Building a Better Guardian
I hope someone can help you although right now it may be iffy to give much advice as there will be some changes coming next Monday.
I do remember having had a bit of a hard time with the hammer myself though. What is your other weapon/weapons? Is your gear up to your level?
Hammer is fine. Greatsword is good, too.
I use an Altruistic Healing build based on the 30 point valor trait called Altruistic Healing that heals you a small amount whenever you cast boons.
My build looks something like this (I change traits depending on what I’m doing, I’ve posted the traits I usually use… these work well both in groups and when soloing.) -=:
Zeal - 0 points
Radiance - 15 points
( 5pt minor) Justice Is Blind - Virtue of Justice blinds nearby foes
(10pt major) { I } Healer's Retribution - 3s retaliation on heal
(15pt minor) Renewed Justice - Virtue of Justice renews when you kill foes
Valor - 30 points
( 5pt minor) Valorous Defense - Gain aegis when your HPs hit 50%
(10pt major) { V } Purity - Lose a condition every 10 seconds
(15pt minor) Courageous Return - Virtue of Courage is recharged on rally
(20pt major) { VI } Retributive Armor - Increase precision by 5% of Toughness
(25pt minor) Might of the Protector - Gain might when you block
(30pt major) { XI } Altruistic Healing - Heal when you boon an ally
Honor - 20 points
( 5pt minor) Vigorous Precision - Gain vigor when you crit
(10pt major) { II } Superior Aria - Shouts recharge 20% faster
(15pt minor) Selfless Daring - Dodging heals nearby allies
(20pt major) { VII } Empowering Might - Nearby allies gain might when crit
*** Can also use IX - 2H mastery in place of VII Empowering Might for solo ***
Virtues - 5 points
( 5pt minor) Inspired Virtue - Virtues also buff allies
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I usually use these skills:
Slot 6 – (Heal) Signet of Resolve (to remove debuffs) OR Shelter for the block + heal
Slot 7 – Hold the Line! – Protection and regen
Slot 8 – Stand Your Ground! – Stability and retaliation
Slot 9 – Save Yourselves! – Tons of buffs OR Wall of Reflection to harass ranged
Slot 0 – the Elite skill – is almost always Tome of Courage when grouped and a racial summon pet when solo (good to have a pet to cast boons on when solo, plus helps tank and deal dmg)
Knight gear (Toughness, Power, Precision) works well with this build, so do a variety of other stat combinations. The key is to get your crit chance (Precision) high enough to activate the various on crit abilities and to use Shouts to buff you and allies as needed.
At level 55, since you can’t max trait lines until 60, I’d go:
0 / 15{ I } / 20{V}{VI} / <remaining> / 5
Placing remaining points into Honor until you buy your book and respec at 60.
At level 60 I’d go:
0 / 15{ I } / 30{V}{VI}{XI} / 0 / 5
From here put the rest into Honor.
This is just how I’d do it. There are probably better ways and hopefully someone will post one for you.
Probably the single biggest mistake that new players make is underestimating the importance of using food buffs and potions.
If you are having trouble surviving then try using Blackberry Pie (bought from the trading post) for the heals and Strong Potion of <whatyoufightmost>.
Also be sure that all of your gear is current and favor Precision, Toughness and Power over other stats.
(edited by Mars.6319)
I hope someone can help you although right now it may be iffy to give much advice as there will be some changes coming next Monday.
I do remember having had a bit of a hard time with the hammer myself though. What is your other weapon/weapons? Is your gear up to your level?
My other set is Sword/Torch. And yeah my gear is all up to level. Maybe I need to move around my traits and such.
Oh almost forgot, the way to use this is… get into melee with the mobs, press F1 to activate Virtue of Justice which casts an AoE blind and eventually gives allies might. Recast Virtue of Justice every time it comes up as long as you’re still in combat. Virtue of Justice should refresh often since it refreshes every time a mob dies as well as once every 30 seconds on longer fights or if you mess up.
If you’re using a hammer then let the auto-attack (#1 skill) chain finish (three separate attacks). You’ll see a white circle on the ground when it finishes. As soon as you see the circle appear, be sure you’re in it and hit #2 to do an AoE blast finisher that, in your light field, gives AoE retaliation to allies.
When you’re down 15-20% of your HPs try using a shout instead of your heal.
Be sure to move around. Don’t stand in front of mobs attacks or in red circles. Try to get behind them whenever possible.
Use your other Virtues (F2 and F3) when things get bad for an extra heal or block, but know that they have longer cooldowns and you lose their passive effects until they reset.
Lots of good builds,suggestions,examples, guides and ideas in the Guardian section of the forums.