Blighter (Arena PvP)

This build is meant for small-scale PvP, such as 5v5 arena, 1v1 arena, and the occasional open world PvP skirmishes.
Note that Blighter is a very versatile class. You can play it as either a tank, a DPS, or both. I play as a DPS in this build.
If you focus instead on medium/large scale PvP, see my Primeval (Open World PvP) build.

This build was made for patch 1.2 on the North America (NA) servers.
This build will be constantly tweaked/updated as I experiment.

Skills

For actual in-game skill descriptions at lvl 50, see: Blighter lvl 50 Skill Descriptions.
I've also included my gear as well as stats with and without buffs.
Note that skill damage scales based on your gear.

In-Combat Buffs:
*

Debuffs:
*

Nukes:
*

Distance Closers:
*

CC:
* >
* >
* >
* >
* Honor's Mighty Entangling Bow >

Anti-CC:
*

Focus Target:
*

Defensive:
*

Escape:
*

Counters

* Trip > (pre-emptive self-buff)
Against many Shadowplay/Battlerage combos

* Snared >
Against Shadowsmite (Shadowplay) and Concussive Arrow (Archery)

* Lassitude / Bubble Trap / Telekinesis >
Against classes with Witchcraft

* Stun / Impale
No counters except Ambitious Cloak

* Silence
No counters except Freedom Cloak

* Fear / Sleep
No counters except Lionhearted Cloak

* Anti-gank
> () > > > (to a friendly target) >

Rotation

Aggressive:
* Initiate: > > > () >
* Overwhelm: > > > >
* CC-lock: > > > >
* Wait for cooldowns: > maintain distance >
* Chase: // >

Reactive:
* Break away: > > >
* Prepare: > > >
* Counter-attack: > > >
* CC-lock: > >
* Overwhelm: > > >

Group Pull:
* Buff Up: > > >
* Pull: > > >
* Overwhelm: > > >
* DPS down: > > >

Blighter has a lot of chain CC options, but which combos you use really depend on the situation and distance from target (note only has a 4m range while has 12m and has 20m). If you have an Honor's Mighty Entangling Bow, you can extend your CC chain by following up with a Triple Slash for the trip. Alternatively, the snare can also hold the target in place for Charge.

Note that classes with Defense will probably also take Redoubt, and classes with Sorcery will probably have Insulating Lens. This means you may not want to trip the target with Overwhelm but instead open with a stun. In an arena-type situation where the opponent is expecting an attack, you may decide not to open with your Overwhelm combo until you are certain you can land it. For pulling single targets into your group, you may not want to even use Stalker's Mark as it will add a gap to your CC combo (plus I'm sure there'll be at least one archer in your group anyway).

Keybindings

Note: This is with a Logitech G700 (gaming mouse) which has F1-F7 bound to mouse keys.

1:
2:
3:
4: Honor's Mighty Entangling Bow
5: Lionhearted Cloak

F1:
F2:
F3:
F4:

Shift+F1:
Shift+F2:
Shift+F3:
Shift+F4:

F5: Face front (turn camera around 180)
F6: Open flying mount
F7: Call mount
Z: Get on/off mount

Q:
E:
Shift+Q:
Shift+E:

R:
T:
G:

X:
C:
V:

Notes

* >
When combined, these two result in a decent trip. The only problem is, Sunder Earth has a 1s cast time so it's very situational (there's no cast time if you use Drop Back though). Personally, I would rather use the Shield Slam > Bull Rush combo.

*
A really useful skill when roaming around with a group. Has a long 1s channel time though so also very situational and only use when safe to.

*
Very situational, high utility skill. In 1v1s, can be used to prevent the target from running away or protect against a ranged target. In group PvP, can be used to trap an individual/groups to separate targets. Also very easy to screw up and unintentionally separate you from your team.

*
While casting, you cannot move. In 1v1s, can be used to resist expected upcoming nukes or to buy time for cooldowns (such as Redoubt cooldown). In group PvP, can be used to distract enemies while your team members focus fire.

*
Your main defense against melees. The anti-trip combined with higher shield block rate will make you incredibly hard to kill while the buff is on.

*
Against a magic class, you definitely want this for the damage reduction. Against melee classes, only use the buff if you think you'll be able to kill fast and in one combo (otherwise, you lose a lot of defense and get stunned later). It's quite the risky buff so I don't take it.

*
Really nice for chain CC-ing, but it only lasts for 7 seconds and is hard to find time to cast it in battle (since unlike a Darkrunner, you don't have a convenient Sleep). If you are tank-spec'd, you might need this to extend your combos. If you are DPS-spec'd, you probably don't need this to kill your target.

* +
Your two nukes. You want these to land, and you want them to land while behind the target to deal real damage.

* >
This is another strong nuke. Note that the damage from this ignores armour, but is still subject to crit damage increases. It requires building Mettle prior to fights though, so it's not always dependable damage.

*
A really good gap closer as well as a strong attack; however, the attack bounces to nearby targets, which means 1) you could end up a distance away from your initial target, and 2) you accidentally aggro some nearby mobs (in open world PvP). Be careful when using it.

* +
When under Battle Focus, you end up parrying quite a bit, and the insta-CD-reset for your Battlerage skills is really nice and could definitely change a fight around.

*
While as a Blighter you will be wielding a 1-handed sword (for the parry chance) and a shield, the +8% crit bonus still applies. The interesting thing about Blighters is it can be both tanky or DPS. I focus more on the DPS side so my gear gives increased crit damage. The +8% crit bonus from this passive then becomes quite significant.

* Honor's Mighty Entangling Bow
Buy Honor's Entangling Bow from the Weapon Merchant for 100g, then upgrade it for another 200g for a bow that you can drag to your hotkey bar and use as a skill to snare your target for 3s. The more CC options you have, the better. The snare also combos with Triple Slash's trip.

Equipment

Weapons:
* Hasla sword or any better crafted sword
* Hasla shield
* Honor's Mighty Entangling Bow
* Hasla lute

Gear:
* DPS-style: 3-piece GHA + 4-piece Flame leather pieces. Full Typhon leather set works too.
* Tank-style: Full Earth plate set. Full GHA plate works too.

Accessories:
* DPS-style: get accessories that ignore target's defense
* Tank-style: get accessories that increase defense or magic defense

~Keripo