Guild Wars 2

Hello my name is Dantes. I am also know as /u/DantesS_P on /r/guildwars2. I keep an up to date build page for my guildmates. A few of them recommended that I share it with more people. Not all builds are created equal and some builds require different mind sets. So here are at least 3 different sets of builds for each class that are up to date and viable in ranked matches. I say ranked matches as you will see builds run tournaments on Twitch, that is a very different environment than ranked matches. Some of those builds are specific to team comps others there are little choice in builds since that is the best build at the time/meta. In ranked matches you typically don’t fight the best players who pump out the utmost efficiency in their builds. So other builds often time shine even if they wouldn’t in a competitive tournament. I will give a quick comment on each of the builds.

Basically this is a meta tPvP build list.

Link to reddit page: www.tinyurl.com/tPvPbuildlist

Elementalist

• S/D Double Arcane: This is the standard S/D Ele build and very popular. It hits really hard, great survivability, and good team support. The skill cap for this build is surprisingly high due to skill shots on fire and management of water attunement.

• D/D Triple Cantrip: The famous D/D triple cantrips build has recently fallen out of meta due to nerfs to cantrips and buffs to other builds. Though people have run it and it’s a viable build. If you have run Ele for a long time the slowdowns are noticeable.

• Fresh Air S/D Burst: This is the new S/D burst build. It uses Berserker amulet instead of a Valkyrie amulet and has less points in water making it very squishy. But it hits like a truck and fresh air allows consistent air bursts.

Necromancer

• Condition Terror/Dhummfire: The new Dhummfire/Terror build is very powerful and gives Necro large amounts of counter pressure. The base of the build is simply 30/20/0/0/0 with 20 points free to spend. Some variations of the build are 20 in Death magic in order to buff staff or 20 in Soul reaping for Master of Terror. Feel free to place them where you prefer.

• Minion Master: MM is surprisingly effective at times but in other times you will be yelling profanities at your minions. The build isn’t very popular but is very powerful in it’s own way and should not be quickly dismissed.

• Zerker Wellmancer: Power builds have always been less popular than condition builds on Necro. But wells are very strong AoE damage and Lich Form with a zerker amulet hits incredibly hard.

Mesmer

• Burst Shatter: The most common build in tPvP due to it being strong in team fights and strong in 1v1. Portal is arguably the strongest utility skill in the game and Moa is very strong at shutting down bunkers.

• Phantasm S/P Greatsword: Phantasm builds where nerfed in the last patch and they where never popular in tPvP to begin with. But they are still considered very strong in 1v1s and are still very much viable.

• Condition ShatterThe condition Mesmer has similar problems as a phantasm Mesmer. Very strong in 1v1 but very much okay in team fights. Condition shatter is very hard to deal with since Mesmer packs survivability with their clones and condition damage. Destroying them causes conditions on you but not destroying them causes conditions on you.

Moa Morph vs Time Warp: These two elites are interchangeable and they are both considered very stong. I have won fights because of Time Warp and I have also won fights because of Moa Morph.

Engineer

• HGH: Has recently fallen out of meta but still very powerful. The amulet and runes are usually up to person preference. Rabid and Rampager are the two most common amulets. And Might duration runes or standard Condition runes are also choices.

• Nodefighter/Teldo Style Engi: This build is very strong in 1v1s but has a very noticeable skill floor. A player that is skilled with this build will wipe the floor of almost anyone but a player that uses it poorly will have major difficulties. Teldo is the player the popularized this build.

• Static Discharge: This build isn’t very popular but with the recent buff of Rocket Boots. I’ve seen more Engis run this by swapping out Rifle Turret for Rocket Boots. The mobility from rifle and Rocket Boots is pretty amazing.

Ranger

• Beastmaster Ranger: This build received some much needed nerfs but is still powerful. The most common role of this build is holding the off points. It is strong 1v1 and still tanky enough to hold out for back up to show up. Pets are either felines or birds. Cleric Variation

• Spirit Ranger: Not very popular but Spirits are noticeably much more powerful in tPvP than they are in PvE. This build is surprisingly strong in 1v1 but is also a tremendous asset in team fights.

• Trap Ranger Has fallen out of the meta but is still considered strong. The main reason people stop playing it was BM ranger did it’s job at holding off points better. But this brings large amounts of AoE during team fights and is pretty good at holding the home point.

• Shout HealThis is a newer build that boasts larger amounts of sustain and support than standard BM ranger but at a slight cost of pet damage.

Thief

• D/P Burst: This is the standard 100-0 burst build. If you are new to the class I recommend OH Dagger instead of OH pistol. It is a very strong build and easily punishable if you are a poor player but still sees much high level play.

• S/D S/D Evade: This build has seen some nerfs but is still very strong. It is a very difficult build for an opponent to lock down but doesn’t have the insane burst of other thief builds. This build is also know as the Jumper build by the player that popularized it.

• Dantesway: I needed another thief build so I added mine. This build is very high burst and uses MH sword for great effect in team fights. But this build is also very kitten initiative. If you fluff a Black Powder/Heartseeker combo or spam 3 on this build, it will greatly punish you for it. But it is strong in 1v1 and great at bursting down bunkers and glass cannons.

• D/P Burst Variation: Some players prefer traiting heavier into trickery due to the powerful traits in that line. But this has lower the potential damage.

The skill Shadow Trap is kinda amazing now. It is basically a personal portal and can be used as such. Though it is kinda buggy if you want it is possible implementing it in the above builds.

Guardian

• Mid Bunker: This is the standard mid point bunker. The weapon choice is actually up to the guardian, I’ve seen players effectively use this with hammer/greatsword or mace/focus. Personally I run this build with scepter/shield staff. Shielded Mind often replaces Indomitable Courage in organized groups.

• DPS Triple Mediatation: The standard variation of this build is X/30/30/X/X so you are given 10 points to place where you want them. You can also replace the greatsword with scepter/X if you prefer that.

• DPS Symbol AH: AH builds are fundamentally weaker in tPvP than they are in WvW or PvE. They require other players to be around in order to be incredibly effective. Since outside of large team fights you tend to only have one other ally instead of 4 the survivability is much lower. But it does benefit DPS builds since their survivability is already low. Though this build is still not very popular due to Bunker Guard being such an incredible asset to a team and 3 Meditation is a bit more selfish, it can still be powerful. Variations include staff and hammer

Warrior

• Destruction of the Empowered BurstThere are several variations to Warrior burst. I am merely giving one version of hard burst warrior. Destruction of the Empowered is very strong at punishing enemies. Burst Warriors and Burst Thieves should rarely be the first ones to enter a fight. They should roam around see a fight and back up their allies. This is where DotE shines, since many players will have their buffs at full midway into a fight. Variations include Divinity runes or Scholar also slightly different trait set ups that go for leg specialist.

• Zerker Longbow Sword/Shield: This build is growing to be very popular. It is a rather different build than most players are used to. But it is very powerful build with burst and mobility from sword and AoE pressure from longbow. I had a pug match the other day where 3 warriors on the enemy team where running this build. The Defektive Build

• Mace/Shield Greatsword Burst: Cleansing Ire is proving to be a powerful trait that is bringing other weapons into viability. The premise of this build is using Skull Crack to stun the opponent for 3s (+Sigil of Paralyzation) allowing you plenty of time to hundred blades.

Utility skills/Traits/Sigils/Runes and sometimes weapons can often be modified in the above builds. Say I recommended Runes of Divinity but you prefer Runes of the Ogre. You can swap out for Runes of the Ogre and it will be just as strong if not stronger. Most players will make their own modifications to a build depending on the team comps or playstlye preferences.

Disclaimer: I’m no pro player but I have played hundreds of tournament matches. I’m a Champion Shadow and am working on Champion Paragon. My personal best was the Top 300 and I used to lead a team where one of my members was in the Top 100. So I kinda know what I’m talking about but I always continue to learn and play better. So if I made a blatant mistake in one of the above builds, I apologize. If something is missing a sigil or missing a utility skill please comment. I checked them over to see if anything was missing or missplaced and I think I’m okay.

-Dantes

If you see me in matches I"m probably on my Thief alt Dantesa Night or my Guardian Cadea Tayls.

Saved encase I want to add more stuff.

I was familiar with all of the builds, so good job.
The overview is pretty good so this should help new players.
I would have preferred gw2skills instead though.