Guild Wars 2

So I have switched to the GS from hammer in WvWvW due to having issues when NOT fighting a zerg.

I am having a problem landing all attacks needed to get the symbol in 1vx scenarios. Fairly new to guard so looking for some help. I like the mobility of the GS but having the prot up from the hammer is great in larger group battle. So any tips or hints would be great. Seems I am constantly slowed with the hammer and kitted. Less of a problem with the GS.

My other we kitten taff. So I am not really looking for “use both” as an option.

Thank you for your help in this matter.

Condition removal, well timed immobilize, and aggressive dodge rolling towards your enemy to pin them down with Ring of Warding, then punishing them.

Dodge roll towards enemy>Mighty Blow to close distance (most people dodge roll this late, wasting endurance even though they’ve been hit) Immobilize as their dodge finishes, then Ring of Warding so they can’t escape.

That’s the general idea, but it’s best not to be too predictable, or you people will anticipate your moves, and counter (Like I do with forcing a dodge roll with a Mighty Blow while closing the distance. Too many people are too predictable.

If you’re using hammer, you’ll want to try combining that with Judgement’s Intervention, the 1200 tele skill. You can start the Ring of Warden cast, and right before it finishes, you can tele right next to the enemy and insta trap them. This is great if you’re chasing too. You can start your Zealot’s Embrace (which is a long 1 second cast time) and right before it activates, do Judgement’s Intervention. This gives you a total of 2,400 range with that skill. Great for runners.

As far as the 3rd chain in the hammer auto, I almost never get to use it in combat. For WvW purposes, the 3rd auto-attack chain is best used against downed enemies. They are like a beacon to both your allies and your enemies. You’ll immediately have allies swarm a downed enemy. This is where you chain your Hammer, put down your Symbol of Protection, and you Mighty Blow. This gives everyone near the downed enemy Protection, and the Mighty Blow gives area Retaliation. I’ve seen enemy Engi-Grenadiers almost insta-down themselves from this many times when they rain grenades on their fallen.

Also in WvW if you’re stacked on an enemy gate, you’ll want to put down Symbol of Protection and blast finish on it with Mighty Blow to get area Retaliation as often as you can.

Hey Fiddler, I play a GS/Hammer guard in a small man roaming group and I have a lot of experience with both these weapons. Here’s a video I made a while back which has some useful defensive and offensive ways to use them.

I have some other vids on my channel that you might find helpful too.

Hope this helps!

-Your big Horse [SPCA] (NSP)

Just wanted to note that Banish (#4) is ridiculously useful and fun. You can use it to save an ally about to be stomped (as long as the enemy doesn’t have stability/aegis) or hit someone off a cliff (so much fun) along with many other situational uses. It’s problem is a long cast time so combining it with chains (#3) to immobilise the target before banishing works well (or other immobilises like scepter #3) and combining it with JI (teleport) is incredible (teleport just as the cast time is finishing) – I feel like a ninja when I just teleport in front of someone and immediately whack them off a cliff