Soulbeast - DPS Soulbeast

The community gave this build a rating, making it top-tier: Great

Focused on: Direct damage and Crowd control

Designed for: WvW Zerg

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

Normal

This build was last updated on June 06, 2024 and is up to date for the October 8, 2024 patch.

Overview

A high burst damage melee build with optional party support.

Skill Bar

Hammer

Mace/Mace

Utility

Important!

Make sure to swap your hammer skills by right clicking on them while out of combat

• Use Unleashed Wild Swing, Unleashed Overbearing Smash, Savage Shock Wave and Unleashed Thump
  • Unleashed Savage Shock Wave is slightly more damage, but not generally worth the loss in utility

Variants

Weapons

• Sword/Axe - Sword/Axe is much easier to play than Hammer but with less utility. The damage output is very similar, especially in short fights.
• Hammer ⇒ Longbow Longbow is generally worse than other options, but very helpful for clearing siege

Utilities

• Muddy Terrain
• Signet of the Wild
• Frost Trap

Elite

• Entangle
• Spirit of Nature

Specializations

Variants

• Leader of the Pack - excellent group utility at the cost of damage

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Equipment

Head
Marauder

Shoulders
Marauder

Chest
Marauder

Hands
Marauder

Legs
Marauder

Feet
Marauder

Backpiece
Marauder

Accessory
Dragon

Accessory
Marauder

Amulet
Marauder

Ring
Dragon

Ring
Marauder

Hammer
Marauder

Sigil

Sigil

Mace
Marauder

Mace
Marauder

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x18

Relic

Consumables

• • personal option

Usage

Priorities

High

Damage

Surviving

• This build has moderate passive defense
• This build has moderate mobility skill access
• This build has low active defenses

Active defense priority

• Dolyak Stance - for Immobilize
• Dodge

Detailed Explanations

Damage

• Start fights on Hammer so you can use Unleashed Thump to engage
  • Swap to Mace/Mace immediately if you're going to be in melee for an extended time
• When at range, use Spit Goop ⇒ Electrocute (soulbeast) to spike damage
  • With this cast order, both hits will land at almost the same time at 900 range, increasing burst

Mace

• In mace prioritize Flourish first, both to increase burst via its second hit and to ensure the lowest CD skill will be up faster if any hits are missed and Nature's Strength isn't procced through the first rotation.
• Make sure all of your mace skills land for Nature's Strength stacks
  • Your mace cooldowns reset on reaching 5 stacks, so don't leave mace before hitting the threshold
  • While Oaken Cudgel deals no damage, hitting it is still important get the stack of Nature's Strength
  • If you can't hit Oaken Cudgel or missed a skill, Cultivate, your final auto chain also gives a stack of Nature's Strength
• Storm Spirit should be cast as your group reaches melee, before you can hit with melee skills

Hammer

• In hammer prioritize Savage Shock Wave for the Immobilize to help CC the enemy
• Make sure not to cancel the follow-up swing of Unleashed Overbearing Smash, it has the majority of its damage and rips boons
• Unleashed Thump hits hard, but is very hard to use due to forced movement. It is not worth casting if you'll miss more than 2 autos while getting back in position afterwards
• Worldly Impact is a higher priority than any skills other than Flourish, Savage Shock Wave, and Unleashed Overbearing Smash if you're in position to use them
• Be careful with the forced movement from Oaken Cudgel and Unleashed Thump
  • Don't aim directly into the enemy group and make sure to drop your target before casting these skills
    • A Lock Autotarget keybind can be used to quickly drop your target

Sword/Axe

• Prioritize Whirling Defense whenever it is possible to do so
• Be careful with the forced movement from Serpent's Strike and Pounce, only use them for damage when the enemy group is moving defensively

Damage priority

• Flourish/Savage Shock Wave
• Unleashed Overbearing Smash
• Worldly Impact
• Wild Strikes/Unleashed Wild Swing
• Spit Goop
• Electrocute (soulbeast)
• Thistleguard
• Oaken Cudgel/Unleashed Thump
• Storm Spirit