[AM] Hybrid Guide

[Keepem]

Thank you very much for the detailed guide, helps a lot!

I was wondering though on why you went with the warlord set and not the offspec Sov?
Also is this what you would recommend for soloing or is it more specific for group play?

Thanks one more time!

[BluIzLucky]

Thank you very much for the detailed guide, helps a lot!

I was wondering though on why you went with the warlord set and not the offspec Sov?
Also is this what you would recommend for soloing or is it more specific for group play?

Glad you like it, happy to see some more interested in trying it out

The guide is primarily for RvR/fort/lotd warband play, where EoV and all your AoE shines.

For this I recommend Warlord because:
A) 7p boost proc will have close to 100% uptime, and it provides Critical Hit rather than Magic Crit (like Master of Force) meaning you can still sit on 29-65% heal crit, depending on gear, tactics and renown.
B) 6p bonus +2 points in Hoeth means you can try both dmg and heal focused hybrid, and the Max EoV build
C) 5p bonus magic power means EoV heal amount scales up (does not with magic crit)
D) it's 20% cheaper, can get it earlier and it looks better.

For solo Warlord is still very decent if you run 5p + 4 Victorious, but it's a minor downgrade to BIS Sov off+Vic or the 3xWar 3xOff 3xVic, but does gear nicely towards them.
Though I normally end up just soloing short sessions with 6p war + 3p vic so I don't need to respec out of hybrid..

[Dakkhon]

A little bump now that I've gotten the Victorious ring

I've settled on 7p Warlord and 2p Victorious (body+ring w. Magic power), 2p Scholor Genesis and Bloodlord staff with 100 int pot or Tolling Bell as BIS.

This setup gives the incredible 7p Boost proc, 8AP/sec (enough to run without other AP gains) and +2 mastery points which gives the build a lot of flexibility, and gives massive contributions in fort.

With the 45% nerf to puddle and because more dmg is fun, this is now my main spec:
Lifetap/DPS focused - Sov+2 0-13-13

Originally, I put the heal debuff dot (Scatter the Winds) as optional, I now consider it core (with EoV, DE, SoC), this is because it greatly improves your solo and kill potential, which means you can run this spec in all types of content and just switch tactics to improve certain aspects.

That leaves 1 mastery point, which I generally spend on Arching Power, but would rather give it up that StW.

One last finding is that Master of Force gives critical hit rate stacking with the Boost proc making it the only must have tactic for this build.

Why not go for the 6p SoV and get the 6% crit?

[BluIzLucky]

...

The 7p War proc gives 9% critical hit (both dmg and heal) and 12% crit dmg, and since you are mostly doing AoE it will be up all the time.

Also it's cheaper, can be gotten earlier, better looking and has +2 in right tree which is better for hybrid as you get access to more specs, has more magic power which is better for EoV.


That being said, Sov Off is fine if you want to skip warlord for a better solo setup.

[Dakkhon]

Ah ok ty for the info. After I get the 9999ring ill start getting the WL pieces and mix and match to see what I like. i have the 6pc SoV Off set right now and its great but I want to maximize my damage for sure!!

[Specialpatrol]

How does the spec perform with the recent changes to AM and maybe more specifically Vaul tree?

I heard some say Vaul spec is no longer viable after patch.

[Dakkhon]

Kiting is harder with the having to have line of sight and yes the Vaul spec is nerfed. I am playing around with a few things but nothing concrete. The nerf to KE was a bit much and reduced burst significantly. That is also making survival/killing way tougher. I used it to finish off targets but now......terrible. So your DoT's are still doing ok but you will take longer to kill anything but your survival can be a tad bit better I am finding. Save for WE's of course. It's always tough from stealth but in open field its decent. Mdps/tanks....forget it. Unless they play dumb. Yes I have killed a few players who have no clue but picking your targets is even more important then ever. Casters are still pretty easy to kill and that should be your targets. My next test will be straight up glass canon. Probably going to be terrible with these changes but we will see.

All in all even with the nerfs its ok........just ok. But I am making it fun as best I can. Hybrid is still they way I play best and get the most kills for me.

[BluIzLucky]

How does the spec perform with the recent changes to AM and maybe more specifically Vaul tree?

I heard some say Vaul spec is no longer viable after patch.

Hm.. haven't had time to play since changes so can't tell for sure.
But at least on paper, between now EoV doing magic crit and SM regaining their stacking resist debuff Enchantment (that they might even use if you remind them), damage should be up a fair amount, which in turn means your lifetap healing will also go up (though not sure if you'd actually be healing more than pre-patch).

The cast on move loss is very annoying but not game breakingly bad in warbands (which is the primary focus of the guide/build), and the alternative is FE a 3s rooted channel which doesn't make sense then either.. so hopefully devs will just find a fix soon.

None of the other changes really matter, KT and PT were both very situational, and leaned more tech in options when you want to go full dps with just tactic switch.

In the end, I think the relative power of hybrid vs full heal AM, went even more in hybrid's favour.