[Ultra noob question] Enemy build

[CiZerin.2091]

I'm a very new pvp player in gw2 and I have a super ultra noob question - how to recognize enemys build: is it power on condi?Is it possible to identify it before you get pwnd?

[Sylvia.4870]

You can see those damages on the Combat tab. If you see condition damage ; for instance , Burning , Confusion , Torment , Poison or Bleeding , which is higher than the direct damage , your enemy's build is condi. On the contrary , providing that those condition damages are lower than the direct damage he inflicts on you , his build is power. Thus ,yes , it is possible to identify whether your enemy's build is power or otherwise during the combat.

[lare.5129]

there is some common build setups, after each rebalance it can be different. So if you see scourge mostly this is condi, reaper - power .. But any player can setup any build, and play as want. So not have some 100% identification.But you can read input getted damage and skill then dead from special on center screen window before revived

[CiZerin.2091]

@Sylvia.4870 @lare.5129 thx a lot, that was helpful!

[Curennos.9307]

Learn what weapon on what classes does what, as well as what the icons on your opponent's boon/condi window mean.

Reaper? I know that nobody really uses reaper condi anymore. Them having a GS or axe would confirm a power build. A scourge with an axe might be power or hybrid, while a scourge with staff and/or scepter is condi.

Rev - Shiro legend? Likely power. If you see Mallyx, they're condi. Glint Legend COULD be condi, but is most likely power.

A mesmer with GS is definitely power - pistol means it could be power or condi. Sword is more of a power weapon, but used to be taken by condi builds for sword#3 to lock down into shatters and the defensiveness of sword2. Staff and scepter are mesmer condi weapons. Torch could indicate a condi build, but is taken by some power setups for the stealth as well. Staff also means it is likely a condi setup.

Since trying to play all the builds just to know this can be daunting, I also recommend looking at metabattle or godsofpvp websites to see the commonplace meta builds. Most builds you see are those builds exactly or variations. Ofc you might still be surprised by the occasional...idk, condi rev running renegade, but it is a good starting place.

Also - you can sometimes tell by how the person plays. Power thieves will stick around for a little while after gap closing. Condi thieves will burst and run - I mean, so do power thieves, but condi does it a lot more due to the reliance on sword2 to apply poison. You'll also be able to tell condi thieves by the poison icon in their target window.

If you know how a setup lands its damage, you can easily tell what build your opponent is using, even if it looks similar to something else, based on how they play around your presence in order to land their damage a certain way.

[rng.1024]

It comes with experience.

Luckily, in sPvP conquest, chances are players are running meta builds. Even better, there's usually only 1 per profession per core/HoT/PoF spec.

This allows you to look at their profession symbol at the start of the match, and you can make an educated guess as to what they play.

F.ex:Core Guardian? Power.Scourge? Condition.Daredevil? Condition.Core Thief/Deadeye? Power.Firebrand? Support/hybrid.Spellbreaker/Core Warrior? Power.Soulbeast? Power.

I find however, that as you become proficient with your own profession and discover what meta-builds don't cause you any trouble, you'll start only looking for the ones that might be a threat to you and the rest don't really matter.

And even better, when you get used to how the other professions play, you'll be able to tell what build (or off-meta) they are playing solely based on their opener and weapons they use. Like I started with, this comes easily with experience :)

[Stand The Wall.6987]

metabattle.com will probably answer your question.

[CiZerin.2091]

@Curennos.9307 @rng.1024 thank you! Really helpfull info, now I better understand how to def in fight!

[asterix.9614]

Not a noob question, everyone has to start somewhere :)

[lare.5129]

This comes with experience too and this is can be funny for some players who play pvp long timeany Mesmer - ptvany guardian - ptvany necro - ptv.any Warrior - ptv.any class - ptvptv - this is power toughness vitality

[Bigpapasmurf.5623]

What may help as well is click on them and check out their sigils.

[Yannir.4132]

Good way to instantly recognize which is being used is seeing whether you are taking damage from the hits or after the hits. If you take notable damage after getting hit directly, you're likely dealing with a condi class.You really also need class knowledge for recognition, knowledge of which way what specialization leans, what their weapons are good at and what the current meta is.

Most likely damage types per class:

Warrior - Almost always Power, the condi berserker variant is kind of rare nowadays.Guardian - Core builds have a 50/50 chance of being either. Dragonhunter is power. Firebrand is most likely condi if it does any damage to you at all.Revenant - Most likely power. Some Renegades may be condi.Ranger - Power mostly. Some core rangers maybe running the condi Trapper variant but it's not very common.Thief - A real mixed bag currently. Their primary condi application method doesn't rely on weapons. Traditional builds are power and considered more skillful but the condi variants are real strong atm.Engineer - Core doesn't have reliable power burst damage(no, grenade barrage is not good) so more inclined to be condi. Holosmith and Scrapper are both most exclusively power specializations.Elementalist - The other mixed bag. Weaver is played with 3 builds currently. The most common is the Fire Weaver which is a sword duelist build, and hits with high burns(condi). Then there's its water variant which hits with wet noodles but can be unkillable 20 seconds straight. Then there's the ranged FA Weaver which uses scepter hitting with high power damage. Core Elementalist and Tempest are mostly power.Necromancer - Scourge and Core are mostly condi. Reaper is power. All variants eat your boons.Mesmer - If it shoots repeated laser beams or throws a sword at you, it's power. Otherwise it's condi.

[rng.1024]

Here's a list of the current meta if it helps, if they play something else it's off meta:

Guardian:Core: PowerDragonhunter: PowerFirebrand: If they have Signet of Mercy they are support, if not they are hybrid

Warrior:Core: PowerBerserker: Power (very rarely Condi)Spellbreaker: Power

Revenant:Core: Support or PowerHerald: Power (very rarely Condi)Renegade: Hybrid

Thief:Core: PowerDaredevil: Condi (very rarely Power)Deadeye: Power

Engineer:Core: PowerScrapper: Support or PowerHolosmith: Power

Ranger:Core: PowerDruid: HybridSoulbeast: Power

Mesmer:Core: PowerChronomancer: PowerMirage: Condi (very rarely Power)

Elementalist:Core: PowerTempest: Support (very rarely Power)Weaver: Condi (very rarely only Healing)

Necromancer:Core: PowerReaper: PowerScourge: Condi and/or Support

Keep in mind these change after balance patches, and this is based on my experience through my games. Another thing you can use is to see what weapon skills they are using, as Conditon and Power builds rarely use the same weapon - that way you can instantly know.

It also often pays off to wait a bit and take a look at the fight from a distance, instead of jumping in head first. Then you can spot what weapon skills they use and know to some degree what to expect going in.

Also notice how this is a Power dominated meta, where you are far more likely to face Power damage builds than Condition ones. This means, in most games, that the only condition pressure you need to look out for are Mirage, Weaver, Scourge, Daredevil and Firebrand - you can assume any other are Power builds and be right in 90% of cases.

If facing an off-meta build that takes you by surprise, it's always a good tactic to leave the fight and help out somewhere else so that others on your team can go there instead, no shame in doing so. Rest is practice :)

[Master Ketsu.4569]

Class spec, buff bar, and what weapons they are holding.

For instance, a mesmer running around with a greatsword is almost certainly power. Scourge is always condi. A revenant with mallyx in their bar is condi.

The only class where it can be hard to tell is thief, as much of their condis come from passives and utilities so they actually run S/D which can be either power or condi. Usually though a daredevil holding S/D is condi while core S/D is power, but not always. You have to look at their bar and see if they have venoms or not.

[Ocean.1469]

@CiZerin.2091 said:I'm a very new pvp player in gw2 and I have a super ultra noob question - how to recognize enemys build: is it power on condi?Is it possible to identify it before you get pwnd?

The very best way is to play them all yourself. There is no better way to learn than this, learn other build rotations and you will know what to expect when it hits you. You don't need to be a pro at the other classes, you just need to play them for yourself because this will give you the best feel you can get for their animations and rotations and what boons/conditons are incoming/outgoing.

[CiZerin.2091]

Thx all for help, my first ever calibration put me in gold2 (I expect silver3).