Guild Wars 2

How are you guys going this season? Anything you are finding difficult to deal with?

Reapers present a problem, but that’s everyone’s problem as well, not just us. Hunter’s determination will be the must carry trait this season until Anet nerfs reapers

But other than that, with the nerf to bunker ele and bunker mes, I’ve been having more success this season thus far than last season.

Paladin amulet with Scrapper runes (the build i posted several weeks ago) have been performing pretty well.

I’ve been playing the pretty standard meditrapper build with rune of the traveler and paladin amulet. So far going really well. Currently swapping out test of faith for CoP (condi→boons) when against necro’s to help manage those (which it really does, makes the matchup very doable especially in bigger teamfights)

Currently sapphire with only having been able to play a few hours each day the past 3 days. Feels like i can impact the fights, outplay potential is there.

A good engi/druid still seem a pain in the kitten to 1v1 but even then we have plenty of tools to stay alive for a while (untill some1 helps), and 2v1 a DH provides soo much that you can always kill them pretty quickly. Otherwise running away works too!

Overal pretty satisfied with our current position in pvp.

Dril.2495:

I’ve been playing the pretty standard meditrapper build with rune of the traveler and paladin amulet. So far going really well. Currently swapping out test of faith for CoP (condi->boons) when against necro’s to help manage those (which it really does, makes the matchup very doable especially in bigger teamfights)

Currently sapphire with only having been able to play a few hours each day the past 3 days. Feels like i can impact the fights, outplay potential is there.

A good engi/druid still seem a pain in the kitten to 1v1 but even then we have plenty of tools to stay alive for a while (untill some1 helps), and 2v1 a DH provides soo much that you can always kill them pretty quickly. Otherwise running away works too!

Overal pretty satisfied with our current position in pvp.

Not having been able to play much the past few weeks, I’m curious; how do you feel that build with paladin amulet performs vs. marauder’s amulet? I use a similar build with marauder’s amulet instead of paladin (Smite condi, ToF, CoP. No JI, bite me), and I actually am able to wear down the majority of scrappers (not on point though) and druids. I haven’t pvped with paladin’s amulet that much yet, but I sense that the lack of damage would leave me at a stalemate vs. the high sustain classes due to the lack of dps. I guess the tradeoff is that I’d have a much better game in 2v2s and up, whereas marauder’s definitely gives me better dueling game.

Thoughts?

I played with marauder’s as well for quite a while, its a tricky one because its not always easy to see just how much dmg you end up losing over the switch. bad engi’s/druids are still very beatable for me too. the outsustaining goes both ways, if you have paladin’s it’ll give you those extra few seconds sometimes to survive and get your heal cooldown back and all of a sudden your full hp again. However if the druid is really good he will kill you (or force you to run) regardless of amulet. The engineer shouldn’t really be able to kill you if you dont kill yourself on reflects, but once again it’ll be almost impossible to kill them 1v1 if they are actually good (good being close to ESL engi’s i guess)

So overal the main thing you gotta look at is what you need most in 2v2 or even bigger teamfights (as these should be the fights where the amulet matters most).
And here DH is just such a prime target when compared to engi’s, druids, etc.

The extra survivability toughness gives really does add up, and it won’t just be “survive 5 seconds extra” either. Because the way DH can go back to high health or clear condi’s as soon as it can reach its defensive cooldowns, it basically means that you might just be able to survive for another 20-30 seconds and turn the fight instead of dying.

I was hesitant to make the switch at first too, but once i did & noticed that my damage really didnt drop THAT much i kept it and haven’t really looked back.

It really depends against what you play. Against multiple revs paladins amulet will be really nice to have, against a bunch of necros it will not help you at all. You should always look at the oposing comp before deciding for an amulet imo.

That being said I played marauder hambow and it’s going alright. I’m almost never losing unless I’m up against stacked premades. Might just be me getting carried from duoQing with pro league players though.

That being said I probably wouldn’t play DH in a more serious enviroment and I would probably already have rerolled if I would still play in ESLs. I really don’t think it’s anywhere near viable beyond random ranked games.

Dril.2495:

I’ve been playing the pretty standard meditrapper build with rune of the traveler and paladin amulet. So far going really well. Currently swapping out test of faith for CoP (condi->boons) when against necro’s to help manage those (which it really does, makes the matchup very doable especially in bigger teamfights)

Currently sapphire with only having been able to play a few hours each day the past 3 days. Feels like i can impact the fights, outplay potential is there.

A good engi/druid still seem a pain in the kitten to 1v1 but even then we have plenty of tools to stay alive for a while (untill some1 helps), and 2v1 a DH provides soo much that you can always kill them pretty quickly. Otherwise running away works too!

Overal pretty satisfied with our current position in pvp.

Smite condition is better than CoP when facing necros, less boons for them to re-corrupt.

@Darknicrofia , yes no doubt, but i never said i swapped out smite condi!

I swap out Test of Faith for CoP in addition to playing with smite condi.

Reapers. Reapers everywhere.

Lucky your teamcomp is vastly superior. The elementalist will help with condi clear & keeping the team alive. The druid should have search & rescue to keep the downed people alive whilst also giving a lot of dps (root is extremely easy to hit on a necro and then bristleback machinegun does so much work). The guardian can play with smite condi and CoP to be able to clear condi’s like no tomorrow.

ez win in my book, did you win? please update! :o

Nope. Typical soloqueuing life. We got the mid fight. But close hasn’t been held. Then we had 2 necros on our close and ofc people going one by one etc etc etc…

Once I’m rubis I will stop soloqueuing :>

marauders DH is still as excellent as ever. I can beat anyone I can outplay, and it generates beautiful tears in chat.

ya gotta run heavy light and get close with LB. it the way.

I find that DH runs best with a burst thief and maybe rev as a third to complement said bursts. Thief comes in to cc + 7k burst while you trueshot+F1+Smite Condition + ToF dmges and cc. 9/10 they wont be able to come back from it.

DH Pros in Rank PvP
Can single target burst well and aoe bursts with ToF, as well as occasional aoe cc with lb#5, F1 and trap stuns. Performs very well in team fights but is often reliant on your team to focus target appropriately. DH has to manuever well so he does’t get downed himself.

Cons
Will often lose to a rev, scrapper and druid 1v1. The DH will sustain long enough for a +1, but should never beat these classes unless they’re bad or you have stacked traps (heal and tof) on point.

I’m going well; after playing like 20 matches with DH medi trap I quit for Power Shiro due my team didn’t thik my class was filling any defined role, and then I was able to get even better w/l ratio with the Herald even I don’t really known what I’m doing half of the time.

Then for the “gain 7 matches with three different classes” of the third part of the legenday backpack achievement I did change to Chillomancer and was able to perform solo with random dudes even better than with DH in premade, so great, Guadian is in good spot…

I have no plan to touch DH again until the “gain 10 marches with a Guardian” of the 4th path.

Keksmuffin.1450:

It really depends against what you play. Against multiple revs paladins amulet will be really nice to have, against a bunch of necros it will not help you at all. You should always look at the oposing comp before deciding for an amulet imo.

That being said I played marauder hambow and it’s going alright. I’m almost never losing unless I’m up against stacked premades. Might just be me getting carried from duoQing with pro league players though.

That being said I probably wouldn’t play DH in a more serious enviroment and I would probably already have rerolled if I would still play in ESLs. I really don’t think it’s anywhere near viable beyond random ranked games.

It really turns into some game theory then, huh? You have a clear best choice between marauder’s vs. paladin amulet depending on what the enemy team is running. I played around a bit with paladin and marauder’s amulet yesterday. I didn’t go up against any excellent premades and most of my fights were smaller XvX, or 1v1 so this is a bit biased, but I noticed:

Paladin is much better vs. scrapper, druid (power based), rev (power based), tempest and other DH. In general, very close/similar matches with marauder amulet but paladin gives you more room for error.

Marauder is much better vs. classes running condi builds: Chill reaper, condi mes, mallyx revs, condi berserkers. Marauder can fare well against tempest as long as you interrupt air overload.

Both seem to be equally effective against: bunkers, thieves, shatter mesmer, scrapper (in a 1v1), power rev (in a 1v1) and warriors.

If you assume my assertions above are correct, and are mostly playing soloq, enemy team comps more likely than not will favor you going marauder’s rather than paladin. I think if I was to go up against a premade though, paladin would be the superior choice.

By the way, I did today a streak of 7 wins out of 15 matches with my Reaper chillomancer and another one of 7 wins out of 12 matches with my Berserker rifleman just go get the achievements (path 3 almost done). That warrior build is a joke but trolls well in Shappire, and Reaper is easy to play and really fun despite I have like 20 matches with that class in 3.5 years… My experience based on this second season:

Herald (Power Shiro) = Reaper (Chillomancer) >> Dragon Hunter >>>> Berserker (GS/Rifle). All are capable at low level for the achievements, but pray using the last ones in serious competition…

+ 8 in a row win streak at the moment with my DH bunker.
+ Necros are an issue.
+ Added condi cleanse sigils
+ Done with amber. Now emerald. Need to see if my build holds up

Hambow DH with palladin’s amulet has thus far been fantastic in ranked. Sometimes, depending on enemy skill, you can even hold down two targets at once. Ring of warding, Hunter’s ward is excellent for locking down a target for team burst. I concur with what was said that palladin’s amulet gives you those extra seconds you need to have your heals off cooldown, allowing you to stay in the fight longer.

I use condi cleanse sigils and hunter’s fort when i see more than one necro, so condis have not been an issue for me. In fact, you’ll probably be the only one in your team that can survive condi bursts. Only threat i’ve seen thus far is a good druid, because that can probably beat you in a 1vs1.

Kuya.6495:

Hambow DH with palladin’s amulet has thus far been fantastic in ranked. Sometimes, depending on enemy skill, you can even hold down two targets at once. Ring of warding, Hunter’s ward is excellent for locking down a target for team burst. I concur with what was said that palladin’s amulet gives you those extra seconds you need to have your heals off cooldown, allowing you to stay in the fight longer.

I use condi cleanse sigils and hunter’s fort when i see more than one necro, so condis have not been an issue for me. In fact, you’ll probably be the only one in your team that can survive condi bursts. Only threat i’ve seen thus far is a good druid, because that can probably beat you in a 1vs1.

Fun hammer fact: If you manage to get someone inside of a ToF and pull them outside of the ring (for example, JI + ToF, f1, pull), then banish them back into it, they will cross the ring twice (once going in, and once going out the other side) since they move slowly enough during banish allowing that 1/4s minimum re-crossing time to pass. This gives you a fairly meaty 3-hit combo with ToF. Enjoy

Also using hambow with a variant of medi trapper in paladin + scrapper. Hunters fort for shure in current environement but no CoP. Judge instead is realy funny. Use rage sigil in hammer for initial rampage!

Got tired of facing so many cheating Necro’s. Was going to play the card if you can’t beat them, join them. Then I said no, not going there.

So….now I only solo queue on my Druid. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. But still, at least I didn’t join the broken team.