Open World Domination: Fire Weaver

[AliamRationem.5172]

@"Nylarx.9671" said:http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PGgAw2lZweYXMJmJOyXZveA-zZoKjITgMLAHGAI've changed the build back to being a little bit tankier for PvP. I think your build is better for skilled players, but I feel like the crutch and the extra barrier really helps. Still sticking with Carrion Amulet though.And Fire Signet is amazing - having that long range option really helps! I usually open up with it to try to get them to dodge at ranged, and it feels so meaty whenever it sticks ^^

Hey, it's whatever works for you! I think this build has a ton of room to play it different ways. In fact, the only traits I never really change are burning precision, invigorating strikes, and evasive arcana. But I could really run anything in place of arcane. I just happen to like the feel of faster attunement swaps and the dodge effects on evasive arcana! I also play with different amulets, runes, sigils, and utilities. Change whatever you want!

I tried out signet of air after talking with one of my opponents in the arena the other night. It's been awhile since I ran a proper stunbreak, and it's definitely nice! I defeated some solid competition and the build felt good. Unfortunately, I forgot to record anything. But here's the build for tonight!

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PGgAw2lZweYZMJmJOyXZvaA-zZoOjIlAZqAc7A

[Zhaid Zhem.6508]

Yeah you lack breakstun and kite. No flash, no ToF, no glyph of EP etc, just a poor 3sec stab on stone stance which doesn't breakstun. Your only panic skills are obsidien flesh and Air #2; no need to say you're dead in most of situations.

Actually Signet of Air is probably the best breakstun of Elem untraited : 25sec cd, a not so bad +25% movement speed, and blindness for 5 foes.ToF is strong with Woven stride and Cleansing Water ad you can evade and cleanse immobilize for example, but now with the 75sec cd and no stab ...

[AliamRationem.5172]

@"Zhaid Zhem.6508" said:Yeah you lack breakstun and kite. No flash, no ToF, no glyph of EP etc, just a poor 3sec stab on stone stance which doesn't breakstun. Your only panic skills are obsidien flesh and Air #2; no need to say you're dead in most of situations.

Actually Signet of Air is probably the best breakstun of Elem untraited : 25sec cd, a not so bad +25% movement speed, and blindness for 5 foes.ToF is strong with Woven stride and Cleansing Water ad you can evade and cleanse immobilize for example, but now with the 75sec cd and no stab ...

LoL Hey! Let's not get crazy here! My sustain was quite good without a stunbreak! It's just better having one than not, obviously. But I would definitely not characterize my experience as "dead in most situations!"

Anyway, I don't want to sound like I'm advising people not to run a stunbreak. It is definitely hard to escape the fact that you're better off running a stunbreak than not and I agree that air signet is probably the best option we have.

[Zhaid Zhem.6508]

It was about Nylarx.9671's post.But you won't go very far in pvp if you're already stuck at the very first cc.

[AliamRationem.5172]

@"Zhaid Zhem.6508" said:It was about Nylarx.9671's post.But you won't go very far in pvp if you're already stuck at the very first cc.

I agree. I am really liking having a stunbreak again (surprised?)! And on a reasonable cooldown! ToF disgusts me, frankly. I refuse to use it with that cooldown! I feel the same way about 300s passives. Just get rid of them if you don't want us to use them! Don't just make them useless with super long cooldowns. Such lazy design.

On air signet, aside from the stunbreak, the blind + invuln with instant application feels pretty good, too. I am finding this build has a very nice feel to it. It's a little glassy on paper with only vitality for passive defense stats, but I do get some toughness from mirage rune and the blinds, weakness, cleansing, barrier, and healing seem effective in allowing me to survive while playing aggressively (because you sort of have no choice with a melee-locked build that has low mobility!). The pressure with CC and cover condi feels pretty good, too.

You'll see in this video I get tagged pretty heavily by the ranger early on, but from there I'm able to effectively counter-pressure while using evasion, blinds, CC and invuln to avoid taking any damage. I actually manage to take my opponent down while recovering nearly to full health in the process!

[ZeroSkitzo.5403]

@AliamRationem.5172 said:

@Zhaid Zhem.6508 said:It was about Nylarx.9671's post.But you won't go very far in pvp if you're already stuck at the very first cc.

I agree. I am really liking having a stunbreak again (surprised?)! And on a reasonable cooldown! ToF disgusts me, frankly. I refuse to use it with that cooldown! I feel the same way about 300s passives. Just get rid of them if you don't want us to use them! Don't just make them useless with super long cooldowns. Such lazy design.

On air signet, aside from the stunbreak, the blind + invuln with instant application feels pretty good, too. I am finding this build has a very nice feel to it. It's a little glassy on paper with only vitality for passive defense stats, but I do get some toughness from mirage rune and the blinds, weakness, cleansing, barrier, and healing seem effective in allowing me to survive while playing aggressively (because you sort of have no choice with a melee-locked build that has low mobility!). The pressure with CC and cover condi feels pretty good, too.

You'll see in this video I get tagged pretty heavily by the ranger early on, but from there I'm able to effectively counter-pressure while using evasion, blinds, CC and invuln to avoid taking any damage. I actually manage to take my opponent down while recovering nearly to full health in the process!

Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress! I actually saw the YT vid first from notifications and was going to comment but checked here first. I was having good sustain too without a stun break but I’ll give this a go. Fire signet gives such nice burst but always willing to try something different. Vallun also posted a hybrid fireweaver build but different play style for sure.

[AliamRationem.5172]

@ZeroSkitzo.5403 said:

@AliamRationem.5172 said:

@Zhaid Zhem.6508 said:It was about Nylarx.9671's post.But you won't go very far in pvp if you're already stuck at the very first cc.

I agree. I am really liking having a stunbreak again (surprised?)! And on a reasonable cooldown! ToF disgusts me, frankly. I refuse to use it with that cooldown! I feel the same way about 300s passives. Just get rid of them if you don't want us to use them! Don't just make them useless with super long cooldowns. Such lazy design.

On air signet, aside from the stunbreak, the blind + invuln with instant application feels pretty good, too. I am finding this build has a very nice feel to it. It's a little glassy on paper with only vitality for passive defense stats, but I do get some toughness from mirage rune and the blinds, weakness, cleansing, barrier, and healing seem effective in allowing me to survive while playing aggressively (because you sort of have no choice with a melee-locked build that has low mobility!). The pressure with CC and cover condi feels pretty good, too.

You'll see in this video I get tagged pretty heavily by the ranger early on, but from there I'm able to effectively counter-pressure while using evasion, blinds, CC and invuln to avoid taking any damage. I actually manage to take my opponent down while recovering nearly to full health in the process!

Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress! I actually saw the YT vid first from notifications and was going to comment but checked here first. I was having good sustain too without a stun break but I’ll give this a go. Fire signet gives such nice burst but always willing to try something different. Vallun also posted a hybrid fireweaver build but different play style for sure.

I went and checked out Vallun's video. I've thought about running grieving, marshal, or sinister. Maybe I will give it a go and see what that's like.

[Nylarx.9671]

@AliamRationem.5172 said:I went and checked out Vallun's video. I've thought about running grieving, marshal, or sinister. Maybe I will give it a go and see what that's like.

What about the Wizard amulet? It's basically Sage Amulet but you replace 500 Healing Power for 500 Precision. You are so brave to try using something that reduces your vitality even more - thank you for innovating ^^

@Zhaid Zhem.6508 said:It was about Nylarx.9671's post.But you won't go very far in pvp if you're already stuck at the very first cc.

I do miss having the stun break but Fire Signet is such a big wallop that it would be sorely missed. Usually if you get stunned the barrier from Stone Resonance plus the trait Lesser Stone Resonance keeps you alive, plus you're blinding them as well with burning to hopefully stop CC chains. I think your main defences as Aliam says are Weakness, dodging and blinds - and you even have the counter-pressure required to force people to back off.

Hmm...if a stun break is critical and Signet of Air is good, might I giving Glyph of Elemental Power a try again instead? I guess you're weighing up the passive increase in movement speed and the blind and weakness versus the damage increase and condis for the next five strikes along with the ability to precast it before combat. I am not sure how beneficial the speed boost from Signet of Air is - Swiftness overrides it most of the time. And yea, I agree that the 75 second CD on Twist of Fate is obnoxious ><

[AliamRationem.5172]

@Nylarx.9671 said:

@AliamRationem.5172 said:I went and checked out Vallun's video. I've thought about running grieving, marshal, or sinister. Maybe I will give it a go and see what that's like.

What about the Wizard amulet? It's basically Sage Amulet but you replace 500 Healing Power for 500 Precision. You are so brave to try using something that reduces your vitality even more - thank you for innovating ^^

@"Zhaid Zhem.6508" said:It was about Nylarx.9671's post.But you won't go very far in pvp if you're already stuck at the very first cc.

I do miss having the stun break but Fire Signet is such a big wallop that it would be sorely missed. Usually if you get stunned the barrier from Stone Resonance plus the trait Lesser Stone Resonance keeps you alive, plus you're blinding them as well with burning to hopefully stop CC chains. I think your main defences as Aliam says are Weakness, dodging and blinds - and you even have the counter-pressure required to force people to back off.

Hmm...if a stun break is critical and Signet of Air is good, might I giving Glyph of Elemental Power a try again instead? I guess you're weighing up the passive increase in movement speed and the blind and weakness versus the damage increase and condis for the next five strikes along with the ability to precast it before combat. I am not sure how beneficial the speed boost from Signet of Air is - Swiftness overrides it most of the time. And yea, I agree that the 75 second CD on Twist of Fate is obnoxious ><

Especially running full glass amulets like I am in this video, the stunbreak is important. You can see I quickly break stun here, but still take a 6.4k damage shot. Without the stunbreak it's likely I would have been bursted down here. Instead, I break the stun, counter with a stun of my own, and put my opponent down.

[Nylarx.9671]

@AliamRationem.5172 said:

@Nylarx.9671 said:

@AliamRationem.5172 said:I went and checked out Vallun's video. I've thought about running grieving, marshal, or sinister. Maybe I will give it a go and see what that's like.

What about the Wizard amulet? It's basically Sage Amulet but you replace 500 Healing Power for 500 Precision. You are so brave to try using something that reduces your vitality even more - thank you for innovating ^^

@"Zhaid Zhem.6508" said:It was about Nylarx.9671's post.But you won't go very far in pvp if you're already stuck at the very first cc.

I do miss having the stun break but Fire Signet is such a big wallop that it would be sorely missed. Usually if you get stunned the barrier from Stone Resonance plus the trait Lesser Stone Resonance keeps you alive, plus you're blinding them as well with burning to hopefully stop CC chains. I think your main defences as Aliam says are Weakness, dodging and blinds - and you even have the counter-pressure required to force people to back off.

Hmm...if a stun break is critical and Signet of Air is good, might I giving Glyph of Elemental Power a try again instead? I guess you're weighing up the passive increase in movement speed and the blind and weakness versus the damage increase and condis for the next five strikes along with the ability to precast it before combat. I am not sure how beneficial the speed boost from Signet of Air is - Swiftness overrides it most of the time. And yea, I agree that the 75 second CD on Twist of Fate is obnoxious ><

Especially running full glass amulets like I am in this video, the stunbreak is important. You can see I quickly break stun here, but still take a 6.4k damage shot. Without the stunbreak it's likely I would have been bursted down here. Instead, I break the stun, counter with a stun of my own, and put my opponent down.

That power ^^

Conversely, does it mean that the stun break isn't as critical on a more tanky build? What amulet were you using, and what did you think about the swap to Glyph of Elemental Power?

[AliamRationem.5172]

@Nylarx.9671 said:

@AliamRationem.5172 said:

@Nylarx.9671 said:

@AliamRationem.5172 said:I went and checked out Vallun's video. I've thought about running grieving, marshal, or sinister. Maybe I will give it a go and see what that's like.

What about the Wizard amulet? It's basically Sage Amulet but you replace 500 Healing Power for 500 Precision. You are so brave to try using something that reduces your vitality even more - thank you for innovating ^^

@"Zhaid Zhem.6508" said:It was about Nylarx.9671's post.But you won't go very far in pvp if you're already stuck at the very first cc.

I do miss having the stun break but Fire Signet is such a big wallop that it would be sorely missed. Usually if you get stunned the barrier from Stone Resonance plus the trait Lesser Stone Resonance keeps you alive, plus you're blinding them as well with burning to hopefully stop CC chains. I think your main defences as Aliam says are Weakness, dodging and blinds - and you even have the counter-pressure required to force people to back off.

Hmm...if a stun break is critical and Signet of Air is good, might I giving Glyph of Elemental Power a try again instead? I guess you're weighing up the passive increase in movement speed and the blind and weakness versus the damage increase and condis for the next five strikes along with the ability to precast it before combat. I am not sure how beneficial the speed boost from Signet of Air is - Swiftness overrides it most of the time. And yea, I agree that the 75 second CD on Twist of Fate is obnoxious ><

Especially running full glass amulets like I am in this video, the stunbreak is important. You can see I quickly break stun here, but still take a 6.4k damage shot. Without the stunbreak it's likely I would have been bursted down here. Instead, I break the stun, counter with a stun of my own, and put my opponent down.

That power ^^

Conversely, does it mean that the stun break isn't as critical on a more tanky build? What amulet were you using, and what did you think about the swap to Glyph of Elemental Power?

You can use GoEP as a stunbreak, but the design is clearly for offensive use. The stacks can be preloaded and the elemental effect is determined by your current attunement. If you save this skill for a stunbreak, you don't get as much out of its offensive functions.

If you like the feel of the build without bothering with a stunbreak, then do that. I am just testing different things out. The only thing I can say for certain is that every choice has its pros and cons!

[Aigleborgne.2981]

@AliamRationem.5172 said:You can use GoEP as a stunbreak, but the design is clearly for offensive use. The stacks can be preloaded and the elemental effect is determined by your current attunement. If you save this skill for a stunbreak, you don't get as much out of its offensive functions.

You are right, but in the meantime, signet of air only provides you 25% runspeed which is useless if you can maintain swiftness. You can keep GoEP as a stunbreak, it will help you in your counter attack / burst phase. Plus, you can also precast it before fight.Signet of Air is better defense with blind and 5s shorter recharge.

[steki.1478]

@Aigleborgne.2981 said:

@AliamRationem.5172 said:You can use GoEP as a stunbreak, but the design is clearly for offensive use. The stacks can be preloaded and the elemental effect is determined by your current attunement. If you save this skill for a stunbreak, you don't get as much out of its offensive functions.

You are right, but in the meantime, signet of air only provides you 25% runspeed which is useless if you can maintain swiftness. You can keep GoEP as a stunbreak, it will help you in your counter attack / burst phase. Plus, you can also precast it before fight.Signet of Air is better defense with blind and 5s shorter recharge.

Condi weaver doesn't really have swiftness application.

[AliamRationem.5172]

@steki.1478 said:

@Aigleborgne.2981 said:

@AliamRationem.5172 said:You can use GoEP as a stunbreak, but the design is clearly for offensive use. The stacks can be preloaded and the elemental effect is determined by your current attunement. If you save this skill for a stunbreak, you don't get as much out of its offensive functions.

You are right, but in the meantime, signet of air only provides you 25% runspeed which is useless if you can maintain swiftness. You can keep GoEP as a stunbreak, it will help you in your counter attack / burst phase. Plus, you can also precast it before fight.Signet of Air is better defense with blind and 5s shorter recharge.

Condi weaver doesn't really have swiftness application.

If you take arcane, like I do, you gain swiftness every time you rotate into air attunement. So, in this case, the 25% run speed doesn't really do anything for me. This is purely for the stunbreak, although instantly applying blind + vuln is decent, too.

[Timberclaw.7496]

Hi Aliam! I stumbled upon this post and got very interested. I have an ascended light set without stats at the moment, and since trailblazers is much more expensive than dire, I thought I would make the former. How would this build run in a full trailblazer setup?

[AliamRationem.5172]

@Timberclaw.7496 said:Hi Aliam! I stumbled upon this post and got very interested. I have an ascended light set without stats at the moment, and since trailblazers is much more expensive than dire, I thought I would make the former. How would this build run in a full trailblazer setup?

I think I would probably save the ascended stats for something else, especially if you plan to get serious about fractals/raids.

My build is a PvP-style setup. I don't focus on anything but burning for damage where max dps raid builds run stats like viper that can boost bleeding as well.

So, if you want to run my build I recommend just using cheap dire exotic. You can run balthazar runes to make up for the expertise and save your fancy gear for content where it matters.

The only place I run trailblazer is WvW.

[Timberclaw.7496]

@AliamRationem.5172 said:

@Timberclaw.7496 said:Hi Aliam! I stumbled upon this post and got very interested. I have an ascended light set without stats at the moment, and since trailblazers is much more expensive than dire, I thought I would make the former. How would this build run in a full trailblazer setup?

I think I would probably save the ascended stats for something else, especially if you plan to get serious about fractals/raids.

My build is a PvP-style setup. I don't focus on anything but burning for damage where max dps raid builds run stats like viper that can boost bleeding as well.

So, if you want to run my build I recommend just using cheap dire exotic. You can run balthazar runes to make up for the expertise and save your fancy gear for content where it matters.

The only place I run trailblazer is WvW.

Appreciate the quick response. I'll save it for now and buy the exotic equipment for cheap to give the build a go. It looks fun! A nice change of pace from the power specs. Thank you!

[AliamRationem.5172]

Hi, guys! I figured I'd upload videos of the two festival bosses that typically give people trouble so you can see what that looks like on this weaver build.

[Katelynn.6593]

This is legit amazing. I'd probably still botch it up somehow, haha!

[AliamRationem.5172]

Here's my latest. Sword weaver solo of the Verdant Brink night meta boss trio!

[MarzAttakz.9608]

I'm gonna say I've been skeptical of what you've been selling, but in all honesty that video above is impressive. I haven't gotten round to building a condi set for my light armor classes yet but it sure as hell is going to move up the priority list.

[AliamRationem.5172]

@MarzAttakz.9608 said:I'm gonna say I've been skeptical of what you've been selling, but in all honesty that video above is impressive. I haven't gotten round to building a condi set for my light armor classes yet but it sure as hell is going to move up the priority list.

Thanks! Part of what I'm doing here (aside from sharing my enthusiasm for a build I love to play!) is showing a different way to play in open world. Players are still advised to play glass power builds in open world as if it's the only option. Yet clearly that is not the case and I think a lot of players who dislike elementalist because it's glassy could benefit from a build like this.

I still think it's pretty funny that metabattle recommends condi tempest but nobody could come up with a weaver build for open world play! Really guys?

[RyanThomas.4182]

Fantastic gameplay! I've been playing a lot of in open world stuff with a power hybrid weaver buildhttp://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?PGABwixjlJwqYeMFGJWMXavdA-zRhYVhtF9gYQcwBNWKNFCBWAZGBRkAmMLjaGB-ebut I switch to something close to your condi weaver build whenever I need to take on a champ or a bounty :D

[Dognuts.4051]

@"AliamRationem.5172" said:I've been hearing from a lot of new/returning players who feel that weaver is too complicated and unforgiving to play. Well, I don't have a build that's going to make weaver less complicated. However, I do have a build that will let you conquer open world/story content with your weaver, using about the cheapest possible gear (dire exotic works great!), and with barely any knowledge or skill required!

First, the build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PGgAw2lZwmYXMJmJOKXdvaA-zRRYcRDHHZQjlROJQmFgDzSVSbA-e

Now a video of the build in action against one of the more difficult HoT champions, Avatar of Balthazar. I manage to solo the boss in 50 seconds at 15.8k DPS, while never using an active heal, never rotating into water, and never dipping below 66% health!

Okay, that's great! It really shows the potential for this build in solo open world play! But maybe you aren't trying to bang out Chopin's etude op. 10 no. 4 every time you play your weaver? I get it. But it's okay! You can afford to take a lot of punishment with this build and you can deal a lot of damage without even using a rotation. Here's proof! I just pop all of my utilities and drop pyrovortex on this group of mordrem, then stand back and let them beat on me. Not even close!

If you love elementalist, but have struggled with weaver, you might give this build a try! And please feel free to offer up alternative builds, video, and discussion. There are many ways to play this class!

I apologize if I've missed the obvious, but does gw2skills.net not have template copying available?

[AliamRationem.5172]

@"Dognuts.4051" said:

I apologize if I've missed the obvious, but does gw2skills.net not have template copying available?

I apologize, too, but what does that mean exactly? Like copying the build from gw2skills.net directly into that build "template" system they have in the game? I don't think so? But to be honest with you, I really dislike that system and I don't really use it much. If there's a way to do that and make it easier on people, I would. But I'm not aware of it.