First of all, I'm sorry but I really couldn't make myself read through the 27 pages of the builds thread, and search gave me a weird error message.
Is the R/W thumper build viable in PvE? I realize it's mainly a PvP build, but I like to try something other than the ordinary, over-used PvE builds. I'm talking about the rampaging thumper ( http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Build:R...paging_Thumper ) with possibly a few modifications to adjust it for PvE play. Thoughts?
Thumper in PvE?
Muk Utep
lennymon
earth shaker/crude swing works well, haven't tried an RaO in pve though, give it a shot.
SnipiousMax
I ran a Rampage as One thumper through a large part of Nightfall, and it worked flawlessly. It's a bit front loaded, meaning you have zero to no defense, but your pet soaks up a bunch of the damage since it's right next to you most of the time. It IS a bit rough on AI healers/protters because it forces them to heal your pet, so something like an AoE needs to be avoided at all costs or you'll end up draining your healers energy reserves very quickly.
It starts to lose effectiveness when you start facing Higher level foes (Realm of Torment) and I found myself switching to something more conventional. But throughout Koruna and Vabbi at least, it carried it's weight.
Personally I'd stay away from Crude swing. But there was a On Your Knees/Lightning reflexes combo posted somewhere and it seemed pretty solid.
It starts to lose effectiveness when you start facing Higher level foes (Realm of Torment) and I found myself switching to something more conventional. But throughout Koruna and Vabbi at least, it carried it's weight.
Personally I'd stay away from Crude swing. But there was a On Your Knees/Lightning reflexes combo posted somewhere and it seemed pretty solid.
Orange Milk
The search failed? NO WAY!!
anyway,
Ya Crude Swing is Nice since the AI melee will bunch up.
With a full party of 8 Beastual Mauling really isn't needed. If you klnow a tough caster boss is on route then its nice though.
It works with no worries in my opinion.
anyway,
Ya Crude Swing is Nice since the AI melee will bunch up.
With a full party of 8 Beastual Mauling really isn't needed. If you klnow a tough caster boss is on route then its nice though.
It works with no worries in my opinion.
ZennZero
I find it to be quite effective in PvE, but I have made some modifications. Drop the res sig and use Whirling Defense instead. This can take a lot of pressure off you when things start getting heavy on the front line. The rest of your party can handle resurrections.
I also use Disrupting Lunge instead of Distracting Blow. The timing of the interrupt is less precise, but it keeps your DPS higher -- both because it gives a quick damage boost to your pet and because you aren't reliant on a time consuming, zero-damage skill. Also, you still have Hammer Bash when you need the occasional precise interrupt.
I also use Disrupting Lunge instead of Distracting Blow. The timing of the interrupt is less precise, but it keeps your DPS higher -- both because it gives a quick damage boost to your pet and because you aren't reliant on a time consuming, zero-damage skill. Also, you still have Hammer Bash when you need the occasional precise interrupt.
Total Rogue
I played through most of NF using the RaO build (capped it pretty fast, but came back for masters).
I typically play it when there's a real monk that i trust around, because sometimes the AI hero and hench don't manage their energy well enough.
to answer your question, yes it's fine - better DPS than conventional builds too.
I typically play it when there's a real monk that i trust around, because sometimes the AI hero and hench don't manage their energy well enough.
to answer your question, yes it's fine - better DPS than conventional builds too.
Muk Utep
Would you recommend something other than RaO? I thought a permanent IAS would be better than just about any other elite. I generally find knockdowns somewhat less useful in PvE than PvP, especially when you can't benefit from the warrior knockdown armor mod.
Epinephrine
Quote:
Originally Posted by Muk Utep
Would you recommend something other than RaO? I thought a permanent IAS would be better than just about any other elite. I generally find knockdowns somewhat less useful in PvE than PvP, especially when you can't benefit from the warrior knockdown armor mod.
Personally, I had fun with a pet-less thumper build in PvE -
Earth Shaker
Belly Smash
Crude Swing
"On Your Knees!"
Lightning Reflexes
Additional skills as desired (another stance as a backup for example, self heal and so on)
The fun is having 75% blocking and 33% IAS potentially all the time - you can often build for Earth Shaker in the time you have under LR and deliver it with On Your Knees!, recharging your stance. Great fun.
Earth Shaker
Belly Smash
Crude Swing
"On Your Knees!"
Lightning Reflexes
Additional skills as desired (another stance as a backup for example, self heal and so on)
The fun is having 75% blocking and 33% IAS potentially all the time - you can often build for Earth Shaker in the time you have under LR and deliver it with On Your Knees!, recharging your stance. Great fun.
XvArchonvX
Like SnipiousMax, I went through a large part of NF using a thumper build on one of my rangers. I switched to bow based builds when I joined with PuGs, but I was almost always a RaO thumper through anything I hench/heroed. I used the same build posted on Wiki, with Disrupting Lunge instead of Distracting Blow.
lennymon
Quote:
Originally Posted by Epinephrine
Personally, I had fun with a pet-less thumper build in PvE -
Earth Shaker
Belly Smash
Crude Swing
"On Your Knees!"
Lightning Reflexes
Additional skills as desired (another stance as a backup for example, self heal and so on)
The fun is having 75% blocking and 33% IAS potentially all the time - you can often build for Earth Shaker in the time you have under LR and deliver it with On Your Knees!, recharging your stance. Great fun.
Near permanent ias AND defense ;P is better than ias/move, especially when it can be done without adding in any beastmastery. Epinephrine hit the nail right on the head there. Advantage of course truthfully that its in the expertise line. 16 expertise, 12hammer, what else you neeed...ok 4 in WS for a little troll. One could also add in some adrenaline boosters like [skill]"To the Limit!"[/skill] or the unattributed [skill]"For Great Justice!"[/skill] for better control of stance recharge.
Earth Shaker
Belly Smash
Crude Swing
"On Your Knees!"
Lightning Reflexes
Additional skills as desired (another stance as a backup for example, self heal and so on)
The fun is having 75% blocking and 33% IAS potentially all the time - you can often build for Earth Shaker in the time you have under LR and deliver it with On Your Knees!, recharging your stance. Great fun.
Near permanent ias AND defense ;P is better than ias/move, especially when it can be done without adding in any beastmastery. Epinephrine hit the nail right on the head there. Advantage of course truthfully that its in the expertise line. 16 expertise, 12hammer, what else you neeed...ok 4 in WS for a little troll. One could also add in some adrenaline boosters like [skill]"To the Limit!"[/skill] or the unattributed [skill]"For Great Justice!"[/skill] for better control of stance recharge.
XvArchonvX
I think some people take a look at the RaO thumper build and judge it as being a bad choice for PvE since it has no defensive skills or self heals, but in 9 times out of 10, a damage reduction ability is better than a self heal in a PvE group with a monk. For a Thumper, this comes from the high AL and damage absorbtion of the pet. While this still leaves a thumper with less defense than a full tank, it is still better than many other builds (such as those often run by inexprienced assasins) in terms of protection. As long as you also run nothing but minor runes also, the enemy AI will be less likely to target you as well. In addition to this, having a dire pet will also make it more likely to get attacked than you while contributing to damage output.
Muk Utep
Thanks for the advice. Now I just have to level up that damn pet :-/
ZennZero
Quote:
Originally Posted by Muk Utep
Thanks for the advice. Now I just have to level up that damn pet :-/
If you just want a quick level 20 pet and have Factions, capture the Black Moa. It will save you a lot of trouble.