Firebrand questions

[Dark Viper.2378]

I really tried google and youtube guides but they are not really helpful, none of them are going in depth of what the abilities are, here are my questions

1- i dont understand matra

2- i dont understand how matra of solace and potence works

3- im not sure how my rotation works, i know i need to keep purging flame on cooldown and use tome of justice abilities constantly but idk when to use tome of resolve and courage

4- out of all guides that im seeing for this class, why is NONE of them recommending "Hold the Line!", is it just me that sees it as SO good?

5 (optional)- i heard a new mix of weapons are coming for each class in the next expansion, any theories of the next fun/meta build for firebrand? (or guardian in general too)

Edited August 3, 2023 by Dark Viper.2378

[almostdaft.4319]

Hey! I’ve recently been delving into Firebrand as well and figured I could share some of the knowledge I’ve learned with you. If somebody is more knowledgable, I’m sure they’ll correct me.

I assume you’re referring to Mantra, which is a type of skill Firebrands (and Mesmers) have at their disposal. For Firebrand, think of it as a skill with 3 individual uses (or charges as they’re referred as) before it enters a cooldown state, the time it takes until they are all able to be used again. 
 

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Mantra

 

Something to consider about Firebrand’s mantra usage is that each charge is functionally the same, but typically the last charge has a bit more bang in the effects it brings. The first two charges also has its own refresh period where you will get a charge back, sort of like a cooldown state, but the third, more powerful charge will enter a longer cooldown state. If you are still in combat when the cooldown is over, you’ll have to “enable” the mantra for use again, it’s usually a couple seconds of channeling. If you are not in combat when the cooldown is over, your mantra will skip the channel and you’ll have all three charges again. 

Mantra of Solace is a healing focused mantra, it will give a burst of healing with each use to you and nearby party members. Mantra of Potence is similar in function, but it will apply the quickness boon instead of healing. 

Presuming you’re playing something close to Condi Firebrand, the rotation can feel overwhelming but focus on the big things first—you’ll rarely need to enter F2s or F3s tomes so forget about those 10 skills for now. The first tome is your primary damage and you’ll ideally cast skills 5, 4 and 2 in that order and typically stow the book away while the skills recharge.

You’ll swap to your axe/torch and always use the 2 skill from it as it comes off cooldown, use any procs from your 4 skill and use 5 when 2 isn’t available. Auto attacking in between and be sure to finish the chain when you begin it.

You’ll return to your F1 tome when it’s generated the charges to use it’s 5, 4, and 2 again. Plug in any utility as needed during any of this in tome or axe/torch. 

You can take “Hold the Line!” if you would like and you may run into situations where it could be helpful, but ultimately there is better skills for damage purposes or utility.

Hope this helps!

Edited August 4, 2023 by almostdaft.4319

[daw.4923]

On 8/4/2023 at 12:27 AM, Dark Viper.2378 said:

I really tried google and youtube guides but they are not really helpful, none of them are going in depth of what the abilities are, here are my questions

1- i dont understand matra

2- i dont understand how matra of solace and potence works

3- im not sure how my rotation works, i know i need to keep purging flame on cooldown and use tome of justice abilities constantly but idk when to use tome of resolve and courage

4- out of all guides that im seeing for this class, why is NONE of them recommending "Hold the Line!", is it just me that sees it as SO good?

5 (optional)- i heard a new mix of weapons are coming for each class in the next expansion, any theories of the next fun/meta build for firebrand? (or guardian in general too)

mantra are 3 charges of various skills with last one being most powerfull and putting mantra on cd,you can prevent this by not using final charge and keep them recharge again.

(this is only applied for mantra of potence as solace and liberation giving quickness only when traited) so rotation shoud be mantra of solace 1x into 3x mantra of potence>every 7 sec using solance until potence is ready>charge and use 3 charges again.

traited mantra of solace gives quickness every  7 sec so you are using it every 7 sec to proc that trait.(doesnt heal allies only you) 

 it also gives prot and reso which is why you dont need *hold the line*

if you are new to qb/cfb dont swap weapons until you learn timing on tome. just use all your axe skills+torch 4 2x and use tome>542 out of tome and fill void with autotacks axe 2/3 until your cleansing flames are ready again and use tome again. 

weapon swap adding around 1-2k dps and isnt rly recomended for new players as its a filler weapon used for recharge mantras/spam torch skills.

by following rotation above you gona hit around 70% benchmark which is more than enough for any content.

only hype for guard weapons whoud be condi pistols 😃