Curse

Echowinds · Feb 07, 2006, 04:50 AM // 04:50

Hey guys, I just started PVPing and I'm running a Boon Prot build. As with many others that are starting out, I'm very noob

I hope you guys can get some questions out of my head

Here's my Build:

Mo/N20

10 Blood
14 Divine
14 Protection

Divine Boon
Rez Signet
Contemplation of Purity
Reversal of Fortune
Guardian
Mend Aliment
Shielding Hands
Offering of Blood*

My questions are:
1: Why do people prefer Mend Aliment over Draw Condition when running boon?

2: Has anyone explored the possibility of Draw Condition + Plague Touch

3: Why use the +15E/-1E gen Wand when Boon users desperately need energy? I know it gives a big starting bonus but it started to hurt me in the long term. And if it's so great, Why not use the +27e/-1E gen off hand as well?

Thanks a million

NatalieD · Feb 07, 2006, 04:55 AM // 04:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Echowinds

My questions are:
1: Why do people prefer Mend Aliment over Draw Condition when running boon?

Because you need to be able to cure conditions that are on you. You're the main target in a 4v4 match, so being unable to remove deep wounds and degen stuff from yourself is really bad.

Quote:

2: Has anyone explored the possibility of Draw Condition + Plague Touch

I'd rather have the extra skill slot, personally. While it's fun to dump conditions on enemies that way, it's not all that significant in most matches.

Quote:

3: Why use the +15E/-1E gen Wand when Boon users desperately need energy? I know it gives a big starting bonus but it started to hurt me in the long term. And if it's so great, Why not use the +27e/-1E gen off hand as well?

Uh... I don't know about anyone else, but I use a 15/-1 and 27/-1 only to switch to when I need to cast something (mainly OoB) but don't have enough energy. Other than that I stick with my defensive pvp holy staff of enchanting.

Also, I would highly recommend putting in Holy Veil in place of Res Signet or Shielding Hands. Removing hexes from teammates as well as yourself is quite important. Your whole offense could get shut down by a good necro or mesmer if you can't remove any hexes.

Esrever · Feb 07, 2006, 05:06 AM // 05:06

Boon Prots are best run with 16 Divine and 9 Prot. They are used for quick heals with the nice effects of the prot spells as a secondary bonus. Monks generally don't bring a rez. I recommend Holy Veil in place of it.

1. Mend Ailment is a nice heal with several conditions stacked. Draw only heals yourself. It is a good idea, however, to put Draw on another character for dealing with mass conditions, if your team build has the space.

2. Yes, but that would require you to charge straight into the Warrior chasing you or right in the middle of a pack of enemies. Not a smart idea.

3. The 15, -1 is used as a supply of emergency energy. When all the bad stuff is over, you can switch back to a Blood Staff and let the energy regen.

Echowinds · Feb 07, 2006, 05:09 AM // 05:09

I see, thanks for the quick replies.

^^^And what is this blood staff you speak of? o.O?

chris_nin00 · Feb 07, 2006, 05:16 AM // 05:16

1. Mend Ailment
2. Running into the battlefield = No No.
3. Extra energy when you need it. Used for nothing more

.

-Put your Divine Favor up at 16 since that'll be doing most of the healing.
-Get rid of the Res Sig

Nice start to a great build

.

Esrever · Feb 07, 2006, 05:19 AM // 05:19

PvP or Collectors(?) Staff with a blood requirement. Staffs are nice because of the fortitude and enchanting upgrades. Make sure the staff has the 20% chance of recharge for blood skills on it, as the times when it does activate it really helps you manage your energy with Offering.

Gildor Took · Feb 07, 2006, 05:41 AM // 05:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Echowinds

3: Why use the +15E/-1E gen Wand when Boon users desperately need energy? I know it gives a big starting bonus but it started to hurt me in the long term. And if it's so great, Why not use the +27e/-1E gen off hand as well?

Used to hide your energy from energy denial

Siliconwafer · Feb 07, 2006, 08:38 AM // 08:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Echowinds

1: Why do people prefer Mend Aliment over Draw Condition when running boon?

Also, because drawing a cripple or a deep wound to yourself is a really, really bad idea

, which renders you unable to kite around, or lowers your max health. Especially when you're going to be targeted most of the time.

And I recommend you run either a blood staff or a 20% focus and 20/20 offhand (blood) on your first slot, with a +15/-1 and a +12e off for your second slot, and a +15/-1 27/-1 for your third (sorry if my numbers are a bit out). The fourth can be filled with negative energy items if you've got them, or can be left blank (or equip something like a peppermint sheild or something).

sno · Feb 07, 2006, 08:39 AM // 08:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gildor Took

Used to hide your energy from energy denial

well.. you may want a THIRD set to hide energy, but the 15/27/-2 set is just for emergencies.

I definitely recommend getting rid of guardian and shielding hands and taking Holy Veil. hex removal is priceless for boon prots in arenas, and still useful for 8v8, depending on what the other monks are using. Also I would use prot spirit as well. Prot spirit > shielding hands against big spike damage. Ditch the sig if you want to carry guardian, which isn't a bad idea.

As far as mend ail goes, you can use it just like reversal, just as a spam heal (although it's much more effective if you only use it when they have a condition.)

wheel · Feb 07, 2006, 09:53 PM // 21:53

As far as the build in Arena that I use to monk, this works wonders. It's been posted multiple times, but it's simply one of the most effective monks in the game, and it's extremely versatile.

Boon Prot

Monk/Necromancer
Level: 20

Divine Favor: 16 (12+4)
Protection Prayers: 9 (8+1)
Blood Magic: 10

Reversal of Fortune (Protection Prayers)
Guardian (Protection Prayers)
Mend Ailment (Protection Prayers)
Protective Spirit (Protection Prayers)
Holy Veil (Monk other)
Contemplation of Purity (Divine Favor)
Offering of Blood [Elite] (Blood Magic)
Divine Boon (Divine Favor)

If you only have a PvP character available for you to monk with, you're still not out of luck. The weapon sets you should use are as follows:

Set 1
(1) Weapon: Hale PvP Holy Staff of Fortitude

(1) Shield/Focus: PvP Idol

Set 2
(2) Weapon: PvP Truncheon

(2) Shield/Focus: PvP Divine Symbol

Then, once you're done creating the character, activate weapon sets 3 and 4. Reposition your weapon sets so that they are as follows:

Set 1
(1) Weapon: Hale PvP Holy Staff of Fortitude
(1) Shield/Focus: None

Set 2
(2) Weapon: PvP Truncheon
(2) Shield/Focus: PvP Idol

Set 3
(3) Weapon: PvP Truncheon
(3) Shield/Focus: PvP Divine Symbol

Set 4
(4) Weapon: None
(4) Shield/Focus: None

Once you're done setting that up, how do you use it? Use Set 1 for regular casting of your protection spells. Use Set 2 if you have at least 3 energy when you're on Set 1 to cast OoB (because OoB costs 5 energy, and Set 2 gives u 2 extra energy from Set 1). This nets you much faster recharges of OoB over time, which in turn gives you that much more energy. Use Set 3 sparingly. Use it when you've been forced to use up your energy for healing and need to get off one quick spell to save the day. Another use of it should be when you would have less than 5 energy on Set 2, the set you use to cast OoB. Switch to Set 3 to allow you to cast OoB and get back on your feet. Don't stay in this set, however, as it gives you -1 Energy regeneration, which is a very bad thing in the long term. Use Set 4 if you're up against an energy denial team. Debilitating Shot, Signet of Weariness, Energy Surge/Burn, etc. When you see them casting Signet of Weariness for example, switch down to this set to prevent them draining you of some of your energy.

Echowinds · Feb 08, 2006, 02:44 AM // 02:44

All right, I took all of your suggestion into consideration.

But how are you suppose to use Holy Veil? Do you cast and dismiss quickly?

Crispie · Feb 08, 2006, 03:48 AM // 03:48

Precisely. Im still amazed at how popular the boon prot has gotten.

Apple · Feb 08, 2006, 04:04 AM // 04:04

I feel uncool because everyone's using it now

I'll keep some of my elitism because i use mantra of recall rather than OoB...

wheel · Feb 08, 2006, 05:54 AM // 05:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Echowinds

All right, I took all of your suggestion into consideration.

But how are you suppose to use Holy Veil? Do you cast and dismiss quickly?

Against normal teams with just a few hexes, you use it like any normal hex removal; you cast and dismiss it quickly. Against heavy hex teams or teams that have disabling hexes like Backfire, Migraine, Diversion, Shame, and the like, you have the ability to "precast" holy veil so that 1) the hexes take twice as long to cast on you and 2) You have a zero second hex removal so that you can remove the killer hex before the cover hex hits. Even if your reaction time is slow, since both the killer hex and the cover hex take twice as long to cast on you, the cover hex will take roughly 1-2 seconds to hit, more than enough time to dismiss holy veil.

Warskull · Feb 08, 2006, 10:09 AM // 10:09

On Draw: As a boon prot you must kite, often. If you draw cripple you are dead. Being able to mend ailment conditions off you is extremely useful.

On Plague Touch: NO! You should never be this close to an enemy and you should be healing or kiting.

On the +15E equipment: You should not use this as your primary set. The +15E items are emergency energy only to be tapped into when you absolutely need it.

On Holy Veil: This skill is extremely flexible. You can cast and immediately dismiss for a hex removal. You can also precast it on a target that you suspect will be hexed and then dismiss it as soon as the hex gets on the target. This is called pre-veiling. If after a short time that target does not get hexed you simply remove veil. Practice with it and it is a powerful tool.

Sister Spice · Feb 11, 2006, 10:02 AM // 10:02

I've been wondering about holy veil use.

I'm a PVE not a PVP boon monk so bear that in mind.....

As a bonder I was a great advocate of holy veil as it feeds into the signet - so it synergised with the build.
But in a boon build it seems the opposite and I don't understand why one would use holy veil instead of (for instance) remove hex?
Holy veil uses your pips and is more fiddly to activate (the double click often takes a couple of attempts)
Remove hex would be quicker - and as you wouldnt be leaving it on someone would get more of the boon bonus by repeated use and so seems more in synergy with the boon build.

Is the only reason people mention veil because it slows down hex casting? If so is that because it will be more relevant in PVP than PVE?

Sister Spice

NatalieD · Feb 11, 2006, 10:32 AM // 10:32

Remove Hex = 2 second cast = rangers make you cry.

Also, Holy Veil synergizes with Contemplation of Purity for instant mass removal.

flamingmarmo · Feb 11, 2006, 01:16 PM // 13:16

I find that in RA/TA when playing pretty much any build you need something to prevent interpupts on casts over 1-2 seconds especially if you are a high priority target hence remove hex is a big no. Most mesmers and necros who are any good use 1 or 2 cover hexes at least so being able to pre apply it so when the hex does land you can strip it before the cover comes(you have to be very fast to get veil up and down after a hex is cast and after the cover. Alternitivly cast veil then cop for 210+heal 3 cond and hexes gone and no fiddly clicking to dismiss.

JR · Feb 11, 2006, 02:45 PM // 14:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by flamingmarmo

I find that in RA/TA when playing pretty much any build you need something to prevent interpupts on casts over 1-2 seconds especially if you are a high priority target hence remove hex is a big no.

The only spells on a decent boon prots bar that are at all interruptible are guardian, mend ailment and veil. And even they are only 1 second at most, not really worth bringing something just for that.

Sister Spice · Feb 11, 2006, 03:04 PM // 15:04

Ah thanks

I havent really explored COP much

doesnt Holy Veil have a 2 second casting time too and a longer recharge time than Remove Hex?
I know it's instant to shoot it off (subject to the vagaries of clicking of course

) but I didnt think it was a fast casting enchantment?

Sister Spice

Quote:

Originally Posted by NatalieD

Remove Hex = 2 second cast = rangers make you cry.

Also, Holy Veil synergizes with Contemplation of Purity for instant mass removal.