Talk: Rabid Bear

the rabid bear also appears to have a knockdown unrelated to Leviathan's Sweep, but I've only seen him use it once, because I was knocked down casting Meteor Shower. After that attempt I've stuck with skills that cast in under 3 seconds and never been knocked down since (since I don't block) --Falseprophet 09:29, 5 September 2007 (CDT)

The ritualist elite skill Wanderlust can help immensely by keeping the bear knocked down while you continue to beat on it. Cast it outside of the arena, wait for it to recharge about half way, then attack the bear with a full spike. I was having trouble beating this as an ele until I tried Wanderlust with Mark of Rodgort Lava Font Smoldering Embers Fireball and Breath of Fire (Fire Attunement and heal). I also tried several knockdown builds unsuccessfully (I was going to try a Steady Stance-Drunken build next, but didn't need to). --Falseprophet 05:37, 6 September 2007 (CDT)

I don't remember the Rabid Bear using any skills during the Sneak Preview weekend. Was it just luck for me or was he updated at official release? And, does he still deal like 2-10 damage per hit? (T/C) 18:26, 6 September 2007 (CDT)

I don't understand what kind of quest this is supposed to be. It seems to be a lighthearted and fun quest, since you must kill the bear using the club that does 15-15 damage. And if I could actually go in there and beat the bear to death with the club, even if it required some strategy or thought, it would be fun. But the bear is level 24, has natural regen, and uses Defy Pain, Dolyak Signet, and Troll Unguent, ensuring that the club (and for that matter, many other weapons) will be completely ineffective. I can kill the bear with my assassin, but it doesn't complete when I use daggers, and figuring out exactly when to time the "death blow" with the club that does ~0-2 damage on an enemy that may use Defy Pain at any moment is futile. The quest virtually screams "use a spirit spammer and switch to the club while you watch the bear die". Well, what's fun or lighthearted about that? I'm not whining because I can't complete the quest, I'm just saying I don't get it. You're given a silly weapon with a funny name and told to beat a bear to death with it, then you're put up against a level 24 super-tank that can only be beaten by good players with certain tricks. -- bcstingg (talk • contribs) 14:41, 7 September 2007 (CDT)

This quest will throw PETA into overdrive --Blue.rellik 22:23, 9 September 2007 (CDT)

Nah, it's clearly labeled as "Rabid", PETA doesn't care if you dispose of dangerous animals. Now, the Rabbit trap that leads to Nulfastu Earthbound... (T/C) 22:25, 9 September 2007 (CDT)

But I doubt they would like even a rabid animal beaten down with a big lump of wood with spikes in it. That's only a few steps above beating seal cubs --Blue.rellik 22:26, 9 September 2007 (CDT)

But, we protect innocent Junundu in Gate of Desolation mission. Surely that atones us for all our crimes! Like when I cast Immolate on helpless Moa Birds...Oops! You didn't see that. :o (T/C) 22:30, 9 September 2007 (CDT)

Don't worry, all of us will eventually get destroyed by PETA, especially for all the worms we massacred in pre searing because they made a fun sound when they died. =D Maybe that was just me, but they did make a fun sound!--Gigathrash 22:32, 9 September 2007 (CDT)

Use Backbreaker, Entropy. Much more satisfying --Blue.rellik 22:34, 9 September 2007 (CDT)

Kinda hard to get 10 Adrenaline without killing it... My favorite is still Star Burst though. :D (T/C) 22:35, 9 September 2007 (CDT)

Dark Fury + Mark of Fury + Infuriating Heat + Enraging Charge. If you're lucky it'll survive the first hit so you can break some backs the next hit........yeah I should try that build --Blue.rellik 22:37, 9 September 2007 (CDT)

W/N/R's with 2 Elites FTW! The Paintballer (T/C) 22:58, 9 September 2007 (CDT)

Of course. It is impossible to bring a real necro or ranger with a party. Silly me --Blue.rellik 23:00, 9 September 2007 (CDT)

Actually, W/P with Signet of Aggression would work better. (T/C) 23:01, 9 September 2007 (CDT)

Damn killing this thing for the quest is frigging hard. One of the hardest and most annoying quests in the entire game --Blue.rellik

I, as a ranger, found it annoying. i tried the UW solo trapping build with flame trap instead of whirling defense. he survived it. i tried an ab high degen build. Failed. i tried the build i easily killed magni the bison with. failed. i resorted to using For Great Justice!, Lightning Reflexes, and spamming Dragon Slash continuously for 20 seconds, then using block skills and using Healing Signet after knockdown from Leviathan's Sweep until i could repeat. I used no skills whilst defy pain was active when his hp was low, spammed dragon slash until he almost died, then switched to the club and used "Finish Him!" . Also, i believe there is some knockdown issues with this. In a build i tried, i was spamming "You Move Like a Dwarf!" and occasionally he didnt get knocked down. I also believe his recharge for Troll Unguent is faster than normal, but that might just be me

He does have Dolyak Signet. I like the idea of using "Finish Him" while holding the club - that means you don't have to deal that last 0...10 damage with the club, just cause DW for win. Good strategy. (T/C) 17:25, 12 September 2007 (CDT)

Duh -.- stoopid me heh. No knockdowns, but yeah, make sure he doesnt have defy pain up, and if it is, just attack him normally to ready the spammage, as soon as his health jerks down, spam the combo until his health is very low, then do it. I'll admit I didnt get to swap over the first 2 times, but, for a guy, its a hell of a lot easier killing him with another weapon and having to restart than dying and having to restart. Returning to the explorable area with 15DP and no party is rediculous

As a ranger, I also tried the DOA echo dust solo trapping build; did not work. Tried couple of other trap builds then, went back to basics. I carried dist shot, apply posion, screaming shot, troll, and the Norm skills 'finish him' an 'i am unstoppable'. Made rit secondary and brought along pain & wanderlust. Set the rituals just outside the ring; applied poison; stepped in enough to pull the bear; then proceeded to use screaming + posion. I used troll as necessary; hit dist shot once to stop troll (troll is at least 1/2 cast time but was using a shortbow AND was watching for it); and the bear died. But, I forgot to switch to the club to finish him off. Went right back and followed same steps EXCEPT switched to club and used finish him. Pain was nice and wanderlust knocked him down several times. Whole thing took just over a minute.

I wasn't prepared ahead of time, but I was there, so I went in with what I had. I had my pet tank and keep the bear poisoned with poisonous bite. I used necrosis to eat away his health, and scavenger's strike when energy allowed. I used heal as one and call of haste as needed. Took a couple minutes, but otherwise it was easy. 71.2.131.20 20:29, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

Defeated the Rabid Bear as W/N without weapon switching

It offended my sensibilities to think that I, a manly warrior type, couldn't defeat a foe with the weapon I was challenged to use. So, I resolved to actually USE the club... and only the club. My method wasn't quick or elegant, but I eventually overcame the beast using a combination of Grenth's Balance, Faintheartedness (to offset his regeneration) and the PvE Deldrimor skills Ear Bite, Brawling Headbutt, Low Blow (all of which use adrenaline.) Did I have fun? Not really. One would think a warrior would have little difficulty with a straight up melee encounter, weapon notwithstanding, but it's readily apparent (to me at least) that classes with deeper mana pools would have an easier time of it. The quest (almost literally) forces melee classes to use a nerf bat, which in turn shuts down everything that we are. Not amusing.--Malagra 03:06, 15 September 2007 (CDT)

Try doing it with a paragon lol. Kudoz2u 22:24, 18 December 2007 (UTC)

I used Ursan Blessing myself, worked fairly well except I had to cancel out of it and frantically heal myself once. Volfen Blessing though shouldn't have that problem with a high enough Norn title, the regen and a warrior's armor pretty much keeps his damage to a minimum. The club is extremely not fun to use. -Gildan Bladeborn 19:37, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

I also went W/N with:

(Curses 8, Blood 12, Hammer 10+1, rest in Strength)

I also took Enfeebling Blood but didn't need it as Staggering Blow charges faster than Auspicious Blow anyway, so add another adrenal attack instead, like Mighty Blow. Flail would probably be superior to Drunken Master unless you take alcohol, but I like the duration of DM regardless =). Keep Cracked Armor on the bear with Weaken Armor until he first uses Troll Unguent, then use Distracting Strike, then you only need to re-apply Weaken Armor as Distracting Strike finishes recharging. Spam the other skills on recharge to take him down. Phineas 18:32, 30 December 2008 (UTC)

Rabid Bear Cheats

Would someone put in a bug code since I don't know how to enter it? The Rabid Bear is immune to "Finish Him!", immune to knockdowns randomly (i.e. sometimes it will be knocked down and other times not, despite fulfilling the conditions)... and unless severely spike-killed at the end will not in fact die when its health is brought down to 0. I just managed to whittle that damnable bear down to 0 health and then ended up continuously hammering on him for about 20 minutes after that, and his health just kept going down to 0 then wavering back up again, despite nothing being different in the process which likewise brought him down to that health level. "Finish Him!" was spammed on the bear at every given opportunity and did nothing. Absolutely nothing. Even at 0 health the bear was totally immune to it. ~ SotiCoto 23:58, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

That's because when it says it ran away (but it didn't because they half-assed the coding of it) you just move again to find it's new location. It is virtually impossible to kill (I did once, but that was because I was bored) but you still have to find it at its next location anyway if you do manage to "kill" it --Gimmethegepgun 00:01, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

... The Rabid Bear doesn't change locations. You can only be talking about the Nornbear, which isn't the same thing. Anyhow, I've found the only reliable way to beat the Rabid Bear is to go secondary Rit and spirit-spam. That method does far too much damage for the silly bear to possibly survive. ~ SotiCoto 00:26, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

Err.... oops. Yeah, that's the nornbear, my bad. Anyway, what profession are you? --Gimmethegepgun 00:29, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

Assassin. 'Killing' the bear alone wasn't the problem. Killing it 'with the Club' was the issue. My attempts to go secondary Warrior and smash it around with hammer attack skills were frankly rather futile. When it all comes down to it, the best way to beat that bear is with binding rituals. Bloodsong, Pain, Vampirism, Wanderlust, Earthbind & Shadowsong. Summon the Spirits in and stick Painful Bond on the bear and he goes down in no time (and I smack him with the club while it happens). Works for every class... and while it might seem like cheating, it was the only way I could do it. ~ SotiCoto 02:00, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

He did not get knocked down because of dolyak signet, and the issue where he doesn't die at 0 is because of a bug with defy pain that shows the health being different than what it actually is. You can actually see the defy pain bug in action if you run WoH monk on a team with someone using endure/ defy pain. Kudoz2u 23:42, 17 December 2007 (UTC)

The Necro way

SS + Insidious Parasite + Barbs + Necrosis = the damage skills. Parasitic Bond for self heal. Signet of Lost Souls for self heal but mainly for energy management (when target is below 50% hp). 2 free slots, there you can put anything that causes blind and is quite cheap... think Shadowsong is cheapest, at least I used it. And last skill up to you, I added an adre skill, Brawling Headbutt, since energy is low with all those hexes. As weapon the bear club of course and attack it with it so Barbs triggers =) Curses 16 (12+3+1), Soul Reaping 12 (11+1), Communing 5 --Birchwooda Treehug 22:05, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

I ended up using 3 skills on my bar as an E/N (mostly because I made a mistake) -- SS, Insidious Parasite, and Ear Bite -- don't really even need Ear Bite, but the degen makes it faster. Curses and Energy Storage up at 12 and it goes down. 71.146.90.229 07:34, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

I used ele skills as Ele (common lightning spiker known from PvP) --Birchwooda Treehug 14:41, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

Beating the bear without wasting gold on skills

The notes and tips mention blinding (first), 5 different spirits, and Necromancer skills, all of which I think misleads people into thinking that beating this quest requires spending a lot of gold and skill points on otherwise unnecessary skills. I was able to win with just 3 spirits (Vampirism, Pain, Shadowsong), none of which cost me any gold. I used Distracting Blow to interrupt Troll Unguent because it was lower in (energy and gold) cost than other interrupts. My other skills happened to be Enraged Smash, Counter Blow, Flail and Lion's Comfort... but I got the sense that those 4 could have been replaced with anything. My skill points were: 6 Str/10 Hammer/6 Tactics/12 Communing. I used a 15^50 Hammer of Fortitude and weapon-switched to the Club of a Thousand Bears (weapon). I also used a Superior rune of Hammer Mastery. Template Code: OQgkEZTalByU4TRRZBf1f13kP4ZD P.S. With this same build, I also beat everyone up to Magni The Bison in the tournament... on the first try! P.P.S. I think the tips should be centralized - the Tips sections on the quest pages replaced with links and moved to The Rabid Bear page - and put in order from best to worst (things that helped the most people to things that helped the fewest). --War Pig5 07:39, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

And if you're not a war or rit? Guess you have to waste gold then huh? 222.153.229.8 01:16, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

Would Magni killing builds work here too? I would think so cause they are typically anti-melee. that way there might be more of a point in getting the required skills? N Segick 01:41, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

Mesmer build

It's probably not the best build, but it worked for me (I am just Slayer of Giants (4)). Since we have to wear the club, we don't have the energy bonuses our usual weapons give us. So at least I upgraded the club with a "I have the power!" inscription. I was secondary Ritualist and my attributes - 9 Fast Casting, 14 Illusion Magic, 13 Domination Magic. Here's the build:

• Vampirism (Sunspear skill) (it was the only healing element)
• Ineptitude (dealt damage & blinded the bear)
• Cry of Frustration (interrupt the Troll Unguent and dealt some damage)
• Cry of Pain (Sunspear skill) (same as above)
• Soothing Images (prevented the bear from gaining adrenaline)

The other spells I've brought are: Conjure Phantasm and Mental Block. Maybe someone will find this build useful. The Masquerader 13:43, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

The following setup worked for my Mesmer/Necro attempt. I have Slayer of Beasts (rank 2) using the following skills

• Ethereal Burden
• Grenth's Balance
• Conjure Phantasm
• Images of Remorse
• Energy Tap
• Sympathetic Visage
• Barbed Signet
• Angorodon's Gaze

Attributes were set at

• 3 Fast Casting
• 14 Illusion Magic
• 12 Blood Magic.

I did upgrade the club with a sundering haft, grip of shelter +6, and inscription- damage +10% vs Hexed foes, but I don't think that was necessary. Use any weapon until you get his health very low then switch to the club. I used Grenth's Balance as my main heal and damage trying to keep the Barbed Signet ready for a final blow. Ethereal Burden and Energy Tap for energy management. The hard part is standing stll while he pounds away your health so Grenth's Balance can do more damage once you are both very low on health (it's no good if you have higher health than your foe).GW-Tugg 21:58, 30 December 2008 (UTC)

Dervish Tactics

If you put points into Earth Prayers (I used 12), just 3 skills will keep you alive. Use Armor of Sanctity, Aura of Thorns, and Signet of Pious Light. This will neutralize all damage he does to you, and he will be bleeding constantly. You then have 5 skills to kill him. I recommend Signet of Infection for one of them. The bear will now have a constant 7 health degen (he gets 8 regen while his troll unguent is up). This means that with your 4 remaining skills, you must do more than 2 damage per second. Even a single skill, if picked correctly, should do the trick. I used Low Blow and Light of Deldrimor, but again, almost anything will work for these. 66.60.205.230 04:12, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

Almost any build

Using this template, OAhjYMgsIT+gfTlTnNVT2kqT7iA (Vampirism, Pain, Bloodsong, Shadowsong, Painful Bond, You Move Like a Dwarf, Brutal Weapon, and Ebon Vanguard Assassin Support with 12 attributes in both Communing and Channeling), I had no trouble defeating Bear (and separately, Magni the Bison). Note, no elite skills are required, but you do need high Sunspear and good Norn and Vanguard levels. Of course, the main draw-back is the need to purchase the skills (or earn the PvE skills and attribute levels). Put up all spirits, apply brutal weapon, aggro Bear, knock him down with move-like-dwarf, then use Vanguard Assassin. Took just seconds. You might craft a cheap high energy staff, then switch to club after starting process. GW-Susan 17:45, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

for W/Rt, I used OQgjMNgsIT+gfTlTnNVT2kqT7iA and it worked great. I only had to use the first 5 skills. I set up the spirits outside the ring before I aggroed, and Painful Bond twice did the rest. (I think the bear couldn't get to the spirits to destroy them because of the ring barrier that goes up once you aggro him.) --Eudas 03:27, 7 November 2008 (UTC)

The Assa way

Took me 3 tries to adjust the build but then it worked without further fails/tries.
At first I need a hex that causes damage, I chose Empathy (Mesmer-line), Rest are Assa and PvE skills: Golden Phoenix Strike (needs the enchantment), Critical Strike, Black Spider Strike (needs the hex), Ebon Vanguard Assassin Support, Shadow Refuge (or something else for self-heal), Critical Agility (enchantment that'll keep up), "Finish Him!" (if you don't have it, try Impale or anything that causes a deep wound for the finisher).
Template: OwVkIwd53MmkGQZ2+DZ2uoLTNYMJ
I kept up Empathy at all times (I re-cast it as soon as it was available). After the first damage taken I used the self-heal whenever it was available again. Spammed the attacks and Assassin Support when it was re-loaded again. Close to the end I switched to the bear club, used Finish Him. End.
Attributes: Domination Magic 12, Critical Strikes 9+1+3 (headgear - should reach 13 for full energy gain at critical strikes), Dagger Mastery 9+2, Shadow Arts 3+3. Customized Zealous Daggers with Energy +5. With the club I had 450 hp and survived. Much fun trying --Birchwooda Treehug 15:38, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

I herd Enduring Toxin works well (T/C) 20:28, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

But the bear won't move and so it ends XD Or do you just run around? Well that'll take longer than using a proper build. But I'll use it for my para (apply it and run away) and see if it works as I haven't found a proper para build yet that does not take an eternity. --Birchwooda Treehug 15:14, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

That's just what Felix told me. I honestly have no idea how it works. :S (T/C) 15:20, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Meh, for assassin, what I'd probably do is exactly what I did with my warrior: cheese it with Enraged Smash --Gimmethegepgun 15:46, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Don't you mean...Backbreaker? Oh, wait, this isn't PvP. It's funny since I never thought I'd find a use for X skill but quests like this always prove me wrong. (T/C) 15:53, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Are you joking or not? :P I mean Enraged Smash, that skill has horrifying DPS with an IAS (Flail or Critical Agility) thrown on --Gimmethegepgun

So tell me why Earth Shaker is superior in PvE and Devhammer / Magehunter's Smash in PvP? :( (T/C) 15:59, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Because Earth Shaker KDs several enemies (doesn't matter here, what with a single enemy and KD prevention) and dev/mage because they are a hard KD without the adrenaline loss of Hammer Bash, and because PvP enemies won't stand still for Flail to kick their asses. Still moot here because of KD prevention --Gimmethegepgun 16:05, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Thus you're actually reinforcing my point that certain skill like Enraged Smash are never ever used except in specialty situation like this. :) (T/C) 16:07, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

Yep :P Game is full of stupid skills like that --Gimmethegepgun 16:09, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

That's a warrior elite XD I didn't want to pay a single piece of gold just to finish a stupid quest. Otherwise I would go spirit spammer. Think that's the fastest way anyway. --Birchwooda Treehug 02:15, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

Wahh that takes three eternities XD I think in 3h the bear is dead. A pity, so my para is still on the waiting list. --Birchwooda Treehug 02:15, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

I believe the other skills are like...Seeping Wound, YMLaD, Ear Bite...uhm. can't remember. Maybe it was for the Norn Fighting Tournament XD (T/C) 10:39, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

Anyway, as long as you can maintain like -10 degen at all times, the bear dies eventually. Para has many ways to cause Burning, then there is Ear Bite, and etc. (T/C) 10:41, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

Yeah degen counters the regen (the -4 from Toxin was a joke, hardly to see any progress down his health - either he has an insane high amount of hp or a permanent natural regen or 2 or 3) but that alone takes ages to kill the bear and in the meanwhile the bear kills you, so you need damage and healing (or perma blind) as well. My para either runs out of energy after a while or dies first. I'd like a build that is not trial and error or a might-work-with-luck-in-1h :/ (The first Parabuild I tried was my conditions build which causes bleeding, poison, burning and deep wound AND does dmg - the bear wiped the floor with my arse -.-) --Birchwooda Treehug 13:37, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

Bear has natural regen of 3 I believe. Anyway he doesn't deal that much domage, but Para doesn't have that strong a self-heal, unless maybe Leader's Comfort triggers off all those Norn? (T/C) 14:08, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

Thanks to you I tried it with my degen build again but considered the tip I read somewhere else to not take any damage (and thus not care about heal). I jumped out of the ring and brought his health down till I could switch to the club to give him the finishing blow and that took a minute because the bear only used his Troll healing and nothing else, so my dmg skills did its part to the degen - w00t. I'm happy =) Will add the Para way (a FAST one!) here too in few mins, have to dance on the bear's dead body before XD --Birchwooda Treehug 14:14, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

The Para way (fast)

Pictures 1-3 - Para-way

Getting the paragon through this is normally pretty hard, hardest of all professions but with a trick it can be done quickly and safely.
This build does heavy degen and lots of damage to kill the bear within 1 Minute without that the bear can counter. The bear will only use its Troll Unguent which cannot cope the degen and damage. Skills are: Poison Tip Signet for the poison, Spear of Lightning, Spear of Fury a Kurzick/Luxon PvE skill for fast adrenaline and damage, Barbed Spear does the bleeding, Blazing Spear for damage and burning, Cruel Spear for deep wound and damage, Ear Bite only used as finisher and last but most important Ebon Escape an Ebon Vanguard PvE skill.
Template: OQKigxlMdJ+gV6BkpgxgVKSXCA (Luxon)
At first you mark one of the two Norn allies at start (picture #1), then you run in the ring and once the bear turns hostile you use Ebon Escape to jump out of the ring. Then you can approach the bear to get in attack range (best is you get him between a rock and a Norn - see picture #2). Keep in mind that when you run around too much the bear will be able to escape from the ring too.
Now you simply spam 1-6 until the bear lost ~95% of its health, then you switch to the club and finish it with the dmg from Ear Bite. End.
Attributes: Spear Mastery 12+1+3 (headgear), Wilderness Survival 12. Any max dmg spear. Much fun. --Birchwooda Treehug 14:50, 12 November 2008 (UTC)

Consider Ebon Vanguard Sniper Support in place of Ear Bite phineas 16:21, 28 January 2009 (UTC)

I would say Disrupting Throw, for Troll. 16:23, 28 January 2009 (UTC)

Hard to interrupt it, easier to just out-degen with this. RoseOfKali 18:16, November 12, 2009 (UTC)

Finally got this thing

Warrior/Ranger, 13 Strength, 14 Hammer Mastery, 6 Wildnerness Survival. Enraged Smash, Counter Blow, Pulverizing Smash, Ear Bite, Signet Of Infection, Poison Tip Signet, Pain Inverter, Lion's Comfort --evilsofa 01:44, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

Warrior/PvE win

After a lot of frustration and losses, I finally had an easy win with this:

Beat it under 2 minutes while wielding the toy club the whole time, attributes 13 strength (head+minor rune), 10 hammer mastery, 10 communing, radiant armor. The last three skills are somewhat optional and can be filled with any adrenaline hammer skills that do extra damage. KD is worthless because he uses Dolyak sig, and weakness doesn't help you much, you take little damage with Defy Pain, I used the heal 3 or 4 times in the whole fight, mostly it helped build up adren to maintain Defy Pain. Energy was tight but just enough, make sure to use sniper/signet of inf right before lion's comfort due to the disable. This is not a trivial skill set due to Ruby Djinn (for the burning), but I didn't have to buy any skills especially for this, and any self-respecting warrior should have Defy and Lion's. The three PvE sills were the core of the build, and can be used by any profession along with a moderate self-heal and some extra damage/degen. RoseOfKali 18:11, November 12, 2009 (UTC)