Virtuoso - Power GS Signet Virtuoso
The community gave this build a rating, making it second-tier: Good
Focused on: Strike damage and Control
Designed for: PvP Conquest
Difficulty:
Easy
This build was last updated on January 18, 2025 and is up to date for the April 15, 2025 patch.
Overview
A PvP Virtuoso Power shatter build which combines Virtuoso's inherent sustain with 
Inspiration and its signets into a GS build that's more durable than its other Mesmer counterparts. Primarily created to roam the map and +1 fights, but the extra survivability allows you to try your luck in some 1v1s too.
Skill Bar
Greatsword
Sword/Pistol
Utility
Skill Variants
Utility
Viable options for the last utility slot:
- - basically this is a second , a powerful defensive skill that also restocks all of your blades.
- - more passive blade generation and an active that resets the CD of your shatter skills. Could be used both defensively and offensively.
- - makes it easier to utilize the inactivity bonus of and could be used to instantly shut down important skills.
Elite
- - strong defensive option with group utility that could also allow you and your team to ambush enemies from
Stealth.
Template Code
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Specializations
Equipment
Greatsword
Sigil
Sigil
Sword
Pistol
Sigil
Sigil
Rune
Amulet
Relic
Equipment Variants
Sigils
- over - extra sustain.
Relics
- - better self-healing at the expensive of mobility. Consider picking up for a new speed boost.
Usage
Elite specialization basics
- Shatters are replaced by Bladesongs (we're still going to refer to these as shatters).
- Instead of generating clones in combat you now stack Blades and Blades persist even after combat. The maximum count is 5 instead of 3.
- Bladesongs are a bit more clunky than regular shatters. They require you to face the target to activate and have a cast time, therefore cannot be used defensively while stunned (with the exception of ).
General
- is a very simple yet versatile skill allowing you to chase enemies, retreat to the safety of the highghround, break stuns, or get around the map faster.
- is perhaps the most versatile skill in the build. While the passive is nice, its best part is the active - refreshing shatters is useful in just about any situation whether you need burst damage, CC or even the sustain of F4-5. Activating the signet itself also grants 1 second of via .
- adds a significant amount of group utility to the build by creating an anti-projectile bubble whenever you start reviving an ally while also improving your rez speed a little.
Sustain
- For Virtuoso the best defense is a good offense. Bladesongs/Shatters are crucial for sustain.
- Shatter skills grant
Aegis from while blocking an attack procs and , applying boons and generating 3 Blades. This is the important part.
- Stocking a Blade heals you from the passive of , while using a shatter skills heals you from and even removes a condition.
- Try not to use the active of unless you're in serious trouble (or need to squeeze out more burst damage from Phantasms to get a kill) as the passive is way too valuable.
- Every Signet skill grants . is your panic button: break stuns, applies Stealth + and cleanses 5 conditions thanks to . SoM is the only mass condition cleanse in the build, keep that in mind when facing condition specs. Correcting mistakes or recovering from bursts becomes harder while this is on CD.
- acts as an instant cleanse and source of Aegis, plus the multiple hits could rip Aegis from enemies and get rid of
Blind on you so that your more important skills can connect. Aside from that it doesn't do much, it's by far your weakest shatter.
- If taken is your time out, protecting you from both direct damage and condition burst while also stocking Blades (and that has further synergy with the Signet heal).
- The build has plenty of ways to deal with conditions:
- Weapon swapping removes a condition via .
- is your mass cleanse, removing a total of 5 conditions with .
- removes another one when you use your healing skill.
- Sword's can be used to avoid damage, it's essentially a weaker version of that roots you in place but has a lower CD. With proper timing this could save you even from unblockable burst chains without having to blow bigger CDs.
Damage
- is your primary burst skill, try to use it with as many Blades stocked as possible.
- and are the traits that fuel your burst combos. You stock 3 blades and gain powerful boons for a short period of time after dodging or blocking an attack - you should use this window to counterpressure targets with shatters and hard hitting skills.
- The easiest way to hit 5 Blades is to wait for the 2 s summoned by GS skill #4 to expire and then follow up with a shatter.
- is more of a filler shatter but can still do respectable damage while also ripping boons from the target via .
- is best used in melee range where the bounces give you
Might and their travel time is minimal (and if no allies are in melee the blade might not bounce at all).
- is the best setup skill in the build, the stun lasts long enough to pull off a shatter + GS combo.
- The main burst skills on Sword/Pistol are and .
- Sometimes you might want to consider using offensively: this could instantly cleanse
Weakness and Blind from you while providing a small window of invulnerability which allows you to facetank enemy burst and counterpressure them freely. The brief Stealth could even make it harder for enemies to avoid your attacks.
- It's a risky move unless you can secure a kill or have a backup or ready in case you get focused.
Related Builds
- Virtuoso - Power Signet Roamer - WvW version of the build.
Ratings
This build is not bad, but there's better ways to build a Virt. First off, drop Signet of Midnight and bring Signet of Illusions. This will charge your blades while out of combat, so that you're fully stocked when you engage. Only reason you don't bring it in WvW is because you can switch to Signet of Illusions between combat to charge. The optional slot is usually Signet of Renewal, as it's an additional immunity window that also charges your blades to full. Very good, very useful. I'd also drop the elite signet, and instead bring mass invis. I just feel like the moa takes way too long, and this gives you the stealth access to surprise people with uncontested shatter burst, without having to bring the signet of midnight. You can also drop pistol secondary for torch to give you even more stealth. Last thing is I would probably drop Inspiration and bring Illusions. At this point, it's no longer a signet build and that's the only real reason this build brought inspiration. You can also drop Domination for Dueling if you need more survivability against a certain comp, or drop Signet of the Ether heal for Ether Feast if you need condi cleanse. Virtuoso is in a really good place right now, but Metabattle needs to update the builds.
Works fine but it's in a bit of a weird spot where it doesn't have as much CC and damage as a Shatter Chrono and doesn't have the sustain of some sidenoder Mesmer builds like Chronobunker or Condi Virtu. It can do a little bit of everything and I like the extra rez power it brings to the table, but it's a bit of a jack of all trades master of none build so I don't think it's a perfect 5. Definitely capable of pulling its own weight on teams though and it's easier to play than other Power Mes builds so it's a good choice for people picking up the class as well. Lost some of its cleansing with the Inspiration rework but it's still worth it.
build with very little resistance and falls very quickly, as well as can cause damage I do not recommend itbuild with very little resistance and falls very quickly, as well as can cause damage I do not recommend it
It can't reach the height of Power Chronomancer, but it is safer and easier to use. Vicious Expression would be a better option and take signet of illusion to be more flexible. Rune also has a few viable variants. Compared to Chronomancer, this one has better performance in team fights.
EDIT: Recent patch nerfed this unnecessarily, which makes this build even worse than power mirage now. You have to dodge to get an unblockable bladesong and no vigor generation in this build. Rip
Comments
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