Build:Willbender - Support Alacbender

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

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

Designed for: WvW Zerg

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

Hard

This build was last updated on October 17, 2023 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 in a large squad with at least 3 primary healers per alacbender it can provide significant offensive boons ( Alacrity, Might) for a subgroup with pure DPS like Revenants and Dragonhunters.

Skill Bar

Staff

Scepter/Torch

Utility

Weapon Variants

• Shield provides projectile hate, crowd control and protection uptime.
• Axe provides crowd control and fury uptime. Scepter isn't mandatory to upkeep alac since F2 changes.

Skill Variants

• "Stand Your Ground!" if more stability is needed
• "Feel My Wrath!" good fury uptime + 2 condition removal but lose the burst heal from signet
• Signet of Mercy if you want res utility

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

Staff
Minstrel

Sigil

Sigil

Scepter
Minstrel

Torch
Minstrel

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x18

Relic

Equipment Variants

Sigils

• Sigil of Superior Sigil of Transference for increased healing
• Sigil of Superior Sigil of Benevolence Stacking healing sigil

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

• Condition Removal
• Alacrity

Moderate

• Other Boon application Might Aegis Regeneration Protection
• Healing

Low

• Crowd Control

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

• "Save Yourselves!" - stunbreaking
• 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

Condition Removal

• Use shouts to cleanse your allies with Pure of Voice and Rune of Superior Rune of the Trooper
  • Use "Advance!" frequently to cleanse small amounts of conditions
  • Use "Save Yourselves!" to pull large amounts of conditions
    • You'll need to cleanse yourself after casting "Save Yourselves!", make sure "Advance!" or Flowing Resolve are ready to follow up
  • Ideally save "Receive the Light!" for healing, but if needed it can be a last resort cleanse
• 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
• Blasting symbols or Light Fields with Holy Strike will remove 1 condition on 5 targets
• Use Cleansing Flame while shouts/Flowing Resolve aren't available and against pulsing condition application
  • Cleansing Flame is a great tool to help allies cross wells/Winds of Disenchantment

Condition Removal priorities

• "Advance!" - Pure of Voice
• Flowing Resolve - Absolute Resolve
• "Save Yourselves!"
• Purging Flames
• Cleansing Flame
• "Receive the Light!" - Pure of Voice

Alacrity

• Use Flowing Resolve before casting your Symbol skills Symbol of Punishment Symbol of Swiftness on ennemies
  • Alacrity is shared because Battle Presence interacts with Phoenix Protocol
  • You need to hit targets to gain Alacrity while Flowing Resolve is active. Now Flowing Resolve also applies alacrity on activation and not only on hits.

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

• Might
  • Empower
  • Rushing Justice with Inspired Virtue
  • Symbol of Punishment (if squad push inside of it)
• Aegis
  • Shield of Judgment (if applicable)
  • "Advance!"
• Protection
  • Shield of Judgment (if applicable)
  • Crashing Courage with Inspired Virtue
• Regeneration
  • Flowing Resolve with Inspired Virtue

Healing

• Be careful when healing others, Empower, Signet of Courage and Selfless Daring are powerful heals but can easily leave you out of position if misused
  • Understanding when to use Signet of Courage can be hard but it can really carries the party in difficult moments

Healing priority

• Empower (if you have time to finish cast)
• Holy Strike
• Shield of Absorption (also projectile-hate, you may want to keep it a bit)
• Dodge (Selfless Daring)
• Aegis if Pure of Heart is taken
  • "Advance!"
  • Shield of Judgment
• Regeneration
  • Flowing Resolve
• "Receive the Light!" (Can almost full heal someone if aimed correctly)
• Signet of Courage (Huge Burst heal pulsing Protection and Resolution while channeling)

Crowd Control

• Use Chains of Light to Immobilize enemies at the tail of an enemy group moving away from or through yours
• Use your CC when:
  • Your group calls a spike or bomb:
    • 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

CC Priority

• Line of Warding
• Chains of Light (Weapon choice)
• Shield of Absorption (Weapon choice)
• Blazing Edge (Weapon choice)

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
• Restorative Virtues permits you to use your weapon skills more often if you hit enemies, this will help you give more boons and healing.
• Mesmer with Seize the Moment works well in a alacbender party.

Gameplay Videos

• Youtube video Inhouse format (20+ vs 20+) / Shield Variant
• Youtube video Zerg format borderland 40~50 / Torch Variant
• Youtube video OS 30v30 / Torch Variant
• Youtube video Zerg format on EBG by Dr Octawius