Why do some people want -hp or -energy items?

How do certain skills / builds take advantage of this?

Slightly OT, but what are -hp and -energy items worth?

so we can laugh at you that we beat you with lesser stats.

-hp is for the monk farming build with prot spirit.

-energy is for screwing yourself up the...nevermind.

Actually, for certain hexes that end when you have 0 energy, such as Malaise, having a pair of -5 energy items can drop your energy even faster.

He's referring to items that have -1 energy regeneration, I think. The only -1 energy items that are of any use (IHMO) are the focus items that are +27 energy/-1 regen (collector's, btw). If you have a good energy management system or can somehow incorporate that into your build, then the -1 degen energy is normally not significant, and the extra 15 energy over a standard focus is very nice.

In terms of value, well, I've heard the -50 health focus used to go for up to 3k, but it's probably a lot less now. Energy degen focii are useless because the collector's one is perfect. Other energy degen items would have to be treated case-by-case, but most, if not all, are probably not worth seriously considering for any rational build.

Rico

It is often used as 'emergency set'. You borrow 27 energy now and pay them later back So you can easily finish off that target or cast that needed healing spell _now_ even if you haven't enough energy.

I use a +15 energy -1 regen focus on my R/W. The high expertise means i dont need much regen. I also do enjoy the +40 hp.

I use the +12, +15 energy -1 regen divine symbol on my monk build. I can usually regen fast enough and the extra energy (65 total) does help. If I need a faster regen I can always switch weapon sets.

Actually I was referring to -5 energy weapons, there was a ranger in the trade district trying to buy them.

I'm not familiar with any -5 energy weapons, or why someone would use them. A ranger would be interested in a 5:1 vampiric bow string.

People use negative energy weapons because they want to kick wither and malaise into the dirt more than they already are if they get hit with them. The two skills are shit because focus swapping exists. I'll use an example, a monk is hit with wither, and has 25 energy at the time. The monk is using a normal +10 energy staff. He casts one heal other, so now he's down to 15 energy. He switches to his -5 energy focus, and wither drops off becaues he's now at 0 energy. He switches back to his first focus set that he was using before, and has 15 energy.

Ofcourse you can just do this with an empty weapon slot, but in the example I gave you would of had to cast another 5 energy spell, let's say something like orison before you could focus swap and have 0 energy.

the weapons with -5 energy usually have a bonus as well.

the bonus normally is:
-5 energy
+15% damage (all the time, not while enchanted/in stance...)

edit:
a good energy degen weapon is a zealous mod:
-1 energy degen
+1 energy per hit

great for comboing with barrage...

NEVER EVER use +15/-1 (the one that gives you more energy but makes you loose an arrow of energy regen) mods in your primary slot. At the beginning of the fight, it does not matter wether you have 50 or 80 energy. (unless your casting mind XXX stuff).Switch to the set when you run out of energy for an instant 30 energy boost. In the emergency situation, regen should not matter at all, since an emergency situation lasting for more then 10s is a prolonged defeat most of the time

This should be extremely obvious, but ive met people who started a fight with energy degen items There is ABSOLUTELY no reason to do so, since you can switch when you actually need the energy. 50/80 =^ 20/50 for all purposes except mind XXX elites (which arent that great anyway).