Dolyak Signet

Description
For 8...18 seconds, you have +10...34 armor and cannot be knocked down, but your movement is slowed by 75%.

Acquisition
Skill Quests: Skill Trainers: Signet of Capture:
 * None
 * Marna (Ice Tooth Cave)
 * Firstwatch Sergio (Lion's Arch)
 * Dakk (Ember Light Camp)
 * ... to be added ...

Usage
This often overlooked skill is extremely useful in many situations. With no energy cost and no cast time, the Warrior with a high enough Strength attribute can increase her armor by a considerable amount almost indefinitely, without draining her Adrenaline, energy, or using up her Stance slot. For a pure tank build, this skill is invaluable for standing up to the slings and arrows of outrageous foes; combined with other armor-increasing skills such as "Watch Yourself!" or Disciplined Stance, this skill can allow a Warrior to take next to no damage at all from even the toughest foes, reducing damage to 10 or less damage a hit from Bladed Aataxes and Abyssals. What's more, the fact that it makes the user immune to knockdown is extremely useful when in a group of foes who use Hammers, Giant Stomp, Whirlwind, or any other such attacks. The armor applies to both physical and elemental damage, so this can help the user survive a Meteor as well as a Mighty Blow. Finally, it does not count as a Spell, Enchantment, or Stance, so it is impossible for enemies to remove this effect by any means. They can impair your usage of it with Primal Echoes, Ignorance, or Rust, but they cannot remove it once it is in place.

However, useful though this skill is, it is not without its downsides. The 75% speed reduction takes finesse to get around, and even a combination of Sprint and "Charge!" will not bring the user up to a reasonable speed. Because of this, it is advisable to wait until the last possible instant before engaging this skill, to make sure that your targets have centered upon you and will not sprint off towards your fragile Mesmers or Necromancers. Therefore, it is a good idea to Cripple your enemies if possible when using this skill, and make sure that your party knows that you are using it, both so that your Monks do not waste time trying to dispel whatever is causing your speed reduction and so that your party does not expect you to be able to dash around from target to target. Furthermore, because there is no way to cancel the effects, if you have this signet in effect and a change of tactics (most notably a retreat) becomes necessary, the speed loss will stay with you, regardless of how hard you try to run away.