Build:Willbender - Support Alacbender

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

Focused on: Condition cleanse, Boon support, Healing and Crowd control

Designed for: WvW Zerg

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

Hard

This build was last updated on August 31, 2024 and is up to date for the October 8, 2024 patch.

Overview

A support Willbender build for WvW. Provides a large amount of Alacrity as well as cleansing, healing and boon support. Sustained healing is lower than other secondary supports, but it can provide significant offensive boons ( Alacrity, Might) for a subgroup.

Skill Bar

Spear

Mace/Torch

Utility

Variants

Weapons

• Axe for CC
• Scepter makes Alacrity upkeep much easier
• Shield provides projectile hate, crowd control and protection uptime.

Utilities

• Signet of Mercy
• Sanctuary

Template Code

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Specializations

Variants

• Pure of Heart if running shield can improve healing

Equipment

Head
Minstrel

Shoulders
Minstrel

Chest
Minstrel

Hands
Minstrel

Legs
Minstrel

Feet
Minstrel

Backpiece
Minstrel

Accessory
Minstrel

Accessory
Minstrel

Amulet
Minstrel

Ring
Minstrel

Ring
Minstrel

Spear
Minstrel

Sigil

Sigil

Scepter
Minstrel

Torch
Minstrel

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x16

Infusion
x2

Relic

Consumables

• • personal food option

Usage

General

• Focus on using your skills to cleanse allies
• Make sure to have the active effect from Flowing Resolve as often as possible
• Use your burst heal to help during high pressure moments

Overall Priorities

High

• Stability
• Condition Removal
• Alacrity

Moderate

• Other Boon application Might Aegis Regeneration Protection

Low

• Healing

Surviving

• This build has high passive defense
• This build has high mobility skill access
  • Make sure to drop target when using Rushing Justice for mobility
• This build has high active defense
  • While your active defenses are strong, they are ideally saved for your group and not used selfishly

Active defense priority

• Flowing Resolve - for Immobilize
• Dodge
• Crashing Courage - 600 range shadowstep + personal stability and aegis
• Rushing Justice
• Flowing Resolve - 3 Conditions cleansed + 3/4s Evade
• "Advance!" - Aegis + 2 Conditions cleansed
• "Receive the Light!"

Detailed Explanations

Stability

• Apply Stability before allies get caught by enemy CC
• When using "Stand Your Ground!" cover the application by applying other boons immediately after the cast
• Avoid overlapping multiple Stability sources on your party, both your own and other players
• Enemy CC is most likely to land when they spike your group, your group is moving through theirs, or your group is moving away from theirs.
• Prioritize "Stand Your Ground!" over Hallowed Ground since it has a shorter CD

Condition Removal

• Use Flowing Resolve to cleanse allies with Absolute Resolve
  • Be careful not to double tap the skill if not intended
• Use Purging Flames to cleanse in static situation (stairs / choke point) or against enemy well bombs
• Use Cleansing Flame against pulsing condition application
  • Cleansing Flame is a great tool to help allies cross wells/Winds of Disenchantment
• Make sure you're Illuminated before using Solar Storm

Condition Removal priority

• Cleansing Flame/Solar Storm
• Purging Flames
• Flowing Resolve - Absolute Resolve

Alacrity

• Use Flowing Resolve before casting your Symbol skills Symbol of Faith/Symbol of Luminance on enemies
  • Alacrity is shared because Battle Presence interacts with Phoenix Protocol
  • You need to hit targets to gain Alacrity while Flowing Resolve is active
• Daybreaking Slash is an excellent way to apply many hits for Flowing Resolve

Boon Application

• Defensive boons like Protection or Aegis should be prioritized when your group is on the defensive
  • Apply Aegis for enemy ranged spikes
• Offensive boons like Might should be prioritized when your group is on the offensive

Boon sources

• Resistance
  • Symbol of Luminance

• Might
  • Holy Reckoning gives might when virtues are triggered
  • Gleaming Disc
  • Rushing Justice with Inspired Virtue

• Fury
  • Gleaming Disc - when Illuminated

• Aegis
  • Protector's Strike

• Protection
  • Protector's Strike
  • Crashing Courage with Inspired Virtue

• Regeneration
  • Flowing Resolve with Inspired Virtue

Healing

• Selfless Daring is a powerful heal but can easily leave you out of position if misused
• Use Daybreaking Slash whenever you have downtime for healing

Healing priority

• Dodge (Selfless Daring)
• "Receive the Light!" (Can almost full heal someone if aimed correctly)
• Solar Storm
• Daybreaking Slash

Settings

• Under General Options / User Interface check Always show squad health bars and Always show party health bars. These will make it much easier to keep track of who needs your support.
• Also under General Options / User Interface turn on Thick party health bars
  • Thick squad health bars can be used too as a matter of personal preference, but is not recommended for large numbers
• Under Squad Options uncheck View as a grid. This will allow you to keep track of your allies' boons, conditions and health, enabling a better decision-making and skill management.

Tips & Tricks

• Rushing Justice and Crashing Courage
  • They are mobility skills you can use them to go support someone really fast to save them with "Receive the Light!" (or to come back to squad)
    • F1 will follow a targeted enemy or go straight in the direction your character is facing while F2 and F3 will follow your cursor
• Mesmer with Seize the Moment works well in a alacbender party.