Guild Wars 2

So I was wondering what you guys run currently. I’m asking this for my girlfriend.

We do Dungeons/Fractals quite often, but also just DE’s and roaming the world.

She uses the Greatsword, Power gear (serker/knight).

Is the Phantasm build still the best?

Yup.

Greatsword is pretty bad though.

Nothing better than a GS in open world. I run 20/20/0/0/30 most of the time shatter, but can simply retrait to phantasm for soloing champions and tougher stuff.

For dungeons/fractals, the current meta is melee and you would be expected to trait into Inspiration for reflects. Nothing wrong with a GS as secondary there though, even if I and cosley disagree on this topic… ^^

Well my girl digs the GS greatly and I don’t see her deviating from it. She has Sword/Focus as an offset, but she only really uses it for the Switfness. She also wouldn’t last that long in Melee is my guess.

so your girl friend runs sword focus great sword right? what are her traited and utility and what does she want to do in the party?

i would suggest if using those weapons to run a 20 20 0 20 10 spec. or something like that.
put at least 20 in domination,the precision tree, and inspiration.
get the mindwrack damage and greatsword trait in dom. the sword and clone on dodge trait from the precision line, and the focus (reflects) trait from inspiration.
for pve the 5 in illusions (confusion) does not really help. well it can but not unless you get 10 stacks on them.

anyway with those traits i suggested you should be able to do good dps with great sword and help your teammates out ith the focus reflects(amazing) also all of your skills should be 20% increased recharge rate.
as for close melee combat. use leap swap and blurred frenzy(simple tactic) to get a little dps in there. if you go a little in to shatter try and shatter along with it for some good burst.

as for utility use either feast(why anything else?) and null field (removes boons and conditions, and its a ethereal field. combo with leap and swap for chaos armor 3s)
as for the rest of the utility it really depends on what your team wants/needs. i always run blink decoy and mass inv. but i ill switch out for portal feedback and really whatever my team needs at the time

That is some of the worst advice I have ever read.

Why should you get a mind wrack damage trait when running a phantasm build? Why go 20 in inspiration when five more points gives you 15%+ phantasm damage? Why use mass invisibility or decoy in PvE like… ever?

OP, if your girlfriend insists on using greatsword + sword/focus, just roll 20/20/0/30/0 with empowered illusions and greatsword training in domination, phantasmal fury and blade training in dueling and warden’s feedback, glamour mastery and whatever that skill is that gives phantasms extra HP.

There’s nothing wrong with using stealth in PvE…

Sword focus greatsword will work nicely for dungeons.

Use 10/10/0/25/0 as traits. Inspiration carries vital reflection traits, which can nullify alot of damage in most dungeons!

cosley is right though, it would make little sense to only trait 20 deep into Inspiration, you would miss a lot of potential for just 5 more trait points…
I would say a 20/20/0/30/0 GS phantasm build is pretty standard and viable in dungeons. I ran it myself in the past and it works in all dungeons.

I really love decoy in open world, but it has fairly limited use in dungeons. And everyone loves Time Warp, so no excuses. ^^
I would use Mender’s Purity over Persisting Images though.

You can go with a build like the following (runes are a matter of choice, to lazy to change…)

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQNAR8dlwziqXVTgGa9IxpHMf5QnkCVn6SKwNvB-jwxAYLioZiiQWyrIas1sioxqWwUlER1ejioVDA-e

I like the 20/20/0/30/0 build with GS and Sw/F too in dungeons. People dish on the GS but it is just fine. Main thing to remember is to keep yourself at 900-1200 distance, or your damage output suffers.

Sword, Focus and GreatSword:
20/20/0/30/0 – the best, simply.

Not really. Hard to get group boons when you are sitting at 900-1200 away from the rest of your group.

Never bothered trying (I’m waiting til 15th patch where mantras gonna be buffed), but, if your really want GS and sw/focus, what about a 20/30/0/20/0?

Xavi.6591:

Not really. Hard to get group boons when you are sitting at 900-1200 away from the rest of your group.

I meant 20/20/0/30/0 is the best for S/F + GS, not that S/F + GS is the best

Ryn.6459:

Never bothered trying (I’m waiting til 15th patch where mantras gonna be buffed), but, if your really want GS and sw/focus, what about a 20/30/0/20/0?

You need the 25 at inspiration for +15% phantasm dmg. To waste 5 points now for Duelling is useless, so better invest them too into more reflection and support.

Xyono, did you crunch (I didn’t) the numbers?

“15%phatasm dmg” is better than “100 points in precision and 10%crit damage and empowering mantras (let’s say 8% for two mantras)”.

I know that empowering mantras won’t benefit your phantasm, but precision and crit damge will.

hm … let’s see … phantasms …

80% crit chance and 100% crit damage
or
75% crit chance and 90% crit damage +15% damage

hmm… I almost can’t decide :P

Good, now add mesmer damage and remove your irony. Ty very much.

What do you guys pick for the Inspiration grandmaster trait?

Spend 5 extra in Inspiration, gain 15% phantasm dmg.

or

Get 30 in Dueling and block all utility skills with useless mantras? Why would one even start to calculate?

Glamour CDR my friend, Glamour last longer, Reflection on Focus, Feedback on ress, compare it with mantras AFTER 15th

colesy.8490:

That is some of the worst advice I have ever read.

Why should you get a mind wrack damage trait when running a phantasm build? Why go 20 in inspiration when five more points gives you 15%+ phantasm damage? Why use mass invisibility or decoy in PvE like… ever?

OP, if your girlfriend insists on using greatsword + sword/focus, just roll 20/20/0/30/0 with empowered illusions and greatsword training in domination, phantasmal fury and blade training in dueling and warden’s feedback, glamour mastery and whatever that skill is that gives phantasms extra HP.

I see you did not read my post correctly. I said to at least go 20 20 0 20. Then I stated the traits that she should use for pve. Which if you don’t know when using a phantasm spec does not go so great with the aoe’s and such. My advice was sound. The build I suggested was shantasm. Shatter and phantasm. Which if you don’t know is the best way to maximize damage in pve situations without the use of conditions.

Going full phantasm is not completely viable yet. At least until they increase the hit points that pets have like arena net said they would. But even then it’s not nearly as good as having some shatter damage instead of going all out phantasms

Thanks everyone. Will probably be something like the link below. Might change a bit with the Mantra boost as she likes to use Power Cleanse since it is more reliable than the Nullfield (you can do it on the move etc.) just the casting is a bit annoying obviously. Though the boost in that Mantra will result in also cleansing conditions on partymembers so that’s definately a good thing.

She’s using her GS mostly and when she knows it’s safe she goes in melee with her Sword and Focus, but to be safe she mostly stays a bit back. She’s just not THAT great at the game so she plays it a bit more safe.

She also likes Menders Purity so I think it’s better than the 5% health increase to Phantasms as she also blows them up mostly after they’ve done their job. Whether that’s the best idc, whatever suits her tbh.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fgAQNAR8dlwzqqHVTgGa9IxpHQf5NnkCVn6SKwNvB-jwxAYLB5k3QETgZt4WENW1CmqMpKXBZA-e

Thanks for all the feedback!

Chaos.3579:

colesy.8490:

That is some of the worst advice I have ever read.

Why should you get a mind wrack damage trait when running a phantasm build? Why go 20 in inspiration when five more points gives you 15%+ phantasm damage? Why use mass invisibility or decoy in PvE like… ever?

OP, if your girlfriend insists on using greatsword + sword/focus, just roll 20/20/0/30/0 with empowered illusions and greatsword training in domination, phantasmal fury and blade training in dueling and warden’s feedback, glamour mastery and whatever that skill is that gives phantasms extra HP.

I see you did not read my post correctly. I said to at least go 20 20 0 20. Then I stated the traits that she should use for pve. Which if you don’t know when using a phantasm spec does not go so great with the aoe’s and such. My advice was sound. The build I suggested was shantasm. Shatter and phantasm. Which if you don’t know is the best way to maximize damage in pve situations without the use of conditions.

Going full phantasm is not completely viable yet. At least until they increase the hit points that pets have like arena net said they would. But even then it’s not nearly as good as having some shatter damage instead of going all out phantasms

Somebody please answer this guy before I tear him in half.

colesy.8490:

Chaos.3579:

colesy.8490:

That is some of the worst advice I have ever read.

Why should you get a mind wrack damage trait when running a phantasm build? Why go 20 in inspiration when five more points gives you 15%+ phantasm damage? Why use mass invisibility or decoy in PvE like… ever?

OP, if your girlfriend insists on using greatsword + sword/focus, just roll 20/20/0/30/0 with empowered illusions and greatsword training in domination, phantasmal fury and blade training in dueling and warden’s feedback, glamour mastery and whatever that skill is that gives phantasms extra HP.

I see you did not read my post correctly. I said to at least go 20 20 0 20. Then I stated the traits that she should use for pve. Which if you don’t know when using a phantasm spec does not go so great with the aoe’s and such. My advice was sound. The build I suggested was shantasm. Shatter and phantasm. Which if you don’t know is the best way to maximize damage in pve situations without the use of conditions.

Going full phantasm is not completely viable yet. At least until they increase the hit points that pets have like arena net said they would. But even then it’s not nearly as good as having some shatter damage instead of going all out phantasms

Somebody please answer this guy before I tear him in half.

Nono, I was extra waiting for you to reply. Honestly, even I have no idea what he is talking here…

colesy.8490:

Somebody please answer this guy before I tear him in half.

Can’t, i’m sorry.

I’m busy looking for my chainsaw.

Chaos.3579:

Going full phantasm is not completely viable yet. At least until they increase the hit points that pets have like arena net said they would. But even then it’s not nearly as good as having some shatter damage instead of going all out phantasms

June update:

Split the hit point values of clones and phantasms by game type:
Increased the phantasm base hit points by 55% in PvP and WvW.
Increased the phantasm base hit points by 270% in PvE.
Decreased the clone base hit points by 25% in PvP and WvW.
Increased the clone base hit points by 28% in PvE.

That buff already happened to mesmers as a trial buff to minions. I believe it’s the rest of the minion classes that will see the buff in the next patch. I do dream of the day that phantasms are affected by % increases other than the 2 traits. This would probably put us at equal levels of damage to other classes in pve without breaking pvp. Would also help all other pet builds that cant stack damage multipliers the way warriors can. Anyhow…

I fail to see how full phantasm is not viable yet? At least at the level that you consider viable. Dropping 1 phantasm and 3 seconds of auto attack kills any normal NPC in open world. Vets and above are usually better off with full phantasms. I’m not saying don’t shatter your phantasms ever but I don’t think it’s worth it to trait hybrid. More so, I don’t think a phantasm build should trait hybrid as there are a lot of good phantasm/support traits. Furthermore, 20% MW dmg just seems weak when you don’t have IP. Like when I run full phantasm, shatters make up a minor portion of my damage or a bit of an aoe finisher right before the mob dies. When I run full shatter though, phantasms still make up a decent chunk of my damage and I could see traiting for them as viable.

Minor thing for the OP’s girlfriend. I prefer 20% shorter cool down on glamours rather than longer duration. Both rather than mender’s purity would be better. Ruby orbs are cheaper and better than runes of the scholar for a mesmer.

My advice was to go 20 20 0 20 at least when using a greatsword sword focus.
20 in Dom for the greatsword trait
20 in dueling for the sharper images 1h sword trait(if you so wish) and clone on dodge trait(amazing, though if going full phantasm is not a good idea)
And at least 20 in inspiration for the focus trait(amazing. Kills most projectile using mob/player build)

After spending those 60 traits you should have 10 points left to do with as you please. You can go mantra, or Interruption, or full phantasm, or even a little in to confusion shatter.

As for my suggestion on phantasm vs shatter I find that in pve currently phantasms die far too fast in large enemy aoe conflicts. Mainly involving dungeons world events(which most will get buffed in the future, and boss’s. As of currently going full phantasm although would be viable, would not be as viable as having a small portion shatter so as to keep the dps up when you see that your phantasms are about to die.

Also keep in mind my advice is revolving around the 3 weapons the person is using greatsword sword focus.

Shatter is the complete opposite of keeping DPS up, it destroys like half of your sustained DPS by killing your own phantasms.

If you talk colesy, talk to the end. However I’m right there with you.

Shattering will deal a good amount of damage if you wanna burst, finish or innitiate with a single clone (sword 3, gs 2, …). The damage dealt by mind wrack decreases down to 66% of the original damage if there are more illusions to be shattered. So shattering 3 illusions deals the double damage of shattering one. If you won’t shatter anyway (phantasm build), just shatter your innitate clone. Keep in mind that you still can “switch” places with sword 3 even if the clone is dead. (With shatter builds just spam clones and shatter 3 at once).

I recomment to go for phantasms over shatter. They really don’t die that fast, they got 8.5k HP, traited even more, and if you use the signet and summon the defender, all illusions have about 15k HP, defender himself 35k wich lasts for an additional 10k “shield”. But normally 8.5k is enough to deal with enemies and if something dies, just resummon it. Even if it just shoots twice, a skill that deals 10k crit is already ok, if it hits 3 4 5 times even better! I mean if all phantasms are alive and never die would make the phantasm summoning skills useless if they are rdy again.

PvE: Dungeons: Phantasm or shatter, but not both. Either way, in dungeons, your GS should see no more than 10% usage. Sword/focus & Sword/Sword(or pistol).

PvE: Open world. Do whatever you want, doesn’t really matter. Take GS to help tag. Take a “shantasm” build for Aoe tagging, doesn’t matter. It’s all better than spamming 1 with a guard staff.

DuckDuckBOOM.4097:

Chaos.3579:

Going full phantasm is not completely viable yet. At least until they increase the hit points that pets have like arena net said they would. But even then it’s not nearly as good as having some shatter damage instead of going all out phantasms

June update:

Split the hit point values of clones and phantasms by game type:
Increased the phantasm base hit points by 55% in PvP and WvW.
Increased the phantasm base hit points by 270% in PvE.
Decreased the clone base hit points by 25% in PvP and WvW.
Increased the clone base hit points by 28% in PvE.

That buff already happened to mesmers as a trial buff to minions. I believe it’s the rest of the minion classes that will see the buff in the next patch. I do dream of the day that phantasms are affected by % increases other than the 2 traits. This would probably put us at equal levels of damage to other classes in pve without breaking pvp. Would also help all other pet builds that cant stack damage multipliers the way warriors can. Anyhow…

I fail to see how full phantasm is not viable yet? At least at the level that you consider viable. Dropping 1 phantasm and 3 seconds of auto attack kills any normal NPC in open world. Vets and above are usually better off with full phantasms. I’m not saying don’t shatter your phantasms ever but I don’t think it’s worth it to trait hybrid. More so, I don’t think a phantasm build should trait hybrid as there are a lot of good phantasm/support traits. Furthermore, 20% MW dmg just seems weak when you don’t have IP. Like when I run full phantasm, shatters make up a minor portion of my damage or a bit of an aoe finisher right before the mob dies. When I run full shatter though, phantasms still make up a decent chunk of my damage and I could see traiting for them as viable.

Minor thing for the OP’s girlfriend. I prefer 20% shorter cool down on glamours rather than longer duration. Both rather than mender’s purity would be better. Ruby orbs are cheaper and better than runes of the scholar for a mesmer.

Yes indeed, it should be shorter CD rather than longer duration, my mistake. She already has the Runes though, so she won’t be swapping that out thanks!