Guild Wars 2

Hey guys, I was wondering what the best choices might be for PvE overall.

I say “overall” because DPS isn’t my only concern (although it matters of course) and because I do all kinds of content, from FotM to solo play.

Obviously this discussion needs to separate between Condition Builds and Direct Damage builds.

In my current Direct Damage build I’m using Superior Runes of Lyssa for the added Precision and the fact that having all Boon up during a Daggerstorm can make quite a difference. The random Boon during a heal can be nice too, especially when it’s Protection but it’s not really a big bonus considering how often it’s redundant.

So I think there is room for improvement.

What are your thoughts on the best Superior Rune choices for PvE and why?

Rune of the Scholar – max damage
Rune of the Mad King – funny damage

Marduh.4603:

Rune of the Scholar – max damage

I think that the Runes of the Divinity are much more reliable in the terms of the Damage than sholar (10% dmg when HP > 90% kinda sux in PvE).

Yeah, I’m not sold on Scholar for PvE. I can understand it’s draw for PvP Backstab bursting but that’s about as far as I’d take it. You just don’t have max. HP all that much.

As for Divinity….well they’re obviously very expensive and even then I’m not sure they’re the best choice.

I mean they provide +60 to all stats and +12% Crit-Damage, that’s great. But of those stats, we only really benefit from Power, Precision and Vitality. Toughness is a very slight buff and Healing and Condition Damage don’t do much for us.

I also firmly believe that certain unikittenfects can prove to be more valuable than simple stats, even if they’re hard to express in DPS/EHP or whatever.

I can see why they’d be a good choice, but given the current price…I’ll have to pass.

I’m currently enticed by the Runes of Vampirism however. Bonus Power + regular 900 Heals via life-leeching. The 6 piece bonus can save you from Death too, every minute. The Problem seems to be however that it’s still bugged…even after 2 months.

Dee Jay.2460:

Yeah, I’m not sold on Scholar for PvE. I can understand it’s draw for PvP Backstab bursting but that’s about as far as I’d take it. You just don’t have max. HP all that much.

As for Divinity….well they’re obviously very expensive and even then I’m not sure they’re the best choice.

I mean they provide +60 to all stats and +12% Crit-Damage, that’s great. But of those stats, we only really benefit from Power, Precision and Vitality. Toughness is a very slight buff and Healing and Condition Damage don’t do much for us.

I can see why they’d be a good choice, but given the current price…I’ll have to pass.

I’m currently enticed by the Runes of Vampirism however. Bonus Power + regular 900 Heals via life-leeching. The 6 piece bonus can save you from Death too, every minute. The Problem seems to be however that it’s still bugged…even after 2 months.

You´re right, I didn´t count with the preposterous price of the Divinity runes, just taken the numbers.
And bugs are bugs unfortunately (Vampirism runes), and if you look at the patches vs real effects ingame (talking about bugfixes), we don´t have a reason to believe that the big bugs will be fixed soon (if ever )

STRanger.5120:

I think that the Runes of the Divinity are much more reliable in the terms of the Damage than sholar (10% dmg when HP > 90% kinda sux in PvE).

There’s also Ruby Orbs. Same +% crit damage, more Power and Precision at the expense of the defensive stats. Moreover, they’re like 30 times cheaper on the TP.

I also don’t like Scholar for WvW or PvE. Or for SPvP other than the one-shot burst combo build, I suppose. “Don’t get hit at all or your damage will suffer” is pretty annoying, especially in bigger fights.

As a condition thief I like to use 3 Afflicted runes and 3 Krait runes.

Divinity for stats, 5 Pirate 1 Noble for farming.
I’ve also been known to run 4/2 or 2/4 with Pirate/Hoelbrak for might.

Pack is another good option in a group environment if you’re pushing acrobatics.

LiuliRenai.3928:

As a condition thief I like to use 3 Afflicted runes and 3 Krait runes.

I find more effective to use 5 afflicted and the sigil of agony. For bleedings the +25% of this combination is the same as the 30% from the other one as most of our bleeds (including pistol bleeds) are 4 seconds and bleeds only do more damage for each full second they get. This way you get the same stacks with more Condition Damage as the tier 5 rune gives more than the others combined.

That is of course unless you only spend 20 points on DA to sum 50% (I sum 25 from DA and 25 from the combo), but you still lose condition damage by not picking the 5th tier of the rune.

EDIT: I realized you really only lose 0.85 damage per bleed tick so maybe going just 20 DA with your combination would work better as it gives 5 extra points for other traits and extra sigil. I will try it this way :P

EDIT2: Lol with those 5 points in trickery I gain +50 condition damage xD Thanks for posting this, I’m destroying my own argument each time I do some maths with the build this way xD You learn something new everyday.

Lokheit.7943:

LiuliRenai.3928:

As a condition thief I like to use 3 Afflicted runes and 3 Krait runes.

I find more effective to use 5 afflicted and the sigil of agony. For bleedings the +25% of this combination is the same as the 30% from the other one as most of our bleeds (including pistol bleeds) are 4 seconds and bleeds only do more damage for each full second they get. This way you get the same stacks with more Condition Damage as the tier 5 rune gives more than the others combined.

I’m actually using those 3/3 runes along with two agony sigils for a total of +50% condition duration.

It’s possible to push to +75% condition duration with 2/2/2 runes and at least 10 points in deadly arts, though that would mean doing around 10 less bleed damage per tick. So it’s basically either 6 second pistol bleeds that do 110 damage or 7 ticks that do 100 damage. Since I also use Death Blossom D/D I prefare the former.

I combine Lyssa with Daggerstorm in PvP but usually boons are applied after the DS has ended :o

Whatever, concerning PvE I’d probably go with Ruby Orbs for direct dmg or Undead Runes for condition dmg. Probably not the very best but realiable and cheap.

As a Venomous Aura spec in PvE, I also run Lyssa since I use Basilisk Venom in group circumstances. My only issue with that set proc is the unwritten 50 sec cool down on the mega proc. (On a side note, I care more about the condition wiping benefit and not as much about the buffs. Though the Stability is really nice for helping me land a Basilisk hit to break up a boss mob’s rythme.)

STRanger.5120:

Marduh.4603:

Rune of the Scholar – max damage

I think that the Runes of the Divinity are much more reliable in the terms of the Damage than sholar (10% dmg when HP > 90% kinda sux in PvE).

Well I don’t know what you meant by reliable but Divinity runes has only 60 power while Scholar has 165 + 10 damage over 90% hp or 25 more power or 2 more crit but power more important than crit anyway.So for max damage Scholar is your best choice.

What are the best runes for PvE?Well..That depends entirely on your build.So what exacly is your build? then we can give you our oppinion.
On my Condition Thief I use 6 Superior Runes of Aflicted.Why 6 instead of another 28 condition damage? The last ability when you go down ,death nova , deals 4k damage +.
On my Glass Cannon thief I use the 6 runes of the Scholar.
I also use Sword/Dagger which is more balanced.I like this the best.I use divinity runes for it.

If yer lookin’ for Sigils ta round ya out and yer playin’ a D/D Thief I love me some Sigil of Stamina; “Endurance is refilled each time ya kill a foe” = infinite dodges.

I play a toughness thief, and with that sort of build comes a bit more flexibility when it comes to runes. I’ve been trying out the Rune of Speed with a pair of Sigils of Speed for WvW, and I’ve found it quite fun if not useful. I’m sure there are more useful runes to use but for a thief hunting build a near constant 40% speed boost is real nice.

Jack of Tears.9458:

If yer lookin’ for Sigils ta round ya out and yer playin’ a D/D Thief I love me some Sigil of Stamina; “Endurance is refilled each time ya kill a foe” = infinite dodges.

Ohh , interesting.Can’t wait to try that out.Though I don’t know how good it goes against elite mobs hard to kill.
Theres another fun option you can use.Signet of Rage.10% to get quickness on a critical hit.Combined whit another 10% from Critical Strikes line can get realy ridiculous.Try it out:D

NightyNight.1823:

Theres another fun option you can use.Signet of Rage.10% to get quickness on a critical hit.Combined whit another 10% from Critical Strikes line can get realy ridiculous.Try it out:D

No. People keep saying this and it isn’t true.

Signet of Rage and Critical Strikes stack perfectly, but they have no synergy. Pairing them is no better or worse idea than anything else. There’s no way to synergize with quickness, even other quickness. I don’t know how people got the idea that this is a good pairing, but it keeps popping up.

Furthermore, Signet of Rage will lock out your weapon procs for 45 seconds, causing it to do the lowest DPS of any signet unless you’ve got a lot of luck and a very low crit rate.

NightyNight.1823:

Jack of Tears.9458:

If yer lookin’ for Sigils ta round ya out and yer playin’ a D/D Thief I love me some Sigil of Stamina; “Endurance is refilled each time ya kill a foe” = infinite dodges.

Ohh , interesting.Can’t wait to try that out.Though I don’t know how good it goes against elite mobs hard to kill.
Theres another fun option you can use.Signet of Rage.10% to get quickness on a critical hit.Combined whit another 10% from Critical Strikes line can get realy ridiculous.Try it out:D

Yeah, suddenly makes those trash mobs the Elite is runnin’ with very useful. (ya hafta kill them anyway, they might as well refill yer stamina between blows with the Elite … this is even better when fightin’ champions what summon little buggers ta harry ya during the fight. [Champion Spider, for example, summons tons ah little spiders just ta let me kill ’em super fast … thank you Champion Spider])

I’ll have ta check out the Rage thing, soun’s like it could cause all sorts ah mayhem.

Tulisin.6945:

NightyNight.1823:

Theres another fun option you can use.Signet of Rage.10% to get quickness on a critical hit.Combined whit another 10% from Critical Strikes line can get realy ridiculous.Try it out:D

No. People keep saying this and it isn’t true.

Signet of Rage and Critical Strikes stack perfectly, but they have no synergy. Pairing them is no better or worse idea than anything else. There’s no way to synergize with quickness, even other quickness. I don’t know how people got the idea that this is a good pairing, but it keeps popping up.

Furthermore, Signet of Rage will lock out your weapon procs for 45 seconds, causing it to do the lowest DPS of any signet unless you’ve got a lot of luck and a very low crit rate.

Wait hold on cuzz I don’t get you.
What do you mean they have no synergy? Isn’t a 20% chance to get quickness? or what? Or isn’t the best option? I never said its the best.I said its fun.

NightyNight.1823:

Tulisin.6945:

NightyNight.1823:

Theres another fun option you can use.Signet of Rage.10% to get quickness on a critical hit.Combined whit another 10% from Critical Strikes line can get realy ridiculous.Try it out:D

No. People keep saying this and it isn’t true.

Signet of Rage and Critical Strikes stack perfectly, but they have no synergy. Pairing them is no better or worse idea than anything else. There’s no way to synergize with quickness, even other quickness. I don’t know how people got the idea that this is a good pairing, but it keeps popping up.

Furthermore, Signet of Rage will lock out your weapon procs for 45 seconds, causing it to do the lowest DPS of any signet unless you’ve got a lot of luck and a very low crit rate.

Wait hold on cuzz I don’t get you.
What do you mean they have no synergy? Isn’t a 20% chance to get quickness? or what? Or isn’t the best option? I never said its the best.I said its fun.

Two points:
1. Signet of Rage is bad for DPS and shouldn’t be used.
2. Signet of Rage stacks with the Crit Strikes trait, but there’s no additional synergy gained from using both, nor is there a way to specialize towards quickness use to make this a good idea. It isn’t min/maxing, it isn’t specialization, it isn’t anything. There’s no reason to take both.

Ye so what? it was only a crazy idea never said its a good one.No need to go over my head whit this.