Condition Damage Master Guide

[saerni.2584]

In light of the new forums I think it's appropriate to make a new thread on this perennial topic. I chose the PvP subforum because it is often where the greatest number of complaints/concerns/questions are posted because sPvP requires relatively little game time to jump into and is usually a player's first exposure to player vs player in GW2.

 

Conditions are an alternative form of damage (compared to power based damage) which relies primarily on the condition damage and expertise statistics. Condition damage improves the overall damage at a given moment and expertise adds duration. Duration, however, means more stacks of conditions can build up at once and this results in higher numbers as well.

 

Conditions are applied through various weapon skills, specialization traits and utilities. These application abilities can be dodged, blocked and in some cases reflected or avoided through line of sight. Invulnerability also functions to prevent condition application but does not prevent damage from already applied conditions. Understanding how a condition is applied is the first step, generally, in being able to avoid being hit in the future.

 

Once applied, conditions apply a base damage value and additional (conditional) damage in the case of torment and confusion. Torment applies double damage while moving. Confusion applies significantly higher damage per skill activation. Poison will additionally reduce healing by 33%. Understanding how conditions function is the first step to deciding when you should cleanse and when you should wait to cleanse.

 

Cleanse is a mitigation mechanic designed to reduce, but not eliminate, condition damage. In a sense, cleanse is like toughness is for power damage—cleanse unique to conditions and toughness unique for power damage. Not all cleanse is created equal. There are targeted cleanses (which remove specific conditions) and generic cleanses (which remove any condition you have on you. Both will remove the conditions they target in a last in-first out system. Targeted cleanses can be used to full intended effect at any time. Generic cleanses, however, can only be used to full intended effect when the number of conditions removed by the cleanse is at least equal to the number you want to remove. This is what a "cover" condition is designed to prevent by making generic cleanses target unimportant conditions over the ones doing significant damage. Knowing when to time your cleanses, targeted and generic, is crucial to surviving against condition builds.

 

Next, boons also work to reduce condition damage. Resistance is a short lived 100% immunity to all condition effects. This is comparable to the protection boon, which significantly reduces power damage for comparatively longer than resistance provides immunity. Because resistance is short lived, and can be corrupted, it is crucial to learn how to time it for maximum effect with minimal risk. Immunity isn't forever.

 

Turning to a common complaint, conditions will feel like they kill very quickly. This is, most likely, intended by Anet. The move away from bunker builds and towards a burst meta has been well documented. Both power and condition builds have gotten better at killing quickly and most classes have fewer survival options than in the past. That said, part of the reason conditions burst as hard as they do is because cleanse is more variable than toughness as a statistic. Cleanse can, in the right situations reduce condition damage taken to a fraction of its potential. For this reason, conditions need to deal their damage between cleanses to remain effective—and Anet wants conditions to be effective in pvp/WvW (and yes PvE).

 

I hope this provides some insight into the state of the game with conditions on the eve of PoF, for veterans and new/returning players alike.