Curse

Minus Sign · Jul 18, 2006, 07:00 AM // 07:00

I’ve been tinkering with Shove for a longo time now, trying to get a build that works well with this unruly Elite. The best I’ve come up with is a W/E spin-off disruption build. The shutdown it gives is surprising overall, and the added deep wound/snare combo inherent to Shock Warriors makes for a nice touch in PvP. It’s got issues, which I’m hoping people will be able to help me tune out by playing the build.

W/E

Shove/Shocker Disruption build

11 strength (Minor Rune)
13 Axe mastery (Minor Rune and headpiece0
11 Tactics (Minor Rune)
1 Air

Flurry
Dismember
Axe rake
Wild Blow
Sprint
Shove {E}
Shock
Heal Sig/Rez sig (depending on PvP and user preference)

Armor: Glads on body and legs, Stonefist on hands, +1 Axe Mastery Headpiece (feet, users preference since the global damage reduction nerf; go with Glads).

Weps: Crimson Carapace Shield and Totem Axe (for mana). Shield can be swapped for Pre-Sear No requirement Focus item for extra mana in a pinch (ex: paper Fan from factions).

Build Use: The chain is pretty simple. As you make contact, hit Shove. As that casts, apply Flurry, as all non-attack skills will be down for 6 seconds. Because Flurry was applied before Shove finished casting, you have 3 seconds of uninterrupted attack on your target in which to gain adrenaline. Depending on the enemy, they may turn to fight or begin kiting (Because of Flurry’s inherent restriction you haven’t done much damage…yet). Most players I’ve hit with this decide to cast through you or fight. This allows you to kick up full adrenaline which you to apply the finishing combo. Flurry Dismember as soon as its up with Axe Rake behind to cover the Deep Wound followed by Shock and Wild Blow’s all but guaranteed Critical Hit for your Finisher. Lather Rinse Repeat.

Notes: this build does not work and play well with Frenzy. The 6 second window while all non-attack skills are down makes Frenzy a death sentence the second time you apply it. To The Limit also has Recycle issues. Consider swapping Distracting Blow for Wild Blow for increased shutdowns.

Synergizes well with the Gash/Sever Artery combo for swords. If your team is heavy melee I recommend Hamstring in place of Wild Blow with a sword build, though there are some mana issues in longer fights.

As Axe primary, I notice kite issues coming more frequently at the later half of the match. It becomes more difficult to drop my Dismember/Rake combo after applying Shove. Usually, I counter this by using Shock first, then Flurry Dismember/Rake with Shove to put my target back down for one more hit with Wild Blow. This solves the kiting problem, but at the cost of front end exhaustion that sometimes leaves me short of mana.

Frank Dudenstein · Jul 18, 2006, 10:02 AM // 10:02

Appreciate the effeot, but it's hard to believe you could ever get Shove to work for any build ... when Shock provides the same effect without the elite status and half the recharge??? (not to mention the detrimental adrenaline/skillbar effects).

I guess perhaps if you doing a spike that required double knockdown...say:

Shock
Aftershock
Shove
Crushing Blow

if you went 15 Hammers, 11 Tactics, 10 Earth, thats a total of about ...

13
124
59
90 + Deep Wound

For a cost of 25 energy + exhaustion. Uh, yuck... what was Anet thinking with this skill???

Minus Sign · Jul 19, 2006, 03:01 AM // 03:01

i've tried running hammer, but always find myself taking a hit to mana. Attempts to swap out Adrenal skills find me desperately trying to up adreniline during Flurry.

Aftershock? No. Haven't tried that. the 25 mana is a problem but the biggest hit is no cover condition for Deep Wound. I've tried a few things like Staggering Blow with "To the Limit!" but Deep Wound is usually off before I can cover it.

DeathandtheHealing · Jul 19, 2006, 04:29 AM // 04:29

shove and hammer really wouldnt work beacuse their are much better skills that could be used instead like dev hammer and backbreaker, you also do run into the energy problem.
but try switching to a zealous hammer while spiking with frenzy to gain back energy.

serpico · Jul 19, 2006, 06:43 PM // 18:43

here's my post from awhile ago, i feel this is a great build.

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s....php?t=3066973

samcobra · Jul 20, 2006, 04:56 PM // 16:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank Dudenstein

Uh, yuck... what was Anet thinking with this skill???

Just venturing a guess, I think it was trying to reduce the widespread reliance on shock warriors in PvP. However, I dont think it did that great of a job. The only good replacement skill for shock as far as I can see is "None Shall Pass", but even that lacks the interruption that can be used with shock.

Zephyr Jackson · Jul 20, 2006, 06:57 PM // 18:57

Frenzy + Shove + Renewing Smash