Spear Greatsword PVE Build Guide

Introduction

Welcome to our Spear Greatsword PVE build guide. In this guide, we’ll go over our recommended way to set-up the weapon combination for PVE group activities, such as the Dimensional Circle. This set-up is used to fill a DPS spot in a 6-player dungeon group. The weapon combination forms the “Gladiator” Class.

Skills

Below is our Skill set-up for PVE group dungeon runs:

This Skill set-up provides cleave burst for trash mobs between bosses, and a large focus on single-target boss damage in 6-player dungeons.

Skill Specializations

With 100 total points to play with once you hit Level 50, below is our recommended Specializations for the Spear Greatsword PVE build:

These particular Specializations focus around the Ignition stacks from Spear and the Ignite specializations and damage increases through charging up Skills such as Guillotine Blade, resulting in increased single-target burst for bosses. See our Skill Specializations guide for more information.

Weapon Mastery

This guide assumes you are at least in the range of Level 13-16 Weapon Mastery. However, if you’re below this threshold, it’s not an issue. Simply spec into the mastery trees that provide the most damage first.

Stats

Stats once you reach Tier 1 Epic gear can vary frequently due to stats built into gear. As a result, try to push for at least 70 Dexterity and 50 Strength in standard gear. Below is our recommended baseline Stat allocation:

Dexterity – 20 Points
Wisdom – 6 Points
Strength – 18 Points
Perception – 5 Points

Gear & Equipment

The gear loadout largely, if not entirely, stays the same across all content once you reach Tier 1 Epic. Our Tier 1 Epic set assumes that most of the base content has been unlocked with the Milestones completed.

Early on, make use of your Rare gear you acquired through MSQ. It is totally fine and expected to be in Rare gear for quite a long time – so don’t worry too much! Gear between PVE and PVP usually doesn’t really change.

Obtaining Archboss weapons is a huge bonus, however, not a required one. As a result, do not worry too much about getting these weapons if you cannot find a strong guild or purchase one.

Runes are set-up to focus on Critical Hit Chance, increased Max Health and increased healing or other defenses. In PVE, Hit Chance, for example, is not required. As a result, we can focus on better optimization routes. For example, Spear and Greatsword both provide huge buffs to your Heavy Attack Chance already, so optimizing your Critical Hit Chance provides more damage overall.

For early game progression gear, check out our leveling guide.

Guardian

Guardians are a unique transformation on a 10 minute Cooldown that gives powerful bonuses to you for 30 seconds. Some Guardians work as an additional “Active” Skill, while others provide buffs. We recommend the following Guardians for group play dungeons:

Shade Revenant Stheno – Stheno is the most offense-heavy choice in PVE. This Guardian dishes out consistent damage dealing projectiles to multiple targets.

How to Play The Spear Greatsword PVE Build

Our Spear Greatsword PVE build guide not only aims to teach you how to put it together, but also how to play it.

The main objective of using Spear Greatsword in a PVE dungeon is simple. You’re a melee DPS that plays as close to melee range as possible, dealing large strings of damage through multi-use Skills and charged Skills. The build leans equally into both weapons, providing a ton of burst damage and consistent damage simultaneously.

Skill Rotations

As previously mentioned, to utilize your build and rotation effectively, use the following opener for bosses:

DaVinci’s Courage
Unyielding Sentinel
Gale Rush
Willbreaker
Stunning Blow
Phoenix Barrage
Explosive Fury x5
Cruel Smite
Death Blow (Charged)
Guillotine Blade (Charged)
Rising Slash

As always, starting with your buffs up to increase your Attack Speed and Heavy Attack Chance sets you up to deal maximum damage in the rotation. Next, using Gale Rush to get on top of the Boss and boosting your Attack Speed even further puts you in position to complete the damage portion of the rotation. You can use Javelin Inferno in the trash mob parts of a dungeon, but it isn’t that great for boss fights. Try to weave in as much Cruel Smite and Willbreaker attacks as possible. Finally, using Rising Slash as late as possible lets you get the most out of having high Ignite stacks, boosting your damage.