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Difference between revisions of "Weaver - Staff Backline"

(xpac)
(reworked usage)
Line 30: Line 30:
  
 
===Skill Variants===
 
===Skill Variants===
===Heal===
+
;Heal
* {{Skill|Glyph of Elemental Harmony}} instantly restores a big portion of your HP, but loses condi hate.
+
* {{Skill|Glyph of Elemental Harmony}} better healing, if condition clear is totally covered
  
 
+
;Utility
===Utility===
+
* {{Skill|Glyph of Storms}} {{to}} {{skill|Mist Form}} if extra personal survivability is desperately needed
* {{Skill|Glyph of Storms}} can be swapped for: {{Skill|Armor of Earth}}, {{skill|Mist Form}} or {{skill|Stone Resonance}} for personal survivability when prone to being caught in CC often.
 
  
  
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{{Specialization|Fire|mid|bot|top}}
 
{{Specialization|Fire|mid|bot|top}}
 
{{Specialization|Air|bot|mid|top}}
 
{{Specialization|Air|bot|mid|top}}
{{Specialization|Weaver|top|mid|top}}
+
{{Specialization|Weaver|bot|mid|top}}
  
  
 
===Variants===
 
===Variants===
* {{Trait|Master's Fortitude}} higher sustain but loss in crit chance.
+
* {{Trait|Superior Elements}} inconsistent damage increase but reduced survivability
  
  
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===Template Code===
 
===Template Code===
 
{{TemplateCode|
 
{{TemplateCode|
code = [&DQYfHykbOBl1AAAAkAAAAPUVAAC+AQAAlwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]
+
code = [&DQYfHikbOBt1AAAAkAAAAPUVAAC+AQAAlwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]
 
}}
 
}}
  
Line 72: Line 71:
 
| weapon3 = Staff
 
| weapon3 = Staff
 
| weapon4 =  
 
| weapon4 =  
| sigil3 = Superior Sigil of Force
+
| sigil3 = Superior Sigil of Bloodlust
| sigil4 = Superior Sigil of Bloodlust
+
| sigil4 = Superior Sigil of Energy
 
| infusion1 = Mighty WvW Infusion
 
| infusion1 = Mighty WvW Infusion
 
| infusion1-qt = 18
 
| infusion1-qt = 18
Line 87: Line 86:
 
===Variants===
 
===Variants===
 
====Stats====  
 
====Stats====  
* Keep in mind this setup has 100% Crit chance with {{Trait|Superior Elements}} when changing gear.
+
* Add {{Tooltip|Dragon stats}} with {{Trait|Superior Elements}} to avoid overcapping crit. 2 rings + 1 accessory is one possible option.
 
* Use as much {{Tooltip|Marauder}} as you feel is necessary then fill out with {{Tooltip|Berserker stats}}
 
* Use as much {{Tooltip|Marauder}} as you feel is necessary then fill out with {{Tooltip|Berserker stats}}
  
  
==Usage==
+
==Usage==
===Elite specialization basics===  
+
===General===
* Weaver allows the Elementalist to attune to 2 elements at the same time, and skills 1-5 will be decided based on both. Let's call them ''primary'' and ''secondary'' attunements.
+
* As soon as you get 25 stacks of {{Sigil|Superior Sigil of Bloodlust}} and get out of combat, swap back to the Staff without a stacking sigil
* If you swap to {{Skill|Fire Attunement}} then Fire becomes your primary attunement and weapon skills 1-2 will be fire skills. Afterwards if you switch to {{Skill|Water Attunement}} for example then water is now your primary attunement and fire is moved to secondary - now skills 1-2 are water and 4-5 are fire.
+
* Read dual attunements as Old/New - i.e. Fire/Air means fire was attuned first and air was attuned second
* Skill 3 is a dual skill influenced by both active attunements {{to}} Fire + Water for example is {{Skill|Pressure Blast}}. The order of the attunements doesn't matter here, water primary with fire secondary has the same dual attack as fire primary and water secondary. Attuning to the same element twice results in skill 3 being the standard skill for that attunement, for example {{Skill|Geyser}} with both primary and secondary attunements as water.
+
* Start fights in Air/Fire or Air/Earth then rotate through attunements as follows:
 +
{{Collapsible
 +
|width=85
 +
|;Attunement rotation
 +
|
 +
# {{Skill|Air Attunement}} + {{Skill|Fire Attunement}}
 +
# {{Skill|Fire Attunement}} {{to}} {{Skill|Fire Attunement}} + {{Skill|Fire Attunement}}
 +
# {{Skill|Air Attunement}}/{{Skill|Earth Attunement}}/{{Skill|Water Attunement}} {{to}} {{Skill|Fire Attunement}} + '''X'''
 +
# {{Skill|Fire Attunement}} {{to}} '''X''' + {{Skill|Fire Attunement}}
 +
# Repeat from step 2
 +
}}
 +
 
 +
 
 +
===Priorities===
 +
;High
 +
* {{Skill|Meteor Shower}}
 +
* {{Skill|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 {{Skill|Burning Retreat}}
 +
** Avoid using {{Skill|Lightning Flash}} for mobility unless nessecary to survive
 +
* This builds has moderate active defenses
 +
** {{Skill|Twist of Fate}}
 +
** Save {{Skill|Ether Renewal}} for removing {{Tooltip|Immobilize}}, {{Tooltip|Chill}} or {{Tooltip|Weakness}}
 +
** Interrupt {{Skill|Ether Renewal}} using a '''Stow Weapon''' keybind as soon as you are full hp/condition cleared
 +
 
 +
{{Collapsible
 +
|width=85
 +
|;Active defense priority
 +
|
 +
* {{Skill|Windborne Speed}} - for {{Tooltip|Immobilize}}
 +
* {{Skill|Burning Retreat}}
 +
* {{Skill|Twist of Fate}}
 +
* {{Skill|Lightning Flash}}
 +
* {{Skill|Ether Renewal}}
 +
}}
  
  
===General===
+
===Detailed Explanations===
* Having 2 Staffs is purely for the stacking sigil purpose. As soon as you achieve 25 stacks and gets out of combat you should swap back to the Staff without the stacking sigil.
+
====Meteor Shower====
* Whilst being a full Marauder's build, you are still really fragile to power spike damage in general. Anticipating enemy movement and damage, and positioning accordingly is essential to survival.
+
* Place {{Skill|Meteor Shower}} where the enemy group is moving to, not where they are when you begin the cast
* All versions of {{Skill|Glyph of Storms}} are useful and are used for AoE pressure. Read their tooltip and figure out the best situation to use each, as they have different damage, duration, cooldown, etc.
+
* Make sure {{Trait|Elements of Rage}} is procced when using {{Skill|Meteor Shower}}
* This build requires rapidly switching between attunements. You can reduce the remaining cooldown on an attunement by switching it while you are still casting a skill (this will not interrupt the cast).
+
* There are two ways to move during the cast of {{Skill|Meteor Shower}}:
* {{Skill|Twist of Fate}} (and {{Skill|Mist Form}} if equipped) will be used mainly for self defence as a repositioning tool to temporarily avoid ground heat to deny enemies tunnel visioning on you. Prioritize living over dealing damage. Twist of Fate can also be used to ignore movement CC due to {{Tooltip|Superspeed}}.
+
** Cast {{Skill|Meteor Shower}} immediately after casting {{Skill|Burning Retreat}} and the {{Skill|Meteor Shower}} will be queued to cast at the target location after the rollback ends
* You can interrupt {{Skill|Ether Renewal}} by using ''stow weapon'' as soon as you are full healed in order to save time.
+
** Use {{Skill|Lightning Flash}} after you start casting it
* Try to maximise time spent with {{Skill|Fire Attunement}} as your primary attunement where possible to maintain {{Trait|Power Overwhelming}} and other modifiers. Core elementalist traits which require you to be in a specific attunement are only affected by you primary attunement.
+
 
  
 +
====Fiery Greatsword====
 +
* Treat {{Skill|Firestorm}} as a secondary {{Skill|Meteor Shower}}
 +
* Make sure {{Trait|Elements of Rage}} is procced when using {{Skill|Conjure Fiery Greatsword}}
 +
* {{Skill|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 {{Skill|Fiery Rush}} for mobility, on single targets or to set up {{Skill|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
  
===Staff Explanation===
 
* On the initial engage, you usually want to be in {{Skill|Fire Attunement}}/X, where X is any attunement besides Fire. Therefore all your staff 4-5 bring some kind of utility. Afterwards, you can double attune Fire and use {{Skill|Meteor Shower}}.
 
** {{Skill|Unsteady Ground}}, {{Skill|Frozen Ground}} and {{Skill|Static Field}} will be used mainly for the CC along with your team damage pressure. {{Skill|Unsteady Ground}}'s direction is based on your where your character is looking. Turn briefly while casting the skill to aim it and effectively block the passage.
 
** {{Skill|Healing Rain}} and {{Skill|Windborne Speed}} will be used to soften condition pressure and to remove soft CC on allies, respectively.
 
* Staff #2 skills are strong damage fillers (with low cooldown) to rotate between while Meteor Shower isn't available. Bear in mind Ice Spike and Eruption aren't instant.
 
** {{Skill|Lava Font}} makes up a significant part of your sustained pressure after Meteor Shower. Look to cast it off cooldown to maximize ground pressure and to upkeep the {{Trait|Persisting Flames}} modifier.
 
** {{Skill|Lightning Surge}} is a quick cast and good damage, useful to pick off single targets. Try to cast it on enemies stacked to hit multiple foes.
 
** {{Skill|Ice Spike}} gives significant 300-radius damage and justifies, along with the Water 4-5 skills, going into Water Attunement
 
** {{Skill|Eruption}} is a heavy but delayed damage spike. Can be used as preventive ground pressure and for cleaving.
 
* {{Skill|Burning Retreat}} is a powerful self defence and mobility skill which can be used to gain space between you and the enemy or to evade through damage by rotation your character into the opposite direction to where you wish to evade to.
 
* {{Skill|Gust}} and {{Skill|Shock Wave}} are 2 situational and somewhat unreliable projectile CCs that follow the terrain, and are therefore unable to hit enemies on ledges or across gaps.
 
* Most of your Staff Dual skills are slow moving projectiles ({{Skill|Plasma Blast}}, {{Skill|Pyroclastic Blast}} and {{Skill|Pressure Blast}}) with decent damage on impact. Try to cast then on downed and controlled enemies, or where the enemy will be moving to improve chances of hitting.
 
** Going Air/Earth for {{Skill|Pile Driver}} and {{Skill|Lightning Surge}} combo deals massive single target damage, but it's mostly situational and not encouraged.
 
** {{Skill|Lahar}} and {{Skill|Monsoon (weaver skill)}} are decent soft CC sources and are easily accessible from Air and Earth. Just attune for these if, situationally, movement impairing the enemy stack is more valuable than maintaining DPS.
 
  
 +
====Sustained damage====
 +
* When using ground AoEs like {{Skill|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 ({{Skill|Plasma Blast}}, {{Skill|Pyroclastic Blast}} and {{Skill|Pressure Blast}}).
 +
** Predict the enemies movement, as with {{Skill|Meteor Shower}}
 +
** Cast towards the edges of the enemy group to avoid projectile reflect
 +
* Use {{Skill|Glyph of Storms}} in {{Skill|Fire Attunement}} if you expect the fight to last at least 25 seconds
 +
** Otherwise {{Skill|Air Attunement}} has more damage but with a much longer cooldown
  
===Meteor Shower===
+
{{Collapsible
* {{Skill|Meteor Shower}} is your main damage source, but it has a long cast time. Try to place it on spots the enemy stack will tend to be, rather than where it is now. Very useful for cleave.
+
|width=85
** Try to be in a safe spot while channelling. If you get interrupted mid-cast, the amount of meteors and, thus, the total damage will be lower.
+
|;Skill priority
** If you realize the skill won't connect, you have a small window to cancel (stow) the skill before the meteors start to go off, putting it on a 4s CD.
+
|
* Try to double attune to proc {{Trait|Elements of Rage}} right before casting this skill.
+
* {{Skill|Meteor Shower}}
* By the end of the channel, you can find yourself out of position or focused by enemies. You can avoid this in two ways:
+
* {{Skill|Conjure Fiery Greatsword}}
** Use {{Skill|Lightning Flash}} after you start casting it.
+
* {{Skill|Lava Font}}
** Use the "{{Skill|Burning Retreat}} trick" - Cast {{Skill|Meteor Shower}} right after casting Burning retreat and the Meteor Shower will be queued to cast at the target location after the rollback ends. This avoids using {{Skill|Lightning Flash}} but you can find yourself even further away from your zerg.
+
* {{Skill|Plasma Blast}}/{{Skill|Pyroclastic Blast}}/{{Skill|Pressure Blast}}
 +
* {{Skill|Glyph of Storms}}
 +
* {{Skill|Lightning Surge}}/{{Skill|Eruption}}/{{Skill|Ice Spike}}
 +
* '''Autoattacks'''
 +
}}
  
  
===Combo Fields and Finishers===
+
====CC====
* Staff has a number of useful combo fields which can be used to gain extra support for your group.
+
* Your three ground CCs are {{Skill|Static Field}}, {{Skill|Unsteady Ground}} and {{Skill|Frozen Ground}}, in order of strength
** {{Skill|Geyser}} and {{Skill|Healing Rain}} are water fields which can be blasted by you or your group for extra healing.
+
* Drop your target when casting {{Skill|Shock Wave}} to make it easier to aim, don't cast it into projectile reflect
** {{Skill|Lava Font}} is a spammable fire field which can be blasted for area might.
+
** 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
** {{Skill|Static Field}} is a lightning field and can be blasted for area swiftness, although this is rarely used for this purpose.
+
* Use your CC when:
* There are a total of 3 blast finisher skills on staff which can be used to blast you or your allies fields for support. This is mostly utilised to gain stealth for your squad by blasting smoke fields or healing and cleansing by blasting water and light fields respectively.
+
** Your group calls a spike:
** {{Skill|Eruption}} and {{Skill|Ice Spike}} are low cooldown blast finishers and should be used when the commander calls for blasts if possible. Just be aware of the delay on both these skills.
+
*** Winds - {{Skill|Winds of Disenchantment}}
** {{Skill|Transmute Earth}} (Available after casting {{Skill|Magnetic Aura}}) is another blast centred around yourself. This is useful for blasting stealth by starting in Earth/Earth Attunement and casting Eruption followed by Magnetic aura then Transmute Earth, then attuning to fire to be ready for your damage spike.
+
*** Wells - {{Skill|Well of Corruption}}+{{Skill|Well of Suffering}}
 +
*** Shades - {{Skill|Desert Shroud}}
 +
*** Traps - {{Skill|Procession of Blades}}+{{Skill|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
  
  
===Conjure Fiery Greatsword===
+
====Support====
* {{Skill|Conjure Fiery Greatsword}} (FGS) provides great mobility, heavy short range AoE cleave and a damage boon when wielded. It can be used after casting {{Skill|Meteor Shower}} to increase the damage.
+
* Cast {{Skill|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
** You should still swap attunements, mainly between {{Skill|Fire Attunement}} and {{Skill|Air Attunement}} for damage, while wielding the FGS. Try to double attune at some point to proc {{Trait|Elements of Rage}}.
+
* If a player in your party is going to die because of {{Tooltip|Immobilize}}, save them with {{Skill|Windborne Speed}}
** Remember that you can retrieve the FGS conjured on the ground if you are still around. It stands for 30s.
 
** You cannot cancel skills by using stow weapon while wielding a FGS (You can drop the FGS with swap weapon to cancel in emergencies though)
 
** FGS skills are rather short (600) range so it can be somewhat risky to use. Timing and positioning is key.
 
* Cast {{Skill|Firestorm}} on top of downed enemies and/or the enemy stack. Despite the small radius, it hits 10 targets and should be used after {{Skill|Meteor Shower}} to maximize damage.
 
* {{Skill|Fiery Rush}} will be used mostly for mobility, chasing down and bursting a single target or repositioning. You can use this skill to move in the direction you are facing by simply not having a target selected.
 
* {{Skill|Fiery Whirl}} is a low cooldown mobility skill with evasion and damage. This allows you to you deal damage in melee range, while evading through enemies. Try to use it after Firestorm. If used against an obstruction or while immobilised you will spin in place, dealing heavy damage to nearby enemies.
 
* {{Skill|Flame Wave}} spam it while on melee to maintain DPS after you have burned through the FGS skills, but it isn't worth it to drop yet. Can be cast while moving in any direction without requiring you to face the target, just beware of projectile reflects.
 

Revision as of 14:02, 12 March 2022

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

Focused on: Strike damageUtility and Crowd control

Designed for: WvW Zerg

Expansions required: Heart of Thorns buildsPath of Fire Builds

Difficulty:
TBD
This build was last updated on March 12, 2022 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

[&DQYfHikbOBt1AAAAkAAAAPUVAAC+AQAAlwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]
Copy Template Code

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


Consumables

    • personal option


Variants

Stats

  • Add Dragon stats Dragon stats with Superior Elements to avoid overcapping crit. 2 rings + 1 accessory is one possible option.
  • Use as much Marauder Marauder as you feel is necessary then fill out with Berserker stats Berserker stats


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
  1. Air Attunement + Fire Attunement
  2. Fire Attunement Fire Attunement + Fire Attunement
  3. Air Attunement/Earth Attunement/Water Attunement Fire Attunement + X
  4. Fire Attunement X + Fire Attunement
  5. 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 builds has moderate active defenses
    • Twist of Fate
    • Save Ether Renewal for removing Immobilize Immobilize, Chill Chill or Weakness Weakness
    • Interrupt Ether Renewal using a Stow Weapon keybind as soon as you are full hp/condition cleared
Active defense priority
  • Windborne Speed - for Immobilize Immobilize
  • Burning Retreat
  • Twist of Fate
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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

  • 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 Immobilize, save them with Windborne Speed


Ratings

This build has a rating of 4 stars based on 2 votes.
Log in or register to rate this build.
3 stars
Goon gave this build 3 stars • March 2023
There is basically no reason to run this in a group over any other build. However, this is a fantastic build to play as a pug and is one of the most fun builds to play in wvw.
4 stars
Arete gave this build 4 stars • June 2022
A decent selfish damage build, but somewhat difficult to play and arguably inferior to DH and even longbow berserker in the same role. Still worth bringing a couple in a zerg if you have dedicated Staff ele players.

Comments

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