Need help with Rev survivability

[Squeesidhe.4761]

OK, "survivability" might not be the right term. I'm not dying that much in POT, but it seems like I'm always finishing fights coasting on a sliver of health. For example, today I fought two - TWO- stinking Sand Lions., one normal and the other a veteran. I held by own, used the class mechanics at least well enough to not die - but the whole battle was a juggle to bounce between stances and skills to keep my health from flat-lining. Not exactly feeling like the heroic slayer of two eldar dragons who is hunting the God of War.

 

I fully admit and accept that it might be that I just suck. I used my free level 80 boost on my Rev, so I haven't been playing her forever.

 

Generally speaking, for those of you who aren't having these troubles, how are you building your characters? What are the basics to make this class viable - is there a certain type of armor that I need, or armor runes, or a skill setup that is essential? I compared the armor that came with the level 80 boost to Beserker and it looks like it's the same, stat-wise, does that sound right? If so, where can I go to improve my armor stats further? I haven't taken the dive into Ascended gear and not sure I want to.

 

If you run your Rev through POT and slaughter with impunity and never watch your health bar because you don't need to - let me know how you do it! Any tips or suggestions will be appreciated.

 

[Set.7461]

I believe the armor you get when you boost is soldier's not berserker's. A full marauder's set is a good balance of damage/survivability. It's a matter of preference, but in open world, you can run whatever you want. I run Renegade full valk armor with zerker weapons/trinkets and I don't have issues with multiple mobs but zerk/marauders will have the same goal. Kill things fast.

 

I find it easier to clear 5 targets than killing things 1 by one. A key part of my build is AOE and draining sigil. You have AOE CC with axe 5, and Darkrazor. Draining also helps with your sustain so whatever damage you take can be easily topped off if you get multiple group procs. Going full Valkyrie will give you more HP at the cost of precision but Renegade has a standard trait that gives 33% crit when endurance is full.

[Celldrax.2849]

I go very tanky. Especially since I like to play melee (and solo), I personally never did myself any favours going full zerk or whatever.

 

If playing power rev, I've been going full soldier armour, full wanderer trinkets (for stacking boon duration) and zerk weapons. And with roiling mists, you'll still trigger criticals no problem and do relatively ok damage at 25 might. And likewise with a condi build, I put heavy investment into trailblazers.

 

Far from being "optimal" builds, but are what works for my playstyle.

[Ojimaru.8970]

First of all, don't worry about Ascended equipment. The collective boost to survivability is non-existent, and only marginal for damage.

 

Depending on what Elite Specializations you have unlocked, you can go Jalis with either Shiro, Glint (aka Herald), or Kalla (aka Renegade). Jalis remains core because the one and only skill you'll use, Vengeful Hammers, heals a small amount per hammer hit. With grouped mobs being so prevalent in PoF, it does a lot for your sustain. Of the other three Legends, Shiro offers the most damage for your character but has an unreliable heal, while Glint can stack you up with boons and has one of the strongest heals in the game. Last but not least, Kalla can be used to summon Darkrazor's Daring for an AoE interrupt for a whole six seconds. Also note that Kalla's summons (except Soulcleave) persist even after invoking your other Legend.

 

Speaking of Invoking, the Invocation trait line is amazing for survivability. Cleansing Channel is a nice condition cleanse, while Empty Vessel is a free minor trait that gives you a crucial stun break. Equilibrium (Master trait) and Shrouding Mists (Grandmaster trait) can be opted into if you need more sustain.

 

Also, don't forget that Duelist's Preparation (Sword 4) is a 2-second block you can use in lieu of spending Endurance to dodge. So even if you're mainly using the Hammer, having a backup pair of swords to swap into can be useful, especially against enemies with anti-range mechanics like the Awakened.

[Joxer.6024]

All the above is just what you need, great info!! But, this "I fully admit and accept that it might be that I just suck. I used my free level 80 boost on my Rev, so I haven't been playing her forever.", is your biggest hurdle. Best way to not die and all that is to learn the class. So take all what was mentioned and then just play play play. maybe venture to HOT and old Tyria just to get a feel for the class then head to POF, but keep in mind that the mobs there are tougher based on higher aggro, amount and all that jazz. I main a Rev/Renegade and I still end up like you in many battles so yea, you are not alone in that respect. Keep at it, you be right! ;)

[Thot.7264]

Additionally, if you play as a Herald, you can use the shield (4 for protection + heal, 5 for block + heal) while the elite is a huge CC.

[DKShang.8792]

I will use my summons on Kalla to distract enemies and act as a shield from ranged attacks. Not sure if you have tried doing that but it works well for me. I will also kite the enemy by making occasional leaps ahead using Unyielding Anguish to punish them for chasing me and an occasional Banish Enchantment to punish them for attacking me. Not sure if anything there is helpful. I think Joxer kind of hit on the best advice. It's challenging to jump into any profession and tackle high level content without giving yourself a proper chance to orientate first. Revenant, like other professions, has nuances that you can only pick up with time.

[Lanhelin.3480]

My suggestion would be to get an exotic version of all weapons asap. I dropped the swords one gets from boosting and use mace+axe instead. Mace 2 lays a fire field and Mace 3 is an explosion-finisher to get AoE Might. Axe 4 nets you a teleport-to-foe. It's pretty different to dual sword and I had less trouble with this setup.

 

At second I'd run through all maps in core Tyria and grab the HP. The boost gives all level-up-HP but no map-HP. On the first HoT map there are a few easy-to-get HP which then should be enough to max out one elite. Or you go to PoF maps and get some HP there. HP can be spent on core, HoT and PoF skill trees, no matter where you earned them.

[Squeesidhe.4761]

> @Joxer.6024 said:

> All the above is just what you need, great info!! But, this "I fully admit and accept that it might be that I just suck. I used my free level 80 boost on my Rev, so I haven't been playing her forever.", is your biggest hurdle. Best way to not die and all that is to learn the class.

 

Totally agree, although I should add the qualifier that this isn't my first GW2 rodeo. I have *several* other characters, all level 80s, most of them built from the ground up without boosts. So I'm probably doing... OK, in terms of where I am in the Rev learning curve. I'm holding my own for the most part without being downed too much. It's an issue of annoyance more than anything.

 

For instance, a couple days ago I was going after HP guarded by this living windstorm thing, atop a mesa. Immediately like three normal sand lions and a veteran agroed me. I was doing OK, but it just wasn't... fun. That fight would have been fun on my Engineer. I use a three-turret setup and a condi build and can usually handle content that melts my other toons.

 

On my Rev though it was: heal, heal! Agh, switch Legends, heal, hit hammers, back to other legend, heal! Might boost, might boost, heal! It's just tedious when it's EVERY mob, you know? I wasn't fighting Balthazar himself, just some stupid lions. I like the class, but maybe the mechanics are just too fiddly for me.

 

I did follow some of the suggestions here and I experimented last night with a lifesteal setup. I've avoided them in the past because I was under the impression that they sucked, but so far it's... better. I switched out Strength runes for Vampirism and added some lifesteal sigils to some weapons.

 

 

[Set.7461]

If you're running kalla, currently the best life steal sigil is draining. The best life steal rune is mad king which may or may not be volatile in gold after today. Draining will give you ~1k dmg/lifesteal with no ICD. Pull a group, round them up with axe 5, and drop darkrazor on them. Drop soulcleave on your feet, let the mad king birds do work and gain some sweet lifesteal. It used to do great damage before the stealth need to soulcleave but it's still good for sustain.

[Redfeather.6401]

^ That is what I'm using as well. Self sustain through life stealing is very fun to play. Rewards you for constantly being aggressive on mobs. I don't know how well it works in stuff like WvW or sPvP, but I know it works great in open world PvE.

 

And it requires some legwork too. The sigil of draining requires doing Tangled Depths events from HoT. And Mad King's rune are pretty expensive, but you can craft them with halloween goodies, so it's great timing to collect the mats for that.

[Joxer.6024]

> @Squeesidhe.4761 said:

> > @Joxer.6024 said:

> > All the above is just what you need, great info!! But, this "I fully admit and accept that it might be that I just suck. I used my free level 80 boost on my Rev, so I haven't been playing her forever.", is your biggest hurdle. Best way to not die and all that is to learn the class.

 

> For instance, a couple days ago I was going after HP guarded by this living windstorm thing, atop a mesa. Immediately like three normal sand lions and a veteran agroed me. I was doing OK, but it just wasn't... fun. That fight would have been fun on my Engineer. I use a three-turret setup and a condi build and can usually handle content that melts my other toons.

 

Lol, maybe you should check out a post I did, https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/comment/204477#Comment_204477, on that very issue!

But yea, noting that you not a rookie then that's even better. Sounds like you are getting it and it all comes down to whether you enjoy the class or not. If you do then good luck and go nuts!!! ;)

 

[Ardent Heretic.8216]

> @Squeesidhe.4761 said:

> On my Rev though it was: heal, heal! Agh, switch Legends, heal, hit hammers, back to other legend, heal! Might boost, might boost, heal! It's just tedious when it's EVERY mob, you know? I wasn't fighting Balthazar himself, just some stupid lions. I like the class, but maybe the mechanics are just too fiddly for me.

 

This experience makes sense to me. I suggest you look into the optimal/raid rotations. Revenant, more than any other profession I've played, relies on rotating through all your available resources. You lose out on potential much more when camping a single legend than an ele does on a single attunement. Rev skills are very strong individually, but they are limited by energy and therefore do not forgive spamming. It's very much about planning out the next 10 seconds every time you swap legends to balance your damage, survival, and utility for what will be needed in those 10 seconds.

 

That said, many people have fun camping a legend to full energy and spamming a bunch. It's just good to know how to really crank it up a notch when you get caught off guard.

[narcx.3570]

> @Squeesidhe.4761 said:

 

> On my Rev though it was: heal, heal! Agh, switch Legends, heal, hit hammers, back to other legend, heal! Might boost, might boost, heal! It's just tedious when it's EVERY mob, you know? I wasn't fighting Balthazar himself, just some stupid lions. I like the class, but maybe the mechanics are just too fiddly for me.

>

 

Using Jalis in any game mode is a step towards not having fun playing as a Revenant... Same with (I'm assuming you're using it cuz they synergize, Retribution.) With Jalis, you're choosing a low damage, low mobility, sort of defensive combat style that will definitely involve a lot of stance swapping and healing since it's taking you so long to kill anything.

 

Personally, I'm just using my full Viper's Mallyx/Kalla raid spec right now (except I sub Invocation for Devestation for solo'ing around) and you destroy almost everything in PoF before your Jackal Barrier even wears off.

 

Shiro/Glint Power specs are fun too, although I haven't personally played it in PoF open world stuff, it worked fine in HoT... Which honestly, has more punishing open world content for rev's than PoF does. (All those gd bleeds/torments/poisons).

 

Also, as for fighting a bunch of mobs as a power spec, it sounds like you're just trying to just face roll into them and trade hits, which is going to lead to a lot of the frustration that you described... A typical encounter for a power rev should be mostly fought JUST outside of melee range, dumping your Elemental Blast, Burst of Strength, Surge of the Mists, Precision Strike, and Unrelenting Assault on the enemy from range, before finally swapping to Shiro, popping Enchanted Daggers/Impossible Odds and finishing them off up close.

[otto.5684]

> @Squeesidhe.4761 said:

> OK, "survivability" might not be the right term. I'm not dying that much in POT, but it seems like I'm always finishing fights coasting on a sliver of health. For example, today I fought two - TWO- stinking Sand Lions., one normal and the other a veteran. I held by own, used the class mechanics at least well enough to not die - but the whole battle was a juggle to bounce between stances and skills to keep my health from flat-lining. Not exactly feeling like the heroic slayer of two eldar dragons who is hunting the God of War.

>

> I fully admit and accept that it might be that I just suck. I used my free level 80 boost on my Rev, so I haven't been playing her forever.

>

> Generally speaking, for those of you who aren't having these troubles, how are you building your characters? What are the basics to make this class viable - is there a certain type of armor that I need, or armor runes, or a skill setup that is essential? I compared the armor that came with the level 80 boost to Beserker and it looks like it's the same, stat-wise, does that sound right? If so, where can I go to improve my armor stats further? I haven't taken the dive into Ascended gear and not sure I want to.

>

> If you run your Rev through POT and slaughter with impunity and never watch your health bar because you don't need to - let me know how you do it! Any tips or suggestions will be appreciated.

>

 

I am unsure what gear and build you are using to provide you the best advice.

 

Rev in PvE is not lacking in survivability, though unsure you have the right build. For power use sword and what ever off hand you like (I like shield in open world PvE). Herald/Shiro or Jailis. Most of the time sword 2-3 will kill mobs before you get a chance to mow them down with auto attack. Use devastation/invocation line + herald.

 

Condi build, viper or sinister gear (rampager if you cannot craft). Use Mallyx/invocation + renegade (or herald). Legends use Mallyx/Kalla or Herald. Use mace/axe. Axe 5 + Undying Anguish from Mallyx then mace 2 then 3 kills all regular mobs and over few seconds will almost kill veterans. That is like 20 stacks of torment alone.

 

Obliviously make sure to dodge and avoid bad circles as needed.

[Joxer.6024]

> @narcx.3570 said:

> > @Squeesidhe.4761 said:

>

> > On my Rev though it was: heal, heal! Agh, switch Legends, heal, hit hammers, back to other legend, heal! Might boost, might boost, heal! It's just tedious when it's EVERY mob, you know? I wasn't fighting Balthazar himself, just some stupid lions. I like the class, but maybe the mechanics are just too fiddly for me.

> >

> Personally, I'm just using my full Viper's Mallyx/Kalla raid spec right now (except I sub Invocation for Devestation for solo'ing around) and you destroy almost everything in PoF before your Jackal Barrier even wears off.

 

 

Same, and with the same results. And as he said, don't go toe to toe with them else you get smushed. Stick and move.....float like a butterfly and all that! ;)

[Justine.6351]

I played PoF full glass hammer rev, the sand lions are are a little harder to fight is all.

[Celldrax.2849]

> @narcx.3570 said:

> Also, as for fighting a bunch of mobs as a power spec, it sounds like you're just trying to just face roll into them and trade hits, which is going to lead to a lot of the frustration that you described... A typical encounter for a power rev should be mostly fought JUST outside of melee range, dumping your Elemental Blast, Burst of Strength, Surge of the Mists, Precision Strike, and Unrelenting Assault on the enemy from range, before finally swapping to Shiro, popping Enchanted Daggers/Impossible Odds and finishing them off up close.

Heh, I go full melee as power.

 

This is why I go for max might and high boon duration on my tank with superior sigil of air. Can stay at 25 might (bit over 3000 damage) pretty consistently whilst switching between glint and jalis hammers.

 

Obviously not very high damage, but can still kill things in suitable time and solo my way through HoT maps (which was really my initial intent).

 

[Squeesidhe.4761]

I think part of the issue might be I don't have either elite specs unlocked yet. Sounds like that might make life easier.

 

ANet, are you reading? It might be more fun to get access to the elite specs early in an expansion so we can, you know, actually play with them. Just a thought. :bleep_bloop:

 

Thanks for the feedback everyone, much appreciated.

[Ardent Heretic.8216]

> @Squeesidhe.4761 said:

> I think part of the issue might be I don't have either elite specs unlocked yet. Sounds like that might make life easier.

>

> ANet, are you reading? It might be more fun to get access to the elite specs early in an expansion so we can, you know, actually play with them. Just a thought. :bleep_bloop:

>

> Thanks for the feedback everyone, much appreciated.

 

I personally find the experience of unlocking the spec as I go quite enjoyable, but Rev can't really use the new stance until it's fully unlocked due to the inability to fill the skill bar with existing skills like in other professions.

[narcx.3570]

> @Celldrax.2849 said:

> > @narcx.3570 said:

> > Also, as for fighting a bunch of mobs as a power spec, it sounds like you're just trying to just face roll into them and trade hits, which is going to lead to a lot of the frustration that you described... A typical encounter for a power rev should be mostly fought JUST outside of melee range, dumping your Elemental Blast, Burst of Strength, Surge of the Mists, Precision Strike, and Unrelenting Assault on the enemy from range, before finally swapping to Shiro, popping Enchanted Daggers/Impossible Odds and finishing them off up close.

> Heh, I go full melee as power.

>

> This is why I go for max might and high boon duration on my tank with superior sigil of air. Can stay at 25 might (bit over 3000 damage) pretty consistently whilst switching between glint and jalis hammers.

>

> Obviously not very high damage, but can still kill things in suitable time and solo my way through HoT maps (which was really my initial intent).

>

 

Yeah, I mean you can obviously get through anything in a tank build... I was more speaking to the OP's original concern of boredom vs not-dying. For those who find a melee tank style of play fun, Jalis/Ret is definitely a good choice--probably the best out of any of the heavy classes. That's the good part about Open World PvE I guess, you can play builds like that and not have to worry about getting leet'ed out of groups or being a burden to your team in sPvP or whatever.

[Westenev.5289]

I use full Zerk/Scholars - Revenant is a very bloodthirsty beast, and should be treated as such. Rather than looking for ways to escape, you should definately be looking for ways to stay on your target, and how to avoid their damage through strong CC, evades or blocks. Because of this, I tend to favour Herald-Shiro Sw/Sh Staff for casual play, and whip out the hammer only when I REALLY need to range things.

 

Going tanky isn't the way to go IMO, unless you're looking at zerging. Revenant *should* be able to kill most things before they kill you in solo play. The longer you draw out a fight, the more your defenses are going to be strained.

 

The rest is just practice. Revenant has a lot of tools, it's just about learning how to use them creatively.