Warrior - Strength Greatsword

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

Focused on: Direct damage, Control, Sustain.

Designed for:

Open World

Overview

A Warrior build for running around in open world. This build is extremely durable and constantly heals itself while dealing good damage. If you have access to the Path of Fire expansion you can also consider Spellbreaker - Strength Greatsword.

Skill Bar

GreatswordHealingUtilityElite

Mace/Shield

Weapon Variants

• If you don't need Shield Stance, offhand Mace can be used instead of Shield for more damage.
• If you don't need the crowd control or defensive skills from Mace/Shield, you can use main hand or offhand Axes in your second weapon slot.
• Use a Rifle if you need to range something.

Skill Variants

Healing Skills

• Healing Signet - if you aren't taking much damage.
• "To the Limit!" - a big heal that also maxes out your adrenaline.

Utility Skills

• Signet of Stamina - more dodges.
• Kick - deals more damage than Throw Bolas but tends to knock enemies away from you.
• Bull's Charge - alternative to Stomp if you don't need a stun break.
• Dolyak Signet - alternative to Stomp if you're taking a lot of damage.
• "Shake It Off!" - alternative to Stomp if conditions are a problem.
• Endure Pain - panic button.

Elite Skills

• Battle Standard - longer duration of boons than Signet of Rage but also a longer cooldown.
• Rampage - grants stability, mobility, and crowd control.

Specializations

Strength:

Peak Performance Forceful Greatsword 24px Might Makes Right

Defense:

Cull the Weak Defy Pain (trait) Last Stand

Discipline:

Warrior's Sprint Brawler's Recovery Burst Mastery

Variants

• Berserker's Power - if you don't need healing you can take this for a large damage increase.
• Shield Master - if you need your shield skills a lot.
• Sundering Mace - if you need your mace skills a lot.
• Cleansing Ire - if conditions are a problem.
• Crack Shot - if running rifle.
• Merciless Hammer - if running axe.

Tactics Variant

If there are nearby players, you can run Tactics instead of Defense to grant them a lot of increased damage with Empower Allies and Phalanx Strength. If you do this, it's also worth running Banner of Strength and Banner of Discipline, and traiting Inspiring Battle Standard in Discipline.

Tactics:

Empowered Empower Allies Phalanx Strength

Equipment

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

Standard Equipment

The Standard Variant uses similar gear to the Warrior - Power Bannerslave and Spellbreaker - Power DPS builds for fractals and raids. This makes it a good general-purpose gear set and is the gear that most players should aim for.

6x

Superior Rune of the Scholar

If running Axes, you should use axes with the same stats and sigils as your greatsword.

Optimal Equipment

The Optimal Variant is the best possible gear for this build. It's overkill in most cases, and you should only get it if you have spare gold or you don’t care about fractals and raids.

6x

Superior Rune of Strength

48px18x

Mighty +5 Agony Infusion

Variants

• provides high sustain at the cost of damage.

Marauder Variant

For a tankier option you can run full Marauder stats. You lose about 10% damage but your health is increased by over 6000 (25k up from 19k).

6x

Superior Rune of Strength

48px18x

Mighty +5 Agony Infusion

Consumables

If you're having trouble you can use the following consumables:

Food

• Fried Golden Dumpling

  Fried Golden Dumpling

  Nourishment (30 m):

  +100 Concentration+25% Magic Find during Lunar New Year33% Chance for Might (5 seconds) on Crit

  Consumable
  if running the Standard gear variant and not might capped.
• Bowl of Sweet and Spicy Butternut Squash Soup

  Bowl of Sweet and Spicy Butternut Squash Soup

  Nourishment (1 h):

  +100 Power+70 Ferocity+10% Experience from Kills

  Consumable
  ,
  Bowl of Curry Butternut Squash Soup

  Bowl of Curry Butternut Squash Soup

  Nourishment (30 m):

  +100 Precision+70 Ferocity+10% Experience from Kills

  Consumable
  ,
  Plate of Truffle Steak

  Plate of Truffle Steak

  Nourishment (30m):

  +100 power+70 precision+10% Experience from kills

  Consumable
  , or
  Dragon's Breath Bun

  Dragon's Breath Bun

  Nourishment (20 m):

  +200 power for 30s after killing an enemy+70 Ferocity+10% Experience from Kills

  Consumable
  for more damage.
• Bowl of Orrian Truffle and Meat Stew

  Bowl of Orrian Truffle and Meat Stew

  Nourishment (30 m):

  100% chance to gain might when you dodge.+40% to your Endurance refill rate.+10 Experience from kills

  Consumable
  for more dodges.
• Scoop of Mintberry Swirl Ice Cream for more healing.

Utility

• Potent Superior Sharpening Stone

  Potent Superior Sharpening Stone

  Nourishment (1 h):

  Gain power equal to 3% of your precisionGain power equal to 6% of your ferocity+10 Experience from kills

  Consumable

Usage

Damage

• Greatsword is your primary weapon. Just Hundred Blades and burst as often as possible, filling with autoattack chains as needed.
  • Never interrupt your autoattack chain.
  • Remember that Hundred Blades roots you in place, don't use it if you need to move or dodge soon.
  • Whirlwind Attack deals good damage if you need to move or you can whirl into a wall.
  • Bladetrail is worth using over autoattacking (as long as the projectile isn't eaten by a wall).
  • Rush is worth using as a gap closer.
• Activate "For Great Justice!" and Signet of Rage off cooldown for boons.
• When possible, use Throw Bolas before your burst damage to get the bonus from Peak Performance.
• If running the dual axe variant, you should constantly swap between Axe/Axe and Greatsword to use their damaging skills. While on Axe/Axe, you should prioritize Dual Strike > Cyclone Axe > Whirling Axe.

Defense

• Mace/Shield is your defensive weapon set. Use it to block attacks and stun enemies.
  • If you need to block/stun stuff a lot, you can trait Sundering Mace and Shield Master for reduced cooldowns.
• Whirlwind Attack can be used to evade attacks and reposition.
• You can slot Dolyak Signet, Signet of Stamina, or Endure Pain for more damage mitigation.
• Remember to always dodge and sidestep attacks if possible. Don't get hit by anything you can move out of.

Sustain

• You get quite a lot of sustained healing from 24px Might Makes Right and Adrenal Health.
• You can cleanse conditions by weapon swapping or using Mending. For more condition-heavy fights you should run "Shake It Off!" or Cleansing Ire.

Crowd Control

• Skull Crack
• Pommel Bash
• Shield Bash/ Tremor
• Throw Bolas
• Stomp