Curse

Blame the Monks · Jan 19, 2007, 01:43 AM // 01:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ensign

Veil. You don't just need it against heavy hex teams, it's good for pulling Diversions and Water Snares as well - not being able to pull some of those can be pretty crushing. Against power hexing teams though you're not going to put up much of a fight, in terms of removal, without Purge Signets and the like.

Peace,
-CxE

I think Enisgn is spot on. I think it is important to realize there are two different styles of hexing -- spot hexes and overload.

Spot hexes are usually diversion, shame, shadow prision, and ice magic. There won't be covers and the hex is usually just to get a short term share or shutdown. Against spot hexing, a quick remove is all you need. Veil is by far the best choice -- both for preveiling and recharge. It is the best combo of utility, price, and recharge and should be the first choice for any spot removal in any build. Blight can also work, although I prefer other elites.

Against overload teams, on the other hand, realize they can churn out hexes far faster than you can remove them (pbond > any remove, including elites). Indiscriminate use of spot removes like veil will almost always remove a junk cover hex and hence do next to nothing. This doesn't mean veil is worthless, as you can still preveil or coordinate and drill down to hit key hexes, but rather realize veil/blight/smitehex/etc is not a very strong counter to a hex team. Only mass removes like divert, purge, convert, and expel can hope to compete with the hex volume of an overload team (and still often cannot remove everything). Also, against an overload team realize the most important counter is not hex removes, but heal party (or LoD).

So in asking what the best hex remove is, you really need to understand the meta, what the rest of your team is running, and what you are willing to risk. I personally believe every build needs at least one spot remover, so I try to include at least one veil on a monk in any pvp format or meta. But rarely if ever will you want more than 2 spot removes, as they quickly aren't worth the spot on your bar -- one is enough against spot duty and two+ still fail against overload. And if hex overload is a threat in the meta, consider bringing at least one mass remover in your build. It is basically the same cycle you go through with the proper amount of anti-physical, etc.

xcutioner · Jan 19, 2007, 05:19 PM // 17:19

Adding to what blame said, alot of times if you are using expel hexes vs a hex overload team , they will be smart enough to bury the main hex with at least 2 covers, making it more difficult to get their main hex off, and requires some teamwork with the other hex removers.

With energy swapping purge signet is extremely sexy. I remember watching some IQ monks play that skill a long time ago when I was first starting to watch gvg tv, and I was like wow how do they do that and then cast right away. Good times.

Ensign · Jan 19, 2007, 08:39 PM // 20:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carinae Dragonblood

Why Smite Hex only on smiters? The smiting component only affects the damage the skill does, which is totally secondary. (isn't it?)

The smiting damage from Smite Hex is essential to the skill. With the damage, it's an awesome, conditional nuke - without it, it's just a dumb, long recharge single hex removal that doesn't solve any problems.

Holy Veil exists. That can be used as a single removal that is straight up better than Smite Hex - but that's not why it's playable. All of the preveil tricks, and the time manipulation that you can perform because of it, are what push the skill over the top. Essentially, Veil is still useful against heavy hex teams (because you can actually pull a valuable hex with it), and it's the best removal against short term hexing (as you can pull them immediately, and it throws them off). Also, preveiling several people can get you a lot of frontloaded hex removal, effectively blunting their first wave of hexes. Even with all of those tricks, I don't think the skill would be valuable if it weren't for dangerous short term hexes that you need to pull sometimes, like Freezing Gust. It's not enough to justify a slot against a hex-heavy build.

Empathic Removal was marginal back when every build had a water ele. Now, I wouldn't bother touching the skill. It's great for small fights against a water guy but not very good otherwise.

Peace,
-CxE

holden · Jan 19, 2007, 09:35 PM // 21:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemesis of the Void

Another option is to drag an expel hexes mesmer along to take huge loads of hexes off the monks.

there are many better choices for your mesmer's elite spot.

Mantra of Recovery being one of them. With dom mesmers being so strong right now and always having at least 10 in fast cast it's an easy fit. Throw Remove Hex on the bar and you can be very, very helpful.

mooshee · Jan 20, 2007, 04:57 AM // 04:57

What about deny hexes?

jesh · Jan 20, 2007, 06:43 AM // 06:43

If you're using Assassin's Promise, what would you all consider the best hex removal? Convert looks more attractive, but you can't target yourself. Smite Hex maybe?

Arkantos · Jan 21, 2007, 08:22 PM // 20:22

gogo divert hexes.