Guild Wars 2

It seems a lot of Guardians consider this trait a “must have”. I still like it a lot, but here’s why I swapped 10 Virtue for Zeal.

IV will add 105 power and condition damage for 5s. Another 10 in Zeal adds 100 might and 10% condition duration, a stack of vulnerability per symbol tick, and 5% GS damage. So, if you’re using a GS and or the fight is longer than 5s, Zeal wins.

IV wins when you’re killing things that are dying in under 5s, permitting you to stack more might. Or, when you’re in a group, again permitting you to stack more might (just not on you). Or, when you’re using a weapon without symbols (eg. sword). And, you have to remember to keep using it whenever it pops up; that should be a reflex, but now and then I forget.

IV is more situational and active. It’s potentially nicer if the situations that favor it happen often for you. OTH, optimizing to kill lots of easy critters isn’t always helpful unless there’s a boss target summoning Justice fodder for you.

The other place for those 10 skill points would be Valor if you want DPS. That’s another 3~6% DPS for all weapon sets depending on your current critical rate, critical damage, and whether you already have retributive armor or not.

Argh. I’m convincing myself to put it in Valor instead of Zeal. I typically end up using sword a lot more often than GS because I swap GS for Staff — not because I’d rather Sword than GS, but because they’re both 2H and thus I don’t have to fish around in my pack for my off-hand when I want my killing weapons back.

Anyway, feel free to post your own thoughts on this (nice) trait and whether or not you use it. Maybe I’ve overlooked something nicer about it than more Valor or Zeal.

You don’t really “have” to have it, but it usually is one of the nicer options, especially if you have points left. I retrain traits all the time, but am currently using15 Virtues and 15 Radiance, and it works like a charm (I am not using Greatsword, though; longsword/mace with shield with scepter/focus, changing traits depending whether I am using the sword or the mace.) Also, for those who like Altruistic Healing, it’s bonus healing for them, no doubt they are so commonly used. Might 3 and Protection are pretty neat boons after all.

There are no wrong answers if things work for you, though, regardless common recommendations. I do miss Inspired Virtues on each and every build I sometimes use that lacks them-even if I do so for a good reason.

First of all, Power is not Might. Semantics.

Secondly, you’re arguing about a 5-point investment versus a 10-point investment. Minor.

Third and most importantly, you’re totally ignoring the Regeneration and Protection boons you receive from using Virtue of Resolve and Courage.

LOL. I didn’t know what you meant at first, because of course power is not might. Fixed that one in the original post. 105 might would be kinda hard to argue against.

Yeah, strictly speaking it’s a 5 v. 10 comparison, but IMHO, if you’re not getting GS+5%, the Zeal line isn’t worth considering as a substitute and there’s not another 5 pointer worth considering in reach — well, maybe elusive power, but I already do “dodging for DPS” on my mesmer and would like to keep it for defense on guardian.

I generally completely forget we even have Resolve and Courage; pretty much never need to use them. That’s probably more due to playing Guardian as an alt than main: I’m not looking for opportunities to use them the way a main would. It’s good to point them out.

I’m presuming you’re talking just solo? In a group, 3 stacks of might to 5 allies is a fair bit bigger of an impact than 10 Zeal would make.

I actually do it for the retaliation rather than the buffs, because it’s usually the multi-hit skills that down me.

I went 0/15/30/20/5 to get Inspired Virtue with Empowered Might, improved crit chance, and a better ability to spam the AOE blind/Vulnerability from Virtue of Justice.

As others have mentioned, IV gives you a lot more than just a personal power bonus. It improves your entire group’s DPS and survivability. In particular, it’s pretty much what makes Virtue of Courage worth using, since you’re just getting a single block once every 90 seconds if you don’t have IV traited. That’s nice if you can block a big attack with it, and it can take a little pressure off your team but it won’t help much if you’re getting focused. 5 seconds of protection can help you survive through tough situations and will help your team members do the same, and all you lose for that are 2 blocks from the passive over the next 90 seconds. Without IV, VoC is something that might occasionally be useful if you have good timing. With it, it basically becomes a free utility skill, since the opportunity cost for activating it is very low and the effect is very powerful.

Also, IV becomes even more useful if you’re taking Renewed Focus. Suddenly, you can quickly stack 10 seconds of burning damage on the next attack, 6 stacks of might, possibly two AoE blinds, a moderate heal, 10 seconds of Regen, 2 blocks, and 10 seconds of Protection per party member, all while becoming invulnerable for 3 seconds. That’s absolutely huge. Alternatively, you can achieve half of that effect basically for free if you don’t pop your virtues again after using RF. IV and RF have gradually become staples of almost all my builds – the fact that all Virtues are instant cast makes them very powerful, and when traited/renewable, they can make a huge difference both in solo and team situations.

Hate to say it, but this really is a must for any spec. Combining this with Renewed focus gives you some sweet boons.

i’ve been trying to explore different avenues with my builds.. and this one is so hard to not trait for. for the various reasons stated, IV really does make a difference. hard to convince me to slot these 5 pts elsewhere.