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Difference between revisions of "Willbender - Condi DPS"

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# {{Skill|Symbol of Punishment}}
 
# {{Skill|Symbol of Punishment}}
 
# {{tooltip|Weapon Swap}}  
 
# {{tooltip|Weapon Swap}}  
 
 
<big>'''First Pistol Loop'''</big>
 
 
If you're fast enough, {{Skill|Purging Flames}} won't be off cooldown by the time you swap back to sceptre, so the first loop is a bit longer to allow things to line up:
 
 
# {{skill|Symbol of Ignition}}
 
# {{skill|Symbol of Ignition}}
 
# {{skill|Peacekeeper}} and {{Skill|Zealot's Flame}} during the cast to start the cooldown
 
# {{skill|Peacekeeper}} and {{Skill|Zealot's Flame}} during the cast to start the cooldown
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# {{Skill|Zealot's Fire}}
 +
# {{skill|Crashing Courage}}
 
# {{Skill|Whirling Light}}
 
# {{Skill|Whirling Light}}
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# {{skill|Peacekeeper}}
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# {{skill|Cleansing Flame}} and {{Skill|Zealot's Flame}} during the cast
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# {{skill|Rushing Justice}}
 
# {{Skill|Zealot's Fire}}
 
# {{Skill|Zealot's Fire}}
# '''Virtue''' and {{Skill|Zealot's Flame}} during the cast
 
# {{Skill|Zealot's Fire}}
 
# {{skill|Peacekeeper}}
 
 
# {{skill|Symbol of Ignition}}
 
# {{skill|Symbol of Ignition}}
# Autoattack until '''Rushing Justice''' is available
 
# {{Skill|Rushing Justice}} and {{Skill|Zealot's Flame}} during the cast
 
# {{Skill|Zealot's Fire}}
 
 
# {{skill|Peacekeeper}}
 
# {{skill|Peacekeeper}}
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# {{Skill|Zealot's Flame}} {{to}} {{Skill|Zealot's Fire}}
 
# {{tooltip|Weapon Swap}}
 
# {{tooltip|Weapon Swap}}
  
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# {{skill|Hail of Justice}}
 
# {{skill|Hail of Justice}}
 
# {{skill|Jurisdiction}} - allow to charge fully, and detonate immediately as is passes through your target.
 
# {{skill|Jurisdiction}} - allow to charge fully, and detonate immediately as is passes through your target.
# Autoattack until '''Rushing Justice''' is available
 
 
# {{Skill|Rushing Justice}}
 
# {{Skill|Rushing Justice}}
 
# {{Skill|Purging Flames}}
 
# {{Skill|Purging Flames}}

Revision as of 21:44, 24 October 2024

Part of the current metagame

Our curator decided this build is in the current metagame regardless of rating. The community gave this build a rating, making it top-tier: Great

Focused on: Condition damage

Designed for: Raids and Fractals

Expansions required: End of Dragons buildsSecrets of the Obscure builds

Difficulty:
Normal
This build was last updated on October 24, 2024 and is up to date for the October 8, 2024 patch.

Overview

A condition DPS build for Willbender. Willbender is exceptionally bursty for a condition build, and focuses on rapid strikes to build up stacks of Burning Burning. It has easier access to mobility and CC than other guardian specialisations, and while it has powerful personal defensive abilities it can end up trading a significant amount of damage if they are used at the wrong time.

The need to constantly rush into melee limits this build's ability to be at range, despite its access to ranged weapons. Encounter knowledge is greatly beneficial in managing these bursts of damage without putting yourself in danger.


Skill Bar

Pistol/Torch
Scepter/Pistol
Utility


Weapon Variants

  • For players that don't own Secrets of the Obscure, Sword & Scepter mainhands are the best option.
    • Greatsword can replace the sword set. The two options have practically identical DPS so you can choose based on preference or requirement.
    • Sword offers some group Fury Fury and a teleport, Greatsword offers a leap and pulls.
    • You could replace the Scepter set with Greatsword if you want both Sword and Greatsword, but it would be a DPS loss.


Skill Variants

  • Bring Heaven's Palm if you need CC.


Template Code

[&DQEQGi4XQSUmDyYP2BpGAUwBTAExATEBiRKJEgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]
Copy Template Code


Specializations


Equipment

Head
Viper
Shoulders
Viper
Chest
Viper
Hands
Viper
Legs
Viper
Feet
Viper
Backpiece
Sinister
Accessory
Sinister
Accessory
Sinister
Amulet
Sinister
Ring
Viper
Ring
Sinister
Pistol
Viper
Torch
Viper
Sigil
Sigil
Scepter
Viper
Pistol
Viper
Sigil
Sigil
Rune
x6
Infusion
x18
Relic


  • Players that find it difficult to keep up with the pace of the rotation may benefit more from a Relic of the Fractal. With this relic, you can also drop Scepter.
  • If using Scepter and Sword, Sigil of Superior Sigil of Earth should replace Sigil of Superior Sigil of Air to provide reliable triggers of Relic of the Fractal. If you are not using this relic, a Sigil of Superior Sigil of Torment or Sigil of Superior Sigil of Air would be higher damage.
  • The value of Sigil of Superior Sigil of Air relies on stacking virtues in order to get multiple virtue triggers from a single hit. If you want to hold on to Flowing Resolve and Crashing Courage for utility, then a Sigil of Superior Sigil of Torment will perform slightly better.


Consumables

Food

  • (or ascended versions)


Utility


Usage

Beginner Rotation

The easiest way to play Condi Willbender is to camp the Pistol/Torch set. This should give you an idea of how Willbender feels to play before moving on to the full rotation.

You will want to use Relic of the Fractal with this rotation.


Opener

You can precast Flowing Resolve and Crashing Courage to start with stacks of Lethal Tempo, but skip this if you think you will need them for defence.

  1. Rushing Justice
  2. Purging Flames
  3. Symbol of Ignition
  4. Whirling Light and Zealot's Flame during the cast to start the cooldown
  5. Zealot's Fire Zealot's Flame Zealot's Fire
  6. Peacekeeper


For the rest of rotation, use the skills you used in the opener on cooldown, with Rushing Justice being the highest priority, followed by Purging Flames and Symbol of Ignition.

Video guide by Masel


Once you feel comfortable with this build, you can add an offhand Pistol and follow this rotation. The full Relic of the Warrior build is only a small damage increase, so you can go with whichever playstyle you prefer.


Pistol Rotation

  • Both your autoattacks are very weak, but the combination of Restorative Virtues and Relic of the Warrior allow us to limit the time we need to spend using them.
  • Whirling Light triggers multiple whirl finishers, so always cast it after Purging Flames (which provides a fire field), at a time where there are none of your light fields.
  • Where it lists Virtue in the rotation below, use either Flowing Resolve or Crashing Courage (Flowing Resolve is the higher priority if it is at two charges) for extra damage from virtue triggers. If you wish to keep these for utility, just ignore these steps and replace with autoattacks if necessary.


Opener

Start on Sceptre/Pistol. You can precast one or two charges of Flowing Resolve if you like, to start with Inspiring Virtue and Lethal Tempo.

  1. Jurisdiction - allow to charge fully, and detonate immediately as is passes through your target.
  2. Rushing Justice
  3. Purging Flames - get this out early so combos interact with it rather than a light field
  4. Symbol of Punishment
  5. Weapon Swap Weapon Swap
  6. Symbol of Ignition
  7. Peacekeeper and Zealot's Flame during the cast to start the cooldown
  8. Zealot's Fire
  9. Crashing Courage
  10. Whirling Light
  11. Peacekeeper
  12. Cleansing Flame and Zealot's Flame during the cast
  13. Rushing Justice
  14. Zealot's Fire
  15. Symbol of Ignition
  16. Peacekeeper
  17. Zealot's Flame Zealot's Fire
  18. Weapon Swap Weapon Swap


Sceptre Loop

  1. Symbol of Punishment
  2. Hail of Justice
  3. Virtue
  4. Hail of Justice
  5. Jurisdiction - allow to charge fully, and detonate immediately as is passes through your target.
  6. Rushing Justice
  7. Purging Flames
  8. Whirling Light
  9. Symbol of Punishment
  10. Weapon Swap Weapon Swap


Pistol loop

  1. Symbol of Ignition
  2. Peacekeeper and Zealot's Flame during the cast to start the cooldown
  3. Zealot's Fire
  4. Virtue
  5. Cleansing Flame
  6. Zealot's Flame Zealot's Fire
  7. Rushing Justice
  8. Symbol of Ignition
  9. Peacekeeper
  10. Weapon Swap Weapon Swap
  11. Return to start of Sceptre loop

Video example

Video example (Fractal relic and mainhand pistol only)


Sword Rotation

Opener

You can precast Flowing Resolve and Crashing Courage to start with stacks of Lethal Tempo, but skip this if you think you will need them for defence. Start on Sword.

  1. Rushing Justice
  2. Active Zealot's Flame, but don't throw Zealot's Fire yet
  3. Purging Flames
  4. Symbol of Blades - be careful not to interrupt the cast of Purging Flames!
  5. Weapon Swap Weapon Swap
  6. Whirling Light
  7. Symbol of Punishment
  8. Zealot's Fire x2
  9. Cleansing Flame
  10. Orb of Wrath until Rushing Justice is off cooldown
  11. Rushing Justice
  12. Symbol of Punishment
  13. Zealot's FlameZealot's Fire
  14. Orb of Wrath and Zealot's FlameZealot's Fire until Weapon Swap Weapon Swap is available
  15. Weapon Swap Weapon Swap

After this, the rotation is mostly priority based, but there are a few ways to structure each section:


Sword Loop

The basic sword loop opens with:

  1. Zealot's Defense
  2. Symbol of Blades
  3. Follow priority list (below) until Zealot's Defense is available
  4. Zealot's Defense
  5. Weapon Swap Weapon Swap


Alternate Sword Loop

You can instead structure the sword loop as follows:

  1. Symbol of Blades
  2. Zealot's Defense
  3. Follow priority list until Symbol of Blades is available
  4. Symbol of Blades
  5. Follow priority list until Zealot's Defense is available
  6. Zealot's Defense
  7. Symbol of Blades
  8. Weapon Swap Weapon Swap

This loop is slightly lower damage in general, but if used for the first two loops it causes cooldowns to line up slightly better, resulting in slightly higher DPS. Just following the basic sword loop is completely fine though.


Scepter Loop

The scepter loop is very simple:

  1. Symbol of Punishment
  2. Follow priority list until Weapon Swap Weapon Swap is available
  3. Weapon Swap Weapon Swap


Priority List

  1. Rushing Justice
  2. Purging Flames
  3. Skills specified in weapon loops above
  4. Zealot's Fire - Zealot's Flame should be activated as soon as it is available as this starts the cooldown, you then have three seconds to throw Zealot's Fire so it can be delayed but don't miss the window
  5. Whirling Light - This is a 4x whirl finisher, so it can be delayed up to ~three seconds if it will guarantee to combo with Purging Flames
  6. Symbol of Punishment, Symbol of Blades and Zealot's Defense - when not specified in the weapon loops above, it is important to use these skills but as long as they don't delay your Weapon Swap Weapon Swaps it isn't too important when
  7. Cleansing Flame - This is higher priority than autoattacks, but as it has a long cast time it is important not to have to delay more important skills too much, and the burning is only applied at the end of the skill


Video example


Greatsword Rotation

Opener

You can precast Flowing Resolve and Crashing Courage to start with stacks of Lethal Tempo, but skip this if you think you will need them for defence. Start on Greatsword.

  1. Rushing Justice
  2. Purging Flames
  3. Symbol of Resolution
  4. Whirling Wrath
  5. Weapon Swap Weapon Swap
  6. Zealot's Fire - you need to be fast or you might miss the window to throw this
  7. Symbol of Punishment
  8. Zealot's FlameZealot's Fire
  9. Whirling Light
  10. Cleansing Flame
  11. Rushing Justice
  12. Symbol of Punishment
  13. Orb of Wrath until Zealot's Flame is available
  14. Zealot's Flame, but don't throw Zealot's Fire yet
  15. Orb of Wrath until Zealot's Fire gains a second charge
  16. Zealot's Fire x2
  17. Weapon Swap Weapon Swap

After this, the rotation is mostly priority based, but each section follows the same structure:


Greatsword Loop

  1. Symbol of Resolution
  2. Whirling Wrath
  3. Follow priority list until Whirling Wrath is available
  4. Whirling Wrath
  5. Symbol of Resolution
  6. Weapon Swap Weapon Swap


Scepter Loop

Provided you are fast enough, Radiant Fire will have triggered towards the end of the Greatsword Loop so Zealot's Fire will be immediately available

  1. Zealot's Fire
  2. Symbol of Punishment
  3. Zealot's FlameZealot's Fire
  4. Follow priority list until Weapon Swap Weapon Swap is available
  5. Weapon Swap Weapon Swap


Priority List

  1. Rushing Justice
  2. Purging Flames
  3. Skills specified in weapon loops above
  4. Zealot's Fire - Zealot's Flame should be activated as soon as it is available as this starts the cooldown, you then have three seconds to throw Zealot's Fire so it can be delayed but don't miss the window
  5. Whirling Light - This is a 4x whirl finisher, so it can be delayed up to ~three seconds if it will guarantee to combo with Purging Flames
  6. Symbol of Punishment - when not specified in the weapon loop above, it is important to use this skill but as long as it doesn't delay your Weapon Swap Weapon Swaps it isn't too important when
  7. Cleansing Flame - If Rushing Justice will come off cooldown in the next ~two seconds, then delay this until afterwards
  8. Binding Blade


Video example


General Tips

  • On Greatsword, both Whirling Wrath and Binding Blade gain extra damage if used inside an enemy's hitbox.


Sword or Greatsword?

Both rotations have very similar benchmarks, so feel free to play whichever you enjoy most. There are a few elements to consider in terms of usability though:

  • The greatsword rotation is much more structured, which may make it easier to learn.
  • On the other hand, as you are locked out of torch when using Greatsword, it is much easier to miss uses of Zealot's Fire if you are disrupted or slow.
  • Both weapons have a mobility skill, but the teleport from Symbol of Blades is more versatile and can be used for a variety of skips in fractals.
  • Zealot's Defense offer projectile destruction, but it can be difficult to use it effectively without sacrificing DPS.
  • Whirling Wrath greatly rewards standing inside the hitbox, which means Greatsword is less effective on bosses where this is difficult or dangerous.
  • Binding Blade and Leap of Faith means that Greatsword has slightly more available CC than Sword.


Ratings

This build has a rating of 5 stars based on 4 votes.
Log in or register to rate this build.
5 stars
Frantumn gave this build 5 stars • August 2024
I have been using an Axe/Torch as my primary weapons in this build. I'm wondering why the axe isn't recommended since it has bleeds and burn?
4 stars
OfficerAndyGentleman gave this build 4 stars • April 2024
High damage potential, and probably the burstiest condi build around (if you discount venom precasts etc). Being able to freely use F2 and F3 gives it a lot of active defense too. The main drawback is the need to constantly zoom into melee range.
5 stars
Haole gave this build 5 stars • March 2023
I run 100% Burning Duration from stats and Sword/Torch. Since the February 2023 update Condi Willbender is easy, fun, and high damage with a good skill cap to squeeze out damage. Willbender in terms of rotation plays much like a Dragonhunter. While learning the build just focus on landing 1 weapon set of choice and big hitting skills during F1. Virtues (F1-F3) now stack making the build very aggressive. Using F3 to stay on boss during an AOE doesn’t decrease damage or override your F1 anymore. F2 to keep up stack of Tempo if the boss moves and sword 2 to catch them. It’s very satisfying and damage output even while missing a perfect rotation is high. Willbender brought me back into playing Guardian and dusting off Dragonhunter for fun.
5 stars
Neage gave this build 5 stars • March 2022
Have ran both with great sword and 1h sword and both does great dps, rotation is easy enough and is alot of fun to play. I have found myself keeping pace if not outpacing other known meta condi builds with minimum effort.

Comments

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