Guild Wars 2

hello all, just wondering what is the most effective weapon combination for solo roaming in wvw?
its more for 1vs2 or 1vs1 situations.

what weapon combination would be best?
I am currently using scepter/dagger + staff (alt)
but just wondering if anyone can advise a better combination?

Thanks.
scepter is a must for me so if anyone can advise what weapons to use along with scepter on offhand and alternate swap, will be great thanks.

For condi builds the only good options are scepter/dagger staff or scepter/warhorn staff.

I have to agree with Ynot. The scepter/dagger staff is mainly what I use, and it works well against most builds. I usually go 30/20/0/0/20 with parasitic contagion/terror, etc. I use dire and rabid armor. It works super well in terms of condition damage and condition manipulation, but it could use a little more control. That’s why some people choose the warhorn over the dagger.

But in the end, it’s up to you. I prefer the dagger, but that’s just me.

Scepter/anything + staff is a good condi setup, although I’d reserve using focus OH for tPvP coordinated play (dat boon strip).

I’m a Might Hybrid Necro.. so I tend to run mostly Scepter/Dagger + Axe/Warhorn … Thought I also have a Focus for the boss fights that I know will have boons all the time..

Idk man I love focus… I always seem.to bounce back to it, like me and ranger torch, just love it

thanks for the posts. I was wondering as I had been running scepter/dagger + staff and it almost feels to me like the staff is useless for 1v1 or 1v2 as my power is low, my crit is low.

I end up rarely using my staff unless it is against invis classes like thief when they stealth and i start throwing out marks on the ground.

I tried running with scepter/dagger + axe/warhorn yesterday like HardRider and i must say its potential to win a 1v1 or 1v2 feels much better.

EremiteAngel.9765:

thanks for the posts. I was wondering as I had been running scepter/dagger + staff and it almost feels to me like the staff is useless for 1v1 or 1v2 as my power is low, my crit is low.

I end up rarely using my staff unless it is against invis classes like thief when they stealth and i start throwing out marks on the ground.

I tried running with scepter/dagger + axe/warhorn yesterday like HardRider and i must say its potential to win a 1v1 or 1v2 feels much better.

Staff is for the utility not the damage. If you run a hybrid build, I think arguably you could make Axe/horn work in the offhand, but in a full condition build it wouldn’t hit hard enough to mess with really and doesn’t synergize well since it doesn’t out put damaging conditions and duplicates the debuff (cripple) you already have.

I don’t use staff much in a condition build, but if everything is on cooldown, or you need a fear, or you need a condition transfer, it works out fine. Giving up a really reliable AOE fear and condition transfer is really hard to do once you get used to having it there. The same reason why it is so hard to give up offhand dagger once you get used to the bouncing superior removal + blind.

I use scepter/focus, boon strip too strong these days with everyone running around in tight little balls of kitten composed of guards/wars/eles. The focus #4 can also be used at point blank range to instantly hit the target 3 times since there is no travel distance for the bounce, can be used to get pretty good mini-bursts on hybrid builds.

I think that dagger is the best option for a condition Necromancer.

Why?

Well what’s the purpose of conditions and why are necros so good at it? The idea is you stack a bunch of conditions and then basically kite out / control your opponent while the damage ticks away at their life. That’s the whole idea.

So not only does the dagger off-hand provide you with more bleeds, but it offers you amazing control via AoE weakness and blind — for those 1v2s you are talking about.

Also — it gives you really good condition control — you are bound to see conditions in WvW… the Staff 4 and Dagger 4 give you AoE condition transfer from yourself back to your opponents — and what’s more is condition transfer is extremely important for a roaming conditionmancer because the conditions your opponents put on you that you transfer back will deal even more damage to them since you cast it.

I think any other off-hand for necromancer is sub-par. Focus is only useful for its chill / regeneration, but you don’t really need that — you have access to short CD chill and cripple anyway from scepter and staff + on-demand regeneration from Mark of Blood (Staff 2). The boon stripping is extremely nice but I would recommend taking corrupt boon over focus off-hand as a conditionmancer — completely wrecks any boon-heavy roamer.

Off-hand warhorn is only really useful in close-range for the plague swarm to go off — without being in close ranger it really loses half of its effectiveness — that’s why you typically use warhorn in combination with dagger main-hand.

hmm is the utility afforded by the staff really worth the downtime it takes to swap back to the scepter?
I often find the swapping cooldown ridiculously long and i can die or get brought down very quickly during that period while not inflicting any real damage to my opponent using the staff

EremiteAngel.9765:

hmm is the utility afforded by the staff really worth the downtime it takes to swap back to the scepter?
I often find the swapping cooldown ridiculously long and i can die or get brought down very quickly during that period while not inflicting any real damage to my opponent using the staff

Yes. Need poison (very important condition) better have staff. Need condition removal, also staff. Not to mention the 5 skill is not only a CC but also 2k damage to each player you hit with it. Staff is also very important to use for LF generation and bleed bursting.

Unless you are a thief you can’t really afford to bring two of the same weapons, and for condi Necro that means you have to take the only other weapon that does condi.

i just found out that with warhorn’s locust swarm and spectral walk, with 4 points in the trait that increases your boon duration, you have permanent increase MS of 33%!