HFB Fractals progression

[zethra.8491]

Hey all,Just started with T 1s on my HFB,.. wishing to start collecting gear for long term…ie to T 2,3,4 and CMs later. ( currently have Harrier gear , staff/mace - shield)I’m running T1s daily with PUGs, and wanting to do T 2s soon...and on.

Should I get Minstrel’s gear or Harrier’s ? Change gear as I progress ?Those of you Support FBs running T 4s and CMs, what Gear/ weapons do you have ?any other advice ?

Thanks in advance !

[Aceofsppades.6873]

My advice would be to swap the mace for an axe because fury uptime.

I'm very much a supporter of running minstrels in fractals but it has the issue of preventing you from using it in raids where toughness tanking is a thing.

If you already have a set of exotic harrier gear then you could just use that in raid fights where toughness is an issue and if so then i would recommend the minstrel gear although if you'd prefer the convenience of one set of gear that you could take everywhere then i would recommend harrier. It's not that big a difference between them.

[ASP.8093]

I prefer Minstrel as well. The DPS gain from running Harrier is negligible (despite it being a Power-primary gear set), whereas Minstrel makes it a lot easier to stay up and heal/prot your team even when you make a few mistakes here and there.

[Lithium.7904]

Minstrels is good for starting out. But once you start getting use to the mechanics I do suggest harrier. You get better healing and boon duration. You have to remember that you’re not there just for heals. A lot of the time you are giving quickness and might which boosts the overall party dps. Plus if you run minstrels you probably can’t take it into some raids since they require tanks. Some bosses focus on people with the most toughness.

[Sugar Min.5834]

Minstrel for more heals and survivability, Harrier for more concentration and more dps.

I would go with Minstrels too, leave the dps part to the team and the concentration difference is not really that significant. Survivability is most important. You may be familiar with the mechanics and skills rotation but sometimes mistakes happened and the high vitality and toughness Minstrel gives you will save you.

[Clyde.5178]

I started with Minstrel's then later switched to Harrier's with a few Minstrel trinkets for survivability. It's fine in T4. I think I had half/half at one point. You can mix pieces and experiment. I prefer the boon time and damage Harrier's gives to the extra heals of Minstrel's. Also, Harrier's feels better with a more experienced group, because they don't tend to need much heals and your ~6k DPS helps. Minstrel's feels better when your pug needs to be carried because you can just ignore most mechanics.I've seen HFB run full Harrier's, full Minstrel's, Harrier with Magi trinket, full Diviner's. Even full Plaguedoctor's. It all works up to T4, but with CM's 99/100 you want to be playing whatever meta.

[Eekasqueak.7850]

I run a mix of mostly Harrier and plague doctor on mine

[SoftFootpaws.9134]

Nothing's stopping you from mixing the two. Its easier to max your Boon Duration that way, at least. That said I've found the best damage-support mix to be Harrier and Seraph's, and have had alot of success with that combination.

[zethra.8491]

super Thanks ! .... to all of u 4 advice...a bit confused about Ascended Recipes (Armorsmith)..
per Wiki, to get Zehtuka's (Harrier's) recipes for full set is gonna be agonizing process.

Should I make cheap pieces and then Change Stats ?if so, which stats seem to be cheapest to make ?Any other paths ?ty in advance again !!

[lare.5129]

Harrier is ok if u not die. If you feel non comfort you can have also some ministrel items.Personaly on my hfb I use from start easiest and cheapest way to get: armor harrier(changes tats in mf), rings and ets - ministrel(from LS). weapons harrier(chaneg stats in mf).

[zethra.8491]

So,..about T 3 PUGs, I saw some groups are wanting HFB ….Well, I was thinking of my gearing towards More for DPS help, b/cI was told ,..Healer isn’t “usually “ needed until T4…

Ur thoughts / advice?

[kanemi.4903]

The best way seems to be a mix of minstrel and harrier.but, there are so many variations of builds that i'm confused as well.

But at any case, I'm running this one atm: (running t4 atm)http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PWxAYd7lRwEZJMNmJmaXrPfA-zRRYjB5pG1chlR1pQ6VgvXEBYP4SzifTWA-e

Any tips?!

[TamX.1870]

I run Harrier-Minstrel mixup, but that's only because of very specific reasons: I'm using my Druid's Harrier trinkets, but can't use her medium armor, so I'm running with my WvW Minstrel support armor on HFB. I haven't ran HFB in raids, but in case I do, I can make exotic Harrier armor for that purpose.

@zethra.8491 said:Should I make cheap pieces and then Change Stats ?if so, which stats seem to be cheapest to make ?

I generally make Shaman armors and weapons and then change stats. There are also other cheap variants like Soldier. Any cheap exotic insignia/inscription from TP will do the work. What you basically save is the cost of the recipes, so in some cases you might want to buy the recipes to make the armors/weapons directly to correct stats (e.g. Berserker which is so common for all power DPS builds).

[DraconusShade.4590]

As a fellow HFB doing T4 I would suggest learning with Harriers as you will be expected to use it in higher level groups as well as in raids, bosses focus on people with high toughness.

Learn to deal with the lower HP pool of Harriers from early on and it will benefit you greatly. I do suggest running Minstrel's accessories (rings, backpack, amulet and trinkets) as it will give you enough HP and toughness. If you go full Harrier you will only have around 11K HP which imo is very low for a Healer who has to stay alive to keep others alive.

This setup should work very well, as you grow confident, replace mace for axe for fury uptime. If you think a group is gonna be bad at dodging stuff then switch to mace for more healing. I would also suggest looking up Rheyo's guide on HFB it is very good.Before I saw his video I had some trouble keeping groups alive with the "meta" build which barely has any healing outside the tome but now I can actually heal as a healer lol.

TLDR: Run full Harriers with Minstrel's accessories and back. Meta build lacks healing and you should play whatever build you think helps you keep 100% quickness while healing. Switch mace for axe in good groups.