Guide Ravenwing's Doll(house) Guide

Ravenwing

Sea Legs
χαίρε, πειρατές και μάγισσες,

I've been looking around the forums for a while, and consistently the one thing that I find most people building strangely or neutering in favour of a different weapon is the Voodoo Doll.

Frankly, this is really a splinter in me boots. So here I'm gonna lay out the Doll, with a full explanation, and my current build.

Before I get into this debacle, I do want to point out that I am a very long time Doll and Staff user; my original pirate maxed Doll before they were level 25, and this time round, I did it even earlier than that. Doll also happens to be my main go-to weapon for many bosses where I'm lookin after new pirates in my guild, because of its incredible versatility.

So, I've had a very long time to play with my doll and find out what really works and what doesn't work.

First up is a simplified explanation of all the skills.

Increase the number of targets you can affect by one per point. Starts off with one.

Now, the Doll is really useful for its pseudo-area of effect. On the contrary, to balance that utility, is the dampening effect per each target attuned.

This dampening effect weakens the more targets you have, but is still incredibly sharp the first two or three.

In addition to this, as I will cover more of later, are the bonuses from different type of dolls. Most attack dolls will have an attune bonus, and most heal dolls will not.

It is for this reason that I recommend placing two points into Attune, for 3 targets total. You get a mix of more available targets, and with an attack doll, you crowd control is just as effective as it would have been five points without sacrificing as much damage, while with a heal doll your three targets will receive more consistent and reliable healing, which is very important later on against ghosts, Smasho, and other deadlier bosses.

This is the primary damage dealer, also unlocked at the start. It charges very quickly and is a very consistent level of damage. I recommend placing at least two points into it, as it is your first most reliable set of damage.

This is your secondary and more effective damage dealer, but at about twice the cooldowb as poke. This one should get about three points at minimum.

Now we're really getting to the main points of flexibility. You can be a healer, and put more points into Heal and Cure, or you can skip Heal for an offensive only doll.

I typically switch between two dolls, so I placed three points into Heal, to make it more effective with the Heal bonuses on those dolls.

I recommend placing at least one point into Heal, even if your plans are to be offensive only, since with looting you can heal any pirates that have been knocked out without them needing a tonic. That saved tonic could then be used to revive you! Additionally there are sometimes health regeneration bugs, which can be healed by a friendly doll.

Now, here is where I typically see people making mistakes. They place four or five points into curse for the extended duration, which nearly never has any utility. However, Curse, by itself, is a 30% increased damage taken. I placed one point in here as 30 seconds is typically a long time for a boss to live, but if you want more security, you can place two for a solid minute of Curse.

Either way, Curse refreshes every 30 seconds, so even with one point there is a zero downtime.

Now, the problem with Damage over Time in Pirates Online is that it is rarely effective enough to kill on its own, and is merely more useful for preventing health regeneration. For that instance, if you are a PvP player and want to prevent enemies from simply healing through your Doll with Determination, Scorch is worth a point.

However, in nearly every other instance, I found it lacking and not nearly as effective as Poke and Swarm.

Much like Heal, this depends on the Doll type you are building. It is also still worth a point just for friendly healing, but it is not as required as the near-mandatory point in Heal.

I placed three points into this, however, for better general utility.

This is about as useful as Scorch. In PvP, it can restrain a player with a strong sword, allowing a gun finish or a staff charge, but for general PvE elements, too many bosses are immune to Grave Shackles, and there is no reason to really restrain your typical enemies.

I also placed no points into this one.

This is your third and highest damage dealer, with a longer cooldown. The benefit of self heal makes this an excellent panic button when you suddenly take a bunch of damage, and its damage alone is very worth putting five points into.

For any Staff user, this is a tremendously useful skill, as it directly increases your voodoo pool. However, the doll by itself rarely uses more voodoo than you currently have, and so for staffless or staff-light players, Focus will not be worth any points.

I personally put four points into Focus.

This one is more useful than it appears to be, and it is the Doll’s version of Parry.

At maximum level it offers a 10% to resist any enemy Voodoo attacks, including Staff, and can prevent you from being Cursed or Shackled; it also offers some protection against Jolly Roger’s Soul Storm and other voodoo attacks, making it a very useful survival tool versus him.

I recommend at least three points in here, and I personally put in five.

“Aue, but Ravenwing,” you say, “I followed this here recommended point allocation and I still got some points left over!”

You're right. All the recommended points I have given you is about 18 points. (If you're a word-skippin cheat, here is the basic 18 point recommendation.)

Attune - 3
Poke - 3
Swarm - 3
Heal - 1
Curse - 1
Scorch - 0
Cure - 1
Grave Shackles - 0
Life Drain - 5
Focus - N/A (variable)
Spirit Ward - 3

For the other 12 points, you can distribute them according to your play style. If you use Staff a lot, remove three points from that total and place them into Focus, then distribute the last 9.

A damage oriented build should finish off Poke and Swarm, upgrade Curse for a longer duration, and finish off with Focus for heavy casting and Spirit Ward for protection.
Attune - 5
Poke - 5
Swarm - 5
Heal - 1
Curse - 2
Scorch - 0
Cure - 1
Grave Shackles - 0
Life Drain - 5
Focus - 3
Spirit Ward - 5

A healing oriented build should finish off both Heal and Cure, and is one of the few times I recommend placing more than two points into curse, as a better support option.
Attune - 4
Poke - 3
Swarm - 3
Heal - 5
Curse - 3
Scorch - 0
Cure - 4
Grave Shackles - 0
Life Drain - 5
Focus - 2
Spirit Ward - 3

For PvP, pop some points into Scorch, Grave Shackles, a couple into Focus, and max out Spirit Ward.
Attune - 3
Poke - 4
Swarm - 5
Heal - 1
Curse - 2
Scorch - 2
Cure - 1
Grave Shackles - 1
Life Drain - 5
Focus - 3
Spirit Ward - 5

A mixed or utility build, which I run, boosts Heal and Cure to 3, Poke and Swarm to 4, then sorts out the remaining as desired. See my build for an example.

Now is where I talk about Doll Types.

There are four, technically, but discounting basic Quest Reward “crude” dolls (which are similar to Mojo dolls.

Mojo dolls are typically the Utility/PvP dolls you'll find. They aren't weighted towards damage or healing, and offer different skills. Most of them I find are about as useful as the typical passives found on other weapons in general, so I recommend finding one that either covers up a skill weakness (Wind Guard if you didn't invest in Dodge, for example), or something that offers a good skill.

My recommendation for these are the Black Magic dolls for PvP, or a Warlord doll for utility.

Bane dolls are dolls suited for attack. They offer high damage and damage skill boosts, and less healing. Probably the best of these is the Forbidden Doll, from Hollowed Woods. The Tyranny doll is also a good choice for boss fighting, with a Swarm and Curse boost.

Other dolls may have higher attack, but in terms of raw damage, especially with the guidelines previously set, do not match up. The Tomb King doll, for example, has 52 attack and a hefty Swarm bonus. However, it also boosts Grave Shackles, a more PvP oriented skill, and Spirit Guard, which reduces defence for other players, requiring a specific build.

Spirit dolls have much better healing and bonuses for other pirates, with a lower attack as a consequence. For these, the best are the Adventurer dolls for healing; it offers Spirit Mend, and boosts Heal and Focus.

However, for an Utility player, there also exists the Gorilla doll, which is fantastic as its Monkey Panic temporarily increases your attack to that of a Bane doll, perhaps better, giving an even mix between healing and offense.

Skipping the reading?

UTILITY: Gorilla, Warlord, (Warmonger)

PVP: Black Magic, Tomb King*

DAMAGE: Forbidden, Tyranny

HEALING: Adventurer, Treasure Hunter

Personally, I switch between two dolls, but likely will shift again for when I get my Gorilla doll, from one point away from Cure, and one point into Attune.

(Image Soon)

Attune - 2 (4 because of Forbidden Doll)
Poke - 4 (7 because of Forbidden Doll)
Swarm - 4
Heal - 3
Curse - 1
Scorch - 0
Cure - 3
Grave Shackles - 0
Life Drain - 5
Focus - 4
Spirit Ward - 5

Do note that the Forbidden Doll’s attune bonus is broken, and that Cure may be subtracted to add one to Attune.

αντιο αας,
Ravenwing
 
Ahoy, Ravenwing!

While I agree that the doll is wrongly faceted, I, however, do not believe in the surmounted versatility of which you speak, minus a couple points. In a previous guide I've covered, I displayed builds in multiple roles, such as Medic and Offense as well, and included a separate doll build for PvP.

The problem with the Voodoo Doll's current state in the game's mechanical meta is that the Doll creates way too many steps compared to other weapons to use properly, and while the damage without looking elsewhere isn't bad, the Doll just simply doesn't have what it needs by itself to stand up to tougher opponents, as well as endgame bosses.

Sure, the doll has its place in lower level play, but there just aren't enough allocatable skill points to be able to reconcile all of the Doll's separate needs in one shot, and there lies the problem. Without specializing the doll to one role or another, it's just mediocre. Specializations like pocket medic come into play when there's no other weapon that can cover the role as effectively, but without specializing your doll you're dooming yourself to be caught in a limbo with too many skills and not enough ways to be able to use it efficiently.

A: Well, the doll can attack a fair sized group of enemies for quite a bit of damage.
R: That is true, however so can Grenades or Broadswords, but they don't have to attune and aggro the enemy(s) prior to attacking.

A: Well, the doll is effective at one on one play versus bosses and other opponents.
R: This is true to an extent, but the issue with the Doll falls similar to the issues in many games. The Doll, save for Life Drain, has no ability to heal its master and the problem there lies the problem that the Doll just doesn't do enough Damage to be able to use it consistently with a good heal on a monstrously long cooldown.

In the end, the issue with the Doll isn't the doll itself really, it's the game balance that comes along with trying to compare it to many of the other weapon classes in the game, which are just vastly superior in each their own right. That isn't to say I hate Doll, though. I love mine to bits, and I think it's a joy to play once you've maxed it out.

Also, kudos to you for maxing it first, and before Lv. 30 at that.

Fair winds!

 
Ahoy, Ravenwing!

While I agree that the doll is wrongly faceted...


You are correct that specialisation is required to boost the dolls effectiveness, and that as a looting tool it leaves much to be desired. I am indeed much more likely to use a Lava Staff on bridge than I am doll, just for sake of speed.

That's where this specific doll buildstyle comes into play. Jack of all trades, master of none, but still better than a master of one.

The doll's primary focus is its versatility, and specialisation to the extent that it becomes viable in one aspect means you lose everything else that goes with it.

That's why the builds aren't very different, give or take the last 12 points. It can become more suited for one attribute over another, but the idea is to use the Doll as a generic catch all, or as a niche tool fix, whenever it is required.

Even people who do not use doll will pull it out to heal; they may as well be able to curse, or drain the equivalent of a tonic if they are in danger.

Additionally, at lower levels, as you pointed out, the Doll is massively useful for taking on enemies much higher, including bosses. At level 50 most pirates, regardless of point allocation, are built like tanks, and so it becomes less useful there. Still, having those options is better than not having those options at all.

(I have also seen your guides and they are fantastic; I like what you do with the doll, even if it doesn't fit my schema of generality versus specialisation. Kudos :D ]
 
Nice guide.

Πειρατές για πάντα. Πάρτε ότι μπορείτε, μην δώσετε τίποτα πίσω!!
 
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