Guild Wars 2

(I am copy/pasting this from another thread because I not only wrote a lot more than I thought I did, but I’ve seen more and more interest in Axe + GS builds so I though I would make it its own post)

All I run now is Axe/GS these days. My version of the build is still highly experimental so I’m messing around with it a lot.

I call it, The Bunker Buster

You’ll notice some really strange decisions right off the bat. Most noticeable is the lack of Balanced Stance and the use of Frenzy, Last Stand, and Defiant Stance. The whole build is centered around doing one big burst every minute or so. The combo is just like at launch but slightly different:

Start off in Berserker Stance -> Bull’s Charge -> 100b -> then depending on the situation you either Whirlwind attack or or swap to Axe/Shield AS THEY ARE STANDING UP -> followed by Eviscerate

It’s supposed to be used on a target with is either light on stun breaks or ideally on a target that isn’t focused on you. It’s called the Bunker Buster because if you are coordinated it’s possible to very quicky dispatch a Bunker Guardian or tough targets like MMs and Engis. If I’m going mid I always take the long way and show up to the party a bit late, then pick my victim and annihilate them in a few short seconds. Some don’t survive past 100b and you can swap targets and use the 100% crit chance Evis on someone coming to revive them. The use of Defiant Stance is going to all depend on the situation. Sometimes I just use it just as I do the burst because you’ll be immune to conditions, Last Stand will hopefully cover CC, and you’ll be healing for more because of Frenzy. There’s also plenty of damaging dodge rolls to be had with all the Vigor and Sigil of Energy.

Now for the glaring weaknesses. No CI, no Balanced Stance. After your burst is done you should probably high-tail it out of there unless the battle was won. Go support someone else or rush to an open node. Your speed is your sustain. Sigil of Generosity is nice for some light condi mitigation when Zerker Stance is down, but never, EVER fight a condi user without your combo being ready. Don’t open up with it, see if you can bait out dodges and maybe a stun breaker/Stability with Shield Bash. Another potential weakness, lags effect on Bull’s Charge. Sometimes the skill will totally miss or send you flying past while still knocking them down. That’s typically when you Whirlwind Attack back and go for the Evis then bug out. When it works though, it’s totally devastating. I have poor internet so it affects me more than most. You also have only 8 second of Stability every 90 seconds. I couldn’t find any better way to deal with this. if you want to spike you NEED Frenzy and you NEED Zerker Stance and you NEED Bull’s Charge. Remove any of those and the spike doesn’t work in many situations. With good teamwork though, your Guardian can give you some when you go in and problem solved. Defiant Stance really needs to be an instant cast though, it’s so reliant on timing and that 1/4th second can totally screw you over, but it can also make you unkillable while in the middle of a hectic fight over mid because the second they see you healing they stop attacking but almost always too late.

Basically, you go in, kill one or more targets, then move on and make yourself useful somewhere else. I’ve actually won 2v1s because if you quickly down one target then cleave with 100b while their teammate tries to revive you can actually outdamage the revive long enough to down them as well.

Traits I’m still messing around with include the Adept Strength trait, Dogged March vs Shield Master (is more frequent Shield Stances worth losing reduced soft cc duration and regen?), and DotE vs Sharpened Axes (is adren on crit, thus getting you back to 15% more damage faster worth giving up the extra dmg on bunker Guardians?).

I don’t understand the godkitten point of “initiating” with the bulls charge HB combo. Like seriously initiate that when people have Aegis, stability prior, and etc?

It’s better to use it as a finisher when they don’t have anymore stun breaks to be honest. But w/e, this build’s still out-dated crap I guess.

Amir.1570:

I don’t understand the godkitten point of “initiating” with the bulls charge HB combo.

It’s better to use it as a finisher when they don’t have anymore stun breaks to be honest. But w/e, this build’s still out-dated crap I guess.

How else do you land 100b? With Zerker Stance you’ll have max adrenaline and will therefor be dealing 15% more damage. Using Evis first drains your adrenaline and as a result any followup attacks will hit for less. I messed around with the rotation and this appears to be the most damaging and more importantly consistent.

The build is no longer outdated because we’re seeing more and more bunker comps. The way to counter that is decap engi and high burst in a short period of time. This burst is so fast that by the time the person has time to react they’ve lost most of their health even if they are a bunker. Have the decap Engi bait out the stun break/stability and the Guard will be totally helpless to do anything and they’ll never get to pop their heal/elite.

I was hoping to see a slotted signet of str. For somereason I was thinking of unblockable CCs and evas idk why.

Warlord.9074:

I was hoping to see a slotted signet of str. For somereason I was thinking of unblockable CCs and evas idk why.

I’m assuming you mean Signet of Might? While it would be nice it’s not worth taking over Bull’s Charge. You need it as an initiator because chances are the enemy isn’t going to be polite enough to stand in your 100b. There’s also no getting rid of Frenzy or Zerker Stance because you’ll be either be left vulnerable to fear/blind or you’ll attack too slowly to deal the damage you need to kill a bunker.

I’ve been using Short Temper instead of Restorative Strength because if they do block chances are they just gave you 25 stacks of might and your Evis and follow up attacks are going to hit like a truck.

ya, I played warrior so long I just make up names for stuff lol. Like GS cool down reduce. I call it that instead of forceful GS sometimes since I have a bad memory.

Warlord.9074:

ya, I played warrior so long I just make up names for stuff lol. Like GS cool down reduce. I call it that instead of forceful GS sometimes since I have a bad memory.

I know that feeling. I keep build editor open now because I spend so much time “debating” angry Thieves (if you look most of them are) that will try to discredit you for the most petty slip-ups and I want to make sure what I say is as correct as possible. Of course, I consistently say Berserker’s Stance or Zerker’s Stancewhen it’s actually just Berserker and Zerker.

I’ve started ignoring certain players, some will totally ignore the meat of your posts and pick at anything that can distract from your point.

You know I may give your build a shot just becasue its different. The 1st build that I’ve seen using traited stances for vigor in a long time. I may swap out the battle sigl for the other sigil of conditional removal. I forget what its called so I have generosity on one and the other on the other one. Purity.

Warlord.9074:

You know I may give your build a shot just becasue its different. The 1st build that I’ve seen using traited stances for vigor in a long time. I may swap out the battle sigl for the other sigil of conditional removal. I forget what its called so I have generosity on one and the other on the other one. Purity.

Yah that will certainly help with conditions in a longer fight but tbh if the fight lasts much longer than those 8 seconds from Zerker Stance it probably won’t make a difference. Of course with proper uses of all the evades you get from the Vigor you have, the Evade on Whirlwind Attack, and Shield Stance you can still stay in the fight. You’re basically a Thief but deal more damage in the short term but without the ability to stealth away if you mess up.

August 2012 called and wants it’s “op” tactic back.

But yeah, with the new influx of “PvP” players in the field, there are bound to be many who still fall to the good ol’ Bull Rush + Frenzy + 100b combo.

Me, I slot a stun breaker.

Tom Gore.4035:

August 2012 called and wants it’s “op” tactic back.

But yeah, with the new influx of “PvP” players in the field, there are bound to be many who still fall to the good ol’ Bull Rush + Frenzy + 100b combo.

Me, I slot a stun breaker.

My team slots control and boon stripping.

Also, the idea is similar to launch but half the things in this build were drastically different then.

BurrTheKing.8571:

Tom Gore.4035:

August 2012 called and wants it’s “op” tactic back.

But yeah, with the new influx of “PvP” players in the field, there are bound to be many who still fall to the good ol’ Bull Rush + Frenzy + 100b combo.

Me, I slot a stun breaker.

My team slots control and boon stripping.

Also, the idea is similar to launch but half the things in this build were drastically different then.

That’s true. I still think it’s a one trick pony that has too large risk of failing to land. Obviously if you have the luxury of pulling this off to an opponent that has already spent their stunbreakers against a teammate it might be solid, so yeah in a 2v1 bunker busting situation it could work.

A bunker that won’t counter your long CD combo with stability/invuln? Please.

Your lacking stability and even a stun break (last stand doesn’t count, a 20 point investment on a 90 second CD you can’t even control). Using Berserker Stance for Adrenaline is a horrendous idea, given that most bunkers are condi at this point, they will just outlive your burst with stability/stunbreak/invuln, then tear you a new one while your stance is on CD.

Defiant stance is pathetic, btw, it will only help you against bads that you could have beat without using a single utility/heal anyway.

Flissy.4093:

A bunker that won’t counter your long CD combo with stability/invuln? Please.

Your lacking stability and even a stun break (last stand doesn’t count, a 20 point investment on a 90 second CD you can’t even control). Using Berserker Stance for Adrenaline is a horrendous idea, given that most bunkers are condi at this point, they will just outlive your burst with stability/stunbreak/invuln, then tear you a new one while your stance is on CD.

Defiant stance is pathetic, btw, it will only help you against bads that you could have beat without using a single utility/heal anyway.

Just going to say that tonight I was pretty much MVP for every match I played…except 1 where it was 4v5 and everyone kinda gave up. Decap Engis were pretty kitten vulnerable to it because they have no invuln or stun breaks often times so if you pace it right they never get to heal.

Lol, it’s the Bull’s Charge, Frenzy, Hundred Blades combo. Fun stuff.

Neko.9021:

Lol, it’s the Bull’s Charge, Frenzy, Hundred Blades combo. Fun stuff.

But now with twice the sustain it had at launch!

did something similar yesterday.

but instead of frenzy i used Sigil of Rage on GS/Sw-Sh.

Tom Gore.4035:

August 2012 called and wants it’s “op” tactic back.

But yeah, with the new influx of “PvP” players in the field, there are bound to be many who still fall to the good ol’ Bull Rush + Frenzy + 100b combo.

Me, I slot a stun breaker.

Basically this. This was never viable to begin with, even back before the quickness nerf. All it did was waste someone’s stun breaker and then force the warrior to run or die. In any decent team it was just a poor man’s thief (“get them while they have everything down”). It hasn’t really gotten any better.

If your gimmick “wombo combo” fails, with both chars on their feet, you’re done. Game over. Ironically for a build called “bunker buster” it gets absolutely destroyed by bunkers. Face any condi build and you implode. This kind of build was left in 2012 for a reason.

E for effort I guess.

BurrTheKing.8571:

Flissy.4093:

A bunker that won’t counter your long CD combo with stability/invuln? Please.

Your lacking stability and even a stun break (last stand doesn’t count, a 20 point investment on a 90 second CD you can’t even control). Using Berserker Stance for Adrenaline is a horrendous idea, given that most bunkers are condi at this point, they will just outlive your burst with stability/stunbreak/invuln, then tear you a new one while your stance is on CD.

Defiant stance is pathetic, btw, it will only help you against bads that you could have beat without using a single utility/heal anyway.

Just going to say that tonight I was pretty much MVP for every match I played…except 1 where it was 4v5 and everyone kinda gave up. Decap Engis were pretty kitten vulnerable to it because they have no invuln or stun breaks often times so if you pace it right they never get to heal.

MvP means nothing. Points doesn’t mean you were the best. I could defend a point for the whole map and it never gets decapped, but get no more than 10 points in a map.

Decap engie is a weird one. Sure, they probably don’t have a stun break, but if you’re Brush is dodged you’re kittened too as they fling you about like a hooker.

ProxyDamage.9826:

This kind of build was left in 2012 for a reason.

Flissy.4093:

BurrTheKing.8571:

Flissy.4093:

A bunker that won’t counter your long CD combo with stability/invuln? Please.

Your lacking stability and even a stun break (last stand doesn’t count, a 20 point investment on a 90 second CD you can’t even control). Using Berserker Stance for Adrenaline is a horrendous idea, given that most bunkers are condi at this point, they will just outlive your burst with stability/stunbreak/invuln, then tear you a new one while your stance is on CD.

Defiant stance is pathetic, btw, it will only help you against bads that you could have beat without using a single utility/heal anyway.

Just going to say that tonight I was pretty much MVP for every match I played…except 1 where it was 4v5 and everyone kinda gave up. Decap Engis were pretty kitten vulnerable to it because they have no invuln or stun breaks often times so if you pace it right they never get to heal.

MvP means nothing. Points doesn’t mean you were the best. I could defend a point for the whole map and it never gets decapped, but get no more than 10 points in a map.

Decap engie is a weird one. Sure, they probably don’t have a stun break, but if you’re Brush is dodged you’re kittened too as they fling you about like a hooker.

ProxyDamage.9826:

This kind of build was left in 2012 for a reason.

I wasn’t talking points. I’m talking captures, saves, that kind of thing. My guild mate would run hammer, go attack mid bunker and make him use his stability and the like, then I come in from just capping another point and kill him in 4 seconds. Spirit Rangers don’t like it much either, since going stealth after the Bull’s does nothing since you don’t need the target anyways. Just wait for the heal when they get up and Shield Bash it.

Landing Bull’s is only hard for me at certain times and that’s purely due to my crap isp. Just wait for a dodge and time it so you land on them as soon as it ends. That’s all you gotta do for anything in this game. And even if you DO miss the Bull’s just go to axe, Evis, and use your autoattack for the next 5 seconds and you’ll still hit for most of their health and force them to do nothing but play defensivly. The sustain after the burst is actually fine due to how much Vigor you stacked. So long as you did over half you have enough sustain to finish them. Defiant Stance is basically the same thing as a condi clear, get condi spiked? Wait a few seconds then pop it and with Restorative Strength all the soft CC is gone and everything else heals you.

I still value a spike build like this over a Thief because a Warrior doesn’t stealth and has enough sustain after the burst to stay on point.

Such hate. I like what you built. Even if it’s just for good ol’ times.

Cygnus.6903:

Such hate. I like what you built. Even if it’s just for good ol’ times.

The hate only makes my axe stronger!

MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Yeah, the weakness of axe/GS BC has always been that you can’t bait stun breaks yourself. These days considering there’s so many hambows, it could actually work alright since they can bait for you.

It’s a fun build, I’m not completely sold on all your choices, but it can work with the right teamcomp and playstyle.

The thing I’d probably be most worried about is getting trained by thieves. That’s kind of the downfall of most zerk classes these days.

Brigg.6189:

Yeah, the weakness of axe/GS BC has always been that you can’t bait stun breaks yourself. These days considering there’s so many hambows, it could actually work alright since they can bait for you.

It’s a fun build, I’m not completely sold on all your choices, but it can work with the right teamcomp and playstyle.

The thing I’d probably be most worried about is getting trained by thieves. That’s kind of the downfall of most zerk classes these days.

That risk is why I got rid of Healing Signet. Defiant Stance will take you from 25% health to 100% in just a few Heart Seekers. It doesn’t matter how fast your reaction time is, you’re going to end up healing the Warrior a lot. This build is actually really strong vs Thieves since just a few attacks will take them down. One Whirlwind Attack is half their health. You just have to make sure you take the fight to where they used Infiltrator’s Strike if they’re running S/D.

If I’m in a 1v1 I’ll probably start off in axe and use Shield Bash to see if I can bait anything out and most do because they expect a Evis to follow. If they don’t break then I do use Evis. As someone who hates fighting Thieves this is probably the best build I’ve run for them.

Can’t beat the classics…

Unless you dodge roll.

Old school beta weekend warrior revisited.

I play a similar build as a roamer. It can deal good damage, and it can take out a weak target in one rotation..however, when it misses it misses real bad and can be hard to recover because of blade trail/rush/bulls rush/whirlwind attack all being somewhat sketchy if there is any terrain whatsoever. A-net addressed these lingering greatsword problems when they nerfed hammer. Then nerfed axe. Then nerfed hammer again. Then nerfed longbow and then nerfed longbow again. I felt the quality control on greatsword after so much work had been put into it now made it reliable.

CntrlAltDefeat.1465:

Old school beta weekend warrior revisited.

I play a similar build as a roamer. It can deal good damage, and it can take out a weak target in one rotation..however, when it misses it misses real bad and can be hard to recover because of blade trail/rush/bulls rush/whirlwind attack all being somewhat sketchy if there is any terrain whatsoever. A-net addressed these lingering greatsword problems when they nerfed hammer. Then nerfed axe. Then nerfed hammer again. Then nerfed longbow and then nerfed longbow again. I felt the quality control on greatsword after so much work had been put into it now made it reliable.

Axe also got an indirect buff with the change to Sigil of Intelligence. Not to mention Runes of Strength gets its damage close to what it used to be. One thing to note though, don’t use Rush going down the stairs on Temple because that can cause you to kill yourself from funky fall damage. Up works just fine and most other downward angles do as well.

Hey nothing as fun as a mighty warrior killing himself going down some stairs!

“Chaaaaarrr!Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!Aaaaaargh!” silence

Best part in falling damage is of course it kills you outright. No downstate for breaking your ankle in the stairs!

Tom Gore.4035:

Hey nothing as fun as a mighty warrior killing himself going down some stairs!

“Chaaaaarrr!Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!Aaaaaargh!” silence

Best part in falling damage is of course it kills you outright. No downstate for breaking your ankle in the stairs!

Let’s just say we lost the Tranquility that match.