Guild Wars 2

So hey guys, I was thinking about making the fabled Lightning Build I hear so much about.

Now I wanted to experiment a bit, but I kinda wanna see what the basis for the lightning build is.

I assume the main Components of it are Rifle for Weapon and Rifle Turret.

And spec obviously into the Tools and Firearms Trait, and then also get the Air Sigils.

Stack Precision.

Now after that I’m a bit curious on some stuff. Should I be stacking Power or ignore it and go for Vit and Toughness?

Are pistols a viable option?

And does Crit Dmg really matter?

I would really like to see your guys builds if you don’t mind, and I think it would be cool to gather some Lightning Builds on here so we can all compare notes.

And just curious, what benefits and downfalls are you guys seeing with the Lightning Build? I assume the playstyle is very fastpaced and high dmg, but at the cost of consistent dmg and hp.

I’m not a big expert but I used to roll a discharge build too and yes, sigil of air is a very good choice (At least it worked fine for me). If you have a charr I recommend hidden pistol, the toolbelt skill is awesome whit this build and the extra dodge is useful. About the crit dmg, go for it, your sparks will do a lot of damage with it.

Don’t worry about power… just stack crit and crit dmg. Air Sigil is also correct. Pistols can be a viable option if you take a shield because the build is very flimsy, and the extra shield moves can save you, but otherwise, no. Honestly with this build the majority of your damage comes from your toolbelt moves. They just happen to stack nice in burst with Blunderbuss and Overcharged Shot moreso than any pistol attack. So if you’re going straight burst, go with rifle.

This build typically uses all Divinity or Scholar Runes, with Berzerker Amulet and Gem. And as said, it’s flimsy as hell, but can take down any other spec if you can catch them off guard.

are lightning builds meant to be for PvP or PvE? or does it not matter?

ankitteno assume then I should just mix and match Power, Crit Dmg, and Prec?

Is there anything I should put priority over the other? or is it up to me in general? And I’m to assume I should just ignore Toughness and Vitality for this build cause it seems its just all about Burst Dmg.

FiftyTwoBears.5482:

are lightning builds meant to be for PvP or PvE? or does it not matter?

Mostly pvp its bursty, though with the right toolbelt pieces it can be fairly consistent.

As @aydenunited said priorize critic and critic damage. Well, it depends, my build was more pve oriented and I mixed dps with a little tanky and had some tough and vit but if you go full glass cannon yes, forget them.

Rifle, wrench, discharge.

I could have sworn that toolbelt skills were based on kit damage, when I originally tested.
however, recent testing has shown they are based on weapon.
So wrench will hit 15% harder with rifle, then pistols.

Also, blunderbuss, and leap are huge bursts in themselves.

Wrench vs rifle turret
First, toolkit, has pull, shield, and prybar.
While rifle turret is pretty bad. only useful for the blast combo.

Throw wrench 1 power scaling x2. 20s cd piercing
Surprise shot .5 power scaling. 10s cd.
16vs 8s with 30 in tools.

2 surprise shots for 1 wrench.
Static is .5 or .55. not 100% sure which. also not sure weapon or kit damage.
throw wrench 2.5 power scaling burst on 1 throw. surprise shot 2 power scaling over 2 shots over 16 or 20s.

static can crit. and scales with power. so standard power/crit/crit damage.
Note, firearms and tools gives crit and crit damage, so you’ll want power to scale off those “free” trait stats.

I would recommend sigil of force, and sigil of bloodlust. (build up your stacks, swap weapon)
I have not mathed out battle vs force.

If hgh build, runes of str is obvious choice. If tools.. not sure. scholar I suppose. But as a melee build, you will probably loose that 10% buff easy. not sure on a better choice atm. ill look into it.

wrench AND rifle is an option.
Or rifle, net, and flamethrower. napalm+2 turret blasts= aoe 6 stacks might.
Depends on how much you want burst, or sustain. A 30 tools can burst higher, due to 30% crit damage, 10% damage on full end, 10% scholar, 6 stacks might.
While a 10 tools, and 30 alch, has more stable damage. you dont loose your 5% damage on runes of str, as you have 100% uptime on might. 1% per boon varies, about 50% up time with elixir B.