Guild Wars 2

Updated 10.10.12

My name is Golradaer and I play roamer for the Order of Lords [LORD] tournament team. Presently I am rank 29 and in the vast majority of my games I use the Warrior. I have been playing games competitively for several years and I intend to compete at the highest level of tournament play in Guild Wars 2.

I’ll be streaming at http://www.twitch.tv/golradaer if you’d like to see experienced Warrior play and innovative builds.

This guide will be continually updated as I add to existing sections and write new ones.

Introduction

I find it entertaining but not very surprising that the Warrior is often dismissed in competitive tournament play. The Warrior build meta-game is much to blame for this reputation: Hundred Blades is highly effective against inexperienced players, and relatively easy for inexperienced players to use themselves, causing greatsword builds to proliferate among nearly all Warriors. However, as players learn to use dodges and stun-breakers to limit the effectiveness of Hundred Blades, this specific Warrior build decreases in power. So the present situation of the supposedly “inferior” Warrior is easy to explain: when skilled players face Warriors, it’s usually a highly predictable Hundred Blades Warrior and therefore easy to deal with.

The second most popular use of the Warrior is as point defense with a hammer, mace, and banner or shouts. While the amount of crowd-control abilities of such a build can be annoying, it isn’t as seemingly invincible as other the point defense builds of other professions, leading to its perceived lack of effectiveness as compared to a Guardian or Engineer.

Oddly enough, neither the greatsword build nor the hammer point defense build struck me as how I wished to play the Warrior, so my perception of the profession is not solely influenced by those builds. And I happen to think that the Warrior is highly viable for tournament play if you’re willing to break away from the mainstream builds.

Roles

What distinguishes the Warrior from other professions in tournament play? It has perhaps the best single-target disables in the game, its ability to burst down opponents or sustain a high level of damage are rivaled by other classes but not surpassed, heavy armor and the largest starting health pool (tied with necromancers) mean that the Warrior’s base survivability is higher than any other class, with access to near-permanent swiftness and several mobility-enhancing weapon skills the Warrior has strong roaming potential, and the Tactics trait line turns the Warrior into a solid supporter and one of the best combat reviver available.

Given these qualities, there are two specific roles in which Warriors truly excel, I will call them Offensive Roamer and Support Roamer. Both roles rely on high mobility to rapidly respond to the opposing team’s actions. The difference being that the Offensive Roamer emphasizes its own damage and survivability while the Support Roamer provides benefits to its team in addition to maintaining decent damage output.

The current meta-game seems to emphasize “bunker” Guardians and Engineers as hardy point defenders, alongside relatively weak but quick and burst-heavy roamers like Thieves (and skilled Elementalists). Mesmers are found on nearly every team in the solo role (i.e., often defending near points on Niflhel Forest and Legacy of the Foefire in 1v1 situations or using the trebuchet on Battle for Kyhlo). A Warrior built as an Offensive Roamer meshes well in these team compositions by occupying the spots of Thieves and Elementalists.

The Support Roamer functions quite differently on teams because it contributes to the survivability of those it is assisting rather than solely focusing on killing opponents as quickly as possible. When paired with a bunker Guardian or bomb Engineer, this added support element is not so necessary due to their already high survivability – damage is more critical, making the Offensive Roamer a better counterpart. However, a condition Ranger or a Mesmer defending the near point would greatly benefit from the Support Roamer’s presence as they can deal good damage themselves but are far less durable in 1v2 situations compared to bunker point defense builds. Further, the combat revive ability of Support Roamer Warriors (e.g., easy access to stability, AoE Fear, instant-reviving Battle Standard, minor traits in Tactics for faster revives, boons to allies for a revive, and a large amount of additional toughness when reviving) is of great use to professions that lack the mobility to escape unfavorable encounters or lack the survivability to weather focus-fire in team-fights.

Traits

Arms is my favorite trait line to maximize in damage-focused builds because it has several very strong choices that synergize well with a high critical strike chance (Precise Strikes and Rending Strikes), the use of a sword (Deep Cut and Blademaster), mace (Unsuspecting Foe), hammer (Unsuspecting Foe), greatsword (Forceful Greatsword), and rifle (Crack Shot). Last Chance is a fantastic thirty-point trait, and as an added bonus all of the minor traits are great! Opportunist is only really worth taking when paired with Leg Specialist in Tactics, but that combination is powerful in sword, axe, greatsword, and rifle builds.

Discipline is used nearly as often, even if only because Fast Hands provides such an advantage that it is undesirable to do without. That said, it has solid major and minor traits at each tier, so it’s often advisable to take twenty points in a damage-focused build, or thirty if you are focusing on the use of burst skills, as in Double Eviscerate set-ups. Mobile Strikes is nearly mandatory for a greatsword build, Sweet Revenge is surprisingly useful when roaming as down-fights are not too rare, Signet Mastery is wonderful if you have several signets, Warrior’s Sprint is solid if you lack other forms of mobility-enhancement (best with axe, mace, and hammer), and Inspiring Shouts ought to be taken in shout-heal builds.

Defense is an interesting trait line as Adrenal Health is the only useful minor trait, but just about every major trait option is fantastic. Embrace the Pain, Sure-Footed, Missile Deflection, Merciless Hammer, Sundering Mace, and Cull the Weak are solid offensive choices. Turtle’s Defense, Last Stand, Shield Master, and Defy Pain add to survivability. Spiked Armor is interesting because it doesn’t increase your survivability, instead it adds to the damage potential of builds that normally lack offensive power – it is best taken alongside increased boon duration provided by armor runes or the Tactics trait line.

Strength has several decent major traits at the ten and twenty point levels, but its thirty point traits and minor traits are subpar. Restorative Strength and Berserker’s Power are strong ten-point additions when condition removal or sustained damage are needed, while Slashing Power, Dual Wielding, and Axe Mastery are good twenty point choices but often out-classed by Arms or Discipline traits.

Tactics is rarely worthwhile for an Offensive Roamer as there are simply better options, but it’s a requirement in any Support Roamer or Point Defense build as it increases the effectiveness of our support utilities and skills (i.e., warhorn, banners, and shouts) and its thirty-point traits provide access to the Warrior’s only healing options outside of the self-heal. Desperate Power (for an Offensive Roamer engaging in 1v1s) and Leg Specialist (when paired with Opportunist from Arms) are useful offensive traits, though situational. For a Support Roamer, you will be using some combination of Inspiring Battle Standard, Lung Capacity, Shrug It Off, Empower Allies, Inspiring Banners, Quick Breathing, and Vigorous Shouts.

Weapons

Main-hand:

Axe – Ideal for high damage while fighting at a point, limited chase potential.

Sword – Superior mobility and immobilize for sticking on an opponent and bleed/cripple are wonderful for chase situations.

Mace – Good defensive and teamfight utility, as well as potentially solid damage output, worst option for sticking on a target.

Off-hand:

Axe – Highest damage potential and long-duration whirl for combo field use.

Sword – Good for a condition build and provides a bit of defense that is lacking without a shield.

Mace – Best utility for single target damage, commonly paired with an axe, and the ranged stun very useful in teamfights.

Shield – Desirable in almost any build as the combination of a stun and a three second block makes the shield useful both offensively and defensively.

Warhorn – Useful support functionality for teamfights and the combination of swiftness and vigor makes the Warrior very difficult to catch in solo encounters.

Two-handed:

Hammer – Strong burst potential and teamfight utility, though the lack of an offhand and its slow attack speed are concerns.

Greatsword – High mobility and burst potential, but inferior for sustained damage and completely lacking in crowd control.

Rifle – Slower damage output as compared to melee weapons, its primary advantage is the ability to kite and to avoid being kited.

Longbow – The burst ability Combustive Shot is the primary advantage of the longbow. It offers an immobilize, a blind, a blast combo finisher, and a decent point-blank spread shot, but these all either serve to enhance the burst ability or to add utility. In specialized builds intended to fight several opponents (or illusions/pets) at fixed points, the longbow has a place in sPvP and tPvP.

In considering weapon sets to pair with the longbow, the desire is for weapons with combo finishers and the limitation becomes the need for defense. The main-hand axe has almost no synergy with combo fields, but the off-hand axe is quite good due to the whirl finisher; the main-hand sword has a leap finisher and the off-hand sword has a block; the main-hand mace has a block but the off-hand mace has no combo-field synergy; the rifle has many projectile finishers, the hammer has a leap finisher and a whirl finisher, and the greatsword also has a whirl finisher; the shield offers a stun that is a leap finisher, and warhorn offers nothing. Assuming you want to maintain some amount of defensive capability, you’ll either need the main-hand mace, off-hand sword, or shield; the best counter-parts for these are the off-hand axe and main-hand sword. Leaving aside all defensive abilities (or ensuring that the lack of defensive abilities is made up for through high toughness/vitality) opens up more options but it’s questionable whether the longbow is the best choice as a second set if one’s build focuses on the rifle or hammer.

Utilities

Offensive Roamers ought to focus on signets and stances, whereas Support Roamers should use banners or shouts primarily. The physical utilities can be used to acquire supplementary abilities selectively found on certain weapons. For example, if you need a charge or movement ability but cannot fit a sword or greatsword into your build, Bull’s Charge can be used. If you are not using a mace, hammer, or shield, but need a control ability, Throw Bolas, Kick, and Stomp are available. Stances offer access to the most powerful short-duration boons, including stability (Balanced Stance), quickness (Frenzy), and invulnerability (Endure Pain), while signets generally provide minimal but useful passive bonuses alongside specialized activations – Signet of Stamina and Signet of Fury stand out as having no true counterparts (Berserker Stance generates adrenaline over time and as such cannot provide the instant level 3 burst ability that Signet of Fury allows).

Shouts are not ideal for offensive builds as they require investment into tactics to maximize their power (twenty points for Lung Capacity to thirty points for Vigorous Shouts) – this significantly impairs your damage-dealing potential. Signets do not require a significant trait investment (only ten points for Signet Mastery) while still providing greater sustained benefits than stances or physical utilities. Signet of Might is more powerful as a self-buff than “For Great Justice!” during bursts (fury only stacks in duration, while might stacks in intensity, and as Signet of Rage already provides fury for 30 seconds, more might is the better route for damage) and its passive buffs your sustained damage. Healing Signet’s passive regeneration means that it cannot be interrupted and it has great synergy with the Superior Runes of Lyssa due to its low cool-down (and all other runes that activate some sort of effect when a heal is used, like the Superior Runes of the Centaur or the Superior Runes of Balthazar). Signet of Stamina is the best source of condition removal available to Warriors, and its passive boost to endurance regeneration is quite handy. Signet of Fury would be useful for builds that emphasize burst skill use, though I have not pursued this direction in most of my builds. Only Dolyak Signet is lacking: compared to Balanced Stance, ninety toughness is not sufficient to outweigh the disadvantages of a longer cool-down (even with Signet Mastery), an activation period (making it unsuitable for use during stomps), and not being a stun-breaker. A signet build should either intend to be actively using signets (Superior Runes of Lyssa and Signet Mastery spec) or leaving them unused for the most part (Deep Strike spec), and presently I see active signet-use as superior.

For elite abilities, it is hard to pass up Signet of Rage in any situation, especially when you’re taking Signet Mastery. That said, a well-timed Battle Standard can decisively shift a key team fight, and with Inspiring Banners its cool-down is similar to the Guardian’s Tome of Courage – another infrequent but significant team-fight elite.

Builds

For whatever reason, the links to my builds do not work on this forum, so please see Golradaer’s Warrior Guide for PvP on the guildwars2guru forums to properly view the links.

Spartan (Axe/Mace Roamer)

Standard: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQRAnZ8ejcOBvxQ2QMRCA8BsMFK68gqkaSfwOA;TwAg0CnoKyUkoIbRuikFtoYMyGiZBA (Paste into your browser or it will say “Bad Link”)

Glass-cannon: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQRAnZ8ejcOBvxQ2QMxBAjiiC68gqkaSpwu2A;TwAg0CnoKyUkoIbRuikFtoYMyGiZBA (Paste into your browser or it will say “Bad Link”)

Playstyle

High burst and sustained damage, high mobility Warrior used as a roamer. This build works by almost never spending adrenaline on burst skills; instead, your adrenaline will provide 12% increased damage (Berserker’s Power), passive health regeneration (Adrenal Health), and high burst healing (if you use Healing Surge). As well, you have two complete condition removals (Signet of Stamina and Signet of Rage while using the Superior Runes of Lyssa); high-duration and low-cooldown might, fury, and swiftness; two cripples, Savage Leap, and two stuns for staying within melee range; and the Warrior’s naturally-high survivability and Shield Stance allow you to mitigate bursts of direct damage.

It’s difficult to understand how well all of these qualities synergize without seeing it in action, but I will say that in 1v1 situations I typically beat anything other than Thieves Guild and some Mesmer builds. However, against point defense Guardians, Engineers, Minion Master Necromancers, and Mesmers it’s usually not worth engaging them 1v1. I do engage in 1v1s for point assault purposes when I see other Warriors, Thieves, Elementalists, Rangers, and Condition/Power Necromancers. Overall, this specific build is very strong against other roamers and condition builds so long as you avoid bursts (e.g., Hundred Blades and Pistol Whip) by using Balanced Stance and Shield Stance or dodge, use your condition removals wisely, and let your superior sustained damage win you the fight. Thieves and Elementalists are the only professions that can match your mobility as a roamer, but both are far less durable and neither have your amount of sustained single-target damage (Thieves can out-burst you due to the initiative mechanic and roaming Elementalists have greater access to support abilities due to the versatility of attunements, so all three classes have distinct advantages as roamers).

The sword is used for gap-closing, general mobility, and stacking bleeds to benefit from Attack of Opportunity; however, the axe is the primary source of damage. A shield is critical in builds that do not have high health pools (e.g., this one has 21.7k – mediocre for a warrior) and especially for a roamer as you’ll often be fighting thieves and rangers, both of which are far easier to defeat with the help of Shield Stance. The off-hand mace provides an additional vulnerability skill and a second stun, making it strong in both 1v1 and team-fight situations.

Utilities

Signet of Stamina, Balanced Stance, and Signet of Rage are core skills. For the third utility slot I have used both Signet of Might and Frenzy depending on whether I desire greater sustained damage or the ability to burst (Signet of Might can be used as a lesser form of burst by activating it). Your heal should either be Healing Signet (if you wish to take advantage of the ten-second random boon provided by the Superior Runes of Lyssa every sixteen seconds) or Healing Surge (for very strong healing due to your constant stage three adrenaline, and a way to quickly gain adrenaline when needed).

Traits

You can see the specific allocation in the build editor, so I’ll discuss the theory a bit here. First, passive regeneration and sustained damage are emphasized (e.g., Adrenal Health, Attack of Opportunity, Berserker’s Power, Deep Cuts, Precise Strikes, Rending Strikes). You will be activating your signets often, so Signet Mastery is a good choice while Deep Strike is not. Last Chance is wonderful for finishing off opponents and taking advantage of quickness-stomps. Finally, Missile Deflection is chosen for dueling purposes because reflecting stuns/immobilizes/burst damage is an easy way to gain an advantage.

The glass-cannon version of this build replaces Adrenal Health and Missile Deflection with Axe Mastery and Heightened Focus.

Runes/Sigils/Amulet

The Superior Runes of Lyssa are fantastic for a signet build due to the very low cool-down of Healing Signet and Signet of Rage (low for an elite, at least). In effect, using only Signet of Rage you’ll have swiftness, fury, and might for 35 seconds on a 48 second cool-down due to the acquisition of all boons for five seconds by using the Superior Runes of Lyssa – nice, right? And having two full condition removals on fairly low cool-downs means you should have no trouble beating most condition builds. I use Sigil of Rage and Sigil of Force on the axe/mace set, and Sigil of Superior Air and Sigil of Superior Bloodlust on the sword/shield set. The Berserker’s Amulet is best-suited to roaming builds focused on direct damage.

Final Thoughts

This is one of my favorite builds to use as a roamer in tournament play. Do you want to play a viable roaming Warrior that doesn’t rely on Hundred Blades? Try this build. I would recommend playing with the standard variant until you feel comfortable using your condition removals and heals optimally, then transition to the glass-cannon variant as it is superior at bursting down opponents, which is one of the primary purposes of an Offensive Roamer.

Videos

http://www.twitch.tv/golradaer/b/333036032

http://www.twitch.tv/golradaer/b/334588051

Centurion (Mace/Mace Roamer)

Standard: http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fIAQRAse5ZjkOBvxQ2QMxBAkCtA78IJqaSpwu7A;TwAg0CnoKyUkoIbRuikFtwYgxWkpIA (Paste into your browser or it will say “Bad Link”)

Playstyle

By applying bleed using the sword then switching to maces, you will be consistently hitting for 25% additional damage (i.e., Attack of Opportunity, Cull the Weak, and Sundering Mace). If you are using Signet of Might as your third utility, you’ll want to emphasize Flurry for adrenaline use. If you chose Frenzy, Skull Crack ought to be your go-to burst skill as you can deal out a large amount of damage during the stun period by using the mace chain.

Mace/mace is superior in team-fight settings as the many disables are wonderful for interrupting stomps, saving a teammate from Hundred Blades, or holding an opponent in place while your Thief executes Pistol Whip. For point assault purposes and most 1v1s, I prefer having a main-hand axe and the superior healing-over-time of the Spartan. Also, the Centurion’s damage potential takes longer to maximize as weakness is not applied until the third hit in the mace chain, so for immediate burst potential the Spartan is also superior (stealing Svanir/Chieftain, for example).

Utilities

Signet of Stamina, Balanced Stance, and Signet of Rage are core skills. For the third utility slot I have used both Signet of Might and Frenzy depending on whether I desire greater sustained damage or the ability to burst (Signet of Might can be used as a lesser form of burst by activating it). Your heal should be Healing Signet so that you can take advantage of the ten-second random boon provided by the Superior Runes of Lyssa every sixteen seconds.

Traits

You can see the specific allocation in the build editor, so I’ll discuss the theory a bit here. Passive regeneration and sustained damage are emphasized (e.g., Adrenal Health, Attack of Opportunity, Cull the Weak , Deep Cuts, Precise Strikes, Rending Strikes, Sundering Mace). Last Chance is wonderful for finishing off opponents and taking advantage of quickness-stomps. You will be activating your signets often, so Signet Mastery is very useful. Also in Discipline, use Sweet Revenge as Warrior’s Sprint is currently bugged.

Runes/Sigils/Amulet

The Superior Runes of Lyssa are fantastic for a signet build due to the very low cool-down of Healing Signet and Signet of Rage (low for an elite, at least). In effect, using only Signet of Rage you’ll have swiftness, fury, and might for 35 seconds on a 48 second cool-down due to the acquisition of all boons for five seconds by using the Superior Runes of Lyssa – nice, right? And having two full condition removals on fairly low cool-downs means you should have no trouble beating most condition builds. I use Sigil of Superior Blood and Sigil of Superior Battle on each set for increased survivability and sustained damage. The Berserker’s Amulet is ideal because the stun, interrupt, and block on the main-hand mace contribute to survivability and you will not be saving your adrenaline, so Adrenal Health will not benefit from additional healing power.

Final Thoughts

Mace/mace play is for you if you find stunning and interrupting your opponents as entertaining as I die. Also, who would expect such a Warrior to have quite strong burst damage on demand? As compared to the Spartan, you’ll have more team-fight utility but slightly lower damage – an equally viable build for competitive play.

Videos

Coming soon…

Teutonic Knight (Hammer Burst DPS)

Roamer: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fIEQNAS8ejgOBvxQ2QMxBAkCt468gKlaSpwu6A;TwAg0CnoqxUjoGbNuak1sqYQxugJGA (Paste into your browser or it will say “Bad Link”)

Team-fight DPS: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fIEQNAS5ejcOBvxQ2QMRCAkiq4yUooTBlUPsrO5A;TwAA2CnoqxUjoGbNuak1swYYxmgJGA (Paste into your browser or it will say “Bad Link”)

Playstyle

Hammer burst warrior with decent sustained damage and mobility, filling the role of roamer and teamfight damage-dealer. The hammer is used for high-damage bursts using Frenzy, and secondarily for control. The sword and shield combination on the roamer variant allows for great mobility and survivability should you be focused, as well as superior sustained damage against a kiting foe. The mace and shield set on the team-fight variant provides more disables and a second block.

Entering a fight, you will want to use your sword and shield to close with a foe, build adrenaline, and stack bleeds. Once you have full adrenaline or otherwise decide to initiate your burst, use Signet of Rage (and Signet of Might if you have it), then Shield Bash and switch weapons. Activate Frenzy, and chain Earthshaker, Fierce Blow, autoattacks, Backbreaker, and more autoattacks as quickly as possible – do not use your cripple or knockback as they provide suboptimal damage (and why would you want to knock your opponent away from your hits?). If you were attacking a low HP target it should be dead at this point. You can also switch the order of your burst by opening with Backbreaker, which has a less obvious animation, and keeping Earthshaker in reserve as a gap-closer in case your opponent dodges away.

Utilities

Balanced Stance, Frenzy and Signet of Rage are core skills. For the third utility slot I choose between Signet of Might and Signet of Stamina depending on whether I desire optimal burst damage or require condition removal (if I can burst down an opponent, like a condition ranger, or I can rely on a teammate for condition removal, then Signet of Stamina isn’t so necessary). The roamer variant uses Mending as another source of condition removal while the team-fight variant uses Healing Surge due to its focus on adrenaline and more powerful heal.

Traits

The arms tree is fantastic for taking advantage of critical hits and increasing your damage when using the sword. Bleed damage is the not focus here, but you do want it applied to benefit Attack of Opportunity when you use your hammer burst. Rending Strikes, Unsuspecting Foe, and Last Chance are obvious choices for a crit-reliant burst spec. Merciless Hammer and Cull the Weak are bets for a hammer burst build. Signet Mastery and Mobile Strikes in Discipline are core traits because you’ll be constantly using signets and immobilize is the bane of burst builds.

The team-fight DPS variant emphasizes maintaining a higher level of adrenaline by using Adrenal Reserves and Embrace the Pain. Berserker’s Power and Adrenal Health benefit from constant adrenaline, and Earthshaker will be available for use whenever it’s off cool-down.

Runes/Sigils/Amulet

The Superior Runes of Divinity are desirable for a burst-damage build to maximize crit damage. For the roamer variant, I use the Sigil of Superior Air on the hammer and the Sigil of Superior Earth on the sword to maximize single-target damage, and a Sigil of Superior Force on the shield to increase the sustained damage of the sword and shield set. For the team-fight variant, I use the Sigil of Superior Fire on the hammer, Sigil of Superior Blood on the mace, and Sigil of Superior Accuracy on the Shield. The Berserker’s Amulet offers the greatest burst potential and is used in the roaming variant, while the Knight’s Amulet with the Berserker’s Jewel provides more survivability in team-fights without sacrificing too much damage.

Final Thoughts

The beauty of your burst damage as compared to a greatsword warrior is yours cannot be easily avoided. You have enough CC to lock down a target for the entire duration of Frenzy, Earthshaker will stun all nearby foes for 2 seconds, providing you with a window of invulnerability to execute your chain, and it functions as a gap-closer. Three of your weapon skills remove immobilize (Savage Leap, Shield Bash, and Earthshaker), and you have stability using Balanced Stance if needed during your burst or for stomping/reviving. Finally, you have so many stuns that it’s impossible for your opponent to dodge: he will likely try to dodge your Shield Bash, he may try to dodge your Earthshaker, but even if he’s extremely skilled and succeeds at dodging both, you still have Backbreaker. And good luck to him if he tries to use a stun-breaker instead of dodging as you can follow up your first stun with another very rapidly. Stability is the only thing you ought to be concerned about, and the funny thing about stability is that people get overconfident when activating it (“I don’t need to worry, I have stability!”) and tend to use it when going on the offensive, meaning they’re unlikely to dodge (you don’t need to stun your foe if he’s willing to take your frenzied hits, though you will have a reduced critical hit chance without Unsuspecting Foe). Oh, and you know how Hundred Blades roots you to the ground for the duration? Not so with a frenzied hammer.

In choosing a variant you’ll notice that the roamer has slightly higher crit chance and crit damage, as well as access to both vulnerability and quickness through the Arms tree – for single-target damage it is superior. However, it lacks the survivability and adrenaline of the team-fight variant, making it undesirable for sustained fights.

Videos

http://www.twitch.tv/golradaer/b/333377126

Black Knight (Greatsword Burst DPS)

Standard: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fIEQNAR8ejgOxuxQ2QMxBAjCjA68gKmaSpYu6A;TwAg0CnoqxUjoGbNuak1swYQxGiJGA (Paste into your browser or it will say “Bad Link”)

Playstyle

The sword and greatsword combined with swiftness provide the highest mobility build available to the Warrior. As for burst potential, the greatsword is very strong, and this build makes use of Flurry to set up a Frenzied Hundred Blades. If you select Bull’s Charge for your third utility, you will have amazing gap-closing potential and, combined with Shield Bash and Flurry, several ways to bait dodges and stun-breakers.

Unlike the hammer burst sequence, Hundred Blades roots the Warrior in a single position and does not keep the target stun-locked. Especially against a Guardian, Engineer, or Warrior the lack of stun-locking is a crucial distinction as defensive abilities (like Shield Stance) may be activated during Flurry’s immobilize. Your choice of a burst build depends on whether you desire superior mobility with a greatsword or superior crowd-control with a hammer. I should also note that greatsword builds will have more power and condition duration while the hammer builds will have more toughness and healing power due to their respective trait lines.

Utilities

Balanced Stance, Frenzy and Signet of Rage are core skills. For the third utility slot I choose between Bull’s Charge and Signet of Stamina depending on whether I desire an additional disable to set up Hundred Blades or condition removal (I consider also whether I can rely on my teammates for disables or condition removal). If you choose Signet of Stamina then Healing Signet is a good choice, otherwise Mending and Bull’s Charge will be your ideal heal and third utility.

Traits

The arms tree is fantastic for taking advantage of critical hits and increasing your damage when using the sword. Bleed damage is the not focus here, but you do want it applied to benefit Attack of Opportunity when you begin Hundred Blades. Rending Strikes, Forceful Greatsword, and Last Chance are obvious choices for a crit-reliant burst spec.

Use Signet Mastery in Discipline as Warrior’s Sprint is currently bugged. Mobile Strikes is a core trait because immobilize is the bane of burst builds.

Lastly, twenty points are placed into Strength for Restorative Strength and Slashing Power to add to condition removal and maximize damage.

Runes/Sigils/Amulet

The Superior Runes of Divinity are desirable for a burst-damage build to maximize crit damage. I use the Sigil of Superior Air on the hammer and the Sigil of Superior Blood on the sword to maximize damage output and survivability respectively, and a Sigil of Superior Bloodlust. The Berserker’s Amulet offers the greatest burst potential.

Final Thoughts

I don’t claim that this is a highly original build, but I feel that it is solid if used appropriately (i.e., not how most Warriors play). One should play a greatsword Warrior like a Thief: use your high mobility to enter and exit fights often, have your teammates hold the attention of your opponents (and ideally land a disable) while you come in for a burst sequence, and do not remain in prolonged fights on points unless absolutely necessary.

Videos

Coming soon…

Myrmidon (Axe/Mace Versatile Roamer)

Standard: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQRAnZ5ejgOxutQ2QMxBC0DscltceMeq0kUByA;TwAg0Cnoey8k4J7TunkPtqYMyugJEA (Paste into your browser or it will say “Bad Link”)

Playstyle

The Myrmidon pairs full access to invulnerability (Shield Stance with Shield Master, Defy Pain, Endure Pain) with full access to quickness (Sigil of Rage, Frenzy, Last Chance), allowing for a survivable burst build that can counter glass-cannon burst builds. Oppa of Team iO pioneered this type of Warrior build and I am now beginning to test different variations (his original build may be found at http://www.gw2build.com/builds/oppas-axe-mace-mace-shield-oppa-axe-mace-stun-shield-6254.html).

As this is a versatile build, the Myrmidon’s damage and mobility are inferior when compared to the Centurion or Spartan, but the tradeoff is higher survivability and access to some team-support (Empower Allies and Determined Revival). While not a true point defender, the Myrmidon’s emphasis on personal survivability (as opposed to team-focused shout heals or banners) allows it to act as an anchor during team fights that small groups of opponents will find difficult to displace.

Utilities

Mending, Bull’s Charge, Endure Pain, Frenzy and Signet of Rage are core skills. In the present build, Mending is the only form of condition removal and Bull’s Charge provides much-needed in-combat mobility.

Traits

I already explained most of the trait selections in the playstyle section. In case you’re wondering, Attack of Opportunity is still useful in builds without a sword or rifle because you can apply bleeding with Precise Strikes (for additional bleeding, the Sigil of Superior Earth is a good choice). I am currently using Furious Speed to make up for the lack of Signet Mastery (meaning less swiftness from Signet of Rage) and minimal in-combat mobility.

Runes/Sigils/Amulet

The Superior Runes of the Wurm work well to increase survivability a bit and add to damage (since precision is already quite high, crit damage is a good choice). I use the Sigil of Rage and Sigil of Superior Bloodlust on the axe/mace set, and Sigil of Superior Earth and Sigil of Force on the mace/shield set. The Berserker’s Amulet provides much-needed crit damage and power.

Final Thoughts

I am still experimenting with the Myrmidon, especially the selection of armor runes (Oppa uses the Superior Runes of Melandru, and I think the Superior Runes of the Pack and the Superior Runes of Vampirism would be strong in this build). Others have clearly had success with it through hundreds of games, so it’s safe to say that it is a viable build for a versatile Warrior. The important question is whether this sort of Warrior fits well within your team’s composition: there are better pure roamers, supports, and point defenders, so you should not attempt to fill those roles directly.

To give an example of a suitable team composition in tournaments, suppose you have a point defense hammer Guardian intended to hold the center point, a phantasm Mesmer intended to hold the near point, a power short-bow Ranger, and a scepter/dagger Elementalist roaming. Such a team is highly mobile but quite lacking in across-the-board survivability, even though its point defense ability is adequate; by this I mean that in a typical fight, only the Guardian is able to sustain much damage – the Ranger, Mesmer, and Elementalist will need to use distance, evasion, and mobility to avoid damage. While those forms of damage avoidance are fine for the individual player, the result is the opposing team will often concentrate its damage on whatever is accessible, in this case the Guardian. By having a versatile Warrior like the Cavalier, the opposing team is given another accessible target to damage that also has several strong disables and far higher survivability than the other damage-dealers – one way or another, the result will be less focus fire on the Guardian.

Purifier (Longbow DPS)

Standard: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAT8ejcOBvtQ+OMxBCkCsclzjkQFyrUYn7A;TsAg1CsokxIjQGrMOZkysqYUxeBA (Paste into your browser or it will say “Bad Link”)

Playstyle

I originally created this build as a counter to Mesmers defending a point or the trebuchet as their clones and phantasms suffer greatly from the large fire field provided by Combustive Shot, and the Mesmer’s evasion abilities are less effective against condition damage than direct damage. However, the Purifier also excels in team-fight situations and against opponents who specialize in defending against direct damage.

In a typical fight, you will use Signet of Fury to immediately gain full adrenaline and then fire a level 3 Combustive Shot followed by Pin Down and Arcing Arrow for the blast combo finisher, all while you’re running directly at your opponent; most of the time you’ll still be a fair distance away at this point, so switch to your sword and use Savage Leap to gain the Fire Shield combo finisher. Now, regain adrenaline and apply as many bleeds as possible. As you have Furious and a very high critical-hit chance, it should be easy to build a bar or two of adrenaline so you can use Flurry to apply even more bleeds and immobilize – also, use Hamstring to assist in keeping close to your target. Switch back to your longbow and run through the sequence again, mixing in a point-blank Fan of Fire whenever you can (and Smoldering Arrow if you’re being attacked).

Alongside damage-dealing abilities, this build offers strong defense against burst damage (Shield Stance with Shield Master, Endure Pain), good condition removal (Signet of Stamina with Signet Mastery), and a powerful heal from Healing Surge due to this build’s high adrenaline gain. You can either use your heal as another way to build adrenaline when Signet of Fury is on cool-down, or immediately after using Signet of Fury for maximum healing power.

Utilities

Healing Surge, Signet of Fury, Endure Pain, Signet of Stamina and Signet of Rage are core skills.

Traits

I rarely consider using Furious in builds because Last Chance is so powerful, but in a build that emphasizes continual use of two burst skills it is surprisingly strong. The rest of the trait choices are fairly straight-forward in that they either complement the focus on critical hits and condition damage, or add to survivability. I would say that Shield Master could be switched to Last Stand if disables prove to be a significant problem. As well, Sweet Revenge could be replaced with Heightened Focus, though I personally find the former’s occasional use to have such a large impact that it outweighs the more minor but constant benefit of Heightened Focus.

I have also been testing a glass-cannon version of this build that emphasizes Discipline (Adrenal Reserves) and Strength (Berserker’s Power) instead of Defense, and I want to test an even more survivable variant that trades 10 points in Discipline for another 10 points in Defense (losing Fast Hands and Sweet Revenge, but acquiring Defy Pain). It’s too early to tell which of the three variants I’ll like best, so I decided to focus on the hybrid rather than either of the more extreme versions for now.

Runes/Sigils/Amulet

The Superior Runes of Balthazar synergize with the burning focus of this build, and the ability to gain quickness at 20% health is very useful in one versus one encounters (against a Mesmer at the trebuchet, for example). I use the Sigil of Superior Earth on the longbow, another Sigil of Superior Earth on the sword and Sigil of Minor Corruption on the shield. The Rampager’s Amulet provides the precision and condition damage this build needs, and the Celestial Jewel adds a bit of critical damage along with minor boosts to all stats.

Final Thoughts

I’ve found this build’s playstyle quite a departure from my standard Warrior play, and it also seems to require an organized team to be truly effective. As a team-fight damage-dealer and anti-Mesmer specialist, it must be placed in a team composition that already has point defenders and roamers such that it isn’t forced to play outside of its specialties.

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Awesome so far

Kudos. Several of these builds interest me ( I run something similar to the Teutonic Knight, usually) and all look viable. Welcome to the Warrior community.

Thanks for the guide. The builds you post on your twitch page look very solid.

The only concern I picked up while reading was your discounting of the longbow. While it is clunky to use, not as streamlined as the rifle, nor as much consistent damage as a melee weapon set, it does have a good niche.

The bow’s burst ability and no3 ability both are extremely effective at pressuring groups of enemies, especially when moving to support a beleaguered point defender. No3 can easily crit for 8-9k on light enemies, and being able to drop a large fire combo field can easily turn a battle if you have allies capable of capitalizing on it.

Hope to see your stream live soon!

“Edit: wow, I started typing before you posed your third (reading at work)… have to go back and read the rest. Thanks for the great work.”

I’m definitely gonna try out a few of these builds. My only question is why on your “Teutonic Knight” build do you suggest Unsuspecting Foe when your crit chance is already 52%?

What a refreshing post. I’ll definitely be loading up the stream in the coming days.

Cheers to positive theorycrafting.

EDIT – @Halfadolla, because with Unsuspecting Foe, you are guaranteed Frenzied crits during your Hammer burst. The guarantee means consistent, extremely high burst. 50% is high, but if you’re going for a damage/burst build, 100% is a whole lot higher.

Something I noticed, though, is that you take Warrior’s Sprint in several of these builds. This trait has been empirically proven to not be functioning in PvP; it was reported in both Warrior bug threads.

Molotov: I’ll need to edit the builds to exclude Warrior’s Sprint, I read the bug threads after my initial draft.

Halfadolla: Cogbyrn is correct about Unsuspecting Foe. It may seem like overkill, but with a burst build I want to be absolutely certain that I’m maximizing damage in the few seconds at my disposal.

Khalous: I’ll do some testing with longbow in my Support Roamers builds. I can see what you mean, but I just love the versatility offered by maces and shields, the mobility of swords, and the damage of axes — hard to give up two for the longbow.

@Golradaer @ Cogbyrn : Oh awesome…i thought it was just a 50% critical hit chance total when stunned, not that it would add 50%. Thanks!

Hey man, what an informative post.. I will be surely reading it all.. Thnx !

Thank you so much for this. I have been trying all types of warriors builds with not the best of luck. However I tried your hammer build and just love it. I actually feel like the warrior norn I am, knocking people around and supporting my team.

Awesome read. I don’t plan to follow any of the specific builds, but the advice and rundown on various traits, abilities, and how they work together is very helpful.

Azarul.2064:

Thank you so much for this. I have been trying all types of warriors builds with not the best of luck. However I tried your hammer build and just love it. I actually feel like the warrior norn I am, knocking people around and supporting my team.

I’m glad it’s working well for you, Azarul! Are you doing tPvP, sPvP, or WvWvW? How do you feel about its survivability?

Dark.6083:

Awesome read. I don’t plan to follow any of the specific builds, but the advice and rundown on various traits, abilities, and how they work together is very helpful.

Thank you! Out of curiosity, did you find the discussion of traits/abilities in the context of specific builds more or less useful than the general traits and utilities sections?

I usually play the support character. The jack of all trades – master of none back up kinda toon in most multiplayer games. Tried a “warrior” type (trooper) in SWTOR but that was half hearted at best. Couldn’t really get a feel for it or get in to it. This is the first game I’ve really put my efforts into a warrior main and I’m really liking it so far even though I may only be mediocre on a good day right now.

I read through some of your builds so far tonight as that is my big question as I approach 80 and am looking to contribute full time for my guild and server in WvW. They look really solid with some original thinking and honestly, you had me sold when you said GS and mace build aren’t the end all be all and will be quickly figured out (because in fact it seems to me most decent players have already got em figured out).

It’s great to see a good warrior and gamer coming to the forums to actually contribute to the community rather than to stroke their e-kitten and sling out a few “you’re a newb because _” posts to those actually looking for honest advice and insight here. I’ll definitely be following your twitch channels and advice / insights as the game evolves.

If there is a sign of a kitteny warrior without any reason to be it’s one who says GS or whatever the “latest in thing” is thee bread and butter warrior wep and build at just barely a month post launch. The real top notch are the ones moving ahead of the curve not the ones adopting the warrior build du jour in my opinion.

Nice work friend. Thank you.

I have been trying out alot of builds lately, and this Sword/Shield + Hammer build is what i needed.

I always used to use hammer and mace/mace for the insane CC you can get on someone, but it lacked some spike power. And never got frenzy on my bar because you are rather squishy and it doesn’t work out so well in a team fight (unless you miraculously get untouched) yet it adds so much burst potential vs single targets.

I also wanted to try out a Axe/Shield, Sword/Warhorn build at one point because the massive mobility from 1 set, combined with the pure dps of the other seemed appealing. But hammer has always just been more fun for me.

But under most circumstances I have to disagree with not using your pushback + cripple. Even though Staggering Blow doesnt have the highest damage out of your 3 main attacks, it still packs one hell of a punch. I tend to roll with a basic rotation of ES > Fierce > Backbreaker > Staggering > Shock…if this doesnt kill them by some strange chance, they are crippled and a quick weapon swap lets you easily just Leap and finish them off with a tier 1 flurry.

If you use your movement well enough you can use that knockback to knock them into your allies and cripple them while still using your entire damage chain, since they will be on the ground with backbreaker.

Emperor: The problem with the shield is that it makes the weapon paired with it your offset used more for utility than for actual damage. I use sword/shield quite often, but I’m always flipping between weapon sets to maximize the effectiveness of all available skills. So, no, I would say that sword/shield should not be the focus of a build. For condition damage sword/sword is better, for direct damage axe/mace or axe/axe is better, for control mace/mace or mace/shield is better. Sword/shield gives access to some bleeding, mobility, and survivability, making it a wonderful utility set.

Emperor.1360:

Goldradaer, thanks for your advice. I’ve played many MMOs before, but frankly I’m confused by GW2’s build logic. Obviously there will always be builds that are stronger/weaker than others, but I’m at a loss as to how the traits are designed and balanced.

For example, let’s say I decide to try to focus on sword/shield, so I choose every major trait that has to do with swords/shields. A build like this:

Strength 10 (Great Fortitude)
Arms 20 (Rending Strikes, Blademaster)
Defense 30 (Turtle’s Defense, Missile Reflection, Shield Master)
Discipline 10 (Mighty Defenses)

Since sword/shield is for utility only, why in the world would anyone go for a trait build like this? I just don’t get it. Why have so many shield traits if focusing on sword/shield is inferior to the other options? Just bad design? Or what?

Not every trait combination is viable, if it were then constructing builds would just be about randomly selecting traits. Shield traits are useful, but you don’t need to be sword/shield to use them (Missile Reflection with axe/shield is perfectly viable, for example). Further, just because you have a shield doesn’t mean you should necessarily use the shield traits (with mace/shield, it may make more sense to take Sundering Mace and Cull the Weak than any of the shield traits, depending on your role).

When creating a build, I would start by considering what role you wish to fill on a team, then choose weapons and traits to complement this. Again, remember that Warriors have access to two weapon sets. Hammer pairs well with mace/shield for a point defense build due to the additional stuns and defensive options of the second set, greatsword pairs well with sword/shield to make up for its lack of stuns and defensive skills while adding to its mobility.

Zietlogik: Good points about hammer bursts, I’ll look into incorporating the cripple and knockback, though I think it really depends on whether you’re trying to assist a teammate in finishing an opponent, or doing it by yourself. I can understand your affection for the hammer, it’s so pleasing to use: I’m actually experimenting with a second hammer burst build that has slightly less mobility but more survivability in teamfights.

I’ve been watching some of the streams you have up and I have to say it is refreshing to see a warrior in tourny play. Most teams atm don’t seem to want to risk it.

And even though I am more partial to the Hammer, the Axe/Mace build seems very nice for a quick entry into a battle (with high damage)

But as for a question, for basic solo-que hotjoin matches, would it be more beneficial to run the Hammer burst or the Axe/Mace? (I am thinking axe/mace)

After a while the axe/mace rotation of Shield Bash>Tremor>Frenzy may start to telegraph to players who are looking for tells, but against unorganized opponents it is probably highly effective.

Also for the builds you have been modifying and testing, is there any plans of updating your OP to include those? (for example Healing Surge being more prevalent, changing sigils around, traits etc.) like the Hammer Burst build using a mace instead of sword.

Update:

- Two new builds (Myrmidon and Purifier) and new variants for the Spartan and Teutonic Knight.

- Updated weapon sigils for all builds due to further testing.

- Lengthened and partially changed weapons/utilities general sections

- Links to videos of the Spartan and Teutonic Knight builds.

Emperor.1360:

Golradaer,

Thanks again for your advice. What I’m stuck on is how to go about designing a build to suit a certain role. In most MMOs, and in most pen/paper RPGs for that matter, most of the time it is best to design a build entirely based on a role, ignoring any “jack of all trades, master of none” stuff (min/maxing). For example, in WoW, if one is playing a PvP warrior, that player is probably best off going flat-out damage like many of the top players are.

However, a few other games are balanced really more around creating a “jack of all trades” character. For example, in Warhammer Online, it’s unwise to go either full damage or full protection in RvR—-such a character has too many drawbacks in comparison to a more balanced character.

What I do not understand is which type of game GW2 is. I see a lot of people trying “glass cannon,” “full damage” builds, but that doesn’t seem to be effective in sPvP at the higher ranks against really good teams, just based on what I’ve seen so far. So I guess creating a balanced character is best. I don’t know, though. Maybe my perception is really wrong here. Since you’re a higher PvP rank than me (I’m only at 11 right now, have done more WvW instead), what do you think?

And this may be a really stupid question, but it depends on your answer above… What kinds of roles do I have available from which to choose? I’ve been wanting to play a tough, charge-straight-in kind of warrior. The build I linked above, while certainly not optimal, thus far seems to let me do that just fine. But I’m getting concerned as I’m playing against some tougher, more skilled players right now, who probably have better builds.

To answer your first question, I think both highly specialized and balanced builds are viable in Guild Wars 2 due to the lack of a “Holy Trinity” design. However, your team’s composition in tournaments will dictate how each player ought to build their profession. As an example, suppose one of your teammates is defending your near-point in a 1v1 situation. A glass-cannon roamer can respond quickly and win a 2v1 very quickly, allowing it to return to a fight at the central point or complete some other task (e.g., killing Svanir/Chieftain). However, suppose one of your teammates is defending your near-point in a 1v2 situation. A tougher, more support/defense-oriented roamer can respond, making the fight a 2v2 and ensuring that the point is not lost (a glass-cannon roamer may very well get focused and die in such a 2v2, depending on the opponents’ builds). Team compositions should be decided with these situations in mind, which then dictate individual roles and builds.

As to your second question about which roles Warriors can fill, in my view a Warrior build can be made to fill any role, but it’s important to remember that it fills each role differently than other professions (as well as other Warrior builds meant for the same role). Meaning, a roaming axe/mace warrior is different than a roaming greatsword warrior which is different than a pistol-whip thief which is different than a backstab thief, which is different than a scepter/dagger elementalist. Each “roamer” has quite high mobility and burst damage, but the number of disables, support abilities, sustained damage, and survivability varies. Perhaps the elementalist roamer functions as a better trebuchet assaulter but both warriors are better at soloing Svanir/Chieftain — these are map-specific advantages that do matter for team composition.

Zietlogik.6208:

But as for a question, for basic solo-que hotjoin matches, would it be more beneficial to run the Hammer burst or the Axe/Mace? (I am thinking axe/mace)

After a while the axe/mace rotation of Shield Bash>Tremor>Frenzy may start to telegraph to players who are looking for tells, but against unorganized opponents it is probably highly effective.

I’d recommend the standard Spartan build for hot-join matches as it does rely on teammates at all. It is true that a good player will start to predict your bursts, but you can counter by baiting their defensive abilities. For example, if you notice that an Engineer uses minimize (or an Elementalist uses Mist Form) as soon as you use Tremor, then use it but don’t activate Frenzy. Both of your stuns have 20-25 sec cool-downs, while defensive abilities typically have 60 sec or longer cool-downs, so baiting is highly effective.

Golradaer.5934:

Thank you! Out of curiosity, did you find the discussion of traits/abilities in the context of specific builds more or less useful than the general traits and utilities sections?

Hm… I think both were equally useful.

It seems to me the latter section gives a rundown of the individual tools available and can be done with them, while the former section gives a rundown of possible desired goals and how to achieve them. In other words, the former section is “how to build to do what you want” and the latter section is “what else you can do with that build”.

Since I’m not explicitly following your builds, the build-specific sections advised me about synergies and how to use things, while the general sections advised me of possible alternatives for things I didn’t want.

Golradaer.5934:

In considering weapon sets to pair with the longbow, the desire is for weapons with combo finishers and the limitation becomes the need for defense. The main-hand axe has almost no synergy with combo fields, but the off-hand axe is quite good due to the whirl finisher; the main-hand sword has a leap finisher and the off-hand sword has a block; the main-hand mace has a block but the off-hand mace has no combo-field synergy; the rifle has many projectile finishers, the hammer has a leap finisher and a whirl finisher, and the greatsword also has a whirl finisher; the shield offers a stun that is a leap finisher, and warhorn offers nothing. Assuming you want to maintain some amount of defensive capability, you’ll either need the main-hand mace, off-hand sword, or shield; the best counter-parts for these are the off-hand axe and main-hand sword. Leaving aside all defensive abilities (or ensuring that the lack of defensive abilities is made up for through high toughness/vitality) opens up more options but it’s questionable whether the longbow is the best choice as a second set if one’s build focuses on the rifle or hammer.

Hammer has a blast finisher and not a leap finisher (despite the animation). Combo’ing Hammer with the Longbow’s fire field gives you an extra 3x Might as well as potentially keeping multiple targets inside the field for an extra tick.