Build:Willbender - Support Alacbender

This is a test build. You may comment and rate it.

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

Designed for: WvW Zerg

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

TBD

This build was last updated on December 25, 2022.

Overview

A support Willbender build for WvW. Provides a large amount of Alacrity, cleansing, healing and boon support.

Skill Bar

Staff

Scepter/Shield

Utility

Weapon Variants

• Torch provides better cleansing at the cost of shield utility

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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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

Shield
Minstrel

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x18

Equipment Variants

Sigils

• Sigil of Superior Sigil of Concentration for higher boon uptime
• Sigil of Superior Sigil of Water healing on crits every 5s, with symbols you'll use it everytime it's available.

Consumables

• • personal food option

Usage

General

• Focus on using your utility skills to cleanse allies
• Make sure to have the active effect from Flowing Resolve as much as possible
• Use your burst heal to help during pressuring moments

Overall Priorities

High

• Condition Removal
• Alacrity

Moderate

• Boon application Might Aegis Regeneration Protection
• Healing

Low

• Crowd Control

Surviving

• This build has high passive defense from minstrel armor
• This build has high mobility skill access (f1-f2-f3)
• This build has high active defense (condition removal / burst healing / Aegis)
  • While your active defenses are strong, they are ideally saved for your group and not used selfishly

Active defense priority "Advance!" - Aegis + 2 Conditions cleansed Flowing Resolve - 3 Conditions cleansed + 3/4s Evade Crashing Courage - 600 range shadowstep + personal stability and aegis

Detailed Explanations

Condition Removal

• Use shouts to cleanse your allies with Pure of Voice and Rune of Superior Rune of the Trooper
  • "Advance!", "Save Yourselves!", "Receive the Light!"
• Use F2 Flowing Resolve to Cleanse allies with Absolute Resolve working on both charges
• Use Purging Flames to cleanse in static situation (stairs / choke point) or against the ennemie wells bomb
• Blasting symbols or Light Fields with Holy Strike will remove 1 condition on 5 targets

Condition Removal priorities "Advance!" 2 conditions removed per charge (mostly to cleanse low amount) Flowing Resolve 3 conditions removed per charge (moderate amount) "Save Yourselves!" Pull conditions to yourselves (Huge condition bomb, beware that you'll need to cleanse yourself) Purging Flames static condition removal "Receive the Light!" Powerfull healing ability best used to heal allies but the 2 conditions cleaned can be clutch

Alacrity

• Use Flowing Resolve before casting your Symbol skills Symbol of Punishment Symbol of Swiftness
  • Alacrity is shared because Battle Presence interacts with Phoenix Protocol
  • You need to hit targets to gain alacrity while Flowing Resolve is active
    • Avoid using Rushing Justice and Crashing Courage while Flowing Resolve is active if not needed

Boon Application

• Might
  • Empower
  • Rushing Justice with Inspired Virtue
  • Symbol of Punishment (if squad push inside of it)
• Aegis
  • Shield of Judgment
  • "Advance!"
• Regeneration
  • Flowing Resolve with Inspired Virtue
• Protection
  • Crashing Courage with Inspired Virtue
  • Shield of Judgment (use it to sponge the first ranged spike as it also gives aegis)

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 with Pure of Heart "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)

Crowd Control

• 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 one of the strongest CC in the game Chains of Light 900 range Immobilize, deadly on a late target Shield of Absorption knock back foes

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

• "Save Yourselves!" is used to remove a HUGE amount of condition by pulling them to you. You want to have a charge of Flowing Resolve or "Advance!" to cleanse yourself after using it.
• 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 ennemie or go straight in the direction your character is facing while F2 and F3 will follow you're cursor.
• Restorative Virtues permits you to use your weapon skills more often if you hit ennemies, this will help you give more boons and healing.
• Your sustained heal is inferior to other cleaning sources (but higher than firebrand), it's recommended to play this when there are already "regular" healers in the squad (~3 druid/scrapper/vindicator per Alacbender). But your alac uptime is the highest while giving a good amount of might, enhancing pure dps a lot (such as Revenants and Dragonhunters).

Gameplay Videos

Youtube video of an exemple in Inhouse format (20+ vs 20+)