Build:Harbinger - Power Elixir Roamer

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

Focused on: Strike damage

Designed for: WvW Roaming

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

Normal

This build was last updated on July 08, 2024 and is up to date for the October 8, 2024 patch.

Overview

A WvW roaming Harbinger power build that's all about quickly overwhelming its target with damage and CC before the build's low survivability could become a problem.

Skill Bar

Axe/Focus

Staff

Utility

Skill Variants

Utility

For the optional slot:

• Elixir of Bliss - if you need more cleansing.

• Elixir of Ignorance - low CD stun break and the Resistance is useful against Blind spamming specs like D/P Thief.

• Spectral Ring - area denial skill that could ward off attackers or trap enemies inside.

• Spectral Armor - protection and stun break on medium CD.

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Equipment

Head
Marauder

Shoulders
Marauder

Chest
Marauder

Hands
Marauder

Legs
Marauder

Feet
Marauder

Backpiece
Cavalier

Accessory
Marauder

Accessory
Marauder

Amulet
Cavalier

Ring
Cavalier

Ring
Marauder

Staff
Marauder

Sigil

Sigil

Axe
Marauder

Focus
Marauder

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x18

Relic

Consumables

Food

• - passive damage mitigation and great stats.

• - active damage mitigation.
  • - budget version

Utility

• or .

Usage

Elite specialization basics

• Harbinger Shroud doesn't replace your health bar! Unlike other Necromancer shrouds, Harbinger Shroud can't be used to soak damage, which makes this spec more squishy by default. Death Magic should offset this a bit.

• You can enter shroud even with no Life Force to use, but staying inside still drains your LF each interval.

General

• Entering Shroud triggers Weakening Shroud. If you're CC'd and getting focused you can enter shroud for the Weakness and boon rip as a defensive measure and even proc Plague Sending for some cleansing and additional counter-pressure.

• Harbinger Shroud is unique in a sense that it doesn't require Life Force to activate - this skill even gives you LF! Because of that LF management is much less of a concern on Harbinger builds.

• On Staff always try to use Putrid Mark AFTER Chillblains for a free Weakness combo.

Damage

• Staff is more of a utility weapon while Axe/Focus and Shroud skills are for burst damage.

• Elixirs apply Blight to you and Shroud skills can consume Blight, empowering them. Consider using elixirs right before entering Shroud. Elixir of Ambition is especially good at kicking off burst combos.

• Dark Barrage is best used in melee range where all of the projectiles hit your main target.

• Vital Draw is an excellent setup for burst combos as it's quite a long CC.
  • Follow up with any other shroud skill except for Voracious Arc as that one dazes targets and could therefore stunbreak your enemies. It's still good to use near the end of Vital Draw.

• Tainted Bolts (shroud auto) can do a lot of damage with Quickness and makes for a great filler skill if you're out of CDs or don't want to go into melee.

• Ghastly Claws is the best burst skill on Axe. Sometimes when you drop out of shroud you'll have a few seconds of Quickness left, which might be enough to cover an entire cast of GC to make it harder to avoid.

Shroud burst combo example:

1. Devouring Cut to get into melee range.
2. Voracious Arc to deliver damage while avoiding incoming attacks and dazing the target, making it harder for them to prevent the next step of the chain. It's also yet another mobility skill in case you were still not in melee range.
3. Vital Draw for CC.
4. Dark Barrage at point-blank range for maximum effectiveness.
5. Tainted Bolts spam.

Sustain

• Use Spectral Ring to kite enemies or wall yourself off from them. Crossing the ring also gives you Protection.
  • Casting Putrid Mark insdie the ring results in AoE Chaos Armor (but only if an enemy triggers the mark).

• Spectral Walk (SW) is great for preventing condition pressure from ramping up on you. Activating its chain skill which "ends" Spectral Walk does not stop the cleansing. This skill has many uses, for example:
  • Activate SW ⇒ jump off a cliff while being chased ⇒ Spectral Recall when your enemies jump after you.
  • Activate SW ⇒ Necrotic Traversal (Flesh Wurm skill) ⇒ teleport back when they catch up to you. This works for stomping downed enemies as well, the channeling isn't interrupted by either of these teleports!

• Summon Flesh Wurm mainly serves as an escape/vertical mobility tool.

• Harbinger has better mobility than the average Necromancer build which could prove useful when it comes to surviving damage. Devouring Cut and Voracious Arc are both great for building (or closing) gaps.

Related Builds

• Harbinger - Power Harbinger - Conquest PvP version.