DamonIsa
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Camouflage Warrior
Idea is all about Deciet. Warriors are typically low on the Target list, so it's less likely someone will be watching you closely and see what your build really is.
I can say out of all the times I've played this build, I've only faced Enchantment stripping twice. Out of the dozens of times I have faced it. Better yet, I usually draw the Blinding Surge/Flash attention, drawing it away from other targets like Rangers and Assassins.
W/Me
Skill Split:
Swordsmanship: 10 + 1 + 1
Tactics: 10 + 1
Illusion: 11
Equipment: Sword and Focus. Two sets. First Set is to be used when you're going IW. Sword needs to have the +5 energy Inscription, and the Enchantment Duration Mod. The third mod, doesn't matter.
Second Sword needs to have the Zealous mod. Other than that, pick your mods of choice.
Offhand for the second set could be whatever you want. I usually just do Focus so I can more easily keep track of my energy rather than worrying about the Missing 17. No reason you can't go Shield though.
With the Focus you really don't need anything in particular on it. Go witht he mod of choice. Fast Recharge isn't really desireable. Just want the +12 energy max.
Illusionary Weaponry: 15, 1, 35. Elite Enchantment Spell. For 30 seconds you deal no damage in melee but instead inflict 31 damage.
Illusion of Weakness: 10, 2, 30. Enchantment Spell. Lose 189 health. Illusion of Weakness ends when you are damaged below 25% health. When Illusion of Weakness ends you gain 189 health.
"To the Limit!". 5, 20. Shout. For Each enemy within eartshot (5 max) you gain one strike of Adrenaline.
Flurry: 5, 5. Stance. For 5 seconds you attack 33% faster but deal 25% less damage.
Barbarous Slice: 6 Adrenaline. If this attack hits deal +25 damage, and if you're not using a stance you inflict bleeding for 13 seconds.
Gash: 7 Adrenaline. If this attack hits a bleeding foe you inflict 17 more damage and cause a Deep Wound for 17 seconds.
Final Thrust: 10 Adrenaline. Lose all Adrenaline. If Final Thrust hits deal 32 more damage. That damage is doubled if target is under 50% health.
Ressurection Signet. 3. Ressurect Target Ally with 100% health and 25% energy. (Maybe switch out for Healing Signet if you're worried about the lack of a "Real" self heal, or you're playing in something like AvA or HvH)
Alrighty. Basic run down of the idea. One, Deception is King. If you're a Me/A or Me/W, people will guess pretty quickly you're going IW (In fact GvGing with Dan's mesmer build someone taunted me during the match about killing the "IW Assassin".  Moron).
With a Warrior Primary it should draw some attention off. Why? Well, most figure you wouldnt' have the Energy to run an IW build with just 2 pips. Thus I guess they figure something else is up. Note the fact I always get the Blindbot attention rather than the Enchantment stripping attention (With the exception of some HA matches where people were using the Enchantment stripping Well).
Okay. First off, go ahead and cast your Illusion of Weakness before the match even starts. It'll give your monks that nice buffer. Plus if you like the +15% Damage while Enchanted bonus like I do on the Off Set.
Go into battle with the "On" set. The sword with the +5 Energy. Cast IW as you get into battle, Enter the stance Flurry, and go to town on your target. Note that while you have IW you won't gain Adrenaline or Energy from Zealous Weapons, thus why I have the Weapon set up like I do.
IW ends, and you've probably put a good dent in someone and applied a lot of pressure. First thing to do is trigger "To the Limit!" to get your Adrenaline right up there, real fast and go to town with your "Off" set, the Zealous Weapon. Pretty basic stuff. Hit with Barbarous, Hit with Gash, Finish off with Final Thrust if possible. Final Thrust is a real good skill to hit people with when they're trying to ZB heal or Infuse Twitch Heal. Can catch them off guard. Don't use Flurry while on the "Off" set or you'll lose your bleeding bonus from Barbarous.
By the time you hit Final Thrust you've probably gained yourself about 5-10 energy off your Zealous Sword and are ready to enter IW again. So go ahead and hit it.
It's all a fairly simple idea. It's pretty straight forward. You don't get the moment of Surprise pressure you would with a Shadowstepping Warrior, or the knockdowns of an "On you Knees!" wammo. Deception is the name of the game here. Since IW is cast fairly quickly, and fairly seldom, it should be harder for the enemy to spot, and thus know the correct countermeasures for.
The Zealous Sword, and Offhand Focus will actually give you enough energy to go the long haul with this. When I GvGed with it, I didn't have energy issues until the 18th minute of the match without a single death. Hell, that's better than most Eles I see in GvG. So it might not have the VoD staying power to go 20 minutes.
It takes some getting used to. The two times I was Enchantment stripped were my first two times out with it. You gotta find a moment where the battle is chaotic enough someone isn't likely to spot your IW going up. Before the Fight starts, and most people have locked onto you because you're in the front, is not the time. Nor is it right when you charge up to someone. It takes some instinct to get down. But once you do, smooth sailing.
Of course Weapon Switching is a problem with it. If you're not experienced with such things. Or if you're like me and the F1 key stops responding at some crucial juncture. (So my sets are always F2 and F3 because those two don't get stuck. )
Hmm...
When I've played this build, and a teammate found out what it was, they usually say something to me like "Why not go Assassin Primary", after all, they have 5 more energy naturally and 2 more energy pips. But part of the plan is Camouflage. Trickery. Deciet. Assassins have so many tricks up their sleeves as is that everytime I play one I pretty much am the first Spike Target the other team calls. And well, that's not what I want. Same with when I run a Me/A or Me/W.
Warrior also gives you the extra armor, and the health gain from Illusion of Weakness has always ment I was the last target to fall, even when I accidently overextended into a Bad Situation. I usually have enough armor and health cushion to get back to my group though.
Oh, another note. If you're up against something like a Toucher you're screwed. Apparently Life Stealing isn't "Damage" (Nor is Degen of course) which means Illusion of Weakness won't trigger as it should until you actually take damage below 25%. Thus Touchers have killed me. But they're not in GvG? Mesmers with Degen have not as they always made the "mistake" of wanding me for the last bit of damage, and giving me the Big Heal.
Eh, anyway, thoughts? I pretty much posted the build and my musing as I went along. Sorry if it's a bit incoherent.
---
Niva Reikan: Warrior/Monk, Kurzick Champion
Arcturus Highwind: Paragon/Ranger
Pet: ROUS
Walker Tam: Warrior, Defender of Ascalon in Training
Nikolia Vasburg: Ritualist/Necromancer
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4/15/2007, 6:14 am
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Dannzzigg
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Re: Camouflage Warrior
I'll admit to being a bit of traditionalist when it comes to Warrior builds, but I try to keep an open mind about what else could be out there.
This build has some things I like about it- unmitigated damage from IW, for one, plus you've found a good way to maintain the energy needed to be effective after IW ends.
There are things that are "considered necessary" in a melee build by "the community" that this build is lacking, and that makes me wonder.
One is either a speed boost or a cripple. Speed buffs are the second choice, as to chase you'll lose your Flurry, but a cripple/slow would be best. Simply put, in matches vs. competent teams, you will face kiters quite often. Without any ability to chase your target or slow them down, I'd be concerned about the ability to land many shots either with IW or without.
Also, you may be surprised how often Warriors are targetted in GvG. In RA, TA and AB they are indeed an afterthought, but in GvG it is well known that Warriors are typically the primary damage source of any non-gimmick build. That isn't a huge issue with this build, but I would consider switching IoW for Heal Sig for an on-demand heal, as opposed to one that may come too late. Vs. a spike, IoW is actually better as it adds a buffer that they have to spike through (except blood spike) but overall, I'd think Heal Sig may be a better choice for GvG. Of course, that's not likely to be a critical decision either way.
As far as the whole deceit angle... Vs a coordinated team with TS/Vent, that goes out the window the first time you hit your target. Again, I am speaking of a coordinated and reasonably competent opponent. When your first target sees "Illusory Weaponry -31" foating over their head, you can bet you will quite suddenly become a target. Warrior Hate doesn't seem to be as rampant out there, except in the form of Blinding, as it has been in the past, so you may be able to get away with it- just as long as they don't strip your enchantment.
And in GvG there is a lot of enchantment stripping going on. Still, during the downtime between IW's, it's actually a proven and effective sword build, but there is the drawback of Blind being applied to you, but that is there for any melee character anyway.
Really, it's the lack of a cripple/slow that concerns me most. If this build were played with a teammate who is applying the slow, and you could be guaranteed to be on the same team (as in flag team vs split team) then it would likely be an interesting twist to things.
It's one of those things where it would have to be played for a bit to test it effectiveness.
I'm curious what the other melee folks think about this idea.
--- Check out Dylan's Den!
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4/15/2007, 11:13 am
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DamonIsa
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Re: Camouflage Warrior
Must be some weird setting you have. Actually on my display it doesn't pop up text like "-31 Illusionary Weaponry" or something when I get hit with a skil. Just the damage pops up. Actually I remember when they made that Change and how most of the PvPers in the Alliance were whining about it.
But yeah. I hear what you're saying. It's not like I'd be massively insulted or anything if this was shot down in a flaming wreck. Just another Outside the Sphere idea from me.
Yeah, I've noticed short of Blinding and Ward vs. Melee that warrior hate is pretty spotty in PvP.
Of course as someone that plays Warriors, Rangers, and Paragons alot I can say that Faintheartedness might be a way to go for Warrior Hate, more than a Blinding Surge Ele. Just sayin'. In the two matches I was in I noticed the monks packing Restore Conditions and Light of Deliverance as their Elites. I didn't actually see Divert Hexes. *shrug* Could have just been an Exception rather than the Rule. But if there is a lack of hex removal, I'll tell you from experience of screaming in frustration at Faintheartedness being spread around that it's actually really effective.
---
Niva Reikan: Warrior/Monk, Kurzick Champion
Arcturus Highwind: Paragon/Ranger
Pet: ROUS
Walker Tam: Warrior, Defender of Ascalon in Training
Nikolia Vasburg: Ritualist/Necromancer
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4/15/2007, 7:26 pm
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Dannzzigg
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Re: Camouflage Warrior
quote:
DamonIsa wrote:
Must be some weird setting you have. Actually on my display it doesn't pop up text like "-31 Illusionary Weaponry" or something when I get hit with a skil. Just the damage pops up. Actually I remember when they made that Change and how most of the PvPers in the Alliance were whining about it.
I have my UI setup so the skill icon floats next to the damage numbers. At least I think I do. I'll have to pay more attention.
--- Check out Dylan's Den!
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4/16/2007, 10:19 pm
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kburt
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Re: Camouflage Warrior
It piles up on the left hand side of my screen what damage I am taking and what skill/spell is causing it. If I am getting hit more than once with the same thing it just starts saying Fireball X2 or Spiteful Spirit x3, etc... When I was getting taken down with the Paragon spikes this past weekend it had 6 things listed with X5, X8, x3, ETC.
Doesn't take long to see what your up against and what you need to do to mitigate it.
---
IGN: Notrub Ekim R/Mo, Notrub Idnew N/E, Naman El Shaddai Mo/Me,
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4/17/2007, 6:19 pm
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Syragar
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Re: Camouflage Warrior
quote:
DamonIsa wrote:
Of course as someone that plays Warriors, Rangers, and Paragons alot I can say that Faintheartedness might be a way to go for Warrior Hate, more than a Blinding Surge Ele. Just sayin'. In the two matches I was in I noticed the monks packing Restore Conditions and Light of Deliverance as their Elites. I didn't actually see Divert Hexes. *shrug* Could have just been an Exception rather than the Rule. But if there is a lack of hex removal, I'll tell you from experience of screaming in frustration at Faintheartedness being spread around that it's actually really effective.
While I know that Faintheartedness can be very effective, it's a skill you have to be EXTREMELY careful about when designing a team build. It's one of those skills you can't just slide into your build if you want to tweak your build a little between battles. You would have to ask your team if it would work against any of their builds first. That skill and other slow attack speed skills (like Shadow of Fear) can totally kill other builds. For example, Spiteful Spirit necros totally lose their effectiveness when someone casts Faintheartedness on the same target. If anything, in that case you want something that does the opposite... like Reckless Haste.
--- 
Dalana Darklight - N/Mo
Terra Windfury - D/E
Yoko Nakagama - W/A
Shyreena Saelana - Rt/R
Shyra Arcana - E/Me |
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4/18/2007, 12:18 am
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