Guild Wars 2

Now I know that this next patch is going to hit us pretty hard. In addition to multiple nerfs the majority of our new traits are pretty much worthless. Hambow will still be a strong build, it’s a shame they didn’t just nerf Merciless Hammer at the start since that was where everyone knew the damage was coming from. That being said I’m sick of that build and have started using alternatives. When it comes to runes I think I’m moving away from Lyssa and back to Hoelbrak and Melandru and maybe Ogre. There’s going to be tons of new sigil options as well.

1. Duelist/Roamer

Bow is getting hit AGAIN but the changes aren’t the end of the world. Pin Down will probably best be used with a setup such as Bull’s Charge or Flurry. Even with a 15% damage reduction Arcing Arrow will still hit hard. With Opportunist and Signet of Rage you should have a constant 72% crit chance. Once you master landing Final Thrust you’ll have a lot of angry victims. I’m even considering runes of Rage but that depends on how the crit damage change affects it.

2. DPS Axe

I started running this again recently as a joke…and then found it to be surprisingly strong. This was what tons of Warriors would run at launch and it was basically “try to kill them before you die” but with a decent heal and Zerker Stance the sustain is still low but MUCH better than it used to be. It’s better in WvW but even in PvP you’ll hit squishy targets for a huge chunk of their health. Catch a glass Thief and they die almost instantly. I have Sigils of Air because it looks like they might provide good single target DPS now. The other GS sigil could be Bloodlust or really w/e you want. The most important thing to know is when to put distance between you and the enemy.

3. Might Sharing

The empty Tactics trait is for Phalanx Strength, the only useful new trait.
This one will probably be best in WvW. The gear is up to personal preference because it’ll work with power or Condi. I’m seriously thinking Runes of the Pirate might sorta work as well considering “Yarr!” would give an extra stack. You should be able to stack crazy amounts of Might with combo fields and keep them up. You could also go triple shout as well.

So, what are you going to be running after the patch?

Whatever you were running pre patch will be more or less the same

Condi warrior and hambow will still be best in spvp but will be less effective. I honestly never think pure dps warrior will be viable ever till thief is changed and damage condis as a whole are given a change (as well as weakness). The warriors inherit problem of being a melee class with no condi remove is kind of bad (excluding cleansing ire because that can only really be used reliably with longbow and maybe sword). Maybe mace shield far point assault will become popular again, but still there are specs like condi warrior that can win that 1v1.

apt.9184:

Condi warrior and hambow will still be best in spvp but will be less effective. I honestly never think pure dps warrior will be viable ever till thief is changed and damage condis as a whole are given a change (as well as weakness). The warriors inherit problem of being a melee class with no condi remove is kind of bad (excluding cleansing ire because that can only really be used reliably with longbow and maybe sword). Maybe mace shield far point assault will become popular again, but still there are specs like condi warrior that can win that 1v1.

I think you can get away with pure DPS so long as you have a Shield and Zerker Stance and know when to retreat. Even in PvP a Axe/Shield Warrior can kill a Thief or Mesmer with one Whirlwind + Evis combo, especially if you forced them to use a stub breaker with Bull’s Charge. That Axe build I posted is really good at coming in and quickly taking out squishy targets and then moving on to cap a point. It’s also good at cleaving downed targets and punishing those trying to revive. Thief will probably be hit harder by the Lyssa nerf than Warrior because we still have Hoelbrak/Mel. That Swd/Shd + LB build will still be strong post nerf because it has mobility but Final Thrust is basically a Evis when they are low on HP.

I do see Skullcracker coming back, a 3 second stun is never bad to have as it can spell out death with an organized team.

BurrTheKing.8571:

apt.9184:

Condi warrior and hambow will still be best in spvp but will be less effective. I honestly never think pure dps warrior will be viable ever till thief is changed and damage condis as a whole are given a change (as well as weakness). The warriors inherit problem of being a melee class with no condi remove is kind of bad (excluding cleansing ire because that can only really be used reliably with longbow and maybe sword). Maybe mace shield far point assault will become popular again, but still there are specs like condi warrior that can win that 1v1.

I think you can get away with pure DPS so long as you have a Shield and Zerker Stance and know when to retreat. Even in PvP a Axe/Shield Warrior can kill a Thief or Mesmer with one Whirlwind + Evis combo, especially if you forced them to use a stub breaker with Bull’s Charge. That Axe build I posted is really good at coming in and quickly taking out squishy targets and then moving on to cap a point. It’s also good at cleaving downed targets and punishing those trying to revive. Thief will probably be hit harder by the Lyssa nerf than Warrior because we still have Hoelbrak/Mel. That Swd/Shd + LB build will still be strong post nerf because it has mobility but Final Thrust is basically a Evis when they are low on HP.

I do see Skullcracker coming back, a 3 second stun is never bad to have as it can spell out death with an organized team.

If a mesmer or thief loses a match up to zerk warrior they are really doing something wrong same goes for mesmer. Even on hambow it is really hard to kill thieves at the level of say caed, which is purely due to fact that whirling axe thief steal is really broken (getting changed after patch). Personally playing thief quite a bit you should never lose that matchup due to the sheer amount of blinds they can put up. As for mesmer, fight mesmers like ender, supcutie, zeromis on zerk warrior it will not go well. Mesmer’s will kite the living kitten out of you if you play double melee. In general if we talk about conquest specifically thief makes every other pure zerker specs unviable just because thief it self has so much more mobility due to the initiative regen buff (can shortbow 5 more and burst more often).

PS: I am talking about trickery thief.

Also with your axe build you should take forceful gs instead along with furious speed. Replace axe mastery with gs trait and lyssa is still in my opinion going to be lot stronger so I would go with signet mastery for last trait. Fire is a lot better for gs in my opinion and energy instead of hydro would be best, since energy just gives you the extra dodges needed on zerk warr.

apt.9184:

Also with your axe build you should take forceful gs instead along with furious speed. Replace axe mastery with gs trait and lyssa is still in my opinion going to be lot stronger so I would go with signet mastery for last trait. Fire is a lot better for gs in my opinion and energy instead of hydro would be best, since energy just gives you the extra dodges needed on zerk warr.

It was supposed to be FG I must of misclicked. Fixed now. I don’t see the need for Furious Speed, Warrior’s Sprint is always on and lets you roam w/o having to activate your elite or be in combat to move faster. Furious reaction gives you more evades and higher Fury up time.

Lyssa is getting nerfed to the point where I don’t think I’ll bother. Hoelbrak synergies with Forceful GS.

@OP

None of your builds maximize the weapon sets or mind sets at all. Sigh.

Just from the bat:

1.) There is no point in taking Phalanx Strength over shouts or Banner regeneration. PvP or WvW, just do the math. Winning in this game is about abusing broken sustain if you’re talking about team fights.
2.) You’re not going to take Fear Me on a condi Sword and Long Bow build? It’s too good to pass out and you’re kinda missing out.
3.) You don’t need ANY points in arms to make Axe hit hard. There is also one other trait that you don’t need with Axe but it’ll be blasphemous if I told you about it.

I guess the “cancer” version of the Axe build I’m talking about doesn’t need to be visible yet.

BurrTheKing.8571:

apt.9184:

Also with your axe build you should take forceful gs instead along with furious speed. Replace axe mastery with gs trait and lyssa is still in my opinion going to be lot stronger so I would go with signet mastery for last trait. Fire is a lot better for gs in my opinion and energy instead of hydro would be best, since energy just gives you the extra dodges needed on zerk warr.

It was supposed to be FG I must of misclicked. Fixed now. I don’t see the need for Furious Speed, Warrior’s Sprint is always on and lets you roam w/o having to activate your elite or be in combat to move faster. Furious reaction gives you more evades and higher Fury up time.

Lyssa is getting nerfed to the point where I don’t think I’ll bother. Hoelbrak synergies with Forceful GS.

With all the condis buffed you have no other option. Unless you want to yolo.

Amir.1570:

@OP

None of your builds maximize the weapon sets or mind sets at all. Sigh.

Just from the bat:

1.) There is no point in taking Phalanx Strength over shouts or Banner regeneration. PvP or WvW, just do the math. Winning in this game is about abusing broken sustain if you’re talking about team fights.
2.) You’re not going to take Fear Me on a condi Sword and Long Bow build? It’s too good to pass out and you’re kinda missing out.
3.) You don’t need ANY points in arms to make Axe hit hard. There is also one other trait that you don’t need with Axe but it’ll be blasphemous if I told you about it.

I guess the “cancer” version of the Axe build I’m talking about doesn’t need to be visible yet.

lol. I seriously disagree about phalanx strength. Shout heals are really not that good, you could easily make up for that small burst heal through other classes in your group. With banner heals, in a 20 man group, with 4-5 warriors, youd need about 1. Warriors have a lot of ways to gain might, through the sigil, rune, fgj, greatsword trait, you build might on allies extremely quickly. If you wanted to be crazy enough go for the food even though its not that worth it. I was able to build up 25 stacks of migh tin like 6 seconds on my friend and sustain pretty much permanently as long as I kept attacking. So while you are in combat you can assume a large amount of might being sustained.