Guild Wars 2

I am a returning player and the question is simply the topic title.
So before I stopped playing I had bored of the berserk meta. I don’t feel the competative spirit and I’m not interested in doing the biggest, flashiest damage. My greatest joy is in helping and supporting my team mates so they can do their job to the fullest and I need neither the spotlight nor gratitude to feel fulfilled in this. Part of why I quit was due to the mindset that if it wasn’t berserk, it was neither wanted nor needed.

Returning now I see that support is now something more appreciated and that a few professions now better provide this support after changes or the addition of elite specializations. But instead of jumping into the great unknown and fumbling around, I was hoping to get some pointers towards the new or current support Professions or Builds.

Edit: Because of an arguement made based on poor assumption at the start of this thread, people continue to walk into this post and similarly assume that there is no proper understanding of Professions and Roles in Guild Wars 2 and there have been both informative and condescending responses.

Even the “support classes” like warrior and mesmer are expected to contribute.

Wasabi Kitty.8247:

So if you have a build that can provide both support AND damage, why would you ever take one that only does half of that?

Sigfodr.9576:

First all, support builds have always been a part of the gw2 meta

maddoctor.2738:

One thing that you should know is that build != gear stats. In this “Berserker” meta you so hate players were always supporting and buffing.

ButterPeanut.9746:

I’ll never understand the love/pure hatred for “zerk meta”.

Because I made the comment “I’m not interested in doing the biggest, flashiest damage.” it seems that people have thought that I intend to play the game without using action 1-5 and that I was trying to find a way to effectively “leech” off of groups as a “do-nothing support”. I can only repeat myself so much, but this assumption is WRONG and this post was made by an old player asking what professions or builds currently provided heavy and viable support in dungeon/fractal/raid settings.
This is NOT a thread to discuss the meaning of the word “support” and how it may apply to Guild Wars 2.

Of the 3 classes Nike mentioned, Chrono and Druid are the ones that don’t contribute to the group’s dps directly by themselves and provides unique buffs to the group; Alacrity, and Grace Of The Land(GOTL) respectively. Retaliation isn’t really used in raiding though it may have used in fractals now that something has been done about boon thief (I can’t recall what though). As for stunbreaks, most bosses will telegraph when they will use a move that will cc you, giving you ample time to doge it. On some occasions, such as sloth or gorseval, tempests are asked to take the gale song trait, which will automatically stunbreak themselves and 5 other ppl should the tempest get cced. Though it isn’t uncommon for people to ask druids to take protect me for an extra measure of safety on sloth.

Chronos are expected to fulfill either “tank” or dps buff bot roles (we say dps, but even in full zerk their dps won’t be that 1% needed to kill the boss in my oppinion). Tanking is a whole different topic on its own, suffice to say, if you don’t want to tank, don’t get toughness. Your main goal as a chrono on either set-up is to obtain 100% boon duration on yourself to ensure maximum uptime on quickness. This is done through a combination of leadership runes, sigil of concentration, boon duration foods, and platinum doubloons on exotic accessories.

Druids on the other hand are expected to play 1 of 2 roles: Full heal or condi ranger. Though you can, on rare occasions, find people that play condi healer builds. Due to somewhat recent changes on how healing power scales, magi stats became a somewhat mandatory set for healer druids. Your main goal as a healer druid is to build as much ancestral force as possible so you can enter avatar form and stack gotl on the group. Outside of avatar, you have your glyphs to apply gotl to the group once you trait it.

There are also some non-meta support builds out there, such as healer ele, healer rev etc. While you probably won’t find those in an average pug, guild raids to bring them from time to time. All of these are made in the pretext of raids. I’m not completely sure if it applies to high level fractals or dungeons. I hope this helps clarify a few things. Happy supporting

druid. Chrono. Warrior.

In gw2 raiding there are no dedicated buff bots who sit at the back and spam buffs and can get carried through content on the low skill support role. Even the “support classes” like warrior and mesmer are expected to contribute.

NikeEU.7690:

In gw2 raiding there are no dedicated buff bots who sit at the back and spam buffs and can get carried through content on the low skill support role. Even the “support classes” like warrior and mesmer are expected to contribute.

You seem to have a rather poor opinion of a “support role”, which makes me wonder what compelled you to answer my post. I’d see applying Fury, Might and Quickness as contribution, and I would consider the timely readiness for a groupwide Retaliation, Stability or Stunbreak as more than “low skill”.

this site should help you out with that,. http://qtfy.enjin.com/

There is no such role in gw2 raids as a person who waits around to give stability at key moments. Everyone is expected to play their normal role and contribute utility as well.

And yes, I do look down on support a dedicated role. In traditional mmo it stands for casters who sit safely in the back casting buff skills listening to calls. It’s traditionally where you stick the lowest skilled players in the group.

Luckily in gw2 the healers are expected to dps too. The tank is expected to provide tons of buffing as well as tanking. The dps classes are expected to contribute their unique utility functions as needed. So again, there isn’t a dedicated do-nothing support role.

MikaDeMika.4369:

NikeEU.7690:

In gw2 raiding there are no dedicated buff bots who sit at the back and spam buffs and can get carried through content on the low skill support role. Even the “support classes” like warrior and mesmer are expected to contribute.

You seem to have a rather poor opinion of a “support role”, which makes me wonder what compelled you to answer my post. I’d see applying Fury, Might and Quickness as contribution, and I would consider the timely readiness for a groupwide Retaliation, Stability or Stunbreak as more than “low skill”.

Thing is though, there are builds that can do all of those things, while providing others. Chronos can provide perma-quickness while also tanking. Warriors and Druids can provide healing and other buffs while also doing some DPS. So if you have a build that can provide both support AND damage, why would you ever take one that only does half of that?

Wasabi Kitty.8247:

MikaDeMika.4369:

NikeEU.7690:

In gw2 raiding there are no dedicated buff bots who sit at the back and spam buffs and can get carried through content on the low skill support role. Even the “support classes” like warrior and mesmer are expected to contribute.

You seem to have a rather poor opinion of a “support role”, which makes me wonder what compelled you to answer my post. I’d see applying Fury, Might and Quickness as contribution, and I would consider the timely readiness for a groupwide Retaliation, Stability or Stunbreak as more than “low skill”.

Thing is though, there are builds that can do all of those things, while providing others. Chronos can provide perma-quickness while also tanking and doing some DPS. Warriors and Druids can provide healing and other buffs while also doing good DPS. So if you have a build that can provide both support AND damage, why would you ever take one that only does half of that?

Nike is the only one here suggesting that all a support can do is “sit back and buff”, while devaluing even that. I have my own ideas of what a support in GW2 specifically is and what it can do, which I haven’t defined in my posts. My response to Nike was to defend the contribution of utility and the presence of skill in keeping team mates up and active. All I asked for was some pointers for support professions, yet it attracted a debate on dedicated support roles.

I feel like I explained my position pretty thoroughly regarding support roles. If you still don’t understand it reread from the beginning.

I’m not harassing you. I don’t know you. Stop imafining yourself at the center of the universe.

NikeEU.7690:

I feel like I explained my position pretty thoroughly regarding support roles. If you still don’t understand it reread from the beginning.

I’m not harassing you. I don’t know you. Stop imafining yourself at the center of the universe.

I understand very well that you have a distaste for support roles and a poor view of those who find enjoyment in playing according to such roles. You are responding to my post, directly describing your idea of me; which has been nothing but demeaning and insulting, based on a poor assumption built from “hints” in my OP and then try to avoid it by claiming that I have been imagining all of that.

You are correct in that you don’t know me and I don’t know you either, which makes your passive-aggressive behaviour all the more unreasonable.

MikaDeMika.4369:

NikeEU.7690:

I feel like I explained my position pretty thoroughly regarding support roles. If you still don’t understand it reread from the beginning.

I’m not harassing you. I don’t know you. Stop imafining yourself at the center of the universe.

I understand very well that you have a distaste for support roles and a poor view of those who find enjoyment in playing according to such roles. You are responding to my post, directly describing your idea of me; which has been nothing but demeaning and insulting, based on a poor assumption built from “hints” in my OP and then try to avoid it by claiming that I have been imagining all of that.

You are correct in that you don’t know me and I don’t know you either, which makes your passive-aggressive behaviour all the more unreasonable.

ignore him. hes just trying to make you angry. the more you feed him the happier he will be. thats also why he edits his comments after you responded to them to make him seem much more reasonable.

First all, support builds have always been a part of the gw2 meta, it used to be that you where able to make due with a minimum of support, so your supporters was still running dmg builds while supporting (ps war, guard and mesmer was all 3 clear supporters in the old dungeon/frac meta).

In raids today, the general group will need more support and the builds (and the general meta) have therefore changed. This combined with the strong offensive and defensive effects of the elite specs, this have led to several “mainly support” role in alot of raid groups.

PS war is still 1 of them
Druid, either full magi, condi or berserker
Chrono, either as tank or as second chrono (some also use minstreal here)

Sigfodr.9576:

First all, support builds have always been a part of the gw2 meta, it used to be that you where able to make due with a minimum of support, so your supporters was still running dmg builds while supporting (ps war, guard and mesmer was all 3 clear supporters in the old dungeon/frac meta).

In raids today, the general group will need more support and the builds (and the general meta) have therefore changed. This combined with the strong offensive and defensive effects of the elite specs, this have led to several “mainly support” role in alot of raid groups.

PS war is still 1 of them
Druid, either full magi, condi or berserker
Chrono, either as tank or as second chrono (some also use minstreal here)

That’s good to know. Before I quit playing, berserk meta was everything for every profession which spawned the “if you ain’t doing zerk you ain’t doing it right” mentality, but condi Druid sounds like it could be fun and challenging so I’ll go check it out.

MikaDeMika.4369:

That’s good to know. Before I quit playing, berserk meta was everything for every profession which spawned the “if you ain’t doing zerk you ain’t doing it right” mentality, but condi Druid sounds like it could be fun and challenging so I’ll go check it out.
Though, I wonder why there’s been no mentions of Reaver, Guardian or Elementalist.

People where berserk, since you where able to do all the support in berserk. The support was reflects, might/fury buffing, stun break, stealth, etc all stuff you can do in berserker gear.

Now a days, in raids. Its less berserker, but dmg dealers naturally still run dmg and the better your group is, the more people will run full dmg.

Here is a few meta and semi meta builds for different classes, take a look

Meta Chrono (tank): http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQRAse8dncfCFoh9fCmfCEgiFVjiMAGhirOZn2q9MIWipD-TRSBQBfbCClUfBAnEgro8jf7PMxnAAe0PcQVIigSQSBE4UL-e

Semi Meta Chrono (tank): http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQRAse8cncfClfi9fCGoBEgiFVjiMAGhi7MIWiprOZn2qF-TBSBQBkUJIlU/BAnEgJ+EA43+DXU5Fe0PcFlIkCIwxAA-e

Semi Meta Chrono (tank+Healer): http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQRAse8dncfClfi9fCGoBMrhFVjqOZn2qlMAGhi7MIWipD-ThhXABheSA9DQrEEg9H09JAEr6PBr8jUA+N1C-e

Semi Meta Chrono (tank+healer) cheaper version: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQRAse8dncfClfi9fCGoBMrhFVj6MIWiprOZn2qlMAGhiD-TxhXABxq+TwKLQQpG0KBD9kA6HAY/BdfCAkCIw9WA-e

Meta Druid (condi healer): http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQNAnfVn0rC1siNrAuqAEtiFDBDerGWLrMBg1VDopDEsqalcswA-TBSFQBNU5X70Hok9BAwTAIBnCg+p+z1WYYkKBJFwiKrA-e

Meta Druid (berserker healer): http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQNAsXWn0rC1siFsCuqAEtil9ADOueX3rMXgA2IY52FAGdlI8xA-TRSBABDqJwMlgWcIAe4EAgneAAeAAUq+j+HBgr2fU+RKA9UGB-e

Meta Druid (full healer): http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQNAsXWn0rC1siFsCuqAEtiFDBz511s6Bwb1waZlJAsuaAlI8xA-ThSBQBW4QAMINBLT5HNVCqvjAAe0Dkl9HAwDA4BnAAQp+DpA8bvF-e

Alot more of them, but starting to be a LONG post, so will only list a few more, since you asked about guard, ele and “reaper?” I will list these. If you are looking for something more specific let me know.

Semi Meta DH (dmg support): http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vVAQNAS7OnsABddiFCBEEhl4BrKAslKAy7v+3CEbJ8f2CA-ThBBABnpEMPdDB8EAqU9HAuIAYt/o8jUADsrC-e

Semi Meta DH (tank+support): http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vVAQNAS7ensABddiFCBmCBkdiFGiSu4P+qHrCSuS4qYbgAA-TxBBABVq+DW7PKxC4JAcmSwuUeknuBAuIAkCYgdVA-e

Semi Meta Temp (healer): http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vFAQFAWn0XC9XiVYCGYCcYiFVAjIAsASiFfgIQGwNrOWTrA-TxxGQB1S5Xb0B4RlgKS9Hy9AAGy+DA4CAQKA/2bB-e
Note: carry build for mathias, people cant die

Semi Meta Reaper (condition manegement, mainly at mathias, sloth): http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQRBLRtG2JDNQ1NY5mgnNA7NYxYwizhDxjY0PLAcAmSBxgXAA-TBSAQBhUJGFOJARU9nbqEEbKPY4+DA4JAEQ9DkCYRlVA-e

NOTICE that skills (and even traits) naturally can/will change depending on the fight

@OP: You may have forgotten this after taking a long break, but 99% of GW2’s community are leechers with 0 skill who expect to contribute nothing and get carried, hence why Nike’s comment makes a lot of sense. You seem to be one of the very few people who takes his role seriously, but it’s natural Nike wants to make sure you understand how involved the gameplay is. It’s for your own good.

IMO the ideal class for you is chrono. You can provide quickness and alacrity, which are extremely important buffs that boost others’ dmg through the roof. You can also share distortion, allowing your teammates to ignore certain deadly attacks. You contribute a lot of CC (which can be a gamechanger if other people are slacking), you can pull ads with focus (this can dictate the difference between wipe fiesta and easy clean kill on bosses like Xera and Sloth). And with minstrel build, you can also heal other people for a significant amount.
Chronotank is probably the most difficult role in raids to pull off, but it’s the ideal support and can literally carry your team if you’re playing well.

MikaDeMika.4369:

So before I stopped playing I had bored of the berserk meta.

One thing that you should know is that build != gear stats. In this “Berserker” meta you so hate players were always supporting and buffing. And the fact is that your stats (Berserker) do not affect the strength of skills like Warrior Banners, Ranger Spirits and stat buff traits like Spotter and Empower Allies. In other words you could be an excellent support character while using Berserker stats to also deal lots of damage while supporting. I know that coming from other games it might be hard to grasp that a Support character can also deal damage but that’s the truth in this game.

@Tarasicodissa: The thing with Nike was much more than trying to make me understand something and was definitely not for my own good. A few posts have been deleted now, and I’d appreciate ignoring that little bit of drama.

I believe I will check out Druid first as I already have a level 80 Ranger, so I can get started on that right away whereas I don’t have a Mesmer character, but I appreciate input and information.

Sigfodr.9576:

People where berserk, since you where able to do all the support in berserk. The support was reflects, might/fury buffing, stun break, stealth, etc all stuff you can do in berserker gear.

maddoctor.2738:

MikaDeMika.4369:

So before I stopped playing I had bored of the berserk meta.

One thing that you should know is that build != gear stats. In this “Berserker” meta you so hate players were always supporting and buffing.

It seems I need to clarify something. Back when I played, there was the universal meta that no matter what profession or build you were doing, you would be outfitted with berserk gear. On top of this, every profession had a meta build where all focused on maximizing your direct damage and it was widely discouraged to stray from this.
I am of course also aware that everyone had individual utility which was expected to be, well, utilized. Particularly in the community I was part of, there was the mentality that if you didn’t do it exactly right, you were a major liability.
So when I refer to a berserk meta, this is what I’m talking about. It didn’t matter which profession I played back then, because it would just be the same thing anyhow.
Coming back now I see more gear variety and a multitude of viable builds, thus my interest in seeking a more support focused profession to further suit my tastes.

I hope this will help dissuade any further condescending comments.

Sigfodr.9576:

Here is a few meta and semi meta builds for different classes, take a look

Alot more of them, but starting to be a LONG post, so will only list a few more, since you asked about guard, ele and “reaper?” I will list these. If you are looking for something more specific let me know.

You did not need to go through all this trouble! I edited out the latter bit as I already had decided to go check out Druid and didn’t really care for any more pointers.
If nothing else it’s a handy list to come back to though and I rather appreciate the effort.

MikaDeMika.4369:

So when I refer to a berserk meta, this is what I’m talking about. It didn’t matter which profession I played back then, because it would just be the same thing anyhow.

The meta builds weren’t all about maximizing their own dps. It was about maximizing the dps of the entire group through the use of traits, buffs and boons, often at the sacrifice of personal dps. If you wanted to play a Support role, you could play a Warrior (PS/banners), a Mesmer (Time warp/reflects), a Thief (stealth/blind), Guardian (reflects/aegis/stability) and others.

There were lots of support options even before the elite specs, they weren’t called “Support” builds by the community because they were all using Berserker stats. Or maybe because they were used in certain situations/encounters and weren’t used everywhere, who knows.

Anyway, good luck with your Druid, it’s a fun spec with loads of options, power druid, condi druid, healer druid, pick your choice based on the group you’ll be playing with.

NikeEU.7690:

There is no such role in gw2 raids as a person who waits around to give stability at key moments.

It’s not exactly stability, but I love it when I find a second chronomancer at Vale Guardian and we just give the group distortion so that everyone else can ignore the green circles and all go melee.

Then, even if one of us misses distortion due to a lag spike or the like, we still have 5 people to recover, whereas the biggest issue with PUG raiding on that boss is that even when you put 5 people on chasing it, you’ll almost always end up with 2 people not getting to it in time.

Anyways, Chronomancer is probably the closest to a pure support class. They provide some excellent buffs, can share buffs, and when traited into inspiration can “block” attacks for up to 5 people through a minor trait that applies a second of distortion onto allies when they grant it to themselves.

and yes, ignore NikeEU. He’s currently right, but generally a troll. He actually managed to get his guild kicked out of raid testing because of it.

[Quote]
and yes, ignore NikeEU. He’s currently right, but generally a troll. He actually managed to get his guild kicked out of raid testing because of it.[/quote]

I’m always right, ignoring my advice is a really bad policy.

MikaDeMika.4369:

Sigfodr.9576:

Here is a few meta and semi meta builds for different classes, take a look

Alot more of them, but starting to be a LONG post, so will only list a few more, since you asked about guard, ele and “reaper?” I will list these. If you are looking for something more specific let me know.

You did not need to go through all this trouble! I edited out the latter bit as I already had decided to go check out Druid and didn’t really care for any more pointers.
If nothing else it’s a handy list to come back to though and I rather appreciate the effort.

I also think Druid suits you the best after reading your inspiration. If you decide to get into raiding, shoot me a message in game, I’ll invite you to my guild and show you the ropes.

I’ll never understand the love/pure hatred for “zerk meta”.

Roles in GW2 are NOT defined by gear stats. Roles are defined by class specific mechanics and boons. Gear stats simply supplement or add to the role you want. However, “roles” in GW2, like Nike and others have stated, are not clear cut damage, clear cut tank, or clear cut support.

“support role” in gw2 means using your build to maximize the group buffs that your class can provide.

For example, a warrior can provide banners and EA passively. However, if you are using GS, Phalanx Strength, and Forceful Greatsword to generate might, the amount of precision you have is VERY important. This is what make zerker stats important in this case, in addition to increasing your own damage.

Minstrel chronomancer is a meta build that does very low damage itself, but is a great tank because it has all the benefits of chrono while also providing decent group healing and consistent boss positioning (i.e. you don’t move)

Druid is a support class. Whether or not you are berserker, viper, or magi doesn’t change its role. However, the gear stats will greatly change the effectiveness of your group depending on how skilled everyone is. The gear can also inherently change your rotation which can also affect your capabilities as a druid.

Roles = Class…Roles!=Gear

NikeEU.7690:

And yes, I do look down on support a dedicated role. In traditional mmo it stands for casters who sit safely in the back casting buff skills listening to calls. It’s traditionally where you stick the lowest skilled players in the group.

In most of the half decent MMOs that I didn’t get quickly bored by, support is the hardest thing to play

This was a thread initially created to ask for current support builds, not to debate the meaning or understanding of “support”. Please refrain from presuming ignorance in others and only post if you have something to contribute to the actual topic of this thread.

MikaDeMika.4369:

This was a thread initially created to ask for current support builds, not to debate the meaning or understanding of “support”. Please refrain from presuming ignorance in others and only post if you have something to contribute to the actual topic of this thread.

My post was in response to:
“That’s good to know. Before I quit playing, berserk meta was everything for every profession which spawned the “if you ain’t doing zerk you ain’t doing it right” mentality, but condi Druid sounds like it could be fun and challenging so I’ll go check it out.”
and
“Part of why I quit was due to the mindset that if it wasn’t berserk, it was neither wanted nor needed.”

Equal understanding of a generic word “support” is 100% required in order to give recommendations. My intention never was to make you feel belittled, but just to have a clear understanding as to what to expect. I have no idea based on your original post if you are looking at a cleric staff guardian or a meta chronomancer/druid, hence the rants on what “support” means in PvE in its current state.

MikaDeMika.4369:

This was a thread initially created to ask for current support builds, not to debate the meaning or understanding of “support”. Please refrain from presuming ignorance in others and only post if you have something to contribute to the actual topic of this thread.

If you want others to contribute only on the topic then post only the topic. When your post includes false info then expect players to point those out and correct them. And then instead of fixing those you derail your own thread by responding to the critics. Amazing.