Gaming Guild Wars

[Chaos]

That's Boo taking advantage of an idling Annie, me standing in the background, and the chica is Des' Necro/Ranger.

Oh, and just so you know, I was the one that started it all. Kekeke.

And it's not as bad as the quintuple orgy they had earlier.

More runes;

Mesmer Rune of Minor Fast Casting and Minor Vigor Rune.


EDIT: I'm also looking to get either a Vampiric or Barbed Sword Hilt. If anyone has one or sees one for sale, give me a yell.

[Annie]

[size=1]Yeah, heh, [b]never[/b] idle in the Guild Hall.

Anyway, in the past two days, I've quested a lot with Des, and have concluded that he is my lucky charm. Why? Because in these quests, I've picked up on 7-8 Runes. Five were straight in a row, in one straight run of quests. We were doing the Iron Horse Mines trilogy, as I like to call them. 2-3 Runse I've kept for myself, but here is what I'm looking to sell/trade:

[b]Elementalist Rune of Minor Air Magic[/b]
Upgrade component
-Improves Air Magic

[b]Ranger Rune of Major Marksmanship[/b]
Upgrade component
-Improves Marksmanship
-Health -50

[b]Monk Rune of Major Divine Favor[/b]
Upgrade component
-Improves Divine Favor
-Health -50

[b]Monk Rune of Minor Healing Prayers[/b]
Upgrade component
-Improves Healing Prayers

[b]Mesmer Rune of Minor Illusion Magic[/b]
Upgrade component
-Improves Illusion Magic

[b]Warrior Rune of Major Strength[/b]
Upgrade component
-Improves Strength
-Health -50

[b]Warrior Rune of Minor Absorption[/b]
Upgrade component
-Reduces damage from attacks

Whew, I believe that's all for now! PM me or grab me in game if you would be interested.[/size]

[Mitch]

Oh, I"ll grab you in-game. You know it. :p

Yeah. Anyway. I haven't played this game for [i]forever[/i]. It's not that I don't have the time - I have plenty, since I quit my job - but that I spend that time doing other things, such as DDR or Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne.

I'll try to become as active as I once was again. I've already put 90 hours into this game, I need to put more - such as the 300 + of Dessy.

[Desbreko]

[color=#4B0082]Only 300 hours? Wow, you really are behind; /age has me logged at over 500 hours now.

But yes, you definitely need to start playing more. Myself as Amelia, Alex as Jade, and Alec as Immortalis did two of the ascension missions in the Crystal Desert a few days ago, which was a lot of fun, but other than that I haven't played Amelia very much lately. I'd be more than happy to accompany you through the desert.

Anyway, my stock for weapons and runes changes so often that I've kind of given up trying to keep a current list in here. I try to remember and ask in game if I think someone might be interest in something I have, but if you could use something in particular, ask me and I'll see if I have anything for you.[/color]

[Final Remix]

[color=purple][size=3][font=Times New Roman]~Sundering Ram?s Hammer of Enchanting[/font][/size][/color]
[size=3][font=Times New Roman]Blunt: 18-34 [color=#999999](req 8 Hammer)[/color][/font][/size]
[size=3][font=Times New Roman][color=purple]Damage +12%[/color] [color=#999999](Stance)[/color][/font][/size]
[size=3][font=Times New Roman][color=purple]Armor Penet. +10%[/color] [color=#999999](7% chance)[/color][/font][/size]
[color=purple][size=3][font=Times New Roman]Ench.?s last 14% longer[/font][/size][/color]
[size=3][font=Times New Roman][color=#999999]2-handed hammer[/color].[/font][/size]

[color=purple][size=3][font=Times New Roman]~Long Sword of Fortitude[/font][/size][/color]
[size=3][font=Times New Roman]Slashin? Dmg: 9-12 [color=#999999](7 swrd. Req.)[/color][/font][/size]
[size=3][font=Times New Roman][color=purple]Dmg +11%[/color] ([color=#999999]health above 50%)[/color][/font][/size]
[color=purple][size=3][font=Times New Roman]Health +22[/font][/size][/color]

[color=#ffcc00][size=3][font=Times New Roman]~Shocking Great Axe of Enchanting [/font][/size][/color]
[size=3][font=Times New Roman][color=#ffcc00]Lightning Dmg: 6-27[/color] [color=#999999](req. 11 Axe)[/color][/font][/size]
[size=3][font=Times New Roman][color=#ffcc00]Dmg +12%[/color] [color=#999999](vs. Hexed foes)[/color][/font][/size]
[color=#ffcc00][size=3][font=Times New Roman]Ench.?s last 16% longer[/font][/size][/color]


[color=blue][size=3][font=Times New Roman]~Hammer grip of enchanting[/font][/size][/color]
[color=blue][size=3][font=Times New Roman]Ench?s last 10% longer[/font][/size][/color]

[color=blue][size=3][font=Times New Roman]~Hammer grip o? Defense[/font][/size][/color]
[color=blue][size=3][font=Times New Roman]Armor +4[/font][/size][/color]

[color=blue][size=3][font=Times New Roman]~Axe Grip o? Fortitude[/font][/size][/color]
[color=blue][size=3][font=Times New Roman]Health +24[/font][/size][/color]


[color=blue][size=3][font=Times New Roman]~Bow Grip o? Shelter[/font][/size][/color]
[size=3][font=Times New Roman][color=blue]Armor +4 [/color][color=#999999](Vs. Physical)[/color][/font][/size]


[size=3][font=Times New Roman][i][color=#999999]~(Des?s)[/color][/i][color=purple]Storm Artifact[/color][/font][/size]
[size=3][font=Times New Roman][color=black]NRG +11[/color][color=#999999] (7 air req.)[/color][/font][/size]
[size=3][font=Times New Roman][color=purple]Armor +5[/color][color=#999999] (while health?s below 50%)[/color][/font][/size]



[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=#999999][i]finally, like...my stuff. XD [/i][/color][/size][/font]
[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=#999999][i]lemme know if any of that's worth buying/selling/trading/whatnot[/i][/color][/size][/font]



[i][font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=#999999][url="http://www.thegamespage.com/staff/remix/the%20QKT.jpg"]http://www.thegamespage.com/staff/remix/the%20QKT.jpg[/url][/color][/size][/font][/i]

[Meggido]

Geez Dessy....500 hours. I've probably put 20 hours into this game tops. Unlike the 50+ whole days I've put into World of Warcraft. I'm kinda on playing this once a week as I'm trying out all the high lvl content on WoW.

[Brasil]

In commemoration of Neil (Chaos) finally getting a new video card, and finally allowing us to be able to bring him into a guild battle without fear he'll lag-out...we'd like to have a guild battle tonight (August 17th). Not sure what time, but perhaps in...3 hours from now. Time now is 8:40 pm.

Let's do this, yo!

[Chaos]

Heh, yeah. Only $205.54 and I got a bunch of anti-spyware software, got rid of over 120 actual spyware infections, and an ATi Radeon 9250. My God this game is even better than before. It's insane, I run the game full chug, maxed out graphics with little to no lag. Warping is still a problem, but I can easily counter that by reducing some of the graphic detail levels, so it's all good.

GvG is awesome. I had fun in the Arenas before, but that was laggy, and uncoordinated. Here, in the Hall with people I know, we can formulate plots and make real-time strategic strikes. It's so fun it should be a crime. And I found out I'm a murderer, too, when I don't lag out and miss my cue to steal health. I killed numberous henchmen and the PCs multiple times. The one main problem was the W/Mo the opposing team had that kept casting and getting Healing Breeze from the opponent's Mo/Ele, but I managed to solve that by taking out their Mo/Ele and then their Healer Henchwoman [Alesia is teh suk~!]. After that, it was quite simple to do Life Siphon into Sever Artery into Gash into Final Thrust. :D

The problem was the Enchantments, but Alex thinks he might have a solution for that.

But, sadly, we lost the battle. Halfway through Des' connection got cut and so we were lacking a very powerful and driving force -- our healer. Sure, we had Alesia, but that whore can't do anything to save her own life, much less ours. -_-;

Another problem was that they got ahold of the trebuchet, though I did learn I can tank a hit from it, but I survive with 1 HP. >_> I used Alex's body for Well of Blood and regenerated health...only to have another one hit and bring me right back down and kill Mitch. Repeated WOB and went out the gate, but by that time they opposing team had revived and launched a full assault. I had tried to come back and force them out of the base, but by the time I got there the Guild Lord was down to half-health.

It was a pretty good fight, and we were supposed to have a rematch, but Mitch logged, and Alex and Des went skill hunting in Southern Shiverpeaks, and Alec and Annie didn't feel like doing GvG. Alex DID get Illusionary Weaponry, and can pump out -21 a hit now, which is phenominal for a caster...even though I do that per swing. >_>;


Speaking of Alex being teh uuber, not only did he get me my awesome 14-21 Fellblade, he managed to salvage a Vampiric Sword hilt for me! Woo! Problem is, I don't wanna put it on my Fellblade, because it's my main weapon. I had tried to put it on this Fiery Dragon Sword I had on my PvP character, but it won't upgrade. So I'll just hold onto it for now.


And to show everyone the beauty of my new card, I manage to catch a screen of Demos comforting a very furious Joss, who managed to wrack up -58% DP thanks to Alesia sucking. Mind you, this is a .jpg with no anti-aliasing on in-game. I think this is awesome. Enjoy.

[Boo]

[size=1][color=gray]Okay, just a quick request here. Does anybody have any Leather Squares I could have/buy? I'm in need of 28 for a Dork's Fridge [i]Fanatic's Equipment[/i]. Thanks or 'Too Bad' in advance >>"[/color][/size]

[Annie]

[size=1]I just want to throw in that Riverside Province mission/and bonus rocks the game. That was the funnest mission I've ever done in the game as of yet. Alex, Neil, and I grouped up to do the mission. The first time was horrible. We had this monk slash wannabe ranger, who constantly ignored what Alex and Neil tried to say. He drew us into consecutive ambushes, and denied that he was trying to tank. I died twice because of his ignorance to heal when I needed it, and Alex was too busy trying to save his and 2 other's skins to cast Well of Blood--no thanks to this monk.

I swear, I thought I was going to blow my cap--and Neil as well. But the monk left with the note "you guildies suck, i'm out", or something of that nature. Not like his absence was noticed. In fact, the three of us made it a good decent way before getting mobbed.

The second time around was a better experience. In fact, it was this time around that we pwnd that mission. We had a primary Mesmer (which rocked my socks) with a secondary Ranger, and a Warrior/pothead, lol. That guy was so funny. I don't even remember his secondary profession, but this guy paused us once so he could take a drag XD He was really mellow and surprisingly on top of his game. Those two really helped us out a lot. We completed the bonus and the mission.

But what I really think helped us out a chunk were Neil's strategies, and the other two member's willingness to listen and attack on command. Neil pulled us through what seemed to be an impossible attack with quick thinking and planning ahead. He saved us loads of stress, and managed to watch everyone's backs. Very impressive work, thanks Neil.

Belial Hades made it to level 20! because of that mission, and a wonderful team. Also, Neil made it to level 20 as well. Not during/after the mission, though, so we had to go outside of Sanctum Cay to kill a dozen or so beasts. Last night was a happy and joyous time, a sour start turned to sugar. [/size]

[Brasil]

Yeah, that Monk sucked. I think he wanted to believe casting Mending on us would be enough. Yeah, I'm sure a constant +4 health regen is really going to help. :rolleyes: He healed maybe once or twice and that was it. Any Monk worth their Divine Favor should know that the loss of a pip of energy regen just isn't worth it--and especially if you've got Mending casted multiple times across the party.

What a twerp. "When did u see me use a bow?" Yeah, like he wasn't using one.

[center][b]***EDIT***[/b]
[/center]

[quote name='Chaos']The problem was the Enchantments, but Alex thinks he might have a solution for that.[/quote]
I believe I do. My initial idea was a Necro using Death Magic, but one of the snags would have been cast times. My first choice, Well of the Profane, has a 3-second cast time, which even though it may not be a problem given the general close quarters PvP/GvG combat, may prove problematic.

But Well of Profane is so useful for Enchant stripping/suppression that I wanted to figure out a way to utilize it. Then it hit me. Mesmer Fast Casting. Here's the "first draft" of the build I'm working on:

[quote]The Edge - Guild Wars Utility
[url="http://www.sovereignlegion.com/downloads/theedge.htm"]http://www.sovereignlegion.com/downloads/theedge.htm[/url]

Class: Mesmer / Necromancer

Attributes: (cost) '+' indicates Rune attributes
Fast Casting: 10+2 (61)
Inspiration Magic: 11+3 (77)
Death Magic: 10 (61)

Total attribute points used: 199/200

Skills: [Attribute] (Energy, Cast Time, Recharge TIme)
1) Soul Feast [Death Magic] (10,1,0) Spell: Exploit nearest corpse to steal 203 health.[Yak's Bend (Captain Osric) Quest: Fallen Soldiers]

2) Putrid Explosion [Death Magic] (10,1,0) Spell: The corpse nearest your target explodes, sending out a shockwave that deals 88 damage to each nearby creature.[Yak's Bend (Captain Osric) Quest: Oberan's Rage]

3) Well of the Profane [Death Magic] (25,3,10) Spell: Exploit nearest corpse to create a well of the profane at its location. For 16 seconds, foes in that area are stripped of all enchantments and cannot be the target of further enchantments. (50% failure chance with Death Magic 4 or less.)[Droknar's Forge (Bartoch) Quest: The Misplaced Sword (Heroes Audience)]

4) Necrotic Traversal [Death Magic] (5,1,0) Spell: Exploit a random corpse, you teleport to that corpse's location and all nearby foes become poisoned for 15 seconds.[Lion's Arch (Firstwatch Sergio) Quest: Renegade Necromancer]

5) Deathly Swarm [Death Magic] (10,3,3) Spell: Deathly Swarm flies out slowly and strikes for 58 cold damage (before armor) on up to three targets.[Ascalon City (Sir Bertran) Quest: Necromancer Test, The Stolen Artifact]

6) Rotting Flesh [Death Magic] (15,3,3) Hex: Target fleshy creature becomes diseased for 20 seconds and slowly loses health.[Lion's Arch (Firstwatch Sergio) Quest: Hungry Devourer (Beacons Perch)]

7) Ether Feast [Inspiration Magic] (5,2,8) Spell: Target foe loses 5 energy. You are healed 27 for each point of energy lost.[Ascalon City (Sir Bertran) Quest: Mesmer Test, Mesmerizing the Enemy (Sardelac Sanitarium)]

8) Energy Drain [Inspiration Magic] (5,1,20) Spell: Steal 20 energy from target foe. This is an elite skill.[Boss: Gambol Headrainer (Ice Floe), Snik Hungrymind (Spearhead Peak)]
[/quote]
There are a few things there I can change/swap.

Necrotic Traversal for one. As long as we have a Mesmer with Epidemic, we can inflict some major condition damage if this Necro calls the target for Rotting Flesh.

There's another Inspiration magic Elite skill called Mantra of Recall, and it's pretty nice. You cast it, and for 20 seconds, you don't get anything. After 20 seconds are up, with the level of Insp. magic on this build, you gain 34 energy.

So what I may (and probably will) do is swap out Necrotic Traversal for Energy Tap, which'll net about 14 energy. Then plug in Mantra of Recall for Energy Drain. MoR is an enchantment, so we'd need to be careful about Enchant removal.

Of course, that's where our own Mesmers come in, with Guilt (Domination magic) I think it is. It's an offensive spell suppression hex. And so far in the game, the only characters with Enchant removals are Necros and Mesmers, so it works out well. Necros and Mesmers are targets that kind of stand out. ~_^

What Guilt does is for X amount of seconds, whenever the target casts an offensive spell, that spell fails and you steal X amount of energy from that foe, so the benefit is two-fold, really. In addition to shutting down an enemy caster, the hexer is gaining energy (and with a reasonably high Domination magic, you gain gain upwards of 15 energy).

And another thing that'll make this easier on the energy consumption is a Ranger using Energizing Wind. Energy cost reduction by 15, which is very handy for anything.

[center][b]***EDIT 2***
6:45 am Saturday
[/b][/center]

I tweaked that build a bit.

And it works. Oh.......it [i][b]works[/b][/i].

I ventured into Hall of Heroes earlier (first time ever). One of the Korean teams didn't know what hit them. As soon as I saw xp and Faction points pop up, I hit Well of the Profane. The entire Korean team fell within seconds.

Corpse. Fast Casting into Well of the Profane. Victory.

I'll post the revised build in a bit, once I set it up in The Edge. But we have our Enchanter F--k.

[Guest Sean]

[SIZE=1]It looks like I haven't posted in here at all, woah. Well I've been playing Guild Wars the past for the whole of those days. I had to take a break before then for I was staying at my mothers, but when I got back I played, and played, heh. Just over 50 hours now, not much compared to some people, ^_^.

Well, I have a few Screen Shots for ya.
[b]Pre-Searing[/b]
[URL=http://img351.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gw0064no.jpg][IMG]http://img351.imageshack.us/img351/4648/gw0064no.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[b]I Blew Up[/b]
[URL=http://img333.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gw0097je.jpg][IMG]http://img333.imageshack.us/img333/2728/gw0097je.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[b]Me and James...talking, lol[/b]
[URL=http://img351.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gw0101gz.jpg][IMG]http://img351.imageshack.us/img351/4671/gw0101gz.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[b]Pwned[/b]
[URL=http://img333.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gw0122cq.jpg][IMG]http://img333.imageshack.us/img333/7494/gw0122cq.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Zan Lithum is now level 14 and at the Gates of Kryta after 7, yes, 7 attempts at the Frost Gate mission, but I got it finally. ^_^.

Just thought I would let people know my progress through the game, ^_^;.

[b]Edit:[/b] The Edge sure is...well, it's detailed, and looks pretty helpful. When I delve into PvP I think I may look at it. ^_^.[/size]

[Semjaza]

I know next to no one knows this, but I was having video card issues. Games would run fine for ten minutes and then I'd get a solid minute or so of just terrible framerates. Then it would be normal, then bad. Over and over again.

I reinstalled drivers a few times and finally narrowed down the issue. I had to choose the opposite Fastwrite setting than I had checked off. Now it works.

So I should actually be able to play soon. I'm only like Level 7 or something and I've not logged in in a while thanks to all of this, but Alex tells me that he and a few others have low level characters to use as well. I'm hoping I can get some help with the crappy quests I still have to do to even come close to where most of you are.

:o

[Chaos]

Meh, is that it Sean? Seven times at Frost? I docked 15 before making it through. :P

Glad to hear that build really works well for you, Alex. I have a question about last night, though, when we talked about Aegis + Price of Failure. Epidemic only casts conditions and their remaining time, correct? So, say, Alec's Lightning Staff would only be useful for three seconds? Or is Epidemic a hex?

What I'm asking is, does Epidemic transfer the conditions if the conditions themselves renew?

And how good is Hall of Heroes? I've been thinking of trying it out once I get my Knight armor, but I know next to nothing about it.


Some pictures;


[b]Under Bloodred Skies...[/b]

[URL=http://img390.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bloodred9am.png][IMG]http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/3626/bloodred9am.th.png[/IMG][/URL]


[b]What Happens When You Miss Your Turn.[/b]


[URL=http://img390.imageshack.us/my.php?image=whathappens7zm.png][IMG]http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/2531/whathappens7zm.th.png[/IMG][/URL]


[b]A Moment Of Shelter.[/b]


[URL=http://img390.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shelter8vz.jpg][IMG]http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/9941/shelter8vz.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]


[b]Disgrace Out Of Spite.[/b]


[URL=http://img390.imageshack.us/my.php?image=outofspite3wt.jpg][IMG]http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/2853/outofspite3wt.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]


[b]A Barbeque At Neil's Place.[/b]


[URL=http://img390.imageshack.us/my.php?image=barbeque1rc.jpg][IMG]http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/8514/barbeque1rc.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]


[b]Zomg teh Undead Des![/b]


[URL=http://img390.imageshack.us/my.php?image=theundeaddes1qp.jpg][IMG]http://img390.imageshack.us/img390/4684/theundeaddes1qp.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]


Still looking for a Barbed Sword Hilt or a really good Hilt of Warding.

[Brasil]

Epidemic spreads all conditions from one foe to other foes near or adjacent to him. It spreads the conditions themselves and their remaining durations. So Epidemic would only be spreading Blind for up to 3 seconds each time. If you wanted to keep the group blinded all the time, you'd need to keep re-casting Epidemic.

What I believe Alec could do is use his Lightning Wand, with Glimmering Mark activated, and simply Tab through his targets, hitting the Warriors once each. Tabbing and then Shift-Tabbing would work really well there, since you'd only be switching around a few targets.

But even then, there are some Ranger skills that can keep a target Blinded for upwards of 15 seconds. Throw Dirt, Dust Trap, etc. Throw Dirt has a 45 or 60-second recharge time, so that's used sparingly.

But using a combination of Lightning Reflexes-->Dust Trap is incredibly potent, because while setting up most Traps, the Ranger is easily interrupted. Lightning Reflexes is a 75% change to evade melee and ranged attacks. In a solid couple of hours when using that tactic with Mila, I've run into groups of PvE (and I mean right into the thick of things), hit L.R., then laid Barbed Trap. Only got interrupted once in hours of doing it.

What I really like about that combo is that you've effectively Blinded your opponents when you use L.R., because they won't be able to hit [i]you[/i] at all. Then you lay Dust Trap down and it'll spring instantly, since there are enemies right there.

So in all of 9 seconds, you've just had hit your foes with an AoE Blind status that's going to last for a solid 15 seconds.

Activate a Whirling Defense on your Ranger (deflects arrows at adjacent foes), maybe Ignite Arrow, and your Ranger just became almost untouchable--and can do pretty much anything to the enemies he (or she) wants. Cripple and Bleed with Barbed Trap; after Dust Trap wears off, either set it again or hit them with Throw Dirt; re-activate Whirling Defense when necessary.

Devastating stuff. With the constant Blind you can keep inflicting, that Ranger can stay there and kill (at least horribly maim) the enemy from within.

So...given all those options, casting a simple team enchant like Aegis that only gives 75% evade/block enhancements isn't a great idea. Enchants can be removed (Well of the Profane, for example), shattered, drained, etc. The Enchant removal in the game still has long recharge times, so it's not totally effective, but all the other team needs is one Well of the Profane to drop and then Aegis + Price of Failure is screwed.

Price of Failure is a terrific Hex, though, and so is its Mesmer counterpart, Spirit of Failure. But they only truly shine when your target can't connect a swing at all. The chain-Blinding just about guarantees that. Aegis doesn't.

True, Condition Removal in-game is pretty good, but if you've got a team set-up like the following:

Ranger with L.R., Dust Trap, Throw Dirt, Whirling Defense, Barbed Trap.

Necro with Price of Failure (and whatever other nasty little skills they bring along).

Mesmer with Spirit of Failure and Epidemic (and whatever other nasty little skills they bring along).

Ele with Glimmering Mark and a fast Lightning Wand.

...Condition Removal isn't [i]that good[/i].

And Hall of Heroes is like GvG on steroids. It flippin rules.

[Chaos]

That's all well and good, but do not forget that everything in this game has a viable and totally debilitating counter. Don't get me wrong, Alex, you REALLY did your homework on this, and I think we seriously might want to consider revising our tactics for Guild Battles to accomidate for a lot of that. You and any associates in the process of this discovery need to be commemorated for this work, because it is truly extensive.

But what about casting? Sure, you can use Mesmers to shut down Elementalists and Monks and whatnot, but you need time to set up your seemingly flawless defense. But what about spells that don't require a direct line of sight? Unless I'm mistaken, casting, at least AoE spells and Life Siphon, are not limited to blinding. If an Ele gets off one solid skill, such as Meteor or Whirlwind, they will stop that plan cold. Then you're back to square one, especially when the team sees what you're trying to set up, at least the very early stages of the plan.

A heavy-hitting Warrior could dash in to take out the Ele -- OH! Almost forgot! A lot of AoE skills can be avoided by Sprint! You won't even take partial damage if you do it right. Did some testing out in Skyward Reach with the Hydras and avoided Meteor, Firestorm, Fire Ball, and Inferno with some practiced dashing.

...

And I'm just now realizing I'm making your point for you, Alex. ^_^

So yeah. I think you might have just found something truly debilitating. Sure, statistically, it probably has been found by SOME other person out there, but I have not seen anything like it before. With that many conditions and that much risk of getting harmed by Price/Spirit of Failure, an opposing team would have no choice but to stop attacking and fall back. This would expose their Monk as he would have to stop to cast healing/mending spells, and would make an easy target. Without a viable form of attacking without doing more harm than good or leaving their Ele exposed, the enemy would have no choice but to do a full retreat. With that many conditions inflicting them, plus my personal love of LS-SA-Gash, and Annie's Earth Magic fetish, that is a lot of damage done very quickly. And it also leaves their Lord wide open, not that we really have a problem with that. *winks at Alex's uuber casting and sticks tongue out at French*

It would require very precise timing and work, but if we practice with it, I think we might just have ourselves a very dangerous set here. Maybe with a little polishing we might be able to go into Hall of Heroes together. They let specific Guilds party up for HoH, right?

And what is it like? An actual stadium arena or the Guild Hall islands? Any stationary weapons? Fonts? NPCs?

[Brasil]

For naughty Eles on the opposing team (and for that matter, any Necros and Mesmers), that's where our own Hexers come in, namely Necros and Mesmers.

(Isn't interesting how the only real threat to Necros and Mesmers are other Necros and Mesmers? ^_^)

Mesmers have straight-up Interrupts in the Domination magic line. Power Spike, Power Leak, Power Drain, Power Block. Power Block would be particularly devastating, although I'd prefer our Interrupt Mesmer save it for Monks casting healing spells.

P.Block interrupts the current spell being cast, and also disables all spells of that type for X amount of seconds. So with Power Block, you hit a Monk casting Word of Healing and Word of Healing is stopped cold, and all of that Monk's Healing spells are disabled. Really devastating spell. It's an Elite spell, though. That's the only catch. But for an Interruption-focused Mesmer, bringing Power Power Block as the skill set's Elite spell really a no-brainer. It's an Interrupt with Shutdown qualities. Very desirable.

Incidentally, another two Anti-Monk skills are Mark of Subversion from Necro Blood, and Shame in Mesmer Domination.

Mark of Subversion and Shame function in similar manners, so it's best to alternate them on one target (as one wears off, slap on the other Hex), or use them individually on two Monks.

MoS steals health when the target tries to cast a spell on an ally. Shame steals energy. MoS is pretty insane at higher levels. I've had targets kill themselves from trying to cast through it. The health steal can get pretty nasty, 92 health at 12 Blood magic and a rune boost of +3. Shame's energy steal is up around 15 or so at 11 Domination magic. Good stuff for Mesmers and Necros who can multi-target in battle.

But to shut down Eles and Necros, a combination of Guilt and Backfire from Mesmer will make them think twice about doing anything. I think I explained Guilt earlier, and anyone who plays Guild Wars knows what Backfire does, lol.

From Necro, Malaise (Curses) is a nice Anti-Caster Hex. For X amount of seconds, target foe suffers energy degen of 2, and you suffer health degen of 2. It ends if your target hits 0 energy, and with a Primary Ele's Energy Storage, a degen of 2 doesn't seem like much, but if they're trying to cast through something like Guilt, the energy degen is going on, in addition to Guilt stealing energy, and then whatever other energy denial we can work in.

So...yeah. Methinks Eles wouldn't be a problem anyway if our Mesmers and Necros know how to work the field.

Also, I've recently begun using Shatter Hex with Jezebel (my PvP Insta-20 char), and it's quite potent. It rivals Backfire in terms of damage at any Domination magic level, and its recharge time is such that any Hex cast on any of our team would only have a few seconds to have any effect at all.

You use Shatter Hex on a Warrior who just got afflicted with Empathy, and by the time another Hex is put on any of your team, Shatter Hex's 10-second recharge is half-way done, [i]especially[/i] if the Hexes are being cast by anyone other than Mesmers not using Fast Casting.

Another potent Mesmer Anti-Caster skill is one that I'm not sure too many people are aware of: Arcane Conundrum. It doubles the cast time of target foe for about 15 seconds at high levels of Illusion magic, which is why Ranger/Mesmers are so effective, especially Illusion magic Ranger/Mesmers.

With Arcane Conundrum active, Ranger interrupts that have really nasty side effects (like Concussion Shot's Dazed condition) are scary. Rangers and Mesmers have the best straight-up Interrupts in the game, and any combination of those two professions' abilities will be devastating when played well.

Before I zip out to mow the lawn, another Mesmer Illusion magic Hex deserves mention: Fevered Dreams.

Fevered Dreams is incredibly useful for Condition infliction, like the Ranger Apply Poison, Ele Blind skills, etc.

[quote]Fevered Dreams [Illusion Magic] (10,2,10) Hex: For 16 seconds, whenever target foe suffers from a new condition, all nearby foes suffer from that condition as well. This is an elite skill.[Boss: Plexus Shadowhook (Abaddon's Mouth)][/quote] I think the description shows how effective it can be. Only thing is, another Elite skills, so it'll come down to a properly constructed team build. Also, it's an Elite skill from later in the game, so it may be more effective for the time-being (if any of our members here want to use it in PvP, GvG, etc), to unlock it through the Faction system.

Regarding Tombs and HoH, sort of. It's like a huge, wide-open arena with lots of destroyed buildings. It's similar to a battle royale with four teams. There are stationary obelisks scattered around, which your team can utilize by bringing your flag there. They're like those obelisks in Ruins of Surmia. "As long as I control this tower, it will strike lightning at yadda yadda yadda."

And actually, since Tombs and HoH don't affect ratings and all...I'd be more inclined to practice there, then bring it into GvG. There are no penalties for losses in Tombs and HoH, I believe, other than just having to start over in the tourney itself.

And even better, the team size is 8 in Tombs (and HoH, pretty sure), so having a guild team isn't a problem. From Tombs, you enter HoH, and both PvE and PvP alike can access Tombs, so it's all good. I'd recommend a PvP-only player, though. It is a bit easier with max armor and such.

[Chaos]

Alex, I have some good news. I found a way to get you free adren while using IW. I know you had talked about using SA and Gash and all of that, but the problem there is you'd have to cast AFTER doing horrid damage to build up your Adrenaline.

But if you just spend a point or two on Tactics, you can use a lovely skill by the name of "To the Limit!" In short, it is a shout which fills your Adrenaline-based hits for (X) points for each foe in the area around you. This is an awesome tool that will allow you to START OFF with IW as opposed to having small damage plinks to stock Adren. You can immediately combo into Conj. Phan., IW, SA, and Gash, and do -40 or whatever per swing, all with a health degen on the foe of at least -6. Couple that with team effort, and, well... *smiles* Need I go on?

In other news, Demos Huragesh has Ascended. Fall to your knees and beg for mercy at the feet of your God. Punch and pie will be served.

This, of course, also means I have unlocked the Team Arenas and Tombs. And Forge. Which brings me to my current problem; armor.

I'm a tad behind on my set. By a tad, I mean Ventari. I skipped the effort of gathering for Amnoon's in favor of stocking cash in order to get my topped-out Asca set. However, this set is far more costly than I imaged. I have the cash for the armor, by far. But, I need 60 more Iron Ingots and [b]32[/b] Fur Squares. That's 160 Charr hides or somewhere around another 10k in cash. So, I'm taking up donations for Charr Hides, or any type of Hide for that matter. I'll salvage the Maguuma, the Ettin, the etc. hides and use the trader in Ascalon City for promised Fur.

Sadly, I don't think I'll be on this weekend, at least not GW. Look for me on AIM, though, I should be there if I get the chance. *tips hat* All.

[Des, I thought you said I got to fight Glint? >:|]

[Desbreko]

[color=#4B0082]You do get to fight her -- it's the mission's bonus. After she's done talking, but before you run through the portal, go pick up one of her eggs to start the fight.

But anyway, I probably won't be playing Guild Wars as much for a while. I bought Tales of Symphonia today, so I'll likely be playing it a lot instead. At least until that new game hype wears off.[/color]

[Brasil]

Runeage! The screenshot here is from my PvP-only character, Jezebel Dullea. Since PvP chars only need inventory space for whatever items drop after HoH, I've been using her as my mule. She's carrying a load of stuff, including some 28 assorted runes. Take your pick! The Mes runes are slightly off-limits because I've got a primary Mes in Pre-Sear right now, but other than that, total fair game.

[center][URL=http://img361.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gwruneage1kk.jpg][IMG]http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/2660/gwruneage1kk.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[/center]

[Chaos]

...>:O

What do you want for that Major Vigor, Alex? That will help offset my Sup. Sword some, and when I finally find me a Pommel of Fortitude, I will be more or less within the clear.

Sad news for Neil, everyone. Goddamn Katrina looks like she'll be making a pretty close run here, so not only will I have to pack up the more important matters of my house, but if **** does go wrong, I might not have power or much of a house at all. I don't think this will be a repeat of Betsy, though, but I am still keeping my fingers crossed. Please, everyone, wish me luck. This is a solid house and it's on a slanted rise from the street, but... Yeah. =/

If you see me on AIM, make sure to check if I'm on my mobile. It costs me cash to IM on my phone, so if you want to talk, don't spam messages. >_<;

[Final Remix]

[font=Comic Sans MS][quote name='Siren']What I believe Alec could do is use his Lightning Wand, with Glimmering Mark activated, and simply Tab through his targets, hitting the Warriors once each. Tabbing and then Shift-Tabbing would work really well there, since you'd only be switching around a few targets.[/quote][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS][/font]
[font=Comic Sans MS]Sorry to burst yer bubble, dude. Glimmering Mark only affects the one first guy. I hit someone with it, then start spamming lightning damage on [i]that[/i] target. G.M. will blind him and anyone around automatically. And after their new "blanacing" tweaks, i've noticed that the G.M. AoE is a lot smaller.....so it'd really only be good in PvE now.:animedepr [/font]

[Brasil]

[quote name='Final Remix][font=Comic Sans MS]Sorry to burst yer bubble, dude. Glimmering Mark only affects the one first guy. I hit someone with it, then start spamming lightning damage on [i]that[/i'] target. G.M. will blind him and anyone around automatically. And after their new "blanacing" tweaks, i've noticed that the G.M. AoE is a lot smaller.....so it'd really only be good in PvE now.:animedepr [/font][/quote]
If the AoE effect is smaller now, all the more reason to fire off the Tab/Shift-Tabs and pop a few wand hits. G.M. isn't the type of Blind spell that we could cast and forget. It'd need to be constantly "re-applied." And because of that, I'd think the Tab selection and Space bar would be perfect to continually re-apply a 3-second Blind AoE duration on Melee combatants.

You enchant yourself with G.M. Bust out a Lightning Wand, then Tab through and pop each fool with one hit at a time. If we can get the timing down properly, it may very well turn out to be a constant Blind status.

And depending on the grouping in PvP, it may still work there.

[Desbreko]

[quote name='Siren']You enchant yourself with G.M.[/quote][color=#4B0082]Here's the problem with your strategy. Glimmering Mark is a hex spell that you put on a foe, rather than an enchantment that you put on yourself, if I'm not mistaken. So you can only cause the blindness by hitting the foe who you put Glimmering Mark on. Hitting others wouldn't do anything unless you put Glimmering Mark on them, also -- in which case you run into the recharge time on Glimmering Mark.[/color]

[Final Remix]

[quote name='Desbreko][color=#4b0082']Here's the problem with your strategy. Glimmering Mark is a hex spell that you put on a foe, rather than an enchantment that you put on yourself, if I'm not mistaken. So you can only cause the blindness by hitting the foe who you put Glimmering Mark on. Hitting others wouldn't do anything unless you put Glimmering Mark on them, also -- in which case you run into the recharge time on Glimmering Mark.[/color][/quote]
[i]Thank [/i]you. Although the ammt. of effect time outweighs the recharge if i'm not mistaken. 8 recharge vs. 15 seconds of "GM" which does 3-second blind every hit.