Carrion Trapper Soulbeast [pvp]

after lots of frustration, I've come up with a versatile condi build that's working out for me. let me know what you think, and if i can improve it.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQNAV4fjEqQLLWuCerAVLWcEMmAwkrylfcbuP3mFQsqDcit0OO-jZRAABkVGAgHAw67PEwBBwjrAAA

right now i'm climbing plat with this easily. however I understand people are still figuring builds out and all that. not saying this is meta, but i feel it will only get stronger as Beast and dagger skills get buffed, which they will.

• it's pretty mobile actually, and slippery with Trapper Runes and Eternal Bond. you can reset fights whenever you want, and I usually just die to +1'ing thieves or from my mistakes.
• swapping pets is really, really messy now. most of the time, I just stay with the polar bear for Defy Pain to exchange with warriors
• Shortbow is just a joy to use. the piercing immob and stun can secure easy kills. it just shreds Scourges.
• I guess you could go with Supportive or Stout, but I just really like Prelude Lash. you can pull people into your traps and bonfire.
• probably the coolest thing about this build is that it absolutely wrecks Mender druids. it's not even a contest. there are just too many immobs and interrupts for them to handle.
• you can bait power builds to over-commit into your Eternal Bond (if it's a really close 1v1 or something) --> stealth and reset.
• start outside of BM to bait thief openers into Unstoppable Union. don't spend too much time in BM! you really need that stun-break. use your F2/F3 and get out of BM.

hope some of you find this useful. I feel the core build is there, but there's lots of room to grow with it. if you're trying any other condi build: good luck. imo, the damage just isnt there without traps, and you cant disengage without Trapper runes.

@mistsim.2748 said:after lots of frustration, I've come up with a versatile condi build that's working out for me. let me know what you think, and if i can improve it.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQNAV4fjEqQLLWuCerAVLWcEMmAwkrylfcbuP3mFQsqDcit0OO-jZRAABkVGAgHAw67PEwBBwjrAAA

right now i'm climbing plat with this easily. however I understand people are still figuring builds out and all that. not saying this is meta, but i feel it will only get stronger as Beast and dagger skills get buffed, which they will.

• it's pretty mobile actually, and slippery with Trapper Runes and Eternal Bond. you can reset fights whenever you want, and I usually just die to +1'ing thieves or from my mistakes.
• swapping pets is really, really messy now. most of the time, I just stay with the polar bear for Defy Pain to exchange with warriors
• Shortbow is just a joy to use. the piercing immob and stun can secure easy kills. it just shreds Scourges.
• I guess you could go with Supportive or Stout, but I just really like Prelude Lash. you can pull people into your traps and bonfire.
• probably the coolest thing about this build is that it absolutely wrecks Mender druids. it's not even a contest. there are just too many immobs and interrupts for them to handle.
• you can bait power builds to over-commit into your Eternal Bond (if it's a really close 1v1 or something) --> stealth and reset.
• start outside of BM to bait thief openers into Unstoppable Union

hope some of you find this useful. I feel the core build is there, but there's lots of room to grow with it. if you're trying any other condi build: good luck. imo, the damage just isnt there without traps, and you cant disengage without Trapper runes.

Vids please.

I just don't see traps working against good players.

@StickerHappy.8052 said:Vids please.

I just don't see traps working against good players.

sorry, no time. feel free to give it a shot yourself if u want.

what about the traps do you think wouldnt work against "good players"? theyre unblockable, so that's kinda neat. you can use them defensively, pull people into them, or just use them for target drops and resets.

the issue with slotting traps was always giving up survivability from the other utilities. Defy Pain and Unstoppable Force take care of that quite well. so far I haven't needed more condi cleanses. but yeah, Prelude Slash synergizes really well with traps.

Dropping a trap on a player that's locked down (for whatever reason) is godly when timed correct, traited correctly, etc. I'm not a great player by any mean but I've beaten plenty of players better than me with traps, regen, and condi bombs. You cover enough condi's, even on good players, and they'll break at some point. Especially in a competitive situation when there's not a guaranteed 1v1.

Love the build, its fun and appreciate the share. I was using juvenile cheetah (for more bleed, and a shadow step pet) with it for good results, but i do have your polar bear on back up. Going to experiment more with pets... but this is what I'm looking to play, again thanks and cheers!

@Xisin.9271 said:Love the build, its fun and appreciate the share. I was using juvenile cheetah (for more bleed, and a shadow step pet) with it for good results, but i do have your polar bear on back up. Going to experiment more with pets... but this is what I'm looking to play, again thanks and cheers!

glad you're enjoying it! Unflinching Fortitude and the extra condi cleanse from brown bear look great as well. i'm actually considering just going double bear. sadly, swapping these pets in actual combat is super clumsy and unintuitive. I really hope they enable swapping in BM.

Try a devourer. You lose Defy Pain but having another stun/knockback and backwards evade make the Shortbow even more fun ^_^

@Cufufalating.8479 said:Try a devourer. You lose Defy Pain but having another stun/knockback and backwards evade make the Shortbow even more fun ^_^

I did initially love the Devourer in the early tests. however, what I love about Defy Pain (and Unflinching Fortitude) is that you can actually trade with warriors instead of just evading.

This build seems susceptible to conditions itself. You can only cleanse 6 conditions total each minute.

@zone.1073 said:This build seems susceptible to conditions itself. You can only cleanse 6 conditions total each minute.

I agree that it seems susceptible. but if you check the CD's, theyre quite low on the wilderness utilities. with this build, you're essentially weaving in and out of fights. repositioning and dropping aggro is quite easy. I would add more condi cleanses, but I find myself dying to power builds 80% of the time anyway. So you can go black bear or brown bear, depending on what you need.

obviously, the main problem with these types of builds is that sometimes you just can't leave the fight. No Astral Grace or Swoop. so if CD's are down, it can be hard at times.