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Firebrand - Quickness Support Healer

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: Boon supportHealing and Utility

Designed for: Raids and Fractals

Difficulty:
TBD
This build was last updated on April 14, 2022 and is up to date for the October 8, 2024 patch.

Overview

A Firebrand support build for raids and fractals. This build brings a massive amount of healing, unique stat buffs via Perfect Inscriptions, and a wide range of defensive utility including Stability Stability, Resistance Resistance, heavy condition cleanse, and projectile destruction. With the right weapons, skills and traits, it can also provide high Fury Fury, Might Might and Quickness Quickness uptime.

In raids, this build provides Fury Fury and Quickness Quickness to its subgroup, along with extra healing for groups that need more than a druid can offer. In fractals it provides much the same role, while sharing Might Might generation with a Renegade - Boon Support Power DPS. It is a popular healer in fractal groups as compared to Renegade, it doesn't have to give up any utility in order to provide healing.

Keep in mind that fractal and raid variants of this build slightly differ. Be sure to read the skill and trait variants to know what you should be bringing.


Skill Bar

Staff
Axe/Shield
Utility


Weapon Variants

  • Sword also generates Fury Fury to your subgroup with Symbol of Blades, and provides a teleport on a low cooldown, useful on fights like Matthias where you move around a lot.

Other weapon variants sacrifice your Fury Fury or Might Might generation, so make sure someone else is covering these boons before using!

  • Hammer provides a knockback, immobilize immobilize, and Ring of Warding, useful on fights like Samarog where pushing/CC is required. The auto chain also drops a symbol, providing a lot of healing and Protection Protection for your subgroup.
  • Greatsword provides an AoE pull and good mobility, useful on fights like Slothasor for pulling adds and dropping poisons.
  • Scepter is your only ranged weapon, useful for kiting mechanics like poison on Siax or flak on Sabetha while offering a bit of Might Might on the symbol. (But try not to kite if you can help it, as Firebrand loses a lot of effectiveness when not with the main group.)
  • Mace provides an extra block and improved healing to your subgroup, as well as easy access to Protection Protection and Regeneration Regeneration.


Skill Variants

As Firebrand is a defensive support, it's important to swap skills to fit the encounter. All of the following utility skills and elite skills are viable depending on the situation:


Utility Skills

  • Hallowed Ground - A source of pulsing Stability Stability for your team. Longer duration, but harder to use than "Stand Your Ground!", and only 5-target.
  • "Stand Your Ground!" - Instant AoE stun break and Stability Stability.
  • Bow of Truth - Popular choice for raids where you don't need that much Stability Stability. Burst heal that can be cast from range.
  • Mantra of Lore - Popular choice for raids. Provides tons of Regeneration Regeneration and Condition Cleanse.
  • Signet of Wrath - alternative signet if the DPS in your subgroup deal mainly condition damage.
  • Signet of Mercy - if you think a ranged revive will be needed.
  • "Hold the Line!" - more Protection Protection and Regeneration Regeneration uptime.
  • "Advance!" - could be used if you need to apply Aegis Aegis in a larger AoE than Mantra of Solace, or for more Aegis Aegis uptime in general.
  • Shield of the Avenger - destroys projectiles in fights like Arkk. Isn't always reliable as the shield has very low health and can be killed easily.
  • Wall of Reflection - reflects projectiles. Take it if Chapter 3 Valiant Bulwark Chapter 3 Valiant Bulwark is not enough for the fight.
  • Hammer of Wisdom - even more CC.
  • Sanctuary - very strong CC. Also works well in situations where mobs heavily outnumber your team:
    • Subject 6 in Thaumanova Reactor Fractal, prevents mini oozes from coming to subject 6 when your teammates take down Veteran Ooze.
    • Elite Molten Flame Shaman(before crossing bridge)/Champion Molten Effigy in Molten Boss Fractal.
    • Abyss chamber and Last boss prevent spectral flames from reaching your team / The Voice in Deepstone Fractal.
    • Siren's Reef (Black Peter,Deposit treasure, last 3 bosses)


Elite Skills

  • Mantra of Liberation - multiple instant AoE stun breaks and stability (and quickness if Stalwart Speed is traited).
  • Renewed Focus - personal invulnerability and cooldown reset on tomes.


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Specializations


Specialization Variants

  • Pure of Heart Worse Might Might uptime for slightly better heal potential. Popular choice for Raids.
  • Force of Will if your party can't stay stacked in your symbols.
  • Stalwart Speed if you want to take an elite other than "Feel My Wrath!" but don't trust your Quickness Quickness generation without it.
  • Legendary Lore if you're having a hard time catching people in your Regeneration Regeneration- or Protection Protectiongranting skills.
  • Protector's Impact if you want more Protection Protection for your party.
  • Protective Reviver great trait for reviving, can revive up to 30% down bar upon using passive with Shield of Absorption .
  • Archivist of Whispers if you want spam a lot of tome skills. Note that if you are responsible for Quickness Quickness, you will need "Feel My Wrath!", Stalwart Speed and ~80%+ boon duration in order to make up for the loss of Liberator's Vow.


Virtues Variant

Take Virtues instead of Radiance if you need more support. This sacrifices the damage buff from Perfect Inscriptions and should only be done if you literally can't keep people alive otherwise. Taking this trait line makes Bane Signet a suboptimal skill in a support build and should be replaced with a skill such as Mantra of Lore or Bow of Truth.


Equipment

Head
Harrier
Shoulders
Harrier
Chest
Harrier
Hands
Harrier
Legs
Harrier
Feet
Harrier
Backpiece
Harrier
Accessory
Harrier
Accessory
Harrier
Amulet
Harrier
Ring
Harrier
Ring
Harrier
Staff
Harrier
Sigil
Sigil
Axe
Harrier
Shield
Harrier
Sigil
Sigil
Rune
x6
Infusion
x18


Minstrel Variant

This versiongives you more toughness and vitality for surviving or tanking.

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
Axe
Minstrel
Shield
Minstrel
Sigil
Sigil
Rune
x6
Infusion
x18


Consumables

Food


Utility

  • (if you use minstrel variant in raids).


Usage

Fitting Into Party Compositions


General Tips

  • Know you should use Aegis Aegis via mob/boss attack (example: Ensolyss use his Upswing (orange AoE), Lunge, etc...)
  • You don't have to use all charges on your books. Often using 1-3 abilities is enough and often more efficient.
  • Use F2 Tome of Resolve for heavy pressure situations and Condi cleanse (Skill 2 and 5 remove conditions).
  • Use F3 Tome of Courage for Stability Stability, Reflects and bonus toughness for your group from Epilogue Unbroken Lines Epilogue Unbroken Lines.
  • Use F1 Tome of Justice in low pressure situations for additional damage. Using any skill in this tome will share the Lesser Signet of Wrath from Wrath of Justice via Perfect Inscriptions, so use as often as possible if there are condi DPS players in your subgroup.


Healing

  • Get your party to stack as closely as possible to you so they get the full benefit of your heals and mantras.
  • Your basic healing rotation consists of swapping between staff and axe/shield and using Empower and Symbol of Vengeance as much as possible to maintain Might Might and Fury Fury.
  • For burst heals use Shield of Absorption, your Tome of Resolve skills, and Holy Strike.
    • Keep in mind that Tome of Resolve has a very long cooldown.
    • Your general Tome of Resolve rotation is 5-4-3-1-1, with 2 thrown in if they need condition cleanse.
  • The most powerful tool you can provide as a firebrand is Aegis Aegis. Watch for big incoming hits, then mitigate them with Protector's Strike, Shield of Judgment, or Mantra of Solace.
    • This also improves your healing due to Invigorated Bulwark.
  • Cleanse conditions if needed with Tome of Resolve - Epilogue Eternal Oasis Epilogue Eternal Oasis (convert up to 5 condi to boon) or Chapter 2 Radiant Recovery Chapter 2 Radiant Recovery, Mantra of Lore, or Holy Strike + Light Field from your weapon/utility skills.


Buffs

  • Bane Signet and Signet of Wrath give a large damage buff for 10 seconds after activation thanks to Perfect Inscriptions. Use them off cooldown and only delay them if CC will be needed soon or to line up better with burn phases.
  • Depending on your Alacrity Alacrity uptime, you can output 15-20 stacks of Might Might by using Empower and Mantra of Potence. If running Virtues, you can also dip into Tome of Justice to fill gaps in might.
    • You can't maintain 25 Might Might solo unless you replace your axe with a scepter. In practice this isn't a huge deal because the remaining 5-10 Might Might is should be covered by the Renegade or Druid depending on content and composition.
  • If you take Stalwart Speed you can keep up permanent Quickness Quickness with just Mantra of Solace and Mantra of Potence. Note that Stalwart Speed has an internal cooldown of 7 seconds (which isn't reduced by Alacrity Alacrity), so space out your Mantra of Solace appropriately.
  • Symbol of Vengeance will pulse Fury Fury to your subgroup or party.
  • Use "Feel My Wrath!" to cover gaps in Quickness Quickness and Fury Fury.


Pre-stacking Buffs (Fractals only)

You have to prestack buffs for your party before entering boss fight. Prestacking is done near Mistlock Singularities to abuse the skill reset after using it. Don't use mistlocks before prestacking. Fractal meta is heavily dependant on prestacks!!!

  • 0. Take Hallowed Ground and position yourself near Mistlock Singularity while facing your teammates.
  • 1. Use Hallowed Ground to provide a fire field for blasting. <-- This is also a signal for your teammates to also start prestacking.
  • 2. Use Holy Strike (Staff 2) to blast Fire field then cast Empower.
  • 3. While channeling Empower, spam Mantra of Potence and use 1 charge ofMantra of Solace.
  • 4. Use "Feel My Wrath!".
  • 5. Use Bane Signet (if you will start the fight within 10 seconds).
  • 6. Take Mistlock Singularity.
  • 7. Replace Hallowed Ground with your previous skill if needed.
  • 8. Use 1 charge each of Mantra of Potence and Mantra of Solace.
  • 9. Run for the boss as fast as possible.

Often in pug groups teammates might run towards the boss too soon or too late. To prevent that you can do step 8 while running towards the boss or when the fight is about to start. Remember to always use it on your allies.


CC

Baseline CC:

If you need more CC:

  • Sanctuary - pulsing knockback for 5 seconds
  • Hammer of Wisdom - 2 charges of knockdown
  • Banish and Ring of Warding if using hammer
  • Binding Blade if using greatsword
  • Line of Warding if using staff against non-boss mobs
  • Chains of Light if using scepter


Miscellaneous

  • Be careful of using Epilogue Unbroken Lines Epilogue Unbroken Lines because it will grant 300 toughness to yourself and nearby allies, potentially interfering with tank aggro.
  • Binding Blade or Chapter 3 Heated Rebuke Chapter 3 Heated Rebuke can be used to pull adds together.
  • Use Mantra of Liberation, Tome of Courage, "Stand Your Ground!", or Hallowed Ground if Stability Stability is needed.
  • Use Shield of Absorption, Chapter 3 Valiant Bulwark Chapter 3 Valiant Bulwark, Shield of the Avenger, or Wall of Reflection to counter projectiles.
  • Use Symbol of Swiftness when running between encounters.


Ratings

This build has a rating of 5 stars based on 7 votes.
Log in or register to rate this build.
5 stars
OfficerAndyGentleman gave this build 5 stars • November 2022
Good consistent healing, if somewhat lacking in burst, Firebrand's real strength is in the wealth of defensive boons it can bring in addition to the usual offensive ones. There is basically no situation a healbrand cannot adapt to.
5 stars
A765189335 gave this build 5 stars • June 2020
Compared with QFB, such a build is more suitable, because in a team with 3 high DPS and ALAC with DPS of about 9K, what such a team lacks are heal and BUFF, because people care about completing the whole CM perfectly, so such BD is more suitable, and DPS like QFB is meaningless. If the whole team needs to pursue the limit, QFB is also feasible, but when the whole team fails many times because there are no more HEAL and BUFF, I believe that some people will launch such a team, because people want to finish the whole CM stably and quickly. Moreover, Fractals are not raid, and the sources of heal and buffs in the whole team can only be obtained from FB skills, unlike raid with druid heal and chrono buffs
5 stars
Eayn gave this build 5 stars • May 2020
Great build for especially pug groups. You can use power support fb if you are playing with a highly experienced premade group but in general most players don't and this build is a life saver. Burst heal potential and quickness uptime is already great but on top of that if you have an alacrity renegade in your group, the boons you can provide to your group is beyond amazing.
4 stars
Archon Wing gave this build 4 stars • April 2020
This is a highly sought after support because many mechanics can simply be negated with Aegis blocking them and the mix of condi clear and stability also reduces the need of party members to dodge most things at all. It does require the Firebrand to anticipate incoming attacks and be able to proactively block them too. It also maintains perma quickness easily even with mediocre boon duration thanks to the fractal potion. Because the mantra charges are instantly cast, there is no worry about being CC'd. Healbrand also has massive on demand utility from tomes. Unlike Quickbrand, the healbrand does not worry about DPS loss and can make full use of them. The biggest difference between the two is tome of resolve because that only works well with higher healing power. Tome of Courage with its stability spam makes fights like Brazen Gladiator and Skorvald trivial. And should all of that fail, Merciful intervention can save people that do go down. However, at the end of the day, the best defense is a good offense since many mechanics will not appear if the party can phase through the bosses fast enough. For that reason, healbrand is not meta since better groups won't need a healer, and quickbrand still has damage mitigation through blocks. But for most groups, even those with decent dps, may find a few mechanics here and there that still need to be dealt with, and healbrand just makes it easier.
5 stars
Staub gave this build 5 stars • March 2020
Fantastic build for the majority of the gw2 players (non-hardcore). If you want a stress-free daily clear, bring a heal quickbrand.
5 stars
Chinkeeyong gave this build 5 stars • October 2018
An extremely strong healer for inexperienced groups or groups looking for a safer clear. This build can hard carry groups through common stumbling blocks like Mai Trin, Slothasor, Matthias, etc. with its excellent healing and defensive utility. It's also capable of soloing River of Souls.
5 stars
Nuru gave this build 5 stars • March 2018
This build is pretty fun. Druid its abit better, because deal more damage but this is still nice alternative, when you don't want to wait for druids. Also brings alot quickness, might and others boons + stability and reflect skill. Maybe I would add more situation skills.

Comments

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