Curse

ethix · Jul 28, 2005, 06:33 PM // 18:33

Ok so i just decided to make a new pvp monk, a healer this time. Heres what my current build is:

Mo/W

Attrib:

Divine Favor: 12
Healing Prayers: 14
Tactics: 6

Skills:

Divine Boon, Divine Intervention, Heal other, Healing breeze, healing touch, spellbreaker, bonetti's defense, res sig

Any suggestions would be very helpful, i need faction, bah!

Xeuro · Jul 28, 2005, 06:45 PM // 18:45

i would choose an actual ressurection spell over a rez sig

Niahmas · Jul 28, 2005, 06:56 PM // 18:56

well if they're doing PVP ("I need faction") res signet might be your best choice. The skills take too long and are easy to interupt.

firstwave · Jul 28, 2005, 06:56 PM // 18:56

I think rez signet is probably better since it's fast. For a monk, other forms of rez are bad because they take too long to cast. Warriors should carry restore life or resurrect because they have good armor and health.

One thing I don't quite understand is bonneti's defense. You are a monk so you shouldn't fight, but how would you get adrenaline for the bonneti defense?

Perhaps you should replace it with hex breaker and change your secondary to mesmer. That way, you can cast it on yourself to prevent backfire, but you will also be able to cast spell breaker on another ally. So you should just dump all the skill points in tactics to inspiration.

Niahmas: Heh, you posted right before me so what I said about rez signet is unnecessary :P

Niahmas · Jul 28, 2005, 07:02 PM // 19:02

yeah, monks can't be burdened with ressing people in PVP, after all they have to heal everyone along with their self because Monks tend to be the first target.

ZD_kusanagi · Jul 28, 2005, 07:09 PM // 19:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by firstwave

I think rez signet is probably better since it's fast. For a monk, other forms of rez are bad because they take too long to cast. Warriors should carry restore life or resurrect because they have good armor and health.

One thing I don't quite understand is bonneti's defense. You are a monk so you shouldn't fight, but how would you get adrenaline for the bonneti defense?

Perhaps you should replace it with hex breaker and change your secondary to mesmer. That way, you can cast it on yourself to prevent backfire, but you will also be able to cast spell breaker on another ally. So you should just dump all the skill points in tactics to inspiration.

Niahmas: Heh, you posted right before me so what I said about rez signet is unnecessary :P

I beg of you, don't try to generalize all monks into mesmer second profs... you can still be an absurdly good monk without going mesmer. instead of bonettis, since yes, you would have to attack to get the adrenaline, therefore not really healing, i would advise you take balanced stance. it's MUCh more better. you will be more annoyed by knockdowns than by alittle swordy on your ass. And it's always advisable to switch your elites around to coincide with the other monks in the group. so dont ALWAYS run spelbreaker, sometimes you would need to run word of healing, or even martyr. also, a good skill to take sometimes as a warrior secondary is shields up. good for protecting youself, and your allies against pesky damage spamming ranger teams. you could switch the bonettis defense for another stance of defense, like defensive stance ;p, it all works. because even though hex breaker is good, i dont see it good on a monk. because if a mesmer is on you, it will be laying down WAY more than one little backfire on you. and he will obviously notice if his backfire didnt get to you. so he will concentrate on you, and you will have to spend alot of energy, (5 energy every5 seconds i think) just to keep SOME of his hexes off you. better to just call in an air strike with your party members on the mesmer. since they are high priority anyway.

firstwave · Jul 28, 2005, 07:53 PM // 19:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZD_kusanagi

I beg of you, don't try to generalize all monks into mesmer second profs...

I did not generalize all monks into mesmer secondary profession. I said it was a good idea, but it does not mean that it is the only way. Balanced stance is good, but hex breaker IMO is better. Why? Yes knockdown is annoying, but not being able to cast any spell for 10 seconds is worse. Balanced stance can only help you against Knockdown based builds, but Hex breaker can neutralize many necro and mesmer builds.

Also one thing I do not understand is why are people always trying to do something different. Mo/Me is good and that is why I use them. So what if a lot of people are using it? I like it and I use it not because it is popular, but because it is effective.

Age · Jul 28, 2005, 09:17 PM // 21:17

Then again Monk/Warrior can also use weapons mostly axes or sword and a skill from there.Mesmurs can't carry weapons and must soley rely on their wands or staffs.I have 4 points in swordmanship.I have sword that puts out about 16 dmge.

twicky_kid · Jul 28, 2005, 10:39 PM // 22:39

i prefer divine intervention over any res spell. 1/4 cast speed so i really dought it will be interrupted except dumb luck. it cost just as much as any other res and recharge is about the same. the target doesn't accually die so they don't get a DP and usually when they see their life make such a come back they usually just move on to another target. since it last for 10 sec i don't have to worry about healing any more and i can focus on another player. only down side i see is enchant removal.

i think its all around better than the res spells but you have to know how and when to use it.

twicky_kid · Jul 28, 2005, 10:49 PM // 22:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZD_kusanagi

because even though hex breaker is good, i dont see it good on a monk. because if a mesmer is on you, it will be laying down WAY more than one little backfire on you. and he will obviously notice if his backfire didnt get to you. so he will concentrate on you, and you will have to spend alot of energy, (5 energy every5 seconds i think) just to keep SOME of his hexes off you. better to just call in an air strike with your party members on the mesmer. since they are high priority anyway.

maybe your should listen to yourself for a sec and ask yourself a few questions. what's the first spell a mes is going to cast on you? black out or backfire will be the first volley almost every single time. they need to negate your healing. black out reduces you to dead weight and they can recast it before the duration wears off. unless you have some one else in your party with hex removal your screwed. backfire negates your healing yourself making you easier to kill and negates your healing at the same time.

hex breaker will keep these off of you because the first hex cast on you will be the most important one.

other thing is to compare the recharge rate of hex removal and the (main weakness of mesmers) recharge rates of their hexes. they are almost the same. so after you break the first one then remove the other ones you can have breaker back on you to counter the rest that will come.

i think hex breaker is THE most important spell for healer monks and is a must. i haven't seen any other hex prevention other than natures renewal that compares to breaker.

knives · Jul 28, 2005, 11:27 PM // 23:27

I never put backfire on a monk first thing. They won't need to heal in the first 10 seconds of a match. I do it at crucial moments where I see their teammate dying, and I cast backfire on the monk to try to prevent them from healing. Then I follow up with wastrels worry spam, and go ahead and use shatter delusions on the last wastrels I put on them so they get hurt both ways. I then continue to spam wastresl + energy burn + surge to prevent them from ahving the energy to use a skill so wastrels can take effect, and I can wait till delusions recharges so I can cast it on them. I can always stick arcane conundrum + diversion on them to interrupt with either power spike or leak.

Iraqalypse Now · Jul 29, 2005, 02:29 AM // 02:29

Hex breaker is an amazing skill for a monk, simply because of the random backfires that it eats. Although it isn't perfect, and is probably best when you have a decent energy managment setup, it is very respectable. The best part about it is that its a stance, meaning it casts instantaneously at any time, so a good idea is to watch the mesmer's skill usage and recast it in response to a dangerous hex like diversion or backfire. If you play the right monk build, it can be qutie resistant to a mesmer's disruption. Sample build for random 4v4

Base attributes:
12 prot
12 divine favor
3 domination

Life Bond
Balthazar's Spirit
Hex Breaker
Reversal of Fortune
Shielding Hands
Signet of Devotion
Blessed Signet
Shield of Regeneration

And if you want to smite, go ele/monk:
12 Energy Storage / 12 Smiting / 3 prot

Ether Renewal
Zealot's Fire
Draw Conditions
aura of restoration
Balthazar's Aura
-- free slots --

Possible to take out some energy storage for more prot or healing to back up your teammates, and this build works best with a warrior being a smite bomb and hug the enemies while you draw conditions him (which, incidentally, takes care of the enemies trying to cripple you)

Arcador · Jul 29, 2005, 05:08 AM // 05:08

(note about the adrenalin skills for monk - you can gain adrenalin using your wand)

UberRusty · Jul 29, 2005, 05:35 AM // 05:35

Or you could try Mo/E and put a few points into Earth, and then go Armor of Earth.

ZD_kusanagi · Jul 29, 2005, 05:40 AM // 05:40

[QUOTE=twicky_kid]

hex breaker will keep these off of you because the first hex cast on you will be the most important one.

other thing is to compare the recharge rate of hex removal and the (main weakness of mesmers) recharge rates of their hexes. they are almost the same. so after you break the first one then remove the other ones you can have breaker back on you to counter the rest that will come.
QUOTE]

ok, first of all, i'm not really saying hex breaker sucks. im saying that to really keep off the hexes, you will have to put alot of energy into it. because, when you say the rechagre time is the same, i dont think you are remembering the "fast casting" attributes they have? they are MEANT to spam alot of hexes really fast... im saying the best protection against a mesmer, is to kill it basically. since mesmers and monks are basically top priority in most tomb parties, they will be atacked anyway.

firstwave · Jul 29, 2005, 06:26 AM // 06:26

Hex breaker is certainly not the only good mesmer spell for Mo/Me. Illusion of Weakness is like putting some of your life in reserve. Basically, cast it before you go into a battle and you basically gain +200 life.

I do not agree with putting any adrenaline skills into a monk. For example, if I want to use bonneti's defense, I have to hit a target 8 times. Now why on earth would I hit anyone? A monk should spend most of the time healing others/self. If you can spare 15 seconds to gain adrenaline, then you are probably not needed in the first place.

ZD_kusanagi: Is mesmer the only class that uses hex? What about a necro? A mark of subversion can be very deadly. Also how about air eles? Remember, lightning surge is a hex and it CAN be blocked completely by hex breaker. Lightning surge is almost always the starting move of an air elementalist and if you can nullify the initial attack, the nuking potential of that air elementalist would decrease drastically.

ZD_kusanagi · Jul 29, 2005, 10:08 AM // 10:08

first of all, i never said throw on bonettis defense. i'm actually against it. it DOESNT make sense for a monk to be attacking. and by saying necros hex you also, you are only strengthening my argument that you will be using alot of energy just to keep hexes off you. now under your scenario, a mesmer AND a necro are laying hexes down on you. and your spamming hex breaker as fast as your little fingers can press it.. while your party is getting slaughtered since you used up all that energy into keeping yourself able to heal them...? it's just faulty in the middle of battle to be spamming hex breaker while still trying to heal. it doesn;t work. its too much energy spent not healing.

Neo-LD · Jul 29, 2005, 11:55 AM // 11:55

Hex Breaker obviously doesnt work in ALL circimstances. A mesmer samming diversion/watrels can bypass it fairly easily. The poit of HB is to stop all those most important ones that always get cast on you. Fragility, Backfire, Lightning Surge, etc. Definately worth teh 5 energy spent to stop those, right? If you get hexed by something else, at least HB stopped something. When running low on energy, sometimes you may think just wont be able to afford HB. But think about all the daamge a hex like Backfire or Lightning Surge could deal, and how much energy it require to heal it the old fashoined way.

OzzO · Jul 29, 2005, 12:33 PM // 12:33

u also get adrenaline if u get damaged, so i think bonnettis is a good possibility

gr. OzzO

Jasso · Jul 29, 2005, 12:44 PM // 12:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by twicky_kid

maybe your should listen to yourself for a sec and ask yourself a few questions. what's the first spell a mes is going to cast on you? black out or backfire will be the first volley almost every single time. they need to negate your healing. black out reduces you to dead weight and they can recast it before the duration wears off. unless you have some one else in your party with hex removal your screwed. backfire negates your healing yourself making you easier to kill and negates your healing at the same time.

That is totally crap. My monk can easily overcome backfires damage with just orison. I cast protective spirit on myself and take only 42 dmg / cast whatever level mesmers domination is. Orison heals about 100. So it really doesnt affect much of my healing capabilities unless i'm attacked by lots of enemies. I could say backfire acts like defile flesh or similiar spells by reducing selfhealing.

And about bonettis defence. I always use monk/warrior in arenas and always have bonetti's with me. You can easily gain enough adrenaline by shooting whatever is near you. Although you gain it slowly, but eventually bonetti's is ready for use. I usually use it when warrior comes to hit me and i am low on energy. It's always nice to have quickly 15-30 energy back for free