Alrisaia's Guide: How to Twist Ribbit

[Alrisaia]

So you probably clicked on this thread link, thinking WTH is Twisting?

But before I get into anything here... I need to give special thanks to all the Rogues who back in March in the Am I doing it wrong (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?92166-Am-I-doing-it-wrong) post, helped me tweak my spec to what it is today and especially to:Jellowpy (http://www.spacetimestudios.com/member.php?90292-Jellowpy) for giving me the idea to use Ribbit as a pet in the first place! WOW what a cool way to run!

First allow me to explain the origin of the term and how it became a pretty standard MMO term (like MOB)...

Twisting:
The art of using a spell or skill or multiple spells and skills and either stacking their effects or alternating the casting of the spell or skill in order to gain the benefits over a longer period of time or to gain all of the effects at one time (in the instance of stacking).
For Twisting Ribbit - we're discussing the use of a skill (Ribbit's Arcane Ability) and rather than stacking its effects - we will be staggering the casting of the skill in order to gain benefits over a longer period of time.

Twisting is a strange concept, however when put to use effectively - the results are devastating. The below graph is a visual representation of what's happening with a toon's crit score during the times in which Ribbit's skill is active - combined with stacked Aimed Shot, and you have a seriously dangerous combination. Obviously Rogues see the most benefit from this due to the fact that we can stack our Aimed Shot as well. However - everyone benefits because us Rogues will clear the Trash mobs faster while ribbit twisting.

I have taught a number of toons who run with me regularly to twist ribbit, and it's such a beautiful thing seeing all that yellow damage fly. Just remember - tanks will have a hard time keeping aggro while AOE skills and Ribbit are combined, but spamming pots typically takes care of this. I always pull aggro when my trap works, Razor Shield kicks in and we're twisting ribbit...

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As you can see by the illustration in the updated graph, a Rogue's crit percentage remains at or above 85%. With a naturally high crit Rogues could actually see crit percentages over 100%... yes that's a crit with EVERY ATTACK.

I used to use items that boosted crit, as well as taking the passive 5/5 in Crit, I had a natural crit score of 23%, with Ribbit it was 30% and then twisting skills I would regularly see crit scores over 100.

So - here's how to do this -

Typically I am the first in the alphabet when running since my name starts with an A, so I will usually go first. I prefer this because I don't hit Ribbit's arcane abililty until it's going to benefit the party most (like AFTER the tank has pulled all the mobs to a corner or wall).

Toon A taps ribbit's arcane ability.
The whole party sees the first Ribbit go and at that point, the following happens:
Toon B starts counting. ONE. TWO. THREE - on three Toon B taps Ribbit's Arcane Ability.
Toon C starts counting. One. TWO. THREE - on three Toon C taps Ribbit's Arcane Ability.
Toon D starts counting. One. TWO. THREE - on three Toon D taps Ribbit's Arcane Ability.

See the pattern???

.... By this time... Ribbit's arcane ability is available for Toon A and the cycle begins again.

BAM! Toon A hits Ribbit's Arcane Ability for the second time!!!
Toon B, C, & D don't even have to count at this point - because the timing of when Ribbit's Arcane Ability resets should be right in line...

Most Elite battles with trash mobs running with 1 tank, and 3 dps who know how to twist ribbit last 30 seconds, 1 minute tops if the traps don't deploy properly... So, 1 cycle of Ribbit is typically enough. South Seas Ribbit twisting is fun as well, the pirates in the beginning drop so quick... when you've cleared them all after two minutes or so of twisting ribbit - swap out for a stun pet and start twisting them on Sharky... :)

[GoodSyntax]

Wonderful write up!

This really highlights the effectiveness of good group dynamics.

For Rogues, Ribbit is not really a great pet without his Arcane ability, but when stacked together in a group, as you said, the effects are devastating. When timed properly, and with an effective group, you can essentially run with +40% crit 8 out of every 10 seconds. Having Sorcerers in your team also improves their Lightning damage and their DoT skills. Rogues with Razor and Traps see a tremendous boost in their DoT skills and can make for quick elite runs.

I hope everyone reads this....perhaps as the community becomes educated on better elite running, the PUGs I join with won't be quite so bad.

[Alrisaia]

Thanks Kalizzaa -

I updated the graph - because actually Ribbit's ability has a 12 second cooldown - not sure if that changed or not but I thought I remember it having 10 seconds...

Anyway - PUGS never know what I'm talking about so I typically run with Talon or Malison for pugs. My <Elite Runners> crew know exactly what I'm talking about though and it's so funny because we're like the Frog crew running through elite with all the froggies.

We can do Elite Forest with 4 rogues - no mythic gear - in under 4 minutes. Although some of us recently got some mythic gear... maybe we'll try it again :P

[keikali]

Great write up. When I'm in a group with a ribbit and another player has one, sometimes they know to time it correctly to match mine ending which is great for mob clearing.

Now imagine a team of rogues with all ribbits twisting in PvP...

[Wowsome]

So you probably clicked on this thread link, thinking WTH is Twisting?

First allow me to explain the origin of the term and how it became a pretty standard MMO term (like MOB)...

Twisting:
The art of using a spell or skill or multiple spells and skills and either stacking their effects or alternating the casting of the spell or skill in order to gain the benefits over a longer period of time or to gain all of the effects at one time (in the instance of stacking).
For Twisting Ribbit - we're discussing the use of a skill (Ribbit's Arcane Ability) and rather than stacking its effects - we will be staggering the casting of the skill in order to gain benefits over a longer period of time.

Twisting is a strange concept, however when put to use effectively - the results are devastating. The below graph is a visual representation of what's happening with a toon's crit score during the times in which Ribbit's skill is active - combined with stacked Aimed Shot, and you have a seriously dangerous combination. Obviously Rogues see the most benefit from this due to the fact that we can stack our Aimed Shot as well. However - everyone benefits because us Rogues will clear the Trash mobs faster while ribbit twisting.

I have taught a number of toons who run with me regularly to twist ribbit, and it's such a beautiful thing seeing all that yellow damage fly. Just remember - tanks will have a hard time keeping aggro while AOE skills and Ribbit are combined, but spamming pots typically takes care of this. I always pull aggro when my trap works, Razor Shield kicks in and we're twisting ribbit...

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So - here's how to do this -

Typically I am the first in the alphabet when running since my name starts with an A, so I will usually go first. I prefer this because I don't hit Ribbit's arcane abililty until it's going to benefit the party most (like AFTER the tank has pulled all the mobs to a corner or wall).

Toon A taps ribbit's arcane ability.
The whole party sees the first Ribbit go and at that point, the following happens:
Toon B starts counting. ONE. TWO. THREE - on three Toon B taps Ribbit's Arcane Ability.
Toon C starts counting. One. TWO. THREE - on three Toon C taps Ribbit's Arcane Ability.
Toon D starts counting. One. TWO. THREE - on three Toon D taps Ribbit's Arcane Ability.

See the pattern???

.... By this time... Ribbit's arcane ability is ALMOST available for Toon A Two more seconds... (12 second cooldown)

BAM! Toon A hits Ribbit's Arcane Ability for the second time, as soon as it's available.
Toon B, C, & D don't even have to count at this point - because the timing of when Ribbit's Arcane Ability resets should be right on.

Nice article! :) This works well in certain PvP situations too.

Some fact-checks -
1) AS with a CD of 2 secs gives +10% Crit for 5 secs. So, the values (orange ones) at each second for an ideal execution would be {10%, 10%, 20%, 20%, 30%, 20%, 30%, 20%, 30%...}. The stacking shown in the chart looks different, e.g. the +10% from the first AS would not exist at the 6th sec, and so on.
2) Ribbit's arcane bonus is +40% Crit for 3 secs with a CD of 12 secs. So with 4 bumps each spaced 3 secs wide, we reach 12 secs, and there is no gap as shown between 15-18 secs.
3) Ribbit's passive bonus is +7% Crit.

Please correct me if I am wrong somewhere. This is just a theoretical analysis, and you might have accounted for other factors that I possibly missed.

[Alrisaia]

Nice article! :) This works well in certain PvP situations too.

Some fact-checks -
1) AS with a CD of 2 secs gives +10% Crit for 5 secs. So, the values (orange ones) at each second for an ideal execution would be {10%, 10%, 20%, 20%, 30%, 20%, 30%, 20%, 30%...}. The stacking shown in the chart looks different, e.g. the +10% from the first AS would not exist at the 6th sec, and so on.
2) Ribbit's arcane bonus is +40% Crit for 3 secs with a CD of 12 secs. So with 4 bumps each spaced 3 secs wide, we reach 12 secs, and there is no gap as shown between 15-18 secs.
3) Ribbit's passive bonus is +7% Crit.

Please correct me if I am wrong somewhere. This is just a theoretical analysis, and you might have accounted for other factors that I possibly missed.

Thanks Wowsome! I couldn't remember the exact figures... My OCD is forcing me to update my graph and I should be able to get to it sometime tomorrow...

Can't wait to see it with the updated figures.

[Wowsome]

Thanks Wowsome! I couldn't remember the exact figures... My OCD is forcing me to update my graph and I should be able to get to it sometime tomorrow...

Can't wait to see it with the updated figures.

Haha, no probs. Here's my understanding -


Style #1
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Style #2
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[marshmallow]

I felt sorry for ribbit when the term used was "twisting" and sounded like it's been brutally abused when it's actually just "rotating" ribbit's skills and cooldowns. LOL.
Good post though.

[Alhuntrazeck]

*whistles*
Impressive! I wonder if this could be used for mage lightning as well?

[Alrisaia]

*whistles*
Impressive! I wonder if this could be used for mage lightning as well?

YES! It works wonderfully - Just be careful for aggro and remember that Rogues have that naturally high crit, plus the crit bonus stacking from spamming aimed shot.

Results will vary per toon - however I have found very devastating results with this technique.

[Zuzeq]

Can this be done with Talon?

[Alrisaia]

Can this be done with Talon?
Yes. I apologize for my error Zu :)

[Zuzeq]

No, Ribbit's Arcane Ability benefits all toons within range, Talon's ability only affects the pet's owner, thus while results may actually be good using a combination of Talon and Ribbit, and logistically it may be easier, Ribbit will still yield a higher total party damage output.

Twisting can occur with any pet or ability that affects more than one toon. Such as Malison's ability to affect a toon's dodge. The idea is that you want to ensure the ability stays active for as long as possible and timing is important since the abilities don't stack.

Toon A) hits Malison
Toon B) counts to 5 then hits Malison
Toon C) counts to 5 then hits Malison

etc... this would keep Malison's ability active indefinitely - it's only limited to the skill of the party running and how well they can coordinate and not miss a beat with the pet's arcane ability.



Im sure Talon's ability does effect party. Crit and Mana bump yeah?

[Alrisaia]

Im sure Talon's ability does effect party. Crit and Mana bump yeah?
Yes it sure does and I humbly stand corrected :)

[Soundlesskill]

Ya, I'll wave goodbye to PvP.

[Alrisaia]

Ya, I'll wave goodbye to PvP.

Why would you be waving goodbye to PVP Soundlesskill?

[Soundlesskill]

Why would you be waving goodbye to PVP Soundlesskill?

Because PvP isn't funny when everyone can go 1K.O. you :(

[chiqui2go]

Thank you so much for the post. I read regularly to learn and improve. Hopefully teach other friends. Thx again.

[Chauakai]

I am curious to know if you have tried this "twisting" thing in the Hauntlet yet! Solo my mage can run on elixirs with Ribbit in 1:51.6. With a team I have run as fast as 1:29.5 in the Hauntlet. All this at lvl 31. Just curious how this works in the Hauntlet. If you want I can run my mage, Photomage, with you and try it out. My Ribbit is lvl 31 also.

[Alrisaia]

Our best attempt at haunt is 1:35 but we're not full mythic and we haven't tried full party ribbit either... I would love to give it a shot though... Find me IG.

[Alhuntrazeck]

Ribbit Rogues are no fun in PvP, like Noisy mentioned! However, I'm sure it would be devastating in pve ;)

[Chauakai]

Whenever your ready let me know!

[Roanisgodly]

This would work amazingly with warriors also because if u have a maxed out vengful blood with a 25% crit chance 50+ strength and extra 40% deration combined with maxed out windmill and its extra 15% damg boost (and other stuff i cant remmember atm) would be pretty sweet

I alrdy crit about 50% of the time so that added 40% would make it almost impossibal not to crit

[Crowsfoot]

This would work amazingly with warriors also because if u have a maxed out vengful blood with a 25% crit chance 50+ strength and extra 40% deration combined with maxed out windmill and its extra 15% damg boost (and other stuff i cant remmember atm) would be pretty sweet

I alrdy crit about 50% of the time so that added 40% would make it almost impossibal not to crit

Hypothetically a warrior can become an average rouge . But a rouge can become the all mighty god damage since there bonus damage (what a affects a crits power) is much higher, coupled with an already higher damage load makes this an expenential increase in a rouges damage output (as seen in a fro stir run, thanks alr ;) I always like 8min cow heads). The issue is that some bosses apply feeble (and in PvP) so I don't think this will become the everyday fix, definently perfect for mobs (unless you use elite to level pets like me [I do that many runs lol]).

[Trahern]

@Roan. Yup with maxed Vengeful as warrior I can really start to feel rogueish at least for those couple of seconds. A powerhouse with full charge HOR shield on party and charged VB I can get a WM, tap a CS with staggering blow and still have time to get a few quick hits in at high crit. At lv28 am really loving the chance to clean up solo or help the unexperienced party without having to tank for ages without contributing to damage. Not that I'm trying to get roguelike dps, but Ribbit helps noticeably.
@Al - beautiful explanation and summary. Keep it up!

[Serancha]

Nice writeup. I agree with Noisy though, this would not be so fun in pvp. For pve though, def nice.

By the way, I find that razor shield has a tendency to draw the aggro of mobs who are looking at your warrior. These are mobs who would not normally even pay attention to you otherwise. If you are having aggro issues, you might want to avoid razor. I have never had a problem with traps drawing aggro onto me. Just something to think on.

Cheers.

[Alrisaia]

Nice writeup. I agree with Noisy though, this would not be so fun in pvp. For pve though, def nice.

I don’t PVP much – but unless I had a really reliable team to do so I wouldn’t try this… I’d probably be using Malison or Slag…


By the way, I find that razor shield has a tendency to draw the aggro of mobs who are looking at your warrior. These are mobs who would not normally even pay attention to you otherwise. If you are having aggro issues, you might want to avoid razor. I have never had a problem with traps drawing aggro onto me. Just something to think on.

Cheers.

Traps draw aggro if they’re not placed properly (right on top of your tank). If the mobs that get drawn into the trap are out of range of the tank, since they’re snared, they will attack the nearest target (probably the rogue who set the trap)…

There are only three tanks I've ever run with that I don’t consistently draw aggro from when I turn on my blender. This is especially true when we are twisting ribbit. This is why I’m spamming pots during the blender and not running around – you can’t move and pot and attack all at the same time (at least not on my device you can’t).

Using the blender wrecks elite mobs up to 30 at once in 45 seconds or so. That’s two razor shield cycles and about 4 Ribbit cycles.

[Alrisaia]

Now that a Mage's DOTs have the ability to crit, this once again becomes a really viable way to increase the amount of damage output a party has during a trashmob fight. Heck - even a boss fight.

I haven't been ribbit twisting in a while, since we seem to do alright without it - this was one of the ways that my teams (with trash Legendary gear) were able to hit hard Elite Maps and still do them in decent times. Now that we're all 'grown up' and have mythic gear etc, we see more benefits in using other pets...

I'm going to have to revisit this and test it with some certain mages... Suddenly I got a craving for cheese.

[leeelooo]

I have taught my guild how to twist ribbit. They love me now. hehe
I give you all the credit!!