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    Power Virtuoso
    July 2023

    Group PvE
    Damage

    Armor

    Illustrious Masque icon Superior Rune of the Scholar icon
    Assassin'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

    Introduction

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

    The Greatsword variant currently offers slightly higher DPS than Sword/Focus, but both versions are more than capable of handling End-Game Content. Sword/Focus provides a bit more utility, which may be beneficial in certain encounters.

    Both variants have access to a good amount of built-in defensive utility thanks to Bladeturn Requiem and Bladesong Distortion.

    Build Fundamentals

    Upkeep Deadly Blades to increase your damage by using Bladesongs. Once 5 Blades are ready, alternate between using Bladesong Harmony and Bladesong Sorrow. Other Bladesongs can be used with fewer blades to upkeep Deadly Blades.

    Use Phantasmal Swordsman at the start of your Dagger/Sword loop, then use it again before swapping to your other weapon set to maintain Fencer's Finesse and increase your DPS. Swap back to Dagger/Sword as soon as possible to ensure uptime of this buff.

    Build Specifics

    Stock blades quickly with Bloodsong by summoning phantasms (Phantasmal Berserker, Phantasmal Disenchanter, and Phantasmal Swordsman) that apply Bleeding via Sharper Images.

    Use Signet of the Ether to reset the cooldowns of Phantasmal Berserker and Phantasmal Disenchanter to be able to use them twice in a row.

    Once Deadly Blades and Fencer's Finesse are both active, use Power Spike and Thousand Cuts off-cooldown. They’re both instant-cast and you won’t lose anything by doing so. Don’t use the second charge of Power Spike unless the boss is about to phase, die, or there will be downtime, so there is time to recharge it.

    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.

    Bladesong Distortion can be used to upkeep Deadly Blades, but is also a fantastic emergency button that allows you to become invulnerable and ignore many high damage abilities.

    Crowd Control

    Alternatives

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

    Gear

    Superior Sigil of Accuracy can be changed to Superior Sigil of the Night or a Slaying Sigil for encounters where this increases DPS.
    To do this, make the following adjustments to your gear:

    Armor

    Illustrious Masque icon Superior Rune of the Scholar icon
    Assassin'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

    Introduction

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

    The Greatsword variant currently offers slightly higher DPS than Sword/Focus, but both versions are more than capable of handling End-Game Content. Sword/Focus provides a bit more utility, which may be beneficial in certain encounters.

    Both variants have access to a good amount of built-in defensive utility thanks to Bladeturn Requiem and Bladesong Distortion.

    Build Fundamentals

    Upkeep Deadly Blades to increase your damage by using Bladesongs. Once 5 Blades are ready, alternate between using Bladesong Harmony and Bladesong Sorrow. Other Bladesongs can be used with fewer blades to upkeep Deadly Blades.

    Use Phantasmal Swordsman at the start of your Dagger/Sword loop, then use it again before swapping to your other weapon set to maintain Fencer's Finesse and increase your DPS. Swap back to Dagger/Sword as soon as possible to ensure uptime of this buff.

    Build Specifics

    Stock blades quickly with Bloodsong by summoning phantasms (Phantasmal Berserker, Phantasmal Disenchanter, and Phantasmal Swordsman) that apply Bleeding via Sharper Images.

    Use Signet of the Ether to reset the cooldowns of Phantasmal Berserker and Phantasmal Disenchanter to be able to use them twice in a row.

    Once Deadly Blades and Fencer's Finesse are both active, use Power Spike and Thousand Cuts off-cooldown. They’re both instant-cast and you won’t lose anything by doing so. Don’t use the second charge of Power Spike unless the boss is about to phase, die, or there will be downtime, so there is time to recharge it.

    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.

    Bladesong Distortion can be used to upkeep Deadly Blades, but is also a fantastic emergency button that allows you to become invulnerable and ignore many high damage abilities.

    Crowd Control

    Alternatives

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

    Gear

    Superior Sigil of Accuracy can be changed to Superior Sigil of the Night or a Slaying Sigil for encounters where this increases DPS.
    To do this, make the following adjustments to your gear:

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