak · Dec 10, 2009, 05:27 PM // 17:27

I like "I am Unstopable!"

It is a shout, so it activates instantly, it cannot be stripped or knocked out of like enchantments or stances.

It provides +24AR, prevents knock downs, prevents Cripple and will even remove it if you under it's effects and it can be kept up for 20 of the 30 second recharge for the skill, longer if your /P

Oddly enough, I am Unstopable also has a bug which I had not noticed until I checked wiki as it will stack passed the 2 Armor Rating buff skill cap

http://guildwars.wikia.com/wiki/%22I_Am_Unstoppable!%22

Great Dwarf Armor is also very good

AtomicMew · Dec 12, 2009, 07:46 PM // 19:46

Conviction is very, very strong. If you don't love conviction then you are going to hell.