Which defensive skill to use?

Watermelon Tacos

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jun 2009

D/

My WS build right now is OgCkkyq0axuEA2FIz1bp42oH5GBG

I was wondering if it was better to go 12 12 and use GDA instead of conviction.
Also, I was wondering if conviction is better than armor of sanctity.
Ty in advance

RyuujinZERO

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jan 2008

[Argh]

R/D

Conviction/GDA and Armor of Sanctity arn't really comparable as they serve different roles, and all 3 skills have a time and a place, so you may want to switch them around situationally:

Great Dwarf Armor is an enchantment and it only costs 5 energy; this means you essentially get it "for free" because it'll trigger mysticism when it ends and pay off most of it's cost. It also leaves room for a stance. Unlike conviction it doesn't provide any blocking. However, it can be stripped!

I'd take GDA if you think the biggest threat in an area is going to be from spellcasters, especially elementalists and massive enchantment stripping isn't going to be an issue.



Conviction is a stance, so you're gonna have to pay a larger energy overhead to run it (No subsidy from mysticism), also it requires earth prayers. However the 50% block rate will drasticlly reduce damage from martial sources, additionally it can't be stripped by anti-enchantment skills.

I'd take conviction in outtings where there are a lot of rangers or warriors but less magic users, ie. consulate docks HM, drakkar lake or if enchantment stripping will be a problem.



Armor of Sanctity provides damage reduction reduction is great at stopping many weak hits but is virtuallyuseless against spikes or mid-to-heavy damage sources. Since you have to actually get a condition onto an attacker to benefit from it it's completely useless at preventing damage from ranged sources unless you bring a spell or something that can spread conditions at range before you get hit by the opening salvo. It's certainly not a replacement for GDA or Conviction. (It has a place in PvP but since GDA is on the list this is for PvE amirite), using in tandem with one of the above is certainlya good idea but don'tuse it by itself

Lux Aeterna

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Feb 2009

RAH

Close Enough [XVII]

W/A

Conviction, unless you're dealing with stance removal.

Scythe O F Glory

Scythe O F Glory

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: May 2008

New Jersey

League of Elite [LoE]

D/

Don't use defensive skills. Instead, kill them before they have a chance to do damage to you.

House Silvermoon

House Silvermoon

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Mar 2007

New York City

Retired

W/E

get monks who know how to preprot bad monster ai.

Ccat

Ccat

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Apr 2008

Armor of Sanctity seems the likely option. Even if it didn't have the damage reduction it's still brilliant.

Hotboxin240

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Aug 2009

Wtf Am I [Doin]

D/

Unless I know I have to tank some mean pve boss, AoS stays on my bar, or I just set buffs+ias+damage. My defensive spirits, infuser, and protter have 0 problem keeping me alive in most places. If they aren't going to be so useful use AoS, as a tank your going to be surrounded and why not flick on weakness + damage reduction? Synergize with a hero, enfeebling blood on a necro is a nice way to spread around some conditions, as well as weaken armor. Both are great depending on your area, but I've always found more use in AoS generally.

Axel Zinfandel

Axel Zinfandel

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Sep 2007

Northeastern Ohio

LaZy

P/W

Summery of this thread thusfar= My opinion is the only valid opinion, all others suck.

Can we stick to the OP's question please? Go bicker elsewhere.

On the OP, Conviction against heavy melee areas, but AoS is very.. multipurpose, being that it reduces damage from things by a high set ammount, rather then a % like +armor does. AoS is also more easily strippable.

IF you plan on running that low of Earth Prayers, stick with Conviction. AoS shines more at a high attribute level.

I've always thought of GDA more as a prot then anything else, because it's useful when used as such (on people other then you).

Zodiak

Jungle Guide

Join Date: May 2005

Gatineau, Qc, Canada

Kiss of Anguish [KISS]

P/W

I like "I am Unstopable!"

It is a shout, so it activates instantly, it cannot be stripped or knocked out of like enchantments or stances.

It provides +24AR, prevents knock downs, prevents Cripple and will even remove it if you under it's effects and it can be kept up for 20 of the 30 second recharge for the skill, longer if your /P

Oddly enough, I am Unstopable also has a bug which I had not noticed until I checked wiki as it will stack passed the 2 Armor Rating buff skill cap

http://guildwars.wikia.com/wiki/%22I_Am_Unstoppable!%22

Great Dwarf Armor is also very good

AtomicMew

AtomicMew

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Apr 2005

N/A

Conviction is very, very strong. If you don't love conviction then you are going to hell.