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Avatar of War Set Bonus
churchilligc
Member Posts: 175 Bounty Hunter
I wanted to post my thoughts on the Avatar of War set bonus and how it pertains to GWF in its current state as well as how it compares to other (better) damage dealing classes and their set bonuses.
First off, GWF:
Avatar of War - Your encounter powers grant Onslaught. When Onslaught reaches 3 stacks, you gain 1350 Recovery and Power. Onslaught lasts for 4 seconds and is refreshed each time you strike a foe with an Encounter power.
This is our only viable T2 set piece, you can't even wear the other pieces because they are so bad. If you wear the set, you get nothing out of it (aside from the stats) because maintaining Onslaught is detrimental to how GWF plays nearly 100% of the time - not to mention maintaining it being nearly impossible due to server lag and the buff lasting closer to three seconds than four. It's currently more beneficial to wear half of our set pieces and the other half be T1 because at least then we get another 450 crit or 450 recovery. This is our best set, and it's not.
TR:
Master Assassin - Gain 1350 Power for 6 seconds after using a Daily Power.
The worst of the TR set bonuses, mainly due to it occurring after a Daily (as it would be more useful during Lurkers than after)
Sinister Shade - On crit against a target you have combat advantage on, you have a 15% chance to gain 1013 Recovery for 6 seconds.
This is a fairly low proc rate, but TR does crit often and attack often and this buff doesn't require perfect Encounter maintenance to achieve while also lowering your total damage to keep it up.
Swashbuckling Captain - Your powers have a 25% chance to grant 338 Power and Recovery for 6 seconds. This stacks up to 3 times
No maintenance, just attack the mob and stack nearly the same buff as Avatar of War forever due to very high attack speed.
All of these sets have viable, desirable stats. No throwaways, these are all upgrades to T2 sets.
CW:
Shadow Weavers - Striking a foe with a control spell grants your allies near that foe Reckless Abandon which grants 113 Lifesteal for 10 seconds. Striking a foe with a non-control spell grants your allies near that foe Measured Spellcasting which grants 5% Critical Severity for 10 seconds. Allies affected by both receive double the benefits.
This set bonus is currently bugged and grants more than 5% crit damage and in itself isn't as great as some other sets for CW because AP gain is king. It still has Recovery/Crit as main stats, and crit can play an important role in how CW plays.
Magelords - When your encounter powers strike a target who has more than 75% HP, you gain 900 Recovery for 6 seconds.
Correct stats for a good CW, bonus is power for 2p but the 4p is 900 Recovery which helps those delicious cooldowns and AP gain.
High Viziers - Your control powers steal 450 Defense from your target, increasing your Defense by that amount.
Not really that great, though the stats are largely recovery so it is an upgrade. There is a T1 set for CW that is pretty boss though but that's mainly due to how CW should play.
One of these is great, the other is great because of the bug, but the stats are all correct for a CW and one of the set bonuses is boss mode.
DC:
Miracle Healer's - Your Encounter Powers cause your allies to heal for 5% of your total maximum HP
I don't know if there's a better set for a class in the game. The stats are all correct, the 2p bonus is correct, and the 4p is amazing. Too bad it doesn't work. Still, amazing.
Grand Templar's - Your Encounter Powers have a 35% chance to grant you and your allies 450 Power and Critical. 45 Second Cooldown
Stats are a bit off, but that may be my (and guilds) personal preference for a lot of Recovery. I don't know how long the buff lasts (and thus can't determine uptime). If it was long, it wouldn't be bad, but still no match for Miracle Healer's.
Beacon of Faith's - Your healing powers have a 15% chance to grant 900 Recovery and Critical. 45 Second cooldown.
Stats are good on this one as well, but runs into the same problem as above. If the uptime was good, it wouldn't be bad but it still wouldn't compare to Miracle Healer's.
Nothing more needs to be said really. DC has a T2 set that is amazing for it and it doesn't require they do anything but play the game. All of the sets are upgrades.
GF:
Timeless Hero - Your Encounter Powers grant 450 Critical Strike for 6 seconds. This effect stacks up to 3 times.
Grand Regent - You increase your power by 20% of your defense.
High General - When you land critical strikes, you grant all allies +10% Critical Severity for 8 seconds.
I'll just sum GF's up. There is some debate about Timeless Hero and High General being situational and when/where they should be used. They are both good, I like Timeless Hero myself. I'll just point something out though: Neither of them require perfect Encounter maintenance to keep up and since GF DPS build is the only viable one, 1350 crit really bolsters an aspect of GF that you don't really get from gear.
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Why on earth GWF has the worst thought out and most impossible to maintain set bonus of all the classes is beyond my comprehension, but I guess it just sort of fits after BW3.
First off, GWF:
Avatar of War - Your encounter powers grant Onslaught. When Onslaught reaches 3 stacks, you gain 1350 Recovery and Power. Onslaught lasts for 4 seconds and is refreshed each time you strike a foe with an Encounter power.
This is our only viable T2 set piece, you can't even wear the other pieces because they are so bad. If you wear the set, you get nothing out of it (aside from the stats) because maintaining Onslaught is detrimental to how GWF plays nearly 100% of the time - not to mention maintaining it being nearly impossible due to server lag and the buff lasting closer to three seconds than four. It's currently more beneficial to wear half of our set pieces and the other half be T1 because at least then we get another 450 crit or 450 recovery. This is our best set, and it's not.
TR:
Master Assassin - Gain 1350 Power for 6 seconds after using a Daily Power.
The worst of the TR set bonuses, mainly due to it occurring after a Daily (as it would be more useful during Lurkers than after)
Sinister Shade - On crit against a target you have combat advantage on, you have a 15% chance to gain 1013 Recovery for 6 seconds.
This is a fairly low proc rate, but TR does crit often and attack often and this buff doesn't require perfect Encounter maintenance to achieve while also lowering your total damage to keep it up.
Swashbuckling Captain - Your powers have a 25% chance to grant 338 Power and Recovery for 6 seconds. This stacks up to 3 times
No maintenance, just attack the mob and stack nearly the same buff as Avatar of War forever due to very high attack speed.
All of these sets have viable, desirable stats. No throwaways, these are all upgrades to T2 sets.
CW:
Shadow Weavers - Striking a foe with a control spell grants your allies near that foe Reckless Abandon which grants 113 Lifesteal for 10 seconds. Striking a foe with a non-control spell grants your allies near that foe Measured Spellcasting which grants 5% Critical Severity for 10 seconds. Allies affected by both receive double the benefits.
This set bonus is currently bugged and grants more than 5% crit damage and in itself isn't as great as some other sets for CW because AP gain is king. It still has Recovery/Crit as main stats, and crit can play an important role in how CW plays.
Magelords - When your encounter powers strike a target who has more than 75% HP, you gain 900 Recovery for 6 seconds.
Correct stats for a good CW, bonus is power for 2p but the 4p is 900 Recovery which helps those delicious cooldowns and AP gain.
High Viziers - Your control powers steal 450 Defense from your target, increasing your Defense by that amount.
Not really that great, though the stats are largely recovery so it is an upgrade. There is a T1 set for CW that is pretty boss though but that's mainly due to how CW should play.
One of these is great, the other is great because of the bug, but the stats are all correct for a CW and one of the set bonuses is boss mode.
DC:
Miracle Healer's - Your Encounter Powers cause your allies to heal for 5% of your total maximum HP
I don't know if there's a better set for a class in the game. The stats are all correct, the 2p bonus is correct, and the 4p is amazing. Too bad it doesn't work. Still, amazing.
Grand Templar's - Your Encounter Powers have a 35% chance to grant you and your allies 450 Power and Critical. 45 Second Cooldown
Stats are a bit off, but that may be my (and guilds) personal preference for a lot of Recovery. I don't know how long the buff lasts (and thus can't determine uptime). If it was long, it wouldn't be bad, but still no match for Miracle Healer's.
Beacon of Faith's - Your healing powers have a 15% chance to grant 900 Recovery and Critical. 45 Second cooldown.
Stats are good on this one as well, but runs into the same problem as above. If the uptime was good, it wouldn't be bad but it still wouldn't compare to Miracle Healer's.
Nothing more needs to be said really. DC has a T2 set that is amazing for it and it doesn't require they do anything but play the game. All of the sets are upgrades.
GF:
Timeless Hero - Your Encounter Powers grant 450 Critical Strike for 6 seconds. This effect stacks up to 3 times.
Grand Regent - You increase your power by 20% of your defense.
High General - When you land critical strikes, you grant all allies +10% Critical Severity for 8 seconds.
I'll just sum GF's up. There is some debate about Timeless Hero and High General being situational and when/where they should be used. They are both good, I like Timeless Hero myself. I'll just point something out though: Neither of them require perfect Encounter maintenance to keep up and since GF DPS build is the only viable one, 1350 crit really bolsters an aspect of GF that you don't really get from gear.
---
Why on earth GWF has the worst thought out and most impossible to maintain set bonus of all the classes is beyond my comprehension, but I guess it just sort of fits after BW3.
Post edited by churchilligc on
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Comments
tl;dr
qq GWF reroll TR
The set bonus is pretty good.
Completed all content waiting for more.
And class balances.... trololollol.
If you are implying that you get some kind of bonus from Onslaught without 3 stacks, then you are incorrect. As soon as you fail to use an Encounter (again, in closer to 3s than 4s) you lose the 3 stacks and with it the 1350 R/P.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ_eAvSh7Rs
How does this play into GWF's strength of using At-Wills during Unstoppable?
Roar 3 of them. Immediately proc. Cast unstoppable/ slam 1x, WMS 1x, sprint cancel animation, cast IBS refresh onslaught again, cancel with sprint again, cast WMS again, sprint cancel again, cast flourish, sure strike. And if they havent die. Ur roar will be at cd with 2-3 sec meaning u can repeat ur onslaught again provided u still have 3 mob up. If not u will only get it at IBS or flourish.
Further, in order to keep it up I have to maintain a perfect Encounter rotation under an ideal situation of enemies present (not always the case or the method of clearing) while other classes just have to do what they always do. If GWF is meant to deal damage through Encounters, then it's even more ****ed than we thought.
Not worth the hassle. I've just switched to using 2/4 2/4 Vigilant/Avatar set. 100% up time on 450 recovery is better than breaking my keyboard for hours at a time. Hopefully they switch it;s proc method over to the Swashbuckler set which is off of At-Wills.