Build:Herald - Quickness Support Power DPS

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

Focused on: Direct damage, Support and Utility

Designed for: Raids and Fractals

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

TBD

This build was last updated on December 08, 2022 and is up to date for the March 19, 2024 patch.

Overview

A power Herald build that provides permanent Quickness, Fury, Swiftness, Regeneration, Protection, and around 13 Might to its subgroup. It also provides Facet of Nature to the whole squad, increasing boon duration while channelling Glint, and giving life siphon while channelling Shiro.

It can also provide other utilities depending on the second Legend chosen, such as Stability or damage reduction.

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Skill Bar

Sword/Sword

Staff

Utility

Utility

• Your second Legend defaults to Legendary Assassin Stance. Read the Legends section below to see other alternatives.

Specializations

• Thrill of Combat / Dance of Death - lower dps in exchange for sustain, might be worth on very few fights with extreme preassure like Boneskinner.
• Elder's Respite - since you have 0 healing power, a healer's Regeneration will override yours even with Elder's Respite, but you can take this trait if your subgroup's healer has low uptime of Regeneration.
• Core Value could be used if you are dealing with mechanics off-stack. By consuming True Nature (Dragon) you can provide an extra padding of boons which will hopefully last until you return.

Equipment

Infusions are not required.

Head
Diviner

Shoulders
Berserker

Chest
Diviner

Hands
Assassin

Legs
Diviner

Feet
Assassin

Backpiece
Diviner

Accessory
Berserker

Accessory
Berserker

Amulet
Berserker

Ring
Assassin

Ring
Diviner

Sword
Diviner

Sword
Diviner

Sigil

Sigil

Staff
Diviner

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x11

Infusion
x7

• You need about 45% boon duration to upkeep Quickness, this gear set provides 50% for some margin of error.

Equipment Variants

Boon Duration

If you consume Facet of Nature towards the end of the Glint section, you can lower your boon duration to ~30%. Doing so is a DPS increase, but will lower the group lifesteal you provide when in Shiro as well as the duration of the groupwide boon duration from Glint.

Sigil Variants

Sigil of Superior Sigil of Air is taken because it deals more damage than Sigil of Superior Sigil of Impact due to Herald's low damage and abundance of power modifiers, but it can be swapped out in some situations:

• On encounters where the target can be Stunned or Exposed (such as strikes, fractals, or Keep Construct) then you should use a Sigil of Superior Sigil of Impact instead.
• If you're struggling to maintain boons, you could bring a Sigil of Superior Sigil of Concentration.
• If your subgroup is struggling to keep up 25 stacks of Might, it might be beneficial to bring Sigil of Superior Sigil of Strength to gain an extra ~5 stacks of might generation through Shared Empowerment.

Rune Variants

• Many of the popular Alacrity providers also provide 25 stacks of Might, but in the event this is not the case, you could use Rune of Superior Rune of Strength to gain an extra ~5 stacks of might generation.

Consumables

Food

• ,

Utility

Usage

Legends

• Legendary Dragon Stance - absolutely key to the build, this is your source of boons. It also increases the duration of boons the whole squad provides by 20%. Note this effect does not actually increase Concentration, it increases Boon Duration (and is not shown in the Hero Panel), so a build with this effect and 100% Boon Duration would provide boons lasting 120% longer.

• Legendary Assassin Stance provides the highest personal DPS through Impossible Odds and provides the squad with Facet of Nature—Assassin which gives allies life siphon increasing the squad's DPS by about ~1k. It provides personal mobility through Phase Traversal, and CC through Jade Winds.

• Legendary Dwarf Stance is a personal DPS loss of about ~1k. It provides your squad with Facet of Nature—Dwarf which reduces damage taken by 10%. You can provide Stability through Inspiring Reinforcement, CC through Forced Engagement, and reduce personal incoming strike and condition damage by 20% with Vengeful Hammers. If needed, it can also reduce incoming strike damage to your subgroup by 50% with Rite of the Great Dwarf.

• Legendary Centaur Stance is an extremely niche option. It is a massive DPS loss that should almost never be taken, only if your group desperately needs projectile block through Protective Solace. It also offers condition cleanse through Purifying Essence, CC through Energy Expulsion, and a very weak heal through Facet of Nature—Centaur.

• Legendary Demon Stance should never be played in bosses, but it offers a pull with Call to Anguish which may be useful when fighting trash mobs if your group does not have pulls.

Rotation

Opener

• Start on Glint with Facet of Nature and use:

1. Facet of Light ⇒ Infuse Light
2. Facet of Darkness ⇒ Gaze of Darkness
3. Facet of Strength ⇒ Burst of Strength
4. Facet of Elements ⇒ Elemental Blast
5. Facet of Chaos ⇒ Chaotic Release
6. True Nature (Dragon)
7. Legendary Assassin Stance
8. Impossible Odds
9. Shackling Wave
10. Deathstrike
11. Chilling Isolation

Legendary Assassin Stance

When on Legendary Assassin Stance, immediately activate Impossible Odds and use Chilling Isolation, Shackling Wave and Deathstrike off cooldown. The rest of the time is spent autoattacking (make sure to finish your auto chains). Swap back to Legendary Dragon Stance as soon as possible.

Legendary Dragon Stance

You activate and consume Facet of Strength and Facet of Elements at the start and end of the Legendary Dragon Stance section, filling the remaining time with sword skills and consuming other facets once you regain Facet of Nature.

1. Facet of Strength ⇒ Burst of Strength
2. Facet of Elements ⇒ Elemental Blast
3. Facet of Darkness
4. Auto-attack and use Chilling Isolation, Shackling Wave and Deathstrike off cooldown. Make sure to finish your auto chains.
5. Facet of Nature when it comes off cooldown - be careful not to tap it twice and immediately consume it
6. Gaze of Darkness and Facet of Light ⇒ Infuse Light (if available) once Facet of Nature is active
7. Facet of Chaos when available
8. Just before Facet of Strength and Facet of Elements come off cooldown, activate Chaotic Release and True Nature (Dragon)
9. Facet of Strength ⇒ Burst of Strength
10. Facet of Elements ⇒ Elemental Blast
11. Legendary Assassin Stance

Video example consuming Facet of Nature

Notes

• Maintain Facet of Nature for the increased boon duration.
• Never run out of Energy or Facet of Nature will turn off and go on cooldown for 4 seconds.
• Your Facets remain active for 6 seconds when Consumed thaks to Draconic Echo.
• Your Facets pulse boons on a 600 range radius, but Draconic Echo only provides Quickness on a 360 range radius, so stay close to your allies.