Curse

Kaleban · Jul 07, 2005, 11:35 PM // 23:35

I had an idea, and I'm looking for input on it. First of all this character is a Ranger, therefore doing damage/oddjobs at range.

I picked Elementalist for a specific reason, wards. Now I know that most spells of the Elementalist are energy intensive, but with good energy management and a Zealous bow, that shouldn't be a problem.

This guy's main job in PvP is to hang back with the nukers and healer/protection monks, and use spells like Ward Against Elements/Melee to protect the core team (nukers/monks) and using ranger skills to reach out and harass at range.

Since many rangers are not primary targets apparently, you could even combine this strategy with a Trapper build, laying down the wards around your core group, set traps, fire off a few Marksman's Wagered arrows, and keep things going.

While primarily a defensive build, designed to prolong the life of the group as a whole, using skills like Grasping Earth or Iron Mist, could also hamper enemies' ability to even reach your core group.

Add in Distracting Shot and Pin Down, and you have a build that defends the core group very well, and is able to further hamper enemies' ability to close or do damage at all!

An example of this build might go like:

Expertise - 14
Marksmanship - left over
Earth Magic - 10+
Beastmastery - any extra

Skills:
Distracting Shot
Pin Down
Apply Poison*
Marksman's Wager
Tiger's Fury*
Ward Against Elements
Ward Against Melee
Grasping Earth

* - Tiger's Fury can be changed out without affecting too much, since the build is defensive rather than offensive, Throw Dirt might be a good replacement. When not running Marksman's Wager after casting your spells, Apply Poison can be used to cause more headaches for the monks on the other team.

You have a pet, use it. Since most players don't view pets as a valid target really, keep it near you and your core group by constantly retargeting enemies with Apply Poison running, and that way if a warrior does get through, its one more distraction. Alternatively, you can lose the pet so as not to have your skills all go black!

Again, this is just an idea I've been playing around with, by changing around a few things, and reassigning the Earth Magic Points to a different element such as Fire or Water, you can then go for a more offensive build if this doesn't work for you. But from what I've seen, at least in the nasty PvE areas, other players appreciate the wards and defensive help, especially monks since they aren't so strapped for healing and protection.

[edit] The only hitch is having no points in Wilderness Survival for Apply Poison, but even a little poison is good to give the other team headaches. I guess putting 3 points in BM, then putting whatever combo between Marksmanship and Wilderness that works for you would work, although that's a 5 attribute character. Tough call...

Glasswalker · Jul 08, 2005, 12:27 AM // 00:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaleban

You have a pet, use it.

Actually, you don't.

You need to keep Charm Animal on your skill bar to have your pet with you. And since Tiger's Fury is the only BM skill on your bar, I would cut that out completely and put the points into WS. Pin Down is essentially the same as Grasping Earth, so unless you are looking to spam them (which is valid), I would go with either or. For fun, you might throw in Greater Conflagration or Winter to turn Physical Damage into Elemental so that your Ward Against Elements is more effective. Then when it runs out, or gets killed pull Ward Against Melee. You might even find room here for Serpent's Quickness since the wards, etc. have long recharge times.

All in all, an interesting build -- I'd like to see it in practice.

Kaleban · Jul 08, 2005, 03:01 AM // 03:01

Yeah, good point, I forgot about needing Charm Animal. Ok, so scrap BM, since Tiger's Fury isn't necessary anyways. And we can scrap Grasping Earth too, since its got double the recharge time that Pin Down does, and even though it costs 10 less Energy, the 14 Expertise helps to mitigate that, in addition to Marksman's Wager.

So we end up with something like this:

Expertise 14
Earth Magic 10+
Marksmanship/Wilderness Survival - Everything else, keeping in mind the more Marksmanship, the greater the crit chance.

Skills:

Distracting Shot
Pin Down
Marksman's Wager
Throw Dirt
Ward Against Melee
Ward Against Elements
Ward Against Foes/Apply Poison
Winter/Healing Spring - Choose whichever one fits best, Spring if facing melee attackers and Winter if facing Elementalists. Of course that's if you know ahead of time.

I'm hesitant about Ward Vs. Foes, since by the time an enemy enters the ward, they're already pretty close to those who you're protecting, so maybe make that a switchout with something like Apply Poison if you want to make yourself more effective offensively and to help out condition builds.

I realize there's only two "attack" skills, with Wager and AP two preps which you rotate as needed, but this build is more focused on maintaining a warded area (which cannot be removed or "dispelled") for the core group of healers/nukers, and use normal attack for the most part. Distracting Shot is for those opportunities when you can catch the other team's casters in a long spell, and Pin Down for any advancing warriors. Throw Dirt is the last line of defense against a warrior rush.

So, any further comments?

Neo-LD · Jul 08, 2005, 11:33 AM // 11:33

Idsay healing spring > winter for this build. Healing is a good addition to your defense capabilites. Also, I dont see Pin Down adding very much to this build... replacing it with a damage skill would give this build at least some offense. Penetrating Shot sounds good- its low recharge makes it the only attack skill a non-marksmanship-ranger will ever need.

Enigmatics · Jul 08, 2005, 09:47 PM // 21:47

Generally the 300 health over time boost from healing spring is more sought after than winter, which will affect you as well as foes. And it won't help unless your casters all wear elemental resistance.

Kaleban · Jul 08, 2005, 10:19 PM // 22:19

Well, you can think of this character as a PBAoE Defender. I agree with you guys on the healing spring issue, that's definitely a keeper. With all the wards, spring, and throw dirt, not only will ranged characters and casters have a tough time doing appreciable damage, but any warriors that close to melee range will be blinded by Throw Dirt.

The reason I had Pin Down in there was to prevent or at least slow down melee characters from getting to the core group of casters/healers. If you recommend another skill in its place, I would think something like Serpent's Quickness, since the only type of skill I don't have at this point is a Stance of some sort. That means all my skills recharge much quicker, allowing me to keep the defenses up consistently, as well as making sure Marksman's Wager is available when needed for a quick energy boost. My question is does Serpent's Quickness reduce the recycle time of itself?

Alternatively, Savage Shot, with its interruption capabilities would complement Distracting Shot quite well, and can be used while DS recycles.

Neo-LD · Jul 09, 2005, 12:52 AM // 00:52

SQ does not reduce its own recharge time. Savage Shot or SQ would be fine, I only recommend a more damaging attack to get your build out of the situation of being a one-trick-pony.

Kaleban · Jul 09, 2005, 04:45 PM // 16:45

Well, from what I've seen, PvP comes down to characters who exploit a niche and try to eke out every bit of effectiveness therein.

While a Ele primary might make a better Warder, the R/E combo allows the character to not only ward well, but also fight at the same time. Using a skill like Apply Poison and TAB-ing through the enemy ranks allows you to keep poison up, and helps support condition builds such as ViM! warriors and Epidemic Mesmers.

Final skill setup looks like this:

Distracting Shot
Marksman's Wager [E]
Apply Poison
Throw Dirt
Healing Spring
Serpent's Quickness/Savage Shot *
Ward Against Melee
Ward Against Elements

* - Whichever floats your boat.

So any comments on how to further improve the build? I don't THINK its a one trick pony, but I could be wrong lol.

Glasswalker · Jul 11, 2005, 05:32 PM // 17:32

If it were me, I would be sorely tempted to ditch Distracting Shot and put one more damage in there. I like Favorable Winds because it's almost a cast it and forget it sort of thing. Your arrows just do more damage for the duration of the match. And if not, cast again. Meh, 5 energy. The real cost of this spell is the 5 second cast, but a large percentage of matches barely outlast the duration of the one spirit (2 minutes + at high Marksmanship...).

If you do go with Distracting Shot, don't hope for the long casting times. Practice and learn to predict key spells like condition removal, etc. and distract before they cast it so that the arrow hits when they do. It takes a lot of practice, but if you carry that spell, this is why. 20 seconds is a long time to watch your health slide down, and the cure is usually to spam healing spells (which drains energy of course) and with Serpent's Quickness, 6 seconds later you may be able to distract one of those too...

Good Luck, I hope to see you in battle.