User:Entropy/builds

=Entropy's Builds Page=

Feel free to comment or make suggestions. I created these builds with no reference materials, so they are in that sense "original". These builds will be updated with Factions and Nightfall skills, eventually...

NOTE I never carry a Resurrection skill in PvE anymore. I leave that to the Henchmen. 'Nuff said. ><

Energy Storage Mesmer
Used by Rayne Brunel to fight the Mursaat throughout the Southern Shiverpeaks and beyond, though it has proved to be a good general-purpose build as well.

Equipment

 * Anything except Geomancer's Armor, which is useless in Prophecies PvE.
 * Max Domination-linked staff. HCT/HSR mods preferred.

Usage

 * Pretty self-explanatory, use each skill when appropriate.
 * Spam Wastrel's Worry on bosses for high DPS.

Counters

 * To date, Stone Summit and Mursaat are unable to counter this build effectively except by massive ganking.

Variants

 * PUG-friendly - Swap out something for Resurrection Signet. This is mainly to avoid embarrassing situations and hate mail.
 * Perdition Rock - Replace Wastrel's Worry with Maelstrom. Hydras are notorious for standing in it, as are Flesh Golems.
 * If you insist on having a self-healing skill, swap in Aura of Restoration.

Energy Storage Necromancer
Used by Rayne Brunel in parts of the game where being a nuker just didn't cut it, most notably in the Crystal Desert. It is a decent support character in other situations as well.

Attributes and Skills
The same pattern follows for Curses and Blood - 14 ES, 12 main, and 3 to some other attribute.

Death Magic variant

Curses Variant

Blood Magic Variant

Equipment

 * Anything except Geomancer's Armor.
 * Max staff linked to your chosen attribute, HCT/HSR is nice. If going Curses, the weapon must deal Cold Damage to be able to trigger Spinal Shivers.

Usage

 * Death: Initiate battles with Rotting Flesh and replace when necessary, then pester foes with your offensive skills until they die. Once an exploitable corpse is free, use one of your corpse exploits - Well of Suffering for long-term degeneration, Putrid Explosion for spike damage, and Soul Feast for self-healing.
 * Only use Vile Touch if a target moves into touch range and/or you are facing a very small number of foes.
 * It's generally best to hit a target with Virulence just before Disease from Rotting Flesh is about to wear off.


 * Curses: Start off by hexing every foe with Parasitic Bond, and then cast Suffering. Use Insidious Parasite, Faintheartedness, and Enfeeble to weaken any non-caster enemies. Cast Desecrate Enchantments when opportunate.
 * Use Spinal Shivers against casters and then simply attack them for continued interruption.
 * Cast Parasitic Bond on foes about to die (if it's not already on them) to achieve some quick and cheap healing.
 * Save Grenth's Balance for when you really need it.


 * Blood: Begin by casting Life Siphon on all foes. Then use Shadow Strike (if foes are above 50% health) and Vampiric Gaze. Use Strip Enchantment when necessary.
 * Use Vampiric Touch if target(s) move into touch range and/or you are facing a very small number of foes. Beware the high energy cost.
 * Cast Blood Renewal only when you are not under heavy fire, otherwise the health sacrifice could kill you.
 * When corpses start to appear, create a Well of Blood.
 * Grenth's Balance should only be used as a last resort, due to all your other self-healing skills available.

Counters

 * Death Variant relies on corpses and fleshy foes being available and is thus useless versus Spirits, Undead, etc.
 * These builds do not have any hex or condition removal.

Variants

 * PUG-friendly - Swap out something for Resurrection Signet. This is mainly to avoid embarrassing situations and hate mail.
 * Death Variant can be made into a pseudo-MM or Minion Bomber build, though it is far inferior to anything a primary Necromancer could cobble together. In lower-level areas, however, Bone Minions can still prove useful due to their numbers.

Build:R/any Winter Ranger
This build is often run by Rangers in Hell's Precipice and is much sought-after by PUGs attempting the mission. Very effective and all-around useful to the party.

Equipment

 * Druid's Armor or Frostbound Armor.
 * A Longbow and a Shortbow.

Usage

 * Before engaging any enemies, set your Spirits. Active Serpent's Quickness and remember to set Winter before Greater Conflagration - it is more important, and it has a longer recharge. Spirits should be set at about a Longbow's range from enemies, for safety.
 * If facing Spark of the Titans in numbers greater than 1, have the party pull back a bit and advance by yourself. Just before grabbing aggro, activate Troll Unguent and Dryder's Defenses. This will greatly lower the damage of Mind Burn. At this point, have the party's tanks rush in, while the casters stay a bit behind you.
 * During battle, switch to your Shortbow and keep up Kindle Arrows; interrupt anything you can with Distracting Shot and Savage Shot. It is most important to interrupt Rodgort's Invocation, as it can completely devastate the party in one blow.
 * Watch your spirits. Replace them as soon as you can if they are killed.
 * Use Troll Unguent liberally. Your Monks will thank you for it.

Counters

 * The spirits are key. If the AI repeatedly kills them off you won't get far. Learn to place them where they won't be harmed.

Variants

 * In a PUG, it is not so necessary to perform the pulling function, so Dryder's Defenses is a good choice to swap out.
 * Rebirth is a popular choice for a replacement skill, especially among PUGs.

Build:R/any Solo Desert Trapper
This build got vetted! ^^

The R/any Solo Desert Trapper can be used to farm slowly but surely in the Crystal Desert. Its main purpose is to gather collectable drops, which can often be traded for decent weapons. Of course, a fair amount of keys, gold, and gold items can be found as well.

Equipment

 * Druid's Armor.
 * A Flatbow or Longbow.
 * A Recurve Bow or Composite Bow.
 * Poisonous bow strings work very well.

General Guidelines

 * Use the Flatbow or Longbow to lure your enemies onto the traps and use the Recurve Bow or Composite Bow when firing Poison Arrow.
 * Always activate Serpent's Quickness before laying traps. Lay them in this order: Dust Trap, Barbed Trap, Flame Trap. You should be able to lay down two sets of traps just as Serpent's Quickness ends. It's safe to lay a third set afterwards, as well, but any more and you run the risk of letting some traps self-detonate before any enemies reach them.
 * Dust Trap causes Blindness, allowing you to set more traps right under the enemy if needed.
 * Lay down a Spirit of Toxicity somewhere in the area but far enough away that it won't get attacked. In times of trouble, you can always run past it and let the enemies kill it instead of attacking you. Make sure Serpent's Quickness is up first; the recharge time is quite long.
 * You can out-regen the damage of most but not all monsters with Troll Unguent - it's usually safe to cast it before activating Storm Chaser and running away.

The following can be farmed in Diviner's Ascent, leave from Elona Reach:


 * Sand Drakes (Topaz Crest) - Approach these and stop just short of aggro range. Activate Serpent's Quickness and lay double sets of traps. Now, shoot off a Poison Arrow to each Drake and back up - let the Drakes run over your traps. They should be dead, if not, the degen will soon kill them. Sometimes Drakes are linked in aggro but are spread far apart - watch the radar carefully for any incoming Drakes. It can mess up your trapping badly if one or two don't hit the traps at the same time as the others. In this case it is best to pull a retreat or out-regen them with Troll Unguent and Poison Arrow.


 * Rockshot Devourers (Bleached Carapace) - These are annoying, because they are also trappers and they carry Distracting Shot, but mostly because they tend to pop up at the most inopportunate moments. Follow a similar procedure as with Drakes, but keep a farther distance between you and the Devourers so as to avoid accidentally aggroing them prematurely. Once your traps are set, hit them with Poison Arrow and run slowly back to your traps. Devourers are less pull-friendly than Drakes so you'll have to give them more time. Do not try to set any more traps unless you are sure the Devourers are blind. It often takes two or more rounds of traps to kill Devourers, so you may wish to simply pick them off with hit-and-run Poison Arrows. A good counter-tactic to Distracting Shot is to start activating Troll Unguent and immediately cancel it by moving - the Devourers will use Distracting Shot and waste it. With a 10 second recharge, you have plenty of time to cast Troll Unguent in peace.

The following can be farmed in Skyward Reach, leave from Augury Rock:


 * Hydra (Dessicated Hydra Claw) - They are very dangerous to farm with this build, but it can still be done. Lay traps safely away from them and then use Poison Arrow. They will always use Meteor or Fireball, so immediately use Storm Chaser and run away. They should still follow. Lead them over the traps - this will cause Crippled. Now it's just a matter of waiting for degen and dodging Fireballs. Don't try to take on more than two at once.


 * Storm Kin (Shriveled Eye) - More dangerous than most but safer than Hydras. Follow the usual procedures, and you should be fine. Counter Conjure Phantasm with Troll Unguent.

The following can be farmed in The Scar, leave from Thirsty River:


 * Dune Burrower (Dune Burrower Jaw) - These are stationary, so with the Flatbow or Longbow you can sometimes take them out without any opposition (try to get a height advantage). Otherwise, just hit them with Poison Arrow and move outside their range. They will try to counter with Healing Spring, just shoot them to disrupt it. There will always be Jade Scarab and/or Rock-Eater Scarab buried nearby, so it may be wise to take them out first.


 * Jade Scarab and Rock-Eater Scarab (Jade Mandible) - These are more fragile than the other monsters and are often killed with the first sets of traps, so treat them like Sand Drakes. Remember that Jade Scarab carry Plague Touch, so try to not let them get within melee range. If they do, though, use Troll Unguent to counter the degeneration.


 * Sand Giant (Massive Jawbone) - These have Plague Touch and are more sturdy than Jade Scarab, so they are a bit tough. They also knockdown with Giant Stomp occasionally. However they are fairly slow so you can generally use hit-and-run tactics after the first wave of traps. They also rely on self-caused Conditions and Plague Touch to transfer them - Crippled from Barbed Trap is very potent against them.

The following can be farmed in Prophet's Path, leave from Augury Rock:


 * Desert Griffon (Iridescent Griffon Wing)- Requires a lot of patience, they use "I Will Survive!" to counter your Conditions. They are often more trouble than they are worth, but if you really need those Griffon Wings this build is a surefire way to get them...eventually. There are of course much more effective Tanking builds that have been made for Griffons especially, but this build can still do them.


 * Minotaur (Minotaur Horn) - These are easy. Follow the same procedure as Drakes, but remember that Minotaurs often run in a patrol route rather than lazing around in one spot.


 * Marrow Scarab and Scarab Nest Builder - for some reason neither of these drop any Collectible Drop, don't bother trying to kill them if you don't have to. They are hard to kill, anyways...Marrow Scarab will use Plague Touch and Virulence to devastating effect, and Scarab Nest Builder have Distracting Shot ready to interrupt Troll Unguent, as well as being Trappers themselves. In the event that comflict is unavoidable, lay down three or even four sets of traps to eliminate the Marrow Scarabs in one go. But stay out of Touch range!


 * Salving Cactus (Spiny Seed) - While it can be hard to find them, they are very easy to farm. They don't move much and always cast Holy Wrath first - so start off with Dust Trap to blind them. After that you can finish them off any way you choose. Note, there are always one or two of these outside Heroes' Audience, beware the Sand Elementals though.

Notes on other creatures:


 * Sand Wurm (Bleached Shell) - Good luck finding one, and good luck soloing it. Not recommended, but it could be done.


 * Enchanted (Forgotten Seal) - They are immune to Poison and Bleeding and can't be farmed with this build.


 * Sand Elemental (Encrusted Lodestone) - Like Enchanted, these are immune to Poison and Bleeding and thus can't be farmed. Besides that, they are very dangerous.

Counters

 * Blind to some extent, though with Antidote Signet or another remedy (see Variants) this is no problem.
 * Crippled, though no monsters in the Desert inflict this condition except the Barbed Traps of Scarab Nest Builders.
 * Sudden spike damage, such as what occurs when facing Sand Elementals. Always use Storm Chaser and run away when in danger!

Variants

 * Oath Shot, Spike Trap, or Trapper's Focus could be used instead of Poison Arrow for a purely Trapping build, though it plays a bit differently from the Posion Arrow one.
 * For farming Minotaurs, Throw Dirt can be a viable skill to replace Toxicity. It will let you set more traps instead of having to run away.
 * Antidote Signet, Mending Touch (R/Mo), and Remedy Signet (R/P) are also excellent skills to consider bringing along. In the event you step on a Dust Trap or Barbed Trap, these will let you counter them effectively. However, this is not too common an occurance, and generally bringing Toxicity will yield a better net effectiveness.
 * Natural Stride is a viable alternative running skill to Storm Chaser if you're not facing enemies that use Hexes.
 * Trapper's Speed is a good skill to consider bringing instead of Toxicity. Activate it just before Serpent's Quickness expires.

Mo/P RC Tahlkora
This is the build I run on all of my Tahlkora heroes. It's an extreme RC monk with a few minor prot skills thrown in. Very effective throughout Nightfall due to the large amount of condition-causing enemies everywhere...less so in Prophecies and Factions.

Equipment

 * Kepkhet's Refuge is ideal.
 * Disciple's Insignias on all armor pieces.

Usage

 * Leave it to Tahlkora.

Counters

 * Much less useful in areas with no Conditions, obviously.
 * Standard Anti-Caster.

Variants

 * As with any Prot monk, consider using Aegis instead of Shielding Hands.
 * Draw Conditions could be useful, providing a self-heal of sorts.

Mo/E WoH Dunkoro
This is the build I currently run on Dunkoro. It has emphasis on cheap, small heals rather than costly spells like Heal Other. Probably I'll change the build once I have access to better Healing elites, but maybe not...WoH is an excellent all-around healing spell, and a great save from sudden damage spikes.

Equipment

 * Any max Healing staff. HCT/HSR is nice.

Usage

 * Leave it to Dunkoro.

Counters

 * Typical anti-caster stuff.

Variants

 * Words of Comfort is good when not used in conjunction with RC Tahlkora.
 * Consider replacing Divine Intervention with Divine Healing or Heal Party, though you will probably need to trigger them manually.
 * Ethereal Light and Healing Whisper are risky but efficient heals that might be useful.

N/Mo Support Caster Olias
This is what I run on my Olias. He's a support caster more than anything else.

Equipment

 * Any max Death-linked staff. HCT/HSR are nice.

Usage

 * Leave it to Olias.
 * Sometimes it's best for you to manually trigger Putrid Explosion while calling a target for Olias, as Olias does not always seem to target the corpse closest to the enemy.
 * Be very careful with Rotting Flesh. Turn it off entirely if you're going to be facing human enemies. Consider replacing it with Verata's Gaze if you are going into an area with enemy Minion Masters.

Counters
Anti-caster stuff, lack of exploitable corpses.

Variants

 * Consider swapping Vengeance with Resurrect. I like Vengeance better because it now provides a damage buff, and also because the target won't suffer more DP if they die while under its effects. Very useful in PvE - someone dies because of a sudden unexpected spike; Olias resurrects them with Vengeance, the battle ends, they die, your monk casts Restore Life. Good skill. If it had a shorter recharge time it would be even better.

A/W Meleesin Zenmai
An annoying meleesin that can deal decent sustained damage and keep up the pressure with some interrupts.

Attributes and Skills
Zenmai is never the last one left alive, so I don't bother giving her a resurrect. Besides, she needs all those skill slots...my Assassin uses Jagged Strike, so no sense causing Bleeding twice.

Equipment

 * Any max 15^50 daggers. Vampiric would be nice.
 * Nightstalker's Insignias on all armor slots.

Usage

 * Leave it to Zenmai.

Counters

 * Blind, Weakness, Cripple, snares...RC Tahlkora takes care of those, though.

Variants

 * None really.

R/Me Annoying Interruptor Jin
I like to have Jin as an interrupt henchmen. It makes the best of the AI's reflexes.

Equipment

 * Works best with a Shortbow.

Usage

 * Leave it to Jin.
 * Jin will spam Barrage liberally any time she's not busy with interrupts.

Counters

 * Blind, Weakness
 * "Shields Up!"

Variants

 * Lightning Reflexes instead of Screaming Shot, if foes won't be susceptible to Bleeding.

The generic build template
Left here so I don't have to copy&paste all the time from the GuildWiki Formatting: Builds page.

Describe the build.

Attributes and Skills

 * Suggest a few optional skill(s) if you included an Optional slot in the skill bar.
 * "Generic resurrect" works like an Optional slot. Replace it if necessary.

Equipment

 * Armor
 * Weapons

Usage
Describe how to use the build.

Counters
Describe important counters.

Variants
List the major variants.