The competitive PvP game mode of Guild Wars 2 brings many players to its doorsteps, each having their own builds. The best part about build crafting in Guild Wars 2 PvP is that when you visit the PvP Map Hub, you are already leveled up to 80 with all of your skills and traits unlocked (minus elite specializations if you don't have the expansion packs, of course), as well as a variety of runes, signets, and stat amulets to experiment with. Knowing this, here are some of the best class builds you can use in PvP.
A side note about the roles in PvP
Before we get into the builds, let's talk about the different roles that players can play in PvP. Instead of pure one-on-one fights with other players, you and four other players team up to fight another team of five players as they capture several key locations across multiple game maps. Team composition with proper builds and assigned roles results in great teams that excel in both casual and ranked gameplay.
Duelists are players who excel at fighting classes one-on-one and eliminating targets to gain points. They should be able to handle most professions one-on-one or in pairs. Support roles provide their teammates with much-needed boons, condition cleanses, and additional heals. Teamfighter roles are those who can deal a lot of damage and CC with their teammates to ensure they overwhelm their opponents. Finally, Roamers scout the map for opportunities to end fights when their teammates require assistance. The Bunker is another role, but with the current meta focusing on power builds, they can easily obliterate Bunkers. That doesn't mean they aren't viable.
10. Necromancer Harbinger - Team fighter
The humble Necromancer has had its fair share of success in PvP, but due to the current meta-scene shift that sees Power replace Condition Damage as the primary method of dealing damage, its usage has dropped significantly. This does not, however, mean that condition damage-dealing professions and builds are no longer viable. "Improvise, Adapt, Overcome," as Bear Grylls famously said.
Harbingers are the elite specialization of Necromancers who took a firearms course and began tinkering with strange elixirs that grant them various boons with a nasty side-effect that leaves them with Blight stacks. They stick close to their teammates, providing a lot of support with their elixirs while dealing a lot of damage with their pistol and warhorn offhand combo.
Full build details:
For your traits lines, go with Curses, Blood Magic, and the Harbinger Elite Specialization trait line while taking the following major perks:
- Curses - Plague Sending, Path of Corruption, Weakening Shroud
- Blood Magic - Quickening Thirst, Vampiric Presence, Unholy Martyr
- Harbinger - Vile Vials, Implacable Foe, Deathly Haste
Condition Harbingers should take the following equipment:
- Carrion amulet - boosts your condition damage and power.
- Superior Runes of Orr - further increases your condition damage and duration.
- Main hand Pistol and Offhand Warhorn with Superior Sigils of Misery and Exposure
- Staff with Superior Sigils of Energy and Cleansing
Harbingers can take the following utility skills in PvP when using this build:
- Elixir of Promise - heals you and grants you some regeneration while inflicting Blight on your character, then poisons your opponents
- Spectral Walk - use once to do a stun break and consume conditions to convert them into life force for your Harbinger shroud, then a second time to use Spectral Recall and return to your initial position when you first used the skill.
- Corrosive Poison Cloud - poisons and inflicts weakness on your opponents while destroying projectiles.
- Summon Flesh Wurm - acts as an immobile minion/turret, and allows you to instantly teleport to the location of the Wurm from a great distance
- Elite Skill: Elixir of Ambition - gain every possible boon on yourself but gain a significant amount of light and gives nearby opponents every damaging condition.
Why Harbinger is great for PvP?
- Harbingers serve as the team's backbone for condition damage, as well as occasional support with their elixirs.
- Although the Condi Meta has been replaced by the Power Meta, condition damage is still lethal if not dealt with and still has a place on the leaderboards. Harbingers, as Necromancers, can deal condition damage just as well as their elite specialization counterparts.
- Their Flesh Wurm minion serves as a map-wide portal for you to return to a currently contested node, allowing you to have map-wide coverage of the area.
Choose this build if:
- You are familiar with the Necromancer playstyle and can deal with the Harbinger's Blight mechanics.
- You don't mind the additional risk that Blight imposes on players because the risk outweighs the reward.
- You recognize that the Harbinger Shroud differs from the other Necromancer Shrouds, which function as secondary health bars.
- You are certain that the Condition Meta will reappear stronger than ever in the near future, and you are preparing for it.
9. Revenant Vindicator - Team fighter
The End of Dragons expansion pack gave the third Heavy Armor profession a greatsword to use, as well as not one, but two legends in the form of the "Legendary Alliance Stance." You can switch between the legends by pressing F2, and your skill bar skills will change from blue to red. Blue represents a defensive stance that grants buffs and support to you and your allies, whereas red represents an offensive stance that grants you skills that give you an advantage over enemies.
This popular build focuses on using both the Alliance legend and Shiro against your opponents, switching between them based on your needs (which becomes amusing to think about lore-wise as the Alliance was responsible for toppling Shiro). An alternate build switches the Alliance stance with Jalis to become more defensive and is much better suited to beginners learning how to PvP with a Renegade.
Full build details:
For their traits, Vindicators will use the trait lines Salvation, Invocation, and the Vindicator elite specialization trait line so pick these major perks to build your character:
- Salvation - Eluding Nullification, Resilient Spirit, Unyielding Devotion
- Invocation - Cleansing Channel, Rapid Flow, Call of the Assassin
- Vindicator - Leviathan Strength, Angsiyan’s Trust, Imperial Impact
Vindicators should use the following equipment:
- Berserker Amulet - boosts significantly offensive stats
- Superior Runes of Divinity - increases all of their attributes
- Greatsword with Sigils of Intelligence and Energy
- Staff with Superior Sigils of Cleansing and Escape
As mentioned above, the build uses the skills automatically equipped from invoking Shiro and the Alliance legends.
Why Vindicator is great for PvP?
- With the recent buff to Vindicators, they regain their second endurance bar, allowing them to dodge twice. Their dodges essentially function like a Final Fantasy Lancer's Jump Ability, where they evade by jumping high into the air and crashing down onto their opponents.
- Switching between Alliance stances allows you to play as both a support and offense when necessary.
- Shiro's legendary stance is useful for his elite skill, which deals a large amount of CC damage while stunning opponents in an area around your character. The stance also allows you to evade and increase your movement and attack speed.
- If your team requires a Bunker variant, you can use the same build by swapping the Divinity Runes for Dolyak Runes.
Choose this build if:
- You understand how to play around the Alliance stances and can effectively switch between them.
- You can fight alongside your teammates and provide cover when needed while inflicting pain on your opponents.
- You don't mind Shiro and the Alliance constantly bickering in your poor character's head. At the very least, you won't get bored thinking about their strange arguments while waiting for your turn to load in PvP.
8. Core Guardian - Support
Guardians are the heavy armor profession to choose if you want the might of a warrior combined with the supporting abilities of an Elementalist. It may come as a surprise to learn that this list includes core Guardian rather than an elite specialization, and for good reason. The profession excels at giving support while punishing those who dare to stand in its way. It may be slow, but it works hard and, more often than not, succeeds in its mission.
Full build details:
For the Support Guardian build, you need to focus on providing utility on the battlefield while also staying alive. For this very reason, you need to take the Valor, Virtues, and Honor trait lines as well as the following major perks under them:
- Valor - Smiter’s Boon, Stalwart Defender, Altruistic Healing
- Virtues - Resolute Subconscious, Absolute Resolve, Indomitable Courage
- Honor - Invigorated Bulwark, Pure of Heart, Pure Voice
Support Guardian builds tend to use this equipment:
- Avatar Amulet - increases power, precision, healing, and vitality boosts.
- Superior Runes of the Soldier - remove conditions from allies whenever you use Shout skills which the build uses.
- Staff with Superior Sigils of Energy and Transference
- Main-hand sword or mace with an offhand focus with Superior Sigils of Energy and Transference
Support Guardians can take the following utility skills in PvP when using this build:
- “Receive the Light!” - heal allies in a cone that can pulse five times.
- “Stand Your Ground!” - grant stability and resolution to yourself and allies and acts as a stun break
- “Advance!” - grant you and your allies aegis and swiftness
- Signet of Mercy - passively improves concentration stat and when activated revives a nearby downed ally.
- Signet of Courage - passively heal allies while in combat, and grants a massive heal as long as you don’t get interrupted by any means.
Why Support Guardian is great for PvP?
- Support Guardians are beneficial to nearly every team. When things get hectic, they provide much-needed support.
- "Stand Your Ground!" and "Advance!" are excellent skills for assisting your comrades, and knowing when to use them can help turn things around when the fight gets out of hand.
- They can follow another player around as their pocket medic, cleansing their conditions with their shouts and providing powerful boons.
- Their staff weapon 3 skill can grant swiftness boons in a small area-of-effect, and their weapon 5 skill can physically block opponents.
Choose this build if:
- You are the epitome of a team player, willing to go above and beyond for them.
- As long as the team survives, you don't mind playing a mostly supportive role.
- Your idea of healing is to yell at your allies like the drill instructor character from Full Metal Jacket.
7. Thief Specter - Power Roamer
The Power Specter build, a surprising class and build, to say the least, has slowly gained traction alongside its Deadeye counterpart in vying for the top spot of the Roamer role. Specters are the Thief profession's newest elite specialization and are known as a support class rather than a DPS like its other counterparts. If there is a game mode that makes use of the Specter's expertise in map traversal as well as being a profession known for being the best in one-on-one combat, it is PvP.
Full build details:
The Power Specter build focuses on chasing enemies and punishing them while using the Critical Strikes, Trickery, and Specter elite specialization trait lines so pick these major perks:
- Critical Strikes - Twin Fangs, Practiced Tolerance, No Quarter
- Trickery - Thrill of the Crime, Bountiful Theft, Sleight of Hand
- Specter - Shallow Grave, Traversing Dusk, Hungering Darkness
Power Specters use the following equipment in PvP:
- Marauder amulets - raises offensive stats
- Superior Runes of the Chronomancer - grants quickness buffs whenever they use their Well skills.
- Main hand dagger and offhand pistol using Signets of Absorption and Exploitation
- Main hand sword and offhand dagger with Signets of Energy and Cleansing.
You will notice that the utility skills you will be using allows Specters to catch up with their chosen victims by dropping a Well skill, so take these with you in PvP:
- Well of Gloom - shadow step and apply cripple on foes while healing yourself and your allies
- Well of Bounty - shadow step and grants boons to yourself and allies
- Shadowfall - shadow step and constantly pull enemies to the AoE’s center and cause damage with greater intensity.
- Shadowstep- stun break while healing conditions on you and allows you to teleport back to your initial position
- Infiltrator’s Signet - regenerates extra initiative for you and blinks to your target opponent when you activate it.
Why Specter is great for PvP?
- Specters have great mobility thanks to their weapon skills, allowing them to engage enemies from a long distance quickly.
- Although they aren't as powerful as their Deadeye counterpart, they compensate for damage by being able to survive much longer because they aren't as limited and can use melee weapons instead of projectiles, protecting themselves from reflect skills.
- They can still use their Specter mechanics to tether themselves to their teammates and provide useful support while also transforming into their version of a necromancer's shroud and dealing increased damage.
Choose this build if:
- Your team already has a Daredevil or Deadeye and requires an alternate who can act as a dedicated roamer if the D.E. isn't one already.
- You want something different than a Ranger who can easily pick off its targets with careful maneuvering and pressure.
- You want a class that can move like a thief, has the shroud of a Necromancer and plays like a skirmisher Ranger.
6. Warrior Spellbreaker - Duelist
It was about time for a Warrior to appear on this list, and one of the best elite professions to do so happens to be the tankiest, hard-hitting one of the bunch. The Spellbreaker is unquestionably a Duelist and an occasional Team fighter, thanks to its ability to use its Physical skills to withstand damage and its Bull Rush skill to both move long distances and damage opponents. They also use their greatsword weapon skills for additional mobility and damage.
Spellbreakers, as the name implies, can use their unique skills to remove boons from enemies, as well as their new F2 skill, Full Counter, which blocks all incoming damage and then unleashes it all once it ends. Instead of using the entire Adrenaline bar to use a Burst skill, it is now divided into two parts that can be filled up and used twice.
Full build details:
There are two variations for the Spellbreaker Duelist build: an offensive and a defensive variant. We will be focusing on the offensive build for now as it is the one that sees more usage in the current meta.
Warrior-mains that focus on PvE may see the build and notice that it seems familiar with some slight variations. For the trait lines, use Strength, Discipline, and the Spellbreaker elite specialization traits and the following major perks:
- Strength - Peak Performance, Forceful Greatsword, Might Makes Right
- Discipline - Warrior’s Sprint, Brawler’s Recovery, Burst Mastery
- Spellbreaker - No Escape, Loss Aversion, Magebane Tether
The Spellbreakers can bring with them the following equipment into PvP:
- Berserker amulet stats - one of the amulet stats with the highest attack potential in the PvP.
- Superior Runes of the Fighter - boosts both power and toughness stats, as well as granting stacks of might boons whenever you use a healing skill.
- Main hand dagger and offhand shield with Superior Sigils of Cleansing and Battle
- Greatsword with Superior Sigils of Intelligence and Energy
Spellbreakers use their greatswords to stun opponents first with the effects of Full Counter before unleashing Thousand Blades on them, and then chasing them down if they try to flee. Because the majority of your utility skills are Physical Skills that increase your damage for a few seconds when used thanks to the Peak Performance perk, Spellbreakers can use these utility skills:
- Mending - heal you and cleanse up to 5 conditions.
- Bull’s Charge - chase your enemies and can be used as a Leap Combo Finisher
- Rampage - transform you and take reduced damage.
- “Shake It Off!” - your only means to help your teammates remove the stun debuff.
- Endure Pain - temporarily become immune from attacks but conditions can still affect you.
Why Spellbreaker is great for PvP?
- The Spellbreaker can deal unblockable damage thanks to the Full Counter F2 skill, which allows it to absorb damage and return it to the sender. It will undoubtedly be difficult to fight against in a one-on-one situation.
- Because of its greatsword weapon skills and the use of certain physical skills to close the gap, the build is surprisingly mobile.
- Spellbreakers can use their skills to remove enemies' boons, rendering them powerless against you and your team.
Choose this build if:
- You want to punish your opponents for hoarding boons on themselves by removing them all easily.
- You don't mind getting into the thick of battle and dealing massive damage to your opponents.
- Seven Deadly Sins is your favorite anime, and you enjoy shouting "Full Counter" whenever you successfully land it on enemies.
5. Guardian Willbender - Duelist / Team fighter
Another Guardian PvP build, and this time it is for a rising star on this list. The Power Willbender is a build that is rapidly gaining traction and support from players as it establishes itself in the current meta. With its ability to move quickly from one location to another, it can surprise its opponents with a barrage of attacks before they know what hit them.
One thing to keep in mind is that one key counter to the build is a Catalyst who uses Shock Aura and conditions, so it may be best to avoid them or find an ally to take them down together.
Full build details:
With Willbenders wielding vast amounts of combat prowess and tons of burn damage potential, you need to boost those two and create a lethal combination. They typically use the trait lines Radiance, Virtues, and the Willbender elite specialization so pick these major perks along the way:
- Radiance - Right-Hand Strength, Retribution, Righteous Instincts.
- Virtues - Unscathed Contender, Inspiring Virtue, Indomitable Courage
- Willbender - Power for Power, Vanguard Tactics, Tyrant’s Momentum
The Willbender can bring with them the following equipment into PvP:
- Marauder amulet - boost their overall attack damage
- Superior Runes of Divinity - additional increases in stats.
- Dual swords for their main hand and offhand with Superior Sigils of Energy and Cleansing
- Greatsword with Superior Sigils of Battle and Exploitation
Willbenders can use these utility skills in PvP:
- Reversal of Fortune - high-risk, high-reward heal that guards you even from lethal damage and then heals you.
- Judge’s Intervention - blink to your target and deal burning damage to nearby foes.
- Contemplation of Purity - convert all conditions into boons and act as a stun break.
- Whirling Light - performs a whirlwind kick that inflicts weakness and burning.
- Renewed Focus - recharge your Virtue skills and make yourself invincible for a few seconds.
Why Willbender is great for PvP?
- Their ability to zip around the battlefield gives them great mobility, allowing them to get to nodes faster and turn the tide in your team's favor faster.
- Willbenders are effective against most opponents as long as you keep moving.
- They can deal a lot of damage in a short amount of time.
Choose this build if:
- You're the type of player who enjoys being on the move.
- You can easily adapt on the fly and aren't afraid to abandon certain targets when the situation calls for it.
- You don't mind fighting with some of the other meta builds to show them that Willbenders are viable as well.
4. Mesmer Chronomancer - Duelist
Mesmers have been a mainstay profession in Guild Wars 2's PvP scene for good reason. They are extremely evasive and can apply pressure even without using their elite specializations. They can also use portals to transport their teammates to another area of the map and set up ambushes.
They become well-slinging, condition-damage-dealing powerhouses with the Chronomancer elite specialization. One unique mechanic of Chronomancers is their ability to shatter their clones and phantasms with their new F5 skill, Continuum Split, to revert your position, health, and skill cooldowns to how they were prior to shattering your clones and phantasms.
Full build details:
Chronomancer duelists often use the trait lines Chaos, Dueling, and the Chronomancer elite specialization with the following major perks:
- Chaos - Method of Madness, Auspicious Anguish, Bountiful Disillusionment
- Dueling - Phantasmal Fury, Fencer’s Finesse, Deceptive Evasion
- Chronomancer - All’s Well That Ends Well, Improved Alacrity, Stretched Time
Chronomancers can use the following equipment in PvP to dominate the arena:
- Marauder amulet - provides an increase in offensive stats
- Superior Runes of the Chronomancer - boosts power and precision stats while providing quickness whenever you cast wells
- Main hand and offhand dual swords with Superior Sigils of Cleansing and Energy.
- Staff with Superior Sigils of Cleansing and Energy.
Chronomancers use these utility skills to turn the tide of battle in their teams favor:
- Well of Eternity - creates a well to remove conditions from players and heals after some time
- Well of Calamity - drops a well that causes weakness and crippling debuffs then inflicts damage on enemies after some time
- Well of Precognition - creates a well that allows you and allies to block incoming damage then grants endurance and stability while functioning as a stun break
- Blink - teleports you to a short distance
- Gravity Well - well that pulls foes in, knocking them down or float, then deals heavy damage
Why Chronomancer is great for PvP?
- Chronomancers gain access to a variety of Well skills, all of which provide you and your team with enough Alacrity and reduce the cooldowns of your weapon and utility skills.
- You can apply additional pressure to nodes that are being contested by enemy players by using your staff weapon 5 skill.
- You can easily switch between being a Duelist, Bunker, or Condition Damage Duelist by switching between using the Dueling trait line around for Illusions and using an offhand shield or a scepter and torch combo.
Choose this build if:
- Despite being a duelist, you want to have a very evasive light armor profession with a lot of utility for you and your team.
- You and your team must apply constant pressure on your opponents and take their nodes by force.
- You are confident in your ability to provide assistance when it is required, especially when your team requires Alacrity.
- You're still waiting for Guild Wars 2 to explain the lore of Chronomancers.
3. Elementalist Tempest - Support
Even before the expansion packs, the Elementalist profession was a mainstay of every Guild Wars 2 game mode, including PvE, PvP, and World vs World. They can play a variety of roles, but one of the most important roles they've played in both PvP and World vs World is their ability to provide support. Having access to both the Water and Air elements provides them with abilities that heal allies and provide much-needed speed, as well as some CCs for those nasty break bars, projectile reflects, and so on.
Full build details:
Support Tempests need to find the balance between offense and support, so most will be using the trait lines Water, Fire, and the Tempest elite specialization along with the following major perks:
- Water - Soothing Ice, Soothing Disruption, Powerful Aura
- Fire - Conjurer, Smothering Auras, Blinding Ashes
- Tempest - Unstable Conduit, Invigorating Torrents, Elemental Bastion
Tempests can use the following equipment in PvP:
- Sage amulet - boost power, condition damage, healing, and vitality stats.
- Superior Runes of the Traveller - boost attributes, boon duration, movement speed, and condition duration.
- Main hand dagger and an offhand focus with Superior Sigils of Energy and Transference
Since this build is focused on helping its teammates rather than fighting head-on against opponents, Support Tempests can use the following utility skills:
- “Wash the Pain Away!” - Area of Effect healing that pulses
- Glyph of Renewal - depending on the element you are attuned to currently, revive allies with different effects
- Conjure Earth Shield - conjure a magnetic shield with skills that can protect its user from damage while increasing their toughness and vitality for a few seconds
- “Aftershock!” - gives you and your allies a magnetic aura that reflects projectiles and causes debilitating debuffs on foes while being considered a Blast Combo Finisher
- Tornado - shapeshift into a tornado that launches foes and grants stability while conjuring a lightning combo field
Why Tempest is great for PvP?
- Tempests are slightly better than core Guardians in terms of providing support abilities that can not only heal and cleanse others but also provide the team with useful auras to reduce damage and other beneficial boons.
- They have powerful projectile reflect abilities that can turn the tide against projectile-wielding foes such as Rangers and Deadeyes looking to pick off allies from afar.
- If you are facing a very damage-heavy team instead of conditions, you can easily switch to a tankier variation by switching Fire trait lines to Earth, though the build can still work around those teams.
Choose this build if:
- You don't mind going into battle and providing much-needed support to your teammates on the front lines.
- You aren't afraid to go toe-to-toe with hard-hitting opponents if it means saving your teammates from a beating and saving your hard-won node.
- You enjoy playing support classes in most games and would do anything to punish those who harm your comrades by unleashing a Fire Tornado on them.
2. Ranger Untamed - Roamer
Rangers are masters of long-distance combat, wielding both the long and short bow to inflict damage from afar. Even without the expansion packs, they are a formidable force. They got a new elite specialization called the Untamed with the End of Dragons expansion pack with their new F5 skill mechanic allowing them to "unleash" their pet to make their skills stronger and turn them into area-of-effect skills. Pressing F5 again unleashes their character, giving them the "Unleash Ambush" skill for their auto-attack on an interval.
Full build details:
Untamed become the best Roamers in PvP thanks to their ability to pour damage from a huge distance and can simply disengage when things start becoming hairy for them. They use the Marksmanship, Beastmastery, and Untamed elite specialization trait lines with the following major perks:
- Marksmanship - Clarion Bond, Moment of Clarity, Remorseless
- Beastmastery - Resounding Timbre, Two-Handed Training, Zephyr’s Speed
- Untamed - Nature’s Shield, Cleansing Unleash, Ferocious Symbiosis
Since Untamed Rangers are looking to quickly end fights, they will need a lot of attack power, so use the following equipment to help you out:
- Berserker amulets - the highest stat for a pure DPS monster
- Superior Runes of Divinity - boost all attributes
- Long Bow with Superior Sigils of Cleansing and Energy
- Greatsword with Superior Sigil of Intelligence and Superior Sigil of Energy
Untamed can use the following utility skills to take advantage of their perks in PvP:
- “We Heal As One!” - heal both you and your pet and gain copies of each other’s boons
- Mutate Conditions - stun break that turns all of your conditions into vulnerability
- “Protect me!” - stun break that grants you and your allies protection and barrier
- Unnatural Traversal - teleport to your target and inflict vulnerable debuff on them, and if it hits an enemy, the recharge is reduced
- Forest’s Fortification - gains defensive boons and damage reduction and lowers its charge time if it hits an enemy.
Why Untamed is great for PvP?
- The Untamed is the current best roamer profession and has yet to be dethroned. It outperforms most classes just by virtue of its long reach.
- With its long-range ability to allow the Untamed to stealth away from opponents, the core Ranger's longbow 3 skill is still the best disengage skill in the game. Untamed can easily use its greatsword weapon skill 3 to stealth with a smoke field.
- The untamed has the best long-ranged burst damage as a Ranger, allowing them to quickly finish off opponents and secure much-needed kills to assist their teammates.
Choose this build if:
- You enjoy picking off your opponents from afar in PvP and want to do so with the king of long-range.
- You don't mind outmaneuvering and flanking the opposing team to cause havoc.
- You are a patient and skilled player who waits for the right moment to strike opponents.
- You enjoy the salt pouring from your enemies whenever you pick them off from a long distance while evading enemy fire.
1. Elementalist Catalyst - Duelist
How appropriate that one of the most versatile professions has two high spots on this list? The Elementalist is a true jack-of-all-trades who can do it all regardless of game mode. PvP is no exception, as it has seen its fair share of multiple builds that have gone on to be successful throughout its history. Its versatility allows it to switch from being a duelist to a team fighter as needed.
Catalysts are Elementalists who have honed their craft, wield the mighty hammer to harness the forces of nature, and use Jade Bots to assist them in conjuring combo fields. They have one of the highest skill ceilings in Guild Wars 2 across all game modes, but when you master it and make it your own, you become one of the most lethal players in PvP. They are currently atop the meta for a reason.
Full build details:
Catalysts don’t just need mastery of their skill rotation but proper knowledge of their traits and perks to be a force of nature in PvP, no pun intended. Power Catalysts use the following traits and their major perks:
- Fire - Conjurer, Smothering Auras, Pyromancer’s Puissance
- Arcane - Renewing Stamina, Final Shielding or Arcane Resurrection (when facing cleave-heavy opponents), Evasive Arcana
- Catalyst - Energized Elements, Spectacular Sphere, Staunch Auras
Power Catalysts need to be able to deal large amounts of damage so you may use the following equipment:
- Marauder amulet - increases offensive stats that boost damage
- Superior Runes of Divinity - increases all of their attributes.
- Hammer - Superior Sigil of Cleansing and Energy
In order for a Power Catalyst to perform well in the arena, they need to balance both their offensive and defensive capabilities, so they use the following utility skills:
- Signet of Restoration - passive heals you every time you cast spells and activating will do a bigger heal
- Signet of Air - blinds targets and foes nearby when activated and grants an increase in movement speed passively
- Conjure Earth Shield - conjure a magnetic shield with skills that can protect its user from damage while increasing their toughness and vitality for a few seconds
- Fortified Earth - blocks all attacks and when channeled successfully, grants a barrier with its recharge time reduced when cast within your Earth Sphere
- Elemental Celerity - recharges weapon skills and gives boons based on your current element
Why Catalyst is great for PvP?
- Power Catalysts are in the meta for a reason. They deal a lot of damage while being very tanky and they take some getting used to.
- There is little to no hard counter to playing against Catalysts. It all comes down to pure skill and numbers advantage to bring one down, but if you have to face them alone, be prepared for a fight.
- Catalysts are very adaptable and can easily switch from being a one-on-one duelist to a team player if their teammates require assistance.
Choose this build if:
- You want to use a profession that can fight solo or as part of a team on the fly.
- You are very confident in your ability to perform the rotations of the skills and have a lot of practice with them.
- You can easily use the hammer 3 skill with multiple spinning orbs, deal massive amounts of damage on a consistent basis, and know when to use them.
- You've found the ideal opportunity to begin yelling "Stop! Hammer Time! " whenever you beat an opponent while dancing on them with your hammer.
Closing Thoughts
The Guild Wars 2 PvP Community is a thriving hub of people who want nothing more than to have epic battles with one another, and it's still growing. With the community continuing to develop better builds that can compete with the meta, there is no shortage of builds to try as there are many others to try and emulate for yourself.
Your mileage may vary as with any other build, and it all comes down to your own hard work and skill. Sharpen your skills, Commander. The arena calls to you as you continue your fight for glory and honor.
