Warrior - Core Tactics Roamer

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

Focused on: Direct damage, Control and Mobility

Designed for: WvW Roaming

Difficulty:

TBD

This build was last updated on February 15, 2022 and is up to date for the October 8, 2024 patch.

Overview

A vanilla Warrior WvW Roaming build with good damage, sustain, and mobility which can also be used by F2P players.

Skill Bar

Greatsword

Axe/Shield

Utility

Skill Bar Variants

Utility

Viable options for the optional slot:

• Endure Pain - great defensive CD, preemptive damage mitigation and reactive stun break.

• "For Great Justice!" - acts as a second healing skills thanks to traits such as Might Makes Right, and provides a significant increase to your burst damage.

• Frenzy - stun break and better burst, with a bit of added sustain from trait synergy.

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Specializations

Variants

Destruction of the Empowered is also a viable option if you can afford to give up some cleansing.

Equipment

Head
Marauder

Shoulders
Marauder

Chest
Marauder

Hands
Marauder

Legs
Marauder

Feet
Marauder

Backpiece
Berserker

Accessory
Berserker

Accessory
Berserker

Amulet
Berserker

Ring
Berserker

Ring
Berserker

Greatsword
Marauder

Sigil

Sigil

Axe
Marauder

Shield
Marauder

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x18

Equipment Variants

Stats

• The ratio of Marauder and Berserker pieces can be changed based on personal preferences. Add a few more Marauder pieces if you're feeling too squishy, or replace them with Berserker if you're willing to take risks.

Rune

• Rune of Superior Rune of Strength - a solid rune with great offensive stats and a consistent damage modifier.

• Rune of Superior Rune of the Earth - another great defensive rune with an excellent boost to incoming healing and way cheaper/easier to obtain than Durability.

Sigils

• Sigil of Superior Sigil of Energy - more sustain but less consistent burst damage on Greatsword, could replace either of the sigils.

Consumables

Food

• - passive damage mitigation and great stats.

• - a very strong defensive option which improves your already great endurance regen. Even has synergy with Might related traits and the Strength line.
  • Budget version: - much cheaper and more than fine.

Utility

• or .

Usage

General

• Playstyle: this build is all about weaving hard hitting skills into chains of block and evade frames. The combos aren't set in stone, rather you'll need to adapt based on what CDs are available. Minimize melee contact, dodge/block/evade as many things as possible, and spike targets when an opening shows. Examples:
  • Bladetrail from outside melee range ⇒ dodge to your target ⇒ Arcing Slice ⇒ Whirlwind Attack
  • Whirlwind Attack ⇒ weapon swap ⇒ Bull's Charge ⇒ Eviscerate

• Might Makes Right and Mending Might causes Might applications to heal you and grant a tiny bit of endurance.
  • Add Vigorous Shouts to the mix and "For Great Justice!" basically turns into a healing skill with 2 charges.

• If possible, dodge into enemies to damage them with Reckless Dodge and generate Might. This is especially useful if you're Blinded as the damage of the dodge will miss, consuming the condition and allowing you to immediately follow up with something.

• Use Whirlwind Attack and Rush in combat to get out of Immobilize via the trait Warrior's Sprint.

• Swapping weapons in the middle of a burst cancels them and retains the adrenaline. You can use this to your advantage by baiting dodges with Eviscerate or to keep your adrenaline if you know a burst won't land. Arcing Slice can also be stowed instead of weapon swapped.

• Burst skills - Arcing Slice and Eviscerate:
  • These are vital skills for the build and you should do your best to land them. CC targets beforehand with Bull's Charge or Shield Bash, time them to hit just after the target has dodged, etc.
  • You gain 15 endurance via Building Momentum if the skill hits.
  • Most of your adrenaline should be spent on Eviscerate, as its damage scales with adrenaline level. For Arcing Slice it doesn't matter, the damage is always the same - only the Fury duration scales.
  • Try to land Arcing Slice right (or shortly) after swapping to GS to benefit from Sigil of Superior Sigil of Vision.

• Bull's Charge can be your make or break skill during duels or downing an opponent. Try to use it at the end of a player's dodge or stability to make it even harder to dodge, and make the most out of it. Alternatively, this can be used defensively for the evasion and mobility to avoid damage or disengage from a fight.

• Throw Axe is borderline useless except for 2 situations:
  • Your target is trying to escape, in which case the snare can be useful. When playing with Tactics, this not only snares but also applies Immobilize.
  • The target is below 25% health which increases the damage of this skill significantly, making it fairly powerful.

• Brawler's Recovery and Warrior's Sprint will be used to manage condition levels before resorting to mass cleanses.

• "Shake It Off!" (SIO) is the only stun break in the build. This skill has 2 charges: if you're under heavy condition pressure and the aforementioned 2 traits aren't enough, you're free to use one of the charges. This skill also affects nearby allies and can be used to support them if you can afford it.

Rampage

• Rampage is what you use when you want to burst a target or desperately need mobility to either chase down someone / run away from a fight.

• Example of a Rampage burst rotation: Throw Boulder ⇒ Dash ⇒ Kick (Rampage) ⇒ Seismic Leap ⇒ Smash

Related Builds

Greataxe - the Conquest PvP version of this core Warrior roaming build.