Curse

Avarre · Apr 18, 2008, 02:25 AM // 02:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tzalaran

i have a question regarding equipment used by the necro... i understand the uses for the wand and offhand, and that the weapon and shield are for the 4 horsemen quest primarily.

regarding the staff. i currently have the stonereaper for curses builds and an insightful shadow staff of enchanting q9 Blood when i'm a BiP. will the combination of those two staves work for the one you suggest in the guide?

could i switch to the weapon of enchanting when casting BR on the 55 and then use the stonereaper for everything else?

thanks for all the hard work done by everyone who contributed to this guide. it has made my runs 4 times as successful and we've been able to complete unwanted guests, escort of souls, and servants of Grenth quests, free the reaper of ice and forgotten Vale, and get into the chaos wastes every run.

Your enchanting weapon is only really used to swap to BR or SV for, so it doesn't matter too much what the mods on it are besides the enchanting boost. If you want to swap between two staffs, go for it.

Dae Arrow · Apr 25, 2008, 06:34 AM // 06:34

Hi Cerb & Companions,

at first, this is a great guide, it explains (almost) everything about uw and how to do this, ive read it all through and it made me change back from 600/smite to 55/ss. But i still got one question and it isn't really answered in the guide nor the comments.

I dont really understand the necro's weapons, i know there was a question about it a few posts above this one but i still dont understand after that.
What weapon set does de necro have normally? And when he has to change to other sets?

Thanks for your help,
Dae

cerb · Apr 25, 2008, 12:14 PM // 12:14

The necro should stay on 'Set1' most of the time as it will provide you a good energy boost and allow you to chain all your casts (i.e.: arcane echo, ss, ss, reckless). Switch to 'Set2' whenever you cast enchantments. 'Set3' is only used for Four Horsemen in case you are attacked by Dryders.

That being said, the weapons really don't matter THAT much. If you have played some 2-men UW then you should already have a good idea what to use. The 2.b. section of the guide describes weapons listed as optimal, ideal choices, not as requirements. I have beat Four Horsemen as necromancer without those weapons. (although I would suggest having at least something that looks like Set2, and a +15,-1/+15,-1 set - can use collectors')

For anyone interested, expect The Mists in may. I've been working hard writing/shooting a movie and I had no time for it (nor guild wars, haven't opened it in about a month and a half) but the movie will be done by the end of April so then I'll get back to serious projects :- )

Kaleban · Apr 30, 2008, 05:09 PM // 17:09

I have a question about the tank.

Instead of using a Monk with [skill]Spell breaker[/skill], and all the headaches associated with upkeep of enchantments and energy costs, why not use an Assassin?

A simple setup would be:

[skill]Deadly Paradox[/skill][skill]Arcane Echo[/skill][skill]Shadow Form[/skill][skill]Channeling[/skill][skill]Shadow Refuge[/skill]and if necessary or just in case, [skill]Feigned Neutrality[/skill]

The energy cost of the Shadow Form chain is 40 energy, and no attacks or spells get through, and with Channeling up while tanking you're never in need of energy.

You can aggro as many opponents as you want, the Necro doesn't need to worry about casting visages at all, and in the event of any damage getting through SF, such as Bleeding or Burning, you have two regen skills plus the armor boost from Feigned, and much more life than a 55 tank, giving a larger margin for error.

Unless there's something I don't realize, an infini-SF sin would be a superior tank in almost any circumstance?

Scarn · Apr 30, 2008, 05:16 PM // 17:16

A perma-SF sin could not complete the 4 Horsemen.

Kaleban · Apr 30, 2008, 05:26 PM // 17:26

Yeah I just realized their Signet of Humility would mess it up. Oh well, but it would work everywhere else lol.

Larcen · Apr 30, 2008, 05:58 PM // 17:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaleban

Yeah I just realized their Signet of Humility would mess it up. Oh well, but it would work everywhere else lol.

Actually the reason is because Spell Breaker is used -on- the Reaper of the Chaos Planes. Watch Cerb's video on the Four Horsemen quest to get a clear understanding. Shadow Form is a self cast spell only.

cerb · Apr 30, 2008, 07:05 PM // 19:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaleban

Yeah I just realized their Signet of Humility would mess it up. Oh well, but it would work everywhere else lol.

No.

Smites
Behemoths/Darknesses (Shock + NR)
Spawning Pools (Dryders/Darknesses)
Mindblades (Escort of Souls, Chaos Planes)
Four Horsemen (must enchant reaper)

Rushin Roulette · May 08, 2008, 12:00 PM // 12:00

Wow, amazing guide there Cerb.... I came up with that exact same Necro build as you did (although later than you posted here I think). That means my/your build works well... although im a bit dissapointed that I thought I was doing something different than the normal SS necro.

I guess Ill read through the runs later tonight again to see if I can manage that with my partner 55.

Larcen · May 08, 2008, 01:21 PM // 13:21

The biggest problem I have is when looking for a partner, I find so many 'PRO 55' or 'PRO SS' looking for duo 50/50 but, if I play the SS part I find the monk isn't as pro as they said and end up dieing in no time, and the run being over after resurrection cause they died again. Same if I run the monk part (granted I'm not the best) but it usually ends with the SS rushing in before I'm ready and getting killed, thus ending the run. Sometimes I end the run myself because I still fail at drawing out interrupts very well. And worse of all, when I do find a decent monk they only aggro one or two tops groups at a time, and it takes sooo long, and then they don't want to 50/50 up the drops.

And, every group for this type I've found, only want to do the smite run, and 'local' Aatax, and then resign. Gah, thats annoying. Had a few runs of ecto drops 3 for the other person, 0 for me, and not getting squat from the run.

My question I pose is, how does one know when and who to choose as their partner? Or is everyone else just lucky enough to know someone already that can handle these tasks?

Lourens · May 11, 2008, 07:05 PM // 19:05

Nice guide

looking forward to farm in the underworld

Rushin Roulette · May 11, 2008, 08:56 PM // 20:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larcen

My question I pose is, how does one know when and who to choose as their partner? Or is everyone else just lucky enough to know someone already that can handle these tasks?

Dont go with a monk / necro that calls them selves PRO55/SS... 99% of the time they will be completely useless. Ive found that it helps to bring 2 Res signets for the case that the monk is completely useless... [Resurrection Signet] and [Sunspear Rebirth Signet]... allthough be carefull with the rebirth sig... because contrary to regular rebirth... it resurrects... then teleports the Monk which means that you have to leg it pretty damn fast to get rid of agro.

After a while you get to know a few Partners which you can add to your friendslist.

cerb · May 11, 2008, 09:41 PM // 21:41

Hey guys - small update:

I've had more time lately to work on The Mists and you can expect it within a few weeks. For those interested - it is going to be a repository for complete, well-formatted, well-written and imaged farming and general guides from the best GW guide authors out there.

We will also host challenges such as speed runs in farm, speed vanquishing, and anything that interests the community. I've also started thinking of a system that would ease finding partners for farming/general-purpose gaming (i.e.: people would leave their IGN and what they are seeking - for instance 2 men UW clearing - and you could search amongst the players to find those that match your search criteria). Another possible features would be interviews articles with top notch farmers and those who achieved something worthy of mentioning :-)

I will also rewrite parts of this guide, redesign the pictures, and include Hard Mode info (yes you can clear UW in HM with a 2-men team, and it takes about the same time as NM)

Keep an eye out for the project!

xxx wraith xxx · May 12, 2008, 01:50 PM // 13:50

The mists...seems like an awsome project

Tzalaran · May 15, 2008, 03:12 PM // 15:12

i've got a couple more questions. i've been watching the videos that you posted and trying to apply what i see done there to my own playing. i'm not having much trouble as the SS, but when it comes to 55ing i completely fail.

from 600 tanking i've learned the grasping timing on interrupts, and i can usually cast around their interrupts. the ones that are giving me problems are Aatxes and charged blacknesses. Aatxes seem to always interrupt my SoA casts (the spell i always avoid using against them when 600ing because of it getting interrupted), and charged blacknesses seem to cycle their knockdowns such that they interrupt SoA, then Healing Breeze or spellbreaker and then the 55 dies. (i'm using the clear build for the most part, as that is the goal for the teams that i'm working with, the times that i've gone in with the build for the first 4 quests i haven't had trouble with being interrupted)

are there any tips on how to cast to avoid these interrupts? like graspings always use their interrupt first, and if you get SV/AV on the tank after that they don't interrupt again, but i've not figured out a pattern on the other two... How can i draw their interrupts out so that they don't equal instant death and game over?

Thanks for any assistance, and i have to say that the music used in the videos is very catchy.... i've had one of the songs in my head for the past week.

i'm not usually a dance music fan, but i have to admit liking your selections.

cerb · May 15, 2008, 04:31 PM // 16:31

Tzalaran:

The necro has to cast SV/AV on the monk against large groups of Aatxes and Graspings (such as those you see in my screenshots). The monk pre-casts Breeze and SoA but waits until SV's on him before renewing SoA (even if it has ran out by then). That is specified in the guide =) That's if you don't have Mantra of Resolve, of course.

As for Charged Blacknesses, do not cast SoA. PS and Breeze is more than you need to keep you alive. If you must though (such situation might happen in Spawning Pools), cycle through the Charged Blacknesses and wait until they've all used Shock, and keep in mind it is renewed every 10 seconds. You can use the "last sources of damage" counter on your screen to help as well.

Hope that helps!

Zhoul · May 15, 2008, 10:20 PM // 22:20

I would like to ask one small thing:

Are Dying Nightmares weak against Holy Damage, or does it make no difference at all (whether it's Holy, Fire, etc)?

cerb · May 15, 2008, 11:15 PM // 23:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zhoul

I would like to ask one small thing:

Are Dying Nightmares weak against Holy Damage, or does it make no difference at all (whether it's Holy, Fire, etc)?

Makes no diff.

zelgadissan · Jun 04, 2008, 02:51 PM // 14:51

Ferris Buehler you're my hero.

Feel free to replace Ferris Buehler with Occasion Caucasian if so desired.

Demon Drone · Jun 14, 2008, 07:04 AM // 07:04

This guide is amazing and all. But I have a question about the other UW. The one you spawn from the Tomb of Primeval kings. It's like a totally different version. Why is that?