Curse

wilhelm_bokunic · Jan 30, 2009, 07:04 PM // 19:04

Hey guys,

I’m a semi-long time reader of the forums however I’ve never made a post here, so try not to be too harsh on me =D I’m notorious for writing somewhat long forum posts leading to my topic, so skip the next few paragraphs if you hate anecdotes.

Alright, so recently I got off of a 2 month hiatus of Guild Wars. The build I was running up until I left was an AOE adrenaline-based Hundred Blades build. When I came back and tried fighting like I used to, I noticed that my build felt off. It took me a day to realize it but I noticed that Hundred Blades was the key factor. I looked it up and found out that it was changed entirely on December 12th.

I didn’t hate the change because I noticed it had potential. I quickly worked up a build to utilize it. Now to anyone who knows what a Hundred Blades build looks like, this will look absurd, but the build mainly focused on the following skills:

[Hundred Blades][Dolyak Signet][Flurry][Bonettis Defense]

The rest were support skills. This build purely focused on me tanking. I run into a large mob, hit off Dolyak Signet so I take virtually no damage (it’s recharge is 20 seconds, I can keep it going for 18 seconds so I almost always have it going continuously). Then I use Hundred Blades and spam Flurry. When I run low on Mana I use Bonetti’s Defense to quickly refill 5-15 Mana. This build worked surprisingly well. I could tank real easily and even soloed a Master Difficulty GW:EN quest with it (by solo I mean no other human players were with me, but I still had my bots). After a bit of research from these forums, PVXWiki and the official Guild Wars wiki I decided to change it to the following:

[Hundred Blades][Mark of Pain][Flurry][Sun and Moon Slash][Bonettis Defense][Sprint][Great Dwarf Armor][Resurrection Signet]

However now I feel that something is off. The build has definitely improved in terms of the amount of AOE I can deal, but now Doylak Signet is useless since Mark of Pain scatters enemies. Ideally I’d like to find something better than Mark of Pain (I’ve considered Splinter Weapon but I’m limited to 3 attack’s which I can easily do in less than 5 seconds). But I’d like suggestions in general on what to do to make it better.

Please note that I don’t have Nightfall, so skills like Whirlwind Attack are out of the question. I know, it sucks, but I’m stuck with the stuff from Prophecies, GW:EN and Factions.

Thanks,

Wilhelm

Winterclaw · Jan 30, 2009, 07:40 PM // 19:40

Use frenzy instead of flurry since you have 2 other stances. Only use sprint when you are getting attacked with frenzy up (that's how you use a cancel stance). You can also replace sprint with rush. That should help your energy out a ton. Replace Bonetti's with standing slash and maybe switch out MoP with a conjure skill.

wilhelm_bokunic · Jan 30, 2009, 07:53 PM // 19:53

Not really a huge ran of Frenzy simply due to the fact that you take more damage. As for Rush, I have been thinking about that a lot and will probably try it out. I just don't know how reliable it'll be since it's adrenaline-based. I don't use Sprint a whole lot as is, so it's not a huge waster of energy.

I like the combo of Hundred Blades + Flurry + Standing Slash + Sun and Moon Slash however. That could potentially deal out a ton of damage so I'll give it a shot. Which conjure spell would do you have in mind?

Winterclaw · Jan 30, 2009, 08:18 PM // 20:18

Frenzy isn't so bad just so long as you use it in the right spots. It's great if you know when and how to use it, it sucks when you don't. There are some places like the Sep where I wouldn't take it but I think that you should at least consider it.

My main beef with flurry is that it ends too quickly. A warrior needs about 8 seconds to recharge 5 energy so you are going to have a large energy drain trying to keep up flurry.

_Nihilist_ · Jan 30, 2009, 09:36 PM // 21:36

[[Mark of Pain] is not scattering enemies, [[Hundred Blades] is the problem.

I've tested this NUMEROUS times. With Mark of Pain, only the HEXED enemy will try to run, with the AoE from Hundred Blades, if you deal AoE damage more than a couple times every 3 seconds, they will scatter.

I used to use a W/N MoP build to farm Mountain Trolls in Talus Chute right outside of Droks - I had to make sure to hex the Troll who was bodyblocked closest to me to prevent my damage source from running away, the other Trolls just stand there and take the dmg from MoP, the hexed one always tries to run.

If you don't believe me, turn on Hundred Blades with a decent sized mob around you, and fire off Sun and Moon Slash and/or Whirlwind Attack. If you don't immediately kill all the mobs, they scatter. It happens when you are trying to farm the Raptor Nestlings in Rata Sum if you don't have a large enough group aggro'd to kill them all in one shot - they scatter and wait for you a few seconds before they renew their attack, at which point you die.

I'm not saying don't use Hundred Blades, just understand that it can and WILL scatter enemies if you aren't careful.

Spike Stritter · Jan 30, 2009, 11:57 PM // 23:57

well first thing is though MoP is very effective with HB you should NOT be carrying it. bring a necro and have that necro run it. the other thing is great dwarf armor. that really isnt necesarry since your heroes should be able to heal u fine. Other than that the build look pretty good.

In a bit someone will probably give u a link to some pro HB bar. though its pretty good usually the "pro" bars are the same old same old and get boring.
so dont just go with something that has been proven to work. as long as it gets the job done go with something fun

_Nihilist_ · Jan 31, 2009, 12:55 AM // 00:55

Tried and true (cookie-cutter) builds work well, and are reliable. Use them to base your builds off of, but remember, you can usually modify a bar to fit your preferences (to paraphrase Spike, at least, I think that's what he meant about "pro" bars becoming boring and using what gets the job done - if I'm wrong Spike, feel free to correct me). Most staple Warrior bars have 1 or 2 utility slots, which can be used for anything, as long as it fits in to help you and your team.

It's sort of hard to get all you can get out of 100b without WW Attack to significantly boost the number of damage packets you output. But Sun and Moon will help in that regard, it's a good skill for you to be carrying alongside 100b.

Other than that, an IAS and IMS (rolled into one if you feel like bringing some booze by getting drunk and using [Drunken Master] - great way to get points for Drunkard w/o wasting time sitting in town all day, imho), a few more attacks or some utility to help you out ([Grasping [email protected]] comes to mind, go for 9+1 Strength, 9 Earth Magic for best use and the certainty of always having 9req in your shield) or help your team out, and you're set.

fenix · Jan 31, 2009, 04:53 AM // 04:53

Always put the most you can in Strength in PvE, so that when you spam skills you get the Armor Penetration that Strength gives (very important in high end areas or Hard Mode, when everything has 10000000 armor). If you're gonna run Grasping Earth like Tyrael suggested, which isn't a bad idea, I would run 12+1+1 Sword, 12+1 Strength, and the leftovers in Earth. Grasping lasts for 8 seconds with 0 in Earth Magic, so even with a few points it's worth bringing.

_Nihilist_ · Jan 31, 2009, 06:33 AM // 06:33

Good point, fenix. I only suggested more points in Earth to guarantee that Grasping lasts longer than its recharge.

You are correct though, even with 3 ranks (the leftovers from 12/12 split) you will gain a more than decent benefit, should he choose to use [[Grasping [email protected]].

So far it's looking like this:

[Drunken Master][Grasping [email protected]][Hundred [email protected]][Sun and Moon [email protected]][empty][empty][empty][Resurrection Signet]

Rez Sig is optional if you are working with other players you trust, or are confident in your ability to avoid over-aggro'ing.

wilhelm_bokunic · Jan 31, 2009, 06:47 AM // 06:47

To be honest it's my WoH Ogden that does the healing most of the time. He actually tends to die the least, even when partying with humans. I played through the last mission in Prophecies for a Necromancer Elite (needed it for my Minion Bomber Hero) and we all died at least once, except for my Ogden who went the whole mission without dying. So I could probably drop Res Signet, but I keep it around for backup.

I think I'd only use Drunken Master if it'd be cheap/easy to get a ton of alcoholic beverages. But as you cannot buy them, you need to find them or use Collectors, it's too difficult for me to want to do that. Besides, I'm still missing two map pieces for the quest to get it. As for Grasping Earth, yep, that'd be useful for Mark of Pain, but if you remove MoP there's not much use to it since I don't deal enough DPS to cause the enemies to scatter with Hundred Blades alone.

I'm going to go searching the Guild Wars wiki for skills and see what I can come up with. I still want to use Dolyak Signet because it was hugely effective when I tested it initially (I had it at 18 seconds with +36 Armor). I only dropped it because of MoP. Since I can't kill things as fast as I'd be able to with Whirlwind Attack I need some sort of defense so my Ogden doesn't have to spam me with WoH.

fenix · Jan 31, 2009, 06:48 AM // 06:48

I'd put on Standing Slash at this point, as it's got +damage when in a stance. From there, the best bet is probably a couple of utility skills (Save Yourselves and such). I'd also consider putting on Pain Inverter or Brawling Headbutt, both can be pretty helpful in certain situations (PI moreso).

wilhelm_bokunic · Jan 31, 2009, 07:36 AM // 07:36

Alright, so before I go into Guild Wars to test this, this is the build I’ve been thinking of. It seems like it can dish out a lot of damage pretty fast and yet I still maintain a decent defense. For anyone that’s wondering, I hate to run the exact same build as someone else. I like to try and think outside of the box. So this is a pretty unusual build for Hundred Blades:

Title of Build: The Hundred Signets of Death

[Hundred Blades][Frenzy][Putrid Bile][Symbolic Strike][Sun and Moon Slash][Dolyak Signet][Signet of Strength][Resurrection Signet]

Basically before I attack I use Signet of Strength, then I run in, attack and drop Hundred Blades when I get the chance. If my health begins falling rapidly I use Doylak Signet. Then I spam Frenzy to build up adrenaline. I use Symbolic Strike to dish out 36 damage for 4 strikes of adrenaline when it become available and then Sun and Moon Slash when it’s available. If I feel the enemy will die within 10-12 seconds (depending on how much I can put into Death Magic) I use Putrid Bile which will dish out 45-53 damage to all nearby foes when the target dies (if anyone reading this has forgotten, “nearby” is a much larger radius than “adjacent,” therefore this will hit more targets than Hundred Blades can).

It seems solid, I just need to test it. I think the only real suggestion people will have now is to drop Signet of Strength and Symbolic Strike for some other skills.

warrior running · Jan 31, 2009, 07:45 AM // 07:45

I personally like hundred blades with a conjure

wilhelm_bokunic · Jan 31, 2009, 10:27 AM // 10:27

I tried the build and it was a bit too much on the micro management for me. So here is the currently revised build which seems to be doing quite well:

W/Any
Strength: 11+1+1
Swordsmanship: 11+2
Tactics: 8

[Hundred [email protected]][Flurry][Symbolic Strike][Sun and Moon Slash][Dolyak [email protected]][Signet of [email protected]][Healing [email protected]][Resurrection Signet]

My armor has +100 vs Physical Damage and +50 vs. Elemental Damage, so even those pesky fire imps in Hell's Precipice really aren't much of a threat from the start.

Shadow Own · Jan 31, 2009, 10:59 AM // 10:59

i have been using hundred blades for a while now aswell

my build was something like this

[air of superiority][pain inverter][hundred blades][whirlwind attack][sun and moon slash][flail][enraging charge][resurrection signet]

i know whirlwind att and the two stances are nightfall but you can surely change them for [standing slash][flurry][sprint]

notice that air of superiority has very good benefits

Coney · Jan 31, 2009, 11:18 AM // 11:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilhelm_bokunic

[Hundred Blades][Mark of Pain][Flurry][Sun and Moon Slash][Bonettis Defense][Sprint][Great Dwarf Armor][Resurrection Signet]

However now I feel that something is off. The build has definitely improved in terms of the amount of AOE I can deal, but now Doylak Signet is useless since Mark of Pain scatters enemies.

Hmm, you're not using dolyak... That would explain it's uselessness...

But really, the advice here has been solid - leave the necro skills to your AI bot heros (MoP, PB). Also the frenzy guys are morons - your damage doesn't come from the initial hit, but from the 100 LOLz cascade and the MoP cascades. No reason whatsoever to use frenzy over flurry with 100 LOLz. Anyone who says otherwise is clueless (or has a secret skill combo exploit). I'd say use whirlwind, otherwise all you got is SaM. Here you'll see a godly hero build using much the same build:

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...php?t=10350711

wilhelm_bokunic · Jan 31, 2009, 12:58 PM // 12:58

I couldn't use Dolyak in that because of the enemy scattering. It's been added back in for my latest revision however.

Arkantos · Jan 31, 2009, 10:13 PM // 22:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilhelm_bokunic

Alright, so before I go into Guild Wars to test this, this is the build I’ve been thinking of. It seems like it can dish out a lot of damage pretty fast and yet I still maintain a decent defense. For anyone that’s wondering, I hate to run the exact same build as someone else. I like to try and think outside of the box. So this is a pretty unusual build for Hundred Blades:

Title of Build: The Hundred Signets of Death

[Hundred Blades][Frenzy][Putrid Bile][Symbolic Strike][Sun and Moon Slash][Dolyak Signet][Signet of Strength][Resurrection Signet]

Basically before I attack I use Signet of Strength, then I run in, attack and drop Hundred Blades when I get the chance. If my health begins falling rapidly I use Doylak Signet. Then I spam Frenzy to build up adrenaline. I use Symbolic Strike to dish out 36 damage for 4 strikes of adrenaline when it become available and then Sun and Moon Slash when it’s available. If I feel the enemy will die within 10-12 seconds (depending on how much I can put into Death Magic) I use Putrid Bile which will dish out 45-53 damage to all nearby foes when the target dies (if anyone reading this has forgotten, “nearby” is a much larger radius than “adjacent,” therefore this will hit more targets than Hundred Blades can).

It seems solid, I just need to test it. I think the only real suggestion people will have now is to drop Signet of Strength and Symbolic Strike for some other skills.

Signet of strength is bad, replace it with [i am the strongest]

Dolyak signet is also a bad skill to use outside of farming. You never want to move 75% slower.

Also, if you're using frenzy, you should bring a counter stance.

wilhelm_bokunic · Jan 31, 2009, 10:21 PM // 22:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arkantos

Signet of strength is bad, replace it with [i am the strongest]

Dolyak signet is also a bad skill to use outside of farming. You never want to move 75% slower.

Also, if you're using frenzy, you should bring a counter stance.

1) I'm using the Signet of Strength because it's a Signet mainly. I've been meaning to give "I am the Strongest" a shot though.

2) After you beat the campaigns what else is there to do but farm and PvP?

3) I'm not using Frenzy, I'm using Flurry.

MisterB · Jan 31, 2009, 11:01 PM // 23:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilhelm_bokunic

My armor has +100 vs Physical Damage and +50 vs. Elemental Damage

You're confused, or you mistyped.

[[Symbolic Strike] is bad, because you have to load your bar with crap to make it good. Better to put in good attack skills, and free up those signet slots for utility. I'd slot [[Standing Slash] for Symbolic, for example.

edit: Read the thread, and nearly everyone has recommended [[Standing Slash] already. My bad.