User:Thulsey/Builds/Warrior Builds

The Zealous Decapitater is a build that focuses on the use of the Elite Skill Decapitate to deal high damage, in conjunction with the energy management skills of the Dervish.

Attributes and Skills
Depending on the situation, Vital Boon can be replaced with:


 * Aura of Thorns as a snare
 * Lightbringer's Gaze for use in high-level PvE

If you find yourself getting enough energy from Zealous Renewal without Flail, swap it for Conviction. If you don't own the Factions campaign, replace Furious Axe with the energy-based attack skill of your choice.

Equipment

 * Armor with Radiant Insignia to give a base Energy pool of at least 25.
 * A Rune of Superior Absorption, the best Vigor Rune available and one rune of Vitae.
 * A Zealous Axe Of Fortitude. Wing's Axe is a good choice.
 * A Strength requirement Shield with +30 Health and received damage -2 (in stance) shield would be optimal due to the use of Flail and the -5(20%) mod being random.

Usage

 * Approach your target, and once you are in melee range use Vital Boon and Zealous Renewal.
 * Attack your chosen target and build up Adrenaline. Activate and maintain Flail.
 * Use the two energy-based attack skills as necessary. Furious Axe while your target is under a blocking stance or Guardian can be beneficial.
 * Once you have sufficient Adrenaline and your target is at approximately 75% health, use Decapitate.
 * Use Signet of Pious Light to end Zealous Renewal and gain back Energy.
 * Once you have Energy, use Furious Axe and Counterattack in quick succession on your target.
 * Recast Zealous Renewal and repeat on a different target if the first is not already dead.


 * Should you need healing at any time, use Vital Boon followed by Signet of Pious Light

Counters

 * Wild Blow and other Stance counters will remove your IAS, which results in less Energy gain after removing Zealous Renewal.
 * Be especially wary of enemies removing Zealous Renewal before you have used Decapitate. On the other hand, enemies removing the enchantment after you use Decapitate can be beneficial.
 * Blind, Weakness, etc.
 * Life Sheath can render a large portion of your damage useless.

Variants
A variant using different attack skills is below.

Same usage as the main build, but after using Decapitate and Signet of Pious Light, follow instead with Vital Boon followed by Twin Moon Sweep for a double-strike and additional healing. Note that Twin Moon Sweep can be used with an Axe, as it is a Melee Attack rather than a Scythe Attack. Any spare attribute points should be placed into Scythe Mastery for this variant. Cyclone Axe is useful for increasing the return from Zealous Renewal and also for building adrenaline.

This build takes advantage of Charging Strike multipurpose effect which makes it a great cancel stance,great running skill, also great for blocking opponents.

Usage

 * 1) Use Charging Strike to run in ,hit with it first to gain its bonus damage.
 * 2) Charge up your chain.
 * 3) When all your skills are charged follow this order switch to your desired target and unleash your chain.

Counters

 * Anti-Melee hexes and conditions.
 * Targets that block or evade make your chain ineffective.

Variants
Look at each of the condition removals for their drawback and advantage. Link title
 * You can swap Mending Touch out for your condition removal of choice, for example, Remedy Signet, Signet of Malice.
 * Flail can be used instead of frenzy if the double damage is something you don't want to worry about, flail however has a disadvantage of making you slower, so if your targets are not crippled they may run away, Charging Strike is a great cancel stance for whichever increase in attack speed skill you decided to choose.

This build uses Crippling Slash for its great use of crippling in PvP. This build can easily cripple the entire enemy party, and can use cripple for all sorts of events; giving your monk a breather, slowing the enemy, and can counter the flag runner while still having decent spikes.

Equipment
If using a PvE character, also use a Vampiric Sword of Fortitude and a wand/shield combo of your choice.
 * Armor of choice. Gladiator's armor is not required for this build.
 * If creating a PvP only character for this build, choose a Crippling PvP Sword of Fortitude and an Ebon PvP Sword of Fortitude with a +30hp/-5 (20%) shield.

Usage

 * Use Crippling Slash to Cripple your foes, and try to spread the cripple as much as possible.This is your main job.
 * Use Frenzy to speed up the attack rate of your attacks, if you come under focused fire, cancel it using Sprint.
 * Use Healing Signet to heal yourself and to ease pressure off your monks.
 * When you and other warriors have adrenaline, organize a spike on a suitable target.
 * Try to spike down low health targets.
 * Don't stay on one character for too long, if you see them being enchanted with skills such as Guardian or Protective Spirit, switch targets.
 * Use Resurrection Signet to resurrect fallen party members.

Variants

 * Replace Frenzy with Flail. Because you will cripple your foes, fleeing will not be a large problem.
 * Replace Sprint with skills such as Rush, Dash, Enraging Charge.
 * Replace Resurrection Signet with any other skill for AB or CM, such as Shock or Plague Touch.
 * You may wish to use Mending Touch or Signet of Malice for condition removal.

The Flailing Coward uses synergy between "Coward!" and Flail to deal keep your opponent at your feet.

Attributes and Skills

 * Mending Touch can be used instead of "For Great Justice!", obviously, this requires you to go /Mo, put the remaining attributes into Protection Prayers. It helps to get rid of an untimely Blind or Cripple.
 * Enraging Charge can be replaced by "To the Limit!" or "You Will Die!" to be used directly after "Coward!".
 * Sun and Moon Slash is also a viable alternative.
 * You may replace the Resurrection Signet or "For Great Justice!" with Healing Signet.

Equipment

 * Superior Absorption, Vigor and correct runes.
 * Stonefist Insignia, also with Survivor Insignias.
 * A Perfect Sundering Sword of Fortitude with the "Strength and Honor" inscription.
 * A Perfect Zealous Sword of Fortitude with the "Strength and Honor" inscription.
 * A Tactics Shield of Fortitude (maybe the one while in a stance, still testing).

Usage

 * Find a target, preferably a squishy and activate "For Great Justice!" and Enraging Charge. Once you attack them all your adrenal skills except Steelfang Slash will be charged (hit them one more time to fully charge it).Be careful not to overextend or charge in, though. Do not activate Flail until your adrenaline is charged.
 * Spam your skills, try to time Steelfang Slash so you get the bonus adrenaline. To do this you will have to time your attacks so that you are just about to hit them when you activate "Coward!" so you have the adrenaline for Steelfang Slash. As soon as you start attacking, (if you opponent is moving), activate "Coward!" and Steelfang Slash.
 * If you have swapped "For Great Justice!" for Mending Touch,use Mending Touch to relief yourself of annoying conditions such as blind, cripple, etc.
 * Use Healing Signet sparingly, you take double damage while using it and you can't spend all of your time healing.
 * Be careful when using Flail, you do not want your target to escape.
 * Have fun and good luck!

Counters
Charging in, overextending, etc.

Axe Variant
Of course, transfer all points from Swordsmanship to Axe Mastery.

Equipment

 * Radiant Armor.
 * Furious Hammer of Fortitude with 15^50.

Usage

 * Begin with Enraging Charge to build up initial adrenaline.
 * Cast Grasping Earth to snare nearby targets.
 * Use Flail as your IAS
 * Use Backbreaker, Flail, Crushing Blow, Protector's Strike in that order to deal spike damage.
 * Use Protector's Strike to deal a mini spike against kiting foes.
 * Resurrect fallen allies with Resurrection Signet

Counters

 * Anti-melee hexes and conditions apply.

Variants

 * Replace Enraging Charge with Rush.
 * Replace Resurrection Signet with any utility skills for AB.

This is an adrenaline-spike focused hammer warrior. Deadly spikes, a 4 sec knockdown, and shadow stepping makes for a combination powerful enough to scare the enemy silly. The downsides are that it takes quite a while to build adrenaline for each spike, and Death's Charge has an obscene recharge. Combos well with another axe or sword warrior in GvG builds.

Equipment

 * Use full Gladiator's Armor.
 * If using a PvP character, use a Vampiric or Zealous PvP Hammer of Fortitude and an Ebon PvP Hammer of Fortitude. If using a PvE character, Use all three of the above with a wand/shield combo.
 * To lengthen knockdown time from Irresistible Blow, use Stoneskin Gauntlets.

Usage

 * Upon entering battle, begin building adrenaline. When you and any other warriors on your team have adrenaline, organize a spike on a suitable target.
 * When spiking and Death's Charge is available, try to shadow step to a target that they won't suspect a spike on (such as one that is quite a distance away from you). Shadow step to your target and unleash your chain.
 * Try to spike down low health targets
 * Don't stay on a target if he gets enchanted by skills like Protective Spirit.
 * Spam Irresistible Blow on targets that are blocking for knockdowns and extra damage
 * Use Frenzy to build adrenaline faster and to speed up your spikes
 * Use Rush to catch kiting targets and to cancel Frenzy if you come under focused fire
 * Use Healing Signet to keep your health up and to ease pressure off of your monks. Don't use it when under focused fire
 * Use your Ebon weapon to bypass enemy warriors' resistance to physical damage
 * Of course, use Resurrection Signet to resurrect dead party members

Counters
All the usual warrior counters apply, such as snares, blind, weakness, Empathy, Faintheartedness, etc.

Variants

 * Healing Signet can be replaced with another utility skill such as "To the Limit!", Distracting Blow, or Bull's Strike.
 * Healing Signet can be replaced with Mighty Blow for further damage during the spike. It also removes the need for tactics and further increases the damage due to higher strength.