Talk: Wail of Doom

Question: Is this skill actually tied to Soul Reaping? It seems more like a Curses category, and being soul-reaping, it will be (mostly) limited to primary necromancers.

If the description is right, this would be even better than Power Block since you only have to interupt an attack, not even an attack skill to shut down a (warrior|ranger). If that is the case, then the usage note should be change, as you wouldn't even need to watch the skill monitor for Wail of Doom to be effective. --theeth 18:20, 13 April 2006 (CDT)

If it was meant that you need to interupt an attack skill, then this would be much harder to use than you may expect. However, if you place faintheartedness/shadow of fear before trying to interupt, then you have a completely different story. If the description is right, then you have the ultimate warrior shutdown, since disabled skilled drains all adrenline, which many warriors thrive off of.--8765 18:28, 13 April 2006 (CDT)

Use this skill right after a warrior uses Primal Rage for some extra hilarity. — Stabber (talk) 18:31, 13 April 2006 (CDT)

Then they are disabled anyway. how will that change anything? Foo 16:45, 8 May 2006 (CDT)

Maybe he means 10 seconds after Primal Rage was activated. However, the flip side is just as funny... Use Primal Rage (Stance, not attack skill) if this skill is used against you. --Spot 16:29, 18 May 2006 (CDT)

You probably mean she. Foo 18:09, 18 May 2006 (CDT)

I'm pretty sure that this skill can't be capped in Divine Path.

This is fun in AB to protect yourself as an MM. Shido 00:16, 16 February 2007 (CST)

Cry of Frus

why is Cry of Frustration related? -User:PanSola (talk to the ) 10:00, 28 June 2006 (CDT)

Both are spells that interrupt non-spell skills. 134.130.4.46 17:59, 28 June 2006 (CDT)

Um, if that is the only relation, then I don't think they are related close enough for CoF to be listed. Wail of Doom can only interrupt attack skills, whereas CoF is a generic any-skill interrupt. And the last time I checked, it is quite near impossible to interrupt an attack skill using CoF, you need blind luck or spying on the other team's voice chat. -User:PanSola (talk to the ) 18:15, 28 June 2006 (CDT)

No, wail can interrupt anything. I don't know if it'd list them as related even so. --68.142.14.84 18:33, 28 June 2006 (CDT)

Neither did I, so I just removed it. 134.130.4.46 21:00, 28 June 2006 (CDT)

I beg to differ. Most attack skills appear to take as much time activating as the "weapon swinging" animation, you've got all that time for interruption. Bow Attacks are particularly easy to interrupted (Barrage taking a full second). --Theeth (talk) 21:14, 28 June 2006 (CDT)

Sorry, I was just thinking about sword/axe attacks, which I haven't been able to interrupt unless I was actually trying to interrupt the previous action. Regardless, I still think the nature of this skill too dissimilar with Cry of Frustration. This skill in fact interrupts more than just skills, whereas Cry of Frush only interrupt skills, and they have completely different side effects. -User:PanSola (talk to the ) 22:44, 28 June 2006 (CDT)

I completely agree with you on that matter. --Theeth (talk) 19:21, 30 June 2006 (CDT)

What does it disable?

Does this spell disable: Touch Skills and pet attacks in addition to physical attacks?-Only a Shadow

Pet attacks, yes. Touch skills, no. Check out Attack for more information.--65.185.60.89 18:24, 15 July 2006 (CDT)

not activating

I have heard reports of this skill not activateing half the time, even when cast against someone who is attacking. :: Soqed Hozi :: 10:00, 23 October 2006 (CDT)

Interrupt

Is this the only active Necro interrupt there is? apart from Mark of Subversion, and that's not really an interrupt....

This is the only interrupt necs have. With all the boa sins around, this skill might be useful. Sins are completely screwed if they can't use attack skills. It's a great elite, but strangely I find myself never using it. A grenth derv who can't use attack skills can't disenchant either. The fact that it's in Soul reaping is awesome, as you can run it with any other attribute you'd like. P A R A S I T I C 02:43, 8 March 2007 (CST)

great seems far too strong a word for a 15 energy 10% life intterupt. Similary I would say being in soul reaping is a major disadvantage - you're lucky if you can fit in even 1 other soul reaping skill to your build, if you're investing a lot, that's going to hurt... though in AB/FA or a team with QZ, JB spammer etc the passive effect would justify it certainly. The disabling effect is certainly pretty powerful, but nothing special unless the other team has excessive hex removal. Phool 17:38, 8 March 2007 (CST)

You only need 10 in Soul Reaping to keep it on someone forever. The power of this spell is that it's not a hex. Once you've disabled someone's attack skills, they're screwed. Unless they have Flourish on their skillbar, there's nothing they can do about it. This is why i say it's useful against Boa sins. They're common everywhere, and a sin without attack skills can't really hurt anyone. P A R A S I T I C 15:02, 17 March 2007 (CDT)

Yeah, that's why I say it only becomes attractive against teams with excessive hex removal. Otherwise, a simple price of failure alone will be 30 seconds of cheap shutdown. Phool 15:24, 17 March 2007 (CDT)

what about spinal shivers and it's dupe? ~Soqed Hozi~ 14:36, 26 April 2007 (CDT)

It's not an active interrupt though. M s4 14:27, 8 June 2007 (CDT)

Question

Does this skill disable attack skills even wehn foe did not used an attack skill? (seeing the foe was attacking normally). ----InfestedHydralisk 08:04, 25 March 2007 (CDT)

Yes. --Fyren 19:54, 25 March 2007 (CDT)

Aight ----InfestedHydralisk 15:22, 26 March 2007 (CDT)

Interrupt other skills?

I used it on a Dervish and each time it seemed to cause an interrupt of Mending Touch. I mean, clearly I didn't get the correct interrupt but it happened more than once and I don't think anyone else on my team had interrupts. Coincidence that he canceled it then or am I missing something subtle about this skill?— JediRogue 22:22, 4 June 2007 (CDT)

"Clearly you didn't get the correct interrupt?" --Fyren 22:41, 4 June 2007 (CDT)

You have to interrupt an attack for it to do anything. If they are using mending touch they're not attacking. So I messed up the interrupt. — Rogue 14:16, 8 June 2007 (CDT)

"Sacrifice 10% Health, and target foe is interrupted." Unconditional, only disables attacks if you interrupted an attack. You were saying? ----GD 14:18, 8 June 2007 (CDT)

Oh. Well, this is embarassing. Ummm... well actually it makes the thing that much cooler I guess. — Rogue 14:32, 8 June 2007 (CDT)

Just as future reference (and to save yourself some embarrassment) when something unexpected happens, check all related skill descriptions and creature articles first.  :]----GD 14:34, 8 June 2007 (CDT)

Looks really really good

Why isn't this used more? It's essentially an absolutely unstoppable complete warrior/assassin shutdown that can't be stopped in anyway. It's a single skill on a necro's bar that can stop any kind of melee character in it's tracks. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.30.20.38 (contribs) .

I use it in PvP, especially for AB ;). In PvE, it's always in my mind, but a different elite usually wins over because there are better ones depending on the situation. Biscuits 14:17, 8 June 2007 (CDT)

overpowered?

this seems really overpowered in PvP missions... theres basically no counter to it other than a mesmer shutting the skill down. it either needs a longer cast time (1/4 second to disable all attack skills is a bit much) or maybe be counted as a hex and removable as such while skills are disabled...

this skill is barely used anyway..Streetp 11:12, 7 September 2007 (CDT)

What it might have been...

What if this skill read like this? sac 10% max health 5 energy 1/4 cast 5 sec recharge : Interupt foe. If that foe was useing a skill that skill is disabled for 3-8 seconds. Would it be seen more? Done25 00:30, 28 June 2007 (CDT)

I wouldn't think so. I mean if you want hard interrupts, most people would play as a ranger. Distracting shot is also 5 energy has 1/2 cast time and disables skills for 20 seconds-making 8 seconds seem pitiful. They way it is right now is in itself pwnage, but there are better anti melee/ranger hexes out there that can be used more effectively and work on casters as well: ie; Spoil Victor, Spiteful Spirit and Life Transfer. But i believe that the Major problem with this skill is being associated with By Far the worst primary skill of all time, Soul reaping.--Zyc 18:30, 13 July 2007 (CDT)

Strength. SR is still awesome even after the nerf. The Hobo 18:58, 13 July 2007 (CDT)

Yes but its horrible compared to its former self.--Zyc 19:01, 13 July 2007 (CDT)

But you just said it was the worst, lawl. Honestly though, necros should be happy they get Soul Reaping, the only primaries that can give as much energy are Leadership or Expertise. The Hobo 19:17, 13 July 2007 (CDT)

If Wail of Doom read like that, I would seriously question Anet's judgment on this skill's penalties. 20:16, 13 July 2007 (CDT)

I say Worst because its the only primary ive seen that had LAME slapped on it. leadership is better than SR because it triggers every shout and chant and expertise makes things cost literally nothing. The nerffed SR is worse energy management then elementalist's glyphs. And i believe Wail of doom would be better the way it is-just move intocurses and itll see more use. Its a skill that shouldbe in curses anyway.--Zyc 21:29, 13 July 2007 (CDT)

I meant they were better, that was bad wording on my part. Anyways, strength's passive effect is much worse. Spawning Power's passive was pretty bad before it lengthened weapon spells. I don't know why people are whining, SR can give more energy then most energy management elites, it gives more then Power Drain which is considered one of the best e-management skills in the game. The Hobo 02:56, 14 July 2007 (CDT)

If you've ever played a pve necro youd know that they spend around 35-45 energy on average on their first three skills, and our skills cause most NPCs to die in groups but we only gain one energy amount ( usually 10-12 energy) every 5 seconds fueling us up for what-one spell? dont let the 3 times every 15 seconds fool you there wasnt even a change to soul reap last update just "rewording". and who cares about spirits under our control give energy PvE necs dont use it. thats why we're whining.--Zyc 11:55, 14 July 2007 (CDT)

3 deaths every 15 seconds, with extra deaths no longer counted if one is at full energy, is definitely better than a flat 1 every 5 seconds. Unless you have some empirical proof Anet has done nothing to improve it beyond that initial 1-in-5 nerf, you're just shooting your mouth off. --Ufelder 10:04, 14 July 2007 (CDT)

Sign your comment, and in addition, take any more SR complaints to Soul Reaping; this isn't an avenue for beating long dead horses. --Ufelder 10:12, 14 July 2007 (CDT)

.......But beating dead horses is fun, especially when their head pops off! The Hobo 18:14, 14 July 2007 (CDT)

What's different about it is the fact that it means if multiple enemies die at the same time due to AoE then you'll get energy from it 3 times instead of just once and having the others go to waste. It's honestly a lot better than the 1 every 5 --Gimmethegepgun 19:48, 14 July 2007 (CDT)

for some reason, it hasn't been disabling like it's reading. I used Faintheartedness - looked at the assassins point of attacking, used wail, and he went with his dagger combo... So do you have to use this as they use an attack skill? Because if so- they need to change the text.

They have to be attacking (no attack skills needed) --Gimmethegepgun 19:05, 16 August 2007 (CDT)

Then there may be a bug. Even when the metasin is attacking its Fail of Doom (but seems to work on spellcaster)Kiteeye 05:49, 1 December 2007 (UTC)

Grammar Edit

sORRY ABOUT THE EDIT i AMDE, THEIR ORGINAL COPY NEEDED SOME CLEAN UP BUT IT STILL DIDN'T MAKE SENSE IN MY MIND BUT NOW THAT YOU RE-WORDED IT IS MUCH "MORE CLEARER" opps i just realized I ahd caps lock on xD that was the gatorade and the prunes...ouch digestion D:. Lost-Blue 03:54, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

Umm, you're welcome. 04:02, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

What's with the meekness? Lost-Blue 04:03, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

March 6 Update

Sad to see the old Wail of Doom go. I loved that skill! Here's to hoping the new version is useful. Sounds awesome, though. Randvek 20:19, 6 March 2008 (UTC) Meh, imo it was more usefull pissing off sins and rangers, but I have yet to use the new one, though promise is shown -Kalle Damos

disable foe(but warriors) for 4 out of 10 s now. for 10% life. hm... priceless.guigolum 20:39, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

:Whoa. Never seen a skill so radically changed... Someone make a note for what the skill used to be on the page plix plox. 130.245.23.138 20:40, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

<3 Izzy for this. My necro will reap twice as much souls twice as fast now! Yikey ∞ 20:41, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

i think it was smthg like "interrupt target foe if it was an attack, all his skills are disabled for x s". 15 energy cost. guigolum 20:43, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

I liked old one better. Still, this a fine skill.

This thing is obviously way overpowered in TA now. 4 vs 4 means one monk. One monk with all his attributes set to 0 means dead people. Also, stopping adrenaline/assassin spikes with this is awesome. -Shinoda 21:24, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Right..And what about the rest of pvp and pve? Theres more then just TA to consider.. besides it would still be pretty hard to kill in 4 secs anyone with half a brain would kite when being spiked..

Holy veil? --Shadowcrest 21:28, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

You still got 7 skill slots to spend, eh. Rip Enchantment got buffed, too. And obviously your melee character is meant to provide anti-kite himself. -Shinoda 21:32, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

how does this stack with weakness?72.144.228.134 21:34, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Probably sets it to 0. --Shadowcrest 21:35, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

No your attributes turn to -1 and your skills begin hurting you and healing the enemy *sarcasm* Seb2net 21:53, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Overpowered, that is ... cast on monk with low hp or even any monk during a spike and good bye... Big Bow 21:58, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

I really like this. +1 for originality Izzy, -1 for overpowerdness. It's pretty strong spike support but 10 recharge is just killer :). That means 4 out of 10 seconds with zero attributes if hex removal is not accounted for! No wait, it's not spike support, call it insane pressure. I dunno what it is. I like it. -- -- talkpage 22:01, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

/agree with prog. Except its OP and should be nerfed. --Shadowcrest 22:04, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Arcane Echo. Vehemoth 22:59, 6 March 2008 (UTC)

Who needs the other professions when there are so many overpowered necromancer elites these days? -- Kirbman 22:25, 6 March 2008 (UTC) You're right. Like Spoil Victor and Soul Leech and uhh... Contagion?

All I can say is.....abuse while it lasts, cause we all know it's not gonna last. P A R A S I T I C 01:46, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Its not going to be overpowered with spikes. Infuse health still heals for enough (even at 0 healing prayers) to stop a spike. TK Hawkins

You have seen many infusers in TA yet or RA ? Big Bow 06:29, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

10 seconds recharge is overpowered. J Striker 06:35, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Got to be the most radical skill change ever. Really useful, you can put their attributes to 0 for 40% of the time (80% while using it copied from Arcane Echo) supposing they don't remove this; even if they do, they waste time removing it once every 10 seconds which is good by me. It's versatile too, it'll shut down most anything this hits.

I'd say foul feast has gotten the biggest change ever, though I cant remember some of the earlier changes. Mr IP 06:47, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Foul Feast still has something to do with conditions/healing... but this skill is ridiculously OP. Especially with Arcane Echo, Hexer's Vigor, Masochism... bah. Not gonna PvP before this skill is nerfed. -_- J Striker 06:49, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

The usage for FF is definitely different ;) And I'm abusing a hilariously OP build. Mr IP 07:35, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

I notice it still has it's 1/4 sec casting time from when it was an interupt...if you cast this on someone while they are using an avatar skill would it just wear off after a few seconds? If so this is seriously OP --Cobalt | Talk 16:35, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Note about skill change

here it is:

• On March 6, 2008 this skill had its functionality completely changed. The previous functionality was: "Target foe is interrupted. If target foe was attacking, all of that foe's attack skills are disabled for 5...17 seconds."

I came here looking for it and it wasn't here >.< 76.201.151.99 17:01, 7 March 2008 (UTC)<--forgot to sign in Mercurius Ter Maxim 17:02, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

This is one of the reasons I wish we had some place for keeping a record of what the skills "used" to be. (Not including having to surf though the history on the template article to find it) -- Sk8 (T)(C) 17:07, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Well if we kept notes on every change to skills it would take years to scroll down through some skill articles. Also, as most players (with some notable exceptions) can't travel through time and use old versions of skills, therefore nobody needs info on them. Though i agree it can be interesting to see how skills have been changed over time and therefore it would be nice to have somewhere to put these kind of changes --Cobalt | Talk 17:10, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

I do understand where you are coming from with that, but it is still something that would be viable for skill changes. It definitely shouldn't be put in the notes section, but what if updates were always put in a section at the top of the skills talk page, where it is only edited when there is a skill update? That may be possible. -- Sk8 (T)(C) 17:14, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Well if we had massive lists of updates at the top of skill pages it could take ages to scroll down and actually find the information about the current version of the skill. I was thinking either a section at the bottom of pages with links to updates that brought about major revamps or a seperate page linked to from skill pages listing all the changes that have been made and when. I wonder if "/Skill_Name_Here/Changes" would even be a valid wiki url...either way it would take up a lot of space on the wiki and we might run out of internet ink or something --Cobalt | Talk 17:22, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

We have that, just slap a Template: before the skill name. 17:24, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, we know. My comment originally, is that it would be nice if users didn't have to scroll through the history of the template in order to find out what the skill used to do. -- Sk8 (T)(C) 17:26, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Funnily enough, I read that, and yet said it anyway. I wonder why? XD 17:26, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

COuldn't you just have the latest skill change for a certain skill listed, and then change it when the skill gets changed the next time? I'm guessing most people are mainly interested in what the change really was since the GW-posts never lists what was changed only to what it was changed. That is at least something that I would like to see, and if it is just the lastest (or maybe the 2 latest) changes then you won't get a cluttered page either. Winterbay 17:35, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

More related skills?

What about "Touch of Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh"? It's basically same spell, just WoD is a hex, ToAaa(...) is a spell and it disables all attributes for 20 seconds, so it's much more deadly... But WoD is now just like ToA. Except for the secondary effect. — Abedeus 19:52, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

We don't list monster skills as related to player-usable skills, because we can't use Monster skills --Gimmethegepgun 19:55, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Seriously Hilarious

Wow...the amount of fun i've been having messing around with this skill in RA/AB is almost enough to make me forgive Anet for the other changes in this update, well it would be, if i didn't suspect it will soon feel the nerf-bat. *casts on derv using avatar of lyssa*...it wears of after 10 secs. *casts on MM animating a Flesh Golem*...it spawns at level 3. *casts on ele casting meteor shower on a shrine*...all NPCs survive. *casts on ele casting lightning orb*...i only take 13 damage. I really hope Anet don't nerf this anytime soon =D --Cobalt | Talk 20:09, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

That's just evil.  :[ -- Sk8 (T)(C) 20:11, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

I agree with cobalt. Love this skill. Mr IP 20:24, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Loving it! I already loved Atrophy :) THis is the leet version! PuppetX 14:32, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

I never thought of it like that, but ye, it's basically an elite version of atrophy :D. A practical (rather than just funny) use for this, in TA anyway, is to roll a standard anti-melee necro but replacing the elite with this so your build is something along the lines of

With the rest of the team as 2 sins and a monk. Cast wail on an enemy monk just as the sins jump to him and hes basically helpless :)--Cobalt | Talk 16:27, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Compared to Blackout?

Advantages: 2 seconds earlier recharge, 1/4 cast, good attribute, ranged, and no downtime on caster.
Disadvantages: Blackout doesn't sacrifice health. Blackout interrupts. Blackout is non-elite skill. Blackout also is on a good attribute. meh, arguable. ~ 202.216.127.143 05:33, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

If you hit them with this when they are casting a spell with a failiure chance below a certain attribute level then it can interupt ;). Though an advantage of blackout is that it's not tied to a primary attribute --Cobalt | Talk 09:34, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

And a Warrior still beats through Blackout with quite some damage (auto attack pressure iz bleh). But with 0 attri's, he'll be swinging 1's and 2' :) --- -- (s)talkpage 09:38, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Indeed, casting this when a warrior or assasin is just about to use their attack combo is FTW, though i suppose with blackout they can't use any attack skills at all - and therefore won't even be able to cause conditions. Also, blackout will reset a warrior/paras adrenaline --Cobalt | Talk 09:41, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes, but still. Busting yourself out for X seconds to let the Warrior DPS on (once you get in Touch Range....), or /slit for 10% and negate him in whole? I know what I'd prefer :) But that could be because I <3 Necro's ^^' --- -- (s)talkpage 09:44, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Are we ignoring that Blackout lasts longer and is unremovable, so to speak? Sure it's impractical to get Wail removed, but it could happen. Valure

Surely the fact that a monk might waste energy removing this on someone is a good thing - it can be used as a very short term cover hex. And btw...theres a sign button or you can maunually sign with 4 tildes (--~~~~), you dont have to manually create a link to your userpage. --Cobalt | Talk 14:15, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

I meant more that you might have a target pre-veiled or hex breakered; not terribly likely but something to consider nonetheless. Thanks for the hint, I'm still noobing it up as far as wiki goes. Valure 17:03, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

(Reset indent) Well if their preveiled and the monk removes veil to take this off (wether deiberately or by accident) i'd still say thats an advantage as nobody with any sense will use veil to remove a 4 second hex. I hadn't thought about Hex Breaker, which is a good point. However, it's er, just ever so slightly possible that someone might have "Can't Touch This!" on them which would prevent blackout working but not this....ok that was a little forced, but hey, it's possible...possibly...no?...ok :(--Cobalt | Talk 17:51, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Dunno, blackout is nonelite, has a twice the duration, and a better recharge. Someone mentioned the pressure you won't be receiving from a auto-attacking warrior with WoD. This is only three seconds of mitigated pressure. He can still use weak conditions and it only takes a 3-second deep wound to finish you. But meh. ~ 202.216.127.143 14:01, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Notes

The notes added by the anon (sorry i can't be bothered looking up and typing out the ip address) don't really belong on a skill article page, but it would seem a shame to just coldly delete them immediately. Consensus forming time, anyone? --Cobalt | Talk 20:43, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Well, it has some merit. I think it needs a trim though. Mr IP 20:44, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Waaayyyy less wordy imo. Something like "Consider using this skill on a Warrior or an Assassin prior to the spike to render them useless" as one note, and "This skill is useful in rendering most catser professions useless for the time being" --- -- (s)talkpage 20:47, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

"^^...useless for a short time period. This can be useful against monks when your team is about to Spike an enemy player" imo --Cobalt | Talk 20:54, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Notes Error, Need further testing

emmmmm... why does it state that its gonna reduce the attributes while casting... When someone is hit by weakness while activating a skill, the skill is not reduced. The same thing applies while casting under weakness, you have the same attribute as when you start casting. The attributes are set at the START of the cast. Big Bow 15:21, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

Im sorry but i have tested this and, when cast on a necro animating a minion it spawned at lvl one. When cast on the Master of lightning using lightning orb it dealt 13 damage. It's the attrib lvl when you finish casting that counts. Test it yourself and upload a screen - i cba right now --Cobalt | Talk 15:28, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

I went to Isle of the Nameless and got myself under the weakness condition. I waited for it to almost fade out before casting so my spell would end under no condition. Indeed you were right, I did 105 dmg with Dragon's Stomp on 60 Al target at 16 Earth Magic. I was just skeptical about that :) Big Bow 16:05, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

I am actually surprised that weakness behaves that way, i already knew wail of doom would before testing it from my experiments with Atrophy. I think that after some further testing your discovery may warrant some kind of note on the Weakness article, as it isn't explained anywhere in game how attrib reduction effects spells being cast.--Cobalt | Talk 19:05, 9 March 2008 (UTC)

Possibly even more bizarre is how it affects projectiles like Spears and Arrows. Even if you've fired say a BHA and get hit by weakness forever-and-a-day later, the arrow will still be affected by weakness when it hits. --BlueNovember 02:03, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

PvE Functionality

Aside from rather obvious implications this has on PvP balance, what about the PvE folks? Having a necromancer on your team with this (and possibly arcane echo) makes those super-hard end game PvE bosses a pushover - Searing Flames sets somebody on fire for 1 second! Word of Healing on those annoying Monk bosses becomes useless. It's so getting thrown on my Necromancer hero's bar. -Phydeaux 00:22, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

That's a good point, actually. And it's not in a specific att, just SR, which most necros (afaik) have a decent amount in. --Shadowcrest 00:24, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

yeah and you only need to have 8 points in SR to have this last 3 seconds. PuppetX 06:50, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Hmm...don't think so. Remember that hexes on bosses will last only a half of the 'normal' time. One elite to 'minimize' the damage of a boss for 1 or 2 seconds ? Even with arcane echo cast 3 times (yeah, 30% sac) I don't know..I would go for a interrupting ranger or mesmer hero or something. -- Merty 14:15, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Or just cast Pain Inverter on them and let them cast their high damage skills --Cobalt | Talk 16:12, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Hexes only last half as long in Proph. They say they last half as long on NF bosses, but then why does my wastrel's worry take 3 seconds to wear off? --Shadowcrest 17:06, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

In NF/Factions it depends on the Boss on wich you cast. Some do and some don't have Natural resistance. And that still reminds me of Diablo II. Barbarians ftw. --- -- (s)talkpage 17:08, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

Proposed Skill Balance

After the last set of updates, I'm sure there are plenty of people that feel this skill is extremely too powerful at this point. I have a proposed change to this skill, that allows it to keep its same activation/recharge and not have it overpowered. The change would make this skill very similar to Power Block. If target foe is casting a Spell or a Chant, that Skill is interrupted. The interrupted Skill and all Skills of the same attribute are disabled for 3...13 seconds for that foe.

I suggest changing this skill's functionality to: Interrupt target foe's action. If that action was a Skill, the interrupted Skill's attribute is set to 0 for 1...3 seconds.

-- Sk8 (T)(C) 11:05, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

My idea was: The next time target foe casts a Spell, the Attribute rank of that Spell is set to 0. Like the Mesmer hexes (s,d,g) --- -- (s)talkpage 11:07, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

"For 5s the next time target foe uses a skill that Skill's attribute is set to 0 for 1...3 seconds." ? I'd rather let mesmers have interrupts, 0 points for 1...3s, seems hideously inferior to powerblock, which would have the same condition to use, and at 0 domination would disable an enemy for the same time as Wail at 12 (excepting when the target uses skill, or spells with recharges higher than 13s) I am however a big fan of the "the next time target foe" mechanic and would love an elite of that vein. Ezekiel [Talk] 12:04, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

Glad you like my proposal ^^ As for interrupts: A bunch of Prof's already have interrupts, so why not some more? :P <sarcasm> It's not like a single player can be waaay overpowered already </sarcasm> --- -- (s)talkpage 13:21, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

First of all, if you haven't noticed, Necromancers don't interrupt. They have a grand total of 0 skills that interrupt ANYTHING, so please, let's not change the class' role here. They are already too similar to mesmers as it is. SECONDLY, you say that your proposed changed is "similar" to power block. That's an understatement, IT IS powerblock, it even has the same damn description, it's just under soul reaping, as opposed to domination. I'm sorry but it's a terrible idea that not only creates duplicate elites, but gives Necros the ability to do something that is for Mesmers only. No thanks.

Rangers across GvG and TA would laugh at you, saying that interrupting is for Mesmers only. Oh, and by the way, this skill used to interrupt. So it's not like Necromancers have never had an interrupt skill. Yes, the proposal was stupid, but that's no reason to make such a claim. (Talk) 01:37, 20 June 2009 (UTC)

Overpowered

This skill is ridiculously overpowered, And I want it changed. So, I'm going to shed a little insight on a nastly little combination I've noticed. Quickening Zephyr + Wail of Doom. Just let that mull around in the old noggin' a few minutes.

50% recharge, 30% greater cost for spells. That's nifty and all, making it a 4 out of 5.25 seconds (Can't do ####) hex, but even niftier, is that it's only 1 energy, and thus is immune to the drawback of Quickening Zephyr. I'd been toying around with the idea of a team build for TA utilizing 4 Necros. 2 N/R with QZ and 2 N/Rt with Draw Spirit (To bounce the QZ around of course, to aid in it not being killed too quickly.) Main skills in the build being... 16 blood, 13 soul reaping... . Wail of Doom . Blood Drinker . Angorodon's Gaze . Masochism . The rest is optional, but a source of QZ would be required, and a resurrect would also be advised. The only reason I haven't played around with it myself, is because I don't know enough people who would be coordinated enough to operate it, though it would take very little coordination. Main counters would be hex removal and anti-spell, of course, but with Obsidian Flesh, Spell Breaker, and Vow of Silence as your only options... Well, as long as you get wail off before it's completed, it'll end quickly and be of no use. Just let each Necro have a target, and go wild. If my hypothesis is correct, it should be very effective. And hey, if this is popular, I get to kill PvP until izzy nerfs this. Two teams running this would just take turns wailing eachother until one manages to get a kill. 76.175.145.118

Maybe for each 2 ranks in Soul Reaping it will decrease the attributes by 1. So you have 12 SR, target loses 6 attribute points.--— Hyprodimus Prime 06:00, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Then it'll overly punish people that try to have a bit of a variety (a la Prismatic Insignia) --Gimmethegepgun 14:48, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Yes Wod is much too powerful. Atleast in ta when a necro spamming this 24/7 on the monk. It's 1/4 sec casting time so good luck interrupting that. 4 seconds shutdown at the 13 sr breakpoint and with a 40/40 sr set it can pretty much be kept on the monk forever. Yay so balanced. It needs to have a 1 sec casting time or a LONGER recharge. How the fuck do you monk when your prots don't do anything and your heals heal for 5 hp. Not even funny playing ta with this shit every match.--85.226.179.242 15:12, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Btw, 40/40 isn't as good as you think for this. Seeing as it's really 36/36, and even then HCT doesn't do much to a 1/4s cast. So it's really just 36. So there's 6s downtime most of the time. I think the skill could be changed so that the attribute drop is variable, and tied directly to the soulreaping level, but as Gimme said, that would punish people who don't put 16 points in one stat. On the other hand, they could leave it at "reduces to 0" but make it only target the highest non-primary attribute. This would really hurt builds that focus on one (Fire magic comes to mind) but balanced builds would be less affected. Ezekiel [Talk] 01:04, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

I've been in TA for the past two hours and I've lost every single game. I've been playing on my monk and theres always a N/Me spamming WoD and its just getting absolutely ridiculous. They need to increase the energy cost for this. 1 energy to completely render any player useless? Also this is just way to spammable. If nothing is going to change expect TA to be full of N/Me WoD, Arcane Echo's just spamming on each other until timer runs down. Just increase the recharge time to 30 seconds, cause this is getting out of hand.65.87.175.36 07:58, 11 May 2008 (UTC)

Wail of Doom is WAY overpowered, there's no argument about that. And if there were an argument, the people on the opposing sides obviously know nothing about Guild Wars. Increasing the cooldown to 30 though is a bit much. As it is, you can keep Wail on a target 2/5ths of the time, which is ridiculous. I think increasing the cooldown to somewhere between 15 and 20 seconds is more reasonable.

Arcane Echo, 4/5. 08:18, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

question

If you cast this on an enemy necro with over 2 minions do all but two minions die?72.27.67.182 23:52, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Good question, I'd assume no, but I haven't checked and I can see how it would do that. Ezekiel [Talk] 02:28, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

I was at first very confused by this question, then i looked at the death magic article and saw this "Without Death Magic, you can control no more than two undead servants. For every two ranks of Death Magic, you can control one additional undead servant." How long has that been the case o.O I've been playing since the release of proph and im sure that back then death magic had no effect on how many minions you could control. I never really read ingame attrib discriptions anymore, so could anyone tell me when this was put into effect, (or was it always like this)even if it was like a year ago or something. As for the actual question, i would say that, if anything, all but 2 minions would become unbound, not die, but i would guess nothing happens at all. Worth testing though --Cobalt | Talk 11:08, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

My bet is they'll die. And sometime since NF Death Magic got nerfed. Before that, you'd see MMs with ~40 minions ;) --- -- (s)talkpage 11:11, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

I got roughly 70 on THK, albeit runnning a specialist team designed purely to see how many minions we could sustain--Cobalt | Talk 11:17, 5 April 2008 (UTC)

Tested it in AB on a MM, didn't work at all. My guess was that all the minions would die, but nothing happened. Its either a bug or it isn't meant to work that way. When you read the skill description and compare it with how Death Magic is supposed to work it says all mionions should die. --Arthas 16:47, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

that's silly, it should be able to shut down minions masters b/c you really can't do much else with the hex only lasting 3sec... BTW why on earth did this get so radically changed? it sucks a little less now but it's been fundamentally changed! It used to be that you had to interrupt an attack (which was hella hard to do) and it would blackout the guys skills. Also, minion masters got nerfed a LOOONG time ago. I started with the factions release and it's always been that way. I've heard ppl who played since the proph release talking about how a minion master could just walk through the entire game XD

you should of seen the 'Minion Factory' HA build, back in those wonderful days of "Balance"-- - (Talk/Contribs) 09:15, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Made for a nasty surprise ;)

I was experimenting to see what I could kill on a 330hp ritualist, and I ran into a Sensali Blood in Sunqua Vale. It took me a while to catch on to what the cause was behind my Protective Spirit lasting 5 seconds =) Xx Mental Xx 17:27, 18 April 2008 (UTC)

Notes

"*This skill will render most targets very ineffective." I think the un-consolidated version was more informative than a loose term such as "very ineffective"-- - (Talk/Contribs) 12:38, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

I just think that you aren't entirely useless, you can still do whatever you did before, just a lot more ineffective. Being useless makes it sound like you aren't capable of doing anything. Silver Sunlight 13:08, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

I agree that you aren't entirely useless, what i meant by the 'un-consolidated version' was this, i think it tells you more than "will render a target useless/ineffective" and it also makes reference to specific tactics with the skill, e.g. using before a melee spike. Regardless of wether we keep the note that it makes the target 'very ineffective' for the duration of the hex, i still think the old notes should stay-- - (Talk/Contribs) 13:18, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Oh now I understand :) yes, I agree with you. Maybe combine them into one note? "During a spike this skill can be used offensively to render enemy support players ineffective, or defensively to reduce the damage from an incoming one." or well something like that Silver Sunlight 13:30, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Useless would be a foe affected by Blackout, Binding Chains, and in a knockdown-lock. There are many skills that aren't used primarily for their effects that are increased with Attributes, such as Cure Hex, Dismiss Condition, even though those heals are nice. -Mike 19:58, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

KD lock is not useless - you can still use shouts, stances, and if you have enough cast time reducing stuff on you, you can, oddly, still use 1/4 sec cast spells. If your blackedout (black-outed? :S ) you can still bodyblock and attack, and you can still use skills under binding chains. Of course all of that is entirely irrelevant. I agree with Silver Sunlight, some kind of new note is required. I propose something along the lines of: One note about:Consider using this skill on a melee character just before they spike because bla bla less damage from weapon, skills with low attribs, bla bla prawned etc. And a second note about rendering any spike target pretty much unable to defend themselves - so consider using on a target before a spike bla bla. I agree that "this can render melee fighters useless" and "this can render casters useless" right after each other was a bit pointless. We could if necessary have a third note about how it makes just about any build ineffective for its duration as well, though that might be self-explanatory-- - (Talk/Contribs) 13:56, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

He was saying all three of those would render a character "useless". And I agree. --Shadowcrest 20:18, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Heh, I think the Notes are okay. -Mike 21:05, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

How do heroes use this skill???

Update

Do I have to say it? ... Finally! Although lately most teams have been running other hexes, so imo this buff came nearly a year too late :P Shai Meliamne 16:38, 7 March 2009 (UTC)