Attention, Warriors! For information on the W/D version of this build, check out the 2nd page of this thread and beyond, especially post #53.
Summary: This build combines Sand Shards, Whirlwind Attack, and the Raptors' Critical Defenses to create a cascade of damage that results in a one-shot kill.
[build prof=D/W name="Shard Bomb" desc="Scythe of Enchanting +20%" earthp=12+3+1 tactics=11 mysticism=6+2][Avatar of Balthazar][Sand Shards][Veil of Thorns][Armor of Sanctity]["By Ural's Hammer!"][Wary Stance][Whirlwind Attack][Mystic Sandstorm][/build]
This is the original build and the one I typically use. You rarely need Mystic Sandstorm, however, so feel free to replace it with another skill, if you so choose.
[build prof=D/W name="Shard Bomb" desc="Scythe of Enchanting +20%" earthp=12+3+1 tactics=11 mysticism=6+2][Avatar of Balthazar][Sand Shards][Veil of Thorns][Armor of Sanctity]["To The Limit!"]["By Ural's Hammer!"][Wary Stance][Whirlwind Attack][/build]
An adaptation by dark_slayer, this seems to be the simplest and most stable version of the build, and it's the one I'd recommend if you are just starting out with Raptor farming. Incidentally, you don't need more than the minimum rank for the PvE skills regardless of which build you choose.
Equipment: I use 70 AL armor with Windwalker Insignias, Superior Earth Prayers and Vigor and Major Mysticism Runes (you can probably get by with a Minor Mysticism, actually), and a Scythe of Enchanting +20%.
Video: FileFront or youtube (try high quality on youtube, it seems to look and run better)
Walkthrough: Once in Riven Earth, cast Avatar of Balthazar. Then, run to the mouth of the cave, stopping to get the Asuran Bodyguard Blessing if you choose. Before aggro'ing anything, cast Sand Shards and Veil of Thorns. Then, aggro the 20 or so Nestlings that aren't grouped with Rekoff, being careful not to let them get close enough to attack you -- the 33% speed boost from Avatar of Balthazar will allow you to stay ahead of them. When you have them all, activate Armor of Sanctity and allow the Nestlings to group up around you.
If you are using "To The Limit!", you'll want to hit it now. Delay a few seconds to allow the Nestlings to cast their Critical Defenses -- you can use the recharge on Armor of Sanctity to time the next action; when it has completely recharged, proceed to the next step (thanks, dark_slayer, for this idea). Next, hit "By Ural's Hammer!" and Wary Stance. Wait for Whirlwind Attack to charge -- you can help it along by attacking a single time (more than that can cause scattering). Then, activate Whirlwind Attack and watch the fireworks.
This should finish them, but occasionally you won't get Sand Shards to trigger enough times. This usually happens because some of the Nestlings didn't have Critical Defenses up; try delaying a bit longer. If the Raptors aren't dead, drop Mystic Sandstorm before the Nestlings scamper off.
Troubleshooting: Most of these tips will occur to you as you become practiced with the build, so feel free to skip this section. However, if you're having difficulties, you may want to read up.
You have to use a scythe, Sand Shards won't trigger for any other sort of weapon.
You can't kill the Raptor boss, Rekoff Broodmother, with this build, so it's generally a good idea to stay away from her. Also, avoid the adult Raptors that patrol in the area; the Lvl 25 Raptor Nestlings are the ones you want.
If you do aggro Rekoff, immediately run eastward. You should be able to break aggro and still have time to kill the Nestlings as well.
You need to gather at least 18 Raptor Nestlings to ensure a good success rate with this build.
Try to keep some distance between you and the Nestlings during aggro to avoid any chance of becoming trapped. Also, avoid walls, large rocks, and random dinosaur bones for the same reason.
If you get hit during aggro, you have a choice to make: either continue running until you break away from the Nestling that hit you, or settle down somewhere close by and let it catch up to you. The thing you particularly want to avoid is for a Nestling to hobble in just after you've killed everything and all your enchantments have fallen.
It's a good idea to hit Wary Stance during aggro, usually right around the middle, to help ensure no Nestlings hit you (and to build your adrenaline). Don't hit it right before you stop, because you'll be needing it soon after.
It's best not to target the Raptors because if you lose aggro on a targeted Raptor you may find that Whirlwind Attack doesn't activate because you're trying to attack something 50' away.
The duration on the various enchantments and Avatar of Balthazar just covers the period of time over which you will need them, so be quick about your aggro. If you aggro using the same route that I do, you'll generally find that you can only safely run about as far as the large rock near the eastern entrance to the cave.
If you habitually run for too long a period, you'll find that Avatar of Balthazar will run out just as you are hitting Whirlwind Attack, which interrupts it. If this is a problem for you, you may want to simply wait to activate Avatar of Balthazar until you are at the cave mouth.
If you aren't packing "To The Limit!", you may occasionally find that Whirlwind Attack doesn't charge quickly enough. Once you become proficient with the build, you'll find this usually only happens once every 20-30 runs or so. Use Wary Stance during aggro, as noted above, and attack while you are waiting for Whirlwind Attack to charge to prevent this from happening.
Finally, note that there is a 25% chance you'll hit any given Raptor that has Critical Defenses up. Given that, it's possible that you won't miss enough times to pull off the spike. This will only happen once every 20-30 runs or so, however, assuming you do everything right. If you brought Mystic Sandstorm, this is the time to use it. Variants:
[build prof=D/W name="Shard Bomb w/ KD" desc="Scythe of Enchanting +20%" earthp=12+3+1 tactics=11 mysticism=6+2][Avatar of Balthazar][Sand Shards][Veil of Thorns][Armor of Sanctity]["By Ural's Hammer!"][Wary Stance][Whirlwind Attack]["You Move Like a Dwarf!"][/build]
When you get some proficiency with the build and find you don't need to use Mystic Sandstorm anymore, you might want to try taking on the boss group as well. You can't kill the boss, but you should be able to get another 8-10 Nestling kills. The run doesn't take any longer, but it is significantly harder to do and somewhat less reliable as well. You will get more drops, however, and will break the 25-kill threshold needed to activate the various Asuran rewards.
The run starts exactly the same. However, once you've started casting Sand Shards and Veil of Thorns, you'll want to pan the camera right and target (via Ctrl+Shift-Click) Rekoff. The aggro is key. You'll want to head towards the boss group initially and aggro it. You need to get close enough to Rekoff to use "You Move Like a Dwarf!" on her, but then you need to move off immediately, avoiding Nestlings all the while. If you do this right, Rekoff will temporarily lose interest in you and stop following. This will allow you the opportunity to get clear, aggro the other mobs, and get the kills. Be aware that you don't have enough duration on your enchantments to aggro the whole cave typically; twenty-nine to thirty-one kills is about the most you can generally expect, although sometimes you get lucky.
As Rekoff moves back into earshot, knock her down again to allow yourself more time to pick up loot.
Finally, it's necessary to have either a Crippling modifier on your scythe or a fairly high Norn rank (I'd guess about 8) in order to ensure Rekoff stays crippled long enough to pull this off.
[build prof=D/W name="NM Shard Bomb" desc="Scythe of Enchanting +20%" earthp=12+3+1 tactics=11 mysticism=6+2][Sand Shards][Veil of Thorns][Armor of Sanctity][Wary Stance][Whirlwind Attack][no skill][no skill][no skill][/build]
If you want to run the build in Normal Mode, you'll have to drop Avatar of Balthazar. For that matter, you won't need "By Ural's Hammer!" or Mystic Sandstorm either. The last three slots are optional, but I'd recommed throwing in Pious Haste to run as far as the mouth of the cave, and probably "You Move Like a Dwarf!" (perhaps with A Touch of Guile) if you want to operate in proximity to Rekoff.
Notes and concerns: You can expect to make about 7k per hour with this build in general usage. When event weekends with special drops come around, however, the opportunity for profit expands significantly. Expect to pull in slightly more than one special drop per minute in this scenario.
There might be other places where this build will work, but you need to have a fairly large group of foes, approximately one for each level of the foe you're fighting. Also, they must have some sort of blocking stance or, even better, some blinding skill.
Credit: There have been many previously posted builds based on Sand Shards, usually as a D/Me with Signet of Midnight. I'm not sure who came up with that idea first, but this post by ubermancer is the earliest reference I can find on Guru anyway. More recently, sectar_vazel hit upon the idea of combining Whirlwind Attack with Sand Shards against the Raptors.
Thanks to dark_slayer for the ideas of adding "To The Limit!", using the recharge on Armor of Sanctity as a timer, and mandating the single attack to soften up the Raptors.
