joshofstl
New Member
I read on a board that it was possible to successfully solo in the underworld and in several places in the field. I've done some practice work and it is indeed possible to solo in some places, given the right equipment. The build is best accomplished with a Monk/Warrior, although a Monk/Mesmer could probably do it as well (see below). A Warrior/Monk lacks the regen arrows necessary to accomplish this. A Necro/Monk might be able to do it, but I'm not sure.
Attributes:
- Protection = 15 (12+2+1) - using Defender's scalp design
- Divine Favor = 12 (10+2)
- Smiting = 10 (8+2)
- Tactics = 2
IMPORTANT NOTE: To succeed in the Underworld you want to carry all superior runes (I'll explain why below), but because the currently high cost of superior monk runes I am currently using all major runes and soloing in the Crystal Desert.
Equipment:
- All Aescetic designs with major runes (in theory Lion's Arch armor would suffice)
- Defender's scalp design
- An insightful staff (ideally, you want one that has a 20% to give +1 to protect spells)
Stats:
HP: 280
EN: 51
Skill set:
- Divine Boon
- Balthazaar's Aura
- Signet of Devotion
- Zealot's Fire (or perhaps others as listed below)
- Bonettis's Defense (or Channeling if you're a mesmer secondary)
- Protective Bond
- Essence Bond
- Balthazaar's Spirit
Premises:
- You don't need a lot of HP, because Protective Bond limits damage to 5% at any one time. In fact, lower HP actually amplifies the effectiveness of Divine Boon.
- Essense Bond and Balthazaar's Spirit, in conjunction with Bonetti's defense and Blessed Signet, allow for a steady stream of energy to counterbalance spell use.
- Zealot's Fire and Balthazaar's Aura provide armor-ignoring offense.
- By casting Protective Bond, Essence Bond, and Balthazaar's Spirit on yourself, you can draw physical enemies into your adjacent area and smite them.
- Divine Boon is a cheap (5 energy + 2) way to heal and will also heal when you use other Monk Spells. With Divine Favor + Divine Boon you're talking about 100 hp healing each time. Plus, its attribute is divine favor so you don't need any points in healing.
Enemies this works well on:
- Hydra. I went out to the Crystal Desert and dispatched 2 dozen Hydra without any trouble. Hydra are ideal field targets because they give great drops.
- Bladed Axertes (or whatever they're called) in the Underworld. Unfortunately you need superior runes to defeat them (for some reason Axertes don't replenish energy as other types do), but they are beatable with the right configuration.
- Coldfire Nights
- Smites
- Blessed griffons
- Fire imps, minotaurs, and other physical or elemental based enemies.
Vulnerabilities:
- Mesmer spells. This is the big one. Energy degeneration can be a hassle. Mesmer interrupts, ignorance, and other nasties can also wreak some havok with this build, depending on the situation. You can counter to a degree by replacing Zealot's Fire with Spell Breaker, but this is only good for 15 seconds or so. Smite hex or a similar spell might also help, but it is also limited. I've beaten mesmer enemies, but it's not easy, and some of them are just too tough.
- Conditions. Not as big a threat as mesmer hexes, but bleeding and some of those can cause trouble. Axaertes use this and it is an issue. Purge condition might help, but finding room for it is a problem.
Conclusions:
- This build is one of the more viable solo builds in the game, and if done correctly is self-sustaining.
- It is useful especially in the Crystal Desert because of the excellent Hydra drops.
Attributes:
- Protection = 15 (12+2+1) - using Defender's scalp design
- Divine Favor = 12 (10+2)
- Smiting = 10 (8+2)
- Tactics = 2
IMPORTANT NOTE: To succeed in the Underworld you want to carry all superior runes (I'll explain why below), but because the currently high cost of superior monk runes I am currently using all major runes and soloing in the Crystal Desert.
Equipment:
- All Aescetic designs with major runes (in theory Lion's Arch armor would suffice)
- Defender's scalp design
- An insightful staff (ideally, you want one that has a 20% to give +1 to protect spells)
Stats:
HP: 280
EN: 51
Skill set:
- Divine Boon
- Balthazaar's Aura
- Signet of Devotion
- Zealot's Fire (or perhaps others as listed below)
- Bonettis's Defense (or Channeling if you're a mesmer secondary)
- Protective Bond
- Essence Bond
- Balthazaar's Spirit
Premises:
- You don't need a lot of HP, because Protective Bond limits damage to 5% at any one time. In fact, lower HP actually amplifies the effectiveness of Divine Boon.
- Essense Bond and Balthazaar's Spirit, in conjunction with Bonetti's defense and Blessed Signet, allow for a steady stream of energy to counterbalance spell use.
- Zealot's Fire and Balthazaar's Aura provide armor-ignoring offense.
- By casting Protective Bond, Essence Bond, and Balthazaar's Spirit on yourself, you can draw physical enemies into your adjacent area and smite them.
- Divine Boon is a cheap (5 energy + 2) way to heal and will also heal when you use other Monk Spells. With Divine Favor + Divine Boon you're talking about 100 hp healing each time. Plus, its attribute is divine favor so you don't need any points in healing.
Enemies this works well on:
- Hydra. I went out to the Crystal Desert and dispatched 2 dozen Hydra without any trouble. Hydra are ideal field targets because they give great drops.
- Bladed Axertes (or whatever they're called) in the Underworld. Unfortunately you need superior runes to defeat them (for some reason Axertes don't replenish energy as other types do), but they are beatable with the right configuration.
- Coldfire Nights
- Smites
- Blessed griffons
- Fire imps, minotaurs, and other physical or elemental based enemies.
Vulnerabilities:
- Mesmer spells. This is the big one. Energy degeneration can be a hassle. Mesmer interrupts, ignorance, and other nasties can also wreak some havok with this build, depending on the situation. You can counter to a degree by replacing Zealot's Fire with Spell Breaker, but this is only good for 15 seconds or so. Smite hex or a similar spell might also help, but it is also limited. I've beaten mesmer enemies, but it's not easy, and some of them are just too tough.
- Conditions. Not as big a threat as mesmer hexes, but bleeding and some of those can cause trouble. Axaertes use this and it is an issue. Purge condition might help, but finding room for it is a problem.
Conclusions:
- This build is one of the more viable solo builds in the game, and if done correctly is self-sustaining.
- It is useful especially in the Crystal Desert because of the excellent Hydra drops.
Last edited: