Currently, which would be the "optimal" composition in a single squad of roamers at WvW?

[Buran.3796]

   I known that the answer is hard, given the game mode has no rules and and people can freely roam alone or stack in huge zergs, but given the current state of  "balance", what would you say it would be the ideal roster of specs in a squad of 5-6 players aiming to get involved in small skirmishes against similarly sized groups?

[SleepyBat.9034]

I really like the idea of running a Hammer Spellbreaker build for lockdown, boon rip, damage, and soft team support - Hammer Spellbreaker

Originally I would have paired that with a Corrupt Reaper to shred boons but they did nerf the meta build so maybe power is better now. Another good option might be a Druid for cheese immob spam, a good option to secure kills with the Hammer Spellbreaker. I can't think of any really good options atm but these 3 are probably really solid, let me know if you want example builds.

Edit: I would approach the process of finding the optimal comp by looking at what each class brings to the group. Having a dedicated support would increase the survivability of your group but you need one that won't insta fold if focused, maybe even combine that with a hybrid support like a full cele druid or something. You def want boonrip and hard cc so a Spellbreaker and a Reaper are both good options. For a DPS I'd pick something durable with mobility, kill potential, and AoE damage like a Willbender, Holo, or Vidicator.

Here's an example of what I think an optimal comp looks like.

• Hammer Spellbreaker  - Break Enchantments instead of Bulls Charge for more boonrip.
• Corrupt Reaper or Power Reaper - These builds are quite scuffed as I haven't played Reaper for a hot minute but you get the idea.
• Condition Druid - I see they nerfed the immob spam on Druid so condition trapper it is.
• Space for rent(support) -
• Power Holosmith - You can run whatever solid dps build here, this is just my personal favorite.

Edited August 4, 2023 by SleepyBat.9034
If you put a confused emoji without giving feedback you are an NPC

[Dawdler.8521]

5-6?

Congratulations you're no longer roaming because you've graduated to mini boonball. The optimal compostion is 3-4 heavy supports and a couple of dps.

You have to go all the way down to 2-3 in order to not "fit" any supports (ie what the dps in the above group would be on their own).

Of course you could choose to kitten yourself by all roamers but a similar sized boonball (probably with extra randoms joining in if they are defenders) will then just focus you one by one.

[DeceiverX.8361]

It's more or less just running boonstacking sustain builds and maybe a thief designated to gank/finish a lower HP target the other 4 focus on to be honest.

Honestly, with more than 2 people, you're running boon-sustain builds for optimal performance.

[Nanogrid.7283]

5-6 perma stealth thieves. 💩

Edited August 4, 2023 by Nanogrid.7283

[TheGrimm.5624]

7 hours ago, Buran.3796 said:

   I known that the answer is hard, given the game mode has no rules and and people can freely roam alone or stack in huge zergs, but given the current state of  "balance", what would you say it would be the ideal roster of specs in a squad of 5-6 players aiming to get involved in small skirmishes against similarly sized groups?

Will have to consider the intent of the post and come back to that.

I think part of the consideration is we have different definitions in use here. Roamers are solo players that may perform differing roles. Once you have more than 1 you are now a Havoc, again with lots of different roles. When you say squad a squad is up to 50. So meet in the middle and I think you meant party which would be 5, which would be a Havoc in WvW terms. But a squad of roamers, 🙂 that's someone trying to herd cats. In the same line is Pugmanding and a hats off to all of you peeps. So when you consider a group or solo players (roamers) grouping up to form a comp group up to a squad level of 50, yeah its too late at night for me on that one. 

So I agree with Dawdler, if looking for 5, make a comp group that is a mini-boon ball that can spam boons, cleanses, heals, stab, aegis and dish out enough power and condi to bring down targets. You have lots of options there. 

[Loke.1429]

I am nowhere near an expert at that scale or in making comps (!), but from what I've seen (assuming you want to fight up to 15ish players with 5-6 players, as I believe was the intention), the most successful appear to have a few things in order:

1. 2slots to give excellent access to stealth while moving (for ambushes and easily finishing downed players, yeah stealth is mechanically OP in GW2)
   • Dps and support. Something like thief and scrapper with stealth gyro (unsure here). Recommend against mesmer veil tho, because it is easy to see the direction of movement. The main pro here is that this best allows you to pick all your fights, so big blobs can't really chase you down unless they are good. Secondary pro is much better engages and better possibility for big jukes mid combat.
2. 3 slots dps (and support if not given by stealth slot).
   • Currently I'd try 2 willbender, and try what fits for the rest to cover lacking aoe-cc or pulls, or ranged damage to ensure finishing downed players.

Of course good stability coverage is mandatory.

Others simply run like 3 players that chain pull / cc single players, since the game doesnt have diminishing returns on cc, quite trollish really.

The question regarding 6 players is very tricky so I tried to answer it for 5 players. Because of the 5player limit on boons the 6th player should roam around you on a thief with good stealth uptime imo. Then they you dont accidentally have a player without stab or stealth. Otherwise it becomes more optimal to increase up to 10 players (with regards to boon coverage). Alternatively ensure that 1 of the 2 stealth slots above has smoke field and ensure sufficient blasting to cover all players, if the 6th then can give stability, it should work quite well.

Edited August 4, 2023 by Loke.1429

[Arianth Moonlight.6453]

all Willbenders or all Eles (basically any spec will do) or a combination of both.

[lotus.5672]

1 minstrel firebrand, 1 minstrel/cele tempest, 1 dps willbender running 'stand your ground', 1 hammer spellbreaker for cc and some boon rip, 1 dps holo or reaper

alternatively a mix of catalysts, tempests, firebrands , dhs and willbenders as said above

[Zyreva.1078]

5-6x cele.

[Blockhead Magee.3092]

Roamer..... squad of roamers....  A zerg is just a single big group of roamers at this rate. 

Roaming, to me, means I'm out on my own.  Which is what I do.    

[bluberblasen.9684]

8 hours ago, Nanogrid.7283 said:

5-6 perma stealth thieves. 💩

This is already the case...

[Boh.4568]

5 tempests and 1 willbender

[Chips.7968]

5-6 isn't roaming. 

[Buran.3796]

On 8/4/2023 at 8:22 AM, Nanogrid.7283 said:

5-6 perma stealth thieves. 💩

  I read a similar answer in different stages of the game in the past and I don't think that is true. I mean, sure you can gank some random pugs using stealth + cc + burst, but let's imagine that most of encounters were between conformed squads of organized players: I think that is too easy to counter. Ranged burst are too easy to prevent through blocks/reflects and mele assaults can disrupted with cc. I known that PvP isn't the same as WvW since there's a lot more options in gear and food allowing extreme glass canon builds, but the same works for defense and tank/bruiser builds are way stronger at WvW than in Conquest.

   In the last MAT a full comp of Specters headed by Sindrener didn't work vs Rank 55, and you can argue about skill levels even amongst the top and that were more based in mobility than stealth, but in the end seems like balanced comps with self-sufficient tools which share support and boons between their partners work better. In that regard, I think that the rosters suggested by SleepyBat or Lotus are probably closer to ideal that just stacking a one trick pony combo (which will work vs pugs and the first times vs unawared comformed squads but could easily derrail in any further attempt).

   Thanx for the anwers.