User:Jasminethetender/builds

Builds I want to Keep, grrr, through ele on AB builds

Air Spiker
This Mesmer build is a powerful air spiker that utilizes the Mesmer's Fast Casting ability to quickly spam spells to take down opponents.

Usage

 * Maintain Air Attunement, covered with Channeling at all times.
 * Precast Glyph of Lesser Energy, followed by Invoke Lightning and Lightning Orb for a cheap spike.
 * Lightning Strike is to be cast outside of main spikes.
 * Knockdown enemies with Gale
 * Resurrect fallen party members with Resurrection Signet.

Counters

 * Any massive damage or degeneration will kill you in a matter of seconds. The build is best suited for teams containing monks or other support characters to offset the health loss.
 * Anti-spamming skills such as Backfire or Spiteful Spirit.
 * Enchantment removal will shut-down the build for a long period of time.

Equipment

 * A 20% HCT/HSR Air Magic Staff with a 20% Enchantment mod would be ideal.
 * Charlatan's for the +10 armor while enchanted.

Variants

 * Blinding Flash can replace Channeling for more defense against attackers, but beware when replacing Channeling, as you will remove your only option for a cover enchantment.
 * Lightning Javelin can be used for interruption.
 * Arc Lightning can serve as a replacement for Channeling; sacrificing longer recharge for less energy spent.
 * Lightning Bolt can also replace Channeling to fill intervals and hit moving foes.

Mystic IW
The Me/D Mystic IW is a PvP build that uses Illusionary Weaponry to deal armor ignoring damage coupled with Dervish Earth and Wind prayers for increased attack rate and protection. High health regeneration and deterants from Earth Prayers defend the IW Mesmer, while Wind Prayers allow the mesmer to attack 25% faster with a Sword or Axe and quickly heal.

Usage

 * Casting Illusion of Weakness at the start.
 * Before attacking, cast Illusionary Weaponry and Mystic Regeneration. Maintain these enchantments.
 * Heal with Dwayna's Touch.
 * When near to target, enter the Whirling Charge stance.
 * Use Veil of Thorns and Armor of Sanctity to deter attackers and boost defenses when under attack.

Equipment

 * Totem Axe, Rajazan's Fervor or nearest alternative
 * Forgotten Fan or focus of choice
 * Blessed Insignia's

Counters

 * Enchantment removal
 * Interruption of Illusionary Weaponry
 * Damage spikes
 * Energy denial

Variants

 * Armor of Sanctity can be replaced by Sympathetic Visage
 * Veil of Thorns or Armor of Sanctity can be replaced by Aura of Thorns to cripple your target
 * Lyssa's Haste can be useful to boost speed and help energy management.

Equipment

 * A Full set of + Health Armor
 * A +5 Energy/30 Hp Weapon with an offhand of choice.
 * A 15/-1 Energy Set
 * A Staff of Enchanting is optional.

Usage

 * Keep Fire Attunement up at all times.
 * Find a mob of players or NPCs and cast Searing Flames, Glowing Gaze, Liquid Flame repeatedly.
 * Use Glyph of Lesser Energy whenever possible to assist your energy.
 * Cast Meteor Shower on a bunched up group of players/NPCs to cause panic.

Counters

 * Enchantment removal, Anti-spam skills such as Backfire, Spiteful Spirit, and Diversion, Avatar of Melandru, Signet of Humility, Mantra of Flame, Protection Prayers (Protective Spirit in particular), This build is less useful against split or spread teams.

Variants

 * Use Arcane Echo:
 * with Meteor Shower for a devastating 'double-nuke'.
 * with Searing Flames short term double DPS.
 * Replace Glyph of Sacrifice with Aura of Restoration for PvE.
 * Replace Resurrection Signet with Dash for Alliance Battles or Competitive Missions.
 * Replace Glyph of Sacrifice with Mark of Rodgort for extended (and reapplied) burning. Only one elementalist per group should carry Mark of Rodgort.
 * Replace Liquid Flame with Meteor or Gale for Knockdowns.
 * Serpent's Quickness can be used to decrease recharge times.
 * Use Mending Touch for condition removal.
 * Replace Glyph of Lesser Energy with Mantra of Flame to counter other SF teams.
 * Use a HCT+HSR Fire Magic wand+focus set - this will increase your average DPS. Only switch to the +15/-1 if you are out of energy and need one or two more shots to finish something off.

Lightening Blinder
This build uses Blinding Surge as a staple ability to spam cheap non-projectile air magic spells and keep opponents constantly blinded. It is designed for the Random Arenas, with simple variants for Competitive Missions and Alliance Battles.

Equipment
A wand and offhand with 20/20 HCT/HSR are strongly recommended. No special armor is needed.

Usage
Cast Air Attunement before entering combat. Pick a target, spam Blinding Surge, Lightning Strike, and Arc Lightning as they become available. Use Lightning Orb on unsuspecting targets or as a finisher. Use Gale to interrupt or prevent key actions such as self-heals and knock down fleeing foes. Use Glyph of Restoration to recover health.

Counters

 * Any anti-spam abilities such as Diversion or Distracting Shot.
 * Removing Air Attunement can cause energy problems in protracted fights.
 * Protection from casters is relatively light, so high-damage caster builds and degen can often overwhelm the light healing provided by Glyph of Restoration.
 * Protection spells such as Protective Spirit and Spirit Bond can severely reduce the amount of damage dealt by this build.
 * Dazed combined with any non-blinded attacker will completely shut this down.
 * Anti- spell caster hexes such as Backfire, Soul Leech, Spiteful Spirit, Migraine, and Arcane Conundrum.
 * Avatar of Melandru will prevent the blindness effect entirely.

Variants

 * If playing Luxons on Fort Aspenwood, pick Necromancer as your secondary and replace Resurrection Signet with Gaze of Contempt or drop one point in Energy Storage for 5 Death Magic to get Well of the Profane.
 * For Alliance Battles, Jade Quarry, or Kurzicks on Fort Aspenwood, replace Resurrection Signet with Windborne Speed.
 * Lightning Orb can be replaced with Glyph of Elemental Power for more reliable damage frontloading, but less spiking power.
 * Glyph of Restoration can be replaced with Aura of Restoration to cover Air Attunement, while providing heal-over-time.
 * Glyph of Lesser Energy can be used over Gale to help with energy management.
 * Some skills that can replace Arc Lightning are Enervating Charge, and Lightning Bolt. Also Chain Lightning is good but it causes Exhaustion.

Air Spiker
The Air Spiker is an aggressive Air Magic spike damage build. It is commonly used in Guild versus Guild with many others running variants of this build. Air Spikers are common in almost every area of PvP thanks to their high damage output on single targets.

Equipment

 * An Insightful Air Magic staff is the standard suggestion. Runar's Brimstone Staff is excellent.

Note: In a synchronized Air spike team, the 20% chance of faster casting speed weapon mod can give the spike target away. It is imperative in such teams that all spikers hit the target at exactly the same time; therefore, it is best not to use it in such a build.

Usage

 * Cast Air Attunement immediately before an encounter and remember to keep it up.
 * Choose a target in sync with your party's plan and try to take it out.
 * Use your spiking skills in the order of how fast they recharge, Lightning Strike and Orb can be spammed indefinitely since their recharge is only 5 seconds each.
 * Use Gale to control events around your party. If the spike target is running away, you can pin him down with Gale long enough to finish him off with Lightning Orb. If the target is using a long casting self heal like Troll Unguent or Healing Signet, use it as an interrupt. If an enemy is harassing your monk, use it on the enemy to give your monk a breather.
 * Use Glyph of Lesser Energy to save energy on Lightning Orb and Blinding Flash.
 * Use Blinding Flash to shut down enemy non-spellcasters.
 * Air Spells are cheap and fast to recharge, so in general, being interrupted is not a big issue. Beware of Distracting Shot and Diversion however. Also, a well-placed Backfire can kill you in a matter of seconds.

Variants

 * Replace Invoke Lightning with Lightning Surge, and use it immediately before Lightning Orb for a massive 200 damage spike.
 * Also for PvP, consider mesmer as a secondary profession and bring Shatter Enchantment or Drain Enchantment to make your spikes more effective, especially to counter skills that reduce your damage like Protective Spirit and Feigned Neutrality.
 * Aura of Restoration can be used especially in RA as a self-heal and cover Enchantment for Air Attunement.
 * Windborne Speed and Storm Djinn's Haste can be used for a speed boost. This is especially useful in Competitive Missions.
 * Invoke Lightning can be replaced with Mind Shock. This allows for a Knockdown.
 * Vigorous Spirit can be used in conjunction with Aura of Restoration for decent healing whenever you cast your spells.

Terra Tank
This build uses Stone Striker to convert damage received into Earth Damage, which trigger Mantra of Earth to reduce the damage and gain energy. Stoneflesh Aura then reduces the damage further. By using high damage dealing skills, this build may be used to solo the Smite Crawlers in the Underworld within 10 minutes.

Equipment

 * Geomancer armor, though not required, will provide you with 20 extra armor.
 * Anything along the lines of Galigord's Stone Staff.

Clear the Chamber

 * Upon entering the Underworld, watch the patrolling Bladed Aatxes in front of the Lost Soul.
 * When they are far away from him, use Storm Djinn's Haste to run and take the Clear the Chamber quest from him.
 * Run back as soon as you accept it and wait in the centre. Make sure you retarget yourself with the "F" key.
 * The best way to do this is if you press the "R" key after the "X" key. Which will auto-reverse and run you back.
 * Kill any Dying Nightmares along the edge if you popped them
 * If they are patrolling wait for them to leave before the next step.
 * Do not forget to re-target yourself before proceeding as you will eventually enchant the NPC instead of you.
 * Cast Stone Striker, Mantra of Earth and Storm Djinn's Haste.
 * Cast Stoneflesh Aura and Aggro 1 group of Grasping Darkness’ at a time and return back to the centre as far back as you can.
 * Use the same X-R technique to make this safer.
 * Wait until all of the Grasping Darkness’ use up their Distracting Blows. This is about 5 seconds.
 * Attacking them will induce their Interrupts but make sure you count how many Grasping Darkness' there are and how many have interrupted you.
 * Cast Ancestor's Visage, wait another 5 seconds.
 * Recast Stoneflesh Aura then use Sandstorm followed by Dragon's Stomp 1 second after and Aftershock immediately after.
 * Those that are not dead will run, this is your chance to renew your Stone Striker.
 * Those returning will attack with Distracting Blow as soon as they get back, and remember to count.
 * Cast Ancestor's Visage again and wait 5 seconds.
 * Recast Stoneflesh Aura and use Aftershock.
 * Those still not dead you may simply wand to death.
 * Another method for killing the Grasping Darkness' is to do exactly the same thing, but wait about 1 second before activating Dragon's Stomp, this way, they will often die before running.
 * Do the same for the other groups.
 * Agroing multiple groups of grasping darknesses can be dangerous because of all the interrupting, it's best to go one group at a time.

Getting to the Ice Wastes

 * After killing the 3 mobs of Grasping Darkness' you will be able to leave the central chamber.
 * Carefully watch the Bladed Aatxe patrols East of where you first entered the Underworld.
 * Make sure that they are away from the tunnel leading into the next room.
 * Run out of the chamber with Storm Djinn's Haste.
 * In the tunnel, wait until the Grasping Darkness' and Dying Nightmare patrol are far away (marked by the X in the map).
 * Run into the Ice Wastes with Storm Djinn's Haste.
 * Once in the Ice Wastes you can farm the Smite Crawlers in the same way you killed the Grasping Darkness’ except use Sandstorm immediately followed by Dragon's Stomp and Aftershock without the 1 second delay.
 * Watch out for Coldfire Nights, do not aggro them.
 * If you do, instantly hit Storm Djinn's Haste and try to run away in a zig-zag pattern to dodge Shard Storm.


 * When Dying Nightmares do pop, let it strip you, then put all enchantments back on. Smite Crawlers can’t kill you before you replace Stoneflesh Aura.

List of Farmable Areas

 * The Underworld
 * Minotaurs at Elona Reach (Recommended to bring Glyph of Elemental Power)
 * Mountain Trolls outside of Droknar's Forge
 * Kirins outside of Maatu Keep (Pongmei Valley exit) (bring a snare skill)
 * Ice Imps outside of the Ice Caves of Sorrow
 * Icy Dragon Sword farming in the Mineral Springs, (build explained in talk)
 * Minotaurs outside Ice Tooth Cave
 * Insects in Arkjok Ward just outside Yohlon Haven.

Farmable Bosses

 * Zelnehlun Fastfoot in The Floodplain of Mahnkelon, a short distance east of Rilohn Refuge (bring Aura of Restoration)
 * Exuro Flatus in Domain of Secrets
 * Bring Aura of Restoration, Armor of Earth and whatever damage skills you see fit. Do not forget to turn your Lightbringer title on.
 * Or use Glyph of Renewal, Sliver Armor, Crystal Wave and Ether Feast
 * Riktund the Vicious in The Mirror of Lyss
 * Bring Storm Djinn's Haste and run out of Beetle's and take Aura of Restoration.

Counters

 * Degeneration (unless you bring either Aura of Restoration or Ether Feast)
 * Enchantment stripping.
 * Stance removal.
 * Interrupts coming from those not adjacent to you.
 * Heavy damage output. (for example Bladed Aatxes or Coldfire Nights)

Variants
Glyph of Restoration.
 * Using Glyph of Concentration is an option. By precasting before agroing the Graspings, you can save yourself the risk of being interrupted. Th downside: losing time on killing smites.
 * To farm easier places, you need to consider any interrupters or enchantment strippers around and modify the build to counter. You may also like to replace Storm Djinn's Haste with Glyph of Elemental Power if running is not needed.
 * For longer fights, bring more armor instead of Ancestor's Visage.
 * Damage skills are very open depending on the circumstance.
 * This build may be replicated with Prophecies and Nightfall only. Dragon's Stomp may be replaced with Earthquake and Ancestor's Visage with Sympathetic Visage.
 * If a particular mob does not need Ancestor's Visage or Storm Djinn's Haste, replace it with a utility skill like, like Grasping Earth or Ward Against Foes and put the extra attributes into Energy Storage or Inspiration Magic.
 * If you are finding it hard to do Smite runs, look on the talk page for variants.
 * If you intend to farm enemies giving out very large damage output, you could bring Kinetic Armor. This needs to be maintained by spamming Stone Daggers.
 * When going into AB, switch out illusion magic and Ancestor's Visage for more Energy Storage and
 * Using the build in the same fashion as killing Smites, you can solo nodes, all except the Mesmer one.

Usage
A Starburster's main job is to deal big damage to all nearby foes by using skills based on striking nearby foes. It uses Death's Charge to quick approach enemy and strike him with his deadly skills. Fire Attunement gives some energy back so it's easy to strike many times. When enemies are weakened it's good to use Meteor Shower after using Glyph of Sacrifice to finish them off.

Equipment

 * A fire wand and flame artifact set with 20% HCT/HSR
 * A second set with +15 energy and -1 energy regeneration.
 * Full Battlemage's Armor (Stalwart Insignia: +10 vs. physical damage)

Variants

 * Glyph of Sacrifice or Flame Burst can be replaced by Bed of Coals.
 * Take Glyph of Lesser Energy if you expect to be spamming your skills constantly.
 * For a speed buff try Flame Djinn's Haste or Burning Speed.
 * Other common choices of Fire Magic skills include Teinai's Heat, Searing Heat, Breath of Fire, Mark of Rodgort, and Phoenix.

Incendiary Spiker
The Incendiary Spiker is built for RA and TA, where the short length of battles allows for more energy intensive builds. With slightly more conservative play, it can easily be adapted to Alliance Battles. It uses Incendiary Bonds in combination with Smoldering Embers to set up a delayed spike. Augury of Death then shadow steps them to the target so they can finish off with Star Burst.

Equipment

 * Blessed Insignias, With Rune of Superior Vigor and 2 Runes of Attunement
 * Weapons
 * A 20/20 Adept Fire Staff of Mastery

Usage

 * Maintain Fire Attunement.
 * Pick a squishy or overextended target for your spike.
 * Cast Augury of Death on the target, but beware of it only having half the normal casting range.
 * Next, cast Incendiary Bonds and queue up Smoldering Embers. Due to aftercast delay, these two spells will hit at nearly the same time.
 * Follow up with Liquid Flame to bring your target under 50% health. This activates Augury of Death, which causes a deep wound and teleports you to the foe.
 * Cast Flame Djinn's Haste and if they still aren't dead, finish them off with Star Burst.
 * While waiting between spikes, you can use Star Burst and Smoldering Embers to help finish off other targets.

Counters

 * Standard spellcaster counters such as:
 * Interrupts (Savage Shot, Power Spike, etc.)
 * Cast-punishing skills (Backfire, Spoil Victor, etc.)
 * Cast prevention skills (Guilt etc.)
 * Dazed


 * Anti-hexes (Hex Breaker, Holy Veil, etc.)

Variants

 * Replace Smoldering Embers with Fireball for AoE damage.
 * Replace Flame Djinn's Haste with Glowing Gaze and use it right after Smoldering Embers for additional energy management.
 * For Alliance Battles, replace Resurrection Signet with Immolate and replace Flame Djinn's Haste with Flame Burst.

This build can be run with Air Magic or Water Magic, keeping everything else the same. The skill bars would be the following:

Lotus Palm
Spike for soft to medium targets. This build relies on Palm Strike to eliminate the need for a Lead Attack.

Equipment

 * Zealous PvP Daggers of Fortitude or of Defense, with the +5 energy mod.
 * Either Infiltrator's Armor or Saboteur's Armor for the condition reductions, and increased defense versus physical damage.

Usage

 * Choose a target that is not adjacent to any of its allies or its allied pets/spirits.
 * Lead with Palm Strike which doubles as an Off-Hand Attack.
 * If your target is still not adjacent to any of its allies, continue attacking using this skill-chain: Horns of the Ox, Falling Spider, Twisting Fangs.
 * If the target has moved to be adjacent with its allies, simply follow Palm Strike with Twisting Fangs.
 * Use Blinding Powder and Shadow Refuge as necessary to prevent and heal damage. Use Dash to catch up with runaways.

Counters

 * Landing Diversion, Disrupting Chop or Distracting Shot on Palm Strike will cripple this build.
 * Shadow Refuge is an easy healing skill to overwhelm, try to get this build to overextend and then spike it.
 * Because of the nature of this build, the skills Empathy, Clumsiness, Ineptitude, Insidious Parasite and Spiteful Spirit can be a source of significant damage.

Variants

 * Dash can be switched out with Shadow of Haste for a longer speed boost at the cost of Dash's faster speed.
 * If used in Alliance Battles, drop Resurrection Signet for Unseen Fury, as this synergizes will with Blinding Powder or Heart of Shadow

Leaping Temple Strike
The Leaping Temple Strike build is designed for taking out spell casters of almost all types, especially support monks. It uses Shadow of Haste to keep up not only a constant speed buff, but as a means of escape used in conjunction with Dash. It uses Temple Strike to disable spell casters via Dazed, and other low cost attack skills to finish them off. It also keeps in mind that most players will run when inflicted with dazed, and has the appropriate counters.

Equipment

 * Silencing Daggers of Fortitude with +15% while in a stance
 * Shrouded Armor

Usage

 * Always keep Shadow of Haste on. This way you have a constant speed buff and in the long run will always outrun your target, it also allows you to fully utilized Leaping Mantis Sting.
 * Use Death's Charge as the best means of surprising your target, giving them little to no time to react before you've hit them with Temple Strike.
 * Critical Strike is used as the dual attack due to its energy mangement, as it essentially only costs you 1 energy at Critical Strikes 10, making up for the costly use of Temple Strike.
 * If your target runs, you'll already have a speed buff with Shadow of Haste to catch up to them and cripple them with Leaping Mantis Sting - which will in turn allow you to inflict even greater damage with Jungle Strike.
 * With Dagger Mastery at 16, you can keep reapplying the crippling as the recharge of Leaping Mantis Sting is only 8 seconds, and its duration is 16 seconds.
 * Use Dash to cancel Shadow of Haste to get yourself out of trouble.
 * Try to reactivate Shadow of Haste before going after a target if you figure that the time left on its duration is almost up, so that you can keep an escape point further back, because it doesn't help you as much if you have to activate again during combat.

Counters

 * Casters with a significant number of anti-melee skills.
 * Skills like Wild Blow or Wild Strike can mess you up.
 * Not built to go toe to toe with Warriors (but you can shut them down).
 * Plague Touch

Variants
Replace Death's Charge with one of these two skills:


 * Signet of Malice for quick and easy condition removal, works well with this build due to the 3 conditions you can inflict - greatly increases survivabilty without having to retreat.
 * Signet of Shadows for an extra burst of damage after your combo, drawback is having to move points to Deadly Arts by pulling some out of Dagger Mastery, which loses you some duration on Temple Strike's conditions.

Replace Critical Strike for Twisting Fangs to cover the effect of Temple Strike, making it harder to heal.

Interrupt Assassin
The Interrupt Assassin uses several interrupt and knockdown skills to put pressure on, or even shutdown the enemy.

Equipment

 * Full Radiant or Survivor Armor (insignias). Superior Rune of Dagger Mastery, Superior Rune of Vigor.
 * Energy +5 Zealous Daggers of Fortitude.
 * 15^50 Zealous Daggers of Fortitude.

Usage

 * Pick a target, preferably a weakened one who's not adjacent to any other foes.
 * Suprise him/her by using Shadow Walk on him/her.
 * Use your attack combo and spam Moebius Strike -> Horns of the Ox if your target has less then 50% health.
 * Use Dash followed by Feigned Neutrality to Shadowstep back and heal yourself if needed.
 * Resurrection Signet speaks for itself, use it as soon as one of you allies dies.

Counters

 * Common melee counters like Empathy, Spiteful Spirit and Blind.
 * Block Stances/Enchantments.
 * Foes standing adjacent to other enemies.

Variants

 * The Shadow Walk/Dash combo is optional, these skills can be replaced by condition removers like Mending Touch or Plague Touch.
 * Disrupting Stab can be replaced by another Lead Attack of choice.
 * You can also drop Shadow Walk and use Impale instead, the Deep Wound it causes is very helpful.

Critical Fox
This PvE build is built around the Assassin's primary attribute, Critical Strikes. Using Way of the Assassin and Critical Eye to raise your chance of a critical hit to about a 77% chance per hit, and Critical Defenses for a near-permanent 75% chance to block, nearly every hit you land will net you +4 energy. Using a skill chain of unblockable attack skills, you can be sure to consistently get your damage through.

Attributes and Skills

 * Your optional slot is normally reserved for Critical Eye, but there are a few other choices here:
 * In a full PvE party, Resurrection Signet is the best choice.
 * Way of Perfection is usable as a long-term heal, and can serve to keep Way of the Assassin active (the downside is the short duration and small heals at lower levels of Shadow Arts).
 * Another Dual Attack, such as Critical Strike, will provide more energy management and a critical hit on-demand.


 * If kiting foes are a problem, Leaping Mantis Sting is a viable alternative to Golden Fox Strike.
 * When playing with a normal party, energy isn't a big deal for this build. It's probably a good idea to switch out Critical Eye in favor of a resurrection skill.
 * If survival is an issue, you can go A/D and switch Shadow Arts for Earth Prayers (see Variants, below).

Equipment

 * Nightstalker's Armor is recommended.
 * Daggers with an "of Enchanting" mod is best, and preferably a "+15% while enchanted" or "+15% while in a stance" mod. Daggers of Xuekao may be the best green daggers for this build.
 * The build's defense is high enough that you'll be able to afford the HP loss from adding Superior runes to the build. A Superior Daggery Mastery can increase both your damage output and your critical hit chance by a small amount. A Superior Critical Strikes rune may also be helpful. Be very careful when using runes though, as anything more can be counter-productive.

Usage

 * The build centers around keeping four different skills up at all times: Shroud of Distress, Critical Eye, Critical Defenses, and Way of the Assassin. In the heat of battle, you'll need to remember to check your status bar often, and make sure to keep all your skills up as much as possible.
 * When first initiating battle, activate Critical Eye and Shroud of Distress as you charge. Right before you engage, activate Critical Defenses (make sure not to activate this skill too soon, or you run the risk of not getting a critical hit fast enough to recharge it). Once you engage, activate Way of the Assassin. Be careful when first starting this all, as you will lose a pretty sizable chunk of energy. Once you get a few hits in, your energy should recharge quite quickly.
 * Make sure to use your attack chain often, as it will deal a large amount of consistent, unblockable damage thanks to your high critical chance. Keep an eye on your status at all times. When anything starts to end, make sure to re-activate it right away. Pay special attention to Critical Defenses in particular. When your target dies, make sure to switch to a new target as quickly as possible to keep Critical Defenses up.
 * Shroud of Distress serves two major purposes here; keeping Way of the Assassin active, thanks to its long duration, and also granting you a very sizable amount of evasion when your health gets low. At seven Shadow Arts, it should last for 44 seconds (not counting any bonus from Daggers of Enchanting). This should be more then enough to last the duration of the battle, and the recharge time is one second longer, in case you need to re-activate.
 * Keep in mind that you have an increased chance of a critical hit when attacking lower-level monsters (this increased chance is more easily noticable when attacking creatures around level 10 or below). Target a nearby spirit or a weaker monster if you're in desperate need of a critical hit.
 * When facing foes with Enchantment removal, keep in mind that Critical Defenses will almost always be the first to go, reguardless of the order you activate your enchantments. This is because whenever you land a critical hit, Critical Defenses will re-apply itself, thus moving back to the top of the list. If you know that you're going to be losing an enchantment, it's probably a bad idea to get yourself in a fight with another melee character.

Counters

 * There are a few counters, but most of them are too narrow to consider a real threat. Your main worry is Enchantment removal and the Blind condition. When Blinded, your best bet is to get out of combat. Without a critical hit, you'll lose Critical Defenses and be easy prey for most attacks. Enchantment removal can also get rid of Critical Defenses, but this can normally be fixed by killing whoever's wielding the enchantment removal.

Variants

 * For superior self-healing and defense, consider going A/D and switching all of your points from Shadow Arts into Earth Prayers. This will allow you to use Vital Boon and Mystic Regeneration (replacing Shadow Refuge and Shroud of Distress). The large Block chance granted by Critical Defenses, in addition to the +9 Health regen provided by Mystic Regeneration (at 8 Earth Prayers and with all three enchantments active), should serve to keep you alive for a much greater amount of time, especially against other melee classes (don't forget the +72 maximum health bonus you'll gain from Vital Boon). Your attribute points should be reordered, like so:
 * This variant works much better against melee foes than casters, and the quick recharge times on the Dervish enchantments means you don't suffer nearly as much against foes with enchantment removal, as it's not a big deal to simply re-cast one of your cheaper enchantments to keep Way of the Assassin active.


 * If a Dervish secondary isn't what you're looking for, Assassin's Shadow Arts attribute has plenty of tricks to boost your survival even higher. Drop your Critical Strikes attribute down to 11 and add a Major Rune of Critical Strikes (11 + 2), and drop Dagger Mastery down to 10, keeping the current rune and headgear setup (10 + 1 + 2). This will allow you to boost your Shadow Arts attribute all the way up to 10.


 * You'll need to switch out Shroud of Distress for Way of Perfection, and switch Shadow Refuge for Critical Eye. With your Shadow Arts all the way up at 11 (10 plus the minor rune), Way of Perfection lasts 28 seconds out of the 30 second recharge, and grants a 32-health heal every time you land a critical hit. With Critical Eye as well, you'll gain tons of energy, and everything up and running grants you a massive critical hit chance, which will keep health and energy topped off during nearly any fight. The optional slot can be anything, but preferably you'll want to bring either a resurrection skill (when in a party), Shadow Refuge as an out-of-battle self-heal (just in case), or even Sharpen Daggers to add bleeding to the attack chain or even if enermy spells are a problem you can bring Disrupting Stab which is a nice easy inturpt that is cheap and recharges ok.


 * In some cases where the unblockable chain isn't needed, good options as a replacement attack chain are attack chains like Golden Phoenix Strike, Horns of the Ox, and Falling Spider, or maybe a chain with Jagged Strike, Wild Strike, and Death Blossom for faster damage. Using Golden Phoenix Strike will also allow you to use just itself and a Dual Attack, thus leaving you an extra skill slot as well.


 * If Blinding skills are a common occurrence, skills from other professions, such as Remedy Signet (Paragon), Antidote Signet (Ranger), Mending Touch (Monk), and Sight Beyond Sight (Ritualist) are easy to add to the build with no investment into other attributes.


 * Going A/E will allow you to replace a skill (preferably Shroud of Distress) with Conjure Flame/Frost/Lightning, which will not only enable Way of the Assassin (thanks to the fact that they're Enchantments with a long duration), but grant an additional +1...17 damage per attack. This of course will require a slight investment into the Fire/Water/Air Magic attribute, and your Daggers will need the corresponding Elemental damage modifier (Fiery/Icy/Shocking) in place of the Zealous tang.


 * In some cases, a speed boost is a nessessity for catching foes. Seeing as Way of the Assassin is a stance, using a speed boosting stance such as Dash will hurt your build in the long run. The Assassin has access to quite a few speed-reducing Hexes, such as of Shadowy Burden and Siphon Speed. Dervish secondaries have Featherfoot Grace at their disposal. And Elementalist secondaries can use Flame Djinn's Haste, Storm Djinn's Haste, or even Burning Speed as a non-stance speed boost.

Beguiling Steel
This build is meant to disable and kill casters by using daze. The six second duration of the dazed condition is easily enough time to unleash your combo. Although it works best against casters, the large spike can also easily take out medium to heavily armored targets.

Equipment

 * Zealous or Sundering Daggers of Fortitude or of Defense, with the +5 energy inscription.
 * Shrouded armor for maximum energy, and preferably at least one Rune of Attunement.

Usage

 * Choosing the right target is what leads this build to success. Pick a target, preferably a caster.
 * Use Shadowy Burden as a snare and to decrease AL.
 * Use Beguiling Haze immediately to reach your target to interrupt and daze him.
 * Use Black Lotus Strike to regain your energy.
 * Follow up with Black Spider Strike to apply poison and finish with Blades of Steel for a large spike.
 * Use Feigned Neutrality when appropriate.

Counters

 * Any anti melee hexes or conditions such as Insidious Parasite, Spiteful Spirit, or Blind.
 * Because Feigned Neutrality's duration is short, be sure not to linger in the middle of the battle.
 * A well used Contemplation of Purity.
 * A quick removal of Holy Veil, which would also remove Shadowy Burden to stop your chain.

Variants

 * Shadow Refuge can be used instead of Feigned Neutrality.
 * Instead of Shadowy Burden, you can use Siphon Speed for better energy management or Expose Defenses to combat block.
 * If used in Alliance Battles, drop your Resurrection Signet for speed buffs such as Dash or Dark Escape.
 * Alternately, with a Warrior secondary for Alliance Battles or the like, the Resurrection Signet can be dropped in favor of an IAS such as Burst of Aggression. This will greatly increase your chances of interrupting a foe while they're Dazed.

Equipment

 * A Full Set of Radiant (insignia) armor.
 * Zealous, Vampiric and Ebon Daggers of Fortitude.

Usage

 * The spike:
 * Shadow Prison -> Burst of Aggression -> Black Lotus Strike -> Twisting Fangs -> Black Spider Strike -> Blades of Steel.
 * Execute the attack chain with Vampiric daggers.
 * Switch to Zealous daggers if energy runs low.
 * Use Ebon daggers when fighting a Warrior or when you are not engaged in combat.
 * Use Expose Defenses if your target is protected by any skill (Aegis, Guardian, Weapon of Warding, Ward Against Melee) that gives a chance to block attacks.

Variants

 * Horns of the Ox is a common variant that sacrifices damage for a knockdown, and can therefore replace Blades of Steel.
 * Another Shadow Step or an additional healing/defensive skill (such as Feigned Neutrality) can replace the Resurrection Signet for Alliance Battles or Competitive missions.
 * Siphon Speed can replace Expose Defenses as a backup hex to trigger the attack chain, and to quickly escape.
 * Impale can be used in conjunction with different dual attacks (Horns of the Ox in Particular).


 * Death Blossom can replace Blades of Steel.
 * Assassin's Promise and Dark Prison can be used as a more PvE or AB/CM oriented version.

Lyssa's Avatar
This build uses the skill Avatar of Lyssa to its full potential. With low cost, super-fast, quickly repeatable attack skills and an upped attack speed, Lyssa's Avatar will deliver an extremely large amount of damage in a very short amount of time. Watch Lyssa's Avatar clip

Attributes and Skills
OR

Equipment

 * For the armor, this build requires a good amount of energy, so any radiant armor would help. Also, if blind becomes a problem, consider attaching a blindness duration reduction rune.
 * A Zealous scythe of Enchanting +20% with a +15% dmg while enchanted inscription is ideal.
 * If you are set up properly, you will have at least 500 health (with a minor rune of vigor) and 35 energy (without the avatar). If you feel that you don't need the zealous scythe, you may trade it in for a sundering one.

Usage
Before going into battle, cast Avatar of Lyssa then Watchful Intervention and then Heart of Fury. Pick out a target (prime targets for this build are Necromancers, Mesmers, Elementalists, Ritualists, Rangers, and Assassins), and attack. Spam the four attack skills in order, chaining one after the other in succession. Wild Blow recharges once for every two times each other attack skill recharges, so you can chain those while waiting.

If you are in a battle long enough for the Avatar of Lyssa to wear off, you will still do quite a bit of damage, so conserve your energy and use the attack skills when necessary. Also, if you need health, recast Watchful Intervention whenever it's not on you.

Counters
Counters to this build are your usual anti-melee incidents, but mostly blind.

Variants
Heal Variant.

Replace Watchful Intervention, Resurrection Signet,and/or Wild Blow or Protector's Strike with Mystic Regeneration and Mystic Vigor

Speed Variant.

This build can be customized depending on your tastes. If you want to have a speed boost, put in Sprint and take out the ressurection signet if you don't need it. You can also put your remaining attribute points into Wind Prayers and use Harrier's Haste. Or even then replace Heart of Fury with Whirling Charge.

Other Variant.

If you want more health, put in Mystic Vigor, which would give you lots of health with the maxed attack speed. If you want, you can take out Wild Blow if you need the ressurection signet, and in that case you can use Rush as a speed boost too as you won't be losing your adrenaline.

Energy Variant.

If you are concerned about energy usage, you can replace one of the attack skills or the ressurection signet with Zealous Renewal for a great energy gain after the enchantment ends.

Masters Videos
Here are videos of the build being used against every Nameless Master.


 * Watch Master of Axes
 * Master of Enchantments (You may watch how Protective Spirit hurts, but not too badly)
 * Master of Energy Denial
 * Master of Hammers
 * Master of Healing
 * Master of Hexes
 * Master of Lighting
 * Master of Spirits
 * Master of Survival

This was all done in a row, with no retries (besides Master of Enchantments because I gave up prematurely the first time, so I only tried him twice in total).

Harrier's Grasp
This build uses the powerful effects of the Dervish elite skill Avatar of Melandru to give a constant Health bonus and condition immunity. In combination with powerful Scythe Mastery attacks that would normally incur a penalty towards the player, that is neutralized, resulting in an extremely powerful Melee build.

Equipment

 * Radiant's insignia is required to maintain your energy level.
 * A Scythe with "Guided by Fate" or "Strength and Honor" inscriptions.
 * If you want an even larger energy pool, look for the "I Have the Power" inscription.
 * Runes of Major Mysticism, Superior Vigor, Minor Wind Prayers, Minor Scythe Mastery.

Usage

 * Keep Avatar of Melandru active as much as possible, and as energy allows for.
 * Victorious Sweep, Wearying Strike, and Mystic Sweep are your primary attack skills.
 * Follow up Wearying Strike with Mystic Sweep for a fast Deep Wound spike.
 * Use Wild Blow to remove stances.
 * Featherfoot Grace should be used as a speed boost. Note the reduced duration for Conditions can be helpful when not under the effects of Avatar of Melandru.
 * Maintain Harrier's Grasp for chasing down kiting foes.
 * Resurrection Signet is to be used on fallen party members.

Counters

 * This build has no means of removing hexes and is vulnerable to the same types of hexes as most melee oriented builds such as Spiteful Spirit and Empathy.
 * Heavy Energy denial can be troublesome, especially if trying to activate Avatar of Melandru.
 * Heart of Fury can be used for an attack speed boost.
 * Fragility has a nasty effect on AoM because conditions are immediately removed.

Variants

 * Instead of Featherfoot Grace, consider Pious Haste, Enchanted Haste, Lyssa's Haste, or Harrier's Haste.
 * Harrier's Grasp can be replaced with other anti-kiting skills.
 * If under high energy constraints, such as not having an enchantment caster in your party, consider replacing an attack with an enchantment such as Guiding Hands, Intimidating Aura, or Zealous Renewal.

Imbue Health AoM Dervish
This Dervish exists to both carry a considerable amount of offensive power while also bringing along condition removal and a potent heal to aid allies in times of duress.

Equipment

 * Armor:
 * Two major attribute runes, One superior rune of Vigor, Two runes of Attunement (+ energy).
 * Radiant insignias (+ energy).
 * Weapons:
 * Sundering Scythe of Enchanting, with a "Guided by Fate" inscription.
 * Vampiric Scythe as well, switching out as you need them.
 * A staff in case of Dealth Penalty, as DP will reduce your max energy below that required for your Avatar.

Usage

 * Before the upcoming confrontation and while clearly out of a ranger interruption range, activate Avatar of Melandru. Your HP should be at an impressive 685. Use Victorious Sweep upon targets with lower HP than yourself. Use Wearying Strike every 10 seconds to keep a Deep Wound upon your target. Since conditions do not affect you, you won’t suffer weakness from Wearying Strike. Always put Zealous Renewal back up once it drops while being careful not to use it prematurely.
 * Helping teammates: If you have the energy to spare, and you should, use draw condition to totally wipe out all conditions when it really matters. You won’t have to worry about them affecting you due to Avatar of Melandru. Use Imbue Health to give other party members a potent 300 HP heal (which you should easily be able to grant with your large HP pool), esp. when allied healer is unable to heal at the right moment.

Variants

 * You may want to swap out a skill for Mystic Vigor.
 * You may want to swap out a skill for Crippling Sweep, to prevent kiting.
 * You may want to swap out a skill for Watchful Intervention, for even more anti-spike protection.

Counters

 * Anti-Melee hexes can cause problems with attacking.
 * While Avatar of Melandru is down, like all Avatar builds, the build will lose some functionality. Mainly, you cannot use Draw Conditions unless in extreme situations, Wearying Strike is mostly out of the question, and Imbue Health will take a slight hit.
 * If you happen to get totally destroyed, your Imbue Health won't be too much help to your allies. Plus, healing yourself with Victorious Sweep will be harder to manage.
 * Fragility will decimate you. Since Avatar of Melandru applies conditions and then instantly removes them, the damage from fragility can be fatal. Be extremely wary of this hex!