Guild Wars 2

Are any of them Viable?

In PvP, Guardian, Mesmer, Warrior and Rev have uses for shield

Speaking from a PvE standpoint outside of raids and high end fractals.
Revenant doesn’t lose that much with a sword/shield instead of the usual sword/axe build.

Good to know on both fronts, I have everything but the Mesmer at 80, really enjoying Revenant in pve.

Ronin.5038:

Speaking from a PvE standpoint outside of raids and high end fractals.
Revenant doesn’t lose that much with a sword/shield instead of the usual sword/axe build.

This ^^^^ – outside of the very pinnacle of things, everything is viable. I’m one hundred percent confident that you could complete everything up to and including raids using a shield on any of the classes that use them.

In some cases it is even highly desirable (mesmers, looking at you) for some mechanics, though not mandatory.

The biggest problem you would face is that people will whine about the build not being listed on metabattle in pugs, really. That’s kinda about it.

So, yeah, they are absolutely viable. Also, useful, and also effective.

(When I say “pinnacle of things” I mean things like 4-person raid completions, or the top end of the top ladder in rated pvp, where skill on both sides has pretty much approached infinity, so tiny numbers differences between specs and weapons actually make enough of a difference to matter.)

Chrono-mesmer shield is really fun and useful. Guardian has some uses for shield, especially if you’re looking for high durability/tankiness; the same could be said for Herald-Rev. While it could be done, I wouldn’t recommend it on engi. I don’t really play warrior, so I can’t say there. ;P