Vow of Strength concept? And possibly build?

jon0592

jon0592

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2006

N/

I know what this skill does, but I can't think of how to put it into a build, other than how Wiki states it with things like Judges Insight.

Since it buffs normal attacks, I'm guessing you'd want a speed boost and defence.

Any sample builds where I can see this skill in action?

Coloneh

Coloneh

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Nov 2006

D/W

heres one i use occasionally:
[skill]Vow Of Strength[/skill][skill]Heket's rampage[/skill][skill]Veil of Thorns[/skill][skill]Armor of Sanctity[/skill][skill]Mystic regeneration[/skill][skill]Comfort Animal[/skill][skill]Charm Animal[/skill]rebirth sig

Dire red crab

Scythe= 10
Earth= 15
Myst= 6
Beast mastery= 9

Racthoh

Racthoh

Did I hear 7 heroes?

Join Date: May 2005

Scars Meadows [SMS], Guild Leader (Not Recruiting)



Criticals for over 100 with a sundering scythe I believe (was a while ago when I tested the damage of it against the 60 AL target), use that on my Melonni hero when I play my Paragon spamming Go For The Eyes!

ArKaiN

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jan 2007

Lotus Branca[Lbr]

Mo/Me

The thing is, scythe attacks are just too good.
You end up actually doing less damage overall then if you were using the animation cutting attacks (eremite's, mystical).
Clock yourself on the dummies and you'll see i'm right

Marverick

Marverick

Forge Runner

Join Date: Aug 2006

R/

With Vow of Strength you'll want 16 Earth Prayers, as the % increase from Vow of Strength is greater than that of raising Scythe Mastery above 12.

And yes it does deal less total damage; however it also requires less energy so you can spend your energy on other things. Spamming Eremite's/Mystic Attack/Sweep will cost a lot of energy and you can't keep it up for long unless you use Zealous Vow or a Zealous Scythe Snathe and hit 3 enemies constantly.

Polynikes of Sparta

Polynikes of Sparta

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Mar 2007

Ascalon Arena

Zero I Hour [ZH]

D/N

well, in pvp, i can think of a combo that holy ----ing murder anyone...

D/N

sundering scythe of whatever

weaken armor
vow of strength
heart of fury
plague touch
vital boon
zealous renewal
etc etc

tried 60al dummies... crit sundering for 240-something... feels good... xD

~Polynikes

NinjaKai

Forge Runner

Join Date: Feb 2006

UK

Duality Of The Dragon

Quote:
Originally Posted by Polynikes of Sparta
tried 60al dummies... crit sundering for 240-something... feels good... xD Things like this never really help. Since thats only critical damage not average.

As for using weaken armor. I also tried a varient like that . Fun times.

ArKaiN

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jan 2007

Lotus Branca[Lbr]

Mo/Me

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marverick
...and hit 3 enemies constantly. ...which you should do, anyway.
I've tried the build with weaken armor.
3 seconds cast time per foe=bad times
btw, by the time you run out of energy by spamming MS and EA, the mob should be dead. Seriously. If not, [skill]Zealous Renewal[/skill] ftw.

EDIT: I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade here. It's just a bad elite, much like [skill]Onslaught[/skill] or [skill]Grenth's Grasp[/skill].

Actually now that I think about it, EDA, vow of silence , the avatars and Reaper's Sweep are the only really good elites dervishes have.
[skill]Zealous Vow[/skill] would be usable, but unfortunately it's just about the only skill I'd use in wind prayers.

XvArchonvX

XvArchonvX

Forge Runner

Join Date: Nov 2005

R/

Quote:
Originally Posted by ArKaiN
...which you should do, anyway.
I've tried the build with weaken armor.
3 seconds cast time per foe=bad times Especially when a 1 second cast hex removal leaves you without it for 20 seconds, lol.

Anarion Silverhand

Anarion Silverhand

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Sep 2005

Denmark

None

I've been trying to put Vow of Strength to good use myself, but I've found that the hard thing is to balance the attributes Earth and Scythe Mastery to maximize the damage output. Obviously Heket's Rampage supplements this skill very well. Perhaps addApply Poison to it? Even though your WS would be very low, it shouldn't matter as long as you do not switch targets a lot. In PvE, anyway.

ArKaiN

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jan 2007

Lotus Branca[Lbr]

Mo/Me

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anarion Silverhand
I've been trying to put Vow of Strength to good use myself, but I've found that the hard thing is to balance the attributes Earth and Scythe Mastery to maximize the damage output. Obviously Heket's Rampage supplements this skill very much. Perhaps addApply Poison to it? Even though your WS would be very low, it shouldn't matter as long as you do not switch targets a lot. In PvE, anyway. The whole point of the skill is to do a lot of damage so you can kill things quickly.

Anarion Silverhand

Anarion Silverhand

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Sep 2005

Denmark

None

Quote:
Originally Posted by ArKaiN
The whole point of the skill is to do a lot of damage so you can kill things quickly. Did I say otherwise?

Ritual del Fuego

Ritual del Fuego

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jan 2007

CA

Frogs in Winter [FiW]

What about diong something with "Go for the eyes". Maybe something like this:

[skill]Vow of Strength[/skill][skill]"Go for the Eyes!"[/skill][skill]"Stand Your Ground!"[/skill][skill]Conviction[/skill][skill]Veil of Thorns[/skill][skill]Armor of Sanctity[/skill][skill]Remedy Signet[/skill] Rez

The last three skills can be subbed out for PvE/PvP needs. PvE usually doesn't need condition removal so remedy signet can be replaced with something else. Or you can put in Faithful/Watchful intervention depending on how you spread the atts. Another variation if you aren't in mele heavy battles or for PVE would be to sub [skill]vital boon[/skill] and [skill]mystic regeneration[/skill] for [skill]Veil of Thorns[/skill] and [skill]Armor of Sanctity[/skill]. Just some thoughts off the top of my head...or maybe throw in [skill]Heart of Fury[/skill] for one of the skills as well, you just can't keep it up all the time. It would seem that VoS, Go for the eyes, and heart of fury would be a decent mix, however, enchantment stripping would not feel very good...

ArKaiN

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jan 2007

Lotus Branca[Lbr]

Mo/Me

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anarion Silverhand
Did I say otherwise? yes. In PvE you either degen or you spike. Using both means you're doing less of one or the other potentially, which means there's room for improvement.
This is why people dont use searing flames+lightning orb.
Ritual del Fuego's build looks pretty good, but I belive this:
http://gw.gamewikis.org/wiki/Build:P..._Hybrid_Spiker
Actually does the same job better.

Coloneh

Coloneh

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Nov 2006

D/W

@ritual: GftE is good, but never use Vow Of strength without an IAS

Ritual del Fuego

Ritual del Fuego

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jan 2007

CA

Frogs in Winter [FiW]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Coloneh
@ritual: GftE is good, but never use Vow Of strength without an IAS I agree...that is why I suggested Heart of fury at the end of the post. I had already typed the first part before I came to my senses...

Coloneh

Coloneh

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Nov 2006

D/W

hehehe... just making sure everyone knows that.

using attacks skills that arent technically attack skills + vow of strength works well(GFTE is an attack skill in my book, but officially its not)

Anarion Silverhand

Anarion Silverhand

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Sep 2005

Denmark

None

Quote:
Originally Posted by ArKaiN
yes. In PvE you either degen or you spike. You fail at suggesting that all PvE offense can be put in one of those 2 categories. Is Spiteful Spirit a spike or degen skill? Is firestorm? Is Meteor Shower? I think you meant to say PvP?

Racthoh

Racthoh

Did I hear 7 heroes?

Join Date: May 2005

Scars Meadows [SMS], Guild Leader (Not Recruiting)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Marverick
With Vow of Strength you'll want 16 Earth Prayers, as the % increase from Vow of Strength is greater than that of raising Scythe Mastery above 12. Earth 16, Scythe 12 criticals for 122 with +35% damage scythe vs. 60 AL.
Earth 12, Scythe 16 criticals for 130 " "

Higher scythe, lower earth can get you a comparable damage and save attribute points. A spec of 16 scythe with only 9 in earth will critical for 121.

NinjaKai

Forge Runner

Join Date: Feb 2006

UK

Duality Of The Dragon

I am really surprised that no one has yet suggested using extend enchantments with a sufficient investment into mysticism. Works like a charm, used it with dervish/monk using judges insight at 0 smiting aswell using this combo gives you a decent amount of attack power. Using an enchanting mod works like a charm aswell.

Zodiak

Jungle Guide

Join Date: May 2005

Gatineau, Qc, Canada

Kiss of Anguish [KISS]

P/W

With:

16 Earth Prayers for Vow of Strength at its maximum,
A Scythe Mastery of 12,
A Customized Vampiric or Sundering Scythe,
A Speed Buff,
A Hero with Order of Pain or Order of the Vampire,
And a Paragon Hero with Go for the Eyes

you can churn out a massive amount of damage lol

ArKaiN

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jan 2007

Lotus Branca[Lbr]

Mo/Me

Quote:
Originally Posted by Anarion Silverhand
You fail at suggesting that all PvE offense can be put in one of those 2 categories. Is Spiteful Spirit a spike or degen skill? Is firestorm? Is Meteor Shower? I think you meant to say PvP? I never suggested that. Those are nukes. You fail when you shift the focus of the argument towards a senseless discussion of labellings.
You're using potentially the most damaging weapon in the game, and an elite that kills things as soon as possible (ideally). Wasting a slot for poisoning when your build aims to let foes live as little as possible is stupid.

jesh

jesh

Forge Runner

Join Date: May 2005

San Diego, CA

Penguin Village

Mo/

Going for degen in PvE is just in general stupid. SS and MS are low damage characters that waste a slot in a PvE party. Yeah yeah, MS is standard in DoA, but that's a lot different than most PvE, and MS isn't used for the damage in that instance.

Degeneration has always been maxed at 20 damage per second, which is pathetic in PvE. Other people on these forums have demonstrated DPS of over 1000 with their heroes in a team build. SS and MS will never even get close to touching that kind of firepower, let alone degeneration.

As for VoS, it might be ok except that Avatar of Lyssa completely strips it of any potential glory.

Zealous Vow
Eremite's Attack
Mystic Sweep
Protector's Strike
Heart of Fury
Splinter Weapon/Nightmare Weapon
Avatar of Lyssa
Res

Add a zealous weapon, an Order of some type, and GftE spam, and you have one of the most damaging characters possible in PvE.

NinjaKai

Forge Runner

Join Date: Feb 2006

UK

Duality Of The Dragon

Quote:
Originally Posted by jesh
Going for degen in PvE is just in general stupid. SS and MS are low damage characters that waste a slot in a PvE party. Yeah yeah, MS is standard in DoA, but that's a lot different than most PvE, and MS isn't used for the damage in that instance.

Degeneration has always been maxed at 20 damage per second, which is pathetic in PvE. Other people on these forums have demonstrated DPS of over 1000 with their heroes in a team build. SS and MS will never even get close to touching that kind of firepower, let alone degeneration.

As for VoS, it might be ok except that Avatar of Lyssa completely strips it of any potential glory.

Zealous Vow
Eremite's Attack
Mystic Sweep
Protector's Strike
Heart of Fury
Splinter Weapon/Nightmare Weapon
Avatar of Lyssa
Res

Add a zealous weapon, an Order of some type, and GftE spam, and you have one of the most damaging characters possible in PvE. This thread seems more abou talking about how VoS can be used. Not suggesting alternatives to VoS. To be hones, just because you think there are better elites doesn't mean its not a good elite.

ArKaiN

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jan 2007

Lotus Branca[Lbr]

Mo/Me

Quote:
Originally Posted by jesh
Going for degen in PvE is just in general stupid. SS and MS are low damage characters that waste a slot in a PvE party. Yeah yeah, MS is standard in DoA, but that's a lot different than most PvE, and MS isn't used for the damage in that instance.

Degeneration has always been maxed at 20 damage per second, which is pathetic in PvE. Other people on these forums have demonstrated DPS of over 1000 with their heroes in a team build. SS and MS will never even get close to touching that kind of firepower, let alone degeneration.

As for VoS, it might be ok except that Avatar of Lyssa completely strips it of any potential glory.

Zealous Vow[e]
Eremite's Attack
Mystic Sweep
Protector's Strike
Heart of Fury
Splinter Weapon/Nightmare Weapon
Avatar of Lyssa[e]
Res

Add a zealous weapon, an Order of some type, and GftE spam, and you have one of the most damaging characters possible in PvE. notice any problems?
Other than the fact that it's a D/Rt/W, I mean

m4rk6

Academy Page

Join Date: Dec 2005

The Older Gamers

D/

/snicker
/point
/laugh

Polynikes of Sparta

Polynikes of Sparta

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Mar 2007

Ascalon Arena

Zero I Hour [ZH]

D/N

ROFLMAO. And I don't mean it figuratively. I mean I am literally rolling on the floor laughing my ass off. Man, I wish I could have the powers of almighty Jesh and have a terciary profession. WHOO, that made my day.

~Polynikes

NinjaKai

Forge Runner

Join Date: Feb 2006

UK

Duality Of The Dragon

Quote:
Originally Posted by Polynikes of Sparta
ROFLMAO. And I don't mean it figuratively. I mean I am literally rolling on the floor laughing my ass off. Man, I wish I could have the powers of almighty Jesh and have a terciary profession. WHOO, that made my day.

~Polynikes Guild Wars has joined forces with Nintendo's Zelda team. Triforce sigil of professions.

runeseeker1

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Jul 2006

Dark Guild of War [dgw]

Okay, i have a VoS build, but its not good enough for PvP (because i tried it and it didnt kill anyone) but fell free to try it out in PvE.

Vow of Strength
Heart of Fury
Heart of Holy Flame or Judge's Insight
Healing Skills, rez, etc...

Basically you should be dealing holy (armor-ignoring) damage indefinately (esp. if using Heart of Holy Flame, i dont know Judge's Insight recharges) but you might benefit more if you let the enchant end first then recast it.

Attacking 33% faster while dealing armor ignoring damage is actually quite gimmicky in the PvP aspect because I haven't been able to kill anything. Kinda sad though because I spent a lot of time trying to cap the damn skill =(

You might be better off just using normal attacks, but VoS is easier on your energy.

jon0592

jon0592

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jan 2006

N/

Quote:
Originally Posted by jesh
Going for degen in PvE is just in general stupid. SS and MS are low damage characters that waste a slot in a PvE party. Yeah yeah, MS is standard in DoA, but that's a lot different than most PvE, and MS isn't used for the damage in that instance.

Degeneration has always been maxed at 20 damage per second, which is pathetic in PvE. Other people on these forums have demonstrated DPS of over 1000 with their heroes in a team build. SS and MS will never even get close to touching that kind of firepower, let alone degeneration.

As for VoS, it might be ok except that Avatar of Lyssa completely strips it of any potential glory.

Zealous Vow
Eremite's Attack
Mystic Sweep
Protector's Strike
Heart of Fury
Splinter Weapon/Nightmare Weapon
Avatar of Lyssa
Res

Add a zealous weapon, an Order of some type, and GftE spam, and you have one of the most damaging characters possible in PvE. You come off sounding really smart, and then you blast a D/W/Rt build with 2 elites...I think I'm going to ignore your entire post.

ArKaiN

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Jan 2007

Lotus Branca[Lbr]

Mo/Me

Quote:
Originally Posted by jon0592
You come off sounding really smart, and then you blast a D/W/Rt build with 2 elites...I think I'm going to ignore your entire post. But WAIT! It says "res", not "res signet", so it's actually a W/D/Rt/Mo with 2 elites.
I think he should add /Monster and use Impossible Odds

high priestess anya

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Nov 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by Racthoh
Earth 16, Scythe 12 criticals for 122 with +35% damage scythe vs. 60 AL.
Earth 12, Scythe 16 criticals for 130 " "

Higher scythe, lower earth can get you a comparable damage and save attribute points. A spec of 16 scythe with only 9 in earth will critical for 121. not to mention the higher the scythe att the better chance of crit hit anyway...

Lishy

Lishy

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jan 2008

This skill sucks in my team builds because I constantly use conditions on enemies

-Lotus-

Jungle Guide

Join Date: May 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kain Fz
This skill sucks in my team builds because I constantly use conditions on enemies yeah, its totally useless now

Lishy

Lishy

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jan 2008

I vote this skill be reverted >_>

-Lotus-

Jungle Guide

Join Date: May 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kain Fz
I vote this skill be reverted >_> IT needed a change, but it would be better with a lower, unconditional damage bonus.