How to Win 5 in Codex Arena with PuGs

(New tutorial on how to win 5 in Codex Arena for people having problems)

Winning 5 in Codex Arena (with PuGs)

First, don't listen to PvXWiki. I don't know who wrote their tutorial or whether they've played a lot of Codex, but their suggestion of one frontliner, two midliners and a healer isn't very good. Whoever wrote that article probably played a lot of Team Arena, which is nothing like Codex Arena. Due to lack of skill synergy like attunements for the elementalists, midliners generally work worse than physicals. Keep in mind that PvXWiki may be right some days: some days one frontliner, two midliners and one healer may be better. But most days it won't and you're better off going with two frontliners one midliner and a healer, or two frontliners and two healers.

If you're working with 100% PuG and no friend, the best idea is to pick up a dervish, an assassin and two healers in monk and restoration ritualist if possible. The theory goes like this. Playing adrenal teams requires more skill and more time. Time to charge up adrenal. Time which you may not have. For example, if your team build includes a warrior and assassin, the assassin has to be smart enough to realize the warrior needs to standoff with a spear and charge his adrenal halfway before engaging. But most PuG assassins charge in. So you do not want to be playing a class that requires adrenal charge up with PuGs, because likely they'll want games to be fast and over with and charge right up. Not only that but since he's a PuG your monk may not be able to keep your team alive long enough for the warrior's DPS to exceed an assassin's.

So team build one I call 100% PuGway:

Dervish
Assassin
Ritualist
Monk

Now the trick to making this build work is making the restoration ritualist do a little bit of damage. If there's good spear skills that day, could go 12 restoration, 12 spear and 3 spawning power. Now you have a high offense support character and two damage characters. If spears aren't good this day, bring spirits.

Winning 5 in Codex Arena (with smarter PuGs)

Now the second type of team build is when you have at least one friend with you, a friend you can count on who is a little more patient. Or at least a PuG who you see is pretty awesome and understands warriors and paragons need to build adrenal.

Paragon
Warrior
Ranger/Dervish (depending on skills)
Monk/Ritualist (depending on skills)

Paragon is key to this build. Paragons have damage approaching a warrior, but at the same time can carry necessary support skills like strip enchantment or it's just a flesh wound. That's the problem with the PvXWiki philosophy of taking two caster/midline characters -- it seriously nerfs your damage. By taking paragon instead as a support character, you keep high damage with good support.

Now since you're going paragon, you might as well go warrior too. Warriors and paragons both have to build up adrenal, so there's more synergy there. Now if you're lucky there's good pet skills so you can go Ranger with adrenal attacks (spear/axe) and a pet. If not, go Dervish. So you've got two 80 armor targets and a 70 armor target. Hard to kill, high damage.

Now follow these simple for the melee characters:

1. IAS (increase atack speed)
2. Increase adrenal gain (if necessary)
3. Snare/Speed boost/Cripple
4. Deep Wound

If you can load a paragon, warrior and dervish all with all of the above four, you are in great shape to win five in Codex Arena, even with the worst PuGs. High armor, high damage, easy wins.

Now after you make sure all your melee has all the above four, its time to worry about conditions and hexes. Ask your melee to add in offclass condition and hex removal. 2-3 hex removals is good enough, and if its ebon dust day make sure everyone has -40 blind. Offclass condition and hex removal has another benefit. That is because it's a PuG and you're probably not on vent or have good teamwork, the monk won't be coordinated enough to rip off dangerous hexes like insidious or rip off blind. The more self sufficient a PuG damage dealer is, the better it is and the easier the wins.

Be leader, recruit the right classes and ask for minor mods. Most PuGs will be willing to mod for you if you're nice. For example if you see the dervish doesn't have featherfoot grace (speed boost) ask him to take it. Similarly a lot of warriors forget IAS or adrenal gain stances so ask them to take it. If you have to do a total rebuild or teach the person fundamentals of the game you're better off taking a different person. But most PuGs just need minor mods in 1 or 2 skills to start killing.

That's all there is to it. Good luck in the Codex!