User talk:Life Infusion/Unorthodox post-HoM beginner guide

Artificer's Insignia
I do not recommend it since you are pretty much stuck with 1 build until you get new armor. Koda  20:23, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

Invoke Lightning
is not that great. 1 AoE spell in a line with mostly support tricks is a waste of a skillslot. If someone is going to make an elementalist now (why would anyone do that?) their best bet is to go with BSurge and PI and stick to it until Anet breaks the game again. Koda  20:38, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

Olias
You get him in Consulate Docks, not LA Koda  20:45, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

To the above ... I didn't notice the above comments...mainly because I haven't linked to this guide anywhere but my user page. I haven't finalized it yet. Thanks for the input. --Life Infusion &laquo;T&raquo; 12:24, 12 April 2011 (UTC)

Factions
Wow, I didn't know Factions was supposed to be that bad for melee. I took a warrior, dervish and dagger ranger through Factions without any problems at all: the afflicted soul explosions do nuisance damage (bosses excepted), and the Am Fah necros are similar. The only really tricky mobs are the Jade Brotherhood, because of Weapon of Warding and Ward vs Melee -- but these days, even that's negated by the new Asuran Scan.

Note that I never use Save Yourselves!, Defy Pain, or anything resembling a tanking skill: I just charge in and start swinging. What's more, my war is currently using a celestial sword and chakram (no shield) purely because it looks cool and colour-coordinates with her armour.

The bulk of this was in 2007-2009, so before the 7-hero update and the buffs to the derv, rit and mesmer. It's still my favourite campaign, although that's more because of concept and artwork than pure gameplay considerations. -- Hong 12:56, 12 April 2011 (UTC)
 * When Factions was new Assassins never got into any groups because the afflicted would explode in mass and then the Assassins would die in 2 seconds. I think Afflicted Soul explosion got changed though it's still terrible for melee that kills quickly, more so with AoEs on Dervishes, Warriors with Cyclone axe/Hundred Blades, and Assassins with Death Blossom. A person just starting out would not have access to Asuran Scan anyway, --Life Infusion &laquo;T&raquo; 03:03, 17 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Afflicted Soul Explosion hasn't changed, as far as I know. My ranger uses a standard dagger spam build (Jagged/Fox Fangs/DB), and I've never noticed that many problems with exploding afflicted. I'm also the only melee in the team besides minions. You'd have to be trying hard to get that many afflicted balled up that the spike can kill you; in most cases the mobs aren't that big. The exceptions are Vizunah Square and Tahnnakai Temple, but for the first one you've got other people beside you to draw fire, and for the second, careful pulling can break the mobs apart. I do play mostly solo though, and NPC monks are probably better than PUGs (hench skill bars aren't that great, but nothing beats AI reflexes for catching spikes).


 * More recently, I cleared Sunjiang District a couple of days ago on my derv for the Zvanquish, and rolled through it as expected without any hassles.


 * The campaign that REALLY annoys as a melee player is Prophecies. From stone elementals with Ward vs Melee and Eruption, to Summit sages with Empathy, to skales with Spiteful Spirit, to every damn mob in the Southern Shiverpeaks having snares, it's full to the brim with melee hate. And it's not like you only have to kill one guy to deal with the problem either; Prophecies mobs are often homogeneous, so you'll have 6 skales all spamming SS or ice imps and elementals spamming Mind Freeze and Water Trident. Compared to that, Factions is a positive joy to play, both in NM and HM. -- Hong 18:38, 17 April 2011 (UTC)