Guild Wars 2

So, there are 3 main builds I see around:
1) The same old 30/25/0/0/15 greatsword/axe-mace + strength runes/scholar runes
2) PS for pugs 0/25/0/30/15 (or 0/30/0/30/10) greatsword/anything + strength runes
3) Pure axe 30/30/0/10/0 axe-mace/anything

The increase in speed of 10% for pure axe doesn’t seem much of a good dps increase and there is a thread in this subforum about it not being that good. I tried it and it is “fine”. I always sit on 100% crit chance and I can move (HB keeps you rooted in place and sometimes, if someone pulls the mobs around, you miss some hits).

Phalanx strength is awesome for pugs and is the build I’m currently running. I can keep 25 might for the whole party the whole time (45% duration from runes + 30% from traitline, 75%).

But in the end, does the best choice still remain 30/25/0/0/15, as far as damage output is concerned? Are there any other pve builds currently going around?

The only builds you really missed were the (4/6/0/4/0) Empower Allies:

Axe/Mace EA
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fJAQRAnZ3cjMdU5ZfH2ewJagggyYBEAn/gTY6TmEHBA-TBCEABMt/o8TiTAQb6HA4IA8wBBwtHAQiq/slSQA-e

Greatsword EA
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fJAQNAR3ZjMdU5ZfH2ewJagfAxYgBnHtaTymLB-TBSBABXp8rjDCAN7PgnuBAuCA59AAoU9HzUCCA-e

There has never been alot of build variety for PvE, the current meta is either GS or Axe/X built around (Berserker Power/Empower Allies/Phalanx Strength). Whatever you choose to run depends on personal preference and your group needs. As long as you are running the proper gear the difference in DPS shouldn’t be a big deal.

(6/5/0/0/3) still has top dps and according to Nike’s chart its just behind (6/6/0/2/0)
http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/83915-axemace-dps-build-for-dungeons-and-fractals-041514/

Pure GS 6/6/0/2/0 with or without ea is imho the best for dungeons ofc. with sword+warhorn for exstra mobility and swiftness+weakness (lots of stacking places). While I wouldn’t use this for fractals….

Keep in mind that while the discussion is about which spec has the most DPS, that doesn’t mean those are the default META specs. The default meta spec should always be EA warrior in an organized group, because the extra power boost to the group you provide vastly outweighs any potential loss in personal DPS.

You just don’t see the EA build discussed much because it’s pretty obvious to begin with and there isn’t really much to debate about it. There honestly isn’t much to debate about which max-DPS build is best either, Nike & co. already figured that out too. The rest are just people being dumb.

Pacer.6143:

Pure GS 6/6/0/2/0 with or without ea is imho the best for dungeons ofc. with sword+warhorn for exstra mobility and swiftness+weakness (lots of stacking places). While I wouldn’t use this for fractals….

The main problem with this build is managing HB. Pure GS has to get off full HBs on cooldown in order for it to actually be a DPS increase but in most dungeon situations as long as you make sure you don’t have to dodge before poping it, that shouldn’t be a big problem.

Seerstrange.4723:

Pacer.6143:

Pure GS 6/6/0/2/0 with or without ea is imho the best for dungeons ofc. with sword+warhorn for exstra mobility and swiftness+weakness (lots of stacking places). While I wouldn’t use this for fractals….

The main problem with this build is managing HB. Pure GS has to get off full HBs on cooldown in order for it to actually be a DPS increase but in most dungeon situations as long as you make sure you don’t have to dodge before poping it, that shouldn’t be a big problem.

yup, that’s why its for dungeons and not for fractals, its easy to do in dungeons just use stability if needed and tells from bosses to time it right. For pure axe autoattack also has go off full else it’s a dps loss

I think the pure GS that uses 10 in tactics is based on you receiving a lot of boons from other party members to boost your damage. If your not getting alot of boons besides your own its not neraly that much of a DPS increase. If that isn’t the case than the 30/25/0/0/15 is the better build for pugs.

Pacer.6143:

Seerstrange.4723:

Pacer.6143:

Pure GS 6/6/0/2/0 with or without ea is imho the best for dungeons ofc. with sword+warhorn for exstra mobility and swiftness+weakness (lots of stacking places). While I wouldn’t use this for fractals….

The main problem with this build is managing HB. Pure GS has to get off full HBs on cooldown in order for it to actually be a DPS increase but in most dungeon situations as long as you make sure you don’t have to dodge before poping it, that shouldn’t be a big problem.

yup, that’s why its for dungeons and not for fractals, its easy to do in dungeons just use stability if needed and tells from bosses to time it right. For pure axe autoattack also has go off full else it’s a dps loss

Axe chain doesn’t lose as much as HB if it’s interrupted since it’s your auto, you just restart it again immediately. Compare to HB which goes on 7s CD and leaves you with auto in the meanwhile.

Moreover, axe chain is more flexible with interrupts since you can move while channeling (and thus potentially not have to dodge at all if you can just sidestep) and it only actually gets interrupted if you dodge during the last skill, compared to HB which will get interrupted anytime during.

Warrior players seem to really like their big HB number but axe tends to be more practical in general and stacks better vuln. It’s entirely a preference thing really since GS has 1-2% better theoretical DPS but axe is much more stable, meaning you will likely get better DPS in practice.

Warlord.9074:

I think the pure GS that uses 10 in tactics is based on you receiving a lot of boons from other party members to boost your damage. If your not getting alot of boons besides your own its not neraly that much of a DPS increase. If that isn’t the case than the 30/25/0/0/15 is the better build for pugs.

The 10 Tactics builds only require 3 boons (which a single warrior can provide to him or herself) to be better than alternatives. Even in a situation where you can’t keep 3 boons up 6/6/0/0/2 is still technically better dps than 6/5/0/0/3.

The main advantage of 6/5 is Fast Hands and the interaction of that and ‘on swap’ sigils. If you aren’t using fast hands to proc either sigil of energy or battle then there is really no point to doing it. The 6/5 build gets its best DPS when it camps greatsword, and if you are going to camp greatsword you might as well run a 6/6 build for better dps. Thus, the only reason to run 6/5 is distinctly for non-DPS considerations, like energy sigil survivability on difficult solo’s.

Energy has a 9-second cooldown anyway, Fast Hands won’t make a huge difference.

You have to swap on cool down if you want to proc it every 9 seconds.

PVE noobs don’t swap weapons. If you are a noob and don’t swap weapons no need for faster swaping.

My favorite is

6/6/0/2/0

Axe/x + LB

Mass damage just from spamming 111 and have range options for pulls or when melee is to hot:)

Guanglai Kangyi.4318:

Pacer.6143:

Seerstrange.4723:

Pacer.6143:

Pure GS 6/6/0/2/0 with or without ea is imho the best for dungeons ofc. with sword+warhorn for exstra mobility and swiftness+weakness (lots of stacking places). While I wouldn’t use this for fractals….

The main problem with this build is managing HB. Pure GS has to get off full HBs on cooldown in order for it to actually be a DPS increase but in most dungeon situations as long as you make sure you don’t have to dodge before poping it, that shouldn’t be a big problem.

yup, that’s why its for dungeons and not for fractals, its easy to do in dungeons just use stability if needed and tells from bosses to time it right. For pure axe autoattack also has go off full else it’s a dps loss

Axe chain doesn’t lose as much as HB if it’s interrupted since it’s your auto, you just restart it again immediately. Compare to HB which goes on 7s CD and leaves you with auto in the meanwhile.

Moreover, axe chain is more flexible with interrupts since you can move while channeling (and thus potentially not have to dodge at all if you can just sidestep) and it only actually gets interrupted if you dodge during the last skill, compared to HB which will get interrupted anytime during.

Warrior players seem to really like their big HB number but axe tends to be more practical in general and stacks better vuln. It’s entirely a preference thing really since GS has 1-2% better theoretical DPS but axe is much more stable, meaning you will likely get better DPS in practice.

That is why I said it’s good for most of the dungeons and not for fractals, at least for me. I rarely fail HB, and if you know the bosses you know when to anticipate a dodge, even then I can sacrifice some HP for the sake of HB if I know its not a one hit kill. I’m running with str runes (also more synergy with forceful greatsword trait) so I can be at 50% hp with no dps loss and with more practice its gets easier to use HB not to mention WW attack into a wall is a DPS increase while its a bonus evade.

Oh and using GS it’s not about big numbers from HB, it’s about superior mobility, WW, rush, sword leap and party swiftness from warhorn it’s just awesome at skipping those many mobs in dungeons and lately I see more gs/sw+wh warriors in dungeons than pure axe builds (Im pugging most of the time)…