Curse

xenoranger · Jun 05, 2006, 01:08 PM // 13:08

Witch Hunter
Class: N/W
Use: Duels, Alliance Battles, PvP, GvG

Attributes:
Swordsmanship - 9
Curses - 14 (10 + 1 + 3)
Tactics - 6 (or higher if you want)
Soul Reaping - Rest

Skills

Gash (Swordsmanship) 7
Sever Artery (Swordsmanship) 4
"Victory is Mine!" (Tactics) {E} 5,-,15
"None Shall Pass!" (Tactics) 10,-,45
Parasitic Bond (Curses) 5,1,2
Spinal Shivers/Shivers of Dread (Curses)
Gaze of Contempt (No Attrib) 15,2,20
Defensive Stance (Tactics) 5,-,45

Equipment:
Cold Damaging Sword (Required)
Icy Dragon Sword (Recommneded)
Wicked Scar Pattern (+1 Curses)
Sup Rune of Curses

Concept:
Unlike the Salem witch trials, you know who the witches are. You not only disable them, but take them down with a vengeance.

Skills Explained

Gash (Swordsmanship) 7
Nice way to start them bleeding. This is a great starting point to kill faster
Sever Artery (Swordsmanship) 4
Once bleeding, hit them with this to inflict a deep wound. The Deep Wound may not make sense right away, but it will in a moment.
"Victory is Mine!" (Tactics) {E} 5,-,15
They're suffering from 2 conditions now. You can regain at least 33 HP (if you have tactics @ lvl 6) for each condition. That's a 66HP recovery
"None Shall Pass!" (Tactics) 10,-,45
Don't let them run away. Knock them down quickly using this shout
Parasitic Bond (Curses) 5,1,2
Stupid and silly, but it's my curse of choice in everything. Besides, when you kill them, you get the HP returned (or after 20 sec). it's also a nice cover for the Shivers.
Spinal Shivers/Shivers of Dread (Curses)
You have a cold damage sword to activate this. Concept here is to keep them from using spells and skills to strike back or heal.

NOTE: I only use 14 levels in curses because at lvl 14 it only costs 5 energy every time shivers interrupts. Going higher will increase the duration, but have no real effect on energy consumption.
Gaze of Contempt (No Attrib) 15,2,20
Not necessary, but recommended to strip all enchantments before engaging the enemy.
Defensive Stance (Tactics) 5,-,45
If you're going after a monk, I guarentee you'll have a Warrior, Ranger, or Assassin try to protect. This is just a nice way to help defend against being hit.

Optional Replacements:

Gaze of Contempt can be replaced with Plague Touch for condition transference.

Weaknesses:

Hex Strippers:
If an outside healer realizes what they're doing, they can strip the hexes with skills like Convert Hexes.
Beat Down:
Defensive stance has a nice effect, but horrible recharge. If you need to run and you've already used it, you're pretty much screwed.
Fast Casting:
Skills that require a second or less to cast will be more difficult to interrupt. ALthough this isn't the cast with most elementalists and "SOME" monk builds, any opponent whose bar is full of quickly cast skill may cause a problem concerning interruptions.
Single Target:
Because it's more of a dueling setup, you will be focussed on a single enemy. However, if you stratigically select your targets, you can improve effectiveness of this build.

Strengths

Incessant Interrupt:
With your cold damage sword, you can swing away and continue to interrupt the enemy.
Energy Efficient:
The main attacks are adrenaline skills. You also have "Victory is Mine!" for energy recovery and HP.
HP Recovery:
Parasitic Bond and "Victory is Mine!" are nice ways to regain some HP if you find you're under attack from outside sources.

Nivrax Deathbringer · Jun 05, 2006, 01:40 PM // 13:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by xenoranger

Cold Damaging Sword (Required)
Icy Dragon Sword (Recommneded)

Why IDS is better? I would say its worse choice, becouse it reveal your build to enemies (everybody know, that you are using cold dmg for Spinal Shivers, that skin can be recognized from a long distance).

And if warriors have got any stace breaker skill - you are dead. They just smash you through.

I can`t say, if it really work, you can`t do much dmg only with Sword on lvl 9 and no strenght. 66hp from VIM is`nt too much (according to Parasitic Bond), Final Thrust would add some nice dmg to build.

MoeSyzslak · Jun 05, 2006, 01:44 PM // 13:44

I like your concept line...reads like something out of a movie. That said...

Just about all of your damage comes from the sword and you're a Necro primary.

You don't have any attack speed buff to help you build adrenaline to use your attacks.

"None" is your lone snare and it's a 45 second recharge.

You have no hex removal, condition removal is optional, and your self-heal is very, very dependant on other factors.

You're basically praying that someone is going to allow you to flail at them for a few seconds while you build the adrenaline to use your sword attack skills and then ViM. Of course, after knocking someone around with a cold weapon and Shivers on, you may not have the energy to use ViM.

Oh...and this will hopefully be a 1v1 duel since you've got no rez...

xenoranger · Jun 05, 2006, 02:12 PM // 14:12

Hmm...

I've had success with this so far in the uses I've outlined. No PvE success, but in AB Especially, Necros seem to go untouched when wielding a Sword (personal experience).

I'd like to hear any improvements that can be made to skill set.

(as far as Hex removal, necros never had hex removal... they're a primary source of hexes)

MoeSyzslak · Jun 05, 2006, 03:20 PM // 15:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by xenoranger

Hmm...

I've had success with this so far in the uses I've outlined. No PvE success, but in AB Especially, Necros seem to go untouched when wielding a Sword (personal experience).

I'd like to hear any improvements that can be made to skill set.

(as far as Hex removal, necros never had hex removal... they're a primary source of hexes)

Assuming we want to focus on a 1v1 scenario, I think you need to determine your priorities.

If your goal is to kill with physical damage and incorporate interrupts and/or enchant removal, I would consider a W or Ran primary. I think a R/Me with interrupts, snares, Tiger's fury, inspired hex, troll would stand a better chance 1v1 than what you propose.

If your goal is to run a Nec primary that does direct damage on a single target, check out Vampiric Spirit combined with other life-stealing skills from the Blood line.

xenoranger · Jun 05, 2006, 03:52 PM // 15:52

Purpose is to run a N/W that can not only provide a constant source of interupts, but also singlehandedly take down casters.

Believe it or not, it's a modification of a build that was used against me. I've seen this guy use it in other instances with a fair ammount of success.

Although (and I know I'm repeating) this build is tested and has a decent success rate in most cases... I'm understanding it's not the perfect build, but I'm interested how to improve on it as an N/W. N/W is a viable combination, but you need to make better use (than I have here) of the skills.

BTW:
Reading back, only 2 classes have hex removal (Mo & Me). I haven't seen any skills in other classes for hex removal.

MoeSyzslak · Jun 05, 2006, 06:34 PM // 18:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by xenoranger

Purpose is to run a N/W that can not only provide a constant source of interupts, but also singlehandedly take down casters.

Is there any particular reason that you are committed to this pairing of professions? I ask because, my thought process generally starts with the question "What do I want to accomplish?" and then works the professions and skills around it.

The challenge with Shivers of course is that the interrupts are only as constant as your pool of energy.

I'm familiar with the classes that have hex removal. I can also think of 20 or so Nec or Mez hexes that will render you ineffective or incapacitated. If you are going to be using this build in a format that does not guarantee a teammate with hex removal, you are taking a fairly large chance.

Here's a thought assuming this is a 1v1 battle:

+5 Energy Sword w/Cold dmg mod
1 shield, 1 energy offhand (swap when you've got Shivers on)

12+1+1 Curses
10 Swordsmanship
8 Tactics

Gash
Sever Artery
Spinal Shivers
Parasitic Bond
Weaken Knees {E}
Plague Touch
Rigor Mortis
Healing Signet

Now, you've given yourself another avenue for interrupts through Weaken Knees. If the enemy tries to kite you, they get knocked down. If they prefer to stand still, Rigor/Shivers them and hack away. Plague touch keeps Blind off. Healing Signet gives you 100 Health in case P-bond doesn't trigger.

As you can tell - I'm biased against squishy primaries using melee weapons...but to each their own. Hope this helps. Happy hunting.

Seamus · Jun 06, 2006, 03:46 AM // 03:46

Personally, a N/A is even better for ganking, merely because Assassins seem to wreck casters without interrupts.

My layout for the N/A I run in Random Arenas:

Witchblade

Necromancer/Assassin
Level: 20

Soul Reaping: 8
Curses: 14 (10+4)
Dagger Mastery: 12

- Leaping Mantis Sting (Dagger Mastery)
If Mantis Sting hits, target foe takes +19 damage. If this attack strikes a moving foe, that foe is Crippled for 13 seconds.
Energy:5 Cast:0 Recharge:8

- Jungle Strike (Dagger Mastery)
Must follow a lead attack. If it hits, this attack strikes for +18 damage. If it hits a foe that was Crippled, it does +25 damage.
Energy:5 Cast:0 Recharge:10

- Horns of the Ox (Dagger Mastery)
Must follow an off-hand attack. If it hits, Horns of the Ox strikes for +27 damage. If struck foe is not adjacent to any allies, that foe is knocked down.
Energy:5 Cast:0 Recharge:12

- Falling Spider (Dagger Mastery)
Must strike a knocked-down foe. If it hits, Falling Spider strikes for +31 damage and target foe is Poisoned for 17 seconds.
Energy:5 Cast:0 Recharge:8

- Blades of Steel (Dagger Mastery)
Must follow an off-hand attack. If it hits, this attack strikes for +12 damage (maximum bonus 50) for each recharging dagger attack.
Energy:5 Cast:0 Recharge:20

- Shivers of Dread (Curses)
For 38 seconds, whenever target foe is struck for cold damage while using a skill, that foe is interrupted, and you lose 5 Energy or Shivers of Dread ends.
Energy:10 Cast:2 Recharge:15

- Plague Signet [Elite] (Curses)
Transfer all negative Conditions and their remaining durations from yourself to target foe. This is an elite skill. (50% failure chance with Curses 4 or less.)
Energy:0 Cast:1 Recharge:10

- Resurrection Signet ()
Resurrect target party member. That party member is returned to life with 100% Health and 25% Energy. You may use this Signet only once per mission.
Energy:0 Cast:3 Recharge:0
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Basically? Interrupt / Decimate away. As shit dies, your mana jumps. Plague Signet's just a little way of dropping Blind, as well as other conditions you might acquire, preferably on an enemy Warrior or Assassin.