Guild Wars 2

Updated 28/10/2015

Changed Primal Echoes to Druidic Clarity.
Celestial Avatar, no longer degenerates outside of combat and you start with a full bar.

Hi, final version after many hours of doing Solo Que, Team Que, Scrims and Duels. I will be using this build competitively once you learn the rotations survival isn’t a problem.

Runes: Runes of Durability (not listed on gw2skills.net yet)

Build Link: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJATWnUqAVsilsCOsActglOBDelOTzpOBuAQh7pFk4WYl8s0A-TZBFABCcEAEvMABPAgFOEAAcBAAA

Team Roll: Burst/Support, can defend home point 1v1 or push far, very strong in 2v2 and team fights.

Defence: With 1355 Toughness + Protective Ward you’re never going to get spiked down. Boon duration is 45% so you have almost perma regen and swiftness.

Offence: Once might stack which isn’t hard you sit on around 2700-2800 Power with 74% crit chance under fury most of the fight, your damage is very high. You have decent cleave and ability to suddenly burst half life targets down at long range, Smokescales F2 + Rapid Fire is your main burst followed with staff combo using Bristlebacks F2 and Vine Surge at range.

Support: Staff, Glyphs and CAF. Your support healing is still decent so don’t worry about not having healing power. You also have Allies’ Aid, best combo I’ve found is to use Sublime Conversion + Ancestral Grace or just Ancestral Grace if you need to get there fast to the downed target (team mate) followed with F (res key pet starts res’ing) Glyph of Equality then use Glyph of the Tides, this will help clear conditions, blind, daze and knockback foes nearby, now once you done this combo press F again start helping with the res. If you want to do this combo faster swap pets soon as you use your Ancestral Grace to get Quickness.

Sublime Conversion is very decent skill, can be used several ways one to help support team heals on a point or while you’re trying to escape and clearing conditions. Try to use it wisely just don’t spam it or think it’s worthless outside blasting it with Ancestral Grace.

Try to save “Strength of the pack” for CAF if you plan on pushing onto point to help support teammates or just healing you don’t want to get CC trained. In order to land your #5 in CAF mode you kinda need Sotp up or most of the time you will get interrupted.

Escape: Staff, Ancestral Grace then Sublime Conversion to stop any ranged attack followed with Vine Surge. Now this won’t always work but don’t stick around in a losing fight or if you’re about to have respawns be aware of incoming and get out before they can do anything. Giving up the point and resetting is far better than losing the point and giving them free kill putting you on reswap letting them snowball fights in there favor.

Stone signet is something you never really want to use it helps support the base tank, I only use when I’m locked down taking insane amounts of burst and there is no way to recover.

Condition Remove: Now at first look rather it’s weak but due to your CC, Blinds and Dodge your able to mitigate most of incoming condition damage and due to very high damage output at such long range it allows you to punish condition spammers (point campers).

Fighting condition necros which are strong vs this build you want to kite them and burst at range so once necro gets on top of you swap to Staff port out and put up your wall and blind spam him lock down with cc change to bristleback and F2 him. Once he gets close again just stealth and reposition, doesn’t matter if you lose cap as long as you’re going to win the fight and recap. Due to such high burst the Necro will go into defensive mode allowing you to punish him even more, don’t be scared you can beat a condition spammer with limited condition remove.

Pushing a Point: You have great tools to quickly decap a point, I normally use staff I will Ancestral Grace to the point use Glyph of Equality followed with Glyph of the Tides into Vine Surge, pet/weapon swap followed with Point Blank Shot into Rapid Fire pet F2. After that combo point will be 100% decapped and target is on the defence. This doesn’t always go to plan so use the combo when you can look for Stability and Blocks don’t waste skills needlessly.

Bristleback: Seems to be overlooked, the burst from Bristle is very high I would go as far as saying the highest spike damage we have with a catch. More range less Bristle will hit the target, you want to be mid range or right in the face of the target.

Smokescale: I only use Smokescale when I’m doing a burst rotation, his ability to teleport and sit on the target is just too good to pass up.

Note, Dragon Hunters can’t handle your pressure and burst damage, rotate your spike damage use Sublime Conversion when there in bow mode, once they teleport to you just use your Glyphs swap to staff reposition spike repeat, you will take one down rather fast. Survival isn’t a problem its worth using Sotp vs DH early in the fight it really puts them in tight spot that can’t lock you down allowing you to freely burst.

Update: Now using Rune of Durability, working really well with the build didn’t really notice the damage loss.

Hey, thanks for the build! I’m certainly having lots of fun with it and survivability is pretty good too!

Cheer’s mate, I’ve done some tweaks to the build.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJATWnUqAVsilsC2CCEtilOBDulOTzpOBuAQh7pFk4WYl8s0A-TZBFABC8AAEvMgDHCgFOCAAcBAAA

I felt worked a lot better in this meta, if you’re fighting condition heavy team replace protect me with signet of renewal and you should be fine.

What’s the Rune of Durability have on it?

+25 Toughness
+5% Boon Duration
+50 Toughness
25% chance when struck to grant nearby allies protection regeneration for 3 seconds and resistance for 1 seconds. (cooldown: 20 seconds)(Also works on self and pet)
+100 Toughness
+15% Boon Durations: +125 Vitality.

Sol.4310:

+25 Toughness
+5% Boon Duration
+50 Toughness
25% chance when struck to grant nearby allies protection regeneration for 3 seconds and resistance for 1 seconds. (Also works on self and pet)
+100 Toughness
+15% Boon Durations: +125 Vitality.

That’s pretty great! Whats the CD on the (4) bonus, if its shown? Sry I cannot check in-game myself for a while still.

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

Sol.4310:

+25 Toughness
+5% Boon Duration
+50 Toughness
25% chance when struck to grant nearby allies protection regeneration for 3 seconds and resistance for 1 seconds. (Also works on self and pet)
+100 Toughness
+15% Boon Durations: +125 Vitality.

That’s pretty great! Whats the CD on the (4) bonus, if its shown? Sry I cannot check in-game myself for a while still.

Added it’s 20 seconds ICD.

Pretty nice! I think I’ll use that one for sure.

this build works great :P!

druidic clarity is a must imo. did you not select it by accident? you don’t have any on-demand condi cleanses, so waiting for SoL to pop in its small aoe in marauder stats isn’t an option.

id also go SoTP over unity. unity shines in its avatar version, but u generally need healing power for it to make a difference to your teammates.

looks great fun otherwise!

mistsim.2748:

druidic clarity is a must imo. did you not select it by accident? you don’t have any on-demand condi cleanses, so waiting for SoL to pop in its small aoe in marauder stats isn’t an option.

id also go SoTP over unity. unity shines in its avatar version, but u generally need healing power for it to make a difference to your teammates.

looks great fun otherwise!

SoTP, should be selected for some reason I forgot to change.

Druidic Clarity, isn’t need. Chill necro is only condition class I’ve had problems against. Is only useful in big team fights you take fair amount in 1v1 and 2v2 for CAF to build so in saying that how useful is it really?.

Also you can just change between WS and NM depending.

Each to there own I like being useful in all areas rather than set roll.

Druidic Clarity, just started using if other side has Necro and well GG easy mode.

So I think out of first 3 traits Druidic Clarity is decent options.

Updated Final Build. I won’t be changing anything unless nerfs or bugs.

Thanks for putting this guide together, gonna try it out later! Not a big fan of celestial/bunker play.

I’m just so excited, we have like 4-5 viable builds. I don’t know what to play first.

Sol.4310:

Druidic Clarity, isn’t need. Chill necro is only condition class I’ve had problems against. Is only useful in big team fights you take fair amount in 1v1 and 2v2 for CAF to build so in saying that how useful is it really?.

well we need at least two stun breakers. against good players, probably 3 in the current meta. you’ll find u don’t really need the reduced CD from staff, its cd’s are already super low.

I’m also thinking the build could be a little bit more efficient without Protect Me. I’m just finding I really need that on-demand condi wipe these days. there are lots of burns out there still. but maybe it’s just my playstyle.

you will also find that with verdant etching + marauder combo, you just wont be able to wait around for that seed to blow up for the cleanse. u can do that running cele or minstrel, but u cant stand around with marauder stats…gotta keep moving. for that reason, relying only on glyphs for condi cleanses may be the biggest weakness of the build.

the other general comment I have about LB is that it doesn’t project damage too well, unless you have LTW. whereas staff always pierces. secondly, not spamming staff currently is a big disadvantage because it severely limits your AF generation. meaning that you cant spam those LI’s and NC’s for your team on point as often as you could if you used staff offensively and defensively. maybe if they get rid of AF decay, it could work. but I’m finding myself in staff all the time to keep that avatar flowing.

mistsim.2748:

I’m just so excited, we have like 4-5 viable builds. I don’t know what to play first.

Sol.4310:

Druidic Clarity, isn’t need. Chill necro is only condition class I’ve had problems against. Is only useful in big team fights you take fair amount in 1v1 and 2v2 for CAF to build so in saying that how useful is it really?.

well we need at least two stun breakers. against good players, probably 3 in the current meta. you’ll find u don’t really need the reduced CD from staff, its cd’s are already super low.

I’m also thinking the build could be a little bit more efficient without Protect Me. I’m just finding I really need that on-demand condi wipe these days. there are lots of burns out there still. but maybe it’s just my playstyle.

you will also find that with verdant etching + marauder combo, you just wont be able to wait around for that seed to blow up for the cleanse. u can do that running cele or minstrel, but u cant stand around with marauder stats…gotta keep moving. for that reason, relying only on glyphs for condi cleanses may be the biggest weakness of the build.

the other general comment I have about LB is that it doesn’t project damage too well, unless you have LTW. whereas staff always pierces. secondly, not spamming staff currently is a big disadvantage because it severely limits your AF generation. meaning that you cant spam those LI’s and NC’s for your team on point as often as you could if you used staff offensively and defensively. maybe if they get rid of AF decay, it could work. but I’m finding myself in staff all the time to keep that avatar flowing.

I must use Glyphs differently to you, there also light fields remember. This opens up rather decent options if you look at synergy between traits and glyphs.

E.g. Glyph of Equality is also Light Field for the time it takes to blossom, meaning you can use projectile finishers giving more conditions remove. This is highly effective if you’re good at pet swapping in tight spots and using projectiles, I can normally get off full rapid fire removing fair amount of conditions before it even blossoms. If the target doesn’t have Stability I will use Point Blank Shot and Hunter’s Shot with Glyph of Equality, lets me completely reset and removes 4 conditions.

Something you need to remember as well, the Glyph also blinds the target and daze, this opens up window for counter play and due to running NM trait line I have Protective Ward which helps with counter play.

Longbow is really easy weapon to use, cool trick is E.g. your target is at back peeling out low life just use Ancestral Grace, try and land close or on the target followed with Glyph of Equality which will daze and blind the target into pet/weapon swap F2 smokescale and rapid fire, most of time it lands sometimes you get unlucky but same goes for everyone else. Barrage with 2800 Power and 74% crit chance on a point hits extremely hard.

Longbow is great tool for peeling players off teammates. If you can successfully land Point Blank Shot and due to being at range it’s easy to spot, you can follow up with Rapid Fire and Petswap F2 so it’s all under QZ.

I have no real problem getting CAF needed in team fights and 2v2 it’s rather simple, 1v1 are bit of a problem but normally I don’t need CAF to win a 1v1 and if things aren’t going my way I just peel myself out. Heal up come back repeat.

Now this is all common sense, know your skills and the synergy between traits and what plays you have to offer.

Like Primal Echoes was picked up after I tested Cultivated Synergy I like having the extra heal but you can’t pass up the option to swap into staff daze your foe allowing you to use Ancestral Grace so you can reposition and counter spike. It’s not about faster cooldown on skills it was all about Daze for me, gave me more options. Like how can you pass up 300 Radius Daze.

Now there has been times I’ve had necro come in and condition bomb me, I normally just reset they can’t keep up in terms of range and Sublime Conversion counters all there range attacks making it rather simple to remove conditions heal to full and counter spike, normally I just control them with knock backs and force them into DS quickly with big spikes. So simple to do, staff opened up so many opens for tactical plays and being able to reset.

Only real major problem I’ve had is getting immobilized and stuck in Dragon Hunter Traps, but easy fix is to use Stone Signet or Protect Me, I’ve gone back to Stone Signet for one simple reason when I go in for res on teammate I don’t want to disable my pet’s actions. I did enjoy having Protect Me, the 48 second CD which gives me regen/swiftness and breaks stun it was rather hard to pass up.

So when you take that all into account, gives you more versatility in terms of what you can take rather than what you have to take. More free slots means more utility, more utility means more options.

Like don’t take what I said wrong way, my tactics and gameplay are most likely different to yours. I like to play aggressive locking my target down forcing them into defensive mode rather than me being forced into defensive mode.

no worries, I’m not taking it the wrong way. we’re both pretty stubborn with different play styles lol. as I said, it’s really nice for a change to have several viable builds for once.

I tested the crap out of glyphs, and from my experience, when youre getting locked down, immobed, and trained you need the condi cleanse INSTANTLY, not in 0.5 or 1s. or you simply eat the spike. in marauder stats, u just cant afford to do wait for the seed to blow up. its range is only 240. the two stunbreakers are definitely there, but as you probably know, Protect Me doesnt cut it as an invuln in large aoe brawls on point.

if I were to run LB and glyphs on a marauder build though, id definitely use yours =P

mistsim.2748:

no worries, I’m not taking it the wrong way. we’re both pretty stubborn with different play styles lol. as I said, it’s really nice for a change to have several viable builds for once.

I tested the crap out of glyphs, and from my experience, when youre getting locked down, immobed, and trained you need the condi cleanse INSTANTLY, not in 0.5 or 1s. or you simply eat the spike. in marauder stats, u just cant afford to do wait for the seed to blow up. its range is only 240. the two stunbreakers are definitely there, but as you probably know, Protect Me doesnt cut it as an invuln in large aoe brawls on point.

if I were to run LB and glyphs on a marauder build though, id definitely use yours =P

It’s tricky at times, but I’ve been working alot on my positioning it helps, also I messed up build link just remembered after reading different post, I’m using Fire on staff over blood sigil and blood over fire sigil longbow, which also helps in being able to control conditions better. It’s getting close to 4am so I should get some sleep.

But once I get some decent footage I was going to put together video, and just not video me beating up nubs I wanted to make the video more or use guide with tips and tricks I’m using. I do feel Marauder version is little tricker in terms of survival which makes it allot more proactive. Something I found from playing bunker I tend to get lazy and start to forget simplest of things.

Uhmm mate, is one stun breaker really enough?

StickerHappy.8052:

Uhmm mate, is one stun breaker really enough?

Not really a problem, I just changed the build with the recent update to Celestial Avatar, I opted to take Druidic Clarity now that it’s more accessible.

Also most of the time you only need the one Stun-Breaker, Glyph of Equality the recharge is decent and most of time its back up by time you’re back at it and for them times you need to use multiple stun-breakers just remember to use Stone Signet, most of time when your getting stun/dazed/cc trained your taking allot of heat so Stone Signet is a better option then taking the extra stun-breaker.

Nice build.

But in future, will be really AWESOME if everyone who make new topic with new cool build will attach Video, when he show on practice, that these build are good.