Guild Wars 2

I just want to first say that I’m not trying to introduce a new meta or anything, I’m simply sharing a build that I enjoy playing.

TL:DR!

Build:
Assassin X’s “Balanced” build 2.0 for WvW Roaming

Videos:
Assassin X’s “Balanced” build 2.0 Vs Tap Dat Mouse’s “Legendary” build 3.0

Assassin X’s “Balanced” Build 2.0 WvW & SPvP Duels

I’ve been playing warrior since beta. I spend most of my time in WvW, that is the basis of theory crafting starts for this build. This is my WvW roaming build. Having played DAoC since its release, I have come to understand the nature of 1v1s through zerg warfare. Nothing has changed since the inception of DAoC’s revolutionary RvR system to the conception of GW2’s WvW. What you need to understand, is how to deal optimum damage while maintaining maximum survivability. It doesnt matter how many foes there are, the principal is the same, kill them before they kill you. now, how many variables can affect the outcome of the battle, is another story…

In the beginning, I worked with knight’s gear and a max/min effort to create the final build you see today. The problem I ran into, as most folks do when trying to theory craft, was having to decide what 3 primary stats I wanted to focus on. This was the problem. In order to achieve an optimum stat balance, there were Five stats that I needed covered. Offense, consisting of Power, Precision and Ferocity; and Defense, consisting of Armor (Toughness + Base AF) and Vitality.

Ideally, one would want 3k in every stat. Balancing 5 stats (power, precision, toughness, vitality and ferocity) how was i supposed to do that? it was literally impossible!
Then came Celestial gear. At first, even I was skeptical, but as theorizing went on, Celestial kept popping back up in my thoughts. Upon the initial release of the celestial gear, obtaining a full set of both armor AND trinkets did not prove to be effective in the pursuit of 5 stat balance, however, and this led me back to max/min with trinkets, and for a while, it worked.

When the patch bringing a bonus to stats across the board to all armor sets due to the ferocity change, Celestial Gear became even better. Now, I could actually achieve the stat point distribution that I hoped for. Not only did this provide the stats I wanted, it also allowed for the increase of my condition damage and healing power giving it some what of a hybrid effect.

This build, My Balanced build, in its most current version, does not require Food.

you dont use food? why not its such an advantage! you are a fool to not use food!

I didn’t say that. read that sentence again.

This build, My Balanced build, in its most current version, does not require Food.

Now that you have re-read the sentence, what does it say? Thats right, it does not require food. but you can still use food. This is one interesting thing i stumbled upon while theory crafting. Utilizing this build allows the user to consume ANY, that is correct ANY FOOD HE/SHE DESIRES TO USE!

This makes for the most advantageous situation, if you are quick enough to realize a build the enemy uses, and switch foods to suit the needs of the battle. Some builds these days rely on the use of food, not using it puts the user at a disadvantage and could subsequently make/break the build.

Not a problem for the balanced build! My preference is Life stealing food and Sharpening stones, which adds power and an additional layer of sustainability, on top of healing signet and adrenaline.

facing a condition pressure build? switch to lemongrass and wipe away those tears (along with the conditions).

feel like you need to do more condition damage? switch food!

need more crit damage or power? switch food!

If it seems like I am rambling, it is to make a point: You do not necessarily need consumables to be competitive.

Another nice thing about this build, which you will see when you watch the duel i have with the guardian, is that this build is viable with ANY weapon set. This makes your group play very fun. If you can see in advance how many enemies you are about to engage with, you can switch weapon set to accommodate, without worrying about losing effectiveness.

Now that a little background has been given; I present to you my “Balanced” Warrior build 2.0. I enjoy playing this build, and some of you might and some might not.

Assassin X’s Balanced 2.0 build

Build Breakdown and why I chose to run what I do.

Trait Breakdown

Arms – 4 points

Obviously, the main focus of my build is to deal a substantial amount of damage in a short amount of time, while still having a huge amount of survivability. The choices for Rending Strikes and Forceful Greatsword are simple and do not need very much detail.

Trait V – Rending Strikes – Apply Vulnerability to targets = do more damage when you hit them.

Trait X – Forceful Greatsword -

Defense – 6 points

Any warrior worth their weight in WvW knows that Traits II – Dogged March and IX – Cleansing Ire are standard for survivability. No need to go into detail here.

Minor trait – Armored Attack

After the stat increase from 7% to 10% a few patches ago, this allows you to increase your damage once more.

Fast hands is a crutch that must be utilized! As good as this minor trait is, it is hard not to take it. For a while I did not use it and got accustomed to not using it, but when I finally switched back, it was hard to not-not use. :[

Trait XII – Spiked Armor

I choose Spiked Armor over Last Stand because Last Stand is too unpredictable and slotting Balanced stance and using it when you actually need it to avoid a spike rather than break a 1 second stun and not have it and eat a spike in the face, is pretty self-explanatory. Also it is nice to not be stopped when trying to stomp/spike/NBA JAMS! Someone who is downed! Spiked Armor adds an additional layer of Defense AND Offense. When enemies see retaliation, sometimes they slow their attack, that provides for a moment when I am not taking damage and I can be regening HP. If they continue to attack through, then they are just taking more damage including the damage I’m doing to them intentionally.

Discipline – 4 points

Trait V – Vigorous Focus
Since this build utilizes Stances as my utility options, this trait gives you the extra layer of defense through endurance regeneration of Vigor. Having the extra dodges in a fight are life saving. Use them wisely. Or not! You have a ton of endurance regeneration almost 21 seconds of endurance regeneration available when you need it! Seriously tho, use them wisely! Lol

Trait VII – Destruction of the Empowered
Everyone runs at least 1-3 minimum boons. This is an easy choice to make for the pretense of maximizing damage.

Utilities

Balance Stance – Because stun breakers and stability are non-negotiable.

Bull’s Charge – Gap closer and when used in the fire field provided by Longbow F1, you get the fire aura, which applies might to you when struck. I have moved away from Endure Pain for those “Oh kitten moments!” because I feel that If I get to the point where I need to use an “oh kitten button”, then I am doing something wrong. Not having Endure pain forces me to up my game and play smarter.

Berserker’s Stance – This is the warrior’s gold. Anyone who does not use this in wvw, is honestly hindering themselves. This is your Stim Pack! Keeps your adrenal health up and going and your damage up.

Elite

For roaming you can run Signet of Rage for the extra fury that you really do not need. But who doesn’t want to crit more?
In Group, you should always run Warbanner to get your group members up fast from downed state. There is no I in team. Or you can be selfish and keep running
Signet of Rage! LoL.

Why do I use Traveler Runes?

Being slow is terrible. Nothing is worse than losing your target who might be kiting, and suddenly they just begin fleeing instead of just kiting! The bonuses it provides as well as the much needed 25% improved movement speed free you up in the Discipline line to take Vigorous Focus, instead of taking Warrior’s spirit and running slow while using longbow to apply that pindown and stay in the fight and slay the coward who only prolongs their death!

I hope you guys enjoy something different instead of playing the same thing. To those of you who find this build interesting/fun, great! to those who don’t, thats great too! again im not trying to introduce a new god build or new meta or anything like that. just something i enjoy playing.

Here is the write up and link to the Original Balanced 1.0 build from May 2014
Balanced Build 1.0 Videos
WvW
Balanced Build 1.0 in WvW
WvW Dueling- Condition/Burst Guardian
sPvP
Balanced Build 1.0 in sPvP

Thanks for posting this! I have been thinking about a celestial build for quite some time but to be honest, I really got bored with my warrior as I just felt that my guardian could do things better in most cases. Who knows if that’s true or not but after awhile, I lost my love for the warrior class.

I would like to try this out some as I already have the armor ready to be crafted but is it effective if I don’t have celestial weapons? Would you suggest knights as a replacement?

Assassin X.8573:

I’ve been playing warrior since beta. I spend most of my time in WvW, that is the basis of theory crafting starts for this build. [b]T.

Why do you still skill click “since beta”

Narkodx.1472:

Assassin X.8573:

I’ve been playing warrior since beta. I spend most of my time in WvW, that is the basis of theory crafting starts for this build. [b]T.

Why do you still skill click “since beta”

because i do? what is wrong with clicking?

FinalPatriot.8034:

Thanks for posting this! I have been thinking about a celestial build for quite some time but to be honest, I really got bored with my warrior as I just felt that my guardian could do things better in most cases. Who knows if that’s true or not but after awhile, I lost my love for the warrior class.

I would like to try this out some as I already have the armor ready to be crafted but is it effective if I don’t have celestial weapons? Would you suggest knights as a replacement?

I dont think it effects it too much, open the build and play around with it. Personally if i didnt have the cele weapons i would use zerk > cavalier > knights.

Assassin X.8573:

Narkodx.1472:

Assassin X.8573:

I’ve been playing warrior since beta. I spend most of my time in WvW, that is the basis of theory crafting starts for this build. [b]T.

Why do you still skill click “since beta”

because i do? what is wrong with clicking?

No wonder you posted this build lol

Serious question?

I mean it all makes sense if you think clicking is viable why you would think this build is viable as well

Narkodx.1472:

Assassin X.8573:

Narkodx.1472:

Assassin X.8573:

I’ve been playing warrior since beta. I spend most of my time in WvW, that is the basis of theory crafting starts for this build. [b]T.

Why do you still skill click “since beta”

because i do? what is wrong with clicking?

No wonder you posted this build lol

Serious question?

I mean it all makes sense if you think clicking is viable why you would think this build is viable as well

Is clicking slower than keybinds? Yes for sure. Does this mean you auto fail? No it does not. I’ve seen Ascii destroy anyone he faces, he clicks. This in-yo-mamas-face attitude that clicking automatically means you’re bad is so 2007 to look at.

Dietzen.6127:

Narkodx.1472:

Assassin X.8573:

Narkodx.1472:

Assassin X.8573:

I’ve been playing warrior since beta. I spend most of my time in WvW, that is the basis of theory crafting starts for this build. [b]T.

Why do you still skill click “since beta”

because i do? what is wrong with clicking?

No wonder you posted this build lol

Serious question?

I mean it all makes sense if you think clicking is viable why you would think this build is viable as well

Is clicking slower than keybinds? Yes for sure. Does this mean you auto fail? No it does not. I’ve seen Ascii destroy anyone he faces, he clicks. This in-yo-mamas-face attitude that clicking automatically means you’re bad is so 2007 to look at.

I dont think I could have said this any better. Thanks!

Its unfortunate that we have a community that is so very close-minded. Maybe one day Narkodx will understand that there are more than one way to do things. But until then he can fester in his faux elitest self glorifying way of thinking. Ill still enjoy gamimg the way i do. Perhaps one day he can learn how to offer constructive criticism that actually has substance.

@OP,

I just ran your build in sPvP and while I know it’s not the same as WvW, it’s pretty freaking amazing. Course, it could be that the other team really sucked but I ended up taking 1st place in points and only died once. That fire-field really makes for some fun!

I want to try this build but boy this sure is a big investment. And when i don’t have neither the time and the money to invest in it I might never try it
YET I disagre with Rune choise. Travaler bring almost nothing to the Warrior. You are running celestial with Forceful Greatsword, you should be using might stacking has main source to improve damage. Hoelbrak brings so much more to this build (because you will gain both Power and Condition) that hurts seeing Travaler has choice because you don’t like to run slow on Bow. LOL Warriors Sprints covers that so well has you will never chase someone on a kitten bow but yes on your GS. You have GS mobility and Bulls Rush, chasing and catching ppl should never, but never be a problem on these build.

I would run these: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fJAQJARTjMdUGaZHWhwJagkgC9onBlwxA4AUWFlOA-TVSFABEcBAA4IA0nSwJV/pKlfD8AAwTXACHCAW2fIAACwNvZ28mBczduzje0jWGAmFA-w

And I would might switch Strength Sigil for Battle, but for that I would need testing because the Crit chance is not that bad and Strength coupled with Forceful Greatsword might actually be pretty good

I’ve been running that trait spread, weapon set, just without Celestial since before cleansing ire even existed….

2.0

FinalPatriot.8034:

@OP,

I just ran your build in sPvP and while I know it’s not the same as WvW, it’s pretty freaking amazing. Course, it could be that the other team really sucked but I ended up taking 1st place in points and only died once. That fire-field really makes for some fun!

I run it in spvp also with great success as well. I feel bad for all the shoutbows that try to comptete.

Zietlogik.6208:

I’ve been running that trait spread, weapon set, just without Celestial since before cleansing ire even existed….

2.0

Nice!

@ X,

I ran into a guy running this build a few hours ago on my p/d condi thief and to be honest, I didn’t take is all that seriously at first. He was running around in some crazy looking outfit which clearly was a nice distraction.

Well, I did take him seriously when he killed me.

mPascoal.4258:

I want to try this build but boy this sure is a big investment. And when i don’t have neither the time and the money to invest in it I might never try it
YET I disagre with Rune choise. Travaler bring almost nothing to the Warrior. You are running celestial with Forceful Greatsword, you should be using might stacking has main source to improve damage. Hoelbrak brings so much more to this build (because you will gain both Power and Condition) that hurts seeing Travaler has choice because you don’t like to run slow on Bow. LOL Warriors Sprints covers that so well has you will never chase someone on a kitten bow but yes on your GS. You have GS mobility and Bulls Rush, chasing and catching ppl should never, but never be a problem on these build.

I would run these: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fJAQJARTjMdUGaZHWhwJagkgC9onBlwxA4AUWFlOA-TVSFABEcBAA4IA0nSwJV/pKlfD8AAwTXACHCAW2fIAACwNvZ28mBczduzje0jWGAmFA-w

And I would might switch Strength Sigil for Battle, but for that I would need testing because the Crit chance is not that bad and Strength coupled with Forceful Greatsword might actually be pretty good

Rune choice is all about your preference. Im not saying this is the build and do not make any divergence from it! I would prefer that a user makes it their own.

I did test battle sigil over strength ofc and chose strength because, i found it to stack might slower imo than i could with strength sigil.

Will have anymore videos of these build in action? Have you tried it in Zergs too?

mPascoal.4258:

Will have anymore videos of these build in action? Have you tried it in Zergs too?

The first post has a 1v1, i have some raw footage i havent put together yet in roaming/solo. I dont really zerg anymore usually guild ops. 5-10 max.

It’s a fun build, yet I do think it is sub optimal the way you present it.

Sigil of blood and sigil of earth are both wasteful. Especially earth, longbow has such a slow attack speed that it barely offers more damage.

Also, if you apply so many bleed, why not put one point from disc into arms for a 10% damage increase rather then a 3-9% from DotE?

You say you can swap to any weapon and food a situaion asks for. I can do that on my build, but then I don’t call it optimal.

You don’t utilise one of longbow’s greatest strengths: might stacking. I agree with a poster before me, hoelbrak would be WAY better.

Vigorous focus adds very little to your build in it’ s current form. 12 seconds of vigor only. You could take sprint and drop the extremely underwhelming rending strikes for Furious Reaction and have a better build already.

And spiked armor? This is a giveaway for somebody that does a lot of theorycrafting, but lacks experience. Very poor trait on any build, and yours has low power to boot… There are many better traits in this line, last stand and defy pain being two of them (that also happen to combo very well with vigorous focus).

Posting this from my phone so I won’t add a link to an improved build just now.

Really liked your presentation and it was a good read. So keep it up.

Edit: Something like this;

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fJAQJARTjMdUGaZHWhwJaAmgCdnPBfw10OA09EA-TVSGABAcBAyTJ4jq/kwDAIKlf0pLogjAABHCAU2fIAACwNvZ28mBO6RP6RP6R7m7cnH9oHtQAmXAA-w

Also, I thought about your comment regarding food, and no, you can not use any food you desire without becoming sub-optimal. You surely can not not use food at all, as you will simply be weaker then with food. Look at it this way; don’t use food if you want more of a challenge and don’t mind putting yourself at a disadvantage against an opponent that does use it.

Cygnus.6903:

It’s a fun build, yet I do think it is sub optimal the way you present it.

Sigil of blood and sigil of earth are both wasteful. Especially earth, longbow has such a slow attack speed that it barely offers more damage.

I conceed blood, i have recently switched to hydro/leeching on the GS. I have been testing other sigils in place of earth, but i still like the added pressure it gives.

Also, if you apply so many bleed, why not put one point from disc into arms for a 10% damage increase rather then a 3-9% from DotE?

conditions can be cleared by the opponent, they usually do not clear thier own boons.

You say you can swap to any weapon and food a situaion asks for. I can do that on my build, but then I don’t call it optimal.

You don’t utilise one of longbow’s greatest strengths: might stacking. I agree with a poster before me, hoelbrak would be WAY better.

I thought that was a given with the use of longbow and might stacking. that was the purpose. typically, i will F1, bulls to add the fire aura, and AA to blast, or switch Bulls and AA if they are outside the fire field. In any case, if you were to solely focus on might stacking, yes i agree hoelbrak is better.

Vigorous focus adds very little to your build in it’ s current form. 12 seconds of vigor only. You could take sprint and drop the extremely underwhelming rending strikes for Furious Reaction and have a better build already.

I have begun testing FR over RS actually.

And spiked armor? This is a giveaway for somebody that does a lot of theorycrafting, but lacks experience. Very poor trait on any build, and yours has low power to boot… There are many better traits in this line, last stand and defy pain being two of them (that also happen to combo very well with vigorous focus).

As i have stated, spike armor provides an additional layer of pressure. its a source of damage back to the target. Last stand and defy pain are auto pilot crutches (this doesnt mean that they are not good, if you are into that kind of extremely passive play) i do not like to use them because they take out a little bit of skill from your play.

Posting this from my phone so I won’t add a link to an improved build just now.

Really liked your presentation and it was a good read. So keep it up.

Edit: Something like this;

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fJAQJARTjMdUGaZHWhwJaAmgCdnPBfw10OA09EA-TVSGABAcBAyTJ4jq/kwDAIKlf0pLogjAABHCAU2fIAACwNvZ28mBO6RP6RP6R7m7cnH9oHtQAmXAA-w

Also, I thought about your comment regarding food, and no, you can not use any food you desire without becoming sub-optimal. You surely can not not use food at all, as you will simply be weaker then with food. Look at it this way; don’t use food if you want more of a challenge and don’t mind putting yourself at a disadvantage against an opponent that does use it.

I dont think i say its optimal/sub optimal, I think i simply state that it provides situational flexibility. I also state that I use it. and that i recommend using food in wvw. what i am saying is, that this build works in spvp as well, thus the lack of need for food.

I have taken a look at the build you posted. It is a trait spread that i have run before, but i did not find it to provide as much damage as I do now.

I extremely dislike having to have warriors sprint, but i may be moving towards that trait as well.

thank you for your input! i appreciate it!

I have been using this build in sPvP, there one of the main sources of damage isn’t GS so much is more Bow with the condi pressure it gives, isn’t much, but that combined with the might stacking and the damage from GS adds a lot, but in GS I usually use Rush, Whirlwind and AS to do the big hits. 100b already hits for low damage on Zerker compared to other zerkers and requires setup that isn’t even worth to use as Celestial, and with the crit chance being that high Earth is not that bad of an option.

You could also go Battle and Strength on GS t quickly might stack, then go Bow with Leaching and Doom there

One think i know for sure that I tried, GS/Bow Zerker in WvW doesn’t really work vs GS/Hammer or GS/Axe, as Celestial might be better

And 0/4/6/0/4 is better because unless you have permanent bleed, which you might not have DotE will do more damage, specially vs Elementalist and some Zerg spec you might face

Assassin X.8573:

Constructive conversation

Good points, just want to reply once more.

Spiked Armor over EP/LS because it adds pressure, meh. Again, such low power means the pressure from at best 50% uptime retaliation is mediocre.

Saying EP and LS are passive as an argument is moot, as Spiked Armor is precisely as passive as those other two traits. I do not see how Spiked Armor requires more skill, as you still do nothing to activate it.

Whereas Endure Pain adds something incredibly valuable to this build IMO. LongbowGS traditionally lacks active defense other then Whirlwind and the blind arrow. Endure Pain, being a crutch, somewhat mitigates this problem. It also allows you to stay on the offense when you notice your HP dropping, as you know you will always have those 4 seconds of direct damage immunity.

About the might stacking, off course you still stack it. But without any added duration, you will miss out on the higher stackcount you could achieve. This is part of the reason why Hoelbrak would be better.

The build is a functional all-round one, but the problem with running LB in WvW roaming is that to beat you, any competent player just needs to dodge pindown. No one decent will stand in the fire field either.

Cygnus.6903:

Assassin X.8573:

Constructive conversation

Good points, just want to reply once more.

Spiked Armor over EP/LS because it adds pressure, meh. Again, such low power means the pressure from at best 50% uptime retaliation is mediocre.

Saying EP and LS are passive as an argument is moot, as Spiked Armor is precisely as passive as those other two traits. I do not see how Spiked Armor requires more skill, as you still do nothing to activate it.

Whereas Endure Pain adds something incredibly valuable to this build IMO. LongbowGS traditionally lacks active defense other then Whirlwind and the blind arrow. Endure Pain, being a crutch, somewhat mitigates this problem. It also allows you to stay on the offense when you notice your HP dropping, as you know you will always have those 4 seconds of direct damage immunity.

About the might stacking, off course you still stack it. But without any added duration, you will miss out on the higher stackcount you could achieve. This is part of the reason why Hoelbrak would be better.

I agree that SA is passive, however we cannot obtain that retaliation boon by activating another skill open to our utilities, whereas we have the option to activate endure pain or balanced stance/dolyak for your damage mitigation and stablity. I do not think SA has any bearing on skill and did not claim that it had.

It is just my opinion that by opting out of utilizing those traits, i force myself to have to play smarter and better than my opponents.

roamzero.9486:

The build is a functional all-round one, but the problem with running LB in WvW roaming is that to beat you, any competent player just needs to dodge pindown. No one decent will stand in the fire field either.

Thanks, that is what im trying to achieve.

However, if a player, regardless of how skilled or unskilled they are, engages me, typically they have two options: run and have no fight, or get out of the frying pan and into the fire. Kind of works as an active defense. Even if they do engage at range, i can still range fight them at the edge of my field to fain the projectile combos and then. Close the distance with gap closers and get them into melee combat.

Assassin X.8573:

It is just my opinion that by opting out of utilizing those traits, i force myself to have to play smarter and better than my opponents.

What you’re saying here sounds like you pick SA to intentionally make your build weaker to get more of a challenge.

Cygnus.6903:

Assassin X.8573:

It is just my opinion that by opting out of utilizing those traits, i force myself to have to play smarter and better than my opponents.

What you’re saying here sounds like you pick SA to intentionally make your build weaker to get more of a challenge.

If that is how you perceive it to be then, yes.

If i were to rank the usefulness of those traits, i would say defy >spiked >last stand.

If my oppon e nt does not get me to the threshold of activation for defy pain, then i have something that is not being used at all in my build. If my opponent hits me with a 1s stun then my l a st stand activates to clear it. And then i get 3-4s kd/cc once the stab is gone, then what good is that?

Spiked has a low threshold of activation and provides damage back to the opponent. If they do not realize they are tak i ng retaliation damage before its too late, then well its too late for them.

Rendering a video, about 3-4hrs left, but im at work so i wont be able to upload it until i get home.

Contains wvw duels and spvp duels with a rank 80 dragon legendary champion.

Video is up! watch it here. hope you enjoy!

if you dont; thanks for watching!

Assassin X’s “Balanced” Build 2.0 WvW & SPvP Duels

Assassin X.8573:

If that is how you perceive it to be then, yes.

If i were to rank the usefulness of those traits, i would say defy >spiked >last stand.

If my oppon e nt does not get me to the threshold of activation for defy pain, then i have something that is not being used at all in my build. If my opponent hits me with a 1s stun then my l a st stand activates to clear it. And then i get 3-4s kd/cc once the stab is gone, then what good is that?

Spiked has a low threshold of activation and provides damage back to the opponent. If they do not realize they are tak i ng retaliation damage before its too late, then well its too late for them.

Yeah, we just disagree here. Defy>LS>SA in my book.

Yet, you do undervaluate last stand. You say the enemy can bait out the last stand by using a 1 sec CC, then not use any CC anymore for 8 seconds. How can you not see the usefulness here? Obviously, you get an 8 second window to do anything you like without getting CC’d. If your opponent manages to kite you or otherwise juke and you can not capitalize, then you got outplayed. Nothing to do with the trait itself here. You can actually wait with activating stability through utility skills because of the trait.

You say if Defy Pain never kicks in, meaning you never got to 25% health, then it is useless in your build. Again, this seems like a misconception to me. First of all, if you manage to never get below 25% in the fight, then I doubt the choice between SA or DP would have mattered at all. Most importantly though, Defy Pain allows you to remain on the offense with low HP. It does not have to be at 25% to be useful, simply because you know you have a fallback system.

You are willing to trade these advantages for what is going to be mediocre damage (at best). Retaliation, at your power level, will do ~220 damage per hit. If you get hit once every second during your retal uptime, that’s 1,1k damage. Seems quite underwhelming to me.
Sure, there will be opponents with high attack speed. Lets take a p/d thief for example. Sneak Attack does five hits in a short duration. However, the thief also stealths a lot (3-4 seconds per CnD), which hinders your useful retal uptime a lot. Not to mention they might actually steal the retaliation from you.
A longbow ranger Rapid Firing you will gladly take a little damage if that means you dodged none of his damage.
This is the main problem, your retaliation will be underperforming if you manage to dodge hard and multiple hitting attacks.

If you still want more damage, then dropping the 1 trait point in Defense for 1 in Arms would still be a lot better.

Cygnus.6903:

Assassin X.8573:

If that is how you perceive it to be then, yes.

If i were to rank the usefulness of those traits, i would say defy >spiked >last stand.

If my oppon e nt does not get me to the threshold of activation for defy pain, then i have something that is not being used at all in my build. If my opponent hits me with a 1s stun then my l a st stand activates to clear it. And then i get 3-4s kd/cc once the stab is gone, then what good is that?

Spiked has a low threshold of activation and provides damage back to the opponent. If they do not realize they are tak i ng retaliation damage before its too late, then well its too late for them.

Yeah, we just disagree here. Defy>LS>SA in my book.

Yet, you do undervaluate last stand. You say the enemy can bait out the last stand by using a 1 sec CC, then not use any CC anymore for 8 seconds. How can you not see the usefulness here? Obviously, you get an 8 second window to do anything you like without getting CC’d. If your opponent manages to kite you or otherwise juke and you can not capitalize, then you got outplayed. Nothing to do with the trait itself here. You can actually wait with activating stability through utility skills because of the trait.

You say if Defy Pain never kicks in, meaning you never got to 25% health, then it is useless in your build. Again, this seems like a misconception to me. First of all, if you manage to never get below 25% in the fight, then I doubt the choice between SA or DP would have mattered at all. Most importantly though, Defy Pain allows you to remain on the offense with low HP. It does not have to be at 25% to be useful, simply because you know you have a fallback system.

You are willing to trade these advantages for what is going to be mediocre damage (at best). Retaliation, at your power level, will do ~220 damage per hit. If you get hit once every second during your retal uptime, that’s 1,1k damage. Seems quite underwhelming to me.
Sure, there will be opponents with high attack speed. Lets take a p/d thief for example. Sneak Attack does five hits in a short duration. However, the thief also stealths a lot (3-4 seconds per CnD), which hinders your useful retal uptime a lot. Not to mention they might actually steal the retaliation from you.
A longbow ranger Rapid Firing you will gladly take a little damage if that means you dodged none of his damage.
This is the main problem, your retaliation will be underperforming if you manage to dodge hard and multiple hitting attacks.

If you still want more damage, then dropping the 1 trait point in Defense for 1 in Arms would still be a lot better.

You are changing my words a bit. I dont say that it is useless. I say its less useful to me. There is a huge difference between something being less useful than another thing and something being useless.

Im not arguing which trait would make the build stronger, and i agree that a damage mitigating trait would most likely be good regardless of how a battle progresses as opposed to taking that said damage straight to the face and hoping you dont die.

Im not really concerned with big number bursty damage because im not a yoloDPSwarrior, if i was then id play a full zerk build. I would say the build is supposed to be more about constant pressure than trying to burst someone down instantly.

Assassin X.8573:

Rendering a video, about 3-4hrs left, but im at work so i wont be able to upload it until i get home.

Contains wvw duels and spvp duels with a rank 80 dragon legendary champion.

A rank 80? Dang, does he have a legendary weapon too? Crafted from pure skill?

docMed.7692:

Assassin X.8573:

Rendering a video, about 3-4hrs left, but im at work so i wont be able to upload it until i get home.

Contains wvw duels and spvp duels with a rank 80 dragon legendary champion.

A rank 80? Dang, does he have a legendary weapon too? Crafted from pure skill?

Yes! He has a magical unicorn/pegasus that wears a hat, and they solve mysteries together!

Assassin X.8573:

You are changing my words a bit. I dont say that it is useless. I say its less useful to me. There is a huge difference between something being less useful than another thing and something being useless.

I don’t think I am.

Assassin X.8573:

If my oppon e nt does not get me to the threshold of activation for defy pain, then i have something that is not being used at all in my build. If my opponent hits me with a 1s stun then my l a st stand activates to clear it. And then i get 3-4s kd/cc once the stab is gone, then what good is that?

How else can interpret this then you saying the trait is useless (in those situations)? Which, as I explained earlier, even in those situations, they really aren’t.

Anyway, semanthics. I did gather that you were underestimating the traits, either ‘useless’ or ‘less useful’. You asked what good the trait was in that situation, and I tried to explain that.

Assassin X.8573:

Im not arguing which trait would make the build stronger, and i agree that a damage mitigating trait would most likely be good regardless of how a battle progresses as opposed to taking that said damage straight to the face and hoping you dont die.

But…but… trying to make builds better is the entire point, right? If you would argue about it, and find out, hypothetically, that your build is inferior, why would you not tweak it? Other then to get the ‘challenge’, off course.

the traveler runes are still a total waste when warrior’s sprint is available. you can make space with GS easily, the 25% speed on longbow is just not worth sacrificing a might stacking rune. more damage means you dont need to kite as much.

S/S as i may have said before is far superior to GS when running cele. it gives more condis, spike power damage, a block, and still retains mobility. sure some speed is lost, but you gain more damage and utility while still having good mobility.

choovanski.5462:

the traveler runes are still a total waste when warrior’s sprint is available. you can make space with GS easily, the 25% speed on longbow is just not worth sacrificing a might stacking rune. more damage means you dont need to kite as much.

S/S as i may have said before is far superior to GS when running cele. it gives more condis, spike power damage, a block, and still retains mobility. sure some speed is lost, but you gain more damage and utility while still having good mobility.

Only sword #2 for mobility is quite poor, actually.

And s/s longbow is better for pure condi IMO. If you want to use a sword, might as well get sword warhorn, the Acrobat;

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fJAQNBMhNakpjyQ7CxKEORDkEUoH9MoEOGAFgyvo0B-TlSDwAvV/hyhAoyJAoryvFKBBpPAgJoBPAAJHBAa7PEA4AghHe4hHOZAW2CA-w