Post patch pvp warrior/spellbreaker builds

[Ghos.1326]

> @"Girth.9731" said:

> This is a difficult question to answer. The game is undergoing a fundamental transformation and we just don't know where that is going to leave the state of balance. However, based on the changes I see for Warrior compared to other classes, I think we can draw a few conclusions.

>

> So to start, I feel that Warrior got off pretty light compared to a lot of the other classes. I'll make a short list of what I feel will have the greatest impact.

>

> **Weapon skills**: The Warrior's meta weapons were hardly touched. Namely, greatsword, MH axe, MH dagger, and shield all escaped any major CD nerfs (MH dagger was actually potentially buffed). I feel this is really significant as many classes had important weapons cooldowns substantially increased. Overall, these already highly competitive weapons retained most of their damage and will likely be as good as they are now, or potentially even better (relative to other professions), post-patch.

>

> **Healing skills**: Again, here the Warrior got off pretty light I feel. As we all know, there are only really two viable options for healing currently, Healing Signet and Mending. This patch won't change that and both of these skills seemed to receive relatively very minor nerfs. It's hard to say which will be better post-patch, but clearly they will still be on top.

>

> **Utility skills**: I think this is where we start to see some clear winners and losers with changes that will shake up the current Warrior meta. So to start, Shake It Off I see as likely no longer being viable. The massive cooldown increase coupled with the reduction in condi removal means this skill will likely be outclassed. Additionally, if the patch does what Anet intends it to do and reduces the amount of condi burst, skills like this won't be as necessary to have on your bar. Luckily, I feel this is the only utility skill receiving a major nerf. I see the big winners here as Endure Pain, Featherfoot Grace/Berserker Stance, and Bull's Charge. I think we will see most Warrior bars carrying these skills.

>

> **Elite skills**: Rampage will still be great, however I am really excited about Signet of Rage. This skill definitely received a major buff and, considering how difficult might will be to come by, having an instant 20 stacks at the press of a button will be very strong. Yes, it will only last 4 seconds (probably closer to 6 after runes) but this will allow for a well timed burst of damage in addition to having much better synergy with skills like Might Makes Right. To top it off, the cooldown is being reduced to 40 seconds from 60. Definitely a big win.

>

> Now for the trait lines (only going to cover the one's relevant to the current viable PvP builds)

>

> **Strength**: Okay so this is the big one. As we know, the Strength tree has been the core of meta Warrior builds for about the past two or so years (thanks in part to Defense not keeping up with powercreep). However, the Strength tree is a very well designed and versatile in its own right. The question is, will it retain its meta position post-patch. The most significant change is to Might Makes Right which had its healing essential reduced by about 50%. In addition, some sources of might generation were nerfed that may reduce the synergy the skill has with Warrior as a whole. I really can't predict how this skill will perform post-patch. On one hand, Warrior still has ALOT of might generation, and relative to other classes, seems to have retained most of its might generating capabilities (kind of a class theme). In addition, the massive buff to Signet of Rage provides yet another opportunity for synergy. Considering that the endurance gain remained untouched, I believe that this skill will remain meta-defining post-patch. However, it will really come down to how it will measure up against the sustain of other classes, as well as how the value of a dodge roll will change. Overall, the Strength tree remained virtually untouched and will likely continue to be meta-defining.

>

> **Defense**: Poor Defense, keeps getting shafted when it isn't even that good. To start, Defy Pain and Last Stand were both MEGA nerfed and will likely never see the light of day again. I mean, 300s cooldowns... these traits simply don't provide enough outside their active components to be worth taking. Shield Master had it's might duration reduced to 1 second, which I find as a very strange change. The might will last long enough to maybe use one or two skills right after blocking, 4 or 5 seconds feels like it would have been more appropriate. I don't see this has a huge nerf, however, as the CD reduction and reflects are what really makes this trait strong. Finally, Adrenal Health actually got off pretty lightly with only a small reduction in healing. Which, considering the trait was already struggling, I think is more than fair. Notably, Cleansing Ire, a trait that I feel has been on the brink of viability, received no nerfs. Overally, Defense definitely received some hard nerfs, but the relative strength of Adrenal Health and potentially Cleansing Ire post-patch may be enough to bring Defense back from obscurity. Only time will tell on this one.

>

> **Discipline**: No nerfs, as strong as ever, still essential.

>

> **Berserker**: Again, no significant nerfs really. However, I feel game trending towards less burst damage overall may hurt Berserker indirectly.

>

> **Spellbreaker**: Another powerhouse that has defined the Warrior meta since its release. The only notable nerf here is to Mage Bane Tether, and I think a lot of us saw this coming. The might gain has been reduced to 1 stack meaning, at most, it will gain you 8 stacks of might over the duration of the 8 second tether. However, consider how every class had its might generation significantly nerfed, 8 stacks of might on a 12 second cooldown may end up being pretty decent. Will this provide enough synergy with Might Makes Right to maintain the current Strength Spellbreaker meta? I don't know the answer to that question and it depends on how the powerlevel of the other classes ends up panning out.

>

> So, in conclusion, yes Strength Spellbreaker will probably remain the meta. However, I would keep an eye on Defense as, post-patch, it may provide quite a bit of sustain that may see a return to the old Defense Spellbreaker or even Core warrior. As for more fringe builds like condi and power Berserker, I don't have enough experience with these builds to really say, but I see no reason why they would be any more viable than they are now. But again, so much is changing so who really knows.

>

>

>

>

 

I agree with you here. The nerfs overall, on top of Defense not getting a heavy nerf on its passive Adrenal Health and Cleansing Ire (which is good considering the trait line is focused on enduring damage), will bring Defense back into the light as a good defensive focused trait line. The Might Makes Right healing nerf was well warranted imo, because the trait line focuses more on brute strength and damage increase, so having that god-like sustain on top of it was strange to me. May even see some builds utilizing Strength AND Defense together Pog.

[Girth.9731]

> @"Multicolorhipster.9751" said:

> Only talking sPvP here. I'm thinking something like: [gw2skills.net/editor/?PKwAc6FlJwSYYsRGKOWX+PdA-z5gfKNKEKVBUwIojJgKGA](http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PKwAc6FlJwSYYsRGKOWX+PdA-z5gfKNKEKVBUwIojJgKGA)

>

> Considering swapping out a few things based on how good they are or not:

>

> •Mending - Will just swap back to healing signet if the increased CD on mending is that big of a deal. 230(cut by 1/3 with poison) a second just sounds pretty meh and I wanna see how much better or worse mending is after.

> •Bull's Charge - May swap out for stomp because of the shorter CD. Still a gap closer and setup for evis/arcing slice. OR Signet of Stamina since that's untouched.

> •Slow counter - I'm pretty split on this, I probably won't take it in all honesty. Will switch back to loss aversion if adrenaline is a problem. 2 Seconds of slow when Full Counter's daze duration is getting increased to 2 seconds Pepega

> •Demloisher's Ammy - Honestly considering Zerker ammy instead since damage is going down across the board and because of the reduction to 4-stat ammies.

>

> When it comes to general playstyle differences...

>

> •Generally I don't think mainhand Dagger is going to "cut" it anymore when it comes to damage hehe

> •Getting people low enough for arcing slice is going to be a challenge too with 100b seeming more like 100tickles on paper. I don't think warrior's are going to use this skill too much post-patch because it'l be a wasted setup. Maybe to cleave, but at that damage I think it's very possible for someone rezzing to heal for a lot more than the damage you'd be doing. It's a shame really because this is such a cool skill; always has been, but even now people usually just commit to like the first 2-3 swings then immediately bail into another skill.

>

 

Dagger will still be better than Axe for the same reasons it is now. The damage wasn't really nerfed that badly in comparison to other weapons. Also, again Hundred Blade was adjusted by about the same amount that greatsword skills for other classes were so I'm not sure where you are getting the impression it will be worse. For example, if you calculate the damage compared to Whirling Wrath for Guardian you will find that Hundred Blades has about a 20% higher modifier both pre and post patch; it looks like the goal wasn't to change up the balance of classes relative to each other, but rather bring down the power level overall.

 

Edit: You are right that Hundred Blades could use a rework, but I do believe a lot of Warriors underestimate the skill. Even 3-4 hits can get you to more damage than an Arcing Slice. If you throw it out more often, for example after a FC rather than going straight into Arcing Slice, you can really make the most of the what the greatsword can offer. I have been trying to incorporate the skill more and more into my gameplay and I think it really helps milk every bit of damage you can out of the weapon.

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

> @"Girth.9731" said:

> > @"Multicolorhipster.9751" said:

> > Only talking sPvP here. I'm thinking something like: [gw2skills.net/editor/?PKwAc6FlJwSYYsRGKOWX+PdA-z5gfKNKEKVBUwIojJgKGA](http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PKwAc6FlJwSYYsRGKOWX+PdA-z5gfKNKEKVBUwIojJgKGA)

> >

> > Considering swapping out a few things based on how good they are or not:

> >

> > •Mending - Will just swap back to healing signet if the increased CD on mending is that big of a deal. 230(cut by 1/3 with poison) a second just sounds pretty meh and I wanna see how much better or worse mending is after.

> > •Bull's Charge - May swap out for stomp because of the shorter CD. Still a gap closer and setup for evis/arcing slice. OR Signet of Stamina since that's untouched.

> > •Slow counter - I'm pretty split on this, I probably won't take it in all honesty. Will switch back to loss aversion if adrenaline is a problem. 2 Seconds of slow when Full Counter's daze duration is getting increased to 2 seconds Pepega

> > •Demloisher's Ammy - Honestly considering Zerker ammy instead since damage is going down across the board and because of the reduction to 4-stat ammies.

> >

> > When it comes to general playstyle differences...

> >

> > •Generally I don't think mainhand Dagger is going to "cut" it anymore when it comes to damage hehe

> > •Getting people low enough for arcing slice is going to be a challenge too with 100b seeming more like 100tickles on paper. I don't think warrior's are going to use this skill too much post-patch because it'l be a wasted setup. Maybe to cleave, but at that damage I think it's very possible for someone rezzing to heal for a lot more than the damage you'd be doing. It's a shame really because this is such a cool skill; always has been, but even now people usually just commit to like the first 2-3 swings then immediately bail into another skill.

> >

>

> Dagger will still be better than Axe for the same reasons it is now. The damage wasn't really nerfed that badly in comparison to other weapons. Also, again Hundred Blade was adjusted by about the same amount that greatsword skills for other classes were so I'm not sure where you are getting the impression it will be worse. For example, if you calculate the damage compared to Whirling Wrath for Guardian you will find that Hundred Blades has about a 20% higher modifier both pre and post patch; it looks like the goal wasn't to change up the balance of classes relative to each other, but rather bring down the power level overall.

>

> Edit: You are right that Hundred Blades could use a rework, but I do believe a lot of Warriors underestimate the skill. Even 3-4 hits can get you to more damage than an Arcing Slice. If you throw it out more often, for example after a FC rather than going straight into Arcing Slice, you can really make the most of the what the greatsword can offer. I have been trying to incorporate the skill more and more into my gameplay and I think it really helps milk every bit of damage you can out of the weapon.

 

Nice for fishing out a dodge as well. Have Whirlwind Attack ready and track their movement with it, activate it when their dodge frames are coming to an end.

[Multicolorhipster.9751]

> @"Psycoprophet.8107" said:

> This is basically what I was thinking on. Except axe mastery and slow counter cuz sig of rage takes care of adrenaline and loss aversion dps seems kinda low especially after patch.

> I don't see many people use axe mastery, if using ace is the lower cd and extra forocity/adrenaline not worth the trait? Also with stun breaks getting nerfed will no escape become more useful even if duration on imobilize are lower?

 

My idea is just to stack as many damage multipliers as possible and then land evis -> arcing slice. I think axe mastery is an equally solid choice if you're feeling up to it, I just want that extra 7% multiplier on bursts.

 

No escape might be a lot better post patch though, I didn't even consider that. I might give that a try.

[Multicolorhipster.9751]

> @"Girth.9731" said:

> Dagger will still be better than Axe for the same reasons it is now. The damage wasn't really nerfed that badly in comparison to other weapons. Also, again Hundred Blade was adjusted by about the same amount that greatsword skills for other classes were so I'm not sure where you are getting the impression it will be worse. For example, if you calculate the damage compared to Whirling Wrath for Guardian you will find that Hundred Blades has about a 20% higher modifier both pre and post patch; it looks like the goal wasn't to change up the balance of classes relative to each other, but rather bring down the power level overall.

 

Totally feel that. If you want to rock dagger post-patch, I say go for it. Not saying I won't use 100b at all either, but a lot more selectively after the patch drops.

 

The main difference post-patch being i'm not going to set up for it anymore because at that damage it doesn't seem worth blowing one of the major CC's for. I'll probably still use it like you say, just for passively building adrenaline and keeping up damage between full counters. For cleaving i'll probably use the axe auto attack.

 

 

[Girth.9731]

> @"Multicolorhipster.9751" said:

> > @"Girth.9731" said:

> > Dagger will still be better than Axe for the same reasons it is now. The damage wasn't really nerfed that badly in comparison to other weapons. Also, again Hundred Blade was adjusted by about the same amount that greatsword skills for other classes were so I'm not sure where you are getting the impression it will be worse. For example, if you calculate the damage compared to Whirling Wrath for Guardian you will find that Hundred Blades has about a 20% higher modifier both pre and post patch; it looks like the goal wasn't to change up the balance of classes relative to each other, but rather bring down the power level overall.

>

> Totally feel that. If you want to rock dagger post-patch, I say go for it. Not saying I won't use 100b at all either, but a lot more selectively after the patch drops.

>

> The main difference post-patch being i'm not going to set up for it anymore because at that damage it doesn't seem worth blowing one of the major CC's for. I'll probably still use it like you say, just for passively building adrenaline and keeping up damage between full counters. For cleaving i'll probably use the axe auto attack.

>

>

 

Really? Well Hundred Blades will likely still provide more DPS than an Axe autochain, just as it does now. If you go and check out the numbers, it looks like Hundred Blades will be roughly in line where it is now compared to other classes post patch. Keep in mind, sustain is going down as well so Hundred Blades will still be a big damage skill. I mean, even at a .35 modifier, landing 6 hits gets you to a little more damage than a post-patch level 3 Eviscerate and that's basically how things are now. So yeah, if just 6 hits does more damage than a level 3 Eviscerate post-patch, I think the skill will still be worth using. Look at how some of the other class's Greatsword numbers were changed and you'll see, relatively, it wasn't nerfed that bad. Gravedigger got off much worse, for example. I mean, if it were changed to even a .40 modifier, just 5 hits would get you to the equivalent of a level 3 Eviscerate which would actually be a relative buff. If anything, having fewer stunbreaks in the game may be an indirect buff to Hundred Blades and encourage its use more. The thing I'm worried about with Axe is a 15s coodlown on Throw Axe, seems like a bit much. But hey, maybe if boons really aren't a thing I'll swap to Axe again.

[Multicolorhipster.9751]

> @"Girth.9731" said:

> Really? Well Hundred Blades will likely still provide more DPS than an Axe autochain, just as it does now. If you go and check out the numbers, it looks like Hundred Blades will be roughly in line where it is now compared to other classes post patch. Keep in mind, sustain is going down as well so Hundred Blades will still be a big damage skill. I mean, even at a .35 modifier, landing 6 hits gets you to a little more damage than a post-patch level 3 Eviscerate and that's basically how things are now. So yeah, if just 6 hits does more damage than a level 3 Eviscerate post-patch, I think the skill will still be worth using. Look at how some of the other class's Greatsword numbers were changed and you'll see, relatively, it wasn't nerfed that bad. Gravedigger got off much worse, for example. I mean, if it were changed to even a .40 modifier, just 5 hits would get you to the equivalent of a level 3 Eviscerate which would actually be a relative buff. If anything, having fewer stunbreaks in the game may be an indirect buff to Hundred Blades and encourage its use more. The thing I'm worried about with Axe is a 15s coodlown on Throw Axe, seems like a bit much. But hey, maybe if boons really aren't a thing I'll swap to Axe again.

 

In theory anyway, I haven't actually gotten to play this patch yet so I don't really know. If you've got some sort of beta access lmk where I can sign up, because i'd definitely want to try that.

 

When it comes to [Throw Axe] I play a lot of axe SPB already, personally I love it, but the lower CD means it can be used a bit liberally. IE for an opener or just thrown out while you're being kited.

Post patch it seems to be one of the few skills game-wide that isn't getting a straight reduction in damage which is interesting to me. Especially considering the multiplier based on missing health. I think that means it'l be really good at executing people; especially whoever you have tethered, but the increased CD might make it more worth saving until you can really get a benefit off of those multipliers.

[Girth.9731]

> @"Multicolorhipster.9751" said:

> > @"Girth.9731" said:

> > Really? Well Hundred Blades will likely still provide more DPS than an Axe autochain, just as it does now. If you go and check out the numbers, it looks like Hundred Blades will be roughly in line where it is now compared to other classes post patch. Keep in mind, sustain is going down as well so Hundred Blades will still be a big damage skill. I mean, even at a .35 modifier, landing 6 hits gets you to a little more damage than a post-patch level 3 Eviscerate and that's basically how things are now. So yeah, if just 6 hits does more damage than a level 3 Eviscerate post-patch, I think the skill will still be worth using. Look at how some of the other class's Greatsword numbers were changed and you'll see, relatively, it wasn't nerfed that bad. Gravedigger got off much worse, for example. I mean, if it were changed to even a .40 modifier, just 5 hits would get you to the equivalent of a level 3 Eviscerate which would actually be a relative buff. If anything, having fewer stunbreaks in the game may be an indirect buff to Hundred Blades and encourage its use more. The thing I'm worried about with Axe is a 15s coodlown on Throw Axe, seems like a bit much. But hey, maybe if boons really aren't a thing I'll swap to Axe again.

>

> In theory anyway, I haven't actually gotten to play this patch yet so I don't really know. If you've got some sort of beta access lmk where I can sign up, because i'd definitely want to try that.

>

> When it comes to [Throw Axe] I play a lot of axe SPB already, personally I love it, but the lower CD means it can be used a bit liberally. IE for an opener or just thrown out while you're being kited.

> Post patch it seems to be one of the few skills game-wide that isn't getting a straight reduction in damage which is interesting to me. Especially considering the multiplier based on missing health. I think that means it'l be really good at executing people; especially whoever you have tethered, but the increased CD might make it more worth saving until you can really get a benefit off of those multipliers.

 

I used to play alot of SB axe but with so many boonstick classes running around (Weaver, FB, Holo, Mirage, etc.) Breaching Strike just feels so good and I've swapped over to dagger. Also I like how similar the animation is to Aura Slicer so its hard for opponents to know which you are using lol. Idk, axe definitely does more damage but I think of dagger as a better "can opener" so to speak that helps you land more damage with your greatsword. Both are good and which is better I think really depends on the environment and play style.

 

And sadly no, I don't know of any playtest server or anything like that, I'm just going off what the numbers say. Statistically, Hundred Blades should be as good or better (relatively) than it is now.

[Saleerian.2973]

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