Guild Wars 2

I’m torn between the two. I’m using full cleric’s gear with Altruistic Healing and can’t decide which is better.

Hammer + Writ of Exaltation + Writ of Merciful

- provides some great healing and protection.

Mace/Shield + Honorable Shield + Superior Aura + Writ of Merciful

- Better healing minus the protection. Honorable shield and superior aura a great addition.

Which do you guys think is better?

Personally I am preferring Mace/Shield over Hammer in my Cleric gear. The are two things that Hammer has over Mace/Shield and those are Blast finishers and its leap skill, Mace/Shield is not very mobile. They both have interrupts/knock backs Shields being better IMO as it is quicker to get off than Hammer’s Banish and has an AoE heal.

I feel Hammer is better at keeping YOU alive while Mace/Shield is good at supporting EVERYONE. You could also take both of course

Hammer is amazing in PvE if you trait for larger and longer symbols. Whats better than giving your whole melee team 33% damage reduction while beating on the target? Its also nice that you can save Hammer 3/4/5 for ‘utility’.

I run Mace/Shield when I’m traited for RHS, otherwise I’ll run Hammer. Mace can do some good damage if you’re geared and traited for it. If you run Mace though you could have Superior Aria and Pure of Voice which is just great for clearing conditions on your group.

Another way to think of it though, the faster you kill a target the less damage it will do..

Blood~

Bloodgruve.6038:

Hammer is amazing in PvE if you trait for larger and longer symbols. Whats better than giving your whole melee team 33% damage reduction while beating on the target?

Another guardian with the same specs using a mace and shield. Protection and regeneration for everyone!

i ran a build for a while that was hammer and then mace/shieldD was ton of fun. not very mobile, but very hard to kill. i might go back to it soon too. and depending how confident you feel landing the symbols on the hammer, try traiting for buffed symbols. especially larger and healing if you need. if not, go for longer lasting since most mobs in PvE are rather stationary. if not, you can also always easily “root” them with hammer 3 or 5.

Water Blasts give a lot more healing than Mace if you have them regularly in your group composition.

Both. Mace/focus best defense combo for guardians imo(geting prot,2x regen, direct healing, 4x blocks, Blind, 2x Aoe blast, symbol can be traited for extra healing and damage also a hard hitting auto attack). but if my party is packing an ele i pull out the hammer every time.

For a defensive guardian in pve..I find jumping in with greatsword to dish out damage. and then switch to mace and shield if you start losing hp and getting conditions.