Guild Wars 2

Since condition shatter became a thing, I don’t think its been decided what trait and armor setup optimizes the damage and/or support of this build. I would like to see some posts on what people consider closest to the “meta” version of this build, taking into account pvp,pve, and wvw play. I have seen examples like 44006 for instance, and 04406 and so on but I haven’t seen a strong preference yet.

Freedan.1769:

Since condition shatter became a thing

It did? :P

I don’t see s question in this, but I’ll assume you’re asking what’s the best. Personally, I find my 4/4/0/0/6 to be amazing thus far. I’ve been having upward results in Ranked and Unranked[and Team and Solo Queue] for the past month or so. I can also hold myself a decent while in King of the Hill and dueling, where I’m winning around 75% of the time[made up statistic].

I haven’t tried 0/4/4/0/6 or 0/4/0/4/6 yet, so no idea about how well those do.

44006 is decent for damage and boon stripping but you still end up pretty squishy.

04406 is tankier but your damage will only tickle until you can really stack conditions on a target.

never tried a 04046 build myself but if you want to pick up the scepter trait then give it a shot i guess.

Just bare in mind that condi shatter preforms less than awesome in large team fights and if you run with a core group be sure that they understand you will not be offering any quick bursts when it comes to sPvP.

if you play smart tho you can pretty easily wipe an enemy off a point in a 1v1.

Outside of sPvP Sinister stats (mixed with zerker or cavalier or something similar) can actually let a Condi shatter basicly run an effective Hybrid between medium to large direct damage spikes and High ticks from the torment.

PvE its less than awesome but conditions will always be that way…

at least it works well on the mordrem if you’re into LS

04224 Blink Decoy AT is what I use in WvW. Can’t imagine running builds without Menders Purity.

Tested 0/4/4/0/6, 0/6/0/2/6 and 0/4/2/2/6. I find the last being the best. Good condi cleansing, quite tanky and clone death helps a lot against heavy AoE damage…

4/4/0/0/6 has several problems. Both minor and any adept traits are quite meh for a condi build. About boon ripping, you’re very weak against condis, and there’s no point going for torch trait when you can add Mender Purity and still have 2 trait points to spend.

PD: I’m talking about WvW.

Menders Purity is NOT mandatory for these builds, I have not run with a condi cleanse in over a year. If you have to have one just grab idisenchanter or null. IMO 4/4/0/0/6 is best for pvp because of the extra condi duration/power/aoe boon rip. If I’m feeling lazy I’ll run 0/4/4/0/6 with clone death traits but still no menders. Forgot about the mantra, just use it if you have to. IMO don’t build around menders!

regular 44006 zerk double ranged shatter (gs/staff with bounces) with strength runes. You’ll deal insane power damage from 1200 range and build up might stacks for the torment ticks, works great.

4,4,0,0,6 – for pvp if you see ele and guardian in the group enemy (boon stripping and cripple as cover condi)
0,4,4,0,6 – for pvp if you plan to hold a point with nightmare runes (dd trait for cover condi pressure and fear when intrupt)
0,4,0,4,6 – less effective then the above so much longer to kill
all other builds can be used in wvw and pve
i like 2,4,2,0,6 with cripple for more condi stacking or 0,4,2,2,6 if i need more condi cleanse versus necro or engi pressure

still in pvp power shatter works best but very differently from condi shatter
so if you group lack condi pressure like engi or necro – role condi shatter even if you have power shatter in your group

dont try to take alone guardian and ele working together as they will cleanse each other condi constantly
try to target the thief/engi/ranger/warrior to put them on defense mode so they wont do dmg to your allies
also pressure the ele – if he is d/d w8 with your shatter untill he goes out from water attunment and then he is dead

s/d thief will be you counter – in pvp they cant hold point to try to land block with torment and proc more clones without shatter to pressure them (play like pu)

Still playing and loving 04046 with Settlers and Restorative Mantras and St/Sw+T. Extremely survivable and can still dish out nice AE Torment/Confusion, and heal your team mates while fighting. Works great for AoE mayhem like Courtyard, but also works really well 1v1 and 1v2 holding or assaulting points.

What do y’all find to be the best WvW version?

The input has been really great guys! However, I am still uncertain what should be considered optimal overall? The ones who favor 44006 feels to me like a strong emphasis on power builds. The purpose of MtD after all is to take the opponent down with condition damage specifically, either DPS style or spiking with Torment and Confusion. I have probably used Windwalker’s build the most, as I thought healing while spiking damage seemed like a nice combo. Realistically though, the armor for it isn’t out there, it needs an armor set like Apothecaries except emphasis on the Condition Damage and healing power as a secondary with Toughness. Perhaps the question is best answered by an armor set? What does everyone feel is the most effective armor/runes for maximizing MtD?

rabid full, 4/4/0/0/6 power= condi damage, healing is crap. Rabid for crits=bleeds. toughness>vitality>healing. I prefer travelers in every game mode.

we could do some dueling to see what build ya want. Anyone for some MtD dueling?

I like your style Nazer! A duel with good build and armor setup against skilled mesmer’s would be a great way to end doubts as to what an effective build variant would be for MtD at least one on one for sure, especially if other classes were represented. Unfortunately for me, its difficult to get the resources to get the full armor and accessory set unless I am dang sure its what I want(to quote Barbossa: “That still leaves you sailing away on my ship with naught but a name and ‘its the one I need’”) Anyone up for Nazer’s challenge? This sounds like a job for the OMFG Mesmer guild…..

Freedan.1769:

The input has been really great guys! However, I am still uncertain what should be considered optimal overall? The ones who favor 44006 feels to me like a strong emphasis on power builds. The purpose of MtD after all is to take the opponent down with condition damage specifically, either DPS style or spiking with Torment and Confusion. I have probably used Windwalker’s build the most, as I thought healing while spiking damage seemed like a nice combo. Realistically though, the armor for it isn’t out there, it needs an armor set like Apothecaries except emphasis on the Condition Damage and healing power as a secondary with Toughness. Perhaps the question is best answered by an armor set? What does everyone feel is the most effective armor/runes for maximizing MtD?

There’s no “purpose” to it, really. The main damage you get from 4/4/0/0/6 is from conditions like confusion and torment, as you said. However, to optimize it, the 4 in Domination provides vulnerability on your Diversion and extra condi duration, which fits perfectly well. It also lets you trait torch, giving more condi cleanse and more burn and confusion to add to the mix, along with the survivability of stealth.

And, honestly, the I feel like it would be more useful to mix some direct damage, AKA Power, into the build. Our condition weapons[Scepter, Torch, Staff] have pretty strong direct damage together with them[Confusing Images, iWarden]. We shouldn’t neglect that aspect of it, or else it’ll weaken the build.

Of course, one can go for a full-condition build, and if they make it work all the better. But remember that MtD is only one trait of many. The builds may be built around it, but it isn’t the singular thing that makes up the build.

Personally, I use Carrion, giving me fine direct damage along with the main condition damage and a good load of vitality to up my survivability. I also use Lich Runes, which up my survivability again while increasing my Torment’s duration to 8 seconds from 7.25.

I find Rabid to be not as useful in a condition shatter as we already have clones which apply conditions. Seems more useful in a condition phantasm build. Just an opinion, of course.

Still, try not to confuse optimal with specialized, which would pigeonhole what you’re asking for.

Nazer.7301:

rabid full, 4/4/0/0/6 power= condi damage, healing is crap. Rabid for crits=bleeds. toughness>vitality>healing. I prefer travelers in every game mode.

we could do some dueling to see what build ya want. Anyone for some MtD dueling?

I’m up for it~

I did want to see how mine would hold up against other MtD builds.

However, it would have to be in PvP, not WvW. This is responding to Freedan’s comment about not being able to afford gear, so to say that he was thinking about WvW.

Dondagora.9645:

Nazer.7301:

rabid full, 4/4/0/0/6 power= condi damage, healing is crap. Rabid for crits=bleeds. toughness>vitality>healing. I prefer travelers in every game mode.

we could do some dueling to see what build ya want. Anyone for some MtD dueling?

I’m up for it~

I did want to see how mine would hold up against other MtD builds.

However, it would have to be in PvP, not WvW. This is responding to Freedan’s comment about not being able to afford gear, so to say that he was thinking about WvW.

No worries from me, I appreciate all comments that come with an honest opinion and a reason why you feel so. All I ask is any testing you post the results and thoughts that went into it so the rest of us(myself included) can benefit from it. I don’t mind a pvp opinion, as it shows the strength of the build. I have always been fascinated by builds that think out the box, so I tend to favor underdogs but I recognize that if you want maximum killing potential you have to dispense with the support aspects of a build for the more part.

4/4/0/0/6

This trait setup is perfect for a build that maximises condition duration, stacks vulnerability, does medium damage and bleeds with pistol phantasm. You also have the option to be a boon removalist or remove more conditions with torch depending on what your team needs at the time.

In my opinion, rabid or rampager are ideal for this setup. Ive been playing around with a hybrid using these traits but im having trouble getting the balance right.

0/4/4/0/6

Works well with staff and on death condition traits. Bountiful Interruption is an essential part of this build because without those might stacks you lose some damage due to the lack of condi duration. If you get enough interrupts your condi damage can skyrocket. This might work well with perplexity runes. The ultimate troll build. But you get no swiftness and perplexity be expensive.

These setups are the best in my opinion.

Freedan.1769:

The purpose of MtD after all is to take the opponent down with condition damage specifically, either DPS style or spiking with Torment and Confusion

Not necessarily. If you do the math even on weak-hitting attacks such as Winds of Chaos, their power vs malice scaling isn’t that bad at all. Extra power comes in handy, as most attacks do have a direct-damage component.

More importantly, 4 Domination allows you to easily strip enemy boons, which should not be underestimated at all.

Some great replies from a lot of posters and thanks for the responses. I feel like I have learned a lot from listening and re-evaluating damage in particular. I haven’t picked a favorite answer quite yet, but I like what I have heard so far. It sounds like if I really want to maximize damage I should be getting Rampager’s or Rabid as an armor set and focus on my damage as much as possible. It seems like I get the most bang from Rampager’s, but I feel like I am vulnerable as a squishy, so is Rabid the best condition armor for the more defense conscious? Also I like the look of Carrion armor and wonder if its better to use that instead of Rabid? Just curious what the break-down is going to be now. I intend to actually try out all the builds mentioned here actually.

carrion is not good if you use pistol as in wont stack bleed without crit
i working arounf hybrid build with GS +scepter torch which does nice dmg with power state with GS alongside condi dmg with scepter and shatter

so for now i guess rabid is better

For WvW, I personally enjoy 0/6/0/2/6 for the extra mantra charge and Mender’s Purity, allowing me to free up a utility spot that I would usually reserve for personal cleanse. Alternatively I use 4/4/0/0/6 when I want more upfront boon stripping or 0/4/4/0/6 if I want to be a bit tankier or want more might through CI.

Simonoly.4352:

For WvW, I personally enjoy 0/6/0/2/6 for the extra mantra charge and Mender’s Purity, allowing me to free up a utility spot that I would usually reserve for personal cleanse. Alternatively I use 4/4/0/0/6 when I want more upfront boon stripping or 0/4/4/0/6 if I want to be a bit tankier or want more might through CI.

I used 06026 too when I played condition, the fights tend to be longer and I feel that more condition cleanse is needed than with shatter.