Guild Wars 2

Hello again!

Decided to put together another video of my recent roaming in wvw. Like the last video, this one includes some 1v1s and some general roaming. Unlike the last video, the roaming is primarily not solo ranging from 2 to 5 with my guild.

Video

While the overall build hasn’t changed a lot, I did change the air sigil on my lb to a sigil of agility for on demand quickness when swapping into lb.

Build

Feel free to give me feedback about what you want to see in videos, more duels, more roaming, commentary, more wipes, whatever it is let me know.

I have been enjoying your videos. One comment: your music is pretty much all or nothing. For example I could make a video with just all death metal for hella intense fights, but maybe you wouldn’t want to watch it. Muting music in this type of video I think removes a lot of the video-makers intent.

One example where I thin the music did a fantastic job complimenting the content:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WdcXE-j6qY&feature=youtu.be

Fluffball.8307:

I have been enjoying your videos. One comment: your music is pretty much all or nothing. For example I could make a video with just all death metal for hella intense fights, but maybe you wouldn’t want to watch it. Muting music in this type of video I think removes a lot of the video-makers intent.

One example where I thin the music did a fantastic job complimenting the content:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WdcXE-j6qY&feature=youtu.be

Thanks for the feedback, honestly when it comes to music I kinda just toss on whatever I’m feeling at the time so there isn’t a ton of intent at least when it comes to my videos and the music. I’ll try and think of ways to make the music a bit less of a factor in the video and more as a complimentary aspect to it.

Hi, trying not to sound like a broken record, But I REALLY like your playstyle.

LughLongArm.5460:

Hi, trying not to sound like a broken record, But I REALLY like your playstyle.

Glad you enjoyed it again!

Great build!

This really answers the ‘stay at range’ issue.

Do you have any thoughts on how healing is going to work in raids? You’re maintaining good range with the gliffs you’re running, but how will address the need to swap over to heals for a 10-Person party?

We really can’t get over to our heals that fast right now. That’s good balance for WvW and PvP, but not so great for the raids and playing Healer.

Eirdyne.9843:

Great build!

This really answers the ‘stay at range’ issue.

Do you have any thoughts on how healing is going to work in raids? You’re maintaining good range with the gliffs you’re running, but how will address the need to swap over to heals for a 10-Person party?

We really can’t get over to our heals that fast right now. That’s good balance for WvW and PvP, but not so great for the raids and playing Healer.

How you change the gear for raids will probably depend on who you’re running with and how they communicate/move when they require a heal. Honestly for raids, I’d probably swap the runes for runes of druid and then keep the gear more or less the same otherwise giving you good damage and good on demand healing from the rune set.

As far as getting to use CAF, since it doesn’t degen out of combat, using TU should make sure you have 100% going into combat. Once inside of it, I’d recommend just never using all the CAF and using it for some burst healing from 3,4 and then going out of it to make sure you don’t have to recharge that full bar.

Hey thanks for the video + the build.

Coupla quick Qs – do you find remorseless works better overall with this build than Lead the Wind? and have you ever toyed with Celestial Shadow over Verdant Etching? I’m guessing VE is preferred for the extra condi removal/healing?

Cheers!

Bryzy.2719:

Hey thanks for the video + the build.

Coupla quick Qs – do you find remorseless works better overall with this build than Lead the Wind? and have you ever toyed with Celestial Shadow over Verdant Etching? I’m guessing VE is preferred for the extra condi removal/healing?

Cheers!

Those two traits you mention are two that are the most flexible for the build.

When I was trying it out during BWE3 I thought I would definitely be using Celestial Shadow over Verdant Etching, but so far I’ve found VE to have a bit more utility for the build overall. Instead of offering me a stealth when I leave CA (which is strong especially when kiting), I gain access to lower cds on 2 utility skills along with AoE blind and a small heal (around 500 with no HP). It mainly comes down to how I believe I get more consistent application and use from VE than I would from VE.

The remorseless vs LtW question is even closer imo. I really enjoy remorseless for the sure crit along the damage increase (killer with glyphs) and vuln. It also synergizes extremely well with the rune choice, clarion bond, and having any revenant within the group since it has no ICD. LtW is great for the piercing, but with staff I can always use the staff to get that same piercing effect from the AA. LtW becomes more effective the more people you are fighting, so it depends on the situations you are expecting.

Helly.2597:

Bryzy.2719:

Hey thanks for the video + the build.

Coupla quick Qs – do you find remorseless works better overall with this build than Lead the Wind? and have you ever toyed with Celestial Shadow over Verdant Etching? I’m guessing VE is preferred for the extra condi removal/healing?

Cheers!

Those two traits you mention are two that are the most flexible for the build.

When I was trying it out during BWE3 I thought I would definitely be using Celestial Shadow over Verdant Etching, but so far I’ve found VE to have a bit more utility for the build overall. Instead of offering me a stealth when I leave CA (which is strong especially when kiting), I gain access to lower cds on 2 utility skills along with AoE blind and a small heal (around 500 with no HP). It mainly comes down to how I believe I get more consistent application and use from VE than I would from VE.

The remorseless vs LtW question is even closer imo. I really enjoy remorseless for the sure crit along the damage increase (killer with glyphs) and vuln. It also synergizes extremely well with the rune choice, clarion bond, and having any revenant within the group since it has no ICD. LtW is great for the piercing, but with staff I can always use the staff to get that same piercing effect from the AA. LtW becomes more effective the more people you are fighting, so it depends on the situations you are expecting.

Awesome, I wouldn’t have thought that far into the Remorseless trait to be honest but it all makes sense. I’d personally keep the VE choice and probably take LtW simply for the addition to kiting and any backlining in skirmishes. Also – just played your build for like 15 minutes in EB, and when skirmishes do occur, finding it thuper fun to Staff 3 into the enemy group and bomb your glyphs/entangle for laughs :P.

Bryzy.2719:

Awesome, I wouldn’t have thought that far into the Remorseless trait to be honest but it all makes sense. I’d personally keep the VE choice and probably take LtW simply for the addition to kiting and any backlining in skirmishes. Also – just played your build for like 15 minutes in EB, and when skirmishes do occur, finding it thuper fun to Staff 3 into the enemy group and bomb your glyphs/entangle for laughs :P.

Yeah that trait really comes down to personal preference.

Glad you seem to be enjoying the build. I’ve had a blast so far running it.

Good vid, thanks. Personally I cant imagine going without Quick Draw as it makes staff 3 godlike.

Stand The Wall.6987:

Good vid, thanks. Personally I cant imagine going without Quick Draw as it makes staff 3 godlike.

It pains me too. But the moment of clarity is very very strong with the dazes.

i recently tried my ranger/druid in wvw, i was busy with magumma and the little wvw i did was on my revenant. Anyway i liked the staff, i think it need some small work like skill 3 putting you in combat, skill 4 take ages to cast but is a nice weapon, skill 3 mobility is great. Problem is i feel like so wrong playing with 2 ranged weapons (staff/longbow) i feel like i need some melee option but i love the staff support, i feel like i matter lol.

One question tho in open world, dungeons, fractals would it be ok if i use staff/longbow? i mean i don’t want to be that ranger that sucks or get kicked out of groups lol. I have a GS, Sword and all that but i hate changing all the time armor and such. When i make a build i try to make it pve and wvw good.

interesting point about Remorseless+revenant. I too keep trying to make Remorseless builds but losing piercing just hurts too much.

that poor Reaper at the start of the video, you just have too much mobility and CC…

i also find verdant glyphs invaluable, but for some reason i hadnt thought about using them for executes… smacks forehead

PS what’s with the Charr ignoring you at 11:00

kitten move for his teammates

I’m not an expert in pve so can’t for sure answer your question, but I’d say that pve double ranged will not be optimal. Just swap out lb or staff for gs or sw/a and you should be fine I believe.

Shoe.5821:

interesting point about Remorseless+revenant. I too keep trying to make Remorseless builds but losing piercing just hurts too much.

that poor Reaper at the start of the video, you just have too much mobility and CC…

i also find verdant glyphs invaluable, but for some reason i hadnt thought about using them for executes… smacks forehead

PS what’s with the Charr ignoring you at 11:00

kitten move for his teammates

Haha pretty much everyone I’ve dueled for a long period gets really annoyed with the build. If you don’t have stab or a cleanse for the immobs it’s close to game over for you.

Remorseless is something I’ve always taken since the trait changes. Once HoT released first thing I tested was for a hidden icd with a revenant giving me fury. Found out there wasn’t one so every second it refreshed more or less. Also it allowed for me to get 5k glyph hits which is crazy.

Haha that warrior was chill. We ended up dueling him a bit. IDK sometimes people when they see 3v6 just kinda sit it out and don’t attack. I know I do that when I see my server trying to gang a group. But you can see I also expected him to attack when I swapped target and went towards him before realizing he wasn’t going to.

Gotta say,

I’m really impressed with this build. Of course I bought legendaries and ascended to go full heal, so I’ll be a ways away from making this into the correct gear ensemble.. but.. I’m gonna buy the exotic tonight and play with it.

Very cool and thanks for Sharing! VT is always on the Cutting Edge!

Pooka.3420:

Gotta say,

I’m really impressed with this build. Of course I bought legendaries and ascended to go full heal, so I’ll be a ways away from making this into the correct gear ensemble.. but.. I’m gonna buy the exotic tonight and play with it.

Very cool and thanks for Sharing! VT is always on the Cutting Edge!

Thanks! Hopefully you enjoy the build like I have. And honestly I’m in exotics for armor on it currently. Ascended armour is still on my thief, but seems to work fine. If you wanted to put a healing twist on it, runes of the druid theoretically should allow for good burst heals after glyphs and since TU has a 50% uptime you should see an impact on it. Though with 0 HP TU can account for 12k healing when you have the two minors in druid up.

About to play a few hours with it, but even if I don’t keep it my main wvw style, its also amazing in PvE (just played about a half hour in Tangled Roots testing). So I’m definitely keeping an invis bag with this gear in it on me at all times.

I just feel bad for Clown Magic in the video : p

Pooka.3420:

I just feel bad for Clown Magic in the video : p

Haha don’t feel bad for clown he destroyed me a fair few times. Eventually I’ll make a video with losses and it’ll be him beating my behind.

I’m so jelly, there has been zero roaming action in our matchups during the past few weeks :<

FrouFrou.4958:

I’m so jelly, there has been zero roaming action in our matchups during the past few weeks :<

Idk if I’ve just gotten lucky the past few days or not, but EBG in my matchup has been actually decent at times to roam in. Still the usual zergs, but every now and then there is a decent fight.

Hey Helly, how do you feel about the Hoelbrak runes instead of pack runes? Any reason you prefer the latter?

nakedziggy.3187:

Hey Helly, how do you feel about the Hoelbrak runes instead of pack runes? Any reason you prefer the latter?

I really love pack runes. It allows for perma incombat swiftness for mobility and gives an extra proc for remorseless. Plus it gives the boons in an aoe so if you’re in a group they’re even better.

Hoelbrek don’t synergize extremely well with the build cause it doesn’t stack a lot of might. Plus you have condi cleanse on every skill 6-10 that cleanses two conditions so the condition duration negation isn’t as needed.

If you wanted to try out hoelbrek or strength (I would lean towards strength but either would work). Swap out the sigil of absorption on staff for the one that gives might on interrupt. That should allow for some better might stacking. But even so I would prefer pack over either of those options.

Interesting video, thanks. Few comments

1. Interesting music – I’m not a rap person but I found myself enjoying it. Not over the top or bombastic, so good job.
2. Nice pet name.
3. P.E.T.A does not approve of some of the ambient creature collateral damage
4. WTH is up with that Char sitting around while you are killing his buddies (someone else noted as well)
5. Good use of LB
6. Nice target calling
7. Good team work when partner/group
8. Choke point / kill zone – nice
9. Not a fan of duels but you did good
10. We don’t judge for your foe’s spelling (fite me bit )
11. Map chat character names – space asura, invalid account, etc – I giggled

Oh, did I say you look nice today? J/K

Thanks for sharing.

Crapgame.6519:

Snip

Haha glad you enjoyed it! I appreciate the feedback.

Helly.2597:

Hello again!

Decided to put together another video of my recent roaming in wvw. Like the last video, this one includes some 1v1s and some general roaming. Unlike the last video, the roaming is primarily not solo ranging from 2 to 5 with my guild.

Video

While the overall build hasn’t changed a lot, I did change the air sigil on my lb to a sigil of agility for on demand quickness when swapping into lb.

Build

Feel free to give me feedback about what you want to see in videos, more duels, more roaming, commentary, more wipes, whatever it is let me know.

Toying with the build out in WvW. How are you handling movement? I’m used to my condi/trap build so never had a issue. This took a bit getting used to.

Sigil of agility – ouch. That is about 100 gold right there…

Crapgame.6519:

Toying with the build out in WvW. How are you handling movement? I’m used to my condi/trap build so never had a issue. This took a bit getting used to.

Sigil of agility – ouch. That is about 100 gold right there…

When it comes to solo fights, try and keep distance while also trying to keep your pet between yourself and the target. Allows for the pet to keep chipping away and allows for you to damage. Know the ICD on AS and use that proc to kite or spike as you need. LB 3 stealth is wonderful for repositioning, especially if you use it right before a swap to staff and #3 away. You can also notice I try and stealth myself quite often with smokescale f2 and staff 3. Even if you don’t stealth for long, it allows for you to reposition and overcome the lack of melee weapon.

As for the sigil of agility, I’m actually using the minor sigil, it gives the same amount of quickness so I’m not too concerned about the swiftness amount.

Thanks. Will give it a go. Druid is much different and so far most solo fights in open field have ended with me doing a /release. Some may be stats being different since a few celestial ascended for accessories. That and the overall armor seems low. Thiefs seems to just wreck me.

Crapgame.6519:

Thanks. Will give it a go. Druid is much different and so far most solo fights in open field have ended with me doing a /release. Some may be stats being different since a few celestial ascended for accessories. That and the overall armor seems low. Thiefs seems to just wreck me.

If you find yourself dropping a bit too quickly, feel free to tune the gear as you see fit. Honestly if I was truly trying to min max it, you could easily drop crit chance to 35-40% and not lose really anything too much. So if you’re feel like you’re being pressured, feel free to put in some more valk or some soldier into the build.

A lot of thieves do a spike and then have a small downtime before they can respike. Especially when it comes to the new DD spec for thief. The best advice is probably get extremely use to the thief’s evade frames on weapons. Each one has a small window that you can interrupt and take no damage and should proc ancient seeds (keeping in mind the ICD). If they do get a stun onto you, don’t forget that even when stunned, you can swap weapons and get the 2s daze onto them. Use every opportunity you have to gain some small distance between you and them, whether thats a knockdown or an immob. Once their steal is down, most thief build don’t have a second instant gap closer nowadays and this gives you a huge advantage as long as you’re able to create some space.

Since its somewhat hard to talk in general about matchups or fights (at least it is to me). Feel free to send me a mail or whisper me in game about specific instances that you’re curious about, I’m always happy to answer.

Helly.2597:

Since its somewhat hard to talk in general about matchups or fights (at least it is to me). Feel free to send me a mail or whisper me in game about specific instances that you’re curious about, I’m always happy to answer.

Thanks. It is a bit awkward here but I’m sure not going to bug you in the game Thanks again. I also checked out the 3rd video post you did and again, good job.

After playing the build and Druid yesterday with a couple hours in WvW I will say I know what the issue is for me. It is the Druid itself and ignorance and play style change. Prior to HoT I was running a LB, Axe, Torch, trapper rune ranger. While it wasn’t the best build the traps, stealth, and speed allowed me to move across the map faster and reset fights regardless of class or numbers. Using 4 traps + entangle was probably a crutch but healing spring placement always gave me a safety net. Rabid gear + celestial accessories, well – it is all different.

I have a full zerker set that I mixed in valk as your build suggests. Overall armor/toughness is lower than what I’m used to. Seems health is also. But at the end of the day it was more of trying to adapt to the play style of the Druid that gets me killed.

Long story short, my issues are ignorance right now and comfort. I am just not comfortable in most fights compared to pre HoT. And staff, omg. You know it is bad when another server whispers you and says “first time with Druid” He/she was nice, but I had to laugh for a while because it was so dead on true.