Guild Wars 2

This is how i would do it, for a sword/sword bleed build.

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/warrior/?8|c.1o.h1.c.1o.h16|0.0.0.0.0.0|1b.719.1b.719.1b.719.1b.719.1b.719.1b.719|2w.0.3w.0.2w.0.1b.62.1b.62.2w.0|a5.u389.0.k18.a6|3h.7|e

100% crit with fury, 1600+ condition dmg, 32% dmg reduction and you can use either bow or rifle with it. Looks nice on paper, but condition warrior really isn’t too good right now. I suggest you don’t pursue condition builds on warrior right now, as its definitely much weaker than other builds that focus on strait dmg.

Adrenal Health ticks once every 3 seconds, so its 120 Hps with full adrenaline, not 360.

so it becomes about 435 Hps without perma regen.

^ yup, hence a small snowball effect =\

Lol its worth it for a hammer warrior =D
Juggernaut is cool, but i dislike it for some reason, i guess it feels rather un beastly for a warrior to use >.>

^ bonuses from wvw is your 2k health lost. After server reset, bonuses go away

Mjolnir is my only true legendary >.>

Haha Im glad. Yea for me Its Earthshaker with a very close WWA. I would love to see this build in Guild or group play in WvW. I expect you dropping 5+ people every couple of seconds into their down state with that build, letting the rest of your group to clean up =D. Have you tried it with 10 into arms to aim for the 100% gaurantee crit chance instead of grabbing defy pain? I originally focused my hammer build with that in mind, since i hate RNG for both items and crit chance, hence crit chance is easier to control >.>

But definetly liking that video, and really would love to see how you use it in Group/zerg/guild vs other Groups/zergs/guilds. I Felt hammer really plays a great defensive/offensive role, but once you burn through the cooldowns , its better to switch to other weapon as its basic attack isn’t as effective (unless your hitting targets while they are CC’ed) as using your secondaries set of skills.

Hope to see more from you soon,

Cheers =D

Thats a great Video, and thanks for some credit =).
Seeing Hammer hit 5k+ crits to multiple players/clones/downs make me so happy =D

I started to see Hammer builds become more and more viable (atleast for WvW) with cavalier gear. GS is great offhand to go with it too =D, Hope you find the joy of hammer as satisfying as I do, Earthshaker is perhaps my most favored skill in the whole of warrior set (Feels so epic to smash everything and leave a crater ^.^), what do you think you might do after this Final build? Another class? or just relax a bit till anet decides to help buff other weapons to be as fun =P?

This is how i would try it if I wanted to Dual Axe. Maybe you will like it, gauranteed 100% crit for eviscerate, and still get 300 to vit/toughness

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/warrior/?8|7.1g.h1.7.1g.h15|1.1g.h17|1c.7h.1c.7h.1c.7h.1c.7h.1c.7h.1c.7h|2s.0.2s.0.3s.0.1c.67.1c.67.cg.0|k5a.u3ac.0.0.k56|39.7|e

ArtemisEntreri.4138:

Where do you get Cavalier items? I’d much like to try this…

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/warrior/?8|1.1i.h17|2.1i.h4|1n.71c.1g.71c.1n.71c.1g.71c.1n.71c.1g.71c|1i.67.1i.67.1i.67.1i.67.1i.67.8i.67|k59.u4ab.0.0.k36|54.1|e

I Dont suggest getting above 30% base crit chance from gear if you plan to use Unsuspecting foe, as you get more than 100% with fury if you go above that, and waste points on precision which could go elsewhere in my opinion.

Hey there, im Glad your trying out hammer build. I can offer some suggestions =D

Sigil of Fire/Hydromancy share an internal cooldown, so when you swap to Sword-Shield the hydromancy sigil will activate, and sigil of fire won’t proc until the sigil of hydromancies internal cooldown is complete (10sec). I suggest using either sigil of accuracy/force or increase duration of cripple (Hobble Sigil) as passive sigils do not have a cooldown. You like divinity runes huh =P, Expensive >.>

Hmm, between shake it off and signet of stamina, i think its more beneficial to use Healing surge for the purpose of max adrenaline and usually much greater healing, which would better suit your tankier spec and use of Hammer.

My build was based on not going past 30% crit chance because between 100% uptime of fury, i already was getting 50% crit chance passively and would bump to 100% on stunned targets. So with only 10% boon duration, you have 15 sec gap of no fury on your attacks and will have either 33-37% crit chance. Also lose out on perma swift and the 5 stacks of might.

Its a very tanky/solid build that will hit like a truck either way. If i had to change anything really, it might be to switch shake it off to for great justice to increase up time on fury + might stacks and keep mending instead of switching to healing surge. Using mending when you have normal conditions (bleed/poision/confusion/etc.) and balance stance/signet of stamina is a guaranteed Full wipe for those near death escapes to regen. I suggest using sword-shield as your starting engage weapon set unless you got adrenaline to open up with hammershock→earthshaker.

You will have lots of fun in WvW =D

Yea, but The real fun for me is to Earthshaker into a group, pop Balance Stance, staggering blow and hammer shock everyone. Constantly Dodge/use CC on anyone I can, cause havok and Lots of DPS, and run out when hp starts to drop with Savage Leap and shield block + bulls rush will get you long away from the mess. IMO the most epic skill on a weapon has been Earthshaker for me =D (Seeing 5 Red Numbers over 7K+ each feels great) , followed closely by Leg specialist Hammer Shock and Watch as 5 People are squirming before I land Earthshaker on All of em =)

Please let me keep my Earthshaker Stun <3
<,<

I assume you don’t use them together =P cause your wasting endure pain time when your already dodging ~.^

Thanks man =D, i spend probably more time min/max-ing builds/skills/traits, that I almost know my warrior inside and out >.>

But yea, WWA is the only evasive/offensive skill warriors have. Low Cd + movement is even greater Bonus. I used to get mad at all the warriors running GS, until i realized how amazing Whirlwind was, and then i got shot down by many warriors saying that 100B was the real bang. I still think Almost every melee builds should have GS as their offset weapon just for WWA, with of course the exceptions of builds centered around other aspects (support, ranged, condition, Etc). Even when not specced, its DPS is great and its mobility is great package. The 1-2 sec time of evasion helps make more time for endurance/cd to regen and makes warriors able to spec more dps based and still be hard to kill.

I played with this idea a while ago, Might want to try this set up that i played around with in PvP. I think in WvW it would work in zerg vs zerg scenarios, albeit It wasn’t strong in 1v1 scenarios. I also think for confusion, condition duration is superior to condition dmg as it scales better the longer the enemy has it compared to how much dmg per a swing. Some condition dmg though does help, I think flat Power does better help balance the build. I also think sword-mace was better than Mace/Mace for the mobility factor + immobilize and bleed helps cleansing harder.

If Giver weapons condition duration works, than this would be it, if not than soldier weapons will be fine as well, since increased survivability in the builds means you can CC longer and apply more condition (confusion/chill/bleed/immobilize/cripple/weakness) and makes the retaliation boon that you gain from 30 in defense more effective.

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/warrior/?8|2.1m.hm|c.1m.h1l.9.1m.h5|1c.7i.1c.7i.1c.7i.1c.7i.1c.7g.1c.7g|2u.d1e.2u.d1e.3u.d1e.1c.9c.1c.9c.2u.d1e|u27b.0.u18c.a1.0|30.d|e

[Healing surge/mending (ur choice, but i think mending would be better since lack of condition removal is a pain. Kick/bulls charge/stomp/Signet of rage]

Its a fun concept, and can sort of work in large groups. See if you like it. Tough choice between Last stand/merciless hammer imo, since both serve very good purposes, but all to often not having some sort of stability really hurts warriors, which is why i would choose last stand over hammer trait.

Its very hard to prioritize both retaliation/confusion as they are both different in a sense that one is a boon and the other is a condition. Maybe you can find a way to min/max this in your way. Either way, Im glad people are starting to open up to see if other builds are fun/viable in some areas (not all as in a whole, but in some).

Also note that retaliation scales with Power, so a build with 2.2k power makes retaliation hurt. And with 100% condition duration the chill on weapon swap is a whopping 6 sec long, not to mention your hammer shock will be like a 2 sec AOE immobilize, and all other conditions applied. And if you dont want the random boon every time you heal for 10 sec from lyssa, another option could be 15% boon duration to increase uptime of retaliation and signet of rage’s boons for a bit.

I strongly believe in Swords abilities for Dps lies in Power more than its condition dmg.
Depending on what you want to do for WvW (supportive/offensive/roamer) and using rifle means it would best suite you to be supportive/Dps, even though i suggest longbow since your in the tactics tree already. Conditions hurt warrior, but learning to work with them and using Signet of stamina for me, has been alot easier than relying on 30 in tactics for shouts and what not. In most cases berserkers power is more beneficial than death from above unless your tower turtling and trying to disrupt siege at gate, which you can always change when your in the tower and out of combat.

I guess this is how I would run it if I had to choose your desired requirements.

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/warrior/?8|c.1g.h1l.9.1g.h4|4.1g.h2|1g.71g.1g.71g.1g.71h.1g.71h.1g.b1g.1g.b1g|211.d1e.211.d1e.311.d1e.1g.67.1g.67.2s.d1e|a5.u378.0.u28c.0|2e.1|e

Its a rough put together, would tweak it more if i have time. I suggest longbow over rifle in WvW for many reasons, dps wise and Combo field is great, not to mention if you switch to banners, you can almost give 25 stacks of might to a group of people rather quickly and it will last a long time with 70% boon duration.

Suggested skills: Healing surge/Shake it off/For great Justice/Signet of Stamina/(up to you for elite)

Personally IMO the real amazing ability on GS is whirlwind. Highest dps* /Evasion and covers ground, with 8 sec cd when traited and 10 if not.

• Based on landing all 4 hits of Whirlwind

I want to show the builds I created but not enough people want to read it or judge it =\, so I don’t bother anymore. I loved theorycrafting with real testing/thoughts behind them.

Cygnus.6903:

So hammer 4 does apply this, but hammer 5 does not?

Neither Hammer 4 or 5 applies unsuspecting foe

Ottohi.2871:

Only stun, blowout, and knockback. Anything that disables without seeing a lil red condition icon

As of Currently, And has been tested, Blowout/knockback does not get the crit bonus from Unsuspecting foe. Only Earthshaker/Skull Crack/Shield Bash. If you want to test it, go to PvP map, and get 50% crit chance, and use the hammer to test after a stun/blowout/knockback/knockdown. It will only become 100% on the Stun.

Only stun, which comes from Earthshaker, Skull Crack, and shield Bash for Warriors

Neandramathal.9536:

This, is nearly identical to my “standard” build and built on the exact same principle. The only difference is I use knights armor/weapons and run 30 defense instead of 10 Tactics, built for the exact same purpose as well of the earthshaker smashes and 30% crit gear/20% fury/50% trait. Even the sigils are the same. I will try the swap to Zerker/Cavalier now it is available but need to get it first.

In the past 2 days I’ve started using GS instead of Sword/Shield though and moved 10 points from defense into the Greatsword trait. I’m still deciding on which I prefer, as the mobility is better but also more vulnerable (takes longer but goes further), but the might stacking from the GS is an added bonus and of course 100b/whirlwind on a stunned target with 100% crit chance. The GS provides a nice alternative for when the enemy gets stability too (really hurts the hammer damage)

For the fights I need to escape from, the Sword/Shield is better, for fights I can stay in I’d say the GS wins out – especially when someone goes to res a downed player … I wish this wasn’t the case though cos I just don’t enjoy the GS as much even if I find it more effective :/

Agreed that putting down the pros and cons of either sword-shield vs GS is tough, I think its more preference and place of usage.
GS wins out on dps versus sword-shield, But I love the escape/utility of Sword-Shield and I use Hammer mostly for the DPS. I had a fun time with this system of skills for a theorize opener and it works quite well if all lands

Bull Rush -> Hamstring(1 sec Immob) -> Shield Bash -> BackBreaker -> Staggering Blow -> Earthshaker.

You get 10 strikes of adrenaline from that combo prior to earthshaker (5 attacks + 5 from weapon swap) and earthshaker’s damage doesn’t change from different adrenaline levels. I felt it was similar to a hundred blade/frenzy/bull rush, but I love how awesome it looked =D, Could even add hammer shock between the staggering blow and earthshaker for the 1 sec immobilize and dps.

Anyways, Since the release of Cavalier Gear, I felt that zerk/cavalier was best combination for DPS warriors since Its so easy to get crit chance for warriors through fury and traits. The extra 400~ toughness is alot considering you lose only a small portion of precision and we stand in the front lines constantly. Combine that with 20 in defense, and its almost like having perma Protection on a naked zerk warrior which somehow is tankier than a fully armored zerk warrior with nothing in defense =P.

Yea it really wrecks havoc in WvW, and in sPvP its great at controlling points while pushing heavy dps + CC. It doesnt shine too well in PvE, but I like more dynamic combat since im not looking to go nuts doing dungeons/fractals with this build. I found that using sword-shield as your starting set and reserving hammer for a surprise earthshaker is far easier to pull off than running around with the hammer as everyone is waiting for earthshaker when they see the hammer out. Sword-shield is far better dueling set to set up for the big dps from Hammer burst + CC chain. Sometimes i have fun and drop balance stance for Frenzy, and I have hit some crazy dps with Earthshaker, into 3-4 auto attacks + backbreaker + staggering blow for a good 25k+ dmg.

Thanks man =), when i stop moving around on my college campus, and get a stable internet connection + fraps, ill show some videos of how it works. It really suited my style of Gauranteed DPS with decent mobility and tankiness. Took a long time to figure out a build that would cover everything i wanted >.>

Amiron.1067:

I’m totally okay with the fact you’re tired and bored of GS and trying to promote another build. That’s awesome, and it gets the community brainstorming together. Take the Hammer build that was posted; that build looks epic.

My build? O.O?

Vanthian.9267:

Weaken one ability, but strengthen the class as a whole.

+1

If you get frenzy though, it cuts the time for whirlwind to be the same as if you where chilled/immobilized/cripple and do it twice as fast. So you can still do that same dps, or do whirlwind on a wall that still hits the target for every strike.

Coldviper.6794:

It’s not bad, personally I just feel like after 50% crit there’s really no need to go higher which is why I dont put anything in arms. If I did I’d do rendering strikes. That much crit just seems unnecessary imo. But it’s nice, I definitely should swap death from above with for berserkers power, I just get lazy sometimes with swapping traits. Because DFA can be very useful in some situations.

Yea I know what you mean, But my build only gets 30% from gear. So i get to stack more toughness to get tankier. 20% comes from perma fury, and the 50% comes from when target is stunned, which earthshaker applies before it does its burst dmg. I enjoy being more of the person who kills everyone and is a pain to kill back =), I really tried being the berserker barbarian type who actually has a large plated armor =D. I just like the reliability of knowing that Im going to crit 100% when i use a skill, cause its easier to quantify =P, hate random stuff like lucky crits or random procs >.<

Daokitten618:

CoaxialMazer.9140:

With Consumables 6.7k effective power , and 6.0k without. (when target is stunned, which is caused by earthshaker/shield bash)
When not stunned, effective power is 5k.
34% dmg reduction, and 20k hp.
60% boon duration means, perma signet of rage

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/warrior/?8|2.1g.hm|c.1g.h1l.e.0.h4|1g.71g.1g.71g.1g.71h.1g.71h.1g.71c.1g.71c|2v.d1e.2v.d1e.3v.d1e.1g.67.1g.61.2v.0|a5.a4.k1a.a1.k6a|2m.1|e

This is my build currently.

That is a fantastic set up. This guy knows what he is doing. I would run a hammer build pretty much identical to this if I already didn’t have Sunrise and Twilight.

+1 man

edit: Not 100% sold on the fritties though. Truffle Steak has an exta 70 precision that would help you a lot more than the 70 vit. What utilities are you running? ( Mending, Shake it off, FGJ, Balanced Stance , Rage ? )

Thanks man, Not many people enjoy my build so much since i try to stray away from common builds like HB frenzy/Shout/axe-shield. Healing surge/Balance stance/Bull rush/Signet of stamina/Signet of rage. I feel the give the most for me. Stun breaker + stability, Gap closer + CC, Endurance regen + Full condition clean, perma signet of rage, and Healing surge works great with adrenaline gain and hp.

Balance stance + signet of stamina = instant get out of the way + sword-shield for savage leap + shield block.

I feel all those utilities compliment each other well for both offensive and defensive.

I designed my build based on 30% crit chance from gear, 20% from fury, and 50% from when earthshaker hits since stun is applied before dmg which means you get 12% from berserkers power, 25% from hammer trait, and 10% from sigil of impact, and its a guaranteed crit = 5-7k crits on 5 targets + since they stunned, you can do some extra attacks that guarantee 100% crit chance. With 89% crit dmg, you hit like a truck, and with 20 in defense, and 400 or so toughness gain from trinkets = 32-34% dmg reduction. I chose the 70 to vit cause i already can hit 50% crit chance easy with fury+gear, that the extra 70 prec = 3.5% crit chance is less important to me than 700 hp which could mean life or death half the time i noticed in WvW when condition is ticking >.>

Only down side is blind/block/aegis/dodge really hurt hammer, but with this more tanky set up, I can sustain long enough to try and pull out all their escape mechanisms for the Earthshaker Burst + other attacks finish them off. Its very reliable in terms of dmg, cause you know you will crit with it, and That it will hit very hard.

This is great build, been using this build for a while and fell in love with it. I get Glass cannon dps on Earthshaker + a few other attacks after, and even more dps when target is CC’ed but i got over 2.8k armor. Hammer/Sword-shield is definitely my favorite set for almost all scenarios. Your build close to mine, except I went way more on the offensive, but I am much tankier than other Warrior builds, but can still deal very similar glass cannon burst without losing high toughness.

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/warrior/?8|2.1g.hm|c.1g.h1l.e.0.h4|1g.71g.1g.71g.1g.71h.1g.71h.1g.71c.1g.71c|2v.d1e.2v.d1e.3v.d1e.1g.67.1g.61.2v.0|a5.a4.k1a.a1.k6a|2m.1|e

Tell me what you think

With Consumables 6.7k effective power , and 6.0k without. (when target is stunned, which is caused by earthshaker/shield bash)
When not stunned, effective power is 5k.
34% dmg reduction, and 20k hp.
60% boon duration means, perma signet of rage

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/warrior/?8|2.1g.hm|c.1g.h1l.e.0.h4|1g.71g.1g.71g.1g.71h.1g.71h.1g.71c.1g.71c|2v.d1e.2v.d1e.3v.d1e.1g.67.1g.61.2v.0|a5.a4.k1a.a1.k6a|2m.1|e

This is my build currently.

The dps gain for Deep cuts is more then rendering in most situations, someone proved it somewhere >.>

But if your getting kited, having someone on bleed last longer means more chance to have uptime for 10% more dmg.

Depending on where you want to fight/use ur build depends on traits.

If your crit chance is high enough, it may be more beneficial to put 5 more points into discipline to grab signet mastery or mobile strikes with 5% more crit dmg since eviscerate is best when not immobilized, and signet of rage becomes 48 sec cd which is greater dps increase over all instead of 5% dmg extra for having offhand axe/mace/sword.

If i had to maximize for axe and GS, this is how i would do it,
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIMQNAR3ZjcOxwxOCPMxBALjiA6yIJmUKsrOA;T8Ag0ynEOJdS9kyJKuMcJ4yyljLJXrCGFszA

GS and axe do synchronize well to apply lots of burst dmg, so using them together is common. I personally like sword more for mainhand, but it is preference. And Deep cuts is better than rendering strikes dps wise.

The only way I could make condition build work was to make it support/condition with boon duration. I made a guide on it.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/warrior/Boon-Guide-Universal-Build/first#post1244240

Later on though, I lost interest in pursuing this path because of how hard it was to apply conditions with warrior atm. I find using direct damage to be more viable in many ways. Albeit that condition dmg i was outputting was great (1750+ condition power) and decent physical dmg (60% crit chance with 3k attack no crit dmg still hit decent) I felt that the need for different condition types are necessary (only bleed/burn while engi can cast 4+ different conditions almost at once with dual pistols). It was a fun build though.

For condition build, I suggest Dual swords with Long bow, as shield doesn’t contribute to condition dmg, but its utility is great for 1v1 or the 3 sec invuln to direct dmg.

Don’t worry about Schwahrheit, he normally analyzes builds and picks at any negative point he can, doesn’t really compliment anyone on any good aspects and replies quite rudely.

I applaud you for playing your warrior in a different way than more common builds. Its nice to see different builds, as long as it works for you. Im keen to ask why you choose physical training if you only use one physical ability, where i think 10 into tactics to get leg specialist might be better for your build since you seem to deal more sustain dmg, so having an immobilize on hamstring may be effective, Although you do use longbow that has built in immob. Also feel 10 more into arms might be more beneficial to grab 10% more crit chance for sword and the 100 condition dmg. Could u explain your reasoning for your traits, personally I am interested in why you chose that set up.

I believe empower is 2% per a boon, and i suggest switching rending strikes for deep cuts if you go 25 into arms.

20/30/0/0/20 will do the most dmg if you ask what comes out ahead, + signet mastery is mandatory if you run signet of rage(save 12 sec), or stamina (save 9 sec). Depending on your utilities, you might want to move your traits around.

20/25/0/10/15 is a superior WvW Build in terms of what comes out ahead, either you choose leg specialist or empower.

20/30/0/10/10, imo the 5 extra in arms isnt worth losing fast hands, but that depends on your weapon set up. I personally abuse fast hands alot, since i duel with GS/sword-shield and constantly need to rotate both for dps and defense. Otherwise, i don’t think this build is better than either of the above for the loss of fast hands

If they nerf the warrior, Imma play a Guardian…. They got less hp and they tank 10x better and longer… Heck even dps wise they don’t even fall that short…. Starting to wonder why people even play warrior compared to a Guardian >.>

Well sadly i can never let my warrior go, cause i love face smashing with him, and guardians are too…. blue =D. Seriously though, if you want more reasons for warriors to go melee, give warriors more sustain to stay in melee without getting kited or insta-gibbed by aoe. All I ask for everyday, is for warriors to get a slight rework to our traits and profession system to be more useful, aside from maybe 2-3 burst skills, and some traits and skills, warrior seems so difficult to synergize with itself. I feel like its the one class that has the hardest time melding its skills/traits/abilities to make sense >.>, am i the only one?

Just found some old historical beta patch notes and changes, and was wondering if anyone think they should bring something back.

Historical Trait Changes
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/List_of_historical_traits

Historical Changes throughout GW2
http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Category:Historical_content

Check these in Historical changes throughout gw2 for warrior specific changes:

• Avenge Me
• Destruction
• Devastating Hammer
• Face me (don’t know why they changed this for arcing slice….)
• Hilt Bash
• Incendiary Shot
• Impaling Throw
• Obliterate
• Piercing Shot
• “I Will Avenge You!”

If you could pick any changes to revert which ones? Traits or Skills?

20% damage increase to everyone one is way too much. We dont even get signet of rage to raise dps by 20% with it activated. Perhaps something more damaging in an immediate way, instead of a passive booster.

I was thinking of a damaging shout on a 30 sec cooldown, since we already got “Fear me” for the aoe cc fear, “for great justice” gives team buffs, “Shake it off” is the cc remover/stun breaker, “On my Mark” is a good single target debuff, but a Shout that did a good chunk of damaged that scaled off of Power would be cool. Would make Shout-P/V/T warrior do some dps while still giving good buffs/heals to team mates.

“Break Their Legs!!” – deals xxx dmg (skill coefficient of .7 if it can crit, and 1 if it can’t) and cripple for 7 seconds

or

“Drown in Pain!!” – deals xxx dmg (skill coefficient of .7 if it can crit, and 1 if it can’t) and (5 stacks) bleed for 8 seconds

or

“ROARRRR!!” – deals xxx dmg (skill coefficient of .7 if it can crit, and 1 if it can’t)
and (3 stacks) confusion for 6 seconds

or

“Finish’em Off!!” -Deals xxx dmg (no skill coefficient but can crit)(max 3 targets) instead does a small base value like 1k dmg, and scales with the enemies current health. [2x dmg if enemy health is less than 75%, 2.5x dmg if less than 50%, 3x dmg if less than 25%]

Just some thoughts =)

Well truth be told, if u follow a rotation in GW2 you might get ‘read’ easily and die consistently. If your using GS/sword-shield you should dance around your target, Whirlwind —> Savage leap, roll —> sheild bash, constantly do dmg and make distance and then close it again. It really makes the other player panic and it helps make you get used to weapon switching constantly. With bull rush, you get 5 gap closers, and if you dodge into a gap closer, you look like your waltzing around them. It also makes it so your skill serve the purpose of movement and dps.

Always going to have to adapt based on scenario, But remember to abuse your gap closer’s to keep your enemy near you, and constantly move around them.

Braxxus.2904:

Just so there’s something contributing to your post:
Immobilize makes d/d eles dead eles
Also boon stripping
Bursting when they swap out of water is also effective

Immobilize does indeed help kill eles and it is the weakness of their builds. Sadly warriors have no inherit way to strip boons unless its through sigils. I agree that bursting when they swap out of water works well and increases the chance to kill a d/d ele, but most of the time d/d eles will only switch to water after they get far enough (RTL or some other escape) and try to heal up while kiting the target, and then re-engage.

I do not remember where I read or heard the information that the devs are looking at d/d ele’s closely and will adjust the class if they see it may be too strong. But many agree that d/d ele’s are one of the most fun and rewarding styles of gameplay. It also had a decent learning curve and proved to be a build that really put the character in the players hands. If warriors could be much more “flexible” and dynamic in build design, then perhaps warriors might be able to stand on par with the d/d ele in terms of fun/rewarding for the high skill required to be great at using that build.

CookMETEnder.7582:

Theorycrafting is great and all, but w.o. any numbers or stat sheets…
you’re not really helping anyone. You’re just confusing the hell out of the people that are looking for help.

This may be true, but I feel sometimes giving numbers may actually be more confusing than just stating the theories and methods. I don’t have much numbers to prove nor am I trying to justify many topics, but rather open discussion on what can make warriors more dynamic of a class like D/D ele. If people want to know numbers, I would be more than glad to give them as well.

Schwahrheit.4203:

This thread is making things more complicated as is.

I believe warrior classes require a lot more depth and work to maximize their effectiveness over all. I do agree that Warriors can follow those two roles if the game was balanced, but the fact that it isn’t makes me want to try and find a way to make warriors work in other ways. I could be chasing an endless road with no end, but I figured sharing my thoughts would help this goal for myself and others.

Schwahrheit.4203:

And if you wanted to be a good duelist, why would you put Sword + GS? Mace + GS is miles better for duels.

You have failed to read my statement of how this build was best suited for me. I personally dislike the mace’s lack of mobility and no cripple to keep an enemy close to me. Mace is great weapon in itself, and if you see better to be used in a duel, than I respect your opinion. I personally love to Whirlwind—>Savage leap into my opponents, as it suits my style of play, and I believe that Flurry combines better with GS, and that Savage leap is a fairly reliable gap closer that also does damage (much like heartseeker).

Schwahrheit.4203:

As a Warrior you can’t be both Carry and Tank Initiator. As an Ele? You definitely can be both and be a million times better only because the fact that people who play Ele nowadays are carried by class.

I agree that warriors can’t do both, and I try not to do such thing as do both, but to better round out a warrior without losing out on certain advantages gained by going either full tank or full DPS.

Red Falcon.8257:

Agreed with your thread except for “limited escape ability”.

It is my fault for not clarifying what I meant by saying by not very reliable escape abilities. Cripple/chill/Immob effectively make getting away harder, and the need to carry a warhorn already means that warriors are stuck using a specific offhand regardless of build to remove of these problems. The list of things I wrote that many people argue is a problem for warriors are only what I see come up often on forums/reddit and other players. I personally think Warrior escape abilities are above average, especially with the right utilities/weapon.

Red Falcon.8257:

the disengaging is almost on par with Thief

I disagree with the disengage, as Thief/Mesmer abilities to turn invisi is far more reliable disengage, where as I agree that Warriors with the right weapons/utilities can escape and chase as fast as thieves.

Red Falcon.8257:

Take a look at how little Toughness is effective on your EHP even in absurd amounts… compared to the damage you trade for it that is.

The EHP is hard to calculate because you must also take into account your heals in a fight. It might seem like toughness doesn’t add much to a small health pool even with an absurd amount, but in a fight, you must also consider your use of your heal which in theory gives you more health than you already have. The ideal EHP is 1 toughness per 10 hp. But if you also take into account 1 Healing spell every 30 seconds, then the value of toughness becomes more desirable in a fight.

Build = Alterations
You can easily change the offhand of the shield to be warhorn or mace for preference, as both give benefits towards your ability to either gain movement or take them away. I personally think Shield offers the best of both, and gives a mini invuln to direct dmg momentarily for those uh oh moments, or closing the gap of ranged enemies without starting with a handicap in health. If you do use warhorn, the need for signet of stamina is not necessary as vigor does not stack with the passive, and you can grab another utility of choice, but I suggest shake it off to be the replacement for the condition removal. Changing builds around is a preference and subjective to the area in which you are playing in (WvW/PvP/etc.). Both these builds that I have used have helped me learn to use my warrior even more. These builds were mostly designed for WvW but adjusting either of these builds to suit what you want is up to the player who uses that character.

In essence, I am trying to find the methodology of how Anet designed warriors, and perhaps find a way to make warriors work up to par against other classes even with the handicap of certain class issues. The learning curve for warriors in my opinion is interesting, because its a small curve to learn the basics, and most warriors plateau at this level of play for a while since PvE doesn’t prove to be an issue for warriors almost regardless of build, while going against other classes/real people prove difficult to most people who play warriors. Warriors seem plain and dull in terms of skills/utilities/traits but I have found a couple of things that can be used to make warriors more dynamic and more skill based class to master. The learning curve to master the warrior is actually pretty steep near the end in my opinion, it gets very tough to figure out how to maximize the abilities of warriors and to fill the gaps on where they suffer without losing out on many other aspects that are needed to do their job, regardless of what that job might be.

Discussion
I want to ask the community and fellow players, both new to warriors, and old time warriors, and even those who aren’t warriors about their views and takes on the way warriors sit in the game. I feel that gw2 has shown to have some favorness towards classes with superior mobility, and skills that bring your dps to your target (pathing skills like heartseeker, or ranged abilites, or massive aoe abilities) since melee warriors can just swing around and far too often see “miss” on their screen cause they are getting kited, easily being “read” or unable to judge the distance of their attacks to apply the dps as easily as some other classes. I love warriors even with their fairly underdog appearance in (tPvP) and their somewhat dull looking abilites, because of how much fun it is to jump in peoples faces and smack them around like dummies.

Conclusion
I hope I shed some light on people looking for a reason to play warriors/continue playing them/or experiment with the versatility that gw2 tries to offer. I don’t believe in a build that trumps all classes/builds (personal hate towards D/D eles but I love their concept for a high skill play of the class) but I do believe in optimizing to be prepared to confront many situations that may hold a greater chance overall in winning that battle by creating a build that offers reliable tools to work with. I hope this Topic interesting enough for players to discuss and give their input on how the way warriors might be able to progress.

Dodge = Best Defense
This leads me to another thing most warrior builds Lack, and players don’t use properly enough, Dodge. Warriors scale slightly better than other classes with endurance, and for the reason that being able to re-position and gain slight invulnerability for a second every time you roll needs to be used properly. Learning when and where to dodge will make you a better warrior faster than any other build you can use. I believe all warriors should have access to some kind of endurance regen, whether its stamina signet/trait/vigor/or sigil.

Build = Duelist
All the theories I have made and believe in, made me create a build which I found to be the best dueling build for me. I do not make claims that it is the best build, or the strongest build, but I have had more success in every aspect compared to any other build thus far, and I have tried many. Some builds were great at their job, and others felt lack luster. This build gave me the most mobility, survivability, and Dps in one package.

Runes: Divinity
Greatsword (Strength or Fire)/ Sword-Shield (Hydromancy or Energy/Hobbling)
(20/0/20/0/30)
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#mcRM0kc9MMCwGmMCwGmG0G0xVsMsVoa

I used Full zerk gear with this build, and die less than when I had P/V/T gear fully specced out. 5 Gap closers, extra 450 armor with shield on and 300 with GS, stamina signet for extra dodges combined with whirlwind and shield block, using flurry -> Hundred blade, and maximum gains from max adrenaline. Signet of rage for the dps+movement bonuses topped this build off to give me the best 1 on 1 rate so far.

The traits are changeable to someones preference as always, but I enjoy my set up dearly. The key points are the use of many Gap closers and a few stuns/knockdowns/immobilize to keep targets from getting away faster than your cooldowns can come off to keep chase. I speak mostly from sPvP/WvW point of views.

Build = Stun Lock
The only opposite of Gaining maximum mobility was gaining maximum CC to keep a target close longer. This way of thinking is weaker in a sense, because mobility effecting your self is harder to be stopped by an opponent, than trying to stop your opponents mobility since dodge/aegis/blind effectively make it harder to land your skills.

Runes: Either Divinity/Lyssa (Grab empower if using Lyssa)/Forge or 30% boon duration and 20% fury duration (2 Water/2 Monk/2 Rage)
Hammer (Impact) / Sword-Shield (Hydromancy or Energy/Hobbling)
(10/10/20/10/20)
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#mcRc0kc9MMCwGmMCwGmaaGaGVmzazoa

I use a mix of Cavalier/Berserker Gear to Achieve 30% crit chance and some tanky stats since Hammer lacks the same burst as Greatsword so your target may be given more time to output some damage on you before you can finish the job. The reason for 30% crit chance, is because you can achieve 100% crit chance between fury (20%) and Unsuspecting foe (50% when enemy is stunned). Earthshaker applies Stun before the actual dmg, so Earth shaker is a guaranteed Crit, which takes advantage of Merciless Hammer (25% damage bonus), Berserker power (12% damage bonus) and Sigil of Impact (10% damage bonus) which stacks great with over 100% crit dmg bonus. Since the stun is up for 2 seconds, you can attack once, maybe twice for a guaranteed crit dmg or get up to twice as much attacks with frenzy if you choose to use it instead of balance stance. The biggest weakness to this build is the need to rely on adrenal gain from healing surge/embrace the pain to use earthshaker often, and dodges/blocks/aegis/blind affect hammer warriors very hard. Otherwise, this build can obtain Glass Cannon dps for a few seconds and still be relatively tanky, and output good dps even when a stun is not applied. With leg specialist, you can keep your target near you for a long time when combined with all your other CC abilities.

Hi, My name is CoaxialMazer and I have obsessed with theorycrafting/build analyzing since release for warriors. I played multiple classes and have played every class to a decent degree of knowledge, but I have for so many years loved to play warriors. I have 2 lvl 80 warriors with different builds/specs and I love them for their uniqueness and difference, as they have proven to me that warriors are fun to play in my eyes.

Theory
I often search on the forums/reddit to help others and to learn more about warriors and certain bugs/builds/opinions of the community and tried ways to find solutions to problems that exist with warriors. I currently know that in tPvP setting, warriors are extremely scarce in population while in PvE/WvW there is fairly large number of them. This is obvious for a few reasons:

• Warriors in PvE is easy to play/learn
• Warriors excel in both small/Large group play for both small support or DpS roles
• Warriors tend to have an interesting learning curve and a simple class mechanic
• People like warriors from all other games

The sad part is warriors have a few faulty problems. I will state what I believe are the most important ones, even though their probably are a few others lying around that I am not addressing.

• Bugs on gap closing skills (Huge impact for a class meant to excel at melee combat)
• Discipline Tree is in need of rework for its secondary stat
• Condition removal is fairly difficult on warriors without using runes/utilities at level in which other classes do not suffer
• Escape abilities are far less reliable than many other classes
• Trait trees have poor synergy
• Adrenaline system is a far weaker class mechanic compared to other classes
• No Access to protection boon without using runes

From the many days since launch, these are the most common topics I have seen show up that affect warriors or put them at a disadvantage against other classes. Some may agree, and others don’t. I personally have a few agreements with them, and some I believe are not too big of a deal. But I do know of a really big issue with Warriors that seem to make melee combat a bit distasteful against classes with the ability to kite/escape easily. Truth is, that warriors are prone to being kited and have only a few ways to counter it (spec for condition removal/range weapons/help from teammates). Problem for me, is that as a stubborn melee warrior (I only use rifle/longbow under certain circumstances) I believe that there are only two ways to truly fight against other classes with superior movement/escapes/kite-ability.

1. Maximum Gap closing and chasing
2. Maximizing Crowd control to keep target close

These two points made me create builds that have seen a much greater success rate in almost all places (PvE/WvW/sPvP)[tPvP is not something I can test easily] compared to many other builds I have tried before. This leads to the builds I have currently been loving to build/theorycraft, and think they offer everything I feel is necessary for a warrior.

Necessities
I believe all builds need the following:

• Access to Stability
• A Stun Breaker
• A Condition remover
• Atleast 2 Gap closers
• Atleast 1 Condition Removal ability
• Some way to gain vigor or signet of stamina (they do not stack)
• Atleast 1 CC
• Mobility Strikes

I used to run shout builds, Hundred blade Frenzy builds, Whirling Axe builds, Condition builds, but all of them didn’t really feel self sufficient or able to really put the class into the players hands like a D/D ele or a Backstab Thief. I felt like those builds were far too straight forward and lacked depth.

Mobility Is King
I feel confident to say, that the most powerful “trait” is Movement. Whether its swiftness, a skill to close a gap, or to make one, Mobility is the most diverse “stat”. It can be used Offensively, Defensively, Confusing an enemy, or even to cut down time on Objectives. No other stat offers that Depth of dynamic play. Power/precision/crit dmg/condition is damage, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t hit your enemy, Toughness/vitality is worthless if you can’t kill your enemy within the limit of time that you gain extra from gaining defenses. Healing power is useless if you don’t scale well with heals, or if you are insta gibbed before it would even matter. Skills/Traits that give mobility, or take them away (CC) are the best for a melee character/class.

I got new Hammer Build that im sticking to, and found great. Another aspect of merciless hammer is that it works well when chain stunning/knockdown, and earthshaker applies stun before dmg, so that gives the 25% dmg to hammer on that attack. Normally i can chain Earthshaker → Staggering blow → Bulls Charge → Back Breaker → Fierce blow for maximum dps from that trait or I go Earthshaker → Frenzy → auto attack 2-3 times into staggering/bulls/backbreaker for the 50% crit chance from unsuspecting foe during auto-attack phase. Hammer biggest weakness is blinds/aegis =\ though.

I use rampage to hold on to my elite socket when i dont want to have signet of rage in town cause it looks like i dont shower, atleast when a pretty lady comes by i can just puff my chest out instead of looking like all those warriors who smell with their Rage =D

I feel like you just put guardian weapon set on warriors o.o
I also don’t know if ur serious or trolling, cause those changes are insane =O

I think anet would never change all that in a short time… if not maybe over a course of a long time, but some of those changes feel too strong =P