User talk:Zaq

So. I'm Zaq. I'm much more heavily into PvE than PvP, though I'm trying to get more involved with Heroes' Ascent. I've been playing since August 2005, less a one-month hiatus in January 06. My characters, in chronological order:

Zaq The Controller

Mesmer/any (I have and use skills from every secondary profession except D and P).

Notable achievements: Skill Hunter title, spent over 350 skill points and counting, working on FoW armor (have the tunic and I'm halfway to the pants).

Favorite builds: Interrupter, no-Domination Energy Denial, Fast Casting/Mantra of Recovery Curses

What bothers me on this character: General mesmer hate (getting groups as a mesmer is... less than easy), the assumption that Backfire and Empathy are staples on my bar (I use neither, there's no challenge).

All High King Korg

Necromancer/Monk

Notable Achievements: solo-healing UW with reasonable success

Favorite builds: Soul Reaping healer, Soul Reaping protector, Soul Reaping smiter, Vampiric Spirit close-range soul-sucker

What bothers me on this character: The assumption that all necros are either "MM or SS." If I join a group and the first thing I see is "Korg, are you MM or SS?" I just leave.

Kulka Sheendo Dak

Elementalist/Ranger, considering switching to Elementalist/Assassin

Notable Achievements: Ascending at level 14 (first time I'd ascended at less than 20), solo tanking UW, completing THK without a healer.

Favorite Builds: Geotank, Ether Renewal fire user, Earth-protected Starburster

What bothers me on this character: Warriors who don't understand that a geotank can indeed take aggro, groups who don't let me "tune up" and cast my enchantments (attunements and otherwise) before starting a fight.

Overture Tannhauser

Ranger/Ritualist

Notable Achievements: Um, not many really.

Favorite Builds: Beastmaster, offensive spirit spammer, defensive spirit spammer, Glass Arrows spiker, Quick Shot machine-gun.

What bothers me on this character: The presumption that I use Barrage. I hate Barrage. I don't like being assigned the role of "interrupter." Rangers, in my honest opinion, make lousy interrupters compared to a halfway decent mesmer (There's no way you can defend an interrupt of 1/2s + flight time vs. one that's 1/4s - fast casting. Not to mention that mesmer interrupts are far more versatile, more devastating, and take more skill.), and I don't like abetting the notion that a ranger is any kind of substitute for a proper mesmer.

Lanyx Cadell

Assassin/Warrior

Notable Achievements: solo tanking Shiro in Gates of Madness, defeating Varesh in under five minutes by keeping her on the ground constantly.

Favorite Builds: Anything Moebius Strike (particularly with Horns; which is the only time, incidentally, I use Horns); Shattering Assault/Blades of Steel; really long, over-complex (seven or eight-step) attack chains that don't actually work but are good for a laugh.

What bothers me on this character: General assassin hate (not as bad as mesmer hate but it's still frustrating), enemies that die too fast for me to finish a combo, people who A) get mad when I stay in the fray but B) also get mad when I retreat.

Agram Eliwan

Ritualist/Ranger or Ritualist/Necromancer

Notable Achievements: Doing the highest damage of anyone in the group when we fought Shiro in Imperial Sanctum

Favorite Builds: Rit-with-a-bow (Spirit's Strength, bitches), offensive spirit spammer, Explosive MM (Explosive Growth + Jagged Bones = fun), Channeling-based weapon spell spammer.

What bothers me on this character: Being presumed to be a standard "Rit Lord" (only job more boring than life bonder or barrager), actually BEING a standard "Rit Lord," groups who don't wait for me to cast my spirits, groups who run away from my spirits.

Roger Strag

Warrior/Paragon

Notable Achievements: Survivor title (which I got as a joke. Any warrior who looks out for their own safety over the safety of the group is not the kind of guy, or girl, you want on your team. A warrior should be the first in and last out, life or death be damned. Sadly, few people seem to see the humor in my title.)

Favorite Builds: Steady Stance user, Build:W/any Ntouka's Sword

What bothers me on this character: The fact that I'm not really that good at being a warrior.