ELE raptor farming discussion

HM - I'm interested in a discussion of efficiency here. I made the following build which seems to work mostly and fastly:
[build=OgVEMUyryHZM4OgKwOwDlLmKGBA]
It kills 28+ within about 20 seconds, takes some skill to use, and isn't totally bulletproof (thus, slight skill factor involved).

It certainly isn't the 100 LOLz insta-gib of all 33 non-boss raptors, but it does kill the boss also, and only takes an extra 20 seconds...

I have farmed raptors on Ranger, Warrior and Assassin in the past, and kinda threw this build together. Anyone think there is a more efficient ELE build?

Yep, that's essentially what I use. Here's my build:

[build=OgVEMWyryGFBYCgKsWyOkLyDhDC]

1-2-3-4 at entrance, run through the cave, blow stuff up. I usually feel that Channeling is needed so that the interruptions don't drain me to 0 (and therefore removing the Mantra of Resolve, killing the build). I've experimented replacing Channeling opening up another attack booster but it does seem like I run into energy issues. I also prefer Intensity to Ural's Hammer since with the 20% Enchanting Mod it will last 12 seconds (my Deldrimor rank is around 5 right now and my Sunspear is 9). If your Asuran is 8 or above, Mindbender should replace your running skill since you will also get fast casting too (nice!). It's a pretty bulletproof build. The only skill required is that you will run through the cave without protection (compared to the Assassin build), so you need to be good at not running into raptors and getting rubber banded. Otherwise the damage is so massive that the broodmother is almost always an assured kill (and hence your free skill recharge), so Air of Superiority is not needed like other builds.

Also, don't kill yourself trying to aggro every single raptor in the cave. Just grab the 3 roving groups, any singles on your way, and head to the Broodmother. You don't want your running skill to expire or you can actually take enough damage to get killed by the Broodmother's Twisting Jaws skills which is unavoidable.

For an Elementalist primary, theres:

1. [build prof=E/Me ins=5 ear=11+1+2 wat=12+2 ene=4+1][Armor of [email protected]][Mist [email protected]][Glyph of Elemental Power][Sliver [email protected]][Channeling][Mantra of Resolve][Air of Superiority][Magnetic [email protected]][/build]

or

2. [build prof=E/Me earthma=12+1+3 energyst=9+1 insp=9][magnetic aura][stoneflesh aura][armor of earth][ward against foes][sliver armor][ether feast][channeling][Mantra of Resolve][/build]

For every other spellcaster class:

[build prof=Any/E ear=12 wat=12][Armor of Mist][Mental Block][Glyph of Concentration][Mist Form][Magnetic Aura][Sliver Armor][Air of Superiority][Ebon Battle Standard of Honor][/build]

pretty much the ele raptor build have seen but then again don't raptor farm too boring and drops are shit for me

This works for me.....

[glyph of renewal][sliver armor][stoneflesh aura][armor of earth][channeling][mantra of resolve][mental block][mindbender]

used to like using [kinetic armor] with [aura of restoration] to refresh but the last update took care of that...

A few general principles:Typically, more time is spent running to the cave and aggro'ing the Raptors than actually fighting. Therefore, investing in a running skill is almost always a good idea. Stoneflesh Aura + Blessed Insignias + Defensive Staff Head will reduce essentially all of the Nestling's damage to zero. Swapping out the staff for a Shield with a "Through Thick or Thin" inscription will lock it. Note that Rekoff can still put a pretty good hurt on you. I've been pounding this drum for awhile now, but it bears repeating. AoE makes a lot of sense on a skill bar which features Sliver Armor. First, you'll weaken the monsters so that Sliver Armor will kill them more quickly. This is particularly useful with reference to the Raptor farm, as you'll get to killing Rekoff quicker. Second, Sliver Armor tends to fizzle out when you've only got a few Nestlings remaining; AoE helps you to mop up. I found that if I just kept piling on the damage against the Raptors, I could kill them before they could do much of anything, including run away. So, I started replacing snares, healing, and blocking skills with damage skills. This is what I eventually settled on:

[build prof=E/Me name="E/Me Raptor" desc="Defensive Staff of Enchanting" earth=12+3+1 energy=9+1 inspiration=9][Mindbender][Sliver Armor][Shockwave]["By Ural's Hammer"][Ebon Battle Standard of Honor][Channeling][Stoneflesh Aura][Mantra of Resolve][/build]

My Elementalist is my primary character, so I have max'ed out Deldrimor, Asuran, and Ebon Vanguard affiliation. Therefore, I'm not entirely sure what you would need for minimum ranks. Also, you can't really make substitutions without messing with the balance of the thing.

There's not too much to be said about the playing of the build -- in essence it's the same as the other builds posted. Just make sure you get Sliver Armor up as soon as you aggro the boss, as it's really your only protection. Also, make sure that you hit Shockwave before "By Ural's Hammer" and Ebon Battle Standard of Honor, otherwise you'll scatter the Nestlings. You're always going to scatter 2-3 of them, but you can just staff them back into place. The only real art is knowing when to hit your second Shockwave, which you should do when there are five Nestlings remaining.

Note that there's almost nothing stopping Rekoff from killing you more or less immediately with Unsuspecting Strike + Twisting Jaws. However, for as often as you almost die with this build, you almost never do.

You can complete a run in as little as 1:13 and shouldn't go over 1:20 assuming you don't make any mistakes. Not, perhaps, a marked improvement over the generic build, but I believe this is the fastest Elementalist boss-killing Raptor farming build available.

Even if you wear rubber pants and a helmet you too can use this with ease.

[build=OgVDMZycSRAmAlCfV8QxluloAA]

As a bonus, you don't need Vanguard rank or Deldrimor and it works well with a low Asura rank.

It's easy, fast, simple and works like a charm.

Quote: Originally Posted by Jaded _Knight

Even if you wear rubber pants and a helmet you too can use this with ease.

[build=OgVDMZycSRAmAlCfV8QxluloAA]

As a bonus, you don't need Vanguard rank or Deldrimor and it works well with a low Asura rank.

It's easy, fast, simple and works like a charm. Well, my [sliver armor] does 48 a pop in HM, and it literally takes 20 seconds to kill 30+ raptors (+ boss). [air of superiority] seems a major waste, as the boss death skill reset is enough to kill all but 1-2, and [radiation field] makes em scatter...

I don't like runs without speed boosts, and the slowdown from [armor of earth] seems to simply make matters worse...

I may see how many runs I can do per hour, as I think my run time is 1min10sec max (/age says 1:01 and 1:59 are both 1 minute).

Quote: Originally Posted by Voodoo Rage

... Here's my build:

[build=OgVEMWyryGFBYCgKsWyOkLyDhDC]

... I also prefer [Intensity] to [by Ural's Hammer] since with the 20% Enchanting Mod it will last 12 seconds I see your point, but the 1s casting time allows for more interrupts. Besides, with the boss death skill reset, it's kinda moot (30+ dead in 20 seconds, when second [sliver armor] wears out, it's pointless to try and kill the remaining 1-2 raptors).

[mindbender] looks nice to replace [armor of mist], but I don't have that skill yet (I think that skill would make my build icing on da cake)...

So all of these are E/Me builds. I want to give raptor farming a try this weekend; how exactly would you guys suggest altering the build to work for Me/E? Yeah, there's the build on PVX, but I'm curious for some input from here as well. I'd assume that the biggest change would be to simply drop the Energy Storage points into Fast Casting, yeah?

Quote: Originally Posted by Nechtan Thaumaturge

This is what I eventually settled on:
[build prof=E/Me name="E/Me Raptor" desc="Defensive Staff of Enchanting" earth=12+3+1 energy=9+1 inspiration=9][Mindbender][Sliver Armor][Shockwave]["By Ural's Hammer"][Ebon Battle Standard of Honor][Channeling][Stoneflesh Aura][Mantra of Resolve][/build]
You can complete a run in as little as 1:13 and shouldn't go over 1:20 This looks promising. I'm missing a couple of those skills and nowhere near max ranks (r4 asura, r5 vanguard, r3 deldrimor). I think I'll run a timed chain of 10-20, and see how my build scores. I suspect it's around 1:10, as it's 20 seconds from the time I aggro boss to /resign...

Quote: Originally Posted by Coney

I see your point, but the 1s casting time allows for more interrupts. Besides, with the boss death skill reset, it's kinda moot (30+ dead in 20 seconds, when second [sliver armor] wears out, it's pointless to try and kill the remaining 1-2 raptors).

[mindbender] looks nice to replace [armor of mist], but I don't have that skill yet (I think that skill would make my build icing on da cake)... Maybe my logic is off but here's how I figure it:

In a perfect world you are doing 24 seconds of damage (2 casts of 20% enchanting boosted sliver armor). I can theoretically keep up the Intensity for 23 seconds of that time (assuming I cast it right before or right after the sliver cast). When I use the Ural's Hammer shout, yes, I will get a free recharge, but ultimately it will run out in about 16 seconds overall at a nominal Deldrimor rank, leaving a significant amount of time with a "Ural-less Sliver". Also interrupts are not an issue at all since Mantra of Resolve is still active (and Sliver has just been activated giving you extra blocking, and many times I've still got a second or so left on Mindbender giving me faster casting too). The Ebon Battle Standard of Honor Ward does last longer than Sliver, that is why I cast it first.

I do want to play with that Stoneflesh build and see if it is worthwhile to replace Mist Form.

Quote: Originally Posted by Voodoo Rage

... When I use the Ural's Hammer shout, yes, I will get a free recharge, but ultimately it will run out in about 16 seconds overall at a nominal Deldrimor rank, leaving a significant amount of time with a "Ural-less Sliver". The second time I cast [by ural's hammer] after boss death, it's almost guaranteed I have <50% health (thus lasts 2x longer).

Quote: Originally Posted by Coney

The second time I cast [by ural's hammer] after boss death, it's almost guaranteed I have <50% health (thus lasts 2x longer). Are you sure about that duration bonus? I just did a few runs playing around with that skill and I am definitely not getting the double duration even with like 150 health. I think the bonus only triggers when you have an ALLY under 50%.

Edit, I did test this skill with a Vampiric weapon clearly taking me down below 50% and you DO get a bonus, so I'm not sure what I am doing wrong. I think what is happening is that the deep wound from the twisting jaws is wearing off (and taking my health back up) right as I am casting.

Timed a few runs, consistently 1:20 from inside Rata Sum zone to /resign.

R10 asura running skill should help improve that (need 33%/16s, shorter recharge allows for 2x use). That AOE elite would help get every last 34 kills also. Looks like I need 2 new skills heh.

Hey, i am having trouble farming the last group which includes the Broodmother with my ele. I can easily farm the rest of the raptors easily, but just not the boss. My health always cuts in half and decreases fast until I die. So is there a trick or certain skill which I can use to kill the boss? Here is my build:


[build prof=E/Me ins=9 ear=10 ene=9][Armor of Earth][Stoneflesh Aura][Mental Block][Echo][Sliver Armor][Radiation Field][Channeling][Mantra of Resolve][/build]

Thanks

Quote: Originally Posted by mr600

Hey, i am having trouble farming the last group which includes the Broodmother with my ele. First, don't farm them in "groups". Gather all the aggro you can and keep moving toward the boss before hitting Sliver Armor. The more aggro you have on you, the faster SA will take her down. If you kill most of the nestlings before approaching the Broodmother, you don't have enough incoming hits to beat her before she beats you.

Second, I have my doubts about the use of [Radiation Field]. Try replacing it with [Ether Feast]. Hit that when the Broodmother hits you and it should keep you healed enough to live until it recharges when the boss dies. Hit it once more then, and you should be fine until the last of the nestlings drop.

Third, instead of Echo, try Glyph of Renewal. It will keep SA up permanently and doesn't cost any energy.

Quote: Originally Posted by mr600

Hey, i am having trouble farming the last group which includes the Broodmother with my ele. Did you ignore all the awesome builds in this post, or just pick the absolute worst possible one you could get your hands on?

I mean, you have absolutely no running skills (negative run speed is even worse), and WTF is with that elite? A 33% run speed means than in HM no raptor can hit you until you stop moving...

I call shenanigan troll to this reply...

EDIT: LOL, I sound like a total @$$ in this post, heh. But, I just noticed you're running with earth magic @ 10??? So, I'm sticking with my call above.

Quote: Originally Posted by BrettM

First, don't farm them in "groups". Gather all the aggro you can and keep moving toward the boss before hitting Sliver Armor. The more aggro you have on you, the faster SA will take her down. If you kill most of the nestlings before approaching the Broodmother, you don't have enough incoming hits to beat her before she beats you.

Second, I have my doubts about the use of [Radiation Field]. Try replacing it with [Ether Feast]. Hit that when the Broodmother hits you and it should keep you healed enough to live until it recharges when the boss dies. Hit it once more then, and you should be fine until the last of the nestlings drop.

Third, instead of Echo, try Glyph of Renewal. It will keep SA up permanently and doesn't cost any energy. I don't know, I was playing around with Radiation Field yesterday and surprisingly if sliver+EBSOH are blasting away, the raptors DO NOT SCATTER like you think they would. Try it sometime, I think if you can handle staffing back 3-4 that do scatter toward the end, the overall damage makes it more effective than Ural's or Intensity.