Curse

Akhilleus · Dec 05, 2005, 07:25 AM // 07:25

this is a build thats best done with X8 warrior skills, and in my experience has worked very, very well.
the build focuses on versatility, but still manages to axcell at many basic tasks.

to start:
W/X (seccondary doesnt matter for the most part)
sword warrior.

equipment. this is a build of versatility and you will be going after many different targets. you will want at LEAST 1 zealous sword and 1 with an elemental hilt. ideally full glads with a fissure ascalon helm, or with droknars gladiators helm and 1 piece of knights, either one works for that -2 absorb. (the only difference is the looks). platemail works instead of glads as well.
sup sword rune (must)
minor tactics (must)
minor strength (must)
superior vigor (major works)
superior absorb (major works)

skills:
battle-rage
final thrust
galrath slash
distracting blow/contemplation of purity
wild-blow
hamstring
riposite
healing signet

skillpoints:
15 in swordsmanship w/ rune
11 in strength w/ rune
10 in tactics w/ rune
(leaves you with about 5 skillpoints to place eslewhere)

idea:
the general idea of this warrior build is that it can be dropped into any arena or any battle area, and fare well. its so annoying to put all your eggs in one basket, only to be foiled by one annoying build that manages to destroy yours. while this build isnt immune form everything, it certainly has more versatility than most warrior builds.
the specific purpose of this warrior is as the name implies; a hunter. it will do VERY well going after lone casters, first thing you do is lay down a hamstring, then charge battlerage, and stay in battlerage (16 seccond duration w/ 11 str) using your attack skills to pommel the enemy. with the dual lineup of final+galrath the damage output should be substancial (you should have +40 in both). if you're fighting a ranger wild blow takes care of thier stances, or if you're fighting an illusionary weaponry distortion-spammer, it tends to put a rain on thier parade. admittedly the most seldomly used skill here is distracting blow, simply because its only useful vs skills with a naturally long recharge, since it doesnt add any 20-seccond cooldown time to it.
defensively riposite can hurt very, very badly, but the problem is that it will end battle-rage prematurely so time it well. healing signet is another seldomly used skill, but it helps A LOT against this builds primary weakness; degeneration nukers. one of the main advantages this build has agaisnt a similar axe-warrior build is that soothing images will not totally shut you down. also, since it does use 7-8 warrior skills the seccondary is a non-issue, and should you chose you can sub out some of the skills for some very useful concauctions.
that having been said, while distracting blow has its uses, nothing hurts a degen-nukers ability to take you down more than contemplation of purity.
there are many combinations you can use, subbing out skills for either riposite or distracting blow (the 2 most unessential ones), but i find the 2 most effective involve w/mo with contemplation or w/me with black-out (useful as hell if your team likes to target self-healing monks).

implimentation:
the 2 most basic things to operate the build are the useage of your weapon-switches.
generally, if you're fighting casters you will be using hamstring, wild blow and distracting blow/contemplation far more than when versing warriors, so using a zealous sword is better. generally when you first enter combat with your target you want to hit hamstring, since if they run before b-rage is charged, you'll be chasing them for a while, so cripple them, charge battle-rage and start administering the hurt. if you're fighting an illusionary mesmer, be sure to hit distortion with wild-blow. if you're fighting an anti-warrior degen nuker or visage/soothing/empathy mesmer and you dont have contemplation, just hope your monk is good.
when fighting warriors this build does not use an attack-speed enchancing stance like flurry or tigers fury, so theres no need to use a zealous weapon. instead, use a weapon with an elemental hit to hit for higher damage, this will offset thier advantage in attack-speed, and when it comes down to it, using battle-rage you charge adrenal skills faster, and if you're not fighting a condition axe-warior without using contemplation, you shouldnt have too much of a problem.
the occasional riposite helps too.

Racthoh · Dec 05, 2005, 07:59 AM // 07:59

Contemplation of Purity isn't going to do anything if you don't have any enchantments on you. You're relying on one of your party members to load you with enchantments if you're getting hexed or conditioned like crazy.

I'm not sure how I see how this build would be more versatile than most warrior builds. Given that you have no condition or hex removal, it's right up there with the norm. Riposte doesn't seem right at all. Firstly, it will drain all of your adrenaline and end Battle Rage to block one attack and deal some damage to a physical attacker. Which in this case, will only be other warriors, pets, or the random IWer. You would be better off with another attack skill that would actually be useful against necromancers, monks, rangers, elementalists, and non-IWing mesmers.

I would also not recommend using Wild Blow against Distortion Spamming mesmers. You lose all adrenaline, thus requiring you to attack 4 times before you can use an adrenaline attack again. 4 attacks will take more than the 5 seconds of recharge on Distortion. Switch to another target is what I'm saying.

10 tactics is not enough to offset massive degeneration. I used to use 16, and that was enough to overcome Life Transfer/Siphon, coupled with conditions to boot once the transfer ends. Also using it leaves you at the mercy of your opponent since you'll have to spend the two seconds to use it and then left with no adrenaline to do pretty much anything.

Hamstring, Wild Blow, and Distracting Blow are your only energy skills. Why is at least 1 zealous sword required?

Akhilleus · Dec 05, 2005, 08:47 AM // 08:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Racthoh

Contemplation of Purity isn't going to do anything if you don't have any enchantments on you. You're relying on one of your party members to load you with enchantments if you're getting hexed or conditioned like crazy.

it was an OPTION or did you just chose to ignore the / in between than and distracting blow?

Quote:

I'm not sure how I see how this build would be more versatile than most warrior builds. Given that you have no condition or hex removal, it's right up there with the norm. Riposte doesn't seem right at all. Firstly, it will drain all of your adrenaline and end Battle Rage to block one attack and deal some damage to a physical attacker. Which in this case, will only be other warriors, pets, or the random IWer.

this is true, ripopsite has its downsides, but like i said, the occasional riposite. if you can time well, using it shouldnt really hurt you all that much.

Quote:

You would be better off with another attack skill that would actually be useful against necromancers, monks, rangers, elementalists, and non-IWing mesmers.

and i also recall saying the 2 most replaceable skills are riposite+distracting.

Quote:

I would also not recommend using Wild Blow against Distortion Spamming mesmers. You lose all adrenaline, thus requiring you to attack 4 times before you can use an adrenaline attack again. 4 attacks will take more than the 5 seconds of recharge on Distortion. Switch to another target is what I'm saying.

if you're retarded enough to use wild-blow when your adren attacks have been fully charged, you deserve to lose.

Quote:

10 tactics is not enough to offset massive degeneration. I used to use 16, and that was enough to overcome Life Transfer/Siphon, coupled with conditions to boot once the transfer ends. Also using it leaves you at the mercy of your opponent since you'll have to spend the two seconds to use it and then left with no adrenaline to do pretty much anything.

this is true but common sense follows in using signet. it doesnt matter how much it heals, if you use it at the wrong time, its a bad idea. the point is that its there if you need it.

Quote:

Hamstring, Wild Blow, and Distracting Blow are your only energy skills. Why is at least 1 zealous sword required?

i did not say multiple zealous swords, what i meant was a zealous sword is needed, and an elementals word is needed.
vampiric, sundering, furious, etc, are optional. (vampiric, for example is a pretty decent sword to use vs degen nukers, since they tend to cap your -10 pips anyway, its technically a free -1 degen. doesnt help much, but it helps.