Whats with Earth Prayers?

narcotic squirrel

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jan 2007

Rt/N

I just got Nightfall and have been checking out the Dervish builds and so far ive only seen builds that focus on earth prayers. I dunno but i thought the wind prayers looked better than the earth ones(though given i have only seen the starting ones. I just wanted to know why most people focus on earth prayers instead of the others.

ArKaiN

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jan 2007

Lotus Branca[Lbr]

Mo/Me

Its pretty simple, really.
Dervishes are a heavy melee clas, much like a Warrior. We stand right in front of our foes. Only our armor's nowhere as good an a Warrior's. What do you do?
Increase your life total. Add the best life regen skill in all of GW.
What you don't do? Make yourself faster/do pretty tricks(you still die too quickly to make any difference).
Point: Earth prayers covers D's biggest weakness, our endurance. Wind is for running, mostly. Sad, but true.

Stormlord Alex

Stormlord Alex

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Dec 2005

Beyond the Forest of Doom, past the Cavern of Agony... on Kitten & Puppy Island

Soul of Melandru [sOm]

W/E

Wind Prayers are generally for PvP - they provide the snares and the speed buffs that a melee class needs to chase down and slaughter foes. Here, having defensive skills is not as important as being an offensive beast.

Earth Prayers are more of a PvE attribute - the Dervish is a lightly armoured combatant on the front lines, facing off against big, nasty monsters with sharp, pointy teeth. As foes deal a lot of damage, yet hardly try to flee from you, offensive speed buffs are not as important as staying alive, which Earth Prayers performs remarkably well at.

Also, Wind Prayers has the only non-elite hex removal available to the Dervish: [skill]Pious Restoration[/skill] When I get round to taking my Dev into PvP arenas, it's certainly a skill I'd consider.

Coloneh

Coloneh

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Nov 2006

D/W

wind prayers is pretty sad actually. it really only has 1 good skill that i can think of. i wouldnt take any wind prayers except harrier's haste (excepts as a derv healer).

Thom Bangalter

Thom Bangalter

Grindin'

Join Date: Dec 2005

MO

E/Mo

Earth is pretty terrible, actually. It's mostly a bunch of crappy buff skills, whereas air has an IAS, a speed buff, and harrier's.

Earth prayers is the pve line, wind is the pvp line.

boarderx

boarderx

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Feb 2007

[PIG]

earth prayers has Vital Boon (good heal and increase of max hp), Conviction (good armor buff), Mystic Regeneration (kinda like Healing Breeze for dervishes, good hp regen) and many others that spread conditions, do spikey damge and well a little of everything.

Learn to love your earth prayers, it'll save your life and take your enemy's life

ss1986v2

ss1986v2

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Apr 2006

Mo/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thom Bangalter
Earth is pretty terrible, actually. It's mostly a bunch of crappy buff skills, whereas air has an IAS, a speed buff, and harrier's.

Earth prayers is the pve line, wind is the pvp line. its apple and oranges. like trying to butter toast with a shovel: doesnt mean the shovel sucks, just that your not using it in the right situation. wind is like the all-in-one pvp line. has almost all the utility that you need. whereas earth seems to be custom made for pve.

A Leprechaun

A Leprechaun

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Feb 2006

W/

^^ I'm just running Sythe Mastery and Mysticism at the moment, it seems to work for me.

WarKaster

WarKaster

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Dec 2006

Los Angeles

SlingBlades

D/Mo

when you get into the later stages of the game you will learn to love earth prayers with Mystic Regen which is essential Dervish if you plan on staying alive long enough to do anything, Vital Boon which buffs health then provides a damn nice heal when it ends, and Ebon Dust Aura probably one the best elites available to a Dervish all belong to the Earth Prayers line you will learn pretty quick you need those attribute points in there to stay alive.

Servant of Kali

Servant of Kali

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jan 2006

Me/

I hate to say it, but in PvE Earth line is used by non-pro Dervishes, and Dervishes who want to have fun with earth. Pro Dervishes use Protection prayers and buff themselves constantly like there's no tomorrow (when under fire).
And it's not quite true Earth is PvE line. It's quite solid PvP line too, and Ebon Dust was used a lot.

Wind Prayers have absolutely no use in PvE because they are heavily underpowered.
In PvP, Wind Prayers are used more because or 2-3 OK skills (of which one got heavily nerfed). Other than that, the whole attribute line is sad.


So yeah, the reason you dont see wind prayers isnt because it's pvp line, but because the whole line needs a buff. Just Attacker's Insight skill. Seriously, what were they thinking when they designed a skill which has absolutely no use atm? Is it for chapter4?

What is the reason what hammer warriors are extinct species in PvE and PvP? Simple, there are better options; especially in PvP (hint: overpowered expertise).

BiNumber3

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jan 2007

Third Way

E/

So because a person knows how to use earth prayers they're considered non-pro? okaay.

But yea, my build uses Myst for dmg mostly (holy dmg ftw), n some scythe, while Earth is just there for the regen n conviction, though i might drop that someday.

ss1986v2

ss1986v2

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Apr 2006

Mo/

Quote:
Originally Posted by BiNumber3
So because a person knows how to use earth prayers they're considered non-pro? okaay. dont worry about kali. he believes dervishes should all bring PS and RoF. and he has a good point, but earth works just fine to cover yourself too.

remember, its pve: an empty skill bar is usually good enough in most missions.

narcotic squirrel

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jan 2007

Rt/N

ok im at making a secondary so should i go Monk for extra protection or healing or something like Warrior for stances?

Coloneh

Coloneh

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Nov 2006

D/W

monk, but i would just use mending touch. mabye buy a secondary headgear (+4 myst) and spam RoF on yourself.

strcpy

strcpy

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Jul 2005

One of Many [ONE]

Quote:
Originally Posted by BiNumber3
So because a person knows how to use earth prayers they're considered non-pro? okaay. Yea - it helps if one spams "Pro-dervish LFG, has PS and RoF!! No newbs plz"

Generally speaking when people start talking about "pro" and "non-pro" people in any game/sport that doesn't actually have a real professional class then I kinda tune them out. I'm sure some of the dervishes that play in top level GvG find that sorta statement quite amusing.

I've never understood the attitude myself - if everyone thought that way there is a whole host of builds we would never have seen. But, it is prevalent - if you are not one of the known cookie cutter builds then you must obviously suck and are non-pro (and when people say all the "pro's" are doing this they usually mean their circle of friends). Unfortunately it seems that attitude also comes with the desire to inform the world of you leetness and their general suckitude.

Fairly similar to how it is impossible to hench many missions and rangers used to suck and have no place in the game (especially anyone who ever had a pet with them). Of course, none of that is remotely correct - though in this case it is a small group of "pros" that insist if you aren't a /mo spamming those enchants then you suck instead of a large part of the community. I wonder what would occur if this group and the ones that thinks a Dervish without WildBlow makes Baby Jesus cry got together? At least in this case the builds being argued about are all pretty good so they aren't totally off base.

XvArchonvX

XvArchonvX

Forge Runner

Join Date: Nov 2005

R/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thom Bangalter
Earth is pretty terrible, actually. It's mostly a bunch of crappy buff skills, whereas air has an IAS, a speed buff, and harrier's.

Earth prayers is the pve line, wind is the pvp line. I would completely disagree with the first statement, but agree with the second.

In PvE you need a stout defense if you are going to be on the front lines, but in PvP you won't get targeted just because you run in first.

Earth = defense

Wind = utility

Thom Bangalter

Thom Bangalter

Grindin'

Join Date: Dec 2005

MO

E/Mo

I do take part of it back; mystic regeneration is omfg hax in pve.

Redfeather1975

Redfeather1975

Forge Runner

Join Date: Sep 2006

Apartment#306

Rhedd Asylum

Me/

Attacker's Insight might be useful for a ranger secondary.
That's all I can think of. Many professions seem to have weird skills like this.
Ritualists have Vocal was Sogolon, yet no shouts or chants of their own!

narcotic squirrel

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jan 2007

Rt/N

O i went warrior but found that Dervish is kinda like the Ritualist and doesnt need a secondary cause it needs its enchantments. Though i have a lot of ideas that would work really well with a Dervish secondary.