Playing Hammer/LB in large scale WvW with power/precision/critdamage/toughness gear, lately with <a href="http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIQQJASTjkOBvFPqQ4wBE0DNsK4CThfQ9YO2w4A-j0CBofAoiQEEAZmJL7cQslRFRjVXDT5SISFL1WdAGxKaSBwkwI-w">10/0/30/0/30</a> although 30/0/25/0/15 or 0/25/30/0/15 also work if you get hit enough to keep adrenaline up.
I treat LB as a melee weapon and stay with the melee train all the time. LB 3 and F1 are great AE damage skills, LB 4’s AE blind is also very useful. The guaranteed condition removal with LB F1 and Cleansing Ire helps a lot to stay alive. And when you’re not in melee range, e.g. after using mesmer portals and running in again, you can still deal damage. For me the LB works best of all weapons I tried in combination with Hammer.
(edited by ulchanar.4309)
With Melandru runes, Dogged March and Lemongrass bufffood you can even consider running without Mobile Strikes and spending the 5 points in Arms for +10% damage vs. bleeding foes. You’ll have -98% immobilize duration anyway.
According to the Wiki (“damage for weapon skills is based on the product of weapon strength and power”) I would say that +10% damage does the same as +10% power, so if power is higher than toughness it’s the better deal.
Switched from typical 0/10/30/0/30 (Hambow) to 30/0/20/0/20 for the last two weeks and now to 30/0/25/0/15. Without burst mastery I wasn’t sure if I would get enough adrenaline to burst effectively but in large scale it isn’t a problem with the many hits you take and Cleansing Ire. Short Temper also helps a lot.
The idea is to rather have up to +15% damage from Berserker’s Power that apply to all skills than +7% for your burst skills and situational +25% for your Hammer skills only. With the changes to Earthshaker, Staggering Blow and Combustive Shot I even more want Arcing Arrow, Fan of Fire and Hammer 1 chain to hit hard. Without Unsuspecting Foe I’m not critting as often so adding 300 Strength while losing +15% Crit damage sounds like a deal I can take. I now have 3,6k attack before bloodlust/might stacks, in fight it’s often way above 4k.
Last but not least the 3 minor traits in Strength have a nice synergy and are pretty useful in large scale fights.
I like the build so far but am open for improvement.
@Jae, regarding your bow build: Is the bonus range and reduced recharge of longbow skills really worth going 20 into Tactics? If you spend the points in Arms you get the same 10% damage bonus that apply to all your attacks. Plus you would get a much higher crit chance (10% +10% for burst and sword skills). Damage-wise this should be the way better option. Or do you need the extra life and boon duration?