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100% crit-chance Zerg Weaver Staff build


zaid.2308

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Link build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PGgAYZlJwQYUMP2JO+KbvNA-zVZYBh7YIIQxoChNIRDhIVQlEQ1BIg9wbZizI-wThis is a build that is built around ele's that have experienced movement and positioning, as it is very important to part to have with this build.If u are not a very experienced ele, i would still recommend u go ahead and give it a go with this build, as it can pressure u to learn the movement, positioning and dps rotation of a staff weaver in WvW.

-HP = 15.6k-Base Power = 2.9k power (in fire)-Power with 25x might + 200power food on kill (30secs) = 4.2k power-Crit dmg = 242-260% crit-dmg (depending on the fire and air variants)-Crit chance = 100% crit-chance-When u don't have Minor BB (30point stats) just switch backpiece valkyrie to either berserker (15k hp) or marauder (15.3k hp)

You can change rune to Scholar as 2nd variant of this build, I won't bother changing the mind on those that are deadstuck on Scholar, I used to use it as well though personally, I found Strength to be more effective for with this build.Been running this on WSR (Whiteside Ridge) for a while (curent above build since recent changes to ele) now in pug + organized squad comp's in WvW, and it could easily be seen how effective it was.

I don't really know why but I've seen a lot of servers not really accept staff weavers, atleast from my POV when I've fought against pretty much all servers' zergs, and most of the times i don't see as many ele's as i do on WSR for instance. I'm not sure if it's just a wrong idea ppl have around weavers in zergs or if it's just a server thing. I've seen like only 1-2 other servers beside WSR which uses staff weavers properly in their zergs. I think ppl forgetting that ele's with core guard are currently the highest dps'ers that do the most/highest consistent dmg over-time in a fight.

Enjoy the build :)

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id recommend running 1 staff force + bloodlust and 1 staff force + strength since you have no personal might generation for Power Overwhelming trait otherwise.

But then again, Id also recommend not play weaver because it is no longer worth it after all the nerfs.Rev, reaper and heck even DH/base guard are safer choices that can provide almost as much dmg on top other useful utilities.

Quick edit: On that last comment you made, I'd say DH is the highest DPS spec for wvw in the game right now, but it is entirely melee and wont do jack if your group pirateships. But that also means DH is more risky than weaver since you have to be in melee with 12k hp...

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Tbh strength runes and accuracy sigil are worthless. Your might is nonexistent (literally), you need strength sigil/fried golden dumplings to get any kind of might so there's no point of buffing its duration. Precision from accuracy sigil can be acquired from extra assassin/marauder gear parts instead of berserker and you even get more value off of force sigil. If you want precision, pack runes are by far the best choice since they also buff your fury and might uptimes.

I'd rather rely on rng and crit chance from superior elements trait (1.3k extra health from weaver trait is meaningless nowadays) and get much stronger crits than crit often, but not as hard.

Also as a weaver you want to be aggressive and apply pressure, your utilities do none of those. Glyph, while providing great pressure in chokepoints (water) or burn uptime (fire) for fire trait, has very low range, very low damage (unless everyone stacks in it which is rare) and has a very long cast time. Arcane wave crits for 1k at most and is only useful as a blast finisher (which you don't need in combat and you can get them from other weapons for pre stacking anyway). No stun breaks and mobility = passive/dead weaver = useless weaver. Both glyph of power and air signet give you more value than both utility skills most of the time, whether you use them offensively or defensively. Fire signet is probably the best and most reliable dps buff you can get from utility skills currently. I personally use twist of fate+stone resonance because you're practically unkillable and immune to retal (especially after its nerf), your big skills don't get interrupted and you can get more glassy gear; since utilities don't do significant damage, might as well invest into defensive ones and focus the rest of your build on more offense.

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Why are u 2 talking about personal might generation like it's the most important for a "ZERG" weaver staff build, especially now that PP is dead in fire-line?Please If ppl aren't knowledgeable about something and only think u know part of something, then please don't, cause that's how fake information gets spread out quickly and it doesn't improve the playerbase of GW2 that way.

U know in a zerg u are in a squad, which consist of atleast revs, scrappers and fb's, which consistently shares might and converts might to allies...So already there, u 2 are showing lack of common WvW knowledge. Especially when one of u says DH should be played over Core Guard, Core Guard is literally the only viable dps build from the guardian class currently in a zerg/squad comp. We talking about Zerging here not roaming, smallscale or guildcomp, so have that in mind as context. If u are on a server that have zergs/squad with no fb in each pt atleast then please don't assume all servers are like yours. Mine for instance always easily could support me with 15+ might fb (before engage), revs and scrappers kept it up consistently with pulsing + converting (PoP). Ofc eles' could keep it 10+ easily themselves with PP earlier before hard nerf but u can still easily have consistent 20+ might, as i personally do currently (not with this build) and i have no personal might generation either.

I personally agree with OP that there is a big lack of weavers among most servers in WvW, especially when it comes to making properly use of those weavers. As most servers have them in their squad but never gives them let's a fb pt and only puts all the weavers together in 1 pt, I seriously don't know what's wrong with players that do that. It's frustrating to see players talk big but when u read everything they're saying it's just lack of knowledge and they still think they are saying something right. It's a big issue ofc in every mode but it happens a lot in WvW. Please if u only think u know, u probably don't, so better off researching first before saying something, as it will most likely be wrong.

For instance Steki, when u say a weaver should apply pressure at all times why do u think it's not possible with the kit/build that OP linked? I'm personally seeing a weaver that's pressuring consistently with this build, as it has as title says 100% crit-chance, so i would say u can pressure easily with all the dmg u have from skills+utilities. I would rather have consistent crits with high dmg than non-consistent crits with high dmg. Another lack of knowledge here, arcane wave still hit's hard and it's 5man target and the Glyph OP chose is not only good in chokes, u can easily use it right after a meteor as it's a fast animation. Personally i would never Signet of Fire as u mentioned Steki, especially not on a weaver, I used to use that signet on Core Ele pre-expansions as u didn't have a lot of access to crit-chance then, so it was extra nice to have. So in this instance it's a lot better to have straight out more dmg in the form of Arcane wave and Glyph of Storm. And Steki lastly pls never tell any power dps class to run Assassin's in WvW....

I will though say i will test this build with Scholar variant, I'm guessing here as the might duration isn't the focus here so it's power on both runes but u lose ferocity/crit-dmg out in a non-rng dmg modifer that is 6th effect on Strength rune instead of Scholar's 5% dmg when above 90%. I guess a lot can be skeptical about scholar especially as weaver's deal with retal (it did get nerfed recently but will still be decent amount when u have even more dmg in form of those 2 utilities). I will still test it on Scholar though over Strength, it might be a lot of rng with the dmg modifer but that crit-dmg is always nice to have when u got 100% crit chance, as dmg will then min-max depending on power+ferocity and precision out of the equation. I'm just glad u didn't stack power on top of power on top of power, a lot forget that stats deminish at a certain point, power at 4k for instance and then it depends on precision but as that is 100% u focus on maxing crit-dmg out instead (which is why i will be testing it with Scholar). After all Scholar's ferocity stats gives more increased dmg flat out when compared to Strength, as both have same power stats. Difference is ferocity and might duration and the non-rng modifer of Strength vs the rng modifer of Scholar. Scholar alone with just ferocity + power stats in it can outdo the dmg that comes from the power + dmg modifer of Strength rune. That's why for instance dps revs in zergs run Scholar as well over Strength, they might not have as high of consistent dps similar to staff weavers + core guards currently but they do have the highest burst dmg when sync'd with several revs' hammer3 for instance.

TLDR; I will try this build in upcoming days in a zerg/squad setting and see how it fares, i'm curious tbh, as i haven't really played a consistent/very high-consistent 100% crit-chance weaver staff before, as i never really bothered with ppl that said "100% crit-chance" but went ahead and chose Superior Elements and tells u to your face that that is 100% crit-chance, when u are playing heavily with RNG that way. I really wonder what ppl smoke when they pick that trait. It only makes sense in a roaming/smallscale build, when it comes to largescale u might as well take Master's Fortitude there just isn't a better option, don't listen to any1 that tells u otherwise. I'm glad OP didn't take mist as well, dps weavers shouldn't rely on defensive utilities a lot unless u have bad movement/positioning and your fb pt isn't giving u pre-stab, sorry but it's the truth. I'm also glad OP didn't go with Ether Renewing heal, as that shit is shit when u have engi's converting might for u, u don't wanna cleanse it away...Anyway i will test this build for some days and come bk here and give my reply to wheather i found OP's build good or bad personally.

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Maybe I'm missing something, but how does this build get to 100% crit chance? From everything you posted, it caps out at 87%.

I can't do hard numbers right now, but there are a few things I'd recommend:

(1): Build around Marauder. While Marauder does a little less damage than Berserkers, it has Berserkers beat in two ways. First, it is a more efficient distribution of offensive and defensive stats. Second, it has more stats overall. About 300 additional points worth. The vitality isn't useless, either. That 6.3k additional health has saved me numerous times, both roaming and in a zerg. Now, Marauder does give more precision than Berserkers, but this isn't a problem: just swap out the sigil of accuracy for another sigil instead.

(2): I wouldn't put that much trust into my teammates. Different servers have different levels of dedication, but in Dragonband our groups consist of whomever is willing to show up, and often very loosely organized. Getting a boon herald or FB isn't always guaranteed. To that end, Arcane Wave's main use is on arcane builds, where it is a group immobilize while attuned to Earth. On a Fire/Air/Weaver build, the move is less useful. Likewise, I've had troubles using Glyph of Storms, due to its relatively short range of 900, the long cast time of the skill, and also the small amount of damage that it does. Nobody is going to stand in a DPS field for 10 seconds to get the full damage from the Glyph.

That's why I recommend putting a defensive utility on the bar. Mist Form and Arcane Shield are both good. There aren't many good DPS utilities to use, and I never could figure out another one to put on the utility bar. My favorite choices were Frost Bow, Signet of Fire, or another defensive utility. All have their problems, but the only one I've ever managed to wreck people with is Frost Storm from the Frost Bow.

So basically, the build would look something like this. 100% crit chance under fury, 19k health. There's very little might generation, though, so if you want that you'll have to start sacrificing some stuff.

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I feel like running Glass Staff Weaver in a squad and on tag ignores what the class and the weapon is good at. There are just so many reasons why its suboptimal:

(1) Weaver is one of the most selfish classes in the game. It demands a lot of resources but unlike Rev/Necro/Guard doesn't share much utility and boons with allies in close proximity.(2) movement interrupts meteor shower and pile driver and casting times are horrible. Makes it very clunky when you need to dodge through ground poo and be constantly mobile to stay in support range of allies on tag since you will constantly interrupt your own casting.(3) melee training on tag doesn't play into Weaver's unique strength - your ability to do monster burst at greater than 1200 range by using FGS, lightning flash and burning retreat to safely overextend, burst and retreat to a distance where nobody can hit back.

I don't see anything you can do in squad and on tag that you can't do better in a dedicated party, playing off tag. You might as well put all of your weavers into one sub group with a pve firebrand and take up positions where you can abuse terrain advantage and get huge flanks to free cast on enemies like they are kitty golems. What are they going to do? Spam ground targets uphill and not hit anything? Hah! Break away from their tag and chase you up to high ground so you can drop down and say see ya later? They are never going to outrange or outkite you and they put themselves in a dangerous position if they even try.

Just embrace the fact that anet raised you to be a selfish git, show up fashionably late with your lacky firebrand supplying you perma offensive boons and ruin the party. Use your allies as bait, pick a target that is busy fighting someone else, get a big flank on them and pile driver/lightning surge/plasma blast until they cry. If they go down put a lava font on them and if anyone is dumb enough to attempt a rez, channel meteor shower and lightning flash to safety. If they chase you, burning retreat and let your allies kill them when they realize you still have FGS and they can never catch you.

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@Besetment.9187 said:I feel like running Glass Staff Weaver in a squad and on tag ignores what the class and the weapon is good at. There are just so many reasons why its suboptimal:

(1) Weaver is one of the most selfish classes in the game. It demands a lot of resources but unlike Rev/Necro/Guard doesn't share much utility and boons with allies in close proximity.(2) movement interrupts meteor shower and pile driver and casting times are horrible. Makes it very clunky when you need to dodge through ground poo and be constantly mobile to stay in support range of allies on tag since you will constantly interrupt your own casting.(3) melee training on tag doesn't play into Weaver's unique strength - your ability to do monster burst at greater than 1200 range by using FGS, lightning flash and burning retreat to safely overextend, burst and retreat to a distance where nobody can hit back.

I don't see anything you can do in squad and on tag that you can't do better in a dedicated party, playing off tag. You might as well put all of your weavers into one sub group with a pve firebrand and take up positions where you can abuse terrain advantage and get huge flanks to free cast on enemies like they are kitty golems. What are they going to do? Spam ground targets uphill and not hit anything? Hah! Break away from their tag and chase you up to high ground so you can drop down and say see ya later? They are never going to outrange or outkite you and they put themselves in a dangerous position if they even try.

Just embrace the fact that anet raised you to be a selfish git, show up fashionably late with your lacky firebrand supplying you perma offensive boons and ruin the party. Use your allies as bait, pick a target that is busy fighting someone else, get a big flank on them and pile driver/lightning surge/plasma blast until they cry. If they go down put a lava font on them and if anyone is dumb enough to attempt a rez, channel meteor shower and lightning flash to safety. If they chase you, burning retreat and let your allies kill them when they realize you still have FGS and they can never catch you.

Probably the only comment worth reading. If you're on tag as a staff weaver and you're in melee clash, you're doing no damage.

The only benefit you have from a squad is heals for retal damage and some random boons you get in between before you get out and free cast from the side so you can actually land your projectiles or finish your channels.

Weavers aren't popular because they aren't reliable since damage is slow, based on rng and has to be pre-planned and is relatively easy to avoid in open field. Weavers who arent amazing are useless because they afk after pressing 5 or die too easily. Ally commanders who dont play around weavers make weavers useless (and not many commanders do that). Enemies who do play around weaver aoes make weavers useless.

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I can see a lot of assumptions have been made around how i play and some seem to have made an idea around how i usually play with this build. (sarcasm)

90% of the time i'm never on top of tag/melee-ball, I'm wherever the situations calls me to be while still moving in the same motion as melee-ball/tag, and even when pirateshipping happens u usually don't stay on top of tag either. I'm always going in and out of the maximum range of fbs, scrappers and revs. To get the necessary boons/converts frequently. While still maintaining the range (900-1200, u can go higher, not gonna go into that though as i expect it to be basic info on ele) u have as a weaver that constantly sends aoes out at the right time, wherever u can catch the enemy zergs head in spot for 2-5secs. I dont play passively nor defensively, i play offensively and very aggresive. U can even still pick enemy squishies out with this easily. and no u don't necessarily need Piledriver to do so, as Surge tends to hit harder and is even faster which u can combo with other instant/fast skills.

I don't see why ppl think it's not possible. Just have good movement + positioning. Sry to say but if u need 2 defensive utilities u shouldn't play ele staff simple as that., even before recent nerf to staff weaver dmg i only ran 1 (twist of fate), and i switched it out for GoS cause i wanted to keep the dmg at an all high consistently. The nerfs to dmg on staff ele over the years has just made it this way. If u take 2 defensive utilities u might as well just go core guardian instead. Cause u either have very high consistent dmg or u don't play as weaver ele.

As for ppl saying weavers is a useless resource for a zerg, i would beg to differ, I can agree when we talking about avg eles but good eles are worth the resources as they bring their whole damaging kit with them and make it effective.

And lastly I hope ppl can stop assuming and ask instead. Like i still can't get it out of my mind how ppl think i play this anywhere close to a passive or defensive playstyle. And before ppl go on even further, no i don't go downstate frequently. I go down-state every 8th-10th fight and rarely when i do go down-state cause of once-in-a-while shit movement/positioning, I'm most of the time in a safe spot where i can mist-form and get a quick ress or even be rallied by that point already as, I most likely have tagged majority of enemies by then.

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@"zaid.2308" said:Cause u either have very high consistent dmg or u don't play as weaver ele.

Glyph of storms does less damage (per hit, not total damage) than a lava font, has 4x the cd (at least), 2x the duration and 2x the cast time (and lower range). It's just not worth using 99% of the time because it's designed to be useful only against targets that don't move (compare it to necro wells and you'll see a major difference in burst damage). It won't help you with "consistently high damage" since it barely contributes to that damage. The same applies to arcane wave. It used to be great when it could crit for 3-5k minimum, now it hits for 1k on average, which is pretty terrible. You can't even say that those skills apply pressure, they just inflate your dps numbers without actually doing anything. It's like using Lahar on cooldown because it cant be reflected, while your MS and FGS are on cooldown.

I'm all for running more offensive skills, they just bring very bad value, so I use defensive ones because they always have usage. It's not about needing it, it's about not having a better alternative. I'd rather save my 5-10k health than deal that damage to 10+ enemies over 5 seconds, and as long as retaliation exists, you'll always benefit from extra barrier/heals, especially if it comes with free stab.

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