Leveling a revenant?

[OldGamer.2986]

Hi i try to level a revenant and one thing I noticed, I die extremely quick. I leveled an elementarist and thief before and thought someone with heavy armor would be easier but not really. I'm level 15 and try to survive Caledon forest which is an extreme challenge, already died a dozen times. I use Dwarf and Assassin stance, I switch between both to get 2 heals but still I die too quick. I use constantly dodge but can use it only twice. As weapon I use staff and sword/sword... no clue what to do else. For now it's a real painful experience.

[Dayra.7405]

Hm, good reasons to die during leveling:

• You did not watched the monster level (e.g. faced Lvl 15 mobs with Lvl 10)
• Your equipment is much lower level than you

but I’m not aware that rev was a difficult class. Sword-3 is a bit unfocussed you may engage to many enemies. I've used hammer instead of staff to have a range weapon as well.

[OldGamer.2986]

Same level as I am but most certainly I'm just bad and suck at this game. can't handle too many buttons and cklicks, reason why I like to stay away from wow.. I'm more used to turn based games. .... Levels of my items are pretty low but I couldn't find anything better.

[Dayra.7405]

At 14 you can buy your first green armor/weapon at TP. (1-2s each)

Range weapons should make button-overload easier.

Before you go to a lvl 16-25 area (Brisbane or Kessex from Caledon), have a visit in one or two of the other four 1-15 areas, you should have the starter WP in each.

[OldGamer.2986]

Trying to do that... meanwhile every hero challenge that involves to beat someone is a certain death sentence for me. It's quite embarrassing, even with all those heals I can't survive an elite for longer than 5 seconds -.- died 4 times by this Bird thing on this bridge, countless times by those bandits in Queensdale...

[Dayra.7405]

Elite mobs? Don’t go to the bounty bandits they are added for Lvl 80 groups ;)

Veterans you should be able to handle with adequate equipment and when you are at least 1-2 Lvl higher than the mob

[Chichimec.9364]

As an old, slow player I really struggled when I first came to GW2 from single player RPGs. The combat system here was unlike anything I had ever played before. This guide was useful to me when I was first trying to figure out how to survive in the Tyria beginner maps. It's pretty old but the fundamentals should still be sound. https://whyigame.wordpress.com/the-beginners-guide-to-movement-in-combat-guild-wars-2/ Over time I've gradually gotten better. These days I am not horrible but have moved up to fair.

@Dayra.7405 gave you the two most important tips for survival in the beginner maps. Don't pick fights too far above your level and always use the best gear you can get. If you aren't crafting your own kit, you do want to look at all the stuff you pick up as well as checking out all the vendors you come across to make sure you're using the best available to you - weapons, armor, jewelry, backpacks, and consumables.

As to revs, my main is a revenant which I find to be fairly durable as well as very easy to play. Although it has both elite specializations maxed, my rev generally uses a core build and almost always stays in the legendary dwarf stance. With soldier's gear and armor runes focusing on power, vitality, and toughness, my rev does not pack a massive punch but is more than sturdy enough to hang in there and keep on fighting over the long haul. For weapons I use a hammer and sword/sword. Intricate combos are beyond my abilities. I am too slow and hit the wrong keys way too many times. With a rev I just flick on Vengeful Hammers, skill 9, and hit skill 1, Hammer Bolt, repeatedly. Sword/sword is there for the times with higher level enemies that ranged weapons won't work. I hit sword skills 2 and 3 when they are available and otherwise just keep pressing 1. It's simple, basic fighting that has gotten me through all the core Tyria maps as well as through the HoT and PoF maps. Other classes are fun. I love rangers, engineers, and necros but my rev is still my go to when I need something solid, simple, and durable.

[Chichimec.9364]

@OldGamer.2986 said:...every hero challenge that involves to beat someone is a certain death sentence for me. It's quite embarrassing, even with all those heals I can't survive an elite for longer than 5 seconds -.- died 4 times by this Bird thing on this bridge, countless times by those bandits in Queensdale...

Here's a simple trick for hard hero challenges - wait till a busy time of day on that map - generally afternoons and evenings - then hang around the hero point until someone else comes up to do it. Jump in with them and you'll both get credit when the boss is killed. I've done that on maps from Queensdale to the Crystal Oasis when necessary and have also seen plenty of other people doing it too.

[HnRkLnXqZ.1870]

Just tried it out myself. Level 15 Revenant, geared it up with cheap stuff from TP (level range 14-15):

• "mighty" in the name, white/blue gear < 1 s (boot, leggings, chest, glove, shoulder, helmet)
• minor runes of: centaur, citadel, pack, hoelbrak, privateer, flamelegion - every rune in one piece of gear
• minor sigils: bloodlust & fire
• weapons: 2x 1h sword + hammer
• no trinkets/backpiece (if you have enough money, get stuff with power-stats)

Then I gathered enough Hero Points to unlock Assassin and Dwarf heal-skill + 2 utilities.

Now I started rampaging north ...

At first I channeled up my Bloodlust sigil stacks to 25 using the Hammer auto-attack and Assassin Impossible Odds.

Note #1: screw sword auto-attack.Compared to most other classes, the sword-autoattack is very weak. Even with this setup it takes ages to get trash mobs down, even those half your level. All other attacks however behave as usual = devastating damage. Hammer is performing slightly better.

Note #2: maintain Impossible Odds while using Hammer auto-attack.This works decent. As with other classes, enemies are dead before they reach you. AA eats no power meter so you can maintain Impossible Odds for a long time.

Note #3: Enchanted Daggers + Hammer: Field of Mists + Autoattack.Neat little combo I noticed on the way. You can generate an additional heal with the Hammer autoattack passing through the Field of Mists. It is just a dark combofield, the auto-attack is a projectile finisher ... resulting in a Life Steal Combo. It is not much, but combined with the Enchanted Daggers, you can recover a decent amount of HP quickly while in Hammer mode.

Note #4: Sword & Dwarf.Works out a little better. Autoattacks + Vengeful Hammers. Sadly whenever you pick any other attack that does a little more damage, your meter drops like a coconut loaded swallow. So you have to decide, melee auto attacks with the Vengeful Hammers OR real attacks without the utility.

Now let us have a look on the Staff. The main reason why I skiped that weapon, it is a utility weapon. Dealing damage was not a focus when they created it. In lower level areas, utility weapons are not that much useful.

After a few small tests, my fear was proven correct. The staff's regenerative abilities are too weak to be useful in lowlevel zones, even in combination with Enchanted Daggers. However the healing is part of the attacks, which means part of the damage was sacrificed for that ability = the weapon is weaker than it should be. Even with Impossible Odds it is just unsatisfying. The only attack of the staff which is half way decent is Surge of the Mists, but it knocks your opponents away :S. As far as I can see, the staff is a good weapon for group-play when you are playing a support-role.

I assume the Revenant is one of those classes which improve drastically once you have access to traits.

[Dayra.7405]

Another good reason to die:

• jumping alone into a.group event :)

Instead of just wating, ask in map-Chat, likely others have the same problem (shift-clicking a nearby poi or wp or a mentor tag help them to find you).

[OldGamer.2986]

Okay some good tips, thanks!... just bought some shoes for my lady, didn't had any of those... how could I forget the shoes? Seems I have to abandon my staff playstyle. I used it mainly for the block and the escape on 5... I definitely have to ask more often. I'm extrem introvert and have autism, asking for help is a thing I'm not quite use to but hey it's an mmo and some people are certainly happy to help out....I tried everything here out and things seems to get better now. .... the healing on staff seems to be extremely low.. only 11 health every third attack? It's not much by 1500 health

And thanks for creating a character just to test things out!

[Aaralyna.3104]

I experience exactly this in Caledon on my thief at that hero point. But I will just go back when I am a few more levels up and equally geared. I don't do runes and sigils on any toon during levelling. With revenant I had no issue but I went demon (dps) and centaur (heals) as soon as possible and I focussed on condi where I could.

[whoeverxwins.1279]

Revenant is a harder class to play for me, but I did ok until I hit 80 content (Season 2). lol I used hammer for my ranged weapon and sword/sword for melee. Usually stayed in Dwarf stance, but Demon is handy when dealing with conditions. I only used Ventari when running dungeons as a healer. If you're coming from a lot of other MMOs, what may be getting you is the fact you need to dodge. Stay out of any red rings (or in expansion content, orange areas). Practice dodging, because you'll definitely need it once you get past the core story!

[Eros.6801]

I cannot add anything else for others already did more than enough, except speaking from my personal experience about rev.

• Rev is my main and i can only say this class is a mess to master for new player due to energy and cooldown mixed playstyle. It only get worse even at high level. You have energy > all useful skill on cooldown > youre dead. You have powerful skills off-cooldown but don't have enough energy > you die.
• But surprisingly Rev is among the most durable class in the game and i found myself staying alive the longest while im on Rev in any solo content. Speaking only in solo scenario and open world roaming, Rev with both elite specs is a full packet to begin with, nice dps, very high self sustain not to mention 2 heal skills, extremely powerful CC especially with Renegade, instant 25 might stacks, the easiest class in the game able to hit 100% crit chance without trading off gear, utilities, medium HP pool, a crap ton of boons.
• For leveling it is fine to use a staff but keep in mind that staff is an utility weapon on rev which mean it doesn't deal much dps but instead you have a minor heal, block, blind, and a powerful #5 CC, staff is good when you 1vs1 with something that has breakbar, mostly champ. It kind sucks in 1 vs many so hammer can do a better job.
• This is a temporary build for leveling if you struggle to survive gw2skills.net/editor/?PmxAwyZlxQHMPyh1RNMO6hRSfMCKgF/lOA-e
• Unlock Devastation line as soon as possible, then Retribution at level 45. The tip to stay alive is Vengeful Hammers, DO NOT face roll anything but instead run around in circle, by doing this you can proc the passive heal from Assassin's Annihilation more often and also the more targets you hit the more heal you get, just get moving, avoid rooted at one place especially the front.
• Don't bother with elite skills unless there is no other way because they cost too much energy consumption.
• Another thing is food, please check this link and find yourself some cheap food, especially auto HP regen food. The amount of heal might be small but constantly every second. If you can't afford them just return here and ask, i will send you enough food to last until level 80. https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Food#Health_Regeneration

[Dante.1508]

I played Revanent 3 years ago and they were quite strong.. did they get a big nerf at some point?

[Zushada.6108]

@"OldGamer.2986" said:Okay some good tips, thanks!... just bought some shoes for my lady, didn't had any of those... how could I forget the shoes? Seems I have to abandon my staff playstyle. I used it mainly for the block and the escape on 5... I definitely have to ask more often. I'm extrem introvert and have autism, asking for help is a thing I'm not quite use to but hey it's an mmo and some people are certainly happy to help out....I tried everything here out and things seems to get better now. .... the healing on staff seems to be extremely low.. only 11 health every third attack? It's not much by 1500 health

And thanks for creating a character just to test things out!

I played and levelled a Rev and dropped the staff asap. It is great for break-bars but not much else while levelling. If you can get 2 swords or a sword/axe and then use a Hammer off-hand, it will be a lot easier with mobs. Hammer is slow DPS but the AOE's essentially "smush" the adds. It is quite fun! :smile: Also, don't forget to check the Karma Vendors at each heart. They sell a lot of gear and trinkets that really help with survivability. Look for Vitality and Power while levelling and it should help. Once you get high-enough Soldiers or crafted Marauders gear with Runes of the Scholar or Runes of Strength will really help as well. You will be able to pack a bit of a punch but also live to tell the story :-) Plus you will have a good starter set for WvW should you choose to try it. Don't worry if you are in Blues and Greens while levelling either, that is all you need for now. I really agree with some of the responses suggesting you go to the other starter maps before moving on. This is a different game mechanically from many other MMOs and it takes a while to get the muscle memory trained to work in the direction your brain wishes it to go. Don't give up and keep having fun... or at least keep trying too! :wink:

If you are on NA servers, feel free to friend me and if you need any help with those HPs just ask.

P.S. There is some advice/info in this older thread that I commented on as well: https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/comment/460416#Comment_460416

[Wisty.4135]

I'd honestly reccommend running mace/sword and Hammer on rev. The condi damage ticks let you move and kite as needed, while sword 4 immobilizes into place with a load of damage too. Hammer brings range and CC.

I'd recommend Demon and Assassin for damage and kiting, but otherwise demon/dwarf if you need close up protection.

Rev is all about kiting and control early on, as you are fairly squishy. Do not be afraid to take toughness and vitality on gear if you need to! Also don't forget your dodges!

Once you master movement and kiting, rev becomes an absolute powerhouse. This only gets better the more you level and focus your specs, too!

If you have any questions feel free to ask.always happy to help!

[Khisanth.2948]

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ancient_Echo is a pretty nice addition while leveling. 25 energy/20 seconds is effectively an extra 1.25 bars of energy regen. When used in dwarf stance you also get 3s of 50% physical damage reduction. The other thing is that legend swap on rev isn't just for accessing the different utility skills, it is also for resource management since energy resets to 50% when swapping legend.

[starlinvf.1358]

Late to the party, but I want to point out something that explains the issue:

For the most part, Rev is power balanced way differently then other classes in Core. Their weapon skills scale strongly on specific numbers, and their utility skills scale more on mechanics. This creates a situation where any player with strong mechanical knowledge and buildcraft can get around the Rev's design weakness, while inexperienced players simply can't.

However..... this also means Revs tend to play the same in both low and high level PvE, making Playstyle advice for it almost universal. When built for Damage, Revs hit like a truck, but their defenses have to be a lot more deliberate rather then reactive. More so with Condi builds, since they take forever to ramp up. Support builds are largely off the table, since Damage is king in Core Tyria. Revs aren't Glass, but they're also never meant to soak damage. They're defenses play more on action to action counters, and can't Rebound from mistakes the way other classes do. Playing them also means you have to think long game in many fights, and understand both the skill set and timing of enemies you're fighting. You can't afford to spam skills....... which is the number 1 thing new Revs make mistakes on.

Another thing to understand is that Rev auto attacks are incredibly strong, and their method for burst damage is substantially different from other classes. You have to think like a Mesmer while leveling.... you pepper on the front end, and burst on the back end. When translated to champ fights, you mostly auto attack while using your skills for timed defenses, and then front load your CCs to break the defiance bar, and use any burst damage skills while the damage bonus is up.

For Main hand sword, 2 has strong CC and 3 is evasion, but both are actually not good when used for direct damage. Sword off-hand is pure burst damage, and made specially to capitalize on bad plays in PvP. This makes perfect sense when paired with Shiro's ability to rapidly engage and disengage in a fight. Hammer is good for kiting and opening strong on engagements, but terrible at close range. Staff has high utility, but only capable of moderate damage. When compared to sword, staff is only valuable for its defense and break bar, 2 things that only gain real value after lvl 40 areas.

You might see some conflicting advise above.... but thats mostly because its fixated on front loading power and DPS metrics, which is what other classes are good at. Once you wrap your mind around the fact that Core Rev is more PvP oriented, and the Especs raid Oriented, you start to understand the weird reasoning behind how their skills are designed, and why it struggles so strangely in Openworld. It does high burst damage, but can't front load everything into its opening attack due to energy.... which is why many people think it sucks. Its auto attacks are not to be underestimated as a damage source, and will become clear why you burst on the back end in open world fights. Defense wise, you go strongly into damage avoidance when running shiro, and have to understand the quirks of Jalis as a recovery tool. Theres also a lot of value in mastering kiting and positioning to save on resources, and occasionally deciding to take a small hit in order to save skills to counter bigger ones.

Out of all the classes, its the one where your bad habits punish you the most, and demands you be incredibly deliberate in any action you take. Once you come to terms with that, the Rev's short comings are easy to live with. Most open world players get carried by builds they find on the internet; and that doesn't work for Revs, since they don't operate or scale out of control the way other classes do.