User:Khomet/Kway Original

Synopsis
I'm calling this team Kway in the tradition of Sabway, Racway, etc. I vanquished everywhere with a team vaguely similar to Racway but found it wanting in a few areas, specifically AoE damage to wipe out mobs quickly. Paragons do not have any form of AoE damage so I found ways to provide it in the form of Splinter Weapon and Volley. I also wanted to have spirits or minions as I have found them to be very helpful in drawing enemy fire. This team gives high dps, constant AoE damage, burning, damage resistance, interrupts, crits, weakness, deep wound, and extra adrenaline for all. Most attacks are unblockable and splinter weapon takes care of mobs quickly. All attackers have permanent IAS. The paragons should have Sundering Shortbows of Fortitude with 15>50 inscriptions, the ritualist should have a Hale Staff of Enchanting (+30 health, +20% enchantments, +5 energy). Centurion or Survivor insignias preferred for the paragons, shaman's or survivor or radiant insignia for the ritualist.

Advantages vs. Racway:
 * AoE damage with Volley while attacking at nearly the same speed
 * AoE damage from Splinter Weapon
 * Faster adrenaline gain thanks to Volley and Anthem of Fury
 * Many attacks unblockable thanks to Anthem of Guidance
 * Spirits draw enemy fire, add to dps, deliver conditions, damage and interrupts

Advantages vs. melee teams:
 * All team members stay in the ward and shout zone to gain maximum benefit from them
 * Not affected by crippled, snares, kiting, etc.
 * Can switch targets instantly

Thanks to MasterSasori, Daesu, HigherMinion and Smarty from Guild Wars Guru for help in optimizing the team against areas with many hexes and conditions.

Team Build

 * Player: P/W   Imbagon (standard or variant)
 * Hero 1: P/R   Volley Commander
 * Hero 2: P/Me  Hex Eater paragon  or  P/R  Volley Leader
 * Hero 3: Rt/N  SoS/Splinter/Orders


 * Henchmen: barrage ranger, mesmer or elementalist, healer, healer
 * Other player: sabway and discordway have good synergy

Imbagon
[build prof=P/W name="Guardian" spear=11+1+1 command=8+1 leadership=11+1][anthem of weariness][spear of fury][wild throw][save yourselves][ebon battle standard of honor][make your time][focused anger][aggressive refrain][/build] My variant of the Imbagon. Instant SY, more damage, stance removal, no TNTF. Use standard imbagon if you prefer. Please see http://pvx.wikia.com/User:Khomet/Guardian for a more detailed description of this build.

Volley Commander
[build prof=P/R name="Volley paragon (LC hybrid)" marksmanship=12 command=8+1+1 leadership=9+1 motivation=5][Volley][Crossfire][Anthem of Disruption][Song of Purification][Anthem of Envy]["Find Their Weakness!"][Aggressive Refrain][Signet of Return][/build] [build prof=P/R name="Volley paragon (LC hybrid)" marksmanship=12 command=9+1+1 leadership=9+1][Volley][Crossfire][Anthem of Disruption][Anthem of Guidance][Anthem of Envy]["Find Their Weakness!"][Aggressive Refrain][Signet of Return][/build] Leadership/Command hybrid; delivers AoE damage with Volley which also serves to build adrenaline quickly. Uses Command shouts and anthems to buff the team. If expecting many conditions, bring Song of Purification variant; if not, bring Anthem of Guidance. Other variants: exchange Crossfire for Distracting Shot or Called Shot.

Hex Eater paragon
[build prof=P/Me name="Hex Eater paragon" spear=11+1 leadership=11+1+1 inspiration=8][Swift Javelin][Vicious Attack][Anthem of Fury][Hexbreaker Aria][Hex Eater Signet][Burning Refrain][Aggressive Refrain][Signet of Return][/build] [build prof=P/Me name="Hex Eater paragon" spear=12+1 leadership=10+1+1 inspiration=8][Swift Javelin][Vicious Attack][Hexbreaker Aria][Expel Hexes][Hex Eater Signet][Burning Refrain][Aggressive Refrain][Signet of Return][/build] The Hex Eater paragon has two forms of mass hex removal, does good damage with spear attacks and carries Anthem of Fury to buff the entire team or Expel Hexes for even more hex removal. If there are no significant hexes in the target area consider taking the P/R volley leader shown below. Other variants: exchange Burning Refrain for Anthem of Flame or Blazing Finale.

Volley Leader
[build prof=P/R name="Volley paragon (Leadership)" marksmanship=12 command=3+1 leadership=12+1+1][Volley][Crossfire][Anthem of Fury][Hexbreaker Aria]["Go for the Eyes!"][Burning Refrain][Aggressive Refrain][Signet of Return][/build] Leadership paragon; delivers AoE damage with Volley which also serves to build adrenaline quickly. Uses Leadership shouts and anthems to buff the team. Variants: exchange Crossfire for Distracting Shot or Called Shot; exchange Burning Refrain for Anthem of Flame or Blazing Finale; exchange Hexbreaker Aria for "They're On Fire!".

SoS/Splinter/Orders
[build prof=Rt/N name="SoS Orders" blood=10 channeling=12+1+1 spawning=8][Splinter Weapon][Order of Pain][Strip Enchantment][Signet of Spirits][Bloodsong][Agony][Spirit Siphon][Boon of Creation][/build] Delivers armor ignoring damage to the team with Order of Pain, Splinter Weapon, and spirits. Also strips enchantments. Strip Enchantment can be replaced with other useful skills such as Blood Ritual or Dark Fury. I find that the team doesn't really need Dark Fury and the ritualist's energy management is better without it.

Additional Characters
Consider filling empty character slots with any of the following, each is good in their own way. As mentioned above, Sabway or Discordway teams have good synergy and make an excellent choice for the other half of the party.

[build prof=E/N blood=10 fire=11+2+1 energy=10+1][Glyph of Lesser Energy][Order of Pain][Strip Enchantment][Searing Flames][Immolate][Glowing Gaze][Aura of Restoration][Fire Attunement][/build] Replace SoS/Orders ritualist with a Searing Flames Orders nuker. This gives constant burning which reduces damage to the team when combined with "They're On Fire!", but we lose Splinter Weapon and the spirit damage.

[build prof=E/N blood=10 curses=11 energy=10+2+1][Order of Pain][Dark Fury][Barbs][Mark of Pain][Strip Enchantment][Awaken the Blood][Aura of Restoration][Ether Renewal][/build] Replace SoS/Orders ritualist with an Ether Renewal Orders/Curses hybrid. This gives good single target damage from Barbs and AoE damage from Mark of Pain but we lose damage from Splinter Weapon and the spirits.

[build prof=N/Rt channeling=10 death=12+2+1 soulreaping=8+1][Splinter Weapon][Aura of the Lich][Animate Bone Minions][Death Nova][Putrid Bile][Signet of Lost Souls][Foul Feast][Infuse Condition][/build] Replace SoS/Orders ritualist with a minion bomber. This gives armor ignoring AoE damage with Splinter Weapon and Death Nova and condition removal with Foul Feast.

[build prof=N/Mo death=12+2+1 soulreaping=12+1][Martyr][Animate Bone Minions][Animate Shambling Horror][Death Nova][Putrid Bile][Signet of Lost Souls][Signet of Sorrow][Infuse Condition][/build] Replace SoS/Orders ritualist with a minion bomber. This gives armor ignoring AoE damage with Death Nova and party-wide condition removal with Martyr.

Benefits for physical damage dealers

 * Anthem of Envy (+21 damage)
 * Anthem of Fury (+4 adrenaline)
 * Anthem of Disruption (interrupts)
 * Anthem of Guidance (unblockable)
 * Anthem of Weariness (weakness)
 * Burning Refrain (causes burning on every hit if conditions are met)
 * Go For The Eyes (more critical hits)
 * Ebon Battle Standard of Honor (+15 damage per attack)
 * Order of Pain (+12 damage per attack, multiple attacks with Volley)
 * Splinter Weapon (mass AoE damage, multiple simultaneous hits with Volley)
 * Save Yourselves (+100 armor to all other party members)
 * Song of Purification (mass condition removal)
 * Hexbreaker Aria (mass hex removal)
 * Hex Eater Signet (mass hex removal)

Benefits for casters

 * Ebon Battle Standard of Honor (+15 damage per damage packet)
 * Save Yourselves (+100 armor to all other party members)
 * Song of Purification (mass condition removal)
 * Hexbreaker Aria (mass hex removal)
 * Hex Eater Signet (mass hex removal)

Damage Comparison
Tested against Master of Damage with only the four characters listed here, no consumables, and not optimizing against Master of Damage (some skills in the build are useless against him, like Strip Enchantment and Anthem of Disruption). Damage is obviously greater with four additional characters especially another human player with heroes. Also note that Master of Damage does not calculate conditions, nor does he calculate splash damage to adjacent or nearby targets; remember that volley, splinter weapon, mark of pain and searing flames are damaging everything around in addition to the listed single target damage.


 * ~160 dps sustained with paragons and SoS/Splinter/Orders
 * ~133 dps with paragons and Searing Flames Orders
 * ~131 dps with paragons and Ether Renewal Orders/Curses hybrid