User:Entropy/NFT

The Norn Fighting Tournament

This page contains info on working strategies to win the Tournament, as well as an incomplete but improving list of all the possible opponents and their builds. Please feel free to edit this page, one person alone is not enough to finish this database!

=Post Your Successful Build= Since this is a 1v1 battle (most times), remember that skills like Ebon Dust Aura, Broad Head Arrow, "You're All Alone!", Iron Mist, etc. become much more viable and useful. Also, see Doppleganger. While that battle is a bit different, the concept of 1v1 is the same. Many strategies that work well there, work well here too.

There are many builds that work against Magni, however, because the other foes are somewhat randomized no build is 100% guaranteed to win. Because of this, if you post a winning build, please also try to note the other foes you fought on the way.

W/R Tactics War (derived from anti-melee farming builds)

Max out Tactics, put the rest in Swordsmanship and Strength. Very easy to kill Bison, and works well against most foes in the tournament, if you're patient.Anikulapo 07:59, 25 August 2007 (CDT)

Notes: Mhenlo or Razah
 * Working build
 * Will not beat Danika,
 * To beat Argo you must break aggro when he casts Argo's Cry. He will eventually stop casting this spell if you last long enough.

Working build for Norn Fighting tournament. Mo/N or N/Mo (derived from 55 Hp monk)

Important Notes: - Cynn: interupt Glyph of restoration - Xandra: Do not attack on Vengful weapon - Mhelonni: Interupupt her avatar. - Danika Brutus and sheena: Put Sv on one of the wallows, Use you move like a dwarf on danika when she heals. Keep healing breeze up - Devona: Take out one of her heals, taking down either one will be enough to kill her. - Norgu and Kahmu: Cover protective spirit. - Nika: interupt her Expose Defenses, if you miss it run for your life. - Mhenlo: Leave mending put SV, he will kill himself with 2 wands. - Magni the Bison: Keep his purge signet down, use it enough so when u get knocked down u always have plenty of time before it ends. -Argo: Interupt stoneflesh aura or earth atunement so his mystic regen heals less. - Warmaster Tydus: Watch out for interupts, you might want to knockdown him if u realy need your next skill to go good (eg. healing breeze). Energy can be a problem. -Razah and more oponents that can give u more then 4 hp degen: Keep Healing Breeze up, for the others leave it to save energy. -Old Mac and Joe: If ur good at it dodge broad head arrow wich should be easy, otherwise criple Joe and run to the other side, and SV Mac, when Joe catches up criple him again and switch the side of the arena, if he 's to much in the middle dodging broad head will be easy. You also just can interupt it. -Orion: Or interuupt mark of rotgort or use healing breeze. -The Great Zehtuka: interupt his traps by wanding, if he uses whirling just let him start laying a trap and take a faw steps back, hee 'll eventualy start hitting you with his sword. -The others go down by just putting spoil victor and waiting (i didn 't test the ghostly hero yet Badbybirth 12:49, 26 August 2007 (CDT)

Spirit Spammer on Rit Secondary Keeping the following page updated: Spirit Spammer for Norn Tourney Channeling Magic 12, Communing 10

This build is a build that requires Ritualist secondary...doesn't need rit runes. This build has worked on all opponents I've faced so far including Bison. Basic strategy is plant your spirits just outside agro range then hit the target with painful bond and starting attack them (use a ranged weapon)...the spirits will do most of the work. The build only works on High Energy Professions. Ya need high energy to put down all the spirits, using a staff for extra energy might work. I used in on a ranger by putting the rest of the attribute points into Expertise since it will affect the binding rituals (spirits). You can play around with it and substitute some skills if you don't have Nightfall or don't have high Sunspear Rank (for Vampirism). Basically...lots of damage dealing spirits...combined with painful bond = quick death for most opponents. The only opponents that will give you trouble are those that heal themselves quickly or have a ton of health (Magni). I will be creating a page in my userspace for this build.--Thor79••Talk 16:43, 25 August 2007 (CDT)
 * This hasn't been tested on absolutely all of the opponents but it's worked on: Alesia, Cynn, Devona, Danika, Eve, Gwen, Kahmu, Kilroy, Kisai, Koss, Little Thom, Lo Sha, Lukas, Magni, Melonni, Mhenlo, Morghan, Nika, Norgu, Orion, Panaku, Razah, Sologon, Talon Silverwing, The Great Zehtuka, Vekk, Warmaster Tydus, Xandra, and Zho.

Modified Cripshot, R/any

Expertise 12, Marksmanship 11, Wilderness Survival 12

This build is similar to the ever-popular PvP Cripshot build, with slight modifications. Instead of using Apply Poison, I used Poison Tip Signet. This is due to the fact that battles are "1v1" so you're not "spreading" degen. This also meant I could use Barbed Arrows as a preparation, since you can use it before the match. Anyway, how to use the build:
 * Set a Spirit of Favorable Winds inside the area where you start, so it won't be attacked.
 * If your enemy has to advance to melee range, then set a Dust Trap before you start attacking. Wait to regain Energy.
 * Use Poison Tip Signet -> Barbed Arrows -> Crippling Shot, and Distracting Shot when needed.
 * For foes that don't move such as casters, you can try to use Natural Stride to get into close range and then use Dust Trap. This is a bit risky, though.
 * Kite and heal if necessary by Crippling with Cripshot, and then kiting with Natural Stride and healing through Troll Unguent.
 * Note that this build deals enough damage through degen, and has enough defensive capabilities, to kill most foes through attrition alone. This means that against foes like Eve (who can be beat) the battle will be long but you will win eventually. Be patient.

This build has worked on: Little Thom, Panaku, Lukas, Nika, Devona, Eve, Xandra, Kahmu, Zho, Koss, Cynn, Gwen, Ghostly Hero, Kisai, Lo Sha, Morgahn, Norgu, Orion, Razah, Sogolon, Talon Silverwing, The Great Zehtuka, Vekk, Warmaster Tydus, and Magni the Bison.

Foes that heal through regen only are tough to beat with this build. It can sometimes win against Melonni, but good reflexes are needed - both Avatar of Dwayna and Veil of Thorns need to be interrupted. The same applies for Alesia and to a lesser extent Kilroy - a player must be able to interrupt Healing Breeze for any chance at a win, and that is only after Healing Hands wears off too.

Any others may or may not be beatable, based on luck! (T/C) 21:50, 6 September 2007 (CDT)

this build is the simple oath shot spirit spammer with a few modifications. carries spirits for every situation.
 * before battle cast your spirits from left to right just outside of the enemies agro
 * call whirling defense and pull with oathshot
 * heal with tsungrai as needed.

this build has worked on: Everyone

Something for all Warriors: A variant of Anikulapos' above build, created independently by my alliance leader.

Undying Stance. R/W. Expertise 11+1+2, Marksmanship 12+2, Wilderness Survival 6+1. Elemental Recurve Bow.

Interrupt Magni's Bear Form with Savage Shot, disable Irresistible Blow with Distracting Shot, and use the KD from "You Move Like a Dwarf!" in combination with "On Your Knees!" to repeatedly recharge Lightning Reflexes, while Poison and Bleeding eat away at him. Use Prepared Shot to maintain Energy. This build sports multiple interrupts, Poison, Bleeding, instant Knockdown + Cripple, continuous IAS and blocking capability, and virtually unlimited Energy. Headmaster Vhang is the only non-Magni opponent that is a consistent problem due to his Blinding Flash. Eve can also be dangerous if you fail to interrupt her anti-attack hexes. All others will fall easily. Arshay Duskbrow 01:47, 28 August 2007 (CDT)

Dual Attunement Air Elementalist, Air Magic 12+1+3, Energy Storage 12+x. A Skybringer is handy.

A standard Air build focussing on killing quickly. Before you aggro, cast your Enchantments. AoR is there as a cover, and for sealf-heal against a random hit from Magni. This build worked against most opponents. For Danika: Wear her out a bit, and when she gets BR'd b Brutus, spike Sheena with L Hammer, L Orb. For Magni: Begin with Enchantments and such. Open your attack chain with Blinding Flash. He will immediatly remove it, but that won't matter. Once he is in melee range, your Blinding Flash should be recharged, and thus he won't score a hit. If your Flash is recharged, count to 4 and recast. If you see him casting Purge Signet, or know it's about to come, time a Flash so he had just casted Purge Signet, and is blinded again. If he manages to score a hit, just keep casting, the wounds will heal due to AoR.

Grenth's Beast Master, R/N

Beast Mastery 9+1+1 Expertise 9+1, Curses 10, Marksmanship 8+1

This build combines heavy pet damage through Feral Aggression, while hindering the enmies offensive abilities through Necromancer Curses. This basic strategy is as follows: -Before the fight starts, lock your pets target to your opponent. -When the gate opens, walk out and use Feral Aggression. Your pet should charge the enemy. -If you are fighting a caster, interrupt critical spells and follow up with Enfeeble to reduce their attributes. -If you are fighting a melee opponent, cast Faintheartedness and Enfeeble. They will do much lower damage attack less often. -Tank/Kite while your pet deals hefty damage. If you get low on health, use Grenth's Balance to heal yourself (use just before you die for maximum damage and a bigger heal. -If your pet should die, kite around the arena until you have enough energy to ressurect your pet (do not ressurect against Magni the Bison, this is a waste of energy).

AfroThunder396 00:05, 4 September 2007 (CDT)
 * This build easily beats Cynn, Ghostly Hero, Gwen, Kahmu, Kisai, Koss, Little Thom, Lo Sha, Magni the Bison, Morghan, Nika, Old Mac, Orion, Panaku, Razah, Sogolon, Talon Silverwing, The Great Zehtuka, Vekk, Xandra, and Zho.
 * This build is difficult, but possible to beat Danika, Devona, Eve, Melonni, Norgu, and Warmaster Tydus.
 * This build cannot beat Alesia, Argo, Headmaster Vhang, and Kilroy.
 * This build has not been tested against Lukas, Mhenlo, and Palawa Joko.

Personal favorite -- 55 Necrosis/SV

For a 55/105 Mo/N (probably a N/Mo, too), this works about 95% of the time.

For more information on using this build against EVERY FOE and some general tips, I made a very long, very pretty build page: User:The_Goron/Builds/SV_Invincimonk_Against_Magni

Your page helped immensely, Entropy :P

Feedback is appreciated! The Goron 02:35, 1 September 2007 (CDT)

Spirit Spam Varient Any/Rt This is a varient of the Spirit Spam method, and like its predecessor, requires only a high energy-regen primary.

When the gate opens, step into the spot where it was and set up your spirits BEING SURE NOT TO ENTER THE ARENA. Once your spirits are set up, step into the arena and the gate will close. You should have enough energy to use Brutal Weapon on yourself, and in a few moments you should have enough for Ursan Blessing as well. Your foe will come to you, and your spirits will begin attacking. Attack using your ursan skills, and your foe will be defeated in moments!

=Know Thine Enemy=

Magni the Bison
L28 W/Mo Hammer Warrior

Strategy: Blind, Cripple + degen. Has no self-heal and breaks aggro fairly easily, exploit this by kiting. Things like Mist Form and Shadow Form are also totally viable.

Notes: Bear Form gives a huge Health bonus and causes Magni to deal 25% more damage on top of his already very strong normal attacks. It has a huge cooldown time of 120 seconds, so interrupting it makes the battle much easier.

Alesia
L20 Mo/W Mowwa?

Strategy: Only a threat to builds that rely on killing through degen alone, and maybe Trappers too.

Notes: Alesia is finally "Tank Girl", lol?

Argo
L20 E/D Terra-Tank

Strategy: Stoneflesh Aura and Sliver Armor are your only real threats. Low overall damage output, selfheal is not very effective. Daze works great. And remember not to stand around in Sandstorm or the Argo's Cry meteors; that is about the only way Argo could ever kill someone.

Notes: Argo is a Fire Nuker as a hench or NPC. Argo's Cry is a Monster skill that has a similar effect to Meteor Shower.

Cynn
L20 E/? PBAoE Fire Nuker

Strategy: Snare or Cripple, since Cynn must get to close range. Or Daze. Because of Aftercast, melee characters should still be fine.

Danika, Brutus, and Sheena
L20 Mo/? Healer, L10 N/? Necromancers

Strategy: You must kill Danika to win. Killing either or both of her pets does not end the fight (although you can cause Danika to waste Energy trying to heal them, or perhaps use Scourge Healing). She is a straight Healing instead of Prot monk, so it should be easy to overpower her. Note, she will automatically advance to the center of the ring even if not aggroed, so be cautious.

Devona
L20 W/A Defensive Hammer

Strategy: Most typical anti-melee stuff works fine, but the addition of the Assassin secondary skills makes Devona a bit more resilient than usual. Watch out for Backbreaker if you're playing a DPS or degen build...otherwise, she is usually dead before gaining 10 Adrenaline.

Because of her 3 self-heals and slow attack rate, a 55 Spoil Victor necro might have trouble defeating her. Put some points into Curses and bring Insidious Parasite to maximize the damage Devona takes from each of her few attacks.

Eve
L20 N/Me SS Necromancer

Strategy: She's set up as anti-melee for the most part, and will completely decimate anyone with a high attack speed and lack of hex removal. Her hexes do minimal damage and degeneration on their own though, so any caster should have little trouble. Waiting until she runs low on energy can work as well, if melee is your main source of damage; her damage is entirely based on your actions, so simply sitting still and healing will cause her spells to be wasted.

Ghostly Hero
L20 W/R (probably) Guild Lord-type build

Strategy: Mainly just annoying with all his Interrupts. Doesn't deal much damage. Strafe to avoid his arrows. Should not be a problem for anyone, especially if you carry anti-melee stuff. Note that the usage of an Axe or Bow depends on how close you get to him, just like with the Doppleganger.

Notes: He is non-fleshy, and unaffected by Bleeding and Poison. But, is he "Undead" or affected by "Deathbane" mod?

Gwen
L20 Me/? Blind and Pressure

Strategy: If you're a weapons user, you had better carry Condition removal or have good interrupt reflexes. Otherwise, Signet of Midnight will keep you permanently Blinded. Alternatively, use Snare or Cripple - Signet of Midnight is touch range. Gwen is no threat at all to caster foes.

Palawa Joko and 2 Joko's minions
L20 N/? Unknown, L10 ?/? Unknown

Strategy: Ignore the minions; killing them does not end the match. Focus on Joko! (Skillbar not known at this time, seems to be an exceptionally rare encounter)

Notes: Sometimes, after beating it for the first time, Palawa is the final enemy in the Tournament rather than Magni the Bison. The mechanics behind this are unknown. Also: need a profession and skills check for Minions.

Headmaster Vhang
L20 E/D Aeromancer

Strategy: If you use a weapon, bring some way to counter Blind as you'll probably not be able to interrupt Blinding Flash without Daze or similar. Otherwise, no challenge at all. Though his skillset can do considerable damage in human hands, Vhang seems to either have very poor caster AI or a lower than usual rank in Air Magic.

Kahmu
L20 D/? Avatar of Balthazar

Strategy: He's pretty vulnerable without his Form and it is easy to Interrupt. If for some reason you can't take an Interrupt, then take anti-melee. He has no serious self-heal so you can do degen and stuff too.

Notes: Kahmu will be automatically recruited as a Hero if you beat him.

Kilroy
L20 W/Mo Leeroy Jenkins!

Strategy: Kilroy is your typical "Wammo" build, but the addition of his special Shout makes him a bit deadly. However, since he has Frenzy and Healing Signet, you should still have plenty of opportunities to kill him. Healing Hands works best against multiple low-damage hits, so try to cast Spells or use Attack Skills whenever possible instead of regular auto-attacks and wanding.

Notes: It's been theorized that Kilroy was originally designed to mimic the "Leeroy Jenkins" phenomenon, with his quest in Sorrow's Furnace. This just makes the connection more clear.

Kisai
L20 E/? Aeromancer

Strategy: The only skill that is a bit dangerous is Glimmering Mark for weapons-users, make sure to bring a Hex removal or Interrupt it. Daze and anti-caster works fine.

Koss
L20 W/E Shock Axe

Strategy: Koss runs the ever-popular PvP build, Shock Axe. He is somewhat dangerous to Weapons users and builds that rely on slow kills through degen. Any typical anti-melee, such as Snare, Cripple, Blind, etc. should still work though.

Little Thom
L20 W/E Hamstorm

Strategy: Little Thom always seems to start off fights with GoLE -> BoF -> FS. Take advantage of this with your own AoE or just simple kiting. Hamstorm is a weak build in all cases so there should be no problems.

Lo Sha
L20 Me/? Degen Hexer

Strategy: Lo Sha deals almost all his damage through degen, and normal Hex removal is useless due to all his many Hexes. However, if you just focus on a high damage output you should be able to kill him before he kills you.

Lukas
L20 W/? Tanker

Strategy: Lukas is slightly annoying with all his Blocking skills, but lacks consistent damage output or strong self-heal. Unblockable skills will circumvent his defenses, and blinding him or blocking his attacks will make it hard for him to charge adrenaline. Also, since Riposte and Deadly Riposte only work if you attack in melee, Warriors might consider switching to a Wand to gain Adrenaline and then going back to their other weapon. Casters and ranged attackers should have no problems whatsoever.

Melonni
L20 D/? Avatar of Dwayna

Strategy: Extremely resilient; Avatar of Dwayna fends off Hexes, Armor of Sanctity+Veil of Thorns gives a large base damage reduction, and Mystic Regeneration gives strong self-healing. Make sure to interrupt at least one of these; otherwise, unless you're doing Lifesteal or have huge damage output, it is unlikely for you to win.

Notes: Trappers should be careful not to attack Melonni when she has Veil of Thorns up. Combined with Armor of Sanctity, it reduces all Trap damage to nearly 0, rendering you totally ineffective.

Mhenlo
L20 Mo/? 55

Strategy: Facing a 55 in solo combat is a daunting task for the unprepared. You could try E-Denial, Enchant stripping (try Gaze of Contempt), or some other build that doesn't need to attack Mhenlo and thus won't let him 55 effectively. On the other hand, since Shield of Judgment is his only real damage, you can just wait for it to wear off before attacking. Lifesteal also works wonders - a single usage of Vampiric Gaze, Vampiric Assault, Vampiric Touch, etc. works wonders.

It appears that Mhenlo doesn't always use Healing Breeze as a normal heal as he should. This needs more testing.

Notes: There is some debate as to whether Mhenlo even uses Prot Spirit or not, or even if maybe he has Protective Bond. People who have fought Mhenlo in long battles have not observed him to use the spell; others have had their damage reduced to 5, implying an inherent Prot Spirit effect. Sometimes, right at the start of battle he already seems to have Prot Spirit up; other times, he can be killed in one or two hits easily. Protective Bond can be kept up indefinitely but Protective Spirit cannot. It has also been speculated that perhaps Mhenlo has a special Monster Skill, like Argo's Cry, that gives him permanent Prot Spirit effects with no downtime. Further testing is needed to resolve this mystery.

One person on the talkpage for The Norn Fighting Tournament reported that Mhenlo cast Protective Spirit on them after the battle. Another has positively reported seeing him cast it at the start of battle. For lack of better confirmation or denial, that will serve as good enough proof for now (even without screenshot).

There have even been rumors of Mhenlo having a Ranger secondary, but this has not been proved by any means yet.

Morgahn
L20 P/R Degen

Strategy: In addition to moderate damage, Morgahn can deal out many Conditions. The best strategy would be to use some sort of Blocking skill, or just typical anti-weapons. Troll Unguent is also a great weakness on him, giving a full three-second respite for your own self-heals or attacks.

Nika
L20 A/? Hex-chain Shatter Sin

Strategy: Don't rely too much on Blocking or Kiting. Alternatively, Nika's combo is not too hard to disrupt with a quick Hex removal. Cripple and Snares work well too.

Norgu
L20 Me/? Generic Mesmer

Strategy: Most of Norgu's damage comes from Empathy or Backfire, and Visions of Regret can be ignored entirely. You can remove these Hexes or Interrupt them as they have relatively long casting times, and Norgu doesn't seem to invest in Fast Casting. With only Ether Feast, Norgu's self-healing is limited. If you don't attack or cast at Norgu, he can barely damage you (excepting Wastrel's Demise). If you have a self-heal you can simply out-last him in attrition.

Old Mac and Joe
L20 W/? and L20 R/?

Strategy: Joe's BHA spells trouble for casters, and Old Mac's Wild Blow spells trouble for Blocking tanks. However, with a bit of luck BHA can be dodged by strafing, and Wild Blow can be interrupted. Note that killing either Mac or Joe will end the match; pick based on what build you're running (i.e. an Elementalist should go for Old Mac, since Rangers have higher AL to Elemental damage, etc).

Orion
L20 E/? Fire DPS

Strategy: None needed. Even a DPS/degen build should be able to out-damage Orion, since he has no serious self-heal. Since he spams Flare continuously, Backfire and such works exceedingly well. Even removing Mark of Rodgort renders him almost powerless.

Panaku
L20 A/? Moebius-Blossom Spammer

Strategy: Unlike the usual Panaku, this version doesn't have a Shadow Step. His skills make a fairly strong offensive combo, so it might be a good idea to use Blocking, Blind, kite, etc. Plague Touch can ruin Panaku's day, too.

Notes: Panaku shows up on the Luxon side. However, Moebius Strike can only be gotten on the Kurzick side, and only after Befriending the Kurzicks. This is somewhat strange. It would make more sense if Panaku and Nika switched builds. Although, it is some years between Factions and EotN, so that might also explain things.

Razah
L20 Rt/? Spirit Spammer

Strategy: None needed. Razah doesn't start summoning his Spirits until you actually get into aggro range. This leaves him extremely vulnerable to just about anything. His only possibly threatening skill is Doom, but it tops out at 130 damage anyways. Only an opposing Spirit Spammer might have trouble, or a Trapper.

Sogolon
L20 P/W Defensive Spear

Strategy: Paras and Rangers should beware of Shields Up, otherwise, not a challenge. No decent self-heal, Empathy and such kill quick.

Talon Silverwing
L20 W/? Sword warrior

Strategy: Relies heavily on Adrenaline, so consider something like Soothing Images. Interrupt Healing Signet and you should be fine. Overall damage isn't too high in any case.

The Great Zehtuka
L20 R/Me Fragility Trapper

Strategy: Just attack him for an easy kill...even a Wanding Monk could kill Zehtuka. Does not seem to activate Whirling Defense very often, and Trapper's Speed will cancel it anyways. It is easy enough to just kite away...the arena is large enough that Zehtuka can use all his traps without you setting off even one of them. Even if you do, if you have any decent self-heal you should easily outlast Zehtuka; he deals nearly no damage in melee.

Notes: Having Zehtuka's Great Horn in your inventory causes a special Win situation: Zehtuka will take it from you upon your victory and give you a Zehtuka's Horn instead.

Vekk
L20 E/? Water Spiker

Strategy: Damage output is moderate but shouldn't be a problem for most builds, except for perhaps Blurred Vision on someone with no Hex removal. Doesn't seem to have a self-heal either. Anything like Backfire makes a quick kill.

Warmaster Tydus
L20 R/? Burning Arrow

Strategy: Tydus hits fairly hard, causes many Conditions, and interrupts like mad. However, any sort of defensive Stance or stuff should cripple his offense, and Troll Unguent alone shouldn't be able to out-heal you. Tydus doesn't use a Shortbow, so his Screaming Shot won't cause Bleeding sometimes.

Notes: In Pre-Searing Tydus was a Warrior; in Post-Searing Ascalon City, he seems to be a Ranger. This would seem to be a profession switch, but he does not seem to be W/R or even R/W.

Xandra
L20 Rt/?

Strategy: Xandra uses a basic Channeling Magic build, but also has fair Healing capabilities. Neither of her Healing skills are easy to interrupt, too. Rangers might have some trouble out-damaging her without placing their own lives in danger. So, be sure to bring an IAS or some strong offense to counteract the generally lower damage of a Bow. Or just take a good self-heal.

Notes: Xandra will be recruited as a Hero after you defeat her.

Zho and Onyx
L20 R/W Thumper, L20 R/? Black Moa

Strategy: None needed, Onyx deals low damage. In most cases it's safer to ignore the pet and go after Zho first, especially since she will resurrect Onyx if he is killed. Even with RaO she does not deal too much damage, and Troll Unguent isn't a great self-heal for her since she has to be in melee range.

Notes: It's ironic that Onyx is a Black Moa, since Zho lost her eye to a Black Moa. Though with the official release, all is explained in Zho's Journal, which you will receive after defeating her.