Guild Wars 2

I have been using this build for middle-tier-level WvW (I’m on Kaineng) http://bit.ly/159Jd2n

It feels fun and effective for everything from solo up to large group (30 v 30) fights.

I really only have two questions (however please let me know if there’s anything else you would suggest).

1) Sigils
I really like Sigil of Fire on the Greatsword. It triggers frequently because of the multi-target hits, and it adds valuable AoE damage. I also like Sigil of Battle on the Pistol as the Might is about a 5% damage boost. But I realize the cooldowns may be interfering, and they are almost certainly blocking Sigil of Generosity from triggering on the Scepter (Sigil of Battle creates a 9 second cooldown, and I tend to swap back to Greatsword as soon as possible.) I don’t think the Force and Accuracy sigils transfer to phantasms, so I’m thinking about putting Perception on the scepter. But I would love any suggestions for all the weapons. (In terms of condition removal, having Null Field seems to be sufficient for most single-opponent fights. So Generosity is not a must-have for me)

2) Master Trait in Chaos
I’m currently using Debilitating Dissipation. It seems effective because I know some of my clones are dying before the opponent goes down. But I really don’t do a good job of tracking it. There are several other good choices. I’m okay at interrupting with the GS wave (#5 attack) and the Pistol MB (#5), so Bountiful Interruption could be okay. But I would love any suggestions.

Thanks for the help!

#1. Fire and Generosity share a cool down (on-crit), Battle should be separate (on-swap)

From the wiki

Sigils with cooldowns
All sigils that have a cooldown share the same cooldown timer; while the timer is active, no other sigil with a cooldown can trigger. For example, if you are using a Sigil of Fire (flame burst on critical) and a Sigil of Battle (might stacks on swap), you will have to wait after swapping weapons (Sigil of Battle activated) before the flame burst can trigger on critical.

Sigils will enter cooldown even if you do not gain any benefit. For example, a Sigil of Purity will trigger and enter the 10s cooldown even when the wearer has no conditions.
All things equal, the mainhand cooldown sigil will trigger before the offhand cooldown sigil.

So in general, I would run 1 weapon swap sigil per swap OR 1 cit sigils on different sets but never try to run both a weapon swap and crit sigil at the same time.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Sigil#Sigils_with_cooldowns

I knew about the shared CDs, but used to think they were grouped by duration. A possible alternative you could use that should effect your phantasms would be http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Sigil_of_Bloodlust

Sigils are already covered i guess.

As for debilitating dissipation, its useful for tagging with mirror blade but it really shines with DE and you dont have it. Since you have traited GS and traited pistol, might on interrupts can be a good idea (dont forget diversion). They seems the only useful options for your build, with descent into madness in second place.

The traits seem ok, you run two glamors so id probably try glamour mastery instead of GS training (im a big fan of this trait combined with iElasticity and IC, but i dont love it alone). This is just another option i see but i think traited veil and null field could help you with survivability and also stack confusion.

On sigils, we’ve nailed my issue – it doesn’t make sense to have a swap and an on-crit in the same set. In fact, I’m wondering if it makes sense to have a swap and an on-crit even on different sets. I’m assuming that if Sigil of Fire activates and then I swap weapons within 5 seconds, that I don’t get the on-swap stacks of might from Sigil of Battle because I’m still on cooldown.

So one possibility is to put Sigils of Strength on both sets because it apparently has only a 2 second cooldown. And then put sigil of bloodlust or perception on my scepter/pistol set.

I don’t think phantasms benefit from sigil of force or accuracy, or those would be easy choices.

It just feels like if I’m investing up to 55% or more crit chance that it’s worth getting an on-crit benefit. So I’m curious what other phantasm builds do.

In terms of the traits, Levitas, you have my problem nailed. I like Debilitating Dissipation, but I’m not cranking out clones like crazy. The traited greatsword means Mirror Blade can be cast every 6.5 seconds, and I basically cast it whenever it’s available.

I’m happy with the 20/20/30 build. I guess I’m mostly asking if anyone takes Chaotic Revival, Retaliatory Demise, or Mirror of Anguish with a phantasm build. I’ve basically been ignoring all of those choices.

Eldenbri – You are right about the sigils. Since ALL sigils share a cooldown, and since you have very high crit chance whilst using two quick-attacking weapons, you will frequently find that the on-crit sigils are preventing your on-swap sigils from triggering. Even if you use a sigil with a short (2s) CD, you will still find that it will interfere significantly with your Sigil of Battle. I would recommend putting on-crit sigils on both sets OR on-swap sigils on both sets. Then, as you suggested, I would put Bloodlust or Perception on your off-hand weapon, since those stats will benefit both you and your illusions.

As for your second question regarding the Chaos Master trait: Debilitating Dissipation probably could be swapped for something else, since you don’t have Deceptive Evasion to make the most out of it, Also, since phantasms don’t trigger the trait, and since you plan on using phantasms, you won’t get much use out of the trait. Furthermore, since you have minimal condition damage and condition duration, the random conditions you get aren’t going to do much to the enemy. Considering all of the above, I would recommend Bountiful Interruption if you are able to consistently get interrupts as it can net you a significant amount of might and other boons. If you aren’t able to land interrupts, then you might try out Mirror of Anguish, but in all honesty, I think Bountiful Interruption has much more potential.

Thanks again for all the input!

I ended up going with two sigils of battle and a sigil of bloodlust. I also decided to go with a bountiful interruption.

Quick testing in Orr feels good. It wasn’t too hard to get over 10 stacks of might.

Hi eldenbri, just want to give my 2c.

Bountiful Interuption is a great choice since you use 2 weapons that are most easy to pull off the interrupt (pistol and greatsword, skill #5). If you enjoy interrupt, you may find Halting Strike (replacing Empowered Illusions) is interesting as well. With your power/crit chance/crit dmg, Halting Strike can hit very hard.

Thx Keenlam. I experimented with an interrupt build right after the last major patch. It was fun, and Halting Strike did hit pretty hard. But for me, the tradeoff is 15% damage for the phantasms. It just felt like the steady phantasm damage was worth more than the occasional spikes.

The way this build works now, you basically bring out the phantasms and block and dodge (and interrupt a bit). Then you stealth and let the phantasms do their work.

I may go back and try it again, I feel like I’m doing better with interrupts now than my original testing.