Guild Wars 2

I notice so many wars running these in their utility slots, along with the two signets for healing and ultimate.

I’m curious do they just shine for particular builds, or are these stances just the most powerful all-around utilities?

These are fundamental utilities that I have trouble dropping. I allow my self one floating optional utility but endure pain and berserker stance will always be there.

Endure pain is just such a great way of dealing with instant pressure like a thief or a burst situation you get caught in and its a stun breaker.

Berserker stance… do I need to explain this one?

Actually yeah since I don’t typically run it.

Berserker stance has long cooldown, and doesn’t grant instant full adrenaline and dps passives like fury signet… But as I understand where it shines is in the escape ability, with the immunity to immobs, and cripples while retreating no?

Pop Berserker’s Stance right before jumping on a necro or any condition build and watch them squeal when they can’t do a single thing to you while you pummel them to the ground.

No matter what build i run, i always have triple stance on. It is mostly due to the fact that i don’t give a kitten about signets, physical utilities lacking in well..utiliities on way too high cd, banners are a joke, and im a selfish guy that don’t mind running shout build. Yeah stances are a obvious choice.

i dropped endure pain long time ago and never looked back instead i use Shield Stance a better alternative no need for utility slot .

Berserker Satnce hands down our most valued utility .

You can also get 6s of vigor for every stance you use with Vigorous Focus (disc V), which makes you harder to lock-down during fights/escapes.

balanced stance is a stun break also good for stomping. 40s cooldown
zerker stance 8 seconds of condition free fighting. 60s cooldown
endure pain 4 seconds immune to damage. not sure on cooldown.

Signets while they have passive benefits have much longer cooldowns. Healing signet is probably the only signet you will need in spvp as a warrior. Signet of rage is good but team fight warbanner is better. Bunkering on a warrior is 50/50 on whether to use rage or warbanner just depends on your play style. Just my 2 cents.

Yeah but you’re looking at cooldowns of 60, 60, and 40. Signets can be traited for 20% less which brings them to significantly lower than the stances. For example:

Signet of Stamina: 36s traited. Passive perma half-vigor. Full condition cleanse on 1/4 sec activation, which is reactive rather than predictive like berserker stance.
vs
Zerker Stance: 60s cd for 8s of effect. 6s vigor traited. 40 adrenaline over duration.Yes you get a full 8s free from conditions but it’s easier for opponents to react to, they simply go on the defensive and kite until the stance is over then resume with the condi pressure, knowing you’re on a full minute cooldown afterward…

And I’ve tried using it but I still don’t get the hype over zerker stance… the signets just seem that much more flexible and reactive, on a shorter cd!

You can trait stances for +25% duration, which in terms of uptime is the same as 20% reduced cooldown (4/5 – 5/4).
Signet of Stamina: Reduce all conditions ONCE every 36 seconds. 6/6 Lyssa can achieve something close to it with a 48 sec cd.
Berserker Stance: Become IMUNE to new conditions for 8 (10) seconds. Fighting condition classes or classes with lots of blind is much easier if you have a way to remove pressure for a longer period of time. As already mentioned, Lyssa runes can be used afterwards to get rid of all the conditions, or Cleanisng Ire, which usually removes 3 conditions.
Removing all conditions alone also isn’t that great if you are facing good condition builds, since these builds are able to reapply the conditions very fast.
Endure Pain? Stunbreak + Imunity to direct damage (similar to berserker stance, it keeps of pressure for some time), very nice to stomp in zerg fights for example.
Balanced Stance: 10 (ten) seconds of Stability when traited.
Also you can trait stances to grant Vigor, and Vigor is much good.

I done like Berserker’s Stance, I use warhorn for condi removal, much rather take shake it off or signet of dolyak.

Berserker Stance is NOT a condi removal, if you try to use it like that you are making a mistake. Comparing one to another is wrong.
Berserker Stance allows you to get some breathing room when facing condition builds on the one hand, and it allows you actually dish out damage vs control heavy oponents (snare, chill, fear, weakness, cripple, blind). However, BS will probably be less useful when fighting ranged, since you are less likely to get noticed and a lot of control might not even reach you on 700+ range.
Endure Pain is the one Stance I’m not so sure about, I think replacing it for dolyak Signet (which also provides about 10% damage reduction if you run full zerk – which I do and I get around really good with it) and an extra stability which can be useful exspecially in larger fights.

Stances isn’t good.
- Low time duration.
- Long cd.
- Poor effects.
- Brutish, low skilled and limited.
The unique good stance isn’t stance, is stability and swiftness (may also be vigor) for 8s with 40s cd. Trait empowered and get 2% or 3% extra damage.

Stances are extremely powerful abilities and their cool downs and lack of cd reduction traits indicate this. The meta has clearly shifted to shout/heal warriors though.

They are strong. I usually run with 1, Endure Pain. It’s a great panic button, as it’s a stun breaker also.

Berserker’s Stance is good, but in PvP IMO. In WvW you can avoid the biggest condition spikes more easily.

Balanced stance is good, however I prefer Dolyak Signet.

I use shouts but I use balance stance.

To me balance Stance is a must… Dolyak is great once treated with traits(60 sec to 48) but for me that 8 sec is pretty important. Also you don’t get the bonus when it’s on cooldown and my balanced stance is always down.

Balanced Stance and Dolyak Signet are the only Warrior skills that provide on-demand stability, people tend to favor Balanced Stance due to its shorter CD and swiftness buff. Dolyak Signet is useful if you traited Signet Mastery and don’t intend to use the stability as much (i.e. only for securing stomps). You always want to bring one of these two skills in PvP.

You forget about Rampage!!!!!! =P

yanoch.7051:

I use shouts but I use balance stance.

To me balance Stance is a must… Dolyak is great once treated with traits(60 sec to 48) but for me that 8 sec is pretty important. Also you don’t get the bonus when it’s on cooldown and my balanced stance is always down.

I think the same about balance stance vs dolyak. I have balance sloted all time in pvp and wvw.

Professions without defensive utilities on their weapon bar will usually result in purely defensive skills in their utility.

Without defensive skills, you will die easily.

Warriors need those stance defensive skills because they have to be in melee. Being in melee means you will be targeted easily. Which is fine with defensive utilities, but without the defensive utilities, you will die instantly.