Guild Wars 2

Hey guys, long time guardian (since day 1) here to ask for a more dynamic build selection. One build in particular I’ve toyed with for the last 32 months is an aegis, blocking build. There are precisely 7 major traits that can be selected to proc on block or aegis use. However, it feels like an afterthought from the devs every time I suit up to use it. I pick all 7 traits, use a focus (3 extra blocks), Shelter (2 seconds of block), runes of resistance (extra aegis), and who knows what else just to squeak by. No matter what stats I stack, I am so squishy.

Point being, I feel like there are about 2-3 viable builds with most classes I play. Perhaps this is due to peer pressure from the community. Perhaps no one effectively explores alternatives, or maybe 2-3 is plenty and I’m alone here. I hope this post comes to someone’s attention or at least sparks interest in other GW2 players to break the mold and start something fresh.

That said, it’s an addictive game and rather balanced I should say.

Thanks for your time,
Eric

There are plenty of build opportunities it’s just that some builds are more optimal than others.

PvE revolves around maximum DPS so the go-to builds revolve around picking up traits that offer the most damage. There are utility variants for cases where extra boons or utility skills (such as HG, WoR, Shield, etc) are needed.

PvP and WvW use both Striker and Frontliner/bunker builds with slight variants to each. E.G. Striker can choose to focus more damage over survivability while the frontliner can choose more sustain over more utility.

The issue has more to do with the versatility of some traits. There are a handful of core traits that every build can make use of in their game aspect. The rest get slotted in based on the build you are making for the type of content you are facing.

Personally, I find the my Guard to be the class that I most change up traits for during the runs themselves especially in fractals.

savacli.8172:

There are plenty of build opportunities it’s just that some builds are more optimal than others.

A suboptimal build is not worth playing. So there are really 1 or 2 main builds per game mode with small variations on each. Which is pretty unacceptable.

It’s actually very acceptable. The community is the one that is pushing for the optimal builds: DPS in PvE, Medi in PvP, Frontliner in WvW. If a player wants to go with an optimal build that’s the player’s choice.

The other builds that have been rejected by the community are those that do not yield the best results, but there’s no hard punishment for using those builds, Anet forbid they stop us from having fun with the game. Ever run a 5 man dungeon with a members running Spirit Guards? Wanna roast your opponent with Burn builds? Aegis builds that have more blocks than should legally be allowed? All of those are potential builds that Guards are capable of. Are they optimal? The community has decided no. Do they have a place in the game? Absolutely.

For me I run optimal builds in PvE because I aim for fast times. Though “fun” runs where members purposely run terrible, yet amusing, builds are quite amusing. Heck, we’re even doing an event in my guild where we’re having teams use builds from guildwars2bravery.com and pinning them up against each other in PvP.