Dragonhunter - Aegishunter

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

Focused on: Strike damage and Mobility

Designed for: PvP Conquest

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

Normal

This build was last updated on October 01, 2024 and is up to date for the October 8, 2024 patch.

Overview

A survivable PvP Dragonhunter build made to deal high AoE burst damage to win teamfights and +1 your duelists while getting value from blocking and Aegis. This build is very versatile and can sidenode 1vX quite well, but it really shines in teamfights where it can hit multiple enemies at once and share Aegis with allies.

Skill Bar

Greatsword

Sword/Focus

Utility

Skill Variants

Heal

• Shelter - Works better as a panic heal due to the instant cast and does proc some of your block rewards, but overall provides less value unless you time it just before some massive burst.

Utility

• Test of Faith - can be used for damage combos with push/pull or to get cheap burst on careless foes. Must either cut your source of move speed ("Advance!") or your best stunbreak (Fragments of Faith), both of which can also grant Aegis to allies. Consider taking Hunter's Determination to give yourself an out from CC+burst combos.

Weapons

• Shield over Focus - Shield of Judgment grants more Aegis to yourself and allies, while Shield of Absorption adds a push to the build that can be used in the Test of Faith push/pull combo if you're taking Test of Faith.

Template Code

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Specializations

• Symbolic Avenger is better for longer fights but provides less up-front burst and is worse in teamfights.

• Hunter's Determination can be taken if replacing Fragments of Faith with Test of Faith.

Equipment

Greatsword

Sigil

Sigil

Sword

Focus

Sigil

Sigil

Rune

Amulet

Relic

Sigils

• Other damage sigils like Sigil of Exploitation, Sigil of Opportunity, Sigil of Battle, etc., can replace Sigil of Stagnation.
• Sigil of Cleansing can be taken in condition-heavy matchups, but it should not usually be needed.

Usage

General

• To succeed with this build, play very aggressively and always be thinking of where you want your next mobility skill to put you - most of the time, that should be right on top of your enemy or away from danger. Kite in and out as you would with a Willbender or a Spellbreaker, unless you know your auto attacks will be more valuable than whatever your enemy can do to you.

• This build makes excellent use of the Aegis boon, which blocks the next incoming enemy attack. Try to grant it to as many allies as possible for value in teamfights. Your sources of Aegis are:
  • Shield of Courage (both the passive and active)
  • "Advance!" (this is also one of your main mobility tools)
  • Purification (thanks to Hunter's Premonition)
  • Fragments of Faith (which grants one when cast and when triggered spreads fragments on the ground that grant one stack to any ally that touches it if they don't already have one. Use this strategically when dueling on node to block multiple attacks.)

• Your non- Aegis blocks are:
  • Shield of Courage (active)
  • Zealot's Defense (blocks projectiles)
  • Shield of Wrath (blocks up to 3 attacks or explodes for AoE burst damage. Instant cast and can be used while disabled.)
  • Renewed Focus (not technically a block, but a window of invulnerability which recharges your Virtues)

• When you block an attack (including from Aegis), the following are triggered:
  • Defender's Dogma - your next attack triggers Justice and the cooldown on Spear of Justice is reduced by 1 second.
  • Hunter's Fortification - cleanse 1 condition.
  • Relic of the Defender - heal for 1% - 5% of your maximum health (224 - 1,122).

• Additionally, when Aegis blocks an attack it also triggers the following:
  • Wrathful Spirit - grant 4 seconds of Resolution and Fury. This trait is essential for maintaining your 83.1% (93.1% vs. burning targets) critical strike chance, +10% strike damage, and of course reducing the condition damage you receive by 33%.
  • Shattered Aegis - deals damage to up to 5 nearby enemies (240 radius). It does not critically strike, but usually deals anywhere from 500 to over 1000 damage depending on the armor and strike damage reductions of the enemy player. This triggers from Aegis you grant to allies as well, making skills like "Advance!" into a big counterpressure swing in addition to breaking enemy Aegis, etc.

Your job is to roam the map and pressure vulnerable enemies as hard as possible, sticking to them for high burst and kiting away from counterpressure. Use your pulls to keep them from fleeing or to bring them into your symbols for extra damage. Your mobility is not as high as roamers like Daredevil, so decapping is not your role unless necessary. You can hold node 1v1 or 1v2 if needed so full capping is acceptable to give your team an advantage, however you are at your best helping your team win fights and pick off out of position enemies while they rotate. Unlike other similar Dragonhunter and Willbender builds you are extremely survivable and can kite under pressure for quite a while.

Damage

• Fight in melee range as often as possible to maximize the damage from Shattered Aegis.

• Your symbols are a lot of your damage so try to place them on stationary targets like downed enemies (especially if being resurrected) or objectives like the bell on Capricorn. If enemies stay in them too long, they will take heavy damage while your allies will gain Resolution or Fury.

Crowd Control

• Unlike some Guardian builds, you do have some CC. Don't reactivate them unless you can follow up with big burst or you just don't want them to escape:
  • Spear of Justice - time it wisely (such as on blocking opponents or to hit multiple enemies that are stacked).
  • Binding Blade - short range but can hit enemies all around you.

• Additionally, you will inflict Cripple on nearby foes when you weapon swap or on foes you hit with Justice and Spear of Justice. You deal more damage to crippled enemies thanks to Zealot's Aggression.

Mobility and Survival

• Space out your Aegis procs maximize the value you get from them. Use your mobility skills to kite, chase, and rotate:
  • "Advance!" - use to maintain Swiftness but do not waste it, as it is powerful in teamfights.
  • Wings of Resolve - great for kiting but can be used for chasing or simply rotating more quickly.
  • Leap of Faith - the most versatile skill in your kit, it does everything.
  • Symbol of Blades - great vertical mobility and conditionally for kiting. Spam while chasing to keep the pressure on.

Greatsword

• This is the more aggressive/high burst set of the build, but it still has some nice defensive utility.

• Whirling Wrath is one of the most notoriously high burst-damage skills in the game and can be used while moving. Try to set this skill up by executing one of your pulls or closing the gap on a slow/stationary target first. It is also a Whirl finisher - use it inside your symbols for extra cleanse.

• Leap of Faith is both a high burst damage skill and a great mobility tool. You can cross gaps or skip obstacles with it if you know how. Sometimes it is worthwhile to weapon swap just before the end of the leap to gain some extra distance. It inflicts Blind and heals you while dealing great damage, but it can be unreliable to land (such as on uneven terrain).

Sword/Focus

• This is the defensive set of the build, but still has some hard hitting skills.

• The main source of burst damage here comes from Zealot's Defense. Note that the projectiles can be very unreliable in anything but melee range.

• Symbol of Blades has many uses: vertical mobility via teleportation, symbol for cleaving, or a combo field which can be used for AoE cleansing by executing a blast finisher in it.

Sword/Focus Opener

1. Cast Ray of Judgment at range and then activate Shield of Wrath., starting the 4 second timer.
2. Spear of Justice the target.
3. Symbol of Blades onto them, just before the detonation of Shield of Wrath.
4. Use either Shield of Courage or "Advance!" to grant yourself Aegis if necessary.
5. Use Hunter's Verdict to pull them back into the symbol or just to stun them.
6. Zealot's Defense from melee range.

Fighting an Aegishunter

To be added