Guild Wars 2

Alright, so, everyone knows scepter is absolutely useless in PvE right?

Well that’s just it, everyone knows it’s useless.

But I’ve been running over the numbers though and, I’m not entirely convinced it is anymore. In fractals and dungeons I usually run sword/focus/GS, using sword/focus primarily for it’s superior DPS/control, and switching to GS when I need to range stuff or want the extra phantasm up

A problem I often experience with GS is that in many scenarios where melee is awkward or undesirable (like mossman) it’s not possible to get maximum range reliably which undercuts DPS further. There’s also the minor detail that iZerker is an AoE phantasm, it does good damage but it does less DPS than the specialised single target phantys (Duellist, Swordsman) and dies easily – and when I’m ranging a boss, it’s usually a single target.

So, I’ve been running over the number of scepter and GS in a power/crit build – their baseline damage values are as follows:

Primary chain:

• Greatsword 1: 348 /1.5 sec channel = 232 dps
• Scepter 1: 168 + 168 + 252 / 2.0 second chain = 294 dps

Burst attack

• Greatsword 2: 259 / 8 second CD (32 dps/64 dps if bounces)
• Scepter 3: 840 damage / 15 second CD (56 dps)

Furthermore the utility skill – GS3, is almost completely useless and widely regarded as such, whereas scepter #2 is actually pretty darn useful (block/high damage counter, convert into ranged blind), and GS1 is even weaker in close quarters, a problem Scepter 1 doesn’t suffer

GS5 is pretty situational, throwing your enemies about in dungeons can cause more harm than help by screwing up your allies attack chains, and GS4 as I covered is great, but more adept at cleaning out mooks with AoE than boss killing (the main reason you’ll need to range anything in a dungeon) – while scepter leaves slots 4 and 5 for an offhand of your choice, such as duellist which packs superior DPS to iZerker on single targets and also benefits from being able to range at a safe distance where it’s less likely to get hit.

Is there anything I’ve overlooked that undermines my analysis of scepter/offhand as a boss-slaying set, or has the mainhand scepter just gotten such a bad name in the past that nobody has really stopped to look at it closely recently?

I switch in scepter for bosses noone wants to melee. Sure, you could use GS for the cripple, but GS#2, #3 and #5 are often useless. The scepter permanently generates clones, which may get aggro. Then you can blind. I’d just need multiple offhands, since focus never leaves it. Sword, Pistol or Torch might be the better choice sometimes.

I never negleted the scepter, but usually one ranged (GS) and one (aoe) melee (sword) weapon is more fun to play.

No you’re right. The issues with Scepters are quite blown out of proportions.

That being said, it still has more issues than any other of our weapons, Torch included. At least IMO. But it’s not unusable, it just has some issues:

• The auto-attack chain is incredibly slow. Due to how much you dodge in the average fight, you’ll lose a lot of shots with it. Plus the constant “HYAAAAA!” on the final throw is annoying me enough to swap out the weapon.
• The weapon generates clones. Unique as this is (and I wouldn’t want them to remove it, don’t get me wrong!) it makes it unusable for Phantasm-builds since they want to go to 3 Phantasms and stay there. I suspect a rework on how Phantasms work in general might fix this.
• #2 has odd bugs. Though granted, these could be fixed by now, been a while since I tried. :X

It’s not a big thing really. Main issue is the slow #1 attack. It’s not weak, just slow. Doesn’t even need to generate more projectiles/minute, just fire them earlier in each animation.

There are a few other points about the Sceptre that makes it undesirable.

1. The Ether Bolt chain does not progress until the previous projectile hits. This means thakittens DPS decreases with range.

2. Sceptre Clones have very low RoF. If you have any kind of Precision investment and take Sharper Images, this translates to a significant loss of DPS compared to any other MH/2H weapon.

3. At ranges where Ether Bolt DPS overtakes Spatial Surge, you may want to consider switching to the MH Sword instead for much higher DPS.

Personally, my hate for the Sceptre stems from the fact that it was originally intended to be a condition damage weapon, but is now just all over the place. And since I like condition damage this makes me bitter.

In a Power build the Sceptre is passable, but I don’t consider it worth it unless you want to rock two OH weapons, which you may well do in a Phantasm build.

I only have a couple of issues with sceptre:

1. The painfully exaggerated animations on #1 and #3.
- On an asura #1 looks like you’re trying to hit a ball into orbit. #3 has the arm way too outstretched as well. It just looks awkward.

2. The slow travel time and appearance of #1.
- I would be happier if they were fast travelling bolts and not blobs. Perhaps a two part chain – the first part having two rapid fire bolts, and the third part being slightly slower with clone generation?
Edit: Instead of “throwing” the blobs, perhaps the animation could have the sceptre held out straight in front?

I don’t know any boss where I would rather use scepter over greatsword, staff, or mainhand sword. If I really can’t be in melee, it probably means I need a lot of mobility, so I’ll take staff and set up warlocks in safe places to do my damage. Otherwise, I’ll do more damage with greatsword at like 600-900 range iirc, or just use sword.

Curunen.8729:

- I would be happier if they were fast travelling bolts and not blobs. Perhaps a two part chain – the first part having two rapid fire bolts, and the third part being slightly slower with clone generation?

My favourite suggestion I read – which also conveniently fixes the range-dependent DPS issue – is to make it have an invisible, hit-scan projectile. It’d fit the whole Mesmer thing.

1. Mesmer waves Scepter as if to throw a projectile with it.
2. Target is immediately hit, with graphic effects around the head/brain area, glass shards flying off or something.

That used to be how Staff #1 worked: a single target hitscan attack that inflicts a random condition.