16 weapon standard... gone?

I've been just checking up the wikis and have discovered that the majority of the warrior builds I've seen no longer carry the blessed 16 weapon standard.

I've been using it since, well, forever and am wondering if doing less damage and crits with your weapon actually yields benefits now.

[note some of these are rated 'great' builds, though I'm starting to wonder...]

I wield an axe and shield that grant +60 hp combined [and with my tactics shield, +75 hp in stance] and have a superior vigor rune.

I have more hp than one without any sup. runes... (considering they don't bring any hp modifying gear]

Why are people suggesting NOT bringing 16 in weapon mastery for these wikis?

Because the loss of 35-75 health usualy isn't worth the extra point or two.

With a major or minor rune, yes, you're lowing your damage and crit chances, but it's definately worth the extra health.

personally, i run 15 for my weapons.

No idea why others do so, but I run 14 in weap just for the 75 health gain. I often need the hp more than a bit of extra dmg while vanquishing.

A.net skill balancer (forgot his name) puts round numbers like +20, +30, +40 for damage at level 15 weapon (see dragon slash, executioner and so on).

I use superior runes on all chars (even warrior) and the 20 points can be better spent on another attribute.

Generally 15-12-9 is the "magic combination" for most classes, 12 especially is the break-even for many primary attributes, like expertise, misticism and leadership. As well as 9 is the magic number for shields.

Quote: Originally Posted by Abnaxus

I run 16, and have another helm in case I get DP.

The brunt of my warrior's damage comes from 2 things:

either my axe

or

Grenth's Balance

I have yet to see strength as a useful stat attribute because I play my warrior under an offense minded strategy. Defensively, I rely on equipment hp bonuses to carry me through.

Can someone tell me what they'd use the 20 attribute points saved on? [can't think of anything that helps me kill things, I'm W/N all the way]

but if we are following the 12 base atb builds, then the weap / hp ceiling ratio is 14 weapon / +75 hp, assuming minor runes only.

Do people take crit rate and bonus damage into account? Way back, going 16 weapon was usually the difference between a warrior and a gimp...

So people are able to do more damage and utilize more lasting effects [think: conditions] using a lower weapon attribute? Are warriors being targetted more often now?

I just recently re-entered Alliance Battles after a nearly 1.5yr. long hiatus and I'm lovin' it. I'm still usually ignored and though I'm in PUGs for now, I still don't see why a warrior with 110 AL phys. and 100 AL ele. (I use Sentry inscriptions ] should fear anything...

Somebody convince me otherwise cause the other attributes a warrior can wield REALLY isn't very convincing to getting the job done.

What good is 75hp when a smart group is going to hit you with a spike for 4x. that or degen the snot out of you?

btw, I like Racthoh's response the most and it seems to be the most 'logical' but it still lives by the 16 weapon atb.

For my superior rune I have 16 strength and use Defy Pain + Endure Pain a loss of 75 health and a gain of over 600 health, putting me at around 1000 total health. Meaning that Victorious Sweep will almost always heal me whenever I hit with it.

Quote: Originally Posted by Zahr Dalsk

In PvE it's up to you to choose - more hp or more dmg, it's personal preference, and doesn't matter much. Not that mobs are gonna b-spike you or something.

That is the answer....one set of armor. Before that change to GW all the better players had multiple sets of armor on inventory. Plus headpieces in both Minor and Superior(or majors as the case sometimes called)
Warriors ran 16 weapon and if they got spiked down a couple times would swap the helmet for one with a minor. They also did this at VoD to help combat the -25% health effect.
Now that armor/rune swapping is a thing of old memories only, the luxuries it afforded are gone too. Now for PvPyou want max HP in anticipation of VoD spikes. Playing safe has pushed this change as you dont want to hit a Blood Spike while stuck with a Sup rune and less than 500 health.

With a sup weapon rune and generic perfect shield and weapon, you will float at around 505hp. I use Sup runes for my warrior helms, and the extra att points I can redistribute for all types of builds.

My conjure build in particular is warranted for the use of the sup rune, so as to add more to the element without taking a major hit to my average att levels.

15(sword) 10(Strength) 8(Tactics) 8(Air/Fire/Water)

In PvP, the reason for the decrease is due to the survival chances and the Hp increase-yet I use it to maximize my damage output. Sup runes open up possibilities.

On the PvP side, the change from 16 weapon to 14 has mostly been driven by GvG. Some other stuff has affected it, like the rising health averages and earlier (eurospike era) dominance of armor-ignoring damage. However, the main reason is the VoD-centric gameplay of GvG, and at VoD a warrior that's extending into 20 enemy archers needs as much health as possible.

The extra damage doesn't really matter now since kills are much rarer outside of VoD. Health is really needed on splits and at VoD, and these are the only things that really mean anything in most GvGs nowadays.

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Guild Wars Forums - GW Guru > The Hall of Knowledge > The Campfire > Warrior'' Is this just forum mistake or is this pve only section?

the biggest contributing factor to the move to 14 weapon in pvp is that you no longer can swap equipment in pvp. before, if a warrior (or any profession, for that matter) gets dp, he can just swap to a minor rune equivalent headgear to balance out the hp loss. since we no longer have this option, everyone will (and should) play it safe and go with 14 by default.

the 75 hp is worth a lot more than the 1 to 2 extra damage when using the superior weapon rune.

I run 14 on Hammer builds since I don't have a shield to make up for the +30 health I usually gain with a shield and a hammer is powerful enough without going to 15 or 16. I run 15 on axe and sword builds though since I have a +30shield to make up for the -35 health lost from the major rune. I have found this combination works without any issues.

Quote: Originally Posted by Yukito Kunisaki

I've been seeing alot of conjure W/E's lately, been running one myself for quite awhile now and I hardly ever take 16 in swords. Those xtra points you can put into an element stat are much more valuable, and you need all the health/survivability you can get with this build because when you're dishing out the damage imo, I can guarentee you won't be ignored.

A sin or ele can take you out in a matter of seconds if you're not careful, lets be honest. My personal play-style would not have me just relying on the monk for those close-call scenarios. I think that's how alot of warriors feel.

As far as pve, as a warrior most PUGs will want you tanking. Even when I'm henching I usually max out strength and go as a tank, cuz there's some tough mobs out there and if you can manage to hold off 5 or 6 of them while the nukers work on them, it can make all the difference between a wipe and moving forward.

Quote: Originally Posted by Yukito Kunisaki

PvP~Minor
PvE~Sup