Welcome to the latest tier list for offensive support builds in Guild Wars 2! In this guide, we'll explore the top-tier builds for offensive supports, including Quickness DPS Firebrand, Condi Alacrity Specter, and Mirage. Whether you're venturing into fractals, strike missions, raids, or open world group events, these builds excel in providing support while dealing significant damage. Please note that this tier list focuses on consistency, win rate, and carry potential in group content.

 

• Herald
• Mechanist
• Firebrand, Scrapper, Specter
• Harbinger
• Chronomancer
• Tempest
• Catalyst
• Renegade
• Warrior
• Untamed
• Alacrity Willbender
• Mirage
• Closing Thoughts

 

↖ Herald

Despite some considered nerfs to Firebrand, Herald remains a top-tier build. While Facet of Nature now targets 5 instead of 10, it is still incredibly strong and one of the most powerful builds. It provides quickness, fury, swiftness, protection, high damage, great crowd control, and exceptional durability. You can even take stability with minimal loss. Herald is amazing as a power-based build and excels in various game modes, including open world meta events.

 

↖ Mechanist

Mechanist is the ultimate carry build for open world meta events. Similar to Herald, Mechanist is an exceptional build that focuses on Alacrity. It offers incredible crowd control, access to boons like stability and aegis, and provides 25 might alongside Alacrity. With ranged damage and a reliable healing turret skill, this build is undeniably powerful. In fact, it is broken and belongs in the god-tier category.

 

↖ Firebrand, Scrapper, Specter

Firebrand, Scrapper, and Specter remain incredibly strong and are in the s-tier. While they may not have the same dominance as Herald and Mechanist, they still possess remarkable capabilities.

• Firebrand is packed with utility, providing strong support options like aegis and stability, respectable damage, and the ability to sustain allies.
• Scrapper is nearly indestructible and offers great crowd control, high damage, and versatility in various situations.
• Specter, despite lacking cleave damage, makes up for it with high single-target damage, crowd control, support through ritualist gear, and boon access. It has impressive carry potential, making it an underrated but very strong build.

 

↖ Harbinger

Harbinger is a high-damage build that shines in experienced groups or when speed is essential. It excels in blasting and can provide some group support with a utility skill and the elite elixir. However, it lacks the robust group support potential found in the s-tier and god-tier builds. While it can be a lot of fun to play, it doesn't reach the same level as the top builds in terms of overall effectiveness.

 

↖ Chronomancer

Despite the potential backlash, Chronomancer is actually pretty good, particularly in highly organized play. It is suited for scenarios where maximizing quickness and mesmer utility is crucial. However, it can be challenging to fit into general groups and may feel awkward at times. Over time, Chronomancer has improved, and its power level has increased. We need to create another tier to better evaluate its usability compared to Harbinger. Nevertheless, it remains a viable option, even if it may be weaker than the top-tier builds.

 

 

↖ Tempest

Now, let's discuss the lower end of the spectrum. Tempest falls into the "copium" tier, which means it is not a bad build but lacks the numbers to compete at the highest level. DPS Alacrity Tempest, while providing some utility like Might, protection, and superspeed, doesn't offer sufficient damage output. However, there is hope for future patches, as the next one might bring significant buffs to DPS Tempest. This build has the potential to become much stronger with those changes. In the meantime, the healing Tempest build remains the superior option. Stay tuned for Guild Wars 2 updates in the upcoming patch.

 

↖ Catalyst

The next patch for Catalyst is in need of improvement. Although the build looks promising on paper with its potential for quickness, fury, protection, and even aegis, it needs to catch up in actual performance. The numbers need to be better, and the playstyle feels awkward and lacking. One of the issues lies in the attempt to make it more appealing by adding aegis to the Earth orb, but this comes at the cost of losing resistance, which was a valuable aspect.

 

Additionally, Catalyst, like Tempest, struggles with reactive gameplay due to the reliance on rotating through elements for boon access. This limitation weakens its effectiveness compared to more reactive support builds. Usability improvements are necessary to elevate Catalyst's performance.

 

↖ Renegade

Renegade excels in fractals, earning it a god-tier status in that content. However, outside of fractals, it falls into the pretty good category. Unfortunately, Renegade suffered from power reductions and faced stiff competition from other alacrity healers. The strength of Alacrity healers diminishes the value of Alacrity DPS builds, especially those with limited boon access, like Renegade. While it provides significant damage output, its versatility could be better. With some adjustments, Renegade can become a strong contender, but it still needs to be quite there.

 

↖ Warrior

Warrior specs, including quickness warrior and alacrity berserker, have potential but require some tweaks. Banners, for example, could be split into two parts to allow for pulsing boons and an active component, enabling the use of aegis, barrier, stability, and super speed. With these adjustments, warriors could become very effective. Although they are not at that level yet, there is promise for them with further refinement.

 

↖ Untamed

Unfortunately, Untamed falls into the unlucky tier due to recent nerfs to fervent force. This change significantly weakened the build's overall effectiveness and reduced its enjoyment factor. However, Nerf suggests that a rework may be in the works, which could bring about improvements and changes in the next patch. The direction of the rework remains uncertain, but it indicates that ArenaNet intends to address Untamed's current state.

 

↖ Alacrity Willbender

It's a build that bends time, embraces quickness, and packs a punch. However, it does come with its fair share of challenges. Let's delve into the details.

1. First and foremost, the most glaring issue with Alacrity Willbender is its reliance on actively attacking foes to generate Alacrity. This requirement feels rather peculiar and limits its flexibility. 
2. Moreover, the build needs more boon support, making it less versatile and adaptable. 
3. To make matters worse, its damage output has been nerfed recently. It's a shame because we can envision it being an Alacrity-focused counterpart to the mighty Harbinger—a true glass cannon build. 

Despite the setbacks, Alacrity Willbender still has potential. With some adjustments to address its playability issues and a generous serving of damage, it could shine brightly and carve a niche for itself in the meta.

 

↖ Mirage

Finally,  Talk about Mirage, a build that defies conventions and occupies its own unique tier. Mirage is a peculiar one, and we are inclined to place it in Tier 8, although with some reservations. In certain situations, particularly against bosses vulnerable to confusion, Mirage ascends to a level of unparalleled power. It becomes a force to be reckoned with, an omega-insane build. However, in other scenarios, it performs adequately but needs to catch up to the S-tier classes.

 

It is comparable to Harbinger in terms of overall performance. Mirage offers decent damage and the valuable boon of 25 Might, although less impactful than it used to be. While it shines in open-world content due to its self-sufficiency and ability to provide Might, it lacks some peripheral boon support for allies. Although it can bestow various boons on itself through the Chaos trait line and offer stability with mantras, it still needs to reach the awe-inspiring heights of the S-tier classes. Nevertheless, Mirage remains a strong contender, especially in specific encounters and open-world scenarios.

 

Note: To emphasize, offensive supports are undeniably the most potent builds, offering exceptional guild wars 2 value and power. Pound for pound, they reign supreme, rivalled only by healers who possess a different kind of strength. These offensive supports are the epitome of top-tier performance. 

 

↖ Closing Thoughts

In conclusion, there's some exciting content on the horizon. The introduction of Quickness Deadeye in the upcoming patch holds promise and should be worth looking forward to. But for now, let's wrap up the discussion on the current state of builds. 

 

It's interesting to note that the disparity between the god-tier and A-tier builds is relatively narrow. In fact, we decided to omit the B-tier entirely because the game is converging. While some outliers require attention, overall, the power levels of builds are drawing closer together. We've witnessed improvements in various builds, such as Harbinger and Scrapper receiving well-deserved buffs while Firebrand was brought down to a more balanced level. This ongoing trend of bringing builds closer in power is encouraging, and we anticipate more builds climbing up the ranks in future patches.