Guild Wars 2

I’m normally one to complain about things in this game, especially when it comes to Warrior, but it seems to me that Spellbreaker is exactly what I wanted. What are some of our classes least favorite things to deal with? I would say that they are: boon/block spam, stealth spam/heavy kiting, and condi spam. Spellbreaker gives us the tools to deal with every single one of these annoyances.

Your Grandmaster trait shapes the focus of your build heavily. In WvW we will probably be highly valued for our boon strip, and it’ll still be useful in PvP vs some teams as well. Revenge Counter will make condis way less deadly, and may even allow us to not take Berserker’s Stance if you use the new heal and Featherfoot Grace. If you see the enemy team has multiple thieves or mesmers, you can toss on Magebane Tether and go Strength with Might Makes Right and gain sustain and damage. I need to test it but I think there’s also the amusing possibility of using Kill Shot and having it pull them instantly.

There’s no trait I look at and go “that’s garbage.” No Escape and Slow Counter aren’t super exciting, but they’re still really good for destroying kiting builds. Reused animations are a bit disappointing, but hopefully that can change before the release. Dagger feels really good with the exception of Dagger 2. The combo of Dagger 3 and 4 feels great to land and Dagger 5 deals decent damage and can be useful for closing the gap vs Deadeyes and other ranged projectile users.

Spellbreaker is going to be the answer to whatever power creep gets introduced. Sure, we can’t counter everything at once, but that would be imbalanced if we could. I for one look forward to locking down someone all game and making them worthless. I’ll probably even start to WvW again because seeing the massive chain reactions sounds great.

Hope thats dont become another engi/scrapper, full of utilities, but useless in the end, and a button-press race class.

Spellbreaker will be terrible in PVE as it stands, and a meme-zerg spec for WvW where you’re wanted only for suiciding rushing in with elite during clash.

Daggers are definitely NOT worth using at the moment, their damage is low, the gap closer is tiny, and they just don’t offer much over other weapons.

Ahlen.7591:

Spellbreaker will be terrible in PVE as it stands, and a meme-zerg spec for WvW where you’re wanted only for suiciding rushing in with elite during clash.

Daggers are definitely NOT worth using at the moment, their damage is low, the gap closer is tiny, and they just don’t offer much over other weapons.

The WvW suicide build is going to be hilarious. You will just stack 30k+ health and all the toughness/condi hate you can, jump in and use Winds of Disenchantment, take all their focus fire for a solid ~8-10 seconds (maybe more with blocks) before you die, and also reflect all of their conditions back to them.

Ahlen.7591:

Spellbreaker will be terrible in PVE as it stands, and a meme-zerg spec for WvW where you’re wanted only for suiciding rushing in with elite during clash.

Daggers are definitely NOT worth using at the moment, their damage is low, the gap closer is tiny, and they just don’t offer much over other weapons.

The damage as decent so long as you have high crit chance. The combination of 3-4 can literally insta kill squishies if you get the stun.

Im not willing to rule it out of PvE until I see the content itself. There could be a lot of boons that need removing. Also, there’s a lot of synergy with Arms if they make Dual Wielding actually work with Daggers (which assume they will) and Rending Strikes with Pure Strike. Maybe not for raids and the like but with the Spellbreaker runes even if they don’t have a lot of boons that’s a perma 7% more damage so for open world you’ll at least be able to make it work. You’ll basically be able to upkeep perma 25 Might and Vuln on your own with Strength-Arms-Spellbreaker. Hell, you might not even need Strength to maintain the might with Magebane. The biggest problem of course is the 2 target limit on dagger.

But with 100% crit chance your dagger attacks would be doing like 36% extra crit dmg vs boonless foes when you combine Pure Strike and Runes of the Spellbreaker with the inherent extra damage dagger autos do on crit. Idk what that makes the dagger autos damage come out to but maybe there’s something there.

EDIT: It’s 7% more damage in general vs boonless foes on the runes, not critical damage.

Ahlen.7591:

Spellbreaker will be terrible in PVE

Solo PvE? Who cares, you can play anything in solo PvE. But for group PvE? It may be useless against bosses with pure power damage but for bosses who apply condis…. well… let’s just say… you may want to take 4 Spellbreakers.

BurrTheKing.8571:

Ahlen.7591:

Spellbreaker will be terrible in PVE as it stands, and a meme-zerg spec for WvW where you’re wanted only for suiciding rushing in with elite during clash.

Daggers are definitely NOT worth using at the moment, their damage is low, the gap closer is tiny, and they just don’t offer much over other weapons.

The damage as decent so long as you have high crit chance. The combination of 3-4 can literally insta kill squishies if you get the stun.

Im not willing to rule it out of PvE until I see the content itself. There could be a lot of boons that need removing. Also, there’s a lot of synergy with Arms if they make Dual Wielding actually work with Daggers (which assume they will) and Rending Strikes with Pure Strike. Maybe not for raids and the like but with the Spellbreaker runes even if they don’t have a lot of boons that’s a perma 7% more damage so for open world you’ll at least be able to make it work. You’ll basically be able to upkeep perma 25 Might and Vuln on your own with Strength-Arms-Spellbreaker. Hell, you might not even need Strength to maintain the might with Magebane. The biggest problem of course is the 2 target limit on dagger.

But with 100% crit chance your dagger attacks would be doing like 36% extra crit dmg vs boonless foes when you combine Pure Strike and Runes of the Spellbreaker with the inherent extra damage dagger autos do on crit. Idk what that makes the dagger autos damage come out to but maybe there’s something there.

EDIT: It’s 7% more damage in general vs boonless foes on the runes, not critical damage.

If dual wielding actually did anything when u have quickness it might be viable but as it is quickness overrides dual wielding

Dagger auto base damage is very low, maybe the lowest out of all weapons.
It’s fast and has more crit damage, but I cannot see it doing more than Axe auto damage.
From what I saw in the traits there’s absolutely no reason to pick SB for any sort of PVE stuff, solo or group.
Heck, you might be nerfing yourself by picking it in most cases.

Blackwaltz.7156:

Dagger auto base damage is very low, maybe the lowest out of all weapons.
It’s fast and has more crit damage, but I cannot see it doing more than Axe auto damage.
From what I saw in the traits there’s absolutely no reason to pick SB for any sort of PVE stuff, solo or group.
Heck, you might be nerfing yourself by picking it in most cases.

Dagger auto is basically Greatsword auto but halved in damage and cast time, which sucks because Greatsword auto sucks.

The only damage multiplier Spellbreaker has is its adept trait 7%/14% increased critical damage, while Berserker has a 7% and 10% damage multipliers. Spellbreaker would need a 10% damage modifier tacked onto Magebane Tether to compete with Berserker. And even with Berserker, Power is still relatively weak compared to Condi.

Power needs two damage modifiers in Arms and one additional damage modifier in Tactics in order to catch up to Condi in terms of both PS and pure DPS.

I’m quite excited about SB. When it was first revealed that dagger would be the new weapon, I was unsure. Afterall, why would a master of combat and front line damage mainhand a dagger? But then I gave it a go, albeit briefly, and I kind of saw what the designers were going for. My Warrior in WvW usually stacks knockdowns, and I play her as a control build designed to disrupt as many people as possible while the deeps do their jobs. SB seems like a logical extension of the playstyle I already enjoy. I’m feeling like some combination of dagger and hammer.

If they unnerfed berserker power, or counted full counter as a level 3 burst it would help tremendously.

Hell even just increasing duration to 15 seconds would make it possible to keep up 3 stacks.

Ahlen.7591:

If they unnerfed berserker power, or counted full counter as a level 3 burst it would help tremendously.

Hell even just increasing duration to 15 seconds would make it possible to keep up 3 stacks.

It just needs to be 15 seconds, like how Adrenal Health and Attacker’s Insight are. I’d be surprised if this wasn’t changed.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/warrior/I-m-Slowly-becoming-OK-with-Berserker/first

You made basically exactly the same thread 2 years ago OP. At launch too, before even the Adrenal Health buff when Warrior was lowest tier.

Jzaku.9765:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/warrior/I-m-Slowly-becoming-OK-with-Berserker/first

You made basically exactly the same thread 2 years ago OP. At launch too, before even the Adrenal Health buff when Warrior was lowest tier.

How do you even remember that?

Also, the spec worked out for us in the end didn’t it? It’ll still probably be the PvE meta pick.

BurrTheKing.8571:

How do you even remember that?

Also, the spec worked out for us in the end didn’t it? It’ll still probably be the PvE meta pick.

When you read something that really irritates you it tends to stick in your mind. For your benefit in case you don’t read that other thread I posted this in though:

Jzaku.9765:

How so many people miss that Spellbreaker doesn’t have to be better than Berserker is beyond me – it has to completely outshine Power Berserker to be considered. Power PvE build is literally 66% the effectiveness of Condi or worse.
Also since you’re under the assumption that Spellbreaker has full stacks of Attacker’s Insight all the time you also have to be under the assumption of the full set of Berserker’s modifiers:
+ Primal Burst, stronger bursts faster from [Smash Brawler]
+ 7% damage, [Always Angry]
+ 10% damage, [Bloody Roar]
+ 7-14% Prec into Ferocity, approximating about 290 Ferocity across your Berserking downtime, from [Blood Reaction], and that’s being generous since I’m not counting alacrity.

Do you think Pure Strike and Attacker’s Insight outweighs all that? To the point where it outshines Power Berserker to be on par with Condi? Because the evidence is overwhelmingly to the contrary.

I think other people have covered that factors available to both Spellbreaker and Berserker or any other class are irrelevant to comparison discussions, like Spellbreaker runes.

I just don’t see how Spellbreaker alters Warrior’s playstyle at all. You don’t even dispel boons that well tbh, so it’s not like you become a hard counter to certain Ele builds or something. You just do the same thing as ever, slot the same utilities as ever (because SB utilities are pretty bad) and just melee stuff, except now you have a pretty cool defense/CC skill. The optimal way to play the spec in PvP is very similar to the age old core power Warrior. I think this is the biggest problem. The spec just isn’t different or flavorful enough.

And yeah, the spec is basically worthless in PvE, which is a real shame, since it’s the most supported game mode.

The spec is only good in zerg v zerg PvE. You suicide into the enemy zerg to put the Elite up which becomes invisible thanks to effect culling, the enemies lose Stability and your buddies can CC them to death. Wow, what a great role to have.

YuiRS.8129:

I just don’t see how Spellbreaker alters Warrior’s playstyle at all. You don’t even dispel boons that well tbh, so it’s not like you become a hard counter to certain Ele builds or something. You just do the same thing as ever, slot the same utilities as ever (because SB utilities are pretty bad) and just melee stuff, except now you have a pretty cool defense/CC skill. The optimal way to play the spec in PvP is very similar to the age old core power Warrior. I think this is the biggest problem. The spec just isn’t different or flavorful enough.

And yeah, the spec is basically worthless in PvE, which is a real shame, since it’s the most supported game mode.

The spec is only good in zerg v zerg PvE. You suicide into the enemy zerg to put the Elite up which becomes invisible thanks to effect culling, the enemies lose Stability and your buddies can CC them to death. Wow, what a great role to have.

So being the reason why you win zerg fights is a bad thing?

Kuya.6495:

YuiRS.8129:

I just don’t see how Spellbreaker alters Warrior’s playstyle at all. You don’t even dispel boons that well tbh, so it’s not like you become a hard counter to certain Ele builds or something. You just do the same thing as ever, slot the same utilities as ever (because SB utilities are pretty bad) and just melee stuff, except now you have a pretty cool defense/CC skill. The optimal way to play the spec in PvP is very similar to the age old core power Warrior. I think this is the biggest problem. The spec just isn’t different or flavorful enough.

And yeah, the spec is basically worthless in PvE, which is a real shame, since it’s the most supported game mode.

The spec is only good in zerg v zerg PvE. You suicide into the enemy zerg to put the Elite up which becomes invisible thanks to effect culling, the enemies lose Stability and your buddies can CC them to death. Wow, what a great role to have.

So being the reason why you win zerg fights is a bad thing?

If you believe that Boons are relevant at all in wvw the way the specs are layed out now you need to do more research. Spellbreaker contributes nothing and is actually detrimental to the real MVP of wvw.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6HwjGaRHPg&t

YuiRS.8129:

I just don’t see how Spellbreaker alters Warrior’s playstyle at all. You don’t even dispel boons that well tbh, so it’s not like you become a hard counter to certain Ele builds or something. You just do the same thing as ever, slot the same utilities as ever (because SB utilities are pretty bad) and just melee stuff, except now you have a pretty cool defense/CC skill. The optimal way to play the spec in PvP is very similar to the age old core power Warrior. I think this is the biggest problem. The spec just isn’t different or flavorful enough.

And yeah, the spec is basically worthless in PvE, which is a real shame, since it’s the most supported game mode.

The spec is only good in zerg v zerg PvE. You suicide into the enemy zerg to put the Elite up which becomes invisible thanks to effect culling, the enemies lose Stability and your buddies can CC them to death. Wow, what a great role to have.

I disagree on the utilities thing. If you run Revenge Counter you could run Featherfoot Grace instead of Berserker’s Stance. I would also want Break Enchantments in WvW because of the synergy with Enchantment Collapse. Imminent Threat would be better if it actually had an ammo count to actually allow you to force people to focus you reliably, thus insuring your Counter gets triggered. It seems like unlike some of the other specs, they actually tried to show some restraint.

I will agree that it’s not as dramatic a change as Berserker was – that being said I really enjoyed playing shutdown Mes from GW1 and this is very similar in concept. It’s basically Shutdown Mes with Lockdown Hammer Warrior if you go Dagger and Hammer.

BurrTheKing.8571:

YuiRS.8129:

I just don’t see how Spellbreaker alters Warrior’s playstyle at all. You don’t even dispel boons that well tbh, so it’s not like you become a hard counter to certain Ele builds or something. You just do the same thing as ever, slot the same utilities as ever (because SB utilities are pretty bad) and just melee stuff, except now you have a pretty cool defense/CC skill. The optimal way to play the spec in PvP is very similar to the age old core power Warrior. I think this is the biggest problem. The spec just isn’t different or flavorful enough.

And yeah, the spec is basically worthless in PvE, which is a real shame, since it’s the most supported game mode.

The spec is only good in zerg v zerg PvE. You suicide into the enemy zerg to put the Elite up which becomes invisible thanks to effect culling, the enemies lose Stability and your buddies can CC them to death. Wow, what a great role to have.

I disagree on the utilities thing. If you run Revenge Counter you could run Featherfoot Grace instead of Berserker’s Stance. I would also want Break Enchantments in WvW because of the synergy with Enchantment Collapse. Imminent Threat would be better if it actually had an ammo count to actually allow you to force people to focus you reliably, thus insuring your Counter gets triggered. It seems like unlike some of the other specs, they actually tried to show some restraint.

I will agree that it’s not as dramatic a change as Berserker was – that being said I really enjoyed playing shutdown Mes from GW1 and this is very similar in concept. It’s basically Shutdown Mes with Lockdown Hammer Warrior if you go Dagger and Hammer.

Featherfoot Grace is a great utility, either to chase or two escape a losing fight.

Mikeskies.1536:

BurrTheKing.8571:

YuiRS.8129:

I just don’t see how Spellbreaker alters Warrior’s playstyle at all. You don’t even dispel boons that well tbh, so it’s not like you become a hard counter to certain Ele builds or something. You just do the same thing as ever, slot the same utilities as ever (because SB utilities are pretty bad) and just melee stuff, except now you have a pretty cool defense/CC skill. The optimal way to play the spec in PvP is very similar to the age old core power Warrior. I think this is the biggest problem. The spec just isn’t different or flavorful enough.

And yeah, the spec is basically worthless in PvE, which is a real shame, since it’s the most supported game mode.

The spec is only good in zerg v zerg PvE. You suicide into the enemy zerg to put the Elite up which becomes invisible thanks to effect culling, the enemies lose Stability and your buddies can CC them to death. Wow, what a great role to have.

I disagree on the utilities thing. If you run Revenge Counter you could run Featherfoot Grace instead of Berserker’s Stance. I would also want Break Enchantments in WvW because of the synergy with Enchantment Collapse. Imminent Threat would be better if it actually had an ammo count to actually allow you to force people to focus you reliably, thus insuring your Counter gets triggered. It seems like unlike some of the other specs, they actually tried to show some restraint.

I will agree that it’s not as dramatic a change as Berserker was – that being said I really enjoyed playing shutdown Mes from GW1 and this is very similar in concept. It’s basically Shutdown Mes with Lockdown Hammer Warrior if you go Dagger and Hammer.

Featherfoot Grace is a great utility, either to chase or two escape a losing fight.

Yah, the mobility of Daggers and Hammer with Featherfoot makes it hard for anyone to escape – especially when combined with No Escape and/or Slow Counter. It’s actually exciting how many build options there are compared to what we have now.

BurrTheKing.8571:

Yah, the mobility of Daggers and Hammer with Featherfoot makes it hard for anyone to escape – especially when combined with No Escape and/or Slow Counter. It’s actually exciting how many build options there are compared to what we have now.

It makes me giddy just thinking about it. Stripping someone’s stability and then CC spamming them to the point that their accounts are deleted and their homes repossessed. I just can’t wait!

Pip Squeak.3418:

BurrTheKing.8571:

Yah, the mobility of Daggers and Hammer with Featherfoot makes it hard for anyone to escape – especially when combined with No Escape and/or Slow Counter. It’s actually exciting how many build options there are compared to what we have now.

It makes me giddy just thinking about it. Stripping someone’s stability and then CC spamming them to the point that their accounts are deleted and their homes repossessed. I just can’t wait!

Did you try Hammer with Arms line? The DPS is insane with Unsuspecting Foe and Burst Precision. It also works with Daggers as well because of the 3 -> 4 combo. Once their stability and stunbreaks are gone you just chain together and get nothing but crits.

BurrTheKing.8571:

Did you try Hammer with Arms line? The DPS is insane with Unsuspecting Foe and Burst Precision. It also works with Daggers as well because of the 3 -> 4 combo. Once their stability and stunbreaks are gone you just chain together and get nothing but crits.

I didn’t try that. Sounds crazy though. You think D/D Hammer will be viable? I really hope so, I love the idea of that weapon combo.

Pip Squeak.3418:

BurrTheKing.8571:

Did you try Hammer with Arms line? The DPS is insane with Unsuspecting Foe and Burst Precision. It also works with Daggers as well because of the 3 -> 4 combo. Once their stability and stunbreaks are gone you just chain together and get nothing but crits.

I didn’t try that. Sounds crazy though. You think D/D Hammer will be viable? I really hope so, I love the idea of that weapon combo.

It was really strong 1v1 but with the top line you could totally have a mass boon stripping machine in theory. Or you take all of the movement denying traits with Revenge Counter and just trap everyone around you for your AoE heavy teammates to destroy. I don’t even try No Escape and I bet that will make landing Hammer combos way easier. I used to run Leg Specialist all the time in the old trait system for that reason. This has no ICD so you could in theory go Earthshaker -> Full Counter -> Earthshaker and keep them totally locked in place. Immob might actually be better than hard CCs these days.

Can confirm from pvp test a few weeks ago that you could go earthshaker> full counter > earthshaker in quick succession for mass aoe cc and boon strip.

Kuya.6495:

Can confirm from pvp test a few weeks ago that you could go earthshaker> full counter > earthshaker in quick succession for mass aoe cc and boon strip.

Yes the triple burst combo is awesome with hammer and greatsword.