Guild Wars 2

TL;DR up front because I’m not a jerk: Use whatever build you like in Guild Wars 2. Have fun in everything you do. Don’t play for “Efficiency” because you’ll get bored of the game and quit because it will feel like a job.

I’ve seen a lot of hate here when players attempt to use the same build in PvE, WvW, and SPvP. Normally the argument I see is the fact that you need zerkers with focus being on damage in PvE and using that in either of the other game modes will not work at all.

I’d like to put forth an example of how a player may use an SPvP or WvW build in PvE.

For this example, let’s use a brand new player that rolled an elementalist. He/she just bought the game and got to 80 about a day ago. (For some reason they are able to fully gear their character in a few hours.)

This player role-plays, and they really want to get invested in their character, so they made a build that they researched and theory-crafted in order to perfect. This build represents their roleplay idea perfectly and they are really happy with it, so they really want to use it with everything.

So, the build focuses on being a jack of all trades mostly, but he/she picked traits to focus on survivability. He/She figured that it would be easy to live in PvE with even a crappy build, so they chose to focus on an SPvP or WvW build style.

An example of a build like this: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQFAWhUM6ZW4wxBf0AhAB5tmrRBlrLXB-TxCBAB4p+zdKNiZ/BrUGYnOirUiVn5PAOgAhcBAcVJYAPIAA-e

Now, that’s a perfect build for WvW and SPvP but what about PvE? How could he/she ever hope to get a good dungeon group together without using the typical Fire Ele Zerker build?

Simple: He/She doesn’t.

You see, if you ever take a look at the LFG tool during peak hours, you will likely see MANY more dungeon groups being formed saying everyone is welcome than you will full zerker groups. So, this player will never miss out on anything simply because they chose to have a non-zerker build.

I often see the argument against this being: “But the reason you should always use full zerker builds is because you get through the dungeon faster. A 20 minute dungeon now takes 5 minutes.”

This argument falls apart once you realise that this is a new player. He/She hasn’t run through the same dungeons five hundred times like some of you have. That end goal of one gold isn’t as important to them. They still like running through dungeons. It’s not that much of a chore for them because it’s still a really fun part of the game.

The next argument that I’ve seen: “By not using a zerker build, you are hurting the rest of the people in your dungeon group by making it take longer. You might be having fun, but they probably just want the one gold reward at the end.”

This argument also falls apart when you realize that this new player isn’t joining any full zerker LFG listings. Assuming this new player strays away from zerker only listings, the other players in his/her group most likely want to enjoy the dungeon also or simply don’t mind taking longer. Due to this, the new player is harming nothing. Actually, they may be doing better than a full-zerker player would in this situation since the full zerker player would probably die a lot since the other players are probably not using a full zerkers build.

In conclusion, YES! You can use the same build in WvW, PvE, and SPvP. Assuming you are alright with taking a little longer in dungeons, enjoying the non-rush nature of non-zerk only groups, and running with zergs instead of roaming in WvW, you will do fine if you want to use the same build across all game types.

That’s the original nature of guild wars, right? Play how you want. As long as you are having fun, don’t worry about being “Efficient” enough.

Sounds a lot like me for the most part, for the exception;

• I have mostly zerk on everything.. I don’t know why, it appears to do more dmg
• I hate rushing even when I know the place, do you know I’ve been through the game on 5 classes and I am still finding dialog I’ve never heard before, 88! days later!.
• I want to do all the dungeons story lines, I don’t want to rush through I might miss something.

I guess when it comes down to it, its new player vs goal player.

Players who are worried about not having zerker gear shouldn’t be. Despite perceptions to the contrary, groups that don’t care what gear you’re using pop up all the time. And if you don’t see one, make one! A “P1 + P3, 80’s or be experienced” listing will fill up just as quickly. Even the “all welcome!” groups will fill relatively fast. Trust me on this.

Heck, I bring my condi-minion hybrid Necro into dungeons/Fractals on a semi-regular basis, quite possibly the worst spec/build the speedrunners could imagine. Never had any complaints or kicks, and we always finish within a reasonable amount of time. What’s FAR more important is whether you understand what challenges the dungeon/Fractal will throw at you, and that you are a friendly team player.

The stack meta is much more problematic to the quality of the dungeon experience than the zerk meta. Both, however, speak to a different form of bad content design.

Duke Blackrose.4981:

The stack meta is much more problematic to the quality of the dungeon experience than the zerk meta. Both, however, speak to a different form of bad content design.

We shall tackle one issue at a time. One day we will have the perfect situation for fun!

(In the meantime, we’ll just set up “No Stacking” LFG groups.)

Duke Blackrose.4981:

The stack meta is much more problematic to the quality of the dungeon experience than the zerk meta. Both, however, speak to a different form of bad content design.

Stacking doesn’t really happen that much in dungeons anymort fyi. Unless you consider stacking might before a fight. Most bosses and mobs die too quick for stacking and LoSing to be efficient. This is due to fgs nerf, ice bow is new meta.

What happens, pre stack might, drop ice bow. Run in, freeze, ice bow 4 and dps down. If its not dead by the end of a rotation usually what happens is a thief removes defiance by crowd control while a guardian blinds and applies aegis.

And once again, if you don’t like playing with zerk meta groups, form your own group on lfg instead of trying to force everyone else to play the way you want.

Minigrump.4961:

Stacking doesn’t really happen that much in dungeons anymort fyi.

Oh yes it does.
For example in AC & CoF & CM & SE & TA & CoE & Arah.

Not sure what the point of this thread is. If you like efficiency you run zerker with like-minded people. If you like straying around and day-dreaming then you run whatever you like, again with like-minded people. The point is not whether to run zerker or not, the point is to play the game with people who share the same definition of fun as you do. Nobody ever tries to force you to go full zerker and as you pointed out, there are many “all welcome”-lfg’s out there. So again, I’m completely missing the point of this thread.

I just join the full berserker groups anyway. Not like they can inspect your gear

Minigrump.4961:

Duke Blackrose.4981:

The stack meta is much more problematic to the quality of the dungeon experience than the zerk meta. Both, however, speak to a different form of bad content design.

Stacking doesn’t really happen that much in dungeons anymort fyi. Unless you consider stacking might before a fight. Most bosses and mobs die too quick for stacking and LoSing to be efficient. This is due to fgs nerf, ice bow is new meta.

What happens, pre stack might, drop ice bow. Run in, freeze, ice bow 4 and dps down. If its not dead by the end of a rotation usually what happens is a thief removes defiance by crowd control while a guardian blinds and applies aegis.

And once again, if you don’t like playing with zerk meta groups, form your own group on lfg instead of trying to force everyone else to play the way you want.

sure it does. go pug anything. step outside of your elitist guilds box.

people stack because its a free guardian gs 5, cuz your guardian is too dumb to realize he shouldnt be using staff + sc/f.

people stack because a group of 5 lazyass kittenface warriors have no cc and can just spam gs3 against a wall for kitten y evades.

people stack cuz then its easier to rez when your engi/thief/guard/ele dont spam blinds on trash and get downed cuz they dont use/have active defenses.

stacking gives reliability, which isnt something you can expect from pugs who just go ham. you know whats gonna happen in the stack and youre automatically well prepared to accommodate bad things. with people you dont trust, thats more important than killing in 3/4 the time by just going ham.

leet noscope prosauce dungeon guilds dont stack cuz they already know whats happening well enough that they dont need to have a fallback and they know how to control mobs without resorting to los abuse.

But that actually is not a main reason why someone might want to have a zerker staff ele, over a celestial one. For new player the reason will be much simpler – that person will be dying far less after switching to zerker. Not in dungeons – in normal, casual open world PvE.
Note, that it’s not always true, depending on class and weapons chosen, but in this specific case? Yeah, zerker all the way. Not because of efficiency, but because new player, not used yet to that class and combat engine, really will not want any mob to be able to survive to close to melee range.

Why does it have to be one camp or the other?

I carry 2 sets on my 80’s and switch accordingly. Both styles of play have their advantages and dis-advantages. The only animosity I have ever seen is new players who just join willy nilly and ignore the request for zerk only, or just have no idea what it means which is usually resolved before the dungeon starts so no biggy really.

InfernoHero.5687:

As long as you are having fun, don’t worry about being “Efficient” enough.

That’s an awfully carebear mantra but efficient play often leads to reaching goals faster which often leads to more fun, and a heck load less frustration, in the long run. That’s why the majority of players play these types of games, to attain goals, not just run around willy nilly like a headless chicken with no armor on and a rusty spoon whacking on moas. “Efficiency” and fun in this genre are more often than not symbiotic and to not inform players of such mechanics and styles of play is more destructive than in anyway helpful or diplomatic towards newer players imho.

I don’t agree with the general philosophy of not teaching new players skills and knowledge that leads to more effective play. In an MMO it can often be considered selfish and detrimental to the team or party to have such a play-style, not by player intent, but via ignorance.

“Uhhh….that guy in our party is running around in crap gear with a bad build spamming 11111”

“Oh just leave him…he’s having fun….”

…does nothing for the game or that player really…outside ideological opinion best discussed elsewhere.

I agree in part, players should be free to play how they want, unless it has a direct impact on those with other motivations. If I see a new player making basic and fundamental errors I never hesitate to mention it and I have yet to receive anything but thanks in return. That’s how I learnt the game and I have yet to meet a new player that doesn’t want to improve their efficiency.

rapthorne.7345:

I just join the full berserker groups anyway. Not like they can inspect your gear

Are you doing it just to spite them? Because there is no reason to.

Are you doing it because you enjoy their efficiency? Because if you do, why not try it out yourself?

I have to agree with the majority here. Last time I was in a zerker group, a guy nearly busted a blood vessel and came close to rage quitting because we killed a boss 2 seconds slower than the average speed clear. After the dungeon was done, all we got was a “GG” and a poof. That’s the virtual equivalent of wham, bam, “thank you ma’am”. That’s when it really hit me that all the zerker meta is doing is turning a game into work. I’m in retail and it’s the holiday season. I have all the “productivity” I could ever hope for. For that reason, I avoid all “zerker only” listings like the plague.

I prefer to play with a perverted friend of mine whom only has one level 80 and has to be carried through dungeons but has comical stories involving toys that aren’t for kids. I prefer playing with her younger sister whom has little to no emotion yet made a necromancer that wouldn’t look out of place in a My Little Pony episode… and then proceeds to nearly solo dungeons in record time with said necromancer. I prefer to play with roleplayers whom make jokes about the Flame Legion (Stay flaming, hotman!) while snickering about the undertones of Logan and Rytlock’s bromance. I prefer to play with people that occasionally say, “watch this,” and break the game in ways I can’t even imagine.

TL;DR; Yes, I could play with the zerkers, have over 3,000 gold and just about every item I could ever want. Or I could play with everyone else and have fun.

Because wearing berserker gear means you can’t be funny.

“This argument also falls apart when you realize that this new player isn’t joining any full zerker LFG listings. "

Then what’s the matter? There’s no argument to have about zerker only if you don’t join such groups.

Also, stacking is so 2013.

The problem I see, in the end, is how ANet has neglected PvE balance for so long. Zerk and stacking work and are the most efficient way to do things because design encourages it, it’s the path of least resistance. In PvP you aren’t dealing with some dumb AI which will expect to hit you one by one or make no attempts to break groups away and inflict pressure, so that bunker’neer and that conditionmancer you’d despise when running Arah for the 772th time are actually needed.

EntropiaFox.4109:

The problem I see, in the end, is how ANet has neglected PvE balance for so long. Zerk and stacking work and are the most efficient way to do things because design encourages it, it’s the path of least resistance. In PvP you aren’t dealing with some dumb AI which will expect to hit you one by one or make no attempts to break groups away and inflict pressure, so that bunker’neer and that conditionmancer you’d despise when running Arah for the 772th time are actually needed.

they dont and didnt neglect PvE balance, you just dont understand the balance.

the problem i see, in the end, is that many many players still dont understand the combat system and their professions after two years of playing the game.

the combat system is based on player skill. good players avoid hits and use active defense to defend themselves. players who are not as good need passive damage mitigation. thats how its intended to be. and thats the best thing about the combat system.

berserker gear + every other set without defensive stats are the only gear sets that make full use of the active parts of the combat system. so how is this a bad thing?

and remember, you can make your own groups without berserker players.
above average players will not stop you from playing how you want. so dont try to stop above average players from playing how they want, simply because you dont like their playstyle.

and stacking works in every game. just saying.
its less effective since the fgs nerf, and the only groups who still stack 24/7 are pugs who never knew why players stacked.

rapthorne.7345:

I just join the full berserker groups anyway. Not like they can inspect your gear

so you join berserker groups, let the other players carry you through the dungeon, enjoy their efficiency without pulling your own weight? stronk.

Definitely agree with OP.

I’m all for people wanting to mix/max for speed clearing. Lord knows I’ve done it. But after it is all said and done and you’ve obtained everything you want and have completed all of the content in the game. Zerk speed runs become so mind-numbingly BORING.

I get it, some of you want maximum efficiency because you are still farming for whatever it is you’re farming for. But after hundreds of dungeon/FoTM runs in full-on OMG xpert zerk mode 15k AP or you are a scrub, it becomes a complete chore.

I would much rather spend my runs in casual mode now. To swap my skills/traits/weapons/stats to something I haven’t tried. Maybe I’ll try out a Guard spirit weapon build in FoTM50, or my dual axe ranger, and bring my Nomad Elementalist friend and a couple of necros, both condition build. I mean, why not? In my opinion it makes the content much harder not using the statistically best gear and best group make-up.

Mixing it up is all that is left for some of us. So it isn’t that we dislike the zerk meta, there’s certainly a place for it, but some of us have evolved beyond it at this point. Simply for the fun of it.

Out of curiosity, how many people complaining about Zerker gear bought themselves a set, tried it out for a few months, and decided it wasn’t for them?

Or are you complaining about it from a place of ignorance?

I used to complain about it as well. Then I tried it and had a lot more fun.

Agree with OP. I made a scepter/focus ele build for PvE because I like scepter/focus aesthetics on Asura. Granted, I would actually prefer something like scepter/focus guardian but they can’t wear light armor which kind of throws that idea under the bus. Quite frankly, I enjoy “cosplaying” more than roleplaying. Not necessarily roleplaying because I’d make a ditch effort at giving my character a personality, I just like to play virtual barbie dolls with them and then kill kitten and do the story that ANet provides.

Duke Blackrose.4981:

The stack meta is much more problematic to the quality of the dungeon experience than the zerk meta. Both, however, speak to a different form of bad content design.

I still miss the content design of GW1 but I’m sure instancing content all of the time with the skill synchronization would’ve been a bad move. After all, after so many years GW1 devolved to a point where ANet had to address the issue and offer the 7-hero update because people were at a point where they had to do content with a H/H team. Certainly not something ANet wanted to repeat.

Scepter focus is the meta so I don’t see why it’s a problem.

I am definitely not a fan of stacking, and will switch between different gear as the mood takes me. If I’m standing there stacking I feel like I may as well not have the game running and instead just sit there moronically pressing same buttons over and over dribbling with boredom. No moving, no dodging, no skill.

It does feel like a job when people just want to clear it as fast as possible. I have enough of doing things as fast as possible with my day job. This is my leisure time. My end goal is not to accumulate gold, it is to have fun. Can I do it quickly if I really need to? Sure, I have a full set of zerker gear and I’m a very good ele – but man is it tedious.

I slowly went through a dungeon recently, not skipping, not stacking, and wiping out every mob. I’d forgotten how much fun it was.

I also have to agree with the OP.

The “Zerk or gtfo” rigidity is a disease.

Now, before you start screaming at me, hear me out. While I don’t personally like stack and smack, or speed clears, I understand that other people do and it’s perfectly fine if they want to play that way. To each their own. The problem arises with people become inflexible in what is considered ‘acceptable play’ (this the rigidity statement). People need to not force their play style or preference on others, that’s when this issue crops up.

Oh sure, someone’s going to bring up “then they shouldn’t join my group, it was clearly labelled” blah blah. You are correct, to an extent. You don’t have to be a prick about it though (and many are), that just adds fuel to the fire. I think the problem tends to lie more in that many groups are not labeled with that they are looking for, more so than in people joining clearly marked groups with the wrong set ups (although I’m sure there are plenty of trolls out there that do that too).

You don’t dodge in a stack? That’s news to me.

timmyf.1490:

You don’t dodge in a stack? That’s news to me.

Yes but its not the same, you are still just standing there overlapping each other mashing buttons – occasionally including the odd dodge roll. Not exactly the height of excitement or skill still.

Imagine showing that way of playing to an outsider, someone whos never seen it before.

“Why are you all just standing there on top of each other, looks boring..”.

Like the poster above said, I can understand people wanting to do speed clears, but people sure do get angry and rage about it if your team isn’t stacking or isn’t being fully effective.

timmyf.1490:

Out of curiosity, how many people complaining about Zerker gear bought themselves a set, tried it out for a few months, and decided it wasn’t for them?

Or are you complaining about it from a place of ignorance?

I used to complain about it as well. Then I tried it and had a lot more fun.

I have tried it on a Necromancer and a Warrior in the Open World. Nothing big, but I did fight champs.

My conclusion came after a few hours of using Dagger/Dagger on the necro in full zerker gear with a 6/0/0/6/2 build.

I saw it like this: “All I’m ever really doing is dodging and auto attacking. Most things are dieing in around three hits. Even this champ didn’t make me do much.”

So, basically, my conclusion is this: Zerker is fun for around the first day or so, but using it in any situation is really broken and takes the fun out of the game for me. When I was playing the warrior, I never had to use any shout or banner, I never really had to use any attack other than auto attacks on my axe or my greatsword’s Hundred blades, and I never even touched my burst skills.

Using full zerker damage builds locks you into playing one thing: Auto Attack the game. All you ever need to do is auto attack, dodge a bit, and then auto attack some more. It takes away any semblance of what class you are. You never need to use your heal skills. You never need to use your utility skills. Most importantly, on Elementalist, the BEST and most EFFICIENT play style in full zerkers forces you to stay in fire. That’s the absolute LEAST fun attunement for me. I can only imagine what it’s like for guardian or even Mesmer. Do you even use virtues or shatters anymore?

InfernoHero.5687:

Using full zerker damage builds locks you into playing one thing: Auto Attack the game. All you ever need to do is auto attack, dodge a bit, and then auto attack some more. It takes away any semblance of what class you are. You never need to use your heal skills. You never need to use your utility skills.

do you really believe that or are you just trolling?
are you talking about dungeon content or autoattacking ambient creatures in the bloodtide coast?
in case you are serious and talking about dungeon content, i would like to ask you, have you ever played gw2, let alone use berserker gear?

do you want me to record you a video that proves, that your post is completely wrong and that you will get wrecked within a few seconds if you dont use the heal skill, utility skills or profession specific stuff?

Just play the way you like. Join a guild and have fun. It’s a game, after all.

Just don’t join groups on the LFG tool that look for people of the opposite spectrum than you are and you’re golden.

NoTrigger.8396:

InfernoHero.5687:

Using full zerker damage builds locks you into playing one thing: Auto Attack the game. All you ever need to do is auto attack, dodge a bit, and then auto attack some more. It takes away any semblance of what class you are. You never need to use your heal skills. You never need to use your utility skills.

do you really believe that or are you just trolling?
in case you are serious, i would like to ask you, have you ever played gw2, let alone use berserker gear?

I am serious.

Using Zerkers on a Warrior, I spent around an hour in Orr. There, I never had to really try at all. Auto Attacks and dodging alone allowed me to complete anything. So, after that I chose to try the same situation on a cloth class. The only one available to me at the time was necromancer.

The Elementalist example comes from the metabattle Fire/Conjure Farmer build.

Tell me more about your experience with open world content.

This is becoming a bit entertaining.

(btw: I can survive in orr with a level 21 necromancer- there’s nothing hard in open world)

Orr trash mobs very hard. Pls nerf.

oxtred.7658:

Tell me more about your experience with open world content.

This is becoming a bit entertaining.

(btw: I can survive in orr with a level 21 necromancer- there’s nothing hard in open world)

I’m not saying it’s hard for my AH guardian or Ham/Bow Warrior in Open World either, but with them I normally at least get a chance to use my shouts/banners if I want to. With full zerkers, I barely have enough time in the fight to spam skills yet alone use them properly.

Dungeons and Open World are different content.

InfernoHero.5687:

oxtred.7658:

Tell me more about your experience with open world content.

This is becoming a bit entertaining.

(btw: I can survive in orr with a level 21 necromancer- there’s nothing hard in open world)

I’m not saying it’s hard for my AH guardian or Ham/Bow Warrior in Open World either, but with them I normally at least get a chance to use my shouts/banners if I want to. With full zerkers, I barely have enough time in the fight to spam skills yet alone use them properly.

If you think you need to use spam skill to kill a trash mob, your doing something wrong.

rapthorne.7345:

I just join the full berserker groups anyway. Not like they can inspect your gear

We look at your food, your signets, etc, and your weapons. If they don’t look kosher, we kick you. There is more to meta builds than what your gear stat is.

And if all of that is good, and the dps still seems low, then we kick you anyways.

InfernoHero.5687:

oxtred.7658:

Tell me more about your experience with open world content.

This is becoming a bit entertaining.

(btw: I can survive in orr with a level 21 necromancer- there’s nothing hard in open world)

I’m not saying it’s hard for my AH guardian or Ham/Bow Warrior in Open World either, but with them I normally at least get a chance to use my shouts/banners if I want to. With full zerkers, I barely have enough time in the fight to spam skills yet alone use them properly.

Great. Now take your zerker and solo lupicus, you’ll have plenty of time to spam skills and use them properly.

Talyn.3295:

InfernoHero.5687:

oxtred.7658:

Tell me more about your experience with open world content.

This is becoming a bit entertaining.

(btw: I can survive in orr with a level 21 necromancer- there’s nothing hard in open world)

I’m not saying it’s hard for my AH guardian or Ham/Bow Warrior in Open World either, but with them I normally at least get a chance to use my shouts/banners if I want to. With full zerkers, I barely have enough time in the fight to spam skills yet alone use them properly.

If you think you need to use spam skill to kill a trash mob, your doing something wrong.

I don’t need to, but it’s still fun to use my utility skills. Why is it bad that I want the choice to throw down my banner of power?

Nothing is wrong with zerker meta – its literally the only logical solution. There is no tanks (ways to pull boss aggro), no healers (everyone heals himself) in this game. Which leaves only 1 role for you – DPS.

Why no one complains about 1tank+1healer+xDPS meta in traditional MMOs? No one is running traditional MMO dungeon with all healer/tank group.

If you want to run dungeon with full tank group and spend there 2 hours – no problem. Find like-minded individuals and good luck. GW2 dungeons have no enrage mechanics which makes no-damage groups totally possible. But please for the love of god don’t torture others

InfernoHero.5687:

NoTrigger.8396:

InfernoHero.5687:

Using full zerker damage builds locks you into playing one thing: Auto Attack the game. All you ever need to do is auto attack, dodge a bit, and then auto attack some more. It takes away any semblance of what class you are. You never need to use your heal skills. You never need to use your utility skills.

do you really believe that or are you just trolling?
in case you are serious, i would like to ask you, have you ever played gw2, let alone use berserker gear?

I am serious.

Using Zerkers on a Warrior, I spent around an hour in Orr.

there is your problem. now, would you mind taking your “zerker” warrior into a dungeon (6-5-0-0-3 gs axe mace berserker + scholar runes) and try to complete it without using any utility skills, heal skill and profession specific stuff? no blocks, no evades other than your dodges.
when you have done that, can you use a facetank build, do the same, and then after that reply to my post?
i would like to hear whats the outcome.

please dont get me wrong. im not trying to be rude. i would just like to know what you think about berserker builds after this little experiment.

InfernoHero.5687:

Don’t play for “Efficiency” because you’ll get bored of the game and quit because it will feel like a job.

…

This player role-plays, and they really want to get invested in their character, so they made a build that they researched and theory-crafted in order to perfect. This build represents their roleplay idea perfectly and they are really happy with it, so they really want to use it with everything.

…

You see, if you ever take a look at the LFG tool during peak hours, you will likely see MANY more dungeon groups being formed saying everyone is welcome than you will full zerker groups. So, this player will never miss out on anything simply because they chose to have a non-zerker build.

…

I often see the argument against this being: “But the reason you should always use full zerker builds is because you get through the dungeon faster. A 20 minute dungeon now takes 5 minutes.”

This argument falls apart once you realise that this is a new player. He/She hasn’t run through the same dungeons five hundred times like some of you have. That end goal of one gold isn’t as important to them. They still like running through dungeons. It’s not that much of a chore for them because it’s still a really fun part of the game.

The next argument that I’ve seen: “By not using a zerker build, you are hurting the rest of the people in your dungeon group by making it take longer. You might be having fun, but they probably just want the one gold reward at the end.”

This argument also falls apart when you realize that this new player isn’t joining any full zerker LFG listings. Assuming this new player strays away from zerker only listings, the other players in his/her group most likely want to enjoy the dungeon also or simply don’t mind taking longer. Due to this, the new player is harming nothing. Actually, they may be doing better than a full-zerker player would in this situation since the full zerker player would probably die a lot since the other players are probably not using a full zerkers build.

YES! You can use the same build in WvW, PvE, and SPvP.

All of this is spot on, especially the section where you specified that a non zerker player has no problem as long as they don’t try to shoehorn themselves into a full zerk party.

I use just about the same build over all three modes, with minor tweaking, and I do quite fine.

Your fun should be the foremost priority, dont cave and give it up to make some random stranger happy, unless your fun is stemming solely from making their life miserable.

Skady.5916:

Nothing is wrong with zerker meta – its literally the only logical solution. There is no tanks (ways to pull boss aggro), no healers (everyone heals himself) in this game. Which leaves only 1 role for you – DPS.

I see this being said a lot, and I can’t really see the logic.

Assume Elementalist fighting champ with a charge ability:

Elementalist initiates fight with Fire Attunement meteor shower. (DPS)
Champ starts average attacks
Elementalist switches to Air Attunement and uses a knock back skill to keep the champ far away. (Control/Tank)
Champ charges
Elementalist uses an immobilize skill in Earth Attunement. (Tank/Control)
Immobilize wears off and champ fires off another charge
Elementalist, now at half health, switches to water attunement and fires off the two heal skills and also uses the class heal skill. (Healer/Support)
Champ starts more average attacks
Elementalist switches to Earth Attunement and uses the auto attack to weaken the champ. (Support? Maybe?)
Elementalist switches to Fire Attunement and finishes champ with a Lava Faunt and auto attacks. (DPS)

Azure The Heartless.3261:

unless your fun is stemming solely from making their life miserable.

Remind me again who the toxic players are?

@OP

Type in game the /age command please and post the results.

Dalanor.5387:

@OP

Type in game the /age command please and post the results.

Been playing since launch day. Pre-ordered the Collector’s edition.

Oddly, it’s not the ZERK ONLY 15K AP PING GEAR thing that gets me. I’m fine making my own groups.

What’s not fine are trolls that will hijack a group with minority kick-votes. That is the thing that keeps me from running dungeons.

This is why I only run my fractals and dungeon with ZERKER ONLY PING GEAR OR GET KICKED!
Problem solved my runs are always smooth and fast

Rauderi.8706:

Oddly, it’s not the ZERK ONLY 15K AP PING GEAR thing that gets me. I’m fine making my own groups.

What’s not fine are trolls that will hijack a group with minority kick-votes. That is the thing that keeps me from running dungeons.

I once made a group in LFG labeled “All Welcome! Watching Cutscenes!”

A Warrior joined and instantly attempted to kick my Necromancer friend.

It was her first run. We were on skype. She just wanted to see the story.

Skady.5916:

Nothing is wrong with zerker meta – its literally the only logical solution. There is no tanks (ways to pull boss aggro), no healers (everyone heals himself) in this game. Which leaves only 1 role for you – DPS.

You’re trying to apply Holy_Trinity.mmo to a game that doesnt have it.

“Oh, this game doesnt have trinity, so lets all spec into one part of the trin-”

there are no dedicated roles, but you can spec to any stat you want. What’s interesting is that, contrary to popular belief, players with high toughness pull boss aggro, so you can spec to be a tank, provided you can kite. You can heal allies outright or rev them -really- fast if you spec for that. you can spec for quintuple digit crits if you want as well. instead of having dedicated roles, GW2 has every character play a subset of all three roles, and leaves it to the player to decide how they want to balance it.

There are some players, though, that seem to think any kind of balancing attempt that gives any benefit to anything but dps, even in PVE, even outside of dungeons, even without the inclusion of said player into a “LFZerker only” group, is a failed build.

Then when people cave to their heckling, they get slightly more frequent success at the cost of their individuality, get bored when running the same dungeon 500 times cant be borne anymore, and sometimes even quit.

Play how you want. The only thing you need to be concerned about is being good at what you do.

full exotic gear is very cheap. buy it. profit???

InfernoHero.5687:

Skady.5916:

Nothing is wrong with zerker meta – its literally the only logical solution. There is no tanks (ways to pull boss aggro), no healers (everyone heals himself) in this game. Which leaves only 1 role for you – DPS.

I see this being said a lot, and I can’t really see the logic.

Assume Elementalist fighting champ with a charge ability:

Elementalist initiates fight with Fire Attunement meteor shower. (DPS)
Champ starts average attacks
Elementalist switches to Air Attunement and uses a knock back skill to keep the champ far away. (Control/Tank)
Champ charges
Elementalist uses an immobilize skill in Earth Attunement. (Tank/Control)
Immobilize wears off and champ fires off another charge
Elementalist, now at half health, switches to water attunement and fires off the two heal skills and also uses the class heal skill. (Healer/Support)
Champ starts more average attacks
Elementalist switches to Earth Attunement and uses the auto attack to weaken the champ. (Support? Maybe?)
Elementalist switches to Fire Attunement and finishes champ with a Lava Faunt and auto attacks. (DPS)

No offense but seems like you never done dungeons in GW2.

Let me tell you how it actually goes

Elementalist starts in fire with Meteor Shower (you got that part right)
But then instead of switching to earth and other useless shenanigans he continues to spam 1-2 in fire until boss is dead. Add dodges if needed.

See how easy it is if you just know how to dodge

Also the main point is to kill the boss very fast – ideally before your groups runs out of dodges/blinds/reflects. Which is usually 5-30 sec depending on boss.