Curse

Sisyfos · Feb 11, 2009, 12:02 PM // 12:02

Hello everyone.

I've been running around with crap equipment for too long now, mainly because I'm not sure of what equipment i should go for.
When i read guides they only say stuff like "20/20 and 12+1+3", and at first i had no idea what that meant.

But now I have invested in a Fanatic's armor and collected a decent wand and off-hand item (i think they are 20/20...).
Now it's time to add the necessary runes and insignias.

Current equipment
Headpiece: +1 Curses / 60 AR / Vitae (Cannot be upgraded with an insignia)
Head/Gloves/Legs/Feet: 60AR no runes or insignias attached yet.
Wand: Wailing Wand 11-22 / Halves recharge of curses (20%) / +5 Energy (> 50% Health)
OffHand: Accursed Icon / +12 Energy / Halves recharge and cating of curses (20%)

I have these runes and insignias
Rune of Superior Curses
Rune of Major Vigor (I know superior is the best, but it's too expensive)
4x Survivor Insignias
2x Rune of Vitae

Questions
What runes and insignias should i attatch to what piece of armor? (Also tell me if i should get other runes and insignias if i don't have them)

Is it important to get a new headpiece that can be upgraded with an insignia? And perhaps i should replace the Vitae rune with something else?

Is my wand and offhand any good? Is the wand worth adding incriptions too? If so, what inscriptions should i add?
EDIT: Just realised that this is not the 20/20 Wailing Wand, i have to get that from Gertrud... But I'm still interested in what to add when i get a 20/20 wand.

Additional information
Build
[Arcane Echo][Spiteful Spirit][Reckless Haste][Insidious Parasite][Mark of Pain][Defile Enchantments][Signet of lost souls][OPEN SLOT]

Campaigns
Prophecies
Factions
Nightfall

Thanks in advance!

/Sisyfos

Lusciious · Feb 11, 2009, 03:21 PM // 15:21

okay lets see . what you're running is

http://www.pvxwiki.com/wiki/Build:N/Me_SS_Nuker

or something similar to it.

equipments needed are

Quote:

Necromancer armor of personal preference.
a 20/20 cold damage weapon and 20/20 offhand, such as the Wailing Wand from Gertrud or Telamon and Villnar's Glove or The Shadestone (as long as you have 9 blood magic).
Wayward Wand is really good for this build.
The Stonereaper is also good for this build.
Nehpek's Focus is an easier to find offhand that works just as well as the Villnar's Glove.

okay lets see .. a 20/20 cold damage weapon ( im guessing wand since swords / axes / spears cant go 20/20 ) means 20% Half casting time or HCT and 20% Half skill recharge or HSR.

a 20/20 offhand is similar, 20% Half casting time and 20% Half skill recharge.

if you add em together , it becomes 40/40, which is also what you call em instead of 20/20 wand and 20/20 offhand, others also call em 40/40 [attribute] wand/offhand combo.

yours is in the curses attribute, so that'd be 40/40 curses wand/offhand combo.

equipments are up to you like quoted, recommended to use survivor insignias instead of radiant. i dont really know why but its recommended so we follow it

12+1+3 on curses means you have all your points on curses till its maxed at rank 12, +1+3 means your headgear has a +1 curses attribute and you add an extra SUPERIOR curses rune onto it to make it +3. thats how you get 12+1+3

same for soul reaping. it says 12+1, so just put all your points in soul reaping and add 1 minor soul reaping rune to your equipments.

btw, just a tip, you dont really have to follow the template given. it all depends on the user, which skills they want etc and the map that they're gonna be playing in e.g. you're not gonna be a MM in a place with little to no corpses. if you wanna add another attribute, i suggest reducing soul reaping to 10+1 , with the left over points, you can add another attribute to rank 8, or make soul reaping 8+1 and add another attribute to rank 10.

i know, i might be a lil confusing but hey , least i tried to help

Voodoo Rage · Feb 11, 2009, 03:43 PM // 15:43

Personally, I'm on a spear kick. Bring your 20/20 focus and a spear with +5 energy and a physical damage head. This means you can throw a spear at your target and activate your own barbs (which NEEDS to be on your bar) and mark of pain spells. In fact, all my heroes now carry spears.

Run your superior curses rune for now but if you find that you keep dying in the higher end areas, you might want to swap it for a minor run (I just carry two headpieces and swap them depending on what I am doing).

Sisyfos · Feb 11, 2009, 04:03 PM // 16:03

Thanks for the replies, i appreciate it.

These are my thoughts right now:

Headpiece: +1 Curses, Minor Curse Rune, Not sure about insignia since survivor only gives me +5hp.
Chest: Survivor, Major Vigor
Legs: Survivor, Minor Soul Reaping (Expensive rune, and is +1 Energy per kill really usefull?)
Gloves and boots: Vitae? Not sure about insignia, other options then survivors?

The spear sounds intriguing, where can i get a spear like that?

Is there a collector that can give me a 20/20 Wand?

Voodoo Rage · Feb 11, 2009, 04:12 PM // 16:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sisyfos

The spear sounds intriguing, where can i get a spear like that?

Is there a collector that can give me a 20/20 Wand?

This site has an awesome utility of the main page to help you find just about any collector weapon you are looking for. Check it out. (I don't see a 20/20 curses wand on the list though...).

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/sjeng/index.htm

If you see me online, send me a whisper and I will give you a spear.

IGN: Unid Gesserit

Sisyfos · Feb 11, 2009, 08:30 PM // 20:30

Is it enough to get a Ragged Scar Pattern with 51 AL?

Is the 9 armor really that much of a loss considering the price? (25 rolls of parchment VS 8 Piles of glittering dust)

Im considering getting 2x 51 AL Scar patterns and add 1 minor curse rune and 1 major.

What do you think of adding Recovery rune to my gloves? (20% Daze resist)

By the way, thanks alot for the spear Voodoo Rage!

Yasmine · Feb 11, 2009, 08:49 PM // 20:49

I would recommend you to get max armor anyway: try istani or sunspear scar patterns to reduce the cost (crafting materials should reduce it even more). Also, I don't find a recovery rune to be very useful, as you'll rarely find yourself dazed in pve and it'll be fastly removed anyway.
Btw, you can get a perfect 20/20 curses focus, if you need it, easily from a collector (the one just outside droks is the best).

Calista Blackblood · Feb 11, 2009, 08:58 PM // 20:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sisyfos

Is it enough to get a Ragged Scar Pattern with 51 AL?

Is the 9 armor really that much of a loss considering the price? (25 rolls of parchment VS 8 Piles of glittering dust)

Im considering getting 2x 51 AL Scar patterns and add 1 minor curse rune and 1 major.

What do you think of adding Recovery rune to my gloves? (20% Daze resist)

By the way, thanks alot for the spear Voodoo Rage!

Dazed is very rare in PvE.Definately not worth an rune spot

_Nihilist_ · Feb 11, 2009, 10:31 PM // 22:31

Not sure about a collector, but for 5k and mats, either Gertrud (Vasburg Armory:Kurzick) or Telamon (Leviathan Pits:Luxon) can craft you a 20/20 Curses Wailing Wand and a 20/20 Curses Bone Idol (offhand/focus). It's worth the price for its convenience, and having a 40/40 Curses set is a definite "must have" rather than a "nice to have".

Glints Bane · Feb 11, 2009, 11:09 PM // 23:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sisyfos

Is it enough to get a Ragged Scar Pattern with 51 AL?

Is the 9 armor really that much of a loss considering the price? (25 rolls of parchment VS 8 Piles of glittering dust)

Im considering getting 2x 51 AL Scar patterns and add 1 minor curse rune and 1 major.

What do you think of adding Recovery rune to my gloves? (20% Daze resist)

By the way, thanks alot for the spear Voodoo Rage!

I would recommend going ahead and getting the 60 AL. I know a difference of 9 doesn't seem like a lot but it can be on your head. Cause head shots are generally critical and can cause some extra damage.

On your build and equipment I'll tell you what I run.

Equipment:

Headpiece = Sup curses + radiant ins.
Chest = Vitae + Radiant
Arms= Vitae + Radiant
Legs = Sup Vigor + Radiant
Feet = Min SR + Radiant

I run all radiants because I am a backliner and like to stay there. O_O The extra energy allows for more casting and I don't worry about m health all too often. And not to mention monks need a job! lawlz

I have a 40/40 set and a 20%HSR Staff(+30hp, +5e, 10%HCTaS)

I generally don't use arcane echo in most of my builds. This gives me the option of changing to another secondary profession. I generally go N/Rt and bring a hard res so my builds look something like this.

[Spiteful Spirit][Necrosis][Insidious Parasite][Mark of Pain][Signet of lost souls][Death Pact Signet][Open Slot]

I usually run [Pain Inverter] or [Technobabble] in the open slot. But other options that requires some attribute shifting would be; [Splinter Weapon] and [Ancestor's Rage] if you have a physical in the group. I don't bring RH often cause I am generally in HM so foes have an inherent speed boost. Also I find barbs a waste of time and energy. By the time I cast barbs my target is almost dead. MoP is helpful though if you have a MM in your group....it tears through groups.

Xenomortis · Feb 11, 2009, 11:20 PM // 23:20

First off: Get rid of Arcane Echo on your build. There's no need for it. Replace it for Enfeebling Blood or something.
[Defile enchantments] is actually of little use - it's a nice one time small AoE nuke, but I recommend Barbs over it. The rest of your build is fine. You may want to try out a few of the other PvE skills, in which case Necrosis is probably the best candidate to swap (or Insidious Parasite).
You shouldn't need a res. If you're not confident then take one, but if you do die a lot, there's probably either a problem with your group, your monks or it's just you being stupid.

I also suggest a 40/40 Curses set - other people have detailed how to get one.

As for runes, take a +2 or +3 Curses rune, your call which one. Is 40 health worth an extra attribute point to you?
Also take the best quality rune of Vigor you can (Sup Runes get to be expensive, but a Major rune only gives 9 less health and is much cheaper).
You may want to take a +1 rune of Soul Reaping, the energy gain from that is better than a rune of attunement.
Fill the rest of the rune slots with Runes of Vitae - nothing else is of use.
As for insignias, fill up on Survivors. Radiant insignias are useless really and a necromancer with a high SR spec should have absolutely no need for them. Better to have the extra health.

Also, do get a 60 AL Headpiece (with an insignia slot and +1 to Curses). The extra 9 AL may not seem worthwhile, but it reduces monster hate against you and damage you take.

Redvex · Feb 12, 2009, 01:43 PM // 13:43

Also Suggest [Mindbender] [Signet of sorrow]

Sisyfos · Feb 16, 2009, 04:28 PM // 16:28

Thanks for all the excellent advice! I've dropped [Arcane Echo][Defile Enchantments] and replace them with [Enfeebling Blood] [Barbs] for now.

Are there any good farming spots for this build? (gold and green/yellow-items)

I've also read about the 55hp Necro and found it interesting.
I don't need a 60AL armor-set for that build right? Should i go for just a 30AL? I so, it will not be very expensive to create such a setup aswell.

Yasmine · Feb 16, 2009, 05:47 PM // 17:47

No, you won't be needing max armor, any rating armor will do, as long as you put the needed runes on it, have the cesta and are under protective spirit.

Lusciious · Feb 17, 2009, 09:08 AM // 09:08

usually i'd go for the cheapest armor for a farming set and only upgrade it if you have the money to.

MasterSasori · Feb 18, 2009, 11:07 PM // 23:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sisyfos

Headpiece: +1 Curses, Minor Curse Rune, Not sure about insignia since survivor only gives me +5hp.

Gloves and boots: Vitae? Not sure about insignia, other options then survivors?

Not sure but you may be confused on how + armor insig vs survivor insig works. It only seems reasonable to put survivor on chest and legs but +10 armor on foot/head, but that isn't a good idea.

Chests get hit about 3X and Legs get hit 2X as often as head or foot so the + armor there matters more there. The total armor isn't what matters, but the individual pieces. This is why you get +15 HP for surv on chest but only +5 for foot/headgear. If +10 armor is 3X more important on the chest than the head, then survivor's should give 3X more HP than the head.

stretchs · Feb 19, 2009, 03:40 PM // 15:40

Typically if you put a martial weapon on yourself or heroes, if your build is running anything that has splinter, you will end up getting it cast on someone that isnt actually doing the damage up front. As much as it is nice to see a spear on your heroes, it really sucks to have splinter cast on them instead of the frontliner that you have chosen.

D A R K S O I F O N · Mar 05, 2009, 11:04 PM // 23:04

i have a few builds that i can whisper to u if ur online. Ill be on this weekend if u want them