DPS Herald is a strong part of the WvW Zerg, able to deal high damage at range, as well as perform extremely well in melee range. It additionally provides important boons and some utility to the group.
Build Fundamentals
Revenant doesn’t have utility skills like the other classes, your heal/utility/elite skills are all determined based on two stances that you pick. You may swap between these stances every 10s, similar to weapon swapping, but it doesn’t replace your weapon swap. These stance skills provide strong utility and damage options for the DPS Herald, namely
Revenant also differs from other classes by relying on energy (different from your dodge endurance) in order to cast both weapon and stance skills.
You will be one of the best sources of damage for your group, consistently keeping up pressure at range with your
Build Priorities
- Keep consistent pressure at range, and provide strong melee cleave when in range
- Consistently provide
by keeping your Facet of Darkness activated whenever inLegendary Dragon Stance - Buff allies on pushes with
Rite of the Great Dwarf
Energy Management
Energy is the profession mechanic of Revenant, and good energy management is integral to playing any revenant build well. Energy is locked in place at 50 while out of combat, but will regenerate up to 100 while in combat. Your energy will be set to 50 whenever you stance swap, whether you are above 50 or below it before swapping.
You also have 10 “pips” on revenant, which indicate energy drain, or energy regeneration. Some skills drain your energy over time instead of costing energy upfront, and this will be indicated through these “pips”.
Hammer
Hammer will be your main source of damage/pressure especially at larger numbers, as melee engages will tend to be less frequent. Use
Be careful when using
Coalescence of Ruin won’t go off if you change the direction your character is moving too much – practice with it to make sure you aren’t canceling the castHammer Bolt is great to fill the gaps between cooldowns, use it in the middle of the enemy stack as it will hit multiple players- Use
Drop the Hammer onWinds of Disenchantment andWell of Corruption spikes to catch enemy players - Use hammer skills when entering melee range before weapon swapping
Legendary Dragon Stance
Overall, try to keep at least a couple of these skills activated in order to gain more damage from
Legendary Dwarf Stance
Dwarf stance has one of the best group defensive utilities with
- Use
Inspiring Reinforcement often – this deals large amounts of damage, as well as granting allies - Use
Forced Engagement on targets in winds/well spikes to catch players Vengeful Hammers can be a strong source of damage when used properly – note that it is an upkeep skill and will drain your energy while upkept- Use it while in melee range on top of enemy players for strong melee cleave. Note that the damage is unblockable.
- Activate it while charging through enemy groups for damage reduction and movement speed from
Rising Momentum
General Tips
Exhaust most of your damage skills while in
Keep in mind that swapping legends will not cancel any skills, so if you begin casting a skill in one stance, use the energy in that stance, and then stance swap, your skill will still go off. While at range and in hammer, you should try to stance swap constantly. A good rule of thumb is to stay in Dwarf for about 12s total before swapping into
If you are using Sword/Sword be careful about using
Alternatives
Staff over Sword/Sword is a more defensive option at the cost of some melee cleave. It also brings a strong knockback in the form of
Marauder gear can replace Berserker gear for extra survivability, and is generally recommended for newer players. Make sure not to go over the critical strike cap (100%) when adding Marauder gear.