Guild Wars 2

I had posted yesterday about a build, but then went off-topic and put together this build in the process. I’d like some thoughts on it. Not going to wall of text you about it, just look and see.

Build – http://tinyurl.com/pu6v3md

I really need to find an effective GS build. I play strictly WvW/PvE(sometimes). Got Sunrise, so would like to show it off most of the time. I know Clone Spamming builds are based around condi damage… but could this build, with this gear, be played effectively like a Clone spamming build to apply Vulnerability/minor Bleeds, while still dishing out good GS based Damage? I really like the gameplay style of clone spam destroying. I even considered a GS with fire/bleed on crit sigil, and full condition dmg gear?

Willing to try weird, hybrid builds, even if they aren’t min/max. Lead me in the right direction! Help?

1. Reduce ur Power trait into 3. Move that point into 3 in Special Line(Illusion). This will make ur decoy become faster. If u don’t take PU. At least take Lv 3 in Special Line for faster Decoy to compensate that.
2. Take Sword Mastery. Combined with Lv 3 Special Line + Sword mastery u can immob every 6s.
3. Eat Koi Cake. For total 65% Condi Dura. iZerker will criple 1,75s/ Hit, Sword #3 immob will be 3,25s AOE Immob

Here’s my WvW build, using GS and Sw/T:
http://tinyurl.com/mcnzwbc

It’s a power PU build and works pretty well for small scale and roaming. I use zerk trinkets + soldiers/knight’s mixed armor, but yours isn’t far off from mine, just a tad more defensive, so you can more or less ignore the armor page. Yours should work fine. The heal can be whatever you prefer, arcane thievery can be swapped for the condi mantra, and sometimes I take Mental Torment instead of Empowered Illusions (I played shatter forever and still shatter a lot, hence taking deceptive evasion over phantasm fury). Lots of room to personalize, this one is based on Osi’s hidden cat power PU concept (his thread is stickied).

It’s not really a zerg build, but it’s pretty effective at messing with enemy groups. Torch invis into the back line (from a flank if you don’t like dying!), pop out into blurred frenzy right in the middle, blink away and swap to GS to drop a phantasm. Just be ready to use some more invis to get away, positioning is everything!

If you’re going for GS+ Sw/Sw for the aesthetic (and therefore must use offhand sword), I would go with this:
http://tinyurl.com/poxph34

I would feel obligated to use the condi removal mantra here because of lack of cleansing conflagration. Still not fantastic, but welcome to mesmering, right? You could also give up points in domination or dueling for condi remove on heal in the inspiration line.

This build would be much more offensive due to having two heavy-hitting phantasms, so you could consider phantasmal fury over blade training, but I would personally take blade training for the MH sword cooldown reduction (and bonus offhand reduction too!). You could also swap phantasmal fury in for the manipulation range, but I really like long distance, short CD blinks. It might be worth swapping manipulation CD reduction for illusionary defense, since I would play this much more like a phantasm build…but shaving those few seconds off of the blink CD has saved my kitten A LOT…haha.

I agree completely with Nevhie’s assessment above regarding Illusionist’s Celerity vs Greatsword training. You’ll get the same redux off GS #2 and GS #4, and it’ll affect all the rest of your illusion-creating skills across the board.

With the tiny amount of condi dmg available, taking Chaos 2 (Debilitating Dissipation) seems like a waste. Maybe something like Harmonious Mantras (2 more points in Dueling)? With three heal-mantra charges, you’re curing 6 condis every 10 secs or so. That might even free up your null field utility slot for something else (Mantra of Pain comes to mind, for extra damage). Of course, I realize you stated you really like the clone spam playstyle, so this might not be for you at all. xD

Appreciate the responses and suggestions guys.

I think I’ve come to terms that, the more I slightly shift my “Clone spam” build, the more it becomes closer to a “Sword Shatter” build. Which I’m actually okay with. I liked the clone spam style of play because it kept me constantly active, and I think Shatter does that same thing too. I’ve come up with the below to suit my style, but I’m pretty sure it’s your standard Shatter Power build.

Build: http://tinyurl.com/kzplmcc

Any suggestions on this, as a Sword based Shatter build would be great too!

I’m curious as to how effective your clone spam works given that your condition damage is very low. While it looks like you can probably apply a fair amount of Bleed stacks with your illusions / clone death, do they actually do much damage?

The issue is mostly that the Greatsword typically doesn’t synergize well with Condition builds. It doesn’t apply any damaging conditions on its own without trait, sigil or rune support, and shines most brightly with power-oriented setups.

If the clone spam is more for applying Vulnerability / Weakness, then I can see it… but otherwise I think going power shatter / phantasm might suit your play style better.

The thing about a hybrid build is that trying to balance power stats (power, precision, ferocity) with condition damage stats (condition damage, condition duration, precision) AND throw in some defense on top like it appears you’re trying to do appears to leave your stat pool spread pretty thin.

Having just over 2000 Power while only running around 300 (or less) condition damage doesn’t seem that hybridy, so I think using the second build you posted might work a little better.

That said, it looks like there’s a fair amount of stat distribution leaning towards toughness (from the Knight and Cavalier pieces) but it’s almost not enough to offer that much protection. (400 or so toughness isn’t going to save you from a glassy backstab or meteor storm)

Personally I’d say to just go all out Berserker if you’re going to play 4/4/0/0/6. You’ll need to rely more on positioning and active defense to stay alive than if you use that little bit of toughness padding, but I think you’ll find that killing your opponent quickly will be a more useful strategy than trying to outlast them by absorbing hits with toughness.

So in short: Lose the defense armor, and emphasize learning how to use Blurred Frenzy, Illusionary Riposte, Distortion, Dodging and positioning to provide defense. Learning how to utilize Blink to get into hard-to-reach / follow spots will also prove fruitful when using a Greatsword!

Also, supporty / tanky friends will appreciate and improve your amazing damage output potential!

Really great response Sinaya. Thanks so much.

I think you’re right that a few hundred Toughness isn’t really going to save me, but an extra 3-5k more damage on a crit or something might be enough to kill them before they kill me. Will give it a shot! I don’t like the idea of being full Glass, but Mesmer does have a nice niche of having a TON of getaway/immunity skills.

My one worry about my second build is against Condition Damage stuff, or condition damage in zergs. I often roam in 5-20 groups in WvW, so while I do hope to rely on some others keeping me alive, I fear I’m going to find myself dead a lot… =/

I can definitely sympathize with being reluctant to run without condition removal.

If it starts to become too much of an issue, one option is to move 2 points from Domination to Inspiration and run the Mantra heal for 4 condition clears per charge.

I think a better option would be to use Mantra of Resolve instead of Null Field though.

There’s always Sigils of Purity too, and of course Condition Duration reduction food.

I think Mantra of Resolve is probably your best bet though, and it even has the advantage of cleansing your nearby buddies too!

Big changes from before, but yep, looks shatter-y. Shatter is very kill-or-be-killed (especially so with GS/Sw+Sw) – not that this is a bad thing, it’s just the main reason I shifted away from it for all-around WvW. You could sorta-kinda back line in a zerg fight, just not nearly as well as some other classes IMO. You will also likely die a lot in a Stonemist or keep brawl, and/or have to hang back and not contribute a whole lot. For roaming though, I readily admit that shatter is tons of fun – enjoy!

To add to the condi removal discussion – I really like arcane thievery. If the CD was a little shorter it would be perfect – stealing a pile of guardian boons or a signet of rage is just really satisfying and effective, and it’s instant 3x removal to boot. For pure removal I agree with Sinaya though – it’s hard to beat Mantra of Resolve, even untraited. It’ll be tricky to recharge it in a shatter build though, you’ll need to be spot-on with the decoy or blink recharge or have to blow an even longer CD – diversion or mass invis (and mass invis takes so freakin long to cast you might as well just recharge instead, haha).

Anyhow, glad you got it sorted and hope you like it!