Curse

DOW · Apr 16, 2011, 09:06 AM // 09:06

Ok first I have a warrior who is about mid point in all campaigns, but I am trying to get to the late game so I can get some of the better elite skills for the warrior.
Also all this is for PvE, general play. I use a Sword and Shield.
I currently have 14 in Strength and 14 In sword. I sometime take 2 out of sword and put it in healing.

Enraging Charge, Power Attack, Brawling Headbut, Whirlwind attack, Defy Pain, Lion's Comfort, I Will Survive, For great Justice.

I do sometime swap Lions comfort for Flail.

Is this a good build? So far for me it is working, however I feel i lack in DPS. I also do not want to loose Defy Pain because that has kept me alive a lot and I think replacing it would take about 2 skills minimum.

Do you have any Ideas how to improve this build?

This is the build I am working my way to.
W/any PvE Dragon Slash Warrior
http://pvx.wikia.com/wiki/Build:W/an..._Slash_Warrior

I am still working on getting a few of those skills, Such as dragon slash and save yourself.

Is that a good build, just as I can not get it all fully I am not sure if that is a good build and by the time I get to it I will have spent a lot of time and money to get there.

The second thing I would like help with is something I know nothing about. At the moment I use a Warrior build and have been known to put some points into healing and use Vigorous Spirit. That skill only helps me stay alive and with Defy Pain and other skills I am not sure it is needed. So I was thinking of changing my secondary class to something else but I am not sure what class to change too.

I was thinking of trying W/D or W/P, however I know very little about these classes and skills they use.

This is the only Warrior Paragon build I could find.
http://pvx.wikia.com/wiki/Build:W/P_...Strike_Warrior

I could only find a farming build for W/D.

So can someone let know if they know of a good W/D or W/P build that works? Just I do not want to spend a lot of money to find the new build sucks lol. So if you know one works that would help thank you.

I think that is everything, thank you for reading and thank you for your help.

**Marty Silverblade** · Apr 16, 2011, 09:17 AM // 09:17

First off, stop using the old wiki. New one: http://www.gwpvx.com/PvX_wiki

Secondly, your job is to deal craploads of damage. If you're not doing everything you can to maximise your damage, Warrior isn't the profession for you. This means:

*It is never ever under ANY circumstances worthwhile running Monk heals on a War. If you want a self heal, take Lion's Comfort. Otherwise leave healing to the midline/backline.
*Defy Pain is rubbish. If you need to run it, you're doing something wrong. Ditch it for an attack skill.
*"I Will Survive" is terrible. It's not useful in any situation whatsoever. Health regen is negligible if you're really under pressure.
*An IAS (a skill that increases your attack speed) is never optional. It's probably the single most important skill you can take. A 33% increase in attack speed is equivalent to 50% more damage. If you're not running a skill to increase your attack speed the bar is bad. It's as simple as that.

DSlash bars are fine.
W/P is good for when you feel like messing around with a spear. Practical value is not really comparable to other options.
W/D scythe builds are fine, look through the forum and you'll find some.

Venganza · Apr 16, 2011, 10:32 AM // 10:32

Pretty much agree with all the above: Warrior is about damage dealing, leave the rest to mid/backline.

Oh and please don't use 100b all the time, I cry when I see warrior taking it in situations where most encounters are one-on-one. Considering trying skills like Battle Rage and others to broaden your horizons.

Bottom line however, is ultimately it is how YOU enjoy you gameplay, so any build whatsoever you enjoy to play is fine, but you will be more effective if you leaving healing to your monks and concentrate on smacking the crap out of stuff

Sk8tborderx · Apr 16, 2011, 11:54 AM // 11:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Venganza

Pretty much agree with all the above: Warrior is about damage dealing, leave the rest to mid/backline.

Oh and please don't use 100b all the time, I cry when I see warrior taking it in situations where most encounters are one-on-one. Considering trying skills like Battle Rage and others to broaden your horizons.

Bottom line however, is ultimately it is how YOU enjoy you gameplay, so any build whatsoever you enjoy to play is fine, but you will be more effective if you leaving healing to your monks and concentrate on smacking the crap out of stuff

Hundred blades is fine on single target with sun and moon slash and barbs. When you have 92347394 melee buffs on you the +damage on dragon slash is also less important.

Have to love power creep, now almost everyone has a bar that can be used everywhere.

EDIT: No need for save yourselves anymore either with 7 heroes. Instead take more damage.

Silent Sh0tt · Apr 16, 2011, 12:37 PM // 12:37

a fun war elite I use is warriors endurance, should try that one out

shadeblade47 · Apr 16, 2011, 02:18 PM // 14:18

power attack is bad. it will destroy the little energy you have as a warrior. brawling headbutt isnt worth the slot, and i will survive is only good if youre trying to tank. let your heroes worry about your healing for the most part, just take lions comfort. endure pain is only if your heroes arent doing their jobs and you need to temporarily beef up your health to relieve some pressure from healers. yes, dragon slash spam is good but you only need for great justice and dragon slash to use it. a good alternative would be something like this.
hundred blades, whirlwind attack, sun and moon slash, flail, for great justice, lions comfort, any interrupt, then either conjure flame w/ a fiery weapon for more single target dmg or finish him. throw splinter on a hero and boom youre blowing up a whole mob at once. remember that lions comfort gives adrenaline, esp with FGJ up. be sure to take advantage of this by using it whenever you can to keep up your adrenaline.
EDIT: yea btw, as stated above if you wont be fighting mobs don't use 100b lol. 100b is great but if its single target or spaced out groups then its a useless skill :P

Urcscumug · Apr 16, 2011, 08:59 PM // 20:59

@DOW: You need to read the sticky guide, it contains a template for a warrior build. And many other useful things. I reckon you didn't read it, or skipped some parts.

The best you could want from Paragon secondary is probably Enduring Harmony, to extend duration of For Great Justice. Another useful secondary is Ranger, because of Antidote Signet.

You shouldn't have a problem picking up various interesting skills from skill trainers and capping some useful elites, if you say you're halfway into the campaigns.

Then just think how you can make the skills chain and work with each other.

I will give you some quick chain examples off the top of my head. They're not particularly great, but they should give you an idea.

* [Sever Artery] -> [Gash]
* [Dismember] -> [Axe Twist]
* [For Great Justice] -> [Enraged Smash] -> [Staggering Blow] -> [Fierce Blow] -> [Auspicious Blow]
* [Flurry] -> [Devastating Hammer] -> 3x [Renewing Smash] -> [Auspicious Blow] (need Stonefist Insignia, otherwise just 2x RS)
* [For Great Justice] -> [Dragon Slash] (then repeat DS for 20 seconds)

Don't just use them, and don't just try to copy builds from PvX because you won't get anywhere like that.

Try to understand how the effects build up and how skills benefit from the ones before in the chain. Read how adrenaline builds up and how it gets consumed. Try to make chains that sustain themselves, either with energy, adrenaline, or a combination of both.

Demon Drone · Apr 17, 2011, 03:21 PM // 15:21

As someone with a Warrior as my main I can agree with all of this. To add to this I would say that axe builds can be some good fun. Have some good versatility to it. Can do gobs of damage to mobs and can do gobs of damage to single enemies as well. I use triple chop quite a bit when I face mobs.
Also I don't think I read in this thread this so far so I'll say this as well. If you're in an area with lots of mobs a fun thing to do is to bring MoP and HB and watch the numbers fly.

khezial tahr · Apr 19, 2011, 01:34 PM // 13:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urcscumug

@DOW: You need to read the sticky guide, it contains a template for a warrior build. And many other useful things. I reckon you didn't read it, or skipped some parts...
Don't just use them, and don't just try to copy builds from PvX because you won't get anywhere like that.

Try to understand how the effects build up and how skills benefit from the ones before in the chain. Read how adrenaline builds up and how it gets consumed. Try to make chains that sustain themselves, either with energy, adrenaline, or a combination of both.

The Dragon Slash build the OP linked to was the Warrior build I used to get a feel for the class. It's actually a well balanced build between adrenaline and energy, and very effective as well. I would recommend starting with that one and tweaking to start seeing what works and what doesn't. It's the best way to learn a profession.

Krill · Apr 19, 2011, 05:16 PM // 17:16

Those are the builds I use, dragon slash most of the time because I'm too lazy to flag and ball mobs for good 100b stacking. Don't bother with sever artery + gash for deep wound with swords, just put weaken armor on a hero and use body blow. You can also delete an attack skill or death's charge for save yourselves but an all hero party will camp just on the edge of shout range for most engagements which kinda dilutes its usefulness on a melee player.

Califorun · Apr 20, 2011, 04:07 AM // 04:07

I'd check out www.gwpvx.com for starting ideas if you are very lost... but that's the boring way to do it.

If you want to be adventurous, pick a warrior elite of your choosing and select the rest of your skills based upon that elite which best synergize together...

i.e. if you choose Warrior's Endurance as your elite, you'd mostly bring energy-based attacks with quick recharge, and perhaps one or two adrenaline attacks that you'd be able to spam (e.g. "Save Yourselves!")

Always remember to bring an IAS (Increase Attack Speed skill), as they're essential for warriors.

DOW · Apr 20, 2011, 05:47 PM // 17:47

Ok after working towards unlocking a few elite skills for my warrior I have now found my build.

Enraging charge ,To the limit, Tiger stance, Power Attack, Whirlwind Attack, Counter attack,Galrath slash, Warrior's endurance ( I change Counter Attack for For great Justice some times).

Strength 12 +2, Sword 10 +1 +1 Tactics 8

This build seems to be working, so until I get to the place where I can unlock Dragon slash this is my build. Probably lol.

Then I will try out one of the Dragon Slash builds and see what build works better for me.

I do not find body blow very useful as I have to have a skill added on just to give me cracked armor.
question is there any good signet builds with Symbolic Strike?

Thank you all for your responses.

Outerworld · Apr 20, 2011, 06:59 PM // 18:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by DOW

Ok after working towards unlocking a few elite skills for my warrior I have now found my build.

Enraging charge ,To the limit, Tiger stance, Power Attack, Whirlwind Attack, Counter attack,Galrath slash, Warrior's endurance ( I change Counter Attack for For great Justice some times).

Strength 12 +2, Sword 10 +1 +1 Tactics 8

This build seems to be working, so until I get to the place where I can unlock Dragon slash this is my build. Probably lol.

Then I will try out one of the Dragon Slash builds and see what build works better for me.

I do not find body blow very useful as I have to have a skill added on just to give me cracked armor.
question is there any good signet builds with Symbolic Strike?

Thank you all for your responses.

Few things for you to think about;

There are better IAS skills than Tiger Stance.
Your not making full use of Warriors Endurance by using adrenaline skills.
You have both Enraging Charge and To the Limit when you shouldn't need them and you certainly won't need FGJ as well.
Body Blow is used mainly for its +damage more than the conditional deep wound.

Also I'm sure a build based on symbolic strike is possible but it won't be optimal by a long shot.

Irishguinea · Apr 20, 2011, 10:32 PM // 22:32

This is a fun build I use all the time. It doesn't do massive amounts of damage but it lets you target high priority targets (healers/AoE dealers and bosses) and keep them on the ground almost constantly.

14 - Sword
13 - Strength
+5E / Double Adrenaline Gain 10% / Health +30 on sword
Title tracks should be as high as possible.

1. Enraging Charge
2. For Great Justice
3. Tiger Stance
4. Brawling Headbutt
5. Steelfang Slash
6. Dragon Slash
7. Save Yourselves
8. You Move Like a Dwarf

Use 1,2,3 to keep adrenaline flowing, use 4,5,6 to constantly keep them on the ground. 8 if your adren isnt ready or for kill shot (better drops) 7 as needed.

Can swap 3. TS for Flail if your being blocked or bllinded alot in an area, but I usually keep it because I don't like the speed reduction of Flail.

Can swap 7. SY for EV Assasin Support for extra damage and decoy.

For areas where you need/want to ball up enemies you would want to go with higher AoE damage output with Hundred Blades and Whirlwind Attack or an Axe build as mentioned.

But I like to just run and gun from target to target, no microing, and this build is great for that. I keep them on their butts and my heroes finish them in mere seconds. Rinse and repeat....

DOW · Apr 21, 2011, 01:53 PM // 13:53

The reason I use To the Limit is so the adrenalin skills I have on work, I use Enraging Charge because I use adrenalin skills and Sprint is almost the same only 5 second recharge time less. However running very far on ahead is not what my warrior is about now as I have gone for all out attack.

I am thinking of getting Soldier's Speed, so I can use that instead of Enraging Charge. Is solder's Speed better?

What can I use for attack speed if not tigers stance? Flail? but it slows my movement speed, and Burst of Aggression makes me loose all my adrenalin.

I use Adrenalin skills as well as energy skills in case a mesmer takes away all my energy, and because I am always attacking I can spam the adrenalin skills.

I may try and find a way to get 8. You Move Like a Dwarf into my build. Thank you.

Once I have skill 6, 7 and 8 I will try your build.

**Marty Silverblade** · Apr 21, 2011, 11:00 PM // 23:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by DOW

The reason I use To the Limit is so the adrenalin skills I have on work, I use Enraging Charge because I use adrenalin skills and Sprint is almost the same only 5 second recharge time less. However running very far on ahead is not what my warrior is about now as I have gone for all out attack.

I am thinking of getting Soldier's Speed, so I can use that instead of Enraging Charge. Is solder's Speed better?

Enraging Charge is easily the best choice because (with FGJ) it allows you to get 8 or 10 adrenaline from your first hit. The IMS isn't as important as the initial adr hit that gets things started. You'll want to be in a stance that increases your attack speed as much as possible so the duration isn't particularly important.

Also, Soldier's Speed is crap. Firstly, it's in Tactics, which offers nothing, and you need to be affected by a shout or chant to get the full bonus. An IMS is not worth bringing purely for it's own sake in PvE anyway. The reason people use Enraging Charge is for the adr hit.

Quote:

What can I use for attack speed if not tigers stance? Flail? but it slows my movement speed, and Burst of Aggression makes me loose all my adrenalin.

Tiger Stance sucks. It's up less than half the time (unless you're running 14 str for some reason) and ends when you fail to hit, which is a big deal. Flail is generally the best option, unless you want to run Frenzy (though you'll need to aware of what damage you're going to take and spend another slot on a cancel stance). The slower movement is not such a big deal if you aggro well because the foes will be closer together.

Quote:

I use Adrenalin skills as well as energy skills in case a mesmer takes away all my energy, and because I am always attacking I can spam the adrenalin skills.

The point of Warrior's Endurance is to spam the crap out of energy skills. If you're not doing that, then run something else. If you know there are going to be lots of energy draining foes then don't run energy dependent bars in the first place.

Urcscumug · Apr 23, 2011, 07:40 AM // 07:40

All IAS have some kind of downside or limitation. If you had an IAS that had none of those and could be maintained non-stop it would just be overpowered. ("Can be maintained" means the duration is longer than the recharge.)

You also have to keep in mind that 33% increase is the max cap, and that IAS are stances and you can only be in one stance at a time.

So, here's an analysis of IAS for warriors:

[Berserker Stance]: PRO: max IAS, extra adrenaline gain; CON: cannot be maintained; ends if you use anything on your bar, so it kind of defies the point of getting all that adrenaline.

[Burst of Aggression]: PRO: max IAS; CON: cannot be maintained; lose all adrenaline so only good for energy bars.

[Drunken Master]: PRO: can be maintained, long duration, IMS too; CON: not max, needs drunk and Deldrimor rank to max out. PvE only skill.

[Dwarven Battle Stance]: PRO: max IAS, +40 armor, interrupt with every attack; CON: cannot be maintained; hammer-only; takes up the elite slot. PvE only skill.

[Flail]: PRO: max IAS, can be maintained, low adren cost; CON: you move slower; is adrenaline based so it may take a few seconds or an extra skill to activate.

[Flurry]: PRO: can be maintained, max IAS, doesn't need attribute points; CON: you do 25% less damage; short duration so needs frequent refresh. This one deserves a mention: the -25% damage only applies to base damage, does not affect skill +bonus damage. And since you do +50% damage due to the +33% IAS, the -25% still leaves you at +12.5%.

[Frenzy]: PRO: can be easily maintained (duration = 2x recharge), max IAS, doesn't need attribute points; CON: you take double damage. This severely limits the way you can use it. Advanced players carry around another stance to replace this one in case they foresee lots of damage coming their way.

[Primal Rage]: PRO: can be maintained, IMS, max IAS; CON: same problem as Frenzy (double damage, needs cancel stance); adrenaline based, will need a few seconds or an extra skill to activate; takes the elite slot.

[Soldier's Stance]: PRO: max IAS, 75% blocking; CON: specced in Tactics, which warrior seldom put many points in; the duration is also Tactics-dependent so it most likely cannot be maintained; the IAS is conditional of also being under a chant or shout.

[Tiger Stance]: PRO: max IAS; CON: cannot be maintained; ends if you fail to hit, which can happen for a number of reasons (miss, block, blind etc.)

So there you have it. Most people prefer one of the three F's (Flail/Flurry/Frenzy) which are the lesser of the evils, max IAS, can be easily obtained, non-elite, can be maintained etc.

This is not to say that all the other IAS are useless. They can be useful in particular circumstances or as part of gimmick builds.

Secondary professions' offer is even more limited. Their IAS all have downsides that are even bigger than the native ones due to various reasons (need primary attributes which the warrior doesn't have, need big investment in attributes with no other use, need non-native weapons, a pet, they lower armor etc.)

Urcscumug · Apr 23, 2011, 08:25 AM // 08:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marty Silverblade

The point of Warrior's Endurance is to spam the crap out of energy skills. If you're not doing that, then run something else.

Since I've talked about IAS above, there's a subtle point that needs to be made.

When you run something that gives you extra energy feed (like WE) and you use that to spam skills, you tend to think you won't need an IAS anymore. After all, IAS is only relevant to auto-attack, it increases the frequency of hits when auto-attacking, right?

Wrong. IAS decreases the time between the moment you start an attack (be it auto-attack hit or skill) and the moment it connects. Auto-attacks have a period which depends on the weapon used. Skills are also affected by the weapon used (unless the skill has an explicit activation time listed, in which case that is used instead).

For any given weapon, if the period is T, the hit will connect at the half of the period; T/2 after the attack started (for skills with explicit activation time, T/2 is replaced by that time). The other half of the period is used for the cooldown animation.

IAS makes T smaller (yes, both auto-attack and activation speed). So IAS is good for both.

Yes, with auto-attacks, a smaller period results in an increased frequency. But that's not what IAS does, it's only a side effect.

Here's an example you can test to convince yourself. Say you have a hammer and Stonefist Insignia on the armor. You take a skill that does knock-down, plus Renewing Smash. Due to Stonefist, after you KD the foe you have exactly 3 seconds in which to use Renewing Smash 3 times without the foe getting out of KD (if RS goes into the 30s recharge it means the 3rd hit was outside KD).

Technically, this isn't possible, since RS has 1s activation time and there's also the cooldown, so you cannot fit in exactly 3 hits in 3 seconds of KD. But if you activate an IAS right before the KD you will notice you can now do 3 hits in 3 seconds without causing RS to go into recharge.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marty Silverblade

If you know there are going to be lots of energy draining foes then don't run energy dependent bars in the first place.

A good place to test builds against energy drain is on the Mergoyles outside Gates of Kryta. The combination of Mind Wrack and Spirit Shackles can be quite annoying for a warrior. Go alone or with just a monk and see if you can take down groups before they kill you.

Haggis of Doom · Apr 23, 2011, 03:31 PM // 15:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urcscumug

When you run something that gives you extra energy feed (like WE) and you use that to spam skills, you tend to think you won't need an IAS anymore.

Not sure where you got that idea, but it's weird you'd think Marty of all people would not know to bring an IAS.

He's merely saying that WE on an adrenaline bar is stupid. Which it is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marty Silverblade

*An IAS (a skill that increases your attack speed) is never optional. It's probably the single most important skill you can take.

Urcscumug · Apr 23, 2011, 05:51 PM // 17:51

It has nothing to do with Marty, I mentioned it because it's a very common misconception, actually, met lots of people who make that mistake.

They hear "increased attack speed", they don't read the wiki for "attack speed", and they assume it means hit frequency. From which it logically follows that IAS is no use if you don't auto-attack.

I just hope I helped clear that for some.

But speaking of WE, Marty didn't technically say it's "stupid on an adren bar". I actually doubt he'd say that... but even if he would, I'd just respectfully disagree.

True, it makes the most sense all-around if you use WE to feed an all-energy bar... but that doesn't mean you can't use it to feed some of the bar, and mix in some adrenal skills too. Not for the reason that was posted above (to counter energy drain), but simply because you might have cool adrenal skills that deserve to be used and offer something better than the energy skills you have.