Daredevil - Staff Daredevil (GvG)

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Focused on: Direct damage and Utility

Designed for: WvW GvG

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

Hard

Overview

Staff Daredevil brings huge direct damage and cleave from Vault while being a difficult target due to its evade frames. Excels in highly coordinated group play group with strong support enabling it.

Skill Bar

Weapon 1: Staff

Weapon 2:

Weapon 3: Staff

Weapon 4:

Healing skill: Channeled Vigor

Utility skill 1: Shadowstep

Utility skill 2: Assassin's Signet

Utility skill 3: Signet of Agility

Elite skill: Dagger Storm

Template Code

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Specializations

Critical Strikes: Bot, Mid, Top

Trickery: Bot, Top, Top

Daredevil: Top, Top, Bot

Equipment

Rune: 6 Superior Rune of the Scholar

Infusion 1: 17 Mighty WvW Infusion

Infusion 2: 1 Precise WvW Infusion

Relic: Relic of Isgarren

Weapon 1: Staff

Weapon 2:

Sigil 1: Superior Sigil of Hydromancy

Sigil 2: Superior Sigil of Energy

Weapon 3: Staff

Weapon 4:

Sigil 3: Superior Sigil of Hydromancy

Sigil 4: Superior Sigil of Energy

Main stats: Marauder

Accessory 1 stats: Dragon

Accessory 2 stats: Dragon

Ring 1 stats: Dragon

Consumables

• Peppercorn-Crusted Sous-Vide Steak
  • Fried Oyster Sandwich personal option
• Writ of Masterful Strength

Usage

General

• When using Steal prioritize, in order:
  • Warriors - Whirling Axe
  • Revenants - Essence Sap
  • Mesmers - Consume Plasma
  • Necromancers - Skull Fear

Priorities

High

• Spike damage

Moderate

• Sustained damage

Surviving

• This build has low passive defense
• This build has high mobility skill access
  • An About Face keybind can be useful for Debilitating Arc
  • Beware of CCs like (Line of Warding) and Shocking Aura that will interrupt Dodge and Vault
• This builds has high active defenses
  • If you die inside ground pressure, immediately use Shadow Escape towards your group
    • If you are unlikely to be cleaved quickly, don't use Shadow Escape as it can make allied Signet of Mercy fail
  • Use Channeled Vigor between engages while positioned safely to restore endurance
  • Shadowstep is your most powerful defensive skill and only stunbreak, try to be very conservative with it
    • Hold onto Shadow Return for as long as possible for the same reasons

Active defense priority

• Shadowstep/Shadow Return - for stunbreaking
• Debilitating Arc - for Immobilize
• Signet of Agility - for Immobilize
• Dodge
• Debilitating Arc - general use
• Signet of Agility - for endurance
• Dagger Storm
• Channeled Vigor
• Shadowstep - general use

Detailed Explanations

Spike damage

• Bound ⇒ Vault ⇒ Vault ⇒ Weapon Swap (Superior Sigil of Hydromancy) ⇒ Vault
• Use Steal at the end of the cast of Weakening Charge or Bound to port yourself onto the target as an alternative opener
  • Weakening Charge hits harder than Vault, but only if all three hits connect, which is unreliable without Steal
• Use your spike when:
  • Your group calls a spike:
    • Winds - Winds of Disenchantment
    • Wells - Well of Corruption+Well of Suffering
    • Shades - Desert Shroud
    • Traps - Procession of Blades+Test of Faith
  • On top of enemy downs (while alive players are on top of them)
  • Enemy groups moving defensively while your group is pushing

Sustained damage

• Switch weapons as often as possible to proc Quick Pockets and Superior Sigil of Energy
  • Try not to swap if either proc would get less than full value, though Quick Pockets is more important
  • Swap as you finish Vault to increase your spike with Superior Sigil of Hydromancy
• Try to position yourself on the edge of the enemy group, away from the direction they push into
  • This also applies for targetting Vault, don't cast it into the middle of the enemy stack
• In general, it is better to pool initiative for spikes instead of spending it on sustained damage
  • This does not mean you should spend long at the initiative cap
• Finish your auto chains before using another damage skill, unless you need the evade frames from Vault or Bound to keep dealing damage

Skill priority

• Dodge (Bound) - when missing Bounding Dodger buff
• Vault
• Whirling Axe
• Essence Sap - single target only
• Dodge (Bound) - general use
• Staff Strike