Curse

JoeKnowMo · Jun 20, 2006, 12:17 AM // 00:17

Profession: Rit/Mo

Name: Spike Spam

Type: PvE

Category: Spiker

Attributes:
Channeling 12 + 1 + 3
Spawning 11 + 1
Healing Prayers 8

Skills Set:
Spirit Rift
Ancestors Rage
Channeled Strike/Splinter Weapon
Essence Strike
Destruction
Attuned Was Songkai
Healing Breeze
Flesh of my Flesh

Summary: Start with Attuned Was Songkai for the reduced energy cost for the rest of your skills. Place Destruction down and then go to work on a mob with Spirit Rift and Ancestor's rage for some nice AoE damage. Follow with Essence Strike and Channeled Strike. Then use Spirit Rift again. Spirit Rift and Essence Strike are you 2 main spam spells with a recharge time of 5 seconds and 8 seconds respectively. Use Channeled Strike and Ancestor's Rage as they become available. The energy gain from Essence Strike is especially nice while holding Attuned Was Songkai. Combined with the downtime of your spells, you should have few energy problems during most battles.

Notes & Concerns: If you want to do more AoE damage, you can swap out Channeled Strike for Splinter Weapon. Cast Splinter Weapon on as many of your teamates as you can before a battle (you should be able to get it on at least 4 teamates before it runs out on the first one you cast it on, and still have time to put up Destruction) for some pretty big armor ignoring AoE damage.

As most mobs will come to you, you should be able to stay within range of Destruction for the energy gain from Essence Strike.

You can go with any secondary and the self- heal from that class if you like or go with Restoration instead of Healing Prayers.

Credit: The GWFreaks build creator that really helps to speed up the process of posting builds.

sinican · Jun 20, 2006, 12:32 PM // 12:32

Essence strike requires a spirit for the energy gain not holding an item...

spirit rift is a high energy cost slow casting spell 2 sec to cast 3 sec to actually go off and many times the target has moved

I do use both essence and rift however i use essence as more an enrgy management spell and rift as a crowd contril to follow my spike chain

I use 1 spirit typically a long lasting low cost on Preservation is great for this and it heals the party randomly to assist the healer

16 chan
13 rest
4 spawn

essence
spirit burn
gaze
channeled strike
rift
destruction/recupe/preservation
mend body and soul
flesh of my flesh

use a staff for faster casting and faster recharge as well as more cover fire

essence>burn>gaze>channeled
Essence>Rift>burn>gaze
Essence>gaze>channeled>burn
Essence.... etc....etc

this is typically the chains to follow with the recharges and such... I always use essence when its is recharged it will keep your energy constant

the spirit is more important for lasting longer than doing anything else the spirit keeps your energy charged via essence keeps dmg going via gaze removed conditions via mend body and depending on the spirit you choose will proved either more area dmg(destruction) or assisted healing (preservation/recuperation)

I have been favoring Preservation it has a 5 energy cost 45 sec recharge with a 63 sec life expectancy not haveing to recast a spirit in a battle is important due to how easily they can be interupted and how long they take to cast

using a channeling staff with faster cast and recharge will prived better over all dmg flow... ping attack and start casting away lay that spirit and begin spamming those spells...

JoeKnowMo · Jun 20, 2006, 06:11 PM // 18:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinican

Essence strike requires a spirit for the energy gain not holding an item...

I said "The energy gain from Essence Strike is especially nice while holding Attuned Was Songkai" not to suggest that u get the energy gain due to holding an item, but rather than due to the the reduced cost from holding Songkai, Essence Strike will cost you 3 energy and gain you back 8 (net gain 5 instead of the usual 3). Of course, you get energy back from being near a spirit, that's why Destruction is included.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinican

spirit rift is a high energy cost slow casting spell

You can't keep using Spirit Rift without some form of serious energy management and Essence Strike will not do it. That's why my build is centered around Songkai, as Rift will cost only 9 energy instead of the usual 15.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinican

I use 1 spirit typically a long lasting low cost on Preservation is great for this and it heals the party randomly to assist the healer

16 chan
13 rest
4 spawn

essence
spirit burn
gaze
channeled strike
rift
destruction/recupe/preservation
mend body and soul
flesh of my flesh

use a staff for faster casting and faster recharge as well as more cover fire

essence>burn>gaze>channeled
Essence>Rift>burn>gaze
Essence>gaze>channeled>burn
Essence.... etc....etc

I really dislike Preservation as it randomly heals a nearby ally, not an ally most in need of healing. It's annoying to see the + HP #s go up on an ally's head whose health was already max when there's another ally whose health is real low.

You can't use Spirit Rift often with your build, which is a great AoE dmg spell. Songkai for energy management tops having the random, often useless heals from Preservation imo. You attack chain is fine except that you would do more damage with more Spirit Rifts thrown in, but you can't due to lack of energy. With Songkai, you can cast Spirit Rift when you have only 9 energy

By the time you cast it, your energy should be around 3 which is enough to cast Essence resulting in a net gain of 5 energy, which will allow you to cast Ancestor's Rage for some more AoE dmg.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinican

I have been favoring Preservation it has a 5 energy cost 45 sec recharge with a 63 sec life expectancy not haveing to recast a spirit in a battle is important due to how easily they can be interupted and how long they take to cast

using a channeling staff with faster cast and recharge will prived better over all dmg flow... ping attack and start casting away lay that spirit and begin spamming those spells...

With Songkai, Destruction only costs 6 energy. You need to replace it every 30 seconds, and with a cast time of 3 seconds it's a little annoying but not sooo bad. With Songkai, Healing Breeze will cost just 6 energy and heal for 160 health over 10 seconds.

Weapon set I use is a +5 en 20 HSR Spawning wand and a 20 HSR Spawning offhand. 36% chance of Songkai being recharged before it ends really helps.

Bottom line, using Songkai, the Spike Spam build will put out more DPS and more AoE dmg than the build you suggest.

sinican · Jun 20, 2006, 10:24 PM // 22:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeKnowMo

I said "The energy gain from Essence Strike is especially nice while holding Attuned Was Songkai" not to suggest that u get the energy gain due to holding an item, but rather than due to the the reduced cost from holding Songkai, Essence Strike will cost you 3 energy and gain you back 8 (net gain 5 instead of the usual 3). Of course, you get energy back from being near a spirit, that's why Destruction is included.

You can't keep using Spirit Rift without some form of serious energy management and Essence Strike will not do it. That's why my build is centered around Songkai, as Rift will cost only 9 energy instead of the usual 15.

I really dislike Preservation as it randomly heals a nearby ally, not an ally most in need of healing. It's annoying to see the + HP #s go up on an ally's head whose health was already max when there's another ally whose health is real low.

You can't use Spirit Rift often with your build, which is a great AoE dmg spell. Songkai for energy management tops having the random, often useless heals from Preservation imo. You attack chain is fine except that you would do more damage with more Spirit Rifts thrown in, but you can't due to lack of energy. With Songkai, you can cast Spirit Rift when you have only 9 energy

By the time you cast it, your energy should be around 3 which is enough to cast Essence resulting in a net gain of 5 energy, which will allow you to cast Ancestor's Rage for some more AoE dmg.

With Songkai, Destruction only costs 6 energy. You need to replace it every 30 seconds, and with a cast time of 3 seconds it's a little annoying but not sooo bad. With Songkai, Healing Breeze will cost just 6 energy and heal for 160 health over 10 seconds.

Weapon set I use is a +5 en 20 HSR Spawning wand and a 20 HSR Spawning offhand. 36% chance of Songkai being recharged before it ends really helps.

Bottom line, using Songkai, the Spike Spam build will put out more DPS and more AoE dmg than the build you suggest.

Im not bashing your build please dont take it that way...

you are spending more time casting than you are dmging that is really my point... ive already been through this build you have posted and graduated to my suggestion for better spiking...

your main AOE spell takes way to long to be "reliable" though it is devistating i agree and that is why i still use it still you are still taking a 2 second cast time (not using a channeling staff) and a 3 second wait before the spell blooms which again more than 50% of the time the intended targets have seperated moved etc... a lot of mobs do not clump unless in tight areas (mainly in the slums) where as i find this spell a complete waste of energy when using it on single targets it doesnt have a good aoe range at all IMO...

I do not spam rift because quite frankly again using a Spirit mainly as a support for my spells not their usually weak supports that go with them and with a chan staff you are able to spam essence/burn/gaze almost consistantly all of which are 1 second cast (instant with the chan staff) and no longer than 8 second recharge... gaze outdamages rift and burn equals it which both are completely spammable...

what most people usually don't realize is that unless you can AOE enough dmg to actually kill everything with a single chain that it really isnt worth the time casting energy spent because if you can take down a single target that is 1 less creature doing dmg instead of 5 "almost" dead creatures banging on you, youd only have 3-4 beating on you

plus if your destroying your spirits prematurely you end up not using them to their full effectiveness

with the build suggestion i made a single destruction spirit lasts long enough to pick off 4-5 creatures (any class, minus bosses)

the spike build you have can have good dmg for attempting to destroy a crowd IF they all stay clumped and still takes way to long to even get the first one down...

Im sorry im just trying to be helpfull, if it is what you know and like play it love it and live otherwise if you are still experimenting explore the suggestions i have given...

we all do know that certain builds are far bette than others in certain areas and then far weaker in other areas (meaning locations)

JoeKnowMo · Jun 24, 2006, 03:51 PM // 15:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinican

Im not bashing your build please dont take it that way...

Not taken that way, I assure you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinican

your main AOE spell takes way to long to be "reliable" though it is devistating i agree and that is why i still use it still you are still taking a 2 second cast time (not using a channeling staff) and a 3 second wait before the spell blooms which again more than 50% of the time the intended targets have seperated moved etc... a lot of mobs do not clump unless in tight areas (mainly in the slums) where as i find this spell a complete waste of energy when using it on single targets it doesnt have a good aoe range at all IMO...

Mob control in PvE is pretty easy, even with henchies... unless you take Cynn along.

You can get most mobs to clump, which is why AoE dmg is king in PvE. All you have to do is hold the mob in the same place for 3 seconds after you cast Spirit Rift, which isn't at all difficult.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinican

what most people usually don't realize is that unless you can AOE enough dmg to actually kill everything with a single chain that it really isnt worth the time casting energy spent because if you can take down a single target that is 1 less creature doing dmg instead of 5 "almost" dead creatures banging on you, youd only have 3-4 beating on you

Sorry, most, if not all, PvE players would disagree with you on this. A Nuker > Air Spiker for PvE. Barrage > Punishing shot for PvE.

And a nuker doesn't kill everything with a single chain, but they're still very useful in PvE. The Spirit Rift + Ancestor's Rage combo will drop 3-4 enemies health well below half, and then you and your teammates can pick them off with Channeled Strike and Essence Strike.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinican

I do not spam rift because quite frankly again using a Spirit mainly as a support for my spells not their usually weak supports that go with them and with a chan staff you are able to spam essence/burn/gaze almost consistantly all of which are 1 second cast (instant with the chan staff) and no longer than 8 second recharge... gaze outdamages rift and burn equals it which both are completely spammable...

Gaze from Beyond has a 15 second recharge, not 8 seconds as you suggest. I don't consider that a characteristic of a "spammable" spell.

Also, Gaze from Beyond (at 16 Channeling) does 126 damage compared to 121 for Spirit Rift. So yes, it outdamages Rift, but only by a measly 5 points.

Spirit Burn, as you suggest, does not do the same dmg as Rift. Spirit Burn does 84 dmg (at 16 Channel) which is a good deal less than the 121 that Rift does.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinican

plus if your destroying your spirits prematurely you end up not using them to their full effectiveness

with the build suggestion i made a single destruction spirit lasts long enough to pick off 4-5 creatures (any class, minus bosses)

I'm not sure where you're getting the idea from that my build destroys spirits prematurely.

Destruction in both your build and mine will last the same amount of time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinican

we all do know that certain builds are far bette than others in certain areas and then far weaker in other areas (meaning locations)

True. But one can make some general statements about PvE while noting there are very few exceptions to this. Statements such as: AoE dmg > Single target damage. The only reason I suggest Splinter Weapon as an alternative to Channeled Strike (which is the highest dmg spell for a Rit if holding an item), is because of the AoE dmg.

Another general statement: A good build is centered around an elite skill. I'm not sure what elite your build is centered around? Most would agree that Preservation as an elite is a poor choice for a spiker. If you don't have energy issues as a spiker, it's because you're not casting often enough. I would recommend using Attuned Was Songkai or some form of energy management and casting more often.