Curse

Draeco_Smash · Jan 08, 2006, 01:41 AM // 01:41

Hey guys, I am new to the PvP... as with many of my fellow newbs to PvP... I was wondering if you could clarify things for me....

Now don't get mad, because I searched the forums for about and hour for this and came up short...

What is spiking.... you guys make it sound like its sum godly attack that nerfs all... I've asked gamers in game what it is, and I just want to clarrify that they weren't leading me by my newb ears into disbelief...

his response was that...
spiking is when a member of your team calls a tgt and counts down the time for everyone to fire their spells... so that the target is essentially spammed heavily becomes overloaded and dies...
and that it is usually done over T/S or Vent... (for obvious reasons...)

is this true?
as well any tips to gettin on comms with a group???
I have had TS and Vent for about 1 1/2 years now, through other online games that I play... but not once yet have i PvP'd with a team on comms, or even gotten a response from anywhere, Tombs, or 4 vs 4... from when I text that I have TS or Vent... is it just me,
or does my E/N look too noobish and useless for groups to use??

Josh · Jan 08, 2006, 01:57 AM // 01:57

Spiking, is basicly, killing a target as fast and efficiently as possible.

Like, 5 Elementalists using Obsidian Flame or Lightning Orb all at the same time on a target for quick damage.

Spiking is usually so you can kill a target without the enemy Monk being able to heal/protect fast enough, as they get a quick-death.

Draeco_Smash · Jan 08, 2006, 02:14 AM // 02:14

thnx... so essentially, spiking is 100% a team effort and has nothing really to do with a individual, thnx...

still any tips on how to get on comms,
anyone interested in taking me under their wing... "show me the ropes"
because I am finding it terribly difficult to learn anything past what I already know... especially since Im the only person in my guild "formed of real life friends" that is doing PvP... so I don't really have anyone to turn to..

thnx for the help...

Josh · Jan 08, 2006, 02:21 AM // 02:21

You can actually Spike on your own.

Something like what I use, not exactly the best or ultimate build, it works quite nicely:

Really, only good in Team Arenas, Random Arenas, etc.

Elementalist / Whatever

Air Attunement
Aura of Restoration
Mind Shock {Elite}
Lightning Orb
Enervating Charge
Lightning Strike
Lightning Javelin OR Blinding Flash
Resurrection Signet
I usually cast Air Attunement, then Aura of Restoration (so if my enchant is stripped, Aura goes first), then all in 1 go;

Lightning Orb, Mind Shock {E}, Enervating Charge, Lightning Strike, Lightning Javelin, repeat.

Or if you get another Friend to run that Build with you, say, 2 Eles (you being 1 of them, and a friend or someone), then a Monk and a Warrior or Ranger. And you've got yourself a good build.

Draeco_Smash · Jan 08, 2006, 02:24 AM // 02:24

sounds juicy but just curious as to how u break up ur Att's...
how many in Storage, and how many in air??

Josh · Jan 08, 2006, 02:37 AM // 02:37

Aeromancer Headpiece (+1 to air, with either a Minor Air Magic Rune, or a Superior). Head, Legs, Gloves and Boots are up to depending on what sort of Elemental defence you wish.

Add a Superior Vigor (presuming your using PvP creation) to a piece of armour.

And a Minor Energy Storage rune to any other piece. The rest, you can add any other Minor Rune for whatever Element.

So:

Air Magic: 12+1+1/3 (Headpiece + 1/3 = Minor / Superior)
Energy Storage: 12+1 (Minor)

Draeco_Smash · Jan 08, 2006, 02:45 AM // 02:45

thnx buddy...
I'll be sure to msg you with how it turns out for me...

wont it be fine with you if i added u to my friends list?

I pwnd U · Jan 09, 2006, 04:02 PM // 16:02

ya thats an ele spike. u also have a ranger spike where u use rtw or ignite arrows then all spikers fire Dual Shot at the same time. they then follow up if needed w/ distract moves. really effective if down rite and at the same time.

Brother Andicus · Jan 09, 2006, 06:04 PM // 18:04

Quote:

You can actually Spike on your own.

Actually, you cant spike on your own. Sure air eles have some high damage 1 time skills, but nothing close to what would be referred to as a spike.

The phrase spike is derived from how such a build would appear if damage was plotted against time. In most builds you would see a fairly steady damage output, with maybe the odd peak every now and again.

A spike team aims to compress their damage into as small a time gap as possible, with good teams delivering a spike in under 1/2 a second. If you were to view the damage against time graph for such a team, you would see long periods of 0 damage, with very short(effectively a straight vertical line) damage spikes. In guildwars, a typical spike will do somewhere between 500-1000 damge. The idea is not to overload monks, but to make them irrelevant. If someone dies quicker than human reaction time, monks become fairly useless.

As for voice comms, they are very common. Any group for Tombs that has a realistic chance of doing well will be using some sort of voice communication. If you have a couple of hours to spare, its worth spending some time finding a group that are using comms. Should you not be able to find such a group, dont be afraid to take charge and run your own group. If you need a vent server, you can always use the SB public vent server, which has many channels dedicated to random pickup tombs groups. Just pick an empty channel and away you go.

Siliconwafer · Jan 09, 2006, 09:47 PM // 21:47

You might also want to note the distinction between "spike" and burst"-whereas a spike, like Brother Andicus said, is to make the monks irrelevant, burst damage delivers more (often 1000+) damage over a few seconds-often as an initial spike and a follow up spike. That can often overload monks, as it's often the equlivalent of infusing three times. That said, I haven't seen many burst damage teams in a while.

Draeco_Smash · Jan 09, 2006, 10:30 PM // 22:30

thnx guys...
that really clears things up for me

Yellow_lid · Jan 10, 2006, 01:09 AM // 01:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brother Andicus

The phrase spike is derived from how such a build would appear if damage was plotted against time. In most builds you would see a fairly steady damage output, with maybe the odd peak every now and again.

Actually I believe the term spikeing was coined from using the mesmer skill "Power Spike".

You can spike with almost any character. My absolute favorite character to spike with is a blood necro. I can 1vs1 take down a warrior so fast that it'd make his head spin.

I've seen lots of spike groups. The one I haven't been able to work myself is the EoE(Edge of Extinction) bomb. The one I've had work the best is the Bloodspike group. We took out another team in like 3 minutes using bloodspike. ;D.

Best of luck with your PvP adventuring!!!

JR · Jan 10, 2006, 01:15 AM // 01:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_lid

Actually I believe the term spikeing was coined from using the mesmer skill "Power Spike".

It wasn't. You hit someone with 5 Obsidian flames, you look at the health chart, what pretty pattern does it make? You guessed it, a spike.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_lid

You can spike with almost any character. My absolute favorite character to spike with is a blood necro. I can 1vs1 take down a warrior so fast that it'd make his head spin.

That's not spiking, unless you have figured out some way to take a warrior down solo in under half a second.

minor · Jan 10, 2006, 01:28 PM // 13:28

Just a note here since spiking was called godly...
Most top guilds ive seen use pressure builds instead of spiking, spiking is not the end all of builds.

I pwnd U · Jan 10, 2006, 03:41 PM // 15:41

its true i was watching the Idoit Savants (#10)play the Ectos and Shards (#9) in the World Championship and neither used a spike build. Both were balanced. Though the Idoit Savants won with a Flawless (they played a great match) i saw neither using a spike team. That is contrary to what i saw the other day when i saw an ele spike guild go against a ranger spike guild. (ranger spike won). both were ranked in top 50 (maybe even 25 it was patient relaxed people vs Xen sumthin) but thats probally the only time ive seen high rated guilds use a spike team. My guild is starting to use a ranger/ele spike and am having moderate sucess w/ 3 rangers and 2 ele spikers. so ya spiking works but its defiently beatable.

especialyl when they dont use TS. some people just ping. in my exprience that doesnt work! u get spikes at different times and people not being on the right target and all kinda of bad things. you have to spike on TS or Vent to be extremely sucessful from my past expriecnes.