Curse

Luminarus · Mar 02, 2009, 12:37 PM // 12:37

Just wanted peoples opinions of what inscriptions should be run on the flag runner. Im tossing up between ghost forge insignia, heralds and survivor.

The pro's of heralds are that as a rit, in the current meta you will always be carrying the flag, or pwk pretty much. Otherwise you arent getting attacked. Cons are a) its only +10 al, and b)if you need to successive drop PWK for a spike party heal, you are without the armor

Ghost Forge: Pros +15AL, and when on the split, anytime you are taking damage you should be under a weapon spell. Cons, if ur WoW gets d-shotted, and then u get knocked down (eg shock) and spiked, ur most likely dead due to less HP, and no chance to get another skill off. Also, if your at the stand and get spiked, and cant get a weapon off onto urself (assuming no second WoW at the stand) ur at norm armor and lower hp.

Finally, Survivor: Pros, gives more leeway when getting spiked. Cons, becomes redundant in the long run compared with the damaged reduced given the +10/15 armor from the other insignias.

What do you guyz reckon is the best insignia to run on the flagger.

Assume a general build:

[Weapon of Warding][Wielder's Boon][Soothing Memories][Resilient Weapon][Protective Was Kaolai][Recuperation][Dash][Hidden Caltrops]

Marxon Aurion · Mar 02, 2009, 01:01 PM // 13:01

Probably either Survivor or Herald's. Because you never need the additional armor while under effect of a weapon spell. If you get WoW of you're invincible anyway.

Ben-A-BoO · Mar 02, 2009, 05:13 PM // 17:13

Survivor just because there is a lot of cracked armor flying around atm.
It is also advised because unlike a stand rit you don't really have to hold onto your ashes but can utilize your weapon sets.

General rule of thumb: Armor is better against pressure, health against spikes (more time to react, higher chance they come short on damage).

As a flagger I more often get "spiked" than "pressured" ... obvious?

Good luck and have fun.

ac1inferno · Mar 02, 2009, 05:17 PM // 17:17

I would have:

- Full Survivor Insignias, Super Vigor Rune, and a Rune of Restoration.
- 40/40 Restoration Set.
- Restoration Set with two +15/-1 inscriptions.
- Weapon with "I Have the Power!" inscription, +30 health, increased cripple modifier, and an assortment of shields.

The argument between extra armor or extra health is long so I won't discuss it here. But I will say that both have valid points that I would say it's all based on personal preference. I am one that leans more towards the extra health.

Massive Impulsa · Mar 02, 2009, 08:04 PM // 20:04

I tend to run 10+al vs Physical on chest and leggs on pretty much any characters. Altough if i think about it might not be any point at all, since Turret/Rangers and probably other the huge amount of other types of sources..

Id say full Survivor, works best overall.

I Jonas I · Mar 02, 2009, 08:40 PM // 20:40

Full Survivor insignia's, 1+ restoration headpiece and rune, 1+ spawning power rune, +50 HP rune, Rune of Restoration, Rune of Vitae.

Weapon Sets:
1) Crippling Spear of Fortitude with +5e, Shield of Fortitude with reduced Cripple Duration (Also having +10 vs dmg type mods on various shields is a plus).
2) 40/40 Restoration set (For casting stuff when you aren't holding the flag or being pressured).
3) High Energy (+30e/-2 regen) set (For casting Recup when you otherwise wouldn't be able to).
4) -50 cesta/+Dual vamp (Avoid being time killed).

Motoko · Mar 02, 2009, 09:56 PM // 21:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonas The Keen

Full Survivor insignia's, 1+ restoration headpiece and rune, 1+ spawning power rune, +50 HP rune, Rune of Restoration, Rune of Vitae.

Weapon Sets:
1) Crippling Spear of Fortitude with +5e, Shield of Fortitude with reduced Cripple Duration (Also having +10 vs dmg type mods on various shields is a plus).
2) 40/40 Restoration set (For casting stuff when you aren't holding the flag or being pressured).
3) High Energy (+30e/-2 regen) set (For casting Recup when you otherwise wouldn't be able to).
4) -50 cesta/+Dual vamp (Avoid being time killed).

No spawning rune. There is no genuine benefit from it.

With the meta of Hidden Caltrops (I'm assuming that's the equip setup you are going for) You will want a staff for Hidden Caltrops. 20/10/10 Gives you optimal chances on casts and recharges for off spells with no according staff attribute.

Also, if you need to actually use a slot for dual vamping out, wouldn't you question your ability to play if you actually need to use it so much that you have a slot for it? Keep it in your inventory, but be aware of your situation... If it looks like they are holding you for time, click the two weapons and die.

zling · Mar 08, 2009, 10:24 PM // 22:24

just so you guys know, [hidden caltrops] has been nerfed, so flag running will probably go back to the good old [weapon of remedy]
so a crippling spear/whatever weapon isn't such a high priority any longer, however the rest are still viable. oh and -50 cesta+dual vampiric

I'd much rather have a 20/10/10 staff or 40/40 of another attribute, or something along those lines, depending on your exact build.

Luminarus · Mar 09, 2009, 10:53 AM // 10:53

Doubt itll go back to WoR, I seen a bunch of YAA Rt/W runners, Rt/P Incoming/FallBack, Rt/Me Shared Burden (didnt work very well, but I saw it, used IoH as an IMS)

Motoko · Mar 10, 2009, 06:08 AM // 06:08

There are tons of variations to run now that Rt/A with Hidden Caltrops is gone...

Rt/W ~ YaA+Recup (8v8 version)
Rt/W ~ YaA+Extra skill slot-warmonger/nightmare (split version)

Rt/E ~ Icy Shackles+Recup (8v8 version)
Rt/E ~ Icy Shackles+Glyph (split version)

Rt/Me ~ Shared Burden+Illusion of haste+Recup+life (only seen this 8v8 in hexway)

Rt/P ~ Fallback+Incoming+Recup (8v8 builds)

E/Rt ~ Ether prism+Ice Prison+Armor of Mist (more split oriented)

Mo/? ~ Monk runners (weak on party heals though)

Rt/A ~ Caretakers (8v8 spike oriented, but I would be inclined to set defensively since you would assume the other team would lose 8v8 and need to split to beat you)

Can't think of any others atm...tired.

rohara · Mar 10, 2009, 05:01 PM // 17:01

i've always preferred survivor insignias. herald's was good for the now dead stand rit, but with all the cracked armor and degen going around, i'd rather have the health on a flagger.

i think the YAA/sprint template is currently the strongest. the icy shackles rit is kinda ok, but tough on energy. just lol @ the rt/p and rt/me templates.

Motoko · Mar 11, 2009, 01:50 AM // 01:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by rohara

herald's was good for the now dead stand rit

i think the YAA/sprint template is currently the strongest. the icy shackles rit is kinda ok, but tough on energy. just lol @ the rt/p and rt/me templates.

Anything but survivor was bad, no matter what rit build you ran.

Also the Rt/P and Rt/Me are perfectly viable builds that work in an ideal build. Definately an 8v8 scenario such as Burning or Meditation. (check the mAT March rotation if you haven't)

You can't really convince me that 8v8 you want to pull out YaA or Armor of must since it has no genuine benefit compared to party speed boost or a strong AoE hex that enhances your stand team's capabilities and effectiveness.

More than likely YaA is most effective when a character is alone (duh) but the cripple gets over ridden in fire. And Icy shackles has no AMAZING attribute that a standard PnH monk can't handle.

rohara · Mar 11, 2009, 03:08 AM // 03:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gladiator Motoko

Anything but survivor was bad, no matter what rit build you ran.

Also the Rt/P and Rt/Me are perfectly viable builds that work in an ideal build. Definately an 8v8 scenario such as Burning or Meditation. (check the mAT March rotation if you haven't)

You can't really convince me that 8v8 you want to pull out YaA or Armor of must since it has no genuine benefit compared to party speed boost or a strong AoE hex that enhances your stand team's capabilities and effectiveness.

More than likely YaA is most effective when a character is alone (duh) but the cripple gets over ridden in fire. And Icy shackles has no AMAZING attribute that a standard PnH monk can't handle.

idk, it just depends what team build is being used. those builds are viable, but not flexible. i still think the rt/p template is 10 levels of silly - i don't think a party speed boost is better than having a snare, extra base defense, or extra offense. plus, its hell on a rit's energy. the mesmer template would be fine if a better snare were available cuz illusion of haste is really nice and has potential. the rt/d template is interesting and leaves you to choose from rit elites, but i can see it being workable.

overall, i still think YAA is shining above the rest and is the only thing comparable to the old caltrops flagger meta. it doesn't bring a lot to the table for 8v8 play, but its superiority in split/base defense and adequate performance in 8v8 make it my pick. it seems to have the least drawbacks.

Syntonic · Mar 11, 2009, 06:59 AM // 06:59

For a map like burning, I'm tempted to run a hboon heal party runner monk. I think KMD ran it on meditation as a trial once and hasn't gone back to it since. Outside of the huge power party red barring power, there's not much going for the build but on a map like burning, that can be alright. Losing weapon of warding at stand will hurt a lot though especially if you are running a dom mesmer.

I'm also not totally sold on the rit/p though I can see the appeal with a split friendly map (You can ferry people back and forth fast! It's like I'm really playing HA and relic running!) and recent skill buffs (though I don't see too much usage out of them outside of AoR.) The only thing I halfway expected and haven't seen was more VoR split mesmers. Vibe used to(?) run it but they've been 8v8ing some maps but the last time I saw them the run a split (against OG), Protoss wasn't running it I think. The current mind blast/distortion fire ele is just as good/bad (depending on how you look at it) for different reasons though.

Motoko · Mar 11, 2009, 08:20 AM // 08:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Syntonic

Vibe used to(?) run it but they've been 8v8ing some maps but the last time I saw them the run a split (against OG), Protoss wasn't running it I think. The current mind blast/distortion fire ele is just as good/bad (depending on how you look at it) for different reasons though.

I would be inclined to agree that a VoR mes could be good. But the past shows that vibe usually hasn't done better than 3-3 in mAT's. They are the best ones with their build.