Guild Wars 2

I’ve been running this build through the new HoT content and it feels EXTREMELY strong. Haven’t seriously played WvW since HoT came out, but this build should be pretty good, as it relies on direct condi application rather than enemies stupidly standing still in fire fields and whatnot.

Build link

(yes, DPS could probably be increased by Viper’s gear, but I don’t have that yet…)

Play revolves around applying as many bleeds as possible, with burning and poison as secondary damage sources. Condi clear is excellent, and you have a couple stun breaks (lightning reflexes, the pet trait, druid transform).

A few condition application combos you need to be aware of:

You have 3 entangles…. each give 5 bleeds for ~8k damage + lots of immobilize/break bar damage:

• Entangle
• Short bow 5 -> Auto-attack/Whatever (triggers “Ancient Seeds”)
• Spike trap -> Auto-attack/Whatever (triggers “Ancient Seeds”)

The Lynx provides 10-15 constant bleed stacks on its own. Use it most of the time and swap to the Wyvern for its F2 fire field, then swap back. Speaking of fire fields…

You NEED to use the fire combo fields.

• Torch 5 -> Axe 2 + Sharpening stone …. results in 10 bleed stacks + ~3 burn stacks
• Wyvern F2/Torch 5 -> Shortbow 5 -> Shortbow 4 -> Shortbow 3 …. Each of these shortbow skills is a projectile finisher that applies burning as long as you’re standing in the fire field. Your target does not need to be inside it!

Useful opener combo…

Shortbow 5 -> Shortbow 4 -> Lynx F2 -> Entangle -> Spike Trap -> (weapon swap) Torch 5 -> Axe2 -> Torch 4

What can you expect using this build?

PROS:

• You should be able to apply 25+ bleed stacks/3-4 burn stacks near instantly and maintain them indefinitely (my current record is 42 bleed stacks + 8 burn stacks). This is usually around 5k+ damage per tick (10k+ DPS is very achievable if the enemy doesn’t die first)
• DPS does not require the enemy to literally stand in fire fields or use spirits that can be killed.
• Cheap gear.
• Great AOE and single target DPS
• Perma-swiftness and reduced CC duration… kiting is effortless.
• Great condi-clear/stunbreaks.
• You can still heal using Druid…

CONS:

• You need to fully unlock Druid for the build’s full potential.
• HoT begins to feel a little too easy…

Doesn’t sound bad at all.
The question that goes for me is…
…
Why not take Zephyr in place of Sharpening Stone? Much more utility and potential damage than a mere 5K bleeding ability on a 36 sec CD (that can be evaded).
Otherwise it resembles a variation of my build I used to play. Back when Druid wasn’t live. It is powerful.

Question: Why not pick troll unguent over WHaO? It would help building AF and clear 2 condi as well.

I would suggest quick draw too. It would help proc more disabling leading to more ancient seeds as well as more torch#5.

Use a very similar build bit with dagger for the added utility….works really well…

@ Tragic Positive – To be honest, the main benefit to Zephyr is the stunbreak, which I haven’t really needed as much. Otherwise I like the lower cooldown on Sharpening Stone for more condi clear and fury uptime (plus the condi spike potential).

@ Klonko – Yeah Troll Unguent is definitely a good choice. To be honest I just prefer having a big insta heal over the crazy regen. Not as convinced on quick draw… I’m really attached to the pierce effect on the shortbow.

@ Nemesis – I should try out the dagger and see how it works! Sounds interesting!

@kazi
I had that bleed bomb from Zephyr when I was on my shortbow. More condi bomb from #1 (that pierces in your case) and more sharpened egdes proc.

I guess it’s a matter of preference, though. CD 36 vs 48 is not a real difference when it comes to condi clear and Fury.

Well, certainly no harm done with me trying out Zephyr again… why not?

I tried your build and it really work out pretty well, too well

Eros.6801:

I tried your build and it really work out pretty well, too well

Queue the ominous music….

Slartibartfast.5416:

Eros.6801:

I tried your build and it really work out pretty well, too well

Queue the ominous music….

;)

Hey just a shout out. This is really good. I’ve been playing around since release trying to find a Druid build that could output good damage, while maintaining mobility, and good condi clear. This build does exactly that.

Also vouching this build. the damage is very nice and the survival is just as amazing!

So much praise! I need to try this out.

kazi.6438:

Well, certainly no harm done with me trying out Zephyr again… why not?

Another bonus for zephyr is a rather long duration of superspeed whether you need to run away or stick to a target, I like the look of this build.

question does ancient seeds now proc on the trap? it didn’t before I know but it was fixed yes?

That looks… surprisingly fun! Thanks for posting!

i highly recommend using Koi Cakes and Toxic Tuning Crystals. running around with over 2k condi damage is lovely(with 25 stacks of corruption)

Manekk.6981:

kazi.6438:

Well, certainly no harm done with me trying out Zephyr again… why not?

Another bonus for zephyr is a rather long duration of superspeed whether you need to run away or stick to a target, I like the look of this build.

question does ancient seeds now proc on the trap? it didn’t before I know but it was fixed yes?

still bugged if i recall. but the trap is still really good to have for the aoe knock and bleeds..

Swap wyvern for bristleback and entangle for SotP, you’ll have access to 25 easy might stacks and much higher dps.

Also for open world PvE sigil of corruption is nice if you’re using shortbow.

This looks awesome, just one question.
What is the purpose of the carrion axe and torch?
+170 power is that useful for the build?

For people who cannot access the site, what’s the build?

I think Viper is no need for this because the main point of this build is the great survivability but still maintain high Bleed/AoE damg.

It’s true that Viper do more dps than rabid but the loss of vitality/toughness will make it just like zerker build and more important healing abilities go best with toughness and we have a ton of it.

does gear matter a lot in this build? will i still be able to stomp hot with rampager or sinister gear?

nah pve is still as easy as it gets

Used Viper’s armor with Sinister trinkets and weapons, got to 12k bleed ticks on Mossmang

ahahahahah people are just melting in WvW…. this is great

@ Poke Bird – Gear isn’t super important, just aim for a high condition damage and precision. kitten will melt once you get the rotations down.

@ Benny Snake – I was being cheap, rabid/rampagers/vipers/sinisters axe + torch would be better stats.

@ DoogySnowStalker – that’s awesome! (also I’m not surprised, the only real limit to DPS with this build is how long the enemy’s health lasts)

I’ve been running around Magus Falls with this build, in rabid gear, and with dagger offhand. It rocks. Survivability has been no issue at all, and mobs just melt with it. I’m liking it a lot better than my power longbow build. I haven’t tried it yet in WvW, but I imagine it will be great there, too.

Thanks for posting!

I would like to get away from the one hander sword/zerker set up.

I am very interested in a condition build for PVE. I’ve been doing a lot of research on condition builds. MetaBattle suggests to use Viper gear with Sinister accessories. I was reading in another form (can’t remember which one) that using all Viper would be best to extend the duration of conditions. MetaBattle also suggested using veggie pizza to extend the condition duration, maybe that’s why they suggested Sinister accessories.

If one does not use food then would it be best to run all Viper including gear, weapon, and accessories? I want to make an informed decision before I begin crafting everything.

Thank you,
Ethan the Ranger

Today I leveled up my ranger to give it a try and see if its my cup of tea and came across this build. You made me fall in love with this class! Works great, soloing HoT has been a piece of cake.

Thank you!

Isnt spike trap bug currently? Its knockdown doesn’t even proc the ancient seed with an additional attack.

lmaogg.7325:

Isnt spike trap bug currently? Its knockdown doesn’t even proc the ancient seed with an additional attack.

It wont trigger Seeds, but its still an unblockable Knockdown and Bleed stack I guess.
(Really hope it gets fixed sometime, but I’m not holding my breath on that)

Need to bump this because i have my best time ever in HoT open world. Great dps compared with great surviveability. U can rofl through everything (no, not hp-champs) even better than with reaper and it’s so much fun! xD

Build is fun, I’ll say but I’m not a huge fan of the SB Ironically enough I have been toying with the build to see if I can make a CC druid. I changed the armor to celestial (that is what I have for ascended) with apothecary accessories. Since I’m usually solo or duo I wanted some condition damage with healing mixed in, and striving for 3000 armor (I ended up with 2900).

Staff with sigil of hydromancy and chilling, axe with cleansing and intelligence. Or at least that is what I was thinking. Then just tweak the druid line a bit with primal echoes. Ancient seeds is already there. Assumed swapping weapons and seeds would allow some constant cc regardless of stability or not.

May not work because stats are not distributed enough with 670 condition vs 1140 healing. But would like a CC/Support build – I don’t care about killing anyone. I’m a lover, not a fighter so would rather they just get bored and leave me J/k.

Nice build though.

Looking at this build I think you have me sold man. Ive always loved looking at condition builds being played, couldnt bring myself to do the necro though
and then I skimmed through the forums and found this post.
You’re awesome for this, sticking with the dagger offhand/axe shortbow I think you’ve sold me on conditions! or at least bleeds

I am running similar build with Full vipers 50%+ condi duration. I can get upto, 8k Bleed per tick. Can easily get 3k bleed per tick at the start of the match.

You can get viper Gear by doing personal HOT Story mission. Once you kill vinetooth, you can get a viper gear or armor of your choice.

Collected all one by one and made some.

The only downfall is , still no one needs ranger at any Raid.

I dont think I wanna do Rabid for the sake of solo stuff in wvw/world content yknow? Im not gonna raid; i dont have the time. But being able to pump through solo stuff is well worth it I htink

I also took Rabid Gear because I thought the best advantage to condi vs. power is that u don’t rely on so many stats to build your dmg. In the end u need condi-dmg and precision for procs. Rest can go to def-stats for more easy gameplay. And so overall for me it is the ideal setup for hot-open world content. Stuff dies fast and i survive pretty well. I am not immortal but also not instantly in downstate when i miss one dodge.

The only issue is little lack of aoe so i prefer torch over dagger due to big burning-field. This combined with spike-trap results in everything melting around me and me jumping around finishing off the tough guys with shortbow. So much fun. xD

Since the site is down, does anyone mind posting the full build here?

no need. you go full condi with krait runes. viper, rampager or rabid.
traitline skimirsky with full bleeds.
skills and weapon whatever you like, your bleeds are going to come manly from the crits.

I am testing in PvP, but only getting about 4k bleed damage on average. Is this really worth using over Power in PvE?

Kain Francois.4328:

I am testing in PvP, but only getting about 4k bleed damage on average. Is this really worth using over Power in PvE?

if you need to use the staff to build af then yes. the damage with the staff will be still be terrible but youll do better damage because the bleeds.
if you dont use the staff then yes, go powa.

played this build a bit loved it.. Though Im curious could I drop lightning reflexes for another trap?

I have a few questions regarding the build. First of all I wanna say I’ve been playing since headstart and never had a condi build on any character before, so these might be noob questions.

First, for the pets, I run with the Bristleback as its a solid long range pet with condi built in, I feel the bleed it provides synergize well with this setup, I love the Lynx, but it dies in 2 hits to anything and doesnt keep aggro away from me, am I doing soemthing wrong? Most of my pets(even the Lyinx itself) were able to tank for me on my previous, good ol’ regular power build. I tried the Murrelow and it is able to keep aggro for me and provide poison fields. Also, as the Murrelow can keep aggro its a million times easier to actually get bleeds from behind/side with Crossfire. I feel the Wyvern is so bad, I dont even want to use it for fire field.

Another question, I have the exact same setup, cept for the ascended Shortbow, rest is the same as in the link. I can reach 2 ticks of around 14K bleed, but it instantly drops down to 2-4k constant(with higher bleeds when I use the trap/elite/Lynx F2 again). Is that normal? it seems pretty low(again Im a condi noob, so it may just be me not used to it)

For the utilities, I HATE Lightning Reflexes, that skill has gotten me killed more times than its actually helped, as I always en up falling off clifs, or backdodging to even more mobs. I traded that for Glyph of Equalty, as it synergises with Ancient Seed, it hits 5 tagets, dazes them>ancient seed for root/bleeds AND it breaks stuns for me, isnt it like loads better than LR?
As for Sharpening Stone, I feel its cooldown is way too long to even be usefull(as dmg or condi removal) wouldnt the Sun Spirit work better? as it applies burning, and you can resummon every 20 secs?

Im really enjoying this build so far, I really wanted to be able to do fracts/dungeons with my ranger, and with this build I feel stong! Also, never knew Husks died SO fast to condi~

Bit of an update on this build, Ive been using it since I hit 80 on my druid and unlocked everything.
Im still in love, I find myself inadvertently camping in shortbow but Im having an absolute blast.
I traded out the jump pack ability for sun spirit for some extra condition pressure and overall i gotta say: I love it!

~signed one sincerely happy Asura

I was directed toward this page for a SB/Staff build but that is not the case.
Is it possible with this build or no?

bellabia.5091:

I was directed toward this page for a SB/Staff build but that is not the case.
Is it possible with this build or no?

Hi, ya sure. Going hybrid build with sb/staff is lots of fun.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJAVWnUqAVsi1CC+CCctgFDB7ZL8syZwZ1vaalJAM6Kdl8s0A-TVCFABxpLIhDBwCXAArU+p+DAAgjAgfKBdb/hhV/hUAlLyC-w

Cool combos:
SB 5 or GoE + SB 3 = up to 20 stack of bleeds(from ancient seed procking 5 times).

Strangh of the pack + we heal as one = you elite+mad king rune does alot of cool staff, it stacks bleeds due to sharpned edges trait(up to 16 hits for each effected target) it stacks might for your pet due to Strangh of the pack wffect(up to 16 hits for each effected target) and it will build AF super fast if needed due to the high number of hits.
Combie this with we heal as one and you have auto 25 might stacks which tons of value for an hybrid build.

Going CA while using the SB, notice i put 2 on swap sigils on SB. the reason is that on swap sigils proc when you enter CA if the ICD is over. going to CA for fast heal asnd stun(sigil of agility) also get you extra dodge roll and extra fury(from furous grip). you can enjoy the weapon swap effect without actually swap to staff and use staff to swap only when you need it. SB is ofc your main damage dealer staff is more defensive and vs reflect targets. You can also switch light on your feet for quick draw for even more swap value but the pierce on SB is very good in some fights(mesmer for example ).

If you daze your opponent and hit all 5 shots of poison volley on them it will proc ancient seeds 5 times in a row. have fun.

Well now I guess it is a matter of fashion lol Last night I went and crafted Reaver of the Mists. Sooooo The Dreamer with Reaver of the Mists/Dominator torch OR The Dreamer with The Bifrost hmmmm.

Ran your build over the weekend, LOVE IT!

I have not gone Condi on any of my toons, but now I can definitely appreciate it.

have you made any changes or updates to your build?

Add me to the list of people who have fallen in love with this build. I was trying a LB build before, but just wasn’t feeling it Immediately after switching to this build I knew this was the playstyle I had been looking for. Thanks!

This build still the same as above?