Guild Wars 2

i have been playing with the current reduced shield trait over dogged and i am barely seeing any difference without it. so

Thuggernaut.1250:

Greatsword really seems to be the no-brainer power build choice now. If only they buffed Arcing Slice a bit more, it would become perfect…

Why would you arcing slice when yout can bait our their cc breaks and then f2 taunt then into a 100blades?

I liked running around in my chef clothes, aviators and boxing gloves. Can’t do that anymore. Curse you sent and your standards in the kitchen. Mandatory hats for all chefs and no after hours underground kitchen fights.

xev.9476:

Stomping your feet and insisting that EotM is intended to be a WvW map just ignores the reality that it’s poorly designed, horribly unbalanced, and best lends itself to a ktrain map. You even see ANet employees on their uplevels in EotM just to ktrain. Somehow everyone else got the memo…

It was originally poorly designed to be an extension of wvw. Just because people decided to devolve it into a mindless karma train isn’t 100% anets fault. Staying that it wasn’t designed for wvw is just 100% incorrect.

The devs shouldn’t really be purpatrating the unintended use of the maps, but it’s unavoidable at this point.

waSte.8640:

Name of game: Guild Wars 2

Amount of guild wars since launch: Zero

Technically by pure lore, the last official guild wars ended before the onset of the searing in gw1. They then became outlawed, shortly after.

At first I was going to say working as intended, but are the other ressurectin skills that ranger, necromancer, elementalist and guardian have subject to the same variables with poison and bleed?

If so then it’s working as intended, if not then it needs to be addressed to be brought in line for the other classes have to be brought in line with warbanner.

sirnibb.4709:

Hello everyone. Long time reader 1st time writer here. After playing the stronghold beta I was instantly reabsorbed into guild wars 2. I had a ton of fun playing it, both solo and with friends.

There is one thing lacking however, the tension of “oh crap, we just wiped at their lord and now we are going to likely lose.”

Before that let me give you a little bit of background on myself. I played gw1 competitively since it launch until about 2008. I was a member of *bold*the trueblade*/bold* we took 23rd place during the second gw1 ladder season. That was the most success I’ve ever achieved in that game. So this is coming from an enthusiast, and not a “top player”.

Stronghold brought back a lot of those memories from playing guild wars. A rush of nostalgia invigorated me and I was all about playing this game mode. In fact, I played it from around 11 hours or so. I was hooked.

During my playtime, I noticed a lot of stuff that could have been done better and brought more pacing and tension to the game. For example in guild wars 1 if you wanted to kill an enemy base and solo the guild lord, it took A LOT of work and time. Mainly assassins could do this but I’ve seen a handful of skilled warriors and rangers also do this. In stronghold, it’s not like that. One glass zerker can just leeroy your lord unload his damage a few times, die, and repeat. There is no penalty for this type of play. (granted this has a little bit of set up time, not dismissing that.)

GVG in gw1 punished bad play and rewarded good play. Mesmer gets caught out of position and gets spiked down. Bad play. The player was punished for getting greedy, sloppy, or whatever. This bad play also punished the team because now your monks had to push up to try and heal your stupid mesmer self, and now they are out of position and vulnerable. Stronghold doesn’t really seem to punish bad play. You just re-spawn in 15 seconds and go at it again. There is no room for power plays while a man is down, they just come right back and are in the fight.

Sure it’s fun and all fine in a casual setting. In a more competitive setting this can get rather annoying, spending all your time and resources to take down that bunker guardian or engie defending the gate only to have them reappear in such a short-time window. It’s rather annoying.

I think anet needs to put more emphasis on good play as opposed to sloppy play. Punish those players for it, and reward those who are playing well.

Some suggestions for this are as follows:

Make the pit (lord room) more dangerous to solo players to come and gank the whole room. It should be a team effort to defend the lord / push for the win.

Each guild lord fight the lord should start with full hp. This will discourage those kamikaze strategies I mentioned earlier.

If not that, maybe add a healing modifier to the lord so a team can choose to spend the time to heal the lord to full health.

Make archers have another purpose or spawn two at a time with your supply investment.

In conclusion, stronghold might not be traditional gvg in the sense however, it adds it’s own flair to the mmo pvp. It’s in its own right a very good, fun, and challenging game more. With some minor improvements, it could be the best pvp experience in a long time.

This is a very well written piece. I’m going to bump it so that it gets more attention. I don’t know if I could have said anything better as you have put it but you made some great points and I agree. When I first started playing stronghold I was immediately brought back to guild wars 1 gvg and I wish that it was just like gw1 and the gates stayed open and kill all the guard NPCs and then focus on the Lord. all player deaths players would respawn every 30 seconds. and the power plays that you mentioned with the team splits like 4/4, 5/3, 4/3/1, 5/2/1 or 6/2 and 6/1/1s made strategy so much more fun than constantly Yolo zerging their npcs till your team wins or loses.

Crimsonjr.2359:

This would be a unpopular opinion but my idea to make it better was to make it:
10 vs 10
options to place minimal siege (AC/Ballista)
30 minute timer
Few more NPC’s
Would be perfect for a small GvG group

no siege

JerryMain.4371:

Assassin X.8573:

barely feels like gvg, really feels like LoL/dota

It is not GvG to begin with

yes and no. it has the base elements from gw1, with the added npcs breaking down gates for you.

gw1 main objective is to kill the lord and game over, gw2 main objective is to kill the lord and game over.

the only difference was that in gw1, when the timer did run out after 30 mins, the (Guild) Lords and any remaining (strictly static defensive) NPC guards marched to the middle of the map, for a “VICTORY or DEATH!” final battle. oh, the gates stayed open the entire fight.

would be way more fun as the gw1 iteration.

still way more fun than conquest

8v8 min. too much focus on npc, not enough focus on actual battle. 15:00 min is NOT long enough. 20-25 MINIMUM.

barely feels like gvg, really feels like LoL/dota

What program are you using to pull textures and load them? Texmod doesn’t work on gw2 unfortunately

You need to know when and how to kite and how to use Line of Site.

Why not use celestial higher healing power, sword is a hybrid weapon, so utilizing the bleed and cripople would benefit more from celestial armor.

If you are trying to be a well rounded build, then celestial is more to the point.

The people who say warriors are bad, are the ones who are bad at warrior.

Op original question, the answer is yes.

Stability is now a learn 2 play issue. It is now eextremely active and less passive than before.

BurrTheKing.8571:

So, I’ve been thinking about alternatives to shoutbow but still with a focus on support. What about adapting the popular WvW zerg build and getting a mix of CC and support? Less AoE might but honestly D/D Ele’s bring plenty on their own.

Hamshouts

I was doing some preliminary testing with a variant of shoutbow with the gs. And its decent but no where near as good as the s/wh version. Its still provides all the support, but it has a much lower power threshold and does not convert condi to boon. But that is only the 1st iteration of the build, there is more testing to come.

Im still having great success with gs/a/sh.

Wallace MacBix.2089:

Dagger: block and shadowstep or stealth skill

War will never have direct access to stealth, nor should we. We have a crapppy block on oh sword and shadow step is also highly unlikely.

Your other suggestion for a magical thrown boon attack or whatever, is also a nonstarter because we have no access to magic.

BurrTheKing.8571:

Assassin X.8573:

The other day i got the opportunity to have a dueling session with a very good shoutbow, actually the only one who has completely dominated me. So far i had been skeptical about the whole build, but when it is played correctly, then it can pump out some rediculus damage and support.

I have actually the opposite burr, i am thinking about hanging up the longbow and going full out melee. Right now, testing theories with gs+a/sh and quickness without frenzy (last chance and sig of rage). Prelimiary testing has had decent results.

The problem with a set like that, I always end up comparing my DPS to S/D or D/P teef or MediGuard and come to the conclusion that it isn’t as good. Teef allows you to teleport right to your target and immob them long enough to get hits in. When it comes to Axe/GS Wars you sadly lack that advantage. The DPS on teef is also just nuts and has boon stripping/sharing capabilities.

Axe/GS just seems selfish no matter how you run it. At least with GS/LB you are giving your team a combo field and might. The AoE on LB is also always useful. I WISH that Axe/GS was viable, but when I compare it to the other zerk specs it doesn’t seem to match up. Power Necro is also selfish, but it can deal SO MUCH damage that I can understand why you could want it on your team.

Thats true, it is avery selfish builld lol.

The other day i got the opportunity to have a dueling session with a very good shoutbow, actually the only one who has completely dominated me. So far i had been skeptical about the whole build, but when it is played correctly, then it can pump out some rediculus damage and support.

I have actually the opposite burr, i am thinking about hanging up the longbow and going full out melee. Right now, testing theories with gs+a/sh and quickness without frenzy (last chance and sig of rage). Prelimiary testing has had decent results.

Khenzy.9348:

We know specializations are getting a new trait line, and most likely it’s going to be replacing an existing one, Discipline has the most chances. ..

Do you have a source for this or are you just theorizing wild and most likely inaccurate speculation?

Ah, i suppose. That is correct and i did not consider the echos and chorus like skills to function like the spirits, but you are absolutely right.

Dadnir.5038:

Other than that, you have a “taste” of the old paragon through warriors, guardian and rangers (at least)

elaborate on ranger lol

Kartel.2561:

TeddieJ.2495:

And so you can get out of the map?
I must be crazy if Anet approve this.

Huh? I’m not sure you really read the post. Nobody said anything about being able to climb anything anywhere anytime. Only certain pre-defined surfaces, which is actually more restrictive than gliding.

Ragion.2831:

I don’t think they have the tech for this

If they could get the physics and animation for gliding nailed down, I highly doubt a handful of climbing animations is beyond them.

Ask them how they are doing with the bulls charge animation and then rethink your statement. Its been almost 3 years and still no fix

Gettin High With [KOSS]

Cuz tht brotha is tired of these muthakitten drakes on these muthakitten plains!

Trevor Boyer.6524:

And on that day, nothing was even mentioned about Cele Warrior Shoutbow

Because shoutbow is bad and bad is bad.

Option 1: Full Healing Support Warrior

Option 2: Condi~Healer Support Warrior

Option 3: Celestial Support Warrior

Option 2 actually has the highest healing utility, and provides the most damage support via conditions.

Optional Rune Alternatives instead of Monk runes are:

Runes of the Trooper which will remove a condition with every use of a shout. depending on the traits you choose, you will run 3 (utility shouts) and 1 (trait shout “shake it off”, which will provide a 4th shout).

Runes of Altrusim: Provides additional source of Might and Fury for group.

Another option is to substitute warhorn for shield, to provide swiftness and vigor for your group, in doing so, you would need to switch “shrug it off” for quick breathing, which will reduce your cooldown on warhorn skills AND convert conditions on your group into boons.

Your other option to play like a paragon would be a Staff and sword/shield (which has more mid range and group defense potential) or mace/focus (which is close range melee but has more healing potential when traited properly) Guardian with Shouts, which also provide healing and boons. Depending on which class you like more will determine which you like better.

Sword is a hybrid weapon now for the most part, main hand sword has 3 condition condition effects, bleed and cripple, immobilize on F1 burst and the third skill is a bursty high damage attack. It used to be more of a condi weapon.

While not widely popular, the support healing a warrior x an give through shout heals can get up to around ~2-3k hp and higher per shout approx every 21.33… sec.

But GW2 allows you to play how and what you want to play because it is fun for you. So good for you!

The trait line you will want to focus on is the Tactics line. This includes your reduction in recharge timer for shouts, with Lung Capacity, and also giving shouts healing capabilities through Vigorous Shouts.

Longbow, while not a mid range weapon like the spear from gw1, would be your most supportive weapon. While allowing you to provide cover at distance for your party and dish out some conditions. The primary use of your longbow should be to create fire fields that you and your allies can blast finishers in to generate might stacks.

If you find yourself wishing to do melee combat, i suggest a sword shield set for the defense and mobility. It also has cc abailites like imobo and stun. Or if you find yourself wanting more cc and defense, try mace shield. It can provide the longest stun in the game with mace f1 burst ability skullcrack when combined with sigil of paralyzation.

While axe shield is a good combo, it would not really fit your role as support. Axe is primarily a high burst dps weapon.

Hammer can also be used for a great support weapon with multiple 3 cc abilities. Great for interupting the enemy backline, or for peeling melee off of your backline.

I am about to sleep and have to be up in 5 hrs for work. i can theorycraft you some possible builds tomorrow.

Elegie is spot on. It comes down to experience unfortunately. There are two ways to gain daid combat experience against these two classes.

Again elegie has hit both on the head:

1) Either fight them more and learn to see the patterns that they use to fight.
2) play the classes and learn their mehcanics.

Once you do that, you will learn both the limitations and capabilities of your warrior and the mesmers and theifs. Every class has predictable patterns and once you learn to recognize them, you will be able to predict possible positioning that your enemy might be in.

There are also places in wvw and spvp that people spar with one another. Try to do some duels with some mesmers or theif.

But in short, it comes down to experience, unfortunately.

02606 and 20606 are solid builds for gs/hammer in wvw. If you want the extra hp go with the first trait spread, but it you want the fury/vigor go with the 2nd trait spread.

Dont listen to anyone who says this or that about x weapon or y weapon, play what you like. Gs hammer is a solid set. If you want to see soke videos i think black tru that has some on twitch, and nhymx has some on youtube and twitch also using gs/hammer combo.

I run it in tpvp sometimes and it is extremely effective there as well if you know what you are doing.

The burst mastery trait allows you to be a little spammy with your f1 burst akin to the pre adrenaline balance. Which will give you a bit more opportunities/experience using the burst skills so you get more comfortable with how they work. Then you cou o d branch out away from meta builds and run others or your own.

Why is china getting updates before NA/EU shouldnt their updates be at least a year behind ours?

coglin.1867:

Assassin X.8573:

Is there source material for this? The way it sounds to me when anet said it stacks in intensity not duration leads me to believe it functions similar to weapon sigil stacks. But if you can show me the reference i wouldnt mind reading it. Thanks!

Anet said it will stack in intensity with a duration. I would guess it would be similar to how might works.

If that is the case then, that makes more sense.

Murderous Clown.9723:

Assassin X.8573:

So what stops people from stacking charges with skills and swapping out other ones?

You can’t change a skill when it is on cooldown, all the skills that give stability have a greater cooldown than the stability duration and no weapons skills give stability. The only skill you could do that with is toss elixir B.

Is there source material for this? The way it sounds to me when anet said it stacks in intensity not duration leads me to believe it functions similar to weapon sigil stacks. But if you can show me the reference i wouldnt mind reading it. Thanks!

So what stops people from stacking charges with skills and swapping out other ones?

Like how warrior stances are being changed, or are the other classes like guard/engi/ele/mes with hard uncounterable immunities, or are wars just getting slightly (possibly) kittened more than the others with the new boons?

Shoutbow is a terrible build. I havent met one shoutbow that doesnt get overhwhelmed by my build.

For simple pve content you can run full zerk gs/axe mace for optimum dps. But re s lly its all your choice for how you play, what you like to see your character doing.

BurrTheKing.8571:

Assassin X.8573:

BlackTruth.6813:

If you’re going to play Frenzy, I don’t believe you’re going to do well without zerk stance. Zerk Stance + Frenzy is kinda strong.

Rousing Resilience is crappy no matter what. It has synergy with Armored Attack, but I don’t believe it’s gonna work better than even Spiked Armor. Carrion S/S + Hammer, just absolutely no synergy with the condi damage. Any Hammer spec will probably need Soldiers/Sentinels/Knight’s.

If you’re going to make builds, it needs to make some sort of sense. I’ll give my Mace+Hammer spec as an example in a bit.

its possible to run the 20606 with full zerk both in pvp and wvw. ive done it with great success, and so has TDM,

as for your mace hammer build, which is nice and intersting and definitely unique, something similar to this ? Black Truth’s Jungle Doom Hammer Build

im not 100% sure of the sigils, but if i had to guess its something like this, right? or close to it?

Going by the video and his posts, I think it’s eother something like this or this.

I don’t feel like watching again to confirm if he has CI since I didn’t find the match that exciting.

I think the issue is still whether the build does anything better than any other build. IMO Cele Engi can do a good mix of CC, Power, and Condi damage while having much better sustain. Maybe the CC on this build can be longer and more AoE, but I still think other builds can bring more to the table. I don’t like Shoutbow, but it’s hard to deny that it bring great team utility while not being a slouch on the damage once you get that might going.

You came up with pretty mucch that e same thing i did in the 2nd link. But hes starts out the match with only at 19k hp so hes not using the str trait 3 for increased hp.

Also i duni if hes using ci or not either cant tell from the few viewings and dont reslly care to watch again either lol.

Also he does not have sig of rage, however he is alone at a cap pt vs 1 warrior, and he obtains swift fury and might, this is the effect of pack runes.

In the video it also appears that he is moving at a faster rate than regular run speed. So i assume he must be 2 pts into disp for warriors sprint

Siroso.2769:

Larynx.2453:

Assassin X.8573:

BurrTheKing.8571:

BlackTruth.6813:

YuiRS.8129:

That’s the question. I hate the Longbow bunker brainless playstyle with a passion. Is there any way to play something else without being a detriment to your team? Metabattle.com doesn’t have an answer.

http://www.twitch.tv/blacktruth009/c/6259903

http://www.twitch.tv/blacktruth009/c/6152446

But they take A LOT of skill to play. You have to be patient.

P.S Try to not listen to the whiners like the guy above me, listen to yourself and just keep being a better player while you’re at it.

You keep listing those videos, but how are people supposed to try them without the traits/runes/sigils? I’m pretty sure I can tell just from the gameplay but to someone not into theorycrafting it helps to have a reference.

im not 100% sure of the sigils, but i think its something close to this for the Doom Hammer 2nd link (http://www.twitch.tv/blacktruth009/c/6152446)

From what I’ve seen, it looks like he runs maybe 0/4/6/0/4, and doesn’t take cleansing ire. Takes Balanced Stance + Defy Pain in Defense.

edit: Actually I see might on weapon swap. 6 in discipline, no idea what the other 2 points go to. Strength seems like the only option, but with a build like this for all we know he’s taking immob on cripple. Might make up for his zero mobility, I guess.

They definitely are in strength – for dodge roll ownage and extra hp.
I can’t watch the videos on my phone, but I think that if he’s using the greatsword variant he goes 4/0/6/0/4 instead. So 2/0/6/0/6 for mace/shield axe/mace, and 4/0/6/0/4 for greatsword axe/shield(/mace).

I can post the full build with sigils etc. later if you’re keen.

He is running axe/mace + hammer. I watched the video a few times to make sure i was accurate for at min 2 pts in str and at min 2 pts in tactics. He does a dodge roll into another warrior and the other war takes damage. If you look BBC at his health, hes only at 19k, so he is not using the greater fortitude trait. He tends to stay in axe/mace mord often so not utilizing the axe trait in 4 str pts is silly, and there are no other traits in adept that fit axe/mace, ither than the 5% dmg increase while dual wielding. immobo on cripple can be seen when he uses hammer 3 on a warrior that is running from him towards quarry who gets immobilized after being hit with hammer 3. That is an immediate 2 pts into tactics, no doubt about it.

So even when u was theorycrafting his build, the point spread seemed odd. But i tested it in spvp and it works. I am not comfortable using the build because it lacks stability, but it is effective when you combo cc correctly.

That e only way we will know for sure what his build is, is if he posts it for us, other than that its mostly speculation.

burr the king’s skullcrack build would be better for 1v1s
This is Skullcracker, the build used by true heroes. Down with the Longbow.

BurrTheKing.8571:

4. Boring Stance Mechanics: Currently, stances are basically Signets with no passive. How is it possible to take up 2 or more stances at once? That would like like a game of Twister gone horribly wrong. They have the potential to be something like Engi kits and be interesting and skillful. I would rather they be more like GW1 where only one stance can be active at a time. To compensate, CDs and durations would of course need to be looked at. Of course, that means Balanced Stance needs to not be a boon, which I suppose would be fair enough because you lose the ability to reduce damage or condi duration but gain unstrippable stability.

I agree, i wish it was more similar to gw1 mechanics, activating a 2nd stance should cancel the 1st one. i know its a fantasy game, but in all honesty, in real life, you can only do 1 stance at a time, be it a martial arts stance or some form of dance.

the current mechanic makes it so that Ralph Macchio could do the crane stance while simultaneously performing crouching tiger; hidden dragon all in one go, which is impossible. im sure jayden smith might be able to do that because he thinks that he is gods gift to humanity, lol, but thats another story for another time.

personally, i would like to see stances reworked as our F1 things, possibly, almost like the ele attunements/guardian F abilities. more so like Aion’s Gladiator class or WoW warrior things, iirc (been a long time since i played wow).

maybe upon activation of the stance F ability, begin adrenaline degeneration, once adren is gone, the stance stops. the decay would have to be a little to a lot greater than adrenaline gain in order to manage that.

possibly Keep F1 Burst

F2 Balanced Stance, apply stability (3s per FULL adren bar, max 9 seconds, or additional 1 second with the trait no one uses) to allies in group and self, until adren runs out (or you burst with f1) (or Consumes ALL Adrenaline, and gives 3 sec of stability per full adrenaline bar. Reuse Timer: 40-80 seconds

F2 Berserker stance (maybe chance it to Stalwart stance), applies only to you, provides same as current form Reuse Timer: 60-90 seconds

F3 Endure Pain (chance to Testudo stance) immune to phsyical damage for 4 seconds, consumes ALL adrenaline, (maybe apply to group, maybe not) Reuse Timer: 60-90 seconds

just throwing ideas off the top of my head. or something could be done similar to other warrior gw1 stances that Cost adrenaline such as rush in gw1

BlackTruth.6813:

If you’re going to play Frenzy, I don’t believe you’re going to do well without zerk stance. Zerk Stance + Frenzy is kinda strong.

Rousing Resilience is crappy no matter what. It has synergy with Armored Attack, but I don’t believe it’s gonna work better than even Spiked Armor. Carrion S/S + Hammer, just absolutely no synergy with the condi damage. Any Hammer spec will probably need Soldiers/Sentinels/Knight’s.

If you’re going to make builds, it needs to make some sort of sense. I’ll give my Mace+Hammer spec as an example in a bit.

its possible to run the 20606 with full zerk both in pvp and wvw. ive done it with great success, and so has TDM,

as for your mace hammer build, which is nice and intersting and definitely unique, something similar to this ? Black Truth’s Jungle Doom Hammer Build

im not 100% sure of the sigils, but if i had to guess its something like this, right? or close to it?

BurrTheKing.8571:

BlackTruth.6813:

YuiRS.8129:

That’s the question. I hate the Longbow bunker brainless playstyle with a passion. Is there any way to play something else without being a detriment to your team? Metabattle.com doesn’t have an answer.

http://www.twitch.tv/blacktruth009/c/6259903

http://www.twitch.tv/blacktruth009/c/6152446

But they take A LOT of skill to play. You have to be patient.

P.S Try to not listen to the whiners like the guy above me, listen to yourself and just keep being a better player while you’re at it.

You keep listing those videos, but how are people supposed to try them without the traits/runes/sigils? I’m pretty sure I can tell just from the gameplay but to someone not into theorycrafting it helps to have a reference.

im not 100% sure of the sigils, but i think its something close to this for the Doom Hammer 2nd link (http://www.twitch.tv/blacktruth009/c/6152446)

docMed.7692:

Assassin X.8573:

Rendering a video, about 3-4hrs left, but im at work so i wont be able to upload it until i get home.

Contains wvw duels and spvp duels with a rank 80 dragon legendary champion.

A rank 80? Dang, does he have a legendary weapon too? Crafted from pure skill?

Yes! He has a magical unicorn/pegasus that wears a hat, and they solve mysteries together!

YuiRS.8129:

That’s the question. I hate the Longbow bunker brainless playstyle with a passion. Is there any way to play something else without being a detriment to your team? Metabattle.com doesn’t have an answer.

Gs/hammer is good 20606.

There is an axe/mace and hammer build that runs frenzy i think. Duno what the traits are.

There is also axe/shield and gs that is useable.

Could also run the skullcrack/gs build if you wished.

I have seen a few Sword/sword wars but they use the longbow for 2nd weapon.

For the life of me, i will never understand why shoutbow became a thing. Its bad.

Cygnus.6903:

Assassin X.8573:

If that is how you perceive it to be then, yes.

If i were to rank the usefulness of those traits, i would say defy >spiked >last stand.

If my oppon e nt does not get me to the threshold of activation for defy pain, then i have something that is not being used at all in my build. If my opponent hits me with a 1s stun then my l a st stand activates to clear it. And then i get 3-4s kd/cc once the stab is gone, then what good is that?

Spiked has a low threshold of activation and provides damage back to the opponent. If they do not realize they are tak i ng retaliation damage before its too late, then well its too late for them.

Yeah, we just disagree here. Defy>LS>SA in my book.

Yet, you do undervaluate last stand. You say the enemy can bait out the last stand by using a 1 sec CC, then not use any CC anymore for 8 seconds. How can you not see the usefulness here? Obviously, you get an 8 second window to do anything you like without getting CC’d. If your opponent manages to kite you or otherwise juke and you can not capitalize, then you got outplayed. Nothing to do with the trait itself here. You can actually wait with activating stability through utility skills because of the trait.

You say if Defy Pain never kicks in, meaning you never got to 25% health, then it is useless in your build. Again, this seems like a misconception to me. First of all, if you manage to never get below 25% in the fight, then I doubt the choice between SA or DP would have mattered at all. Most importantly though, Defy Pain allows you to remain on the offense with low HP. It does not have to be at 25% to be useful, simply because you know you have a fallback system.

You are willing to trade these advantages for what is going to be mediocre damage (at best). Retaliation, at your power level, will do ~220 damage per hit. If you get hit once every second during your retal uptime, that’s 1,1k damage. Seems quite underwhelming to me.
Sure, there will be opponents with high attack speed. Lets take a p/d thief for example. Sneak Attack does five hits in a short duration. However, the thief also stealths a lot (3-4 seconds per CnD), which hinders your useful retal uptime a lot. Not to mention they might actually steal the retaliation from you.
A longbow ranger Rapid Firing you will gladly take a little damage if that means you dodged none of his damage.
This is the main problem, your retaliation will be underperforming if you manage to dodge hard and multiple hitting attacks.

If you still want more damage, then dropping the 1 trait point in Defense for 1 in Arms would still be a lot better.

You are changing my words a bit. I dont say that it is useless. I say its less useful to me. There is a huge difference between something being less useful than another thing and something being useless.

Im not arguing which trait would make the build stronger, and i agree that a damage mitigating trait would most likely be good regardless of how a battle progresses as opposed to taking that said damage straight to the face and hoping you dont die.

Im not really concerned with big number bursty damage because im not a yoloDPSwarrior, if i was then id play a full zerk build. I would say the build is supposed to be more about constant pressure than trying to burst someone down instantly.

Video is up! watch it here. hope you enjoy!

if you dont; thanks for watching!

Assassin X’s “Balanced” Build 2.0 WvW & SPvP Duels