Guild Wars 2

Hi there

I wanted to know which combination of stats I should use in a SD build like this
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQFAUl0picnvSTF17IxoHkW0bG0j86X7Kqg+B-jgQAEFoNFRjFA-e

Environment: wvw(both small parties and zergs)/pve(optional)

So:
1)should I go knight armor and zerk accessories or viceversa?
2) What is the minimum critical damage/critical chance I should aim for?
3)Which is the minimum hp/toughness I should aim for in order to have a minimum of survivability? Full zerk would be too gc, so I suppose a midway but I have to know WHICH midway.
4) Is toughness more valuable than vitality?

Also, I plan on using sigil of air on rifle (30% of gaining a lightning strike on critical hit) so I guess I should try to get more critical chance but I need numbers.

I would be pleased if you sticked to my questions instead of hijacking the topic somewhere else; I understand that for wvw it might be better to go with grenades for tagging etc, but I don’t care; I want to play SD and I want to use that sigil.

Do you think you can help me? Thanks for your attention

1) I prefer going completely zerk but going by your options I’d go vice versa.
2 &3) These both must be tailored accordingly to your skill.
I like cruising around 50% crit chance and crit damage should always be as high as you can get it.
I normally ignore toughness and vit but these must be tailored to a point where you feel safe. If you want to aim mid range aim for around 2.5k armor and 20k+ hp
4) Not in my book

Valneer.3854:

1) I prefer going completely zerk but going by your options I’d go vice versa.
2 &3) These both must be tailored accordingly to your skill.
I like cruising around 50% crit chance and crit damage should always be as high as you can get it.
I normally ignore toughness and vit but these must be tailored to a point where you feel safe. If you want to aim mid range aim for around 2.5k armor and 20k+ hp
4) Not in my book

Thanks for the answer but I’d like if you went more into details

I’m relatively new to engineer; I played HGH grenade in pve and an alternative grenade build based on stacking burning duration in wvw (rocket kick, throw napalm, blowtorch) and now I’m heading towards a SD build.

I like the burst damage and I like the toolkit skills (especially the block), but I have hard times dealing with conditions and thieves’ burst. Conditions are a pain in the kitten , as my only condition removal skill lies in the medkit and the only elixir I’m using is S (not worth traiting for cleansing formula 409).

So, given these infos, what would be more preferable? 20k hp and 2.5k armor seems a bit too defensive even to me (I’d have to give up too much damage); do I need that high toughness for my purpose or should I stick with a larger healthpool?

Since you said I should get the maximum crit damage possible, I had thought of this http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQFAUl0picnvSTF17IxoHkW0bG0j86X7KqQ+B-jwxAYLAiCQ6rIasthioxqdwUlER1ejioVDA-e
but I’d like to know if 18k hp is “enough” (I play with 15k hp on mesmer, but there I got many ways to avoid damage)

thanks for your attention

i don’t recommend having rifle as your only damage output. toolkit is more utility. mainly used to prybar, block, and pull. if you like flamethrowers, try this
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQFAUl0pyUH5SrF17IxoHkW0dGki6eXRKyfjB-jQyAYLAKDQyTZNBKIW5CSpLsVwoprxUuER1A-e

if you like grenades try this
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQFAUl0pyUH5SiF17IyoHdGpJaiKkffewWpFEC-jwxAYLAiCQyTZNBKIWILiGruGT5SEVDA-e

static discharge is all about burst damage. if you don’t like your survivability, i don’t recommend an SD build.

SD is a bursty glass cannon setup. You want to be as close to full Zerk as you can get. It’s a high risk – high reward build.

I haven’t played it recently, but assuming nothing’s changed you want something like this.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQFAUl0picX7STF17IxoHkW0dG0j86X7KqQ+B-jwxAYLAiCQyrIasF3ioxqWwUlER1ejioVLFQEjBA-e

ok guys, thanks for the answers

I had read people saying that full zerk gives you horrid survivability and it’s better to mix up but it looks like this setup is indeed meant to be bursty and frail.

Thanks again, I’ll go for full zerk

I have to agree with the others sentiments, a rifle sd build is capable and meant to completely obliterate an opponent in seconds. This comes at a cost of having next to no survivablity against conditions, and seems most effective to use to pull a single straggler out of a zerg with the toolkit or to catch someone unaware. If you pair it with a bomb kit mostly for the blast finisher in the smokefield to give yourself a short period of invis you would be surprised how often you can get the drop on someone when their attention is focused elsewhere, but I would say it is a matter of personal preference as I generally like to run with rocket boots in mine for the omg I need to get away moments. Staples though are almost always gonna be toolkit and rifle turret, the last utility slot is sorta player preference, but elixirs don’t tend to work so well for the static discharge.

As others have said, SD = bursty and frail. Which is why I learned to love the rifle. It’s a mobility tool that has a pretty hard hitting autoattack. I always used pistols before trying SD and fell in love with the control it brings. As well, the trait Sitting Duck synergizes beautifully with rifle’s net shot, stacking vuln and cripple.

I built full zerker with a few pieces of celestial for added survivability. Just my personal preference, not having bottom of the barrel vit & tough. But that’s up to you. Speedy Kits + Invigotating Speed + Adrenal Implant should let you dodge endlessly, assuming you quick-swap in & out of a kit every 5.5 seconds.

Also, I went 3x Air & 3x Mesmer runes for +swiftness duration and more crit . This will give you 100 crit damage and 63% crit chance (Add goggles’ fury for 83%!).

I like Rocket Boots over Rifle Turret for the burning its toolbelt heaps on, making it harder to cleanse my vuln and cripples, also because of Modified Ammo trait. Plus, it’s a good escape/gap closer/etc.

Here’s my build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQFAUl0pqdH5y3F17IyoHkWntZgeYX+1IKqQ+B-jQzAYLAyCQyrIasVMhoiqGruHWtgpKTkqFQ3i6xB8GKa+jULEwoFA-e

I would recommend Knights gear with Zerker accessories and weapon
The reason for this is the fact that you can obtain ascended accessories fairly easy (badges + laurels) each giving an 8% crit damage bonus. With a Zerker rifle (15%) and your 30 traits in tools you will have plenty of crit damage but you wont die to a warm summer breeze like a full zerker build.

I actually run 1/3 knights 1/3 zerker (accessories) and 1/3 PVT for WvW (my build is different, more focused on CC) i have 55% crit 80% crit dmg and i run sigil of perception so i really have like 70% crit + fury = 90%