Guild Wars 2

What are you guys think about sword like a guardian weapon? I don`t see sword like DD weapon because damage from is too low and it have only 1 skill with 15 sec CD. Also this weapon don`t have support skills. So how useful the sword for guardian and whether it is useful?

Most people seem to agree its a great weapon. Im pretty sure the dps tests are somewhere in this forum that show it to have the highest single target dps of the guardian weapons.

Honestly, I’m getting a bit bored with AH/Hammer or Greatsword.

I’d love to see some more theorycrafting on high quality builds WITHOUT AH healing, and I love the idea of the 1h Sword.

Any one got some thoughts?

I’d argue that sword+torch is the highest dps combo we guardians have for single targets.

Sword works fantastically with the Radiance line, both for boosting damage via crit, Right-Hand Strength, and for taking advantage of Virtue of Justice passive damage. Unlike other weapons, Sword’s basic attack chain hits five times, not three, and therefore guarantees at least one Virtue of Justice trigger. That’s at least 1 second of Burning for every attack chain.

Sword is flexible. With Focus Offhand, it becomes quite defensive, mixing blinds with a solid block mechanic and regeneration. Sword and Torch is a good pair if you’re building for burning damage, and adds some modest AoE as well as potential for spike damage.

On top of that, Sword comes with a short cooldown distance-closer with a built in blind, which, properly traited, can allow a savvy guardian to chain blinds and boost mitigation. Zealot’s Defense is pretty sexy too, guaranteeing a couple of VoJ triggers in the mix.

It has a few downsides. Sword isn’t great against multiple opponents. It has no combo finisher and no symbol. But it’s a solid weapon.

Something I’ve always wanted to try is the upper third of the trait set, moving away from boons and toward straight blocks and condition removal. That would mean putting points in the dreaded zeal line just to get focus skill recharge, though.

I run this skill/trait setup for PvE content (copy/paste if the forums don’t like the link):

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQNAsdWlYg672FSEEfIFRWBRa9ggH0fYFw4lCHSRA;TMALIGWMhA

I initially designed this build as a PvE adaptation of my PvP build. The 1h Sword has some unique advantages over the GS, most notably the ability to benefit from Right-Handed Strength (and by speccing into 30 Radiance, you also pick up the superb Radiant Power trait). You can capitalize on this in two ways: the first option is to take regular offensive gear and reach a very high crit rate (typically close to or slightly above 70%, depending on your other build choices). The second is to move stat points you would normally put in Precision into your Power, Toughness, and Vitality to achieve superior defensive stats while still hitting around 50% crit. Some combination of Soldier’s, Valk’s, and Knight’s gear is probably ideal to achieve this distribution, but the specifics are up to personal preference. I prefer the latter route, myself, since it allows me to function in a more typical Guardian role in dungeon settings while still hitting very hard.

To explain the build a little, Sword/Focus is the primary set, and in spite of people’s preconceptions, it’s excellent for AoE damage due to the wide swing of its autoattack (slightly larger than the GS’s autoattack range), and because its 5 – hit chain lets a Fire Sigil proc basically on cooldown. Staff is there for ally support, ranged AoE damage against large groups of enemies (particularly in Orr), and high Swiftness uptime. If you take the build into WvW, you’ll typically use your Sword/Focus for small-scale skirmishes and the Staff for large battles, and swap in weapons like the Scepter or GS as necessary. From my experience, you can use the build for any purpose without having to respec traits, so you aren’t spending cash when you switch between WvW, dungeons, or whatever else.

Utilities rotate, but my three defaults are Save Yourselves, Wall of Reflection, and the Hammer of Wisdom, with Renewed Focus for the elite. Stand Your Ground frequently finds its way in for dungeons, as does Tome of Courage. Hammer of Wisdom, the least conventional utility, is phenomenal (even untraited) for relieving pressure in situations where you’re trying to solo groups of 6-8 enemies, and it’ll slowly eat through stacks of Defiant on champions and bosses, which sets up nicely for hitting them with the command.

In terms of traits, 30 Radiance is a given in this spec, and the rest gradually took shape based on what I found most useful in the widest variety of situations. 20 Valor is very important for Toughness and Crit damage boosts, with Purity for condition control. Retributive Armor deserves some special mention, since it lets you spend even fewer points in Precision while rewarding your investment in Toughness. The 10 points in Honor and Virtues are there for the excellent minor traits and to enhance your utilities, since each utility in this build has the power to change a fight on its own.

Finally, a Fire Sigil is great for boosting the AoE damage of the set, and Bloodlust will maximize your damage output (though Luck is a good option for MF). I’ve personally got Pirate runes on at the moment for the MF (since I’m poor, and the Might bonuses aren’t bad), but Divinity, Ogre, Pack, Traveler, and other similar runes are all very good choices depending on your purposes.

I will say that I’m a PvP player first and foremost, so this may not be a perfect build, but I’ve always found it to excel in all kinds of PvE content and to hold its own in WvW (especially as a skirmisher). Your results may vary, but for those interested in a 1h Sword build, I’d say it’s at least a good place to start.

I agree that swords don’t do the work in pure DPS, but I love them because they activate a Guardian’s burning so quickly and constantly. A Guardian’s opponent will never stop burning once he’s being hit by a Guardian’s sword. In conjunction with some condition buffing, a sword can burn anything to the ground.

Deathmond.7328:

What are you guys think about sword like a guardian weapon? I don`t see sword like DD weapon because damage from is too low and it have only 1 skill with 15 sec CD. Also this weapon don`t have support skills. So how useful the sword for guardian and whether it is useful?

No idea what you’re talking about. Sword #1 out-damages even the Hammer and Greatsword. Doesn’t have support skills? That’s what the off-hand is for!

SirGamesalot.6549:

I’d argue that sword+torch is the highest dps combo we guardians have for single targets.

That has been my experience also.

I’m working up a might-granting monstrosity. Rapid hits for maximum chances at crit-proc’ing might are where it’s at.

Yea me and a friend run a crit sword/shield build, got might up for everyone all the time plus it allows fast endurance recharging so we can dodge more not to mention i run it with staff for the might/heals and scepter for boss fights that require it. The Survivability is really great alot better than gs which i used to use all the time before i used this build and the damage isnt all that bad i have hit 14k with the 2nd skill when it hit most crits.