Curse

kicks66 · Apr 01, 2006, 08:42 PM // 20:42

im interested to see if anyone has a video from when you could farm UW easily with prot bond and balths aura etc? id just like to see how fast it used to be

Maxiemonster · Apr 01, 2006, 09:00 PM // 21:00

Not much faster as you can now. The damage output was still SoJ in most builds, and it wasn't better then, so it would be easier, but not faster.

Linsys · Apr 01, 2006, 09:33 PM // 21:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxiemonster

Not much faster as you can now. The damage output was still SoJ in most builds, and it wasn't better then, so it would be easier, but not faster.

Actually it was SoJ, Balth Aura, and Zealots Fire... thats how I did it with NO blessed signet.. So there was A LOT Of dmg output..

Bloodied Blade · Apr 02, 2006, 07:04 PM // 19:04

Prot Bond only made it easier to do the run, you didn't have to worry about a blinking icon that signaled your inevitable doom if it vanished.

Rhuobhe · Apr 02, 2006, 07:27 PM // 19:27

Balthazars Aura used to have a fast recharge (15 sec I think) and a low energy cost (again 15 I believe) so things would have been considerably faster back then, in addition to easier.

Bloodied Blade · Apr 02, 2006, 07:30 PM // 19:30

I believe you are right about the recharge time, but I'm 50% sure that you're wrong about the energy cost, I used to play smiters in pvp with Balth's Aura... it always cost 25 energy AFAIK. If you had good energy management though, it wouldn't matter.

Nilator · Apr 02, 2006, 10:58 PM // 22:58

i actually do have a vid, but its huge.
the whole run is 15 mins w/ an ecto drop

Haggard · Apr 03, 2006, 12:08 AM // 00:08

It's a shame so many decent skills have been destroyed because they were 'misused'. Prot bond especially, as it now has no conceivable use at all, unless you enjoy having no energy.

sno · Apr 03, 2006, 12:54 AM // 00:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haggard

It's a shame so many decent skills have been destroyed because they were 'misused'. Prot bond especially, as it now has no conceivable use at all, unless you enjoy having no energy.

that's not necessarily true. think of a 2-3 man group, where 1 "tank" is meant to hold all the aggro. using prot bond on the other 2 soft targets ensures that any stray attacks aren't hugely damaging, and wouldn't drain your energy too much, provided that it didn't happen often.

not to say that I ever use it, but it does certainly still hypothetically have a use.

Riceboi · Apr 03, 2006, 04:15 AM // 04:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bloodied Blade

I believe you are right about the recharge time, but I'm 50% sure that you're wrong about the energy cost, I used to play smiters in pvp with Balth's Aura... it always cost 25 energy AFAIK. If you had good energy management though, it wouldn't matter.

You're right! BA always use to cost 25 energy!

Rhuobhe · Apr 03, 2006, 04:48 AM // 04:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by sno

that's not necessarily true. think of a 2-3 man group, where 1 "tank" is meant to hold all the aggro. using prot bond on the other 2 soft targets ensures that any stray attacks aren't hugely damaging, and wouldn't drain your energy too much, provided that it didn't happen often.

not to say that I ever use it, but it does certainly still hypothetically have a use.

Think of a monk with:
Balthazar's Spirit
Essence Bond
Mantra of Frost

With a ranger who drops Greater Conflagration and Winter. +3/-3 energy per hit -> net gain/loss = 0. Protective Bond could be maintained indefinatly against any number of targets, as long as the Me/Mo or Mo/Me stays alive.

Alternatively Prot. Bond works against a small number of Elementalist targets with Storm Chaser.

Caged Fury · Apr 03, 2006, 02:03 PM // 14:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haggard

It's a shame so many decent skills have been destroyed because they were 'misused'. Prot bond especially, as it now has no conceivable use at all, unless you enjoy having no energy.

Protective Bond is still useable for a 55 solo Mo/W. Yes, the energy upkeep can cause a problem but the Mo/W can easily have plenty of energy with Essence Bond, Bonetti's Defense, Balthazar's Spirit and Blessed Signet (if required).

On Saturday, I watched a guildie solo farm the trolls outside Droknar's Forge and minotaurs at Elona Reach using Protective Bond. Protective Spirit and Healing Breeze were not on the skillbar. Bonetti's Defense provided the much needed energy and also provided the blocking of attacks to allow a +4 Mending to keep health at max pretty much all the time.

The build negated the worry of the usual 55 build where Protective Spirit and Healing Breeze could be interrupted. You can easily stand in aggro without having to do much except hit Bonetti's Defense when it's ready or you're low in energy. The damage output from SoJ was slower due to Bonetti's Defense, but it was still workable. Zealot's Fire wasn't considered as an alternative as there wasn't a spell in the build to use to trigger it. Symbol of Wrath worked okay in a following test, as the monsters took damage, fled and quickly returned back to continue taking damage.

IMO, the Protective Bond build is more suited to non-solo and keeping aggro, especially where there are interrupts from physical attacks.

Masochistic Maniac · Apr 03, 2006, 04:27 PM // 16:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caged Fury

On Saturday, I watched a guildie solo farm the trolls outside Droknar's Forge and minotaurs at Elona Reach using Protective Bond.

I still prefer P.B. for farming sand wurms in the desert. It's way easier and safer than blindly casting P.S./Blessed Sig. while running through the wurm area. Since it's usually only one or two wurms attacking you, energy is never a problem with bonetties. I would however like to see someone use this on the drok. trolls though. 12+ on you would be a challenge.

Haggard · Apr 03, 2006, 06:36 PM // 18:36

But doesnt prot bond have a chance of ending every time it prevents some damage? If not, then forget my original post because thats part I was basing it on.

LouAl · Apr 03, 2006, 06:51 PM // 18:51

yeah it CAN end on every attack if you run out of energy...and when that happens you are dead because you can't recast

I have used it a few times. What you really need is something, anything, to make it so that it is not stopping damage (and charging you 3 energy) everytime there is an attack. Bonetti's would probably work for that in a solo build, life bond/life barrier works in a group situation.

Still, I had a hard time coming up with something that I couldn't do better another way.

Effigy · Apr 03, 2006, 06:59 PM // 18:59

Yes, they really did ruin Prot Bond. It's more or less pointless now. Even the uses stated in this thread are highly situational and could be done just as well or better with other skills.

aB- · Apr 03, 2006, 07:24 PM // 19:24

What really made the run fast was the ability to use AoE. Divine boon used to have no cooldown, and could be constantly spammed with it's 1/4 second cast time to trigger zealot's fire several times a second.

mint · Apr 03, 2006, 08:12 PM // 20:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riceboi

You're right! BA always use to cost 25 energy!

The thing that changed was the cast time...I think it use to be 1 second