Guild Wars 2

With the time I had, I only managed to try the two elites I was waiting for, Scourge and Holosmith and boy they didn’t disappoint.

Scourge is a solid 9, the spec feels great to play, Sand Shades give the complexity it deserves while vastly broadening the overall utility and control with barriers and good positioning. My only less positive remark would be the lack of synergy with some of the necro weapons, namely the MH dagger which would have been a great pick if it had some sort of condition damage attached to it, this would also address some of the issues with Life Force generation which is more than ever indispensable. Will definitely main it from day one.

Holosmith is currently a 7, damage is quite up there, great visuals and animations, it feels fluid to play aswell, gotta love that combo potential on holo form, also the interaction with the heat gauge and the rest of the skills is very interesting and gives the spec a nice depth.

However there’s some work to do before it feels “complete”. Sword is definitely the underwhelming aspect of this spec, the close range projectiles are very gimmicky to land and the leap needs some work on the distance it covers aswell the animation finish feeling way too dragged and sluggish. Some of the new utility toolbelt skills feel visually underwhelming (can’t remember which) and their effects also.

Overall very happy!

Thief has been the king of solo roaming since the dawn of times and won’t change, as a trade-off they’re essentially pigeonholed into a sub-optimal staff build for zerging.

Rangers is a skirmisher class, they shine in small scale engagements with either long range sniping or near-infinite sustain wear down tactics to chip away at your health until you’re biting the dust, as a result they also suffer from a zerg perspective viability.

It’s all about what’s more optimal and will contribute to a overall stronger comp, that’s why you see Necro as indisputed mid-backliners (Scourge will catapult them to most valuable zergling) while they are a dying breed on solo/small group roaming due to glaring weaknesses inherent to the class (no blocks or invulns, way too susceptible to burst damage).

Adamantium.3682:

Again I’ll preface this by saying I’m no expert…

Mesmer: Sussing out their trickery has always been a must. It should come pretty quick when you notice movement and animation patterns. In WvW I find they invuln… A LOT. Be patient and make them blow everything they have before you use everything you have. When they stun you and clones start running toward you it means burst is coming and you will die if you don’t get out of it. If you survive that you have a good chance to kill

Necro: Tough right now, lots of condis. Take advantage of their horrible mobility, if you have Elixir X toss it on them when they go to shroud then burst them down.

Thief: Engi has always been a good counter to Thief, I still find that to be true. Out last initial burst, bait them into overextending, then stun a burst them down. Either elite choice is nice for keeping them out of stealth for a moment.

Warriors have always been strong, once you make them pop both Endure Pains it’s not so bad. Just be patient.

Guards are annoying, avoid burst if it’s DPS build then you can burst to win they don’t have great defense. If healing just ignore.

Biggest thing overall is just be patient and mindful of what skills you have available and when to use them. Don’t button mash, be calm. Not every Target is a good Target, if they go too tanky just ignore

Yes elixir gun is great against condis so is adaptive armor

With the current state of balance, you can’t even afford to clash with some professions with just how stupid things are, so this advice is actually more dangerous than beneficial.

The best way to tell an enemy build, is to look at their foods, if the enemy is a condi Mesmer or a Necro (doesn’t matter if power or condi) just stealth away and move on, you don’t want to fight those builds are their current state since you’ll get destroyed by sheer boon corrupting and/or consequent condi bomb unless the enemy is a complete amateur and is specced/geared poorly but I wouldn’t try unless very confident in a very disadvantageous match-up.

Thieves are the biggest lottery, you can not die to them but you sure as hell not gonna kill any semi-decent thief, why you ask? Resetting potential. You can spend any amount of time against one of those gimmicky thieves that let you think you have an upper hand, only to have your kitten handed to you right after. If you kill a thief on a power scrapper hammer build then the thief is terrible, that’s it.

Warrior and Guardians is a battle of attrition, you stand a good chance if you can block/evade their strongest bursts, good knowledge of their builds is one step closer to victory, like it was said, wait out Warriors endure/defy pains with your own tools once they pop since its when the warrior will be most aggressive, however most warrior builds have more mobility than you have so sometimes it’s not gonna be easy to pin them down even having the upper hand.

I’m not gonna cover Revenants and Rangers since those are not as common, however Bunker Druids are a thing in the roaming scene and you’ll get outlived 9/10 due to superior sustain.

It’s definitely not easy being a power scrapper right now, everything does a lot of damage and is agile somehow, unless you have rocket boots, it’s gonna be very hard to stay on top of things.

So what everyone is running there? I’m currently running S/S holo/inventions/explosives focusing on condi clear and blowing up with overheating while keeping dmg buffs on, currently going with arena, solo shield aura and elixir S utilities and beam elite. I had to slot some vigilante gear along with the default marauders because of all the wild burst going around.

It feels pretty good overall dmg/defensive wise, I started with more offensive utilities (the spinning blades are pretty neat) but then I had to swap to full defensive because of the massive powercreep of new elites being too unbalanced yet.

As a small remark, Radiant leap needs a range buff asap, the animation is too sluggish and the range is very poor, if you don’t run rocket boots then you’re even more kiteable than Scrapper.

Other than, maybe dmg will see a little tuning as it feels a bit too strong, but I guess most elites are like that before final balance pre-release.

Share your beta weekend builds

The theme and shroud are my sellers.

I exclusively play WvW and boy it’s currently a blast to play Necro there, I can get over it being slow and a HP sponge, but when you’re a walking plague of doom then setbacks are expected. The current condi necro is the most fun I’ve been having on my roaming sessions, granted it’s currently overtuned in some aspects, however being a Necro has always been a synonym of living dangerously since you’re locked into a fight no matter the odds. I’m even more excited now since Scourge is what I’ve been expecting for the Necro, a true supportive spec so I’m definitely hyped for the future of this profession.

Klipso.8653:

The Condi meta is and has been overwhelming power.

While we have toughness to mitigate power, the closest thing we have to Condi mitigation is having our revs spam resistance.

I suggest a new stat that functions the same way as toughness does, but for Condi damage.
This will require players to evenly split both stats to gain survivability. Having toughness act as a catch-all for both would make it too strong, but if there’s 2 different stats players had to choose between then it would be balanced.

Resistance is what you’re looking for, then why add another defense for conditions? There’s condi clears aplenty and defensive traits against conditions already.

With the latest patch, condi duration got trimmed down, so it got weaker again. Right now there is no reason to play a condi build on most professions since it is inferior and will only work on bad players who have 0 condi clears because deeps.

The only overtuned condi build right now is viper necro because of deathly chill but they are a double edged sword since they have many glaring weaknesses that can exploited. The worst offenders since forever are Mesmers and Thieves, but either professions on power builds are equally strong to their condition counterparts if played optimally.

I take that Anet will keep toning down condition bursts in PoF until players no longer have to pack a single cleanse.

Solo Roaming – Deadeye
Duo Roaming – Spellbreaker
3-5 man Roaming – Scourge

I don’t think that it will be an issue, boons are too spammable and will be even more so on PoF thanks to traits synergies that many new skills will introduce. Also, Spellbreaker may remove boons but they still keep their own and its allies, which means any Scourge on the receiving end will be able to corrupt them if another Spellbreaker is not present, which is essentially superior to the straight removal Spellbreaker has.

Corrupt > removal any day of the week.

With the new elite specs on the horizon, how do you think they will shake up the WvW scene?

Personally I can see Firebrand becoming a mid-backline support rather than the current frontliner, while Spellbreaker takes the vanguard spot.

Deadeye and Soulbeast will be the top doggos of 1v1 and solo roaming, while Mirage graduates and grabs its PhD in cancer-spreading.

Holosmith and Scourge will shine in small-scale roaming.

Weaver and Renegade will be in-betweeners on solo/group roaming effectiveness while being more skill-oriented to succeed.

I’ve been playing without SR ever since DC got buffed and I can safely say I don’t miss it, Shroud is not meant to be our second HP bar where you hang there for a lengthy amount of time but more of a tool to help you juggle pressure while giving you strong aoe options. I’d say others who relied on SR for their builds will probably find other alternatives on Scourge or the future Power Reaper as I think Anet will still set those elites apart on their respective roles.

I’m glad I’m not playing a Shroud reliant build or I would be totally kittened like most are, unfortunately it’s an intended nerf to help Scourge set itself apart from other builds and probably to lessen the effectiveness of shroud traits on the specialization since I don’t think they want to make the same mistake like they did with Reaper and chill damage on HoT release.

The VP change didn’t affect my build in the slightest since I’m running spite/curses/reaper and the whole point on using RS is for proc traits (thank you for fixing and buffing SS, anet) and I’m fiddling with the new GS trait which looks quite solid. I imagine it’s tough for other builds who rely more on shroud permanence.

Enjoying viper reaper for a while more until PoF is live, the onto Scourge.

Justine.6351:

You seem to think making reaper condi more reasonable will nerf their survivability.

More reasonable? How so? The reason condi mesmers and thieves are thriving and remain at the top of the food chain is because of the insane survival they gain through condi stat gear paired with all the defensive tools they have. So basically they have comparable damage to necros without any of their shortcomings, right now deathly chill is giving necro a edge damage wise and it’s warranted considering they are simply HP sponges and it will go down faster than any semi competent mesmer or thief. So nerfing deathly chill will just revert necro back to a kitten and crippled thief/mesmer, the only reason to play it would be for epi bombs and boon corrupt, that’s just stupid.

DeceiverX.8361:

Lahm.7056:

A necro crushing in small scale requires good teamwork and peel from allies

Lmfao, no.

And how you proceeded to talk about durability when you end up with one of the tankiest stat distributions in the game (Dire/TB) and the highest base health and a second health pool with the best cleanses against what’s already a condi meta is just laughable.

The DC change in (WvW), much like everything else condition-based in general on top of that, is completely and totally overtuned.

Please tell me how having 50k hp (base hp and shroud) is better than having blocks or invulns? Condi mesmers and thieves can match the same tanky stats than necros except for a slightly lower base HP. You can completely negate a burst on a thief and mesmers with good timing, you can’t do that on a necro outside of dodging and trust me it doesn’t matter all the HP you can slot is not gonna save your kitten.

Necros will still be the first target in any fight, but before this change it was because they were the easiest to lock down, now it’s still because of that but it is also because they can legit mess things up if left to their own devices. This is probably the best condi necro has been since they changes to chill dmg.

Justine.6351:

Necro is a team player. People who don’t understand this want 1v1 buffs. People who do understand it are sick of condi reaper+tempest crushing small scale.

A necro crushing in small scale requires good teamwork and peel from allies, the fact you mentioned a Tempest is really a whole other level of babysitting and shows really how necro is fragile, which is why it will get absolutely rekt before it can do anything in a coordinated gank thanks to the limited non-existent defensive tools necro has, by now everyone and their grandma realizes that necros can actually bite if left alive for too long so catching people out of guard won’t be as easy.

My gripe is why most necro mains are asking for nerfs when secretly they enjoy playing this kind of build and want it to stay like this, it’s specially stupid to ask for nerfs when you know Anet is dodgy on that regard and can actually make or break builds and considering the past history with necros it’s usually the latter. I guess people want necro to keep being kitten on forever and live as a walking meme.

I seriously don’t understand this necro community.

Being shoved aside for the last 4 years with really small buffs/tweaks with no big relevance or impact and being shoehorned into a one trick pony aka epidemic didn’t teach you anything? Hell, necro has been at the bottom of the food chain for the longest time, proof of that being that they are labeled as “walking lootbags” by the community, the bloody laughing stock that arguably sports the worst mobility in the game.

BUT the moment necro gets competitive, everyone goes crying for nerfs? Condi mesmers and thieves have been broken forever and nobody is bating an eye at that, btw both of those builds absolutely kitten on condi necro if played at the same level. Anything that doesn’t have half a brain will die to a condi necro right now, because that’s what they are good at, being a panzer within less than 600 range, but keep your distance from that range? then they are USELESS.

Now you cry for nerfs, get the nerfbat, then proceed to cry for another year that necro is crap and left to the dust by the devs. See the cycle?

KrHome.1920:

It’s a broken noskill trait.

9 unavoidable bleeds for 10 seconds on weapon swap. 20 other bleeds in 2 seconds, covered by at least 5 cover conditions without the need of any skill. Just mash buttons.

I main necro and I have zero respect for anyone who plays this. Just go to your condi mes and condi thief friends who also suck at the game and need some crutch.

Spamwich is back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0JWZ8t08TY

Are you really comparing the current condi necro with condi thieves and mesmers? Then I’ll gladly take a few blocks/invulns/stealth for a lower condi spike if that’s what’s “skillful”.

From what I’ve read of you in these forums, is that you appear to have a massive disdain for condi builds, which is fine since you are entitled to your own opinion, but preaching it the way you do to the point of discrediting other players efforts, not so cool.

Whether you want to accept it or not, Necro is probably one of the most condition oriented professions in the game, even if you play a power build, and is naturally keen to condition builds because of that. Do you think a lot of people were playing power builds around a year ago when GS was barely viable and other power weapons/traits were still subpar in most game modes?

Back to the topic, Deathly Chill finally gives condi burst a meaning, yes it needs a slight toning down but kitten it feels good to finally see Necros being a proper threat, this walking plague of debuffs and dots that I always envisioned, bad thing is that the constant bullseye on our backs just got bigger.

Genuinely great idea, correct me if wrong, but the data transfer mechanic would work similarly to the Druid’s Glyph link-esque ally buffing? If so, it’s an interesting approach for organized group play.

I like it how you’ve applied your real life work knowledge on this idea, nice one!

Copy pasta from the build thread where I posted the build Im currently running, swap MDF with Bunker Down if you’re solo. :] I dubbed it the “Plague Doctor with an engineering degree” heh

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQJAqancoCtbh9dB2aBEqilJjS8ZOgAIsfSmvjeur7+G-T1hAQBQ7EAAj9H8neAA8AAKjyPHq+TjUCSKAFlGB-w

Pros:
+ Moderately high condition pressure through 100% duration Burning from several sources along with complimentary cover condition variety to make those burns safely tick.
+ High toughness and auto proc traits will make you very hard to burst down
+ Excellent sustain and condition clearing through the use of Alchemy and Inventions traitlines pumped by your own healing power.
+ Below 75% HP, you have 3 separate forms of passive sustain, which will net you around 500 hp per second and not accounting superspeed when active which will give you a whooping 450-ish hp regen per second by itself.
+ Superior mobility thanks to Rocket Boots and Acid Bomb. This also allows you for some neat getaways if your Autodefense Bomb Dispenser is proc’d, you can blast it with your rocket boots to get stealthed out of danger and use Stealth Gyro if needed for follow up.
+ Great group utility and sustain thanks to Medical Dispersion Field.

Cons:
- Only 1 on-the-fly breakstun. (This is minor has you have a lot of passive defenses and blinds unless heavily overwhelmed).
- Lack of blocks and invulnerables.
- Not the most bursty P/P setup because Firearms is missing.

__

Fun build to play if you have a mate(s) to tag along, also counters the current ghost thief plague going on , you can singlehandedly shut them down and not die to them.

[WvW] – Plague Doctor with an engineering degree. Works best in duo/small group roaming.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQJAqancoCtbh9dB2aBEqilJjS8ZOgAIsfSmvjeur7+G-T1hAQBQ7EAAj9H8neAA8AAKjyPHq+TjUCSKAFlGB-w

Pros:

+ Moderately high condition pressure through 100% duration Burning from several sources along with complimentary cover condition variety to make those burns safely tick.

+ Auto proc traits will make you very hard to burst down.

+ Excellent sustain and condition clearing through the use of Alchemy and Inventions traitlines pumped by your own healing power.

+ Below 75% HP, you have 3 separate forms of passive sustain, which will net you around +500 hp per second and not accounting superspeed when active which will give you a whooping +450 hp regen per second by itself.

+ Superior mobility thanks to Rocket Boots and Acid Bomb. This also allows you for some neat getaways if your Autodefense Bomb Dispenser is proc’d, you can blast it with your rocket boots to get stealthed out of danger and use Stealth Gyro if needed for follow up.

+ Great group utility and sustain thanks to Medical Dispersion Field.

Cons:

- Only 1 on-the-fly breakstun. (This is minor has you have a lot of passive defenses unless heavily overwhelmed).

- Lack of blocks and invulnerables.

- Not the most bursty P/P setup because Firearms is missing.

- Medical Dispersion Field is essentially useless in solo scenarios.

__

Fun build to play if you have a mate(s) to tag along, also counters the current ghost thief plague going on , you can singlehandedly shut them down and not die to them.

Quite happy with the buffs too as I’m digging playing Power Necro lately. Reaper Onslaught getting a crapload of ferocity is great.

Surprisingly, no nerfs for the necro, epidemic was not even touched despite all the controversy around it for the last couple of months.

Hats to Anet for listening to good feedback!

Ardid.7203:

Please don’t propose things that are similar to F-Gyro. Please, don’t imitate gyros at all.

We have different opinions regarding Function Gyro, while it is not a brilliant design, it is a decent elite mechanic implemented in a well rounded elite spec, specially traited.

I do agree it shouldn’t be replicated even if closely similar, I’m thinking about another elite mechanic more suited to the spec theme, something along the lines of becoming a Hulking abomination on steroids for a short time or turning into a puddle of goo when HP reaches 0, giving you time to reassemble if the enemy doesn’t sweep the floor with you first.

Kodama.6453:

While I am totally for an alchemy based elite spec for the next turn, your idea doesn’t really work out for me, sorry. =/

1. The class mechanic is basically the scrapper mechanic without the stomp and immediate rezz as a trade…. I would like to have something new as a mechanic.
2. Your utility skills…. Gyzmos…. Let’s be honest, they are basically Gyros again. We need something else than AI, if the next elite spec is going to have a new pet type again, I will stop playing this game.
3. You said yourself the traitline is reworking alchemy as a new elite spec… That should never happen in my opinion. Elite specs are additional trait lines per design now. Upgrading an existing trait line would just make them inferior to the other specs like Scrapper.

Thanks for your reply, Kodama.

Those are some very good points.

1. I don’t see it being another Scrapper, there’s a new kit that synergies with the whole traitline, the only Focus weapon skill that could be compared to the Scrapper is Hammer #5, I would agree with the “F” elite mechanic being a bit too inspired on the Function Gyro.

2. Gyzmos are not utility skills, only weapon skills from the off-hand Focus and the “F” elite mechanic. I decided to not include utility Gyzmos since this spec is more Elixir-oriented and there are already Elixir utilities. I should have mentioned a bit more about them before posting, they are meant to be stationary devices with an AoE radius around them, by default they can’t be used from range (read more on traits) and they can be destroyed before they expire.

3. I think Alchemy is a very good traitline by itself but there’s potential for more, hence the rework suggestion.

- Alchemist trait line -

Minor adept – Meticulous Alchemy - Allows for The Alchemist to equip a Focus off-hand weapon to use Gizmo skills. Elixirs grant an Intoxication state to affected allies and enemies.

Major adept:

1 – Overdrive: Gizmos apply vulnerability (10 stacks) and daze (2s) nearby foes when destroyed (Range 240).

2 – Invigorating speed: Whenever you apply vigor to allies, you also apply superspeed (2s) (CD: 10s)

3 – Vitamin Dispenser: When CC’ed drop an elixir D at your location. (CD: 15s)
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Minor master – Transmute: Incoming conditions have a chance to convert into boons. (25%)

Major master:

1 – Flexed deployment: Gizmos can be deployed at distance (Range: 900) and their deployment cast time is cut in half (CT: 1/2)

2 – Self-regulating Defenses: Drink an Elixir S when you are struck while below the health threshold. (CD: 60s)

3 – Backpack regenerator: Regenerate health and endurance (2) every second when using a kit.

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Grandmaster adept – Alchemical tinctures - Throwing or consuming an elixir removes a condition from those affected (internal CD: 2s). Boon duration is increased by 25%.

Grandmaster major:

1 – Advanced Alchemy: Elixirs grant might (1 stack / 6s) to affected allies, have reduced recharge (20%), increased boon duration and condition duration (20%). Adrenaline shot now affects other nearby allies (Range: 240) and also grants Stability (2 stacks).

2 – Enhanced Gizmos: Gizmos are invulnerable (2s) when deployed and apply chill (3s) to nearby foes. Gizmos operate for a longer period (4s). Conditions and boons applied by gizmos last longer. (30%)

3 – Emergency flasks: Drink an elixir depending on your situation:
- When below 75% drink Elixir B (CD: 40s)
- When CC’ed take an Adrenaline Shot (CD: 25s)
- When condition number is 3 or higher, drink an Elixir C (CD: 40s)
- When below 25% drop an Elixir S at your location (stealth) (CD: 50s)

Hey guys, sharing another ES idea, Elixirs have always been a favourite of mine and being a unique mechanic to the Engi, I feel it deserves a bit more digging. This ES idea takes the assumption that the Alchemy traitline is entirely reworked and adapted to an ES traitline, as such, some traits were slightly buffed to compensate. The aim was to make Elixirs more potent and perhaps balance their RNG nature a little bit so they become more dependable.

Please share your thoughts if you liked it.

Glossary:
- CT: Cast Time
- CD: Cooldown
- Example: 5s = 5 seconds
- CC’ed: Affected by Crowd Control (Stun, daze, etc)

Engineer Elite spec – The Alchemist

The Alchemist elite specialization focuses on supporting your allies through the use of crafted elixirs which enhance your allies with boons and debilitate your foes with conditions simultaneously. Elixirs also cause an Intoxication state on affected allies and enemies.
____

- Intoxication mechanic -

On allies: Whenever an ally is affected by an elixir, they gain 1 stack of beneficial intoxication for 10s, Intoxication on allies grant +2% general stat increase per stack and can stack up to 5 times. If Intoxication stacks go beyond 5, they will be removed and cause an Immunity state for 10s which prevents Intoxication stacking during that time.

On enemies: Whenever an enemy is affected by an elixir, they gain 1 stack of malicious intoxication for 10s, Intoxication on enemies grant a -2% general stat decrease per stack and can stack up to 5 times. If Intoxication stacks go beyond 5, they will be removed and cause an Immunity state for 10s which prevents Intoxication stacking during that time.
____

Elite kit: Alchemy kit (Range: 900, Radius: 240, Targets: 5)

1 – Elixir A (CT: ½, CD: 3s): Toss an elixir A to a location to grant your allies with Regeneration (5s) and causing Bleeding (5s) to your Foes.

2 – Elixir F (CT: ½, CD: 5s): Toss an elixir F to a location to grant your allies with Vigor (5s) and causing Cripple (3s) to your foes.

3 – Elixir D (CT: ¾, CD: 15s): Toss an elixir D to a location to grant your allies Protection (3s) and causing Weakness (5s) to your foes.

4 – Elixir G (CT: ¾ , CD: 30s): Toss an elixir G to a location to grant your allies Quickness (3s) and causing Slow (3s) to your foes

5 – Elixir Z (CT: 1s , CD: 60s): Toss an elixir Z to a location to make your allies Invulnerable (2s) and inflict Stun (2s) to your foes.

Toolbelt – Adrenaline Shot: (CT: Instant CD: 25s): Take an adrenaline shot and replenish 50 endurance. (break stun).
____

- Elite weapon & Elite mechanic -

Elite spec weapon: Focus – The Alchemist uses a Gizmo deployer to damage foes and heal allies.

Elite unique mechanic (F) – Defibrillation Gizmo: (CT: 1s CD: 60s): Deploy a Gizmo on a downed ally to instantly bring him to life.

4 – Hazardous Gizmo (CT: 1s CD: 35): Deploy a Gizmo that pulses Torment, Bleeding and Cripple inside its radius. (Range: -, Radius: 240, Duration: 6s)

5 – Mending Gizmo (CT:1s CD: 45): Deploy a Gizmo that heals and pulses Regeneration and healing over time inside its radius. (Range: -, Radius: 240, Duration: 6s)
______

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv – Traitline below – vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Love the idea!

I can definitely see a Golem-themed elite spec being released at some point in the future, I mean, there’s already golem skills in the game (though the mechanics need some work and refining if they want to pursue this Golemancer concept).

But if it were to happen, I just think it’s gonna be in a far-away future since Scrapper is already a tanky-esque elite spec, so Anet might for something more offensive or supportive wise for the next elite spec.

(Ran out of char space in the original post)

More Tricks!

Bro-minions! – Your wingbois can help you fend off those pesky thieves and warriors that constantly try to belittle our lack of defenses, thanks to the awesome synergy with Death Nova, whenever you pop a little fella, they will blast a AoE weakness along with the poison field.

Hey guys! So I thought I would share with you all this minion mancer build I’ve been working on, I’ve been having a lot of fun with it and it keeps things fresh for me since diversity among condi necro builds is very slim. Hope you like it!

Builderino:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNBLhZ6kZTopGsbTwvGgeTsMNYSDgCQAI+DeCbhUzgbQKA-TVSAQB/TfAAOBAd4JAogDBw5M/cFlfMc/hHq+zkUCGAABggMLFwiKrA-w

Pros & Cons!

+ Minions!
+ 100% poison duration baby
+ Tanky as fudge
+ 10s stun breakerrr
+ Wurmstep
+ AoE extravaganza
+ Solo towers and keeps like a baws

- Minions!
- Hard to use effectively in big open spaces
- Interrupts /sadface
- Expensive gear to craft and foods

Utility & Elite choices!

[Heal] – “YSIM!” -_ – Best necro heal for this build imo, the cast time, the heal numbers and the cooldown makes it just so good. Plus, it’s traited, which means additional heal through life steal and reduced CD by target hit. One tip, just use whenever you’re 70% HP or something like that, don’t wait until you get too low since the CD is really kitten short.

Runner-up: “Blood Fiend” – I want to like this heal despite having 100% synergy with this build but it’s just too unreliable, the minion is squishy so players with half a brain will smash it and the passive heal doesn’t work in Shroud, the active heal is worse than YSIM!, also good luck if you need to spawn it during a fight with the whooping 1 and a half second cast time.
_

[Utility #1] – “Bone Minions” – Your wingbois, these guys will not fail you (looking at you Fleshy) and actually not ditch you to hump enemy NPC’s while you’re fighting for your dear necro life. You can find more info about them in the Tips & Tricks session!

[Utility #2] – “Rise!” – The reason why this build is possible, even nerfed it is still incredibly good, even more so in a proper minion mancer build like this one, the more targets you tag, the better! More tips on how to use it below!

[Utility #3] – “Flesh Wurm” – Our hax skill, it’s unthinkable that a necro can actually shadowstep, well with a 1 and a half second pre-cast, we’re necros, remember? Jokes aside, it is an amazing skill and which gives you vertical mobility and will save your butt more times than you can count, mobility is king in WvW and this skill allows you for some interesting plays and escapades. More of it below!
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[Elite] – “CTTB!” – Hard to not take this elite skill as I feel it is way above any other right now. AoE CC, solid chill duration (+ bleed) and stability. It’s also traited, so what is there not to like.

Runner’s up – “Plague” – Also a solid choice anti-spike measure, you’re a walking poison cloud with a crapton of health and armor, I could see it having great use in some scenarios but it’s not the best choice for this build imo.

Hall of Shame – “Flesh Golem” – Quite the sad story that not even this build can save Fleshy, he’s just too unreliable without a pet control window like the Ranger has (pls gib anet) and will more often than not be a liability for you. You can see how Anet cares about this poor fella when bone minions can swim but this guy can’t.
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Le Tips & Trix!

- Tag all the things! This build excels in unconventional ways, so you always want to use “Rise!” where enemies are in range, that being enemy players, NPC guards, neutral mobs, anything that is not green named (ally) can be turned into a Shamby, that includes enemy siege! The point is to spawn the maximum Shambies possible to juice the hell out of your MM traits aswell “Rise!” life steal, damage mitiagation and cooldown redux. So don’t be scared to be fighting in the middle of enemy camps or towers, as Death Nova trait is stellar in small and constricted places like Lord rooms.

- Pester those tower campers! They think they are safe and cozy inside on their walls, WRONG! Get near the wall and pop “Rise!” as the Shambies will always spawn at the target location, in this case on top of the wall and follow the campers around. Also works with siege on walls.

-Kamikaze Bomber! Remember the good ol’ suicide bomber GW1 necro build? Well you can have a taste of it here, use your Flesh Wurm on where the action is happening then teleport to it, instantly pop “Rise!” and one of your bone minions active then proceed to Shroud #3 and #4 while stacking deadly poison on anything that moves. This is a risky play but a rewarding one if pulled properly, you can easily stack 25 poison in a matter of seconds. Works great if there’s a downed enemy and others are trying to res it.
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Can’t think of more Tips for now but will add if I do! Also feel free to suggest your own so I can add them here!

Please feel free to give me feedback and critique my build as I’m constantly trying to improve it.

Take care!

I feel you, however you can do both support and damage (to some extent), that’s what I try to balance out every time I craft a new build. Also, it would be a waste of innate profession potential not having supporting facets in a build since Elementalist is still the complete package as far “real” support is concerned.

If you like WvW and don’t want to run a healbot bunker build, then try this hybrid power/healing build that tries to emulate the Mender’s amulet PvP variant, it’s a little bit more offensive however so you can be a bigger threat. (Note: I don’t have access to Zealot gear crafting or this build could look exactly like a Mender’s build, so use those if you want that exact stat balance. Personally I would slot some extra toughness to compliment the solid damage mitigation the build already sports.)

Build:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vFAQJAodn0XC9XiVYCOYCcYilNAjYFcBGBu71/6hd4BEAugA-TlCBABZpk7Mlg8v/QoqqAwDAghTAgYKFAVtCsUGMoegAAIA3sNDgzbezbezbeu5Nv5Nv5NLFQm7sA-w

Best of luck!

I’m a WvW roamer at heart and when I read about these new runes I was so excited thanks to the hybrid stats and the awesome movespeed boost only to be dropped a piano on top of my head with “only PvP” restriction.

Please make an exception and make these available in WvW at least, if you think they will hurt PvE (not sure how). Borderlands have huge distances to travel and it would only make sense to have this rune implemented there. Sure, we have Traveler’s runes, but they lack synergy with many builds and the only appeal is the 25% movespeed boost while sacrificing a lot of damage stats.

Runes of the Lynx already have an obvious trade-off which is the hybrid stats so not everyone and their granny will run them (we have durability runes for that already which even nerfed are still borderline OP in most meta builds).

Please make it happen, Anet.

[WvW group roaming] “Definitely not a Pyromancer” support/condition auramancer:

Build:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vFAQJArdn0XC9XiNOA2NAcYilNAjYFcBqADPgAQB0dv2XPsA-TFiAAB5qEEm9H24EAYjeAnU+BwDAYCzfFp+DpAWUZF-w

Pros:
+ Tanky and durable versus either power or condition builds.
+ Good ranged defense thanks to Focus.
+ Strong sustain and healing support/buffing through auras and shouts for you and your allies.
+ 95% burning duration makes you essentially a silent nuke if enemy is not prepared.

Cons:
- Lack of innate mobility (Fiery GS elite can mitigate this to an lengthy extent).
- Lack of stability.
- Only 1 instant breakstun other than Overloads.
- Lack of condition variety and slow re-application can prove ineffective against heavy condition removal builds.

This build is particularly fun and effective in duo or small group roaming where you have strong skirmishers who you can heal and buff while maintaining some threat of your own thanks to well timed burn bursts.

Is it possible to also solo roam with this build, you can swap some traits around for stronger solo like swapping shout heal for cantrips heal and trait accordingly then slot Fiery GS elite for mobility on the fly.

Hope you have fun with it like I did!

Yuffi.2430:

Keeping my home map the right color.

I’ll happily take the “winning against impossible odds” too, though for some reason I can’t get this to work too often. (I know, I know, you’re going to say L2P… )

I don’t think it will ever be a L2P issue if you’re outnumbered, but those are indeed the best fights, specially when you manage to grab that clutch victory while defending or attacking an objective!

Surprisingly, I’m usually more inclined to check other server BL’s instead of home map (except for Desert, but I’ll hop there if it’s too blobby and laggy everywhere else).

If you’re like me and many others who log everyday to spend most of your playtime roaming the (alpine) borderlands, what is it that drives you to keep playing this game mode?

Is it the thrill of a good skirmish? The assault or defense of enemy structures against seemingly impossible odds? Riches? (bad choice), the fabled precursor drop from an enemy lootbag you won’t forget to pick-up? All of the above?

Share your motivations!

If you’re looking for something completely different…hum..exotic? And definitely not meta (the build spectrum is somewhere between trash and nearly troll) but hey, it’s fun if you’re planning to level up Rev one day and maybe run the good ol’ power build everyone runs.

BUT! If you’re feeling special and bery adventurous then try the unique hamstaff ventari/glint zealot/cleric builderino aaaand I just happen to have a build blueprint on me! (I totally didnt spend hours worth of bathroom breaks coming up with this to make it remotely viable).

Good luck cowboy! Hee hah! Rides away into the sunset on a Ventari’s back

Oh and the build!:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vlAQJASmnnN2gSyJvQRNlbosoyPU4U5IKIs8ElFglhNjNCZNgDSw+2eHG-TVyDABFfIAAV5Xlq/wlSQn2foTdBia+BgLAA8PBASBwmOL-w

Tyrx.2471:

Lahm.7056:

I thought I was at least worth a flame ram or a catapult..

Flame rams and catapults? Pssh. Golems is where it’s all at.

No kidding, one of my guildies got sieged stomped with an omega golem, I guess you can say there’s luxury in siege stomping too.

I remember being near home spawn camp (water camp) after capping it then proceeded to the nearby sentry while being on the phone and because of the camera angle, I didn’t see 3 enemies approaching me so I got jumped and didn’t even react since I knew I’d be dead, so I got stomped and remained there dead while finishing my phone call. The enemies who just had killed me went to flip the camp but the lord buff was still quite fresh so they returned to the sentry, one of the enemies stood by my corpse and threw a ballista blueprint on top of me then left to the others.

I thought I was at least worth a flame ram or a catapult..

Ive been one of the people who said it would be OP as kitten for necros to get healed in shroud by allies… but now with the death of the ele and and rise being nerfed into oblivion i think it could work now… but i would make it some sort of trait option in blood.

The thing is that we already this option, it’s called vampiric healing a.k.a “siphon health” and it can work quite decently with the right build, slap Blighter’s Boon with it and you can regen in Shroud very convincingly.

As a side note, the real issue with necros durability is always going to be the lack of self-blocks/invulns and poor access to stability, doesn’t matter how good a necro can regen inside or outside Shroud, if we don’t have a form of babysitting (ally peeling) then we’re food to CC chain.

With the change to Perplexity runes (outside PVP) I think Warhorn lost a lot of its claim to undisputed off-hand weapon. If you run a build with proper LF generation, then the only flair is the AoE daze which always useful.

I’ve swapped to Dagger a long time ago and never looked back, dagger #4 is very useful as a condi transfer tool since I don’t run CC heal or plague signet and dagger #5 feels quite smooth if you can keybind it to your mouse (keyboard tap makes it hard to land properly), also dagger trait for movespeed boost and reduced CD is just too good, just can’t live without it.

If it wasn’t already suggested, using traited wells (well of corruption / well of power and 3rd utility slot could be poison cloud or a spectral skill for another stunbreak) would help a lot with HP regen while dancing in and out of shroud, good thing with wells and poison cloud is that you just have to target your own feet, if enemies are willing to commit to kill you then make them regret their decision. Also wells are really strengthen your claim to cap points. I’ll leave this build below as a blueprint if you plan to venture into wells, hope it helps:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAW7Ynk0A10g90AO3A0biFtBLuCmB7gTBgEQEgKDkC2AA-TZhHABAcBA8uMA4PBAgPIAvv/AA

PS: I love using Sigil of Agility for a quickcast on heal or elite. You can also pull a nice combo by using poison cloud, enter Shroud which will proc quickness and instantly tap shroud #3 and #4 for a quick poison aoe spread with pulsing stability, you can easily place +20 stacks of poison thanks to Rune of Thorns.

Best roaming builds:
- D/P Thief
- Meta power Warrior
- Burst shatter Mesmer

Best cheesy roaming builds:
- Condition Lotus Thief
- Condition Chronophantasma Mesmer

Best at everything build:
- Meta power Druids

Hey Bigpapasmurf, like yourself, I’ve been trying to tweak my personal roaming build for a long time and this is probably the most tailored build I found for myself and maybe it could benefit you aswell:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAW7Ynk0A10g90AO3A0biFtBLuCmB7gTBgEQEgKDkCaUA-TFyCQBJSJIAuAAT4gAUPdDz7JAIw9HyiyvCq+DpAWUaE-w

This build reaches its full potential in a small group environment if you’re running with other peeps thanks to Wells and blood magic utility, but you can still safely use it in solo roaming with good results.

The thing with Wells, is that being a Necro already generates a lot of aggro (hey, we’re a free kill in most enemies eyes) so normally you want to use them on yourself when you’re about to be jumped on, same thing for Poison Cloud, this utility skill is very underrated and has enormous potential in this build thanks to Runes of Thorns and also a good counter to ranged builds.

Thanks to Blighter’s Boon trait and vampiric healing from Blood Magic and Wells, we have a lot of interesting ways to heal our HP pool while using Shroud, this means we can effectively jump in and out of shroud and sustain for a very long time and still get life force back.

CC is obviously our biggest weakness, for that reason you can swap Dhummfire trait for the Stability and stun breaker when using Shroud if you’re running into a havoc groups.

flow.6043:

It’s the same as any other non-Vampiric life steal. You will do the leeching damage but it doesn’t heal through Shroud.

Thanks for the feedback, flow. That was my concern since I know leeching sigils do not heal through Shroud and I didn’t want to spend my Proofs carelessly.

Does it steal health when you interrupt someone while in Death/Reaper Shroud?

SpellOfIniquity.1780:

If your buddies can support you with buffs and heals and you’re all moving in a phalanx formation, you will be a massive asset to your group. Weakness, Vulnerability, boon stripping and corrupting, etc. are things Necro excels at.

Tldr; Massive asset and very powerful if the group is disciplined and skilled. Extremely vulnerable and requires a lot of situational awareness if the group is casual. Does not have enough mobility to save it from being outnumbered and will 9 times out of 10 be killed as a result. So either your group better be co-ordinated and intelligent or you’re in for a rough ride.

Words of wisdom right there.

So many people immediately jump the gun and emphasize how necro is underwhelming in solo scenarios but forget it can be one of the strongest professions in small skirmishes with the right group, with the right the peel and support, you will rarely lose an evenly matched fight if the enemies are unable to take you down before you downed one of them.

As an example, I’ve been running Condi build with two guildies, a Warrior and a Thief, both with power builds, and we’ve been very successful in winning 3vX fights thanks to how they manage to peel for me with stealth and pressure on my harassers while I’m able to kite and dish out my own condi burst.

You can bring so much to your group if you’re able to do your part in the fight, any boon reliant build will be stripped naked and choke on his own venomous converted boons essentially turning them into a nice and tender piece of meat for your power guildies to slice, you also relieve your groupies from conditions and redirect them to the enemy.

Right now, more than ever due to the current meta of boon fiesta, having a Necro in a group with the right circumstances can be one of the biggest assets in WvW group roaming.

Playing as a Condi Necro, I find Thieves and Warriors as the worst match-ups, with equal skill it’s usually a win for them, but I still find the Thief being the bigger thorn in my shoes, because of their mobility and reset potential is just too annoying to deal with as a Necro, at least with a condi build. Burst Mesmers can also be very dangerous but thankfully they’re not as common.

Surprisingly, it’s usually a favorable match-up against every other profession with a natural tendency to counter condi builds which is what necro is godly at. Still, good Scrappers can give me a run for my money and some Druids are exceptionally difficult to beat, Dragonhunters are also becoming a threat due to the recent buffs and can put out a lot of pressure. Revs are usually a free kill unless they manage to pressure me enough and deal with my condi burst with their well timed heal and cleanse (Mallyx can somehow give them a slight edge if they have enough boons to cover their resistance but I run traited signets and traited spinal shivers so it’s usually not an issue for me).

I tend to avoid solo roaming as Necro because its mobility makes it very difficult to juke large groups running in your way or other havoc groups looking for fights, so I usually run with at least anoter guildie or two and that’s where I see Necro being a genuine threat, what they lack in sheer mobility, they make it up in fighting prowess with the right tools.

Jeknar.6184:

Jim Hunter.6821:

SpellOfIniquity.1780:

I literally go about 75% of my fights (at least ones I see coming) without ever taking a hit.

Yeah I deal with that crap every day. Between retal and resistance anet really needs to give rangers a way to strip boons.

Considering everything is a boonfiest now, every professions could use a bit more boon removal options. And please, reliable ones, not 45 secs to remove 3 boons which will be reapplied at least 2 more times after you can cast it again.

I think it’s fair that boon ripping is limited to some professions, since it’s more of a “unique” trait and make those professions desirable in groups for that matter.

Looking at the current meta, I see Necro having a better chance of fitting in havoc squads with the sole intent of disrupting with condition burst variety and boon ripping/corrupting.

Traited signets give you this possibility by corrupting boons when you use them, Signet of Locust alone can corrupt 10 boons on 5 enemy players within range.

Corrupt Boon is also on a 15s cooldown, which is pretty good.

Dawdler.8521:

Lahm.7056:

I would place Scrapper with those three, but you don’t have as many tools to deal with those difficult situations, once you’re stuck in fights without stealth, you’ll have to fight or die in most situations.

Lolwat? Scrapper has the best small scale utility in the stomp gyro. Out of your three classes, the druid is useless small scale (and what I would target first when fighting a group of those three). Tanky as kitten but with little damage or damage and glassy is the two common variants.

I didn’t place Scrapper with those 3 because you cannot disengage an outnumbered fight aswell as they can, access to stealth is limited, your stealth gyro will get popped instantly. (Talking about open field encounters, if towers or camps are in range, then it’s always an obvious advantage).

Now, if you’re planning to take your chances and fight, then yes you can do better than any of those professions. Druids are easy to focus if you pin them down after they used their mobility and cleanses, but a good Druid will play their advantages and not let you get close enough for that to happen and just reset the fight, seen it happen way too often against 2-3 players, their sustain and kiting potential is too kitten good, unless you’re a Thief as good as the Druid, oh and they can also stealth and immobilize you just to make it worse.

You’re right about the part that Druid loses effectiveness the bigger the fight grows.

I’ve been running a full trailblazer + dire accs condi chillmancer with traited signets and it’s probably one of the best setups for small scale roaming you’ll find on necro, granted you’ll have the biggest bullseye on you most of the time, but that can play in your favour since this build offers some interesting kiting potential and leave your groupies to clean up the chasers off you.

If you’re interested, this my variation of the popular chillmancer build you’ll find on metabattle by Donee, I adapted it a little bit to my personal situation in group settings.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vRAQNAW7Yn0ICV2gd2AG3A0biFcBLOL2FHjQXtAwCgqL0GiWA-TFyCQBzY/h6pbIRKBrwDBYCHBgso8DAXAgCq+DhAWsGA-w

The idea of this build in small scale fights is to start with a BANG, just unload marks on top of enemies (check who they’re focusing and drop everything there, if you’re the target, then just kite back and drop marks) swap to S/D, drop 2# and 5# where the fight is at its thickest, if the enemy group didn’t target you by now, chances are the fight is already won, now you can drop your elite to everybody in range, go in Shroud, combo with 5#, 4# and 2# into the designated target and AA everybody to death.

That is the best scenario for necro, however its not gonna be a very common one.

When you’re the main target (will happen more often than not), just drop marks on top of you and start kiting, weapon swap and 2# and 5# on top of yourself, if you pull that before getting stunlocked, then it’s already going your way. In case the enemy pins you down before, pop Shadow Walk for stun break and then unload on top of yourself while you kite (you can shroud #2 away and unshroud to re-pop SW), once you covered enough distance, re-pop SW and go back to your initial location, this is huge and will be the best way to fend off aggressive enemies, from there on you can just do your normal rotation.

Signets can be used offensively aswell, they have boon corruption traited to them, use them on warriors relying on their condi resistance to keep them alive. Don’t be afraid to use signets actives as their active counterpart outweight the passive and both corrupt boons and grant you might which is awesome. Just keep plague signet at bay if you’re facing a condi enemy so you can give him back his own conditions.

I hope this helped you cement your idea on playing a Necro, they can be excellent in WvW small roaming scenarios, dont let the constant focus from the enemy discourage you from playing the Necro, it’s actually a challenge to thrive and emerge victorious while your groupies kill the distracted fools who want to steal your cookies. :P

Warrior, Mesmer and Druid are the best solo/2-3 man group choices imo, they pack the right tools to strive through most difficult scenarios (outnumbered fights and running away from blobs or big hunt groups).

I would place Scrapper with those three, but you don’t have as many tools to deal with those difficult situations, once you’re stuck in fights without stealth, you’ll have to fight or die in most situations.

If you’re running with a small group with mostly power builds, condi boon corrupt necros are viable in this boon sharing meta, this what I’ve been running with my guildies to good success in outnumbered scenarios, prepare to get focused though, so pack at least 1 or 2 stun breakers and spectral walk jukes can help you get a breather.

A skilled Thief can probably be the best roamer in most situations.

Guardian, Elementalist and Rev are more situational in most scenarios.

Any profession can solo roam, some just are more prepared for that than others.

Anyone else going Scrapper condition on the 23rd? No? Okay.

Joke aside, I feel the Scrapper does bring some variety to condition builds from what skills/trait we’ve seen so far, there will be probably be some changes until HoT hits for good, then again it would be nice to play with what we got so far from BWE.

Here’s my possible Scrapper condition build for WvW:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vdAQJAqencoCtbh1aB2XBEqiF2iiO4L+kHMELxAQcjqinA-TVyCABAcCAeRLQK6AwSpA07P4j6PJqEMLldT/AAIFwiKrA-w

Possible tweaks:

Balthazar or Perplexity runes over Anti-toxin.
Healing Turret over Medic Gyro.
Rocket Boots over Elixir S.

Reasoning:

The build doesn’t stray off too much from double kit condition build, wanted to squeeze out as much as possible from the Scrapper traitline into a condition build, I think Medic and Stealth Gyro fit nicely in the build, specially in a group scenario and if HT gets nerfed in HoT, then it’s one more reason to take it.

Plenty of Dazing to proc Expert Examination while Adaptive Armor will make us so much durable along with Shield.

My only gripe with the build is the lack of movement speed from either swiftness or Mecha Legs while out of combat, swapping Alchemy for Tools could solve this with the obvious trade-offs.

What are your thoughts about condition Scrapper and what condition builds did you come up with for HoT?

Loki.9412:

@lahm, I really like your build, which amulet would you recommend to convert it to a pvp build. It’s the only thing that annoys me about pvp, especially condi builds, is that the amulets force you to take stats you don’t want, there’s no condi, vit and precision amulet for example, or even a condi, vit, toughness. I feel I need a bit of extra survivability.

This build loses oomph in PVP where amulets restrict stat distribution and the lack of food impacts the build somehow. But it would still work I think.

For amulet, I would either go with Rabid or Celestial, swap stack sigil for sigil of bursting.