Archive:D/A Mystic Speeder

The Mystic Speeder was created with one concept in mind: The ability to withstand absurd amounts of punishment without sacrificing speed or utility. The build uses the Eye of the North skill Signet of Mystic Speed not only to run faster, but also allows the use of the stance Conviction to add extra armor. With a combination of Vow of Silence and Fleeting Stability as well as shadow stepping this build has great utility. With both interventions and Mystic Regeneration this build has excellent healing over time, as well as effective "safety nets" in case you get hit too strongly. While Originally created for running from Beacon's Perch to Droknar's Forge, variants of this build allow you to run through many areas in Prophecies, Factions, Nightfall, and in Eye of the North, including the difficult run to Marhan's Grotto through Ice Dome.

Attributes and Skills
[build prof=D/A earthp=11+1+1 Mys=10+2 Win=10+1 sha=1][Signet of Mystic Speed][Conviction][Death's Charge][Vow of Silence][Fleeting Stability][Mystic Regeneration][Watchful Intervention][Faithful Intervention][/build]

Runes and Insignias

 * Any set of max armor will do. It is highly advisable to use Windwalker's Insignias, or at the very least Blessed Insignias.
 * The best vigor rune you have available, or can afford.
 * Rune of Restoration is always good for the runner without "I Am Unstoppable!"

Weapons

 * A shield with a "Sheltered by Faith" inscription and a shield handle of devotion is advised.
 * A one handed weapon with an enchantment bonus is highly recommended. A Totem Axe is perfect for this.

Usage

 * As soon as you load, cast Faithful Intervention, and Watchful Intervention.
 * Refresh Faithful Intervention(if needed) when you are in a safe area. Refresh Watchful Intervention at every safe area, unless you know that there will be a safe area within its remaining duration (for beginners, always refresh it).
 * Use Signet of Mystic Speed constantly. To lessen, if not avoid the aftercast delay, strafe for a fraction of a second after its usage and then continue on.
 * Constantly maintain Conviction for a decent armor bonus, and damage reduction.

General casting sequences

 * Use Mystic Regeneration when only facing physical damage foes without knockdown.
 * Use this spell sequence when running through areas with casters:


 * Use this spell sequence for running through areas with knockdown and casters


 * Use this spell sequence for running through areas with knockdown

Usage of Shadow Steps
Death's Charge serves several purposes.
 * First, and most importantly, it serves as an escape mechanism useful for countering body blocking. This is highly relevant in the troll caves where there is no place to go around the trolls.
 * Secondly it allows for an increased overall run speed by completely removing segments of the run.
 * Third, it is an effective means of breaking aggro. Typically, foes will break aggro when a shadow step is used to quickly get farther away from them.  Also, some foes exhibit odd behaviors when shadow steps are used to move to them, often not even chasing you provided that you are under the effects of a speed bonus.

Counters

 * Cripple is extremely problematic. To avoid getting crippled try to avoid groups of Pinesouls when possible.
 * Body Blocking can be an issue. To avoid body blocking, try to go around foes rather than through them.  In situations like the caves with trolls, the proper use of Death's Charge can help avoid getting blocked.

Variants
There are two general variants for the build. One sacrifices faithful intervention for hex removal, and the other sacrifices knockdown prevention. Both swap out a shadow step for condition removal. [build prof=D/Mo earthp=11+1+1 Mys=10+2 Win=10+1 prot=1][Signet of Mystic Speed][Conviction][Mending Touch][Vow of Silence][Fleeting Stability][Mystic Regeneration][Watchful Intervention][Holy Veil][/build] This variant allows a dervish to run from Droknar's Forge to Mahran's Grotto via the route through Ice Dome. This is not an easy run. This build allows easy navigation of Frozen Forest.

[build prof=D/Mo earthp=11+1+1 Mys=10+2 Win=10+1 prot=1][Signet of Mystic Speed][Conviction][Mending Touch][Vow of Silence][Holy Veil][Mystic Regeneration][Watchful Intervention][Faithful Intervention][/build] For all other shiverpeak runs, this build is slightly better, however the interventions will seldom trigger due to the moderate damage on shiverpeak runs, so it is not absolutely necessary to change from the first build to the second.

Notes and Videos

 * This build is able to complete the forge run in hard mode. While of little relative use due to potential buyers usually being unable to access hard mode, runners looking for a challenge may find this entertaining.
 * A video demonstration of the run in hard mode may be found here. The original, unedited video may downloaded from a link given in the description of each video, however please be aware that they are stored on a privately run file server which, as such, is subject to downtime, as well as downloads that may take some time to complete.