There was a topic about the useless skills, so I decided to make one for the underused skills. Type the skill and why you think that way, while others will try to convince you the opposite (and we will exchange ideas which is cool).
Basicly many skills are bad in some situations but verry effective in other, althou I think some of them got a FAR more disadvantages than pluses.
I play primary Ranger so I've spoted those for me:
-dodge. Only 5 secs. 30 sec cooldown. Gives somekind as arrow deflection. There are far more good expertiese AND wilderness skills for evasion/defense and for running. Well the skills is good if you put no pts in it's atribute cuz it is always 5 secs, BUT expertise is ranger primary skill so... It gives 33% speed boost while others only 25% but I think it is not that good. I try to use it in pvp but I got far better ressults with Escape/Whriling def/Evasion/Dryaders def/Stormchaser.
I use it for runner build - where I got 3 run stances to reach certan location in PvE
-Power shot. Well it can give up to 18,19 dmg (even 20), but hey, hunter's shot gives with 5 less dmg, costs 5 less mana, got 1 sec shorter cooldong and can deliver bleeding. Determination shot gives 3 less dmg, it is also 5 mana and if you see enemy using evasion - you can recharge your skill. It's only drawback is the 10 sec cooldown.
Share your oppinions.
Underused skills
Arcador
heist23
i like using power shot because aside from precision shot, it's the most powerful bow attack i know of. that's my opinion.
i don't know of any underused skills as of yet.
i don't know of any underused skills as of yet.
Zeru
Iron Mist and the whole water skill line. Gogo snares 
OneArmedScissor
Penetrating Shot> Power Shot
Wings of Illusion
Every skill has its use in its own little build. The underused skills are just, well, underused. Dodge is nice early on seeing as how you get Escape later on. Stormchaser may make you faster BUT it has no arrow defense or any defense for that matter.
Power shot is simply just more damage.
Power shot is simply just more damage.
Wings of Illusion
Quote:
Originally Posted by OneArmedScissor
Penetrating Shot> Power Shot
i agree 100%. penetrating shot may dot deliver alot of +damage but the pentration makes it do more damage.
Mumblyfish
Underused? My vote goes to Concussion Shot. It's right up there with the very best Marksmanship skills (and not even an Elite), yet I've not once seen a Ranger use it. It's one single skill that can cause an early death for any caster unlucky enough to be caught by it. Of course, Dazed is prone to being removed by on-the-ball Monks, but if your other interrupters are any cop that should be a non-issue.
rotor
Underused ... here are a few of my favorite underused spells but vital
Monk
Mend Ailment Remove one "Condition" from target other ally. That ally is healed for 5-57 points for each remaining condition.
I have seen this spell heal for +100 plus what ever level of divine flavor you have (2 conditions on ally) for only 5 energy.
Aegis For 5-10 seconds, all party members have a 50% chance to block attacks.
Protective Spirit For 5-19 seconds, target ally cannot lose more than 10% health due to damage from a single attack or spell.
Necro
Well of Blood Exploit target corpse to create a well of blood at its location. For 8-18 seconds, allies in that area receive health regeneration of 1-5.
Well of Power {Elite} Exploit target corpse to create a well of power at that location. For 8-18 seconds, allies within 39' of the Well of Power gain health regeneration of 1-5 and energy regeneration of 2.
Your party's monk will love you for these
Ranger
Antidote Signet Cleanse yourself of Poison, Disease, and Blindness.
You can't count on hench or monk to get rid of blindness fast enought or have enought energy for it.
Comfort Animal You heal your animal companion for 20-87 points. If your animal companion is dead, it is resurrected with 10-48% health, and all your skills are disabled for 8 seconds.
If you bring a pet you are responsible for its health and resurrection.
Monk
Mend Ailment Remove one "Condition" from target other ally. That ally is healed for 5-57 points for each remaining condition.
I have seen this spell heal for +100 plus what ever level of divine flavor you have (2 conditions on ally) for only 5 energy.
Aegis For 5-10 seconds, all party members have a 50% chance to block attacks.
Protective Spirit For 5-19 seconds, target ally cannot lose more than 10% health due to damage from a single attack or spell.
Necro
Well of Blood Exploit target corpse to create a well of blood at its location. For 8-18 seconds, allies in that area receive health regeneration of 1-5.
Well of Power {Elite} Exploit target corpse to create a well of power at that location. For 8-18 seconds, allies within 39' of the Well of Power gain health regeneration of 1-5 and energy regeneration of 2.
Your party's monk will love you for these
Ranger
Antidote Signet Cleanse yourself of Poison, Disease, and Blindness.
You can't count on hench or monk to get rid of blindness fast enought or have enought energy for it.
Comfort Animal You heal your animal companion for 20-87 points. If your animal companion is dead, it is resurrected with 10-48% health, and all your skills are disabled for 8 seconds.
If you bring a pet you are responsible for its health and resurrection.
spikydude
I dunno, I use Aegis alot 
Storn
I used to use Aegis a lot, til I deleted that monk character and built another... right now, 2nd monk is not up to the point where Aegis is found.
I wanna use the Mend Ailment and Remove Hex and stuff like that. but in actual combat, I find them problematic. The recharge time on those skills tends to be hefty. It is easier to throw a Healing Breeze... or Orison of Healing or Dwayna's Kiss and for 5 pts and much faster recovery times, offset the problem. When I've carried Mend Ailment or any of the "cure" skills, I've used it, but the mob of bad guys just attack again with "ailment" and put it right back on. Then I see my poor tank, Blind or Poisoned and my recharge is slowly...oh so... slowly coming along. I end up throwing a quick Heal on him anyways.
Blood Necros: Shadow Strike. by itself it looks like a poor substitute for Vampire Gaze. But in combo with Vampire Gaze, you fire off the SS first, so it ddoes more dmg... then fire of Shadow Bane, then Vampire Gaze to heal yourself a bit. It is a fast combo of moves... and it can bring down a baddie to half allowing a quick kill from your tanks.
I wanna use the Mend Ailment and Remove Hex and stuff like that. but in actual combat, I find them problematic. The recharge time on those skills tends to be hefty. It is easier to throw a Healing Breeze... or Orison of Healing or Dwayna's Kiss and for 5 pts and much faster recovery times, offset the problem. When I've carried Mend Ailment or any of the "cure" skills, I've used it, but the mob of bad guys just attack again with "ailment" and put it right back on. Then I see my poor tank, Blind or Poisoned and my recharge is slowly...oh so... slowly coming along. I end up throwing a quick Heal on him anyways.
Blood Necros: Shadow Strike. by itself it looks like a poor substitute for Vampire Gaze. But in combo with Vampire Gaze, you fire off the SS first, so it ddoes more dmg... then fire of Shadow Bane, then Vampire Gaze to heal yourself a bit. It is a fast combo of moves... and it can bring down a baddie to half allowing a quick kill from your tanks.
epiK^
Quote:
Originally Posted by rotor
I have seen this spell heal for +100 plus what ever level of divine flavor you have (2 conditions on ally) for only 5 energy.
Hmm, divine flavor must be something only the black monks get eh? Gotta have some soul for divine flavor. 
Skills that are underused are that way because they are not as diverse as the other more popular skills. Skills with very specific roles are used less often because its more intelligent to put skills in your bar that help you be prepared for any type of situation.
For Example:
I Will Avenge You! - For each dead ally nearby, you gain 10 seconds of increased attack speed and health regeneration +3/+6/+7.
Good skill, but how often do you have dead party members at your side? You certainly don't plan for it.
Another reason for underused skills, which has been touch on in this thread, is the ability to do the same thing with 1 skill that you can do with 2.
For Example:
Eviscerate - If Eviserate hits, you strike for +10/+34/+42 more damage and inflict a Deep Wound, lowering your target's maximum health by 20% for 5/17/21 seconds.
Its basically Dismember and Executioners Strike all rolled up into one attack. The only reason you would use Dismember and Executioners Strike over Eviscerate is if you wanted to save up a elite spot for another skill.
Skills that are underused are that way because they are not as diverse as the other more popular skills. Skills with very specific roles are used less often because its more intelligent to put skills in your bar that help you be prepared for any type of situation.
For Example:
I Will Avenge You! - For each dead ally nearby, you gain 10 seconds of increased attack speed and health regeneration +3/+6/+7.
Good skill, but how often do you have dead party members at your side? You certainly don't plan for it.
Another reason for underused skills, which has been touch on in this thread, is the ability to do the same thing with 1 skill that you can do with 2.
For Example:
Eviscerate - If Eviserate hits, you strike for +10/+34/+42 more damage and inflict a Deep Wound, lowering your target's maximum health by 20% for 5/17/21 seconds.
Its basically Dismember and Executioners Strike all rolled up into one attack. The only reason you would use Dismember and Executioners Strike over Eviscerate is if you wanted to save up a elite spot for another skill.
Arturo02
Quote:
Originally Posted by OneArmedScissor
Penetrating Shot> Power Shot
The chicks dig my penetrating shot! har! I just wish my arrows were bigger 
epiK^
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arturo02
The chicks dig my penetrating shot! har! I just wish my arrows were bigger
Everyone knows its not the size of the bow...
Its the Zing! in the string...
The Zip! in the grip...
The shiver in the quiver...
BOOM! <--bomb sound cuz i bombed that one...
Its the Zing! in the string...
The Zip! in the grip...
The shiver in the quiver...
BOOM! <--bomb sound cuz i bombed that one...
Divinitys Creature
Actually, you can cast mend ailment on yourself also.
Principa Discordia
Thread moved to Arcane Repository (skills discussion).
Yamat
Underused, as someone already mentioned, the entire Water spell line...
Mend condition... most monks I've travelled with never remove conditions! Use this with Divine Boon/high divine healing and wow... nice heal and condition gone!
Signet of Devotion... free heal spell for that little top up, or a life saver when you are low on energy.
Mend condition... most monks I've travelled with never remove conditions! Use this with Divine Boon/high divine healing and wow... nice heal and condition gone!
Signet of Devotion... free heal spell for that little top up, or a life saver when you are low on energy.
Third Quarter
I use Signet of Devotion whenever I'm healmonking. It's absolutely fantastic for those non-critical heals.
Otyugh's Cry, on the other hand, is never used. Ever. Except in this one retarded pet/smite build I was in awhile ago. (it sucked, don't bother trying it)
Soothing Images doesn't see much use either. Mass adrenaline denial!
Sympathetic Visage is also uncommon, and it really shouldn't be. A single casting can completely neuter a warrior and everyone around him, but it's almost impossible to tell when it's being used against you.
Otyugh's Cry, on the other hand, is never used. Ever. Except in this one retarded pet/smite build I was in awhile ago. (it sucked, don't bother trying it)
Soothing Images doesn't see much use either. Mass adrenaline denial!
Sympathetic Visage is also uncommon, and it really shouldn't be. A single casting can completely neuter a warrior and everyone around him, but it's almost impossible to tell when it's being used against you.
Tourist
Mend Ailment belongs on ANY defensive monk build. Fast, cheap, and can even do a bit of healing while it gets rid of all those conditions. I can't even keep track of the number of times my warriors have been left cursing a blue streak over being blinded and none of our healbot monks brought a condition remover. Or the number of times my own healbot monk has been thanked for removing blindness, or poison, or SOME hurtful thing or another.
Signet of Devotion doesn't get a lot of use because it takes so damn long to fire off compared to other heals, and monks already get a pretty good battery of cheap and powerful heals as it is- orison and word of healing in particular. Still, I bring it along sometimes since hey, free healing. And I can use it on myself, unlike a lot of the more powerful heals out there.
As for other unused skills, I dunno, most of the warrior's Tactics lineup is pretty underutilized. With the exception of Charge! and Balanced Stance on lornar's pass-runners, I don't see a lot of use coming out of that entire skillset. Maybe the occassional "Watch Yourself!", but there's a lot more than that out there- "To the Limit!" for some quick adrenaline buildup when you're getting mobbed, Gladiator's Defense is GREAT if you're in the middle of a bunch of enemies and need to block attacks AND keep using skills(and the extra damage is handy, too), "Fear Me!" for a little energy denial...You get the idea. It's not necessarily the most powerful lineup out there, but there's a lot of nifty tricks for a lot of different purposes.
Signet of Devotion doesn't get a lot of use because it takes so damn long to fire off compared to other heals, and monks already get a pretty good battery of cheap and powerful heals as it is- orison and word of healing in particular. Still, I bring it along sometimes since hey, free healing. And I can use it on myself, unlike a lot of the more powerful heals out there.
As for other unused skills, I dunno, most of the warrior's Tactics lineup is pretty underutilized. With the exception of Charge! and Balanced Stance on lornar's pass-runners, I don't see a lot of use coming out of that entire skillset. Maybe the occassional "Watch Yourself!", but there's a lot more than that out there- "To the Limit!" for some quick adrenaline buildup when you're getting mobbed, Gladiator's Defense is GREAT if you're in the middle of a bunch of enemies and need to block attacks AND keep using skills(and the extra damage is handy, too), "Fear Me!" for a little energy denial...You get the idea. It's not necessarily the most powerful lineup out there, but there's a lot of nifty tricks for a lot of different purposes.
stumpy
i use dodge lol ... conditionaly ... meaning I bet warriors 5 Gold per race and toss it in.
i would have to say the most underused skill in the game that I see is knowledge lol. jk ... i would go with something in the tactics line up like deflect arrows or something ... I mean really ... with 600 health and the best armor in the game ... who cares if I hit ya with a measly arrow.
i would have to say the most underused skill in the game that I see is knowledge lol. jk ... i would go with something in the tactics line up like deflect arrows or something ... I mean really ... with 600 health and the best armor in the game ... who cares if I hit ya with a measly arrow.
theclam
Quote:
Originally Posted by rotor
Mend Ailment Remove one "Condition" from target other ally. That ally is healed for 5-57 points for each remaining condition.
I have seen this spell heal for +100 plus what ever level of divine flavor you have (2 conditions on ally) for only 5 energy.
Aegis For 5-10 seconds, all party members have a 50% chance to block attacks.
Protective Spirit For 5-19 seconds, target ally cannot lose more than 10% health due to damage from a single attack or spell.
Necro
Well of Blood Exploit target corpse to create a well of blood at its location. For 8-18 seconds, allies in that area receive health regeneration of 1-5.
Well of Power {Elite} Exploit target corpse to create a well of power at that location. For 8-18 seconds, allies within 39' of the Well of Power gain health regeneration of 1-5 and energy regeneration of 2.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Yamat
Mend condition... most monks I've travelled with never remove conditions! Use this with Divine Boon/high divine healing and wow... nice heal and condition gone!
Signet of Devotion... free heal spell for that little top up, or a life saver when you are low on energy. I prefer Mend Ailment, since I can use it on myself. I don't think I've ever used Mend Condition. I usually use Signet of Devotion. If your group is taking damage slowly, it will save you lots of mana. Plus, 90-100 points of healing is about as good as Orison.
Omega Complex
You want to talk about underused. Try Scourge Healing (works well in the Maguuma Jungle and whenever the Aloe/Juniper Bark/whatever are around.) Also works well if you feel like toying with grawl seeing as their shamans like to heal, alot.
Radical
I tend to carry Smite Hex quite a bit. The recharge is slow but it packs a punch.
The Sensei
One little under rated combo i have found, that can be used in any place that has many conditions, is Martyr and Mend Condition. It is so cool b/c as a monk you can take any amount of damage and the if you have 4 conds. on you you heal for 100-200 health FOR 5 ENERGY and to me a 200 pt heal for 5 energy is pretty cool. And be removing all those conds. the other members of the group need less healing so you can use cheap 5 pt heals. And then when you, the monkey, get down below half life you can use martyr again and mend cond. to do a full heal on yourself.
Only problem is you have to have a bunch of conds. for it to work correct. A coo combo from The Sensei
teny10
I think "Watch yourself" and "Read the Wind" are the most underrated skills in the game.
Watch yourself: +20 armor to you and adjacent allies for x seconds depends on tactics. -- consider +40 armor halves the damage taken by a player, +20 armor is pretty good. And I belive it's +20 armor against all. The skill is cheap to use as well, only 4 adrenaline, and thus can be maintained for the whole battle. Read the Wind: your arrow travels twice as fast and deals +x dmg depends on marksmanship. --This skill works wonders w/ distracting shot. Also it costs only 5 energy and lasts 12 seconds no matter what. The draw backs for this skill is that it can't stack w/ other preprations and take 2 sec to cast.
Tellani Artini
Scourge Sacrifice.
Neo-LD
Definately lightning orb. lol j/k. Id say shield of deflection.
Blow_Holez
I would have to say the Mesmer illusion skill, illusion of weakness. it can add up to about 150 health( don't know exact). All you ahve to do is before a PvP battle, or any pve, cast it on ruself and use a quik heal. Once ur health is low, u get that 150 health back. Saved my butt a few times.
ElderAtronach
A lot of IW mesmers I've run across use illusion of weakness. It's worthless after the first cast of it though... I'd rather have that slot for a more useful skill.
Mind Wallaby
I think Healing Spring is definitely underused. It's like an unremovable AOE Healing Breeze with no 10-regen cap-- what's not to love?
Blow_Holez
That is all too true wallaby. I really like stacking it with otehr ranegrs, especially an all trapper group in Undererold or Fissure. No need for monks if you stay clsoe together.
mamluk
I have always had a soft spot for mantra of persistence, an inspiration mesmer stance that lasts ages and causes all illusion magic hexes to last up to twice as long. I can put down a conjure phantasm that will last for 24 seconds! Or put imagined burden on someone that will last for 36 seconds! Its great to see warriors in arenas walking around so slowly for ages
 Anyway, it makes for a great fun build for arena.
Arcador
I've taken in mind some of the warrors stances - seems they work pretty good for non warriors but since some of them end if you attack get the circle of usefullness to very little if you are a warrior.
Racthoh
Yeah tactics are underused. Me? 16 tactics and soloing just fine thank you.
Light of Dwayna. I could only assume its the 25 energy cost, because at a 4 second casting time... I know I would use it.
Neo-LD
Light of Dwayna is basically a rebirth that casts faster. 25 mana = basically all the mana you'll have when you cas it anyways.
Sublime
Quote:
Originally Posted by OneArmedScissor
Penetrating Shot> Power Shot
I totally agree on this one, penetrating shot ownz power shot
Arcador
Power shot is better only vs elementalist and monk...i guess...but even there the penetrator deals a hell of a punch, with just 3-6 points less. AND vs warriors it reduces their armor with around 16 up to 20 armor which is equal to ~ 38-50% increased dmg.
Hell Marauder
The most useless/underused skill, and I believe 99.9% of people agree with me, is: CHARM ANIMAL
You only use it once to get your pet, then it's useless and sits on your skill bar like an eye sore. C'mon, dev team, get rid of it. scott silverblade
shatter dilusions. Beastly if gameplanned right. charm animal? doh: ( And penetrating shot, power shot, all that crap, why? If you're going for damage then a simple quick shot build or barrage will do more damage. If you're in pvp with a warrior, I hope he isnt using tactics. For pve tactics is far more useful. To whoever said healing spring... uber l33t skill. And attempting to use wells in a pvp match will leave you very dissapointed. This thread really should be broken up into pvp and pve, because skills that are great for one are useless for the other, and visa versa in many cases. And signet of devotion... also uber l33t. The one skill i've never gotten around to getting because of the damn run out to ascalon settlement. Great skill though, especially in pvp when quickening zephyr is being used.
Also underused = obsidian flame and crystal wave. hellish damage for the two. Jeramyu
Pheonix. It doesn't make any sense to me, but I've honestly only seen a few people cast it on occasion. Being an E/N myself, I find myself using it as often as flare.
ElderAtronach
You didn't use phoenix through north shiverpeaks? I used it ever since I bought it in Grendich Courthouse and will be using it until I get to Kryta probably. It's no meteor shower, but c'mon, what else are you going to rely on in the early game? Firestorm? HAHAHA
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