Guild Wars 2

So I have seen MANY new builds come up. But one of the things GW2 has prided itself on is the ability for you to play viably no matter what you do for your preference. Sure shatter or the new Chrono seems to be the top. But I have always loved my confusion build. There was a point I played in which I was by no means the “best player” but I could hold my own and at least pull 2nd place in tourneys most of the time. It would seem now I can barely do anything as I die way to fast. Which means I need to tailor my build. I attached my build and the part you don’t see, is I am using staff (corruption/agony) and scep/torch (corruption/doom). Undead runes with a carrion amulent and the rest you should see in the picture. Thank you for any and all help in making this at least a partially good condi build. (Based on confusion)

Well the first thing I would add is Dueling. Deceptive Evasion is almost a must, and if you go Rabid you can also benefit from Critical Infusion and Sharper Images. Blinding Dissipation is a great defensive trait and synergises well with Ineptitude (which I would replace Master of Fragmentation with).

Whether you drop Chaos or Inspiration depends on what you’re after defensively. Inspiration grants unparalleled (for the Mesmer) condition cleansing and great self-healing, while Chaos grants superior defence against direct damage and (as you’re already using) Prismatic Understanding.

I would only use Mirror as your heal if you also take Master of Manipulation. If you keep Inspiration I’d consider taking Restorative Mantras and use Mantra of Recovery, it’s not only great healing but also condition cleansing.

If you’re primarily using Signet of Domination for condition damage, I’d replace it with Signet of Midnight instead. I also highly recommend Portal: even if you’re just PUGing it for now it’s a good idea to get used to it for future team-play.

What about a Condition Chrono build, or are you only after non-Chrono builds?

For the most part I am after a non. The chrono is pretty new so I would like to see what they do with it before adding making a build around it. Because then I will have to edit it as they altar the chrono. But, I suppose I am free for a tad of alterations if it is worth it at the moment. I just dislike power shatter builds. I enjoy playing condi builds more.

I absolutely agree on condition builds. It sounds like you’re a few steps above my skill level, but here’s my thoughts so far on condi:

• Corruption is a waste of space. In nearly any pvp game you need to be okay with dying, and corruption gives the opposite incentive. You’ll never stack that thing up to compete with Bursting, so shell out the gold to unlock bursting, and stick it on both sets.
• I totally agree with Agony for staff, staff is useful for 3 things: defense, chaos storm, and bleed-bombing when you have some space.
• Doom is fine, I prefer Torment, but I’m in a rabid/dueling build anyway. Lots of people recommend doom.
• Undead runes conflict with Carrion amulet. If you stick with Carrion, choose Scavenger runes (7% vit to cond). If you switch to Rabid, keep Undead (7% toughness to cond).
• I agree with Embolism on replacing Dom Signet with Midnight. The base duration on shatter confusion is actually pretty low, so any duration you can get on it will be good. Dom’s stun is boss, but Midnight’s blind is aoe, and it’s a stunbreaker too, so it’s a bit of a wash.
• I would consider trying Nightmare Runes over Undead/Scavenger. That comes with a dps loss, but the extra 15% duration to Torment/Confusion/Bleed can more than make up for it. Plus the 6-slot bonus is a get-out-of-backstab-free card. It’s worth testing.
• I’m on Embolism’s side about Dueling. And if you grab dueling, swap to Rabid (you’ll need the crit chance). I’m running Chaos/Dueling/Illusions myself, but sometimes I’m tempted to swap Chaos out for Inspiration (every time I get squished by a condi necro). Blinding Dissipation is a no-brainer unless you really need the reflects, and Deceptive Evasion is essential for bigger, quicker shatter-bombs. I’ve tried both Phantasmal Fury and Deceptive Decoy, and I’d say Deceptive Decoy will get you more (especially since you’ve gotta drop Chaos or Inspiration to get Dueling).
• I agree with Embolism on Ineptitude over MoF.
• If you keep Chaos and PU, swap to The Pledge over Compounding Power.
• If you go Dueling, Deceptive Evasion will let you swap Mirror Images out for something more meaty. You can bring back Signet of Dom (that’s what I do), or pick up blink, or grab Null Field if you dropped Inspiration instead of Chaos.

There is still a split over whether to go Carrion or Rabid+Dueling, though. There are pretty good builds on either side of that line.

About sigils:

If you’re not using an energy sigil on both sets, you’re making a stupendous mistake. There is no substitute for energy, and no excuse not to take it.

For your other sigil, you’ve got more options. I personally prefer doom sigils. They add a lot more pressure through varying your condie application. The healing debuff utility of poison is very strong, and it can act as a cover condition for other more intense conditions you apply.

In WvW, I run with corruption on one of my sets. This is because the +250 condition damage outweighs anything else. Additionally, if I’m dying particularly often when roaming in WvW, I’m useless regardless of my sigil choices. In PvP though, you’ll die at a fairly decent rate regardless, so you won’t get much mileage out of corruption. Double doom is absolutely the best choice for PvP.

Bursting is a poor choice, especially in PvP. Since it works off of a percentage boost, it will give a rather low amount of condition damage since stats in PvP are still lower than in WvW. In WvW, I hit about 2100 condition damage when fully stacked, and a % boost there is pretty large (though I don’t take bursting anyway, it’s just worse than the other choices). In PvP you’ll max out much lower, making bursting an even weaker choice.