Build:W/any Flailing Dragon

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This build has been designed for the following use:

PvE
general

1 Attributes and Skills
2 Equipment
3 Usage
4 Counters
5 Variants
6 Notes
7 Templates

The Flailing Dragon is a PvE build designed for sustained damage output. It uses adrenaline-control skills from the Factions and Nightfall campaigns to maintain a steady flow of damaging attacks, and is fairly self-sufficient thanks to reliable condition removal and self-healing.

[edit] Attributes and Skills

Warrior / Any	Attribute Rank
Strength	10 + 1
Swordsmanship	12 + 1 + (1..3)
Tactics	8 + 1

The optional slot is for an area-specific utility skill. For example, use Plague Touch or Mending Touch for condition removal, Distracting Blow for an interrupt, or "Shields Up!" for a party-wide buff.
Use any Swordsmanship rune, but do not reduce Swordsmanship below 14, as this upsets the build's adrenaline management.

[edit] Equipment

Legionnaire's Armor (Factions) or Sentry's Armor (Nightfall) with Superior Vigor and Absorption runes.
A sword and shield of your choice; "while stanced" shields are particularly useful.

[edit] Usage

As you near the enemy, activate Enraging Charge to quickly close to melee range. This will give you an initial burst of adrenaline as you enter the fray. Try to set yourself up near multiple enemies so you can switch quickly from foe to foe in mid-battle.
The adrenaline gained from Enraging Charge allows you to activate Flail as soon as you strike your first target.
Chain your attacks, using Dragon Slash to maintain adrenaline.
While within easy reach of enemies, maintain Flail and use Lion's Comfort to heal yourself when needed.
When there are no more targets in your immediate area, you can use Enraging Charge to cancel Flail and quickly move to the next target. If you are engaged in a protracted melee, Enraging Charge can be used to gain a few extra strikes of adrenaline instead.

[edit] Counters

On-attack hexes, stances that allow a target to block or evade.
This build's major weakness is adrenaline denial, which is fairly rare in PvE.

[edit] Variants

In high-level Nightfall PVE areas, consider adding Lightbringer's Gaze.
For improved damage, replace Lion's Comfort or your optional skill with "For Great Justice!" -- this will give you a 20-second window in which you can spam attack skills nonstop.

[edit] Notes

Avoid using Dragon Slash on a nearly dead foe that is being targeted heavily by your allies. Sometimes, that enemy will drop in mid-swing, causing your Dragon Slash to fizzle; your damage output will be lowered until you regain the ten strikes of adrenaline needed by Dragon Slash if this occurs.