Curse

striderkaaru · Feb 01, 2006, 05:36 PM // 17:36

i'm not so sure about that.

here's racthoh using it effectively:

here's me using it for the same purpose:

zomg! even a fast casting mes gets skull haxed:

it might not be the best elite to use for pvp, but it has amazing effects in pve. how else do pro warriors clear out fow in small 3/4-man teams?

Poison Ivy · Feb 01, 2006, 06:12 PM // 18:12

Personally, I think your way is the BEST way (with my limited knowleadge).

What are the effects of daze again? I still don't get A-net why they treat the effects of daze so seriously, as if it's a 1-hit KO effect.

Savio · Feb 01, 2006, 06:15 PM // 18:15

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/content/dazed-id65.php

It is effectively a 1-hit KO effect to casters. Well, if it doesn't get removed, like in PvP.

Poison Ivy · Feb 01, 2006, 06:25 PM // 18:25

Blah, conditions are so easy to remove these days it really isn't worth 25 energy nor 9 AD. But against noob teams... *snicker*

Cecil The Magician · Feb 01, 2006, 07:04 PM // 19:04

Skull Crack can be very effective, 15 secs where they bassically cant do anything, which most likely in that time you will have enough adrenaline to do it again. Its good, but I'd rather have Eviscerate or Battle Rage for my elite skill. Thats maily because Im bad at timing.

Racthoh · Feb 01, 2006, 10:43 PM // 22:43

The one main flaw to the skill in PvE (well not really a flaw but a very exploitable weakness) is that monk enemies will always attempt to heal when their health reaches a certain point. It's gotten to the point where in the 3 man groups that we've been attempting that I'm hitting the first spell cast by the Shadow Monks almost every time.

It depends ultimately on the spell. It's my belief that in PvE that a monk enemy will use a healing spell when it will return them to full health (or a little bit under). They will not waste energy healing for an excessive amount. Once you find that point on the enemy, it's not exactly a challenge to time it against 1 second, even 3/4 second cast spells.

I use Flurry with Skull Crack giving me 1 attack every second. Orison has a 2 second recharge. Count two attacks, provided the enemy is below that certain point, use Skull Crack on attack 3. Easy as that.

CKaz · Feb 01, 2006, 10:51 PM // 22:51

lol nice even skull crack in pve - good show

I'm ele first and necro second, yer making me wish warrior wasnt third - terrific what you guys have done with 'em. I've actually been farming skill points for PvE unlocks - my Warr/Rang was originally just an unlock tool.

Much different now, a lot due to the posts here - kudos!

striderkaaru · Feb 02, 2006, 03:34 PM // 15:34

rac brings up a good point, but i wouldn't really call it an exploitable weakness. it's just the way we play the game, both pve and pvp. it's a little easier in pve, but anticipating an enemy's actions is something we do everywhere. in pvp, if an axe w/e is running up to you, you can pretty much expect a gale, frenzy, eviscerate spike combo. or as an infuse monk, part of saving a teammate's life is anticipating the spike and timing the infuse properly. computer ai is just easier to predict, but part of the timing is anticipating their actions. rac's method is a little more methodical than mine, but he's leet like that.

anyway, i wouldn't call it any more of an exploit than, say, the way we control aggro now. all a warrior needs to do is "lock" the aggro, and the casters will be safe for the most part. anticipating the heal from a shadow monk is just playing smart.

but yeah, in all of my time on these forums, i've been hearing about how much skull crack sucks and is undeserving of its elite status. i just wanted to show one of its uses and how it, in fact, does deserve the elite title.

Racthoh · Feb 02, 2006, 03:44 PM // 15:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by striderkaaru

anyway, i wouldn't call it any more of an exploit than, say, the way we control aggro now. all a warrior needs to do is "lock" the aggro, and the casters will be safe for the most part. anticipating the heal from a shadow monk is just playing smart.

Quite true, as I always scoff the gear/book and how exploitable it is yet every farming build pretty much just does that. Hell I use a wand on Aaxte just to avoid Riposte and Deadly Riposte.

It's only natural that you'll want to heal eventually, much in the same way that I'll draw out interrupts in PvE (to some extent playing on human behaviour in PvP). Try this; stand in front of an enemy with Distracting Shot or a fair distance away. Use a two second skill (signet preferred since you can keep using them for testing purposes) and have your eyes fixated on that enemy. The instant you see the interrupt, cancel the attack. Interrupt wasted. Eventually you can get to the point of using a skill, then stopping it before the enemy even attempts to interrupt it (but they'll still use it). It can also be done in PvP (although I would limit it to the use of TA/CA) where you have a clear view of all your enemies at one time.

It's not something I'd practice extensively, just something for the sake of understanding the mechanics of the game and human instinct.