Curse

Serpreme · Aug 03, 2005, 09:19 PM // 21:19

Ok i just want you all to know that i have done FOW many times. I've done it enough to see what 90% of the problems are and who is doing them. This thread i hope will remove some of these issues and make for a generally more beneficial.

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How to act
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One of the biggest problems in Fissure is the fact that the Tank cant always keep all aggro on himself. And even more so,ranged monsters can switch aggro to you quickly and easily. So your job is to move out of their range while still casting your big spells. Dont be afraid to Strafe back and forth to avoid fire. This will make it so you take much less hits and the monks wont have to worry about you nearly as much.

Another aspect of this game is to STAY AWAY FROM THE TANK. If your not the one with 4 seperate enchantments on you with a Warrior as your main,STAY BACK. The key to making fissure work is to keep all hate on the tank. If you walk your aggro bubble onto him,the monsters will desperse and you will be its new target. Ruining any kind of clean and concentrated strike. Now the monks have to play clean up and stay alive themselves.
Remember. If your aggro bubble is on the tank while he himself gets aggro,they WILL switch to you and they WILL ruin most parties.
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The basic party for a Fissure of Woe run should consist of:
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| Warrior/Mo.(1) |
| Mo/XX(1-2) |
| Elementalist(3-4) |

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Warrior
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The Warrior is your main tank. He is your caller and he is your meatshield. Your monks should be concentrating on him SOLELY. The Warrior should carry a decent degree of Healing Prayers. I repeat,the Warriors job is to keep all aggro on him. But its the other players should to ditch their aggro on him. The best way to do this is to once aggro'd,run closely by the Tank. This should make the monster leave you and attack the Tank. This is crucial.

Why? This will help him stay alive with Live Vicariousely. This will keep his heatlh up enough so the monks are too overworked and its just extra help. He should also if need be use Vigorous Spirit. So basically with level 10 healing and hundred blades,he should gather around 100-200 hp on his own per hundred blade usage.

The Warriors main job is to stay alive and keep aggro on himself. This means no moving once the battle has resumed. If he moves,all aggro is lost. So with that in mind, the warrior should ALWAYS move ahead of the rest of the party. He should keep everyone outside is aggro bubble until combat is met. Once he deems all monsters have locked on him,he should call. That it is the single that the nukers should come in get to work.

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Monk
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The monk is the one who keeps the tank alive. One monk can do the job but in Fissure of Woe,it never hurts to be safe. The skills a monk uses will determine weither your party lives or not. The skills i have found to be very useful are:

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Spells
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Orison Healing(Self healing.)
Heal Other(Great healing spell.)
Protective Spirit(Its good to stop the big damage elementalist and such make)
Blessed Signet(A decent level of Divine Favor well make this very important)
Life Attunement(Allows you to heal up to 50% more)
Life Bond(Cut half damage from target and redirects at self)
Essence Bond(Allows the tank to keep you energized)
Divine Boon(Adds a boosted healing for self)

Now i will go into their uses.

Orisons Healing is mainly for self healing. It can also be used as a secondary healer for Heal other while its recharging.

Heal Other is the primary healer. With max level of Healinig Prayer and a fair level Divine Favor(lvl10) you can heal for over 350 in one go.

Protective Spirit is just a good instant kill stopper. When you fight mesmers and Elementalist,they do big hits. This will take the edge off them nicely.

Blessed Signet is a skill that should allow you to regain energy faster then otherwise possible. With a level 10 Divine Favor,you can regain up to 17 energy per 10 second recharge. But with only 4 enchantments,the max you can get is 12. So thats 12 energy reclaimed every 10 seconds.

Life Attunement is the helper healer. With a high level of Protection Prayers,you can achive up to 50% addition heal towards target. This means a 150 heal is now 225. This is very cool.

Life Bond cut all damage in half and send it at you. It also has a minus to damage take from protection prayer. This makes most times all you see is 0's poping up above your head. Very nice.

Essence Bond. Simple. Each time the target of this enchantment gets hit,you gain 1 energy. 5 people pounding on the tank = 5 energy per time they hit him.

Divine boon. Adds a additional heal based on Divine Favor. Add this with Heal other and Life attunement and you have a super heal coming up.

What the monk should do is,right before the Tank moves to get aggro,give him Protective Spirit. This will make the damage he takes serverely reduced. Then,once he calls you can start healing him. Dont forget to give him Protective Spirit once it runs out and keep things under control. Remember to postion yourself safely so you can still heal,but not take casting attacks.

Elementalists....bring Fire storm and Meteor. Cast when tank calls and recast when you can. Otherwise someone will have to right up a more thorough explaination. Read my top How to act part for other tips.

This is a work in progress. I will update this per requests for anything else. Ask and i will try to give it to you. Odds are you will know the class better then i do. Type up a brief description and i'll add it in and put your name under the creators list on here. this should be a community effort. I dont think i know all the answers,but i put down what i do know.

Kishin · Aug 03, 2005, 09:25 PM // 21:25

I take serious issue with the elimination of half the classes in GW to continue to foster this ridiculous "Tanker/Healer/Nuker' triptych mentality, along with any other Warrior subs beside Monk.

Also, be aware Life Bond only effects physical damage, not damage from spells or elemental attacks.

Its a good start, but a bit over simplified, especially in the Elementalist department.

Serpreme · Aug 03, 2005, 09:34 PM // 21:34

I dont play Elementalist so i dont have anything on them. Also that is why you have Protective Spirit.

Annddd... if you have another style for fissure,post it. I posted mine,surely if your so confident in other classes,you have one too.

dbledwn11 · Aug 03, 2005, 09:35 PM // 21:35

Just like Kishin I have a serious problem with this template. like Kishin says where are the other class types????

and anyway u make fissure sound boring and formulaic. take a+b+C and do x+y+z = success.

more like a+b+C and do x+y+z = bordeom.

don't be afraid to mix it up. my god the worse thing that can happen is u fail and have to start again.

plus wasn't ure post about why people fail at fissure. more than anything the root cause of problems in fissure is group dynamics not what classes ure using.

although I would admit it is fairly essential to have some monks helping you out, which I'm still undecided on whether is a good thing or a bad thing.

Serpreme · Aug 03, 2005, 09:38 PM // 21:38

Ummmm thats fine. If you have a more "Dynamic" method,then post it. Dont dis my work and say "There are better things out there" and never post them.
also..if you want other classes,work them into my plan....or once again work them into yours.

Red Locust · Aug 03, 2005, 09:40 PM // 21:40

A ranger or mesmer that's set up for anti-caster duty is always welcome in FoW, where the biggest annoyance is the caster and monk mobs. Necros running shadow of fear, enfeeble, and other such curses are also a welcomed addition.

Vilaptca · Aug 03, 2005, 09:40 PM // 21:40

It may be insanely easy with half your team Eles, but its quite unfair to most of the population in this game. Being a N/E I'm usually let in as the 6 or 7 person because they couldn't find another Nuker, and the monks and eles want my Blood Ritual.

I've only had one Fissure group with a Me, and that was my best group. 2 Wa, 2 Mo, 2 E, 1 N, 1 Me. Great well balanced group. We planned everything. Some of the people completely changed their build for the group. We were all on Teamspeak, and played great together.

By the way, change your title, this has nothing to do with etiquette. Its a build that makes FoW easy. You have one small part that might be considered etiquette.

Anyone can do FoW as long as you have 1 Monk, 1 Tank and 1 Nuker. That is your minimum, start from there and then proceed. Interrupting Rangers and Mesmers help quite a bit. I've only ever played with the Support Blood Necro down there, but it is something most groups want, and I'm very surprised you don't have it on your list.

You've got a good biased start, but I think if you put some more thought into this, you could make a decent guide for anyone planning to go down there.

Serpreme · Aug 03, 2005, 09:47 PM // 21:47

this is a basic list that will get the job done. It sorta turned into a skill listing..but the parts about moving...letting the tank ahead of you and such are etiquette.

If you want a necro,then say "Put a necro in there,they should use BR and WOP,it works good for energy".

You have to start somewhere..and i started at the ground. 1 tank 1-2 healers 3-4 eles. It'll work.

bobrath · Aug 03, 2005, 09:52 PM // 21:52

As the previous poster stated, this build ignores the usefullness of the other three classes. Some obvious examples:

Bring along a blood necro and watch how much damage your elementalist are able to dish out (Blood Ritual and/or Blood is Power). There's also well of blood and well of power to make use of all those great corpses laying around.

Rangers can set up traps (you have heard about all ranger groups doing very well in FoW right?) to protect your casting group and are great at preventing the lose aggros from getting too close. Oh yeah, and rangers are your absolute best pullers - they have the range and the survivability.

Mesmers - where to start? Enemy casters made ineffective 101.

The "best" build for Fissure of Woe runs? The one that works for you and the people in it.

Since the OP topic was etiquette... There are some great rules.

Let warriors hold aggro, don't be the E that monks hate cause you like to fight in the front lines. Don't be the ranger that pulls every mob in the greater tri-state area. Don't be the monk that everyone thinks is a healer until your first battle and you run up to smite. Don't be the warrior who dies and expects to be rezed that instant.

Oh and don't talk to ghosts until the team is ready.

Serpreme · Aug 03, 2005, 09:56 PM // 21:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobrath

As the previous poster stated, this build ignores the usefullness of the other three classes. Some obvious examples:

Bring along a blood necro and watch how much damage your elementalist are able to dish out (Blood Ritual and/or Blood is Power). There's also well of blood and well of power to make use of all those great corpses laying around.

Rangers can set up traps (you have heard about all ranger groups doing very well in FoW right?) to protect your casting group and are great at preventing the lose aggros from getting too close. Oh yeah, and rangers are your absolute best pullers - they have the range and the survivability.

Mesmers - where to start? Enemy casters made ineffective 101.

The "best" build for Fissure of Woe runs? The one that works for you and the people in it.

Since the OP topic was etiquette... There are some great rules.

Let warriors hold aggro, don't be the E that monks hate cause you like to fight in the front lines. Don't be the ranger that pulls every mob in the greater tri-state area. Don't be the monk that everyone thinks is a healer until your first battle and you run up to smite. Don't be the warrior who dies and expects to be rezed that instant.

Oh and don't talk to ghosts until the team is ready.

Hmm Well with this setup,pullers arent required. They are just a extra guy who cant take hits as well as a tank. The tank is made for hits,use him. Have him run in and take the hitting. If you want him to pull,then have him run back a bit.

Also people as to avoid repeating topics,i know what i wrote and i know i didnt put them in. I know warriors and i know monks. Well i know them enough to post about them. If you want something else up there,post a write up and i'll throw it in.

Spartan2 · Aug 03, 2005, 10:03 PM // 22:03

I guess this works as its own thread, but I did have a walk-thru of Fissure up a while back. Like what Vilaptca said, this is a thread about making Fissure easier by listing builds or general guidelines for what to do, which then easily fits under my walk-thru that is yet to be finished. Anyone is free to add to it using specific builds with skill lists, such as this thread, or continue where I left off. I will only continue that guide up to the Forgemaster if it becomes an active and evolving guide/build list with the community's help. I'd rather not waste my time and effort when I could be playing.

bobrath · Aug 03, 2005, 10:03 PM // 22:03

I'm confused....

Did you mean for this topic to be about behavior in Fissure of Woe or was it to detail the beginings of a warrior and monk centric build?

Serpreme · Aug 03, 2005, 10:04 PM // 22:04

Hey do you wanna work together a bit?
Uhhh ...i'll change the name i guess...

Spartan2 · Aug 03, 2005, 10:09 PM // 22:09

I will just be finishing giving a walk-thru from the Army of Darkness to the quest where you get the forge back up and running. From there, I would like anyone to add build lists, skill lists, etc. to make the Fissure much easier to accomplish. I was tired of seeing all these PuG groups fail and tired of hearing, "Wow, this is the farthest I have ever gotten in here! I didn't even know there was anything past the Tower of Courage, let alone a freakin' coast!" Not much fun sitting thru every Fissure run typing out hundreds of lines of strategy to the "newbies" or those that were unfortunate to get in very unexperienced groups. You can add whatever you want to it, go ahead; the more info, the better.

bobrath · Aug 03, 2005, 10:11 PM // 22:11

Cool beans.

With that cleared up, I appreciate that you've mainly played Ws and Mos, but (my only dig) is too bad because you've missed out on some amazing gameplay dynamics. While a E/Mo/W group has all the basics for a safe slog through the fissure, adding the other classes can end up with a much more robust/fun/fast group. Sure it takes more coordination up front, but once your casters know that the necro will hit them with BR if they ctrl-click their energy status or once they see the enemy monk kill himself on backfire... well its great fun.

As a monk, I'm sure you would appreciate how much help a necro can be to you. If he's spoting you extra energy regen and also dropping a well of blood on your tank, suddenly you don't have to spend the entire fight staring at the red life bars... I know my monk is much happier if he can take in the fireworks every once in a while!

Falconer · Aug 03, 2005, 10:22 PM // 22:22

Enough people have already come down on this guy for this classic tank/heal/nuke bits.

But really the only rule of underworld and fissure that is extra is communicate. Especially regards quests... make sure everyone knows and coordinates what quests to take and more importantly not take.

The only other rule I can think of is, oftentimes it's better to die in place than to run and draw the aggro elsewhere... EG: if your rezzer is away... you running also and drawing the mobs onto the keepers and getting them killed gets your team kicked. Better to die in place and let the rezzer rebirth you out. Moreso than other areas getting 2 or more groups on you at once can completely wreck a smooth gameplan.

One reason I like UW in particular is it's extremely unforgiving. If everyone doesn't do their jobs... it can turn an easy 2 aatxe encounter into half your party or more lying in pools of blood. So it reallly kinda focuses you on trying to play your character well in the team context. You don't just end up at a rez shrine but need to do the whole thing again.

Serpreme · Aug 03, 2005, 10:37 PM // 22:37

yep thats also why i like it. with have 3 people well 4 people who can clear out Fissure ok. If we had better teamwork it'd be easier..i just want a well functioning 8 man team to completely dominate FoW.

Amused Observer · Aug 04, 2005, 06:14 AM // 06:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobrath

Cool beans.
As a monk, I'm sure you would appreciate how much help a necro can be to you. If he's spoting you extra energy regen and also dropping a well of blood on your tank, suddenly you don't have to spend the entire fight staring at the red life bars... I know my monk is much happier if he can take in the fireworks every once in a while!

I run an alternate N/Mo, and while it's hard for that character to get invited, the casters are thankful that i'm in the group. Why? Blood ritual and well of blood make their lives easier. I also carry a peace/harmony as my elite skill, and that's fantastic to toss on a healing monk.

I've had a party that lost a warrior and a monk (down to 1 of each), and we still managed to finish defending the temple quest in fow. My N/Mo served as backup healer & provided constant energy renewal.

The point of this post is that a w/e/mo group is not the only way to do fow successfully.

Omega X · Aug 04, 2005, 08:39 AM // 08:39

NOT to diss this guide but where are the Mesmers? A good mesmer with counter skills can make the day in ANY Fissure trek.

Paxeko · Aug 04, 2005, 10:39 AM // 10:39

i like the mesmer, for the shatter hex and some manipulation skills, but i dont have one (at the moment).
I play in fow with a E/Me, i go as an extreme nuker, taking skills that will do big damage.
Something i take:
- Firestorm
- Meteor Shower
- Arcane Echo
- Fire Attunment
- Elemental Attunment
- Glyph of Lesser Energy
- Phoenix
- Meteor

and it works just fine (depending on team of corse)
first u put the attunments, elemental then fire, then cast arcane echo, then meteor shower, glyph and again meteor shower, this can be a hell of damage in mob, it takes a bit to get it done, but its a big nuke.
you always have to check the mobs if they are moving and wait for the right moment to act. you always have energy to cast the other spells, since u maintain the attuns. i like rodgort's invocation as well.
u can always change some cheap skills to do more direct damage, using imolate/flare