Guild Wars 2

Hello,

I’ve just started a new war and I’m not really sure about using a GS in WvW. Our main damage skill is HB but I feel that there won’t be many players who will be stupid enough to sit in front of me for 3 seconds (without any anti cc) waiting to get killed by HB……I certainly didn’t with my guardian and I generally managed to avoid HB or at least big part of it.

I’m thinking about a non-GS build for WvW and I had Axe/Warhorn & Sword/axe (with a rifle as 3rd ‘situational weapon’) in mind using Eviscerate and Whirling Axe as my main attacks.

A lot more mobility than HB but also, I’m aware, potentially less damage.

What do you guys think?

I use sword + axe for 1st weapon sent and for 2nd longbow or rifle (changing them depending on the situation). Whirling axe has its benefits and its drawbacks. I personally am NOT a fan of GS. I prefer sword + axe for several reasons., although it has its drawbacks.
Pros:
- I like leap ability – gives the extra mobility for closing a gasp(although it misses a lot)
- cripple is nice if i manage to put it on.
- activating signet of rage and going melee on some poor soul usually means his certain death, especially if rune of rage activates.
- whirling axe is a very good combo finisher especially with light or frozen field.
Cons:
- leap is unreliable in its dmg part (lots of times it misses or overshoots target)
- 4th abillitity of axe is not that useful ( no cc )
- sword burst skill is probably the least useful of all burst skills – this kind of forces me to not use it and instead to use traits that increase dmg/crit/health regen with high adrenaline lvl and basically stay on adrenaline 3 (exception is longbow burst skill during sieges).

Sword + axe is exceptionally good for hunting down fleeing enemies or participating in hit and run squads. a Sword + axe warrior is like an angry hound – gets to the target first and criples it (rifle is very useful for that role as 2nd).

Whirling axe does pathetic damage. It has plenty of other uses, but pumping out the DPS is not one of them.

Grezko, the Sword adrenaline skill is not the least useful. You get to drop a massive stack of bleeds on people very quickly (quantity over duration means they will have done their damage by the time any condition removal kicks in) and provides an cone immobilize as well. The immobilize can be used to hold a group of players on the spot so your allies can AoE them. You can also be extra selfish and 100 blade them yourself as well:

1. Sword burst applies 4s root.
2. Switch to GS
3. 100 blades everyone who got caught.

Gives you insane mobility as well (leap, whirlwind, rush). Penalty is lack of ranged weapons. For that kind of build, in the off-hand I would probably use the mace for the 1200 line knockdown.

I am not saying Sword burst is bad i am saying all other bursts are better. The idea of staying 4s still in PvP does not please me, neither does the fact that there are 10 different ways to interupt it (not to mention that it stops on the slightest touch of the move keys).

The mace knockdown has limited use in PvP because it is slow to reach target and requires time to cast.

WA is horribly weak against players, even bad ones. at least in a crowd or with snares HB will do the job.

Sword axe is pretty nice in WvW, yet over all a sword main hand is one of the best weapons I seen due to the ability to keep mobile on your enemies. I have combined with with an axe off hand, another sword and a shield. The mace is good but feels more spvp oriented than WvW. Over all, all warrior burst skills for melee weapons suck. So I wouldn’t worry about them unless you are using a rifle or a long bow.

Whirlwind axe deal about 3.4k if power build and all hits manage to land, this compared to HB is not exactly a lot, yet hitting someone who got a brain with HB is nearly impossible regardless of bolas, lalalala utilities. Also Whirlwind axe deals damage 360 degrees making it a pretty sweet attack for zergs, remember is not you against the world is the zerg vs the zerg thus every portion of AoE damage counts more than a large burst against 2 – 3 people.

@ Lyonell

You hit the nail on the head. I run dual axe and the fact that Whirling Axe hits all around you in a 360° attack makes it awesome when you storm out of a besieged keep into the zerg. Plus the fact you can move/dodge while in the attack makes it very good for this type of situation.

At the end of the day it all comes down to the situation and play style of the player.

Whirling Axe can actually do more damage than HB. The problem is that it requires a damaging combo field (Dark, Fire, Lightning) and proper positioning on a target(s)…better used in group play/coordination.

Whirling Axe can actually be quite defensive/group support (especially water fields) but it relies on the other player combo fields.

The W axe is great ..one of the best war skils end the best part is u can use it while moving. N4 Axe skill is non factor. N2 sword skill is the one that need to stun the target or at least slow it down .
Sword burst skill..mehh … i dont even use it. Sword skills base damage is just to low

Here’s a little different point of view:
I do echo that gs builds are terrible at best; easily defeated by my condition mesmer and my solo warrior.

As for my warrior, I use axe/shield main, and sword/mace off hand. My gear is 5 different brands, as this is what I’ve found to be required.

The 4&5 axe skills imo are next to useless, as I can put out 2x the damage with the axe 1. The shield 4&5 adds defense to the fight, which is required against thieves. the sword mace combo works well cause I can still do decent damage with cc abilities that I also deem required.

But, in all the time I spend solo, small group, or with the zerg, one thing has been more important than my weapon selection: movement.

Circle straffing gives me more dodge than my double taps, which I save for more important times. While I’m busy dancing and using skill 1 on either set, my for is too busy trying to line me up or evade, landing no damage. The speed of the axe helps, and shield cc is used to line up the killing blow, without even having to heal most of the time. This goes pretty much the same for the offhand too. I use cc’s even more as a means to interupt my foes plans than to land hits though. I don’t run and specific spec, just what I’ve found fits my style of play, and that’s movement.