Survival problems with power Soulbeast

[Telgum.6071]

15 minutes ago, DragonMoon.6098 said:

I had planned on trying Vallun's SB build to see if I can do better with that - 

Is that something you would recommend?

I've tried a number of their builds, which appear to be more power-based, as apposed to Paper Roll's, which are generally condi-based. It seems there is a big divide between folks who favor power builds and those who favor condi builds. I don't know at this point which is best for me. I've tried berserker gear before and tend to get my collective hoo-haa handed to me right quick. I'm not a professional gamer here...I don't PvP and I don't raid. I don't even like to do fractals, except when I have to for certain collection achievements. I just like to play for story and open-world event farming for achievements to pass the time. As it stands, I'm already not the person dying constantly when fighting a meta boss...I'm the person rezzing the people who are constantly dying, lol. But like I said, I'm generally playing Paper Roll's condi druid...or Paper Roll's condi dragonhunter...or Paper Roll's condi renegade. Guess there's a theme here, lol. Those are just the builds I've had the most luck with...but like I said, I can't seem to get a grip on any soulbeast build.

That is what I play (not exactly the same traits, gear and skills) but the idea is the same, Sic Em Soulbeast with Longbow and Greatsword. Very nice damage, good CC and respectable survivability.

What I wrote is just my take on condition builds for competitive modes, it doesn't have to affect you, but it also true that when I want to do some PvE collection and play brainless without even dodging attacks, I just roll my trailblazer scourge. That can't be very good if you get used to it.

Edited February 8, 2022 by Telgum.6071
Typo

[Gotejjeken.1267]

On 2/8/2022 at 3:57 PM, DragonMoon.6098 said:

I had planned on trying Vallun's SB build to see if I can do better with that - 

Is that something you would recommend?

I've tried a number of their builds, which appear to be more power-based, as apposed to Paper Roll's, which are generally condi-based. It seems there is a big divide between folks who favor power builds and those who favor condi builds. I don't know at this point which is best for me. I've tried berserker gear before and tend to get my collective hoo-haa handed to me right quick. I'm not a professional gamer here...I don't PvP and I don't raid. I don't even like to do fractals, except when I have to for certain collection achievements. I just like to play for story and open-world event farming for achievements to pass the time. As it stands, I'm already not the person dying constantly when fighting a meta boss...I'm the person rezzing the people who are constantly dying, lol. But like I said, I'm generally playing Paper Roll's condi druid...or Paper Roll's condi dragonhunter...or Paper Roll's condi renegade. Guess there's a theme here, lol. Those are just the builds I've had the most luck with...but like I said, I can't seem to get a grip on any soulbeast build.

 

I'd use what you know from Paper Roll and apply it to Soulbeast.  That is, find pets that are good at kiting and use greatsword as your "staff" for defense.  

 

Think the reason you may struggle converting over is the condition druid is just very good at most things.  This is independent of stats too for me, as you can run Apothecary or whatever instead of Trailblazer and still get great survivability.  It's more of a mindset, and just the fact Druid has way better kiting options than your out of the box LB/GS soulbeast does.

 

I will say I found once I broke away from LB/GS and learned how soulbeast works, I rarely ever go back to condition druid outside of dueling or needing to stalemate something for a ridiculous amount of time (camp, tower, etc.).  Most people run a lot of cleanse and as time goes on the build is becoming less effective IMO (and also the reason Paper Roll montages are like 14 min for one fight sometimes).  

 

So you can start with something like Nature Magic or Celestial Soulbeast and learn, then settle into your actual power build.  Building that right you can get 100% crit uptime with a lot of power, ferocity and other things, because it then boils down to kiting mechanics and what you are personally comfortable with using (ex: for pets, smokescale is often cited as 'best', but is not end-all-be-all or really even that good outside ganking).  

Edited February 10, 2022 by Gotejjeken.1267

[Gotejjeken.1267]

<Duplicate>

Edited February 10, 2022 by Gotejjeken.1267

[InsaneQR.7412]

Key for effective oPvE builds are offensive stats so stuff dies quickly, and defensive traits so you dont die so quickly.

Protection, weakness, stability, regen and condi cleanses are your friends.

Always, ALWAYS, have atleast 1 stunbreak skill.

AoE and cleave is the most effective way to kill lots of small mobs while you focus on your main target. Ergo, Axe OH and GS.

If you take pressure as a soulbeast, unmerge. Your pet draws aggro quite effectively.

Use a suportive pet. I can recommmend Fernhound. It gives CC, mobility and sustain.

Edited February 10, 2022 by InsaneQR.7412

[Mell.4873]

Open world content is ultimately a mixed bag since every encounter can favor melee, ranged or aoe. The best ranger builds for pve are ones with a melee and ranged weapon, and some trap aoe.

The best bet is greatsword and longbow for power and shortbow and axe, torch for condi.

 

When I played the bursty soulbeast I would always risk dying if I didn't finish the target first since soulbeast is not great at dueling, distracting or stunning large groups or breaking defiance bars. 

To be perfectly honest for me there are better open world classes. 

[DragonMoon.6098]

23 hours ago, Gotejjeken.1267 said:

 

I'd use what you know from Paper Roll and apply it to Soulbeast.  That is, find pets that are good at kiting and use greatsword as your "staff" for defense.  

 

Think the reason you may struggle converting over is the condition druid is just very good at most things.  This is independent of stats too for me, as you can run Apothecary or whatever instead of Trailblazer and still get great survivability.  It's more of a mindset, and just the fact Druid has way better kiting options than your out of the box LB/GS soulbeast does.

 

I will say I found once I broke away from LB/GS and learned how soulbeast works, I rarely ever go back to condition druid outside of dueling or needing to stalemate something for a ridiculous amount of time (camp, tower, etc.).  Most people run a lot of cleanse and as time goes on the build is becoming less effective IMO (and also the reason Paper Roll montages are like 14 min for one fight sometimes).  

 

So you can start with something like Nature Magic or Celestial Soulbeast and learn, then settle into your actual power build.  Building that right you can get 100% crit uptime with a lot of power, ferocity and other things, because it then boils down to kiting mechanics and what you are personally comfortable with using (ex: for pets, smokescale is often cited as 'best', but is not end-all-be-all or really even that good outside ganking).  

What traits would you recommend for Celestial Soulbeast? I find that if I don't take Beastmastery, I really struggle without the merged movement speed buff. Without that buff, it's literally like watching my character move in slow motion, and they get stuck in AOE pretty horribly. 

[DragonMoon.6098]

13 hours ago, Mell.4873 said:

Open world content is ultimately a mixed bag since every encounter can favor melee, ranged or aoe. The best ranger builds for pve are ones with a melee and ranged weapon, and some trap aoe.

The best bet is greatsword and longbow for power and shortbow and axe, torch for condi.

 

When I played the bursty soulbeast I would always risk dying if I didn't finish the target first since soulbeast is not great at dueling, distracting or stunning large groups or breaking defiance bars. 

To be perfectly honest for me there are better open world classes. 

Yes, I'm finding that with the Sic'Em Soulbeast I've been trying out, that if I don't kill everything after that first combo, I really struggle, especially if there is a dog pile of mobs. One big mob, then ok but for those events where you just get dog piled, or if there is so much going on where you really can't even see what is happening, I have an easier time sustaining with the Condi Druid. Like I just ran the Drakkar meta and when you're up there wailing away at Drakkar's foot, you legit cannot see what is happening. I don't think I would have done nearly so well with the Sic'Em Soulbeast for that event...compared to running it with the Condi Druid. 

I've been trying to get as good as I can with the Ranger because that particular character is my main roleplay-wise, so I play her the most. But once I get caught up on story content, and I'm just farming achievements, I can think of other classes that are more fun for me to play (such as the Chill Power Reaper...sooooo fun!)

Edited February 11, 2022 by DragonMoon.6098

[Gotejjeken.1267]

59 minutes ago, DragonMoon.6098 said:

What traits would you recommend for Celestial Soulbeast? I find that if I don't take Beastmastery, I really struggle without the merged movement speed buff. Without that buff, it's literally like watching my character move in slow motion, and they get stuck in AOE pretty horribly. 

 

Guess it depends; you can do Nature Magic and Skirmishing if you want more of a boon build or stick with Beastmastery and Skirmishing for the stat buffs.  

If you opt out of Beastmastery you can spam swiftness (Warhorn, Bird, Skirmish weapon swap trait) and still move around pretty well.  If you take Nature Magic you'll have near perma swiftness if you invest enough into boon duration.

So as a tldr; what I'd recommend is going Skirmishing and Nature Magic, take MH dagger for quickness and take fresh reinforcement and go with a cele boon build.  Other weapon can be whatever you want--Axe/Wh is probably the 'best' choice for stacking might and boons but a lot of things can work.  

[Mell.4873]

3 hours ago, DragonMoon.6098 said:

Yes, I'm finding that with the Sic'Em Soulbeast I've been trying out, that if I don't kill everything after that first combo, I really struggle, especially if there is a dog pile of mobs. One big mob, then ok but for those events where you just get dog piled, or if there is so much going on where you really can't even see what is happening, I have an easier time sustaining with the Condi Druid. Like I just ran the Drakkar meta and when you're up there wailing away at Drakkar's foot, you legit cannot see what is happening. I don't think I would have done nearly so well with the Sic'Em Soulbeast for that event...compared to running it with the Condi Druid. 

I've been trying to get as good as I can with the Ranger because that particular character is my main roleplay-wise, so I play her the most. But once I get caught up on story content, and I'm just farming achievements, I can think of other classes that are more fun for me to play (such as the Chill Power Reaper...sooooo fun!)

Yup sounds about right. I used to play exclusively condi soulbeast with shortbow and axe/dagger, torch. Which I still do for pvp but I switched since I wanted more damage and not to die in berserkers gear.

 

The answer I found was to use dueling type classes with lots of evades like mirage, or if I needed range power chrono.

Now that is my main but its not for everyone since there is no set rotation with mesmer rather everything is situation with trade offs.

[DragonMoon.6098]

7 hours ago, Gotejjeken.1267 said:

 

Guess it depends; you can do Nature Magic and Skirmishing if you want more of a boon build or stick with Beastmastery and Skirmishing for the stat buffs.  

If you opt out of Beastmastery you can spam swiftness (Warhorn, Bird, Skirmish weapon swap trait) and still move around pretty well.  If you take Nature Magic you'll have near perma swiftness if you invest enough into boon duration.

So as a tldr; what I'd recommend is going Skirmishing and Nature Magic, take MH dagger for quickness and take fresh reinforcement and go with a cele boon build.  Other weapon can be whatever you want--Axe/Wh is probably the 'best' choice for stacking might and boons but a lot of things can work.  

What is MH dagger? Drawing a blank there, lol. 
How would I get around lack of switftness in landscape running? Open World there is mounts, but with WvW I don't yet have a warbeast and I really really struggle with keeping up with groups. I'm always the person that gets stuck and smacked when the group is running away from an opposing group. 

[DragonMoon.6098]

5 hours ago, Mell.4873 said:

Yup sounds about right. I used to play exclusively condi soulbeast with shortbow and axe/dagger, torch. Which I still do for pvp but I switched since I wanted more damage and not to die in berserkers gear.

 

The answer I found was to use dueling type classes with lots of evades like mirage, or if I needed range power chrono.

Now that is my main but its not for everyone since there is no set rotation with mesmer rather everything is situation with trade offs.

I struggle with rotations in general, because while you can remember a rotation, and they totally work on an enemy that doesn't move or doesn't have friends, all bets are off (at least for me) when you're in a dynamic event rather than static. 

[Gotejjeken.1267]

2 hours ago, DragonMoon.6098 said:

What is MH dagger? Drawing a blank there, lol. 
How would I get around lack of switftness in landscape running? Open World there is mounts, but with WvW I don't yet have a warbeast and I really really struggle with keeping up with groups. I'm always the person that gets stuck and smacked when the group is running away from an opposing group. 

 

Mainhand dagger, the Soulbeast weapon.  

For WvW, until you get warclaw you can stay close to other warclaws for a buff--or just equip bird and greastsword and you're moving 2400 units at a time on a very low CD.  Bird also has built in area swiftness, both when it is out and when you are merged with it--so you are pretty much at permanent 33% move bonus.  

[Mell.4873]

6 hours ago, DragonMoon.6098 said:

I struggle with rotations in general, because while you can remember a rotation, and they totally work on an enemy that doesn't move or doesn't have friends, all bets are off (at least for me) when you're in a dynamic event rather than static. 

I guess I would shorten the rotation alot in pve. For general pve sick-me into maul then weapon swap and use Longbow barrage. For a boss I would do one wolf pack into rapid fire and then barrage. 

The weapon trait quick draw can be amazing since you could Greatsword leap twice in quick succession, or maul into leap into maul into hilt bash into maul. 

Edited February 11, 2022 by Mell.4873

[MagicalLeaf.1307]

My instant tips would be use the Jacaranda. Especially for overworld. Tanky when unmerged with lots of good damage and it heals itself, when merged you get access to 2 heals, resistances, and a condi cleanse, plus the addition of extra health and increased healing power. 

 

[DragonMoon.6098]

On 2/12/2022 at 10:29 AM, Andrej.4293 said:

My instant tips would be use the Jacaranda. Especially for overworld. Tanky when unmerged with lots of good damage and it heals itself, when merged you get access to 2 heals, resistances, and a condi cleanse, plus the addition of extra health and increased healing power. 

 

I love Jacaranda! I use it as one of my base pets for my Condi Druid as well. I also wonder if I should try using a tankier pet to merge with instead of the Smokescale. I know the Smokescale is high dps, but if I'm looking to help a bit with the squishies, a tanky pet merge might help. 

On 2/11/2022 at 4:00 PM, Mell.4873 said:

I guess I would shorten the rotation alot in pve. For general pve sick-me into maul then weapon swap and use Longbow barrage. For a boss I would do one wolf pack into rapid fire and then barrage. 

The weapon trait quick draw can be amazing since you could Greatsword leap twice in quick succession, or maul into leap into maul into hilt bash into maul. 

I've been doing a bit better with practice. I just have to stick with it. Been using the Sic'Em Soulbeast for farming and then switching to the Condi Druid if I need the survivability and sustain of big meta events (i.e. Chak Gerent, etc)

On 2/11/2022 at 2:17 PM, Gotejjeken.1267 said:

 

Mainhand dagger, the Soulbeast weapon.  

For WvW, until you get warclaw you can stay close to other warclaws for a buff--or just equip bird and greastsword and you're moving 2400 units at a time on a very low CD.  Bird also has built in area swiftness, both when it is out and when you are merged with it--so you are pretty much at permanent 33% move bonus.  

I never thought to use the GS 3 skill for overland running! Thanks for the tip!

[Gorem.8104]

Watch Hizen's vid on the best Ranger build for last year, even in exotics its hard to die, and everything dies around you 🙂