Guild Wars 2

So I do PvE almost the entire time i’m in the game and I mainly do dungeons. So I was wondering what the best build would be for a balanced tank/dmg dealer Guardian for dungeons would be.

I dont want to just be a meat shield spending all my time supporting and I also dont want to be a full zerker.

So what would be the best bet for build/weapons/armor/traits/ etc..?

I’m running an AH/EM build 0/20/30/20/0 using Hamme/Staff and sometimes GS

regarding stats i’m using Knights armor, celestia(ascended) earrings and amulet, zerker rings, back and knight weapons.

I do pretty decent damage and feel really tanky

If you want a balanced build, you should still go full zerker and go 10/30/0/30/0 hammer. That will give you string DPS and permanent protection, which is pretty much the equivalent of having a full set of knights gear. You will outDPS your typical AH knight GS setup and have better defense stats to boot.

I find that balanced builds tend to suffer the most. Because of the way stats appear on gear you really need to go full “tank” or full DPS. If you decide to go full melee DPS then check out my build.

Guanglai Kangyi.4318:

If you want a balanced build, you should still go full zerker and go 10/30/0/30/0 hammer. That will give you string DPS and permanent protection, which is pretty much the equivalent of having a full set of knights gear. You will outDPS your typical AH knight GS setup and have better defense stats to boot.

Id use 0/30/0/30/10 instead. Can take consecration cooldowns that way. Much more useful for the team and still doing decent dps.

Why 30 points in Radiance if you’re not using Right-Hand Strength?

ESKan.6782:

Why 30 points in Radiance if you’re not using Right-Hand Strength?

Because Right Hand Strength is probably one of the best grandmaster traits in the game and you will probably be using a scepter or mace at least some of the time, and that alone makes it worthwhile. If you don’t use a 1H weapon ever, use Perfect Inscriptions. It works out.

Also, if you are inclined to sacrifice DPS for 10 in Virtues for consecration buffs, I would go 10/30/0/20/10. The DPS boost from Fiery Wrath is such a good buff for minimal investment that you’d honestly be stupid not to take it.

You should never use mace in pve. Sword auto attack is good dps though.

And the whole point of 0/30/0/30/10 is that you get dps + consecration cooldowns + pure of voice. If going for full dps then sure you want fiery wrath but then if going full dps you are better off taking a warrior.

Guanglai Kangyi.4318:

Because Right Hand Strength is probably one of the best grandmaster traits in the game and you will probably be using a scepter or mace at least some of the time, and that alone makes it worthwhile.

The only weapon that puts out the highest, consistent (consistency is really important) DPS for Guardians is Greatsword. Everything else is either healing or a flavor preference.

The mace is a weapon for healing and protection. Using the trait Valor > VII Mace of Justice grants 5% additional damage and up to 250 healing power while wielding a mace. Besides the trait you have these mace skills:

1. Faithful Strike (chain 3) – Hit your foe with a final strike and heal nearby allies.
2. Symbol of Faith – Smash a mystic symbol onto the ground that damages foes and regenerates allies.
3. Protector’s Strike – Surround yourself and nearby allies with a shield. Damage foes that strike protected allies. Grant protection to yourself and nearby allies if you are not struck.

Needless to say every skill on a mace for Guardians is meant for healing and protection. A Greatsword has none of these type of skills. It’s pure DPS. If someone was keen on going with a one handed weapon for DPS then I guess a better solution would be sword. But I still feel Greatsword is the best for straight DPS.

Korval.3751:

Guanglai Kangyi.4318:

Because Right Hand Strength is probably one of the best grandmaster traits in the game and you will probably be using a scepter or mace at least some of the time, and that alone makes it worthwhile.

The only weapon that puts out the highest, consistent (consistency is really important) DPS for Guardians is Greatsword. Everything else is either healing or a flavor preference.

The mace is a weapon for healing and protection. Using the trait Valor > VII Mace of Justice grants 5% additional damage and up to 250 healing power while wielding a mace. Besides the trait you have these mace skills:

1. Faithful Strike (chain 3) – Hit your foe with a final strike and heal nearby allies.
2. Symbol of Faith – Smash a mystic symbol onto the ground that damages foes and regenerates allies.
3. Protector’s Strike – Surround yourself and nearby allies with a shield. Damage foes that strike protected allies. Grant protection to yourself and nearby allies if you are not struck.

Needless to say every skill on a mace for Guardians is meant for healing and protection. A Greatsword has none of these type of skills. It’s pure DPS. If someone was keen on going with a one handed weapon for DPS then I guess a better solution would be sword. But I still feel Greatsword is the best for straight DPS.

I really disagree with this analysis. In my experience, Sword DPS is superior to GS DPS. Throw in Right Hand Strength into the analysis and I don’t think you can reasonably disagree that Sword > GS. GS offers up a lot of utility that Sword doesn’t, but for DPS Sword > GS.

Yeah sword auto is really good with right hand strength. Just dont use zealots defense its a dps loss.

Korval.3751:

The only weapon that puts out the highest, consistent (consistency is really important) DPS for Guardians is sword. Everything else is either healing or a flavor preference.

FTFY

@Kilandos and @Spiuk – both of you could be right. I was basing that on limited experience with sword. Against the same mobs DPS from Sword / Shield was less than DPS from Greatsword. Of course there’s no DPS log analytic so it’s hard to know for certain.

Both people are right because thiers no right answer. It’s player specifikittenil a valid dps meter is made. Hope it never happens because that’s when the elitist will be even more annoying.

You know that it’s quite possible to compare two weapons’ DPS, using well-accepted damage formulas from the wiki and the skill coefficients you find there (or which can calculate for yourself)?

i am a huge advocate for doing things that people tell me i shouldn’t. XDD

i use mace in PvE. i use mace to burst. i use mace’s auto to hit 2.5k-3k-4k chains. i use protector’s strike to hit up to ~7k.

not to say, i don’t like the greatsword or sword as well. i guess my point is, there’s no need to narrow your options down when they can do so much more for you if you’re willing to give it a shot.

but to be honest, as great as big numbers and killing fast are, don’t forget to stick to the weapons that you enjoy most as well. unless, if killing ASAP is your sole goal, then that’s a different story. : ))