Guild Wars 2

I’ve been currently using 0/15/25/25/5 Build with Sword/Pistol / Staff for WvW. While I’m pretty much unkillable 1v1 and a tough fight 2v2 I’m looking to spice things up a little. Here is my current gear: [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/ty9Uq.jpg[/IMG]

I have 2 pieces of Jewelry to replace (Ring/Earing). I’m open to suggestions. For stats. As you can see I’ve been going a pretty well Balanced spec across the board. But I’m willing to get different sets of armor.

I’m looking to switch it up a little maybe try GS/Staff or pretty much anything. Something perhaps challenging to master. Any Opinions would be great..
Give me something unique.

That build is pretty bad at killing anyone who doesn’t want to die. It has almost 0 chasedown.

Yes, I figured that. I’m open to suggestions on any spec. I just want something “fresh” I really enjoy sword/focus. But aside from the build I’m running I cant see too many different ones that will benefit.

i think GS/sword/focus would be best. sword is needed for the leap, and focus 4 for swiftness and CC. perfect for chasing people.

GS + Sword/Focus is the #1 chasedown build. It’s also the #1 build for WvW for other reasons, IMO, but that’s another discussion.

Note that pure chasedown is not the only reason to make a build. It’s just a notable consideration for WvW, since everyone loves to run away to teammates / a tower / keep / spawn.

I would say that in any WvW build where you want to chase anyone down, ever, you want either GS or Focus at least.

What spec would you go with GS Sword/Focus? I’ve only ever done the spec above for WvW. I typically don’t hump a tower I roam in a 5 man DAOC style and take points while the zerglings fight each other. I’ve never really used GS since it was pretty inferior to the Staff as far as survivabililty. Not to mention GS is more of a ranged weapon whereas staff I feel synergizes well with Sword/Focus Since it adds durability to the mesmer.
I just don’t see many mesmer builds “topping” what I currently use. It’s why I’m looking to branch out and try something new. It’s either that or roll something else. But the mesmer is a blast at times.

This is what I was shooting for:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fgEQNAW7flwzyqHVzqGa9IxJFMv5oecdrXdSKMNqB

Staff/Scepter Torch AE confusion type build I grabbed from somewhere along the way. I’m not quite high enough to proclaim it’s awesomeness, but I have been having fun with it so far. Although it too has issues with chase downs. I swap out to focus off hand during keep sieges/defenses. I also change Portal to Decoy when I’m out solo heading somewhere.

Very open to feedback.

This is the base build, 10 points left over. The first trait in Inspiration is random. The first trait in Domination can be switched, depending on other choices.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fgEQNAR8dlwzKqXVTmGa9IxJFAY5oUg9sTShqTNA

brogarn.8723:

This is what I was shooting for:

Hehe Glamour build. Fun times.

This is my current GS / Sword + Focus build for WvW, it’s pretty similar to some of the previous posted builds:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fgEQNAR8dlwzKqXVTrGaNJyJFM3yhSB25dkKoalUAAXIA

The focus is on warden and reflection, but you have tools in all phases of the game. Confusion on all shatters, bleeds on crits, solid ranged and melee direct damage from phantasms and superior group mobility for chasing and escaping.

There are two abilities that really make warden shine: Warden’s Feedback and Phantasmal haste. WF gives the reflect and PH gives it 80-90% uptime. I didn’t see PH in the previous posted builds and really want to emphasize how important it is.

You can combo all your sword abilities into warden very effectively in a melee situation: use the focus wall / pull to suck enemies into your warden and sword 3 leap + root to keep them there. Pop sword 2 to punish hard while they can’t move. All of this is aoe except for the leap, which isn’t always necessary. I’ve downed 3-4 targets at a time using this exact combo.

GS is an appropriate pairing for focus / swords because it’s a direct damage weapon and benefits from the same primary stats as swords and phantasms: power & precision. It gives great range and you can position yourself between warden and your target to give you a solid ranged advantage.

Both feedback and portal are on reduced cooldowns. You can drop feedback or focus 4 to cover for warden’s cooldown or to extend the reflection area. Additionally, you have a get-out-of-jail-free card every 40-50 seconds with portal – just make sure to drop the entrance before engaging. You can drop the exit while stunned, rooted or channeling and only need about 1.5 seconds to escape. Other than the obvious creative uses with portal, its primary advantage over blink is the range and group utility. A well placed portal is always a guaranteed escape.

One other side note – you can go perma-sprint with focus 4 and 6 Runes of the Centaur, which add bleed duration and power… both stats you can use. Conveniently, both your ‘sprints’ are aoe and can be used very effectively in a small group setting.

This build gives you answers to the most common WvW situations:
– At range, you’re a beast with multiple reflects and GS.
– In close, you’ve got brutal aoe damage tools and solid defense from decoy, diversion/distortion, blurred frenzy and portal.
– Out of combat, you’re mobility king with perma-aoe sprint and portal.

The only glaring weakness is condition removal, especially roots and snares. Swap utilities in for the right situation – typically I’m exchanging portal for null field. You can also use blurred frenzy or diversion/distortion to wait out root duration safely or cover the portal-drop delay.

There’s so much more about this build that I really like (I haven’t even mentioned the self-combos with feedback / timewarp / null field), but I feel that I’ve rambled too much already. I’d encourage you to experiment and find a build that suits you best – hopefully you found this helpful!

Fantastic write up evocati, cooincidently I was testing this exact build earlier. Any reason why you don’t go for 25 points in inspiration? It seems better than the clone on dodge. Though I have only tested it on dummies. Real world might show that the clone and the extra crit might fare better though I suppose.

Jereguy – it’s to fuel the shatters and sow confusion. The last ten points in domination are flexible… I’ve toyed with 30 in inspiration to fix the big weakness – no condition removal.

Edit: You can also pop them into chaos for reduced damage per illusion. Now that you mention it, going 5 more into inspiration makes more sense than 10 in domination for the same net effect, giving you an extra 5 points to play with if you want that +phantasm damage.

Edit 2: Illusions 25 and dueling 25 look pretty appealing with those extra 5 points, depending on whether you want a might buff on shatter (can synergize with an focus sigil of might, plus GS might stacking) or some clone-killing-punishment. I’m attempting the build with 20 dueling, 25 insp and 25 illusions right now

So with Torch being what it is (not that I abused it, I didn’t, just saying), should I switch my offhand on my glamour build from Scepter/Torch to something else? Maybe Scepter/Focus to get confusing bolts from the Warden on a Chaos Storm? Pull bad guys in, drop Warden, swap, drop Chaos Storm, etc? Something different?

This build gives you answers to the most common WvW situations:
– At range, you’re a beast with multiple reflects and GS.
– In close, you’ve got brutal aoe damage tools and solid defense from decoy, diversion/distortion, blurred frenzy and portal.
– Out of combat, you’re mobility king with perma-aoe sprint and portal.

Most common WvW situations:

1. There is a kitten on the wall that is trying to cheese your team. Cheese them harder with iBerserker trolol.

2. There is another kitten inside the keep firing a catapult on the door. Cheese them more with iBerserker lol.

3. Your team is terrible and ignores the arrow cart / treb up on the high wall. Fortunately, you don’t ignore it and you launch the hero of the story, iBerserker, to deal with the enemy. iBerserker never relents. He is a spiritual manifestation of your GAR and will spin2win with epic style until the enemy is dead. If you listen carefully you can even hear him shout “DEMACIAA!” as he attacks.

4. There are a whole bunch of bad guys who are being cute launching spells at your team then running away from your team’s AOE on the walls. Yank them back to the wall (or off it) and watch them splatter from 10 meteors, ice blocks, poison clouds. Owned.

Oh, and the actual combat stuff mentioned … hehehehe.