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[Ninja Battle Lion]

Hello everyone. Inspired by Nikephoros' article on the usefulness of Warrior skills in a team setting (http://www.guildwars...s-and-fractals/), I decided to make an effort to do the same for Trait lines.

So far I've just been able to scratch the surface by attending to stat increases and minor traits; the major traits will hopefully be added someday soon. Also I'm not nearly as experienced as Nike; as such this is very much a work-in-progress, and the opinions I express might not necessarily be correct.   All suggestions and opinions are appreciated.

Here goes!

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Strength

POW/CON DUR: Power, obviously, is a great stat to have for any DPS Warrior; condition duration less so, since most DPS build revolve around crits rather than conditions. That said, increasing Vulnerability uptime is pretty nice.

Minor traits:
Tier 1 hits pretty hard when it does, AoE no less, which is actually pretty nice if you’re wont to dodge forward through enemy AoE (which takes a bit of guts, admittedly).
Tier 2 is great for Burst builds, but even with GS it’s a decent way to buy an extra Dodge if you sense an incoming AoE.
Tier 3 is the least impressive, especially considering its position in the tree; still, free damage is free damage, even though it’s only 3%.

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Arms

PRC/CON DMG: though less so than Power, Precision is a much-needed attribute for DPS guys. Of course there’s always the flat 20% increase of Fury but you don’t want to be sitting at 24% if you want to make an impression. Condition damage is generally uninteresting, save for Sword/X and dedicated Rifle builds.

Minor traits:
Tier 1 is, in my honest opinion, a big pile of suck. The Bleeds are ridiculously short and will actually diminish the efficiency of dedicated condition spammers in your team.
Tier 2 is pretty nice for a Burst build, but worthless elsewhere.
Tier 3 is the best one, and though only selfishly, synergizes with tier 1, making it almost decent. A must for Sword/X builds.

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Defense

TGH/HEAL: a great, synergizing combination of stats for those who want to toughen up, despite the Warrior’s already impressive armor stat. Toughness reduces the damage you take, making your bigger heals even more efficient. I still don’t like the tree for group play; it’s akin to Signet skills I guess – these stats only benefit you, not your team. It could be argued that being allowed to remain in combat longer will indirectly help your team, but I would say that killing faster does that job more reliably and honestly wouldn’t bother investing in this tree.

Minor traits:
Tier 1 isn’t too useful in practice, since the threshold for the extra Toughness is so high you won’t be able to maintain it when it counts.
Tier 2 offers a weak variation of regeneration.  It reminds me of the GW1 Mending skill.
Tier 3 is a welcome boost, considering the investment. Assuming Knight’s gear or such this offers quite a bit of free damage.

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Tactics:

VIT/BN DUR:  Vitality is a stat of which one might question the usefulness, considering Warriors are are in the highest base HP tier. That said it’s nice to have a bit of extra longevity versus condition spam, which is arguably the class’ Achilles heel. Boon duration can be moderately useful to straight-out awesome, depending on what combination you run of FGJ!/SoR/Warhorn.

Minor traits:
Tier 1 adds 400 TGH while reviving, which is a lot. Usefulness , however, depends on how much time you’ll spend ressing people.
Tier 2 decreases that time. No unimpressive feat either, but with the same rationale as above.
Tier 3 is just sucky. Might is probably the last Boon someone who’s just been ressed would want to be blessed with.

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Discipline

PRW/Burst: After Power, I’d rate Prowess as the second-most important stat for any crit-based DPSer; the two mingle exponentially. People run Berserker gear for a reason, after all! Compared to that the Burst bonus is a little underwhelming (and oft unneccesary) stat.

Minor traits:
Tier 1 gives free adrenaline on weapon swap, which might or might not be useful to you depending on how much you Burst.
Tier 2 is the greatest thing since double layered toilet paper, giving you tons more options on how and when to use your weapon skills. Use those long CD skills on your secondaries, and swap right back to your main set. Invaluable in my honest opinion.
Tier 3 is very underwhelming, especially considering how easy it is to get Might from other sources. Still, free damage is free damage; these 1 or 2 stacks might just be what you needed to top off to 25.

[Ship Soo]

STR

Tier 1: best trait is the 12% damage at max adrenaline. So awesome. I generally put 10 here and stop.

Tier 2: I usually play GS and I am sometimes tempted to go for 20 to get 10% more damage, but I dont think its usually worth it. Dual weilding and axe critical damage are worthwhile

Tier 3: I have wanted to build something around berserker power, but I have never been able to spare the points. The internal 10s cool down on burst skills are usually the limiter, not actually building adrenaline

ARMS

T 1: does anyone use anything other than the vulnerability? It works so well with every other build...

T 2 : Forcefull GS is the bomb here. Rifle spec is something I use occasionally.

T3 : I think the Last chance quickness is cool...but I normally dont go over 25. The opportunistic 10% to bleeding is awesome tho

Defense

I'm generally disappointed with defense. But I never play shield or hammer. I think you could make a case for it, but if you're using axe sword GS horn...I think everything in defense is a waste.


Tactics

Quite possibly the best trait line. I always put 20 here, and sometimes 30

T 1: + damage per boon is my usual choice. Especially in a group of guardians with aegis, regen etc. In WvW, I used the 70 power to all allies, since that hits 30 people at once!

T2: good stuff here: warhorn condition removal, shout buff with heals...banners if so inclined. Also a general boon duration bonus. Very very good trait line.

T3: healing shouts the only real choice.


Discipline: For a fast swapping build, giving adrenaline up and spending it quickly...a very fun build. Fast hands is almost essential to take advantage of long, but powerful weapon recharges. Most times I put 15 to get fast hands and 9% crit with adrenaline

T1: best is the +% crit on adrenaline. Using GS...you are always full. Signet recharge on Rage is pretty good too

T2: I've used the Vengeance rally if playing alone in somewhere tough like Cursed shore (pre patch no waypoints or contested)

T 3: like I said, i've used a burst skill 2/3 cost with fast hands. Axe mace, Long bow....and its very fun. Burning then area might and combos.

Edited by Ship Soo, 03 February 2013 - 09:44 PM.