Guild Wars 2

So I have read quite a few posts here, and on other forums about how Melee classes get the shaft. I only speak from experience from the viewpoint of a Guardian, but with the correct setup, I can stand toe to toe for a great deal of time, even against boss mobs that will one-hit kill me.

After a great deal of time rearranging my skills, I have settled on a pretty decent combo that works for me (maybe not for you, but I find it helpful).

1. Equip a Sword
—- This is primarly because of the Blind effect from the skill Flashing Blade. This skill will allow you to negate a single hit every 10 seconds.

2. Take the skill Retreat!
—- This skill will grant you Aegis, and Swiftness. This should be saved for when you are unable to blind your target, and when you do not currently have Aegis active.

3. Take the skill Shield of the Avenger
—- This skill on it’s own is lackluster, but with the trait Eternal Spirit (20 points into Zeal) you can command the shield every 15 seconds to apply the Weakness condition, which reduces the damage the mobs are doing by 50% (non-crit) for 6 seconds. You can apply Weakness this way 2 times every 60 seconds (more if traited)

4. Take the heroic skill Renewed Focus
—- This heroic skill will allow you to be immune to all damage for a few seconds, AND reset the cooldown on your Virtues. Use this skill after you have exhausted your Virtue of Courage for the Aegis boon, to apply it again.

Let me take a moment here to discuss the boon Aegis:
—- The Aegis boon provides you with a magical sheild that will absorb a single hit. Guardians have a passive ability within Virtue of Courage to maintain Aegis until hit, and will recycle every 40 seconds, BUT if you toggle Virtue of Courage directly after the first one is taken away it will grant you an additional Aegis boon. THEN once that Aegis is taken away you can toggle Renewed Focus to reset the cooldown of Virtue of Courage, giving you back your passive Aegis, AND the ability to toggle it again for another Aegis … thats a possible 4 Aegis boons, quite an amazing defensive ability. On top of that the Retreat! skill grants you a 5th Aegis! Toggling Virtue of Courage also grants the Protection boon every time for your group if you go 5 points into Virtues. This reduces all damage by 33% for the duration.

5. Take the trait Blind Exposure.
—- This will allow you to apply the Vulnerability everytime you blind your target. Taking this trait will also get you the prior minor trait Justice is Blind, which will add the Blind effect to ALL nearby mobs everytime you activate Virtue of Justice. Combined with the Elite skill Renewed Focus you can use this ability twice every 30 seconds.

6. Take the heal skill Shelter.
—- This skill heals for quite a bit less than the Signet heal, but it has the added effect of Blocking all incoming attacks until the heal goes off. This lasts for 2 seconds, so if you time this right between your Aegis cooldowns it can act as a great defensive filler.

So lets RECAP:
As a Sword guardian you can:
-Apply blind every 10 seconds with Flashing Blade
-Apply blind every ~15 seconds with the trait Blind Exposure
-Apply Weakness to mobs in an AoE twice per minute for 6 seconds each (thats 20% upkeep[more if traited])
-Grant yourself the boon Aegis about 6 times 60 seconds
-Grant yourself the boon Protection twice every 90 seconds
-Take the heal skill Shelter for 2 seconds of Blocking every 30 seconds.

I would also highly recommend you focus on Conditional Damage and take traits that boost the Burning condition. It may even be a good idea to take the skill Sword of Justice. You are already going to have the trait that allows you to Command your spirit weapons without destroying them, if you take the trait A Fire Inside your Commanded sword will cause the Burning condition to all enemies in an AoE around it. The damage from this build has been quite good, and I have rarely died. Just keep in mind you still have to do a lot of moving around and when you run out of defensive abilities, back up for a few seconds, then get back in there when things start to recycle.

Please keep in mind that while this build may work very well for me, it may not for you … but it sure is fun to set things on fire and be nearly invulnerable in melee range while my defences are up!

Looks like it will play well for brief 1-on-1s and general “questing”, but you’re ignoring conditional removal which is imperative in dungeons (and sPvP from what I’ve heard). Aegis rocks, yes, but when you have a 60 second poison on you and no conditional removal, you’re going to die.

vicious.2193:

Looks like it will play well for brief 1-on-1s and general “questing”, but you’re ignoring conditional removal which is imperative in dungeons (and sPvP from what I’ve heard). Aegis rocks, yes, but when you have a 60 second poison on you and no conditional removal, you’re going to die.

You make a great point. I primarly play with some friends and my wife. There are quite a few condition removers that they use that have area effects. I also use a Torch as my offhand, which removes conditions from allies every 15 seconds in a cone AoE.

I am a firm beliver that a good min/max group will have the ranged classes take condition removers, as the melee classes require a great deal more defenses to survive. I would not however expect this to happen in a PUG. So if you are a solo player then yes … Take the Signet heal at the very least to remove a condition every 10 seconds.

Instead of going for the offensive trait lines, you could also go for Valor and Honor and use Pure of Voice together with some shouts to solve that condition removal problem. Then again, I don’t know if you’re affected by Pure of Voice too, or just your allies. As for the rest, looks quite interesting and yes, the aegis bit would still work, also with the Valor trait line you get another aegis when you reach 50% health. Just an idea tho.

Edit: Then with the Honor and Valor traits, shield is ofc more or less a must for the +90 toughness.

Psiborg.2983:

Instead of going for the offensive trait lines, you could also go for Valor and Honor and use Pure of Voice together with some shouts to solve that condition removal problem. Then again, I don’t know if you’re affected by Pure of Voice too, or just your allies. As for the rest, looks quite interesting and yes, the aegis bit would still work, also with the Valor trait line you get another aegis when you reach 50% health. Just an idea tho.

Edit: Then with the Honor and Valor traits, shield is ofc more or less a must for the +90 toughness.

Thanks for the added information, I like the idea of taking the additional Aegis at 50% health. The trait is called Valorous defense, and only requires 5 points. I still shy away from taking a skill to remove conditions, as I have very little problems with conditions with the group I run with. But if I were to take something to help deal with them, you could go 10 points into Valor and take Purity, which removes a condition every 10 seconds.

As far as the +90 toughness, that is an amazing trait, but requires a shield. I much prefer a torch offhand for the skill Cleansing Flame, not only for a very decent chunk of damage, but because it removes conditions from my group members, and is only on a 15 second cooldown.

Yeah I play a more defensive style in general. I’m more of a boon master while healing myself and trying to take the hits. I use shield and mace when I can risk the melee encounter, otherwise scepter. Purity is not an option for me, because this trait skill is reserved for “Strength in Numbers”, which is just too useful to leave it out. I haven’t tried out torch at all so far, but I hear it’s quite nice while you’re questing. As for dungeons, I think someone has to take the hits tho, and I think guardian is the most suitable class for that with all those defensive/supportive traits. I think I should try out torch and see how the condition removal is working out for me, at the expense of a good amount of toughness.

Concerning WvWvW btw, Scepter/Shield + GS is just a huge choo choo mothakitten effect on the enemies. Run in, pull them all towards you, into your allies, see them all drop like flies. Scepter for another root.

Psiborg.2983:

Yeah I play a more defensive style in general. I’m more of a boon master while healing myself and trying to take the hits. I use shield and mace when I can risk the melee encounter, otherwise scepter. Purity is not an option for me, because this trait skill is reserved for “Strength in Numbers”, which is just too useful to leave it out. I haven’t tried out torch at all so far, but I hear it’s quite nice while you’re questing. As for dungeons, I think someone has to take the hits tho, and I think guardian is the most suitable class for that with all those defensive/supportive traits. I think I should try out torch and see how the condition removal is working out for me, at the expense of a good amount of toughness.

Concerning WvWvW btw, Scepter/Shield + GS is just a huge choo choo mothakitten effect on the enemies. Run in, pull them all towards you, into your allies, see them all drop like flies. Scepter for another root.

The build I run is designed to be the one taking the hits, so it still supports that function. While using Cleansing Flame from the offhand Torch make sure you strafe around the enemy and always try to line up at least 1-2 group members to get them in the cleansing effect. Also for encounters that are very condition heavy you can jump into the middle of your group, cast Cleansing Flame and just spin in a circle, one touch of the flame is all it takes to take off a condition.

I used a mace for a while and enjoyed the defensive aspects of it greatly! I do find the Blind effect from the Sword to be superior in keeping myself alive, negating a hit from a boss every 10 seconds is pure gold! You also have more ranged options with a sword for those encounters that you need to move back from a PBAoE, or when the boss places himself in an area that you can not melee him. In fact the only attack that a sword has that requires you to be in melee range is the auto attack.

But can you still provide the needed sustainability with that weapon combo? Do you gear up entirely in vit/toughness then to compensate?

And I agree with you on the sword part, I love it a lot and have been trying to find a use for it somehow while maintaining my usual role as a control/support in the group, I like the blink+blind on it a lot.

Psiborg.2983:

But can you still provide the needed sustainability with that weapon combo? Do you gear up entirely in vit/toughness then to compensate?

And I agree with you on the sword part, I love it a lot and have been trying to find a use for it somehow while maintaining my usual role as a control/support in the group, I like the blink+blind on it a lot.

I have quite a lot of vit+toughness, but I have not entirely focused on it. For sustaining a “tank” type role I focus more on Blind, Weakness, and Aegis and just weave them. It takes some practice and I died a lot in the process of learning (I still am learning) but if done correctly you can maintain an extremly solid defence for 90% of extended fights. You just have to get use to when you pop your Virtue of Courage for the Protection boon, and the group wide Aegis. When you finally run out of Blind, or Aegis effects you can still fall back on your Shelter skill, which lets you block all attacks for 2 seconds and heals you at the end. Even weaving in Retreat is great for an additional Aegis, and Swiftness for when you need to strafe around the boss quickly and are between Aegis cooldowns.

As far as additional support/control in a group, I have been trying to use a Staff on weapon switch for the Line of Warding skill. I have yet to master it yet, but there have been many times I have been able to trap mobs behind it while we deal with the first 1 or 2 that are on our side of the line. a VERY handy skill.

Again, on the Sword topic, Blind/Blink are the primary reasons why I use the sword, but the other, as I believe I mentioned already, is that 75% of sword attacks can be used from range, and there are just far too many times that a boss mob will move to an area you can not get too, or casts an AoE spell that will kill you outright if you stay in it. Just back up, toss a few ranged attacks, then move back in. This is another reason why I like the Torch, as Cleansing Flame has a pretty decent range as well!

I’ve been struggling with my build. Still trying to figure out what I want before I do my first AC Exploration. I’ve read about it a bit, a guide, and then couple of whinings here and there. I’ve seen a video of the beginning(also assuming it just get worst as you progress) and now I just don’t know what I want anymore..

For my weapon, my main issue is getting rid of Symbol of Faith(I don’t want to lose the regen from it), I want to keep that, but meleeing with a mace seems not possible.. I also want to keep my shield for Shield of Absorption. I’ve been looking at sword skills ever since I’ve first seen this topic. I’m totally lost about what I want..

What I have atm..
Mace/Shield, Shelter, Wall of Reflection, Purging Flames, Sanctuary and Tome of Courage. Everything has Toughness/Vitality on my gears.
I have both 20% CD reduction/20% duration and ground targetting for Consecration(20 virtues) and larger symbol(10 Honor). (I’m only 40)
I haven’t done anything with this build yet, other than thinking more, I stayed up late last night trying to figure about a build, ended up with the above. Also wasted most of my time today sitting there checking skills, forum and being unsure. I also have a Staff, for the swiftness to move around, since this game has no mounts, but then it takes away my scepter for ranged attacks, and I’m not a fan of staff attacks..
.
I’m fine dodging heavy hits atleast, unless it’s an instant attack, which are hards to predicts.. My build is what I’m having trouble what atm..

Qelris.6901:

I’ve been struggling with my build. Still trying to figure out what I want before I do my first AC Exploration. I’ve read about it a bit, a guide, and then couple of whinings here and there. I’ve seen a video of the beginning(also assuming it just get worst as you progress) and now I just don’t know what I want anymore..

I have also been looking around YouTube for any Guardian videos, there are very few that actually show how to utilize defensive skills, which is KEY to survival in melee range. You have to juggle specific skills such as Aegis, and Blind if you want to play a melee support role in groups.

Qelris.6901:

For my weapon, my main issue is getting rid of Symbol of Faith(I don’t want to lose the regen from it), I want to keep that, but meleeing with a mace seems not possible.. I also want to keep my shield for Shield of Absorption. I’ve been looking at sword skills ever since I’ve first seen this topic. I’m totally lost about what I want..

I had the same issue when I dropped the Mace for a Sword. Symbol of Faith is a great tool for self, AND group regen. Also the Protector’s Strike is just awesome when in a group of melee players. The bottom line for me is that the Blind effect from the Flashing Blade skill from Sword is just too good to pass up. Also being able to attack from a decent range is vital for survival when you need to back up for a heal, or when you can’t get to the boss and need to keep burning it down. The Mace, unfortunately, has no ranged attacks. I tried a Shield for a short while, but soon realized that the protection it provides (unless traited) is primary against ranged attacks, which is still nice, but not great. Also the heal effect from detonating the Shield of Absorption is still broken.

Qelris.6901:

What I have atm..
Mace/Shield, Shelter, Wall of Reflection, Purging Flames, Sanctuary and Tome of Courage. Everything has Toughness/Vitality on my gears.
I have both 20% CD reduction/20% duration and ground targetting for Consecration(20 virtues) and larger symbol(10 Honor). (I’m only 40)
I haven’t done anything with this build yet, other than thinking more, I stayed up late last night trying to figure about a build, ended up with the above. Also wasted most of my time today sitting there checking skills, forum and being unsure. I also have a Staff, for the swiftness to move around, since this game has no mounts, but then it takes away my scepter for ranged attacks, and I’m not a fan of staff attacks..

Using a Shield with the skill Wall of Reflection may be overkill for ranged defense, unless you are PvPing a lot against ranged attackers. In PvE you just do not need that much. Purging Flames is nice for additional Burn damage, specially if you stack condition damage gear, but is quickly overcast if you use a Torch offhand from the skill Zealot’s Flame, which not only burns targets in an AoE around you, but you can also throw the flames a good distance for some nice ranged damage. I have not tried Sanctuary yet, but from the looks of it, it does not heal for much and is primarily a tool used for CC to keep mobs away from you or others for a few seconds. Unfortunately it only lasts for a few seconds and is on a VERY long 120 second cooldown. I can not argue with Tome of Courage, its a great support heroic skill, I just prefer Renewed Focus for the few seconds of complete immunity, and the fact that it resets the cooldowns on ALL your virtues. This has come in very handy for me when I need to rapidly pop Aegis, and with 5 points into the Virtues trait line you can get the boons Might, Protection, and Regeneration for a few seconds, then pop Renewed Focus, and pop them again for a pretty decent duration.
.

I’m fine dodging heavy hits atleast, unless it’s an instant attack, which are hards to predicts.. My build is what I’m having trouble what atm..

This is my build, though please keep in mind, even though it works for me, it may not be best for everyone .. great thing about GW2 is that it seems there are many different types of builds that are viable.

My Build:
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#Mccoc9MzMxmamMxmamGxa0aoaoRqVV

Kindread.9481:

Using a Shield with the skill Wall of Reflection may be overkill for ranged defense, unless you are PvPing a lot against ranged attackers. In PvE you just do not need that much. Purging Flames is nice for additional Burn damage, specially if you stack condition damage gear, but is quickly overcast if you use a Torch offhand from the skill Zealot’s Flame, which not only burns targets in an AoE around you, but you can also throw the flames a good distance for some nice ranged damage. I have not tried Sanctuary yet, but from the looks of it, it does not heal for much and is primarily a tool used for CC to keep mobs away from you or others for a few seconds. Unfortunately it only lasts for a few seconds and is on a VERY long 120 second cooldown. I can not argue with Tome of Courage, its a great support heroic skill, I just prefer Renewed Focus for the few seconds of complete immunity, and the fact that it resets the cooldowns on ALL your virtues. This has come in very handy for me when I need to rapidly pop Aegis, and with 5 points into the Virtues trait line you can get the boons Might, Protection, and Regeneration for a few seconds, then pop Renewed Focus, and pop them again for a pretty decent duration.

Few questions..
How far is nearbly for Zealot’s Flame? or do you just throw it everytime?
Does Cleansing Flame purify the caster? Also, since it ticks 10 times, does it means it has potential to purify 10 conditions. (To my surprise, Purging Flames seems to only purify 1 condition and it’s upon casting it)
Can you tell me the idea behind Sword of Justice? Like shield, it inflict weakness. Or is it just because it can be up all the time and you use it for the burning?
How tough are Spirit Weapons and how fast/often do they act/attack?

Sanctuary duration and CD isn’t that bad with the trait. 96s cd and last 12s(last 10s without trait, I believe). Though with the very few slots we have, that might be something else..

I’m not really a fan of Renewed Focus, though it can be useful as you say. I do like the idea of being able to fully heal everyone around though, but the cd is a let down.

This is my build, though please keep in mind, even though it works for me, it may not be best for everyone .. great thing about GW2 is that it seems there are many different types of builds that are viable.

My Build:
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#Mccoc9MzMxmamMxmamGxa0aoaoRqVV

I’d like to see that in action, if you have time/can make a video. I’m curious about how well spirit weapons help as I’ve never used them.

Zealot’s Flame is a 1200 range skill, so it can be thrown quite far. Honestly I usually end up throwing it, even when in melee range for the burst damage, but when 2-3 mobs are around me it seems better to leave it up for it’s duration for the additional AoE burn damage.

Cleansing Flame does NOT remove conditions on yourself. When in a group I usually strafe around the mob I am facing and try to get 1-2 group members inside the flame. You can also run into the midst of your group, cast Cleansing Flame and spin around very quickly to hit everyone. This skill will only remove 1 condition from each ally.

Sword of Justice deals somewhat decent damage when traited, but the big bonus is its command ability. It deals burst damage in an AoE around it’s location. Combine this with the trait A Fire Inside, which puts the Burn condition on everything that the spirit weapons hit, and you just boosted your damage significantly … assuming you are running a condition damage build (which I do). The shield is mostly for inflecting AoE Weakness (50% reduced damage on non-crit) it’s other effect is to put a bubble up which stops projectiles from entering, somewhat handy, but situational.

I have not timed the attacks of the Sword of Justice .. a good idea which I will have to do .. but it seems to swing fairly often, slightly slower than your auto attack it seems. The command ability is active every 15 seconds.

I have never made a video before, I will try to find out what I need and get something on Youtube this weekend if I have time. I think the problem here is that you really need to get the feel of when to cast what yourself, it would be hard to show you because it is more feel than a set rotation. When you Aegis is down, you can pop a blind, or another Aegis. You can also pop a Protection boon, or even Shelter if you are out of other options. Maybe I will do a commentary of sorts and try to explain as the video is going.

Kindread.9481:

Zealot’s Flame is a 1200 range skill, so it can be thrown quite far. Honestly I usually end up throwing it, even when in melee range for the burst damage, but when 2-3 mobs are around me it seems better to leave it up for it’s duration for the additional AoE burn damage.

I meant the active burning on you, not when you throw it. How far are things hit if you don’t throw it?

The shield is mostly for inflecting AoE Weakness (50% reduced damage on non-crit) it’s other effect is to put a bubble up which stops projectiles from entering, somewhat handy, but situational.

Is the bubble a second effect to the command or is it casted by itself?

I think the problem here is that you really need to get the feel of when to cast what yourself, it would be hard to show you because it is more feel than a set rotation.

Just asking to see how you do with it. I’m unable to use this build as I’m not 80. I’m still curious about it though.

Qelris.6901:

I meant the active burning on you, not when you throw it. How far are things hit if you don’t throw it?

Its a very small range, I have not tested it extensively yet, but it seems to only hit things I am directly next too.

Qelris.6901:

Is the bubble a second effect to the command or is it casted by itself?

The bubble is the primary effect. It seems to fire off every 15 seconds give or take a few, and the bubble lasts about 4-6 seconds

Kindread.9481:

Qelris.6901:

I’ve been struggling with my build. Still trying to figure out what I want before I do my first AC Exploration. I’ve read about it a bit, a guide, and then couple of whinings here and there. I’ve seen a video of the beginning(also assuming it just get worst as you progress) and now I just don’t know what I want anymore..

I have also been looking around YouTube for any Guardian videos, there are very few that actually show how to utilize defensive skills, which is KEY to survival in melee range. You have to juggle specific skills such as Aegis, and Blind if you want to play a melee support role in groups.

Qelris.6901:

For my weapon, my main issue is getting rid of Symbol of Faith(I don’t want to lose the regen from it), I want to keep that, but meleeing with a mace seems not possible.. I also want to keep my shield for Shield of Absorption. I’ve been looking at sword skills ever since I’ve first seen this topic. I’m totally lost about what I want..

I had the same issue when I dropped the Mace for a Sword. Symbol of Faith is a great tool for self, AND group regen. Also the Protector’s Strike is just awesome when in a group of melee players. The bottom line for me is that the Blind effect from the Flashing Blade skill from Sword is just too good to pass up. Also being able to attack from a decent range is vital for survival when you need to back up for a heal, or when you can’t get to the boss and need to keep burning it down. The Mace, unfortunately, has no ranged attacks. I tried a Shield for a short while, but soon realized that the protection it provides (unless traited) is primary against ranged attacks, which is still nice, but not great. Also the heal effect from detonating the Shield of Absorption is still broken.

Qelris.6901:

What I have atm..
Mace/Shield, Shelter, Wall of Reflection, Purging Flames, Sanctuary and Tome of Courage. Everything has Toughness/Vitality on my gears.
I have both 20% CD reduction/20% duration and ground targetting for Consecration(20 virtues) and larger symbol(10 Honor). (I’m only 40)
I haven’t done anything with this build yet, other than thinking more, I stayed up late last night trying to figure about a build, ended up with the above. Also wasted most of my time today sitting there checking skills, forum and being unsure. I also have a Staff, for the swiftness to move around, since this game has no mounts, but then it takes away my scepter for ranged attacks, and I’m not a fan of staff attacks..

Using a Shield with the skill Wall of Reflection may be overkill for ranged defense, unless you are PvPing a lot against ranged attackers. In PvE you just do not need that much. Purging Flames is nice for additional Burn damage, specially if you stack condition damage gear, but is quickly overcast if you use a Torch offhand from the skill Zealot’s Flame, which not only burns targets in an AoE around you, but you can also throw the flames a good distance for some nice ranged damage. I have not tried Sanctuary yet, but from the looks of it, it does not heal for much and is primarily a tool used for CC to keep mobs away from you or others for a few seconds. Unfortunately it only lasts for a few seconds and is on a VERY long 120 second cooldown. I can not argue with Tome of Courage, its a great support heroic skill, I just prefer Renewed Focus for the few seconds of complete immunity, and the fact that it resets the cooldowns on ALL your virtues. This has come in very handy for me when I need to rapidly pop Aegis, and with 5 points into the Virtues trait line you can get the boons Might, Protection, and Regeneration for a few seconds, then pop Renewed Focus, and pop them again for a pretty decent duration.
.

I’m fine dodging heavy hits atleast, unless it’s an instant attack, which are hards to predicts.. My build is what I’m having trouble what atm..

This is my build, though please keep in mind, even though it works for me, it may not be best for everyone .. great thing about GW2 is that it seems there are many different types of builds that are viable.

My Build:
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#Mccoc9MzMxmamMxmamGxa0aoaoRqVV

Just to give some additional info, I’ma show you my build, which is still based on my old weapon set right now, but I’m gonna try out the sword build today. Probably without the Torch and rather my shield, but I’ll go for the weakness stuff.

As for Symbol of Faith, I cannot say it has been very useful to me or my group yet. The regeneration buff is just too low, it cannot outheal the hits you take, or even mitigate them a little.

Going for consecration skills is very situational and boss dependent. Most of the time in a dungeon, shouts or other utility skills will be of more use to the group. While Kindread is going for rather the offensive set up, it is because he has a fixed group he plays with, where everybody knows their role. Thing is, you will mostly end up in a PuG. So you have to see what your class does best, and that is imo shooting out boons. But ofc, every class is made so versatile, that you can play any build as long as you know how to and your group responds to it well enough.

Here’s my current build (I’m only lvl 40 tho):
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#McccMz0MoNvamoNvam9MxxamRqMoqm

Psiborg.2983:

As for Symbol of Faith, I cannot say it has been very useful to me or my group yet. The regeneration buff is just too low, it cannot outheal the hits you take, or even mitigate them a little.

It may barely heals, but we can’t use potions in this game, nor have a healing class. Every bit helps, though this game works differently, which will lead to rolling out of the symbol while attempting to dodge an heavy hit of whatever.. I did like Larger Symbols(50%) and Longer Symbols(50%) with it.

While Kindread is going for rather the offensive set up, it is because he has a fixed group he plays with, where everybody knows their role. Thing is, you will mostly end up in a PuG. So you have to see what your class does best, and that is imo shooting out boons. But ofc, every class is made so versatile, that you can play any build as long as you know how to and your group responds to it well enough.

It may not suit me, but I’m interessed to see how the build works for him/them.I will probably end up trying it when I get 60+(wouldn’t be able to get everything until 80 obviously).

Here’s my current build (I’m only lvl 40 tho):
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#McccMz0MoNvamoNvam9MxxamRqMoqm

I had this build from the beginning until a little before 40:
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#McccMV0MMRGvmMRGvm0aaa0oVM
Save Yourselves was mostly for the vigor and fury(Honor 5’s trait gives 1s of Vigor on crit), that way I could roll more, but then I’d get stuck with all the conditions. I could always switch Signet of Judgement for Contemplation of Purity, that way I wouldn’t have a load of condition and have additional boons with Save Yourselves.

When I reach 40, I switch to this:
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#McccMV0MMTnroMTnrm9MaG0zck
I was trying meditation skills, which is why all of my utility skills are meditations.

I tried Sword/Torch last night(on field pve, while exploring leonar’s pass). Kinda fun. I dislike the range of Blinding Flash a little though and I really dislike sword’s auto attacks. Zealot Defense is nice as a mid range skill. I like torch skills a bit, maybe I just need to get used to it, but I did miss my Shield of Absorption a lot. Even though that skill is situational, I just love the knockback..

I have tried Kindread’s build today with the same trait set up. I noticed I lost a lot of sustainability cuz of the different traits. Then again, I’m ofc not used to a condition based build yet. On the other hand, I noticed a big increase in damage, which was nice. Comes all down to how well you can avoid hard hits. Against big bunches of trash mobs that just don’t care about your aegis, it’s a harder challenge than in a dungeon for example, where you have smaller numbers of enemies that attack you at once.

Personally, I feel the Staff is one of the most underutilized weapon for Guardians. The support abilities there are great for open world pve, dungeons, and wvw. I rock staff and greatsword, 30 in Power for the Greatsword Heals, +damage on burning foes, and + Greatsword damage. I think I have 20 toughness and 20 health (I know these are not the names of the catagories, but I am at work and can’t remember what they’re called). I have the larger symbols, and 20% reduced cooldown on 2h abilities. I don’t remember the other 2 trait skills I use.

Basically, this allows me to drop the burning symbol (2 on greatsword) and follow with the whirlwind thing (3 on greatsword) very frequently, which does tons of damage and heals me a little, always nice. You also have the greatsword 4, which allows you to close the distance to your target, as well as act as a free dodge if needed. The 5 skill is just awesome, allowing you to group up a bunch of mobs for a nice 2-3 combo, and interrupt as well, pretty useful stuff.

Staff offers a nice wave attack, great for tagging multiple mobs, which helps to bring in the gold on events, and fill hearts super quick. 2 is a nice damage attack, which can be detonated to heal allies, low cooldown, very useful. 3 is a speed symbol, which also damages enemies and removes conditions from allies, need I say more about this? 4 is a great DPS buff that hits all nearby allies, this is awesome, and it heals those same allies at the end of the channelling…another low cooldown. And 5, (mostly) unpassable wall, great for exploiting choke points.

I use the utility skills which provide stability, to prevent those nasty knockdowns, and some retalliation. I also use the one that gives protection and regen…these are on fairly short cooldowns, and I use them at the beginning of most encounters, to prevent that early knockdown that interrupts my whirlwind thing. 9 is my projectile reflection wall that removes conditions, and last, I have renewed focus to refresh my buffs and provide some invuln time. Basically a very well rounded build with lots of survivability, mobility, and its group friendly as well as a viable solo build. Works for me at least!

Sorry about the delay in replies .. my account was hacked and banned .. awaiting customer service to respond now

Psiborg: Yes the setup I have is more offensive based than many I have seen, but it is offset with the ability to spam blind, and aegis fairly quickly. You can also AoE blind 4 times a minute when you need to deal with groups. I gain sustainability from rapid burn damage, the ability to use my virtues much more often, and to a great effect, and from additional Blind/Aegis effects. You do really need to stack a lot of conditional damage gear to make it truly effective, but can not neglect your tough/vit. Afterall, we are a melee class and do occasionally take damage.

Qelris: I agree with you that the Symbol of Faith skill from the Mace weapon is very nice to have. There are several times in dungeons, or world events that people get down to <10% health. With their heal on cooldown there is no other option but to back up and be useless for a while until they can either heal again, or regen slowly. Dropping regen symbols around on the melee will help in the long run, specially when people are grouped up. Its a great skill, but Psiborg is right, there is no way it will heal enough to offset the damage you will take if you just stand there.
Hope fully I will have my account back soon so I can attempt to make a video. I am not level 80 yet either, but I have all the necessary traits and gear to make it effective.
The range on Blinding Flash is 900, which is generally far enough to stand outside of the AoEs and still hit your target. It was not meant to be a long distance ranged attack, but to give the player just enough room to avoid hits/spells while still being an effective group member. I do agree with you that the Swords auto-attack is kitteny, but the other skills (for me anyhow) far outweigh it. Zealot’s Defense is an amazing skill, likely one of the best sword skills. This allows you to block all attacks for 3 seconds while you channel this skill. It does some pretty amazing damage, and is castable at 600 range, again, not too far, but generally far enough to be outside of an AoE, or power attack from a boss, and still hit them. I like the Torch for the additional burn damage, and the group condition remover, but I can totally see switching it out for a shield, the knockback is great, and with the right traits, you can add quite a bit to your survivability.

Ralcore: I love the staff, primarly for the Line of Warding skill, but also for the Empower skill. The Might boon you and your group get from the Empower skill stacks like 12 times, lasts for about 8 seconds(i think), heals for a good chunk, has a 600 range, and increases damage by a LOT, its quite insane. I have been trying to master the art of weapon switching between my Sword and Torch, to the Staff for those 2 skills, but it takes some practice to get really good at it. I will get there tho! As far as the Greatsword goes, I spent some time with that weapon as well, I really enjoyed the gap closing abilities, and the massive AoE damage that it can put out. It also has an AoE Blind on a 20 second cooldown, which IMO is one of its most impressive traits. Being able to put out very sustainable damage, and help with party support with an additional blind effect is just amazing. In the end though I still decided to stick with the Sword for the ranged attacks, and the torch for the Burn conditions and the group condition remover.

Wish me luck with the customer support .. the support forums are not pretty

Kindread.9481:

Sorry about the delay in replies .. my account was hacked and banned .. awaiting customer service to respond now

Ouch, good luck. I hope you get it back soon.

Qelris: I agree with you that the Symbol of Faith skill from the Mace weapon is very nice to have. There are several times in dungeons, or world events that people get down to <10% health. With their heal on cooldown there is no other option but to back up and be useless for a while until they can either heal again, or regen slowly. Dropping regen symbols around on the melee will help in the long run, specially when people are grouped up. Its a great skill, but Psiborg is right, there is no way it will heal enough to offset the damage you will take if you just stand there.

I guess both of you are right..

The range on Blinding Flash is 900, which is generally far enough to stand outside of the AoEs and still hit your target. It was not meant to be a long distance ranged attack, but to give the player just enough room to avoid hits/spells while still being an effective group member.

Actually, 900 would be good, but it’s 600, which is why I said it has a short range.

Zealot’s Defense is an amazing skill, likely one of the best sword skills. This allows you to block all attacks for 3 seconds while you channel this skill. It does some pretty amazing damage, and is castable at 600 range, again, not too far, but generally far enough to be outside of an AoE, or power attack from a boss, and still hit them.

It blocks projectiles only, not melee attacks.

I like the Torch for the additional burn damage, and the group condition remover, but I can totally see switching it out for a shield, the knockback is great, and with the right traits, you can add quite a bit to your survivability.

I think I’m going to try sword/shield for a bit.

What do you think of..
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#MccoM9cMR9MmMR9Mm0xG0GomqVsms

Signet of Judgement: 10% Damage Reduction when not used. Then if I use it, 5s of Retaliations for allies and 5s of Weakness for foes.

Other 2 slots, not sure what I’d want. I was thinking Contemplation of Purity +Save Yourselves. Save Yourselves grants me a couple of boons while transfering everyone’s conditions to me, then I use Contemplation of Purity to remove those condition and get additional boons? once a minute…

I had 15 trait points left, so I put them in Virtues and got Resolve improvement(even though it’s barely anything, but 3 conditions less on use).

If you have any suggestions, feel free to suggest. This is currently what I will be using for now, and aiming with my traits.

EDIt- Great, now I can’t make up my mind on off hand.. I’ve got a liking into torches now.. Looks way better than an ugly shield on my back and Cleansing Flame is nice.. _.

and I don’t like that utility skills choice I said above. Back to struggling with my build, weee~ lol