Guild Wars 2

K pop here

So now I think would be a good time to discuss the common burst rotations and how they compare to each other. I want to focus on shatter, backstab, 100 grenades, 100 blades. Even though there may be more. There has been a lot of discussion of these builds throughout the last few months and I want to truly compare them.

I welcome input from the respective players who have played the bursts (Caed, Chaith) (my apologies for not having a mesmer name here) and written guides on them, as my perspective may be skewed to warrior and I want this to be objective.
There are a few categories I will list below and I think filling those in will give a full perspective. I will edit update the thread as I have time to update the information.

I will post the builds later once I compile all the templates.

Let’s start by writing the basic skill rotations-
war- frenzy, bulls, 100 blades, whirlwind
thief- steal, CnD, backstab, heartseaker
mesmer- illusionary leap, blurred frenzy, mind wrack
engineer- magnet, kit swap, grenade barrage

Each of these classes is very squishy obviously running full glass equipment.
Typical defensive skills-
war-shield block, balance stance
thief- stealth and shortbow evasion
mesmer- distortion, blurred frenzy, mirror images
engi- perma vigor, elixir S

Aoe potential-
war-gs cleaving 3 target standard

Burst recharge time-
war- frenzy cd (60) for frenzied burst, bulls (40) 100blades(6.5) whirlwind(8)

Time to kill from burst-
war- ~2-4 seconds hits land in small additive fashion largest solo strike (3k). This does not include eviscerate

Ability of dodge burst-
war- bulls charge dodge mitigates majority of damage in this rotation

Team utility outside of burst rotation-

All of these bursts are melee ranged.
Players please answer these questions and we can get a nice comparison here.
Feel free to suggest categories as well to help create the full picture.
This thread is not intended to bash a class or say one burst is better than another, but to compare them. For new and experienced players.

Meh, mesmer burst is really limited since we have to worry about terrain to get leap off. Im more worried when a mes DOESNT try a burst, usually means bunker but ive seen bunk builds do butt loads of damage… like loads of butts!
Thieves are true glass cannons, if i sneeze i can kill one as long as i avoid getting backstabbed off the bat.
Warriors can wreak havoc in crowds with hundred blades.
Props to all classes for having their own playstyle, each also has its drawbacks. Personally i like playing my mesmer… i feel like i am torturing people when they cant figure out which one i am and why this insane amount of damage is piling up. Hi-larious. Playing my thief i feel like its just “1 and a 5 and a ching chong potato” and its over.

Mattamis.8143:

Meh, mesmer burst is really limited since we have to worry about terrain to get leap off. Im more worried when a mes DOESNT try a burst, usually means bunker but ive seen bunk builds do butt loads of damage… like loads of butts!
Thieves are true glass cannons, if i sneeze i can kill one as long as i avoid getting backstabbed off the bat.
Warriors can wreak havoc in crowds with hundred blades.
Props to all classes for having their own playstyle, each also has its drawbacks. Personally i like playing my mesmer… i feel like i am torturing people when they cant figure out which one i am and why this insane amount of damage is piling up. Hi-larious. Playing my thief i feel like its just “1 and a 5 and a ching chong potato” and its over.

You can use temporal curtain as a substitute for leap to get your burst off in those situations.

Indeed, there are alternate ways to run the burst rotations on all the builds. Thieves can use D/P, Warriors can use Sword Flurry Immobilize, and Engis can use Net Shot as well. These things are stuff people need to know about and recognize.

Knowledge in general is a very large part of skill in any MMO, don’t slack on it.

You have just broadened my horizons! I havent been playing very long and thought that this was something i just had to deal with lol thank you

Mattamis.8143:

You have just broadened my horizons! I havent been playing very long and thought that this was something i just had to deal with lol thank you

Then don’t misrepresent that mesmer burst is really “limited”.

Of the 4, mesmer burst is the lowest, but it does some conditions and also has some semi decent aoe, making it good in teamfights.
It also has some boon stripping ability. So mesmers, give up a tiny bit of burst for there damage.
Ofc mesmers also have timewarp. Which is powerful as heck.

The warrior burst is as good as anything and his attacks hit like a truck. The issue is the warrior has little in the way of sustain or disengage. Meaning the warrior , if his initial burst fails when he joins a fight, can really struggle.

Thief backstab is incredibly powerful against people who have trouble protecting themselves against it. Like knowing when to dodge/use defensive skill. Thiefs are hard to play in high end play, but they dominate low end play. They have good disengage, but poor sustainability.

Engineer has really been rising in the ranks lately. the pure 100nades spec big issue is that its the hardest of all the burst combos to land. Engies have decent (relative to the other power dps listed here) sustain, but below average disengage-only better than a warrior.

Mesmer might have a bit of a lower burst, but they make up for it by having so many “Oh kitten abilities”.

They are the hardest class for me to pin down, so even if they are full GC, I have a harder time one shotting them then a bunker BM Ranger.

Mesmer burst IS limited, not to say i have plans to stop playing the class anytime soon but the fact is that setting it up without leap adds even one more step to an already lengthy chain of skills required to get off one “swipe swipe swipe boom” (with 3 clones)that does half a thief backstab from stealth. Mobility and survivability in the class is amazing once you learn how to play it so with that being said its not that im bashing the class entirely, i just feel as tho our “burst” is underwhelming. Also not saying anything needs to change about it, ive learned to play without relying on a glass cannon build to deal near enough damage to a single target (or tightly grouped set of targets) in order to feel powerful.

These are good points here, I will update the thread later today.
Keep them going.

Why limit the discussion to those professions? You should open it up to all professions and their optimal burst combos for a real comparison.

Just was starting with the 4 bursts that have become pretty standard. but they are certainly not the only ones around.

Hey have a main Engineer/Warrior duo and have spec’d at one time or another in the 100nade/100blade respectively. Also been on the receiving end of both to understand the mechanics pretty well as I have done countless pvp matches. I’ve said in past posts 100b and 100nade are vastly different, so glad to have the opportunity to comment here.

In terms of damage on either profession, these combos are the ultimate snare strategy, prying on engaging a player that is not suspecting the burst eg occupied in another fight with another player, or when that player is ignorant of the combo that prelude the burst damage. They are the same in this way.

Where they vastly differ is in a player’s opportunity for mitigation. a 100b burst will shut down a knocked down/stunned player, a 100nade burst will shut down an immobilized player. For the warrior, there are many more opportunities that make 100b more notorious, because there are a variety of means that players get knocked down, stunned, and we enter a scenario where you can very suddenly burst without having to bullrush, use a knockdown, etc.

Engi has to be much more careful with 100nade, which makes it such a different move. largely the player has to have more control, hitting the immobilize themselves, or using a pull, which is always an indicator for the other player to easily avoid the burst. Five Gauge’s videos testify to this, as in 99% of the times he hits the combo, he is standing in the immobilized character’s model to barrage and swap. some just do a pull and barrage/swap, but for less burst damage there, but still one can put up aegis, blind, shield, etc.

To summarize, 100b is a better move because it suggests we SHOULD put in a stun breaker, as does mesmer burst and pistol whip thief—without the stunbreak we otherwise face the combo. What does 100nade bring us to slot? Guardian doesn’t have to slot anything to avoid damage there. It’s a snare for players who don’t look/think twice, but easily countered when the whole barrage can count for “miss”.