PvP Weaver Build - Sword / Focus - Well-balanced

I've been running this build for about a month and a half now with very positive results... even when weavers were supposedly underpowered.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vFAQJAsdnk4C94iF5CGNAM5iFDA7+U3qn1BBgM5BYIFsDehA-jJRAQBB4BAMxyA7Y/BAcCAAA

The build stresses condition removal in the trait line because I've been playing against a necro meta, but feel free to change what you need to.

If you combo your abilities correctly, you will dominate 1v1 skirmishes. I worry a bit fighting mesmers but any other race I'm confident I can take.

The condition stacking from Glyph + Primordial stance catches most players off guard.

Switch to Earth Attunement during stomp for a couple seconds of stability.

Weakness is mobility / escape. Just get in there and do damage.

Looking forward to hearing community feedback!

How do you manage to stay above 75% hp without the water line? I find Aquatic Stance has extremely poor healing compared to other heals like SoR. You have to reliably hit an enemy for 5 seconds to really get anything out of it. Do you have enough mobility against kiting without Lightning Flash? Also, why not Persisting Flames? You have lots of blast finishers and fire fields as Sw/F.

@Zintrothen.1056 said:How do you manage to stay above 75% hp without the water line? I find Aquatic Stance has extremely poor healing compared to other heals like SoR. You have to reliably hit an enemy for 5 seconds to really get anything out of it. Do you have enough mobility against kiting without Lightning Flash? Also, why not Persisting Flames? You have lots of blast finishers and fire fields as Sw/F.

I find that stacking might does more for my damage than having fury with this build, mostly since the damage output is heavily condition-based. Maybe you're right, though... with the raw damage increased from the Feb 6 update, maybe fury will provide more benefit.

Being above 75% doesn't last long in a decent fight. This weaver doesn't survive long if conditions get stacked, so the trait choice is really a means of helping deal with a weakness to the build. ANY condition removal, even if it wasn't too reliable, was helpful in the meta just before the latest (Feb 6) update. I spend about the first 10 seconds of a fight above 75% since I am either evading, dodge-rolling, or invulnerable.

After trying out SoR I found that the burst heal offered by Aquatic Stance (and the stability granted) are worthwhile. This weaver build has small cooldown gaps where damage can get through, so the burst heal quickly brings me back up. Be sure to combo riptide + Earth 2 or 4 for a bit more healing. Since Riptide just got nerfed, I may need to re-think the healing side a bit or how I approach healing in a fight, but the main issue right now appears to be the Weave Self bug, where it does not reduce attunement cooldowns as stated in skill description. When that gets fixed I think the build will feel less clunky.

A kiting enemy can certainly be a problem, which is why I listed mobility as a weakness. Most of the time, to be honest, I just rely on outplaying the ranged thieves. Correct timing of Air 4 and Earth 4 make a world of difference against ranged. Air 2 / Air 5 / Water 4 are the only skills helpful in chasing (Earth Attunement and Earth 2 do cripple, but they rely on you already being close), so I admit there's a problem there.

Disclaimer: I've been playing this build at the Silver 3 - Gold 1 level... so maybe it's only working because of player skill at that level. Would love to hear from people trying the build at higher levels of play.

Thanks for sharing. I particularly liked your trait choices.

I use Sage in plat with s/d. It's viable. Not necessarily with fire and earth though. If you're using Aquatic Stance for your heal you should try Balthazar runes for 3s burn on heal with 10s cd (plus more burn duration). I played condi staff for a long time with balth runes and your same earth traits. If you're having trouble with condis use rock solid trait or stab on stance trait to get your ether renewal off. Just a suggestion.

The problem with condi ele in higher tiers is that there aren't enough cover conditions. Burn guards aren't a thing either. You could use a sigil to get you poison or torment but it's an uphill battle.That's not to say it isn't fun though. I will give it a go. Cheers