Guild Wars 2

Everyone seems to favor shelter as a heal. I found litany of Wrath to be an excellent heal too.
First, it’s a meditation, which means for a mediguard 2k heal + 4s fury, second it launches smite condition if you took the trait, which means an aditional 2kheal +4s fury.

It’s basicaly a heal, that restores 5.5k hp, + 8s fury, and then, every hit you give after that heals you for a percentage.

Is the 2s of block (which is cancelable by CC btw) worth those 8s fury and health stealth ? I have my elite for that :/

It’s mostly the cast-time that kills the romance between me and it. Also the 2s of theoretical incoming blockable conditions/power damage (and all skills/traits that triggers on outgoing damage or crits in favour for the enemy) feels invaluable to me on Shelter, even with the risk of getting interrupted and getting it on full cooldown, it will still trigger Smite Condition when traited

The cast-time of litany is 1s less than Shelter.

I understand the need for block, that could counter almost a whole burst, but it also has a higher CD :/

I guess that block is more useful for PVP builds, but even in PVP, I think they both have their pros and cons

A good thief will interrupt your LoW. The block on shelter is a life saver. The block can also proc burns or AoE aegis depending on your build. Not to mention the countless times I’ve simply kited guards who pop LoW.

Kehlian.4380:

I think they both have their pros and cons

Well I can’t disagree with that. I said what I wanted to say :)

Drennon.7190:

A good thief will interrupt your LoW. The block on shelter is a life saver. The block can also proc burns or AoE aegis depending on your build. Not to mention the countless times I’ve simply kited guards who pop LoW.

ya… .25s cast time.. fastest human reaction time possible is about .1s and ping is about .05s at min for this game. take into account 99% of skills dont actually show theyre being casted until about .1s into it its pretty much mathematically impossible to interupt unless youre literally a god

Booms.2594:

Drennon.7190:

A good thief will interrupt your LoW. The block on shelter is a life saver. The block can also proc burns or AoE aegis depending on your build. Not to mention the countless times I’ve simply kited guards who pop LoW.

ya… .25s cast time.. fastest human reaction time possible is about .1s and ping is about .05s at min for this game. take into account 99% of skills dont actually show theyre being casted until about .1s into it its pretty much mathematically impossible to interupt unless youre literally a god

You’re right. I was thinking of the 1 and 1/4th cast time on SoR. However, the other points are still valid and I can’t think of a situation where I would trade shelter for LoW.

Drennon.7190:

Booms.2594:

Drennon.7190:

A good thief will interrupt your LoW. The block on shelter is a life saver. The block can also proc burns or AoE aegis depending on your build. Not to mention the countless times I’ve simply kited guards who pop LoW.

ya… .25s cast time.. fastest human reaction time possible is about .1s and ping is about .05s at min for this game. take into account 99% of skills dont actually show theyre being casted until about .1s into it its pretty much mathematically impossible to interupt unless youre literally a god

You’re right. I was thinking of the 1 and 1/4th cast time on SoR. However, the other points are still valid and I can’t think of a situation where I would trade shelter for LoW.

its basically more healing and damage (since lower cd) if you play medi guard
also sor is 1s lol

Booms.2594:

Drennon.7190:

Booms.2594:

Drennon.7190:

A good thief will interrupt your LoW. The block on shelter is a life saver. The block can also proc burns or AoE aegis depending on your build. Not to mention the countless times I’ve simply kited guards who pop LoW.

ya… .25s cast time.. fastest human reaction time possible is about .1s and ping is about .05s at min for this game. take into account 99% of skills dont actually show theyre being casted until about .1s into it its pretty much mathematically impossible to interupt unless youre literally a god

You’re right. I was thinking of the 1 and 1/4th cast time on SoR. However, the other points are still valid and I can’t think of a situation where I would trade shelter for LoW.

its basically more healing and damage (since lower cd) if you play medi guard
also sor is 1s lol

1s is easy to steal or headshot. And who would face tank LoW? Sure you can JI or imob before hand, but when you’re popping your heal as an oh kitten, what are the odds that you’ll also be able to set up a burst for a huge heal? Shelter is always useful and that’s why it’s always taken.

Is LoW on your bar right now? I doubt it and there’s a reason.

Also, not to mention that LoW beeing a medi, and smite condition too, LoW gives 4k hp to nearby allies, this is a hell of a support skill

If the guardian had another channeled block that blocked multiple hits then it would be fine to take other heals.

Until then most people will take shelter because damage avoided > damage healed.

What about Renewed Focus ? It also renew your virtues and heal people around, along with giving you some sweet fury

The 2 seconds of blocks is invaluable for us as we still have a pretty low base HP pool and depend on damage mitigation rather than soaking to stay alive.

The number of things that can actually interrupt shelter is pretty low too:
The boundaries of any ground-targeted area denial skill (Line of Warding, Static Field, and etc.)
Wail of Doom
Corrupt Boon (when it hits stability)
Magnetic Shield (when was the last time you saw Conjure Earth Shield anywhere?).
Reaper’s Mark (traited)

The base heal on Litany isn’t very high and the rest of the heal isn’t guaranteed

Renewed focus is 3s of invulnerable, so it can’t even be cast-broke. I’d say it’s pretty good too

Am using it aswell.Definately much better for me,as u dont have to stop DPS but opposite,keep it going.Its faster,lower CD and heals for more most of time.

I ve stoped using shelter since patch came,even on shout guard i rather use shout heal.

Kehlian.4380:

Also, not to mention that LoW beeing a medi, and smite condition too, LoW gives 4k hp to nearby allies, this is a hell of a support skill

You seem to have quite a few misunderstandings about a few skills.

Firstly the trait Smiter’s Boon works with any heal, so Shelter also procs Smite Condition and gains 4s Fury and an extra 2k heal.

Meditations do not heal allies.

The Fury that Meditations grant is shared with allies within a 240 range, that’s all.
Not the heals.

There are certain skills that can interrupt Shelter, which is why I use LoW. Shelter is better for WvW/mid/low level pvp play but if your opponent has a skill that can interrupt shelter, and knows how to use it, then it’s not a very good choice.

Case in point: Medi v. Medi 1v1s and using Binding Blade is extremely effective if you want to kitten over someone using Shelter. You just need to keep a note of their cooldowns to predict the shelter.

Ezrael.6859:

Kehlian.4380:

Also, not to mention that LoW beeing a medi, and smite condition too, LoW gives 4k hp to nearby allies, this is a hell of a support skill

You seem to have quite a few misunderstandings about a few skills.

Firstly the trait Smiter’s Boon works with any heal, so Shelter also procs Smite Condition and gains 4s Fury and an extra 2k heal.

Meditations do not heal allies.

The Fury that Meditations grant is shared with allies within a 240 range, that’s all.
Not the heals.

kitten I thought medi healed allies too ! In that case it would have been interesting, since shelter would have only protected you, and a bit of heal to your allies, as opposed to LoW that would have healed all your allies.

Drennon.7190:

Booms.2594:

Drennon.7190:

Booms.2594:

Drennon.7190:

A good thief will interrupt your LoW. The block on shelter is a life saver. The block can also proc burns or AoE aegis depending on your build. Not to mention the countless times I’ve simply kited guards who pop LoW.

ya… .25s cast time.. fastest human reaction time possible is about .1s and ping is about .05s at min for this game. take into account 99% of skills dont actually show theyre being casted until about .1s into it its pretty much mathematically impossible to interupt unless youre literally a god

You’re right. I was thinking of the 1 and 1/4th cast time on SoR. However, the other points are still valid and I can’t think of a situation where I would trade shelter for LoW.

its basically more healing and damage (since lower cd) if you play medi guard
also sor is 1s lol

1s is easy to steal or headshot. And who would face tank LoW? Sure you can JI or imob before hand, but when you’re popping your heal as an oh kitten, what are the odds that you’ll also be able to set up a burst for a huge heal? Shelter is always useful and that’s why it’s always taken.

Is LoW on your bar right now? I doubt it and there’s a reason.

LoW is indeed on my bar for my dps guard

IMO it depends on the build and what you feel comfortable with. When I play Condi Guard with Carrion ammy I feel LoW is comparable to Shelter and prefer it. With RF, aegis, and the 8s CD highly spammable blind on sword feels like enough defense to me alongside heals Smite Condition, and CoP. Also, since the damage to heal also ticks off of condi damage, and it allows me to use an extra smite condition more often, and it does not interrupt your DPS in the middle of a fight to use it for a build focused on offense it feels more firing. However, I sacrifice the ability to take FMW since then taking RF is mandatory for burst prevention and sustain and to recharge VoJ.

If I wanted to take FMW I would no doubt take Shelter instead.

The more and more i duel my ele friends, the more i hate shelter + smiter’s boon. When they have shocking aura and you use shelter, the smite condition is frontloaded but the heal only procs at end of channel. Therefore, using shelter near an ele with shocking aura will interrupt your by default .. REALLY REALLY ANNOYING!

I’ve been using LoW in my power medi build laterly and having good experience with it.

the tough thing about LoW is you need to trait correctly to make it better. shelter is good on its own. it really depends on where you are, too.

pvp = shelter
wvw = shelter
pve, dungeons = LoW
pve, roaming = shelter
pve, events (lots of mobs) = LoW

i prefer LoW on more defensive/sustain builds (cele hybrid /Soldier) for the shorter cd and cast time + additonal 4 sec fury and 2 condi cleanse (instead of 1 from shelter)

shelter is way better on any ofensive/burst build to prevent focus

Litany is definitely a very solid choice for Medi Guard now. With Monk’s Focus and Smiter’s Boon, you’re looking at a 5.6k base heal on a 1/4s cast time with a 24s cooldown, and that’s not even accounting for the 6 seconds you have available (covered by 8s of fury) to deal more damage to gain more healing.

Shelter is still a good heal, but the block really isn’t as invaluable as people seem to think. Just play smart and you’ll do fine without it.

Loki.6102:

i prefer LoW on more defensive/sustain builds (cele hybrid /Soldier) for the shorter cd and cast time + additonal 4 sec fury and 2 condi cleanse (instead of 1 from shelter)

shelter is way better on any ofensive/burst build to prevent focus

Black Box.9312:

Litany is definitely a very solid choice for Medi Guard now. With Monk’s Focus and Smiter’s Boon, you’re looking at a 5.6k base heal on a 1/4s cast time with a 24s cooldown, and that’s not even accounting for the 6 seconds you have available (covered by 8s of fury) to deal more damage to gain more healing.

Shelter is still a good heal, but the block really isn’t as invaluable as people seem to think. Just play smart and you’ll do fine without it.

Thanks for those inputs, I’m feeling the same about it, and hoped I wasn’t the only one (which would have meant I was probably wrong)

i’m also using it since patch for reasons black box mentioned

I usually agree with 99% of what Black Box says but this time I disagree, heavily. LoW has no place in spvp whatsoever. The sustain gained when focus-fired while utilizing Shelter is invaluable. It’s barely on a higher cd and has saved my butt many a time. LoW just screams, “CC, kite, counter-burst me.”

Arken.3725:

I usually agree with 99% of what Black Box says but this time I disagree, heavily. LoW has no place in spvp whatsoever. The sustain gained when focus-fired while utilizing Shelter is invaluable. It’s barely on a higher cd and has saved my butt many a time. LoW just screams, “CC, kite, counter-burst me.”

l2p

Booms.2594:

Arken.3725:

I usually agree with 99% of what Black Box says but this time I disagree, heavily. LoW has no place in spvp whatsoever. The sustain gained when focus-fired while utilizing Shelter is invaluable. It’s barely on a higher cd and has saved my butt many a time. LoW just screams, “CC, kite, counter-burst me.”

l2p

bwahaha..sorry.

It just came to my mind what would make LoW a juicy pick. What if it had 50% damage as heal (let’s be honest, it’s hard to keep someone in place for 6 seconds so 25% is too low as ppl run away) but 100% damage RECEIVED will heal you for 2-3 seconds duration ? LoW as instant cast, so we could do “surprise son” on enemy burst while we are lacking a considerable ammount of health. Cooldown could be 30 seconds with trait.
But that part with 100% heal would work only once every 2 casts so it wouldn’t be too much OP.