User:Lazuli9561

I daresay this seems to be my user page.

About Me
I am a moderately experienced Guild Wars player with an emphasis on pve and casual pvp. In other news, wiki links fascinate me. My favorite professions are (for PvE),  (for PvP), and  (for both).

Saint Saffron
My main character is Saint Saffron, an Assassin.

And now to the discussion of her typical build. I'm sure a similar one can be found at pvxwiki. Rest assured that I did not find my inspiration for this build there. I developed it on my own.

Golden Phoenix Strike is a tempting replacement for Golden Fox Strike and Wild Strike, but I see two problems with such a choice. First of all, its recharge is too long for my taste. Sure, Moebius Strike could ameliorate the situation, but I find that my henchmen and heroes often kill things too quickly to finish the chain. Secondly, it can be blocked. The "blockability," shall we say, becomes especially problematic when combined with its long recharge. Therefore, although choosing Golden Phoenix Strike would clear up another slot for, say, a resurrection option, second dual attack, or a shadow step, the risks are too great.

Mystic Regeneration, despite nerfs, remains an excellent self heal when combined with this build. I have enough energy from my daggers to cast it whenever I need to. More importantly, it doubles as a cover enchantment. Experienced pve players gradually develop a sense for when enchantments will be removed. When facing enemies that I know have enchantment removal, I will use Mystic Regeneration to guard my more valuable enchantments and send in my henchmen and heroes first.

There's no room for a shadow step in this build, and nor is there a need. Offense-based shadow steps in pve are largely vanity and nothing more. It takes about three seconds to close the gap between you and your foe. Save yourself the room on your skill bar. Of course pvp is a different matter.

This build succeeds or fails based on the amount of critical hits it achieves. In pve, where most enemies are six to ten levels higher than the players, critical hits can be difficult to achieve. Luckily, henchmen and heroes are stupid, and even the monks set to Avoid Combat will decide that tanking is a good idea. When they kite away from enemy frontliners, simply target the pursuing enemies and stab their backs for free critical hits.

As far as equipment goes, Blessed insignias are best. Make sure that at least one healer in the group always carries Protective Spirit because your hit points will be relatively low. Weapon swapping is not especially essential to dagger Assassins because the base damage from daggers is low enough to be negligible. Therefore you don't need to worry about switching over to elemental daggers when fighting warriors. Pywatt's Talons work perfectly with this build, and even look nice with most Assassin armor dyed black. In an earlier, more defensive version of this build, where Critical Strike was the dual attack instead of Death Blossom, I found Daggers of Xuekao to be the ideal choice. As it stands, you will probably need Zealous daggers for energy management.

The attribute points are largely a matter of preference, but I find Critical Strikes should be exactly 15. Your Dagger Mastery attribute should be 13 and your Earth Prayers should be 3 so long as you have at least two healers in the group. If you have a shortage of healers or favor a more defensive style of play, drop points from Dagger Mastery and put them in Earth Prayers, raising it to 8.

Consider combining this build with Razah running the following, or something similar.

Splinter Weapon has a sexy synergy with Death Blossom in groups of tightly packed foes.

Ever Daine
Ever Daine is my first character. It turns out that learning how to play Guild Wars with a Mesmer can be a bit of a trial. He didn't see much use until I discovered AB.

This is the build I most commonly use in AB. It combines a number of Mesmer abilities including energy denial, shut down, damage, and interrupts. Although many domination based Mesmer builds inevitably look similar, I claim a degree of originality on this one.

Energy Surge is a controversial choice for an elite, and one I would not choose in pve. I use it in AB because it helps me cap and still punish monks who hide too close to their teammates. Although I have always been tempted by the siren song of Power Block, the consistent lag in AB prevents me from focusing too heavily on interrupts.

Diversion is the real reason to play a pvp Mesmer. Most people in AB have no idea what Diversion is. For example, I am running with my team through the Grenz Frontier when I notice a lone enemy Warrior standing on a cliff overhead. I casually throw Diversion on him as we pass by. Suddenly he uses Apply Poison for no particular reason. Imagine my surprise. But Diversion really shines when you spam it on unwitting monks. My only problem with Diversion is that I have a tough time deciding just what to interrupt and what to divert on the fly. If an enemy is casting a spell through Diversion, should I interrupt it anyway? The answer varies on the skill and can be hard to determine in the heat of battle.

In AB, Dash is the best self heal in the game. Although it doesn't actually heal you, it helps you avoid damage at a level on par with Mark of Protection. Dash renders at least 90% of AB Assassins, Warriors, Dervishes, and the odd Sword Ranger completely harmless. Try and get a few of them on you at once. If you're successfully kiting away from more than one enemy, it's a net win for your team.

For other defensive options, keep an eye out for Aura of Displacement. Whenever an enemy uses it, banish him or her with Shatter Enchantment. Suddenly you're a protection Monk!

For equipment, I carry a 40/40 (I know it doesn't actually stack that way) wand/focus for Domination and Inspiration, a +60 health staff, and a caster's Fellblade for avoiding Backfire from NPC Mesmers. Survivor's insignias and around 15 Domination magic are all you need for runes, although I am considering adding a Fast Casting one.

This is another option for AB. It's a lot of fun, but isn't terribly effective. I only use it on home maps.

Azrael Imari
Azrael Imari is my Dervish. Because I can claim no mastery in Dervish build designing, his skills are in constant flux.

My biggest problem with Dervishes is energy management. Why do so many enchantments have to cost 10 energy? And so Channeling sometimes finds its way onto Azrael's bar, typically in place of Mystic Regeneration to free up points from Earth Prayers. But to use Channeling effectively you need to be almost completely surrounded by enemies. You'll swiftly realize that more enemies carry melee interrupts than you previously suspected. Who knew? Another option is to take along an Orders hero. Although when you have Aura of Holy Might active you will not gain the benefit of extra damage or life steal, the constantly ending enchantments will keep your energy at optimal levels. It's something to consider, at least. Perhaps swap out Aura for Whirlwind Attack. That's a fun one. Throw in a dash of Symbiosis for a truly delicious combination.

Because of my difficulties with Dervish energy management, I find myself favoring the Scythe 'Sin instead. But Dervishes have something that Scythe 'Sins never will: beautiful attack animations. While Scythe 'Sins sweep blindly back and forth like they're fanning an obese monarch, Dervishes spin, slash their opponents' legs, and carry out graceful gestures of death. Oddly enough, beautiful animations were also responsible for my unfortunately long love affair with Ritualists.

For use in AB, I trade out Aura for Dash and Eremite's Attack for Crippling Sweep. Wounding Strike, after the bleeding buff, is now the perfect cover/companion for Crippling Sweep. The two of them together have slain many a Monk. Just watch out for Restore Condition. It will ruin your day unless you have a good Mesmer backing you up.

For equipment, consider Dwayna's Grace or a similar substitute. I know most experienced players shun Sundering weapons, but I find scythes attack too slowly to take full advantage of Vampiric or Zealous weapons unless you have successfully grouped together your enemies. The enchantment lengthening mod is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, you won't have to cast your enchantments as often, saving you energy. But on the other hand, they won't end as quickly, denying you the Mysticism bonus. There are no easy answers, I'm afraid. Bring along an elemental scythe for coping with Warriors. Because I am in love with enchantments, I find Windwalker's insignias to be the best option. Survivor's is unnecessary because of the Dervish's built in life bonus.

Get Earth Prayers to at least 8, Mysticism to 12, and use what's left for Scythe Mastery. A minor rune of Mysticism will allow you to comfortably raise your Earth Prayers to 10.

The Assassin in PvE
The assassin has a bad reputation in PvE. With a combination of poor defense and the ability to instantly jump into a group of enemies, ahead of the party's tank, unskilled Assassins have made it difficult for an Assassin to find a group in PvE. But it doesn't have to be that way. Assassins can function well in PvE, provided the build is good and the player is better.

There are two main types of dagger Assassins. Short chain Assassins rely on fast recharging chains to repeat skills over and over until their enemies are dead. Spike Assassins use attacks with longer recharges, striking with all of them suddenly and then waiting to hit again. PvE favors both, depending on the situation, but short chain Assassins are often more versatile.

There are two elites that complement the typical short chain Assassin build perfectly. Moebius Strike is probably the more common of the two for its synergy with Death Blossom, but Shattering Assault is also an attractive option. Moebius Strike might look like it could help with spike builds because of its recharge ability, but sometimes recharging your attack skills is the last thing you want to do during a spike. Besides, there are better choices for a spike elite. Shattering Assault deals good damage and has the ability to strip two enchantments with a single use of the skill. Enchantment removal is not carried as often in PvE as it is in PvP, but that doesn't mean it's without its merits in PvE. Many enemies carry annoying enchantments that groups without enchantment removal will just have to wait out. For example, Mark of Protection is common in the Southern Shiverpeaks. Margonites and groups of Afflicted will often be shielded by Aegis. And Stoneflesh Aura is found in almost every area in Nightfall. Short chain Assassins can work well in groups that are otherwise entirely composed of henchmen and heroes, although they should never lead the charge.

For spike Assassins, Assassin's Promise often makes a good choice for an elite. Its instant recharge triggers once you have slain your target, allowing you to hop over to the next with your otherwise long-recharging chain ready for another round. Hex removal can shut down an Assassin's Promise build pretty quickly, so bring Air of Superiority to provide a chance for instant recharges anyway. If there are some henchmen or heroes in your group, try not to be group leader. The AI controlled party members will often follow you from target to target when you can effectively kill things on your own, thereby wasting their efforts. Their attention should be focused on softening up other enemies. Another valid option for an elite is Virulence. Combine Virulence with an opening hex and a few condition inducing dagger attacks like Black Mantis Thrust or Twisting Fangs and follow it with Deadly Arts signets for massive damage. Watch out for Protective Spirit though.

Critical Agility heralded the dawn of a new age for Assassins. Or at least it should have. There are few Assassin builds that do not benefit from having this on the bar, whether short chain or spike. But this skill is mysteriously rare in most pickup groups. Although it can be removed, competent players can avoid enchantment removal from PvE enemies with little difficulty in most situations. Problems do arise when skills like Chilblains or Well of the Profane are used, but these too can be avoided with careful positioning. Critical Agility provides the Assassin with two things it had previously lacked: increased attack speed and respectable AL. So why isn't it used by more Assassins? It does require Nightfall, sure. But serious players probably own all of the campaigns anyway. Although it is bound to a title, a title for which farming points can be time consuming, only the armor bonus is actually linked in any way to Sunspear rank.