Warrior WvW | Fun Hammer, Greatsword | Roamer Shin's HAMtastic Build
Table of Contents
Summary
The HAMtastic build is a heavily-offensive control and damage setup designed for quick and efficient disposal of opponents in both solo and small-team roaming situations. For prolonged fights, the build has enough damage evasion and sustain to stay in the fight.
Video guide:
I. Weapons and Skills
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- Hammer Bash½Bash your foe again.Damage: 333Range: 130
- Hammer Smash½Smash the ground and damage nearby foes.Damage: 444Range: 130
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Weapon and Skill Details
- The hammer is the primary source of damage for this build, with the greatsword being used for both damage and utility.
- Healing Signet is the primary source of sustain for prolonged fights.
- Balanced Stance and Endure Pain act as defensive cooldowns when they are needed. Additonally, both skills provide Vigor from traits for additional damage mitigation. When necessary, Endure Pain can be swapped to Berserker's Stance.
- Bull's Charge is used as an opener, a mid-combat control option, or a disengage skill.
- Signet of Rage is used for adrenaline generation from the passive effect, a damage boost from Might and Fury, and for both gap-closing and travel using Swiftness.
II. Traits
Strength
Arms
Defense
Tactics
Trait Details
The Strength line is used for boosting the offensive capabilities of the build.
- Baseline, it provides more damage on all skills through a passive boost to power. Additionally, it lengthens the duration of snares and other conditions on opponents through the passive condition duration boost.
- Great Fortitude provides an increased health pool to allow the warrior to stay in the fight for longer and to have a bit more time to react under pressure.
- Slashing Power and Berserker's Power provide yet more damage to the build, increasing its effectiveness dramatically.
The Defense line is used for a number of defensive aspects of the HAMtastic build.
- Baseline, it provides a boost to durability and sustain through the extra toughness and healing power.
- Dogged March provides additional sustain through regeneration and assists in preventing snares when combined with the build's consumables and runes.
- Cleansing Ire provides adrenaline generation to fuel Earthshakers and a tool for clearing conditions.
The Discipline line contains a number of damage and utility boosts for the build.
- Baseline, it provides more damage and faster turnaround on Earthshaker usage.
- Vigorous Focus provides the aforementioned Vigor when using Balanced Stance and Endure Pain. This Vigor provides additional dodges for damage mitigation in prolonged fights.
- Warrior's Sprint provides the mobility necessary to stay in melee and avoid being kited.
III. Stat Specifics & Effects
Primary Stats
- Health 21762 (+2550)
- Vitality 1171 (+255)
- Armor 2502 (+375)
- Toughness 1291 (+375)
- Attack 3379 (+1352)
- Power 2268 (+1352)
- Critical Hit 30% (+30%)
- Precision 1553 (+637)
Secondary Stats
- Burst Recharge 20% (+20%)
- Condition Duration 30% (+30%)
- Condition Duration (self) -65% (+-65%)
- Critical Damage 55% (+55%)
- Damage 1111 (+0%)
- Defense 1211 (+0)
- Experience from Kills 20% (+20%)
- Ferocity 837 (+837)
- Healing Power 200 (+200)
- Movement Speed 25% (+25%)
- Stun Duration (self) -25% (+-25%)
Boons
Conditions
Control
Fields & Finishers
Stat and Effect Details
- The build's bias towards offensive stats, when combined with its heavy control uptime, is the main source of its damage capability.
- The low defense of this build's stats is mitigated by aggressive play, offensive and defensive utility usage, and Vigor uptime from stances. This build relies heavily on player skill to be effective.
- In team situations, this build provides a number of options for combo finishers, the most powerful of these being Earthshaker's blast finisher (for water-field-combo healing, for example).
IV. Food, Armor, Trinkets & Upgrade Items
Food Nourishment
Condition Duration (self): -40%
Vitality: 70
Experience from Kills: 10%
- (30min)
- Condition Duration (self): -40%
- Vitality: 70
- Experience from Kills: 10%
Utility Nourishment
Gain power equal to 6% of your toughness
Gain power equal to 4% of your vitality
Experience from Kills: 10%
- (30min)
- Gain power equal to 6% of your toughness
- Gain power equal to 4% of your vitality
- Experience from Kills: 10%
Armor & Runes
- Defense: 121
- Toughness: 25
- Vitality: 35
- Toughness: 50
- -10% Incoming Condition Duration; -10% Incoming Stun Duration
- Toughness: 100
- -15% condition duration and -15% stun duration
- Defense: 121
- Toughness: 25
- Vitality: 35
- Toughness: 50
- -10% Incoming Condition Duration; -10% Incoming Stun Duration
- Toughness: 100
- -15% condition duration and -15% stun duration
- Defense: 363
- Toughness: 25
- Vitality: 35
- Toughness: 50
- -10% Incoming Condition Duration; -10% Incoming Stun Duration
- Toughness: 100
- -15% condition duration and -15% stun duration
- Defense: 182
- Toughness: 25
- Vitality: 35
- Toughness: 50
- -10% Incoming Condition Duration; -10% Incoming Stun Duration
- Toughness: 100
- -15% condition duration and -15% stun duration
- Defense: 242
- Toughness: 25
- Vitality: 35
- Toughness: 50
- -10% Incoming Condition Duration; -10% Incoming Stun Duration
- Toughness: 100
- -15% condition duration and -15% stun duration
- Defense: 182
- Toughness: 25
- Vitality: 35
- Toughness: 50
- -10% Incoming Condition Duration; -10% Incoming Stun Duration
- Toughness: 100
- -15% condition duration and -15% stun duration
Armor Stat Totals
- Defense 1211
- Toughness 175
- Vitality 35
- Condition Duration (self) -25%
- Stun Duration (self) -25%
Rune Bonuses
Superior Rune of Melandru- Toughness: 25
- Vitality: 35
- Toughness: 50
- -10% Incoming Condition Duration; -10% Incoming Stun Duration
- Toughness: 100
- -15% condition duration and -15% stun duration
Accessories & Jewels
Accessory Totals
- Power:692
- Precision:466
- Ferocity:466
Weapon Set Sigils
- Weapon Strength: 985-1111
- Power: 239
- Precision: 171
- Ferocity: 171
- Weapon Strength: -
Weapon Set I
Superior Sigil of Impact+10% damage vs stunned or knocked down foes.
- Weapon Strength: 1095-1210
- Power: 239
- Precision: 171
- Ferocity: 171
- Weapon Strength: -
Weapon Set II
Sigil of Superior Air50% chance to cause a lightning strike on a critical hit. (This effect cannot trigger more than once every 3 seconds)
Upgrade Item Details
- Sigil of Impact on the hammer provides additional damage when a target is controlled, further boosting damage from the Merciless Hammer trait and offensive stats.
- Sigil of Doom adds poison to the hammer's first attack after swapping, providing a useful tool for reducing any healing effects on a target for a few moments.
- Sigil of Air on the greatsword provides yet more spike damage to the build.
- Sigil of Hydromancy provides AoE damage, an AoE snare for 2 seconds, and a blind clear every time the greatsword is swapped to.
V. Basic Gameplay
The idea behind the build is to be extremely aggressive with control options and to exploit every opportunity possible to shut down an opponent.
The greatsword is used as a secondary source of damage for when hammer skills are on cooldown and Earthshaker is not available. Additionally, Whirling Attack and Rush can be used to evade damage and close/create gaps in combat as needed, allowing for offensive and defensive options when they are needed.
Balanced Stance and Endure Pain are best used only when needed, although Balanced Stance can be used proactively when a target is likely to use a control skill. The Vigor gained from both stances allows for more dodges, giving more opportunity for damage avoidance. Bull's Charge, as mentioned earlier, can be used to close and create games, as well as to act as a mid-combat control skill to open up combo opportunity for the hammer.
Healing Signet is best left unactivated unless it is absolutely necessary. In cases where Healing Signet does need to be activated, create as large a gap as possible with Rush, Whirlwind Attack, Bull's Charge, or any combination possible, and attempt to have as close to full adrenaline levels as possible to allow Adrenal Health to take effect while the Signet cools down.
Signet of Rage should only be activated in situations where an immediate damage increase is necessary. Otherwise, it's best to keep the Signet on passive status to generate adrenaline more quickly for the Berserker's Power bonus.
Main Skill Rotation
While there is no set rotation for this build, it's best to use every hammer skill possible before switching to the greatsword. Backbreaker, Staggering Blow, and Earthshaker are used to create lockdown windows, while Hammer Shock is used to snare a target with a cripple to keep them in melee range. Fierce Blow is used for more damage and Weakness application.
The greatsword should be used as the situation allows (e.g. Hundred Blades when target can be hit, Whirlwind Attack for evasion, etc). Additionally, the greatsword can and should be used to clear blinds with the Hydromancy sigil when necessary, as well as be used to deal additional damage with Arcing Slice when a target is below 50% health.
Do not underestimate the power of the auto-attack chains.
It's comforting to know I've been on the right path for a Warrior build.