Curse

spacehobo · Mar 22, 2006, 03:13 PM // 15:13

This is a build I've been running in TA and RA for a few weeks. I won't try to justify every skill, attribute, etc for now, but if I get some replies with suggestions for changes I'd happy to try them out and tell you how it turns out

Attributes
Divine Favor: 16 (12 + 4)
Healing Prayers: 4 (3 + 1)
Protection Prayers: 10 (9 + 1)
Inspiration Magic: 9

Skills
[1] Reversal of Fortune
[2] Guardian
[3] Protective Spirit
[4] Healing Touch
[5] Energy Drain {E}
[6] Inspired Hex
[7] Mend Ailment
[8] Divine Boon

Armor:
All Tattoo armor.

Weapons/Equipment
1. Insightful (+5) Prot Staff of Enchanting (20%) with 20%/20% cast/recharge

2. Gorbock's Chalice and Cane for 32% chance of faster recharge of E Drain.

3. Axe with -5e and 16% enchanting, and the Cities of Ascalon Scroll with -5e and +5 armor/+25 health. This makes me have 30 energy. It helps stop energy degen spells. (if you have this equiped when you get resed and then switch to item #1 you have over 30 energy as well) Can someone tell me if this actually prevents E Denial though, by lowering your mana pool temporarily?

4. Hale Prot Staff of Fortitude (+30) 20%/20% cast/recharge

JR · Mar 22, 2006, 04:51 PM // 16:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacehobo

This is a build I've been running in TA and RA for a few weeks. I won't try to justify every skill, attribute, etc for now, but if I get some replies with suggestions for changes I'd happy to try them out and tell you how it turns out

Attributes
Divine Favor: 16 (12 + 4)
Healing Prayers: 4 (3 + 1)
Protection Prayers: 10 (9 + 1)
Inspiration Magic: 9

Skills
[1] Reversal of Fortune
[2] Guardian
[3] Protective Spirit
[4] Healing Touch
[5] Energy Drain {E}
[6] Inspired Hex
[7] Mend Ailment
[8] Divine Boon

Decent, I like it. I'm not really sure the Healing Touch is neccasary though, RoF and Guardian are great self heals as it is. I can suggest two possibly alternatives for that slot:

Distortion
Great for when a hammer warrior starts banging you around, or an axe warrior runs over with a fully charged Eviscerate. Drop the points in healing, and put three in Illusion to reach the first energy break-point for Distortion.

Drain Enchantment
A very powerfull but slightly conditional non elite energy management skill, in the Inspiration line. If you are having problems keeping your energy up, you may consider this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacehobo

Armor:
All Tattoo armor.

I personally take Judges chest and legs for the greater defence against physical damage, there isn't much in it though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacehobo

Weapons/Equipment
1. Insightful (+5) Prot Staff of Enchanting (20%) with 20%/20% cast/recharge

In this slot, I would have my high energy set, for when I need a quick boost. 20%/20% Wand, and a +27e/-1 regen focus. Insightfull and Enchantments are a little weak on a Boon Prot, Insightfull is fairly weak in general.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacehobo

2. Gorbock's Chalice and Cane for 32% chance of faster recharge of E Drain.

Same.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacehobo

3. Axe with -5e and 16% enchanting, and the Cities of Ascalon Scroll with -5e and +5 armor/+25 health. This makes me have 30 energy. It helps stop energy degen spells. (if you have this equiped when you get resed and then switch to item #1 you have over 30 energy as well) Can someone tell me if this actually prevents E Denial though, by lowering your mana pool temporarily?

Again, I prefer the +health over enchanting, on the axe.

Also, yes it does prevent E Denial. If you switch down to your negative 7 energy set you effectively hide the 10/15(insightfull) energy from your primary staff, aswell as losing the extra 7. This way you have 17 energy that no mesmer can get his hands on, for when you switch back to your staff.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacehobo

4. Hale Prot Staff of Fortitude (+30) 20%/20% cast/recharge

Good choice of mods. Exactly what I use, for countering degen/spike.

You also have a slightly different order to my slots aswell, I have:

1) Staff.
2) Fast Inspiration recharge set.
3) High energy set.
4) Negative energy set.

Not that it matters too much.

spacehobo · Mar 22, 2006, 06:02 PM // 18:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR-

Decent, I like it. I'm not really sure the Healing Touch is neccasary though, RoF and Guardian are great self heals as it is. I can suggest two possibly alternatives for that slot:

Distortion
Great for when a hammer warrior starts banging you around, or an axe warrior runs over with a fully charged Eviscerate. Drop the points in healing, and put three in Illusion to reach the first energy break-point for Distortion.

Drain Enchantment
A very powerfull but slightly conditional non elite energy management skill, in the Inspiration line. If you are having problems keeping your energy up, you may consider this.

Interesting. I think i'll go with the Drain Enchant, as energy was definatly a bit of a problem sometimes. I figure with a 21 second cast+refresh on inspired hex, 26 seconds each on e drain and inspired enchantment, for a potential of 660 energy in 546 seconds, it is a pretty sweet setup.

With no points in healing i changed my attributes to

Divine Favor: 15 (11+4)
Protection: 11 (10+1)
Inspiration: 10 (9+1)

I thought having 7 points left over was sacralige!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR-

I personally take Judges chest and legs for the greater defence against physical damage, there isn't much in it though.

Yeah, I've heard of people using this. I'm going to try it again but suspect i'll be switching back to all tatts. I havn't tried it yet, but the thought of 40 energy when using my main staff sort of scares me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR-

In this slot, I would have my high energy set, for when I need a quick boost. 20%/20% Wand, and a +27e/-1 regen focus. Insightfull and Enchantments are a little weak on a Boon Prot, Insightfull is fairly weak in general.

Yeah, this seems like a great suggestion. I'll definatly be trying this out, but how much does a 20/20 rod go for? I'm almost afraid to know

All and all I think these seem like good ideas. Thanks. Keep the suggestions coming folks!

JR · Mar 22, 2006, 06:20 PM // 18:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacehobo

Interesting. I think i'll go with the Drain Enchant, as energy was definatly a bit of a problem sometimes. I figure with a 21 second cast+refresh on inspired hex, 26 seconds each on e drain and inspired enchantment, for a potential of 660 energy in 546 seconds, it is a pretty sweet setup.

(I assume you meant Drain Enchant there.)

Probably a good call. Boon prots are naturally pretty energy intensive, and although distortion is nice, it may have been a bit much. Drain Enchant on the other hand dos help you a lot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacehobo

With no points in healing i changed my attributes to
Divine Favor: 15 (11+4)
Protection: 11 (10+1)
Inspiration: 10 (9+1)

(Assume the +1 there was a mistake

)

I would personally drop Prot to 9 (8+1), and max out Divine Favour to make Boon more efficient. The protection prayers on your bar are still effective at a fairly low spec, so it makes no big difference to them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacehobo

Yeah, I've heard of people using this. I'm going to try it again but suspect i'll be switching back to all tatts. I havn't tried it yet, but the thought of 40 energy when using my main staff sort of scares me.

The thing is, maximum energy pool means very little. Infact it can be a disadvantage. In drawn out battles you will be lucky to have your energy at a level whereby having an insightfull mod or tattoos would make a difference.

As far as the disadvantage goes; the larger your energy pool, the more damage you will take from surge/burn mesmers if they catch you in your standard set

If you were using a clunky energy management like Mantra of Recall which gives you large chunks of energy after a set time, then it can help. Having the slightly larger energy pool will accomodate for more energy being dropped into it. However you were sensible and went with EDrain, which is superior in general.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacehobo

Yeah, this seems like a great suggestion. I'll definatly be trying this out, but how much does a 20/20 rod go for? I'm almost afraid to know

I don't honestly know these days, depends who you buy it from I suppose.

Divineshadows · Mar 22, 2006, 06:23 PM // 18:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by JR-

You also have a slightly different order to my slots as well, I have:

1) Staff.
2) Fast Inspiration recharge set.
3) High energy set.
4) Negative energy set.

Not that it matters too much.

Can you explain the logic for this ordering please? Do you use the function keys or the mouse to swap weapon sets? The ordering I have been using is:

1. Negative energy set.
2. Staff.
3. Fast Inspiration recharge set.
4. High energy set.

I use this ordering to create a nice logical progression of least energy to most energy. Is there a better way to do this? I try to stay on the negative energy set as often as possible, because it improves energy efficiency. Casting a 5 energy spell at 5 energy still works under boon and the -2 from boon seems to be completed ignored by the game mechanics (i.e. it has never seemed that I fall to -2 energy and have to wait on regen).

Another tip for players just beginning to use boon prot is to never die when on your high energy set and if you feel like you are going to die try to do so on the negative energy set. Dying goes against the mantra of "kill them, don't die", but sometimes you just know when you're going to fall. Dying on your negative energy set gives you the best opportunity for recovery after being rezzed.

JR · Mar 22, 2006, 06:41 PM // 18:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Divineshadows

Can you explain the logic for this ordering please? Do you use the function keys or the mouse to swap weapon sets? The ordering I have been using is:

1. Negative energy set.
2. Staff.
3. Fast Inspiration recharge set.
4. High energy set.

I use this ordering to create a nice logical progression of least energy to most energy. Is there a better way to do this? I try to stay on the negative energy set as often as possible, because it improves energy efficiency. Casting a 5 energy spell at 5 energy still works under boon and the -2 from boon seems to be completed ignored by the game mechanics (i.e. it has never seemed that I fall to -2 energy and have to wait on regen).

I use the function keys, it's fast enough for me when you have your fingers on WASD right below them. I find my mouse side keys a little awkward to use.

I have the Staff in slot one, because that is what I will use unless they have any E-Denial. The Staff gives be the benefit of 20%/20% Prot or Heal recharge, that I would not get in my negative set.

I have the Fast Recharge items in slot two, because that is a slot I will always use frequently, when I swap to duse E-Drain or Drain Enchantment. Or in particuarly hectic situations I may just stay on them, to save me having to switch back and forth.

I have my High Energy set in slot 3 for no particular reason, it just fits there.

I have my Negative Energy set in slot 4 because that key is easier to find rapidly without having to look down, being on the end of the row. I will also use this set constantly against E-Denial, apart from occasionally switching up to cast.

spacehobo · Mar 23, 2006, 09:33 PM // 21:33

Ok. I've gotten a chance to give this a nice test with my usual crew and I'll tell you what I think.

I definatly do not feel quite as much hate from warriors when they're smacking on me, thanks to the judges armor. The fact that E Drain doesn't give as massive boosts to your mana pool as MoR, for instance, does justify the smaller mana pool. Very interesting

I have to say that I throughly enjoy stripping a monk's Divine Boon enchantment with Drain Enchantment, and even being rewarded for doing so. This is a very fun skill for a monk, cause it gives you the opportunity to play an offensive role, but also useful. I've gotten out of sticky situations with this skill, and with so many boon prots around, there are lots of enchants to strip.

I removed Healing Touch for Drain Enchantment. I couldn't get big enough heals after 2 KD warriors had their way with me, but otherwise, i think my 3 prot spells are sufficient.

My big problem has been with the +17 energy/-1 energy regen slot. I've jumped to that when i want to use my energy reaping skills, or when i just had to save someone to help turn the tide of the match, but i have died with it equiped and when that happens its really really ugly!! I also forgot to switch it off a few times, which was rather dumb. Divineshadows was very right! For me it is the hardest thing to adapt to out of all of the changes.

I plan to keep this build though. Thanks for the responses JR and Divineshadows

If anyone else has something to add i'll still be checking on this thread.

Divineshadows · Mar 24, 2006, 12:12 AM // 00:12

spacehobo,

I like being part of the offense too (however subtle it may be). Energy drain and drain enchantment really does give a monk incentive to pay attention to which skills the opponents are using. This was one of the problems I had with the OoB Mo/N even before the Mar. 2nd skill update -- it could lead to bad habits in causing monk players to be too introverted. Seeing the skills the opponent is using really helps you to prepare mentally and be less of a reactive player.

Listening to the sounds of the game helps a lot too as this game is truly immersive in nature. For instance, hearing blinding flash can allow you to remove blind off of your warrior or ranger before the cover condition (usually weakness due to enervating chage) even lands on them and before they even notice it and call for removal. Diversion also has a very distinct sound that any good monk will be listening for. Many other skills have much more subtle sounds unfortunately...

If you ever team with any other energy drainers or e-denial players, then try to coordinate your efforts onto different targets because it really hurts you as a monk if you go to drain an enemy monk that has already been hit hard by your e-denial mesmer. On the same token, it hurts you when you go to drain an enchantment that one of your allies did at the same time (but they beat you to it due to fast-casting). Draining boon is fun especially if you find a monk that is oblivious to the fact that boon is down, but most monks know to immediately re-apply it. I tend to target the following skills with drain enchantment due to their longer recycle time or over time benefits -- any ele attunements, conjure element, ether prodigy, judge's insight, armor of mist, balthazar's aura, illusionary weaponry (when will the players running this garbage ever learn?), sympathetic visage, awaken the blood, dark aura, divine spirit, divine intervention, guardian, mark of protection, healing breeze, healing hands, healing seed, shield of deflection, peace and harmony, and mantra of recall. Which skill I choose to drain is entirely dependent upon which one I think will help the team most. Nothing more amusing though than draining unyielding aura or vengeance just after they are cast; they don't get played often, but when they do...

Inspired hex is also quite fun against weaker teams if you've got energy to spare. I love to punish warriors who paired themselves with monks who dare to bring pacafism or amity into arenas. Just make sure to communicate over vent or teamspeak to your team what you are doing and it works beautifully.

Waylayer · Mar 31, 2006, 07:02 PM // 19:02

your build looks pretty good, has three of the basics for monking=condition, and hex removal, and healing. Im concerned about your energy though, but if E-Drain works for you, then everything is ship-shape.