Guild Wars 2

I am still relatively new at WvW with my Guardian, and trust me, I am not that great of a WvW player yet.

I think I have a handle of builds in terms of gear, traits, and stats, but I really not sure about which utils to slot and when to use them.

While I was leveling up in PVE I sloted offensive utilities like Purging Flames, Hallowed Ground (for the fire field), and Save Yourselves.

I usually run a Hammer and Staff in WvW.

Which utils should I be running when fighting with a large zerg, attacking or defending keeps etc.? Which ones are the most unique, i.e. things only Guardians can do well, etc.?

Which ones do you like use, why, and which ones do you like to see other guardians on your side use?

Stand Your Ground is a must, I think, and I think many here would agree. It has a short cooldown, grants group stability, and works well with AH builds for healing.

I also run with either Save Yourselves or Hold the Line plus Contemplation of Purity for general zerg running.

For point defense/choke/tower defense, I like switching Save Yourselves for Sanctuary and switching to either a Mace/Shield or Mace/Focus setup instead of Hammer/GS. Regardless, I’m always running SYG.

Stand your ground is definitely a must.

Personally I run SYG, Judges Intervention, and Contemplation of Purity.

Jalad Lantana.3027:

I usually run a Hammer and Staff in WvW.
Which utils should I be running when fighting with a large zerg?

Stand Your Ground and JI since you use hammer. You can disrupt the enemy line with a well placed JI/Ring. You will need stability when you do it.

Since you are looking for large scale fights, Wall of Reflection should be your third utility. It is excellent for both pushing into and retreating from a large number of players.

JI is a more offensive choice. That selection would be different if you are playing more defensively.

A very good choice for zerging and coordinated group play is getting Virtues [VI] and taking Wall of Reflection and/or Sanctuary along with Stand Your Ground.

Knowing when/where to use your consecrations and doing it effectively can help your group tremendously for a number of different circumstances.

WoR speaks for itself, use where projectile reflection is necessary, and Sanctuary to block enemies from escaping/getting to you, block a choke (along with hammer/staff blocks) or to protect seige from enemy players. Also it heals so, theres that aspect too.

Me Kill You.9035:

A very good choice for zerging and coordinated group play is getting Virtues [VI] and taking Wall of Reflection and/or Sanctuary along with Stand Your Ground.

Knowing when/where to use your consecrations and doing it effectively can help your group tremendously for a number of different circumstances.

WoR speaks for itself, use where projectile reflection is necessary, and Sanctuary to block enemies from escaping/getting to you, block a choke (along with hammer/staff blocks) or to protect seige from enemy players. Also it heals so, theres that aspect too.

Yeah, Sanctuary is a good call if you want to play a more defensive and control style.

I take Stand Your Ground (a must, as mentioned a few times already) and Hold The Line – they are pretty permanent on my bar, can’t remember when they weren’t. The final slot is normally occupied by one of three: Save Yourselves, Sanctuary or Wall of Reflection.

Sanctuary is always nice to have: anytime I use it, it saves my life but has a fairly long cooldown. With ground targeting trait, I found it really useful for ressing team mates in downed state which can be the difference between winning and losing in a small group. Just remember to use stability before using sanctuary – nothing worse than using the “oh kitten!” button just to get dazed/stunned/knocked down etc.

Save Yourselves I normally keep for roaming in a group or individually. also handy with 25 in virtues (deal extra damage for each boon you have) and;

Wall of Reflection is brilliant for zerg vs zerg and keep/tower defenses. It’s funny watching people explode themselves.

FYI I’m using the healway spec 0/0/10/30/30.

Again, SYG is almost locked.

Then, depending on build:
-SY, HtL, Retreat are always valid options
-Wall of Reflection can do wonders if you’re facing dumb blobs of autoattackers
-Sanctuary + GtAoE Consacrations is very useful, a bit niche and requires a coordinated group to get the best out of it tho
-JI is decent paired with hammer for the Ring of Warding + teleport, nice lock for spiking

Thanks for all the tips so far.

Knowing when each one is strong is very helpful.

I will be giving these a workout in the next week or so.

Hallowed Ground, Stand Your Ground, Hold the Line

Zergs melt before your wrath

Based on many of the great tips in this thread, I decided to try out those that include retaliation and also add as much retaliation as I could to a build.

I ran it last night in WvW with very good results, Here is a brief recap of the build tweaks:

Utils:
Signet of Judgement active: Gain 3.5 seconds of retaliation plus 5 seconds of weakness to foes.
Stand Your Ground: 6 seconds of Retaliation and Stability
Save Yourselves: 12 seconds of Retaliation, Fury, Vigor, Might, Protection, Regeneration, and swiftness, plus stun breaker.

Traits:
Radiance: I, Healers Retribution, 3 seconds of retaliation when using a healing skill.
Honor: I, Wrathful Spirit, Aegis gives retaliation when it ends.
Virtues: Master level, Virtue of Retribution, gain retaliation when you activate any virtue.
II Vengeful, Retaliation lasts 25% longer.
IV Retaliatory Subconscious, gain 3 seconds of retaliation whenever dazed, stunned, knocked down, knocked back, or feared. (Those times when you get rooted and your out of condition removal were far less fatal.)

The Stability from SYG made a huge difference in being able to stay mobile while in the thick of enemy zergs. I found myself alive and playing for far longer in environments like that. My first character was a Warrior where I got into the habit of thinking of stability only as a way of staying planted to get 100 Blades to complete. I may try swapping the Signet of Judgement for Hallowed Ground for more stability. (Not sure, HG lasts longer, but is limited to a fixed area.)

Living longer in big zerg fights, with all the accompanying skill lag and frame rate drop, it was hard to tell how much retaliation was contributing, but I did get more badges than I usually do. I’m guessing the retaliation ends up tagging more foes, so you get more credit for contributing, but I guess that’s another question/topic.

Save yourself is a good buff befor the 2 zergs give a friendly hug for each other. stand your ground is a real must be! retreat also a good one, or hold the line if u not go anywhere.
staff is essencial, i prefer shield for second choice

The ones I use most are: Judge´s Intervention, Save Yourselves and Smite Condition or Stand your ground (if your traits are matched with this choice…it works wonders!). Signet of judgment is also interesting imo. (I don´t do much zergs thats why I don´t use wall of reflection)

The Following Skills:
SYG
Sanctuary (use tactically, do not spam when the oppurtunity appears)
Wall of Reflection ^
Purging Flame (who doesn’t like AoE burning?)
JI ^
Contemplation Of Purity
Smite Condition
Be sure to use these depending on the situation and have accurate timing, utilities are not to burn.

Wall Reflect
Save Yourselves
Stand you ground

Use the blue magic ones!

I particularly use Stand Your Ground, Hold the Line and Wall of Reflection.

Traits:
Radiance: I, Healers Retribution, 3 seconds of retaliation when using a healing skill.
Honor: I, Wrathful Spirit, Aegis gives retaliation when it ends.
Virtues: Master level, Virtue of Retribution, gain retaliation when you activate any virtue.
II Vengeful, Retaliation lasts 25% longer.
IV Retaliatory Subconscious, gain 3 seconds of retaliation whenever dazed, stunned, knocked down, knocked back, or feared. (Those times when you get rooted and your out of condition removal were far less fatal.)

If I were you, I would change:

I – Healers Retribution (Radiance); I – Wrathful Spirit (Honor); and IV – Retaliatory Subconscious (Virtues) for something else. Dont forget that “Retaliation will stack in duration upto a maximum of 5 times”. (http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Retaliation)

I use 0/0/30/20/20 and I reach these cap a lot, only with virtues activations (15 in virtues), SyG, SY and greatsword #4. Also, there are better traits than these.