Guild Wars 2

AKA: Shield-urally transmited disease.
AKA: The build that makes hundred blades warriors say: “Doctor, it burns when I cheese.”

Background: I was minding my own business pugging a few sPvP games and trying out my favorite point control builds when, to my chagrin, I found myself playing against a team with no less than three hundred blades warriors (that’s 3 “hundred blades warriors”, not 300 “blades warriors”, which would be a different issue entirely). I personally find the insta-gib builds cheesy and tasteless, but my sensibilities obviously weren’t shared by the opposition. Needless to say, I ended up eating more blades to the face (and back… in fact usually to the back) than I care to remember. While my build was bunker-y, I found that they out damaged my healing and I couldn’t damage them in the slightest. I clearly needed a new build. Now, it’s important to note that I am philosophically opposed to Anet mandating that slot 7 be reserved for a stunbreak (if you didn’t get Anet’s stunbreak memo go read posts by the pros in the thief and warrior forums), so my builds never have one. Not that it would have mattered if I did have one when facing more than one hb warrior. I realized that I had to go back to the drawing board to come up with something that could withstand the damage of cheese builds and be able to dish damage out as well. Thus, the STD Bunker was born…

Build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqel0p6ZH5yuF17IxIFfW0heUYDrWRK0vlB;TkAg2UYZwSglFLHWSsGCMFA

Gear: Pistol/Shield, Shaman amulet, and SIX RUNES OF THE GUARDIAN.

Traits:
30 Toughness – Protective Shield because you don’t have a stun break so you are going to be eating a few steal/c&d/backstabs and hundred blades. Better have protection up… Reinfrorced Shield because more toughness and more blocky is more better. Elixir infused bombs for additional healing.

20 Alchemy – Protection injection because you’d better have protection up… Backpack Regenerator because it is the best health per second trait remaining.

20 Tools – Kit Refinement for the extra super elixir. Power wrench because, well, you know what they say about more blocky.

Play Style: Simple. Run on to a node being guarded by two or three enemies. Switch to elixir gun and drop a super elixir, switch to bomb kit and drop smoke, fire, and confusion, switch to tool kit then prybar someone’s face.

Right now you’re probably thinking, “Hey, that sounds awesome! Sign me up!” It is awesome. But it gets even more awesomer. If you’ve read this far, you’re probably wondering about the name… STD. Shield-ually Transmitted Disease. 6 runes of the guardian gives anyone who hits your shield 1 second of burning. No cooldown. So now that you’ve got the defenders spitting mad and ready to unleash their bestest attacks (which for most melee builds usually means spinning around like a spaz and throwing out a gajillion attacks in less than a second), all you have to do is press the gear shield skill and laugh maniacally.

That first time you block a hundred blades idiot outright and give him 10 seconds of burning (almost 6000 damage) from the block alone, you’ll be addicted to the STD build.

I never thought of guardian those runes + gear shield.

Interesting…

I do need a bit of help confirming that there is no internal cooldown for the burn on block.

I’ve gotten some pretty significant burns (4-5 seconds) from blocking, but it doesn’t seem like hundred blades has to take the whole 10 seconds. Maybe there is a .25 second icd? Can someone with a warrior buddy try this against a hundred blades attack?

Hmmmmm……. the rune choice is interesting! I might have to experiment with this too!

LOL This is Awesome! Best laugh I’ve had all day.

Sounds like fun!

What about going 10 elixirs/30 tools? You could get 50% endurance regen to dodge more between your cooldowns or you could get additional retaliation after being crit (though the cooldown is a bit long). Though you’d have to weigh that up vs. the regen from backpack regenerator… hm…

About the sigils… are you sure that 20% longer burning is worth it? 120% of a 1 s burn is still just one tick, though I don’t know if the decimal is kept for calculation of totals (condition time on bleed builds can be tricky, too… though that one stacks intensity).

Panzen.4625:

Sounds like fun!

What about going 10 elixirs/30 tools? You could get 50% endurance regen to dodge more between your cooldowns or you could get additional retaliation after being crit (though the cooldown is a bit long). Though you’d have to weigh that up vs. the regen from backpack regenerator… hm…

About the sigils… are you sure that 20% longer burning is worth it? 120% of a 1 s burn is still just one tick, though I don’t know if the decimal is kept for calculation of totals (condition time on bleed builds can be tricky, too… though that one stacks intensity).

Either choice at the end of tools would be perfectly viable. I prefer the healing, but it is certainly up to you. The 20% longer burning isn’t necessarily worth it (although the decimal is kept), however there aren’t a lot of sigils that really benefit the build. Choose whichever you prefer.

How hard does the burn hit for in a condition build ? Wondering if this would help in a wvw build to counter theifs that i am having issues with.

Neeks.2760:

How hard does the burn hit for in a condition build ? Wondering if this would help in a wvw build to counter theifs that i am having issues with.

doesnt really matter, this wont counter thief very well since they do about 2-4 huge hits where most other burst skills are like 10+ smaller hits. you wont get much mileage out of the burn, condition spec or not.

I’ve been using guardian runes with the toolkit on every one of my condition build variants for some time now and they just flat kick kitten Ranged, melee, it doesn’t matter where the attacker is — if they’re hitting you they’re getting burned

If you really want to abuse the shielding, roll a sylvari engineer and get another block skill, shield vine. Since it’s a toolbelt skill, it also gets instantly recharged at 25% health along with all the other toolbelt skills. That gives you 4 blocks to rotate through if you count the second vine shield.

Or you can try Pain Inverter on an Asura, but that takes 3/4 of a second to cast.

well this was quite a fun build to play, thanks for the idea

I’d love to see a video of this in action.

"Elixir infused bombs for additional healing."
Their healing is really low

SilverWF.4789:

“Elixir infused bombs for additional healing.”
Their healing is really low

I heal for a few 100 every part of a seccond with this, high healing skill and the ultra fast casting makes it the ultimate frontline healing skill for tanky engineers, and in spvp spam in the box, and you can kekittenemies occupied, sadly this build has no stunbreaker, but combined with stunbreakers it makes solo capture point defense a breeze.

Hey mate. Have you tested if this ‘guardian’ burning scales with your condition damage?

lordbachus.6091:

SilverWF.4789:

“Elixir infused bombs for additional healing.”
Their healing is really low

I heal for a few 100 every part of a seccond with this, high healing skill and the ultra fast casting makes it the ultimate frontline healing skill for tanky engineers, and in spvp spam in the box, and you can kekittenemies occupied, sadly this build has no stunbreaker, but combined with stunbreakers it makes solo capture point defense a breeze.

You should get Protective Shield and Protection Injection if you’re playing bunker w/o stun breakers. These should be good replacements for not having stunbreakers.

I’m not a fan of Elixir infused bombs as well. Most of the time after dropping Fire, Concussion, Smoke, and Glue bomb I switch out of bomb kit and go to Rifle or Elixir Gun.

Neeks.2760:

How hard does the burn hit for in a condition build ? Wondering if this would help in a wvw build to counter theifs that i am having issues with.

You make that a little difficult to answer when you do not share a specific condition damage. It can be anywhere from 100ish to 750ish.

insanemaniac.2456:

Neeks.2760:

How hard does the burn hit for in a condition build ? Wondering if this would help in a wvw build to counter theifs that i am having issues with.

doesnt really matter, this wont counter thief very well since they do about 2-4 huge hits where most other burst skills are like 10+ smaller hits. you wont get much mileage out of the burn, condition spec or not.

False. Due to the extremely low health of thieves and the fact that many of them do a series of volley attacks this is probably the MOST effective counter for them in WvW, and often the difference between them getting away with 3k HP and dying.

In my opinion, what depends on whether or not you counter a thief, depends more on whether or not he shows up on your screen after a 3s stealth is up, in 3s as intended, or 8s latter after he got 3 rounds of attacks off.

coglin.1496:

In my opinion, what depends on whether or not you counter a thief, depends more on whether or not he shows up on your screen after a 3s stealth is up, in 3s as intended, or 8s latter after he got 3 rounds of attacks off.

That’s my biggest issue as well, Self Regulating Defenses tends to help a bunch as well in that scenario. ANYWHO

Charles.9480:

False. Due to the extremely low health of thieves and the fact that many of them do a series of volley attacks this is probably the MOST effective counter for them in WvW, and often the difference between them getting away with 3k HP and dying.

Agreed, being able to apply burn, especially AoE is huge against thieves. Since I traited away from it I’ve been having a harder time taking them out.

Kyon.9735:

I’m not a fan of Elixir infused bombs as well. Most of the time after dropping Fire, Concussion, Smoke, and Glue bomb I switch out of bomb kit and go to Rifle or Elixir Gun.

The purpose of this build is really to hold points. Since it is so defensively oriented, you’ll typically need assistance killing any opponents harassing you on the point. When help arrives, elixir infused bombs heals you and others in the area for upwards of 250 hps. This, coupled with the two super elixirs, will make you very popular with your teammates who fight with you on the point. I understand many don’t like it, but don’t underestimate it’s value, as it scales in power with the number of teammates on the point. Additionally, you really want to go 30 points deep in the inventions tree for the additional healing anyway, and it is the best choice of the available traits. Finally, spamming bomb 1 is the best option when toolkit 2, toolkit 3, pistol 2, pistol 3, and bombs 2, 3, and 4 are on cooldown.

insanemaniac.2456:

doesnt really matter, this wont counter thief very well since they do about 2-4 huge hits where most other burst skills are like 10+ smaller hits. you wont get much mileage out of the burn, condition spec or not.

The defensive nature of the build counters thieves extremely well. Their 2-4 “huge hits” amount to 7k damage max, so you have plenty of health left over before you even need to hit the panic button. You won’t be killing any thieves (except the ones that are stupid enough to stick around and keep fighting you), but you shouldn’t be dying to them either.

Also, many thieves like to use skills that hit quickly multiple times. The burn definitely gets their attention…

bromi.7809:

Hey mate. Have you tested if this ‘guardian’ burning scales with your condition damage?

I have not, nor have I tested to confirm that the runes truly do not have an internal cooldown and that it will apply a 10 second burn to hb warriors. Help with these tests would be appreciated.

Can you relink this build? I’m getting a bad link message.

Aristio.2784:

Can you relink this build? I’m getting a bad link message.

Forum bug. Copy and paste the link into a new tab and it will work.

Here’s the thing with thieves though. Shadow step stage 2 cleanses 3 conditions. Or they could have the trait that cleanses conditions while they are stealthed.

When they get low they will probably using their heal, which is most often Hide in Shadows, which cures burning.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad idea, but you can’t counter thieves with conditions because they don’t have to bring special skills just to cleanse conditions but they get condition removal on skills they bring anyway. Thieves have a really good skill set (unlike engy who has to bring specialized skills).

Hm… this made me wonder…

How do Inertial Converter and Automated Medical Response interact with each other? Automated Medical Response will recharge bandage self, whereas Inertial Converter will recharge all toolbelt skills… and both activate on the same set of conditions.

It seems to me that Automated Medical Response is rendered a redundant and useless trait when you also have Inertial Converter and are using the medkit… unless Automated Medical Response also recharges the cooldowns of the skills in the medkit, but I don’t think it does.

On the topic of elixir infused bombs: I tried this trait and I was disappointed. It’s heals about as much as regeneration, which would be great if I didn’t have to be in melee range of the people I’m healing and if this trait wasn’t grandmaster trait in an otherwise unpopular trait line.

ManCaptain.3154:

Here’s the thing with thieves though. Shadow step stage 2 cleanses 3 conditions. Or they could have the trait that cleanses conditions while they are stealthed.

When they get low they will probably using their heal, which is most often Hide in Shadows, which cures burning.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad idea, but you can’t counter thieves with conditions because they don’t have to bring special skills just to cleanse conditions but they get condition removal on skills they bring anyway. Thieves have a really good skill set (unlike engy who has to bring specialized skills).

Like I said, the point of this build is to be disruptive on a point, not for dueling thieves. Also, to grief hundred blades warriors. A backstab thief can’t kill you and can’t move you off the point.

ManCaptain.3154:

On the topic of elixir infused bombs: I tried this trait and I was disappointed. It’s heals about as much as regeneration, which would be great if I didn’t have to be in melee range of the people I’m healing and if this trait wasn’t grandmaster trait in an otherwise unpopular trait line.

At times I run this build with 10 points in explosives for forceful explosives (I take 10 out of alchemy and lose backpack regenerator). It helps with the range of the bombs for both offensive and defensive purposes. Also, the inventions trait line is the bread and butter of any engineer bunker. If nothing else, you need the toughness and healing it gives to be able to survive insta-gib builds. I’ve never been under the impression that it is unpopular.

Yamsandjams.3267:

Hm… this made me wonder…

How do Inertial Converter and Automated Medical Response interact with each other? Automated Medical Response will recharge bandage self, whereas Inertial Converter will recharge all toolbelt skills… and both activate on the same set of conditions.

It seems to me that Automated Medical Response is rendered a redundant and useless trait when you also have Inertial Converter and are using the medkit… unless Automated Medical Response also recharges the cooldowns of the skills in the medkit, but I don’t think it does.

Actually it does! It’s only marginally useful, but it’s actually noticeable when you have the automatic elixir S trait. Hit 25%, become small, boom! you have all your bandages back. So great for surviving those 1v2s, just pop your three bandage heals while small and try to dodge into a bandage self when elixir S ends. By that time your gear shield is probably back up…I love it.

NevirSayDie.6235:

Yamsandjams.3267:

Hm… this made me wonder…

How do Inertial Converter and Automated Medical Response interact with each other? Automated Medical Response will recharge bandage self, whereas Inertial Converter will recharge all toolbelt skills… and both activate on the same set of conditions.

It seems to me that Automated Medical Response is rendered a redundant and useless trait when you also have Inertial Converter and are using the medkit… unless Automated Medical Response also recharges the cooldowns of the skills in the medkit, but I don’t think it does.

Actually it does! It’s only marginally useful, but it’s actually noticeable when you have the automatic elixir S trait. Hit 25%, become small, boom! you have all your bandages back. So great for surviving those 1v2s, just pop your three bandage heals while small and try to dodge into a bandage self when elixir S ends. By that time your gear shield is probably back up…I love it.

Hm, interesting bit of synergy from those traits then. They’re all from different trait lines too. What’s especially interesting is that they all have the same CD timer as well, so whenever Self-Regulating Defenses kicks in, you know your heals are recharged without having to check. Nice little all-in-one survival package.

Seems fun though my only problem with this build is that the condition damage is so low. Hard to kill anyone with anything.

Edit: I played around with it in Spvp, was really fun! Really difficult to kill but is more suitable when you are in a group rather than 1v1. Though I will look into some adjustments to this build to get some more damage from it. Still thanks a lot for giving something play around with! I was almost giving up on my engi.

This build is really cool! I tried it out on my engi for a bit in PvP, and i ended up fighting someone for 8 minutes straight lol. I kept getting comments about how bleeping tanky that engi was, and it actually took a few people to kill me when I actually died. I switched out backpack regenerator for the trait the makes you go invisible when immobilized. One of the things I noticed was the times where I was in the most danger were when I was stunned for an extended period of time or by multiple people.

One of the funniest moments was when a person asked me how I was getting protection every time they tried attacking me because it was messing with their burst, or when people were thinking I was cheating somehow lol

I’m gonna probably mess around with this build a little bit and see what I can do to make it better.

Ok, tested this one for a while. Tbh i like it.
First of all, tested condition damage from runes, it scales. 4xx with shaman, 3xx with cleric.

I personally prefer this variation:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqelIqicX3ynF1LJxIFfW0hZUYDL+g+/UQuA;ToAg2CrowyglALLWOskYNEY2A
Explanaion:
Heal turret brings one more nice blast to you (+retalation, +heal to teammates).
I lost infusion bombs and 2nd inv trait (it doesn’t really help) to large bombs so you can do point denial much more effective.
Sigil modifications are obvious: you won’t do damage anyway, so better bring stat stacking.

Also, i’ve tried the build with cleric amulet AND with infused bombs, that was more good i believe. But you have to be really good at bomb placing.

Of course you really can’t kill a decent player with this build at all. But holding point in tpvp is fun and makes you really watch your chains.

When i’ll have time i’ll try to put here some tactics against different enemies.

GL all with this build.