Guild Wars

[James Lu]

Does anyone here play Guild Wars? I've been playing for ~2 years now, my first character was a Ritualist/Assassin (Primary/Secondary class), but my main is a Warrior (I use this character more because I've gone further into all 3 campaigns and the expansion :tongue: )

I only wish Nightfall wasn't so hard... in some of the quests it feels like I'm coming up against a swarm of Zergs...

[Eon]

Played for awhile, lack of friends involved made me rather inactive. Really fun while it lasted.

Of course, I was also 12-13 so I made a Ranger/Necromancer. Didn't do that one again.... Now I prefer elementalist. Nice, pure elementalist.

[James Lu]

Is Elementalist a good class? Rangers and Ritualists are good for Zaishen Elite, but I don't think Ritualists are used in PvP, traps are nice and the prep time you get before a match is more than enough to have your enemies down on the ground in foetal position.

[Eon]

It's pretty fun. I haven't kept up so I don't have a clue.... >.>

And yes. I have trap PvPed on a ranger. It was pretty fun.

[James Lu]

Oh ok, I tried playing as a Ranger, but that failed (or rather I did :tongue: ) so I deleted the character XD

[Dogmantra]

This was the only game I played for a good long while. Mesmer main who finished Prophecies, Factions and EotN (made back when they were pretty bad), also have a Ritualist, finished Factions, Paragon and an Assassin at 20 who both haven't finished any campaign... I kinda hate Nightfall.

Best Random Arenas build:
Signet of Illusions
Arcane Thievery
Arcane Larcency
Whatever from there

So much fun.

[Partysan]

I played long ago. Had a Mesmer/Necro main, which is probably the most sadistic character ever, although hard to play. Also an Assassin for quick melee fun, a Derwish for scythe coolness and some short experimental chars.

[AlterForm]

Played for the last couple years, but now that I have 30/50 in my HoM and my guild is pretty much dead, I don't have a whole lot of reason to play. Maybe for the EotN dungeons...

Mained a W/D, running:

Vow of Strength
Whirlwind Attack
Staggering Force + Eremite's Attack
Radiant Scythe
Zealous Sweep

So many little yellow numbers. :smallbiggrin:

[Capt. Ido Nos]

I played Guild Wars for a few months last year, worked on a nice Ranger/Elementalist build, got it up to 13 or so.

Ahm... I never left the starting area, and as soon as I got into a guild proper my gaming computer left me forever, and once I got a new one, I had forgotten my passwords. I haven't logged into there for just about a year now >_>;;

[Penguinizer]

I'm annoyed they nerfed Recurring Nightmare. That build was a lot of fun. The new version is awful. :smallsigh:

[Aeglewaygate]

I've been playing on and off for a few years, actually...although WoW was my major MMO source. I await GW2! :)

[Dogmantra]

Actually, I just remembered a hilarious build that my friend and I made. I found the idea of Extend Conditions being an elite hilarious, so we made a scarily effective team build out of it.

Basically, everyone always had basically every condition on them. And they were under the effect of Fragility.

Then I just used Hypochondria, Extend Conditions and Epidemic to constantly be proccing the damage from Fragility. Dang that was fun.

[Tydude]

I've been playing for a little bit now. My main is an Elementalist/Monk. I'm absolutely terrible at it, though. Any help or tips you could give to build making would be very appreciated. I've finished Prophecies with him and am currently stuck in Eye of the North.

[Toastkart]

I've been playing for a little bit now. My main is an Elementalist/Monk. I'm absolutely terrible at it, though. Any help or tips you could give to build making would be very appreciated. I've finished Prophecies with him and am currently stuck in Eye of the North.

What kind of character do you wish to be? What's your team like? What elite skills do you have access to? What areas give you the most trouble?

I can give some general suggestions. Elementalists are currently having a bit of a hard time in pve. Their damage is affected by armor, unlike most of the damage that mesmers and necros dish out. Higher level enemies have higher armor values.

As such, high damage isn't going to really be your forte, although it's not impossible to use a damage build and be successful. Every build is different and accomplishes slightly different things. First, pick an element. You can switch elements, and thus builds, in any outpost, but bringing more than one element in a single build is usually not worth splitting attributes. You're much better off specializing.

Pick an elite skill. Your entire build should be built around your elite skill. I have my personal preferences, but play around with the ones you have until you find one you like.

Always bring the attunement skill for your element and keep it up all the time. It's also usually a good idea to bring the energy boosting skills for each element, shock arrow, glowing gaze, glowstone, and glowing ice. They're not strictly necessary for most builds, but they certainly help if you're having energy management problems. Also, if you bring one of these skills, bring a skill that will meet the requirements for them.

Your heroes should be built to support you and what you're doing in the battlefield. If you're bringing less damage, your heroes should bring more. If you're bringing some aoe skills that damage over time, have at least one hero that can bring some skills that will keep the mobs in the aoe, such as slows or knockdowns. Paragons have a skill that reduces incoming damage from burning foes. If you're a fire elementalist, bring some burning skills. Look for other skill synergies among your heroes.

Post the build you're using now if you enjoy it and I'll see what I can do about enhancing it. Also post what heroes you usually take.

[James Lu]

I use Dunkoro, M.O.X, one of the Norn, Master of Whispers mainly. My Rit build is equipped for Zaishen Elite, spirit spam FTW :tongue:, my warrior doesn't have a build yet, I'm still tossing between whether it should be a PvE or PvP character. I'm "monetarily impaired" and as such my armour is very poor, I rely on buffs from heroes and other party members, most of the time. Though, I've found my Warrior is capable of soloing a lot of the EotN missions (I think I'm 1/4 through EotN...).

Good news for me is that my brother quit, so I get to keep all his minatures, weapons and other items. I'll be RIIICH :biggrin: and then I can finally get Primeval Armor (just enough ectos to buy :biggrin:)... once I'm bothered to finish Factions (which I'm already 2/3 through).

[deuxhero]

I'd have bought at Steam Sale, but the sequel is coming.

[James Lu]

I'd have bought at Steam Sale, but the sequel is coming.

It's been "coming soon" for the past 1 and a half years :tongue:

[Hunter Noventa]

And if you finish enough stuff in GW1, you get rewards in GW2.

I've played it on and off a bit, I'm always surprised by how well the graphics stand up for how old of a game it is, the art direction was just fantastic.

I'm really looking forward to GW2. Between that, the next Issue of City of Heroes and Torchlight 2, I'm going to be a busy PC Gamer.

[James Lu]

And if you finish enough stuff in GW1, you get rewards in GW2.

I've played it on and off a bit, I'm always surprised by how well the graphics stand up for how old of a game it is, the art direction was just fantastic.

I'm really looking forward to GW2. Between that, the next Issue of City of Heroes and Torchlight 2, I'm going to be a busy PC Gamer.

I am still of the opinion that GW1's graphics are far superior to WoW's, but that's a purely subjective comment :P a majority of WoW plays seem to disagree with me. But you are right, for 6 year-old game its graphics are decent. The content and game mechanics are also very nice, I hate how hard Nightfall is and how bloody long Prophecies is. Though the storyline is very intricate. I only wish there was a cinematic viewer such as the one in WoW, I would love to see one of those cinematics again!

[Dogmantra]

I only wish there was a cinematic viewer such as the one in WoW, I would love to see one of those cinematics again!

I wish there wasn't because all I would do all day every day is watch Prince Rurick run everywhere.

I swear that man's build is just Run, Dash and Echo

[Tydude]

Post the build you're using now if you enjoy it and I'll see what I can do about enhancing it. Also post what heroes you usually take.

See, I have an... ok fire build that focuses on constantly burning the enemy. It works fine. The problem is that the Destroyers are invincible to burning, and I don't know how to do any of the other attunements. The only non-fire elite skills I have are Lightning Surge and Ether Renewal. I'd like to do Air Magic if possible, but I've been told it's not very strong.

[AlterForm]

See, I have an... ok fire build that focuses on constantly burning the enemy. It works fine. The problem is that the Destroyers are invincible to burning, and I don't know how to do any of the other attunements. The only non-fire elite skills I have are Lightning Surge and Ether Renewal. I'd like to do Air Magic if possible, but I've been told it's not very strong.

Here's what I stuck on my E/Me hero:

Air Attunement
Aura of Restoration
Blinding Surge
Blinding Flash
Enervating Charge
Shell Shock
Power Drain
Epidemic

Works fairly well as melee shutdown. Between him and my N/Rt MM, my backline barely ever takes any damage.

If you wanted to adapt it to a human, you could swap Power Drain out for a more player-friendly energy management skill (unless you have bot-like reflexes) or maybe try to slip Fragility onto the bar, although that'll stretch your attributes pretty thin. You should be able to drop conditions with a bit more precision, however.

[Toastkart]

See, I have an... ok fire build that focuses on constantly burning the enemy. It works fine. The problem is that the Destroyers are invincible to burning, and I don't know how to do any of the other attunements. The only non-fire elite skills I have are Lightning Surge and Ether Renewal. I'd like to do Air Magic if possible, but I've been told it's not very strong.

Get blinding surge, it'll be the most effective air elite for fighting Destroyers. The build I would suggest is similar to AlterForm's, but I would make a few changes.

Start with:

Blinding Surge
Shell Shock
Enervating Charge
Lightning Orb
Shock Arrow
Air Attunement

The remaining two skills are up to you. I personally prefer to bring a res just in case something goes wrong, but if you have plenty of coverage on your heroes, it's not always necessary.

Some possible skills for the remaining slots include:

Elemental Lord
Intensity
Necrosis (would need to switch to necromancer secondary, and I'd drop lightning orb in favor of another skill).
Ebon Battle Standard of Honor
Ebon Vanguard Assassin Support

[James Lu]

I wish there wasn't because all I would do all day every day is watch Prince Rurick run everywhere.

I swear that man's build is just Run, Dash and Echo

^Like. His father (King... something or rather) is too full of pride and an example of a hardcore patriot, he should have just realised all hope for Ascalon, nonexistent though it was, has faded, the Charr are effectively overlords and had he actually been a realist a lot of his people would have survived. The White Mantle... gee golly willickers are they a bunch of mindless zealots, what's more is they serve an entity that seeks to KILL THEM!!! Blind-faith much.

[Dogmantra]

Actually, I just remembered a hilarious build that my friend and I made. I found the idea of Extend Conditions being an elite hilarious, so we made a scarily effective team build out of it.

Basically, everyone always had basically every condition on them. And they were under the effect of Fragility.

Then I just used Hypochondria, Extend Conditions and Epidemic to constantly be proccing the damage from Fragility. Dang that was fun.

If anyone cares, this (http://www.gwpvx.com/User:Ell) was the exact team we used.

Man that was good times.

[Kesnit]

I played about 4 years ago, but my guild fell apart, so I left.

Just started back last night.

[Giant Panda]

Played since a few months after it came out. My friends all quit about a year back, so I only play on and-off now, since it's become a bit like a single-player game for me. Main Mesmer in PvE and PvP, though I haven't PVP'ed for a while now.

Add "The Snugglemuffin", I'll be glad to play with you guys, and I'll try and help if you get stuck anywhere or want advice. I'm not a Guru at this game, so you may have to hope for the best. *cheesy grin*

[Giant Panda]

Anyone online right now? I'm feelin' like some GW.

[Qing Guang]

I still play GW here and there. I'm working on my Elementalist's Legendary Skill Hunter title (got Tyrian and Canthan, now halfway through Elonian) and tying up other HoM loose ends. Feel free to add me! (IGN: Jennarose Mashaba)

Oh, and for anybody who's interested in GW2, the Sylvari redesign is out. I must say, they're looking gorgeous now.

[Wings of Peace]

It's been awhile since I played GW. Is the assassin still pretty godly in PvE?

[Dogmantra]

Assassin was never that great in PvE, except I guess for endless Death Lotus/Mobius Strike chains and Shadowform.

And Shadowform at least, got nerfed into the ground.

[Wings of Peace]

Assassin was never that great in PvE, except I guess for endless Death Lotus/Mobius Strike chains and Shadowform.

And Shadowform at least, got nerfed into the ground.

Really? I always found Jagged Strike -> Wild Strike-> Death Blossom pretty effective.

Especially with Critical Eye, Way of the Assassin, Critical Agility, and Antidote Signet, of course enchantment stripping would ruin your day. Crit barrage was also fun. Times must've changed.

[Dogmantra]

Thing with Assassins was they were fundamentally single target people and it doesn't matter that you can take down one enemy in PvE really quickly when most of what's keeping it tough is that there are a trillion of 'em.
(and I meant Death Blossom rather than lotus there, the AoE attack)

[Khosan]

Thing with Assassins was they were fundamentally single target people and it doesn't matter that you can take down one enemy in PvE really quickly when most of what's keeping it tough is that there are a trillion of 'em.
(and I meant Death Blossom rather than lotus there, the AoE attack)

Assassin/Dervish kind of covers that 'single target only' problem, or at least it used to before they revamped Dervishes. Scythe can hit up to 3 targets at a time.

How it worked was basically I had a huge crit chance (something like 30+%, though that was before I got EotN and had access to Way of the Master) and each crit restored about 5 energy (3 from Critical Strikes, 1 from Critical Eye and 1 more from wielding a Zealous Scythe). Combine that with a bunch of spammable skills with cooldowns no longer than 5 or 6 seconds and I could keep going almost non-stop. Add in Critical Defenses (because really, why not, I'm critting often enough to keep it rolling) and I could tank pretty effectively too.

[Giant Panda]

Yeah, I rolled Factions and Nightfall with an A/D. Something like Reapers Strike plus buckets of crit-chance, critical defence, etc. Unsure of it's functionality since the Dervish changes, however.

[Qing Guang]

Assassins are decent in PvE. I've got one, running a Way of the Assassin/Critical Eye build.

The main thing is that the ones you run into are mostly crud because they forget that they're also light-armor, low-hp characters and thus convince themselves they can take on aggro just fine. *sigh*

Still, they're pretty good. Not godly overpowered or anything (not since SF got nerfed into the ground), but okay.

Oh yeah and Mesmers are viable in PvE now too. But not Eles, because ANet still hasn't figured out how to make them work in Hard Mode without nerfing HM or making Eles OP in NM (or maybe they didn't notice/don't care).

[Wings of Peace]

Assassins are decent in PvE. I've got one, running a Way of the Assassin/Critical Eye build.

The main thing is that the ones you run into are mostly crud because they forget that they're also light-armor, low-hp characters and thus convince themselves they can take on aggro just fine. *sigh*

Still, they're pretty good. Not godly overpowered or anything (not since SF got nerfed into the ground), but okay.

Oh yeah and Mesmers are viable in PvE now too. But not Eles, because ANet still hasn't figured out how to make them work in Hard Mode without nerfing HM or making Eles OP in NM (or maybe they didn't notice/don't care).


What do Mesmers do in PvE? I mean, I can imagine but their high recharges used to be too prohibitive to be viable.

[Toastkart]

What do Mesmers do in PvE? I mean, I can imagine but their high recharges used to be too prohibitive to be viable.

Mesmers are all about interrupts and, after their update, damage. All mesmer damage is armor ignoring chaos damage, which makes them powerful nukers. They're on par with necros, if they don't surpass them in certain areas. Mesmer hexes also tend to do a lot of damage over time, along with other effects.

I generally run this build on my mesmer heroes and it works very well.

Panic or Psychic Instability
Cry of Frustration
Power Spike
Mistrust
Unnatural Signet
Wastrel's Demise
Wastrel's Worry
res skill

Every now and then heroes have a hard time using mistrust properly, so I sometimes replace it with shatter hex or shatter enchantment depending on the area. I also sometimes replace Wastrel's worry with power drain if energy management is going to be a problem. I use it because it doesn't take a lot of attribute points to get a decent energy return, and it's an extra interrupt.



Thing with Assassins was they were fundamentally single target people and it doesn't matter that you can take down one enemy in PvE really quickly when most of what's keeping it tough is that there are a trillion of 'em.
(and I meant Death Blossom rather than lotus there, the AoE attack

I only played an assassin for a short time a few years ago before I got bored with it, but I always found them to be fantastic boss killers. Actually, targeting a particular mob with an assassin and killing it very quickly is actually a great help quite often. Is there a monk mob on the back row that's healing all your targets? Mesmer that's shutting down your front line? Shadowstep in and take him out quick.


Oh yeah and Mesmers are viable in PvE now too. But not Eles, because ANet still hasn't figured out how to make them work in Hard Mode without nerfing HM or making Eles OP in NM (or maybe they didn't notice/don't care).

yeah, kinda wish they would do something about it. Power creep has meant that necros, rits, and mesmers have far outstripped eles in terms of damage because they do mostly armor ignoring damage, and rits have spirit spammer to do it for them. I think all they really might need to do is change how elemental damage affects armor. Either that or just double ele spell damage, like mobs have.

[Giant Panda]

As Evrine said, Mesmers are all about massive armour-ignoring damage and massive shutdown.

Skills like Panic and Psychic Instability can shut down entire groups of enemies very effectively, making them brilliant skills for Hard Mode. Wastel's Worry, Chaos Storm and other skills deal lots of quick armour-ignoring damage to quickly kill mobs.

Mesmer's are Midliners. They should be behind the Warriors, but in front of the Monks, spamming high-damage skills and shutting down casters.

Current popular elite skills for Mesmers include Panic and Psychic Instability for shut-down, Energy Surge for massive AoE armour-ignoring spikes, and Keystone Signet for quick signet spam.

Some builds I use, ignoring the well-known Panic/Instability builds, include;

Fragility
Arcane Echo
Ebon Vanguard Assassin Support
Ebon Vanguard Sniper Support
Signet of Infection
Auspicious Incantation
Lyssa's Aura [E]
Resurrection Skill

I made this build after hitting r9 EV. It uses Lyssa and Incantation to maintain high energy whilst spamming AE+EVAS - it's easy to get around 4 EVA's out at once - and EVSS/SoI on called targets as a spike. It's rare I need to use AI, but if it's needed use it before AE for maximum effect. Fragility is used on a target before the EVSS/SoI spike, but could be replaced in this build. This build works surprisingly well on Hard Mode.

Fragility
Arcane Echo
Virulence [E]
Cry of Pain
Hypochondria
Power Drain
Mantra of Resolve (Or Distortion)
Resurrection Skill

Haven't used this one in a while, so unsure if it still works. The build basically inflicted buckets of damage using high illusion magic with fragility, and 0 death magic with Virulence to ensure the conditions applied and removed very quickly, to maximise the damage. AE allowed Virulence to be applied again shortly after the first cast, as soon as the conditions wore off. The build does have a long down time, but works very well against bosses in Normal Mode.

Auspicious Incantation
Arcane Echo
Ray of Judgement [E]
Cry of Pain
Mind Wrack
Distortion
Mantra of Resolve
Resurrection Skill

I think this one is fairy obvious in how it works. RoJ spam!

Also, playing Me/A and taking Assassin's Promise as your elite in PvE gets around some of the longer-recharging skills, and gives you great energy maintenance, at the cost of the powerful Mesmer elites.

As far as I know, these are all my custom builds, but if they turn up somewhere on the internet it's probably a coincidence. Hope this shed some light on conventional Mesmer usage, and somewhat unconventional usage to demonstrate their versatility in PvE.

[mucco]

If you want to do Illusion, Shared Burden is killer too. The rest of the line isn't as strong as Domination, but you can get a very good bar out of it. Mesmers and Dervishes is where the game's at in this period. At least until we get the Paragon revamp (if we ever do).

Someone should make a GW2 thread, so we can advertise it to the playground. :smallcool: