Guild Wars 2

Knox.3748:

BurrTheKing.8571:

From looking at the changes I see a few different options for warriors if these notes have any truth in them.

One role in TPvP will continue to be a damage dealer with a build like this:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAR5ejgOxupQyQMxBAzDjAqojClYSpYu6A-TsAg0CnI4SxljLDXSus1MIYhw+DA

Or possibly taking advantage of the new Cleansing Ire trait (represented by trait I) and focusing on heavy control:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAS5ejcOpwtQyQMRCE0DNsK2CTBj4oQJWiUBxA-TsAA1CtI2StlbLzWytscNQYhw+DA

We may even start seeing some cheeky Signet builds considering the possibility for a 13 second Healing Signet and Dolyak signet getting a stun break:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAS5ejkO9uBPGPMRCE0DNsKEwjClYJUFsjUBxA-TsAgzCmIuRdj7GzNybs3MQY9xGBA
(I’m joking, this would be terrible)

I still think that the new condition and the change to weakness and other changes my put the final nail in the coffin for warrior in TPvP but I’ve been through a lot as a warrior main so I’ll not give up yet.

Never give up on Warrior mate. There will be a time that all classes will be all balanced. Or at least i want to believe in that

They never really managed it in GW1 though….dammit Izzy.

From looking at the changes I see a few different options for warriors if these notes have any truth in them.

One role in TPvP will continue to be a damage dealer with a build like this:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAR5ejgOxupQyQMxBAzDjAqojClYSpYu6A-TsAg0CnI4SxljLDXSus1MIYhw+DA

Or possibly taking advantage of the new Cleansing Ire trait (represented by trait I) and focusing on heavy control:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAS5ejcOpwtQyQMRCE0DNsK2CTBj4oQJWiUBxA-TsAA1CtI2StlbLzWytscNQYhw+DA

We may even start seeing some cheeky Signet builds considering the possibility for a 13 second Healing Signet and Dolyak signet getting a stun break:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAS5ejkO9uBPGPMRCE0DNsKEwjClYJUFsjUBxA-TsAgzCmIuRdj7GzNybs3MQY9xGBA
(I’m joking, this would be terrible)

I still think that the new condition and the change to weakness and other changes my put the final nail in the coffin for warrior in TPvP but I’ve been through a lot as a warrior main so I’ll not give up yet.

The fix is simple, have a user-side option to make all characters appear as humans on their screen.

josh.7390:

lmho engis. They got pretty much destroyed with every patch and just came up with another (OP-)build

When I got to the “destroyed” part I was going to be all “oh shut up” then you stated that they found another OP build and I was all “Ok then fair enough.” But considering they haven’t ACTUALLY died hard yet I think warrior still stands.

Archer Henchman.2534:

Ostricheggs.3742:

Archer Henchman.2534:

In spvp, sure, but in tpvp where you’re going to be forced into shield block, then trained the moment you come out of it with next to no mitigation in your kit, you’re going to go down early in fights.

Warriors used to do better when frenzy allowed them to roam into fights and drop a target instantly while their team had stacked stun and immob for them. Now, because their damage comes out a bit slower, they don’t have as much of a tide turning roaming presence. Same thing happened for thieves.

Are you surprised that the meta shifted to condi pressure and attrition after the two premier burst roamers got cut to pieces in terms of balance? Having 1 person at half hp when a roamer arrived simply wasn’t cutting it as a win condition anymore. Giving warriors a token few more condi removal opportunities isn’t going to do much, either, unless they’re given a relatively robust anti-condi engine. They’re just going to need to eat another nade and a half before going down.

Warriors have naturally high vitality which is a natural hard-counter to conditions. If the changes go through and the defense master trait is made available it’s not hard to consider their clears “robust” in conjunction with healing surge.

Yeah, I was expecting a few removals to be added to marginal skills, but their condi-mitigation kit was substantially improved according to the patch notes. I don’t really think their natural high hp ‘solves’ condis for them, though; they’re also the class that’s most negatively influenced by chill and crip.

That said, I’d be really unsurprised if we started seeing something akin to a shout hammer + mace/shield warrior bunker, as condi pressure was the only thing keeping them down. Combined with the new heal cds, warriors can tank up excessively hard. Skull crack is now a three second stun, most of the hammer aftercasts are being reduced, etc.

I suppose it depends how much incoming damage increments adren buildup; if its relatively high, you’ll get consistent condi removal AND incredibly powerful CC out of the deal. For burstier trait setups some of the traits, like berserker’s power, are insane. Berserker’s might with the new berserker’s stance might be very powerful too from both an adren AND condi mitigation perspective.

Anyways, warriors got WAY more than I had anticipated. I figured they’d give mending an extra condi strip or two, and add a -chill and -crip duration to a trait.

Zerker Stance does look good but the 60 second cooldown seems a bit excessive, it encourages running burst damage even more rather than sustained DPS that I think warrior is destined for. Not to mention that if the new condition can be applied frequently and in large amounts we will once again be forced into a single build with Cleansing Ire and Zerker Stance in order to be competitive. As for Shot builds I do think we may see more hammers but probably Sword instead of Mace for mobility and using Flurry as a set up for Backbreaker and to take advantage of Leg Specialist.

EDIT: I could see something like this becoming good again:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAS8ejcOxu1OyQMRCEkCNsKMKMif4oQJWiUBxA-TsAA1CtI4SxljLDXSus1MQY9xGBA

Replace Defense I with the New Cleansing Ire. With Leg specialist and Opportunist you would basically have 100% Fury and with Unsuspecting Foe your attacks after Earthshaker will have some 84% crit chance I believe. Replace STR 3 with Physical training and suddenly you have a lower CD Bulls and Stomp. All of this means you’ll have a decent crit chance with survival and CC in addition to conditions not totally destroying you (theoretically). Because Zerkers might is being moved Restorative Strength seems the best option. Of course stability makes the whole build a bit meh but not much you can do there.

I would have to argue that Necro and Warrior players (I’m a war player) are by deffinition the most die-hard “fans” because we haven’t given in and switched to a Mesmer/Engi/Mesmer/Thief/Ranger/Mesmer/Thief. It isn’t hard to run a good class but not giving up on a Balanced/Situational/Under Powered class means chances are you really love the class.

That being said Mesmers and Sword Thieves have put forth a lot of effort to justify their current strength. Still, I’d say it takes a lot more love to stick with something that I would claim to be balanced than to defend something that is too strong. I still hold that Warriors only need a few minor buffs in terms of condition and damage mitigation to be in a strong place and that the current meta is just a few broken builds that need to be addressed.

Yaki.9563:

Patch notes are obviously fake. I can’t think of any MMO that I’ve ever played that basically adjusted every single ability in the game in one patch.

You’re blowing how many changes that are on there out of proportion, considering most changes are things like aftercast and while they may have a big impact won’t totally change the game.

Kaga.7629:

I go longbow + swd/axe . With my current runes and setup it sets up the warrior as good mid-liner(mid offense mid defense) but allows you to engage any profession ( some better thru range, other thru closeup work/selfcombos).

And yes, I do find it hilarious that you dismissed it out of hand. The finesse of axe5 is in the whirl.

An advantage of the condition warrior playstyle is that people can’t read a condition warrior as easely as the much more common zerker style, and that’s a huge bonus. People that don’t know what to expect make mistakes, and those are what a true warrior can work with to get that victory.

If you can seriously say that any decent player is going to allow themselves to be hit by the majority of the Whirling Axe I can’t say I’d believe you. Not to mention dual axe is pretty much worthless when compared to a shield or another sword because you have enough Fury. A Impale/Rip does more damage than all of Whirling axe. Even with the whirl combo the DPS isn’t that great. Maybe if the rumored buff or an extra 50% damage is true I could see trying it out but currently I’ve always found the alternative to be superior.

(Please don’t take this as a bragging thread, even if it kinda is)

If these leaked patch notes are true then that means there’s a strong chance ANet got some of their ideas from these forums because some of the changes are very similar to what we’ve discussed in the past.

For example I’ve had 2 threads discussing changing Berserker Stance to combat conditions:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/warrior/Adding-Utility-to-Under-Used-Skills-PvP/first#post2092940

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/suggestions/Making-Berserker-Stance-Worthwhile/first#post2123035

What the patch notes say is different from what I suggested, although I like the proposed change better than mine except for the 60 second cooldown which I feel is far too long.

In that first thread I also suggest making Stomp a stun breaker.

This thread didn’t have much discussion but in it I suggest a trait that cleansed conditions based on how much adrenaline you use:

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/warrior/New-Trait-Suggestion-for-Condition-Removal/first#post1973638

Cleansing Ire sounds like a even more powerful trait considering is absorbs embrace the pain and may not even have a cooldown.

In another thread (couldn’t find it) I suggested making Dolyak signet a stun breaker as well.

Daecollo.9578 also deserves a lot of credit as well because he also offered up some suggestions that show up as well.

What I find suspicious is how many of all the patch notes use forum suggestions, almost makes it seems like a wish list more than actual patch notes. The only thing that gives it any credibility is the inclusion of Torment, which we know is real considering a dev has commented on it. I just find it strange that Anet would listen to so many player suggestions and would make soooo many changes in one patch.

I can’t speak for the legitimacy of these rumors, if they are real it would mean that the Devs do actually read the forums, or more likely that someone ON the forums took ideas and made this list.

Stomp: I had suggested making it a stun breaker.
Dolyak: Same thing with making it a stun breaker.
Berserker’s Stance: I had suggested it make it cleanse a condition every surge so what’s on here is different but it does still deal with condition reduction.
Cleansing Ire: I had also suggested the creation of a perk that removes conditions per bar of adren used.

I am NOT taking credit for any of this, in fact I recognize so many changes that come from these forums that I think it is more likely to be fake and that someone went around picking up suggestions from the forums. If they are real that would be surprising.

Longbow is quickly becoming one of my favorite warrior weapons. I typically use it with GS but recently I’ve been tying to use it more with Sword because as we all know it synergies very well. However, every build I’ve made thus far I haven’t felt that it was the most optimal one possible.

I do think that you need at least 25 in Arms for Attack of Opportunity because that is a significant damage boost. It seems that is is better to use the weapons in power based builds because they scale better with power than condition damage. Other good perks to have would also be Fast Hands (15 Disc) and Building Momentum (15 Str).

What offhand you want with sword seems like it could be up to personal preference. A sword would hive you Impale and Rip, the latter of which can crit for a large amount of damage. A warhorn can help to stack more might when standing in Combustive Shot and with a 20 point investment in Tactics the ability to convert a condition to a boon. It would be nice if they fixed the bugged trait Stronger Bowstrings so it would be worth taking as well. I’m sure some people will say to take Axe as an offhand but to that I simply say no. Whirling axe has less DPS than normal Axe auto attacks and while it does gain adrenaline faster and is a whirl finisher it’s more useful in PvE for dealing a lot of AoE damage but in PvP most players with a brain will just dodge out of the way and chances are you won’t catch them even if you dodge towards them. Shield is another strong contender with a stun to keep targets in the fire and a block what is always useful.

As for runes this is where I get stumped the most. Because chances are you’ll be stacking strength you could just go with 5 runes of the scholar and 1 of Divinity like most glassy builds, but I could see Runes of the Adventurer being a good fit because it gives both strength and condition damage and gaining 50% endurance on using a heal means even more dodging if used with Building Momentum and a Energy sigil.

Rather than posting what I’ve been using as of now I would like to see what you guys come up with because I do think this spec can be viable because longbow is just such a strong weapon. Because of the bows strong synergy with sword I think there’s a good reason to use it over a GS.

Night Sentry.3902:

I tried hammer/gs, f1 hammer skill is buggy and cast time is a little slow. Hammer is better in larger fights 6 or more as people don’t have time to pay attention to your cast animation, but as I’ve mentioned the larger the fight, the less you matter. Nothing beats mace/shield in smaller fights though. I may even dare to suggest that Hammer warrior can’t beat mace/shield warrior.

If they had similar builds/ skill level probably not, mace if timed correctly can block Back breaker or Earthshaker. I’ve also managed to land a Shield Bash mid Earthshaker leap several times now. If your team is lacking on the AoE side you may want to have hammer but if you have sayan engi on your team you’re better off with single target focusing.

If we’re talking PvP, most of the people I play with prefer I run glass because that’s the most effective way to counter bunkers. While certain bunkers I can’t beat 1v1 (although since I’ve started using Mace+Shield I can stop most of their heals and lock them down) in team fights being able to take down the bunker quickly is way more useful than dealing less damage while having more survival. I’m sure some will disagree but from my experiences we tended to do better when I could down someone on a teamfight, which means the guardian will try and res, and I can just go in there and skull crack him and every bursts him down as well.

When I tried to be tougher I didn’t feel all that useful especially with hammer and sword because the DPS on sword is meh and with Deflection on Mace/Shield the set still has use when someone pops stability. Stability is the main reason I’m not a huge fan of the hammer because when it’s up that means your main weapon’s major benefit isn’t useable for a good period of time. At least with greatsword you always have a direct damage weapon you can use while stability is up because if you run hammer and sword there’s no way that sword is going to output as much DPS as a GS. In addition GS has an evade on it which in addition to Energy sigils is a good way to mitigate damage while still dealing damage.

Also on the subject of Quick Breathing, it has a nasty habit of converting the most worthless conditions first, so you’ll find yourself removing bleeding and cripple not burning and vulnerability. Horn is good with Sword for mobility but I can’t say the drop in DPS is worth it for the trait. I always find myself disappointed by it. Honestly I’d rather have Mending with Restorative Strength, it removes cripple, chilled, immobilize, and weakness before the 2 conditions from Mending. Of course this depends on if you can give up Berserker’s Strength.

Sword is a great “utility” weapon, has an escape/gap closer and the constant immobilize. I’m still not sold on the whole concept of running a warrior in high end PvP with a hammer though because I feel that GS with mace/shield brings more to the table, you can have Deflection and the ability to get off nearly a full 100b with skull crack and Pommel Bash can allow you to stop your foes healing instantly which hammer can’t do as well. It all comes down to preference of course and hammer has that nice AoE factor as well I’ve just fallen in love with deflection and it just isn’t as good without Counter Blow because it has such a low CD. It’s a shame mace’s auto attack is so slow but honestly having 3 quick ways to interrupt makes me happy.

Glad to see you came back, getting tired of the “Delete Warrior, Make Guardian” garbage. War may not be the best PvP class but it’s not useless by any means.

Warrior is much stronger for DPS builds, I’ve tried DPS Guard and found it much more situational than warrior. For high end PvP warriors do bring one thing to the table, the ability to quickly down a high-value target in a team fight while also contributing to a cap. While Thief can also DPS because they spend so much time stealthed if they are on a capture point they aren’t being as much use as they could be. Warrior can also bring a longbow for AoE damage or a mace+shield with Missile Defection to majorly screw up ranged classes but making engies poison and blind themselves or having illusionary duelists instantly gib themselves. Sadly GS is currently the best primary weapon (although I think sword could be turned into a good primary option with some tweaks) so that’s almost a given unless you want to run shutdown with hammer/mace+shield (not overly common but if your team already has dps…).

I used to be all doom and gloom about warriors but the fact is you CAN beat most builds 1v1 if you learn to bait out stun breakers and then perfectly time your Bulls→Frenzy→100b. With a longbow using Pin Down followed by arching shot will have many people using their teleport or condi removal to avoid it and if they don’t then grz you hit them for some 5k damage. Mace is super easy to bait out stun breakers, hit them with Shield Bash and if they don’t pop it then use Skull Crack and switch to GS for a few 100b hits maybe even a full combo. What’s great about mace is that you can hit 100b more often even without frenzy. Now it’s by no means easy but in high end PvP you probably shouldn’t be doing much 1v1ing anyways.

Example:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAR5ejcOxu1QyQMRCAUBsMKKCojClYSpot6A-TsAg0CnI4SxljLDXSus1MIYhw+DA

Only thing that makes me sad is Guard’s Shelter heal that blocks while they use, not worth running Signet of Might just for that sadly.

Bow is basically the same thing only with 10 in tactics for leg specialist instead of Defense.

Opynn.2936:

BurrTheKing.8571:

As for Opynn.2936 claiming Hammer is better, maybe so in team fights and zergs but in 1v1 the big hits are too easy to dodge and it also have NO UTILITY, while shield does. Not to mention Skull Crack is way easier to land than Earthshaker. Hammer 3 with leg specialist is fun though.

Im not claiming Hammer is better, see that “IMO” at the begingin of my post it stand for in my opinion. For me it works better, maybe because Im using hammer since lunch. And how on earth Skull Crack is way easier too land than Eathshaker when Eathshaker is leap with 600 range with 240 radius. If you ask me its easier to land than Skull Crack with 130 range in a game when everyone can move away from you by using dodge.

Skull Cracker has a very quick animation that looks like a normal swing so they can’t see it coming, meanwhile anyone paying attention can dodge a Earthshaker, or apply a block, or aoe blind, or immobilize…and basically anything else. ES also has a nasty habit of bugging out, you leap but it shows you in a different location for a second or 2.

If you’re talking zerging is WvW then yes hammer is a good choice – but for roaming solo having mace/shield with 2 skills to reflect projectiles is way more useful because of how much less obvious the attacks are. Mace 3 and skull cracker are perfect for stopping heals and it can do it much more consistently than hammer. I wasn’t trying to be rude but just because something is your opinion doesn’t make it objectively true.

In high end I certainly do not see any zerging, unless you count converging on a point to clear a point “zerging.” Typically, the side that zergs against any good team will just get back capped and lose terribly.

I never said that ANet had perfected their vision but that doesn’t change the fact that they don’t want this game to be a “1v1 me Bro” game.

As for WvW large guilds in higher tiers do actually try to have a bit of synergy going, people to lock them down, people to deal damage, Mesmers to portal bomb, etc.

As for team roles, why would you run a tough warrior when you are more useful running DPS. If everyone on your team is running psudo-bunkers and pure bunkers that isn’t optimal in TPvP. You want a mid bunker and a home bunker but you also need a roamer, support, teamfighter, and several other roles. THAT is what I mean by Teamwork. A team that actually has these roles will do better than a team rocking all bunkers. There are certainly some builds that are OP 1v1 but guess what? Those builds will still crumble if you focus them.

I pretty much 100% disagree on the dueling and gear points you brought up.

GW2 isn’t balanced on a 1v1 basis, meaning that certain builds are simply going to be stronger than you in single combat. GW2 is a TEAM game, same as GW1. It isn’t about being a 1 man wreaking ball – it’s about what you bring to the team. Dueling doesn’t jive with ANets vision of the game.

As for gear, just please no. If I want to grind for gear I would play 1 of the other MMOs out there. GW1 had the same idea that it isn’t about grinding for months for moderate stat increases, it’s about your build and how you use it. I for one don’t play other MMOs BECAUSE of the massive gear grinding involved. I want to play a game where the gameplay keeps me coming back and where strategy = power, not time = power. What’s great about GW2 is that I don’t have to dedicate all my game time playing it to remain competitive.

Too many gear tiers is just a lazy way to lengthen gameplay. It’s the same thing CoD does, feed you just enough new stuff that you feel you HAVE to keep playing to get it – then you prestige to get a few different pixels by your name.

As for the build itself, I’ve run GS/Mace + Shield in S/TPvP and it is for sure the strongest 1v1 spec you can run, but like I said that isn’t always that important because winning teamfights to hold points is how you win PvP. Often being glass is actually more helpful for bursting down a bunker. Mace shield with Deflection is awesome though and running something like this will make bunkers cry as you interrupt their heals.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAR5ejcOxu1QyQMRCAUBsMKKCojClYSpot6A-TsAg0CnI4SxljLDXSus1MIYhw+DA

As for Opynn.2936 claiming Hammer is better, maybe so in team fights and zergs but in 1v1 the big hits are too easy to dodge and it also have NO UTILITY, while shield does. Not to mention Skull Crack is way easier to land than Earthshaker. Hammer 3 with leg specialist is fun though.

shimzor.6057:

Daecollo.9578:

Warriors cannot bunker because they don’t have any access to good healing, good condition removal without sacrificing everything, and protection. Protection is pretty much an extra set of armor, the reason guardians have it so easy is because they can get the damage reduction signet AND protection, meaning they have more then double the damage reduction we have from just toughness.

Not to mention they have innate condition removal, and much much better healing abilities. There thresh-hold is also lower, so they’re heals mean more.

Would you rather have.
1000 healing per second, 80% damage reduction, 10k Hp, the ability to remove a condition every 3-5 seconds.

or

250 healing per second, 35% damage reduction, 18k Hp, the ability to remove a condition every 20-30 seconds.

Its pretty obvious the awnser, many just do not see just how bad it is.

What warriors need.
1 A massive healing increase.
2 More healing traits.
3 Access to more damage reduction.
4 More more more condition removal, or conversion.

I agree with 1 and 4

I’d love to see:

• More Dodging
• More Gap Closers
• More Interupts

I don’t really think the game NEEDS more bunkers, what it needs is a class that is between a thief and guardian, tough but not as tough as a guardian, and deals good damage but not as much as a thief. Currently warriors often have to play like thieves but without stealth. Having higher toughness counts for nothing without protection and all those other buffs. I don’t want those as a warrior but having perks that help remove conditions or adding new effect to adrenaline (different effect for each bar and maybe a F1-3 option to choose how many bars you use) that keeps warrior unique and not just imitating what another class does.

SoM is still a meh choice, rather than a meager 3 unblockable attacks I’d rather have 5 seconds of unblockable attacks or some blind immunity. Although blind Immunity on a skill like Berserker Stance would make it actually worth taking as well.

Brutalistik.6473:

BurrTheKing.8571:

I don’t think ANet wants them to be. I’m also not big on having to rely on a banner for my regen considering in team fights someone may end up picking it up instead of stomping

Then they should remove shout heals, regen or anything that benefits healing for them along with the skill Banner of Tactics.

If you’re going to argue why I suggested Banner of Tactics to be removed is that if Anet view for warriors is not meant to bunker. Then I suggest they tweak healing stat to condition duration increase by 10%.

That’s support NOT bunkering. Bunkering requires Protection, spammable blocks, regen, aegis, or big heals. Guess what warrior lacks in any major capacity? All of these. The regen from banner is NOWHERE near as good as what a ranger has. If you can’t hold off 2 people for a long duration you aren’t a bunker, you are a tough warrior that deals less DPS than a bunkering guardian. You serve no role that another class can’t preform better. Heal shouts and banners are a WvW/PvE thing, they aren’t of much use in TPvP currently. Why have a tough warrior when a ranger can deal more damage while still having more survivability.

That’s why I always still with DPS because that’s the one thing warriors bring to the table, the ability to quickly take out important targets in a team fight or maybe provide constant CC but like I said most teams would prefer DPS. Thieves are annoying in normal hotjoin PvP but in TPvP against good players they’re pretty easy to counter 1v1 and at the most they can be an annoyance with constant stealth and blind. This spec is fairly worthless in TPvP though because being stealthed doesn’t cap points but a DPS warrior does.

I’d love for ANet to give us more options but currently we only fit the role of DPS and roaming, but we’re really good at it.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQJARTjgOxu1QyQMRCEjiiAIOKAQmQpoNqjUBxA-ToAg0CnI4SxljLDXSus1MIY9B

That build allows you to spike down an unaware foe and the bow can be used to keep people rushing a point off it while you cap with skills like Pin Down or using Combustion Shot to force them to fight on a highly damaging AoE that covers most capture points completely. This build fills a role, a warrior trying to bunker does not because Guardians, Engis, Rangers, and Eles simply do it better.

I’ve been messing around with the Doom Sigils and actually found them fairly useful.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAscTjcO1w9OuQMxBCkCskFjiiMkzjkMFyD-TsAAzCpIgRBjDGDMSYsaNqY1xsDA

By having the sigil on both sword and longbow you have your “junk” condition on frequently enough to be worth while and you still have an Earth sigil to focus on bleeds. The runes of the afflicted work pretty well with the build as well seeing as it makes both your bleeds last longer and the poison. I didn’t expect it to work but actually spiking with all those bleed stacks with poison and burning and even overwhelm bunkers with good condi removal. Ranger bunkers that transfer the 25 stacks to their pet can find their pet dying quickly afterwords.

My problem with this build is that I don’t think many TPvP teams would actually want a bunker warrior. That role is already fulfilled by Guardians, Rangers, or Eles. Every team that I group with wants me on DPS because in a team fight we can simply destroy a single target or even multiple with a Bow. I don’t think warrior can EVER be as good a bunker as say a guardian and I don’t think ANet wants them to be. I’m also not big on having to rely on a banner for my regen considering in team fights someone may end up picking it up instead of stomping.

Even if I’m not running DPS I’ll probably be rocking big CC to once again win those big team fights. While I’d like warrior to have more sustain we do manage to shine in team fights so rather than trying to do another classes role I’d rather stick with what we’re good at.

I don’t know how many time I’ll have to say that Axe offhand is by far the worst offhand option in the game. Warriors have easy access to fury, so that’s one worthless skill on axe 4. Axe 5 is inferior to the Thief version of the skill because it doesn’t reflect projectiles. The normal axe auto attack will deal MUCH more damage over the same amount of time. The fire projectiles hardly add any real DPS and anyone with half a brain will simply leave the Combustion shot field. Being able to force your foe to stay in the field as long as possible is the entire point, Whirling Axe means that you’ll be unable to stop them from just dodge rolling out of range.

Yes, the combo looks cool, but deals inferior DPS and the extra crits from all the attacks would stack bleeds but like I said anybody with half a brain will MOVE. If you were to say use Pin Down followed by swapping to sword/axe right away your target can still dodge out of the way and negate most of the damage. Even in WvW would you really want to lock yourself down in the middle of a zerg like that?

Sword 4 is also very important for assuring that your target always has at least 1 stack of bleed so you get the extra damage from attack of opportunity. In addition, even though Ripost can be a bit tricky to master having a block to stop another warriors bulls charge or any other classes big telegraphed attacks still gives you more utility than offhand axe would ever give. If you wanted you could even trait for projectile reflection by putting 10 into defense and force Engineers and Rangers to blind and poison themselves or have Phantasmal Duelists destroy themselves. The block is also good for when fighting a stealth thief and you know a stun of backstab is coming.

I understand the concept behind using the whiling axe to stack bleeds, but it’s so easily avoided and lacks any and all utility that it even manages to make offhand sword look good.

Shields on the other hand are an OK option but that is a steady supply of easily removed bleeds. Offhand sword allows you to “bleed spike” so that they deal a large amount of damage before they are removed.

While I understand that Shield does indeed offer more utility, if you are running a condition build that focus on bleeds I think not using an offhand that can apply 10 stacks isn’t the best choice.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAscTjgO1wBPuQMxBCkiqkFjCjMkzjkMFyD-TsAAzCqIaS1krJTTymsNNCYJwsCA

It follows the idea of the builds posted earlier only it actually uses Dual Swords and has some trait differences. With frenzy you can apply 25 stack of bleeds crazy quick if you open with Flurry. This build does indeed have the weaknesses stated above so if that isn’t your style you could go something like this:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAscTjcO1w9OyQMxBCjiiMkzjkMFyrUYn6A-TsAg1CqI0SplTLjWStsaNCYJwsCA

Same combo but much more “glassy” and is basically the 100b of sword/sword. With those runes and the Building Momentum Trait you can dodge around like mad.

Now if you’re silly you could try something like this to have some poison on your blade:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAscTjcO1w9OyQMxBCjiiMkzjkMFyrUYn6A-TsAg1CqI0SplTLjWStsaNCYJwsCA

I wouldn’t use this for anything serious though.

Gandarel.5091:

BurrTheKing.8571:

Alissah.9281:

If you got tourney tokens from rank chests that would most likely be a bug.
Tourney tokes come from salvaged items from tourney wins.

Did some tourneys last night and managed to get a few, even got a couple paid tokens even though it was free.

No such thing as free nor paid tournament exists anymore. Only 1-round rated tournaments, that’s why you can get both from the same chest.

Yah true I guess I just thought that there would be a DIFFERENT way to obtain them, didn’t know they just threw them all in the same category now. How much you wanna bet I end up getting all ugly Guild armor with my paid tokens.

Alissah.9281:

If you got tourney tokens from rank chests that would most likely be a bug.
Tourney tokes come from salvaged items from tourney wins.

Did some tourneys last night and managed to get a few, even got a couple paid tokens even though it was free. But yah, they used to drop all the time from at least rank 20 boxes. From these I got enough tokens for Vigil GS and Hammer, and Priory Axe, Shield, and Mace. I just hadn’t recalled seeing it being listed as a bug fix but I hadn’t seriously tried for any tokens for a while now.

Is a extra 2% to crit damage really worth losing power over? I’d like to see some maths on that.

Liewec.2896:

BurrTheKing.8571:

That would be TERRIBLE for balance. Some racial elites would allow a Norn to traverse most of the map in an instant. Other normal racial utilities would also be far to good in PvP.

tbh thats what i was thinking about! you’d have norn “striders” rushing points in animal forms while sylvari/human “rooters” try to stop them in their tracks and charr “sapper’s” drop landmines on points.
and the biggest thing you’d have…diversity, you’d have to think what race best suits your playstyle, it wouldn’t just be a mandatory asurafest based on the difficulty of reading their animations.

It would also mean ANet has to balance those skills, and currently they can’t balance the non-racial skills to the point they don’t either make something terribly OP or make something previously OP totally worthless. The SECOND a few races are considered to have superior racial skills you’ll just see a massive number of Norn Thieves or Sylvari Engineers.

Liewec.2896:

i’d like to actually go the other way and have racials put back into pvp, that way there would be a reason to pick a race you love like charr for might/fury, or sylvari for the root/turrets

but yeah its silly that a tiny asuran warrior can actually do more damage than a big burly norn warrior purely because people might not even realize the asuran is using 100b where as the norn shouts and screams and flails around like “MOVE AWAY NAOW!”

That would be TERRIBLE for balance. Some racial elites would allow a Norn to traverse most of the map in an instant. Other normal racial utilities would also be far to good in PvP.

I’m all for a player-side option to change the models to all humans. I would also support a GW1 style cast bar, I understand why ANet doesn’t want them but if they had them placed just above your HP orb you would still be focused on the screen. There also HAS TO be another used side option to reduce visual effects. I LOVE how cool the combat in GW2 looks, but not when I’m trying to dodge a mesmers spike but can’t see it because of satanic purple butterflies and other crazy visual effects everywhere.

Gandarel.5091:

Free tokens did never drop from rank chests. The match win chest drops are the mixture of Free and Paid tournament rewards + some new, so salvaging items from those is the only way getting them, but they can either drop free or paid.

No, they DID used to be salvageable from rank chest items, that’s how I got all my Priory and Vigil items. A patch a few months back changed that, so I suspected it was only Tourney items now, thank you for confirming.

I know that currently many teams aren’t big on warrior, and believe me I understand why, however if you build around having one in your team we can be a nightmare for the enemy.

I am on US Central Time and currently tend to be on during the evening with my current class schedule (May change during the upcoming semester) anywhere around 6:30 – 11PM depending on how much work I have. I tend to prefer either roaming or supporting. While supporting I’ll run Hammer with Mace/Shield which is focused on locking the enemy down while everyone else destroys them.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAS5ejgOBvxQuQ4QCA0DsyiLTBjOKUapUBxA-TsAA0CnIwRhjDHDOScs4MQYhw+DA

It deals poor damage while alone but it isn’t intended to ever be alone. It have 6 ways of interrupting healing.

While roaming I tend to always you a greatsword for mobility and big DPS. If my team is low on the damage side I’ll run some something like this:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQJARTjcOxu1QyQMRCAjiiA6ogKmUKa7uUBxA-ToAg0CnI4SxljLDXSus1MIY9B

Tons of DPS and can hold it’s own against a lot of builds 1v1, except those near unkillable ranger builds, mesmers can beat it but because of the bow you have a good shot if you bait out their teleports and burst them right after.

If we have a good balance I’ll run something a bit tougher:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAR5ejgOxu1QuQMRCAkCsyyUwojClYSpwu6A-TsAA1CnIwRhjDHDOScs4MIYhw+DA

Variant:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNAR5ejgOxu1QuQMRCAkCsyyUwojClYSpwu6A-TsAg0CtI4SxljLDXSus1MIYhw+DA

This build has A LOT of variation allowed in terms of gear. If using Soldier Amulet Runes of the Eagle with Sigil of Accuracy is good because with Fury you’ll have 50% crit chance, but if I opt Zerkers Scholars work better. I don’t use Zerkers strength because I frequently use Shield Bash and Skull Crack to lock down a single target while dealing decent DPS, so I won’t have the adren to benefit from it very often. Restoritive Strength with Mending lets you remove up to 6 conditions. If Frenzy isn’t working out Signet of Stamina is a good alternative. Probably my best build for a 1v1 especially with Reflection on blocks that can make Engi bunkers destroy themselves.

I’ve given you my builds so you can decide if you could use a player like me on your side. It toot my own horn a bit I’ve been told many times that I’m a pretty darn good warrior, especially while using that last build that I made myself (People underestimate how lethal the stuns Mace/Shield has, especial since Skull Crack followed by 100b with Unsuspecting Foe and fury up is 100% crit chance).

I used to get these rather frequently when I salvaged PvP items but now I haven’t’ gotten a single one in these last several months. Have they stopped being salvageable from rank 0-30 items, are they ONLY from Tourney chest items, or have the “drop rate” been significantly reduced?

I’ve already gotten most Priory warrior weapons but there’s a few I would like still so I’m curious if any of you have managed to get your hands on any since the big patch a few months ago.

I main a warrior and I’ve encountered this bug several times now. After I use Skull Crack on someone who had just jumped or in the middle of one, the attacks on them for that stun duration. I’ve also had it happened when I stun them at the end of a dodge and once or twice for no apparent reason. No invulnerability, no evade, they are totally stunned but every attack aimed at them misses till they move.

This doesn’t come into play overly often but when it does it can sure be annoying especially when that stun was going to be followed up with a killing blow.

Exedore.6320:

Almost every warrior around plays a full DPS build. I’m not surprised they die so quickly. But having high damage and low survivability is balanced. What’s broken about warriors is that there’s nothing else going for them. ANet is trying to make other trait lines and skills viable so that builds can be more balanced between damage and survivability. They’re not going to make a full-on damage build also one of the best survivability builds.

This isn’t true when other classes can run DPS and have almost 3X the survivability. Thieves have stealth to avoid damage, and mesmers have clones and multiple stun breaks or psudo-stun breaks. Warrior’s don’t have any tricks like these, and before you say “lrn2dodge lololz” I run sigil of energy on most of my builds and even then the amount of DPS you avoid is minimal compared to what you can do with stealth and clones.

We aren’t asking to be able to run DPS and be as tough as a bunker, we just want a way to actually stay in the fight and not be forced into a thief role without stealth. People love to talk about our heavy armor and higher HP pool but without buffs like protection they matter for precisely nothing. Warriors have such a reputation of being easy kills you’re often the first one targeted in a team fight.

I main a warrior, but because I know we aren’t exactly popular right now I can also play Engi and Guardian.

I would still prefer to play warrior simply because I known it the best. I can roam or support.

I also don’t mind me some WvW and even high end PvE.

Defektive.7283:

I’m going to be kicking my streams into high gear soon. Focusing 75% of it on tournament builds, tournament play, the Warriors place in a tournament as well as fielding questions from the chat regarding Warriors.

I don’t think a class is solely good based on how many foes they can down in an allotted time, but rather what they bring to the team overall.

What we bring to the table is kind of our problem though isn’t it? Many of the roles in TPvP can often be better filled by another class. You could have your team build around having you but I’m not sure that’s the best option. Even when I do well in PvP I feel like I had the skill advantage, not that I was on equal ground.

The hipster thing was sarcasm.

As for simply ignoring them, that’s fine, however I feel ANet wants to avoid any form of non-cooperative interactions between players. Even in PvP they place heavy emphasis on teamwork rather than the individual player. It was the same thing in GW1, every form of PvP was team based. Let’s face it, GW has always tried to do almost everything as DIFFERENTLY as possible from other MMOs (Of course some people didn’t consider GW1 a MMO but w/e)

So basically, you’re a Hipster Dueling Thief that’s from the underground…dawg?

I see your point, but I don’t think ANet will ever add it because it doesn’t fit with their vision, if they do cave in then more power to you, but consider what happens if they do add it.

You beat someone in PvP/WvW. Next thing you know you’re spammed with “Noob u sux, 1v1 me bro!” “U so bad u girl if you no duel.”

Having systems like this encourage that kind of idiocy so it goes from a cool feature to a massive annoyance. Even with the ability to block requests you’ll still have to put up with people taunting you if you don’t accept. I’ve seen so many MMOs with this problem and personally I’d rather not deal with it. ATM there are a few dueling PvP servers and while they aren’t perfect at least the option is there.

I would be “OK” with a dueling PvP mode, but as for Open World dueling, no thanks.

klicken.4593:

If not duels will be implented then some people will quit just as much as people quit this game because there are no end game content. 2 easy to get good gear….. Or not? Well just implent raids healers and tanks and the game is fine //// Inspect option or gtfo?= Yes pretty much

This post was highly confusing to read. Duels are end game content? Like I said in my post classes in GW2 are not balanced to be equal in 1v1 engagements, they are balanced based on how they function in a team fight. Classes like Mesmer are stupidly strong in 1v1, I mean Moa Form is basically a “I win” button in that situation and being able to DPS while not even directly attacking is a HUGE advantage. This can be balanced out in teams by the fact that they have generally crap condition removal and if 2 people focus them with CC they drop fairly easy.

As for the best gear being too easy to obtain? That’s one of my favorite parts about both GW1 and 2. The game is about how good you are as a player, not “I played X hours more than you and you shall never win because I am 2 tiers higher than you Bwahaha.” Imagine how much WvW would suck if there was such a gear treadmill. As for End Game content, you must be blind. There’s many dungeons with a new one just being added. WvW is infinitely replayable and is also getting updates on a fairly frequent basis. Now, if you’re a S/TPvP player like I am you DO have something to be put out about, because there is only one game type and a buggy ladder system.

Healers and tanks? Already exist only they just aren’t dedicated. Guardians already serve as tanks and warriors can support them, but not in the same way as other MMOs, you’re expected to look after yourself and not be babysitted by a cleric. Gear inspect? Sure they could add that but honestly it’s nothing that important, in terms of priority that would be towards the bottom. In SPvP you can spectate and very gear and that’s the only place where I would really care about seeing gear.

Sounds to me like you want this game to become a generic WoW clone with dodging. If that’s the case then go play one of those because GW2’s goal was to NOT be that kind of game, which comes with its own issues but I for one find it much more enjoyable than spending months grinding for gear.

Maridot.9084:

Personally as a warrior player when I face someone with a blind I’ll just spam my autoattack as it does decent damage. After I see 3 or so blinds I go for a kill combo. While I think warriors need some free condition removal like the other classes have I think that Blind Immunity would be too powerful.

Engineers need to set up their damage alot and they dont do that much upfront damage. But imagine a warrior who does asstons of direct damage in a short peroid of time being immune to blinds.

What warriors are missing are Crowd Control and more worthwhile Conditions on their weapon skills and a less buggy Bola hitframe. I throw it at someone at 600 range and it says out of range or obstructed on a flat surface. Beautiful.

Also having to charge Adrealine seems silly… Since Warriors Burst Skills are worth less or the same amount as another classes F1 and are grossly overshadowed by most classes F1-4

Crowd control is one of the few things warrior has is great supply. Simply bringing a Mace/Shield with bulls charge allows you to punish someone who’s stability is on cooldown. That being said going full CC isn’t the best decision because like I said as soon as someone pops stability you become worthless for that period of time. As for spamming auto to remove blind, sounds great and all except that because many of them are applied so fast it’s easy to make you miss the setup for your damage, not to mention thieves can use blinding powder almost constantly and will not leave it or will use it to apply stealth. Guardian (One of my alts) also has aegis and other tricks to survive while not being a full bunker (Which tends to be the burn/blinding build).

I don’t see how it’s not too strong for a RANGED class like Engi (My other alt) to have blind immunity while a melee class like warrior would make it too strong. It doesn’t mean that we’ll suddenly become OP, it’ll just mean that builds with blinds AND blocks/stealth won’t have such an easy time.

This is a x-post from another thread.

My thoughts on 1v1 duels. GW2 isn’t a game based on 1v1 skill as it currently stands. It is a very Rock, Paper, Scissors kind of game. Current;y that balance is far from perfect seeing as there are several specs that allow you to have almost no real weaknesses and the only spec that can defeat it 1v1 is a similarly OP build. Certain classes like mesmer have a massive advantage in single combat. Bunkers also have an edge because typically DPS builds can’t do enough damage due to protection or insane regen (looking at you rangers). 1v1 doesn’t prove much of anything, I’ll sometimes join a 1v1 server but it’s mostly just for a quick practice session but I always know that they prove next to nothing.

I don’t feel like ANet would ever bring a single combat aspect to a game so focused on teamplay.

My thoughts on 1v1 duels. GW2 isn’t a game based on 1v1 skill as it currently stands. It is a very Rock, Paper, Scissors kind of game. Current;y that balance is far from perfect seeing as there are several specs that allow you to have almost no real weaknesses and the only spec that can defeat it 1v1 is a similarly OP build. Certain classes like mesmer have a massive advantage in single combat. Bunkers also have an edge because typically DPS builds can’t do enough damage due to protection or insane regen (looking at you rangers). 1v1 doesn’t prove much of anything, I’ll sometimes join a 1v1 server but it’s mostly just for a quick practice session but I always know that they prove next to nothing.

I’d also much rather see GvG put into the game before anything like this. I’d also want to see some of the PvP arenas that GW1 Factions introduced, they were interesting non-symmetrical game types.

Currently, there is absolutely no reason to use Berserker Stance. Signet of Fury has a passive, instantly fills your bar when used, and recharges faster wen traited. So what would make this skill worthwhile? At first I considered something like this:

Berserker Stance(8 sec): Gain adrenaline and lose a condition every second.

This seemed like a good way to make the skill more appealing, but then I had a better idea. Currently, there are 2-3 popular builds that use a large amount of blinds. I decided was warriors really need was their own version of Utility Goggles:

Berserker Stance(8 sec) : Gain adrenaline every second. You are immune to blind.

This skill would differ itself from Goggles by not being a stun breaker and lasting 2 seconds less. Although with this effect I would even consider bringing the Sure-Footed trait. This would give warriors a way to combat the current meta, because currently thieves can apply blind almost every 3 seconds, sometimes less, and guardians can have 3 skills, 2 on fairly low cooldown. The duration may need to be modified or the skill may need a longer cooldown but overall immunity to blind is something warrior desperately need.

Of course, just when I wanted to make a Sword/Warhorn+Longbow build.

Shamon.2091:

Hey guys, I have been having great fun with one of Oppa’s build since I started last August. Its lost some luster since the nerf to quickness but it is still really strong, high dps with triplechop and insane amount of stuns. Having reflect missiles on the shield and mace 2 is a lifesaver and I have won many a 1v1 by timing it correctly and reflecting damage back to the sender

I have tried all builds and so far this is the best all round. You are slower than a GS roamer but the defense of the build makes up for that and you are not a one trick pony.

Full stun rotation with max adrenaline can be either:

Shield4, MaceF1, Switch weapons, Frenzy, Triple Chop for a few seconds and then Mace5. If they get out of it use Bulls Rush to close gap and finish them off.

Or (I prefer this one since the Quickness nerf)

Mace 5, Frenzy, Triple chop for a few seconds, Switch weapons, shield 4, mace 3 and then maceF1. If they move away use bulls rush.

With both of these timing is critical and you need to pull it off really fast but once you do you will drop a lot of their life and put them on defensive if you havent killed them. Bunkers and holders need to be “played” with first to get rid of boons and cooldowns.

Here is the build, not mine, Oppa is the one who came up with it!

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQRAnZ5ejgOxu1QuQMxBC0DscltceMeq0kUByA;TwAg0CnoMyYkwIrROjkGtGZAxGhJCA

If you search for videos on his twitch you will find some of him with this build and its really helpful to watch.

A word of warning, this build needs you to know at least a bit about the other classes so you can time your attacks and defensive CD’s. It is not a 3 button build to destroy in quick join!

Hope it helps some of those feeling underpowered with the warrior. I currently only seem to have issues with hunters mainly.

The problem with that build is that it’s as immobile as a Guardian without any of the survivability. If you end up in a 2v1 situation you’ll have no way to leave it and live, while most guardians can hold out in 2v1 situations till they get help. That being said Axe/Mace is a strong weapon choice as is Mace/Shield, just not both together. For a 1v1 that build may be OK but in any other practical application less so, I’m also not so sure about some trait choices.

Yamsandjams.3267:

I don’t get that much use out of it because I’m more one of those “sit on the adrenaline” type warriors, but it could be useful if you burst quite often.

That’s the problem isn’t it? Both Berserker’s Power and Heightened Focus reward you more for NOT using your adren. If you’re using a GS as your primary you won’t use your burst and if you did want to get the most out of say a warhorn and constant http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQNBHhFaE0J2tGSGiJOAYUUUQqHt5WcJFixGA-TsAg0CnIwRhjDHDOScs4MIY9x8DA

This still doesn’t increase survivability that much and with the current condition heavy meta in PvP…good luck.

It be nice if every month they made a patch focused purely on S/TPvP and only did it for one class each patch. That way they could focus on each classes bugs/problems instead of having to try to balance every class in every area of gameplay.

@McFribble

People above were claiming that warrior was strong in WvW and posting cherry-picked videos. I was simply stating that because we can use items to say, limit the effect that conditions (which can destroy us) has on us, or simply having better gear than other players, can make us passable in WvW. The only major thing we lack as a class is sustainability and food gives us that, yes others can use it but warriors benefit the most from using it. I’d also say that most people in WvW have more experience with PvE than PvP, so a warrior with a PvP background can do good 1v1.

But because I feel OP was talking about our ability in SPvP and TPvP it has to be said that warriors leave a lot to be desired because we lack sustain while running DPS that classes like Thief and Mesmer have due to stealths and teleports. Not to mention excessive blinds (which is popular with thief now) and other conditions like perma poison that we are seeing more and more makes things even harder on the class. If you’re just better than them you could win but even a half decent mesmer can beat a warrior.