WvW Juvenile Siege Turtle Soulbeast build

[Valfar.3761]

The Jade Cannon ability is visually cool, and flinging green orbs on the fly seems like a nice change of pace from the usual boonbeast support role, and I'm not into being a druid (and core and untamed are near useless because pets dies instantly in zergs), so I spent the last few hours cobbling together a theoretical ranged DPS build that revolves around flinging the orb at an enemy zerg. Wanted to hear if there ways to improve it. This is the build so far. It's just marauder gear with durability runes but using some dragon pieces can allow you to squeeze an addition 20% crit damage.

 

The Jade Cannon has a 1 second cooldown and cast time (with quickness it's 0.75 seconds) so it is effectively your main weapon/autoattack, meaning you can use a greatsword for mobility or a warhorn for buffs. It has a range of 1,200 so you don't have to get scarily close to the enemy zerg and fear being pulled in, unlike with an axe. You should also be able to stand atop a wall and chuck orbs down at the enemy. You don't need to have a target to throw the orb. The orb can hit up to 5 targets, whereas the axe can only hit 3, and the longbow autoattack only hits 1. Longbow's barrage ability can hit 5 targets but that requires the player to stand still for several seconds, which is fatal in WvW as you have to keep moving with your zerg's commander.

 

From my WvW experience, zergs are only barraging each other for about 10 seconds before one side retreats, or the other side collapses and gets run over. So you only need to maximize damage during that window. The only time you're going to be flinging orbs for more than 10 seconds straight is if you are defending a keep and chucking orbs down at the enemy zerg at your gate, or coming through the hallway in the citadel in the Eternal Battlegrounds.

 

The plan is to use Strength of the Pack to gain fury, Sic'Em for a 25% damage boost, and Quickening Zephyr for quickness, and then chuck out 12-13 orbs within Sic'Ems 10 second burst window. Testing on the Golem with ArcDps, I could deal 4,536 DPS in that 10 second burst window (wearing marauder exotic armors/weapons and ascended trinkets). If that orb was hitting a zerg than that would be 5x targets for a total of 22,680 DPS, according to my napkin math.

 

Is that too little DPS to be useful? Mind as well just stick to being a supporter? Any suggestions to improve the build?

[RainbowTurtle.3542]

That's pretty awful single target dps, you'd be better off using the sic em sniper build that gets reflected and you end up killing yourself with the reflect damage.

[Zyreva.1078]

1. Jade Cannon is a projectile

2. It's awfully slow and has a small radius

3. It's a projectile

4. The dmg buff from Sic'em only applies to the target

5. It's a projectile

6. Golem tests do not translate well into WvW/PvP combat, your actual dmg will be much lower.

7. Did i already mention it's a projectile?

Axe/GS stance share soulbeast is a decent offensive option - or if you primarily want to tag bags from safe distance - quickdraw LB/LB. It's very much possible for ranger to be useful in zerg fights without being a heal bot.

Edited November 1, 2022 by UmbraNoctis.1907

[Gotejjeken.1267]

Had to check the calendar to make sure it wasn't April.  

In general though, pew pew'ing into a zerg isn't as useful as you may think it is.  Any damage you do with barrage, or orb spam, or whatever is going to get healed pretty quick.  

Melee only if you want to try to be of any use.  Unfortunately, that also means you need to get 'scarily close'.