This reference guide breaks down the hard crowd control (CC) skills for each of the nine professions in Guild Wars 2. Hard CC skills inflict direct damage to a target’s Defiance Bar (also known as the “Break Bar”), whereas soft CC skills deal damage over time. We chose to focus on hard CC skills because they are the most effective at quickly draining an enemy’s Defiance Bar when time is of the essence. There are many bosses in GW2 with Defiance Bars that must quickly be depleted if players are to successfully defeat them. The goal of this guide is to serve as a reference for new and experienced players that may not be aware of all the hard CC skills available to their classes. For a general overview of the Defiance Bar you may want to check out our “Break-bar Combat Tips” article.

Defiance Bar Damage Calculation (Hard CC)

Effect	Multiplier
Freeze	duration * 60
Stone	duration * 150
Ward	150 per pass
All other effects:	duration * 100
-Daze	^
-Pull	^
-Knockback	^
-Knockdown	^
-Launch	^
-Stun	^
-Transform	^

**While most of the damage calculations in the tables below are accurate to the best of our knowledge, there are several skills where precise damage data was unavailable. For those skills we have provided an educated estimate in-line with similar skills, with conservative approximations. Much of the data was sourced from the official Guild Wars 2 Wiki.

Hard CC Skills By Profession

The following tables list the various hard CC skills of each profession organized by effect type. The damage calculation represents the amount of damage that a skill inflicts upon a target’s defiance bar. We have also provided our recommended hard CC skills based on damage and practicality. For these recommendations we have chosen to exclude underwater skills. Although some of our recommendations may not be practical for general play, we tried to select the skills that provide a high level of Defiance Bar damage while still remaining reasonably accessible and without compromising build quality.

Skills highlighted in green represent hard CC skills with damage of 200 or higher.

Skills highlighted in blue represent our hard CC skill recommendations.

Elementalist

Effect	Skill	Slot	Damage
Daze
	Comet	Focus #5 (Water)	200
	Magnetic Surge	Conjure Earth Shield #3	200
Pull
	Magnetic Leap	Dagger #3 (Earth)	150
	Magnetic Current	Trident #3 (Earth)	150
	Whirlpool	Utility (Underwater)	<750
	Magnetic Shield	Conjure Earth Shield #4	150
	Cyclone	Warhorn #4 (Air)	150
Knockback
	Gust	Staff #3 (Air)	150
	Unsteady Ground	Staff #4 (Earth)	300
	Crashing Waves	Glyph of Elementals (Water)	150
	Tidal Surge	Warhorn #4 (Water)	150
Knockdown
	Earthquake	Dagger #4 (Earth)	200
	Gale	Focus #5 (Air)	400
Launch
	Updraft	Dagger #5 (Air)	332
	Tornado	Elite	<1160
	Wind Blast	Conjure Lightning Hammer #3	232
Stun
	Shocking Aura	Dagger #3 (Air)	100
	Static Field	Staff #5 (Air)	200
	Static Field	Conjure Lightning Hammer #5	200
	Lightning Cage	Trident #5 (Air)	100
	Shocking Bolt	Glyph of Elementals (Air)	100
	Deep Freeze	Conjure Frost Bow #5	300

 

Thief

Effect	Skill	Slot	Damage
Daze
	Headshot	Pistol #4	25
	Distracting Dagger	Utility	25
	Impact Strike	Elite	200
	Tactical Strike (From Behind)	Sword #1	200
Pull
	Tow Line	Spear #4	150
	Scorpion Wire	Utility	150
Knockback
	Cheap Shot	Drowning #2	150
	Shoot Rifle	Steal	150
Knockdown
	Scorpion Wire	Utility	100
	Tripwire	Utility	300
	Throw Rock	Steal	100
	Hook Strike	Staff #1	200
	Reflexive Strike (Bandit’s Defense)	Utility	200
Launch
	Branch Bash	Steal	232
	Shoot Rifle	Steal	232
	Impact Strike (Uppercut)	Elite	232
Stun
	Pistol Whip	Sword/Pistol #3	50
	Basilisk Venom	Elite	150-450+
	Bone Crack	Steal	200
	Palm Strike (Fist Flurry)	Utility	200

Tips

• Using the “Venomous Aura” trait with “Basilisk Venom” grants nearby allies access to Basilisk Venom’s CC effect.
• The “Sleight of Hand” trait applies daze when stealing.

Revenant

Effect	Skill	Slot	Damage
Daze
	Debilitating Slam	Staff #2	50
Pull
	Grasping Shadow	Sword #5	150
	Temporal Rift	Axe #5	150
Knockback
	Surge of the Mists	Staff #5	450-750
	Forceful Displacement	Downed #2	150
Knockdown
	Drop the Hammer	Hammer #5	200
Launch
	Chaotic Release	Elite (Glint)	232
Stun
	Jade Winds	Elite (Shiro)	300

Tips

• The “Momentary Pacification” trait causes nearby foes to become dazed when you use an elite skill.

Warrior

Effect	Skill	Slot	Damage
Daze
	Pommel Bash	Mace #3	100
	Uppercut	Elite (Rampage #1)	50
	Skull Grinder	Mace Burst (Berserker)	100
	Gun Flame	Rifle Burst (Berserker)	25
Pull
	Harpoon Pull	Spear #3	150
Knockback
	Rifle Butt	Rifle #5	150
	Staggering Blow	Hammer #4	150
	Repeating Shot	Harpoon Gun #5	600
	Kick	Drowning	150
	Kick	Utility	150
	Kick	Elite (Rampage #2)	150
Knockdown
	Backbreaker	Hammer #5	200
	Tremor	Mace #5	200
	Bull’s Charge	Utility	200
	Throw Boulder	Elite (Rampage #4)	200
	Hammer Toss	Downed #2	200
Launch
	Stomp	Utility	232
	Wild Blow	Utility	332
Stun
	Earthshaker	Hammer Burst	100-200
	Skull Crack	Mace Burst	100-300
	Throw Boulder	Elite (Rampage)	200
	Whirling Strike	Spear Burst	100-200
	Shield Bash	Shield #4	200
	Head Butt	Elite	300

 

Necromancer

Effect	Skill	Slot	Damage
Daze
	Wail of Doom	Warhorn #4	200
Pull
	Dark Spear	Spear #5	150
	Deadly Catch	Spear #4	150
	Spectral Grasp	Utility	150
	Grasping Darkness	Greatsword #5	150
Knockback
	Chilling Wind	Elite (Lich #3)	150
Knockdown
	Charge	Elite (Flesh Golem)	100
Launch
	Charge	Elite (Flesh Golem)	332
Stun
	“Chilled to the Bone!”	Elite	200
	Executioner’s Scythe	Reaper Shroud	150

 

Mesmer

Effect	Skill	Slot	Damage
Daze
	Chaos Storm	Staff #5	100
	Counter Blade	Sword #4	100
	Magic Bullet	Pistol #5	200
	Power Lock	Utility	100
	Diversion	Shatter	100-400
Pull
	Into the Void	Focus #4	150
	Vortex	Spear #5	150
	Gravity Well	Elite	150
Knockback
	Illusionary Wave	Greatsword #5	150
	Slipstream	Spear #4	150
Knockdown
	Gravity Well	Elite	100
Stun
	Magic Bullet	Pistol #5	200
	Tides of Time	Shield #5	100
	Signet of Domination	Utility	300
Transform
	Signet of Humility	Elite	1000

Tips

• The “Confounding Suggestions” trait provides a chance to stun an enemy whenever you daze them. It also increases stun and daze duration.

Guardian

Effect	Skill	Slot	Damage
Pull
	Pull (Binding Blades)	Greatsword #5	150
	Wrathful Grasp	Spear #5	150
	Dragon’s Maw	Elite	150
	Hunter’s Verdict	Spear of Justice (DH)	150
Knockback
	Shield of Absorption	Shield #5	150
	Hammer of Wisdom	Utility	150
	Wave of Light	Downed #2	150
Knockdown
	Line of Warding	Staff #5	150
	Ring of Warding	Hammer #5	150
	Bane Signet	Utility	300
	Hammer of Wisdom	Utility	300
Launch
	Banish	Hammer #4	232

Tips

• The “Piercing Light” trait dazes nearby foes when you use an elite skill.

Ranger

Effect	Skill	Slot	Damage
Daze
	Concussion Shot	Short Bow #5	100
	Hilt Bash	Greatsword #5	150
	Glyph of Equality	Utility	150
	Call of Lightning	Utility	300
	Dazing Screech	Moa Pet	200
	Lunar Impact	Celestial Avatar #3	200
	Thunderclap	Downed/Drowning #2	100
	Lightning Field	Electric Wyvern	300
Pull
	Path of Scars	Axe #4	150
	Glyph of Tides (Celestial)	Utility	150
Knockback
	Counterattack	Greatsword #4	150
	Point Blank Shot	Longbow #4	150
	Counterstrike	Spear #4	150
	Glyph of Tides	Utility	150
	Wing Buffet	Wyvern Pet	150
	Tail Lash	Devourer Pet	150
Knockdown
	Brutal Charge	Canine Pet	200
	Brutal Charge	Porcine Pet	300
Launch
	Spike Trap	Utility	232
Stun
	Concussion Shot	Short Bow #5	100
	Hilt Bash	Greatsword #5	150
	Stunning Rush	Armor Fish Pet	200

Tips

• The “Moment of Clarity” trait increases stun and daze duration.
• The “Primal Echoes” trait causes dazing to nearby foes when you swap to staff.

Engineer

Effect	Skill	Slot	Damage
Daze
	Throw Shield	Shield #5	100
	Launch Personal Battering Ram	Utility	100
	Self Destruct	Various Utility Gyros	100
Pull
	Retreating Grapple	Harpoon Gun #3	150
	Magnet	Tool Kit #5	150
	Grappling Line	Downed/Drowning #2	150
Knockback
	Magnetic Inversion	Shield #4	150
	Throw Mine	Utility	150
	Air Blast	Flamethrower #3	150
Knockdown
	Explosive Rockets	Utility (Turret)	200
	Slick Shoes	Utility	<400
Launch
	Personal Battering Ram	Utility	232
	Overcharged Rifle Shot	Rifle #4	332
	Thump	Utility (Turret)	232
	Blast Gyro Tag	Utility	232
	Big Ol’ Bomb	Bomb Kit Tool Belt	232
	Booby Trap	Downed #3	232
Stun
	Static Shield	Shield #5	100
	Thunderclap	Hammer #5	100
	Supply Crate	Elite (Med Drop)	200
	Electrified Net	Utility (Turret)	200
	Static Shock	Heal (A.E.D. Tool Belt)	100
Transform
	Toss Elixir X	Elite (Elixir X Tool Belt)	300

Tips

• The “Impact Savant” trait increases the duration of outgoing stuns and dazes.