Regardless of balance, which builds are the most fun in PvP?

[Aodlop.1907]

According to thee?

[Downstate.4697]

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?POwEcEWoMDmH7hByMxi9a/pPi0A-zZIPkCWBVMEKZCYiB

[Trevor Boyer.6524]

In all seriousness, the most fun builds that provide the most fun combat engagements that feel interactive and that skill matters, happens when everyone runs power builds and no one is running condi.

[JTGuevara.9018]

50 minutes ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:

In all seriousness, the most fun builds that provide the most fun combat engagements that feel interactive and that skill matters, happens when everyone runs power builds and no one is running condi.

The way conditions are done is this game is so goofy. I think it's the primary reason why people hate condi builds so much. gw1 did condis RIGHT, through the degeneration system. Basically, the way your health resets when running out of combat is how conditions SHOULD'VE been done in this game.

[Trevor Boyer.6524]

27 minutes ago, JTGuevara.9018 said:

The way conditions are done is this game is so goofy. I think it's the primary reason why people hate condi builds so much. gw1 did condis RIGHT, through the degeneration system. Basically, the way your health resets when running out of combat is how conditions SHOULD'VE been done in this game.

All of the actual animations & telegraphs in GW2 are tied to the power damage side of the attacks. Condi effects however, are ultra random such as Thief Venoms or Ranger Sharp Stone or Guardian F1 burn procs or all of the other pulsing instant no-telegraph AoE condi fields in the game.

When you get matches like Spellbreaker, DP Daredevil, Power Rangers, Power Herald, Holosmith, Power Reaper, or even DHs & Power Shatters, the game really does turn more into a very skill based environment where everyone can see telegraphs and it becomes more of a reflex based & psychological mind game, where experience matters a great deal.

But when you get matches like Burn Guards, Condi Berserkers, Condi Heralds, Impaling Lotus Bouncy Thief, Immob spam trap rune stealthing Rangers, Rando pulsing Necro Condis that can't be avoided, Condi Mirage IH spam, AoE pixel explosion Fire Weaver, the game takes a stif turn towards attribute-tied bullying where the game is less about reflexes & psychological juking and more about just knowing what counters what due to hard numbered effects. <- This is way less fun honestly, and it is because you either can't see when the rando condi damage is coming or a lot of times it simply cannot be avoided at all.

I'm not saying condi builds can't be fun. But I am saying that the way condi damage application was designed in GW2 was intrinsically unhealthy for the dynamic of this game's competitive modes.

[Multicolorhipster.9751]

Literally anything besides bunker builds. Bunker builds should not exist.

Note that bunker != Support

 

Supports rely on their team and offer some kind of direct support for them. Bunkers are just tanks with max self-sustain and tankiness. Its also where we're headed if we never get off the nerf train.

[felix.2386]

fun?

power spellbreaker

power core mesmer>condi interrupt mirage

power shiro herald

 

the most fun pvp specs in the game. no specs more fun then these

highly interactive gameplay, high satisfaction, smooth game play, highly player dependent instead of spec dependent.

non-meta yet not too weak and not as limiting compared to other specs of same tier.

Edited June 18, 2022 by felix.2386

[Tulkas.2576]

Power Hammer core guard

Power GS core guard

Power Shiro Herald

Power Shiro Vindicator 

Power Mirage

Power Reaper

 

 

[Lysico.4906]

Soulbeast.  100% to 0 build.   Meme but tons of fun. More so vs harbingers.    Love just popping them to downstate.    
 

Also love my stupid axe axe shout heal warrior.  I don’t run it in ranked but just fun (for me) in unranked

[Myror.7521]

My fav build i actually play from time to time is this one http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PKwAEd7lJwWYJsQmJOWXetbA-zZILlGjgMLgeTg8DBZHA simply cause i love zerker back then xd

[Paradoxoglanis.1904]

sword lr weaver

[Eugchriss.2046]

Perma alac power renegade when stab on dodge and diviner amulet were still a thing

Core condi engi for the meme. Haven't played it since the shield nerfs.

Edited June 19, 2022 by Eugchriss.2046

[greedywholesome.9081]

The era when we had this layout for point distribution

Not my build but seeing it brought back happy memories. 

 

Power shatter mesmer

Hambow warrior lol

Staff ele before gutted

Core engie in the old skyhammer map

bunches more. I also played power core necro

[Dahkeus.8243]

5 hours ago, Tulkas.2576 said:

Power Hammer core guard

Power GS core guard

Power Shiro Herald

Power Shiro Vindicator 

Power Mirage

Power Reaper

 

 

Shiro is just an incredibly fun stance.  Phase traversal’s animation gives it a great sense of speed and the range makes it entirely gratifying for chasing down targets (especially in WvW).  The stance in general just makes all gameplay feel sped up both because of what it does mechanically as well as aesthetically.

 

I’d also put classic D/P thief and Daredevil builds up there, even though they’re not they used to be after so many nerfs and changes in the meta.  These builds have just captured the very essence of being the master acrobat mobile ninja in PvP.  

[Kuma.1503]

My two current favorite builds to play

Mortar Scrapper w/ Bonus Elixir Meme

Literal 2 brain cell build. Run around with super speed. Spam people with Mortar. Kite by flinging mortars behind you with superspeed. Use hammer for lockdown and melee presssure. You have a block, a bubble a reflect and an (extremely unreliable) evade for defense. 

Escape sigil is there because I hate immob and I don't know why WB SW 5 needs it :')

Bonus Meme: Elixir C turns the Harbinger Elixir of Every flippin condi in the game (why?) into BOONZ. Pop this, pop bubble, drop a flash shell for good measure so they whiff their shroud 3. Go ham. 

Should you still kite out the elixir? Yes. But momma didn't raise no coward. 

 

Catalyst Aristocracy Hammer

Very tanky catalyst build with good hybrid damage. Abuses the synergy hammer has with Aristocracy rune because Air spheres pulse weakness. Also gives itself perma prot and high uptime on stability and has a LOT of blocks. (Including magnetic aura and shocking aura). And if all that fails you have stone heart. (I sometimes swap this to diamond skin depending on matchup)

Prot + Weakness spam + Block spam + Self might spam + Stone Heart = Enemy power builds very unhappy. Good for side nodes. I like playing this into double willbender because it can easily go toe to toe with them and survive a plus from one.  

Can also bring good damage and utility to teamfights. Has very good pressure, rez utility with geyser (this will also grant an aura which gives prot), On demand stab for stomps. Difficult to focus thanks to block spam. 

But my favorite thing about this build is that it makes sic em soulbeasts want to commit not play game. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 19, 2022 by Kuma.1503

[Tulkas.2576]

1 hour ago, Dahkeus.8243 said:

Shiro is just an incredibly fun stance.  Phase traversal’s animation gives it a great sense of speed and the range makes it entirely gratifying for chasing down targets (especially in WvW).  The stance in general just makes all gameplay feel sped up both because of what it does mechanically as well as aesthetically.

 

I’d also put classic D/P thief and Daredevil builds up there, even though they’re not they used to be after so many nerfs and changes in the meta.  These builds have just captured the very essence of being the master acrobat mobile ninja in PvP.  

Absolutely. Also riposting shadows is such an excellent ability, despite it being so expensive. 
I can’t play any Rev spec without Shiro. 
I also enjoy Glint as well. All of those abilities are so good. I really wish greatsword was a baseline weapon for rev so I could play GS herald, that being said Jalis is fun, both it and Glint work so well with Shiro.

It reminds me a lot of old school WoW warrior with your arms/fury stance and your defensive stance. 
Staff is such a fun weapon too. I dislike typical staff abilities with other classes, basically a magic spell weapon, and I love the sort of monk combat style that rev uses it for. 
 

I should give thief more of a chance I think. Daredevil has intrigued me. I don’t like relying on stealth too much, but I think I could come up with a fun daredevil build, particularly using staff, because I think it uses that non magic staff combat that rev has.

[Waffles.5632]

Power Mirage is top tier fun for me.

Lot's of freedom and versatility, combined with heavy AOE, and extreme CC pressure. You can lock people down completely when your timing is right and the amount of fake outs and jukes you can do is quite insane.

 

One of the coolest moments to me was this one :

 

 

 

Edited June 19, 2022 by Waffles.5632

[Buran.3796]

  At the moment are condi Herald and hybrid Firebrand for me.

[Liewec.2896]

AXEZERKER! 😁

[SlayerXX.7138]

Thief-> Daredevil->unhindered combatant->Shortbow 5->Shadowstep-> I am

[Goldilock.2584]

Reaper is the most fun class to play. More enjoyable when out of meta

[Guirssane.7082]

depends on you 😉

[Mimiga.9815]

There is a special place in my heart for Freshweaver, though I always love the unconventional efficacy of Core Condi Signet Ele. Throwing a Signet of Fire out over a crowded downed body and watching them not notice those two little stacks of burning that are trying to chunk two-thirds of their health over the next four matches is always satisfying. The fact that your damage is so front loaded and that you take Earth makes you tanky both statistically and by virtue of having more time to concentrate on survival. It's a shame that Ele's core weapons don't do much to help it.

 

I'm also rather fond of running Staff Daredevil. Not with Bound or some other hyper-offensive traiting, just Staff. You get enough free Vitality from the staff-centric trait to justify Divinity Berserker, too. It's clunky as hell but surprising people with Scorpion Wire and lining up your 5 to earn a free hit takes a surprising amount of timing and foresight.

[JTGuevara.9018]

20 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:

All of the actual animations & telegraphs in GW2 are tied to the power damage side of the attacks. Condi effects however, are ultra random such as Thief Venoms or Ranger Sharp Stone or Guardian F1 burn procs or all of the other pulsing instant no-telegraph AoE condi fields in the game.

When you get matches like Spellbreaker, DP Daredevil, Power Rangers, Power Herald, Holosmith, Power Reaper, or even DHs & Power Shatters, the game really does turn more into a very skill based environment where everyone can see telegraphs and it becomes more of a reflex based & psychological mind game, where experience matters a great deal.

But when you get matches like Burn Guards, Condi Berserkers, Condi Heralds, Impaling Lotus Bouncy Thief, Immob spam trap rune stealthing Rangers, Rando pulsing Necro Condis that can't be avoided, Condi Mirage IH spam, AoE pixel explosion Fire Weaver, the game takes a stif turn towards attribute-tied bullying where the game is less about reflexes & psychological juking and more about just knowing what counters what due to hard numbered effects. <- This is way less fun honestly, and it is because you either can't see when the rando condi damage is coming or a lot of times it simply cannot be avoided at all.

I'm not saying condi builds can't be fun. But I am saying that the way condi damage application was designed in GW2 was intrinsically unhealthy for the dynamic of this game's competitive modes.

Yup. Condi application goes by ticks. Basically, stuff as many condis as possible in one second and then sit back and let the conditions passively tick your opponent's health away. Burn guards, thieves, heralds, mirages are/were notorious for this. Virtuoso is just the latest iteration of my idea I've expressed here.

 

In Guild Wars 1 the necro(the primary debuff class) had to actively manage degeneration and debuff levels of their opponents.

[Crozame.4098]

21 hours ago, Trevor Boyer.6524 said:

All of the actual animations & telegraphs in GW2 are tied to the power damage side of the attacks. Condi effects however, are ultra random such as Thief Venoms or Ranger Sharp Stone or Guardian F1 burn procs or all of the other pulsing instant no-telegraph AoE condi fields in the game.

When you get matches like Spellbreaker, DP Daredevil, Power Rangers, Power Herald, Holosmith, Power Reaper, or even DHs & Power Shatters, the game really does turn more into a very skill based environment where everyone can see telegraphs and it becomes more of a reflex based & psychological mind game, where experience matters a great deal.

But when you get matches like Burn Guards, Condi Berserkers, Condi Heralds, Impaling Lotus Bouncy Thief, Immob spam trap rune stealthing Rangers, Rando pulsing Necro Condis that can't be avoided, Condi Mirage IH spam, AoE pixel explosion Fire Weaver, the game takes a stif turn towards attribute-tied bullying where the game is less about reflexes & psychological juking and more about just knowing what counters what due to hard numbered effects. <- This is way less fun honestly, and it is because you either can't see when the rando condi damage is coming or a lot of times it simply cannot be avoided at all.

I'm not saying condi builds can't be fun. But I am saying that the way condi damage application was designed in GW2 was intrinsically unhealthy for the dynamic of this game's competitive modes.

Amazingly you are able to write sth reasonable~