Looking for info on hero builds!

I'm not sure if this belongs in the Campfire section or not, so I apologized if it does.

To make things simpler for me, I'm basically assigning roles to each of my heroes. For instance, on all my characters I will have Dunkoro as a healer and Tahlkora will always be a protector... Acolyte Jin might be my designated interrupt ranger while Margrid would be the condition spreader...

This way, no matter which character I'm playing, I can just determine what role I need for my hero and have a specified hero ready to go.

So, my question is: If you know of a good resource for hero build ideas, could you post the link here? I've been sifting through endless pages of mediocre builds and stuff posted back in 2005. PvX has a limited number of hero builds and my head is spinning with all the outdated material and with all the new skill updates I just can't seem to catch up.

Thanks in advance!

Sorry, we know our hero sections aren't spectacular. Unfortunately, most people only edit/update the Heroway builds in the hero section of PvX (the teams), and very few people take the time to test what GW A.I. can and can't do well.

However, I would still recommend that you download the hero build pack from PvX. If nothing else, it will give you some ideas and places to start with all of your heroes.

Oh, and if anyone has the desire to post more updated/accurate hero builds on PvX, please do. Not many people are willing take up that cause unless it results in their own fame (like Sabway, Arkfenway, etc.)

People would always rather have a named after them than actually contribute to the regular hero builds

I find the game mechanics very overwhelming. Between hero AI and all the variables that contribute to it (such as different weapons and whether certain conditions are met), the intended function of skills, the bugs and unintentional functions of skills, what damage or effect gets applied first, and the hundreds of skills and combinations... I feel like I would need a photographic memory to really grasp it effectively.

It's like trying to learn a new language in a day. You might be able to memorize certain phrases from a book (pre-made builds) and even get really good at using it... but that doesn't mean you are fluent in that language, especially when it's constantly changing lol

Haha, I understand how you feel.

The good news is that the majority of the A.I. variables stay the same, so once you learn the basics all you really need to keep up with are the skills.

Luckily, the wiki has a decently accurate list of hero behaviors. It shows the most common skill problems and variables.

The best advice I could give you, as far as heroes are concerned, is the A.I. has a very hard time with melee skills (daggers, especially). The new hammer skills helped improve the A.I. with hammers, but your best bet is to just not use melee heroes unless you just have to or you're just goofing around.

I started off with my heros the same way. All set up the same on each character. What I found out as I advanced to more Hard Mode and advanced areas was that each profession needed something different to boost it. And even that may depend on different builds. But don't worry about that yet. I found the way you're planning your heros is very easy and makes life simpler. Once you know the game better, then you can tweak things.

Best advice I can give you is use the Wiki and PVX pages Karate sent you. They are invaluable resources for picking up the game. Seriously, great stuff there.

There is a HUGE learning curve. Just take it one step at a time and you'll be fine.

Well, here's the thing... I've been playing GW for quite a while and I tend to be a packrat... I keep saving weapons, mods, etc... in case I might need them for a hero build or something. So, with Xunlai clutter galore and the number of hours I've spent trying to find some good combination of builds and equipment for heroes on 8 different characters... I'm not actually playing the game much.

I'm way, way too disorganized. I've beaten all the campaigns and their HM counterparts almost exclusively with HH, so I get what you mean about the heroes needing to be flexible. Truth is, I haven't really equipped my heroes much at all and my main purpose here is to give each hero a few builds to stick with so I can construct an exact list of equipment for them... then they'll be taken care of and I can stop hording junk lol

I've actually been running the same build on my Ranger through the entire game for well over a year now and it's hardly ever changed. (Apply Poison/Point Blank Shot/Zojun's Shot/Savage Shot/Distracting Shot/Melandru's Resilience/Troll Unguent/Resurrection Chant) - I use it for everything... and for areas with non-fleshy creatures I tweak it a little and use a Glass Arrows/Sloth Hunter's Shot combo instead.

I do that. Not 100%, sometimes I will change things around a bit, but, basically Tahlkora is always an HB or UA monk, Jin is an interrupt-ish ranger, Livia is an MM, Vekk is a fire ele, etc.
The builds I use for the heroes are fairly generic, not PvX. One thing I would mention - which probably doesn't apply to you - is to take the time and spend the gold to properly outfit your Heroes. Too many people give their Heroes no runes/insignias and crap weapons, and then complain that they don't work well. Outfit your heroes as you would yourself, except to keep the heroes a bit on the conservative side. At least Major Vigor on all that are used often.

The HB build I use for my monks, for example:
Healer's Boon, Dwayna's Kiss, Words of Comfort, Healing Breeze, Signet of Rejuvenation, Mend Condition, Cure Hex, Rebirth.
Healing Prayers = 12+2+1, Divine Favor = 12+1(or 2), Prot Prayers = 3+1

But, of course, any "build" is open to variation. For example, I substitute Extinguish for Mend Condition when the need arises and sometimes use Unyielding Aura instead of HB (if someone else has HB).

P.S. My Jin used to be a really good "dust ranger" until the recent nerf of Ebon Dust Aura and Margrid was an interrupter. Nowadays, Jin is an interrupt and Margrid isn't used much.

It might seem complicated at first but you'll get used to it. Guild Wars has simple mechanics relative to most games. http://rodatazone.simgaming.net/mechanics/attacks.php
that's the attack algorithm & for another MMO I play called Ragnarok Online. and for anyone who's too lazy to check that link, here's the formula for very, very simple damage. Count your blessings. But you'll learn to use AI effectively eventually. Reading the discussion pages on PvX are a decent source of finding AI testing.

Since you're new, I won't come down on you like a ton of bricks. This time.

You got your question answered anyway, so there's not much need for this thread to stay open.