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This build is not favored by the
GuildWiki community.
The general consensus among users of GuildWiki is that this
build is not viable.
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Another year passes and new builds are developing all the time.
Even though some things remain constant, there is still an
ever-changing metagame within Guild Wars that guilds should keep an eye on when
designing team builds.
After initial GvG testing of
builds and strategies, Spirits of War decided on a build to play while
waiting for the next shake-up of balance changes. After
experimenting with Hex pressure
last year we changed to a spike-style build this year. The result is a solid
build that held up to top teams on the ladder and gave us an opportunity to train new
members and gain valuable experience.
[edit]
Character 1: Dervish/Assassin
Avatar of Melandru bypasses the large
amount of Blinding
skills currently used in the metagame. The extra Health also gives a near
guarantee that Chilling Victory does its maximum damage on
spikes. Use your interrupt to disrupt important spells or enemy resurrection
attempts.
[edit]
Character 2: Dervish/Assassin
While Character 1 spikes primarily with Chilling Victory,
Character 2 is responsible for using Wearying Strike
to apply Deep
Wounds. Hardly any spike is effective without some way to
inflict Deep Wound. Character 1 follows up with another Wearying
Strike in case the enemy removes the first Deep Wound. Also try to
spike while in Form but don't
forget to back away from the front lines to reactivate your
Avatar.
[edit]
Character 3: Mesmer/Monk
Character 3 is our main Area of Effect damage dealer. This character
spikes with Energy Surge or Spiritual Pain and follows up with
either Shatter Enchantment or Wastrel's
Demise. Also, this character has the hard rez on the build and
Hex/Condition
removal to help the Monks
against high pressure teams.
[edit]
Character 4:
Mesmer/Elementalist
With a dual role, this Mesmer keeps enemies Blind and comes in for spikes
with other skills. It's especially important to put Blindness on
anything moving into the backline, because this generally signals
an impending spike. When not casting Blinding Surge, this Mesmer spikes with
Spiritual Pain and Wastrel's Demise. Use Gale to knockdown a Monk during a spike or to
isolate an opponent from a retreating team.
[edit]
Character 5:
Necromancer/Elementalist
We use this as a free slot to adapt to the metagame. It allows
flexibility in the build, with options including Mesmers for
disruption, Necromancers for Hex pressure, Elementalists for
spike skills and Area of Effect, or a character good at splitting.
Currently our Necromancer runs pressure with Spoil Victor and
covers it with quick Hexes. Spoil Victor can really deter enemy Dervishes from attacking
and can also distract enemy Monks. Strip
Enchantment supplements the Mesmer's Enchantment removal.
[edit]
Character 6: Monk/Assassin
This is our primary infuser for spike protection. It also has
some quick Healing spells and basic Protection skills. Depending on
the split, this character generally stays with the more aggressive
team.
[edit]
Character 7: Monk/Assassin
This Protection Monk casts Zealous Benediction on the infuser
as well as using Protection Prayers for general damage
negation.
[edit]
Character 8:
Elementalist/Monk
This is the primary flag
runner, which changes according to the metagame. This version can
deal out enough damage to kill, but also has some self healing and
a potential snare. Even though the build has no Water Hexes, Arc Lightning
serves as another cheap damage spell that enemies can't dodge or
hide from behind a wall, unlike Lightning Orb. Against high pressure
teams like Hex-heavy builds, this character sits back and uses Glyph of Lesser Energy for multiple
castings of Heal
Party. In those cases our Necromancer takes up flag
running.
[edit]
Modular Build Construction
When Spirits of War put this build together we designed
it so we could add different characters based on an evolving
metagame.
The Necromancer originally spiked with the team, but we found
that forcing enemy Monks to cope with Hex pressure and a high
damage spike was a better combination than a straight spike.
We have also used an Obsidian Flame Elementalist in this position
too. Wards can add much
needed defense against the Dervishes prevalent in the metagame. The
Earth Magic
attribute line also has knockdowns or can be paired with Water Magic snares for
easier target killing.
A pure split character could also occupy this slot. The pressure
coming from a rear split might be beneficial against amateur teams.
Top teams, however, generally are prepared for splits and often a
lone character can't apply proper pressure.
Lastly, characters' attributes can change according to the
current metagame. For example, the Domination Mesmer can easily drop points
into Fast
Casting for extra points in Inspiration. This allows for Energy management like Drain
Enchantment or a shutdown skill like Signet of
Humility.
[edit] Dealing with Splits
On this build we use an Even-Odd style of splitting. The even
players, characters 2, 4, 6, and 8, are part of the rear split
while the off characters maintain pressure on the front. Since we
use a spike-based build we always look to engage the enemy with a
numbers advantage and play defensively on our splits. Generally,
the flag runner assesses the professions and skills of the enemy split and then
calls for the proper counters to return and minimize rear damage
while maintaining a spike advantage on the front.
[edit]
Strengths and Weaknesses
During the last few weeks we've determined which enemies we're
strong against and which ones give us some problems.
Overall, this build has very basic Hex removal. Against high
pressure teams with a lot of Hexes it becomes hard to maintain the
spike, so we counter those teams with dynamic tactics and
splits.
We have had success against teams designed for splitting. We've
gone up against top teams and lost, but by studying their tactics,
we were often able to counter with a different split and secure a
victory. Both employing and defending against a split strategy is
often a matter of experience, though, and we've certainly paid the
price with some bad calls against split teams.
[edit] Success
Currently Spirits of War has had above average success since
we've changed to this build. We've won more games than we've lost
and have had solid victories against top guilds, although we've
also had some bad losses against lower ranked guilds. The build
isn't always why we win or lose. Sometimes success is based on
strategic decisions made in game. In a close match it only takes
one mistake to lose.
This build makes use of popular conventions in the metagame
right now. Wastrel's Demise is a very powerful Mesmer skill and
having Dervishes immune to Blindness makes our damage strong and
fast. Our tactics are improving and we're always looking to adapt
to the metagame, especially when balance changes get
introduced.
Dervish / Assassin 
Mesmer / Monk 
Mesmer / Elementalist 
