Guild Wars 2

What are the current spvp meta builds?
And how would you rank them as far as how they perform in soloq and teamq? (hotjoin is irrelevant and shouldn’t be included in this discussion)

Ultimately it would be good if we could add links to common builds to this list (I’d be happy to update this post if the experts would post the builds).

I’m wondering if it would be better to rate each build in two contexts: team fights and 1v1s, since most builds are good at one and less good at the other. If a certain class/build hard counters another class build, please mention that in your feedback.

I’d also be glad to update the ranked list as experts post their opinions.

Note: the focus on this thread is on the higher end side of soloq and teamq. When you post, please state which classes/builds you play, and what your soloq/teamq rank is so we can put your opinions in context.

The initial round of feedback seems to be focused on the meta in teamq, so here is the growing consensus on the teamq meta:

Very Strong
Elementalist: staff bunker
Warrior: 3 stances

Solid
Elementalist: d/d celestial + strength runes
Guardian: bunker
Guardian: meditation (1 v 1/ side node)
Mesmer: shatter
Thief: s/d

Good but only if team supports them
Engineer 2-3 kits
Necro: power or condi
Ranger: Power
Ranger: Spirit of Nature

Good at lower tiers, bad for high tier play
Engineer: Decap
Engineer: Turrets
Mesmer: PU
Necromancer: MM
Ranger: traps
Thief: s/p

Now for soloq, where teams aren’t coordinated, certain builds that won’t survive the coordinated focus fire they’d receive in teamq do much better in soloq. I’d like to put together a list of viable soloq builds, but lacking feedback from the community on that we’ll put that off for now.

It would be helpful if the community could provide the best builds for the various successful/strong builds in teamq and soloq, and then we’d have a single place as a reference for both players new to spvp as well as people looking for ways to improve.

Class/Build List (work in progress)
- Elementalist: D/D celestial
- Elementalist: Staff cleric or celestial 0/0/2/6/6
- Engineer: Turrets
- Engineer: Decap
- Engineer: 3 kits
- Guardian: Bunker Guardian
- Guardian: Meditation DPS
- Mesmer: Phantasm
- Mesmer: Shatter
- Mesmer: PU Condi
- Necro: MM
- Necro: Power/wells
- Necro: Fearmancer
- Ranger: Power
- Ranger: Spirits
- Ranger: Traps
- Thief: S/P
- Thief: S/D
- Thief: D/P
- Warrior: Hambow
- Warrior: Condi S/S +LB

Full disclosure:
- I’ve played Phantasm Mesmer, Bunker Guardian, Hambow Warrior, Engineer “pull/push cheese build” (for Skyhammer), and most recently Staff Cleric 00266 Elementalist.
- My Soloq and Teamq rank varies between 90% and top 300, currently in the 600 to 900 range.

Please add your feedback to this thread.

(reserved for future use)

I’ll entertain this thread; results based off of both team queue and 1 v 1 potential.

Godmode
Ele: Cleric staff
War: 3 stances
Thief: s/d

A
Ele: d/d
Engi: 2-3 kits
Guard: bunk
Guard: med. (1 v 1/ side node).
Thief: s/p
Mesmer: shatter

A/2
Necro: power or condi
Thief: d/p
Ranger: Power
Ranger: Spirit of Nature

B
Ranger: traps
Mesmer: PU
necro: MM
engi: turrets
engi: decap

Reasoning:
Godmode: Very powerful at any tier.
A: Powerful at any tier.
A/2: Good at low tier, good at high tier if there is adequate team support/comp built to help this class.
B: Good at low tier, bad at high tier.

I would consider moving d/d ele to godmode, but necro is the only thing capable of keeping this class in check.

Currently s/d thief is better than s/p. S/p was last meta.
Is this a tier list that you personally believe are difficult to kill? Because that can vary from player to player. Engi’s for one are not top tier in teams as they are more of a liability due to their survival, especially against conditions (decap is only for yolo que). Ele would actually be better. As for condi and hambow they aren’t godmode in my opinion but maybe to you. (Condi war isn’t so helpful in teams either). As for necros, MM is yolo que only as well and the others can be somewhat decent I guess.
Guardian bunker is essential so that is fine in A class, Mesmer is actually pretty bad at the moment so it should be in B to even C class. PU is useless outside wvw so it pigeon holes them pretty much into staff/gs shatter or any shatter of the sort.
I don’t believe in godmode, so I’d say your A class would be overall (in no specific order):
Warrior (a/s longbow) or H/longbow can still work
Guard staff bunker
D/D ele celestial/strength
(Ele bunker) staff can work nicely as well
S/d thief
The rest are B class at the moment as nothing really seems to shine as much.
Granted if the player is good, they can make the class and build work nicely by all means.

Great feedback, keep it coming. If any of you could start posting links to the builds in question that would also be helpful.

Here is my Staff Ele bunker build:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQFAWhMM6c24wyBd0AhAB5tmrRBlrLXB-TJxHAB1eBAQqMAAPAgL2fAA

Variants:
Swap Celestial Amulet in for Clerics (for more health and a bit more offense)
Swap in Rune of the Pirate (for better offense in 1v1)
Swap in Rune of Melandru (for better condition defense)
Swap in Rune of Strength (for might stacking)
Switch to Trait X in water for more group utility
Switch to Signet of Restoration for more sustain (but you lose blast finisher, so a little less group healing, and staff is a slow weapon so doesn’t benefit as much from signet as D/D does)

I wonder if this list needs to be different for teamq versus soloq. While I’ve heard that Engineers aren’t viable in top tier Teamq, in soloq they do quite well in top tier. Nevirsaydie was top 25 in soloq up until this week, he runs a 3 kit engi, and was very good at point assault with good survivability.

Soul.9280:

I wonder if this list needs to be different for teamq versus soloq. While I’ve heard that Engineers aren’t viable in top tier Teamq, in soloq they do quite well in top tier. Nevirsaydie was top 25 in soloq up until this week, he runs a 3 kit engi, and was very good at point assault with good survivability.

Engineers are probably the best class for solo queue. Their only weakness is really condi bombs or being focused hard by an organized team.

They have cheap stuff like Incendiary Powder and Crate to easily win 1v1s and they are one of the top two most broken Skyhammer classes (and that’s going to equal a hefty advantage in 1/6th of your SQ matchups).

Theres already a similar thread, besides you listed some builds that no decent PvP player would ever play, at least not in tPvP.

Thief is essentially S/D, with only a few exceptions playing S/P. Almost nobody plays D/P anymore, therefore it can’t be considered a meta build.

Other builds that should be left out:
- Decap Eng
- Turret Eng
- Phantasm Mesmer
- Condi Mesmer
- MM Necro
- Powernecro
- Power Ranger
- Trap Ranger
- (S/P Thief)
- (Spirit Ranger)
- (Condi/3kit Eng)

This is just from playing Top 100 tPvP. Might have come across one build or another, but they’re nowhere close to ‘meta’.

Eurantien.4632:

I’ll entertain this thread; results based off of both team queue and 1 v 1 potential.

Godmode
Ele: Cleric staff
War: 3 stances
Thief: s/d

A
Ele: d/d
Engi: 2-3 kits
Guard: bunk
Guard: med. (1 v 1/ side node).
Thief: s/p
Mesmer: shatter

A/2
Necro: power or condi
Thief: d/p
Ranger: Power
Ranger: Spirit of Nature

B
Ranger: traps
Mesmer: PU
necro: MM
engi: turrets
engi: decap

Reasoning:
Godmode: Very powerful at any tier.
A: Powerful at any tier.
A/2: Good at low tier, good at high tier if there is adequate team support/comp built to help this class.
B: Good at low tier, bad at high tier.

I would consider moving d/d ele to godmode, but necro is the only thing capable of keeping this class in check.

This is really close to where the current meta is, I would prob drop sd thief down a teir but pretty spot on.

Soul.9280:

I wonder if this list needs to be different for teamq versus soloq. While I’ve heard that Engineers aren’t viable in top tier Teamq, in soloq they do quite well in top tier. Nevirsaydie was top 25 in soloq up until this week, he runs a 3 kit engi, and was very good at point assault with good survivability.

Yep SoloQ and TeamQ very very different. Engi only really isn’t that great in TeamQ due to the fact there are quite easy to focus compared to the other top tiered classes. Where as in SoloQ they can almost be god mode do to lack of team work.

Soul.9280:

Great feedback, keep it coming. If any of you could start posting links to the builds in question that would also be helpful.

Here is my Staff Ele bunker build:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQFAWhMM6c24wyBd0AhAB5tmrRBlrLXB-TJxHAB1eBAQqMAAPAgL2fAA

Variants:
Swap Celestial Amulet in for Clerics (for more health and a bit more offense)
Swap in Rune of the Pirate (for better offense in 1v1)
Swap in Rune of Melandru (for better condition defense)
Swap in Rune of Strength (for might stacking)
Switch to Trait X in water for more group utility
Switch to Signet of Restoration for more sustain (but you lose blast finisher, so a little less group healing, and staff is a slow weapon so doesn’t benefit as much from signet as D/D does)

i have enjoyed zerker staff a lot. what is advantage of cleric/celestial? there are not that many blast finishers for healing, are there?

Necro is too far down in many of your lists. Condi spam is the current meta regardless of class.

style.6173:

Necro is too far down in many of your lists. Condi spam is the current meta regardless of class.

I’m sad, this forum doesn’t have a downvote system…

Soul.9280:

I wonder if this list needs to be different for teamq versus soloq. While I’ve heard that Engineers aren’t viable in top tier Teamq, in soloq they do quite well in top tier. Nevirsaydie was top 25 in soloq up until this week, he runs a 3 kit engi, and was very good at point assault with good survivability.

Lol thanks. It’s true, engineer is better in solo arena than team. Susceptible to focus fire. And unfortunately I had a pretty bad run of luck in solo arena recently so I’ve fallen pretty fast

I think it was Nevir I saw in hotjoin today. Very impressive engying.

style.6173:

Necro is too far down in many of your lists. Condi spam is the current meta regardless of class.

So, about those condispam Guardians…

gesho.9468:

i have enjoyed zerker staff a lot. what is advantage of cleric/celestial? there are not that many blast finishers for healing, are there?

Well the knock against zerker staff is that they die if you look at them in a menacing way, and that’s been my experience. Against certain teams (lacking thieves), and on certain maps (Kyhlo and Temple in particular), zerker ele can do quite well because they can be hard to catch and wreak havoc on a point if left unchecked for even 5 seconds. But especially against teams with good thieves, or maps that don’t provide protected/hidden places for an ele to hide, a zerker elementalist won’t live long enough to help their team.

Soul.9280:

Well the knock against zerker staff is that they die if you look at them in a menacing way, and that’s been my experience. Against certain teams (lacking thieves), and on certain maps (Kyhlo and Temple in particular), zerker ele can do quite well because they can be hard to catch and wreak havoc on a point if left unchecked for even 5 seconds. But especially against teams with good thieves, or maps that don’t provide protected/hidden places for an ele to hide, a zerker elementalist won’t live long enough to help their team.

right, against thieves zerker staff dies.

but why cleric, is 922 healing power worth it? wouldn’t knight be better?

do you use blasts (which is one blast on earth 2) for healing or might?

Clerics is very powerful for Elementalists because of all of the heals they can provide even without blast finishers:

Comparisons of different heals with Berserker vs Cleric amulet:
Soothing Mist every 10 seconds (950 versus 1410)
Evasive Arcana dodge roll in water every 10 seconds (1600 versus 2500)
Attunement to Water: Healing Ripple every 10 seconds (1432 versus 1913)
Near perma regen with cantrips and attunement swap to water (167 versus 283, per second)

So, over the course of 10 seconds, the difference in healing from just these abilities is: 5652 versus 8653.

That’s not including water #3 and water #5 and two blast finishers: earth#2 and arcane brilliance. Healing from blast finishers is 1380 versus 1520 (so not a large impact).

Knights might be viable, but Berserkers leaves you with too little toughness, so you end up taking 40% more damage than someone with Clerics or Knights.

Soul.9280:

Clerics is very powerful for Elementalists because of all of the heals they can provide even without blast finishers:

Comparisons of different heals with Berserker vs Cleric amulet:
Soothing Mist every 10 seconds (950 versus 1410)
Evasive Arcana dodge roll in water every 10 seconds (1600 versus 2500)
Attunement to Water: Healing Ripple every 10 seconds (1432 versus 1913)
Near perma regen with cantrips and attunement swap to water (167 versus 283, per second)

So, over the course of 10 seconds, the difference in healing from just these abilities is: 5652 versus 8653.

That’s not including water #3 and water #5 and two blast finishers: earth#2 and arcane brilliance. Healing from blast finishers is 1380 versus 1520 (so not a large impact).

Knights might be viable, but Berserkers leaves you with too little toughness, so you end up taking 40% more damage than someone with Clerics or Knights.

yes, this is a big difference. i’ve played mostly celestial so far, but will try cleric.

I think you ranked turret engie/decap engi too low. Even at high play it is fairly good. The only real problem that arises is if you get paired against a really good thief that can just stealth off your turrets. Which can be avoided by just blowing them up and kiting with the rifle. It’s really an overpowered build imo.

Laylie.5703:

I think you ranked turret engie/decap engi too low. Even at high play it is fairly good. The only real problem that arises is if you get paired against a really good thief that can just stealth off your turrets. Which can be avoided by just blowing them up and kiting with the rifle. It’s really an overpowered build imo.

Or a warrior can just walk through that crap swinging and all the turrets are gone in the fray of aoe. Two words, meteor shower. Honestly decap/turret is solo/ hotjoin heroes nothing more IMO. As for necro and condi spam, that isn’t the meta. I honestly can’t define what this meta is right now but for the most part it revolves around power with strength runes course. This allows bunkers to deal sufficient damage while being tanky. So I’d say it’s more of a bunkerish (which is so boring to watch) meta/power. Condi spam is an issue with some but it’s not huge in high level play. In my above post, is what I pretty much see the top classes as. A list (in no specific order): s/d thief, warriors are good still, guards are a must and eles d/d celestial or staff are very solid (also due to strength runes). The rest are B class depending on build and even C class.

SaintSnow.6593:

Laylie.5703:

I think you ranked turret engie/decap engi too low. Even at high play it is fairly good. The only real problem that arises is if you get paired against a really good thief that can just stealth off your turrets. Which can be avoided by just blowing them up and kiting with the rifle. It’s really an overpowered build imo.

Or a warrior can just walk through that crap swinging and all the turrets are gone in the fray of aoe. Two words, meteor shower. Honestly decap/turret is solo/ hotjoin heroes nothing.

I’m sorry but I have never once lost to a warrior in a 1v1. Literally blind with flame turret. Knock down thumper turret rifle 4 then rifle 3 and 2 and repeat you just got thrown around. Eles are non issue because if you run glass that uses meteor on my turret I rifle 5 and critical you for 5k while laughing. I have only lost a 1v1 against a thief names Drow queen who was a Dragon. Supply crate is just too strong and with all my turrets plus SC 2v1s are quite easy 3v1s are doable as well depending on the classes. My build is the biggest cheese build in the game.

I can decap far off the start of the game 95% of the time and hold it until I decide to leave or they push me with 3 people. I use my build in team que all the time and have won about 22 out of the 25 games I’ve played on the engie.

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fNAQNAsfVjMq0xaLL+rQ0agAha5AEANvhYwdSkDhdBPqA-TJhHwACeEAo3fAwZAwYZAA

Niah’s ranger tpvp build