Guild Wars 2

So been thinking about returning to the game after a few years of not playing and one of the reasons i stopped was i want to play a sword and shield class, preferably guardian, but they suck, or did.

Do they still?

they still suck but u can really enjoy playing revenant , its sword shield class most of the time

are they good at sword and shield? i want a holy knight type char so not super keen on being a darkness warrior but also dont like being the worst player in the game lol so yeah id like guardian but if warrior or revenant are actually good at it well i can be that

Ser Dakota.4601:

are they good at sword and shield? i want a holy knight type char so not super keen on being a darkness warrior but also dont like being the worst player in the game lol so yeah id like guardian but if warrior or revenant are actually good at it well i can be that

Glint revenant is actualy a defender of humanity thats why he can use the power of Glint

Glint/herald is the elite spec you need to unlockit to get the skills and shield from it.

Guardian forums have been infested by the saltiest of people. Don’t let their mixture of sodium and chlorine deceive you.

Sword/Shield is perfectly fine to use. Here’s the key though: look at what the weapons offer you. Don’t try to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Ghotistyx.6942:

Guardian forums have been infested by the saltiest of people. Don’t let their mixture of sodium and chlorine deceive you.

Sword/Shield is perfectly fine to use. Here’s the key though: look at what the weapons offer you. Don’t try to fit a square peg into a round hole.

shield for guard is not bad now

but sword is just lol

the burst misses 80% of the time if you can call that tiny dmg burst
and it has a capcloser that has puny range

and an auto attack the 1 that does not bring anything extra at the final hit just hits 3 times at the end wow sooo epic………..

ZD isn’t an offensive skill
Flashing Blade has the exact same range as Leap of Faith
The auto chain procs VoJ quickly. There’s plenty you can use that for.

Ghotistyx.6942:

ZD isn’t an offensive skill
Flashing Blade has the exact same range as Leap of Faith
The auto chain procs VoJ quickly. There’s plenty you can use that for.

Even if the sword auto attack hit 100% of the time (which it far from ever does) after traits the sword would still fall behind mace, scepter, greatsword & even hammer by a fair margin damage wise.
It would also bring none of the things those other weapons bring like might, pulls, protection, regeneration, immobilize or good cleave.

Really the only thing the sword is good for is PvP due to the teleport & the fact you can use an off hand weapon.
Even then thanks to the new Dh traits mace or scepter tends to be a more tempting offer.

Over all the sword could use some work, so could a great deal of the core guardian traits & a decent number of utility skills.

So What does work well on guard works well but there is a ton that doesn’t.

PS: Zealot’s defense could stand to be overhauled. Its actually a damage loss vs the auto (even with it missing) and the situations where it is useful are limited due to so many things being beam attacks, channeled or just not counting as projectiles.

So its not really viable, sure i can use it but im going to suck, is what it is sounding like lol mosly due to the damage and skills of the sword right?

are there any classes that are viable as a sword and shield user? if so which is the best?

Revenant makes good use of sword-shield. As glint-legend revenant, you are fairly shiny, and emit lots of nice looking effects! Perhaps not holy, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it dark; you’re more like a magical dragon-knight. The facet of strength consumption has a nice looking effect that looks somewhat magical, like light-infused dragon-claws!

Mesmer/Chronomancer also makes excellent use of sword/shield, although that gives off more of a magical feel than a holy knight.

From a role-playing perspective, I’d say guardian with a greatsword is as close to a paladin/holy-knight kind of feel you can get while still maintaining decent damage output.

Ser Dakota.4601:

So its not really viable, sure i can use it but im going to suck, is what it is sounding like lol mosly due to the damage and skills of the sword right?

It all depends on how you’re using the word “viable”.

Are you talking about doing dungeons and fractals in a meta group (built specifically to skip trash and kill bosses in ~15 seconds) in order to complete the content as quickly/efficiently as possible?

If you are, then any spec you can put together with sword/shield gets trounced by GS+LB or GS+mace/torch builds. Sword/shield builds aren’t viable in meta groups.

BUT, there’s more to the game than dungeons/fractals with meta groups.

If you’re talking about soloing or pugging dungeons/fractals with NON-meta groups then I would COMPLETELY disagree and say that sword/shield is not only viable, it might be one of the best options.

Longbow+sword/shield Radiance/Virtues/Dragonhunter is a BEASTLY setup for soloing.

Well its going to be mostly me and my gf playing through the game (not sure on her class yet) so there will probably be some dungeons and whatnot so i dont need to be the best player on the planet just looking to be decent

Sword and shield has its uses, especially since the shield changes. The pairing really is decent as projectile defence, so you can cover and block almost all projectiles, except the attacks like barrage or meteor storm.

That being said, I prefer sword and shield in the jungle, cause ya know, death tends to fly at you instead come swinging in so to speak.

Isn’t mace/shield a better combo?
I thought sword was better with torches and focus?

Shield with DH is really really good! but could be better i would not mind :P

Scepter torch is still better but scepter shield works on a control burn build (or sword torch) and mace shield has very good synergies on a tanky healer build

Aeolus.3615:

Shield with DH is really really good! but could be better i would not mind :P

In what capacity? What build r u using? Was thinking of trying a scepter shielld trapps build for dh but original guardian still seems better…

Well atm i am running a sword and focus build since i bought the wings of gem store and when i stow my shield it makes my wings disappear and that makes me super super sad =(

Nemesis.6938:

Aeolus.3615:

Shield with DH is really really good! but could be better i would not mind :P

In what capacity? What build r u using? Was thinking of trying a scepter shielld trapps build for dh but original guardian still seems better…

I am not using bow nor traps on my DH, bow ic is as a secondary weapon when needed.
Im using DH trait to boost blocks and shield KB, and it is the combination of both that i find good for my gameplay.

Comparing 2 years ago,
Yup, its awesome. You can MOVE while having the bubble that absorb projectile! Cool-down of shield skills reduce tremendously!
For sword, you can reduce its cool-down! More blind!

I’ve been playing with this build for a while now, permissible to swap Sword for Scepter against 2 or more DH or LB DPS Rangers. This also depends on how much close pressure you want to put out or be safe from traps etc. If you prefer to maintain the mobility then switch Mace for Scepter.

Unscathed Contender is also permissible to be swapped for Retaliatory Subconscious for less DPS but added extra sustain. Renewed Focus can also be swapped for Dragon’s Maw for DPS, but I don’t suggest it.

Alongside those traits mentioned above, Stalwart Defender can be picked over Communal Defenses and Soaring Devastation can be swapped for Piercing Light if the player chooses to do so.

Overall this build provides excellent physical damage pressure, with great survivability through huge amount of blocking, protection uptime and aegis, condition removal on block and meditations, spike heals and regen through M/S and meditations. It has decent team support and zone control depending on the team set-up and playstyle.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vVAQRAsd5ensABVdiVDBeDB8Dhl6h6KAW0YQ++z//PLEPxUE-TZBFABiXGghjAQDnAAd2fAgHCAA

Id be happy for any dh non bow build idea as id like to try things out. Mostly interested in pve though