What you are trying to accomplish is to gain (you can dodge twice because the duration stacks) while having your axe/torch skills are ready. This way you gain the most from the buff and it flows over nicely when you swap into shortbow.
If you want to interrupt the rotation for (during low pressure fights), you can do it after the initial rotation on axe/torch after 2nd or after + on shortbow.
Remember try to always stand behind or to the side of your target as you will get increase damage from shortbow skills & .
For more information about the trait variant check General Gameplay Tips below.
Precasting 1 : Before starting the fight, you can precast , and/or in .
Precasting 2 : You can go further with precasting by using a Bristleback, go into & use then afterward
swap pet back to Lynx and wait for to be ready. Next you can do Precast 1 (above).
Use the elite skill whenever it’s offcd after their first use, either or (the damage difference isn’t noticeable, its more about the use).
Remember try to always stand behind or to the side of your target as you will get increase damage from shortbow skills & .
Important damaging skills :
Use those skills as they come offcd
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Loop :
Make sure to be in Beastmode with Lynx as your pet
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Weapon swap.
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Weapon swap.
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Weapon swap.
Repeat from step 9
Tips for each encounter - Click on each section below to expand
With 12/12 patch and recent changes in meta, became unwanted trait. Bosses where Condition Druid gets to see the light of day (I tried to be punny...light on your feet, get it?) usually have phases (Sabetha, Slothasor, Samarog, Deimos), and those phases usually limit Druids to do different things.
At Sabetha kiting, at Slothasor/Samarog simply the duration of “burn” phase, and at Deimos overall pressure and small window where your burst actually matters (signet proc).
With all that being said, leaning towards more bursty rotation makes more sense due to the fact that you’re allowed to do mechanics, or simply go into , during mechanics such as breakbars
While this rotation has its benefits, one of the downsides is definitely constant dodging, but it’s also one of the great things about it. It does force every druid to be well aware of their positioning (and possibly predict mechanics). The build does generate more due to & which results in easier access to in low pressure fights (e.g. Sabetha).
This rotation definitely requires some practice because you'll have to pay attention to where you're dropping your .
Do not hesitate to delay your rotation to cast an extra , because this is the reason for . Lack of makes this build much more versatile and it allows you to prioritize buffing members, while still having the same DPS.
Do not forget to include dodges into your rotation. You can quickly dodge as you’re leaving (you get 5 procs out of before it ends), which allows you to interrupt the cast and start to DPS again.
Condition Druid - Nature Magic
Due to recent shifts in team composition (HoT meta, elementalists still being at the top of the food chain), this is the build you’ll most likely use if you’re playing as a Condition Druid.
As previously mentioned, places where you’re allowed to play an offensive build just happen to be Weaver dominant in general (e.g. Gorseval, Sloth, Xera, Samarog, you get the point), so getting an extra damage modifier from Nature Magic (Vigor via ) or (for the sake of uptime), is much more valuable than your own DPS.
If you add the fact that you’ll have to go into at some point even if the boss is not phased, the choice of who gets to take personal DPS traits becomes crystal clear.
Condition Druid - Wilderness Survival
This build is becoming niche pick. Since 1 Druid is the most common thing as far as the team composition goes, you most likely won’t get a chance to play this trait line. In case you’re playing 2 Druids on bosses like Slothasor, Samarog, SH, you should take Wilderness Survival, but be vocal about going into on builds that don’t have higher boon duration, because it might result with occasional Might fall off.
This trait variation has higher generation due to Rugged Growth, and extra endurance regeneration gives you longer burst phases via .
Don’t prioritize pet swapping(for the sake of DPS) over CC-ing whenever it’s needed.
Condition Druid - vs
With recent nerfs to torch skills (and Conditions having less burst in general), simply pulls ahead. It has shorter ramp up time (burst), it has higher sustained damage, better generation, and there’s simply 0 trade-off in comparison to .
It is a worthy mention that players who are transitioning from Condition Soulbeast might find rotation easier, but if you’re new to Druid we recommend you to adapt to as soon as possible.
Power Druid - Marksmanship
With the last couple of patches, Power Druid has been steadily receiving buffs. With nerfs to Condition Druid, Power version became a competitive choice on Samarog which allowed Chronomancers more offensive choice of weapons.
Overall higher Might (via and ) and generation (via ) for slightly lower DPS, is something that should be considered when using this build. Due to the fact that it lacks Weakness, taking Nature Magic or axe main-hand if you have multiple Weavers is mandatory.
Power Druid is played as a 2nd Druid, which leaves encounters like Slothasor, Samarog, and SH as a viable option.
Healing Druid - Speedrunner’s Demise
If you’re expecting to read something smart here, don’t. With ever-increasing DPS difference between the top of the class and Druids, on encounters with high damage aura, you’re forced to play this.
We can be smart and tell you to apply Weakness if you have Weavers present, but ultimately your goal is to keep everyone above 50%(90% if you have Weavers and Holosmiths).
If you’re having issues with sustaining the squad, ask one of your Soulbeasts (if you have one) to take the because it is not affected by the caster’s Healing Power.
If you need more, you can take and use it for => => , which should top most of your squad off. If you’re using this build, you’ll most likely run multiple Spirits (, , ), in which case you should consider taking or .
Tips and Tricks
Positioning is key if you want to be truly beneficial to your team. , from Glyphs, has only a 180 radius. Make sure you are actually on top of your party before popping them.
Use off cd outside of , don’t wait it if the split is about to end.
Don’t waste your cooldowns unless you are on top of the DPS classes.
Always summon before . This way you can deactive manually for the extra burning once times out.
Remember to deactive and before every split.
Flanking will greatly increase your DPS through , so remember to always position yourself well.
Feel free to take if you find that your party members are going down a lot.
Precast before every encounter because saving those precious extra seconds while running to bosses like sabetha is extremely important (ง ͠° ͟ل͜ ͡°)ง. If you’re not a healing Druid.
How does the team composition affect you?
This might be a stressful thing to do for a new player because, next to adapting your own build to different encounters, you should also pay attention to the pets you will be using. There will be instances where your pet choice might wipe your squad, and piss off that 1 000 LIs commander, so let’s sort this out.
One really important thing you should notice is that the Stalker is missing, you can use it whenever you're frequently starved, and if your squad doesn't have Renegades, due to the fact that higher Might uptime is more beneficial than your own DPS.
If you’re running Nature Magic, you can trait and sync up your pet swap with Chronomancer’s , which will result with permanent Fury and you can take extra CC or DPS pet.
Soulbeast Condition
You can precast , and/or before you start the fight, make sure you have active to gain the pet-effect of the skills.
Try to give as many allies stance buffs, they have a 360 radius.
Prioritize your weapon- and utility skills and use and to fill the gaps.
Use and to help you with mechanics, cover distances or evade.
The go to heal skill is because it is the largest heal and it will increase your boon uptime during .
Use to help cleanse conditions when needed.
If you’re team lacks CC, you are finally blessed to have a reason to merge with your beautiful Warthog.
if Immobilize is needed, keep in mind it will be a huge dps loss for your allies not getting .
If you are really struggling with Seeker control you can run instead of . This will become more of a problem if your group has low DPS and will probably be of great use for the final phase of Vale Guardian.
Now that you are the only Druid, you have to use instead of . You should use it on the second Seeker spawn.
You should go to Blue Guardian during the split and you need to save for the split. Check VG’s health so you don’t waste it just as he’s about to split. Use as soon as you engage Blue Guardian so your party will be on 25 stacks of Might instantly.
As soon as the boonstrip happens, use and go into to stack might. Since you have more mobility as a healing Druid, you should weapon swap and use to quickly get to the tile that applies Blue buff during the split. Summon your Spirits in between VG and Blue Guardian during the first and second phase.
If you have Condition classes, summon a bit closer to the Red Guardian, since it’s usually the slowest one during the split.
If your DPS is high enough, you’ll have to outheal only 2 Green procs. Use on the first one, and and for the second one.
Since you will weapon swap right away to summon Spirits and make them tick faster, you won’t be able to apply Weakness, so make sure that you use before your squad charges in.
During the split, use at the start of it, otherwise you won’t have it back up once the whole squad gets back together.
If you were in on Blue Guardian, save for the Green one, and let Dragonhunters heal up with F2 at the end of the split.
Once second phase starts, wait until all of your dps classes are grouped up to go into CA. You can use / Stalker as a filler while you’re waiting.
Repeat the same rotation for the Green procs, only in reverse order because you’re going into right before the first green procs.
If your squad has slightly lower DPS, you should consider taking for the mid orb during the last phase, or let Holosmith use .
Remember you can use Stalker’s F2 SKill - when you have no to top up Might.
Save Black Moa for the Green Vale Guardian’s breakbar.
If you’re outhealing Green AoEs then you need to manage your pets. Your pets will most likely take damage from the Green AoE, so remember to swap them so your pet doesn’t die.
The same thing applies to your Spirits. Although it’s a lot less likely, it is possible if you put them far out of the stack. So try to summon them close to the tanking spot so you can occasionally heal them if needed.
Remember to always move through the stack to the tank when using .
Soulbeast Condition
Take and use it on the first seeker spawn, make sure to be in range to hit all 3 seekers.
Make sure you are assigned to Red during the split phase.
Make sure that you have as the Druid will be taking .
The most imporant thing here is to remember to take Wyvern. Wyvern’s F2 Skill - can hit multiple times depending on hitbox size and positioning. At Gorseval it will hit 3 times, each tick causing 232 break bar damage.
You should aim to deactive your Spirits ~12 seconds before the split phase. You can delay this if the Spirits are close to the first Ghost that you go to during the split. Once the 2nd Ghost is at ~40% you should reuse your Spirits.
You shouldn’t use on the 2nd Ghost if the DPS classes are already preparing for their opening burst on the next phase.
Keep your rotation up even during the splits. Don’t delay your , you should use it after Gorseval envelops himself and after killing the 1st Ghost.
You can use and on the 2nd Ghost. Try to stay between the 2 Ghosts to maximize your DPS, but remember to stay within buff range of your subgroup.
Move into the boss to heal the tank, staying with your subgroup on the opposite side of Gorseval won’t make you a popular person.
IMPORTANT: Your only source of Fury is from so remember to swap pets after the boon strip so your Chronos can share it. This means you should start on Black Moa and swap to Wyvern to proc .
If you have quick CC then you can always drop Black Moa for Tiger
Take instead of only if you’re struggling with survivability during 25% split.
Optimal build for this encounter is Condition Druid, but if your group is getting cleaved too much/doesn’t have enough DPS, you should consider switching to healing Druid.
Activate at the start of the fight, and if your DPS is high enough, you’ll be able to squeeze another one in as Sabetha is coming back from 25% split or slightly before.
Biggest issue in this fight is generation, so if your squad is phasing the boss rather quickly, taking Stalker will end up being beneficial because overall pressure will be non existent until the last phase.
Don’t waste , but if you need more ask your Warrior to step into Flak Shots so you can generate more.
Don’t weapon swap until the split, because it will lower your mobility (if you have a/t) and won’t be able to get as many boons due to the fact that you’ll have to move out faster. Your generation will suffer as well.
As a last resort, you can take Staff on weapon swap and use it during the split to charge up.
If you decide to go Condi Druid, you will need another class to kite. This should ideally be done by a Soulbeast.
You need Tiger here for the extra Fury, this is because your Mesmers should be running Domination/Illusions and therefore share less boons because they don’t have .
Try to watch your party members that are doing cannons, as they will return with very low Might. Try to save either some Glyphs or so you can get them back to 25 stacks of Might quickly.
Soulbeast Condition
Make use of if possible when targeted by bombs.
Use to cover distance and possibly gain more quickness.
When flanking make sure you don’t get her Flamewall pointing in the wrong direction.
Cannons
Don’t waste too much time or too many skills on the cannons. Apply enough conditions and let the conditions deal with them on your way back.
Kiter
Here you should play Shortbow/Shortbow and take instead of and instead of .
Get within melee range while she does her Flamewall or right after the flack shot to get some boons, make sure to get distance quickly with .
Use your stances and traps when you get in melee range so your party will gain the benefits of the stances.
Make sure to kite on the side of the upcoming cannon spawn.
Try to be the first target of the Bandit Sapper making you receive the special action skill to launch teammates.
As kiter you should kick the Heavy Bombs.
Make sure to be on shortbow when you are at range of the boss, adjust your rotation accordingly.
If you’re a solo Druid, you should run Condition Nature Magic and take for uptime, and with or .
If your Chronomancers are coordinated, you won’t need , but you’ll have to manage your pets properly.
Precast and make your pet attack right away, so you can go into and pet swap(Fury) as your Chronomancer goes into .
Your only source of Fury is coming from pet swap, so try to position yourself properly and cleave the Evolved Slublings. Don’t hesitate to interrupt them if you can predict Boon Corrupt.
Given the fact that this is a fairly short fight which applies more pressure as the fight goes on, it is of extreme importance to delay until 60%, since you’ll be able to get it off only once during the fight, and uptime will end up being lower if DPS classes are not able to cleave. As a result, you’ll go into off cooldown, and you have freedom to camp it due to .
If you double Druid due to the volume of CC required. You need to decide with the other Druid which one of you takes and which takes .
As double Druid try not to waste your if your party already has 25 stacks of Might, of course use it if your party needs the healing.
Might should not be a problem here, so you can run the classic Condi Druid build with Wilderness Survival instead of Nature Magic. Take; , and .
Keep an eye on Weakness after each CC phase as conditions are removed, otherwise your Weavers will not benefit from .
Fury uptime will be a problem in the subgroup without the Warrior. This means that Druid will have to take Tiger, assuming you are both Condi. If you are playing Harriers/Healing Druid, you have access to Fury via and you should disregard the previous part.
Open friend list, roleplay, enjoy life, question yourself, wonder why are you doing this, do it again next week, get depressed, forget about it, get happy, celebrate xmas, get some hoes, get drunk, fall asleep on the street, get mistaken for a homeless dude (not because you’re on the street, but because you’re a fucking dungeon dweller), get arrested, meet Jack, he’s been in prison 3 times already and it wasn’t his fault, it’s the system, get back home, finish trio, proceed to switch to GF Druid for Matthias and contemplate life existence once again.
Otherwise:
Take Axe Off-Hand instead of Short Bow for the extra cleave and Vulnerability generation. It is also useful for the extra pulls.
If for some reason you are assigned to deal with the Saboteurs then take 1 CC pet (Black Moa) and Short Bow.
If for some reason you are assigned to deal with the Mortars, take . Position yourself between the 2 far Mortars and use , you can then use your pet CC, Axe Skill 4 () and Short Bow 5 () on the 3rd Mortar.
Watch Keep Construct’s HP and don’t go into if he is about to phase. You will need to go into as soon as the burst phase begins so you can give your whole party 25 stacks of Might.
Make sure that your pets are on "Passive" if you’re pushing the orbs.
If you’re doing 1 orb , your job is not to push the orbs as the Mesmers will cover that.
If you’re doing mid strategy, then you should deactive your Spirits once the Illusions start attacking you.
If you’re tanking Keep Construct on the side, deactive your Spirits once the 2nd Illusion gets into melee range.
With permanent Alacrity, you should be able to have up for every burn phase, given the fact that you instantly deactivate as the burn phase is about to end. If you’re lacking some, use it for the 1st and 3rd phase.
Consider taking if your DPS professions have low uptime.
instead of if your group is taking too much damage.
If you play Condition Druid:
If Weavers are blasting you can take Jacaranda, otherwise try to sync up pet swap with Chronomancer’s .
Use Spirits on the 1st island and deactivate them right away. Use glyphs if you have any.
Go into on the 2nd island and activate-deactivate Spirits right away.
Once you’re on the main platform, use all of your Spirits, including .
This part of the fight is slightly tricky, because if you have multiple classes taking , , and would be optimal. Unfortunately, you can easily get double AoE damaging fields from White Mantle Battle Mage, and that can easily snowball into multiple members going into downstate. This is where kicks in, since it’s an additional damage multiplier for Weavers and it prevents this situation from happening.
Once Xera phases, deactivate all the Spirits ( should be already on cooldown if you want to have it up for the 2nd phase).
If your Chronomancers are sharing Alacrity during the Shard phase, you will get back up around ~40% (or even at the start of the phase if multiple members don’t have a gliding bug).
If you play Heal Druid:
Remember to use and insta deactivate your Spirits on the 2nd platform.
As you are taking 5 Spirits, there is no reason to run so you can take instead.
on kiters, but be careful not to cover the rest of the squad with it, since someone else might get prioritized (depending on the squad setup).
Due to heavy movement of this boss and constant camping, your pet will most likely have higher DPS than you, use Jacaranda for “high” numbers.
If your party has high DPS and you are going to skip Greens, then delay the use of until the 3rd Green . This way you provide Stability to your group and they can move around unhindered.
Here you should run double Druid due to the volume of CC required. You need to decide with the other Druid which one of you takes and which takes .
Try to be on Short Bow if you know that the CC phase is about to happen for the extra CC from .
If you are still struggling with CC, then you can go into and use .
Don’t go into if there is only 3-4% left before the CC phase. This is because you will waste and won’t have it up to buff your DPS classes after the CC phase when they restart their bursts.
Might should not be a problem here, so you can run the classic Condi Druid build with Wilderness Survival instead of Nature Magic. Take; , and .
Remember to deactive your Spirits 5-6% before the split phases at 66% and 33%. If you want, you can deactive them at 70% during the CC phase.
You can take here if you are struggling to keep Rigom underneath Samarog during the split phases.
Remember that also gives Immobilize if you are flanking.
instead of if your group is taking too much damage.
Try to sync up pet swap with Chronomancer’s / or take Tiger.
Play Staff on weapon swap due to high pressure later on in the fight.
If your squad has decent DPS, you’ll get only 1 off during the fight, so use it once you come back from the 50% split because you’ll skip 25%.
If there are multiple tears stacking up, swap to staff and try to mitigate as much damage as possible (especially during the Signet).
Camp if needed to keep the up during Signet burst.
Don’t forget to put pet on passive mode whenever you come back from the split or make it attack the boss, because Saul will most likely aggro on your pet.
Deactive your Spirits 7-8% before each split phase, or slightly later if your DPS is suffering.
During the 75% port, you should use and then instantly deactivate your Spirits.
For the 50% port, you should use your Spirits and then wait for Saul to merge again after splitting. Soon as he merges, you should deactivate your Spirits.
Most groups now skip the 25% port, so there is no need to deactivate your Spirits. If you do still take the 25% port, then you should use and then instantly deactivate your Spirits.
Soulbeast Condition
Keep in mind that you can use from the side to Immobilize Pride that goes to deimos.
You should be using Healing Druid and Condition Druid.
Take a longbow and on the support version.
Optional: Trait Marksmanship instead of Skirmishing (since you have Nature Magic, you’ll be running ).
Trait Marksmanship instead of Nature Magic (if your sub needs ). In this case, you should take either or (never both, your 3rd utility is ).
Take and on Condition Druid.
Nature Magic vs Wilderness Survival: This purely depends on the other Druid.
If support version decides to trait Marksmanship instead of Nature Magic, you’ll have to take and with Nature Magic.
If support version decides to trait Marksmanship instead of Skirmishing (which assumes that you getting personal DPS out of Wilderness Survival is worth more than in the first subgroup), you’ll have to take and with Wilderness Survival.
3rd utility is (you can replace it with if you’re struggling with Flesh Golem control).
If you don’t have a Holosmith or multiple Dragonhunters present on Dhuum during the fight (or any kind of Vulnerability generation), take instead of . If you have a Druid as a kiter, you can ask him to take one or two Spirits, which allows you to take as well.
Ideally, you’d want to deactivate Spirits ~12 seconds before Boon Strip attack and reposition them as soon as possible. Your squad members might be in different places during the attack, which might cause Dhuum to teleport to one of them so keep this in mind while resummoning the Spirits.
Never summon Spirits on top of the squad, always in between two tanking spots (communicate with your Chronomancer if you’re not sure about the movement).
Do the same for the 2nd Dhuum’s Enforcer, summon them in between 4th and 5th spawn (deactivate ~5 seconds before the 5th Dhuum’s Enforcer spawns), and you can do the same for 6th.
If you’re tanking close to the 6th Dhuum’s Enforcer spot, put them slightly closer to the entrance of the arena, because that will be your 2nd tanking spot.
Delay last before Soul Split attack, or prolong the one before it.
During Soul Split attack, you should instantly swap to Brown Bear and cleanse Torment right away. If your squad naturally gets pushed in arbitrary directions, take traited Healing Spring as well.
You should use into on top of the souls, because everyone’s bound to pass through it, and it will cleanse 10 members via blast and .
If you were able to cleanse Conditions via Bear’s F2, you should use right after the Boon Strip happens to help your team recover and group up as soon as possible.
Try to position yourself in between as many DPS classes as possible during the attack.
You want to start stacking Might during the attack if you see multiple members attacking. If this is not the case, cast and swap to Staff to heal up rest of the squad.
Your job is to predict things that might happen, the major one being Soul Shackle attack during Soul Split attack. Once the mechanic kicks in, you should keep the track of it, because it will sync up with one of Soul Split attacks the longer the fight is. If you know this is about to happen, pre-cast to have ready.
For the last phase, have Spirits ready (including ), and summon them as soon as you get down ( first).
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Status
Raid builds: Builds are up to date. Updating the guides atm. Benchmark page: Benchmarks are up to date. Updating the teamcomps atm.