Marshal's Firebrand

The Marshal gear stat is (+108 Power, +108 Healing, +59 Precision, +59 Condition Damage) not meta, by a long distance. However, is there a method to make it viable?http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PWzAYl3lRwkYZML2Je8TlPdA-zRRYuR9DO4SJxEoxQo6CI9IQ3TSAsHeA-e

This is a build I came up with which is Marshal's + Diviner's Trinkets, that looks very viable to me. It hits 95% of boon duration, and with enough blocks, condition removing skills, and heals to make this an excellent Support Marshal Firebrand. The point is to keep enough upkeep on Regen + Aegis, and grant enough power and condition damage to actively help the team with the DPS.

This is by no means "optimal" but can give an incredible amount of sustained support for groups to do longer content. I haven't done it myself, because it is a lot of investment to get the concentration + agony infusions, but it seems like something that can be run on Instanced and Open World stuff as well.

Any other suggestions people might have that makes Marshal's, or similar non-meta builds viable?

IMHO you are much better off with Seraph build . It has worked great for me in both open world and in FOTM (not try hards). In FOTM, you can switch your skill 8 according to instabs, and also swap infusions / sigils for more healing if needed. But overall, I feel that Seraph provides that middle ground between a meta try-hard no heal comp with pdps quickbrand and the carry healbrand. Seraph dishes out significant burn damage, gives perma quickness, might, fury, and covers protection and regen as well.http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PWABc6t/lRweYYsKGJW0SvPbA-zRRYmBBhG9cvhRSF0lCOHkgYP8Wg5cD-eEdit: If you feel to squishy, you can swap 1-2 plagudoctors or magi's pieces in.

Marshal's/Celestial or Grieving/Celestial (if you don't need the Healing Power) both work well. Keep in mind you can reach something like 60%+ Boon Duration without any Concentration on your gear, and that's usually enough.

With a good rotation you're going to be overstacking boons at ~70% duration and up. Which only works for Might, and since players often bring their own sources of Might generation its often wasteful. Adding more stacks of Stability would help, in theory, but in practice it only takes a single stack of Stability to avoid most CC mechanics in PvE, and adding more doesn't help.

I wouldn't use Diviner's with it, its just wasting the Condition Damage and Healing Power entirely.

I'm also confused that you think Marshal's isn't meta, its the only glass healing & power/condi damage set and is meta on many builds. Just not on the builds you tend to find on Snowcrows because those are very highly specialised builds.

Seraph's is the off-meta equivalent, swapping Power for Concentration (sometimes useful, sometimes not).

@Hannelore.8153 said:Marshal's/Celestial or Grieving/Celestial (if you don't need the Healing Power) both work well. Keep in mind you can reach something like 60%+ Boon Duration without any Concentration on your gear, and that's usually enough.

With a good rotation you're going to be overstacking boons at ~70% duration and up. Which only works for Might, and since players often bring their own sources of Might generation its often wasteful. Adding more stacks of Stability would help, in theory, but in practice it only takes a single stack of Stability to avoid most CC mechanics in PvE, and adding more doesn't help.

I wouldn't use Diviner's with it, its just wasting the Condition Damage and Healing Power entirely.

I'm also confused that you think Marshal's isn't meta, its the only glass healing & power/condi damage set and is meta on many builds. Just not on the builds you tend to find on Snowcrows because those are very highly specialised builds.

Seraph's is the off-meta equivalent, swapping Power for Concentration (sometimes useful, sometimes not).

Let's be real here - neither marshal. nor seraph are meta for a FB. Never have been.

@"Hannelore.8153" said:I'm also confused that you think Marshal's isn't meta, its the only glass healing & power/condi damage set and is meta on many builds. Just not on the builds you tend to find on Snowcrows because those are very highly specialised builds.

Yeah, Snowcrows is always highly specialized quick clear builds. But, all newbies are pointed towards that. Any other website which gives you these builds, other than Metabattle?

But, AFAIK, Marshal isn't really popular? Or people tend to be like, "why aren't you Viper yet" sometimes.

@ParaNoidAndroid.1406 said:

@"Hannelore.8153" said:I'm also confused that you think Marshal's isn't meta, its the only glass healing & power/condi damage set and is meta on many builds. Just not on the builds you tend to find on Snowcrows because those are very highly specialised builds.

Just because something is tradition and hard meta, doesn't mean its always good. Also need to understand the difference between "soft meta" , which is established by players and word-of-mouth, and "hard meta", which is established by websites.

Metabattle does have some soft meta builds, which is why many people see it as unreliable. :/

The problem is PUGs sometime want just a Support Firebrand or a Condi DPS Firebrand. If they find out you're not doing Harrier's or Viper's they have a major WTF moment.

Personally, I really like the look of Marshal's/Celestial, and even Seraph/Plaguedoctor's. I will try out one soon.