1) What do you value in your favorite class archetypes and why?
The most enjoyable aspect of combat in any MMO, is to get in close and deal lots of damage. So for me damage is my primary goal for my main. That said, I do enjoy trying to build my own unique style into guild wars 2 items. I have never searched for or used FotM builds in any game I have played, and much prefer to create a build that suits my play style, that is effective and different from the norm. In Guild Wars 1 I would spend hours trying to find that slightly quirky build that I could call my own.
My secondary focus is that of survivability. Which, when building primarily for damage, is an elusive beast in most cases. I know full well that I will never be able to build against every situation AND have good damage output, but I did create some very effective builds in GW1 that allowed me to be good at both damage and survivability. But it took me years of getting to know the profession inside out and lots of practice to get the right combination of skills to achieve this. I am sure that I can achieve this in GW2, but I first need to choose the preferred profession before embarking on my building quest with guild wars 2 items.
For my main, I am only concerned with two things: Can they deal good damage? And can they deal that damage effectively in melee combat? (As that is my preferred range). After lots of theory crafting with build tools and play testing in the recent BWE and Stress Test I have finally decided on the Thief as my main profession. Now all I need to do is start the quest for that personalized build.
2) What is your approach when creating builds for a given class?
As my primary goal is damage, I first look for weapon skills that will output decent amounts of it. Then I look for utility and trait combinations that compliment my weapon skills. For the utility skills, I try to add in some very important control options, such as immobilize and/or chill, and some support skills such as weakness and/or vulnerability. For traits I try to build things more in favor of damage output and (in the case of the Thief) initiative management (the more ini, the more damage). On the survivability side, I have chosen a heal that removes movement controlling effects, so that I can escape if needed, and added a couple of traits to help keep me alive a little longer.
If I was to break down my build into percentages, it would be as follows: 50% damage, 35% control and support and 15% survival. In a lot of MMO's, having a small survival percentage may not be very effective, but as GW2's combat is strongly governed by player skill, I can afford to put less attention into this area than I would normally in other games with guild wars 2 items.
A note on flexibility.
I'd just like to finish by saying that, although my main will be built primarily for damage, I do understand and enjoy the role flexibility plays. I also try to choose a profession that can build with flexibility in mind if needed. The nice thing about GW2 items is, that all professions are able to build this way. So if you want a Thief build that is flexible or a Guardian build that deals a lot of damage, then you have that option available to you. As well as creating my own ultimate damage build, I will also have a lot of fun creating highly flexible and support oriented Thief builds. Also, the Thief will not be my only character. I intend to create a character for each profession and create many interesting and unique builds for each.
I know, I have my work with guild wars 2 items cut out for me. But it's all good fun and it's part of the game for me :). Happy building everyone.
The most enjoyable aspect of combat in any MMO, is to get in close and deal lots of damage. So for me damage is my primary goal for my main. That said, I do enjoy trying to build my own unique style into guild wars 2 items. I have never searched for or used FotM builds in any game I have played, and much prefer to create a build that suits my play style, that is effective and different from the norm. In Guild Wars 1 I would spend hours trying to find that slightly quirky build that I could call my own.
My secondary focus is that of survivability. Which, when building primarily for damage, is an elusive beast in most cases. I know full well that I will never be able to build against every situation AND have good damage output, but I did create some very effective builds in GW1 that allowed me to be good at both damage and survivability. But it took me years of getting to know the profession inside out and lots of practice to get the right combination of skills to achieve this. I am sure that I can achieve this in GW2, but I first need to choose the preferred profession before embarking on my building quest with guild wars 2 items.
For my main, I am only concerned with two things: Can they deal good damage? And can they deal that damage effectively in melee combat? (As that is my preferred range). After lots of theory crafting with build tools and play testing in the recent BWE and Stress Test I have finally decided on the Thief as my main profession. Now all I need to do is start the quest for that personalized build.
2) What is your approach when creating builds for a given class?
As my primary goal is damage, I first look for weapon skills that will output decent amounts of it. Then I look for utility and trait combinations that compliment my weapon skills. For the utility skills, I try to add in some very important control options, such as immobilize and/or chill, and some support skills such as weakness and/or vulnerability. For traits I try to build things more in favor of damage output and (in the case of the Thief) initiative management (the more ini, the more damage). On the survivability side, I have chosen a heal that removes movement controlling effects, so that I can escape if needed, and added a couple of traits to help keep me alive a little longer.
If I was to break down my build into percentages, it would be as follows: 50% damage, 35% control and support and 15% survival. In a lot of MMO's, having a small survival percentage may not be very effective, but as GW2's combat is strongly governed by player skill, I can afford to put less attention into this area than I would normally in other games with guild wars 2 items.
A note on flexibility.
I'd just like to finish by saying that, although my main will be built primarily for damage, I do understand and enjoy the role flexibility plays. I also try to choose a profession that can build with flexibility in mind if needed. The nice thing about GW2 items is, that all professions are able to build this way. So if you want a Thief build that is flexible or a Guardian build that deals a lot of damage, then you have that option available to you. As well as creating my own ultimate damage build, I will also have a lot of fun creating highly flexible and support oriented Thief builds. Also, the Thief will not be my only character. I intend to create a character for each profession and create many interesting and unique builds for each.
I know, I have my work with guild wars 2 items cut out for me. But it's all good fun and it's part of the game for me :). Happy building everyone.
Recommended article:
No comments:
Post a Comment