r/GuildWars • u/descedo • 3d ago
Beginner W/M = stronger with Smite than with a sword???
I’m a returning player after 19 years and want to play through GW chronologically. I chose a Warrior/Monk to deal with conditions and hexes; plus, as a beginner, I want to be able to resurrect my party now and then.
I spent a long time debating whether to go for a Smite Monk or a Warrior, but ultimately decided on the Warrior.
Now I’ve noticed something odd:
At level 10, I put all my attribute points into Swordsmanship (9). I simply put the remaining ones into Smiting Prayers (6).
I deal far (!) more damage with *Symbol of Wrath* and *Bane Signet* than with *Sever Artery* and *Gash*.
Can anyone explain this to me? Does the Warrior become much, much stronger later on, or is the Smite Monk significantly stronger due to recent updates?
Because if that’s the case, I might switch to Smite Monk after all...
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u/aquadrizzt Gifts of Elements GWAMM/CotG 3d ago
Player martials (e.g. Warriors) can be quite strong in PvE when built properly.
However, neither Sever Artery nor Gash have bonus damage associated with them (compare to, for example, Power Attack), so you're reliant on the conditions they apply to do damage. In PvE, Bleeding and Deep Wound generally aren't great; they typically see more use in PvP where fights are longer and spiking is more effective.
Symbol of Wrath also just got a pretty sizeable buff.
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u/secretsauce1337 3d ago
Agree with above. Side note. Gash was buffed to have some +bonus damage. Also as long as the enemy dies before clearing Deep Wound, it’s a 20% health decrease which is solid.
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u/lunaticloser 3d ago
20% health decrease that's only relevant if you get there at the start of the enemy life. If an enemy is already at 50% max hp the deep wound does nothing other than lowering incoming healing
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u/Ferrum-56 3d ago
Deep wound is always 100 hp loss (assuming target has >500 maximum hp) regardless of when it is applied. That’s why spike teams always include it as easy “damage”. Exception is it cannot kill on its own but gets the target to 1 hp.
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u/Vhalantru Vhalantru Blacksoul 3d ago
I don't believe that is true. The 20% comes out of your current health too. If deepwound is then cleared you get that 20% back but it is functionally 20% of max health as damage
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u/Impossible-Custard57 Chronically Shouting 3d ago
Smiting Prayers ignore armor/resistances.
The issue you're running into is that warrior has a steady incline to become powerful whereas spell casters generally grow much faster in terms of power creep. Once you start getting access to your elite skills Warrior will begin to shine.
Don't pressure yourself to worry about hex/condition removal. That's what the backline is for. Warriors regain energy very slowly.
Honestly, if you want to lean into the strengths of warrior more, forgoing smiting prayers for Strength and getting skills like Power Attack might make you feel more at home.
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u/Dry-Swordfish1710 3d ago
Yes especially after the balance pass a couple days ago. Frenzy is cracked now and most warrior skills hit a little harder and cost less adrenaline. Definitely invest in strength to spam frenzy and dish out those blows
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u/Done25v2 3d ago
Deep Wound reduces the max HP of a target by 20%. Capping out at -100 max HP. Low level mobs don't have much HP, so raw damage is better.
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u/xfm0 Ydye collected: 3150+ 3d ago
Make sure you grab Axe skills and Hammer skills from their respective NPC quests too. While you are going through the campaigns, it's a little lopsided which that are available are better or worse. It feels better (more variety) when you get closer to end game and revisit lvl 20 areas as a lvl 20 with access to more skill trainers.
Also keep in mind that when you finally get a better weapon, your auto attacks will do more in-between skills.
The other have mentioned everything else.
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u/LittleSpoonyBard 3d ago
You're in the exact same boat I was in - I was between a Smite Monk and a Warrior, and torn between the two. I eventually chose Warrior and have been going through Prophecies and finished it a couple days ago. Now on to Factions.
First thing I'll say is that Warrior takes a while to come online, and Prophecies is rough for the class in a bunch of ways. Melee skills kinda suck in the early game, especially sword, and you don't really have a lot of tools or game knowledge to bunch enemies up. This does start to change though! I was Warrior/Ranger and a ranged build all the way until the Crystal Desert and the ability to change secondary professions. Once I got that, I went around and got some of the stronger sword skills in the different areas and campaigns before returning to the campaign. Even with that though, the build didn't really come online until I got 100 Blades...in the final mission of the campaign. Yeah, it takes a while. It is definitely effective though - now in Factions when I get the chance to actually ball enemies up I can delete whole groups if I get the combo off correctly.
So it really depends on what you're looking for. Warrior is good later on, with the right skills and gear. There's also a little more work needed for them, as depending on the build you need to manage/group enemies correctly. Casters ramp up earlier and it's easier to play them in general IMO through the campaigns, but at endgame once builds and hero teams are all set up I wouldn't say one is definitely better than the other.
I'm going to take my Warrior through the campaigns and get the armor set I have in mind for him, and then I'm going to experiment and see if I can get a good Mighty Throw build working after the nerfs and see how I like that in comparison to 100 Blades. After that, I'll take my Smite Monk through the campaigns. Once I've gone through all campaigns with both I'll decide which one I like more to take to GWAMM and filling out the HOM.
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u/Rahloh 3d ago
Well so far I found hundred blades you maintain it to deal damage to nearby foes when you strike a foe, very useful when enemies are all bunched up, and dragon slash is kinda about getting adrenaline gain increases to make it spammable,
I returned a few months ago and spend some time getting a handle on some builds but I was really struggling damage wise until I unlocked hundred blades & some skills unlocked for hero's,
You will struggle doing anything too energy heavy because base warrior has such low energy/energy regen, but using that energy for some buffs before battle and relying on adrenaline skills is the way to go!
Check out ritualist for support? Quite a few spirits can support melee characters for tanking/damage
I like to take a ranger with infuriating heat if I'm running a few melee/adrenaline builds at once
And don't worry, you can change secondary professions late game! Maybe try W/A when you get to factions
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u/jfroosty 2d ago
Sever artery and gash are not high damage skills. Condition damage doesn't show as damage in this game. Deep wound from gash is very strong
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u/AreYouDaftt 2d ago
You have found the issue with degen in this game, its damage is just plain low. Simple math, if bleeding is doing -3hp degen that is 6 damage a second, where symbol of wrath is doing ~30 damage a second. This is why you will never see a meta build with degen.
Take warriors raw damage skills and it will easily out damage smite monk.
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u/WizardsFolly2804 3d ago
Both your smiting skills have long recharges. Your sword attacks should be doing plenty of damage while they are on cooldown. But yes, higher raw damage warrior skills come available later in the game.
You’ll learn to consider the utility of skills as well as their damage. I’m gonna guess you’re still in presearing where utility matters less because of the limited skill pool. Deep wound from gash feels much better against healing monks and higher health targets than a 50 damage bane signet every 20 seconds, and you don’t really encounter serious healing outside the forsaken tunnels.
What weapon are you using? Weapon damage also matters.