Guild Wars 2

I have played most of my time as Guardian running with a GS, despite wanting to run with a Sword and off hand combo. This is because the massive loss in DPS when swapping to include the sword. Even with 5% Increased Sword damage and a 15% increase in one handed crit chance. As well as 10 points extra in radiance. I only just match the dps of GS with the one handed sword. With all this extra spent into damage, this annoys me as I like the skills for one handed sword. Just find them lack luster. In addition to the decreased dps it also has less utility, no grapples/control. Equal blinds, and no symbol as well as far less aoe/multi target damage. I am choosing to compare to other guardian skills as I dont want to get into my class is UP yours is OP. But i do think the sword is a less viable option that the GS. I would like to know if anyone else has found this, and their thoughts on some of my idea’s to fix this (written below)

Idea 1) Add a final strike component to Zealots defence. Much Like 100 blades has a final more damaging strike I think zealots defence would benefit well from the same idea. If the final strike was a horizonal wave instead of vertical it would also give the skill more use for multiple enemies. Also on a side note…it would look cool!

Idea 2) Flashing blade curently lacks damage and doesnt have as much utility as it seems, Yes a blind is helpful but when compared to gs blind it has no damage and seems to be equally easy to dodge. I think it should be give an extra boon to increa utility and make it more of a skill that leads into another skill. Possibilities of its changes could be a) Cripple (act as a mini snare) b) short term quickness, (guardians only way of getting this boon, would mean the skill is used to open combat for a boast of dps. c) might or fury….pretty simple can increase dps a little and just useful to have on skills. note gs 1 has might.

Idea 3) Give a slight damage boast to the 1 chain. Granted the dullest method, but is sorely needed when compared to GS. But would work better with a slight increase accompanied by one of the other changes.

Thoughts?

cripple on flashing blade would be nice, as we lack any snares except on sceptor, i disagree with sword doing less damage, in tests sword does more single target damage then greatsword… i run with sword/focus / staff, and the one thing i do miss for sure is a snare type ability its the main drawback of a guardian that doesnt use greatsword, hence why EVERY guardian uses it.

Guardian 1h sword deals the exact same amount of damage as the greatsword with its auto-attack, except you can take Right-Handed Strength with it.

And yeah, I agree that a boost to Zealot’s Defense would be nice, since right now it’s basically pointless to use except to proc on-crit effects, or get a bit of extra burn from Justice.

I have found mine to be pretty much the same with all the bonus listed above, and i would expect it to be a bit more as it lacks the AOE factor. My main want was for the zealots and flashing as Sword needs a snare and zealots is a bit pointless a lot of the time

For a crit stacking buid (usins might on crit proc two different way) zealots defence can be usefull, and it seems to do more DPS then autoattack, no?

I’ve posted about sword before with similar gripes. I would much prefer to run around with a sword and shield but greatsword just does everything better.

My suggestions were something like:
- Do something with the chain. Something like a might or weakness symbol would rock out! However, I’d be happy with anything, a boon perhaps?
- Make Flashing Blade actually do damage
- Make Flashing Blade a leap finisher
- Make Zealot’s Defense’s blocks count as real blocks for trait/rune synergy
- Either give Zealot’s Defense predictive aiming or make us able to move whilst using it
- Allow Zealot’s Defense’s projectiles to hit foes in a line (this along with something like manual aiming would be pretty cool and engaging)

I know sword and greatsword are pretty much on par with single target damage, the fact of the matter is, I run a pretty tanky Guardian, more often than not, I’m fighting much more than one enemy at a time (pve and pvp) and can kill five enemies with the greatsword in about the time it takes sword to kill one (not pvp ).
I find it’s not all about just damage, the way the weapon works, applying boons or conditions, trait synergies, combo fields/finishers etc just make the weapons far more fun to play. Greatsword excels at this, sword doesn’t do a whole lot in regard to that kind of play with the exception of making the blind proc vulnerability when traited and triggering Justice a little more often.

Sword has the added utility of offhand items but I find the off hands when paired with any main hand still don’t quite become as effective as our two handers are, with the exception of perhaps mace+shield/focus and that’s probably because mace is the only one hand that has a symbol.
I totally love shield, most people tend to hate it, torch can be interesting but most people hate it too mostly because Cleansing Flame could be a little better, only focus tends to be the most widely appreciated offhand we have.

I really want sword to be my weapon of choice! I hope it get some love soon.

Let us run with zealot defense please. And I’ll be sooo happy.

ArcTheFallen.7682:

Let us run with zealot defense please. And I’ll be sooo happy.

Preach on brother! Remeber when WW on the greatsword was stationtary? Then they changed it so we could move but didn’t change zealot defense. Its almost like the devs don’t want us to use the sword.

Guanglai Kangyi.4318:

And yeah, I agree that a boost to Zealot’s Defense would be nice, since right now it’s basically pointless to use except to proc on-crit effects, or get a bit of extra burn from Justice.

Reflects projectiles. Doesn’t block or absorb or destroy them, reflects them.

Makes Southsun Cove into an easy/lazy farm when paired with the shield.

I don’t know where everybody gets the idea that Zealot’s Defense reflects projectiles, it doesn’t, it fake blocks them. Just in case I was wrong I tested it just then, no reflects.
You could say it absorbs them like Shield of Absorption does, however the tip and the wiki both say “blocks”.

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Zealot%27s_Defense

Yet we don’t get any block effects from it.

Wanna try something fun?

Sword/Focus for one set, GS for the other. 3 blinds. 2 gap closers. Tons of damage. It’s a ridiculously fun sPvP setup.

Craptrain.7203:

Wanna try something fun?

Sword/Focus for one set, GS for the other. 3 blinds. 2 gap closers. Tons of damage. It’s a ridiculously fun sPvP setup.

I switch it up between this setup and staff(instead of GS). Sword/Focus is GREAT pairing imo!

Your GS must be crap then. I hit 6k regularly on WW alone.

You know what would make sword the best weapon ever? If Flashing Blade created a symbol that gave fury. Although that might be a little bit too good, lack of fury is pretty much the only thing keeping guardian from being even higher DPS than warriors.

I like the idea of a fury symbol after using flashing blade, would make it far more useful as a starting move. Also the idea of penetrating blows on zealots defence and being able to cast on the move would be nice, Although I would still prefer a final blow mechanic on it as it would give it some multi target damage. As WW can get me 5k on many people but ZD can get 5k on one at best. Just seems like if it is to be a single target only should be getting nearer to 7.5-8k.

definitely need a finisher leap on the sword 2nd skill.
the leap of the greatsword is by far better for utilityes , like movement and dis engage.

i prefer a new Symbol instead of Zealot’s Defense, but make it doable in movement would be something nice too.

juhalanz.9615:

definitely need a finisher leap on the sword 2nd skill.
the leap of the greatsword is by far better for utilityes , like movement and dis engage.

i prefer a new Symbol instead of Zealot’s Defense, but make it doable in movement would be something nice too.

All said here, but zealots defense also excelent its a pitty thats stucks guardian movement, even with teleports misses 50% of the time lol.

Though I understand the OP’s concerns, I do have to mention that I think part of the point of the 1 chain is to activate Justice as quickly as possible. It does five hits in one chain (though the third part can be annoying because it misses the hitbox on a lot of objects). I’d bet that’s the reason it doesn’t have a boon or something like the hammer.

Also, though Flashing Blade does shockingly little damage, it has a very short recovery period. You can use it multiple times in an extended fight to blind your opponent, as well as gap close on an opponent. If they increased the damage, the recovery rate would probably have to be extended.

I use hammer/sword-focus, which works like a charm for me. (I really feel like I’m the only one not using greatsword…)
Sword/focus gives you two skills that blind your enemy, one being a leap. One ranged attack that blocks projectiles, and a shield that blocks 3 attacks or explodes.
Personally I love it. It deals damage, and has plenty of defensive abilities too.
Combined with hammer for aoe-damage and CC it works wonders for me. ^^’

Maybe the singlehanded sword just doesn’t fit your playstyle? I know I like greatswords, but it just doesn’t fit mine

Curae.1837:

I use hammer/sword-focus, which works like a charm for me. (I really feel like I’m the only one not using greatsword…)
Sword/focus gives you two skills that blind your enemy, one being a leap. One ranged attack that blocks projectiles, and a shield that blocks 3 attacks or explodes.
Personally I love it. It deals damage, and has plenty of defensive abilities too.
Combined with hammer for aoe-damage and CC it works wonders for me. ^^’

Maybe the singlehanded sword just doesn’t fit your playstyle? I know I like greatswords, but it just doesn’t fit mine

The problem with sword is it is bad against mobs. And zealot defense is useless against a running target. If you use it to block projectiles only…sure, but still…might as well take away the damage portion and make the cd shorter. I’m not a fan of a sit still and spam kind of guy.

ArcTheFallen.7682:

The problem with sword is it is bad against mobs.

What kind of trouble are you having with mobs with the sword?

I use a sword/shield and greatsword, and I rarely have trouble with mobs. The sword in what I main, and it burns right through mobs, especially with the amount of condition damage I have on the thing. If I get swarmed by 4 or more mobs, I switch over to the Greatsword. The sword’s also great against bosses, since it keeps burning up constantly.

azureai.9764:

ArcTheFallen.7682:

The problem with sword is it is bad against mobs.

What kind of trouble are you having with mobs with the sword?

I use a sword/shield and greatsword, and I rarely have trouble with mobs. The sword in what I main, and it burns right through mobs, especially with the amount of condition damage I have on the thing. If I get swarmed by 4 or more mobs, I switch over to the Greatsword. The sword’s also great against bosses, since it keeps burning up constantly.

Sword is a 1 by 1 kind of weapon. You need something to pull all the enemies together to do decent mob damage. I use GS/Scepter because I dungeon a lot and a lot of areas require range time to time. Sword is good, but without the GS to complete its lack of aoe damage, or control, it’s not the best weapon for a dungeon.

Sword’s main problem is lack of AoE on something intended more as a damage weapon (as opposed to a defense weapon). Giving flashing blade real damage and allowing zealot’s defense to pierce would get it there. Maybe a small arc on the #1.

I do understand the 1 Chain is for Justice, and that is good, but the second two skills are so poor in pvp and pve. In pve zealots hits one person. and doesnt do as much as WW on that one. Flashing is a bit of a joke really, it give a miss, thats it.
In pvp the same problem applies apart from the enemy and you will be moving making zealots even worse.

Exedore.6320:

Sword’s main problem is lack of AoE on something intended more as a damage weapon (as opposed to a defense weapon) … Maybe a small arc on the #1.

Sword actually has a small arc on #1, chain 3… it is very small however.

Piercing projectiles on ZD would be cool, I have to admit. The small, single-target burst damage that it does right now definitely feels limiting sometimes, especially considering the move’s low accuracy at range. A boost to FB would also be nice, but honestly, it might be overkill, too – there’s really nothing inherently wrong with a blind and a teleport on a 10 second cooldown. It’s a solid defensive mobility spell, so I have a hard time convincing myself that it needs more damage or Fury or something added to it.

Also, I still don’t understand why people think Sword just does single-target damage…every swing of the autoattack chain is AoE. Every part of the chain has a range longer than the GS’s autoattack (#1 and #2 are 150 range, compared to the GS’s 130, and the #3 is 300 range in a cone). I never have trouble hitting groups of enemies all at once with the sword, and frequently kill multiple enemies at a time with it. If you have trouble hitting 3+ enemies with the sword simultaneously, you need to work on your positioning, because the potential is most definitely there.

I would like the sword more if it were a ranged weapon. Really.

The third attack in the chain is already ranged (300 range). Skills 2 and 3 work from range as well. If the first two attacks in the chain also had a 300 range and we could move while using Zealot’s Embrace, I think the sword would have a very unique style as a mid-range single target focused weapon. Right now, the mix of melee attacks with ranged attacks feels weird for me.

I agree. The only reason I don’t use the Sword is because of the lack of AoE.

I can choose Sword and deal slightly more single target damage, or use the Greatsword and have unparalled AoE capability.

The main problem with the Sword is Zealot’s Defense. Using this skill seems to only be reliable in PvE. In PvP even new players know how to dodge it, and a dodge isn’t even need.

Zealot’s Defense vs Whirling Wrath:

ZD immobilizies, WW slows you
ZD 15s cooldown, WW 10s and can be traited to 8
ZD 888 damage, WW 1251 damage
ZD no finisher, WW is a Whirl
ZD single target, WW is a wide AoE
ZD blocks projectiles, WW doesn’t

There needs to be tradeoffs. One can’t simply be better than the other in almost every aspect.

Soryuju.8164:

Also, I still don’t understand why people think Sword just does single-target damage…every swing of the autoattack chain is AoE. Every part of the chain has a range longer than the GS’s autoattack (#1 and #2 are 150 range, compared to the GS’s 130, and the #3 is 300 range in a cone). I never have trouble hitting groups of enemies all at once with the sword, and frequently kill multiple enemies at a time with it. If you have trouble hitting 3+ enemies with the sword simultaneously, you need to work on your positioning, because the potential is most definitely there.

It’s more that the Greatsword’s non-auto attack abilities are all AoE while the Sword only has its first 2 hits in the auto attack as reliable AoE. The third attack is a cone, which is often impractical to line up unless in PvE.

Greatsword’s auto attack also has the benefit of constant might.

ArcTheFallen.7682:

Sword is a 1 by 1 kind of weapon.

It’s true that Sword is a really good choice for boss battles, but that doesn’t mean it can’t handle more than one mob at a time. The 1 chain thwacks everything in front of you. I’m constantly using it on the undead in Orr when they run up to me in groups of three. The only problem sword has at handling mobs is when one gets behind you (and even then I think I may have even seen the sword hit mobs behind me a few times in the early chain), but that makes sense…It’s a sword.

Not to mention you can just pair a sword with any off hand, like a torch, for AoE.

Silver.8023:

Greatsword’s auto attack also has the benefit of constant might.

Which is great, but does precious little when you need to quickly burn through someone’s armor. The weapons are about choices.

I love the Sword. It’s been my go-to weapon since level 2. I keep GS or Hammer in my off-set for when I need big aoe, which while leveling, isn’t all that much. I find it quicker and safer to use Sword/Focus for 3 or fewer baddies. I really only break out the GS or Hammer during DEs. Sword can toss out 2x blinds, quick attacks for frequent burning procs, a gap closer, plus way more defense than GS allows (especially w/ an offhand).

Players forget that you can’t compare a 1h wep with a 2h wep because it’s not just about straight ahead damage, but the variable utility you can get out of a 1h wep paired with one of many offhands.