Archive:D/A Dark Silence Runner

Running from Beacon's Perch to Droknar's Forge has never been easier than with this Dervish build following the Vow of Silence approach. It is almost impossible to ruin this run with this build providing well-balanced running with back-up healing spells, and teleporting. This build can serve as a framework for other Dervish running builds as well and is, with slight modifications, usable around whole areas of Guild Wars including Prophecies, Factions, Nightfall and Eye of the North.

Skills & Attributes
[build prof=D/A sha=10 win=9+1 earthp=9+1+1 mys=8+1][Harrier's Haste][Dark Escape][Dash][Fleeting Stability][Mystic Regeneration][Vital Boon][Death's Charge][Vow of Silence][/build]

Insignias & Runes

 * Stalwart Insignia for all your Armor parts, which gives +10 (vs. physical damage).
 * Radiant Insignia for all your Armor parts, which gives extra energy. Recommended for the Superior Teleporting variant of the build.
 * Rune of Major or Superior Vigor
 * Rune of Restoration (Reduces the duration of Bleeding, and Crippled by 20%.)

Weapons
Note: A Stance Shield is recommended, for you will nearly be 100% of your time in a Stance.
 * Any one-handed weapon with +5 Energy, and +20% longer Enchantments: Totem Axe, Rajazan's Fervor, etc.
 * A +20 En staff w/ 20% longer Enchantments for Superior Teleporting (with more than one tele-skill) is recommended, such as Ferverborn Staff or Sadi's Benediction.
 * Either a perfect Stance or Enchanted Shield: Grognar's Defender, Jacqui's Aegis, etc.

Running Sequence

 * Use your Dash in-between Harrier's Haste and Dark Escape for a near-continuous running sequence:
 * ,, , , , , , etc.

Note: This is the only way to keep up the running stances continuously. It further adds great de-aggro potential due to the number of used running skills (3), and the short duration of some of them (Dash). The more running skills you activate in a shorter time frame the better the deaggroing.
 * Use Dash to run over Barbed Traps without igniting them.

Healing
Note #1: Make use of the foes' ability to strip enchantments. If you want to get stripped and healed, then use Vital Boon. Pay attention to its casting time, though. When Vital Boon ends, you get healed by the spell itself, but you also get +3 Energy for each faded-out enchantment on you (+ some more minor Health).
 * Use Mystic Regeneration, and Vital Boon for healing.
 * Use Vital Boon as main cover spell in order to cover Fleeting Stability, and/or Mystic Regeneration.
 * Use Dark Escape for halving the damage taken. This is crucial for some parts, and is especially comfortable at Snake Dance with all the groups of Tundra Giants, at Talus Chute, or at Lornar's Pass.
 * Use Death's Charge to teleport and heal for +100 Health at once.

Note #2: At the Worm Path use Fleeting Stability and Mystic Regeneration as healing backup here. Let Mystic Regeneration vanish completely to get an energy bonus of +3.

Hex-Counter Mechanism
Note: While Vow of Silence (VoS) is on you you cannot cast spells. Pay attention with Fleeting Stability when using VoS, which knocks you down after it's faded out.
 * Use Vow of Silence with 20% longer Enchantments for countering hexes, and spells cast on you. You can uphold it endlessly.
 * It is often recommended to cast Mystic Regeneration and/or Vital Boon if you have time before activating Vow of Silence.

Condition-Counter Mechanism
This build has no direct Anti-Conditioner, such as Mending Touch, Mend Ailment, Purge Conditions, or Contemplation of Purity, for it simply is not necessary and would only waste a skill slot. A direct Anti-Conditioner is only needed for extreme condition runs such as: Copperhammer Mines to Iron Mines of Moladune.
 * Use Dash to run over Barbed Traps without igniting them. With 3 seconds of Dash plan your Anti-Trap rush carefully. Try to cover as much Pinesoul trap space as possible. Remember, the Pinesouls usually put their traps near their spirits, so don't go too near the spirits.
 * Use Death's Charge, and Dark Prison (if you use the alternate build) to teleport over a great distance without even touching the ground.
 * Once you get trapped, don't panic:
 * 1) Activate, , and.
 * 2) Keep up your running skills for further deaggroing. Do not run into more groups and aggro them now.
 * 3) Use Dark Escape for halving the damage on you. Try to avoid melee damage.
 * 4) Run crippled away, and run in circles if there isn't much Escape space.
 * 5) Your Rune of Restoration will make Crippled easier to handle.

Superior Teleporting (Advanced)
This section is especially useful for runners who like to win races against other runners by making use of two teleportation spells. If you use more than one teleport skill, and rely on Dark Prison much, make use of a +20 Energy staff, or else you will run out of energy quickly, even as a Dervish. Teleporting can be especially useful at hard parts of a run, or to just skip a whole passage, or to even use teleportation shortcuts through walls.

Advice for Teleporting

 * Call the target you want to teleport to. This way you can select it even if you lost track of it by pressing .
 * You will almost always get teleported behind the chosen target.
 * When you teleport to Ice Golems make sure you do not move after the teleport or else Water Trident will hit you and knock you down. Cast Vow of Silence as soon as possible.
 * Once you are stuck and surrounded by enemies, use a teleport skill to escape from this grave danger situation.

Advantageous Situations

 * Worm Tunnel: Cast your usual Enchantments, and target a far away Avicara Guile.
 * Troll Tunnel: Teleport to the farthermost Mountain troll being outside of the cave.
 * This makes running much safer even with lag (-> International Districts).
 * Golem Passages: Activate Mystic Regeneration. Use Death's Charge, Vow of Silence, and a running stance of your choice. Do not fear to teleport into masses of Ice Golems and Pinesouls. Use Dash to cover a trappy area after that. The Ice Golems will hit you with Water Trident once, then you already have Vow of Silence up.

Ice Imps
Note: Before the big aggro patch you had to rezone if a Follower spawn occurred when you couldn't get around them, and had to pass through them. Meant was an Avicara group with Guiles at the very beginning of Lornar's Pass. They seemed to not deaggro throughout the run. However this has been fixed. No Avicara, not even a Guile will be following you now for long.
 * Activate Mystic Regeneration, and Vow of Silence. If accompanied by Pinesouls, use Dash to sprint over traps without activating them.
 * Ice Imps deaggro rather quickly.

Worm Tunnel
Note: Vital Boon shall cover Fleeting Stability here. Alternatively, you can use Vow of Silence to cover everything here. But beware that you are not able to cast while under VoS. This method is recommended for the alternate Dervish build because this build misses one cover enchantment.
 * In approaching the Worm Tunnel wall-walk on the right side.
 * Cast Fleeting Stability when waiting for the Ice Imp Patrol to return.
 * At the entrance of the tunnel: Cast Fleeting Stability, Mystic Regeneration, and Vital Boon (in this order).
 * Avicara Guile can use Strip Enchantment. However, they cannot strip Vow of Silence with it.
 * It is possible to use Death's Charge in the tunnel on a far away Avicara Guile (because he doesn't do melee damage).
 * After you passed the tunnel itself recast Fleeting Stability one more time. The worm can (re)spawn in the groups of Ice Golems, too.

Groups of Ice Golems

 * Use Vow of Silence to get past them.
 * Recast Vow of Silence if needed! If you don't need it, don't waste time standing still and casting spells, or heal yourself. Only heal yourself when it is really necessary.

Troll Tunnel

 * Use a teleport skill on the farthermost Mountain Troll here to avoid getting stuck in a body-block.

Worm Path
Attention: Do not let Fleeting Stability fade out, because it knocks you down then, and you are vulnerable to knock-downs for some seconds. Try to dash away if this happens.
 * Cast Fleeting Stability after the Mountain Bridge.
 * There is a safe rest place to let the group of Grawls which can put you in grave danger pass by (see picture).
 * At the end of the Worm Path you will face a group of Grawls. Follow the Feint-tactics.
 * Recast Fleeting Stability. Use Dash and sprint to the right as feint. Now immediately ignite Harrier's Haste or Dark Escape and escape to the left side, and keep on running.
 * If Golems and Pinesouls spawn shortly after the Worm Path, make sure you have a new Fleeting Stability up and teleport to the nearest Ice Golem and cast Vow of Silence. By doing this, you can deaggro the Grawls, and avoid most other damage including traps by Pinesouls.

Ice Golem Path
Make sure Fleeting Stability has already faded out. Which way now:
 * 1) Situation #1: I recommend using the way where you aggro no Ice Golems and only run through Grawls. This doesn't happen very often though.
 * 2) Situation #2: Run through Ice Golems and Pinesouls. Use the usual Ice Golem sequence here.
 * 3) Situation #3: Cast Mystic Regeneration. Teleport to the nearest Ice Golem and cast Vow of Silence. Especially useful for the alternate build because you can teleport to a Grawl after VoS has ended.

Dreadnought's Drift
Attention: If Heretics and Ice Golems spawn at one place here, and you cannot avoid them, it may be better to rezone. Simply run back, apply the full VoS sequence to pass the Heretics and rezone. Although, it is possible to survive a Heretics and Ice Golem spawn with a Dervish for an advanced runner why risk it?!
 * Use the right way.
 * Cast Mystic Regeneration, and Vital Boon, and Death's Charge to the furthermost Stone Summit.

Snake Dance

 * Use Fleeting Stability to go past the Tundra Giants that knock you down. Use Mystic Regeneration, and Vital Boon at will. Use teleportation skills at will.
 * For an utmost safe run rezone at Grenth's Footprint. By doing this you activate a near-by Rez shrine.

Troll Cave

 * 1) Situation #1: No Ice Golems - teleport to the farthermost Mountain Troll.
 * 2) Situation #2: With Ice Golems - either teleport and VoS then or lure some Mountain Trolls out of the Troll Cave.
 * Back yourself up with Healing spells at will.

Talus Chute

 * Use Vital Boon, Fleeting Stability, and Mystic Regeneration (in this order).
 * Apply Vow of Silence if the Necro Azure, or the Mesmer Azure boss spawns.
 * Recast Fleeting Stability after the second group of Azures spawned.
 * Use Vow of Silence together with Mystic Regeneration to run through the groups of Avicara.

Variants

 * can replace Vital Boon for Advanced Teleporting (see above).
 * can replace Harrier's Haste as further enchantment-canceling, and 33% speed boost stance. The Wind Prayers attribution points can be distributed somewhere else then. However, be aware that Pious Haste ends Enchantments, which might get in conflict with Vow of Silence, and Fleeting Stability. Always make sure that you let the right Enchantment end with Pious Haste.
 * can replace Vital Boon for constant bonus regeneration while using Mystic Regeneration or for an automatically triggered emergency heal when your health drops below 50%. Beware of the constant stripping character of this run which turns this skill into an inferior choice if not handled properly.
 * can be considered for this build for running other parts of the Southern Shiverpeaks when you are in fear of getting trapped. Note that this is an enchantment, and thus to cast Vow of Silence after having cast Featherfoot Grace. For condition-heavy runs, a rune of Restoration and an Anti-Cripple Shield can help as much.
 * can be used as a replacement for Harrier's Haste. It lasts longer, and has a higher speed bonus. The biggest disadvantage is the long recharge (exactly the same as the duration at 10 Wind Prayers).

Video Footage
Below you can find example runs of this build in video form.
 * Lornar's Pass by Feena Chan - Veoh Video (good quality, streaming)


 * Full run x2 unknown runner - YouTube (Low quality)