The Return of the BoonProt
atreyu83
**Read the following if unfamiliar with the term "boonprot" otherwise skip**
For those of you who may be unfamiliar with this term boonprot refers to monk builds utilizing the maintained divine favor enchantment [skill=text]Divine boon[/skill], in conjunction with protection spells. The main thing this accomplishes is the ability for a monk to both protect and heal simultaneously with one spell. Protection spells mitigate damage delt this is often more effective and efficient than simply healing. However, protection alone is not by itself enough to keep allies alive. BoonProt builds were in the past primarily used to allow protection with heal and low cast times by combining [skill=text]Reversal of Fortune[/skill] or other 1/4 cast prot spells with [skill=text]Divine boon[/skill] to create a fast 1/4 cast heal spell.
**end boonprot explanation**
After the April 6 guild wars update/skill balance i have noticed and interesting trend of increasing popularity of boon prot builds. I cannot ever remember seeing BoonProt's in high end gvg back-lines since the last divine boon, contemplation of purity, and inspiration Nerf's. However things seem to have changed.
For me it seems to have started when i observed Awowa running a Restore conditions Boonprot in gvg. Tommy appears to be running a RC boonprot as well however i do not know who came up with idea or who started running it first but that is irrelevant. There are few boonprot bars i would like to discuss so i will start with the first one which is what i recall Awowa and Tommy as using. *may not be exactly accurate*
[skill]restore condition[/skill][skill]Reversal of fortune[/skill][skill]spirit bond[/skill][skill]signet of devotion[/skill][skill]leech signet[/skill][skill]ether signet[/skill][skill]divine boon[/skill][skill]holy veil[/skill]
One of the main things that makes this bar viable is the April 6 buff to ether signet from 60 to 45 recharge. Restore conditions is already an excellent commonly used elite. With the Nerf to ZB back-line protection monks have been moving toward RC. However an RC prot monk by himself would often not have enough healing power even with gift without his LOD/healer's boon buddy. Boon RC allows for more self sufficiency, and flexibility. If you need the extra heal power turn on boon if there is a lot of spread out condition pressure you can choose to turn off boon and just runs straight prot.
The nice thing about ether signet and leech signet is mainly that they are of course signets. You can use them while in negative energy with your low energy weapon set with no need to swap up. They have no major drawback either, if you miss a leechsig you loose nothing, miss a power drain and you are out 5 energy. Plus there is nothing more satisfying that leech sig'ing that damn mesmer's diversion
This does take a lot of skill to run effectively. It is very easy to burn through you energy quickly and be left in a bad situation. Being able to switch from healing to finding a leech signet target interrupt him and go back to healing in a few seconds takes a lot of battle awareness and experience. If you are able to pull this off consistently the rewards are great and thus we see highly skilled monks utilizing boonprot builds.
The next bar i would like to discuss is what i have read Soul wedding is said to use or have used.
[skill]reversal of fortune[/skill][skill]mend condition[/skill][skill]gift of health[/skill][skill]signet of devotion[/skill][skill]remedy signet[/skill][skill]scribe's insight[/skill][skill]divine boon[/skill][skill]contemplation of purity[/skill]
Main difference here of course is the method of energy management. Scribes insight in conjunction with remedy signet and signet of devotion spam provides an almost identical amount of energy as the ether sig, leech sig combo at approximately ~2 pips. A big advantage to the scribes insight build is that you do not have to spec out of protection or divine favor allowing you to run 13 prot for more potent spells. Removal of dazed is also very easy with remedy signet. Furthermore having 2 enchants up at all times allows for a potent contemplation of purity as an effective panic button. This build however, at least from my experience has been that it has a tendency to fall apart when the user is under mele pressure. in order to keep your energy you you are essentially always casting signets hindering the amount of kiting you can do. Extended kiting often leaves you gasping for energy so it's really up to the rest of your team to mitigate the amount of kiting you have to do.
Next build is one i have been running in random arena with much success.
[skill]reversal of fortune[/skill][skill]dismiss condition[/skill][skill]guardian[/skill][skill]leech signet[/skill][skill]ether signet[/skill][skill]mantra of recall[/skill][skill]divine boon[/skill][skill]contemplation of purity[/skill]
In RA i have to often constantly kite thus a scribes insight build is kinda out the window. RC although a great skill is often unnecessary in RA. Furthermore, the amount of damage you typically have to heal through can be significant as your teammates often do little to mitigate it. Thus, additional energy management is necessary. Protective spirit or spirit bond although useful are overkill for the kind of damage you have to deal with in randoms. Mantra of recall also ensures i have 2 enchants up at all times ready to be COP'd if necessary, this proves invaluable for handling Dazed covered by another condition.
In conclusion i was wondering what people's opinions were on these "new breeds" of boon prot builds and whether this is something that is here to stay or simply a passing experiment.
After the April 6 guild wars update/skill balance i have noticed and interesting trend of increasing popularity of boon prot builds. I cannot ever remember seeing BoonProt's in high end gvg back-lines since the last divine boon, contemplation of purity, and inspiration Nerf's. However things seem to have changed.
For me it seems to have started when i observed Awowa running a Restore conditions Boonprot in gvg. Tommy appears to be running a RC boonprot as well however i do not know who came up with idea or who started running it first but that is irrelevant. There are few boonprot bars i would like to discuss so i will start with the first one which is what i recall Awowa and Tommy as using. *may not be exactly accurate*
[skill]restore condition[/skill][skill]Reversal of fortune[/skill][skill]spirit bond[/skill][skill]signet of devotion[/skill][skill]leech signet[/skill][skill]ether signet[/skill][skill]divine boon[/skill][skill]holy veil[/skill]
One of the main things that makes this bar viable is the April 6 buff to ether signet from 60 to 45 recharge. Restore conditions is already an excellent commonly used elite. With the Nerf to ZB back-line protection monks have been moving toward RC. However an RC prot monk by himself would often not have enough healing power even with gift without his LOD/healer's boon buddy. Boon RC allows for more self sufficiency, and flexibility. If you need the extra heal power turn on boon if there is a lot of spread out condition pressure you can choose to turn off boon and just runs straight prot.
The nice thing about ether signet and leech signet is mainly that they are of course signets. You can use them while in negative energy with your low energy weapon set with no need to swap up. They have no major drawback either, if you miss a leechsig you loose nothing, miss a power drain and you are out 5 energy. Plus there is nothing more satisfying that leech sig'ing that damn mesmer's diversion
This does take a lot of skill to run effectively. It is very easy to burn through you energy quickly and be left in a bad situation. Being able to switch from healing to finding a leech signet target interrupt him and go back to healing in a few seconds takes a lot of battle awareness and experience. If you are able to pull this off consistently the rewards are great and thus we see highly skilled monks utilizing boonprot builds.
The next bar i would like to discuss is what i have read Soul wedding is said to use or have used.
[skill]reversal of fortune[/skill][skill]mend condition[/skill][skill]gift of health[/skill][skill]signet of devotion[/skill][skill]remedy signet[/skill][skill]scribe's insight[/skill][skill]divine boon[/skill][skill]contemplation of purity[/skill]
Main difference here of course is the method of energy management. Scribes insight in conjunction with remedy signet and signet of devotion spam provides an almost identical amount of energy as the ether sig, leech sig combo at approximately ~2 pips. A big advantage to the scribes insight build is that you do not have to spec out of protection or divine favor allowing you to run 13 prot for more potent spells. Removal of dazed is also very easy with remedy signet. Furthermore having 2 enchants up at all times allows for a potent contemplation of purity as an effective panic button. This build however, at least from my experience has been that it has a tendency to fall apart when the user is under mele pressure. in order to keep your energy you you are essentially always casting signets hindering the amount of kiting you can do. Extended kiting often leaves you gasping for energy so it's really up to the rest of your team to mitigate the amount of kiting you have to do.
Next build is one i have been running in random arena with much success.
[skill]reversal of fortune[/skill][skill]dismiss condition[/skill][skill]guardian[/skill][skill]leech signet[/skill][skill]ether signet[/skill][skill]mantra of recall[/skill][skill]divine boon[/skill][skill]contemplation of purity[/skill]
In RA i have to often constantly kite thus a scribes insight build is kinda out the window. RC although a great skill is often unnecessary in RA. Furthermore, the amount of damage you typically have to heal through can be significant as your teammates often do little to mitigate it. Thus, additional energy management is necessary. Protective spirit or spirit bond although useful are overkill for the kind of damage you have to deal with in randoms. Mantra of recall also ensures i have 2 enchants up at all times ready to be COP'd if necessary, this proves invaluable for handling Dazed covered by another condition.
In conclusion i was wondering what people's opinions were on these "new breeds" of boon prot builds and whether this is something that is here to stay or simply a passing experiment.
Wilhelm
I think people are spending alot of time trying to 'relive' a build, which ultimatly will struggle to keep up with the current high powered, offensive meta.
To be able to run Divine Boon without an external source of energy (BiP, Motivation Paragon), would produce a large strain on energy, and I personally think having half your skill bar dedicated to pure energy managment in order to support using Divine Boon highly unnecessary.
Unless there is hefty buffs to the 'typical boon prot' skills...I can't see a noticeable return of every monks favourite bar.
To be able to run Divine Boon without an external source of energy (BiP, Motivation Paragon), would produce a large strain on energy, and I personally think having half your skill bar dedicated to pure energy managment in order to support using Divine Boon highly unnecessary.
Unless there is hefty buffs to the 'typical boon prot' skills...I can't see a noticeable return of every monks favourite bar.
Simath
I experimented with the first and third build. They are both decent but I'm not a big fan of Leech Sig on a Monk. There are times where you are under an immense amount of pressure and you don't have time to try and interrupt a Mesmer's Diversion or w/e. At those times I would much rather have a skill that would help me handle the pressure easier. Don't get me wrong I understand its usefulness but its not for me.
I was messing around a bit and although I didn't test it extensively this build works well:
[skill]Reversal of Fortune[/skill][skill]Signet of Devotion[/skill][skill]Spirit Bond[/skill][skill]Mend Condition[/skill][skill]Ether Signet[/skill][skill]Mantra of Recall[/skill][skill]Contemplation of Purity[/skill][skill]Divine Boon[/skill]
I haven't tried the Mo/P build yet but I try it when I have a chance.
I was messing around a bit and although I didn't test it extensively this build works well:
[skill]Reversal of Fortune[/skill][skill]Signet of Devotion[/skill][skill]Spirit Bond[/skill][skill]Mend Condition[/skill][skill]Ether Signet[/skill][skill]Mantra of Recall[/skill][skill]Contemplation of Purity[/skill][skill]Divine Boon[/skill]
I haven't tried the Mo/P build yet but I try it when I have a chance.
Char
Quote:
Originally Posted by atreyu83
Quote:
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Originally Posted by atreyu83
[skill]reversal of fortune[/skill][skill]dismiss condition[/skill][skill]guardian[/skill][skill]leech signet[/skill][skill]ether signet[/skill][skill]mantra of recall[/skill][skill]divine boon[/skill][skill]contemplation of purity[/skill]
- the recast of the signets is much to high for a monk >> the signets are stupid
- get Power Drain or Drain Ench. [skill]reversal of fortune[/skill][skill]mend condition[/skill][skill]gift of health[/skill][skill]signet of devotion[/skill][skill]remedy signet[/skill][skill]scribe's insight[/skill][skill]divine boon[/skill][skill]contemplation of purity[/skill] - this build is older then nightfall ~~ Ithil Tior
Quote:
[skill]reversal of fortune[/skill][skill]mend condition[/skill][skill]gift of health[/skill][skill]signet of devotion[/skill][skill]remedy signet[/skill][skill]scribe's insight[/skill][skill]divine boon[/skill][skill]contemplation of purity[/skill] | - this build is older then nightfall ~~ Scribe's insight is a Nightfall skill. And so is Remedy Signet, ofcourse.
ss1986v2
the viability of these builds lies not with the bars themselves, but the people behind them imo. just look at who is running them. its not joe pug monk, its tommy and soul wedding! id be willing to bet they could run just about any monk bar, and be able to make it look decent.
im not knocking these builds, at least not the sig/boon one (havent seen soul wedding run the signet build). i have seen tommy running his boon bar on a few occasions; whether he is just testing things out or is dedicated to the bar, no one can say for sure, but he hasnt looked half bad with it. then again, his team is damn good, so even if it was lacking, they probably have enough to win in spite of that.
Thomas.knbk
These bars are mediocre at best compared to other, more conventional, monk bars. It's nice to see someone try something new, and I miss the boon prot as much as anyone, but there's no point in running an inferior build out of nostalgy.
Char
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ithil Tior
Scribe's insight is a Nightfall skill. And so is Remedy Signet, ofcourse.
saaaaaarcasm ~~
KazeMitsui
so yea looking at the first bar that atreyu posted. what happens when you yourself the monk have any condition (dazed and deepwound come to mind as well as cripple) that bar i dont think anyone in their right mind would run cause no condi removal for self... ggggggggg especially in RA
moko
they are actually supposed to be for monk backlines with two monks in gvg, not solo monking in arenas, especially RA ROFL.
Quote:
These bars are mediocre at best compared to other, more conventional, monk bars. It's nice to see someone try something new, and I miss the boon prot as much as anyone, but there's no point in running an inferior build out of nostalgy.
QFT.
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Age
The Esther Signet is not even worth it as I tried it out in Factions BWE and it didn't give me the energy I needed.It has a 60 recharge that is way to long best to use the blessed signet instead as that is what I ended up doing even my Current Monk had more energy and being a Mo/W at that for a booner forget it.
ArKaiN
Quote:
Originally Posted by Char
[skill]reversal of fortune[/skill][skill]mend condition[/skill][skill]gift of health[/skill][skill]signet of devotion[/skill][skill]remedy signet[/skill][skill]scribe's insight[/skill][skill]divine boon[/skill][skill]contemplation of purity[/skill] Dunno, I just wouldn't run 2 signets without mantra of inscriptions.
LifesRestorer
WTB hex removal
Melody Cross
Lemme see if this works first…
[card]Reversal of fortune[/card][card]Dismiss condition[/card][card]Deny hexes[/card][card]Guardian[/card][card]Storm Djinn's Haste[/card][card]Peace and harmony[/card][card]Divine boon[/card][card]Contemplation of purity[/card] Okay. it works now. Gurus bbc doesn't work like ours does...okay. anyway, that was a flag run build we used in GvG a little while ago. It’s for a 3-monk backline, so the BoonProt is not really expected to be the best monk build in the world. There was a post here on guru a looooong time ago that discussed Bprot energy managers and PnH was discussed there and discounted. The conclusion was that while it was the best energy manager for 3 monks (which, at the time was an insane amount of healing on a build) it was not worth bringing for just a 2 monk backline. PnH has received several buffs since then, and most BProt energy managers have been hit really hard. There is also enough damage in the game now to make 3-monk backlines worth running too, so many guilds have started to in GvG. What that means is, while PnH is still one of the worst energy managers for any monk to bring for itself, it is--and was back in a time when Offering of Blood was still good--the best elite energy manager for your backline if you run 3 monks. 8v8, we had a BProt with 4 pips of regen and an LoD and RC with 5 pips. Our backline rarely had energy issues and our team could make pushes for really long periods of time, overpowering the other side’s monks with pressure--even when they had a three monk backline too--because we had such a well dispersed energy manager. Drop Boon when running and you can gain more energy than you lose from [skill=text]Storm Djinn's Haste[/skill]. Because you have so many enchantments on you, CoP is very very powerful as a personal heal. Use it as your hex removal and then reapply the PnH and DBoon enchantments to push Deny Hexes up and slightly beyond the strength of [skill=text]Divert hexes[/skill] in many cases. Use PnH as a “soft” heal on your backline frequently to keep it up for a good long while if you have to run flags, and always try to take the 11 seconds to reapply it to your backline before you run away again. This is your real contribution to the fight. Casting PnH on the 2 monks that will be healing the rest of the team while you are away gives them a powerful advantage against many other 2-monk backlines out there. They can stand up to pressure longer than other monks without an elite energy manger which lets your offense pressure the other team longer. Hopefully, the other side will crack before it can split, and you can roll them into their base. If they do split though…well, you are still a 3 monk backline and the BoonProts used to be one of the best solo monks out there. Split on them  You will notice if you decide to play it that the BProt itself has energy issues. Most monk runners are not the best monks they can be, and this build is not perfect either. It can hold its own well against a 5/3 split though, especially when you are in your base with NPC support or your team runs a 5/3 or 6/2 to help you out. Unless you are 8v8 and need it, or taking on more than 2 people in the base, it is often a good idea to keep Boon down and only cast it when you feel threatened and think you will need to spam powerheals. If you keep PnH up, it lets you keep guardian up almost all the time, and you can tank for a very long time that way with Dissmiss Condi's strong heal and RoF protecting you. But my guild hates 3 monk backlines so we won’t run this again. I hope some other people will though. It really isn't a bad runner and it does help your backline and your team. GGs
Hundbert
I did some tests some time ago with the ritualist elite offering of spirit.
1 Divine boon 2 Cop 3 Reversal 4 Guardian/Prot spirit/Spirit bond 5 Dismiss 6 Holy veil/Deny hexes 7 Offering of spirit 8 Spirit siphon Could work well in a build with spirits. -Pluto-
swap cop for deny hexes if you're worried about hex removal, at least on the scribe's insight bar. That's what I did in RA. Potentially removes 4 hexes, if you cast divine boon, scribe's insight, use SoD, and then deny. Usually, you'll only get the bonus from scribes being reapplied every 35 seconds or so and the sig of devotion.
[skill]Reversal of Fortune[/skill][skill]signet of devotion[/skill][skill]dismiss condition[/skill][skill]Deny Hexes[/skill][skill]Scribe's Insight[/skill][skill]Remedy Signet[/skill][skill]guardian[/skill][skill]Divine Boon[/skill] 14 divine, 13 prot, 3 in spear for leet spear chucking skillz Gift could go in place of guardian, I suppose. I usually found the prot more useful though, with boon providing enough heals. Dismiss could easily be remove conditions, especially with remedy signet there to remove your conditions... but then again, I see too many crip-slashes in RA. Remedy signet + dismiss on yourself removes 2 conditions and heals you for about 180 HP, all for the low, low cost of 4 energy (5 plus 2 more, with regain of 3 from scribe's). Toasted Doughnuts
Why try and recreate an old build when now everybody has more choice from more skills. Surely a whole new build would be much better than trying to recreate the boon prot.If everybody just got thinking you could make a much better build.
Hundbert
Quote:
Originally Posted by -Pluto-
swap cop for deny hexes if you're worried about hex removal, at least on the scribe's insight bar. That's what I did in RA. Potentially removes 4 hexes, if you cast divine boon, scribe's insight, use SoD, and then deny. Usually, you'll only get the bonus from scribes being reapplied every 35 seconds or so and the sig of devotion.
[skill]Reversal of Fortune[/skill][skill]signet of devotion[/skill][skill]dismiss condition[/skill][skill]Deny Hexes[/skill][skill]Scribe's Insight[/skill][skill]Remedy Signet[/skill][skill]guardian[/skill][skill]Divine Boon[/skill] 14 divine, 13 prot, 3 in spear for leet spear chucking skillz Gift could go in place of guardian, I suppose. I usually found the prot more useful though, with boon providing enough heals. Dismiss could easily be remove conditions, especially with remedy signet there to remove your conditions... but then again, I see too many crip-slashes in RA. Remedy signet + dismiss on yourself removes 2 conditions and heals you for about 180 HP, all for the low, low cost of 4 energy (5 plus 2 more, with regain of 3 from scribe's). Pluto this build has already been posted i suggest you read the thread before you post 
Div
This really depends on who is using them and in what condition they're used in. When paired with the right other monk in the right team build, it can be pretty useful. It's by no means a good replacement for the old boonprot, which is THE monk build that can be used in any situation.
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