Guild Wars 2

Now I’ve only been playing GW2 for a week or two. Already got my Charr Warrior to 52. My question being for DPS (In dungeons mostly.) Do I have to build tanky? I’m running as GS/Rifle (Rifle for those times where going into melee = dead.) But I feel as if being a rifle warrior cuts my dps away hard, and my melee just ends up me dying over, and over. Should I build tanky? And if so how do I go about it? Do I just throw points into toughness? Do I need to get toughness/vitality gear? (This is something I’m hoping I can avoid.) I don’t want to have to drastically change my warrior from what I’m doing (Otherwise it won’t really feel like I’m doing what I signed up for, which was being a beat face juggernaut with a GS to grind.) also, I’m unsure of what stats to prioritize if I want to be dps (while still not flopping over dead in a dungeon.) Some things I’d like to know:

1. Whats a good trait build as a dps warrior?

2. What stats should I prioritize?

3. Any tips or advice for me not to keep getting my butt handed to me in dungeons?

4. Any PVE Warrior advice for me in general?

I thank you all who’d willing to help me out.

For beginner warriors I recommend Knight armor Power/Precision/Toughness although crafting them is a bit of a problem ($$$) and Arah isn’t exactly noob friendly.

1. Traits vary based on weapon, but almost all warriors try to get berserkers power (10 int strength)(12% damage at max adrenaline) at the very minimum. Explain what weapons you want to use, and what kind of dps do you want to prioritize (aoe/single target/ranged/condition/ high burst/ sustain) so i can better help with a foundation trait for you, that you can change to your liking.

2. Since you just started recently, You should be looking at power/precision/crit dmg and some toughness. I suggest get Knight armor gears, and berserker trinkets/rubysockets. The sockets in your armor are up to you, if you feel tanky enough and die less with the stats you currently have, than put on some dps runes or the cheap way is ruby orbs for damage. After you get good with dodging/timing/positioning you can grab all berserk armor + heavy dps runes/ruby orbs. That will maximize your dps. The reason for toughness when you start playing warrior, is because most people don’t know how mobile you need to be in order to play warrior, and toughness helps you with the learning curve of warriors.

3. Dodge is your best friend, stick close to team mates, learn the bosses moves and what set ups do they do before they activate their attack so that you can time your dodge/block/etc. When you can, usually resurrecting someone is better than your dps alone, so always try to help someone up is a priority. Always carry a ranged weapon, you never know when you need it, and in Fractal dungeon…. well lets say i use my rifle way more than i use it anywhere else.

4. Just have fun, warriors are one of the easier classes in PvE.

I’m a big fan of GS, and I use rifle to be able to back away from fights and fight from afar if things get too hairy. I’m a big fan of burst damage (the big numbers make me feel all good inside.) and as far as traits go since I’m only level 52, I don’t have the level 60 book yet so I put 20 into Strength 20 into Arms and starting to put points in toughness to help my rampant habit of dying, everywhere. I wanted to go max into Strength, go into arms and then whatever points i have left I’d have to decide where to put them.

Since I started, I haven’t been socketing anything (mostly because I know that gear will be replaced and i don’t have the moolah to keep dishing out to keep myself socketed.) Also, about Knight Armor, what is that exactly? Just a style of gear? (Like Toughness/Vitality) or is a specific kind of named gear?

I came into this game with a lengthy experience with MMOs (WoW, Rift, insert many free MMOs) so I assumed there was a socketing system. But I know jack about it. I know abokittenely nothing about it. I know jewelers make jewels which I assume are stat increases when thrown into gear. but I’m not sure about runes, or anything of the sort. I’m basically flopping around unsure as to what to do as for how I should direct my warrior (as far as gear and upgrading goes) for what I want him to do: Which is murder everything.

Hmm I am not the best at explaining alot of stuff very quickly, but i can give you a quick run down. Every item you equip can be socketed.

Runes are special socketables just for armor that have special abilities when you use the same one on the armors that u equip. Orbs are just socketable pieces with just stats that benefit something you want to gain (usually stat wise).

Knight gear is (power/toughness/precision gear).

GS and rifle is a good PvE used weapon combination and an ideal dps build for you would look like so (when you hit 80)

20/30/0/0/20
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#mcRM0o0zMmCRGmmC0GmGx9MGVscakoV

That would give you the most DPS for your weapon set. Armor + some toughness will help you survive and learning your weapon set and learning to dodge will help you survive.

I feel the game doesn’t explain everything off the bat quickly, but by the time you hit 80, im sure you will learn alot in the game. Just keep playing and watching out for new things.

LieutenantGoogle.7326:

For beginner warriors I recommend Knight armor Power/Precision/Toughness although crafting them is a bit of a problem ($$$) and Arah isn’t exactly noob friendly.

You can get the Power/Precision/Toughness gear from Sorrows Embrace as well.

Building tank style does help in dungeons but the warrior (in my opinion) is not very good at staying in the front and taking dmg. They can excel when others are taking the beating while we dps.

When I first started running dungeons I went full blown tank build. 0/0/30/30/10 were my traits. I had healing shouts with solider runes with power/vit/toughness armor and weapons along with knights (power/precision/toughness) rings, etc.

I used Mace/shield + rifle. It was a decent build and I could stay fairly well in dungeons (no where near what a guardian could do though). If you run solider runes and use “For Great Justice” “Shake it Off” and “Fear Me” you can remove conditions pretty steadily and even heal for around 1.3k (if I remember correctly).

I am not saying that is the best thing I could have possibly done but it worked very well in places with tons of conditions (I am looking at you Caudecus’s Manor thieves with 12 stacks of bleed). It is a easy build to learn with a few tricks that are helpful to the team, but it will not blow your mind.

If you want a dps build for dungeons that you won’t drop instantly with then I would suggest going for Knights armor + fighter runes (or better choice divinity runes [more crit dmg] ) with knights Amulet and Trinkets but got for Berserker rings, back, and weapon. You should have around 2.9k armor with around 19k health but with 3k (minimum attack), 47% chance to crit (unbuffed) and 50 crit dmg.

If you use a great sword then I would suggest the traits of: 20/20/0/10/20. Take trait IX in power line (10% increase in dmg for great sword) and trait X in precision line ( 20% cooldown on great sword & might on crit). In the vit line (Tactics) take trait I (immobilize on cripple). For the last trait line you can take whatever you want, but I would suggest at least getting trait X (mobile strikes, to remove immobilize on you when using movement skills). Your offhand can be a rifle or whatever you want.

In my experience it is not so much your health or armor that matters, but how and what you dodge that counts.

I am responding to 4:

You don’t /have/ to build tank if you don’t want. but some survival will help. I’m not a ranged warrior, so I can’t really help with rifle, but if you’re dying a lot, either work on dodge timing, or work on gear. You can build tanky if you like, it’s really up to you. We have some of the highest dps in the game, and also are capable of compromising. I, personally, am a shout/heal warrior. I heal my allies, buff them, etc.

Really we’re not the primary “tank” here, we’re the primary “support” here.