Spike'em

[talisk3]

I was trying to get a build that would spike nicely. I was originally going to use it for PvP but I forgot EotN skills can't be used -.-

Sooooo here is teh build!

12+1+2 Expertise
12+2 Marksmenship
Survivor/Radiant
[Glass Arrows][I am the Strongest!][Dual Shot][Triple Shot][You Move Like a Dwarf!][Point Blank Shot][Called Shot][Resurrection Signet]

I know it can be improved but here's why I chose each skill
[Glass Arrows] Underused IMO, Provides alright extra damage, help for the spike
[I am the Strongest!] Additional spikeage damage!
[Dual Shot] Start of spike
[Triple Shot] With high rank in Luxon/Kurzick this helps TONS
[You Move Like a Dwarf!] Knockdown to stop the kiting
[Point Blank Shot] ONLY used if the half range doesn't dis-advantage you/the knockdown worked
[Called Shot] Hopefully they won't dodge it and that'll kill
[Resurrection Signet] Pretty Straightforward

Let me know what you think! It works nicely but I will continute to mod it!

[Skyy High]

Needs more [Asuran Scan].

[MrGuildBoi]

As Skyy High said, needs [Asuran Scan]. Also might need some [zojun's shot]

[zelgadissan]

Pitch YMLaD for Asuran Scan, then pitch either Point Blank or Called Shot for your choice of a conjure or [[Forked Arrow] - I'd say conjure since you should ideally have Aegis flying everywhere.

On second thought, you probably don't need the conjure but anything that adds damage to every arrow is a plus in my book.

[jackinthe]

[Mark of Pain]

[Shayne Hawke]

[Expert's Dexterity][I Am The Strongest][Needling Shot][Distracting Shot][Read The Wind][Asuran Scan][Air of Superiority][Death Pact Signet]

I think Tyla posted something like this a while back. It's not necessarily a spike, but it'll dish out some pretty constant damage, it seems.

Take note that ED would be 21 seconds of +33% attack speed and +2 Marksmanship with a 20 second recharge.

[Vazze]

spike < 1s and you do not have any attack skill combination that will be faster than 1s (hint: add 1s and 1/2s skills). You do not have the energy to use your attack skills on recharge: you are wasting skill slots. You are missing asuran (drop YMLD, you can't afford the energy). After you fixed these, you should be able to spike 500+ damage within 1s.

[IcyFiftyFive]

[Expert's Dexterity][Triple Shot][Hunter's Shot][Savage Shot][Read The Wind][Asuran Scan][Distracting Shot][Optional]

[Bobulation]

^ That one is pro

[Valcion]

btw, just wondering, how much damage can you spike with asuran scan, glass arrow, conjure, and triple shot? I've heard that rangers can spike with triple shot for ~200dmg using only 4 skills, and those are the 4 I'm thinking of, though that means asuran scan is almost doubling the bonus damage by itself, which I just can't believe.

[Patron_of_the_Wild]

btw, just wondering, how much damage can you spike with asuran scan, glass arrow, conjure, and triple shot? I've heard that rangers can spike with triple shot for ~200dmg using only 4 skills, and those are the 4 I'm thinking of, though that means asuran scan is almost doubling the bonus damage by itself, which I just can't believe.
with 14 in Expertise, 11 in Marksmanship and 10 in Air Magic, Triple Shot hits different armor levels as follows:
(note, I tested it on the Isle of the Nameless and you probably won't get such a high dmg output in real PvE, not to mention HM. Oh, and I also had 'I am the strongest active)

[Conjure Lightning][I am the strongest][Glass Arrows][Asuran Scan][Triple Shot]

60 AL = ~ 370 dmg
80 AL = ~350 dmg
100 AL = ~ 330 dmg

Influenced by all dmg buffs Needling Shot deals exactly 138 dmg.

Often I like to bring Rebirth instead of a conjure, especially when playing with h/h, since you're most likely the last one standing and can rez your party in case of emergency.

Also don't forget to add a blocking stance. I like to take Lightning Reflexes, since you could use it as well to speed up your spike.

Oh, and no way does Expert's Dexterity come close to the spikability of Glass Arrows. Take it for constant DPS, but for spikes you'd want to have GA on your bar.

[Age]

Dual Shot,Savage Shot, Punsighinsg Shot and a prep of your chice probably Rtw are spike

http://guildwars.wikia.com/wiki/Spike

Ranger spikes, which used the Ranger profession, combining Dual Shot with either Punishing Shot, Savage Shot, or less commonly Quick Shot.

[WhiteAsIce]

[Expert's Dexterity][Triple Shot][Hunter's Shot][Savage Shot][Read The Wind][Asuran Scan][Distracting Shot][Optional]
Tried something like that, even with a vamp flatbow, Sloth Hunter's Shot did more damage than Triple Shot over 5 trials. But instead of Asuran Scan, I used I'm the Strongest and EBSoH.
With more damage buffs thrown in, Triple Shot would beat Sloth. You'd need more buffs like EBSoH, [[Order of Pain], or even [[Favorable Winds]. But if you only have ED, RtW, and [[Asuran Scan], Sloth is the better choice.

[caballo_oscuro]

Come on guys, read the post, the original said he's making a pvp build so while asuran scan is a grweat suggestion, it's fail to suggest it, cos he can't use it... did they ever teach you in school that during a test you need to read the question properly... if this were an exam, all who suggested asuran scan would get 3/10 for attempting the question... moving on...

[zwei2stein]

Needs more ["Finish Him!"]

[tcratty]

good one caballo wish everyone knew how to follow instructions lol

[ac1inferno]

Spiking in PvE is generally bad. For PvP, there's:

[Burning Arrow][Hunter's Shot][Savage Shot][Distracting Shot][Flail][Lightning Reflexes][Read the Wind][Resurrection Signet]

[Balky]

Check out the DPS topic in here, some good spike builds in there that can be altered slightly for PVP

[Sun Fired Blank]

He was originally going to use it for PvP, but then he realized that you can't use EotN PvE skills in PvP, so this is a PvE build.

[Age]

I would use [punishing shot@14] instead of burning arrow for a spike as wiki says.I get despite what it says over 50 to 60.

[Patron_of_the_Wild]

Come on guys, read the post, the original said he's making a pvp build so while asuran scan is a grweat suggestion, it's fail to suggest it, cos he can't use it... did they ever teach you in school that during a test you need to read the question properly... if this were an exam, all who suggested asuran scan would get 3/10 for attempting the question... moving on...
He was originally going to use it for PvP, but then he realized that you can't use EotN PvE skills in PvP, so this is a PvE build.
Agreed.
Caballo, would YOU pls be so kind to read the OP's post before you suggest others to do so? thx. He didn't state that he wants a PvP-only spike build and actually suggested PvE skills himself.

Spiking in PvE is generally bad
... because it's bad to take out nasty ele and monk foes in a matter of seconds? That might be your opinion, but I wouldn't consider it a general truth.

[JSpayde]

Sorry, I don't know how to post builds but what I use is:

Burning Arrow
Triple Shot
Double Shot
Sloth Hunters
Read The Wind
Asuran Scan


Make sure Marksmanship and Expertise are high as possible. I don't bother with going Wilderness Survival because of the attribute spread (less damage, but prove me wrong people). Also, the 10 energy costs aren't too bad with a zealous bow; scan first, triple, double, burning, then sloth for best results.

And then I bring Pain Inverter and a hard res (if I don't trust my allies to bring their own, which seems like the case more often than not). You can probably go Ebon Vang. Sin and Conjure Flame if you want. I don't like Needling Shot; sure the skill recharges when you time it right but the damage is locked at 30 or so, that and I also tend to over spam the skill after the enemy is down causing me to waste it on another enemy.

And spamming in PvE isn't entirely terrible. I find this build runs nicely with Discord heroes when I'm bored of running the AP build.

[Patron_of_the_Wild]

I don't like Needling Shot; sure the skill recharges when you time it right but the damage is locked at 30 or so, that and I also tend to over spam the skill after the enemy is down causing me to waste it on another enemy.

Influenced by all dmg buffs Needling Shot deals exactly 138 dmg.
The damage that comes from the arrow itself is locked to 27 dmg or something like that, but not the additional damage caused from other skills. It's really fun to shoot Triple Shot on your target and have it follow 1 or 2 Needling Shots. Your target should be dead.

Oh, and if you accidently fire Needling Shot on a target above 50% HP, don't mind it. Needling has a 4 sec recharge.

[Coney]

^ That one is pro
Two 24s preps with 12s recharge? Isn't that a waste of 1 skill slot (PvE skills also used)?

[tuna-fish_sushi]

Two 24s preps with 12s recharge? Isn't that a waste of 1 skill slot (PvE skills also used)?

experts dexterity is a stance now gwguru icons are not updated.

[Age]

Spiking in PvE is generally bad. For PvP, there's:

[Burning Arrow][Hunter's Shot][Savage Shot][Distracting Shot][Flail][Lightning Reflexes][Read the Wind][Resurrection Signet]
BA Turet (http://www.pvxwiki.com/wiki/Build:R/W_BA_Turret)Look familiar.

[ac1inferno]

... because it's bad to take out nasty ele and monk foes in a matter of seconds? That might be your opinion, but I wouldn't consider it a general truth.

Single target spikes are not effective in PvE.
With a few exceptions, single target spikes (notably by Assassins) are far less effective than AoE attacks or pressure.

Why is this bad?
Let's take Assassins as an example. They run up, do their thing, and boom, their target is dead. Works great in PvP. In PvE, it just doesn't have the same charm. By the time you've run up/shadowstepped/whatever, your heroes can and will have already nuked your target to oblivion, thus rendering you useless. Even if you do get your spike in, the chance is it has a recharge of at LEAST eight seconds, this meaning that after your spike is done, you are useless to your team for that next (at least) eight seconds. In fact, most monsters (especially in HM) have too much health for your spike to even kill them in one chain. This is the same as almost every spiker build.

Now take the example of [[Cry of Pain] spike teams. Great in PvE, yes? However, they do not spike just one target. They spike most or all of the enemies at once! How innovative!

Obviously there are some exceptions, but for the most part, remember that single target spikes in PvE = bad.

What are some alternatives?
Continuing with the example of an Assassin. One of the few good PvE builds for Sins is the MS/DB spam. This build uses a fairly weak lead and off-hand, then uses [[Moebius Strike] to spam [[Death Blossom], an AoE dagger attack. This is effective because it allows you to damage almost an entire mob at once, if used correctly. Another example of a good PvE sin build is the Critscythe, which uses the high chance of critical hits from sins paired with the high damage of scythes to provide amazing DPS and good pressure. This build, since it uses scythes, which can hit three adjacent foes, also uses AoE, as well as pressure, not spiking.

If you notice any damage-oriented Elementalist builds in PvE, they, with very few exceptions, use AoE attacks, rather than strong spikes. This is why elites such as [[Searing Flames] and [[Savannah Heat] are popular, over builds like lightning spikers.

BA Turet (http://www.pvxwiki.com/wiki/Build:R/W_BA_Turret)Look familiar.

Not too sure what you are trying to say..

[Age]

Not too sure what you are trying to say..

You got it off of PvX works ok but lacks IMS of Natural Stride.

[ac1inferno]

You got it off of PvX works ok but lacks IMS of Natural Stride.

You don't really need IMS unless for Ab or Cm. The build posted is mainly for GvG, but can also be used in Arenas with some variants.

[Age]

You don't really need IMS unless for Ab or Cm. The build posted is mainly for GvG, but can also be used in Arenas with some variants.
Natural Stride is used a lot in GvG and can be used defensive stance.

[Patron_of_the_Wild]

Well ac1inferno, you're talking about elite missions, HM areas, HM dungeons and so on and so far I agree with you. There you encounter large mobs and yeah, to damage all at once is way more effective than to take them out one by one. No question. But if that's always the case, I would never leave town without my splinter barrage build. However, there are areas in Guild Wars where you encounter only little groups of 3, 4 or 5 and splinter barrage doesn't prove too useful there.

[Vazze]

No, she is talking about tankspank. Sad, but apparently this is what devs think is good for the game after ursan ...meh. She went off topic by talking about sin and ele, so I just note that even though her examples are not exactly wrong, they are out of context (aoe blossom DPS is usually insignificant, crit scythe has much lower dps against higher armor, ele damage sux vs higher armor) but then again, this is a ranger thread.
I sign this though: nice, you can spike but don't lose (too much) overall DPS.

[elk]

Natural Stride is used a lot in GvG and can be used defensive stance.

While true, it's not relative to that particular build. The build stats don't favor an investment into Wilderness. The spike is the BA, Hunters and Savage w/ Read the winds up and under Flail or lighting reflexes (this obviously excludes the Burning and the possibility of the bleeding). You want to maintain the high expertise for cost/output and the marksman for dmg and skill breakpoints.

What are you suggesting be scraficed to add in a different attribute line for a defensive movement buff (considering there's another toon already devoted to flagging)?

elk

[Age]

While true, it's not relative to that particular build. The build stats don't favor an investment into Wilderness. The spike is the BA, Hunters and Savage w/ Read the winds up and under Flail or lighting reflexes (this obviously excludes the Burning and the possibility of the bleeding). You want to maintain the high expertise for cost/output and the marksman for dmg and skill breakpoints.

What are you suggesting be scraficed to add in a different attribute line for a defensive movement buff (considering there's another toon already devoted to flagging)?

elk
I took out Lighting Reflexess just to see how flail worked.

[talisk3]

Shall I clear this up? This was originally a PvP build but now a PvE, I know single target spiking isn't great but it is needed in the mission Aurora Glade HM when you must kill the runner very quickly.
Thanks for all the responses =)

[Spike Stritter]

I took out Lighting Reflexess just to see how flail worked.
LR is good if u have dwarven stab.

[MasterSasori]

I took out Lighting Reflexess just to see how flail worked.


Flail>>LR in PvE. No need to even try.