Spellbreaker - DPS Spellbreaker
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Contents
Overview
A Spellbreaker build for WvW. Combines high personal damage, good personal survivability and extreme boonrip.
Skill Bar
First Weapon Set
Skill Variants
- Heal
- strong in fights with heavy range pressure
- Utility
- over . This choice is up to personal preference; Dolyak gives more more stability and bonus toughness until used, but is weaker against boon removal.
- for more access to stunbreaks and AoE cleanse.
- over a more defensive option.
- over for more adrenaline, good against strong range pressure.
Template Code
Specializations
Variants
- extra damage
Variants
- Less damage for a modest CC
Variants
- Strength is a large DPS increase at the cost of passive sustain.
- Tactics is a competitive DPS option with Strength with AoE
Might generation and great
Immobilize access.
Equipment
Consumables
- feast option with additional power and ferocity.
Variants
Stats
- Use as much Marauder's gear as you need to survive, fill in other slots with Berserker's for a small DPS increase
- Once in full Berserker's, Assassin's may be used in some slots for a very small DPS increase, the amount of Assassin's to use will depend on your average might uptime so make use of an Effective Power calculator.
Sigils
- You can drop for:
- on Hammer
- on Greatsword.
Runes
- cheaper option than scholar.
- defensive option with group support.
- defensive option.
Food
- mandatory with the Tactics variant.
- pure damage option
- against condition pressure.
Utility
- cheaper option.
Usage
Elite specialization basics
- (FC) recharges your Burst skills. Always try to use it when you can refresh their duration, except if you're under heavy pressure in which case you can use FC purely for defensive means.
- To ensure triggers, briefly move into hostile enemy ground pressure. It shouldn't be hard to proc, unless the enemy is retreating or disengaging.
- FC is both a defensive and an offensive skill in the build as it blocks, evades, grants
Stability, and performs an unblockable AoE damage/CC attack when triggered.
General
- This build focuses on close range damage dealing, heavy crowd control and boon removal.
- Adrenaline generation revolves around constantly weapon swapping, to proc , and connecting your CCs and Burst skills to proc and .
- keeps gameplay rather fast paced with minimal downtime.
- removes
Immobilize when using a movement skill - list of movement skills in the build: , and .
- Also, its not encouraged to drop Discipline spec for any of the suggested Tactics and Strength variants.
- Both your stunbreakers, and , will be saved for Winds, but, if you have to, use first.
- If you go down 50% and realizes effect is active (or if using itself), try to not to use together since you won't benefit from the immunity to critical hit, because you won't be taking any direct damage.
- is your reset button. Use it after and are gone, don't panic. Can be used preemptively, to negate all the incoming enemy damage, or proactively, when engaging, to allow yourself to overextend a bit longer in melee to land your skills.
- Once is off, most of your sustain will rely on which can be easily maintained with a constant succession of burst skills.
Boon Removal
- Unlike Scourges, your boon removal skills don't turn the enemy boons into conditions, which, at a first glance, would look bad simply because you are somehow "stealing" potential boon corrupts from your scourges and, therefore, softing the condi pressure on your foes. However, in the current meta, the fact that condition convert is still relevant, due stuff like and
- (WoD) is a channel skill that moves with the Spellbreaker, applies an effect which prevents enemies to get boons and also removes boons. It's the most important skill in the build, and should always be communicated whenever casting it, if it gets interrupted and whether it's available or not.
- This skill moves with your character. Be mindful not to accidentally cancel it with dodge rolls or skills as it must be channelled.
- WoD can be used both offensively and defensively as long as coordinated it with your team pressure. Wells, shades and overall damage must be landed alongside WoD AoE to get enabled and enhanced. Using WoD without any relevant friendly follow up is discouraged and brings no teamplay value.
- Optimally, and will be used together with WoD to prevent interrupts. Pulsing
Stability to refrain CCs and critical hits,
Resistance to ignore movement impending conditions like
Immobilize, and to deny
Fear application if your Stability gets corrupted. Also, as long as you stay within range of support (usually 300-range), you will get plenty of cover boons and back up Stability and Resistance.
- fulfills the same role as , but better. Still, the last one grants on demand
Superspeed with the same duration of the bubble channel, allowing to chase the enemy group better.
- fulfills the same role as , but better. Still, the last one grants on demand
- The bubble covers a big area, so you don't have to be on top of the enemy all the time, you could lock then through the edges. Just remember, it affects up to 10 foes and you should be aiming for that.
- Overlapping multiple WoDs for a stronger boonrip spike might be interesting on all-in and triple way scenarios, yet pacing it is the safest choice in general.
- will be 100% your opener whenever you get in melee range, for the huge adrenaline it provides thanks again , and the damage boost with . Besides that, it will be used on engages and re-engages for the spike boonrip it provides.
- Hammers skills and FC, due to tied to , are going be your main source of boonrip once your Meditation abilities are under cooldown.
Greatsword
- will be spammed off cooldown for massive damage. Since it grants
Fury, expect to get corrupted and
Blind, thought you can easily cover it, by having
Resistance or throwing another skill in the mix, before casting your next burst skill.
- won't see much use, because once out of cooldowns, you should swap weapon sets. Still, it's decent for cleave and to fill downtime.
- is situational. You stand still during channel, which means hitting CC'ed, movement impaired and downed foes is the ideal setup for this ability. However, you could still go for it anytime and still make good use, as long as the animation is canceled once enemies leave the AoE.
- Try to use your burst skills before for maximum DPS and also to refill adrenaline.
- deals substantial damage and an evade frame. Should NOT be used only for its mobility function.
- Use for filler damage.
- will be used mostly for repositioning or gap closing, fastly covering a large distance. Also usable for good single target damage.
- Don't have any foe targeted if using it for mobility.
Hammer
- grants good damage, CC and procs multiple traits. Enemies with
Stability will deny CCs and, thus, your boonrips, so try to always time it with and around your scourges cooldowns. Can also be used for risky plays, as the mobility can quickly reposition you.
- only use it for downed cleave and make sure to complete the channel as the 3rd hit is an AoE.
- deals great damage and should be used after / for better AoE damage, or after for single target spike
- provides good damage and AoE
Cripple, and it's arguably the best ranged skill in the build. Cast it off cooldown.
- will be chained with AoE CC skills. Keep in mind it knocks back and you group might not want to spread out targets.
- single target CC. Better suited when followed if you can get the knockdown in first place.
Combos
- Hammer stun: ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ (from here you can go GS and use and to keep AoE pressure}})
- Spin to win: ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ (from here you can go Hammer for and .
- In the heat of WvW, with dodge rolls and CC, you may find it impossible to complete this rotation 100% of the time. Your priority is using as many Burst skills as possible at close range.
- Add , and in the mix if convenient.
- Don't worry about Adrenaline, Discipline spec is there.
Videos
- YouTube: [tF] Inkk
- YouTube: [LAYS] Nephistos
- YouTube: [tS] Astray
Great reliant frontliner that removes massive amount of boons, CC locks enemies and deals considerable amount of damage. I prefer tankier sustain variant with durability runes, bersk stance over featherfoot and like 300 toughness (over vitality) from gear.
Only metabuild that can leave the ball and clear arrow carts and solo scourges alone and get out safely. Very necessary for to counter cloud comps.
Wins of Disenchantment on enemy will stop them from sustaining through your bomb so very reliant on good timing/positioning on WoD making the build hard for new players.
Run energy sigil on Greatsword, ALWAYS, you don't need double severance sigils (GS has no CC anyways and you will be fullcountering mostly on hammer to refresh earthshaker)! Else this build is 4 stars.