Skill discussion: Smash

[Masqava]

I thought it'd be nice to have some discussion about destroyer skills so that people that are new to destroyer have more insight in the potential of the skills and the impact of the builds instead of copying someone elses build without understanding the purposes of the skills they are using.

 

Smash (X) is a very diverse skill and can be skilled into three very different versions of the skill, all with their own purposes.

 

Stage 1:

*Inflicts increased earth damage.

*Inflict additional damage on targets that are cc'd

*Increases the range of smash

 

Stage 2:

*Absorb 100% of damage dealt on target, 150% when the target is cc'd

*Recovers 100 focus over 5 seconds (20 sec per tick)

*Decreased cooldown to 24 seconds

 

Stage 3:

*Smash turns into execute: Swing your axe above your head dealing aoe damage, after up to 4 hits, unleash a massive attack and refund half of your focus expended after the final smash  (up to 100 focus from the up to 200 used)

*Requires an additional skill point to max out.

*Focus cost increased to 50 per hit (up to 4 hits)

*Lowers cooldown to 24 seconds.

*Turns into shadow damage.

*Massive increase in damage potential, but takes longer to prepare/setup and has a bigger window of being vulnerable

*Smash turns into an aoe circle ability for the first 4 hits (4m), and then an aoe ability to the front.

*Pierces parry

*Critical hit of the final smash resets cooldown of Typhoon (Q)

 

If I noted something down wrong just tell me.

[Jiubei]

Arena wise, Execute (Stage 3) is a viable skill to spec into, dealing substantial damage, but you have to ensure you get all the hits in, which takes about 1.5 - 2 seconds. That is quite a long time, and good situations to use it is somewhat limited. 

 

With that said, the 3 points spent here may be better spent somewhere else. 

[Gamemako]

I wouldn't spec Execute for arena. It does a ton of damage, but the cost is obscene -- you can only really use it during Fury/Persistence -- and it's slow as heck. It's an incredible PvE or group skill, though. Shadow builds are usually for PvE, since Eradicate/Galeforce is extremely weak compared to animation cancel Cleave.

 

When I see people spec Smash at all, it's stage 1 for PvP, stage 2 for tanking and solo, or stage 3 for group play.

[Rockbridge]

1 hour ago, Gamemako said:

I wouldn't spec Execute for arena. It does a ton of damage, but the cost is obscene -- you can only really use it during Fury/Persistence -- and it's slow as heck. It's an incredible PvE or group skill, though. Shadow builds are usually for PvE, since Eradicate/Galeforce is extremely weak compared to animation cancel Cleave.

 

When I see people spec Smash at all, it's stage 1 for PvP, stage 2 for tanking and solo, or stage 3 for group play.

^This

 

I'm currently spec'ing stage 1 since I like having an extra dash and damage for general questing but really for dungeon bosses I would prefer stage 2 just for the focus recovery. I don't feel like the cost on stage 3 is not worth the payoff and if you're gonna go shadow damage you might as well go full shadow damage for the other skills like wrath and eradicate as well.

[Gamemako]

1 hour ago, Rockbridge said:

..you're gonna go shadow damage you might as well go full shadow damage for the other skills like wrath and eradicate as well.

 

Thing about Eradicate is that it's total garbage all around (MUCH lower DPS than Cleave) and only used at all by anyone because element specs are brutally rigid. It will not be buffed in the future, either, so just... pretend it's not there. Unless you REALLY, REALLY, REALLY hate animation cancel Cleave -- and gods, I do -- you shouldn't look in its direction.