657 replies to this topic

[Sebiale]

Are you making sure to keep your Fury stacking? Even without the rec items you should have infinitely stacking Fury as long as you hit Great Justice and Signet of Rage every time they're up.

[pullinside]

Hello, can you explain the recent changes on the build and for what purpose? I saw the replacement of 3 pieces of armor for the berserker's and the amulet to compensate. Thanks + +

[Thorfinnr]

pullinside, on 23 January 2013 - 05:07 PM, said:

Hello, can you explain the recent changes on the build and for what purpose? I saw the replacement of 3 pieces of armor for the berserker's and the amulet to compensate. Thanks + +

The following is the original post by Kladivo, and then Brand's response...its back a ways, so just trying to help for convenience.

kladivo, on 14 January 2013 - 12:24 PM, said:

CLIP
This build has only small fly and that is armor optimalization as somebode wrote before me, make it and your build will be brilliant (i use zerk shoulders, gloves, boots and emerald(knight) amulet with ruby orb : +1% critdmg, +12 power, -12 tougnes X you.
CLIP

Brand, on 15 January 2013 - 09:08 AM, said:

Edit: It would appear that the gear iteration suggested above is optimal, 4 Power and 1% crit damage gained for a loss of 12 toughness. THat equals about 18 stat vs 12 stat. Will change the spreadsheet accordingly.

[Pyro001]

Can anyone recommend good trinket substitutes that can be bought off the Black Lion Trading Company?  Would the original full Berserker's be the best alternative?  Thanks.

[Sebiale]

Pyro001, on 25 January 2013 - 07:05 AM, said:

Can anyone recommend good trinket substitutes that can be bought off the Black Lion Trading Company?  Would the original full Berserker's be the best alternative?  Thanks.

You could replace the Emerald Orichalcum Amulet and Ruby Orichalcum Earring with their lesser Mithril or Platinum cousins (there are three tiers of each, Fine through Rare).
I'm not aware of a lesser counterpart for the Ancient Karka Shell earring or the Solaria ring, the only thing I know of with similar stats to them is the Celestial Amulet.
There are lesser Ruby Jewels you can use to replace the Exquisites.
Berserker Ring(s) can be used in lieu of the Crystalline Band.
Since you won't have Ascended gear, you can replace the Infusions with w/e jewels you like I imagine.

Hope that helps.

[Stele]

Which of the Ascended Quivers/Books (and what infusion) do you folks recommend?

[crosswound81]

i keep the might stacks up and the fury uptime 100% its pretty stable the damage at 16k on level 80 area's occassionally i get lucky and get  a 19k. i just wanted to compare numbers to see how much damage the build is supposed to do that is all.

[d_fens]

I just wanted to add that GS is not a requirement for this build really. It works just fine with mainhand sword and axe. Change your traits in power and precision lines according to weapon you use and voila (don't touch vitality and discipline lines). Make sure your weapon has superior sigil of strength. No problem with keeping 20-25 might stacks with sword or axe. I tested this with knights armor, knight trinkets with berserkers jewels, berserker weapons. Rune set is 2x monk, 2x water and 2x fire for maximized boon duration. This way I can maintain fury with only signet of rage (minus activation time). Also 100% swiftness uptime and constant might.

[Brand]

Hey, sorry guys I've been doing some other stuff recently and haven't had a lot of time to post, but I'll try to answer all the questions I can right now. Also, thanks Thorfinnr for picking up my slack a bit ^^

Sebiale, on 21 January 2013 - 09:41 AM, said:

According to the wiki, the durations for Arcing Slice are actually 5, 10, and 15 seconds.
Does this alter the usage of the build in any way?

Not at all, Fury is not something we need more of.

xyzxyz, on 22 January 2013 - 10:23 AM, said:

Hey Brand, what would be a suitable alternative to the ancient karka shell?

A Ruby Earring will work just fine.

m00k, on 22 January 2013 - 02:31 PM, said:

My warrior was my 5th 80 but doing dungeons it felt kinda shallow and simple, this build however is alot more fun, thanks!

No problem, glad you like!

sander NL, on 22 January 2013 - 08:50 PM, said:

I would realy like to try this build, but I don't have superior rune's of the monk, what is the best substitude for those? 4 runes of the water and 2 runes of the fire or something else?

2x fire, 2xwater and 2x MAJOR water will do ok, or you can do 2x Hoelbrak runes. I'd personally go for the major water runes.

Ohan, on 22 January 2013 - 09:02 PM, said:

If I'm not in FOTM yet, could someone clarify for me which rings I should be using and with what jewels and also what earring should replace the Ancient Karka Shells earring and with what jewel?

Thanks so much in advance for any help!

The rings are in the spreadsheet, and Ruby Earring, like I said.

Stele, on 25 January 2013 - 04:30 PM, said:

Which of the Ascended Quivers/Books (and what infusion) do you folks recommend?

Any that have Cavalier stats (Power/Critdmg/toughness)

d_fens, on 25 January 2013 - 08:56 PM, said:

I just wanted to add that GS is not a requirement for this build really. It works just fine with mainhand sword and axe. Change your traits in power and precision lines according to weapon you use and voila (don't touch vitality and discipline lines). Make sure your weapon has superior sigil of strength. No problem with keeping 20-25 might stacks with sword or axe. I tested this with knights armor, knight trinkets with berserkers jewels, berserker weapons. Rune set is 2x monk, 2x water and 2x fire for maximized boon duration. This way I can maintain fury with only signet of rage (minus activation time). Also 100% swiftness uptime and constant might.

It depends on if you have other sources of might. In my group (Guardian, Thief, Warrior, Engineer, and Ranger/Mesmer) I'm basically the only one throwing out Might stacks, minus a rare few from the Guardian. GS gives you around 7-8 stacks of Might with this build (THat's just on auto attack, I'm not even going to factor in 100B), and I don't think taking out 7-8 stacks is going to leave you with 20-25 stacks (Best case scenario, that's still impossible) unless you have other sources of might in your group.

Edited by Brand, 26 January 2013 - 06:40 AM.

[Mobius1337]

I'm currently running this spec and it's awesome, but there are some choices I don't think they're optimal:
- What's the point of running with 2x Monk and 2x Water in addition of x2 Strength if you can keep Fury always up without them? You can't refresh Swiftness, so it's going to fell off anyway, unless someone of your party does something or you switch to a warhorn, +18s to your own Swiftness doesn't feel like a dps improvement at all. 3 "Great of Justice" every minute is more than enough to keep Fury up.
- So, the +30% boon provided by the Monk/Water is useless, since you can go 6/6 Rune of Strength and have a flat 5% damage increase forever. There's no way a "Monk/Water" user is going to have 5 more might stacks than a 6/6 Strength user. Also, 6/6 grants more power.
- What's the point of mixing Berserker and Knight gear together when new Amulets are coming next patch and you can use the current Triforge Amulet for the +x in every stat. I'd stick to the common rule of Knight gear and Berserker accessories.

[TakumiUsui]

Why dont you go 15 25 0 30 instead. You can get 50% Endurance back with a Burst skill that way to allow you to dodge again if needed.

[Thorfinnr]

TakumiUsui, on 29 January 2013 - 03:28 PM, said:

Why dont you go 15 25 0 30 instead. You can get 50% Endurance back with a Burst skill that way to allow you to dodge again if needed.

Not a bad idea, but the whole premise with traiting out this way is to NEVER use your burst skill...to keep it fully charged for the extra crit damage percentage. I know somewhere way back in the thread Brand showed the math for this...I'm not the math guy, but it makes sense, and works from my play experience.

That being said, by all means, if you like this, implement it in your build...just realize there will be a damage trade-off for your extra dodge.

Fight on!

[Thorfinnr]

OK...time to get the math guy involved...Brand...lol

With the new items added, I'll be looking forward to when you have a chance to crunch some numbers and see if getting a Karma Item like the Cavalier's Field Guide/Cavalier's Ring(I already got the Cavalier backpiece and the 'Zerker Jewel for it), or one of the new Amulets will add anything or be a bad idea for the build. I can stare and compare raw data, but I like to hear how they work together/synergize for the optimum combinations.

Just throwing that out there...hint, hint...

[Stigma]

Mobius1337, on 28 January 2013 - 07:09 PM, said:

I'm currently running this spec and it's awesome, but there are some choices I don't think they're optimal:
- What's the point of running with 2x Monk and 2x Water in addition of x2 Strength if you can keep Fury always up without them? You can't refresh Swiftness, so it's going to fell off anyway, unless someone of your party does something or you switch to a warhorn, +18s to your own Swiftness doesn't feel like a dps improvement at all. 3 "Great of Justice" every minute is more than enough to keep Fury up.
- So, the +30% boon provided by the Monk/Water is useless, since you can go 6/6 Rune of Strength and have a flat 5% damage increase forever. There's no way a "Monk/Water" user is going to have 5 more might stacks than a 6/6 Strength user. Also, 6/6 grants more power.
- What's the point of mixing Berserker and Knight gear together when new Amulets are coming next patch and you can use the current Triforge Amulet for the +x in every stat. I'd stick to the common rule of Knight gear and Berserker accessories.

Having boon duration runes wasn't just to keep 25 Might stacks. Once you stop attacking, Might levels will start dropping no matter what. Boon duration and Might duration runes will keep that average Attack/damage higher for longer or give you a larger moving average for Attack. ie. with OR without boon duration runes, your Attack number will flucuate between 2600-3000. The runes will simply keep the Attack or Damage at higher numbers a lil bit longer. I'm too lazy to crunch out data, but I would think it's probably marginally bit higher than what you can get from 90 Power + 5% Dmg. Despite this, you also get the benefit of extending other boons you have received from party members. However, revolving a build around Might is both beneficial and unfavorable at the same time. Just like how it is easy to keep those Might stacks up, it's also easy to lose them. In situational fights where you can't keep constantly attacking... yes your Attack levels will drop and even 80% Might duration won't help you.... and in those moments 6x Rune of Strength are probably better.

But in retrospect, damage you get from Might is very minor compared to raw Critical damage when you look at them individually which leads me to this next part...

Mobius1337, on 28 January 2013 - 07:09 PM, said:

- What's the point of mixing Berserker and Knight gear together when new Amulets are coming next patch and you can use the current Triforge Amulet for the +x in every stat. I'd stick to the common rule of Knight gear and Berserker accessories.

It's always about balancing out the raw stat numbers to get the performance you need. I'm guessing he finally realized that he needed that extra +Crit damage % in the build. A berserker warrior will far far surpass damage values of a purely Might or Power based one. 2600 Armor is like the bare bare minimum sweet spot for taking any type of splash damage in battle. Anything under that puts you into glass cannon levels.

Also you have no idea what stats the new amulets give you and I'm not too fond of the idea of spreading stat numbers all over the place with trinkets like Triforge, Lumia, Solaria, etc. Lacks focus on the attributes that are important to your specific build.

TakumiUsui, on 29 January 2013 - 03:28 PM, said:

Why dont you go 15 25 0 30 instead. You can get 50% Endurance back with a Burst skill that way to allow you to dodge again if needed.

Passive adrenaline is always better than off loading it. There are many traits lines in other builds that can utilize a full bar of adrenaline. Furthermore, if you really were forced to use a Burst Skill just to get some Endurance back, then you must've been desperate for it and Burst Skill greatsword and rifle have long execution times or keeps you stationary. You would've gotten hit before you got that endurance back. ie Flying shaman at Fractal 50... when u really desperate for Endurance, would u want to use Kill Shot or Arcing slice etc.?

Edited by Stigma, 29 January 2013 - 07:23 PM.

[Mobius1337]

Quote

Having boon duration runes wasn't just to keep 25 Might stacks. Once you stop attacking, Might levels will start dropping no matter what. Boon duration and Might duration runes will keep that average Attack/damage higher for longer or give you a larger moving average for Attack. ie. with OR without boon duration runes, your Attack number will flucuate between 2600-3000. The runes will simply keep the Attack or Damage at higher numbers a lil bit longer. I'm too lazy to crunch out data, but I would think it's probably marginally bit higher than what you can get from 90 Power + 5% Dmg. Despite this, you also get the benefit of extending other boons you have received from party members. But in retrospect, damage you get from Might is very minor compared to raw Critical damage when you look at them individually which leads me to this next part...

If you're not attacking, who cares of how much might stacks you still have. In this game, there aren't a lot of "dead phases" or "transitions" mid-fight, so or you're fighting, or you're moving to a next part of the map. No way +30% duration on might is going to outweight 130 power + 5% more damage at all times. +30% isn't going to give you 8 more might stacks (= to the 6/6 strength runes bonus aka +5% flat damage and 130 power). Also, boon duration affects the boons applied by your character, not the ones you receive:
Quote from wiki: " Boon Duration, also known as Concentration, is a secondary attribute that increase the duration of all boons applied by the character by a fixed percentage."
The only good thing I can see it's the increased duration of your boons on your allies, but it's not something I would personally invest.

Quote

It's always about balancing out the raw stat numbers to get the performance you need. I'm guessing he finally realized that he needed that extra +Crit damage % in the build. A berserker warrior will far far surpass damage values of a purely Might or Power based one. 2600 Armor is like the bare bare minimum sweet spot for taking any type of splash damage in battle. Anything under that puts you into glass cannon levels.

I can't see who's the glass cannon. With Knight gear, no points in Defense and Zerker accessories (with the exception of the Karka Shell) I'm sitting at 2467 armor. Add +50 tough from Eye of Janthir (the +all stat new amulet), +39 tough from Solaria and you are at 2556 armor, plus the +x in everything else. If you choose "Thick Armor" in the Defense trait, you will have exactly 2606 armor, plus the +100 armor at +90% health = 2706.

Edited by Mobius1337, 29 January 2013 - 08:08 PM.

[Thaddeuz]

Mobius1337, on 28 January 2013 - 07:09 PM, said:

- So, the +30% boon provided by the Monk/Water is useless, since you can go 6/6 Rune of Strength and have a flat 5% damage increase forever. There's no way a "Monk/Water" user is going to have 5 more might stacks than a 6/6 Strength user. Also, 6/6 grants more power.

The 6th bonus of the Rune of Strength is currently bug. Exept if they fixed it in the path of yesterday, you shouldn't be using that rune. But i agree, Boons Duration Runes are not the best choice in my opinion for this build. I prefer Ruby Orb for the maximum Offensive stats.

Edited by Thaddeuz, 30 January 2013 - 01:58 PM.

[Stele]

Thaddeuz, on 29 January 2013 - 08:13 PM, said:

The 6th bonus of the Rune of Soldier is currently bug. Exept if they fixed it in the path of yesterday, you shouldn't be using that rune. But i agree, Boons Duration Runes are not the best choice in my opinion for this build. I prefer Ruby Orb for the maximum Offensive stats.

Hmmm, what about Superior Runes of Divinity? I actually have some on an old armor set, I'll have to check when I get home to see if they add to boon duration. Also, the +60 Toughness may mean you can slot in another Berserker armor piece to replace a Knight's for even more + Crit Dam than 6x Ruby Orbs.

**EDIT** Divinity Runes don't add to boon duration unfortunately.

Edited by Stele, 29 January 2013 - 11:37 PM.

[Mobius1337]

Thaddeuz, on 29 January 2013 - 08:13 PM, said:

The 6th bonus of the Rune of Soldier is currently bug. Exept if they fixed it in the path of yesterday, you shouldn't be using that rune. But i agree, Boons Duration Runes are not the best choice in my opinion for this build. I prefer Ruby Orb for the maximum Offensive stats.

Well, ty for the info, I didn't know that. I might go Rune of Divinity 6/6 then.

[Jesperr]

As a new player i'm kinda confused now.
I want to follow this build and I bought 6item set (Knight's Draconic) and Bers GS with sigil of strenght.
What should I buy next (what runes and stuff) according to newest 'trend'?
I'll be thankful for anyone that clear the thing up for me.

[Thaddeuz]

I'm sorry. I made a mistake guys. I said the 6th bonus of the Rune of Soldier is bug, but i meant the 6th Bonus of the Rune of Strength, which was the topic of the discussion. I think the mistake was not noticed here, but my post was quote in another Topic so I wanted to clear my error. I edited my original post.

[IDarko]

Just wanna point out that the boons you give to allies, are affected by your boon duration. I'm using the same gear/runes when playing WvW with my supportive hammer build. And when using a warhorn, i provide the party with perma swiftness, vigor, might and fury (shout).

I found ascended cavalier rings so just decided to use that. Got the backpiece as well. Not sure if the crit damage on jewelery makes up for the loss of other stats tho! ;( But i cba to switch them out either.

[ReanLarkin]

I've just started using this build (again). I feel a bit squishy. I was 2 manning a champion (looked like an eye of zhiatan) It basically did  white damage and then shot some lasers and did a spining attack. bot the lasers and the spin did about 4k damage a second. Is there a reason i feel so squishy?

I have all the runes, knights gear and the accessories mentioned in the Spread sheet? Why am i getting beaten down so hard?  I'm usually traited into the defense tree but  now i just feel like a thief.

Any suggestions. The answer "dodge" is unacceptable.

[S34G4T3]

why? why? destroy the karka shell, i was running this build as soon as is was posted with knight armor and zerk jewels and now  i use the new armor jewel in the spread. Amazing build in arah,  coe, fractals 20+ , i only miss the karka shell

[Mayhem 99]

Quick question: How effective would the build be if you were to reverse the gear?

Example: Full Berserker's Armor and Emerald/Knights Jewelry?

Reason I ask is that right now I can way more easily obtain Berserker's set of exotic armor from CoF tokens, however, it seems like the only way to get Knight's gear is via crafting, which can get costly.

[Shinobu Oshino]

You can get knight from SE and Arah!

I have a question, too:
I play this build now and it's amazing (frac lvl 30+), but which consumables are best? heal on crit for survivability or something for even more crits?

Edited by Shinobu Oshino, 01 February 2013 - 09:53 AM.

[Ismael Mercado]

Question. When this guide says Knights Armor, the only knights armor I know of is Draconic. Correct?

[Stigma]

"Knights" gear can be obtained from Sorrow's Embrace and Arah dungeon

http://wiki.guildwar...riple_attribute

[HollowDean]

Can anyone tell me what sigils to use for underwater weapons, spear and speargun?

[Ismael Mercado]

Stigma, on 03 February 2013 - 08:10 PM, said:

"Knights" gear can be obtained from Sorrow's Embrace and Arah dungeon

http://wiki.guildwar...riple_attribute

None of those vendors sells armor specifically labled Knights.

[Ahoi Mateys]

Ismael Mercado, on 04 February 2013 - 03:04 PM, said:

None of those vendors sells armor specifically labled Knights.

The term "Knights" is just referring to the stats on the armor.  Knights - power, prec, toughness.