User:Jasminethetender/builds/derv/pveonly

=Dark Silence Runner=

This build allows for a Dervish/Assassin to complete the Droknar's Forge run with a higher success rate than any other build yet. With the use of Vow of Silence and Dark Escape you can easily run past enemies while taking little damage. This build also combines the use of Fleeting Stability, Mystic Regeneration and Faithful Intervention to create a safe versatile run. This build can also run most of the entire game with no change at all.

Equipment

 * Armor: The Windwalker Insignia should be used for this build since you will be under multiple enchantments for most of the run. Apply a Rune of Major Vigor or a Rune of Superior Vigor and 2 Runes of Attunement for extra energy.
 * Weapons: A Staff with an enchantment lengthening mod and at least +15 energy since you will need energy more than armor. An inscribeable Insightful Staff with a "Have Faith" inscription will give you +20 energy while you're enchanted.  A Shield can be used but you will often find yourself lacking energy.
 * A sword of enchanting with a shield that lowers damage taken while enchanted and HP +45 while enchanted.

Before 1 Feb. Update Usage

 * Start: Cast Faithful Intervention at start and whilst not under attack if it is not currently on.
 * Or you can just run through them with either Dark Escape or Dash.
 * Lornar's Pass
 * Wurm Tunnel: Cast Fleeting Stability -> Mystic Regeneration -> Vow of Silence -> Deadly Paradox -> Dark Escape. As soon as Vow of Silence ends, cast Fleeting Stability -> Vow of Silence before reaching the Siege Ice Golems.  Then use Deadly Paradox -> Dark Escape to outrun them.
 * Grawl zones: Vow of Silence is not required to run past the Grawl unless there are Siege Ice Golems located close by. As long as you maintain Mystic Regeneration and Faithful Intervention and avoid the Grawl Crones you'll be fine.
 * Snake Dance
 * Make sure you maintain Fleeting Stability and Mystic Regeneration when running past Tundra Giants and Azure Shadows.
 * Always use Deadly Paradox before Dark Escape.

Counters

 * Grawl Crones can strip you of Vow of Silence and other enchantments with Chilblains and can cause almost certain death if Siege Ice Golems are nearby. Just stay out of their range and you'll be fine.

Variants
You can switch Dash for Signet of Pious Light for ending Fleeting Stability for extra health and can combine with Vital Boon for a quick health boost when needed.

There are many assassin skills which can be used instead, though they may leave you more exposed.

Pious haste provides a fast alternative though it has a downside of removing an enchantment when it ends. This also becomes energy extensive and can be hard to handle.

Equipment

 * Armor:
 * Headgear with any mod
 * A max level armor with insignia and runes that boost your armor and/or energy.


 * Runes/Insignia:
 * Energy/Armor boosting insignia
 * 1 Superior Rune of Scythe Mastery.
 * 1 Minor mysticism rune
 * 1 Minor earth prayers rune
 * Best vigor rune you can afford


 * Weapons:
 * Any scythe will do. A zealous scythe with energy/health boost and/or armor penetration is suggested. Mhedi's Vow is a perfect unique scythe for this build.

Start

 * Cast Avatar of Balthazar and Vital Boon when you spawn in the FOW.
 * Run to the right, through the mobs, and circle around the large rocky outcrop where you can stop to let the patrols pass you. (You can use Mystic Regeneration to heal yourself when necessary).
 * When you meet the Snarling Driftwood, take them down quickly followed by the Doubter's Dryder that stands behind them. This must be done quickly because of the two shadow patrols that come past that point.

Killing
Important: Always keep away from the Ancient Skale!


 * While fighting the Snarling Driftwood, keep up Physical Resistance, Vital Boon, Mystic Vigor and Avatar of Balthazar whenever possible. Then when your health is low, cast Mystic Regeneration to keep your health up. Because of the three enchantments on you, your health stays high. And even when your health drops (which it shouldn't anyway), the enchantments on you provide enough healing power to stay alive. Keep on spamming the attack skills and when their health is at 1/3 you will also gain health from Victorious Sweep. The mobs should die quickly and easily.


 * The Doubter's Dryders are killed in a different way. First of all do not cast any enchantments on yourself because they will use Shatter Enchantment and Drain Enchantment which deal quite a lot of damage. Just lure them to a safe spot away from the Ancient Skale and attack them with your two attack skills. They should die quickly without any problems. Use Mystic Vigor, Mystic Regeneration and/or Vital Boon when your health drops below 250.


 * The Armored Cave Spiders are also very easy to kill. First kill the three Doubter's Dryders that stand in front of the cave. Then make the Armored Cave Spiders spawn and wait for them to spread out in front of the cave. Cast Vital Boon, Mystic Regeneration, Mystic Vigor and Physical Resistance before you proceed. Then lure one of them and pull him away from all the others, causing a group of 3 spiders to follow you. Wait until the three Armored Cave Spiders are together and pull them back further. Then just keep your enchantments up and Mystic Regeneration will provide you with enough healing power to stay alive and counter the poison. Spam your attack skills and they will die within 20-40 seconds.

Details

 * For a more detailed version on how to approach the mobs in FOW read the Build:W/any Fissure Spider Farmer article, which describes how to attack and position yourself as you are farming in FOW.

Counters

 * Watch out for the Ancient Skale. You are almost certain to die if you don't rush through them, so always sprint away from them.

Equipment

 * Any kind of armor other than armor with the survivor insignia or health boosting runes will do, as long as it has a total of 5 superior runes on. Note that armor level does not matter for this build, so a set of armor purchased in Kamadan will serve this builds purposes just fine.
 * A customized Scythe with a "Guided by Fate"/"Strength and Honor"/"To the Pain!" inscription. A scythe grip of Enchanting and a Sundering or Zealous scythe snathe can make things easier.
 * A Zealous scythe is recommended while facing only one foe; if you don't use one you may not gain enough energy to recast all 3 enchantments. Note that energy mangement when facing a single foe may become easier by dropping Balthazar's Spirit and Essence Bond.
 * Dwayna's Grace, Lyssa's Bedlam, Scythe of Corruption, or Suli's Scythe would work well for this build. The Soulbreaker also works.

Usage
Whenever you enter an explorable area cast Balthazar's Spirit and Essence Bond and wait for your energy to regen. Before approaching the monster(s) you want to kill, cast the first 3 skills on your bar. Aggro the monster(s) and keep your enchantments up while spamming your attack skills. If you're having trouble staying alive, consider deliberately getting yourself killed; the resultant Death Penalty will lower your health and therefore make the build more effective.

Mystic Regeneration is quite effective at keeping your health up, however enemies with fast attack speed or powerful health degen spells can render it useless. Try not to face your target alone, make sure he has company. When you aggro a group, make sure they are more or less mobbed up. With the help of Mystic Vigor, you will gain about 25 health each hit; with 3 targets in one hit you will gain 75 health per hit. With fast attacks and the assistance of Mystic Regeneration, you should survive quite easily.

Mystic Vigor is your anti-spike skill. When you get spiked, it should only take one hit from you while enchanted with Mystic Vigor to bring your health back up.

When there are only 1 or 2 enemies left, it's useful to just use Mystic Vigor instead of Mystic Regeneration, to conserve energy.

For some bosses, it is more effective to insert Mirage Cloak into the build instead of Eremite's Attack, to help counter the onslaught of melee attackers. This variation can often be used without having to harvest Death Penalty first, and also gives nice AoE damage. Note, however, that Mirage Cloak will lower the effectiveness of Balthazar's Spirit and Essence Bond, so don't attempt to use it unless you have a zealous scythe equipped.

Counters

 * Blind
 * Weakness
 * Blurred Vision
 * Enchantment removal
 * Avatar of Grenth
 * Health Degeneration exceeding 20 pips
 * Health Stealing
 * Energy Denial (Spirit Shackles)
 * Chilblains this skill can ruin many of your farming runs

Variants
Replace Reaper's Sweep with Wounding Strike.

Replace Reaper's Sweep with Arcane Zeal if you are having trouble with energy management.

Replace Reaper's Sweep with Mystic Twister.

Replace Reaper's Sweep with any form except for Avatar of Melandru, which gives +150 health boost. Avatar of Balthazar and Avatar of Dwayna are particularly useful here; the former with its armor boost(doesnt matter due to Protective Spirit) and armor-penetrating damage; the latter with its hex removal and healing, which can negate the need for Mystic Vigor. Avatar of Lyssa works wonders against Mage Bosses, as they are constantly casting spells on you, you dish out +38 damage on a target that is casting a spell.(Remember you will only have about a minute to kill each group, however, if you rely on a form to make the build work.)

Replace Mystic Regeneration with Healing Breeze and take healing prayers instead of earth prayers. Not as effective, but works if you haven't come far enough in the Nightfall campaign to get Mystic Regeneration, unlock Mystic Regeneration with Balthazar Faction, then buy it off the skill trainer.

Replace Eremite's Attack or Mystic Sweep for Fleeting Stability to counter knock down.

Replace Eremite's Attack or Mystic Sweep for Heart of Holy Flame when fighting undead for double damage.

Equipment

 * Max armor with Windwalker Insigias, preferably, but whatever you see fit will work.
 * A Rune of Minor Scythe Mastery, Rune of Superior Mysticism, and a Mysticism headpiece.
 * A scythe with +15% while Enchanted and a perfect of Enchanting modifier (The Soulbreaker works fine) and a Zealous scythe such as the Eyes of the Forgotten.

Grasping Darknesses

 * Upon entry, take the quest from the Lost Soul to get the Grasping Darknesses to spawn.
 * Quickly lure the Darknesses towards the cliff, using Pious Haste, only one group at a time.
 * When lured, use Physical Resistance to cancel out Pious Haste.
 * Use Zealous Vow before the Darknesses reach you.
 * Begin attacking them using your attack skills.
 * When one group is dead, move on to the next group, rinse, and repeat.

Smite Crawlers

 * Use Pious Haste and run to the Smite Crawlers.
 * When you reach them, cancel Pious Haste with Physical Resistance.
 * Cast Zealous Vow AFTER canceling Pious Haste.
 * Next, cast Mystic Vigor, Rending Aura, and Mystic Regeneration in that order.
 * Begin attacking the Smite Crawlers.
 * Continue the trip, attacking the Smite Crawlers on your way, until they're all done. Then, repeat the run.

Counters
The daze and interrupt from the Grasping Darknesses could be an uisance.

Video
Sorry about the low resolution and no sound, but otherwise, it would have been more than 100 MB.
 * http://files.filefront.com//;7079942;;/

=Vermin Farmer= This is a D/Mo build for solo-farming the Vermin in Xaquang Skyway. The build relies on the inherently high AoE damage of scythes combined with skills such as Mirage Cloak, and Vow of Strength. The build uses Essence Bond and Balthazar's Spirit to power the build, and Mystic Regeneration, Fleeting Stability to stay alive.

As a farming build, the build is extremely easy to use allowing a wide margin of error (ie. farming while reading a book), while the choice of skills (most of which have little or no activation time) allows a decent speed. While the AoE only affects 3 targets unlike Triple Chop and Cyclone axe, the new AI system where, if damaged, only 3 foes will be aggroed makes this a relatively small issue.

Equipment
(Earth Prayers needs to hit 13 in order for Mystic Regeneration to hit +4 which is imperative when fighting Shreader)
 * Scythe of Enchanting
 * Runes need not be adhered to strictly as long as you hit the breakpoints

Usage
The maintained enchantments and Conviction can be kept up indefinetly with no consideration as they do not waste activation time. Mystic Regeneration should be kept up for healing, as should Fleeting Stability (although you might not need to refresh it while fighting the smaller groups if the mob is about to die anyway). Vow of Strength should be kept up for increasing your damage. While the defensive mechanism of Mirage Cloak is unneccesary, the bonus damage could help, so keep it up as well, just remember not to renew until it expires so damage takes effect. Also, you might want to cast this last so you don't have to wait for energy as the blocking can sometimes slow down your energy gain. Mystic Vigor is optional, but can give you a larger margin of error against Shreader Sharptongue's group.

While fighting, you might want to reposition so all three of your aggroed foes are damaged. Though this is unnceccesary, it will speed up the run. While fighting Shreader Sharptongue, simply target him first and deal with the rest.

This build can also be used to farm bosses or other areas, especially ones where knock down is used.

Variants

 * Reaper's Sweep, Wild Blow and Mystic Sweep may be used to replace Vow of Strength, Mirage Cloak, Mystic Vigor, or Conviction while dealing with bosses or fewer foes to give higher output.
 * If a warrior secondary is used, Bonnetti's Defense may be used for energy and Faithful Intervention could be added to trigger Mystic Regeneration or Vigor. Similarily, Flail and "Watch Yourself!" could both improve the run-speed seeing as they both have no activation time or energy cost, making it more effective against a single foe.
 * Sympathetic and/or Ancestor's Visage can be used in areas with interruption. Zealous Vow can then be used for energy management.

Equipment

 * +7 extra energy armour - Radiant Insignia
 * +10 armour while enchanted works well since you are enchanted most of the time - Blessed Insignia
 * + 20% enchantment mod on a scythe or a Rajazan's Fervor or Totem Axe will do


 * If using a one handed weapon equip a shield like Malinon's Shield

Usage

 * Use Avatar of Balthazar before engaging any creatures for the +40 armour and increase running speed by 33%. To get past Tundra Giants, Frost Wurms, and Ice Golems, use this with Fleeting Stability.
 * Pious Restoration should be used against all Hexes.

Healing

 * Before enemies, make sure your Health is max or near max.
 * Take some time to heal if you can find a safe location to heal. Vital Boon and Faithful Intervention should be enough.
 * Use Faithful Intervention first and then use Vital Boon so if a creature strips Enchantments, Vital Boon will be triggered - its 2nd ability is to heal you when it ends or when someone removes it.* Before running past Ice Imps use Vital Boon. If you are hexed cast Pious Restoration to remove the slow down hexes that the Ice Imps use.
 * Use Avatar of Balthazar and then cast Fleeting Stability, covering it up with Faithful Intervention and Vital Boon. This way, when you are getting attacked by a Frost Wurm and going through the Wurm tunnel, the enchantment remover just removes Vital Boon.
 * Entering the Troll Cave, lure the Mountain Trolls out before entering, so you don’t get body blocked by them.
 * In the Wurm Path use Fleeting Stability and Avatar of Balthazar go get past the Wurm quickly.

Dreadnought's Drift

 * Before engaging any enemies use Avatar of Balthazar and Fleeting Stability and cover it up with Faithful Intervention and Vital Boon in case you met some Tundra Giants.

Snake Dance

 * Use Avatar of Balthazar and Fleeting Stability and cover it up with Faithful Intervention and Vital Boon because there are a lot of Tundra Giants to knock you down, along with some Azure Shadows.
 * Make sure you run away from Stone Summits and their mobs to get to Camp Rankor.

Camp Rankor

 * Here is a rest stop and you can swap some skills if you think healing is needed.

Talus Chute

 * Same thing really, Avatar of Balthazar and Fleeting Stability and cover it up with Faithful Intervention and Vital Boon because there are Azure Shadows and large Avicara groups near the start.

Counters
Strip enchantment skills would put you off if the skill is still recharging.

Variants

 * Watchful Intervention can be used if more healing is needed and more cover for Fleeting Stability against enchantment removing creatures.
 * Extend Enchantments could be added if you wanted to extend your enchantments.
 * Avatar of Dwayna can replace Avatar of Balthazar if you want more skills to get rid of hex.
 * Avatar of Melandru can replace Avatar of Balthazar if you want more condition removers.
 * Smite Hex can be used for quick hex removal.
 * Mending Touch can use for removing condition if needed.

Equipment

 * +5/per enchantment on chest and leggings, Radiant Insignia on other parts
 * Use Rajazan's Fervor or Totem Axe to gain extra energy and extended duration of your enchantments.
 * Use Stalwart Carapace Shield to get some additional armor and HP bonus.

Usage

 * Use Extend Enchantments followed by Mystic Regeneration, Fleeting Stability and Vow of Silence before entering any combat where enemies use both KD and slowing spells and then use Harrier's Haste when it ends use Pious Haste if you are stripped of important enchants while recasting start with casting Pious Haste to remove VoS. Be sure to not have Pious Haste on you when you are recasting your enchantments. If you get hexed use Pious Restoration while enchanted if you remove Fleeting Stability follow up with balanced stance (if there are KD oponents). If there are no slowing spellcasters in the area you can skip Vow of Silence, just as you can skip Fleeting Stability if there are no KD enemies.

Lornar's Pass

 * Be aware of Grawl Crones that can cast Chilblains and strip you of your enchantments if you get close.
 * If you have to recast your enchantments while a wurm is attacking you, use Balanced Stance to not get knocked down.
 * Avoid avicaras while recasting enchantments at all costs since they can remove one or two before you get the cover of Vow of Silence
 * Try to avoid traps, if you happen to trigger one keep running until you lose your enchantments and then quickly put up Mystic Regeneration and Vow of Silence to try to make it to the nearest safe zone.

Dreadnought's Drift

 * When running past the Tundra Giant try to dodge some attacks since your armor is not that great

Talus Chute

 * Stop before the group of Avicaras in the start and recast your enchantments.

Counters

 * Skills that strip enchantments.