Overview

The weaver is the CC class of the creeps with a series of debuffs, slows, and a single target root. 

Skills

Traits

Class Traits

Recommended Corruption Traits

Balanced:  Light mitigation, Tactical Resistance, Physical Resistance, Damage for Power, Stealth Detection Boost

Survival:  Health for Power, Health for Damage, Light Mitigation, Physical Resistance, Tactical Resistance

Tactics

05/04/2009 (Post-Moria)

Solo

• Crowd Control:  In a solo fight, crowd control (CC) is your primary defensive skill.  Your lack of morale and armor means you must limit the number of incoming hits.  Do this by chaining your crowd control skills.  The rank 6 mezz Paralytic Venom is a great opener to get debuffs up.  Combine it with Latent Poison for a 10s stun soon after the mezz wears off.  If your opponent is melee class, Snaring Web will root stop a charging opponent and give you some breathing space without wasting a longer cooldown.  Save Smothering Web for an emergency knockdown, when they get too close and start pounding on you.  If your opponent pots out of your first mezz before you can debuff, use Smothering Web to buy you time to get debuffs on.
• Stacking Poisons:  Expect your opponent to have potions.  Stack poisons to ensure that the important ones (LP, Hatchlings) will take effect.  Poison Spray is a great skill to use as a buffer, especially right after a mezz, when closing into melee range will not hurt you.
• Debuff:  Debuffs will limit the amount of damage you take during the fight, while your opponent isn't CC'd.  It's important to get these on as soon as possible to give you control of the fight.  Entangling Web/Clinging Web/Catch Prey (r7)/Poison Spray/Necrosis (r8)/Latent Poison do no damage, and will not break a mezz.  Get as many--or all--on the target as soon as you can.  The 15s of your mezz gives you plenty of time to debuff.
• Power Drain:  This goes hand-in-hand with debuffs and CC.  Against ministrels, your ultimate goal is to power drain.  Against other classes, it is good to keep up, but often is not as important.  Your drain skills are: Latent Poison, Hatchlings (r6), Toxin, and Shadow's Bite (r13).  LP and Hatchlings will only reduce maximum power.  So it is essential that both are on at the same time.
• Trapdoor Sanctuary:  Against some classes, Trapdoor Sanctuary provides a necessary time-out to get out of combat.  This is especially true when fighting Champions in Controlled Burn, Hunters popping Burn Hot or Champs/Guards sprinting while your CC skills are in cooldown, Runekeepers in full attunement, and possibly Loremasters after Wisdom of the Council.  Try to place Toxin and Tainted Kiss before you burrow, to minimize their out-of-combat regeneration.
• My preferred skill chain at r7 is as follows:  Mezz--Catch Prey--Entangling Web--Poison Spray (poison buffer)--Latent Poison--Toxin (breaks mezz)--Hatchlings--TK.  This will debuff, set up a future 10 second stun, pop hatchlings, and optimally power drain... before any damage has been exchanged!  This is not always a possible skill combination, however.  Plan for them to use a mezz pot.  If I don't need to kite, and am at risk of being CC'd after I break mezz, I will use Hatchlings to break it instead of Toxin.  Against an LM, I will wait a few seconds for LP to tick before I break mezz with Hatchlings, so if I have to root to remove SoP:R, it will not bug the hatchlings.  A similar chain at r4 (without the mezz) is: Root--Clinging Web--Smothering Web--Poison Spray (poison buffer)--Latent Poison--Entangling Web--Toxin--TK.  At r4, however, soloing is extremely difficult.  You can't leave any of your CC skills as backup and they get used up quickly.
• In fights that require you to power drain your opponent, a tactic that I've found to help is to use your Trapdoor Sanctuary early in the fight.  Open with the CC/debuff/drain combo above, then burrow after your Toxin has landed.  Wait your opponent out until the Latent Poison and Hatchlings take effect, then re-emerge and reapply Toxin, starting your damage chain.  Doing so will reduce the amount of damage you take at the beginning of the fight, when your opponent is at full power and not being conservative with his high damage skills.  This has worked great for me against Minstrels and Runekeepers.
• Melee Combat:  Full melee combat in necessary for classes that are powerful at range and have no distinct advantage in melee combat:  Hunters, Loremasters, Minstrels, and Runekeepers(?),  Use Piercing Attack whenever available and Tainted Kiss when giving chase.  Cut back and forth through them and jump to break inductions.  Don't stop moving unless you are using an induction knockout (Paralytic/Smothering) to buy time, interrupt, and halt their movement.  Against tactical classes like the Runekeeper, Minstrel, and Loremaster, Catch Prey is secondary in priority to Entangling Webs, when you apply debuffs.
  • Hunters:  If you know the hunter uses his Purge Poison skill regularly, there's a special skill combination you'll want to use against him.  Root--buffer Poison Spray--Hatchlings--mezz--Latent--debuff, etc.  This gives Hatchlings time to tick down while he's disabled. You will want to try to stay in melee range and behind them most of the time in this fight.  Don't chain-CC if you don't have to.  Save the mezz and knockdown for when they root or hinder you and are getting away.  Use your fear pots if necessary (only bard's arrow will affect you, so there is no harm in potting out of the first fear).  Don't give them time to build up inductions if possible.  Force them to run, so they can't build up focus.  Hatchlings are useful to break triple traps for you and interrupt their inductions, but don't rely on them to kill the hunter for you.  They aren't even necessary in most cases.  If you lose him, use a short mezz to interrupt him and catch up.  If you need to burrow, make sure Toxin is on him before you do.
  • Minstrels:  Power drain is key in this fight.  Chain-CC to buy time for Toxin to take effect.  Try to keep them close to you, because their damage output is basically the same whether you are in their face or 20ft from them.  It also gives you more options, such as a second Latent Poison halfway into the fight.  If you pop TS right after your Toxin, you can usually save yourself a bunch of damage, but you'll want to be fighting while your hatchlings are out.  I'll typically be around 3/5 of my morale pool by the time their power is out.  From then on, it's a matter of keeping them in range, keeping Toxin up, and killing them before they can run away.
  • Loremasters:  Tricky fight here, if you don't have a Brand.  Your first action is to root (mezz if you need to root the LM or the pet is too close) the pet, if it's visible (if it's a Bog Lurker, I recommend running like hell).  If possible, debuff at range with Entangling Web/Clinging Web.  You probably won't have the time to debuff with a mezz, because SoP:R will block mezz and knockdown.  Focus on getting your Hatchlings out and starting the power drain combo, debuffing when you can.  Get in his face: it's a good opportunity to practice induction breaking, keeping his pet away from you with WtE/root/mezz.  If you have good control over his pet, you have a good chance of winning the fight.  Use a tactical pot as soon as he gets his first debuff on you;  there's no point saving it, because you'll likely have a number of debuffs on you throughout the fight and the high priority ones will likely be on the bottom of the stack.  Use vendor root pots for mezzes if necessary (many are traited for the 2s mezz), and stun/mezz pots for stuns.  You absolutely do not want to be caught in a lengthy stun.  If he stuns you enough times for DR to kick in, then stay on him even if he pops WotC.  Otherwise, find a tree or burrow.
  • Runekeepers:  (WIP) If the RK has his poison prevention buff on at the start of the fight, remove it with Tainted Kiss.  Start your CC/debuff/drain combo.  It's important that you DoT the runestone early with another Tainted Kiss.  Otherwise, it will tank your Hatchlings while mitigating your meager damage on the RK.  I like to try a power drain tactic with them, but be aware that they have a power restore skill.  At high damage attunement, it will be very difficult to defeat them.  The most dangerous thing about them is the frequency at which they can chain stuns and mezzes on you.  When the new stun/mezz pots come out, it may favor us.  Popping a brand on them might also help, but I have yet to try it.
  • Wardens:  A significant portion of their damage is done via javelin skills.  I will try to focus on power draining him and staying at range, never turning my back to him for Wages of Fear.
• Kiting:  Kiting isn't simply DoTing and running around in circles.  It's gaining breathing room to pop inductions and delaying for your CC cooldowns to reset.  Having Swift Weave traited will help you greatly.  Knowing how much of distance you need is important.  Turning off auto-attack unless you're chasing is also important, so that your inductions start instantaneously.  Practice moving through enemies, moving erratically to throw off your opponent, and side strafing while pulling off skills--facing perpendicular to your target.  Use CC to gain more room and pull off inductions.  If your opponent closes in on you, try to move into him at an angle to get behind him and away.  Your optimal range is 20m.  Enough distance to root him if he sprints to escape, and far enough to never let him hit you.
  
  • Champions:  Get your debuffs up as soon as you can.  Catch Prey helps a lot.  Watch for the sprint, and root/mezz if you have the distance, strafe through him, or TS if you can't take the hits.  When popping from TS, make sure to attempt Latent Poison on him while he's in melee range.  Keep your DoT on him and move it.  If possible, save your knockdown to buy extra time for your hatchlings--he can burn them down pretty quickly otherwise.  If you need the distance to root/mezz, WtE will give it to you.
  • Captains:  Good timing with Latent Poison might take him out before he has a chance to Last Stand.  His melee skills hurt, so after the hatchlings have finished beating on him, you can go for broke with chain CC's and/or kite him around to get your skills back up.  Don't let him get on top of you or you will have problems.
  • Guardians:  You may want to slot Clinging Webs for this fight, as most of their offensive skills come from parry reactions.  Catch Prey is also great.  If you stun or mezz him, be sure to stay behind him so he can't Turn the Tables on you.  Depending on how he specs, this may be a long fight, so it's important to have patience.  Most of your offensive skills are tactical skills, however, so you won't really have too much of an issue getting through his b/p/e.  What's more important is keeping your distance and being vigilant with CC before he can get to you.  If he closes into melee range, be sure to always be facing him.  Don't give him a free stagger.
  • Burglars:  Similar to a Guardian fight, but potentially more dangerous if he gets into your melee range.  He does not, however, have any ranged attacks, so if you can stick him with a root he's a sitting duck (provided he has no root pots).  Your root can be evaded, so you shouldn't waste it if he has Touch and Go (50% evade) up.  I personally like to start this fight with a mezz, to see how he reacts.  If he pops Find Footing, just TK and kite him around until the evade bonus is gone.  That should give your mezz time to reset and you can restart the fight with one of his cooldowns burned and 30s wasted.  Kite, kite, kite.  Don't be afraid to use your mezzes/stuns/kds early in the fight.  The sooner you can pull out his 2 Find Footings, the better.  If he does manage to catch up and get Blinding Dust on you, you should counter with WtE and a root, or just burrow.  If he gets a stun on you, check if it's a stun or a knockdown before you use your pots.  The only one you can break out of is Startling Twist.  Never let a burg into melee range.  Even if you have to travel over half the map to kill him, don't give him the opportunity to stun you.

Small Group/Raid

• Runekeeper:  Target number 1.  If the group leader hasn't designated the RK as the first target, mezz it.  If there is more than one RK, mezz one, knockdown another, and LP a third.  Be generous with debuffs.  Don't give them a free rein to start killing creeps willy nilly.
• Loremaster:  Target number 2.  Best left to a reaver.  Help them out with a root if the LM is kiting.  Power drain if he's feeding power--he'll run out quickly.  If you ever see SoP:R down on him, mezz immediately--even if it's merely out of spite.
• Minstrel/Healing Captain:  Target number 3.  If it isn't the primary target and it doesn't have wargs on it, mezz it.  Wargs and reavers can usually deal with these guys just fine, though.  See if you can throw them a Toxin at the start of the fight... precaution for Lay of the Hammerhand delaying your kill later.
• Hunter:  Mezz is preferable with these guys.  If you see them overextending to get another freep, root or mezz ASAP so the reavers can rip them apart.  Don't let them get away from their mistakes.  In a small group fight, they'll likely be the 2nd best target after the RK goes down.  Stay in their melee range and force them to move.
• Champion/Guardian:  Root them early on to keep them out of combat.  Don't bother with the guardian unless you know that he is a 2-hander master capable of ripping apart creeps with his teeth, but be careful about mezzing them--enabling Turn the Tables might mean that you end up hurting your teammate more than helping them.  Keep the Champs off your WLs if they get to be a problem.  If the freeps start fleeing, these guys will be the last ones out.  Killing them before giving chase might take away the freeps' chance at regrouping and pushing back into you.
• Burglar:  Roots are best to disable these guys.  Mezz isn't a bad idea if their morale is still good: if you get them to waste Find Footing, it might make it easier to kill them later.  Be warned, however, that your root can be evaded, and it will be difficult to disable them again if they get out of your mezz.  A favorite CC chain (if they're being focus fired) of mine is to mezz--wait for them to pop FF--smothering--latent poison.  If they pop FF early, the following stun/kd will likely kill them.
• Melee Charge Captain:  Let someone else deal with them, unless they are the focus fire target.  Toxin might help keep them worrying about their ICPR.  If you time your mezz or knockdown just right, you might be able to prevent them from Last Standing.  Otherwise, make sure you get an LP on them and move on to the next target.
• Skill Usage:
  • Web the Earth:  Probably your most used skill.  At the beginning of the fight, if you can get into range of the hunters, it helps melee classes stay on them.  At the end of the fight, it slows down retreating freeps and enables more kills to be had.
  • Poison Spray:  The other AoE skill.  With a push, I'll try and come in at a different angle than my raid so I can sneak up on hunters.  I believe it lowers their ranged damage output.  Since it's AoE, I try and get as much use out of it as I can.
  • Paralytic Venom/Snaring Web:  Both these skills have 40m ranges, the same as the hunter (longest range in the game).  40m is where your target's name becomes visible if you have floaty names enabled.  Make sure you mezz stray hunters on every push ASAP.  Root LMs if they need to be stunned, otherwise use it to keep freep melee'rs out of combat.
  • Smothering Web:  I like to save this as a backup stun, but often fall into the trap of forgetting to use it.  If a target is getting away and your mezz/roots are down, don't hesitate if it might net you another kill.
  • Hatchlings:  Coordinate Hatchling attacks with other r6+ weavers.  It doesn't stack, so make sure to put them on different targets.  With enough weavers, you can have a little hatchling army spring up in the middle of a fight.  Else, use on Captains, Minstrels, or Loremasters for the power drain.
• Tactics:
  • During a charge, you should first seek to disable high priority targets.  Then, close into the ranged classes and attempt to hinder their damage output.  If the opponents flee, your goal is to slow them down.  Catch up to the third nearest target and WtE to slow him.  Mezz and root the fourth and fifth targets.  Doing so will net your raid a few bonus kills.
  • When under an assault, you should slow down the initial freep push by charging past them and using WtE.  Get to the ranged classes before they can stop to focus and wreck as much havoc as possible with debuffs and CC.  Keep an eye on the Warleaders and help to disable their attackers if they need it.
  • When using a hit-and-run tactic, stay to the rear and focus on CC'ing primary targets.  Use WtE to cover your escape.
  • When baiting, it helps to have a target zone that you want to lure them into.  Pick a spot with poor visibility, enough cover to conceal the creep forces, or plenty of NPCs.  CC the very front or very rear of the raid:  this prevents them from making a complete retreat or complete charge without leaving someone behind.  Always be ready to escape into the target zone and hinder/disable them as much as possible if they zerg you.  Be annoying; if they lose their cool, they'll be more reckless and unaware of your trap.

Traits

• I have compiled a list of different combinations of damage/morale corruptions here: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pEi4djhuEik-A3N4WwnkIOQ
• I recommend using DfP2 and DfP1, because the percentage increase in DoT damage for each damage corruption is tremendous.  Taking DfH is debatable, but in my opinion, is worth the loss of survivability.  Damage is better for a solo fight and health is better for small group-raid fights.
• HfP2 and HfP1 are advisable if you need the morale.  I would be careful about taking HfD, as it penalizes your damage output significantly.
• Class traits: At r8, I have the following slotted: Health Boost, Armor Boost, Steelweave Webs, Swift Weave, Enhanced TK, Enhanced PA.

[Nidor, Brandywine]

For my Class Traits:

armor boost...must have. we are already quite squishy...need all the armor we can get

health boost....see above (plus it magnifies the boost from the corruptions)

Clinging Webs...I use this debuff a lot, need to use a class trait slot to use the skill

Enhanced Tainted Kiss & Piercing Attack...+30% & 20% damage respectively. helps soften the impact of the Health for Damage corruption trait. Big bang for the buck in terms of damage. Helps you more in solo situations than raids, so if you are more inclined to raid, you would more likely be going for more ranged damage so you could slot Enhanced TK and drop the enhanced PA and use the slot for something else.

the above is what I run with...other comments on Class Traits below:

Regeneration...pathetic amount to burn a racial trait on. You get IIRC 120 morale per minute w/the +2 regen...food is better regen and only costs you 5 silver. Might be useful if you fight in TA all the time, since you could get a +3 ICMR buff in addition to your class buff. I won't ever slot this unless they buff this one up to a decent level.

Swift Weave... some weavers use this to ensure they are able to get their webs off on charging melee types or in solo fights. IMO w/WTE you don't need to cut your web inductions. Lay down WTE and kite them....40% slow w/wte is enough for you to get enough distance between you and your prey to get off any webs you need.

Steelweave....the longer durations for Clinging webs and Entangling webs this trait gets you could be enough to slot this in place of say, enhanced PA. The snare is pretty useless though...it still breaks pretty easily, even w/Steelweave IMO. I rely on my slow (WTE) much more to keep prey nearby than my Ensnaring Webs.