Guild Wars 2

Actually 2 builds: classic full zerk setup and a tanky valkyrie/cavalier setup which is a surprisingly low dps drop.

zerk build:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vREQNBIhF6kZToxGslGwmGgDHsgLYxXxvYZk6M0GiWQDgAQLA-ThRBABXt/o8DP9B5dKAA4JAQp6PmpEMAwBwv9tv/G48zP/8zPvf/93f/93SBExwK-e

(i know looks similar to the metabattle necro build, but not copy pasted)

before nemesis trashes my work
- dhuumfire over death perception: Build has 50% base critchance with 2% addiotional critchance per vulnerability stack and 20% from fury of other party members. We will get 100% easily, so death perception has no use. dhumfire adds an average of 4-5 burn stacks for some more damage.
- this is a dps build designed for melee’ing bosses. If you need range you can go with axe instead of dagger.

- heal: shout heal has low cast time, does some damage and helps keeping up the 5% damage modifier. Take consume conditions if condi are a problem or well or blood for party wide heals.
utilities: The setup is useful if your party does not need additional utility. Some other spells you might consider in certain situations:
- Well of Darkness: AoE Blind, but GS#4 is usually enough
- Well of Power: Stunbreak+aoe condi cleanse.
- Blood is Power: If you don’t have a team setup with perma 25 might.
- Corrosive Poison Cloud: Projectile defense.
- Flesh Worm: Teleport
- Signet of the Locust: Running around.

Elite:
Lich for more DPS, use it at the beginning of the fight. Once boss drops below 50% start spamming gravedigger.
Chilled to the bone and flesh golem are great for break bar shredding.

Now for the “tanky” variant:

Remeber the Death perception vs Dhuumfire part? We can actually drop all our precision for some defensive stuff, and with death perception we will still have 100% critchance with reaper shroud and 75% critchance with fury outside of reaper shroud.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vREQNBIhF6kZToxGslGwmGgDHsgLYxXxvYZk6M0GeWQDgAQLA-TxRBABXt/ge6DsU9nuU+xoSw8OFAA8EACAcA8bf77vBO/8zP/8z73f/93f/tUARs1C-e
(there are sadly no ascended valkyrie trinkets, so i took cavalier. if you need a bit less defensive stuff you can take zerker or zerker+valkyrie weapons or trinkets too reach 100% critchance outside of reaper shroud)

Food changes from toxic sharpening stone to furios sharpening stone or superior sharpening stone (still take slaying potions whenever you can)

It is only a small damage loss compared to zerker, but adds a lot of survivability (700 armor and 5k health). But no excuses for ranging with this setup

Nice work. I think in the first build, a viable alternative for longer time fights might be Rending Shroud + Augury of Death (depending on how many shouts you bring), depending on what your situation with vulnerability is.

But yea, that spike of Chill of Death and Chilling Nova will certainly help in those short fights, though by short, I mean for fights that I can’t imagine being any longer than a veteran kill, though I don’t have any math to back up this statement. Great in the open world jungle though I feel as enemies are dangerous but shouldn’t last long.

Instead of a tanky variant that swaps out the zerker gear, what about one that drops Soul Reaping for Blood (vampiric presence, vampiric rituals)? This would preserve your Gravekeeper damage while simultaneously boosting the efficacy of your wells, providing group support, and accomplish the goal of being more “tanky”. Plus, you can take Blighter’s Boon without sacrificing significant damage. I feel like this is the much better alternative to substituting in the valkyrie gear, as the latter option means you still have no group support. Also dagger autoattack damage at max might and vuln does even more than reaper shroud auto with onslaught, max might, and max vuln, and it’s only with dhuumfire that reaper shroud pulls ahead.

Therefore, the drop in damage by going with blood has got to be even smaller than going for valk/cavalier.

Gonna have to agree with Chunx on the Blood magic. It really does add a lot to what we can offer but I too am playing around with what gear to use. I like the toughness but with full Valk your HP is higher so maybe offsets the need for the toughness? I am still fumbling my way around as its all very new to me but love what you guys are discussing. And if someone trashes your work well jealousy is a form of flattery!!! Rock it.

Have you considered dropping SR in favor of Death Magic, to turn all that toughness into extra power?

Personally dropped zerk armour for valk. Also zerk+valk trinkets. Still have 20% base crit chance so its very easy to reach 100% in parties.

Also blood over SR for the support it gives. Is very useful the higher up you go fractal wise

"
Personally dropped zerk armour for valk. Also zerk+valk trinkets. Still have 20% base crit chance so its very easy to reach 100% in parties.

Also blood over SR for the support it gives. Is very useful the higher up you go fractal wise"

Exactly what I did and its working great!

Thx for Feedback.

@chunx: Regarding of personal defense, soul reaping and blood magic is about the same. SR gives better LF generation and the awesome vuln stacking on RS AA, making it better for unorganized groups struggling on vuln application. In good groups BM is as viable.

A significant issue with the valk/cavalier build and blood magic instead of SR: you have a “ramp up time” like conditions builds have. You will struggle on generating vulnerability stacks to increase your critical strike chance. Your dps will be quite low at the beginning of a fight. If you have an ele with glyph of storms, it will be great tho.

Quick note: If you don’t want to go ascended, you can also use valkyrie trinkets on the second build. It will push your hp to around 28k (30k possible with some wvw buffs). However, do not use the furious sharpening stone then, instead go for a simple superior sharpening stone (these scale well with vit and toughtness and are better in this build than a toxic sharpening stone).
If you want to go for some more precision, also consider groupwide precision buffs like banner of discipline or spotter.

EDIT: @captain unusual: death magic gives some more power, but SR gives the vital crit chance buff, vuln on RS AA and also a 5% damage modifer based on life force. DM is not a bad option but i think SR is better. However if you like to take minions (they got buffed) +"Rise" shout, go DM, great build too.

This is almost what I run in dungeons/low tier stuff.

You’d want to swap Chill of Death for Rending Shroud, so much better. Personally I use all heals but that one, but that’s just me.

As for gear, yes, Zerk+Valk is a good choice, however this is something I’d only recommend when running in premade groups all the time where you can expect the buffs. In pugs you might fall short due to lacking buffs and support.

So no Strength Runes?

Cerbeius.7129:

So no Strength Runes?

On a build that can build might with just RS AA (It is 1 attack chain (3 times #1) ~2s so 7 AA chain in 14s (the spite minor trait has a might duration of 15s) =21 might with scholar runes. Nearly every party should have at least 5 stacks might provided. Scholar gives a better modifier and more ferocity. And a lot cheaper than strenght.

Cheap alternative: Flame Legion Runes. 7% damage modifier and also increases dhuumfire burn damage (ticks around 2k with these runes)

Ok, thanks for the information!