Curse

Sciros Darkblade · Aug 23, 2005, 09:24 PM // 21:24

Hey

I have recently switched from a War/Mes to a War/Elem, and put 10 points into Earth so that I could be a good tank for Underworld. So far, the build I am using has had pretty good success, but because I am new to being a secondary elementalist, I would like to know if there are ways to improve my build but keep the same goal of tanking in UW in mind.

My build is as follows;
Tactics 14 (10 + superior rune + helmet)
Swordsmanship 12 (11 + minor rune)
Earth Magic 10

Sword: 14-21 +5 energy +5 armor
Focus: 12 energy +5 armor when attacking, 7% improve casting speed

Skills:
Victory is Mine
Ward Against Melee
Armor of Earth
Watch Yourself
Sever
Gash
Shield Stance (or Eruption)
Healing Signet (or Eruption)

It might be weird, but yeah, I have been playing around with Eruption as a primary warrior. I have 44 energy with no degen thanks to my gladiator armor (Ascalon gauntlets of course), focus, and sword, so I can cast Ward and Armor and Eruption in a row if I so desire. The cool thing about Eruption is that it blinds enemies when it ends, feeding my Victory is Mine (which sever/gash do as well), allowing me to gain back all my energy as well as a crap ton of life (14 tactics = 64 instant life per condition on an enemy).

Shield stance is my emergency button when all the Aatxes decide that maybe I am worth ganging up on. It makes me switch to a Shield (and possibly a 3:1 vamp sword), which is why I have been more frequently not taking it in, but it is 19 seconds with 14 tactics. Healing Signet is against pesky mesmers and other DoT conditions. With Armor of Earth giving me a constant +48 armor (and Watch Yourself another +20), the Signet's -40 armor is not too painful, and 14 tactics means 145 health.

I can tank griffons and minotaurs all day long, and seem to be doing just fine in UW, but I am wondering if there is room for improvement. Eruption is all cool, and has surprisingly good synergy with Victory is Mine, but perhaps there is an altogether diferent and better War/Ele tank build I should look at.

Helltyrant · Aug 23, 2005, 09:27 PM // 21:27

If u want a bit more damage output try:

backbreaker + aftershock

in order to do this, u have to use a hammer (which is what most w/ele use)

Starbeast · Aug 23, 2005, 09:42 PM // 21:42

let me see if i can remeber my build:

1.Sever Artery
2.Gash
3.Galrath Slash
4.Bonetti Defense
5.Gladiators Defense/Obsidian Flesh <-- only if taking on lots of spell casters
6.Armor of Earth
7.Ward Vs Melee
8.Res Signet

Earth 11:::::::::::::::::::::::::11
Sword+1 Rune/10:::::::::::::::11
Tactics+1 helmet/ +1 Rune/10:12

You dont need healing signet thats what a monk is for and If you want more damage output you loose defensive abilities to do that, this is another job left for the elementalists. Your primary goal is to tank so once your able to do that then you can try tweaking this or that to get a little more damage into your build.

Also I dont use any major/superior runes that take away hit points. I currently have major vigor and absorption trying to save for a superior absorption.

Sundering Fellblade of Enchanting
15-22dmg
+11% dmg when health above 50%
9 sword req
10/6 sundering
17% longer enchanting (this makes both armor of earth last about 5 seconds longer and adds a couple seconds on obsidian flesh)

Tall Shield
16 armor
8 tactics req
-2 dmg while enchanted
+43 hit points when hexed

Armor is

FOW Ascalon Helm
Dragon Scale Chest
Dragon Scale Leggings
15k Ascalon Gloves
15k Ascalon Boots

Another thing is that they fixed the one piece of ascalon or knights armor applying to the whole body. so thats not really needed anymore I prefer looks anyways

also thats a nice find with the eruption/victory is mine combo

Sciros Darkblade · Aug 23, 2005, 10:12 PM // 22:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starbeast

You dont need healing signet thats what a monk is for and If you want more damage output you loose defensive abilities to do that, this is another job left for the elementalists. Your primary goal is to tank so once your able to do that then you can try tweaking this or that to get a little more damage into your build.

It is hard to argue with the "that's what a monk is for," but I have to say, that the reason I dont take Healing Signet sometimes is not to rely on a monk but becaues Victory is Mine can provide ample healing on its own. From my experience, if everyone in a party has the "monk's job is to heal me" mentality, the poor monk is overwhelmed. Victory is Mine (and Healing Signet) take the pressure off so that the monk can heal the softer bodied characters who take 200 from Aatxes as opposed to 15.

Quote:

Also I dont use any major/superior runes that take away hit points. I currently have major vigor and absorption trying to save for a superior absorption.

The superior rune is a bit of a problem, but the extra boost in tactics allows Victory is Mine to more than make up for the 75 HP loss when I actually need it. The same goes for Healing Signet, when I do take it in.

That FOW Ascalon Helm is a great touch; is there a Gladiator one? Cause I can't stand the cap that the Gladiator's helm is currently, and I really enjoy the +1 tactics AND +1 energy it offers.

The Enchant mod is a good one too, but I think that +5 armor might do just about as well, and it is also more versatile should I ever decide to change builds to be less enchantment-heavy.

All in all, thanks for the suggestions, they are good and I should keep them in mind. Oh, and thanks for the eruption/ViM comment; yeah I thought of it just a bit ago actually and I've not been disappointed yet. Plus it will help my Elementalist buddies with the nuking.

AeroLion · Aug 23, 2005, 10:26 PM // 22:26

If you're seriously tring to tank with no concern over your damage:

Ward Against Melee
Ward Against Elements
Armor of Earth
Watch Yourself
Gladiators Defense
Bonetti's Defense

is a great start. You won't take anything but 1 or 2 damage from a lot of critters in the UW, but you won't be able to dish out any damage either. Up to you to decide which is more important. If you go the defensive route, you'll be one helluva tank.

Fire Childe · Aug 23, 2005, 10:28 PM // 22:28

depends on what you want to do in underworld. if you just want to clear the labyrinth and run smites then perhaps. if you want to clear everything and do all the quests then its missing some key skills. but then you really have to think about a team build and what you choose for skills should work with the skills of your teammates.

although i dont see how you can get your health back using victory is mine and conditions without some form of protection/healing backup - in my experience it just seems impossible. at the very least it seems to be a waste of skills when a single monk can make you pretty much indestructible whilst you walk up ahead of your party and take all the aggro. when all enemies are attacking you (and not before) call target, all other party members move up and drop massive AoE on the target.

if you are operating any kind of teambuild where you have 2 or 3 elementalists then its pointless even thinking about damage when they have that angle covered better than you can do it as a warrior. healing signet in underworld. maybe im missing something but...thats just a waste of a skill slot.

if you plan on doing the whole thing you will need loads of interrupts. your team wants at least 2 rangers with choking gas, you want as many melee interrupts as you can pack onto your character (savage slash and distracting blow if you are going sword) and hell, more if your team can fit them in. the servents of grenth quest will put you up against thirty something dryders. mobs of 8 spawning in intervals of 20 seconds.

the four horsemen quest will put you up against 50+ mindblades and both require you to protect an npc.

all you need to do in a build consisting of 3 eles, 2 rangers, 1 healer and 1 prot monk is to stay far up ahead of the rest of the party and make sure no creeps veer off and attack your buddies. for the tougher quests like four horsemen and servents of grenth the roles change a bit. instead of piling all the protective enchants on you,, stick em on the reaper instead. you should be running some form of elemental resistance if possible. if not just cross your fingers and try to stay alive.

if you dont plan on doing these areas then ignore me, but unless you are a soloist, theres little point in listing your personal build for uw when none of us know what kind of group your build is designed to operate in.

pagansaint · Aug 23, 2005, 10:34 PM // 22:34

Riposte and Deadly Riposte are 2 very nice skills for a Sword in UW that also prevent some damage.

Sciros Darkblade · Aug 23, 2005, 10:59 PM // 22:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fire Childe

depends on what you want to do in underworld. if you just want to clear the labyrinth and run smites then perhaps. if you want to clear everything and do all the quests then its missing some key skills. but then you really have to think about a team build and what you choose for skills should work with the skills of your teammates.

although i dont see how you can get your health back using victory is mine and conditions without some form of protection/healing backup - in my experience it just seems impossible. at the very least it seems to be a waste of skills when a single monk can make you pretty much indestructible whilst you walk up ahead of your party and take all the aggro. when all enemies are attacking you (and not before) call target, all other party members move up and drop massive AoE on the target.

if you are operating any kind of teambuild where you have 2 or 3 elementalists then its pointless even thinking about damage when they have that angle covered better than you can do it as a warrior. healing signet in underworld. maybe im missing something but...thats just a waste of a skill slot.

if you plan on doing the whole thing you will need loads of interrupts. your team wants at least 2 rangers with choking gas, you want as many melee interrupts as you can pack onto your character (savage slash and distracting blow if you are going sword) and hell, more if your team can fit them in. the servents of grenth quest will put you up against thirty something dryders. mobs of 8 spawning in intervals of 20 seconds.

the four horsemen quest will put you up against 50+ mindblades and both require you to protect an npc.

all you need to do in a build consisting of 3 eles, 2 rangers, 1 healer and 1 prot monk is to stay far up ahead of the rest of the party and make sure no creeps veer off and attack your buddies. for the tougher quests like four horsemen and servents of grenth the roles change a bit. instead of piling all the protective enchants on you,, stick em on the reaper instead. you should be running some form of elemental resistance if possible. if not just cross your fingers and try to stay alive.

if you dont plan on doing these areas then ignore me, but unless you are a soloist, theres little point in listing your personal build for uw when none of us know what kind of group your build is designed to operate in.

Very insightful. Your suggestions and criticisms are sound, save for the fact that while I do usually go in a group of 8, getting the "ideal" team of 3 elems, 2 rangers, and 2 monks is nigh impossible unless I have a guild willing to make the team for me. As a result I have to be at least partially self-reliant.

Fire Childe · Aug 24, 2005, 12:01 AM // 00:01

yes. ive been out of the loop for a while now. most people these days just seem intent on solo farming the labyrinth and ice shrine. back in june we used to run regular 8 person groups - i havent tried playing uw since then but ive heard how difficult it is to get a group. you can cobble together a group (as we did) when we did not have the requisite players - isis ravenclaw was a necro primary that pretty much an elementalist in our groups. he did the AoE thing when we couldnt find a 2nd or 3rd ele. i was more mesmer than warrior for most of it. but if you have the basic pool of skills, all it takes is organisation. it took us on average something like 45 minutes to an hour to organise and brief a group for underworld with the intention of finishing it.

we came close to finishing underworld in that we only had four horsemen left to do and somehow try to put a whole run together in 10 hours but it never happened before my guild disolved and some of us moved on to other things.

if you wish to try then i wish you good luck. here are some resources you may find useful...

strategy for beating servents of grenth and an outline of our team build:

http://forums.gwonline.net/showthre...84&page=2&pp=10

you can find our pull set up here:

http://forums.gwonline.net/showthread.php?t=352683

additionally, you can complete the slayer quest of the serpent mountains by ONLY clearing a path to the shrine. leave the obsidian behemoths on the bridges. the reason being is that the shrine reaper gives you a quest to kill a slayer (lvl 30 skeletal dog) before it can arrive and kill the reaper. the slayer gets stuck on the bridge in between a pair of behemoths and you can kill it easily.

if you want to clear the chaos plains easily and not have to kill 200 mindblades, then clear the serpent mountain trail first. do the shrine quest (so you never have to go back here ever again). then simply aggro the dream riders in the chaos plains (get as many as you can) and pull them all into the mountains. have a runner go up ahead to use the teleport. teleport back to the labyrinth when all the riders are mid way along the mountain trail. they will get stuck there and you can run back to the chaos plains which are now empty.

lastly, if you want any advice or help on team builds for underworld then id be happy to help. im still quite curious if there is anything at the end of it all.

byoo511 · Aug 24, 2005, 02:20 AM // 02:20

how do you use shield stance if you are using a focus item? I believe in order for you to get the 75% block, you need to equip a shield....

Divine Elemental · Aug 24, 2005, 05:53 AM // 05:53

ive once seen a w/e take on 4 aatxes.....
and he didnt die..
it was really nice
just need to find out ^^

Sciros Darkblade · Aug 24, 2005, 05:58 AM // 05:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by byoo511

how do you use shield stance if you are using a focus item? I believe in order for you to get the 75% block, you need to equip a shield....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sciros Darkblade

Shield stance is my emergency button when all the Aatxes decide that maybe I am worth ganging up on. It makes me switch to a Shield (and possibly a 3:1 vamp sword), which is why I have been more frequently not taking it in, but it is 19 seconds with 14 tactics.

As you can see, I'm way ahead of you ^^