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Some bosses in Guild Wars 2 raids are much more effectively fought with condition damage than with power. One particularly easy condi-dps build is the Easy Condi Soulbeast. You merge with your pet companion and inflict powerful conditions on enemies. The equipment for condi-builds is somewhat more expensive than that for power-based builds. However, this guide describes a version that you can equip for around 90 gold. If you don't have enough gold you can use other builds to get the gold or the right equipment and then proceed with this build.
The Easy-Condi-Soulbeast is a condition damage DPS build for raids. This means the goal of this build is to deal large amounts of damage to your opponent. The DPS role is good for beginners, as it has little responsibility in the raid and few special roles to take on. You can focus on doing damage and learning the boss mechanics.
The build does not have the highest maximum value with a realistic benchmark of 34,987 damage per second (DPS). However, is easy to learn and very good for enemies that are prone to conditions.
Especially good for:
The best thing about the Easy-Condi-Soulbeast is that you can save a bit on equipment costs without sacrificing much performance.
Armor
In the first step you organize an (at least) exotic medium armor with Viper's stats (power, precision, condition damage, expertise). This can be bought for about 71 gold at the trading post.
After that you should buy armor runes. Superior Rune of the Krait are ideal. However, they are expensive. Therefore, for a little less damage and a lot less cost, you can buy Superior Rune of the Afflicted (all six runes of the Afflicted together cost only 25% of one Superior Rune of the Krait. You do lose a little maximum damage though). You need 6 runes of one kind (mixing runes generally gives worse bonus effects). You then place one of the runes in each of your new armor pieces.
Weapons
You can get the right weapon, a short bow with Viper's stats, for around 9 gold at the trading post.
After that you need weapons sigils.
Place the sigils in the upgrade slots of your new short bow.
Jewelry
Jewelry has the greatest potential for savings. Buying the jewelry regularly costs about 30 gold. If you collect a few materials from Living World Seasons 3, 4 and Icebrood Saga you can not only save the entire gold, but even get ascended (and thus better) jewelry.
For a complete equipment you need: 2x accessory, 2x ring, 1x amulet and 1x back piece. In contrast to the runes you can mix freely here (e.g. 2 ascended and 4 exotic pieces).
IMPORTANT: Ascended trinkets are "Unique". This means you can only equip one piece of jewelry with the same name at a time. So make sure you buy two different ascended rings and two different ascended accessories.
There are many different ways to get other ascended pieces.For example, if you don't have enough Fresh Winterberry or Unbound Magic for Black Ice Earring, you can get another accessory for 375x Eternal Ice Shard + 56,000x Karma. It's best to find out which trinkets are best for you to obtain.
Buff Food
You can play this build completely without buff food. However, your damage will increase by using food.
It's best to take food with +100 expertise and +70 condition damage:
In addition to food, there are supply effects (also called wrenches because of the symbol). You can always have one food effect and one supply effect at the same time.
The most suitable supply effects are the following:
Traits
Skirmishing
You get swiftness when you change your weapon in battle. Since you play only one weapon, it doesn't matter for you.
You have a 33% chance to cause 3 seconds of bleeding when you critically hit an enemy.
You get fury when you change your weapon in battle. Since you only play one weapon, this doesn't matter to you.
Bleeding caused by you does 33% more damage.
You deal 10% more damage to enemies and have a 10% higher chance of critical hits when you stand behind or to the side of them. You want to always stand behind your opponent during combat to get this bonus.
Your short bow skills recharge 20% faster, pierce your enemies, and cause stronger conditions when you attack from behind or the side. After you dodge, you deal 10% more damage for 4 seconds and your conditions last 10% longer.
Beastmastery
As long as you are fused with your pet, you gain +150 Power, +150 Condition Damage, +150 Precision, +150 Toughness, and +150 Vitality.
Command skills ("We Heal As One!" (Heal 6) and "Sic 'Em!" (Utility 8)) recharge 20% faster and give you and your allies additional regeneration and swiftness.
As long as you are fused to your pet and have more than 90% health, you deal 10% more damage.
You fuse with your pet 20% faster.
As long as you are fused with your pet, you will receive some healing every 3 seconds.
As long as you are fused with your pet, you gain +300 ferocity and move 30% faster.
Your F3 skill also inflicts Provoke. This corresponds to a breakbar damage of 150.
Soulbeast
You can merge with your pet and use stances. You can no longer change your pet in battle.
When you use your F3 skill, you gain 6 seconds of fury and 3 seconds of quickness.
You deal 7% more power damage as long as you have fury.
When you poison an enemy, you also drain some of their life.
After a successful CC, you deal 10% more damage and 10% more condition damage for 10 seconds.
Your stances last 50% longer. For one third of the duration, allies also receive the effect of your stance. This trait is often called "stance share" by players.
Skills
Your Auto-Attack inflicts bleeding on the target. 1.5 seconds if hit from the front or 3 seconds if hit from behind or the side. So you should stand behind your target if possible to cause more damage.
This attack hits up to 5 targets in a fan shape. And inflicts poison with each hit. 4 seconds if hit from the front, or 6 seconds if hit from behind or the side. If you are fighting only one enemy, you should stand as close as possible behind your target, so that all 5 arrows hit your target from behind and you produce the maximum amount of poison.
An attack that deals moderate damage and no conditions, but flings you backwards a bit. Since you do more damage with Poison Volley (Short Bow 2) when you are very close to your opponent, you lose damage when you fling yourself away and have to get closer again. However, you can use this skill as an additional dodge with some practice.
An attack that cripples and additionally immobilizes your target if you hit your target from behind or the side. And thereby inflicts 135 breakbar damage over a period of 4 seconds.
Also, after a successful hit, your next three attacks inflict bleeding.
An attack that leaves your opponent dazed. And also stuns if you hit him from behind or from the side. And therefore causes up to 400 breakbar damage.
Also, each hit triggers the "Twice as Vicious" trait, allowing you to maintain the 10% more damage and condition damage all the time.
Heals you and doubles your boons (depending on the boon in duration or intensity).
You are in the vulture stance for 6 seconds. As long as you are in the stance, the first hit within a 0.25 second interval inflicts additional poison and gives you might.
You can have multiple stances at the same time. So you don't have to wait until the vulture stance expires before activating other stances.
When merged with your pet, you receive 40% increased damage for 10 seconds.
Within the next 30 seconds, your next 10 attacks inflict an additional 8 seconds of bleeding.
You are in the "One Wolf Pack" stance for 8 seconds. As long as you are in the stance, the first hit within a 0.25 second interval has double the effect.
You can have multiple stances at the same time. So you don't have to wait until the Vulture Stance expires before activating other stances.
The Juvenile Lynx can be tamed near the Snowdrift Haven Waypoint [&BLkAAAA=]:
Attack that inflicts moderate damage, but no conditions, and therefore is not used in the DPS rotation.
This attack hits your opponent twice. Each hit inflicts 2 stacks of bleeding.
This attack hits your opponent three times. Each hit inflicts 1 stack of bleeding and 3 stacks of vulnerability.
Activate the beastmode before the start of the fight, so that you can merge with your pet and benefit from the combined strength.
If you leave beastmode (e.g. due to being downed), try to merge with your pet as soon as possible.
The most important thing about any Guild Wars 2 build is the rotation. You can have the perfect gear and carry the right skills, if you don't master the rotation, a player with worse gear and better rotation will always do more damage/DPS than you.
Most build guides for Guild Wars 2 on the internet are created by speedrun guilds and are designed for players who want to get maximum damage through lots of practice. However, the raids can also be defeated with significantly less damage. Also, not every player has time or desire to practice the rotation for several hours a week. To play a rotation to perfection, hours of practice are unfortunately necessary. However, if you understand the rotation well, just a few hours of practice are enough to play the class well enough for relaxed raids and beginner raids.
Basic concepts
This build is based on boosting your damage first and then quickly adding many conditions.
It is important that you are always in Beastmode (F5), as this is your biggest boost.
The second important boost is your positioning. You inflict much more conditions and thus damage when you stand behind or to the side of an opponent. To make sure you have this effect for as long as possible, even if the opponent turns, you should always try to stand behind your opponent and move with them. There will be some bosses where this will unfortunately not be possible. There you will have to live with the reduced damage.
As boosting skills you use:
Once you have boosted yourself you want to use your best condition damage skills possible:
If you can't buff right now, nor do you have one of the powerful condition damage skills available, you do Auto-Attacks, which are also good at dealing conditions.
Ideal rotation
The ideal rotation consists of an opener that deals high damage at the beginning and arranges the skills in the correct cooldown order. After that, auto attack until one of the skills used in the opener is available again. Then use all available opener skills and wait again with Auto-Attacks.
Opener
Loop: