Guild Wars 2

WOW!
Thanks hrkljus that was a lot more inciteful than i expected!
Seems like not a lot has changed, which i sorta expected. I’d been playing CC warrior for a while before i left but i’ll probably leave it now if it has become FotM.
I had a little go as ele using Fresh Air but with a dagger off hand not a focus, maybe ill give that a go for a while.

Not this week though as ive just brought Diablo 3 on xBox and arranged a week long 4 man session. For anyone interested, whilst on the subject, it transfers very well to console and god knows you can’t beat 4 man sat on a sofa playing together!

Sup GW’ers!
I’ve been away from the game for just over 5 weeks now due to going on a trip to travel South East Asia. I honestly didnt miss GW the whole time i was away, not until i sat on my flight home. With like 14 hours of travelling to do my mind invariably started to wonder about the state of the game.

Last i remember Sky Hammer had not long come out and everyone was QQing about it being lame. Hammer too powerful, too many chanced to get knocked off and a new map with no variety compared to the old maps. I remember Necro being OP, Spirit Ranger being OP and Warrior being “terrible” (or at least in the eyes of the forums; from what i remember).

So im sat at my desk at work, my first day back, on a break dying to check forums and see whats new, only im so snowed under catching up that im not gunna have time before i get home tonight and jump on for the first time in WEEKS.

Was hoping you guys might be able to give me a quick run down of whats new?

You could ALT modify them as 1-4.
That way you wont have to learn to press new buttons. My thumb rests naturally above the alt key whilst playing so its no extra movement, just a matter of getting used to pressing at the right time.

Those that are interested in creating their own builds will always do so, and those that copy and paste will always do so. At least if the most popular builds where readily available it would give people a better chance at succeeding with a copy and paste build because they will fit the current meta.
When i first started PvP I copied and pasted a build because I knew nothing, like most fresh PvPers. Within a few games, when i had got used to PvP mechanics and the way the build played, I changed it up to suit my play style. Now that I’m more confident in the PvP environment I’m always changing things and testing new ideas.

I think people just need a nudge in the right direction.

I don’t really like the idea of a list of popular builds, that way we will just see everyone running around exactly the same, but I am for the idea of giving different options. For example each new played has the option of an offensive, a defensive and a middle of the road option.

@DiogaSilva
Thanks for that info! As i say i am new to ele and i did not know we had access to so many auras. That trait pick makes a lot more sense now.

Any other bunkers out there care to share their builds?
I would appreciate all the input available, as I’m still learning

It seems to me that most other bunker builds are using Zephyrs Boon, making Auras grant fury and swiftness. However with a S/D you only have 1 Aura and with D/D only 2, seems like a wasted trait to me…

Unless I am mistaken and there are more Auras than that.

Sorry about the wall of text :/
Didn’t even realise i’d written to much xD

Hi,
A bit about me; I started playing ele about a week ago with the view of playing a bunker, before that I have been a life long warrior. I’ve been running the standard 0/10/0/30/30 bunker build using 3 cantrips in hot joins (for practise) and over the last few days in solo queue. I wanted to go bunker because I like the idea of solo queuing and just sitting on the node until we win (hopefully). I in no way claim to be a good ele, as I say I’ve only been playing him a week, but I feel pretty comfortable with what everything does (weapon skill wise) and I figured id have a bakitten creating a build myself (as this is always the best way to ensure the character plays how you want).

Now onto the build:
I was messing around with the sceptre and noticed that you have a plenty of blast finishers and pretty easy access to might when using them in your fire field, so i thought why not try and build a bunker around might stacking. I don’t know if its been done before, but if it has I haven’t seen the build anywhere, so I apologise if this has already been dismissed as garbage months ago.

Here is the build:
http://intothemists.com/calc/?build=-k34;2B2kU0-5sM-Z0;9;49;0TT3;628A46AVV;4nBnBrRnC3Nl

It still uses triple cantrips but has 10 in fire rather than in air. The reason for this the trait Spell Slinger that grants 3 stacks of might when using a cantrip. This to me seems awesome! The only problem I’ve found thus far with playing ele bunker is that I simply cannot kill anything that isn’t glass cannon. My idea was that with this trait, with the blast finishers we have and with boon duration runes we can easily maintain a large number of might stacks.

I have chosen clerics ammy and jewel with 3 dwayna and 3 water gems. The reason I have gone full healing power is because well, our only real defence is our heals, so why the hell not make them better.

I’ve ditched Renewing Stamina in favour of Vigorous Sceptre as with this build your crit rating is terrible.

The main aim behind the build is to sit on the node, keeping yourself healed up whilst stacking more and more might until you have enough to deal some real nice damage and hopefully kill the attacker.

I have yet to test this build, as I am currently just brain storming at work, but I would greatly appreciate any advice and/or criticism that you have.

swiftpaw.6397:

Simon Sickboy.6250:

Do rangers have a mechanic that makes them invisible when stunned/CC’ed?
I know there are runes that can give stealth but yesterday a ranger I fought got like 2-3 seconds of invisibility every time I stunned him on my warrior.

There’s a trait for it.

Makes sense. Is there no CD on it? I swear I shield bashed and he went invis, then when he came out I Skull Cracked and he went invis again :S

Do rangers have a mechanic that makes them invisible when stunned/CC’ed?
I know there are runes that can give stealth but yesterday a ranger I fought got like 2-3 seconds of invisibility every time I stunned him on my warrior.

The mace/shield + sword/mace build you have used on your stream interests me.

You gotta make sure you are salvaging items from a tourney chest, otherwise you will never get a tourney token.

Above Olba says that conditions with + duration % will still effect you.
Surely anyone that has conditions which are going to be a problem will have + duration %? meaning you are still going to feel them anyway. All be it a lot weaker than without the stance, but still…

Also, necros have like the worst movement in the game, they aren’t exactly hard to stick to anyway.

*edit: spelling.

So then how do you use it as a condition removal?
Or are you supposed to use it pre emptively?

Seems like a bit of a gamble considering the cooldown…

Does it actually remove conditions already on you? does it just stop people applying more to you?
The tooltip says “greatly reduced”, seems a bit vague to me…

I’m currently playing a variation on the skull cracker build that suits my play style:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNApeRjcOBv1OGPMxBEkiroKOKUCmQ9wO2w4A-TsAg0CvICSFkLITQygsBNsYZxEBA

I’m running signets of dolyak and stamina with the signet mastery trait which gives full condition remove every 36 seconds and a stun breaker every 48. I’m also running with stomp, which is currently my favourite utility, it breaks stun, has a HUGE knockback and chains perfectly out of a Skull Crack>100b combo. Not to mention the fact you can use it to knock people off point and allow yourself time to neutralise. I’m also running the Shield Mastery trait. I love this trait because I spend most of my time sat with my Mace/Shield out, the extra toughness isn’t massive, but the 20% reduced cooldown is too good to pass up imho. You can use Shield Bash more often to bait stun breakers and of course Shield Stance being 6 seconds quicker is a massive boost to survival.

I’ve seen a lot of people promoting this new stance based Skull Crack build, but I honestly cant see the appeal of it (this is most likely due to my lack of understanding regarding ’zerker stance). Would anyone be kind enough to try and explain to me why the stance build is “better”.

The map looks beautiful, is nicely laid out and the jump pads add, in my opinion, a very fun and unique type of play.

However, the cannon hits WAY to hard over WAY to big of an area. Either damage or AoE has to be reduced.
Also, some of the jump pads seem pretty buggy. Seems to me that some will easily hop you up onto the next level no matter where you walk onto them, whilst others you have to get the perfect angle, otherwise you wind up half way across the map facing the complete opposite way. This could, however, be down to my lack of practise with them…

NOTE: I haven’t actually tested this build yet as i am at work, I had my mind on GW when i should be working and I’ve knocked this build up:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fcAQJAqelIq6Zn1SfF1LJxoCdGki6eXRPyvld8nCyF-TsAA1CmIMSZkzIjRSjsGN+4EyUAA

The aim of the build is not to face tank damage, but avoid it through a combination of Speedy Kits and Invigorating Speed. This coupled with Backpack Regenerator, the regen from Heal Turret and the runes of melandru will hopefully be enough to survive long enough to over come most enemies.

As stated at the start, I haven’t actually had chance to test it yet.
BUT feedback would be much appreciated.

I was thinking about Hammer with Mace/Shield and just going stun crazy.
The only problem I can foresee is damage. I mean I’ve never even used the hammer to be honest, but I cant really see where your damage is gunna come from with those weapons?

So I’ve been playing warrior now for a couple of weeks and it seems to me that there are only 2 ways to play warrior right now.
You either run Longbow with s/sh or you run GS with m/sh. I have deduced this from the talk on forums and the fact that I cant remember the last time I saw anyone using anything other than one of these weapon sets.

Personally I don’t mind it as I love the play style of both of these builds.

With the weekend coming up and the chance to test out some new builds I was just wondering if anyone had any other builds they might suggest I try?
I’m no pro warrior, and I’ve only been playing him a week or so, but I’ve fallen in love with the class and I want to try everything out.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for the info and the builds man!
I was hoping for information on playing a bunker in tPvP and sPvP, mainly focusing on solo queue tPvP.

I want to be that guy that just sits on a node the whole game. I want to be able to keep hold of the point, deny the enemy from taking it and eventually killing those attackers. I understand that as a bunker I shouldn’t expect to be able to kill people quickly, but i want a build that can still do good enough damage to kill people over time.

Having never playing Guardian I don’t even know if this is something that they can do. But i have seen, and been killed, by bunker guardians before; sometimes very quickly considering that bunkers tend to not do too much damage.

@Swimsasa
The way you have laid it out like that is very helpful, and almost exactly what I was looking for.
As I already play a warrior I think I would more inclined to play a damage avoidance type build than a damage tanking type build.

d/d ele sounds a lot like what I am interested in playing.
It seems that all bunker builds run X-X-X-20-30 or X-X-X-30-30. Could anyone suggest to me a way to build that would give me the best damage output whilst still staying true to bunker?

This is one of those topics that everyone hates, where some noob asks for a build and everyone says do some research for yourself. But the truth is I have done plenty of research on builds, but none of info i have found has any opinion on it. Obviously the creator of the build writes “Best bunker ever, you wont find anything better” but hardly any of the builds have any outside input.

I’m interested in knowing if there a “cookie cutter” build for a guard bunker?

• Are there a set of weapons they are mandatory?
• Are guards the sort of bunkers that sit and deny, but do no damage?
• What are the main differences between guard and ele bunkers?

Sorry if this is all rather annoying, but any information would be greatly appreciated.

In honesty I’m pretty clueless when it comes to ele. I play warrior and have done for about a month or so. I’m playing a pretty glass cannon heavy armour wearer and i thought it would be fun to do the complete opposite; A light armour wearer built tanky as hell.

I’ve come up against ele bunkers in solo que that can just sit on the node, with what seems like endless heals, slowly wearing me down. As a glass cannon build there has been plenty of time where I’ve had to run away, and i like the idea of being on the other side.

I have also looked into a guardian bunker builds. Do you, as an ele, feel a more or less effective bunker that a guard? From what i understand ele has near to endless survivability with less damage, whereas guard has less survivability but more damage. But please, correct me if I’m wrong.

Sorry, this is for PvP. 9 times out of 10 I simply solo que tPvP, i figure a bunker would be both fun to play, and useful to the team.

Swimsasa Stoon.8936:

bunker builds got nerfed. 25th in water allowed for bunkers to do some damage but the boost has been halved thus gimping the little damage bunkers did even further.

You think id be better off not bothering with a bunker? I’m pretty new to the world of tPvP and the research I have done has lead me to believe that a bunker is useful if not a necessity in a team. I know for solo que its probably not AS important, but me and some friends are hoping to get a little team going soon.

I’ve heard good things about d/d, but I’m open to suggestion.

I’m interested in playing a bunker type profession and I’ve heard, and seen, that eles are quite good at being bunkers. I was wondering if there was any “cookie cutter” type bunker builds?

I’m using a sword and shield with LB in swap. With the sword f1, the shield #4 and the bow #5 its not that hard to get off. Practise makes perfect…

I’m pretty new to warrior, having only been playing in PvP since friday; I started using OP’s build yesterday and although I’m not very good with the long bow just yet, I’m really enjoying it. Good AoE damage, good burst (specially when they are under 50% health) and pretty good survivability with Cleansing Ire and the shield trait. Makes a nice change to be able to throw down a field, and a darn good one at that!

I am however running the sigil of para on shield cause it makes getting sword #3 much easier.

Thanks for the input.
When I originally levelled to 40 I used FT with rifle and really enjoyed it. Perhaps ill continue along that line.
I have however NEVER used the Elixer Gun, any tips for using that effectively?
I also read somewhere that the bomb kit is nice for levelling, but the idea of it seems a bit risky. I don’t feel very tanky and I’m cautious the bomb kit will too often leave me swarmed by mobs, open to take a pounding. Is it good enough damage to be worth the trade off?

So I originally got GW at release, played engi to level 40 and then returned to wow (Dont hate, the chance at panda slaying was too good to resist), but now I’m back with a vengeance.
I started to level a warrior, currently at 40 the same, but its boring as kitten. Run in, apply vun, spam AoE, win. Takes little to no skill. So i am returning to my engineer.
There has, of course, been lots of changes made to the profession since i last played and i wondered if there wia a “cookie cutter” leveling spec for engineer?
I know from past personal experience that part of the beauty of engineer is trying everything out and finding what suits you best, but ive already done that (all be it a long time ago), and i know what i want to play at end game. What I want is a build that will allow me to get max level quickest, so i can finally start enjoying end game content.
Any tips?

Ahh got you!

I guess I’m just used to WoW where the notes are available weeks before hand. Ill keep an eye out closer to release time.
Cheers!

Hi there,
I’m relatively new to this game, been playing about a week now. I’ve always been a forum fan and recently I’ve been reading lots of people talking about changes in the up and coming patch (this Tuesday I believe?).

I’m sure It’s me being stupid, or not seeing what right in front of my eyes, but can anyone point me in the direction of the patch notes please?
I have no idea where I might find them. I found the page where the devs give an outline of their intentions with the patch, but not actually any patch notes.

Thanks in advanced,

I would rather a clueless level 35 than a clueless level 80. (Although i am biased as i am that clueless 35 )
The reason being, in my case at least, is that i actually want to learn. I’m not rushing to 80 to “try” and experience all the content straight away. I’m enjoying the experience of leveling, and I’m enjoying learning the mechanics of a new game (to me at least).
Would you rather take a level 35 like me who is willing to learn and actively looking for help, or level 80 that already thinks he know everything because he is level 80?

Just because you are level 80 it doesn’t make you a better player than a level 35.

Oh jeez!
Having come from WoW forums I did not expect such a quick and helpful response, thanks!
I have a few friends that will also be around the same level as me on their first chars, so i think we will probably try to use that lfg website to try and find some helpful level 80s to teach us the ropes.
Also massive thanks to swiftpaw for the in depth warrior guide, that will be extremely useful!

Hey there,
After a little advice on the best way to try and get involved in dungeons. I’ve just started my first char after being a massive wow nerd for about 4 years, and I LOVE this game. Im currently a level 14 norn warrior, and i know its a little soon to be thinking about dungeons, but ill be 30 soon enough and from what i understand i unlock the first dungeon then.

I’ve been trying to research about the dungeons and know that all have a story mode and a Explore mode, story being easier and lower level with explore the opposite.
But it seems that everyone that talks about dungeons is talking from a level 80 stand point. There is very little information on how to get involved with doing dungeons for the actual level they are aimed at.

Anyone got any advice on how to go about starting dungeons, or if i can even do them at 30-35 or will i have to wait till 80?

Thanks in advanced

I checked that website, there are indeed some very useful thread there! Thanks.
And also yea, this time around I’m focusing a lot more on actually playing the game properly instead of just spamming everything and hoping. Looking out for combo fields/finishers has been a big thing for me, which is why I’ve been running A/A (as this seems to be have the most finishers).

Really like the sounds of that quick switching trait, the main problem I’ve found with warrior is wanting to switch and it being on CD, thanks for that tip!

Ok, so the title might be a little misleading. What I mean is that I’m returning to the game (after about a 6 month break) and am starting a warrior. I brought GW at release, played engi for a month or so (but only ever made it level 40) and then went back to WoW cause all my pals still played it. But now im back!

I’m currently level 10 and starting to really enjoy warrior, I’m just after some general advice regarding warrior leveling, if anyone would be so kind as to help?

It should be noted that i will be leveling with 2 friends 90% of the time, a mesmer and an elementalist. I’m looking to try and build so that we can do large AoE damage as a group and so that we can combo together well.

From research I’ve done so far it seems that the cookie cutter leveling build for a warrior is the signet build (where you get precision for signets that are off cooldown but inactive. From the sounds of it this is very effective, and possibly OP(?) leveling build. I am more than happy to play this build.

What i am confused about is:
- What weapons are best for AoE damage, and for combo-ing with a mesmer and ele?
- What should i be trying to gear? I assume power, maybe?

Also any warrior and leveling tips in general would be much appreciated.

SORRY about the wall of text. I’ve not played this game in a long time, and when I did I wasn’t ever fully immersed. I therefore have very little knowledge of this game, let alone profession. So please, go easy on me.

@Kimbald

I apologise if it came across that i was telling people not to play engineer, that was never my intention.

I have no problem with people wanting change to mechanics that don’t work. I too would love to see some changes suggested by members of this forums implemented, for example FT #2 having a detonate function. But this is not a BIG play style changing change. This is a tweak to a concept already implemented, not a change to the concept of the weapon or profession.

You have completely missed what i was trying to say. So i will try and simply it:

What i have a problem with is people on this forum asking devs to change the whole concept of a weapon, thus altering the profession as a whole.

Take the rifle for example: Its a mid range weapon. If you want it to be longer range you can trait it, that seems perfectly reasonable to me. However there is post after post of people complaining that it isn’t long range enough for them. Changing this and giving it the same range as the Warrior rifle for example would completely change the whole concept of the engineer. Making it long range would mean that as an engineer you would spend the whole time trying to stay at max range, turning the engineer into a ranger.

@ MattyP

“And I am not against small tweaks (I would love it if I didn’t lose my rifle stats when I switched to flamethrower), but completely changing the skills of one of the two weapons engineers can use to accommodate people who can’t (or don’t want to) build their playstyle around the profession that actually exists in the game is just silly.”

This is pretty much exactly what i was trying to get at.

I’m not being narrow minded, and i appreciate the forums are for feedback, trust me i spent A LOT of time using forums for WOW.

I have no problem with people liking something but wanting to change it, that’s called progress and is something i believe in greatly! However there is a difference between progress and completely changing a profession. I agree that some parts should be redesigned so that they work as intended, the Engineer is by no means a fully completed profession.

What i have a problem with, as stated before, is that the Engineer is obviously designed to be played in this way. Most of this forum is people complaining about the main design concept of the profession! A larger portion of this forum seems to be people wishing to change something that would completely change the design of the Engineer.

“A critical mind is a sign of intelligence and insight” I think my masters degree in Physics might also be a sign of both a critical mind and intelligence. But you know, why don’t you go ahead and passive aggressively insult some more people?
I don’t openly accept everything in life the way it is, you don’t know me, so don’t assume i do. Please.

I have gone rather defensive in my reply, and i probably come across as even angrier than before (i never meant to sound angry in the first place) but i fear you have missed the whole point of my post. My first post was not to flame people for wanting to change the profession, or to stand up and say “I accept everything, do not change it” the whole point of the post was to rant about the fact that a lot, not all, of the people on this forum are suggesting changes that completely change the concept of the profession.

Ok. I spent a fair amount of time during the day reading these forums, when i should probably be working, and I’ve come too an amazing discovery.

About 75% of you lot shouldn’t even play Engineer. Engineer is my only character. I LOVE every single thing about it. It seems to me that a very large percentage of this forums is people kittening about how they should change the class. I’m not talking bugs, or suggestions for fixes, I’m talking about people who are suggesting completely overhauling and changing the class to suit THEIR PERSONAL PLAY STYLES!

Example:
- “The rifle isn’t long range enough. I rolled Engineer to play a ranged class and i have to get mid ranged to use my rifle.”
NEWS FLASH: This is how it was designed! If you want to play a long range class go roll a Ranger or Rifle Warrior. A lot of people say they should rename it shotgun, and i agree, but don’t you people see if devs intended for it to be a long range weapon they would of made it that way in the first place?

I could write more but whatever, this makes my point.

I don’t know if its just because I really love the way they have created it, and maybe i got lucky and i happen to have the same play style as whoever designed the Engineer, but to me it seems too many of you are too busy complaining about how they should change it suit your play style rather than adjusting your play style to suit the Engineer.

I mean really what’s not to love? I roll with Rifle, ‘nades, Flame thrower and either Elixir Gun or Elixir B for PvE and i can see no situation where i would need anything else. Yes a few skills could be tweaked but this is not because i don’t like how they work, its because they just don’t work! (#2 on FT for example)

Target is far away? Throw grenades like a madman! Target is close? Melt faces with the FT! Need control? Whip out the rifle, #4 is EPIC knock back and has great synergy with FT #2 (try it!).

Rant over. I guess i just love Engineer the way it is.