Guild Wars 2

Hi everyone
I’ve been away for a while. How do you play Herald/Revenant as a dps these days?
PVE or PVP, preferably something that can solo-roam the difficulty of the new LS content
Thanks)

The highest damage build is actually the condi rev.

Armor: Full Vipers. x4 Nightmare Runes, x2 Trapper Runes.
Weapons: Mace + Axe, weapon swap can be anything. Sigil of Malice, Sigil of Geomancy
Demon Stance/Dwarf Stance.

Specializations:
Devastation: Ferocious Strikes, Assassin’s Presence, Swift Termination
Corruption: Venom Enchantment, Abyssal Chill, Diabolic Inferno.
Invocation: Rolling Mists + two other traits of your choice

The build doesn’t really have a rotation. You just use mace 2, mace 3, axe 5 when they’re off cooldown. Make sure you complete the auto attack chain. The important thing is, when you are in demon stance, keep Embrace the Darkness active. When in Dwarf Stance, keep Vengeful Hammers active. Swap stances whenever possible to trigger the Sigil of Geomancy.

Also something to note, Unyielding Anguish is a good skill to have if you need burst conditions or need a lot of AoE conditions. Though it isn’t part of the regular rotation, there are times where you’ll build up energy but the enemy is inaccessible, so if you have the energy, drop double or triple Unyielding Anguish on the enemy before swapping stances.

At it’s peak, the build does up to 32k DPS against a stationary target. More if it is moving. Unrealistic buffs, though. If you want to trade some damage for some utility, you can run Herald instead of Invocation, and use Dragon Stance instead of Dwarf Stance. For the weapon swap, personally I run off-hand sword for when I need to block, or if I need more CC.

The weakness of the build is it’s low CC, and it’s awkward engagement range. Currently, there is no good ranged weapon for Condi Rev, so if you find yourself needing to attack at a distance you’ll be stuck with the sub-par hammer. The build also has mediocre self-buffing abilities, getting spots of fury from Invocation and some blasts of might from using mace 2 into mace 3. For overworld movement, you’ll end up running Rapid Flow and using unyielding anguish every 5 seconds.

The power build runs herald natively, though it does quite a bit less damage at 26k to 27k unrealistic. Roughly a 20% cut. But, if you’re traveling with a newbie group or a group that has poor buffing abilities, the support of the power build can easily carry a team.

Armor: Full Berserker, Runes of the Scholar
Weapons: Sword +X, whatever weapon swap you want. Sword main hand is the only requirement, other weapons are used as needed. Sigil of Air + Sigil of Force
Dragon Stance + Dwarf Stance.

Specializations:
Devastation: Vicious Lacerations, Assassin’s Presence, Swift Termination.
Invocation: Whatever Adept, Incensed Response, Rolling Mists.
Herald: Radiant Revival, Shared Empowerment, Elder’s Focus.

Again, the rotation of the build is simple. Use precision strikes and elemental blast when they’re off cooldown. Use unrelenting assault to avoid attacks and build might. Otherwise, auto attack with the sword. Use Vengeful Hammers while in Dwarf stance, Facet of Darkness and Strength while in dragon stance. This build can easily build yourself up to max might, while also giving out plenty of self healing and vulnerability.

If you’re in a group that already gives out permanent might and fury, Facet of Chaos is good to give group protection. Keep Facet of Elements on as long as possible. A lot of people use Staff for the weapon swap because it has a great CC skill, but Hammer is also good for when you need to engage at range. The hammer DPS rotation is to use Coalescence of Ruin and Phase Smash at maximum distance whenever they are off cooldown.

The weaknesses of the build are its somewhat low DPS, and also it’s lack of AoE damage. If the enemies are gathered tightly for cleave there is no issue, but if the enemies are even slightly spread out, you’ll find yourself only hitting one or two at a time. If you need extra blocks, you can run shield in the swap off-hand spot for extra invulnerability.

Both builds are sufficient for… basically whatever you want to do in PVE. You might find it hard to be accepted to raid groups on the power build, but it isn’t impossible to complete raids with it.

So just to be clear, I can run Power Rev in T4 fractals without running into trouble (aside from not knowing the fractal mechanics)?

Jinn Galen.2468:

So just to be clear, I can run Power Rev in T4 fractals without running into trouble (aside from not knowing the fractal mechanics)?

Easily. I’ve done it many times, and in fact it is a great way to ensure that a pug party will have its buffs. Never been kicked from a pug, either.

One exception: The only place you might encounter an issue is the Fractal Assault challenge mode, or CM100. In theory it is possible to beat it with any composition of competent builds. In practice… the fractal is cheese grater on forehead levels of hard, and you need to put quite a bit of optimization into a team to get a win. The common comp is support chrono + dedicated healer + PS warrior, with condi necro as soft 4th spot. There’s only one or two open slots, and with only 3 players running DPS builds you need to squeeze as much deeps as you can. Without anything particularly unique or useful to provide the team, the mediocre damage output of the power rev finds it in fierce competition with guards, eles, and thieves.

Condi rev and healing rev, however, are more than welcome in CM100.

Blood Red Arachnid.2493:

Jinn Galen.2468:

So just to be clear, I can run Power Rev in T4 fractals without running into trouble (aside from not knowing the fractal mechanics)?

Easily. I’ve done it many times, and in fact it is a great way to ensure that a pug party will have its buffs. Never been kicked from a pug, either.

One exception: The only place you might encounter an issue is the Fractal Assault challenge mode, or CM100. In theory it is possible to beat it with any composition of competent builds. In practice… the fractal is cheese grater on forehead levels of hard, and you need to put quite a bit of optimization into a team to get a win. The common comp is support chrono + dedicated healer + PS warrior, with condi necro as soft 4th spot. There’s only one or two open slots, and with only 3 players running DPS builds you need to squeeze as much deeps as you can. Without anything particularly unique or useful to provide the team, the mediocre damage output of the power rev finds it in fierce competition with guards, eles, and thieves.

Condi rev and healing rev, however, are more than welcome in CM100.

Thanks for the great answer. I have the gear for condi rev except the armor but I enjoy playing power more so I asked. I’m excited to try it out now.

Blood Red Arachnid.2493:

Jinn Galen.2468:

So just to be clear, I can run Power Rev in T4 fractals without running into trouble (aside from not knowing the fractal mechanics)?

Easily. I’ve done it many times, and in fact it is a great way to ensure that a pug party will have its buffs. Never been kicked from a pug, either.

One exception: The only place you might encounter an issue is the Fractal Assault challenge mode, or CM100. In theory it is possible to beat it with any composition of competent builds. In practice… the fractal is cheese grater on forehead levels of hard, and you need to put quite a bit of optimization into a team to get a win. The common comp is support chrono + dedicated healer + PS warrior, with condi necro as soft 4th spot. There’s only one or two open slots, and with only 3 players running DPS builds you need to squeeze as much deeps as you can. Without anything particularly unique or useful to provide the team, the mediocre damage output of the power rev finds it in fierce competition with guards, eles, and thieves.

Condi rev and healing rev, however, are more than welcome in CM100.

Thanks alot !
To be honest, i never rly tried the condi rev. Would you say It’s a good condition damage build compared to other classes even?

Shinya.2598:

Blood Red Arachnid.2493:

Jinn Galen.2468:

So just to be clear, I can run Power Rev in T4 fractals without running into trouble (aside from not knowing the fractal mechanics)?

Easily. I’ve done it many times, and in fact it is a great way to ensure that a pug party will have its buffs. Never been kicked from a pug, either.

One exception: The only place you might encounter an issue is the Fractal Assault challenge mode, or CM100. In theory it is possible to beat it with any composition of competent builds. In practice… the fractal is cheese grater on forehead levels of hard, and you need to put quite a bit of optimization into a team to get a win. The common comp is support chrono + dedicated healer + PS warrior, with condi necro as soft 4th spot. There’s only one or two open slots, and with only 3 players running DPS builds you need to squeeze as much deeps as you can. Without anything particularly unique or useful to provide the team, the mediocre damage output of the power rev finds it in fierce competition with guards, eles, and thieves.

Condi rev and healing rev, however, are more than welcome in CM100.

Thanks alot !
To be honest, i never rly tried the condi rev. Would you say It’s a good condition damage build compared to other classes even?

It’s in the lower middle when compared to the others. Completely viable though. I honestly prefer power for Fractals since you have all the boons with Herald which makes pugging much easier due to you not knowing what kind of comp you’re going to get.

The most advantageous thing about the condi rev is the consistency in which it can do damage. A lot of the other classes have several variables that can backfire.

Condi Tempest is the best, assuming fire overload isn’t interrupted, you have convenient access to FGS, the boss stays in place for burning speed and flamewall, and you’re fighting enemies condensed in a small area. Mobile bosses or bosses that force interrupts, or hell even waves of adds will cause DPS to plummet.

Condi Daredevil is good, but it doesn’t scale well with numbers, the venoms are unreliable outside of raids, and the focus on using death blossom will kill you with its animation lock.

Condi Engineer suffers from the same “moving target” weakness that eles have, except the condi engineer rotation is so difficult to pull off that even in a clinical trial I can’t even break 30k DPS, let alone the mythical 34k that QT can hit.

Condi reaper gets a lot of its damage from using spin to win in an ice field, but if anyone else puts a field down first you’ll just shoot out a bunch of cleansing bolts instead.

I don’t know much about condi Berserker. But Condi Rev almost never loses its damage. Yes, enemies can wander out of the fire field from mace 2, but if the enemy is moving then torment raises in damage to compensate. The rotation is simple, the animation of mace 3 isn’t too punishing, and the skills work great against groups. In a clinical trial it doesn’t peak as high as the others, but in practice the Condi Rev is an excellent condi class.

You’re making my switch from necro to rev really worth it. It’s a shame rev has no ranged weapon. I hear renegade isn’t so good.

Jinn Galen.2468:

You’re making my switch from necro to rev really worth it. It’s a shame rev has no ranged weapon. I hear renegade isn’t so good.

if mallyx = melee condi, renegade is the range condi. Every class has their own melee/range/power/condi weapons. Regarding suck or not, let’s just judge it once we try it. Renegade is more of a supportive/backline to begin with.

Jinn Galen.2468:

You’re making my switch from necro to rev really worth it. It’s a shame rev has no ranged weapon. I hear renegade isn’t so good.

I feel like even if Renegade isn’t 100% worth it as a weapon or legend the trait line of adding 20% condition damage with 10 stacks of Kalla’s Fervor, additional bleed duration/damage, etc from the trait line seems like it’d be worth it over Devastation or Invocation. I mean 3 DPS trait lines…just dang.