Guild Wars 2

so recently i’ve been experimenting with a shout heal/hammer build for high lvl fractals and in dungeons. it performs well, 2089 heal per shout, 3 shouts roughly every 20 sec helps not only party members, but myself…2k+ toughness you have a pretty solid meatshield/support,it maintains mob attention quite well.

yet the hammer is a slow and unimpressive weapon, it does its cc, but falls miles behind in dps which is what i’ve always built my warrior for in the past, as much dps as i can fit in, while having enough survivability not to go down. i use foods/sigils to up my power to 3.2+k, but crit rate is just over 20% with fury going….much less than the 70+ im used to.

anyway aside from the pros and cons of the two styles i can’t shake the feeling im betraying my class role, which is damage, and im curious as to what others expect of the warriors in thier group. would you think ‘sigh a hammer warrior…what a waste of space’ or would you appreciate the times the extra cc/shout heals save party members and make encounters easier. the dmg is probably about 2/3’s of what i get on dps build even less if its a fight where you can be landing hb.

discuss.

(this is in general forums not warrior because i want opinions from people that don’t play warrior)

I actually run pretty much the exact same build on my Warrior for my guild in high level fractals as well. Because it performs extremely well at what you described above.

Though I mainly run with guild mates for most dungeons I can see how the build could not be performed to its full potential in completely random groups.

Without coordination and understanding of everyone’s Builds and Roles in the group its probably better for everyone to be a damage role and play for themselves. Especially in the easier dungeons.

I feel ya though. Its sad in a game marketed as being so diverse in play style that the majority of Warriors all play the same build, despite having the most weapon combination options.

This game is designed in a way where each class is expected to fend for themselves. This is the case in group PvE dungeons as well. If you can go in with berserkers and 5 sigs and keep yourself up then I say go for it. But don’t start yelling at Elementalists and Guardians to spread heals around etc.

The Warrior is also in a unique place in this game because of how absurd your PvE damage is right now. Granted you will see some die-off if you spec into healing shouts, your damage output is still better than most every other class out there. So if you want to spec into a more utility/defensive spec I wouldn’t be concerned about the fact that you aren’t bringing enough damage to the group.

This is the problem I find with most warriors in this game… they feel they’re a DPS Class and their survivability rests on the shoulders of the 4 other people dumb enough to come along for the ride. Each class is self-sufficient and if you get downed, it’s your own fault. It’s up to you how you want to play and how effective you want the group to be. Just don’t expect other classes to carry you anymore than you carry them.

Pick up Leg Specialist in the Tactics line, which adds a 1 sec immobilise to Cripple. Since Hammer has a conal Cripple, and most other weapons also have a Cripple, it means you can stop enemies in their tracks, giving your team a small respite. Immobilise also isn’t affected by Defiant

charge in, do his big attacks, die or retreat.

rinse and repeat.

I expect Warriors to not die. Unfortunately in practice I find they are the worst offenders along with thieves and Guardians…none of this is a fault of the class but the player.

Do as much damage/support as you can do without dying yourself, and no one can tell you anything.

everybody who goes melee… is basically prone to die a LOT more while keeping your kitten guy in robe spamming is range attacks unarmed.

have some respect for the front line!

Im also a shouts heal warrior but havent focused on the healing, rather I use it as an extra form of support that is useful rather than life-saving. I dont use any Clerics so the heals are only ~1200 per shout because I feel that a Warrior’s main role isnt support. Thats my opinion but id like to think that ive pretty balanced in as much as I support, I can reduce damage by wearing the Knight set (doesnt gimp power or crit) and I do damage by using berserker weapons and accessories.

In WvW however ive just started using a very different build that revolves around the Hammer and im loving it. The control you give to your group is amazing and is in many situations more important than dealing damage. However I do switch to Axe+Shield when one/two on one.

Play the character how you see fit. If youre going down a lot then change build. The difference between the absolute ‘optimum’ warrior build and most other builds is very small in this game. Dont run a signet-GS build for dungeons however… great for leveling but its something all Warriors should grow out of once they hit 80.

thing is, any full dps warrior can survive well vs 2+ mobs because of omnom pies not having a cd on thier lifesteal, 80% crit, hitting 2+ mobs, and you regen alot.

i’ve been going 20/30/0/0/20 full dps in high fractals, and the dmg is obscene. 20k on final hb hit with constant 20+ stacks of might is 4k atk. if im landing hb’s dmg is probably 3x that of shout/heal/hammer spec, makes mobs die so much quicker. sadly i just feel like im stiffing the group when i go support, and honestly the best groups are dps ones, not dieing has so much more to do with knowing what your facing than any toughness/heals.

What you expect of a warrior in dng/fotm

I expect you to go solo it so i can watch cats on you tube, pm me when your at the chest

Lets face it there are three types of people in pugs.

The hey im happy your awake resonably sober and at the key board during the run and can listen to the occasional suggestion. Your build doesnt matter.

The sprint sprint sprint..your running past every thing not fighting your build doesnt matter.

The i play an every thing better than you you should have different weapons/stats/armor/sigils/ utilities etc…donest matter what build you have or how much you do they will always tell you you sux and they could do it better.
You build doesnt matter because nothing will make them happy.

tldr: Play what you like and enjoy it.

Damage, but don’t die.
Melee is tricky but totally doable once you know all the boss mechanics/what to dodge.
Also shouts. Don’t use signets. Signets are bad, mkay?
For great justice gives your party so much dps.

I only expect a Warrior to be good at what he’s built for. I often hope he’s a solid one to avoid complications.