Archive:E/A Sliver Boss Farmer

This build utilizes the elite Shadow Arts skill Shadow Form and the earth magic skill Sliver Armor to quickly take down bosses that are accompanied by medium/large mobs to efficiently farm their green items.

Attributes and skills
[build prof=eleme/assas earth=12+1+3 shado=12 energy=3+3][Shadow Form][Death's Charge][Ebon Battle Standard of Honor][Sliver Armor]["By Ural's Hammer!"][Intensity][Obsidian Flame][Dark Escape][/build]

Equipment

 * Armor with Radiant Insignia
 * Enchantments last 20% longer weapon. However, at 16 Earth Magic and 12 Shadow Arts, a 15%-19% upgrade will also provide the same extended durations for Sliver Armor and Shadow Form as a 20% upgrade.
 * Arius' Sai or Chimor's Daggers are recommended Daggers.
 * Galigord's Stone Staff is a recommended Staff.
 * Totem Axe/Rajazan's Fervor + Galigord's Stone Scroll are also recommended. Earth Scrolls with identical stats as Galigord's can be found at Collector Ohtah in the Undercity (5 Plague Idols) or Collector Denos Makaluum in Vasburg Armory (5 Stone Horns). Droajam's Storm is also very similar to Galigord's Stone Scroll (and may be preferable depending on what you are farming).

Usage

 * Run to the boss using Dark Escape, or, for the most difficult runs (even if longer with this method), a group of henchmen. When you arrive next to the boss send them away from radar range.
 * When you are just out of aggro, activate Shadow Form and use Death's Charge to teleport in. Usually aggroing before teleporting in makes enemies clump together, giving Sliver Armor less of a chance to target the boss.
 * Activate Ebon Battle Standard of Honor.
 * Then activate Sliver Armor followed by Intensity and "By Ural's Hammer!". Make sure you are closer to the boss than anything else, or you will not kill it! If Sliver Armor ends up targeting the wrong foe, try stepping away and then back to the boss, this will often give you the desired effect.
 * Spam Obsidian Flame on recharge.
 * Just after the boss is dead, activate Shadow Form and use the speed buffs to run away to safety. You can use Shadow Form again since Morale Boosts recharges all skills.

Counters

 * Shadow Form doesn't protect against signets, touch skills, traps and Area of Effect damage, but you can not be the target of AoE damage.
 * Shadow Form will be removed by foes using Expunge Enchantments.
 * A Dervish boss with Intimidating Aura and Chilling Victory will hit through and remove Shadow Form. Even though the initial attack will miss, the conditional damage will hit, thus triggering Intimidating Aura and removing your most recent enchantment. Bring a Cover Enchantment like Aura of Restoration and cast it AFTER Shadow Form and Sliver Armor.

Variants

 * Obsidian Flame and Dark Escape may be switched out for other skills, depending on what you are farming.


 * When fighting Warrior bosses, such as Sunreach Warmaker, it helps to use Rust so that his Healing Signet takes 2 times as long to cast. To do this, though, you will be required to take one point off of Energy Storage and put it into Water Magic.


 * Caltrops is useful against bosses who attempt to flee when heavily damaged.


 * Feigned Neutrality and/or Shadow Refuge is useful against groups which have mobs with touch skills which penetrate Shadow Form and is also required for the run to some bosses.


 * You may also use Shock, Aftershock, & Teinai's Crystals in that order. Shock is a great interrupt on many bosses who cast their healing spells first to negate Sliver Armor.


 * Shadow of Haste serves to give you an emergency out and is particularly useful when learning the build, taking the 'error' out of 'trial and error'. This serves particularly well when attempting to master a series of difficult bosses in a single run, such as the monk-mesmer-elementalist-necro constructs in Sunjiang District Explorable.  Be warned - the speed boost offered by the skill makes pulling groups more difficult.


 * See variant Archive:E/A Gloom Farmer for farming gemstones in Gloom.


 * Elemental Lord.


 * Crystal Wave or Teinai's Crystals


 * You Move Like a Dwarf! is a great knockdown/interrupt. It also doubles as a snare for bosses that like to run.


 * Finish Him! is great to not only lower the boss's high AL, but deal a quick bit of damage and deep wound.

List of soloable bosses
The list of bosses currently soloable with this build can be found here.

A list of bosses soloable before the Shadow Form nerf can be found here.