A Few Questions About Solo Smite Farming...

Ok, my dervish has been using the AoB Smite Farming build lately, after getting the skills needed. after about 20 test runs to learn the basics, i finally managed to kill a group of smites. i continued doing runs for a bit, getting better each time, and out of the 20 or so runs ive actually made it to the smites, ive gotten ONE ecto. not only that, but i usually only manage to kill about 4-5 groups of 3-6 smites before i get my ass handed to me by a miscast or a SoJ. my questions are, how often do ectos drop for most solo smite farmers, how many ectos have you gotten in one run (max/average), and what kind of things can i do to get better at this build? its not that tough, but if one of the smites gets off a SoJ (unless youre in a group of 3 smites), youre ka-f*cked.

for those wondering, heres the build.

[card]Avatar Of Balthazar[/card][card]Eternal Aura[/card][card]Ancestor's Visage[/card][card]Sympathetic Visage[/card][card]Mystic Vigor[/card][card]Mystic Regeneration[/card][card]Zealous Sweep[/card][card]Victorious Sweep[/card]

9 Insp
9+2 SM
8 Earth Prayers
10+2 Mysticism

My experience has been an average of one ecto per run. But I also use a solo Rt build for it. And no need to worry about SoJ

Most people say 1-2 ecto every 2-3 runs.

Sometimes no Ecto in 3 Runs, sometimes 3.
But I'd say about 1-1,25 Ecto per run, but I never really made any statistics... ^^

I'd advise not using a build that relies on "luck" to succeed. There's a few classes that can solo smites without any luck factor whatsoever. So you are setting up yourself for failure by using a class/build that requires luck. Pick another solo smite build/class instead.

As for average, it probably would average out to about one Ecto per full smite run kill over the long-term. But you will still have plenty of times where you will kill all the smites only to get zero Ectos. That's inevitable. Just the way it is. You cannot reasonably expect any Ectos for doing a full run.

You have SV/AV; they should not be able to use Shield of Judgement. Practice more. Try a Zealous Scythe instead of Zealous Sweep, and get a better scythe attack. I average 0-3 ecto/run. So call it one ecto per run, average.

update. i went and did a run and not only managed to finish the ice wastes, (killed off all the smites), but i also got 2 ecto :P

and misterB, if i miscast a visage, i get owned (except for groups of 3 smites, in which i just put up enchants and wait). and yes, i know i need to practice more, and have been most of the day. and i use asterius' scythe (zealous, 15^50, ench 20%). and i find zealous sweep and victorious sweep work wonders. zealous gives me about 15-20 energy a pop (useful when i reeeealy need to put up regen or a visage), and victorious is a low-energy, quick recharge attack that if used at the right time can heal me for large amounts. can you suggest any better scythe attacks?

I just meant that you can't afford to miscast SV/AV which you can solve by practice, and you are already doing that.

I haven't run your build, so I am unsure of it's energy requirements. It's quite possible that Zealous Sweep may be needed, and I apologize for any confusion I may have caused. It's been ages since I played my Dervish.

its alright. the original PvX build did not have zealous sweep (ZS is a EoTN skill, and the build was made before EoTN came out), it had eremites attack (plus damage for each adjacent foe). i decided to change it since i couldnt add many energy insignias/runes to my solo armor set, since i needed every insignia spot for windwalker insignias, and i needed a major scythe and mysticism. i seem to be getting better, though havent gotten any ectos today yet -.- oh well.