Curse

Keneth · Feb 10, 2009, 05:55 AM // 05:55

OK here's the thing, back in the day when GW:EN first came out, there was this nice little skill called Ursan Blessing that completely overwhelmed just about the entire PvE player base and as any other diligent carebear with no self-respect I jumped on that train the moment I realized I could have it on my bar. Months later, the skill was nerfed for reasons which are completely irrelevant to my problem so I'll avoid starting a conversation in that direction. The problem is such, even after the nerf I continued using the skill, albeit not in the same style as before, and I haven't been able to get it off my skillbar regardless of having tried just about every other build I could get my hands on since then.

This is what it eventually turned into:

[Cyclone Axe][Disrupting Chop][Brawling Headbutt][Executioner's Strike][Air of Superiority][Endure Pain][Ursan Blessing][Resurrection Signet]

Now before you start dissing, let me point out that I've vanquished two and a half continents with this build, not to mention having done a good portion of missions in hard mode with relative ease. It's essentially got everything I need, an AoE attack for building up adrenaline and spiking with splinter weapon, an interrupt capable of disabling pesky skills, a knockdown with decent damage, a strong axe attack (which I change on occasion but it doesn't really make much difference), and a HP boost to counter spikes or for getting out of scrapes. And when things get a little hot I switch to dealing with enemies with my bear hands, ursan is still a decent skill, you have a strong melee attack that doesn't cost anything, an AoE k/d skill with decent recharge, a skill that weakens all enemies, keeping my backline safer, and a constant IMS. On top of that I get a HP boost equal to that of Endure Pain as well some armor bonus. I usually change Air of Superiority for something more appropriate depending on the situation.

What I would like is a build that provides an equal ammount of survivability in Hard Mode as well as has all or most of attack/utility capabilities of what I'm running now. I tried experimenting with Defy Pain but I had to forfeit a bunch of stuff in exchange for a bonus that isn't that much greater. I'm thinking if I give it another shot I should probably switch out AoS for Technobabble, get rid of Endure Pain since there's no point in taking both, maybe take SY! to keep the party alive, and FGJ or Enraging Charge to handle adrenaline. But it still doesn't seem like it reaches the same level...

tl;dr: I want to get rid of Ursan.

Thoughts greatly appreciated.

Squishy ftw · Feb 10, 2009, 07:44 AM // 07:44

You could always just run a normal warrior bar designed to kill chit while your monks keep you alive and your midline takes care of the passive defense.

Earth Shaker IMO.

legacyofkain85 · Feb 10, 2009, 12:29 PM // 12:29

It had to have ursan in it lol.Seriously i also vanqed everything and didn't used ursan,why?because its not that good ,not only it uses the elite slot but also a pve only skill slot and u can run normal warrior builds and be more efective at what u do, like Squishy said.
During mi vanquishing i used either[hundred blades] build,[earth shaker]build or[warrior's endurance] build with a scythe or axe coupled with [barbs],[mark of pain],[splinter weapon] from heroes,also if u are a warrior[save yourselves] is great, +100 armor to all party is nothing to laugh at,have fun killing.

qvtkc · Feb 10, 2009, 12:51 PM // 12:51

[enraging charge][flail][eviscerate][whirlwind attack][furious axe][for great justice][i am the strongest][death pact signet]

Use zealous to fuel Furious Axe spam.

Shayne Hawke · Feb 10, 2009, 01:54 PM // 13:54

Keneth, what heroes have you been using to vanquish?

Keneth · Feb 10, 2009, 06:24 PM // 18:24

I've been running Sabway since it was first introduced, meaning splinter and necro curses are there by default.

Also, you guys are missing the point, I'm not looking to kill enemies, doing so with a warrior on hard mode doesn't make much sense to me, my party does that just fine. I've been running Evis/ES/D-Slash builds long before Ursan ever came into play, so making an offensive build comes naturally to me. What I want is a build which allows me to be the first to charge and last to fall, without putting too much pressure on the healers, and has all the offensive capabilities of my current build (application-wise, not DPS).

Improvavel · Feb 10, 2009, 07:18 PM // 19:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keneth

I've been running Sabway since it was first introduced, meaning splinter and necro curses are there by default.

Also, you guys are missing the point, I'm not looking to kill enemies, doing so with a warrior on hard mode doesn't make much sense to me, my party does that just fine. I've been running Evis/ES/D-Slash builds long before Ursan ever came into play, so making an offensive build comes naturally to me. What I want is a build which allows me to be the first to charge and last to fall, without putting too much pressure on the healers, and has all the offensive capabilities of my current build (application-wise, not DPS).

That is called an [[earth shaker] warrior body blocking enchanted with [[protective spirit], [[spirit bond] and [[shield of absorption].

Body block in underrated.

Keneth · Feb 11, 2009, 02:49 AM // 02:49

Yes, I've tried ES builds a few times but hammers never quite worked out for me for some reason. And I'm not using any monk heroes so those enchantments only happen on the whim of henches, leaving me too exposed.

I've been trying out this build:

[Cyclone Axe][Disrupting Chop][Brawling Headbutt][Furious Axe][Defy Pain]["Save Yourselves!"][Technobabble]["For Great Justice!"]

It's lacks somewhat in the energy management department but if you don't just spam skills mindlessly it's good enough. I miss my rez a bit but most of the time it doesn't really matter whether I get wiped completely or not due to large ammounts of DP-removing consumables, that's assuming there are any casualties to begin with. The build comes close to my Ursan variant but the delay required to build up adrenaline can sometimes put the party in an awkward position. Any suggestions for improvement?

blue.rellik · Feb 11, 2009, 03:32 AM // 03:32

Lack of IAS makes Rurik cry

Keneth · Feb 11, 2009, 11:45 AM // 11:45

Since when are warriors damage dealers? They can do some decent damage if speced right but the real damage comes from midline spellcasters, at least that's the kind of impression I was under. Offense is not always the best defense, not in HM anyway, someone has to hold the line once the army of undead cannon fodder is broken through. Besides, I like playing tank builds, saves me the trouble of worrying about spikes and bad aggro, if you like smashing skulls with a hammer that you shouldn't even be able to hold up, that's your choice.

Also, Rurik was a little b*tch who got owned by a tiny avalanche and then didn't even have the willpower to resist becoming an undead peon of the lich. Honestly, on a scale from 1 to lame, he's a worthless wammo.

Still waiting for some more constructive criticism, I mean besides telling me I should respec into a completely different role.

Neo Atomisk · Feb 11, 2009, 02:59 PM // 14:59

why don't we all run ursan? under 37.5 DPS is amazing.

And if you're in HM, your best bet is ES or the dslash/SY/Headbutt build.

Keneth · Feb 11, 2009, 08:50 PM // 20:50

Except that it's not, the standard D-Slash godmode build is the exact polar oposite of my own, it does a lovely job of keeping everyone else alive at the expense of yourself. And as mentioned, I don't use Ursan for its DPS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by qvtkc

Since April 28, 2005.

HAR HAR, maybe you should recheck the numbers. :P

Picuso · Feb 11, 2009, 09:09 PM // 21:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keneth

Except that it's not, the standard D-Slash godmode build is the exact polar oposite of my own, it does a lovely job of keeping everyone else alive at the expense of yourself.

[Protective Spirit], [Shield Of Absorption], [Aegis]... Gogogogo prots?

Damage > Tanking. 'nuff said.

EDIT: And D-Slash protects yourself too: No foes = no danger.
EDIT2: If you need a self-protection skill, I suggest [I Am Unstoppable].

TheOrangeFalcon · Feb 12, 2009, 04:44 AM // 04:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keneth

Since when are warriors damage dealers?

Since forever. More so since the release of HM. Yes, casters deal plenty of damage in nm, but in HM the armor of enemies is increased so much that only armor ignoring damage is really useful. Armor ignoring damage comes from a few necro and mes spells yes, but most of the damage can be obtained through front liners. All those +XX damage modifiers on your attacks are armor ignoring and with most warrior attacks being adrenaline based, it is much more spamable than an ele casting SF. Also, there are many, many wonderful spells that will help warriors such as [Order of Pain], [Dark Fury], [barbs], [mark of pain] and [Strength of Honor].

With physicals better able to spam their best skills, and more easily modified by others to perform better, they are the best source of damage in HM.

qvtkc · Feb 12, 2009, 01:23 PM // 13:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keneth

HAR HAR, maybe you should recheck the numbers. :P

I have no idea why my posts were removed. Could a moderator inform me?

Anyway, warriors do very large amounts of damage indeed, and has done so for the entire lifetime of the game.

Keneth · Feb 12, 2009, 08:05 PM // 20:05

@Picuso: Dead foes does not equal protection in HM, it works in NM but in HM it works far better for me to stay alive, it might take marginally longer but it's a whole lot easier. And I don't use monk heroes, as mentioned previously, so preproting is not an option. And henches are more concerned with keeping the rest of the party alive in the middle of a fight.

@TheOrangeFalcon: I have no doubt that wars can deal larger ammounts of damage on single targets but in my experience a decent ele will still do more damage in total as long as the war does a good job at grouping and tanking the mob. And those hexes/enchants don't really count towards warrior efficiency, they take care of their application but the damage should be attributed to the actual caster.

@qvtkc: Neither do I, maybe someone reported them but it wasn't per my request...

Besides, there are OVER 9000 ways to cripple a damage-based warrior, everything from simple blocking, to any number of hexes like empathy or spirit of failure, and the mobs in HM use them readily, but you can't really cripple a tank, not one that's not based on enchantments anyway. So in terms of efficiency, no style of play is better really. More damage == less defense == more risk, you can equip your heroes with more protection in exchange for their damage skills but then you don't really achieve anything, so don't bother with comments like "damage > tanking". I've got enough gameplay experience to know that those are just personal preference.

Now does anyone have any suggestions regarding a tank build, or do you want to continue this pointless charade?

Picuso · Feb 12, 2009, 08:31 PM // 20:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keneth

Now does anyone have any suggestions regarding a tank build, or do you want to continue this pointless charade?

[Shadow Form]

EDIT:

Quote:

Dead foes does not equal protection in HM, it works in NM but in HM it works far better for me to stay alive, it might take marginally longer but it's a whole lot easier

No foes = danger? O_O

And you don't even need defense. Look at all those HB monks: Prots = 0, and people can survive without any self-defense or self-heal skill. GW is a team game, you are able to defend your teammates killing every single thing that is dangerous to them, and they defend you healing/protting/helping your damage.

EDIT2: If you want a "tank" build, try the typical [Earth Shaker] build with 3 RoJ monks. You will have self-defense (AoE KD), and your heroes will destroy every single foe. Your playing style.

_Nihilist_ · Feb 12, 2009, 08:47 PM // 20:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keneth

Now does anyone have any suggestions regarding a tank build, or do you want to continue this pointless charade?

Don't Tank. Best suggestion I can give you, even though you haven't listened to anyone else who's told you the exact same thing in this Thread.

Trader of Secrets · Feb 12, 2009, 09:02 PM // 21:02

2 builds i would recommend is D-slash SY or W/D endurance scythe. Both have high dmg output. D-slash can pump out SY like crazy. Then all u need is good heroes, sab or discord.

Improvavel · Feb 13, 2009, 01:40 AM // 01:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyrael_Eveningsong

Don't Tank

But plz by all means body block.

Keneth, warriors have [[whirlwind attack]. Hammer warriors have [[crude swing] and [[yeti smash] as well. Axe warriors have [[cyclone axe] and [[triple chop]. Scythe warriors have a scythe :P . (and I guess swordies have [[hundred blades] no personal experience with that).

All of them can have [[splinter weapon]. All of them can hit foes with [[mark of pain]. So they can deal nice aoe damage too.