Older player getting into fractals

[brin.7512]

Hi Everyone,

I've been playing for around 18 months, but have only just started playing fractals (and really enjoying them). I'm after suggestions from more experienced fractal players about a good build. At the moment in Tier 1 and Tier 2, I am playing heal scourge and really enjoying it (loads of barrier, decent might, some healing, the revives, and some break bar).

I am also an older player (50). My reflexes are not what they used to be, and I'm not good at complicated rotations or high buttons-per-minute builds. My main characters reflect this - the aforementioned heal scourge, condi virtuoso, and pistol deadeye.

I'm really enjoying support builds in fractals.

So I'm after suggestions for easy rotation, preferraby ranged, support builds. (Preferrably ranged is because I'm fine at getting in close to enemies, but seem to struggle to do the really fine coordination high-skill players with melee builds achieve).

Thanks in advance. With suggestions to give me some guidance, I can research the exact builds online.

[Strixxe.2019]

Rifle mechanist with zerker and few dragon gear peaces  If you want little more survivability. Its low intensity but with proper build and good positioning can be REALLY decent dps and monster at destroying breakbars. You can basically completely destroy breakbars in t4 sunqa wothout anyone's help. 

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

For Necromancer, QuickHeal Harbinger is superior to HealScourge in almost every high-level encounter.
 

This is because supports are expected to provide either Alacrity or Quickness with no exceptions in group content--Scourge isn't used outside of the Boneskinner strike mission from IceBrood Saga, and rarely in the End of Dragons strikes like Keining Overlook when carrying newer players for the Siege Turtle.

 

You also won't be able to play fully ranged in T4 or CMs as all groups are melee and ranged weapons are only used for increased DPS uptime while the boss moves around, while getting back into melee range. There's no way around this, because almost all support skills in the game are at a limited range of usually 240-300 units.

 

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PSyEYSNsMDGLLhlxaxzeqOqC-zRRYjBdgE1c4lRqpQ1VgvHEhaPAs3ifb2PA-e

Its not meta, but its your only option as a support on Necromancer in T4+. There's also no rotation, you literally just press a few buttons off-cooldown and its 100% ranged--all weapons, all skills and even shroud itself although you'll miss their effects yourself if you're not in the target areas.

 

Note: This build relies on entering shroud then exiting after 10sec, so don't camp it. It also needs 150 AR, a mobility potion and Fractal masteries to reach 100% boon duration for permanent 25 Might, Fury and Quickness on allies. The bulk of the healing comes from shroud skill #4 spam and the Regeneration boon from staff #2.

 

You can run it on lesser gear, or without full boon duration, on T3 and lower.

Edited March 31, 2023 by SoftFootpaws.9134

[Nephalem.8921]

1 hour ago, SoftFootpaws.9134 said:

For Necromancer, QuickHeal Harbinger is superior to HealScourge in almost every high-level encounter.
 

How does quick harb heal? And i mean more than a dps holo with healing turret. It only heals with regen and when leaving shroud. that is garbage.

 

Alac rifle mech is ranged and support and very easy to play.

The meta support builds are all melee though.
Meta alac dps is renegade which is quite simple to start on but has a high skill ceiling thanks to energy management. Technically also mirage in Sunqua but that build works only on a handful bosses and I would ignore it for now.

Meta quick are fb, scrapper, herald but they are quite spamy despite being rather simple to play. You could take mine instead of grenades on scrapper to lower the apm.

Best heal is hfb. Technically all are playable but hfb brings the most stab and utility.

Edited March 31, 2023 by Nephalem.8921

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

30 minutes ago, Nephalem.8921 said:

How does quick harb heal? And i mean more than a dps holo with healing turret. It only heals with regen and when leaving shroud. that is garbage.

 

Alac rifle mech is ranged and support and very easy to play.

The meta support builds are all melee though.
Meta alac dps is renegade which is quite simple to start on but has a high skill ceiling thanks to energy management. Technically also mirage in Sunqua but that build works only on a handful bosses and I would ignore it for now.

Meta quick are fb, scrapper, herald but they are quite spamy despite being rather simple to play. You could take mine instead of grenades on scrapper to lower the apm.

Best heal is hfb. Technically all are playable but hfb brings the most stab and utility.

From well (both manual cast and on revives), from entering/exiting shroud (sigil), from exiting shroud (trait), from using shroud skill #4-also revives all downed, and from Regeneration boon.  Harbinger also brings wide area pull, projectile hate, massive CC, boonstrip and good cleanse.

Scourge is exactly the same with a bit of barrier on top, it has no more heals than Harbinger (sometimes less, due to skill choice), and since barrier scales only with healing power and not with healing% outgoing, it has a hard limit on how much you can put out and the coverage isn't as good as it used to be after trait reworks.

 

QuickHeal Scrapper is about the same (lower than Machinist due to no barrier, so a similar situation).

 

Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean its garbage? This will still overcap healing on experienced groups with relative ease, since they know how to avoid attacks.

Edited March 31, 2023 by SoftFootpaws.9134

[Nephalem.8921]

2 hours ago, SoftFootpaws.9134 said:

From well (both manual cast and on revives), from entering/exiting shroud (sigil), from exiting shroud (trait), from using shroud skill #4-also revives all downed, and from Regeneration boon.  Harbinger also brings wide area pull, projectile hate, massive CC, boonstrip and good cleanse.

Combining all of these together heal for less than a single bow of truth cast under tome f2. Herald heals for like quadruple with ventari and both can give perma prot. your build can not. Also no might.

2 hours ago, SoftFootpaws.9134 said:

Scourge is exactly the same with a bit of barrier on top, it has no more heals than Harbinger (sometimes less, due to skill choice), and since barrier scales only with healing power and not with healing% outgoing, it has a hard limit on how much you can put out and the coverage isn't as good as it used to be after trait reworks.

Nobody plays healscourge for the heals. You take it for barrier and transfusion as an off healer to cheese mechanics in bad groups.

2 hours ago, SoftFootpaws.9134 said:

QuickHeal Scrapper is about the same (lower than Machinist due to no barrier, so a similar situation).

I havent seen a heal scrapper in ages but heal scrapper can heal way more than this and it can give prot + might. but why would you play that instead of herald or hfb.

2 hours ago, SoftFootpaws.9134 said:

Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean its garbage? This will still overcap healing on experienced groups with relative ease, since they know how to avoid attacks.

I understand it. It has the healing output of a cele fb but cele fb is hybrid dps and not dead weight. How does this heal a spellbreaker from 10% to full? It can not even full heal a weaver. It will also do 0dmg and provides very low might and prot and even lower stab.

Experienced groups dont need heal to begin with. This does basically the same as cele fb but without all the dmg and boons.

Edited March 31, 2023 by Nephalem.8921

[Cuks.8241]

16 hours ago, SoftFootpaws.9134 said:

Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean its garbage? This will still overcap healing on experienced groups with relative ease, since they know how to avoid attacks.

The thing is, he is still far from experienced groups. He will need to go through T3 where things get a bit harder with more or less completely inexperienced players if he pugs. 

To the author. If you already play scourge, maybe try also dps variants. Its ranged, its not very complicated and it has all sort of tools that can help group through T3. I wouldnt worry too much about meta preaches through T3. Its a place where things get harder but the pug groups are all over the place. Scourge can be super useful there regardless of what the current meta says. From my experience having the option to fill both dps or support option through pug T3 is invaluable. You can adapt to the group.

[Biziut.3594]

I find alac/dps specter pretty fun and easy to play. Rotation is not hard to remember as it includes mostly spamming skills in the right order, as weapon he uses ranged scepter + dagger, and have nice survivability due to using ritualist stats, shroud and barrier generation. You provide alac by spamming 3 well skills in close proximity to your group.

I think it covers all things you mentioned in  your post. Wish you a good gaming. ^^

[sigmundf.7523]

Heal scourge will works just fine up to T3, and maybe to T4. On T4 whoever, heal scourge is easily outshined by heal firebrand / heal alac mech / power alac mech / quickness firebrand / alac specter. But that doesn't mean heal scourge doesn't work on T4, it will still do the job fine. Its just, there are other profession that does better in supporting than heal scourge, and do amazing job especially when partying with capable players. 

And if you are looking for alternative support builds, then heal firebrand / power alac mech are quite easy to learn with no risk on having carpal tunnel in doing its rotation.

Edited April 7, 2023 by sigmundf.7523