Guild Wars 2

So, it seems that everyone has a plethora of builds.
That being said, this is a request to all level 80 characters who run end-game dungeons, fractals, roam, etc.

Can you post up the build that you view as your “best” or most “efficient” build?

Thanks guys!
My hope is that we can gather all the best builds to compare and see what works best for warriors and how we further improve and/or maybe combine some builds.

Norjena.5172:

Yaki.9563:

Rifle damage is inferior to melee damage single target. It’s far inferior to melee damage with multiple targets thanks to cleave and AE skills. The only thing you gain from rifle is the ability to fight at range but to me that just means you are standing outside of heal range while all the other melee are getting heals and protection and other boons because they are nicely clumped up around the boss.

There’s a case for going Rifle in WvWvW because of Kill Shot’s burst and the way zerging is, but in PvE? /boot (not really, but I sigh inside)

That´s it, range DPS is far behind Melee DPS.

For example, Axe can do 4-5k AA in CoF, all the time, no Break, not necessary to wait for your two dmg Abilities (Volley and Killshot, other Skills do rly low dmg).

Even if u make a Longbow/Rifle Rotation (Volley/Killshot>switch to LB for 3 and 2 and stonger AA). Your DPS will be far behind a non Glass Canon Meleewarrior.

Other Classes do more range dmg, and they have got more Support or useful skills if they play ranged combat (Elementalmage for example).

If u play a Warrior in PvE, u have got 2 great things.

1. Rly high dps
2. the best offensive Teamsupport u can get in this Game.

If u play ranged, u will lose the first part.

I wanted to play my Warrior Rifle/LB based (because it´s low of fun!), but after i reached lvl 80 (4 month ago), i learned how much more dmg GS/Axe or even a Sword can do.

Rifle AA is the only Warrior WW which scales better with Condition dmg then Power. And u will use a lot AA because u have only a 8 and 10 Sec CD for good DPS.

But finally, better a good range Warrior with nice LB/Rifle Rotation and good Skills (Banners, Shouts and so on) then a melee bad Warrior.

If the Melee is bad and have to use Knight´sgear (oder even Soldier) to surrive, and the range has got Zerkers….i would prefer the Zerker Rifle/LB i think.

Btw: Burst Skills cost less, should be better.

1. U will not lose all Dmg Bonus from Zerkers Power and heighent Focus.

2. U are able to use Burstskills all 10 Sec. Without wasting Healing Surge oder using Signet of Precision/Zerkers Stance to get Adrenalin faster.

3. If u use LB/Rifle Rotation, the 8 sec CD would be useless anyway.

I don’t mind to be rude, but it feels like you guys are repeating the same arguments over and over again. I have played GS and axe, and I have even said that they are both superior in terms of potential DPS; however, it is unrealistic. GS warrior, in my opinion, just isn’t that viable for end-game content. Axe is, imho, the best end-game weapon with the way everything is currently being played. (Of course, these statements varying depending on your definition of end-game).

Anyways, that being said, you still maintain really high DPS with ranged. I switch between an axe set up and rifle/LB set up, and I will admit the axe is higher, but to say that other “ranged classes” have higher DPS is stupid. Warrior is stupidly OP in terms of PvE damage with almost any build.

At your point 1… how would I not lose the bonus w/o adrenaline?

Bunmaster.9734:

While GS dps is not top dog, a Rifle war is not top dog either. The fact remains, melee dps>range dps. Sure, melee gets interrupted by dodge and kiting. But well-played melee warriors will out dps well-played ranged warriors. (Disregarding high fractals where 80% of wars and guards go range anyway).
But the most important piece of gear/build/whatever, is the player.

Also i don’t see what skills you need to be a good ranged warrior. Because you just stand at range, shoot stuff and let the melee eat most of the aggro.

EDIT: If you love playing a rifle warrior, more power to you. But if you are trying to sell it as a Powerful Build, then we have to disagree.

Well played Axe > Rifle, I will agree.
Actually, it just requires competence. You would be surprised at the number of people that will open up w/ F1 longbow and draw all aggro only to get owned. lol….

Rifle is a powerful build. Imho, I would say Axe/x/x > Rifle/LB > GS/x.

Cook, if you’re okay with having lower damage, go dual sword.
Honestly, if you just work on your gameplay, you’ll be 1000% better than the end-game noobs with amazing gear and rather lackluster skill.

I would prefer a pathetic looking warrior doing some damage over a exotic/legendary equipped warrior on the ground.

Braxxus.2904:

Raf.1078:

Someone has lost sight of the fact that its a game. Nothing you accomplish here (or in any video game for that matter) has any bearing on real life.

It does not matter if it’s a game. The attitude of success applies to everything in life. From work, family, investments and activities. It matters not if it’s GW2, or a game of basketball. The point is to win. To crush and dominate your opponents. This is true in every facet of life.

Attitude of success? Are you stupid?

1. You’re going to win at work?
People are looking more and more for people that specialize in their own area, and add that function to a group. If you go in with a “I win” mentality, you’re screwed.
Also, there are many jobs that aren’t about winning.
Pastors, teachers, etc. These jobs are incredibly important and not about winning… it’s actually about sacrificing to help the world. In my opinion, that’s a “win.”

2. You’re going to win at family?
What does that even mean? Don’t know about you, but I sacrifice a hell of a lot for my family and I have a lot of fun with them. In the eyes of the world, I’m losing, but in my eyes, I’m winning a hell of a lot.

3. You’re going to win at investments?
Agreed.

4. You’re going to win at activities?
Don’t know about you man, but when I play pick up games with my friends, I don’t play to win, I play to have fun. If you win, sure that’s nice, but with that kind of “I win” attitude, you tend to become a hard “butt” and you sap the fun out the game.

Attitude of success and point is to win. It’s not good that you relate the two.
Often times… actually… 99.9% of people who are happier with their lives than most will tell you that success does NOT mean winning. Money doesn’t bring happiness mate. Happiness is something that comes from your outlook.

Okay, tested out 20% less CD for Burst… and it’s not as good as it seems on paper.
The Grandmaster trait that makes burst use 1/2 adrenaline seems to be better. Why?
You still have 1.5 bars of adrenaline left after using a burst. A few shots and you’re at 2 bars. You gain crit chance and damage from having more adrenaline, and it cuts into your DPS to use your burst every 8s since the rest of the time you’re attacking to regain adrenaline. Even with signet and healing burst for instant full adrenaline, there is seemingly too much downtime.

I’m going to test out burst skills use less adrenaline and see how it goes.

What do you guys think?

I like your build, but I’m just really iffy about the defense trait.
I honestly don’t find last stand to be that useful, and why turtle defense when you have condition removal and you want to be kiting? It seems like you would have a few seconds, at most, to make use of it.

Just a curious suggestion. What do you think of taking those 20 points out of defense, and putting 5 into arms (to get the 10% damage on bleeding foes since you already have 33% chance to bleed on critical) and 15 into discipline to get 5s faster switch, 10might on switch, and signet recharge 20% faster to keep up your elite signet?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but you get about 7% extra crit chance from food.
+14% crit chance default with this build.
+ 9% crit chance from max adrenaline
+ 10% crit chance from trait.
Total of 40% crit chance.

Is that enough to merit having any critical based skills?
Just curious as I always aim for 50%+ when having any traits that rely on crit.

Rayya.2591:

CookMETEnder.7582:

Rayya.2591:

CookMETEnder.7582:

Rayya.2591:

you forget perma furry with gs wich can apply more then 20% flat DPS
i’ve tryed today stack furry with GS and i reach at 3 minutes furry stack only from arcing slice spam and signet of rage untill my target died (an champ in fractals)

I believe people have tested that out, and even with that, axe DPS comes ahead lol

if you say so, and your axe can bring more then 30k dps in 3 seconds , then i am out of arguments
good luck with your strong axe

That’s the thing, you seem to be blinded by the burst damage.
What do you do between bursts? The GS falls heavily behind.
GS falls even more behind because, realistically speaking, you rarely get to use a full HB AND you rarely get to use it as soon as it is off cooldown. Every second it waits in you bar, that is tons of lost DPS.

there is not much time betwen bursts.
my usualy rotation vs champion is rush / hb / AS /whirlwind / switch rifle
vs bosses i cannot facetank for 3’1/2 seconds to land an full hb , there the axe warrior will have to move arround betwen hits also. Gs will win because whirlwind and rush /furry for your ranged weapon

Gs will win because of whirlwind?
Um, you do realize that axe DPS does not suffer as much from movement as GS?
Without HB, GS falls far, far, far behind.

Rayya.2591:

CookMETEnder.7582:

Rayya.2591:

you forget perma furry with gs wich can apply more then 20% flat DPS
i’ve tryed today stack furry with GS and i reach at 3 minutes furry stack only from arcing slice spam and signet of rage untill my target died (an champ in fractals)

I believe people have tested that out, and even with that, axe DPS comes ahead lol

if you say so, and your axe can bring more then 30k dps in 3 seconds , then i am out of arguments
good luck with your strong axe

That’s the thing, you seem to be blinded by the burst damage.
What do you do between bursts? The GS falls heavily behind.
GS falls even more behind because, realistically speaking, you rarely get to use a full HB AND you rarely get to use it as soon as it is off cooldown. Every second it waits in you bar, that is tons of lost DPS.

Esoteric.5490:

So let me start by saying that I have played Warrior for over 1000 hours. Most of this time has been spent in WvW with some limited time in PvE to get gold and grinding to 80. I am also Rank 10 in sPvP.

The Discipline Tree gives you 1% Crit Damage per point you put in. That is a perfectly good ratio. If it was any more, it would be ridiculous. I love the signet cooldown, the 5 second weapon swaps, and the movement skills break immobilize, so I run 20 points in Discipline pretty frequently.

The problem I have with this tree is the increase in your Burst Damage for how many points you put in is basically worthless. You get a .1% increase in burst damage for every point you put in. Apparently, in BWE #1, burst damage would increase by 1% per trait point. Now you have to use 10 trait points just to get the same amount of Burst Damage bonus that you used to get with 1 point.

That is literally a 90% nerf to a trait and I am struggling to understand why it was nerfed into the ground so horribly because now I have 20 trait points that I would rather have in condition damage or condition duration or power or toughness or any singular trait other than burst damage because a 2% increase in burst damage for 20 trait points is worthless.

My best guess is that the rationale for this decision was because kill shot would be doing something ridiculous like critting for 30k, but why would you not simply nerf the damage on kill shot to leave the trait scaling the same, or at least not nerf the scaling into the ground?

Let’s review what this 2% bonus in damage does. So let’s say that I crit on an Earthshaker, my crit does maybe 3k damage. That 2% would increased my damage by 60. That’s right, 60 bonus damage on a 3k crit. I’d be better off running a Sigil of Force.

If the scaling was even 50% of what it was originally and I got .5% increase in burst damage per point, 10 points would give me 5%, 20 points would give me a 10% increase and 30 points would give a 15% increase, hardly OP considering that you have to invest 30 points in the tree to get a PROFESSION UNIQUE stat that all other professions have scale normally for theirs.

Considering that adrenaline is a consumable resource unique to the warrior, it seems odd that the only use we would have for our burst skill is utility rather than actually being able to damage with it. Ele’s get a faster cooldown on their attunements, and mesmers get faster cooldowns on their shatters, both traits that massively increase their dps. However, Warrior burst skills sit there and are more useful by not being used if you want damage from your profession unique resource by using Berserker’s Power or heightened focus.

ANet, I am pleading with you here, can you change the scaling from Trait Points -> Burst Damage %? The only way that this damage can be remotely OP is by using kill shot and MAYBE Eviscerate. The logical solution here is to nerf the damage base on those abilities rather than nerfing ALL burst skills for a Warrior by changing the scaling for an entire trait rather than the source of the problem. Sweeping nerfs only serve to hurt the game and this is no exception.

If you would not like to change the scaling to make those 20 trait points actually worth something, I’d like 200 power statically added to my character so that my traits are worth as much as other professions’ and you can just keep the burst damage.

Drawing Guy.3701:

Wait, the Discipline Tree increases your burst damage?! Never noticed.

See the quotation above? This is the correct method of thinking.
1% crit per point is awesome. As for the burst, think of it a nice little side dish that you get for free.

Nier.2478:

Interpret Interrupt.3824:

I try try try to defend warrior viability. Post builds and equipment. Stream from war pov, run in a dual war comp, etc etc.

But the community has its mind made up, warrior is unviable.

QQ

Don’t bother trying to argue with this community. We’ll taste their tears when Warrior gets over-buffed.

Agreed. Inform, but don’t argue.
The majority.. I think it’s safe to say 95%, of the people that comment don’t know what they are saying. People will put up builds for level 80 dungeons yet not even be level 80… others will put up pro-builds yet wipe 5+ times in a dungeon… and others will say a class sucks without ever playing that class.

All in all, warrior is not a great PvP (WvWvW, I Would argue that it is pretty good), but with skilled play, it can still be viable. Just wait for our buffs

If none come… sorry man…
I’m a purely PvE warrior though hehe
Mesmer for PvP…. Lol sorry… shattercat is just too amazing.

Vanthian.9267:

Yes, I discussed with him the viability of the Warrior in the PvP forums. Warriors are not the top viable burst nor bunker (nor second/third/fourth).

I agree that I would love to see changes to the Warrior so they can contend with the rest. I enjoy the Warrior class and I have high hopes as to what it will become, but as of right now it is depressing in tPvP.

Really? I PvP occasionally, and there seem to be a plethora of bad players… bad players that will take a Kill Shot or Volley straight to the face. They drop dead in an instant lol…
That being said, yea… when the skill level of the opponent is high, there isn’t much you can do…

Now… WvWvW…. kill shot, volley, and burst with LB from the outskirts of a Zerg is HIGHLY entertaining

Okay, just looked it up on Wiki. Apparently, the Stronger Bowstring trait makes your #1 and #2 (err, I think) 100% combo finishers. Normally it was 20%. HOWEVER, it is confirmed that this is a bug and is not the intended effect. It might be decent to use while it lasts, but I probably won’t go near it lol.

Ashantai.4387:

Thanks so much for your detailed answer!

Yes, rifle is my primary.

I really only kept a melee option because I needed some crowd control. Rifle’s not good at that. Is longbow better in that area?

Axe and shield does sound good if not.

So berserker armour gives power, precision and critical damage – is that good for ranged? Will I have enough armour etc to absorb damage?

To be honest I don’t see myself playing much PVP or WVW for a while, so it’s mainly just PVE and probably dungeons too for now.

Thanks again!

I delve primarily in PvE as well. I do PvP and WvWvW, but I’ve always been a PvE player at heart haha
Power, Precision, Critical Damage is what EVERY warrior should ultimately get (PvE).
Once you are able to run dungeons well, it’s best to have the highest DPS potential possible. The only reason people mix in Knight’s is during the stage when they are learning end-game dungeons. I honestly would rather take an axe/shield and use stance if I end up in a sticky situation.

Longbow is actually quite amazing for CC. #3 does massive damage in an area (Although you have to target the ground). Also, you’re burst skill on LB is an absolutely beast skill in terms of multiple target DPS (although not as much as a good burst from Rifle with targets lined up).

Try it out with a cheap 80 bow and see how you like it. For dungeons, definitely a must, but for roaming around maps solo, axe/shield, axe/mace, or axe/warhorn are all viable. I personally go axe/warhorn for the extra move speed.

In my opinion, the ranged build has the highest overall DPS end-game realistically.
Just remember that ranged is EXTREMELY Reliant on criticals.

Back to builds though…
Check out my build. However, for dungeon play, try taking out 10 points from Discipline and putting it into Tactics. I have yet to test this in end-game dungeons, but it seems like it could be just as viable, if not better.

By doing so, you sacrifice 10% critical damage and 1% burst damage in order to gain 100 vitality and 10% boon duration (which could be ideal once you learn to stay within boon range). Also, you sacrifice 10s might on weapon swap + 2s less burst CD for a useless trait AND Stronger Bowstrings (increases range). I personally don’t think it would be worth it… BUT.. someone told me that Stronger Bowstrings has a hidden effect in which almost all your bow attacks become combo finishers… I’ll test it out and keep you updated.

I highly suggest that you do Axe/Mace or Axe/Shield instead.
That being said, you should just look up a dual axe build and a ranged build (both on the warrior forums) and just combine. I have search about 80+ pages overall, and I have not found any builds that specifically pertain to Axe/Axe/LB build.

PvE ~ Healing Signet
PvE Dungeon ~ Healing Surge
-Healing signet might still be viable if you’re build is specifically traited for adrenaline

Ashantai.4387:

Hi there.

First time poster here. I’m not a very good player, and what I’ve done so far hasn’t been worked out at all with reference to builds and so on.

However, now I have finally got a character to level 80 I would like to try and customise my weapons and armour into the best form possible.

My character is a human rifle warrior with a greatsword as backup to fight mobs of enemies in melee. It’s probably not the best build…but I’ve had fun with it.

My traits are:
30 Arms – Deep Cuts/Crack Shot/Forceful Greatsword
20 Defence – Embrace the Pain/Last Stand
20 Tactics – Leg Specialist/Shrug it Off

My question is, what type of Draconic armour should I use?
Initially I was drawn to Carrion or Cleric, but I’m not sure what stats to prioritise.
For level 80 weapon I’m planning on getting the Seraph Rifle.

I am working towards getting the full 400 in armoursmithing as my only real crafting profession.

I’m a very casual player, usually only 1-2 hours a night due to work etc, so getting Tier 3 armour or legendary weapons is a bit beyond me.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Toughness > Vitality for warriors.
You already have a high base HP pool so toughness raises your EHP (Effective Hit Points).

You play primarily rifle, correct?
Full berserker w/ ruby. Upgrade to scholar when you can afford to do so (but I wouldn’t until you have EVERYTHING else lol)
Also, I would advise either getting a good Rifle/GS build (most seem to be GS/Rifle though) or else just drop the GS and pick up a longbow.

If you want to go melee again later, then go for it, but since you are new to end-game, stick with ranged as it is FAR easier to survive and dish out max DPS. Realistically speaking, unless you are a skilled gamer and run dungeons hundreds of times into boredom and beyond, you will wipe at least once per run and/or you will waste a ton of DPS with dodging and poorly timed execution.

If you are adamant on being melee, I would highly recommend axe/shield as you can dish out more DPS than a GS (once again, being realistic… no one can stand rooted using a Full HB in most of end-game content) and the 3s block is absolutely amazing. Really a life saver as you learn the dungeons.

If you do take my advice and go ranged, change your build. I put up a Rifle/LB build, but if you don’t like that, there are about 5~6 pretty good rifle builds that I found looking through these forums. You NEED to spec towards critical % and critical damage. Survivability is much higher as you will stay ranged, but you want to learn how to stay within the area of effect for boons/heals/shouts and roll back to safe range when you think danger might approach. Also, lining up with piercing is AMAZING as it lets you hit 5 targets at once. Longbow… is just amazing. Pretty hard to mess up with a longbow.

Who is the “community” you are talking about?
Most warriors seem to be active and playing their warriors.
Maybe not the high-end players that want the most rigged character in the game.

Drawing Guy.3701:

Actually, pierce is > cleave if you line yourself up. Cleave can hit 3 targets, pierce 5. Add in a flame sigil that can proc off any pierced target, and you have an issue you’re DPSing more targets than that melee guy ever will, and likely will pull aggro. I personally pick the farthest away mob from myself and line up shots. Mass cripples, mass vulns, mass bleeds, while still having high damage? No, the rifle can handle multiple targets as well as single.

As for my comment on rifle, I must note that max damage =/= DPS. Rifle has some nice burst (Rapid Shot that plink 20k by the end of the combo) and Kill Shot (which can also break 20k). I can run around open world and never even have mobs reach me. If they do (usually a vet), just 5 punch it away and unload another rapid shot into it. This beats GS as I’m not rooted for my moves – unless the mob blocks/evades/reflects (which also would screw your GS), my combos hit. When your bursts take down the target, DPS doesn’t matter. On targets where it does NOT, then things pass it (like axe)… but then comes the question of the ability to lay that DPS down. A ranged person has little to interrupt them – a boss that hops around (as long as it’s not crazy like the Champion in front of the CoF enterance) doesn’t escape your DPS. Bosses that force ranged. Kiting Champions with ranged is easy… and against ranged Champions is even easier.

Situation always dictates, but there are situations where Rifle wins, and is good enough if traited and played right to be used even as a main weapon. Only groan when you see that warrior shooting downward at the mob at his feet when there is a group right next to him – that is the player, not the weapon, making it suck

Exactly, thanks for that.
Too many people generalize the Rifle Warrior.
They see low skill level 5 signet rifle warriors wiping, and think all rifle warriors suck.
I see low skill 5 signet GS warriors wiping, and I still think GS is good.
All warrior weapons are good… except maybe sword and Axe/Axe lol

Also, good point about the damage. So many people think that GS is the best because of the big numbers. It’s been nice to see a few threads rising up about the axe having more DPS. It’s time that people stop posting w/o being truly informed about each weapon and, more importantly, the playstyle (situation, etc.)

Straight up berserker with ruby. Scholar when you can afford.

Rayya.2591:

you forget perma furry with gs wich can apply more then 20% flat DPS
i’ve tryed today stack furry with GS and i reach at 3 minutes furry stack only from arcing slice spam and signet of rage untill my target died (an champ in fractals)

I believe people have tested that out, and even with that, axe DPS comes ahead lol

Sorry about the previous thread guys, messed it up lol

So, I’m now working on the Axe section for the Warrior Guide to PvE.
If any of you guys could give me some good arguments about these two builds and some builds, it would be of great help!
I’ve been running Axe/Mace on both my low and max level warriors to just test out some stuff and see how this weapon combo feels.

Also, would you say Rifle or LB is a better ranged alternative?
Thanks again guys!

Ascended Amulet as ^^^ said…
unless you want to get Ring Of Death

lothefallen.7081:

I need some advice for gearing up. To preface:
My main (Guardian lv 80) is running full P/V/T even weapons, ascended trinkets, etc.
I find that he’s relatively balanced and i like that tanky playstyle for him. I don’t feel pigeonholed into a damage-centric role which is great for Guardian class because i like to switch up weapon sets a lot as the combat in this game gets very stale, very quickly.

Now, with my Warrior, i’d like to do something a bit different and focus on a more damage-oriented build. I don’t want to be full-on glass cannon, i want to have a good amount of survivability. So, i’m thinking about full Power / Precision / Toughness gear and weapons. I don’t want to be pigeonholed into a certain weapon or playstyle and i’d like to have the liberty to change up my traits for different builds without, again, being pigeonholed into a spec because of my gear setup.

Not really sure what the best route to take is with this character. Any advice?

Do you plan to play this game long term?
If so, I suggest that you go full glass cannon. Many people will claim that adding in some toughness will make it more forgiving when you make mistakes… and that’s perfectly reasonable. Personally, I think that if you’re going to play long term, you should just go full berserk and learn how to dodge and time your attacks.

That being said, it’s great to go ranged full berserk. You’re almost always in an ideal situation for DPS as you don’t have to worry so much on dieing.
If you prefer melee, I would say either GS/Rifle or Axe combo/Rifle. If you become one of those insanely rare and talented players, GS will give you the best DPS, but for 99% of the community, this is not true. It’s just not a reliable weapon because the DPS is heavily reliant upon HB, but landing HB is hard when things can 1~2 hit you. Having HB up but not using it severely cuts into your DPS.
That being said, any Axe combination is awesome (err, maybe except A/A lol)
Axe is such an awesome reliable melee weapon. Look up a few guides and decide!

Once again, if you feel like the learning curve is too steep, it’s absolutely okay to get some toughness initially, but eventually going full berserk always produces the best reduces (although with the greatest risks).

Red Falcon.8257:

Ravion Hawk.4736:

I think you guys just haven’t watched enough rifle warriors do their “dance of death” on champions solo. It isn’t about DPS or crit rate. It is about the dance.

You can tell who is a Mechwarrior/Earthsiege/Armored Core/Front Mission veteran by how they do the dance with a rifle warrior.

And yes, I’m a vet of all of the above.

Soloing vets/champs != PvE group efficiency.

Anyone with a ranged weapon can solo champs btw, the AI is terrible against any form of kiting.
There is no such thing as being a “veteran” of such a simply task, everyone can do it.

I’m starting to doubt that you’re end game.
“Anyone with a ranged weapon can solo champs btw”
Seriously? Have you never played with people while leveling up and done some pub groups for dungeons? Some people are HORRIBLE. Even a simple kiting technique is hard for some people. I don’t mean to bash on these people; rather, I’m just stating that some, actually A LOT of, people don’t bother taking the time to learn end-game strategies. They just go a cookie-cutter build w/ GS and slash around. It’s viable (which I think is a great job by GW2 to make it acceptable for casual / “noob” players).

Yaki.9563:

I am lvl 80. Test dummies provide accurate relative comparisons of base damage. It’s not like rifles get a 2x damage bonus vs. moving targets. But hey, why don’t you avoid the real numbers and just claim it does good damage and deflect any dissent by claiming I’m not 80.

Rifle has no higher crit rate than any other weapon. Nothing you specced is Rifle specific except for the Rifle trait, which merely reduces cooldowns and adds piercing.

Base damage, in IDEAL situations. You say you are level 80, but the more I read of your posts, the less I believe it. Don’t know about you, but there are a TON of mobs that drop people in 1~2 shots. Rooting yourself to use HB is near suicide unless timed… and the key word there is Timed…
I find axe and rifle DPS, or should I say realistic DPS , to be far greater than GS. Every second HB is not used, the overall DPS of a GS plummets. HB is what makes the GS the best DPS weapon in ideal situations.

Red Falcon.8257:

Cook, I understand your personal preference for Rifles, but that guy is correct.
You are not getting anywhere near the same DPS as say an Axe with your Rifle.
On my char with equal buffs my Axe deals 7.1k DPS.
Rifle gets up to 5k DPS during Volley and then downhill to 2k the rest of the time.
Sorry but DPS-wise melee has triple the DPS of ranged for Warriors.

That doesn’t mean Rifle-only isn’t viable, it just mean that going Rifle only (actually, going anything-only) is being half a Warrior.
To get to best efficiency, not only you need to swap your weapons, but change weapons, utilities and traits according to the next encounter too.

Of course there is no one telling you that you can’t play your way, but you can’t complain if they tell you that is far from using the Warrior efficiently, because it’s the truth.
Please do not waste time trying to dismiss truth, just accept it and rather push on the fact that this is your playstyle and you don’t care about min/maxing.

Once again, really making me believe you less and less. Triple the DPS? Exaggeration I hope. I’ll look around for it, but there was a post where a warrior actually calculated the DPS in ideal situations. In this case, the GS won, but like my reply right above, rarely will you have the ideal situation. In order for the GS to maintain the best DPS, you would have to use HB as soon as it is off cooldown… Not sure about you, but that rarely happens so conveniently.

I don’t have a personal preference for Rifle. With my first warrior, I went GS / LB (horn in inventory) the entire 1-80 and even end-game. I watched a few amazing Rifle Warriors in my guild and friendly guilds play, and I was amazed at the efficiency. I rarely ever die in dungeons with GS, but it is a constant annoyance to have to dodge and have HB sitting on my bar ready to go but unable to be used.

Of course, if you’re end-game means farming CoF all day long, then I guess GS is better.

Sora.3597:

Doooont buy the gear boxes unless you have a rare fetish

Hahaha, why?
Just curious xD

Taril.8619:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQJARUjkOZvJP6OMxBAjiiA6ogKmUPazu7A;T4Ag0ynEOJdS9kyJqaM1IqxWjrGZNLLGWA

20 V, IX
20 V, X
0
0
30 V, VI, VII

GS/Rifle Fire/Fire
Zerker Orbs + Zerker gear is my current build. If things get a bit tough I’ll consider swapping out to some Valkyrie stuff for some extra toughness.

My current build is about maximizing crit damage (Otherwise I’d probably put some points from Discipline into Defence for more survivability)

Cool, looks like the melee counterpart to my critical based range build haha
Out of curiosity, how do you do in end-game content?
Fractal, overall dungeon, etc.
Can you use HB effectively? The few times I role GS, I find that rooting myself that long is suicide.

Thank you so much for the build though!
Will add it in and incorporate with what I have!

Raynil.2634:

Well, axe winds up on top if and this is a big if – you don’t count in the greatsword traits. With said traits, greatsword is better. Personally I run with a GS mainly, but with axe/shield in offhand – which works out rather well.

Oops, pressed the wrong button. What is the +1? Lol

Anyways, I disagree. I think it’s obvious that any GS user would have it traited, but the big IF is IF YOU CAN USE HB. The answer is often no in a lot of end-game content where being rooted that long = death.

edruviransu.1029:

I’ve seen some discussions on the GW2 subreddit regarding warrior PvE (dungeons, mostly) which seem to assume that you’re using greatsword for DPS.

This seems a little odd since the last time I did TTK tests in the mists, axe auto-attack beat out HB by something like 11%.

Certainly, GS has a somewhat larger radius, but I never seem to encounter situations where axe radius isn’t enough but GS radius would be.

GS does also inflict more vulnerability (especially since it looks like mace 4 may be a slight detriment to axe DPS; axe 2 seems to be a small win), so it’s plausible that the extra DPS from the rest of your group might be enough to make up for the personal DPS loss.

Am I missing something? Is GS actually a better choice than axe/something in non-open-world PvE?

GS is a great weapon, no doubt, but so many noobs are so keen to defend it as the best weapon. It is not. Every weapon is situational.
That being said, I personally believe that GS is one of the worse choices overall for end-game / fractal.
With all mobs 1~2 hitting you, it’s far better to go range or axe/shield.

That being said, there are a few people that are exceptions. My friend goes full berserk GS and just plays at a level that less than 1% of people will ever reach. I simply go ranged and I avoid all that

Axe does beat out GS overall from my experience. You simply don’t have the time to be rooted to go through a full HB. People also fail to take into account that every second HB is on your bar unused, you are also losing out on a ton of DPS.
It’s unfortunate.

PvE Only.

Hey guys, so I’ve gathered, edited, and made guides on the Rifle, the LongBow, and Axe/Shield. They’re not perfect; rather, just some guides that I think are optimal for each weapon set. I’m in the process of making one for GS and it would be great if you guys could show me what builds you use. I wanted to see the spectrum of GS builds out there and see if I could incorporate any aspects.

That being said, is it viable, for the average player, to gear full berserk and survive with a great sword? My friend does so, but he’s not the average player.. he’s one of those ridiculous people that make any class look OP.

So, if you guys could post any GS builds you use and optimal armor sets / runes, it would be of great help. I’ll post up my complete guide when it’s finished!

Where do you guys spend your Laurels?
I’ve been playing since this game came out (most days just quick log on for the daily, but I love exploring when I have time to sit and play), and have farmed up a massive amount of Laurels… but I’m still not sure what is the best way to spend them.

Is the Warrior Gear (5 Laurel) box worth it?
I already have full Draconic Berserker’s gear, but wondering if salvaging/selling (if able to sell) is a good way of converting Laurel into money lol…

I know that there are some great accessories, and I’m keeping an eye on them… but I was just wondering if they were the best items to get. (Red Ring of Death)

Thanks everyone for your help!

(I just recently made a mesmer for lulz… would it be good to get Mesmer gear boxes with his laurels? I don’t plan to farm much or fund him lol)

P.S. sorry, failed attempt at sarcasm over the internet.
Thought the … would make it obvious

Yaki.9563:

You did no math either, just saying. It’s obvious that ranged does less damage, just go hit up a target dummy. Then factor in cleaves and it’s a no brainer. Pierce mitigates that somewhat but pierce < cleave.

Have you been frequently browsing these forums?
Before I post any topic, I search through at least 30 pages to find if there are any relate-able. There are about 4 asking questions about Rifles.

Hit a target dummy? So, it’s safe to assume that you are not level 80 right?
I just talked about situational DPS in my last reply…
Target Dummy is like doing a chemical experiment in a controlled environment… it’s not realistic.

Also, I’m questioning if you have ever even done a ranged build before. The power of the Rifle/LB build comes not only from traits but also its obscenely high rate of critical (and being able to do so safely b/c it is ranged). When you reach level 80 and fully gear your own way with GS, tell me. We can do a dungeon run together and I’ll show you how good Rifle/LB is.

I’m not saying GS is bad; rather, what I am saying is that Rifle and GS, overall, are equal. They both have situations in which they excel, but it is factually impossible to say that one is far better than the other.

Oh, also, I would say pierce = cleave.
Cleave may have a wider cone, but pierce let’s you do it from a safe distance.
In terms of mob tagging, understandable; otherwise, not really valid.

Yaki.9563:

Rifle damage is inferior to melee damage single target. It’s far inferior to melee damage with multiple targets thanks to cleave and AE skills. The only thing you gain from rifle is the ability to fight at range but to me that just means you are standing outside of heal range while all the other melee are getting heals and protection and other boons because they are nicely clumped up around the boss.

There’s a case for going Rifle in WvWvW because of Kill Shot’s burst and the way zerging is, but in PvE? /boot (not really, but I sigh inside)

I’m curious, what level are you? I’m also curious to see whether you are a noob or just biased.

You have seemingly done no math; moreover, it also seems that you have never rolled with a good ranged warrior. Sure, it’s easy to say they suck after rolling with a few bad ones, but let’s be honest… how many idiot melee warriors have you seen wipe? 80%+ of the warriors are GS users and a LOT of them simply suck. They wipe so often.
So if we were to judge simply on wiping… your statement would not make sense.

With what information do you say the Ranged DPS is lower?
Once again, I’m curious to see if you are simply biased or have actually done the math and rolled with a good rifle warrior.
While a melee warrior is constantly in threat and, often times, has to move around to dodge losing DPS, a rifle warrior can maintain both sustained AND burst dps via switching between Rifle/LB (thus gaining might and adrenaline).

Also, in terms of gear, a ranged warrior can gear up fully for damage and crit while most melee warriors tend to throw in a little V/T for better survivability.

I’m inclined to believe that you are simply biased and don’t want to the fact the facts because you state that ranged warriors don’t stay in range of heals and boons. It shows both your illogical hate for ranged warrior AND your lack of thinking. Why would ranged warrior stand out range for heals, boons, and effects? Honestly, think about it, can you give me any good reason? I rarely stay at my max range, simply far enough to be out of melee which is still rather close.

Through all this, the only reasons I can see for you hating on ranged warriors is that you have:
1. Played with noob ranged warriors (which makes no sense as their are FAR more noob melee warriors as the population is higher)
2. Did the math incorrectly as on paper, they aren’t that far apart.
3. Never played with a good ranged warrior as you will see they often out DPS you.

90% of the time, I see ranged warriors out DPS melee. The exceptions are when I roll with my guild. We have a few glass cannon melee warriors (same gear and runes as me), but they have near flawless gameplay. They don’t need any extra V/T as they rarely make mistakes. Then I say it is comparable.

Once again, show me some logical reasoning for why you hate ranged warriors.

P.S. Oh right, just realized… It’s also blatantly obvious you don’t know what you’re talking about when you say “thanks to cleave.”
Ever hear of pierce? It’s rather OP.

Regardless of PvP, WvW, or PvE, I would highly recommend that you do NOT go for a glass cannon crit build using melee weapons.

PvE ~ a single mistake could mean wipe. If you play near flawless (Some people do), then I guess it could be viable.
WvW/PvP ~ P/V/T seems to be the way to go for everyone going melee.

That being said, if you don’t mind going ranged, then I highly recommend that you go glass cannon crit style
PvE, you have the safety of range + w/ a competent player playing the character, there is a very small chance of wiping.
PvP/WvW ~ You swap a few skills to make yourself more party friendly, but basically the same 10/30/0/0/30 build and you just kill shot the crap out of people, then get owned yourself. It’s honestly a fun way to play (unless you want to go shattercat like everyone else and fail miserably after realizing that only a few people can pull it off magnificently)
I usually score in the upper tier w/ a glass cannon range build.

lLobo.7960:

I’ve been running a rifle warrior on wvw (and sometimes dungeons for the extra xp, gold and gear) for a while and here are my opinions on this:

With crack shot and bow aoe field you get a lot of crit hits, and with Furious this gets your adrenaline pool to fill up almost instantly. Going for Quick Bursts is the best option.

Banner of discipline is great to get that 10% crit dmg buff, and you can pick up the banner for a fury and swiftness buff (and a little sprint skill). Also, the banner can be used to get 2 blast combos (on summon and banner #5) on your bow combo field for area might.

As I run asura, I use the racial skill to get a poison field, this gives you some good poison combo projectiles for a bit of extra cond dmg and healing debuff.

crit food is your best friend…

Awesome! Thanks so much!
Haha yea, I’ve stocked up on tons of crit food, no worries there

Drawing Guy.3701:

Deep Strikes is wimpy past 60, which coincidentally is also when you should stop using a signet build if you were using one. Take that off your table period.

I also find the combination of speccing to use your adren and traits that benefit from it being up as counter productive – are you going to be spamming them or saving them for situational use? Depending on that answer, I’d either take some points from discipline or strength – that would give enough points to get stronger bowstrings in the tactics tree.

@Yaki – Yeah, I’m guessing this is personal hate that doesn’t make sense. Sure, bow = better AoE and Warriors only field, but warriors have always been reliant on other people’s fields to be effective. The warrior’s alternate weapon will always be able to handle AoE (be it the bow like kittenas, or cleave off melee weapons), rifle can be traited for piercing, and has some of the strongest single target damage in the game on top of high range bleeds, cripples and vulns. Add in whatever I do triggers teammates fields (projectile) and that I can kill almost any trash with a single volley or kill shot, and I fail to see any problems with Rifle in PvE.

I’ve already taken signets off. Been messing around a bit and I realized that the signets really do suck (I mean the +40 precision lol). I’ll edit my original post to reflect that after this. I don’t think I’ll get stronger bowstring. The range is plenty right now, and it seems counter productive, but with 2, maybe 3 skills that instantly fill up adrenaline on top of crazy adrenaline, you have very brief periods when you’re down on adrenaline xD Thank you so much for the reply on the signets though!

Gothir.3604:

CookMETEnder.7582:

Which rune do you think I should use?
and any recommendations for weapon?

Don’t forget ruby orbs in your rune choices. If you are going for straight damage they beat everything except scholar runes when you are above 90% health. They give 120 power, 84 precision, and 12 crit damage. And 6 of them will only cost you like 50 silver.

Rifle can do some good aoe damage if you get decent at lining them up. A volley and killshot from the rifle can wipe out a lot of mobs if you position yourself correctly. With your 2 sources of filling your adrenaline you can pretty much spam your kill shot when it’s off cooldown for some really nice damage.

Yea, someone told me about them. I already have a few of them and I’m testing them out on random armor. I guess I’ll stick with that and save up my money for the sexy skinned weapons xD

So you think the 20% faster recharge is better than???

Yaki.9563:

I wish I could boot every Warrior who goes Rifle in PvE.

Why? Explain.
Otherwise, you’re being rather useless, aren’t you?
I understand why people hate 5 signet warriors, but tell me, please, how your GS warrior is so much better?

If it is a personal dislike, understandable.
If it is a theory-craft / realistic dislike from facts, then you might need to do it again.

Condition damage is beast… until level 40.
I have multiple files, but my warrior is becoming my main now.
I’ve played him Rifle/Bow from beginning until end-game, and I can tell you that the bow did far more damage until level 40. It’s burst is just ridiculous. You can take out entire waves of enemies and lead only the veteran standing to kite.

After level 40, and as I started getting better crit gear and critical hitting more often… the Rifle and power became much more important.
You can have a condition build, but it is insanely weak in comparison to other builds.

With some help, I’ve finally finished this build.
Feel free to leave comments about the build and, if you think there are any better alternatives, feel free to submit your ideas! Thanks everyone! Enjoy!

Build: Rifle/Longbow Ranged DPS PvE Warrior (Crit focused)

Utility Skills:
6 – Healing Surge / Signet (Passive Regen rocks for PvE solo, WvW and Dungeon = Healing Surge for the better burst and the instant max adrenaline.
7 – “For Great Justice!” (In my opinion, an absolute must)
8. Blank Slot (Any suggestions? Testing out random skills, can’t find a winner)
9. Signet of Fury (90 extra precision, and 30 adrenaline? Yes please!)
10. Signet of Rage (Fury, Might, and Rage… only 18s downtime!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Traits
Strength (10)
-Reckless Dodge (damage at end of roll)
-Berserker’s Power (3%/7%/12% dmg increase depending on adrenaline lvl)

Explanation: No brainer here. Reckless dodge is just a nice buff up, but the real beauty is from Berserker’s Power. For a minor investment of 10 points, you get 12% extra damage!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Arms (30)
Precise Strikes (33%bleed on crit)
Rending Strikes (33%vulnerability on crit)
Critical Burst (Burst skills have 10% crit chance increase)
Crack Shot (Rifle pierces and skills recharge 20% faster)
Attack of Opportunity (10% increase damage against bleeding foes)
Furious (Critical hits give strikes of adrenaline)

Explanation: Normal rifle attacks cause bleed and w/ precise strikes, your target is going to be bleeding non-stop = 10% extra damage. Rending Strikes to stack vulnerability w/ constant critical hits. Crackshot for obvious reasons…

Final skill solved!!! Thanks guys. After some testing and recommendations, decided to go with Furious for the extra adrenaline. Important to utilize both bursts and maintain high adrenaline for the % damage and crit from trait lines!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Discipline (30)
Versatile Rage (5 strikes of adrenaline on weapon change)
Heightened Focus (2%/5%/9% critical chance depending on adrenaline)
Fast Hands (Weapon swapping recharges 5 seconds faster)
Signet Mastery (20% faster recharge… must for fury and stacking might)
Versatile Rage (Gain 10 might for swapping weapons)
Quick Bursts (Burst skills recharge 20% faster) Under Review

Explanation: Weapon swapping gives adrenaline and might. Faster recharge on signets to use Signet of Rage and stack might overall. More critical as this build revolves entirely around critical % and critical damage. The empty slot again…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Basic style of play: Go through Rifle Skills, swap gaining might/adren, go through LB skills, swap gaining might/adren, burst and go through, etc. etc…
Remember, this is a build designed for level 80.
While leveling up, the bows condition damage and the +40 precision per signet trait skill tend to be overpowered at lower levels. They both scale poorly however.

Remember!!! The longbow is far superior until level 40, then it slowly evens out until 60. I made a second warrior to test this all out (lol…) and it seems that by 60, the Rifle can finally be said to be the stronger of the two. This does not mean that Longbow is useless though!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rune issue has been solved for armor, thanks guys!
Superior Rune of the Scholar later on… Ruby until then.

Any suggestions on Runes for weapon?
More damage? Lifesteal on crit?

Thanks guys for your help!!!

P.S. Made a 2nd warrior to test out some kinks and, ultimately, to make a guide for anyone that wants to go PvE rifle/LB (from level 1-80 tips, etc.)
Soloing all the champions
Few that I still can’t do, but I should eventually get them down haha

Okay, after looking further into it and asking some veterans, I found that Rifle/Bow seems to be a legitimate end-game option.

I’ll edit my first post to list the reasons.

runeblade.7514:

If I see your gear, I would kick you. But since I can’t, you could get away with it.

lol, why?

Stelli.3607:

First of all, don’t use magic find gear, atleast not that way. In dungeons it won’t help a bit since you get the good stuff out of chests mostly and magic find does no impact there. On everything else you chance to get a rare item or higher is around 1% I would guess, maybe even lower, so with an 18% increase that would be…nothing really. There are parts where magic find might be helpful, like Orr farming, but to increase your magic find to a nice amount you need armor with magic find + superior runes that give you 60% more magic find + magic find food = more than 100% magic find.

Second thing, I would not use only ranged weapons on a warrior. Melee attacks are meant to be stronger than distance attacks because you can get hit more while attacking melee. That means it is right, melee will do more dps than your distance attacks. Furthermore there are several bosses ingame where close combat would be beneficial, like in CoE explorable mode (Subject Alpha) and also at some parts where something has to be taken down fast, melee is simply better.

I would suggest you take one melee weapon and one ranged weapon, and maybe the other ranged weapon in your backpack and change it if you need to, that’s what I do. If I know there will be alot of mobs I take my bow because of the 3 skill that is just awesome. When I do boss fights where the boss moves alot, my 3 will become nearly useless, so I switch to my rifle to get alot of single target damage.

Going full berserker is sometimes risky and I like some additional toughness on some of my armor pieces, since there is a huge gap armorwise between the crit damage you get and the secondary attribute you do not get.

Example: Exquisite Berserker Jewels give you 3% crit damage instead of 15 toughness, so 1% crit = 5 toughness
Draconic Boots will give you 2% cit, but you will loose out on 24 attribute points, so 1% crit = 12 other stats.

I personally dont like signet warriors either, I cant help it. You get 160 precision, that’s fine, but it isnt alot AND you will loose it while your signets are on cooldown, and since the passive effects are lame, you should activate them.
I would advise you to look around for a better build that benefits you more and uses better utility skills. Using a banner will get you +85 precision and 10% crit damage and you can trait it so you can use it nearly all the time. On my mark gives everyone in the group a 10% damage boost, for great justice gives the whole group fury and might, and if you get signet cooldown and shout cooldown reduced you can get perma fury with signet and for great justice.
If you want to add a little survivabilty to that you can even spend 30 points to get shouts heal, to add a little support to your party and heal yourself every ~20 seconds for additional ~3500

Do you have any recommendations?
Thank you for the reply!
It was very helpful!

Hey guys. So first off, here is the build I am using.
http://www.gw2build.com/builds/sniper-warrior-930k-on-rats-sniper-warrior-9417.html
I use a healing sig instead of healing surge (4 sigils for 160 extra precision)…
… and I use bolas when I solo (5th sigil in party).

The set I am nearing completion of is the Berserker’s Draconic Set w/ Superior Runes of the Pack being made at the moment.
I generally go through all the skills on my Rifle, then I switch and go through all on my LongBow, then rinse and repeat. So far, I have been shredding through every single thing I have tackled.

The questions I have are:
1. Is my armor set-up optimal or is there a better setup for Rifle/LB (PvE DPS build)
2. Will I get accepted into end-game instances?
(I ask this because I have been farming with my main file, and have changed over to a warrior as I love the beefiness + big numbers)

Specifically for the 2nd question, I’ve been worrying a bit because a lot of people have been saying that GS is the way to go for DPS… is that truly the case?
From my experience of end-game instances, I feel like the survivability + non-stop attacking (since you won’t be getting knocked down as much from range) would result in a ranged warrior dishing out more DPS in both burst and sustained.

What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance for all the help!

P.S. I played a Ranger and Warrior main in Guild Wars. I loved both styles, and I find that ranged warrior is what I wanted from both classes. The high HP pool and warrior armor + the range DPS of the Ranger.

That being said, I checked in with some end-game veteran friends that I know, and I found out the following…
1. End-game Rifle is a viable choice.
-Go through Rifle skills, swap (gaining might and adren) and go through bow, swap, etc. The DPS is not that substantially behind a GS/Rifle build.
2. Most of the anger against 5 sigil Rifle/LB seems to be a result of noobs dieing with this build rather than the lack of benefits to the team.
3. Ranged, in most cases, allows for better soloing and sustained DPS on mobs since you don’t have to worry about melee range threats. You can be more focused on glass-cannon traits.

Finally, let’s be realistic. I’m not a professional. I never will be. I play this for fun, and this is what I like.
You guys can argue optimal all you want, but honestly, 99% of you won’t be professional or partake in competitive end-game (I refer to competitive in the sense of being a top 1% tier player)… and… I’m only doing PvE.
As long as I don’t suddenly grow kitten and decide to suicide, I don’t see the hindrance… hell, I’ll probably be better than a suicidal berserk GS/Rifle who dies every 10 seconds… of which there are too many (see them all the time playing my guardian).

Yea… so that being said… yeap lol
Any tweaks you guys think I should add?