Guild Wars 2

This is a 2 part. One for spvp, one for wvw. Super new to Mesmer.

1) Do we need power with condi shatter and why?
2) For wvw, should I be shooting for condi dmg and critical chance and put on crit sigils on weps?
3) If I don’t need crit, do we need expertise?
4) What stat combo would I want to take given the above questions are answered if I want to be tanky/condi?

Thanks.

1) Depends. If you’re using Scepter/x + Staff then you could go full dire in wvw. If you’re using Sword then some power helps, although bear in mind the direct damage is low. I wouldn’t say power is needed – more like a beneficial side effect of amulets like Carrion or Mercenary, because the other amulet choices are inferior. In wvw however I found it better to go with more toughness instead of power.

2) Not many people play Duelling over Chrono (Illusions and Inspiration are most common other choice) so no Sharper Images, which means crit isn’t really necessary.

3) I personally prefer higher damage ticks in shorter time, because players will cleanse anyway so I don’t find lower condi damage with extra duration to be worthwile, given the condis will likely be removed before reaching their full duration. However ymmv so you can play around and see what you like. I’ve played carrion+scavenging+bursting sigils and carrion+tormenting+bursting and tbh in practice I don’t notice a whole lot of difference. The former gives more burst condi damage, the latter gives more sustained torment application.

4) In wvw I’d still say dire or trailblazer are right up there. In pvp carrion or mercenary – because the extra vitality is a good buffer against conditions and rabid is kind of useless because of no Sharper Images. The extra power is a bonus.

Everyone says sword, and I happen to have bolt, but, I really like the extra condi from Scepter, and, it doesn’t really seem that hard to stay alive as is.

Any insight as far as sigils/runes go?

Sword:
+ kiting, survival (no worry about unblockable attacks – ie necro wells) and cleave
- no native condi application, low damage if not playing power builds

Scepter:
+ condi application/damage, clone generation
- single target (confusing images is not easy to hit multiple targets), single block

Staff:
+ kiting, aoe (auto attack, storm, armour), res/stomp support and control through chaos storm daze, and boons.
- weaker (relative) damage, iWarlock sucks in condi builds and chaos armour (skill 4) is extremely weak.

Up to you. Some play Sc/x Sc/x, some Sw/x Sc/x, some Sc/x Staff and some Sw/x Staff. Depends on the situation and how you prefer to play. Shield of course makes up for lack of defence on scepter, but again not against unblockable attacks.

Sigils are entirely personal preference, I don’t think there is a best choice here. I like double doom for consistent poison application (one more condi to cleanse and makes it difficult for enemy to heal). Otherwise on swap like geomancy, or extra condi damage like bursting are all good.
Runes – tormenting, scavenging, undead, nightmare all good.

Can anyone take a look at these builds and see which one I should do for solo roam? And was thinking either Scavenger runes or Perplexity runes, since most damage seems to be coming from confusion.

1)(Uses Chaos, Chrono, Illusions)http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQNAW7elknhG1YHawMNwsGL9GF6r1RxQ9puqvqZAcaLAA-T1RHQBA4JAUrLCwAV+Zm9Hcjuh7oEkRq/EAABYmzMkZwyVuyVuyVOzcmzcmzcmlCwXxWA-w

2)(Uses Chrono, Illusions, Dueling)http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQNAW7elknhG1YHawMNwsGL4GVZAsavWdsWr5KaudS7AA-T1RHQBuR3QtuIA3RJIjU/BAPBAzs/wAV+FAABYmzMkZwyVuyVuyVOzcmzcmzcmlCwXxWA-w

3) (Uses Chrono/Inspiration/Illusions) http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhAQNAW7elknhG1YHawMNwsGLPHV9geoL6ZBEAHG6ilPNAA-T1RHQBA4JAYm9HYk6P3RJ4AV+5GdD16iAEAABYmzMkZwyVuyVuyVOzcmzcmzcmlCwXxWA-w

One thing with ascended trinkets – you can’t have two of the same type, eg two offensive slot rings – one has to be offensive, the other defensive. Also I don’t think Trailblazer trinkets exist other than the amulet you get from the Living Story reward?
I’d honestly go with Tormenting runes in wvw if playing scepter, and run full Dire.

Ineptitude isn’t that great anymore tbh and sometimes negatively interferes with spawning shield phantasms or landing scepter torment block – it’s annoying to get a “miss” shown on screen instead of “block” and can mess up your play. Malicious Sorcery is great for the scepter attack speed boost and also Master of Fragmentation while weak allows for aoe F3 which is great in itself when facing more than one enemy.

1) The main problem here is having zero condition removal, so you’ll melt fast to incoming conditions. You could drop Signet of Illusions and instead take Mantra of Resolve.

2) Again zero condition removal – so while you can output some sick damage with Mistrust and Shatters, you can also melt hard to incoming conditions.

3) The reason why so many play Inspiration is Restorative Illusions and Mender’s Purity allows free choice of utility skills – eg Mirror Images for instant condi burst (and extra stunbreak), Signet of Illusions for shatter refresh, Portal, Veil or whatever you like.

Edit: also in wvw I’d go with mass invis or gravity well instead of moa. Moa is great in organised tpvp but not so much in wvw.

So generally speaking…

Use chaos if you absolutely must have PU, but otherwise there’s no particularly compelling reason to take it.

Use inspiration if you need the cleansing output it provides. If you feel that is necessary, inspiration is your only option.

Default to dueling. Dueling gets a nice grab-bag of stuff with sharper images, vigor on crit, passive fury, and either deceptive evasion or mistrust (I usually take mistrust in PvP at least).

For runes, there’s really no great option. Perplexity are decent but honestly they’re not great. Tormenting are okish. Undead can be strong if you’re wearing rabid or dire. Alternatively you could go full defensive and wear melandru, or even guardian runes to capitalize on the shield block. There’s a lot of viable choices, and none of them really stand out as being distinctly the best.