Herald v Renegade

[DoRi Silvia.4159]

Hi all, I have recently made a rev which I used a booster to 80 and just started to look at builds and play styleI have only been playing classes with GS so this is quite new for me.

Perhaps it is because I never really noticed it enough but I feel like I have not seen as much heralds as renegades in the game, is there a reason for this? or am I just trippinI would like to focus on PvE on my rev and was wondering which of the elite specs are more 'wanted' in PvE

thanks

[LucianTheAngelic.7054]

Renegade is more "wanted" in high end PvE. Three main builds right now, in order of relevance:

1) DPS/Support Power Alacrity Renegade ("Alacrigade") - does decent damage, brings Alacrity for 10 people, and has good CC and Soulcleave's Summit. Runs S/S Staff, Kalla/Shiro

2) Condi DPS Ren - excellent condi dps, has some of the highest potential dps in the game under the right circumstances, sees less use than Alacrigrade, but that's only due to the fact it's a condi dps and also not a support. Uses Mace/Axe, Shortbow with Kalla/Mallyx or Shiro/Mallyx

3) Healing Renegade - Provides Alacrity and great healing. This is less used and not seen as often, but deserves an honorable mention as it is useful and can easily replace the "Alacrigade DPS" spot in a raid or fractal if the group is struggling to survive

In contrast, Herald has:

1) Handkite Herald - Only meta and useful on Deimos, but it's meta and useful on Deimos, so deserves a mention. This is the only Herald build that is currently meta

2) Power DPS Herald - a very meh power DPS with no burst, so you're better off just running Condi DPS Ren as you'll get the same results on a lot of fights where Power Herald would even be relevant. However, it's really good at providing certain boons for groups that need it so can be useful there if the group is struggling with Fury/Protection, etc.

2) Healing Herald - Healing Herald can be a great 2nd healer if you need it and also don't need Alacrity from Renegade. Personally, I think Healing Renegade is stronger, but Herald has its niche if you need a bunch of generic boons for up to 10 people

Personally, I run Renegade for almost all PvE content. In terms of Open World, both Herald and Renegade can perform excellently, though I personally think that Condi Ren is the best Revenant Spec for Open World since it has so much potential sustain, AoE damage, and higher single target DPS than Power Herald. Outside of Open World, Herald performs good to great in PvP, but is hard to master. In WvW, Hammer Herald is great for zerging. Renegade can still be used in PvP/WvW, but it's generally regarded as a very low tier spec. Personally, I've used Ren in PvP in platinum and the spec can be good if played well and geared right, but it's definitely not as good as Herald and gets shutdown by rampant things like Holosmith if you misplay at all

[Jthug.9506]

I occasionally run power DPS Herald in raids, typically shiro/jallis it's DPS is a bit on the low side compared to other power classes, however it's not terrible, and it's pretty nice for any fight where stability is good to have such as trio, sabetha, escort...

I am hoping that Anet will consider a 5-10% buff to sword auto attack as it feels a bit weak in PVE at the moment.

DPS herald also has a bit more health and a bit more damage reduction than your typical glass cannon mele class.

But if you really want to play a dps Revenant you would be well advised to gear for condi first and foremost as it's certainly better at the moment.

I'm just saying Power Herald isn't completely trash, it's just not as optimal as many other options. I think I was able to get 31-32k on the golem with power herald last time I checked. Where as I think condi renegade is sitting between 36-38k or something.

[draxynnic.3719]

If you're looking at instanced PvE, then renegade is probably the more versatile. Herald tends to get pinholed into power DPS, while renegade works as condi DPS, support, and power DPS. While renegade is typically regarded as a condi spec, I think this is mostly in comparison to herald, which is mostly power-focused, but renegade still has plenty of power tools: shortbow has decent power coefficients on most skills and is really more hybrid than condi, Kalla's Fervor grants Ferocity, and the offensive warband members worth summoning are all power-based (sorry, Razorclaw, but even in ideal conditions you don't generate enough bleeds to be worth the energy).

[Aeolus.3615]

Plaguedoctor stats with renegade/deamon it’s very good for pve with 2 its arround 60 80 torment stacks lol

Marshal stats are a decent bet as well.