Guild Wars 2

I’ve spent a good deal of time in sPvP and the one area that I feel completely ineffective in is Underwater Combat. That is until recently. This week I was reading a post about turrets and someone pointed out that the Rifle Turret becomes a Harpoon Turret when under water, and the damage is much higher. This prompted me to try it out to see if the increased damage actually made a difference in my underwater fights. I was surprised by the result, especially when it’s overcharged. My usual tactic under water is to chug Elixirs B and U, then pop Elixir X and hope for Whirlpool. It’s too random, and only kills extremely bad players, so I’ve recently changed my underwater bar to Med Kit, Rocket Turret, Rifle/Harpoon Turret, Net Turret, and Supply Crate with very good results.

Here’s what I’ve noticed. Even good players are not very adept at movement under water. A lot of players rely on their combat abilities for movement whether it’s closing the gap, creating distance, or evading. If I place my Turrets off of the point and in hard to reach or hard to see locations, they last a long time and provide quite a bit of damage. Universally, players seem to ignore them in underwater situations. Whether it’s too hard to swim to each one, or the challenge of gauging distance uw, I’m not sure. Having the turrets augment the rather mediocre damage of the Harpoon Gun, I’ve been able to win many 1v1, and 1v2 fights that would have otherwise been over (for me) in mere moments back when I was trying to adapt my land based strategy to water combat.

If you’ve ever wondered how good turrets are under water, or are struggling to feel effective there, try a turret build for uw combat. It takes just a few seconds of set up, but I feel it’s worth the effort.

Basics: If you’re assaulting a point, drop Net Turret first and immediately overcharge it. This will give you time to place your other two without being harassed. You can even fire your Net Wall for added insurance. Once your turrets are in place, go to work with your harpoon gun. Save Scatter Mines for opponents who are in melee range, and try to get a feel for how Retreating Grapple and Net Wall can help you neutralize the point. Keep Timed Charge on cooldown since there is no reason to wait to use it. You’re main goal is to control your opponent while the turrets augment your damage. If you’re defending a point, you have the luxury of setting up your turrets before a fight. I recommend keeping the game sound on because your horrible turret AI is actually a benefit in this situation. Since they have a habit of firing at enemies that are not yet in line of site, they grant you a makeshift early warning system. Just don’t waste your overcharge actions on opponents that aren’t yet in line of sight.

Finally, don’t forget your Toolbelt. The Rocket, Net Attack, and Harpoon (uw version of Surprise Shot) can be a big help. That and Supply Crate. It adds a lot to the damage and chaos in a wonderful way.

I’ve always just used the grenade kit underwater, so now I’m wondering what is better for an engineer not specced in neither turrets nor grenades. Anyone already tested this?

I’ve used both grenades and turrets without traits under water. In my personal experience, I’ve had better results with the un-traited turrets. I would also like to hear what other people think.

I would imagine if you have any traits that boost condition damage, or equipment that supports conditions, the grenades would be a better choice. Maybe a combination would do well.

Hah that harpoon post was probably mine. Anyways to get the most out of combat turrets in spvp you should definitely try rifle/turret/rocket combo with high condition damage (I prefer rabid). The base attack for harpoon turret is already high but doesn’t scale with damage like the bleeding part of it does. With those three combined and a tanky build, you are pretty much undefeatable 1v1 or even 1v2 underwater. I also trait them since I try and keep that point ours, but you only need to trait if you plan on staying on that point. Otherwise stuff like turret regen isn’t useful.

Penguin.5197:

Hah that harpoon post was probably mine. Anyways to get the most out of combat turrets in spvp you should definitely try rifle/turret/rocket combo with high condition damage (I prefer rabid). The base attack for harpoon turret is already high but doesn’t scale with damage like the bleeding part of it does. With those three combined and a tanky build, you are pretty much undefeatable 1v1 or even 1v2 underwater. I also trait them since I try and keep that point ours, but you only need to trait if you plan on staying on that point. Otherwise stuff like turret regen isn’t useful.

Good to know.

When you say rifle/turret/rocket combo, do you mean rifle/fire/rocket, or rifle/thumper/rocket?

i use net turet, rocket turret, grenade kit, and medkit with supply crate underwater.

Grackleflint.4956:

Penguin.5197:

Hah that harpoon post was probably mine. Anyways to get the most out of combat turrets in spvp you should definitely try rifle/turret/rocket combo with high condition damage (I prefer rabid). The base attack for harpoon turret is already high but doesn’t scale with damage like the bleeding part of it does. With those three combined and a tanky build, you are pretty much undefeatable 1v1 or even 1v2 underwater. I also trait them since I try and keep that point ours, but you only need to trait if you plan on staying on that point. Otherwise stuff like turret regen isn’t useful.

Good to know.

When you say rifle/turret/rocket combo, do you mean rifle/fire/rocket, or rifle/thumper/rocket?

Woops meant rifle/net turret/rocket turret for underwater. I actually use those 3 on land too but thats just my preference