Talk:Grasping Was Kuurong

Probably the best elite damage skill ritualist has, ancestors rage probably being best overall 76.26.189.65 22:01, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

imo this needs buff, too high energy cost/too low damage:/ i'd like to see the energy go down to 5 or 10

Think about it when this skill is at 15 attribute, especially in AB where there is mobs and Assassin spikers, I used this bad boy twice in a battle. Cast it prematurely because you have 60 seconds to hold it, when you confront the enemy, drop it once, knockdown and 75 armor ignoring damage, cast it again and drop it for a total whopping of 150 armor ignoring damage in almost 2 seconds, if you are PvEing, cast Ancestor's Rage afterwards for 110 lighting damage, a huge spike there. If not, put more skills to cast afterwards that deals armor ignoring damage like Bloodsong(25 health loss every 2 seconds), Agony(10 health loss per second) and Nightmare Weapon(150 of total health loss), you may want to put Blind Was Mingson to cast it afterwards if you are confronting melee characters which should buy 7 seconds for your recharge of Kuurong.--ShadowFog 12:04, 6 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Scratch Blind Was Mingsong and take Weapon of Shadow instead.--ShadowFog 19:46, 25 September 2008 (UTC)


 * You can actually make very high damaged spikes with this. Precast Kuurong and wait for a melee user to get almost in range, then cast Cruel Was Daoshen, if successful, the first KD will trigger giving you two seconds to Cast Kuurong again (Dropping Daoshen) and then drop it.  After that follow up with Ancestors' Rage (PvE only) or Aftershock, you'll have done a huge damage spike.
 * If you want mass enchant removal, you can wait for a mob in RA or AB and use Kuurong -> Daoshen -> Kuurong and finish with Test of Faith, I find this particularly useful as you don't need to put points in Wind Prayers since it won't make much of a difference anyway and you can bring a self heal.
 * I don't believe Kuurong really needs a buff considering it can double KD with 150 armor ignoring damage. It's definitely worthy of elite status as well. PowerGamer 08:09, 14 November 2008 (UTC)

Strategies
I've been considered by a lot of people to be one of the most prominent Kuurong build creators, so I figured I'd post different types of builds that work out with this skill.

/E - Pointblank AoE is already ingrained in this skill, and it's the heaviest non-elite damage you can use with Earth Magic. You can run these either as an E/Rt or Rt/E, and by speccing 15 in one and 12 in the other, you can quickly find a power means of close-ranged spiking. It's easier to fool others into believing you're a healer by being a Ritualist primary though. Aftershock is the key skill with the greatest synergy, but just make sure you're still in range after you drop the ashes. Adjusting your position slightly after the drop shouldn't affect whether or not you successfully hit with both packets from Aftershock. I also heard that Glyph of Lesser energy is nice energy management.

/Mo - Stonesoul and Holy Strikes have double the synergy. They both require the KD's from Kuurong and deal armor ignoring damage like Kuurong. Having points in smiting is a double edged sword in RA however, as you will have no substantial heals, and being a Rt/Mo will have every Wammo and Palm Strike sin in an 8 mile radius attacking you if you didn't get a monk. This however can be used to your advantage. Channeling and Smiting are both good supporting attributes. You can utilize Nightmare Weapon and Bloodsong for more armor/protection ignoring damage via life steal, Warmonger's Weapon as a boon to your front liners, Reversal of Damage to both mitigate and reverse damage you or your allies would receive, or Smite Hex/Condition for slight pressure relief for your allies. The key thing about this combo is that it ignores all armor, however, that reduces it to mediocre damage output.

/A - This skill can either be used to floor an enemy long enough to hit them with a regular chain, or chain Multiple KD's itself. Using Falling Lotus/Spider, you are allowed to skip your lead attack, and that means that by time they're back up you can use a dual attack. Horns of the Ox has a condition KD itself, and can be used, followed by Mark of Insecurity and the other Falling and any other Dual Attack (Blades of Steel is preferred for massive damage at the end of the spike.) Then you can use the downtime after that dual to charge Kuurong again, and do it all over again if you have the energy (unlikely). Nightmare weapon can be used to add life steal to the usually weak dagger attacks. Using this skill, a falling dagger attack, and the deadly arts skill Vampiric Assault, you can actually hit your opponent for over 200 damage of life steal.

/R - You can utilize some Nature Spirits to add extra damage/conditions to this skill. Brambles and Winnowing will add 9 extra damage and bleeding every time anyone gets KD'd. As with all Ranger Rituals, it can easily backfire on you. Especially if they have a lot of physical damage and/or KD's to use against you.

Cruel was Daoshen - Some people say use this and save your elite slot as they both do similar things. Last time I checked, skills that do similar things synergize VERY well. If you see a Dervish or Wammo waddling up to you, use Daoshen to drop your Kuurong Ashes, then use your recharged Kuurong to drop your Daoshen ashes, and drop Kuurong again. You'll have just added an extra 115 lightning damage (rank 15) to your double Kuurong spike (+150 damage) and still be at the point you'd be at when you abuse the fact that they're on the ground after using Kuurong in the first place (Dagger/Stonesoul/Aftershock spikes).

KD Locking in PvE - If you use the above mentioned method, you will time your second KD perfectly every time. Continue spiking as you would normally, however you can utilize the Norn Shout "You Move Like a Dwarf" to add in a third KD. This is PvE we're talking about, if it can be KD'd at all, it likely won't be standing again after all's said and done.

Anti-spiking - This skill is quite possibly the BEST anti-spiking skill in the game. People have argued with me that the drop rate isn't instantaneous, but I've never had anyone that wasn't immune to KD's be able to KD lock me (via daggers/hammer/close range in general) because I've been able to drop the ashes to KD them in between their skills that would cause KD's. This can lead to a counter-spike of epic proportions. It's a great skill defensively as well as offensively.

Counters - This skill is easily countered with logic. Staying away from the user of the skill. This isn't viable for half of the Guild Wars Professions though, so that makes this a solid choice for several different types of situations. PowerGamer 21:53, 21 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Did you just suggest mulitiple times that this skill isn't elite and therefore can be used with things like aftershock...?
 * ^nvm...thought you meant shockwave...
 * Mark of insecurity is in there =) Roflmaomgz 23:56, 11 December 2009 (UTC)
 * OP meant instability. [[Image:User_Raine_R.gif|19px]]  is for   Raine,   etc.  01:04, 30 June 2010 (UTC)
 * I see that, thanks for the correction. I did mean Mark of Instability.  PowerGamer 01:37, 22 November 2010 (UTC)

Armor Ignoring Damage
This description in the note is redundant since not listing a damage type implies the damage ignores armor. I will wait a little while, and remove the note from the main page if there are no legitimate concerns.98.124.27.154 23:20, 8 August 2010 (UTC)
 * Personally, I find this note quite informative because on first glance I didn't notice that the damage type was unlisted until I read the note. Also people that don't use the wiki on a regular basis may not make the immediate connection.--66.91.82.73 16:01, 8 September 2010 (UTC)