Guild Wars 2

Hey,

I would like to ask how do you use your skills/utilities in dungeons.

I’m running dungeon meta build from metabattle with small personal changes. The thing is every battle is different and it’s impossible to only have one set of weapons and traits/utility skills. Here is my question – do you often change traits and carry all the weapons ‘just in case’? Every fight which I know is going to be longer than few seconds I pick staff for #4, then change to whatever weapon will work in this situation.

I’m asking because I’d like to know if I’m trying simply too much when changing utilities and traits every more serious fight or it’s how it works.

Thanks for replies in advance.

Nope, constantly swapping.

Swap in staff throw down swiftness before a run, or hit 4 before a fight. Swap back to GS and jump into the frey.

Hammer for blasting fields or a few fights where protection is nice.

Mace is great for a little extra healing/block at a very little damage loss (though light field blocking is a pain)

Scepter for large bosses or range situations.

Sword/GS of course being the standard.

Utility wise SYG/HG for stability, WoR/SotA for projectiles, Bane Signet/Save yourselves for DPS, Purging for condi removal and fire field. Smite conditions for runs at times. Meditations in general in some niche situations. Retreat for runs/aegis. Sanctuary for some neat tricks to chain CC things.

Everything different encounter will be different and your optimal setup will change. Not bringing Purging flames or absolute resolution to say Lyssa in Arah p4 is going to be a bad idea (unless somone else in the group has you covered). But then say Lupi you won’t get much out of it so there are better options. Constantly thinking ahead to the next fight and swapping utilities before it will always be helpful.

I managed to assemble a decent shout/symbol support build based around using the staff and hammer that I’ve used successfully since launch.
The hammer offers nice control for veterans
while the staff gives some crowd damage and just enough distance from champions to feel comfortable.

I also keep “Retreat”, Merciful Intervention, and Contemplation of Purity on, unless I need to break more stuns in which case I replace “Retreat” with “Save Yourselves”. I also utilize Renewed Focus so I can further buff my allies and myself with my virtues.

2 Zeal – Shattered Aegis
6 Valor – Strength in Numbers, Meditation Mastery, Altruistic Healing
6 Honor – Pure of Heart, Writ of the Merciful, Pure of Voice

Occasionally I will respec on the spot if the party needs to be more spread out than I can effectively support, but even then I keep my hammer and a few other details so I can still intervene if someone needs backup.

adragon.1234:

I managed to assemble a decent shout/symbol support build based around using the staff and hammer that I’ve used successfully since launch.
The hammer offers nice control for veterans
while the staff gives some crowd damage and just enough distance from champions to feel comfortable.

I also keep “Retreat”, Merciful Intervention, and Contemplation of Purity on, unless I need to break more stuns in which case I replace “Retreat” with “Save Yourselves”. I also utilize Renewed Focus so I can further buff my allies and myself with my virtues.

2 Zeal – Shattered Aegis
6 Valor – Strength in Numbers, Meditation Mastery, Altruistic Healing
6 Honor – Pure of Heart, Writ of the Merciful, Pure of Voice

Occasionally I will respec on the spot if the party needs to be more spread out than I can effectively support, but even then I keep my hammer and a few other details so I can still intervene if someone needs backup.

I mean no offense, but you’re leaving a lot on the table unused.

Master of Consecrations is simply an overpowered trait when it’s useful. Not only is it lowered reuse it’s also a longer duration! The effect on Wall of Reflection alone makes it almost a must have is many situations.

That is why I think flexibility and learning where to adjust your build for different situations is so effective. While your build may be solid in many situations when you really benefit from say a reflect you’re sitting with nothing let alone a fully buffed up rotation of them.

And just a side note, a well timed Stand your Ground or Hallowed grounds can nullify any need for stun breaks for your entire group! not something to overlook

I also swap traits, weapons, and skills regularly. I just wish we had templates to store my most common trait setups to save time during a run.

I typically run the 4/5/0/0/5 setup, but will adjust things when I don’t need as much condition removal or reflects to get more damage (Unscathed instead of Master of Consecrations, or going 6/6/2/0/0 or 6/6/0/0/2UC). When I have the time to switch traits fully, will go into the hammer build for certain fights in Fractals (Cliffside hordes, Mossman). Some fights I pick up 1 in the second to last line for vigor on crit (Lupi, Grawl Shaman).

If you do nothing else, at least change skills depending on the fight.

Weapons:
- GS + Sw/F is my default combat set.
- Sc/F + Sc/T is my weapons set for big slow boss like bloomhunger (Take Sc/T + Sw/F for lupi so I can have a melee weapons against locust)
- Hammer + Sc/F is my fractal weapons set to give perma protection to my team so we can melee some hard hitting bosses.
- Hammer + Staff is my TA weapons set. I take Staff to kill blossom while running. Since Staff is horrible in dps, I take hammer since its the only weapon that do decent dmg without swaping in combat.
- GS + Staff when I’m running around in Open world

Trait
- 4/6/2/0/2 is my default dps build.
- 4/5/0/0/5 is my when i need more reflect like in SE path 3
- 3/5/0/4/2 is my hammer build

Skills
- Retreat never leave my bar (unless I solo)
- WoR and Purging Flames are my default setup
- Stand your ground when we need stability
- Shield of Avenger when i need more reflect
- Signet of Bane when I don’t need much support
- Save Yourself when I need extra swiftness for skipping
- Smite Condition when I need extra condi removal
- I also use other skills, but at really specific place for specific strategy.

adragon.1234:

I managed to assemble a decent shout/symbol support build based around using the staff and hammer that I’ve used successfully since launch.
The hammer offers nice control for veterans
while the staff gives some crowd damage and just enough distance from champions to feel comfortable.

I also keep “Retreat”, Merciful Intervention, and Contemplation of Purity on, unless I need to break more stuns in which case I replace “Retreat” with “Save Yourselves”. I also utilize Renewed Focus so I can further buff my allies and myself with my virtues.

2 Zeal – Shattered Aegis
6 Valor – Strength in Numbers, Meditation Mastery, Altruistic Healing
6 Honor – Pure of Heart, Writ of the Merciful, Pure of Voice

Occasionally I will respec on the spot if the party needs to be more spread out than I can effectively support, but even then I keep my hammer and a few other details so I can still intervene if someone needs backup.

Replace meditation mastery with toughness to crit and shattered aegis to 10% more damage to burning enemies and you might be of more help to your party.

Maybe a bit more usefull, but its still a 2 years old build that everybody let go of since its such a bad dungeon build. Oh ya you survive, but that’s it.

Thaddeus.4891:

Maybe a bit more usefull, but its still a 2 years old build that everybody let go of since its such a bad dungeon build. Oh ya you survive, but that’s it.

I want to respect everyone’s playstyle and not sound like a kittenbag, but I feel the same way as you about highly defensive builds in dungeons. As a zerker I tend to die when people don’t do their fair share of damage making the fight take longer. Usually not being able to do anything cause most of my skill/dodges are on cooldown while they facetank all the damage.

Vizardlorde.8243:

I want to respect everyone’s playstyle and not sound like a kittenbag, but I feel the same way as you about highly defensive builds in dungeons. As a zerker I tend to die when people don’t do their fair share of damage making the fight take longer. Usually not being able to do anything cause most of my skill/dodges are on cooldown while they facetank all the damage.

To be honest, I dislike zerker ppl that die because the group don’t kill fast enough and then complain about it.

You are zerker and you die when the group don’t have enough dps, its ok. Used to happen to me a lot (especially on my ele), but I never complained about it because it’s my fault. If you see that your party lack the dps, you shouldn’t continue the same strategy or you’ll die. You should adapt, stay alive and finish the boss and then complain. But that’s just my opinion. I hate when tanky ppl used to pick me up on the ground because I didn’t have enough dodge to survive a fight that lasted twice longer than it should have. So I learned how to solo stuff, more effective way to show those tanky PHIW than laying dead on the ground and kitten about it.

I don’t judge you dying btw (I die a lot myself). I just don’t like zerker that can’t stay alive with certain group and complain about it after

the way I figure it is if you are dying a lot in this game because of the build you use then its either time to change builds, or just run with a group that is specced/geared to play together.