Guild Wars 2

Hello everyone,
I wanted to create a discussion thread on this subject because since the patch changes I have seen people use very different builds. Some prefer dagger over axe, some prefer death magic over spite. Personally I run Spite BM SR with axe/focus with 4 wells and plague. What do you prefer in GvGs or in pugs where you don’t have stability? Would be great if we discussed advantages and disadvantages of each choice in detail.

Spite seems better man. Close to death is better for well bombs and the spinal shiver auto proc will probably be the difference between downing someone vs not downing them.

Death magic offers very little besides unholy sanctuary, where if you get caught you’re probably dead anyways.

As far as axe vs dagger goes, I think axe is alot safer to play and offers more reliable lifeforce gain. Dagger offers an immobalize, but good groups will cleanse it right away anyways.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAW4djk0QPN2SD20A/NOwFqZR0EVBcACgWgeGtxzC-T1CEABvpDIiDgwiq/QwRAwgDCATK/6SJYO7P0mmHAugAP8gCIFwADtA-w

This is what I currently run. Any thoughts?

36-25-36, toned from going to the gym.

The perfect build, looking from the back line lmao

akaCryptic.2389:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAW4djk0QPN2SD20A/NOwFqZR0EVBcACgWgeGtxzC-T1CEABvpDIiDgwiq/QwRAwgDCATK/6SJYO7P0mmHAugAP8gCIFwADtA-w

This is what I currently run. Any thoughts?

Your build is fine as a WvW backliner, although I would recommend shooting for 45-50% crit. That way when you go into DS, you’ll be at 95-100% crit. I personally like Death Magic and Curses better, but when in ZvZ or GvG situations, I’m forced to take Blood Magic for the reduced wells cooldown. Because that’s what your raid needs you for…big well bombs. So you just work your build around knowing what you’re expected to do, and try to squeeze as much dps out there as you can.

That’s another reason to shoot for 50% crit because you can drop the wells, go into DS, and ensure you have 100% crit on your well bombs.

gavyne.6847:

akaCryptic.2389:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAW4djk0QPN2SD20A/NOwFqZR0EVBcACgWgeGtxzC-T1CEABvpDIiDgwiq/QwRAwgDCATK/6SJYO7P0mmHAugAP8gCIFwADtA-w

This is what I currently run. Any thoughts?

Your build is fine as a WvW backliner, although I would recommend shooting for 45-50% crit. That way when you go into DS, you’ll be at 95-100% crit. I personally like Death Magic and Curses better, but when in ZvZ or GvG situations, I’m forced to take Blood Magic for the reduced wells cooldown. Because that’s what your raid needs you for…big well bombs. So you just work your build around knowing what you’re expected to do, and try to squeeze as much dps out there as you can.

That’s another reason to shoot for 50% crit because you can drop the wells, go into DS, and ensure you have 100% crit on your well bombs.

I can see how death magic is a nice defensive line but what’s good in curses for a backliner?

My crit chance is 30 on staff and 39 on dagger because of my party comp (2g 2n-pack runes 1w) I am able to maintain some nice in-combat fury. Unless stripped, my wells + life transfer bomb is full crit. But I just recently switched from axe to dagger and thus I’m using dagger autoattack more actively so by time I’ll convert some valkyries to zerk.

I’m not super experienced in WvW, but my view:

- I would probably invest a little bit more in berserker gear. Try to get that 45-50% crit. I feel like it gives you the edge and makes a slightly bigger difference than the extra health will. (As in the extra damage from your wells will probably have a bigger impact than the extra 1000-2000 health when you’re being focused).
You could run everything berzerker except for your gloves/boots/shoulders/back and sit at 48.5%

- Well of Blood is a nice heal, but with a good WvW zerg you’re often healing on the move. The choice between WoB and CC is a tricky one at this. WoB is excellent when you can get it down in a place where people can stand in it. But CC IMO gives the better personal heal. It will cure you from cripples/chills/immobilizes/etc the stuff that gets you killed.
I would probably go with CC in the end, but that this is totally up to player preference IMO.

akaCryptic.2389:

gavyne.6847:

akaCryptic.2389:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAW4djk0QPN2SD20A/NOwFqZR0EVBcACgWgeGtxzC-T1CEABvpDIiDgwiq/QwRAwgDCATK/6SJYO7P0mmHAugAP8gCIFwADtA-w

This is what I currently run. Any thoughts?

Your build is fine as a WvW backliner, although I would recommend shooting for 45-50% crit. That way when you go into DS, you’ll be at 95-100% crit. I personally like Death Magic and Curses better, but when in ZvZ or GvG situations, I’m forced to take Blood Magic for the reduced wells cooldown. Because that’s what your raid needs you for…big well bombs. So you just work your build around knowing what you’re expected to do, and try to squeeze as much dps out there as you can.

That’s another reason to shoot for 50% crit because you can drop the wells, go into DS, and ensure you have 100% crit on your well bombs.

I can see how death magic is a nice defensive line but what’s good in curses for a backliner?

My crit chance is 30 on staff and 39 on dagger because of my party comp (2g 2n-pack runes 1w) I am able to maintain some nice in-combat fury. Unless stripped, my wells + life transfer bomb is full crit. But I just recently switched from axe to dagger and thus I’m using dagger autoattack more actively so by time I’ll convert some valkyries to zerk.

I wouldn’t take Curses in large scale ZvZ, definitely stick with Blood Magic or Death Magic as a ZvZ backliner. But if you’re in small group situations, or solo roaming, Curses is superior for Plague Sending and Weakness uptime on single targets.

And I agree to pick consume conditions as your go to heal. It’s just awesome to be able to get rid of large stacks of condi’s on you when you need to.

For those who experimenting with unique things, by all means, continue discussion.
For those who are not sure what to run because they don’t know what is best in WvW zergs, look no farther than http://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Necromancer_-_Wells_Backline
I’m pretty sure the link is still up to date.