Scourge - Power Scourge
This build was last updated on January 19, 2022 and is up to date for the February 11, 2025 patch.
Overview
A build designed to strip boons and lay down high area damage.
Skill Bar
Axe/Focus
Scepter/Dagger
Utility
Skill Variants
- Melee boon corrupt and damage.
- Ranged boon corrupt and barrier.
- For extra lifeforce and stunbreak.
- Defensive mobility and situational utility.
Template Code
[&DQg1NSc6PDl+FgAAgQAAAHMBAAByFgAAYBcAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]
Specializations
slighly higher overall dps.
Variants
- if Life Force generation is an issue.
Equipment
Head
Marauder
Shoulders
Marauder
Chest
Marauder
Hands
Marauder
Legs
Marauder
Feet
Marauder
Backpiece
Marauder
Accessory
Marauder
Accessory
Marauder
Amulet
Marauder
Ring
Marauder
Ring
Marauder
Axe
Marauder
Focus
Marauder
Sigil
Sigil
Scepter
Marauder
Dagger
Marauder
Sigil
Sigil
Rune
x6
Equipment Variants
- increased damage
- Best rune against incoming condition pressure.
- Best rune against power based damage.
- High damage and better might uptime, strong if not using Dumplings.
- If fury and boons are an issue.
Consumables
- feast option with additional power and ferocity.
Usage
Elite especialization basics
- This is how the shade mechanic works: if you have no active shade () in the world, all your F2-F5 skills will proc around you. If you do have an active shade, all your shade skills, and related traits, will only affect the active shade area, not you.
- Therefore, depending on you group playstyle, you may not want to place a shade at all, and behave yourself like a mobile shade, doing damage while in melee, and benefiting from the barrier and cleanse. However, being able to 900-range spike can be superior if coordinating shade cooldowns, and knowing when and where to place your . The self support aspect of the shade skills is mostly irrelevant, since you run with dedicated supports in WvW zergs.
Shroud
- All of your shade skills will proc the strike of (F1), whichs means you want to instantly use then, as soon as you land your F1, to maximize damage.
- Shroud traits proc as if the shade skills counted as that shroud skill.
- procs
- procs , and around you
- All shade skills proc
- and can be used before landing a shade, for extra barrier and cleanse.
- will continue pulsing if a new shade is summoned at the location of the new shade so there should be no worry about repositioning shades when needed.
- Shade usage order (with enough life force)
- Using F1 ⇒ ⇒ ++
- Not using F1 (on melee) ⇒ ++
General
Scourge brings strong damage through his shade skills, barrier access and boonrip.
- Positioning, reacting fast and timing your dodges well are key. You don't have evade skills nor immunities like other classes, and your support classes won't be able to babysit you all the time.
- and are a significant part of your damage and boonrip outside of weapon skills. Place then on top of the enemy group, along friendly and your team pressure. Using your wells at the same time as the other Necromancers in your group is an enormous damage spike.
- will be used for the group barrier share before and during extended engages.
- is going to be dropped if the enemy is hard committing into a melee push, to panic disrupt then. Can also be used offensively on melee, to stack AoE fields on top of the enemy stack and lock then down through corrupts and conditions.
- can be used offensively, the same way as Breach, but you should save it to use as stunbreak if you feel pressured during fights.
Scepter
- is your most important skill and one of the reasons why you run the Curses spec. Try to keep it on cooldown when you are in range. You can pre-cast it in 1,200-range, while moving towards the enemy, to avoid downtime.
- Since it has a 10s cooldown, you should be able to cast it twice per weapon swap rotation, as your opener and finisher. It also is one of your main sources of life force in the build.
- provides good AoE damage and should be used constantly to maintain AoE pressure.
Axe
- is one of your most powerful melee skills, try to use it as often as possible for AoE boon corruption and extra damage on low targets.
- a strong life force generator and high single target damage skill. Useful for a quick downed cleave.
- is a rather strong filler for single target damage.
Dagger, Focus and Torch
- decent for melee damage and cleave as well as life force generator.
- single target CC. Use it to snare escaping players or interrupt channeled skills.
- for the extra AoE
Weakness and corrupt. Bear in mind the cast and animation time. - deals even more damage on targets with boons. Try to land it on squish foes, like weavers and scourges. It's also a boonrip, not a corrupt skill.
- and won't prioritized, being only projectile filler skills. Try to land on downed bodies, to ensure the projectile will connect, granting some life force and
Vulnerability stack. Use whenever you might need some condi clear.
Staff
- Staff auto attacks are low impact and its abilities relatively long cooldowns, so the best use of the weapon is to use its cooldown skills then swap out as soon as possible.
- Use and to build area condi stacks.
- and usage should be more careful, don't be afraid to leave them off cooldown when swapping back to S/D.
- is one of your limited anti-condition skills so use it carefully.
- Interrupt key skills with the fear of .
Weapon skills combos
- ⇒ Weapon Swap ⇒ ⇒ () if running Spite variant
- ⇒
- ⇒
- Add , and (if running Torch) in the mix for more damage.
Videos
- Template:YouTube (Strip/Corrupt Guide)
- Template:YouTube
- Template:YouTube
Ratings
Comments
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