Guild Wars 2

Which is better for 0/0/30/30/10 shout Guardian with Altruistic Healing and Tome of Courage?

Tome of Courage can heal for 2,000 with an average amount of Healing Power. As for Altruistic Healing, it generally heals for a greater percentage of health with Knight’s over Cleric’s. With a full Cleric set, each tick of Altruistic Healing will have about 22% more health (from 69 to 84). However, you won’t have a good critical hit rate for Empowering Might (a primary source of Altruistic Healing) lowering the amount you can heal. You’ll be required to focus more on symbols which, under most circumstances, your allies will not want to stand in as you’ll likely be in melee range.

If you want to sustain yourself, go Knight’s. If you want to play more supportive at the cost of some self-survival, go Cleric’s.

I run Cleric’s accessories, weapons, and Magi armor. I have a fairly low critical hit rate (25%, 35% with food). With permanent Symbol of Protection (Writ of Persistance), I can maintain 100% protection upkeep, constant healing (from Altruistic Healing and Writ of the Merciful), and critically hit enough to activate both life steals as well as 100% vigor upkeep. However, my damage totally fails on my own. I can tank enemies very easily, but I take much longer than someone in full Knight’s.

Go with what fits your play-style.

I would try a bit of both, leaning to the majority being Knights.

Knights [char limit].

Unfortunately, only one of our healing skill scales well with healing power, and that’s Selfless Daring. Otherwise, it’s definitely better to go with Knights for the better EM proc (assuming the traditional AH build). Honestly, our access to group heals is more limited than most people would imagine, so healing power is often a wasted stat – certainly if you only put a little into it rather than as much as possible. If you want to heal your group a lot, use hammer and blast every water field you see.

@Pazu – Not necessarily. Our roll heals do scale with Healing Power. Staff #4 (Empowering Might) scales with the Healing Power (remember that it does a group heal at the end of giving Might). Our F2 also when Popped and traited to heal the group also scales with Healing Power.

@OP – It really depends on WHAT you want your Guardian to go for. If you’re wanting to be more the immovable object that can hit / crit, go with the Knights gear. But if you’re wanting to go more of the feel of the “traditional” Paladin feel (helping others while still being a good wall), and want to help contribute to the survivability of your fellow players, go with Cleric’s.

@NerdyMike – Yup, Selfless Daring is the roll heal and does scale well. Empower is a great skill but not because of the group heal. I like the idea of a healer guardian, but it’s kind of awkward considering we are meant to be on the front line dealing damage while also soaking up damage. Guardians are most effective at self-healing and boon dispensing. I just feel that speccing into healing power adds a small amount of healing potential verses speccing into more damage.

I don’t know. I usually run Fractals / Dungeons with my Guardian, and by halfway through the first room I can see who is really “squishy” and I follow them around utilizing my rolls, Staff #4, and my Virtue of Resolve to help keep their health up and out of the downed state. I still attack, do the damage needed, throw out my shouts to provide the stability, protection, and regeneration on the entire group, but I’m also able to help keep those who are specc’d in to doing the maximum damage alive longer than if I wasn’t specc’d for the heals.

Couple that I have the Superior Sigil of Energy on both of my main hand weapons and I’m a rolling / healing machine! XD