HFB gearing.

[Lovele.1597]

Hello. I only played ranger so far but I want to gear my HFB now.

How ? 😄

I will mostly play fractals and strikes and probably not much raids because I already have my druid for that.

How do you suggest me to gear my HFB?

 

Discretize (the site that is specialized in fractal builds) says that i should go harrier and some cleric. Some other sites (that are specialized in raid builds) say to go full harrier. 

So I am a bit lost on what is the best route for me now.

Please help me out thank you ^^

[Infusion.7149]

Harrier is better for general usage because if you intend to use it in raids at all you will have toughness.

If it's for fractals only I would also look into the celestial variant on discretize as it is far more forgiving and higher DPS.

[Vidit.7108]

If you're still thinking about it Harrier is the way to go, it will be useful in strikes/raids and fine in fractals. If you don't like it those rings/weapons/accessories will probably be useful for another build.

If you are just planning to do fractals then Harrier will overshoot boon duration with mist potions and high AR. Depending on how high your AR is you can mix in other stat combinations easily into harrier. If you have a static then full celestial will probably be very comfortable.

If you're pugging like me and run into a fair share of brain dead alac rens and bad scourges you might want to mix in minstrel or magi for the extra healing power and personal durability. The easiest change is to swap a couple harrier pieces for Zealot to get a higher crit chance and not have to think about where boon duration is coming from. 

Edited December 24, 2021 by Vidit.7108

[Guybrush.4762]

Pretty much all of the above : Harrier is the standard in fractal and raid, getting a few Cleric pieces is a fractal thing because of AR conversion.

I personally run full minstrel. However it is tailored to my personal use. I often do fractal coaching, meaning I will need to talk and explain mechanics mid encounter, answer questions, etc. I am less focus on the actual fight as a result and sometime I even need to rez the trainee inside the big bad aoe they got caught on. The extra tankiness is put to good use in my case :D.

For a more general usage : My personal opinion is the extra damage you gain from Harrier is relatively small and not a game changer most of the time, it is however the standard. Outside of that, the difference between Harrier and Minstrel is that the first set is meta in raid while the second is meta in WvW.

Celestial/Seraph is also justifiable both for pugs, as you gain a lot of carry potential, and for statics, as they need less healing to survive overall.

Edited December 24, 2021 by Guybrush.4762

[ArchonWing.9480]

I don't really see the point of harrier outside of raids (do Strike Missions have toughness aggro mechanics?). In fractals, minstrels heals for more and with fractal potions you have enough boon duration anyways. Harrier doesn't do any damage anyways; Cele does more damage and has a bigger margin of error. And Harrier isn't useful in open world either.

I would only build harrier if you plan to do raids.

There may have been a point back when minstrel was expensive but since Freshwater Pearls are cheaper, that's not even a problem anymore.

Granted, Celestial and Seraph aren't easy to craft.

Edited January 3, 2022 by ArchonWing.9480