CoF 600 tank optionals question.

I am pretty experienced in running CoF. I never use/ bring mantra of resolve because I can make it through just fine without it.

So I have the generic build of ps, sb, SBer(E),soa, essence bond and blessed aura.

I have 2 free slots and am trying to figure out what is the most efficient way to go about speeding up runs when possible.

I can either bring 2 damage pve skills such as Light of Deldrimor and finish him. Or I was wondering if finish him + serpent's quickness/ glyph of swiftness to reduce SBer recharge would help in moving from mob to mob.

Only problem with gos would be that I normally run up, precast soa near end then SBer, which would lower my soa duration since I now have to cast gos between. Serpent's also has the 45 second recharge which sucks.

I was just curious to see if anyone else had any ideas to point me in a better direction.

I generally run MoR and Balth Spirit in your two slots, but I've seen LoD and Eternal Aura work okay.

If u have enough energy Arcane Echo would be a nice idea for extending SBrkr or perhaps GoSwiftness.

I don't really think there's much you can actually do to speed up CoF, it's fast as it is.

edit: change your cast order: PS SB (GoS) SBrkr, then when foes are running up to u, use SoA.

i was wondering this too, so just a quick question.
Would air of superiorority be a good choice? for chance to recharge skills, gain energy etc. or does it not trigger for some reason unknown to me. just seems a good skill to take if u want to move between mobs quicker.
thanks. mini

You don't need frenzy in CoF, you would only need it if the casters didn't wand enuff dmg.

In any case, everything in CoF hits for enuff to max the possible dmg from Retrib and Holy Wrath.

Perhaps something like Ether Nightmare/CoP if you really wanted, but I think you're best bet is GoS/SQ or LoD/EA.

Possibly EVBS of Wisdom could help, and perhaps Gaze of Fury in case no one brings spirit kill skills, but it's kinda unecessary.

Edit: didn' think of AoSuperiority, nice idea, maybe Smooth criminal could be good too vs the monks, mesmers and Mumu.

not sure smooth criminal will be worth a slot, considering u could remove a useless spell, and its recharge is pretty poor.

air of superiorority was my main choice, ebon battle standard could be good too.

it all runs fine with the normal build anyway. but might try AoS when i get online

My skill bar for CoF is like yours, I have two empty slots where I use LoD and PI. LoD for AoE damage and PI for taking down bosses and enchanted weps faster. Works pretty damn well.

Only thing that sucks is I don't have pain inverter on my monk. He also isn't my main so I don't want to farm up the ranks for most of his stuff. I have like rank 3 norn for finish him since I did dtsc.

I just was trying to see since like, usually the only thing that slows me down is waiting for a spellbreaker to recharge inbetween mobs. I just don't know if lod+ finish him would result in speeding up the run from extra damage. Or if just bringing like gos (don't think I can time arcane echo effectively) with lod/ finish him would speed it up more.

So, guess I will need to test if speed is improved with lod+fh or if gos +lod/fh works better.

I posted this once before, but dont' remember when or where. I modified the PvX CoF 600/Smite build a lot, and it works wonders for me. I can complete the entire thing with nobody else around to heal my smiter, and I get all the LoD spots. Even before they changed Incendiary Arrows I could handle the spiders, but that was the hardest part. Here are the builds I use for CoF:

600:
12+1+3 Protection Prayers (yep, I use a Superior Rune, but it isn't required)
12+1 Divine Favor

Protective Spirit
Spirit Bond
Shield of Absorption
Spell Breaker
Light of Deldrimor
Essence Bond
Blessed Aura
Vital Blessing

Smiter:
12+1+3 Smiting Prayers
12+1 Divine Favor
3 Blood Magic

Holy Wrath
Retribution
Balthazar's Spirit
Succor
Blood Is Power
Blessed Signet
Signet of Devotion
Purge Signet/Rebirth

I only take Rebirth if other people are coming along. I rarely die, but if I do and am alone, the hero not having a rez will allow me to rez at a shrine anyway. I have 2 pips of energy regen due to Succor and don't need BiP much at all, but it speeds things up on occassion. Haven't tried it, but Boon Signet could be used instead of BiP if you want more healing for the hero/smiter.

I highly recommend LoD for an optional. Since the monsters in CoF will almost always be right next to you, this is an easy source of damage, as well as giving you access to the Hidden Treasures. If you want to work on speed, I'd suggest either Air of Superiority or Ebon Battle Standard of Wisdom for recharging Spell Breaker faster.

Yeah I don't plan on doing all the quests to get air of superiority. Plus it only has a chance at recharge. Even with basic smite build I don't run into energy problems. The only time I would ever need energy would be res, but ua gives full energy anyway.

I get rid of blood ritual and make smiters bring by ural's hammer instead if they have it. I also find succor to be a waste. I mean if some runnee wants to follow and cast succor/ watchful spirit/ whatever random enchants they want it's fine.

I think the best thing a runnee can bring is make haste/ martyr (to get rid of any cripple instantly without being in aggro range.) Also signet of binding/ any spirit killer to kill left over blood songs.

I have done a few personal tests (not enough for final conclusion but an idea). For me, it seems like having glyph of swiftness for spellbreaker may be more helpful in speeding up a run than lod. I did find it helped kill the initial 3 undead upon aggro. But generally waiting for spellbreaker to recharge to fight a new group seemed more annoying and time consuming.

So for now I am thinking I may stick to glyph of swiftness and finish him. Will have to try it a bit more to see.

Also am thinking about making a bind/ macro to ask for leechers if they want the run to be faster, to bring a speed boost for me to use while aggroing. Maybe even cautery signet or martyr to pull cripple off me from afar.

It's funny that something as simple as make haste and cautery signet/martyr can speed up a run so much.

For CoF I use those skills plus Life Attunement and Light of Deldrimor. The LoD I bring mostly for the treasures, but it does do a fair bit of damage too.