Build:Weaver - Staff Backline

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

Focused on: Strike damage, Utility and Crowd control

Designed for: WvW Zerg

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

Normal

This build was last updated on May 12, 2024 and is up to date for the October 8, 2024 patch.

Overview

A backline zerg WvW DPS build for Elementalist providing damage, CC and field support. Requires a precise usage of skills and positioning to survive.

Skill Bar

Staff

Staff

Utility

Skill Variants

Heal

• Glyph of Elemental Harmony better healing, if condition clear is totally covered

Utility

• Glyph of Storms ⇒ Mist Form if extra personal survivability is desperately needed

Specializations

Variants

• Superior Elements inconsistent damage increase but reduced survivability

Variants

• Arcane is an option over Air adding a mix of utility and damage.

• Variants
• Elemental Surge ferocity boost and strong immobilize on Earth Attunement when using arcane skills.

Template Code

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Equipment

Head
Marauder

Shoulders
Marauder

Chest
Marauder

Hands
Marauder

Legs
Marauder

Feet
Marauder

Backpiece
Marauder

Accessory
Marauder

Accessory
Marauder

Amulet
Marauder

Ring
Marauder

Ring
Marauder

Staff
Marauder

Sigil

Sigil

Staff
Marauder

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x18

Relic

Equipment Variants

• Relic of the Thief
• Relic of Speed

Consumables

• • personal option

Variants

Stats

• Add Dragon stats with Superior Elements to avoid overcapping crit
  • All trinkets except for one accessory is a possible option
• Use as much Marauder as you feel is necessary then fill out with Berserker stats
  • Keep in mind crit from Elements of Rage

Usage

General

• As soon as you get 25 stacks of Sigil of Superior Sigil of Bloodlust and get out of combat, swap back to the Staff without a stacking sigil
• Read dual attunements as Old/New - i.e. Fire/Air means fire was attuned first and air was attuned second
• Start fights in Air/Fire or Air/Earth then rotate through attunements as follows:

Attunement rotation Air Attunement + Fire Attunement Fire Attunement ⇒ Fire Attunement + Fire Attunement Air Attunement/Earth Attunement/Water Attunement ⇒ Fire Attunement + X Fire Attunement ⇒ X + Fire Attunement Repeat from step 2

Priorities

High

• Meteor Shower
• Conjure Fiery Greatsword

Moderate

• Sustained damage
• CC

Low

• Support

Surviving

• This build has low passive defense
• This build has moderate mobility skill access
  • An About Face keybind can be useful for Burning Retreat
  • Avoid using Lightning Flash for mobility unless nessecary to survive
• This build has moderate active defenses
  • Save Ether Renewal for removing Immobilize, Chill or Weakness
  • Interrupt Ether Renewal using a Stow Weapon keybind as soon as you are full hp/condition cleared

Active defense priority Twist of Fate - for stunbreaking Windborne Speed - for Immobilize Dodge Burning Retreat Lightning Flash Ether Renewal

Detailed Explanations

Meteor Shower

• Place Meteor Shower where the enemy group is moving to, not where they are when you begin the cast
• Make sure Elements of Rage is procced when using Meteor Shower
• There are two ways to move during the cast of Meteor Shower:
  • Cast Meteor Shower immediately after casting Burning Retreat and the Meteor Shower will be queued to cast at the target location after the rollback ends
  • Use Lightning Flash after you start casting it

Fiery Greatsword

• Treat Firestorm as a secondary Meteor Shower
  • Try to get three casts of Firestorm per use of Conjure Fiery Greatsword
• Make sure Elements of Rage is procced when using Conjure Fiery Greatsword
• Fiery Whirl is low cooldown and has high damage, use it aggressively but don't move yourself into a bad position
  • Aim through the enemy stack if your group crosses through them and aim across the enemy stack otherwise
• Use Fiery Rush for mobility, on single targets or to set up Fiery Whirl
• Coordinate with a DPS player in your group to pick up the conjure dropped on the ground
  • Make sure to place it in a safe place for them to grab
  • If you don't have anyone reliable to coordinate with, you can pick it up yourself for 30s after casting the skill

Sustained damage

• When using ground AoEs like Lava Font, place them so that one edge is on the enemy group and the other edge is in the direction they are moving to
• Your X/Fire Dual skills are slow moving projectiles (Plasma Blast, Pyroclastic Blast and Pressure Blast).
  • Predict the enemies movement, as with Meteor Shower
  • Cast towards the edges of the enemy group to avoid projectile reflect
• Use Glyph of Storms in Fire Attunement if you expect the fight to last at least 25 seconds
  • Otherwise Air Attunement has more damage but with a much longer cooldown

Skill priority Meteor Shower Conjure Fiery Greatsword Lava Font Plasma Blast/Pyroclastic Blast/Pressure Blast Glyph of Storms Lightning Surge/Eruption/Ice Spike Autoattacks

CC

• Your three ground CCs are Static Field, Unsteady Ground and Frozen Ground, in order of strength
  • Frozen Ground should normally be saved to give yourself and allies Frost Aura instead of being used as a CC
• Drop your target when casting Shock Wave to make it easier to aim, don't cast it into projectile reflect
• You shouldn't interrupt your rotation to try and CC, instead try to predict when you'll need to CC and move into the best possible attunement early
• Use your CC 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

Support

• Focus on using Windborne Speed when your group is pushing or disengaging from the enemy
• Cast Healing Rain on clashes, targeting the ground AoE so that one edge is on your group and the other edge is where they are moving to
• If a player in your party is going to die because of Immobilize, save them with Windborne Speed
• Use Frozen Ground on your group before pushes to give Frost Aura