User:Hyperion`/Saved Builds 2

= R/any General Barrager =

Attributes and skills
The base is below but to give a more detailed description of the attributes, the highest score is always in Marksmanship (often maxed at 16 but other times it can be as low as 12 depending on the secondary profession used - see below), 9 or 14 ranks in Expertise to effect 10 energy skills primarily (or 8 or 13 if all skills used are 5 energy), and Wilderness Survival is good at 8 or 10 for the use of Troll Unguent or to switch out for secondary profession skill ranks.


 * *  The above attributes are a good baseline to work with and can be adjusted as playstyle/preference allows. 

 Common Core Barrage baseline:  

Equipment

 * Any armor can be used though Druid's is best if energy is lacking. Scout's is a poor choice as preparations will not be used in a Barrage build.
 * A Flatbow is commonly used in a barrage build provided Favorable Winds is brought as well to lessen the large arrow arc from a Flatbow and to help speed the arrows to their targets. Otherwise, each bow has it's own ups and downs but can be used as preffered.
 * Vampiric or Zealous bow strings are used a lot in Barrage builds as you get multiple hits per shot (provided the build doesn't call for an elemental string) though a Sundering string is a good stand by if you don't want to worry about the degen or makes a good switch out weapon.

Usage

 * The function of a barrage build varies slightly but the overall effect is to do damage to a group of foes with each use. Therefore, attacking the central most target in a group is desired for the best effect rather than the closest.
 * Placement of any spirits before hand is key as they usually increase the damage and speed the arrows fly at. Be sure to place them where they will be effective yet not attacked by enemies.
 * Often, interrupt skills are brought along to take out any big skills or those that might hurt you like Meteor Shower or Resurrect as examples of big skills or Empathy and Spiteful Spirit as examples of skills that can seriously hinder or hurt you. Be aware that you will have to wait for the barrage animation to finish before the interrupt will fire.
 * Some sort of self heal, condition removal (primarily for blindness), or defensive stance is popular as well though not required.

Counters

 * Any standard melee/ranger counters such as blindness, on attack/hit hexes, and/or blocking.
 * Energy denial.

Variants

 * Support or damage enhancing skills often brought from the ranger skill line may include but are not limited to:
 * Throw Dirt as an emergency skill to blind foes attacking you or your allies.
 * Winnowing to add 4 damage to each arrow.
 * Conflagration to change your bow's damage type to fire damage.
 * Winter to change any elemental damage to cold damage.

Barrage/Pet Variant


 * Adding a pet to the build with then turn you into what is referred to as a B/P ranger. Pet attacks will not slow your rate of fire as they are all shouts.  Often, a team will consist mostly of these creating a pet wall and multiple barragers, or just have one around.  Multiple variants can be found for this at Build:Team - Barrage/Pet (Tomb Ruins).

R/Warrior

 * Attributes levels usually are in Tactics and at around 8-9 ranks should do it in most cases.
 * Shouts can be used without interrupting the fire rate flow thus making them useful and often charged with the high adrenaline gain from barrage if they are adrenaline based.
 * "Watch Yourself!" charges quickly and can increase the party's AL without any cast time. This also combines well with Soldier's Defense.
 * "Fear Me!" can be used repeatedly to reduce the enemy's energy levels though this typically has a minor effect if any on an enemy's seemingly limitless energy pool.
 * "Shields Up!" can be used to reduce the damage your party members take from projectiles.


 * Healing Signet can be used as an alternate, energy free, though risky heal.
 * Protector's Defense can be used to help those near you as you often will not move while barraging.

R/Monk
Solo Vigorous Barrager

Use: Cast and maintain Live Vicariously. Before battle put up Symbiosis to gain the extra health it offers from enchantments. When entering a battle, cast Vigorous Spirit. When enemies start to pile up, use Barrage to take full advantage of the healing provided by a vampiric bow, Live Vicariously, and Vigorous Spirit.

Other skills:
 * Attributes levels usually are in Healing Prayers, Smiting Prayers, Protection Prayers, or none at all depending on what is taken/used and typically at around 8-9 ranks in only one of those areas should do it in most cases. Ranks in Wilderness Survival are usually sacrificed as healing from Trolls Unguent is often replaced with other skills.  If Symbiosis is used just use whatever remaining ranks are left but no more than 8-9 ranks in Beastmastery at most.
 * Live Vicariously will return health to you for every creature hit which can be up to 6 per Barrage. Commonly used for soloing areas.
 * Vigorous Spirit will behave similar to Live Vicariously but without the drain on energy regen.
 * Single target heal spells or healing enchantments can replace Troll Unguent as a self heal that can also be used on others. Healing Touch is an example skill that can be used as it's cost is reduced with ranks of expertise though it gains no benefit from Divine Favor with a Ranger primary.
 * Judge's Insight to add Armor penetration to each arrow and typically defeat masses of the undead or others weak to holy damage.
 * Mending Touch to remove blindness or other conditions.
 * Watchful Spirit will sap your energy regen but provide +2 health regen with no needed attribute points spent.
 * Renew Life and Restore Life's costs are reduced by ranks in expertise making them decent resurrects to exchange for the Resurrect Signet. Otherwise, there are plenty of reusable resurrection skills in the monks repertoire.
 * Balthazar's Spirit or Essence Bond are usually used when soloing as you will be the sole recipient of damage and will often return massive amounts of energy.
 * Hex removal skills like Smite Hex or Holy Veil can help eliminate damage from on attack/hit hexes like Spiteful Spirit, Empathy, or others.
 * Symbiosis can be useful if using multiple enchants on yourself or others in your party.

R/Necromancer

 * Attribute level of Death Magic, Blood Magic, or Curses is usually at around 8-9 ranks in most cases if at all.
 * Many skills can be used to replace a self heal that either give you health, steal health, or exploit a corpse for health.
 * Order of Pain will help add damage to every attack but for a very limited time. This is best left to another party member (who can also use Order of the Vampire) that can achieve higher attribute levels as it will slow your rate of fire and eat up your energy if you cast it.
 * Mark of Pain may cause scatter but can be most useful in narrow passages.
 * Plague Touch's cost is reduced with ranks of expertise and can be used to transfer any conditions from yourself with limited success as it is restricted to touch range.
 * Many Necromancer skills can benefit a Barrager but usually they need to be cast by another party member that is dedicated to that role.

R/Mesmer

 * Attribute level of Inspiration Magic, Domination Magic, or Illusion Magic is usually at around 8-9 ranks in most cases if at all.
 * Interrupts like Leech Signet can be used to add to or replace bow interrupts.
 * Hex removal skills are available like Hex Breaker or Inspired Hex.
 * Distortion can be used with limited results as a temporary defensive stance.
 * Energy management skills are available mostly from the Inspiration line.
 * Ether Feast can be used as a self heal.
 * Elemental Resistance, Physical Resistance, or any of the mantras can be used as a replacement for a defensive stance depending on the areas you may be in.
 * Arcane Mimicry can be used to make use of another party member's Elite skill in combination with yours without spending any attribute points in a Mesmer attribute line.

R/Elementalist
Fiery Barrager

Use: Use the Glyph to reduce spell costs and cast Conjure Flame on yourself and Mark of Rodgort on your central most target. Fire a fiery bow using Barrage and you can keep the hexed targets burning. Some may prefer to use Fire Attunement instead of the Glyph to reduce energy costs.

Other Skills:
 * Attribute level of Fire Magic, Water Magic, or Earth Magic usually start at around 8 to as high as 12 ranks in most cases if at all.
 * Any Conjure skill with the appropriate bow string can add damage to each barrage.
 * Stone Striker should NOT be used, as it will convert your attacks to earth damage, which will mean that your attacks will no longer trigger Conjure Flame or Mark of Rodgort, even if you have a fire bow, as Stone Striker overrides the normal damage type.
 * If you wish to still have the benefits of a Vampiric, Zealous, or Sundering bowstring, you must bring Conflagration to convert your arrows to fire, so they can still trigger Conjure Flame and Mark of Rodgort.
 * Multiple Earth Magic or Water Magic skills can be used for defensive options such as Stoneflesh Aura, Armor of Frost, or many of the different Wards.
 * Though less popular and very energy intensive, Glyph of Lesser Energy and Meteor Shower (which causes exhaustion) can be used together to add repeated damage and knock downs on your targets, preventing them from escaping your Barrage area.
 * Similar to the Meteor Shower combo, Deep Freeze can be used for a large slow down effect on your foes and no exhaustion though this is uncommon as well.
 * If using 2 or more enchantments on yourself Symbiosis becomes a viable option as listed under R/Mo above.

R/Assassin

 * Attribute level of Deadly Arts or Shadow Arts is usually at around 8-9 ranks in most cases if at all.
 * Caltrops can be used to slow your targets though it requires a closer range.
 * Shadow Refuge makes a good self heal.
 * Viper's Defense and other stances can be used for defensive options.
 * Way of Perfection can add healing with high ranks in Marksmanship and a lot of targets with minimal energy spent (similar to Vigorous Spirit as seen above but relies on criticals for health return) though it performs best if there is a Paragon in your party using "Go for the Eyes!" to drastically increase chances of critical hits.

R/Ritualist
Splinter Barrager

Use: Same as the usual barrage build but cast Splinter Weapon on yourself (or allies as time allows) and be sure to target a group of foes. Recast as needed and as foes are available. Especially good in tight passages.

Other Skills:
 * Attribute level of Channeling Magic, Restoration Magic, or Communing is usually at around 8 to as high as 12 ranks in most cases if at all and often means the reduction of ranks in Marksmanship though only slightly.
 * Nightmare Weapon can be useful for stealing health on up to 3 enemies hit per casting.
 * Wailing Weapon can add interruption to a mass of attacking foes for the entire duration.
 * Warmonger's Weapon can add interruption to a mass of non-attacking foes for the entire duration.
 * Brutal Weapon can add damage to every arrow provided they aren't enchanted. This can be very tricky as many healers will enchant the entire group or those damaged and may ruin this weapon spell unintentionally.
 * Guided Weapon can make your Barrages unblockable.
 * Vital Weapon can add to your maximum health and others in the party.
 * Wielder's Boon can be a useful self heal if under a Weapon Spell effect.
 * Spirit Rift can be used as a spiking skill add-on if timed properly and especially effective when combined with Splinter Weapon. Cast Splinter Weapon, Spirit Rift, then Barrage and it all hits about the same time.  Drawbacks include energy cost, casting time, and the enemy may move from where the Spirit Rift appears.


 * Spirits: Often a R/Rt may also bring a spirit to add more damage or healing as the case may allow (also taking advantage of the cost reduction Expertise allows) though this rarely will enhance Barrage in any way but simply takes advantage of the party make-up. Expendable spirits (like Life or Destruction that give an effect when they expire) tend to make a good defensive "shield" of sorts to hide behind should you come under attack as well.  The most commonly brought are:
 * Recuperation to add health regen in spirit range to all things friendly - especially good for groups with multiple pets, minions, and/or large groups of players and/or friendly NPC's.
 * Life to add cheap healing in spirit range to all things friendly and a "shield".
 * Destruction to add cheap damage in spirit range to all things unfriendly and a "shield".
 * Bloodsong to add a cheap attacker and possible "shield" that can steal health though less common.
 * Pain to add a cheap attacker and possible "shield" that does a little more damage than Bloodsong but can't heal itself though also less common.

R/Paragon
'''"Go for the Eyes!" Barrager

Use: Same as the usual barrage build but spam "Go for the Eyes!" and "Find Their Weakness!" together as they charge to do critical hits to your targets and deep wound to one of your targets as well as add crits to the targets of those in your party that are effected. "Find Their Weakness!" only affects one ally and the first critical hit though so it is usually the skill to change out for others listed below.

Other Skills:
 * Attribute level of Command or Motivation is usually at around 8-9 ranks in most cases if at all.
 * Shouts can be used without interrupting the fire rate flow thus making them useful and often charged with the high adrenaline gain from barrage if they are adrenaline based.
 * "Never Give Up!" can add energy to an unhealthy party.
 * "Never Surrender!" to add health regen to an unhealthy party.
 * "Stand Your Ground!" to add armor to your party while not moving.


 * Many motivation skills can be used for party health, energy, defense and more though they don't benefit more from use with barrage unless adrenal based.
 * Anthem of Envy can add some minor damage at the easy cost of adrenaline.
 * Bladeturn Refrain can be used to add defense to yourself or others and last a long time if using other chants or shouts allowing you to cover the party or at least multiple members.
 * Song of Concentration and Hexbreaker Aria can both be charged quickly though will slow you down with the long cast times.  They will still benefit the group with less interruption or hex removal though.
 * Chorus of Restoration or Energizing Chorus can be quickly charged and used for energy or health management on yourself or others that meet the conditions.
 * Remedy Signet is a good condition removal skill.

R/Dervish

 * Attribute level of Earth Prayers or Wind Prayers is usually at around 8-9 ranks in most cases if at all.
 * Dust Cloak or Staggering Force can be used to change your weapon damage type to earth damage.(do not use if you are working with an orders necromancer)
 * Heart of Holy Flame can be used to change your weapon damage type to holy damage.(do not use if you are working with an orders necromancer)
 * Grenth's Fingers can be used to change your weapon damage type to cold damage.(do not use if you are working with an orders necromancer)
 * Zealous Renewal can be used for energy management.
 * Harrier's Grasp to cripple your targets.
 * Harrier's Haste may add some damage to moving foes but works better with Harrier's Grasp.

Barrage in other primary professions:

 * Barrage isn't limited to Ranger primaries and other professions can make good use of the skill. Many will make good use of their primary attribute skill line in combination which Ranger's can't (at least not as effectively with zero ranks).

= R/any General Interrupter =

Attributes and skills

 * *  The above attributes are a good baseline to work with and can be adjusted as playstyle/preference allows. 

Hard interrupts (Prophecies/Nightfall):

Daze with cover conditions (Factions):

Spamming (Prophecies):


 * Optional skill slot can include: Concussion Shot, Pin Down, Screaming Shot, Hunter's Shot, Throw Dirt, Serpent's Quickness, Seeking Arrows, or Antidote Signet (or any condition removal skill from another profession).

Equipment

 * Any armor can be used though Druid's is best if energy is lacking.
 * A Recurve Bow is best for interrupting in general with the faster flight time though others can be used in combination with Read the Wind.
 * A Shortbow or Flatbow is recommended if you are in need of a faster firing weapon to interrupt more often (when target is dazed or using Choking Gas for example) or just as a switchout weapon.
 * For any build that inflicts a condition (like dazed or poison) a bow string of it's respective condition (like silencing or poisonous) is suggested to lengthen the desired condition.

Usage

 * The function of these builds depends heavily on the party and environment, and thus the player should be observing his team as well as the enemy the first few moments.
 * If the team seems to be lacking the healing power needed, one should go for interrupting high-damage enemy spells/skills first.
 * If the team seems to be lacking sheer power, go for healers first.
 * If the party is in need of specific enemies interrupted be aware of any targets being called or requested by your team leader.


 * After using the build for a while and getting more comfortable with interrupting, all of the above points should be able to be achieved with the use of Distracting Shot. Disabling an enemy healer's main heal (knowledge of common skill recharges always helps) while also taking care of long-casting spells (perfect example: Meteor Shower or resurrection skills) is the main idea of these builds.
 * Often if you daze a target that is being attacked by others you can then interrupt a second target with your remaining hard interrupts (Savage/Distracting Shot).
 * Dazing a caster boss will often shorten the time the condition lasts but will spell doom for this enemy as they usually will only have spells and will be defeated with minor to no resistance while this effect is in place. As monk bosses in PvE seem to take the longest to defeat this condition can save the party a lot of time and effort in the long run if prepared for it though it is more frequently removed in certain areas, cover conditions can help prevent this.
 * If using Choking Gas and Practiced Stance it's often a good idea to bring an IAS as you want to fire as often as possible with every shot being a potential interrupt. This will also interrupt in a small area and interrupt while blinded (as the gas does the interrupting and not you hitting the target) but it will not interrupt non-spell skills, thus a minimum of one other hard interrupt is recommended to be brought along.

Counters

 * Any standard melee/ranger counters such as blindness, on attack/hit hexes, and/or evasion/blocking (though variants listed below can counter all of these downfalls).
 * Energy denial.

Variants
Optional skills: 
 * Hunter's Shot/Screaming Shot for a cover condition or added degen.
 * Concussion Shot for an additional spell interrupt or daze effect.
 * Pin Down to help land Broad Head Arrow, prevent the target from fleeing, or a cover condition.
 * Throw Dirt to blind melee foes that find their way to you or those in trouble near you.
 * Antidote Signet primarily to remove blindness (unless using the Choking Gas variant, then it isn't needed) though at times to remove poison and disease as well. It can also be replaced by secondary profession skills (like Mending Touch or Remedy Signet).
 * Serpent's Quickness to rapidly have interrupts/daze attacks available.
 * Seeking Arrows to hit an enemy that is evading/blocking your attacks.

As a R/Me:
 * Any other defensive/running stance to replace Whirling Defense, best option is Dryder's Defenses, as it also gives elemental armor though Lightning Reflexes can boost your interrupt rate temporarily if the target is dazed or if you are using Choking Gas.
 * A running stance to replace a skill for more survivability. Dodge/Zojun's Haste in missions/quests to prevent a wipe or to get to a destination fast or escape if the need arises.
 * Natural Stride can be substituted as a hybrid of a defensive stance and a running stance to get a little of each of the two above options.
 * If attacking a dazed target or using Choking Gas, Needling Shot can often shutdown a target if their health is below 50%, or using an IAS (such as Bestial Fury/Tiger's Fury, Frenzy, Flurry, or others) can increase your interrupt rate.
 * Adding a pet to the build can then activate the interrupts for you from the daze effect (if being used) allowing similar results as above without relying on your party to target either of your two targets (best with Broad Head Arrow or Concussion Shot) or just to add more interrupts on the one dazed target.
 * Bringing hex removal skills can be beneficial if expecting to run into hexes that will hinder you like Empathy.
 * Adding skills like Frustration or Arcane Conundrum can help increase the chance of interrupting with slower cast times from the target or even cause more damage to the target; if not added pressure.
 * Replacing the Elite skill with skills like Migraine or Psychic Instability can severely hamper a caster as well when combined with daze and/or interrupting attacks.
 * Epidemic can help spread conditions like daze, poison, crippled, and bleeding to more than your primary target.
 * Skills like Inspired Hex, Revealed Hex, or Hex Eater Signet can help to remove hexes if you know that you will be frequently encountering hexes that may hinder you in some way without expending much, if any, energy in their use.
 * A Mesmer's repertoire of skills may also add extra interrupting options should your target be obstructed, evading, or otherwise avoiding your interrupts. As these are not typically reduced in cost with ranks of Expertise it is uncommon to have more than one or two Mesmer interrupt skills and more common to use a signet at no cost (like Leech Signet or Signet of Disruption for example).

Interrupts in other builds:
 * It is common to add a few interrupt skills like Distracting Shot and/or Savage Shot (for common examples) to another build to add interruption options. In this case it should be taken into account as to what else one might be doing.  If the user will be spamming other skills or casting long spells the interrupts will not be as useful as the user will be busy and the interrupt skills wasted.  Be sure to plan ahead when adding Interrupt skills to any build so as to make use of them appropriately.
 * Many times it is common to bring along one interrupt skill so as to avoid that one large skill per battle (Giant Stomp, Meteor Shower, Wurm Siege, any kind of resurrect skill, and so on) and it is usually a good idea for such in many a situation as the user will often have a time and place (if not a specific foe/skill) for that skill's use as opposed to being occupied using other skills as above.