Harbinger - Boon DPS Condi Harbinger Open World

The community gave this build a rating, making it second-tier: Good

Focused on: Condition damage

Designed for: Open World and Open World General

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

Normal

This build was last updated on July 22, 2026 and is up to date for the July 20, 2026 patch.

Overview

Condi Harbinger is a fast and mobile build that deals damage through Torment, Bleeding, and Burning. It also provides permanent Quickness, Fury, and Might to itself and nearby allies. It also has great CC capabilities through Vital Draw, Voracious Arc and Vile Blast.

The main downside is how squishy it is. Harbinger Shroud does not replace your health bar unlike Death Shroud or Reaper's Shroud. On top of that, you have reduced maximum health from your profession mechanic Dark Disciple accumulating Blight. This leaves you very vulnerable to burst damage, but you do have some healing over time from Alchemic Vigor and can stay moderately safe by fighting from range (but stay close to your allies).

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Skill Bar

Pistol/Dagger

Scepter/Torch

Utility

Weapon variants

Usage of Torch requires Weaponmaster Training with the Secrets of the Obscure expansion. Players without SotO should only use dagger in their offhand.

Skill variants

Heal skill

Elixir of Promise provides both damage and healing, and helps build up Blight for other bonuses. In rare situations, it can be replaced by:

• Consume Conditions - useful against enemies that inflict many conditions.

Utility Skills

We default to:
Blood Is Power for damage and boon generation. It is a very powerful skill and it should never be replaced.
Elixir of Anguish is taken to sustain Quickness and generate Blight and should never be replaced.
Elixir of Risk provides boon generation but can be replaced by other alternatives:

• Epidemic - amazing for AoE damage by spreading the conditions on your enemy to other nearby enemies, but useless in single-target fights.
• Spectral Walk - stun break and condition cleanse.
• Corrosive Poison Cloud - destroys projectiles.
• Plague Signet - amazing in fights with many conditions.
• Signet of Spite - single target damage.

Elite skill

Elixir of Ambition deals massive damage when cast above the Blight threshold, generates Blight, and helps with boon generation. Never replace it.

Specializations

Variants

• Plague Sending can be taken against enemies that inflict conditions.
• Parasitic Contagion can be taken for a nice boost to survivability at the cost of some condition damage.

Equipment

• Ascended gear and stat infusions are not required; you can use exotic gear with the same stats.

This build uses the standard raid gear, making it ideal for general PVE.

Head
Ritualist

Shoulders
Ritualist

Chest
Ritualist

Hands
Ritualist

Legs
Ritualist

Feet
Ritualist

Backpiece
Viper

Accessory
Viper

Accessory
Viper

Amulet
Viper

Ring
Viper

Ring
Viper

Pistol
Viper

Dagger
Viper

Sigil

Sigil

Scepter
Viper

Torch
Viper

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Relic

If you are gearing this character from zero, start with exotic quality gear. Search the trading post for "Viper's Abomination" weapons. Viper and ritualist exotic armor is very expensive, so we recommend a budget alternative called Carrion (search the trading post for "Ogden" armor) until you can get Viper or Ritualist gear, such as by farming Bladed armor or by acquiring ascended armor. Upgrade to Viper and ascended as you progress. See also: Guide:How to Gear a Character.

• To use torch you need Weaponmaster Training with the Secrets of the Obscure expansion. If you don't have SotO, use only dagger in your offhand.
• For relic alternatives, you can consider Relic of the Sunless if you lack access to expansion relics, or Relic of the Cruel Overseer for sustain.
• Equip the highest tier Jade Bot Core you can afford and Reinforce your armor at any Reinforce Armor NPC. The extra vitality increases your boon duration due to Twisted Medicine.

Consumables

Budget consumables are acceptable for use in open world.

• Prioritize Flatbread Ascended food.
• /
• /

Usage

Your Harbinger Shroud and Elixirs will accumulate Blight on you due to Dark Disciple, reducing your maximum health, but also increasing your damage. This leaves you vulnerable to burst damage, but also provides some healing over time from Alchemic Vigor. Having high Blight is good for Septic Corruption and to empower your Shroud skills Devouring Cut and Voracious Arc.

Damage

You need to periodically enter Harbinger Shroud to maintain boons and uptime of Soul Barbs.

Opening

To ensure good boon uptime in fights, follow this opening rotation.

1. Elixir of Anguish and Elixir of Ambition hitting both the enemy and yourself.
2. Blood Is Power ⇒ Deathly Swarm
3. Use all Harbinger Shroud skills once (Vital Draw can be saved for crowd control). Exit Shroud.
4. Blood Is Power ⇒ Deathly Swarm.
5. Use all weapon skills on both weapons sets
6. Return to Shroud once it recharges. Exit Shroud after using Dark Barrage three times.

• Elixir of Ambition should only be used when above 10 Blight to massively increase its damage. In the opening rotation, Elixir of Anguish at your feet will provide the necessary Blight.
• You can avoid a lot of damage by staying at range and skipping Devouring Cut and Voracious Arc, but always stay close to your allies to give and receive boons.
• Your Shroud auto attacks are much stronger than your weapon auto attacks, more so thanks to Dhuumfire.
• Transfer the self-inflicted conditions of Blood Is Power with Deathly Swarm.

Boons

You provide Quickness and Fury when you enter Harbinger Shroud and when you cast Dark Barrage, so enter shroud off cooldown. Elixir of Anguish also provides quickness.

Remember that higher vitality also increases your boon duration thanks to Twisted Medicine. Equip a high tier Jade Bot Core and Reinforce your armor at NPCs. You can consider using more Ritualist equipment to help maintain quickness.

Survivability

• When using your heal skill Elixir of Promise, make sure to throw it at your feet to gain Blight.
• Most of your damage is ranged, so you can stay away from dangerous enemies, but always stay close to your allies to give and receive boons.
• Consider using Parasitic Contagion to trade damage for sustain.
• Remember that Harbinger Shroud does not replace your health bar, unlike other Shrouds like Reaper's Shroud.

Crowd control

• Vile Blast
• Voracious Arc
• Vital Draw
• Oppressive Collapse