Build:Soulbeast - Sic 'Em Roamer

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

Focused on: Strike damage and Mobility

Designed for: WvW Roaming

Difficulty:

Easy

This build was last updated on February 04, 2024 and is up to date for the October 8, 2024 patch.

Overview

An iconic Soulbeast Power build for WvW roaming which takes advantage of "Sic 'Em!"'s synergy with Beastmode to pump out massive burst damage and deny Stealth access for enemies.

Skill Bar

Longbow

Sword/Warhorn

Utility

Skill Variants

Utility

Viable picks for the optional slot (or even over of "Sic 'Em!" if more sustain is needed):

• "Protect Me!" - strong damage mitigation and another stunbreak.

• Signet of the Hunt - unblockable burst combos.

• Griffon Stance - defensive skill with more evasion.

• Lightning Reflexes - a defensive choice that's useful in any situation but especially good vs Immobilize.

• Quickening Zephyr - could be used defensively to break stuns and escape with Superspeed or offensively for Quickness bursts.

Pets

Smokescale is mandatory but the 2nd pet slot if more flexible. Currently we're recommending Boar for CC and burst damage, but other viable options include:

• Siamoth - a more defensive version of Boar with a beastmode F3 that breaks stun, removes conditions, and grants immunity to strike damage.

• Owl - way better mobility and some extra healing.

• Rock Gazelle - CC focused pet with decent damage.

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Specializations

Variants

• Oppressive Superiority sacrifices flexibility and healing for higher burst damage.

Equipment

Head
Marauder

Shoulders
Marauder

Chest
Marauder

Hands
Marauder

Legs
Marauder

Feet
Marauder

Backpiece
Berserker

Accessory
Berserker

Accessory
Berserker

Amulet
Berserker

Ring
Berserker

Ring
Berserker

Longbow
Marauder

Sigil

Sigil

Sword
Marauder

Warhorn
Marauder

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x18

Relic

Runes

• Rune of Superior Rune of the Brawler - makes the build more durable in exchange for a bit lower crit chance and boon duration.

Sigils

• Sigil of Superior Sigil of Air or Sigil of Superior Sigil of Severance over Cleansing on Longbow - increased damage for less defense against conditions.

Relics

• Relic of Isgarren - a damage boost that's easy to maintain in combat, but can be hard to get value out of if you're chasing down a low health enemy for example.

• Relic of the Weaver - on-demand damage boost whenever you use a stance skill. Could give you slightly higher burst damage than Fireworks in exchange for lower uptime on the damage boost.

Consumables

Food

• - strong mix of sustain and damage.

• - active damage mitigation in the form of enhanced endurance regen for more dodging.
  • Budget version:

• - cheap option with a nice crit chance boost and frequent, armor ignoring damage procs that also heal you.

Utility

• or .

Usage

Elite specialization basics

• Soulbeast allows Rangers to meld/merge with their pet, becoming one. This is done through Beastmode which has a 10s CD.

• Traits related to swapping pets now activate upon entering/leaving Beastmode.

• Pet related traits and skills such as Pet's Prowess continue to function even while merged, but this time you'll be the one who benefits from them, not the pet (although sometimes the effects are lessened).
  • IMPORTANT: skills that affect your pet like "Sic 'Em!" have to be used after merging if you wish to benefit from them, already active skill effects will be lost just like when swapping pets.

General

• Don't trust the wording of Relic of Fireworks, some Beastmode F1-3 skills can also proc the damage bonus not just weapon skills.

• Beastmode grants a flat 30% movement speed boost.

• Eternal Bond allows you to be more flexible with your Beastmode usage by letting you swap pets while merged. With this you can adapt to situations much better.

• Pet swapping with Zephyr's Speed can be used offensively for the Quickness, most notably to boost Rapid Fire, Barrage and Worldly Impact or Sword autos for downed cleave. The Superspeed could also help you escape damage or chase down targets while on Sword.
  • With Eternal Bond you can activate this trait even while swapping pets in Beastmode, provided that it isn't on CD.

• Sometimes you might want to get greedy with Bear Stance. While this is your last resort option against condition bursts, it's also great at keeping things like Weakness, Chill and Blind off of you. If you're chasing a low HP target and you want to secure a kill, Bear Stance could ensure that you get to deal damage without any hinderance. You could even combine it with Dolyak Stance to make yourself immune to hard CC too.
  • Of course this is a bit of a gamble, if the target survives your burst you'll be left without your strongest defensive CDs so the plan might backfire.

• Weapon swapping with Sigil of Superior Sigil of Cleansing is your first line of defense against conditions. Consider using Dolyak Stance or Lightning Reflexes beforehand to get rid of non-damaging conditions, increasing the chance of Cleansing sigil removing damaging ones.

• Bear Stance is there to bail you out when conditions are beginning to overwhelm you. In condition matchups if you need to heal but don't want to waste your only mass cleanse consider using Owl's Spiritual Reprieve first while keeping Bear Stance for emergencies.

• Smokescale's F2 ability creates a combo field for Stealth stacking. Sword/Warhorn is especially good at making use of this, offering 1 blast and 2 leap finishers.

Beastmode

• Smokescale's Smoke Assault (soulbeast) could be used both offensively (delivering damage while making it impossible to kite you) and defensively (it's an instant cast evade frame).

• Pet dependent Owl's F3 Spiritual Reprieve is your second healing skill and also a potent support tool when roaming in a group. This is quite handy when playing against some Power-based specs as it can make up for the lost healing when there are no conditions on your for Bear Stance to consume.
  • Owl also adds some extra mobility for chasing people or disengaging from fights via Swoop.

• Pet dependent When playing with Boar, its Beatmode ability Maul (soulbeast porcine) will be on of your primary burst skills. Hits hard, has a short cast time and a very subtle animation most people won't even notice.
  • Try to set this up with CC, which should be easy considering how both other Boar Beastmode skills are CC skill. The F3 is especially good for this as Prelude Lash grants you Quickness and Fury via trait synergy.

Damage

• "Sic 'Em!" should always be used in Beastmode. It's a really strong burst CD that also denies stealth access for enemies.

• One Wolf Pack is your other burst CD, adding extra damage to every hit you score on a target. This is best used with Rapid Fire, Hunter's Call and Barrage which deliver multiple attacks in rapid succession. Smokescale's Smoke Assault (soulbeast) also has great synergy with this.

• Rapid Fire is your main burst skill.

• Sometimes you might want to get greedy with Bear Stance. While this is your last resort option against condition bursts, it's also great at keeping things like Weakness, Chill and Blind off of you. If you're chasing a low HP target and you want to secure a kill, Bear Stance could ensure that you get to deal damage without any hinderance. You could even combine it with Dolyak Stance to make yourself immune to hard CC too.
  • Of course this is a bit of a gamble, if the target survives your burst you'll be left without your strongest defensive CDs so the plan might backfire.

• Be careful with Blind and Aegis when casting Hunter's Call! If the initial strike misses the birds won't be summoned and the entire skill goes to waste.

Sword burst combo example:

1. Merge with your Smokescale.
2. Call of the Wild
3. One Wolf Pack
4. "Sic 'Em!"
5. Hunter's Call
6. Smoke Assault (soulbeast)
7. Serpent's Strike
8. Pounce

Longbow burst combo example:

1. Beastmode for some extra stats while casting One Wolf Pack.
2. "Sic 'Em!" which boosts the Soulbeast's own damage if used in Beastmode.
3. Point Blank Shot to increase the chance of landing your burst and to proc Twice as Vicious + Sigil of Superior Sigil of Celerity + Two-Handed Training for Quickness, Fury and damage modifiers.
4. Rapid Fire for damage.

Related Builds

• Sic 'Em Sniper - the Conquest PvP version of the build.

• Core Longbow Roamer - core, F2P roaming version.