Guild Wars 2

I skipped the leveling process and was just looking for some advice. I suppose the first thing I want to do is unlock my elite spec, but what would be fun/effective for solo open world HoT?

I was thinking berserker gear, greatsword, and…I don’t know. Is it a good idea to have a ranged weapon set? Or if you’re frequently swapping is it better to go with all melee?

Utilities? How much stability and/or stun breaks do you typically run with?

Traits? Defense looks solid. Strength packs on the damage boosters, especially if I take greatsword. And discipline? How much should I be traiting/using the burst skills? Is quick-swapping weapons and using bursts the way to go? Or…?

Just trying to get an idea of what works well in open world HoT so I can have some fun learning this class against some tougher enemies while I unlock my elite spec.

If it is your first time playing through HoT, I’d suggest to run around with a very standard power build, then swap out weapons as you pick them up to see how you like the feel of it. This works with most weapons except Longbow (as longbow is primarily a condi weapons) but it can work with longbow as well if you remember that firing Arcing shot into the ground in melee creates a massive direct damage explosion. I suggest power because it is easy, but an even cheaper option is to run Power/Precision/Condition damage a stats, as they are very cheep to buy on trading post. Then just Run Longbow and call it a day.

If this is not your first time running HoT, then i’d just jump into EoTM and follow a zerg, his will get you proofs of heroics and you can trade them for noterized proofs of maguuma heroics

Learn to play base warrior 1st and get good at that, then learn berserker. Otherwise you be be trash like all the other new warriors.

Thanks, guys. Ended up going with a power greatsword/rifle build with defense/discipline/strength. So far, it’s been an effective combination and greatsword is pretty fun to use, although somewhat on the slow side with so much damage behind GS 2.

It’s unfortunate that the ability locks you in place. I would prefer a design that allows movement. Perhaps with the same overall damage, but less damage per hit, loaded back into the final hit if you land all of them.

So far my weaknesses seem to be heavy projectile damage and I’m not doing as well as I’d like with breakbars. Damage could be better, but my frame of reference is thief, so that may be an unreasonable expectation.

All in all, though it seems effective. I’m having no trouble battling through the jungle. I’m even able to solo many of the champion hero challenges. So no complaints there!

Any recommendations for other builds? What about once I finish unlocking the elite spec?

If you want to mess with Break Bars go with Greatsword and Mace/Shield or maybe even Mace/Mace?

Use your Break Bar abilities and swap back to Greatsword, then back to use Break Bar abilities etc.

One of the best Break Bar abilities you can get is the Elite Head Butt in Berzerker.

I save the Rifle for Boss Fight/Encounters where I know I will die in Melee.