Guild Wars 2

Hello, as a newbie to this game (and pretty much MMOs in general), I don’t have much experience creating builds or working with stats. I was wondering if anyone can point me in the direction to learn to create builds (in general- if classes are required, I’m currently playing Engineer and Warrior). Thanks!

for pvp you’ll generally always want condi removal, stunbreaker(s), and extra dodges. this is universal for any build.
for pve you’ll want to grab as many percentage damage modifiers as you can. if you can fit the above into it, even better but it’s not required.

ellesee.8297:

for pvp you’ll generally always want condi removal, stunbreaker(s), and extra dodges. this is universal for any build.
for pve you’ll want to grab as many percentage damage modifiers as you can. if you can fit the above into it, even better but it’s not required.

PvE=/=Dungeon speed clears, however. There’s so much more to do than just DPSing, though that’s a valid way to play PvE everything too. So I would conclude that for general PvE, nothing is really “required”, though too low attack will always slow things down, especially solo. If he wants to go play only Dungeon speed runs, than yes, just pile up direct damage in an organized group.

I agree with the PvP part, though, and this wasn’t meant as a personal attack either (it’s not as if you are the only person who thinks that way-I just want to help him out by telling him he shouldn’t boil it all down to DPS for PvE if he doesn’t wishes to do so-there’s no true “DPS requirement” unless you enjoy min/max speed running.)

i never said there’s a dps requirement. but let’s face it you really can’t do anything in pve other than dps. and just because you run full zerk doesn’t mean you’re always trying to achieve a world record dungeon clear time. that’s just crazy logic.

Experience. Once you have experience in the game mode you want to build for you know what you need. Like ellesee said, stun breaks, condition removal, dodges are are crucial in PvP. The hard part is balancing how much of those you want with other skills to make your build. This is where experience comes into play, you just have to have the experience to know what you need, and what you can do without.

The best thing you can do is try out all the skills and combat maneouvers. Think about how you can fight by mixing rifle with elixir gun, or grenades with gadgets, or flame thrower with elixirs, and so on. Once you develop a sense of how to fight with these skills, you then pick the traits that best augment your play style. For example, if you absolutely love the flame thrower, it would make sense for you to put 20 points into firearms so you can get juggernaut. It would also help to put 20 points into vitality so you can get backpack regen or 15% increased flame thrower damage. You need to get to that point to decide what works best for you and then maximize on it. If it takes you a while to decide what you want, then you’re doing it right. Keep at it and as you get more proficient, you’ll know what works best for you. And don’t feel like you absolutely need grandmaster traits. If getting a lower tier trait better suits your play style, then go with it. I often don’t roll any grand master traits as they’re not worth it for my play style.

If you just want to play around with builds, without levelling or unlocking skills/traits then…
http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/
…is as good a place as any to start from

After familiarizing yourself with the available traits and skills, you’ll want to decide what the purpose of your build will be. I’ve seen people posting for advice on builds with no focus, which means they’re weak in almost everything.

Decide which kit(s) you want to focus on
Decide if you want to be power or condition damage
Decide if you to be damage or support oriented
Decide if you want to play risky or safe
…you get the idea.

In general, you’re going to want medium-high damage output.
In any non-PvE you’ll want some reliable condition removal and stun breaks.
Your support should be based on what your chosen profession excels in. For instance, engis can might stack really well, but can’t exactly boon share, so don’t try. Mesmer, on the other hand, can’t might stack that well but can boon share well.
Because of the predictability of dungeons, builds tend to be offensive with just enough defense to survive. Pretty much the opposite for PvP/WvW.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I guess practice, and knowledge to some extent, makes perfect