Guild Wars 2

Hi again
I have a new vid, this time focusing on 1v2 (or more) or some short sprees. Always at least one level 80 against me, but usualy more. There’s no pure 1v1s or duels this time. All footage was shot since january 1st.
I’m really happy with this one, I hope you enjoy it.

my previous vids:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Maskaganda-s-Second-WvW-vid

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Video-WvW-roaming-engineer

build: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fcQQJAqalspSXnvSeF17IRoC4H0D9mX+K6xjh8kB

(elixir U was traded for C this vid)

27th january edit: 4th movie, I wanted to get rid of old footage before the new patch and whatever it brings us. I’ve been lazy and not recording fights very often, also struggling with an aging pc and its hamster powered cpu and hdds. this one has more emphasis on fun(ny) fights and not so much on sprees/personal skill, etc. dont expect anything impressing, ut hopefully good enough to be enjoyable.

what you may see: killing a naked cat, escaping at 700 hp twice, the hardest mesmer fight I’ve had in months, a good 1v1 against a necro, a guardian that gets destroyed in 5 seconds and some other stuff.

Excellent vid.
Every fight is well executed and impressive to behold.

I see elixir C is working out for you, although I can see why you would miss the fields from time to time.
Especially the part with the 2 upscaled engi’s and the pistol/dagger thief would probably have gone smoother with the fields.

That said, elixir C is very potent condition remover and it proves it’s use multiple times in the vid.
Have you tried out swapping B for U once?
Seems like a hard bargain, but you still have hidden flask to compensate for the loss.
It’ll strip you from your swiftness tho, so it would be a hefty price to pay.

I’m still amazed how well you deal with the randomness of the elixirs and the lack of control in your build, that requires some serious quick thinking.

Another awesome vid. The build has been working great for me. Just wish I could stay on target like you can. More practice I guess.

Please keep the videos coming and I still want to see you put out a guide on Engi tactics.

Very solid gameplay and awesome clips.
Also enjoyed the music (the first one is awesome).
Hope to see more.

Thanks for the video, one question:

Your armor choice is Carrion (Vitality/Condition/Power) why take that over a set on Trading Post with (Toughness/Condition/Precision)?

Thanks

Hey dude just chiming in to say I really enjoy your videos and watching you play, kudos on attaining such proficiency with the PP playstyle and build you have. I actually levelled my engy mostly as dual pistols but went to a rifle power build when i hit 80 (bursty static discharge) and have been there for months.

But after watching your videos I’ve been inspired to craft a second set of gear and use it for an alternative build the same as yours. One thing I did though was use crests on the rabid on my carrion jewelery because I wanted a little toughness without sacrificing much condition damage.

After wvwing with the new build/gear a bunch tonight I noticed a couple things… one is that I seem to have a harder time chasing down runners now without the perma swiftness of my old build. Any tips on catching people who head for the hills? The other thing is that I don’t have any extra condition duration in my build/on my gear… how would you go about working that into your setup if you wanted it?

PS I love your taste in music on the videos, very different from the usual… bonus points for some Jefferson Airplane in there :P

Siofra Crumble.2098:

I see elixir C is working out for you, although I can see why you would miss the fields from time to time.
Especially the part with the 2 upscaled engi’s and the pistol/dagger thief would probably have gone smoother with the fields.

That said, elixir C is very potent condition remover and it proves it’s use multiple times in the vid.
Have you tried out swapping B for U once?
Seems like a hard bargain, but you still have hidden flask to compensate for the loss.
It’ll strip you from your swiftness tho, so it would be a hefty price to pay.

Elixir C just makes more sense tbh. It fits better with the whole lets stack boons thing I have going. 18 stacks of might and 162 dmg bleeds seem better for dmg than a few seconds of quickness. I lose a bit of shock and awe power and the fields, but I gain more sustained damage and survivability.
And I can’t lose B or S, those need to stay on my skillbar no matter what :<

Lanny.6987:

Please keep the videos coming and I still want to see you put out a guide on Engi tactics.

I’m unsure what you guys are looking for in a guide, besides the usual questions about gear and such, I may do one just so I don’t have to answer the same things to different people so often :p

~

Your armor choice is Carrion (Vitality/Condition/Power) why take that over a set on Trading Post with (Toughness/Condition/Precision)?

I use both actualy..

iSperg.7602:

After wvwing with the new build/gear a bunch tonight I noticed a couple things… one is that I seem to have a harder time chasing down runners now without the perma swiftness of my old build. Any tips on catching people who head for the hills? The other thing is that I don’t have any extra condition duration in my build/on my gear… how would you go about working that into your setup if you wanted it?

PS I love your taste in music on the videos, very different from the usual… bonus points for some Jefferson Airplane in there :P

Regarding runners, there’s always some that get away, I have nearly permanent swiftness when running away thanks to hidden flask, but not when chasing.

I do not use any +condition duration in my build atm. +50% duration is easily obtainable with rare vegge pizzas and 10 points in explosives, I have used it and it works fine, my problem with it is that I find those first 10 points in explosives to be utterly useless compared to the other trait lines.

As for the music, well, at least there’s a reason to play the movies even if the footage sucks —-———— and One pill makes you larger, another one makes you small? I’m sure jefferson airplane accurately predicted elixir S.

Maskaganda has some ascended gear but you can get a close approximation (and what’s worked for me) with

carrion trinkets/chrys jewels
rampager armor
1 carrion pistol (earth sigil), 1 knights pistol (corruption sigil)
runes of the adventurer
guild backpack of the assassin with ruby orb
plate of fire flank steak + quality tuning crystal

I’ve tried throwing in a bit of Rabid to bring up the toughness but (for me) it drops the power and condition damage too much.

I suspect, Maskaganda, that you don’t see much of an interest in a guide because what you do doesn’t impress itself upon you as a specific set of tactics. Watching the videos and playing the build though here’s what I’ve picked up. Obviously your mileage may vary.

• In general F1 is your minor heal, B-thrown is minor damage increase, B-drunk is swiftness and damage. (With HGH all of these are adding might.) You might just get swiftness out of the first two but if you use them for the listed situations you’ll be right more than not.
• Face your opponent. (Harder than you’d think when starting out.)
• Open with static shot. It’s a blind.
• Try to save flame blast for when they are in your face. It’s a LOT more damage. That said take your best shot.
• Try to keep the range open.
• Strafe. Dodge. Move.
• Don’t forget glue shot.
• Better to use supply crate too early rather than wishing you had when you are dead.
• Use the supply create bandages.
• If using Elixer U better to use the field too early rather than wishing you had when you are dead.
• For keep defense switch Elixer C out for U. When they pull you off the wall when you can’t shoot over it and have to stand on it (because everyone’s Asura right?) Elixer S will get you home but Elixer C will get rid of all those nasty conditions you just picked up.
• Oddly you are often the one being pursued and giving ground. Use terrain and obstacles to your advantage.
• (My contribution) Load Bomb Kit instead of Elixer U underwater. Orbit someone dropping bombs (plus BoB) or drop a trail behind you to get away.
• You can tap F1, F2, F3 underwater several times to use a thrown elixer. First tap tosses it. Second breaks it.

Now if I could do all those as well as the videos show they can be done I’d be quite content with myself.

If you see anything I missed, Maskaganda, or I’m not thinking something through let me know. Otherwise you can forget the guide and just keep posting videos.

Still waiting for them to fix Giver’s weapon’s, so I can run this setup for fun with 2x of them (giving 20% longer condition duration)! Btw Maska, in explosive trait line there is all ways the good old Icendiary Powder, how come you don’t like that one?

(Also, been looking for you to take you down ever since Piken ended in same WvsW match up as gandara, where do you hide!?!?)

incendiary powder is ok, I know alot of engies use it but I dunno, I think the chance is too low for something worth 10 points.

I haven’t been playing much wvw on my engie since I made this last movie, but I’ll probably be around your own borderland this week. (going there in a bit :p)

how do you counter a BS thief with elixir s & drop on cooldown ?

got 5k steal / 5k C&d /9k bs / 8k hs then normal melee and dead. under 2s, with nothing else that I could do.

Keep in mind that while you increase condition duration in 1/4s increments you only get damage ticks in 1s increments. Bleeding is 2s, poison 2, blind 3, burning 3 or 1. So you’d need to get to +33% condition duration to see an extra tick of blind or long burn and you’d need to get to +50% condition duration to see an extra tick of bleeding or poison. This is why Runes of Melandru and other -condition duration are so popular. If you have no +condition duration then your condition applied automatically lose at least one tick which on a 2s condition means 50% damage reduction.

Amadeus.5687:

Still waiting for them to fix Giver’s weapon’s, so I can run this setup for fun with 2x of them (giving 20% longer condition duration)! Btw Maska, in explosive trait line there is all ways the good old Icendiary Powder, how come you don’t like that one?

(Also, been looking for you to take you down ever since Piken ended in same WvsW match up as gandara, where do you hide!?!?)

Lanny.6987:

Keep in mind that while you increase condition duration in 1/4s increments you only get damage ticks in 1s increments. Bleeding is 2s, poison 2, blind 3, burning 3 or 1. So you’d need to get to +33% condition duration to see an extra tick of blind or long burn and you’d need to get to +50% condition duration to see an extra tick of bleeding or poison. This is why Runes of Melandru and other -condition duration are so popular. If you have no +condition duration then your condition applied automatically lose at least one tick which on a 2s condition means 50% damage reduction

I have never made condition build before, still working on mine and dont know about it much. But are you saying the first second does no damage at all?

rogerwilko.6895:

how do you counter a BS thief with elixir s & drop on cooldown ?

got 5k steal / 5k C&d /9k bs / 8k hs then normal melee and dead. under 2s, with nothing else that I could do.

Since you didn’t give more specific information about the fight, let me answer a bit on the general side.
It is a gamble if you have cooldowns spent. You could try and count seconds when he/she/it goes into stealth then dodge, and you might be lucky to avoid his opener and maybe some CDs will be available after that.
Only thing I can recommend is use LoS (this rules as Engi to be honest; water is your friend as well) and if available throw Elixir S for a lucky invisibility proc.
If nothing is available (i.e. all CDs spent and no LoS) then there are three possibilities:
- you didn’t plan ahead good enough (don’t run into fights with CDs, no LoS to (ab)use), got baited or mindlessly blew all your CDs in a few seconds, otherwise known as ‘pants down’ situation. Most professions, if they are not morons, can take you down then -> your own fault -> learn the lesson
- ‘pants down’ situation, because you got CCd/jumped while strategically retreating (nothing you can do about it) -> not your fault (one could argue you should have seen it coming and didn’t retreat soon enough though, then it would have been your own fault)
- bad luck (our beloved *cough versatility *cough didn’t proc in your favour) -> not your fault

Always remember to strategically retreat in a timely fashion. For that, you have to assess the situation correctly (chance (culling) may be involved in this of course, which could lead to bad luck).
Always be aware of your surroundings.

This shouldn’t come across as lecturing, but I figured a few thoughts might be better than the troglodytic L2P comment.

Lanny.6987:

Keep in mind that while you increase condition duration in 1/4s increments you only get damage ticks in 1s increments. Bleeding is 2s, poison 2, blind 3, burning 3 or 1. So you’d need to get to +33% condition duration to see an extra tick of blind or long burn and you’d need to get to +50% condition duration to see an extra tick of bleeding or poison. This is why Runes of Melandru and other -condition duration are so popular. If you have no +condition duration then your condition applied automatically lose at least one tick which on a 2s condition means 50% damage reduction.

Aye aye! 10 Point’s in explosive = 10% longer Duration
4x Rune of the lich = 10% longer duration
2x Rune of Lyzza = 10% longer duration
2x giver’s gun’s =20% longer duration
= 50% longer duration! baby I’m loaded and ready hehe! But yeah, it’s about stacking them for longer durations!

I won’t have time to play today Maska, but I will try scout for you in my borderlands! But Incendiary Powder with it’s 33% chance on crit I gues it depends on your crit chance? with the pistol damage build I run with someday’s I got 50% chance, which means I pretty much pop it every time it’s off cool down giving me close to permanent burning on my foes with the use of Blowtorch as well!

Hi Mask,

Thanks for taking the time to make and share your video. I have only one question at the moment: How do you feel about Power Shoes? It seems to me that your style would be served well by it. You would have to lose either Coated Bullets or HGH to get it. Does HGH really give you that big of a damage boost?

cheers,
G

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Condition

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Talk:Condition_Duration

I believe you get at least one tick but can’t confirm.

I could be wrong but my take is that +condition duration, unless you can stack enough to add a full second of whatever condition you are applying, is best used to counter folks who are running -condition damage runes. Without DPS analyzers and any easy way to duel it’s very hard to test this stuff. At least I’ve never gotten enemies to hold still long enough (or sometimes live long enough) to make any detailed investigation.

Luckily outside of Melandru or Hoelbrek you don’t find many -condition damage runes. Melandru is awfully nice with the +tough though.

Penguin.5197:

Lanny.6987:

Keep in mind that while you increase condition duration in 1/4s increments you only get damage ticks in 1s increments. Bleeding is 2s, poison 2, blind 3, burning 3 or 1. So you’d need to get to +33% condition duration to see an extra tick of blind or long burn and you’d need to get to +50% condition duration to see an extra tick of bleeding or poison. This is why Runes of Melandru and other -condition duration are so popular. If you have no +condition duration then your condition applied automatically lose at least one tick which on a 2s condition means 50% damage reduction

I have never made condition build before, still working on mine and dont know about it much. But are you saying the first second does no damage at all?

Grackleflint.4956:

Hi Mask,

Thanks for taking the time to make and share your video. I have only one question at the moment: How do you feel about Power Shoes? It seems to me that your style would be served well by it. You would have to lose either Coated Bullets or HGH to get it. Does HGH really give you that big of a damage boost?

cheers,
G

It might work, it seems like something worth trying. Coated bullets is great in some situations but useless in others and I’ve thought about replacing it. my problem is losing that extra precision/cd from the firrearms trait line; as for HGH, well the damage increase is noticeable, doing 160+ bleed ticks is quite insane.

Maskaganda.2043:

Grackleflint.4956:

Hi Mask,

Thanks for taking the time to make and share your video. I have only one question at the moment: How do you feel about Power Shoes? It seems to me that your style would be served well by it. You would have to lose either Coated Bullets or HGH to get it. Does HGH really give you that big of a damage boost?

cheers,
G

It might work, it seems like something worth trying. Coated bullets is great in some situations but useless in others and I’ve thought about replacing it. my problem is losing that extra precision/cd from the firrearms trait line; as for HGH, well the damage increase is noticeable, doing 160+ bleed ticks is quite insane.

I always forget that when we make hybrid builds we lose the stat increases from maxing out the trait lines. Though with the increase in Toughness from inventions you could possibly adjust your gear to regain some lost power and condition damage.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge of HGH. That is a pretty significant damage boost that I wouldn’t give up.

Nice video! It’s encouraging to still see an Engi running a Condi/Elixir build and having success with it. It also reminds me how boring I find the playstyle. It just isn’t my cup of tea I guess. Congrats on finding success and enjoyment with it though.

Anyone know if this could be adjusted for pve? I am trying to level a Engi (63) and my rifle power/discharge setup is getting boring dual pistols is just sexy.

it works fine for pve, u may swap rifled barrels and cloaking device for something else for regular pve. You can also trade elixir C/U for elixir gun or bomb kit.

Some day i will test this build but would like full set off Superior Rune of the Centaur and then use Medkit instead off Elixir H.

Dual Pistol with permanent quickness/vigor is plain and simple the funniest way to play the enigneer. And there are also different ways to play it, not only with elixiers only (my build is with Flamethrower, Slick shoes and Elixier R for WvW).

1 carrion pistol (earth sigil), 1 knights pistol (corruption sigil)

Best pistol set up is 2xDragonshot at the moment.

Rampagers? Yeah, that’s on my armor (or was) so didn’t need it on the pistol. At the time and outside of traits the pistol was my only source of toughness. I keep going back and forth on toughness. If I get hit by a zerg I’m dead. If I 1v1 or 1v2 then I’m hard pressed to notice any difference. The numbers say I should be taking about 15% less direct damage than with no toughness but I don’t really notice the (perhaps) extra hit or two I can survive in fights.

lindstroem.3601:

Dual Pistol with permanent quickness/vigor is plain and simple the funniest way to play the enigneer. And there are also different ways to play it, not only with elixiers only (my build is with Flamethrower, Slick shoes and Elixier R for WvW).

1 carrion pistol (earth sigil), 1 knights pistol (corruption sigil)

Best pistol set up is 2xDragonshot at the moment.

why would 2xdragonshot be the best setup ? not all of us are running the same build with same gear, jewls and same food.
no such thing as best xxx unless you give the complete details. and even then, nothing is 100% ‘the best’.
IMO.

can u link ur new revamped build plz , would love to see it. ty

the things I dislike alot about this builds are:
- hard to get cond duration, and the rare pizza is too expensive. No cond duration = weak pew pew
- random swiftness, too random.
- random cloak. when i get extra big in staid of invisible = extra bad.

rogerwilko.6895:

the things I dislike alot about this builds are:
- hard to get cond duration, and the rare pizza is too expensive. No cond duration = weak pew pew
- random swiftness, too random.
- random cloak. when i get extra big in staid of invisible = extra bad.

clearly :p

-it’s not that hard or expensive to get condition duration if that’s something you want
-swiftness isn’t random, it’s 100% on elixir B use, it might not be permanent but if you check the vids you can see it’s there most of the time. you can also work around that by changing some traits or runes
-nothing wrong with getting stability, besides, if there’s something I’ve learned is that elixir S is the one thing that allows you to win against multiple opponents since it’s a sure stomp

that being said, this build works fine for me; it might not work fine for everyone, there are plenty of changes you can make to accommodate your playstyle or personal preferences. or just don’t use any of it at all

Hi Mask,

I decided to try this build for WvW because it is already very similar to my PvE build (except I have 10 points into Explosives for Incendiary Ammo). I may have been hasty in crafting a full set of exotic Carrion armor. I’m finding that I have plenty of health but I think my toughness is too low. I’m taking big spikes of damage. Do you have a minimum toughness that you aim for? Would you mind sharing a more detailed list of your gear (runes, sigils, etc) with a fellow pistolier?

Grackleflint.4956:

Hi Mask,

I decided to try this build for WvW because it is already very similar to my PvE build (except I have 10 points into Explosives for Incendiary Ammo). I may have been hasty in crafting a full sex of exotic Carrion armor. I’m finding that I have plenty of health but I think my toughness is too low. I’m taking big spikes of damage. Do you have a minimum toughness that you aim for? Would you mind sharing a more detailed list of your gear (runes, sigils, etc) with a fellow pistolier?

From his first post:

Maskaganda.2043:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcQQJAqalspSXnvSeF17IRoC4H0D9mX+K6xjh8kB
6x runes of the adventurer
superior sigil of corruption/superior sigil of earth
armor is mostly carrion, jewels are a mix of coral and chrysocola

Since alot of people ask me, atm I have:
1538 power
1343 condition damage
39% crit chance
1259 toughness
21632 hp

no boons, foods or wvw buffs in those stats.

some of my armor and jewels have toughness and precision in them, it’s not all carrion. I can’t tell you their exact names since those are long gone :p
Follow Lanny’s post in this thread (I forgot to thank Lanny for that so.. thanks| :p) on sugestions about gear you can get to approximate the stats I use.

There is some argument to having a ratio of Hit Points / Armor of about 10. Without considering condition damage or healing received this is the point where hit points and armor are “equally effective”.

All the gory details — http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/60838-math-damage-reduction-toughness-and-vitality/

I used a few pieces of Knights in armor and 1 pistol to get the toughness but Rabid (or dungeon equivalent) would work if you want to hang onto your condition damage at the expense of power. Sadly there’s no Power/condition damage/toughness in the game.

Thanks Mask, Lanny, and Pann.

Changed some in your build to fit me:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcQQJAqal0pSXnvSgF1LJRYBgeo38yXRPeMkn8XBA
I use Medkits becase i have Sigil of battle on one Pistol = 3Might when you switch to Pistol and i have Superior Rune of the Centaur on the armour (or will have full set soon), when i have full set maybe i will go with U instead of B.

Why i added 5 points in Explosives is for dodge bomb and more power =)

Delete this post

Shadow.3475:

Changed some in your build to fit me:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcQQJAqal0pSXnvSgF1LJRYBgeo38yXRPeMkn8XBA
I use Medkits becase i have Sigil of battle on one Pistol = 3Might when you switch to Pistol and i have Superior Rune of the Centaur on the armour (or will have full set soon), when i have full set maybe i will go with U instead of B.

Why i added 5 points in Explosives is for dodge bomb and more power =)

I can’t say I like your changes much :p
With HGH, elixir H will give you two 25 second stacks of might (and a random defensive boon) already whenever you heal.
Elixir B is a must, it’s the base to the whole thing, I’d never replace it. I’d sooner (and often do) replace C for U.
The 5 points in explosives are pretty much useless, if you want those extra stats just change a couple of pieces of armor or use different food buffs. You are better of with 10 in any other trait line than 5 in those 2.
I get what you are trying to go for, but I don’t see it working; Let us know if it does.

For me B is only to swift and with full set of Superior Rune of the Centaur i dont need it, but we will se when i get there, dont really feel the need for any off the trait skills at 10 on Explosive or Inventions but i like that i drop bombs after me when i dodge with i do alot and with better hp regain under 25% maybe i survive some time, if i get stuned am dead no mater if hidden or not, the enemy hates me so they jump me 20players +

Still waiting for them to fix Giver’s weapon’s

They are broken? I didn`t know. How so?

Hi Maskaganda,

thanks for those great videos. You almost got me to switch back from the rifle to my pistoles

I got a question about tossing Elixir U: How do you know which field was created and how do you use the different fields?

Tobkilla.4612:

Hi Maskaganda,

thanks for those great videos. You almost got me to switch back from the rifle to my pistoles

I got a question about tossing Elixir U: How do you know which field was created and how do you use the different fields?

There’s no way to know in advance which field you get.
I use them mostly when fighting another ranged character, in group fights or sometimes to try to escape a fight as well. It’s also good as a blast finisher. When fighting a projectile class like a ranger or an engie the reflect wall works wonders with quickness.
I don’t use U that much anymore though, I grew too fond of C.

Well one of the reasons Elixir B is nice with this build is it gives 4 boons. Add another boon from a tossed H, and couple that with Energy Conversion Matrix and you’ve given yourself +5% damage on top of the boosts from the boons themselves. It’s a nice multiplicative effect that you shouldn’t gloss over IMHO.

Shadow.3475:

For me B is only to swift and with full set of Superior Rune of the Centaur i dont need it, but we will se when i get there, dont really feel the need for any off the trait skills at 10 on Explosive or Inventions but i like that i drop bombs after me when i dodge with i do alot and with better hp regain under 25% maybe i survive some time, if i get stuned am dead no mater if hidden or not, the enemy hates me so they jump me 20players +

Pannonica.5378:

Grackleflint.4956:

Hi Mask,

I decided to try this build for WvW because it is already very similar to my PvE build (except I have 10 points into Explosives for Incendiary Ammo). I may have been hasty in crafting a full sex of exotic Carrion armor. I’m finding that I have plenty of health but I think my toughness is too low. I’m taking big spikes of damage. Do you have a minimum toughness that you aim for? Would you mind sharing a more detailed list of your gear (runes, sigils, etc) with a fellow pistolier?

From his first post:

Maskaganda.2043:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcQQJAqalspSXnvSeF17IRoC4H0D9mX+K6xjh8kB
6x runes of the adventurer
superior sigil of corruption/superior sigil of earth
armor is mostly carrion, jewels are a mix of coral and chrysocola

Hey Maskaganda
Is there a reason you don’t something like full Vatlaaws armor?
(precision / toughness / condition).
I"m sure theres a reason, but I really don’t know.
I would think that if you’re going condition damage, there would not be a need for that much power.
also, I’d like to share with you my build to get your opinion.

10 – 5
30 – 4/6/12
00
20 – 6/5
10 – 6

thinking of going full Vatlaaws (or equivilent).
Thanks for the view. Really appriciate your prespective.

Cruces.3280:

I would think that if you’re going condition damage, there would not be a need for that much power.

Effective power is given by the formula

Effective Power = Power * (1 + Crit% * (1/2 + CritDmg/100))

With 0 CritDmg it takes 2 Crit% to increase damage by the same amount as 1% more Power. Pistols have about 1000 dmg so if you had no power in play you’d have an attack of roughly 2000. Thus 20 more power is needed for 1% more damage while 42 precision (at 80 it’s 21 precision per Crit%) is needed.

Unlike Ele, Rng, Thf, and Mes we cannot trait both precision and crit damage using a single trait line.

My character has 2600 attack (before food) and 35% crit. With a build calculator, your build, and PvP gearing it looks like about 2045 attack, 49% crit, and 10 critDmg using rabid (vatlaaw’s).

2600 + 2600 * .35/2 = 3055
2045 + 2045 * .49 * (1/2 +10/100) = 2646

I end up with 1200 cond dmg, 23k hp, and 2300 armor. The calculator says the rabid build has 1200 cond dmg, 17k hp, and 2600 armor. You can get a (very) rough idea of hp+armor effectiveness by multiplying the values and dividing by 10k.

23 * 230 = 5290
17 * 260 = 4420

From these numbers it looks like your build + rabid is probably not as effective as Maskaganda’s build + carrion/rampager/knights mix.

Note! These are just numbers. Try out both builds using rares and you’ll get a pretty good feel of how each performs for you.

hey Lanny

I really appriciate you taking the time to reply.
I’ll relook at the armor pieces.

The build I posted. Think that will work?
I’m mostly in WvW with a group.
I dont think I could live without speedy kits…I dont see a way without that. hehe

Bit more bleed (on crit) and speedy kit in exchange for 10% more boon duration, might on elixer use, 100 toughness, and invis if immobilized.

For me it would be awfully hard to give up the invis on immobilize (and tough). I figure it saves me about 1 time in 3 and about 1 time in 3 it stops me from being a target if I get immobilized by splash (when I’m not the target). The other 1 time in 3 I shoot and break it or end up dead anyway.

With full Elixer trait line, heal-kit, and B drunk and thrown you can get perma swift (if B thrown gives swift. If it doesn’t you get something like 24 out of 26 secs of swift and can try again for thrown). I prefer H in combat so sometimes this catches me with my pants down but it means I don’t have to take speedy kits. (In combat between B drunk and thrown, B at 75% hp, and H you pretty much always have swift.) Oh, another little trick with Inventions to 10 is swapping in Explosive Descent (II) and take 50% normal fall damage when you need to handle borderland cliffs or high keep walls.

Like all builds there are trade-offs. You are passing up about 5-7% extra damage from HGH but picking up extra damage in Explosives. The dropping toughness and invis for speedy kits is a harder sell to me but if you can’t live without speedy kits it’s probably the thing to swap out. Nothing you have chosen works against other parts of the build (e.g., Scope vs all the extra endurance in the Tools line so you don’t have to stand still) which is really the only big no-no.

Finally the thing to do is just play it for a while. You’ll figure out pretty quick if it hits the high points you were seeking or if there are off notes that don’t work for you.

Enjoy and good hunting.

Cruces.3280:

Hey Maskaganda
Is there a reason you don’t something like full Vatlaaws armor?
(precision / toughness / condition).
I"m sure theres a reason, but I really don’t know.
I would think that if you’re going condition damage, there would not be a need for that much power.
also, I’d like to share with you my build to get your opinion.

10 – 5
30 – 4/6/12
00
20 – 6/5
10 – 6

thinking of going full Vatlaaws (or equivilent).
Thanks for the view. Really appriciate your prespective.

I think I have a good balance between power and cd. Power isn’t completely useless in my build, especially against glass cannon builds where cd doesn’t have much time to shine.
I have gone a bit higher on cd and lower on power before and I didn’t feel like it was working, pistol # 1 was doing ridiculously low damage and it was hurting more than it helped. tha’s how it felt to me anyway. besides my conditions hit hard enough as it is.
regarding ur build, nothing wrong with the trait choice, can’t say more before seeing the utilities :p

—thanks lanny for your posts

Maskaganda.2043:

Cruces.3280:

Hey Maskaganda
Is there a reason you don’t something like full Vatlaaws armor?
(precision / toughness / condition).
I"m sure theres a reason, but I really don’t know.
I would think that if you’re going condition damage, there would not be a need for that much power.
also, I’d like to share with you my build to get your opinion.

10 – 5
30 – 4/6/12
00
20 – 6/5
10 – 6

thinking of going full Vatlaaws (or equivilent).
Thanks for the view. Really appriciate your prespective.

I think I have a good balance between power and cd. Power isn’t completely useless in my build, especially against glass cannon builds where cd doesn’t have much time to shine.
I have gone a bit higher on cd and lower on power before and I didn’t feel like it was working, pistol # 1 was doing ridiculously low damage and it was hurting more than it helped. tha’s how it felt to me anyway. besides my conditions hit hard enough as it is.
regarding ur build, nothing wrong with the trait choice, can’t say more before seeing the utilities :p

—thanks lanny for your posts

Hello Maskaganda

Thanks for taking the time to respond.
My utilities are…

6 – med kit
7 – flamethrower
8 – took kit
9 – elixir S
0 – supply crate

I chose flamethrower for the push back (small cooldown) , blind, and if necessary ground burn. I could potentially replace with Asura Pain Inverter.

I’d also like to thank Lanny for the research…it’s pure gold!

using dual pistols and alot of cond dmg, but under +50% cond duration = bad, right?

4th movie, I wanted to get rid of old footage before the new patch and whatever it brings us. I’ve been lazy and not recording fights very often, also struggling with an aging pc and its hamster powered cpu and hdds. this one has more emphasis on fun(ny) fights and not so much on sprees/personal skill, etc. dont expect anything impressing, ut hopefully good enough to be enjoyable.

what you may see: killing a naked cat, escaping at 1500 hp, the hardest mesmer fight I’ve had in months, a good 1v1 against a necro, a guardian that gets destroyed in 5 seconds and some other decent stuff.