I agree. How can an ele block treb and mortar fire when a guardan cannot. Both skills claim to be able to block projectiles.
They do not claim to block projectiles — in fact neither of them do. Read carefully:
Swirling Winds says, “Create a swirling wind that destroys projectiles.”
Wall of Reflection says, “Protect the targeted area with a wall of mystic power that reflects projectiles.”
Any ability that says it reflects projectiles will not work against siege. ArenaNet likes that players can use abilities to destroy siege projectiles, but they don’t like siege projectiles being reflected back. I agree with that design philosophy (siege costs players cash/badges and cannot be repaired, while walls and gates can be repaired).
Guardians can block siege using Sanctuary although it is very inconsistent and has a massive cooldown. I’m not sure why “Absorb” abilities such as Shield of Absorption don’t work, but there it is.
Sanctuary states, “Form a protective healing shelter for allies. Foes and projectiles cannot enter.” It doesn’t absorb or reflect projectiles, but rather destroys them. This is consistent with Swirling Winds’ usage.
Likewise, the thief utility skill Smoke Screen reads, “Create a smoke screen that blocks projectiles and blinds foes.” It functions similarly to Swirling Winds with a similar duration, cooldown and casting time, but only effects a rectangular area rather than a large 400 unit dome.
I haven’t tried it before, but if the projectile lands directly on top of the tiny little shield that shows up when using Zealot’s Defense then ZD may also allow guardians to stop siege.
The long and short of it is that if an ability is similar to either Swirling Winds or Smoke Screen, it should allow you to block projectiles efficiently. If it’s a long cast time, long cooldown, tiny radius skill such as Sanctuary, then you’re probably better off not even bothering if literally any thief or elementalist is around.
