While most MMORPGs offer a variety of ways to play a character, Guild Wars 2 offers a huge variety of builds for each of its nine classes to appeal to every type of player, and every type of content. There is a wonderfully wide variety of playstyles in this game, which is a large part of why I have an embarrassing number of alts, and I play most of them more regularly than you might think.
With as many options as there are in this game, it can be a bit overwhelming to pick a setup, and not all specs and builds are created equally. Additionally, a lot of the build sites out there list meta builds for groups, but it can be harder to find information on good builds for playing alone. I have spent a lot of time dabbling in a wide variety of builds, and since so many players are returning to the game for Janthir Wilds and/or trying to decide how to use that insta-80, I wanted to share 10 of my favorite easy solo builds!
Below you will see build recommendations and suggested weapon and skill sets, but don’t take any of this as absolute! Little to none of this is meta for any content; I’m going for ease of use and survivability in solo play, so feel free to mess with any of it. Wish your Necromancer had more pets? Add some! Do you really like Dragonhunter but all those spinning swords make you dizzy? Replace them! Getting knocked down a lot? Find your class’s stunbreaks or stability and slot them! That’s generally what I do when I play; I start from a build that some min/maxer put together, then tweak it to my liking.
I also don’t want to get too bogged down in optimal gear calculations. I will discuss gearing – and where you can get ahold of some good stuff with a minimum of gold or trouble – in an upcoming article. The short version: At minimum, get some good exotic weapons and armor with cheap sigils and runes. Power builds should probably use Berserker’s gear and condition builds probably want Viper’s gear. Those are both pure damage sets, so if you’re feeling too squishy, work in some Marauder’s for power and Carrion for condi. Condition gear tends to be expensive, so stat-selectable gear is your friend there. Open world content is generally designed with less-than-ideal builds and gear in mind anyway.
I’m also not going to get into the weeds of rotations and such. This list is supposed to be easy solo builds, and if you need a strict rotation for the build to work correctly, I don’t think it’s easy anymore. There are, of course, ways to play each of these that are more optimal than others, but I think you should be fine with all of them if you just hit buttons in whatever order seems best to you. Rotations are also something that frequently change with balance patches, and I’m hoping to keep this advice general enough that if someone stumbles into this article a year from now, it will still be a decent starting point.
Note that you won’t see any spears on this list, mainly because those are new and I haven’t had time to get a good feel for them yet. And besides, you will need a regular build to get you to the point where you earn the new account-wide spear mastery! I am, however, assuming you have all of the previous content unlocked, including weapon mastery from Secrets of the Obscure which allows any spec to use elite spec weapons, so if you haven’t played in a while, you may have to adjust a bit.
Let’s get to the builds.
Condition Virtuoso (Dagger/Sword – Dagger/Focus)
This has become my go-to “daily driver” build. Mesmer rightly has a reputation for being one of the most complex classes in the game, but Virtuoso is like playing Mesmer on easy mode. The rotation is just so smooth and intuitive, and unlike clones, Virtuoso blades don’t get stuck in random geometry!
Power Virtuoso has also been viable off and on but has historically lagged a bit behind the condition variant, both in terms of damage, and, in my opinion, ease of use and fun. That looks to be changing, however, with the introduction of the new power-focused spear, so maybe don’t count that one out!
Power Reaper (Greatsword – Dagger/Sword)
Many new players are surprised to find out that Necromancer, a light armor class, is one of the tankiest. Not only do Necros have a large health pool, they have loads of skills that steal health from enemies or otherwise regenerate health for the Necro while also dealing damage, and shroud form basically gives them a second health bar. This build is mostly stuck at melee range, which can be a turnoff for some, but the Reaper’s Soul Eater trait means that every time you do a melee attack, you not only deal extra damage, but also heal for a small percentage of all melee damage you deal. The greatsword is a lot of fun, because its spinning 2 skill has no cooldown when your target is below 50% health, which turns you into a whirling vortex of death. Add to that the leeching bolts combo from the field on 4, and Reapers are hard to kill.
Power Necros used to struggle to find a decent secondary weapon set when not on greatsword, but with the recent addition of offhand and mainhand swords in Secrets of the Obscure, the brand-new Spear in Janthir Wilds, as well as some buffs to core weapons like dagger, and there are actually a variety of decent options to experiment with now!
Condi Scourge (Scepter/Torch – Pistol/Torch)
Does the lifesteal-heavy Power Reaper build above sound good, but you just wish it had some range? Condi Scourge is here for you! Not only does it have excellent CC and damage, but it also dumps a bunch of regen and barrier onto you and anyone who happens to be standing near you or your sand shades. This is probably one of the more complex builds on this list (which is, of course, not saying a lot since this is supposed to be a list of easy-to-use builds), what with the extra complication of sand shades and life force, but it’s still a really good solo build even if you’re just pressing random buttons.
Mechanist, Power or Condition (Power: Sword/Shield, Condi: Pistol/Shield)
Let’s be honest, the real draw here is that you get a big green-and-gold robot pet that follows you around and beats the fluff out of anything that gets in your way. The mech also just so happens to be an elite that packs pretty good damage, utility, and has the flexibility to work as a power build or condition.
Mechanist is actually one of the few elite specs that I love to play solo, but I don’t like to play in groups because keeping track of and positioning the mech in a crowd can be frustrating. See, the Mechanist’s gimmick is that its signet abilities take place not around the Engineer but around the AI-piloted Mech, so the placement of your mechanical friend matters. Not to mention the fact that it is easy to lose sight of the mech in the morass of stacked particle effects that accompanies most groups. Shift Signet helps, since it teleports both the Engineer and their mech to a targeted spot, but having to rely on a slot skill to get your other spells to go off in the right spot can be frustrating.
But in solo, I don’t have to worry about other people; if my mech is out of position, it’s easy to spot, and I can always move to it if Shift Signet is on cooldown.
My biggest problem with the meta build for Condition Mechanist specifically is that, in order to get optimal damage output, it (usually, depending on the current balance) requires players to dip into two to three kits and (by extension) to manage cooldowns on those kits that you can’t see. Fortunately, since we don’t care about optimal setups here, I’ve simply replaced the kits with signets for a bit of a DPS loss. That said, swapping Barrier Signet for Grenade Kit on condi or Throw Mine on power would probably be a good addition without adding too much complexity once you’re feeling comfortable with this setup.
You could also replace the shield with an offhand pistol for a small DPS increase if you want, but for soloing I like to have it for extra survivability and CC. Plus, shield is criminally underused, and there are so few good opportunities to show off all of those cool shield skins.
Power Daredevil (Staff – Anything!)
Daredevil is one of those specs that you can min/max a really complex rotation for super high DPS, or you can just press F1 off cooldown and then spam staff 2 and autoattack and do almost as much damage. Mix in Fist Flurry and maybe some of the Daredevil’s signature damage-dealing dodges, and everything around you just kind of melts. Basilisk Venom is also a great CC that gets better if you have other players nearby. Some of the options I picked here could be swapped out for better damage, but when you are playing in solo, survivability is key, so I’ve picked some traits that do self healing as well.
You really don’t need a weapon swap for this build, so you could take something like pistol/pistol for ranged damage (it’s not the best DPS, but unloading both pistols with skill 3 is just fun) or shortbow for some utility, particularly the teleport on skill 5. Just be aware that the autoattack bounces, which can be bad because it may attract unwanted attention from multiple enemies in the area, or it can be great for tagging everything and getting credit for lots of kills in big events (or the Mad King’s Labyrinth at Halloween time).
Power Dragonhunter (Greatsword – Longbow)
Guardians are just generally good for solo play, but the Dragonhunter elite spec is the most straightforward. The greatsword and longbow are also fun weapons that don’t require much by way of finger gymnastics to use. Along with the slot skills here, there is a ton of cleave in this build for dealing with small groups of enemies.
Incidentally, Litany of Wrath is one of my favorite heal skills in the game. If you’re getting low on health, hold back a couple of your big damage abilities, then pop Litany, and for the next six seconds, you will be healed a percentage of the damage you deal. With a big enough burst, you will be back to full health in no time. If that’s on cooldown, remember that your F2 skill is also a decent heal, as well as a leap that breaks CC and can get you out of harm’s way. The Soaring Devastation trait also makes it a respectable damage skill as well.
Power Vindicator (Greatsword – Sword/Sword, Legendary Alliance/Legendary Assassin)
Pro tip: Your enemies can’t hit you if you’ve flung yourself into orbit. And if a decent part of your damage comes from crashing back down to Tyria such that spamming your orbital modified dodge becomes part of your normal damage rotation, you tend to miss a lot of damage. Add to that a block on your Greatsword and a (regular) sword skill that makes you incorporeal for a short time, and you can see how the Vindicator has some serious damage mitigation. And that’s not to mention all the health-stealing Battle Scars traits it can sport. It’s a bit of a bummer that this build is stuck in melee at all times, but your enemies will be whiffing so much, it often won’t matter.
I have greatsword and sword/sword on here, but honestly, it’s probably not worth the trouble to weapon swap; camping greatsword does almost the same damage for less effort. You could also replace the dual swords with a staff, as the Rev’s staff 5 does a ridiculous amount of CC, and staff 3 does a nice block, while 4 does some healing for you and anyone nearby. You could also swap one of your legends out for Legendary Dwarf if you need stability or extra survivability.
Power Herald (Greatsword – Sword/Sword, Legendary Dragon/Legendary Assassin)
Do you like the sound of the above Vindicator build but wish you could generate more boons for yourself and possibly others who may be around you? Herald plays very similarly, minus the whole launching yourself into space thing, with a toolkit of support options that require very little fiddling to keep them going. The Herald’s Legendary Dragon stance has a series of unique Facet skills that can be activated to pulse boons and burn Revenant energy, then consumed for an additional effect. It can be fun to mess around with which ones to leave on for buffs and which ones to pop right away, and if nothing else it is at least nice to have Facet of the Elements for permanent swiftness when mapping (although that was a much bigger deal before mounts came along).
Power Spellbreaker (Hammer – Dagger/Axe)
Ever fought an enemy that kept you constantly CCed or blocked all your big attacks and wished you could get back at them? Well then, you might enjoy the Spellbreaker’s infuriating ability to knock down, knock back, stun, daze, block attacks, and destroy projectiles. Not all of this will serve you as well against big bosses with CC immunity, but against normal open world mobs, the Spellbreaker rarely needs its heal, because everything is dead before it can get a hit in.
Also, you have to love the spinning axe 5 skill wheeeee.
Further reading
Looking for a spec not on this list? Looking for something other than open world PvE? Maybe you’ve come to this article late and want more up-to-date information? In that case, I can recommend a couple of build sites. Hardstuck is a long-standing community with a really slick website that has builds for all types of content. If you’re a fan of any of these builds, look for the ones marked LI, or Low Intensity. They are simplified builds designed for those learning new fights, players with limited mobility, or simply as a way to ease in to understanding a new spec’s mechanics. They also have a selection of Booster Builds, which will let you get the most out of that Celestial gear you get from that insta-80 you get with your deluxe expansion purchase.
Second, Snowcrows. If you hear Snowcrows and think of elite hardmode raid min/maxers, you’re not wrong. I’ve literally heard people in this game use “Snowcrowsing” as a verb for maximizing DPS. But recently they added an open world build section that’s really good, with a lot of accessible builds that do really well.
Guild Wars 2’s build system is one of my favorites because it has enough flexibility to allow for any class to fill any role and still feel unique, but without so much complexity that throwing together something purely random will make your character complete garbage. And even if you do make a mediocre build, it’s free and easy to respec anywhere.
I hope this guide helps someone enjoy the game in a new way or try out a new spec they haven’t done before. There are certainly more easy-to-use solo builds out there, and if you have something you would like others to see, drop it down in the comments!
Flameseeker Chronicles is one of Massively OP’s longest-running columns, covering the Guild Wars franchise since before there was a Guild Wars 2. Now penned by Tina Lauro and Colin Henry, it arrives on Tuesdays to report everything from GW2 guides and news to opinion pieces and dev diary breakdowns. If there’s a GW2 topic you’d love to see explored, drop ’em a comment!
