Is Firebrand meta still?

I always see firebrand showing up on meta lists but every ranked game I play if there's a firebrand they get called target on and almost insta downed every team fight, I never played the spec in pvp but I was just wondering if this is a survivability issue from nerfs or if it's just cause of them getting focused as soon as they show up ?

Yes it is. But it's not a must have in every comp anymore

@Applesauce.5271 said:I always see firebrand showing up on meta lists but every ranked game I play if there's a firebrand they get called target on and almost insta downed every team fight, I never played the spec in pvp but I was just wondering if this is a survivability issue from nerfs or if it's just cause of them getting focused as soon as they show up ?

It is mostly the getting focused part. There is a caveat to playing Firebrand. It really needs a scourge to be able to be effective. Essentially the peels, the pressure, the fast resses and the barriers from bloodsage make the duo effective, but separately each class is mediocre. Scourge less so.

I think it will be back in the meta nice and strong once mesmer gets the nerf.

The better question is, if you had to bring support in a game, what class would be your number one pick?

How many of you are going to say support tempest?

Firebrand needs a team that acts like a team, it dominates in ATs. In yoloQ you carry harder with damage because you can't trust others to do their job, so a lot of guards go core.

firebrand is still meta, I've been playing fb this season and so far it's worked out really well for me. However, I would advise taking fb only when your team has a scourge, as others have said before, that is how you get the best out of a support. Taking an fb when, for example, your team is made up of a core guard, mirage, thief and holo is a TERRIBLE idea because these classes are either very squishy and extremely mobile, making it very difficult for the fb to do his role effectively.

Firebrands are the other half of Scourges, taking one of the two out of the equation cuts their effectiveness in less than half. I just got carried hard by two Scourges and a Firebrand, the Scourges with blood magic kept ressurecting one another and as long as the Firebrand was on his feet they would both go to full hp all over again, they kept the enemy team inside their base almost the entire game. That's in Platinum 2 btw.
So yeah Firebrand is meta, just not on it's own, keep a second character available with core Guard build or DH to switch to when the need arises.

Meanwhile the forums are filled with "Chrono is op" threads.. :p

@apharma.3741 said:The better question is, if you had to bring support in a game, what class would be your number one pick?

How many of you are going to say support tempest?

Support Chrono with harrier ammy and healing wells... Fun as hell and nearly immortal.