I Tried DPS DRUID in Guild Wars 2 - Thoughts

[@Ape_Hawk]

Something of note about why your dps was lower than others on HT: the boss is technically a structure, thus takes more strike damage than condi damage. It's why people prefer running power over condi for that strike.

[@masterdragon2345]

There are also a lot of other reasons to run power over condi in Ht, especially on CM

[@sanguin3]

Wait I've never heard about "structure" typed enemy 🤔. I always though power was better for those bosses (KC, CA and HT) because of their extremely short phases?

[@masterdragon2345]

@@sanguin3 some bosses have less armor than normal, so they take increased power damage. Even VG is a power boss.

[@Stewfish]

I NEVER KNEW THIS. I used to run HT a lot with my guild and whenever I played condi Specter my damage was terrible. That explains so much, (and vindicates my ego a bit!)

[@Cross_111]

​@@sanguin3there are quite a few in the core game still They are of the "old" type and cannot even take condi dmg... The gravling burrows in asc cata f.e.

[@TheRetifox]

I did not say it before, which I should. I really appreciate the series, I have almost 1k in GW2 and am almost exclusively a PVE Open World player, I have not done fractals, strikes, or raids. It's nice to see a showcase and backgrounds of current meta builds, and how all of it functions, even just for curiosity to see how things are. Thanks! :D

[@nerdicusdorkum2923]

I would recommend fractals, at least the low levels. No requirements for entry, it's easy, still good money, and a couple of easy mastery points. They're basically mini dungeons. I'd also recommend the ice brood saga strike missions. Most of them are relatively easy, and minor mistakes can be covered by a halfway decent healer. Those will get your feet wet, without dunking you in head first like I did when I tried old lions arch as my first strike, thinking it was the first one to do. (IMO, it's the hardest one)

[@topotu_7473]

Fractals are a TON of fun

[@Chimera9657]

Some extra information / correction regarding condi alac druid: -The main reason it's not considered good isn't because we don't take Eclipse. With the current alac duration, even with full ritualist gear (42% bd), we need to use ca2+ca3+ca4+ca5 in low pressure situations because we cannot enter CA off cooldown. With ca4 being a non-damaging-move and having a rather long channel time, we lose quite a lot of time doing no damage at all. This doesn't change with Eclipse since ca4 will only apply extra chill. -The build currently sits at ~35k with dmg field (skip ca4) and ~32k without (use ca4) making it not much worse than current meta builds -Another problem the build however has is that it has a comparably long ramp-up. With the current power creep we have, a lot of slow ramp-up condi builds fall out of favor on a lot of fights. -Also with celestial being a really good stat, it it often just better to run celestial druid (or seraph, they're pretty close), coming in at ~20-25k with a lot more utility and more than enough healing for your group (especially in double heal squads)

[@BioZook]

This ramp up reminds me of alac renegade, which feels like youre hitting enemies with a radioactive wet noodle

[@Nyavsa]

Love the series Muk! Also really happy to see you covering my favourite build in the game. Ever since Anet allowed druids to play dps I just keep coming back to this setup because of how good it feels to play. Also since Entangle and Celestial Avatar skills have pretty big AoEs it's really nice to play in open world!

[@Sturmjaeger]

Today I heard the term "Druid Fluid" for the first time and I wish I hadn't.

[@MuklukYoutube]

Catalysts use ele jelly

[@chester1882]

Necro Up and Go

[@Caitmonster]

I used to just say drood juice but I think I'm using druid fluid from now on.

[@MetalHev]

The life-making, vital fluid of druids

[@StationOfbarny]

I'm stealing "Druid Fluid."

[@michealfutch7819]

I used to enjoy being a spirit ranger, with little spirits following me everywhere. After that got rekt, none of the utility really appeal to me.

[@gryphawoo5444]

the biggest thing i hate about ranger is it feels like every pve build requires jacaranda which completely removes the fun of having all those different pets to choose between, plus the things just ugly XD

[@Jackie-m8i]

I love this build and as one of the 10 (best) players of this build in the game, wing man leader boards don't lie, I am certainly not biased at all

[@spencers4121]

I ran condi druid years ago in open world, ancient seeds was so op.

[@zearcjustice7837]

pvp long bow ancient seed druid was awesome , every knock down = root

[@lyokhamishukov3513]

How much bleeding does Entangle do? "One, Two, Three, Four, Five, plus Five!"

[@emewyn]

Ive mained dps druid with shortbow axe/torch since it came out, i really like how versatile it feels. I use it in fractals and open world even though it's condi. I like to think it makes up for that because i can do good damage and cc on multiple targets at once.

[@taylordavis6072]

I'm running this, too. I think Celestial stats are more suited to this build than any other in the game because it makes better use of the added stats. So fun!

[@houligan5254]

00:35 technically boon chrono and dps chrono compete for the same trait column as well.

[@lashonawaldmeister1111]

I would say pretty much all boon dps builds do

[@lostpotato8363]

Except dps chrono doesnt exist 🌚

[@Jay-el9iz]

All builds do but this one isn't a choice between optimized dps and supportive dps, it is a choice between optimized dps and supportive healer. And chrono is the worst example to compare druid to. Chrono is the most versatile and complete profession: you can play condi dps, power dps, condi alac dps, power alac dps, condi quick dps, power quick dps, alac heal, and quick heal, and all these builds perform well in most encounters. With druid, you can only play condi dps or alac heal, and you can't perform equally smoothly everywhere as it lacks some of the utility required for some contents like fractals.

[@Jmvars]

It does, but unlike Druid it will not completely tank your damage, and as others have said, all boon dps builds do to some extent. For example, Harbinger can take the middle trait for quickness, but it competes with power and condition damage traits.

[@didoma73]

the long channeling times of CA skills and CA5 rooting you in place are the main reasons why I don't play druid

[@aintdatabic]

I've been running DPS druid build for the better part of 6 to 7 years. VelvetJelly.

[@Dhonti139]

This build works wutg spear also nice

[@RyuDouro]

DPS druid or CONDI Druid?

[@enkeny]

Some addition: entering avatar form will interrupt your weapon skills, but not your utility skills. So entering and exiting CA you can use entangle, trap, heal for save time. Also it is a weapon swap so it can trigger Sigil of geomancy a secound time. Pet skills that apply immobilize will not trigger Blood moon. Jacaranda do it because it makes a root, and the root will trigger it. And Ca5 should be finisged. The last tick do more burning and make black holes, that also pulse immobilize -> bleeding.

[@majked]

Pretty cool build I replaced my condi SB by druid condi (using shortbow and axe dagger, more fun), so it's easier to switch between condi dps and alac dps, just change 1 trait and stats and similar gameplay 😁

[@kharchieff]

hi love these videos. where is this target dummy exactly ? i can't seem to find it

[@MuklukYoutube]

Lions arch aerodrome (an instance on the south end of lions arch, it has all the raid wing entrances and this testing room)

[@kharchieff]

@@MuklukKZbin amazing thanks alot 😊

[@xLeopanther]

I assume there's more to it why alac dps druid doesn't work than those two grandmaster traits being mutually exclusive? Like tempest also has its alac trait in the same line as their biggest dmg trait (25% dmg buff on finishing overload) and alac tempest is still viable even so. Does that one trait on druid make up more than a 25% difference in damage? .. though I really don't have the math to compare those two situations. Just curious why the loss of a strong dps grandmaster trait works for one class to boon dps, but not for the other.

[@Jackie-m8i]

there is more than just the damage trait, you require boon duration to upkeep alacrity 100% of the time so you have to switch from vipers to ritualists that and you'd need to stay in celestial avatar more often to upkeep alacrity and during that time you do significantly less damage so all of this results in very low damage numbers

[@mishking9547]

If ya stick to being a pure bleed/poison druid, you COULD opt to use the alacrity trait and be a condi dps/alacrity support build, i dont how much this tanks your dps though

[@BioZook]

Good gods, that buff bar at the start is the best advertisement for a rework ive seen in a while

[@RealSaltygrease]

I started playing gw2 recently, using this build for open world at first. I find that the damage is HEAVILY reliant on the relic choice, to the point that power soulbeast blew my previous damage out of the water (celestial stats, and the same relics/runes)

[@kaltaron1284]

Does anyone have a tip on how to target enemies instead of the vines from the immobilizes? Sometimes left click just wants to only hit them and tab-targetting can be... useless sometimes.

[@enkeny]

Alac dps Vs dps: main reason: "there is the alacrity, there is the damage. They are in the same column" I challenge it! Here is my 3 reason why it is not true: 1) Please try this: use the exact same build expect druid grandmaster trait is empty. Do the same rotation. That way you can see how much damage you loose from not using that trait. If the dps number is good enough for a support dps role, the problem is not there. 2) Many other profession has the same settings: you can pick the boon trait instead of a damage trait. (untamed use quickness trait instead of a +25% damage trait) Trading damage for support boons is the good way. 3) Grace of the land need a rework. CA has cd, a bar to fill up that also drop to 0 is you go down, Alacrity application is depend on quickness, short range, low duration, need active, rapid skill use, that can interrupted (even ca1). I hate feeling guilt, just because I use my CA skills for healing (as a healer). It is even worse in dps role. Alac dps druid doesn't straggle with damage, it straggle with alacrity. And the more you give alacrity, you use more time in CA, sou you need even more time to go back to CA. Lowering Eclipse usefulness. So the main reason: using Grace of the lands feel bad, it is worse in dps build.

[@MuklukYoutube]

Aye, there are other reasons as well, but it wasn't the focus of the video. I was trying to gloss over it quickly and move on, perhaps I did a poor job of it.

[@enkeny]

Yes I know, but at the moment this is the most relevant video for this. I think I'm not the only one who wanted to say things about alac druid. My problem in that statement is the 'main reason'. So now, that there are videos for both the heal and the damage Druid, we can say: If you want alac dps druid, you will get the worst from both build and 'have fun' :)

[@joseg8758]

ty, for you mini like guide and the info on where to get it.

[@demenion3521]

first of all: condi alac druid is actually not terrible, it's still a bit above power alac renegade which is a popular option. most of your damage doesn't actually come from the eclipse trait since you don't apply all that many condis while in CA. - in terms of utility: i would recommend the aether hunter as a cc pet since it has more cc than the iboga and very respectable dps. another really cool option now is the spinegazer for boon strip while the pet still has decent condi damge. - the choice between glyph of alignment and signet of the wild is mostly about how much the boss moves. the signet places an immob field on the ground that you want the boss to stay in to get maximum effect. the glyph does slightly less damage, but doesn't require the boss to stay in place. - condi druid is a really good alternative to condi slb when you need more cc or more support. the healing and cleanses on condi druid are still very nice for a dps, possibly allowing to drop a healer or to relieve pressure from your healers. you can always drop a CA 4 in a pinch for burst healing. - condi druid also has quite decent aoe damage which is always nice. you just have to be careful with immobs. for example on dhuum you usually want the first enforcer at the start of the actual fight to walk through dhuum to get cleaved. if you immob him, he just stays away from the group. same on the first split phase on kaineng overlook. - i also like taking healing spring as my heal for real encounters, especially for the aoe cleanse, but note that stronger regen will overwrite yours, so you won't benefit from the healing ticks if you have a healer that gives perma regen. you can consider taking water spirit for a burst heal and padding some less common boons, or the healing glyph for either a personal burst heal or a group burst heal, depending on the needs. (technically troll unguent is a good pick too since it pulses healing to yourself, but you will rarely be low health for an extended period of time)

[@BioZook]

Power alacrigade is not currently viable in pve, it averages less than optimized open world builds What are you referring to¿?

[@demenion3521]

@@BioZook what are you even talking about? power alacrigade does 31k dps. that's a perfectly viable build with big cc and support options. not to mention that there is still no better option for fractals and no alac build that has easier alac application

[@BioZook]

@@demenion3521 calm down lil bro, I wasnt attacking you just curious based on mukluks own statements about power rene snowcrows sunset their build bc it was nerfed into the ground, and muk stated himself on his “condi alac renegade video that after asking around bc he wanted a power version that it was no longer used bc it has much worse dps now Discretize, seemingly has the most recent iteration, but its bleh And the typical benchers have this to say about it: m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/fWfPhGeblJaqfas

[@demenion3521]

@@BioZook pls attach up-to-date benches if you want to prove a point. the build has been buffed significantly since then. and even while it was on 27k dps it was still best in slot for fracs

[@BioZook]

@@demenion3521 lol this isnt a phd dissertation review, but youve not listed anything that proves it was best in slot for this role in fractals, tldr alac heal + qdps is a better group comp in 5 man freeing up a power dps slot for someone who can do more than bottom tier boon dps numbers please keep trying to will your claims into existence tho, it satisfies the warp

[@Swooz777]

Mirage dps video any second now!!

[@tbull1663]

Druid Fluid that is hilarious

[@SariatheFrostMage]

You can get lower damage but far more utility with Celestial Gear, Nature Magic, Double Slam DPS Druid running Storm and Sun spirit. The output on Sun spirit is actually busted, sitting around 20k damage from one utility in *Celestial* gear. The free +8 might lasts forever, and it puts out a couple hits of blindness too. Storm Spirit on double crit does 14k damage, plus two stuns for 4 stacks of bleed. Because they're both on a 20 second cooldown, they're constantly popping out providing some boons while also keeping you stable. And since you have nature magic, all boons you receive is shared to your Pet, and Celestial gear gives a good bit more healing power. You'll also have 26k HP and some toughness too. My DPS in raid setup is around 22k, which is crazy. I take Skirmishing, Nature Magic, and I can run whatever weapon I like while being free to face tank more stuff for a stabler rotation, while also outputting more support. The 8k drop in DPS is worth it IMHO, especially since you can just outright fail some mechanics and be fine. If you want to be a little less tanky and more DPS outputty, just run a little bit of vipers in place of some Celestial. But honestly, you're fine in Celestial for basically everything but a DPS race.

[@lzephyrsweet12]

Boons are always 100% covered by your supports and boon DPS so this is just like running another scuffed boon DPS except no alac or Quickness coverage and the potential to mess with tanking.

[@jaajames]

What class/build do you main?

[@Rabidconscience]

He mainly plays heal druid and heal scourge from what I’ve seen

[@karnmattu3586]

He has been playing a lot of untamed I believe he has a video up as well

[@majked]

It's a man of culture, he plays main ranger

[@lancemckenzie1074]

First?

[@ryuurel8018]

Apparently (づ￣ 3￣)づ

[@bastiaanzeeman3922]

I’m wishing you get greater accomplishments in life than this. Have a great day

[@dalebrimhall1071]

Why do you refer to conditions as "dots"?

[@imyuzuki1604]

"Damage Over Time" DOT. It's just a common way to refer to this type of damage

[@MuklukYoutube]

DoT is Damage Over Time. Specifically referring to the conditions that do damage, such as poison, bleeding, burning, torment, confusion, etc

[@UwUOwOTwT]

Not to be that person, but you ran the wrong trap. I can't say how much more damage spike trap brings specifically. Edit: I was wrong! Good day. :)

[@Northernsolstice]

It depends. Some versions use spike trap + the signet that immobilizes and others use the poison trap and the glyph Muk used here. What you don't see in some of these videos is Muk looking through the difference of builds on different sites and picking the one that he thinks is the best fit for him. I don't think it makes a big difference and mostly depends on if you use krait or trapper runes.

[@Rabidconscience]

If you don’t know how much more damage it deals, what makes you so sure spike trap does deal more damage at all? It’s a cc tool after all

[@Rabidconscience]

@@UwUOwOTwT “SC would say run vipers nest if it were a better option” that’s such a self-evidently dumb argument. Something doesn’t become correct just because snowcrows says so. Additionally, snowcrows says in the actual build guide “The highest damaging setup would feature Viper's Nest, Glyph of Alignment and Sharpening Stone due to an undocumented change in the September Balance Patch.” Thirdly “it does 6 stacks of bleeding”. So what? That means literally nothing without a point of comparison. Unless you are claiming vipers nest does 0 damage. Vipers nest gives 6 stacks of poison AND gives a combo field. The vipers nest poison also lasts for more damage ticks than spike trap bleeding. It’s also not irrelevant that vipers nest has more strike damage. :shrug:

[@Northernsolstice]

@@UwUOwOTwT Not sure what to tell ya. I was watching Muk figure out his build on stream and one of the sites had viper nest. He didn't pick it randomly cause he likes snakes.

[@MuklukYoutube]

According to a note on the right side of the snowcrows page for this build: The highest damaging setup would feature Viper's Nest, Glyph of Alignment and Sharpening Stone due to an undocumented change in the September Balance Patch.