Guild Wars 2

So when I got to Ruby I decided I’d make my way through it using Berserker. At the same time I was really wanting to address some of the more serious issues of running a standard zerker berker build who’s roll was to +1, and bunker bust. I’d looked through every build posted by anybody running a berserker, zerkerberker, bunker buster, gunflame etc and decided to redesign based on the wisest course.

Gameplay
https://youtu.be/p5xwL-kGIfE

https://youtu.be/dfNjZoocD2Y

Build (Theory with coming changes)
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vJAQJAURnMdAlki9dA2dAEliFlA7ILEA+dIhu42F4N3+bTuA-TpBBABB8AAA4CAQwRAgsyAHfIAie/BA

Build (Original)
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vJAQJAURnMdAlki9dA2dAEliFlA7N3+bTuIhg42F4ILEA+dA-TpBBABHfIA4f/hAeAAEcEAA4CAQWZAA

I’ve run it solo and with friends. It’s got great synergy and is effective for its task. I’ve managed to impress the friends, and keep the soloQ pugs happy, which is always a good sign ;D

One thing that’s nice about the signit to berserk cd’s is that they all come up at the same time. So procing a sig of fury into berserk, with a sig of might to make sure your gunflames will land will set you on in your way to burst a target. Once berserk has finished and the cd come up, sig of fury and might are both ready to go again.

Since signits are traited you’re effectively running 2 might sigs on a 20s cd each. Depending on when they proc that’s 6-12 seconds of unblockable every 20 seconds. The high HP pool allows you to take more of those heavy hits, and not fret so much over condi’s. You always have more than enough time to proc your healing sig, which is also back up again before you run out of hp’s vs these silly bunker specs. If you happen to face another bursty spec, you should be able to outburst him before he can you. Blind a problem? use your resistance wisely XD

Unsuspecting Foe finds use in the Headbutt, GS hundred blades, whirlind combo. The build lacks precision, so outside of your burst skills your hits won’t be terribly scary. Bursting under the stun though can break down those tougher specs after they’ve been softened up by a few gunflames. I’ve gotten a great deal of mirth out of bunker eles and bunker druids who’re already so susceptible to a bit of lockdown, not being able to do anything, and eating a full 4 seconds of fist smash dead punch.

Oh and Cleansing Ire is taken for the adrenaline regen first, and the condi removal as a nice second. Without it the build lacks great Adrenalin regen (when you NEED it), and this provides that (In a Marauder setup I take Furious over Burst Precision for the same effect).

No Fast Hands, no Rifle Trait for piercing you say? Honestly I don’t need them. This is a single target bunker buster build. I don’t have problems hitting my target with a rifle, and working a 10s weapon rotation is simply a matter of discipline. If you can’t live without it you just need to learn how. I’d love 5s swap, but without it, ohwell XD

Anyway, love it, hate it, it’s good times. Most effective build I’ve run within the theme to date.

Oh, here’s a good chunk of my trip through Ruby thus far using this build

The 7 match win streak in particular was fully solo XD

I messed around with Valk post June 23 but pre-HoT, and I think there’s something there. I also think HoT expanded the potential, which you’ve taken advantage of.

The build looks pretty good, but it’s pretty vulnerable outside of a particular niche. That being said, I predict this build (or something like it) will really soar after the upcoming balance changes. It’s well thought out, cohesive, doesn’t use a zerk amulet (or gear, for outside pvp), it skips FH (which I see as being an objective for the upcoming patch) and it uses rifle (which is getting some specific attention).

This is definitely something to review again later this month. In the meantime, I’m glad to see an out-of-the-box build that has some value. Great job.

Choppy.4183:

I messed around with Valk post June 23 but pre-HoT, and I think there’s something there. I also think HoT expanded the potential, which you’ve taken advantage of.

The build looks pretty good, but it’s pretty vulnerable outside of a particular niche. That being said, I predict this build (or something like it) will really soar after the upcoming balance changes. It’s well thought out, cohesive, doesn’t use a zerk amulet (or gear, for outside pvp), it skips FH (which I see as being an objective for the upcoming patch) and it uses rifle (which is getting some specific attention).

This is definitely something to review again later this month. In the meantime, I’m glad to see an out-of-the-box build that has some value. Great job.

Thanks Choppy

I’m looking forward to whatever changes are coming also. I’m sure they can only improve upon what’s here given this doesnt rely on any of the usual “Must haves” for warrior builds to begin with.

Ross Biddle.2367:

So when I got to Ruby I decided I’d make my way through it using Berserker. At the same time I was really wanting to address some of the more serious issues of running a standard zerker berker build who’s roll was to +1, and bunker bust. I’d looked through every build posted by anybody running a berserker, zerkerberker, bunker buster, gunflame etc and decided to redesign based on the wisest course.

Build
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vJAQJAURnMdAlki9dA2dAEliFlA7N3+bTuIhg42F4ILEA+dA-TpBBABHfIA4f/hAeAAEcEAA4CAQWZAA

I’ve run it solo and with friends. It’s got great synergy and is effective for its task. I’ve managed to impress the friends, and keep the soloQ pugs happy, which is always a good sign ;D

One thing that’s nice about the signit to berserk cd’s is that they all come up at the same time. So procing a sig of fury into berserk, with a sig of might to make sure your gunflames will land will set you on in your way to burst a target. Once berserk has finished and the cd come up, sig of fury and might are both ready to go again.

Since signits are traited you’re effectively running 2 might sigs on a 20s cd each. Depending on when they proc that’s 6-12 seconds of unblockable every 20 seconds. The high HP pool allows you to take more of those heavy hits, and not fret so much over condi’s. You always have more than enough time to proc your healing sig, which is also back up again before you run out of hp’s vs these silly bunker specs. If you happen to face another bursty spec, you should be able to outburst him before he can you. Blind a problem? use your resistance wisely XD

Unsuspecting Foe finds use in the Headbutt, GS hundred blades, whirlind combo. The build lacks precision, so outside of your burst skills your hits won’t be terribly scary. Bursting under the stun though can break down those tougher specs after they’ve been softened up by a few gunflames. I’ve gotten a great deal of mirth out of bunker eles and bunker druids who’re already so susceptible to a bit of lockdown, not being able to do anything, and eating a full 4 seconds of fist smash dead punch.

Oh and Cleansing Ire is taken for the adrenaline regen first, and the condi removal as a nice second. Without it the build lacks great Adrenalin regen (when you NEED it), and this provides that (In a Marauder setup I take Furious over Burst Precision for the same effect).

No Fast Hands, no Rifle Trait for piercing you say? Honestly I don’t need them. This is a single target bunker buster build. I don’t have problems hitting my target with a rifle, and working a 10s weapon rotation is simply a matter of discipline. If you can’t live without it you just need to learn how. I’d love 5s swap, but without it, ohwell XD

Anyway, love it, hate it, it’s good times. Most effective build I’ve run within the theme to date.

eh…its ok, but I think it will get better after balancing.
If it works for you personally, great! I still believe the better option right now is marauder simply because you get both hp/precision so you dont have to slot in signets to keep up fury. I highly suggest slotting in endure pain/berserker stance instead for survival. Berzerker is all dps, you might as well take advantage of it.

JTGuevara.9018:

Ross Biddle.2367:

So when I got to Ruby I decided I’d make my way through it using Berserker. At the same time I was really wanting to address some of the more serious issues of running a standard zerker berker build who’s roll was to +1, and bunker bust. I’d looked through every build posted by anybody running a berserker, zerkerberker, bunker buster, gunflame etc and decided to redesign based on the wisest course.

Build
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vJAQJAURnMdAlki9dA2dAEliFlA7N3+bTuIhg42F4ILEA+dA-TpBBABHfIA4f/hAeAAEcEAA4CAQWZAA

I’ve run it solo and with friends. It’s got great synergy and is effective for its task. I’ve managed to impress the friends, and keep the soloQ pugs happy, which is always a good sign ;D

One thing that’s nice about the signit to berserk cd’s is that they all come up at the same time. So procing a sig of fury into berserk, with a sig of might to make sure your gunflames will land will set you on in your way to burst a target. Once berserk has finished and the cd come up, sig of fury and might are both ready to go again.

Since signits are traited you’re effectively running 2 might sigs on a 20s cd each. Depending on when they proc that’s 6-12 seconds of unblockable every 20 seconds. The high HP pool allows you to take more of those heavy hits, and not fret so much over condi’s. You always have more than enough time to proc your healing sig, which is also back up again before you run out of hp’s vs these silly bunker specs. If you happen to face another bursty spec, you should be able to outburst him before he can you. Blind a problem? use your resistance wisely XD

Unsuspecting Foe finds use in the Headbutt, GS hundred blades, whirlind combo. The build lacks precision, so outside of your burst skills your hits won’t be terribly scary. Bursting under the stun though can break down those tougher specs after they’ve been softened up by a few gunflames. I’ve gotten a great deal of mirth out of bunker eles and bunker druids who’re already so susceptible to a bit of lockdown, not being able to do anything, and eating a full 4 seconds of fist smash dead punch.

Oh and Cleansing Ire is taken for the adrenaline regen first, and the condi removal as a nice second. Without it the build lacks great Adrenalin regen (when you NEED it), and this provides that (In a Marauder setup I take Furious over Burst Precision for the same effect).

No Fast Hands, no Rifle Trait for piercing you say? Honestly I don’t need them. This is a single target bunker buster build. I don’t have problems hitting my target with a rifle, and working a 10s weapon rotation is simply a matter of discipline. If you can’t live without it you just need to learn how. I’d love 5s swap, but without it, ohwell XD

Anyway, love it, hate it, it’s good times. Most effective build I’ve run within the theme to date.

eh…its ok, but I think it will get better after balancing.
If it works for you personally, great! I still believe the better option right now is marauder simply because you get both hp/precision so you dont have to slot in signets to keep up fury. I highly suggest slotting in endure pain/berserker stance instead for survival. Berzerker is all dps, you might as well take advantage of it.

The signits aren’t for the precision stacking (that synergises better with marauder/zerker) rather purely for their active effect synergy. Zerker stance is on a 60s cd, and the adrenaline isnt instant. Signit of fury is instant, and if you enter berserk mode after using it the cd finishes perfectly as berserk comes off CD next, meaning no down time on entry into berserk mode (regardless of if you’re still in or left combat). Signit of might is on the same CD. So the first 6 seconds of every berserk can be unblockable which, when you consider that’s the duration of your quickness, is the best time to have it anyway.

Playing Mesmer for all the years that I did I found Warriors to be… unintimidating. Why? Stances had a lot to do with that. When I fight a typical warrior I know that at X time, they’ll proc Y, where Y is a short duration invulnerability (endure pain). Sure they have an active proc, and a passive one on defense, but when I see it I know “Ok, chill for a moment, let them run their immunity out, then they can die”. And that’s how things went. So when I came to play warrior all I saw when I looked at stances was a weakness that my opponents would take the same advantage of. If I switched to a passive, defensive posture when they procced, so would my enemies.

Playing this way I get the benefit of the assumption I’m going to be running them (because honestly, what warrior doesn’t -_-u) AND I assume the position that I’ve got to get by without them (stances). Therefor I gain the benefit of those traits/utils not taking up space on my bar. Essentially I’m free of them, I’ve learned to play without them, and I benefit from that.

Don’t get me wrong, they’re strong, they’re good picks to play, but I don’t run them due to their inherent psychological shortcomings they have both on myself and my opponents.

What you do lose with Marauders is power and ferocity. You gain better sustained damage from AA’s with that amulet, but overall your burst and heavy hits are relatively weaker. Due to the nature of the damage flying around, and the need for sustain on war, I’ve come to favor Valk (in a setup that works XD). Fact is, you only need enough damage to achieve your goal, and this setup, thankfully, clears the bar.

Seems pretty weak to condis when not in Berserk and spamming F1, the concept is still ok. I run a Bunker Buster setup too but I decided to just go pure damage and stick to avoiding direct fights…although you’d be surprised how many die to this just because of how high the damage is. If I’m gonna fill such a niche role, I’m gonna go full out. That being said I run something more like this when I’m going for damage but don’t wanna die instantly to focus.

Your sustain is still only really coming from those OP runes though, can’t fault someone for using them but take them away and watch how much your sustain drops.

BurrTheKing.8571:

Seems pretty weak to condis when not in Berserk and spamming F1, the concept is still ok. I run a Bunker Buster setup too but I decided to just go pure damage and stick to avoiding direct fights…although you’d be surprised how many die to this just because of how high the damage is. If I’m gonna fill such a niche role, I’m gonna go full out. That being said I run something more like this when I’m going for damage but don’t wanna die instantly to focus.

Your sustain is still only really coming from those OP runes though, can’t fault someone for using them but take them away and watch how much your sustain drops.

I totally get where you’re coming from and I was running pretty much the same setup as you from the start.

I think the thing is, this setup allowed me to cover other areas I couldn’t when the need demanded. Like holding that point solo 1v1 when I didn’t down them straight away, or keeping it contested just long enough for help to arrive.

some video footage would be appreciated friend

Ross Biddle.2367:

One thing that’s nice about the signit to berserk cd’s is that they all come up at the same time. So procing a sig of fury into berserk, with a sig of might to make sure your gunflames will land will set you on in your way to burst a target. Once berserk has finished and the cd come up, sig of fury and might are both ready to go again.

Would there be a case to drop either of the signets in favour of Signet of Stamina?

I recognize the cost would be whatever trait you drop plus the +100 prec you’re more likely to get by proccing either of those sigils over Stamina (which you’ll likely want to keep the passive going).

But permanent, unstealable/uncorruptable vigor plus a total condi wipe on a 36s cd is pretty sweet.

I guess it comes down to two things:

1. How relatively important is that adren from the Fury sig if you have Headbutt doing the same thing, and the +180 precision otherwise?
2. How relatively important is that unblockability from the Might sig when you already have it from the mastery trait, and the +180 might otherwise?

I recognize that all three would be pretty strong, so it’s hard to make a bad choice. I’m just not sure what’s optimal.

boumz.9851:

some video footage would be appreciated friend

I’ll record tonight just for you ;D

Choppy.4183:

Ross Biddle.2367:

One thing that’s nice about the signit to berserk cd’s is that they all come up at the same time. So procing a sig of fury into berserk, with a sig of might to make sure your gunflames will land will set you on in your way to burst a target. Once berserk has finished and the cd come up, sig of fury and might are both ready to go again.

Would there be a case to drop either of the signets in favour of Signet of Stamina?

I recognize the cost would be whatever trait you drop plus the +100 prec you’re more likely to get by proccing either of those sigils over Stamina (which you’ll likely want to keep the passive going).

But permanent, unstealable/uncorruptable vigor plus a total condi wipe on a 36s cd is pretty sweet.

I guess it comes down to two things:

1. How relatively important is that adren from the Fury sig if you have Headbutt doing the same thing, and the +180 precision otherwise?
2. How relatively important is that unblockability from the Might sig when you already have it from the mastery trait, and the +180 might otherwise?

I recognize that all three would be pretty strong, so it’s hard to make a bad choice. I’m just not sure what’s optimal.

I see what you’re saying, and maybe there is something there, but I’d be loathe to give up the ease of use with how everything works togeather as it is. I wouldnt want to drop sig of might because part of what makes the bunker buster so bunker buster is that you’re potentialy running 12s of unblockable every 20s, though often you do end up proccing the trait during the utility causing the two to overlap instead of stack duration, but w/e, it allows you to eat Rev’s, DH’s, and Chrono’s who’re so reliant on blocks/reflects so tidily. The adren sig simply means that when i want to berserk I can, no waiting around for adrenaline to build up, which would be a game change for this build. That might not be the case all the time, and no doubt enough patience and discipline could allow you to comfortably overcome the change to the setup, but I’d hate to be caught out without it.

You could arguably make a case for dropping Outrage though, seeing as you have the stabos while berserking, and could rely on headbutt for the stun break. However I do often use Outrage as a break from Headbutt so I can open up a BG berserk burst. But again, maybe that’s simply a matter of playstyle as I id save that combo for when a stack of stabos is up while in berserk, and not do it outside of berserk.

Anyway what i’ll do is get a recording. That way you can see it in action for yourself.

Was funny, I had a Rev coming to 1v1 me a few times while I was holding far last night. After a few deaths he- /say: What build are you running :O

XD

Durability rune is going.

Looking at changes, Exuberance is right up there for me with the coming changes, Herald another option. Any other ideas from the pros?

Ross Biddle.2367:

I don’t have problems hitting my target with a rifle, and working a 10s weapon rotation is simply a matter of discipline.

This shouldnt be funny to me, oh but it is. Tip o’ the hat, sir.

Yeah, I see it. Looks good to me. Dunno why I havent thought of this.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vJAQNAU5enMdA1dgdhAmkCElilrATJH06qBIBgEQq7d0maftA-TZBCABUcBAu4JAAwBBA/9HcvMAA
I has i nice succes with this build, the damage it’s nice sure you don’t burst 19k of gun flame but you still hit hard..incredibli recover from breakstun 2.5k hp every breaksrun plus stab amd 1k toughness helps a lot to survive in tram fight and still be able to kill and help your team mates high pressuring targets. Runes gives you prot and resistance and this proc to ally as well…aand an unblocable gunflame or headbut or whatever is fun..it’s work well even with gs and rifle..but depends on your’s opponents..

Good build, I put this exact one together (with a couple varying utilities) for the warrior on my team a couple months ago, but with discipline since berserker stinks IMO. His build runs axe/shield; berserker is great for gunflame I’ll give you that.

I think you’re too loaded with signets. You can get respectable precision with only a couple because of the 60s precision buff, taking into account the passive signet of might on the signet trait. This requires popping at least HS before you enter the match.

IMO doylak is much better than signet of fury. It gives passive toughness plus the endless stability perfect for safe stomps, plus another stun break. I get why you take signet of might for the unblockable, just have to be careful not to overwrite your passive.

As for new rune, leadership should work very nicely which covers the boon duration aspect of durability. The resistance on HS becomes about 8 seconds, not to mention the very important fury duration from berserk mode.

I personally would take defy pain without question and dogged march, though cull the weak is very good.

skcamow.3527:

Good build, I put this exact one together (with a couple varying utilities) for the warrior on my team a couple months ago, but with discipline since berserker stinks IMO. His build runs axe/shield; berserker is great for gunflame I’ll give you that.

I think you’re too loaded with signets. You can get respectable precision with only a couple because of the 60s precision buff, taking into account the passive signet of might on the signet trait. This requires popping at least HS before you enter the match.

IMO doylak is much better than signet of fury. It gives passive toughness plus the endless stability perfect for safe stomps, plus another stun break. I get why you take signet of might for the unblockable, just have to be careful not to overwrite your passive.

As for new rune, leadership should work very nicely which covers the boon duration aspect of durability. The resistance on HS becomes about 8 seconds, not to mention the very important fury duration from berserk mode.

I personally would take defy pain without question and dogged march, though cull the weak is very good.

I’ve been running defy pain and dogged match, and trying Exuberance, all of which have been running well. Exuberance has made a small but noticeable damage increase. I hadnt thought of Leadership, but stat-wise is very similar to Exuberance, so yah I’ll probably swap since the boon duration is superior.

You’re right about sig of might being the unnecessary pick on the bar. I just love my on demand unblockables, and when they chain together nicely in a fight it’s super sexy : D. The toughness and extra durability would certainly make more sense in a GS Ax/Shield build since you’re not facing reflectables, and are certain to face more CC the more you’re in melee situations. Since I have the option of ranged play however, it makes good sense to run the extra might sig.

As for Discipline, when I stronghold I run str/disc/berserk, full zerkerberker for full damage (including burst cd’s) and rifle piercing. When rifle gets its base piercing buffs, discipline will have next to nothing to offer. Fast hands will still be great (but unnecessary), and the only draw will be Versatile Power in conjunction with Smash Brawler for spammable bursts. I like Discipline, but base warrior is inferior to berserker, and discipline holds back from some optimal build choices and play styles.

But since I know you Skam, and your warrior was running with the support of your team (more organized play), that opens up options for your warrior, so it’s fair to acknowledge anything’s on the table at that point.

Had been slacking on recording so I ran a match when woke up and uploaded it

nice, i like it,look at my previous link pls, the build it’s very simililar but let’s you sustain more in team fight without losing output damage..working on breakstun and stunlock,try it i would appriciate any suggestion:)

raven.9870:

nice, i like it,look at my previous link pls, the build it’s very simililar but let’s you sustain more in team fight without losing output damage..working on breakstun and stunlock,try it i would appriciate any suggestion:)

To me your build looks like one of the many variations on a DPS gunflame build. The *role" of all of these builds is the same, which is +1 roaming DPS. Beyond that the various trait lines, traits, utilities, and amulets (within a certain range) are what make these builds differ. But otherwise these builds are essentially the same.

Your build is no less good or bad, it simply has to give up one thing for something else, or takes some good aspect at the cost of another. Marauder amulet gives a nice middle ground of HP but comes at the cost of bust damage (your ferocity is low). You have more crit chance (with fury) for more sustained pressure (from regular attacks) but by dropping arms for discipline you’ve lost Bust precision. Also by dropping arms you lose signit mastery (6s less unblockables every 20s) which effects your signit cd’s (sig of might now 24s). Rousing Resilience is a trait many berserkers have found purchase with in their builds, but it comes at the cost of Cleansing Ire, or Last Stand. By taking Shield and Shield master you lose the burst and mobility of GS. Unsuspeting Foe made the headbutt GS hundred blades burst work with the valk ammy.

So yeah, your build gives you some nice options and can alter how you play and the situations you can manage. Is it better? Ehhh, if its working for you then awesome, keep at it.

Personally when I want to go for a glassy amulet I go all in (and avoid the chaos of heavy engagments, sticking right on the outside of them if possible). I will run this in stronghold too
http://gw2skills.net/editorhttp://gw2skills.net/editor/?vJAQJAURnMdAlki9dA2dAEliliA7d4mcnuGDgHQAQJvF9yCA-TpBBABEcEAKa/hjPEAAcBAKrMwDPAAA

Ross Biddle.2367:

Oh, here’s a good chunk of my trip through Ruby thus far using this build

The 7 match win streak in particular was fully solo XD

Full solo. Also, I had more in the winstreak before first screen (bottom) (think Im on 16 atm) and I’m still going on the winstreak xd (and no, not your build..)

My issue with all of the rifle builds are simple. It requires you to have a group to carry you +1 and that’s all. you can’t fight on point at all since rifle requires range to work and fighting on a point is not a range thing, unless its maybe mid on foefire. So its pretty much a bad build in my opinion for solo play.

And Obino that is very lucky for solo, my experience is every other match I have got a bad or several bads on it that doesn’t know how to play and I lose. Or I end up with other players who are also running only +1 specs. Too many +1 specs doesn’t work.

Warlord.9074:

And Obino that is very lucky for solo, my experience is every other match I have got a bad or several bads on it that doesn’t know how to play and I lose.

Yup. This is the true joke of soloQ. You could be the best bunker chrono in the world and you’re still going to get bads on your team who throw your match. Thus why in the end it doesn’t really matter if you play a chrono or a warrior. Just have to know how to play, and fulfill your role.

Been trying out this build myself in a few battles, must say I do like the fact I can finally bring my predator into battle!

In a way saving your bursts and damage skills for stun moments does make this more of a skilled way of playing, but relying on only headbutt for these stuns and fellow allies makes your DPS window 3s out of 20s, that being said burst skills always critting, does hit nicely!
The sustain is… ok at most, but I still find a heavy reliance on Defy pain and Zerker stance, without these two skills health just goes faster than you can say Gunflame.

Getting used to no fast hands as well is a bit of a hurdle being that I’ve personally become so tuned into fast 5 second switches and always changing weapons depending on my position and circumstance. In many ways this holds back the warrior due to the nature of the weapons balanced around fast hands, however that being said ANet stated they are going to try make the weapons self sufficient with cooldowns and effects so swapping weapons isn’t so needed, so only time will tell how well this build performs in the next patch.

Running both Traited Signets and Signet of might really does dominate classes which rely on blocks to survive! Bunker Mesmer after patch will be annihilated by this combo! Dragonhunter too is another class whom will fall to the unblockable burst skills or headbutt 100b combo.

Overall the build is a fun build, bit gimmicky with the current rifle state, which should improve massivly with the future 4 skill evading backwards creating a weapon of sustain giving the warrior a total of 4 dodges including GS Rifle and Endurance dodges.

My biggest issue with this build however, is trying to chase and catch up to a foe… super slow! Move at the speed of a tank but take hits like a wet sausage. The fault is not the build but the warrior design as a whole, which hopefully we will see a change in soon! (we must have HOPE .. (not the weapon… but maybe at one stage we will!) but hope the changes on the 26th address this.)

From a rating
Bad
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Okay
- <——— Build would go here, but after patch we may see it rise up higher!
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Good

Smoosh.2718:

Been trying out this build myself in a few battles, must say I do like the fact I can finally bring my predator into battle!

In a way saving your bursts and damage skills for stun moments does make this more of a skilled way of playing, but relying on only headbutt for these stuns and fellow allies makes your DPS window 3s out of 20s, that being said burst skills always critting, does hit nicely!
The sustain is… ok at most, but I still find a heavy reliance on Defy pain and Zerker stance, without these two skills health just goes faster than you can say Gunflame.

Getting used to no fast hands as well is a bit of a hurdle being that I’ve personally become so tuned into fast 5 second switches and always changing weapons depending on my position and circumstance. In many ways this holds back the warrior due to the nature of the weapons balanced around fast hands, however that being said ANet stated they are going to try make the weapons self sufficient with cooldowns and effects so swapping weapons isn’t so needed, so only time will tell how well this build performs in the next patch.

Running both Traited Signets and Signet of might really does dominate classes which rely on blocks to survive! Bunker Mesmer after patch will be annihilated by this combo! Dragonhunter too is another class whom will fall to the unblockable burst skills or headbutt 100b combo.

Overall the build is a fun build, bit gimmicky with the current rifle state, which should improve massivly with the future 4 skill evading backwards creating a weapon of sustain giving the warrior a total of 4 dodges including GS Rifle and Endurance dodges.

My biggest issue with this build however, is trying to chase and catch up to a foe… super slow! Move at the speed of a tank but take hits like a wet sausage. The fault is not the build but the warrior design as a whole, which hopefully we will see a change in soon! (we must have HOPE .. (not the weapon… but maybe at one stage we will!) but hope the changes on the 26th address this.)

From a rating
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Yeah thanks for this, it’s a good explanation of my own impressions. The build will definitely benefit from the extra adrenaline coming to the rifle as well as the piercing.

BTW, I make my headbutt 4s under GS with sigil of paralyzation. That extra second allows for a lot more damage to fall down. Also having experience running sigil of speed on other roaming classes, swapping out sigil of force for it allows for that long duration swiftness stack to rotate around after taking out targets.

https://youtu.be/p5xwL-kGIfE

https://youtu.be/dfNjZoocD2Y

Sigil of force replaced with speed

Went with Leadership runes, thanks Skcamow :D

Tbh I underplayed this build when I rated it, after a few more matches it does seem to perform quite nicely! Had an ele going from 70% to 100% for a bit of the fight till i landed my stun and let loose a full 100b combo followed up by a gunflame , killing the ele on the spot.
I am so glad that this isnt a cheesey condi build, that stuff shouldnt be in this game.
(first time I’ve used my rifle in pvp mind you, always stuck with Axe Shield before due to that extra stun and 3s sustain on block.)

Rating redone:
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Smoosh.2718:

Tbh I underplayed this build when I rated it, after a few more matches it does seem to perform quite nicely! Had an ele going from 70% to 100% for a bit of the fight till i landed my stun and let loose a full 100b combo followed up by a gunflame , killing the ele on the spot.
I am so glad that this isnt a cheesey condi build, that stuff shouldnt be in this game.
(first time I’ve used my rifle in pvp mind you, always stuck with Axe Shield before due to that extra stun and 3s sustain on block.)

Rating redone:
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The 4s stun into hundred blades combo is a bunker ele takedown special :D

I like to soften them up with gunflame first, swap to GS, into Headbutt, that allows for an arc diviner then hundred blades in the 4s (though if you open your berserker mode you get he quickness, but yeah). Then you still have your whirlwind if you need it, and it can also slip in on the end of the stun.

• You can do the same with Druid since they’re so stun prone.

• Chrono is tougher, more stun breaks, staff 2 always a problem, and distortion is always there to bail them out unfortunately.

• Scrappers have their bloody auto immunes XD

• DH’s are easier to take down with gunflames, but a good stun + hundred blades in the thick of a fight can clean them up quickly.

• Necro’s also highly susceptible to the combo, and will eat up that life force/HP. Be sure to pick off their wurm before entering the fray so they can’t escape the sweet, sweet take down XD

• As a general rule on thieves, cast healing sig first. They’ll want to hide behind their blinds so the resistance will give you the surprise. Easier to just gunflame them down though. Even use the stun for an extra gunflame as it’ll track if they shadowstep away.

So yeah, Unsuspecting Foe truly makes the build shine when you can lay down that 4s stun and go ham your GS. There’s a ton of extra damage to the build as soon as your targets get heavy CC’d.