Dragonhunter - Stealth Trapper Roamer

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

Focused on: Direct damage

Designed for: WvW Roaming

Difficulty:

TBD

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

Overview

A high damage glass-cannon Dragonhunter build for WvW roaming which sacrifices much of the sustain of Meditrapper to squeeze out even more damage. Instead the build is all about relying on the Stealth and Superspeed of Rune of Superior Rune of the Trapper to stay alive between bursts.

Skill Bar

Longbow

Sword/Shield

Utility

Template Code

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Equipment

Head
Berserker

Shoulders
Berserker

Chest
Berserker

Hands
Berserker

Legs
Berserker

Feet
Berserker

Backpiece
Marauder

Accessory
Marauder

Accessory
Marauder

Amulet
Marauder

Ring
Marauder

Ring
Marauder

Longbow
Berserker

Sigil

Sigil

Sword
Berserker

Shield
Berserker

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x18

Consumables

Food

• - considered to be the optimal food, strong mix of sustain and damage but requires a cooking skill of 500.

• - extra precision with an armor ignoring damage proc that also heals you.

• - defensive option.

• - offensive option.

Utility

Usage

General

• Try to stay in range, keep your distance whenever possible.

• Rune of Superior Rune of the Trapper is what makes this DH work. The build doesn't have a whole lot of sustain, instead it relies on Stealth and Superspeed to avoid taking damage. As a result mistakes can be rather punishing.

• Whenever you drop a trap you'll gain Stealth and Superspeed. The stealth won't last long if an enemy's in melee range because the traps deal damage, but it should be enough to reposition yourself and break targeting. Or you could drop the trap preemptively before they get to you or the ranged could focus you.

• Test of Faith is an excellent defensive skill because it's an instant source of Protection and Stealth + Superspeed. Can also be used while CC'd.

• Deflecting Shot is unblockable and can be used to interrupt blocking skills.

• Wings of Resolve removes 2 conditions and gives a substantial heal to you and your teammates. It's also an excellent mobility tool in combat and a good way of repositioning yourself even in brief stealth windows.

• Shield of Courage breaks stun and blocks all attacks in front of you, use it to relive pressure from you and your team - for example, you can stand facing foes attempting to cleave downed teammates while you or your team is reviving them.

• Try to burn through all of your virtues before resorting to Renewed Focus. RF is a great skill to use if you're being focused by the enemy team and you don't have any CDs left, but Dragonhunter virtues have cast times so any you didn't use before RF will be wasted.

Damage

• The ring created by a triggered Test of Faith deals more damage than the initial trigger, and a significant portion of your burst damage comes from pulling/pushing foes through it.

1. Drop the trap preferably at your target's feet so that they spring it immediately and not after you already blew a CC. Consider jumping in with Symbol of Blades if they are far away.
2. Push them outside the ring with either Deflecting Shot or Shield of Absorption.
3. Pull them back in with Hunter's Verdict (secondary skill of Spear of Justice).
4. If possible, swap weapons and use the other knockback skill too that you didn't 2 steps before.

• You deal extra damage to enemies affected by Spear of Justice, so consider using it before hard hitting skills like True Shot.

• There's a delay on Hunter's Ward, the final strike doesn't go off immediately after you finish channeling the skill. You could even pull targets in with Hunter's Verdict to make sure they get it and can't dodge or move out right before rings appear. The final strike of this skill does heavy damage.

• The Stealth from the runes isn't purely defensive - you could use it to cover up the animation of True Shot and other ranged attacks, increasing their chance to hit.

Sword/Shield

• 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.

• Use Shield of Judgment when you or an ally is about to be focused by the enemy, or if you're already pressured. It also applies boons in a cone, try to aim it at as many allies as possible.

• As mentioned above, Shield of Absorption is mainly a combo tool, but you can also use it for general CC or to defend against some ranged attacks. It forms a dome around you for a couple of seconds, blocking projectiles. You can choose to detonate the dome with its chain skill, which will cause a bit of AoE healing.

Related Builds

• Turbo Trapper - the Conquest PvP version of the build.
• Meditrapper Roamer - a more "balanced" version of this roaming build with less focus on traps and Stealth with a more conventional playstyle.