Thoughts on gear

[Daddicus.6128]

I've been trying to figure out what kind of gear to outfit my characters with. But, I've run into a quandary.

First, none of the core Tyria gear is as good as similar gear with HoT or PoF stats. The total points granted is always lower.

So, looking over HoT and PoF gear, I noticed that there are really only two that seem useful in PvE: Viper and Marauder. Marauder is the best for power builds and viper is best for condition builds.

Am I missing something? With all the available gear choices, it would seem the should be a few more that provide viable stats.

NOTE: I'm only interested in PvE, and to a much lesser degree, WvW.

Thanks!

[Tanner Blackfeather.6509]

For PvE, Berserker is generally considered better than Marauder, as both Power and Ferocity will be higher. The sum total of points is higher on Marauder yes, but more than the difference is Vitality which some consider useless for PvE.

For WvW, Vitality and to a lesser degree Toughness is much more relevant.

[Linken.6345]

As above poster state berserker the 3 stats combo of eachother insanely well so its superior to marauder.

[Daddicus.6128]

I hadn't thought of that, Tanner and Linken. Thank you!

Keep those thoughts coming.

[calb.3128]

It's also not worth getting hung up on the total number of points but rather the relative distribution and the stats you really need. Celestial stats for example will net you more points than any of the three-stat choices, but outside of a small number of builds (which aren't PvE anyway) it's a poor option.

[Tsar CUBE.9281]

There is also Assassin's gear which you SHOULD have a significant amount if you are playing a power warrior in pve, and that's core gear. You would never deck out your character in full Assassin's but for some classes you have to mix it in with berserker gear. There are also stuff like Mistrel's gear and Harrier's which you use on stuff like mesmers and druids in various ratios from what I know. I think even Celestial gear has uses in a few places.

[Danikat.8537]

Another thing to bear in mind if you're not planning to do raids or Fractals is that some stat combinations are much easier to get than others, especially when you're looking at ascended equipment. You can buy ascended trinkets with most core stat combinations from the laurel vendor, but ones with HoT and PoF exclusive stats only come from a few places - mainly achievements, farming Living Story maps or WvW where they're bought with Skirmish Tickets (so getting a full set will take several hours).

I seem to have a knack for picking stats which are hard to find and I've joked with my guild a few times recently that part of the reason beserker's is so popular is actually just that it's easy to find.

[Daddicus.6128]

Thanks, guys.

NOTE: I do do Fractals, but not raids.

[starlinvf.1358]

Part of the overall problem is that different game modes tend to skew too heavily toward a very narrow set of stats, and the vast majority of non-support builds are usually damage focused. Since damage is the single most important aspect of the game, damage optimized combinations tend to dominate the meta. Even the support builds are weighed on their damage loss to gauge value; with raids also having the issue of Toughness being a liability for aggro.

The knock on effect of all of this is certain stats being easily exploited for specific game modes, while most other combinations go unused due to the performance loss in key aspects being too significant. Different classes also don't utilize to the same degree at a fundamental level. Since the Devs are now pushing toward "mutually exclusive" build concepts, its purposely narrowing the usefulness of stat combinations, and directly hurts many stat mixtures without a Dev proctored build to utilize it. Even then, it has to directly compete with other stat combos that might have stronger scaling potential. Hence Zerks, Vipers, Harriers and Minstrels represents the highest efficiency stat combos for Role archetypes... and the only reason Harriers is even on the table is it being the only Healing/Concentration heavy stat that doesn't also carry toughness. The moment theres a 3 stat combo for Healing, Concentration, Expertise, I expect Harriers to completely fall off the map.

[Rhyse.8179]

4-stat gear has higher totals, but lower peaks. Berserker, for example, will have higher power then Marauder. For min-maxing, this makes the 3-stat gear superior.

Exception is Viper, because it has no support or survival secondary stats, every single stat point is a dps gain.

[maxan.7836]

The gear cosmetically needs an update- T/P - Skins - No more bum flaps - It's just same old -

[JDub.1530]

I think Valk is good for Power Guard as long as you have a reliable source of Retal. Zealots is pretty good for healing builds that still do damage, and I think was in the raid meta until Harrier came out (so PoF ousted it but HoT did not).

[Daddicus.6128]

Starlinvf: I didn't realize toughness was a liability. So, I looked it up, and it can be (depending on the enemy). Since toughness barely works anyhow, that makes it an extreme liability (imo).

Rhyse: I see what you mean. My guy with viper is probably my biggest damage dealer.

Thanks, all!

[Dreadshow.9320]

I would like to see full sets bonus other than just shared stats.

[Ashantara.8731]

@"Daddicus.6128" said:First, none of the core Tyria gear is as good as similar gear with HoT or PoF stats. The total points granted is always lower.

That is untrue. PoF introduced 4-stats gear, which is always different from 3-stats gear, regardless of the region:https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Attribute_combinations#Three_attributes

That doesn't mean 4-stats gear is superior and 3-stats gear is inferior - they are just different.

So, looking over HoT and PoF gear, I noticed that there are really only two that seem useful in PvE: Viper and Marauder. Marauder is the best for power builds and viper is best for condition builds.

Also not true. Marauder gear is useful for some professions in WvW, but any good PvE power build uses Berserker stats for the highest damage output.

You should take a look at the current meta builds for comparison: https://metabattle.com/wiki/MetaBattle_Wiki