Curse

Guild Wars Guru · Sep 13, 2005, 10:05 PM // 22:05

You can view this database entry at: http://www.guildwarsguru.com/skill/254-soul-barbs/.
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Caesar · Sep 13, 2005, 10:05 PM // 22:05

Could this spell be usefull when used in combination with a mesmer with wastrels worry?

arredondo · Sep 13, 2005, 11:48 PM // 23:48

Here's my version that I've used for months to score plenty of fast kills (snipped & edited from my post in a different thread):

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Mesmer/Necro

Domination – 16
Curses – 12
Illusion - 4

Soul Barbs: –27 damage for each Hex cast
Wastrel’s Worry: -68 damage if not dispelled in 3 secs.
Feast of Corruption {E}: -101 damage on a hexed foe, includes -34 steal from him and nearby foes
Power Spike: -101 damage when it interrupts a spell
Shatter Delusions: -79 damage after dispelling a Mesmer Hex
Hex Breaker: Defends against two Hexes with ease
Distortion: Costs an extra 2E for every whiff
Rez: In arenas, rezzing is a must
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This is how I use these skills successfully…

Firstly, Soul Barbs + Wastrel’s Worry does not have to be the primary damage dealer when combined in a build. This is causing the most problems I think when people judge it. Consider it more of an accessory combo as opposed to being the main source of attacks and you can begin to see the versatility these two skills can offer.

So pick a target, (go at him solo or with a teammate), and begin to cast. WW can be cast first on a Me/ or /Me to see if he has Hex Breaker on. If he does you cast WW again to open him up for your foundation skill. But assuming there’s no Mesmer HB to worry about, the first thing you apply is Soul Barbs --> Wastrel’s Worry. Soul Barb’s triggers for the first time, -27 damage.

The option here is to wait for a target to remove a Hex on himself (or cast any spell, if it’s an Ele or Necro). A Hex remover will dispel WW as well as remove SB, so you want to stuff it early. Assuming they cast a remover, or any spell, Power Spike it for -101 damage and notice that WW will end and cause -68 damage as well. Power Spike is great in this build because it’s an interrupt, it does 20% damage at max stats (this is a damage build), and it recharges faster than any other Mesmer stopper (15 seconds), allowing more frequent use of it.

Next you cast WW-->Shatter Delusions-->WW for a 133 damage spike in about two seconds (Soul Barbs triggers twice). Follow this up with Feast of Corruption’s 101 damage cast. By the time FoC finishes its two-second cast, WW will expire simultaneously for -68 if it wasn't dispelled. There are various damage outputs, depending on how the average scenario plays out, but here are the totals when everything works as described:

SB, WW (27+68), PS (107), WW (27), SD (79), WW (27+68), FoC (101) = 504 damage, for net 37E cost.

After Soul Barbs is cast (lasts 30 seconds), you can do all of the rest in as fast as nine or ten seconds. While there are obvious counters to the scenario (teammate Hex removal and/or mass healing, Diversion or interrupts, etc.), I’ll just say that a smart player will deal with those just as with any build needs to do when they are gimped. All builds have counters to lower its efficiency, so this is no different.

As for energy, I do pretty good since I love my 69E/55E gear for stuff like this, as well as being smart overall about when and how I cast. Most times, you don’t need the full casts after the first target. I sometimes can...

- Use FoC on an already-Hexed enemy who’s at 20% life.
- Power Spike an El/Mo who’s casting a key smiter spell.
- Go at a hurt, Soul Barbed enemy where WW, SD, WW, WW, WW is a speedy 35%-40% damage as they run away for help. I do that one when I’m waiting for FoC to recharge usually.

I’ve played with Soul Barb and WW builds off and on for two months, and. I’ve even gone different directions, like using Phantom Pain as a stronger SB protector (instead of Power Spike), and brought in Power Block as my elite for FoC. Even without changing the stats, PP will give you up to 140 damage on its own: -2x2x10 and -100 for DW, which is more than PS’s 107. Now with Power Block you add the ability to shut down a priority caster target for 16 seconds in one of his attribute lines while he still takes damage.

Less overall damage (about 55 less), but the damage is still very significant and will help the team deal with a weakened, gimped, priority caster much better. Honestly, I’d notch down Curses two or three notches to feed Illusion and Fast Cast stats (takes SB to -25 a Hex cast), but I kept the points the same here only to keep this post as simple to read as possible.