It’s often said that inGuild Wars 2you can play anything you want in open world, whethersoloor in a large squad. But that is usually not the case for endgame PvE such as raids, strikes, andfractals. For them, there is a flexible list of the most effective meta builds. These are also very common because, if popular guilds recommend them, many players take inspiration.
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On the other hand, there are dozens of builds that are simply not played as often or not titled as the most effective. Make no mistake, though: some of those builds are capable of easily keeping up with the meta ones if in the right hands and under the right circumstances.
10Heal Scourge
The main purpose of this non-traditional healer is to provide a lot of barriers for ten people. You don’t provide any important boons and don’t specialize in healing in the sense of re-filling the players’ health bars. Apart from applying barriers,you can teleport downed people to you or sacrifice a chunk of your own health to revive teammates instantly from afar.
This build becomes overkill in experienced squads. But in the context of less skillful groups, heal Scourge is nicknamed “training wheels” because of how much easier it becomes for everyone to survive the fight.
9Power Deadeye
In theory, this is the current highest damage build in the game,but that is against a stationary training golem with no hazards or mechanics involved.
This dagger/dagger setup is not ideal in real fights because of how much it relies on precisely timed skill rotation. You also get some damage boosts from attacking the enemy from the flank and on having more than 90 percent of health, both of which are sometimes simply not realistic. However, mastering this build and adjusting it to boss mechanics can be very rewarding.
8Power Reaper
Power Reaper is a DPS build withmuch easier gameplaythan the previous Deadeye entry. Having two thick health bars makes Reaper very forgiving. It uses gear with berserker’s stats, which is easily accessible if you do not have legendary armor ortrained crafting disciplines.
This build shines in fractals where it can take advantage of itscleave potential. There are not many raid encounters with trash mobs around, so Reaper’s damage output is not very high and thus is not a meta option for the ten-player content. However, it hasadmirable crowd control and an easy rotation.
7Heal Scrapper
Being a“typical” healer, Scrapper with harrier’s or minstrel’s stats takes advantage of Med Kit and its three strong healing skills. If that is not enough, Elixir Gun also has an extra burst healing. If all fails, Function Gyrocan revive three downed people from afar.
Heal Scrapper’smain boon is quickness,which comes from four skills. Apart from that, you can expect Scrapper to give outpermanentprotection, regeneration, and vigor. The downside of this build is that, apart from Function Gyro, it doesn’t have good ranged healing options.
6Power Support Chronomancer
Times when Chronomancer could do everything with just one build are long gone. However, the patch of November 2022 breathed some fresh air. Chrono can now provide either permanent quickness or permanent alacrity, depending on how you set up your build.
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Thealacrity versionis a hassle to carry out, especially when compared to the condition alacrity Mirage. While thequickness variant of Chronomanceris also mostly for more experienced Mesmer players, the non-weapon skills options are more flexible. The utility value of this build is even more impressive when considering the potential of the famous two-way portal and Mass Invisibility, which affects ten players and not just five.
5Power Quickness Catalyst
Capable of dealingmore damage than its rival power quickness Herald, this hammer build is a great option for Elementalist enjoyers who want to be useful for their team and do lots of damage at the same time.
Catalyst is also the only Elementalist elite specialization that can providepermanent quickness to five players.You don’t need the boon duration of the expensive diviner’s gear to upkeep it permanently.Standard berserker’s gearusually used by pure damage builds is enough. However, just like most Elementalist builds, this one also requires a lot of practice and skill to reach its full damage potential.
4Condition Mechanist
Potentially the least demanding build on this list. Apart from the general straightforwardness of Mechanist, the condition build additionally also deals a lot of damage — on average, the third most on this list.
The highest DPS varianthas a long skill rotation and requires switching back and forth between pistols, bombs, and grenades. But, if needed, Mechanist also works well in the form ofa low-intensity build. After some practice, the traits and weapons can be adjusted a little to reach the true potential, which is around 37 thousand damage per second. And with it also, of course, comes the advantage of having ranged skills and decent crowd control.
3Condition Willbender
The condition variant of the newest Guardian elite specialization focuses on applying burning on one enemy. It is similar to Thief in its awesome mobility, which can be especially useful in encounters where running out of a dangerous AoE in time will save your life.
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As opposed to Daredevil and Vindicator, valuable dodges are not in your damage rotation.Willbender has very little of a rotation to begin with, as its gameplay is mostly priority-based. Another useful aspect is thatyou can sacrifice a utility skill without losing much damageand replace it with a skill that would benefit others as well — such as stability, projectile reflection, or extra crowd control.
2Condition Alacrity Tempest
Tempest is the only Elementalist specialization that can provide alacrity. Thisvaluable hybrid builddoes so thanks to only two overload skills and deals a combination of burning and power damage on top of that.
Condition alacrity Tempest wears mostlycelestial gear that increases all stats evenly. That gives you a little more survivability, makes power damage relevant too, and helps with boon duration, thus allowing you to also take an emergency support utility skill. To increase the versatility, a quick trip to the Air Attunement also gives allies fury, while multiple earth skills provide projectile reflection
1Heal Herald
Here’s perhaps the most underrated PvE build nowadays: heal Herald. This Revenant build invokes Ventari for ranged burst healing and projectile destruction or Jallis for stability, and always pairs it up with Glint — the dragon legend that,simply by pressing a few skills off cooldown, generates permanent quickness, protection, fury, swiftness, regeneration, might, and a few seconds of superspeed. It also extends the boons of allies.
Additionally, this build wields mace to ensure might stays at 25 stacks, and shield and staff for extra healing, blocks, and powerful crowd control.Herald is also a fantastic alternative to heal tank Mechanistand heal tank Firebrand, as it is easily capable of enduring the hardest-hitting bosses thanks to Glint’s healing skill and weapon blocks.
