Power Firebrand Openworld (from woodenpotatoes)

Hello fellow guardians,

what do you think about the following FB build for Openworld:

It has zeal, radiance and of course FB as specializations. Basically it is a power FB build with interesting details and synergies. Personally I like best is the synergy between "Zealous Scepter" and "Loremaster" the combination is genius and there is nothing similar found in guardian (unfortunately because core guard is my favorite) or dragonhunter specializations.

In PvE, there is not a single guardian power build that can come remotely close to DH. Having said that, that does not mean other options are bad. They are noticeably weaker though.

I personally prefer core.

Kind of depends on what you want. WP's series is generally looking for comfort, survivability, and maintaining momentum between fights over pure DPS. Power dragonhunter has more DPS in boss fight rotations, but probably doesn't have the solo survivability that firebrands can achieve, and its damage can be fairly bursty which means in solo open world situations it might burst one enemy (or group) down quickly and then have to coast for a bit until the skills used for that burst recharge.

@otto.5684 said:In PvE, there is not a single guardian power build that can come remotely close to DH. Having said that, that does not mean other options are bad. They are noticeably weaker though.

I personally prefer core.

I also prefer core, but I've been running a build very similar to WPs for Open World, and it definitely has merit. You give up your burst heal but you get access to quickness on demand as well as great CC and AoE. DH might have the highest burst potential but is boring as spit to play.

Not a criticism of you or @draxynnic.3719 or WP, the idea that FB is more survivable is not necessarily accurate. In the spirit of giving hints to new players:

FB survivability relies on 2 things, aegis and healing power. In all likelihood, you will not have any healing power in open world (neither should you). Aegis main source will be the mantra of solace. This works well for survivability against one enemy. But against group of enemies, Litany of Wraith works so much better. It is a heal to full in PvE and can be close to immunity (as long as you do not get one shotted), And scales with more enemies. ToC can provide 2 extra aegis and projectile reflection (very handy in some situations).

If survivability is what I am looking for, I would drop DH for valor, not for FB. And if really need survivability, I would use mace and shield. This can give you high protection uptime, with 2 aegis every 16 secs (shield traited). Plus smite and 20 CD on Litany of Wraith gives substantially more healing than FB, without investment in healing power. The only thing FB offers over valor is quickness (compared to serious damage multipliers with DH or even virtues).

FB comes in handy in the quickness uptime. This is really (and honestly, the only) advantage power FB has over DH or core. FB+quickness have better synergy with condi damage. So if you are going the quickness route, might as well use condi damage over power. And, in open world, if you and a group are fighting an open world boss (or any semi challenging meta event), playing FB can be way more useful than just another dps. I used to always run condi quick brand (or power if you like) when doing bounties in PoF.

@otto.5684 said:

FB survivability relies on 2 things, aegis and healing power. In all likelihood, you will not have any healing power in open world (neither should you). Aegis main source will be the mantra of solace. This works well for survivability against one enemy. But against group of enemies, Litany of Wraith works so much better. It is a heal to full in PvE and can be close to immunity (as long as you do not get one shotted), And scales with more enemies. ToC can provide 2 extra aegis and projectile reflection (very handy in some situations).

You're thinking defensively, but where this build gains extra survivability is by playing offensively using Mantra of Truth. An AoE (5 target) giving 4 seconds of weakness and blindness is more than enough to finish anything that survives your opening rotation.

Litany of Wrath is also... situational. Great in situations where you CAN just go full offense and tear into something reliably while the healing comes in, but that's not always the case, especially for less experienced players who don't necessarily have enemy animations and attack routines memorised and thus are more prone to being hit by CC or otherwise having their burst shut down. WP's builds are intended as something which a relatively new player can take into any solo content and do okay, and aren't necessarily going to be optimal for every single situation. There are certainly situations in which just running Litany of Wrath with big spikes (especially big area spikes) will be plenty, but if that spike gets broken somehow, you can be in trouble.

Firebrand gets a lot out of healing power, but it doesn't need it for Tome of Resolve to essentially act as another healing skill, or for Tome of Courage to give you a bit of a reprieve, especially against projectile-heavy enemies.