Guild Wars 2

Hi guys,

I’m nearing 80 and I’m loving playing S/D. I tried going D/D but it really just wasn’t for me. Staff is okay but it just feels so clunky and slow after how dynamic and epic the S/D playstyle is.

Anyway I just want to ask for advice on gear set. Right now I’m eye-ing either Carrion or Soldier (PVT) set. I’m going to get both eventually but which one would be good to invest in first?

Carrion = requires money
Soldier = requires time due to dungeon grinding

I don’t PVP.

My playstyle w/ S/D usually involves ramming the mob with RTL, moving out, moving in again to do Earth 5. Moving out. etc. So basically it’s just weaving in and out of melee range constantly.

I’m looking for a dungeon specific gear set. I know PVT is the best overall but is Carrion really that far behind? Right now (I’m level 77) I’m running with Carrion and I’m doing okay. I’ve just gotten the Lifetime Survivor achieve which is ironic since I’m on a mage and I’ve never gotten it either w/ my 80 ranger, mesmer or necro. >_<

Here is my target setup at 80:

http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#mzsMz9Mz0MlvmMMlvmM0a0xxocsoVkq

Would appreciate any advice. Thank you!

Gearwise: Both will work fine when you’re just doing PvE. You don’t need Toughness that badly in a PvE set seeing as you’re rarely tanking damage specifically. Also, remember you can easily get PVT Armor (except Leggings) from the Temple merchants in Orr for 42k Karma each.

Use VI in Arcana over VII. You get perma-Vigor from it if you have decent crit chance which translates into better Endurance gain than the VII trait. I don’t agree with the Water traits or you not having Arcane Wave (Might stacks!), but that’s for you to decide.

Intigo.1653:

Gearwise: Both will work fine when you’re just doing PvE. You don’t need Toughness that badly in a PvE set seeing as you’re rarely tanking damage specifically. Also, remember you can easily get PVT Armor (except Leggings) from the Temple merchants in Orr for 42k Karma each.

Use VI in Arcana over VII. You get perma-Vigor from it if you have decent crit chance which translates into better Endurance gain than the VII trait. I don’t agree with the Water traits or you not having Arcane Wave (Might stacks!), but that’s for you to decide.

Thanks so much for your feedback! I’ll definitely look into Arcane VII over VI. The problem is that I don’t know if I’ll be critting enough to keep it up >_< (so far, I’m not planning to get any crit-related traits or gear… but I can be convinced if someone can justify haha).

Also, this might not be the correct thread for it but this mage would be my 3rd level 80 (I have a Mes and a Ranger as well) but I really have zero idea how to go about buying PVT stuff from the Karma vendors. I never really considered it because I’ve often heard how hard it is to get. I understand the vendors only appear after you do a dynamic event but is it like all of the vendors are difficult to unlock or only the balthazar one?

Thanks once again

Grenth is one of them and people tend to do that event just because it’s profitable. You don’t need Balthazar for the PVT Armor.

Check here: http://dulfy.net/2012/09/08/gw2-templegod-karma-armor-sets/

Grenth and Melandru are usually done on my server.

Test to see whether Arcana VI is worth it for you. I think you should get some Precision/Crit Dmg no matter what, your gear should be fairly balanced.

I find S/D a more burst setup, relying less on the Dots and more on Dragons tooth/Phoenix and Churning earth’s initial dmg.

Try Knight gear which is Power-prec-toughness, with Power-vit-cond accessories, or Power-vit-healing accessories…Start with 4 on fire/phoenix inside the ring for free might stacks/ Arcane blast also gives might since its a blast finisher/ and landing dragon tooth inside will as well, easy to gain 10-20 stacks of might this way depending on how long the fight goes

After fire combo switch to earth and churning, I generally switched to lighting till fire was refreshed

With my S/D setup I went all berserker, sup divinity, ruby, sup sigils of battle and strength. 0-25-0-15-30
Was / is working good for me (playing D/D atm, is more fun) – 10-15 might during a usual fight is normal when you start with fire, just beware of mobs running out of tooth. arcane wave and ring of flames are nice combo etc – just as misty said… if you know where to jump and have evasive arcana, then the might stack can be 20+ for the duration of the fight (at least with battle and strength sigils).

Narhim.7345:

With my S/D setup I went all berserker, sup divinity, ruby, sup sigils of battle and strength. 0-25-0-15-30
Was / is working good for me (playing D/D atm, is more fun) – 10-15 might during a usual fight is normal when you start with fire, just beware of mobs running out of tooth. arcane wave and ring of flames are nice combo etc – just as misty said… if you know where to jump and have evasive arcana, then the might stack can be 20+ for the duration of the fight (at least with battle and strength sigils).

Your sigils share cooldown. You can’t have both.

Indeed… my fault :/
Now confusion arrives – I suppose getting battle and force would be better than battle and accuracy… anyone can help out here?
My crit chance is at 51% and crit dmg at +99% = 249%
Just in case someone has the solution at hand. Thanks!