Guild Wars 2

Is a power (mostly zerker) P/D build viable for WvW and if so, does someone have a build?

Zerker isn’t really going to work for P/D. The only skill on the bar that may benefit from zerk gear is CnD, everything else is really condition heavy. Yep P/D is really only viable as a condition set maybe could work as a hybrid set too with celestial gear but Zerk is not really optimal. The 2/0/6/0/6 build with perplexity is what I’ve seen rolled quite a bit. It’s cheese and people will hate you, but whatever. People also play as warriors, so fight cheese with cheese I guess.

It works best as a second option not main

That said the condi dump combo stealth 1 3 f1 3 will still provide quite a bit of burst since 3 hits for a boat load of damage on crits

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/Harley-Quinn-P-D-10-30-30-Power-Build/

That’s before ferocity nerf

try it out and you’ll be amazed
in some cases power p/d even easier than s/d or d/p but in some its harder
melee would be the easiest as you just shadow shot for 3-5k dmg and put you on safe spot
but you must master your cnd

try 2,6,6,0,0 build first (like basic d/d) and after a while if you want to do more dmg than d/p or d/d go 6,6,2,0,0

here is my thread and video example

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/VIDEO-The-shadow-executioner/first#post4213476

some tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPuUQVDMjKU&list=UUcWnMDLv7r7EikeaBypE8tQ

oversoul soldier.1742:

Zerker isn’t really going to work for P/D. The only skill on the bar that may benefit from zerk gear is CnD, everything else is really condition heavy. Yep P/D is really only viable as a condition set maybe could work as a hybrid set too with celestial gear but Zerk is not really optimal. The 2/0/6/0/6 build with perplexity is what I’ve seen rolled quite a bit. It’s cheese and people will hate you, but whatever. People also play as warriors, so fight cheese with cheese I guess.

Sorry but this is just wrong. P/D can be played very well in berserker gear, and has the benefit of doing good damage from range. The second part of Shadow Strike (#3) hits quite hard, as does sneak attack. Additionally, the conditions don’t do much damage in berserker gear, but it is noticeable. Lastly, the sneak attack can be used very effectively by shooting through shadow refuge to combo and cause life leech, giving it a large burst potential.

A lot of people only see P/D as a condition set, which works to your advantage when you burst them down. The playstyle is very similar, and you can even try the standard 2/0/6/0/6 condi trait setup (switch uncatchable to thrill of the crime) with air and fire sigils to make up for the burst you lack for being in shadow arts.

Cheers

T raw.4658:

That’s before ferocity nerf

P/D power still works great — the ferocity nerf affected all zerker classes equally across the board. We can’t forget that crit sigils stack post patch, which in turn is amazing compensation for P/D power builds.

This is my current updated P/D power build: http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-c;4VwkZ06-FOVd0;9;49TT;02;009A35A;4IF0;3m9fgm9fgBBGgF6-6-N_scOVTWYXcYi3o_630S70HV8-NX8a;15;9;9;9;9;9;0VTk3b

Make sure you’re familiar with the mechanics of P/D before you put on a zerker set, as it far squishier than you’re standard dire P/D thief.

No trust me i know how viable it is

Just more viable as a 2nd set imho

Complimenting s/d etc

I’ve played power p/d as my main set for quite a while:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQJAqYl0MpypdPx0J8PNBQhsVAu7MZj3JP2E-TVCFwANVitRPAgHAwVlgCOBAoUpIpyja7PoSdlAAIAczbezbezbWKgRFGB-w

It’s perfectly viable for roaming and dueling. With guard stacks, you do good sustained dps, and your non-negligible condi damage will effectively negate the passive healing on many classes. Positioning is much easier because you don’t have to be in melee, and you should be able to take down just about any class/build if played correctly.

Pack runes + thrill of the crime give you permafury and permaswiftness in combat. On a medium armored target, sneak attack, shadow strike, and CnD will all crit for 3-4k.

Compared to the 2/6/6 build linked above, mine has more armor and vitality, about the same power and critical chance (taking permafury into account), and better sustained dps given 30 in trickery (300 extra condi damage, boon steal, daze, steal recharge). I don’t think critical strikes is really worth it on a sustained dps weapon set — I’d take sleight of hand over executioner for that reason.

The weapon set overall isn’t great for GvG’s or serious organized fights where you need to burst and get out.

P/D power is certainly viable. Iv enjoyed playing a build that uses Berserker, assassins, valk, and soldiers as a good balance. The build focuses on might stacking to attain its damage, So I use battle and rune of strength on one weapon set, with battle and intelligence on the other for a quick burst. The might stacking actually allows the conditions put on by the P/D weapon set to help slightly with your damage. I can stack up to 20 might stacks with this build. That combined with a full trickery tree, you can run full power gear (as I do) and at times have up to 1K condi damage. However, thats only a spike, usually I can sustain 10-14 stacks during a fight.

The only downside, is that everyone assumes your dire condition cheese.

^The question is, is a full condition setup better for P/D than zerker ?
And this depends mostly on the opponents ability to cleanse your conditions.

I too run such a setup , and depending on who i fight a full condition layout is better than full zerker.

And not only C’n’D hits for quite some dmg with power, sneak attack and shadowstrike do also quite some dmg.

The condition part of shadowstrike is just some additional damage.

lvis.3824:

^The question is, is a full condition setup better for P/D than zerker ?
And this depends mostly on the opponents ability to cleanse your conditions.

I too run such a setup , and depending on who i fight a full condition layout is better than full zerker.

And not only C’n’D hits for quite some dmg with power, sneak attack and shadowstrike do also quite some dmg.

The condition part of shadowstrike is just some additional damage.

Depends who/what you are fighting. P/D IMO is naturally going to be better with condis because while it does have nice sustained damage it has low burst. I would not really consider 3-4k a burst but some might. Thief is built for burst. Initiative allows us to do many actions quickly resulting in burst damage.

That being said I use P/D as my second set in my power build when I roam. It is one of the best weapons to use against melee warriors trying to hammer stun or eviscerate. I also find it to be VERY good against PU mesmers it is easy to CnD off of clones and Mesmers relatively low condition removal allows for keeping up the pressure even while in stealth.

Not my video but it shows my point and I use a similar setup

lvis.3824:

^The question is, is a full condition setup better for P/D than zerker ?
And this depends mostly on the opponents ability to cleanse your conditions.

I too run such a setup , and depending on who i fight a full condition layout is better than full zerker.

And not only C’n’D hits for quite some dmg with power, sneak attack and shadowstrike do also quite some dmg.

The condition part of shadowstrike is just some additional damage.

Its depends though for solo roaming condi pd is def stronger.