Evoker - Spear Backline

The community gave this build a rating, making it top-tier: Great

Focused on: Strike damage, Utility and Crowd control

Designed for: WvW Zerg

Expansions required:

Difficulty:

Hard

This build was last updated on December 02, 2025 and is up to date for the December 09, 2025 patch.

Overview

A backline zerg WvW DPS build for Elementalist providing damage, CC and field support. Requires a precise usage of skills and positioning to survive.

Skill Bar

Spear

Spear

Utility

Familiar

• Attune to Hare

Variants

Weapons

• Staff

Utilities

• Hare's Agility ⇒ Signet of Fire

Template Code

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Equipment

Head
Marauder

Shoulders
Marauder

Chest
Marauder

Hands
Marauder

Legs
Marauder

Feet
Marauder

Backpiece
Marauder

Accessory
Marauder

Accessory
Marauder

Amulet
Marauder

Ring
Marauder

Ring
Marauder

Spear
Marauder

Sigil

Sigil

Spear
Marauder

Sigil

Sigil

Rune
x6

Infusion
x18

Relic

Equipment Variants

Relics

• Relic of Fireworks

Sigils

• Sigil of Superior Sigil of Fire
• Sigil of Superior Sigil of Frenzy
• Sigil of Superior Sigil of Strength

Usage

Quick Guide

• Spear Evoker is a fully ranged power DPS with both good spike and ground damage
• Use Zap/Lightning Blitz any time it is available
• Prioritize your Fire Attunement and Etching: Volcano/Meteor

Fire Attunement Combo

1. Arcane Echo
2. Etching: Volcano
3. Blazing Barrage
4. Glyph of Storms
5. Seethe
6. Volcano
7. Etching: Volcano
8. Zap/Lightning Blitz
9. Meteor
10. Blazing Barrage
11. Volcano

• Once Fire Attunement is on cooldown use Air Attunement and combo to activate Etching: Derecho while also getting as many casts of Fulgor as possible

Air Attunement Combo

1. Etching: Derecho
2. Fulgor
3. Energize
4. Twister
5. Derecho

• Earth Attunement should be used to fill downtime on Fire Attunement and Air Attunement

Earth Attunement Combo

1. Etching: Haboob
2. Zap/Lightning Blitz (Earthen Spear if unavailable)
3. Harden
4. Fissure
5. Haboob

General

• As soon as you get 25 stacks of Sigil of Superior Sigil of Bloodlust and get out of combat, swap back to the Spear without a stacking sigil
• Spear has Etching skills as the skill 5 in each attunement.
  • You must stay inside the field the etching creates for three skill casts to charge the powerful flip skills.
    • These casts do not need to be weapon skills - your heal, utilities and elite also count
    • You do not need to stay inside the field to cast the flip skill once it is fully charged

Surviving

• This build has low passive defense
• This build has moderate mobility skill access
• This build has low active defenses

Defensive Skill List

• Ripple - Evade + Movement
• Harden - Barrier
• Hare's Agility - - Invulnerability + Stunbreak

Priorities

High

• Burst damage

Moderate

• Damage

Low

• CC

Detailed Explanations

Burst damage

• In Fire Attunement combo:

1. Arcane Echo
2. Etching: Volcano
3. Blazing Barrage
4. Glyph of Storms
5. Seethe
6. Volcano
7. Etching: Volcano
8. Zap/Lightning Blitz
9. Meteor
10. Blazing Barrage
11. Volcano

• The goal of this combo is to efficiently charge Etching: Volcano and stack as much damage as possible at once to generate downstates
• Make sure to only use Etching: Volcano when you can safely stay inside it for the three casts needed to fully charge the skill
• Make sure to use Seethe after all other Spear skills so its effect buffs Volcano
• Glyph of Storms and Meteor can be swapped if you need a faster cast on the first Etching: Volcano
  • Glyph of Storms is used first so its damage will be ticking with the first Volcano and the Meteor hit
• The center radius of Meteor deals an extra 25% damage, so aim carefully and try to hit 5 target in the center every time
• Seethe and Arcane Echo can both be used on Meteor instead of Volcano. This is easier to execute and can be good if your group is ranged spiking or you're just having trouble landing the full combo, but is significantly less overall damage
• If Arcane Echo is on cooldown when Fire Attunement is ready use the following combo instead to trigger Ripple on Etching: Volcano:

Alternate Combo

1. Water Attunement
2. Ripple
3. Fire Attunement
4. Etching: Volcano
5. Blazing Barrage
6. Glyph of Storms (skip if CD)
7. Seethe
8. Volcano
9. Meteor
10. Blazing Barrage

• This will keep your Etching: Volcano cooldown lined up nicely for the next time Arcane Echo is ready

Sustained damage

• Your attunement priority for damage is:

1. Fire Attunement
2. Air Attunement
3. Earth Attunement
4. Water Attunement

• You should normally cast Zap and Lightning Blitz as soon as they are ready
  • Your Etching skills can be charged by Zap and Lightning Blitz, use them to replace casts of less desirable skills when they are available
    • Etching: Volcano with Arcane Echo and Etching: Haboob both benefit from having a familiar skill to charge them, you can delay the cast slightly for this
• Try to start fights with your Familiar fully charged so you can quickly use Zap ⇒ Lightning Blitz
• Rejuvenate, Elemental Procession and if you're confident in surviving Hare's Agility can all be used to charge your Etching: Volcano and Etching: Haboob if you don't have Familiar skills available to cast instead
• Glyph of Storms should be used in Fire Attunement only

Air Attunement

Air Attunement Combo

1. Etching: Derecho
2. Fulgor
3. Twister
4. Energize
5. Derecho

• Fulgor is an incredible damage skill that you should cast as often as possible
• Since attuning to the Hare Familiar reduces your Air Attunement cooldown to 1.5 seconds, you should swap into Air Attunement after using any other Atttunement, cast Fulgor then leave Air Attunement if your other skills aren't ready yet
• Etching: Derecho should be charged whenever possible to enable Derecho
  • Typically you want to use Etching: Derecho as soon as you enter Air Attunement, but if it isn't a good time to spike hold the skill while poking with Fulgor
  • Since this build is already at 95% crit chance, use Energize as one of the casts for Etching: Derecho primarily and don't worry too much about the crit buff - but try to hit Fulgor or Derecho if you can for that extra 5%

Earth Attunement

Earth Attunement Combo

1. Etching: Haboob
2. Earthen Spear
3. Harden
4. Fissure
5. Haboob

• Use Etching: Haboob as soon as you enter Earth Attunement to enable Haboob as soon as possible
  • Avoid using Earthen Spear if possible, instead charge Etching: Haboob with a Familiar skill or one of Rejuvenate, Elemental Procession or Hare's Agility when you can
• Like Meteor, Fissure deals 25% extra damage in the center radius, so aim carefully

Water Attunement

• Water Attunement has limited damage, so avoid entering it except for specific reasons:
• To CC with Undertow on a group spike
• To reposition with Ripple
• Using Ripple to reduce the cooldown of Etching: Volcano
  • Ripple should be used immediately before swapping into Fire Attunement to lower the cooldown of the Etching: Volcano
• If you've entered Water Attunement for one of the primary reasons, Ice Beam is usually worth casting
  • Beam skills like Ice Beam much more consistently hit their target cap if an enemy at the back of the group is targeted
  • Be careful to avoid consuming the Ripple buff with Ice Beam

CC

CC skill List

• Undertow - AoE Stun
• Twister - AoE Pull
• Elemental Procession - AoE Knockdown + Line + Stun

• Use your CC when:
  • Your group calls a spike such as Wells (Well of Corruption)
  • On top of enemy downs (while alive enemies are on top of them)
  • Enemy groups move defensively while your group is pushing
• Only the center radius of Twister applies CC, so aim carefully
• You'll often want to use Elemental Procession in an Etching in Fire Attunement or Earth Attunement to charge it while setting up CC for your spike