Guild Wars 2

Allo! Long serving mesmer here looking for some advice as to what armour/runes to go with.

I use Sword/Focus with Greatsword as my secondary, my build is 10/20/10(Thinking of putting this into Dueling with Deceptive Evasion.)/25/5.

I have on Domination; (V), Dueling (IV and II), Chaos (IV), Inspiration (II and VIII)

I’m not sure what gear to go with, currently i’ve got a full berserker set with eagle runes and 1 x ruby orb. On my jewellery I have 1 cavalier and 1 berserker accessory/ring (Like 1 ring is zerker and the other is cavalier, same for earrings) berserker amulet and backpiece. Not exactly sure whether or not I should be going for different gear or not. This is a phantasm build also. Any thoughts?

Is this mostly for PvE or PvP? For the former, it sounds like you’re pretty much set. You might even consider swapping out some of the Cavalier pieces for Berserker or Berserker+Valkyrie trinkets if you’re not having trouble staying alive.

For PvP, swapping in some Valkyrie armor pieces (Trading Precision for Vitality) or more Cavalier Trinkets could potentially help with staying alive if that’s a challenge for you in World versus World, but otherwise it seems like you’ve pretty much got a goal in mind and have figured out how to gear up appropriately already. <3

avoid GS at all cost. Quite a few glaring bugs with that weapon due to Anet’s lack of attention to fix them or accidentally create new ones with every other game patch is just not worth your trouble.

I wish I can have a do over to give my Twilight GS to my ranger instead.

Sinaya.4201:

Is this mostly for PvE or PvP? For the former, it sounds like you’re pretty much set. You might even consider swapping out some of the Cavalier pieces for Berserker or Berserker+Valkyrie trinkets if you’re not having trouble staying alive.

For PvP, swapping in some Valkyrie armor pieces (Trading Precision for Vitality) or more Cavalier Trinkets could potentially help with staying alive if that’s a challenge for you in World versus World, but otherwise it seems like you’ve pretty much got a goal in mind and have figured out how to gear up appropriately already. <3

It’s not too much a concern to stay alive, I do PvE, Fractals, and WvW! When I get close I use Blurred Frenzy and kick in Invulnurability most of the time so i’m usually safe, i’m just debating the possibility of Divinity runes. Not too sure at the momento.

Well, here’s the rough comparison:

5 Superior Runes of the Eagle + Ruby Orb

20 Power
179 Precision
10% Critical Damage

vs

6 Superior Runes of Divinity

60 Power
60 Precision
60 Vitality
60 Toughness
60 Condition Damage
60 Healing Power
12% Critical Damage

So basically, you’d be trading out 119 Precision (Which I believe is about 5% Critical Chance at level 80) for a moderate boost in each of your other stats.

Granted, you’re probably not going to notice a significant change in some of those stats (Healing Power and Condition Damage, specifically) but the slight increase in base damage and ability to survive might ultimately allow you to do more damage in the long term. (You can’t DPS if you’re dead!)

That all said, Superior Runes of Divinity can be pretty pricey. If you’re just looking to drop some Precision and boost Toughness/Vitality, Valkyrie Armor in a slot or two and maybe switching a Trinket might be a more cost effective option that would yield similar results. The main thing that you can’t really substitute is that extra 2% Critical Damage you would gain by swapping to Divinity Runes, so it’s really a matter of how much Gold that extra 2% is worth to you.

Here’s the only other combinations I can find that would grant you 12% Critical Damage via Armor upgrade slots other than Rune of Divinity, although in my opinion they don’t offer what you seem to be looking for in raw stats:

5 Superior Runes of Air + Ruby Orb

+20% Swiftness Duration
5 Seconds of Swiftness when you use a Healing Skill
20 Power
14 Precision
12% Critical Damage

5 Superior Runes of the Golemancer + Ruby Orb

20 Power
64 Precision
12% Critical Damage

5 Superior Runes of Rage + Ruby Orb

+20% Fury Duration
5% Chance to gain Fury for 30 seconds when hit (60 Second Cooldown)
20 Power
14 Precision
12% Critical Damage

6 Ruby Orbs

120 Power
84 Precision
12% Critical Damage

Happy tinkering!

Sinaya.4201:

Well, here’s the rough comparison:

5 Superior Runes of the Eagle + Ruby Orb

20 Power
179 Precision
10% Critical Damage

vs

6 Superior Runes of Divinity

60 Power
60 Precision
60 Vitality
60 Toughness
60 Condition Damage
60 Healing Power
12% Critical Damage

---

So basically, you’d be trading out 119 Precision (Which I believe is about 5% Critical Chance at level 80) for a moderate boost in each of your other stats.

Granted, you’re probably not going to notice a significant change in some of those stats (Healing Power and Condition Damage, specifically) but the slight increase in base damage and ability to survive might ultimately allow you to do more damage in the long term. (You can’t DPS if you’re dead!)

That all said, Superior Runes of Divinity can be pretty pricey. If you’re just looking to drop some Precision and boost Toughness/Vitality, Valkyrie Armor in a slot or two and maybe switching a Trinket might be a more cost effective option that would yield similar results. The main thing that you can’t really substitute is that extra 2% Critical Damage you would gain by swapping to Divinity Runes, so it’s really a matter of how much Gold that extra 2% is worth to you.

I see, looks like a bit of a hard decision to make for an oddball like myself, may take a bit, I got the money though.

Also, in terms of Sigils, I was thinking having a Generosity Sigil on my Focus and a Fire Sigil on my sword (Since we don’t have active condition heals aside from Null Field) and maybe a Bloodlust on my GS?

From what I understand, On-Critical Sigils share an internal cooldown, so using two different Sigils that are supposed to trigger would not be to your benefit. This is particularly of detriment since a main-hand Sigil will generally have priority to activate over an off-hand, so you would essentially never see your Sigil of Generosity trigger, which would be a pity since they’re so expensive.

Generally speaking, a static buff like Force or Accuracy or Kill-Stacking Sigil like Bloodlust would probably be better suited for your Focus, since you’re using an On-Critical Sigil on your main hand. Also worth noting is that if you use an On-Weapon Swap Sigil, it will also activate the internal cool down timer, thus preventing any On-Critical Sigils in the same weapon set from activating until the On-Weapon Swap Sigil’s cool down time has passed. (Confused yet? Me too.)

As for the Greatsword, you could really use whatever you’d like since the timing of weapon swaps and internal cool downs would likely minimize any interference from your other weapon set.

Sinaya.4201:

From what I understand, On-Critical Sigils share an internal cooldown, so using two different Sigils that are supposed to trigger would not be to your benefit. This is particularly of detriment since a main-hand Sigil will generally have priority to activate over an off-hand, so you would essentially never see your Sigil of Generosity trigger, which would be a pity since they’re so expensive.

Generally speaking, a static buff like Force or Accuracy or Kill-Stacking Sigil like Bloodlust would probably be better suited for your Focus, since you’re using an On-Critical Sigil on your main hand. Also worth noting is that if you use an On-Weapon Swap Sigil, it will also activate the internal cool down timer, thus preventing any On-Critical Sigils in the same weapon set from activating until the On-Weapon Swap Sigil’s cool down time has passed. (Confused yet? Me too.)

As for the Greatsword, you could really use whatever you’d like since the timing of weapon swaps and internal cool downs would likely minimize any interference from your other weapon set.

G-Gah! So many cooldowns man! EUGHGHGH!

I knew none of this. e_e

I’m both a DPS/Support character, as to why I have the Focus reflection trait and such. I’m good at saving people. I’m in a bit of a pickle here, more damage or more survivability. Still can’t decide on what runes too, gosh I need to decide…

I’m probably going to have my focus a Soldier traited one (As I’ve almost got my Minstrel, 10% more completion!) and a berserker sword.