Any class goes with a guardian IMO, but here are some recommendations from what we have fought against:
Dual guardian teams are ridiculously hard to bring down. They feed off each other making very tough targets.
Mesmers work well since they have very good group stealth allowing the guardian to frequently escape when necessary. They also output a lot of clones allowing the guardian pulls and locks to be effective shatter traps. You don’t want to get “domed” without stability in this fight.
Condi-bunker Necros would also be on my short list. They cannot be ignored in a fight and guardians tend to make them even tougher to bring down.
Sarcasm For Hire [SFH]
“Youre lips are movin and youre complaining about something thats wingeing.”
I like roaming with a condi engie because it means I get less focus and there’s also condi pressure (read full perplex p/sh crap) on the opponent. Or with a thief. The only thing stronger than a burst guardian is a burst guardian with stealth.
Anything goes.
That said, I had great times with a support guard while playing a power or hybrid D/D ele: one can take a punch and one can deliver some. You both share aggro (which can’t be said about duos with a mesmer or thief) and have superior boon and heal support. Might is easily stacked while maintaining protection and regeneration nearly all the time when using well-rounded builds.
Kodash [DE] – Ninja Nurse Rescue Squad [care] – Elementalist
A landing you can walk away from just wasn’t fast enough.
I like roaming with a condi engie because it means I get less focus
You would be the first thing I target. Engineers = you should be on the floor downed.
Interesting order there. I used to roam with a condi engie all the time and I never got the focus. Perhaps it’s because most people just assume you’re another staff-1 spamming guardian.
I’ll probably stick with the warrior, because truthfully i’ve played casters, stealthers and hybrids i tend to do good with some but I kind of want a solid class.
I like roaming with a condi engie because it means I get less focus
You would be the first thing I target. Engineers = you should be on the floor downed.
Interesting order there. I used to roam with a condi engie all the time and I never got the focus. Perhaps it’s because most people just assume you’re another staff-1 spamming guardian.
I support the notion of warrior/guardian teams. Once killed around 10 players with 2 warriors and 1 guardian (and they were level 80s from a guild). After that they brought whole guild down on our ‘Headquarters’ and we fought and died honorably in 3 vs. 20.
Warrior/Guardian teams have a lot of control but will likely fold up to heavy condi-bunker or evasive condi teams. Condi is currently dominating skirmish so not bringing one to a fight will leave you handicapped at least 50% of the time with one exception… another guardian. The only reason dual guardians work so well is because of how well the two feed off each others class mechanics.
There might be an exception for a Shout Warrior, but bringing one along in a two man group is going require the guardian to be the primary source of damage which is problematic.
Sarcasm For Hire [SFH]
“Youre lips are movin and youre complaining about something thats wingeing.”
Not to point out the obvious, but Engineer has a lot of AoE condition damage and control, while Thief has very high single-target burst. Basically something that is slippery and mobile (and does a lot of damage) which usually forces people to target the Guardian eventually.
I like roaming with a condi engie because it means I get less focus
You would be the first thing I target. Engineers = you should be on the floor downed.
Interesting order there. I used to roam with a condi engie all the time and I never got the focus. Perhaps it’s because most people just assume you’re another staff-1 spamming guardian.
Maybe he thought you were the eng.
Ya know, I didn’t think of that. Should have specified myself as the guardian. I suppose my point would be that opponents would be so busy with the engie that they pay less heed to the guardian absolutely melting them. Works almost every time.
Thief has very high single-target burst. Basically something that is slippery and mobile (and does a lot of damage) which usually forces people to target the Guardian eventually.
We have been moving away from the thief because it is too squishy in heavy AoE fights, struggles under heavy condi pressure and brings very few synergy skills to a group. Pretty much any class including the Ranger is an upgrade in skirmish over the thief (and I cannot believe I just typed that). Thanks to Ferocity changes the thief just doesn’t pack the punch it once did and the condi-bunker version is a cheap knockoff of a mesmer, engi, necro condi-bunker.
The class is still a stellar roamer but not a top caliber skirmisher any longer. It also does well in skirmish groups that are essentially several roamers running together but if that group runs into an actual skill group built for skirmishing they will likely get annihilated.
Sarcasm For Hire [SFH]
“Youre lips are movin and youre complaining about something thats wingeing.”
The most versatile choice would be engi or ranger.
Engi for superior aoe and utility, or ranger for superior single target damage and utility.
It boils down to what kind of enemies you expect to meet.
If you choose to look for a ranger to play with, make sure they run shout+spirit or bm or a shout+bm combo. Condition build is mandatory for ranger. Also, do a few test runs with the ranger player, if he suck, do not hesitate to dump him/her. They got to know what they are doing if the two of you is going to succeed
Function wise, warrior would be a good choice, but the gap in mobility between warrior and guard is so large that you will most likely have issues sticking together enough
Lv 80 Guard, Ranger, Ele, Thief, warr, engi
Currently @ some T1 server in EU
Thief has very high single-target burst. Basically something that is slippery and mobile (and does a lot of damage) which usually forces people to target the Guardian eventually.
We have been moving away from the thief because it is too squishy in heavy AoE fights, struggles under heavy condi pressure and brings very few synergy skills to a group. Pretty much any class including the Ranger is an upgrade in skirmish over the thief (and I cannot believe I just typed that). Thanks to Ferocity changes the thief just doesn’t pack the punch it once did and the condi-bunker version is a cheap knockoff of a mesmer, engi, necro condi-bunker.
The class is still a stellar roamer but not a top caliber skirmisher any longer. It also does well in skirmish groups that are essentially several roamers running together but if that group runs into an actual skill group built for skirmishing they will likely get annihilated.
I had duoing in mind since that’s what the thread was about. I agree with you that Thief quickly loses it’s effectiveness the larger the fight grows, which is at this point just being annoying to one player with it’s mediocre damage. For larger fights it’s probably Engineer or a burst Guardian paired with the more support Guardian.
A well specced and skilled enough Thief should be good enough, with that said I wouldn’t put the average Thief high on the list otherwise compared to a Ele, Necro or even Engineer tbh.
But decent DPS, blind fields, Venom share, stealth ressing and a spammable blast finisher isn’t too shabby.
Scrubio
Plays completely opposite professions to his main Teef.
A well specced and skilled enough Thief should be good enough, with that said I wouldn’t put the average Thief high on the list otherwise compared to a Ele, Necro or even Engineer tbh.
But decent DPS, blind fields, Venom share, stealth ressing and a spammable blast finisher isn’t too shabby.
Only issue with necro and guard combo is that despite it sounding a bit ironic they are both ridiculously easy to overload with conditions. As a pair it will be garder, but nit that much harder.
Also, even though they both have options to give them some CC, they still do not produce enough to bog down other roamers like warriors, thieves, rangers and eles.
Venomshare is really nice, but it puts the thief at a slight disadvantage as it does not allow for much sustain, even with leeching venoms.
Lv 80 Guard, Ranger, Ele, Thief, warr, engi
Currently @ some T1 server in EU
A well specced and skilled enough Thief should be good enough, with that said I wouldn’t put the average Thief high on the list otherwise compared to a Ele, Necro or even Engineer tbh.
But decent DPS, blind fields, Venom share, stealth ressing and a spammable blast finisher isn’t too shabby.
Only issue with necro and guard combo is that despite it sounding a bit ironic they are both ridiculously easy to overload with conditions. As a pair it will be garder, but nit that much harder.
Ummm…what? The two classes that are both extremely hard to overload with conditions are now the two easiest? Necros have more total clears than any other profession (two totals, two potential totals).
Guardians and Necros cover each-other’s weaknesses extremely well (outside of the low mobility).
A well specced and skilled enough Thief should be good enough, with that said I wouldn’t put the average Thief high on the list otherwise compared to a Ele, Necro or even Engineer tbh.
But decent DPS, blind fields, Venom share, stealth ressing and a spammable blast finisher isn’t too shabby.
Only issue with necro and guard combo is that despite it sounding a bit ironic they are both ridiculously easy to overload with conditions. As a pair it will be garder, but nit that much harder.
Necro is the only class that turns self condi overload into a vastly powerful offensive tool… conditions are not an issue. The biggest problem is finding enough people to make the roaming interesting without taking on so many that the incidental boon removal and disables overload the light availability of stability.
A well specced and skilled enough Thief should be good enough, with that said I wouldn’t put the average Thief high on the list otherwise compared to a Ele, Necro or even Engineer tbh.
But decent DPS, blind fields, Venom share, stealth ressing and a spammable blast finisher isn’t too shabby.
Only issue with necro and guard combo is that despite it sounding a bit ironic they are both ridiculously easy to overload with conditions. As a pair it will be garder, but nit that much harder.
Necro is the only class that turns self condi overload into a vastly powerful offensive tool… conditions are not an issue. The biggest problem is finding enough people to make the roaming interesting without taking on so many that the incidental boon removal and disables overload the light availability of stability.
Yes necro is a horrible opponent for condi builds, but it isn’t too hard to overload them either. Timing is everything, that and continuous pressure. Luckily, only 3 classes can apply that condi pressure and still survive even if all condis are sent back at them.
Best option for any guard is classes with versatile functions. Rangers, eles, engis. They are quick, can grant loads of swiftness and can play multiple roles at the same time
Lv 80 Guard, Ranger, Ele, Thief, warr, engi
Currently @ some T1 server in EU
A well specced and skilled enough Thief should be good enough, with that said I wouldn’t put the average Thief high on the list otherwise compared to a Ele, Necro or even Engineer tbh.
But decent DPS, blind fields, Venom share, stealth ressing and a spammable blast finisher isn’t too shabby.
Only issue with necro and guard combo is that despite it sounding a bit ironic they are both ridiculously easy to overload with conditions. As a pair it will be garder, but nit that much harder.
Necro is the only class that turns self condi overload into a vastly powerful offensive tool… conditions are not an issue. The biggest problem is finding enough people to make the roaming interesting without taking on so many that the incidental boon removal and disables overload the light availability of stability.
Yes necro is a horrible opponent for condi builds, but it isn’t too hard to overload them either. Timing is everything, that and continuous pressure. Luckily, only 3 classes can apply that condi pressure and still survive even if all condis are sent back at them.
Best option for any guard is classes with versatile functions. Rangers, eles, engis. They are quick, can grant loads of swiftness and can play multiple roles at the same time
I can’t argue against roaming with an ele as I have never know one intersted in roaming to compare, but I can tell you ranger/necro has severe issues if the opponent targets the necro, as the ranger cannot do anything to aid the necro getting focused. Engineer/necro works fine in theory, but the two classes only synergize in the sense they both can put out a lot of conditions.
How exactly do you time conditions right on a necro? They have some of the strongest removal options, and with the shortest cooldowns for those removal skills. The vastly common S/D Staff build has three removal options:
Deathly swarm at 18 seconds which can remove 12 conditions in the right situation or 3 at worst, Putrid mark which removes 3 on a 25 second cooldown, and CC which removals all on a 25 second cooldown. Nevermind that they can sit in deathshroud and just tank conditions if all 3 happen to be on cooldown by some happenstance of misplay.
And then there are utility options for more removal if you want to take those into account. It isn’t a matter of timing, it is just isn’t a thing. You don’t condi overload a necro.
The fundamental problem with roaming with a thief is that the other player(s) will be focused heavily. Guardians do stand up to heavy pressure but in out numbered situations AoE and spreading damage quickly becomes key to winning a fight hence necros, mesmers and engis being better suited for the task. A thief cannot soak up extra damage, cannot help remove condi pressure and barely mitigates direct damage with blinds. Thief is a stellar roamer and MIGHT round out a large skirmish group but is basically just extra damage in a duo with little added benefit.
Their big contribution…. watching you go down while stealthed and then reviving. Oh and the oft running away leaving you to die method.
Yes necro is a horrible opponent for condi builds, but it isn’t too hard to overload them either. Timing is everything, that and continuous pressure. Luckily, only 3 classes can apply that condi pressure and still survive even if all condis are sent back at them.
Comes down to the necro build. If they go WoP and take the condition heal, they become very difficult to overload far more so than pretty much any other class. To my knowledge no class has the ability to clear all stacks every 25s and it removes poison effects for a consistent heal. Only my warrior can shuffle off condis faster in my experience and it requires landing a blow (often a very difficult proposition) to do so.
The fundamental problem with roaming with a thief is that the other player(s) will be focused heavily. Guardians do stand up to heavy pressure but in out numbered situations AoE and spreading damage quickly becomes key to winning a fight hence necros, mesmers and engis being better suited for the task. A thief cannot soak up extra damage, cannot help remove condi pressure and barely mitigates direct damage with blinds. Thief is a stellar roamer and MIGHT round out a large skirmish group but is basically just extra damage in a duo with little added benefit.
Their big contribution…. watching you go down while stealthed and then reviving. Oh and the oft running away leaving you to die method.
Yes necro is a horrible opponent for condi builds, but it isn’t too hard to overload them either. Timing is everything, that and continuous pressure. Luckily, only 3 classes can apply that condi pressure and still survive even if all condis are sent back at them.
Comes down to the necro build. If they go WoP and take the condition heal, they become very difficult to overload far more so than pretty much any other class. To my knowledge no class has the ability to clear all stacks every 25s and it removes poison effects for a consistent heal. Only my warrior can shuffle off condis faster in my experience and it requires landing a blow (often a very difficult proposition) to do so.
Very true… the nerf to power D/D eles has been substantial unfortunately. So much so that the condi variant is now more powerful.
im not so good with my thief at doing condition builds, i dont even begin to THINK about using condi ele, it is worthless, So for this comparison ill use my ranger as an example. Ranger can actually easily pressure a necro. The trick to “overload” is to keep high load of ONE condition on the enemy. then occasionally apply one more. When the enemy is loading you up with 19 stacks of bleeding and some burning/poison, then you REALLY want to cleanse it. However ranger can easily reapply all those conditions + some more. I know that the necro can cleanse almost all conditions within 30 seconds, so that is my timeframe. You got to force them to consume/use their other options, then just dump all you got on them. Same applies to guard, but guard has 2 very good cleanses at hand at any time, so it takes some more work to make them use those cleanses.
It is by no means easy, and i have lost to many a necromancer and guard in the process of getting that timing and the rotations down. It is however doable, and the result is a 80% chance of defeating them or forcing them to blow all cleanses/reflects/converts they got. In which case, you can just drop another bomb without any danger to yourself.
To those who say thief is a good partner for anything – it is not.
Zerk thief – dies to AOE attacks or conditions before the guard will have a chance to react.
Bunker condi thief will be handled by the enemy quite easily if you meet up against equal numbers. Solo roamers will loose though.
Venomshare thief will lose useful self-sustain utilities that would otherwise kept it alive.
Boon rip thief – no point, not very effective since there is few guardian and ele roamers running about.
Lv 80 Guard, Ranger, Ele, Thief, warr, engi
Currently @ some T1 server in EU
As some mentioned already, I believe that a necromancer would make a strong combination with a Guardian orientied on dealing damage(or balanced at least).
Then if Guardian is more defense-orientied, high-burst stealth thief would probably be a great teammate. Stealth will force people to focus on Guardian while the Thief is going to pick off enemies.
