I’ve been testing this build over the beta weekend and I believe it is very strong in a bunker role by providing team support via heals, auras, condition removal and permanent reappliable protection. I want to give a general overview of the build here and if there is more interest I can provide more detail on its merits.
Key’s to the build:
Traits
[Earth] Elemental Shielding – Provides protection on aura
[Water]Powerful Aura – Copies auras to teammates
[Tempest] Unstable Conduit – Give’s auras at the end of overload
[Tempest] Elemental Bastion – Heals on aura application
Shouts (Remove conditions with soldiers rune)
“Wash the Pain Away” – Heals yourself and nearby allies
“Flash-freeze” – Freeze’s foes and applies frost aura
“Feel the burn” – Applies fire aura (low cd heal and prot)
“Rebound” – Aura application after delay (Saving from death is not as reliable)
Ways to apply healing and protection via auras
Fire Aura: Feel the burn, Fire overload, Rebound
Frost Aura: Soothing Ice Trait, Elemental Bastion, Flash-Freeze, Water Overload, Rebound
Magnetic Aura: Sand Squal, Earth Overload, Rebound
Shock Aura: Shocking Aura, Air Overload, Rebound
Other Synergies
Heat Sink – Copies all existing boons to allies after might application
Sand Squal – Extends boon duration
Usage:
By cycling through auras on an as need basis, you provide permanent team wide protection with a good rate of application in case the boon is stripped. Each aura also heals allies for nearly 1k. If the aura was applied with a shout that ally also loses a condition. Each aura has a time when it is needed; shocking aura for melee opponents, magnetic for ranged, and frost for general purpose. Fire aura is an offensive tool that provides might and causes burning. You can rebound to get a delayed aura based on your attunement. Each overload also provides an aura on a delay. But you do have access to at least each aura on one on demand skill. This easy application dominates teamfight scenarios and leaves little room for opponents to operate.
In most cases, the overloads themselves aren’t important but the extra aura application makes the 4 second cast worth it. The water aura does provide a good heal and earth aura can immobilize opponents. Fire and Air overloads can be used offensively but provide trivial dps.
In addition to the heals on aura application. “Wash the pain away” is a large AoE heal if standing close to allies. AoE healing is also accessed on every available water skill, cone of cold, tidal surge, and a water globe with a frozen burst blast combo. While shouts and auras keep your health and allies health high as well as mitigate spike damage with protection. The water line can be used as an emergency route to heal low allies.
This build suffers from the same drawbacks from other bunker classes. It has better mobility than a bunker guardian but still has low mobility. And can be extremely vulnerable to heavy boon stripping. However, if no necro or mesmer are on point, it is very easy to hold 1v3. With tons of access to stability, protection, healing, and mitigation from auras it is a powerful bunker spec.
