Guild Wars 2

finally i can craft my own ascended gears, people been suggesting to go all the way for zerker but i doubt i’ll survive well in high level fractals and WvW.

i am thinking of going for good mix of power/precise/tough/vita, and trait myself into dps build. hope by doing this i could maintain the dps output of my current exotic zerker n better survivalbility.

can anyone share their thoughts on gearing in WvW n high fractals?

Thanks n good day to u.

Honestly the best thing to do is play around with a builder to see what you can come up with. Ascend is expensive so most people will only have one set.

I personally mixed Celestial, Zealot, Zerker, and Cleric gear. I just change my traits depending on what I’m doing.

My opinion:
just go for 3000 toughness and 800-1000 healing

thanks for input, so i should do some mix and match to balance stats
should i pump my vita as well? my hp pool is really low lol

Saerah.8651:

thanks for input, so i should do some mix and match to balance stats
should i pump my vita as well? my hp pool is really low lol

My hp is only around 15.5k if I invest 30 into Honor. In PvE you really don’t need it, and in WvW you’ll get the Guard Fortitude Buff. So I don’t see a reason to stack a large amount of vit.

Harbinger.8637:

My hp is only around 15.5k if I invest 30 into Honor. In PvE you really don’t need it, and in WvW you’ll get the Guard Fortitude Buff. So I don’t see a reason to stack a large amount of vit.

Come run with [HB] for a couple guild raid runs and then perhaps you will understand the need for having a crap load of vitality compared to that which you think is sufficient (15.5K)…..

Rigel.3092:

Harbinger.8637:

My hp is only around 15.5k if I invest 30 into Honor. In PvE you really don’t need it, and in WvW you’ll get the Guard Fortitude Buff. So I don’t see a reason to stack a large amount of vit.

Come run with [HB] for a couple guild raid runs and then perhaps you will understand the need for having a crap load of vitality compared to that which you think is sufficient (15.5K)…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JDTivRyvBw

You know, not everyone is a zergling.

JahRo.6432:

Rigel.3092:

Harbinger.8637:

My hp is only around 15.5k if I invest 30 into Honor. In PvE you really don’t need it, and in WvW you’ll get the Guard Fortitude Buff. So I don’t see a reason to stack a large amount of vit.

Come run with [HB] for a couple guild raid runs and then perhaps you will understand the need for having a crap load of vitality compared to that which you think is sufficient (15.5K)…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JDTivRyvBw

You know, not everyone is a zergling.

And you have no frakin clue what a “zergling” is because your simply one of those who throw it around thinking your hurting someone’s feelings or something to that degree. Grow the frak up. Our guild runs around with 20-35 at most and we purposely zone out or WP to dump pugs that may get attached.

Rigel.3092:

JahRo.6432:

Rigel.3092:

Harbinger.8637:

My hp is only around 15.5k if I invest 30 into Honor. In PvE you really don’t need it, and in WvW you’ll get the Guard Fortitude Buff. So I don’t see a reason to stack a large amount of vit.

Come run with [HB] for a couple guild raid runs and then perhaps you will understand the need for having a crap load of vitality compared to that which you think is sufficient (15.5K)…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JDTivRyvBw

You know, not everyone is a zergling.

And you have no frakin clue what a “zergling” is because your simply one of those who throw it around thinking your hurting someone’s feelings or something to that degree. Grow the frak up. Our guild runs around with 20-35 at most and we purposely zone out or WP to dump pugs that may get attached.

For one, I wasn’t insulting. If you take it that way, that’s your problem. Second, the video shows a necro’s point of view. Now from this, I can only imagine that you either: A.) Are trying to advertise for your guild or B.) are trying to troll.

Because there are literally thousands of the same kitten videos posted all over youtube of people doing the exact same thing. It contributes nothing to the OP’s question, and it’s quite boring (personal opinion).

To OP, I’d wait until the new patch comes out to see how they change celestial. Good options for overall dps-focused guards are mixes of berserker, celestial, cavalier, or even valk. I haven’t experimented with the new zealot’s stat, but if you want more healing power for sustain, I’d imagine it’d be pretty nice.

I’m in the same situation and is thinking of going Soldier. I have a zerker Warrior for dungeon speedruns, and have the Guardian as wxp hog and backup for weird pugs in high level Fractals. Build, trinkets and weapons can more easily be switched out between PvE and PvP anyway and you still have the zerker exotic too. It’s also hard to know how the crit nerf is gonna affect gear, zerk exo to asc might become even less difference than it is now.

Rigel.3092:

Harbinger.8637:

My hp is only around 15.5k if I invest 30 into Honor. In PvE you really don’t need it, and in WvW you’ll get the Guard Fortitude Buff. So I don’t see a reason to stack a large amount of vit.

Come run with [HB] for a couple guild raid runs and then perhaps you will understand the need for having a crap load of vitality compared to that which you think is sufficient (15.5K)…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JDTivRyvBw

I prefer to roam over zergs, however I don’t have a problem in them. I have high healing power, so I have no problem keeping my vit up. Which is better then having a very high hp pool, and little to no healing power. Also with Guard Fortitude I sit at 18k hp. So like I stated, it’s not a big deal. Here’s a pic of fully buffed in wvw.

Gambit.8425:

It’s also hard to know how the crit nerf is gonna affect gear, zerk exo to asc might become even less difference than it is now.

Nah, it’s pretty safe to bet that crit damage ratios on the armor pieces won’t change significantly. Right now, asc armor has 6 % more crit damage than exo, after the nerf it will be 5 % more. Nothing you’ll notice. However, the trinkets will get a severe nerf.

Go all zerker, you only need 11k health. Be a man!

Arken.3725:

Go all zerker, you only need 11k health. Be a man!

10 .850 or something :p
i guess its really manly to die from siege oil ^^

Saerah.8651:

finally i can craft my own ascended gears, people been suggesting to go all the way for zerker but i doubt i’ll survive well in high level fractals and WvW.

i am thinking of going for good mix of power/precise/tough/vita, and trait myself into dps build. hope by doing this i could maintain the dps output of my current exotic zerker n better survivalbility.

can anyone share their thoughts on gearing in WvW n high fractals?

Thanks n good day to u.

I would say wait until the balance patch comes out either way. Much better to wait a month and be safe than have the “perfect” set for a month and then comes the balance patch and you feel like you wasted all that blood/dragon/stars.

CptAurellian.9537:

Gambit.8425:

It’s also hard to know how the crit nerf is gonna affect gear, zerk exo to asc might become even less difference than it is now.

Nah, it’s pretty safe to bet that crit damage ratios on the armor pieces won’t change significantly. Right now, asc armor has 6 % more crit damage than exo, after the nerf it will be 5 % more. Nothing you’ll notice. However, the trinkets will get a severe nerf.

Really? That’s a pretty strong statement considering that DPS with a zerker’s setup is going down 10%. If they aren’t going to take that 10% off by adjusting crit damages (and therefore, ratios), then … how will Anet accomplish that? I believe this is exactly what will happen … Anet will hit the ferocity conversion hard to accomplish this. Once crit damage is replaced by ferocity, the ratios will indeed change because we have been told it will be treated like a secondary stat.

Honestly, the safest thing to do is just wait. It’s not hard to trade guessing for patience.

Personally, as much as I dislike the idea, celestial will be my choice. I can push the build in whatever direction I want with trinkets/food/legendary stat change if needed while having a good core base of skills to work off.

Having 1 set for Fractals and WvW (unless you only roam) will kitten you in either, if not both, envoirments. Your choice if you’d prefer that or prefer having 1 exotic set and 1 ascended set. (Due to Agony Resistance eventually you will need Ascended gear to keep up with the Agony, so I’d prioritize that.)

As for the survivability in Fractals, unless you drop a considerable amount of damage for survivability it won’t make a big difference. If you fail to dodge what you need to dodge you’re pretty much dead anyway, or if you dropped enough damage stats you simply hit like a wet noodle and might survive 1 or 2 hits longers.

Going from Exotic to Ascended isn’t going to be a huge increase in damage or survivability. Biggest reasons to get it is Agony Resistance slots and completionist reasons. In the end it all comes down to your own choice, you can’t have the best of both worlds. I went for 2 different sets (exotic for WvW) and retrait, but that might not be your thing.

You have a good day.

PS: Speculations are going around that zerker will still be the meta in PvE after the zerker nerf, something I believe aswell, but it’s a smart thing to wait and see how it will work out if you’re not in a hurry for Ascended (e.g. you don’t need to Agony Resistance yet.)

Obtena.7952:

CptAurellian.9537:

Gambit.8425:

It’s also hard to know how the crit nerf is gonna affect gear, zerk exo to asc might become even less difference than it is now.

Nah, it’s pretty safe to bet that crit damage ratios on the armor pieces won’t change significantly. Right now, asc armor has 6 % more crit damage than exo, after the nerf it will be 5 % more. Nothing you’ll notice. However, the trinkets will get a severe nerf.

Really? That’s a pretty strong statement considering that DPS with a zerker’s setup is going down 10%. If they aren’t going to take that 10% off by adjusting crit damages (and therefore, ratios), then … how will Anet accomplish that? I believe this is exactly what will happen … Anet will hit the ferocity conversion hard to accomplish this. Once crit damage is replaced by ferocity, the ratios will indeed change because we have been told it will be treated like a secondary stat.

You missed the point completely, since the Ferocity -> Crit conversion is irrelevant for the comparison between asc and exo pieces. Right now asc armor has 17 % crit damage, while exo has 16 %, so it’s 6 % more. As a secondary attribute after the nerf, it will be 5 % more, like power and precision now. Besides, I’d bet some gold that the armor pieces won’t feel much of the stupid nerf, if anything at all. It’s the trinkets that will get a massive punch in the face.

I didn’t miss the point; people are guessing on how the change will be implemented and using that as ADVICE for how to gear up in ascended armor. I can appreciate that some well-intentioned people have tried to determine what percent is happening here and there but it’s all just speculation and it’s not based on what we have been told because frankly, we haven’t been told much. The only info we know is:

1. Crit damage (which already holds a place as a secondary trait) is being changed to ferocity that has a conversion rate we don’t know, but will likely be set to adjust to give …
2. Zerker builds about a 10% drop in damage

That’s not enough to tell anyone in what ascended armor to invest into. It certainly doesn’t give anyone the indication that trinkets will be nerfed more than armor. That seems more like wishful thinking than anything. This is how I think the ‘nerf’ will happen:

1. They will change crit damage to ferocity; they will make ferocity value = secondary stat.
2. They will determine the conversion rate by asking themselves what rate will give a 10% DPS cut on a Zerker build.

Why? Because it’s simple and it fits what they said they would do.

Obtena.7952:

It certainly doesn’t give anyone the indication that trinkets will be nerfed more than armor. That seems more like wishful thinking than anything.

‘sigh’ Of course it does. They introduce Ferocity to normalize the conversion of stat points to critical damage, besides the useless nerf to total tamage. Right now, we have massive disparities in this conversion rate: on armor items, it’s 12:1 or greater, while the trinkets have a conversion rate of 8.5:1. Even if there was no nerf to overall damage, the only consequence of normalization would be a buff to armor and a nerf to trinkets. With the damage nerf, the effect on trinkets will be even larger, while the effect on armor depends on the final conversion rate.

However, that conversion rate has nothing to do with the ratios between exo and asc. Asc has 5 % more stats than exo, so after the patch, it will have 5 % more crit damage than exo (whatever exact amount that will be). That’s what the post was about and that’s where you’ve missed the point all the time.

CptAurellian.9537:

Obtena.7952:

It certainly doesn’t give anyone the indication that trinkets will be nerfed more than armor. That seems more like wishful thinking than anything.

‘sigh’ ….

Nothing you said here gives anyone the confidence to go ahead with the creation of ascended Zerker gear if concerned about the incoming changes. Arguments about ‘ratios’ ignore the two fundamental statements that Anet devs made about how this will be implemented. Nothing they said indicates that some ‘ratio’ you have grasped to for your argument will be maintained, ever. Your head is in the sand and your advice is poorly given.

The OP’s concern is about survival, your position is a response to someone (correctly) being concerned about the impact that ferocity will have on zerker’s gear. Crit damage ratios aren’t even a relevant metric to look at for determining ferocity and it’s impact on damage overall … Ferocity is simply going to take the value of the secondary stat, which we already know. Whatever ratios you are clinging to are simply not relevant once this happens.

Harbinger.8637:

Rigel.3092:

Harbinger.8637:

My hp is only around 15.5k if I invest 30 into Honor. In PvE you really don’t need it, and in WvW you’ll get the Guard Fortitude Buff. So I don’t see a reason to stack a large amount of vit.

Come run with [HB] for a couple guild raid runs and then perhaps you will understand the need for having a crap load of vitality compared to that which you think is sufficient (15.5K)…..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JDTivRyvBw

I prefer to roam over zergs, however I don’t have a problem in them. I have high healing power, so I have no problem keeping my vit up. Which is better then having a very high hp pool, and little to no healing power. Also with Guard Fortitude I sit at 18k hp. So like I stated, it’s not a big deal. Here’s a pic of fully buffed in wvw.

Then i ask myself why i dont even have a legend if im playing sinse the begining .. then i see you and … you got all the kitteng legends… that sy i dont have any u.u

Here’s the issue with “gearing for WvW.” Your gear is dependent on both your build and the aspect of WvW you’re participating in. A few examples:

• Organized Zergplay Typical builds include 0/5/30/30/5 and 0/0/10/30/30 (with 0/0/20/20/30 being my preferred variant). With the former you have access to a full 300 Toughness, 300 Healing Power, 300 Vitality (3k HP), and 30% Crit Damage. With the latter, you’re losing 100-200 Toughness, 10-20% Crit Damage, and 0-100 Vitality (1k HP) depending on which you choose. In the first case you’re obviously more free to invest heavily into healing power and offensive stats, while in the second case you need to invest heavily into defensive stats to make up the difference.

• Roaming The builds can be all over the place. I’ve seen and played 0/0/30/20/20, 0/30/30/5/5, 10/25/0/15/20, 20/25/0/5/20, and so many others. The sky’s the limit when you’re gearing for roaming, and so your armor loadout will be extremely diverse. Note also that solo roaming will differ from group roaming. In one case you need to be a one-stop-shop for both damage and defense, while in the other you need to coordinate with your group.

• Karma Train/Pub Train Run whatever you want. Almost anything is viable because, in this case, numbers far outweigh personal skill. Just try not to die.

In short, there’s no catch-all for WvW gearing. The WvW game mode is many times more diverse than sPvP or PvE in terms of gearing and builds. You’ll have to figure out what you want to do, and how that fits into your group’s composition before you can even begin to think about gear.

What I can give you, though, is my general rule-of-thumb for gearing a guardian for organized zergplay (my specialty). The strongest build is, in my opinion, 0/x/30/30/x, where you invest either 5 points into both Radiance and Virtues, or 10 points into Virtues. With that in mind, here are the stat points that I try to hit with every build I make. Note that I include neither Applied Fortitude nor Applied Strength in my gearing. However, I do include personal consumables and stacks from weapons (Bloodlust, Perception).

• Health Minimum of 19k, preferably around the 20k mark.
• Armor Minimum of 3050 sans Strength in Numbers. 3200 armor ~42% damage reduction
• Healing Power Minimum of 500, preferably around the 700-800 range.
• Power Minimum of 1800, 1900-2000 with stacks/food is ideal.
• Crit Chance 30% with stacks/food so that you can maintain 50% crit chance w/ perma fury
• Crit Damage Anywhere from 60%-70%

The key, in my opinion, to gearing a guard for WvW is balance. You cram as much party support into your traits and runes as is possible, and then gear your character to match.