[WvW] Matchup help fighting meta FA Scepter Weaver

Hey folks,

Much like I did in the warrior section, I'm requesting some assistance to fight into the common FA scepter weaver burst build I'm seeing so much in WvW. I'd like to get some in-game assistance to fight this build, because no matter how I seem to approach it, I always lose and it just negates absolutely any pressure I bring while burning my 20k hp instantly.

I play D/D power core thief, and it's always been the case that the matchup is favored to FA ele, even going back to core game. I'm wondering if there's any wiggle room with using S/D as my secondary kit to maybe overcome this struggle.

In the case of my attempts to do this with meta spellbreaker, based on the build I play after some hours of fighting warriors, I was told to just simply run away from spellbreaker as a whole because when going over the math and analyzing the fights, my play on D/D (and even S/D within my build) was generally evaluated to be top-notch without any real room for improvement or notable things to change aside from the occasional mistake we all make, and the matchup considered lost due my build being strictly just unable to fight into it. Spellbreaker is kind of a monster right now, and people often talk about how FA ele is easy to counter while not actually going into the specifics as to how to deal with it, so I'd like to at least believe I'm doing something wrong for the time being.

So I'd like some in-game help from FA scepter players. Ele, in particular weaver, is the profession I have the worst understanding of and I'd like to learn to overcome this build if possible, especially because it seems to be completely taking over roaming. I can fight and usually win any other weaver matchup except this one.

I'm on Red in WvW this week, but wouldn't mind taking it to sPvP or the guild hall of a guild to work this out.

Thanks!

I’d be happy to give some tips, I solo roam on fresh air a lot. Sw/d would get you a lot farther than d/d if you’re up against a good ele. Fresh air has basically one play style, kite kite kite. If you can stick to the ele, keep from being CC’d and maybe use sw/d 3 to go through arcane shield, you’re golden.

Here's what FA Weaver scepter is:Strength:

• High range burst damage - strong one-shot potential against other glass builds

Weaknesses:

• Very low sustain/survivability - a true glass cannon (without spamming evades, blocks, stealth, etc.)
• Low mobility/Low kiting potential - unless they use their elite FGS or utility Lightning Flash with 40 sec cd.
• Nearly non-existent condition cleansing - hopeless against condition builds

Once you're within their 0 - 900 range (or 1800 if they have Lightning Flash) expect that they're going to burst you instantly anytime from now so focus on avoiding that damage while you close the distance between you and the Ele. If you do manage to close the distance between you and the Ele while avoiding his supposed one shot burst combo, aside from dodging expect that he'd most likely go invulnerable for 4 seconds or use Arcane Shield. And if he's quick enough, he could probably burst you one more time 3-3.5 seconds after his first burst with either Fire-Air or Earth-Air combo. If you survive those first few seconds of combat, the FA ele is pretty much dead just be constantly in front of his face and get one stun break skill in case they cc'd you because they'll most likely burst you after the cc.

Basically, get enough mobility to chase him down while avoiding the burst (you're a thief so that shouldn't be a problem) -> survive or avoid the first and/or second burst -> kill it. But really the best tip is to play it yourself even just for 30 minutes, their survivability and burst is very easy to understand it wouldn't take you long to realize how weak the build is compared to other "glass cannon" builds out there.

@GloriousAlkaid.5104 said:I’d be happy to give some tips, I solo roam on fresh air a lot. Sw/d would get you a lot farther than d/d if you’re up against a good ele. Fresh air has basically one play style, kite kite kite. If you can stick to the ele, keep from being CC’d and maybe use sw/d 3 to go through arcane shield, you’re golden.

I'll add you to FL and see if you're available the next time I log in.