How I make a build for OW PVE

[Obtena.7952]

I see this question quite often. What makes a good OW PVE build? Some people simply dismiss OW PVE as fluff because "anything will work". Unfortunately, this is not a well thought out answer; it's not considering the situation of the person asking the question. While that answer is true for zerg content like Dragonstand ... you can be assured that 'anything' does nothing for someone struggling to map complete Tangle Depths or complete mastery points on their own. In this post I will explain my own observations and conclusions about OW PVE builds based on playing  many classes over the history of this game. Hopefully this will help some people make and share their own builds. 

 

First thing to consider is that there is a spectrum of what is OW PVE. Map completion in Core? Gathering mats as fast as possible in Orr? Soloing events in expansions? Soloing MP's in expansions? In my years of playing, I have found that almost all content in OW PVE can be approach optimally within 3 categories of builds. 

 

1. OW gathering/map clearing in Core GW2 - This is probably the easiest content most people think of. In fact, most people consider such a thing trivial. Regardless, there are build considerations that should be taken to account if a player wants to optimize in this category. 

2. OW Questing (LS and Expansions) - There is a noticeable jump in difficulty from core to everything else. While some more skilled players still find they can complete this content with ease using a DPS focused build, most of us mortals need a little more sustain built in to help us out. 

3. OW Domination - This is a class of builds that enable players to solo the hardest OW content, primarily Bounties and similar level content. I will not cover these in this thread. 

 

CATEGORY REQUIREMENTS

 

 

For each category, I have created a set of requirements I follow; the better a class can follow those requirements, the more suited it is for that content.

 

OW Gathering

1. Ideally, high ranged DPS is desirable Realistically, there are few high ranged DPS setups that compete with their melee counterparts. It should be obvious why high DPS is desirable. Typically, if I can kill trash within one auto attack rotation, I consider that 'good' DPS. 
2. Condi Cleanse There is nothing worse than having a condition that keeps you in combat after you kill trash. This slows you down significantly. Ideally, you want to be able to cleanse a single condition every 15 seconds. 
3. Runspeed This was important before mounts were a thing. It's still important as there are situations where you might not find it practical to mount up. Basically, if you don't max your runspeed, you aren't optimally gathering. There is no reason to not have RS buffs anymore. 
4. Stunbreak This requirement is easy ... almost every class has a stunbreak and you will use it
5. Avoidance (Bonus) I give bonus points to effects that allow you to ignore the attacks of a trash mob while attacking. A good example is #3 on pistol/dagger Theif. Sword Rev #3 is also such an attack. 
6. Stacking DPS (Bonus) I give bonus points to classes that can stack DPS effects with a regularity relevant to killing trash mobs. Most notable class here is Guardian with it's symbols

 

In my experience, the best classes for this category are Guardian, Herald and Scrapper

 

OW Questing

1. Everything from OW Gathering applies here plus ...
2. The "Oh Crap" button Most classes have this skill. Scourge F3 is a good example. Something that gives you that extra few seconds if you need it or just maintains your HP comfort level
3. Passive Healing This is healing that procs from something, even if it's just time. My favourite example is Healing Signet from Warrior. 
4. Active Damage Mitigation Lots of things fall under this, blocks, heal button, barriers, invulnerability if you have it. 
5. Barbreaks I find if you have at least one skill and a weapon ability than can break bars, you are doing better than most people 

 

For me the key to OW questing builds is that they still maintain the high DPS gear. Usually between the correct choices of traits, food and runes/sigils, your gear can stay much the same as the OW gathering category. I find the best classes here are Renegade, Necro and Engi. 

 

OW Domination

I personally do not use these builds, but there are some notable examples of these builds. They rely heavily on I recommend looking up Lord Hizen builds on Youtube to see examples of these builds for every class. 

 

Build Case #1 - Revenant

 

Currently, I'm enjoying Revenant as the class that does Gathering and Questing. I use hotkeys to swap between the two builds depending on what I need:

 

Herald Gathering http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PmwAw6JlpQMsLyjZRcMMqjJSksCigJ/ld7H-zRIYR0xHGRpQVFoOLRsaB-e

Renegade Questing http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PmiAYVlhESHdsoiyJnJlUN1Mog6pnBGYf9NhEKogD119rG-zRRYBhUAHVX9nRFSl0VFacaEwMA-e

 

These pretty much cover most situations I'm in and are easy to tweak if necessary. Basically, the Herald build has all the requirements and the Avoidance bonus as well. The Renegade questing build is a hack of the perma-alacrity build, still a very useful and appreciated function for OW Questing, even when soloing. 

Edited May 29, 2021 by Obtena.7952