Personally, I’ve found my warrior to be very viable in SPvP. Each time I lose a fight, I can always point out the critical moment where I messed up. The critical moment that decided the difference between victory and defeat. The loss isn’t because I had no way to win. I’ve never found that to be the case at all (barring encountering my hard counter). The loss is because I messed up. I feel very comfortable engaging in 1v1s. 2v1s… I’ll get slaughtered each and every time, but then, I run a kill one target sort of build. A very unorthodox one. This is about it. I might have gotten the sigils messed up a bit, but the main things are correct.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vJAQNAnXTj8cQnH21BuhAnIG+BKNNy9uwWgAoAwbPHqBA-TpRBABxXGYjTAQHHBAJOEAWt/AAPAAA
Yes. This build is completely crazy, and I know violates 90% of what people put down as conventional warrior wisdom. But quite frankly, it seems to me that people being too focused on sticking with conventional warrior meta is the cause of a lot of the trouble people are having. Be willing to branch out! Be a thinking player, who creates his own builds, using the advice of others, but is not enslaved to that advice. Does the classic meta work best for you? Then play it! Does it not work at all for you? Then for pity’s sake, don’t play the freaking meta! Play what works for you, and do not be bound to the meta.
Okay, with that little rant out of the way, I’ll explain the why for this build.
The axe auto-attack has some very impressive damage, especially in the later parts of the sequence. It rivals 100 Blades, and has two advantages. 1: No cooldown. 2: Mobility while using it. You can chase someone, chopping with your main DPS. With a GS, you can’t. As such, I chose it to be my primary weapon. I liked those advantages, and to be fully honest the absence of them on the GS makes it a very hard weapon for me to use.
Offhand axe… This I’m guessing is the most controversial part of this build. But I’ve found both skills on the offhand axe to be very useful for this build. The 4 skill is my source of fury in this build. If I want to have fury when I spike, I need the offhand axe.
As for the 5 skill… Trust me. Nothing is funnier than popping it when a melee thief decides to stealth on you. Furthermore, it’s good for quickly building adrenaline. Then, sometimes in large fights for points, I use it to put some hefty pressure on a lot of targets at once. Along with, say, maybe clearing out some engi turrets and the like. I don’t use it much in a match, but when I do use it, it can be very, very effective.
I like it, but I’ve also toyed with the idea of using something like offhand mace instead. But in the end, I just really like what the offhand axe brings to the table for this build.
Longbow. This is for a few purposes. The first is, the five skill can force a dodge out of people. If they don’t dodge it, then it means that I have an immobilized victim. Giving me a nice chance to swap to axe and go crazy on them.
Then, if someone is kiting, and manages to avoid all my slowdown, and I can’t catch him, it gives me a chance to keep on pressuring him, and making his life uncomfortable. Also, the burst skill is good for making a point very uncomfortable to be standing in, and the 3 skill can let me stack up some might in the process.
Lastly, when you’re up against another melee powerhouse, it lets you just kite them, shooting them up, and letting them burn their bursts. DH? Step out of his traps, and shoot him with arrows. Yes, your DPS might not be as high as his at ranged, but at least you’re dealing damage, while still surviving. You’ve avoided his main burst. Wait for it to go away, and then land yours. A warrior running the meta? Wait for him to miss with 100 Blades, and then counterburst.
Utilities:
I use “To the Limit!” as my heal, because it’s the heal I’m the best with. I’ve tried Healing Signet, and it quite honestly doesn’t work for me. I’m best with a spike heal. And “To the Limit!” does the job quite nicely. Along with tossing more adrenaline around, which never hurts.
“Shake it Off!” Shortest recharge stunbreak, and its also a condi removal.
Throw Bolas… It’s wonderful for stopping someone from kiting. It gives me a nice chance to land Eviscerate, and then get a few swings in with my axe as well. If they don’t have a condi clear ready, then, well… That’s four seconds of a warrior melee burst hitting you. Most people don’t survive that too well.
Frenzy. This is to make the burst hurt even more. A lot more. In the end, I’ve concluded I want that over stability. The damage is simply so useful, and I can survive without stabo.
Signet of Rage: This build has fun with adrenaline already, and it couples perfectly with “To the Limit!” As such, I go with it. It’s by no means set in stone though, and could be easily swapped for the banner, or, if it’s your style, Rampage.
As for the traits, I found Strength, Defense, and Discipline to be the most useful for me.
Strength: Peak Performance: This enables me to dish out smaller versions of my spike more often. Yes, it won’t be done with Frenzy, but 4 seconds of Warrior melee burst still hurts, even if it doesn’t have Frenzy. Also, if bolas were dodged the first time, it gives you another shot. Great Fortitude: This is the only useful trait for me in this line. The others don’t apply at all to this build. Axe Mastery: I’m a little up in the air as to whether or not I should use this trait, or Berserker’s Power. I can see the advantage behind both of them. The ferocity gained by using two axes gives you plus 20% Crit damage however, which is noticeable. Then I like the reduced cooldown on the skills. I also have a tendency to start the spike without adrenaline fully filled, which means I wouldn’t take full advantage of the bonus damage gained after using Eviscerate. Either one could work quite well however.
Defense: Dogged March: Neither of the other traits is really applicable. Defy Pain: This can be useful in prolonged fights, though if you’re good enough, Armored Attack could prove to be more useful to you. Last Stand: This is to make Frenzy last longer, but it’ll also make the Defy Pain more effective. Oh, and having A source of stability never hurts. Cleansing Ire is a trait I’ve used here as well.
Discipline: Warrior’s Sprint: Immob can kill you very dead, and also, it’s really nice to have when you’re chasing someone. And getting to points faster never hurts. Vengeful Return is nice though, if you find that you often end a fight with you and your opponent downed. Because it does basically hand you the victory on a silver platter. Destruction of the Empowered: In SPvP where you’re more likely to encounter lots of boons, I like the bonus damage. Brawler’s Recovery is another real possibility though. But personally, I don’t swap weapons enough for me to consider it worth while. Finally… Heightened Focus: That quickness is seriously epic. Seriously epic. Frenzy can carry me to the point where Heightened Focus gives me quickness the rest of the way. And it’s great for finishing the fight with a quickness stomp. If you find most of your damage coming from Eviscerate though, then Burst Mastery could be worthwhile.
I use Marauder’s Amulet for having good damage, while also helping me survive a bit. Same for using Rune of the Fighter.
Yes. This build is highly unorthodox, and I make no claims to it being perfect. I will however say, it works dang well for me, and I like it a lot. I for one, have definitely not given up on Warrior, nor do I ever expect to. It was my first class, and I love it dearly.
Egbert the Erudite, of Tarnished Coast
