Curse

Clusmas · Mar 17, 2006, 06:39 AM // 06:39

I primarily play some sort of boon prot monk in all forms of pvp. Problem is I can't stand up long against knock downs (pun not intended) and energy denial.

I know the solution to the latter lies in quick switching. I have tried it and I'm not very good at it. What should I be switching to and more importantly when?

As for KD, well all I do is kite. But I have to stop to cast which is usually when I get hit.. and die

Your advice would be greatly appreciated!

QuixotesGhost · Mar 17, 2006, 07:02 AM // 07:02

Generally if I'm getting any sort of attention from a hammer warrior I attempt to keep prot spirit maintained on me at all times. It's expensive but it keeps me alive.

Clusmas · Mar 17, 2006, 07:37 AM // 07:37

Yeah that works.

Also I should probably say, I completely understand the theory behind quick switching, it's application I'm struggling with. I guess it's just a matter of practice.

All in all, this post was a waste of time :P

OrangeArrow · Mar 17, 2006, 08:43 AM // 08:43

Well the key to fighting knockdown is try to prekite and try you best to survive the adrenal spike. By prekiting I mean dont even give the warrior a chance to build up much adrenaline on you.
The weakness of a hammer build is it's adrenaline. Adrenaline is very slow to build up and KD warriors can really only kill with a powerful adrenal spike. Less adrenaline means less knockdowns. When your kiting keep an eye on the warrior if hes close by and using bull strike stop to cast something before rekiting a lot of warriors dont have the patience to use bull's strike correctly.

RoF is decent at neutralizing the normal hammer damage but its the adrenal spike that kills you. You should realize that using guardian will probabaly get you knocked down by irresistable blow but it will cause less damage and might prevent the deep wound from crushing blow. Hammer Warriors depend on deep wound for the kill they kill much much slower if deep wound isnt on the target.

Know the two most popular knockdown chains.
Irresistible->devastating->crushing->Hammer Bash/Heavy Blow->Irresistible
Irresistible->backbreaker->crushing->Irresistable

On Focus Swaping ideally you need 3 sets of items, your normal set, Your negative energy set, and a +30 energy -2 regen set. For the Negative set most PvPers use a -5 energy weapon (with a defense or fortitude mod) and a -2 energy cities of ascalon scroll (or a caster shield) for their negative set. Its also recommended that you make a 4th set by mixing items from your +30 energy -2 regen set and normal set to get an +15 energy -1 regen set.

When facing edenial you want to use the negative energy set all the time and only swap to your normal set when you need extra energy to cast or want the bonus stats from you normal set. Swap back to your negative set after you finish casting. Only use the sets with -regen if you get totally drained and its an emergancy digging too deep into your reserves will just get you into more trouble later. Never ever keep your -regen set out if your not casting you want to always have 4 bars of regen plus getting your reserve set drained is just a disaster waiting to happen.

if its a physical response thing you migth want to play with your hud or hotkeys till you find something comfortable for you.

hope that helps

yazaga · Mar 17, 2006, 09:13 AM // 09:13

Ok thanks for this informative post. I have also read Ensign's article about dealing with energy denial, but i still have one question. Why would you want a forth set with + 3 energy regain ? Isn't the set with + 2 energy regen and + 30 energy enough ? What is the tactical difference between these 2 and why would you want to have them both ?

OrangeArrow · Mar 17, 2006, 09:25 AM // 09:25

well its to protect the extra 15 energy from getting drained. Its less likley these days but before the energy drain nerf I saw some teams echo energy drain it wasnt pretty.

youll very rarely need the energy from the +30 set but its nice to have in case something goes wrong with the +15 -1 regen set

yesitsrob · Mar 17, 2006, 10:17 AM // 10:17

Against a hammer warriors, if you have CoP on your bar you can use that after the first knockdown, this will in most situations remove a deep wound or a weakness, removing a deep wound will stop you from dying for sure, and removing the weakness stops certain knockdown chains. If you don't have CoP, reversal works quite well too. Best solution though is watching out for them and pre kiting - guardian can work against the devastating hammer, crushing blow, and heavy blow too, and also prevent them from building up adrenaline easy - sure they can use irrisistable blow, but that costs energy which they need to spike with... costs ~15 energy for a hammer spike if i recall (frenzy, crushing, irrisistable)

Against E-Denial, er... just beware of mind wrack - if you're anything like me you can focus swap yourself to death

. I use -5 sword and CoA -2 energy scroll as neg energy set, which puts me on 23 energy, protecting a pretty nice 17... if you can't get hold of a CoA scroll, I find the gingerbread shield is not only good for the 10 defense but it's pretty funny too

Esuna · Mar 18, 2006, 07:09 AM // 07:09

Guardian/protective spirit/prekiting. Dumb warriors will stick to you for the entire match, so you'll KNOW to keep guardian on yourself. It even becomes my main heal if a warrior is on my butt and no one else. I save my RoF and Mend Condition for spike healing others. I've thought about using signet of devotion in my build instead of protective spirit.. but if you aren't careful, you could die really easily to a hammer warrior with a lack of guardian on you.

Byron · Mar 18, 2006, 08:28 AM // 08:28

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...d.php?t=118057

That should tell all you need to know about swapping. As for KD, that's something that has to be endured, much like e-denial. Imagine the game without these things; not pretty.

SaintGreg · Mar 18, 2006, 03:51 PM // 15:51

When I play a hammer warrior I always curse when a monk has protective spirit on when I'm trying to spike him down. It's less of a problem when your build has enough enchantment removal, but it still hurts (meaning for the monk it helps).

Guardian works well, but you will get knocked down from irresistable a decent amount over the course of the match. While you are on the floor from irresistable blow getting blocked, guardian will probably run out leaving you fairly open.

YunSooJin · Mar 19, 2006, 11:42 PM // 23:42

If you have constant edrain and warrior pressure on you, you are pretty much dead. I wouldn't expect anyone to last long with no energy and 6 or so seconds of continual knockdown.

Any smart warrior will build adren off of another target and then come spike you with TF or frenzy. A well timed heavy blow/hammer bash will interrupt any monk after they've come up and knock them back down again. Your only really solution to this crushing series of events is to pre-prot yourself when you see the warrior coming, but while the rest of your team is getting wrecked, only keeping yourself alive isn't much of an option either.