Guild Wars 2

Hello everyone,

I would like to read your opinion about a doubt I have.
I know warrior is designed as a very aggressive class, but I’m stupid enough to want playing it in a defensive way.
And no, I don’t want to play Guardian, I’m old enough to prefer my ludic ideas to the most efficient choice in the game.
I like the idea of a hard soldier in the middle of the fray, call it stupidity, RP or whatever you want.
I know my DPS will drop drastically, but maybe not that much, I know there’s no tank in this game and I don’t want to play one, but more than being the uberpowa dpser I’d like to be the “wall” which tries to slow down the enemies aiming for the backline.
I have very limited experience in dungeons, so I’m asking if someone has experienced something like this and if you think it’s viable: I mean, what’s the use of a defensive warrior with heavy CC abilities if the mobs are immune later on in game?
Thanks and sorry for my english, not native speaker.

P.S.: while I was writing I realized how much vague is this post, sorry for that, but I really can’t express myself better….

I run a tanky support build with cc, heals, boons and condition removal and it works great.

Build is
10/0/30/30/0

Weapons I use are any combination of the following,
Sword/shield (main weapon set)
Mace/shield
Mace/warhorn
Rifle
Hammer

I’m currently using knight armor (exotic) and cleric accessories(masterwork) which I think is a great combo means my shouts heal (due to traits) for around 1.8k and cleanse a condition due to my Soldier runes.

but yeah definitely viable I use my build all the times in dungeons. you will only run into a mob every now and then who is completely immune to CC, most bosses however will have some resistance to it, there is a buff they have that will block a specific number of cc spells before you can actually stun them.

currently in pvp i’ve been running a 20/20/30/0/0 hammer build and it works pretty well. i spent a good portion of yesterday on skill calculators, comparing the numbers between the standard 30/30/10/0/0 and something like a 10/0/30/30/0 or a 0/10/30/30/0.

what i found was that with those defensive builds, you gain a TON of armor and vitality and only lose a little bit of power. But you also lose a very large amount of crit%. So needless to say, the standard GS build had a really high crit chance, but only slightly more attack than the defensive build, and was severely lacking in HP and armor.

Of course this is all before factoring in the bonuses you get from choosing various traits, which mostly depend on your playstyle.

TL;DR, i found my 20/20/30/0/0 hammer build to be a really fun and viable middle ground between the two.

I’m also in agreement about a Hammer character. My 2nd Warrior was basically the opposite of my 1st Warrior and this new one is so much more fun. (Something about knocking mobs down and away just makes me happy. The same goes for Stun effects.)

http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fIQQJASTlkOyd2CR4B29AA6RVcll5hRFRkqgdA

This is a PvE build. For the record, I can’t choose the normal Elite that I use for soloing since it’s not in the system of this character builder. My Elite of choice is the Mistfire Wolf from the Deluxe version of the game. (It’s a great source of single target dps, which is something that a Hammer control build really needs at times.)

1) Asura: Yes, the race makes all of the difference in the world. Their unique racial animations really show up on a melee character. When using my Hammer, I often feel like I’m playing a Looney Tunes character. Also their Dodge is different. They use a jumping flip animation that makes them sail through the air (without the standard Dodge blurring). With this animation, you can always see where your Dodge is about to end and it also looks visually great.

2) Utility #7: This is a slot which I rotate around. For normal soloing, I use the Stomp. Or if I know that I’m about to solo a Veteran, I replace it with Kick (which has a beautiful Asura animation). Then for boss mobs which have the anti-control effect buff, I switch to the Banner of Tactics for the Banner #2 AoE Regeneration healing buff.

3) Adrenaline: One big issue with the Hammer is that it swings slower. While you can work around this face and get used to it, you will generate adrenaline at a slower rate. You need to choose traits which increase your adrenaline generation, which is why Embrace the Pain is a vital part of the build.

4) Strength 30: While I’ll use Physical Training for when I’m actively using a Physical skill, this trait will be switched out for Berserker’s Might at various times.

5) Defense 30: While Last Stand will be my normal anti-control trait, I will switch this out for either Defy Pain or Spiked Armor (depending on the situation).

6) Boss Mobs: When dealing with mobs which are immune to control effects, you’ll only need Hammer #2 for the Weakness debuff. Otherwise you’ll often be using your Longbow full time. It’s AoE Fire Field from F1 is a great Combo source. You can trigger an AoE Might buff from Longbow #3 and it’s a ranged damage increase (in addition to what other people can combo off of it).

7) Dodging: Your character should almost always be dodging around since the Signet of Stamina will greatly increase your Endurance generation. I use Dodge on my way into melee (much like a Leap). Also I use it while closing the gap in between spaced out mobs. Even massive AoE spam from Ice Elementals doesn’t bother me that much since I can usually dodge out of the way.

Gear
Lvl 1-20: +Power
Lvl 21-59: +Power / +Vitality
Lvl 60-80: +Power / +Vitality / +Toughness