Hi.
Teh basics
So, as you all know by my rage-laden posts elsewhere, I’ve been experimenting with Rune of Vampirism. You may also know me from my Deathhammer build, where I focused on melee and dagger usage, with an emphasis on survival and causing a lot of pain.
Well, I figured it’s time for an update and a bit of experimentation. So, I’ve grabbed a set of RoV, paid some cash and re-specced.
Before you hit any links, bear in mind I’ve built this with these key aims:
1) To stay alive
2) To do a lot of damage
3) To be a powerful duellist
4) To disrupt as many of the enemy as possible in WvW
Teh build
The Mighty Deathtickles
It’s a lot of fun. My previous statemens re: daggers, axes and staves apply – use them if you like them, I prefer melee. I’m not stupid, and I know there are times when axe/staff are required, but I roll with dagger unless I’m in one of those situations.
When I hit 25 stacks of Bloodlust, I swap the dagger out for the same dagger with Hydromancy. Hydromancy procs are a steady 1k/10s AoE proc with 3s chill (3.6s with Spite 20pts).
Teh highlights
4s daze on a 24s timer which hits up to 5 targets. Stops those pesky thieves from hiding, among other things.
Horribly high direct damage.
Tough as boots.
High retal uptime (more if you use axe in ZvZ)
A decent last gasp (gives you 3s of mist form semi-reliably…. you can use this to heal or enter DS depending)
Things you might question:
You’ve not taken Close to Death? Are you quite mad?
Losing that trait sucks kitten However, the 6 piece bonus on RoV can be blocked by Siphoned Power. It’s therefore a necessary sacrifice. Let’s do some maths on Target the Weak:
5 conditions equals a 10% damage increase. This affects the target regardless of its health (unlike Close to Death), so strive to maintain conditions where possible. You should be able to maintain 2-5 conditions fairly easily.
10 conditions equals a 20% damage increase, again irrespective of the target health. You probably won’t see this outside of ZvZ or instanced PvE, but it’s outright better than Close to Death for those circumstances.
So overall, provided you can maintain some conditions, it’s about as good. It will be worse sometimes, and it’ll be a LOT better when you’re beating on a target as part of a team.
LOL y u no Locust Signet?!
It’s too kitten slow. Use Locust Swarm and Spectral Walk to get around. Stop using them when you’re in a zerg and can use guardian speed circles to keep up. These two abilities should be saved where possible, but if you’re solo or need to keep up then alternate them.
Permaswiftness is vital in WvW.
Runes of Vampirism suck noob
Not really. An exta 1k on your main heal, and a 1k from a 5% proc chance. Plus a lot of power and a last chance to escape or turn around a fight. I’ve tried the others – Lyssa, Divinity etc. and RoV is the most entertaining I’ve found.
Y U NO CRIT LOL
High power, high retal uptime, Fury from tabbing DS. That does me nicely.
Teh basic approach
In ZvZ, drop all yer wells, toot ya mighty horn, hit Plague (then 2) and tag as many suckers as you can. You’ll lock down 5 players for the duration. Trolling people with Spectral Walk is great. Mix in Axe 3 for Retal, and tab DS to get Retal and Fury.
Solo… well, you’re all competent players. Just use those 3s of mist as best you can!