Attempts at making Willbender killers

[Grand Marshal.4098]

Together we can stop willbenders before they become too powerful! Join me and share your ideas on willbender killer builds!!!

 

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PKwAgmFlNwmYiMJ2JWsWuvNA spellbreaker variant offers boonstrip with no sigils

 

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PKwAkmFlNwmYgMRmJe+W+tbA berserker variant needs more sigils but offers more spammable primal bursts loaded with blinds and confusion as well. Might singet must be used more carefully

 

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PKgAIFlJwmYbsEGKO+TVLdA core warrior variant for extra bonk with hammer cause we love hammer, fear me cause why not they wont expect it, keep the adrenaline up and burst them F1 earthhakers in t3 with ublockables and keep backbreaking them with might signet

 

 

 

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

I think against a WB that you will need to quickly CC them at the first chance and throw a heavy hit in asap with quickness and since they will use the 15s stunbreak into a CC you will need to spend stability during your spike.

 

I'd fish out the stunbreak->cc chain and break the stun with Headbutt on Berserker then hit hard with weapon skills to force them to kite away. I'd then swap to rifle or sword, enter Berserker mode, and use the ranged burst to finish them off as they kite away.

[sneakytails.5629]

In the end we get screwed by no damage on CC, long cast times, aftercasts, and self roots.  Personally I think they just reset after we blow our cooldowns (which are too long for many things) on the first engagement. Thief and Soulbeast can do this and Willbender will too. They have enough movement abilities now to stagger them. We cant do that, if we miss the first chance we usually loose. I don't think Willbender will have that problem over Warrior.

 

 

Edited August 17, 2021 by sneakytails.5629

[sneakytails.5629]

One of the reasons I like the Dragon Hunter versus Meta Warrior fights was that the DH lacks mobility in comparison to Warrior. It uses more blocks. aegis and some key blinds/cc/teleports. It feels pretty good to fight against on say a Strength Spellbreaker with D/SH-GS. It feels even, a lot more give and take to that fight.

 

Teleports are a problem for Warrior as it allows the enemy to apply the damage quickly and then get out, even more so with Willbender and some of its dual use Utilities. Warrior also has to apply its damage quickly though, but we are saddled with stuff like a 3/4 second Eviscerate with an aftercast, slow and telegraphed attacks like Shield Bash, self roots on things like GS2 and rifle F1, and CC that no longer does damage.

 

Willbender will not suffer from some of those problems that plague Warrior and it will have better mobility at the same time.

 

I think this fight will feel very oppressive for Warrior, and when you add it to what Warrior currently has to fight it will just feel that much more obvious that Warrior is undertuned.

[sneakytails.5629]

I am counting 4 teleports and 2 evades from the new spec, and some other movement abilities. If they take Judges Intervention that makes 5 teleports and its a 1200 range.

[Aaron.1294]

Just play willblenders guys. Literally better warrior in every way

[Touchme.1097]

You know how stone, paper and scissor works in this game:

 

-Tanks counter Assassins

-Brawlers counter Tanks

-Assassins counter Brawlers

 

If you want to counter Willbender get your Warrior tanky

[Smoosh.2718]

I'd say wait to find out what the warrior elite spec is first and wait for the adjustments after the first beta test before thinking of counters.

This being said, ive never been a fan of shadowstep skills as this allows almost free damage to be applied to the target, too many times ive seen a shadow step from an unseen location, unloading damage skills at once upon landing (like the shadowstep and hammer combo or even the burn guard shadowstep combo). Guardian with Willbender will become harder to catch and chase down or even run away from.... if you can even do that, that is. Advancing strike has all the positives of Rush without and drawback of it missing due to the shadowstep, makes me wish warriors base skills (all physicals as well) get reworked in one big balance patch (give physicals follow up attacks e.g. Kick once for damage then again to kick them backwards with a CC (the ranger kick into the warrior kick) at least then this would make phyiscal skills more fun and enjoyable to use).

The biggest problem warrior will face on Willbender is actually one of the utility skills, Roiling Light, If you CC them, they will break out of the CC, blind you, evade you then come back and daze you with damage, all with the same skill.

This all being said, we do not know what the warriors elite spec will look like as of yet. Dare I ask why we all seem to fear the Willbender over the Harbinger?

[Infusion.7149]

Definitely spellbreaker. Guardian is still a boon class the end of the day and magebane tether should be as good vs willbender as it is vs thieves (although Willbender getting revealed is not as large a hit).

 

edit: just checked the builds you linked , I would drop arms for either strength (Might makes Right) or tactics (Mending Might)

Edited August 17, 2021 by Infusion.7149

[Grand Marshal.4098]

Yeah mostly troll builds with some potency for fighting an opponent with aegis and stab. All builds have some form of stab attached to them to counter the willbender. Signet mastery in spellbreaker is probably the strongest variant not only cause of unblockables but also due to boonstrip. Tether may be good, but I think that in team fights strips will be better. Hell I think we can keep up with willbenders for a little bit, so as long as you catch them before they bail with unblockable CCs you may have a chance against them.

 

What I prefer to fighting a willbender over a dragonhunter is the lack of trap spam in melee right in your face ngl. At least from the looks of it. I expect meditation willbender will be quite strong, as shouts on it won't rly cut it cause it gets access to too many boons  on its own. 

[BlackTruth.6813]

Guardian (Willbender) = aegis/block spam class by nature

 

If you have to kill something like that, you'd have to go Arms + signet of might and prolly offhand axe so it eats through aegis easily. But then taking signet of might lowers your defensive capabilities, and Arms is only really good with a rifle/mainhand axe, you'd prolly want a main hand axe to reliably bait out guard dodge/stunbreaks.

 

At least in theory and imo, that's prolly the best way to do it. Spellbreaker can probably fight it on-point in sPvP assuming that spellbreaker will still be relevant when Warrior 3rd elite spec isn't pay2win necessary.

 

Willbender looks annoying as hell to fight tho if played right though. 8 gap closers with some of the mobility usable even without a target iirc? I'd just pray that the 3rd elite spec for Warrior could actually contest.

Edited August 17, 2021 by BlackTruth.6813

[Grand Marshal.4098]

6 minutes ago, BlackTruth.6813 said:

Guardian (Willbender) = aegis/block spam class by nature

 

If you have to kill something like that, you'd have to go Arms + signet of might and prolly offhand axe so it eats through aegis easily. But then taking signet of might lowers your defensive capabilities, and Arms is only really good with a rifle/mainhand axe, you'd prolly want a main hand axe to reliably bait out guard dodge/stunbreaks.

 

At least in theory and imo, that's prolly the best way to do it. Spellbreaker can probably fight it on-point in sPvP assuming that spellbreaker will still be relevant when Warrior 3rd elite spec isn't pay2win necessary.

 

Willbender looks annoying as hell to fight tho if played right though. 8 gap closers with some of the mobility usable even without a target iirc? I'd just pray that the 3rd elite spec for Warrior could actually contest.

As I originally thought to myself...Time to give warrior ports!!!

[BlackTruth.6813]

1 minute ago, Grand Marshal.4098 said:

As I originally thought to myself...Time to give warrior ports!!!

Nah just make it so I can leap on to ledges XD easier

Edited August 17, 2021 by BlackTruth.6813

[Jugglemonkey.8741]

Something to bear in mind is that the willbender has teleports that almost exclusively port to a target. Thieves and rangers are problematic because their mobility can be used to chase or kite, Willbender seems to be mostly limited to chase options so unless they're trying to port onto a distant target you ought to be fatser over ground than they are still. Magebane tether ought to be your best friend based on that. 

[nopoet.2960]

Seems to me that williebinder and harbinger both ensure that spellbreaker remain relevant. 

[The Boz.2038]

Spellbreaker with boonstrip and CC. Physical skills seem attractive here. Also, becoming invulnerable while the Billwender does his dancey thing might be cool, ditto for stuff like +1000 Toughness on stunbreak.

[Peacekid.1463]

i think best way to beat WB is to be SB

[Telgum.6071]

10 hours ago, Touchme.1097 said:

You know how stone, paper and scissor works in this game:

 

-Tanks counter Assassins

-Brawlers counter Tanks

-Assassins counter Brawlers

 

If you want to counter Willbender get your Warrior tanky

And everything counters warrior.

[Hotride.2187]

I'm sure its a matter of learning the spec, but so far at least in wvw dueling they seem to fold like paper to core str/tactics/disci.

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

4 hours ago, Hotride.2187 said:

I'm sure its a matter of learning the spec, but so far at least in wvw dueling they seem to fold like paper to core str/tactics/disci.

It's probably the power/toughness trait.

[fluffypaws.2860]

Test all beta especs and choose the one that counters Willbender. That's my build.

[oscuro.9720]

I’ve found little difficulty killing will bender and virtuoso. They are fast, but if you just counter burst, they are pretty easy to put down with spell imo. Harbinger is harder to me.

[Lan Deathrider.5910]

FWIW I rekted a Willbender with a Diviner's Harbinger first time I saw one. Even ran Pack runes. Death/SoulR/Harb. Harb was all boon and elixir traits too.

 

I was walking around with ~1.5k hp for a quarter of the fight, but the life force health regen actually kept the small hits at bay.

 

So considering a 'glassy' necro 1v1 it with a weapon that does 200 power damage with Diviner gear and power runes should tell you something.