Guild Wars 2

So I (probably like many others) have had some difficulty making a useful Mallyx build. I tried the standard Mace/Axe Viper and that ended being literally sparta kicked to death by a Mordrem Archer due to having no survivability.

I’m having to completely redo and rethink my character because I don’t want to give up on Mallyx Stance, it’s throwback to GW1 is just too awesome for me to let it go.

So what builds can use Mallyx Stance for utility?

I’m thinking maybe a Mixed-damage plus either healing power or toughness/vitality, or perhaps full Celestial with Runes of Leadership for boon sharing. I am also thinking of using a Staff as it’s condi removal and CCs are pretty decent.

It can work as your X in Glint/X (Zerker/Scholar) for PvE content… The stat increase from channeling Demon Form is only slightly less dps than Jalis’ Hammers and it brings boon removal and group condi protection to the table.

Unfortunately, it’s sort of impossible to make a competative condi build for rev in PvE right now, so no matter what you do, Mallyx would just be for utility… Although the same could sort of be said for all our stances.

I have no idea if any advice offered here will be too general or too specific to be of any use but here goes. (It sort of depends what content you do?)

I really like staff with mallyx because of the leeching bolts and blast finisher. Bad thing is it doesn’t make good use of your condition damage investment, but it can really help when you’re on the defencive. So for me condi is more of a secondary investment than a primary one, even on a mallyx rev.

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?vlAQNApXin3geNSuQvJRboHlsP0kS4I6SJ4EtrklTlJNgEaQNjOKxO93vH-TFSGABA8gAoTPReKBN4UC8/RAA99HeU9noU+REAzaA-w

I’ve actually been using the cellestial Glint/Mallyx build you mentioned, but I use it as a WvW front-line build. It’s an odd build since it’s pretty durable and take a beating in WvW, but it also has decent DPS against stationary targets. This allows you to both zerg and quickly flip camps and solo towers.

A while ago I used the raid training golem (no buffs) to benchmark some of my professsions and was suprised where this build ranked:

PvE Berserker GS & S/F Guardian – 5,275 (32k full buffs)
WvW Berserker Staff Elementalist – 5,254
WvW Glint/Mallyx Celestial Revanent – 3,848
WvW Berserker/Captains S/D Thief – 3,571
WvW Valkerie/Berserker Staff & GS Necromancer – 3,082

With the Sigil of Strength and the ability to blast your mace’s fire field it is easy to stack 25 might without using any of Glint’s skills. Glint’s Shared Empowerment trait also provides quite a few stacks of might if you spam your One With Nature skill.

I compared the DPS provided by Corruption’s grand master traits. I chose Maniacal Persistence over Diabolic Inferno since both traits provide about 200 DPS against single targets with mace equipped. Diabolic inferno has a much higher DPS potential since it is capable of hitting 5 targets, but I didn’t want to complicate my skill rotation for WvW. Maniacal Persistence also provides about 60 DPS when ranging targets with the hammer auto-attack.

I usually apply regeneration, swiftness, and protection when on Glint and traveling or attacking from range. Make sure you use Versed in Stone, this trait provides quite a bit of defense when you get bursted. It usually saves my behind when I’m out of position in WvW and should help against Mordrem Snipers.

This build also has quite a few weaknesses. The damage output is significanlty less then PvE meta builds so I wouldn’t use this build for fractals or raids. It’s not very mobile. Your best option is to use Unyielding Anguish to move faster and get out of trouble. It is also difficult to stack might and apply conditions against mobile targests. When faced with this situation you will lose a significant amount of your DPS. Luckily this doesn’t occur often in PvE, but it definitely hurts this build when trying to solo roam in WvW. PvE enemies with low HP also don’t give you enough time to stack might.

Dagger.2035:

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?vlAQNApXin3geNSuQvJRboHlsP0kS4I6SJ4EtrklTlJNgEaQNjOKxO93vH-TFSGABA8gAoTPReKBN4UC8/RAA99HeU9noU+REAzaA-w

I’ve actually been using the cellestial Glint/Mallyx build you mentioned, but I use it as a WvW front-line build. It’s an odd build since it’s pretty durable and take a beating in WvW, but it also has decent DPS against stationary targets. This allows you to both zerg and quickly flip camps and solo towers.

A while ago I used the raid training golem (no buffs) to benchmark some of my professsions and was suprised where this build ranked:

PvE Berserker GS & S/F Guardian – 5,275 (32k full buffs)
WvW Berserker Staff Elementalist – 5,254
WvW Glint/Mallyx Celestial Revanent – 3,848
WvW Berserker/Captains S/D Thief – 3,571
WvW Valkerie/Berserker Staff & GS Necromancer – 3,082

With the Sigil of Strength and the ability to blast your mace’s fire field it is easy to stack 25 might without using any of Glint’s skills. Glint’s Shared Empowerment trait also provides quite a few stacks of might if you spam your One With Nature skill.

I compared the DPS provided by Corruption’s grand master traits. I chose Maniacal Persistence over Diabolic Inferno since both traits provide about 200 DPS against single targets with mace equipped. Diabolic inferno has a much higher DPS potential since it is capable of hitting 5 targets, but I didn’t want to complicate my skill rotation for WvW. Maniacal Persistence also provides about 60 DPS when ranging targets with the hammer auto-attack.

I usually apply regeneration, swiftness, and protection when on Glint and traveling or attacking from range. Make sure you use Versed in Stone, this trait provides quite a bit of defense when you get bursted. It usually saves my behind when I’m out of position in WvW and should help against Mordrem Snipers.

This build also has quite a few weaknesses. The damage output is significanlty less then PvE meta builds so I wouldn’t use this build for fractals or raids. It’s not very mobile. Your best option is to use Unyielding Anguish to move faster and get out of trouble. It is also difficult to stack might and apply conditions against mobile targests. When faced with this situation you will lose a significant amount of your DPS. Luckily this doesn’t occur often in PvE, but it definitely hurts this build when trying to solo roam in WvW. PvE enemies with low HP also don’t give you enough time to stack might.

This was actually extremely helpful! Thanks!
Just a couple of questions though.
How is it in terms of healing? The one problem I had with my last setup was Mallyx’s heal had kinda fell flat on it’s face and didn’t heal for a lot, even with conditions.
Also, how does staff perform on that setup?
And lastly would Hardening Persistence help with the survivability at all? I noticed that it counts to ANY skill that has upkeep, not just glint ones.

I was able to get some healing numbers for you:

Regeneration -233 (the WvW bonus messed with my numbers this is usually 220)
Empowering Misery – 5713 + 718 per condition
Infused Light – 1319 per hit

I don’t think I would use Hardening Persistence because Radiant Revival gives you a second Glint heal. Both heal skills from Mallyx and Glint are way more effective in WvW where you have an abundance of conditions and frequent low damage hits.

In open world PvE I don’t think you will have an issue healing. For example, standing on a Mordrem Snipers fire trail from their Charged Shot only does 1120 damage to you and you have 24k health. I think you could have more difficulty against bosses which hit for high damage, but the hammer allows you to back off to safety to regen and reapply boons.

I also wanted to point out that due to the Facet of Nature nerf from 50% boon duration to 33% boon duration you may need to use the Chocolate Omnomberry Cream nourishment. I also added the Sigil of Concentration on the hammer to reach 100% boon duration without using food.

Base (45%) + Food(20%) + Facet of Nature(33%) = 98% boon duration
Base(45%) + Facet of Nature (33%) + Sigil of Concentration(33%) = 100 boon duration

I tried recording a video, but OBS isn’t working. I may try again when I get some more time.

I think staff should work fine. I used it on my power build when HoT first came out and it makes sense that it could be better for PVE due to boss break bars.

Dagger.2035:

I think staff should work fine. I used it on my power build when HoT first came out and it makes sense that it could be better for PVE due to boss break bars.

Alright cool, one last question, what’s probably more important in Mallyx builds? Utility, mixed damage, or survivability? I ask because I spent some time making a build that has physical and condi damage on par with optimal builds and 1500 in both toughness and vitality but no healing power.
Here’s a link if you have any words on it:
http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?vlAQNApXinfN2gSuJvQRHlboskyPU4S5IKor8ElFUlxO92jnNpliKNgBSA-TBCBQBJZ/Bto0wHq/0FlYO7UA6DAwTAwRKB1oyAA-e

I feel like it’s up to personal preference. I personally feel that maxing out might is very important with hybrid builds and that boon duration works well with Mallyx/Glint. I think you will have to try some things out and determine what’s best for your play style and game modes. If you like Viper’s you should be able to add a little more defense without completely replacing your equipment.

For example, if you are downed frequently to burst damage, you may want to mix in some vitality or toughness. I think vitality is the better option since it offer protection against both direct damage and conditions. Adding a small amount of defensive stats can go along way. I liked that you picked Carrion in your build. It gives you vitality, more condition damage, and doesn’t sacrifice too much power. You could try mixing in a few Carrion trinkets to see if it helps. If you go this route also check out Rune of Scavenging, it’s the vitality version of Rune of the Undead and it also provides you with life steal.

If being able to sustain your health in a fight is an issue you also have several options. For example, you could swap your offhand axe with a shield. The axe doesn’t offer much dps in PvE anyway and the shield gives you healing, protection, and blocks. You could take this a step further and switch to Rune of the Defender. The wiki indicates that this rune’s 6th bonus heals 3,920 every 30 seconds when you block. It only has healing power stats so you will have to make sure the 6th bonus is worth it.

Also checkout the food available on the wiki: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Food. A nourishment may be able to help you without requiring any build changes. My personal favorites to add more sustain are Mango Pies and Omnomberry Pies.