Discordway?

Quantum Assassin

Academy Page

Join Date: Nov 2007

Shing Jea Monastery Dis142

Sudden Rise In Temperature [HEAT]

Rt/R

In Discordway on PvXWiki, the leader of the Discordway heroes is an assassin, is this really required?

Cuilan

Cuilan

Forge Runner

Join Date: Mar 2008

Me/

No not required, it's just people on PvX have a very bad sense of humor in giving people poor builds.

Lusciious

Lusciious

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jan 2009

I'm from Singapore but i live in Shanghai ATM

Order of [Thay]

N/

it helps to have an AP caller . and it's not an assassin leader . you just have to have assassin as your secondary profession .

FengShuiDove

FengShuiDove

Forge Runner

Join Date: Sep 2007

Trinity of the Ascended [ToA]

A/

A physical with Asuran Scan and a quick condition inflict skill (Wounding Strike, Sever Artery, Jagged Strike) can do the job just as well. Even better, in some cases, because they can pump out DPS when the AP caller is down for whatever reason.

The caller is nice, but no, it doesn't have to be an Assassin. It doesn't even have to be that build. Anything with a quick hex + condition will work just fine. Most of the time, the heroes can handle it themselves anyway.

Life Bringing

Life Bringing

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2008

Fissure of Woe

[LOD]/[GS]/[DL]/[LOD*]

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The build on pvx is meant to be played with something that can apply a condition and hex on it's own as often as possible. You can tweak your discord so you can run w/e you want.

Jugalo Dano

Jugalo Dano

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Feb 2006

N/Me

Every time I use discord I just bring pain inverter or some other asuran hex, as long as you can add a condition you will be just fine. The basic design of the build includes aoe hexes and conditions anyways, all the intial targeting hex does is gives a jump start as you aggro.

Gennadios

Gennadios

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jun 2009

N/A

People seem to think that Assasins Promise is a very good elite to bring no matter what profession your character belongs to because it recharges your skills. However:

If you really depend on Assassin's Promise for the skill recharge and energy, your build and it's energy management suck, since any halfway decent build wouldn't have long cooldown or energy issues.

FoxBat

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Apr 2006

Amazon Basin [AB]

Mo/Me

How does an AP build have cooldown or energy issues?

Dorny

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Apr 2008

Switzerland

Dragons of Shadows [DOS]

N/E

I quite like using a spirit spammer with painful bond, as its an area hex, so most targets can be discord-ed ^^ And little spirits providing a decent amount of damage :x

Lusciious

Lusciious

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jan 2009

I'm from Singapore but i live in Shanghai ATM

Order of [Thay]

N/

check AP Boon Prot . 1 man chain aegis is sexy . how is AP bad ?

Sagra

Sagra

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jun 2009

SC

Passionate Kiss of the Dragons [KISS]

N/

Rather than AP, on my nec I use Corrupt Enchantment and Parasitic Bond for hex spamming, YMLAD for condition, as well as throwing in the Naga Shaman Asura summon. He has stoning

When I play on my warrior, I use a hammer, which is beautiful with knockdown. It puts a little more steam into the steamroller builds.

Like the others were saying, the guidelines are general, but the main thing is to do enough to trigger the damage of Discord. Play around with builds and do something that suits your character and your playing style. Then when you share your build with others, they go "Huh?" Then maybe say something like, "Oh. Neat."

And, to support the concerns about dependency on AP, if you don't target properly or something goes screwy (like not taking out healers, etc.) you can be left facing the full cooldown of the skill. Better to take something with a normal cooldown and roll with it.

Andemius

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Nov 2008

Vanguard's Last Stand [Hero]

W/

heck, i run discordway with a w/n as the "caller". the most useful thing to do is apply hexes/conditions, you don't need to be assasin to do that.

syphonus

syphonus

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Dec 2007

The Dirtiest Parts Of My Mind

Phlying Skwirls[PS]

N/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gennadios View Post
People seem to think that Assasins Promise is a very good elite to bring no matter what profession your character belongs to because it recharges your skills. However:

If you really depend on Assassin's Promise for the skill recharge and energy, your build and it's energy management suck, since any halfway decent build wouldn't have long cooldown or energy issues. This isn't correct. AP is an energy management skill like any other, and as HigherMinion said, the real purpose is to exploit long recharge skills. AP often requires careful precision, since many builds do depend on it, but this does not make it a bad elite. It's a very simple matter of timing.

OP- Caster professions tend to work better at Discordway than melee simply because you can drop an enemy in ~2 seconds, then immediately switch to a second enemy without moving to the target. Necromancers work best of all-- Soul Reaping allows you to spam PvE skills endlessly without any energy troubles.

Puddin Cheeks

Puddin Cheeks

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Aug 2006

On Welfare

Jelly of the Month [Club]

technobabble is mega win in discordway, i have fallen in love with it. just bring a mesmer henchie depending on location and they will have enough hexes to cover yours as well.

dr_ishmael

Academy Page

Join Date: Apr 2005

I like Mark of Rodgort on my fire elementalist. It's a long-lasting AoE hex, AND all I have to do is wand the enemy to apply a condition (so even if I'm low on energy, I'm not useless). I also carry Technobabble to delay hex/condition removal and soften up any overpowered monks.

maxxfury

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Apr 2006

[DVDF] Gp

Me/A

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gennadios
If you really depend on Assassin's Promise for the skill recharge and energy, your build and it's energy management suck, since any halfway decent build wouldn't have long cooldown or energy issues.
Ever met a mesmer? Long recharges and high cost is kind of their trademark these days if you want to be effective.

Quote: Originally Posted by Lusciious View Post
check AP Boon Prot . 1 man chain aegis is sexy . how is AP bad ? Its less of the Aegis chain, more the perma cheap prot spirit and on demand seeds of life and shields Ap is good, whats bad is the people who complain they cant use it right when they cant work around the fragility of it, hence is sucks :P

~jayson

AtomicMew

AtomicMew

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Apr 2005

N/A

If you're going to play a physical rather than an AP caller, there are better options that actually synergize with physicals.

Just subbing out a discord for Ootv will get you better returns immediately, for example.

Karate Jesus

Karate Jesus

Forge Runner

Join Date: Apr 2008

Texas

Reign of Judgment [RoJ]

Me/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cuilan
View Post
No not required, it's just people on PvX have a very bad sense of humor in giving people poor builds. ......

Or AP calling could just be the most common build that's run with Discordway. At PvX, we store the most "meta" or commonly run builds.

Think of PvX more as a tool than a crutch or a burden. Obviously, GW is a game and should be fun and creative, so feel free to do that.

And, I'm sorry that you think we delight in giving people "poor" builds. We were actually just recording the AP caller that was posted here on GWGuru, and was considered the most meta

Lusciious

Lusciious

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jan 2009

I'm from Singapore but i live in Shanghai ATM

Order of [Thay]

N/

oh i've something i'm not sure about . do we have to constantly call our targets or do we just do it once ?

MasterSasori

MasterSasori

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Dec 2007

USA

[Thay]

R/Mo

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lusciious
View Post
oh i've something i'm not sure about . do we have to constantly call our targets or do we just do it once ? Are you referring to AP or discord? Heroes are generally smart enough to use discord correctly but if you load them with too many hexes and conditions they will tend to apply them to the enemy instead of taking advantage of discord. Then in this case you will have to micromanage, which is what you want to avoid. Therefore the secret is to find the correct balance of hexes and condition for your team to wipe out the opposition faster.

For AP, yes you normally need to call your target for your heroes to attack that one specific monster or they will attack other monsters other than the one you call. After a while, abusing AP becomes relatively easy with practice.

Lusciious

Lusciious

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jan 2009

I'm from Singapore but i live in Shanghai ATM

Order of [Thay]

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For AP. No what i meant is that do we have to call out every single skill we use or just the first one ?

Life Bringing

Life Bringing

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2008

Fissure of Woe

[LOD]/[GS]/[DL]/[LOD*]

N/P

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lusciious View Post
For AP. No what i meant is that do we have to call out every single skill we use or just the first one ? Just call out a skill, and the heroes will lock onto that target.

syphonus

syphonus

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Dec 2007

The Dirtiest Parts Of My Mind

Phlying Skwirls[PS]

N/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lusciious View Post
For AP. No what i meant is that do we have to call out every single skill we use or just the first one ? c-ctrl-space works nicely. You have to do it with pretty much every enemy as a caller, so I'd get comfortable with it. You should only have to ping once per enemy; though I find myself pinging several times if the target doesn't immediately drop.

EDIT: and tab a lot.

AndroBubbles

AndroBubbles

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Dec 2009

Mo/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sagra
View Post
And, to support the concerns about dependency on AP, if you don't target properly or something goes screwy (like not taking out healers, etc.) you can be left facing the full cooldown of the skill. Better to take something with a normal cooldown and roll with it. This.

There's a plethora of viable elites that can be used with discord way, and there are plenty of skills with a relatively quick recharge that do very good damage.

syphonus

syphonus

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Dec 2007

The Dirtiest Parts Of My Mind

Phlying Skwirls[PS]

N/

Quote:
Originally Posted by AndroBubbles
View Post
This.

There's a plethora of viable elites that can be used with discord way, and there are plenty of skills with a relatively quick recharge that do very good damage. Assassin's Promise is the single most powerful caster elite in the game, bar none. Saying it's bad because the target might not die is backwards. If you learn when and how to use it you effectively turn your bar with one elite into a bar with several.

MercenaryKnight

MercenaryKnight

Forge Runner

Join Date: May 2006

Wolf of Shadows [WoS]

P/

I don't call out any target. I just find my target hit space then ap ymlad random skills and heroes will always target that enemy once it's primed.

Life Bringing

Life Bringing

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2008

Fissure of Woe

[LOD]/[GS]/[DL]/[LOD*]

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Quote:
Originally Posted by MercenaryKnight
View Post
I don't call out any target. I just find my target hit space then ap ymlad random skills and heroes will always target that enemy once it's primed. You'll find that you have better results if you call, and even better results if you use a macro to micro discord on your heroes.

Dependancy on AP is a joke. Learn to play the freaking game. If you know that the mob has hex removal, bait it out by microing Shadow of Fear/Meekness on the mob first, or simply starting your chain with a hex besides AP. My caller bar usually has backup hexes to use on the odd chance that AP does get stripped anyway.

1.AP
2.YMLAD
3.EVAS
4.FH!
5.Sig of Deadly Corruption
6.Barbs
7.MoP
8.Enfeebling Blood

HigherMinion

HigherMinion

Forge Runner

Join Date: May 2008

East Anglia, UK

Order of [Thay]

N/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Life Bringing
View Post
You'll find that you have better results if you call, and even better results if you use a macro to micro discord on your heroes.

Dependancy on AP is a joke. Learn to play the freaking game. If you know that the mob has hex removal, bait it out by microing Shadow of Fear/Meekness on the mob first, or simply starting your chain with a hex besides AP. My caller bar usually has backup hexes to use on the odd chance that AP does get stripped anyway.

1.AP
2.YMLAD
3.EVAS
4.FH!
5.Sig of Deadly Corruption
6.Barbs
7.MoP
8.Enfeebling Blood Sigh-build. You do realise you can spam every skill on your bar against every foe without Signet of Deadly Corruption?

You're investing a PvE slot for 45~ aoe damage and energy management when you already have AP and MoP... Silly boy.

When will people learn By Ulral's Hammer is irreplaceable! Come on! +25% damage 100% uptime? Broaden your minds...

Chthon

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Apr 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dusk_ View Post
He's calling AP a crutch for people with bad energy management or those who use too many high-recharge skills.
He's a fool. AP lets you use -- or even abuse -- powerful skills that otherwise have unworkable recharge times (ex: MoP) AND you get a good chunk of energy out of the deal. It's arguably the most overpowered skill in GW PvE at the moment. Well, maybe not, since apparently some people find it too hard to use effectively...

On topic: Anything that kicks out a quick condition and hex can run discordway. AP is often favored for casters because it meets that requirement in 2 skills (AP+YMLAD) and provides the energy and recharge bonuses to help you make a passable build with the other 6 spaces.

Off-topic, but important: Discordway is seriously overrated. I've often called it "mediocre." Most classes can manage a stronger H+H build with a different focus.

Quote: Originally Posted by trcvrs View Post If you're going to play a physical rather than an AP caller, there are better options that actually synergize with physicals. I agree. I'm just quoting this to point out that you've reversed your prior position. And here I'd given up on your capacity to learn... I was wrong.

Quote: Originally Posted by HigherMinion View Post
Sigh-build. You do realise you can spam every skill on your bar against every foe without Signet of Deadly Corruption?

You're investing a PvE slot for 45~ aoe damage and energy management when you already have AP and MoP... Silly boy. For that matter, why does that build have YMLAD? It's already got EB, so YMLAD isn't really needed to provide a condition. When it's not serving that purpose, YMLAD isn't that strong of a skill, considering all the other PvE skills that a curse necro can press to the hilt.

Quote: .....what skill does 45 aoe damage and gives energy? Think you got your skills mixed up.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Karate Jesus View Post
......

Or AP calling could just be the most common build that's run with Discordway. At PvX, we store the most "meta" or commonly run builds.

Think of PvX more as a tool than a crutch or a burden. Obviously, GW is a game and should be fun and creative, so feel free to do that.

And, I'm sorry that you think we delight in giving people "poor" builds. We were actually just recording the AP caller that was posted here on GWGuru, and was considered the most meta Be that as it may, PvX has serious problems. The discordway build PvX reports as "great" is a crap variant of a mediocre build. The vast majority of "good" and "great" builds on PvX are either crap variants of decent builds or crap builds. The AP-MoP necro build was almost ranked as unviable when Moloch first posted it and he had to ask people who weren't idiots to go rate it just to save it. In short, your vetting system sucks. If you have a sincere interest in overhauling the vetting system, PM me, and I'll offer my ideas on improving it; otherwise, simply consider this an expression of my opinion about your vetting system.

Life Bringing

Life Bringing

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2008

Fissure of Woe

[LOD]/[GS]/[DL]/[LOD*]

N/P

Quote:
Originally Posted by HigherMinion View Post
Sigh-build. You do realise you can spam every skill on your bar against every foe without Signet of Deadly Corruption?

You're investing a PvE slot for 45~ aoe damage and energy management when you already have AP and MoP... Silly boy.

When will people learn By Ulral's Hammer is irreplaceable! Come on! +25% damage 100% uptime? Broaden your minds...
For that matter, why does that build have YMLAD? It's already got EB, so YMLAD isn't really needed to provide a condition. When it's not serving that purpose, YMLAD isn't that strong of a skill, considering all the other PvE skills that a curse necro can press to the hilt. It's Discordway, not any other team setup. The goal is to make a single target explode as fast as possible. Ranged knocklock+~70 damage is pretty worthwhile, especially because it's instant.

Chthon

Grotto Attendant

Join Date: Apr 2007

Quote:
Originally Posted by Life Bringing View Post
.....what skill does 45 aoe damage and gives energy? Think you got your skills mixed up.
That would be Signet of Corruption. Signet of Deadly Corruption isn't a very good skill either...

Quote:
It's Discordway, not any other team setup. The goal is to make a single target explode as fast as possible. Ranged knocklock+~70 damage is pretty worthwhile, especially because it's instant. 1. The fact that "[t]he goal is to make a single target explode as fast as possible" is a big part of why discordway is mediocre in the first place.

1b. Furthermore, why put MoP in your build if that's the goal? You bring a great sticky hex and then dedicate the remainder of your build to making sure it doesn't stick... (That's more an indictment of discordway than using MoP though.)

2. "Knocklock" is keeping a target immobilized and unable to act by repeated knockdowns for as long as necessary. A single knockdown per target isn't "knocklock."

3. If damage is the only purpose this skill serves for you, why not Necrosis instead? Discord cycles in 3 sec, so you've got time for the cast. And it's better damage and much better recharge if you need more than 1 cast on some targets.

Life Bringing

Life Bringing

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2008

Fissure of Woe

[LOD]/[GS]/[DL]/[LOD*]

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chthon View Post
That would be Signet of Corruption. Signet of Deadly Corruption isn't a very good skill either...
Was looking just at the skills i posted m8.

Quote:
1. The fact that "[t]he goal is to make a single target explode as fast as possible" is a big part of why discordway is mediocre in the first place.
Spiking single targets while everything else explodes due to minions and putrid bile.
Quote:
1b. Furthermore, why put MoP in your build if that's the goal? You bring a great sticky hex and then dedicate the remainder of your build to making sure it doesn't stick... (That's more an indictment of discordway than using MoP though.) Note sure actually, but helps when theres some form of downtime. Even fitting in 1 spear attack before the target dies can do fairly significant damage though.
Quote:
2. "Knocklock" is keeping a target immobilized and unable to act by repeated knockdowns for as long as necessary. A single knockdown per target isn't "knocklock." ohaider EVAS.
Quote:
3. If damage is the only purpose this skill serves for you, why not Necrosis instead? Discord cycles in 3 sec, so you've got time for the cast. And it's better damage and much better recharge if you need more than 1 cast on some targets. Simply because the 3 pve skills im already using serves my purposes better than necrosis would.

Athrun Feya

Athrun Feya

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Feb 2007

Oxford, UK

Hiding From Shi Tters [Shh]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chthon View Post
Be that as it may, PvX has serious problems. The discordway build PvX reports as "great" is a crap variant of a mediocre build. The vast majority of "good" and "great" builds on PvX are either crap variants of decent builds or crap builds. The AP-MoP necro build was almost ranked as unviable when Moloch first posted it and he had to ask people who weren't idiots to go rate it just to save it. In short, your vetting system sucks. If you have a sincere interest in overhauling the vetting system, PM me, and I'll offer my ideas on improving it; otherwise, simply consider this an expression of my opinion about your vetting system. I agree that the vetting system isn't entirely fair although disagree with your reasoning. The fact that you can grab 5 friends and get something rated is more of a concerning issue. In the instance you mention, Moloch probably had the same issues that any new user has on any site, sadly who posted the build is on PvX somewhat reflects in the ratings. This is not necessarily a problem with the site itself but more of internet communities in general, those who have gained reputation from regular users are generally more trusted. Having said that, I would be interested in your ideas to improve it.

The main problem we have is that pretty much every user has their own take on discordway and sabway and there isn't really a definitive best build. Different things can be better depending on what you play, where you play and your style of play. I've never worked out how we choose which variant to post. Also remember your opinion may not necessarily correlate with that of the majority of users.

I also don't understand why people who think all the builds there are terrible don't post their own or don't suggest improvements on talk pages. If a lot of people actually have issues they should bring it up on the talk page so that a consensus is reached to get the builds changed.

For me, I think of PvX as housing two specific types of builds (as far as PvE is concerned anyway): first type is collection of theorycrafts which you should use to base your own builds on to suit your play style and situation. Put another way, it should really be an extension of a player's natural instinct to look for synergies between skills. And, although I'm not the hugest fan of the build, Discordway fits under this category. The builds presented on PvX are more like suggestions than definitive builds where you need to copy every skill and piece of equipment exactly. The caller, for example, may not be optimum for specific professions or situations but it does give a reasonably good, universal suggestion for players who are struggling to think of their own build. We can't viably list all the different options for the caller, even just listing 'optimum' caller builds is a very subjective affair.

The second type gives puggable elite areas/dungeons standard builds and usage, so people don't spend umpteen years forming groups. Although not strictly the optimum builds (yes we already know adding an extra terra to FoW makes it much faster, for example), they have been optimised for pug groups.

Like I said, I'm personally not the greatest fan of Discordway (tying up so many attribute points in Death magic and Soul reaping and playing such a linear main player build aren't really things that appeal to me) but I still recognise that it is a strong build. A build which is capable of easily killing anything anywhere when played by anyone is not only great but incredibly overpowered.

maxxfury

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Apr 2006

[DVDF] Gp

Me/A

Quote:
Originally Posted by Athrun Feya View Post
...snip... Thats about the best summing up of pvx i think ive seen, other than the need for a thick skin with the regular flamings

Seems a lot of the crappy ratings by idiots are been removed too /gj

Oh and discoway is easy cheesy lazy mode, get job done with a minimum of effort without a need to really spec for an area. plug 'n' play baby

Tho smashing shit up side the head with my heroes buffing me up is better

~Jayson

syphonus

syphonus

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Dec 2007

The Dirtiest Parts Of My Mind

Phlying Skwirls[PS]

N/

Quote:
Originally Posted by maxxfury View Post
Tho smashing shit up side the head with my heroes buffing me up is better
Yup. /thread

As far as discord bars go, here's my two cents:

AP
YMLaD
EVAS
Finish Him!
Reckless Haste
Enfeebling Blood
Rip Enchantment
SoLS

Quote:
Originally Posted by HigherMinion View Post
When will people learn By Ulral's Hammer is irreplaceable! Come on! +25% damage 100% uptime? Broaden your minds... For discord, at least, I'd rather have the YMLaD-EVAS knocklock and the FH 200 dmg spike.

Many people bring MoP along because when you have AP on your bar, it seems too good to pass up. It isn't worth it, in my opinion, because you don't have any source of focused physical damage, other than EVAS. Spear auto-attacks and minions just don't add up to make it viable. For better or worse, the goal of a discord team is to drop single enemies as fast as possible.

Life Bringing

Life Bringing

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2008

Fissure of Woe

[LOD]/[GS]/[DL]/[LOD*]

N/P

Lau pretty much nailed it. The pvx discord is set up to be ultra-defensive. Probably more so than necessary. You can coast through any mob with almost no care in priority targets or pulling, which makes it fairly valuable to someone that's not exactly great at the game. Of course it could be made better, but trying to incorporate what everyone thinks is the best option is impossible

AtomicMew

AtomicMew

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Apr 2005

N/A

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cthon
I agree. I'm just quoting this to point out that you've reversed your prior position. And here I'd given up on your capacity to learn... I was wrong. I never actually stated that discordway was good with a physical. That huge 30+ thread was in the necromancer forum for a reason. Also, if you dig around in the heroes forum, there's another thread huge-ass thread where I argued the exact same point.

So no, I haven't learned anything ;o