Guild Wars 2

Folks,

I’ve been on this endless quest to find a class/build that “fits” my personality and haven’t been all that successful – until now…

I never really gave my respect to the S/D Thief because it always looked too “glass” and easy to kill. That was until I’ve dueled several of them on my condi Warrior, medi Guardian, shatter Mesmer, etc, etc, and freaking LOST! I could usually get them down to about 20-25% health and then they either stealth/regen or kill me in one massive burst. I have to give ya’ll some respects there.

Anyways, I’m really trying to put some effort into learning this even though it’s not the “meta” anymore because it appears to be very effective in WvW/PvP, and even PvE without too many changes.

With that being said, I’ve posted my version of the build below and would really like your thoughts on if I’m gearing this correctly. I’m trying to balance out the zerker/valkyrie items based upon what I currently have available or can easily get. I also went with the Melandru runes as Strength runes are just way out of my budget.

My Current Setup]

Any thoughts or suggestions on how to survive would be great!

Thanks, as always,

-Lexi

Zackie.8923:

if you think that you will get banned, then having another account at 10bucks is a good backup

LOL! That’s pretty messed up.

Just a flesh wound.3589:

There are 5 main reasons I can think of.

That’s a pretty good list there and gives me something to think about. I currently have maxed out my characters on my main account and so, I won’t be able to test the revenant when it comes out. I figured this might be an easy solution to that problem.

I also have a crap-ton of ascended trinkets that I share through my characters. If I have a guild bank between 2 accounts, would I be able to share those ascended items that way?

Yeah, I wasn’t certain about that tankish build so I really appreciate the comments. I have always thought that to be successful in WvW that you need around 2.8K armor as to not get too squishy. I’ve even seen a few “celestial” ele’s go for knights armor in both chest and legs and then supplement this with a celestial ring or another trinket.

Is that 2.8k threshold a requirement for the ele as well?

UseMell.5468:

I only play one class. I always have in every MMO, I can’t stand starting over.

This is a good point here and brings up my biggest question with GW2 – Is there 1 class that you can play for every aspect of the game, make limited changes to gear, and still be effective?

I have 5, almost 6 80’s now and I’ve still never been able to answer that question.

Hello folks!

With the news that GW2 will be having a 75% off sale next week, I was wondering what the benefits would be of buying another account and hoped that you all might be able to explain how this works. I had figured it would be nice to get the additional daily chests and it’s easier for me to craft things like celestial gear but beyond this, I’m not sure what other options would make it worth it. I’ve heard that I can create a guild bank between my accounts and swap ascended gear that way.

Any help would be great!

Oh, and here is the link to the sale info I saw: GW2 75% off sale.

Last question, I swear! (well… for now).

I ran across this “tanky” build below and was wondering if you all have played something like this or seen it used before. The armor and resistance to conditions looks to be pretty nice for WvW.

Tank Roaming

Thanks for the help Iris! The rest of the gear looks “ok” though with the combinations I’m using? I don’t have full celestial on everything but I have about 11 different ascended trinkets now from about everything you can think of.

Thanks for all the responses folks! I was playing around with a level 1 ele last night in PvP and it does feel much more effective than back when I was playing one. Strange that in the games I played I was always the only ele in the match.

Just wondering, below is the gear I currently have available should I chose to level one to 80. The armor rating is pretty low from what I’m used to in a “sustain” build but I guess the skills make up for that.

Would this armor combo work well enough? Current Set

Neko.9021:

But I’d suggest against rolling flavor of the month if you don’t actually like the class. Stick to Mes and War if those are what you like.

Thanks for the info! My old ele was actually the most fun of any class to play but it just felt underwhelming compared to what others could do. It does sound more viable now which makes me wish I never deleted mine.

I used to play a D/D ele back in the day only to delete her for my mesmer. Back then, it felt like I had to go through a ton of work just to put out average damage on my target and so I pretty much just gave up. Recently I had several duels with D/D celestial ele’s and I lost every one of them no matter what character I was playing. In the close duels, they either had so much regen that my sustain eventually failed or they would just use FGS, ran away, and reset the fight.

I looked on the metabattle site and notice that they are recommended for both PvP and WvW roaming. Did they get a few buffs in the last several month or do I just completely suck now? Are they really that effective to be on the top of the list?

Thanks!

-Lexi

Reverence.6915:

Note that Tap Dat Mouse’s builds are all bad. I mean, all of them.

If you’re roaming in WvW, shout guardian is one of the worst ways to go about it. Instead, you should be using a meditation build which focuses on self sustain and high burst damage.

I went back and changed my build around based upon your guidance. Is this pretty much what you’re talking about: DPS Medi

Sorel.4870:

FinalPatriot.8034:

I probably should admit that I created a turret engi simply because of how often it’s the daily and, lets be honest, I can drop turrets, go take a nap, and still win.

I will, however, be deleting her once the Revenant is available.

Why? Try a condi build, and once you’re comfortable enough, try a celestial or a berserker build. Engineer is a fun profession!

Honestly, I just never “felt” comfortable with the class and don’t much care for the look of all the kits. Some of those skills are a ton of fun to mess around with – especially in EoTM where you can kick folks off the walkways.

Subutex.2416:

My favorite so far is The Blazing Light

I always really liked that one too because of how hard it is to earn. I have no idea how many times I did that last boss fight just to earn that title. I honestly cheered IRL.

I probably should admit that I created a turret engi simply because of how often it’s the daily and, lets be honest, I can drop turrets, go take a nap, and still win.

I will, however, be deleting her once the Revenant is available.

Folks,

First of all, I posted this on the Guardian tab as well but considering so many of you all in this thread have probably fought against this type of Guardian, I figured it would also be a good spot to ask for advice. I created this Guard simply because I was so bored of my Warrior and really wanted to try a heavy melee class that was similar to my old Paladin from WoW.

I’ve been playing around with this “Legendary Guardian” build created by Nhymx from Tap Dat Mouse and would really like some thoughts from you all as to what I can do to better improve. The build in my link (and in the attachment) is based upon my current gear and somewhat limited because I can’t craft ascended armor and don’t have loads of gold available.

Legendary Guardian 3.0 Build Outline

CONCEPT-The basic idea of this build is to create a great amount of regen (more than the warrior signet), constantly apply blinds, have 4 dodge rolls every 10 seconds, almost ignore conditions, and maintain a high DPS on the target.

MY EXPERIENCE – I’ve been dueling and using this as a roaming build in WvW and I tend to get very well in 1v1 or 1v2 duels but I really struggle against being kited, LB Power Rangers, and a well geared Celestial D/D Ele.

Against LB Rangers - I keep trying to time my “Hold the Line” against Rangers but for some reason, I never am able to reflect their #2 LB ability. Perhaps a bug?

Against Celestial D/D Ele – I just don’t know how to lock them down or interrupt their healing well enough to overcome their massive amounts of regen. I can duel one almost endlessly but at some point, I just can’t maintain enough pressure to down them. I’m pretty sure this is a skill problem on my end and not from the build itself.

Against Kiting – Honestly, I’m at a loss here. Without Traveler’s Runes, I tend to feel rather slow in WvW and have been kited to death a few times by Rangers and even a Thief. Any suggestions?

OVERALL – I’m liking the build as it feels like I can go into almost any situation and be fairly effective but I’m not sure if the problems I’m having are all because of my poor skill or if there are holes in the build that I’m missing. Still, being able to do PvP, WvW, and some PvE questing with the same build/gear is a real nice bonus.

Thanks for the help!

-Lexi

Panncakez.1290:

I’ve tried this build myself, how furious I was when a thief just swapped to SB and started 1 and 3 spam. Problem is that guardian is the only melee-based class with no access to movespeed buff, it’s just irritating when target simply walks out of your melee range, and your only options are either scepter, or two gap closers on 10 and 15s cooldown.

And that’s the main reason what I’ve not fully committed to this character because of the obvious and well-known weakness. I had thought about dropping in that signet that knocks the target down for 3 seconds but then I give up a source of boons and condi cleanse.

In a semi-closed environment, this Guardian build is amazing. Out in the open – well, it’s a pain.

Folks,

I’ve been playing around with this “Legendary Guardian” build created by Nhymx from Tap Dat Mouse and would really like some thoughts from you all as to what I can do to better improve. The build in my link (and in the attachment) is based upon my current gear and somewhat limited because I can’t craft ascended armor and don’t have loads of gold available.

Legendary Guardian 3.0 Build Outline

CONCEPT-The basic idea of this build is to create a great amount of regen (more than the warrior signet), constantly apply blinds, have 4 dodge rolls every 10 seconds, almost ignore conditions, and maintain a high DPS on the target.

MY EXPERIENCE – I’ve been dueling and using this as a roaming build in WvW and I tend to get very well in 1v1 or 1v2 duels but I really struggle against being kited, LB Power Rangers, and a well geared Celestial D/D Ele.

Against LB Rangers - I keep trying to time my “Hold the Line” against Rangers but for some reason, I never am able to reflect their #2 LB ability. Perhaps a bug?

Against Celestial D/D Ele – I just don’t know how to lock them down or interrupt their healing well enough to overcome their massive amounts of regen. I can duel one almost endlessly but at some point, I just can’t maintain enough pressure to down them. I’m pretty sure this is a skill problem on my end and not from the build itself.

Against Kiting – Honestly, I’m at a loss here. Without Traveler’s Runes, I tend to feel rather slow in WvW and have been kited to death a few times by Rangers and even a Thief. Any suggestions?

OVERALL – I’m liking the build as it feels like I can go into almost any situation and be fairly effective but I’m not sure if the problems I’m having are all because of my poor skill or if there are holes in the build that I’m missing. Still, being able to do PvP, WvW, and some PvE questing with the same build/gear is a real nice bonus.

Thanks for the help!

-Lexi

Ragnarox.9601:

all or nothing

That’s really lame and the reason I haven’t bought a set yet. Why can’t these be like the old armor skins where you could mix and match with other armor sets?

Can you wear just a few portions of the set with other armor or is it an all or nothing set?

Coldnemessis,

Do you find that your build works well for PvP? I’d like to play around with it a bit before I consider changing out gear sets – again. I’m so used to having around 2.9-3k+ armor on my warrior that it would be a huge change to go to more of a glass build.

Also, why go with the aristocracy runes as you’re never really using a heal ability?

Considering how much cash Anet would make if these came back, one has to ask why they haven’t re-released them into the game?

With the Xpack coming out “sometime” in the future, have any of you heard yet if there will be additional character customization options available as well? I’ve held onto one of the kits for some time now in the hopes that we would get additional hair styles or other options to make our characters more unique. As a RP player at heart, anything that makes my character look less like another player’s character is a good thing. I just hope we don’t have to wait until the Xpack to see these changes implemented.

I’ve heard rumors that a new patch with additional character customization will be released mid-April but nothing confirmed. Nothing I’ve read has mentioned any specifics on the new options.

Perhaps I’m missing something but as someone who plays a Mesmer as my main character, it takes a good bit of practice to really master the class. I’ve been playing a Mesmer since right after launch and I learn new tricks all the time. Crap, I still get my butt kicked by folks who know how to counter my tricks.

The Mesmer is a pretty easy class to defeat if you understand their mechanics and how they think. It’s the Mesmer that knows how to blend in with his/her clones that you have to watch out for. If the player knows how to “mesmer,” then you’re probably screwed.

Hmm… My mesmer runs around in PvP in just the universal underwear in the hopes of distracting folks long enough so my team members can kill them. Perhaps I should be using this junk instead.

“Oh look, I dropped something!”

Not sure that would work…

I have a perplexity thief that uses scorp wire and while it’s very effective in duels, it also get’s kinda boring at times. I also find the build to be pretty lacking in versatility as it’s so focused on 1v1 or 1v2 that you end up in a very limited role. It is very effective though.

Course, p/d builds in general get boring fast.

Coldnemessis.2153:

FinalPatriot this is what i been using hybrid on my warrior.

This may be a stupid question but w/o sig of stamina, how you are surviving against heavy condi burst classes? Also, you’re armor is pretty low, don’t you find that to be a problem against a glass build?

huntroll.1489:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fJAQNAscTjMd04ZhHWhwJagkgC7onBXDgHQZVsFA-TlyCABOoEEgTAAK6DMwEEWK5uR9nsUOMz+DS8IAm+IAQKAYWDA-w

Thanks for posting this Huntroll!

@ OP,

Honestly, I’ve rarely seen such comments from folks in GW2 as I have always said that this is the friendliest community of MMO players I’ve seen. Even on the forums, where things can get heated at times, most people tend to be much more helpful and considerate of each other. From someone who used to play WoW and SWTOR, this place is like Sunday worship compared to those games.

@ OP,

I’ve seen folks that were very effective with this build (or similar) but to be honest, I’ve never liked it all that much. The axe is just too predictable and anyone who really knows what there are doing can avoid it. Vaanas used to play a similar build in WvW and she did an amazing job with it though.

Hello again everyone!

After testing multiple builds for my other characters, I’ve finally come back to my warrior and settled on this wacky hybrid build that I’ll post below. The build itself is taken from a not-so popular roaming build though I’ve changed the gear and concept around quite a bit. The idea is provide decent direct damage with the condi addition while still having enough survivability to feel “tanky.” The limitation I’ve found is that with just the sword leap, the mobility is pretty lacking. Still, being able to use the off-hand sword to deflect is fun as most ranger’s I’ve seen fall into the 1112111 trap and almost kill themselves.

Anyways, can you “smart” folks look at this and give me a few suggestions? The build is based on the gear I currently have.

Hybrid S/S Roamer

I too have had my thief since the early days but I’ve grown bored with the P/D celestial build and just started playing around again with my hybrid warrior. In the last few days since I changed, I’ve not lost a single duel and really enjoy the versatility of the warrior.

Love the video. I always learn so much by watching how you play.

Kasteros.9847:

Just learn to play? U can kill every class with every other class. It isn’t a problem lol. That u run healing guard show that u don’t know a thing about solo roaming and duels, cos it is obvious that support class will lose agianst full power class unless u know how to maintain ur skills and avoid enemy’s skills.

L2P is kinda harsh but probably true as well. My Guard is my newest character and honestly, I am still learning the class. I won’t deny that I don’t really know what I’m doing on my Guard.

I do struggle with my Mesmer with burst condi classes though I did just have a great duel against a Necro where I was down to less than 2k health and came back to win. I just need to do a better job of understanding their rotations. The Memser is probably the most fun I’ve had in GW2 but I think the skill cap is pretty high?

On my Warrior, I’ve never lost a duel since changing to my new roaming build. I’ve got some close calls but haven’t lost yet. This build just doesn’t give me much room to escape should that blob show up. What do you all think of this Hybrid S/S Warrior build? Oh, and this is my actual build w/ gear being used.

You’re happily roaming through your beloved T1 or T2 server with you ever-so-epic looking gear with one goal in mind – find another solo roamer and DESTROY HIM! Unfortunately, you didn’t notice the other epic solo roamer and get the crap kicked out of you! As you lay on the ground watching this guy dance over your corps, you find yourself saying….

“If I was only on my OP warrior, thief or whatever right now, I’d have totally kicked that guy’s -” well, you know.

I started on my T1 server shortly after GW2 launched and loved WvW since day one. However, unlike every other MMO I’ve played, I often get frustrated because classes in this game just seem to feel, “situational?” What I mean is that my shatter-Mesmer is amazing in burst ability but will get completely crushed should a burst condi class catch me off guard. My medi Guard is great if I can avoid getting kited and then made into a pin-cushion by some power ranger pressing 1112111. Etc, etc. Oh, and these vids of folks taking down 3+ players at the same time? /sigh.

I guess my concern is in trying to find a class/build that is more universal – that can solo well enough yet still be able to take camps and avoid those blobs. From playing this game as long as I have now, this is pretty much what I’ve come up with (below). Are there other options I’m not seeing?

1. Shatter Mesmer (GS + S/T) or maybe PU.
2. Hybrid Warrior (S/S + LB) with PTV gear and either zerker or condi trinkets.
3. P/D condi Thief (boring…).

Anyways, just looking for some thoughts, advice, cookies – something.

-Lexi

I actually changed up my build a bit for more regen and it was easy! That video really answered most of my questions as I kept making simple mistakes.

Thanks for the help folks! Is there any specific class that works better for this fight? I play a memser as my main but I have everything else other than a necro or ele.

This topic may have already been addressed by now but as I’m recently just starting on the the living world, I’m not sure what to do at this point. Every time I try to light this ring of fire I either get knocked back or killed. That shield almost never works and I end up waiting on the fire to be tossed in. I’m never able to get the ring lit in time and now I’m just so frustrated with it I remember why I quit playing PvE.

Is there a trick to completing this so I can see what happens next in the story or am I stuck dong this until luck happens my way?

-Lexi

Great video! I’ve all but given up on trying to make my warrior a success but I may give this a try. Don’t you have problems though with heavy condi builds?

With the xpack coming out, have any of you heard if anet is going to be releasing new hairstyles? It’s been quite some time since they updated the current set.

Sounds great folks! Thanks for the help!

I currently have a crap-ton (that’s a lot) of trinkets for zerker, knight, etc. so it should make it pretty easy to build a few stats as needed.

Ya’ll make several good points but the main reason I roam is because I don’t use teamspeak, vent, mumble, etc unless I absolutely have too. I’ve run into too many issues with those programs so now I tend to avoid them. That being the case, I’m pretty much forced to solo roam. I know, that opens up a whole another topic there…

Hello everyone!

I’m currently leveling my mesmer and plan to play a heavy burst GS/S+T shatter build that I’ve been using in sPvP. My question though is about what armor choice I should pick for WvW. I almost always solo roam or will sometimes be part of a 3-man group. In my past experience, I have always heard that you need at least 2.8K armor for WvW which means I’ll need mostly knights gear (PPT) to get those stats.

However, most of the others I’ve seen playing a similar burst build either go with a few knights and the rest zerker or a few assassin with the rest being zerker. With all the stealth and tricks of such a build, is armor really that important? Should I just go all out and get a few assassin items and then the rest zerker? I’m going for the “high risk, high reward,” fast paced play style.

Thanks for the advice!

-Laura

Since I made this post, I chose a mesmer and have her up to level 46 now. I forgot how much fun the class really is and if you play a shatter build with traveler’s runes, it’s pretty quick and exciting as well.

Smooth Penguin.5294:

A roamer’s paradise is Borlis Pass. If you were to transfer there, you wouldn’t have to worry about blobs everywhere.

How stable is the rest of the server though? A happy medium between the blob and a ghost town would be nice.

Perhaps it’s my timing then because I’m almost always hitting the NA prime zones when everyone else is online. I honestly selected TC after beta because it was “supposed” to be the unofficial RP server. Funny how things have changed…

Coyote makes a good point about not being able to transfer back. The one really nice aspect of TC is that there is ALWAYS someone around to find a group with. Well, on those rare times when I actually want to be in a group…

Folks, I’ve been on the TC server since the day I started GW2 and have really enjoyed WvW up until I came back to the game a few months ago. I’m primarily a roamer with either myself or 1 other person and it just seems these days that WvW is completely full of zergs. Is there no place for the solo roamer anymore on a T1 server?

As a solo roamer, would it be best for me to change to a different server? What are the pros/cons of doing so?

Ross Biddle.2367:

Here, made some adjustments.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fhAQNAR8flknpRtlpxGNcrNipxYqeIdATkQpLZ8QA-T1BEABGcRAlgMp8zu9HaT3AAHBACeAAJq+DpAyTZE-w

Travellers runes are a waste but I left them there anyway.

Why wouldn’t you want the traveler’s runes? The class has such limited mobility as it is and the bonus to boons with the PU build make a nice match.

yeah, I was thinking about that shadowy ability as well but wasn’t certain if that was the way to go. I also was thinking that the base 2800 armor was needed for WvW but I guess I can change that out as I have lots and lots of ascended Berserker trinkets. Thanks a ton for the help!

does this still work for PvP as well?

Folks,

I’ve decided to go back and level a mesmer again and thus far, it’s pretty darn fun. Way back when I use to run a heavy stealth build in WvW and sPvP and was wondering if it’s still a viable build to use. I’ll like the build I was using below and this is based upon the gear I actually have on me. Can you please tell me what you think?

PU Stealth