Guild Wars 2

I’m starting to craft a set of Ascended armor for my warrior soon. My question is, should I still go for a PVT set in order to be able to fill a few different roles in PvE and PvP?

Because there is no chance in hell I’m going to grind more than one set.

If you had to choose just one set of armor for your warrior and stick with that for life, what would it be?

Q: “If you had to choose just one set of armor for your warrior and stick with that for life, what would it be?”

A: Full zerk.

I would pick knights but all depends on your playstlye

Don’t get one set for everything. Get one Asc. set for the thing you like the most and get exotics for everything else.

In PvE for example, I would rather use exotic Zerk than ascended PVT.

Well obviously I do have several exotic sets. One zerker for dungeon speedruns, for example.

I think I’ll still go PVT on the ascended, because I’m getting it mainly for WvW.

Get Knight’s. With Knight’s trinkets you’ll be tanky enough for most zones, with zerker trinkets you’ll deal enough dps to be alright.

Tom Gore.4035:

Well obviously I do have several exotic sets. One zerker for dungeon speedruns, for example.

I think I’ll still go PVT on the ascended, because I’m getting it mainly for WvW.

PVT is only so-so for zerging. I agree, Knights is better, but I’d go full zerk always.

How do you survive in full zerker when you fight in ZvZ?

Knight it is, then. I’d like to be able to survive a few moments in the frontline, too.

Zerkers = PVE and small group/solo roam WvW
PVT = WvW Front of Zerg Hammer builds Soldiers/Zerker mix. (usually Soldiers armour, Zerker’s trinkets)

You might get buy with Zerker’s armour and then having different sets of Jewelry & Weapons.

Get a Zerker set for PvE and a PVT/Knights set for WvW. There’s no grind involved, everybody, especially WvW players, have stacks upon stacks of all the Dust/Fragments/Ore. You can just buy the Ingots and Bolts.

I don’t see the issue, gimping yourself to find a middle ground is dumb.

Knight armour + full berserk trinkets and weapons.
If you need more toughness then just exchange the 2 rings for cavaliers.
You’re done.

a t s e.9614:

PVT isint viable anywhere … It has a worthless stat which is vitality and it lacks the second most important stat which is crit dmg. Stacking armour isint good because it becomes weak after 2800 which is 33% dmg reduction. So if you want the best offense while being fairly tanky you can either go
1) full zerk gear + cavalier trinckets
2) knight gear + zerk trinckets

Don’t forget to be well protected from condis with melandru or Lyssa runes . If you’re using a stun based build you can ’’cheat’’ your stats by replacing the useless precision with crit dmg or toughness because of unspec foes that gives you 50% crit .

Hi I’m vitality and I’m the indirect counter to condition builds. Hi I’m condition removal with vitality and were here to tell you that CONDITION METAS ARE LAUGHABLE.

Sincerely vitality and condition removal.

If you think vitality is a worthless stat in pvp I’ve got some bad news for you. No matter the awful form of pvp you’re playing vitality isn’t meaningless or useless.

For WvW at least, I can’t count the number of times I’ve rolled out of an enemy zerg with 3-4k hp left, and survive the entirety of the fight. While you don’t need to go full PVT, vitality is a very good buffer for warriors in addition to toughness, when you consider the warrior role of frontline worker and the kitten you will have to deal with when facing large groups.

For smaller groups, you can probably get away with little vitality.

In wvw you have applied fortitude, 70 vitality from lemongrass, the ruins bonus and the wvw health bonus.

How much health do you really need?

Wait to see the % critical damage nerf before craft anything. Otherwise, Celestial armor + full zerker trinkets are better choices than PVT or Knight. For weapons either zerk, valkirie or celestial based on your class (assuming we are talking for raids, in roaming condition can be better for some classes but condi works bad in dungeons).

Tom Gore.4035:

How do you survive in full zerker when you fight in ZvZ?

Knight it is, then. I’d like to be able to survive a few moments in the frontline, too.

The simple reason to make zerk ascended gear is because zerk is the most useful in most gameplay modes. Crafting a full ascended set costs somewhere between 250-300g, and that is a very careful estimate (I never calculated because I had a lot of mats). The silk/linen alone is a lot of gold. Going through all that just for a set that is slightly better in zergVzerg is a complete waste IMO. Also, with more skill, the need for more defensive stats declines.

Also, somebody here said WvW players have lots of ore/dust/fragments. That is not true at all. Dust and ore come in very low quantities in WvW. The only thing you will have stacks of, are empyreal fragments. You will need to grind PvE for ore and dust.

I fully agree with a t s e, vitality is a waste on anything other then a meat shield. And even then, warriors get ~22k HP with buffs and 0 vit. It really only has some use in zergvzerg because you get healed by your group, which makes you more burst resistant.

Mix of zerker + pvt > knights

K U T M.4539:

Mix of zerker + pvt > knights

I agree.

Hammer warriors in zergs aren’t there for their ‘damage’ or ‘crit’, they are there for their CC and Condi removal. PVT + Zerkers.

Ascended armour is designed for fractals. So you should get full zerker ascended for pve and then other exotic sets for wvw etc. There is no need for ascended in wvw.

Oh this discussion was about zergs? Then I’m out . Clerics is way to go no doubt .

Buran.3796:

Wait to see the % critical damage nerf before craft anything. Otherwise, Celestial armor + full zerker trinkets are better choices than PVT or Knight. For weapons either zerk, valkirie or celestial based on your class (assuming we are talking for raids, in roaming condition can be better for some classes but condi works bad in dungeons).

there is NEVER EVER EVER a reason for a warrior to be in celestial gear. EVER

There’s so many of these “experts” that tell us something is not viable, when many of us are using it effectively.

“NUP DOESN’T WORK, MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY!”

Where did all this come from?

How does PvT works for you explain to me ? You are 20% more tanky than a balanced build but deal 100% less damage . It must be fun to hit for 700 and still take a 10k backstab in the face .

PVT warriors are a free kill unless they are stun lock but even then the burst isint high enough to finish somebody . Not claiming to be an expert but I’ve tested so many things with my warrior already . I’ve noticed that in spvp I had more survivability with zerker amulet than a soldier amulet . Since I could eliminate enemies faster that they would not even have time to attack me . In wvw I found that with ~2800 armor I was tanky enough to get that 33% reduction to not get one shottedby thieves.

You realize that most of the defense comes from traits and utilities ? Cleansing ire alone is better than having 30k hp to deal with condis . Endure pain is better than 4k armor to survive a thief’s burst . Etc...

The only dangerous tanks in the game are condi tanks . Since they have tank stats + damage at the same time . A power tank is a punching bag , you damage him but he does nothing to you .

a t s e.9614:

How does PvT works for you explain to me ? You are 20% more tanky than a balanced build but deal 100% less damage . It must be fun to hit for 700 and still take a 10k backstab in the face .

PVT warriors are a free kill unless they are stun lock but even then the burst isint high enough to finish somebody . Not claiming to be an expert but I’ve tested so many things with my warrior already . I’ve noticed that in spvp I had more survivability with zerker amulet than a soldier amulet . Since I could eliminate enemies faster that they would not even have time to attack me . In wvw I found that with ~2800 armor I was tanky enough to get that 33% reduction to not get one shottedby thieves.

You realize that most of the defense comes from traits and utilities ? Cleansing ire alone is better than having 30k hp to deal with condis . Endure pain is better than 4k armor to survive a thief’s burst . Etc…

The only dangerous tanks in the game are condi tanks . Since they have tank stats + damage at the same time . A power tank is a punching bag , you damage him but he does nothing to you .

There is no one size fits all approach, different players have different roles.

Not everyone wants to be as 1337 as you.

You do realize that winning sPvP is not about scoring max kills right?

hellsmachine.4085:

There is no one size fits all approach, different players have different roles.

Not everyone wants to be as 1337 as you.

You do realize that winning sPvP is not about scoring max kills right?

He plays for max kills, different players have different roles. Gosh.

KarlusDavius.1024:

OP asked about WvW

He asked about everything BUT WvW.

Flissy.4093:

KarlusDavius.1024:

OP asked about WvW

He asked about everything BUT WvW.

ROFL!!! Someone needs to get their specs checked… thumbs up

KarlusDavius.1024:

OP asked about WvW, so take your elitist spvp attitudes somewhere else.
PVT is still go to for front line hitters. You will be using pots that give % damage based on vitality and toughness so it’s a direct damage increase to use PVT.

Knights doesn’t give a massive boost in damage, only the chance to deal extra damage. Even then, if you have no critical damage, then knights means bugger all.

PVT armour is go to for front hitters. Combine that with berserker trinkets and you will have a very good mix of survivability and damage. I still hit like a truck in my shout build and always survive big hits. If it’s WvW you do, PVT is your choice.

Even for WvW. Some players want to be as tanky as possible. We want to be the last man standing so we can rez our fallen comrades. It’s working fine for me.

And OP didn’t specify much at all.

OP can you be more specific?

Tom Gore.4035:

Well obviously I do have several exotic sets. One zerker for dungeon speedruns, for example.

I think I’ll still go PVT on the ascended, because I’m getting it mainly for WvW.

And as for PvE, I don’t venture PvE much, though I have run Frac 9 with full PVT and we cleared it fine. Though it would have been faster if I didn’t have to stop to rez my fallen team mates that kept dying in their “Only viable zerk gear”

KarlusDavius.1024:

Tom Gore.4035:

Well obviously I do have several exotic sets. One zerker for dungeon speedruns, for example.

I think I’ll still go PVT on the ascended, because I’m getting it mainly for WvW.

Very well, I find PVT to be very much “Jack of all trades” master of none.

Damage isn’t nearly as bad as they make it out to be as long as you keep “Fury” and “Weakness” up. (I use Axe/Mace Evis crit for up to 7k , more often I crit 4-5k)

PvP wise I win the majority of 1v1. When I can’t win I simply walk away.

My Charr is one tough beast to kill. (usually takes 3 enemies to actually down me)

And best of all, we won’t be hit that hard with the upcoming nerf to crit.

Hope this helps.

Shouts? Who mentioned shouts? Try Axe 2 mace 4 = 8 stacks of weakness. . I’m going to stop replying now, because I don’think you really know what you’re talking about. No offense.

Ok, here we go.

1. Source that says armor over 2,800 scales poorly?
2. PVT armour gives me 3,150. Dolyak signet gives extra. More on this later
3. Yes 20k HP in WvW is not enough. If your roaming it’s different, I am assuming of course that the OP won’t be roaming.
4.. Claiming that you giggle at my damage, yet you think a shout build takes 3 shouts is hilarious. Well known that FGJ and SIO are the two you take, followed by a stability source. GG.
5. You are amazing to think that you loose little to none survivability in zerk gear. Roaming I would agree, however again, I’m assuming it’s not for roaming.
6. You can get very high damage whilst still in PVT gear. Again, pots give damage increases based on % of toughness and vitality. So you get the best of a balanced world.

So much of your statement is based on misinformation. I have both ascended Beserker and PVT sets. My survivability goes so much higher in PVT with any build, which is used for group warfare. Yet if I roam, beserker is most certainly the way to go. Armour actually has little effect on most builds, it’s your trinkets that are key to a builds success.

KarlusDavius.1024:

Ok, here we go.

1. Source that says armor over 2,800 scales poorly?
2. PVT armour gives me 3,150. Dolyak signet gives extra. More on this later
3. Yes 20k HP in WvW is not enough. If your roaming it’s different, I am assuming of course that the OP won’t be roaming.
4.. Claiming that you giggle at my damage, yet you think a shout build takes 3 shouts is hilarious. Well known that FGJ and SIO are the two you take, followed by a stability source. GG.
5. You are amazing to think that you loose little to none survivability in zerk gear. Roaming I would agree, however again, I’m assuming it’s not for roaming.
6. You can get very high damage whilst still in PVT gear. Again, pots give damage increases based on % of toughness and vitality. So you get the best of a balanced world.

So much of your statement is based on misinformation. I have both ascended Beserker and PVT sets. My survivability goes so much higher in PVT with any build, which is used for group warfare. Yet if I roam, beserker is most certainly the way to go. Armour actually has little effect on most builds, it’s your trinkets that are key to a builds success.

I wouldn’t get too worked up about it if I were you. His statements hold very little weight.

hellsmachine.4085:

Shouts? Who mentioned shouts? Try Axe 2 mace 4 = 8 stacks of weakness. . I’m going to stop replying now, because I don’think you really know what you’re talking about. No offense.

Low damage multiplied by 1.08 is still low damage. Also, the condition is called “vulnerability”

voidwater.2064:

hellsmachine.4085:

Shouts? Who mentioned shouts? Try Axe 2 mace 4 = 8 stacks of weakness. . I’m going to stop replying now, because I don’think you really know what you’re talking about. No offense.

Low damage multiplied by 1.08 is still low damage. Also, the condition is called “vulnerability”

I never claimed it was high damage, I said “Jack of all trades” master of none.

Thanks for the lesson but I really don’t care what it’s called.

a t s e.9614:

Do you really think I have time to argue with somebody who is using a shout build ..

You kind of answered your own question there…

a t s e.9614:

Do you really think I have time to argue with somebody who is using a shout build .. Just saying that you’re using shouts takes away all your credibility in terms of efficiency .

Depends on what you are doing. PVT Soldier Runes Hammer Shout build is still most efficient build for GvG. Many top guilds will kick you if you aren’t using it and full PVT without traits or runes is 2800 Armor.

Julie Yann.5379:

a t s e.9614:

Do you really think I have time to argue with somebody who is using a shout build .. Just saying that you’re using shouts takes away all your credibility in terms of efficiency .

Depends on what you are doing.

This is the key phrase here. Not everyone has the same goals. There is no one build to rule them all. Everyone plays differently. I like to focus on support, when you’re down in WvW, I’m the guy rezzing you whilst taking hits from multiple enemies. Whilst you might be busy in sPvP chasing that thief that got away, I’m busy capping the orb.

My build works for me, your build works for you.

Ranting and raving and trying to convince people your build is the one true build and any slight deviation will result in failure, is pointless.

I don’t mean you as in you Julie Yann, I mean people in general.

You guys can stick to your meta, which inevitably gets nerfed and I’ll stick to doing what I do best. Winning as a team.

Infact OP, just try out different stats in sPvP and decide for yourself. I’ve tried them all and PVT works best for me and my goals. What works for someone else may not work for you.

Well okay, play how you want and waste your stats. I never said ‘’x’ build is better than ’’x’’ build but I know for sure that some stat combinations are far Superior , also for the traits.

Wasting 30 pts in tactics, 2 utlities, 6 runes for absolutly nothing. Cleasing ire removes 3 condis every 8 sec. a shout build removes 2 condis every 20 sec. Simple maths we dont even need to discuss , its a fact. .

a t s e.9614:

Well okay, play how you want and waste your stats. I never said ‘’x’ build is better than ’’x’’ build but I know for sure that some stat combinations are far Superior , also for the traits.

Wasting 30 pts in tactics, 2 utlities, 6 runes for absolutly nothing. Cleasing ire removes 3 condis every 8 sec. a shout build removes 2 condis every 20 sec. Simple maths we dont even need to discuss , its a fact. .

PVT is part of some Bunker (mine anyway) builds so in a way yes you did say that x build is better than x build.

And ewww, that’s not my build at all. Mine is my own custom build. I don’t follow meta. That’s the point of GW2 set up anything can work, especially with warrior. Be creative and you might learn that yourself.

My custom build is effective in helping the team so therefore no points are wasted.

I don’t get why you guys just don’t invent your own build, be original, respecs are free, no need to copy/paste.

Why are people still stuck in WoW mentality? I had a commander issue me with an order… in a demanding way… (wanted me to log off so his guild could log on) Bahaha!!! I said “Or what, you’ll kick me from raid? Your powers don’t work here panda boy bahahaha!!”

Anyways I digress. I’m not saying you’re wrong, to be an efficient solo killer your build probably is more efficient.

EDIT: And I’m not saying you don’t contribute either, you’re role (DPS) is just as important as my roll (hybrid/bunker/tank/support). We all play our part. That’s why it’s called a “role playing game” after all. just because they’re not predetermined (trinity) doesn’t mean we don’t have roles.

a t s e.9614:

Alright, you guys want proof . I dont have the proof for the armor scaling but i have my stats. 2800 armor 3,8k attack , 50% crit chance , 111% crit dmg, 20k hp.

Note very important : 2800 armor = 33% dmg reduction
3500 armor > full PVT guy= 45% dmg reduction

Somebody in PVT and a shout build lose nearly 100% crit dmg and 40% crit chance and 2 good utitlies to gain only 12% more dmg reduction and 9k hp. Here’s the screenshot.

Proof of what? Proof of vitality being useless? I don’t think I see your logic…

Ascended gear major asset is Agony Resistance(AR). Where AR is paying no role (outside fractals) the benefit of ascended gear gives you about +5% stat boost compared to exotic one.

So, I would suggest crafting Ascended Gear according to your Fractal (and General PvE/Dung) needs and have another (probably exotic) set for WvW. The additional AR is of no use outside Fractals and that +5% will hardly mean any mentionable difference in WvW most of the time.

Flissy.4093:

KarlusDavius.1024:

OP asked about WvW

He asked about everything BUT WvW.

He refers to “PvE” and “PvP”, and many people consider WvW to be PvP (and rightly so). Had he said PvE and sPvP, you would be right.

Tom Gore.4035:

I’m starting to craft a set of Ascended armor for my warrior soon. My question is, should I still go for a PVT set in order to be able to fill a few different roles in PvE and PvP?

If you actually think, clearly he’s talking about WvW. He’s asking about ascended gear to be used in both “PvE” and “PvP”. How will he get ascended gear for sPVP?

I’ve seen some meme here where people loudly and proudly proclaim how “WvW is not PvP! It’s PvE!”.

I think it’s terrible, any mode where gameplay centers around direct combat with other humans is clearly PvP. Doesn’t matter how Anet may have referred to it.

As for the OP’s question, I made a full zerk ascended set for my warrior and that’s what use for everything.

If you don’t know what stats you want yet, I would recommend trying out various exotic sets while playing the roles you’re interested in before going for ascended. Go for as much DPS as you’re comfortable playing with, your role will be mainly determined by your traits/skills, the gear just changes how tanky/dps you are.

I’ve always said my POV was on WvW group setups. Not my problem he didn’t read the full extent of the reply. OP asked about ascended ARMOUR. Not full armour. So again he failed to read what’s actually been posted in replies and original thread. Spvp doesn’t matter as ascended can’t be used. So actually he is arguing over nothing.

Again, PVT is brilliant for most things. It’s trinkets that define a builds damage or otherwise.

It could be argued that the more you rely on raw damage the more you are affected by condi’s like weakness and cripple, especially if you have no ranged weapons.
Pen/Paper stat-ing does show big numbers, but it still has to be taken into account that once in a while someone will pop up that doesn’t just run around in circles, use 3 skills and then die. Raw damage would destroy someone doing that for sure.

I think that is where the miss-conception about armor sets comes up. Anything would kill someone who wastes their dodges inappropriately, even this pre-historic shout build I never see any warrior running anymore, which by the way I am aware of how awesome full on support warriors are. The OP already said what gear he has chosen, but I cringe when I see pen-paper stat-ing as validation that a certain gear set is better than another. Edit: * I should rephrase that I cringe even more at the fact that this guy was asking for advice on gear, and then his thread turns into an argument full of bashing when he simply wanted to see what people thought about various armors. I enjoy absorbing different ideas that everyone throws around in these threads because it helps me become better at the profession. The negativity is seriously off-putting when it comes up though. Sheesh.

Voidwater no, you’re wrong. The name of the ability is irrelevant, sure I could google every skill name in the game, before I post it, but I assume people are smart enough to decipher what I’m talking about. Good to see you are smart enough. Comparing what I said to “Vitality is a useless stat” is, um, just, /facepalm.

He keeps trying to convince me that with my stats, I’m a free kill for the enemy when the truth is I hardly ever die.

And second, I found PVT to be more successful than any other set it worked in every situation I threw at it. Jack of all trades means it works anywhere, note how I said master of none.

And finally I do respect the math but, just because something looks best on paper, doesn’t mean it works best in practice. The math doesn’t take into account individual variables, like lag, individual skill, individual playstyle, what classes the player is teamed up with etc etc. There’s just too many variables in this game for only damage to be the deciding factor.

For example: I play from Aus, so there is a half second delay from the time I push a button to the time it takes action on the server side. So in my situation defensive build helps a lot more than offensive one as it is more forgiving. Or another example is individual player skill, what’s the point in giving the player the best damage numbers if the player doesn’t have enough skill to stay alive to make use of that damage. This isn’t WoW where only numbers matter. The majority of players lack the twitch reflexes required to be the best killers.

I’ve tried many many meta builds and none of them worked for me because of individual variables. I found I was having more success in actually winning 1v1 in PVT and a build that I came up with. For me defensive is better than offensive.

And if you could have a rebuttal without using insults that would be great.

EDIT: I noticed you said you’re full zerker. Full zerker is by far the easiest for me to kill more than any other combination.

Like said figures =/= actual outcome

Zagerus.8675:

It could be argued that the more you rely on raw damage the more you are affected by condi’s like weakness and cripple, especially if you have no ranged weapons.
Pen/Paper stat-ing does show big numbers, but it still has to be taken into account that once in a while someone will pop up that doesn’t just run around in circles, use 3 skills and then die. Raw damage would destroy someone doing that for sure.

I think that is where the miss-conception about armor sets comes up. Anything would kill someone who wastes their dodges inappropriately, even this pre-historic shout build I never see any warrior running anymore, which by the way I am aware of how awesome full on support warriors are. The OP already said what gear he has chosen, but I cringe when I see pen-paper stat-ing as validation that a certain gear set is better than another. Edit: * I should rephrase that I cringe even more at the fact that this guy was asking for advice on gear, and then his thread turns into an argument full of bashing when he simply wanted to see what people thought about various armors. I enjoy absorbing different ideas that everyone throws around in these threads because it helps me become better at the profession. The negativity is seriously off-putting when it comes up though. Sheesh.

I agree with what this guys says.

This general discussion is meaningless if you don’t know how to play.

Bad warriors that go full zerk are free bags in wvw.

If you are a great player you should not be using PVT unless all you do is soak up damage in the front line of a zerg.

Start off with PVT and as you get better as a player start removing the PVTand replacing it with zerker. If you want to remain tanky add some cavaliers or knights.

Moral of the story here is a lot of people like to shoot their mouths off about how great they are and how they never die, and about how the y kill anyone 1v1 etc. Well if you are that good you don’t need to be running in full pvt. ANd If you are running full PVT I call BS because your not killing anyone then.