Guild Wars 2

Ello guys,

I wanted to talk a bit about a zerk/power based meditation guard’s matchups in a 1v1 scenario post-patch. I know a lot of you also play it. I’m primarily a WvW player, although I do PvP quite a bit so I’d like to hear your experiences whether they come from WvW or PvP.

What classes do you think we have the upper hand on and what classes do you think counter us? I’ll take a stab below from personal experience but it would also be helpful to hear what the rest of the community thinks.

Here’s my perspective from a Radiance/Valor/Virtues viewpoint.

Warrior:

Power- hasn’t changed much, we still do well against them. Pretty easy to burn through most warriors now, even with double endure pain. Signet of Might passive proc is strong, but I didn’t have an issue with all the blinds/saving invuln for it.

Condi- I haven’t faced one of these, but I feel like it’ll be fairly even.

Overall: I’m not impressed by the warrior changes. Good warriors will still be a tough fight but the blind/block is even more effective against their heavy hits.

Guardian:

Power- Lot more susceptible to burst and lack of recovery on each side. Losing Might of the Protector sucks for being able to outplay the opponent, and trading damage won’t be as easy even if you time your blocks very well. Of course, it’s a mirror match but I feel like now it’s harder to translate well-timed blocks into wins.

Condi- I think this should be a solid matchup for us, with solid condi cleanse from Smiter’s Boon, Virtue, Contemplation, normal Smite Condi, and Focus 4. Still, probably haven’t faced a good one.

Overall: Same as before (duh, it’s a mirror), just shorter fights and tougher to turn blocks of the opponent’s GS2 into wins.

Engi:

Power- Really easy to set up and lock down into burst, and our blocks/blinds/invuln help us escape theirs. Stability is a huge aid against Overcharged Shot. As long as you don’t get one shot by Grenade Barrage and put pressure down early, I’d put this matchup at least slightly in the guard’s favor.

Condi- Much easier to face than before with the burst and lockdown. Condi cleanses can actually keep up with their application, and stability can prevent perplex from proccing (or getting pulled, etc).

Cele- Haven’t faced one yet. Betting it’s still the perfect balance and really annoying.

Overall- I feel like facing engis got a lot less annoying with the ability to take both condi cleanse and stab in the Virtues line without sacrificing dps. The extra stunbreak/stab makes it a lot harder for them to lock us down, giving more of a window to us.

Thief:

Power- In WvW at least, this is just hilariously easy, even if the thief is SA. The biggest problem is definitely thieves who spam 3 with shortbow. However, that’s more of an annoyance than anything. Acro thieves are probably the most annoying, as they can avoid immob.

Condi- With our improved condi cleanse and burst improvement this is no longer a complete death sentence in WvW. Still annoying but I find myself coming out on top way more often than not.

Overall: Guard counters thief. From my viewpoint that hasn’t changed.

cont.

Ranger:

Power- Much the same as before, except once they pop Signet of Stone they are almost completely screwed. Defensive traits are quite frustrating, but by keeping pressure up it hasn’t been a huge issue so far.

Condi- As with the aforementioned classes, we can cleanse condis quickly, and the burst allows us to actually pressure a condi ranger beyond what he can regen.

Overall: Same matchup with power (or so it feels), just a bit quicker. Condi rangers are also easier to deal with.

Mesmer:

Power- Oh dear lord, much harder. Get hit by one burst and you might be dead. However, a guardian can 100-0 a mesmer relatively quickly, so keep up pressure, force their defensive cooldowns and then pop the big one (Signet of Wrath) and end their day. This is a much more difficult matchup than before. Bonus points to PU for being annoying and wasting my time.

Condi- PU condi is still PU condi, don’t waste your time. This has been the condi class that’s given me by far the most problems since the patch hit. Thieves aren’t so bad because they’re not spamming protection and aegis, but a PU mesmer… don’t waste your time. Just walk away.

Necro:

Power: Much the same as before imo. Blind/block Life Blast, get in their faces, and end them quickly.

Condi: The jury’s out because I haven’t faced one who knows what he’s doing, but I suspect the signet build will be a bad match because of corrupts.

Ele:

Dagger mainhand- This absolutely screws us after the patch with the ridiculously low cooldown on Shocking Aura. The most annoying thing I’ve faced is a Stone Heart ele running D/F with a 33s invuln and 16s reflect. I don’t see us beating a dagger ele of equal skill level. Bad matchup before the patch, just as bad if not worse after the patch.

Scepter mainhand- Somehow an even more risky matchup for both sides. If you can bait out defensive cooldowns, one burst will take them down- but if you don’t dodge the phoenix, you get one shot. Still a very fun fight.

So anyway, that’s what I’ve seen. Have you guys noticed any differences in matchups that have become tougher or easier?