So I’ve been cruising around forums for a while now and started to level up my Warrior fully motivated.
However I was never able to really pin my build down as I would often switch out from PvE to try out some new theorycrafting in sPvP. My final goal though would be to play as a solo/small-man WvW threat.
Now I know hot-join PvP doesn’t really give me an accurate picture of what WvW combat would be like, but I have learned a couple of things and will lay them out here. Before I start though, I’d like to point out that I did know that the Warrior has its weaknesses, but I’m a fan of playing the unusual and somehow making it work, as long as it is actually possible to do so.
Weapon choices:
I always envisioned myself playing an ‘offensive’ Hammer Warrior. Starting from there I tried pretty much every worthy option for swapping, resulting in the conclusion that having a shield as a melee warrior is vital. So that quite narrowed it down to Axe, Sword or Mace + Shield.
This is where the trouble started though. I found Mace to be the most effective and fun in sPvP because the control allowed me to dish out sustained damage and set up burst possibilities. However I’m figuring that in WvW, I don’t even have to bother trying it since I would seriously lack mobility. Same for Axe. Damage output is probably higher, but again, I’d just ask to get kited around. Then the third option Sword would obviously solve that issue to an extent, but my god does that weapon lack damage. I mean sure u can stack a couple of bleeds, and add mediocre flat damage on top at best, but let’s face it, nobody is going to die from that kitten.
So it’s either:
A) Getting kited to death. (even with the soup, melandru’s and dogged you won’t beat warps and leaps)
B) Getting outlasted to death.
Utility Slots:
Ok so regardless of the weapon issue, I’ve been playing around with utilities. Turns out you always sacrifice something crucial. I’m talking vital stuff here. For me boils down to Bull’s Charge / Frenzy / Signet of Stamina / Balanced Stance.
Without Bull’s Charge you’re giving up CC packed mobility. This is just so kitten powerful, especially when using hammer it’s the only way you’re going to stop people from happily kiting you over and over.
Without Frenzy you’re giving up your damage. And I mean like.. almost all your damage. I feel Warrior’s just don’t have the sustained damage they deserve. Frenzy combined with Hammer comboing will get you an almost garanteed kill if they don’t have stability up. You’re basicly just playing ragdoll with your enemy while doing serious damage. Remove the Frenzy however and even if you hit your skills, it just takes so kitten long for them to follow up on eachother. Axe skills are nice, but if Evis doesn’t finikitten the fight your damage is still only mediocre without Frenzy since you’re prone to kites/condi and defensive boons due to no condition damage.
Without Signet of Stamina you only really have Traited Mending to save you from condi’s. Lyssa runes are a joke since they force you to stall your only buffs until you’re in trouble. Shake it off is pathetic for solo play. I’ve ran with Stamina and it really felt as if I was able to cope with condi’s for once.
Without Balanced Stance you’re the one who’s going to be the ragdoll. I don’t think it’s worth sacrificing since it’s the only way Warriors get reliable Stability.
I feel like Utility slots are ways to fix the disadvantages of playing Warrior, but there just seem to be too many to cover it all.
