Guild Wars 2

Hello guys,
do you remember me? about 5 days ago I asked you for help to buid my ranger for wvw and now, after days of tests, i want to share with you my definive build (that doesn’t mean “i don’t need your help anymore” and any suggestion will be well appreciated).
So if you find that “guide” usefull ill be simply happy to be of help, if not please let me know what do you think about.

Build:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fMAQJATRnIVkFcgF+VgahAY9Yv++rVITODDZ0L4kN4tUA-j0yAYrARigoCAZPh0Eo0YRtIasK9IrWwUlA6zk6NKiWtQAjGDA-w

Overall Description:
the main aim of this build is to deal massive single target damage while maintaining an excellent survivability and the capacity to disengage and burst on demand. The principal way to do it is stack massive vulnerability on enemies and block them at range.

Traits:
at least i decided to go for an uncommon 30/25/10/5/0 instead of the most used 20/25/25/0/0 simply because i really want to deal big damage not only if the enemy is not facing me but also in a middle 1vs1 fight.
So i refused “peak strength” simply because deal 10% more damage is a great bonus but to get it only when health is over 90%… is really hard especially for a class which haven’t much way to renegerate hp (but only if you are running a regen renger… and this isn’t a regen renger build).

Trait per Trait and tactics:

1- first of all i decided to go for 30 points in Marksmanship because of the “always crit opening strike” and the capacity to regain opening strike if you go stealth or kill someone. That’s a great chance for us to improve our longbow stealth and deal a simply… enormous damage, let’s explain how.
1) fight start -> rapid fire + opening strike (you and your pet) = 20vuln stacks
2) hunter’s shot -> invisibility -> anothet opening strike
3) swap to GS -> get 3 might stacks (from sigil) -> use maul -> devastation

• remember to use maul at enemies back in order to get 10% damage bonus and don’t dodge roll! (because you lose another 10% damage)
  with that simply combo you get a 6k+ rapid fire + 4k+ maul = 10k+ (+ pet damage) in few moments and with really few chances to avoid it. (and don’t forget that your enemy now has… 25+3 vuln stacks! 3 over stacks!

2- sharpened edges motivation:
with this trait you have a good chance to apply bleeding (66% according to wiki) and our main skill to apply bleeding will be “barrage”. Our bleeding damage wouldn’t be very high but we can spam AOE bleeding… for free… so it’s perfect to barrage an enemy team while, for exemple, they are ressing someone (fallen during a previous fight) because we are going to apply about 8 aoe bleeding stacks (66% of 12).

3- “why rejuvenation” over “companion’s defense”:
to get 2 sec protection per dodge roll (about 4sec every 10 sec) is a good thing… but the problem is that we can’t dodge roll (according to “steady focus”)!
So basically to put 5 more points in W. Survival means that we have to choose: or to defend us… or to deal damage but we cant get them both!
With Rejuvenation we get, instead, a free regeneration at 75% HP wich means that, if we can disengage fight and run away, we get a free regeneration without lose damage and can help us to resist to conditions and so to survive better against class with condition (and without).

weapons choice:
Long Bow -> is the main dps/utility weapon of this build; use stealth, knock back and barrage to controll enemies and deal great damage with rapid fire.

tip: sometimes, when you are over a tower for exemple, it’s not wise to keep up a fight against someone who reach you over here… instead PBS to throw out and gain time… if you are luky he will die.

Greatsword -> is the main utility/defense/combo weapon; use Counterattack as soon as you can if a thief attacks you, swoop is perfect to reach running enemies or simply to disengage, hilth bash can really help you to block a warrior’s 100B (if you got immobilized) or simply to avoid enemy to heal, maul is the finishing move… great damage and vuln stack can help you to finish someone or simply prepare to switch to LB and unload your rapid fire on enemies

Heal:
Heal As One -> everyone now will say “Troll Unguent” is better… but i can say “that’s not true” and that’s why:
Troll Unguent: 8560 hp over 10 sec every 25 sec -> 342.4 hp per sec
Heal As One -> 6520 hp (x2 if considering your pet) every 20 sec -> 326 hp per sec

so as you can see the difference is 16hp per sec which isn’t a really huge difference but the most important thing is that while TU can’t save you if, for exemple, cd finishes when you have 10% or less hp instead HAO can really save you because of the istant heal… and don’t forget that you get heal for your pet as well and you need to keep alive your “bear” in order to use “protect me” or simply to remove aoe conditions.

Utilities:
“protect me!” -> it’s a must to increase your survivability and resist to full zerker thieves or skull crack warriors.
Signet of the Hunt -> really important because we can’t stack swiftness so easily so we need that increased movement speed.
Signet of Renewal -> essential for condition removal and rember to activate it only if you are going to die, due to conditions, and if your pet is alive and near you!

Elite:
Entagle -> it’s a must… a really good defensive/offensive skill which can save you and deal enormous damage at the same time. That skill is also really fatal for those classes which can’t attack roots directly for exemple elementalists, mesmers, thieves (too slow to kill them), hunters (if only ranged), and necromancers.

Rampage As One -> it’s another good choice to increase our dps… buti still prefer entagle

Pets:
Bear -> esential for condition removal and for “protect me”… every other pet will be istakilled…
wolf -> because of the nice damage… and of the aoe fear which can really be of help is trying to ress someone or simply to run away from a thief
or spiders -> a really good option in order to get range damage, poison… and a single target immobilize.

underwater:
jellifish -> it’s a must because of aoe healing… damage… and chill… what else?
bear -> always a good choice since you have protect me… and for condition removal of course
or armored fish -> it’s a really… strong pet! a nice damage togheter with a great health pool and a stun (2s) on demand! really a good offensive choice!

Ok, that’s all… about 1 hour to write all and 5 days to test XD i hope to be of help and let me know every your suggestion.
Bye

ps: sorry for grammar errors

I have to be honest, I didn’t read your entire description. I’m just wondering why you took sharpened edges with only 100 condition damage? I mean, you said,

2- sharpened edges motivation:
with this trait you have a good chance to apply vulnerability (66% according to wiki) and our main skill to apply bleeding will be “barrage”. Our bleeding damage wouldn’t be very high but we can spam AOE bleeding… for free… so it’s perfect to barrage an enemy team while, for exemple, they are ressing someone (fallen during a previous fight) because we are going to apply about 8 aoe bleeding stacks (66% of 12).

But I’m not sure that sharpened edges applies vulnerability…

Chopps.5047:

I have to be honest, I didn’t read your entire description. I’m just wondering why you took sharpened edges with only 100 condition damage? I mean, you said,

2- sharpened edges motivation:
with this trait you have a good chance to apply vulnerability (66% according to wiki) and our main skill to apply bleeding will be “barrage”. Our bleeding damage wouldn’t be very high but we can spam AOE bleeding… for free… so it’s perfect to barrage an enemy team while, for exemple, they are ressing someone (fallen during a previous fight) because we are going to apply about 8 aoe bleeding stacks (66% of 12).

But I’m not sure that sharpened edges applies vulnerability…

sorry there was an error… i meant bleeding :<
the point is that the build hasn’t a good condition damage but the base damage for bleeding (+ 100 cond damage from traits) is 48 (according to buildcraft.com) so basically is an increase of +400 aoe damage per barrage which is surely better than “primal reflexes”.
correcting the mistake

I’d take agility training, to be honest, since you won’t get fortifying bond (which means your pet won’t generally have swiftness). There’s also companion’s might (great with condition pets too) that gives 5s might to pet every time you score a crit.

Other popular options include pet prowess (doesn’t help too much if you run cats or birds without run speed—although in theory very bursty when combined with cat/bird and Sick ’Em) and primal reflexes (keeping your vigor boons up help you get the most out of steady focus, as well as stay alive when under burst).

There was a chart posted here somewhere. Basically it illustrated what we all knew was true: cats and birds struggle against moving targets (they need you to slow down, stun, or immobilize if they don’t get more run speed than the target). If you don’t want agility training, then a spider and companion’s might is strong with a precision build. There’s better options than sharpened edges here.

Kjeldoran.3849:

Heal:
Heal As One -> everyone now will say “Troll Unguent” is better… but i can say “that’s not true” and that’s why:
Troll Unguent: 8560 hp over 10 sec every 25 sec -> 342.4 hp per sec
Heal As One -> 6520 hp (x2 if considering your pet) every 20 sec -> 326 hp per sec

so as you can see the difference is 16hp per sec which isn’t a really huge difference but the most important thing is that while TU can’t save you if, for exemple, cd finishes when you have 10% or less hp instead HAO can really save you because of the istant heal… and don’t forget that you get heal for your pet as well and you need to keep alive your “bear” in order to use “protect me” or simply to remove aoe conditions.

I’m also getting back into the game after a break, and specifically swapping from my warrior to my ranger after an even longer break from that. Been reading around to see what has been changed since my WvW/PvE generalist beastmaster build doesn’t have quite the omph it once had, but ran across this part while I was reviewing the summary.

Troll’s also applies healing to the pet, so that HaO also heals pet is moot.

Yeah, the advantage of HaO is that the heal is instant (also scales much better with a healing power build) but that’s about it. What makes troll’s better is that you can use it before you’re in dire need of healing and you’ll waste less if you pop it early. You can be hurt if you rush to pop HaO. And once troll’s healing runs out, you only have 15sekittenil it’s cooldown is up.

Honestly, the heal is always up to preference, IMO. It’s not quite build reliant. Even though I don’t like using it often, Healing Spring likely heals the most in majority scenarios.

Chopps.5047:

I’d take agility training, to be honest, since you won’t get fortifying bond (which means your pet won’t generally have swiftness). There’s also companion’s might (great with condition pets too) that gives 5s might to pet every time you score a crit.

Other popular options include pet prowess (doesn’t help too much if you run cats or birds without run speed—although in theory very bursty when combined with cat/bird and Sick ’Em) and primal reflexes (keeping your vigor boons up help you get the most out of steady focus, as well as stay alive when under burst).

There was a chart posted here somewhere. Basically it illustrated what we all knew was true: cats and birds struggle against moving targets (they need you to slow down, stun, or immobilize if they don’t get more run speed than the target). If you don’t want agility training, then a spider and companion’s might is strong with a precision build. There’s better options than sharpened edges here.

hello, thank you for feedback.
As you can understand pets aren’t the aim of this build so i prefer to stack bleeding on enemies and get increased overall damage while my pet don’t need speed simply because if i want to attack with i simply swap to my spider and get ranged dps/poison but in the most of situation i prefer to use my bear and remove aoe condition or use protect me simply because improves my survivability.

I refused Primal Reflexes simply because it needed to be critted and gives you only 5 sec on regeneration which means 1 extra dodge roll after 5 sec… not good for me, but hey at anyone their play style.

Leo G.4501:

…
Troll’s also applies healing to the pet, so that HaO also heals pet is moot.

Yeah, the advantage of HaO is that the heal is instant (also scales much better with a healing power build) but that’s about it. What makes troll’s better is that you can use it before you’re in dire need of healing and you’ll waste less if you pop it early. You can be hurt if you rush to pop HaO. And once troll’s healing runs out, you only have 15sekittenil it’s cooldown is up.

Honestly, the heal is always up to preference, IMO. It’s not quite build reliant. Even though I don’t like using it often, Healing Spring likely heals the most in majority scenarios.

yes, you are right i forget to say that also TU heals pet but the point is:

• istant heal vs over time heal

but there are many problems with over time heals:
1- if you use it at fight beginning probably (if you do all right) you get overheal and so waste hp per second
2- if you use it at fight beginning probably you can use it again during fight end when both players (a general tie situation) have low health and while your opponent get 5k+ insta heal you get 856hp per sec and the enemy can kill you with a little burst damage
3- if your pet is going to die (while protect me is active) with TU you cant save it and you will lose the immunity to damage…
4- the worst situation is when you forget to activate it during fight beginning… here you will die really quick

i’m saying all that only because these situations have happened to me plenty of times
the only way to get more benefits from TU than HAO is that you use it at fight start while under massive attack… so you get your hp around 50% for the entire duration and activate also the regeneration (at 75% hp) and then use protect me… then gain time by avoiding all and reuse it at 50% hp (not less because you will be bursted and downed too easily) then immobilize enemy with entagle and reach 75% hp again (with TU) and get another regenration (25sec heal + 5 sec, half heal time)… but this situation is harder than you think to create…

Kjeldoran.3849:

i’m saying all that only because these situations have happened to me plenty of times
the only way to get more benefits from TU than HAO is that you use it at fight start while under massive attack…

Wrong. Ranger has far too many “can’t touch me” skills to think you can only use it before taking much damage. It’s more a factor of skill than necessity. If you can evade 2 or more attacks while Troll’s up, that’s easily 1600hp which stacks well if you have any other regen.

Like I said, it’s preference. But on its face, Troll’s heals more than HaO, by numbers and I’d choose it as it’s my preferred heal. But this is off topic, isn’t it.

Leo G.4501:

Kjeldoran.3849:

i’m saying all that only because these situations have happened to me plenty of times
the only way to get more benefits from TU than HAO is that you use it at fight start while under massive attack…

Wrong. Ranger has far too many “can’t touch me” skills to think you can only use it before taking much damage. It’s more a factor of skill than necessity. If you can evade 2 or more attacks while Troll’s up, that’s easily 1600hp which stacks well if you have any other regen.

Like I said, it’s preference. But on its face, Troll’s heals more than HaO, by numbers and I’d choose it as it’s my preferred heal. But this is off topic, isn’t it.

Kjeldoran.3849:

yes, you are right i forget to say that also TU heals pet but the point is:

• istant heal vs over time heal

but there are many problems with over time heals:
1- if you use it at fight beginning probably (if you do all right) you get overheal and so waste hp per second

as i said if you avoid every attack you get overheal… and this is a waste of heal per sec the only way to get more benefits from TU is to use is while under attack so you can use it all… it’s a lot different from HAO because you can use it in every situation. Also that simply calculation shows you how little is the difference of heal:

8560:25 = x:20
x= 6848 hp every 20 sec
HaO = 6520 hp every 20 sec
so the difference is 228hp but while the first one is over time the second is istant.

Personally, I prefer Lightning Reflexes as my on-demand stunbreak because of the extra dodge (combat mobility!) and vigor that you gain (even more dodges). It also happens to not rely on a pet being alive, which makes that choice more open (I’m currently trying out a panther, just for the “stealth myself and pet” effect =P). But I guess if this part works, it works.

Next, the heal. While what you say is true and HaO offers more of a burst heal, it has over a second casting time, giving anyone with an interrupt ample time to stop you, and 1/4 second more than TU. With regards to TU being less resilient to damage spikes – you’re not supposed to heal through them, you’re supposed to avoid them (and will, with anything that’s not a thief – for a thief you have your greatsword block and swoop). I personally prefer either TU or even the water field (when I’m running the “gain vigor on heal” trait – each pulse of the spring gives you vigor). But each heal can work (I know though that if I play as a thief and see a looong cast time on a heal, that heal isn’t going anywhere).

One more thing: for now, Remorseless is bugged, so consider switching it out until it gets fixed (it basically only applies the crit and vuln when you’re not in combat). Spotter or Piercing Arrows, depending on whether you’re roaming or in a zerg fight.

Kjeldoran.3849:

Leo G.4501:

Kjeldoran.3849:

i’m saying all that only because these situations have happened to me plenty of times
the only way to get more benefits from TU than HAO is that you use it at fight start while under massive attack…

Wrong. Ranger has far too many “can’t touch me” skills to think you can only use it before taking much damage. It’s more a factor of skill than necessity. If you can evade 2 or more attacks while Troll’s up, that’s easily 1600hp which stacks well if you have any other regen.

Like I said, it’s preference. But on its face, Troll’s heals more than HaO, by numbers and I’d choose it as it’s my preferred heal. But this is off topic, isn’t it.

Kjeldoran.3849:

yes, you are right i forget to say that also TU heals pet but the point is:

• istant heal vs over time heal

but there are many problems with over time heals:
1- if you use it at fight beginning probably (if you do all right) you get overheal and so waste hp per second

as i said if you avoid every attack you get overheal… and this is a waste of heal per sec the only way to get more benefits from TU is to use is while under attack so you can use it all… it’s a lot different from HAO because you can use it in every situation. Also that simply calculation shows you how little is the difference of heal:

8560:25 = x:20
x= 6848 hp every 20 sec
HaO = 6520 hp every 20 sec
so the difference is 228hp but while the first one is over time the second is istant.

TU helps maintain HP during conditions far better, as well. Dont forget, in that 25 seconds we’re talking about, youll be casting TU for 1s, and HaO for ~1.5-1.6s

Also, if using Dwayna, you also get regen procced 25% more often.

Kjeldoran.3849:

as i said if you avoid every attack you get overheal… and this is a waste of heal per sec the only way to get more benefits from TU is to use is while under attack so you can use it all… it’s a lot different from HAO because you can use it in every situation.

You can overheal with any heal. Heal over time means you’re less likely to overheal because you can still heal while taking damage.

@Kjeldoran

Your build is decent. However, your choices seem to be all over the place and you could actually improve your dps and survival with other choices.

My thoughts:

Not taking (MoC) Moment of Clarity when using greatsword/longbow is a mistake. Remove the 5pts from NM to get MoC. This will help your spike especially when you master timing your interrupts.

Even though Remorseless is bugged I am still not much a fan of it. I think signet of the beastmaster is a better option. If you took that you could drop the subpar “protect me” and get the better option against spike: Signet of Stone (SoS). The passive toughness boost is very nice too. Protect me would be a decent choice if you don’t have 30 in MM but since you do I think the choice is clear.

SotBM also makes your signet of the hunt another option for boosting spike and I love using that at the end of a coupe degrace rotation. You can also preload it ahead of time and it lasts for just over 15mins.

Not a much of a fan anymore for entangle. Too telegraphed, too easy to get out of and once you burn it you get no real benefit from it unlike Rage as One. Also, RaO could fill the lack of stability in your build. Having a source of stability is a must for WvWvW. RaO also helps direct damage builds more with the fury boon, not to mention the pet benefits.

Heal as One is good. Good healing power. Just not a fan of the cast time. It feels like an eternity in PvP. I prefer the much shorter cast time healing spring provides not to mention the option of a double heal from leap finisher with the GS. Combine that with regen procs and condition removal and makes it such a nice heal.

If you take SotBM i would drop steady focus because in a tough fight you can basically kiss that extra 10% good bye. I am not a fan of traits that only work sometimes unless they are too powerful to pass up. Planning for worst cast scenario is smarter. Same logic behind eagle eye. Yes the damage boost is good but what happens when an opponent uses one of the many gap closers available. Half the trait effectiveness goes bye bye just like that since you just lost any extra range.

Disagree with sharpened edges being free since you used up a trait slot to get it. Since you have virtually no condition damage it really doesn’t synergize well with your build. I think taking Chopp’s suggestion with companion’s might is a better choice. If you go with RaO it synergizes very well with it for power/crit users. Just a few pet hits with a pet having some might stacks will pretty much cover the bleeds you lost (at least for single target attacks).

You could make better armor and trinket choices which would increase survival and damage. More Valk would get your health and crit damage up and more cavalier would get you more toughness while keeping crit damage. You could make up some lost prec with going with oils instead of stones as well as the spotter trait. You get the idea.

You have no sustain. I would drop the food choice and pick up omnom pies. You could easily make up the lost crit damage with better armor/trinket choices. Just two attacks could (assuming they both crit and the food procs) basically makes up for your loss of the adept Nm trait’s regen. This food is a great choice for power/crit builds since you just can’t stack healing power and regen sources without losing the damage. The negative is you have to always be attacking to get benefit. Thats where regen or mango pies are better, always ticking as long as they are up.

Thank you for feedback, ill answer for every my choice

GUFF.5692:

@Kjeldoran
…
Remove the 5pts from NM to get MoC. This will help your spike especially when you master timing your interrupts.

The problem with MoC is: why should i take it when my pet damage is about 500? with MoC ill improve my dps of about 250 damage (only after interrupt) which is lower than the damage bonus from sharpened edges (400 and procs on every attack).

GUFF.5692:

Even though Remorseless is bugged I am still not much a fan of it. I think signet of the beastmaster is a better option.
…

Signet of the Beastamastery was my first choice… but take a moment a think: i can put on 3 signets… probably SoS, SoR and SotH… how many of these signet can benefit from Signet of beastmastery?
SoS= 6sec no damage -> very good
SotH= 50% more damage on pet attack -> less than Sharpened edges -> low damage
SoR= i pull all condition from allies around -> it’s like a kamikazer -> suicide
so… to use a trait only for SoS will greatly reduce my dps while remorseless (isn’t bugged) give me a very nice burst, 5% more damage and the chance to literally burst down thieves while they cant attack me.

GUFF.5692:

Not a much of a fan anymore for entangle. Too telegraphed, too easy to get out of and once you burn it you get no real benefit from it unlike Rage as One.
…

entangle is a great skill… simply impossible to avoid if you are one of the aforementioned classes… you will die, dot. also if you use it in a small group fight you get 2 befenits:
1) damage… very much damage.
2) help for you and party to immobilize thieves, elementalists and mesmers (that is the end of the game for mesmers )

GUFF.5692:

Heal as One is good. Good healing power. Just not a fan of the cast time. It feels like an eternity in PvP.
…

mmm… ill try that skill later… the reason i didn’t is that is the skill with the greater cd and the lower heal… but ill try

GUFF.5692:

If you take SotBM i would drop steady focus because in a tough fight you can basically kiss that extra 10% good bye.
…

yes… that’s true, anyway we have a base +10% damage when we are in a group fight… anyway if in 1vs1 we can keep up that 10% damage also simply activating “protect me” at fight beginning so we don’t care about enemy attacks and that simply sequences can deal massive damage:
1)Point Blank Shot -> rapid fire
2)Hunter’s Shot -> Maul
3)Counterattack -> rapid fire
4)Hilt Bash -> point blank shot -> rapid fire
these are only few way to controll enemy

GUFF.5692:

Disagree with sharpened edges being free since you used up a trait slot to get it. Since you have virtually no condition damage it really doesn’t synergize well with your build.
…

again… Sharpened Edges damage bonus is greater than MoC procs and the damage without cond damage is 48 per sec… stack it toons of time and you have a great damage too… the alternatives gives you always a lower damage.

GUFF.5692:

You could make better armor and trinket choices which would increase survival and damage.
…

really? i thought i had a good job by mixing equip… but can you show me how do you want to improve stats? if i get more valkyrie i lower my thouness and cavalier can give me a good thougness but ill lose vitality… anyway please show me on a build editor what’s your idea of “better armor” and i hate to rely on foods… so that build can work also withouth food with good results.

GUFF.5692:

You have no sustain. I would drop the food choice and pick up omnom pies.
…

oh way there is a contradiction XD you said that you want to take food with precision… and here omnom pies… that will lower your precision/damage whitout a real benefit… my build has a lot of sustain and that’s why:
-a free regen at 75% hp is better than any omnom pie
-an immunity for 6 sec to damage is always good thing
-entangle allows me to stay away from enemies -> no direct damage
-heal skill, blocks, interrupt, leap, knock back, invisibility, cripple all this keep up my survivability because if i do all right enemies can hit me really few times before die.

if you want mango pie… so i suggest you to change Rune of Renewal for Rune of the Wild and get tha same effect… maybe when you are in a group fight but in 1vs1 that hp per sec is pretty useless.

ps: i had to cut your topic because too long.

Kjeldoran.3849:

Signet of the Beastamastery was my first choice… but take a moment a think: i can put on 3 signets… probably SoS, SoR and SotH… how many of these signet can benefit from Signet of beastmastery?
SoS= 6sec no damage -> very good
SotH= 50% more damage on pet attack -> less than Sharpened edges -> low damage
SoR= i pull all condition from allies around -> it’s like a kamikazer -> suicide
so… to use a trait only for SoS will greatly reduce my dps while remorseless (isn’t bugged) give me a very nice burst, 5% more damage and the chance to literally burst down thieves while they cant attack me.

You’re misinformed.

Signet of the Hunt will apply attack of opportunity to both you and your pet with Beastmaster sig. Personally, this is one of the big reasons I like Beastmaster sig because, vs a foe that my cat or drake can’t keep up with, it gives that speed boost and when it’s throw-down time and not much chasing, pop it for more damage for both of us.

Signet of Renewal, if you check the wiki, says conditions pulled from allies will never affect you with Beastmaster sig. I personally rarely use this signet though. If I need condition removal, I either trait for it and/or use Healing Spring.

Another good use for Beastmaster sig is Signet of the Wild. The passive is only really good for the pet but the active grants 8sec of stability and 25% damage buff which would be pretty significant for your build, IMO. If we’re talking about burst, timing that + Sig of the Hunt, that’s 50% damage on your next burst for you and your pet.

The rest, again, I feel is preference. I feel you on the Sharpened Edges choice. With some might, you could get a bit more damage out of the bleeding that is just straight DPS whereas Moment of Clarity is more reliant on burst that can be semi-negated. Protect Me is also a preference. If you’re not aiming for Beastmaster sig, then it is a good choice for survival. I just find some of the shouts clunky since it’s considered giving the pet an order and giving it any other orders (other shouts, F1) will cancel it or cancel other actions.

I’m still not a fan of the new Remorseless. It feels limited to Longbow and competes with a hugely more versatile and defensive grandmaster trait. Honestly should have been something like “Gain Stealth upon killing a foe” and just made Precise Strikes into “Opening Strikes critical and regain Opening Strikes upon stealth”.

Leo G.4501:

You’re misinformed.

…

O.O oh man you are right! :< i was really misinformed… ok sorry, now i’m working on an alternative build to fit this great news (for me xD)!
thank you again

Point 2: The bleed only last 1 second, and you only have 100 condition damage. So this trait is not worth it at all, as the damage will be minimal.

Point 3: Unless you plan on never dodging, Companion’s Defense will always be useful. The regeneration from Rejuvenation only lasts 5 seconds, and it has an internal recharge time of 30 seconds, while Companion’s Defense will always trigger on dodge, and works in combination with Natural Vigor.

Weapons: A better way to think about longbow and greatsword is that, longbow is your setup weapon, and greatsword is your burst weapon. Meaning, longbow sets up the damage increase, by dealing initial damage, stacking vulnerability, and giving you stealth, which makes the big damage from greatsword much more impactful. A great burst combo is; Rapid Fire>Hunter’s Shot>Maul>Hilt Bash>Crippling Throw>Swoop.

Heals: Troll Unguent heals you much faster then you think. On paper, 10 seconds might seem like a long time, but when you’re in combat, it’s not at all. Heal As One is the worst of the two, simply because it heals you for less at a time. Those 2000 extra health points, can mean the difference between defeating a foe, and being downed. You always have two pets, so one pet getting healed is of less value. The fact that you use “Protect Me!”, makes Heal As One even less valuable for you, as this skill will mostly kill your pet anyway, in WvW.

Pets. The bear is not a pet you want for WvW. You want a pet that can deal some good damage, before it eventually dies, which it will pretty fast. Spiders are a great option as they can keep distance, and the wolf is always a great 2nd hand pet, thanks to the fear. If you are going to run with a melee pet, though, you’ll want to keep it on “Avoid Combat”, or ells it’s just going to run strait into the middle of the a zerg, and die instantly. Use your melee pet as a backup instead, when a foe tries to 1v1 you, or he tries to run away. Against a zerg, you either want a drake for AoE damage or a spider pet for ranged damage.

Underwater Pets: Devourers win here, all the way. Ranged underwater attacks are very powerful, because when you fight under water, you always move around within a small area. This makes it very easy for devours to consistently hit a foe, without being damaged at all.

Food: You already have plenty critical chance and critical damage, so the Curry Butternut Squash Soup is not needed in your build. I would get Plate of Orrian Steak Frittes instead, which will put your power over 2300 and your vitality over 18k.

Most of Guff suggestion are pretty on point.

you keep bringing Sharpened edge to make it look more efficient then it is. Like everyone said, you got low condition damage so the damage of it will be subpar but still an increase…. if it stay.

What i mean by that is since the necro buff, the world woke up and start taking up conditions remover way more often. For exemple, most of the guardian i come across in WvW are like immune to condition the way they clean them so fast. Elixir engi cleanse like mad demons too while keeping their attacks up. Necro eat them or just shove them back down your throat. Warrior basic heal/cleanse is on 20sec and remove 3 conditions. But without condition duration i dont think youll see them alot because as i remember, they dont stay there very long.

sharpened edges
Inflicts 1 stack of bleeding for 1 second. (2 if 30 points in MM for the 30% cond duration)
The proc chance appears to be 66%.
Has no internal cooldown

With a 160 condition damage, it bleed for 51 twice, so for a whooping total of 102 damage.

If you think you will perma attack someone and they will be rolling non stop, please go do some WvW and pvp. People dodge, people become immune, people cleanse, people CC you. You need to crit and on that crit you get 66% chance of applying that bleed. It is REALLY REALLY lackluster with a build like yours.

Even if you are CC, the pet keep on attacking. Even if you are running away or dodging , the pet keep attacking. Even when you are down on the ground, the pet keep attacking. The cats crit alot and 30% of their crit are HUGE when done right. Like people said, prebuff with Soth , send jaguar in stealth and let it rip the guy. Even if your pet die, get CC’ed it will always result in a better damage then sharpened edge in a survival/power build.

Even pet movement speed help them be on target more and keep doing better damage then what SE would give.

Alot of things seem good in Theory and on paper. When you experience it, you often switch alot of things around. Entangle is awesome in a Zerg or cluster of people that dont really pay attention at you. If you fight 1v1 or 1v2, youll often find that your entangle doesnt land.

But thats the great thing about Gw2, builds aint meant to be static. You can switch it on the fly depending on who you will be fighting or where. Best thing to do is not get locked in the feeling of “this is my build so i dont change it” feeling.

But yeah, i agree with Guff, i have the feeling you try to be everywhere and not try to be good at one thing.

Kasama.8941:

Point 2:
Point 3:
Weapons:
Heals:
Pets.

simplified because too long message

1) ok… i’m working to sobstitute it…
2)i finded companion defense a bit useless becuase it gives you 2 sec of protection… but if you roll… you will probably go away from your target (unless he is a thief who is spamming 2/3) and so you waste 1 of those 2 sec of protection… so you get protection for nothing and lose that 10% damage bonus.
3)yes nice combo but i want to deal massive damage with LB and now i can deal about 8k with rapid fire but i’m trying to optimize it.
4) troll unguent heals only for 228more hp because if you are considering a 8560 hp heal… you have also to consider the 25 cd instead of 20…
5)i prefer to use bear simply because i really like its f2 skill which allow me to remove aoe condition

anyway these are some answer for the previous build… but i’m still of working for a new one

darkchicken.8692:

…

But yeah, i agree with Guff, i have the feeling you try to be everywhere and not try to be good at one thing.

you are right man! i don’t like to be capable only of 1 thing… i hate to only deal massive damage… i hate to be full tank… but i like to play in the middle: i like to decide when i want to deal damage and when i want to survive at any cost XD

Kjeldoran.3849:

2)i finded companion defense a bit useless becuase it gives you 2 sec of protection… but if you roll… you will probably go away from your target (unless he is a thief who is spamming 2/3) and so you waste 1 of those 2 sec of protection… so you get protection for nothing and lose that 10% damage bonus.
3)yes nice combo but i want to deal massive damage with LB and now i can deal about 8k with rapid fire but i’m trying to optimize it.
4) troll unguent heals only for 228more hp because if you are considering a 8560 hp heal… you have also to consider the 25 cd instead of 20…
5)i prefer to use bear simply because i really like its f2 skill which allow me to remove aoe condition

anyway these are some answer for the previous build… but i’m still of working for a new one

When you play WvW, you have to consider ranged damage the most. And under ranged damage, the 2 second protection (actually 1.25 seconds) is going to matter a lot more. Also, fighting against a zerg, you’re going to get into situations where you’ll be under almost constant fire. Taking the extra dodge you get from 50% increased endurance regeneration, you can round the protection up to 3,75 seconds. And that’s without any recharge time at all.

The problem just is, that longbow (despite the fact that it’s much better now) is still not a good burst damage weapon, simply because it deals its damage over multiple hits, whereas the greatsword deals its damage in one hits. And, then greatsword has better recharge times, meaning you’ll deal more damage over a shorter period of time.

Yes, on paper you can consider that. But in combat, all that matters is how much health you get, when you really need it. For instance, your opponent has gotten you down to 5% health, and you need to heal. In this situation, what matters most; time or effectiveness? Those 5 seconds can’t save you when you need to heal, but once you heal up, you can always run away and gain more time.

Yeah, the brown bears condition removal is nice, but if you want to use it, you are forced to stick close to the bear at all times, as it only has a range of 600. And considering you run longbow, and the bear is melee damage, you have a tricky combination there.

ok guys this is the new build with signet of beastmaster

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fMAQJATRjEVF2JWCWs2Bg1j96bwWhMZPOkxFPZDeLF-j0yAYrARigoCA5cokXyyeCsVwioxqWwUlBVdqI7NKiWtMAMLA-w

this is a list of changes:
1)added SotB trait and a full set of signets as utilities (SoS, SotH, SotW)
2)removed SoR because with rune of hoelbrak + food i have -60% cond duration and i can use heal skill to remove a great quantity of condition
3)added Moment of Clarity in order to deal more damage
4)added pet’s prowess trait in order to increase pet’s damage by 30% combined with the + 50% with MoC which is something like: 600 base damage (min damage) * 2.2 crit damage + 80% damage = 3456 damage → very good!
5)sobstituted bear pet with spider for immobilize and ranged attacks
6)sobstituted HaO for Healing Spring… i really like the team support of this skill, the aoe cond removal and the leap combo with GS! (thank you for suggestion)
7)added Rampage as One to better benefits from crit damage and might stacks (combined with runes)
8)added SotW simply because that 25% more damage is… wow (thank you for suggestion) and don’t forget the heal over time and stability!

stat changes

+73 power (compared to the first build + food) without food
+56 toughness (with passive effect of SoS)
+11 vitality
-12% crit damage

so what do you think about the new build?

and i have only a doubt:
is better to maintain “steady focus” or put on “signet mastery” and lose a 10% damage?

I run a very similar build and I highly suggest you try it out:

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-F;5FFx-a2ZDV-0;9k2L;1TOE;017B49-3;6J-F7;2zxrUzxrUn-Fz0-35;3U-YWbXh2nZs42s-G-1k;5F2CoF2Co;9;9;9;9;7V8-6R

you have 3 stunbreakers, a great amount of cc through spider and wolf (+ traited condition duration for pets!) and a very good amoutn of damage.
It’s a great deal of fun ;-)

PS: For roaming I always swap LR to SotH to overcome slow movement speed.
If you feel you even need it in combat you can swap it our for one of the other utility skills.
Not sure which one I would pick though…

Kjeldoran.3849:

ok guys this is the new build with signet of beastmaster

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fMAQJATRjEVF2JWCWs2Bg1j96bwWhMZPOkxFPZDeLF-j0yAYrARigoCA5cokXyyeCsVwioxqWwUlBVdqI7NKiWtMAMLA-w

this is a list of changes:
1)added SotB trait and a full set of signets as utilities (SoS, SotH, SotW)
2)removed SoR because with rune of hoelbrak + food i have -60% cond duration and i can use heal skill to remove a great quantity of condition
3)added Moment of Clarity in order to deal more damage
4)added pet’s prowess trait in order to increase pet’s damage by 30% combined with the + 50% with MoC which is something like: 600 base damage (min damage) * 2.2 crit damage + 80% damage = 3456 damage -> very good!
5)sobstituted bear pet with spider for immobilize and ranged attacks
6)sobstituted HaO for Healing Spring… i really like the team support of this skill, the aoe cond removal and the leap combo with GS! (thank you for suggestion)
7)added Rampage as One to better benefits from crit damage and might stacks (combined with runes)
8)added SotW simply because that 25% more damage is… wow (thank you for suggestion) and don’t forget the heal over time and stability!

stat changes

---

+73 power (compared to the first build + food) without food
+56 toughness (with passive effect of SoS)
+11 vitality
-12% crit damage

so what do you think about the new build?

and i have only a doubt:
is better to maintain “steady focus” or put on “signet mastery” and lose a 10% damage?

I like this build better but there is one little tiny little thing i would change again.

Eagle Eye for Signet mastery.

You run 3 signet and they are your burst and survival, those are the most important!

The 5% damage is not really noticeable and the extra range is only useful in pve and when helping zerg from the walls and such.

If you fire on someone at 1500 range you will likely miss. By the time the arrow travel to the target, if the move one feet youll miss. Even at 1200 range youll often see misses.
So if you dont really intend to do wall defense or try to stay at max range on events, most of the time, 1200 range is more then enough.

Kjeldoran.3849:

darkchicken.8692:

…

But yeah, i agree with Guff, i have the feeling you try to be everywhere and not try to be good at one thing.

you are right man! i don’t like to be capable only of 1 thing… i hate to only deal massive damage… i hate to be full tank… but i like to play in the middle: i like to decide when i want to deal damage and when i want to survive at any cost XD

Oh i hear you on that, i love to be a multitool too but the problem in pvp it isnt really helpful for you.

If you are in the middle of the road you wont be able to finish a bunker, you wont be able to live through a glass canon, you wont be able to cleanse away a condition spammer. You need to go in a niche most of the time to be succesful at at least something because if you are just medium in something, youll fail at everything.

The middle ground is more useful in PVE mode.

You need a well timed burst to kill a bunker.
You need quick thinking and/or bunker to survive a glass canon thief (you can counter them with quick thinking and great reflexes but its more harder)
You need ton of cleanses to beat condi spam necro.

But you can always run away too.

Dont forget that im not stating fact, im just stating my opinion and i could be wrong.

darkchicken.8692:

I like this build better but there is one little tiny little thing i would change again.

Eagle Eye for Signet mastery.

You run 3 signet and they are your burst and survival, those are the most important!

The 5% damage is not really noticeable and the extra range is only useful in pve and when helping zerg from the walls and such.

If you fire on someone at 1500 range you will likely miss. By the time the arrow travel to the target, if the move one feet youll miss. Even at 1200 range youll often see misses.
So if you dont really intend to do wall defense or try to stay at max range on events, most of the time, 1200 range is more then enough.

Agreed with Chicken. If you are using 3 signets, (which I don’t really recommend) then they are your everything. Eagle eye is useless since it’ll be hard to land a hit on someone decently skilled from that range, especially if it’s a 1v1 fight. The max endurance trait is useless in WvW also unless defending. You will be dodging a good amount, even if your armor is high, still need to dodge.

RaO is good elite for stability but you can substitute it for Signet of the Wild for passive regen or the active boost to attack. Entangle is good if you are using longbow, especially now that they added Stealth. Stealth then use Entangle, they wont know what hit them, then continue to Barrage or Rapid Fire.

I’ve been following this thread soaking it in. I mostly WvWvW I also LB/GS I’ve been playing this style for quite some time. I currently run PVT gear with Lyssa Runes for the extra condi removal when in a pinch and settlers accessories with a few ascended upgrades as the commendations allow. The build I’m trying as of a couple days ago is 30/5/30/5/0 I’ll make a link and post it up. In the heavy zerg fighting with this set up I can easily Barrage/Swap/Swoop/Entangle/dodge/maul/cleave/dodge/cleave my way thru the massive zergs getting tons of tags and immobilizing the enemy. Once on the other side as we regroup I’ll drop a water field and swap then Hunter’s Shot/Rapid Fire/Barrage and repeat. I usually run right thru with the front line.

Of course I realize I’m not supporting this with number crunching are there higher dps and survival builds and choices….of course!!! This has been working fairly well for quite some time and actually does help in a support sense for my guild.

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fMAQJATRnIVkFcgF+VgahAY9Yv++rVITODDZ0L4kN4tUA-j0yAYrARigoCAZPh0Eo0YRtIasK9IrWwUlA6zk6NKiWtQAjGDA-w

on a side note the restoration on GS is awesome as the zergs drop heals flow

A couple of things. These builds are kill or be killed. Can be a lot of fun. Fights won’t last long, so lowering your signet timer will rarely come into play during a fight. It is average at best in any 1v1 situation. If someone is prepared…and sees you coming, it is likely going to be a tough fight.

I use it more as a predator style. Roam around on the outside…pick a soft target and let er rip.

Have fun with it !

Himei.5379:

Stealth then use Entangle, they wont know what hit them

:O …..

Never thought of that… so awesome…

Forzani.2584:

A couple of things. These builds are kill or be killed. Can be a lot of fun. Fights won’t last long, so lowering your signet timer will rarely come into play during a fight. It is average at best in any 1v1 situation. If someone is prepared…and sees you coming, it is likely going to be a tough fight.

I use it more as a predator style. Roam around on the outside…pick a soft target and let er rip.

Have fun with it !

Thats why the best way to do a build is to try one out in game, in a real situation. This is the place where you will see what you use, what you dont, what you love, what you hate.

This is how i go for almost anything.

darkchicken.8692:

Forzani.2584:

A couple of things. These builds are kill or be killed. Can be a lot of fun. Fights won’t last long, so lowering your signet timer will rarely come into play during a fight. It is average at best in any 1v1 situation. If someone is prepared…and sees you coming, it is likely going to be a tough fight.

I use it more as a predator style. Roam around on the outside…pick a soft target and let er rip.

Have fun with it !

Thats why the best way to do a build is to try one out in game, in a real situation. This is the place where you will see what you use, what you dont, what you love, what you hate.

This is how i go for almost anything.

Same here as well.

darkchicken.8692:

Forzani.2584:

A couple of things. These builds are kill or be killed. Can be a lot of fun. Fights won’t last long, so lowering your signet timer will rarely come into play during a fight. It is average at best in any 1v1 situation. If someone is prepared…and sees you coming, it is likely going to be a tough fight.

I use it more as a predator style. Roam around on the outside…pick a soft target and let er rip.

Have fun with it !

Thats why the best way to do a build is to try one out in game, in a real situation. This is the place where you will see what you use, what you dont, what you love, what you hate.

This is how i go for almost anything.

that’s right… infact yesterday i tested my last build a while in hearth of the mists… and also when you are forced to fight, run, fight, escape, fight, fight etc (as the HotM force you to play with a lot of fast pvp)… and i can say that the 20% less cd on signet isn’t really significative for me…

anyway i really love sniper eye, not for the +300 range but for the always on +5% damage… anyway ill try to keep up both, eagle eye and steady focus renouncing to the -20% signet cd also because SoS is an anti-panic button so i don’t really want to activate it a lot of times…