Herald - Frontline Sustain

The Official API is experiencing issues; skill, trait and item data cannot be loaded at the moment.
Note: Please note that builds will default to plain icons, these may not be as accurate. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Welcome to the Builds Archive. See the ones that gathered dust, were orphaned by their original writers, or became obsolete by balance patches. We keep the orphan builds together and salute the veteran builds that held a position in the good, great, or meta categories.

Focused on: Direct damage, Support.

Designed for:

World vs World

Send feedback

Rate this build

Overview

A power based Herald sustain build for WvW. Utilizes legend abilities to support the frontline with heavy boon application and damage mitigation.

Skill Bar

 

 

HammerHealingUtilityElite

StaffHealingUtilityElite

Legend Variants

Mallyx

Swap Glint (Dragon) out for Mallyx (Demon) to trade boon support, reveals, and damage for Resistance, CC and boon strip.

Template Code

[&DQkJJg8eNCbcEQAAKxIAAAYSAADUEQAAyhEAAA8NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]

COPY

Specializations

Variants

• stability strip if running low boon corruption in group.

Variants

• you lose protection on disable, but gain retaliation on dodge.

Variants

• extra damage at the cost of significant loss of group support

Variants

• Swap out Devastation for Invocation for less group support and have similar personal damage with less precision gear needed due to

Equipment

6x

Superior Rune of Durability

18x

Mighty WvW Infusion

Consumables

• Fried Oyster Sandwich

  Fried Oyster Sandwich

  Nourishment (30 m):

  +10% Damage Reduction+70 Power+10 Experience from kills

  Consumable

feast option with additional power and ferocity.

• Magnanimous Sharpening Stone

  Magnanimous Sharpening Stone

  Nourishment (30 m):

  Gain Power equal to 3% of your VitalityGain Power equal to 3% of your Toughness+10% Experience from Kills

  Consumable

Variants

Stats

• Add more Soldier or Wanderer's for extra survivability.
• Add more Diviner or Commander's for more boon support.
• Add more Berserker's or Marauder for more damage.
• Avoid spreads that do not contain Power as a primary attribute, such as Knight's or Cavalier's.

Sigil

Staff Only

• • Both sigils combo well with .

Food

• Defensive option.
• Alternate defensive option vs condi pressure.

Utility

• Support option.

Usage

• This build goal is to deal damage and support your allies, while avoiding downtime. It means you should always be cycling through your Hammer and Legend skills to keep the enemy under constant pressure, and aid your allies through boons and effects. Retribution spec and the tankyness stats allows you to stand in the front, and overextend for a bit longer as well, making it a good build for new players.
• Herald elite spec provides an enhanced boonshare access with facets, and . As well as granting survivability with Glint's heal and extra HP.
• Might and  Fury stacking is a crucial part of ramping up your damage, but most of it happens effortlessly as a result of sigils and upkeep skills such as,  and .
• Invoking a legend resets energy to 50 and breaks stun among other things. Swapping legends is basically the main resource management tool in the build - swap whenever you're out of CDs, low on energy, or need to break stun.

Hammer

• will be used after all your other Hammer skills are unavailable for single target damage.
• is your bread and butter damage skill, land it as often as possible.
  • Try to not have anyone targeted if casting this skill, as it can bug out and put on a 4s cooldown. Rather, cast it based on where your character is facing, and where the enemy stack is going to be
  • It only hits a maximum of 5 targets across all three pulses, and the pulses often dissappear on non straight flat terrain, so keep that in mind if fighting inside structures.
• deals a ton of damage and evades for its duration, be careful not to get caught behind your group while casting this skill.
  • Functions well for ranged cleave, and to hard pressure the enemy group when coordinated.
  • You can through traps and marks to activate them without taking any damage.
• has a long cast time, so try to predict where the enemies will go or use it on stationary targets like downed players that the enemy will move on to.
• Hammer usage
  • While pushing: ⇒ ⇒ .
  • Ranged spike: ⇒ .
  • Add in the mix if it's convenient.

Staff

• 

  ½

  Rapid Swipe

  Charge forward, knocking back enemies that cross your path.

  Damage: 339

  Number of Targets: 3

  Range: 130
    
  

  ½

  Forceful Bash

  Bash your foe with your staff.

  Damage: 373

  Number of Targets: 3

  Range: 130
    
  

  1

  Rejuvenating Assault

  Cleave foes around you with your staff, creating healing orbs for you and your allies.

  Damage (2x): 813

  Healing: 165

  Number of Targets: 3

  Combo Finisher: Whirl

  Range: 130
  reliable filler for the melee cleave the chain grants. Synergizes well with .
• deals great melee damage, with low cooldown, as well as minor healing for allies. Always use it whenever its available for close range pressure.
• is a blast finisher and also cleanses conditions.
• Avoid damage with .
• Use to disrupt enemy players and land damage while evading. Can also be used defensively to reposition yourself.
  • Works greatly with and due to the multiple hits.

Glint (Legendary Dragon Stance)

All your facets (upkeeps) affect up to 10 allies. Their correspondent skill, doesn't.

• Glint's extends boons on allies periodically, not only the ones granted by you. It should be maintained as much as possible, but can be double tapped if energy is getting too low.
• Upkeeping 4+ facets is a big boonshare for your group, through , , and . Don't be afraid to reactivate the facets if you see the window, since your team will still benefit from the facet for 6s due to .
  • Bear in mind, having 4 facets up purely purpose is to boost your team's boon uptime, as it restrains your energy. If still struggling with energy management, only use and until you get confortable with it.
• uptime is very important to maintain your group's Fury.
•  is a cheap stun breaker and one of the few skills in the game that can reveal stealthed targets.
  • To reveal from range: ⇒ (at the end of animation)
  • If you are Blind, you can cast it, to ensure key skills like will connect - in this case will miss instead of your elite.
• will be used mostly for the Might share it provides
• grants good melee damage. Chain it with your offensive skills to benefit from the damage modifier.
  • On melee: ⇒ ⇒ (fill with Hammer skills).
• for the Swiftness uptime.
• is one of strongest damage skills outside of Hammer. Try to use off cooldown, mainly on downed foes.
• 's chain effect converts all damage you take into healing for 3 seconds. This is your panic button.
  • Keep in mind has a cast time which means you can't activate it while CC'ed
• You can use it along or to disengage from the enemy pressure and regroup.
• can be upkept, but you won't be able to maintain as many facets due to the big energy consumption. Can be casted before swapping legends for some Protection share.
• besides the damage aspect, can be used to CC downed opponents out of banner range, and to interrupt rezes. You can also stow weapon or swap legends if you notice landing it won't be valuable.

Jalis (Legendary Dwarf Stance)

• Jalis' grants damage reduction and will be maintained as well. Reactivate it if Stability is required.
  • Having Stability reduces all the damage you take.
• will be used as panic condi clear, as the healing itself isn't that great.
• reduces incoming damage and brings a powerful DPS potential on melee.
• Try to time to mitigate damage and condition pressure, don't simply use it as soon as you enter Dwarf stance, as it will drain almost all of your energy.
  • Can be used both preemptively, before the fight really starts, or reactively, once it's already going on.
  • Try to have the buff up as engages begin, when an enemy player is being cleaved or a friendly player is being rezzed.
• does solid damage and gives pulsing Stability on a large range, try to place it in areas where allies and enemies will be clashing to maximize utility from the road.
• should always be used on the enemy stack not on isolated targets, along with winds and ground pressure, to lock down foes.

Mallyx (Legendary Demon Stance)

• Mallyx's pulls conditions from allies and should be used carefully, since you lack condi clear in the build. Retrigger it to transfer conditions if you are in melee range.
• breaks stuns and pays the energy cost at the start of the cast but only gives Resistance and pulls conditions at the end of the cast. Be careful to avoid interrupts.
  • Keep an eye on your parties conditions using Party View as opposed to Squad View. Save your energy until allies have conditions that need removal, rather than casting preemptively.
• Increase the healing of by first using to pull conditions to yourself.
• Can't find such skill "Unyielding Anguish"! Please refer to our skill index. will be used to repositioning and for the wide CC on melee range.

Weaknesses

• Reliant on team for stability
• Skill usage is reliant on energy management
• Limited stun breaks
• Potential to be locked into the wrong stance at the wrong time

Gameplay Videos

• YouTube:
  [LAYS] Aieone
• YouTube:
  [GS] Diviniya
• YouTube:
  [Ash] Reji
• YouTube:
  [vE] Panqun

Related Builds

• Hammer Backline
• Diviner Renegade