Curse

JR · Dec 29, 2006, 01:11 PM // 13:11

First TA build I've attempted to develop in a while, so cut me some slack Divine.

http://gwshack.us/c69d

- Adren spike build, fairly defensive. The YAA Monk is something I've been running in RA a lot recently, definitely seems effective. It's only weakness is Thumpers, which I know are popular - which is why there are the Wards and Blinding Surge for other melee hate.

- Convert on the E/Mo because I've seen a few hex builds running around, although I've toyed with the idea of changing the monk up to Dismiss Condition and Purge Signet, over Mend and Mending Touch.

- Axe Warrior is fairly basic Shock Axe. I went with Distracting Blow over Bull's Strike due mostly to personal preference, but I don't think snares are a big issue in this build anyway - so it will probably stay.

- Mesmer is pretty standard Eurospike style Spiritual/Wastels, with Gale and Blackout for pressuring down Monks or shutdown whilst spiking other characters.

the choseone · Dec 29, 2006, 01:36 PM // 13:36

looks good only the monks seems weird and if you take balanced stance with you, you can activate while ward of stability is down so thumpers arent that big of a problem anymore. and why "your all alone!" in this build? thumpers are almost always adjacent to their pets so you cant use it on them. but the other chars look great

JR · Dec 29, 2006, 01:54 PM // 13:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by the choseone

looks good only the monks seems weird and if you take balanced stance with you, you can activate while ward of stability is down

I'm a big fan of a high spec Gift of Health, so I don't really like taking secondaries that you have to spec into. With so much melee hate there I think I can survive without it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by the choseone

and why "your all alone!" in this build? thumpers are almost always adjacent to their pets so you cant use it on them. but the other chars look great

Warriors and Dervishes - particularly Grenth Dervishes. YAA is just too ridiculous against melee, giving you a perma-snare and weakness on anything. You can get it to trigger on Thumpers occasionally too, but it's tricky.

warriorsmiley · Dec 29, 2006, 02:09 PM // 14:09

The monk build looks really fun to play with as when I do play monk I like to play other builds then the current metagame to see how they play and this looks like it will work since most people arent that smart you can drag them away from the battle shout "Your All Alone" and have them limping back to there monks .

What if... · Dec 29, 2006, 02:58 PM // 14:58

I've used YAA on a mesmer and have found it to be very effective in stopping all non-shadowstepping melee pressure. It's a lot of fun and can be rather flexible. When I'm not using it to run from warriors I can use it to snare enemy monks who stray too far from their closest team mate.

Divineshadows · Dec 29, 2006, 05:21 PM // 17:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR-

I'm a big fan of a high spec Gift of Health, so I don't really like taking secondaries that you have to spec into. With so much melee hate there I think I can survive without it.

I agree on secondaries that don't require an attribute spec. This is why I have become a fan of glyph of lesser energy + zealous benediction. As it is, this is one of the few team builds that actually has enough defense to actually give a monk the time needed to make effective use of signet of devotion. The TA meta has changed a lot and signet of devotion is much harder to use in many builds with the faster pace of incoming damage since Nightfall. For the monk, I like the synergy between draw conditions and mending touch better than the mend condition and mending touch combo. Also, as a personal preference I use either a major prot rune or a major divine favor rune on my monks for RA/TA to improve my prot or DF healing efficiency. Even if you're not using your secondary for defensive skills, you still have 605 health and mending touch makes you very hard to spike down.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR-

- Adren spike build, fairly defensive.

I really think that your spikers can afford to use superior runes for a stronger spike in TA. Why does the elementalist have both mind shock and lightning orb? The recharge on mind shock should make mesmer or the warrior's adrenaline the limiting factor on how often you spike and with glyph of lesser energy this elementalist should be able to always trigger the conditional on the skill when swapping up to a +30 energy set. On the mesmer, I think diversion would be more flexible for this build's needs then blackout, because touch range on opposing monks is so much harder to achieve now with all the rampage thumpers running around. Also, if you choose to go diversion, then I recommend using a little more air and less fast casting simply because you can diversion the opposing player with the best condition removal skill (i.e. draw conditions) and then blind the melee. Once you have the condition removal skills diverted the blind will remain for the full duration of your spec.

JR · Dec 29, 2006, 05:29 PM // 17:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Divineshadows

For the monk, I like the synergy between draw conditions and mending touch better than the mend condition and mending touch combo.

I've tried both, and in all honesty I prefer Mend Condition. It is more efficient with the heal given, and there is a lot of Dazed around which you obviously don't want to draw onto yourself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Divineshadows

I really think that your spikers can afford to use superior runes for a stronger spike in TA.

Hmm, probably. I'd want to test it though, see how much difference it really made.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Divineshadows

Why does the elementalist have both mind shock and lightning orb?

Hmm, I figured with rapid spiking Mind Shock would just rack up your exhaustion. However, you probably can't afford regular Orbs either - considering the rest of the bar. Any suggestions about what else to go there? Strike for a follow up?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Divineshadows

On the mesmer, I think diversion would be more flexible for this build's needs then blackout, because touch range on opposing monks is so much harder to achieve now with all the rampage thumpers running around.

Agreed, having tested the Mesmer build specifically. I dropped Wastrels and Blackout for Shame and Diversion - it helped a lot.

What if... · Dec 29, 2006, 05:34 PM // 17:34

I was going to ask about the lack of Diversion as well. Perhaps you're choosing blackout over diversion because of its adrenaline stealing capabilities and using gale as the primary monk shutdown during spikes. If that is the case, it makes more sense to me, since you wouldn't be trying to force monks to choose whether or not to trigger the hex but rather would be forcefully removing their ability to cast period.

Edit: Oh, nvm you seemed to have already made changes.

Divineshadows · Dec 29, 2006, 05:45 PM // 17:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR-

I've tried both, and in all honesty I prefer Mend Condition. It is more efficient with the heal given, and there is a lot of Dazed around which you obviously don't want to draw onto yourself.

Dazed entered the meta once boon prots started to fall off a bit...this was about the time when [Eat] ran a lot of NR with blessed light monk in TA. The final nerfs to divine boon's efficiency and the inspiration line as a whole made dazed even more popular. If I am running draw/mending touch in TA, then I always have something in my build that plans (i.e. purge signet or purge conditions on an off monk caster OR mending touch on a bow ranger) for a monk drawing dazed. Oftentimes though, the monk is the target of the dazed anyway and you'll get it without drawing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR-

Hmm, I figured with rapid spiking Mind Shock would just rack up your exhaustion. However, you probably can't afford regular Orbs either - considering the rest of the bar. Any suggestions about what else to go there? Strike for a follow up?

You already have lightning strike in the build for a follow up. I would recommend purge conditions so your monk can run draw. The 3/4 second cast time on mend condition is highly annoying to me when I monk with all the blinding surge flying around.

JR · Dec 29, 2006, 06:00 PM // 18:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Divineshadows

I would recommend purge conditions so your monk can run draw. The 3/4 second cast time on mend condition is highly annoying to me when I monk with all the blinding surge flying around.

Why not cut out the middle man and have Draw on the Ele?

Divineshadows · Dec 29, 2006, 06:10 PM // 18:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR-

Why not cut out the middle man and have Draw on the Ele?

That works too, but does require extra communication as to when to mend condition someone and when to draw them so that you're defense doesn't waste energy. Also, if the ele ends up using a draw a lot it can easily become more energy intensive than lightning orb was. Against blinding surge spam, your ele and monk could work out a system where each cures it in alternating fashion so you distribute the energy burden and don't clutter your vent with too much chat.

JR · Dec 29, 2006, 06:13 PM // 18:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Divineshadows

That works too, but does require extra communication as to when to mend condition someone and when to draw them so that you're defense doesn't waste energy. Also, if the ele ends up using a draw a lot it can easily become more energy intensive than lightning orb was. Against blinding surge spam, your ele and monk could work out a system where each cures it in alternating fashion so you distribute the energy burden and don't clutter your vent with too much chat.

Monk removes it on spikes so the Ele can MShock/Strike on time, and the Ele removes it whilst building. Could work.

I'd still rather have Mend than Draw though.

bashar pvp · Dec 29, 2006, 06:45 PM // 18:45

I shall try that Yaa monk, should be fun. But i don't really know if it would be effective in the current meta, where the main threats are thumpers or sins. It really makes a long time i didnt see a good old eviscerate or devastating hammer, warriors are no more kings in arena.

And mend condition+mending touch+draw, isn't it a bit too much? ^^ You could remove mending touch for an extra hex removal, but then you may be in trouble with self heal...

Well, the builds looks solid but the monk distrub me a bit. I dunno if yaa is really a good choice for your elite slot. But i must say, in arena, i felt in love with zb, i do not even imagine that i can play something else at the moment

JR · Dec 29, 2006, 06:56 PM // 18:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by bashar pvp

Well, the builds looks solid but the monk distrub me a bit. I dunno if yaa is really a good choice for your elite slot. But i must say, in arena, i felt in love with zb, i do not even imagine that i can play something else at the moment

Well YAA is multipurpose. I've often used it to snare the opposing monk whilst the Warrior trains it, as well as using it to snare anything melee that's harassing me. Also you can simply get your Warrior to build on pets, killing them, and allowing you to YAA Thumpers. It also has good synergy with Blinding Surge, allowing you to stack debilitating conditions on opponents.

necrosfeelyaks · Dec 30, 2006, 04:36 AM // 04:36

Heh, ur monk stats are the same I use on a blessed escaper, I also perfer specking GoF to 11. Anyways, I have found that using a balanced bash mo/w works well to combat thumpers and sins. I was paying around with a ZB balanced bash, and it was just so much fun to hit bash as soon as they shadow prisoned me. I guess without a mo elite, you really need to fill up your bar though if u want to fit in a non-healing team utility elite. Im bored, time to go

GG

Thomas.knbk · Dec 30, 2006, 05:11 PM // 17:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by necrosfeelyaks

Heh, ur monk stats are the same I use on a blessed escaper, I also perfer specking GoF to 11. Anyways, I have found that using a balanced bash mo/w works well to combat thumpers and sins. I was paying around with a ZB balanced bash, and it was just so much fun to hit bash as soon as they shadow prisoned me. I guess without a mo elite, you really need to fill up your bar though if u want to fit in a non-healing team utility elite. Im bored, time to go

GG

An unspecced Dark Escape is 5 seconds. Hardly worth the slot I'd say.
I run the exact same warrior bar in several situations, exept I take Bull's Strike over Distracting Blow. You've already got 3 other KD's (counting in MS) so DB is probably better.
I love the YAA monk. It's a great example of how monks can take anything as elite nowadays. I'll have to try it.
I'm not sure why you took Wastrel's out. It's probably the best spike follow up there is, and it's a Shame (:P) not to have it.

JR · Dec 30, 2006, 06:29 PM // 18:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas.knbk

I'm not sure why you took Wastrel's out. It's probably the best spike follow up there is, and it's a Shame (:P) not to have it.

It's a decent spike follow up for sure, but what could you honestly justify dropping for it?

Thomas.knbk · Dec 30, 2006, 07:46 PM // 19:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR-

It's a decent spike follow up for sure, but what could you honestly justify dropping for it?

I dunno, maybe Shatter? Or do you think you need Shame AND Diversion to shut a monk down during a spike?
edit: I misread wastrel's skill description. I thought it was +7dmg for each equipped skill, not spell. This makes it a lot less nice.
Just leave the mesmer as it is lol

Effigy · Dec 30, 2006, 09:50 PM // 21:50

Personally, I prefer Disrupting Chop to Distracting Blow, especially since you're running Shock and two other energy skills. Being able to disable one of your enemy's annoying spam skills for 20 seconds is priceless imo, and having four energy skills on a warrior can be rough particularly if you use Shock with any frequency.

Thomas.knbk · Dec 30, 2006, 10:06 PM // 22:06

Disabeling one skill for 20 seconds may be priceless, but an interrupt that takes 1,33 secs to fire off is not.