Aomine.5012

> @Turk.5460 said:

> > @Choppy.4183 said:

> > > @mulzi.8273 said:

> > > Lately, I've been seeing a ton of guards/DHs roaming lately. All burn/condi guards of course. So many in fact, that it made me go to the patch notes to see if Anet buffed something to make all the FoTM kiddies switch to the next condi craze.

> >

> > That's good to hear. Do they seem viable, winning fights, etc? Or are they crashing and.... :)

>

> They're probably winning a few fights. But as a Thief, I don't think I've ever lost to a burn guard...so, if they are doing well solo, they're probably doing so near objectives/spawn where they can escape. xD

Exactly, Guardian mobility and escape measure is an issue in wvw.

You can't reset fight at all, literally.

Compare to condi mirage/ chrono or a skilled daredevil , it's just has too many disadvantages as a roaming class.

Met a condition Chrono in WvW (wearing legendary wvw backpack so I assume he's quite experienced.)

Tackled him 4 times, with different set up, cleanse, stealth, whatever, as Deadeye.

No matter how I tackle him, how I encounter him, I couldn't kill him, and he always manage to wear me down with range condi spam and clone spam.

I'm assuming he's wearing full Trailblazer.

His weapon set is Staff / Scepter+ shield

So is there any particular class that can counter that build? Or are they the king of 1 v 1 in WvW in general?

Burst is a no go since he's so tanky and with reflect, block, invulnerable, and often hide behind clones.

> @Dawdler.8521 said:

> Unlike certain cancer spammers, the condi mesmer rely primarily on a few but high stacks. As long as you have decent cleansing, their condis shouldnt be problem. Avoiding the bursts is of course important too (f2 shatter, scepter etc), as well as that shield stun.

>

> A thief should have zero issues getting in fast and start pummeling the mesmer. When under pressure they have nowhere near the retaliatory bite of power shatter. Well unless you are playing the even more boring and kitten condi trap thief and cant get in fast or have the dps of a limp noodle.

>

> Also it could of course just be a matter of skill difference. It matters alot and dps vs tank take it to extremes.

I generally have little issue with power Mesmer because they're generally alot less bulky and doesn't nearly has enough pressure other than the initial burst, so I can go stealth and reset my position and then spike him down.

Condi Chorno, on the other hand, is a different story. They're just unkillable, and no amount of cleanse is enough to deal with that pressure while they tank you forever.

PS: dodging the shatter does nothing cuz he's still spamming so many confusion and torment indefinitely.

Met a condition Chrono in WvW (wearing legendary wvw backpack so I assume he's quite experienced.)

Tackled him 4 times, with different set up, cleanse, whatever, as Deadeye.

No matter how I tackle him, how I encounter him, I couldn't kill him, and he always manage to wear me down with range condi spam and clone spam.

I'm assuming he's wearing full Trailblazer.

His weapon set is Staff / Scepter+ shield

So is there any particular class that can counter that build? Or are they the king of 1 v 1 in WvW in general?

Burst is a no go since he's so tanky and with reflect, block, invulnerable, and often hide behind clones.

Just beware, Boar dps is like bottom 3 within pets... (Tested, it's really pathetic dps)

This is why I rather run Electric Wyvern cuz the dps is pretty good, it's aoe, and it does very good breakbar damage against big target.

Please no rifle..

Ranger already have sniping weapon which is LB, so Rifle is redundant and add nothing to ranger.

Shield doesn't fit ranger at all too... Donnu why people want that.

Make off-hand dagger more defensive (buff dagger in general) and call it a day so we don't need shield..

I wish ranger gets double pistol because it really fits the idea of rogue-like class.

Make it a mid range aoe weapon that focus on mobility and aoe.

600 range, hit up to 5 targets in an arc (Like Guardian's staff), doing slightly higher damage than axe, with lots of evasive and teleport build in.

Before you say anything, no, thief's p/p is not mobile and focus on single target, so this p/p will differentiate from thief.

The trait itself is already op when combine with firebrand because old virtues are not that strong compare to tome of justice, so resetting it doesn't matter that much.

Tome of Justice is a complete different story, with a full package of skills that can dish out 30~40 burns in one book

Yet you guys want it to be better huh.

If anything, it'd most likely get a nerf of not recharging tome at all in the future.

So try to keep yourself low key instead of asking for buff about an op feature that'd 99% be nerfed sooner or later.

These greedy attitude will just draw attention from dev and get yourself the inevitable nerf alot sooner.

I'm more interest in how celestial Firebrand will break the game.

Good condi burst, good heal, good tankiness all in one build

> @Malerian.8435 said:

> > @Aomine.5012 said:

> > Not like it's useful in WvW anyway.

>

> Actually it is quite effective for Firebrand. I have a build that requires it, and it is epic!

For WvW, you should be running Trailblazer or even Celestial. (that benefit f2 tome too)

> @ArthurDent.9538 said:

> Warrior has always been op in instanced pve and guardian has always been op in wvw zergs but out side of those 2 situations every class has had its ups and its downs and nothing has been permanently op in pvp.

Guardian shines in pvp, wvw AND pve/ fractal / raid.

Having the top dps, good support, good utility good solo capability and everything.

Just saying, GS dps is worse than even axe main-hand + warhorn lolz..

It's almost laughable really, a melee damage is worse than range.

> @ArmageddonAsh.6430 said:

> > @Aomine.5012 said:

> > LMAO.

> >

> > Anet once again show no bound of how bad they do the balance.

> >

> > NO NERF on Scourge and Spellbreaker, two of the most broken specs ever, while gutted a worthless class in pvp/ wvw even more!

> > This is how Anet do their balance, always gutted ranger first no matter what!

> >

> > I can tell you this, during my time in PVP/ WVW, NEVER ONCE did I get OHKO by ANY of the ranger's Gazella. They're like tickling me too much when playing Druid and die quickly when playing Soulbeast.

>

> Just fixing the multiple proccing of condis from all the shades will be a big hit and that wasnt even a nerf. It was a bug fix. You need to calm down a little. This wasnt a balance update. These fixes should have happened weeks ago but they arent balance changes. They are bug fixes.

I'm literally testing on golems right now.

It doesn't affect the Greater Shade build, which is the meta build for pvp/wvw all that much.

Biggest nerf as far as damage go is f5 stop procing Dhuum Fire 7 times.

Oh, let me mention one more things.

Scourge REAL BUG is not Shade procing multiple times, I have Scourge played for a very decent amoung of time in WvW and notice this.

1. ALL F2~F5 functions like shatter that even without the shade present, all the effect will proc on scourge himself, as well as pulsing damage on F5 will double proc from both shade and yourself.

2. Dhuum Fire and Weakening Shroud trait proc from ALL F1~F5 skills instead of listed like tool-tip: Only affect #1 skill.

It also causes cripple from an unknown source too.

Add these factors and next to no cast time on F2~F5, as well as excellent cleanse, you have a broken class that can tank damage like no tmr (Trailblazer and excellent cleanse) and do absurd amount of aoe damage.

LMAO.

Anet once again show no bound of how bad they do the balance.

NO NERF on Scourge and Spellbreaker, two of the most broken specs ever, while gutted a worthless class in pvp/ wvw even more!

This is how Anet do their balance, always gutted ranger first no matter what!

I can tell you this, during my time in PVP/ WVW, NEVER ONCE did I get OHKO by ANY of the ranger's Gazella. They're like tickling me too much when playing Druid and die quickly when playing Soulbeast.

> @Roxanne.6140 said:

> > @Bigpapasmurf.5623 said:

> > > @"Esprit Dumort.3109" said:

> > > Can confirm range is difficult to counter as Scourge. Any class with decent mobility really.

> > >

> > > If I am trying to solo a camp or join a zerg and I get targeted by dead eye or long bow ranger, I pretty much resign myself to death as I have kitten, long cool down gap closers, no blocks, and horrible projectile block skills.

> > >

> > > I'm pretty sure rangers and thieves see Scourge as free kills in WvW.

> >

> > I dunno...I gave 2 different rangers a run for their money (Soulbeast/druid). Both werent together. Faced a DH/Soulbeast today and both eventually dropped (not at the same time but in the same fight)

>

> They probably need to learn to play. Knockback and that long kitten immob with the recent ferocity changes makes soulbeast the perfect counter to scourge. Scourge with its kitten 900 range and crap mobility is a joke to them.

Soulbeast is a joke to Scourge in WvW due to severe lack of cleanse and zero boon removal.

As long as any of the shade f1 lands on Soulbeast, the fight is over. (cripple weakness torment, burn, boon corrupt in one click)

If you're Druid, at least you got a full cleanse , stealth, heal, and ancient seed to have a fighting chance.

> @Nowaki.2136 said:

> No, trapper DH with bow does counter it tho..... to be fair any class with a bow (and thief with pistols/DE) counter scourage, and spellbreaker but they counter anything so....

DH "range" dps is not strong enough and mobile enough to threaten a Scourge.

Deadeye does with teleport and stealth. Not to mention P/P deadeye damage is just disgusting in range standard.

LB Druid can annoy Scourge quite a bit with immobolize and 1700 range.

Not like it's useful in WvW anyway.

> @OGDeadHead.8326 said:

> ...that you get used to by playing too much PVE :p

>

> So, after mostly been running around in PVE for the last few weeks, there are two major ingame settings that while they are pretty nice to use in that gamemode (PVE), is an absolute major setback if you want to do any pvp - "Autotargeting" and "Snap ground target to current target".

>

> While these are a decent conveniences in PVE, if you plan to play PVP - do yourself a favor, don't get lazy - don't enable these options (especially autotargeting).

>

> That's all, TY.

I never use Auto-target even in PVE.

It mess things up more than help.

> @"Boogiepop Void.6473" said:

> It takes more than 3 minutes to kill any ONE of the 3 elites when solo, never mind all 3 in that time. The achievement is IMPOSSIBLE without gathering a full party, and even then it's pretty hard since you lose almost a minute just getting to and going between the elites, even with mounts. The timing requirement on this should be removed or at least greatly increased.

Try Scourge.

I literally soloed it in time myself when I did the story with My Scourge toon.

Everything just melt.

> @"Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582" said:

> > @Lome.8239 said:

> > > @"Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582" said:

> > > > @Lome.8239 said:

> > > > > @"Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582" said:

> > > > > > @Lome.8239 said:

> > > > > > > @"Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582" said:

> > > > > > > > @Lome.8239 said:

> > > > > > > > > @"Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582" said:

> > > > > > > > > > @Kanto.1659 said:

> > > > > > > > > > Out of curiosity what would we be using to kill with the axe? Warhorn isn't offensive, axe 2 is condition, axe 3 is utility. Would it be a matter of autoattacking and sprinkling SB pet attacks?

> > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > I believe they mean to mostly AA.> @Lome.8239 said:

> > > > > > > > > > > @Dojo.1867 said:

> > > > > > > > > > > > @Aomine.5012 said:

> > > > > > > > > > > > > @Zenith.7301 said:

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > @Lome.8239 said:

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > Just as a heads up, Vicious Quarry outdamages Quick Draw in power builds, and Axe/Warhorn outdamages Longbow as a ranged option with Vicious Quarry.

> > > > > > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > Try it out!

> > > > > > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > > > > > You can still feel Sword/Axe dominate ranged options even in open world, though.

> > > > > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > > > > No way does mainhand axe outperform longbow.

> > > > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > > > LB only has a slightly higher dps than axe+wh AT MAX RANGE (1000+) , with no might/ fury application on itself.

> > > > > > > > > > > > It also has lower synergy with Nature Magic because it can not self stack to 25 might by spamming axe 1 and use we heal as one.

> > > > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > > > When you consider these factors, where axe wh ALWAYS have permanent fury, 25 stacks might , swiftness, tag 2 enemies without any trait, yes, Axe does out-perform LB in open world by a large margin. LB is more for WvW really, not really such a great weapon in Open world or PVE group contents.

> > > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > > Imo the reason LB easily beats AXE is the piercing if you somewhat know how to position.

> > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > This implies use of Marksmanship, which is a terrible trait line for open world IMO.

> > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > Skirmishing and Nature Magic seem like the best 2 lines. After that you can do Soulbeast for the OW utility it provides or you can go Wilderness Survival to solo the big stuff by pulsing infinite Protection + Rugged Growth onto your Gazelle.

> > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > IDK why you think Marks is a bad line for OW, Hunter's Gaze easily keeps up with Axe 1, Steady Focus and any of the GMs make it great. Most things are dead from a single Rapid Fire at 1500 range, even the 2s cripple from OS is enough to make PO good because 2s is enough to kill most things. All this talk about DPS is pointless anyway because of this fact; DPS is meaningless in OW because burst is far superior.

> > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > Until you have a boss battle, a HoT hero challenge or bounty that youre trying to solo. With Longbow it just takes forever.

> > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > People can play whatever they want, especially in open world PvE, but if youre building for good dps, dont take Longbow IMO.

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > With equal might which you get from Hunter's Gaze, LRS does more damage than Ricochet from 500+ range. This is when you take into account a single target and the attack speeds without traits. When you put Lead the Wind on, LB is 10% faster, giving it a 0.9s attack speed and Ricochet is still at 0.88s. Steady Focus adds another 10% and RF is superior burst also. If you are building for good (power) DPS, you don't take A/Wh either, you take S/A.

> > > > > >

> > > > > > > @Lome.8239 said:

> > > > > > > Just as a heads up, Vicious Quarry outdamages Quick Draw in power builds, and Axe/Warhorn outdamages Longbow as a ranged option with Vicious Quarry.

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > Try it out!

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > You can still feel Sword/Axe dominate ranged options even in open world, though.

> > > > > >

> > > > > >

> > > > >

> > > > >In any case, if you take Vicious Quarry with LB and Marks it's going to be better than Vicious Quarry, A/Wh and Nature Magic for the fights you described.

> > > > >

> > > >

> > > > No. :-/

> > > >

> > > > Between this statement and your suggestion of Lead the Wind over PO, Im gonna have to stop here.

> > > >

> > > > Play whatever you want.

> > >

> > > I used LtW to bring the attack speed of LRS to very close to the attack speed of Ricochet, using PO is only going to make it even better. For OW, LtW is often better because of the CD reduction on RF and also the piercing... I'd really like to know how how 250 ferocity is better on axe than LB, since the base damage on LRS is higher than Ricochet and the power coefficient is equal for 0-500 and better for longer ranges. Or, how Nature Magic can compare to Steady Focus and LtW or PO as far as damage goes.

> > >

> > > It's just not possible.

> >

> > Read the thread.

> >

> > With Axe/WH and Nature Magic you and your pet can have permanent Fury and 25 Might when solo. With Longbow you can not, and you do less damage.

>

> But you can self stack 25 might almost as easily without them too, particularly on high health mobs.

>

> Look at this template; http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJAXDA-jBBXgA9q/8oEEY/R5XouASBExYA-e

> Add 25 might to it, then look at the AA values of Ricochet, then drop the might to 5 and look at the damage values for LRS.

So you're dropping Sword Axe and use two range weapon?

I hate to tell you this, but both range weapons dps is like 35% damage lower than sword axe.

You gutted your own dps completely by doing so.

> @Spartyr.6795 said:

> > @"Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582" said:

> > > @Spartyr.6795 said:

> > > >@Lome.8239 said:

> > > > With Axe/WH and Nature Magic you and your pet can have permanent Fury and 25 Might when solo. With Longbow you can not, and you do less damage.

> > >

> > > Sorry to interject here, but since it’s been mentioned a few times in this thread, could you share the build/rotation for the perma fury and 25 might stacks?

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

> > You just AA, use WH5 off CD, have Nature Magic traited for Fortifying Bond and use We Heal As One off CD to generate boons.

>

> Thanks. Is there any way you can think of to do this without using our heal (WHaO) on cooldown?

WHaO has relatively short cd, so it doesn't matter that much to spam it on CD.

Your pet even tank the damage for you.

> @"Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582" said:

> > @Spartyr.6795 said:

> > > @"Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582" said:

> > > > @Spartyr.6795 said:

> > > > >@Lome.8239 said:

> > > > > With Axe/WH and Nature Magic you and your pet can have permanent Fury and 25 Might when solo. With Longbow you can not, and you do less damage.

> > > >

> > > > Sorry to interject here, but since it’s been mentioned a few times in this thread, could you share the build/rotation for the perma fury and 25 might stacks?

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> > > You just AA, use WH5 off CD, have Nature Magic traited for Fortifying Bond and use We Heal As One off CD to generate boons.

> >

> > Thanks. Is there any way you can think of to do this without using our heal (WHaO) on cooldown?

>

> You can be Soulbeast, meld, SotP, Barrage, Rapid Fire and a few AAs will stack you to 25 might. When the duration is getting low you can use WHaO to duplicate. Other than that, there is no real way of maintaining 25 might indefinitely, unless you are using boon duration and a might stack setup. Strength runes/sigil, Companion's Might, Nature Magic, Hunter's Gaze, SotP will get you a lot of might, but still requires the use of WHaO to copy from the pet to you.

It's easy to keep 25 stacks self might permanently with Axe - wh + rune of strength, grabbing nature magic and use we heal as one.

Try it yourself.

You don't need anything else. (Doesn't need all those redundant traits you mentioned)

If you grab Soulbeast, you can self stack 25 mights out of combat with Fresh Reinforcement.

But you don't need it if you're in combat btw. (Use warhorn 5, auto attack 3~4 times to get to 8 might yourself -> we heal as one = 25 might)

> @"Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582" said:

> > @Lome.8239 said:

> > > @"Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582" said:

> > > > @Lome.8239 said:

> > > > > @"Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582" said:

> > > > > > @Lome.8239 said:

> > > > > > > @"Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582" said:

> > > > > > > > @Kanto.1659 said:

> > > > > > > > Out of curiosity what would we be using to kill with the axe? Warhorn isn't offensive, axe 2 is condition, axe 3 is utility. Would it be a matter of autoattacking and sprinkling SB pet attacks?

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > I believe they mean to mostly AA.> @Lome.8239 said:

> > > > > > > > > @Dojo.1867 said:

> > > > > > > > > > @Aomine.5012 said:

> > > > > > > > > > > @Zenith.7301 said:

> > > > > > > > > > > > @Lome.8239 said:

> > > > > > > > > > > > Just as a heads up, Vicious Quarry outdamages Quick Draw in power builds, and Axe/Warhorn outdamages Longbow as a ranged option with Vicious Quarry.

> > > > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > > > Try it out!

> > > > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > > > You can still feel Sword/Axe dominate ranged options even in open world, though.

> > > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > > No way does mainhand axe outperform longbow.

> > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > LB only has a slightly higher dps than axe+wh AT MAX RANGE (1000+) , with no might/ fury application on itself.

> > > > > > > > > > It also has lower synergy with Nature Magic because it can not self stack to 25 might by spamming axe 1 and use we heal as one.

> > > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > > When you consider these factors, where axe wh ALWAYS have permanent fury, 25 stacks might , swiftness, tag 2 enemies without any trait, yes, Axe does out-perform LB in open world by a large margin. LB is more for WvW really, not really such a great weapon in Open world or PVE group contents.

> > > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > > Imo the reason LB easily beats AXE is the piercing if you somewhat know how to position.

> > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > This implies use of Marksmanship, which is a terrible trait line for open world IMO.

> > > > > > > >

> > > > > > > > Skirmishing and Nature Magic seem like the best 2 lines. After that you can do Soulbeast for the OW utility it provides or you can go Wilderness Survival to solo the big stuff by pulsing infinite Protection + Rugged Growth onto your Gazelle.

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > IDK why you think Marks is a bad line for OW, Hunter's Gaze easily keeps up with Axe 1, Steady Focus and any of the GMs make it great. Most things are dead from a single Rapid Fire at 1500 range, even the 2s cripple from OS is enough to make PO good because 2s is enough to kill most things. All this talk about DPS is pointless anyway because of this fact; DPS is meaningless in OW because burst is far superior.

> > > > > >

> > > > > > Until you have a boss battle, a HoT hero challenge or bounty that youre trying to solo. With Longbow it just takes forever.

> > > > > >

> > > > > > People can play whatever they want, especially in open world PvE, but if youre building for good dps, dont take Longbow IMO.

> > > > >

> > > > > With equal might which you get from Hunter's Gaze, LRS does more damage than Ricochet from 500+ range. This is when you take into account a single target and the attack speeds without traits. When you put Lead the Wind on, LB is 10% faster, giving it a 0.9s attack speed and Ricochet is still at 0.88s. Steady Focus adds another 10% and RF is superior burst also. If you are building for good (power) DPS, you don't take A/Wh either, you take S/A.

> > > >

> > > > > @Lome.8239 said:

> > > > > Just as a heads up, Vicious Quarry outdamages Quick Draw in power builds, and Axe/Warhorn outdamages Longbow as a ranged option with Vicious Quarry.

> > > > >

> > > > > Try it out!

> > > > >

> > > > > You can still feel Sword/Axe dominate ranged options even in open world, though.

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> > >In any case, if you take Vicious Quarry with LB and Marks it's going to be better than Vicious Quarry, A/Wh and Nature Magic for the fights you described.

> > >

> >

> > No. :-/

> >

> > Between this statement and your suggestion of Lead the Wind over PO, Im gonna have to stop here.

> >

> > Play whatever you want.

>

> I used LtW to bring the attack speed of LRS to very close to the attack speed of Ricochet, using PO is only going to make it even better. For OW, LtW is often better because of the CD reduction on RF and also the piercing... I'd really like to know how how 250 ferocity is better on axe than LB, since the base damage on LRS is higher than Ricochet and the power coefficient is equal for 0-500 and better for longer ranges. Or, how Nature Magic can compare to Steady Focus and LtW or PO as far as damage goes.

>

> It's just not possible.

Lead the Wind is a severe dps lost compare to Predator Onslaught.

The lost damage is just too great. The att speed increase has alot less impact than you think.

The damage difference goes as high as 1.5k compare to Predator Onslaught, yet if you grab Predator Onslaught, your LB will lose the ability to cleave.

This is the exact reason why I say LB and Marksmanship is terrible in open world.

Also , yes Nature Magic beats Marksmanship completely in open world if you use axe -warhorn.

PERMANENT 25 stack of might is 750 more power, and it has damage modifier too base on how many boons you have.

It also increases your pet's damage significantly by keeping it at permanent 25 might , fury, and very high quickness uptime. (Quickening zephyr lasts almost 20 secs on pet if you grab nature magic. The duration would be even longer if you grab Mao Stance )

Before you say anything, YES, quickness does affect Jacaranda dps greatly, tested on Golem.

Performance wise is not bad in "PVE only"

But the lack of innovation and the lack of new way to play the class as a whole disappoints me.

This is coming from a guy like me who actively play EVERY CLASSES , and tried all 9 of the new specializations.

Absolutely love Scourge, Spellbreaker, and Deadeye. (Renegade is awesome in pve too)

> @Lome.8239 said:

> > @Dojo.1867 said:

> > > @Aomine.5012 said:

> > > > @Zenith.7301 said:

> > > > > @Lome.8239 said:

> > > > > Just as a heads up, Vicious Quarry outdamages Quick Draw in power builds, and Axe/Warhorn outdamages Longbow as a ranged option with Vicious Quarry.

> > > > >

> > > > > Try it out!

> > > > >

> > > > > You can still feel Sword/Axe dominate ranged options even in open world, though.

> > > >

> > > > No way does mainhand axe outperform longbow.

> > >

> > > LB only has a slightly higher dps than axe+wh AT MAX RANGE (1000+) , with no might/ fury application on itself.

> > > It also has lower synergy with Nature Magic because it can not self stack to 25 might by spamming axe 1 and use we heal as one.

> > >

> > > When you consider these factors, where axe wh ALWAYS have permanent fury, 25 stacks might , swiftness, tag 2 enemies without any trait, yes, Axe does out-perform LB in open world by a large margin. LB is more for WvW really, not really such a great weapon in Open world or PVE group contents.

> >

> > Imo the reason LB easily beats AXE is the piercing if you somewhat know how to position.

>

> This implies use of Marksmanship, which is a terrible trait line for open world IMO.

>

> Skirmishing and Nature Magic seem like the best 2 lines. After that you can do Soulbeast for the OW utility it provides or you can go Wilderness Survival to solo the big stuff by pulsing infinite Protection + Rugged Growth onto your Gazelle.

If you're going to use axe off-hand or main-hand, it's best to grab Beastmaster over Skirmishing because:

1. Lower cd on ranger's main dps which is axe 4 and 5.

2. Winter's Bite becomes good aoe and cc.

3. Shorter cool down on shout, shortening the key combo of Ranger's 25 might. (Nature Magic+ We heal as one), and even shorten Sick em cd to make Soulbeast better.

4. Higher pet damage. Jacaranda dps is amazing in pve/ ranger standard, and it's also good aoe damage which ranger sorely lacking in.

I highly recommend grabbing Soulbeast for pve solo because it literally make pet near unkillable, making you the best class to solo Champion in open-world.