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Difference between revisions of "Scourge - Blood Sage"
 
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{{#seo:
 
−
|title=Scourge - Blood Sage
 
−
|description=A hybrid PvP Scourge build with a mix of condition pressure, bit of support, and exceptional rez power via Blood Magic.
 
−
}}
 
 
{{Build
 
{{Build
 
| profession = necromancer
 
| profession = necromancer
 
| specialization = scourge
 
| specialization = scourge
 
| designed for = Conquest
 
| designed for = Conquest
−
| rating = archived
+
| rating = great
−
| focus = condition damage, support
+
| focus = condition damage, support, boon removal
 +
| difficulty = 1
 +
| xpac = PoF
 
}}
 
}}
−
 
−
__TOC__
 
  
 
==Overview==
 
==Overview==
−
A hybrid PvP Scourge build with a mix of condition pressure, bit of support, and exceptional rez power via Blood Magic.
+
A hybrid PvP bunker Scourge build with a mix of condition pressure, barrier sharing and exceptional rez power via Blood Magic.
  
−
'''Archival note: removed from play by the September 2019 shade changes'''
 
  
 
==Skill Bar==
 
==Skill Bar==
Line 24: Line 19:
 
| weapon1 = staff
 
| weapon1 = staff
 
| weapon2 =  
 
| weapon2 =  
−
| weapon3 = scepter
+
| weapon3 = pistol
 
| weapon4 = torch
 
| weapon4 = torch
 
| healing = Sand Flare
 
| healing = Sand Flare
−
| utility1 = Corrupt Boon
+
| utility1 = Trail of Anguish
−
| utility3 = Spectral Walk
+
| utility2 = Well of Corruption
 
| elite = Ghastly Breach
 
| elite = Ghastly Breach
 
}}
 
}}
Line 34: Line 29:
  
 
===Slot Changes===
 
===Slot Changes===
 +
'''Utility'''
 +
 +
There are plenty of viable options for the remaining slot:
 +
* {{Skill|Desiccate}} - lowest CD Punishment skill with boon corruption synergy, great at building Life Force even out of combat.
 +
 +
* {{Skill|Serpent Siphon}} - low CD barrier/boon application and damage.
 +
 +
* {{Skill|Sand Swell}} - vertical mobility, trait synergy.
 +
 +
* {{Skill|Spectral Walk}} - stun break, kiting potential, cleansing and LF generation.
 +
 +
* {{Skill|Summon Flesh Wurm}} - stun break and vertical mobility.
 +
 +
* {{Skill|Corrupt Boon}} - boon corruption/condi burst.
 +
 +
* {{Skill|Corrosive Poison Cloud}} - great option against projectile-heavy comps, and it's even good in melee because it shuts down Power-based specs with {{Tooltip|Weakness}} while doing respectable damage.
 +
 +
* {{Skill|Spectral Armor}} - protects against strike damage, breaks stun, helps with resource management.
 +
 +
 
'''Heal'''
 
'''Heal'''
−
* {{Skill|Consume Conditions}} - if you need better condition management.
+
* {{Skill|Well of Blood}} - this focuses on restoring health for you and your allies rather than mitigating damage, but giving up barrier synergy is going to cost you some condition cleansing and {{Tooltip|Vigor}}. Sometimes it's also harder to support allies with this because they might not stay in the ring for long.
 +
 
  
−
'''Utility'''
+
'''Weapons'''
 +
* ''Scepter'' over ''Pistol'' - Scepter remains a viable option especially for people who don't own the Secrets of the Obscure expansion. You lose a CC but gain a boon corrupt, however Scepter is a slower weapon and the damage requires some setup which makes it less ideal under pressure. Take offhand Dagger too if you don't have SotO.
  
−
There are plenty of viable options for the remaining slot:
 
−
* {{Skill|Sand Swell}} - vertical mobility, Punishment synergy.
 
−
* {{Skill|Trail of Anguish}} - stun break, {{Tooltip|Stability}}, Punishment synergy.
 
−
* {{Skill|Spectral Armor}} - protects against direct damage, breaks stun, helps with resource management.
 
  
−
<!--==Template Code==
+
==Template Code==
 
{{TemplateCode|
 
{{TemplateCode|
−
code = [&DQgTPTIaPD1+FqIAvQEAAEABAACLAAAAYBcAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]
+
code = [&DQgTPTIaPD1+FgAAchYAAHMBAAAhFwAAYBcAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADVgBnAFkAAA==]
−
}}-->
+
}}
 +
 
  
 
==Specializations==
 
==Specializations==
 
{{Specialization|Blood Magic|top|bot|bot}}
 
{{Specialization|Blood Magic|top|bot|bot}}
−
{{Specialization|Soul Reaping|mid|bot|bot}}
+
{{Specialization|Soul Reaping|mid|mid|top}}
−
'''Variants'''
+
{{Specialization|Scourge|top|bot|bot}}
−
* {{Trait|Vital Persistence}} is a decent sustain bump, but you'll be forced to take {{Trait|Nourishing Ashes}} to make up for the Life Force lost.
 
−
{{Specialization|Scourge|top|mid|mid}}
 
  
  
 
==Equipment==
 
==Equipment==
 
{{PvP equipment
 
{{PvP equipment
−
| weapon1 = scepter
+
| weapon1 = pistol
 
| weapon2 = torch
 
| weapon2 = torch
 
| weapon3 = staff
 
| weapon3 = staff
 
| weapon4 =  
 
| weapon4 =  
 
| sigil1 = Revocation
 
| sigil1 = Revocation
−
| sigil2 = Agility
+
| sigil2 = Doom
−
| sigil3 = Annulment
+
| sigil3 = Energy
 
| sigil4 = Escape
 
| sigil4 = Escape
−
| rune = Traveler
+
| rune = Lynx
 
| amulet = Sage
 
| amulet = Sage
 +
| relic = Relic of Cerus
 
}}
 
}}
  
−
=== Equipment Changes ===
 
−
'''Rune
 
−
* {{rune|Superior Rune of the Adventurer}} - if your team provides you with a sufficient amount of {{Tooltip|Swiftness}} then you may want to consider a rune such as this one for more damage.
 
−
* {{rune|Superior Rune of Balthazar}} - increases HP while also boosting the effectiveness of various {{Tooltip|Burn}}ing related traits.
 
  
 +
===Equipment Variants===
 +
'''Runes'''
 +
 +
Lynx is taken for its passive mobility which should make it easier for you to rotate around the map, especially if you and your team don't have a high {{Tooltip|Swiftness}} uptime. It could also help you kite enemies a bit better. If you don't need the mobility then there are other runes with better stats:
 +
* {{Rune|Dolyak}} - makes the build more tanky if you can afford to give up some passive mobility.
 +
 +
* {{Rune|Necromancer}} - a solid choice if you want to focus more on damage.
 +
 +
 +
'''Relics'''
 +
* {{Relic|Relic of Rivers}} - adds a significant amount of {{Tooltip|Alacrity}} to the build, allowing you to spam your support skills more often. You might want to pick up some extra Life Force building skills for utilities to keep up with the faster rate of LF spending due to Alacrity. Using {{Rune|Traveler}} over Lynx could be considered for slightly higher boon duration.
 +
 +
* {{Relic|Relic of the Demon Queen}} - improves the healing reduction effect of {{Tooltip|Poison}} you apply while adding more poison procs to the build.
 +
 +
* {{Relic|Relic of the Flock}} - another source of AoE barrier sharing, but doesn't have synergy with your Scourge traits.
 +
 +
* {{Relic|Relic of Antitoxin}} - boosts your condition removal.
  
−
'''Amulet
 
−
* {{Amulet/Deadshot Amulet|label=yes}} - by taking this amulet you trade some of your support/sustain potential for more damage.
 
  
 
==Usage==
 
==Usage==
 
'''Elite specialization basics'''
 
'''Elite specialization basics'''
 
* {{Skill|Death Shroud}} is replaced by shade skills, but shroud related traits still work. Life force (LF) is no longer drained passively or upon taking damage, but instead serves as a resource used by F2-5 skills (F1, which places the shade, is free).
 
* {{Skill|Death Shroud}} is replaced by shade skills, but shroud related traits still work. Life force (LF) is no longer drained passively or upon taking damage, but instead serves as a resource used by F2-5 skills (F1, which places the shade, is free).
−
* {{Skill|Manifest Sand Shade}} adds a bit of range to the build and acts as somewhat spammable source of damage especially with {{Trait|Sadistic Searing}}.
+
 
−
* If no shades are active, as F2-5 skills go off around the caster. If there is a shade placed, these skills will only go off around the shades, which heavily reduces your survivability if a shade is active and you're not standing on it.
+
* {{Skill|Manifest Sand Shade}} adds a bit of range to the build and acts as a somewhat spammable source of barrier/cleansing/{{Tooltip|Vigor}} that doesn't cost anything.
−
* {{Trait|Dhuumfire}} will proc on every single shade skill, including Manifest Sand Shade.
+
 
−
* Every shade skill inflicts {{Tooltip|Burning}} (5s ICD), {{Tooltip|Cripple}}, and {{Tooltip|Torment}}.
+
* F2-5 skills go off around both the caster and active shades.
  
  
 
'''General'''
 
'''General'''
−
* '''Playstyle:''' your role is to aid your team in larger fights by keeping the enemy team under constant pressure through condition applications, CC, and boon stripping whilst also supporting them to some extent (more about that below). Avoid 1v1s whenever possible.
+
* '''Playstyle:''' your role is to aid your team in larger fights by providing barrier, cleansing and boons to allies while keeping the enemy team pressured through condition damage, CC and boon corruption.
−
* {{gw2sigil|Superior Sigil of Agility}}'s {{Tooltip|Quickness}} can be used in many ways, like pulling off the {{Skill|Oppressive Collapse}} + {{Skill|Feast of Corruption}} combo better, or just getting your heal off quicker and with less risk.
+
 
−
* The build has a lot of barrier applications, keep in mind that you can't have an active barrier higher than 50% of your maximum health, although reaching the cap should be more than rare.
 
 
* Do not spam your staff marks on the ground while out of combat, as a single dodge can undo them all. Placing {{Skill|Mark of Blood}} on chokes to detect enemies crossing in stealth is fine however, as it's a rather short CD and weak one.
 
* Do not spam your staff marks on the ground while out of combat, as a single dodge can undo them all. Placing {{Skill|Mark of Blood}} on chokes to detect enemies crossing in stealth is fine however, as it's a rather short CD and weak one.
−
* Necromancer mobility/sustain is rather bad, so try to make use of the terrain with proper positioning. Make it hard for enemies to reach you especially ranged ones - pillars are your second best friend, right after a bunker Firebrand.
+
 
−
* The build only has 1 mass cleanse by default: {{Skill|Putrid Mark}} (potentially 2 if you took {{Skill|Consume Conditions}}). Hold onto them as long as you can.
+
* Using {{Skill|Manifest Sand Shade}} near the start of every fight and aiming to maintain at least 1 active shade is highly recommended. Having an active shade gives you damage reduction and allows you to cover a larger area with your shade skills.
 +
 
 +
* Necromancer mobility is rather bad, so try to make use of the terrain with proper positioning. Make it hard for enemies to reach you especially ranged ones - pillars are your friend.
 +
<!--* {{Trait|Feed from Corruption}} grants you barrier whenever you corrupt or remove a boon, turning {{Skill|Well of Corruption}} into one of your best defensive CDs.-->
 +
 
 +
* The build only has 1 mass cleanse by default: {{Skill|Putrid Mark}}.
 +
<!--* If you're at 3 available charges of {{Skill|Manifest Sand Shade}} while out of combat, consider dropping a shade or two on your location to gain {{Tooltip|Alacrity}} and speed up the recharge of some important CDs before next fight.-->
 +
 
 
* Consider using {{Skill|Trail of Anguish}} before your heal for the {{Tooltip|Stability}} while under heavy pressure.
 
* Consider using {{Skill|Trail of Anguish}} before your heal for the {{Tooltip|Stability}} while under heavy pressure.
 +
 
* {{Skill|Ghastly Breach}} is a rather powerful skill, but also easily avoidable. Don't just drop it randomly at the start of the fight, wait for the right moment - look for a situation where you can make your opponent overcommit. Place it on enemies trying to revive their downed teammate, or under yourself on low HP to scare them off.
 
* {{Skill|Ghastly Breach}} is a rather powerful skill, but also easily avoidable. Don't just drop it randomly at the start of the fight, wait for the right moment - look for a situation where you can make your opponent overcommit. Place it on enemies trying to revive their downed teammate, or under yourself on low HP to scare them off.
−
* {{Skill|Corrupt Boon}} is not only a great spike skill, but also a defensive one - thanks to the low cast time CB can be used to counterpressure targets. Someone's chasing you with {{Tooltip|Stability}} and {{Tooltip|Might}} stacks? Turn their boons against them, right into {{Tooltip|Fear}} and {{Tooltip|Weakness}}! It's also unblockable.
+
 
−
* Even just a two skill chain of {{Skill|Corrupt Boon}} {{to}} {{Skill|Feast of Corruption}} is already a decent burst combo, inflicting up to 6 different conditions and stripping at least 5 boons (potentially more with sigils).
+
* ''If taken'' {{Skill|Corrupt Boon}} is not only a great spike skill, but also a defensive one - thanks to the low cast time CB can be used to counterpressure targets. Someone's chasing you with {{Tooltip|Stability}} and {{Tooltip|Might}} stacks? Turn their boons against them, right into {{Tooltip|Fear}} and {{Tooltip|Weakness}}! It's also unblockable.
  
  
 
'''Support'''
 
'''Support'''
 
* Blood Magic traits and Scourge mechanics make this build exceptionally good at reviving allies:
 
* Blood Magic traits and Scourge mechanics make this build exceptionally good at reviving allies:
−
** {{Skill|Garish Pillar}} triggers {{Trait|Transfusion}}, which restores both normal and downed health for all allies around you. This will also teleport downed people to the very first time they come in range of the skill. Channeling isn't interrupted when you begin to rez manually (pressing F by default), nor when you go into downed state, which means even if it won't fully revive you, it can still make it easier for allies to do so.
+
** {{Skill|Garish Pillar}} triggers {{Trait|Transfusion}}, which restores both normal and downed health for all allies around you. This will also teleport downed people to you. Channeling isn't interrupted when you begin to rez manually (pressing F by default), nor when you go into downed state - which means you could even rez ''yourself'' a little to help allies get you back up.
 
** {{Trait|Ritual of Life}} procs a Well that heals and revives.
 
** {{Trait|Ritual of Life}} procs a Well that heals and revives.
 
** {{Trait|Last Rites}} cancels the regular downstate HP degeneration.
 
** {{Trait|Last Rites}} cancels the regular downstate HP degeneration.
−
* Try to share the barrier from {{Skill|Sand Flare}} and {{Skill|Sand Cascade}}, plus the condition conversion of {{Skill|Nefarious Favor}} with as many allies as possible. They'll have to be in range of either you, or your shade for the latter two.
+
 
−
* {{Trait|Abrasive Grit}} causes your barriers to cleanse 1 condition from allies.
+
* Applying a '''barrier''' cleanses conditions and grants {{Tooltip|Vigor}}.
 +
 
 +
* {{Skill|Manifest Sand Shade}}, {{Skill|Sand Cascade}}, {{Skill|Sandstorm Shroud}} and {{Skill|Sand Flare}} are your main sources of barrier sharing.
 +
 
 +
* {{Skill|Sandstorm Shroud}} pulses barrier and {{Tooltip|Protection}} to nearby allies for a couple of seconds, followed by a detonation that applies a larger amount of barrier while also corrupting boons on enemies. This skill only goes off around yourself and shades that were placed ''before'' the activation of this skill, so try to set up multiple shades in advance in order to cover a larger area. It's one of the strongest skills in the build both for defensive and offensive purposes so try to hit as many targets as possible, both friendly and hostile.
 +
** Try to share as many pulses with allies as possible, but enemies only really need to be in range of this skill for the final detonation.
 +
 
 +
* {{Skill|Nefarious Favor}} adds yet another group cleanse to the build.
  
  
−
'''Life force management'''
+
'''Life Force management'''
 
* As your shade skills cost LF, being efficient at managing this resource will be crucial for both your damage and sustain. We're going to list all the sources and provide a few tips for getting the most out of them.
 
* As your shade skills cost LF, being efficient at managing this resource will be crucial for both your damage and sustain. We're going to list all the sources and provide a few tips for getting the most out of them.
 +
 
*All staff skills generate life force:
 
*All staff skills generate life force:
−
** {{Skill|Necrotic Grasp}} is a rather weak skill and there's no way you'll be able to use it much under any pressure. It does however generate 5% LF per target hit, and you should use it for the occasional ranged poking. Alternatively, right after you won a fight (and no enemies are nearby who could rez their downed allies) you can use the downed bodies as batteries and just spam staff autos at them for a substantial amount of free life force.
+
** {{Skill|Necrotic Grasp}} is a rather weak skill and there's no way you'll be able to use it much under any pressure. It does however generate 4% LF per target hit, and you should use it for the occasional ranged poking. Alternatively, right after you won a fight (and no enemies are nearby who could rez their downed allies) you can use the downed bodies as batteries and just spam staff autos on them for a substantial amount of free Life Force while [[Guide:PvP_Combat_Basics#Bleeding_Out|bleeding out]] the enemy.
 
** Marks are '''unblockable''' and generate 3% LF each. {{Skill|Mark of Blood}} and {{Skill|Chilblains}} can be used freely for just pressure and LF building, while {{Skill|Putrid Mark}} and {{Skill|Reaper's Mark}} are more powerful and should be kept for the proper occasion (Putrid for mass cleansing and Reaper's for interrupting).
 
** Marks are '''unblockable''' and generate 3% LF each. {{Skill|Mark of Blood}} and {{Skill|Chilblains}} can be used freely for just pressure and LF building, while {{Skill|Putrid Mark}} and {{Skill|Reaper's Mark}} are more powerful and should be kept for the proper occasion (Putrid for mass cleansing and Reaper's for interrupting).
 +
 
* On scepter/torch you have 2 such skills:
 
* On scepter/torch you have 2 such skills:
 
** {{Skill|Feast of Corruption}} should be used with at least ~4 conditions on the target, both your burst damage and LF stacking benefits from the higher number of conditions on the target. Make sure that this skill lands by CCing the target with either {{Skill|Oppressive Collapse}} or {{Skill|Garish Pillar}}.
 
** {{Skill|Feast of Corruption}} should be used with at least ~4 conditions on the target, both your burst damage and LF stacking benefits from the higher number of conditions on the target. Make sure that this skill lands by CCing the target with either {{Skill|Oppressive Collapse}} or {{Skill|Garish Pillar}}.
 
** {{Skill|Harrowing Wave}} is rather straightforward, just try to hit as many targets as possible including Ranger pets and Mesmer illusions.
 
** {{Skill|Harrowing Wave}} is rather straightforward, just try to hit as many targets as possible including Ranger pets and Mesmer illusions.
−
* {{Skill|Spectral Armor}} is an excellent defensive tool as it breaks stun, applies {{Tooltip|Protection}} and generates LF for defensive abilities while under pressure.
+
 
−
* {{Trait|Fear of Death}} gives LF whenever you successfully apply fear to a target (5s ICD). {{Skill|Garish Pillar}} could almost refund its entire cost for example.
+
* {{Trait|Eternal Life}} passively stacks LF for you up to the 10% threshold except for when {{Skill|Sandstorm Shroud}} is active.
 +
 
 +
* ''If taken'' {{Skill|Desiccate}} should be used on CD even outside combat for free LF generation.
  
  
 
==Related Builds==
 
==Related Builds==
 
* [[Build:Scourge - Blood Support|Scourge - Blood Support]]
 
* [[Build:Scourge - Blood Support|Scourge - Blood Support]]

Latest revision as of 08:51, 11 September 2024

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

Focused on: Condition damage, Support and Boon removal

Designed for: PvP Conquest

Expansions required: Path of Fire Builds

Difficulty:
Easy
This build was last updated on September 11, 2024 and is up to date for the October 8, 2024 patch.

Overview

A hybrid PvP bunker Scourge build with a mix of condition pressure, barrier sharing and exceptional rez power via Blood Magic.


Skill Bar

Scourge-skillbar-bg.png
Staff
Pistol/Torch
Utility


Slot Changes

Utility

There are plenty of viable options for the remaining slot:

  • Desiccate - lowest CD Punishment skill with boon corruption synergy, great at building Life Force even out of combat.
  • Serpent Siphon - low CD barrier/boon application and damage.
  • Sand Swell - vertical mobility, trait synergy.
  • Spectral Walk - stun break, kiting potential, cleansing and LF generation.
  • Summon Flesh Wurm - stun break and vertical mobility.
  • Corrupt Boon - boon corruption/condi burst.
  • Corrosive Poison Cloud - great option against projectile-heavy comps, and it's even good in melee because it shuts down Power-based specs with Weakness Weakness while doing respectable damage.
  • Spectral Armor - protects against strike damage, breaks stun, helps with resource management.


Heal

  • Well of Blood - this focuses on restoring health for you and your allies rather than mitigating damage, but giving up barrier synergy is going to cost you some condition cleansing and Vigor Vigor. Sometimes it's also harder to support allies with this because they might not stay in the ring for long.


Weapons

  • Scepter over Pistol - Scepter remains a viable option especially for people who don't own the Secrets of the Obscure expansion. You lose a CC but gain a boon corrupt, however Scepter is a slower weapon and the damage requires some setup which makes it less ideal under pressure. Take offhand Dagger too if you don't have SotO.


Template Code

[&DQgTPTIaPD1+FgAAchYAAHMBAAAhFwAAYBcAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADVgBnAFkAAA==]
Copy Template Code


Specializations


Equipment

Pistol
Torch
Sigil
Sigil
Staff
Sigil
Sigil
Rune
Amulet
Relic


Equipment Variants

Runes

Lynx is taken for its passive mobility which should make it easier for you to rotate around the map, especially if you and your team don't have a high Swiftness Swiftness uptime. It could also help you kite enemies a bit better. If you don't need the mobility then there are other runes with better stats:

  • Rune of Dolyak - makes the build more tanky if you can afford to give up some passive mobility.
  • Rune of Necromancer - a solid choice if you want to focus more on damage.


Relics

  • Relic of Rivers - adds a significant amount of Alacrity Alacrity to the build, allowing you to spam your support skills more often. You might want to pick up some extra Life Force building skills for utilities to keep up with the faster rate of LF spending due to Alacrity. Using Rune of Traveler over Lynx could be considered for slightly higher boon duration.
  • Relic of the Demon Queen - improves the healing reduction effect of Poison Poison you apply while adding more poison procs to the build.
  • Relic of the Flock - another source of AoE barrier sharing, but doesn't have synergy with your Scourge traits.
  • Relic of Antitoxin - boosts your condition removal.


Usage

Elite specialization basics

  • Death Shroud is replaced by shade skills, but shroud related traits still work. Life force (LF) is no longer drained passively or upon taking damage, but instead serves as a resource used by F2-5 skills (F1, which places the shade, is free).
  • Manifest Sand Shade adds a bit of range to the build and acts as a somewhat spammable source of barrier/cleansing/Vigor Vigor that doesn't cost anything.
  • F2-5 skills go off around both the caster and active shades.


General

  • Playstyle: your role is to aid your team in larger fights by providing barrier, cleansing and boons to allies while keeping the enemy team pressured through condition damage, CC and boon corruption.
  • Do not spam your staff marks on the ground while out of combat, as a single dodge can undo them all. Placing Mark of Blood on chokes to detect enemies crossing in stealth is fine however, as it's a rather short CD and weak one.
  • Using Manifest Sand Shade near the start of every fight and aiming to maintain at least 1 active shade is highly recommended. Having an active shade gives you damage reduction and allows you to cover a larger area with your shade skills.
  • Necromancer mobility is rather bad, so try to make use of the terrain with proper positioning. Make it hard for enemies to reach you especially ranged ones - pillars are your friend.
  • The build only has 1 mass cleanse by default: Putrid Mark.
  • Consider using Trail of Anguish before your heal for the Stability Stability while under heavy pressure.
  • Ghastly Breach is a rather powerful skill, but also easily avoidable. Don't just drop it randomly at the start of the fight, wait for the right moment - look for a situation where you can make your opponent overcommit. Place it on enemies trying to revive their downed teammate, or under yourself on low HP to scare them off.
  • If taken Corrupt Boon is not only a great spike skill, but also a defensive one - thanks to the low cast time CB can be used to counterpressure targets. Someone's chasing you with Stability Stability and Might Might stacks? Turn their boons against them, right into Fear Fear and Weakness Weakness! It's also unblockable.


Support

  • Blood Magic traits and Scourge mechanics make this build exceptionally good at reviving allies:
    • Garish Pillar triggers Transfusion, which restores both normal and downed health for all allies around you. This will also teleport downed people to you. Channeling isn't interrupted when you begin to rez manually (pressing F by default), nor when you go into downed state - which means you could even rez yourself a little to help allies get you back up.
    • Ritual of Life procs a Well that heals and revives.
    • Last Rites cancels the regular downstate HP degeneration.
  • Applying a barrier cleanses conditions and grants Vigor Vigor.
  • Manifest Sand Shade, Sand Cascade, Sandstorm Shroud and Sand Flare are your main sources of barrier sharing.
  • Sandstorm Shroud pulses barrier and Protection Protection to nearby allies for a couple of seconds, followed by a detonation that applies a larger amount of barrier while also corrupting boons on enemies. This skill only goes off around yourself and shades that were placed before the activation of this skill, so try to set up multiple shades in advance in order to cover a larger area. It's one of the strongest skills in the build both for defensive and offensive purposes so try to hit as many targets as possible, both friendly and hostile.
    • Try to share as many pulses with allies as possible, but enemies only really need to be in range of this skill for the final detonation.
  • Nefarious Favor adds yet another group cleanse to the build.


Life Force management

  • As your shade skills cost LF, being efficient at managing this resource will be crucial for both your damage and sustain. We're going to list all the sources and provide a few tips for getting the most out of them.
  • All staff skills generate life force:
    • Necrotic Grasp is a rather weak skill and there's no way you'll be able to use it much under any pressure. It does however generate 4% LF per target hit, and you should use it for the occasional ranged poking. Alternatively, right after you won a fight (and no enemies are nearby who could rez their downed allies) you can use the downed bodies as batteries and just spam staff autos on them for a substantial amount of free Life Force while bleeding out the enemy.
    • Marks are unblockable and generate 3% LF each. Mark of Blood and Chilblains can be used freely for just pressure and LF building, while Putrid Mark and Reaper's Mark are more powerful and should be kept for the proper occasion (Putrid for mass cleansing and Reaper's for interrupting).
  • On scepter/torch you have 2 such skills:
    • Feast of Corruption should be used with at least ~4 conditions on the target, both your burst damage and LF stacking benefits from the higher number of conditions on the target. Make sure that this skill lands by CCing the target with either Oppressive Collapse or Garish Pillar.
    • Harrowing Wave is rather straightforward, just try to hit as many targets as possible including Ranger pets and Mesmer illusions.
  • Eternal Life passively stacks LF for you up to the 10% threshold except for when Sandstorm Shroud is active.
  • If taken Desiccate should be used on CD even outside combat for free LF generation.


Related Builds

Retrieved from "https://metabattle.com/wiki/index.php?title=Build:Scourge_-_Blood_Sage&oldid=19117"


Ratings

This build has a rating of 5 stars based on 12 votes.
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3 stars
Ethan gave this build 3 stars • November 2024
It still works, transfusion nerfs definitely decreased it's strength though. If you really want to play scourge, this is the way to do it. Tanky as hell and respectable damage and boon corrupts. It works best in comps that have dedicated supports as it functions like a secondary support, kinda like condi tempest. Fun, but I think it's better to keep this in the back pocket for 3v3 seasons
5 stars
Hanz gave this build 5 stars • January 2024
Very easy to play and can be highly effective, especially during 2v2 and 3v3 seasons but of course it's fine in Conquest too. Nearly permanent alacrity uptime, lots of barrier sharing which also makes it nearly immune to conditions via trait synergy, decent pressure - but it can quickly go down if it's focused by high damage specs if there's no other support on the team. Not perfect but still quite strong.
5 stars
Gkhougaz gave this build 5 stars • October 2023
This build is pure tilt with huge barrier and AoE condi. Amazing AoE boon rip with Ghastly Breach and strong condi pressure. For utilities I've settled on Desiccate, Serpent Siphon and Trail of Anguish. The advantage these skills have is that they have both offense and defense application, which is a theme that characterizes this build. It can be a bit of a bunker in 1v1s, support when necessary, extremely strong AoE condi removal (any barrier application), and always medium-strong condi pressure, which makes it among the most flexible and fun in the game. The one tip I'd recommend is to bind Profession Skill 1 (Manifest Sand Shade) to your mouse side button if you have it, and set ground targeting to instant cast. Personally I find staff rather weak and I hate getting trapped in it for 10 seconds, especially on the second rotation when the cooldowns are so long. Pistol/Torch main and Scepter/Torch secondary is stronger in my opinion, staying mostly in pistol. It is a really really strong build this way in gold-tier pvp, it rarely gets any top marks but the pure mix of support and condi damage is a major tilt in any fight. Not sure how well this would work in tourneys against high level players where necros run into a wall of CC, mobility and mitigation problems.
4 stars
Goon gave this build 4 stars • August 2023
Idk if I'm not getting it but this build feels quite mediocre. You're sustain is dependent upon how bad your enemy is. If they suck and stand in your strips and corrupt fields youre unkillable but if they don't then youre just playing a necro build with bad damage, no mobility and no sustain. I'm still giving it 4 stars because it can be very tanky if played right but seems to be a FOTM build that is very overrated.
5 stars
Azeth123 gave this build 5 stars • August 2019
This build is still very strong in the current season. Just make sure to stick with your firebrand. I highly recommend using well of corruption in the final empty utility slot because on many maps it covers the whole point and allows both you and your firebrand to bunker a point super effectively against an enemy scourge / firebrand. I often cover downed players with ghastly breach to punish any sort of res attempts, bonus if it also is on the point. Torment destroy people who are not watching their stacks. Torch 4 and 5 go a long way to stacking it high and torch 4 alone puts out serious numbers in a 3v3 fight on the point if you hit everyone. Use the long range of staff to start harassing enemy players on their way into points and through chokes. The best map for this is probably skyhammer because of the middle point's elevation and the choke points into mid. Swapping to staff, staff skill 5, and going for a rez has about 90% success rate if you dont waste time. Remember to utilize staff 4 against the enemy firebrand / scourge combo to throw those conditions back at them. Spam shades because they are overpowered, if you arent willing to learn the class, just piano the keys with 3 shades up on a point and blow everything up.
5 stars
Baescons gave this build 5 stars • April 2019
Still just plain better for many situations in ranked and can function in ats as well
5 stars
Blitz Berlin gave this build 5 stars • July 2018
Pretty much everything Xavoran already said before. I am loving the extras the Blood Line brings to the battlefield.
5 stars
Xavoran gave this build 5 stars • April 2018
I can definitely recommend this build. It's great for playing solo ranked, lots of support, ability to solo some classes. Only thing the build really lacks is mobility (take Sand Swell if this is a big problem for you). I know it's mentioned as a viable alternative in the post, but since the build is already very support-heavy, I really recommend going Desert Empowerment instead of Sadistic Searing in the Scourge trait tree. It's just an incredible extra amount of sustain and condition removal since you already run Abrasive Grit. If not running it all the time, at least consider swapping it in when against condition-heavy comps, it's really worth it!
5 stars
Voltaicbore gave this build 5 stars • March 2018
Agreed with other commenters who find this build strong in the current metagame. In some matches I even run desert empowerment alongside abrasive grit, which allows one move (the sand shade) to provide barrier, cleanse, and might to teammates (not to mention a token amount of burning for enemies). The constant sustain provided to self/allies, a similarly constant stream of condition pressure, superior boon corruption, and just not dying as easily as your opponents hoped make this a great build for scaring boon-heavy bruisers off point. Excellent as a node holder and team support, just have to be careful to survive/negate some of the big bursts that come your way at the beginning of fights.
5 stars
Rvbmedeiros gave this build 5 stars • February 2018
Agreed. Tested and confirmed. Lot more sustain and overall performance is better, as anet probably has planned to scourge.
5 stars
Derpster gave this build 5 stars • February 2018
With the recent nerfs to corruption from curses I'd argue that this should be the current meta build now. The increased utility is just more worth it.
5 stars
Elr198 gave this build 5 stars • January 2018
I agree with what Baescons said, this build right here is the support oriented role that Arena-net wanted for scourge, but actually ended up displacing with the superior firepower of condi scourge. Regardless, this build is quite potent, offering a respectable mix of condition damage, barriers for teammates, and substantial rez capability, as well as much higher personal sustain than shadefire. I think in the January balance patch this build will be buffed somewhat, and the shadefire variant will be nerfed to, hopefully, bring the two builds closer to equality.

Comments

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