Warrior Trait Build Guide

[Arajal]

I've been working on this guide over the past few days for my guild, and I figured I’d share it with the MMO-Champion community. Note that, due to the number of possible trait combinations and viable weapon setups for warriors, I’ve gone in-depth about only a few sample setups.

For reference, here’s a link to my weapon guide: http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...ion-Playstyles

Note: The builds described here are just samples. Feel free to experiment with them and tailor each build to your own playstyle.


Table of Contents:
I. Damage
A. “Rising Might” Build
B. ”Slice n’ Dice” Build
C. “Firestorm” Build
D. “Sniper” Build
II. Control
A. “Lockdown” Build
B. “Immortality” Build
III. Support
A. “Call to Arms” Build
B. “War Herald” Build
C. “Combat Medic” Build


I. Damage Builds

A. The “Rising Might” Build
Weapon: Greatsword
Heal: Healing Signet
Utility Skills: Frenzy, Signet of Might, Signet of Precision
Elite Skill: Signet of Rage

Strength: 30 (Major Traits: V, IX, XII)
Arms: 30 (Major Traits: I, X, XII)
Defense: 0
Tactics: 0
Discipline: 10 (Major Trait: V or VI)

Link: http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fIAQ...Ak/feAFm0EVh2A

This build is designed around cleaving enemies into oblivion with big damage from a greatsword. If you see a warrior running around with a greatsword and 3-5 signet buffs, this is likely the build they are using, if not a variation of it. Due to its potential for massive damage, it’s an extremely popular build for leveling after level 40.

While you might think this build would be based in the Strength line, it’s actually not. The two cornerstones of this build can be found in the first two major traits in the Arms line (hence why it doesn’t show up until level 40 and beyond): Deep Strike (Trait I) and Forceful Greatsword (Trait X). The Deep Strike trait gives you +40 precision (crit chance) for each unused signet you have, which is the reason so many signets are used for the second five skills. Forceful Greatsword plays off this precision bonus, giving you a stack of might every time you crit with the greatsword. The points put into the Strength and Discipline lines, their associated major traits, and the final major trait of Arms (Last Chance) are all there purely for damage boosts or faster damage output (e.g. Berserker’s Might (Strength trait XII) allowing more Arcing Slice). The choice of the first major trait in the Discipline line entirely depends on whether you choose to activate your signets or not.

As for skill usage, aside from the aforementioned signet activation choice, this build focuses on using Frenzy’s quickness buff to speed up Arcing Slice, Hundred Blades, and Whirlwind Attack. Arcing Slice gives you the 20% crit chance Fury boon, which can then be applied to a sped up Hundred Blades/Whirlwind Attack. All of this culminates in very quick stacking of the Might boon, hence the build’s name, “Rising Might”. It is very easy to reach the 25 stack boon cap on might with this build.

Note: Strength Trait XI, Physical Training, does NOT affect Frenzy’s cooldown.


B. The “Slice n’ Dice” Build
Weapons: Sword and Sword
Heal: Healing Surge
Utility Skills: Frenzy, Signet of Might, Signet of Precision
Elite Skill: Signet of Rage

Strength: 30 (Major Traits: V, VIII, XII)
Arms: 30 (Major Traits: III, VIII, XI)
Defense: 0
Tactics: 0
Discipline: 10 (Major Trait: VI)

Link: http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fIAQ...Mk/fekkpQeVB7A

This aim of this build is to apply stacks of bleed as quickly and as often as possible. This build doesn't really shine until level 60, but the core principle can apply to much lower levels, especially once Frenzy is unlocked.

This build shares trait point distribution with the "Rising Might" build, but major traits are a different story. In the Strength line, the first and third major traits are the same, but the second major trait is switched to Dual Wielding for the obvious reason that you're using a sword in the offhand now instead of just using a greatsword. In the Arms line, things really get mixed up: the first major trait becomes Deep Cuts for longer bleeds, the second becomes Blademaster for more crit, and the third becomes Furious for more uses of Flurry, the sword adrenaline skill. Moving down to Discipline, the major trait becomes Signet Mastery, as this build heavily encourages signet activation.

Regarding skill usage, this build focuses on both signet activation and using Flurry as often as possible. Using Signet of Rage and Signet of Might together not only boosts your damage tremendously from the Might stacks and Fury boon, but doing so also activates Berserker Stance, building adrenaline quickly for a Flurry. Once you've reached the third stage of adrenaline, you can use Frenzy to unleash a torrent of bleeds from Flurry, which, because of the inactive Signet of Precision and Fury boon, will not only apply its normal 8 stacks of bleed, but will likely apply more through the first minor trait of the Arms line (33% chance on crit to apply a bleed). Once you've run through your quickness buff from Frenzy, you can activate your Signet of Precision to get those three stages of adrenaline back for another Flurry, should you need it. The healing skill, Healing Surge, acts as a backup adrenaline generator, should you find yourself in a tight situation.


C. The “Firestorm” Build
Weapon: Longbow
Heal: Healing Signet
Utility Skills: “For Great Justice!”, Signet of Might, Signet of Precision
Elite Skill: Signet of Rage

Strength: 10 (Major Trait: V)
Arms: 30 (Major Traits: I, IX, XI)
Defense: 0
Tactics: 30 (Major Traits: VI, X, VIII)
Discipline: 0

Link: http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fIAQ...ceAllQ+0jyYG0A

This build is designed around buffing yourself as much as possible while igniting, bleeding, and otherwise doing very nasty things to your enemies from afar. The earliest this build can be taken advantage of is level 40, when the Master section of trait lines is unlocked.

This build is similar to the Rising Might build in that it encourages having several signets on standby for more precision. However, instead of sinking 30 points into Strength and 10 into Discipline, this build only uses 10 points for the Strength line, using the other 20 points (as well as the 10 from Discipline) to fill out the Tactics line. The reason for this shift is that all the longbow-centric major traits are located in the Tactics line. Additionally, the Empowered trait plays well with the build’s focus on buff-stacking, while the Lung Capacity trait allows more uptime on boons.

Skill usage for this build revolves around using Pin Down and “For Great Justice” to maintain uptime on your Might and Fury boons. Signets can also be activated for the same reason, although you’ll lose out on some crit chance by doing so. That being said, the elite signet, Signet of Rage, is a great way to get the most benefit out of the Empower major trait without sacrificing much elsewhere, as you get three boons for Empower’s damage bonus while only losing out on 40 precision.


D. The “Sniper” Build
Weapon: Rifle
Heal: Healing Surge
Utility Skills: Frenzy, “For Great Justice!”, “On My Mark!”
Elite Skill: Signet of Rage

Strength: 10 (Major Trait: V)
Arms: 30 (Major Traits: V, VII, XII)
Defense: 0
Tactics: 0
Discipline: 30 (Major Traits: V, IV, XI)

Link: http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fIAQ...PoiAsJUPaD4IOA

This build centers on filling a target full of holes after destroying their defenses. This build doesn’t become rifle-centric until level 40, but the first major trait in each of the lines of this build can be obtained before then.

Instead of going into the Tactics line like the “Firestorm” build, this build fills out the Discipline line. Since this build focuses heavily on the rifle’s adrenaline skill, being able to generate adrenaline faster to use the skill more often is key, not to mention the boosts to the prowess and brawn stats that come with putting points into Discipline. The Arms line gives access to the Crack Shot and Last Chance traits for more damage, and the line’s first major trait, Rending Strikes, works well with the “On My Mark!” shout. The only accessible major trait in Strength, Berserker’s Power, returns once again, further boosting damage.

Of the all the damage-focused builds I’ve described so far, this build probably has the most active skill usage. Because Kill Shot is such a powerful adrenaline skill, being able to generate a lot of adrenaline quickly is extremely beneficial. Hasted shots from Frenzy, adrenaline boosts from shouting with the Inspiring Shouts trait, and the passive effect of the Signet of Rage all serve to fill the adrenaline bar very quickly. Even the healing skill can serve as a source of adrenaline, should you find yourself in need of it. At the same time as all of this, you’re also buffing yourself with crit and power from “For Great Justice” and stacking Vulnerability on the target through crits and “On My Mark!”, resulting in a lot of outgoing damage.


II. Control Builds

A. The “Lockdown” Build
Weapon: Hammer
Heal: Healing Surge
Utility Skills: Bull’s Charge, Throw Bolas, Signet of Precision
Elite Skill: Signet of Rage

Strength: 30 (Major Traits: III, VII, XI)
Arms: 0
Defense: 20 (Major Traits: I, X)
Tactics: 10 (Major Trait: I)
Discipline: 10 (Major Trait: VI)

Link: http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fIAQ...zjfIeioKYnUBxA

This build revolves around aggressive control of your target. It has very little to offer in the way of personal safety, instead opting for maximum utility and potential to shut down opponents. Much of the power behind this build can’t be accessed until level 40, when the Master traits are unlocked.

Unlike the damage builds, where points were invested heavily in only two trees, this build spreads the points out a bit, with the goal being to get many of the control-oriented major traits in each line. 30 points still go into Strength, but not for the damage; instead, the aim is to get the third major trait, Physical Training. The reason for this lies in the skill usage for the build, as two of the three utility skills are considered “physical utility”. In the Defense line, the goal is the second major trait, Merciless Hammer, for faster turnaround on the hammer’s control skills. The trait gained from Tactics, Leg Specialist, works to further add to your control potential. Signet Mastery, from the Discipline line, is there to speed the cooldown of Signet of Precision, a skill that is activated at every opportunity with this build.

Skill usage for this build is centered around using nearly every skill at your disposal. Of the hammer’s abilities, Fierce Blow weakens the opponent, Hammer Shock sends a wave out that both cripples and immobilizes opponents (thanks to the Leg Specialist trait), Staggering Blow knocks all targets away, Backbreaker slams an opponent to the ground, and the adrenaline skill, Earthshaker, causes an AoE stun. Additionally, with many of the major traits this build takes, the secondary effect of Healing Surge, the activated effect of Signet of Precision, and the passive effect of Signet of Rage, you have a nearly unending supply of adrenaline to use on Earthshaker, allowing very quick turnaround on stunning enemies. On top of all these boosts to your hammer control, you also have Bull’s Charge and Throw Bolas at your disposal, piling on even more control potential.


B. The “Immortality” Build
Weapons: Mace and Shield
Heal: Mending
Utility Skills: Signet of Stamina, Endure Pain, Dolyak Signet
Elite Skill: Rampage

Strength: 10 (Major Trait: III)
Arms: 0
Defense: 30 (Major Traits: II, IX, VIII)
Tactics: 30 (Major Traits: II, VII, III)
Discipline: 0

Link: http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fIAQ...KyCThfI9gMGwxA

As the name suggests, this build is designed around not dying. All but two aspects of this build are solely to boost your survival. The control of this build lies both in the abilities of the mace/shield combo and in the sense that your opponents will be too frustrated and busy trying to kill you that they won’t notice your allies raining death down upon them. This build’s potential is unlocked at level 40 with the unlocking of Master traits.

The trait points for this build are invested heavily into Defense and Tactics, for the toughness and vitality boosts respectively. Additionally, both lines have very powerful survival tools amongst their traits. Defense gives extra armor at high health, health regeneration based on adrenaline level, a toughness to power conversion (which the major trait in Strength then converts into vitality), an extra 200 toughness under various control conditions, another 90 toughness for using a shield, and an automatic stability buff when someone tries to interrupt or control you. Tactics’ second major trait, Shrug It Off, automatically uses the “Shake It Off!” shout to clear a condition when you have two or more.

As for skills, this build has plenty of tools to keep you from hitting the floor. The mace and shield both give you blocking skills, while the utility skills give you two ways to clear conditions (Mending and an activated Signet of Stamina), on-demand damage immunity (Endure Pain), and two ways to make yourself immune to knockdowns and similar spells (activated Dolyak Signet and Rampage). You’d be hard pressed to die with this build’s arsenal of survival tools.

Note: While the stat conversions from the minor traits in each line work with one another, the temporary buffs from the major traits (e.g. Turtle’s Defense, Shield Master) do NOT interact with these conversions. For example, you won’t see a giant leap in your vitality when Turtle’s Defense is active.


III. Support Builds

A. The “Call to Arms” Build
Weapons: Sword and Warhorn
Heal: Healing Signet
Utility Skills: “For Great Justice!”, “On My Mark!”, “Shake It Off!”
Elite Skill: Battle Standard

Strength: 10 (Major Trait: II)
Arms: 0
Defense: 30 (Major Traits: II, VIII, XI)
Tactics: 30 (Major Traits: II, VIII, IX or XII)
Discipline: 0

Link: http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fIAQ...ryaLTBjSPIDN2A

This is what you could consider the “shout” build for a warrior, as it relies heavily on the use of shouts and warhorn skills to support allies. The use of the sword as the main hand weapon in this build is purely for the mobility of Savage Leap, and as such can be substituted with any weapon you see fit. This build doesn’t unlock its full potential until the Grandmaster traits are unlocked at 60.

This build is similar to the “Immortality” build in that it invests in the same trait lines. However, each build does so for differing reasons. While “Immortality” does it purely to boost survivability to the limit, “Call to Arms” does it to support allies as much as possible and ensure you don’t die while doing so. Every major trait in the Defense line (as well as the one in Strength) is meant to keep you alive on the battlefield, while every major trait in the Tactics line is meant to support others. The first trait passively gives everyone around you 70 more power, while the second trait allows you to shout more often, buffing allies and making enemies vulnerable. The third trait in Tactics is what determines the subfocus of this build, be it buffing or healing. Quick Breathing allows you to use your warhorn calls more often, improving uptime on Swiftness and Vigor, while Vigorous Shouts turns your shout spam into healing for your allies.

In regards to skill usage, this build is designed to use all three shouts and both warhorn calls on cooldown. The goal is to keep your allies buffed as much as possible while weakening enemies as often as possible (with “On My Mark!”). Other than that, you have passive health regeneration from Healing Signet and an emergency AoE rally from Battle Standard (as well as mobile, passive source of Might, Fury, and Swiftness).


B. The “War Herald” Build
Weapon: Longbow
Heal: Healing Surge
Utility Skills: Banner of Strength, Banner of Defense, Banner of Tactics
Elite Skill: Battle Standard

Strength: 10 (Major Trait: VI)
Arms: 0
Defense: 30 (Major Traits: VI, VIII, XI)
Tactics: 30 (Major Traits: IV, V, XI)
Discipline: 0

Link: http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fIAQ...tyaLTBhSPOLs1A

If “Call to Arms” is the shout build, then “War Herald” is the banner build. Additionally, this build is more aggressive than “Call to Arms”, using a longbow and a few damage-increasing major traits. This build doesn’t reach its full potential until level 60.

While the “Call to Arms” build invested in the Defense line for the major traits and extra survivability, the “War Herald” build does so for the compassion stat boost. Since this build is focused on ranged support, the major traits in Defense act mainly as a safety net in case the situation turns sour. Tactics, on the other hand, is where the meat of this build lies. Increased longbow range, larger banner effect range, shortened banner cooldowns, and passive AoE healing all come from the major traits in this line. The Battle Standard elite skill is also affected by these traits, so not only will it provide Might, Fury, and Swiftness, but will also provide Regeneration and will have a shorter cooldown. The major trait in Strength is an added incentive to throw your banners down near melee players (although the damage is dealt to any enemy within the buff range of the banner, so positioning isn’t too important).

Skill-wise, this build uses bow skills for damage and banner skills for support. Healing Surge acts as an adrenaline generator for Combustive Shots, allowing you to lay down a combo field for allies (and yourself) more often. Battle Standard can be used often for buffs or as an emergency rally tool, depending on how conservative you want to be with its cooldown.


C. The “Combat Medic” Build
Weapon: Personal Choice
Heal: Mending
Utility Skills: "Shake It Off!", "For Great Justice!", Banner of Tactics
Elite Skill: Battle Standard

Strength: 10 (Major Trait: II or III)
Arms: 0
Defense: 30 (Major Traits: II, VIII, XI)
Tactics: 30 (Major Traits: V, VIII, XII)
Discipline: 0

Link: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fIAQFAR...qbM3Iuxej7G5NA

If you really feel like defying the old RPG stigma of "warriors can't heal" or have an itch to be in a total support role, this is the build for you. This build doesn't reach full potential until level 60, when Grandmaster traits are unlocked. Since the damage output of this build is minimal, it's best used in group situations, such as dungeons or WvW.

The investment of points into Defense and Tactics for this build is done for largely the same reasons as the other two support builds I've listed, especially in comparison to the "War Herald" build. The boost to compassion from Defense is a must to make this build effective, and the increase to concentration from Tactics makes your Regeneration last all the longer. The major traits in Strength and Defense for this build are focused entirely on keeping you alive and stable, while Tactics' major traits boost your healing output through reduced cooldowns, increased banner aura size, and enabling shouts to heal.

This build is the only one listed in this guide that has no specific weapon set associated with it. The reason for this is the fact that you'll be holding your Banner of Tactics most of the time. In addition to the passive compassion and concentration stat boosts provided by the banner's aura, Banner of Tactics' second skill, Compassionate Banner, casts both a direct heal and a Regeneration boon on nearby allies when used. The two shouts for this build, "Shake It Off!" and "For Great Justice!", are used primarily for their healing, but their normal effects are just as helpful, giving you a powerful condition-removal skill and a Might/Fury boost for everyone. Constant use of all three of these healing sources turns your character into a healing powerhouse. The elite skill for this build, Battle Standard, is mainly used for the emergency rally component (although it's still useful for it's normal boosts as well).

Added Note: While I haven't done this with any other build in this guide, I feel I should mention something related to gear that dramatically improves this build: Using a set of gear that is stacked with increases to healing power and uses healing power runes will bring out the full potential of this build. Regarding runes specifically, using a set of six Superior Runes of Dwayna will not only further boost your healing power by a large amount, but will also turn your self-heal into another source of Regeneration.

[Fencers]

Heh, I use a variation of the "Slice & Dice" build myself. Has some of the highest damage output for Warriors. The flaws are sorta obvious- CD dependent and lack of burst. That being said, it's pretty excellent for soloing tough/higher level champions due to the "outs". Provided you can control the #2 MH which can be tricky sometimes.

Adding this to the guide index, btw.

[Kelesti]

Adding this to the guide index, btw.

Was just about to do this, but you beat me to it. Natch. Thanks for that, Fencers

[Keren]

Can you add the prefered stat priority? power > precision > + crit or whatever would be benifical

[Contravene]

You did a great job glad you decided to share it with us

[Arajal]

I'm honored and humbled to see that both of my guides are listed in the guide sticky.

Can you add the prefered stat priority? power > precision > + crit or whatever would be benifical

I specifically stayed away from gear stats for a number of reasons, one of which being to keep my guide from becoming too "numbery". This guide was more about setting up skills and traits than it was about gearing.

To address your interest, though, I'll give you an idea of what stats each build type aims for:
Damage: Power, Precision, Malice, Prowess, Brawn (priority is based on type of damage being dealt, e.g. condition or burst).
Control: Vitality, Toughness, Expertise (priority based on aggressiveness of build, e.g. Expertise for "Lockdown" vs Vit/Tough for "Immortality")
Support: Concentration, Compassion (priority based on buffing vs healing)

To me, stats are less about cookie-cutter setups and more about what *you* want for your own setup and playstyle.

You did a great job glad you decided to share it with us

Thanks! I'm glad I was able to give you guys some useful information.

[Tuqui-tuqui]

This is freaking great! My warrior reached level 40 this weekend and I still have not decided on how to spend my points and what signets to use after I bought the second book. Thank you!

[Arajal]

Added another build I came up with recently: the "Combat Medic" build. Hopefully you guys will find it interesting; I had a lot of fun testing it out.