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    Power Virtuoso
    May 2023

    Group PvE
    Damage

    Armor

    Illustrious Masque icon Superior Rune of the Scholar icon
    Berserker's HelmSuperior Rune of the Scholar
    Illustrious Epaulets icon Superior Rune of the Scholar icon
    Berserker's ShouldersSuperior Rune of the Scholar
    Illustrious Doublet icon Superior Rune of the Scholar icon
    Berserker's ChestSuperior Rune of the Scholar
    Illustrious Wristguards icon Superior Rune of the Scholar icon
    Berserker's GlovesSuperior Rune of the Scholar
    Illustrious Breeches icon Superior Rune of the Scholar icon
    Assassin's LegsSuperior Rune of the Scholar
    Illustrious Footwear icon Superior Rune of the Scholar icon
    Berserker's BootsSuperior Rune of the Scholar

    Weapons & Sigils

    Dagger icon Superior Sigil of Force icon
    Berserker's DaggerSuperior Sigil of Force
    Sword icon Superior Sigil of Accuracy icon
    Berserker's SwordSuperior Sigil of Accuracy
    Greatsword icon Superior Sigil of Force icon Superior Sigil of Accuracy icon
    Berserker's GreatswordSuperior Sigil of Force Superior Sigil of Accuracy

    Trinkets

    Quiver of a Thousand Arrows icon
    Berserker's Backpiece
    Black Ice Earring icon
    Berserker's Accessory
    Asgeir's Talisman icon
    Berserker's Accessory
    Asgeir's Amulet icon
    Berserker's Amulet
    Black Ice Band icon
    Berserker's Ring
    Mistborn Band icon
    Berserker's Ring

    Food

    Cilantro Lime Sous-Vide Steak icon Potent Superior Sharpening Stone icon
    Cilantro Lime Sous-Vide Steak Potent Superior Sharpening Stone

    Infusions

    Mighty WvW Infusion icon
    20xMighty Infusion

    Utility Skills

    copied

    Power Virtuoso offers very strong ranged damage and a forgiving DPS option for new players. Careful rotation optimization during encounters also rewards skilled players, making this build a great long-term choice for Power DPS.

    Power Virtuoso also brings ~50% Fury uptime for your subgroup and a solid amount of Vulnerability stacks on the target.

    The Greatsword variant currently offers higher DPS than Sword/Focus, but both versions are more than capable of handling End-Game Content. Sword/Focus may be beneficial in certain encounters, as it provides an evade via Blurred Frenzy and the ability to pull enemies with Temporal Curtain Into the Void (AKA “Focus Pull”).

    Build Fundamentals

    Virtuoso replaces the Mesmer’s instant-cast Shatter mechanic with Bladesongs, which have a short cast time and fire daggers at your enemies.

    Using Bladesongs increases your damage via Deadly Blades, which is a trait you will want to keep up to boost your DPS during your rotation.

    Fencer's Finesse also boosts your DPS: to keep this up as much as possible, use Phantasmal Swordsman twice every time you are on Dagger/Sword – once at the start and once at the end. Also, whenever your weapon swap is ready, promptly swap to your sword set to use Phantasmal Swordsman to maintain this uptime.

    Once Deadly Blades and Fencer's Finesse are both active, use Mantra of Pain and Thousand Cuts off cooldown: they’re both instant-cast and you won’t lose anything by doing so.

    You always want to use your Bladesong Harmony with 5 blades, and ideally Bladesong Sorrow as well. Other Bladesongs can be used with fewer blades only for keeping Deadly Blades up.

    It’s worth practicing segments of the Rotation involving Mind Stab and Signet of the Ether as they can easily interrupt your other skills and significantly lower your DPS.

    Crowd Control

    Alternatives

    Skills

    Replace Rain of Swords if you need to bring more utility such as:

    Gear

    For some encounters, you’ll want to use Superior Sigil of the Night: a good example of that is Harvest Temple Challenge Mode. Here are a few examples of how to swap your gear to reach 100% Critical Hit Chance without Superior Sigil of Accuracy:

    Armor

    Illustrious Masque icon Superior Rune of the Scholar icon
    Berserker's HelmSuperior Rune of the Scholar
    Illustrious Epaulets icon Superior Rune of the Scholar icon
    Berserker's ShouldersSuperior Rune of the Scholar
    Illustrious Doublet icon Superior Rune of the Scholar icon
    Berserker's ChestSuperior Rune of the Scholar
    Illustrious Wristguards icon Superior Rune of the Scholar icon
    Berserker's GlovesSuperior Rune of the Scholar
    Illustrious Breeches icon Superior Rune of the Scholar icon
    Assassin's LegsSuperior Rune of the Scholar
    Illustrious Footwear icon Superior Rune of the Scholar icon
    Berserker's BootsSuperior Rune of the Scholar

    Weapons & Sigils

    Dagger icon Superior Sigil of Force icon
    Berserker's DaggerSuperior Sigil of Force
    Sword icon Superior Sigil of Accuracy icon
    Berserker's SwordSuperior Sigil of Accuracy
    Sword icon Superior Sigil of Force icon
    Berserker's SwordSuperior Sigil of Force
    Focus icon Superior Sigil of Accuracy icon
    Berserker's FocusSuperior Sigil of Accuracy

    Trinkets

    Quiver of a Thousand Arrows icon
    Berserker's Backpiece
    Black Ice Earring icon
    Berserker's Accessory
    Asgeir's Talisman icon
    Berserker's Accessory
    Asgeir's Amulet icon
    Berserker's Amulet
    Black Ice Band icon
    Berserker's Ring
    Mistborn Band icon
    Berserker's Ring

    Food

    Cilantro Lime Sous-Vide Steak icon Potent Superior Sharpening Stone icon
    Cilantro Lime Sous-Vide Steak Potent Superior Sharpening Stone

    Infusions

    Mighty WvW Infusion icon
    20xMighty Infusion

    Utility Skills

    copied

    Power Virtuoso offers very strong ranged damage and a forgiving DPS option for new players. Careful rotation optimization during encounters also rewards skilled players, making this build a great long-term choice for Power DPS.

    Power Virtuoso also brings ~50% Fury uptime for your subgroup and a solid amount of Vulnerability stacks on the target.

    The Greatsword variant currently offers higher DPS than Sword/Focus, but both versions are more than capable of handling End-Game Content. Sword/Focus may be beneficial in certain encounters, as it provides an evade via Blurred Frenzy and the ability to pull enemies with Temporal Curtain Into the Void (AKA “Focus Pull”).

    Build Fundamentals

    Virtuoso replaces the Mesmer’s instant-cast Shatter mechanic with Bladesongs, which have a short cast time and fire daggers at your enemies.

    Using Bladesongs increases your damage via Deadly Blades, which is a trait you will want to keep up to boost your DPS during your rotation.

    Fencer's Finesse also boosts your DPS: to keep this up as much as possible, use Phantasmal Swordsman twice every time you are on Dagger/Sword – once at the start and once at the end. Also, whenever your weapon swap is ready, promptly swap to your sword set to use Phantasmal Swordsman to maintain this uptime.

    Once Deadly Blades and Fencer's Finesse are both active, use Mantra of Pain and Thousand Cuts off cooldown: they’re both instant-cast and you won’t lose anything by doing so.

    You always want to use your Bladesong Harmony with 5 blades, and ideally Bladesong Sorrow as well. Other Bladesongs can be used with fewer blades only for keeping Deadly Blades up.

    It’s worth practicing segments of the Rotation involving Mind Stab and Signet of the Ether as they can easily interrupt your other skills and significantly lower your DPS.

    Crowd Control

    Alternatives

    Skills

    Replace Rain of Swords if you need to bring more utility such as:

    Gear

    For some encounters, you’ll want to use Superior Sigil of the Night: a good example of that is Harvest Temple Challenge Mode. Here are a few examples of how to swap your gear to reach 100% Critical Hit Chance without Superior Sigil of Accuracy:

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