See, Glaiviers is a “stance-swapping” class. Specifically, they have the ability to switch between Flurry and Focus positions. While in Flurry mode (also known as “Blue” or “Glaive”), Glaiviers have access to a variety of abilities that revolve around their glaives. Most of their Flurry stance abilities are fairly well-rounded and typically focus on AOE injuries as well as fast movements that allow Glaiviers to attack from behind. If you stay in the Flurry position, you will eventually give bonus to your movement speed, attack speed, damage speed and critical strike speed.
The focus attitude, meanwhile, is about getting the most out of some really devastating spear-based attacks. Some of Glaiver’s hardest hitting abilities are limited to the Focus stance. To sweeten the deal further, swapping for this position will also reward you with various buffs. The further along your Identity Meter is when you switch from Flurry to Focus, the bigger the buff.
A Pinnacle Glaivier player seeks to balance their use of both of these positions to get the most out of the various abilities and bonuses that each offer offers. While your choice between these positions will often be determined by your current situation, you also need to learn how to maximize your identity meter so that you always switch to Focus position when the greatest possible buff is available. In other words, Pinnacle Glaivier buildings are pure attitude dancers.
Control Glaivier buildings completely ignore Focus standpoint skills. While that means they miss out on some of the class’ biggest attacks and best buffs, it also means they do not have to worry about managing their resources very much. They are also better able to focus on class-based speed abilities and sneaker attacks.
The truth of the matter is that the decision between Control and Pinnacle often comes down to your personal preference. While one may technically be more powerful than the other, you will not get the most out of a build you are not familiar with or do not even enjoy using.
That said, I usually recommend giving the Pinnacle building a shot first. If you find that you just are not able to balance your time between the two positions (or dislike the microcontroller involved in that process), then you can always switch to a control build. Pinnacle allows you to try a little of both, and it’s incredibly powerful once you get the hang of it.