Guild Wars 2

I feel like in this day and age, mace is pretty much the step-child (along with rifle) of all of the weapons the Warrior has at their disposal. It has never really been all that popular (aside from those 2 months, but ANet quickly shot the skullcracker build down by moving unsuspecting foe and increasing the cast time on Skull Crack). Ever since then, it hasn’t really been talked about all too often, let alone ran.

In fact, I literally think it has been more than a year since I have encountered a Mace Warrior build in WvW. And I roam in WvW for at least 2-3 hours a day. It is just so incredibly rare.

Mace builds are actually pretty good for dueling. Especially against classes that lack blinds, won’t kite you and range you to death and stunbreakers, or any 2 of those 3 combinations. You can spec to be really tanky while still dealing a boatload of damage. It is also decent against classes that heavily use projectiles, like the often-complained about LB rangers. It can also be fairly decent in very small-scale fights, allowing you and others to focus fire a single opponent and taking them out of a fight.

I’ve also found good success fighting Meditation guardians. The blocks really come in handy, in terms of blocking the blinds and the burst. Most meditation guardians also have a lot of projectile attacks, so reflecting that back at them makes the fight easier. They also have little to no protection, 1 stunbreaker and no stability. So if you land a skullcrack on them it pretty much spells disaster for the Guardian.

I’ve also had good success against D/D Eles. Alot of their damage tends to come from single target skills like burning speed, fire grab, fire #4 and the lightning auto-attack. Alot of these you can actually block. As long as you can keep burns off you, you should be OK. Sigil of Doom tends to make it difficult sometimes though. Also if they pack alot of defenses like Armor of Earth, Arcane Shield, Mist Form, Lightning Flash they are significantly harder to kill. A good S/F ele is tougher fight.

I think the fact that both of these builds are melee serves the Mace Warrior well. It is much harder to avoid Skull Crack if you primarily deal your damage in melee range, it presents more risk.

However, the old PU condi mesmer and the P/P and P/D condi thieves will still wreck your face. This build doesn’t boast the most condi removal, but it is at least bearable in most instances. These builds deal their damage mostly from range and have alot of active defenses which makes it really difficult.

You are extremely survivable with mace, however the bigger the fights get the harder it is to get the full potential of your Skull Crack. Things like random CC, random blinds, etc all prevent you from getting off Skull Crack. Even if you do land it, you may take alot of damage for the 3 seconds you are in one place. The build is heavily reliant on Skull Crack because Mace doesn’t deal alot of damage (only the 3rd auto-attack chain and Skull Crack itself deal respectable damage). The greatsword damage isn’t very good aside from hundred blades and whirlwind if you land most of the hits. A sigil of air can definitely help you offset that.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fJEQNApeRjMd0FaZImdwJaAlgCbHcBnb7CIA0NFA-T1CCABYcIAG+IAYoeArUSQmSwIV/BgHAgWK3qTTzFnAgc2fIAACwNbz28mBO6RP6RP6R7m3cnH9oPnUAMpMC-w

This is my take on the build, the main staples of this build include:

2400 Power/203% Crit Damage
3,300 Armor/20.6K HP
3+ Second Stun
Lots of blocking/Reflect Missiles
Excellent Mobility

I run 0/6/5/0/3 as I found that to be the most effective.

I go 6 in arms for Forceful Greatsword and Unsuspecting Foe. Forceful Greatsword allows for more frequent gap closing and better disengage, while ramping up the damage of your Hundred Blades when you stun your opponent. Unsuspecting Foe allows me to get the most damage out of my stun combos. Furious Reaction is pretty much a lock on the Adept trait, because truly there isn’t much choice here, although extra fury and vigor couldn’t hurt. You could also go for Deep Cuts so you get the 10% damage on bleeding targets for longer.

I go 5 in Defense to get Armored Attack. With the high toughness this build boasts, it boosts your power by over 200, which is a significant amount of damage. I also go for Reflect Missiles instead of Dogged March, however both have their advantages. Reflect Missiles has a lot of uses, reflecting a blind, or a knockback, or a rapid fire can easily change the tide of a fight. A little known fact is that Warriors can gain stealth without the help of an ally (omg nerf stealth Skull Crack now!). This is done through reflecting the ranger’s Hunter’s Shot and it actually hitting the ranger. However, Dogged March gives you extra regen, and renders any movement impairing conditions almost null. Up to you really.

3 in Discipline for fast hands obviously. Now you might be screaming, MIGHTY DEFENSES MIGHTY DEFENSES WHY NOT! The mace has two blocks and you can gain boatloads of might. Seems like a no brainer right? However, the 25% movement speed is just too much to give up. With the signet of rage, less than half uptime on swiftness just doesn’t cut it. As a full melee build, and as a mace user, landing Skull Crack is absolutely vital. Not having enough speed to close the gap on somebody and being too slow dramatically reduces your chances of landing a Skull Crack. While Mighty Defenses is a decent option don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t recommend it at the cost of movement speed (unless you run with people that can give you swiftness.

Hoelbrak is a no brainer for runes, although you could go yolo mode and go Strength Runes. This build isn’t huge on might-stacking, and might stacking runes won’t significantly extend the might duration on Forceful Greatsword. Hoelbrak is taken mostly for the power and the - condition duration, the might duration is just a bonus really. Other options you can go for include Melandru and Pack. Pack seems to be the go to runeset for most power builds that aren’t hellbent on stacking might.

As for sigils, there is room for variation although Sigil of Paralyzation and Impact are pretty much set in stone. Paralyzation extends your mace stun duration. What this allows you to do is get off a full channel of hundred blades while comboing a Whirlwind as well, for lots of damage. Impact gives you a huge damage bonus vs stunned enemies, 10% for just a sigil is fairly strong.

The other two sigils are my preference and can definitely be changed around. Hydromancy is a very good choice because it adds about an extra 2K damage to your skull crack + hundred blades combo and chills your opponent, making their cooldowns longer and making it harder to move, even if they stunbreak. Other options could be Geomancy for the guaranteed 10% damage on bleeds. Maybe another energy sigil, a cleansing sigil for condition removal, maybe an air sigil for more consistent damage on the Greatsword. Maybe a might on swap sigil so you can build might. Leeching of course all around great. I like my energy sigil because Warriors don’t have a lot of access to vigor and dodging. Dodging also helps you reposition yourself better for a Skullcrack.

You can also change the Cavalier trinkets into zerker trinkets for more power and precision. This gives you more reliable and consistent DPS because it isn’t frontloaded into your skull crack combo. Having around 35-40% crit chance would be a decent number. Also adding a sigil of air will help your DPS tremendously in between skull cracks.

I will post a video and update this thread with any more findings.

I started using mace again when they buffed the auto-attack. I think it’s the most fun warrior build to roam with in WvW right now because it relies more on outplay. Here’s my take on it: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fJAQNApeRjMdUFaZHmhwJaAmgCdnnBTwx0OAUGFPBA-TFCCABMcEAiU9nxUCSlyPAeAA1pPIn9Hu4EAEAABgbezbuclbzSBwkyI-w

The missing sigil on the greatsword is a Sigil of Incapacitation which I’m still not 100% sold on but it’s been working well so far. I like to take Berserker Stance over Endure Pain mainly because it gives adrenaline and gives you a recovery option if you miss a Skull Crack. Also I think you’re underestimating the damage that mace mainhand can do, the mace block can crit for absurd damage and Skull Crack can still be used with only 1 bar for damage purposes. Another hard counter to this build is obviously double stab warriors, otherwise I agree that played well it can kill most things as again it relies more on outplay than gimmicks.

Imho, the necessary components of this build are (for roaming):
-Mace, shield / greatsword
-Healing Signet, Balanced Stance, Bull’s Charge (this one is debatable)
-Furious Reaction, Forceful Greatsword, Cleansing Ire, Warrior’s Sprint, Fast Hands
-Sigil of Paralyzation, Sigil of Energy

The rest is completely up to your playstyle. Here’s a template build if you want to make your own:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fJAQNApeBjMdU2ZZIciGgJoQaCOm2BgunA-TlACQAgHAw9EAAA-w

This is similar to what I used to run.

Skullcrack is dead, though. Nobody runs it, because in anything other then a (serious) 1v2 you will get wrecked by, you said it, the random stuff. Nobody is good enough to watch what three opponents do, and this game has so many random blocks/blinds/evades that you won’t be able to land the skullcrack.

However, I agree that it is quite strong in the dueling scene. This is IMO because of reflect. Engineers, Rangers, Guardians are just some of the classes that have a lot of ranged attacks.

I don’t understand why you say you have trouble with P/D thieves though.. If I meet a P/D thief that’s a little kitteny, I slap on my mace and shield and beat the kitten out of him… You reflect his sneak attack, which is where 30-50% of his damage comes from (depending on how confusion reliant he is). Now, not only are you not taking those 5 bleeding stacks, but he is.
Also, P/D thieves tend to pack 2-3 stun breaks max, and Shadow Step is on a very long cooldown (and you can just kite until the timer for the double use is up).

PU mesmer is a totally different thing though. The worst spec ingame IMO, although being able to block clone deaths without still getting the condi helps. Still, a half decent PU condi mesmer will be half AFK while destroying you.
Shatter mesmers are just as bad on this spec. Try Skullcracking something with a teleport on an 8-10 second cooldown.

This spec sure punishes the current flood of longbow rangers though. Seriously, half the players in WvW are rangers right now, and Anet gave them a braindead mechanic that tends to work when there are so many using it on you at the same time.

On the runes, there is some merit to using Pack on this, as you stack 0 might (Forceful GS doesn’t count on it’s own due to the low base duration). You can leave Warriors Sprint if you take Pack, as it gives you 13 seconds of speed just for getting hit on a 20 second cooldown. Along with SoR and Balanced Stance, you will have 100% uptime in battle (only ~75% out of battle if you use Balanced Stance also).
The extra precision helps to dump some Zerk gear for either Soldiers or more Cavalier.
The 10 seconds of Fury allows you to lose Furious Reaction, although the options in that slot are limited. Rending Strikes may seem awesome on a build that has a 100% crit combo, but HB only strikes 8 times (or was it 9?), so along with Skullcrack itself (which I believe stuns before doing damage) you will get an average of 3 stacks of vulnerability. Very mediocre. Deep Cuts may seem worth it, but also isn’t IMO, as the crits from your HB will already give you a good chance of activating the 10% boost through Precise Strikes. Thus, Furious Reaction may still be the best choice, even if it’s just for the Vigor.
Lastly, Pack also helps out your squad, should you roam in a group. 50% uptime on Fury and Swiftness groupwide (ok, best case scenario) is not something to scoff at.
The problem with pack is that you lose 20% condi reduction, making you prone to movement conditions. Skullcrack just suffers from too little trait points.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fJEQNApeRjMdU4ZZImdwJaAlgCdHcBh+12OA0lFA-TFDCABYcIAG+IAYo+ArUSQmSwIV3ZTVCA4BAolytg2foONMXcCACAgAcz2sNvZglrclrclrcu5N35RP6zJFATKjA-w

Took out Endure Pain and put in SoS for more condition cleansing, dodging, and because you have toughness like a boss. I also don’t like Might on Block on this, as you won’t be blocking, you will be reflecting most stuff (which does not proc).

By the way, you can get a full Mace auto-chain off if you land a skullcrack. Don’t hesitate to do so, because it hurts like a kitten. Equal to 60% of the damage you get from HB, which is decent, if you realise HB is on a cooldown or you don’t want to stand still.

@ Cygnus

The problem with P/D thieves are that they don’t need to go melee against you at all, so what you end up doing is trying to chase the thief the whole time when they can just disengage with stealth and shadowsteps, as well as shortbow evasion on the off-swap. And two-three stunbreakers is often enough if you know how to dodge coupled with the fact they deal damage from range.

You would think that with all the reflects you have that you would eventually kill the thief. Except that you realize that they most likely run 6 in shadow arts. And probably dire gear which makes them really tanky (one stun will not end the fight). It will take a long time for them to kill you, granted but for the most part a P/D dire thief should win the battle of attrition. I have beat P/D condi thieves, however they were foolish enough to get close and take my mace stun.

I agree that pack would definitely be a great rune set for this build. I just can’t be changing runes in my ascended set all the time. I still like Hoelbrak for the – condition duration, because this build lacks reliable condition removal, the might duration is still OK.

To me, I still like to use Endure Pain despite the toughness with this build. It provides an extra stunbreak and also compliments your high toughness and survivability. The best use for this I found was preventing camp capture and even at least downing 1 person in a 1v3. Signet of Stamina is very good, it actually gives you a lot of dodging capability and a nice full condition cleanse. However for my build it is once every 45 seconds which isn’t really worth it. Sometimes however, I take Berserker Stance over Bulls Charge, not only for condition mitigation but for the extra adrenaline to land a Skull Crack.

I could of swore the might on block worked on reflects, but that could of just been somebody hitting me with non-projectile attacks. I guess it could still have its uses.

eksn.7264:

I started using mace again when they buffed the auto-attack. I think it’s the most fun warrior build to roam with in WvW right now because it relies more on outplay. Here’s my take on it: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fJAQNApeRjMdUFaZHmhwJaAmgCdnnBTwx0OAUGFPBA-TFCCABMcEAiU9nxUCSlyPAeAA1pPIn9Hu4EAEAABgbezbuclbzSBwkyI-w

The missing sigil on the greatsword is a Sigil of Incapacitation which I’m still not 100% sold on but it’s been working well so far. I like to take Berserker Stance over Endure Pain mainly because it gives adrenaline and gives you a recovery option if you miss a Skull Crack. Also I think you’re underestimating the damage that mace mainhand can do, the mace block can crit for absurd damage and Skull Crack can still be used with only 1 bar for damage purposes. Another hard counter to this build is obviously double stab warriors, otherwise I agree that played well it can kill most things as again it relies more on outplay than gimmicks.

Imho, the necessary components of this build are (for roaming):
-Mace, shield / greatsword
-Healing Signet, Balanced Stance, Bull’s Charge (this one is debatable)
-Furious Reaction, Forceful Greatsword, Cleansing Ire, Warrior’s Sprint, Fast Hands
-Sigil of Paralyzation, Sigil of Energy

The rest is completely up to your playstyle. Here’s a template build if you want to make your own:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fJAQNApeBjMdU2ZZIciGgJoQaCOm2BgunA-TlACQAgHAw9EAAA-w

I agree with taking Berserker Stance, I often switch to it against multiple people who run heavy condies. I guess I should be more specific, the Mace damage isn’t very reliable. Counter attack relies on the person attacking you, and you have to be absurdly close to the person for it to land, the counter attack is slow and easily dodgable if they don’t move out of range to begin with. Skull crack does do alot of damage I admit but overall the damage isn’t sufficient enough on the mace to provide significant pressure, not like the Axe at all which is fine.

Bulls Charge definitely isn’t necessary whatsoever. Especially in the buggy state it is in right now. It’s alright for the gap closing, and dueling, but in many outnumbered fights you may want to opt for an extra stance.

killahmayne.9518:

eksn.7264:

I started using mace again when they buffed the auto-attack. I think it’s the most fun warrior build to roam with in WvW right now because it relies more on outplay. Here’s my take on it: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fJAQNApeRjMdUFaZHmhwJaAmgCdnnBTwx0OAUGFPBA-TFCCABMcEAiU9nxUCSlyPAeAA1pPIn9Hu4EAEAABgbezbuclbzSBwkyI-w

The missing sigil on the greatsword is a Sigil of Incapacitation which I’m still not 100% sold on but it’s been working well so far. I like to take Berserker Stance over Endure Pain mainly because it gives adrenaline and gives you a recovery option if you miss a Skull Crack. Also I think you’re underestimating the damage that mace mainhand can do, the mace block can crit for absurd damage and Skull Crack can still be used with only 1 bar for damage purposes. Another hard counter to this build is obviously double stab warriors, otherwise I agree that played well it can kill most things as again it relies more on outplay than gimmicks.

Imho, the necessary components of this build are (for roaming):
-Mace, shield / greatsword
-Healing Signet, Balanced Stance, Bull’s Charge (this one is debatable)
-Furious Reaction, Forceful Greatsword, Cleansing Ire, Warrior’s Sprint, Fast Hands
-Sigil of Paralyzation, Sigil of Energy

The rest is completely up to your playstyle. Here’s a template build if you want to make your own:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fJAQNApeBjMdU2ZZIciGgJoQaCOm2BgunA-TlACQAgHAw9EAAA-w

I agree with taking Berserker Stance, I often switch to it against multiple people who run heavy condies. I guess I should be more specific, the Mace damage isn’t very reliable. Counter attack relies on the person attacking you, and you have to be absurdly close to the person for it to land, the counter attack is slow and easily dodgable if they don’t move out of range to begin with. Skull crack does do alot of damage I admit but overall the damage isn’t sufficient enough on the mace to provide significant pressure, not like the Axe at all which is fine.

Bulls Charge definitely isn’t necessary whatsoever. Especially in the buggy state it is in right now. It’s alright for the gap closing, and dueling, but in many outnumbered fights you may want to opt for an extra stance.

Bull’s Charge maybe isn’t necessary but landing one of those feels pretty good! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlm7KbqtRYA

Cygnus.6903:

PU mesmer is a totally different thing though. The worst spec ingame IMO, although being able to block clone deaths without still getting the condi helps. Still, a half decent PU condi mesmer will be half AFK while destroying you.
Shatter mesmers are just as bad on this spec. Try Skullcracking something with a teleport on an 8-10 second cooldown.

Hence why I avoid mesmers in WvW or PvP. It’s bad enough that mesmers have clones and teleports, but why do they have to have stealth too, and not to mention their shattering cc abilities. That’s just way too much defensive capabilities.

Doon.2364:

Cygnus.6903:

PU mesmer is a totally different thing though. The worst spec ingame IMO, although being able to block clone deaths without still getting the condi helps. Still, a half decent PU condi mesmer will be half AFK while destroying you.
Shatter mesmers are just as bad on this spec. Try Skullcracking something with a teleport on an 8-10 second cooldown.

Hence why I avoid mesmers in WvW or PvP. It’s bad enough that mesmers have clones and teleports, but why do they have to have stealth too, and not to mention their shattering cc abilities. That’s just way too much defensive capabilities.

I play alot of mesmer alot, especially shatter mesmer and they kind of need all these defensive mechanics and stealth. Unfortunately a shatter mesmer has to go quite glassy in order to do appreciable damage.

However, alot of the set it and forget it and passive mechanics that the mesmer has (clones inflicting conditions and clone death inflicting conditions) coupled with PU that automatically grants you boons like aegis and protection on demand unfortunately give the class a bad rep and dumb it down to absolutely brain-dead play. The build pretty much plays itself.

It is a nightmare for the warriors to face because everytime they close the gap the mesmer either stealths or teleports. Every time you actually hit the mesmer they have aegis and protection. Not to mention the torment block every 8 seconds. All the while you are being hit by 2-3 wind clones with purple balls bouncing everywhere along with the mesmer itself. At least it brings nothing to a team fight though and you can easily escape it.

Good stuff guys, been trying a skullcrack build but it didn’t feel very optimized. 3.5k armor Cygnus, hah that’s insane. 0/6/5/0/3 is interesting also killah, mucho will be learned from this thread.

I would only ever even consider mace if mace#2 blocked all ranged attacks like sword#5.

I’ve been playing it a bit more (not much though), still trying to gather clips obviously. 3.3K armor (which is what I have) isn’t needed all that much. I would switch out my cavalier weapon for a valkyrie weapon (for more vit and a little more power) but I don’t have 100+ gold to fork over.

This build doesn’t have huge problems against the vast majority of other power builds, however many condi builds pose a significant problem. They aren’t impossible to beat, it is just an uphill battle because this build doesn’t have very reliable condition removal (all it has is cleansing ire and - condition duration). I am thinking about removing the hydromancy sigil and replacing it with a cleansing sigil although this probably won’t be enough. I may just keep the hydromancy and live with my weakness, as this build does have alot of blocking and the sigil of energy to avoid incoming conditions.

I am also considering switching Endure pain to signet of stamina. However, in most situations I find Endure Pain to be more useful. In relatively fewer situations I find Signet of Stamina to be more valuable.

I fought a few meta condi rangers (0/2/6/6/0, axe/dagger + sword/torch) and boy were they extremely tough fights. I won some fights, not saying this build gets totally owned (unless you get entangled). The amounts of bleeds they stack is ridiculous and the perma-poison doesn’t help either. This build doesn’t remove 1-2 conditions constantly which can be problematic (it removes either all conditions with SoS on a 45 second CD, 3 conditions IF and that is a big IF you land your burst and - condition duration). Even with - condition duration, bleeds and poison last ridiculously long and in the long run this is probably what kills you. Then again, I probably should of been running Dogged March instead of Reflect missiles to at least deal with the soft CC conditions.

A possible build that better deals with conditions at the cost of more frequent mobility and full DPS hundred blades and probably some toughness is 2/0/6/0/6. You can run both reflect missiles and dogged march, while traiting for Brawler’s Recovery. Then you could put a cleansing sigil and this gives you some pretty consistent condition removal. However, is it worth sacrificing alot of DPS from hundred blades (through unsuspecting foe) and GS cooldowns/might, maybe, maybe not.

Hey killahmayne, I decided to put together a couple clips from my stream to show the potential of the build. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tMugRdNOio

Imho, assuming your opponent has similar mechanical skills, this build…

Is hard-countered by:
-Any mesmer
-Double stability DPS warriors (especially if they have Endure Pain on top of it)
-Condi rangers (Eurantien’s build)

Struggles against:
-DPS guards (can cheese and go Signet of Might to stun the heal)
-Builds that use +40% condi duration food in general (ie engis with Incendiary Powder)
-PD thieves

Goes even with:
-Condi necros as long as you don’t waste Hundred Blades on the Death Shroud
-D/D eles

Does well against:
-Most power-based builds like D/P or S/D thieves or other warrior builds
-Builds that rely on range for damage

Of course the skill discrepancy between players in WvW is so large and the nature of the game mode is so unbalanced that it’s hard to have a definitive opinion on the matchups.

I do somewhat agree with your assessment, although I think we have different definitions of what hard counter is.

For example I don’t think power mesmers are necessarily hard counters, you need to keep pressure on them as much as possible and eventually they will run out of stealth and active defenses. Easier said then done and good shatter mesmers are definitely a very tough fight. But aren’t hard counters.

I think condi rangers hard counter any Warrior build that uses Healing Signet tbh. Unless the Warrior has condi clear up the butt. But even then, at best that would be a draw.

I’ve actually faced a double stab (DPS) axe warrior as you have mentioned. The fight took forever -_- . The stun breaks and stability is mad annoying, but you should have enough blocks to avoid some of the burst. It’s mostly a fight where who messes up their string of dodges and is forced to blow CDs. I do agree though, advantage goes to the Double stab DPS warrior.

I’ve actually struggled less against DPS guards an more against somewhat tankier meditation specs.

S/F eles can also be a pain too, and actually believe it or not a power ranger that knows how to kite.

Skill discrepancy of course is an issue, I’d like to think I am an OK player. Right now I am facing Mag and NSP (both servers known for alot of good duelers) and that is where I am trying to draw alot of my clips from.

And yeah cool video. I think mace/GS is a spec that is simple enough to play but a lot harder to be successful than people give credit for (I find my D/D ele somewhat easier to play and be more successsful at) because it requires a lot of focus, especially when landing your mace stun. A wasted stun can at many times cost you a duel, as I have learned becaue the spec is so reliant on it.

eksn.7264:

Hey killahmayne, I decided to put together a couple clips from my stream to show the potential of the build. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tMugRdNOio

I really liked the vid. Good music too

The fight with the warrior and thief (where the warrior ends up running after exhausting his 1-button-finger, but gets replaced with the ele) really shows what this build can do. Well played. Your clip makes me want to take out my mace again.

This fight actually shows that a p/d thief can be outlasted by this build. I know they can range you, but the thief does not do enough damage if you reflect his sneak attack back at him. Torment is where most damage would come from, which can be blocked. And if he tries to use it, that’s when you take the advantage.

Find a ranger with 30 sec stabi….Skullcrack build destroyed.
Find a nec popping lich form…skullcrack build destroyed.

Its way to unreliable to me eventhough i Used to roll it alot,it seems so kitten useless now unless you arnt running into people who know what Stabi means.

Caedmon.6798:

Find a ranger with 30 sec stabi….Skullcrack build destroyed.
Find a nec popping lich form…skullcrack build destroyed.

Its way to unreliable to me eventhough i Used to roll it alot,it seems so kitten useless now unless you arnt running into people who know what Stabi means.

That ranger won’t be able to kill my in 30 seconds. I will reflect a lot of his stuff, putting pressure on him, and GS allows me to kite if there is any LoS stuff around.

The necro will just get kited for 30 seconds.

Still, I agree it is unreliable though. HammerGS is probably the most versatile warrior roaming spec.

Mace/GS can be pretty unreliable at times and it is a spec that is very reliant on the mace stun. It makes or breaks this build which is the problem because mace doesn’t have reliable damage in of itself. The GS itself isn’t a whole lot of damage either save a full channel hundred blades and provided a Rush lands, and the opponent is below 50% for an Arcing Slice.

However, amazing for the on demand single target CC and reflects.

I have been running this build with air and fire on GS. Helps a lot with the sustained damage, as even GS 4 can do like 6k damage if both sigils proc.

Cygnus.6903:

I have been running this build with air and fire on GS. Helps a lot with the sustained damage, as even GS 4 can do like 6k damage if both sigils proc.

Yeah, i’ve actually been running that as of late, it does work fairly well certainly helps with the sustained damage. However, 50% crit chance with fury doesn’t make these sigils proc a whole lot, I was thinking of trying to bump up crit chance between 5-10%. so I can get double procs more often.

I should have a video hopefully within a week and a half, busy with school and other stuff.

Facing GH and VS right now, dull as hell. WvW is completely devoid of enemies.

Your version is pretty much exactly what I recommend, although I like dropping 1 from Defense to get Mobile Strikes. I’ve become sort of anti-EP just because of how…boring it is. I prefer Berserker Stance for the Adren gain because I feel like I have enough blocks to deal with power, it’s condis that bug me.

It’s good for duels but for PvP it’s a sad fact that if you aren’t running Hambow chances are you aren’t as useful as you could be. This probably won’t change until we get a new game mode. If there’s more open areas, we might see more variety.

I would also highly recommend 0/4/4/0/6 for a skullcracker build, it honestly works just as well. Yes you lose the greatsword CD and the very temporary amount of might stacks you get which in some situations, may be of a detriment

However you can get Brawler’s Recovery if you have trouble dealing with condis. It can definitely be well worth it in many circumstances. Or Burst Mastery for more frequent bursts. Plus DotE pretty much replaces the 10% extra damage you get from bleeds.

Endure Pain I still like, it is a stunbreaker and a direct damage mitigator. I also use Berserker Stance as well, sometimes not for the condition mitigation but for the adrenaline gain.

I will agree however that this build in general struggles against condis. You are pretty much helpless if a Necro chooses to corrupt your boons or lay the Signet of Win on you. Opting to take reflect missiles instead of Dogged March make you much more susceptible to chill, cripple and immobilize (and this really matters alot if you are trying to land a mace stun, you can’t have anything at all hindering you). Negative condition duration only helps you so much when you have certain skills whose conditions already last an obsurd amount of time, but when you add foods, runes and sigils and baseline traits you can still find conditions lasting like 10+ seconds on you.

If you are facing a condi heavy pack of roamers in your current match-up, try Balanced Stance+Berserker Stance+Signet of Stamina. SoS is the middle ground between Endure Pain and Berserker Stance, as it allows you to dodge more direct damage (condi’s too off course) but also gets you the full condi cleanse.

I agree with Burr that Mace shield already gives you a lot of direct damage mitigation, along with the already high toughness on this build.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fJEQNApeRjMdUGaVIGewJaAlgCdHcBh+x2OAUmFjOA-T1CCABGqPILlBkpEkhjAQkq/4whAAgHAgWK9qTDzFnAgc2fIAACwNbz28mBMchLchLchTKAmUGB-w

This is what I’ve been using, works like a charm.

I’d get Melandru runes if I would play it more often though, probably.

Hey guys, I decided to write a guide on this to put all the information in one place, let me know what you think:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_r21aUPWL5vPNDHCqyRRX4yjF0DkmfUpAGSr6O09t8c

Against bad power based rangers, this build will wipe the floor with it, and perhaps if they are full zerker. Against tankier builds, it is a bit more difficult. The kiting ability of LB/SD is huge, it can be very difficult to land a skull crack, not to mention the evades. Even with 3K+ armor, you can still get hit with 2K+ auto attacks. A good ranger will give you a good run for your money so I think the difficulty varies a bit more than you believe.

S/F I feel like kind of falls in the same boat, an S/F Ele has LF, Arcane Shield, Obsidian Flesh, Armor of Earth and Mist Form. Those are 5 Defenses against your skull crack as well as blinds. If an S/F ele can cycle these cooldowns decently, they are a tough fight. Combined with as well their somewhat untelegraphed bursts. I think the match up is somewhat more even.

Against shatter mesmers, you kind of need to know how to fight one in order to beat one, and also playing one helps quite a bit. I find that the match is mostly 40/60 in the Mesmer’s favour, assuming equal skill level. The main thing you need to watch for is the position of their clones. If you are in melee range, caught in between 3 clones + the mesmer, the mesmer is probably going to shatter you and if you don’t mitigate it you will probably get bursted for 8-10K, almost half of your HP. You really need to watch for the clones in melee range, because it is easy to be focused on the mesmer that you ignore the clones. So at that point you have to anticipate it and dodge/block accordingly.

Also, destroying their clones is generally a good tactic, as long as you don’t get too sidetracked with it to the point that the mesmer themselves are dealing a lot of damage to you and you are not pressuring them at all. Shatter builds do not run clone death traits so it is usually worth it. Destroying clones = destroying their DPS, and indirectly their defense as they have to expend dodges to generate more clones. Whirlwind and Arcing Slice are perfect abilities for cleaving clones down quickly.

Main thing is to watch clone positioning, keep track of the defenses that the Mesmer has expended and continuously be up in the grill and pressure the mesmer. If you do these things, you do have a decent chance of winning.

The rest of your assessment of match ups I tend to agree with, for the most part. Celestial Rifle Engis can be tough fights, although generally P/S condi is more effective.

killahmayne.9518:

Against bad power based rangers, this build will wipe the floor with it, and perhaps if they are full zerker. Against tankier builds, it is a bit more difficult. The kiting ability of LB/SD is huge, it can be very difficult to land a skull crack, not to mention the evades. Even with 3K+ armor, you can still get hit with 2K+ auto attacks. A good ranger will give you a good run for your money so I think the difficulty varies a bit more than you believe.

S/F I feel like kind of falls in the same boat, an S/F Ele has LF, Arcane Shield, Obsidian Flesh, Armor of Earth and Mist Form. Those are 5 Defenses against your skull crack as well as blinds. If an S/F ele can cycle these cooldowns decently, they are a tough fight. Combined with as well their somewhat untelegraphed bursts. I think the match up is somewhat more even.

Against shatter mesmers, you kind of need to know how to fight one in order to beat one, and also playing one helps quite a bit. I find that the match is mostly 40/60 in the Mesmer’s favour, assuming equal skill level. The main thing you need to watch for is the position of their clones. If you are in melee range, caught in between 3 clones + the mesmer, the mesmer is probably going to shatter you and if you don’t mitigate it you will probably get bursted for 8-10K, almost half of your HP. You really need to watch for the clones in melee range, because it is easy to be focused on the mesmer that you ignore the clones. So at that point you have to anticipate it and dodge/block accordingly.

Also, destroying their clones is generally a good tactic, as long as you don’t get too sidetracked with it to the point that the mesmer themselves are dealing a lot of damage to you and you are not pressuring them at all. Shatter builds do not run clone death traits so it is usually worth it. Destroying clones = destroying their DPS, and indirectly their defense as they have to expend dodges to generate more clones. Whirlwind and Arcing Slice are perfect abilities for cleaving clones down quickly.

Main thing is to watch clone positioning, keep track of the defenses that the Mesmer has expended and continuously be up in the grill and pressure the mesmer. If you do these things, you do have a decent chance of winning.

The rest of your assessment of match ups I tend to agree with, for the most part. Celestial Rifle Engis can be tough fights, although generally P/S condi is more effective.

That’s why I did preface the matchups section by saying that it’s impossible to be 100% accurate when talking about matchups and opinions will vary greatly with personal experience :P.