Curse

Legendary Shiz · Aug 21, 2006, 07:08 PM // 19:08

Channeling or Signet of Devotion

Personally, I like using Channeling becuase Sig is too long of a cast. Not to mention it's less of a heal than even guardian is. I also don't think divine favor is in use with a signet, thus giving you even less healing.

Not to mention one of the biggest concerns about a boon prot is energy management, and channeling gives you more energy and also at times can negate the negative effects of the boon.

sno · Aug 21, 2006, 07:17 PM // 19:17

Channeling is terrible in TA, since there are only 4 people around you max, and if you're good at prekiting, much less than that. As a monk you're priority #1 for most teams, so you want to be as far away from them as possible. Channeling = no. Signet of devotion is nice because you can spam it whenever you want. You can cast it on its recharge to remove pressure without spending energy. It's free, and therefore it counts as energy management. It can also be canceled if you need a spike heal, with no negative effect.

There are many much better options for a boon prot, here are some I've used:

Boon
Mantra of Recall
Energy Drain
Contemplation
Reversal of Fortune
Mend condition / ailment
holy veil
inspired / revealed hex (sometimes both)
hex breaker
signet of devotion
gift of health
guardian
protective spirit
spririt bond
offering of blood (only if you're already /n secondary for something else, or in pve. often used for orders in ranger spike)

Which bar you use should depend on what team build you're running. If you already have a lot of hex removal, I'd run something like this:

Gift of health
rof
mend cond
sig of dev
contemplation
boon
mor
hex breaker

If you need more hex removal on the monk (which you almost always do) you can drop hex breaker, sig of devotion, and gift of health, all for hex removal as needed. With heavy defensive teams, i've run a bar like this:

Holy veil
rof
mend cond
inspired hex
contemplation
boon
mor
revealed hex

It's great against hex teams, as you have a ton of energy management to spam the hell out of reversal, so you can out-heal the hex degen without sig of devotion easily.

Legendary Shiz · Aug 21, 2006, 07:26 PM // 19:26

I was hoping to get a reply from the Monk Master.

That's a good point about Channeling, but I just assumed since like you said monk is almost always going to be #1 priority there would always be at the very least one enemy around me at all times. And since you do have to stop kiting to cast, they would be in range for channeling to go into effect. I'll be sure to drop it though.

That is something I'm going to make sure to add, as hexing plays a very big part in TA.

I'll keep everything you said in mind, and come up with something that'll work. My guild has asked me to become a full time boon/prot, so I'll keep working on this. Off to make some much needed changes, thanks much Sno.

My build atm

RoF, mend ailment (like it better because I can use it on myself), Guardian, hex breaker, boon, CoP, inspired hex, MoR

I've been playing this for awhile, and it seems to be working decently. But I can't get enough to help against heavy hexing. I can keep it off myself well enough (obviously with hex breaker) but my allys get hexed to heck forcing me to heal them causing some bad energy problems. Inspired hex is great because it helps with the energy and with the hex problems, but it puts that skill on my bar for awhile only allowing me to remove one hex from my teammates. What I have now is good enough for teams that don't hex a whole lot, but I always get crushed against hex heavy teams.

I was curious what you think I could/should change up in order to deal with heavy hex teams. BTW Sno, Angry Tree is better than you (lawl don't get mad he put me up to it

)

JR · Aug 22, 2006, 06:46 PM // 18:46

My standard RA/TA Boon Prot:
Monk/Mesmer

Divine Favor: 14 (12+2)
Protection Prayers: 10 (9+1)
Inspiration Magic: 9

- Reversal of Fortune (Protection Prayers)
- Signet of Devotion (Divine Favor)
- Mend Condition (Protection Prayers)
- Guardian (Protection Prayers)
- Inspired Hex (Inspiration Magic)
- Contemplation of Purity (Divine Favor)
- Energy Drain [Elite] (Inspiration Magic)
- Divine Boon (Divine Favor)

Covers all bases, really. If you are running a build which doesn't require much condition removal (i.e. Plague Touch Warriors, or no physical damage classes) then you can trade out Mend Condition for Mend Ailment.

Legendary Shiz · Aug 22, 2006, 07:02 PM // 19:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR-

My standard RA/TA Boon Prot:
Monk/Mesmer

Divine Favor: 14 (12+2)
Protection Prayers: 10 (9+1)
Inspiration Magic: 9

- Reversal of Fortune (Protection Prayers)
- Signet of Devotion (Divine Favor)
- Mend Condition (Protection Prayers)
- Guardian (Protection Prayers)
- Inspired Hex (Inspiration Magic)
- Contemplation of Purity (Divine Favor)
- Energy Drain [Elite] (Inspiration Magic)
- Divine Boon (Divine Favor)

Covers all bases, really. If you are running a build which doesn't require much condition removal (i.e. Plague Touch Warriors, or no physical damage classes) then you can trade out Mend Condition for Mend Ailment.

E Drain might be a good sub out for MoR. I'll give that a try for sure.

However I find it quite odd that you only have 14 in DF, I always use a sup rune and get 16. I was told by somebody that I trust that 16 DF is the way to go.

BTW sorry for the double post JR, I have a bad habbit of doing that

sno · Aug 22, 2006, 07:56 PM // 19:56

What rune is personal preference, I usually always ran a sup, but lately I've been running a major (15 divine) in GvG's.

Ec]-[oMaN · Aug 22, 2006, 08:09 PM // 20:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Legendary Shiz

I was curious what you think I could/should change up in order to deal with heavy hex teams.

There isn't much you CAN do, besides using cop. If in TA try using an Expel hexes mesmer/dom.

Legendary Shiz · Aug 22, 2006, 08:11 PM // 20:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by sno

What rune is personal preference, I usually always ran a sup, but lately I've been running a major (15 divine) in GvG's.

I suppose that would make sense, with the added health (in comparison to a sup rune). What should I base which one I use off of? The +1 in DF boosts my healing a lot, but the major rune buffs up my own health. So it seems like major if I'm more worried about self preservation, and sup if I need the extra boost in healing?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ec]-[oMaN

There isn't much you CAN do, besides using cop. If in TA try using an Expel hexes mesmer/dom.

Yes, I have been thinking about dropping hex breaker since I have CoP to take care of my self and bring another hex remover. Thus giving me two hex removals for teammates, and one for myself. Would this seem logical?

I pwnd U · Aug 22, 2006, 08:16 PM // 20:16

I use only Major when i am doing anything except Smiting or messing around. If i use a Major i lose less health and with my weapons and offhands haveing +hp bounses i am covered. I usually use the Build JR posted when i Boonprot and it works great.

JR · Aug 22, 2006, 08:38 PM // 20:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Legendary Shiz

However I find it quite odd that you only have 14 in DF, I always use a sup rune and get 16. I was told by somebody that I trust that 16 DF is the way to go.

Actually that was a slight error on my part; I tend to run a Sup divine in Arena. In GvG I really tend not to use anything but a Minor though; having that 625hp has made a big difference in the past.

OneArmedScissor · Aug 22, 2006, 11:27 PM // 23:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR-

Actually that was a slight error on my part; I tend to run a Sup divine in Arena. In GvG I really tend not to use anything but a Minor though; having that 625hp has made a big difference in the past.

I'm glad I found someone else who thinks like I do.
more health = more hits you can take

Legendary Shiz · Aug 23, 2006, 03:20 PM // 15:20

RoF, mend condition, guardian, hex breaker, boon, cop, inspired hex, E drain [e]

That build got me 2 glad points in a little less than an hour. E dain works marvels, thanks JR!

llsektorll · Aug 23, 2006, 03:38 PM // 15:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by sno

...
protective spirit
spririt bond
offering of blood (only if you're already /n secondary for something else, or in pve. often used for orders in ranger spike)

that part in bold made me laugh...

... only people that use a mo/n doing orders is DEER's bonder/orders... rofl..

anyways

this is the bar i use...

RoF, Mend Condition, Gaurdian, Prot Spirit or Spirit Bond, [Your Choice], [Your Choice], E-Drain, Divine Boon.

In the [Your Choice] you could use one of the following.
Inspire/Revealed Hex
Gift of Health
Signet of Devotion
Channeling
... you can use your own skills as needed by the team.. build your build around the teams build...

(if that statement makes sense)

p.s. Edrain > MoR because you can use 20% enchant mod which you can't do with MoR becuase it would make MoR duration to 24s. You can also use the inspiration off hand to decrease recharge time of Edrain.

Neo-LD · Aug 23, 2006, 03:59 PM // 15:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by llsektorll

p.s. Edrain > MoR because you can use 20% enchant mod which you can't do with MoR becuase it would make MoR duration to 24s.

Who uses the 20% enchant mod? +5AL or +30 HP ftw. EDrain gives better energy if you can use double 20% inspiration wand/focus. However, that equipment is pretty bad comapared to what you can get from neg-e sword + shield (swap 1) and hod-sword + focus (swap 2), so I use MoR if Im on Boon in GvG. EDrain is better in arenas because it lets you recover after a res much better.

JR · Aug 23, 2006, 04:25 PM // 16:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by llsektorll

Channeling...

...is garbage in Arena.

Quote:

Originally Posted by llsektorll

p.s. Edrain > MoR because you can use 20% enchant mod which you can't do with MoR becuase it would make MoR duration to 24s. You can also use the inspiration off hand to decrease recharge time of Edrain.

a) Enchantment mods are largely pointless on a Boon Prot. The only skill that I would consider it makes a worthy difference with is Guardian, but even then it is tiny and simply not worth it.

b) Learn to focus swap. If you actually did want to run an Enchantment mod on a Boon Prot with MoR, all you have to do is swap out of it when you cast MoR.

c) You can use a wand AND a focus with 20% recharge on Inspiration, for a 32% chance of double speed recharge, and a 4% chance of quad speed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neo-LD

However, that equipment is pretty bad comapared to what you can get from neg-e sword + shield (swap 1) and hod-sword + focus (swap 2), so I use MoR if Im on Boon in GvG. EDrain is better in arenas because it lets you recover after a res much better.

You should be using a dual 20% recharge set to cast MoR aswell, due to the fact that it is quite likely to be regularly stripped by the opposition. This gives you a free method to make use of fast recharges, as opposed to CoP.

If you have equipment that is more beneficial as a primary set, then you should be using that. Swap to your Inspiration set to cast Energy Drain or Mantra, and then switch back. To be honest I tend not to bother, as I think it makes little difference, aside from using a +60hp/+5al sword and focus set as primary when I get DP.

I do think people put too much stress on equipment. All that really matters is the recharge set, as that actually nets you more energy. Things like deciding between +5e swords, +5al swords, focuses with different bonuses... Yes it has an effect, but it is far more trivial than most people make out.

fatboyslimerr · Aug 23, 2006, 06:00 PM // 18:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR-

My standard RA/TA Boon Prot:
Monk/Mesmer

Divine Favor: 14 (12+2)
Protection Prayers: 10 (9+1)
Inspiration Magic: 9

- Reversal of Fortune (Protection Prayers)
- Signet of Devotion (Divine Favor)
- Mend Condition (Protection Prayers)
- Guardian (Protection Prayers)
- Inspired Hex (Inspiration Magic)
- Contemplation of Purity (Divine Favor)
- Energy Drain [Elite] (Inspiration Magic)
- Divine Boon (Divine Favor)

Covers all bases, really. If you are running a build which doesn't require much condition removal (i.e. Plague Touch Warriors, or no physical damage classes) then you can trade out Mend Condition for Mend Ailment.

You use Energy Drain with CoP ? At most you can CoP with boon, guardian and possibly RoF but I've always thought Energy Drain Protters should leave CoP out in favour for hex breaker and take sig of devotion as well.
I use

1. Reversal of Fortune
2. Mend Ailment
3. Prot Spirit
4. Energy Drain {E}
5. Sig of Devotion
6. Hex Breaker
7. Revealed Hex
8. Divine Boon

Never really liked CoP anyway but surely it isn't as useful if your not using MoR. Anyway back on topic, I absolutely love sig of devotion and wouldn't PvP without it. Its been said before... Channeling is too conditional energy gain for a monk who ideally is far away from enemies (lil something we call kiting) it can be CoPed but its not worth the slot imo. Sig of Devotion on the other hand is a free heal, every 8... it does have a long cast but its great against degen builds where immediate heals aren't required and your going to need all the energy you can get.

Devotion everytime for me

sno · Aug 23, 2006, 10:15 PM // 22:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by llsektorll

that part in bold made me laugh...

... only people that use a mo/n doing orders is DEER's bonder/orders... rofl..

Actually, orders on a boon prot is fairly common in TA. It's about the only way to have a 4-person ranger spike actually be fairly successful. Also [BR] also runs an orders bonder (for GvG, although the bar is the most pathetic monk bar I've ever seen... Watchful spirit? gross.) so don't act like deer is the only one. I myself have run orders on a boon prot, but only in PvE (when we were running 3 barragers, 4 melee/heal henchies.)

As I said though, the only reason you'd want to take OoB is if you needed the necro line for something else, namely orders.

Drewfense · Aug 23, 2006, 11:08 PM // 23:08

Going back to the original comment, people highly under rate channeling in areas outside of HoH (I suspect this is because they are used to the +7 or more you can get without trying), but really Channeling is still a strong option even in RA/TA. In general, it is a cheap spell that gives you another cover enchant, powers CoP, lasts 40-50 seconds (assuming you have 9-10 insp with enchant mod), and your almost gauranteed to always get a +1 from the usual warrior chasing you. In GvG, you can time your spells to get a consistant +2 or +3 from other enemy warriors in the backline. For RA/TA, it is even better because of the lack of lines. There rarely is "overextending" in RA/TA so you can easily kite among the opponents casters, generating a consistant +3. The abundance of thumpers in GvG and RA/TA and the amount of rit spirit spammers in RA/TA and you have a significant amount of channeling bonus. <prepares for angry comments> I think signet of devotion is a horrible skill for RA/TA. Because of the lack of lines, if their is any half decent warrior on the other team, you should be kiting constantly, and stoping for any cast longer than a second (and isnt like Guardian, neting you 40ish % block) will be more detrimintal than anything. Personally, I only use Sig Devo for certain builds in GvG where your team is likely to have more warrior hate. So imo, channeling is the better option by far for RA/TA...but I wouldn't run it myself because I see that 8th skill slot can have very valuable options.

In the first week of Factions, I got a quick lvl 1 title using this <prepare yourself for standard boon prot build...>. Very much not a GvG type boon prot.

RA->
Mend Condition
RoF
Guardian
Shielding Hands - better versus pressure, dont really experience spiking in ra
CoP - really what I use for self heal in general
MoR
Drain Ench. - mainly to counter ritualists and fast cast eles
Boon

TA->
Completely depends on your team build. Boon prot really isn't a set in stone build...it is surprising how different the character really becomes depending what skills you put in there after Boon, RoF, Gaurdian, MoR/EDrain. I think the best way to make a monk effective in RA/TA. Since the builds people play are often weakly designed, using pdrain, drain ench, or even hex removal intelligently can devastate opposing builds.

Legendary Shiz · Aug 24, 2006, 03:36 AM // 03:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by llsektorll

that part in bold made me laugh...

... only people that use a mo/n doing orders is DEER's bonder/orders... rofl..

anyways

this is the bar i use...

RoF, Mend Condition, Gaurdian, Prot Spirit or Spirit Bond, [Your Choice], [Your Choice], E-Drain, Divine Boon.

In the [Your Choice] you could use one of the following.
Inspire/Revealed Hex
Gift of Health
Signet of Devotion
Channeling
... you can use your own skills as needed by the team.. build your build around the teams build...

(if that statement makes sense)

p.s. Edrain > MoR because you can use 20% enchant mod which you can't do with MoR becuase it would make MoR duration to 24s. You can also use the inspiration off hand to decrease recharge time of Edrain.

The 20 enchant mod has already been dubbed not a great choice, so I won't further that.

And from the way your talking, it sounds like your mainly GvG and HA thinking this one (I'm guessing gvg since you are in Last Pride

) because of channeling in there being the biggest reason.

I don't think you came into this thread with TA on your mind.

yesitsrob · Aug 24, 2006, 04:54 AM // 04:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Legendary Shiz

The 20 enchant mod has already been dubbed not a great choice, so I won't further that.

And from the way your talking, it sounds like your mainly GvG and HA thinking this one (I'm guessing gvg since you are in Last Pride

) because of channeling in there being the biggest reason.

I don't think you came into this thread with TA on your mind.

Simba's Last Pride.... there's a difference, one is probably the best guild around, one is a group of burning isle ranger spikers