User:Ryard/Build Archive/R/Mo Quick Needler

This is a build designed to deliver a continuous barrage of fast arrow fire, based around the skills Quick Shot and Needling Shot. The key to this is that Needling Shot does a set amount of damage (19 damage with 14 Marksmanship), regardless of the target's armor. With preparations, you can increase this significantly, and because of the fast arrow flight times and low recharge times of these skills, you can essentially machine gun your enemy to death.

Equipment

 * Druid's Armor with the best vigor rune you can afford.
 * A Zealous bow of some sort. Since you will have Read the Wind up most of the time, arc size is not an extremely important consideration. Due to this, you may want to bring a longbow or a flatbow to give you extra range against enemies that are far or are running away or a hornbow for increased damage from the 10% Armor Penetration that the bow gives without the slow firing rate.

Usage
Start off by using the preparation Read the Wind, adding +10 armor ignoring damage at 14 marksmanship and will increase the flight speed of your bow attacks. Once you begin battle, open with Dual Shot, followed by Needling Shot then Quick Shot and continue to spam Quick Shot until the enemy is below 50% health (which shouldn't take long).

Once this happens, continuously unload with Needling Shot. As long as you have Read the Wind up, this is a guaranteed 29 damage for every shot that connects. Use Savage Shot to interrupt any nasty spells, or tack it on to the end of a combo chain for an extra quick boost of damage. With 13 Expertise, your spammed attacks will only cost 2 energy (Dual and Savage will cost 5 each), and with a zealous bow you'll get 1 point back per hit allowing you to keep the chain going for some time. If an enemy gets close, use Whirling Defense to keep yourself protected.

Counters

 * Blindness will pose a serious problem, use Mending Touch to remove it as soon as possible.
 * Hexes that trigger on attack, such as Spiteful Spirit or Empathy will be devastating since this build is based around continual, rapid attacks.
 * Stances or skills that allow the enemy to Block attacks can cause problems.
 * No self-heal, so you will have to rely on your monks to keep you alive.

Variants

 * Generally you will want to fill the optional slot with a resurrection skill. However, for Competitive Missions or Alliance Battles where resurrecting is not important, you can feel free to bring an additional defensive skill.
 * If you are worried about hexes more than conditions and have mesmer or monk secondary, you could replace Antidote Signet with a hex removal skill such as Inspired Hex or Smite Hex.
 * Depending on your secondary profession, you could replace Antidote Signet with a different condition removal skill, such as Mend Ailment, Purge Conditions, or Plague Touch.
 * Alternatively, you can fill the optional slots with Favorable Winds, further boosting the damage and speed of your arrows, or you could use a run skill, such as Dodge.
 * Depending on personal preference, you may replace Savage Shot with Distracting Shot. Distracting has a lower energy cost and can disable a target's skill for an extended period. On the downside, it has a longer cooldown time and won't do as much damage as Savage when interrupting spells. Either skill is viable however.
 * If you are confident in your abilities, you could use a superior marksmanship rune instead of a minor one. (In which case, Marauder's Shot will outdamage Dual Shot in most all situations.)
 * Another option would be to bring Pin Down, useful for keeping enemies from kiting your arrows, or alternatively to protect yourself from the Touch Rangers frequently encountered in alliance battles and competitive missions.
 * In PvP, Seeking Arrows can be used instead of Read the Wind. This will decrease the dps of your arrows, but low health targets are more likely to use blocking or evasion skills.
 * With a Monk secondary you could maintain Live Vicariously or Vigorous Spirit to provide constant healing. However, this would require the use of a superior rune of expertise.