PVP Theory-craft class builds.

[SigmaEx]

I know that there has been a tier list out(which some of you probably know i disagree with some portions of it)...So i wanted to make a theory-craft thread of our own.

I have spent all of my time in alpha leveling multiple classes to 50 and experimenting with many a type of combo's, both skill and class. When it comes down to it, no matter how much i experiment i still need others input and observations cause i can always miss such a small detail that can completely change a class's outcome.

Anyways ill be posting my findings overtime here and i encourage others to do the same. Remember this is gonna be a post for learning and improving so no getting butt hurt if your idea gets shut down with reasonable explanation. There are sadly some builds that just cant really be viable but that is any game.

Mage tanks-I have spent ALOT of time working and dissecting the makings of a mage tanks. My opinion on which are the top tier mage tanks are as follows:

-Defiler
-Swiftstone
-Cabalist
-Dreambreaker
-Skullnight
-Dreadnaught

In this post i will cover Defiler and Cabalist and will comeback to the other builds at a later time.

Defiler\Cabalist- I put the two together cause of there similarities. Defiler is Occ/Witch/Defense and Cabalist is Sorc/Witch/Defense. The main power from these builds Come from witchcraft cc and enervate->mudhand combo. While defiler is more about whittling down the opponent, Cabalist is able to chunk an opponent through large burst combos.

Here is an example build for both.

Cabalist- http://archeagedatabase.net/us/calc/86603

Defiler- http://archeagedatabase.net/us/calc/86613

As you can see for Cabalist You dont have any "spamable" attacks. You lack the ability instacast fireball, but you retain burst combos, stickiness through cc, and survivability. The main damaging combo would be similar to a daggerspell; bubble->chain lightning mid bubble travel time->arc lightning->dahutas breath. Good openers can range from flamebarrier->fear, Enervate->mudhand, Focul concusion->fear. You further increase your defense with insulating lens and if you really wanted to you could switch out one point for magic circle to further give yourself a dps boost. You can further extend sleep duration with freezing earth by 10 seconds further increasing your ability to isolate targets in a fight. It is a very well rounded pvp class.

A defiler has many similarities with cabalist but is less dependant on combos, making it a slightly more mobile class but lacking the amount of burst a cabalist has. In exchange for the burst, defiler makes up in extra easy to land cc's. Hell spears is an aoe instacast impale able to interrupt combos easily with its extremely fast cast animation and stillness is a great silence/interrupt ability. Crippling mire by its self is a terrible ability but when combo'd with boastful roar you turn it into a channeled stun that ticks for continual damage. One weakness of defiler is cast times but with the ability to have long potential cc's to hold off enemies you can pretty easily offset that weakness. Also as a defiler you can actually invest less in occultism and still be capable, allowing you to put more points in defense or witchcraft if you desire.

Thats it for my write up. I'll add details about the other classes listed at a later time.

 

[MauserTeleri]

I have no idea what you're talking about (yet) but i'm really glad to see lots of guildies interested in the game and I can't wait to play myself! (decided not to do betas though, i don't like being wiped as well as grinding). thanks for all the work you're putting into making our archeage guild be successful sigma and company!

 

[SigmaEx]

Thank you for the support =)

 

[SigmaEx]

Alright my next write up is on Swiftstone. This one is a personal favorite. Very mobile, decent cc, and pretty good damage for a tank.

example build: http://archeagedatabase.net/us/calc/87963

The main advantage of Swiftstone over other mage tanks is the ability to control your distance between you and your target, while remaining equally combat effective. You can stay on top or keep distance from your target by using both dropback and free runner. On top of that you have shadowstep as a 20 meter teleport.

You can lay the pain on opponents through dropback->fireball combo, which also works even better because scepters provide you with 1.8 attack speed, meaning that you will get more fireballs out during the dropback effect vs using a staff. You have 2 snares through freezing earth and flame barrier that also combo of each other for more damage. If you can pull frigid tracks off, you can insta cast freezing arrow and run around opponents turning them into a block of ice for 4 seconds....pretty awesome. Also insulating lens while stealth'd is pretty strong. The increase range on invis detection while stealth'd will pretty much guarantee a first hit on an opponent when both players are invis'd.

The number one reason i like Swiftstone as a mage tank though is the ability to catch and shutdown Primevals/Stone arrows. You have lots of ways to close in on them, You have superior cc once within range, your shield helps negate a large portion of their damage, and you can burn through there defenses(especially stone arrow).

Like all great builds there are always weaknesses and Swiftstone is not an exception.
Number one way to counter Swiftstone........witchcraft. You have no real way to break out of cc's other than light armors passive that cuts down on cc duration. Once you are slept or feared you are at the casters mercy. Fortunately you are a tank and you can withstand a few hits, but it still can be crippling. For this reason lots of people believe Swiftstone is more of a group build but its simply not true. Swiftstone can hold its own both solo and in group play, mainly thanks to the shadowplay tree.

This is actually more than likely gonna be my class of choice on launch but will switch between the different mage tanks and traditional mage classes depending on our needs.

 

[SigmaEx]

It is now time for Skullknight\Dreadnaught.

Here are some example builds:

skullknight- http://archeagedatabase.net/us/calc/106025

Dreadnaught- http://archeagedatabase.net/us/calc/106048

Skullknight is one of the best initiators in game. They are excellent at keeping opponents locked down and forcing enemies out of position. AOE cc's through imprison/hell spears, isolate targets with mana force or thwart/boastful roar->crippling mire. Because of these things, Skullknights shine in group PvP. Gearing wise because of the auramancy tree, It is recommended to get the Intelligence heavy armor set. Auramancy provides several anti magic abilities along side anti magic combos. On one last note stacking inspire on a skullknight is very beneficial simply cause you can spam manastars A LOT faster(provides decent dps for an Sk)

Dreadnaughts are a lot like Skullnights but trade magic resistances for more combat mobility and extra damage. Stalker marks->overwhelm provides extra cc and increases total group damage and free runner/shadowstep/dropback is all the maneuverability you can ask for. The biggest difference your gonna see between the 2 is the gearing. While skulknight can be effective with both cloth and heavy armor, Dreadnaught is pretty much forced to use cloth armor because of the lack of magic resists. By using light armor though, you gain extra reduction on cc duration's which pairs very well with your ability to enter and escape a fight freely.

The biggest downside to skull knights is there damage(or lack thereof). Its pretty much nonexistant. Any 1v1 you encounter will be won through attrition and good cc timings.

Both are outstanding classes and there value increases exponentially in groups. Keep your friends close and your skullknights closer =)