e/d stoneflesh tank.....

i know how many flames im going to get for posting this, but it really needs to be said (and sorry if it already has been).

the whole build of mystic regen, stoneflesh aura, sliver armor, etc...seriously needs a nerf. yes, yes it has its counters but believe me, even mass enchant removal such as rend enchantments doesnt stop this build. now i know this build cant do that much damage, but it is damn ridiculous to have an invincible elementalist running around tanking over 5 warriors and assassins at a time. the only real counter to this build would be a build such as a migraine interupter or energy shutdown. now how many of those do you see in AB? next to none...only one every once in a while. this build is way to abused and in my opinion, its dumb to have a build that only another specific build can kill. i used rend enchantment against this build (removed 6 enchantments)just after the ele had casted all of his enchants, and within no time at all, he was back up running at his full "invincible" state. with a ranger, i used three interupts against it and still no use. LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR--yes the build has its counters like every other build, but this build has minimal counters. they are near impossible to shut down.

the skills are hardly overpowered. the thing is, AB means nothing. you can be effective with the most absurd builds imaginable in ab/ra.this is because of the incompetence/lack of coordination of [most] everyone present.

bottom line (irrelevance of AB aside): if it's ridiculous then why does it need to be nerfed? you yourself said it's good for nothing, no damage, nadda.

p.s. snares > stoneflesh llama

well of profane, gaze of contempt, drain/shatter/inspired enchant, but the absolute BEST SHUT DOWN for this build is so in your face obvious. JUST LEAVE HIM ALONE. Seriously, if all he does it tank just don't fight him? You are a person with free will, memory, and intellect. Not a monster with AI that tells it to attack something until it dies.

The only problem is its getting abused in GvG's, anet normally likes to "alter" if you will, builds that are overused in GvG.

I think making Mystic Regeneration go under Myst. would work pretty well. All are great skills that I'd hate to see nerffed, but a build that can take out a keep without having your health drop below 3/4 is in for an inevidable change.

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i signed the other thread concerning mystic regen being moved to mysticism. better to move the skill then nerf it to worthlessness. and as for the e/d tanks in ab/ra, they arent going to be the reason we see a nerf to mystic, it will be because of the before mentioned GvG gankers. whenever GvG becomes out of balance, anet is pretty swift with their nerfs.

Things are going to be slightly more imbalanced in enviornments where you can trust that your teammates are going to be near-incompetent. Don't like it? Bring gaze of contempt, and he'll drop immediately in the middle of tanking, if you can catch him without obs flesh up. Chillblains would also work. The template is basically the old WM two man sin gank squad with infinite shadow forms, only with less thought.

WTB mesmer, anyone?

Things DO become problematic in GVG with earth gankers, which is why Anet might want to change it, but no way in hell should they nerf something just because it's too good in AB, which is barely a step above RA in terms of metagame issues. There are a whole host of issues I have with AB and how Anet royally screwed up the enviornment, but I digress (basically, 12v12 GVG would be awesome on maps that are really big and open and it's not as competitive since you don't lose rating, instead we get a new version of randoms).

Mystic Regen is the only one that is close to being overpowered.

Frankly I don't get the ele tanks in RA because half of the time they suck. They pack so many things to keep themselves alive that they can't attack worth crap. Maby a sandstorm here and there, but really they suck. Not to mention I can bring gaze of contempt and the ele is a deer in the headlights.

obs flesh>gaze of contempt. There are a few issues with the guild lord ganking though, but generally a dom mesmer will destroy them.

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if u daze him, he cant do much..

I think both Mystic Regeneration and Stoneflesh Aura are cause for concern.

Peace,
-CxE

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I agree on both skills being problematic. Stoneflesh on its own is an all around great spell. Granted it has a long cast time, so on its own it isnt too bad and can be interrupted. But stacking it on something like armor or earth or mystic regen is insane. E/D stoneflesh tank is crazy and just about immune to everything but a full rend or a mesmer as pointed out. However these two skills are FAR from "balanced."

Mystic Regen is a volitile subject only because its so essential to a dervish. In the hands of a dervish its a fair skill because dervs are constantly sacrificing enchantments and ARE a front line melee class that needs this kind of regenerative survival. However when you slap mystic regen on an enchantment heavy caster like a bonder monk or elementalist, then you have some serious issues.

People cry that there are counters, but still being forced to play mesmer or bring a full rend for one class is rediculous. That and your E/D or Mo/D has friends. They can easily melee train your mesmer or whatnot.

Try fighting a stoneflesh tank paired up with a spirit spammer and Zb shield of absorption Mo/A with return. Not fun eh?

Im not too worried about stoneflesh because I can smell the nerf. However mystic regeneration is alot more touchy. It doesnt need a nerf, it just needs to be taken out of the hands of secondary caster abusers. Nerf it and Dervish become sins with a scythe and no shadow steps.

Seriously having mystic regeneration in earth prayers with only a 8 point requirement to max its potential is like having spell breaker in protection prayers.

I don't think that Mystic Regeneration in its current form is 'essential' to the Dervish. None of the competitive PvP builds use it, and Mystic Regeneration isn't a skill that makes Dervishes viable in DoA or something. The trouble with the skill is how it only becomes ridiculously strong on a useless character. It's only earth tanks, or other guys stacking five to seven defensive enchantments, that are making this silly.

A proposed nerf to the skill that I like quite a bit is for it to give 1...4 health regeneration, and an additional 1...4 health regeneration if you have another enchantment. The skill would still do what was expected of it on offensive characters, while disabling super grief mode.

Stoneflesh Aura on the other hand I don't feel is as guilty, and is more of a tipping point. Earth Eles have had a ton of stackable defenses for a long time, and Stoneflesh Aura is the addition that pushed them into the abusive range. Of course the effect is nutty, with any variety of armor and DR buffs this quickly reduces all damage taken to zero. Unlike other armors, the casting time on this at least makes it vulnerable.

However the geotank is starting to feel like the 55 Monk, without all the gimmicky stuff needed to maintain your energy. While Earth Elementalist offense isn't something to get excited about, a lot of people do, and when you can mount it on defenses this hard, it's going to get run. Yes, it's disruptable, just as 55ers are, but it has the same set of problems as far as degenerate farming goes.

Peace,
-CxE

Easiest counter which I bring on my RaO thumper. Dazed. No more new enchants, they die while they keep casting it. But I agree it should go into the dervishes primary attribute to make it more balanced.

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