Guild Wars 2

Hi! In my opinion, torch skills need work! #4 is good except for ‘Out of Range’ and ‘Obstructed’ bugs that plague so many projectile skills, #5 – Cleansing Flame – however is in need of a buff, currently that skill is sub par.

Torch is the only inherent condition damage weapon guardian has, yet it doesn’t have synergy with possible condition builds. After trying out a few condition builds for guardian, I feel that more self sustain is needed to make the build less of a joke and perhaps move it to the brink of being taken seriously.
By taking 6 in Zeal (Amplified Wrath), guardian sustain drops dramatically due to the lack of condition removal, the simple fix is to have Cleansing Fire become a self cleansing skill which is an idea that has been tossed around for over a year

Notes regarding this suggestion:

• Torch already functions well as a power weapon and additional self cleanse may advantage guardians too heavily in some scenarios when playing any build
• If the self-cleansing worked in the same way as the ally cleansing it would be way too powerful, since you don’t need to aim or position yourself and you gain the full effect
• There is a risk it could change the intent of torch playstyle by turning it into a kiting mechanic similar to an ele’s Ether Renewal instead of offence/support
• Cleansing Fire is one of the few skills in the game that has a support for allies only, which while can promote great support, is not enough for the ability
• As the damage of Cleansing Fire is power based, there is absolutely no benefit to use this skill in small scale situations for condition guardians, making 50% of the condition weapon’s skills effectively obsolete

Possible Solutions:

• Self cleanses happen at a fraction of the rate that team cleanses do
• An initial self cleanse similar to the initial heal of Healing Breeze
• Self-cleanse only occurs when striking an enemy/cleansing an ally
• Cleanse comes from a torch attributed trait from either Zeal or Radiance

My other thoughts on Condi Guardian:

• Possible niche use in the future through the ability to shut down certain classes
• Disadvantaged in that virtue of justice (f1) is one of the best burning applications but also allows allies to land burning first which is dependent on their condition damage, thus delaying pressure that the guard can apply (Perhaps burning could be made to tick for the highest damage through to the lowest over the duration)
• Lack of cover condis is crippling against certain classes/builds
• Increasing available damaging conditions to guardian seems like a horrible idea to me
• The whole build is pigeonholed too heavily into Zeal and/or Radiance, turning a condition build into a glass cannon (or just a glass because it’s pretty useless)

My Questions:

• Do you feel that burning is so powerful that it shouldn’t be an asset on a tanky build or trait spread?
• Are there other ways to get valuable sustain in equal numbered or outnumbered fights without investing 6 into Valor/Honor/Virtues?
• Is the amount of necessary traits for a condi build is on par with other builds and other classes?

I hope this is all clear! Thanks for reading and discussing, this is all my opinion and I appreciate constructive disagreement.