How do I get full Harrier's Ascended gear for my Firebrand to do Fractals?

[Soren.9502]

I've done 100% world completion and completed some stories (Personal story, Path of Fire, LW 1 & 2) and I am doing Heart of Thorns now. I checked out how to play Fractals and I think I'll find my way using those agony infusions. I found something on the wiki that explains what agony infusions to buy to be max efficient to get 150 AR fast. Does that mean I simply have to buy exactly those infusions only?

Efficient

The most cost efficient method when using 2 or more weapon sets.

• 2 https://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/2/28/7_Agony_Infusion.png+7 Agony Infusions (14 AR)
• 8 https://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/2/28/7_Agony_Infusion.png+8 Agony Infusions (64 AR)
• 8 https://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/5/58/9_Agony_Infusion.png+9 Agony Infusions (72 AR)

Total: 3200 +1 Agony Infusions and 47 https://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/thumb/d/d1/Gold_coin.png/18px-Gold_coin.png 59 https://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/thumb/3/3c/Silver_coin.png/18px-Silver_coin.png 80 https://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/thumb/e/eb/Copper_coin.png/18px-Copper_coin.png in reagents

Additional weapon cost: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/2/28/7_Agony_Infusion.png+7 Agony Infusion (64 +1 Agony Infusions and 94 https://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/thumb/3/3c/Silver_coin.png/18px-Silver_coin.png 24 https://wiki.guildwars2.com/images/thumb/e/eb/Copper_coin.png/18px-Copper_coin.png) for each slot

But one thing I do not understand. So I want to play Fractals as a Healbrand and I need ascended gear... Researching on the internet taught me to get Full Harrier's or Harrier's in combination with Minstrel gear. (How do you combo Harrier's with Minstrel gear? Which gear for Minstrel and which for Harrier's how does this work? How can you combo two different gear stats and why?)

How exactly do I get full Harrier's Ascended gear? I realize it just means +Power +Healing Power +Concentration but where do I find these ascended items then? I checked in the fractals of the mists vendor and he did not have rings with such a combination. There were two rings with +Toughness instead of +Concentration.

What should I do? All I did was Tier 1 Daily Fractals so far. I need more agony resistance. Should I buy ascended gear from the vendor and how do I choose? Also should I actually get full Harrier's Ascended gear or combo it with Minstrel or full Minstrel gear for Fractals? And how do I combo Harrier's + Minstrel gear???

[Ashantara.8731]

You get the core stats gear that is available via several sources in the game (Wizard's Vault, Crafting, Strike Missions, Raids, Fractals, WvW, PvP) and then change the stats in the Mystic Forge after unlocking the Harrier's stats:

• https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Zehtuka's_Harrier_Inscription
• https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Mordant_Inscription
• https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Stat_changing
   

35 minutes ago, Soren.9502 said:

How do you combo Harrier's with Minstrel gear?

By selecting different stats for each piece of gear.
 

As for Agony Infusions: You get the ones without Attribute bonuses first to reach the required amount of Agony Resistance. After a while, through playing Fractals, you will have enough resources to swap them with +Attribute ones.

There is an NPC in the Fractal Lobby who is selling the Infusions.

Edited March 30 by Ashantara.8731

[Soren.9502]

What does the core stats gear for Harrier look like? Like how do I find an Ascended ring that I can select Harrier's stats for once I have the inscription? Where do I get the Ascended ring that I can select Harrier's stats for, what is its name?

What Ascended gear should I first get if I want full Harrier's?

[Soren.9502]

I will play a Healbrand, Staff + Axe... I need to get Ascended items for a full Harrier's stat build. But what specific ascended gear do I need to get to later select Harrier's?

[Soren.9502]

Ahh so it's all of these items here?

Ascended equipment

For ascended harrier armor pieces see here.

For ascended harrier weapons see here.

For ascended harrier trinkets see here.

For ascended harrier back items see here.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Harrier's

That means I can choose any one gear item inside the list in the link under related equipment? It does not matter? All of these ascended harrier items have the same stats so I can choose any one item of those to get?

[Chyro.1462]

For armors and weapons, the above mentioned stat swapping recipe works. Though for Minstrels this will be a bit tougher than for Harrier's. Harrier's insignia / inscription you can just buy from TP. Minstrel's are account bound, so you have to craft them yourself requiring any weapon (for inscriptions) or armor (for insignias) profession at skill level 400. Depending on what stat balance you're aiming for, doing something like weapons + armor as Harrier's and all trinkets + backpiece as Minstrel may be easier to do if you don't already have the required crafting profession levels. Minstrel's is more tanky with vitality and toughness, while harrier's is the 'glass cannon' healing stat combo - with power to contribute a little bit to damage.

For accessories and rings, you can't stat swap them. But you can get fully stat-selectable trinkets fairly easy in living world season 3 or season 4 maps. Most of the maps have some combination of ring, accessory, amulet and/or backpack available on their map currency vendors (usually a currency material you farm on that map + unbound or volatile magic, depending if its season 3 or season 4 stuff). Also Harrier stats originally were released with PoF, and on one of the maps (I think elon riverlands, but not 100% sure) you can buy trinkets with Harrier stats directly for the PoF map currency (trade contracts I think?).

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ascended_trinket

This page has a nice overview of where you can get ascended trinkets from. The season 3 / season 4 options are usually recommended cause they're quite easy to farm. It's also an option with fractal currency, but while the core stat rings cost only 10 pristine fractal relics, the freely stat selectable ones (which you'd need to select Harrier or Minstrel stats) cost 100 per piece.

Note that ascended accessories and rings are 'unique' - you can't equip the exact same piece twice. So you if you go to the first season 3 map, you can buy 1 ring from there - but don't buy a 2nd, as you won't be able to equip both. Get two different named stat-select rings from different sources instead, same with the accessories. There is a small workaround for rings, if one ring has a different amount of infusion slots (by Infusing and/or Attuning it) - but for fractals you'll likely want to eventually have 3 slots in each ring so wouldn't recomment that. Best to just get two different ones.

If you want an easier start into gearing, for firebrand in particular I'd recommend celestial gear. It's a core game stat thus much easier to aquire, and gives you equal amounts of all stats - very good allrounder, with enough healing power + concentration to keep people alive, vitality and toughness to not go down easily and an even spread of offensive stats to contribute some to damage. It doesn't work well for all classes, but firebrand in particular I've played with this gear at t4 fracs. The somewhat lower heal output may become noticeable though when running with less experienced groups where you have to carry and make up for mistakes, people taking avoidable dmg etc.

Edited March 30 by Chyro.1462

[Crystal Paladin.3871]

If u find it hard to acquire harrier and minstrel pieces and your immediate goal is just fractals, may I interest you in "giver" stats?

Giver gives toughness, healing and concentration and easy to get trinkets.

Think u can get giver stat trinkets from laurel vendors. Giver stats is one of core stats prefix is defenders I guess.

 

One thing to note: if u plan on doing raids as healer, your toughness will force u to play the tank role for most bosses... Other than this, givers stat is a good new healer player investment

[Ashantara.8731]

16 hours ago, Soren.9502 said:

What does the core stats gear for Harrier look like?

There is no "Core stat Harrier gear". These are the core stats, and you change them to Harrier's by the means I linked in my first resonse.

Edit: For a full list on which stats belong to which expansion, use this link: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Attribute_combinations

So the goal is: You get any core gear, than swap its stats to Harrier's/Minstrel in the MF.

Edited March 31 by Ashantara.8731

[Soren.9502]

@Ashantara.8731

So core gear/weapons always only have the same stats as all the stuff in your link. I can use any ascended weapon/gear that has these same stats as in your link and later swap it with Harrier's or Minstrel. Ok, got it!

The only stats that I can NEVER swap are Ascended Trinkets and Backpack. Right? Is there an easier way of identifying core stats gear or do I always have to look it up in your link?

Edited March 31 by Soren.9502

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

for fractals you can run giver's, harrier's or minstrel's and it won't really matter, as your damage is insignificant anyway. usually a mix of giver's and minstrel's is used to maximise boon duration, which is significantly easier to hit 100% than other game modes due to the mobility potion. if you're a new player then please don't go into high-tier fractals on full harrier's as you'll likely die and the group will wipe. to put it simply, the healer can't go down, ever, for any reason.

 

experienced healers take celestial gear ,which provides less healing and an actual amount of damage (for example, celebrand). this is also particularly popular on barrier classes such as machinist, scourge, or spectre, all of which play "condi alacheal" builds.

 

most of the information you find on the internet will often confuse fractals and strikes with raids, which have tanks. in raids you can't take anything but harrier's gear, with maybe some plaguedoctor pieces mixed in for the vitality to avoid overcapping boon duration. this is because toughness is the tanking stat and if you're wearing any celestial, giver's, or minstrel's gear then you will likely become the tank instead of being the off-healer, which isn't a role that is friendly to newbies.

 

you can stat-swap the amulet, backpack and rings if you use blood ruby trinkets from bloodstone fen, just make sure you infuse or attune one ring to have a different amount of slots so you can equip both at the same time. i believe you can also get two mist accessories from the fractal vendor to fill the other slots, which can also be reset forever, though they're very expensive and require you to have played for some time already.

 

also, make sure you never stat-swap any legendary precursor in the mystic forge (e.g pvp/wvw ascended armor), as it will be destroyed.

Edited March 31 by SoftFootpaws.9134

[Ashantara.8731]

4 hours ago, Soren.9502 said:

The only stats that I can NEVER swap are Ascended Trinkets and Backpack. Right?

Only those with premade names. Ascended Trinkets that are acquired in Living World Season 3+4 are stat-selectable and offer you all existing stat combos, given that you own the respective expansions. Those from LWS3 Episode one even can have the stats reset if you want to change them again later (Bloodstone Ruby trinkets).

4 hours ago, Soren.9502 said:

Is there an easier way of identifying core stats gear or do I always have to look it up in your link?

Core stat gear is that which you acquire in core Tyrian content. You will eventually learn which stat combos belong to which content. The last link I posted even has a filter to show you which stat combos belong to Core, HoT,  PoF, or EoD.

[Funky.4861]

Bear in mind that you can get several items from bloodstone fen which you can select and change the stats on quite cheaply, assuming that you have heart of thorns and path of fire expacs https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Blood_Ruby_Band https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Blood_Ruby_Pendant https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Blood_Ruby_Pendant. You can change the stats using a https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Bloodstone_Capacitor.