Stone Arrow PvP

Honestly, Primeval and Tricksters are all fun and good in large pvp groups where you're not gonna be focussed.
But sadly, in reality they know you're squishy as fuck and they will nuke you down in a matter of seconds.
However Stone Arrows are far different from this.

What do you give up?
You're gonna lose your insane melee shadowsmite. No more dual wield. No more 2h axe.
You're gonna be walking around with a 1h Sword + Shield for more survivability.
You're gonna miss out on some CC's, and teleports.

Where Tricksters & Primevals work very good against mages. They're quite shitty against anything that manages to get in melee range to fuck you up.
See Stone Arrow as the all-rounder that does insane damage. Works well against mages. And works insanely good against melee.

What am I gonna gain?
A great, high damage, stunning and locking down melee combo.
A huge increase in your HP
A huge increase in your block rate
A huge increase in your physical defense

Stone Arrows are often misunderstood. You. Do. NOT. Lose your burst!
If you master this build. And play well. You will win every 1v1.
From Defilers, to Paladins, to Darkunners.. All are no match for a good Stone Arrow!

Rotations

DMG


CC's
Stalker's Mark -> Overwhelm - Trip
Shield Slam - Stun
Bull Rush - Stun to Trip
Shadowsmite - Shackle
Snare - Snare
Charged Bolt - Slow

Breakouts / Anti CC
Snare - Removes Shackle
Intensity - Fear immunity

Prefight
Double RecurveRefreshment

Engage
RedoubtIntensity (Freerunner)

Ranged Combo
Stalker's MarkToxic ShotCharged BoltPiercing Shot Endless Arrows

Stun 1
Stalker's MarkOverwhelmDrop Back

Stun 2
Shield SlamBull RushShadowsmiteBoastful RoarDrop Back

Melee Full DPS
Stalker's MarkOverwhelmShield SlamBull RushShadowsmiteBoastful RoarDrop Back

Explanation

As A Stone Arrow, there are multiple ways to open a fight.
Traditionally you pop Freerunner and Intensity.

After this you proceed with Ranged Combo while you are straving sideways. (NEVER GO BACKWARDS. IT'S SLOW).
If an enemy comes too close, and there's no way to get out of his distance (Ex. Primeval/Darkrunner Drop Backs & Teleports in) you pop Redoubt and either go for Stun 1, Stun 2, Or full melee rotation.

After pulling this off you Drop Back, pop Freerunner and Intensity if they happen to be off CD and repeat ranged combo.

This is only a traditional way to play a fight. Please know that during PvP you play against people. People are (generally) not stupid.
Using the same rotation over and over again does not work. Mix it up. Give it your own spice.

People assume you're an archer, so do the unexpected, pop Redoubt, Drop Back in, do a full melee combo, Freerunner make enough distance, and follow up with a ranged combo.

Counters

Counters

* Shackled (can't use skills) > Snare
Against Shadowsmite (Shadowplay) and Concussive Arrow (Archery)

* Stun (can't move or use skills) > Shrug It Off
Against Overwhelm (Shadowplay) or Shield Slam (Defense) or Focal Concussion (Witchcraft)

* Impale (can't move or use skills) > Shrug It Off
Against Hell Spear (Occultism)

* Snare (can't move) > Leech against melee or Boneyard against range
Against Charge (Battlerage) or Earthen Grip (Witchcraft)

* Bubble Trap/Telekinesis/Silence/Restrained
No counter except Freedom Cloak

Burst Dmg: +
Daggerspells
Daggerspells generally all play the same. It's pretty much the most played class. And the most easy to counter aswell.

Easy way - Just do your pre-combat buffs and do ur ranged rotation. He'll be dead.
Real Fight way - Close in on him as fast as you can. Have Intensity up. This makes you immune to fear.
99 out of the 100 daggerspells will try to Fear -> Bubble -> Meteor you. Immune to fear? Shit.
They'll try to bubble you but you'll interrupt this by doing a stun combo, go back to ranged and finish him off with your ranged combo.

You happened to get caught in the bubble? Turn your back towards the Daggerspell and start mashing backdrop.
You WILL do backdrop before hitting the ground so you won't receive falling damage and you'll also close in on the Daggerspell.
Do your stun rotation, back to ranged and finish it off with a ranged combo.

Notes

Notes


* Concussive Arrow
I personally strongly dislike this skill. While it is Archery's strongest skill (600% atk at lvl 50), it is extremely situational due to the 1.5s stand-still cast time. It is useful for initiating a gank or attacking a target that is not focused on you, but dangerous to use in a 1v1 situation or when other players are targeting you and can interrupt/kill you in the duration which you are standing still. If you prefer mobility in your build, I would replace this with Wild Instincts. If you prefer ganking targets then running away, I would also grab Deadeye (+80 atk at lvl 50).

* Deadeye
For PvE or to use in combo with Concussive Arrow. Since the effect ends the moment you move, it's not really all that good for PvP where you constantly want to keep your range against a moving target (e.g. open world PvP) so I do not include it in this build.

* Wild Instincts
While +8% movement speed sounds great for a kiting class, in open world PvP, you have access to mounts and gliders. Meaning if someone wants to move in on you or run away, that 8% won't be much of a game changer. Take it if you are focused on arenas/non-fly flat-terrain zones though.

* Boneyard
This is purely a disable/interrupt skill. Once cast, you cannot attack your enemy and they cannot attack you. They can break down the wall, but that requires them to change targets. In group PvP, use this to disable specific targets (such as the healer) or to prevent targets from running away or to interrupt their combo and allow you to run away. In 1v1s, you may want to use this point for something else (e.g. one of the passives or Deadeye for Concussive Arrow).

* Float
I find this really awkward to use in PvP. It's an escape of sort but makes you really vulnerable, due to the defence break as well as landing back in a predictable location. You may find better utility in this but I didn't.

* Toxic Shot
While I'm not a fan of this skill, I've found myself out of attack options frequently against tanky players with high physical defence since the damage from Endless Arrows is significantly mitigated and thus needing to rely on skill damage (the damage isn't bad, 400% atk at lvl 50). You can put this in or take this out if you want.

* Pin Down
Like Toxic Shot, this is an additional attack option. In theory if you are quick with your feet, you can squeeze this in right after your Stalker's Mark > Overwhelm > Shadowsmite combo and get that +77% damage boost from Overwhelm. The damage also isn't bad either (315% atk at lvl 50). In open PvP, however, I would rather lay down the Snare, then back out of the area.

* Shadow Step
If you really want to land that Shadowsmite combo or chase after running targets. Use in combination with Teleportation to easily catch a fleeing target 35m away. Hotkey "Camera view front" and you can also use Drop Back as another gap-closer.

* Thwart + Hearten
A pretty amazing combo that, once you accumulate 3 stacks, reduces your GCD (global cooldown) by 20%. This makes you able to use skills faster and become a machine gun with Endless Arrows. That said, keep in mind that you need to remember to constantly buff yourself every 29s to accumulate the 3 stacks, and casting it triggers GCD so it really only should be used before a fight starts. The increased GCD does increase the damage output of Endless Arrows though as well as allows you to generally do your combos faster.

* Liberation
Good for 1v1s or small scale PvP where you know you're going to be targeted and CC'd. I personally prefer reactive-CC-breaks rather than pre-emptive CC protection.

* Absorb Damage
Good for PvE, waste of a skill point for PvP. I'd rather use that point somewhere else, especially as a DPS attack class. If you want the sustained survivability, go Stonearrow instead.

* Health Lift
Really nice HP buff (+1600 max HP at lvl 50), but not one you want to keep a skill point on. I usually reset my Auramancy tree, take the skill, buff myself and party members, then reset the tree and go back to my normal build (costs 50 silver in total).

Shortcuts

Lunagems / Lunastones

First off, this is where most people start to get confused.. so be clear;
LunaDROP/LunaFROST/LunaSTONE are all enchants you can only use one per item.
LunaGEMS are the sockets for your gear.

This is how you fill your gear:

(Formatted: Slot Name - Item Name - Item Effect - How to obtain)

LunaStones - Enchants
Bow - Honorbold Sniper's Lunafrost - +2% Ranged DMG. 4k Honor.
Sword - Honorbold Ruker's Lunafrost - +3% melee DMG. 4k Honor.
Shield - Honorhewn Patience Lunafrost - -10 of all damage. 3k Honor.
Helm - Honorbound Tranquil Lunafrost - +20% Stealth Detection. 800 honor.
Chest - Honorbold Warrior's Lunafrost - -3% Damage taken. 2.5k Honor
Legs - +Agility
Gloves - Honorbold Agility Lunafrost - +24% Ranged Critical Damage Increase. 2.5k honor.
Boots - Flawless Assassin Lunafrost - +5% Movement Speed. Alchemy.
Waist - +Agility
Sleeves - +Agility

LunaGems - Sockets
Bow - Vivid Fire Lunagem - Sharpshot - +3 Ranged Attack. Handicraft.
Sword - Vivid Fire Lunagem- Sharpshot - +3 Ranged Attack. Handicraft.
Shield - Vivid Wave Lunagem - Defense/Magic Defense. +50 M.Def / P.Def. Handicraft
Instrument - Vivid Fire Lunagem- Sharpshot - +3 Ranged Attack. Handicraft.
Helm - Vivid Wave Lunagem - Defense/Magic Defense. +50 M.Def / P.Def. Handicraft.
Chest - Lucid Gale Lunagem - Flexibility - +320 Resilience. 500 honor each.
Legs - Lucid Earth Lunagem - Mastery - +235 Toughness. 500 Honor each.
Gloves - Vivid Earth Lunagem: Finesse - +1.5% evasion. Handicraft.
Boots - Vivid Earth Lunagem: Celerity - +2% movement speed. Handicraft.
Waist - Vivid Wave Lunagem - Defense/Magic Defense. +50 M.Def / P.Def. Handicraft.
Sleeves - Vivid Wave Lunagem - Defense/Magic Defense. +50 M.Def / P.Def. Handicraft.

Gear