Guild Wars 2

Unless you happen to like the appearance of this, or you just gotta have it for bragging rights, it’s an awful lot of money for the piece of gear with least impact on your stats. Given that the masterwork berserker’s back item from the personal story was free and all. And you still have to mess around to swap it between characters.

I’m thinking “wait until foxfires are under 10 silver and there’s no appreciable premium on crafting time gated Piqant Plant Food”.

I’m also thinking “it sure uses a lot of storage space while you wait”.

If you start in Malchor’s Leap, at or west of Pagga’s waypoint, you are relatively likely to find guild harvesting-related banners which will increase your haul. At least while foxfire frenzy lasts, you are.

I’d like account bound harvesting tools that work like the zenith skins, i.e. they allow you to have one per character rather than one shared between characters via the bank.

I bought a copper fed salvage-o-matic, partly for the convenience and partly for the “now I will destroy you” voice. But it has turned out to be a pain to share it around my characters and three of the four have gone back to buying salvage kits.

I was going to buy an axe and pick as well, but I went off that idea in a couple of days.

Well, I gave it a go.

I used a build similar in principle to the one linked by Okalevi – Rabid AoE bleed stacking with passive heal. I bought masterwork gear with superior Krait runes and used exotic consumables; I think it cost about half a gold. Traits/runes have changed since that video was made, but I think I came close enough to see what it’s like to play.

It’s a bit slow killing a risen villager on the cursed shore. But if you pull three and AoE it’s quite reasonable. A dagger with cleave (wishful thinking) would be better…

As suggested, casting Epidemic on the champ risen giant kills grubs. And on the champ risen broodmother (an event that does sometimes fail) it kills hatchlings, which people wrongly ignore. Of course you can use Epidemic in berserker gear too, but that just gets them to around half health which means they’re still dangerous.

I kind of remembered reading that the wraiths in Grenth cap part 1 are not immune to conditions like they are to weapons, so I thought I’d give that a go. But no such luck, I got big walls of “immune”. In the interests of science I stayed for the Grenth loot phase. Attacking trash got me no XP or loot; I just didn’t put enough damage on to tag. So I switched veterans, and didn’t do too well. According to my stacking sigil, I got 8 kills in the event.

I did find one fight where the build worked like a dream. In Malchor’s Leap, with an ele and a guardian, I cleared a camp of risen. There were 2 elites, 5-7 veterans, and maybe 20 others. The AoE worked a treat, the double powered Epidemic was awesome, and the trickle heal was as useful as having another player or two to take pressure off me.

It depends heavily on food, 40% condition duration is 40% damage when this build is doing what it’s meant for. I’m poor, I like magic find food.

My overall impression: This AoE condi thing works if you need the AoE and you can avoid the stacking cap. But that doesn’t happen so often. So it’s usually a solution looking for a problem. But it has its moments, and one can usually see them coming. If Anet got around to letting us save named builds (including gear) and switch in a click or two, it could become quite handy.

Those trees aren’t gonna chop themselves.

Hi,

Thanks for the guide (and the version on Dulfy). I’ve been using these builds or something pretty close while I make my mind up about necro PvE. I think my future is casual open world play — kill some risen whostits, chop some trees, do some large and small events.

Your two builds seem about equally effective for me but I think dagger is more fun, so that’s what I’m going to concentrate on. So now it’s time to settle armour and runes…

For context, I have a set of exotic berzerker karma armour (came with Grenth runes). I’d like to standardize my characters on berserker trinkets for now, so they can share an ascended set. In my sort of play, I don’t expect to get buffs except occasionally, and I don’t expect to stay over 90% health. I spam peach tarts (magic find and some power). I guess I could use cheap maintenance oils or sharpening stones.

So I figure my choices, in order of cost, are:
- Use my zerk armour and put ranger runes on it for precision.
- Get assassin’s armour, scholar runes, energy sigils, and be very careful.
- Strength runes seem to be a universal panacea for disorganized play.

I’d appreciate a reality check on my thoughts. Are they sensible options at the price, and is there anything else I should think about?

I did the story once each on my four L80 characters. It plays differently on all of them, fine with me. I’m not bothered about achievements, so I’m not sure what I got; I wouldn’t repeat it for achievements. I might repeat it to try other builds, though.

Whilst I don’t hate the back item skin, I don’t think it suits any of my characters so I’d leave it hidden. As for stats, I prefer the masterwork berserker’s item from the main personal story. Hence now I’m just storing the parts, in case it gets the option to change stats later.

But I’ve been farming/crafting related bits to sell, which has paid for one and a half sets of strength runes so far. I’m getting fed up with it but I can’t complain about the results.

Anchoku.8142:

If you want bags from trash mobs in a large PvE event, I recommend a berserker staff dagger build. It has gotten much harder to win bags with so many other professions also running spike damage builds. Farming has gotten much more difficult since the superserver.

If I happen on a big group event on my necro that’s what I use — Spoj’s death shroud build in the staff variant. But I use a staff + S/F setup on my Guardian when I actually set out to do that sort of thing.

I’m such a scrub. I have no idea what half the stuff in those banks is.

FYI, Google Chrome on Windows 8.1 blocked the overlay download as malicious.

Useful maps, though. Thanks.

Thanks for the replies so far guys, I’m chewing through the references.

Well, you might for example fight the Risen High Wizard at the gates of Arah along with 75 other people. He hits 25 stacks of bleeding (which is the cap) in about a second, and any more bleeding your condition necro adds are lost in moments. So you’re scaling the event by being there, but not killing the boss. That offends some people, they feel that that you should bring a DPS build instead and “pull your weight”.

I’d like to try a condi necro, out of curiosity. As Grenth is my witness, I’ll only use it where it shouldn’t offend people — solo for dailies, living world instances, that kind of thing.

I’ve read good DPS necro PvE guides, and seen necro PvP condi guides, but there doesn’t seem to be anything for PvE condi. Could anybody give me some pointers to get started, on general principles or specific builds?

Thank you.

Um, why do I have multiple versions of the other bits then?

Perhaps I can make and sell extra plant pots, or whatever?

My first character through the LS got a phantasmal residue in Rytlock’s goodbye bag. The second was on a day when five quests bugged and didn’t, so I figured it was a sixth bug. Now the third character has no bag/residue. So I wonder: are we meant to get the other bits once per charcter, but the residue only once?

Any clarification appreciated…

Protoavis.9107:

You do realise this item will be an ascended item by the end of things…this is only phase 1 of it.

But will it be an ascended item with nomad stats, or can I get something I prefer to my masterwork berserker’s back item from the main story?

That is the question…

Dolyaks still stuck on Euro server.

The area around the stuck (but invincible) dolyaks is turning into the best champ farm in recent memory…

Still bugged. Dolyaks are stuck on a junction, NPCs on the road are telling us the assault is underway, NPC at the staging point mid way thinks Dolyaks have arrived. We have tried letting 3 stalled dolyaks die to restart event, but the Icebrood archers shoot straight through them.

There is another event (that seems unrelated) to escort a dolyak called Horace to Yak’s bend, which crosses paths with this one. For a while there are 4 dolyaks in the junction where the living world event stalls. It might possibly interfere with the code, if it only handles “dolyaks alive in [0..3]”.

If it’s RNG it should be on the TP. Then people who have a surplus can trade with people who have a shortfall.

If somebody at the new Anet wants them restricted to people who got them personally at Dry Top, they should not be RNG.

The trading post would make RNG acceptable.

Keeper Jonez at the temple of Grenth until recently sold “Mortal Armor”. He now sells “Aurora Armor”, which belongs at the temple of Lyssa.

AFAICT the “Aurora” at the temple of Grenth has stats of the old Mortal armor (e.g. chest is soldier’s), it’s just the name that’s off.

nearlight.3064:

Don’t be facetious.

You got me.

nearlight.3064:

if that means kicking out every condition necro, every bearbow ranger, every cleric guardian, and every othe PVT fail hero I come across when I advertise and join ZERKER parties, then I will do it

How would you feel about a dagger nec (or reflect mesmer) in assassin’s armour? Kick on sight?

Speaking of non-swimming golems… what are your thoughts on an underwater build?

Wanze.8410:

Its meant for infusions, which can get very expensive, not for runes or sigils.

There needs to be another thing, meant for runes and sigils but not usable on infusions, that’s cheaper — around 1g per use.

I have read that you can put the sigil on a disposable item (loot drop) and Black Lion Salvage Kit it off to get rid of the bingding.

Still sucks.

A cheaper version of the upgrade extractor. 100 gems, 10 uses, works up to exotic, doesn’t work on ascended (or Karma gear, natch). Comes out around one gold per use. You could make it cost a skill point per use so people will only use it if they really need to.

Lord Kuru.3685:

It’s not overpriced. You’re attempting to use it for something that it wasn’t designed for. It’s purpose is to gouge those who need to recover infusions from gear (they can cost hundreds of gold).

Fair point, but…

Clearly, lots of people really want something for removing runes/sigils too.

I will admit that I don’t entirely grasp the implications for the market, but how about…

1. Rename the current item to “Ascended Upgrade Extractor”
2. Introduce an “Exotic Upgrade Extractor” at the same price with 25 uses that doesn’t work on Ascended gear?

Would that be reasonable?

I’m a new player who has made a mistake or two with runes and sigils, and who would also like to just try out combinations out to see what I think. So I miss my GW1 “Perfect Salvage Kit” which cost materials/money and a skill point. Hmm, adding skill points into the cost might keep a lid on side effects.

I do open world PvE.

I run assassin’s and precision everything, traveller runes, phantasm DPS with harmonious mantras, sword/sword and sword/pistol.

I often swap in a greatsword for sword/sword in big zergs on world bosses. They can one shot me, but I can’t see them to time my “active defences”.

frifox.5283:

You said no organized groups so the comparisons below will assume 0 might, 0 fury, 5 vuln (from your sword aa), and 0 banners.

Thank you.

Thanks everybody.

I mostly do PvE with phantasms, not in organised groups with banners and boon stacking and so on. I currently have assassin’s armour with with traveller runes, precision trinkets with opals, and sigils of Force/Accuracywhich gives a 78% crit chance on my character.

As I understand it, my phantasms inherit my basic stats (power, precision etc) and derive their own crit chance. So a Sigil of Accuracy (crit chance) does not benefit them, but a sigil of perception (stacking precision) would. I’ve been wondering about switching to this.

The exploit with stacking precision and then swapping a weapon from inventory does not seem to work anymore, whatever your underwater weapon is. [I bought two major sigils and tested it this morning with some weapons from drops.] So if I do this, it’s for real — I commit to the stacking sigil, put it on everything, keep it on underwater weapons for when I go underwater, and of course it precludes stacking e.g. bloodlust.

I’m not sure how precision translates to crit chance. So I wonder if anybody could tell me…

1) Am I correct that +precision helps my phantasms and +crit doesn’t?
2) How much crit chance would +250 precision be worth, if I have 70% with no sigil?

I’d like a few more weapons and armour that look like historical gear, not fantasy gear. Sensible size, plausible weight, no weird spikes sticking off to catch on doorframes.

I’d like a small sword that looks like a main gauche for my mesmer to use with his Bonetti’s Rapier, since mesmers can’t use sword and dagger.

I’d like a race change option.

For what it’s worth (I’m new and I’ve just made 80 on my mesmer today), I found the condition stacking staff kiting approach from Mr Prometheus worked best of the things I tried. It seemed to kill things at least as fast as the phantasm builds (especially below level 60) and kept me alive a lot better.

I found it as a result of this page:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/1cjmri/new_player_guide_to_leveling_a_mesmer_the/

NB: It worked well for solo open world area completion, but I suffered a terrible shock when I tried kiting in a dungeon.