Virtuoso - Power GS Signet Virtuoso

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Focused on: Strike damage and Control

Designed for: PvP Conquest

Difficulty:

Easy

Overview

A PvP Virtuoso Power shatter build which combines Virtuoso's inherent sustain with Inspiration and its signets into a GS build that's more durable than its other Mesmer counterparts. Primarily created to roam the map and +1 fights, but the extra survivability allows you to try your luck in some 1v1s too.

Skill Bar

Greatsword

Sword/Pistol

Utility

Skill Variants

Utility

Viable options for the last utility slot:

• Blade Renewal - basically this is a second Distortion, a powerful defensive skill that also restocks all of your blades.

• Signet of Illusions - more passive blade generation and an active that resets the CD of your shatter skills. Could be used both defensively and offensively.

• Mantra of Distraction - makes it easier to utilize the inactivity bonus of Mental Anguish and could be used to instantly shut down important skills.

Elite

• Mass Invisibility - strong defensive option with group utility that could also allow you and your team to ambush enemies from Stealth.

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Equipment

Greatsword

Sigil

Sigil

Sword

Pistol

Sigil

Sigil

Rune

Amulet

Relic

Equipment Variants

Sigils

• Sigil of Cleansing over Sigil of Savagery - extra sustain.

Relics

• Relic of the Defender - better self-healing at the expensive of mobility. Consider picking up Rune of Lynx for a new speed boost.

Usage

Elite specialization basics

• Shatters are replaced by Bladesongs (we're still going to refer to these as shatters).

• Instead of generating clones in combat you now stack Blades and Blades persist even after combat. The maximum count is 5 instead of 3.

• Bladesongs are a bit more clunky than regular shatters. They require you to face the target to activate and have a cast time, therefore cannot be used defensively while stunned (with the exception of Bladeturn Requiem).

General

• Blink is a very simple yet versatile skill allowing you to chase enemies, retreat to the safety of the highghround, break stuns, or get around the map faster.

• Signet of Illusions is perhaps the most versatile skill in the build. While the passive is nice, its best part is the active - refreshing shatters is useful in just about any situation whether you need burst damage, CC or even the sustain of F4-5. Activating the signet itself also grants 1 second of Distortion via Blurred Inscriptions.

• Medic's Feedback adds a significant amount of group utility to the build by creating an anti-projectile bubble whenever you start reviving an ally while also improving your rez speed a little.

Sustain

• For Virtuoso the best defense is a good offense. Bladesongs/Shatters are crucial for sustain.

• Shatter skills grant Aegis from Bladeturn Refrain while blocking an attack procs Duelist's Reversal and Psychic Riposte, applying boons and generating 3 Blades. This is the important part.

• Stocking a Blade heals you from the passive of Signet of the Ether, while using a shatter skills heals you from Restorative Illusions and even removes a condition.

• Try not to use the active of Signet of the Ether unless you're in serious trouble (or need to squeeze out more burst damage from Phantasms to get a kill) as the passive is way too valuable.

• Every Signet skill grants Distortion. Signet of Midnight is your panic button: break stuns, applies Stealth + Distortion and cleanses 5 conditions thanks to Blurred Inscriptions. SoM is the only mass condition cleanse in the build, keep that in mind when facing condition specs. Correcting mistakes or recovering from bursts becomes harder while this is on CD.

• Bladeturn Requiem acts as an instant cleanse and source of Aegis, plus the multiple hits could rip Aegis from enemies and get rid of Blind on you so that your more important skills can connect. Aside from that it doesn't do much, it's by far your weakest shatter.

• If taken Blade Renewal is your time out, protecting you from both direct damage and condition burst while also stocking Blades (and that has further synergy with the Signet heal).

• The build has plenty of ways to deal with conditions:
  • Weapon swapping removes a condition via Sigil of Cleansing.
  • Signet of Midnight is your mass cleanse, removing a total of 5 conditions with Blurred Inscriptions.
  • Mender's Purity removes another one when you use your healing skill.

• Sword's Blurred Frenzy can be used to avoid damage, it's essentially a weaker version of Distortion that roots you in place but has a lower CD. With proper timing this could save you even from unblockable burst chains without having to blow bigger CDs.

Damage

• Bladesong Harmony is your primary burst skill, try to use it with as many Blades stocked as possible.

• Bladeturn Refrain and Duelist's Reversal are the traits that fuel your burst combos. You stock 3 blades and gain powerful boons for a short period of time after dodging or blocking an attack - you should use this window to counterpressure targets with shatters and hard hitting skills.

• The easiest way to hit 5 Blades is to wait for the 2 Phantasmal Berserkers summoned by GS skill #4 to expire and then follow up with a shatter.

• Bladesong Sorrow is more of a filler shatter but can still do respectable damage while also ripping boons from the target via Shattered Concentration.

• Mirror Blade is best used in melee range where the bounces give you Might and their travel time is minimal (and if no allies are in melee the blade might not bounce at all).

• Magic Bullet is the best setup skill in the build, the stun lasts long enough to pull off a shatter + GS combo.

• The main burst skills on Sword/Pistol are Phantasmal Duelist and Illusionary Leap.

• Sometimes you might want to consider using Signet of Midnight offensively: this could instantly cleanse Weakness and Blind from you while providing a small window of invulnerability which allows you to facetank enemy burst and counterpressure them freely. The brief Stealth could even make it harder for enemies to avoid your attacks.
  • It's a risky move unless you can secure a kill or have a backup Distortion or Blink ready in case you get focused.

Related Builds

• Virtuoso - Power Signet Roamer - WvW version of the build.