Guild Wars 2

3KB/sec. Glad I checked here I thought something was wrong with my connection…

It took me a few tries but this also worked for me. Thank you for sharing.

My Asura Ranger & Warrior Mix and match.

Tough choice. I have a Asura ranger. I like the “feeling” of moving faster vs the larger races. My one complaint is there are a lot of armor and weapon clipping issues with them that I don’t see on human characters.

Great video, enjoyed it a lot!

3rd video blocked for me too.

Great news, thanks for keeping us updated.

Really good video and play by you. Well done!

DanteZero.9736:

I just hope the new legendaries don’t have the whimsical/toy like quality of some of the gen 1 legendaries such Quip and Dreamer.

That is the main thing I am waiting to get a glimpse of is how they look including what particle effects they will each have.

Dahkeus.8243:

I don’t think the devs have spoken directly on it, but people in the beta have screen capped he Wyvern fight where the boss has upwards of 100 bleeds. Check the HoT forums for more on that.

Jon Peters, Game Design Lead, started a thread about it yesterday here: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/hot/Increased-Bleeding-Stacks/first

“Hey Everyone,
As you may have noticed bleeding stacks go above 25 stacks when playing in the demo map. This is not a mistake, rather as we have said for a while now, we know that the current stack cap creates problems for condition players who want to work together. What you saw today was the first test in solving some of these problems. Keep in mind, it is not necessarily final and absolutely not the entire plan. I see many questions about how this will work and how it impacts other conditions, balance, etc. Rest assured that as soon as we have a final plan we will be revealing it and letting you all know exactly how it will work.
Jon”

and

“We don’t know yet, but the goal is to have this BY HoT at the very latest. I don’t think we would hold it if we felt it was the right solution, tested it well and felt it was balanced.”

So glad to you you guys working on this at least. Was very disappointing to come back from a long hiatus and see the same problem(s) with condition builds for many classes. I Hope condition builds can become DPS Competative in PvE as I enjoy playing these builds the most in both PvE and PvP. I know its a tough problem to solve, especially considering PvE specific situations like dungeon speed clear groups where nothing currently even remotely comes close to the berserker meta builds. Fingers crossed.

Great video,

I was also wondering about the ferocity / 200% crit damage, and figure that’s purely for the Int Sigil on your greatsword, 100% crit on next 3 attacks would make sense.

Were you running a different gear mix in the first part of the video compared to the 2nd? It looked like 23,299 HP in the first part and around 20,854 HP in the second part? I would imagine with the part1 stats you may do better fighting against a condition type build.

Anyway, really good play video and gameplay by you.

I had not heard that HOT might address bleed caps – just did a search and I see the post by Jon Peters. SO good to see them finally looking at this, not just from a ranger perspective, but from the perspective of many classes. Would sure be nice to see something compete with the berserker only meta…

Many.8419:

Windu The Forbidden One.6045:

Many.8419:

How do you prove they are afk?

Anet has systems in place that prove when you are afk. Just leave your character somewhere for an hour, you will eventually be booted back to the character selection screen.

Also when a character is attacked by mobs and is not fighting back he is afk.
When a character stands around forever but uses his healing skill every minute to prevent getting kicked he is afk. (autocast on heal to prevent getting kicked is a common practice used by afkers) When a death player is just lying somewhere, and does not move upon getting revived and gets killed in that same spot later on he is afk.

It’s not rocket science to determine when someone is afk. I don’t mind afkers but don’t pretent you cannot prove if someone is afk, because that’s just not true.

I can do all those things and still be sitting in game chatting with my guild. I dont understand why this should be punished. And with ranger or necromancer I dont even have to care about trash mobs running around because my pets can kill them. It can’t be even punished as botting. As I stayed above, leave afk timers because it will punish legit players more than exploiters. Just like DRM in new games is more annoying for legal customers than to pirates.

Fixing reward contribution tracker is a solution. Changing afk kick timer is moving around the problem.

Its not a solution. Clear a fort by yourself with nobody around. Then try to clear the same fort with 20 people standing there, but not helping you. Enjoy the difference. Changing the participation reward is not going to fix how much harder the mobs are the more people that are in the vicinity. THAT is the problem here.

I really don’t have a problem with #1. I think it does take a long time for damage to ramp up on my condition thief but I find that to be a secondary problem. I think #2 is the biggest problem right now. I would be extremely happy if we had our own stack. It’s been a while since I played wow but I remember my hunter being in a raid with several other hunters and I had the ability to see just my debuffs so I knew when to refresh. That is the biggest change I have been hoping for. Anyway thanks for making this thread, changes to conditions in PvE has been a long time coming.

Came back from a long hiatus and was disappointing to see nothing has been done to address condition builds usefulness in PvE. Understand it must be a tough one to tackle but it’s been a long time coming. I don’t have much hope they are ever going to address it at this point for whatever reason.

Kaminali.2863 – I wish, that would be awesome

Just returned and finished playing Living World Season 2. I also wish there was a way to go back and play Season 1 somehow as I missed it. Appreciate the link to help with the lore and reading up on it, just much better to be able to actually play through it.

Other than missing out, and not being able to play through the Living World stuff we missed, the game is pretty friendly for those of us returning after a long hiatus.

I agree, this was an amazing update, I am enjoying the hell out of it. Keep up the great work!

Good luck to you SoS – I have a lot of respect for you folks and it has been a blast battling against you the past few weeks. As a DB player who stuck it out through the exodus we had a while back, be glad you are ridding yourself / have rid yourself of the fair weather player and guilds and now can start rebuilding with quality individuals. The sooner you lose that type of player/person/guild, the better. I think you will do well in T4, but no matter what tier you end up in I hope its a fun, competitive environment for you guys.

The most fun I have had in weeks. Forced myself to log off around 1 AM this morning dreading my 5 AM alarm – but worth it as the fights at SM last night were a blast.

I hope SoS & YB Stay in T3 a while – much respect for both your servers and your people.

Hotcake.2137:

Appreciate the input, I definitely don’t think I’ve completely min maxed my gear but I don’t think your gear suggestions make any substantial difference. I will try it when I get the chance to see if I can squeeze out some tiny improvements to my existing stats, can’t hurt.

It depends on what you consider substantial. You can get 3% crit damage at the cost of 15 toughness by switching out 1 jewel, or you could get the same 3% crit damage at the cost of 48 toughness by switching out your pants. That’s a 33 point stat difference between swapping out just 1 item. If you are going to mix different types of gear I think it’s worth it to do it with the pieces that minimize stat loss.

I think it’s important to understand the concept Battou.7832 eluded to in his post when he complimented Laika.8795. If your going to mix different types of gear, there are certain pieces that are better used for % value stats (Boon duration, condition duration, critical damage, and magic find) and certain pieces that are better for numeric value stats (Power, precision, toughness, vitality, condition damage, and healing power)

For example look at the stats when compare two different exotic Jewels and two different Exotic Medium Helms.

Jewel: Say you want to add some Crit Damage at the loss of some Toughness by switching out a Exquisite Emerald Jewel with a Exquisite Ruby Jewel in any item:

Exquisite Emerald Jewel
+25 Precision
+15 Power
+15 Toughness

Exquisite Ruby Jewel
+25 Power
+15 Precision
+3% Critical Damage

Summary: By doing this you are gaining 3% Critical Damage and only lose 15 Toughness, which is a 1:5 Ratio (you get 1% Crit Damage per 5 Toughness).

Medium Helm: Now lets do the same thing on a Helm. Lets say you have the Karma Helm and you want to swap it out for something crafted with % Crit Damage.

Medium Arcon Mask
+45 Power
+32 Vitality
+32 Toughness

Valkyrie Emblazoned Helm
+45 Power
+32 Vitality
+2% Critcal Damage

Summary: By doing this you are gaining 2% Critical Damage and losing 32 Toughness, this is a 1:16 Ratio (you get 1% Crit Damage per 16 Toughness).

So if you are adding a % stat to your gear by replacing a numeric stat – you are going to get the most bang for the buck starting with the 1:5 ratio jewels. If you are going the other way and adding replacing a % stat item with a numeric item, you will want to start at the 1:16 ratio items so you lose the least amount of % stats, but gain the higher number stats.

Here is an overall Item by slot breakdown – based on the following chart from the official GW2 Wiki http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Item_nomenclature#Comparison_of_numeric_vs._percentage_attributes

1. 1:5 Ratio
– Jewels (x6)

2. 1:12 Ratio
- Shoulders
- Gloves
- Boots

3. 1:13 Ratio
– 1h Weapon (x2)
– Amulet
– Accessory / Earing (x2)

4. 1:14 Ratio
– Chest
– 2H Weapons

5. 1:16 Ratio
– Legs
– Head
– Rings (x2)
– Back Item

I have 4 level 80’s and I run dungeons on all of them every day (Guardian, Warrior, Thief, Ranger) and I feel like I do the most damage, have the most utility, and make the biggest difference in the success of the dungeon when I play my Thief. I suggest starting with more of a balanced build, and gear yourself with “some” survivability to start, and as you get comfortable with the class and how to survive, start replacing some of the survival gear with DPS gear as you see fit. You can’t be lazy on a thief, you will need to switch out different weapons almost every fight depending on if its a single target melee, single target ranged, or multi-target melee or multi target ranged type of encounter.

Sounds solid, I will give it a try – have been running D/D – P/P or SB for CoF P1 & P2 runs and do very well with it but would like to try something like this for the added multi-target dps. Currently my gear is zerker with divinity runes. What Sigils are you running (Paralyzation on sword?) and what food / other buff items?

To those that run S/D. Would S/D be a good weapon set to go with D/D in WvW? The stun and ability to move large distances quickly using Shadow Step, Infiltrator’s Strike, Steal as well the daze seems like it might be nice for those that are attempting to flee.

I recently switched from a full condition build to a crit build and put together a full exotic set prior to switching, I opted to start with a more balanced gear set, mixing in Berserker, Valkyrie, Soldiers and 1 Knights piece for survivability and plan on swapping out / replacing the Soldiers pieces and knights piece for Berserker or Valkyrie as I get better at playing the spec. So far it has worked well, Dungeons I am still doing great dps and I’m not dying, and WvW I can make a few mistakes and still survive.

If you decide to do something similar there are certain pieces of gear you will want to have the % crit damage stat on over other pieces because of the ratio of stats lost vs % crit gained. I would be happy to share the piece by piece breakdown I did.

My preference is to level using condition – D/D DB spam for groups of mobs, P/D for single target. At 80 I played P/D – D/D condition for a few months, and then put together a Crit set of exotic gear and I switch between the two depending on my mood IMHO they are both a hell of a lot of fun although Crit seems a little more useful for speed dungeon runs and most WvW situations.

@ Battou – I agree, the calculator is outstanding

@ Shadowdust – Thanks much, I didn’t see that option and will utilized it

LOVE this calculator & Highly recommend!

Thanks you guys, http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/ was exactly what I was looking for. It does not calculate the stats perfect, and lacks a save option but it’s good enough for what I need Much appreciated!

Great video, Loved the commentary

I mainly do WvW and occasionally PvE, currently running a P/D – D/D Condition build and I am putting together a complete set of exotic gear to try out a somewhat crit based / balanced D/D – S/D build, but I am unable to find a good calculator that has any gear selection other than PvP. Does anyone here know of a good PvE gear calculator or a decent spreadsheet that is out there?

I really want to play around with some different gear choices prior to making everything. Because I am going to be mixing gear with % Crit Damage ( Valkyrie or Berserker’s) and non % Crit Damage (Soldier’s / Karma PVT, Knight’s) I put together the following priority based on the ratios listed in http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Item_nomenclature#Comparison_of_numeric_vs._percentage_attributes

1. 1:5 Ratio (BEST for % crit items)

• Jewels (x6)

2. 1:12 Ratio

• Other Armor (x3)
  * Shoulders
  * Gloves
  * Boots

3. 1:13 Ratio

• 1h Weapon (x2)
• Amulet
• Accessory / Earing (x2)

4. 1:14 Ratio

• Chest
• 2H Weapons (N/A)

5. 1:16 Ratio (WORST / Most loss going % crit)

• Legs
• Head
• Rings (x2)
• Back Item

If you have done similar calculations what tool did you use? If I don’t find anything I will just put it all in a spreadsheet as most, if not all, of the formulas are probably posted in the wiki.

Agnima.3714:

I’ve been trying out the 00/00/30/20/20 build with the appropriate sigils and runes mentioned here and carrion gear. So far I am finding the build/gear setup to be rather flexible in both WvW and instances. With a few trait swaps I am ready to play in WvW without need to change my gear. In instances the extra vitality allows for more breathing room and a few trait swaps gives fairly decent coverage in assisting the group.

The damage is pretty decent as well and all the condition damage and bleed duration buffs you wouldn’t have in a typical dagger build makes cluster bomb deal some very good aoe damage. This is an overall good build that is more flexible then dagger builds and I think I will be playing around with this for a while.

I have had the same exact same experience with this build. In fact, I feel just as useful, if not more useful in some cases, than my 80 AH Guardian, in dungeons and WvW – for different reasons.

I hated my thief – until I started leveling using a condition build D/D & P/D. I used the solid advice Phenn.5167 gave in the thread I am listing below and I could not be happier with leveling on my thief:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/Leveling-Thief-Build-Weapon-Combos/first#post893684

World PvE, Dungeons, WvW – it works incredibly well everywhere. D/D is great for the initial stacks of bleeds on a pack of mobs or a boss, and then switch over to P/D. At 80 gearing was a piece of cake using all Carrion gear you have a great health pool and great condition damage. Since running a Condition build on my thief I have hardly touched my 80 War or 80 Guardian… BTW My final build at 80 is 0/0/30/20/20 – there are better builds for single target (venom) but I like having the extra utility of blinding powder, shadow refuge, signet of shadows.

I have had really good luck, and a lot of fun, in both World PvE, Dungeons, and WvW with a D/D – P/D Bleed/condition build and all Carion weapons and armor. I love the 20k health and its a lot of fun to play. I’m running 0/0/30/20/20. Great survivability, great sustained AE and single target dps. Easy to gear – all Carion armor and weapons, 2 rune of the Centaur, 2 rune of the afflicted, 2 rune of the Krait, Superior Sigil of Corruption, Superior Sigil of Agony.

I enjoyed the video – it was entertaining and its nice to see someone using a different weaponset than the norm. Kudos to you and thanks for sharing.

I found the post by Phenn.5167 in this thread to be very helpful:
– https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/Leveling-Thief-Build-Weapon-Combos

Just this week I started a Thief and have leveled him to level 45 using his advise, and it has been a cake walk and a blast to play. I’m using D/D for my main weapon set, and switching between P/D if I need ranged single target or SB for traveling or ranged multi-target.

Skapocalypse.5236:

Thanks for that advance warning really came in handy. In no way did I just toss down a gold in siege to take defend a keep and siege a tower. No thats not possible because I got an advanced warning. [/sarcasm]

Really tired of wasting money Anet.

Yeah – that is so very irritating. I watched 3 siege just get completed and one in process when the boot from WvW happened. Irritation.

Every video was outstanding. Thanks for sharing.

Great vid – well done!

I would like to see a Pilum or a Crossbow.

Very cool, Congrats!

I can understand your frustration, however the Orr zones (Straits of Devastation, Malchor’s Leap, Cursed Shore) are my favorite zones in the game. I love my daily runs through those zones. collecting my daily Orichalcum Ore, Ancient Wood Logs, and Omnomberries. I like that there is so much danger there, that there is more of a consequence of dying there – a possibly long run, or waiting around with the hope that someone will stop to revive you. I love the challenge and I hope they don’t change it.

I will say I think the Temple/God karma areas could use a little balancing. Last night 20+ people were not able to take down Melandru after over an hour, however later that night myself and a Thief successfully 2-manned Dwayna…

Kriv.4052:

Off topic, but how to you apply that lower lvl greatsword skin?

Kriv – with a Transmutation Stone.

See http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Transmutation_Stone

This by kisangyal.1796 “I use GS and hammer (AH build) and I did not have problem… I had to dodge more and keep an eye on mob’s attack animation. I think it is a good thing. At least I was not bored like in Cursed Shore where I could kill mobs “with my eyes closed”. On this new map, I just have to stay alert, so as to say. I like it.”

and

This by Tarsius.3170 “To be honest, after sleepwalking through the rest of the PvE content, I find the Karkan a refreshing challenge.”

and

This by kaffaljidhma.1496 “Nothing is more satisfying than just barely jump-dodging a rolling karka that has already flattened 40 people”

I’m Glad they didn’t make the zone a cake walk, you have to pay attention to your surroundings and the immediate fight at hand, auto attack isn’t going to cut it here and I’m glad.

I have a level 80 Warrior and a Level 80 Guardian.
– I also do Greatsword as the “first” weapon on both of them. I prefer the animations of the Guardian over the warrior.
– As far as the weapon skins, if you found a lower level Greatsword skin you like, you should be able to apply that to any level weapon, so the look of the weapon should be a solvable issue for you.
– PvE wise I currently prefer the Guardian over the Warrior, even though the warrior has a lot better ranged option than the Guardian. Some of the reasons I like the Guardian over the Warrior is I do prefer to melee, however many fights in GW2 are not friendly to melee. The guardians defense, retaliation, ability to heal lets me melee more fights than my warrior, at least using the builds I prefer to use for each class. When soloing I find the self combo field options are better for the guardian and I enjoy the combo fields aspect of the game a lot.
– PvP Wise, I do a lot better on my warrior in sPvP and WvW, but I have 4x the experience pvp’ing on my warrior than I do my guardian as my warrior was my first level 80, so even though I have a decent amount of time played in WvW and sPvP I can only say I am currently more effective on my warrior due to experience with the class.
– One suggestion I have if the WvW PvP Aspect is a big part of your decision, go watch some of the really good Warrior and Guardian PvP videos on you tube to at least get an idea of what they are capable of in the hands of a skilled/knowledgeable player.

10/10 – for Veyera, great name and the lore behind it puts it over the top for me.

My Human is a Guardian named Agusta Steelton. It’s a name I created back in 1983 when I started playing pen and paper Dungeons & Dragons.

With Altruistic Healing (which it looks like your build has) I don’t know how much vitality you will need to stack. I’m running/testing a retaliation build right now (0/0/30/30/10) and decided to go Power/Toughness/Precision, with some healing and vitality on my jewelry, and vitality on my weapons and it’s working great so far.

My Human Guardian

Outstanding and congrats! I have no idea how I am going to afford mine but someday hopefully…

PhyreHazard.5748 – That combo of T2 and T3 looks really good too.

For those asking about color, have you tried using the dye removal on the main sections of each armor? That is what I found looks best on my T2 set.