Guild Wars 2

Hi everybody!

Been a while, but I’ve recently been working on a new wvw roaming spec using the elite specialization for warrior. I think it’s a lot of fun to play and it certainly feels like a newish way to play warrior. You’re basically tanky as hell while using berserker gear with multiple ways to set up your burst.

Check out the video, any feedback is appreciated as always.

The Indestructible Hulk Build:

Cya!

Hi, nice build and video:)

Love your character theme “the hulk” nice one!

Thanks m8, you should see my Thor

And it actually looks like a viable roaming build too. Great job… I think this is the only one so far!

Would I be right in assuming the biggest issues are kiting bursters and condi bombers? That’s how I’d play against this build I think… either saddling you with plenty of conditions or, if I was a mesmer/thief, setting you up for bursts and otherwise keeping distance until I wore you down. That being said, every build is weak against something.

One question about the build itself… what you said about the value of stability when stomping notwithstanding, what are your thoughts about trading up Eternal Champion for Bloody Roar?

Normally, I’d say EC is the better trait, but then I think your build could use a little more burst to take advantage of any opportunity to kill kiters, and the Taunt fits in with the 100b grinder your build is built around.

been using these runes for a while and it works wonders. hard time against kiters and condis naturally. using the heal sig has an added benefit to it with aegis so theres that. i feel safe running out in the world with this set

Yeah I have been using them for a while. (Defender runes) You can easily stack up to ++15 sec regen. I always hoped they would allow thems in SPVP. (Did they added thems I have not played in 3 weeks)

I use the blocking as a mini self regroup. 4K heal, regen and the might you get is pretty cool and it get you ready for a decent counter attack. I usually used it with axe/shield. The hardest part is to not waste your heal because of the 30 sec ICD and your block timer. With mace you have a second way to get the proc. Watch for poison while using it because it really hurt the heal.

The regen you get when you use block after rampage in a big ennemy zerg is pretty good. I can’t count how many times those runes saved my butt.

1v1 situation you will surprise people at first but good duelers will eventually learn how to deal with you since it’s easily counterable BUT they are very effective with a bit of chaos around you.

Ok this is a great rune choice, never heard of it before.

And you know what, this could be a great rune for warrior in PvP .

Great video too.

I guess i need to do my homework about these things they add.

Choppy.4183:

And it actually looks like a viable roaming build too. Great job… I think this is the only one so far!

Would I be right in assuming the biggest issues are kiting bursters and condi bombers? That’s how I’d play against this build I think… either saddling you with plenty of conditions or, if I was a mesmer/thief, setting you up for bursts and otherwise keeping distance until I wore you down. That being said, every build is weak against something.

One question about the build itself… what you said about the value of stability when stomping notwithstanding, what are your thoughts about trading up Eternal Champion for Bloody Roar?

Normally, I’d say EC is the better trait, but then I think your build could use a little more burst to take advantage of any opportunity to kill kiters, and the Taunt fits in with the 100b grinder your build is built around.

Thanks for the support m8, your insights are always much appreciated.

When talking about the difficulties, yes, conditions are good against this build. I don’t run CI, which hurts, but I do feel that the mace burst is too unreliable to hit for CI to be worth it anyway. That, and I explained in the vid why I take RR over CI.

Still, that does leave you vulnerable to condi’s. There are a few ways to circumvent this. One is to slot Signet of Stamina instead of Endure Pain. You are already extremely resistant to direct damage as is, and you still have 3 stunbreaks left without EP.
I am also trying out sigil of cleansing instead of paralysation on Mace, as the stun sigil is good, but I usually find myself using headbutt when I am already on GS so I don’t lose any stuntime (before my target stunbreaks) switching to GS. So the sigil really only adds to shield bash and Mace burst, which may or may not be better then Sigil of Cleansing in the long run.

However, with all the regen you get, you can actually counter a lot of condition damage simply by healing it back up. So the weakness to condi is there, but it is less prevalent then I myself thought before trying it out.
Poison is the worst offender and the main reason why I’ll quickly slot SoS if I think I will be facing condi.

Kiting burst specs, however, have not been successful against me yet. I fought a pretty good D/P thief yesterday (which kites a lot if played right against warrior, and this one did), beat him three times without dropping below 50% I think. Recorded it so I might put it in a vid soon. Also, in the build vid, the fight against the mesmer showed the extreme capability of this build to tank damage, and get back into the fight by healing back up. Add reflects to the equation, and this build does pretty well against kiters.
The real problem when fighting these enemies is that it would take too long to kill one in outnumbered, so it definitely becomes a weakness there. Try sword over mace to help with this.

About Eternal Champion vs Bloody Roar, the main reason why I like EC over Bloody Roar is that EC also helps (a lot) when not in Berserk mode. One thing you should realize about this build is that you often ‘sit’ on a lot of adrenaline, patiently waiting for the opportune moment to land your skullcrack. This means that you won’t activate Berserk a lot when you have full adrenaline – it is simply too precious of a resource to use for that (in most situations). Berserk is there to boost the burst after you land a Headbutt, or to secure a stomp should you have full adrenaline and a downed enemy.
So, BR will only be useful like ~30% of a fight. Also, BR has a nice taunt, but you should already have your target stunned when you activate Berserk, meaning the taunt does nothing, except for making them damage you?? (as I think taunt ‘breaks’ stun?)

Apologies for the wall of text.

@ klam, yanoch, Juba: Thanks for the replies!

The runes are indeed a big part of this build. Seperately, they don’t seem that impressive, but with some other stuff like Rousing Resilience healing and a good amount of blocks from mace/shield, the synergy really becomes quite strong. I sometimes feel like playing a guardian with the amount of stuff I am blocking while healing myself back to full. The fight against the two thieves really shows how good this build is at staying healthy (off course, my opponents skill level helped with that here, but you get my point).

Cygnus.6903:

-snip-

Thanks for the reply, Cygnus.

You’ve done a really great job here. I think this might be the first viable Berserker build that isn’t (1) based on a gimmick or (2) trying to imitate existing warrior builds.

Thanks for sharing it with the rest of us!

Ive been using defender runes for my guard and shield warrior very soon after they were released. Ive always been amused as to why they were not popular on forums.

I think they are very strong. Pity they dont allow them in pvp.

Nice one, Cygnus! Thanks for sharing that rune info, guess it will be used a lot now.

I was trying a Skullcracker berserker in pvp but felt like berserker didn’t really add to the build. Headbutt was just a less useful alternative setup for 100b on a longer CD than Skullcrack and with one or two more buttons in between the stun and 100b (tried both Savage Instinct and Smash Brawler where you need to use Outrage after Headbutt) .

In your build, berserker mainly adds low CD stun breaks and even a self stun to trigger RR. Did you also try a Strength/Defense/Discipline build with the same runes and Balanced Stance or Frenzy as replacement for Outrage? You could trigger RR only 2 times per minute but your burst damage would be a lot higher (plus damage on dodge).

Juba.8406:

Ok this is a great rune choice, never heard of it before.

And you know what, this could be a great rune for warrior in PvP .

Great video too.

I guess i need to do my homework about these things they add.

how can you even consider that this build could be great in pvp?
this build provides the same problems like every other warrior build in pvp atm
- it doesn’t fix anything.
Not to mention that the rune isn’t even avilable in pvp lol

but DUDE, warrior SUCKS

Sadly this rune is not available in pvp.

dominik.9721:

Juba.8406:

Ok this is a great rune choice, never heard of it before.

And you know what, this could be a great rune for warrior in PvP .

Great video too.

I guess i need to do my homework about these things they add.

how can you even consider that this build could be great in pvp?
this build provides the same problems like every other warrior build in pvp atm
- it doesn’t fix anything.
Not to mention that the rune isn’t even avilable in pvp lol

Well that is sad, we wouldn’t know for sure then, and i never said “Build” i said Rune.

Was thinking with a proper amulet/traits/sigils there could be a great Point holder build either a new skullcracker or maybe a new rebirth of the old troll build Mace/Shield-Mace/Sword which used runes of the Guardian .

Rousing Resilience is probably one of my favorite underrated traits. This is a build that utilizes heavy synergy to perform better than the sum of its parts.

Also:

…or maybe a new rebirth of the old troll build Mace/Shield-Mace/Sword which used runes of the Guardian .

You’ve inspired me.
PvP
WvW

ulchanar.4309:

Nice one, Cygnus! Thanks for sharing that rune info, guess it will be used a lot now.

I was trying a Skullcracker berserker in pvp but felt like berserker didn’t really add to the build. Headbutt was just a less useful alternative setup for 100b on a longer CD than Skullcrack and with one or two more buttons in between the stun and 100b (tried both Savage Instinct and Smash Brawler where you need to use Outrage after Headbutt) .

In your build, berserker mainly adds low CD stun breaks and even a self stun to trigger RR. Did you also try a Strength/Defense/Discipline build with the same runes and Balanced Stance or Frenzy as replacement for Outrage? You could trigger RR only 2 times per minute but your burst damage would be a lot higher (plus damage on dodge).

Glad you like it!

As for PvP, a lot of people have been asking me about that. To be honest, I hardly ever PvP anymore, the abundance of braindead (condi) specs in there does not appeal to me.

But, as PvP is focussed around holding a point, warrior seems at a disadvantage in there right now. I don’t think this build will change that, even with the rune.

STR/DEF/DIS is what I was running for a while after HoT. I’ve tried different weapon/stat set-ups, both glassy and a little more sustainable. It works. But I found myself wanting something else, wanting to try the elite and make something that works for me.

The reasons I would pick Berserker over Strength for this build;

- Pulsing stability in Berserk and a single stack when you break stun is incredible. Often, people wil try to follow up (either intentionally or unintentionally – i.e. basilisk venom) their initial stun with another one. The stack you get from breaking the first also nullifies follow up stuns, which is incredibly useful. As a bonus, pulsing stability in Berserk reduces the need for stability on the utility bar, which opens up a very important utility slot (in this case for Outrage).

- Outrage. 10 second cooldown stunbreak that gives you 3 stacks of might, 2624 HP, 1 stack of stability and 1000 toughness for the next 8 seconds? Yes please. And you get adrenaline as a bonus, which actually helps a lot when you don’t slot CI.

- Headbutt. I really like this skill for this build. You can self proc above mentioned stunbreak benefits, instantly recharge adrenaline after landing Skullcrack, and it’s a great finisher with the activation of Berserk. You do lose out on some stun time going into Berserk and breaking the stun, but then you get quickness making up for that. It also has a little more range then Skullcrack and a lot less visual warning, while dealing a kittenton of damage by itself. Oh, and a 20 second cooldown is pretty sweet IMO.

- Berserk mode itself. Aside from the pulsing stability, this transformation gives you a lot of Burst potential. Stunbreak + condi cleanse on activation+quickness+Fury+Always Angry = very high amounts of very fast damage if you land the combo, that’s hard to interrupt. Then, you get 15% attack speed, which is really nice on a slow set like Mace. The mace Berserk burst skill hits almost as hard as GS #5 (most people don’t realize this, but that’s pretty hard lol). Then it also applies confusion+bleed+cripple+blind, half of those condi’s are amazing without condi damage and confusion has a nice panic factor to it.

The thing I miss the most about not picking Strength is not the damage, because let’s be clear, Strength does give you more DPS. But it’s the cooldown reduction on GS. I find myself having to adjust my sense of timing now that I don’t use it. Other then that, I definitely prefer my current set-up.

@ Juba, Ghotistyx: Glad to see some inspired thinking on the forum here. We may or may not have the best elite specialization, but we should try to make the best out of what we have until Anet decides otherwise.

Thanks for sharing the build, I was already messing with it for a tank build to go blobbing in wvw, didn’t think about running it on my zerk gear for roaming, imma have to try this out since my hoelbrak runes are lower in price where I don’t mind replacing it, looks fun and thumbs up for the new play style like how someone mentioned, I wanna try it just cause it’s something different

Thanks for your reply, Cygnus, it all makes sense. It’s a pity the rune isn’t available in pvp, would have loved to test it there, too.

As you mention Skull Grinder, a strong argument for the berserker version is that it brings more options than just trying to land a Skull Crack > 100b combo. Headbutt is another threat and Skull Grinder and Arcing Slice are also both worth using. But somehow that was also my problem with the build: what is priority in which situation? Probably didn’t play it long enough, but I just didn’t develop an intuitive playstyle. Can you go a bit more into detail here?

ulchanar.4309:

Thanks for your reply, Cygnus, it all makes sense. It’s a pity the rune isn’t available in pvp, would have loved to test it there, too.

As you mention Skull Grinder, a strong argument for the berserker version is that it brings more options than just trying to land a Skull Crack > 100b combo. Headbutt is another threat and Skull Grinder and Arcing Slice are also both worth using. But somehow that was also my problem with the build: what is priority in which situation? Probably didn’t play it long enough, but I just didn’t develop an intuitive playstyle. Can you go a bit more into detail here?

In general, you build up adrenaline to use Skullcrack. That part of the build didn’t change. While you do this, you rotate defensive abilities to a; survive, b; get close to your target and c; make them waste enough defensive abilities to make Skullcrack land. It’s very important not to miss, obviously, but if you do, focus on landing Headbutt next. A lot of people won’t expect another long duration stun, especially when you can immediately follow up with Berserk burst.

Aside from this, couple of things to keep in mind.

Don’t start off blocking, like I mention in the vid. You see me do this a couple times in the roaming part, because I too am still learning a lot.

When fighting condi, don’t ‘camp’ mace shield hoping to land the skullcrack. This will quickly overload you with condi’s. You are better off rotating and keep in mind that you have Headbutt available when on GS to land the combo.

When talking about the combo, be sure to check if HB is off cooldown before you attempt to use Skullcrack or Headbutt. You can try to poke them a bit with Mace auto, but it obviously isn’t as good.

About landing Skullcrack or Headbutt, obvious stuff like checking for stability, blinds, Aegis and counting for dodges is obvious. Try to use Shield Bash to make them stunbreak. If they do, follow up with another stun, if they don’t, swap to GS and HB. Shield Bash is a 2,6 second stun with the sigil, which is pretty long by itself and allows you to put a serious dent into their health bar.

If your target is very tanky but does not carry many stunbreaks (i.e. necro’s) or has already used them, something like Shield Bash > auto > auto > Skullcrack > GS HB > Arcing Slice > Headbutt > Berserk > auto > auto > Mace Skullgrinder is a pretty insane combo, I don’t think anything will survive. And the quickness gets you the oomph you need.

Also important to consider is that you are limited mobilitywise. Therefore only use Rush when you need to close a gap or create one. Whirlwind can be used more offensively, but you will often be using it just to close the gap.

I like to start off a fight in GS, close the gap, tank some damage, switch to Mace to refill my endurance and start blocking where nessecary to recover. The fight with the Revenant really shows what I mean here. He actually hits me for ~5k with Unrelenting Assault which I almost immediately fully recover by using Shield Stance.

All in all, the biggest thing you need to practice is landing the difficult to land skills like Skullcrack and Headbutt. There is a lot more to this then you would think at first sight. Other then that, get a good feel for rotating defensive abilities, and you should be fine. I’ll probably post a vid with some more duels soon, had some entertaining ones already with a DP thief and a Dragon Hunter that chased me with some friends, then found himself in a 1v1 with a fully healed and ready to go Hulk

Cool, thanks for that! I like that Skullcrack is still top priority and Headbutt is an instantly available alternative for missing it. I tried to get into Berserk mode as often as possible, failing to land Headbutt too often and thus ruining too many chances. Your approach doesn’t change the Skullcracker playstyle too much, it just adds more options. The defensive rotation and usage of GS you describe is pretty much what I do anyway. Should give it a try again to see if I can get it going now.

Juba.8406:

dominik.9721:

Juba.8406:

Ok this is a great rune choice, never heard of it before.

And you know what, this could be a great rune for warrior in PvP .

Great video too.

I guess i need to do my homework about these things they add.

how can you even consider that this build could be great in pvp?
this build provides the same problems like every other warrior build in pvp atm
- it doesn’t fix anything.
Not to mention that the rune isn’t even avilable in pvp lol

Well that is sad, we wouldn’t know for sure then, and i never said “Build” i said Rune.

Was thinking with a proper amulet/traits/sigils there could be a great Point holder build either a new skullcracker or maybe a new rebirth of the old troll build Mace/Shield-Mace/Sword which used runes of the Guardian .

Well ye, but still the same answer. the rune deosn’t fix anything. the rune could provide twice as much healing as it does now and warrior would still be much worse than any tempest ele, druid, reaper or scrapper

dominik.9721:

Juba.8406:

dominik.9721:

Juba.8406:

Ok this is a great rune choice, never heard of it before.

And you know what, this could be a great rune for warrior in PvP .

Great video too.

I guess i need to do my homework about these things they add.

how can you even consider that this build could be great in pvp?
this build provides the same problems like every other warrior build in pvp atm
- it doesn’t fix anything.
Not to mention that the rune isn’t even avilable in pvp lol

Well that is sad, we wouldn’t know for sure then, and i never said “Build” i said Rune.

Was thinking with a proper amulet/traits/sigils there could be a great Point holder build either a new skullcracker or maybe a new rebirth of the old troll build Mace/Shield-Mace/Sword which used runes of the Guardian .

Well ye, but still the same answer. the rune deosn’t fix anything. the rune could provide twice as much healing as it does now and warrior would still be much worse than any tempest ele, druid, reaper or scrapper

First he said the rune was a good choice, not any specific build, and its for warrior, not saying that warrior in particular is now all of a sudden a good choice of all the classes. And to say that it doesn’t matter cuz it’s still worse than x and y is just… lol… then let’s all just run naked with no build cuz even with build it’s worse than x and y so doesn’t matter amiright?

Obindo.6802:

dominik.9721:

Juba.8406:

dominik.9721:

Juba.8406:

Ok this is a great rune choice, never heard of it before.

And you know what, this could be a great rune for warrior in PvP .

Great video too.

I guess i need to do my homework about these things they add.

how can you even consider that this build could be great in pvp?
this build provides the same problems like every other warrior build in pvp atm
- it doesn’t fix anything.
Not to mention that the rune isn’t even avilable in pvp lol

Well that is sad, we wouldn’t know for sure then, and i never said “Build” i said Rune.

Was thinking with a proper amulet/traits/sigils there could be a great Point holder build either a new skullcracker or maybe a new rebirth of the old troll build Mace/Shield-Mace/Sword which used runes of the Guardian .

Well ye, but still the same answer. the rune deosn’t fix anything. the rune could provide twice as much healing as it does now and warrior would still be much worse than any tempest ele, druid, reaper or scrapper

First he said the rune was a good choice, not any specific build, and its for warrior, not saying that warrior in particular is now all of a sudden a good choice of all the classes. And to say that it doesn’t matter cuz it’s still worse than x and y is just… lol… then let’s all just run naked with no build cuz even with build it’s worse than x and y so doesn’t matter amiright?

That’s it, we should try and be more positive. You still kitten face lol.

This build is new to people? variations on this have been around for the better part of a year. Its gotten buffed several times but I’ve been using defender runes on warrior since March. I know Wilson has been running pretty much this exact build for quite a while.

And yes, its totally gimmicky, I have been maining a variation on this since the 23rd patch its a great spec, but its totally propped up by its runes. Take the defender runes away and its got real issues.

One tip I have is try swapping heightened focus for burst mastery and go top top top in berserker. headbutt, outrage, arc divider, 100b, arc divider with all the damage modifiers and quickness is a brutal combo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqg9n_Gz2cM

Lurock Turoth.9085:

This build is new to people? variations on this have been around for the better part of a year. Its gotten buffed several times but I’ve been using defender runes on warrior since March. I know Wilson has been running pretty much this exact build for quite a while.

And yes, its totally gimmicky, I have been maining a variation on this since the 23rd patch its a great spec, but its totally propped up by its runes. Take the defender runes away and its got real issues.

One tip I have is try swapping heightened focus for burst mastery and go top top top in berserker. headbutt, outrage, arc divider, 100b, arc divider with all the damage modifiers and quickness is a brutal combo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqg9n_Gz2cM

No, Skullcracker has been around for way longer then a year bud. So that really wasn’t new to people I think. It’s also been a great build back then, way before Defender Runes, but it went out of style after some nerfs and a few other issues that arose.

The combination of this many regenerative abilities and Rousing Resilience is new to a lot of people apparently. I know it was new to me.

As far as your tip goes, if your opponent allows you to do that combo to them, then you will beat them with less damage modifiers also IMO. My variation allows you to get stability and might on stunbreak, pulsing stability on Berserk, and a stunbreak/condi cleanse on berserk activation. Yes, please.

This is an interesting idea, thanks for sharing! I’ve been using the Defender Runes before on my melee ranger, and I’m a long time fan of Rousing Resilience – but I’ve never thought about using both on a blocking warrior. I’m taking a break from the game now, but when I’m going back, I might give it a try.

Armored Attack would be pretty good on that build, because it also synergizes with Rousing Resilience, the 1,000 toughness also contributing an additional 100 power. I also wonder about using zealot armor (keeping berserker trinkets and weapons), to buff the sustain a bit.

Elegie.3620:

This is an interesting idea, thanks for sharing! I’ve been using the Defender Runes before on my melee ranger, and I’m a long time fan of Rousing Resilience – but I’ve never thought about using both on a blocking warrior. I’m taking a break from the game now, but when I’m going back, I might give it a try.

Armored Attack would be pretty good on that build, because it also synergizes with Rousing Resilience, the 1,000 toughness also contributing an additional 100 power. I also wonder about using zealot armor (keeping berserker trinkets and weapons), to buff the sustain a bit.

Sad to hear you’re taking a break, but we all need those every once in a while.

Armored Attack synergizes very well, you’re correct. Be sure to slot Defy Pain if you take Signet of Stamina though.

On the Zealot’s Armor, take a look at the healing power > health conversion for our regenerative abilities:

-Adrenal Health: 0,05 at 1 bar, 0,10 at 2 bars, 0,15 at 3 bars.
-Regen: 0,125
-Mango Pie: 0 (does not benefit from Healing Power)
-Healing Signet: 0,05 (the passive effect)

-Rousing Resilience: 0,5
-Rune heal: 0,6
-Sigil of Leeching: 0 (does not benefit from Healing Power)

All in all, only Rousing Resilience and the Rune heal would benefit very well from more Healing Power, whereas all other effects get mediocre boosts. You miss out on a lot of DPS switching to Zealot’s, so I’m not sure it’s worth it.

Cygnus.6903:

Sad to hear you’re taking a break, but we all need those every once in a while.

I’ve spent way too much time on the expansion so far, so it is good to step back a bit. I’m also a bit disappointed with the elite specialization, not having managed to make it work as well as vanilla warrior.

Anyway, I was happy to check the forum and see you’d posted this Berserker build! It’s well-thought and promising. Point taken regarding the zealot armor, thanks for your explanation!

Obindo.6802:

dominik.9721:

Juba.8406:

dominik.9721:

Juba.8406:

Ok this is a great rune choice, never heard of it before.

And you know what, this could be a great rune for warrior in PvP .

Great video too.

I guess i need to do my homework about these things they add.

how can you even consider that this build could be great in pvp?
this build provides the same problems like every other warrior build in pvp atm
- it doesn’t fix anything.
Not to mention that the rune isn’t even avilable in pvp lol

Well that is sad, we wouldn’t know for sure then, and i never said “Build” i said Rune.

Was thinking with a proper amulet/traits/sigils there could be a great Point holder build either a new skullcracker or maybe a new rebirth of the old troll build Mace/Shield-Mace/Sword which used runes of the Guardian .

Well ye, but still the same answer. the rune deosn’t fix anything. the rune could provide twice as much healing as it does now and warrior would still be much worse than any tempest ele, druid, reaper or scrapper

First he said the rune was a good choice, not any specific build, and its for warrior, not saying that warrior in particular is now all of a sudden a good choice of all the classes. And to say that it doesn’t matter cuz it’s still worse than x and y is just… lol… then let’s all just run naked with no build cuz even with build it’s worse than x and y so doesn’t matter amiright?

he sad that the rune could be a good choice for warrior in pvp.

And you know what, this could be a great rune for warrior in PvP .

I replied, that the rune is not even available in pvp and would not fix anything for warrior.
And yes, for me it doesn’t matter if it’s a " good" warrior build/rune when warrior is still trash compared to any other class.
So it’s basically as bad as any other rune in pvp for warrior because you will still get farmed and because it’s still not worth to bring a warrior in any serious pvp tournement – no matter which build atm.
fact.

So what’s wrong with that?

@Cygnus: This has nothing to do with being negative/positive. It’s the reality in pvp atm – and Juba was reffering to pvp.

So I tried this, and its good… walked into wvw feeling a bit more useful and then a DH jumps on me and before I can ignore pain/break i am dead.

I need to l2p

Or swap out berserker for pvt :p

dominik.9721:

@Cygnus: This has nothing to do with being negative/positive. It’s the reality in pvp atm – and Juba was reffering to pvp.

I know man, and from what I hear, warrior is in dire straits in PvP. Pun intended.

Thing is, we have to face the facts, and those tell us that we are stuck with the current situation until Anet decides otherwise. I get that giving feedback, allbeit negative, might accomplish some action from the devs, but I tend to be put off from too much negativity.

WvW is less bad, but it’s still bad, trust me. Whenever I get ganked too much or just keep on running into kittens running trap dragon hunter (in wvw really? how much hard-carry do you need?) or pu condimancer I just play something else, lol.

fost.9167:

So I tried this, and its good… walked into wvw feeling a bit more useful and then a DH jumps on me and before I can ignore pain/break i am dead.

I need to l2p

Or swap out berserker for pvt :p

Glad you like it bud. Try using some Marauder or Valkyrie until you get used to it a bit more. Maybe try sword instead of mace if you like that more.

Good to see you making vids again, I have been waiting for new Hulk knows bests for a while :)

Vikkela.7261:

Good to see you making vids again, I have been waiting for new Hulk knows bests for a while

I am collecting clips right now to make one of those. It will feature Dragon Hunter, for one.

Just takes a very long time editing it properly
And it’s not easy getting good fights either. I do have some against good shatter mesmers and D/P Daredevils, but they were in my first HKB also.

Was anything changed with the regeneration from this? I seem to not be getting it when blocking with mace and the regeneration seems like it might only be 1 second as the rune describes.

KittyRiv.5291:

Was anything changed with the regeneration from this? I seem to not be getting it when blocking with mace and the regeneration seems like it might only be 1 second as the rune describes.

Don’t know, haven’t played the last couple days.

I think the rune says you should get 1 second of regen per block, so I guess a nerf (in the form of a bugfix) is to be expected.

Great build Cygnus. Well thought out and works a treat in WvW, like a much needed shot of morphine to ease the migraine :p. Hey btw, you need to get one of those green refractors and slot it in a ring. Get the green one for your Hulk and you will glow radioactive green !

So Well I like the whole theory of this build and I think it works. I doubt that it works as well as its being presented to and here is why. Reason A. Reflects don’t count as blocks. Reason B. Mace seems like a terrible choice in that it will only block 1 attack for a 1 sec Regen. So yeah pretty good rune if you are not fighting anything with heavy projectiles. But I think most people in WvW are still on that dumb pirate ship strat even in small fights.

infinityandbeyond.9652:

Great build Cygnus. Well thought out and works a treat in WvW, like a much needed shot of morphine to ease the migraine :p. Hey btw, you need to get one of those green refractors and slot it in a ring. Get the green one for your Hulk and you will glow radioactive green !

Hey thanks for that, glad you like it!

I do actually have the green refractor, had to test it out on hulk! Tbh, it makes my character look really strange, so I think I’ll stick to the normal one

Warlord.9074:

So Well I like the whole theory of this build and I think it works. I doubt that it works as well as its being presented to and here is why. Reason A. Reflects don’t count as blocks. Reason B. Mace seems like a terrible choice in that it will only block 1 attack for a 1 sec Regen. So yeah pretty good rune if you are not fighting anything with heavy projectiles. But I think most people in WvW are still on that dumb pirate ship strat even in small fights.

Good feedback. Let me answer your doubts.

About the reflects not counting as blocks, this is quite a shame. Still, there is a positive here as well. Reflects deal damage. So you won’t be getting regen, but you do deal damage while preventing it to yourself. Any warrior build that slots Shield Master will have this advantage. And pretty much every enemy you encounter will use a combination of ranged and close combat. So choose the use of your Shield Stance wisely, and you will get high regen uptime.
In fact, against opponents with a lot of projectiles, the build performs the best. You won’t need as much regen because you will be returning their DPS to them, putting the enemy on the defensive.

Mace was the Original choice of the build due to a couple reasons;
- The synergy between Headbutt and Skullcrack. Both stun for a long time, but are useless if your opponent still has stunbreaks, stability, dodges, w/e. You can use either skill to bait those out, then follow up with the other skill for a higher chance to pull of the combo.
- The Mace Berserk Burst skill is far superior to for instance the Sword one on this build. Does a lot of direct damage (comparable to Rush), blinds, criples, dazes, and it is somewhat easy to land thanks to a quick animation and a small leap.
- Another block is still another block. And if you reflect, it does not stop blocking. The counterattack is very painful too, a fact most people don’t realise.

All in all, the build felt very smooth with Mace. Obviously, Sword is a very good alternative and arguably superior in a lot of situations. The immobilise is a good set-up for HB, and final Thrust makes for some devastating combinations after a Headbutt>Berserk>HB>Arc Divider combo.

If you would like an overview of threats, this build has performed very well for me in duels against everything other then;

- Chill condi Reaper
- PU condi Chrono
- Staff Shatter Chrono
- Well played Glint/Shiro revenants

Won pretty much every other duel then against these specs thusfar. Warriors only stand a chance if they slot Signet of Might, which is a YOLO skill only used for duels anyway (you won’t encounter this in roaming usually). Thieves can’t outdamage my sustain and will eventually run out of stunbreaks. Necro’s can’t stand the stuns. Ele’s won’t do enough damage (or die too fast). Even Dragon Hunter is manageable if you rotate between reflects and direct DPS wisely. Normal Shatter mesmers can take a while, but I faced a few good ones and managed. Rangers can’t stand the reflects, althought they can sometimes draw if they have a lot of sustain themselves and slot enough stunbreaks. Fought one good scrapper that also ended up in a draw, although it was more in my favor (with sword I could’ve probably finished, but he managed to run with a sliver of health a couple times).

To chime in on the build…
It seems more like an average build that has been made viable by an experience player that has propped it up with good runes and food buffs. The ultimate test of any build is if you take it to Spvp without the defender and/or perplex runes etc runes or food buffs, does it still perform better than average?

To me personally it is just heartening to see warrior still being played. I believe 90% of what makes it strong is the runes and food and the fact is played by a veteran.

It does high light many of the issues warrior has. In the first encounter against chronomancer, the warrior was kited and stealthed for nearly the first 2 minutes and stunned multiple times where berserker mode was of no use because adrenaline built too slowly. The chronomancer eventually lost because they became complacent and got caught with everything on cool down. The warrior didn’t have any answer to remaining on target apart from experience by the player.

The revenant encounter is pretty straight forward..they used block at 75+ health,..so it is fair to say they weren’t an experienced player. However warrior does struggle with block persistent builds.

The duel thieve’s,..although a win for the warrior, the ability for the thieve’s to kite for days and the lack of reliably in tings like rush meant it came down to warrior experience again. Understanding what the thieve’s were gonna do and avoiding it and pressuring them in stealth to reveal themselves.

All in all a solid player that wasn’t given many advantages through their profession or traits..it was the runes and food what gave the player what they need to survive long enough to work their way rough all the current warrior short comings.

Good video. Nice contribution..but to me it shows food buffs and runes are currently more viable than warrior itself.

CntrlAltDefeat.1465:

To chime in on the build…
It seems more like an average build that has been made viable by an experience player that has propped it up with good runes and food buffs. The ultimate test of any build is if you take it to Spvp without the defender and/or perplex runes etc runes or food buffs, does it still perform better than average?

To me personally it is just heartening to see warrior still being played. I believe 90% of what makes it strong is the runes and food and the fact is played by a veteran.

It does high light many of the issues warrior has. In the first encounter against chronomancer, the warrior was kited and stealthed for nearly the first 2 minutes and stunned multiple times where berserker mode was of no use because adrenaline built too slowly. The chronomancer eventually lost because they became complacent and got caught with everything on cool down. The warrior didn’t have any answer to remaining on target apart from experience by the player.

The revenant encounter is pretty straight forward..they used block at 75+ health,..so it is fair to say they weren’t an experienced player. However warrior does struggle with block persistent builds.

The duel thieve’s,..although a win for the warrior, the ability for the thieve’s to kite for days and the lack of reliably in tings like rush meant it came down to warrior experience again. Understanding what the thieve’s were gonna do and avoiding it and pressuring them in stealth to reveal themselves.

All in all a solid player that wasn’t given many advantages through their profession or traits..it was the runes and food what gave the player what they need to survive long enough to work their way rough all the current warrior short comings.

Good video. Nice contribution..but to me it shows food buffs and runes are currently more viable than warrior itself.

Well thanks for the feedback and the compliments

Let me react by saying that yes, the runes do add a lot to the build, a surprise factor more then anything (warrior healing like a guardian while blocking?). However, I don’t think that using Skullcracker and slapping on Defender runes is everything here (nor is my experience as a roamer).
I’d say that the combination of all regenerative abilities, not just the runes, is what makes this build work for me. Rousing Resilience has a lot to do with it as well.

The food is probably the first thing I would replace to be honest. The 40% endurance regen food is probably better by a mile, to name one. 85 HPS is quite lackluster if you think about it, 1 stack of bleed outdamages it. It’s just the total regen number that I and I guess other people like about the build.

About the fights, obviously the two thieves were unexperienced. The Chrono was pretty good IMO, and the fact that the fight was dragged on showed the competency of a sturdy warrior build like this; many duels tend to keep on going until I’ve outsustained them to the point of making a mistake. Obviously, in a roaming 1vX scenario, you would lose against this mesmer+somebody else, but that can be said about any build on any class against any 1 competent player that outnumbers you. With Sword instead of mace, I bet that fight with the mesmer would not have taken this long either.

Not activating Berserker on this build is something I really like, let me explain why. You will more often then not use your adrenaline for Skullcrack, not for Berserker. This build really allows you to time Berserk at the most optimal moment, instead of just YOLOgunflamespamftw. The burst does not disappoint, either.

Cygnus.6903:

The Chrono was pretty good IMO, and the fact that the fight was dragged on showed the competency of a sturdy warrior build like this; many duels tend to keep on going until I’ve outsustained them to the point of making a mistake.

This was the fight I preferred, too. I liked how the mesmer handled the positioning in the fight, using your line of sight to try and confuse you, preparing his shatters adequately, defending nicely. You did an excellent job winning this – and one should not forget that you were running full berserker, without even Endure Pain, so IMO this makes an interesting case for your build. This was incidentally much better than watching current PvP!

Although your other opponents were indeed inferior to you skill-wise, I still enjoyed the fights, because they also demonstrated the strength of the build. For instance, I found myself automatically frowning at your getting hit by the Revenant’s Chaotic Release (“Huh? What’s he doing?”), then laughing at my own stupidity when realizing it was on purpose to gain Rousing Resilience on Outrage (“Ah, of course”).

I’d almost come back just to try and play this, and see if an average warrior like me can get something good out of it. In the past, I stopped solo WvW roaming and got to PvP instead because I could run for long minutes without finding appropriate opponents to fight – and wanted more excitement. But I still miss roaming around, and the occasional nice fights you can have there.

Elegie.3620:

Cygnus.6903:

The Chrono was pretty good IMO, and the fact that the fight was dragged on showed the competency of a sturdy warrior build like this; many duels tend to keep on going until I’ve outsustained them to the point of making a mistake.

This was the fight I preferred, too. I liked how the mesmer handled the positioning in the fight, using your line of sight to try and confuse you, preparing his shatters adequately, defending nicely. You did an excellent job winning this – and one should not forget that you were running full berserker, without even Endure Pain, so IMO this makes an interesting case for your build. This was incidentally much better than watching current PvP!

Although your other opponents were indeed inferior to you skill-wise, I still enjoyed the fights, because they also demonstrated the strength of the build. For instance, I found myself automatically frowning at your getting hit by the Revenant’s Chaotic Release (“Huh? What’s he doing?”), then laughing at my own stupidity when realizing it was on purpose to gain Rousing Resilience on Outrage (“Ah, of course”).

I’d almost come back just to try and play this, and see if an average warrior like me can get something good out of it. In the past, I stopped solo WvW roaming and got to PvP instead because I could run for long minutes without finding appropriate opponents to fight – and wanted more excitement. But I still miss roaming around, and the occasional nice fights you can have there.

Well, I don’t agree with you being an average warrior, I’ve seen some of your stuff on the forums here.

Taking a break is good every once in a while. If you do come back, be sure to try it, the playstyle really offers something new.

But roaming is still boring as ever. WvW was broken by Anet with the introduction of HoT.

Ok so i hate crafting. But seeing this video, i went from 0 to 400 in armorthmith just to craft that sigil of defense of yours.
Thanks dude!

Cygnus.6903:

Roaming is still boring as ever. WvW was broken by Anet with the introduction of HoT.

Bah, you should move to Ehmry and roam with me! The fun lives, even for warrior.

infinityandbeyond.9652:

Choppy.4183:

Cygnus.6903:

Roaming is still boring as ever. WvW was broken by Anet with the introduction of HoT.

Bah, you should move to Ehmry and roam with me! The fun lives, even for warrior.

Hey Choppy,

A few of us just moved to EB so i’ll see you around i guess

Are you in a guild? I’ll send you a message in-game.

Snarl.

Haha, I thought I saw you rolling around the other day. Yeah, I’m normally running the ICEE tag. Welcome to Ehmry!

YaYa.5879:

Ok so i hate crafting. But seeing this video, i went from 0 to 400 in armorthmith just to craft that sigil of defense of yours.
Thanks dude!

Woah, thanks m8! I hate crafting as well, but i have armor and weaponsmith at 500 thank God.

@Choppy; I don’t know about server hopping, kind of like Piken. And isn’t Ehmry a US server?

Cygnus.6903:

@Choppy; I don’t know about server hopping, kind of like Piken. And isn’t Ehmry a US server?

Yeah, it’s NA so I suppose it won’t work out. Sad pumpkins.