Guild Wars 2

Hi there,

I like to share the build I using atm and maybe get some advice.
After some tests I came up with the “Unsuspecting Foe” build.

Basically its the same build as the GS/Ham glasscannon meta, so the warri needs to stun/knockdown the enemy and than use 100b. But this variant is is more difficult to play than the GS/Ham, and its focusing on single targets. Therefor I like to play this with a friend, and we are indeed focusing single targets down xD In reward it stuns longer, dishes out more damage, and regain more adrenaline.
Check it out …

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-wBxg;1R2GM0f4oLkQ0;9;4deh;0246037148;4CwlB5;1H7W3H7W3a0V

Downsides:
- Never ever try to land Skull Crack without having the foe locked in place!
- Unsuspecting Foe only triggers against stunned foes. No knockdown, daze, etc
- vulnerable against condition builds
- No ress capability

First need the enemy to use his stun break and no stability should be on him.. Then I set up my 5 step combo…
1. hold the foe in place (with Shield Bash or Bull’s Charge for example)
2. use Skull Crack at lvl2 or higher
3. switch to GS and press 100b
4a. switch back on M/Sh when its ready
4b. switch into Rampage and do some more stuns followed by insane AAs.
5. rinse and repeat

This is so much damage and adrenaline gain. SC should always be ready when the CD goes off because of this combo. This means the warrior could stun every 10sec and between 1-4sec long, followed by 100b. But it wont work without team play when a profession has two or more stun breaks (like the mesmer does).

Frenzy can be changed for Balanced Stance when fighting heavy CC teams. Frenzy could also be changed by Stomp for the tower in Kyhlo, as an example.

I am not sure if this will be the final version, because I am always learning and would like to have some advice too.

PS. I would be happy to get some constructive feedback or answer some quetions..

hf

Very very plausible build.

Thing is though, the toss up between Arms and Defense is kinda harsh. Non-defense builds are actually fun and challenging, it’s just that in a real game I feel like you will be forced to do Defense instead of Arms.

Nonetheless I like the trait choices and the high risk bulls charge + frenzy. But then again, Bulls Charge is kinda weak atm when another defensive utility would’ve been better or something that helps you land burst such as Balanced Stance.

The heal though on the other hand? I don’t feel Signet is strong if you don’t have any points in defense. Defiant Stance is better when everyone is using burst. I don’t believe 300 healing per second will do anything against 10k burst per second.

Here’s something that you can try that’s fun though: Use Mace/Axe instead of Mace/Shield, use paralyzation/rage on the weapon set, get dual wielding on GM arms. Watch people panic dodge the whirling axe + sigil of rage proc and become very vulnerable to Skull Crack > HB.

Thanks BlackTruth for your response.

The reason why I have not choosen a defense specalization is because of my M/Sh weapon set. Two blocks with less than halve the CD of Defy Pain. Also I need something against range attacks, because I have none.

You can’t set up skull crack, without bull’s charge or any other utility to root the enemy. Shield bash every 20sec isn’t enough. Using a stance instead of bull’s charge would hurt the dps, because there are classes that can use a stun break every 25sec.
I think dolyak signet is stronger than ballanced stance. Sometimes I replace it with Frenzy. Stomp has also his uses, for example in the tower of Kyhlo.

I use SoH because of resistance, but you maybe right and I will test defiant stance.

Using a axe with dual wielding instead of shield and furious will reduce the ability to lock the foe in place by far.

^
I actually used to think that way about Skull Crack but now I’m pretty much used to casting it by itself.

You CAN land skull cracks without bulls charge, but you have to have that gut feeling on how many dodges an enemy has left. There’s a hidden mechanic called “dodge count” that most veteran players use to land hits. Part of making dodge count work though is.. well you have to figure out how to make people wanna dodge you before you CC them. This is why I always use Rage on Mace now, for the panic dodge.

Also I only suggested off-hand axe “for fun” I don’t mean it as a competitive alternative. I just don’t feel Arms is that strong atm tbh compared to defense cause the sustain that you get from Defense atm is just too strong even without cleansing ire.

P.S Here’s a mace > Rampage combo that you may wanna look into: http://www.twitch.tv/blacktruth009/c/6269321

Thanks BT for the video. I watched some other stuff from you too. Really nice to find one that is playing mace too. But every time I watched you you were using skull crack after shield bash or tremor. I am still not convinced of hitting with skull crack without preparation. Any how, I have a few questions and I am willing to learn hitting with skull crack without preparation xD I get it now, that’s why you metition ballanced stance for my build and it seems more useful than dolyak signet.

You used tremor instead of bull’s charge and this freed an utility slot. What utiltiy worked best for you and why ?

What runes do you use and what runes I should wear in your opinion ?.. Atm I am wearing warrior runes to reduce the CD of weapon swap even more. But it felt like I could get more benefit of other runes, and your videos proved the same… There is a very low possibility to hit with skull crack every 8sec.

I dont get the rage sigil think. It has an 10% chance to proc. Does the panic dodge even occur often, and do you try to land skull crack with in time ?

I tried the defensive specalization before and it didnt helped me much to kill my enemies. There is no way to defend against two burst classes (except when using a tanky build) and I dont need passive utilites to defend my self against one enemy. For me its more a question of can I kill him quick or should I assist somewhere else.

I just followed the guideline of this meta, and you pointed out a good way with defiant stance. Adrenal health on its own doesnt heal much, and endure pain feels weak. On the other hand, shield master would be really nice to have, also last stand seems usefull. But when using a defensive specalization I will have a lack of adrenaline and will be forced to use cleansing ire and take damage. On top on that, blocks don’t have synergy with cleansing ire. How do you build adrenaline ?

Rage Sigil is now a 50% chance to proc, the website you are using is probably out-dated. This is WAY before I used Rage sigil, which is why you see me do shield bash > skull crack. The panic dodge will actually happen if you put in some pommel bashes in between or switch to Axe when the proc happens. I know shield is mandatory though for builds like this so you may as well do it even with the Rage Sigil.

Basically the way I use random skull cracks though is.. mind games. I do stow or weapon swap cancel Skull Crack to fake people out and bait dodges. That actually save you adrenaline and can help you land your autos and F1 on the other weapon set.

To build adrenaline, you can’t be afraid to aggressively use zerker stance and Axe autos. Nowadays I use heightened focus so I can build adrenaline faster and bait dodges better on my Axe/mace build. The Mace #2 gives you adrenaline adrenaline when you block nothing so that’s another thing. I personally don’t even use Cleansing Ire but even then I get enough adrenaline because Axe’s attack speed kinda helps a lot and even more when you Cleave people.

Now if you paid attention to the part where I said I don’t use cleansing ire, you may wonder how that works. Basically, counter-pressure. Lots and lots of counter pressure and a kill or be killed play-style. The whole concept of this is to.. out-damage condition or kill people before they kill you. That is pretty much the challenge of DPS mace builds. That’s why I’ve been using Sigil of Rage nowadays on Mace (This is now a 50% chance of activating, the website you are using is probably out-dated). In which case I use last stand so I can have Double EP, Zerker Stance, and Frenzy so that burst won’t hurt me and that I can out-damage conditions within the 10 seconds berserker stance is up.

For runes, I use Rune of the Pack because I can’t get fury anywhere else on my build. You would probably need a Guardian/Shoutbow/Thief friend to get more fury uptime is the sad part but it balances it out.

Hey BT, sorry for the delay. Its was to hot when sitting near my computer.

I checked rage sigil in pvp and it has a 50% proc chance on crit , wierd. Yeah, I get it now. This brings me to my next question… Do you use an energy sigil, or paralization sigil, or how you regain endurance ?

Also I get the message with the defense specialization, but this is be the same build like the GS/Ham meta, with mace instead of hammer. Not saying this is a bad thing, but no more unsuspecting foe. There has to be a way to get arround that… For example, I like playing with friends and teamspeak, so adding a bit support should not be the problem. I like to team up with guards the most. I think condition guards using consencrations help me the most. Feel my wrath as elite is just the tip of the iceberg.

Atm I use strength runes, combined with force- and impact sigiles. 100% crit chance and 35% damage increase when stick and move + bloodlust + unsuspecting foe triggers. Much better than the warrior runes I was using before. Not sure pack runes will boost me more, except when I need swiftness.

Yuuki.1087:

Hey BT, sorry for the delay. Its was to hot when sitting near my computer.

I checked rage sigil in pvp and it has a 50% proc chance on crit , wierd. Yeah, I get it now. This brings me to my next question… Do you use an energy sigil, or paralization sigil, or how you regain endurance ?

Also I get the message with the defense specialization, but this is be the same build like the GS/Ham meta, with mace instead of hammer. Not saying this is a bad thing, but no more unsuspecting foe. There has to be a way to get arround that… For example, I like playing with friends and teamspeak, so adding a bit support should not be the problem. I like to team up with guards the most. I think condition guards using consencrations help me the most. Feel my wrath as elite is just the tip of the iceberg.

Atm I use strength runes, combined with force- and impact sigiles. 100% crit chance and 35% damage increase when stick and move + bloodlust + unsuspecting foe triggers. Much better than the warrior runes I was using before. Not sure pack runes will boost me more, except when I need swiftness.

I don’t really use energy sigil. You could do Energy/Paralyzation on mace but I simply prefer Rage/Paralyzation. It just doesn’t feel that DPS Warrior accomplishes anything if you use defensive sigils. Fire/Air on the damage set for sure.

The 100% crit chance is great it’s just that the stances and shield mastery that you get from defense is kinda too good to not have atm.