Is Dragonhunter Viable on WvW?

[KeoLegend.5132]

I want to know if Dragonhunter is currently viable on WvW. Giving a note between 1 and 5 where 1 is "very bad" and 5 is "amazing". I would also thank beforehand for your explanations on your votes!

1) Roaming viability (1~5):

2) Zerg viability (1~5):

3) 1v1 viability (1~5):

4) Ideal equipment (Berserker, Marauder, Valkyrie...), Runes, weapons, sigils, etc.

5) Any particular tip for surviving, roaming or dealing with DH's slow mobility

[Arcaedus.7290]

Roaming: 3Zerg: 21v1: 4Marauder equipment with some berserker (+ durability runes), or Marauder + berserker + a couple soldier's (+ traveler runes)

DH is actually decent at roaming if played at a high level imo. Various builds on ranger, mesmer and thief are all superior and both spellbreaker and holosmith are comparable if not better which is why I can't give guard anything higher than a 3 in comparison to other options out there.

DH isn't so great at zerging unfortunately. It does actually perform better than the majority of roaming builds in an XvX fight though and can be geared to perform at a suboptimal level (FB is still better) for zerging which is why I give it a 2.

DH has really good 1v1 game. The smaller the fight, the better DH performs in most cases. You soft-counter many builds and are not completely hard-countered by anything to my knowledge. I do think though that at the top level, a holosmith or power mirage both have a considerable advantages against DH which is why I rate it a 4, not a 5.

Mobility tips:DH actually has decent mobility in bursts when the stars align. Your main weaponset is longbow + Sw/Sh. I also recommend carrying GS, staff, focus and hammer. If you make use of all of your tools you actually have decent mobility. When out of combat for example, run GS and sword. Use GS 3 as often as you can, f2 wings when you know you're not gonna be in combat for a good 10-15 seconds, sword 2 whenever you have a mob you can target and staff 3 for swiftness whenever you're stationary/capping a point. Also, pick up the med packs at any sentry you own and always use the 5 skill on that since it gives 10s of swiftness.

When in a pinch (chased by a group), use sword 2, JI, f2, RF, f2 again, then sword 2 should be off cooldown soon; that's nearly 3800 units of distance covered in 5 or so seconds which isn't half bad as far as burst mobility goes. If you have a friend with lightning or smoke fields, you can get a lot of utility out of blasting them with focus 5 and hammer.

I actually roam on DH without traveler runes (so no +25% passive speed) and do just fine.

[whoknocks.4935]

@Arcaedus.7290 said:Roaming: 3Zerg: 21v1: 4Marauder equipment with some berserker (+ durability runes), or Marauder + berserker + a couple soldier's (+ traveler runes)

DH is actually decent at roaming if played at a high level imo. Various builds on ranger, mesmer and thief are all superior and both spellbreaker and holosmith are comparable if not better which is why I can't give guard anything higher than a 3 in comparison to other options out there.

DH isn't so great at zerging unfortunately. It does actually perform better than the majority of roaming builds in an XvX fight though and can be geared to perform at a suboptimal level (FB is still better) for zerging which is why I give it a 2.

DH has really good 1v1 game. The smaller the fight, the better DH performs in most cases. You soft-counter many builds and are not completely hard-countered by anything to my knowledge. I do think though that at the top level, a holosmith or power mirage both have a considerable advantages against DH which is why I rate it a 4, not a 5.

Mobility tips:DH actually has decent mobility in bursts when the stars align. Your main weaponset is longbow + Sw/Sh. I also recommend carrying GS, staff, focus and hammer. If you make use of all of your tools you actually have decent mobility. When out of combat for example, run GS and sword. Use GS 3 as often as you can, f2 wings when you know you're not gonna be in combat for a good 10-15 seconds, sword 2 whenever you have a mob you can target and staff 3 for swiftness whenever you're stationary/capping a point. Also, pick up the med packs at any sentry you own and always use the 5 skill on that since it gives 10s of swiftness.

When in a pinch (chased by a group), use sword 2, JI, f2, RF, f2 again, then sword 2 should be off cooldown soon; that's nearly 3800 units of distance covered in 5 or so seconds which isn't half bad as far as burst mobility goes. If you have a friend with lightning or smoke fields, you can get a lot of utility out of blasting them with focus 5 and hammer.

I actually roam on DH without traveler runes (so no +25% passive speed) and do just fine.

You gave him a very good detailed text.

Dh at roaming is pretty strong and fun.

Counters to dh do exist... soulbeast is one, or in general ranger with unblockables makes your shield5 and f3 completely useless, plus they have great sustain you can't out damage their healing capabilities.

Another counter is spellbreaker who uses the Pull trait specced for 1vs1s. Even if making zero mistakes and landing all your skills correctly you can own a spellbreaker, core warrior is easier, they usually dont run might signet for unblockables, otherwise they counter you as well.

Then mirage is just the brainless 1vs1 profession, you have an easy time on core mesmer and chrono, but against a good mirage you have zero chance, like any other profession.

Scrapper and elementalist counter dh as well, but you won't find them too often, and against a zerk weaver it's a battle who ends in few seconds usually, or he kills you or you him landing the test of faith combo.

Against holosmith you can outplay him pretty hardcore controlling the melee range with the trap and landing good pulls, however they are usually running static discharge full dps and if they get you unready they can melt you in seconds, i think its a fair fight slighty advantage for the dh.

Now everybody knows dh so well, dodge the spear, dodge trueshot, dodge deflecting shot etc. So to shine with it you have to play smarter, you know people will expect you drop immediately the trap, you spear them etc. But still you can have great results if you master the profession.

I don't know why people think dh is easy to play, maybe it was back when released pre nerfs, but now it's pretty hard to master if you wanna have good results with it.

[phokus.8934]

DH is really fun in WvW as part of a group or as a roamer.

There's something fun about popping F3, F2 into a group with traited F2 damage and then invulning out that makes it really enjoyable.

[Gandalf.1537]

FB you need what 2 or more FB's in your group for it to work right? If not, switching to DH if I am the only tag in my group / squad?

[Etheri.5406]

Zerg 0-1. Probably best off insta kicking DH's. In roaming it's also mediocre, but if you die on roaming it's your problem and not everyone elses.

[Waisenpai.6028]

Sword/ Dagger weaver with 70% cele and 30% crusader will mow down DH if they trait Arcane, Water and Weaver. If they use the trait line Invigorating Strikes, Renewing Stamina and have sigil of energy. You won't be able to kill them at all and it become an attrition warfare. I'm average so I can easily fight a1v1 match easily 10-30 mins x 10 every day in wvw.

[Blue.1207]

DH is a "decent", but outclassed roamer. Use standard Medi-DH build w/ traveller (rip) runes for that with marauder gear. Soliders DH can prove great in a zerg setting for LB's (only good ability) #5 for good CC. Outside that it's pretty meh and any good Mes, War, Ranger or Rev will figuratively eat you alive. You don't counter much outside of bad players.

[Zawn.9647]

@"Blue.1207" said:DH is a "decent", but outclassed roamer. Use standard Medi-DH build w/ traveller (rip) runes for that with marauder gear. Soliders DH can prove great in a zerg setting for LB's (only good ability) #5 for good CC. Outside that it's pretty meh and any good Mes, War, Ranger or Rev will figuratively eat you alive. You don't counter much outside of bad players.

F1 pull can be effective every now and then when sieging a tower/keep too

[Darter.7862]

From a DH lover.

no

You can run a DH, but do not expect to be a good class for soloing; literally anything will destroy you, and you will not be able to do anything to counter, except to cure yourself and escape (if you can). Against a true skilled player, DH is useless