Trying PvP again as a core warrior

Hi there,

I hadn't set a foot in PvP in months, but we decided to build an arena in the guild hall, thus require PvP potions - so I went there again. I first tried with a copy of my roaming build, but it did not work, the parameters are eventually too different (gear, food, runes, sigils). I tried to adapt it, to something that gives me the same enjoyment of sheer brutality (core warrior).

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vJAQNAR3ejMdQZH25BmhApIGICKLAigBQ/ipPGwT4FeeA-jpBHABNfQAA4BAYwFAopyAts/wAHBAA

I realized a few things (which must already be known to you PvP veterans):

• Demolisher amulet has become mediocre, i.e. it does not bring enough damage, nor enough defense, in regards of the current state of the game. I switched and committed to the berserker amulet, no regret.
• The nerf of passive skills, namely Last Stand, as well as to stances, had more impact than in WvW, to the point of some skills/traits becoming inadequate. It forced me to use alternatives, which felt good. However, the nerf of passives must go on, i.e. they should eventually replace the traits with new traits (actually useful).
• Previously, one could go Last Stand + Berserker Stance, as a way to dive into melee while tanking reasonably well the initial damage, but I feel it does not work anymore. As such, I have replaced these by Rousing Resilience and Shake it off. The gameplay has changed a bit, one needs to pick targets and not take aggro (or disengage if this is the case).
• In WvW, I am still a believer of Might Makes Right, but the trait is carried by the food, gear, and the ability to Reckless Dodge into balls of enemies to make might. In PvP, it is less potent, so I went for Berserker's Power.
• I miss Hydromancy / Leeching so much. It is a good portion of my damage as a core warrior, plus offers some good burst combos with Reckless Dodge and weapon swap.

With the berserker amulet as well as the damage modifiers, I had the following figures: Axe AA 2-3k, Arcing Slice 6-7k, Eviscerate sometimes double digit, Rampage AA 4-6k. I felt I was able to make a difference in fights, by quickly silencing dangerous foes. Surviving wasn't much of an issue, but this has to do with the gameplay, where you stay sharp, avoid aggro and focus chosen targets. I'm also used to 1vX in WvW, with some experience in kiting and dealing with pressure.

What do you guys think of this, and of core warrior in general in PvP? Does it have a place, what counters it hard? I'm not aware of what the current meta is.

Cheers.

@"Elegie.3620"What do you guys think of this, and of core warrior in general in PvP? Does it have a place, what counters it hard? I'm not aware of what the current meta is.

Cheers.

Core warrior in PvP is still viable. I've been playing core warrior since 2013 and I'm happy to tell you that it is still viable to play core warrior. The skill cap is bigger than Spellbreaker, but with enough practice it's just as good, if not better than the Spellbreaker.

Your build is fine, though the only problem with it is that it has very little condition cleanse outside of swapping weapons. That I think is what would most likely counter core warrior. You're also not using Berserker Stance which makes you even more vulnerable to conditions. Shake It Off is nice for a more supportive warrior, one that stun breaks everyone and cleanses conditions off them. You can use it if you want, since it got buffed to cleanse 3 conditions instead of 2 and even before that 1. And I think it does compete with Berserker Stance to an extent.

If you're interested, you can use my core warrior build that I use in ranked PvP.

IMO, core war is still decent in PvP...but it was hit way harder by the Last Stand nerf than spellbreaker was. Whichever trait/utility combo you pick with core warrior, you will always have less condi clear/resistance, stun breaks (rousing), and stability uptime vs spellbreaker.

Thank you guys. I've been struggling a bit, but I think it's to do with my lacking knowledge of the current meta. I'm slowly getting familiar with what opponents use, things are improving.

I still have problems when facing scourges, though. Fighting one scourge is painful, and fighting two of them is simply impossible. Basically:

• I feel that the pressure I can apply is quite low, especially because of the level of barriers (and to a lesser extent soft control) a scourge can leverage.
• Conversely, I feel that the pressure the scourge applies is quite high: conditions of course, plus corruption, either at melee or at distance (and I can fight only at melee because of the build).

In WvW, this is not a problem, because I can kite away and take all the time I want to drain their defensive CD, or eventually select other targets, +1 elsewhere and so on. In PvP though, unless I try and simply +1 where I can, I have to fight over the control of a node, and that means facing scourges - or the game is lost. What do I need to learn?

• How to handle the matchup? Should I forget about fighting scourges, and reorient my role? If so, what rotation would you suggest?
• In general, what top 3 scourge skills should I be wary of / avoid / trigger / counter? Any best way to do this?
• What class can I coordinate the best with in the current meta?

Cheers.

@Elegie.3620 said:I still have problems when facing scourges, though. Fighting one scourge is painful, and fighting two of them is simply impossible. Basically:

• I feel that the pressure I can apply is quite low, especially because of the level of barriers (and to a lesser extent soft control) a scourge can leverage.
• Conversely, I feel that the pressure the scourge applies is quite high: conditions of course, plus corruption, either at melee or at distance (and I can fight only at melee because of the build).
• How to handle the matchup? Should I forget about fighting scourges, and reorient my role? If so, what rotation would you suggest?
• In general, what top 3 scourge skills should I be wary of / avoid / trigger / counter? Any best way to do this?
• What class can I coordinate the best with in the current meta?

Cheers.

Try using Berserker Stance. Also select the Cleaning Ire trait in the Defense specialization. It is a great trait for cleansing conditions and while Shake It Off may seem like a nice utility skill, it's better to have Berserker Stance and use Cleansing Ire in order to have more sustain against Scourges, specifically condi Scourges.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vJAQNAR3ejEdQZH25BmhApIGICK9Lm+tAPhXYEsAICGAA-jpBHABNVGwgLAQzHEgBOCAps/AAPAAA

what about something like this? havent tried this out, but has stunbreaks, alot of condi removes and mending has now even better heal than healing sig, if used every 15 sec, also rune gives boon on heal use and you get into rampage while removing most conditionscan imagine it could work quite well

Thanks for your insights guys. I had tried Cleansing Ire, it was better indeed, yet I felt I lost too much in regards of the other traits - I'll have to persist I guess. Berserker's Stance is fine (it's my go-to skill in WvW), but I found most scourges just bait it away, so it's a bit too telegraphed? I didn't think about Mending though, nor Lyssa runes, they're good suggestions, I'll try and mix them a bit.

The fact that we can fights scourges only by cleansing conditions rather than active defense is a bit disheartening though. Isn't there some stuff I should pay special attention to, besides AoE? I'll try plying and dueling scourges to improve, but don't hesitate to drop a line of advice (or two) if you like!

Cheers.

I never had problem with scourges . Condi mesmers are way bigger problem . Necros are way to slow and are easy to kite and run around . How to beat scourge ? Bulls charge into that cunt gs2 gsf1 gs3 or swap shield 4 that’s second stun and give him everything you’ve got . Thanks to this strategy I beaten plat scourge 1v1 and iam just dumb gold . I never had problem with any necro as warrior .

Bulls charge into that kitten ...I meant cunt

@rendheim.6785 said:Bulls charge into that kitten ...I meant kitten

Fuck cunt bitch cock dick . Let’s see how many words it’ll filter .