Guild Wars 2

Hey all! I haven’t played my Guardian in a while, but I have a question. I’m currently running AH build, but I want to change it.

Is it possible to create/spec for a “full” retaliation Guardian?
If it is, do anyone have a link/video for the details?

If not, what other viable builds can you suggest? I’m mostly on PvE, dungeons, events and the like. I’m mostly “offensive” build if it matters.

Thank you in advance!

Retaliation is not very useful in dungeons but it’s possible. For offensive play, I would recommend something like this: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQJARWlYg67GFSLEfIFSWhC0mBBBQVFiHcGYUGB

Do notice it’s 100% offensive and focuses on the use of greatsword and staff. Also you have retreat for more aegis uptime as you will deal 20% more damage when you have aegis on. Also remember to dodge alot and keep you enemies on fire. If you meet all the requirements, you will deal 50% more damage.

Staff is for might and team support. When a harder boss comes tho, you can switch greatsword to scepter-focus.

You mean the retaliation boon? It’s not the greatest for PvE because monsters don’t swing at you as quickly as players. You can get tons of retaliation with any build using a Greatsword and the retaliation uptime trait in Virtues. Leaping out of fields of light gives you retaliation on top of the symbol.

If all you care is about retaliation, then something like this would give you a very high upkeep. I wouldn’t recommend it though.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQFARlYg67WFyIEgYFS2jVyARQrCDUtAMFEIGdLA-TYACxUi5EzIm0LrXA

Hmm.. It seems that retaliation builds are not that good in pve.. Thanks so much for the input (and saving me money) guys.

Now, I may ask: What’s a “good” dps build for pve nowadays?

You have plenty of options. 10/25/0/10/25 shouts and Greatsword, 10/30/30/0/0 meditations Sword/Focus, 10/30/0/30/0 shouts Sword/Focus, etc. Main thing is: stack as many multipliers as possible. Fiery Wrath, Radiant Power, Power of the Virtuous, Force sigils, and so on. Virtually every DPS build worth its salt uses at least 10/25 for +20% damage to burning things.

While Sword/Focus seems to be the standard in DPS, Greatsword has good potential too with some Might or Boon duration. I have a theoretical build I may try out. A 10/0/0/20/30 build (with 10 points left for variety). The key elements are 100% Might duration, Empowering Might, Wrathful Strike, Sigil of Strength, and Permeating Wrath. In mobs, you should be able to get an easy 25 stacks of Might with around 40% critical hit rate. That’s 875 Power and Condition Damage. You’ll hit everything in the area, stack up damage, and cause area Burning to those mobs. Against a single enemy, I still expect someone could stack around 15 stacks of Might (525 Power/Cond). Start off with another weapon with a Sigil of Bloodlust and you can gain up to 1125 additional Power. Bowl of Lotus Stirfry could make for a better alternative if you don’t want to invest in a lot of Might/Boon Duration.

Again, purely an experimental idea I would have to test. I only have a Knight set and Magi/Cleric hybrid set to test, so it wouldn’t be an optimal test. I may pick up some Berserker trinkets (with Knight armor) and see how it plays out. The 10 points left can be used for anything. 10 more in Honor for Pure of Voice or Two-handed Mastery, 10 in Valor for Purity or Mediation Mastery, 10 or more in Zeal for Zealous Blade.

Greatsword is always going to have better area DPS. Especially with Permeating Wrath. It just tends to suffer against single targets although that’s not always the case. There are some good threads on PvE DPS on the Guru forums.