Running guide

What Is It?
Running, sometimes referred to as ferrying, is the practice of one player quickly taking a party from one explorable area to the next, often to reach a specific town, outpost or mission. This practice is extremely popular in Prophecies, where there are little to no restrictions in entering an outpost. Factions runs are much less common, as many towns and outposts can only be accessed via a specific quest or mission; in Nightfall, a fair handful of missions and towns can be accessed ahead of the game storyline, but these missions cannot be started without a properly updated Quest Log. Regardless of a character's level or current quest, he or she can freely purchase new skills and craft new armor sets once the outpost has been reached, making this practice common among some low-level players.

Running can also refer to a player rushing a party through a mission or quest.

Function
A running build accomplishes two functions, Speed and Survivability.

Speed
Any profession can go fast through the use of increase movement skills and consumables such as Birthday cupcakes, rock candy, and Essence of Celerity. An example might be Dwarven Stability with Dash and red rock candy. Any profession can use this and without the use of attribute points and six skill slots for staying alive. However there are more practical ways to go fast. Increased speed can also increase Survivability, as a faster character will lose aggro faster.

Survivability
The ability to offset any damage/degeneration of health. There is no one right way to do this. Choosing skills depends on the profession of the player and the type of mobs and environmental effects present.


 * For Condition removal.
 * For hex removal.
 * For spell/disenchantment protection.
 * For knockdown protection.

Knockdowns interrupt any activating skill and temporarily prevents movement and skill use. Usually not fatal alone, knockdowns are a precursor to many failed runs.

Armor and Weapons Sets
Armor and weapon sets increase survivability and energy management, and should compliment the skill set. Some long run builds require a weapon set or head piece change for different mobs.

A runner's armor/weapon sets may contain a rune of vigor, runes/insignias that reduce condition/hex duration, reduce damage vs. certain damage type, increase energy and health, and weapons that increase enchantment duration. Weapons which HSR/HCT can also be helpful.

General Tips

 * Avoid being body blocked by enemy mobs; especially in narrow sections.
 * Use rest points: safe places to let skills recharge and let health regenerate.
 * Some mob composition and spawn points vary. Be careful.

Choosing Your Skills
Common running primary professions include Warrior, Ranger, Assassin and Dervish. A typical running build will contain at least one speed buff, such as the Warrior's Sprint or the Ranger's Escape, a healing skill and condition removal, often taken from a secondary profession such as Monk. Primary or secondary Assassin builds often use Shadow step skills. While professions such as the Ranger or Warrior will also often include a Hex removal skill, the Assassin and the Dervish have protection against enemy spellcasters through the use of Shadow Form or Vow of Silence.

While many destinations can be reached with a generic skill set-up, more difficult runs such as through the Southern Shiverpeaks, notorious for knockdowns, snares and large amounts of foes, frequently have their own unique build suggestions.

PvXwiki contains a number of tested running builds, both for generic use and specific purposes.

Profession Tips
Warrior runners can maintain a reliable speed boost by alternating "Charge!" with Sprint. Because "Charge!" is a Shout, as opposed to a Stance, it can be combined with stances such as Balanced Stance, to prevent knockdown, or Conviction, a Dervish stance that grants increased armor or health regeneration.

Ranger runners can maintain a constant 33% speed increase by chaining Escape, Dodge and Zojun's Haste. While this would preclude any defensive stances being used, remember that Escape offers a high chance of blocking incoming attacks (melee and projectile), and Dodge and Zojun's Haste can block incoming projectiles. The Ranger can also use Shouts or Enchantments for increased survivability.

Assassin runners have at their disposal the Elite enchantment Shadow Form, rendering the Assassin unable to be targeted by spells or attacks. While this skill is tied to Shadow Arts, and is therefore usable by any profession with Assassin as their primary or secondary, the brief duration and drastic health loss means this skill must be used with care. Assassins frequently employ Shadow Arts Runes to increase the enchantment's duration.

Dervish runners often use either the Avatar of Balthazar or Vow of Silence as their Elite skill. The Avatar offers a permanent speed boost and armor gain, and coupled with Eternal Aura can be maintained indefinitely. Vow of Silence renders the user unable to cast spells, or to be targeted by them. As neither of these skills are Stances, they can be coupled with a number of beneficial running stances, both from the Dervish skill family and from other professions.

When selecting your skills, keep in mind how many times you will be activating those skills while within range of enemy mobs. For this reason, Shouts and Stances are often preferred over their Enchantment counterparts, as there is no activation time and cannot be interrupted. While Armor of Mist lasts longer than Sprint and includes a generous armor increase, it requires runners to stop and cast it for one second plus aftercast delay, allowing monsters to close in on them.

Learning from others
Often the best way to learn is to have an experienced runner teach you, or to watch him successfully complete a run. This can be achieved by running alongside the experienced runner, or simply dying and observing the runner as he continues. If you choose the former method, be sure to check with the runner first! An additional player may draw extra aggro that could kill even the most practiced runner.

If the runner does not wish to have you run with him, dying offers a convenient way to watch the runner and see what he does. Simply click on the surviving runner's name in the Party List and observe. You will be able see what skills he is using, and when he uses them, giving you an idea of what will be expected of you when it's your turn to run.