Mega-post time!
A while ago I made a post on
how to quickly identify and interpret items which can help you when hunting for the perfect gear.
In continuing my series of explaining the cool things about their game that ArenaNet constantly obfuscates or leaves indirectly explained (intentionally or not
), I wanted to illustrate why and in some sense how you would put together multiple exotic sets, keeping them all in your inventory to swap between at will.
Theoretically you could have all of them look identical, if your one look is that important to you, or you can use it an an opportunity to have multiple themed sets for different purposes.
Putting Together Your Exotic Armor Sets
Unlike many RPGs, every aspect of an armor set in GW2 is completely unrelated and interchangeable (stats, looks, effects). Many games have the "set bonus" thing going on, but the fact that you can get any set bonus on any set in the game and have it look however you want is really compelling to me. For those that don't know- having 6 Superior Runes of the Whatever, one in every armor slot, enables all 6 of the rune bonuses.
Many of them are boring- kind of standard stat bonus fare. But some of them are really quite interesting and fun. The Lyssa rune removes all conditions and gives you all boons when you use your elite skill. The Ogre rune, which has a somewhat uninspired 4% damage boost on the 6, allows you to summon rock dogs with the 4. The Centaur rune, which I absolutely require for my Mesmer's overworld set, gives you a speed boost when you use your healing skill.
During the Lost Shores event I put together my Eagle set finally. I now have three sets as I always wanted to, one each for each of the three roles a class can assume at any given time (the new trinity, I guess, though it can occur within classes now as well).
What Do You Have Multiple Exotic Sets For?
They play pretty differently. They're all thieves, of course, and you can't retrait at will from anywhere just yet (templates were eventually added to gw1, though), but you can get a lot of variety switching up trait slots and using different effects. The Mad King set is the most fun, honestly. I made it during Halloween, obviously, but the build is great if your party doesn't have an elementalist or engineer, and needs conditions on lots of stuff. It's fun to spam the rune effect every 45 seconds with Basilisk Venom, and worth it even though it's currently a bit bugged- the venom effect doesn't always apply. Still a blast. Very kinetic, moving all over the battlefield with stealth even more than usual.
As a Golemancer I have over 16k health and boosted toughness, which while still thiefy-squishy, allows me to avoid getting one-shot by certain moves in EXP dungeons I'd otherwise be very susceptible to. The two golems very much complement each other, and they're both big, bulky, high-HP aggro targets with their own CC moves. The Defensive one has a condition removal field and the red one hits hard. I'll usually wait til the rune golem procs to bring out the elite. Then the major piece of this build is the Shortbow. Thieves have the opportunity to play a unique support role because of Cluster Bomb. Best blast finisher in the game, and if your party sets its dynamics up right, it can completely change a lot of very tough runs. One or more guardians with some combination of Purging Flames/Hallowed Ground will enable the group to get quite close to 25 stacks of might for a long time in almost any fight. Plus area healing, chaos armor, fire/frost, AOE weakness, and even stealth as needed. It's a lot of fun.
Then there's the Assassin build of course. Lots of backstabs and heartseeking. Waiting for the 50% mark for the executioner trait to kick in makes every boss fight feel like two separate encounters, which keeps the longer HP bouts a little more interesting. Even without fury, at least 1 out of every 2 hits with any weapon in this build is a critical. A full spike starting at full initiative (trait that adds dmg % per initiative, yum) when the opponent is below 25% health is quite an enjoyable thing.
I can switch up based on the needs of my party, the needs of the situation, and just for fun.
How Can I Put Together My Set(s)?
Like I said, there are 3 components for you to consider:
-Rune
-Stats (distribution)
-Appearance (skins)
Personally, I'd look around and decide on the rune you want first. They are acquired in different ways, and to some varying degree you'll be basing your build around the rune you choose.
Some runes can be bought outright on the TP (the vast majority). These are typically crafted, so if you have the right profession, you might be able to get one cheaper than buying it depending on mats.
Each dungeon also has a unique rune that can only be acquired by completing this dungeon. Yes, this is something that affects gameplay that you have to do dungeon runs for if you want them, so it's a perfectly valid criticism if you want to level that one against ArenaNet, since there's no other way to get the effects. I'll be frank though: most of them suck quite a lot. There are a few exceptions, but most have undesired effects.
Finally, you can salvage superior runes out of Exotics containing them (or just buy the Exotic piece you want with the rune already in it, if up on the TP). With a Black Lion kit you have a 100% chance to get them out. Search for Exotic armor pieces just on the off chance someone is selling the perfect one for you.
To get the stats you want, you need to acquire the right exotic pieces. The easiest way is to just save up the gold to buy it on the TP with the distribution you want. Hint: don't limit yourself to only level 80 items. The savings you get from a level 78 piece are pretty damn substantial and the stat difference comparatively negligible. Plus, you wouldn't need to use a fine transmutation stone. You can always replace the piece when you're rich one day.
Dungeon gear has a variety stat distributions you can seek out and work toward as well:
From the dulfy
Finally, the Karma sets in Orr have a unique look and some unique stat distributions as well, which is sometimes overlooked:
More Dulfiness
Pick the stat distribution that works best for your build and complements the rune you've chosen. As far as looks, well, it's all personal preference. You can go to
www.gw2armor.com to see full sets, or preferably,
www.gw2db.com, grab codes, and preview in-game. More fleshed out explanation of this is in the first post I linked to.
Isn't it Awkward to Keep and Switch Between the Sets?
Thanks to some cool design decision, it really isn't. First, a single 18-slot box can hold all three sets. A 20-slot can hold all three plus an extra weapon set. Even if you didn't get one from the Lost Shores event, you can buy them with Fractal Relics now as well, and they're not all that expensive!
Once you've got your sets, switching between them is a breeze. What was a confusing and inexplicable feature for me while leveling is a godsend at 80-
right-click on the armor piece you want to switch, and go down the line clicking the pieces you want to switch to. No hunting through your inventory, no getting similar icons confused, no muss no fuss. Literally takes 4-5 seconds to switch sets.
I highly recommend making having multiple exotic sets one of your goals for high-level play. Doing so is a very good example of
horizontal progression. Though you hit a stat ceiling quite rapidly compared to many games and do not continue to become objectively
stronger, over time you can acquire more and more
options to facilitate the best approach to any situation. Despite hundreds more hours of play, I'm not any better statistically than I was one month ago- but I do have much more to choose from.
What About Ascended Gear?
I know the addition of Ascended gear is a cause of major concern for some, especially those who aren't even currently specced out with exotic gear.
There are two things to consider at the moment:
1) What's impacted now
2) What's coming in the future
1. As far as right now, the only Ascended pieces are rings and back pieces. Strive for them and save up, hope they drop for you in higher-level fractals, etc. Just don't stress about it. Besides Agony resistance (which is solely for high level fractals), these three slots will have very little impact on gameplay or your build. I promise. If you have an Ascended ring drop for you, it's not particularly likely to have the stat distribution you want. The back pieces are on the order of mini-legendaries; good long-term goals to strive for but far out of the reach of the casual player.
No Ascended items can yet be traded on the TP, so it just really shouldn't be concerning yourself with when "gearing out" your level 80 character. Go for the exotic rings that fit your build; go for the best back piece you can find (rare ones have started to drop as of the last patch).
2. When Ascended versions of all armor pieces are released into the game, things may change a bit. My instincts are that "best-in-slot" versions of these pieces will be relatively easy to acquire, compared to the existing ascended gear and of course far, far easier than legendaries. But you will have to get them somehow to reach the new statistical ceiling.
However, that said, it's definitely worth noting that all the existing ascended pieces don't allow for traditional upgrades (runes in the case of armor), but accept only infusions. My sneaking suspicion is that one day the metagame will involve Exotic and Ascended armor sets coexisting to some degree; exotic sets offering the benefits and fun effects of full rune sets, Ascended gear offering a slight statistical advantage and protection in the fractals. This would be a great way to continue to encourage further horizontal progression within the framework of having nominally added more vertical progression to the game.
I will say that there is no way I'm giving up my rune sets. Worst case scenario is that Ascended armor is just legitimately, objectively better and does allow for runes too, in which case I'd have to "upgrade" each of my three sets to Ascended over time; probably a lot of work and gold to reach what would be a new stat ceiling. But I hope it's clear how even
that would be worlds removed from the ongoing loot treadmill in other games that so many people seem to fear.
Have more than one full exotic set? Show them off!
