Curse

Windf0rce · May 29, 2008, 12:43 AM // 00:43

What profession from your experience is the best at dealing damage in PvE / Hard Mode?

I have an Elementalist and I am a little unhappy with her at the moment because enemies seem to have excellent armor against most of my spells.

So which profession has the better armor ignoring or piercing skills, and/or does best damage in PvE while in Hard Mode?

Please share your opinions on the professions you play/know. Thanks.

Kanna Banrai · May 29, 2008, 12:46 AM // 00:46

Mesmers, Necro and Earth Ele's do the best damage in HM in my experience.

Marverick · May 29, 2008, 12:57 AM // 00:57

[Moebius Strike][Death Blossom] for HM

for NM it would be crit scythe probably

kev read · May 29, 2008, 12:58 AM // 00:58

I've seen screenies of the numbers on Spiteful Spirit... bunches of 37s go flying off of a whole group of people, and then they all keel over...
I haven't ever made a necro... maybe i should...
nah... melee is for me =P

RedNova88 · May 29, 2008, 01:11 AM // 01:11

I'd say most physical damage dealers do well in HM, especially an Assassin with your average Death Blossom spam build. Warriors are also well and fine in HM, they just need a proper build for laying out the hurt. If you're going with an Ele in HM, I would honestly just go with SF if you're fighting enemies with really high armor, that way they're under constant pressure.

DarkFlame · May 29, 2008, 01:30 AM // 01:30

Rit with [vwk], maybe.

MisterT69 · May 29, 2008, 01:31 AM // 01:31

[Moebius strike] and [death blossom] of course. As for that constant super awesome el damage, can't go wrong with [searing flames], or if you're feeling lucky, [savannah heat][arcane echo][air of superiority]. Hell, a chance to 4x cast savannah heat at 1 mob. Even in HM the damage is too intense to flee from. throw in [meteor shower] and just watch the numbers fly...

HawkofStorms · May 29, 2008, 01:31 AM // 01:31

Curse Necros
Paragons

Kyomi Tachibana · May 29, 2008, 01:41 AM // 01:41

Mesmers, necros, sins, paragons, and warriors.

Mesmer spells all do armor ignoring damage.

Necro spells do shadow/armor ignoring damage, with some cold, too.

Assassins have DB/Moebius whose damage bonuses are armor ignoring.

Paragons attack skills have armor ignoring bonus damage. Same with warriors.

Also for the best damage.... I'd say bring a physical heavy team with at least one Necro with [Barbs] and [Mark of Pain] and maybe [Order of Pain]. <3<3

Alleji · May 29, 2008, 01:50 AM // 01:50

SS Necro, hands down.

(Especially when paired with MM+some physicals and carrying barbs)

In easy mode, probably fire eles. EDIT: Although you can set up a physical-based team that would deal more overall damage than a team of fire eles, since physicals can have better synergy.

credit · May 29, 2008, 01:56 AM // 01:56

Discord hexway with your heroes blows up PvE.

Esan · May 29, 2008, 01:58 AM // 01:58

Rt/R with Splinter Weapon and Barrage, aided by Mark of Pain, is still the AoE damage king.

As an Ele, you might consider going as a secondary Necro with Necrosis. Combined with Intensity when needed, you can be quite a potent spiker.

Tyla · May 29, 2008, 01:58 AM // 01:58

[dragon slash]

I win.

12 chars of leetness

mistokibbles · May 29, 2008, 02:05 AM // 02:05

Can't cleave do pretty much the same damage as dragon slash? And how do earth eles do the most damage? sorry for my ignorance

Tyla · May 29, 2008, 02:19 AM // 02:19

Last time I checked, consistent = going on and on. Correct me if I'm wrong.

D-Slash, while under "FGJ!", deals the highest consistent DPS in the game.

Don't forget also fueling stuff like Brawling Headbutt for knocklocks, and "SY!" for +100 armour to the entire party.

Can also still keep insane DPS with D-Slash -> Brawling -> Steelfang.

Windf0rce · May 29, 2008, 02:28 AM // 02:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyla

Last time I checked, consistent = going on and on. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes it can be interpreted that way too.

Although I meant more as in 'reliable' way than consistent then.

That's because some spells are listed as doing X damage and when I hit high-armored/leveled enemies in Hard Mode they deal half damage or worse. So I don't consider them 'reliable'. Yesterday I was running a HM mission in Tyria (Iron Mines) at 16 Fire Magic and dealing pretty pitiful damage.

I am considering making an Assassin. I didn't make one before in PvE because I did not feel skilled enough in Guild Wars to survive as one, but I believe now I know the game areas well enough to know when I can hop in, deal damage, when I must wait a little, shadow step out, and so on. I have a baby Assassin and she's great fun to play.

Great advice guys/gals, thanks.

mistokibbles · May 29, 2008, 02:43 AM // 02:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyla

Last time I checked, consistent = going on and on. Correct me if I'm wrong.

D-Slash, while under "FGJ!", deals the highest consistent DPS in the game.

You didn't mention FGJ in your first post

. I just didn't think about it because i don't like the downtime from fgj so I almost never use it.

Schmerdro · May 29, 2008, 03:13 AM // 03:13

In Hard Mode, Arcane Echo with Spiteful Spirit works great because enemies use skills and attack faster; Curse Necros also have access to Barbs and mark of Pain, which clearly makes them the best for constant AoE armor-ignoring damage.
Barrage with Splinter Weapon is nice as well, if you want something non-hex.

Earth is only good for defense.. otherwise it is a weaker version of Fire damage (mostly because Mark of Rodgort can make a lot of enemies burn). Also, try spreading Cracked Armor from Shell Shock and Epidemic to increase your elemental damage since you don't need much Energy Storage anyway.

Those Assassin and Warrior builds are much less reliable and efficient... and the Warrior can't even do AoE damage >_>

Pyra Fade · May 29, 2008, 03:20 AM // 03:20

imo, dont give up on ur ele!!

try this, [blinding flash][lightning orb][lightning hammer][arcane echo][glyph of swiftness][ether renewal][aura of restoration][air attunement]

12+1+3 air
12+1 e store

rez is for heros

cracked armor from lightning orb, then echo ur lightning hammer and spam away

[blinding flash] is one of my favorite utilities, but u can swap it for anything.

40/40 air set while casting, spear/shield set with +20% enchant while reapplying enchants.

ive had great fun with this, hope it helps

silavor · May 29, 2008, 03:46 AM // 03:46

Ursan, ursan, ursan! Most reliable damage from northern tyria to the jade sea. :P
But yah, fire magic will fail in some of the harder hard-mode areas. It's just a fact of life. That's when you switch to hexing, utilizing your massive energy reserves to be able to consistantly apply the hexes when the other classes have to manage energy. Or do something like the build above where you focus on conditioning/spiking instead of damaging as much as you can at once.