Guild Wars 2

Right now I’m a baby warrior using hammer, love the control and feel of it, the moderate damage etc. GS is good dmg but hate the clunkiness of the way it goes about it, people have told me axe/mace is good. I’m just simply confused, I want to be able to dish out some damage, take some and support my group. Someone help me out!

For what its worth….I’m leveling my last alt…warrior. Using sword/sword and longbow. Works nice. Can attack from distance and close in for the kills with sw/sw. I like the option of attacking from distance or in close. Have fun leveling, that’s what it’s about right?

Assuming this is for PvE, the best way you can support your group is to do really high damage. Greatsword and Axe/Mace is the generic Warrior DPS build. 30/25/0/0/15 traits.

But since you’re not a fan of Greatsword, there’s always the full Axe build. Which I believe is 30/25/0/10/5. Might be 30/30/0/10/0 after the patch.

I’m currently using the Axe build and I like it. Using Axe/Mace and Axe/Axe. I feel Axe/Axe has more DPS than Axe/Sword though the block on Sword is nice. Never use Axe 5

If you are not talking about PvE, disregard this post – Other people will fill you in for other content.

For PvE, Hammer is a useless weapon. Low damage and the wrong support. If you enjoy Axe, that will be the best choice – believe it or not, the best builds do NOT use the GS so don’t feel like you need to use one.

Think link will redirect you to the build. Currently the best build to run for PvE groups. If multiple Warriors are in your group, you just tell them you have the Banners as the usual builds will be doing slightly more personal DPS than you, but you raise the groups DPS through the roof.

Hammer really should be avoided at all costs, I’m still looking for the PvE scenario that is holds any use in.

For the most part Grok is correct, if you don’t want to use a GS the axe build is the way to go. Axe/Mace + Axe/Sword is what most people use since your rage sig gives you more then enough fury and axe 5 is only a dps increase when its hitting 5+ enemies. What I like to do for a good dps increase is to throw a sigil of battle on one of your offhands then set weapon switch to mouse3 scroll for easy switching and might stacking.

Be sure to use the correct utility skills which generally are Signet of Fury, Disc Banner and, Endure Pain.

Flissy.4093:

If you are not talking about PvE, disregard this post – Other people will fill you in for other content.

For PvE, Hammer is a useless weapon. Low damage and the wrong support. If you enjoy Axe, that will be the best choice – believe it or not, the best builds do NOT use the GS so don’t feel like you need to use one.

Think link will redirect you to the build. Currently the best build to run for PvE groups. If multiple Warriors are in your group, you just tell them you have the Banners as the usual builds will be doing slightly more personal DPS than you, but you raise the groups DPS through the roof.

Hammer really should be avoided at all costs, I’m still looking for the PvE scenario that is holds any use in.

well yeah, the very best of the very best builds have the mobility of a walrus giving birth, but a balanced build for PvE has the greatsword because of its utility, not because of the raw DPS that can be surpassed by having axe mainhand in both weapon sets

I’ve done many builds and frankly, it’s hard to break a warrior. The 30/25/0/0/15 is popular, but if you don’t have good twitch skills (which I don’t) you may be down a lot. Mix things up and find what works. The zerk axe/mace build doesn’t work for me because I’m not a great gamer (visually impaired), so I opt for a bit tougher warrior with more Vitality, but I still find I can contribute to groups in a solid way. Banners, Empower Allies, or Shrug it Off are appreciated by most teammates I’ve played with.

Be glad this isn’t DDO where it’s very easy to build a broken toon (almost a given), then you have to reroll and start form scratch, or spend real money if you want to change your setup. Here it’s a silver piece or so or just a weapon/skill change.

You can also try out PvP, that helps a lot.

I didn’t care much for Greatsword when I first started using it either for the same reasons you stated and I stuck with Sword/Axe for leveling. Like Pie Flavor said though, the utility of the GS is great – Movement Skills, Cripple that can be used to slow foes chasing your allies or slow them in aoes (which is also ranged, and multi-hit: awesome!) A dodge on Whirlwind Attack, Vulnerability, Fury from the Burst skill, just lots of perks you can work with. That’s not to say the other weapons don’t have their strong perks, just stating some of the reasons I think Greatsword is sick.

gs axe mace is the meta build which is what is usually considered to be the best.

it does have the highest dps. if you like hammer though I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to tweak it around to make hammer work but one thing in pve defiant makes hammer a lot less threatening.

Thief/Ele is best weaponset.

Flissy.4093:

- believe it or not, the best builds do NOT use the GS so don’t feel like you need to use one.

Think link will redirect you to the build. Currently the best build to run for PvE groups.

“Best” is a little strong, it depends on what you are doing. Personally I prefer the 30/25 GS, axe/mace meta build but the support DPS build is extremely strong, especially when you are the only warrior in the group. The same guy (Nike) created or at least had a major hand in both builds.

LB instead of secondary A/W is also very good:

@OP, if you are talking about PVE, dislike GS, want to do damage and support your group, the build above is the way to go.

as a warrior you have a ton of weapons and weapon combinations to pick from for any kind of situation.

weather it is for solo pve map completing , dungeons, fractals, spvp grouping, wvw, you can almost always decide on a weapon combo that fits mostly with your group.

having a warhorn will overall increase your and your groups swiftness, vigor, might/healing/swiftness (blast finisher) and also remove some movement conditions.

a greatsword is a nice weapon for dealing tons of dmg, you can also switch it with a hammer or axes.

in most dungeons i usually pick greatsword +axe/warhorn

You may want to keep a ranged weapon in your bag (bow is considered best). If you don’t like greatsword, but want the mobility, take MH sword. I know many here say MH sword sucks and axe is best, but MH sword does have a button (#3) that does a lot of damage when pressed at the right time (when target is below half hp). I usually kill mobs in Orr (one shot) with this skill once they get to half hp (which doesn’t take long at all).

When I just want to turn my brain off and hit Autoattack I use axe. When I want to actually fight and set my target up, I use MH sword. Again #3 makes up for lack of AA damage.

Someone mentioned OH warhorn and it deserves consideration. I used it the other night in a group and it went over great. Not the best solo option, but in groups and WvW it works out well.

I’d only stick with using the Hammer if you are only playing PvP/WvW. Its kind of useless in PvE/Dungeons since CC doesn’t work against boss defiance and you’ll lose out on the damage of “Merciless Hammer”. You would also be rarely using “Staggering Blow” with its AoE pushback that will spread enemies and kitten off teammates.

I still recommend you go and get a Greatsword. Its really a must have for every warrior with its high dps and mobility making it a great all around weapon choice. The rest of the weapon sets are situational, but if you have the time and money its worth it to have them all.

Mainhand:
Axe – Strong autoattack + burst. In my opinion the best choice.

Mace – Mainly used for Skullcrack (stun) builds as its a bit slow for PvE.

Sword – Good for mobility and condition application. Weak in PvE at least until condition stacking becomes relevant outside of PvP.

Offhand:
Axe – Additional AoE and fury stacking. Less utility if you’re already using mainhand Axe since the autoattack is generally better than “Whirling Axe” (5). There are some good Axe/Axe builds for those that prefer dual wielding over the GS.

Mace – Additional Vulnerability stackings and a AoE strip knockdown. Pretty fun and it functions like a mini hammer.

Sword – Similar to the shield with “Riposte” (5) block. The torment is nice, but knowing when to “Rip” can be tricky.

Warhorn – Lots of team utility. Great for Fractals and WvW where extra condition removal and swiftness can really help out.

Shield – When you need that extra boost in defense. Generally won’t need it, but its nice to have in certain situations.

Ranged:
Longbow – Generally a better choice over the Rifle. Use it when you need to keep some distance and still want to deal AoE damage.

Rifle – Better single target damage over the Bow. Still there are very few situations where it would be more preferable over the Bow. Though with “Arcing Shot” getting nerfed this may change.