Newbie Warrior - Need Advice for PvE

random.name

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Oct 2006

South Africa

N/

Ok, I have been playing for 3 months now. I have finished both games with my Necro, Monk, Rit and Mesmer. I am pretty good at those professions. Now I finally want to start a warrior. That leads me to my question. What is a general good build for PvE? What weapon/shield? And what armor comination should I get? For now I just want to finish both chapters, so dont want to get into farming or PvE with them for now.

Any advice appreciated.

heroajax1

heroajax1

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Feb 2006

By Any Other Name [Rose]

W/

There's a lot of thread info discussing this very topic. You should open the various topics discussing builds there and throughout the pve and pvp sections to see what players suggest.

Having said that. Hammer FTW! ;D As soon as I was able to get enough skills together to make a full hammer bar I ran that from the beginning of Tyria to the end of Factions. IMO, you should take the time to learn all three weapons. They all have their positives and negatives.

I personally suggest focusing on hammer. I feel it's much easier to learn sword and axe when you've played hammer and have to deal with energy issues and slower adren build up. When you play sword and axe after playing hammer, you feel like an energy god. You have played all casters, so you should be pretty familiar with energy management, kiting and aggro management.

I have the kurzick 1.5k gladiator's armor with knight's boots. Peeps will prolly flame me for having the boots still, but I'm still not convinced that a-net nerfed the boots. I just think they said they nerfed em. I've not seen any difference in the damage. From an energy standpoint, it's the best choice for hammer.

gl hf

NuclearGoat

NuclearGoat

Academy Page

Join Date: Oct 2006

Netherlands, Nijmegen.

LLL

W/

I like a axe or sword but u can like hammer aswell. I got full glads with knight gloves that's the best combination if u use many skills with energy (farming). But I think the best combination with proffesions in PvE is W/Mo.

gl

Slim

Slim

Academy Page

Join Date: Feb 2006

Forever Knights

Me/

I prefer sword because you can have those nice adreniline combos. Exalted Aegis for shield. And at least one piece of your armor must be knights to get that -3 damage reduction benifit.

Spirit Of Azrael

Spirit Of Azrael

Echo-mending Master

Join Date: Jun 2006

Service of Shadows [SOS]

W/N

Knights is no longer global. So it is now a waste

Go hammers or Axes. Trust me. Swords are for defense, Hammers however, deal Massive damage and Knockdowns, and Axes deal AoE (Triple Chop, Cyclone) and have spike potential.

A Leprechaun

A Leprechaun

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Feb 2006

W/

jack is right /N is very fun but i find /E extremely versitile as you have extra armour+extra kd dmg if you are using hammer(earth) some nice PBAoEs (fire) and although ive never used them there are many original and exiting things to use in air and water.
as weapon goes axe is easiest and it is easier to go into farming (when you do) swords are still very good and i find it kils quicker but has hardly any AoE attacks which i love on axes (cyclone axe and triple chop) but i am loving hammers the most atm they are the funnest mainly because they are the biggest challenge to run but when you get it right they really kick ass as well as the fact you dont need to put as much attributes into strength or tactics as you have no sheild allowing you to invest more in your secondary class. i can post some simple builds for all 3 if you would like.

as far as armour goes i would go glads or just mabye dreadnoughts.

hope this helps

~A Leprechaun~
please let me off all the spelling mistakes and gramatical errors im tired ^_^

Effigy

Effigy

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Aug 2005

Illinois, US

Heroes of Talia [HoT]

Mo/

Hammer is definitely my favorite in PvP. In PvE though, knockdowns are not quite as important and the added defense from a shield will help since most groups will see you only as "the tank." I prefer axe over sword, though they both have strong points. Triple Chop and Cyclone Axe are nice in PvE.

For armor, I'd definitely go for Gladiator's, possibly with Stoneskin Gauntlets. I urge you not to buy Platemail like most warriors, as its usefulness is very limited. If you feel the need for more self-defense, you have the whole tactics line at your disposal.

W/N is good for removing conditions, but if you think you can rely on your monk(s) for that, then W/Mo is good for a reusable res.

NuclearGoat

NuclearGoat

Academy Page

Join Date: Oct 2006

Netherlands, Nijmegen.

LLL

W/

The 15k version of Gladiator looks better then the 15k Platemail so.. But if u buy 15k armor I should buy 3 parts 15k Gladiator. Boots or Gauntlets 15k Ascalon and a 15k Ascalon Helm.

DeanBB

DeanBB

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jul 2005

Arizona

Wizardry Players Guild, http://4guildwars.7.forumer.com

Quote:
Boots or Gauntlets 15k Ascalon As had already been stated in this thread, the global damage reduction has been eliminated and now each piece has its own absorption. There's not much point in mixing gladiators and knights/ascalon armor.

ValidusMonachus

Academy Page

Join Date: Apr 2006

Birmingham, England

Build Wars [gg]

Me/

Reserve 1 slot for a res and no more than 4 for attack skills. Other than that, use the other 3 for preferably survivability. "Watch Yourself!" is brilliant and can be maintained at no cost. Doylak Signet is ok for higher leveled areas. Healing Signet is another good option. Possibly a skill to increase attack speed. If you use Frenzy you will need another stance, Sprint for example, to break out of it.

As for armor, i'd suggest Gladiator armor or Platemail. As for weapon, i'd highly suggest Axe. It has good damage output and allows for fast adrenaline (Cyclone/Triple.) For shield, i'd use an Exalted Aegis.

Good luck!

manager

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Aug 2006

Portugal

Cold Black Eyes

W/

There is a thread made by Rera, i think, that outlines some warrior templates, it's very good and has everything you need to know. It's prolly some pages back now, so you might have to dig a bit

Beomagi

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Oct 2005

I'm going to talk about playstyle - cause this is where i see most warriors lacking.

Most important thing to understand in PVE with a warrior, is your damage should take a back seat to your ability to hold enemies. Warriors are suppossed to tank - i.e. if the majority of enemies have gotten to the back and are pounding on the soft targets, you're not doing your job. Warriors need to engage and hold the line - snaring foes - say having them pass over a barbed trap as they may try to get past you, using Frozen burst, or simply positioning yourselves around a corner to block/slow down foes getting to the rear. 2 or 3 warriors in a group, taking all the damage, means nukers and interupters are unhindered and monks have an easier time concentrating on who needs healing.

If you want survivability, W/mo IS easy, but it's also a fast way to thinking youre overpowered, and charging the field usually before anyone else is ready (least, my view of them in PUGs). A warrior barely needs another class. You're pretty damned complete - healing sig is great in pve. Best survivable character I used, was a W/R. Ranger's poison, is great for a warrior - sword? use bleeding to have an easy -7 pip on enemies as you beat on them. Axe? cyclone axe spreads poison easily. Using unguent + healing sig, and if using poison, vic is mine can let you tank a pretty sick number of enemies, as your party which should be out of aggro radius while you attract and take on the mob initially then comes out healing you and nuking.


75% stances let you tank other direct damage dealers, But beware of blocking hammer based warrior classes like ettins they use skills like irrisistable blow that ruin it's use.

Now while a warriors damage imo is secondary, it need not be weak. Early on, skills like doloyak + drunken + desperate can do a load of damage and inflict conditions (nice for vic is mine). Beware of the slowdown from doloyak - half of doing damage is being in meele range with the thing you want to hit.

I recently tried enraged smash (hammer) so my bar now looks like enraged, protectors, bellysmash, counter blow, rush, watch yourself, sever artery(!), and healing sig. Funny thing with enraged - it adds damage based on the number of fully charged adr skills, and a sword skill still counts (doesnt count itself - hence sever for 4 adr). Using sentinel's armor, this lets me take a lot of punishment, though not as much as other warriors (lacking stances) skills can be acquired very early - before the vizunah square mission. Damage is high - ES is pretty sick, and i take prot strike and belly smash for this reason - they're time activated. As you're new to direct damage classes, timer affected skills operate on the timer - not the weapon speed. So if it takes 1.75 secs fo the hammer, you only spend a half second more for protstrike, which will recharge ES. Belly smash is dual purpose. Counter blow works when warrior classes break through and bum rush ther nuker or monk. They get knocked down, at which point belly smash blinds them giving the softie a breather. belly smash is also time activated at 1 second and can help comtinue an ES run - i.e. ES->prot->ES->bs->ES->prot->ES - at which point, very few things survive.

Beware of low adr skills like whirling axe, and enraged smash, and also taking high adr skills. If you constantly use these 2 adr skills for damage, anything else takes twice as long to charge, screwing the capability of that skill somewhat.

Rera

Rera

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jul 2006

Tanking is a strategy, not a build. You don't need defensive or self-healing skills to tank enemies; bring a monk.

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...php?t=10054842

holden

holden

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Nov 2005

[NICE]

Mo/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rera
Tanking is a strategy, not a build. You don't need defensive or self-healing skills to tank enemies; bring a monk. qft. fantastic

Beomagi

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Oct 2005

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rera
Tanking is a strategy, not a build. You don't need defensive or self-healing skills to tank enemies; bring a monk.

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/s...php?t=10054842 I play mostly with henches or pugs. last few times I tried pugs, It came down to me/me+guildies telling soft targets to stay back, let the warriors engage, or quit engaging that group we're already engaged. The build was just an example mostly to illustrate timered attacks. The inital portion is on playstyle.

from my experience - maybe I just have bad luck but if you're playing with pugs, bring healing.

Thom Bangalter

Thom Bangalter

Grindin'

Join Date: Dec 2005

MO

E/Mo

Quote:
Originally Posted by random.name
Ok, I have been playing for 3 months now. I have finished both games with my Necro, Monk, Rit and Mesmer. I am pretty good at those professions. Now I finally want to start a warrior. That leads me to my question. What is a general good build for PvE? What weapon/shield? And what armor comination should I get? For now I just want to finish both chapters, so dont want to get into farming or PvE with them for now.

Any advice appreciated. Glad's or berserker's armors. -5 20% health +30 shield is all you'll really need. Weapons should be these: vamp, zealous, elemental. you don't really need zealous that badly, I just like it.

I suggest going sword. Dragon slash>pve. Victo's blades are probably still super cheap, elemental sword hilts are silly cheap, so All you'd need to splurge for is a reasonable +health mod, though imperfect ones are fine for pve. Crafters and collectors can also help you out, I just reccomend getting 15^50. Also, despite what anyone says, if you have a victo's, feel free to get a fiery dragon sword, because despite the jokes, they do look really cool.

jesh

jesh

Forge Runner

Join Date: May 2005

San Diego, CA

Penguin Village

Mo/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thom Bangalter
Also, despite what anyone says, if you have a victo's, feel free to get a fiery dragon sword, because despite the jokes, they do look really cool. dot dot dot


Too bad you can't change the FIERY hilt that's on it. I'd rather have an Ebon Katana than a silly dragon sword. It just screams, "Hey look at me! I don't know what decent mods are!"

Telcontar of Gondor

Telcontar of Gondor

Academy Page

Join Date: Oct 2005

[SMS]

I'd suggest going with a zealous sword of defence/fortitude with a collector's Crimson Carapace shield or a Victo's Bulwark, to start off with. A vamp and elemental weapon aren't really needed in PvE in my opinion.

As for armour, I've always used gladiator leggings and chest piece for my warrior, with legionnaire's boots simply because I couldn't think of a better choice once knights was nerfed. Stoneskin gloves are a good choice if you're going to use your character for PvP at a later point, but those can always be acquired as needed. Legionnaire's are a good choice as well. For the helmet, either tactics if you're going to be tanking or a +1 (weapon stat of your chocie). Personally, I don't really like hammers in PvE, but to each his own, I suppose.