PV Combo

Demodude - Dreamweaver

So My barb is Sage Str build (That's my preference I'm not here to debate that) and full G15 Lunar until I finish farming enough badges on my sin to upgrade to G16. He is RB1 Level 92 and I can run 2 PV's solo in 1 token no problem. I was just wondering about the combo I use when I finish a Pull. After a pull I use:

Invoke -> Bestial Rage -> Sunder -> Surf Impact -> Arma -> Swell -> Slam -> Next Pull

I then do the next pull, because whatever mobs weren't killed will be killed in the AOE's of the next pulls

This works fine, but I was wondering. Is there a better combo to be using at the end of pulls?

WannaBM - Archosaur

Your combo will keep changing as your gear improves until finally it will only be sunder-arma.

If your arma always crits with the surf impact between them it seems fine to me. (edit, oh youre sage, it doesnt crit anyway No hurry then for casting that arma and surf first surely is fine

Try using mire, this guarantees a 100% chance to hit every mob. You probably can leave out swell like that.

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Other than that, the kill sequence isnt the most important thing to worry about. a few seconds more or less isnt that big a thing right now that youre still on 2 runs per token. To do more runs in 1 token, it is more interesting to try and reduce the number of pulls you need and path your running more efficiently. For agro purposes, aiming for 2 half pulls is what you want first (the one full pull will require high refined G16 minimum)

My method for pulling was this:

Pull the first narrow hall without any boosts. Theres only few mobs yet so if you get stunned, you just do a surf impact for healing and you move on. When you exit this narrow hall, you wait about 3-4 seconds to let them catshup, during this time you stand rightup.

Now you cast violent triump, start moving and follow it with holy path. You can either move a little straight ahead first and then arc back and take them all in 1 smooth S curve, or you can turn left as you exit the narrow path and make the S curve the other way around.

Either way, when the VT and holy path runs out, you should have pretty much the whole room pulled and a little bit distance between you and the mobs. Between you and the narrow point to the next room is quite a bit of space but it is very sparcely populated. Try to pull this as well, chances to get stunned here arent to big. If you do get stunned, invoke immeadiately and do your kill sequence.

Hopefully you made it to the narrow passage between the first and second room. Now to pull the second room, use a vac with holy path. and again make 1 big S. Here i usually miss a few mobs, but that is no disaster. Start by going a little bit (like 15 metres) straight ahead when entering the room (again not yet using anything because there are only few mobs and you can still save yourself with a simple surf impact when you get stunned) Then turn right and activate your vac and holy path. Again draw 1 big S shape trough the room and you should pull the whole room before vac runs out. You can end this vac run with a lot of space between you and the mobs. This allows you to pull the path and the third room also, but now you need to hold back a bit, if you do this too fast, the distance between you and the mobs will become too big and they will reset. (the third room doesnt really require anything, just end your pull right in the middle of it and you got most of it)

It will require some practice. Much of it is in having the needed piece of mind. When i started doing PV i never used either vacs or holy because my philosophy was to keep all the safety options available for when i get stunned. (AD or TOP) Really though, the anti stun+holy path is the way to go. You wont need any safety buttons while you are running with anti stun. And when its finished, invoke is your safety button.
I imagine while you are G15, you aint gonna try that third room and probably invoke as soon as the vac ends. When your gear improves, add that third room, and when it improves a lot, you replace that first killing point with a simple berserkers wrath to keep the mobs attention and move on to make it 1 big pull.

Take note of the following facts:
-The mobs dont really stun you, they only immobilise you. So when there are not so many mobs that they kill you in 2 seconds, you will still be able to cast an AOE skill for healing yourself with BP when you get frozen. (as soon as a mob is close enough to target it, so pres tab to target the nearest, but if not needed, dont press as soon as possible but wait a bit till your HP starts dropping. The freeze lasts 5 seconds or so, the nearer you can cast your BP healing skill to the end of that, the healthier you come out. Just dont wait till you are dead.)

-The mobs only immobilize you on initial contact, not later after you pulled them and they are following you, so dont be afraid of that bunch following after you. In lowly populated areas the chance to get frozen is small even if there are 200 mobs following after you.

-Always use anti stun first, then holy path. You dont want to stand there frozen with holy path active. The anti stuns last longer than the holy paths, so give it 1 second before casting the holy path. I have often casted anti stun and then holy path only to find out that i got frozen at the same instant i clicked the anti stun.

-Be aware of your cooldowns. You want invoce to be available when your vac runs out. In emergency if you do get stunned without invoke available and too many mobs to leasurly wait a bit and heal with surf, you will need to quickly cast surf and follow with sunder. Of course you want to prevent doing that because you need sunder in your killing sequence.

-You may need a decent genie with all points in vitality and magic. (I would advise any barb a genie with 80 mag and the rest vit. Using a 7x genie with +4-/+4 mag/vit items. 80 mag will allow you to cast AD in anti stun pulls like lunar where you start with VT, then use AD to chain vac and still have energie to cast holy path shortly after. For this particular purpose here, you just need to be able to cast enough holy paths and mires. A cheap 6x genie with cheap gear and most points in magic should do fine.

Demodude - Dreamweaver

Thanks for the in depth response

I usually get 2 runs in (no boss on first run) using my bm to open the second one. I finish the first run in 6-9 minutes.

My pulls are usually first hall and kill, then in first room I grab all the mobs in the opening, go up the hill on the right, then the mobs in back, then the mobs on left hill and kill all there, then next hall and kill, then sneak through mag mob hallway grabbing as few as I could, then kill the mobs before boss and reset

I try not to use mire because I have a reflex of keeping Tree of Protection ready just in case, even though so far I've never had to use it. I also tend to not use violet triumph, instead just running in a pattern avoiding mag mobs so I don't get immobilized. This may make me miss a few mobs, but overall it makes for a smoother run

As for your step by step run, unless I'm understanding it wrong I think you may have the wrong instance in your head for level 92

As far as cooldowns, when I used to run with squads before RB I'd have to waste a little time between pulls to wait for invoke cooldown, but now by the time I kill and finish the next pull invoke is ready to go.

Thanks again for the long response

WannaBM - Archosaur

Demodude - Dreamweaver wrote: »

Thanks for the in depth response

I usually get 2 runs in (no boss on first run) using my bm to open the second one. I finish the first run in 6-9 minutes.

My pulls are usually first hall and kill, then in first room I grab all the mobs in the opening, go up the hill on the right, then the mobs in back, then the mobs on left hill and kill all there, then next hall and kill, then sneak through mag mob hallway grabbing as few as I could, then kill the mobs before boss and reset

I try not to use mire because I have a reflex of keeping Tree of Protection ready just in case, even though so far I've never had to use it. I also tend to not use violet triumph, instead just running in a pattern avoiding mag mobs so I don't get immobilized. This may make me miss a few mobs, but overall it makes for a smoother run

As for your step by step run, unless I'm understanding it wrong I think you may have the wrong instance in your head for level 92

As far as cooldowns, when I used to run with squads before RB I'd have to waste a little time between pulls to wait for invoke cooldown, but now by the time I kill and finish the next pull invoke is ready to go.

Thanks again for the long response

ah level 92. Yes, i am talking about the 100+. Read it again when you get there
With single pulls this method should get you 7 runs in 100+
With 2 pulls, it should get you 5 runs.
You will need a friend to provide you some alts and open

KeepMeAIive - Raging Tide

WannaBM explained it pretty well.

Invoke -> Bestial Rage -> Sunder -> Surf Impact -> Arma -> Swell -> Slam -> Next Pull

My thoughts about your skill combo chain is:-
1- swell is a frontal arc aoe, i don't find it useful in PV, it would take longer to set up the mobs to be all in front of you than using other skills.

2- Something I started doing from lv 80 in FC was use bestial rage BEFORE invoke. Sage bestial rage is good, 20 seconds of gathering chi. This allows you to use it before invoke and still have no problems gathering chi.

3- Use mire like WannaBM said. If you've already pulled and invoked, chance of requiring Tree of Protection is very small. Mire only uses I think 48 energy (from memory). So on a decent genie you will have enough energy for an emergency ToP during next pull if required.

4- As your gears improve, you won't need so many skills in a combo to kill mobs. However, something to consider is, use Arma and berserker's wrath AFTER sunder since your bestial rage will still be getting you chi. That way you use harder hitting skills, and have enough chi for the next pull . (Given you said you're a sage STR barb (like myself), i assume only reason you don't use Berserker's Wrath is lack of chi? Berserker's wrath hits like a truck on a str built barb)