Guild Wars 2

GUIDE INCOMPLETE – IN THE PROCESS OF ADDING INFO, EDITING AND FORMATING

So I heard you picked a Guardian to play for the next 80 levels?

Hi, I’m Nark and I’ll be here to give you a little help/advise on a choice of build for a Guardian.
My main character is a Guardian and I’ve been fooling around with the Skill Calculator for quite some time now until I recently found a decent build that works for me in a devastatingly efficient way.
This is a build aimed strictly at leveling although it can be used to cause massive amounts of chaos at end level content aswell.
It relies on condition spam to increase damage output while at the same time keeping you safe from harm with constant blindness on mobs!

On to business then:

Guardian is an above average versatile class (aren’t they all in GW2?) but while Anet doesn’t implement an alternative leveling system the most efficient way to do it IMHO is going 20 25 0 20 5

(and yes you are allowed to disagree, thats how the free world works nowadays, I’m not gonna destroy you for having a different opinion so if you wanna criticize on this post, do it constructively please)

I’ll now proceed to explain the build
__________________________________________________________________
For a better understanding of the mechanics of this build, here’s a summary of relevant things it provides

+200 power
+20% condition duration
+250 precision
+250 condition damage
+200 vitality
+200 healing
+5% boon duration
+5% virtue recharge rate

- Nearby foes are blinded upon activation of Virtue of Justice
- Applying blind applies vulnerability aswell
- Gains Might on Virtue of Justice activation
- Increased dmg by 10% vs burning foes
- Increased dmg by 10% vs foes suffering from conditions
- Virtue of Justice is renewed upon killing an enemy

- Symbols are larger
- Symbols apply vulnerability to enemies

- Great Sword dmg +5%
- Two Handed weapon skills recharge 20% faster

- Signet use cures 1 condition on you
__________________________________________________________________

Arsenal: Great Sword as main weapon is your best friend due to the massive AoE chaos it produces. As for the second set I’d recommend Sword + Torch although I’ll leave this part to your own personal preference.

Zeal 20 – Power! Power is good to kill things quickly! Also the 20% increased duration of conditions is vital to our condition spam oriented build. On this 20 skill line you’re aiming to pick up the “10% increased dmg vs burning foes” and the “Great Sword dmg increase by 5%” traits

Radiance 25 – Precision! 250 precision to be exact! It will help you crit more often and is also a good thing to help you kill things quickly go figure =) 250 condition dmg is also yummy cause of the whole purpose of the build. On this 25 skill line you’re aiming to pick up the “applying blind also applies vulnerability” and the trait “using a signet cures a condition on you” traits.

Honor 20 – HP is always a good bonus to have while questing and the improved 200 healing can help you reduce the downtime after a nasty situation (they’re my personal favorite tbh, i got this thing with aggroing entire rooms of mobs =P). I’m also a fan of putting symbols on the ground with 10 mobs around me, hit Renewed Focus AKA “Bubble” (old habits die hard I tell you…) and just watch them squeal to death . On this 20 skill line you’re aiming to pick up the “symbols are larger” and “two handed weapon skills recharge 20% faster” traits.

Virtues 5 – Boon duration +5% (might, retaliation and wtv else you can get your hands on) and 5% faster virtue recharge rate is always nice to have when u have to activate Courage and Resolve in tight situations. Mosly we’re just picking this up for the might added to the Virtue of Justice activation.
__________________________________________________________________

Link to this build on GuildHead

AoE Heavy
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#Mmcz0oczmhnLmmhnLmGp0GVMkoscs

Speed boost alternative for escapes and less downtime between quests
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#Mmcz0oczmhnammhnamGp0GVMkoscs

RESERVED FOR EXPANSION PURPOSES

Contributions and ideas to the guide will be implemented progressively
If you wish to help, PM me and we’ll exchange ideas about what more to add
I’ll make it as complete as I possibly can, but work is a major obstacle atm
Thank you for your understanding

Please use a tool such as in guildhead for skill layouts

Oh wow. That build looks almost like mine, except I trade the longer Burn duration on Justice for 20% less CD and longer duration on Consecrations. I get a lot of Burn in open world PVE from one of the two Fire Field Consecrations (depending on whether I need Stability), and I find it really useful in WvW. Just glad I’m not alone as I always wonder if I’m not missing out by not maxing any of the Trait lines.

no, definitely ur not loosing much. I dont think many of the end-line traits the guardian class currently has are even worth moving onto the 3rd tier
for now I think balancing the disciplines of each tree is key to maximizing the dmg output and survivability

I won’t disagree. I only really figured out how to best use my Virtues in my 50s and originally had the build at 15/15/0/20/20… then I realized that with the way I was spamming active Justice, the Trait for making passive Justice proc on every 4th hit was pointless. I’m not the brightest bulb around.

I personally don’t want to go deeper than 5 Virtue unless I’m gonna make a Virtues build. Those 10 points can be spent in Radiance to pick up Radiance Power for the 10% damage. Also, retaliation doesn’t shine in PvE as much as in PvP due to mobs slower swings.

when I did this build, the virtue tree 1st talent was improved burning duration on Virtue of Justice activation, which added with retaliation was a greater contribute to the dps than the flat 10%. I’ll give it some thought later, 2 much work this week.

Plus, leveling build is leveling build and most of the time you will be below 60 wich makes it more viable to go those 15 points in virtues than the 25 you suggested in radience.
Once you hit 60, you point of view is totally right, but below 60 wich is 75% of the time leveling its more worth it to use this build

Hope I made it clear =)

For a leveling build, you have to state that picking up Renewed Justice is the most important (15 in Radiance) then pick up 5 Virtue and 10 Zeal (Fiery Wrath). That will be around level 40. After that, you can spend however you like (either with Zeal or Honor in your build). I honestly see no points in getting past 5 Virtue since once you complete Zeal and Honor, you’ll have points to spend in Radiance instead of Virtue and hit 80.

The sequence of points will be described as soon as I have some free time to complete the guide some more, but it will be something along those lines. Definitely 15 points in Radiance 1st ofc as its the basic mechanic behind this build ;)

> reduce the downtime

Or, if you weren’t trying to be a jack of all trades and min/max, you could either kill them before they kill you, making that issue irrelevant. Or kill them slowly and laugh at them try to dent you. Trying to be a little of everything is the sign of a novice player.

On your build link Im noticing you have the utility Merciful Intervention. Might I ask why? It doesnt seem to self-heal along with any ally so Im not seeing the point here. I see more use of the slot with a skill like Purging Flames where Im at least getting more AOE and damage. If I’m missing something, by all means, let me know. I’m pretty new to Guardian myself and just now getting to 68.

Also, when using something like Purging Flamges, does the Condition dmg and duration increase apply to the burning effects from that skill as well?

For endgame I use http://www.gw2build.com/builds/tank-build-tank-guardian-5727.html

With Karma gear from Melandru vendor. (except head & feet, which suck)

Although some attacks still 1shot me (its like if they ignore armor) especially when delevelled, I usually have no problems with 4-5 mobs on me in Orr, and with my gf (heal specced ele) Ive went up to 10 at once without any problems. You will usually be beating on the mobs while they beat up on me.

Ashe.6327:

On your build link Im noticing you have the utility Merciful Intervention. Might I ask why? It doesnt seem to self-heal along with any ally so Im not seeing the point here. I see more use of the slot with a skill like Purging Flames where Im at least getting more AOE and damage. If I’m missing something, by all means, let me know. I’m pretty new to Guardian myself and just now getting to 68.

Also, when using something like Purging Flamges, does the Condition dmg and duration increase apply to the burning effects from that skill as well?

No, it doesnt have a point for a solo player you’re right, only reason it’s there is cause I’m always playing along with some1 else and I use it as my “shiz just got real” emergency button. Should have noticed it earlier but was only paying attention to the talent trees so far

To answer your question, ANY burning condition caused by YOU will in fact have additional duration and damage from the talents +20% condition duration and +150 condition damage, but it has to inflict the condition called burning, and I’m pretty sure the skill only refers to the mob standing in the fire getting burned and NOT inflicted with the condition burning per se
Hope it answered your question =D

I’ll go over the post a bit more today, thanks for your input m8 =)

ptitminou.6489:

For endgame I use http://www.gw2build.com/builds/tank-build-tank-guardian-5727.html

With Karma gear from Melandru vendor. (except head & feet, which suck)

Although some attacks still 1shot me (its like if they ignore armor) especially when delevelled, I usually have no problems with 4-5 mobs on me in Orr, and with my gf (heal specced ele) Ive went up to 10 at once without any problems. You will usually be beating on the mobs while they beat up on me.

I find tanking builds so sexy, but unfortunately, while leveling alone they don’t have much utility . Maybe when Anet manages to do an instance based leveling alternative I’ll include it in my guide ^^

Strictly speaking of endgame, only thing I’d change is trading the “stand your ground!” for “contemplation of purity” cause of the better sinergy with “save yourselves!”. Ofc it depends on the area. I understand that KD can be the worst CC that ever existed so in an area full of mobs that can spam KD I’d choose an exactly identical build.
Can’t wait for some additional endgame dungeon content so I can change build to my beloved tanking style

Another thing that I keep noticing is the absolute importance of at least 15 points in Radiance in all guardian builds. TBH I think this is a Anet subliminal message saying we should be the ones spreading blind and vulnerability application upon initiation.

Thanks for your imput m8

paultimate.8790:

> reduce the downtime

Or, if you weren’t trying to be a jack of all trades and min/max, you could either kill them before they kill you, making that issue irrelevant. Or kill them slowly and laugh at them try to dent you. Trying to be a little of everything is the sign of a novice player.

your post is bad and you should feel bad…

what I wrote there about watching them squeal to death is relative to turning on Renewed Focus, making yourself invulnerable, while mobs try to hit you and take 3 seconds worth of symbol dmg without even giving you a scratch, therefore reducing the downtime after the encounter.

no trolls or illiterate ppl on this topic please, if wanna learn something in life try asking questions or making alternative hypothesis 1st, not just troll around calling ppl names… try youtube for that. thanks!

Nark.2167:

ptitminou.6489:

For endgame I use http://www.gw2build.com/builds/tank-build-tank-guardian-5727.html

With Karma gear from Melandru vendor. (except head & feet, which suck)

Although some attacks still 1shot me (its like if they ignore armor) especially when delevelled, I usually have no problems with 4-5 mobs on me in Orr, and with my gf (heal specced ele) Ive went up to 10 at once without any problems. You will usually be beating on the mobs while they beat up on me.

I find tanking builds so sexy, but unfortunately, while leveling alone they don’t have much utility . Maybe when Anet manages to do an instance based leveling alternative I’ll include it in my guide ^^

Strictly speaking of endgame, only thing I’d change is trading the “stand your ground!” for “contemplation of purity” cause of the better sinergy with “save yourselves!”. Ofc it depends on the area. I understand that KD can be the worst CC that ever existed so in an area full of mobs that can spam KD I’d choose an exactly identical build.
Can’t wait for some additional endgame dungeon content so I can change build to my beloved tanking style

Another thing that I keep noticing is the absolute importance of at least 15 points in Radiance in all guardian builds. TBH I think this is a Anet subliminal message saying we should be the ones spreading blind and vulnerability application upon initiation.

Thanks for your imput m8

Contemplation of purity isn’t bad either. I tried it only once. The 60s cooldown is kinda annoying & I usually run with a water mage that removes conditions.

Right now I’m 85% world completion with this build. I use retreat! though. Getting from point A to point B fast is worth it. For leveling, strictly speaking, survivability > all so I suggest simply going full toughness until maxed ASAP then precision (or power with 2h sword) Self heals below lvl 60 just suck for it to be worth investing in heals. At 70, it is a notable difference though. Most of my gear now has power – toughness – healing. (power compensates for the investment in precision in traits).

Cant wait to be full mythic to test out if there are stat caps!

I learnt a lot. Thanks for the guide!

I heard that around level 70, mobs start to hit much harder, but not being in Orr yet (going around lower level zones first), can’t comment on that section. However, for everything up to 70, this build is overly defensive, those stats are completely wasted.

5 virtue/15 rad as said it’s a must. But anything more in Honor and Virtue is kinda worthless, especially that you didn’t picked Honor for 20% GS skill reduction but went for bigger symbols. You don’t really want Vulnerability on Blind, 1 stack for 5 second is extremely meh, would go for Cond removal on Signet use, in those crap moments when you are both low on hp and have dots on you, as rare as this may be (although all in all it’s minor point).

What I’m using is near pure glass cannon:
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#MMcz0czzmanLmmonLmpxa0VMkMsbo
http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fUAQNAR5dlYgCCHHyMEfIFRuArHE0gFsmR8u3VBKC

Possible to switch support skills around of course, I have enough offensive power to burst everything so going with Retreat! and Save Yourselves for speed.
As a leveling guardian, you don’t need any tankish stats, base plate armor and built in healing is enough to cover any damage you will take while rotating never ending blinds and aegis. As long as you keep your gear up to par, you can take any amount of melee mobs (use sword 5 in case of ranged), pull them, apply symbol, one of aoe burning support skills, whirl while activating Justice, and keep chaining that virtue due to recharge from kills until all mobs are dead. If you happen to not kill anything after whirl, you still have Leap for another series of misses from mobs, and then elite skill as ultimate retry (never happens to me unless mobs have some special moves that disable you).

You also certainly don’t want Sword/Torch as a backup to Greatsword. This combo serves same role as GS and is just redundant. What you do want is something that will help you take on Veterans and Champions. The best options would be Mace/Focus, Scepter/X or Staff. First is best against Vets and allows you to continue staying in melee with one counter, cleavish blind and 4 second block, as well as heals from 1 chain and 2 symbol against mistakes/conditions. Scepter is better against Champions, and Staff is worse than both, but gives you Swiftness buff when running around.

ptitminou.6489:

Nark.2167:

ptitminou.6489:

For endgame I use http://www.gw2build.com/builds/tank-build-tank-guardian-5727.html

With Karma gear from Melandru vendor. (except head & feet, which suck)

Although some attacks still 1shot me (its like if they ignore armor) especially when delevelled, I usually have no problems with 4-5 mobs on me in Orr, and with my gf (heal specced ele) Ive went up to 10 at once without any problems. You will usually be beating on the mobs while they beat up on me.

I find tanking builds so sexy, but unfortunately, while leveling alone they don’t have much utility . Maybe when Anet manages to do an instance based leveling alternative I’ll include it in my guide ^^

Strictly speaking of endgame, only thing I’d change is trading the “stand your ground!” for “contemplation of purity” cause of the better sinergy with “save yourselves!”. Ofc it depends on the area. I understand that KD can be the worst CC that ever existed so in an area full of mobs that can spam KD I’d choose an exactly identical build.
Can’t wait for some additional endgame dungeon content so I can change build to my beloved tanking style

Another thing that I keep noticing is the absolute importance of at least 15 points in Radiance in all guardian builds. TBH I think this is a Anet subliminal message saying we should be the ones spreading blind and vulnerability application upon initiation.

Thanks for your imput m8

Contemplation of purity isn’t bad either. I tried it only once. The 60s cooldown is kinda annoying & I usually run with a water mage that removes conditions.

Right now I’m 85% world completion with this build. I use retreat! though. Getting from point A to point B fast is worth it. For leveling, strictly speaking, survivability > all so I suggest simply going full toughness until maxed ASAP then precision (or power with 2h sword) Self heals below lvl 60 just suck for it to be worth investing in heals. At 70, it is a notable difference though. Most of my gear now has power – toughness – healing. (power compensates for the investment in precision in traits).

Cant wait to be full mythic to test out if there are stat caps!

I also included retreat! in the last build update that I did ^^ it is indeed precious time saving, especially in WvW if you happen to do any while lvling up
Indeed the gear stats I prefer are Power, Precision and Toughness/Vitality (still to early in the game to know wich 1 is more worth it).
Unless you’re going to be a dedicated healer in a leveling group you shouldnt invest in healing.
Good luck with aquiring the gear, you’re always welcome in our “think tank” about guardian class when you find out something new, we need more people like you to understand our class here ;)

Nivrax.4835:

I heard that around level 70, mobs start to hit much harder, but not being in Orr yet (going around lower level zones first), can’t comment on that section. However, for everything up to 70, this build is overly defensive, those stats are completely wasted.

5 virtue/15 rad as said it’s a must. But anything more in Honor and Virtue is kinda worthless, especially that you didn’t picked Honor for 20% GS skill reduction but went for bigger symbols. You don’t really want Vulnerability on Blind, 1 stack for 5 second is extremely meh, would go for Cond removal on Signet use, in those crap moments when you are both low on hp and have dots on you, as rare as this may be (although all in all it’s minor point).

What I’m using is near pure glass cannon:
http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#MMcz0czzmanLmmonLmpxa0VMkMsbo
http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fUAQNAR5dlYgCCHHyMEfIFRuArHE0gFsmR8u3VBKC

Possible to switch support skills around of course, I have enough offensive power to burst everything so going with Retreat! and Save Yourselves for speed.
As a leveling guardian, you don’t need any tankish stats, base plate armor and built in healing is enough to cover any damage you will take while rotating never ending blinds and aegis. As long as you keep your gear up to par, you can take any amount of melee mobs (use sword 5 in case of ranged), pull them, apply symbol, one of aoe burning support skills, whirl while activating Justice, and keep chaining that virtue due to recharge from kills until all mobs are dead. If you happen to not kill anything after whirl, you still have Leap for another series of misses from mobs, and then elite skill as ultimate retry (never happens to me unless mobs have some special moves that disable you).

You also certainly don’t want Sword/Torch as a backup to Greatsword. This combo serves same role as GS and is just redundant. What you do want is something that will help you take on Veterans and Champions. The best options would be Mace/Focus, Scepter/X or Staff. First is best against Vets and allows you to continue staying in melee with one counter, cleavish blind and 4 second block, as well as heals from 1 chain and 2 symbol against mistakes/conditions. Scepter is better against Champions, and Staff is worse than both, but gives you Swiftness buff when running around.

Well, tbh “wasted” is not the appropriate word to be used here and I’ll tell you why.

Consider this case:

You engage a group of mobs with Judges Intervention, aggro them all around you, then activate Virtue of Justice, put a Symbol of Wrath on the ground and hit Whirling Wrath. From this point on, you will have mobs almost with no HP left, the conditions burning, blinded and in the case of my build, the mobs will have at least 5 stacks of vulnerability (thats 5% more dmg to mobs right there btw) for 3 more seconds. Furthermore you’ll have retribution wich will help take down the rest of the group those remaining 3 seconds.

Now, with this view in mind (and I speak for personal experience here) aggroing 3, 4 or even 5 mobs isn’t something done lightheaded, it takes some beef to do it, so you see, while sometimes mobs can die very fast from your attacks, MOST of the times something will go wrong (and it doesn’t take much for that to happen tbh, it’s Murphy’s law!) and an extra pull will happen, a KD will hit you, or any other form of CC will be thrown at you.
I don’t see many people of other classes handling groups of mobs like I do (at least on my server), so forgive me when I say that you cant possibly last long in group pulls with your build unless you have a backup player to support you.
You may have the capability to do a 1v1 1v2 or even 1v3 faster than me but in the long run I think I’ll have the beef and reduced downtime to chain groups of mobs faster.

The vulnerability on blind is IMHO the best 10 point trait you can pick on this kind of build. The condition removal on signet use is not even available on the 1st tier trait of the Radiance anyway.
Also, as I said before, I doubt you can “take any amount of melee mobs” like you said with that build. 7 for me is already pushing it and I have the extra vitality and healing from the trait points. Virtue of Courage and Virtue of Resolve have long cooldowns, same happens with ultimate so I can’t imagine how you would pull that off =D

I also said that the offset would be picked on preference and like you mentioned I picked them exactly because they can substitute the Greatsword abilities while they’re on cooldown. Again, veterans wont be a problem if you have the extra Vitality that goes with this build. Champions cant really be soloed so if theres a Greatsword Guardian in the group to take him down, you’ll prolly take all the heat, wich makes the extra survivability shine once again.

I’m not saying your way of doing things is wrong, in the end it all comes down to style of play and I like to think that leveling is your best way to train for later instances and getting to know the limits of your class, so I’ll keep defending the “wasted” stats in a bit of survivability while still picking up the vital traits in the guardian tress (15 radiance and 5 virtue) cause honestly I don’t believe going those extra points in Zeal or Radiance is worth it for faster leveling let alone the case of it being unbalanced if you ever find yourself in a dungeon/tough spot.

HOWEVER, you are totally right with the lack of the reduced 20% recharge time on the 2 Handed Weapon Skills from the Honor tree. I will correct that immediately.

Thank you so much for your post, it is important for the people to see these friendly discussions between different play styles, so they may decide whats best for them and what type of players they choose to be.
Keep posting and sharing your views with us please =)

Vulnerability isn’t bad, is that most of it comes from Symbol (5 stacks from 5 ticks), at best you have extra 2 stacks from Blinding for 1-2 seconds, first tier there have option for 20% faster sig reg. And if we’re talking about damage, you’re missing on 25 radiance, which is extra 10% damage to foes under condition (burning, vulnerability from symbol), as well as ton of power, critical chance and 10% crit damage.

And yes, I never have problems with any pulls now. There is very little difference between yours 20 point in Vit vs my 10 point in Toughness when it comes in tankiness, but there is quite large gap in damage dealing. And this build have problems only when you are not able to kill at least one mob before blinds wear off. If that happens, well, you’re screwed anyway.

I’m still going through level 60-70 content with 0 point in Toughness and I tell you, the extra stats aren’t needed because the very nature of Guardian makes base armor/toughness more than enough. I pull 4-5 mobs constantly, as it’s extremely hard to get more to follow with their short leashes, sometimes getting out with still active Aegis (I practiced playing armorless up to 40, dodges and stuff). In DE, I rush ahead of group, Leap into 10+ tightly packed enemies, drop my stuff, drop Justice 2 second after while whirlwind, everything just lies dead without being able to hit me.

Vets are never problem because they don’t hit you. In between cooldowns of 2 weapon sets, they will get maybe 1-2 hits which you can take on or dodge past, and Champs can’t be tanked unless fully specced anyway, I would say extra Aegis at 50% each 30 sec is more lifesaving in some cases.

I can’t speak of dungeons, I’m skipping them until max level myself, for proper dungeon build this time.

I’m using a build similar to yours for leveling and I love it.
For the second weapon set I use a staff. Remember that it’s a 2-handed weapon too and therefore makes use of the reduced cooldown trait. Placing the swiftness field as an AOE every few seconds adds good damage to compliment the snail orbs.

bump for great post!

Nark, could you fix the calculator link?
Great thread man :)

Nivrax.4835:

Vulnerability isn’t bad, is that most of it comes from Symbol (5 stacks from 5 ticks), at best you have extra 2 stacks from Blinding for 1-2 seconds, first tier there have option for 20% faster sig reg. And if we’re talking about damage, you’re missing on 25 radiance, which is extra 10% damage to foes under condition (burning, vulnerability from symbol), as well as ton of power, critical chance and 10% crit damage.

And yes, I never have problems with any pulls now. There is very little difference between yours 20 point in Vit vs my 10 point in Toughness when it comes in tankiness, but there is quite large gap in damage dealing. And this build have problems only when you are not able to kill at least one mob before blinds wear off. If that happens, well, you’re screwed anyway.

I’m still going through level 60-70 content with 0 point in Toughness and I tell you, the extra stats aren’t needed because the very nature of Guardian makes base armor/toughness more than enough. I pull 4-5 mobs constantly, as it’s extremely hard to get more to follow with their short leashes, sometimes getting out with still active Aegis (I practiced playing armorless up to 40, dodges and stuff). In DE, I rush ahead of group, Leap into 10+ tightly packed enemies, drop my stuff, drop Justice 2 second after while whirlwind, everything just lies dead without being able to hit me.

Vets are never problem because they don’t hit you. In between cooldowns of 2 weapon sets, they will get maybe 1-2 hits which you can take on or dodge past, and Champs can’t be tanked unless fully specced anyway, I would say extra Aegis at 50% each 30 sec is more lifesaving in some cases.

I can’t speak of dungeons, I’m skipping them until max level myself, for proper dungeon build this time.

First of all let me tell you I love you! You’re flow of ideas and opinions are making me think alot about various aspects of the builds we’re trying to construct here

I’d like to point out is that adding 20% faster signet cooldown in a build with only 1 signet is kinda waste of trait don’t you think so mate? Even in mine it wouldn’t make sense so I prefer the extra vulnerability anyway ;) If we were to move past 15 Radiance I think adding the “condition cure on signet use” would be the more profitable for those “awww shiz” situations and then pick up the “10% increased damage against foes suffering from conditions”

The difference we’re talking about between your builds to mine in raw numbers is:

- 50 power, 5% additional condition duration, increased symbol dmg, 150 precision, 150 condition dmg, 10% critical damage, 100 toughness and 10% additional dmg on foes suffering from conditions

It is indeed quite alot of damage to loose versus the added survivability I proposed earlier, so as from this moment I’m gonna reform the build to make Radiance hit the 25 skill points mark.

So now the difference we’re talking about in raw numbers will be:

- 50 power, 5% additional condition duration, increased symbol dmg, 50 precision, 50 condition dmg, 10% critical damage, 100 toughness, 1 extra aegis at 50% HP, and 5% toughness converts to precision.

vs

- 200 extra healing, 200 vitality, gain of vigor on crits for added dodge spam, larger symbols for added margin of positioning on aggro and 20% reduced cooldown on 2-Handed Weapons

Seems alot less to loose against the added survivability from honor tree and the added bonuses of fitting every mob inside your symbols plus getting the yummy 20% less CD on Great Sword (/Staff /Hammer) skills =D

The last 5 points of Radiance only to reach the Perfect Inscriptions seems a waste because I think the bonus is only “For signets that give a passive attribute bonus” and I don’t think our Signet of Resolve will be enhanced. Even if my Signet of Wrath was improved, the amount would be only 20%, which in a few seconds of burning seems pointless. GW2Wiki Perfect Inscriptions

In the end, as I said earlier, it comes down to finding your favorite playstyle. If you prefer to go full offensive and gamble in the face of adversity, by all means go 30 30 10 0 0 0! Just find something that inserts well with your way of playing and have fun with it =D

On a last note, what were you referring to when you used the “DE” abbreviation? Was trying to understand it for a while and the only thing that came to mind was Destiny’s Edge although it makes no sense

Thanks again for your imput mate and keep murdering them mobs!

Syrek.3708:

I’m using a build similar to yours for leveling and I love it.
For the second weapon set I use a staff. Remember that it’s a 2-handed weapon too and therefore makes use of the reduced cooldown trait. Placing the swiftness field as an AOE every few seconds adds good damage to compliment the snail orbs.

I’m not a big fan of staves for fighting situations but I personally carry one in my inventory all the time (especially in WvW) for the added speed of the “Symbol of Swiftness” spam ;)
For damage on an alternative set try going for sword/mace – torch/focus =D
Have fun mate =)

Jabett.2658:

Nark, could you fix the calculator link?
Great thread man :)

Fixed mate, was remodeling the guide as you wrote it ;)

i really wanna try this build but i noticed it has no toughness??

What stats would you want to focus with a build like this at 80? Trying to decide on some long term armour but dont want to spend the tokens (or karma) on something until I know for sure its the best for this playstyle. I find myself enjoying the build after adding my own tweaks to it.

ErzaScarlet.2386:

i really wanna try this build but i noticed it has no toughness??

was explained in my last reply to Nivrax a few posts ago. 20 25 0 20 5 is my personal choice, which you’re not obligated to agree
25 30 10 0 5 or 30 25 10 0 5 are also very reliable choices to make regarding guardian trait distribution
guide will be updated to reflect the absolute essentials of guardian leveling/dps traits
which are 10 25 0 0 5, the remaining 30 points is more of personal preference than anything else. Use those 30 points to adapt the build to your own personal playstyle

Ashe.6327:

What stats would you want to focus with a build like this at 80? Trying to decide on some long term armour but dont want to spend the tokens (or karma) on something until I know for sure its the best for this playstyle. I find myself enjoying the build after adding my own tweaks to it.

glad people are adding they’re own twist to the build =) please do share with us if you find anything of relevance from your version of the build =D

regarding the gear, personally I think power > precision (still gotta do some research on caps) > condition damage/critical damage (also some research to do on these, can’t tell you exactly which contributes more to DPS between these 2)
there’s nowhere to go wrong about going with gear that has the prefix strong, but as I said in previous answers to this post, I also value survivability alot
people need to realize that a dead dps will do no dps whatsoever, so try to pick some items with toughness and vitality (anything with hearty and vigorous in it) to compliment the strong dps orientation of this build

need to do some research on the caps of precision and toughness a bit now. if anyone has any info about those please do not hesitate to list it here

hope I helped you with your question ashe. any other questions you may have, don’t hesitate post them in this thread. keep well =D

Realize this is in response to you asking someone to explain themselves a few days ago but didn’t see anyone answer yet…

DE=Dynamic Events

Grace.6074:

Realize this is in response to you asking someone to explain themselves a few days ago but didn’t see anyone answer yet…

DE=Dynamic Events

Thank you very much kind sir =D
Hope this guide was useful to you in some way aswell.
Peace out

Is this build still a good one for leveling? I haven’t played my guardian in a long, long time and still have this bookmarked. I really liked it but it doesn’t seem the same when I first found it.