Guild Wars 2

Pahawe.4865:

snip

This is a problem Planetside 2 suffers from, where base design encourages spawn camping from the numerically superior force. An issue that can be solved through better base-design and incentivization. Not an easy or simple thing to fix, but relatively straightforward to diagnose.

I think adding foliage and debris and such can be cool (ABL ruins fights anyone?), but they need to be on the edges of main player movement channels so that there are still contestable, open battlegrounds.

LionChain.7694:

Blobbing has been an issue in WvW for a while now, and I know I’m not the only one to have issue with it for one reason or another. I really think that, even if people don’t ‘like’ the idea, forcing a map population limit and thereby removing players’ ability to build up to 60-70 man numbers is the only way to actually and effectively address these absurdly-sized blobs.

Yeah, but what about the people that pay for and enjoy the game BECAUSE of giant blobs? Your idea effectively discounts that entire sector of the playerbase, which is clearly a large one given the size of said blobs people play in.

My point is that your solution doesn’t actually fix the inherent problem, which is incentive distribution, it just splits up your problem into microcosms of the original problem because it only addresses the symptom of the larger issue, which is the lack of any reason to NOT blob.

I get your idea, but I don’t think it works on the basic premise that you’re forcing limitations on players who don’t want it. There are other ways to incentivize people to play in different ways that doesn’t choke already imbalanced map populations. Any game you have with large-scale PvP (Planetside 2, EvE Online) is going to see zergs no matter what you do. I’m not a game designer and don’t have a solution, but I don’t see this kind of change as having the desired effect.

Teraphas.6210:

casantis.3106:

But if they let you choose the map, the DBL will be deserted… the minority likes them.

Honestly I doubt many people ever gave the map a chance. It was being bagged on when they did the beta for desert and the maps were empty because apparently only a small portion of the invites went out. And necro and a few other classes had crazy bugs show up during the beta and seeing how popular the well build was at the time the first time you used shroud making all utilities go away for the rest of the match was serious.

Ever since then desert has had a bad rep and that was before the masses got to it. They heard it was bad and they believed it. Not that the oasis bugs helped either.

Simply put unless you were playing desert in its final form those 10 days before rediculously tiny alpine returned people shouldn’t bash desert. Desert may not be ideal but I like it far more than the stumble upon tactics of alpine

You’re basically describing me as a player. I got into HoT around half a year after it was released, and the few times I hopped onto the DBLs they were completely dead. The only time I got to play them was right after the April update, when WvW was revitalized and people didn’t want to wait for EBG queue.

My impression was that they were too vertical and too spacious. Common complaints, and not inherently bad, but it seemed like arbitrary and exaggerated design rather than anything focused on creating dynamic combat.

A note to the WvW devs. You guys are doing great. You might get a bad rap, but people don’t go to reddit/forums to give praise very often, so you end up with mostly complaints from people who haven’t designed a thing in their life, much less a massive game mode. I’ll admit I stopped playing for about 2 months before the April update because the game was in a stale place, but since then, we have massive fights in t3 through t1 every night, and WvW constantly has queues.

There is always room for improvements, but good work so far

Hesacon.8735:

Waffle.3748:

Grayclay.4579:

Dope dude, finally someone running reaper with GS/Staff. I’m stealing this so hard.

Enjoy! It was made for working with my team but it’s pretty serviceable solo as well.

His sarcasm was so thick you’d need a laser to cut it.

Don’t put words in my mouth, I loved power necro in sPvP, and the opportunity to smash people with a greatsword and get major crits in reaper is too good to pass up.

The main downside of roaming necro, i.e. lack of mobility, is basically something you can’t get around without dozens of hours of practice, so I just accept it as part of the playstyle when I’m in the mood to corrupt the innocent.

Waffle.3748:

Hesacon.8735:

I’ve had a lot of success with this build both roaming and in a zerg on mid-lines. In 1v1s against other legitimate roamers I win about half the time, but I’d like to increase that rate. I’ve played around with Reaper swapping out each of the trait lines I use, but it seems to add no utility advantage beyond what I can get from other trait lines.

Any thoughts?

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?vRUQNAW3djc0OaqsV22Sbsx3WaDHu/2RtQBTgAYGojxcUtyhYsDYA-TlDBQBB4IAwv9H0iSvaoBJLKDyjuBIcQBY3BQANKBvwBIQCXIAA8AA8nGCFq+zmhBgRQIAv7u7MiMuQGg1tA-w

Personally, I’ve found the brute force approach of Reaper can really throw off some people’s momentum.

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQJAWRnMbC12gtbCmbC0biFcBjKN0GeWQXtAQLIuK2FDjA-TVSGABFp0gKlgJpEbIlB1pLAm9HqX9nDuEAA8EACAgAczbmNvZghO0hO0hO0u5NH6NH6QLFQgbtA-w

I’ve been using that ^ with solid success both in solo/duo roaming, 5-7 comp, and I’ll even take it zerging on occasion when I feel like it. With this you’re pretty tanky, deal pretty strong damage due to high Might uptime, and have good sustain thanks to Blighter’s Boon synergy with Spite/Str Sigils/Food Buff. If you want more damage just replace the soldier rings with zerk and you’re set to go. If you need more cleanse throw on Plague Signet instead of Spectral Armor and you should be fine in most occasions.

Dope dude, finally someone running reaper with GS/Staff. I’m stealing this so hard.

Exciton.8942:

lots of relevant text

This is pretty much all you need, he nailed it.

Josh XT.6053:

Grayclay.4579:

Josh XT.6053:

Grayclay.4579:

Josh XT.6053:

I keep my builds up to date on my website in my forum signature. I think an alternative to metabattle might be a good idea though.

Dope builds breh. You ever play Engi?

I wasn’t ever too great at Engineer, didn’t spend too much time on it but when I did, I played condi/perplexity back when that was good lol. I might try to get back in to it now that Scrapper is pretty decent for roaming.

Breh, P/P condi is so strong right now. Do it, I want to see you put your usual twist on it.

I threw my friends scrapper build on there, but modified it a little bit as far as armor/runes goes. He mains engineer so he would know better than me on what traits were better.

The blurb on your site says good access to stealth. All I see is Gyro, is there a combo I’m not seeing?

Josh XT.6053:

Grayclay.4579:

Josh XT.6053:

I keep my builds up to date on my website in my forum signature. I think an alternative to metabattle might be a good idea though.

Dope builds breh. You ever play Engi?

I wasn’t ever too great at Engineer, didn’t spend too much time on it but when I did, I played condi/perplexity back when that was good lol. I might try to get back in to it now that Scrapper is pretty decent for roaming.

Breh, P/P condi is so strong right now. Do it, I want to see you put your usual twist on it.

Josh XT.6053:

I keep my builds up to date on my website in my forum signature. I think an alternative to metabattle might be a good idea though.

Dope builds breh. You ever play Engi?

Can’t add much to anything said here but a bit more weight against this idea. I see it more as a complaint against having to get geared, but the variability you see with armor sets adds much more flavor and complexity to the game. WvWvW is an open-world game mode, and adding pre-defined stat distros would basically ruin it.

Run whatever mvspd signet/trait you have, and bring any leaps you have, and slot any stunbreakers you have. You’ll rarely win a 1v2 unless you’re built for it, so I’d focus on just moving around and sticking with peeps.

Mesmer and Ele can currently fulfill every role, niche, or requirement, simply due to utility, versatility, and damage potential. Mesmer has portal, but Ele has aura share, so it’s a tie.

Jourdelune.7456:

With traveller runes, this is what I did run with best success. (condi scrapper tanky support)
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQJAqancoCtoiFpCubBEqiF2iiO4H+lHMELxAQsjixnA-TJhHwAo3fYwJAAwDAAZZAA

With burning runes (i did prefer Flame Legion for the burns on hit), invention line is better than alchemy.

Egun with Alchemy line is usually enough condi cleanses with purge gyro for spvp.

Since sigil of leeching is bug, I play generosity so it helps.

I did tried tool line, it was more burst but was not able to not die a lot… so even, if the burns stack are great, not on stats panel after the game is done.

Note that in firearms, I use Heavy Armor Exploit to cover condition and have heal thick with swiftness. More tanky means being able to help more my teammate when they need peels, heals, cleanses or rez.

Harder to 1v1 vs heavy cleansers classes, but fine versus those who don’t.

Depends on play style, I guess.

But… I still prefer hammer than p/p so, I meta build is much more better in that regard (for spvp at least).

Hope I did give some thoughts on fine tuning your wvw build.

Super helpful, thank you. I think the key thing here is that in WvW these days, you’re most often going to be out-manned or out-gunned or blobbed halfway through a fight, so survivability and mobility are key to getting around and doing anything – good reasoning to take Alchemy so you die less.

Forestnator.6298:

Grayclay.4579:

So I’m reconsidering Gyros. They’re pretty glitchy in terms of actually proccing on you and keeping up, and they don’t feel that effective other than their awesome toolbelt skills.

This is my in-game build: https://gw2efficiency.com/c/Jothlon

Also, how do people feel about condition damage distros? dire seems common, Viper is too expensive, is there anything else people routinely use?

I am not sure if it is just my mobile device but I can just see the traits, not the skills and gear. Can you post it with gw2 skill?

Regarding gear trailblazers armor / weapon with dire or rabid trinkets should be the most solid condi setup for wvw.

This is my exact build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdEQJAqancoCFpitoCubBEqiF2iiO4H+lH8DLxAQsjixZE-T1SAAB5oDow9HeRLQQqQAh5vrU+JkKKBcCA8R9ANUCCwDAgUALKNC-w

And I updated the sharing link: https://gw2efficiency.com/c/Jothlon

The armor is a scattering of WvW exotics, and other random stuff I’ve picked up. It works alright so far, but feels a bit too mix and match.

So I’m reconsidering Gyros. They’re pretty glitchy in terms of actually proccing on you and keeping up, and they don’t feel that effective other than their awesome toolbelt skills.

This is my in-game build: https://gw2efficiency.com/c/Jothlon

Also, how do people feel about condition damage distros? dire seems common, Viper is too expensive, is there anything else people routinely use?

I’ve realized that if your running travelers, then you don’t need swiftness at all. I’ll try out alchemy and see how it goes, but I don’t doubt it’s the best.

Also, the movement speed stuff is annoying to be pidgeon-holed with.

PierPiero.9142:

you have no condi remove

So do you have a suggestion orrrrr?

Updated the build here: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQJAqancoCtoiFpCubBEqiF2iiO4H+lfMHHjvA8DLxAA-TFSAABYoEEgTAASq/At5voU+V4+DB8AAyRPBpAgYaE-w

Forestnator.6298:

Soon.5240:

Grayclay.4579:

insanemaniac.2456:

im a fan of traveler runes too. i was just running this and its pretty fun. in your build, drop either inventions or traveler runes. youll get more use out of either alchemy or a runeset not dedicated to move speed, because you dont need both traveler runes and mecha legs.

Right, I realize this, but I’m having a hard time deciding on a different runeset. How do you feel about Nightmare?

Also, is splitting stat types ok ever? Like, tossing in a bit of Vit cuz you want more HP?

I would advise you to get some Travelers and switch to Alchemy in lieu of Inventions. Alchemy’s passive defensive Traits are just too good to pass up.

Otherwise, it’s a great build for WvW and PvE! Can’t say for PvP because I don’t do that.

Here is what I’m currently running:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQJAqancoCFpi9dBuoCEqiF2iSsjmiZE8DLxAgO4H+kH-TFSAABRrhAV1kittenXh7PooegJVCCwJAIgHAApAWUaE-w

Imo there is no reason to run Adaptive Armor over Final Salvo when you run with 4 gyros. Especially with Rapid Regeneration trait too!

I realized this playing last night so I switched. To be quite frank, I didn’t really understand how the Scrapper traits worked with all this superspeed stuff, but once I realized that trait gives Stab and SS, I was all over it.

Soon.5240:

Grayclay.4579:

insanemaniac.2456:

im a fan of traveler runes too. i was just running this and its pretty fun. in your build, drop either inventions or traveler runes. youll get more use out of either alchemy or a runeset not dedicated to move speed, because you dont need both traveler runes and mecha legs.

Right, I realize this, but I’m having a hard time deciding on a different runeset. How do you feel about Nightmare?

Also, is splitting stat types ok ever? Like, tossing in a bit of Vit cuz you want more HP?

I would advise you to get some Travelers and switch to Alchemy in lieu of Inventions. Alchemy’s passive defensive Traits are just too good to pass up.

Otherwise, it’s a great build for WvW and PvE! Can’t say for PvP because I don’t do that.

Here is what I’m currently running:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQJAqancoCFpi9dBuoCEqiF2iSsjmiZE8DLxAgO4H+kH-TFSAABRrhAV1kittenXh7PooegJVCCwJAIgHAApAWUaE-w

I’ve switched away from Inventions because you’re right, the only useful trait for this build is the Legs trait. I popped in Traveler runes and I’m running Tools and all Gyros for maximum defense spam!

Alchemy has also never really held much interest to me flavor wise. Plus, if you run flamethrower on tools, you get a disgusting 3x stack burn on your toolbelt.

insanemaniac.2456:

im a fan of traveler runes too. i was just running this and its pretty fun. in your build, drop either inventions or traveler runes. youll get more use out of either alchemy or a runeset not dedicated to move speed, because you dont need both traveler runes and mecha legs.

Right, I realize this, but I’m having a hard time deciding on a different runeset. How do you feel about Nightmare?

Also, is splitting stat types ok ever? Like, tossing in a bit of Vit cuz you want more HP?

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQJAqanUUB9dhFpCubBEqiF2iC8DLxAgO4H+kPcpuoXD-TFSAABB8AAuS5nX7PohSQAOBAQY+LH9EVr+DpAgYaE-w

Thought process is survivability through vitality and traits, then just stack condition damage.

Any thoughts from y’all?

bearshaman.3421:

Grayclay.4579:

I’m not by any means saying this is good, but currently:

P/P
Rampagers
Rune of Afflicted
Sigils: Agony/Smoldering
Utility: Bulwark/Rocket Boots/Toolkit
Heal: Turret
Elite: Stealth Gyro
Inventions: 2/3/2
Firearms: 1/1/3
Scrapper: 3/2/1

Basically scrapper utility and toughness then straight condition damage on tool kit/pistols with rocket boots for mobility.

The only thing that matters is that you are having fun with it.

I’m still looking to try different things with mine. I’ll be experimenting more now that I’ve started crafting my ascended gear.

Thanks. I’ve bought some Rare gear to try out Scrapper with, and while it’s strong, I’m not finding it nearly as fun (power hammer) to actually play. You just spend a lot of time reflecting and running around tiny.

I’m not by any means saying this is good, but currently:

P/P
Rampagers
Rune of Afflicted
Sigils: Agony/Smoldering
Utility: Bulwark/Rocket Boots/Toolkit
Heal: Turret
Elite: Stealth Gyro
Inventions: 2/3/2
Firearms: 1/1/3
Scrapper: 3/2/1

Basically scrapper utility and toughness then straight condition damage on tool kit/pistols with rocket boots for mobility.

Waveguider.6271:

Grayclay.4579:

snip

Similar to my build but with warhorn, I know air warhorn is really strong but I don’t like the other warhorn attunement skills and you lack Obs flesh / unblockable knockdowns. Haven’t tried out hammer, i’ll give it a try and yeah it looks hella fun. I’m also on FA, I roam with PRAE / CREW. 1v1 roaming rarely happens in EBG other than between SMC and Anz there are some duels. Try to roam in a 5-10 man group with this type of build

Funny, I tried focus and really couldn’t find that much success with it. I don’t think I gave it enough time to actually learn, but the flavor of it just seemed weak (perception, not reality). I am a solo roamer at heart, but I love the setup because with Warhorn you still feel useful in group play with your double aoe heals and overloads. That gives me the opportunity to quickly join a fight, big or small, and still feel relevant without having to swap a bunch of skills.

Still wish this game had customizable and saveable builds though.

I’ve been running Scepter/Warhorn recently and have been doing better than I expected.

Build:
Sc/Wh
Fire Sigil / Generosity Sigil
Marauders gear
Hoelbrak runes

Arcane: 2/2/1
Air: 1/3/3
Tempest: 3/3/2

Wash the Pain Away
Lightning Hammer
Eye of the Storm
Lightning Flash
Fiery Greatsword

The idea here is the damage stacking through the air traits that give you +20% dmg on disabled enemies, damage on disables, lots of boons, aura buffs. Tempest grandmaster can be swapped for 3 for survival.

Playstyle is centers around air. WH 4 is your bread and butter because it a) does damage and b) disables, thus buffing damage. So WH4 into WH5 and SC2 with an air overload, with the ensuing electric aura for crit is a HUGE burst and fight swing. Can very easily get someone to 25% from just your opening rotation.

The biggest thing that I’ve started enjoying is using the lightning hammer with this build. You get INSANE burst with hammer, plus added mobility and sheer awesomeness by smacking people with an electric hammer.

Not saying this is the best build, but to me it’s quite fun.

edit: I play on FA, which is currently in T2 which is a complete kitten show for roaming (EBG), so without stealth, my build basically focuses on killing people in 1v1’s before their blob finds me.

CrimsonNeonite.1048:

WvW is not really balanced due to the choice of gear, runes and food/oil, rather than being stuck with a limited selection of Runes/Amulets you get in sPvP.
When it comes to small scale or dueling, power creep and OP builds/comps are apparent.

Thief is good at resetting fights and ganking, alot like their role in PvP really, but in WvW you can be easily one-shot as a squishy class.

I get that sPvP is balanced in that everyone has the same starting stats, but given the relatively stricter constraints around the actual play, i.e. small arenas 5v5, limited stat distribution, I’d say that its going to inherently have a more skewed distribution of power than WvW, where you have more diversity and a larger playing field.

That’s why last season you saw chill shout necros and trap guards in every single match. Of course, there is a different set of variables driving what is powerful in each game type, but the natural open-endedness of WvW is always going to promote diversity because a much larger variety of situations occur, meaning that a much larger proportion of the large amount of skills each class has can be useful.

DeceiverX.8361:

As an aside, there’s a ton of flexibility in WvW as a whole, though, where almost anything and everything can work.

I run signet D/D thief with massive success, and that’s widely considered as the least-usable build in the game in sPvP. The stat allocation and diversity lets most things work.

My rankings are for the most part subjective and based on criteria such as consistency, hard counters, mathematical advantages, and lastly, difficulty for any individual player. Everyone has different styles and difficulty becomes very subjective, so I try to keep that one primarily on the build-level.

Overall, WvW balance is by miles better than sPvP, so it often boils down to what you’d rather play rather than what’s “good” in accordance to some optimization based on the confines of certain stat distributions and scaling in accordance to a very strict type of game mode (capture, hold, and don’t die).

There’s definitely cheese and blatantly overpowered things in WvW, but the overall scope of diversity is quite large relative to the rest of the game.

I’ll have to agree with this general sentiment. I boosted a Ranger with the recent update, and used my celebration stuff + tomes to get a warrior to 80, so the only classes left to level are a Thief and Guardian. I can hop on any of the other 7 classes, and with subpar equipment and no real guidance behind my build, find and beat people while I roam. I think a lot of discussion going on the forums is implying “duel” esque situations, whereas roaming is basically like ganking in EvE Online. Your opponents are all variety of builds, skill levels, and even experience levels, and with that much diversity it’s pretty easy to find a fight you can win.

The only struggle I have is that my tiny wallet balance prevents me from enjoying the majority of Condi builds without dipping down to rare equipment.

If I had to rate professions myself just based on my own experience, it’d be:

1. Chronomancer
2. Scrapper
3. Ranger
3. Tempest
5. Warrior
6. Thief
7. Rest

Did the warrior buffs in this patch make them more viable, or have they always been decent roamers?

Helly.2597:

Grayclay.4579:

snip.

I should have clarified my comments with classes. I am assuming the best roaming build for each class in a solo setting. For some reason I mix and match the HoT and core names. I believe that for solo roaming berserk is better than core warrior and that makes it tied for second.

Additionally Mesmer is only strong when the opponent has decided to commit to the fight. The long standing strategy of I’m just going to walk away still applies to all but the best condition mesmers out there roaming.

Also my ranking does not factor in the “oh kitten zerg Inc” factor very much. For me it more comes down to ability to take on outnumbered fights instead of the escapability aspect hence why I’ve placed thief lower.

Gotcha, that makes much more sense. I like the stealth element that mesmer can bring, I think it’s still around despite Power being nerfed because (other than condi OP) it has so much utility that applies to so many settings.

Also, what does Kitten mean in this context?

mcarswell.3768:

Grayclay.4579:

Also, I’ve always wondered, what is PU? Power Uxxxxx?

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Prismatic_Understanding

This changes so much.

Simonoly.4352:

Scrapper is still the best by a long shot just because the damage and sustain is insane. Thieves kill incredibly quick now – you can easily kill a squishy light target with a basilisk >steal>quickness AA chain. But it’s far better to do this as a group of Thieves because a single Thief just can’t survive focus fire.

Then you have condi PU which can persist, but not really kill unless an objective is involved. Also GS Warrior is making a comeback, but it lacks the stealth to disengage from a sudden zerg appearance.

What kind of Scrapper build or Warrior build do you suggest?

Also, I’ve always wondered, what is PU? Power Uxxxxx?

DeceiverX.8361:

Scrapper is definitely the best. Mesmer is the best duelist where both parties commit. Even then, chrono’s mobility is quite good. I’d probably have to agree that druid comes next, though I think it shines the most in groups of 2 or 3, and then falls flat beyond that point.
Next I’d honestly put D/D ele. Assuming you run remotely durable. There are some builds which are literally unkillable without a 2v1, though opposing sustain might be enough to perpetuate the fight; depends on composition.

I think core warrior and guardian are bottom-of-the-barrel. Too many passive defenses for them to land their essential burst, not enough range/punishing effects, and simply low control compared to most elites.

I’d argue thief stands somewhat in the middle of the list. It’s good, but it really only should be winning deliberate/committed fights to the top-tier dueling professions if it’s either completely kitted out to beat them, or simply there’s a huge skill disparity.

Interesting that you say that, considering the amount of hate D/D ele gets on here. I think its more-so the lack of kill power, because even in sPvP, D/x ele is durable af. Are you talking Power Scrapper? I like ele/mes better thematically, but I’ve seen so many scrappers get away with so much stuff….

Also, interesting that you say core warrior is the worst, considering the poster above you said it’s tied for 2nd best. Was watching a montage earlier with a zerk GS/Rifle doing 13k crits.

Puck.9612:

words

The only thing that prevents me from swapping to shortbow/axe+torch is the equipment swap cost. I played it a bit in sPvP and it felt not only powerful but quite mobile.

roamzero.9486:

There is a viable roaming build for every class but you can only really do it enjoyably ATM in the borderlands. EB is just full to the brim with gank groups and zergs. I would rank the top ones Mesmer->Thief->Druid/Scrapper->Warrior, the rest are kind of meh (unless you do it in a party, in which case ele/rev/dh are pretty OP).

I’ve noticed especially in T2, where pretty much any single player is bait for a nearby gank squad. Doesn’t help when EB has a 50 person queue and the other BL’s are empty.

Puck.9612:

I feel like all the people ranking thief as number 1 for solo roaming don’t actually solo roam on a thief. There is so much passive "save your kitten traits in the game now that a thief can’t really burst people down very fast. Also the loss of guard stacks really hurt thieves, I have literally 1 shot a few. They do well in small groups, but you have to be kitten ed good to be effective solo
I much prefer solo roaming on druid or scrapper. I find them much stronger in 1vX and they still have plenty of tools for escaping.
Condi mes is strong but only if players commit to the fight. If they choose to ignore you it is unlikely you will kill them before they reach safety.

Condi Mes is undeniably strong, but I really just feel like its boring to play. It doesn’t have the visceral impact of Power Mes or really any other mes build. I’d rather play stealth mantras then condi mes.

Also, do you think LB/GS ranger has any place right now? The Druid build doesn’t really appeal to me, though I see it’s power.

Through research of viable roaming builds for my favorite classes (mesmer/ele and more recently ranger), I’ve discovered the prevailing sentiment that HoT basically nerfed solo roaming through a combination of widespread sustain and defense/CC buffs.

My question to this forum is thus: How do we rank roamers by profession, damage type, and build? Is it still a viable playtype (fun notwithstanding, I’ll continue to do it regardless), or does it need significant changes?

From what I can tell, the profession tier list so far goes:

1. Thief
2. Everything else
3. D/D Ele

How do you guys like to keep roaming alive, and what builds or classes do you recommend roaming with?

Granted, I was celebration boosted, but last night I gained 6 WvW ranks in a BOMB zerg over about 2 hours. Just depends on your efficiency.

How sweet would it be if each server duo had their own themed borderland? Alpine, Jungle, Desert, and they rotated to each server duo over the weeks, so everyone could be happy!

Silverkey.2078:

As I said, I really feel that the problem of power shatter is MOSTLY that there is no place for roamers in the current PvP meta (something which thief is also suffering from).

Every single build in the meta is currently too tanky to be killed in a reasonable amount of time, which prevents efficient roaming.

The main and maybe even only way to fix this is by nerfing sustain and reset potential across the board.

I see your point and agree with you, however I think there is a larger picture here that this idea misses.

Power shatter builds are assassins, right? You look to pounce on somebody when they don’t expect it and blow them up before they can react. This is the mentality that someone who wants to play a power shatter build is likely coming in with. Pair this with the reality that in EB / EotM, you’re likely roaming and finding plenty of people with non-optimized builds or sub-80 levelers. These happily coincide with what an assassin mentality player is looking for – easy targets to blow up.

As a result, I think that Power Shatter, while it may not win any tournaments or do well against another dedicated roamer, is an entertaining setup, and can see plenty of success in what the end-goal of the person playing that type of build is looking for.

Sorry if this is hard to read, kind of just mind-spewing it out while I think through the idea.

Euthymias.7984:

Grayclay.4579:

Euthymias.7984:

Grayclay.4579:

Came to the forums looking exactly for this. Do you recommend other types of stats than zerker for more survivability?

You can probably mess with the traits/runes (and amulet if that’s not enough) before having to change the gear if you need something that packs a reasonable punch while having some defenses. Like sticking with Zerker and just change the runes to Soldiers (or Durability if WvW) for extra toughness/vitality+1 condi cleanse while also running Shout utilities. Maybe swap in Signet of Renewal while dropping WS for NM for more passive damage mitigation and a secondary mass cleanse if D.Clarity isn’t immediately usable when you get condi-bombed.

I’m not really up on theorycrafting or even making my own builds, is this generally a good strategy for all classes when tweaking, assuming you’re sticking to the same damage type (condi vs. power)?

I ask because I have full Marauders on my elementalist, full Assassins on my mesmer, and full Soldier on my (recently boosted) ranger, which, as you can imagine, has pidgeonholed me into very specific builds. Can runes help mitigate this?

Runes can definitely help make up for what you’re lacking, but it really depends on what you want/how you want to build. In the case of Soldier’s armor, that would be Precision and Ferocity. You already get lots of Toughness/Vitality and decent Power from that gear, so trinkets and Runes can somewhat make up for your lack of Precision and Ferocity (as can your weapons). Here’s an example (piggybacking off of jcbroe’s build)

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJATWnUqA9Ci1CC+rActglOB7pFEqWYwr0Y6O1pvFAKclMtzA-TFyEwADUCW4SAoS9HAm/Cu/gGdBBeCA3U+BA-w

Edit: Swapped out Scholar Runes for Ranger’s , but they can work well since this is a ranged build and you’re able to easily keep the threshold bonus. Wont have a lot of Precision to make use of the Ferocity boost, though. Also, SoSt for SoR for passive condition removal/mass cleanse when you cant into CA atm since you have lots of toughness already.

Probably and obvious point, but at some level it’s worth it to just buy new armor rather than whole new runes/accessories right? I ask because while Soldier makes me feel pretty comfortable learning the class w/ a 27k hp pool, the damage is clearly lacking.

Euthymias.7984:

Grayclay.4579:

Came to the forums looking exactly for this. Do you recommend other types of stats than zerker for more survivability?

You can probably mess with the traits/runes (and amulet if that’s not enough) before having to change the gear if you need something that packs a reasonable punch while having some defenses. Like sticking with Zerker and just change the runes to Soldiers (or Durability if WvW) for extra toughness/vitality+1 condi cleanse while also running Shout utilities. Maybe swap in Signet of Renewal while dropping WS for NM for more passive damage mitigation and a secondary mass cleanse if D.Clarity isn’t immediately usable when you get condi-bombed.

I’m not really up on theorycrafting or even making my own builds, is this generally a good strategy for all classes when tweaking, assuming you’re sticking to the same damage type (condi vs. power)?

I ask because I have full Marauders on my elementalist, full Assassins on my mesmer, and full Soldier on my (recently boosted) ranger, which, as you can imagine, has pidgeonholed me into very specific builds. Can runes help mitigate this?

Came to the forums looking exactly for this. Do you recommend other types of stats than zerker for more survivability?