The GW definition of "spike"

Story:
I was in Ruin of Morah and saw some guy selling 20/20 sundering and telling people how it's the best prefix for weapon. I start arguing how vampiric is better than sundering, then some other guy argue against me and say how sundering is better. His arguement is that sundering is good for spiking. I counter him by saying what's the use of spiking if the precise time sundering trigger cannot be controled?

What exactly is a spike? My definition is that multiple player use high damage attacks on the same target at the same time. But the other guy say it's any damage higher than normal. Just what is this normal?

To put it simple: What is a spike?

You're right, and the guy selling the sundering mod doesn't know what he's talking about.

Here is 'a' Spike...


Ohhhh... You meant a Guild Wars Spike... Yeah, dunno really. I always thought it was when you get nailed by heaps of Rangers at once... Isnt there a ranger skill called spike?

Bah, I don't know... I'm just bored

I try to tell people this, There is NO best mod. It's all personal preference.

Put it this way:

I have a sundering you, you have vamp., my friend has Legnthens bleeding.
Another guy has Armor + Physical.

It's all based on what YOU want.

To answer your question. Alot of damage over a short period of time.

vamp is infinitely better for spiking.

A spike is any large number, usually reached by multiple activating the same action on a single target. (eg, spike healing would be several monks all using orison of healing at teh same time on a single target)

And yes you are correct, when going for a spike, in fact in any kind of PvP it is best to have something that you can control, a 20% is uncontrollable, however the +5 damage from vamp will ALWAYS happen.

Vamp>sundering, no matter if you're spiking or not.

Spike doesn't necessarily refer to the SAME action. It could be damage from multiple sources of multiple types, to eliminate type-specific counters. This is exhibited in rainbow spike.

A spike to me is two different things:

team spike, I guess most of you know what I'm talking about
solo spike, only kinda valueable in lowlvl/random pvp, where the monks are bad or nonexistant. a warrior builds up adrenaline and goes evic+ex strike, or an ele hits orb, strike in rapid sucsession. Either way, the 20/20 is way too conditional for me, I go vamp or zealous if I'm doing a sin

With a vamp 3/1 mod at each 5 strikes you will get >ever< >if you strike< 15 more damage
With a sund 20/20 mod at each 5 strikes you will get 5 chances of a big strike, for a good player with good weapows this damage bonus will be larger than 15 damage... and you have the chance of more than a good strike in 5...

Vampiric is good for barrage rangers, for my ranger i still using a drago 20/20.
Spike usualy is for pvp, where hugh damage in small time is the best...

I see this kind of "knowledge" being thrown around as if it were the be-all-end-all of everything, when in fact they likely heard it from another person who was similarly misinformed.

Vamp is better for spiking. Not only is the damage controllable, the average damage done is higher as well. I could go into the entire damage calculation, but it's a little messy, so just take my word for it that on average it's higher.

However, Vamp results in a loss of life. Under ideal circumstances, i.e. an endless IAS and a fresh supply of targets that never requires you to move and you never miss, you do gain a small net amount of life. However, most of GW combat is less than ideal. In PvE you're constantly switching to new targets, IAS' are rarely maintainable indefinately, and you frequently miss your target as a result of enchantments, hexes, or blind. Taken together you lose a substantial amount of life over time, even if you swap weapons efficiently. (Which frankly, is rather tedious)

Sundering does away with all that. It works with no detriment to you, ever. It's always a net increase in damage, no matter how little. It's not conditional like needing to have skills that cause bleeding, or skills that somehow benefit from an elemental handle.

For some people, this is preferable. For me, the sundering mod allows me to hit 3-digit damage on non-attack skill critical hits to AL 60. It's a preference that I personally choose.

I would say a spike is a simultaneous attack from two or more players that deals more damage than can be healed through.

Vampiric and Sundering have very similar, if not the same damage output. I have tested them both, on multiple armor levels, and have found this to be true. Neither is better, they are just different.

Well, to the ORIGINAL post. The term "spike" in GW varies a bit.
PvP, it usually refers to a team coordinated attack on a single target using skills that deliver direct dmg (or direct healing).
PvE, it can refer to ANY high amount of direct dmg received or delivered in a short period of time.

To the Sundering vs Vamp argument. This ONLY concerns Weapon classes (Warriors, Rangers, Assasins, Dervishes, Paragons). To put it simply, it is a matter of ONE word only: Preference. Each has drawbacks and each can serve a function in terms of "spike" dmg. Vamp has life degeneration, and Sundering has a 1/5 chance to initiate...

Feurin Longcastle, put that point forth very well and speaks the truth. In fact, there is NO argument to what is best. It is according to the user and how they wish to deliver dmg and/or suffer the detriments of either one. This argument is about as useless as the Axe vs Sword debate: a waste of brainpower...

cheers!

This has been proven in many threads to be an inaccurate statement. Over time, Vampiric has a higher damage per second impact than Sundering. There absolutely is no debate there.

If their damage is the same, but one allow life gain and the other don't. Which is better?

Further more, Sundering do armor penetration, while vampiric is completely armor ignoring. Which is better?

Sundering allows more damage that can be reduced by spells like Protective Spirit and Life Barrier, but Vampiric completely bypass that. Which is better?

Actually, you have it a bit backwards.

Vampiric is better for pressure. It simply causes more damage over time than Sundering. So, on average, Vampiric will cause your weapon to be more effective than Sundering over time.

Spiking, however, is generally defined as the ability to cause high amounts of damage within a few seconds, to make the possibility/probability of that damage being healed remote.

Sundering, because of its 20% probability, is basically an "all or nothing" mod. As such, it actually works better in solo or 2-3 man spiking situations if you are of the mind set "if I don't kill him with the spike, I'm going to stop the attack."

Vampiric is more of a "guaranteed damage" modifier. In a spike, that extra +3 damage over around 3 or so hits isn't enough for a single attacker to take down a target. With a large number of people spiking - yes, it makes a difference.

So, as others have said, Vampiric is generally preferable to Sundering. However, in very limited circumstances, Sundering actually has some value in excess of Vampiric. Very few circumstances, mind you...

i know, it's really tedious!!1

Spike is DPS (Damage Per Second) that is really high, in other words damage higher than normal at the same time being hhig damage attack from multiple players at the same time

For r-spike I prefer vamp horned bow (dual shot FTW). Vamp is especially good when you have a stance which increases your attack speed. And yes a "spike" is when someone is designated a caller and does a countdown, each person deals damage to that target at the same time. For r spike and blood spike it is quite easy. A mixed spike takes a little more co ordination depending on the cast times etc...

Not this again!
/sigh


I like Zealous.