Build:Soulbeast - Poisonbeast

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

Focused on: Condition damage, Mobility and Sustain

Designed for: PvP Conquest

Difficulty:

TBD

This build was last updated on October 20, 2022 and is up to date for the October 8, 2024 patch.

Overview

A Condition damage based Soulbeast duelist build for PvP.

Skill Bar

Shortbow

Sword/Dagger

Utility

Template Code

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Specializations

Specialization Variants

Nature Magic over Skirmishing: most tanky option.

Beastmastery over Skirmishing: improved Command skills, pet attacks and Beastmode.

Equipment

Shortbow

Sigil

Sigil

Sword

Dagger

Sigil

Sigil

Rune

Amulet

Rune

• Rune of Trapper - good stats and helps you kite opponents with stealth and superspeed for extra sustain. Especially worth it when running 2 or more traps.

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 Poison Master 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).

• Melding with a dead pet and then exiting Beastmode instantly revives them.

General

• Quick Draw makes your toolkit way more flexible by significantly reducing the CD of the first skill you use after swapping weapons, allowing you to better adapt to situations. There are a lot of ways to use this trait, here are a few ideas:
  • On short bow you should either open with Poison Volley for burst damage (this is the most common), Quick Shot if you need sustain (evade attacks), or Concussion Shot if you want more CC.
  • On sword/dagger usually can't go wrong with a Stalker's Strike opener as this skill has both good damage and a lengthy evade frame for general survival. If you're not in melee range and don't need to evade anything, go with either Monarch's Leap or Crippling Talon.
  • Another combo you could do with sword involves chaining Monarch's Leap and Serpent's Strike 3 times. To do this, use Monarch's Leap ⇒ Serpent's Strike ⇒ wait for ML to come off CD, use some filler skills or dodge if you have to ⇒ ML ⇒ SS ⇒ Hornet Sting to reset the CD of ML ⇒ ML ⇒ SS. This is a very high evasion uptime chain that still does decent damage, and the leap finishers could be used inside Healing Spring for even more value.

• In combat always try to use Monarch's Leap before Hornet Sting as HS resets the CD on ML.

Mobility

• Maintain permanent Swiftness with Quick Shot and Quickening Screech.
  • Turn around before using Quick Shot in order to move "forward".

• Roam between capture points with Swoop (soulbeast), Crippling Leap (soulbeast) and the sword skills.
  • Turn around before using Hornet Sting and then quickly turn back before using Monarch's Leap. Consider binding "About face" to a key to do this in a more fluid manner.

Damage

• This is fairly straightforward, your burst damage comes from short bow while sword/dagger is much more defensive but still brings decent pressure to the table.

• On bow spam Crossfire as much as you can, ideally from behind. Many short bow skills have increased effectiveness when striking from behind or the sides.

• Poison Volley is one of your burst skills and should be used on CD. Due to the cone shape of the volley it's best used in point-blank range, right in melee to ensure that all the arrows hit the target.

• Crippling Shot should be used a few seconds before entering a fight, preferably while merged with your pet. This gives you a buff that makes your next 3 attacks inflict Bleeding while the skill continues to recharge. Doing this without merging basically has the same effect except your pet will gain the buff, and pets are less reliable than players (although there are exceptions..).

• If you're using Stalker's Strike for the damage and not the evasion, you should first make sure your target is crippled. Crippling Shot has the benefit of allowing you to use Stalker's Strike as the first skill after swapping weapons for Quick Draw synergy, while still getting the most damage out of it.

• Lacerating Slash (Hawk F2) is a spammable source of Bleeding and Poison from Poison Master.

Sustain

• Most of your cleansing comes from Healing Spring. This is also a Water field with a long duration, and there are plenty of finishers in the build that could be used to combo extra healing. Just about all of your mobility skills are also combo finishers.

• If damage is starting to overwhelm you and you are out of CDs, just run away with one of your many mobility skills such as Swoop (soulbeast) and wait a little before reengaging. Make sure you don't have an enemy target selected and autotargeting is turned off in the options!

• Dodging applies Protection, which also heals thanks to the trait Rugged Growth.

• Wolf's Unflinching Fortitude is perhaps the most powerful defensive skill in the build. It breaks stuns, grants immunity to direct damage and even cleanses some conditions.

• Applying Poison steals some health from the target.

• Unstoppable Union grants Protection and as Beastmode has no cast time, this can be used even while CC'd in order to survive enemy burst.