User:Krschkr/Alliance Battles

I N T R O D U C T I O N  T O   A L L I A N C E   B A T T L E S

An alliance battle (often abbreviated to AB) is a style of Player versus Player combat that sees two teams of 12 (consisting of three parties of 4 each) fight against each other to capture control points found throughout the map in order to gain Imperial Faction. The map selected for the alliance battle depends on the position of the vassal faction border (on the world map this is symbolised by a blue and red line) between Kurzick and Luxon territories – if the border cuts deep into one side, that side will have a map arranged more in their favor, but will also provide a greater reward to the opposition if the opposition wins. The position of the border itself depends on the results of the previous 3 hours of alliance battles.

What is AB?
AB is played on 5 different maps, depending on how much one side is winning, there is a neutral map, a shallow Kurzick and Luxon map, and then a deep Kurzick/Luxon map. Each map will have 7 shrines which will spawn NPCs for whichever side controls the shrine, and more or less NPCs depending on who's territory it is (more will spawn for the faction who owns the territory). The game is played until one of the following conditions is met: Points are gained by capturing and holding shrines: you will gain 1 point every 7 seconds for each shrine your side holds. You'll also receive three points for killing an opposing player.
 * One side reaches 500 points.
 * One side captures and holds all 7 shrines for 60 seconds without a shrine being neutralized.
 * All members of one side either resign or leave.

If you die in Alliance Battles you receive no death penalty and are automatically resurrected at either your base or a resurrection shrine if your side holds it, as such it is advised not to bring any form of resurrection skill into battle as it is a waste of a skill slot.

Setting up a Team
AB teams normally consist of one healer and three damage dealers. When setting up your team you should keep the objectives of AB in mind, as they dictate which abilities a team build needs to have.
 * Quick movement around the map.
 * Ability to quickly kill shrine NPCs, usually via area damage.
 * Reliable performance in 4v4 combat situations.

Depending on the focus of your team build you may neglect one of the aspects in favour of the other(s) and specialize for a specific tactic throughout the match.

4v4 Teams
These teams usually feature decent damage compression (spikes) and are designed to quickly overwhelm opposing player teams. Such teams opt to kill an opposing team in the open field first and then go for the next available shrine to capture it.

Exemplary Teams
 * Build:Team - AB Paragon Balanced
 * Build:Team - AB Grapple Balanced
 * Build:Team - AB April Dual Invoke

Capture Teams
Main article: Guide:AB Nuker Main article: Guide:AB Solo Capping Main article: Guide:AB Capping Such a team focuses on clearing shrine NPCs quickly with ranged area damage, usually from elementalists. Because the 4v4 abilities of these teams are usually underdeveloped the individual damage builds of capture teams are designed to allow quick solo clearing and subsequent capturing of shrines, in case the team has been killed and scattered around the map.

Bridge Control Teams
On the maps Kaanai Canyon and The Ancestral Lands two resurrection shrines are connected through a bridge with an assault point inbetween. Holding these two resurrection shrines usually secures a win of your side. Some teams are optimized to work particularly well at defending the bridge from attacking teams.

Exemplary Teams
 * Build:Team - AB May Ritualist Pressure
 * Build:Team - AB June Ritualist Pressure

Balanced Teams
Main article: Guide:General AB Team Playing A Balanced is not particularly strong at any individual task, but features a good mix of movement, capturing speed and 4v4 performance, allowing teams to adapt better to the match situation than specialized teams. Balanced teams are usually pressure spike based and feature one frontline character, one defensive aswell as one offensive additional character and one healer.

Exemplary Teams
 * Build:Team - AB Balanced
 * Build:Team - AB Dual Melee

A B  C A P P I N G

One of the most efficient ways to tackle an AB match is to have all teams efficiently capping. Often a win or loss is determined just by who is capping and holding cap points.

Purpose
This guide is to explain the tactic "capping" in the context of alliance battles.

Tactics
On each alliance battle map there are 7 cap points. These points will grant your team with a positive effect when you capture them. Capturing the resurrection shrine allows players to be resurrected closer to the battle, there are certain speed boosts and also "elite" NPC's that when spoken to will follow a player into battle. These buffs mean that if you hold the majority of capture points your team will be in a strategically better position.

There are five maps, Kaanai Canyon, Etnaran Keys, Saltspray Beach, Grenz Frontier and Ancestral Lands.
 * For Etnaran and Grenz the capture positions are the same.
 * Saltspray is similar to above with the addition of an extra resurrect shrine.
 * And lastly Kaanai has the same position of capture points as Ancestral Lands.

When the capping tactic is employed each team basically goes straight forward and caps the two points ahead of them. A team going left will cap both points on the left side of the map, center goes straight forward and the right team caps both points on the right.

One thing is vital when using capping, don't get caught up in petty fights, fair enough defend it from the first wave of people attempting to recap but ideally you should always be on the move in battle, moving to the next cap point. Once the first cap shrines have been taken the most efficient way to cap is to move in a circular fashion around the map capping as you go. It's worth mentioning that most people view the res shrine as an important cap point so there often is a huge battle there which if you are capping it's best not to get caught up in unless you're at 6 of the possible 7 cap points.

Note that holding shrines will yield 1 point per 7 seconds per shrine and that killing a player yields 3 points.

General usage
In all cases, a capping team is meant to run around the map at high speeds and wipe out the two to three NPCs at each shrine. This is nearly always done by bringing at least one player with Area of Effect damage.

As an example, see Build:Team - AB Balanced. This team contains:
 * 1) An Elementalist with Fire Magic nukes (Searing Heat plus Meteor) and the group movement buff "Fall Back!". This reduces time wasted walking between shrines.
 * 2) A Ranger with snares and interrupts to punish solo cappers.
 * 3) A Warrior frontliner to obliterate anything caught by the ranger.
 * 4) A Monk to sustain the team.

Exceptions
The offensive team is at a disadvantage on the Kaanai Canyon and Ancestral Lands maps. This is due to (1) the elite NPC shrines being located within the central fortifications, and (2) having a central resurrection location. Running around the perimeter capturing (and then losing) the five outside shrines may not be enough with the other two shrines ticking away in favour of the defensive team.

Instead of only capping, the offensive team should also consider defending shrines, specifically the two resurrection shrines on the bridge and the equipment station between them. Evidently capturing the northern 3 capture points alone will not be enough - you will need 4 capture points to win (one of the southeast or southwest equipment stations).

Purpose
An overview of how uncoordinated and coordinated teams AB.

Team Setup
Depending on how your team is set up can already determine whether you will win or lose. Generally, a team is set up around 1 Frontliner (Frontliner - Warrior, Assassin, Dervish), 2 Midliners (Elementalist, Mesmer, Necromancer, Paragon, or Ranger), and 1 Backline (Ritualist or Monk). This guide will be based on a general AB team such as Build:Team - AB Balanced

Frontliner //
The person who is the frontliner is usually the person who leads the team, pings key targets, or even just directs people what to do. Whenever you play as the frontliner never beat around the bush when you're playing, if you tell people to do something  make sure it gets done. Depending on which profession, there are hundreds of builds to choose from. All of them which have some sort of high damage output/spike ("Coward!" has no spike) that can either kill whoever they attacking and/or throw off the team's monk.

Calling
You are the frontliner, you lead, you call. More on calling later on in the guide.

Big Damage
As stated in the beginning all these build have some sort of damage output. Using it correctly and creatively will lead to kills and capping. The faster the kills, the faster the wins, goes the same for capping, the more you cap the faster you win. Here is a tip: Be as aggressive as your heart desires. Just make sure it is safe when you want to be aggressive.

Linebacking
Like in ANY OTHER PvP ARENA, linebacking is very important. In case you do not know what "linebacking" is, it's using your melee character(s) to apply pressure to the other team's melee character(s). This often slows the enemy's damage output, and discourages the enemy from overextending or going into Frenzy. Doing this will relieve a lot of stress from your monk. In AB, the only times when you want to lineback are when your monk is taking excessive pressure or when you are retreating to another shrine/party. What I like about Warriors is how well they can lineback. Skills like Earth Shaker, Hammer Bash, Bull's Strike, and Shock keep the other team's melee on their ass and allow your monk to kite very easily.

Ranger
One of the most important roles to any team.

Snaring
Key factor in your bar is how you snare. is a very good utility skill that can be used both offensively and defensively. Rangers with common sense know when to switch between being offensive and defensive. Offensive snaring is simple as just using on whoever your warrior is attacking. Snaring that target stopped him from kiting, allowing your warrior to train on it even more or maybe even kill it. Defensive snaring is just as simple although it does take some watching to do. Generally, when fighting the enemy frontliner (lets say warrior) is attacking your monk. Your monk puts up guardian and continues on healing as you fight. The warrior gets smart and times KD right after guardian. Your monk is down for 3 seconds (assuming he has stonefist's insignias) The whole team starts training your monk, trying to get the kill, your monk gets up and starts running. What do you do to help relieve him of pressure ? Cripple the warrior, the majority of pressure will be gone. I will talk about snaring later on in the guide.

Shutdown and Pressure
,, and are important. Savage and Distracting are strong utilities just like, and like they can be used offensively and defensively. Offensively would be interupting key skills,, , or maybe even the enemy team's snare, Defensively would be interupting spike skills like , or /. As for Apply Poison anybody you talk too will say that this skill is good. Poison itself is a lot of pressure, -4 Health Degeneration. When you're fighting another team use it to spread poison across as whole team, put that pressure on that monk!

What Will I Do If I Don't Have a Ranger On My Team ?!?
Although a ranger is useful in AB, you do not need to bring one. But one thing that every team must bring is a moderate amount of snares. Snares are key in AB. If they can't move, they can't cap. If you bring a different midliner always make sure they have a snare. Some snares are like

Also, notice how the majority of these snares are Elementalist skills, do not be afraid to go /E and spec into the certain attribute to bring one of these!

Elementalist
The elementalist is usually referred to as "nuker", this is because of how much damage your build does to multiple targets. The elementalist's primary job is too help push for kills and to make capping shrines a breeze by blowing up the NPCs at the shrine. Depending on your elite skill the bar can change. The most common elites for an elementalist bar is and. If you are running then it is wise that you also bring  and. Doing this allows up to two more sills you can bring. Some elementalists prefer running while some prefer to bring party-wide ims(increased movement speed) like . A lot of people bring for energy management, but it is also very wise to try to bring a snare like. Once again, snares are key.

Capturing Shrines
Depending on what faction you are on and what map you are on, nuking can either be really easy or just easy. On Ancestral Lands or Kaanai Canyon elementist become ideal because of the fortified NPC on the walls over looking the 3 entrances. Elementist are able to swiftly remove these NPC with little over all damage to the party.

Team vs Team
A somewhat harder aspect to play as an elementalist. Half of your damage is AoE, use these wisely. Meteor is a good a skill to bring. At 15 Fire magic it does 112 damage, not only that, but it also is a snare with a knockdown effect. Seeing it is a snare, that also means it is a utility. It can be used offensively and defensively, most of the time offensively. You should be casting it on whatever your warrior is attacking, not only pushing out a lot of damage but a KD to help your warrior finish the kill. What a lot of elementalists try to do is try to chain their meteor with a warriors KD, whether it is or a hammer skill like. Keeping a monk knocked down for ~5 seconds is really good, depending on the monk's skill he will die easily. Defensively, casting meteor on a stationary target that is training your monk (like an elementalist) or just knocking the warrior down to allow your monk a few seconds to kite will go a long way to help your team win the battle. I will talk about advanced tactics when you play against other teams.

Monking
The monk's job is simple, keep the team up when capturing shrines and fighting. Another part of your job is to keep your team clean from hexes and conditions (Blind or Weakness), and to make it easier for your team to push for kills. It is better to prevent damage then to heal it.

Preventing Over Healing
With a bar that is much more easy. Another easy way to prevent damage is through your stance. Using gives you around 12 seconds to kite from hammer warriors. But don't use it on recharge, save it for when you would really need it.

Watching For Shutdown
Watching for shutdown and to make sure you will not get shutdown separates the good monks from the bad monks. ALWAYS be aware of what the enemy team is running, if they have a ranger, odds are he has and. It's the same for mesmers, watch out for.

--

How To Lead An Uncoordinated Team
One of the hardest things to do in AB is to lead an uncoordinated team. Depending on the players it can big a  HUGE  burden or a breeze. Luckily you have two strong weapons in your disposal to lead, your keyboard and your compass.

Compass
Besides the fact that this is probably one of the most vital things in Guild Wars, you can use it much more for just looking at. You can draw! If your teammates are smart enough, they will notice that they will see a white line directing them to go that next shrine! Drawing IS important when it comes to AB, whether it is to go to whatever shrine next or which group to fight.

How To Lead A Coordinated Team
It is generally mocked at when people will run a coordinated team in AB. Usually because coordinated teams us VoIP programs like Ventrilo or TeamSpeak. If you are serious about AB, whether it is just to win, for the rewards, or just fun use one of those programs. Coordinated teams are usually easier to lead than uncoordinated teams.

Ventrilo
This does not need to be explained. If you know what you are doing you can tell them directly and not indirectly.

Compass
Even if you are in Vent(short for Ventrilo) always know you have this tool. Be lazy and just tell them to go that way in vent while leading with the compass.

Ctrl + Space "Pinging"
This is important in coordinated teams. Seeing that you can talk to your teammates directly you can tell them why you pinged this target. You can tell them to put all damage there for pressure or you can do a "321" call and do a mini-spike to throw off the monk. Pinging targets can destroy any team you play against if you play correctly.

Common Tactics/Strats

 * For normal occasions it is always wise to go into a clockwise path to cap. (This is to reduce the possibility of having too many players on one shrine) shrines capping stops at 4 pips (>>>>) anthing over this is a waste.
 *  ALWAYS stay with your team. In the beginning always have one team go through one path. Never have two groups go through the same door/portal.
 * Counter-clockwise - Going this way is useful to either break off from a mob, or stop the enemy team capping behind you. (Do this only if the other team has less flags than you and you wish to force the game into the end-timer.)
 * Trade off. - Can only be done if three things are present. Two close shrines, an alternate path to the other shrine, and if you are capping the shrine the enemy team is going to cap. What happens is if you have the Shrine ahead of the enemy(lets say they are the kurzicks). You, the luxons want that shrine they just capped, how do you cap it ? Run down a different path to that shrine and cap it while the kurzicks cap your shrine. Once you and them have capped, just cap that shrine then continue to cap behind them. Gw039.jpg GeneralABGw040.jpg
 * Splitting - When(occasionally) a midliner will split off from the general team to shut out solo cappers.
 * Capping Ahead - A really vital strategy during "flag racing". Usually (depending on build) one teammate will push forward killing the next alter NPCs while the main team caps the first shrine.
 * "Bridge Patrol" - One of the most absolutely fun strategies in Guild Wars. Commonly used by teams that know what they are doing.* screenshot later* When using this strategy, make sure other teams know to hold other positons, or continue to cap other flags. This will lessen the chance of a team coming to the bridge for no reason and wasteing time. Use the bridge to your advantage, example; Choke Points, use these to make other teams cluster so AoE uses it max potential. Also rememebr you have shrines on your side. Use the offesive/defensive ablities of the shrines to your advantage. The main idea of bridge patrol is holding/denying the enemy access of capping the brdige.
 * Circle-Capping - Circle-Capping is when a team is going around an AB map capping in a circular motion (Clockwise/Count Clock). This can be a bad and a good thing. If you are ahead in points and the oppsing team does not put up much resistance, than this strategy may finish off the game. IF you are behind in points and you are not faster than the opposing capping team, you may be stuck in an endless struggle to make up points. At this moment you may want to reverse your direction and try to take out the faster capping team. If you do not change your style of play you may not catch up in points resulting in a loss.
 * Res Running - Exploit res shrine! In general, it is when the player (more helpful for monks than other party members) is able to run away while casting a spell. Spam whatever key your ims is on and either cast a prot spell of some form while you kite.

Misc. Tactics

 * Mobbing - Normaly this is a tactic that is frowned upon in Alliance Battles. Mobbing does have its place in strategy and should be used sparingly. Mobbing is when extra players join an exsisting team and becomeing a larger force. This could have been from a player losing thier way or being killed and trying to make it back to thier team. Mobbing grants you more numbers and a great advantage over 4 man teams, but it lowers the ablitiy to cap shrines and ultimatly is a waste of time becuase shrines cap out at 4 pips (>>>>). A time and place where mobbing can be beinifical is a time where 2 teams are in a stale mate and are stuck fighting eachother. Joing that team and defeating the other team will secure that flag. Maps with a bridge may need need a "mob" to push through and take back the shrines. Also Make sure to move on after capping or you will lose the mobility of 3 teams. See Guide:AB Mobbing.


 * Entrance Guarding - This is used when all shrine points have been secured. To prevent enemies from popping out of base, the teleport pods are guarded either by massive PB aoe skills like frozen burst or static spirits. The main entrance can be guarded by a Mob consisting of at least 6 players and often with the aid of spirits like wanderlust. This prevents mobbing from the main entrance. However, should such a possibility exist, it will normally lead to a win. This tactic is best performed in Etnaran Keys and Grenz Frontier.

A B  M O B B I N G

In Alliance Battles, mobbing is the term used to describe a situation where two or more parties combine into one large group (i.e. a "mob"). A mob of six or more players can be difficult to kill, especially when unorganized parties attempt to tackle the mob. However, mobs sacrifice the ability to capture shrines quickly, and is naturally countered by a 4-4-4 capping strategy.

Overview
Mobbing is a fairly simple tactic and is often the result of teams not having any real strategy. Multiple groups meeting together at shrines is usually the initial cause of mobbing, as unorganised groups will approach shrines that are already being capped, whether the odds are in their favour or not. Additionally, loose players may link up with other groups and eventually snowball into a mob.

A mob has several psychological affects on players of both sides. Allied players may feel drawn to the mob due to the apparent safety in numbers and the ease at which the mob is defeating opposition, and will often attempt to rejoin the mob after being killed, resulting in a consistent flow of players into the mob. On the other hand, inexperienced players on the opposing side may be tempted by the action and the possibility of knocking off as many players as they can. These gung-ho team members may attempt a solo effort, often pulling the mob towards other teams and creating a domino effect by getting the entire team involved in a pointless skirmish.

It is important to consider that once a mob has been formed, it will be difficult for teams and individual players to split from it. Organised teams are often able to pull away from the group and focus on capping, but inexperienced and unorganised teams will instinctively rejoin the mob despite the rest of the team calling otherwise.

Early-game
In general, mobbing at the beginning of a match will put the side at a severe disadvantage, as the mob cannot cap shrines as quickly as a split team. Creating an early mob is a risky move for unorganised teams, as it will be difficult to get team members to split when necessary.

Maps such as Ancestral Lands and Kaanai Canyon often encourage mobbing as the capture points on the bridge offer strategic advantage to the opposing team and are easier to cap. This results in the entire team rushing to those points and engaging. But even on these maps, the other team can simply ignore this mobbing and concentrate on taking the remaining shrines. Mobs also form often in the defending team's base if the attackers get in.

Other maps may have paths that split teams will use to create a small mob for a temporary advantage, or funnel several teams to clash with each other. For example, the south flank of Etnaran Keys allows the centre and south groups of both sides to converge easily. Organised capping teams will temporarily mob, usually to dissuade each other from engaging and pushing through to capture deeper shrines. Players or teams breaking off to engage the opposing mob will usually be annihilated. Teams should split off to cap different shrines once the threat is past.

The most common mistake teams make is to remain in a mob without capturing shrines at the beginning. While killing players earns more points (3 per kill, as opposed to 1 point per shrine every 7 seconds), shrines provide a continual contribution to the team's score, and killing players is not steady enough to focus on in the early game.

Late-game
As the game progresses, one side will usually have the upper hand. At this stage, especially when that team is holding most (if not all) of the shrines, mobbing will allow the team to kill opponents much faster, scoring more points and preventing the opposition from capping. Furthermore, mobs may entice opposing players to attack instead of focusing on capping.

The same disadvantages of mobbing apply in late-game: it is slow, clumsy and inflexible. It is also inefficient -- if the opposing team is still capping, the mob won't earn as many points compared to splitting into cap groups. Mobbing in late-game has a greater chance of succeeding when the score difference is at least 100. Mobbing with scores equal is nearly suicidal, as even a solo capper will provide more points than rolling over enemies. Often in AB matches, the decisive factor is one team mobbing too early and allowing the opponents to capture shrines, easily turning the game around if the score difference is close enough.

Tactics vs. mobs
When you see a large group of opposing players, the safest option is to simply avoid it. Clashing with a team of equal size is enough of a gamble; trying to take on 6+ players is nearly suicidal. It is not impossible to take out small mobs, but the risk is generally not worth it, and focusing on capping will help the team more than attempting to knock out an army.

If the team is given the choice as to attack or flee, the team should consider the following question: Can I actually achieve something? Another crucial mistake is to waste too much time trying to make an impact. Even if the mob is dispersed or neutralised, shrines still need to be capped. Consider the current balance of power before engaging a mob. Some players believe that engaging a mob will hold it off for a sufficient amount of time to allow other teams to cap safely. Most of the time, this results in giving the mob free points and buying no time. However, it is possible for an organised team with appropriate builds to hold up mobs, or even annihilate the entire mob.

If forced to deal with the mob, consider the following:
 * Mobs will contain a huge variety of builds. Players will often come up against fire nukers, monk, assassins, interrupters and minion masters, among many others. Countering all the players will not be easy.
 * Try to break the mob into bite-sized chunks that your team can handle. Some players in the mob will become overconfident and overextend, allowing for an easy kill and working off the size of the mob.
 * Use choke points whenever possible. This makes it more difficult for the mob to move, and a solo-capping nuker can wipe out the whole mob with precise execution.
 * If allied players are joining the fray, disengage. Many players will be tempted to participate in the skirmish, even if it only "looks" equal. This will inevitably bog the team's score down.
 * Most importantly, if all else fails, run. Don't feed the mob.

Tactics as a mob
Due to the chaotic nature of Alliance Battles, it is inevitable that teams will form a mob. This is most often due to several teams reaching the same point on the map and deciding to follow each other, attracting any allied player they come across. There are some occasions where mobbing can be beneficial, albeit inefficient. Nonetheless, some useful tips include: Often, more experienced or organised team members will split from the mob in order to salvage the match by capturing as many shrines as they can, often in vain. It is possible for like-minded players from different teams to form an ad-hoc capping group, and many a battle can be turned around due to the actions of several individuals. Again, a common misconception is that mobbing brings about this turnaround, but is more often further from the truth.
 * Be able to take the initiative to split from the mob. Mobs like to stick together, and some players will abandon their original party for the sole purpose of mobbing. To counter this, team leaders must take it upon themselves to break from the group. Some players will often call for such a move but fail to act upon it, thereby perpetuating the problem. Mobbing when scores are close is poor judgement, and guaranteed to lose when score are against the team.
 * If the mob is moving to capture a shrine, do a quick head count of allied players. You do not need more than four players to capture a shrine; any more than that and the team will have half the team standing around doing nothing. When a mob pauses to cap, it is a good opportunity for teams to move ahead to cap other shrines, hopefully triggering a split capping strategy.
 * Watch where the mob is moving. Mobs are more likely to move towards shrines and opposing mobs rather than individual players. Players who leave the safety of the mob to chase after stragglers may easily find themselves abandoned.
 * Be mindful of the fact that the bulk of the team's points will come from captured shrines. A team's victory is usually not the direct result of mobbing, but more likely due to the team already holding a significant shrine advantage, or from a smaller cap group running the shrines outside of the spotlight.
 * Most importantly, don't just tell the team to split when required. Do it.

A B  N U K E R

This guide presents the possible skills of an Alliance Battles nuker. With powerful Fire Magic spells, fast movement speed and self-heals it can single-handedly capture any shrines.

Professions

 * Elementalist primary is preferred.

Attribute selection

 * Possible highest Fire Magic with headpiece and a superior Fire Magic rune.
 * If there is no attribute spead, take 12+1 Energy Storage (or Fast Casting).
 * Consider 12-10-8 or 12-11-6 attribute spreads based on the skills.

Build construction

 * 3-4 damaging skills
 * 1-2 energy management skill(s)
 * 1 IMS
 * 0-1 self-heal
 * 0-3 other skill(s)

Elite skills
The first step to assemble a nuker is choosing the elite skill. Some elites need different skillsets.


 * One of the most powerful DoTAoE spells, it is able to wipe out an entrie shrine. A common choice because of the relatively low recharge and high effectiveness. Note that NPCs are likely to kite.
 * One of the most powerful DoTAoE spells, it is able to wipe out an entrie shrine. A common choice because of the relatively low recharge and high effectiveness. Note that NPCs are likely to kite.


 * This skill provides a way to nullify your spells' cooldown, making capping faster. Not to be used on players.
 * This skill provides a way to nullify your spells' cooldown, making capping faster. Not to be used on players.


 * A fast-recharging but costly AoE spell which is able to handle both player and non-player characters. Consider using along with Glyph of Lesser Energy and/or Glowing Gaze.
 * A fast-recharging but costly AoE spell which is able to handle both player and non-player characters. Consider using along with Glyph of Lesser Energy and/or Glowing Gaze.

Damage dealing skills
Every nuker's trademark are the area-of-effect spells cast in fast succession.


 * Nearly every worthwhile nuker takes this spell, usually with Glyph of Sacrifice. Prevents kiting and deals high damage.
 * Nearly every worthwhile nuker takes this spell, usually with Glyph of Sacrifice. Prevents kiting and deals high damage.


 * Another common way to inflict damage over time.
 * Another common way to inflict damage over time.


 * Massive damage but expensive. Can be used against other players.
 * Massive damage but expensive. Can be used against other players.


 * Ranged spell that is able to hit nearby foes when used right.
 * Ranged spell that is able to hit nearby foes when used right.


 * A more simple version of Meteor Shower. Does not deal damage over time but much cheaper. Used in conjunction with Savannah Heat to keep players/NPC in AoE.
 * A more simple version of Meteor Shower. Does not deal damage over time but much cheaper. Used in conjunction with Savannah Heat to keep players/NPC in AoE.

IMS skills
Increased movement speed skills are needed to move between shrines and avoid other players while doing so.


 * Speed boost for you and your allies with minor self heal too.
 * Speed boost for you and your allies with minor self heal too.


 * A relatively good IMS that deals additional damage.
 * A relatively good IMS that deals additional damage.


 * Similar to Flame Djinn's Haste but lasts full duration even with no investment. Prevents energy regeneration though.
 * Similar to Flame Djinn's Haste but lasts full duration even with no investment. Prevents energy regeneration though.


 * A simple no attribute running stance. Ideal to use with Shadow Walk.
 * A simple no attribute running stance. Ideal to use with Shadow Walk.

Self-heals
Self-heals are needed when you encounter other players or something goes wrong.
 * High health regeneration.
 * High health regeneration.


 * A spell with fast casting, provides high armor and health regeneration.
 * A spell with fast casting, provides high armor and health regeneration.


 * A rather potent selfheal as long as you keep casting.
 * A rather potent selfheal as long as you keep casting.


 * Lets you heal allies as well as yourself, although easier to interrupt than Mystic Regeneration.
 * Lets you heal allies as well as yourself, although easier to interrupt than Mystic Regeneration.

Energy Management

 * Taking this spell is a must.
 * Taking this spell is a must.


 * A great way to reduce your spells' energy cost. Not to be used along with Glyph of Sacrifice.
 * A great way to reduce your spells' energy cost. Not to be used along with Glyph of Sacrifice.


 * Minor damage and energy gain, might be useful with Searing Flames.
 * Minor damage and energy gain, might be useful with Searing Flames.


 * Heals for up to 4x the energy cost of your spells.
 * Heals for up to 4x the energy cost of your spells.

Other skills
A several skills that don't belong to the previous categories.


 * Highly recommended to take along with Meteor Shower.
 * Highly recommended to take along with Meteor Shower.


 * Can be used to increase your spells' effectiveness.
 * Can be used to increase your spells' effectiveness.


 * A defensive skill to counter physicals.
 * A defensive skill to counter physicals.

Equipment selection

 * Survivor insignias
 * Insightful Staff of Fortitude
 * 40/40 set

General usage

 * Approach the shrine.
 * Cast your spells in order.
 * Keep your enchantments up.
 * Use your IMS when moving between the shrines.

Build and Usage
The essential element of solo capping is using an appropriate build. Because the player will be by themselves most of the time, builds should possess reasonable survivability (through self-healing or health regeneration), high mobility (constant speed boosts) and the ability to eliminate the NPCs guarding each shrine. Usually the build will focus on high-damaging AoE spells or attacks like Meteor Shower, Searing Flames or Spiteful Spirit but long ranged attacks used with flatbow or longbow like Burning Arrow are able to take off guards one by one until the shrine is empty without any damage dealt to you. Also Moebius-spamming and Feast of Corruption builds are used for solo capping.

Tactics
As with regular capping teams, the solo capper must avoid combat and focus on running to the next shrine. This is especially important for the solo capper, because a single capper will not be able to take on full teams or mobs.

Ideally, the capper should approach shrines that have no enemy players and are only guarded by the NPCs. The exact method of eliminating the shrine defenders varies with the build being used, but in general the player should be able to unleash all of their offensive skills to quickly eliminate the shrine defenders.

Shrines can have several defenders standing adjacent to each other, so most AoE skills will be devastating to the group. Shrines defended by Warriors can be difficult due to the Warriors running out to engage. The Elementalist shrines are also very dangerous due to high-damage spells cast by the defenders. The Melee defense shrines and Elemental defense shrines should be taken down carefully or with other team members if your build refers to using skills that those shrines defend against.

Example solo builds

 * E/any SH Elementalist (take meteor to trap them in AoE)
 * E/P SF Capper
 * R/any PvP Apply Poison