Arienrhod's Archon Guide, or How to Buff Raids Like a Boss

 Introduction

I started playing Rift as a Justicar hybrid build on Maluna- since it was as close to battle priest as I was going to get, and as I had played a battle priest for four years in Ragnarok Online it was the build I was best suited for. But then in May of last year, with not a lot of content out I decided to start playing a Rogue, Tatenia. Hit 50, started a warrior Askani who I only got to level 22 (I eventually started her over into a tank spec that, with a leveling partner, got to 50).

Mage was the last class I actually wanted to play, to be honest. It turned out to be the class I loved the most. Go figure.

Introductions aside, the mage class in Rift is in my opinion, no offense to Bards (feeling the heat of Terra's gaze upon me), the best support class in the game. It took me 3 other classes to realize that what I love, besides dpsing things to death with fire and hordes of undead, is being in the support role. It's a vital role for any raid.

And by vital, I mean your sudden death during a fight will ensue raid-wide panic and fear.

No pressure or anything!

The Archon, Chapter 1: What the Hell Am I and What Do I Do?

The Archon is the epitome of a psychic vampire, in that they feed off the energy of enemies to give themselves and others, benefits. You also release these energies to your raid at your own expense as auras.

Unlike Bards, who receive the full benefits from their own raid buffs, an Archon's auras buff the raid while debuffing the Archon themselves. This would seem like a potentially dangerous occupation, if not for the fact that the other Archon skills are boss debuffs that benefit the Archon.

Auras: - benefits from Archon/ + benefits to raid
Other skills: - benefits from enemy/ + benefits to raid/Archon

It is for this reason that Archons will be exactly dead even in dps within the raid composition. On any DPS meter this is the composition that should be normal from top dps to bottom:

10-man Raid example

Dps > Archon > Bard > Chloro > Tank > Cleric Healers

In a dps spec with the kind of buffs I generate and current stats I would be doing 1-1.5k easily, but as you can see the slower casts and debuffs almost halve an Archon's potential top dps. 

I would like to stress that if you want to be pulling out top dps numbers as an Archon that you need to reassess your priorities: Buffing the raid should be #1. Staying alive #2. There is no #3. Accept that you will be dead center in the pack. (This is also a great way for raid leaders to see what members need improvement if their numbers fall below an Archon or Bard.)

If you are, miraculously, pulling out high dps numbers as an Archon, either it's because you have the 4-piece HK set and Archon crystal, or it's time to relinquish duties to another mage.

The Archon, Chapter 2: Best all-around build + other options

The build I use: 51Archon/10Elementalist/5Pyromancer

This build gives you:

• +10% damage mitigation (Elementalist- Elemental Link) 5pts
• +5% spell crit (Elementalist- Biting Cold) 5pts
• 20% decrease in Fire spell cast time, 5% decrease in all other spells (Pyromancer- Ignition) 5pts

Reasons: Because you're a squishy mage with armor made of paper- the 10% damage mitigation is a god-send for raiding. You want to be less of a headache to the healers, and since your buffs are an integral part of the raid's success, you want to survive as much as possible. The decrease in cast time from Ignition makes a world of a difference since 2 of the 4 spells you will be spamming are in fact, fire. Add to the fact that all of the spells you spam-cast are long, the raid requires you to keep up the buffs from these casts, and the fact that all raid fights require a lot of movement: Ignition is priceless. The +5% in spell crit from Biting Cold is a nice bonus.

Other Options:

As long as you keep 51 points in Archon, due to the fact that you'd be crazy not to want Burning Purpose, and the casters in your raid would murder you in your sleep if you didn't get it- the other 15 points can be spent in other trees depending on the situation. So here are your other options besides the all-around build I've provided above.

More DPS: 51Archon/ 9Elementalist/6Pyromancer

Pros: You'll do 5% more spell damage from Glyphs of Power, 100% mana regen, +3% more crit every time you fail to crit with a spell from Burning Fury.

Cons: You take more damage from Glyphs of Power and only have 8% damage mit from Elemental Link, that is the underlining factor here. You really don't need 100% more mana regen with Archon skills such as Leeching Flames and Mental Flare (I rarely fall below 95% during a raid). Sure you'll do 5% more spell damage, but it requires you to stand perfectly still. Unless the boss is the hit pinata and loot type it won't be that much more damage contribution, but if you feel you're careful enough to survive you can give this build a try.

With Dominator: 51Archon/11Dominator/4Pyromancer

The Dominator build gives you four very nice skills, namely: Transmogrify (squirrels an enemy for a duration of time), Reflective Command (reflects the next hostile spell back at the caster), Memory Wipe (removes threat from a target, great to use on raid members who pull threat off the tanks, preventing deaths), and Arresting Presence (an AoE silence that consumes charge). As a bonus in this build you get +10% int from Acumen, and you still get the benefit from Fire Armor though a bit of a decrease from cast time on spells. If you find you can do without Arresting Presence, you can switch the one point into the full 5 points in Ignition.

Chapter 3: What are these skills and what do they do?

I'm going to divide this next section up according to 1: importance and 2: rotation order.

First are self buffs.

Choose one.

You can only have one armor on you at a time, so if a fight calls for heavy dps, use Fire Armor. Going to take a lot of damage? Choose stone. If you can get away with it and chose the build with an extra point into Pyromancer for Glyphs of Power, you would cast this as well. And if you are using the Dominator build you get Charged Shield (7-9 air damage on hit to enemy) which isn't that great for you, but can be put on the tank for extra damage.

Your most important abilities are called Auras. These five abilities are cast right before you head into battle and must be re-cast every 5 minutes. They provide a huge boost to the rest of the raid, but at your own expense.

Archon debuff. Raid buff.

The amount of damage cast by Burning Purpose is 40-44 base fire damage but this scales depending on stats. In raids with 1500 spell power Burning Purpose procs an easy 1k damage every 1.5 seconds. I usually get 1.2k+ crits with Burning Purpose.

The next set of spells are Archon Buffs:

Archon buff. Boss debuff.

It is absolutely imperative that these are cast first when engaging the boss as these spells reclaim the stats you lost after casting your five Auras. I cast them in order, leaving Rock Slide until I've gained enough charge.

It's also important to note for Rock Slide:

• It's +10int per stack, max of 6 stacks
• It consumes charge, so in order to get +60int, have at least 90% charge
• Make sure you won't be interrupted
• Make sure the enemy has enough health/ doesn't die before getting the max stacks

Also note:

• Raid bosses are mostly immune to Lingering Dust, but casting it still gives you the buff
• Ashen Defense and Crumbling Resistance can be overwritten by bard skills on the boss. Make sure the bard in your raid understands (you must cast them anyways for the self buffs).

Next, Combat Buffs are going to be your main damaging spells spammed during encounters:

Raid buff. Archon only buff. Boss debuff/damage.

Here is where Ignition from the Pyromancer tree comes in handy. Aside from Power Drain, all of the spells you spam are long 2 second casts. With Ignition, Surging Flare and Volcanic Bomb are reduced to 1.6 second casts, and Earthen Barrage and Pillaging Stone to 1.9 seconds. It ensures that the raid and you will almost always have the benefits to Surging Flare, Volcanic Bomb, and Earthen Barrage up, unless you are recasting Auras or Archon Buffs!

Pillaging Stone is a stacking buff that gives you 8 intelligence per stack for a max of 5 stacks (so, +40 int) and like the other Archon Buffs, it falls off after 5 minutes. I've included it with Combat Buffs because it is cast in tandem with them.

Very very important regarding Power Drain:

• It consumes charge and is best used when charge is full/nearly full
• Best used when a boss/enemy is about to use a devastating attack (-10% damage reduction!) This skill SAVES LIVES. Remember it!
• Double clicking will cancel the spell
• It must absolutely NEVER be cast with Flaring Power, as you want your guild to have the longest benefit of Flaring Power and it is also a charge consumer! 2x charge consumers on = 2x charge consumed! It's bad! Don't do it.

Cool downs:

[cool down time], Archon buff, Raid-wide buff, Enemy damage/debuff

Granted, Flowing Sand is the most useless skill in the entire Archon tree up until recently, though the majority of bosses will be immune, like Lingering Dust, it gives you the benefit of the buff, which the extra run speed could come in handy.

Lava Field is your only AoE spell. It is also very very essential in some fights like Matron Zamira. Use only when necessary and learn when to time it right. This skill is awesome when used in tandem with Power Drain for Tank and AoE damage mitigation.

Waning Power is your 31point skill in the Archon tree. It gives a hefty spell power boost while at the same time debuffs enemy damage considerably for a minute, however the debuff is often overwritten by warrior skills. 

Flaring Power is your coup de resistance! Arguably one of the best raid buffs, it is a game-changer from tight situations, beating enrage, getting head starts in dps, and making finishing blows!

Very important regarding Flaring Power:

• It consumes charge. DO NOT cast this at less than 80% charge!
• Double clicking cancels the spell. Be very careful!
• Although it is a 2 min cool down, after use it causes the raid to be battle weary- meaning, they cannot benefit from Flaring Power or Call to Arms for another 5 minutes.
• Organize with the Raid Leader when to cast Flaring Power during an encounter, it's a skill too good to waste!
• Put this skill on your abilities bar in a place where you would not accidentally push it/click!
• And here I am re-stressing: It must absolutely NEVER be cast with Power Drain, as you want your guild to have the longest benefit of Flaring Power and it is also a charge consumer! 2x charge consumers on = 2x charge consumed! It's bad! Don't do it.

Utility Spells:

[cool down time], Benefits

Utility spells are mostly supportive back-up. For instance, if you're taking considerable damage, consuming flames is your friend, in fact, it isn't on the Archon crystal for nothing. It's what keeps me mostly alive during fights like Murdantix. You can cast it on other allies, but since the importance for you in battle it your own survival, it is best used on yourself.

Cleansing Flames is a AoE cleanse for times when a cleric AoE cleanser is MIA. A 2 second cast is rough, but with Pyromancer's Ignition, since it is a fire spell, the cast is reduced to 1.6 seconds.

Next to a Chloromancer or Cleric's instant cast cleanses, Purification is pretty pointless unless as back-up. As it's also a fire spell, with Ignition the cast is reduced to 1.2 seconds, but still not efficient enough to have much use.

Illuminate is a new Archon skill added with the 1.6 update. It can get overwritten by Spotter's Order, so its use is only on enemies not targeted by tanks.

I've added Encase from Elementalist- only because it can come in handy for enemies the tank fails to pick up or hold aggro with. Only 1 enemy can be encased at a time. I've never really had to use it, but thought I'd put it out there. I really only see it used in pvp.

Lastly, you get 2 Mana spells:

[Cool down time], Damage, Archon benefit, Target benefit

Leeching Flames is a 30 second cool down that causes the targeted enemy to receive 10% of your mana as damage over 12s, which is a considerable DoT, therefore it's also included in the macro of spammed combat spells.

Mental Flare is a 2 minute cool down that gives you or a targeted ally 30% of your max mana amount over 10 seconds. During raids I like to partner with a dependable cleric who relays to me when they are running low, and using a targeting macro, throw Mental Flare on them. If not and I'm in a down time when I'm moving and can't cast my long spells, I'll target healers in my raid until I find the one with the lowest mana and cast it.

On a side note, I actually find it rather ironic that I could cast all my spells into oblivion and not need to use either of these spells because that is how low mana intensive an Archon is, when poor Stormcallers lack any mana utility and are one of the most mana intensive builds!

Chapter 4: Rotation and Macros

The rotation:

1. Auras
2. First 4 Archon Buffs (Lingering Dust, Ashen Defense, Crumbling Resist, Searing Vitality)
3. Combat Macro until Charge
4. Rock Slide
5. Combat Macro until Charge
6. Flaring Power (if decided to use at encounter start) then Combat Macro until CD
7. -or Power Drain
8. If moving: cast Searing Vitality and Leeching Flames as filler

• Maintain Auras and Archon Buffs every 5 minutes
• Use Waning Power when off CD during dps critical times
• Lava Field and Power Drain during damage intensive times
• Mental Flare a mana starving healer every 2 minutes
• Put Consuming Flames on yourself if taking considerable damage
• Illuminate non-tank targeted enemies

This is what my set-up looks like for those curious:

Less complicated than it looks...really...

You can ignore flame-jet (@9). At the time I thought it'd be a good decision if I was near a mob. But being near mobs is never a good idea if you want to stay alive. Also Searing Vitality should be in the #4 spot. The interesting Banana macro on the top bar is my Zilas fight macro where I yell out to follow me during mote phase.

Macros:

Title this one 'spam'. It is the Combat Macro. (#5 in rotation)

#show surging flare
suppressmacrofailures
cast Leeching Flames
cast surging flare
cast volcanic bomb
cast earthen barrage
cast pillaging stone

The 'ugh' macro in the very top left is a mouseover macro for cleansing:

#show purification
suppressmacrofailures
cast @mouseover purification

Mental Flare macro:

#show mental flare
suppressmacrofailures
tar name
cast mental flare

Consuming Flames macro:

#show Consuming Flames
suppressmacrofailures
tar your-name
cast Consuming Flames

Chapter 5: Add-Ons I find essential and will make things 10x easier

Compared to Archon, I've played Bard before, and can tell you how rythmatic and easy it can be to keep track of buff upkeep during raids (some Bards I know would say otherwise but that's just me). They are constantly aware of needing to spam motifs. 5 minutes for Archon buffs is too long a time to remember, especially a mechanic intensive boss fight. In all, as an Archon, you are in charge of maintaining close to 20 spells on top of surviving mechanics.


Naifu's Rebuff Add-On: http://www.curse.com/addons/rift/nkrebuff

Back in the day when Burning Purpose had a cooler animation

This add-on keeps track of buffs you are missing by placing the icon on your screen as a reminder to cast it. You can update settings to tell you when the spells are about to fall off (I set mine to t-minus 25 seconds). The screenshot above tells me I've just cast my Auras and that I need to cast my Archon Buffs still (and Stone Armor).

To set up Naifu's rebuff you will need to install to the interface>add-on directory in your riftgame folder. When you log on, at character screen click the add-ons button and enable the add-on.

Next, you will need to get the add-on to recognize your skills. To do this, go to the target dummies in Meridian and cast all of the skills you will want the add-on to remind you of.

Type in /nkrebuff config to open the menu. In the first tab it lists icon position, size, lock and unlock for positioning, timer, and skill-set options. In the next tab it will have a list of all the skills it recognized you using. Check next to all you want to appear on your screen.

Simplemeter: http://www.curse.com/addons/rift/simplemeter

Simply put, it keeps track of dps.

King Boss Mods: http://www.curse.com/addons/rift/king-molinator

Gives mechanics warnings and timers on all Raid bosses!

Chapter 6: What to do on certain bosses!

River of Souls:

• Galenir: Be very aware of name calls since your spells are long casts. Save Flaring Power to last 10%.
• Gaurath: Flaring Power at start when enough charge. Put Lava Field down when mob is stacked with boss, making sure the main tank is standing in it. Flaring Power when Battle Weary effects wear off.
• Plutonus: Save Flaring Power for very end- raid leader should call it out. Recast Auras and Archon Buffs at 50% when formation starts for less hassle.
• Alsbeth: Consuming Flames whenever it's up since a lot of damage happens in this fight. Too much movement to see Lava Field in use but when you see an opportunity, use it. Flaring Power on ground phase whenever it's up.

Hammerknell:
We've only cleared up to Grugonim so here's a few rundowns.

• Murdantix: He is by far, going to be the worst boss for you to survive or work through. Constant movement and damage. 200+ death resist still doesn't save me from Soul Trauma if it is not interrupted! Always cast Consuming Flames when it's up, it will make a big difference in keeping alive from Demonic Blast, and alleviating healers. The whole fight will be a frustration of trying to get off casts and giving people the evil eye for standing near you. Try and survive, because without your buffs your raid will fail in taking down this boss. Flaring Power at beginning and again at 25%. When adds spawn throw down Lava Field over tanks and mele (that is if they stop moving for a min). Good luck!
• Matron Zamira: Dark Concussion is the only thing you need to be wary of, and it's something that with long casts, I can never move out of in time. Death Resist really helps in this case. Stand as close to her circle as you can because the knock-back on it has landed me into the pit of gas, and trust me you don't want to end up there. Use Lava Field over Zamira and tanks right before her spawns come out, it makes a huge difference. Faring Power is used at the start, and again at the end when the raid leader calls it.
• Soulrender Zilas: Your target should be Zilas 90% of the time because you want your combat buffs up at all times for the raid, otherwise it's too much movement chasing magus' or ghosts and your raid looses your benefits. Trust that they will take care of the adds. The only time you should run out is when a magus is coming in with substantial health. Then you take a second to run and throw Ashen Defense, Crumbling Resistence, and Illuminate on it. If it's at Zilas then you Flaring Power if called out. If the mele are having imp trouble, throw the debuffs on them. Lava Field the mob in the center every other mote turn. Since I have to keep track of the mote, I stand at the 6'oclock position, directly in front of Zilas on a green arrow on the ground and my camera tilted slightly down so I have almost the entire screen of mote positions when it comes. KingBossMods add-on helps to give a time of when to spot it. You MUST survive in this fight as the Archon is way too valuable in tackling incoming magus and overall raid dps.
• Vladmal Prime: Target the boss. Don't stand near the cliff because the mist will fear you off the ledge. Stay clear of other people who are flamed. Save Flaring Power for end. Success: Loot pinata.
• Sicaron: If you don't have King Boss-Mods installed yet do it, it is essential for this fight. If your leader forces you to cleanse chew him out because apparently the archon cleanse also PURGES the boss- you are likely to face a wipe in this case (also our cleanse is a long ass cast and detracts from buffs we could be keeping up). Stay close to the group because I've died easy to idol bubbles placed directly behind. Flaring Power at the start, and then hold off until he's down to 10% health- extremely important to announce to raid this. If you get the idol buff/debuff, stay calm. If you have to place it in a corner give yourself until the timer hits t-minus 7 seconds. Any other spot, 5-6 seconds (the aoe starts pulsing red at 5 seconds). If you are still nervous when you get it, stop all skills, turn and look behind you at the other idol positions, see where you're going to place the idol and start running when you hit that timer mark. Good luck!
• King Molinar: Although I don't archon on this fight (I either tank Prince or DPS) I can tell you this is a pretty hectic fight. You have two important tasks this fight: survive, and mental flare the mage tank whenever it's up. If the mage tank OOM's the raid is going to possibly wipe. The reason the mage tank needs mana is because Prince does a nasty attack that kills 2k mana on hit and it's unavoidable. Flaring Power as soon as you have charge first thing because boss mechanics don't start until 90% health; you'll want the rest of the raid to kill as much % off both CAREFULLY (they can't be more than 7% hp from one another) before mechanics start because focus will be divided on revenants. Stay out of the ground aoe. Aoe clense snares. Put up your shield whenever it's off cd! Let your raid leader tell you when to use flaring power- you have to be careful and use it AFTER Runic feedback!
• Estrode: You'll have to make a 51Archon/pyro/dom build for her since she'll steal elementalist and summon rock pets otherwise. She's one of the easiest encounters- flaring power at the start unless you get MC'ed; call out if you're MC'ed. Please don't wear any pvp gear with vengence!
• Grugonim: Keep your shield up at all times, as long as you understand the mechanics and keep your buffs up you should be fine. It's important to make sure you have full charge and you're still alive before he comes back after the 6 foci are destroyed at 10% so you can flaring power.