Attributes:
Scythe Mastery: 12+1+3 = 16
Mysticism: 12+3 =15
(superior runes are really optional - minors could work very well)
Zealous Scythe (or vampiric), 15 over 50,
Energy set on armors, making for a 37 mana pool
Skills:
1. Avatar of Melandru * (Elite) For 75 seconds, you have +200 Health, you are unaffected by Conditions, and your attacks deal earth damage. This Skill is disabled for 120 seconds. (25e 2s cast, 10s recharge)
2. Wearying Strike - If this attack hits, you deal +33 damage and inflict a Deep Wound for 10 seconds. You suffer from Weakness for 10 seconds - 5e, 2 sec recharge
3. Victorious Sweep - If this attack hits, you deal +33 damage. If the target foe has less Health than you, you gain 83 Health. 5e, 4 sec recharge
4. Wild Blow – Lose all adrenaline. If it hits, this attack will result in a critical hit and any Stance being used by your target ends. This attack cannot be "blocked" or "evaded." 5e 5sec recharge
5. Pious Haste - Stance. For 10 seconds you move 25% faster. When this Stance ends, you lose 1 Enchantment. 5 e 12 sec recharge
6. Frenzy or Heart of Fury (I don’t like enchantments…too vulnerable to rely on them - however, if you take frenzy you better know how to use it
)7. Utility skill (chilling vistory, Distracting blow, some sort of self healing etc.)
8. Resurrection signet
With this build I was able to cut through the four armors on Isle of the Nameless in about 42-45 secs. The 60 armor goes down in 6-7 secs. The DPS is amazing and you’re also very easy to keep alive, since a lot of the enemy offence against you is negated.
First the combo: Melandru + Wearying is probably a mixture of the best defensive elite and the best offensive elite possible. Immunity to conditions means on one hand:
a) you’re harder to kill - no poison, bleeding, disease, burning – immune to SF, to tainted, resistent to most sword/axe combos and to many assassin or ranger combos.
b) you’re harder to shutdown – no blind, criple, weakness.
c) you can spam "eviscerate" every 2 seconds
I did some testing and maths for the damage part.
A regular attack for a 16 Scythe Mastery vs a 60 armor varies between 15 –65 or 16-64 (different opinions) – for an average of 40. Assuming one critical of 92 every 5 swings that makes for an average damage per hit of 50.4
Assuming you unload WS, VS and WB while under Frenzy that’s a total damage of (50 +33) + (50+33) + 92 = 258 damage + deep wound (say 100 more) - that’s 358 damage in 3.5 secs. Usually this will drain a monk and start some panic.
This whole chain costs only 12 energy (with a zealous scythe) and you recover 3-4 from natural regeneration. 4 seconds after the initial swing you can continue the chain with another WS and VS for an aditional 166. In fact the chain goes more like this:
1- Wearying
2- Victorious
3- Wild blow
4- Wearying
5- Normal attack (50 damage)
6- Victorious
The total damage in 6* 1.15 = 7 secs is 4 * 83 + 92 + 50 + 100 (dw) = 574 … No wonder the armor was dead in a single frenzy The energy cost is 5 Frenzy + 5 *5 (attacks cost) -6 (zealous) –7 (natural regen) = 17 energy. That’s really decent.
At the same time, you recovered 163 HP from the two Victorius hits (with Melandru you probably have more HP than him
) which makes for more than a healing signet at 16.While a regular warrior has to charge his adrenals before using their combos, you are only limited by your energy issues which are less strict (except for direct attacks to it but then..). Your damage is also less conditional .
Something like Orders of the vampire will not only add to your damage and healing but also 5 energy and 15 HP when the enchantment ends….mmm….I can smell DervWay coming.
Catching a kiting target can be done with Pious haste.
Since you cannot be blinded or crippled, the odds your attacks actually land are way higher.
In top GvG, this build will never replace adren spike warriors because:
1. top teams monks are so good that they will never let conditions on their warriors
2. top teams monks are so good that no matter how huge the damage is, if it comes over 4 or 7 secs they will manage to counter it.
However, in mid level GvG I’ve seen too many times warriors made useless by blinds and cripples and I know that the various conditions are part of any offensive plan.
Try it and tell me what you think of it.
Earendil
