[Build] PvE Versatile damage build

[Build] PvE Versatile damage build

in Guardian

Posted by: Lanster.4218

Lanster.4218

So I started playing Guardian a while back. I believe it’s one of the top tier profession in the game, due to vast amount of synergies between the skills and traits. This build emphasis on this, and still allow the build to go versatile and change out traits and skills to the player’s liking. It’s a lot of fun and doesn’t require a lot of skill due to the fair amount of defensive tools.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUEQRAsf7dlYgSBHFyvDf4ESmCWCBteAQ9j/gpAjgPA

Summary: The build relies on burning damage and crits to dps. The traits are specced to make sure you are constant killing mobs and refreshing your justice with renewed justice. This allows you to spam active justice as much as you can, so burning damage is going to be a major source of dps.

The other source of damage is from your crits. Burning on mobs ensure your Radiant Power is on most of the time. 30 in radiance ensure your crit chance is high, and also your burning damage is high.

20 in Honor allows you to pick up Empowering Might, and coupled with your 30 radiance, you’ll constantly have might stacks. Also you have the vigorous precision, allowing you dodge more with more crits.

20 in Virtue gives more boon duration, making Empowering Might and boons from shouts last a bit longer. Virtue of Retribution gives you retaliation when you use justice, which will be a constant help. Traits in virtue depends on what you prefer, condition removal via IX or more damage via VIII.

I did not go fiery wrath in the power tree because radiant power does everything, if not better. Against burn immune enemies, radiant power still let you hit for more damage if your allies debuff the mobs.

Weapons:

Sword + torch and scepter + focus

Both sword and scepter hits fast, so more chance to trigger crits, which leads to might and vigor. Both benefit from Radiance XI and sword from X. Sword have some inbuilt defence, such as sword 2 for blind, and sword 3 for projectile deflection. Focus 4 and 5 also provide some defence. Torch 4 does more burn, even while you’re cc’ed.

What? You don’t like one handed weapons?

Greatsword – Switch out radiance X and XI for something you like. Optionally, you can also get Honor IX for CD reduction. Generally I find GS a bit slow in term of attack speed, and is probably better with a power build.

Staff – Honor IX will be very useful. Feel free to change out the utility and elite skill as you see fit. Access to Honor and Virtues can provide some really useful support abilities.

This is a really rough description of the build, and I’m not suggesting what I’m using is the optimal way to play this type of guardian. The best thing is anyone can switch traits and skills to how they like to play and likely to improve on the build.

As I don’t check the forum all that often, if it seems like I’m copying someone else’s build, please inform me and I’ll get rid of this.

Feel free to comment and provide feedback. Thanks.

[Build] PvE Versatile damage build

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Posted by: Danicco.3568

Danicco.3568

You’re limited to one-handers, which in my opinion, lack compared to two-handers for nearly every situation in the game.

Empowering Might has a 1 sec cooldown, so it doesn’t really matter if the Sword hits faster because you’re still limited to the CD. Using a Greatsword with Symbol of Wrath and Whirling Wrath is just as effective to getting Empowering Might (at the same crit chance), or a Hammer’s auto-attack with it’s Symbol as well.

Switching traits in Radiance to appeal more for two-handers also doesn’t change anything, Radiance has very lackluster major traits aside from Signet Mastery and Right Handed Strength.
It’s minors are the most valuable traits there, and maybe if you use Signets and pick Perfect Inscriptions, but still… not really worth it.

Even if you do focus on one-handers, try to pick Fiery Wrath for damage. It’s a 10% extra damage to a build not focused on power, where you should value these damage increases even more to compare with a power build.
It’s not a question that “Radiant Power does better”, it’s one of the traits that increase all your damage output and you should try to pick it.
It’s way better having Radiant Power AND Fiery Power than just Radiant Power, right?
(and Fiery Power is easily accessible too)

Although I really want to like Radiance, and it feels perfect for one-handers builds, it just feels wrong to spend there because:

- We all need to spend on Honor. It has so many good minor and major traits, that’s it’s nearly mandatory to pick them. Great traits, so many great choices, allowing great versatility as well. Because of this, we can’t spec further into Valor to get our Crit Damage to help Radiance’s high crit rates.
You may do so at the loss of Empowering Might, Two Handed Mastery, Battle Presence, Selfless Daring and other really awesome traits.

- Radiance’s minors allow VoJ spam for farming. That’s even more awesome when paired with Virtue if you want to get the best of it, which also means less points in Valor/Honor.

- High crit chance doesn’t equal to high damage. We need Power and/or Critical Damage to make it actually count. You can crit 100% of the times dealing 150% damage of your 100, or you can crit 25% dealing 200% damage of your 125 base and the latter is still better.

[Build] PvE Versatile damage build

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Posted by: Lanster.4218

Lanster.4218

Thanks for the input.

I understand this build is not quiet as useful for 2 handers. However personally I don’t see the appeal of 2 handed weapons for guardians in PvE.

GS – Overlapping and uninspiring skills. GS1’s third hit might last too short as most of the time you’re hitting 1 or 2 mobs. GS2 is awesome, no doubt. GS4 and symbols in general is redundant in PvE. GS3 and GS5 function the same (gap closers), so I ended up using GS3 and GS5 is neglected.

Staff – Great support skills, but useless most of the time in PvE.

Hammer – More defensive oriented than GS, however skill 3 and 5 are useless in PvE.

I’m only looking at what these weapons can do in PvE. For all I know, 2 handers are much better for dungeon runs where the wards can really come in handy. But for normal PvE, they’re lackluster.

I did try to get as much Radiance as I can, as it not only improve crit chance, but also condition damage. Since the build try to keep burn on the enemy, why not try to increase the burn damage (and not duration). Just another way to put in damage other than pure power build. Also in PvE this can help a lot as some times all you need is a bit of DoT (typically from torch 4) to rally. 1 handed weapons gives you a great choice of defensive skills as well, like regen, attack block, blind, immobility and vulnerability.

Zeal trait line is really a hit and miss for me. The extra power is great. The cond duration fairly useless. The traits are situational. Most of the traits make you stick to 1 weapon, the spirit weapon improvements are lackluster (and I heard there’s a bug with Zeal X, weapons pause for a while before attacking again after command). Minor traits are too specific as well, and like I mentioned, and I prefer not to use symbols in PvE. So it all comes down to the power increase… which can be obtained from gears.

[Build] PvE Versatile damage build

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Posted by: Danicco.3568

Danicco.3568

For PvE it’s where I find two handers most handy than ever. For PvP, Swords are quite useful.

PvE you’re not only fighting one mob at a time, well, at least not on Orr. Not to mention how to get credit during those massive events where monsters die in a second after they pop up.
Symbols provide AoE damage and if you’re using GS, also retaliation for 300~400 extra damage. If traited, they can also heal you and have a larger area (this is a must) so you’ll have an easier time killing packs over and over again.

The Greatsword swing is wider than the Sword, and monsters have the nasty habit of circling around you when there’s more than one, and it’s easy to position them and hit all of them with your Greatsword attack. With the Sword or Mace, it’s not that easy and takes more time (and damage you’re taking meanwhile) to position them.
The Sword’s advantage of reaching further isn’t well applied in my opinion, there’s very few monsters that you can or need to abuse the extra reach (the only one that comes into mind is a champion captain in the dead ship, that guy’s melee reach seems more like a ranged attack).

You’ll also face two ranged monsters sometime. Annoying as hell with a Sword, two skills away from easy with a Greatsword (Binding Blade & Pull).

The Staff’s is a great secondary weapon, there will be times when you’re out of CDs in a hard event and if there’s few people, you can get away from melee for a sec and heal away. It’s also great for increasing damage against some champion mobs.
And while you’re during the swap CD, it’s attack works as an alternative mid-range if you need it or can’t get to melee for some reason, and has a really wide range, excellent for tagging lots of monsters in events (though the GS is still better).

The Hammer is sorta like the Greatsword, and Ring of Warding is useful for running away. You can lock mobs inside and you get out, or you can use it as a Line of Warding for example because monsters are dumb to walk around it. Can buy you a few 3~5 extra seconds for that heal to come out of CD for example.

Although you didn’t mention PvP, two handers are also better as main weapons because of the control they provide. A well timed Pull or Banish can save you.

“1 handed weapons gives you a great choice of defensive skills as well, like regen, attack block, blind, immobility and vulnerability.”
Spending in Zeal with a Greatsword or Hammer also gives you Blind, Immobility and Vulnerability.
Defensive skills are useful to some extent, but for regular PvE they’re not needed. The faster you can kill it, the faster you’ll get to your destination.

“…weapons pause for a while before attacking again after command”
The Sword has a really big animation CD when you use it’s command attack, it’s sorta annoying but maybe it’s well planned. It’s an attack meant to be used for AoE, for single damage you’re better off not using the command at all.

“Minor traits are too specific as well, and like I mentioned, and I prefer not to use symbols in PvE.”
They enhance Symbols all the way. Most people complain about Symbols being useless in PvP, because in PvE they work perfectly fine.

“So it all comes down to the power increase… which can be obtained from gears.”
Don’t think like this, please. You should think “I’m losing Power from traits so I must gain something of equal significance to compensate”. Better than having Power from gear only, is having Power from gear and traits.

I suggest you give it a try, I don’t know if you’re 80 already, but there’s some non 80 areas that are packed with monsters and are a real pain to get through (I remind a bunch being about dredges).

I was a big Sword & Shield fan because of the flashiness and coolness, and the “Shield Guardian” sorta look, but after playing a lot and killing every thing that can be killed in the world, I started to move towards the Greatsword because of… everything.
Really hard events (that I was usually soloing) with a Sword & Shield became manageable with a Greatsword at first, and after I perfected a build just for these kind of situations, I’m finding it hard to go back to Sword & Shield, even though I really like these weapons.

I do still keep them for some situations such as dungeons, where I can change traits for a more support build since 1~3 monsters I get nearly the same damage with a GS than a Sword, but for everything else, the Greatsword (or Hammer, though I don’t have much experience with it) and Staff can fill all your needs.

If you want you can guest on Ehmry Bay or I can guest on your server to show the weapons differences, I still keep my Sword & Shield in the backpack for some cool flashiness at the cost of effectiveness…

[Build] PvE Versatile damage build

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Posted by: Bloodgruve.6038

Bloodgruve.6038

You’re limited to one-handers, which in my opinion, lack compared to two-handers for nearly every situation in the game.

It is a matter of opinion and play style really, like you said. I will have to say that my preferred build runs Sword and Scepter.

GSword is designed quite well, each ability seems to compliment all the others on the weapon. Hammer is really pretty nice also for the buffs, seal and control. I’m learning to appreciate Staff more and more, it’s damage is not bad and has some good tools.

My reason for running 1h is that Sword does have higher damage output than GSword on single targets and bosses. It lacks full aoe but it will hit targets in front of you so all it takes is a bit of positioning. Seals are nice but really lack when targets move and you’re not spec’d into ‘Seals are Larger’. With current content it seems you’re either mowing down the mobs or your group is struggling to stay alive. In the second case its my opinion that burning down single targets is better than aoe as mobs will do the same amount of damage until they are dead, so kill them faster. If the content isn’t going to floor you right away then AoE is perfectly fine.

When all is said and done it’s really a matter of taste as to which weapon you wanna run as they all have their strengths.

My suggestion would be to run a 0/30/20/20/0 build. This will give you the option to run 1h or 2h as it fits the situation. It lacks AH so you’ll be using a lot of Omnom Pies. For gear I like to run minimum 16K hps, 2.8 armor and then boost damage stats as high as I can. You can always change traits, its harder to regear so I’d look there first. I currently run 10/30/20/10/0 and it does very well.

GL
Blood~

“Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance”