E/Me Smite only run: Mass aggro and quick! - Guild Wars Guru archive powered by Guild Wars Legacy

Zeddicus Tam

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Dec 2006

USA

Fading Twilight [dusk]

Mo/Me

20 Jan 2007 at 09:19 - 201

I can also confirm that this build still works fine. The hardest part is definitely killing the graspings in the first room. As others have said, you have to wait for them to use Distracting Blow. Then put AV/SV up and immediately go into your attack chain. Or if you're quick enough, you can put AV/SV up right before the graspings get to you. This can be pretty risky and can result in an extremely embarrassing death.

I recommend pulling just 1 group at a time before trying all 3 groups so you can practice your timing with the reduced AV/SV duration. So far I've had better success by pulling 1 or 2 groups. It makes it a bit slower but also less stressful.

As far as the smites are concerned, they can be killed exactly as they were before.

SkowroN

Academy Page

Join Date: Jan 2006

Proud member of [LAoD]

R/

20 Jan 2007 at 11:20 - 202

Build works fine, I did 3 runs just after update, wtih no problems at all. I do this like I used to: Stoneflesh->Striker->Mantra->Haste->SV then aggro. Now it gets tricky because of shortened SV, wait till grasps use Distracts then: Snadstorm->Earthquake->Aftershock wait for one grasp to die and then Stoneflesh. Finish remaining Grasps with Aftershock or just wand them to death.
Only one thing changed: You cant run around with grasps on your shoulders coz SV is going to end really quick. Just aggro, run till you shake Ataxes off then stop and go for your dmg combo. This way SV lasts enough to clean them from energy.

AscalonWarrior

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Apr 2006

Kokkola, Finland

Mo/

20 Jan 2007 at 13:27 - 203

I find this almost impossible, due to 1 sec casting time of Rend Echantments. I pull Smites, then DN pops up and I'm done.

blakecraw

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Nov 2005

Austin, TX

20 Jan 2007 at 17:40 - 204

Quote:

Originally Posted by AscalonWarrior

I find this almost impossible, due to 1 sec casting time of Rend Echantments. I pull Smites, then DN pops up and I'm done. you can just wait for rend, then use storm djinn's haste and run away and regroup

kumiel

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jun 2005

20 Jan 2007 at 18:04 - 205

This build also works great against minotaurs when you dont have favor. Just wait 1-2 sec after casting Sandstorm before casting Earthquake. The trick is the little delay there.

Zeddicus Tam

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Dec 2006

USA

Fading Twilight [dusk]

Mo/Me

20 Jan 2007 at 19:30 - 206

Something I've noticed while doing this is that having half cast on my spells actually throws my timing off and has led to numerous deaths. So instead of using a staff with HCT, I use a custom made staff with a "Hale and Hearty" inscription.

An inscribable staff that can do the trick (and will be useful just about anywhere) can be crafted in Camp Hojanu by Bolereh. I crafted an Ether Staff (requires Energy Storage) so I can use it with any magic type but an Earth Staff will work too.

So all you need is an inscribable Ether/Earth Staff from Bolereh, a perfect Insightful Staff Head (Energy +5), a "Hale and Hearty" inscription (or another non-HCT inscription of your choice), and a perfect Staff Wrapping of Enchanting.
Quote:

Originally Posted by AscalonWarrior

I find this almost impossible, due to 1 sec casting time of Rend Echantments. I pull Smites, then DN pops up and I'm done. In addition to blakecraw's suggestion (which I second), I suggest trying to get the Dying Nightmares to pop before engaging any group of Smites. If a Nightmare pops while you're being chased by the Smites, use Stoneflesh Aura and Storm Djinn's Haste as soon as you get rended. Then run away from the Nightmare/Smites and recover if you have to. It's usually possible to pull the Smites and the Nightmares separately.

I can usually run away from the Smites/Nightmares and take out the Nightmares without having to run away to recover but this isn't a sure thing. The trick is to get close enough to the Nightmares so you can quickly kill them and getting far enough away from the Smites so you don't get beat to death without Stoneflesh Aura up. Timing your casting of Stoneflesh Aura is vital to your survival in this type of situation. Typically I cast Stoneflesh Aura, wait for it to get halfway recharged (to shorten the window if I get rended), use Storm Djinn's Haste, and run through the Smites to get the Nightmares to pop.

Enko

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jun 2006

VA

Mo/

20 Jan 2007 at 22:39 - 207

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeddicus Tam

I can usually run away from the Smites/Nightmares and take out the Nightmares without having to run away to recover but this isn't a sure thing. The trick is to get close enough to the Nightmares so you can quickly kill them and getting far enough away from the Smites so you don't get beat to death without Stoneflesh Aura up. Timing your casting of Stoneflesh Aura is vital to your survival in this type of situation. Typically I cast Stoneflesh Aura, wait for it to get halfway recharged (to shorten the window if I get rended), use Storm Djinn's Haste, and run through the Smites to get the Nightmares to pop. Usually what I do is that once I get into UW, cast Storm Djinn's and run around the inner perimeter of the bowl. That agros all the DNs. Run away from the Aatxes and Earthquake the DNs. Once they're dead, then talk to the Lost Soul and bring out the Graspings.

underboss

Academy Page

Join Date: Jan 2006

W/A

20 Jan 2007 at 22:49 - 208

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enko

Usually what I do is that once I get into UW, cast Storm Djinn's and run around the inner perimeter of the bowl. That agros all the DNs. Run away from the Aatxes and Earthquake the DNs. Once they're dead, then talk to the Lost Soul and bring out the Graspings. That's EXACTLY what I do. Works perfectly everytime and you don't have to worry about anything afterwards. As far as smites, I just make sure that if DN pops up I wait for the Rend, put up SDH and run away. Then I quickly put enchants up, comes back and kill DN while aggroing smites. problem solved.

aB-

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jun 2005

20 Jan 2007 at 23:01 - 209

Quote:

Originally Posted by AscalonWarrior

I find this almost impossible, due to 1 sec casting time of Rend Echantments. I pull Smites, then DN pops up and I'm done. I haven't had the time to try this with all of the new changes, but if you have stoneflesh aura recharged, you could probably start casting it a second or so after you see the dying nightmare pop up. They would rend off the original stoneflesh and the new one would be up before the smites could get many, if any, hits in. Of course, if stoneflesh isn't recharged this wouldn't work, and you could use haste to run away.

Another idea is to aggro the smites without casting stoneflesh. If a nightmare pops up on your aggro, cast haste and let him rend that off, then cast stoneflesh.

blakecraw

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Nov 2005

Austin, TX

20 Jan 2007 at 23:22 - 210

Just today I accidentally went in UW with three heroes along, so I decided to send them off to play with the aatxes, one at a time in different directions. They aggro'd the nightmares for me, so I may take heroes on purpose in the future for that reason.

Zeddicus Tam

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Dec 2006

USA

Fading Twilight [dusk]

Mo/Me

21 Jan 2007 at 08:58 - 211

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enko

Usually what I do is that once I get into UW, cast Storm Djinn's and run around the inner perimeter of the bowl. That agros all the DNs. Run away from the Aatxes and Earthquake the DNs. Once they're dead, then talk to the Lost Soul and bring out the Graspings. That's a good idea. I'm not sure why I didn't think of that but it works great. Thanks!

d r e a d375

Academy Page

Join Date: May 2006

the Netherlands

Farmers Union [CASH]

N/Me

21 Jan 2007 at 10:57 - 212

they do get a part of ur money drops

blakecraw

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Nov 2005

Austin, TX

21 Jan 2007 at 13:34 - 213

Quote:

Originally Posted by d r e a d375

they do get a part of ur money drops

not when they're dead in the first chamber

but yah, running around w/ sdh on works better for aggroing nightmares anyway, so I won't be taking heroes.. not on purpose at least.

speedy21589

Academy Page

Join Date: Jan 2006

21 Jan 2007 at 14:42 - 214

Quote:

Originally Posted by blakecraw

not when they're dead in the first chamber

How come it still says you share gold with your party then? even when you are at smites?

I'm pretty sure gold drops are shared no matter how far the heroes are. Unless the statement is bugged and you actually keep all the gold.

blakecraw

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Nov 2005

Austin, TX

21 Jan 2007 at 15:44 - 215

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedy21589

How come it still says you share gold with your party then? even when you are at smites? aah I never noticed, I just thought it said "you pick up xxx gold", but yah you're right. No more heroes for me!

AscalonWarrior

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Apr 2006

Kokkola, Finland

Mo/

21 Jan 2007 at 17:19 - 216

You do share money, but not drops. Heroes don't take drops if their names are gray.

lunaticmo1

Academy Page

Join Date: Mar 2006

26 Jan 2007 at 08:59 - 217

AWBwwV9huCPoW1AsV/q Templet for this build post on front, =)

Hyprodimus Prime

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jul 2006

Vancouver BC

Sorrow Masters

E/

28 Jan 2007 at 01:01 - 218

is something wrong? Today I wake up to find i cant smite run! I was doing it just yesterday fine. But today it seems as if my enchantments arent lasting long enough. SD haste cant get me past the aatxes, visage isnt draining the energy and stone striker is ending at such unusual times. Is something im doing wrong?

sLiceR

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Oct 2005

Milan, Italy

[可愛い]

28 Jan 2007 at 08:38 - 219

do you guys think it is possible to do this with a Me/E?

Koning

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2006

28 Jan 2007 at 08:59 - 220

first of all, if the new skill changes really will be implemented, av/sv is still the way to go. like others already said, just cast it when you lured the grasping group on you after they wasted their interrupts (to lure those out + to be sure, attack once or twice and if you won't get interrupted, you are safe). luring 2 groups at once is still very easy, but most of getting them in the narrow space next to the stairs is risky.
Also I was able to lure all 3 groups at once and kill them when I used glyph of concentration. But this is very very risky and you need perfect timing for it. I could do it only once out of the 3 tries so i stopped wasting money on it, but it's possible.

About your question hyprodimus, I've quickly tested it on kirins in pongmei (since europe hasn't favor yet

) but nothing has changed, still like in the skill description. I'm going to uw later....

lordgambit

Academy Page

Join Date: May 2006

The Gods Favor [US]

28 Jan 2007 at 19:41 - 221

hi, i saw several posts refering to a W/Me guide that has the details on running, i am used to solo FoW and getting the running part is critical, any chance someone has the guide bookmarked (tried searching before posting, found tons of videos, but a quick map of how to run would help a lot)

thx for the build... power to ele!

PS I got a guildie to show me around, thx for posting the build it works great....

bored-.-bored

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Nov 2006

Behind You...

X Team Slayers X

28 Jan 2007 at 20:20 - 222

Great build i finally got Sandstorm and i got 2 ectos on my 1st run 1 on my 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 3 on 5th ,0 on 6th, 7th..

Xethrion

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jun 2005

Ka Tet of Gilead

Me/W

30 Jan 2007 at 14:58 - 223

Have been running this build awhile with an Insightful Earth Staff of Enchanting (+15% while enchanted) and Pyromancer Armour, and have had good results so far (42 ectos and counting!)

I do have a question though. For those with the equipment, how much damage do you take with Geomancer armour, as well as a shield with +10 against earth?

That would be a combined armour level of 98 (60 + 10 + 10 + 8 + 10) with stone striker active. Am pretty interested to see just how much damage reduction we can get, with just Stone Striker, Mantra of Earth, and the max armour level against earth that we can pack, and whether Stoneflesh is really necessary against darknesses or smites or both

Kcp

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Dec 2005

OBF

N/

30 Jan 2007 at 15:28 - 224

Stoneflesh, is needed if you intend on taking large amounts of smites even with max armor vs earth. The squids aren't a big deal I've regularly been interrupted and killed them all with no stoneflesh.

If you take 1 group at a time the entire run you wont need it more then likely. There's really no advantage to not using it, and bringing another damage skill to replace it isn't going to speed things up since you only need the 3 earth spells for damage.

The only damage you will take with the 98 armor is from frozen burst and icespikes from the CFN's and the occasional smite hex from a smite removing the water hexes. Off the top of my head ( haven't ran uw in a couple days) -11 damage from icespikes and -22 damage from frozen burst. No threat there, you will regen while fighting them. this is with stoneflesh up of course.
* I aggro everything at times out of boredom of running smites for ectos.

Whenever you guys find yourself in the UW and your region loses favor, you can solo the obsidian behemoths for keys. JUst don't mess with the charged blackness's. * wait a couple minutes after killing them to pick up the drops unless you like wading thru traps.

Xethrion

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jun 2005

Ka Tet of Gilead

Me/W

30 Jan 2007 at 16:00 - 225

Nice! That means that if we want to kill coldfires, or have the option to, having the afore-mentioned gear would be of great help. Thanks kcp

wyld fang

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jan 2007

A/W

30 Jan 2007 at 16:36 - 226

<3 something for eles to do finally, the whole Rt thing seems brittle in comparison 0.0

Xethrion

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jun 2005

Ka Tet of Gilead

Me/W

31 Jan 2007 at 08:47 - 227

Too bad it's going to be nerfed soon. In all honesty, this is too good for ANet not to ruin it, like they've done to every single UW build I've ever used before.

And by nerfed, I mean beyond what we've seen last weekend, with the changes to AV/SV as well as Rend enchantments. Just can't shake the feeling it's not going to last for long.

Suxipo

Banned

Join Date: Feb 2006

02 Feb 2007 at 00:02 - 228

just got Sandstorm today and they hit me immediately with new updates today!

Damn ANet!

kumiel

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jun 2005

02 Feb 2007 at 00:17 - 229

Looks like the sandstorm nerf is going to be bad. Although it should still be able to work if you do it right...

If America gets favor I'll try to figure out if the build will work.

Cuddly Boo

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Jan 2007

APF

W/

02 Feb 2007 at 00:23 - 230

Well, they nerfed AV/SV aswell..

Sympathetic Visage: decreased recharge time to 20 seconds, decreased duration to 4..10 seconds.
Ancestor's Visage: decreased recharge time to 20 seconds, decreased duration to 4..10 seconds.

Ayumu

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Dec 2006

02 Feb 2007 at 01:06 - 231

Not much of a nerf ... wait about 0.5 seconds more between Sandstorm and Earthquake, that's about it. Sometimes one or two potential Ectodroppers will survive with about 30 HP. More a minor annoyance than a nerf.

Hermessar

Academy Page

Join Date: Mar 2006

Belgium

We Are Too Cute In [Pink]

Me/

02 Feb 2007 at 01:49 - 232

In regards with this (most exelent) build: I'm fine with the skillbalance, even though it didn't make it any easier.

Swame Rain

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Aug 2006

Washington

Lazy

Mo/

02 Feb 2007 at 01:52 - 233

still works...but can be a little slower now..

Hyprodimus Prime

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jul 2006

Vancouver BC

Sorrow Masters

E/

02 Feb 2007 at 06:17 - 234

Yup, i think thats all the wanted.

Evilsod

Banned

Join Date: Mar 2006

England

Lievs Death Squad [LDS]

02 Feb 2007 at 09:26 - 235

Anyone tried to do this without Mantra of Earth?

That way you could free a slot for Glyph of Ele Power and wipe the floor with them in 1 go again.

daraaksii

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Oct 2005

02 Feb 2007 at 09:30 - 236

Mantra of Earth is needed becouse of energy and 34% dmg reduction

Koning

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2006

02 Feb 2007 at 11:44 - 237

actually only for the energy, the dmg reduction isn't that big and stoneflesh absorbs all the dmg you take anyway.

But with this new sandstorm it's still easy doable. The smites go down like normal cause you do more than enough damage to them. If you wanna make sure they all die in 1 round, block them in a corner. That way IF they run, sandstorm still hits them and you aftershock too.
The graspings might give you more problems because b4 the update it took only 1 aftershock to kill them, and now you need a dragonstom+aftershock to kill them. So make sure to put sv on (still the way to go) b4 you cast that combo.

djanubis2005

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Dec 2006

E/Me

02 Feb 2007 at 19:08 - 238

So now we should cast SV/Av after we aggro? Get a sup rune of illusion? Change attributes around?

The graspins are a major problem now. I tried waiting a bit longer on sandstorm but either they scatter or they get to about 50% hp. After that they drain my energy b/c SV still hasn't recharged, and I can't do anything

Thanks for the advice Koning. Any tips for killing the graspins after the update would be greatly appreciated.

~~

Blonde Warrior

Academy Page

Join Date: Oct 2006

Psycho Titans[PT]

W/

02 Feb 2007 at 19:54 - 239

I have been able to kill the graspins but it is very difficult now and time consuming now, I'm also having trouble killing the smites as there isn't enough damage to kill them now and they just run away. Stupid A-nerf. I have aslo noticed dying nightmares spawn more than they usually do after the update any else noticed this?

daraaksii

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Oct 2005

03 Feb 2007 at 08:31 - 240

The graspings still noobs. You cast SV or AV after they've used distracting blow. Immediatly cast SS -> EQ -> AS. Cast Stoneflesh Aura again, Wait for the 2 or 3 come back, than cast SV or AV again after distractings. You need to use EQ and AS to kill them now. That's all.