Guild Wars 2

Since rangers are meant to be jack of all and master of none, is a celestial gear build viable? Is anyone running with this gear? Is there any point of it?

i’ve tried, some builds look good on paper – but the mix of toughness and vitality can’t even come come close to the survivability of pure toughness jewels vs thieves.

Similarly the mixture of dmg types can’t compare to going full condition.

So with you’ll be less survivable and have less damage and less healing than simply going shaman or clerics amulet. If you can make it work, good luck to you.

Mako.1942:

Since rangers are meant to be jack of all and master of none, is a celestial gear build viable? Is anyone running with this gear? Is there any point of it?

I’ve used the celestial jewel a few times just for trying to figure out what in the name of all that is kittens that things purpose is for, but it was only mildly successful.

IE: The build worked for pug stomping, but there’s no way it’d be competitive, the only advantage to it was no one knew what you were doing.

Truthfully, I think the bunker and burst extremes would need to come down a bit before you could pull something like that off.

i’ve tried, some builds look good on paper – but the mix of toughness and vitality can’t even come come close to the survivability of pure toughness jewels vs thieves.
Similarly the mixture of dmg types can’t compare to going full condition.
So with you’ll be less survivable and have less damage and less healing than simply going shaman or clerics amulet. If you can make it work, good luck to you.

…

Nah wasn’t gonna try it, just wondered why there is so much celestial ascended and exotic gear about. Also got me thinking if there is some secret celestial build pwning everything

Mako.1942:

i’ve tried, some builds look good on paper – but the mix of toughness and vitality can’t even come come close to the survivability of pure toughness jewels vs thieves.
Similarly the mixture of dmg types can’t compare to going full condition.
So with you’ll be less survivable and have less damage and less healing than simply going shaman or clerics amulet. If you can make it work, good luck to you.

…

Nah wasn’t gonna try it, just wondered why there is so much celestial ascended and exotic gear about. Also got me thinking if there is some secret celestial build pwning everything

Now you’ve got the gears in my head churning and i -really- want to build one… shakes fist angrily curse you random forum poster!!

PS: One of my friends says he ran a warrior celestial build, said he didn’t go over 15 points in most trees, so i may try something more like that and literally be a master of none.

Just ran a quick build using the gear an you can prob get 1400-1500 per main stat and 500 ish cond and healing + around 30-40% crit chance and with the celestial runes about 60%+ dmg

Edit- with top gear

Rangers are a jack of nothing, maybe poop, but that’s it and that’s also why no answer will be right to your question.

Arekai.5698:

Rangers are a jack of nothing, maybe poop, but that’s it and that’s also why no answer will be right to your question.

Yeah if you’re bad, my berserkers longbow build was destroying just a few minutes ago in tPvP, and you know the best part about it? I was +2k units away from danger, and had my Moa supporting my allies.

But you know, AoE 2k heals, and 4k barrage crits is total kitten.

@OP: I’m working on a celestial build now, just need to decide how I’m going to be building and what the role(s) I fill will be, suggestions?

I tend to incorporate (or plan to finish incorporating) celestial trinkets and accessories as a means for me to be able to switch between builds without re-gearing, something that isn’t ideal but seems more feasible to me given how Ascended trinkets apart from rings aren’t very easy/cheap to come by, at least for the immediate future. I don’t want to spend the laurels, ectos and whatever else on, say, a whole set of Ascended trinkets with Apothecary stats, for instance, and be locked down to only builds that favor/utilize those stats for however long until I can get Ascended trinkets with other stats.

Durzlla.6295:

4k barrage crits is total kitten.

if you’re going to pull rando numbers at least make it realistic.

vespers.1759:

Durzlla.6295:

4k barrage crits is total kitten.

if you’re going to pull rando numbers at least make it realistic.

Lol it’s not random, I was getting that consistently.

Durzlla.6295:

vespers.1759:

Durzlla.6295:

4k barrage crits is total kitten.

if you’re going to pull rando numbers at least make it realistic.

Lol it’s not random, I was getting that consistently.

i’d love to see some proof of this.

vespers.1759:

Durzlla.6295:

vespers.1759:

Durzlla.6295:

4k barrage crits is total kitten.

if you’re going to pull rando numbers at least make it realistic.

Lol it’s not random, I was getting that consistently.

i’d love to see some proof of this.

I’ll get you a screenshot or two when I’m off work, would you like to see my 9.8k rapid fires too? They’d go higher but heavy golems die too fast.

Durzlla.6295:

vespers.1759:

Durzlla.6295:

vespers.1759:

Durzlla.6295:

4k barrage crits is total kitten.

if you’re going to pull rando numbers at least make it realistic.

Lol it’s not random, I was getting that consistently.

i’d love to see some proof of this.

I’ll get you a screenshot or two when I’m off work, would you like to see my 9.8k rapid fires too? They’d go higher but heavy golems die too fast.

no idc about 9k rapids because that’s easy to do. i’m just curious as to how a barrage can do 4k crits when mine crits for barely 1k in full zerk.

Since someone brought it up already, do you guys think a celestial amulet (outside of PvP) is a wise investment at all for someone who tends to change and try new ranger builds every so often?

Also, for those of you that want to theory craft celestial stats in PvE, this is a fantastic site:

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/ranger/

Beardmonger.4692:

Since someone brought it up already, do you guys think a celestial amulet (outside of PvP) is a wise investment at all for someone who tends to change and try new ranger builds every so often?

If you change a lot celestial would totally be a good idea, will it be as awesome as another set? Probably not, but celestial gear works for literally all builds, it’s normally not the best option if you’re min/maxing but it’ll work.

People who use celestial don’t have a clue about stat scaling. You get a lot more return for stacking stats currently than spreading them out.

Until they bring down the xtremes of damage and survivability, balanced builds will not exist. It will either be pvt (knights if you’re a class with high hp like necro or warrior), tough/vit/condi, or power/prec/critdmg because those stat setups synergize the best.

And in the case of rangers remove berserker because half their damage won’t benefit from the crit damage stat on your gear. They can only get 30% extra crit damage from a trait instead of 100%+

I run a full celestial build (PVT armor, divinity runes, all ascended celestial gear). It’s simply amazing. Good direct damage, good condi damage, good healing. I faced this question a while ago and never did it because of the lack of celestial accesories.

Now that there are available, i’ve never looked back. I run fotm +40, wvw and the sort. I’ve played all 8 classes to 80 and have more hours in my back than I dare to admit but my opinion is: They work kitten well.

However, depends a lot on your playstyle and what are you doing I guess. It fits perfectly in mine, it may not fit on yours.

Mako.1942:

i’ve tried, some builds look good on paper – but the mix of toughness and vitality can’t even come come close to the survivability of pure toughness jewels vs thieves.
Similarly the mixture of dmg types can’t compare to going full condition.
So with you’ll be less survivable and have less damage and less healing than simply going shaman or clerics amulet. If you can make it work, good luck to you.

…

Nah wasn’t gonna try it, just wondered why there is so much celestial ascended and exotic gear about. Also got me thinking if there is some secret celestial build pwning everything

Exotic HAS TO BE the minimum for a successful end game Ranger , whether PvE or Wv3.

Durzlla.6295:

Beardmonger.4692:

Since someone brought it up already, do you guys think a celestial amulet (outside of PvP) is a wise investment at all for someone who tends to change and try new ranger builds every so often?

If you change a lot celestial would totally be a good idea, will it be as awesome as another set? Probably not, but celestial gear works for literally all builds, it’s normally not the best option if you’re min/maxing but it’ll work.

hey where’s the screens of these 4k barrage hits?

vespers.1759:

Durzlla.6295:

Beardmonger.4692:

Since someone brought it up already, do you guys think a celestial amulet (outside of PvP) is a wise investment at all for someone who tends to change and try new ranger builds every so often?

If you change a lot celestial would totally be a good idea, will it be as awesome as another set? Probably not, but celestial gear works for literally all builds, it’s normally not the best option if you’re min/maxing but it’ll work.

hey where’s the screens of these 4k barrage hits?

Well i got distracted last night to begin with, but yeah i went to test it on the golems and it was 1.8k was the highest, so now i’m really curious where the 4k hits were coming from because it sure as hell wasn’t my moa, and my rapid fire would be a lot higher than that.

I’ll try it out on my glass canon friend, and see if that does something different, i remember them saying the golems are sturdier than most player builds.

Durzlla.6295:

vespers.1759:

Durzlla.6295:

Beardmonger.4692:

Since someone brought it up already, do you guys think a celestial amulet (outside of PvP) is a wise investment at all for someone who tends to change and try new ranger builds every so often?

If you change a lot celestial would totally be a good idea, will it be as awesome as another set? Probably not, but celestial gear works for literally all builds, it’s normally not the best option if you’re min/maxing but it’ll work.

hey where’s the screens of these 4k barrage hits?

Well i got distracted last night to begin with, but yeah i went to test it on the golems and it was 1.8k was the highest, so now i’m really curious where the 4k hits were coming from because it sure as hell wasn’t my moa, and my rapid fire would be a lot higher than that.

I’ll try it out on my glass canon friend, and see if that does something different, i remember them saying the golems are sturdier than most player builds.

i.e. got caught on a lie.

Zenith.7301:

Durzlla.6295:

vespers.1759:

Durzlla.6295:

Beardmonger.4692:

Since someone brought it up already, do you guys think a celestial amulet (outside of PvP) is a wise investment at all for someone who tends to change and try new ranger builds every so often?

If you change a lot celestial would totally be a good idea, will it be as awesome as another set? Probably not, but celestial gear works for literally all builds, it’s normally not the best option if you’re min/maxing but it’ll work.

hey where’s the screens of these 4k barrage hits?

Well i got distracted last night to begin with, but yeah i went to test it on the golems and it was 1.8k was the highest, so now i’m really curious where the 4k hits were coming from because it sure as hell wasn’t my moa, and my rapid fire would be a lot higher than that.

I’ll try it out on my glass canon friend, and see if that does something different, i remember them saying the golems are sturdier than most player builds.

i.e. got caught on a lie.

No, i remember seeing 4ks popping up in sPvP while i was using barrage and it was happening A LOT, maybe it was on frenzied warriors or something? If i were trying to lie my way out of it i would’ve just photo shopped some 4k crits from rapid fire into a picture i was doing barrage on the aoe golems.

Stats are Primary/Secondary/Secondary/Critical Damage

Normal Ascended Gear:
•Amulet: 126/85/85/9% – Total: 296 points
•Ring: 103/68/68/8% – Total: 239 points (478 with two)
•Accessory: 91/60/60/7% – Total: 211 points (422 with two)

Total points with normal gear: 1,196.

Celestial Gear
•Amulet: 54-all/7% – Total: 378 points
•Ring: 43-all/6% – Total: 301 points (602 with two)
•Accessory: 38-all/5% – Total: 266 points (532 with two)

Total points with celestial gear: 1,512

The stat superiority is amazing (to the point that I think that they are going to nerf Celestial as Ascended weapons/armor are likely introduced over the coming year). If you recall there is a precedent for nerfing Celestial (Divinity Runes got nerfed from 18% crit dmg to 12%).

This Celestial 343 point stat advantage doesn’t even include Runes of Divinity that give you additional >100+ stat AND 12% crit dmg bonus depending on which Rune you compare it to.

I think Celestial is a no brainer for Ranger but to each their own.

mathematical analysis taken from earlier post on Celestial:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/1bxscy/celestial_gear_a_comparison/

I use Celestial amulet and rings . I will probably get trinkets as well , but just not now .

I feel as if it goes best with a bunker or a trapper build thought , because no stat is wasted then .

In my mind , having 950 or 1050 condition damage difference is irrelevant , similar with 1000 or 1100 healing .

But i do agree that extreme builds could use a bit of a tone down .

All ranger weapons/skills that make use of both direct and condition damage are good with celestial as they benefit from power, crit chance/dmg, and condition damage.

Longbow would be bad with Celestial as the condition damage is wasted on it.

It doesn’t net you more stats.
Logically, if you are getting an even bout of everything you would need to gain more total stats, to take into account specific stats helping the build more than others.

But you don’t…
So its worthless.

*I don’t WvW/PvE

The Celestial in sPvP does not give you “more stats” like the PvE/WvW versions do.

Back when I still posted on guru I had made a page about this, though I have to own up and say at this point in the metagame and with my experience now, I would have to go back and retest anything I said to make sure I could could still support some of my claims. Builds are probably a little outdated too, but since nothing major has changed in the ranger plays, it would mostly be minor tweaks to adjust for metagame shifts.
Alas, here’s the link: http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/79924-bestmost-versatile-amulet-to-use-in-spvp/

glock.2089:

A truly baffling statement given it is clearly established that you do gain more stats overall.

An odd way of saying “Your right in the regards you spoke of”
But, thank you.

garethh.3518:

It doesn’t net you more stats.
Logically, if you are getting an even bout of everything you would need to gain more total stats, to take into account specific stats helping the build more than others.

But you don’t…
So its worthless.

*I don’t WvW/PvE

A truly baffling statement given it is clearly established that you do gain more stats overall with celestial ascended and/or runes of divinity. I don’t know if it is a lack of comprehension or just plain denial on your part but your statement is completely wrong (the part about you not playing PVE or WvW may partially explain your apparent ignorance).

glock.2089:

garethh.3518:

It doesn’t net you more stats.
Logically, if you are getting an even bout of everything you would need to gain more total stats, to take into account specific stats helping the build more than others.

But you don’t…
So its worthless.

*I don’t WvW/PvE

A truly baffling statement given it is clearly established that you do gain more stats overall. I don’t know if it is a lack of comprehension or just plain denial on your part but your statement is completely wrong (the part about you not playing PVE or WvW may partially explain your apparent ignorance).

Some people do pvp primarily, and in pvp it is only +340 w/jewel for all stats and +20% crit chance. For the amulets without crit chance, the focus stat is about 3x as much, and the secondary starts are twice as much (w/jewels, and not exact but so close that the numbers are within 50).

I believe what he is getting at is that in pvp, the celestial amulet doesn’t add anything to a build that a different amulet wouldn’t be more efficient at, unless going for some complicated stat mixture that would leave a few under utilized stats that are being provided (which could be added somewhere else using different equipment).

glock.2089:

Jcbroe thanks for a noble attempt at translating that incomprehensible gibberish. Yes, the sPVP/tPVP version of celestial is a completely separate issue. Everything about this thread has referred to the PVE/WvW version of celestial. If that trollish poster had bothered to read the thread, he might have realized he was derailing an otherwise robust discussion. Fortunately, he did not succeed.

Well the link I posted earlier in the thread references a PvP environment entirely, but there is no reason why the same setup wouldn’t have merit across different game modes, albeit, the equipment would be different and the stat gain more significant, but the trait setup could still be viable.

(on a side note, and in parenthesis as to attempt to show I don’t mean to derail the topic; but isn’t it bothersome that equipment is split for pve/pvp? I understand the reasoning behind it entirely, but it creates an unnecessary knowledge gap, which is definitely frustrating)

Your theory only works when you don’t consider the idea of thresholds on effectiveness.

Durzlla.6295:

vespers.1759:

Durzlla.6295:

4k barrage crits is total kitten.

if you’re going to pull rando numbers at least make it realistic.

Lol it’s not random, I was getting that consistently.

4k in total channel right? Otherwise I call BS.

@jcbroe, I think that all armor stats in PvE should be available in PvP and vice versa (exceptions of givers armor or w/e that useless one is).

That being said, in PvP I’ve only seen 2 builds that even WORKED with the amulet, one was an ele build, and one was a ranger build, the ranger one was one I made and it was a pub stomper, 100% useless against anyone who realized what you were doing. The ele one was just meh, it was a scepter focus build, idk much else.

Aridia.3042:

Durzlla.6295:

vespers.1759:

Durzlla.6295:

4k barrage crits is total kitten.

if you’re going to pull rando numbers at least make it realistic.

Lol it’s not random, I was getting that consistently.

4k in total channel right? Otherwise I call BS.

Old post is old, I already posted somewhere (not in this thread) that I was confusing the auto attack(which was piercing targets) for barrage hits because it was in the heat of battle.

Now, back on topic!

jcbroe.4329:

isn’t it bothersome that equipment is split for pve/pvp? I understand the reasoning behind it entirely, but it creates an unnecessary knowledge gap, which is definitely frustrating)

I agree without reservation the discrepancies between PVE and PVP item availability is troubling and becoming more convoluted.

Why no exotic soldier jewel (Power/Vit/Toughness) for PVE but the equivalent is wrapped up in the soldier amulet/jewel in sPVP? Why no apothecary gear available for sPVP when there are exotic/ascended versions in PVE? It is idiosyncratic oversights like this that are perplexing.

My biggest qualm is Anet should give us a roadmap of the next year for target dates as to when ascended weapons/armor is going to be made available.

Should we be farming/storing prisitine fractal relics and laurels on a daily basis in expectation of future ascended Celestial pieces? I wish Anet could temper their secretive instincts and give us a definitive answer on this topic.

garethh.3518:

@glock

You should really get into boxing or something, a good way to take out that anger, without of course furiously typing up then deleting posts on forums while being baffled by basic English.

It’d do you allot of good, I promise

When your arguments make absolutely no sense and you are unable to communicate above a dyslexic drivel the last resort is an ad hominem attack (attack the person not the inherent argument). Rage posts like this just further expose your trollish antics.

glock.2089:

When your arguments make absolutely no sense and you are unable to communicate above a dyslexic drivel the last resort is an ad hominem attack (attack the person not the inherent argument). Rage posts like this just further expose your trollish antics.

Dang, I didn’t think you would take the post so ironically, I was bored so going to see you cringe as you tried to fallow your own advise, but figured it was just because I haven’t slept in 30~ hours so was going to let it go, but DANG, even among forum goers you have a loose leash on your issues.

I would say something about my post, but seriously? I’m attacking you instead of your argument? do you realize what I said, like a’ all? do you seriously believe the non-PvE/WvW celestials net more stats? or is it that your stuck on, to anything vaguely contrary, a sesquipedalian act wins all battles?!??
Ugh, kitten man, I really wish you the best. Seriously among everyone here, be happy, think clearly, best of luck!!

Hey fellas … I’m prettier than both of you … move along :-)

garethh.3518

as you tried to fallow your own advise

I actually feel sorry for you if this is the best you can do.

garethh.3518:

do you seriously believe the non-PvE/WvW celestials net more stats?

Six Runes of Divinity offer 360 stat points plus 12% Critical damage in both the sPVP and PVE versions (60 precision, 60 vitality, 60 toughness, 60 condition damage, 60 healing power, 60 power, 12% Critical damage).

Are you seriously going to argue that any other Rune has stats anywhere near that level? I guess your only recourse is to argue semantics (that technically Runes of Divinity are not Celestial by name) when everyone refers them to them as Celestial and frequently use them in tandem with Celestial ascended trinkets in PVE.

The defining shared characteristic of all Celestial items is that they spread stats among those Seven attributes irrespective of an inconsequential name discrepancy (with the caveat that the ascended versions also give an 8th stat boost to magic find).

definition of the word (celestial)—Belonging or relating to heaven.

definition of word (divine)—Of, from, or like God or a god. synomyms: heavenly – godlike – celestial – supernal

The two words mean the same thing and are synonyms of one another. Do you think this is a coincidence of usage by Anet?

glock.2089:

garethh.3518:

do you seriously believe the non-PvE/WvW celestials net more stats?

I guess your only recourse is to argue semantics (that technically Runes of Divinity are not Celestial by name) when everyone refers them to them as Celestial and frequently use them in tandem with Celestial ascended trinkets in PVE.

I am not referring to the divinity runes.
When I said celestial, I referred to the one thing in the game relevant to this thread with the word “celestial” explicitly in it.

This whole thing was about that one question you had?
If you are confused about whether I’m referring to one set of gear with one word or two sets of gear, its alright to say so without complaining that I’m spouting “incomprehensible gibberish” and “trolling” and “derailing the thread”…
I won’t hold your hand word by word threw what you don’t understand, but if you work out what it is and ask, I can clarify…
I swear people won’t hunt you down and get your home address, email, phone just to constantly laugh at you for years because you don’t act like a know it all on the internet…

You should take up a sport though, its a good pastime, there are studies done that people who run more live generally happier lives, its good stuff…

garethh.3518:

This whole thing was about that one question you had?
If you are confused about whether I’m referring to one set of gear with one word or two sets of gear, its alright to say so without complaining that I’m spouting “incomprehensible gibberish” and “trolling” and “derailing the thread”…
I won’t hold your hand word by word threw what you don’t understand, but if you work out what it is and ask, I can clarify…
I swear people won’t hunt you down and get your home address, email, phone just to constantly laugh at you for years because you don’t act like a know it all on the internet…

You should take up a sport though, its a good pastime, there are studies done that people who run more live generally happier lives, its good stuff…

And like clockwork, straight out of troll playbook:

1. completely ignore salient points of last post—above all else refuse to admit complete and utter failure to understand topic
2. wade into a discussion and immediately invalidate yourself: “I don’t WvW/PvE” (rofl)
3. engage in veiled threats: “people won’t hunt you down and get your home address, email, phone”
4. change the subject and resort to nonsensical statements about life, sports and boxing
5. make excuses like “I haven’t slept in 30~ hours”

and the list goes on and on…

garethh.3518:

I am not referring to the divinity runes.
When I said celestial, I referred to the one thing in the game relevant to this thread with the word “celestial” explicitly in it.

So to clarify this statement are you denying that the following items below are “Celestial” just because they aren’t all specifically labeled “Celestial” in their title?

Why don’t you just admit you didn’t (and still don’t) understand EXACTLY what Celestial refers to. You approached this topic from the narrow scope of sPVP (and even in that limited purview got it wrong by overlooking sPVP Runes of Divinity).

You then compounded this original error by making the demonstrably false assertion that Celestial “doesn’t net you more stats” based on a single sPVP amulet/jewel (this assertion is debatable btw depending on how many stat equivalencies you assign to the 20% crit damage on that item).

For the last time, an item is considered Celestial based on the stats it offers not on its name.

Based on your faulty reasoning, “Celestial sigil” is celestial but the “Ancient Mursaat Token” is not (even though both these accessories have IDENTICAL STATS besides the utility slot—defensive or offensive):

Stats refer to Primary Attribute x 6 (all)/Critical Damage:

sPVP & PVE Runes of Divinty 60-all/12%
Solaria, Circle of the Sun (ascended ring) 43-all/6%
Lunaria, Circle of the Moon (ascended ring) 43-all/6%
Eye of Janthir (ascended amulet) 54-all/7%
The Eyes of Abaddon (ascended amulet) 54-all/7%
Syzygy (ascended amulet) 54-all/7%
Triforge Pendant (ascended version amulet) 54-all/7%
Ancient Mursaat Token (ascended accessory) 38-all/5%
Celestial Sigil (ascended accessory) 38-all/5%

Lastly, Anet’s wiki clearly refutes your statement (feel free to look it up):

“Celestial-type items which have stats in all categories typically HAVE SUPERIOR RATIOS OVERALL, but they lack focus and will incorporate stats which may be of little or no use to a build. "

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Item_nomenclature

glock.2089:

jcbroe.4329:

isn’t it bothersome that equipment is split for pve/pvp? I understand the reasoning behind it entirely, but it creates an unnecessary knowledge gap, which is definitely frustrating)

I agree without reservation the discrepancies between PVE and PVP item availability is troubling and becoming more convoluted.

Why no exotic soldier jewel (Power/Vit/Toughness) for PVE but the equivalent is wrapped up in the soldier amulet/jewel in sPVP? Why no apothecary gear available for sPVP when there are exotic/ascended versions in PVE? It is idiosyncratic oversights like this that are perplexing.

My biggest qualm is Anet should give us a roadmap of the next year for target dates as to when ascended weapons/armor is going to be made available.

Should we be farming/storing prisitine fractal relics and laurels on a daily basis in expectation of future ascended Celestial pieces? I wish Anet could temper their secretive instincts and give us a definitive answer on this topic.

You can get soldier’s stats from the crest (the same with rabid, magi and shaman I believe). Crests perform the same role as orbs when placed into armour. Unfortunately you can’t get soldier’s jewels for trinkets and crests have slightly lower stats than crests so it’d be a waste to use them, with the many other sources of soldier’s stats (crests, base armour stats, the trinkets from Orr karma vendors or WvW badges) or the simple existence of the superior ascended soldier’s stats, I don’t think it’s a huge issue.

In addition to that a new stat combination appears to be on the way, Sentinals (http://www.gw2db.com/recipes?filter-recipe-date-added=3%2f26%2f2013). It has power and toughness as minor stats and vitality as a major stat (as opposed to power as the major stat with toughness and vitality as the minor stats). It’s possible if these ever become attainable in the game, they might add a few more stat combinations (maybe even a soldier’s jewel).

I believe they intentionally limit the sPvP stat combinations to ensure that balance is a little easier. By having fewer variables to work around, they are able to balance more easily.

Honestly I think PvE stat combinations have become crazy convoluted and far too confusing. They should have scrapped the current design and gone with a gem system. Two different tiers of gems – major and minor. Every armour piece has three sockets (one with a major, two with a minor) and you can socket which gem you want in each socket. This would have given players 100% customisation of which major and minor stat combinations they wanted without having to create a rigid system of prefixes and limitations in the number of prefixes offered. You don’t have to learn the names of all the different prefixes, just learn which stat each gem adds (it will be far less than the prefixes in the game) and then socket away with your preferences. Currently you have to fit the rigid stat combinations into your build in a way which comes as close as possible to what your ideal is (even if it doesn’t quite make it). It becomes confusing to use and usually results in homogenised choices due to an inability to truly get what you want.

As the list of prefixes grows and becomes more and more convoluted, I hope ArenaNet decides to go down a different route.

Back on topic, I’ve been running celestial stats since FotM came out. It’s hard to make a hybrid crit/condition damage build, especially when you want to emphasise the crit damage more than condition damage (rather than just running berserker’s armour and either carrion or rampager’s trinkets). Celestial was a tempting compromise which allows me to run both while not wasting all my condition damage ticks. I still find myself craving stronger condition damage some times (I used to run a rampager’s build) but the stat set up from Celestial trinkets is effective in most builds which allows it to be versatile for trying different things. With the high cost of ascended items, versatility is very important.

I use a celestial build, with knight’s armor and divinity runes. Still has around 50% critical rate, 70% with fury which is most of the time. 60% critical damage, Berserker greatsword, berserker axe + warhorn. For WvW, I can do frontline skirmishing, small group roaming, and during sieges I can swap to a longbow or take the trait to use traps at range. My pet can tank champions all day long if they get in the way during pve exploration. Want to farm karka-shells, stroll up to them with GS #4, or swap from warhorn to axe offhand #5, or even let your pet attack first with F1. Tough enough to take just about anything on head first with your pet, plus with all the Heal over Time at your disposal you can stay alive exceedingly well. HoT is key to staying alive, because you don’t do burst damage, but still have a high enough sustained dps to mow everything down. The biggest threat is DoT, such as conditions, unless you use healing spring (but it lacks the HoT potentional of Troll Ungeunt), which means you are left with a signet that removes it every 10 seconds or sigils that remove on critical once every 10 seconds. I use condition duration shortening food in places with heavy conditions as a tool to mitigate the danger of DoT.