Guild Wars 2

I am currently curious about this, has anyone had success in this matter?

Simple answer, yes!

I would change the question somewhat though, is there anyone that has missed that you can play a guardian as an offensive profession?

Guardians are basically one of the best frontline pushers in the game with great aoe capability combined with very nice survivability.

Yes.
It’s not even that hard and there is more than one way to go about it.
People might be confused because we retain a bit of support, even when going all out on the offensive.

as a Guardian, we have more support abilities at our disposal, however, this by NO means does it mean we are holding the short end of the stick in terms of damage. We are extremely versatile and have high suvivability. Contrary to popular belief we have very good AoEs, we have a lot of damage mitigation, we have a lot of heals, as well as constant and high damage output. I’ll even go as far to say, if you spec the right way, you can even do extremely high burst damage.

Simply by being able to be more survivable and hard to take down, you’re being as offensive as you can be by pushing the frontlines, by standing in the face of your enemies and still being able to wittle their health and take them down, one after the other. Often times, you’ll find yourself being the last man standing, and by still being standing, means you’ll still be able to do damage and be on the offense.

Offensive Guardians are good, but not meta-good. Meaning, you will only see Bunker Guardians in truly competitive PvP (generally speaking, there are exceptions and meta doesn’t always indicate the only viable way to play).

Still, in WvW and PuG PvP? They’re pretty good, while retaining the durability needed for a melee class.

There’s a difference between “full power low armor” offensive and “I am winning simply because you cannot topple me” offensive. I go Soldier armor with maxed Valor and Honor lines. This makes me extremely bulky, but by no means do I intend simply to stand around and absorb damage. My Power is high, my crit chance is low and my crit dmg is average. That’s not where I get my “offensive” nature from though.

Though I may be dealing meh damage, I’m dealing that meh damage to around 5 enemies at any given time. Lets see a shortbow thief try and do that. I’m always a constant presence. They move 3 steps back, I move 4 steps foward, kick them in their back, move 2 steps back and leap at their faces. Fling me away and I’ll just bounce back. So what if my damage isn’t huge. While I’m causing havoc and chaos, my allies are charging in to clean up my mess.

That’s what it means to be an offensive guardian. It comes from the utility, not the attack damage. It comes from the constant presence and relentless badgering.

The name of the shout “Save Yourselves!” is very misleading. Its not that the Guardian is telling his allies to save themselves, its me telling my enemy to get the kitten back BECAUSE I’M ABOUT TO BEAT HIS kitten

“The name of the shout “Save Yourselves!” is very misleading. Its not that the Guardian is telling his allies to save themselves, its me telling my enemy to get the kitten back BECAUSE I’M ABOUT TO BEAT HIS kitten”

+1 million

Kita you should make a video. Write a speech like that
and add some dramatic video and you’ve got a win !

The best guardians in this game do not even have retaliation, as it is a cheap crutch that will be chipped away at until it’s useless …….. Yes full Offensive is possible and guess what for WvW you don’t even need any valor points to run it.

Edelweiss.9815:

Offensive Guardians are good, but not meta-good.

I don’t know about this. On reddit the other day, we were discussing combos. Guardians can finish every combo except projectile combos. They can also set up burn combos, including area might, burning bolts, and flame aura. Though they might seem more supportive with their light initiators, retaliation, cleansing bolt (correct me on the name if I’m wrong), and area retaliation could all be extremely offensive in the meta. Coupled with a decent team ready to ALSO combo, assuming you’ve dumped anything decent into Zeal (to set up powerful gs skills- I’ll explain why gs in the next paragraph) and Honor (using the 10 point skill in honor to make your symbols larger, the combo space getting even bigger), your symbols/initiators and power are both massive and ready to match pretty much anyone sPvP-wise.

My tip for playing an offense combo guard? Run greatsword and scepter/focus. The gs on its own has a light initiator, a leap finisher and two whirl finishers. I know what you’re thinking. Inb4 gs nerf. Then you use purging flames, hallowed ground, and some other skill. Personally, I use “Save Yourselves” on preference of pulling condis from my team. Sure, it hurts me, but it helps my team out, so I don’t mind. It makes the team more efficient to slow me down but have everyone else working at full capacity. If you really want to go full on combos, though, you can use Sanctuary to support teammates- plus, it’s a light initiator.

Enough about my combo-purist crap, though. I just couldn’t believe how much better I got way back when I actually figured out combos. I’m not trying to start an argument, I’m just bringing up something that some people may not have thought of trying for an offensive guardian. Please don’t hurt me, I’m just a sylvari…

Quick edit: If you prefer the mace, the mace also has initiators. I just prefer the scepter because it has a higher measured dps.

Offensive Guardians are completely possible and kitten scary too.

I play a 10/0/30/30 sometimes a 10/0/30/20/10

I’ve got 3.1k attack / 3k armor / 16.7k hp / base crit of 32% / base crit dmg of 61%

I run with my guild as a hit-run strike team. Front lining it with our warrior and i kill just as well even if im not doing as much dmg.

Offensive guardians shouldnt been confused to think its going to give you burst dmg, more along the lines of higher sustained dmg, but if u invest into crit and crit dmg you’ll find a nice surprise its just you might feel really squishy.

A Gaurdian is by far capable of damage. If you know how to best use weapon combinations and what skills you can use best with each. You can one vs one any other Profession and be on even grounds and in some cases be in a better postion to win. Due to the amount of CC, free blocks and additional dots Gaurdians have, you can deffinetly cause a lot of pain for people.

My current build focuses on being able to get close quick, often by passing their front lines and getting point blank to an enemy, I then use skills to control the enemy to maximize the symbols and aoe skills in a quick burst to rack up dots, vunrabilities and burns. I use a lot of burns because of the damage bonus of 10% on burning foes. If I also go for stability it’s pretty hard to be put down or feared, so you have a lot more time to go through a combo of skills. Unless everyone targets you, your dodges can keep you clear of the mass of AoE that panicked players tend to throw down in reaction to your sudden attack. But after you either kill the target or down them, it’s a matter of what you have left or if people followed you in.

I’d recommend never dodging until you need to, as it’s easier to take one AoE than 3 or 4 at once. The standard heal is by far the best due to the ignore damage. I have survived a lot of tough moments just by using my heal at the right time. Not every moment mind you, but enough to make it my favourite heal.

It’s easy to play an offensive Guardian. Just insult anyone and everyone that you encounter, on a regular basis, and spam /laugh and other infuriating emotes at your enemies in WvW.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/guardian/Is-it-possible-to-make-an-offensive-gaurdian

http://www.gw2build.com/builds/simulator.php#1.3.12.2.0.19.22.16.0.16.54.72.74.62.77.3.3.6.152.157.0.167.0.0.181.190.192.0.0.0.0.0.0.20.15.30.0.5

I’m not good at voice acting. The online text me is so vastly different from the real me. The real me is a devout Buddhist that dislikes violence. The online me wishes there was a minigame where I could paint Tyria with the blood of my enemies.

I run a condition damage. (Yes, I said condition damage) Guardian symbol build that burns mobs to the ground with ease. I run Mace/Torch (Mace for the #2 spammable symbol) to devastating effect. 15 Radiance means that I can abuse Justice Virtue to no end. While most people do not associate Condition damage with Guardians I find it to be very effective. With skills like Fiery Wrath the amount of sheer DPS you can produce gets obnoxious. It also lends it self well to defensive play as the rest of your skills are geared towards healing and condition removal. Purging Flames is a great example of a utility skill that keeps things burning while benefiting the group. Defender’s Flame also gives you a guaranteed burn on blocking which your aegis automatically provides insuring that even if you get hit first your enemies will be on fire from the get go. I run 15, 15, 10, 30, 0. Everything is geared towards making symbols bigger, last longer, and heal allies. It also means that my virtue of Justice is always ready to use, and that my aegis is constantly resetting itself. In large mobs, and boss fights I can easily outlast most monsters, because my key abilities are constantly recharging and up ready to use. I don’t claim it’s the best build out there, but it works very well for me. If Offense is what you are looking for this is a good way to go.

My current build has been totally hilarious. I know it’s impractical but I am such a fireball that I never stop cackling. It helps that I wield a Fiery Dragon Sword to complete the ensemble.

I use a 1h sword, torch, Judge’s Intervention, Purging Flames/Merciful Intervention/Sanctuary (as needed), Signet of Wrath and Hounds of Balthazar (Human, but Renewed Focus works too).

I’m fully committed to Radiance and Zeal. My traits are Shattered Aegis, Fiery Wrath, Binding Jeopardy, Blind Exposure, Right-handed Strength, Radiant Fire, Defender’s Flame. Obviously I swap them around periodically but in general that’s what I go with.

On all of my armor I have only stacked condition damage, condition duration and precision. I expect critical hits most of the time.

This build is hilariously splashy without sacrificing too much survival/durability. Between Aegis popping up often, 2-3 teleports, two different blinds and where necessary condition removal, I only find myself dropping back to heal when my allies simply cannot keep up and need support.

It is highly impractical and I am 100% incapable of fighting Destroyers but it is probably the most fun I’ve had in Guild Wars so far. I’ve spent several years wishing for Smiting Prayers to be decent. Now I can do that.

The point is that I can be very offensive in situations where I really shouldn’t be. This is because of Torch skill 4 and burning, mostly. The torch is my favorite weapon simply because skill 4 is so versatile. It’s a single-target, high-damage, 1200 range pull; at the same time, it’s a “three random foes are set on fire regardless of if I can hit them or not” button that I can activate while stunned or performing other actions. I’ve won many fights against much stronger foes by simply surviving while burning does its thing.

Kerithlan.1659:

My current build has been totally hilarious. I know it’s impractical but I am such a fireball that I never stop cackling. It helps that I wield a Fiery Dragon Sword to complete the ensemble.

I use a 1h sword, torch, Judge’s Intervention, Purging Flames/Merciful Intervention/Sanctuary (as needed), Signet of Wrath and Hounds of Balthazar (Human, but Renewed Focus works too).

I’m fully committed to Radiance and Zeal. My traits are Shattered Aegis, Fiery Wrath, Binding Jeopardy, Blind Exposure, Right-handed Strength, Radiant Fire, Defender’s Flame. Obviously I swap them around periodically but in general that’s what I go with.

On all of my armor I have only stacked condition damage, condition duration and precision. I expect critical hits most of the time.

This build is hilariously splashy without sacrificing too much survival/durability. Between Aegis popping up often, 2-3 teleports, two different blinds and where necessary condition removal, I only find myself dropping back to heal when my allies simply cannot keep up and need support.

It is highly impractical and I am 100% incapable of fighting Destroyers but it is probably the most fun I’ve had in Guild Wars so far. I’ve spent several years wishing for Smiting Prayers to be decent. Now I can do that.

The point is that I can be very offensive in situations where I really shouldn’t be. This is because of Torch skill 4 and burning, mostly. The torch is my favorite weapon simply because skill 4 is so versatile. It’s a single-target, high-damage, 1200 range pull; at the same time, it’s a “three random foes are set on fire regardless of if I can hit them or not” button that I can activate while stunned or performing other actions. I’ve won many fights against much stronger foes by simply surviving while burning does its thing.

This build sounds very close to the same strategy I use. (In the post right above yours.) Granted I’m using the Mace/symbol abuse for now, but I have been known to swap to sword for kitten comborific nonsense. I went back to mace, because I really needed more survivability as I solo a lot.