II. History
III. Skills
-- Core
-- Auxiliary
-- Damage
-- Damage Augmentation
IV. Attributes
V. Equipment
VI. Strengths and Weaknesses
-- vs. Terra Tank
-- vs. 55 Monk (and similar)
-- vs. 330 Rt/Mo
-- vs. Perma-Shadow Form
VII. Sample farms
-- HM Djinns
-- HM Yetis
-- HM Destroyers
-- HM Kappa
-- HM Spectral Vaettirs
-- Nightbringer farm
-- Mirror of Lyss chest running
VIII. Credits and Conclusion
I. Introduction
Just about everyone knows about Stoneguard, more commonly known as the 330 Ele, but, for some reason, it's never really gotten a thorough treatment on the Guru boards. I've been meaning to put this post together for a while, as Stoneguard is one of my favorite builds, but it was Marty Silverblade's announcement of an update to the build index that finally compelled me to write this information down, as the old indexes never made any mention of the build.
II. History
Stoneguard is one of those build ideas that has been re-discovered several times over the last few years, so it's difficult to attribute it to any one person. It's fair to say, however, the idea dates from the weeks immediately following the release of Nightfall. These two threads mark the first appearance of the idea on Guru (as far as I can tell) and its christening as "Stoneguard", a name which I like well enough to use in place of the more popular but somewhat generic moniker, "330 Ele".
Initially, there was a glitch in the way Protective Spirit and Stoneflesh Aura interacted which allowed damage through at odd intervals (this was fixed sometime last year). This inhibited the development of the idea but led me to devise this build. Hyprodimus Prime posted the first usable build based on Protective Spirit, a Mursaat farm, using Zealous Benediction to cover the damage that slipped through. Other posts have popped up over time -- there's even an article on PvXWiki, but for whatever reason, the build has never caught on in a big way.
III. Skills
Stoneguard is a fairly adaptable build, so I'll review all the skills that might be of use here.
Core:
[Protective Spirit][Stoneflesh Aura]
These two skills combine to make you nearly invulnerable while they are active. Here's the big idea, for those unfamiliar with the build: with your health lowered to 330 hit points via runes, Protective Spirit will prevent all damage in excess of 33, as that is 10% of 330. Then, Stoneflesh Aura acts to reduce that damage by 33, thus nullifying any and all damage.
This result depends on casting Protective Spirit before Stoneflesh Aura. If you do it the other way around, Stoneflesh Aura's effect will be processed before Protective Spirit's; in other words, the damage will be reduced by 33, then capped at 33. If a packet of 100 damage were to hit you in these circumstances, it would be reduced to 67 then limited to 33, but you would still take 33 damage.
So, always cast Protective Spirit then Stoneflesh Aura immediately thereafter. When (or slightly before) Stoneflesh Aura starts to blink, cast the enchantments as before: Protective Spirit first, then Stoneflesh Aura immediately thereafter. Don't cast Protective Spirit early, and don't delay when casting Stoneflesh Aura. As long as you can maintain these enchantments and stick to the correct casting schedule, they will keep you safe from everything except life-stealing and health degeneration. I'll have more to say about how to deal with these problems later.
Finally, if you're late with Stoneflesh Aura, for whatever reason, and still survive, expect another chunk of damage to hit you as that cycle finishes, regardless of whether or not you clean up the timing of the spells. It seems to be a by-product of the way in which Guild Wars keeps track of enchantments. You can get this health back without healing skills, though, because as long as you don't attack and aren't hexed, you will heal naturally while you take zero damage and have no health degeneration on you.
Auxiliary:
Energy supply:
The two core skills will require a drain on your energy reserves equal to roughly three and a half bars of regeneration, leaving you with only about a half a bar of regeneration with which to cast offensive spells. That won't suffice, obviously, so you have to augment your energy regeneration somehow.
[Balthazar's Spirit]
Balthazar's Spirit triggers on a wider range of damage sources than does Essence Bond and is therefore the skill you want. Note that you almost never need both and are generally better off fitting in another damage skill. Also, know that Balthazar's Spirit functions better in Hard Mode due to the increased attack rate of foes. Lastly, be careful about using blocking enchantments or stances, as every attack that's blocked represents a point of energy that you'll never get. Sliver Armor is the one major exception to this rule because it's simply too good not to include in most cases.
[Glyph of Lesser Energy][Earth Attunement]
If you are running Stoneguard against very small groups, namely three or less, then you might find Balthazar's Spirit doesn't provide sufficient energy to merit its inclusion. In that rare case, you may want to try Glyph of Lesser Energy and Earth Attunement instead.
Healing:
You generally shouldn't need to concern yourself with bringing a healing skill; however, if you are farming in an environment where life-stealing or health degeneration threats are in play, you'll probably need to bring something to address them.
[Spirit Bond]
Spirit Bond is so much better than every other option available that there really isn't anything else worth considering. Remember that you will need to be hit occasionally to trigger Spirit Bond and that these hits will have to be large ones. For that reason, I recommend using AL 15 armor (or AL 5, if you still have it).
Spell protection:
[Glyph of Swiftness][Obsidian Flesh]
Enchantment removal and spell-based interrupts result in more or less instant death for Stoneguard and must be countered strongly. Generally, you'll need both Glyph of Swiftness and Obsidian Flesh for this purpose. Glyph of Swiftness reduces the recharge on Obsidian Flesh which allows you to maintain it 100% of the time.
It can be difficult to keep both Protective Spirit+Stoneflesh Aura and Glyph of Swiftness+Obsidian Flesh going at the same time. Because they last somewhat different durations, you will occasionally find that you need to cast both at more or less the same time. I find that if I initially activate Glyph of Swiftness+Obsidian Flesh immediately after casting a Protective Spirit+Stoneflesh Aura chain, then I can maintain both, with some effort, for long enough to get through most battles.
Condition removal:
Before you commit to one of these options, make sure you have a valid reason for including condition removal in the build. You can generally ignore Crippling, Blindness, and Deep Wounds, and Bleeding, Poison, Disease, and Burning are more easily dealt with using Spirit Bond. Dazing, however, is a serious problem, though, fortunately, a rare one.
[Mending Touch][Dismiss Condition]
I generally use Mending Touch in places where conditions tend to get stacked up, as it will remove two conditions at once, and therefore it's easier to get rid of the one condition that's dangerous. Dismiss Condition does recharge faster, however.
Hex Removal:
As with conditions, make sure you actually need to include hex removal in your build before adding it.
[Divert Hexes]
Divert Hexes rates as an elite skill due to its ability to remove several hexes and optionally heal and remove conditions as well. Most of the time it’s more solution than the problem requires, but it's good for hex-heavy environments. Assuming you aren't that worried about hex removal, a simple Remove Hex should be fine.
Knockdown prevention:
["I am Unstoppable!"][Ward of Stability]
Neither skill prevents knockdowns 100% of the time, so you'll need to bring both if that's a concern. Assuming you've got a decent amount of Norn rank, "I Am Unstoppable!" is the skill to use if you can only bring one.
Running:
A good running skill can speed up farming runs considerably, especially if foes are widely scattered.
[Drunken Master][Storm Djinn's Haste][Mindbender]
Drunken Master is probably the pick here, being a cheap, long-lasting stance that can get you moving at a 33% increased speed. The other two skills are more or less interchangeable, Storm Djinn's Haste can be maintained 100% of the time; however, Mindbender provides a higher movement bonus and halves cast times as well.
Blocking:
[Mental Block][Magnetic Aura]
As noted above, you'll generally want to avoid bringing blocking skills; however, if you're trying to farm in an area with attack-based interrupts or Dazing, you don't really have any better options.
Interrupt prevention:
[Glyph of Concentration]
I bring this up mostly to indicate that it's probably not going to work. You really need Stoneflesh Aura protected, more than anything, and since Glyph of Concentration now only covers one spell, you'd have to activate it after Protective Spirit. My sense is that this would mess up the timing of things. Besides that, Glyph of Concentration is itself quite interruptible.
General utility:
[Air of Superiority]
Air of Superiority can heal, remove conditions, supply energy, and recharge your skills, assuming you can feed it kills rapidly. For this reason, it works best with Sliver Armor.
Damage:
First, a note on scattering: The most important factor in deciding which damage skills to take is not necessarily the deadliness of the skill in question exactly, but whether it will cause wholesale scattering among the foes you're fighting. Scattering really tends to slow things down and affects your energy gain via Balthazar's Spirit in a bad way. Without energy, you won't be able to keep your protective enchantments up and then you're in for it.
The good news, such as it is, is that scattering is rarely an issue in Normal Mode; of course, you sacrifice drop quality there as well. In Hard Mode, you have a few options:Fight ranged creatures: These tend not to scatter. Fight three or fewer melee creatures at a time: In small numbers, foes don't scatter; note that you can mix additional ranged attackers in and still not have to worry about scattering. Take the creatures down to just above 50% health, then spike them to death: Most creatures won't scatter while they are healthy; however, this approach is tricky to pull off and won't work for creatures above level 22 or so as they have too much armor and health. Attack the creatures that run off: Simply attacking creatures will bring them back into melee range, although you can only do this with one creature at a time. This tactic works well with Sliver Armor. Kill things one at a time: This is the option of last resort. Triggered:
[Sliver Armor]
Sliver Armor is one of the top damage skills available to farmers, and you'll rarely go wrong with it. To maximize its usefulness, aggro as many foes as possible. Also, see the section on damage augmentation for ideas on how to increase the potency of Sliver Armor. For all its power, Sliver Armor tends to run out of steam when you have whittled your opponents down to three or so in number. So, it's often a good idea to supplement it with at least one direct damage skill.
[Pain Inverter]
Pain Inverter rates a distant second to Sliver Armor in this category, but it will do a fair amount of damage to a single foe, assuming you are running AL 15 armor. Consider using it against bosses.
[Reversal of Damage]
Reversal of Damage will trigger successfully with Stoneguard and hit for the maximum amount if you really get smacked, but getting enough points into Smiting Prayers to make it worthwhile can be difficult.
[Shield of Judgment]
The same problem, i.e. funding Smiting Prayers, makes Shield of Judgment a distant option, but it may be worth it against ranged Undead.
[Holy Wrath][Retribution][Judge's Intervention]
None of these skills will work as intended with Stoneguard. Leave them out.
Unconditional:
There are two sorts of unconditional damage skills to consider: armor-ignoring and elemental. Armor-ignoring skills tend to have long recharges and usually do somewhat less "numerical" damage than elemental skills. However, the actual damage done by elemental skills drops rapidly with increasing armor level. So, the decision of which sort of skill to use depends primarily on how much armor your foes have. In general, if you're fighting creatures level 20 or lower, go with regular damage skills as you'll likely do more damage that way. Above level 20, use armor-ignoring skills. For a definitive answer, you'll have to use them in the field and compare damage numbers.
Armor-ignoring:
[Crystal Wave][Teinai's Crystals]
These skills are the obvious choices to make as you're using Earth Magic anyway. Watch how you use them if you are inflicting some sort of condition, however.
[Light of Deldrimor]
Although not generally as good as the Crystal spells, Light of Deldrimor is quite cheap and does double damage against Undead.
[Alkar's Alchemical Acid]
It's the same sort of story here; you should really only consider using Alkar's Alchemical Acid against Destroyers.
[Obsidian Flame]
The exhaustion that goes along with Obsidian Flame makes it hard to recommend in the general case; then too, it only works against one target at a time. However, the quick recharge and high damage output makes it suitable for boss farming.
Elemental:
[Shockwave]
Shockwave is probably the most potent single-hit elemental skill available. However, I would only recommend it if you have no other use for your elite slot.
[Sandstorm]
Sandstorm is a very nice DoT (Damage over Time) spell that would rate significantly higher if it didn't cause rampant scattering. If you can't kill everything with Sandstorm + Earthquake + Aftershock, I'd just drop it and go a different route.
[Aftershock]
Aftershock provides a pretty good chunk of AoE damage on a ten second recharge. That alone makes it a fairly strong choice. If you can pair it with Earthquake or Whirlwind in order to cash in the bonus damage, I would strongly consider doing so.
[Earthquake][Dragon Stomp]
On their own, these skills don't merit inclusion due their high casting cost and the fact that they inflict exhaustion. However, paired with Aftershock, they become interesting.
[Ebon Hawk][Stoning][Glowstone]
If you're prepared to spend the time needed to take your foes down one by one, you might want to try this combination.
[Searing Flames]
Earth Magic suffers for lack of a decent ranged AoE spell, whereas Fire Magic has a few that are fairly usable, Searing Flames being the standout. Consider bringing it against ranged attackers.
[Rodgort's Invocation]
The same comments apply to Rodgort's Invocation, which while more expensive and slower than Searing Flames is also non-elite.
Health Degeneration:
[Radiation Field]
Against fleshy foes, Radiation Field can be devastating. At maximum Asuran rank, a single invocation of Radiation Field will siphon off 220 hit points over its run. Use some caution when fighting human foes, however, as they will spread the Disease to you.
[Burning Speed]
Burning Speed can also put a pretty bad hurt on your farming quarry. Each second of Burning melts away 14 hits points, and given the instantaneous recharge, you don't need a lot of points in Fire Magic to make it usable. Burning also affects a wider range of creatures than Bleeding, Poison, etc. Finally, make sure to bring Spirit Bond to heal up the Burning that you cause to yourself.
Damage augmentation:
[Glyph of Renewal]
Glyph of Renewal works too well with Sliver Armor not to give it primary consideration for your elite slot, assuming you don't need Obsidian Flesh. It may be redundant if you plan to use Air of Superiority or to kill bosses, but in any other scenario if you plan to use Sliver Armor, then plan to use Glyph of Renewal as well. If you're not using Sliver Armor, Glyph of Renewal doesn't make quite as much sense, but it can still be useful from time to time.
[Ebon Battle Standard of Honor]
This is another no-brainer if you're using Sliver Armor. The boost you get out of it is better than any other option even at low Ebon Vanguard ranks, and you can keep it active nearly 100% of the time at the higher ranks. Note, however, that Ebon Battle Standard of Honor will not augment damage done by armor-ignoring spells.
[Intensity]["By Ural's Hammer!"]
You'll want to use Intensity or "By Ural's Hammer!" when you are packing spells that do a good chunk of damage at one time. Make sure, however, that there is a good reason for bringing one of these skills as opposed to simply carrying along another damage spell.
These skills are essentially interchangeable and your choice will probably be determined by which line you have more rank in. I tend to prefer "By Ural's Hammer!" lately because, being a shout, it's easier to activate in a timely manner. However, Intensity will generally last longer considering the +20% enchantment duration modifier you're carrying. Incidentally, the two skills will stack for a 56% boost to your damage, but even that is rarely worth tying up two skill slots.
[Glyph of Elemental Power]
Glyph of Elemental Power usually doesn't offer enough of a benefit to merit inclusion; however, it can be useful if you plan to run skills in another elemental line. See the Attributes section for further details.
[Shell Shock]
Don't forget about Cracked Armor; the 20 point armor reduction will cause your spells to hit approximately 30% harder. Shell Shock only affects a single target, however, so save it for bosses and such.
["Finish Him!"]
This is about the only way to inflict a Deep Wound as an E/Mo, and Deep Wounds are good. You have to wait until the enemy is below 50% health, but after that point the combination of Cracked Armor, a Deep Wound, and 80-ish damage will bring events to a rapid conclusion. Again, however, the single-target nature of "Finish Him!" restricts its use.
Snares:
The Earth Magic line features some fairly usable snares, e.g., Ward Against Foes and Grasping Earth. Don't use them, however, as snaring is generally not a useful tactic in farming, especially in Hard Mode. If you are having troubles with scattering, you're better off either attacking the scattering foes or knocking them down.
IV. Attributes
In general, you want to run:
Earth Magic: 12+3+1 = 16
Protection Prayers: 11
Energy Storage: 6+3 = 9
This setup allows some room for error in the casting of Protective Spirit and Stoneflesh Aura, but essentially locks you into using Earth Magic for damage.
You can drop Earth Magic to 15, but this requires fairly precise timing of Protective Spirit + Stoneflesh Aura. You'll also need to shed another 20 hit points. However, this will buy you up to 8 ranks in a third attribute. If you want to follow this line even further, you can also drop Protection Prayers to 10. This is just workable against small groups, but be prepared to take some damage every cycle.
If you bring Glyph of Swiftness along, you can reduce Earth Magic to 13 and Protection Prayers to 10. This affords up to 11 ranks of a third attribute. However, you will need at least 4 ranks of Air Magic to reach the point where Glyph of Swiftness will affect two spells. Your health must be kept below 270 in this scenario. Also, realize that you will have to cast Stoneflesh Aura more frequently, so you're cutting into the time you might be using to cast offensive spells and such.
If you want to explore other elemental lines, your best option is to cover Stoneflesh Aura with Glyph of Elemental Power, then drop Earth Magic to 14. If you take the appropriate Superior rune you can bump Air, Fire, or Water Magic up to 13 (15 with Glyph of Elemental Power active).
V. Equipment
You don't necessarily need any special sort of armor, but an AL 15 set is good to have. Protective Spirit + Stoneflesh Aura takes care of all your damage worries in any event, and the reduced armor level meshes works nicely with Spirit Bond. Besides which, it's cheap. If you already have a 60 AL Earth Magic head piece, you can use that with no problems. I do this just so I don't have too many armor swaps cluttering up my inventory.
You'll need two Superior runes to get down to 330 hit points, at least one of which should be Earth Magic. Generally, Energy Storage makes the most sense for the second choice, but Air Magic and Fire Magic can be useful. Additional levels of Air Magic can support Storm Djinn's Haste and especially Glyph of Swiftness; use Fire Magic when you're drawing on Burning Speed or the Fire AoE spells for damage. There's not much reason to use a Superior Water Magic rune besides the fact that it's cheap.
Apart from these two runes, just fill up on Radiant insignias and runes of Attunement. The extra energy isn't necessarily needed, however, so feel free to go the cheap route and forego these. Remember, you can always get energy from Energy Storage or your weapon set. Avoid Survivor insignias and runes of Vigor and Vitae unless you're trying something unconventional, like bringing three Superior runes. Also, stay away from armor-increasing insignias as these will work against Spirit Bond.
Make sure to bring some sort of staff or weapon with a modifier of enchantment duration +20% on it. Something like Galigord's Stone Staff is a pretty good option, as it gives you 15 energy and can reduce both casting and recharge times, which can be a lifesaver. In a pinch, you can actually attack with it and do damage, to boot. You can get more energy from a weapon + offhand combination than from a staff, however, especially if you are prepared to sacrifice some energy regeneration. Spears are in vogue nowadays because they allow you to attack at range and thereby bring scattered foes back in line. Again, avoid health and armor buffs, although a -2 damage (while enchanted) modifier could conceivably be useful.
Lastly, if you plan on killing any bosses, or otherwise getting some sort of morale boost, make sure you take a negative health modifier so that you don't go above 330-odd hit points. A -20 hp modifier will cover you up to +6%.
VI. Strengths and Weaknesses:
Strengths:Damage immunity Spell immunity Counters to most other threats As many as five open skill slots Potent Earth Magic damage skills Weaknesses:Susceptible to attack-based interrupts Unable to use another secondary Majority of attribute points tied up Casting schedule can be tight Not a lot of people on board The main strength of Stoneguard is its invulnerability to all forms of damage -- attack-based or spell borne, regular or armor-ignoring, elemental or physical, shadow or holy, targeted or AoE, it's covered. This protection doesn't breakdown regardless of the number of foes aggro'ed, and it works just as well in Hard Mode as in Normal.
Life-stealing and health degeneration do however remain concerns, but Spirit Bond can be used to combat both fairly effectively. In fact, the Monk secondary provides options for dealing with practically any threat that may occur.
Although you are more or less compelled to use Earth Magic skills for damage, it's not a bad line to be stuck with. Sliver Armor is probably the single best damage skill in the game when scattering is a concern. Crystal Wave and Teinai's Crystals provide large doses of armor-ignoring AoE damage. Against lower-level foes, Sandstorm + Earthquake + Aftershock is deadly.
Attack-based interruption is Stoneguard's chief nemesis. It takes two seconds to cast Stoneflesh Aura, so it just hangs out there begging to be interrupted. There is no real Elementalist or Monk interruption counter, and you simply can't miss that cast. Furthermore, attack-based interruption occurs frequently in the areas you'd most like to farm.
Finally, you have to consider the fact that Stoneguard has never gotten a particularly warm reception in the community. This limits the amount of innovation that is produced, simply because fewer people are working to that end.
vs. Terra Tank:
As both Stoneguard and Terra Tank center on Earth Magic, there's not a lot to distinguish the two. Terra Tank gives you access to Echo/Arcane Echo, the Visage spells, Cry of Pain, and a couple of other nice Mesmer skills. Energy comes a bit easier also, and you usually have more spare attribute points to splash into other skill lines.
Stoneguard is more resilient; all damage is reduced to zero whereas Terra Tank is susceptible to armor-ignoring damage and very large packets of ordinary damage. If you are forced to add Armor of Earth to the Terra Tank build, Stoneguard will have an extra open skill slot. Also, Stoneguard has an easier time dealing with conditions and can at least put up a fight against life-stealing with Spirit Bond.
vs. 55 (and similar):
The nice thing about the 55 archetype is that any spellcasting class can use it. By the same token, Monk primaries can take any secondary that they choose. Stoneguard players are locked into E/Mo. Also, 55 variants are compliant with Holy Wrath and Retribution, but that gets into dual builds, which is an entirely different thread.
Life-stealing and health degeneration are typically less of an issue for Stoneguard than for the 55 variants, although 55 can generally increase the number of hit points they are running to help counter this. Stoneguard also has a bit of an edge as far as spell protection, because Glyph of Swiftness + Obsidian Flesh beats Spellbreaker in most farming contexts. A 55 can run Mantra of Resolve however, and so deal with interruption threats. Lastly, 55's must dedicate as many as five skill slots to the cause of survival whereas Stoneguard can often do the same with three.
vs. 330 Rt/Mo:
Stoneguard affords significantly better survivability and allows larger aggros, but the 330 Rt/Mo should have fewer issues with interrupts as the longest cast time it has to mind is 3/4 of a second.
The speed question might go either way. Vengeful Was Khanhei beats Sliver Armor when scattering is not a factor; Sliver Armor beats Vengeful Was Khanhei when it is. In either case, the 330 Rt/Mo damage skills don't run out of steam against small groups of enemies, whereas Sliver Armor is apt to do just that. Of course, you can always augment it with other damage skills in the Earth Magic line. Also, most of the 330 Rt/Mo's damage skills are conditional in nature, whereas things like Crystal Wave and Dragon Stomp aren't.
vs. Perma-Shadow Form
There's not much to be said here; Stoneguard is simply not in the same class as Perma-Shadow Form, which is probably the best thing going right now, nerf be damned. The one minor advantage Stoneguard has over Perma-SF is that it can deal with untargeted damage and some of the Signets and Skills that slip through Shadow Form.
VII. Sample farms
In general, you can farm anywhere that a Terra Tank, a 55 variant, or a 330 Rt/Mo can, with some exceptions. Here's a sampling of a few of the things Stoneguard can do:
Djinns: (The Hidden City of Ahdashim)
[build prof=E/Mo name="HM Djinns" earth=12+3+1 protection=11 energy=6+3][Protective Spirit][Stoneflesh Aura][Crystal Wave][Glyph of Renewal][Sliver Armor][Ebon Battle Standard of Honor][Spirit Bond][Balthazar's Spirit][/build]
Spirit Bond is there to heal the Burning, but don't feel you need to use it constantly. Try to stay above half health, however, because the Diamond Djinns will be able to inflict a Deep Wound at that point.
Try to kill the Diamond Djinns first, in as much as possible, then the Roaring Ethers (so they don't steal all your energy) and then the Sapphire Djinns. You won't be able to kill a Diamond Djinn unless there are at least two other Djinns still alive. For the Sapphire Djinns, you'll need at least one other Djinn or a lot of energy. Sometimes you just have to leave the last few and move on.
The Roaring Ethers are annoying with their Energy Surge, Energy Burn, and Ether Feast, which all tend to liquidate your energy. Fortunately, you won't generally get more than one or two at a time unless you're around one of the bosses. The trick for dealing with them is to make sure that you've got some duration left on your Protective Spirit + Stoneflesh Aura before you aggro any Roaring Ethers and draw as large group as possible to offset the energy losses. You can tank essentially an unlimited number of Djinn, so feel free to round up everything you can grab. This also helps feed Sliver Armor
Yetis: (Mount Qinkai, just outside of the Luxon side of Fort Aspenwood)
[build prof=E/Mo name="HM Yeti" earth=12+3+1 protection=11 energy=6+3][Protective Spirit][Stoneflesh Aura][Glyph of Renewal][Sliver Armor][Ebon Battle Standard of Honor][Radiation Field][Spirit Bond][Balthazar's Spirit][/build]
Here's another example of a fairly standard Sliver Armor-based farm. Glyph of Renewal and Ebon Battle Standard are present, as you would expect. However, since the Yetis are fleshy (and therefore subject to Disease), Radiation Field is the skill to use rather than Crystal Wave. It is somewhat energy intensive, however, so try to use it early in the battle rather than later.
This is a fairly good farm for getting Elite Tomes, in addition to runes and materials. Incidentally, make sure you take the "Return of the Yeti" quest to spawn two more bosses in the area.
Lastly, this run used to be a lot easier before Consume Soul was buffed; still, I have included it because it illustrates some of the resilience Stoneguard has against life-stealing. Having said that, you have to cast Spirit Bond quite frequently and limit your aggros somewhat.
Glint's Challenge: (talk to Consular Brand Oakencask in the Central Transfer Chamber)
[build prof=E/Mo name="HM Destroyers" earth=12+3+1 protection=11 energy=5 air=4][Protective Spirit][Stoneflesh Aura][Glyph of Swiftness][Obsidian Flesh][Sliver Armor][Ebon Battle Standard of Honor][Air of Superiority][Balthazar's Spirit][/build]
You must keep Protective Spirit, Stoneflesh Aura, and Obsidian Flesh active 100% of the time throughout this farm. Even a momentary lapse will spell defeat.
Stand between the two passes through which the Destroyers approach and aggro them before they get to the Baby Dragon. Tank for approximately three minutes or until the entire wave has arrived. Then, step up to one of the groups and lay down Sliver Armor and Ebon Battle Standard of Honor. Use Air of Superiority to get a few free recharges out of it, but be careful so that the timing on your protective spells isn't thrown awry.
Alkar's Alchemical Acid is a tempting choice here, but the Destroyers of Souls run Vengeful Weapon, so be careful. You're probably better off with the build as described above.
Once you whittle the Destroyers down to the point where there are only a few left, say three or four, you will have to ditch out because you won't be able to outstrip the healing they get from Inner Fire, besides which, the next wave features interrupts.
Kappa: (Maishang Hills, just outside warp to Gyala Hatchery)
[build prof=E/Mo name="HM Kappa" earth=10+3+1 protection=11 fire=10+3][Glyph of Elemental Power][Protective Spirit][Stoneflesh Aura][Mark of Rodgort][Searing Flames][Rodgort's Invocation]["By Ural's Hammer!"][Balthazar's Spirit][/build]
Kappa have a unique Monster skill called Turtle Shell. This reduces all damage by a number equal to the creature’s level, so it's rather like Stoneflesh Aura. Turtle Shell pretty much invalidates the use of Sliver Armor, so it's time to look for other options. Crystal Wave and such will work, but since there's no real difficulty with scattering here, I decided to take this opportunity to splash into the Fire Magic skills.
In order to get a decent investment in Fire Magic, I've dropped Earth Magic to 14 and included Glyph of Elemental Power. This allows me to kick Fire Magic up to 13 with a Superior Fire Magic rune (15 after you factor in the extra two levels the glyph gives you), but requires Glyph of Elemental Power to be active whenever you are casting Stoneflesh Aura.
There's not too much else to say about this farm, just lead with Mark of Rodgort and spam Rodgort's Invocation and Searing Flames. Also, make sure to hit "By Ural's Hammer!" when you start casting your damage spells, as it boosts their effect which in turn means you'll get more past Turtle Shell.
Spectral Vaettirs: (Jaga Moraine, just inside the warp to Bjora Marches)
[build prof=E/Mo name="HM Spectral Vaettirs" earth=12+3+1 protection=11 fire=6+3 energy=2][Protective Spirit][Stoneflesh Aura][Glyph of Swiftness][Obsidian Flesh][Crystal Wave][Burning Speed][Spirit Bond][Balthazar's Spirit][/build]
The Spectral Vaettirs have extremely high armor vs. elemental damage, so Sliver Armor is essentially wasted here as well. Crystal Wave ignores armor; therefore it's a good choice. I took a different tack with this build and decided to use Burning Speed for this farm. With Spirit Bond equipped, the Burning really won't hurt you much, but it kills the Vaettirs nicely, especially when you consider all the things that don't work against them -- normal damage, Disease, Bleeding, etc.
This is a hex heavy environment, but that's not why Obsidian Flesh is equipped (Spirit Bond easily deals with all the health degeneration in play). Instead, it prevents the Vaettirs from healing via Ether Feast. Also, with Obsidian Flesh active, the Vaettirs will not scatter, generally speaking -- don't spam Burning Speed, however, as that seems to bother them.
Note that you shouldn't have Obsidian Flesh up while aggroing the Vaettirs. It slows you down and makes it easier for the Vaettirs to trap you. You will have to heal via Spirit Bond occasionally, however, so don't get too far ahead of the Vaettirs because you need them to hit you occasionally.
When you have all the aggro you want, activate Glyph of Swiftness+Obsidian Flesh. Lead with Crystal Wave then start cycling Burning Speed. Don't mistakenly remove the Burning on the Vaettirs with Crystal Wave when it recharges. Instead, save it up for the end. When the health meter just touches the right side of the 6 in "Lvl 26 Spectral Vaettir", hit Crystal Wave to finish off the lot.
Make sure to take out the smaller group of 24 before the larger group of 36; this precludes the possibility of getting a Strength of the Norn blessing, which raises your hit points and thereby kills you, ironically enough. If this does happen to you, temporize with Spirit Bond and let Obsidian Flesh fall. The Vaettirs will inflict a Deep Wound on you which should lower your hit points to a more comfortable 350 or so. Pick things up again when Strength of the Norn wears off.
Nightbringer farm: (Leave Kodonur Crossroads and head ENE into The Floodplains of Mahnkelon)
[build prof=E/Mo name="Nightbringer farm" earth=12+3+1 protection=11 energy=6+3][Protective Spirit][Stoneflesh Aura][Mindbender][Sliver Armor][Ebon Battle Standard of Honor]["By Ural's Hammer!"][Mending Touch][Balthazar's Spirit][/build]
Here, our quarry is Jerneh Nightbringer which drops The Nightbringer, a nice staff to put on your Minion Mancer heroes. This is a fairly straightforward farm. Run to the spawn site using Mindbender and trigger the pop up. Then approach Jerneh and lay down Sliver Armor, Ebon Battle Standard of Honor, and "By Ural's Hammer!". Stoneguard will protect you from Vile Touch and Grenth's Finger, but you must beware of Agonizing Chop, which can interrupt you. Defuse this threat by using Mending Touch to remove Deep Wounds as they occur.
Chest running in Mirror of Lyss:
[build prof=E/Mo name="Mirror of Lyss CR" earth=12+3+1 protection=11 energy=6+3][Protective Spirit][Stoneflesh Aura][Glyph of Lesser Energy][Mindbender][Drunken Master]["I Am Unstoppable!"][Mending Touch][Divert Hexes][/build]
For the sake of variety, here's a build I use for chest running in Mirror of Lyss (usually in Normal Mode). Mindbender and Drunken Master function as generic running skills -- if you have the alcohol to waste, you probably only need Drunken Master. You'll want to maintain Protective Spirit and Stoneflesh Aura while you have creatures aggro'ed, but otherwise different tactics are required for each group. There are essentially four sorts of groups that you face there:
Rock Beetle + Rain Beetle:
These present no real threat except for Distracting Shot. Run in, then run out, trying not to cast anything while doing so.
Gravebane Behemoth + Scytheclaw Behemoth:
The Gravebanes are rather annoying as they don't break aggro easily and cast Suffering and Toxic Chill, both of which degenerate your health. Divert Hexes and an occasional Mending Touch will keep you alive. Apart from that, watch your energy consumption and stay on the run.
Enchanted Brambles + Mirage Iboga + Storm Jacaranda:
The Enchanted Brambles will Cripple you and the Storm Jacaranda can knock you down with Lightning Surge; these threats can both be dealt with via "I Am Unstoppable!". Use Divert Hexes to get rid of Crippling Anguish especially, but also Conjure Phantasm.
Ruby Djinn + Roaring Ether:
Pre-cast Mindbender, because you probably won't have the energy for it later. Glyph of Lesser Energy should allow you to cast the all-important Protective Spirit+Stoneflesh Aura combination when the Roaring Ethers have stolen all your energy. Don't worry about the Burning unless you are below 50 health.
VIII. Credits and Conclusion
Stoneguard was never my idea, so let me credit those who came up with it originally: darrengordon, Francis Crawford, and Hyprodimus Prime. Thanks also to those who have kept it alive over the last two years. Finally, thank you for reading!
