User:The Goron/Builds/SV Invincimonk Against Magni

General
Designed to defeat everyone in the Norn Fighting Tournament, including Magni the Bison himself, as a Monk. This guide assumes you have some experience 55'ing, but if not, this is a good place to learn. This build can defeat everyone in the tournament that I've come across (pre-release, still testing now that the game has come out). Tips for defeating each foe are below.

Attributes and Skills
Your Sunspear rank affects the amount of damage Necrosis does. The further along the Sunspear title track you are, the more damage this build will do.

Equipment

 * Any armor you like--AL is irrelevant, but anything with extra energy is a plus. However, you will need to put a superior rune on all 5 pieces to reduce your health to 105. Radiant Insignias will deepen your energy pool, as well.
 * First Weapon Set: A one-handed weapon of your choosing. Again, this build is energy-based, so something along the lines of a Totem Axe, which gives +5 energy, is recommended. The offhand must be the -50hp Grim Cesta, obtained from the Cities of Ascalon quest, to decrease your health to 55.
 * Second Weapon Set: A high-energy 2-handed weapon/staff, with no health modifiers. Switching to this weapon will increase your health to 105 to counter degeneration and life-stealing. I use Kepkhet's Refuge, as an example.

Usage
Before every battle, precast Mending. Wait for energy to recharge a bit, stand just outside the door, and precast Protective Spirit before entering battle. Keep Protective Spirit up at ALL times--otherwise it's 1 hit and goodnight.

For the opponents listed as pushovers (or foes with no notes to the contrary), use the following strategy: 55 health, start the fight with Spoil Victor, and spam Necrosis, Castigation Signet, Necrosis, Reversal of Damage, Necrosis, etc. until you win. You can usually throw in a Parasitic Bond if you like, but the damage from the other skills easily outweighs the measly -1 health reduction from Parasitic Bond.

The Roster

 * Alesia -- Pushover
 * Argo -- Stay out of "Argo's Cry" after he casts it, and keep attacking.
 * Cynn -- Glyph of Restoration drags this fight out sometimes, but keep up the damage and she'll fall.
 * Danika (with Brutus and Sheena) -- Danika's "pets" use life stealing and direct damage, which bypass Protective Spirit, making this match a little tougher. Definitely switch to 105, precast Protective Spirit and Healing Breeze just before the fight, and open with Spoil Victor. Spam damage skills, but save Reversal of Damage to boost health back up after you're hit with Vampiric Gaze. If the battle drags on, Vile Touch and Vampiric Gaze stacked will burn through your defenses. Try to stay at max health, and spam damage as fast as possible. One of the deadliest fights versus this build that I've found so far.
 * Devona -- Pushover
 * Eve -- She uses Spiteful Spirit, with no enchantment removal, and no real degeneration. -- Pushover
 * Ghostly Hero -- Ranger -- Pushover
 * Gwen -- Leech Signet and Power Spike make her fairly annoying. Don't let Protective Spirit get even close to running out, just in case she interrupts it. -- Pushover
 * Headmaster Vhang -- Pushover
 * Kahmu -- Uses Rending Touch to remove an enchantment. Precast Protective Spirit, start the fight with Spoil Victor, and cast Healing Breeze immediately to cover Protective Spirit: he usually uses Rending Touch first.
 * Kilroy Stonekin -- Pushover
 * Kisai -- Pushover
 * Koss -- Pushover
 * Little Thom -- Pushover
 * Lo Sha -- Lots of degeneration. Use 105, start with Spoil Victor, follow up immediately with Healing Breeze; spam for damage. End this fight as quickly as possible. If it drags on, you'll run out of energy keeping yourself alive.
 * Lukas -- Causes Bleeding -- Pushover
 * Melonni -- One of the longer fights. She uses Avatar of Dwayna, which gives health and removes a hex every time a skill is used. Keep your energy up, and wait out the avatar form -- when she reverts, hit her with the normal stuff, and she'll go down.
 * Mhenlo -- Mhenlo is also a 55 Monk. For this fight, don't precast Mending. Make sure your health is 55, precast Protective Spirit, and begin with Spoil Victor. Don't attack him or use any skills except to keep Protective Spirit up, and to keep Spoil Victor on him. Spoil Victor only works if the opponent has more health than you. The first time he hits you, it will lower your health to 50, and the second time he hits you, Spoil Victor will kill him, because he'll still have 55 health.
 * Morgahn -- Poison and Burning cause some serious health degeneration if you're not prepared. Switch to 105, keep your health up with Healing Breeze and Reversal of Damage, and end the fight quickly.
 * Nika -- Her Elite skill is Shattering Assault, which removes 2 enchantments and deals a decent amount of damage to boot. However, if you spam damage quickly enough, she usually goes down before using/completing this skill. A more careful method might be to use 105, keep Healing Breeze on top of Protective Spirit constantly, and cast Reversal of Damage when you see her use her elite (there's a brief delay between the first strike and the second strike). I haven't tested this; the damage could come before the enchantment removal, in which case Reversal of Damage would vanish beforehand, and she would still remove Protective Spirit.
 * Norgu -- Mesmer with Shatter Enchantment. Use 105. Precast Protective Spirit and Healing Breeze (in that order), and immediately cast Spoil Victor on him. His first attack should be Shatter Enchantment, which will remove Healing Breeze. Spam Necrosis--he should be defeated before Shatter Enchantment recharges. If he doesn't use Shatter Enchantment right away, or if the fight continues longer than the 15 second recharge time on that skill, keep up Healing Breeze as a cover enchantment for Protective Spirit just in case. If the worst happens, and he does remove Protective Spirit, you should still be alive. At this point, reapply Protective Spirit as quickly as possible; one more hit will kill you.  Bug: Norgu currently has an A.I. glitch causing him to run towards your starting gate to cast Backfire on you even if you don't walk in. Fortunately, after casting Backfire, he will remain stationary and use no other skills as long as you don't step through the door into the arena. This allows you to easily defeat him with ranged attacks.
 * Old Mac (and Joe) -- Lots of interrupts; stick with 55, open with Spoil Victor, and spam what you can.
 * Orion -- Uses Mark of Rodgort and Flare to apply Burning. Use 105, open with Spoil Victor, and keep hitting with Necrosis. Use Healing Breeze/Reversal of Damage to keep your health up.
 * Panaku -- Causes Bleeding -- Pushover
 * Razah -- Mass spirits. Try to kill him as quickly as possible, before the spirits start overwhelming you. Wanderlust is a pain, because you'll get knocked down if you're standing still, and Bloodsong passes through Protective Spirit, draining 17 health per hit. You can usually stand near the entrance, out of range of the spirits, and recharge energy if things get crazy. Dash in and use Spoil Victor, and then keep moving, using healing skills and damage skills whenever possible. This is one of the toughest fights to win consistently with this build.
 * Sogolon -- Pushover
 * Talon Silverwing -- Pushover
 * The Great Zehtuka -- Open with Parasitic Bond. He has a pretty steady pattern--he'll run up close and begin using traps. As soon as he starts setting one, run out of range and hit with Necrosis a couple of times. Stand still until he gets close and starts setting another, then run away and use Necrosis some more. Recast Parasitic Bond if it expires and Spoil Victor if he begins attacking, and try not to double back over areas he has already trapped.
 * Vekk -- Pushover
 * Warmaster Tydus -- Uses Burning Arrow & Apply Poison. Use 105, start with Spoil Victor, keep applying damage, and use Healing Breeze to counter the degeneration.
 * Xandra -- She uses Vengeful Weapon on herself, which steals your health when you attack her. Use 105, keep Spoil Victor on her, and don't attack twice in a row when she casts this. Use Reversal of Damage and Healing Breeze to restore health when needed. If you're trigger-happy and want to remove temptation, just keep Spoil Victor on her, and let her kill herself.
 * Zho (and Onyx) -- Ignore the moa, and focus on Zho. Open with Spoil Victor, and keep Protective Spirit up. Whittle away for a victory. -- Pushover


 * Magni the Bison -- Precast Protective Spirit; when he approaches, use Parasitic Bond. He'll remove it with Purge Signet (if you time it right, you can hit him with a Necrosis before he removes the hex). Immediately cast Spoil Victor. Don't attack him--it does no real damage, fuels his adrenaline, and he uses Counter Blow as a second knockdown. Use Castigation Signet for energy in between Devastating Hammers, and spam Necrosis and Reversal of Damage. If you're quick, you can beat him before Spoil Victor expires. Always keep enough energy for Protective Spirit in case he doesn't go down. Take note of the intervals between Devastating Hammers--if you wait until the last second to cast Protective Spirit, and he knocks you down before you can use it, it will probably result in your death. If he doesn't die before the first Spoil Victor runs out, which is usually the case, recast Parasitic Bond, wait for him to remove it, and use Spoil Victor. Spam damage skills until he succumbs.


 * Palawa Joko and Joko's minions -- I have yet to face the indomitable Joko in battle.

Healing Spectator
Sometimes there will be a dwarven spectator on the sidelines who uses Heal Other to heal you and your opponent. Picking him out before entering the arena is difficult, as his name is no different from the rest of the spectators, but he will be holding a staff in his right hand instead of a shield or a bow in his left. He was not present in the Sneak Peek Weekend, so he was apparently added to introduce a random element into the tournament.

He spawns randomly, as his presence in one fight doesn't guarantee he will be there in the fight directly afterwards. Every time I have come across him, he has been in one of two places: on the right-hand side, nearest to the opponent's starting location (specifically, the second spectator in line, from left to right, when facing him), and on the right-hand side nearest to your own starting gate. There have even been instances where they will both be present for the same fight.

Unfortunately, this build keeps you at max health for the majority of the fights, meaning he will more often than not heal the enemy. Melee foes, and some ranged opponents, can be lured outside of his casting range, and sometimes you can ignore him altogether if you're dealing damage quickly enough. However, in certain fights (Razah being one of the worst-case scenarios), his presence makes it very difficult to win. If you stand between him and your opponent, and drop mending, allowing your opponent to begin damaging you, the spectator will start healing you instead. At this point, you can usually spam damage for a victory. Alternately, versus ranged foes that can't be lured outside of his radius, you can attempt to use an AoE skill such as Symbol of Wrath to drive the opponent away from him.