Guild Wars 2

I would like to know why Anet would put in a class that can tank a whole team of 5 for 2 to 3 minutes in a game that is supposed to be all balanced classes. Elementalists can’t do this. Warriors can’t do this. Why are Guardians the only one?

You were outgeared and /or outplayed

Only class I’ve seen do this in WvW is thief. given that they have perma-invisible.

Guardians fall easy enough when focused, especially if you have access to poison, which is basically our kryptonite given our massive reliance on healing.

The case cited, if true, is an exception. They can survive better than many other professions, but it does take skill to survive that long with so many players ganging up on you. I assume the other players weren’t experienced enough (not to mention his/her damage might have been low, which is OK, but also a consideration.)

Also, Guardians can’t do everything that other professions do.

-No pet (anti pet Rangers would consider this a benefit :P)
-Not very mobile; even some attacks are rather slow
-Very few conditions (burning, blind, vulnerability), so damage through conditions is very limited, despite the strength of burning
-Cannot match some other classes burst damage
-Limited ranged options (they are good enough, but perhaps the worst of all professions)
-Not fun to play for many people. Though it requires skill/XP to play them well, other classes can be WAY more complex (for better or worse); it is not that involving to play a Guardian vs, say, an Engineer, and such apparent gameplay simplicity may turn off many players.
-Very low Hit Point base
-Not many snares

How is the Guardian “the best, invincible class” seeing as it has its inherent disadvantages? I feel it’s quite OK as-is.

Because warriors are built to stay alive only long enough to unload their burst damage and guardians are meant to stay alive almost indefinitely while supporting.

Guardians can go DPS and Warriors can go support tank, but neither of them will be as effective

Stop complaining just because you and a few of your stupid noob friends in level 30 blues couldn’t kill a skilled Guardian who was properly geared.

@Star Ace I was in a pug, so their damage and skill vary. All I know is everyone is hacking on this guardian and he lasted for about 2 minutes until his team came to help. The title is a slight exaggeration. He was somehow managing to block my cc every 30 seconds also. With all the the points that you listed, Guardians still seem to have the defensive advantage simply because this is all point capturing pvp. I also have yet to see a premade team that doesn’t use a Guardian defensive build.

Every class has something they specialize in, Being tanky is just one of guardians. I myself roll a bit more of a tanky spec with some dps mixed in. Can I burst someone down like a warrior or a thief? Hell no. Do i have the mobility of a thief or a d/d ele? Not even close. But that is how those classes are built to survive. Guardians are just built to take damage since we dont have the mobility or the outright killing power of other classes. Are there ways to spec to be kitten near invincible? Yes I know of a spec, however it has very low killing power except in certain situations. (it is sadly i direct counter to my build :/)

It really comes down to a matter of knowing what counters what and sometimes there really isnt much you can do once you already engaged an enemy.

Guardians can spec pretty well for anti-cc, anti-conditions, and mitigation. It usually makes our burst damage pretty bad, though. I’m guessing the guardian didn’t actually kill anyone?

Try playing a guardian specced that way – you’ll figure out counters pretty fast.

BringBackMonks.7068:

Elementalists can’t do this.

Incorrect, I was in some SPVP and an elementalist was somehow holding a point against three of us and killing some of us. I was also a tanky spec so there was no way I’d be able to beat that ele. Not to mention they were putting out respectable damage. I have no idea how they did that so well but it certainly was a skillful elementalist.

BringBackMonks.7068:

I would like to know why Anet would put in a class that can tank a whole team of 5 for 2 to 3 minutes in a game that is supposed to be all balanced classes. Elementalists can’t do this. Warriors can’t do this. Why are Guardians the only one?

You’re not talking about a profession, you’re talking about a player and player skill.

Maybe you don’t realize that, because you’re frustrated, but it’s almost certainly the case. I’ve seen every single profession in this game do amazing things when played with skill. Other day a guildie of mine who plays a rifle engineer soloed two champions for quite some time in the asura disco fractal (I don’t remember what it’s really called, that’s just what I call it for laughs).

We were gobsmacked. We all lay there, dead, while he soloed a golem and an ettin. He would have beat them if some buggy timer hadn’t caused him to just up and reset (we were heartbroken, it was so epic).

I’ve seen elementalists completely shred 3 to 5 opponents in WvW.

So please, don’t come in here saying such things as guardians are “invincible.” You just saw someone with skill playing one, that’s all.

BringBackMonks.7068:

He was somehow managing to block my cc every 30 seconds also.

With a common trait, especially for bunkers, they could be using Stand Your Ground! at 24 second recharge, and/or Save Yourselves! at 40-something seconds, and/or Judge’s Intervention. You would need to use some back-to-back-to-back, or coordinated CC if they have more than one of these equipped. Guardians can also have decent passive anti-condition alongside these, or active, depending on the rest of their load out.

Overall, though, I will reiterate the main point: you just got outplayed, especially if it was five of you in a PUG. It happens. If the guard played their maneuvering properly, had the right weapons/utilities for bunkering, and didn’t panic and blow their cooldowns, staying alive for 2 minutes against an uncoordinated gaggle is doable and hardly unfair given how simple it is to actually counter with any level of coordination via repeated conditions and CC, and how much the guard probably had to give up in terms of offensive power.

That’s what they call a bunker-build, son.

It’s built to last.

Having been in such situations and surviving against 4 or 5 opponents for a couple of minutes, I would say that facing PUGs often works in our favour.

With my build I have a bucket load of ways to avoid damage, stay mobile and self heal, but have low HP. In 1v1 I can be DPSd down in a blink if my opponent knows what they are doing, but in an unorganised group a guardian can be very effective at causing confusion.
AoE knockbacks and pulls – numerous ways to break CC and maintain stability.
In such situations I leap and teleport between different foes, which can keep them on the back foot.
If you get knocked down you can explode instantly back in someone’s face with IJ. Or pop shields or invincibility at the right moment.
But actually killing anyone in such a fight is very unlikely, and I tend to die eventually unless I get backup or find some way to escape. I can be strung out for minutes though.

I’m willing to bet that guardian never came close to killing anyone either. That’s the balance part of being able to tank lots of players.

I don’t get why people can’t just play the game. Its a bunker build that is their purpose! Same goes for glass cannons, they all sacrifice something to be better at what they do. Yes, some things need to be toned down on both sides, but not by much.

Ele have a similar build as do Necro, Warrior, Thief, Ranger, Eng which IMO is the best Bunker next to ele. I am not sure about mesmer but im pretty sure all classes have a “Bunker” type build. Guardian is easiest to counter by far.

Yesterday I jumped on my engineer and headshotted a deer at point blank. It didn’t die.
I rerolled guardian instead to have a roast venison.

Welcome to the party, Guardian :-D

-Thief :-P

Note: Looks like not only did I pick the class most complained about as my main, but also the next class on the list as my alt <le sigh>

I’ve been playing spvp nearly every day since launch and I couldn’t agree more that the Guardian, when specced for it, will probably not die. However, this play style will make this character have zero threat and will just sit there taking a beating without doing anything in return. Also, you’ll notice to stay alive, you’d have to stay in your symbols which will impede any movement outside of a point.

BringBackMonks.7068:

I would like to know why Anet would put in a class that can tank a whole team of 5 for 2 to 3 minutes in a game that is supposed to be all balanced classes. Elementalists can’t do this. Warriors can’t do this. Why are Guardians the only one?

This ele would like to have a word with you.
Check out the other video’s on the channel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og8tnQ-rieI

Ele’s are on par if not better than Guardians in terms of bunker. They have better mobility, and aren’t confined to a symbol while healing just as well.

brandon.6735:

BringBackMonks.7068:

I would like to know why Anet would put in a class that can tank a whole team of 5 for 2 to 3 minutes in a game that is supposed to be all balanced classes. Elementalists can’t do this. Warriors can’t do this. Why are Guardians the only one?

This ele would like to have a word with you.
Check out the other video’s on the channel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og8tnQ-rieI

Holy whoah…

A guardian in that situation would of died within a second. 8(

Arken.3725:

A guardian in that situation would of died within a second. 8(

in second no… but very fast, yes.

I do stuff like this regularly for fun. Just takes practice. It also helps when the enemy doesn’t know how to shut you down (immobilize for my particular build). Then again, my utility is almost all about shutting that down. My current record is 1v4, no scaled characters, ending in a 4:0 K:D. I’m not saying they were the greatest of foes, but…

Just don’t try to play a glass cannon.

Edit: @OP, use more immobilizes.

Ganzo.5079:

Arken.3725:

A guardian in that situation would of died within a second. 8(

in second no… but very fast, yes.

I didn’t mean it like that but yes. It’s true, the Guardian doesn’t have many escape mechanisms.

This is like the party of 6 that I’m sure I pissed off (or not, they probably thought they were hot kitten) in W3.

I was my Guardian retreating from one of our towers that came under heavy attack. This party of 6 chased me down a hill, across a lake, and way up a road; I was leading them to a friendly camp. Well I had not quite made it there, but I was out of stuff to keep me alive and running, so I went on the offensive to do as much damage as possible (which was a hilarious amount since they blew a lot trying to get me, I binding blade —> whirling wrathed all of them and then some.)

Well they did finish me off… about 5s before my friendly army came over and steamrolled them. End results: They got 1 kill, I got 6, I got revived on the spot to join the attacking force, while they were deep behind our lines and had to WP rally.

I don’t know about you, but I play a “bunker” Guardian and Thiefs have gibbed me in under 3 seconds numerous times. Frenzied hundred blades combos or a kill shot landing = splat.

Why are you just standing around in HB?

I can last a minute or so against a team. Usually stalling and trolling and picking who to kill before I go down. But we are not even close to invincible thats a bit pushing it.

brandon.6735:

BringBackMonks.7068:

I would like to know why Anet would put in a class that can tank a whole team of 5 for 2 to 3 minutes in a game that is supposed to be all balanced classes. Elementalists can’t do this. Warriors can’t do this. Why are Guardians the only one?

This ele would like to have a word with you.
Check out the other video’s on the channel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og8tnQ-rieI

Just wanted to point out, this is a really old build. =/

put poison on a guardian and focus him.. he will die.