To all active RvR Armsmans on excal...

[-Lotheric-]

This thread is for all the highly active RvR Armsmans on Excal. I play on Prydwen and RvR a lot with my Armsman, but I’m a bit puzzled on how to spec after we get patch 1.65. I’m currently full Polearm/Thrust spec and I’m happy with my dmg. Having 1 merc and 1 poler assisting the MA merc is very effective. But tbh I don’t like the changes on Polearms styles we get in upcoming patches. Although we get crafted 5.7spd partisans which will be nice, but the growth rate on some style is changed as well as some dmg is lowered. We can now stun from behind though which finally gives us a way to stun enemies in RvR without having to spec hybrid for Slam.

I’m thinking of respeccing to 2-handed and Crush since the 2-handed styles gets a boost. I really like the snare/stun rear chain they get in next patch. There is also a 5.7 spd crusher from Sidi which I can get fairly easy. Also Crush is neutral to all mid armour types which is good since the huge amount of mids on our server ^^

So, I don’t know if I should stay Polearm or give 2-handed a try. You Armsmans on excal got any thoughts to share about how you gonna spec after 1.65?

Thanks in advance.

edit: typos.

 

[Arnor]

semi-totally ot, but anyone tried the 441h 50shield 39polearm spec?


should be a good hybrid spec for offense&defense, especially with some rr behind it


edit: this is with autotrain

 

[gunner440]

Originally posted by -Lotheric-
the 2-handed styles gets a boost.

yeah

right..............

its a nerf if u look at it ;>

 

[ilienwyn]

Low weaponskill with pole with that specc Arnor. And also why you need 50shield? If you expect to be attacke to use the style game is pretty much over for group at that point.


As from testing it shows that 39 is pretty much enough in damage type when doing pole or 2h, maybe the hybrid speccs would be again more fotm with something like:
50pole or 2h 42shield 39thrust/slash/crush and rest in parry

Although, I would very much prefer removing that stupid double specc issue. We have to double specc to get one thing while other 2 realms with a single specc get 2 things. Kinda stupid imho...

 

[Ialkarn]

I still can't undestand ppl complaining about pole changes:it look like an uge boost to me.
And about two hands..... they gain a snare rear stile (that's a boost since the one actually in use is a side style) but they losing a anytime 6 sec stun combo for a rear one,if you consider 2h lacks of effective anytimes it's a big handicap to me.

Polearm got an anytime snare this is the only reason a pole tank have right to stay in a group (+sob)cause if you consider damage output a merc outdamage a pole armsman in 4 swings,maybe 3..

 

[gunner440]

Originally posted by Ialkarn
a merc outdamage a pole armsman in 4 swings,maybe 3..

come retire like me !

 

[Flimgoblin]

only need 39-RR in base spec for when using polearm... might want a bit more if you're hybrid and using s/s

Gunz could go 30 slash 30 thrust 50 pole

 

[gunner440]

gunz isnt mine anymore

 

[Arnor]

Originally posted by ilienwyn
Low weaponskill with pole with that specc Arnor. And also why you need 50shield? If you expect to be attacke to use the style game is pretty much over for group at that point.


As from testing it shows that 39 is pretty much enough in damage type when doing pole or 2h, maybe the hybrid speccs would be again more fotm with something like:
50pole or 2h 42shield 39thrust/slash/crush and rest in parry

Although, I would very much prefer removing that stupid double specc issue. We have to double specc to get one thing while other 2 realms with a single specc get 2 things. Kinda stupid imho...

50shield for guard, fuck the pally, use end-regen pots.

 

[ilienwyn]

2mins duration for end regen pots? And you can do good guard with 42shield too. 42 to 50 is only increase of 4%. Get one level higher mob and you are ok...

 

[Arnor]

Originally posted by ilienwyn
2mins duration for end regen pots? And you can do good guard with 42shield too. 42 to 50 is only increase of 4%. Get one level higher mob and you are ok...

hmph, but 50 shield aer pwn!

ok then, but dont come crying to me when I hit through your sorry paladins guard xD

 

[Asha]

Originally posted by Arnor
50shield for guard, fuck the pally, use end-regen pots.

would you run w/o a shamie?
mids don't do it even tho gay savages don't exactly need it
ok, they have disease too
but it would be very hard for support classes to run w/o end and we use pots already for power thx

 

[gunner440]

Originally posted by Asha
would you run w/o a shamie?
mids don't do it even tho gay savages don't exactly need it
ok, they have disease too
but it would be very hard for support classes to run w/o end and we use pots already for power thx

wise words from asha

remember them and u cant go wrong

 

[Arnor]

Originally posted by Asha
would you run w/o a shamie?
mids don't do it even tho gay savages don't exactly need it
ok, they have disease too
but it would be very hard for support classes to run w/o end and we use pots already for power thx

shammy != pally


just tryin to think outside the box ^^

 

[Asha]

I didn't say pala = shamie
...

 

[Ialkarn]

Originally posted by Arnor
semi-totally ot, but anyone tried the 441h 50shield 39polearm spec?


should be a good hybrid spec for offense&defense, especially with some rr behind it


edit: this is with autotrain

omg

/slap Arnor

 

[Kagato.]

I currently have the exact same spec as you, 50 pole, 50 thrust and 28 parry, I mostly solo (even as an Armsman) or fight in small no-full groups.

And to be honest I utterly agree no matter how you look at it the polearm changes are a huge nerf, our anytime chain now forces us to use Mangle which is simply a more costly version of Disabler to use, our best dueling chain is ruined and now useless, after all , why on earth would you want to use Poleaxe after Rage? Its less damage and 3 times the endurance cost or more, using Poleaxe would be counter productive, i'd much rather hit them with Rage again. And sure we can now use Revenge after Phalanx, its just going to take us maybe 10 seconds to finally land the damn stun on a running enemy, assuming you manage to keep up with them.
But whats the point? We already have a nice style with a long duration heavy snare on it, so what becomes of Aegis? Will anyone actually use this style again? It becomes worthless as stated in the latest Armsman TL report, and this is our level 50 style.

What this basically means is Armsman can no longer solo or stand a chance in duels and are now forced to group to reach any potential, good for some groupers maybe but what it means is we no longer even have the OPTION anymore.

Personally, as it says in my sig, im probably going to respec 50 crossbow for a laugh and then quit the game unless something in the TL reports gives some new hope.

 

[-Lotheric-]

Ialkarn>>> What's your current spec and do you consider changing it in next patch we get?

 

[old.TeaSpoon]

Originally posted by Kagato.
I currently have the exact same spec as you, 50 pole, 50 thrust and 28 parry, I mostly solo (even as an Armsman) or fight in small no-full groups.

And to be honest I utterly agree no matter how you look at it the polearm changes are a huge nerf, our anytime chain now forces us to use Mangle which is simply a more costly version of Disabler to use, our best dueling chain is ruined and now useless, after all , why on earth would you want to use Poleaxe after Rage? Its less damage and 3 times the endurance cost or more, using Poleaxe would be counter productive, i'd much rather hit them with Rage again. And sure we can now use Revenge after Phalanx, its just going to take us maybe 10 seconds to finally land the damn stun on a running enemy, assuming you manage to keep up with them.
But whats the point? We already have a nice style with a long duration heavy snare on it, so what becomes of Aegis? Will anyone actually use this style again? It becomes worthless as stated in the latest Armsman TL report, and this is our level 50 style.

What this basically means is Armsman can no longer solo or stand a chance in duels and are now forced to group to reach any potential, good for some groupers maybe but what it means is we no longer even have the OPTION anymore.

Personally, as it says in my sig, im probably going to respec 50 crossbow for a laugh and then quit the game unless something in the TL reports gives some new hope.

I'm with you Kagato. You summed it all up.

Myself, I'm specc'd 48 Pole, 44 Thrust, 25 Parry, 10 Shield and 30xbow. Its a nice spec since Shamans think the can root me, run away and me not do anything. Then panic when I really start hurting them

 

[gunner440]

Originally posted by old.TeaSpoon
I'm specc'd 48 Pole, 44 Thrust, 25 Parry, 10 Shield and 30xbow.

hihihihi


but not as bad as mine ;<

 

[old.TeaSpoon]

Mine may be odd but its not crap. MP xbow and +12xbow = ouchies

 

[Arnor]

Originally posted by Ialkarn
omg

/slap Arnor

ok! sorry sorry!

I was high/drunk/sleeping/posessed/whatever

 

[Ialkarn]

Originally posted by Kagato.

And to be honest I utterly agree no matter how you look at it the polearm changes are a huge nerf, our anytime chain now forces us to use Mangle which is simply a more costly version of Disabler to use

The only anytime you need is crippling blow (snare effect) it got a low cap indeed but it make your target get ganged by the tanks of the group pretty quickly :it's actually more effective than PF since it's an anitime and unless you miss you know exactly what's going to happens next swing,the follow up is usless since you have all the time to get on the back of your target ,face him anddo rear styles,if he faces you the other tanks gonna hit his back.

Originally posted by Kagato.

our best dueling chain is ruined and now useless, after all , why on earth would you want to use Poleaxe after Rage? Its less damage and 3 times the endurance cost or more, using Poleaxe would be counter productive, i'd much rather hit them with Rage again. And sure we can now use Revenge after Phalanx, its just going to take us maybe 10 seconds to finally land the damn stun on a running enemy, assuming you manage to keep up with them.
But whats the point? We already have a nice style with a long duration heavy snare on it, so what becomes of Aegis? Will anyone actually use this style again? It becomes worthless as stated in the latest Armsman TL report, and this is our level 50 style.

Our "best" duelling chain is actually the most usless thing we have since you can use it only when a tank is stiling on you and you are not supposed to fight tanks back.
They removing a long stun chain against tanks to give us a long stun chain usable against everyone (as positional ofc).

Originally posted by Kagato.


What this basically means is Armsman can no longer solo or stand a chance in duels and are now forced to group to reach any potential, good for some groupers maybe but what it means is we no longer even have the OPTION anymore

The point is that,an armsman isn't a solo char,it's a group char whit a precise role inside it;the way you play the game is not the way the large majority of armsmen plays : ofc you are free to play like you want ,but you can't pretend Goa look at armsmen like solo chars,cause they are not.
Atm you look like an infiltrator saying the see hidden nerf made them less wanted in group.

Armsmen are broke,they need uge love but not in the way you think.

The "option" to solo as armsman ,if exist(I wouldn't call a solo char something it get totally owned by a brehon warden),wont be ruined by those chances since this combo it's a joke to avoid:
if the enemy you facing swing aloot faster than you (90% of tanks/hibrids of other realms,I would say every one but 2h/spear heroes and skalds) and know what he is doing you won't have a chance to use your stun in a 1vs1 fights:he just need to alternate styled and unstyled swings,especially if you play +0 quickness.

 

[Ialkarn]

Originally posted by -Lotheric-
Ialkarn>>> What's your current spec and do you consider changing it in next patch we get?

50 pole 50 thrust 27 parry 9 shield rest in crossbow.

No I don't think I ll change my spec;well I could actually drop some thrust but I doubt I would get less than 44,pole is really slow and I m forced to use 1h aloot,maybe when I 'll be able to affort moarms III dunno.

 

[bracken_woodman]

Originally posted by Ialkarn
I m forced to use 1h aloot

Out of interest, what 1h styles do you find most effective? Just switched from 2H slash to 2H thrust so still figuring out the best 1h thrust options for when they are needed.

 

[Craft]

..

Bit disturbing as i just rolled a Thrust Pole Armsman, damage PvE with my Orange con mithril Pike does around 90 - 140 not including Crit hits, i have 23+5 Pole and 22+5 Thrust. Should i keep going with this end spec of: 50Pole and 50Thrust then the remainder in parry? or change and go S/S? Not much experience with Pure tanks as i dont really class paladins as tanks, more support tanks. Im enjoying running around with a pike and so far the fun is in teh Hitpoints.

Thanks In Advance.

 

[old.TeaSpoon]

Originally posted by Ialkarn
The point is that,an armsman isn't a solo char,it's a group char

So what abilities (BESIDES RA's ) does an Armsman bring to the group? They can do damage, and possibly guard...

The thing about the Rage>Revenge combo is that it was the only thing making people go "shit! Its an Armsman, I'm not going to hit him!".

Now /face will just stop you getting in the rear stun.

 

[drunkard]

Originally posted by -Lotheric-
You Armsmans on excal got any thoughts to share about how you gonna spec after 1.65?

I'm gonna go 502h, 39 thrust, 42 shield.

It's been proven, almost without a doubt, that speccing over 50 in base damage does little to nothing to your damage output. Might as well get the slam, and you get the ability to play s/s if you feel like it.

Thrust for the mid chain.

50 2H for max weapon skill and because it has better growth rates than pole.

 

[Kagato.]

Originally posted by Ialkarn
The only anytime you need is crippling blow (snare effect) it got a low cap indeed but it make your target get ganged by the tanks of the group pretty quickly :it's actually more effective than PF since it's an anitime and unless you miss you know exactly what's going to happens next swing,the follow up is usless since you have all the time to get on the back of your target ,face him anddo rear styles,if he faces you the other tanks gonna hit his back.



Our "best" duelling chain is actually the most usless thing we have since you can use it only when a tank is stiling on you and you are not supposed to fight tanks back.
They removing a long stun chain against tanks to give us a long stun chain usable against everyone (as positional ofc).






The point is that,an armsman isn't a solo char,it's a group char whit a precise role inside it;the way you play the game is not the way the large majority of armsmen plays : ofc you are free to play like you want ,but you can't pretend Goa look at armsmen like solo chars,cause they are not.
Atm you look like an infiltrator saying the see hidden nerf made them less wanted in group.

Armsmen are broke,they need uge love but not in the way you think.

The "option" to solo as armsman ,if exist(I wouldn't call a solo char something it get totally owned by a brehon warden),wont be ruined by those chances since this combo it's a joke to avoid:
if the enemy you facing swing aloot faster than you (90% of tanks/hibrids of other realms,I would say every one but 2h/spear heroes and skalds) and know what he is doing you won't have a chance to use your stun in a 1vs1 fights:he just need to alternate styled and unstyled swings,especially if you play +0 quickness.

Sorry but I totally disagree, you don't need to be a stealth class to solo, a great many people still solo just fine as much as a soloer can be without stealth, why should Armsman be any different? Im not the first and wont be the last tank to solo.

And if this combo is a joke to avoid then why does it serve me and any other Armsman who uses it so well? The only time this combo ever fails me is when the hit is evaded or blocked entirely same as any other style. And to be frank I have more luck landed Rage/Revenge in fights then I do the Phalanx/Aegis chain, so the new Phalanx/Revenge chain stands little chance of being as effective as your dreaming it will be.

As for Armsman 'precise grouping' role, who exactly has decided this? Armsman can solo just fine now, just because you think they should be group only does not mean everyone else has to play like that, the class is not yet designed only for this purpose, AFTER these changes they will be, and THAT is the problem. We lose all credibility we had as as being a strong class to duel and fight, fact is that before many people wouldn't dare attack a poler due to Rage/Revenge, now it wont make a differance they just need to not turn there backs to use and we're fucked.

Anytime chain is ruined, we have no way to stun an enemy that is smart enough to not turn there backs to use, and our best dueling styles are worthless now and our level 50 style is obsolete, and you like these changes? The offer very little to the 'group' armsman other then the hope of landing a tricky 2 style back positional stun after 10+ seconds and screw over duelers.

That is in no way improving the class.

 

[Ialkarn]

Originally posted by bracken_woodman
Out of interest, what 1h styles do you find most effective? Just switched from 2H slash to 2H thrust so still figuring out the best 1h thrust options for when they are needed.

Basiliskfang,Pierce, Beartooth are nice styles whit an hight damage value.

If you are looking for an anytime everything is shit so no matter really what you would use : I used the wyvernfang combo aloot but I think was a bad choice I would put only sting as anytime in our already floaded quickbar,in a place where I m not tempted to use it too often.