Guild Wars 2

Everyone and their mom is talking about warriors with greatswords, but I always find myself picking other setups. Let’s dissect greatsword’s moveset.

1 – One of the worst in the game IMO, the damage is very low. Could be fixed by adding vulnerability(x2) to the last strike or upping the damage a bit.

2 – The infamous Hundred Blades, this move can hit like a truck but it also immobilizes you, a serious drawback…can be very hard to land without using an immobilize. However like I said it hits quite hard so this move is fine.

3 – This would be great if you could spin in place if you wanted to, but I find it about as useful as a dodge to catch up to people and not great for offense since it creates a gap you need to close with 4 or 5, relieving your enemy of pressure for a few moments. That being said, it’s not bad, it’s just not great. It has its uses, like dealing a ton of aoe burst.

4 – I am actually quite fond of this move, it can cripple for a nice duration if both hits land and the damage is acceptable. Probably my favorite move of the greatsword tbh.

5 – I am torn on this move, I feel like it should hit about 25% harder or be more fluid(resulting in a net dps gain) but it’s a great concept (and great for travelling lol)

Burst – This move kind of sucks unless you don’t have any other source of Fury, the damage is mediocre for a melee burst and it’s not even flashy.

Anyway, that’s my 2 cents. I think the QQers are people are getting hundred blades’D by warriors with frenzy, signet of rage active, For Great Justice, signet of might, full power+precision builds with 22k health and thinking all specs can do this all the time. The warriors that think greatswords suck probably don’t know how to land a souped up hundred blades, or don’t like basing their playstyle around something so gimmicky and easily countered by skilled opponents.

Personally I used to love the greatsword but not so much anymore. I would support a hundred blades nerf if they buffed up the 3 and 5.

I can’t bring myself to use greatswords just for the fact that I see so many greatsword warriors running around.

I’m not defending or supporting GS but there are some inaccuracies in your breakdown.

1) You don’t mention that this attack is a Cleave. Being able to hit multiple mobs is something that not all warrior 1 skills can do.

2) I hear this so much. Hundred Blades does NOT immobilize you. If you move it cancels the the channel, but it does not prevent you from moving, you are completely free to move out of the way if theres an attack you need to avoid headed your way. Warriors that refuse to cancel their 100 blades are bad. Optimally you will be able to finish your channel (especially because the last hit hits the hardest), but don’t feel like you have to if it means living to use the skill again, the cd isn’t that long, especially if traited.

3) The whirlwind attack (imo) is in about the same place as hundred blades, ie: a very powerful attack with drawbacks.
—It has a very fast animation
—It evades attacks
—It hits multiple times (adrenaline, procs)
—It is a mobility skill
—It does alot of damage
—It does even more damage if you can use it if your enemy is against a wall or something, but the damage is no slouch without a wall type object.
—Using Bladetrail or Rush after it can offset the positioning issues.

4) Has serious issues with getting gutted by walls/ledges that make the thrown weapon unable to return, this is more of a combat mechanic issue that needs to fixed rather than a balancing issue. It has a longish (relatively speaking) cast time, so it needs to hit twice to be effective dps on a single target. Great for AoEing.

5) Like Bladetrail it has some combat mechanic issues that need to be worked out in regards to passing the target and continuing the channel even if the target is reached.
There are also balacing discrepencies that need to be worked out in regards to it’s near clone Ride the Lightning (elementalist offhand dagger) which unlike rush, can be used in the air and is completely unaffected by chill, cripple, and swiftness and has a faster base movement speed as well as a shorter cooldown.

Greatsword is also something you need to trait for, it’s not something you can just slap on any build, a big reason why the Greatsword is what it is, is because the traits that affect it and are incorporated into GS builds are as strong as they are.

Also Re: Bursts.

You have 2 weapon sets, if you don’t like or want to use the GS burst skill (I don’t), then you can weapon swap and use another burst skill (such as the bow, rifle, or axe finishers, all of which are quite a bit better depending on situation).

You can also opt to not use the burst skills, there are 2 very easily accessable traits that support it (up to +12% dmg and up to +9% crit respectively).

Am I saying the GS burst skill couldnt use a buff? No. I’m just saying it isn’t the end of the world that it isn’t a top performing Burst skill.

IMHO, GS with warrior is … lame. I like Guardian GS skillset much more, even ranger’s GS is better. GS warrior is soooo overrated, and I think the reason is that many many ppl does not know how to counter HB combos, which is super easy if you know what to do. I played GS for a time, never again. Rifle, longbow, axe/axe, axe/shield, sword/axe, axe/warhorn etc. so many other combinations that are good, usable and can the char built around with traits and utility skills.

As I said in another thread, I myself prefer the Main hand sword, off hand axe. It does pretty decent damage, and with the OH axe you get the spinning attack that you can still move in to hit multiple mobs. I tried out the greatsword thing, and did not like it at all…

GS should probably stay where it is. It’s already so good in PvE situations, and not really lacking in PvP situations. Yes, it’s not the strongest in PvP, but if you pair it with an axe build, you have some great movement/snares which allow you to close gaps for your axe burst ability.

GS shouldn’t be the best PvP weapon. It should just stay where it is to maintain some sort of sanity around it.

I think I’m the only warrior I ever see running sword and board instead of greatsword.

DreadShinobi.4751:

1) You don’t mention that this attack is a Cleave. Being able to hit multiple mobs is something that not all warrior 1 skills can do.

Actually, this is a property of all the warrior’s melee weapons. Axe, Sword, Hammer, Greatsword, Mace, they can all cleave on attack. The only ones that can’t are the single target ranged weapons. The cleaving action makes the Axe the most powerful warrior DPS weapon, with an autoattack that crits for 2500-3000 per swing.

DreadShinobi.4751:

2) I hear this so much. Hundred Blades does NOT immobilize you. If you move it cancels the the channel, but it does not prevent you from moving, you are completely free to move out of the way if theres an attack you need to avoid headed your way. Warriors that refuse to cancel their 100 blades are bad. Optimally you will be able to finish your channel (especially because the last hit hits the hardest), but don’t feel like you have to if it means living to use the skill again, the cd isn’t that long, especially if traited.

Cancelling Hundred Blades severely lowers its DPS because as you said the final hit is the most powerful and consumes a good chunk of the overall DPS. Cancelling may be a necessity, but guts the strength of the attack if you must do so, which is quite often in standard pvp, further increasing the gap between Hundred Blades and similar burst attacks (Axe autoattack + Eviscerate is a much better combo with high mobility). Hundred Blades does indeed keep a warrior immobilized, if for no other reason than its optimal usage involves the enemy being immobilized. Even if you and your target are both standing still and HB is connecting, you’re now getting shot full on by every attack his teammates throw your way. Countering a GS warrior is as simple as baiting Hundred Blades, then punishing him for it, yet far too many people refer to it as the Be All, End All attack by which all DPS must be measured.

DreadShinobi.4751:

3) The whirlwind attack (imo) is in about the same place as hundred blades, ie: a very powerful attack with drawbacks.

The complaint issued was that it was pertaining to the drawbacks. The entire greatsword line has drawbacks. The autoattack does moderate damage while inflicting vulnerability, a potentially decent tradeoff, but an innate drawback for a DPS weapon. Hundred Blades does high burst damage so long as the warrior stays rooted, again a decent tradeoff but an innate drawback. Whirlwind is described above as having an innate drawback. The cripple duration and dps on Bladetrail is inferior to other attacks of the same cooldown unless both the outgoing and return trip connect, again a potentially good combination with an innate drawback. The delay between rush, the hit, and the acceleration all create a strong gap closer with innate drawbacks. Need I even mention the drawback to a burst finisher that supplies Fury to a warrior?

The Greatsword… a powerful weapon, innately affected by drawbacks.

I use weapons because I personally like a weapon, not because its greater or worse. I love Greatswords, ever since Final Fantasy VII.

I find GS boring, so I dont use it. Guardian GS is way more fun imho. So far I find axes to be the most efficient weapon in the warrior line. Great dmg, great mobility, awesome skills (there is not 1 skill I find lackluster), and a wtfpwn burst.

I think the reason the Greatsword is so popular is for the same reason Warriors in general are so popular; they’re the easiest to use to generate a lot of damage.

And I’m sure both skills 3 and 5 help with travelling…