Guild Wars 2

Seeing as how I have found a Well build that I am really liking, I’m the process of getting my crafted exotics in the next few days but wasn’t sure on stat priority for defenses. I am focusing power/prec currently with a bit into %crit. Now my question is this – since we have such a high base health pool is it worth it to split defense between vit and toughness or just gear toughness as much as possible? I am currently leaning toward getting my health to 24-25k and then gearing toughness past that. I would appreciate some advice on this one.

Also as a secondary question for a Well power/prec build should I even bother with %crit or just gear power/prec?

The only armor prefix that grants power, precision, and a defensive stat (vitality or toughness) would be the Knight. From other threads I’ve gathered that if you want to drop an offensive stat, the best to do it with would probably be crit damage.

As for Vitality vs. Toughness- this needs a thread all to itself. Vitality increases both your health pool outside of death shroud, and your total effective health through life force usage. A larger life force pool, with percentage based life force generators, means that vitality’s usefulness varies depending on how much life force you can accumulate before you would have otherwise died. Toughness, on the other hand helps to accommodate your necessity to survive (taking advantage of the extra vitality). It also happens to increase the effectiveness of healing, be it from yourself or another.

Yeah I am primarily gearing Knight presently. But I can also swap some pieces for Valkyrie (power/%crit/vit) or even 1 or 2 pieces of Berserker (power/prec/%crit).

I can also pick up some Vit with jewelry as well. I’m just wondering if it is worth it to stack Vit past 24-25k HP or focus primarily on toughness.

Toughness is much better due to the vast amount of HP we already have through base HP, death shroud and lich/plague form. It can be rather difficult to get depending on build though.

At 18k or so base hp, with no Tough/Vit, each point of Tough/Vit is basically the same exact % increase in effective HP. The only difference is Tough won’t help against condition dmg, but works better with healing/life force.

Toughness works for death shroud as well btw.

I know this from doing some testing. The Shaman Amulet with 923 toughness was about 33% dmg reduction which is like 50% more hp, and 923 vitality (9230 hp) is basically 50% of 18k hp, so roughly the same.

And since necro’s can be pretty much immune to conditions, toughness all the way baby. =p

Honestly just run soldiers amulet

Stack some traits into Percison + run runes of the Eagle. You’ll get like 40% crit.

Get your Power, Vit, Toughness, and 40% crit. What’s not to love?

So…is there a definitve answer to this or does it depend on player/subjective to situation?

Bascially I’m running a full Power/Vit/Con Dmg build but also read this is a bad, bad idea. Should I blend in some Precision/Toughness/Con Dmg?

(Clearly I am Condition build and def need the Con Dmg stat in my gear)

Thanks!

LeetKony.5627:

So…is there a definitve answer to this or does it depend on player/subjective to situation?

Bascially I’m running a full Power/Vit/Con Dmg build but also read this is a bad, bad idea. Should I blend in some Precision/Toughness/Con Dmg?

(Clearly I am Condition build and def need the Con Dmg stat in my gear)

Thanks!

Toughness definately has more pros than Vitality. And if you use Undead Runes works really nice with condition dmg.

If you go precision make sure you take sigil of earth or you’re just hurting yourself.

It’s really not that big of a deal though. Toughness is just going to be better combined with sustain and vitality will give you more time to react to conditions. Both are even in terms of reducing burst dmg.

I think you must achieve a balanced value of both. By one side, Toughness is great in power damage mitigation, but if you only have toughness and no vitality you will die easily for Conditions. Vitality is good a helping you to tank Condition Damage, but only Vitality isnt help you agaisnt power damage. Basically:
Toughness – Very effective agaisnt Power Damage, but useless agaisnt Conditions.
Vitality – Very effective agaisnt Condition Damage, but useless agaisnt Power.