Guild Wars 2

Here is the build and here is the video.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAT8cjkOBvtQGPMxBE0DsoKEQjifYIUKsjNE-jUCBofCyUHAkHwEBQZmFRjtKqIasabYKXLqWFDQGA9xA-w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NEKMAGsoxQ

It is actually very similar in gameplay to the GS/LB that I use. Making use of conditions as sustained damage while providing excellent burst. It uses mainly the same traits as well except for a few minor changes.

I decided to give this weapon set-up a try because I haven’t seen any builds, videos or guides that make use of LB/SS as a purely power build. Rather every video I’ve seen using these weapons are either hybrid or pure condition builds and kind of wondered why this is so.

I wasn’t sure whether it would be effective in WvW but I was pleasantly surprised with the results I got from it. It probably is as good as LB/GS and in certain situations it is probably even better.

Compared to LB/GS, LB/SS

- Has better opportunistic burst (Pindown -> Arcing Arrow -> Switch -> Final Thrust)
- Better sustained DPS (Torments and better bleed/burn application)
- Better single-target lockdown and more reliable soft CC
- More blocks/opportunity with reflect
- Can combo their own aura (Combustive Shot -> Savage Leap) for more burns and more might

However, LB/GS

- Better mobility/more resistant to soft CC (Using Dogged March)
- More consistent burst DPS
- Better cleave/AoE
- Seems to out-do LB/SS the larger the fights are

Overall, I think LB/SS may be slightly better (not much) for dueling and 1v2’s then LB/GS and better for eliminating and locking down single targets. However the cleave/mobility makes LB/GS more versatile in other areas.

Anyways, tell me what y’all think, comments, criticism, praises, suggestions, insults, trash-talking I welcome them all.

Edit: I haven’t tried Hoelbrak runes but I could imagine it would work really well with this build due to it being heavy in power by nature and using conditions for sustained damage. Although you do lose a condition clear on demand in Lyssa. Also, you can use a sigil of bloodlust or the precision one on a different weapon, stack it up and roam with 25 stacks for more effectiveness. If you have the +100 power/condition and +250 vitality buffs, even better, you would be almost god-like, lol.

I used this, with offhand shield, sword and warhorn. All work, actually, different benefits. I don’t play Longbow/GS, because that is very reliant on pin down actually hitting, whereas with sword, you have more soft CC, like you said. Pin down is getting a huge nerf.

Try Hoelbrak though. Missile Reflection doesn’t do much for you, a half decent player will stop spamming missiles for two seconds and you’re back where you started. Dogged March+Hoelbrak is already good, I would definitely take condi reduction food as well.

Also, 10 points in strength may seem decent, but the trait you choose is bad IMO. Warrior has enough HP, by far (~22k in WvW with bonusses). Also, Short temper is a beast with Longbow, so if you insist on those 10 traitpoints, take that.

Another viable option would be to take 30 in Discipline, so you can Longbow F1, switch, and lock them down with sword F1.

Even better would be to dump the 10 points in arms, and take both Burst Mastery and Short Temper. Rending Strikes will give you maybe a 3-4% damage boost. Not worth it.

Sweet vid.

Right I agree with the suggestions about Hoelbrak runes. And missile deflection isn’t that good. Great fortitude is ok. But you would be better off with Blade master 10% crit chance with swords. Spiked armor retal is not a good trait. And like I suggested in the other thread your build is better off with 25 in arms for 10% damage vs bleeding foes.

And also Like i said in your other thread you condition damage is no more than what your traits give. Just becasue you have weapons that deal conditions your build is not a condition build so +40 condition duration food is useless to you.

So there for also Poisen on swap is useless to use as well since not only is your condition damage low but that is not enough poison to serve a purpose at reducing somones regen. And like I said the bleeding damage on swap is useless also.

Boom your build is 10x better.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAT8cjkOBvtQGPMxBEMDNsKuMoipQpwO2QA-jECBofCyEBBmKAKzsIasVQFRjVbDT5aR1qYASBskwI-w

I used this, with offhand shield, sword and warhorn. All work, actually, different benefits. I don’t play Longbow/GS, because that is very reliant on pin down actually hitting, whereas with sword, you have more soft CC, like you said. Pin down is getting a huge nerf.

Try Hoelbrak though. Missile Reflection doesn’t do much for you, a half decent player will stop spamming missiles for two seconds and you’re back where you started. Dogged March+Hoelbrak is already good, I would definitely take condi reduction food as well.

Also, 10 points in strength may seem decent, but the trait you choose is bad IMO. Warrior has enough HP, by far (~22k in WvW with bonusses). Also, Short temper is a beast with Longbow, so if you insist on those 10 traitpoints, take that.

Another viable option would be to take 30 in Discipline, so you can Longbow F1, switch, and lock them down with sword F1.

Even better would be to dump the 10 points in arms, and take both Burst Mastery and Short Temper. Rending Strikes will give you maybe a 3-4% damage boost. Not worth it.

Sweet vid.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAT8cjkOBvtQGPMxBE0DsoKEQjifYIUKsjNE-jUCBofCyUHAkHwEBQZmFRjtKqIasabYKXLqWFDQGA9xA-w

I think i posted the wrong build, lol. The build above is the one I go.

Anyways, I actually go 20/0/30/0/20, mainly because of Building Momentum, and the 5% extra damage equipping the offhand is a bonus i will gladly take.

I have considered Hoelbrak at the top of my list of rune choices and will definitely try that out.

Missile Deflection I feel has its uses. It can take a second for the person to stop auto-attacking and by then they will have reflected 1 or 2 shots back at them. Also if you time it properly you can reflect some major projectiles back at somebody. For example bladetrail, you can easily time your block to reflect telegraphed projectiles like that. Also, it serves another purpose. Missile Deflection blocks and reflects ALL projectiles for the duration of riposte. Where as if you don’t have the trait it only blocks one attack (whether it is a projectile or not). So it serves a defensive purpose as well.

However Dogged March is a great alternative as well and may serve better in certain situations.

I like the Power to Vitality conversion because it synergizes with the high power this build has. It gives me around 1.7K extra HP, which is an extra 170 stat points basically. Short Temper also looks like it could be very useful, I actually never really considered that. Warriors and Guardians would be the main classes that would proc this trait.

Mesmers may proc it (though very limited), Engineers may proc it if that one block skill and maybe a random aegis buff. Necros don’t have any blocks, thieves don’t, most rangers don’t and most elementalists don’t carry blocks either. So I feel like outside Warriors and Guardians the trait is limited, where as 1.7K HP would help in any situation.

I have thought about putting 30 into discipline, but I just can’t forgo Building Momentum whatsoever from the Strength tree. I could remove 10 points from defense but then I lose a substantial amount of power as well as retaliation for a minimal increase in burst damage and reduced cost of burst skills which I feel really isn’t needed.

Warlord.9074:

Right I agree with the suggestions about Hoelbrak runes. And missile deflection isn’t that good. Great fortitude is ok. But you would be better off with Blade master 10% crit chance with swords. Spiked armor retal is not a good trait. And like I suggested in the other thread your build is better off with 25 in arms for 10% damage vs bleeding foes.

And also Like i said in your other thread you condition damage is no more than what your traits give. Just becasue you have weapons that deal conditions your build is not a condition build so +40 condition duration food is useless to you.

So there for also Poisen on swap is useless to use as well since not only is your condition damage low but that is not enough poison to serve a purpose at reducing somones regen. And like I said the bleeding damage on swap is useless also.

Boom your build is 10x better.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAT8cjkOBvtQGPMxBEMDNsKuMoipQpwO2QA-jECBofCyEBBmKAKzsIasVQFRjVbDT5aR1qYASBskwI-w

Yeah, definitely I would try Hoelbrak runes. Missile Deflection I feel like is decent in certain situations. I switch between Dogged March and that trait sometimes. Missile Deflection not only for the reflect but immunity to projectiles for 2 seconds unless I get hit by a non-projectile. Like I said it does have its uses.

I pull off about 400 damage per retaliation tick. Since I have it up half the time usually, the damage starts to add up to be a lot. Assuming 1 attack per second for 5 seconds and the 50% uptime (and that is being extremely conservative). It is about 2K extra damage per 10 seconds which I think is a significant amount. However that 2K damage is concentrated over a 5 second period.

I have actually tried 25 in arms, while it was decent I didn’t find it as optimal. Precise Strikes would give me at most 3 extra bleeds on a target. However since it lasts like 3 seconds the DPS on it is almost negligable. Rending strikes, maybe at most 3 stacks of vulnerability, again wasn’t really worth it. Critical Burst, again useless. I cancel my Flurry with sword and combustive shot pulses something like every 4 seconds. 10% extra crit on sword, definitely useful. 10% extra damage on bleeding targets, definitely nice as well.

However having 20 in Strength gives me Reckless Dodge (I have actually grown to love this trait, a free 2K damage or so if it lands. Great Fortitude (cant complain about 1.7K extra HP). Building Momentum (you can’t put a number on how great this trait is, this is a free dodge every 8 seconds. This is pretty much the equivalent of having perma-vigor. I can’t justify getting rid of this minor trait at all. I also get extra 5% damage when using an offhand. Not to mention gaining +200 power. Also the extra 5 points in Defensive gives me a little toughness/healing power and retaliation (or I have the option to go 5 more in strength for stick and move and +50 more power)

I have tested out the foods and I do agree with the notion that I would be better suited to something like Truffle Steak, Butternut squash soup, etc. Lemongrass isn’t needed for this build because of cleansing ire, BS or SoS and Lyssa runes providing extra condi clear. I also have the option of going Dogged March for better condition management. This frees me up for a food that boosts my DPS.

I was also thinking of ditching the poison on swap sigil, it probably isn’t as effective as I thought it was. Rather than the 5% raw damage increase I was actually thinking about the Superior Sigil of Blood. It can potentially give me 450 health every 2 seconds and deal approximately 450 damage every 2 seconds (Dual Shot helps with proccing this more often). Say my auto-attacks hit on average for about 1000. A 5% damage increase only raises that to about 1050 per auto. Having the sigil of blood can pretty much raise every second auto attack by 450 damage which is a much higher damage increase, as well as it steals health. A 6K Arcing Arrow only does 300 more damage with the 5% damage boost. While the sigil of blood will do its 450. Simply better all around.

I agree with the bleeding on swap being kinda meh, but that isn’t why I use it. It also does direct damage, on average about 2K damage on crits. It works really well with my combo Pindown ---> Arcing Arrow ---> Swap ----> Final Thrust. The bleeding is pretty much a bonus, but I guess I could use the Hydromancy sigil, it’s probably better. In the build I posted I put a 5% crit chance sigil in my sword, but overall I am not a huge fan of flat bonuses when using sigils. I prefer to have something more utility based.

“or I have the option to go 5 more in strength for stick and move and +50 more power”
might worth considering moving 5 point from Discipline to Strength.
If it was only 50 power + stick n move VS 5% cirt dmg and DotE – I would choose the later also.
but you will also move from +30% cond duration to 35% which makes your 3sec brun from Combusite shot int 4 sec, a free 1sec burn. Still not a sure winner but woth testing.

killahmayne.9518:

I think i posted the wrong build, lol. The build above is the one I go.

Anyways, I actually go 20/0/30/0/20, mainly because of Building Momentum, and the 5% extra damage equipping the offhand is a bonus i will gladly take.

I have considered Hoelbrak at the top of my list of rune choices and will definitely try that out.

Missile Deflection I feel has its uses. It can take a second for the person to stop auto-attacking and by then they will have reflected 1 or 2 shots back at them. Also if you time it properly you can reflect some major projectiles back at somebody. For example bladetrail, you can easily time your block to reflect telegraphed projectiles like that. Also, it serves another purpose. Missile Deflection blocks and reflects ALL projectiles for the duration of riposte. Where as if you don’t have the trait it only blocks one attack (whether it is a projectile or not). So it serves a defensive purpose as well.

However Dogged March is a great alternative as well and may serve better in certain situations.

Alright, this build is already better then what you posted first. Happens.

Building Momentum is great, and the 5% extra damage with your OH sword is decent, no comments.

However, about the sword block, let me inform you that it blocks all missiles regardless if you take missile deflection. In that way, it functions exactly the same as the shield 5 skill, for instance. Only if a non-missile attack (like a melee attack, or a GS auto from mesmer) hits you will you stop blocking.
So don’t think grabbing missile deflection will guarantee the blocks (or in this case the reflects) with sword 5, that block is already guaranteed. Therefore, Missile reflection only gives you that 1 or 2 reflected attack, definitely not worth it on a build with just 1 block, IMO.

killahmayne.9518:

I like the Power to Vitality conversion because it synergizes with the high power this build has. It gives me around 1.7K extra HP, which is an extra 170 stat points basically. Short Temper also looks like it could be very useful, I actually never really considered that. Warriors and Guardians would be the main classes that would proc this trait.

Mesmers may proc it (though very limited), Engineers may proc it if that one block skill and maybe a random aegis buff. Necros don’t have any blocks, thieves don’t, most rangers don’t and most elementalists don’t carry blocks either. So I feel like outside Warriors and Guardians the trait is limited, where as 1.7K HP would help in any situation.

Normally, I would agree and say 170 stat points is a lot. I mean, that’s why I often use Dolyak Signet instead of balanced stance. But, the more of that stat you have, the less useful it becomes. It is exactly this reason that I find vitality to be an absolute waste of stat points, other then rolling a zergling. ~22k HP (with buffs) is something a lot of other classes can only dream off, and we reach that with 0 stat points invested.

Now, were there no viable alternative, you would still be right in taking it. But Short temper, especially with longbow or hammer, is just so incredibly good, it’s one of the best minor traits in the game.
I may agree with you that in a 1v1 situation against non-blocking classes, which you adequatly mentioned, the trait does little to support you. However, in any given 1v2 where one of your opponents is a guardian (omg these guys block half your attacks), warrior, engineer or mesmer you will gain a lot of burst potential. Now imagine fighting two of these classes.
Also, PU mesmer and condi engineer are two difficult fights for a warrior. PU gets a lot of aegis (hello short temper), whereas you can go all out on the engineer when he uses his 3 second block skill. This trait gets you 3 stacks per attack blocked, no CD. You can reach 9-15 stacks easily, albeit for a short time (a bit longer with Hoelbrak). Your build benefits from might even more, due to all the conditions you apply.

killahmayne.9518:

I have thought about putting 30 into discipline, but I just can’t forgo Building Momentum whatsoever from the Strength tree. I could remove 10 points from defense but then I lose a substantial amount of power as well as retaliation for a minimal increase in burst damage and reduced cost of burst skills which I feel really isn’t needed.

So don’t do it. If you get used to a certain playstyle and like it, by all means, don’t change it up. Your video shows you’re skilled with this build, and building momentum is awesome.
I will however say Spiked armor is rather mediocre for a grandmaster trait if you don’t have added boon duration. There is a lot of synergy with your build, as you have a lot of low damage sources (which, added up, are great sustained DPS).

Still, the condi+ food offers too little on this build to justify not taking condi- food.

My two cents.

The video is not available to watch on mobile :’(

Nice vid. Been messing around with a similar build. I kinda fell into it because I wanted to try LB/SS, but didn’t have any dire gear.

One thing: today’s patch reduced retaliation damage in WvW to match s/tPvP, so even if you like Spiked Armor before, you’ve got to like it a little less…

Just hit it’s me this build is basically the sword variation of the axe+sword/LG which is kinda popular at pvp atm.
It zerker amy + lyssa but trait are 15/0/25/0/30.
So it burst mastery, as you burst more often with the axe, vs retaliation and off hand dmg…

matthen.5024:

Nice vid. Been messing around with a similar build. I kinda fell into it because I wanted to try LB/SS, but didn’t have any dire gear.

One thing: today’s patch reduced retaliation damage in WvW to match s/tPvP, so even if you like Spiked Armor before, you’ve got to like it a little less…

I seen this message too but cannot find a place where it says whats the different formula of retaliation in PVP vs PVE, can you link to some place it’s written in?

Hi,

Thank you for sharing the build, I’d never considered playing SS/LB in a power build, and I see it can be quite effective! Congratulations on the video.

killahmayne.9518:

Missile Deflection I feel has its uses. It can take a second for the person to stop auto-attacking and by then they will have reflected 1 or 2 shots back at them. Also if you time it properly you can reflect some major projectiles back at somebody. For example bladetrail, you can easily time your block to reflect telegraphed projectiles like that.

I also like playing with Missile Deflection myself, although I’d agree that the trait becomes interesting when you have more than one block.

As a matter of fact, I recently had one of my most bizarre duel victory thanks to it. I was running a condition / confusion build (S/Sh LB, with Perplexity runes and Distracting Strikes), and was approaching a ranger, to enter a melee fight. He kept throwing arrows at me, and I expected he’d bump me as I were getting too close, so I put the shield block on. At this moment, not surprisingly, he activated his Point Blank Shot, which I happily reflected… So far, so good! What I didn’t expect (and him neither I guess) what that his autottack triggered right after, and that he got himself interrupted (though not bumped back), receiving 9 beautiful stacks of confusion, with an incoming small Asura warrior eager to bleed him out

Eiland.1405:

I seen this message too but cannot find a place where it says whats the different formula of retaliation in PVP vs PVE, can you link to some place it’s written in?

I looked around online, but I can’t find an authoritative link. Most of the random stuff I read was a 33% reduction in damage. I am pretty sure I saw my retal damage go from approx 400 to around 270… so that seems about right.

I got inspired by this build a couple days ago and wanted to give my own try to an alternative set that consentrates around power sword.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIEQRAse5cjcOFvBPuQMxBEMDNsKuMSipQpwO2QA-jkCBYLDimoAg8GmEBkQAK5pIasVQFRjVxATfiIq2boIa1SBwkyI-w

This is the by product. I don’t see that much mace in WvW so I just wanted to include it in the build and the #2 counter-attack just does really nice damage when it lands.

The Mace+sword combo is really nice to play around, two blocks, some condition and nice direct damage. Even though you need to kind of a lure the burst stun to get a clean hit it’s still worth it when it lands. Just swap to your other set after wards and check those bleeds stack and that huge damage it does in a no time :P

It’s fun to play when roaming and is more of a 1v1 weapon set, but some changes are fun every now and then.

Thanks for the inspiration OP

I should have read through the thread. lol I just posted this build on the youtube page. With Sword/Shield I love this break down. !0% more damage and 10% more crit? Yes, please.

Warlord.9074:

Right I agree with the suggestions about Hoelbrak runes. And missile deflection isn’t that good. Great fortitude is ok. But you would be better off with Blade master 10% crit chance with swords. Spiked armor retal is not a good trait. And like I suggested in the other thread your build is better off with 25 in arms for 10% damage vs bleeding foes.

And also Like i said in your other thread you condition damage is no more than what your traits give. Just becasue you have weapons that deal conditions your build is not a condition build so +40 condition duration food is useless to you.

So there for also Poisen on swap is useless to use as well since not only is your condition damage low but that is not enough poison to serve a purpose at reducing somones regen. And like I said the bleeding damage on swap is useless also.

Boom your build is 10x better.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAT8cjkOBvtQGPMxBEMDNsKuMoipQpwO2QA-jECBofCyEBBmKAKzsIasVQFRjVbDT5aR1qYASBskwI-w

sorry haven’t been able to respond to you guys, have been busy with work and other such things.

But anyways, thanks for the responses you guys

After some more testing, while reflect missiles is definitely useful in many situations and I still stand by it (don’t know how many times I’ve reflected skills like pindown, point-blank shot and other such skills). Dogged March applies to all situations plus gives you a small regen, so I am starting to use it a bit more. I am also trying out different traits like Defy Pain and Last Stand (both can be very good IMO in different situations). Defy Pain obviously better when outnumbered, Last stand to mitigate the first wave of CC and gain the upperhand. There are just a lot of good choices in Defense it is hard to decide which to choose.

I’ve also tried Shield instead of offhand sword. It definitely has its advantages in certain situations (more toughness, 1 sec stun, 3 second full block). Offhand sword however I find better against classes like Thieves and Mesmers because of their ability to evade a lot of attacks. If you can apply torment and bleeds on them you can still force them to blow cooldowns and pressure them even when you aren’t hitting them.

Spiked Armor, Shield Mastery, Dogged March, Reflect Missiles, Defy Pain, Last Stand, all great choices but I can only choose 2/6.