Curse

Sausaletus Rex · Feb 07, 2005, 02:25 AM // 02:25

Our loyal contributor Freyas is going to be providing us with an ongoing series of "theme builds". These builds will take a look at the odd concepts or underused skills in the game by showcasing them in a character build designed to maximize their potential. And here's the thread where you can talk about htem or post your suggestions and requests of Freyas.

Freyas kicks things off with his first theme build. This time around he's working on a Monk/Mesmer with Blessed Aura (Divine Favor), a skill that increases the duration of the enchantments you cast. You can also learn about the ins and outs of the elite skill Peace and Harmony (Divine Favor), something that's become a favorite of many primary Monks lately. You can check out this great article right here.

And, as Freyas says, if you've got any concepts or skills you'd like to see discussed in the future, feel free to lets us know.

Narcism · Feb 07, 2005, 03:38 PM // 15:38

This is definitely a column I'd like to read about and get others read. People who call skills useless usually don't know how they can be used effectively or in a strategy.

Freyas, may I suggest Grenth's Balance

Sicarius Eneco · Feb 07, 2005, 03:47 PM // 15:47

Very usefull, should be great for people who are not sure about what proffesions/skills to go for and for people willing to improve their build.

Go Freyas Go !

Sausaletus Rex · Feb 07, 2005, 05:02 PM // 17:02

I, obviously, really liked the article. As has been said, it should prove very useful and hopefully open up some more possibilities for people.

I'm sure Ensign will drop by and ellucidate all of us with his theory that there will only be 15 playable skills or whatever but at this point those 15 skills are still in question. The game, the metagame, is still in infancy so there's a lot to be said for not following the pack and looking into the "odd" ideas. A skill can be underused because it's suboptimal but also because people just haven't "got" it yet. After all, who was really advocating using Healing Hands before the WPE?

Anyhow, my first reaction to Freyas's builds and, indeed, to Blessed Aura was that enchantment removal would destroy it. However, given the current state of enchantment removal, that's really not that much of a concern. And, as Freyas says here :

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freyas

As with any build that relies on enchantments, enchantment removal can be a large threat to your effectiveness. However, this build does work well in the face of enchantment removal due to the large number of enchantments that you can use, while the skills to remove the enchantments have a long recharge timer. However, be wary of using all your skills at one time, as if your enchantments get stripped, you'll need to wait for your energy to regenerate and skills to recharge before you get the opportunity to recast them.

There are ways of combating those out to strip your enchantments. Timing them, putting them on in the right order, can be a valuable technique. Enchantment removal seems to work on the LIFO (Last In, First Out) principle. Meaning that the last enchantment you cast is goign to be the one removed by, say, Shatter Enchantment. Knowing that, you can throw up an easily reusable enchantment like Reversal of Fortune or Vigorous Spirit to act as a buffer between the enchantment removal and one of the enchantments you *really* care about like Blessed Aura or Healing Seed. Those low cost, low recharge enchantments can be put right back up while the enchantment removal skills will need to cooldown and that's much better than if someone manages to nuke your Seed on the 9th second of it's duration/cooldown.

I'm skeptical of Energy Tap on the second, Protection-centric, build of Freyas's, though. I've always found it hard as a healer to split my attention like that, it's not Power Drain where you'll need to pick your spot (And I know Freyas doesn't mind using that one, either, but he's used to it by now.), but it does require you to find an enemy target and spend those few seconds getting that energy. That's time and attention diverted from keeping your team alive which you might not be able to spare. I'd much rather work with a BiPer who can keep me in energy while I keep defending.

Uthar · Feb 09, 2005, 01:29 PM // 13:29

Pardon me if this seems a knuckleheaded thing to ask, but in my experience, most skills that say 'target ally gains +1 Energy regeneration' mean that- A target ally, and not yourself. Of course, I have not tested Peace and Harmony, so I don't know. But usually, when I see the phrase 'Target ally', I think "Oh that's only for other people, that's no good unless there's another Monk".

But if you've done this, then I've got no problem taking your word for it.

No wait, never mind. I just found Protective Spirit, which has the same phrase, and I remember being able to cast that on myself.

So please ignore the mad ravings above.

Sausaletus Rex · Feb 09, 2005, 07:49 PM // 19:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uthar

Pardon me if this seems a knuckleheaded thing to ask, but in my experience, most skills that say 'target ally gains +1 Energy regeneration' mean that- A target ally, and not yourself. Of course, I have not tested Peace and Harmony, so I don't know. But usually, when I see the phrase 'Target ally', I think "Oh that's only for other people, that's no good unless there's another Monk".

A common misconception. Skills that "target ally" mean that you can cast them on any friendly character on the field whether that's a member of your team or an NPC but that also includes being able to cast it upon yourself. It's "target other ally" skills that can't be self cast. While "target self" skills...well, I think that's self-explanatory.

Hmmm...I smell a Q&A thread...

Uthar · Feb 09, 2005, 07:55 PM // 19:55

D'oh! Now I really do feel like a knucklehead.

Ah well, thanks for the enlightenment.

Dragou Du Porzan · Feb 09, 2005, 08:13 PM // 20:13

I really love this Mo/Me build; I was moving towards something similar to this during the last beta, and now I have a more precise template to test out. I only have one concern: there's no space for a resurrect. That wouldn't be a problem in a guild situation when you could consult with your team ahead of time and plan on someone else carrying it, but in your typical pick-up group people are going to be expecting resurrection services from a monk.

So my question is: which of these skills would you drop if you felt you just had to bring along a resurrect? Inspired Hex? Too much risk of running out of energy to drop it, I'd guess. OoH doesn't benefit from the DF spells, but without it you're going to have a heck of a time keeping yourself alive. I'd say Vigorous Spirit would be the one to drop, but as Freyas points out its value (aside from the healing, of course) is in defeating enchantment removal. This build is so tight, it's difficult to figure out what to cut. What would you suggest?

Freyas · Feb 09, 2005, 10:28 PM // 22:28

Well, I would probably drop either vigorous spirit or inspired hex, as you said. Inspired hex has the advantage of giving you a small amount of extra energy, but if there's some other hex removal on your team, this would probably be my first choice to sub out. If you've got several monks(3+) on your team, I would consider dropping orison of healing. Vigorous Spirit does benefit from Blessed Aura, and it both has the benefits of being a pretty nice healing enchantment for it's energy cost, and it helps protect your other enchantments. If you cast it on a warrior who's attacking with a sword, vigorous spirit will heal for about 8.3 health a second for it's duration. Likewise, on a character casting quick spells such as another healer using orison and word of healing, you can get similar healing abilities from it. However, when compared to the amount of healing that you'll get from your other enchantments, it pales in comparison. For example, healing breeze will heal for 18 health per second for 10 seconds- in the long run, vigorous spirit will overcome healing breeze, but when you're healing, you're more likely to need fast healing over long-term healing.

The other thing to consider is if you're going to be playing the character PvP versus PvE. In PvE, hex removal is not generally imperative, as most monsters will not use more than one or two hexes, which generally won't hinder your team too much if they aren't removed. In PvE, I would definately trade out inspired hex for a resurrect. For PvP, you're more likely to need hex removal, so I would probably consider removing either orison or vigorous spirit, depending on your team composition.

Dragou Du Porzan · Feb 09, 2005, 11:35 PM // 23:35

That sounds about right. Inspired Hex would definitely get the axe if you need rez in PvE. Best case for PvP is you've got a trusted monk or two along with you who'll handle the team's rezzing needs.

Here is another thought: what about substituting Aura of Faith (DF) in for Peace and Harmony? Coupled with Blessed Aura, AoF would be providing an extra 45% to all your heals on the target ally for 78 seconds. As an added bonus you'd be able to target enemies for attacks, something you can't do with P&H running (that would let you substitute the more aggressive Power Drain in for Inspired Hex if you wanted to go the caster-hate route). Of course you'd be losing the extra pip provided by P&H, but I suppose that could be countered by certain item benefits. Or the slack could be picked up by a Necro wielding BiP. In general, though, do you think this build could handle the loss of P&H's extra pip, or would that just be asking for constant energy shortages?

In a PvP situation where you have a teammate that can be relied on to provide you healing, I can see a good deal of potential in a build that swaps out P&H for AoF and OoH for Power Drain. That would give you two sources of energy recovery, the ability to attack and the ability to throw off enemy spell casters. I certainly wouldn't do this with any old pick-up group, but it could be good with a coordinated effort. Any thoughts?

Question regarding Aura of Faith: does that extra 45% affect other teammates' heals on the target or just your own? Also, I assume it works as well for healing over time spells like Vigorous Spirit, correct (i.e. that warrior is getting healed an extra 45% every time he swings his weapon)?

Sausaletus Rex · Feb 15, 2005, 03:05 PM // 15:05

Freyas's next theme build is now up here. This time around he taes you through the entire progress of making a build centered around Fragility (Illusion Magic) from start to finish. Fragility is one of those conditional damage dealing Mesmer skills which, when used right, can deliver a lot of damage and the build Freyas comes up with certainly achieves that. Who said Mesmers can't dish damage?

Jak o · Feb 15, 2005, 05:18 PM // 17:18

Have this fragility build been tested?

Because I am a little suspicius if it will actually work for the very simple but very importent fact, that "on fire" is not a counted as a condition. At least not if you look at the skill Mend Ailment:

Remove one negative Condition (Poison, Disease, Blindness, Dazed, Bleeding, Crippled, or Deep Wound) from target other ally. That ally is healed 5..57 Health, for each remaining Condition.

Here it says negative condition, but "on fire" isn't included in the description.

Sausaletus Rex · Feb 15, 2005, 09:53 PM // 21:53

Although I can't say anything officially or up-to-date (Not a big deal, you can try it out yourself in...three days.) I think it's been fairly well confirmed that "On Fire" is indeed a condition and triggers Fragility and other condition affecting skills. As for Mend Ailment, don't always trust a skill description. They're far from accurate or finalized yet.

Sleeky101 · Feb 15, 2005, 10:37 PM // 22:37

The fragility build looks pretty solid, but I definitely question not going ele/mes with something like-

12 Illusion
10 Inspiration
8+1 Energy Storage
2 Fire

The hit to fragility makes it a little bit less lethal, but the energy bar increase imo more than makes up for that.

Dreamsmith · Feb 15, 2005, 11:29 PM // 23:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sleeky101

The hit to fragility makes it a little bit less lethal, but the energy bar increase imo more than makes up for that.

I'd be more concerned about the hit to Inspiration Magic. Getting a few extra points of energy at the start of the battle is definately not worth sacrificing all that mana later on. Not to mention the loss of the better armor.

Pharalon · Feb 15, 2005, 11:58 PM // 23:58

Personally, I always find a Ranger/Mes to be a much more robust option for a Fragility build. Generally, it requires very little change to a standard Ranger build, just the addition of Fragility and Incendiary arrows, You'll generally already have 2-3 other condition causing skills in your bar, have far superior armor, and still remain very effective even in the face of good hex removal.

Sleeky101 · Feb 16, 2005, 12:48 AM // 00:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreamsmith

I'd be more concerned about the hit to Inspiration Magic. Getting a few extra points of energy at the start of the battle is definately not worth sacrificing all that mana later on.

3*10= 30

Net gain power drain @13 – net gain power drain @ 10 = 6

Net gain energy [email protected] – net gain energy drain@ 10 = 3

Recharge:
Power drain- 25seconds
Energy drain- 20seconds

You wouldn’t get the energy back until 1 min. 20 sec. mark (4th cast of energy drain) and you would break 30en at 1min 40sec, assuming you used the skills asap. It is probably more of a toss up energy wise than what I first assumed.

**EDIT-Possibly looking at how many times you can do the fragility/mark at the start of a fight with 30 extra energy opposed to the energy over time could be the deciding factor. I guess I like frontloading a little bit more than most.

**EDIT AGAIN: Mark's recast time makes frontloading a non-factor. Bleh.

Bobangry · Feb 16, 2005, 01:05 AM // 01:05

That first Mo/Me build (Healing Prarys / Divine Favor) is errily similar to a build I was working on. Same skill point distribution and 6 of the same skills.

Blessed Aura , Peace and Harmony , Healing Breeze , Healing Seed , Vigorous Spirit , Orison of Healing . I would have put Divine Spirit on him too (infact I think I did have it on him for awhile) but my guild was pretty harsh in their assessment of that spell. The only real difference is that I was toying with Leech Signet for a slight mana regen. I put a BiP in the group too though so it isn't 100% neccessary. Actually it might even hurt because it would take off my Peace and Harmony making me recast it for 5 mana...or since it's a signet would it not count as a spell?...damn, now you are making me think.

I love the build, and having you do an article on it made my buddy think twice about how critical he was on it. (he went right to his Team Builder and made it but put in channeling instead of Inspired Hex for mana regen) Ah the joy of being right.

I'm looking forward to your continued series.

Freyas · Feb 16, 2005, 02:14 AM // 02:14

Incendiary Arrows could work well with Fragility as well, given a low Wilderness Survival attribute in order to keep you burn duration down to 1 second. The difficulty I see is that most bows have a 2 second or greater firing rate, meaning you'd only be able to trigger incendiary arrows at most 4 times during the 8 second duration of the preparation. Mark of Rodgort lasts 10 seconds, and wands attack faster, giving an additional 2-3 attacks that trigger burning. The ranger would have access to poison and cripple fairly easily, which could make up for the reduced triggers from burning. My biggest concern with having a ranger primary for a Fragility-based build, however, is energy- with the lower energy pool, you'll have a hard time getting the energy to use too many of your skills(though expertise would help), and keeping up Fragility- A ranger starts with 25 energy and 3 arrows of regeneration- your natural regen will give you just a little more energy than required to keep casting Fragility every 20 seconds or so, leaving you little energy to use any other skills to help inflict conditions.

Overall, I'd say a R/Me Fragility build would be viable- you'd lose some efficiency in dealing damage via Fragility, but you can be more effective in the face of hex removal.

I chose Mo/E rather than E/Mo due to the easier ability to keep going with Fragility, as well as the increased effectiveness of Fragility and the Inspiration skills. Having an Elementalist primary gives you access to a larger energy pool, but without the energy management to keep using the skills, you'll reach a point where you will need to sit around and recharge. Since the Me/E build should be able to continue using their skills when they recharge, the extra energy is not really needed. The key point for deciding is that the build isn't limited by energy regeneration(with the energy management skills), but rather by recharge times- an Elementalist won't be able to spam out the damage faster. However, if you wanted to make an E/Me to use fragility, you could use Enervating Charge and Blinding Flash to get some more frontloaded damage, at the cost of having some down-time later on where you'll need to regenerate energy.

"On Fire" is considered a condition, though as Saus said, I can't be specific on things in the Alpha. The skills and skill descriptions are subject to change without notice, and I'm not allowed to talk about changes in the alpha, so in general, I make these builds by looking at the descriptions on the site. However, if I'm unsure about if something does in fact work, I do double-check that they do work before posting about them.

Pharalon · Feb 16, 2005, 04:08 AM // 04:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freyas

Incendiary Arrows could work well with Fragility as well, given a low Wilderness Survival attribute in order to keep you burn duration down to 1 second. The difficulty I see is that most bows have a 2 second or greater firing rate, meaning you'd only be able to trigger incendiary arrows at most 4 times during the 8 second duration of the preparation.

It actually works best with a 2 second fire rate bow and 2 second burn length. That'll maximize your damage output. As you said, rangers also have the advantage of having so many conditions easily available: on-fire, posion, cripple, daze and bleeding, which gives them a much higher DPS potential.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freyas

My biggest concern with having a ranger primary for a Fragility-based build, however, is energy- with the lower energy pool, you'll have a hard time getting the energy to use too many of your skills(though expertise would help), and keeping up Fragility- A ranger starts with 25 energy and 3 arrows of regeneration- your natural regen will give you just a little more energy than required to keep casting Fragility every 20 seconds or so, leaving you little energy to use any other skills to help inflict conditions.

This is the main drawback with taking the ran/mes over a mes/el. You need to a little more judicious with your energy usage, and probably have to spread yourself out over 4 attribute lines if you want to be effective in more than short bursts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freyas

Overall, I'd say a R/Me Fragility build would be viable- you'd lose some efficiency in dealing damage via Fragility, but you can be more effective in the face of hex removal.

That's a pretty fair assement.