Guild Wars 2

So how is viper mesmer in wvw roaming? Anyone tried it? How does it compare to dire/trailblazer?

I use viper with cele trinkets.

I will share my full build later and how I use it because I am posting from phone.

It is in my opinion great in solo/small scale and you can use any weapon combination you like. I frequently mix different weapon sets without needing to re-gear.

It can burst reasonably well, has good sustained and consistent damage application for a mesmer, and is surprisingly survivable using the cookie cutter meta of Inspiration/Illusions/Chrono.

I frequently use Greatsword + Sword/Torch and play like a sustained dps version of power shatter. Or if I’m using Staff + Sword/Torch I play to be elusive and annoying.

Other combinations can be Scepter/Focus + Sword/Shield – this one is really fun to control enemies although lacking the extra stealth from torch.

Utilities I usually go for are Blink/Mirror Images and Decoy with Mass Invis elite and traited Heal Mantra.

Another thing is it doesn’t have much in the way of hardcounters unlike pure condi ot power builds. You can continue to do decent power damage through resistance so don’t have to kite it out, and you don’t suffer from lack of sustained damage as when playing zerker/marauder.
The most difficult matchups I’ve had actually have been certain Druids, because of lacking the pure burst to finish them easily and they can build for a ton of sustain in wvw (I don’t know the builds of rangers very well but from experience fighting them) and evade spam thieves because landing shatters is tedious…

I haven’t had much problem with condi enemies due to the runes and food I use – in combination with Time Marches On it nullifies most of Chill, Cripple and Immobilise and reduces durations of other conditions – which is a safety net behind the clear of Restorative Illusions, The Pledge, Cleansing Sigils, Menders Purity… yeah conditions don’t stick much.

Thank you for the very detailed reply. I was thinking of using vipers because it can also be used in pve. I am aiming for full ascended and i don’t want to waste gold changing stats. I’ll wait for you to post your build. Tyvm

Ok so here is the general build I use in wvw.
Bear in mind the gw2skills calculator has not been updated for the infusion slot changes among other things. I use full wvw resilient infusions netting extra 90 toughness and -18% damage from guards.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhQQNAR8fl0nhy0YnawRNwtGLvGV9wesL75PEEHHaAkTPHA-TFyHAB8u/wSK/U+iKMuun5UCmoaAzr6DAPpgAAIAzX+Ifyn8lv8lvhO0hO0hO0uuQH6QH6QLFQfrBA-w

You can swap any weapon you like, but all of mine have exactly the same stats – Energy/Cleansing sigils, wvw resilient infusions and viper stats.

Utility is the Tuning Icicles (cheaper and should be available again from next week) and Sweet Bean Buns – these have recently skyrocketed in price however I’m sitting on many stacks of them I hoarded earlier in the year when it was ~15 silver. It should go down during the Lunar New Year festival, but that isn’t for another month and a half or so… Up to you if you want to spend ~50 silver per food now to test it out or use another food in the meantime.
But then you lose the benefit of -69% Immobilise/Cripple/Chill and -44% all other conditions. Can still play around that but it does make 1vX outnumbered fights a lot easier to manage.

And here is my pve build I use in fractals:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vhQQRArd8en0nBlph9fC2fCEgiFnj6MAGgFDtx2nEoOQX0GF-TVyHQBzRJIv2fYeq+MQlGK7kKAgnUQiUDYc6fWiysyBHArQFqQFqoiKqYvBEQABEgHEQABEQACBoYNA-w
I switch some traits and weapons depending on the situation, but for fractals I only change 5 pieces of armour (shoulders/chest/gloves/legs/shoes) and 5 trinkets (rings/earrings/backpiece) for a total of 15 infusion slots – fill those with +10 infusions and you’re good to go without needing to also change your weapons.

This build is expensive to gear and to run both in wvw and pve and it took some work for me to acquire the necessary gear and consumables. However I can say it is one of the most fun things I’ve played in this game.

If people moan at you, you can say “hey, no perplexity, no dire, no trailblazer, no PU…”.

It has more sustain than power shatter (though lacking the huge burst damage), but doesn’t run into harcounters like pure condi or struggle to chase enemies (especially if using greatsword).

Also your best friends will be might sharers (like revenants). You get any number of might stacks and it’s beautiful.

One nice thing with antitoxin runes and Mirror Blade is you can quickly build a high amount of might for burst condi ticks and direct damage if necessary.

Good idea to try to gain fury from staff clones or iMage before mind wrack.

Thank you so much! You gave me alot of ideas. Gonna save up for viper insignias now.

If you get a full set of ascended armour you can also switch it to necro if you find the play style not to your liking and use it in PvE. I use berserker runes and nearly full vipers on my necro as I use it in a variety of places not just raids. If I were to ever want to play this build I’m also lucky enough to have the legendaries needed to run it mostly.

Crafting an exotic set isn’t that expensive either, about 63s for the black diamonds needed per insignia, think the highest cost is actually the leather for the patches lol. Viper ascended trinkets are also very useful in general if you raid or just want to play different builds so would recommend getting some and the sinister stuff from living world season 2 to slot in to prevent going over 100% duration.

apharma.3741:

If you get a full set of ascended armour you can also switch it to necro if you find the play style not to your liking and use it in PvE. I use berserker runes and nearly full vipers on my necro as I use it in a variety of places not just raids. If I were to ever want to play this build I’m also lucky enough to have the legendaries needed to run it mostly.

Crafting an exotic set isn’t that expensive either, about 63s for the black diamonds needed per insignia, think the highest cost is actually the leather for the patches lol. Viper ascended trinkets are also very useful in general if you raid or just want to play different builds so would recommend getting some and the sinister stuff from living world season 2 to slot in to prevent going over 100% duration.

Very good idea. Will keep it in mind. Thanks.

Ah I made a mistake on that PvE build!

I meant to put Viper Rings.

The amulet is the same as for wvw (cele) because no need to change. The trinkets and backpiece are also cele currently because that’s what I had, although with the new Petrified Sparking Wood and Black Ice Earring I’m likely to change those to Viper for more damage in PvE.

Edit – I should also say – save your Sweet Bean Buns for wvw. Don’t waste them in PvE as they’re totally unnecessary. Better to use cheaper and more offensive food.

I should also add a few more points:

- I have never played nor likely will ever play a Raid, so I have no idea if this build works there. Best to test cheaper things first and get more advice from experienced Raid players. My pve is limited to fractals and open world.

- I do not recommend Viper for PvP outside of hotjoin. It is too glassy and lack of both Food and Antitoxin runes plus the extra sustain from cele trinkets makes it a suboptimal choice. It is only in WvW that this synergy is possible.

- I strongly believe this build is not overpowered in relative comparison with all major builds of every class in the game. It is very much a “jack of all trades” built for convenience and efficiency at gearing and designed to be medium risk medium reward. It may not be as glassy (read: “skillful” as interpreted by elitists) as Zerker, but you need to have some good skill both to kill and survive. It is by no means a braindead build.
You must be active, skillful and opportunistic to be rewarded – you can’t brainlessly delete people like power shatter or brainlessly survive like Dire/Trailblazer condi, but you have more margin for error on survival. I made this build because it is forgiving on survival and I care slightly more about survival than killing, however it has a high skill ceiling and allows more effort to pay off with bigger reward. If you understand that and play to it’s strengths (slower time to kill but more sustain) you can achieve good success in small and outnumbered fights.

Curunen, viper stats are generally useful for a variety of DPS builds. Having viper rings, amulet, accessories etc opens up options for condi engy, ranger, necro, mesmer, guard and ele. I have on occasion run condi ele in raids just for fun, while power ele does more damage it’s not terrible when conditions are required and it provides some nice might and fury.

Even fractals you won’t be turned away with a condi engy, ranger or necro and it’s a nice change of pace sometimes.

apharma.3741:

Curunen, viper stats are generally useful for a variety of DPS builds. Having viper rings, amulet, accessories etc opens up options for condi engy, ranger, necro, mesmer, guard and ele. I have on occasion run condi ele in raids just for fun, while power ele does more damage it’s not terrible when conditions are required and it provides some nice might and fury.

Even fractals you won’t be turned away with a condi engy, ranger or necro and it’s a nice change of pace sometimes.

Thanks, it’s good to know I can create an alt and reuse the same ascended trinkets for fractals. I still don’t think I’ll ever touch Raids, but at least the option is there.