Specter - Power Sword/Dagger Roamer

The community gave this build a rating, making it top-tier: Great

Focused on: Direct damage and Mobility

Designed for: WvW Roaming

Difficulty:

TBD

This build was last updated on October 13, 2022 and is up to date for the October 8, 2024 patch.

Overview

A Specter power build for WvW roaming which ditches the Scepter for a double melee setup, opting for S/D and D/P.

Skill Bar

Sword/Dagger

Dagger/Pistol

Utility

Skill Variants

Utility

For the optional slot:

• Infiltrator's Signet - gap closer + stun break.

• Well of Tears - mobility, good damage, synergy with the rune and various traits.

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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

Sword
Marauder

Dagger
Marauder

Sigil

Sigil

Dagger
Marauder

Pistol
Marauder

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x18

Consumables

Food

• - strong defensive option which provides more frequent access to dodging.

• - good stats and passive damage mitigation.

• - same stats as the food above except with life steal instead of damage mitigation.

• - non-ascended version of the food above, without the sustain.

• - crit chance bump with armor ignoring damage procs which also heal.

Utility

• or

Usage

Elite specialization basics

• Specters gain access to their own version of Death Shroud called Enter Shadow Shroud. Mechanically they are the same, replacing your skill bar while active. Damage taken while in Shroud drains Shadow Force instead of HP.

• Using Siphon (Specter's version of Steal) and spending Initiative builds Shadow Force.

General

• Most of your Specters skills double as support skills. While your role is to kill targets, a good Specter also keeps an eye on allies and helps them in critical moments by granting them Barrier (when roaming in a group).

• Because of Shroud you can be a bit more reckless with spending Initiative as Shroud skills are free and by the time you've rotated through Shroud CDs your Initiative should be back to full.

• Siphon removes boons when used on enemies and Dazes them right after, allowing it to interrupt targets even through Stability.

• Every Well skills grants Alacrity. Wells are also great mobility tools both in and out of combat, and simply using them to get around the map faster has the added benefit of speeding up your skill recharge from the Alacrity.

• Offhand pistol's main purpose is to combo stealth with Black Powder and to provide a quick interrupt via Head Shot.

• Stealth stacking rotation:

1. Black Powder
2. Enter Shadow Shroud
3. Grasping Shadows (Shroud 2)
4. Dawn's Repose (Shroud 3)

Damage

• Both of the weapon sets and even the Shroud skills can do a lot of damage. On weapons the autoattacks are very important while Shroud is all about rotating through CDs.

• On S/D you'll open with Infiltrator's Strike from range to leave an escape route with Infiltrator's Return. Teleporting in and out can help you avoid damage, cleanse conditions, and do a setup with Immobilize. Sometimes all you'll be doing on this set is use these skills + the autoattack to conserve Initiative.

• If you can afford it for extra damage and boonrip the Flanking Strike (thief dual) + Larcenous Strike chain can do quite a bit of damage while being unblockable and stealing boons (and evading attacks in the process), but this chain is quite costly and very telegraphed and thus easy to avoid. Try baiting some dodges first, or use it when the enemy's blocking/channeling a skill. The Immobilize from Infiltrator's Strike could help with landing these skills too, even when used in the middle of it: port in, hit them with Flanking Strike, port out, and then back in for a Larcenous Strike.

• Skills 4-5 on S/D are rarely used, although Dancing Dagger is good for some ranged poking or killing Mesmer clones with the bounces.

• On D/P once again 1-3 is where the damage comes from.

• Heartseeker is more of a combo tool than a damage most of the time, but against low HP opponents you can use it as a finishing move.

• Shadow Shot always does good damage and works well as an unblockable gapcloser, but because of the hefty Initiative cost you won't be spamming this one either.
  • Tip: this skill has 2 parts. The first one is an unblockable blind/teleport while the second one is a damaging attack. It's possible to use this as a gapcloser even while stealthed without breaking stealth - simply stow your weapon right after the teleport happens. This could even allow you to close the gap for a Backstab.

• Sometimes you might end up spamming the autoattack chain in a Black Powder to avoid taking more damage than you're inflicting. Using Heartseeker in BP grants you stealth which opens up Backstab as a followup. If you hit someone with HS while standing in BP the Stealth is applied after the damage connects so you don't have to worry about getting revealed.

• As for Shroud, skills 2 and 4 is where the damage comes from. The second skill is a ground targeted AoE which goes off after a short delay, Infiltrator's Strike or a Sigil of Superior Sigil of Hydromancy proc might make it easier to land this right after entering Shroud. Skill 4 is a channeled point-blank AoE which is much easier to land. Shadowfall is great at setting up these slow Shroud skills too.
  • The delay of Shroud skill 2 makes it ideal for comboing with skill 4, as you can make them hit at the same time.

Sustain

• The main sources of condition cleansing are Shadowstep, Hungering Darkness, Sigil of Superior Sigil of Cleansing and Infiltrator's Return (Sword #2's chain skill).

• Withdraw is a rather laoded defensive skill, packing an evade, a heal, and even some cleansing.

• Shadowstep is your only stun break so hold onto it as long as you can, but if you're feeling confident and need to chase a kill this could also work as yet another gap closer. Alternatively it could be used to bail from a fight and run away.

• Shallow Grave offers a life saving proc every once in a while, activating Shroud when you'd take lethal damage.

• Stealthing grants you barrier via Panaku's Ambition.

• If Flanking Strike (thief dual) doesn't hit anything, it won't flip over to its chain skill. You can abuse this a little by repeatedly using the skill without a target while under pressure, evading multiple times in a row.