Guild Wars 2

This class feels like crap. It’s frustrating how low Warrior’s sustain is compared to other classes, e.g. Hambow Scrapper. I don’t really feel like there are any possible meta setups with this class as it is now.

I’ve been looking for a build I could use for Daily Warrior wins since I like the class more than Mesmer, Ranger and Thief (even though the latter two are better). I’ve tried Shout builds, Burn builds, Stun+GS builds, but they don’t really feel effective — they deal limited damage, tend to get kited, and die very quickly as they lack sustain even when you build for sustain. I can’t shake the thought that unless Warrior is camping Rifle on the side-lines, it’s kill or be killed and you have to make your skill set work within that 15~20 second combat window of stance immunities.

With that in mind, I’ve been using the following build as sort of a frustrated last resort, and while I still don’t think it’s meta, it does feel pretty nice. (calculator is out of date: Mercenary Amulet is used, and sigils can be improved).

What it brings to the table:
-10 seconds of Endure Pain
-~20 seconds of uninterrupted Resistance excluding boon strip
-25% speed and high mobility via leaps when not Immobilized (see: Resistance)
-near-theoretical maximum amount of CCs/stuns/interrupts in Warrior skill set
-Confusion and Weakness up the wazoo
-multiple Reflect opportunities via Mace/Shield

Every interrupt gives the enemy 4 Confusion, Weakness and 2 Bleeds.
A Mace Primal Burst gives them 8 Confusion, 6 Bleeding, Cripple, Blind and Weakness.
You can refresh your Adrenaline twice every 22.5 seconds.

I still don’t think this is good, but it just feels so much more consistent compared to the Burn builds I’ve tried. The best defense I see in Warrior’s current kitten nal is a stun-heavy offense with a few dis/engage options.

Can you guys help me improve this build? Is there potential for a Confusion Warrior in the meta? And finally, can you direct me to the “What PvP build are you having success with” thread if there is one?

A great many thanks in advance for any and all replies.

Still testing and using the build. I like the offensive pressure of the above version, but have been getting a little more sustain out of the below:

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?vJAQNApeSnMdAVhgdhAmkCEliFjA7N4ucjuGBgNYODZEsCWeA-TpBCwAPOCA+3fobZgKPAAMHCAAnAAA

I really wish there was a way to drop Defense and not feel like tissue paper, but access to 15 seconds of Resistance and 8 seconds of power damage immunity and a huge amount of Toughness is all just so useful, let alone the other bonuses. Traveler Runes, good use of Headbutt/Outrage/Berserker Stance (for Adrenaline) and planning out your weapon swaps makes Discipline a little more bearable of a drop despite how immensely useful Fast Hands is.

Defense/Discipline/Berserker with Mace/Shield+Rifle or Mace/Shield+Sword/X seems to be the popular setup, but I really do think Distracting Strikes with Mace, Shield and Hammer brings something meaningful to the meta (a Confusion + CC machine) compared to just average, consistent damage from Rifle or Sword/X with Fast Hands swap.

I’ve tried builds like this.

no defense is too YOLO, and you need strength and berserker for make m/sh actually good. I prefer rifle over hammer, but no fast hands ruins the fast combos you need to make those 15 seconds of zerk count.

fast hands just needs to be baseline. there is very little argument about it.

As a 3 year old warrior I can say you this; warrior in this meta is horribly weak.In this meta warrior needs his stances to stay alive and stance cd’s is just soooo long.This makes warrior undervalued compared to other classes.Dont expect much any build you use.

Jyobin.5487:

As a 3 year old warrior I can tell you this: Warrior in this meta is horribly weak. Don’t expect much from any build you use.

It definitely feels that way.

EDIT: I’m struggling to make up my mind on what to use to complement weapon swap, and what sigils to use. Hammer feels really vulnerable despite the mobility and access to Distracting Strikes. I’m really fond of the Distracting Strikes trait, but I am having a little fun with the typical Defense/Discipline/Berserker setup and Lyssa rune for additional condition cleanse.

I’m about ready to hang up pursuits on improvement, but I do think there’s something worth pursuing in the Mace/Shield + Distracting Strikes setup, even if it’s not the best of the best.

fixed for you. this build is viable. http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vJAQRApe8cnMdAVhgdhAmkCElilqADpA0ACAK9gYXO4d02antA-TphAABc8AAM4EAAwBBQ/yA8s/wGHBAA

Trying to make hammer work in a condi build is a waste of time. You are better off with sword/sword instead of hammer. You get a third block, torment, a 4th block flaming fury, burn dammage and bleeds, immob and better cripple spam.

Use Krait runes. It helps the sword and gives you more poison uptime and condition cover. You don’t need distracting stikes to make a condi build work and its weaker, sustain not taking discipline. Berskerspec simply doesnt work without fast hands.

Warlord.9074:

Trying to make hammer work in a condi build is a waste of time. You are better off with sword/sword instead of hammer.

I swapped out Hammer for Sword Sword, swapped Rousing Resilience for Cleansing Ire, swapped Outrage for Sundering Leap and flipped around a few sigils.

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?vJAQRApe8cnMdAVhgdhA2kCEliFjAzIAsBzZvB3lb0FZEsC+AA-TZxFABGcSAeb/BAOCAJ8AAKvMAA

My answer to the originally posed question is: no, M/Sh+Ham is not viable with Distracting Strikes. The weapon setup itself might be viable as anti-necro, but ONLY as a full power, Paladin + Defense/Discipline/Berserker build. The more conditions you mix in, the worse the matchup gets for you when they flip Plague and you have to deal with your own trash.

I like Distracting Strikes enough to keep suffering through the limited Adrenaline generation and awful weapon swap delay, but I think the other condition build is better for general play. Strength/Defense functions only because of Sundering Leap, Headbutt, Cleansing Ire, Counterblow and Riposte. Its natural adrenaline generation is too awful without it, so you have to compensate with those skills, and do your best with 15s rolling Stability from Berserk every 25 seconds and two stun breaks in that 10 second downtime window.

Thanks for the help, everyone. I’m satisfied with the answers I’ve received and think I’ve done enough experimentation. There’s nothing left to improve without abandoning the concept (Distracting Strikes + Mace/Shield).

I have to second the mentions of Rifle over Hammer. The daze on Gunflame procs Distracting Strikes and Body Blow. A 1200 Range attack that hits hard, drops 3 Burning, Weakness, 2 Bleed and 4 Confusion is very solid. You also have Rifle 5 to Proc your traits and the new evade added for an extra dodge.

I’ve been running Sigil of Earth and Sigil of Tormenting too, in conjunction with Weakness from Body Blow and Vulnerability from Rifle 2/4 you can bury the Confusion pretty well.

mace/shield berserker works fine without distracting strikes. Hammer doesn’t.

The biggest problem with distracting strikes has always been the catch 22.
It causes confusion when you interrupt skills. But while they are dazed or stunned, they are not activating skills.

Now granted the duration is long enough to cover some of this, but it is a big factor in the trait.

Warlord.9074:

fixed for you. this build is viable. http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vJAQRApe8cnMdAVhgdhAmkCElilqADpA0ACAK9gYXO4d02antA-TphAABc8AAM4EAAwBBQ/yA8s/wGHBAA

Trying to make hammer work in a condi build is a waste of time. You are better off with sword/sword instead of hammer. You get a third block, torment, a 4th block flaming fury, burn dammage and bleeds, immob and better cripple spam.

Use Krait runes. It helps the sword and gives you more poison uptime and condition cover. You don’t need distracting stikes to make a condi build work and its weaker, sustain not taking discipline. Berskerspec simply doesnt work without fast hands.

I actually disagree that Fast Hands is 100% necessary for mace/shield + sword/torch or sword. It’s not a weapon switch combo dependent build, both weapon sets are perfectly good on their own.

This is what I’ve been using for ~60+ games: http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?vJAQRAsf5enMdAVhgdhAukCEliFjA7t4ucjuGBgNYODZEsC+AA-TphAAB6XGgw9HM4IAAwDAYjDCAHnAAA

The only thing I miss from discipline with this build is Warrior’s Sprint because getting immobilized can kitten you over (and I guess Burst Mastery would be nice too), but I have very little need for Fast Hands. I do feel the need to take Traveler’s Runes to make up for the movement speed loss too, but you gain more condi pressure by going Distracting Strikes + Body Blow anyways.