WvW Scourge: Mara vs Celestial

I've only recently started to play Scourge in WvW, and based on all my readings, I opted to go with the Power Scourge build off Metabattle, running Marauder gear, Berserker weapons, Soldiers trinkets with Strength Runes. I'm not in a WvW guild so I mainly pug, but my server has some nice pugmanders and overall it's been really fun.

Now I'm wondering if Celestial wouldn't be a better choice. I know since the Dhummfire nerf, many have said that damage nerf was too much, and that power Scourge is the answer. But I've also read that Scourge is about boon rip/corrupt and barrier, with damage being a secondary responsibility, in which case Celestial makes more sense given you have extra mitigation / defense stats, as well as stronger barrier. Problem is, Celestial Gear is stupid expensive to craft; I have the materials, but I'd rather not waste them if it turns out Celestial is (currently) bad.

So what to do? Help a newb Scourge out please =(

Ask your pugmanders what they need. Imo, marauders is ok and gives a good burst with axe 2, and gives axe 3 some fangs. Celestials on the other hand, makes your boon corrupts hurt more, and you're mostly boon corrupting in a zerg

@Sephylon.4938 said:Ask your pugmanders what they need. Imo, marauders is ok and gives a good burst with axe 2, and gives axe 3 some fangs. Celestials on the other hand, makes your boon corrupts hurt more, and you're mostly boon corrupting in a zerg

Problem is every pugmander is different. In an organized guild the comm would just tell me their preference and that would be it.

Do the WvW reward tracks that give armor boxes as the final reward. Like the crystal desert reward track for example. Easy way to get exotic Celestial armor set. Or any stats you want for that matter.

@Turkeyspit.3965 said:I've only recently started to play Scourge in WvW, and based on all my readings, I opted to go with the Power Scourge build off Metabattle, running Marauder gear, Berserker weapons, Soldiers trinkets with Strength Runes. I'm not in a WvW guild so I mainly pug, but my server has some nice pugmanders and overall it's been really fun.

Now I'm wondering if Celestial wouldn't be a better choice. I know since the Dhummfire nerf, many have said that damage nerf was too much, and that power Scourge is the answer. But I've also read that Scourge is about boon rip/corrupt and barrier, with damage being a secondary responsibility, in which case Celestial makes more sense given you have extra mitigation / defense stats, as well as stronger barrier. Problem is, Celestial Gear is stupid expensive to craft; I have the materials, but I'd rather not waste them if it turns out Celestial is (currently) bad.

So what to do? Help a newb Scourge out please =(

I keep seeing people saying Celestial is very expensive, but that seems to be misnomer. Comparing Celestial vs. Marauder armors, the difference is the insignias.Wupwup Celestial Insignia - 10 Crystalline Dust + 5 Dark matter + 3 Damask patches + 1 Celestial Intricate Gossamer Insignia (5 Gossamer Patches, 5 ectos, 5 charged crystals)Svaard 's Marauder Insignia - 10 Crystalline Dust + 5 Dark matter + 3 Damask patches + 1 Marauder Intricate Gossamer Insignia (5 Gossamer Patches, 5 ectoes, 30 barbed thorns, 3 ebony orbs)The other armor pieces are identical.

So the net difference between these two insignias is 5 charged crystals (each made from 25 quartz crystals) vs. 30 barbed thorns and 3 ebony orbs. At current TP listings:125 quartz is ~1g25s30 barbed thorns is ~4.8s3 ebony orbs is ~66sThus, celestial is not that much more to craft (~1g25s vs. ~70.8s) . Making charged crystals is time-gated, but that's a different issue that doesn't make crafting the gear more or less expensive than other gears.

As for the time-gating, each day a player can easily upconvert 25 quartz into a charged quartz, even if they aren't sure if they'll want or need celestial armor. I did this for a while until I had well over 100 charged quartz in my bank. Since then, it's made it relatively easy to make celestial gear if desired. There's no reason other players can't do this as well.