Guild Wars 2

Target golems =/= PvP. And deap people can’t do damage, I have some serious concerns regarding survivability. If you pop all your CDs in a safe range, nobody’s focusing you and the enemy can’t dodge and has no Protection, then this can do some serious damage. But the moment someone targets you you’re dead.

Main differences are: lack of capture points in WvW. They also have access to food and higher stats.

In Conquest capture points obviously affect the builds. A necromancer Well can cover an entire point, and it’s a very strong AoE, but at least 1 enemy is forced to tank it unless they are willing to give you the decap/cap. In WvW roaming, enemies have no reason to stay in your wells, and that’s why that build replaced them.

The reasons behind trait differences is the same – because of capture points, team fights in small areas occur often, and with Unyielding Blast you can hit multiple foes with 1 autoattack, upping your AoE a bit. It has its uses in 1v1s too, mostly against mesmers.

Rising Dusk.2408:

All said, though, if Metabattle is off in any way, the people most qualified to change the builds are the people talking in this thread, so I would suggest they address any inadequacies and get Metabattle on par.

Exactly. What people don’t get is that build pages are not set in stone. The forum community can have a debate lasting for days about a single sigil (happened multiple times), but nobody would spend 20 seconds to actually do something about it. Expressing concerns at a build’s discussion page instead of here is simply more effective, as chances are, it will go unnoticed here.

The site’s only as good as the contributors. If hardcore dungeoneers would want to contribute to the community effort, we could have more builds in the Dungeon section, more options for customization, better guides, maybe other categories too like soloing.

Metabattle is a build wiki afterall. It’s not like the DnT forum for example, where everyone else is simply a visitor – if you have a deeper understanding of something PvE/WvW/PvP related, this is the perfect place for you to publish guides and upload builds. If you’re a decent youtuber or streamer, you can also embed videos / add links to your channel to pages, which obviously expands your audience as the site already has a daily traffic of ~10-15k and is rapidly increasing.

a t s e.9614:

gw1 is good yea but I guess its dead now.

Actually, nope. There is a bigger competitive playerbase doing GvGs in GW1 than the GW2 competitive scene. But obviously on a casual level gw2 has a bigger PvP playerbase.

It’s more of a WvW build. You should always have a longbow for PvP – that weapon fits every build and helps you proc Cleansing Ire every time. The amulet & runes are also too heavily influenced by WvW, never run knight stats and if you have problem with conditions take Hoelbrak. Sigil of force is not worth it, for damage you need air/fire.

You should go Hambow or GSbow, but you shouldn’t keep both weapons in the same build. You can browse viable builds here btw.

Ryn.6459:

What are Alliance Battles? http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Alliance_Battles

A new PvP format?

It’s conquest with more capture points. So basically conquest :P

This should help you out.

Vee. When you started helping out on the site I greatly appreciated it, really. Problem is, it quickly became clear that you don’t care about helping the GW2 community, not a tiny bit. You did it all for the attention. When we told you that taking credit is not allowed you went on a rampage, and you’re doing your best to undermine the site eversince – even if you can’t find something that’s wrong, you’ll just pick something you personally don’t agree with (it’s called an opinion) and pretend that’s worse than Satan. Seeing you plummet into such depths really saddens me.

I’m not a fan of keeping grudges, so recently I was thinking about offering you a new start and lifting your ban. But once again you’ve proved how immature and hateful you are.

You think we get anything for helping out on the site? No. We do it because we, unlike you, want to help others instead of hunting fame. Go on, keep telling lies and keep demonizing us. We could fly banners about how you suck, how “Veecap” is a waste of CD, we could make videos analysing every mistake you make on stream. But we’re not you, we have no intention to mess others up, because our goal is the opposite.

Keeping 40+ PvP builds correct & up to date is not an easy task. GWPvX had a much higher base of contributors which made it easier, but metabattle’s much younger. I’m pretty happy that we are recieving new contributors day by day now, this really helps to keep the builds in a good shape. But most people don’t want to offer help, it’s easier to criticize others than offering help afterall, and probably feels better for some.

You gave 1 star to the classic 6/0/0/6/2 rabid engi build, you know builds very well for sure.

butch.8136:

witcher.3197:

Atherakhia.4086:

Good news! We’re getting close to the end of this current 6 month patching cycle! By February we should have a balance patch available!

WTS 2 happens in March. They won’t balance in February. Don’t expect anything before April.

Hmm, I don’t think so. They always ‘shave’, while it may change the meta, it won’t do it dramatically.

Well, there are some top teams with 3-4 celestial specs on each, any nerf to that amulet or might stacking could drastically affect them.

You can try every build in Pvp for free. Well, for ranger you need to unlock some new traits for skill points, but you can get skill point scrolls from PvP reward tracks.

Metabattle has multiple viable builds for every class, you can set them up easily and see which one fits you the most.

Atherakhia.4086:

Good news! We’re getting close to the end of this current 6 month patching cycle! By February we should have a balance patch available!

WTS 2 happens in March. They won’t balance in February. Don’t expect anything before April.

This site should be able to help

Miku Lawrence.6329:

Yet Helseth plays Invigoration, go figure… :o

Helseth plays Elasticity on both builds.

On the topic:
1 – staff’s really good for kiting and Chaos Storm is a very powerful skills especially when used on downed players. You can also keep pressure up from a good range and Phantasmal Warlock can hit really hard. I’m running s/t atm because it helps me reset my position especially against thieves with the extra stealth or you can predict and avoid a burst by using skill 2. You can immobilize enemies with sword 3 and then oneshot them with GS which is really powerful. Play what you want, both are great, but when the enemy has 1 or 2 thieves go S/T.
2 – I’d go with Halting strike. It’s a really awesome damage boost. Like a 2nd mind wrack. Landing a burst, interrupting his heal, and dealing damage for that interrupt? Yes please.
3 – Invigoration is a bit random, Elasticity on the other hand can provide that little bonus damage you might need to burst down the target.

ShadowBound.7218:

I’ve actually gotten more wins consecutively on my warrior with this build then anything else and I have played everything else at least some.

GW2 has 3 join options for PvP. Practice mode (aka Hotjoin) is a chaotic zergfest where PvE players do their daily achievements and don’t pay any kind of attention to the game objectives. Another factor is that almost nobody has PvP builds in Practice mode. Winning matches there is not a good way to judge a build’s viability. Unranked is not much better, sadly. Then there is ranked, and the new matchmaking (it’s still in beta) is the worst I’ve ever seen in an MMO, but at least people somewhat go for capture points and use real builds there. So winning games might not help you judge your build’s viability atm.

ShadowBound.7218:

I figure this is a decent mid-tier setup as organized

To be honest, it’s as low tier as it can get, no offense. The weapons, utilityes, amulet, sigils, etc are as far from viable as possible. You’ll die to everything (especially conditions) and it’ll be impossible to hit any half-decent players with your burst – or anyone who knows you can dodge skills in this game. If you’d want to PvE with it I’d say it’s fine-ish – for PvE most of your weapon/utility choices are great.

GS/rifle full signet build and rampager amulet has some kind of magic to it because for some reason ~90% of new warrior players end up playing this

NeXeD.3042:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fRAQNArYWjc0UebfNG3wfbighSyW4Di+ACgzlykIKA-TJxHwAA3fwYZAxPBAAnCAA

This is basically noscocs build but I use generosity sigils instead of geomancy and frailty. Seems to work well for me, decent balance of defense and offense for a condi necro build.

Replacing geomancy, especially on both weapons is a really bad move. You have access to condi transfers on both sets and a heal that removes every condi, there should be no problems. Except if the enemy team is 5/5 condi necs and engis.

skcamow.3527:

Is there a good zerker staff ele guide someone could recommend?

Forget about it. Seriously. Zerker staff is a PvE build.

Diva.1476:

Yeahh I mostly play the Jihad staff ele build i.e 6,6,0,0,2 with Pirate runes, Lightening Rod trait in place of shocking aura. Signet of earth is highly recommendable as well in this build. :-)

I wouldn’t recommend this for my worst enemy. That build is the definition of a rallybot.

On the topic – Pirate is good for 1v1s on sidenodes as it will add some single target damage you need because nearly every skill you have is a slow AoE. But if you want to teamfight a lot take Hoelbrak, the pet would die too fast in the AoE pressure. You can pretty much find every viable build for Pvp at metabattle, that should help.

Off-hand axe is probably the worst weapon choice for every area of the game. Also, there is no way you can make a build that does well in PvP/WvW/PvE.

This site might be useful.

This site should help you catch up on builds

Fay.2357:

How do you think we made the guides, how do you think we made the builds?

Guides were made by people who were the first to figure things out. More than 2 years in, you seriously think people haven’t tested every possible build that could work? I doubt a newbie will suddenly find something entirely new that’s just perfect and will dominate everything. And if you let him come up with something unviable and just tell him to practice, how will he learn how to play? If he plays a build that nobody could earn success with, how will he know his skill level?

not everybody requires a dedicated seminar on mechanics to figure things out. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, at least to begin with.

Will you throw your kid into the lake and see if he figures out how to swim?

Freedan.1769:

Since condition shatter became a thing

It did? :P

This site should help you out

Fay.2357:

witcher.3197:

Ross Biddle.2367:

Or take the dive in approach.

• Find some weapons you like.

• Throw together a build

Don’t. There is no way it will end well.

It’ll end just fine as long as they also follow the rest of what Ross suggested, which is posting it on the forum and asking for suggestions.

There’s no way that a first build will be highly effective, but what it’ll do is give you a feel for how the class plays, what sort of things you like and don’t like, and then provides a base for suggestions to build upon.

I just don’t think the best way to teach someone how to write is by showing him all the letters without any explanation and then ordering him to write an essay.

He should get familiar with the current builds, learn to use them, understand the reasons behind traits/skills/etc. After that’s done, he can start experimenting on his own, but until then it’s pointless.

http://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Ranger_-_S/A_LB_Spotter

This.

Dahkeus.8243:

Does anyone know if assassin amulet is ever used in Panic Strike builds? I would think that the higher crit from that item could be more advantageous in a build that has a low trait investment to the crit tree.

Nobody uses that amulet. The massive drop of vitality’s not worth it. For Panic Strike people usually just take Pack runes.

Ross Biddle.2367:

Or take the dive in approach.

• Find some weapons you like.

• Throw together a build

Don’t. There is no way it will end well.

Regarding PvP, you need some other tools in order to put the rifle to use.

1st: if your rifle is of rare or exotic quality, I’d recommend getting a Black Lion Salvage Kit. If not, then any other kit will do.

2nd: double-click the kit and then click your weapon. If you’re lucky, you just made some profit in the form of ectoplasm!

3rd (optional) Alternatively, you can gamble in the mystic forge with it.

But for combat, it’s worthless, don’t touch it. Worst warrior weapon by far.

You can find more explanation on PvP/WvW builds, but for PvE there really isn’t much to explain in terms of how to play the build. If there’s anything to explain, it’s about the dungeons in general. For that use this site

You can still open the PvP menu in hotjoin, then on the left sidebar go to Game Browser and select a server.

WilnerGW.3275:

Hey guys;

Thanks all for answers.

Its true its very hard to be competitive with full zerk LB. Anyways, i wanna try another SPVP Ranger build. I would like condition and/or trap. Do you have any strong build to recomend?

Thx all!

Power ranger can work well with some practice unless you want to play in the top 100, don’t give up just yet :P

Trap ranger’s probably the weakest of the working ranger builds I’d say – the damage is awesome but it’s as about as squishy as a power ranger.

If you wanna try all the viable builds use metabattle, should help you out.

If you want to take the condition approach I’d recommend this

PvP/WvW/PvE? You need different stats / builds for these.

This site might help you out.

messiah.1908:

witcher.3197:

Rothem.8174:

vincecontix.1264:

The main thing pushing guards out a bit is celementalists, though lots of Eu team run guard. Nothing can bunker/support like a guard.

Agreed. But the problem is that if you have a dedicated bunker, you’re losing out on firepower in teamfights

You do. But every comp that’s not built around celestial specs needs something that actually keeps that firepower alive otherwise you’re just a bunch of rallybots.

me and my team did some tpvp. they ask me to role bunker. i stand at mid and at the beginning the mesmer and condi engi just target me i couldnt do a thing. we lost every time as the other team had ele, engi, thief, mesmer and guard (not bunker i think)

as i role to med guard for more dmg we did better as we had more fire power on mid which the engi/thief/mesmer couldnt take

so i think if the other team has 1-2 condi spec , the bunker guard will have hard time

Against condi heavy specs you could try the 0/0/2/6/6 version. Besides, rolling bunker guard for 1 match and losing with 0 experience on the spec might not be the best way to form an opinion already. Keep practicing, bunker guard’s fun and after the next balance patch I’m sure this will be a mandatory thing again

Picking a build and watching top streamers play would be a good start.

Most classes can deal with a hambow in 1v1s nowadays. Axebow is probably the best for that.

Something that prevents boon/stealth application to the target for 1.5 seconds/clone and is able to stack in duration, so with 3 clones + IP it’s 6 seconds. Helps against thieves and could make some fun plays. 60 sec CD ofc. Or incoming boons get transfered to you.

As robertul said, it’s not a good build – lokks like someone wanted to carry his PvE build over to PvP and made some minor adjustments based on what he heard.

Against thieves, Pirate rune might help because it’s not easy to hit a good thief with your slow, mostly aoe skills so that parrot carries. Downside is, shortbow attacks bounce so if the parrot is close to you it’ll hurt.

Your role is not to carry the DPS, but to support your allies with heal/condi cleanse/boons/and peeling with CC. It’s also good for 1v1s on sidenodes, but it’s not about bursting them fast, more like outsustaining them.

Use this one: http://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Elementalist_-_Celestial_Staff

Usage guide will be added soon.

reinforever.8902:

witcher.3197:

2/6/0/0/6 is the “classic” D/P setup and very outdated for S/D thieves, for that 2/0/0/6/6 is the meta. For S/P it’s 6/2/0/0/6 or so. Also, not having a shortbow set is a terrible idea.

I know you said it’s classic for D/P but would it work for d/d? I’m scared to drop the condi clear and blind on stealth, but would it be worth it for the extra ferocity, precision, and executioner?

2/6/0/0/6 should work with every power based thief build, but usually every set has its own traits too. What’s your current one? You could try 2/6/6/0/0, but you’ll lose an on-demand interrupt and boon steal.

LucosTheDutch.4819:

With 2/6/0/0/6 I would actually go for the S/D setup, or S/P. Though I suppose D/P could work too with 2/6/0/0/6 but you’ll lack the extra mobility and condi-cleanse that sword has to offer.

Right now I’m playing D/P (with the same traits as in the link provided earlier). Sometimes I switch to S/D and play with this setup:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fZAQRAsY6Yl0Mp8plOx7J8PNBNBt9EGeI8OMfpMaFAA-TFCBABXq+zS7PcmSQsU+JxDAAgTCQe6HY4IAEAAB4mtZb2mBu5NH6NH6NLFATKjA-w

2/6/0/0/6 is the “classic” D/P setup and very outdated for S/D thieves, for that 2/0/0/6/6 is the meta. For S/P it’s 6/2/0/0/6 or so. Also, not having a shortbow set is a terrible idea.

I assume it’s for WvW, so this might help.

Yep. Kit/attunement swap counts as weapon swapping and triggers your sigils.

This site might help you out, I think it’s fairly easy to navigate.

Rym.1469:

witcher.3197:

mistsim.2748:

I have to try out the condi survival still, but my one question would be why run it over a necro or cele engie? it’s not any tankier.

Because it can beat both nec and cele engi and keep ~15 bleed stacks up. It’s also a lot more resilient than power ranger and harder to outplay. The moment celestial gets nerfed, this build will be the king of sidepoints.

Wrong. It won’t kill any decent Necromancer alone, unless you’re talking about duelling in open area and with Power Necro instead on point.

As for celestial engineer – depends if the engineer can capitalize on fields or not and how much Retaliation he puts on.

Condition Survival is very sturdy build which can 1v1 pretty nicely, has a lot of semi-passive, easy damage, lots of defense and can bunker close/far point for a while. Takes time to wreck this build unless you’re PoC Necro.

Necro is a hard matchup for any condi spec, I agree. But. You have excellent condi cleansing (pet draws 3 every 10 seconds, you have 3 skills that remove 2 conditions, Lightning Reflexes also breaks fear and immob). Then you can also stack an insane amount of bleeds – he can transfer them back, however only the staff one is dangerous. If he’s on S/D set, use Entangle and stay behind the nec – he won’t be able to use Deathly Swarm on you, so if he wants to cleanse, he must heal – in which case you can use wolf’s fear / leap or your shortbow’s skill #5. With 15-20 bleeds ticking on him, a CC can really hurt.

If he still manages to get some transfers, you have every tool to cleanse it and can re-apply 10+ bleed stacks under seconds.

Engi – just entangle him right after he used his heal – it’s a death sentence 99% of times. Even if he uses Elixir S, the bleeds will keep ticking on him.

mistsim.2748:

I have to try out the condi survival still, but my one question would be why run it over a necro or cele engie? it’s not any tankier.

Because it can beat both nec and cele engi and keep ~15 bleed stacks up. It’s also a lot more resilient than power ranger and harder to outplay. The moment celestial gets nerfed, this build will be the king of sidepoints.

This should help you out. Condition Survival’s probably the strongest, great condi burst and nice sustain.

Rothem.8174:

vincecontix.1264:

The main thing pushing guards out a bit is celementalists, though lots of Eu team run guard. Nothing can bunker/support like a guard.

Agreed. But the problem is that if you have a dedicated bunker, you’re losing out on firepower in teamfights

You do. But every comp that’s not built around celestial specs needs something that actually keeps that firepower alive otherwise you’re just a bunch of rallybots.

It’s trying to fill a role which is the polar opposite of what necs do – standing on point. It’s useless in every fight that’s bigger than 1v1, but works well on lower ratings.

You can’t skip longbow. This however does not mean you’ll be playing a ranged spec. You’ll mainly use it for the condi cleansing provided by Cleansing Ire, setting up burst with Pin Down or doing some aoe cleave / might stacking with Arcing Arrow.

You should try Axebow or Hambow. This site has multiple viable warrior builds for PvP, maybe you should play some matches on each and see what fits your style.

GoogleBrandon.5073:

witcher.3197:

GoogleBrandon.5073:

Rozbuska.5263:

Those titles are worthless anyway.

Pretty much this…

For PvP’ers it means nothing (come on, 150 wins?) and for PvE-ers it is not an incentive to participate within TPvP long enough to stay within the scene… Having it in unranked hurts no one…

If they ever want to release newer and harder to obtain titles, I might suggest putting those in ranked only, but for these titles, it is fine…

There’s an achievement for ever class – win 200 games in any format. Then there are champ titles: win 150 games in rated. And now you can just get the rated titles from unranked. Makes no sense, they are basically the same thing now.

You realize you did nothing to debunk my previous point? ._.

I already did even before your 1st comment, too bad you skipped it. Not gonna repeat it for you.