Warrior sPvP | Tournament Longbow, Axe/Shield | Team fighter Coffeerage's Fire Spike
Table of Contents
Summary
This build is primarily a team fighting build, with a secondary role as a roamer. Adding some much needed AOE potential to the warrior, with quick, hard hitting eviscerates can quickly put the enemy team on the back foot. While falling back behind teammates after your burst is desirable, it is not necessary, as endure pain and some burst condi cleanses can show the enemy team what a true sturdy body can accomplish.
Shameless self plug: www.twitch.tv/coffeerage
I. Weapons and Skills
Weapon and Skill Details
Longbow's Combustive Shot deals both condi and direct damage, over a massive area. I have seem my combustive shots direct damage crit for over 1k, which is pretty strong given everything else it does. It also allows for my leaps to also gain a Fire Shield, for extra stacks of might for myself, and inflicting a couple of extra burning stacks on my opponent. Arcing arrow is great for a quick burst. Although not as hard hitting as an eviscerate, it compensates by having a decently sized aoe at range. Fan of Fire is also a nice trick to punish opponents who are close to you. It hits pretty hard if all 3 arrows hit, and it also adds numerous fire stacks which maintains pressure. Smoldering Arrow is nice to have as a blind, and hits in a small AOE. I sometimes use it against thieves by shooting at my feet, to prevent backstabs.
Axe: Ah, good old eviscerate. Despite the overall damage reductions over the course of the game, it is still one of the hardest hitting skills in the game, on a great cooldown. By opening with bow, the fire damage makes up for some of the lost dps in axe, and it gives you a fire field for your under appreciated Cyclone Axe to combo with. 4 stacks of vulnerability with 2 stacks of fire on a 6 second cooldown is not to be ignored. Throw axe is also a nice ranged cripple, also potentially combo'ed with the fire field. One gripe i do have with axe, is the axe 1 damage chain. It makes the pressure with it inconsistent, as i really feel you need to crit with that last axe hit to actually have decent dps, otherwise it feels like i lose dps. Overall though, axe is still a good choice, and where most of my damage comes from.
Shield: I stun'um, and i block'um. I have trouble understanding warriors that dont use a shield. It allows for so much damage mitigation, both during a fight and on the run, that i find it hard to replace. Also, ANET PLZ change the name of shield stance to Raise Shield. It is no longer a stance. Or perhaps make it a stance once more? <3
Healing Surge is an obvious choice, as it pairs very well with Cleasing Ire, and helps you pump out full adrenaline stacks whenever needed. I always pop this at the start of the match, and before battle (preferably 10-15 seconds before i anticipate a fight.) This allows me to open up with a full adrenaline burst skill, and it should be off cooldown in time for when i need it.
Stomp is the true wild card in this build, allowing me to prevent both stomps, and resurrections. An added twist is that even if my opponent has stability when manually resurrecting their teammate, i can push the downed opponent away, buying my team more time to finish them off. Stomp also allows me to contest and potentially decap points when paired with Pin Down, making for some rare, but game changing scenarios. An extra stun breaker with 1 second of stability is what really defines this as a great utility skill. I can use this skill in multiple situations and with a reasonable cooldown, its a no-brainer.
Berserker's Stance is now a top tier warrior utility choice. My old go-to for condi cleanses was signet of stamina, but now this is almost mandatory in every warrior build. 8 seconds of being immune to condis, with a potential for 10 when paired with sure-footed, gives you a great edge against Necros, Rangers, Thieves, Engis. Make sure to use it right before engaging, and dont be shy in using it. 60s is not a prohibitively long cooldown, so use it whenever you think you will need it.
Endure Pain has always had a place on the warrior utility slot. A stun breaker that makes you immune to direct damage while also allowing you to attack your opponent is the definition of the sturdy body. On more than one occasion, when there were only 10 points left in a match, i have popped both this and berserk stance together when on a point to ensure victory. Sometimes this is also necessary when in a pivotal team fight in mid. Dont be shy in using berserker's stance, dont be shy in using endure pain, but use discretion when using both together. Using both in a 1v1 at the same time usually means you are doing something wrong.
Signet of Rage is pretty standard, and yet, pretty underwhelming. Most elites are game changers for their class, allowing for an almost guaranteed win in either a 1v1 or a team fight scenario; However, i have buffed it by pairing it with Rune of Lyssa. Now it feels much more like an elite. A burst condi cleanse, that also gives access to protection and stability. I can now use it to guarantee stomps, mitigate damage, prevent backstabs, you name it. I NEVER use it before battle, not even for going from point to point. I wait until i need it for one of the uses described above.
II. Traits
Strength
Arms
Defense
Tactics
Discipline
Trait Details
Reckless Dodge is a powerful adept trait, and i have seen it crit for 1.5k+.
Restorative Strength gives a slight buff to Healing Surge, and helps out quite a bit as i am not running mobile strikes.
Dogged March is also a solid choice, given that i am not running mobile strikes, although the 3 seconds of regen is negligible. It can be placed by missile deflection, or sure-footed, but i still feel like slowing condis are something of a problem in this build and needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.
Running Last Stand allows me to free up a place on my utility bar. Sure, it has a longer cooldown than balanced stance or dolyak signet, but if i really need a situational stability, i can always pop my elite w/lyssa.
Cleansing Ire is great when paired with massive amounts of adrenaline regen. Due to the nature of the trait, i rarely pop my burst skill to cleanse condis, but at least over the duration of the fight, some condis will be removed. It is not as good at removing slowing effects, since that reduces the range of my eviscerate, making it difficult to clear, but i can always pop my Combustive Shot instead to do so.
Warrior's Sprint may seem like an odd choice, but it allows me to be something of a roamer without having to pop my elite, and definitely helps me to close gaps while in melee. Signet mastery is inefficient if im only using 1 signet, and rarely have i ever noticed the 12 second difference in cooldowns. Vigorous Focus is a good choice, but i would have to completely forfeit my chances at going anywhere except for mid or close, or pop my elite early and waste its true potential. Vigorous Focus is dependent on my team composition.
Destruction of the empowered is what gives my eviscerates and arcing arrows their punch, as long as one of those boons isn't a protection. I can get away with not running mobile strikes, as i am running longbow. Many warriors run melee on both of their weapon swaps, and because of that almost have to run mobile strikes.
Burst Mastery allows my eviscerates and combustive shots to hit harder, because of both the direct damage buff, and the more frequent full bars of adrenaline. If i pop my burst skill with 3 bars of adrenaline, i will have 1 full bar left over. This is what allows me to open with a combustive shot, then quickly follow up with an eviscerate, sometimes with 2 bars of eviscerate, and still be able to get the fire shield before the field dissipates.
III. Stat Specifics & Effects
Primary Stats
- Health 19212 (+0)
- Vitality 916 (+0)
- Armor 2427 (+300)
- Toughness 1216 (+300)
- Attack 3296 (+1300)
- Power 2216 (+1300)
- Critical Hit 51% (+51%)
- Precision 1991 (+1075)
Secondary Stats
- Burst Recharge 30% (+30%)
- Condition Duration 15% (+15%)
- Critical Damage 80% (+80%)
- Damage 1080 (+0%)
- Defense 1211 (+0)
- Ferocity 1200 (+1200)
- Healing Power 300 (+300)
Boons
Conditions
Control
Fields & Finishers
Stat and Effect Details
With 21k health, and 2500 armor, the direct suitability with this build is solid. My power could be a little higher, but with my ability to generate a decent number of might stacks, this usually isnt a problem. My build really shines with my 50% crit damage, really pushing my ability to spike hard, and with 43% crit chance, i will spike often.
IV. Runes, Sigils, Accessories & Jewels
Armor & Runes
- Precision: 25
- Condition Duration: 5%
- Precision: 50
- When you use a heal skill, you gain a random boon for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 10 seconds)
- Precision: 100
- When you use an elite skill, convert up to 5 conditions into boons. (Cooldown: 45 seconds)
- Precision: 25
- Condition Duration: 5%
- Precision: 50
- When you use a heal skill, you gain a random boon for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 10 seconds)
- Precision: 100
- When you use an elite skill, convert up to 5 conditions into boons. (Cooldown: 45 seconds)
- Precision: 25
- Condition Duration: 5%
- Precision: 50
- When you use a heal skill, you gain a random boon for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 10 seconds)
- Precision: 100
- When you use an elite skill, convert up to 5 conditions into boons. (Cooldown: 45 seconds)
- Precision: 25
- Condition Duration: 5%
- Precision: 50
- When you use a heal skill, you gain a random boon for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 10 seconds)
- Precision: 100
- When you use an elite skill, convert up to 5 conditions into boons. (Cooldown: 45 seconds)
- Precision: 25
- Condition Duration: 5%
- Precision: 50
- When you use a heal skill, you gain a random boon for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 10 seconds)
- Precision: 100
- When you use an elite skill, convert up to 5 conditions into boons. (Cooldown: 45 seconds)
- Precision: 25
- Condition Duration: 5%
- Precision: 50
- When you use a heal skill, you gain a random boon for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 10 seconds)
- Precision: 100
- When you use an elite skill, convert up to 5 conditions into boons. (Cooldown: 45 seconds)
Rune Stat Totals
- Precision 175
- Condition Duration 5%
Rune Bonuses
PvP Rune of Lyssa- Precision: 25
- Condition Duration: 5%
- Precision: 50
- When you use a heal skill, you gain a random boon for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 10 seconds)
- Precision: 100
- When you use an elite skill, convert up to 5 conditions into boons. (Cooldown: 45 seconds)
Accessories & Jewels
- Power: 0
- Precision: 0
- Ferocity: 0
- Vitality: 0
Accessory Totals
- Power:1200
- Precision:900
- Ferocity:900
- Vitality:0
Weapon Set Sigils
- Weapon Strength: 920-1080
- Weapon Strength: 0-0
Weapon Set I
Sigil of IntelligenceYour next 3 attacks after swapping to this weapon while in combat have a 100% chance to critical.
- Weapon Strength: 857-1048
- Weapon Strength: 806-909
Weapon Defense: 61
Weapon Set II
Sigil of IntelligenceYour next 3 attacks after swapping to this weapon while in combat have a 100% chance to critical.
Sigil of Superior BloodlustYou gain +10 power each time you kill a foe. (max 25 stacks and ends on down or weapon change)
Upgrade Item Details
The thing that really helps this build spike often, and reliably are my Sigils of Intelligence. Getting a guaranteed crit on my arcing arrow, followed shortly after by a guaranteed crit eviscerate, really increases the short term damage of this build. Even after the fight is over, i try to quickly swap weapons, to trigger my sigil of intelligence, to ensure that i have it for the start of the next fight.
I believe bloodlust is a good choice for this build due to its overall ability to survive. Alternatively, i could run sigil of fire, if the enemy comp is full of burst damage, like double berserk ele or theif.
Lyssa is a great overall choice, adding effectiveness to my elite, while adding a modest increase to the duration of my burning, cripple, and immobilize. It is also really nice when my heal gives me protection, although that is unreliable.
V. Basic Gameplay
General guide lines vs classes:
Necros: A tough, but winnable match up. I like to dodge once or twice in the opening fight with a necro, to slightly delay my use of berserker's stance. Right after a dodge or two, use Berserker's stance and Throw axe, and chop him to hell. Swap to your bow, then procede with the typical rotation. At this point he should be so far behind that once he gets his rotation back and damages you, you will be too far ahead and win the fight. Save your endure pain for when you run out of stability and he fears you.
Mesmer: Pretty straight forward match up, try to ensure u get lots of fire and bleeds on them from your longbow. They really dont have any way of deal with condis, and once you get an eviscerate off on him it should be over. If he catches you with an immobilize, dont be afraid to pop your shield stance.
Engis: Fight them in a similar way as a necro, but be aware if they are abusing static discharge. Try to aim your combustive shot near their supply drop to destroy those pesky turrets. You might have to pop your signet of rage a bit early to avoid getting locked down by slick shoes
Elementalist: This could be a long fight, or a short fight, depending on how well you dodge their phoenix, and use your endure pain. I would avoid using pin down for a 2nd time until you are sure they are in water and used cleansing wave.
Guardian: Fire Fire Fire. If you see protection, you are usually better off just droping another combustive shot instead of using eviscerate unless you believe you can finish them off. It will be a long fight.
Thieves: Very tricky fights. Use berserkers stance to be immune to blind and axe them hard in the face. Combustive shot helps, but i would slightly prefer eviscerates in this match up, as their damage will outpace your damage very quickly. If you cant dodge, dont be afraid to use shield stance when they use stealth.
Ranger. OMFG OPOPOPOPOP. In all seriousness, this will be your hardest matchup. Dealing with all of their spirits and pets is hell, but it is a good thing you bring the fire. Kill their spirit of nature and stone spirit asap, otherwise their survivability will outpace your damage. This is one of the few circumstances i would say its ok to pop both your berserkers stance and endure pain at the same time, while u kill his important spirits.
Main Skill Rotation
This is my ideal rotation, if i have my sigil of intelligence up. I would crit on my arcing arrow, blind them, then pin down to ensure that my combustive shot will get them in the aoe. This entire time i should be charging at them, getting ready to swap for my eviscerate and gain a fire shield. From here, it really depends on the situation. If they appear almost dead, i would use shield bash to stun their heal, or at least lock them down to finish them off with an axe 1 chain. If they appear to be relatively ok, i continue with cyclone axe, axe 1 chains and offensive dodges to lay on the damage, all ending with a shield bash right before the combustive shot fire field ends, to ensure that i have fire shield even after the fire field has ended.
VI. Variation
If i can rely on my teammates clearing condis for me, i can drop cleansing ire for Axe Mastery. This will make me hit harder overall, although having cleansing ire for myself is safer.