Guild Wars 2

I am running a meditation build and am considering my 2nd wep.
I notice the hammer is quite slow, but offers some cc and its decent damage.
Otherwise the sword/focus provides some mobility, a quite a bit of block.
Has any theory crafting been done on the damage differences/wvw/pvp pro’s and con’s? I can see both being great. So far I am liking the sword/focus more and am just wondering if I am missing something with the hammer that might make it a better choice.

Thanks!

It’s not just the damage from hammer that is slow, the utilities have pretty substantial tells on them.

I know I’d miss the focus5, the added burst from that is quite nice as is the 3 blocks. Focus4 isn’t bad either.

yeah, everyone can tell the hammer tells and its an easy dodge.

Sword/focus is the bread and butter of pretty much any meditation build. You seriously need it. Not just for the damage, but also for the mobility, blocks, and most importantly, the blinds. If you’re considering hammer, it would probably be better in your GS slot. People think I’m crazy when I tell them I run zerker without GS, but hammer is insanely under rated on a zerker build. Your DPS is pretty similiar (probably slightly lower, but keep in mind it’s a lot easier to consistently land mighty blows, GS is quite high risk), due to the low CD on mighty blow and the symbol ticks (This is assuming you’re zerker, hammer is pretty weak unless you spec for a lot of damage), but the cc on hammer synergises soo well with sword focus. Drop a ring and you basically have a free full damage combo on them. The main advantage of GS is the pull and the burst through WW. It’s personal preference really. The leap is also nice, but with JI and flashing blade it’s not really necessary.

But as I said, DEFINATELY run sword/focus. Consider swapping out GS if anything

thats great info, what do you think about gear? I have been considering knights on armor and zerker on trinkets etc. might give me a good balance so I have enough toughness to outlast some group wvw and enough damage to 1v1 easily.

Techyo.6732:

thats great info, what do you think about gear? I have been considering knights on armor and zerker on trinkets etc. might give me a good balance so I have enough toughness to outlast some group wvw and enough damage to 1v1 easily.

Tbh, with a DPS meditation guard I find you almost have to go all in or it’s not even worth it. You’re gonna have a tiny health pool. That’s fine, but if you don’t have enough damage it can be an issue. TBH, if you want to go that playstyle, you’re better off just going full zerker. It’s gonna be almost impossible for you to 100-0 burst any enemies if you have knights trinkets. This is defensively bad, because if you don’t drop enough damage on your initial burst they’re just going to turn around and hit you back. A full zerker gaurdian will either drop them instantly with a full combo, or it will rattle their kitten and they wont be so quick to go all in on you. Basically what I’m saying is you need to be able to kill them before they kill you. You can’t outbrawl them in a fight because of your health pool, you NEED to be able to burst them down.

The toughness you get from the meditation trait line is pretty much all the toughness you need. Toughness WILL NOT keep you alive with this build, even with knights trinkets, it’s just not enough to be worth it. A meditation build relies on rotation of meditations and MOBILITY to stay alive. You don’t need toughness if they can’t hit you. That’s also why I recommend traveler runes on a zerker build. The movement speed not only keeps you alive, it makes it a hell of a lot easier to kill people too.
Also, flashing blade and JI will save your kitten .

Basically, if you’re choosing this playstyle, your stats are not going to keep you alive. Your skill rotation and movement will keep you alive. Don’t even worry about any defensive stats, just get as much power, prec, and crit damage as possible. You should be aiming for about 2.3k power, 220% crit damage, and 50% crit chance.

Here’s a video of me and a guildmate running this type of build:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSls3ORlJRM

Also, here’s your typical engage. I’ll cover hammer and GS.

Hammer: Shield of wrath (wait 2 or 3 seconds) + JI/ring (basically start dropping your ring, then JI teleport just before the rings down, it won’t interrupt.) + Smite condition + Mighty Blow(by now, 90% of enemies will run straight into the wall after your shield burst, that’s when you swap to sword) + Zealots defense

GS: JI/flashing blade to close the gap (You can pop these both if you’re far away. It’s better to engage with flashing blade if possible because of the blind) + Smite condition + Whirling Wrath + Pull

A lot of squishy opponents will die to this combo if you hit everything, if not they’ll be at least 50% hp, and already on the back foot.

If you use hammer you will have to time your burst, while sword allows more versatility. I like all sets though I dont think there is anything that comes close to the sheer burst of a hammer/gs combo as Moleless mentioned. Having -20% recharge in traits allows for 4 second Mighty Blows which is an enormous amount of pressure on the enemy. Useful for fighting on points, I dont recommend it for wvw.
Also, if you use intelligence on the hammer you will not regret it.

I put sigil of rage on my hammer. Give it a try maybe you’ll like it. It works well on a secondary weapon.

Moleless, thanks for the help, i can understand that toughness isnt going to add too much after the base 300. here is a build i am running now and enjoying. any suggestions?
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fVAQNAR8dlsApcoVDxbI8DRRDRlTNYvBjQXe9B8ABAA-TpBEwAGuAASOIA23fAwDAIbZACHBAA

Go hammer if you want to be able to spike multiple people at once. It has better sustainable aoe damage (assuming you live long enough) than sword which basically just has auto attack. Just know that you got no way out with hammer, if a fight goes sour just stand there and die, don’t waste time trying to run(walk) away.

Techyo.6732:

Moleless, thanks for the help, i can understand that toughness isnt going to add too much after the base 300. here is a build i am running now and enjoying. any suggestions?
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fVAQNAR8dlsApcoVDxbI8DRRDRlTNYvBjQXe9B8ABAA-TpBEwAGuAASOIA23fAwDAIbZACHBAA

Well that’s a PvP build, I was assuming you meant WvW because you mentioned knights trinkets. For traits though, it’s a pretty good start. 6 in honor gives you a big boost in hp. This is good if you’re still getting comfortable with glass cannon playstyle. On my meditation build, I personally run 0 in honor, and put those points in virtues zeal and radiance. Typical trait line for me would be:

2/2/6/0/4

This is slightly higher risk but higher reward. 30% more damage with traits, more power and precision, and extra condi removal. Only downside is your hp is much lower but that’s not too bad because you are basically immune to conditions and you can avoid direct damage with blinds blocks and movement. If you’re having trouble with getting quickly burst down before you can do anything then the extra hp might be a good option to start with

EDIT: Also just looking at the traits you picked, take focused mind over retributive armour when running meditation. The symbol traits are also pretty questionable but it could work i guess.

These are the traits I usually run
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fVAQNAR8dlsApcoVDxbI8DRR8QlZK+iWNCVFAX/DBROA-TVSDwAJuAgSweK/ep+TlDCQ+9HApbYwDAAg5vDHBASBonyI-w

Thanks! I think that focused mind is much better since I dont run a toughness build. I think you linked me my build instead of yours?

Oh sorry, I updated the link. I also changed it to WvW mode to show you what kinda stats you’ll be getting.