Guild Wars 2

Been having ridiculous fun the past couple of days with this…

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQNAR8fnsICNqhNoBmpBMrhFVjiMAGhirsDOutpuZj2qF-TpBCwAYOIAAuAAhLDQd/hMHBAGPAAA

I dunno, maybe I’ve just been lucky with the PuGs, but overall I am having more fun with this then the condie meta build. The burst damage output is very nice, but it is of course very squishy, so expect to die a bit more than in the meta condie build.

The jist of it is “lockdowns” with the 3.9s Stuns and Moas, with the burst damage to kill people before the effect wears off. Otherwise I stay off to the sides in point fights, crapping out iZerkers and/or controlling targets for my team.

I tried this with Shield too ofc, but Torch is working better for me defensively in this kinda Thief-like play style.

Just thought I’d share, because I’m a bit tired of the condie meta myself, so maybe someone else will enjoy it as well. This is not to say it trumps the meta build, but I’m having a blast and I personally feel like I’m doing better as well, for whatever reason that may be. (Bad enemies? Other current meta builds being poorly equipped to deal with this? Or just plain luck. ;-) )

It’s probably just a fun pug build and not meta worthy…oh well!

iZerker->SoD->MS->F1->MB->respawned iZerker hits again [->optional F2]

P.S. Sorry, I don’t record videos. Just try it if you’re in the mood for a Power based build to break the monotony of condie shatter.

Quick question, why did you bring SoD over MoD? The signet does grant a much longer stun that’s true, but its also only 1 stun compared to the 2 (or 3 if traited) stuns from MoD, and the signet has a longer CD as well.

The difference is simple. I used to use MoD with CS, and it’s “pretty good”, but with a high spike damage build like this a SoD Stun is a death sentence if you don’t have any stun breakers available. So I have 2 “I win” buttons, plus F5 to double up on Moa. (And of course the same for group fights, where a 3.9s stun on a marked enemy is also a death sentence.)

I find that this really helps mitigate the otherwise extremely squishy nature of this or any Zerker build. I stay at near max range in group fights, and eventually someone comes to “take care” of you. This person frequently ends up face down, as they often seem to have no stun breaks. (Or maybe some are just underestimating the amount of pain they’re about to suffer and think they can just ride it out. ;-) )

A 1.25 second stun on a 5 second CD is nice and all, and so is Power Block with 3x MoD, and MoDs new lower CD is really neat too…but none of these are a death sentence. In this kind of build you kinda have to kill fast, run fast, or die fast. ;-) Against a Thief a 1.25 second stun won’t kill them most of the time, and you won’t live 5 seconds to see the next stun land.

I’m getting a fair amount of whines about that long duration stun as well. ;-)

I know this isn’t a video and doesn’t prove anything, but at least it shows that I’m having fun with it the past couple of days. ;-)

Have you tried “Evasive Mirror” in place of “Blinding Dissapation”? With “Blurred Inscriptions”, that would give you a bunch of reflects.

Thanks for sharing this build. I have been using it the last day or so. It is a lot of fun. I am also new and do pretty well with it. Can lock down people pretty fast. I play a thief as well so it was an easy transition.

I recommend it. It is a rough start, but once you get the hang of it, this build destroys things and is A LOT OF FUN.

I have tried out meta builds and stuff but they are not “fun.” I really enjoy this build.

great its working for you as i also tried almost full signet build with the same concept but you need to be much more careful with signets build

Glad you’re enjoying it LazerCat!

Yes Messiah it is pretty squishy and quite a change of pace from the meta condition shatter where you fight on point a lot.

The strange thing is that there is nothing particularly new about this build, and I’ve periodically played similar builds in the past, but it’s a lot more fun and effective in Pugs then it was in the past. At least that’s my feeling so far. Maybe the meta of other classes has changed enough to make it stronger? I dunno, but I’m getting a surprising amount long duration stuns in.

I’m not nearly as sturdy on point as with condie meta, but I still feel that overall I’m doing better in 1v1s then with the condie meta. I just seem to surprise a lot of folks and 100 to 0 them pretty fast.

It is a bit simpler to play I guess, because once that first attack and a follow-up or two fail, you’re pretty much out of steam so there is no reason to hang around. So I don’t die as much as I expected, because I just don’t even try winning fights that aren’t going my way. Better to break off and +1 somewhere else. ;-)

I’m almost certain that high level players counter this better then the condie meta build, but for the average riff-raff Pugs it appears to really catch them off guard.

Anyway, glad someone else is having fun with it!

Windwalker.7421:

Glad you’re enjoying it LazerCat!

Yes Messiah it is pretty squishy and quite a change of pace from the meta condition shatter where you fight on point a lot.

The strange thing is that there is nothing particularly new about this build, and I’ve periodically played similar builds in the past, but it’s a lot more fun and effective in Pugs then it was in the past. At least that’s my feeling so far. Maybe the meta of other classes has changed enough to make it stronger? I dunno, but I’m getting a surprising amount long duration stuns in.

I’m not nearly as sturdy on point as with condie meta, but I still feel that overall I’m doing better in 1v1s then with the condie meta. I just seem to surprise a lot of folks and 100 to 0 them pretty fast.

It is a bit simpler to play I guess, because once that first attack and a follow-up or two fail, you’re pretty much out of steam so there is no reason to hang around. So I don’t die as much as I expected, because I just don’t even try winning fights that aren’t going my way. Better to break off and +1 somewhere else. ;-)

I’m almost certain that high level players counter this better then the condie meta build, but for the average riff-raff Pugs it appears to really catch them off guard.

Anyway, glad someone else is having fun with it!

Good thing then that 99% of PvP players are crap lol

^ Yup and that’s really what it’s all about. It’s just a fun build that’s not terribly hard to play with a good measure of success. Of course the better you are at staying alive despite being very squishy, the more you will enjoy it, but even if you’re an inexperienced player you can at least get some kills in and feel like you’re contributing good damage in team fights.

MoD Stun -> iZerker -> F1 and throw a MS either in between there or after, and the respawned iZerker will still get it’s attack off before the stun wears off. That alone will kill quite a few people who don’t break the stun. (On lightly armored targets a 4x critical hit from the iZerker can deliver 6-7k damage. That times two, plus 3.5-5k crits from the F1 and 2.5k crits from MS plus AAs etc.)

Better of course is to get in close and add TP and MB before F1, and swap to Sw/To and BF.

Marauder is of course also an option, but will drop especially critical damage by over 20%. Might still be worth it if you prefer a bit more survivability and more reliable crit streaks. I’m just having a good run with Zerker so I’m sticking with it for now. ;-)

Windwalker.7421:

^ Yup and that’s really what it’s all about. It’s just a fun build that’s not terribly hard to play with a good measure of success. Of course the better you are at staying alive despite being very squishy, the more you will enjoy it, but even if you’re an inexperienced player you can at least get some kills in and feel like you’re contributing good damage in team fights.

MoD Stun -> iZerker -> F1 and throw a MS either in between there or after, and the respawned iZerker will still get it’s attack off before the stun wears off. That alone will kill quite a few people who don’t break the stun. (On lightly armored targets a 4x critical hit from the iZerker can deliver 6-7k damage. That times two, plus 3.5-5k crits from the F1 and 2.5k crits from MS plus AAs etc.)

Better of course is to get in close and add TP and MB before F1, and swap to Sw/To and BF.

Marauder is of course also an option, but will drop especially critical damage by over 20%. Might still be worth it if you prefer a bit more survivability and more reliable crit streaks. I’m just having a good run with Zerker so I’m sticking with it for now. ;-)

Like the concept and build! I tried something very similar with my alt Mesmer and kept tweaking until its current form (still a work in progress). I went away from lock down because of all the passive blocks and invulns. Anyway, here’s the build I am running – trying it out as a “true” hybrid so you might compare – thanks again for posting your build good to see others trying out same sorts of things which allows me to glean from you ideas!

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQNAR7fnsIClphtpBWoBMrhFVjquZj2qlMAGhizsGqmfC-TpRFQBBsMAAOIAC4BAUgLAQ92fIAHBAA

Windwalker.7421:

^ Yup and that’s really what it’s all about. It’s just a fun build that’s not terribly hard to play with a good measure of success. Of course the better you are at staying alive despite being very squishy, the more you will enjoy it, but even if you’re an inexperienced player you can at least get some kills in and feel like you’re contributing good damage in team fights.

MoD Stun -> iZerker -> F1 and throw a MS either in between there or after, and the respawned iZerker will still get it’s attack off before the stun wears off. That alone will kill quite a few people who don’t break the stun. (On lightly armored targets a 4x critical hit from the iZerker can deliver 6-7k damage. That times two, plus 3.5-5k crits from the F1 and 2.5k crits from MS plus AAs etc.)

Better of course is to get in close and add TP and MB before F1, and swap to Sw/To and BF.

Marauder is of course also an option, but will drop especially critical damage by over 20%. Might still be worth it if you prefer a bit more survivability and more reliable crit streaks. I’m just having a good run with Zerker so I’m sticking with it for now. ;-)

Like the concept and build! I tried something very similar with my alt Mesmer and kept tweaking until its current form (still a work in progress). I went away from lock down because of all the passive blocks and invulns. Anyway, here’s the build I am running on my alt – trying it out as a “true” hybrid so you might compare – thanks again for posting your build because its good to see others trying out different sorts of things which allows us to glean from you ideas!

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQNAR7fnsIClphtpBWoBMrhFVjquZj2qlMAGhizsGqmfC-TpRFQBBsMAAOIAC4BAUgLAQ92fIAHBAA

Thanks for the reply Soothsayer. (both of them! ;-) j/k )

Yeah it is very tempting to try hybrid with Destroyers on this build, and I have tried it a bit, but it is a significant trade off in spike damage to gain condition damage. Between Torch burns and a decent amount of Bleeds from Illusions, you can reach some fairly respectable condition damage since you can get over 900 Condition Damage with the Berzerker runes and SoD.

However, the trade-off is again over 20% damage on critical hits, the same as if going for a tad more survivability from Marauder amulet. While both the extra condition damage or survivability are nice, I feel that the purpose of this lockdown/phantasm thing is to maxmize the spike damage I can put out during a 3.9 second stun, or a 6s Moa. I don’t want to indulge the enemy in a battle of sustain, because quite frankly, we’re likely to get the shorter end of that stick no matter what we try to do with our build.

So the motto of this build as far as I see it is " hit’em fast and hit’em hard!", preferably before their sustain advantage is even able to kick in and turn the fight in their favor.

The interesting thing about this is that it seems to bump up the skill floor needed to beat us in 1v1. I am having a lot easier time beating most Thieves 1v1, then I did in the meta build. Even a pretty good one has to be on his toes, because I have 2 bursts that can pretty much 100-0 them if they eat the full combo.

The same goes for DHs, which before this build, were my absolute bane. I just couldn’t get past their sustain in the condie meta build, and their sustained DPS also always seems way higher then mine. (Not to mention those big spikes from traps if you were not careful.) Now I have potentially 2-3 “I win” buttons against them, and the spikes to take’em down so fast it makes their heads spin.

So assaulting points 1v1, or defending them 1v1 is still very viable in this build. In group fights the damage spikes are also quite devastating. I frequently target and assassinate a single enemy, or even better break up a big zerg ball with a huge damage combo leaving 2-3 enemies downed. Fun times!

So to get back to the topic of hybrid vs. pure Zerker, I have to say I’m happy with the high focus on DD spikes. ;-)

Thanks though and good luck with your build!

Thanks for the reply! So true about DH and thief. I can take down a DH (thief too, but DH significantly harder imho) a fair majority of the time with my cond main, but a lot of things have to go right against it and it can take a bit of time too. Trying to find the balance between risk and reward has been quite a challenge with my alt Mesmer though. With the hybrid, thieves are more problematic because of their mobility and when I do get my shatters to hit, it just doesn’t seem to have the same punch as my full condi (condi stacking). Most of the time, thieves just disengage and reemerge knowing my signets are recharging making me an easier target. What is it about signet build that you have learned that makes fighting those pesky thieving types easier? Anyway, thx again!! GL with you build too!

Well first of I’m not talking about really good Thieves…which, luckily most aren’t, but while I could do pretty well against the scrubs with the condie meta, it was often a long affair that required a lot more skill on my part (IMO) to win the fight, then on theirs. The only chance at a reasonably quick win was generally like a Moa + condie burst, but that’s not exactly easy or reliable to pull off.

Thieves basically reset the fight at will, and only dumb ones that stuck around after blowing all their condie cleanses. So as long as I played nearly perfect defense, eventually I could wear them down, but the good ones would either kill you pretty fast or move on.

In this build, as I said, it’s a bit like the skill floor to beat me is raised. Really bad/unprepared Thieves just get stunned and gunned down. That right there is easily 25% of the fights I get into with Thieves. The fight is over in seconds.

Against the next 50% you have to fight harder, again requiring near perfect defensive play, but they too are forced to play at a high level to avoid being burst down. I have 2 readily available bursts that can kitten near 100-0 them. (either an iZerker combo, or a MB→MW combo)

The remaining 25% is definitely a hard fight being in Zerker with under 16k HPs, and sometimes I get tooled pretty hard. However, the fact remains that I have up to 3 “I win” buttons available, and if I play well defensively I can usually manage to land one.

Naturally “I win” is a bit of an exaggeration here against a competent player, especially in the case of Moa, and the MoD stun can of course be broken, but both do often end up being a death sentence even vs. good players.

Really most of the same goes for DHs. Plus of course that I can hit’em from range and clear their pre-placed traps.

The main weakness of this builds is really conditions, but strangely I’m not having a big issue with this so far.

You keep typing MoD, but I think you mean SoD. ????

This is hard to use even for a pug. You have literally 0 Reliable condition cleanse. You can’t use your heal for just a condition cleanse. 28 seconds CD without a heal is a lifetime.

SoD is easily interruptible, high CD too. And these are all just gonna remove a condition.

This is build is something I have considered (and played) many times. It is indeed really fun to play and can lead to very quick wins. However, I always ended up discarding it after playing vs a competent player using a condition build. Never mind which profession… it could be mesmer, necro, engi, warrior. I am not saying you cannot win, but a good player will deny 1 or 2 bursts of yours and live long enough to apply few conditions (if you are lucky) which will eat your life very quickly.

I am not saying it is not possible to play without inspiration line, but every time I do, I regret it and always go back making a hard choice between which tree I need less.

Right now, after ditching illusions line (which doesn’t synergize very well with my build I have been advertising here), I have been switching between dueling and domination, with the latter having the upper hand because its GM traits work well with gravity, which I favour.
Dueling can only offer DE, which is kind of overkill if you use chrono line, and it is a shame because it would be logical if you want to use swords, like I have been doing for the past weeks. (mantra and mistrust not interested in)

The build I have been running is designed to counter thieves, which were a hard match-up when I was using GS . I dunno if it reliably does it now, but at least I defenitely have an easier life when one of them wants to bring me down.

StickerHappy.8052:

This is hard to use even for a pug. You have literally 0 Reliable condition cleanse. You can’t use your heal for just a condition cleanse. 28 seconds CD without a heal is a lifetime.

SoD is easily interruptible, high CD too. And these are all just gonna remove a condition.

This is a high risk high reward build. The point of it is not to get into prolonged encounters, but to burst someone down, ideally in under a second. This way conditions really don’t come into play. Most players can’t react fast enough to get off a proper condi bomb even if they are running a condi build. If you give them that time then this build won’t last long true, but its not designed to. Its a different type of playstyle than you are used to

MoD vs SoD is definitely the risk vs reward choice that this build is based around. If you smack somebody that happens to have a stunbreak available, you get nothing from a fairly substantial cooldown. On the other hand, 3.9 seconds is plenty of time to leisurely kill just about anyone if they don’t break out of it. MoD doesn’t run the same risk of blowing that long cooldown, but it also doesn’t carry nearly as much potential for unloading on someone.

Sorry about the confusion, yes I meant SoD instead of MoD. I used to play a lot with MoD, hence I guess I am used to using that acronym. ;-)

Yes indeed, this is totally high risk and high reward, and as I’ve stated repeatedly I realize that vs. very competent players you’re going to have issues unless you catch them with their CDs down. What this build does do is bring top notch spike damage to group fights, and thus it’s also an excellent +1 build. In 1v1 you can do well especially against mediocre opponents, and well you really don’t want to do too much 2v1 or worse odds.

It’s also quite different from power shatter, because you are focused more around staying at range in group fights, picking targets to stun/Moa and burst. The CD on the Stun isn’t that bad, considering the duration it brings to the table. Condie clears are for some strange reason also not nearly as big an issue as I thought, but as OriOri said, I don’t stick around fights I can’t win. (Play this a bit like a Thief I suppose.)