Lets Talk PvP Builds s11

[jcbroe.4329]

So I'm still working on my LB/GS variation, but in the meantime I did workout the tanky boon build. It reminds me very much of my Harrier Druid testing and how surprisingly tanky it is. Link: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQNBjYDbkQFaZxSWwhF4axykg1EAaATg8c7vN56E5ucZuSOXaA-jpxHQBpb/BldQA+2DAYflBC4FAAAHBAA

Bigo already covered shortcomings of this sort of setup, but against teams with no Scourges, it really feels potent.

Gonna keep working on the LB/GS setup though. I think that it will be similar risk depending on enemy team compositions but specialize more towards dealing damage which I personally believe is the ultimate reason to run Soulbeast.

[beatthedown.2651]

@bigo.9037 said:I honestly don't get why anyone would use s/w ... the only good skill on that weapon set is warhorn #5. everything else is just meh. sword auto attacks are useless. sword 2 is total meh unless you wanna leap combo fields. but even then.. GS#3 is much faster if you do it correctly ( by skipping the run phase of the skill so it just leaps instantly ). Also, the 2nd part of sword #2 when youre actually leaping is not an evade... GS#3 is. you can easily get interrupted while trying to leap through a smokefield. i've done that to many warhorn rangers before and it can kinda screw them up sometimes.

Another thing i see with your build that could be extremely problematic is your lack of stunbreakers. You have 1..... on a 40 second cooldown.......Sure you could pop SoR but then youd be wasting your your condi cleanse .. also that signet has a 50 second cooldown. So this is the thing right..You could swap SoR for dolyak stance. then youd get some condi cleanse and also stability. However youd have very little condi cleanse and need to wait 20 seconds for 4 condi cleanses on your heal... that is very problematic if someone is spamming condis. it would be better to have 2 condi cleanses every 10 seconds, but oh well.Thing is, everything is a huge trade off. You should take beastmastery. you get more stats.. you get more condi cleanse.. superspeed.. quickness.. and your pet isnt slow while outside beastmode. WHICH... you need to consider cus you cannot rotate properly if you rely on beastmode too much. Did i mention petswap cooldown? thats also really important when you have smokescale and a bird. you wouldnt want your pet to die from aoe just because you couldnt swap in time.

with BM you could then choose not to take SoR, but actually get more condi cleanses / sec. Youd lose out on some boon duration, sure. but protective ward is just.. i mean the cooldown is way too long. just not worth it. Yes, you will have significantly less boon duration and boon spam without NM cus you dont have boonshare with pet.But with beastmastery you will have more utility and base stats. Superspeed. Condicleanses. Pets are much stronger. I know you want to get your 25 might stacks but…. Is that really worth it with just warhorn#4 and sword auto atk? Idk if you can rely on RF for all your dmg honestly. Thats why i use GS. you can actually be very offensive in melee range and people need to look out for your or they will get hit by stuns.. Knock back.. And maul. In melee you also have an evade on GS, so saying sword has evades isnt a valid argument since GS does too. And no, i dont care about sword #2. GS also has evade on auto attack.WS, BM, GS, LB, rockgazelle and smokescale. Get dolyaks stance and protect me. 3rd utility is your choice. I definitely believe you can be successful with your build but.. Its not the most optimal choice for soulbeast..

Well I will definitely try out the GS/LB build. I would also drop Sword/Warhorn when I'm not using NM. Makes more sense. All builds mentioned here will need a lot more testing of course.

And yes, the sword leap is bad. It's really bad. Interrupts still happen and I hate it. It was the major point I kept running GS on most of my builds in the past. Thankfully DP Thief is not that common anymore and good Mesmers who know how to not spam every interrupt in one burst are quite rare. What really strikes me is that most Rangers who play on S/W never use AA at all. They use skill 5, 4 and an evade and wait akwardly so they can swap back to LB. Against a tankier target (or in general a target that can't pressure you enough in Melee range) the very relyable Sword AA can straight up delete them.

Btw since you mentioned pet swapping. I don't need to swap pets on Soulbeast at all. For the most part I camp on Smokescale since it's very sticky on the enemy even without BM. Also you pet can actually die. Just merge with it and it's alive again.

Edit: also keep in mind that Loud Whistle does not work with beastmode

[anduriell.6280]

You play in NA, right?

[Eggyokeo.9705]

I've got a few builds that I'm using at the moment.

First, is Meta druid, which I won't go into explaining. except I don't use SoS I use LR

Second is my take on glassy SBeast - once again nothing special here I like earth runes. and for variety, I switch to BM and GS or keep NM and go GS pros and cons to everything just remember what you gothttp://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQNBlYD7kQFolFshXwkFgrFswJY5n2W7ttZY13CAO/tC3hrEpPH-jpxOABAs/w5HBghfAAlfQA2tMA6XAAA

third is Condi SBeast - good fun nice variety maybe not the most effective but it workshttp://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQRAnY4fnEqAtsgN8CmsAs8iFOBrZYVpCA5n2Wbt1ZwNAOcl8g0A-jpRAQBh8IAAgTAwHfAA6Y/hAcQAmYZAA

and full tanky mobile druid, you play this like a thief but with the ability to hold the point and try to get multiple opponents to take you off the point. though you can't really kill anything. you just need to constantly be moving around and be painful in general. sometimes you just need to relentlessly push far so two people keep coming back to remove you.http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJARWjEqQLL2vCmsAVLWyEM4ZaPNo2ksCAHAnEXCoxVy3SD-jphRABAs/wylB0+IAw9FA47DBAuPAAA

[Britchie.5748]

I have been running a sturdy core beastmastery build with LB and GS. I use leadership rune and paladin amulet. It has good survivability with moderate damage. It can hold a point for a while and still be useful in team fights. I like it because it has a good balance of sustain and damage, and it's versatile.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJARTnUqAtsg1CCmsActghJhqDgHfC+g4C+Yvyn1MvEpPH-jZxHQB0rMwAeAAib/hAeEAAwlAAA

[Eggyokeo.9705]

so I get my self in to plat (be it temporarily) with this build

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQNAnfWjEqQLL2vCmsAVLW4EM4W6NNn2MsqUBAnB3A4wNi4A-jphAQBi8QAkj9H43RAAAnAAJWGwjPAAA

another mostly side point build, that can do a little support. drop bonfire dead centre of the point and drag people in to with pet.

[EnderzShadow.2506]

@"Eggyokeo.9705" said:so I get my self in to plat (be it temporarily) with this build

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQNAnfWjEqQLL2vCmsAVLW4EM4W6NNn2MsqUBAnB3A4wNi4A-jphAQBi8QAkj9H43RAAAnAAJWGwjPAAA

another mostly side point build, that can do a little support. drop bonfire dead centre of the point and drag people in to with pet.

really not a fan of condi on ranger in pvp. But, that last part just sounds funny. I bet you catch many a player unaware.

[jcbroe.4329]

So 2 build ideas, but I really don't know which is more optimal or which to run:

This: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQNBjYD7kQFolFshXwhFgrFsMJYORuLXmrJA0AmA552fbytEpPH-jpxHABKfQAA4IAQfZA/vAAf/AAEf/BA

And this: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJATRnEqAtCiN8COsActglJBrJA0AmAPBhLwHLv3+bTul8t0A-jpBHQBtY/Bx9AAGwRAIgXAg8VGAAHCAA

But I'm really not even sure where to begin. There's a pretty massive draught in the competitive resources this season, but I'd really like to have a discussion about what exact build I should be leaning towards to be as competitive as possible.

[Eleazar.9478]

@"jcbroe.4329" said:So 2 build ideas, but I really don't know which is more optimal or which to run:

This: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQNBjYD7kQFolFshXwhFgrFsMJYORuLXmrJA0AmA552fbytEpPH-jpxHABKfQAA4IAQfZA/vAAf/AAEf/BA

And this: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJATRnEqAtCiN8COsActglJBrJA0AmAPBhLwHLv3+bTul8t0A-jpBHQBtY/Bx9AAGwRAIgXAg8VGAAHCAA

But I'm really not even sure where to begin. There's a pretty massive draught in the competitive resources this season, but I'd really like to have a discussion about what exact build I should be leaning towards to be as competitive as possible.

In my scrub ass opinion, I think you should go the first boon build, as your more a side holder player right? I get the impression the highest rated soulbeasts have been leaning into the boon builds

I personally run a similar sic em build, cept I run this http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?vNAQJATRnEqAtCiN8COsActglJBrJA0AmAPBhLwHLv3+bTul8t0A-jpBHQBtY/Bx9AAGwRAIgXAg8VGAAHCAA (and generally play damage/dpser +1 role) the damage modifiers shut down people)