Guild Wars 2

So, is FULL GLASS CANON the perfect/ultimate build for everything in this game? I see everywhere people saying zerk this, zerk that, EVERYWHERE! So, if eveyone is saying that berserker gear is all you need for PvE, dungeons, Fractal and etc, this must be true.

But, what i don’t understand is, how can i survive in high level fractals or harder dungeons (Arah) if i’m going without armor and less than 10k HP? How people are able to survive like this? You don’t have unlimited dodges, and even with sigils of energy and vigor, you still won’t be able to dodge everything.

This is the build i’m using now

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/guardian/?3.4|1.1g.a7|6.1a.h1j|1g.71h.1g.71h.1g.71g.1g.71g.1g.77.1g.77|4s.d1e.1c.9c.1c.9c.2s.d1e.1g.67.8c.67|0.a6.u56b.u2a8.0|1.9|v.16.19.18.1i|e

I do Cof, FoTM (lvl 12 is my max right now) and PvE with some WvW sometimes. It’s been working really nice, i rarely die and i love my increased duration in my boons (i was using full rubys on the armors, but i changed because i wanted more boon duration).

I’m currently working on getting only ascended zerk trinkets.

But, with all this zerk this and that, i’m thinking in puting more offense in my build, but my question is, how am i supposed to survive with less than 10k health and low armor?

>>In the trinkets section, i put the crest of the soldier because i could not find the azurite jewel on the buildcraft. <<

Where is that build variety if you must need to follow this zerk meta thing??

Zerk works in almost every context, if not every context, if you can make it work. I’f you don’t have the patience to learn the encounters in pve, or find out how to pull off the optimum burst for WvW, and learn when to use what to stay alive, then Zerk isn’t for you and you’re going to spend your days cosplaying an expensive rug.

The best damage always comes from Berseker gear. End of story. That’s just the way it is: it has all three direct damage stats on it.

All that said, though: run whatever build you think is fun. Only speed runners will get angry at you for not running all berserker.

Anyone else?
….

Pretty much what was stated above. Personally I mix and match my gear and can trait myself to become very powerful DPSer or tanky supporter. Zerk gear requires skill and experience. If you don’t have those, you are just gonna be a burden to your party for dying all the time. Mix armor sets to find the right balance and lean towards zerk when you gain experience. I’d recommend something like +40% crit chance and +60% crit damage. From that you can decide what role you want to play.

In wvw tho zerk gear is the worst option for a guardian. You wont be able to do anything other than ambush some innocent little roamers. Remember that pve and wvw gears are the same so try to keep that in mind. You can always get other armor sets tho if you have the money.

Berzerker gear when coupled with a skilled player is quite devastating in pve and pvp/wvw alike . If you’re not apt with your class or have quick reaction times don’t run zerker gear..esp if you have a crap pc. I run it with 2k armor only on 15 max fps and its nasty. However , it won’t work for ALL instances of the game …but majority sure but certain instances your team of zerks need a backbone..with you being the guard it should be your role to keep the dps up.

Game is currently not very well balanced.

Offense is always encouraged in these games because people start to whine at things like long stalemates and very long battles (I’ll point at an example of early Warhammer Online here)… and in this game with the high speed and dodging and lots of escape moves…. it is a serious concern that some classes will just never die in some circumstances (arguably, this already happens with thieves and such)

However, this game has several factors where that thinking has gone into overdrive First being the hatred of the ‘trinity’ and wanting to avoid at all cost classes that are support/healing. Second is the debacle known as ‘magic find’ gear where encounters are being tuned down because people are killing their own stats to get more loot… so yes, in PvE basically everything can be turboed through by glass cannons if you know the encounters and more importantly the exploits/loopholes…

The problem is that 98% of the forumers base their ideology either on CoF p1 or being carried by perfectly balanced groups with anchor guardian, mesmer, warrior and a staff elly.

Outside of these 2 scenarios all they do is solo play, which you can complete with any kind of gear.

My advice from PUGGING fractal 48 for several months now is that full berzerker is NOT the answer to everything.
Try to balance your stats around with knights and/or PVT. The ideal setup is 50% knights/50% zerker. What you wanna keep in mind is that your accessories should always be berzerker.

Depending on your party set up u should have 2 armor sets and 2 trait set ups.

If you are the only guardian or you have a second guardian whois GC, you should be using 50% knights/50% zerker and be specced as 0/0/30/30/10, soldier runes help tremendously. Alternatively use lyssa and throw in a few valk pieces in there.

If another anchor guardian in the party: Feel free to go full berzerker armor and DPS traits since chances are you will be fine.

If solo you can do whatever u want cuz solo play is easy

What Hunter says is true, but the reason for it is trash monsters. Toughness scales very poorly in boss encounters due to the overwhelming damage of their attacks. If you’re going to get one shot anyway, there’s no point in wearing toughness gear. Toughness is a much better option against trash, where the multiple small hits can be mitigated in a meaningful way that allows you to stay alive, which is why it helps in high level fractals and harder dungeons than CoF.

In PvE environments (dungeons, fractals), adequate skill with dodging and some party coordination can basically replace all defensive requirements. This is why berserker is demanded by the players seeking the fastest clear times: if everyone involved is good enough, you don’t need toughness / vitality / healing power, so the only relevant stat on your gear is damage.

Edit: That said, if you’re using pick-up groups, are a bit inexperienced or are generally not seeking the fastest times possible, berserker equipment might not be the best idea since the coordination and skill required to keep you alive probably won’t be there.

In WvW and sPvP, it’s much less clear-cut since other players tend to be a lot more clever about applying damage than NPC bosses.

@OP
Its not worth when you doing it blindly
There is somwhere on net xls where you can exactly build your character on paper (xls) its not problem then to almost exactly count the damage with individual skills, weapons (with 95% accuracy) so then you can count the actual DPS

But back on the full zerker you asked
There are two important values to consider.
First is effective power
Second is effective defense
Then there is max effective power of you class (full zerk, and trait build)
Then there is max effective defense of your class (full vit+tough+healing)

So then you can calculate the effective power/defence % from the max values your class can have
Then you can compare that increasing the effective power by x% will decrease your effective defense by y% or vice versa. So you can decide if the increase is worth or not.
Bassicaly what I found out the best is to find perfect balance for those two so when you count them you get the highest number

The problem is the design of Pve. There is simply no reason to not go for damage. This is different from WvW where you can’t Always go full zerker. That’s why to me, WvW is a real game type. Because in there, more than damage counts.

Going full zerker does not mean going glass cannon. Use your traits for support and defensive purposes for the situation at hand. Use the zerker gear to maximize your damage regardless of your build.

As others have said this applies to PvE. WWW is a different beast.

What about my build, it is bad or good?

My build right now

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/guardian/?3.4|1.1g.h1b|6.1a.h1j|1g.71h.1g.71h.1g.71g.1g.71g.1g.77.1g.77|4s.d1e.1c.9c.1c.9c.2s.d1e.3s.d1e.8c.67|0.a6.u56b.u2a8.0|1.9|v.16.19.18.1i|e

You’re not getting a lot of damage out of that build considering how little defensive stats you have. There are builds with similar or greater defensive capabilities but much higher damage.

See: http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/guardian/?3.2|c.1g.h1l.d.1g.h2|1.1g.h2|1p.71g.1g.71g.1p.71h.1g.71h.1p.77.1g.77|1g.61.1c.61.1c.61.1g.61.1g.61.8c.61|0.u6ab.u16c.5.5|2e.7|w.12.13.15.1i|e

That’s with similar runes to yours. I usually run either Soldier’s, Melandru, or 5x Citadel +1 Ruby in that.

foofad.5162:

You’re not getting a lot of damage out of that build considering how little defensive stats you have. There are builds with similar or greater defensive capabilities but much higher damage.

See: http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/guardian/?3.2|c.1g.h1l.d.1g.h2|1.1g.h2|1p.71g.1g.71g.1p.71h.1g.71h.1p.77.1g.77|1g.61.1c.61.1c.61.1g.61.1g.61.8c.61|0.u6ab.u16c.5.5|2e.7|w.12.13.15.1i|e

That’s with similar runes to yours. I usually run either Soldier’s, Melandru, or 5x Citadel +1 Ruby in that.

Well, those foods are quite expensive, and i won’t be melee everytime, especially in higher level fractals or harder dungeons, melee with the low VIT is kinda crazy for me.

I think i will try to put some valkyrie gear to have more vitality, and go full zerk trinket. Having low VIT is so unfair.

Truffle Steak is only 3s each, it’s the oil that sucks. You can use the next lowest grade though and be fine. Alternatively you can use sharpening stones, and your crits will crit harder but you’ll have a harder time landing them.

These are a little more affordable:

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Plate_of_Orrian_Steak_Frittes