This week I chose to give you four ready-to-use, viable builds: three of them are best suited for Structured PvP, while the last one is ideal for PvE. Additionally, I would like to give you a quick idea of the mindset I I recommend while leveling and building out your traits. Finally, I also wish to talk about mobility in World vs World–a quick read to improve your Guild Wars 2 experience without losing time.
4 Ready-to-Use Builds
This build is focused around a very high amount of damage and burst while using immobilizes to quickly get your opponent down and build your critical hit chance. It is also a very mobile build, hard to match in other professions. The downside will be your fragility.
As a reminder: to land your Hundred Blades, use your Flurry immobilize, then switch to Greatsword before the end, giving you four seconds to land Hundred Blades. This is not a hybrid build (meaning a build that is focused around a mix of power damage and condition damage).
This build is the rework of
my old Balanced Build I used in BWE3. Its main purpose is to bring damage, support, survivability and mobility at the same time. Notice the 2400 power you can attain on your own.
As a reminder: to land your Hundred Blades, use your Flurry immobilize and then switch to Greatsword before the end, giving you four seconds to land Hundred Blades. This is not a hybrid build (meaning a build that is focused around a mix of power damage and condition damage).
In my
last week article I pointed out two new traits: Berserker’s Power and Merciless Hammer. They led to this build, which finally gives you a very good Hammer build for dealing damage. This way, you can mix excellent crowd control with high damage from the hammer’s slow, large hits. You will be at the same time a good damage dealer and decently tanky.
Because SPvP is obviously not the only way to play this game, when you reach level 80 you might want a good build for dungeons. This build is focused around the Greatsword and the Rifle for ranged encounters. The dps it’ll grant you is amongst the highest in the game right now.
In the links of those four builds, you can find further details and explanations. Along with next week’s article, I will post four of your user-submitted builds. If you want to show your build off to the community, feel free
to post it in our forums, get in contact with me through
my youtube channel, or chat with me on
my Twitch TV stream. We can prove that there are many ways to play warrior in Guild Wars 2. The theme of the build can be PvE, SPvP or WvW.
Leveling PvE Build
The pleasure factor in Guild Wars 2 is very high and balanced with the optimization factor when playing in PvE. This leads to a pretty simple idea, which is play what you want. There are no weapons, builds, traits, utilities, ultimate powers or heals that will prevent you from attaining the level 80 goal. Feel free to enjoy your Warrior the way you want.
I believe there are two possibilities by now: you know exactly what you want to play, or you don’t.
If you know which weapons or utilities you want to use in PvE, please choose your trait lines with this description I made in
my august 19 column, and combine your tools with the corresponding trait line:
Strength is obviously a good offensive tree with a passive power gain. This trait line will greatly improve your axe and greatsword damage. It increases the amount of endurance you have and deals damage every time you dodge roll. This tree also improves physical utilities.
Arms is the trait line that offers many ways to build in critical chance. It also helps you deal condition damage and has many ways to take advantage of it. It helps generate adrenaline and greatly improves your sword, rifle, harpoon, greatsword, mace and hammer usage.
The Defense tree definitely improves your survivability with a passive toughness and healing gain. It improves your mace, shield and hammer usage. It also improves stances, and it offers another way to bring stability to yourself while also including the amazing projectile reflection trait.
The Tactics tree is the dedicated support tree that improves your warhorn, your shouts and your banners. It passively gives health and boon duration. Moreover, this trait line gives bonuses to your bow, granting it a better range and more damage.
Lastly, the
Discipline tree brings more critical damage and improves your adrenaline abilities by reducing their adrenaline cost or their cooldowns. This tree also has one of the best traits the warrior has access to with
a five second reduction on weapon swap. This trait line gives all signets a lower cooldown.
If you don’t know what to use, please consider the Strength, Arms and Discipline trait lines.
- In the Strength tree, you will naturally grab Berserker’s Power and the Power stat that will help you in any situation because it is supposed to be your main stat as Warrior.
- In the Arms tree, you will be able to simply grab critical chance on whatever weapon you use.
- In the Discipline tree, alongside with many different useful traits, you will find Sweet Revenge. This is a good choice whatever your path will be.
When you feel ready to choose a path, simply go to a Warrior trainer and buy a book to reallocate your trait points.
Mobility in WvW
Mobility in World vs World is a good option to have, especially while playing Warrior. I strongly advise you pick at least one option to have swiftness (the warhorn or the signet of rage), and at least one weapon that grants high mobility skills (the sword or the greatsword). With those tools you will be able to avoid enemy raids, easily go in and out groups of enemies, quickly reach your destination and scout enemy positioning for your realm.
Once you have enough mobility, your other options are up to your preferences: melee or ranged weapons. Tank, support or a dps build.
