calling all skill wizards!

[RabidPitfiend]

Ok, so I'm and elementalist and I only have Koss, Melonni, and the 2 first healer heros.

I usually bring one of the healers, koss, and melonni. Any good suggestions on builds for them? I'm fairly new to the game (making my way through prophecies) and I recently spoke with glint.

My heros are doing ok but I feel like they could be so much better. I'd love some opinions on build for them.

[Verity]

Well how well they do overall is linked to how many good skills and elites you have unlocked for them. Performance may very depending on what you set the up as. For instance is Koss using axe, sword or hammer? Is Melonni primarily scythe or mystic or earth damage?

Also while you're in Tyria you should pick up Olias the necro. You may want to give your monks simple bars with low cost skills and good energy management monk/mes or monk ele or even monk paragon has nice synergy with the primary attributes.

Check some of the previous threads there were a lot of builds floating around and also check the thread for what skills heroes dont seem to use correctly.

[grimeyes]

For Koss, I usually run:

W/Any
Strength 14
Axe Mastery 13
Tactics 4

Cleave (Elite)
Cyclone Axe/Wild Blow
Dismember
Executioners Axe
Enraging Charge/For Great Justice
Flail
Lions Comfort
Rez Sig

Great for general PvE. Does decent DPS and deep wound is always nice. Change Cyclone Axe to Wild Blow if he's getting blocked or to end other annoying stances.

For Monks:

Mo/Any
Divine Favor 13
Healing Prayers 14
Protection Prayers 4

Healers Boon (Elite)
Ethereal Light
Dwayna's Kiss
Healing Touch
Heal Party
Dismiss Condition
Remove Hex
Ressurection Chant

Again great for general PvE. You can modify it to suit the area you're fighting in but it pretty much has an answer for everything.

I dont really use Melonni, and although I have dervish, I dont know if the hero AI can handle my skill bar.

[Lyger]

I tend to kit all my heroes out with Survivor insignia and relevant runes to get their hit points up to 600. No Superiors on my heroes - their survivability is better than it was before I had the benefits of running with 600hp hammered into me.

I like to run my monks as hybrid Prot/Heal, usually with one of the following builds depending on the area:

OwUUMwm+UIOCkxW9IMOT2Ib64GA
OwUUMwW+WIO117GdFuupXJBk4GA

I tend to switch the elites as needed. Gift of Health works nicely on the first bar as an alternative skill if needed. I only run the second build on one of my monks if I bring both monks, since Reversal of Fortune and Protective Spirit are usually staple skills on my skills bars for monks. The reason they are not in the second bar is to make sure that I don't get both monks casting the same spell on the same target at the same time. Ether Signet is the staple energy management skill of choice in most areas for me, as I have my backline set to Avoid Combat, so emanagement that involves an enemy target is a no-no. These builds may not be the best in some peoples eyes, but they're getting my Mesmer through hardmode with no trouble.

[BrotherGrimm]

The guy says he's new to the game....do you seriously think he has Cleave to put on a hero skill bar? I doubt he has ANY elites yet. Also, you can't just hope over to Tyria and pick up Olias...you have to get thru ALL of Istan before you can get the Olias / Zenimai quests.

I can only imagine that setting up heroes before have a good deal of skills unlocked is frustrating. I'm not sure you can do a lot better than what they come with if you are still on Istan and this is your first character. I can only suggest that you look at PvX wiki and see if you can improvise some non-elite builds to get you some better performance.

[Marveric]

I tend to kit all my heroes out with Survivor insignia and relevant runes to get their hit points up to 600. No Superiors on my heroes - their survivability is better than it was before I had the benefits of running with 600hp hammered into me.

I like to run my monks as hybrid Prot/Heal, usually with one of the following builds depending on the area:

OwUUMwm+UIOCkxW9IMOT2Ib64GA
OwUUMwW+WIO117GdFuupXJBk4GA

I tend to switch the elites as needed. Gift of Health works nicely on the first bar as an alternative skill if needed. I only run the second build on one of my monks if I bring both monks, since Reversal of Fortune and Protective Spirit are usually staple skills on my skills bars for monks. The reason they are not in the second bar is to make sure that I don't get both monks casting the same spell on the same target at the same time. Ether Signet is the staple energy management skill of choice in most areas for me, as I have my backline set to Avoid Combat, so emanagement that involves an enemy target is a no-no. These builds may not be the best in some peoples eyes, but they're getting my Mesmer through hardmode with no trouble.

That's kinda pointless when henchies only have 480 health...

Cleave is an early cap, Marga Coast in Nightfall and Ice Caves of Sorrow in Prophecies.

For Monks I use this:

11+2+1 Healing
11+1 Protection
8+1 Divine Favor
2 Inspiration Magic

Aegis
Shield of Absorption
Word of Healing {e}
Protective Spirit
Guardian
Waste Not, Want Not
Dismiss Condition
Remove Hex
Nice and effective hybrid Monk, WoH you can cap in the Crystal Desert so it's pretty close. Use Dwayna's Kiss and sub Guardian with Healing Touch if you don't have that yet.


Dervish:
11+3+1 Scythe
11+1 Mysticism
8 Tactics

Heart of Fury
Mystic Sweep
Eremite's Attack
Radiant Scythe
Vital Boon
"Watch Yourself!"
Avatar of Lyssa {e}
Resurrection Signet
Simple bar that Derv heroes can play properly. I use Lyssa because it's a cast and forget thing that heroes do well with, they don't understand using Reaper's Sweep on targets <50% or using an enchantment before using Wounding Strike.

[Æjen]

If he's spoken to Glint, he's probably in the southern Shiverpeaks, where you can cap cleave.

Anyway, I used to run this build on Koss:

Axe: 12
Strength, Tactics: 9 (feel free to adjust these)

Cyclone Axe
Dismember
Cleave {e}
Distracting Blow
"For Great Justice!"
"Watch Yourself!"
Balanced Stance/IAS
Res


For the monks, when I run 2 monk heroes I run (ran) one LoD hybrid and a RC/Gift prot monk. Since the nerf, I replaced Light of Deliverance with Word of Healing and it still works pretty well.

Hybrid: Mo/x

Healing Prayers: 11
Protection Prayers: 10
Divine Favor: 10

Word of Healing {e}
Signet of Rejuvanation
Dwayna's Kiss
Reversal of Fortune
Shield of Absorbtion
Dismiss Condition
Remove Hex
Rebirth (disable this)

RC: Mo/E

Healing Prayers: 10
Protection Prayers: 11
Divine Favor: 10

Reversal of Fortune
Restore Condition
Gift of Health
Protective Spirit
Aegis
Dismiss Condition
Remove Hex
Glyph of Lesser Energy

I'm afraid I can't help you with a Derv build, I've yet to find a build that heroes use well. My only advice is don't give her any skills that rend her own enchants.

[Fownkaymownkay]

I've been loving this (extremely) basic build on Koss:

12+2 Sword
9+1 Strength
9+1 Tactics

Sever Artery
Gash
Galrath Slash
Flail
Watch Yourself
Healing Signet
Cautery Signet
Res


Everything on there is easily attainable.

[KiddieCake]

I've been loving this (extremely) basic build on Koss:

12+2 Sword
9+1 Strength
9+1 Tactics

Sever Artery
Gash
Galrath Slash
Flail
Watch Yourself
Healing Signet
Cautery Signet
Res



Everything on there is easily attainable.

Yeah, i prefer using easy and simple stuff on koss as most of the complicated stuff i make doesnt work for him, ive been using the almost same thing, but i dindt use the elite :) he seems to be using it pretty well

[Akirai Annuvil]

I've been loving this (extremely) basic build on Koss:

12+2 Sword
9+1 Strength
9+1 Tactics

Sever Artery
Gash
Galrath Slash
Flail
Watch Yourself
Healing Signet
Cautery Signet
Res


Everything on there is easily attainable.

Use succor instead of WY!, atm his energy pool has no use (and succor is a nice way to give some energy to hero/hench monks). But for the rest, yeah if koss isn't using a really basic build, he's normally playing it badly.