Really liking the Harbinger. It reminds me of the 55 monks from GW1. Tiny health pool, big sustain. Also the video is really awesome for someone like myself new to Harbinger. The detailed walkthrough of fights showing your reasoning for when/why you use skills is really helpful. Thanks and keep up the good work and have fun!
Very well done video. This is one of the only elite spec I don't have unlocked yet and not only did I get a lot of information regarding playing as one you touched on counters and weaknesses which as a Wvw player I appreciate. Even if I don't make this build I'm walking away with a lot from this video
Super super helpful, love condi necro in any flavour but Harbinger mixes it up so nicely and your guide here is really enlightening to get the most out of it, tyvm!
I loved harbinger as a profession and the machanics, i barely tested tho. I'll give it a go once i gear my old reaper for it. Keep bringing these amazing vids
I still prefer to use blood magic trait line over soul reaping for the WvW Harbinger Build. You eat conditions for life force and it survives wayyyyy better than soul reaping. Great guide either way. Never thought about using flesh wurm at the spawn in pvp map, I gotta do that from now on.
you know what, I love Vallun's captivating and informative GW2 videos, his superior command of the game and excellent advice for years now, but these days I've come to enjoy listening to his raspy voice almost quite as much 😙
I don't know about this one. with good positioning and a bit of finesse the standard condi harbinger build in viper's gear survives pretty well in open world. If you really struggle then you can just take Parasitic Contagion instead of Lingering Curse for even more sustain. This build just essentially sacrifices half of the dps of the normal build (which is off-putting if you're just starting to try out harbinger) in exchange for being sturdier and having a decent WvW setup. I get that that's the idea, but I think that if you want to learn to both PVE and WVW on a harbinger, you're just way better off learning the 2 different builds in the long run, as well as investing in two separate gear sets so you can optimize the sigils and runes. if you're strapped for gold, my advice would be to go for celestial first, but still learn the two different builds. (since celestial harbinger with the standard condi dps build will actually do decent damage and teach you to be more careful with your health, something you might want to get accustomed to.)
that's fine, and you can check the separate build pages listed to see more optimized harbinger builds for each game mode (the PvE one already includes vipers as an alternative), but two sets of gear is two sets of gear, if you're "trying out" harbinger you aren't using two sets of gear. As someone who already is experienced with a class, it's very easy to underestimate the learning process, which is why I try to make it as simple as possible.
@@Vallun Been looking for something simple and get my foot in the nerco class and this helps a lot. Keeping it simple for new players and curious player is nice. I can always change up in the future for more optimized build once getting familiar with the class.
I thank you for your honesty. 9yrs playing necromancer are best. It's really good class. Necromancer will save new players. After 9year playing necromancer is the best class. Ty. Good video ☺️. Please use pet Master.
Its easy AF. Minimal micro managment compared to many other classes. Just pop your elixirs and shoot mobs, on occasion pop into shroud with big burst aoe then pop out and run around mobs peppering them with pistol... rinse repeat. Easy as pie!
I run with death magic trait line though. Getting that 25 carapace that procs constant protection = 33% less damage makes you incredibly tanky combined with 5% heal off your condis. Once i went down that path i never want to go anything else for open world. I also run pistol at all times, only swapping offhand between warhorn and dagger. Dagger is good condi cleanse and warhorn for defiance break. I havent found any need for other weapons. Pistol alone can pop 25 stacks of condis on a mob with 2 button presses which gives you 25 carapace = 500 toughness with basically 100% uptime on protection (as long as you can keep 25 carapace on that is.) I also run full vipers gear, which provides enough health, 23k in my case. Even big hits from mobs can be healed up with relative ease, pop your elixir and just blast mobs with condis and you are full health most of the time. Only problematic thing i have found is the stuns and knockback effects as i seriously lack stability and/or stun breaks! Overall, I find it currently being the easyest spec to run around... very casual friendly in my oppinion. That being said, havent gotten the time to get mechanist to max yet... they say its the most casual friendly spec out there.
Interesting. Don't you find the build squishy against bounty targets? I am running both death and blood magic for sustain with full celestial. Lacking damage severely though
@@yusufismail1311 On the contrary. I find this build quite a bit more tanky than my warrior or guardian and its ALOT easyer to take out many tough mobs with that, where i struggle with melee characters. Allthough, as i mentioned before, it struggles dealing with stuns and knockdowns. If you are facing a mob that does alot of those things it is difficult to keep the condis rolling for sustain. Thing is, you need to constantly apply a lot of condis to keep carapace at 25+ stacks. As long as you can hold them you have permanent 33% damage taken reduction. Also, running around with 20 blight on you will significantly increase your condi damage/healing and ofcource, healing from blight itself helps a lot as well. Viper gear seems to be most optimal with this build as you can just wither mobs down with condi damage by just using 2 skills on your pistol and kiting them around, even the big heavy hitters. Pistol 2+3 skills gives around 25-30 carapace and if you use them on cooldown you shouldnt have much trouble sustaining yourself, given you try to avoid 1 (or 2) shot mechanics. I only use shroud for burst damage/ aoe /defiance break. Its also quite good for kiting dangerous enemies by running around them and just shooting skill 1. I usually just shroud, pop 3 and 4 (5 if needed) shoot 2, pop back out and keep kiting. When opportunity favors me i pop my flasks go to shroud and blast em again. Damage wise, ive gotten ~60 stacks of torment on a mob with burst sequence and it makes quite a lot of damage. Got to pick a right time window though, sometimes i pop shroud, jump in and land on a particularly nasty shit which may or may not kill me. I guess knowledge of various mobs and their skills comes in handy here. In group scenario when you have a healer or someone providing stability/barrier i sometimes find myself not needing to move at all, just face tank and blast. I couldnt really do that with other damage oriented characters that i have.
@@rockmcdwayne1710 I guess I need more practice. The trait that gives carapace stacks on poison doubles down the with grandmaster trait giving you 2 carapace stacks on a poison application instead of one. And there is alot of poison with the elixirs, pistol and shroud 2 with the correct harbinger trait. Have you tried the death magic trait that applies stability on shroud or maybe spectral walk or armor as a stun break?
I found the same, I'd love to take the trait that does burning on shroud 1, but I couldn't get life-force quick enough. I've started running spectral walk and the stability well skill because that give you some condi cleanse and stab/might and 2 stun breaks.
@@StagWithLag yeah, running spectral walk is set in stone in my opinion. You can walk in lava with that skill:D Though in my case, i run 2 elixirs. Combining them with 3rd healing one is only reliable source to get 20 stacks of blight before your burst move. You could rely on elite elixir but the cooldown is too long:S
Vallun, have you tried 'death magic' and 'soul reaping'? You get heaps of toughness, pulsing condi cleanse and protection and upto 30% condi damage reduction with protection. The only thing I've found is you really lack passive heals.
death magic on harbinger is like trying to play a tanky core necro, it's just better done by playing a core necro if you want to be tanky. Harbinger is better at playing to the aggression
Harb Zerg is insanely good. It all comes down to situational awareness, but as a Necro, you should already be used to that. If you want a solid roaming build for Harb, I'd check out Hollts' channel; probably the best Harb, hands down.
hollts don t play harb anymore, since patch, harb is dead in pvp, in wvw it s decent but useless vs lot of class, and pve harb is shit vs all nice specs.. necro is pretty dead except scourge in fractal raids, and reaper in pvp (who is not insane, just pretty good)
Hello Vallun, I'm new to GW2 and I have to say that I enjoy the game and I'm looking for a profession that is able to solo most of the pve content but without that I wouldn't have to constantly change weapons during the fight and therefore not have to do too much micromanagement. I'm a regular player who doesn't have much time to play and just wants to relax once in a while. I watched your videos One build to rule them all and I can't decide which profession to play. thank you for your time
great video, thx for sharing :) i just bought scholar rune 2 hr ago, haven equid yet ! just wanna focus on total DPS output, is the tormenting much better then scholar? (PVE) temporarily excluded contagion effect. btw, which weapon u using that have bird effect flying out ?
Why most time celestial why not trailblazers/dire or berserger/assasin gear builds 🙃 most specs can solo all content berserger stats whit right traits... And trailzblaser woah unkillable pve
well if you prefer WvW then stick with speed, and if you prefer PvE then stick with tormenting, but tormenting works in both well so thats why I chose it
The real problem with GW2 is that regardless of build variety the meta trumps any other creativity or play style. When you mix that with no gear or lateral Skill development you get one boring narrow role to fall into. In a game that totes "no roles" it seems to forget that zero is a number.
with this kind of build, and others u share for new players in all game mode, we have bad players in pvp, wvw and condi harb in pve who hit 6k when they can hit 35 :) that's the reason why u miss some meta event like chak.. 0 dps, no one die, all hit 3k, just useless.. learn meta builds with ur role, dps, heal, tank kiter, alac, quick etc.. and do ur job, playing this doesn t help to me. Share opti builds and learn to noobs how they have to dps, heal, move, support etc.. i think this help more than learning midtier open world build. my opinion :)
1. DPS isn't the only metric of success 2. learning only meta at first deprives you of learning the class which allows you to perform on meta builds or any build of that class, which makes players underperform 3. my content teaches people how to perform on any build, so they can progress 4. enjoy the ratio
Oh im so sorry! I had no idea I was supposed to play the game in a way that isnt fun in the slightest for me but at least its meta, right? Oh god save me! Ive failed an event thatll be there again in just a few hours how saddd :((( Just let people have fun, its an mmo so theres alot to it and theres so much build diversity and its overwhelming for some people (also you dont have to play meta builds to be good) Hey heres an idea, why dont YOU start a channel and try help new players find things they like or host training runs for group content or explain event mechanics in map chat if you see theres alot of noobs.
@@nicholas1173 why playing good build is not fun??? i play best builds for any spec and i m not perma dead, was hard for many class, but now ez with all class, different builds etc... Vallun has great content but i don t like these vids 1build for all game mode and i can just say it, ty honey but ur boyfriend can defend himself. Last thing, i always share builds with new players on map chat, always, and i give THE build he has to play if he wants dps, heal, or quick etc... so yes, just my opinion, sorry
to me, u have to choose THE good build and just change some skills, it s way better to learn class and build for pve end game, and i was happy to know how dps in fractal groups when they kick guys who present themself as dps and can t hit more than 6k so... Learning different builds for pvp, pvp and wvw is way more effective than playing one set of gear lol, and u talk about learning class? Learning class is knowing how playing different situation, gear and builds..
my brother and I have been watching your videos for a long time. You're a great asset to GW2 community. Thank you man
Really liking the Harbinger. It reminds me of the 55 monks from GW1. Tiny health pool, big sustain. Also the video is really awesome for someone like myself new to Harbinger. The detailed walkthrough of fights showing your reasoning for when/why you use skills is really helpful. Thanks and keep up the good work and have fun!
55hp monk was awesome!!
Hey anyone know what the flying birds on the skill are and how to triger them ?:))
there was a 55hp necro build too
@@relaxstation1593 it's the staff he's wielding the name of it is called nevermore
Nevermore is really the best legendary for Harbinger. YOU SHOOT SPIRIT BIRDS FROM YOUR *FISTS*!
Also the name seems apt for a necromancer
Very well done video. This is one of the only elite spec I don't have unlocked yet and not only did I get a lot of information regarding playing as one you touched on counters and weaknesses which as a Wvw player I appreciate. Even if I don't make this build I'm walking away with a lot from this video
Super super helpful, love condi necro in any flavour but Harbinger mixes it up so nicely and your guide here is really enlightening to get the most out of it, tyvm!
I loved harbinger as a profession and the machanics, i barely tested tho. I'll give it a go once i gear my old reaper for it. Keep bringing these amazing vids
I still prefer to use blood magic trait line over soul reaping for the WvW Harbinger Build. You eat conditions for life force and it survives wayyyyy better than soul reaping. Great guide either way. Never thought about using flesh wurm at the spawn in pvp map, I gotta do that from now on.
I was curious about that. Looking into using a necromancer for a bit, and that was my initial thought.
you know what, I love Vallun's captivating and informative GW2 videos, his superior command of the game and excellent advice for years now, but these days I've come to enjoy listening to his raspy voice almost quite as much 😙
Just know that we LOVE THE CONTENT we NEED YOUR VIDS, hope alls well brother KEEP IT UP!!
You explained the rotation very well, thank you!
Dude i waited for this for so long :D Thanks!
I don't know about this one. with good positioning and a bit of finesse the standard condi harbinger build in viper's gear survives pretty well in open world. If you really struggle then you can just take Parasitic Contagion instead of Lingering Curse for even more sustain.
This build just essentially sacrifices half of the dps of the normal build (which is off-putting if you're just starting to try out harbinger) in exchange for being sturdier and having a decent WvW setup. I get that that's the idea, but I think that if you want to learn to both PVE and WVW on a harbinger, you're just way better off learning the 2 different builds in the long run, as well as investing in two separate gear sets so you can optimize the sigils and runes.
if you're strapped for gold, my advice would be to go for celestial first, but still learn the two different builds. (since celestial harbinger with the standard condi dps build will actually do decent damage and teach you to be more careful with your health, something you might want to get accustomed to.)
that's fine, and you can check the separate build pages listed to see more optimized harbinger builds for each game mode (the PvE one already includes vipers as an alternative), but two sets of gear is two sets of gear, if you're "trying out" harbinger you aren't using two sets of gear. As someone who already is experienced with a class, it's very easy to underestimate the learning process, which is why I try to make it as simple as possible.
@@Vallun Been looking for something simple and get my foot in the nerco class and this helps a lot. Keeping it simple for new players and curious player is nice. I can always change up in the future for more optimized build once getting familiar with the class.
noice, literally busy with my pvp legi wings and started to pvp necro. couldn't ask for better timing.
hey i dont understand why you have those flying birds there what are those and how can i trigger them ? thanks
if you still wondering or someone else it's due legendary gen2 staff effect for projectiles
I thank you for your honesty. 9yrs playing necromancer are best. It's really good class. Necromancer will save new players. After 9year playing necromancer is the best class. Ty. Good video ☺️. Please use pet Master.
It looked really really fun, I really want to try it now!
I'll have to rewatch the blight explanation over and over again lol
much appreciated though, it's a fun class but so micromanaging
Its easy AF. Minimal micro managment compared to many other classes.
Just pop your elixirs and shoot mobs, on occasion pop into shroud with big burst aoe then pop out and run around mobs peppering them with pistol... rinse repeat. Easy as pie!
That play at the end fucks ngl
So...is THIS the best necro build for all content or are your scourge or reaper builds the best builds?
im new to the game and seeing your gameplay blows my mind lol
is this build can useable in raids fractals and strikes too ? toughness in celestial set does make any problems ?
I haven't played for that long but personally I think grinding for all ascended is a good thing to shoot for.
I run with death magic trait line though. Getting that 25 carapace that procs constant protection = 33% less damage makes you incredibly tanky combined with 5% heal off your condis. Once i went down that path i never want to go anything else for open world. I also run pistol at all times, only swapping offhand between warhorn and dagger. Dagger is good condi cleanse and warhorn for defiance break. I havent found any need for other weapons. Pistol alone can pop 25 stacks of condis on a mob with 2 button presses which gives you 25 carapace = 500 toughness with basically 100% uptime on protection (as long as you can keep 25 carapace on that is.)
I also run full vipers gear, which provides enough health, 23k in my case. Even big hits from mobs can be healed up with relative ease, pop your elixir and just blast mobs with condis and you are full health most of the time. Only problematic thing i have found is the stuns and knockback effects as i seriously lack stability and/or stun breaks!
Overall, I find it currently being the easyest spec to run around... very casual friendly in my oppinion.
That being said, havent gotten the time to get mechanist to max yet... they say its the most casual friendly spec out there.
Interesting. Don't you find the build squishy against bounty targets? I am running both death and blood magic for sustain with full celestial. Lacking damage severely though
@@yusufismail1311 On the contrary. I find this build quite a bit more tanky than my warrior or guardian and its ALOT easyer to take out many tough mobs with that, where i struggle with melee characters. Allthough, as i mentioned before, it struggles dealing with stuns and knockdowns. If you are facing a mob that does alot of those things it is difficult to keep the condis rolling for sustain. Thing is, you need to constantly apply a lot of condis to keep carapace at 25+ stacks. As long as you can hold them you have permanent 33% damage taken reduction. Also, running around with 20 blight on you will significantly increase your condi damage/healing and ofcource, healing from blight itself helps a lot as well.
Viper gear seems to be most optimal with this build as you can just wither mobs down with condi damage by just using 2 skills on your pistol and kiting them around, even the big heavy hitters. Pistol 2+3 skills gives around 25-30 carapace and if you use them on cooldown you shouldnt have much trouble sustaining yourself, given you try to avoid 1 (or 2) shot mechanics. I only use shroud for burst damage/ aoe /defiance break. Its also quite good for kiting dangerous enemies by running around them and just shooting skill 1.
I usually just shroud, pop 3 and 4 (5 if needed) shoot 2, pop back out and keep kiting. When opportunity favors me i pop my flasks go to shroud and blast em again.
Damage wise, ive gotten ~60 stacks of torment on a mob with burst sequence and it makes quite a lot of damage. Got to pick a right time window though, sometimes i pop shroud, jump in and land on a particularly nasty shit which may or may not kill me. I guess knowledge of various mobs and their skills comes in handy here.
In group scenario when you have a healer or someone providing stability/barrier i sometimes find myself not needing to move at all, just face tank and blast. I couldnt really do that with other damage oriented characters that i have.
@@rockmcdwayne1710 I guess I need more practice. The trait that gives carapace stacks on poison doubles down the with grandmaster trait giving you 2 carapace stacks on a poison application instead of one. And there is alot of poison with the elixirs, pistol and shroud 2 with the correct harbinger trait. Have you tried the death magic trait that applies stability on shroud or maybe spectral walk or armor as a stun break?
I found the same, I'd love to take the trait that does burning on shroud 1, but I couldn't get life-force quick enough. I've started running spectral walk and the stability well skill because that give you some condi cleanse and stab/might and 2 stun breaks.
@@StagWithLag yeah, running spectral walk is set in stone in my opinion. You can walk in lava with that skill:D Though in my case, i run 2 elixirs. Combining them with 3rd healing one is only reliable source to get 20 stacks of blight before your burst move. You could rely on elite elixir but the cooldown is too long:S
wow i was watching and wondering how did u change the aa effect appearance
i really liked the dove and thous lines.. wow please lemme know :3
its legendary effects of quip and nevermore
how do you shoot birds as basic attack in shroud sometimes? is there some different skill effects potion or something? other classes also?
legendary weapons can change projectile animations
Next level title in WvW going to switch to this Harbinger. Need a build to deal with the field spam trash with reflect on. Any ideas?
awesome videos! what is your personal favorite class for pve endgame?
How much DPS can you make using this build on golem?
Can you do the same video for crit build, dagger dagger daredevil thief?
Vallun, have you tried 'death magic' and 'soul reaping'? You get heaps of toughness, pulsing condi cleanse and protection and upto 30% condi damage reduction with protection. The only thing I've found is you really lack passive heals.
death magic on harbinger is like trying to play a tanky core necro, it's just better done by playing a core necro if you want to be tanky. Harbinger is better at playing to the aggression
I've also used death magic for the sustain. But I find I don't have enough damage and miss the 10 minute timers. But without it I die
@@yusufismail1311 I wonder if axe would help channel life force faster and you could spec condi damage gear and lean into the shroud 1 fire damage
What y'all think about full ritualist gear for just openworld?(harbinger, firebrand, other?) Will it work for solo Play?
Mostly yellows btw, im poor
it would be ok
@@Vallun thank you!
Tormenting runes also for wvw roaming Vallun? no more speed?
i like speed better because i roam aggressively and get outnumbered often, but tormenting definitely has more effect in fair fights
is the harbinger best for pvp?
Harb Zerg is insanely good. It all comes down to situational awareness, but as a Necro, you should already be used to that. If you want a solid roaming build for Harb, I'd check out Hollts' channel; probably the best Harb, hands down.
hollts don t play harb anymore, since patch, harb is dead in pvp, in wvw it s decent but useless vs lot of class, and pve harb is shit vs all nice specs.. necro is pretty dead except scourge in fractal raids, and reaper in pvp (who is not insane, just pretty good)
Nice fighting against you in WvW the other day.
Are Nightmare Runes good for this?
they work
How do you keep the screen from turning vomit green on entering shroud?
turn down post processing
@@Vallun didn't know about this. Thanks!
Hello Vallun, I'm new to GW2 and I have to say that I enjoy the game and I'm looking for a profession that is able to solo most of the pve content but without that I wouldn't have to constantly change weapons during the fight and therefore not have to do too much micromanagement. I'm a regular player who doesn't have much time to play and just wants to relax once in a while. I watched your videos One build to rule them all and I can't decide which profession to play. thank you for your time
this one works for that
Thanks! 🙂 i just tried necro is so much fun, can't wait to try this elite spec.
You should try the rune give you barrier per heal to make you immortal
Great video as always @vallum one question u can solo open world bosses with this build?
great video, thx for sharing :)
i just bought scholar rune 2 hr ago,
haven equid yet !
just wanna focus on total DPS output,
is the tormenting much better then scholar? (PVE)
temporarily excluded contagion effect.
btw,
which weapon u using that have bird effect flying out ?
Tormenting used to be sooo OP until they nerfed it to just Regen.
Pew pew pew “finger guns”
my staff is not shooting beams like that. It's saying "Necrotic Grasp".
Why most time celestial why not trailblazers/dire or berserger/assasin gear builds 🙃 most specs can solo all content berserger stats whit right traits... And trailzblaser woah unkillable pve
trailblazer and celestial are similar but celestial is more versatile and therefore more useful in a variety of situations
without the legendaries just way too costy to swap between tormenting and speed, if not get 2 set on celestial gear
well if you prefer WvW then stick with speed, and if you prefer PvE then stick with tormenting, but tormenting works in both well so thats why I chose it
Wht not scourge?
because theres already a vid for that
ah, sorry then, I tried to find it but I guess I am blind. Could you link it?
@@honestbenny in the description of this video, there is a link to a playlist of other "independent builds" its in there with the necro section
@@Vallun You put Scourge in SS tier yet under Harbringer you wrote "The BEST Necromancer Build"
So which one is best? I am only interested in PvE.
@@honestbenny i didnt put anything in any tier list?
The real problem with GW2 is that regardless of build variety the meta trumps any other creativity or play style. When you mix that with no gear or lateral Skill development you get one boring narrow role to fall into. In a game that totes "no roles" it seems to forget that zero is a number.
It looks really hard to use Harbinger
Omg! No thanks. There's no way I can see how many stacks of anything I have during a fight. Sounds like a nightmare.
you wont get away with that strategy in plat EU
you're not making any sense, its easier to be in platinum in EU because of higher population
Gw2 has become a huge ZERO SKILL game with the years... So tragic
with this kind of build, and others u share for new players in all game mode, we have bad players in pvp, wvw and condi harb in pve who hit 6k when they can hit 35 :) that's the reason why u miss some meta event like chak.. 0 dps, no one die, all hit 3k, just useless.. learn meta builds with ur role, dps, heal, tank kiter, alac, quick etc.. and do ur job, playing this doesn t help to me. Share opti builds and learn to noobs how they have to dps, heal, move, support etc.. i think this help more than learning midtier open world build. my opinion :)
1. DPS isn't the only metric of success
2. learning only meta at first deprives you of learning the class which allows you to perform on meta builds or any build of that class, which makes players underperform
3. my content teaches people how to perform on any build, so they can progress
4. enjoy the ratio
Oh im so sorry! I had no idea I was supposed to play the game in a way that isnt fun in the slightest for me but at least its meta, right? Oh god save me! Ive failed an event thatll be there again in just a few hours how saddd :((( Just let people have fun, its an mmo so theres alot to it and theres so much build diversity and its overwhelming for some people (also you dont have to play meta builds to be good) Hey heres an idea, why dont YOU start a channel and try help new players find things they like or host training runs for group content or explain event mechanics in map chat if you see theres alot of noobs.
@@nicholas1173 why playing good build is not fun??? i play best builds for any spec and i m not perma dead, was hard for many class, but now ez with all class, different builds etc... Vallun has great content but i don t like these vids 1build for all game mode and i can just say it, ty honey but ur boyfriend can defend himself. Last thing, i always share builds with new players on map chat, always, and i give THE build he has to play if he wants dps, heal, or quick etc... so yes, just my opinion, sorry
to me, u have to choose THE good build and just change some skills, it s way better to learn class and build for pve end game, and i was happy to know how dps in fractal groups when they kick guys who present themself as dps and can t hit more than 6k so... Learning different builds for pvp, pvp and wvw is way more effective than playing one set of gear lol, and u talk about learning class? Learning class is knowing how playing different situation, gear and builds..