Archive:R/Me Feral Totem Axe Farmer

This is a different build that a Ranger can use on the Totem Axe Farm run. It uses various skills from Beast Mastery to get to the Root Behemoths, and kill them for the Totem Axe. This build has the advantage of being able to kill Wind Riders very fast and can also kill the groups of Wind Riders in The Falls that drop the Forgotten Fan.

Attributes and Skills
[build prof=Ranger/Mesmer beastmastery=10+1+3 expertise=10+1 Marksmanship=11+1 Inspirationmagic=1][Feral Lunge][Optional][Rapid Fire][Feral Aggression] [Call of Protection][Heal As One][Run As One][Mantra of Resolve][/build]

Equipment

 * Radiant Insignia armor
 * A max damage longbow and/or flatbow, preferably something like the Forgotten Longbow. A max damage bow that deals fire damage also comes in handy.
 * A sword/spear/axe with +30 health, and a shield with +45 health and -2 damage in a stance is HIGHLY recommended.
 * You MUST have a pet that deals slashing damage.
 * The pet used in this build when testing was Dire, but it should be possible to use Elder pets.

Usage

 * Getting to the The Falls:
 * Leave from Ventari's Refuge. Set your pet to passive(heel), and use Call of Protection whenever you enter an area. Use Run As One to run past the mobs of enemies.
 * If your pet gets stuck in a mob anywhere between Ventari's and the The Falls, you can leave it be. If the pet dies, your skills will disable for about 3 seconds, which wont affect running.
 * IMPORTANT: If the pet gets stuck in the enemies in the The Falls, you must get it free. This usually is not a problem, since your pet follows closely around the Spiders. If it gets pinned by Jungle trolls, your pet can easily kill them.
 * Travel COUNTERCLOCK-WISE once you get to the place where the Root Behemoths are in The Falls(this means going through the Fount of Maguuma).


 * The Monsters you will face and how to use the build to kill them:
 * Jungle Skale - Aren't really that much of a threat if the group does not have Sewp the Darktooth in it (In which case, kill him first). Basically keep up Feral Aggression, Call of Protection and Rapid Fire. Spam Feral Lunge to inflict bleeding and high damage, use Heal as One when necesary.


 * Root Behemoths - Get within longbow range of the Behemoth and set your pet to aggressive on it, and then attack it after you've casted Rapid Fire. Keep up Feral Aggression and Rapid Fire and spam Feral Lunge. Heal As One when necesary. NOTE: the pet will NOT make the Life Pods pop up.


 * Life Pods - Since you have your pet with you, the Life Pods will use Holy Wrath, but this is not an issue. When fighting them (preferably take out your Firey bow), Send your pet at one and keep attacking at the same time. It will die pretty quickly. Without a Firey bow that is decently modded(and/or customized)makes groups of 3 Life Pods or more a bit of a hassle, but still completely kill-able. Heal As One as needed.


 * Wind Riders - The harder part of the run. Hit Feral Aggression, Rapid Fire and Mantra of Resolve, then wait a few seconds for your energy to recharge, then send your pet after them. Keep yourself and your pet attacking the ones that are attacking YOU, and switch targets after the one you are attacking is dead. Spam Feral Lunge and keep up Feral Aggression, but do NOT renew Rapid Fire(Since they will try to inturrupt it and drain your energy), use Heal As One as necesary. Run away with Run As One if needed(if Mantra of Resolve gave out and your heal got inturrupted)with the spear and shield if you brought it. If you did this right, you should be able to kill an entire group in one aggro-ing(about 4-5 riders).


 * Wind Rider Bosses - sometimes you will have to kill these, especially if there are Behemoths near the group with the boss, and when at the farming spot for the Forgotten Fan. First, kill all the Wind Riders around the boss, fleeing with Run As One and healing with Heal As One when your health gets low. Once you get the boss alone, it is as easy as Jungle Skale.


 * Farming the groups of Wind Riders for the Forgotten Fan - Near the end of the run, you should see a large group of Wind Riders. These are in fact 5 seperate groups of four, with a center one that usually has a boss in it(which makes five for the center). The four groups patrol around the slope, and they stop at a specific part of the triangle patrol. This is where you should be. When a patrol stops in the corner, make sure your pet is still set to passive(heel), and fire your longbow to pull the group. Walk backwards some to get the patrol away from the other patrols and set your pet to aggressive on the nearest Wind Rider. Follow the instructions under Wind Riders. After all the patrols are dead, Follow the instructions under Wind Rider Bosses to kill the last group.

If your pet happens to die somehow, Resurrect it with Heal As One.

Counters

 * Two Wind Rider bosses carry Ice Spikes, Fryn Rageflame and Hoss Rainswell(Hoss is not a monk and does not use Healing Breeze from experience), which can potentially snare you long enough for the other Wind Riders to kill you.
 * One Wind Rider boss, Vizz Vexflume, carries Empathy, and while it isn't such a major threat to your pet due to Call of Protection, it can kill you if you attack much while under it. If you get it on you, use the pet to attack only.
 * Wind Riders in general can kill you if you aren't careful.
 * Sewp the Darktooth's mob can kill you with to heavy degeneration from Life Siphon and Rotting Flesh. Don't let your health go below 50% or they will use Defile Flesh.

Variants

 * Savage Pounce for Feral Lunge if you think that it might help vs. Life Pods and Wind Riders.
 * May be possible to lower Expertise down for more Marksmanship or Beast Mastery.
 * Swap Rapid Fire and Feral Aggression for Read the Wind and Never Rampage Alone. This combination has slightly less DPS but provides up to 3 health regeneration for more relaxed farming of the Wind Riders.