Light, Medium or Heavy? (Doing up Legendary Armor)

[mizaru.1385]

Hi,

 

Returning player here and just purchased EoD. I have prev made 1 piece of heavy legendary chestpiece and before I continue making more for that weight class, just want to ask for all the professions, which armor class should I actually concentrate on? 

Usually I play alone previously and only do strikes and open world. Would like to attempt solos (Lord Hizen style) so I can ensure i can do everything in the open world with no reliance on others (legendary bounties, group metas solo, embark on legendary trinkets collections etc). What's the best weight class for doing this currently?

Edited January 12, 2023 by mizaru.1385

[Sindust.7059]

There are classes that are good for solo play with every armor weight, so it's really down to what you actually want to play.

 

Light: Mesmer lags behind a little in the solo department, but it's not terrible, because you have your clones to distract enemies. Ele and Necro both have strong solo builds.

 

Medium: Thief is frankly trash solo, but both engi and ranger have very good solo builds.

 

Heavy: I can't tell about warrior or guardian (I haven't tried any good solo builds, but I also haven't tried enough builds to say with any degree of certainty that there aren't any), but revenant definitely does have a strong solo build, even if it's not quite as good as pre-EOD.

 

Personally I went for medium first, because engi and ranger are my most played chars. Then I went for light, because mesmer was my #3 and I had just made an ele, so that would save me some work trying to gear it. Heavy is last (still WIP), because my rev has all the gear he needs in ascended, and I rarely play the other two heavy classes.

 

Right now I'm enjoying condi tempest the most in open world, because the DPS in celestial gear isn't much lower than in viper/grieving, and it also has massive heals that I can use not just for me, but also to heal others who might randomly join in for some events. And the cele gear is tanky enough to more than make up for ele's issue with passive survivability.

[Lexelot.6584]

If you’re going for extreme soloing, such as Legendaries, then I’d recommend a Staff Mirage. Scourge is also great, so that’s two for light armor. 
 

Hizen’s new Vindicator build is also extremely durable, able to face tank almost everything. Celestial Herald is also insanely easy and effective at basically all Champion/Legendary content. 
 

For medium, Specter, Mechanist and Untamed can all do well, but some sacrifice a lot of DPS, or in Untamed’s case, has a very unforgiving rotation. 

Edited January 12, 2023 by Lexelot.6584

[Beddo.1907]

It's really up to which class you want to use, so just pick one you are able to use the most effectively.
Not everyone preforms well on certain classes, so it's the best to just try out all classes and hold onto the mats until you are sure.
 

[Mike.7983]

+1 for the twin staff mirage with vipers/energy on swap, that thing is disgusting solo.  Nothing will ever be a issue to solo as your perma evading and tossing decent condi ontop. Perma 25might/alac/regen/protect/reflect is nice to. Suggest using the 40% energy regen food to abuse the build further.

[mizaru.1385]

17 hours ago, Lexelot.6584 said:

If you’re going for extreme soloing, such as Legendaries, then I’d recommend a Staff Mirage. Scourge is also great, so that’s two for light armor. 
 

Hizen’s new Vindicator build is also extremely durable, able to face tank almost everything. Celestial Herald is also insanely easy and effective at basically all Champion/Legendary content. 
 

For medium, Specter, Mechanist and Untamed can all do well, but some sacrifice a lot of DPS, or in Untamed’s case, has a very unforgiving rotation. 

Yeah, staff mirage and scourge are really busted for extreme solos. Makes me real tempted to do up the light class. I think its either light or continue with the 2nd piece of heavy?

[Moradorin.6217]

2 hours ago, mizaru.1385 said:

Yeah, staff mirage and scourge are really busted for extreme solos. Makes me real tempted to do up the light class. I think its either light or continue with the 2nd piece of heavy?

If you want busted solo I would rather use rev (herald esp.) or engi over those any day. Scrapper can maintain barrier as a percentage of dps + auto revive its self (gyro) and has a 2 second block + long evade w 2 combo field triggers in it and massive CC baked into the core weapon. Meanwhile, herald can maintain all boons + invuln + a backup legend w MORE invuln a ton of crazy heals, condi removal cc again all build into like everything.

 

Mirage and Scourge can be good  but only w very specific somewhat expensive gear and the correct utility skills equipt + a higher degree of skill vs scrapper or herald.

 

Im sure someone will say this is crazy talk, but just give them an honest try and you will no doubt see my point.

Edited January 13, 2023 by Moradorin.6217

[Gaiawolf.8261]

5 hours ago, Moradorin.6217 said:

 

Double post 

Edited January 13, 2023 by Gaiawolf.8261
Double post

[Gaiawolf.8261]

5 hours ago, Moradorin.6217 said:

If you want busted solo I would rather use rev (herald esp.) or engi over those any day. Scrapper can maintain barrier as a percentage of dps + auto revive its self (gyro) and has a 2 second block + long evade w 2 combo field triggers in it and massive CC baked into the core weapon. Meanwhile, herald can maintain all boons + invuln + a backup legend w MORE invuln a ton of crazy heals, condi removal cc again all build into like everything.

 

Mirage and Scourge can be good  but only w very specific somewhat expensive gear and the correct utility skills equipt + a higher degree of skill vs scrapper or herald.

 

Im sure someone will say this is crazy talk, but just give them an honest try and you will no doubt see my point.

How does that compare to a valor FB? 6s of invuln/full heal on a 20s CD with f2 and f3 skills on demand now feels incredibly tanky, plus perma 25 might, fury, quick, prot, resolution, and regen with almost on demand stab, cleanse, and aegis. It feels like I never go down unless I miss a mechanic and even then some. Decent DPS too with burning and offensive boons. Plus you can tank thru bursts. 

[Ruisenior.6342]

33 minutes ago, Gaiawolf.8261 said:

How does that compare to a valor FB? 6s of invuln/full heal on a 20s CD with f2 and f3 skills on demand now feels incredibly tanky, plus perma 25 might, fury, quick, prot, resolution, and regen with almost on demand stab, cleanse, and aegis. It feels like I never go down unless I miss a mechanic and even then some. Decent DPS too with burning and offensive boons. Plus you can tank thru bursts. 

Right now firebrand solo is trash tier. Willbender is the way to go.

[Gaiawolf.8261]

3 minutes ago, Ruisenior.6342 said:

Right now firebrand solo is trash tier. Willbender is the way to go.

FB might not be top tier but def not trash. I'm stomping just about anything I run into. PvE, not WVW. 

[Alcatraznc.3869]

For solobuild, Mirage Scourge and Revenant are IMO the top 3 currently. Mesmer S/S is just permanent dodge + alac + 25 might + fury with a decent uptime on regen. Scourge well it's basically a condi powerhouse that generate so much barrier that dodging is optional. I put Revenant here because all 3 specs are honestly pretty solid so you just pick and roll with whatever you feels like it.

 

Among the 3 I mention I would probably go for a legendary set on Revenant just because all 3 spec are solid which allows you to be more flexible with your build depending on the instance. Mirage and Scourge only really needs either Viper or Trailblazer.

 

That being said, if you're planning to make a legendary armour I would recommend you also peek at other classes. Legendary armour is a big investement and because it can be put on every lvl 80 character, you might as well look at other profession and see which one you may enjoy so that you wont have to farm a new set of armour for that character the moment you DO actually decides to play it.

 

 

[mizaru.1385]

6 hours ago, Alcatraznc.3869 said:

For solobuild, Mirage Scourge and Revenant are IMO the top 3 currently. Mesmer S/S is just permanent dodge + alac + 25 might + fury with a decent uptime on regen. Scourge well it's basically a condi powerhouse that generate so much barrier that dodging is optional. I put Revenant here because all 3 specs are honestly pretty solid so you just pick and roll with whatever you feels like it.

 

Among the 3 I mention I would probably go for a legendary set on Revenant just because all 3 spec are solid which allows you to be more flexible with your build depending on the instance. Mirage and Scourge only really needs either Viper or Trailblazer.

 

That being said, if you're planning to make a legendary armour I would recommend you also peek at other classes. Legendary armour is a big investement and because it can be put on every lvl 80 character, you might as well look at other profession and see which one you may enjoy so that you wont have to farm a new set of armour for that character the moment you DO actually decides to play it.

 

 

Yeah other classes im definitely looking at, I have every class at 80, which is why im asking which class of armor in general, so i can share it around. Medium, Heavy or Light, so I can share between all those classes.

Edited January 14, 2023 by mizaru.1385

[Moradorin.6217]

On 1/14/2023 at 1:24 AM, mizaru.1385 said:

 

 

Yeah other classes im definitely looking at, I have every class at 80, which is why im asking which class of armor in general, so i can share it around. Medium, Heavy or Light, so I can share between all those classes.

no wrong answer I would say and it will totally depend on which armor classes group of specs you see yourself playing * how many armor types each typically uses IMO.

 

At this point I have a set of Legendary armor for each armor class and I woulc say any are a good option. Many will use either zerker or Viper's, things like druid, etc use Harrier's which is a little harder to get without stat sellectible armor or legendary.

 

TBH you could get by on light with one set of Viper's ascended to swap and both med and heavy most builds will use zerker or vipers unless you do heals.

 

Do you can eventually get the others too. Do you plan do get it via raids, wvw, pvp? I sorta did all 3 in the end.

[mizaru.1385]

6 hours ago, Moradorin.6217 said:

no wrong answer I would say and it will totally depend on which armor classes group of specs you see yourself playing * how many armor types each typically uses IMO.

 

At this point I have a set of Legendary armor for each armor class and I woulc say any are a good option. Many will use either zerker or Viper's, things like druid, etc use Harrier's which is a little harder to get without stat sellectible armor or legendary.

 

TBH you could get by on light with one set of Viper's ascended to swap and both med and heavy most builds will use zerker or vipers unless you do heals.

 

Do you can eventually get the others too. Do you plan do get it via raids, wvw, pvp? I sorta did all 3 in the end.

 

I see. I usually get them thru pvp as I just do them on my own pace and pvp and wvw are more convenient timing wise. 

[Justine.6351]

I usually play solo but even I join Legendary Bounty groups of 5+. Don't corner yourself to "the best" solo build. Play what you find fun and make it work first and foremost. If you play for efficiency first and get your legendary setup you will be like "now what?" because you forgot to find something you enjoy. And then you will find that your legendary gear choice might not actually line up with what you actually want now.

Playstyle > Game mode > Profession > Build > Skins

[Moradorin.6217]

13 hours ago, mizaru.1385 said:

 

I see. I usually get them thru pvp as I just do them on my own pace and pvp and wvw are more convenient timing wise. 

Yea I started out doing wvw and pvp armor back before the armory was a thing. I did it over time too. Basically, after making the pvp backpack I started looking for other things to use the tickets on same with wvw and skermish tickets. 

 

It sounds like your considering the right aspects. TBH no rush in starting the upgrades either really if you arent sure which you want to do either. You can always just save up clovers + trophies and buy the ascended armor you want to use. Any of the PvP/WvW ascended armor is upgradable to Legendary.

 

Another thing to remember imo is that you have to buy both level of skins anyway. What I mean is, if you say buy just normal glorious triumphant now and upgrade to legendary you will need less total tickets to get your gifts done for the upgrades. Then later you can buy the mistforged skins as JUST skins and not bother with needing as many Marks vs buying both sets as ascended armor.

That is the fastest route is to get the base ascended armor then upgrade that to legendary then later over time unlock the mistforged skins as you have tickets and in order of skin preference rather than needing to get a full set before legendary upgrades.

 

IMO in the end it doesnt matter which was upgraded cause you will reskin it anyway.

[Buran.3796]

    I would argue that is either heavy (condi Vindicator) or light (double staff condi Mirage). Condi Mirage does more damage, works at range, is prety much immune to projectiles, has tons of defenses, cc and versatility (most of the time doesn't even need to use the heal skill), but on the other hand the self sustain is a bit lower (not like would matter if you play well your cards). Condi Vindicator is different: kills slower and is pure mele, but can facetank almost everything and ignore plenty of mechanics; the self sustain is godlike.

   In heavies Warrior does more damage (Bladesworn) but is harder to use. Guardian has a Firebrand with plenty of tools but has low dps and is nowhere near V in self sustain; Willbender kills faster but just a badly used stability or Litany heal can kill you.

   In medium armors Thief is mostly a single target specialist with rotations a bit repetitive. Engineer is better, but not S tier. Ranger is a condi mele with better dps than Vindi but lower sustain and higher skill cap.

   In light armors both Necro and Eles are a bit harder to use than Mesmer.

   I'll suggest you to use exotic armor pieces from the PvP/WvW to test the builds (celestial for both Mirage and Vindicator, albeit trailblazer do work) and find out which gameplay you like the most.

[the krytan assassin.9235]

All armor tiers have quite alot of decent solo/strike mission builds, so i'd personally recommend to pick the armor set for your favourite profession(s).

If you really have 0 preferences i'd suggest to avoid the medium armor since both ranger and thief seem to be abit one dimensional in terms of playstyle and group roles atm. Medium armors are also in a pretty bad spot for WvW right now, so that might also be a factor that you should take into account if you wish to get the WvW armor set. 

Another option would be to invest in a set of legendary runes instead (costs about the same amount of cash as a leg armor) since it gives extra flexibility/QoL to all different armor tiers at the same time. Definitely also an interesting option if you already have quite some decent armor sets laying around. 

[taara.3217]

On 1/13/2023 at 8:29 PM, Moradorin.6217 said:

Mirage can be good  but only w very specific somewhat expensive gear

Cheap exotic gear

Edited January 17, 2023 by taara.3217

[Moradorin.6217]

31 minutes ago, taara.3217 said:

Cheap exotic gear

Viper's isnt considered cheap and stat selectable exotic that gives Viper's is harder to obtain for exotic to the point I would suggest considering skipping it and just getting ascended. 

 

Meanwhile, scrapper, daredevil, soulbeast, spellbreaker, willbender, etc can all just use Nika's Zerker and have a whole set of armor for like 5g and weapons for another 2-3g.

 

13 hours ago, the krytan assassin.9235 said:

All armor tiers have quite alot of decent solo/strike mission builds, so i'd personally recommend to pick the armor set for your favourite profession(s).

If you really have 0 preferences i'd suggest to avoid the medium armor since both ranger and thief seem to be abit one dimensional in terms of playstyle and group roles atm. Medium armors are also in a pretty bad spot for WvW right now, so that might also be a factor that you should take into account if you wish to get the WvW armor set. 

Another option would be to invest in a set of legendary runes instead (costs about the same amount of cash as a leg armor) since it gives extra flexibility/QoL to all different armor tiers at the same time. Definitely also an interesting option if you already have quite some decent armor sets laying around. 

This I would agree with for both Mesmer and Thief. However, both can still be fun and perform well for the right things. They just fail to perform in many places the others can still excel. In a few places Thief and Mesmer are the go to. Much of the time they are not and the others perform better are more flexible and easier to operate.

[taara.3217]

47 minutes ago, Moradorin.6217 said:

Viper's isnt considered cheap

You don't need Viper to "do everything in the open world with no reliance on others" . Much more affordable Dire will be good option.

 

[mizaru.1385]

8 minutes ago, taara.3217 said:

You don't need Viper to "do everything in the open world with no reliance on others" . Much more affordable Dire will be good option.

 

 

I'm ok in the gear dept. I have 30+ boxes of Warlords Armor Boxes from PVP, so i can stat select any prefix, but exotic only though.

[mizaru.1385]

15 hours ago, the krytan assassin.9235 said:

All armor tiers have quite alot of decent solo/strike mission builds, so i'd personally recommend to pick the armor set for your favourite profession(s).

If you really have 0 preferences i'd suggest to avoid the medium armor since both ranger and thief seem to be abit one dimensional in terms of playstyle and group roles atm. Medium armors are also in a pretty bad spot for WvW right now, so that might also be a factor that you should take into account if you wish to get the WvW armor set. 

Another option would be to invest in a set of legendary runes instead (costs about the same amount of cash as a leg armor) since it gives extra flexibility/QoL to all different armor tiers at the same time. Definitely also an interesting option if you already have quite some decent armor sets laying around. 

 

Interesting....I havnt had a chance to take a look at legendary runes yet. I'll go take a look.

[Moradorin.6217]

15 hours ago, the krytan assassin.9235 said:

All armor tiers have quite alot of decent solo/strike mission builds, so i'd personally recommend to pick the armor set for your favourite profession(s).

If you really have 0 preferences i'd suggest to avoid the medium armor since both ranger and thief seem to be abit one dimensional in terms of playstyle and group roles atm. Medium armors are also in a pretty bad spot for WvW right now, so that might also be a factor that you should take into account if you wish to get the WvW armor set. 

Another option would be to invest in a set of legendary runes instead (costs about the same amount of cash as a leg armor) since it gives extra flexibility/QoL to all different armor tiers at the same time. Definitely also an interesting option if you already have quite some decent armor sets laying around. 

Yea runes are interesting. I did runes aftrer my 3rd set of armor but I was tempted to make runes before completing all the armor sets. In the end I felt like I had recipes and runes enough to cover most anything I expected to run tho so I did armor, then finished trinkets, then runes and sigils last. Now I have full legendary everything save a few weapon types I wouldnt typically use and dont need the on the fly stat changes for so I feel pretty done.

 

Some day I may do a few more weapons, but its nice after all that time to not feel lacking in my ability to run anything I want.

 

The thing I would remember about runes and sigils is these days I think a super expensive rune set might cost about 60g but most are less than 6g. Also you can remove runes later and resell like infusions since they are never account bound. So I dont give the legendary runes much value unless you plan to maybe do a ton of wvw and want to have every option for runes. Otherwise I dont see most people needing that much. Moistly scholar, nightmare, monk and done.

Edited January 17, 2023 by Moradorin.6217