Guild Wars 2

I’ve never used one of these build-calculator sites before, but I’ll do my best to briefly talk through my choices and my thinking behind it. Bear in mind that everything is situational and essentially down to individual play-style, so while I’m far from being a noob I certainly wouldn’t regard myself as highly-skilled, so what follows is just how I like to play the game. More often than not, I’ve found it to be a successful build in sPvP and easy to play…

-Please Copy and Paste link-

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-so-7wFCVKVP0S4ZL-60;9;4J;0TJ49;503945-5-V0CNV0sV2DsV2D5Bl

Tactics: Longbow as my primary weapon. I initiate all fights at range for obvious reasons; it’s safer for me – if I have to flee I already have space between me and my target. In melee it’s far more difficult to disengage and escape. It also affords more room for maneuver to position myself better for what’s about to happen.

Reaching out with damage as I close on them means they have already lost some health by the time I get on top of them. I really try and “soften them up” and pester them with the Longbow until I decide when to go melee, (or if they close in on me all the better.) There are several approaches to doing this depending on what class I’m facing, but normally I’ll advance using Pin Down and Smouldering Arrow. (Sometimes I’ll pop balanced stance to ensure I won’t be stopped en route to them but Smouldering Arrow does the job.) Then I swap to Axe/Shield.

Straight in with Shield Bash and Eviscerate. Maybe a Cyclone Axe too, (well, why not?) Auto attacks until they try to retreat or disengage (and most of them do as Warriors are so easy to kite and kill.) Depending on the range, I’ll either use Throw Axe for another immobilize (auto-attacking still) or Bull’s Charge to stop them dead. Again, depending on how the fight is progressing, I may have another Eviscerate ready (and I’m not adverse to popping it even when my Adrenaline isn’t full) or I may swap back to Longbow and fire another Smouldering Arrow/Pin Down combo. Still in melee and dodging as much as I can I’ll double-click Arcing Arrow for a point-blank AoE explosion then back to Axe/Shield asap… Shield Bash, Eviscerate, etc.

Balanced Stance and Shield Stance are used if needed but always, always use the stuns and immobilizes when they’re available. I always try to have Balanced Stance ready for the stomp. If not, I’ll just Axe them to death.

It’s really hard to talk through how I play as there are so many variables. If there’s a team fight on-point for example, I’ll happily just circle with the Longbow causing as much damage as possible – the Combustive Shot skill with Arcing Arrow and Fan of Flame are all good ways of racking up the damage and points in these situations. However, a well timed blind from a Smouldering Arrow is probably one of the greatest skills to learn, not just for your own sake but for your team-mates’ sake also. Anyway, generally speaking this is how I fight.

Sigils and Runes: For weapons I prefer a straight and constant 5% additional damage from every attack, so I go with Superior Sigils of Force. On-swap Sigils are good but after the initial effect, they do nothing. If I could swap weapons every second or two, that’d be a different matter altogether. But I can’t. Similarly, on-crit effects are good too, but I’m not built for high crit-chance, so choosing Superior Sigils of Force means I’m getting the most constant benefit from them. For the Shield I go with the Superior Sigil of Paralyzation for the extra second of stun (although it may not work?) I’m still undecided on this one to be honest. Runes – Superior Runes of Divinity. Quite simply, they offer a good, broad boost to all stats. Now, while some stats may provide more direct benefits than others, (Power, Precision, etc.,) I’m wary of ignoring the importance of other stats as they all have their benefits. A little extra Vitality for example can be the difference between life and downed. I’d just rather be a bit stronger overall than very strong in a few areas while being weaker in others… but I do love damage, so the Berserkers Amulet and Jewel is a no-brainer.

Traits: I’ll be as brief as possible here as they’re pretty self-explanatory given my weapon-set the way I play as outlined above. Most notable for my melee set are; Axe Mastery – more damage, and Leg Specialist – for Throw Axe. For the Longbow; Stronger Bowstrings and Burning Arrows – Fan of Flame and Combustive Shot keep enemies on fire so I benefit quite a lot from the increased 10% damage it gives. Signet Mastery for more uptime on the Signet of Rage boons and for more frequent condition wipes from the Signet of Stamina. I burst and move a lot so the minor traits of Building Momentum and Versatile Rage help here too, (but minor traits are just a wee bonus really.) Heightened Focus and Berserker’s Power are standard.

Utility Skills and Elite Skill: Balanced Stance for staying on-target and for stomping. Bull’s Charge for gap-closing and the knock-down, allowing you to get the hits in. Mending for the condition removal (and it’s not too bad a heal.) Signet of Stamina for more frequent dodges but more importantly, for the condition wipe. Signet of Rage – no explanation needed.

That’s it. Nothing too special but (I suppose like many builds) if played well it can be an effective and powerful* build. Just remember the golden rule as an sPvP Warrior; Never Go It Alone.

*When I say powerful, I mean powerful for a Warrior. Not powerful like, oh I dunno, an Elementalist… a BM Ranger… a Guardian… a Mesmer… a Thief… an Engineer…

Anyway, I’d be grateful for any constructive feedback.

I would replace Sigil of Force with Sigil of Fire (on LB), your crit is good enough. I would also replace Burning Arrows with Burst Mastery. Keep in mind that your build depends on adrenaline.

BtW why dont you try 10/30/0/0/30? Furious and Burst mastery can be rly good for F1 spam (and ur weapon choice rely on F1).