Mraezk
28-05-2005, 13:12
I thought I'd post and see if anyone else was having reasonably good luck with this setup. My current necro/ranger seems to be holding around a 85-90% win ratio in random team arenas. I'm sure that isn't anything special for most pvp-only folks, but for me this is easily been my best pvp build.
Since this isn't technically my main character, my bow isn't godly by any means. Mostly a max dmg flat bow with a + enchantment duration / +15% damage while health is > 50%. I recently picked up a clean max damage shadow bow, that I'll upgrade if I ever see some decent strings/grips for sale. Should I ever get lucky and see a storm bow drop, or find someone who isn't asking 100k or more for one, I'll naturally switch to that. Although I'm not even sure if they're all that much better then a standard flat bow.
Anyhow, here is a brief overview of what I'm using. Some of these skills don't seem to do all that much at first glance, but every little bit of added effect can distract an enemy for a second or two, which seems to be one of the most important things in PvP in my experience.
Attributes so far: 10 Curses, 12 Marksmanship, and whatever's left into Beast mastery.
1) Hunter's Shot. -- 5 energy cost, + dmg, quick recycle and a nice bleed. Good for when a warrior comes charging towards you, or when a silly caster tries to bait you while thinking they're out of range.
2) Distracting Shot. -- 5 energy cost. Only 1 damage without expertise (ranger primary attribute) however it seems great for preventing W/Mo's self heals (since they usually wait until they're almost dead) and for holding off healing monks in general. The added 20 second delay to the enemy's skill is great even without damage.
3) Dual Shot. -- 10 energy, quick recycle. Even with a 25% reduction this skill seems to do wonderful damage. So far my highest has been dual 87s (I assume critical) if I remember correctly. (I was up high, lower AL target, max dmg flat bow)
4) Shadow of Fear. -- 10 energy, so-so recycle. Area effect attack speed reduction. Absolutely invaluable so far taking the bite out of most warriors. Especially since they're often prone to charging or fighting together.
5) Mark of Pain. -- 10 energy, so-so recycle. Wonderful group killer for those folks who think sticking together is the perfect strategy. So far, if both Mark of Pain and Shadow of Fear can be applied to the other team's warriors it almost always results in a win.
6) Favorable Winds. 5 energy, terribly long recycle, great duration, good range. Its only +6 damage, but every little bit helps I think. Also a good number of folks use "tab" to cycle through targets in the midst of combat. This often just adds one more then they could end up targeting if they get in too big a panic/rush. Which is possibly the reason I'm still using it.
7) Charm animal -- Pet. Despite some claims, I've found the pet to be pretty useful in pvp. Most folks ignore it so you have more or less a non-stop DoT that can move around. Its been great for finishing off nearly dead casters that make a run for it. And again, every little bit of damage that doesn't require you to spend energy is good imo.
8) Res signet -- Naturally. Everyone should use these.
So far this has worked wonderfully for me. After playing a Ele/Mo in pvp for so long, its nice not being the first (or sometimes second) player targeted for a change. Most folks just tend to ignore necros & rangers both, which is very handy for applying the curses.
The biggest problem I've had seems to be self-healing. I'd consider switching leftovers from beast mastery to blood magic, but doing so would also mean I'd need to replace a skill as well. Where as points into beast mastery give a little natural boost to the pet (DoT). Well of blood is a very nice party spell, but it seems like every necro uses this one already.
Any suggestions or comments are more then welcome. Particularly on if I've overlooked some better curses.
Since this isn't technically my main character, my bow isn't godly by any means. Mostly a max dmg flat bow with a + enchantment duration / +15% damage while health is > 50%. I recently picked up a clean max damage shadow bow, that I'll upgrade if I ever see some decent strings/grips for sale. Should I ever get lucky and see a storm bow drop, or find someone who isn't asking 100k or more for one, I'll naturally switch to that. Although I'm not even sure if they're all that much better then a standard flat bow.
Anyhow, here is a brief overview of what I'm using. Some of these skills don't seem to do all that much at first glance, but every little bit of added effect can distract an enemy for a second or two, which seems to be one of the most important things in PvP in my experience.
Attributes so far: 10 Curses, 12 Marksmanship, and whatever's left into Beast mastery.
1) Hunter's Shot. -- 5 energy cost, + dmg, quick recycle and a nice bleed. Good for when a warrior comes charging towards you, or when a silly caster tries to bait you while thinking they're out of range.
2) Distracting Shot. -- 5 energy cost. Only 1 damage without expertise (ranger primary attribute) however it seems great for preventing W/Mo's self heals (since they usually wait until they're almost dead) and for holding off healing monks in general. The added 20 second delay to the enemy's skill is great even without damage.
3) Dual Shot. -- 10 energy, quick recycle. Even with a 25% reduction this skill seems to do wonderful damage. So far my highest has been dual 87s (I assume critical) if I remember correctly. (I was up high, lower AL target, max dmg flat bow)
4) Shadow of Fear. -- 10 energy, so-so recycle. Area effect attack speed reduction. Absolutely invaluable so far taking the bite out of most warriors. Especially since they're often prone to charging or fighting together.
5) Mark of Pain. -- 10 energy, so-so recycle. Wonderful group killer for those folks who think sticking together is the perfect strategy. So far, if both Mark of Pain and Shadow of Fear can be applied to the other team's warriors it almost always results in a win.
6) Favorable Winds. 5 energy, terribly long recycle, great duration, good range. Its only +6 damage, but every little bit helps I think. Also a good number of folks use "tab" to cycle through targets in the midst of combat. This often just adds one more then they could end up targeting if they get in too big a panic/rush. Which is possibly the reason I'm still using it.
7) Charm animal -- Pet. Despite some claims, I've found the pet to be pretty useful in pvp. Most folks ignore it so you have more or less a non-stop DoT that can move around. Its been great for finishing off nearly dead casters that make a run for it. And again, every little bit of damage that doesn't require you to spend energy is good imo.
8) Res signet -- Naturally. Everyone should use these.
So far this has worked wonderfully for me. After playing a Ele/Mo in pvp for so long, its nice not being the first (or sometimes second) player targeted for a change. Most folks just tend to ignore necros & rangers both, which is very handy for applying the curses.
The biggest problem I've had seems to be self-healing. I'd consider switching leftovers from beast mastery to blood magic, but doing so would also mean I'd need to replace a skill as well. Where as points into beast mastery give a little natural boost to the pet (DoT). Well of blood is a very nice party spell, but it seems like every necro uses this one already.
Any suggestions or comments are more then welcome. Particularly on if I've overlooked some better curses.