Guild Wars 2

Going to be delighted to see Azilyi produce more videos like this. Sort of a bump, but also to show some appreciation. Unique concepts, sharp plays; the reason I keep coming back to the Ele, haha.
I also think that the Fire aura -> Elemental shielding trait synergy could be the answer to losing Elemental Attunement, or at least an example showing us 6 water 6 arcana tryhards to think outside the box.
The damage in full Cele gear (WvW) isn’t bad, and the burning is easy to forget about… until it’s too late.

Since I don’t think I belong to the group with quick hands, I’ve been enjoying this build much more than Fresh Air recently. At least when I whiff a Phoenix burst combo I don’t have to die to pay for it…

The main way you can chip off HP is when they decide to fight you and you kite them into your circles (yes, using your body).
Your burst would mainly depend on Arcane utilities, and combos involving your Earth wall and Air stun circle along with the Fire ring.
As the above has already said, condition builds would be a fair counter to your build.

KrazyFlyinChicken.5936 has a few posts in the Ele forum concerning some specialised staff builds and playstyles, which you can take ideas from.

Removing the boons from the boon-dependent Ele…
Rather, make survival even more difficult to access (e.g. 06044 Fresh Air/60044 Arcane Staff has a significant increase in survival due to the 4 points in Elemental Attunement).
Sword better be as good as we envision it to be.

I’ll be fine with whatever unless they copy something from the Paladin…
That would be close to unforgivable.

Sovereign Longbow is nice. It’s served me well on my Warrior…

PistolWhip.2697:

Med guard is one of the most common if not the most common build by far in PvP. Not sure what you’re talking about. All the weapon type variants, Hammer/Scepter, Gs what have you run meditations nowadays.

Bunker guards are the acquired taste. I have seen maybe one in the past month. and I pvp almost every day.

Ah, I’m just reminiscing about the roots of Medi Guard.
Medi Guard -is- the most common build now. But it -wasn’t- 2 years ago. Back then, Virtue Bunker was the thing. Medi Guard is something you run for fun.

My point was that even though it was basically “as it were” from launch till now, the shifting of meta builds around it gave it a chance to shine. I’m (and some Guard-maniac friends are) happy about it. Always thought “Mystic Knight” classes were cool.

Good to know you PvP often. Got less and less time to play and I’m out of touch.

We’ll just have to relearn everything about the Ele.
Wouldn’t want the expansion to come and still we log on to spam the same buttons right?
Change is difficult but it could be fun.
No matter what happens, I’ll still love the Ele. Love is acceptance. Love is compromise.

I’ll add that although full arcana gives the Ele survival, it means Ele is pretty much locked into the traitline. It’s just wrong for us to be dismayed when we are asked to choose – like we have no other option (and indeed there are none).

Maybe Sword Ele will be a completely different playstyle. Maybe even the old D/D will get a boost in a different direction. Maybe Sword/Dagger Ele is going to rock. Who knows? Nuke everything Anet. Let us see your balancing skills.

Funny how Medi Guard was suboptimal from launch, criticized for intolerably long burst CDs, and while there was one change (Renewed Focus), circumstances made it into a scary counter-meta hero.
It’s just that the match-up versus the Medi Guard became easier for it to fight, is all. A friend has played Medi Guard from launch (2 months into the game he invented 21614); he notices that with Cele running rampant, Medi Guard has just enough control, defenses, and burst damage to overcome Cele builds’ sustain. The emphasis on more 1-on-1 showdowns also helps its survivability, because Guards can’t really run. They have to win it.
To add, Medi Guard is a fairly acquired taste, and you don’t really see many people run around with a Zerker Guard (for mental health reasons) – that is why you think they have too much burst when you get hit with basically all of the Medi Guard’s skills and lose a big chunk of health. You’ll think different when you fight them more.

UnrequitedHope.6172:

1) If you go 4 points into Strength instead of Arms, you actually end up with more DPS. The cooldown reduction on the greatsword is nice, but it is not a deal breaker per se.
2) I would get Mobile Strikes in the Discipline line. As a roaming warrior, immobilizes can really ruin your day. You can break away from long immobs with GS skill 3 & 5.
3) GS is a really difficult weapon to master. Most beginners fall into the trap of focusing on landing 100blades. This is the wrong way to implement the weapon.
4) You’re using 3 stances for utilities. GS is a tricky weapon. To enhance the greatsword’s performance you must sacrifice an utility slot – making you a lot more vulnerable compared to other warrior builds (that use all stances) – you must learn when to use GS for disengage in order to escape damage. Consider picking up Throw Bolas or Bull’s Charge for utilities to enhance the greatsword’s DPS.
5) GS 3 through 5 skills of GS has pretty high damage. Focus on landing those skills instead. Only use 100b when the best situation comes for you to use it: like, upon downed foe, or foe that comes you closer to do sonething and etc.
6) With #5 in mind, you should NEVER use GS 3 – 5 skills to engage your opponent. That’s just wasted DPS. I usually engage with the longbow, cast Pin Down then cancel the animation to bait my target to waste a dodge. Pew pew a bit with longbow while chasing target and swap to GS when target is in melee (circumstantial of course). If you’re initiating pre-emptively: Pin Down -> Arcing Arrow if target is far or Pin Down -> dodge towards target -> 100blades.
7) Keep GS #5 off cooldown as that’s your get out of jail free card. Make sure to deselect target and you’re not crippled or chilled. If you have to use it, best to use it early as possible so it’ll be ready when you need to escape.

GS has a steep learn curve but worthwhile. It’s also fun due to high mobility you can disengage at will. Keep in mind that GS 3-5 skill is your bread and butter.

This guy knows his stuff.

Also, Whirlwind Attack is one of the best skills on Warrior – damage, mobility, and defines.

GS/LB has a pretty low tolerance for whiffs/mistakes in general though.

Let him be guys, he’s just sharing the build that works for him.

GS/Hammer has a lot of mobility and is ideal in WvW.
For PvP, people take the Longbow because it is a reliable condition cleanse and also great pressure (F1) on the small point.

This isn’t to say landing all your Hammer skills and GS Whirlwinds isn’t good damage, nor is dodging and having movement down perfectly to negate CC and kiting isn’t something a skilled player can’t possess.

By the way, if you truly love GS, play GS/LB 40406 complete with Frenzy Bulls Charge. Takes you way back 2 years ago to the thug life.

Please do make a video if you feel like it. Media is the way to get people to try things. Don’t forget to include clips featuring Meterologicus and people getting their faces blown off by Phoenix…

New arena mode is basically turning the time dial back a year before the queue split. Yay.
We won’t get the teams back though.

I remember when us fellow puggers go “oh great” when we get matched against Vampire Katana, Undercoverism, vVv or known duo-queuers. We were all rank 30s 40s then and fought like cornered rats but life was good, decent teammates, selling dyes, getting trash talked…

From my understanding meta builds are simply the one/several perceived to be the most effective in a particular game mode. Meta builds are usually designed/tested to be superior in a conquest setting and may work in synergy (Engi-Necro, Thief-Mesmer) to increase on-point effectiveness.

That really doesn’t mean it’s the “best build” and although the game is not balanced around all builds, there are some that are just superior in some 1v1 match-ups that are not “conquest” meta but instead “duel” or “WvW duel” meta.

Makes you cringe when you hear “my build is meta so it’s best build” or “whats the best build for my class” because there’s (given the lack of choices, still) more than 1 build for everything.

By the way, whoever talked crap at you probably got an ego boost out of mouthing you down. Shudder of pleasure as he imagines your despair in light of his highly original knowledge. And best of all, nothing you can do to get him to fight. Just another anonymous internet user enslaved to the GIFT.

Friend and me. Usually Necro + Bunker/Cele. With another friend we run Bunker + Cele Roamer. That’s usually how we enjoy our games, rotating around then coming together infrequently to gank teamfights. Bunkers ensure we are able to at least secure/neut until roamers respond.

Awesome can be anything ridiculous…
Double Regen Banner Warrior, Spirit Ranger, Hambow and 56001 S/F Ele (either he 1-shots thief or other way round).
Double Cele Ele, Turret Engi, Bunker Guard and Hambow
Triple Spirit Guard, Venom Share Thief, Condi Warrior (we were pretty drunk)
Penta-glass Ele (never won a single game)

Yes sorry. There’s been many great ideas in the past, and I’m not dismissing yours as something potentially reinvigourating for GW2 combat. There’s a fine line between use and abuse though.
But, I look at the combo system and how over the past year the only change has been the light aura, and suddenly any half-decent idea becomes far-fetched and unobtainable.

Only whirl finisher decently useful is the Black Powder + Whirling Axe.

You can’t really tune down AoE without significant adjustments to cost-benefit of each skill. What about single target spike as a class feature? Or area control? Examples such as D/P Thief and Staff Ele (not really great example).

Control doesn’t make the game less interesting, in my opinion.
You can be incredibly opportunistic with your control skills and make comebacks and plays.
If you remove or dampen CCs, classes that have fewer stunbreaks and classes that have fewer controls but more damage options will be indirectly buffed.
It would be even more of a spamfest than before, I think, because everyone’s going to attempt to burst down the other team faster.

If you happen to own a server, just password-lock it so that only your guildmates can join in the fun.

If you do decide to Rank farm though, at the very least maybe take a bit of time to improve your plays…

Otherwise… welcome to the community of craptastic Dragons.

100241 views…

You can do the thing that some crazy Ele (C N Z?) does and roll full Berserker D/D and the sustain would basically come from the minimal healing + godly dodges. You can roll people over with 7k Burning Speeds but you’re more paper than paper…

Fresh Air point defence can be done in a pinch but you might want to know your matchups first. Dodge the right things, use your Proj-hate effectively (reflect Pin-Down etc.), and try to land your Phoenix.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQJArdhcMaZ25wyBf0AOAGxgQMQcEIA0BLeFWCA-TJBFwA12fIxJAoaZAAPAAA
Here’s an S/F Vid Guide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXjGXYXSwek
D/D Cele is the definite showcase of the power of the new updates, utilising might-stacking runes, the appropriate sigils, and burning along with ok-ish power damage and insane healing (well, you did put 12 points into Arca-Water).
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fFAQJAoYhcMKc25wxBf0AiAB5ulqRBlfHTB-TJRHwAFeAAAOBAk2f4YZAA
Here’s a D/D Vid Guide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-asTr2PRAg

uberkingkong.8041:

Can someone list me all the skills that drop the orb.

Very irriating when I use a skill and all of a sudden the orb is dropped.

Guardian scepter 3, does that drop orb and focus 5 drops it right?
Any other skills? Does virtue 3 drop it?

They NEED to have skills highlighted that drop the orb. I shouldn’t have to memorize all skills that drop orb.

There are a very limited number of skills in this game anyway. Rogue probably have more skills than 3 professions combined…

Guardian:
Renewed Focus
Judge’s Intervention
Merciful Intervention

Warrior:
None

Engineer:
Elixir S
Throw Elixir S
Blast Finish: Area Stealth

Ranger:
Hunter’s Shot
Hide in Plain Sight

Thief:
Leap Finish: Stealth
Blast Finish: Area Stealth
Cloak and Dagger
Shadowstep
Infiltrator’s Arrow
Infiltrator’s Strike
Shadow Refuge
Blinding Powder
Last Refuge
Hidden Thief
Merciful Ambush

Mesmer:
Mass Invisibility
Decoy
Distortion
Blink
Portal
Veil

Necromancer:
Summon Flesh Wurm
Dark Path
? Spectral Walk

Elementalist:
Mist Form
Lightning Flash

By the way, you con summarise this list as all invulns and ports and stealths. Partial invulns like Endure Pain, Signet of Stone, or Berserker’s Stance, Elixir C lets you keep the Orb. Downed state makes you drop Orb, area stealths that hit you make you drop Orb. You can obviously use this in a coordinated fashion to pass it along.

If you do get caught, stunbreak and dodge Backbreaker or stunbreak after.
Engi is all about active defense, so blind and dodge and block and CC them.
If you get immob’d by the Hammer 3, get your Gear Shield out right meow. Prybar’ing face afterwards is optional.

Some mindgames/stereotypes:
If you Overcharge them but hold onto your Immob, they will likely Earthshaker you… dodge.
If you Overcharge them and Immob then throw nades at them they will likely pop stances or LB F1… Poison/Chill after then kite like crazy and dodge the Earthshaker after Chill ends. If you blind them they have to clear it first and if you watch they might just switch from LB to Hammer (you can see the intell sigil proc) for the F1… dodge

Box of Nails and Chill nades are your best friends (when zerker stance not up) and allows you to throw crap at your feet. Pan camera behind while running away and dodge anything that looks like a hammer skill.

Remember your mini burst rotation is (continue to follow up as you can initiate at any part of the full rotation):
Stealth → Magnet → Prybar/Barrage → Overcharge → Throw Wrench → Net Shot → Nades
(melee initiation) (Gear Shield; defensive) → Overcharge → Throw Wrench → Magnet → Prybar/Barrage → Net Shot → Nades (blind and chill first to kite)

Just change the gear to full ascended Berserker and put a Bloodlust on the GS, change Air on the Rifle to Force, switch Runes to Scholar or Strength, and slap on some Power food and stones. Kill some guards to get power buff.

If you really don’t value safety, you can run On My Mark/FGJ! etc.

You haven’t met a Rabid or Cele Condi Warrior with S/S + LB have you? xd

Sword right now is ideal for hybrid damage (Cele usually). You also want Leg Specialist.
If you didn’t know, the cripple in the auto chain was acutally skill 3 on the sword but switched places with Final Thrust (which was buffed).

Flurry is multi-hit and procs your bleed minor trait. The Immob is the big thing here though, lets you land any skill after that (try swap LB to proc Doom + Geomancy then point-blank LB 2) or bait out defensive skills or cleanses (where you then LB 5).
It’s rather slow to be sure, but if you’re just building a fun spec, I suggest Rage Sigil/Last Chance… F1, cancel Flurry, then auto attack with quickness… Krait Runes, 1500+ condi damage and Rabid will cause your enemy to take almost 2k damage a second.

You can also chain Flurry into auto attack traited with Leg Specialist. It’s not just you who’s benefitting from the immob, you know. Your whole team can utilise those 3 seconds…

The metabattle build is basically it. You work around the downed state battles because of your Tactics minors and Mercy Runes. They give insanely fast hard resses and your Mace/Shield allows you to quickly stun and interrupt res and stomp attempts as well as using Sword F1 to setup bursts for your team.

All the while, you give passive defensive bonuses and Regen to your team which is substantial due to Clerics. Switch out Banner of Defense for Discipline if you have a glassy team that coordinates well – nasty crits.

With this build, you can facetank Power Necro dagger autos without dropping health…

Just be in combat and use Signet of Fury/Berserker Stance.
You can tag someone quickly with GS 3 or 4, then attempt an F1 immediately after (or use Bolas).
It’s a really yolo build though…

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fJAQJAURjMdUGahH+dwJaAggy8DEALwpBXdbc7jBA-TZBFwACOCAIeAA12foaZAAXCAA
You’ve been warned…

Xanthos.1574:

Riposte is not “discharged” with a ranged attack. It also blocks and reflects ranged attacks for it’s full duration.

Reflect only when traited with Missle Deflection :0

It’s probably server lag.
GS 5 and Bull’s Charge have been known to charge right past the target.
For GS 5, you probably have to swivel your character right after the movement part of the skill ends to aim the swing 180 degrees behind you to hit the skill.
In Bull’s Charge’s case, you knock your target down and run completely past it facing a different direction which wastes the potential 2 second knockdown.

This is not a bug. If you hold down your Right Mouse Button, your view is fixed and while channelling a directional ability, if the target moves out of the arc of fire (usually 180 degrees), it will automatically cancel. This is why it is fairly useful to strafe in and out of an enemy’s avatar to have them miss directional abilities.

However, skills that lock you in animation or root you in place have auto-facing, such as Evicerate and Killshot and they will never auto-cancel.

This problem exists because you are keeping your Right Mouse Button down while channeling volley, in a direction (180 degrees) away from your enemy. I believe if you let go of your camera look and movement keys (aka stand completely still), you’ll auto-face your target when you use a channelled ability.

I’m really not sure if you are asking for the ability to shoot the Rifle behind your back, which would be unreasonable.

I don’t really think they would, in all practicality, delete turrets.
It is a main feature of the class and featured in the trailers. Given how after 2 years there’s only been the addition of a Heal skill to each class and some mediocre traits, there is just no way they would have the time to remove all turrets and implement something else.

I understand your frustrations, but it’s probably not going to happen. Not even if my daddy has boatloads of cash, six mansions and is about to acquire HSBC.

Considering only on-land weapons here.
To be quite honest, beside the Engi (3 weapons) the Ele has the fewest types available (4 weapons). Imagine Warrior (9 weapons) or the Guardian (9 weapons) some Zerker needed for dungeons, and some Soldier/Cavalier for WvW…

Ele I don’t really consider a hassle at all concerning weapons.
How I set up my Ele is this:
Full Celestial Trinkets with a Zerker Ring and Accessory to switch out for (or amulet)
Full Zerker Flame Legion Runes armour. Flame Legion is a comparatively inexpensive and effective Rune set which should start you off.
Full Knights (Some Cele here is ok) Hoelbrak Runes armour. Hoelbrak is among one of the most expensive sets because it is a top choice for WvW guilds, with the -20% condition duration being key. Ele is able to get more out of it due to self-mightstacking.

Zerker used in dungeon
Knights/Cele for a lot of sustain and Hoelbrak allows you to mightstack for longer. However for dungeons the defensiveness of Knight armour + Cele trinkets is overkill and you should reserve this set for open world content to let you farm at a relaxed pace.

If you are not actively avoiding the other weapon sets:
D/D great in WvW/PvP (02066 or 00266)
D/F safest PvE (66200 with 06000 Fresh Air being core)
S/F and S/D Lightning Hammer Burst PvE (66000 being core)
S/F Fresh Air great for WvW/PvP (56201 or 06044)
Staff fairly flexible (00266 bunker, 64220 full damage, 62222 as well, 60044 moderate sustain, good to start with)

D/F definitely a great set to master, it is fairly advanced but has a lot of options in combat, the projectile blocks and invuln give you breathing room while the multiple blast finishers along with the Persisting Flames trait grant you and your whole dungeon party permanent fury and with some help, 25 Might.

D/F is not as great in WvW due to a lack of mobility but there is a particularly broken way to play this set, and that is Dire/Rabid Perplexity Runes Condi Ele.

Lamuness.3570:

Wait, whaaaat, I thought it was an urban myth that improv works with stolen skills. Is that a true fact?

Kitten. This is why I should check it out first. Steal used to be a bundle but has not been since launch (or different kind of bundle). It is indeed a myth.
Kinda hard to test without steady weapons, but regrettably it doesn’t affect Backstab damage it seems (tested on golems). I was hopeful at first until I realised it was actually the Deadly Arts 5 minor trait…
Sorry about that, probably shouldn’t suggest that build without actually testing more – I’m not good enough to run 66002.

So yeah, Dagger Training I guess :0

Though in theory… If you get all your signets recharged by Improv (20% chance) you could probably reach 24 might…

I guess some of us gave enough of a kitten to actually take the time to post that he doesn’t.
And I don’t get why people keep saying it’s annoying – whether it’s true or not she is more pleasant on the forums than in-game, doesn’t really change the fact that there’s more useful stuff in her posts and more character than forumers that do nothing but BM.

Lamuness.3570:

Ralkuth.1456:

Snip.

Why do you use Improv? Wouldn’t Dagger Training be better for damage?

He seems to only want big backstabs, so if he makes sure to Steal before he lands it it’s a 10% guaranteed damage increase every time. I also have fond memories of it back when 56003 D/P was a thing as it sometimes recharged SS and SR.
Improv also helps slightly when you finish your spike and are finishing him off with SB.

Dagger Training gives a more consistent damage buff to be sure.

Never self res alone. He may seem to leave you, but most people still have you targeted as they leave point so they can come back to stop you at the last second. The bleeding out staggers respawn so that someone on your team will in theory never be on the map and looking at a grey screen. The only exception may be Ranger because his self res becomes really quick with #3.

By the way, only people who think they have something to prove try to talk you down. They’re probably worried that their reputation is tarnished. What they need to know is that no one really cares and they should just keep going.

On the other hand, I think I get more messages like “man u suck” or “r u new” xd

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAoaVlsMp0pdPxyJ8PNBNBt9wbQE8OMfpMaFAA-TVCFwAtPEAAOBAXVCiU5ngHAAK1fqt/QG9BLOCABAOA43f/93f/tUARsMC-w
With a classic trickery D/P build like this full glass scholars will take a 7k BS at most, around 8-9k if below 50%. However you still have the Fire and Air procs and Mug which will push this to around 12k immediate damage, more if Heartseeker also hits and you mix in some autos.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAoaVlsMp0pdPxyJ8PNBNBt9wbQE8LM6GgZD-TVCFwAtPEAAOBAXVCiU5ngHAAK1fqt/QG9BLOCABAOA43f/93f/tUARsMC-w
Should be around 2k increase on the BS.

the 66002 spec as posted will give you even more power to BS with, and Sin Signet with the 15% damage increase will help too.

However I’d like to point out that anything with 6 in top two trees will have slight survival issues…
To max your damage you want at least ascended main dagger, and all the % modifiers you can get, like Force, Night, Impact (Basi), Sin Signet, Improvisation (+10%), meet conditions of the 5 Minor traits in top 2 trees (both grant +10%); as well as power stacks like Bloodlust, the revealed +200 trait, Food, guard stacks, might on signets…

So:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAoaVl8MpwpVOxxJ8PNBNRtdF0BRgXhh2BwsNhA-TFSBABGfCAoU9HzUCe1+jyvIOEA4pPYhjAAAPAgAAIA3sNbzbG45O35O35Onf7bf7bf7bSBExyI-w
And you want your target to have:
a condition on them (+0%)
stunned (10% sigil of impact); at night (10% sigil of night, use ascalonian weps to show that it’s night cuz they glow)
below 50% (20%)
And on yourself:
above 90% hp (10% scholar runes); have might (5% strength runes)
above 6 initiative (10%; stealth and use signets and wait)
food (100 power 70 fero)
guard buff (200 power)
land backstab (200 revealed)
might stacks (35×12 = 420 power)
use assassin’s signet (15%)
have bloodlust (10×25 = 250 power)

So ideally you want to crash small group fights and spike whoever’s getting a bit low, or target squishies and hope they don’t have a finger on stunbreak..

You should have power close to around 3700-3900 as you BS. That way, it should be around 13k+. I advice you that if the target isn’t on the brink of death to stab it a few times with your insanely buffed autos then pull out your SB and bow them to death. Landing your Mug and Heartseeker also helps.

D/P isn’t that great with signets and missing the +3 initiative trait though. 3 does give you the ability to chase them down for the finish. Since you’re so baller anyway, D/D with the added damage and vuln from CnD might be a better choice as it has more 1-shot potential.

If you can’t let go of Shadow Arts at all, then 26600 is probably the way to go. The backstabs can go up to 10k (due to mightstack in stealth and executioner) but usually it’s more around the 7-8k mark. You do have sustain though and if you are patient, you can pull off a lot of ganks successfully.

If you want to make yourself an all-purpose build, wouldn’t it be better to become an all-purpose player? Knowing all the Guardian weaponsets, all the traits, what is optimal for which event.
E.g. Lab farm -> full Zerker Staff camping
E.g. Solo WvW -> Meditation GS/Sc or Sw + Focus
E.g. Group WvW -> Shouts/Virtues Support Guard
E.g. tPvP -> Bunker AH or Virtue Guard

Guard is a very supporty class because of its innate mechanics and doing well means assisting your teammates – one of the reasons your friends will love you.
Anyway:
Here, have a PvE Dungeon build that is basically the standard except for the Sentinel and the Shield (where even more zerkers and a Focus or sometimes a Scepter would be used).
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fVEQNAseRlsApVo9CxZI8DRR8Ql1YY7H0CVHANwjiDA-TxRBABXp8DP9Bbq+DP7Pk3pAAgnAgZKBDAcAE++bAkCIilRA-e
Here’s a Right Hand Strength build for solo roaming WvW that lets you use your Shield. It’s acutally okay in that setup because it has your only control skill across both sets. You do decent auto-attack damage and your main burst is from the Focus which can also be used defensively. Shield is rather lackluster though.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fVEQRAse7dlsApcodDxaI8DRh/Qkj1HTB4cd55HA-TBCFABMcEAYU9HAeAAXpEEJlfCcSAST/QL7PQKgIGGB-e
Lastly, this will be the WvW support build… you have 98% Condition resistance while inside the Purging Flames and 60% out of it.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fVEQNAseWlsApVo1CxZI8DNRCBl5M+PmfIEXvgAcAA-TByHAB0pE8k9HOS5Xgq/gmmgaPFAA8EAaTPApAYSZE-e
If you don’t like personal defense as much, swap Absolute Resolution out for Pure of Voice and Soldier Runes with 3 Shouts. Resolute Healer is an awesome trait in that instance, lets you pick up allies in small group fights and stopping stomps.
AH is a central trait to your sustain, though before that you sohuld master the 1k dodge roll heal – roll onto allies every few seconds while swapping weapons for regular heals. To synergize even better, replace renewal sigil with intelligence to proc the Vigor trait for nearly endless dodges that greatly increase your survivability, allowing you to buff allies even more.

Lastly I’d like to draw your attention to triple shout 01661 Zerker guardian running GS with AH. If you’re brave enough for that. It’s also faded into obscurity slowly, used to be a thing in WvW.

If they do the knockback into Rapid Fire, stealth and gapclose (rifle 5).
You can remove Shared Anguish/Hide in Plain Sight with Magnet, then immediately Overcharge into Throw Wrench, Net Shot, and watch if they block. If they do, perfect time to throw Poison nades.
You can also Immob without warning into Grenade Barrage if you are close enough.
Wolf fear is rather inconvenient if you get hit by it during the Rifle 4 self-knockback though.

Watch the GS animations, and tbh Engi has a better chance in melee because of the zero-range grenade snap pressure. You can weave in and out of his avator to screw up LB skills while throwing crap at your feet.

sorrychief.2563:

mortar already one shots all the ambient creatures.

also the range on mortar is lacking, it should have near infinite range and be able to target through the minimap!

That will be the day, when people regard Mortar with the same amount of dread as the Trebuchet…

Non-canonical Staff Ele tutorials that will get you thinking:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/elementalist/Scrap-The-Zeitgeist-Staff-PvP-Tutorial-Video
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/elementalist/Azilyi-s-Zeitgeist-Staff-Ele-Duels-Video

Lag as well…
Can’t be bothered to do anything when there’s a 1 second delay on instant skills.

And all the explosives (+piranhas) you set at point blank range… How the heck are we not on fire/missing limbs? That’s just totally broken permanent self-zerker stance.

Enable friendly fire pls

Why are you guys trying to change opinion with your own opinions?
In a game interactive as this there aren’t anything that you can hold absolutely true. He can choose to believe that what the majority perceive as facts are nothing more than individual opinions, and we cannot disagree.

Why are you guys so serious? What are you trying to prove to him? If he is actually receptive to ideas and what others think in disagreement he wouldn’t be putting that opinion in his signature.

There are lots of people writing eloquent and well thought out posts (but indeed, only majority opinion right?) but the environment of this thread does not foster the learning of people new to sPvP or Mesmers. Granted there are the few that read through and have a think, a lot would just use this thread as an excuse and avoid improving your game vs it.

And practically, given how slow anet is with adjustments and how quickly some specs were nerfed in the past (DD one shot thief, unsuspecting foe), I think (yes IMO) anet doesn’t see Shatter Mesmer as a threat to balance atm… Which means we will be stuck with the spec for better or worse. And the only way the spec will change is the alteration of other matchups or buffs to other Mesmer specs (which might not have the same utility tbh).

Also shoutouts to skilless faceroll builds… xd

Old D/P 26006 is still great, there’s a built-in 2 second quickness.
Panic Strike D/P 60206 deals a noticibly less amount of damage than Classic though. The immob does help, I agree, but I recommend Pack Runes and some QoL adjustments to the sigils… also, with Pack you wouldn’t need Furious Retaliation at all. You already have Fury from Steal, which is on-demand anyway. Improvisation can make a good deal of difference if it recharges your Deception skills, so try that too.
Devourer can be switched for more escape utilities, like the classic 3 of SR/SoInfil/SStp
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQNAoaVlsMp7plOxyJ8PNBMBxVP8ONnpNangdHAA-TpBFwACOBA12fo9RAYxhAoaZAAPAAA

Just want to point out that it’s not the only effective build (only in my opinion) – but it could be, to you; we all have different playstyles.

Rampage doesn’t really have the power to turn fights around… sure, could help you with 1v1s. You can even get more stability for a stomp, woo!… Still, it does not warrant the 150s CD, I feel.

But Warbanner/Signet are much more useful in a team game. Signet enhances your weaponsets, while Banner can really make plays if you use it correctly in a failing 3v3 4v4 etc.

Bunker Warriors will usually take Warbanner anyway, because of the synergy with their Banner traits (regen) along with a significantly reduced CD allowing almost matching the CD of other gamechangers, e.g. Moa/Lich.

Just my opinion. I could be completely wrong.

There’s actually a Cele 60206 Pistol Dagger build but it’s not meta.
It uses Air + Fire, Power-related runes, and Panic Strike.
Main damage comes from CnD Pistol sneak attack + #3 stab port with torment. Actually deals more damage than Backstab.
You take Shadowstep/Blinding Powder/Shadow Refuge and Basi.

However pretty one-dimensional build and fairly predictable…

IMO all your opinions are opinions only
Hmm…

Pro thieves please step in because I’m just part-time scrub thief.

Shadowstep backstabs/CnD (has to have good ping) and clusterspam
Shadowstep HiS (to make it uninterruptible at max range) and rarely Basi
Various blink spots to get you out of all sorts of situations (e.g. best map is Khylo around clocktower, from windows to just off the mid point, up on the roof from mid or ground etc.)
Shadowstep stomps (using Shadowstep utility or, Shortbow 5 + Steal/Signet)
Shadowstep stomp Guardians
Shadowstep stomp downed 2 if projectiles (port behind then as proj is flying port back)
Generally you don’t really want to stomp because Thief can’t take cleave.
Shadowstep + Sword jukes, combined with CnD/stolen stealth allows you to escape.
Juking with Shadowsteps and Sword also allows you to evade telegraphed skills. I’ve seen a SB 5 port out of an Evicerate in this game, once.
Shadowstep + Signet (+ Sword 2) + Steal
As you mentioned making directional (180 degree) abilities whiff. Acutally vs LB if you’re not outside 900, you can wait till RF starts and immediately steal to daze (even when disabled), using 6 Trickery builds.
If you really need stealth (don’t want to use SR) and other person AoEing the crap out of your BP, you can HS then immediately Shadowstep out, wait till last moment of BP and return to HS again (on that note, players watch out for your stealth jukes and will sometimes stand between your Shadowstep initial landing and the return spot or just AoE when you hit return because circle disappears prematurely)
Using Shadowstep to remove Immob/Burning/whatever in an emergency.

Internet kittens xd

Boba uses a blaster carbine… you might wanna try out the Rifle xd
By the way, the canon novels have him survive because he is integral in the upcoming events involving the Force-sensitive children of Han and Leia. Minimal spoilers…

Helmets, there’s a reddit thread hinting at upcoming BLTC gemstore items including a welding helmet. You can also take a look at the Sorrow’s Embrace gear. Looks like gas masks.
For technological looks on your pistols or rifles, Dark Asuran weapons from Sorrow’s Embrace again, is great. Super weapon skins too, but the pistol is exorbitant. Order of Whispers guns are great, have silencers and rifle has a scope. The Hunter/Predator are sniper rifles.

If you wanna customise, go to bank and access the wardrobe. There, you can preview all released skins.