[1V1 in Wvw Roam] Druid vs Soulbeast

[WilnerGW.3275]

Title.

What do you guys think is the best elite for solo raoming in WvW?I am talking about 1v1 duels only, not large scale fights.

Wich build you guys use? (Powers only, i dont use condi cancer things)

[Eggyokeo.9705]

Solo roaming and dueling are not the same thing. But durid for both

[ninjambo.3784]

Soulbeast for dueling and for roaming

[maneezy.5241]

Personally I prefer soulbeast, but I prefer a more squishy burst style of play. If sustain is more your thing I would suggest druid. I have always felt that druids strength was it's ability to sustain. I only play power builds so I cannot say which would be more proficient in a condi focused build. Both are very good dueling/solo roaming elites. It just comes down to which one you prefer.

[Sandzibar.5134]

Prefere soulbeast, buts its much much more of a high risk for any reward style of play. You get punished hard if you mess up.

I do like a challenge though.

[Mic.1897]

@Eggyokeo.9705 said:Solo roaming and dueling are not the same thing. But durid for both

Agreed.

Druid out-performs Soulbeast in general.

[jcbroe.4329]

Druid, easy. You get so much extra utility with the stunbreak and cleanse, superspeed and stealth, and CC from Ancient Seeds. You should have every tool you need for any and every engagement.

With Soulbeast you get.... damage and a heal that's a bad heal but a good cleanse. You can still be effective with it, but you're not expanding your combat toolset by much.

[WilnerGW.3275]

@Lome.8239 said:

@Eggyokeo.9705 said:Solo roaming and dueling are not the same thing. But durid for both

Agreed.

Druid out-performs Soulbeast in general.

Thats Sad.

Soulbeast doesnt bring any utility, it should at least be a more powerful dueling spec than Druid.So, what is soulbeast strength? Os is it an useless spec?

[Tinnel.4369]

I suppose everyone's mileage varies, but I'm finding Soulbeast to be rather formidable. I honestly don't know vs Druid, I tried Druid quite a bit, but it never really clicked with me so I can't weigh in on that front.

Lots of sustain available to you elsewhere in the Ranger class to combine with Soulbeasts damage and new skills available from Beastmode which (at least with the pets I'm using) bring gap closers/mobility, high damage, and cc.

Anecdotally I can say that I've worked hard at making the most of the classes I thought would fit me best out of the gate at expansion (Spellbreaker, Weaver, Deadeye, Holosmith in order of interest). Soulbeast wasn't on my radar, but after experiencing their burst, sustain, and mobility from the wrong end I gave it a go. Soulbeast has brought the best combination of range, mobility, condi clear, and fight ending burst potential so far.

[Mic.1897]

@WilnerGW.3275 said:

@Lome.8239 said:

@Eggyokeo.9705 said:Solo roaming and dueling are not the same thing. But durid for both

Agreed.

Druid out-performs Soulbeast in general.

Thats Sad.

Soulbeast doesnt bring any utility, it should at least be a more powerful dueling spec than Druid.So, what is soulbeast strength? Os is it an useless spec?

It's good for Condi DPS in raids and fractals... if the group is already covered on Druid(s).

[Crapgame.6519]

It isn't useless. Just depending on your level of skill it may be more difficult. Druid is good, don't get me wrong. In fact, it allows a lot but the key factor for me anyway is the level of comfort. Built for comfort, not speed. Soulbeast, on the other hand, requires a higher level of skill. I'm sure most won't agree with me but think of it this way. You have to manage:

1. Swapping of pets
2. Merging in and out of Beastmode
3. Swapping weapons sets
4. Pet abilities / attacks

This isn't a class anymore that you can just stand back and pew pew pew. You need to align things then go pew pew pew. That is how you wreck people. If one cannot manage the rotation, well, you are cannon fodder. There is less room on Soulbeast for error than there is with a Druid. Notice I didn't even factor in gear or food. People playing Soulbeast well, in my opinion, are above average players who know other class animations and have a good key binding setup. Then the last couple of weeks they used to fine tune Soulbeast to their taste and are doing well.

Others are still trying to find something that works similarly to the Druid which isn't going to happen. Me included. Once I gave up that and simplified my Soulbeast build it is starting to work a bit better. I still die and eat dirt more than ever but it is better than what it was. I tried melee & shortbow, condition, dagger, dagger, shortbow, axe and torch, and lots of things in between. Now I'm back to learning all over again, exotics, LB, sword, horn, and feel better off for doing so.

[skystorm.9280]

I am seeing more Soulbeasts roam on their own, flipping camps, dueling - I only see Druids in small packs running the staff/lb build.As soon as anything comes close to Druids they fly away but if you catch them away from their towers/ friends they are pretty much dead meat (talking about any 1vX scenario - group v group brings in variables)

Soulbeasts have a crippling time dealing with hard condi cleanse but regardless in my opinion I find them much better with my own play-style (which is melee focused);. Instant stability with Dolyak stance - prevents slowing condi's allowing you to freely close gaps in melee or extend/kite. Panic condi cleanse with Bear stance (I don't like being touched by condi). Sic' Em on you instead of pet - 10 seconds + anti stealth. Has a lot of protection up-time which works well SB trait 'Second Skin'; Moa stance, Nature Magic + Durability/Earth/Grove Runes. Beast Mastery line is super fun to mess around with - pretty much every trait has some neat things that effect you and if you're a roamer/ duelist I find this to be a sterling addition to how SB functions.

Druid's condi cleanse becomes useless if you don't actually have condi's but that stun break still remains useful + the stealth is very great for resetting.So to counter that you have sic em - your Soulbeast merge abilities are great to close gaps, knock-down, daze, etc; abilities you wouldn't have that are useful if you like to get up close/ stick on very mobile professions.

Either way you spin it to be frank though, both are great - I just think SB is getting being criticized more (positively and negatively) because it's new and perhaps people have not found a suitable build to fit their play-style.But, to some like myself, I feel right at home :)

[Pvt Frosty.6973]

Druid > Core > Soulbeast

[Sol.4310]

Soulbeast > Druid > Core

[InsaneQR.7412]

@skystorm.9280 said:I am seeing more Soulbeasts roam on their own, flipping camps, dueling - I only see Druids in small packs running the staff/lb build.As soon as anything comes close to Druids they fly away but if you catch them away from their towers/ friends they are pretty much dead meat (talking about any 1vX scenario - group v group brings in variables)

Soulbeasts have a crippling time dealing with hard condi cleanse but regardless in my opinion I find them much better with my own play-style (which is melee focused);. Instant stability with Dolyak stance - prevents slowing condi's allowing you to freely close gaps in melee or extend/kite. Panic condi cleanse with Bear stance (I don't like being touched by condi). Sic' Em on you instead of pet - 10 seconds + anti stealth. Has a lot of protection up-time which works well SB trait 'Second Skin'; Moa stance, Nature Magic + Durability/Earth/Grove Runes. Beast Mastery line is super fun to mess around with - pretty much every trait has some neat things that effect you and if you're a roamer/ duelist I find this to be a sterling addition to how SB functions.

Druid's condi cleanse becomes useless if you don't actually have condi's but that stun break still remains useful + the stealth is very great for resetting.So to counter that you have sic em - your Soulbeast merge abilities are great to close gaps, knock-down, daze, etc; abilities you wouldn't have that are useful if you like to get up close/ stick on very mobile professions.

Either way you spin it to be frank though, both are great - I just think SB is getting being criticized more (positively and negatively) because it's new and perhaps people have not found a suitable build to fit their play-style.But, to some like myself, I feel right at home :)

Dont forget that druid has 2 years of balancing behind it and soulbeast hasnt even got its first balance patch. SBeast needs improvements and it will get improvements, especially on traits and skills. Mechanic wise i am hoping for the pet swap build into merge but it seems rather improbable atm.

[ZhouX.8742]

soulbeast is better in wvw because of space, conquest druid is better far point battler - souilbeast is weaker in confined space

each specialization has a place in the game modes but soulbeast definitely for wvw dueling and roaming.

[Nuka Cola.8520]

SB is mainly damage while druid is everything.

[jcbroe.4329]

@ZhouX.8742 said:soulbeast is better in wvw because of space, conquest druid is better far point battler - souilbeast is weaker in confined space

each specialization has a place in the game modes but soulbeast definitely for wvw dueling and roaming.

I'm in so much disagreement with this. When you're running Druid you get so much more access to mobility tools and can reset your positioning so much easier, and with a weapon that actually allows you to run a viable double ranged setup, between all the core Ranger superspeed utility combined with how additionally slippery the Druid traits and weapons make it, you can control distance that an entire fight occurs at.

You just framed what you're saying poorly I hope, because it's almost as though you're implying Druid isn't one of the best roaming/dueling classes in the game, with no unfavorable matchups and great in and out of combat mobility.

[OGDeadHead.8326]

@jcbroe.4329 said:You just framed what you're saying poorly I hope, because it's almost as though you're implying Druid isn't one of the best roaming/dueling classes in the game, with no unfavorable matchups and great in and out of combat mobility.

Careful now, don't give Anet ideas, we know the story around these parts by now. By saying SB is crap compared to Druid, the result in classic Anet behavior would of course be to nerf Druid to make other options more interesting. You know, the longbow/shortbow story all over again, that's the logic they go by in this company, at least when it comes to rangers.

[Zenith.7301]

Druid.

Druid can disengage from +1's far more easily and recovers much better against outnumbered bursts.

The druid also offers utility to roaming parttners whereas all the soulbeast does is damage that a thief does better anyways.