R/W War Prime Build Help

Okay I need some major help here. I am running a War Prime build as a R/W. Idea being I use primarly War skills that use Energy. So far the build is running fine since I use only Expertise, Swordmanship and Tactics. I can spam the Energy based War Skills without any energy related problems. However I have a major problem weapon mod wise. I want to eventualy be able to use not just sword but hammer and axe as well. My main speed enhancing skill is Flurry which helps me keep the DPS going constantly as long as I spam the crap out of it. I need to know which of the 2 mods below would get the most benefit from it though. Keep in mind I gotta keep up my DPS which means mods like zealous and vampiric do nothing for me. Thanx.

1: 20/20 Sundering
2: Elemental(Firey, Ebon, Icy and Shocking)

sundering is crap. overrated mod.

vamp does increase dps, it steals health. 1st choice

if you go elemental, any would work fine, but no one really has earth armor, so go with ebon.

hmmm... flurry? instead of flurry, you might wanna invest in some beast mastery for tiger's furry, increases attack speed without the lower dmg; just a suggestion

For Tiger/Beastial Fury, you have just need 4 (3+1 with rune) in it to get 7 seconds last. This isnt much for a good speed though.

Vampiric is your best choice for increasing damage.

Yep, I use a 3/-1 Vamp on my Sword Ranger, and it ups the damage by a considerable margin. Use that, I'm dead serious.

As everyone already said, Vamp is by far your best option...

Sundering is over rated trash... the amount it actually does is very minimal. You will get far more damage from Vamp than you ever will with Sundering. Why these perfect mods sell for a ton is beyond me. I would really like one for my longbow (since its used for pulling and doesn't make sense to have a vamp string on it) but there is no way Im paying 40K for a mod that isn't very good. My Shortbow though for example has a Vamp string and its great. You just have to remember to swap. Keep another weapon with you and change to the vamp when you go into battle. That is your best bet.

Vampiric for DPS.

Sunderings DPS is no where near Vampirics.

The only legitimate(if you can even call it that) use for sundering is (a) On a weapon you don't plan on using just so your health/energy is under no ill effects, of course you could use an ebon too, and actualy have a useful weapon that's not vamp/zealous... (b) if you're spiking and feel really really lucky, and are right because your Sundering triggers 2-3 times...

Elemental mods can be quite fickle against certian mobs, so unless you plan on having one of each I'd go with Vampiric. If you're absolutly against using a switch weapon for your vamp... Go with Ebon.

Just please don't use sundering.

with my r/w i ran:
watch out
cyclone axe
swift chop
cleave {e}
tigers fury or beastaul mauling
healing signet
rez signet

you may not have cleave but you can figure something to put in there instead. it requires exeprtise, beast mastery, and axe mastery, and tactics. zealous axe for best energy management. there was a post about this build a while ago but i can't remember the exact difference between mine and the one posted - i think its watch out. not sure though.

If you want to make a R/W melee character with energy skills the best choice by far is hammer. Irresistable blow and crushing blow are both awesome skills that are energy based and affected by expertise. Also under Tiger's Fury you'll gain adrenaline often enough to use hammer bash pretty often. If you choose to bring a pet Ferocious Strike will help you gain both energy and a strike of adrenaline to help you power your hammer skills even more. To be even more evil you could pack bestial mauling to piss off spell casters or brutal strike for a mean finishing blow. Your stats would go into Hammer Mastery, Beast Mastery, and Expertise. If you're worried about not packing a self-heal, you can replace Ferocious Strike for Heal as One.

Thanx for the great suggestions. I do plan on being as versatile as possible with each weapon line. I have been and plan on making caps for the Elites for all three weapon lines in Tyria and Cantha. My goal is to have a much more flexible R/W War Prime than my W/Mo. I was afraid vamp would come out as the top choice though. Sadly good Monks have become quite fickle in Tyria and in Cantha there are quite a few uh lethal mobs which sadly rules out Vamp altogether. I will try vamp BUT not with hammer though. Last thing I wanna do is go against a mob of Afflicted with a vamped hammer and get raped fast. I do plan on using a +1 sword\axe mastery mod though. I could always use that extra +1 in either mastery every now and then. For hammer my best bet would be a armor mod instead. Maybe a +7 against physical or a +5 against all damage types. If anyone has any more great suggestions let me hear them. Also is having full Druids overkill or should I just have the Druids vest piece and replace the rest with Explorer's and Sentry's for the extra health and stance benefits?

Quote: Originally Posted by Killmur

And with a shield equipped I would get 70+10+(from being stanced)+16(from shield)=96AL total. With a hammer and a standard armor mod I would get 85AL or with a vs physical armor mod it would be 87AL. My math might be off a bit but I can see the Sentry's having quite a impact. As is I get roughly 86AL with my Gothic Shield equiped. Sentry's it is then. Just gotta find me a good stance shield that uses the Gothic Shield skin.

Edit: On second thought I think vamp may actually be more damaging to me and not the enemy. Also if I get swarmed in Cantha while weilding a vamped weapon I will be dead before I can even get HBed by the Monk. I may need to get a Fiery or Ebon Hilt afterall as both will give me better DPS and a better chance at living longer. You all gotta remember I will be facing Lvl20+ enemies one I hit Desert in Tyria and in Cantha once I hit Mainland they are all Lvl20+. Vamp will not benefit my build whatsoever. It will just be a major pain in the ass.

If you think vamp won't help you, you're not using it right. The DPS from vamp far outweighs sunder and the life steal more than makes up for the health degen.

I have used vamp in the past. Even with Mending and Live Vic on or just plain Mending you still take massive damage WHICH outweighs the 3\1 component. Vamp overall has no benefit more so in Cantha. All vamp will do is give me a massive -60 DP plus I would be a complete headache to the monks as well. One thing that makes Cantha different from Tyria is the mass amounts of degen enemies like Necros and Mesmers. That -1 will play right into their hands. Plain and simple.

Edit: I have switched my build around a bit. I am using a vamped Gothic Sword with Beastial Fury, Seeking Blade, Jaizhenju Strike, Quivering Blade, Comfort Animal, Charm Animal, Healing Signet and Res Signet. I like this setup as it gives me 10 Sword, 8 Tactics, 8 Beast Mastery and 8 Expertise(Hunter's + Major Rune). Only problem I see is the healer hench has to HB me alot more while in combat. Basicly I can see the poor Monks having to do the same during Quests and Missions. Btw I am running the tests in Cantha. I feel vamp is more of a suicidal option in Cantha than a powerful DPS solution.

Sorry for double posting. Here is where my build stands now.

Character Lvl: 19
Armor Set: SHing Jea Style, Druids Gloves and Boots, Sentry's Vest and Leggings.
AL: 70.
Weapon: Vampiric Gothic Sword of Swordmanship(3\1 Vamp, Swordmanship +1 with 19% Chance, Requires 11 Swordmanship)
Shield: Gothic Defender(AL15, Requires 8 Tactics)
Swordmanship: 10
Tactics: 8
Beast Mastery: 8+1=9(Minor Rune of Beast Mastery)
Expertise: 5+2+1=9(Hunter's Mask with Major Rune of Expertise)
Extra Rune: Minor Rune of Vigor.

At this point I have 455 Health with 27 Energy. I might add a Major Beast Mastery Rune. Not sure if losing a extra 35 is worth it.

If you're melee, it's not worth it to lose anymore health than you've already lost. I wouldn't add another Major rune, if I were you.

Also, I find it a little strange that you're not getting a benefit from Vampiric. I use a build that's pretty similar to what you've got, with a Vamp sword, and I usually break even if I'm not healing myself, and that's only taking into concideration the Vamp mod. If you're losing a lot more health than you're gaining, then you've either got WAY too much aggro, or you need to move out of whatever spot you're in.

As for where to get a good shield, there's the Stance Carapace shield (which I use) that you can get out in the Scar near Thirsty River. You'll have to get 3 Bleeched Shells, but that won't be too hard. If you prefer to have a shield that's not conditional, you can craft a +30/-5 shield up in Kaineng Center.

It also may be a good idea to replace the Swordsmanship mod on your blade. I kinda prefer either a +HP mod or a Shelter mod for a Ranger. Shelter may sound a little odd, but that's the weakest point on a melee Ranger: taking melee damage. With Sentry's armor, you'll have 70+10+16+30AL vs elemental damage, so you'll most likely come out ahead of a Warrior. But, against melee damage, you end up slightly better than an Assassin with a Shield.

Yea I have a Carapace Stancer I bought a while back for a old Tyrian War I had. Although it might be better to craft a non-Stancer at Kaineng. As for the loss of the extra Swordmanship point well that makes no difference. I have it at 10 which is plenty enough for a sword that needs 11 in Swordmanship. Armor Mod might be better since Health Mods for weapons are hard to come by and the higher the health well the more expensive they get.

Er... if you only have 10 Swordsmanship, and a sword that has a Req of 11, you'll only be doing about 5-10 damage with it. It would probably be a good idea to get a sword with a lower Req, or find a way to get another point into Swordsmanship. If you don't meet the req, then all you're really doing is damage from the skills.

Well since I am one level away from 20 and I have 3 points left over in Attributes I can pump up sword to 11. I still have 30 Attribute Points unused. Once I do both Attribute Quests in Desert and Peaks I can then pour those points into Beast and Expertise. I need a second Gothic Sword modded with a Fiery or a Ebon Hilt since some enemies like the Jade Knights WILL use the vamp mod to their advantage.

Base weapon speed for a sword/axe is 1.33s, 1 point of health degen(or regen) is 2 health per second. Vamp is 3 life steal on hit for a sword/axe, at the cost of 1 degen. So 3 swings without IAS will take about 4 seconds. In 4 seconds you'll loose 8 health from degen, but in 3 swings you'll have gained 9 health. With IAS the gain is even greater.

If they're using a block/evade stance or have a block/evade enchant on them(wich only like 5% of stuff in PvE does), switch to another weapon if you feel the degen will kill you. Or just keep attacking, the life loss from Vampiric is so small it should never be the reason you take lethal damage, even with a henchie monk.