Showing Posts For DesertRose.2031:

help with ele might stacking

in Elementalist

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

- DesertRose.2031 im confused. u said that the staff ele is limited to 9 stacks of might. then u said that a staff ele can easily get 25 stacks. im confused

Staff Ele + LH Ele can easily get to 25 stacks of Might.
Staff Fire #2 is a fire field, and the third strike of Lightning Hammer #1 is a blast finisher. That means that together they generate 3 stacks of Might every ~4 seconds.

PvE Dps Build! Feedback wanted

in Warrior

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

This build is okay if you’re the third or forth warrior in a group.
Your team loses a significant amount of damage if you’re the only Warrior in your group and not bringing Empower Allies and banners.

help with ele might stacking

in Elementalist

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Your ability to stack Might with Staff are limited. Earth #2, Fire #2, Arcane Brilliance and Arcane Wave generate 9 stacks of Might, afterwards you’re limited to Arcane Brilliance and Arcane Wave.

In general it isn’t the Staff Ele’s job to stack Might but to provide fire fields. A LH Ele and a Staff Ele can easily get to 25 stacks of Might.

S/D or S/F builds for dungeons without LH?

in Elementalist

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Scepter lacks DPS, so it’s not advisable to use it without a conjured weapon for dungeons.
You could try Dagger/Focus or Dagger/Dagger instead:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/elementalist/Zelyhn-s-Advanced-D-F-PvE-Guide/first
http://dulfy.net/2014/07/11/gw2-elementalist-pve-class-guide-by-haviz-and-zelyhn/#Dagger_Builds

I use the following build for dungeons:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQJAoNhMMaZY3gPaABALcAYAcAGdDEnCyA1QA
The last utility slot is either Conjure Frostbow, Armor of Earth or Conjure Lighting Hammer.

Necro or Engine help

in Profession Balance

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

For pretty much any dungeon and fractal you want one Guardian for its defensive support, one Ele for its conjured weapons, Fury and Might and one Warrior for Empower Allies and its banners.
For some dungeons/fractals you want to have an additional Guardian or Memser for more reflects, Portal and/or boon strips. For some dungeons, mostly Arah with inexperienced groups, you want to have a Thief (or Engineer) for Stealth to make skipping easier.

So, your typical dungeon group has only 1-2 party slots left to be filled with whatever.
Necros have the issue that they don’t have a weapon with direct damage cleave, so their only direct damage AoEs comes from utility skills with relative long cooldown. Apart from Weakness they also don’t have much team support, and in most encounters Blind from Thief or Engineer is more useful. That’s why most players consider Necro a bad dungeon/fractal profession.
Engineers are a good pick for these party slots as they deal good damage and have a wide array of support. They have however the weakness that they are kind of a jack-of-all-trades, meaning they don’t excel at anything (aside from Vulnerability stacking, but that’s not needed as long as there’s FGS #4 + Vul on crit); another profession usually performs a little bit better.

If you have a dedicated dungeon group that already has all the bases covered both an Engineer is a good pick, and a well-played Necro doesn’t drag your team down by much.
However if you mostly aimed for doing dungeons with PUGs you’ll find parties much easier as a Guardian, Warrior or Ele.

how to sustain with gs?

in Warrior

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Dungeon bosses usually have a weak auto attack and one or more very damaging special attacks. Those special attacks will most often have discernible animations, create red circles, or both.
It important that you become able to read those tells and react accordingly; in most cases that means a dodge roll.

Greatsword #3 is an evade, so you can use it in addition to your dodges. Try equipping Signet of Stamina, and don’t active it; you’ll be able to dodge roll 50% more often, allowing you a greater margin of error.

Confused about HGH build.

in Engineer

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Switching attunements as an Ele or equipping kits and stow them away counts as switching weapons as well.
It also counts as activating a heal skill when you equip Med Kit.

Need Build Help

in Thief

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

I’ve originally written it for Engineers but the way how to acquire the best equipment is almost identical to Thieves:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Best-PvE-build-for-engineer-and-investment/first#post4260538
The difference is that you get an exotic Berserker Sword first, and then armor and other weapons.

For builds look here:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/thief/Best-compromise-damage-survivability/first#post4262605

Guardian Weapon: WvW and PvE

in Guardian

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Even for easier content Hammer is still pretty powerful because it deals only slightly less damage than Greatsword but has the benefit of permanent Protection, which is about equivalent to everyone wearing Knight armor. That makes it very good option for less organized groups, e.g. PUGs.
However Hammer constantly creates a light field which blocks other fields, limiting your team’s options to generate Might with the fire field/blast finisher combo.

Best compromise damage/survivability?

in Thief

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

A guild mate of mine run a Venom build once, iirc it looks like this:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQBbykoNNB/TkImI42fv2NLBA
Dunno where he put the last 2 trait points.

It allows you to heal your allies for 5150+1300+650 (+Healing Power from gear) every 36 seconds, or give your allies 6 stacks of Might before a fight.
Given the fact that you can get 3 stacks of Might for every Shortbow #2 in a fire field and you have to spend 12 trait points for the healing I’m not overly impressed by said build.

Where are these "Leaked" patch notes?

in Engineer

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

I’ve read the changes will be implemented in December; dunno if it’s true, though.

Guardian Weapon: WvW and PvE

in Guardian

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Best compromise damage/survivability?

in Thief

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Use Sword/Pistol.
Stand close to your target and use Pistol #5 every ~5 seconds. Common mobs in PvE and trash mobs in dungeons will be permanently blinded and cannot hit you.

Get Berserker trinkets and weapons, and Soldier armor. Gradually you should be able to read the tells of the bosses better and switch to Berserker armor. The Soldier armor can then still be used against world bosses and many structures as you cannot inflict critical hits against them, making Soldier just as good as Berserker.

As for builds, there is the all-out offensive build 5/6/0/x/x with 3 points in Acrobatics, 3 points in Trickery or 2 points in Trickery and 6 points in Deadly Arts.
A little more group-support orientated but still powerful build is 2/6/0/0/6 which focuses more on Steal.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAsaVk8MJBOBt9BqQC0NArG-e
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAsaVk8MNBNhs9jOR8O83yaFA

I know nothing

in Elementalist

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

If you want to speed-level, equip Staff and go into EotM (Edge of the Mists).

If you want to level in open PvE, go for Power, then Power+Precision, then Power+Precision+Ferocity gear.
Put your trait points into Fire Magic and Air Magic for Power, Precision and Ferocity.
Try Dagger/Dagger, Dagger Air #1 does good damage and has fairly decent range.

Best PvE build for engineer and investment?

in Engineer

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Ascended gear is account-bound on acquire, meaning you must craft it yourself if you want to have it.
However that means that any other character you have can also equip ascended gear you crafted, on condition that they can use the weapon respectively armor type.

Static Discharge for PvE still viable?

in Engineer

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Here’s a Rifle+SD build I’ve used before Modified Ammunition affected more than just Rifle skills:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fdAQFAUlUUpmqlcxtLseJidBN6usTgOARYrA
I don’t remember where I put the last 2 points, but it should give you a starting point.

<>

Maybe it’s not what you’re looking for but the meta Engineer build can also be played with SD:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fdAQFAUlUUpLr9ZxmKseNSaBNq7A6Xsi6+5JkgAA

Best PvE build for engineer and investment?

in Engineer

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Buy level 80 masterwork Berserker armor and trinkets in the trading post or craft them yourself.
Buy a level 80 exotic Giver pistol in the trading post.
Go to Explorer Gavbeorn Serpentslayer and buy the breathing apparatus with karma.
Buy 7 Superior Runes of the Flame Legion.

All the above should cost you only 6-8 gold.

Start doing Citadel of Flame, path 1 and 2 are very easy, and even with PUGs each only takes about 10-15 minutes. Do both paths daily, and after 11-12 days you’ll have enough tokens to buy yourself a full exotic Berserker armor in Lion’s Arch.
Buy 6 Scholar runes for your exotic armor, maybe a 7th one for your underwater headgear.
Do CoF a few times more to buy yourself an exotic Berserker Rifle.

To speed getting your exotic armor and Rifle up you can also do Crucible of Eternity daily. Path 1 is easy if you stay close to Alpha, path 2 and 3 aren’t much harder once you’ve learned to time your dodges. Again you can trade the tokens in Lion’s Arch for level 80 exotic armor and weapons.

Don’t bother with exotic trinkets, go straight for ascended ones: Ascended equipment
You can get all trinkets with Laurels.
It’s a little faster to get rings by doing fractals and accessories by doing Guild Missions, though.
The easiest way to get an ascended backpiece is by doing fractals: Prototype Fractal Capacitor

Get your Huntsman crafting discipline to 500 and craft yourself an ascended Berserker Rifle.
If you’re planning to do a lot of high-level fractals get your Leatherworker crafting discipline to 500, too, otherwise exotic armor is sufficient.

The 6/6/0/2/0 build is very newbie-friendly and good for any dungeon, once you have more experience you can change it to your needs:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fdAQFAUlUUpEr9ZxdLseNSbBB6IOi2KqM+5CEgjC-TRRBwAX3fU+dT9H86AA8AAMrEEA-e

(edited by DesertRose.2031)

PvE DPS Rotation

in Engineer

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

It’s hard to come up with an ideal DPS skill rotation for Engineers because it has too many variables (e.g. what combination of utility skills are you using, Pistol/Shield or Rifle, FireForged Trigger, Hair Trigger or neither, Short Fuse or not), and because Engineers have a lot more freedom in which order they want to use their skills due to their kits.

Skills you should use as often as possible are Rifle #5, Grenade Kit #2, Grenade Kit #4, Grenade Barrage; depending on your last utility slot also Elixir Gun #4, Surprise Shot (Rifle Turret), Mine Field and Detonate Mine Field (Throw Mine), or Tool Kit #3 and Throw Wrench. Theoretically you also want to use Rifle #3 on recharge, but in my experience it’s much less hassle to just use it when you use Rifle #5.
Depending on how many Vulnerability stacks the mobs already have you want to use either Grenade Kit #1 or Bomb Kit #1 as your auto attack.

If your teammates profit from fire fields (e.g. LH Eles or Hammer Guardians) use Bomb Kit #2 on recharge, otherwise wait for the cooldown of your own blast finisher.

Returning player - Spec/Gear advice

in Guardian

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

To learn more about the current meta builds:
http://www.dtguilds.com/forum/m/6563292/viewthread/12501056-dnt-guardian-build-5914

AH Guardian is still a powerful build and afaik still widely used in WvW, however most of the PvE playerbase has realized that a tank/healer isn’t necessary, and as a result most Guardians run Berserker and a rather offensive trait distribution, e.g. 4/5/0/0/5.
Shorter recharge for consecrations and/or shouts are usually the only defensive traits players pick nowadays.

Guardian or ele advice

in Profession Balance

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

PvE:
Ele:
http://www.dtguilds.com/forum/m/6563292/viewthread/12515254-dnt-elementalist-builds
Look at the videos, and try to do the skill rotations in the HotM (you’ll be level 80 there) yourself. You’ll see if you find it manageable and enjoyable.

Guardian:
http://www.dtguilds.com/forum/m/6563292/viewthread/12501056-dnt-guardian-build-5914
The skill rotations are written down in the guide under “Builds”. Again, you can try them in the HotM.

What's life like for an Engineer main?

in Engineer

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

I’m not sure if you know but Engineers DO have stability and reflect walls. Toolbelt skills of both Elixir R and Elixir U do those things. Also if you are speced into Elixirs they will give Might AND cleanse conditions. That sounds pretty awesome to me. AoE Might+Condicleanse as well as vital effects.

You’re right, technically Engineers have access to Stability and reflects/absorbs, and at certain points of a dungeon it can be very convenient to have an Engineer with Elixir U and/or Elixir B in your group. However in practice you don’t take an Engineer with you for those elixirs.
Engineer’s Stability and reflects/absorbs lack the instantaneous cast time of the Mesmer’s ones and the high duration/recharge ratio of the Guardian’s ones. E.g. to provide the same duration of protection against projectiles as a single Guardian with Wall of Reflection and Shield of the Avenger can achieve you need 3-4 Engineers with Elixir U.

What's life like for an Engineer main?

in Engineer

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

PvE:
Engineer has no crucial abilities like reflects, Stability, Aegis etc., so it’s basically a “just DPS profession”. For such a profession there are only 2-3 spots left in a dungeon group, and one of these spots will always be filled with a Warrior and its banners and EA.
The Engineer is actually a superb pick for one of these last slots as it’s not only able to deal a considerable amount of damage but also provides a lot of less crucial support, like e.g. Blind, Stealth, condition remove, and Might. However they are few actually good Engineer players, and thus even fewer non-Engineer players know that an Engineer can actually be good.
Especially those dreaded Flamethrower Engineers have given the Engineer a bad reputation, just like those bearbows have given Rangers.

Shortbow with what else?

in Ranger

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

pve everything is power -> zerk, yet shortbow sux in like 99% of the pve content :x just sayin

How bad is it then?

I have tested shortbow a few times against sword, which supposed to be the best power weapon rangers can have. Shortbow only very lightly lesser dps than a sword…

Did Shortbow similar damage with or without Bleed? A pure Power weapon gains more from buffs like Fury, Banner of Discipline, Spotter, etc.
Did you hit just one target? In dungeons you usually stack mobs, so if you can just hit one target your damage will be much lower than Sword.

In open PvE bows are perfectly viable, in group play not so much.

Hammer racism in pve

in Warrior

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Not really. Why? Because instead of trying to CC a stack of trash to death, you can just let a thief throw down perma blinds while you release superior-to-hammer dps.

This seems to be a common theme amongst GS fanboys. “I’ll do what I want and someone else can do all the work.”

More like “Let a certain task be performed by a profession that exceeds at it, not by profession that’s just mediocre at said task and has to make a much bigger sacrifice to perform said task”.

You are free to use Hammer if it’s more fun for you, but your teammates are also free to kick you out of their team if they value their team’s efficiency more important than your personal enjoyment.

A flaw that destroys GW2

in Ranger

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Or they could make the AI not stupid enough fall for LoS, and instead of giving bosses virtually no auto attacks and one-hit skills a threatening auto attack and slightly more powerful skills.
However it would require that all dungeons and bosses are redesigned, we won’t see any major changes to existing content, but maybe to new one.

What's your opinion about the Thief?

in Thief

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Pistol #5 blinds your target and creates a smoke field around you that blinds every foe in it. Unless the mobs are immune to blind (Unshakable) you should be able to kill them without resistance.
Sword #1 cleaves and can be used to kill multiple foes; together with Pistol #5 you can easily dispatch groups of mobs with little troubles.
That’s why Sword/Pistol is so strong in open PvE and against trash mobs in dungeons.

Against bosses switching to Dagger/Dagger might make more sense as it deals more damage, however it is more error-prone which is why many suggest Sword/Pistol even against them.

The two meta builds in PvE are 5/6/0/0/2 and 2/6/0/0/6.
http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQFQVEWONBOhs9hKJ8KquBA
http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAsalk8MxypJoJktf0Ji3Z/WWrAA

Both can be played with either Dagger/Dagger or Sword/Pistol but the 5/6 one is slightly better with Dagger/Dagger.
For the 5/6 build you put the last point either in Deadly Arts or in Trickery for more Initiative. Traits in Deadly Arts are either Dagger Training (Deadly Arts IX) or Improvisation (Deadly Arts VII) (+10% when using conjured weapons from an Ele). Take both if you have 6 points in Deadly Arts.
In the 2/6 build you can switch Flanking Strikes (Trickery IV) with Thrill of the Crime (Trickery V) if you like it more.

Ready Up - Engineer changes

in Engineer

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

As for the damage component of Napalm, critting for 192 is laughable, and with the size/shape of the fire field it’s hard to hit anything with it at all.

In dungeons you stack against a corner or wall most of the time, so hitting with Flamethrower #4 won’t be too hard.
From your screenshot you can see he has about 550 condition damage and 200% crit damage, do we know how much Power he had?

Ready Up - Engineer changes

in Engineer

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Does anyone think the changes to FT change anything for the pve/fractal grenade/bomb/vuln stack meta?

It depends on how much damage Flamethrower #4 will deal (“Flame Blast now delivers strikes on each pulse.”; they are talking about Napalm here); together with the 33% damage buff to Flamethrower #1 it might surpass the damage of Grenade Kit and Bomb Kit.
Even if not, Flamethrower will become an alternative to Elixir Gun if you don’t need a stun breaker because of its blast finisher with a ~6s cooldown.

Tips on PVE ele

in Elementalist

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

There are some groups that only accept heavy armored professions, but in general Warrior, Guardian and Elementalist are your best bets if you want to find a dungeon PUG.

Elementalists can not only generate 3 stacks of Might with a blast finisher in a fire field, but with Persisting Flames (Fire Magic XI) also generate Fury. Therefor one of their main roles in dungeons is to buff the party with Fury and 12+ stacks of Might while dealing decent (Dagger) or good to very good damage (Lightning Hammer).
Against many bosses Fiery Greatsword can be used to burst them down very quickly, and Frostbow is useful in certain encounters (mainly if you have to destroy structures).
Staff is an alternative when you already have a Might stacker in your party, or someone can make good use of your fire fields.

Read:
http://dulfy.net/2014/07/11/gw2-elementalist-pve-class-guide-by-haviz-and-zelyhn/
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/elementalist/Zelyhn-s-Advanced-D-F-PvE-Guide/first
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/elementalist/Guide-DPS-Elementalist-for-PvE/first

DPS guardian

in Guardian

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

This is not entirely true. The guardian is expected to bring some sort of defence in some situations like stability or reflect.

Defensive Support = Wall of Reflection, Hallowed Ground, Purging Flames, “Retreat!”, “Stand your Ground!”, Virtue of Courage, and to a lesser degree Shield of the Avenger, Absolute Resolution and perma-Protection from Hammer

The Guardian’s defensive support is certainly not necessary to finish most dungeons, but it makes them much less error-prone.

Well in PvP I use the meditation guard build. That’s what I plan on using when I get to 80. How do I bring team support with that?

I expected a build like that when you said “DPS Guardian”. Meditations are rather bad in group play, you’ll help your team (and yourself) much better with the skills I’ve listed above.

Thief's role in dungeons?

in Thief

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Ask your group if they mind if you change your character at the end of a dungeon, then switch to your Thief to get a free ~3/4 level.

If you want to take part in the dungeons regularly, bring Sword/Pistol for the AoE Blind, it makes trash mobs much easier.

In general the Thief’s job is to provide Stealth (Smoke Screen + Shortbow #2 and other blast finisher, and then Shadow Refuge), AoE Blind (Pistol #5) and conjured weapon user (only if you’re level 80, though).

What to chose?

in Warrior

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

PvE:
For dungeons and fractals Berserker, and for world bosses Soldier (because you can’t crit them, and Toughness and Vitality helps you more than Healing and Condition Damage).
Get Berserker first, cause ~6% higher stats in a 5-man group have a bigger impact than ~6% higher stats in a sometimes 100+ zerg.

Healing doesn't scale well

in Elementalist

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

What people often mean by saying “Healing doesn’t scale well” is that dungeon bosses deal so much damage that your improved heal compared to a normal heal will hardly make a difference.
Vitality and/or Toughness or full-out offensive stats (Power, Precision, Ferocity) have been proven more efficient to survive a boss encounter until it’s dead.

DPS guardian

in Guardian

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

I suspect OffedPez has written Power in capitals to express that you should gear with Power as its main attribute, meaning it’s higher than the other bonuses.
And yes, follow his advice.

Before you spend too much time on your “DPS Guardian” realize that it will be expected from Guardians to bring defensive support in group play. If you just want to smash things and give your team offensive support or no support try out Warrior or Thief.

PvE Condi Ranger Build [Feedback Wanted]

in Ranger

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

I have to reinforce J Eberle warning:
Don’t get ascended condition damage gear if you only want to use it in PvE. You’ll regret it eventually (unless you have so much gold that you can give each of your character 2-3 full sets of ascended gear).

Regarding your 10% damage difference:
Have you taken into account that Ele+Guardian can keep up Burning virtually permanently, and thus your Burning only deals ~500 damage, not ~800?
Have you taken into account that Warrior, Memser and possibly Engineers also inflict Bleed, and for every stack of Bleed they apply your Bleeds only deal ~100 per stack, not ~150?

PvE Condi Ranger Build [Feedback Wanted]

in Ranger

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Your language is a bit extreme, but this is a great case in favor of build #1 and #2. Guardians have only 25% burn uptime [1s burn / 5 attacks (@ 1.2 attacks/s)].

Radiance 3 will refresh Virtue of Justice anytime you kill a foe; that means 16+ seconds of Burning per killed foe. Against trash mob that means constant Burning, and against bosses more than 50% burning uptime.

Juggernaut trait/ flamethrower issues

in Engineer

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

@Kain Francois: The following thread might be of interest to you:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/engineer/Flamethrower-what-buffs-would-devs-give-it/first#post4210130
In said thread people theorycraft how Flamethrower could be made useful.

I like your Napalm idea, that would really improve Flamethrower.

PVE Staff build help

in Elementalist

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

You shouldn’t use Staff in dungeons unless you have someone in your party who can make good use of your fire fields, e.g. a LH Ele.

In open PvE I’m most comfortable with a Staff, I use the following build:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQFAWhMMaZW4wuBd0AEACxkFDHIygivXD-ThRGwAAuAADV+Na/BK6AIp+jUlgAA-e
6 points in Fire Magic to maximize the damage of the fire attunement, 4 points in Water Magic for the (self-)heal and condition remove, and 2 points in Arcana for the greater Staff AoE. I ditch the last 2 points into Arcana as well for Vigor and more dodge rolls.
Signet of Air is good for running, as the above build cannot keep up Swiftness permanently; the other utility slots are just a preference thing.

armor slots (advice)

in Engineer

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

I wouldn’t bother with runes other than the ones you salvage from masterwork/rare items until you get exotic armor.

The cheapest option would the Superior Rune of the Flame Legion; with Bomb Kit #2 and the bonus from 6 Explosives and the rune set itself foes will be burning (almost) constantly, giving you the 7% damage boost. 6-7 runes (one for your under water head gear) cost less than 1g the last time I checked.

Engie 2nd highest DPS?

in Engineer

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

I don’t like EG in dungeons. (…) #4 is a nice short burst, but its channel time and the potential to break the stack unjustifies it.

You can cancel the self-push back of EG #4 (if that’s what you mean by channel time) by swapping weapons/dropping bundles.

Question about all-purpose builds

in Elementalist

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

There no real reason to run an all-purpose build as you can change your build anytime.

For PvE, the build Purple Miku presented with the changes Zelyhn Lekovitch has mentioned is a very good newbie build.
For WvW, put 6 points in Fire, use a Staff and run around with a Zerg.

Viable conjure ele?

in Elementalist

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Pretty much every Ele build makes use of Frost Bow and Fiery Greatsword at certain points in dungeons.
However if you want to use a conjured weapon as your main weapon you’ll want to use Lighting Hammer (and switch to Frost Bow or Fiery Greatsword if the situation calls for it).

Take a look at the Secpter+Hammer builds:
http://www.dtguilds.com/forum/m/6563292/viewthread/12515254-dnt-elementalist-builds

Best class mechanic?

in Profession Balance

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Why Arenanet didn’t just use the system they had from GW1 and make the Thief the master of combination attacks like the Assassin is beyond me. The initiative system is far more powerful and Thieves simply have way too many options to restore initiative to make the resource management a balance to the mechanic.

It is generally accepted that the Assassin is the worst designed profession of GW1. Low auto attack damage combined with skills that can be used only in succession had the result that all you needed to play it as to press 12345 every 25-35 seconds.
You really don’t want to have a profession designed like the GW1 Assassin in any game ever again.

Viability of spirit builds?

in Ranger

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

All On Hit spirits expect Frost Spirit have an ICD. That makes them rather weak in PvE.

Organized dungeon groups often take 1 Ranger with them because no other profession can provide Spotter and Frost Spirit.
However PUGs often times will kick a Ranger because their support isn’t that impressive, and the risk to get a Bow Ranger is too high.

Dungeon Ele Build

in Elementalist

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Your build must be missing Conjure Lightning Hammer, as your choice of weapons and trait distribution are not making much sense without it.
If you are confident not to get downed and have another party member provide Fury your build is sound.

If you find yourself get downed a lot and thus losing your Lighting Hammer try a Fresh Air build:
http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQJAodhMMaZW4wuBfkACAW4AQF4AIOFkBqhA-e
http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQJAodhMMaZWAxuBfkACAW4AwA4AIOFkBqhA-e
(The remaining 2 points can either go into Earth Magic for 10% more damage or into Arcane Power for perma-Vigor)

If you already have a Lightning Hammer Ele in your party a Staff Ele is also a good option:
http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQJAodhMMaZWAxuBfkACAW4AwA4AIOFkBqhA-e
(Last 2 points either go into Air Magic for +150 Ferocity or Arcane Power for perma-Vigor)

Is an FT build 'doable'? If so, how's mine?

in Engineer

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Flamethrower is actually better than ever. Back when the game was released Flamethrower only did about 1/3 to 1/2 of the damage of Grenade Kit, after some buffs to the Flamethrower (mostly that its #2 can now be manually detonated) and several harsh nerfs to the Grenade Kit its damage is about 2/3 to 3/4 of the Grenade Kit or Bomb Kit.

The reason why even die-hard Flamethrower fanboys are no longer advice to use it is because they eventually learned how to run dungeons properly, and thus realized how bad it is for dungeons.

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Don’t use Celestial gear in PvE.
Berserker gives you a lot more damage, and Soldier about the same damage, but somewhere between 20-30% more survivability.

Your build is pretty much the best you can get.
You need 6 points in Firearms for Modified Ammunition, and 4 points in Alchemy for Deathly Mixture. Thus you don’t have enough points left to reach Enduring Damage (Tools 5), so ECM (Alchemy 5) is the best option.
With only 3 points left 2 are well spend in Tools for perma-Swiftness via Speedy Kits.
The last point can go to Alchemy and getting a random trait from the Alchemy trait line.

New to engineer

in Engineer

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

Please help with some build for engineer.

in Engineer

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

PVE Ranger build

in Ranger

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

The most efficient way to do most dungeons is to stack at certain points, lure the mobs to you and then kill them with AoEs.

Not being in melee range is a bad idea as you otherwise don’t get buffs from your teammates (e.g. Empower Allies or Might from blast finishers in fire fields) and you might pull mobs away from the rest of your team.

Not having AoEs reduces the speed your team kills trash mobs, however it’s not much of a problem if only 1 or 2 don’t have AoEs/cleave. The problem with Bow Rangers is that their single target damage is nothing to write home about, either.

Sadly, the only good build for Rangers for group content is 1H Sword+Greatsword, Spotter and traited Frost Spirit.

Best all around profession pve/wvw

in Profession Balance

Posted by: DesertRose.2031

DesertRose.2031

WvW:
No clue.

Open PvE:
Engineers and Thieves. Engineers have a permanent 33% speed boost, Thieves have a permanent 25% speed boost and a frequently useable shadow step with Shortbow #5.
In addition both can stealth themselves to get skill points guarded by very strong mobs.
All other profession expect Mesmers have at least a permanent 25% speed boost.
Mesmers are the worst because they don’t have a permanent speed boost (unless you use Rune of the Traveler).

Dungeons:
With their very strong defensive support Guardians are one of the core professions for dungeons. Eles make a lot of fights much easier with Frost Bow and Fiery Greatsword.
Mesmers have some tricks in their bag that make some events in dungeons easier and faster but are hardly ever needed. Thieves, Mesmers and Engineers can provide stealth to make skipping mobs easier.
Warriors provide great offensive support with their Banners and Empower Allies. They are also relatively easy to play well, so PUGs like them.
To sum it up, Guardian, Ele and Warrior are the most sought after professions for dungeons, and nobody wants Necros.

So, you properly want to play Guardian or Warrior.