Guild Wars 2

A typical warrior help thread:

My main, and only character, is a staff Ele but our guild was short on tank types so I decided to make a Warrior. I looked at guardian but that class didn’t really inspire me to choose it.

My warrior build is for running around with guild; about 20-25 on an average night. I started off geared towards survival but will be slowing switching out for more damage as I get use to the class. Also, I began with Hammer but not really my play style so I am now testing sword/axe and axe/mace.

I like the axe 2 and mace 4 combo while amongst a clump of enemies.
I like axe burst, axe 4, and sword 3 combo on individuals; axe 4 and sword 3 also works while amongst the enemy zerg.
Sword burst, sword 1 and axe 3 provide many opportunities to cripple/immobilize foes .

Mace 5, swap to sword/axe to follow up with Axe 5 is another combo I like.

I run with healing signet and Adrenal Health however tactics allows for me to use axe 2 on water fields to help and get some healing .

I take both dolyak signet and balance stance for stability and am always grouped with a guardian for extra stability and boons.

I run with Melendru, dogged march and poultry and leek soup and have cleansing ire for conditions. I like the synergy of cleansing ire and Strengths master tier Building Momentum.

My elite is signet of rage; however war banner is also used at times when in a more static fighting situation.

Finally Stomp is chosen for its versatility; my only blast finisher for static field/swiftness help, if water field up and many foes nearby, combo from blast finisher to get heals and blowout the enemy for a few seconds of peace, breaks stuns and a little bit of stability; I just like this utility.

Strength trait 1, death from above, is also another favorite, as I find myself and guild, in a variety of situations where this comes in handy.

http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=Vs;4NKkM0e4NL-60;9;4E-O9J0;318-0;058-IwW4W;16TsW6TsWBoFvN4LWZ;2jVp0tX0Z34Da7iWQ-5VW5PcW5P;9;9;9;9;9;54k3j

Any advice would be welcome.

If nothing else, I would suggest switching out offhand axe for a shield, which is the exact weapon set that I run.

I don’t know how effective that particular weapon set would be in a 20-25 group though. I run that weapon set in a 3 man party. I occasionally merge with the zerg and do fine, but that’s more with warrior in general rather than that particular weapon set.

Any other suggestion is going to be hard to specify because if it’s a 20ish group, it really depends on your group composition. You are most likely going to specialize more in large groups like that.

I am curious how either of you are able to get away from bad encounters or close the gap on better encounters?

I do not see any mobility in either of these weapon sets.

What do each of you do to maintain mobility?

Sword/shield and perma swiftness is sufficient mobility. Fill other holes with a couple of utilty (condi clear/stability, which you need for actual fighting anyways) and you should be fine unless you are deep in enemy territory and run into a full sized zerg.

ryokoalways.3450:

Sword/shield and perma swiftness is sufficient mobility. Fill other holes with a couple of utilty (condi clear/stability, which you need for actual fighting anyways) and you should be fine unless you are deep in enemy territory and run into a full sized zerg.

What do you run for utility skills? The same as the build above? I know healing signet and signet of rage are no brainers, but what about the other three?

Guild provides perma-swiftness with static fields/blasts and various other skills; usually have over a minute of swiftness not counting signet of rage. I run with 20-25 people with this setup; we close the cap as a guild not as individuals. However, sword 2, mace 2 and axe 3 help with closing the gap on individuals; but I really dont chase after individuals. No reason.

If I have need of speed, like blocking a keep from turning, I switch out axe/mace with greatsword.

Bad encounters; 3 stun breaks, 2 9sec bursts of stability, -96% condition duration versus immobilize, chill and cripple along with my own crippling abilities, and Sword 2 for short bursts. I have not had issues. I do have issues but is more with my age and cramping fingers than this weapon set.

ryokoalways.3450:

If nothing else, I would suggest switching out offhand axe for a shield, which is the exact weapon set that I run.

I don’t know how effective that particular weapon set would be in a 20-25 group though. I run that weapon set in a 3 man party. I occasionally merge with the zerg and do fine, but that’s more with warrior in general rather than that particular weapon set.

Any other suggestion is going to be hard to specify because if it’s a 20ish group, it really depends on your group composition. You are most likely going to specialize more in large groups like that.

Thanks for reply. I have tried shield and if I ran with a smaller group I probably would take it but in a group of 20ish I prefer skills that the axe and mace provide.

Also forgot to add I stack with perception before switching to fire and air. My offhand are hyrdo and energy.

I run w/ axe/shield (with cooldown…cause it’s kind of necessary) and find the interrupts to be so much fun and the blocks to be great for letting healing signet catch up after taking some hits.

Jossa.8301:

ryokoalways.3450:

Sword/shield and perma swiftness is sufficient mobility. Fill other holes with a couple of utilty (condi clear/stability, which you need for actual fighting anyways) and you should be fine unless you are deep in enemy territory and run into a full sized zerg.

What do you run for utility skills? The same as the build above? I know healing signet and signet of rage are no brainers, but what about the other three?

Situational/build pending. Again, as long you have something like stamina sig/zerker + dolyak sig/balanced stance, you will be able to run for long distances before they eventually kill you/you find a safe location. In the OP’s situation, that’s even more unnecessary because 20-25 people will have plenty of skills to deny areas so individual gap generators are not as important.

Regarding sigil selection, don’t take so many that share ICD. You want at max 2 (and honestly, 1 is probably better on war because of their short weapon swap CD, outside of several combinations). Your sigil of energy and hydromancy will not proc if you just landed sigil of air/fire. In your situation, keeping the former is probably better than the latter since you are not running small team/solo.