Curse

Syn Wind · Aug 06, 2008, 10:33 AM // 10:33

Hi, in my guilds alliance we got on the topic of 55 monks as player was asking for a good build, as i didnt understand thing with being a 55 monk , and why it was so good, so some one kindly took the time to show me, first off we both had to die , im still lost on that area as to why, but then in kain city standing back watching his derv fight a small group of am fah mobs, and not showing and to little signs of his health failing, i began to understand about 55 monk using certain skills, before hand, and so many sup runes on the armour to lower health to 55, which i was told was good for farming, ok so now my question, sorry for essay before hand,

this whole 55 think can it only apply to player with monk as profession and use that cetain monk heal skill or can u do the 55 thing say with another like a sin nec say ??

MagmaRed · Aug 06, 2008, 10:45 AM // 10:45

Any class but Dervish can run a 55 build. Dervish can't because their armor has an unremovable health bonus on it, which will increase their health some. The only skill required for a 55 build is Protective Spirit. You then must have health regen or damage reduction skills - things like Shielding Hands, Shield of Absorption, Healing Breeze, etc.

I run 55 builds on my Monk, Necro, and Mesmer. Although possible, some classes just won't offer any options worth the time and money. Warrior for example doesn't have the energy to make the build work well, but it is possible to do. Ranger has a similar energy issue, but more importantly is the lack of skills for killing efficiently.

I'd say Monk and Necro were the 2 most common 55's around, and the easiest to use.

Gill Halendt · Aug 06, 2008, 11:07 AM // 11:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Syn Wind

this whole 55 think can it only apply to player with monk as profession and use that cetain monk heal skill or can u do the 55 thing say with another like a sin nec say ??

Sure, all you have to do is to drop your health down to 55HP (hence the name) and run a monk primary/secondary, so that you can use Protective Spirit.

Quote:

Protective Spirit

Full: For 5...19 seconds, target ally cannot lose more than 10% max Health due to damage from a single attack or Spell.

To drop down your max health you need to equip all your five pieces of armor with a superior rune. Each one provides a stacking -75HP, so you'll end up having just 105HP left (480HP - 5*75HP = 105HP). An offhand called the Grim Cesta provides yet another -50HP health decrease. There you go, 55HP.

Quote:

Grim Cesta:
Energy +6 (req. 5 Blood Magic)
Health -50
Energy +3 (while enchanted)
Energy +3 (while hexed)
Energy +5 (while Health is below 40%)

So, while enchanted by PS, with just 55HP maximum health you can take no more than 5 damage (rounded down) from a single attack or spell.

That's usually not enough to survive against multiple enemies, since you'll be taking 5 damage from multiple sources. You also need a strong health regeneration to compensate. Mantained Mending + Healing Breeze is usually the combo of choice for monk secondaries, while monk primaries tend to use Mystic Regeneration instead, which is a Dervish enchantment. It's cheaper, lasts longer and has lower casting times than Healing Breeze, making it harder to interrupt.

The need to mantain multiple enchantments on you makes the 55HP nearly impossible on Warrior and Paragons, who don't have any bonus energy regeneration to allow upkeeps. Also, Dervishes have an inherent +25HP bonus on their chest armor piece. This, along with the need to use a two handed weapons to attack, makes Dervishes running this kind of builds 130HP rather than 55HP.

TheodenKing · Aug 06, 2008, 02:20 PM // 14:20

Good answers from Magma and Gill... you should save that info.

To answer your next question, the Grim Cesta can only be found in Prophecies, as a quest reward you get in Ascalon City early on after the Searing. So your choices are: make a new Proph charcter to go get one... or buy one. They usually sell for 5k or less in Spamadan, LA, or KC.

For weapon, most people use sword, axe, or spear with +5 energy, 20% longer enchants... doesn't matter what you put on the front of the weap, though a skilled 55 can use zealous and vamp effectively in the right circumstances.

Quaker · Aug 06, 2008, 06:29 PM // 18:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Syn Wind

.. first off we both had to die , im still lost on that area as to why

Off hand, I'd say that one or both of you did not have a -50 Grim Cesta, or perhaps you had only a -20 health item. The DP from dieing once would then get you close to 55 health.

As a side note, you might find a 600/smite duo easier to run. The smite can easily be a Hero. (Of course, the drops are then split between 2 people, so you get less, but...)

Age · Aug 06, 2008, 08:11 PM // 20:11

You know something Savio really hates seeing 55 builds threads in the Q and A forum as there is farming forum you know.

Syn Wind · Aug 07, 2008, 07:04 AM // 07:04

thank u all for that, and ive saved, all the info, some real good answers there, = D

Damian979 · Aug 07, 2008, 07:58 PM // 19:58

[essence bond] and/or [balthazar's spirit] are commonly used for maintaining energy as you will be under constant fire. [shield of judgment] is popular for monks to use for damage, though I found [glyph of renewal] and [sliver armor] to be a little faster because you aren't waiting for your enemies to stand back up to deal more damage. As stated [protective spirit] must be maintained at all times.

Any class but dervish can reach 55hp but you have to adjust for the lack of divine favor healing. Life stealing skills or your most basic damage reduction skills work well like [shield of absorption] as you only are taking 5 damage. 55 necros are actually pretty common because so many of their skills require sacrificing a % of their health. Lower the health and lower the health sacrificed thus making even a weak healing breeze keep them at full health constantly.