GW2 Five-Person Combo Squad

[Red Omen]

If this were Guild Wars 1, I guess you'd call this Five-Man Comboway. But it's not. So we won't.

I got the idea in my head to make not a single build, but rather a group of them that meshes well together. While Guild Wars 2 makes this stupidly easy to do, since any combination of professions can tackle pretty much anything, I decided to set up a team that takes maximum advantage of the skill combo system and its ability to sling boons and conditions all over the place. Giftkastare's thread about the staff elementalist inspired me to think about how best to exploit its combo field production.

Bear in mind that this is pure theorycraft with no playtesting. Just crapped this out on a splendidly wasted Sunday.

So, without further ado:

Field Layer: Elementalist
Frontline Finisher: Warrior
Backline Finisher: Ranger
Midline Hybrid: Thief
Optional Hybrid: Guardian or Mesmer

Necromancer and engineer proved to be suboptimal contributors to combos. You could run Wells for the Dark fields or Turrets for the Blast finishers, but there are more elegant ways to do this.

Elementalist
Again, I'll direct you to Gift's thread about staff elementalists for his thoughts on the subject. This is a variation of his build, with some minor tweaks to traits and equipment to suit my tastes. The elementalist is a key component of this team, and you'd be remiss to go without one.

Skills
Weapon: Staff of Superior Smoldering
Aquatic Weapon: Trident of Superior Bloodlust
Healing Skill: Glyph of Elemental Harmony
Utility Skills: Glyph of Storms, Glyph of Elemental Power, Glyph of Lesser Elementals
Elite Skill: Glyph of Elementals

Traits
Fire Magic 20: Internal Fire, Pyromancer's Alacrity
Air Magic 10: Quick Glyphs
Water Magic 20: Cleansing Water, Aquamancer's Alacrity
Arcane Power 20: Elemental Attunement, Blasting Staff

Equipment
Armor: Superior Runes of the Elementalist
Amulet: Carrion
Jewel: Cleric

Calculator Link

Warrior
Axes have a variety of finishers - three out of five skills include offensive finishers (Whirl and Projectile), and the Burst skill (Eviscerate) has Leap. Physical utility skills provide three of the four kinds of finishers (all but Whirl, of which the warrior already has two). The elite skill, Rampage, transforms the weapon skills into a bar with three more finishers.

The equipment is focused on Power, specifically stacking Might. The Sigils and Runes of Strength synergize, and the traits bolster and reward axe crits. Musketeer is important; besides the cooldown reduction, piercing rifle shots mean more enemies hit with a single Projectile finisher.

Skills
Weapon: Axe & Axe of Superior Strength; Rifle of Superior Strength
Aquatic Weapon: Spear of Superior Strength; Harpoon Gun of Superior Strength
Healing Skill: Healing Surge
Utility Skills: Throw Bolas, Bull's Charge, Stomp
Elite Skill: Rampage

Traits
Strength 30: Great Fortitude, Axe Mastery, Physical Training
Arms 20: Deep Cuts, Musketeer
Discipline 20: Warrior's Sprint, Sharpened Axes

Equipment

Armor: Superior Runes of Strength
Amulet: Berserker
Jewel: Berserker

Calculator Link

Ranger
All the Projectile finishers. All of them. Seven of the ranger's weapon skills have at least some chance of a Projectile. An eighth is a Whirl. The last two are snares (Cripple and Chill), which are important for keeping enemies in fields. Pets are a Carrion Devourer, which has a Projectile and a rare Poison field as its command skill, and a Krytan Drakehound, with two leaps and three snares.

Besides the devourer's Poison field, the ranger carries more fields in the form of (ground-targetable) traps. Healing Spring creates a Water field to help the elementalist with healing, and Flame and Frost traps create Fire and Ice fields. Spike Trap doesn't create a field, but provides another snare and stacks more bleeding.

And yeah, we've got lots of bleeding. Agony sigils and Afflicted runes on everything, and traits bolster either bleeding, traps, or weapons. Faster recharge on the offhand axe means faster finishers, and we've discussed the benefits of piercing projectiles already. Rabid accessories boost condition damage into the stratosphere.

Skills
Weapon: Longbow of Superior Agony; Axe & Axe of Superior Agony
Aquatic Weapon: Spear of Superior Agony; Harpoon Gun of Superior Agony
Healing Skill: Healing Spring
Utility Skills: Flame Trap, Frost Trap, Spike Trap
Elite Skill: Entangle

Traits
Marksmanship 20: Keen Edge, Piercing Arrows
Skirmishing 30: Sharpened Edges, Trapper's Expertise, Trap Potency
Wilderness Survival 20: Master Trapper, Offhand Training

Equipment

Armor: Superior Runes of the Afflicted
Amulet: Rabid
Jewel: Rabid

Calculator Link

Thief
Dual daggers provide a decent variety of finishers, and two of them only cost three initiative. Dual pistols, on the other hand, include five projectiles. Most importantly, Black Powder is the only skill in the game that provides a guaranteed combo with itself.

Now, the thief has access to some rare field types: Dark and Smoke. We'll be using these to spread Blind and Stealth. They're available through Deception utilities, so we're going to focus on those: Smoke Screen and Shadow Refuge. While it doesn't create a field, Blinding Powder gives us another AoE Stealth. Let's pick the healing skill that includes stealth and the elite that's a Whirl finisher.

Let's give ourselves a stupid high crit chance with traits, stick Earth sigils on all our weapons to cause Bleeding with almost all of those crits, then make that Bleeding count with Nightmare runes and Rampager's accessories. Blood. Everywhere. And if we're using our pistols, a lot of our crits will Cripple as well, and they might even bounce (which is even better than piercing).

Skills
Weapon: Dagger & Dagger of Superior Earth; Pistol & Pistol of Superior Earth
Aquatic Weapon: Spear of Superior Earth; Harpoon Gun of Superior Earth
Healing Skill: Hide in Shadows
Utility Skills: Smoke Screen, Shadow Refuge, Blinding Powder
Elite Skill: Dagger Storm

Traits
Critical Strikes 30: Critical Haste, Hidden Killer, Ankle Shots
Shadow Arts 20: Shadow Protector, Master of Deception
Trickery 20: Thrill of the Crime, Ricochet

Equipment
Armor: Superior Runes of the Nightmare
Amulet: Rampager
Jewel: Rampager

Calculator Link

Guardian
While the guardian isn't as tricked out with combo components as the previous four professions, it does have access to a lot of Light fields, which can help with condition removal. Besides that, guardians are excellent support characters and round out any party nicely.

The best comboing weapon is the Greatsword, with one Light field, two Whirls, and a Leap. The Staff has a couple of Light fields and a little midline utility. Most of the fields we're looking for, Light and Fire, are Consecrations. Luckily, the trait line that helps them out, Virtues, also boosts boon duration. Two of our fields are Symbols, so Zeal's Minor traits will help with those, while its Major traits bolster the Greatsword. Let's stack Might like we did with the warrior and get a bunch of Strength sigils and runes. Carrion accessories increase our health while complementing our focus on Power and conditions.

Skills
Weapon: Greatsword of Superior Strength; Staff of Superior Strength
Aquatic Weapon: Spear of Superior Strength; Trident of Superior Strength
Healing Skill: Healing Breeze
Utility Skills: Wall of Reflection, Purging Flames, Sanctuary
Elite Skill: Tome of Wrath

Traits
Zeal 30: Fiery Wrath, Greatsword Power, Zealous Blade
Honor 20: Writ of Exaltation, Two-Handed Mastery
Virtues 20: Consecrated Ground, Master of Consecrations

Equipment
Armor: Superior Runes of Strength
Amulet: Carrion
Jewel: Carrion

Calculator Link

Mesmer
Our other option for fifth wheel is a mesmer. Whereas the guardian is more focused on Light fields, the mesmer has almost exclusive access to Ethereal fields, which provide Chaos Armor and Confusion. Most of these are only available as long-recharge utilities, and there are relatively few finishers on mesmer weapons. Staff is a must for Chaos Storm, and Sword/Pistol have our finishers (besides being a great set of weapons in their own right).

To get fields, let's specialize in Glamours. Null Field and Feedback are Ethereal, and Veil is a Light field with AoE Stealth, synergizing well with our thief. Time Warp's Ethereal field makes it the clear choice for the elite. Glamour-boosting traits are spread between the Domination, Inspiration, and Illusions lines, so our spec arranged itself for us. The most useful Major trait within reach after placing 20 points in each of these is Harmonious Mantras, so let's take our double instant self-heals and enjoy them. Master of Misdirection is great for all the Confusion we'll be spreading, and Crippling Dissipation will let us throw in a few snares from time to time.

Our crit chance is in the toilet, so not many weapon sigils will benefit us. Let's go all in on condition damage. Sigils of Corruption, Nightmare Runes, and Carrion accessories. Confusion is going to hit hard.

Another option would be Diremongoose's take on a Glamour mesmer as presented in his theorycrafting case study. Sorry, I wasn't aware of this one when I was building mine, but they turned out to be extremely similar.

Skills
Weapon: Staff of Minor Corruption; Sword & Pistol of Minor Corruption
Aquatic Weapon: Spear of Minor Corruption; Trident of Minor Corruption
Healing Skill: Mantra of Recovery
Utility Skills: Null Field, Feedback, Veil
Elite Skill: Time Warp

Traits
Domination 30: Crippling Dissipation, Confusing Enchantments, Harmonious Mantras
Inspiration 20: Glamour Mastery, Temporal Enchanter
Illusions 20: Master of Misdirection, Dazzling Glamours

Equipment
Armor: Superior Runes of the Nightmare
Amulet: Carrion
Jewel: Carrion

Calculator Link

Usage
Well, we've got our crack team of adventurers. Now what? The clearest use would be for five-man dungeons, since that's where the party is most likely to stay together and hang out in each other's fields. I've included recommendations for PvP Amulets, which wouldn't be available for PvE content, as a matter of convenience. The trouble, of course, lies in the expense of respeccing just to run a dungeon.

On the other hand, five is also the magic number for sPvP, which carries other issues. While we can kit out at our leisure, we'll have to split to be competitive. Any grouping is possible as long as the warrior - the only party member who lacks fields - follows the elementalist or guardian. Thief and mesmer also work well. I'm also leery of running something gimmicky in such a competitive environment, but we'll have to see how it works.

Well done on making it to the end. Thoughts, tweaks, criticism?

 

[martialblack]

No necro?! I feel like this is your first mistake... they're too strong Oh wait is this for PVE?? idk about this for PVE but for PVP its really hard to be taking the time to set up combos, most of the time your on the move and outside of the initial group stealth combo, others take some skill/timing. Plus condition necros are just dumb in sPVP. I really like Team paradigms group when it comes to sPVP. Warrior, Guardian, Mesmer, Necro, Engineer.

 

[Red Omen]

I was so tired after typing all that out that I forgot to mention the kind of combat where this might work best - WvW. Take a combination of all these builds, then lay down the AoE hurt against large clumps of enemies. That, I think, would be loads of fun.

Necromancers have only two regularly accessible finishers, and they're both on the Staff (along with a poison field). The rest are Minion skills or on the Trident. They have the most Dark fields, plus an Ethereal, a Light, and a couple of Poison. Something similar to the Tankymancer that Psionic Fox posted in his Conditionmancer thread, with its focus on Wells, would probably work best (after throwing in a Staff, of course). In fact, the Conditionmancer itself will probably be a serious contender given all the conditions this team would apply.

That said, wasn't the necromancer underwhelming this past BWE? We know they're buffing it, but at this point we don't know by how much.

 

[Zakis]

The Engineering Guild would like a word with you.

 

[Red Omen]

That's the problem! I could only pick five!

The engineer has surprisingly few finishers - one low-chance Projectile for Pistol, a low-chance Projectile and a Leap for Rifle, and a Projectile and a Blast for the Shield. The Bomb kit has a Fire and Smoke field (and also includes a Blast, fortunately), but the rest of the fields are spread out among other kits. Every Turret creates a Blast when you detonate it, and the Flame Turret can create a Smoke field. I guess I'd recommend going Pistol & Shield, Healing Turret, Bomb Kit, Flame Turret, Rocket Turret, and Supply Crate. Then trait for Explosives and Turrets.

It can be done.

 

[Mat'hir Uth Gan]

In terms of Combo's, Necro's are a little weak, mainly because Wells got overnerfed last beta. Darkness is a very strong combo though, AoE blindness is pretty epic. I anticipate they'll get the well thing figured out by launch. My feeling is that Necro's hardly get anything in terms of combos, but they do have a monopoly on the best one.

My biggest issue would be more along the lines of leaving a Necro out of a WvWvW set up. You have a pretty condition heavy group, and with the clustering of WvWvW, the Necro's Epidemic ability can be absolutely crippling. The ability is on a pretty quick refresh and it spreads stacks of conditions to everyone within range. Necro's are hurting right now overall, especially for Spvp, but I think they are one of the best classes for WvWvW due to the clustering.

 

[Red Omen]

Agreed. Fortunately WvW opens up the team to a potentially infinite capacity, so no one's dead weight.

 

[TIG]

ever hear of ranger? almost everything he does is a projectile finisher and he can spec to lay down a few combo fields himself. lightning, water, poison to name a few.

 

[Red Omen]

Ranger's the third one listed. No Lightning fields, sadly; only one skill does that, not counting the copy of it on a conjured weapon. Hopefully they'll add more upon release.

 

[giftkastare]

Red, you have done a crazy amount of homework. I'm impressed. I like the setup but like you said, it needs playtesting and more than anything you need 5 people who know how to play the game and play together. I look forward to testing theories like this.

 

[Zakis]

That's the problem! I could only pick five!

The engineer has surprisingly few finishers - one low-chance Projectile for Pistol, a low-chance Projectile and a Leap for Rifle, and a Projectile and a Blast for the Shield. The Bomb kit has a Fire and Smoke field (and also includes a Blast, fortunately), but the rest of the fields are spread out among other kits. Every Turret creates a Blast when you detonate it, and the Flame Turret can create a Smoke field. I guess I'd recommend going Pistol & Shield, Healing Turret, Bomb Kit, Flame Turret, Rocket Turret, and Supply Crate. Then trait for Explosives and Turrets.

It can be done.

I was just messin with you because you left engies out. Thats the fun of engies though. We have all kinds of stuff spread all over the place. Flamethrower has a flame wall for combos, and if I carry my elixir U and toss it I get either Guardian Shield Wall, Mesmer Invis Wall, or Thief Smoke Screen. Problem is it is random.

 

[PsionicFox]

You've got some very interesting ideas here, and I can see this shining in WvW. As a matter of fact, running in a full group of eight people (one of each class), you will most likely be able to take on disorganised groups many times your number. The Engineer becomes your midline defensive hybrid via some Elixir-based condition hate, while my conditionmancer becomes an additional combo exploiter. Being able to dish out plenty of conditions alone, as well as exploit the hell out of them via Feast of Corruption and Epidemic will make this eight man group into a seriously powerful strike team in WvW.

This team wouldn't be assaulting keeps or defending them, this is the team to goes and cuts off supply lines, secures your own supply. This team finds the neutral camps and gets them on-side. I always thought this would be a serious way to contribute to WvW outside of the zergs, and its something I'll definitely be exploring.

 

[Red Omen]

Thanks, guys. By popular demand: Necromancer and Engineer builds.

Necromancer
This is a variant of PsionicFox's excellent Conditionmancer. Instead, we put in a Staff for Marks, fields, and a finisher, and replaced several utility skills with Wells. Sadly, this precludes getting the incredibly useful Plague Signet, but Epidemic is a must.

Skills
Weapon: Staff of Superior Earth; Scepter & Staff of Superior Earth
Aquatic Weapon: Spear of Superior Earth; Trident of Superior Earth
Healing Skill: Well of Blood
Utility Skills: Well of Suffering, Well of Corruption, Epidemic
Elite Skill: Plague

Traits
Spite 20: Spiteful Removal, Spiteful Marks
Curses 20: Hemophilia, Focused Rituals
Blood Magic 30: Bloodthirst, Ritual Mastery, Vampiric Rituals

Equipment
Armor: Superior Runes of the Afflicted
Amulet: Rabid
Jewel: Rabid

Calculator Link

Engineer
Most of my write-up is above, although I replaced the Rocket Turret with the Net Turret. I may be overusing Earth sigils.

Skills
Weapon: Pistol & Shield of Superior Earth
Aquatic Weapon: Harpoon Gun of Superior Earth
Healing Skill: Healing Turret
Utility Skills: Bomb Kit, Flame Turret, Net Turret
Elite Skill: Supply Crate

Traits
Explosives 20: Forceful Explosives, Short Fuse
Firearms 20: Hair Trigger, Precise Sights
Inventions 30: Metal Plating, Reinforced Shield, Elixir-Infused Bombs

Equipment

Armor: Superior Runes of Lyssa
Amulet: Rampager
Jewel: Rampager

Calculator Link

 

[Mat'hir Uth Gan]

Not a fan of that Necro build at all. First, wells are borked right now, so they are basically worthless. Second, all vampiric skills are borked right now, so they are also basically worthless. So, as of BWE3, this is a broken build. I'm not a big fan of the utility skills, if you're going to take a well, Darkness is by far the best one. As mentioned though, with the nerf for BWE3, the radius is much too small, the effect ticks too slow, and nobody stands in the damn well for more than two seconds. You likely need to have Signet of Spite for Epidemic as well.

Also, Transfusion is invaluable as one of the better AoE heals. If someone is going up the Blood Magic and healing route, no reason not to take it, especially for WvWvW.

Additionally, Vitality is what is important for Necros, not toughness. This is for several reasons. First, Toughness only guards against direct damage, so I'd rather have the hit points to absorb all damage, and Second, and more importantly, total hit points now apparently reflect your death shroud hit points by roughly 80%. So, for Necros, Vitality is far superior. This is important for the Amulet.

And finally, critical chance on a Necro that is not spec'd full Spite/Soul Reaping makes little sense. Conditions can not crit. Our traited bleed on all crits lasts 1 tick. The Earth weapon runes are lackluster because half the time you don't crit, and half the time when you do, they don't go off. I believe the +10% damage rune duo, which applies to conditions, is far superior. Add on Close to Death and for a large percentage of the time, you're dealing 20% more damage with all abilities.

It was a good effort, and maybe even a viable build if the two primary aspects weren't broken at this time.

 

[Red Omen]

Yeah, I designed it with the assumption that Wells would be effective upon release. Fair points all around, though. For now, consider it a wash and use the superior Conditionmancer. I picked those accessories to increase crit chance and take advantage of conditions that proc on crit, but that was probably misguided.

 

[Mat'hir Uth Gan]

I enjoy your efforts. I've only focused on the Necro, I know nothing of the other classes, so your overall knowledge is probably excellent just by taking the time to try and create teams like this.

 

[Red Omen]

Yep, this is partly a learning tool for me. It's been a little slow, since I keep getting distracted by fixing formatting errors on the wiki and updating my custom stylesheet.

 

[Zakis]

Suprising you dont roll with an elixir build. I will have to try out some turret builds like yours come release. I like elixirs but they have their annoyances.

Edit: Although going back and looking at the talents I am really excited to try this build. Never used bomb kit before.

 

[Diremongoose]

I love elixir builds <3
All elixirs grant might. All conditions become boons. Each boon boosts damage...