Curse

X Bound X · Dec 31, 2005, 01:07 PM // 13:07

Profession: E/N

Name: Obsidian Hammer

Type: PVE/ PVP CA Tried and True/ PVP-viable in TA.

Category: Burst damage with interrupt.

Attributes:
Earth Magic: 12 + superior rune + stoneseye (16)
Energy Storage: 12 + minor rune (13)
Curses: 3
--All attribute points used.

Weapons: I personally use a 8/8 staff with energy +5 head and earthmagic +1 20% wrap.This build does not have a dependancy on enchantments, and given the skills used, fast casting/recycle is a bit of a non issue.I use the +1 wrap as opposed to a +30 health, as I am a sucker for that 1 in 10 or whatever obsidian flame that does 120+ .Also, keep in mind that this particular build is a PVE character that does PVP, as opposed to the standard PVP only character.So obviously weapon choice is entirely maleable.

Skill Set:
Glyph of Energy {Elite}- Unlinked
Obsidian Flame - Earth Magic
Res Signet- Unlinked
Magnetic Aura - Earth Magic
Shock - Air Magic
Aftershock - Earth Magic
Enfeeble - Curses
Stoning - Earth Magic

Summary:

The main goal of this build is to do damage, and lots of it as quickly as possible, while still maintaining enough energy to be effective over long matches and through large mobs. If its going to die, it will be by your hands. This build causes the most damage against casters, do to the traditonally lower hitpoints that they carry, but is far from handicapped against even the most sturdiest of warriors.

Strategy:

PVE provides very little challenge so not much can be said here, except "Nuke dem!!!" and watch your exhaustion levels.Hit the called target with Glyph of Energy + Obsidian Flame. If you get a brawler on you, hit Magnetic Aura, shock then aftershock if said target survives the encounter he will run away due to the AOE adjusted bot scripting.Finish with Enfeeble + Stoning, onto the next target.

Now PVP is a different matter...
The goal here is hit key targets hard and fast.Much like in PVE most targets can be done away with quickly with a Glyph of Energy + Obsidian Flame, Obsidian Flame, Shock + Aftershock combo. (Roughly 430 points of damage, with an energy expenditure of 25 points, with a 10 point? exhaustion penalty, in approximately 6 and a half seconds, plus or minus a second for runtime to close with the target to finish.)

Not all encounters will go as easily as the afore-mentioned scenario implies.Player skill both on the part of the target and the user of this build has to be factored.As well as inherent counters, such as Protective spirit/LifeBond/Barrier/Aotl and the Mesmer problem.
Running into one of the afore-mentioned hangups is not as troublesome as it would appear.

Countering the counters:

Protective Spirit/Bond/Barrier all have one main weakness.The monk or /Mo doing the casting.Nothing attracts attention in PVP like somebody spamming protection spells.To counter this we switch our skill focus off of Obsidian Flame for a moment, and focus on Enfeeble + Stoning.With Curses set at 3 we can easily generate two stones for every 1 use of Enfeeble, at a cost of 35 energy, with 0 exhaustion penalty.Assuming that the protector was in fact the called target this double dose of knockdown (can't cast while laying down) should be more then enough to put him under with capable allied support.If not, we always have our good friend the Shock +Aftershock combo to finish the job, as you should have been closing the distance on him in between knockdowns.If for some reason he infact survives this assault, well you always Enfeeble + Stoning to make sure he doesn't get very far.Ofcourse you will waste a lot of energy, repeating this chain, but if it must be done, it must be done.

Aura of the Litch is an interesting skill, but ultimately not a threat.At its best the target will take only half damage from our main chain attack. Roughly 215 points of damage.But remember that your target's health has been halved by the very skill he using to hinder you.In most cases, this means he has between 150-250 hitpoints.So chances are he is dead anyway, and if he isn't he's probably trying to run.If he is, let him.One less guy in the fight, or if you are feeling really mean, give him a naked flame and watch him fizzle.
Also remember that this skill has a 3 second cast time.
Shock, will easily interrupt this skill...

Concerns: Where to start? This build has no self-healing ability, your only source of energy management comes from a glyph and your own fire discipline.This build has no ability to remove enchantments.
You can't run, and your only "defense" is Magnetic Aura that only repels melee attacks.Thankfully though its cheap, casts quickly and does a very good job of keeping the warriors at bay for a short time.
Interrupt Rangers and Mesmers are obviously a huge problem, but then again this is to be expected they are the counter to this class, and you have teammates right?The good news is that if you are not the first one targeted, chances are the mesmer or ranger in question wont be alive long enough to be a concern.

In closing, its a fun build at least for me.It has obvious flaws sure, but when it works it works well.A few points to consider, /N was chosen for the cheaper cost of Enfeeble vs. Enerverating Charge.Magnetic Aura was chosen over Armor of Earth, because I wanted this build to be as enchantment free as possible, while still having some sort of defensive ability.Finally, no points are invested in Air magic, yet shock is there, not in so much to do damage, but to cause the all important knockdown quickly, and reliably.

Credit: Arena-net for the skills.Myself for the tutorial.