Guild Wars 2

James Megawatt.9021:

What about helseth’s thief bunk build. No kidding but I think right now it might be almost as good as bunk guard

Never heard of it, but a thief build will never be as good as a guard for a number of reasons:

- You can’t contest in a point in stealth
– No knockbacks
– Almost no condition cleansing (unless you take the SA trait that stealths you, which prevents point contention)
– The only ally rez tools available involve stealth, which leave points uncontested and are vulnerable to cleave

You can build a character to have a ton of sustain, but that doesn’t make it a good bunker. A good bunker can knock back enemies to win the battle of contesting a points (or at least keeping enemies out of points with snares/immobilize/warden lines) and can also support their teammates in fights so that they can sustain damage/get back up when downed.

I think it depends a bit on where you’re aiming to bunker. If you’re bunkering mid and assist in team fights a lot, then it’s hard to beat a good Guardian since they have so many tools to cleanse conditions, grant protection, and rez downed allies.

However, if you’re focusing on bunkering a node by yourself, then a bunker engi can be a pretty solid choice since they have so many knockbacks to decap or undo decaps.

Personally, I prefer Guard.

timmyf.1490:

Look, I just want to add that I personally don’t see much evidence that the OP is homophobic. Or that the posters here defending him are homophobic. I think that’s a pretty strong word and we shouldn’t just casually toss it around.

What I do think is that you are privileged. As am I – a white, college-educated, straight male.

What do I mean by privileged? Specifically, in this case: a relationship which mirrors the kind that I would have in real-life can be represented in game without being seen as social activism or social commentary.

When we make a big deal over this sort of thing, we’re sending small, (I assume) painful messages to people who are already marginalized that the behavior or choices they find most natural are somehow unnatural, strange, unwanted, or wrong.

For my LGBT friends who constantly have to deal with this nonsense: don’t let the kittens grind you down. <3

I wish I could have put it as eloquently as this ^

Well said.

Lilith Ajit.6173:

So your theory is that the blast knocked Marjory out? I thought it was the fall.

I guess, but even if it was the fall, the lower mass of Marjory would probably result in her being propelled back more than Braham, so even if it was the fall, I would think that Marjory would take it harder.

NPCs say “We’ll follow you!”

Main character runs away.

NPCs follow.

Scarlet gets up and kills everyone.

The end.

^ That should be what actually happens in this case.

Yea, that’s definitely a really cool addition. Little stuff like this really adds to the quality and polish of the story.

Consider also that Braham is much taller than Marjory, making it more likely that a blast starting on the ground would hit Marjory’s head (hence concussion) than it is to hit the tall norn.

X The Manimal.5293:

Dahkeus.8243:

So what if there hasn’t been a hetero romance in the main story. This new romance is really the only active relationship anyways since Caithe and Faolan have only been introduce as exes.

Who care what gender the partners in the romance are anyways. The story and romance itself are really well done and if it wasn’t for culture shock over two girls kissing, there wouldn’t be any of this complaining going on.

You missed the point. It’s not about a kiss or embrace or 10 seconds of a cutscene… Posters brought up valid arguments concerning the poor treatment of key character relationships (even the lesbian sylvari one). Kasmeer and Marj are side characters. It’s just strange that ANet decided to bring them into the spotlight and have their relationship develop further than the others, especially given whats going on in the real world right now. That’s why it seems like a fan-service to me, not much care was taken with these side-characters.

But if you wish to view this post through a narrow cone then sure.

What??

They spent just as much time on Braham and Rox in that scene and this certainly isn’t the first time they explained what is going on between Marjory and Kasmeer or how their relationship developed. If you don’t know how this relationship sprung up, then you haven’t been paying attention to the story.

The reality is, if this were a guy and a girl kissing, they wouldn’t need to put any story or plot or reasoning into the kiss. If this were a guy and a girl that kissed, even if they never hinted at any romance between them, this wouldn’t have caused a stir because of the pervasive hetero-normative perspective that any main male and female character in a story are really just a romance waiting to happen anyways.

Morfedel.4165:

~ Snip ~
it feels like it’s a social agenda being pushed.

I don’t like social agendas in my entertainment. I just want to be entertained, not proselytized to.

Here’s the problem: You’re building a social agenda out of this, so don’t blame the writers.

You may like the same stale trope-filled stories with copy-cat characters and if so, that’s fine. However, ArenaNet has been thinking outside the canned-story box. Just because that includes same-sex relationships doesn’t mean that you’re a victim of some liberal agenda.

If you’re telling us that there needs to be a central heterosexual relationship for this story to be valid, then the only rhetorical agenda at play here is yours.

Lilith Ajit.6173:

So, Marjory was hurt decently bad. She got knocked out, looked a little roughed up, looked dead.

Braham broke his leg. That’s it? Why? And by the way that whole part of the scene, I was just thinking about Peter Griffin clutching his knee, going “ssssstttt ahhhhhhh” for 45 seconds.

I get I’ll get flamed, probably, for this response, but honestly, I don’t understand why Marjory got so hurt and Braham basically didn’t even have his life threatened.

(Side note, during the cut scenes, did any of you think it was weird and immersion breaking how your character just stood there, still, staring in one direction or the other?)

Even putting archetypes of warrior vs thief defense aside, I still think it’s perfectly plausible.

The blast just struck Braham lower, resulting in a fracture, whereas Marjory didn’t get any broken bones, but instead got a concussion.

So what if there hasn’t been a hetero romance in the main story. This new romance is really the only active relationship anyways since Caithe and Faolan have only been introduce as exes.

Who care what gender the partners in the romance are anyways. The story and romance itself are really well done and if it wasn’t for culture shock over two girls kissing, there wouldn’t be any of this complaining going on.

Makes her character more memorable.

People have discovered much stronger builds than that one since then and with the increase to conditions, shout builds are much more popular for bunker-based builds. Going with Pure of Voice and Soldier’s runes will not only give you a lot more survival against conditions, but it will also be great support to allies.

Altruistic healing has pretty much been abandoned by almost everyone in sPvP and PvE (some WvW still bring it maybe?) since it’s a huge investment for a defense that doesn’t really help anyone else.

DPS builds for guardians in sPvP have also become a bit more viable, largely because of the buffs that meditations have received. Itty Bitty Bunker has a great guide for this.

I noticed too that some of the armors on a male sylvari are better since the last patch two. Before it looked like you were hiding a wire hoop under your skirt/butt cape/whatever it’s called on armors like the Honor of the Waves set and it actually sits right now. Thanks for that!

There are still some sets that need to be fixed (like the medium WvW armorthat has that weird brick red splotch inside the coat), but I’m glad to see things getting better.

I’m not a huge fan of most finishers, but I like this one. It’s awesome to see something to help inspire guild pride…

it’s just a shame that the lack of GvG and the multi-guild structure take so much away from that. =P

Yea, that’s actually a really solid dev guide. Good job Isaiah!

mPascoal.4258:

Harbinger.8637:

Shanks.2907:

mPascoal.4258:

Harbinger.8637:

mPascoal.4258:

redslion.9675:

Dahkeus.8243:

Sorry, but this is a bad bunker build and a bad dps build combined. If you want a DPS build, go with a meditation build like Itty Bitty Bunker’s build. If you want a bunker build, go with something like this.

Also, the signet heal is a weak choice compared to shelter since it just opens you to getting interrupted.

Other than that, Rune of speed and sustain are really important, and altruistic healing doesn’t do a great job in spvp.

(BTW I LOVE 30 radiance points in med builds)

Why are Runes of Speed that important? I don’t see many if any characters running 25% faster in most games, why sacrifice damage over that? Not even Thief or Warrior Run that as far as I see it

Thieves and warriors don’t need it because they have a plethora of movement based skills that allow them to move around the map fast. Also they have traits that allow them to get higher movement speeds, guards don’t. If you’re a roamer you need to be moving fast. They also help with two weaknesses guard has. Vitality and keeping on target since Guards lack soft CCs. I personally always use speed runes when I play my dps guard. They’re not mandatory, however they do help significantly.

Well I spend most of the time in combat mode, most times when I move from 1 to another point I don’t even get out of it or if I do it as the end, and in combatmode every class as the same speed unless it has swiftness. Personally I don’t think it conpensates the damage loss. S/F and GS gives you plenty of mobility already and every damage spec runs JI or should so, movement Imo shouldn’t be a problem

No, the 25% movement speed applies to combat too. It’s especially helpful for sticking to your target to land auto attacks. You only have so many gap closers so if something else can help keep you close you’ll be in better position when you do need it.

Though, if you’ve never noticed the advantages of moving faster than your opponent there’s not much I can say here.

I’d also like to add on not everyone runs gs and s/x. GS is arguably one of the worst weapons for pvp for a number of reasons.

Not that the GS is bad, is just the most used weapons for damage Guard, ppl learn their moves and predict. I think is the best weapons for Necro MM or Spirit Ranger since the AoE Damage is bigger than any of our weapons, and that way I can clean the minions/spirit. Hammer is good too but the 3rd attack in the AA chain is too slow, but the #5 skills is great. the #3 and #4 are worts than in GS, very easy to evade (I can’t lad them most times, unless I’m on a team fight, 1 vs 1 can only land if the opponent is bad., but that #2 hits like a boss, love that move.

Watch your opponents dodges and cooldowns if you want to land skills like Banish in a 1 v 1. If the enemy has endurance or a stab cooldown, then just fake the cast (start casting, then weapon swap or dodge) and land it later when they can’t avoid it.

mPascoal.4258:

And no, I will not switch for Speed runes when I don’t have a problem keeping up with my opponent, that would be stupid and as I already said. Most ppl don’t even have 25% speed up in sPvP and I have lot of gap closers. Runes of Speed in the stats I have right now are useless. Now if Rune of Traveler ever get to sPvP thats another thing, those are one of the best Runes in the game

Speed runes aren’t for keeping up with enemies. They’re making sure that you get to your teammates who need assistance before the fight is lost and preventing you from spending unnecessary time running the map when you could be contesting a node.

Centh.2081:

Merlin Dyfed Avalon.5046:

Three letters…

AMD.

Utter fools who don’t know the difference between network lag and fps lag. Makes me sick.

Yea, that guy was misguided on blaming the CPU but…

Centh.2081:

Makes me sick.

I literally laughed out loud at this. This is just such an inane subject to be so passionate about, lol!

I’m actually pretty happy with where race elites are now.

If you make race elites worth using over normal elites in anything other than a handful of niche encounters, then you run into a total balance nightmare where players are subject to being at an unfair disadvantage because of a race choice they made before they were able to understand the full range of implications.

I’m glad that they put a conclusion to the living story…

but there’s still:
– No new dungeons
– No PvP anything
– No profession balance
– No new features (new skills, professions, playable races, guild halls/housing, etc.)

There’s been entirely too much focus on filling the game with zerg conquest and achievement check lists.

At this point, I can’t justify purchasing any more gems until something of substance really happens. =/

Thieves are strong against a lot of power builds…

But the real reason you see so few high damage dealers is because sPvP only has conquest mode. This puts a high value on bunker and high defense classes that can tank damage while keeping a point contested.

Sir Kaboomski.1508:

@Dahkeus : I guess that’s further proof that players just kind of have to try the mice out for themselves. Personally I find the G600 one of the most comfortable mice I have ever used and I love the placement of the thumb buttons. Everybody’s different though.

Agreed. If that mouse works for you, then that’s awesome!

The best advice I can ultimately give is to either buy mouse you’ve had the chance to actually try or at least make sure that the place you buy from has a good return policy, lol.

@ Dace: Never seen that mouse before, but it looks pretty solid.

Naga

I played with a Naga for a long time until it died and they are good for MMOs. However, you really don’t need that many buttons for GW2. Their durability is also a bit on the weaker side as they are prone to getting an issue where a the click doesn’t register properly. You can open up the mouse and clean the parts (vids on YouTube show how to do this), but this often just extends the life a bit more.

Also, it just takes a lot of practice to get used to the extra buttons.

Logitech G600

I bought this mouse online and returned it shortly after. As far as features go, this one is packed and that is a definite advantage. However, it’s an extremely uncomfortable and awkward mouse to use for 2 reasons:
1) The buttons on the side are placed almost completely horizontally. The problem with this is that when you place your hand on the mouse, your thumb comes down at an angle, meaning that many of the buttons are just in a bad place to reach. This occurs with the Naga to some degree as well, but it just seemed worse with this mouse.
2) The third mouse click button is very awkward and easily clicked on accident frequently. I’m sure you can get used to this after a while, but the learning curve for a Naga-like mouse is pretty high as it is and this feature just makes it even more difficult to get used to.

MadKatz R.A.T. 7

This is what I currently use. This mouse is more expensive and it has less buttons, but the customization makes this mouse a million times more comfortable and easy to use. The biggest drawback I’ve experienced in use of it is that the custom button settings that you can adjust reset when you restart your computer, meaning that you’ll have to open your saved button profile and load it each time. Since I restart my computer so rarely, it hasn’t really been an issue for me.

Winner: MadKatz R.A.T. 7

The reason I put this mouse as the winner is because you don’t need the million extra buttons that the Naga and Logitech mice have for GW2. If you play something like WoW, it can come in handy, but the additional customization and comfort of the MadKatz easily outpaces the other mice if you don’t totally need those extra buttons.

This has been happening to me since the last patch. I’m not getting lag anywhere else, except for randomly in game and I have almost never had any lag up until the last patch (played since beta).

Totally agree with this.

Not only would this spice up the meta, but it would also cure a lot of boredom from sPvP-focused players.

Yea, I agree that the experience in groups really doesn’t feel nearly as epic as it did in GW1. Part of this is the homogenization of professions. Yes, it could get a bit dull with how niche/repetitive some roles could be (spamming Healing Party in a Deep run, for instance), but you really felt like you were an integral part of the group in that setting.

Another part of this is the lack if instanced content and the focus on massive open world content. Success or failure of events really feels so arbitrary since there’s so little coordination and even less connection to the faceless mobs that swarm around your objectives.

In an instanced group, you really feel like you’re part of a team where you’re fulfilling a meaningful role.

And I really miss that. =(

Personally, I don’t think it’s worth it largely because large world boss content like this just doesn’t interest me.

Success in these events always seems to be so reliant on just being able to log on during a time when the event actually has enough people and whether a ton of strangers actually give enough of a care to take it seriously.

If they were to put something like the Wurm/Teq fights in an instanced, raid-like environment, I would be all over them and I would probably be devoting a lot more time in game.

You’re arguing right past me. I have never said that people shouldn’t complain. Feel free to scroll back through and read closely. Complaining is perfectly valid.

However, if you really think that people don’t act like entitled brats, then please allow me to provide some counterexamples:

ramorambo.6701:

So i did one, feel free to insult the map since Anet probably still hasn’t seen players feedback if all of my last solos were on this map.

Source: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/pvp/pvp/I-see-no-skyhammer-topics-on-front-page/first#post3706727

style.6173:

Archaon.6245:

ye you get 40 bags full of crap each tpvp win (Dunno in soloq, don’t give a kitten bout soloq xD)…just pile them up like tournament chests and you’re good to go..

account bound ofc

Just wait until this PvE bag is your only PvP reward.

#greatideasfromanet

Source: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/pvp/pvp/New-reward-for-tournament-win/

Amplifier.1704:

Wow this is exactly what the hardcore PvPers want!1!11oneoen! How did you guess? SERIOUSLY WHAT THE …. I’m speechless…

Source: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/pvp/pvp/Bags-of-Alliance-Goods-now-in-PvP/

Romek.4201:

and @Arenanet

plz stop this stupid trend to give double rewards in teamQ

teamQ sux hard and is no fun and to force your players to play this is bullkitten

Source: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/pvp/pvp/Bags-of-Alliance-Goods-now-in-PvP/

The point is that you can express dissent without making snide, sarcastic comments or spamming ?s and !s like they’re confetti at Mardi Gras.

Deli.1302:

No for WvW for obvious reasons.

Obvious reasons?

I assume you mean spying. For builds, this is addressed by not letting your build to be viewable.

However, for spying in enemy movement, it could be avoided by putting a delay on the spectator feed. If that’s too much of a technical obstacle, I’d be fine dropping WvW from this.

I’m not a fan of #2, but the rest sound solid.

Also, I’m still hoping that Spectator mode gets added to high end Solo Queue and Team Queue PvP games.

Agreed with OP: The necro changes in particular sound solid.

The pistol whip changes to break the skill into two abilities should be on the way, so I anticipate that will help things there.

SpecterMAT.7306:

Guys, when do you get reward chest and such?
Solo or Team arena? or where?

Solo and Team Arena wins reward chests.

Cynz.9437:

When you have bunch 4v5 in a row with “sweet” mix of skyhammer crap it is hard not to be toxic.

Not really…

If the game starts to get to you, here are a couple alternatives to posting immature rage posts on the forums:

- Turn off the computer.
– Watch something on TV.
– Go for a walk outside.
– Engage with your family/loved ones.
– Play a different game.
– Realize that your own personal frustration isn’t a burden to throw on someone else.

If you want to come to the forums and make a constructive criticism about these grievances, please do so, but that’s not really the issue here.

Empathetic Fighter.2065:

Dahkeus.8243:

Take a look at the posts around here…

If I were the devs, I certainly wouldn’t be in any hurry to serve up any new content for the entitled jerks that believe it’s their right to constantly berate the company giving them free updates on their $60 game.

If I were a dev, I wouldn’t have an ounce of motivation to quickly provide additional content.

If I were a dev, I wouldn’t have an ounce of motivation to try to deliver truly high quality content.

Because at the end of the day, they only thing they’ll get in return from the community is more complaints and more finger pointing.

You will have a hard time in your future life, if this is your mental attitude.

Please, don’t try to spin my point into some armchair lecture/personal attack.

It’s a proven fact that you get better efficiency and higher quality work out of people who aren’t filled with entirely negative and toxic environment, which is pretty much what these forums have turned into.

While criticism that points out shortcomings is important, what we have here has gone way beyond that.

If you want a dev community that is highly inspired to give you the best game they can provide, you have to treat them like human beings. If you want them to keep you in the loop of communication, you have to be able to communicate in a mature manner.

If you decide to act like an entitled brat, you’ll just get treated like a kid.

style.6173:

@OP:

What you do not understand is that part of the frustration is ANET’s own fault. The problem in general is their balance methodology. Their approach is as follows:

1. They see something in the meta that they want to change.
2. They make the change but end up over nerfing or over buffing something.

So, what is the logical next step? In the ANET world, it is not to fix #2. Instead they:
3. Change a whole series of other skills in order to compensate for the mistake in #2.

The issue is that balance will never be achieved with this methodology. Players start screaming on the forums for a fix to #2, but ANET doesn’t listen.

In other words, the criticisms are valid.

Whether the frustration is valid or not doesn’t mean that acting like a jerk is justified.

What the community here doesn’t seem to understand is that you can make criticisms without making personal attacks, name calling, or spewing toxic rhetoric.

Take a look at the posts around here…

If I were the devs, I certainly wouldn’t be in any hurry to serve up any new content for the entitled jerks that believe it’s their right to constantly berate the company giving them free updates on their $60 game.

If I were a dev, I wouldn’t have an ounce of motivation to quickly provide additional content.

If I were a dev, I wouldn’t have an ounce of motivation to try to deliver truly high quality content.

Because at the end of the day, they only thing they’ll get in return from the community is more complaints and more finger pointing.

Iason Evan.3806:

Going through all of these threads is showing me a few things. We as a community (sPvP) are getting pretty toxic. We need to tone it down. It’s past time to start focusing on the things we like about this game and keep our opinions to ourselves when they start getting personal toward each other and the devs. When the patch does hit we need to do our best to be constructive in our criticism.

I feel like you can’t grow a good community in this environment and this game definitely deserves a good environment for its players. I hope you guys join me in trying harder to be less toxic towards the devs and other players.

The game building part is on the devs, but the community being a good one is on us and we are doing a terrible job of being a good community . We can’t offer criticism to the devs without looking in the mirror and asking, “Am I really actually trying to make this a place that other gamers want to come and try this game out or am I a part of the problem?”

TL;DR Right now I feel like ArenaNet is doing a better job at making a quality game than we the players are of making a quality community

• “Of all the awkward people in your house or job there is only one whom you can improve very much.” ~ #CSLewis*

^ So much truth in this post. Thank you for saying this.

Also, to all the people saying “Well, we used to be decent human beings, but since we didn’t get what we wanted, we decided to be jerks instead”, that logic doesn’t hold up and the only thing it accomplishes is making things worse, not better.

Beast Sos.1457:

Dahkeus.8243:

You must be new to video games…

Well this is more about MMO games, not games in general. I played a couple MMOs and whenever I wanted something in them I would be able to get it. It wasnt dependant on my luck but on my effort/time spent.

What MMOs did you play?

Every single serious MMO available is pretty much designed around making players grind until they get a lucky drop that they need so that they can be geared enough for content.

At least in GW2, the only stuff that requires RNG for drops is just a cosmetic upgrade.

Please shut this thread down. It’s clear the PvP community has the maturity and entitlement issues of a 10 year old rich kid.

Sorry, but this is a bad bunker build and a bad dps build combined. If you want a DPS build, go with a meditation build like Itty Bitty Bunker’s build. If you want a bunker build, go with something like this.

Also, the signet heal is a weak choice compared to shelter since it just opens you to getting interrupted.

gesho.9468:

Dahkeus.8243:

Huh? That stun is tiny and has a terribly obvious pre-cast to show you that it’s coming.

duration is not the only value of the stun. how about interrupt?

1) My reply was to someone saying that the stun duration was long.

2) If you want to talk about the interrupt, then fine: The interrupt has always been there and it wasn’t OP before. Just because more people are using Pistol Whip doesn’t mean it became more powerful than it was before.

The Proposal – The spectator mode implemented with sPvP holds a lot of potential, which I believe has not been met. I propose that the spectator tools are expanded so that we can watch dungeon runs, WvW, and tournament PvP.

The Purpose – The purpose of this proposal is to fully utilize the spectator tool, which ArenaNet has put in a lot of time in effort to develop, and to expand it so that it can be appreciated and enjoyed by a larger player base.

The Process – To pull this off, the spectator mode would be implemented in the following areas as outlined:

PvE Dungeons

- The option to allow spectator mode should be provided to all members of the dungeon group so that no one is spectated against their will. This could with a yes/no prompt given at the start of the dungeon, similar to when a party member enters a personal story instance.

- Just as in PvP, players should have the option to not allow their build/gear to be shown if they wish.

- Putting up specific spectator cameras like the ones currently in sPvP maps may require more effort than it is worth to implement. However, allowing player-specific camera options only would still be fine.

WvW

- The option to spectate should be an option each player chooses individually. Spectators could then choose through a list of available players to view.

- Just as in PvP, players should have the option to not allow their build/gear to be shown if they wish.

- Putting up specific spectator cameras like the ones currently in sPvP maps may require more effort than it is worth to implement. However, allowing player-specific camera options only would still be fine.

sPvP Tournament Games

- Solo Queue and Team Queue sPvP games should also have the spectator mode available. Similar to GW1, this could be an option only open for viewing games with players at the top of the leaderboards.

The Payoff – By utilizing a feature already built in the game, ArenaNet could generate renewed interest in both the game and community with potentially minimal effort. I will admit that I do not know all the exact technical limitations of implementing this, but I do know that an engaged community keeps a game alive even when interest in the content would otherwise be waning. The spectator mode is a community tool which has the possibility to give a very large payoff in player interest on both a short term and long term basis.

Almost nothing has changed with the pistol whip build and all of a sudden the community is up in arms about it.

The only buff it got was a tiny reduction to the aftercast. At the same time, it also got a nerf since sigil of para doesn’t round up stun durations to the nearest second on this skill anymore.

This is pretty much proof that sometimes the community just gets up in arms about some of the most random stuff.

I would love to see raids in GW2. I think the reason raiding can work in GW2 is because it wouldn’t require the hellacious gear treadmill that games like WoW have.

Plans change as conditions change, so some variance from the projected is expected. Overall, I think they did pretty well on meeting what they set out to do.

ZilentNight.5089:

Dahkeus.8243:

Huh? That stun is tiny and has a terribly obvious pre-cast to show you that it’s coming.

Tiny? lol ur stunned for the entire duration of pistol whip after which the thief just teleports away, then rinse repeat…

Do me a favor…create a thief, go into the mists, then pistol whip a dummy.

After that, equip a sigil of paralyzation and do it again.

You’ll notice that the stun lasts 1/2 on an attack that’s about 1.5 seconds long and doesn’t noticeably change with a para sigil.

Huh? That stun is tiny and has a terribly obvious pre-cast to show you that it’s coming.

A big part of landing backstabs with any dagger spec is getting used to turning your character around 180 quickly so that you can backstab before the enemy gets away.

However, if you’re talking WvW, then I highly suggest getting Runes of the Traveler. They’re expensive, but worth every copper if you plan on roaming WvW.

Very few people seem to run D/D well. If you’re not watching for when you’re blinded, when enemy has aegis up, or if you can’t read your enemy for when they will dodge/block/evade/etc., then you will miss a lot of CnDs.

Also, very few people really know how to time their CnDs for repeating stealth and/or big burst. If you can get your timing right, you can CnD to stealth, basilisk, then CnD → Backstab to get much better burst than backstab alone.

Skills #3 and #4 are used relatively sparsely on D/D, but if you learn the weapon set well, you’ll know when it’s a good idea to use them. Death Blossom in particular is great for handling mesmer since it’s an evade that clears clones at the same time.