Hoo boy, this elite specialization is great. I realize we never got to see 99% of the Chronomancer traits, but the full monty we got today of the Dragonhunter has me excited!
The folks over at dulfy have gotten all the info up, including into their trait calculator, so i thought I’d share a few builds and playstyles that the new spec will open up and/or improve. I won’t be discussing gear for these builds due to the upcoming changes, but rather general idea of them and what sort of stats you will want to mix and match. I’m not claiming the ideas as my own as (imo) these should be pretty obvious.
Note: highlight ALL the text of the link and copy/past to your browser to view the traits.
Bursty Solo Roaming
The DH’s traps all deal direct damage or enhance direct damage through vulnerability. This build is meant for solo or small group roaming.
Weapons: Hammer & Greatsword
Gear types: Focus on direct damage boosting sets like Zerker but you’ll need to mix in some soldiers/knights to get a bit of defensive stats.
Heal: Your fave.
Utilities: Procession of Blades, Light’s Judgement, Signet of Judgement
Elite: Dragon’s Maw
Traits: http://dulfy.net/2015/05/02/gw2-specialization-calculator-that_shaman/#profession=guardian&traits=“Dragon Hunter”,3,5,9-“Zeal”,2,5,9-“Virtues”,1,6,7
This build is based on trapping your target with Dragon’s Maw to land the full force of your Procession of Blades. Main combo would be to immobilize the foe using either Wings of Resolve or Zealot’s Embrace then locking them down via ring of warding. Next drop your three traps (Procession of Blades, Light’s Judgement then Dragon Maw). Put Dragon’s Maw last as by the time it arms your ring of warding is probably gone, but this might need to be moved in the combo to ensure the foe is trapped. Next swap to Greatsword and place Symbol of Wrath, land your Binding Blade and start spinning with Whirling Wrath. Next step: collect loot bags.
General use Condi-build
Weapons: Sword/Focus & Hammer (Possibly replace sword with mace)
Gear: Rabid/Dire mix
Runes: Runes of the Trapper
Sigil: Sigil of Torment & Sigil of Doom on Sword/Focus, Sigil of Corruption and Sigil of Doom on hammer
Heal: Purification (heal trap)
Utilities: Procession of Blades, Judge’s Intervention, Light’s Judgement
Elite: Dragon’s Maw
Traits: http://dulfy.net/2015/05/02/gw2-specialization-calculator-that_shaman/#profession=guardian&traits=“Dragon Hunter”,1,5,7-“Radiance”,1,6,7-“Virtues”,2,4,9
Trap your enemies within Ring of warding then unload your offensive traps to spike with condi’s (19 stax of bleeding plus ~7 stax of burning with 2s durations plus 5s of torment). Use your gap closers to set up RoW, and block whenever you can via Focus5 and Shield of Courage. The heal trap has synergy with runes of the trapper to give you Stealth + super speed then the burst heal as you are chased.
Dragonhunter Bunker for sPvP Conquest
Weapons: Longbow & Mace/Focus (possibly change mace/focus to hammer)
Gear: Defensive (Soldier, Sentinel or Celestial)
Runes: Melandru
Heal: Purification
Utilities: Fragments of Faith, “Stand Your Ground”, Contemplation of Purity
Elite: Renewed Focus or the new Signet of Courage
Traits: http://dulfy.net/2015/05/02/gw2-specialization-calculator-that_shaman/#profession=guardian&traits=“Dragon Hunter”,2,5,8-“Honor”,1,5,7-“Virtues”,2,5,9
Drop your heal trap strategically before enemies arrive so that it’s off cooldown when you need it — just make sure to kite your foe into it to proc the first one before laying a second trap down. Plink away with Longbow if they stay at range and laugh at them if they try to melee you — you have an ungodly number of blocks thanks to mace/focus and the new ‘Fragments of Faith’ trap.
Any thoughts about these? Or other builds to suggest?