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Posted

Hello all, I'm playing through the Path of Fire expansion at the moment (Ch. 7), and am having the hardest time surviving in the story missions. It's been so difficult that I've taken extremely long breaks from the game just because I can't figure out how to get better gear. When I'm getting hit for 30-50% of my HP every hit, it's just not fun. I currently have the best gear possible from the auction house, and don't ever see anyone in LFG for dungeons, and I don't have the time to commit to finding groups for raids. Surely I'm missing something, right? Some sort of craftable or upgradeable gear? I'd appreciate some guidance.

 

I'm a level 80 Chronomancer. I use Staff and Scepter/Shield. 

 

  • 21k HP
  • 1974 Armor
  • 2024 Power
  • 1058 Toughness
  • 1516 Vitality
  • 1336 Precision
  • 229 Ferocity
  • 1118 Condi Damage
  • 21% Crit

 

HALP

Posted (edited)

I assume that is all level 80 exotic gear? Trinkets also (backpack, accessories, rings, amulet)?

Which rune set?

Which sigils?

What kind of build are you using? Which traits and utility skills? You can just list like Duel 3-2-2.

The armor is probably the least of the equation. Your build and what you do with it are important.

Edited by DeanBB.4268
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Posted (edited)

Dear OP, this game is about active defenses (like dodging) and not passive defenses (like armor). This is the hardest thing for newer players to understand, because most other games teach you to tank attacks.

 

Here's a few examples:

- You see a melee opponent, you use Immobilise, Cripple, Chill, or some kind of CC like knockback.

- You see a ranged opponent, you use Blind, or Weakness, or a reflect skill.

- Against multiple opponents you dodge all the attacks while taking them out one at a time. (You can go behind some object to drag them all together, then use AoE skills to dispatch them quickly.)

 

That said, builds are very complex and consist not just of your armor, but also your weapons, your trinkets, your runes, your sigils, what food you're using and the traits and skills that you have lined up.

 

Point 1: Chronomancer isn't a good solo class (its more support/utility), you'd be better off with Mirage.

Point 2: If you're not as skilled then you should run a condi build, again Mirage will show better here. Power builds require you to be glassier, and also require more situational awareness.

Point 3: You're playing one of the harder classes that requires clone management for effectiveness.

 

Solutions:

1) Join an "HP train" to fully unlock all your Elite Specs easily. They show up in LFG all the time, usually under the listings for Heart of Thorns. Alternatively, get a friend to help you duo them.

2) Get a decent build, I recommend starting with https://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Mirage_-_Condi_Staff . This build requires Viper gear, but for a new player I'd recommend Celestial instead. This thread explains how to get Celestial gear easily:

3) Watch YouTube to learn how to better play your class properly. (The build page I linked above also has "Video Examples" if you scroll down to show how it works.)

4) Play some hard content to train yourself first, since you need to be pushed into developing strengths. Try to accomplish tasks like soloing group events, defeating champions, etc.

5) Most importantly, join an active guild, and ask for help when needed.

 

Btw there's LFG for dungeons, T1 Fractals, etc. all the time, as well as raids and Strike Missions under (Training), You need to leave the LFG open and wait a while for them to show up, because most players run with their own guilds privately (this is called a "static") and fewer people put up an open LFG listing.

Edited by Hannelore.8153
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Posted (edited)

Have you considered unlocking mirage?  Staff mirage with dire stats has a ton of toughness and good protection uptime so you take a lot less damage.  You also evade a lot and can attack from range and I expect your damage will be significantly better than condi chrono as well.  Celestial stats would be even better if you happen to have boosted this character.

Edit:  Here's a link to a video clip of staff mirage.  It's one of the easiest builds to use for solo play because so much of its offense, defense, and utility comes from basically spamming dodge and auto-attack.  Even if you struggle with the basics, this build should crush open world and story content with ease!

Edited by AliamRationem.5172
  • Like 1
Posted

If you solo, always moving as mobs skills activation or turning will takes some time, dodges, hit mobs from behind, never just standing in one place and cast skills.

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Posted

This isn't the kind of game where having the highest rarity or level of gear you can get will make things easy. Your equipment is certainly a factor, but it's far more important to have the right stats for your build than simply big numbers and even more important to know how to use it effectively. (Having said that if you're not using level 80 exotics then upgrading would be a good idea.)

It's also important to know that no matter how defensive your build is you can't reach a point where you can simply face-tank everything. To stay alive you'll need to dodge big attacks (these are always telegraphed) and stay out of enemy area effects as much as possible. All professions have access to dodge and all can move during combat, even when using skills so it's important to think about your positioning and be ready to dodge when necessary.

As for which stats to use both staff and scepter are condition weapons for mesmers, so you'll get more benefit from condition damage than power (which boosts direct damage). If you want more passive defense you can choose either vitality (which boosts health) or toughness (which boosts armour) but you probably don't want both because that limits your ability to deal damage which drags fights out for longer. You can see all the possible stat combination here: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Attribute_combinations but if you want to stick with your current weapons I'd recommend something like vipers (for pure damage) or rabid or carrion for a bit of defense. Don't forget to get runes for your armour and sigils for your weapons with the same stats or useful effects.

Alternatively you can look up mesmer builds which will give you all the details to get skills, traits and stats which work well together and how to use them effectively.

By the way in this game equipment with the same level and rarity has the same stats no matter where it comes from. Level 80 exotics which drop from champions or bought with dungeon tokens and other currencies are identical to ones you can craft or buy on the Trading Post. Some stat combinations are easier to get by one method than another, but there's no benefit to replacing a set of crafted armour with a set from dungeons with the same stats. The main reason for having so many different ways to get them is for the skins, which are one of the main rewards, but it also gives people options for how to go about getting the equipment they need.

  • Like 2

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