Guild Wars 2

I just really want to use the rifle again… I stopped using it ever since the 25th july patch that brought the two traits I used to grandmaster…

Depends on what sort of build you want to run. I’ve heard that in tPvP, zerk builds don’t work out very well since you tend to get outlasted by tank bunkers. But, in normal sPvP I find that a berserker build works out quite well. Before adjusting my build, I ran a 30/10/0/0/30 build with the two grandmaster traits and deep strikes for high precision. I would use rifle and greatsword, rifle to soften them up as they walk towards me, and immobilize + hundred blades to finish them (coupled with frenzy)

Play rifle and longbow just to see the difference, you will never go back to rifle..ever again.

Rifle is a silly gimmick that has no place other than glass cannon 1 trick pony.

I recently went back to rifle and have been using this build in WvW:
0/30/0/10/30
Arms: Rending Strikes/Crack Shot/Opportunist
Tactics: Leg Specialist
Discipline: Signet Mastery/Sharpened Axes/Burst Mastery

Fury is up almost constantly in most fights via Rifle 2, and Axe 3. Therefore I don’t run FGJ unless I am buffing the zerg. Berserker Rifle and Berserker Axe/Shield are my weapons. Armor is PTV with Ruby Orbs, Trinkets are the 2 ascended Berserker rings and PTV trinkets with exquisite ruby jewel. I use the Stamina signet for condition removal, and if need be I might run mending over healing surge for additional condi removal.

With this setup I am usually sitting at about 23k Health, which is lower than I like but I have had little issue due to my toughness and the fact that I tend to hang back a little to pick off targets. I have not had any issues when closing in for melee fights either. It’s not perfect but I enjoy it.

Cempa.5619:

Play rifle and longbow just to see the difference, you will never go back to rifle..ever again.

Rifle is a silly gimmick that has no place other than glass cannon 1 trick pony.

I have to disagree with that, i know its does lacking utility but used well can be strong too. How i would improve it in terms of utility:

1. - 5sec chill
2. - 1sec poison per shot
3. - 2sec immo, 5sec blind
4. - 3sec cripple
   F1 – castime reduced to 1sec, 1sec stability, 3 stack of torment and based on adren lv: 3/4/5sec weakness

From wiki:

Rifle — Inflict various conditions and unleash powerful attacks against a single target.

I love warrior´s rifle. I wanted to play rifle war before the game was released and though I was using hammer for some time I got back to using rifle and I just love it. It is great in PVE and good for WvWvW when you are shooting both on and off the walls. In PvP, rifle is not that good, though I play with it in PvP as well. From time to time I try different builds and weapons but I alwas get back to the one I am comfortable with even though it is not something you are very competitive with.

I am using something similar as Stratos uses and I too enjoy it.

My PvP and PvE builds are almost identical. In PvE my secondary is GS, in PvP it is Axe and shield.

So..PvP..

Rifle with sigil of fire for some AoE and extra damage as main.

Axe with quickness and shield with +15% stun duration sigil as secondary.

Zerker amulet and rampager jewel (with my setup the jewel gives me 51% crit chance instead of 49% with full zerker).

Soldier runes.

Endure pain, Sigil of stamina, Shake it off and Mending. Sigil of rage.

Traits: 20/30/0/0/20

Restorative strenght, Axe mastery
Rending strike (or furious reaction), Cracked shot, Furious
Sigil Mastery, Sharpened Axes

Mending because it cleanses 2 conditions.
Shake it off is a stun breaker and thanks to soldier runes it now cleanses 2 conditions as well.
Sigil of stamina gives me better endurance regen which means more dodges and once activated it cleanses all conditions and thanks to sigil mastery it has 36 sec CD intead of 45.
Endure pain because…well endure pain.

Thanks to traits I gain adrenalin faster which means faster Eviscerate.

There is a stun in shield 4 and knockback in rifle 5. The kockback is very usefull and both are capable of interrupting skills.

The rifle is capable of 5-6K damage with voley and the same goes for eviscerate. If timed well and your oponent is not dodging or such you are capable of 10-12K damage in matter of seconds plus capability of interrupting his heal.

I got ton of condi removal, average heal, 2 stun breakers, invurneability.

It is not a super competitive build but I have been using it to some moderate success.

For PvE, WvWvW insert GS traits and Sweat vengeance instead of Axe traits and Furious. And some knight gear instead of full zerker.

I suppose if I wanted to ply rifle and did not want to be a glass cannon I’d look at spec like this:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAU8ejgOFv5OCPMxBkzDoIAJP1D7oOijUhxA-j0xAYMAyCQCsIasVwioxqYwUmER1ejioVLDAzYA-w

But it still plays like a glass cannon because the idea is landing Volley+F2 when under %50 hp for 10k.

This is the build I personnaly play for PvP
Link : http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAU8ejgOFv5OCPMxBkzDoIAJP1D7oOijUhxA-j0xAYMAyCQCsIasVwioxqYwUmER1ejioVLDAzYA-w

It is also a glasscanon but instead it relies more on high bleed generation, interupt skills, it has decent mobility allowing you to easely escape. On the other hand it has a very poor health recovery and it is also lowers your burst quite a bit. But if you can keep the bleeds up you don’t loose that much of burst and the constant pressure with auto attack can be quite devastating.

For the utilities I took Defy pain, but you can switch with berserker stance if you want to be stronger against condition players. Kick is a very good skill for a Rifleman, it allows to surprise your target with a second knockdown should he dodge the first one, and with distracting strike you can make some silly combinations with the confusion damage. And fear me seems a must own power, it can realy change the issue of a fight should it be to rez an ally, burst a player down, or escape.

in sPvP rifle zerk can be viable, but you must understand that you are tanky dps support, and you cannot survive unless your teammates protect you. If you get protection from teammates, you can WRECK the other team. The new signet of might is a rifle warriors best friend, as it will allow you to channel killshot, pop signet of might, and then shoot through blocks/reflects (and piercing if you spec for it) this means you can easily down daggerstorm thieves, feedback mesmers, multi-block guardians, GS rangers, shield warriors, etc etc etc. They always think they are safe, and will literally watch you channel, pop your signet…. and they still won’t dodge. Maybe they should have read those patch notes

It takes an extremely skilled and experienced player to utilize zerk rifle to its full potential, and it also takes a skilled team supporting you. You support them, they support you.