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Guild Wars 2: End of Dragonshas been out for over a month now. In that time, players have begun to master thenew Elite specializations added inEnd of Dragons. Each of these provide a unique twist on the existing profession, with a new core mechanic, set of skills, and a special weapon proficiency.
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TheRevenantis the first and only professionGuild Wars 2has added since the game’s release in 2012. This Mist-wielding Soldier profession channels thespirits of legendary heroes and villains, which grant them a specific set of skills. TheVindicatorElite specialization fromEnd of Dragonsadds even more twists to the already-unique profession. These fighters can equipgreatswordsand channel the power of theLegendary Allianceof theLuxonheroArchemorusand theKurzick Saint Viktor, allowing them to swap between anaggressiveandsupportiverole forultimate flexibility.
Best Specialization Builds For The Vindicator
There aretwo major differencesbetween the Vindicator andother Revenant specializations. Thefirstis theadded versatilitywith the Legendary Alliance Stance’s ability to swap betweenLuxonandKurzickwithAlliance Tactics. Though this build focuses primarily on theoffensiveskills ofArchemorus, thedefensive supportskills ofSaint Viktorcannot be understated. Vindicators can still choose a separate,second Legendto invoke, meaning they effectively havethree skill setsto switch between, versus the two of other Revenants.
Theseconddifference isTenacious Ruin; the first of the Vindicator’s minor traits. Instead of adodge roll, Vindicatorsleap into the airandstrike the ground in an AoE slam attack. This costsallof theirEndurance, rather than half. To help them use this more often, Vindicators have the specialEnergy Meldskill, which restores half of theirEndurance. This build focuses around stackingBoonsand usingTenacious Ruinas much as possible.
The Vindicator’s other minor traits areBalance in DiscordandEmpire Divided. The formerhealsthem and grantsRegenerationwhenswapping between their three Legends, while the latter grants themPowerorHealing Powerdepending on their currenthealth.
For major traits,Vindicators should chooseAmnesty of Shing Jea, which grantsMightto the Vindicator and nearby allies whenusing Luxon abilities,Regenerationwhen usingKurzick abilities, orbothwhen usingEnergy MeldorAlliance Tactics.Song of ArboreummakesVigorrestoremore enduranceand grantsVigorto the Vindicator and nearby allies after landingTenacious Ruin. Lastly,Forerunner of DeathtransformsTenacious RuinintoDeath Drop, causing it to deal more damage, inflictVulnerability, and give adamage buffafter using it, at the cost of reducing its area of effect.
TheInvocationspecialization has excellent synergy for Vindicators. Its minor traits grantFurywhen invoking aLegendordisablinga foe and makeFuryincrease all damage.
For major traits,Glaring Resolveallows the Revenant tohealand gainStabilitywhenbreaking stuns.Incensed Reposefurther improvesFuryby having it grantMightstacks, andRoiling Mistsincreases itscritical hit chancefrom20%to40%.
Devastationis the best specialization to round out this aggressive Vindicator build. Its minor traits allow the first hit in combat, or the first after using anEliteskill, to inflictVulnerabilitystacks. They also grant a flat damage increase, further increased when dual-wielding orstriking Vulnerable targets.
Unsuspecting Strikesis a flat damage increase against lightly-damaged enemies, andNotorietygives moreMightwhenusing any non-weapon skills, and makesMightgive morePowerat the cost of Condition Damage. Lastly,BrutalitygivesQuicknesswhenswapping weapons, and allows attacks to remove Stability.
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Best Equipment And Stats For The Vindicator
The Vindicator-specificgreatswordis too rewarding not to use as aprimary weapon. With high-damage and close-range AoE attacks, the weapon ensures those who survive Death Drop are further devastated withVulnerabilitystacks andheavy swings.
Forsecondary weapons,dual swordsare a perfect compliment. Quick and dangerous, these skills offerhigh damage andmobility, moreVulnerabilitystacks, and additional sources ofMightandFury.
For the Vindicator,Poweris their most important stat, followed byConcentrationto maximize the duration of theirBoons. A healthy amount ofPrecisionandFerocityallow these Revenants to score frequent heavy critical hits, though theirnear-constant Fury Boonmeans they can focus onother stats. For this reason,Divinergear is perfect for Vindicators.
Both weapon sets carry thesame Sigilsto ensure maximumEndurancerecovery. ASuperior Sigil of Energyensures the Vindicator replenishes50%of theirEnduranceon aweapon swap. Meanwhile, theSuperior Sigil of Staminarefills theEndurancebarcompletelywhenkilling an enemy, allowing for consecutive Death Drops.
Forthe Vindicator’s heavy armorRuneset, theSuperior Rune of Fireworksis perfect for this playstyle. With a generous helping ofPowerand a littleBoon Duration, the Vindicator’s Boons will be close to the100% extra Duration cap. If that wasn’t enough, the Rune increasesmovement speedby25%and grantsMight,Fury, andVigor every 20 seconds.
Best Legends For The Vindicator
Unsurprisingly, Vindicators should use theLegendary Alliance Stanceas their primary Legend. TheLuxonabilities are highly-aggressive, powerful, and grant manyBoonsto the Vindicator. Keep in mind that all of these abilities grant3 stacks of Mightdue toAmnesty of Shing JeaandNotoriety.
The LuxonHealing skill,Selfish Spirit, pulses light damage in an area multiple times, grantingMight, inflictingVulnerability, and healing for each target hit. Meanwhile, theReaver’s RageUtility Skill strikes nearby enemies andDazesthem while alsobreaking Stunsand grantingStability, preventing future control effects.
For even more mobility and range,Nomad’s Advancecauses the Vindicator to lunge forward and damage foes, grantingMightfor each target struck.Scavenger’s Burstis a ranged AoE attack that deals heavy damage and Burning, while grantingFury,Quickness, andMight. Lastly, theSpear of ArchemorusElite skill is an extremely long range, high-damage attack.
TheKurzickabilities are allsupportivein nature;none of them deal damage.
However,Battle Dance,Awakening, andUrn of Saint Viktorcan grant Boons unavailable in other stances, likeResistanceandProtection, andTree Songcancleanse conditionsfrom the Vindicator and their allies. Additionally, all of these skills grantRegeneration. While not often used in this build, these skills can be clutch in emergencies, or when there is downtime duringStrike Missions and other endgame content inGuild Wars 2.
For the Vindicator’s second Legend, theLegendary Assassin Stanceis the perfect pick with its high aggression and mobility.
TheEnchanted DaggersHealing skill summons 6 daggers that strike with the Vindicator, dealing damage and healing on each hit.Impossible Oddsincreases movement speed and causes attacks to strike twice, but is anUpkeepskill which costsEnergythelonger it is active, instead of a flat amount like most Revenant skills. Managing Energy is one of themore difficult parts of the Revenant inGuild Wars 2.
The Legendary Assassin Stance also has several mobility skills.Phase Traversalteleports the Revenant to their target, grantingQuicknessand causing their next two attacks to be unblockable.Riposting Shadowsdodges backwards, breakingStunand movement-impairingConditionswhile gainingFuryandEndurance.
Lastly, the Legendary Assassin Stance’s Elite skill,Jade Winds, is anAoEdamagingStuneffect that devastates a large area–especially when combined with Death Drop.
The Vindicator is a deadly fighter who leaps into and around the battlefield, putting pressure on foes and adapting to situations. These vanguards buff themselves with manyBoonsto make themliterally unstoppableas they commit to the fight. Though they may lack the raw survivability of someother Soldier professions inGuild Wars 2, the Vindicator more than makes up for it with versatility, mobility, and heavy hits.
