Stunbreaks in Open World

[folko.4328]

I play a power Weaver with sword/dagger, full zerker, paper cannon type cuz glass would be more durable, but whatever.

So question: Is a stunbreak sort of needed in OW? On one hand I don't have the HP or Armour to tank even one auto attack without losing like 20% of my HP (thx anet), on the other hand, if stunbreak isn't really necessary, what would you say I can replace it with? My utilities are basically what you can find on metabattle/snowcrows, signet of restoration, glyph of storms, primordial stance, stone resonance (for now) amd weave self.

 

Btw did you guys know it's Evon Gnashblade's "Birthday" Celebration?

[Lucy.3728]

If your play style is die, stand up, fight and repeat then no, otherwise it is a skill for a second chance - either killing the foe faster or getting away.

If you need it is something only you can answer. I guess you don't need it on core maps.
I do need it and my stun break skill is always beside my heal skill (if possible) and got its own hotkey (d).

[Randulf.7614]

Stunbreak skills helps manage stress and rage levels in later content

[AliamRationem.5172]

6 hours ago, folko.4328 said:

I play a power Weaver with sword/dagger, full zerker, paper cannon type cuz glass would be more durable, but whatever.

So question: Is a stunbreak sort of needed in OW? On one hand I don't have the HP or Armour to tank even one auto attack without losing like 20% of my HP (thx anet), on the other hand, if stunbreak isn't really necessary, what would you say I can replace it with? My utilities are basically what you can find on metabattle/snowcrows, signet of restoration, glyph of storms, primordial stance, stone resonance (for now) amd weave self.

 

Btw did you guys know it's Evon Gnashblade's "Birthday" Celebration?

It's not necessary if you're good about maintaining offense with high DPS while avoiding the biggest threats, but that's not easy for most players on weaver and it isn't worth not running a defensive utility if it forces you to give up more damage than that utility slot is worth to play more defensively.  Stone resonance is a good option because it provides a large amount of barrier in addition to stability.  This allows you to ignore attacks that would normally interrupt and cause damage you can't afford to take so that you can focus on dealing damage.  This can save you valuable time vs. dodging to avoid those attacks.  You have to measure the value of these options for yourself.

I personally prefer condi weaver for solo play.  I find it deals better damage than power weaver, which is relatively more boon-dependent.  It functions well with earth or arcane trait lines, which both provide some solid defensive utility.  You can also use focus offhand without giving up much damage.  This gives you projectile block/reflect, invuln, and more CC and cleansing.  And if the going gets too tough, condi weaver can also fall back on celestial stats and still likely match full glass power weaver for solo DPS.

If you're interested, here's what that looks like in action.  Full viper gear champion solo at 27.9k DPS. 

 

[Antycypator.9874]

Nothing is needed in Open World, but if you die stunlocked, count it as double failure.

[Sobx.1758]

Are you getting cced? Does it kill you? Do you care about getting cc? Then slot at least one stunbreak.
Are you not getting cced? Does cc usually not affect you anyways? Do you not care and go make a tea instead? No need to slot any stunbreaks then.

Play the game and adjust for what you consider useful. You don't need meta builds with utility skills permanently glued on your bar.

[Funky.4861]

If you find yourself on your kitten a lot (eg: chak gerent rock falls, some aetherblade attacks) and can't survive the follow-up attack then yes, take a stunbreak. Otherwise, use line-of-sight or range to avoid the attack, assuming you have no dodges left. Also, blocks, invuln windows, distortion, barrier etc exist and might be more useful.

[Chyro.1462]

Also keep in mind you can always swap out utilities on the fly. So if you notice a certain enemy type or event giving you trouble with CC, slot in some stability / stunbreak as soon as you get the chance out of combat.

I personally really like armor of earth, the 10 stacks stability + barrier + stunbreak is a nice package on a 25sec cd, but don't know if weaver has a better option since I only play the other two ele specs.

I also like using the lightning blink just cause it feels nice crossing some distance in an instant especially with 'pick up and carry to npc' type of events. It's not a stunbreak but cause its instant you can cast it while stunned/knocked down to get some safety distance til the CC wears off.

[AliamRationem.5172]

15 hours ago, Funky.4861 said:

If you find yourself on your kitten a lot (eg: chak gerent rock falls, some aetherblade attacks) and can't survive the follow-up attack then yes, take a stunbreak. Otherwise, use line-of-sight or range to avoid the attack, assuming you have no dodges left. Also, blocks, invuln windows, distortion, barrier etc exist and might be more useful.

While LoS/kiting are viable strategies, at the point where you're forced to play that defensively you're better off building for more sustain.  Some damage is better than no damage.   

That's where those blocks, invulns, etc. come in.  While you can use a stunbreak as an emergency save, I generally prefer skills that can be used preemptively like stability or blocks as they allow you to maintain DPS as opposed to waiting to be interrupted to use a stunbreak.  Although for weaver your best stunbreaks also grant stability or blocks and so can be used either way.

 

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

On 11/28/2024 at 6:06 AM, folko.4328 said:

I play a power Weaver with sword/dagger, full zerker, paper cannon type cuz glass would be more durable, but whatever.

So question: Is a stunbreak sort of needed in OW? On one hand I don't have the HP or Armour to tank even one auto attack without losing like 20% of my HP (thx anet), on the other hand, if stunbreak isn't really necessary, what would you say I can replace it with? My utilities are basically what you can find on metabattle/snowcrows, signet of restoration, glyph of storms, primordial stance, stone resonance (for now) amd weave self.

 

Btw did you guys know it's Evon Gnashblade's "Birthday" Celebration?

i think you should be aware that pure dps builds are fairly inefficient in open-world as you don't have any boons when you're alone, and this game revolves around boons. it's not about durability, as even your damage will be poor without 25 might, fury, and either permanent alacrity or quickness. when players do run these kinds of builds, they usually do it for sustain--like how weaver had access to barrier, making it very tanky while also doing reasonable damage.

 

for example you're likely taking so much damage because you lack the protection boon, especially on dagger off-hand compared to warhorn.

 

that said it doesn't really matter what you play in open-world as the content is extremely easy and even veterans get destroyed by just auto-attacks. if you do take a stunbreak you probably want something like armor of earth which also gives stability and barrier as well; all the others are quite lackluster.

Edited November 29 by SoftFootpaws.9134

[AliamRationem.5172]

1 hour ago, SoftFootpaws.9134 said:

i think you should be aware that pure dps builds are fairly inefficient in open-world as you don't have any boons when you're alone, and this game revolves around boons. it's not about durability, as even your damage will be poor without 25 might, fury, and either permanent alacrity or quickness. when players do run these kinds of builds, they usually do it for sustain--like how weaver had access to barrier, making it very tanky while also doing reasonable damage.

 

for example you're likely taking so much damage because you lack the protection boon, especially on dagger off-hand compared to warhorn.

 

that said it doesn't really matter what you play in open-world as the content is extremely easy and even veterans get destroyed by just auto-attacks. if you do take a stunbreak you probably want something like armor of earth which also gives stability and barrier as well; all the others are quite lackluster.

While this is true, weaver being one of the few classes with hardly any boon access and also on the low end of raid DPS benchmarks, it can actually deal surprisingly good damage in solo play.  I think the problem is that power weaver is more boon dependent than condi. 

With condi weaver even using arcane trait line and focus offhand I see DPS in the 25k+ range on champion soloes (HoT champs and such).  That isn't top tier, but it's not as low as you might expect for having such limited boon access.