Firebrand - Condi Firebrand

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 and Support

Designed for: Open World, Open World General, [[|]] and [[|]]

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

Normal

This build was last updated on July 29, 2023 and is up to date for the October 8, 2024 patch.

Overview

Condition Firebrand is simultaneously one of the strongest DPS and Support options for open world farming in a group, and is also one of the best solo options available.

The DPS version of this build offers exceptionally high damage, competing for the highest DPS slots if it has allies, while also providing very high Aegis uptime. Most of its damage is AOE, making it one of the strongest cleave options available, and its primary damage source being Burning means that it has burst that rivals power builds, something most condition builds cannot offers. Its primary weakness is its reliance on melee-ranged abilities and its lack of mobility, both of which can be somewhat mitigated by the use of Scepter or Sword as backbar weapons.

Similarly, the Support version of this build (Dubbed "Condi Quickbrand") maintains very high DPS for a support while providing up to 4 allies with permanent Quickness and very high Aegis uptime.

Both builds can dip into further ally support through the use of skills such as "Hold the Line!", "Stand Your Ground!", and "Advance!", along with being able to enter into their more defensive tomes should the situation call for it. This versatility makes them incredibly strong picks for general PVE, and especially for open world farming.

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Skill Bar

Axe/Torch

Scepter/X

Utility

Weapon Variants

• Staff - the best option for ranged AOE
• Sword, Greatsword - higher burst than Scepter

Skill Variants

• Sword of Justice - strong option for power-based variants to provide extra vuln
• "Stand Your Ground!" can be used to provide extra Stability.
• Mantra of Lore for more condition cleanse.
• Mantra of Truth for Blind on demand.
• Hammer of Wisdom or Bane Signet for more crowd control.
• Shield of the Avenger or Wall of Reflection if projectiles are a problem.
• "Hold the Line!" - party Protection
• "Feel My Wrath!" - more quickness uptime

Specializations

• Legendary Lore is basically even in performance with Weighty Terms for DPS Condi Firebrand when solo.
• Adept Radiance traits are purely preference.

Virtues

Virtues provides us with a significant boost to damage if we are already receiving Might and Vulnerability from other sources. This should be run in groups.

• Change Sword of Justice to Signet of Wrath

Honor

Honor offers higher might generation for yourself and nearby allies, longer boon duration from symbols, and higher defensive utility thanks to endurance regeneration and the small amount of sustain. It does this at a very small DPS loss (under 10% when compared to Virtues). Replaces Virtues.

Equipment

Ascended gear is not required. You can use exotic gear with the same stats instead. Due to the nature of Firebrand, multiple Default options are listed.

Viper DPS Equipment

This variant uses equipment similar to existing Condi DPS Firebrand raid builds, making it an easy gearing option for general PVE.

Head
Viper

Shoulders
Viper

Chest
Viper

Hands
Viper

Legs
Viper

Feet
Viper

Backpiece
Viper

Accessory
Viper

Accessory
Viper

Amulet
Viper

Ring
Viper

Ring
Viper

Axe
Viper

Torch
Viper

Sigil

Sigil

Scepter
Viper

x
Viper

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Viper Quickness Equipment

This variant uses equipment similar to existing Condi Quickbrand raid builds, making it an easy gearing option for general PVE.

Head
Viper

Shoulders
Viper

Chest
Viper

Hands
Viper

Legs
Viper

Feet
Viper

Backpiece
Viper

Accessory
Viper

Accessory
Viper

Amulet
Viper

Ring
Viper

Ring
Viper

Axe
Viper

Torch
Viper

Sigil

Sigil

Scepter
Viper

x
Viper

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

• This variant should be run with Liberator's Vow, Stalwart Speed, and Mantra of Potence. It is also recommended to take "Feel My Wrath!" and potentially Mantra of Solace.

Ritualist Generalist Equipment

Ritualist is a fantastic set for open world as it can perform both of the above mentioned roles with the same equipment, swapping only one weapon sigil rather than an entire set of runes. It does sacrifice a very small amount of damage (less than 500 DPS) to accomplish this but the versatility can make it well worth it for people that only want to invest in one set. As a bonus, Ritualist provides us with a very significant boost to HP, making it an incredible choice for open world.

Head
Viper

Shoulders
Viper

Chest
Viper

Hands
Viper

Legs
Viper

Feet
Viper

Backpiece
Viper

Accessory
Viper

Accessory
Viper

Amulet
Viper

Ring
Viper

Ring
Viper

Axe
Viper

Torch
Viper

Sigil

Sigil

Axe
Viper

Torch
Viper

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Trailblazer Bruiser Firebrand

This bruiser build features extremely high passive defense while sacrificing practically no damage. Its primary tradeoffs are a lack of flexibility, a lack of burst damage, and that the build is restricted for use in solo play only; it will not be good in large group or instanced activities. This set relies on the insane synergy between Trailblazer, Rune of Superior Rune of the Undead, , and . Along with a Sigil of Superior Sigil of Smoldering, this build caps out at 100% Burning duration with extremely high condition damage.

Head
Trailblazer

Shoulders
Trailblazer

Chest
Trailblazer

Hands
Trailblazer

Legs
Trailblazer

Feet
Trailblazer

Backpiece
Trailblazer

Accessory
Trailblazer

Accessory
Trailblazer

Amulet
Trailblazer

Ring
Trailblazer

Ring
Trailblazer

Axe
Trailblazer

Torch
Trailblazer

Sigil

Sigil

Scepter
Trailblazer

Sigil

Rune
x6

Other Equipment

Open World allows players to be incredibly versatile with their build. If the above options aren't to your liking, you can customize your build with some of the options below. Keep in mind that the options listed below are not generally accepted in raids, fractals, or other instanced PVE which may limit the versatility or usability of your build.

Defense

Defensive equipment options are sometimes popular with players that only play open world or that want to play "bruiser" / "juggernaut" playstyles. These options are never accepted in instanced PVE and always sacrifice some level of DPS.

• Trailblazer stats can be used in place of Viper, as we see in the Trailblazer variant above. This provides a dramatic boost to passive defense at a relatively small drop in DPS. Rune of Superior Rune of the Undead can be combo'd with this set for a solo build that actually deals practically the same damage as the glass setup.
• Celestial stats synergize extremely well with Firebrand's kit. This can be used in place of Viper for a flat defensive upgrade or it can open up entirely new playstyles. See Build:Firebrand_-_Celestial_Firebrand.
• Carrion / Dire can be very cheap budget defensive gear when paired with Rune of Superior Rune of Balthazar.
• Sigil of Superior Sigil of Energy can be used in place of Sigil of Superior Sigil of Bursting for a moderate boost to defense, but at a significant drop in damage.

Budget

Some budget options are available for the builds above, though with this build in particular the budget options perform significantly worse than the full gear.

• There is no adequate budget option for the Viper Quickbrand or Ritualist setups.
• Carrion stats can be used as a budget replacement for Viper in the DPS build but must be paired with Rune of Superior Rune of Balthazar. This is a considerable drop in DPS but can be very cheap as Carrion gear on the TP costs less than 15g for a full set.
• Sigil of Superior Sigil of Bursting can be quite expensive but has no "good" replacement. Use Sigil of Superior Sigil of Earth if you have to, but note that it's a relatively large DPS loss.

Other Options

Since this build does not rely on its runes for condition duration, as most condition builds do, we have the freedom to take runes such as Rune of Superior Rune of Speed for use in farm trains. Runes like this are often up to player preference in open world, but aren't recommended by default due to the fact that they are not used in instanced PVE.

Consumables

DPS

When trying to maximize DPS, all of the above variants rely on to cap Burning duration. This has no good budget option, but the food is not especially expensive. Our DPS utilities break down into or , using cheap crystals like as a budget utility.

Notably, the 24px Ritualist variant above requires , which can be quite expensive. Other crystals can be used in its place but will be roughly a 2-3% dps loss.

Farming

• Any ascended food is superior to any other food you could use. Steak for power, flatbread for conditions. Budget versions of these foods exist and are acceptable.
• (and variants)

Other options, such as Birthday Cake, Campfire Treats, Spicy Pumpkin Cookie, or other similar food is fine to use. The general goal is to prioritize the following:

1. Flat % Experience, like we see on Ascended Food
2. % Karma Gain
3. % Magic Find
4. Experience from kills
5. % Gold find

This assumes you are converting Karma and Spirit Shards to gold correctly. If you are not converting Karma or Spirit Shards, prioritize Magic Find.

Usage

Tome Breakdown

Firebrand has three tomes. Each is dedicated to a different specialty.

1. Tome of Justice - Damage via Burning
2. Tome of Resolve - healing and condition cleanse
3. Tome of Courage - defensive boons and projectile hate

In each of these tomes, you can often just spam skills to great effect, but it is strongly advised you sit down and learn what the skills in each tome do. Some big ones to memorize:

1. Tome of Justice
   1. Chapter 3 Heated Rebuke - circular pull that can group enemies
   2. Epilogue Ashes of the Just - provides a very powerful buff to nearby allies
2. Tome of Resolve
   1. Epilogue Eternal Oasis - increases all healing allies (including you) receive
   2. Chapter 4 Shining River - a large waterfield that heals
   3. Chapter 1 Desert Bloom - a powerful heal
3. Tome of Courage
   1. Chapter 1 Unflinching Charge - Provides stability, which grants quickness
   2. Chapter 3 Valiant Bulwark - a projectile-hate bubble
   3. Epilogue Unbroken Lines - provides extreme defense to nearby allies for 5 seconds, also triggers Stalwart Speed

Damage

• Tome of Justice is the main source of your damage, and it resets whenever you kill an enemy thanks to Renewed Justice. Try to stay in it often, spamming Chapter 4 Scorched Aftermath, Chapter 2 Igniting Burst, and Chapter 1 Searing Spell.
  • Chapter 3 Heated Rebuke can be used as an opener to pull enemies together.
  • If there are nearby allies you can use Epilogue Ashes of the Just. You can also apply ashes to your Sword of Justice.
• Outside of Tome of Justice, your primary damaging skills are:

1. Purging Flames
2. Mantra of Flame
3. Zealot's Flame
4. Symbol of Vengeance / Symbol of Punishment
5. Cleansing Flame

• Use Zealot's Flame whenever available.
• If everything you have is on cooldown, fill with auto-attacks

Boons

• Use your "Feel My Wrath!" and Mantra of Potence off cooldown for Quickness.
• Use your Mantra of Solace approximately every 7 seconds for Quickness from Liberator's Vow and Stalwart Speed.

Defense

• Tome of Courage has many good defensive skills. You can go into it and press a few skills (including Epilogue Unbroken Lines if possible) to quickly stack defensive boons.
• Carefully time your activation of Mantra of Solace to block dangerous attacks.

Crowd Control

• Blazing Edge
• Chains of Light
• Chapter 3 Heated Rebuke
• Chapter 2 Daring Challenge
• Hammer of Wisdom or Bane Signet