Guild Wars 2

I was just screwing around, and I stumbled onto this build (and in particular, an attack combo):

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUMQNArdWlYgSCXESIEg4Ei9BCqmB+oPYPIQ4LjA-jkCBoiCi00RkEBIPtIasFhBp0ZasqlY6XER12bZ1gbIySBwuuK-w

The combo is:

Swap Weapon to Staff for Might stacks from Sigil of Battle
Staff 4 + Virtue of Justice

This should give you about 18 stacks of Might

Staff 2

Swap Weapon to Scepter/Focus

Scepter 3 (applies 8 stacks of Vulnerability)
Utility 1 (Signet of Wrath – applies 5 more stacks of Vuln – should be about 13 stacks now)
Scepter 2

This really eats up your target. Kind of a pain to set up, especially with the long cast time of Empower – but it really does a ridiculous amount of dmg when you can pull the whole thing off.

Even if you don’t execute every step perfectly, it’s still a ton of DPS.

I usually finish the whole thing with Focus 5 and run away (if my target isn’t dead), or back up while shooting and waiting for another Chains to finish CD.

(Edit: I was a little unclear at the beginning of the combo – initiate combat and swap to Staff if you want to trigger the stacks of Might from Sigil of Battle before beginning the cast of Empower, or trigger it on the Scepter – whatever works for you).

(Edit: Also, one of those Sigils of Malice could be swapped for a Sigil of Bloodlust for even more Power).

(Edit: Virtue of Justice depends on whether you use this variant of the build or not: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUMQNArdWlYgSCXESIEgIFSuA7DEUlC8RfweQgwXGB-jkCBoiCi00RkEBIPtIasFhBp0ZasqlY6XER12bZ1gbIySBwuuK-w ) sorry for the confusion – only difference is I took 5 pts. out of Zeal and put them into Virtues for the Might on activating Justice)

(Edit: Also, forgot to mention, if you use up all your endurance first by dodge rolling before you start the sequence, you’ll do even more dmg)

Sry if the above was confusing, here I try to simplify my explanation:

Using this build:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUMQNArdWlYgSCHEyIEgIFSuA7DEUlC8RfweQgwXGB-j0CBoiCiEEg00QkIA5pFRjtIMIlOTjVtET/iIq2eLrGcDRWKA21VB-w

Begin combat with Staff, and preferably with 25 stacks of Bloodlust.

Dodge roll once before beginning, this will give you 10% extra dmg. from Elusive Power the 25 pt. minor trait in Honor.

Start channeling Staff 4 (Empower)
Just before the channeling finishes, activate Virtue of Justice for 3 more stacks of Might
Next, cast Orb of Light at your target.
Then, swap to Scepter/Focus. This will give you 3 more stacks of Might. You should have 18 now (unless you got Might on crit or hit, could be a little more 18-20).
Immobilize your target with Scepter 3, applying 8 stacks of Vuln.
Immobilize him again with Signet of Wrath (Utility 1) applying 5 more stacks of Vuln.

Assuming none of the Might has run out (because your timing is impeccable, and you hit every skill one after another) you should be at about 18-20 stacks of Might and your target should have 13 stacks of Vuln.

At this point, you could waste a Heal for another 3 stacks of Might – but I usually just hit them with Smite (Scepter 2), and then use Focus 5 (Shield of Wrath) to protect myself (if they’re not dead at this point) – or back up and using Symbol of Swiftness and Line of Warding in a retreating fight.

very cool build, nice to see something different every now and then. I find myself not using scepter very much since the auto attack is very easily avoidable, the immobilize easily curable, and the #2 aoe easily evadable. I see it being useful against some classes but isnt very versatile overall.

Right, in this build, the immobilize is more about building up stacks of Vuln quickly – Smite can be tricky, but I found that if you’re good at leading your target, you can get someone to walk into it – also, everything about this is a running battle, so it’s not like you’re always going to hit with every tick of Smite…..it’s just something to aim for.

With such low CD’s I find I can whiff a few Smites or Orbs and it’s ok. With Two Hd. Mastery and increased Scepter dmg, I do pretty good.

Just thought I’d share this combo, because I’ve never done this much burst DPS on a single target before, with any character, on any build. It’s actually really tough to do outside a trash PvE mob where you can control the circumstances perfectly. The cast time on the Empower is the hardest part, I wish it came with some reflect or retaliation during the cast time to dissuade people from hitting you, but whatever.

And about the cleansing of Chains, you apply Signet of Wrath immediately too, so if one gets cleansed, hopefully the other will stick (and together they both apply tons of Vuln).

Anyway, I’m having fun with it for now, downing most mobs in 1 sec (not counting all the prep time – just from when I hit them with Smite).

I can see that working. I’ll buy gear and try it out. dont think i even have a scepter on my guardian anymore haha

An easier sequence with this build, which is not quite as powerful, but still really effective, and much easier to pull off is to dodge roll towards your target,Activate V of J (in mid-dodge)—>Chains of Light—>Smite—>Shield of Wrath—>Dodge Roll Backward…xxxxxx

Someone somewhen made some math to prove that elusive power isn’t worth because you have to spam your dodges while you could continue your AA and do more DPS, not saying that those trait points could be put in a much more effective line (XI radiance).
That said, thanks for sharing something fresh. ;-)

I don’t look at it as “have to spam my dodges”, I look at it as, “Dodging negates damage and is part of my regular defense rotation, so I dodge, attack, dodge, attack, etc.” – it’s all part or the rhythm/cadence, so it works.

Actually, my biggest gripe with this is the casting time of Empower – or, at least, it should grant Retaliation during the cast time.

I know 12 stacks of Might is a lot (!) – but it also doesn’t last that long (at least not on self), because that 2.5 sec cast time means that when you are finished, you’ve only got 7.5 sec left on the first two pulses.

Anyway, it’s a good skill, I just think that the cast time warrants some kind of deterrence, and Retaliation would fit the bill.