Curse

AndrewAtHome · May 13, 2006, 09:43 PM // 21:43

Just created an E/A in cantha, trying to get a build similar to that new PvP preset build which involves shadow stepping then casting close range fire magic e.g. inferno. My question is, can this type of build be sucessful in PvE or is it a waste of time?

Maria The Princess · May 14, 2006, 12:58 AM // 00:58

i dont realy think so...... cuz in PVE after u sadow step you will still get killed by rangers or even before u cast anything

Francis Crawford · May 14, 2006, 05:37 AM // 05:37

In high-end PvE generally you need to either rely on Kinetic Armor/Armor of Earth (but that generally works only when you're soloing), or else really avoid aggro.

A caster who takes the aggro from a mob's first wave of firepower is a rapidly dead caster.

NevynZeddicus · May 17, 2006, 07:01 PM // 19:01

I have used a similar setup to the E/A premade in PvE. The only changes I made are dropping Aura of Displacement (don't have it yet) and putting in Meteor Shower. Drop the shower on the biggest group of red dots and step in before the AoE Scatter kicks in and unload Star Burst, Inferno and Flame burst, then get out and let the henchies do the rest. Only problem is the getting out before dying, which AoD will help once i get around to it. I have also used the same build in Alliance battles to some success, but nothing to brag about since anybody currently targeting you can see what you're doing, whereas monsters in PvE don't have that luxury.

Bloodied Blade · May 17, 2006, 07:50 PM // 19:50

The build is nice in PvE because you get the element of surprise... in PvP, everyone takes one look at your profession choices, thinks "Pre-made", and knows exactly what you're going to do.

AndrewAtHome · May 17, 2006, 08:49 PM // 20:49

True.. I'm more of a PvE player anyway, and so far it's been working out quite well, although I haven't got many skills yet as I haven't left Shing Jea island. Deaths Charge and Inferno at the moment, with Shadow Refuge which is a great 'sin healing skill! I want to get Phonenix and Flame Burst, and would also like to know what other good shadow step skills there are.

EndersNight · May 17, 2006, 11:20 PM // 23:20

Have you tried ride the lighting (very hard to cap) with adjacent skills? Its unusual since (as far as I know) the only skill that will "teleport" you to a target in the Ele list of skills.

Robin_Anadri · May 18, 2006, 10:13 PM // 22:13

After some experimentation I've found a build I'm having fun with.

I'm at work so these are guestimations.

Earth 12 + 1 + 3
Energy Stor. 9 + 1 (i think, energy's at about 72)
Shadow Arts 9
Deadly Arts (leftover points, if using Viper's Defense)

Armor of Earth
Earthquake/Dragon Stomp (pick your favorite, same difference)
Aftershock
Crystal Wave
Tenai's Crystals
Death's Charge
Shadow Refuge/Viper's Defense
Res Sig

I let the tankers engage then pick a nice target near the middle of a choice clump of red dots, cast Armor of Earth then Death's Charge. Cast Earthquake/Dragon Stomp immediately followed by Aftershock, then Crystal Wave and Tenei's Crystals. This may not kill the mob, but it certainly softens them up quite a bit. Shadow Refuge for healing if I took any damage, I rarely take enough to need it with the bonus from Armor of Earth. Since that's the case, you may want to substitute Viper's Defense as an escape option, if you're hit you teleport to a random nearby location and the attack is poisoned.

I tried and tried to make a fire magic version that would work, because I really wanted to use Double Dragon, but the armor just isn't there. You need the armor bonus in particular vs. Afflicted because of that accursed "Soul Explosion" crap they do when they die.

Maria The Princess · May 19, 2006, 05:13 AM // 05:13

or maby..... how about this?

do a "trap" of bed of coals or anything similar that lasts relativly long time, tele back, let the ranger pull aggro in there

9th Requiem · May 19, 2006, 10:37 AM // 10:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robin_Anadri

After some experimentation I've found a build I'm having fun with.

I'm at work so these are guestimations.

Earth 12 + 1 + 3
Energy Stor. 9 + 1 (i think, energy's at about 72)
Shadow Arts 9
Deadly Arts (leftover points, if using Viper's Defense)

Armor of Earth
Earthquake/Dragon Stomp (pick your favorite, same difference)
Aftershock
Crystal Wave
Tenai's Crystals
Death's Charge
Shadow Refuge/Viper's Defense
Res Sig

I let the tankers engage then pick a nice target near the middle of a choice clump of red dots, cast Armor of Earth then Death's Charge. Cast Earthquake/Dragon Stomp immediately followed by Aftershock, then Crystal Wave and Tenei's Crystals. This may not kill the mob, but it certainly softens them up quite a bit. Shadow Refuge for healing if I took any damage, I rarely take enough to need it with the bonus from Armor of Earth. Since that's the case, you may want to substitute Viper's Defense as an escape option, if you're hit you teleport to a random nearby location and the attack is poisoned.

I tried and tried to make a fire magic version that would work, because I really wanted to use Double Dragon, but the armor just isn't there. You need the armor bonus in particular vs. Afflicted because of that accursed "Soul Explosion" crap they do when they die.

I run a similar build, but I replace Earthquake with Kinetic/Silver Armour, I have Aura of Displacement instead of Death's Charge (the health gain is silly - when you shadow step to a foe, you're moving in for an attack, and if you're doing that, chances are that you have full health anyway, and AoD lets you tele out after your combo). Finally, I use Earth Att instead of refuge/defence.

As I don't use EQ (and it's long cast time) behind battlelines, and have extra armour instead, so health loss isn't a problem at all. I deal out less damage - in particular lose the extra bonus on AS, true, but I can recharge quicker. I can teleport out to safety afterwards. I'm thinking about putting points in Fire (AoD is a non-attribute skill), and replacing Kinetic/Silver with Inferno, for a little extra damage.

Yes, an E/A can work in PvE, and quite nicely. Just remember to let your healer know what to expect before you do it. Depending on build, you probably won't take much damage, but still ...

As for E/A Fire in PvE, no. You just don't have the armour.

beanerman_99 · May 19, 2006, 01:37 PM // 13:37

I tried the Ele/assasin last night in the Fort Aspenwood PVP battles. I am set up for fire in my armor and weapons so I decided to give it a try.

My goal, of course, is to get in and get out quick quick! So I looked for close range spells with the shortest casting time. I don't want to rush/tele in and get whammed on while im trying to cast a long cast-time spell. So this is what I got to try.

I used Death's charge to get to my target and then I lay out the following spells:
Frozen Burst-with no points in ice, this spell isn't for damage but to keep enemy from running cause they probably have a good idea whats coming if I run in like that. This holds them in place for my fire spells.
Inferno- fast-casting major fire dmg
Flame Burst-fast-casting major fire damage
StarBurst or Double Dragon- with starburst you have to have an enemy selected before you can cast it, Double Dragon you don't. These skills are very similar so instead of worrying about having enemy selected I take double dragon and it has worked wonderfully.

ALL these skills have a 3/4 cast time, thats why I chose them. Anything longer will be interrupted for sure.

To fill out my bar I take Aura of restoration for heals while casting and Fire attunement for engery regains. That leaves my with one free spot. Now you can take what ever you want but for fun and to harrass the hell out people I take Tehnais (sp?) Heat. I hate to see people standing safely in the background spamming their skills with no worries. So T's Heat gets them moving and lets them know they are not entirely safe

So far this build has worked BEAUTIFULY! Even though people know about this build they still don't expect it or see it coming. I cannot count the numbers of dead Ritualists, Necros, Monks, and even Ele's that I have taken down with this. With Warriors high armor they take less damage so try to use it on the weaker ones. Although I have sent some warriors running when they see how much damage they are taking from me and they don't have their precious monk to save them.

I don't know if this works in planned battles like GvG but for random's it works.

Give it a go and see if you can tweak it into something better. Any input appreciated.

Termil · May 19, 2006, 04:41 PM // 16:41

lol....nice job. Bet they think twice about that "easy squishy caster" when they see you a second time.

beanerman_99 · May 19, 2006, 05:49 PM // 17:49

LOL whats funny is some of the people on my team were like "WOW Circling, You are really good!" I was running around like a mad man taking out the squishy enemys with my Fire bombs. What they don't know is I SUCK at PvP

This past week is the first time I have actually started to dabble in it and experiment some. I'm loving it so far and plan on seeing what else I can come up with.

Robin_Anadri · May 19, 2006, 06:09 PM // 18:09

Heh, I haven't capped AoD on my ele yet, or I would definately use it in place of Death's Charge in that build.

Circling, what about armor? Seems like you'd hit the same problem I was hitting, ie, getting pwnt before I had my combo set off due to squishy caster armor.

Katari · May 19, 2006, 06:26 PM // 18:26

Any "element of suprise" is lost after you fire off the first PBAoE. Those skills have very long aftercasts.

beanerman_99 · May 19, 2006, 08:53 PM // 20:53

You'd be suprised how often I kill the same enemy doing this. Ya, the suprise is gone but most of the time they are so focused on fighting they don't see me run in. Starburst has a soft recharge, but ya, Frozen burst can take a bit, but so far I don't find myself just standing around.

Armor- yes. This build total sucks at armor if you run up and try to take out warriors with this. I tend to wait until their health goes down to a point I think my spells can finish the job. However, against other squishys like me, it will make quick work of them.

Sad truth about this is that this build will probably only work in places like Fort Aspenwood, Jade Quarry, and any other random matched battles. For "real" PvP like GvG or Teams and such where you plan out your builds to coincide with the whole team...well this build I have been using would be guaranteed death. In places like the Fort, I have observed that since you are rezzed so quickly after death, well....death isn't really that much of a problem. You are back up and into the fray so quickly that trying to use a rez sig is pointless. I told my guild last night (while we were discussing my build) that I was thinking I was almost a suicide bomber. If I was going to die I was going to do Major damage to them before they got me.

If taking this build into planned out matches you will need to address the armor issue, some post up above us talks about using Armor of Earth of something. But then you would need attribute points into Earth, Fire and Storage unless you use the Earth PBAoE (which I may try soon if I find a good earth staff).

As my Fire build is set up now I have Fire maxed, I think 13 in Storage and the rest into Shadow Skills. You have to bump up the Shadow Attribute to increase the time the Death's charge works or you will tele away from the enemy in the middle of you combo.

Disclaimer I don't pretend to be a pro at PvP so take my builds with a grain of salt. What I have been saying is purely based on my own observations and playing. If you come across a better plan just let me know! As I said, I am just beginning to dabble in PvP so any constructive advice is always welcome!

AndrewAtHome · May 20, 2006, 11:38 AM // 11:38

Thanks for your input beanerman_99, that sounds like a cool strategy. One thing I should note is that you say Deaths Charge tele's back, but it doesn't.

I need to go cap AoD before I'll have an effective build. Also, where in Cantha can I get Flame Burst? To be honest I only just got to Kaineng and I'm lvl 17 so there's a long way to go before I have a build I'm really happy with.

As for the armor issue, there are 2 things I currently do. One is to use Battlemage armor (+10 vs physical) which helps slightly. Also, I use Shroud of Distress which helps me evade when health is under 50%.

beanerman_99 · May 20, 2006, 06:21 PM // 18:21

You are totally right, I mixed up 2 assasin skills there. What I meant was that I used Shadow of Haste-"Stance. For 5...17 seconds you move 25% faster than normal. When Shadow of Haste ends, you return to the location where you activated Shadow of Haste"-from guildwiki. Sorry about the confusion there

You should be able to just buy Flame Burst at a Skill trainer.

Trylo · May 20, 2006, 07:17 PM // 19:17

Id rather do something like this build:

16 Earth magic
10 ES
rest in shadow, should be 10 or so

Deaths Charge
Recall (return?)
Earth Atunement
Tenai's Crystals
Crystal Wave
Shockwave {E}
Shadow Refuge (Obby Flame)
Rez Sig

Its a good killer, the aftercast of the spells is kinda long

but it doesnt take long to get in and out...

Mr_eX · May 21, 2006, 05:10 AM // 05:10

I'm trying out E/A as well--I just started the character today, so I haven't gotten very far buildwise.

I see great potential in E/A for finishing off large groups with a PBAoE spike--since Eles are casters and aren't meant to take damage, you do NOT want your target(s) to survive your first couple of spells.

1. Shadow step to target
2. Cast any combination of Inferno, Incendiary Bonds, Phoenix, Flame Burst, etc. that floats your boat
3a. Celebrate the instantaneous death of your target

3b. If your target somehow survived your attack or somebody else is moving in to kill you, use another shadow step to get to safety

It's a fairly simple strategy that delivers a lot of damage in a short period of time. I would recommend Battlemage's Armor for this strategy since it will probably bring you in-range of enemy Warriors.