Guild Wars 2

Hey guys some of you might know me (necro youtuber), power necro is my main and I’ve been looking for around for an alt I’m actually going to play and I thought why not guard? I’m just hoping to get a feel of the class with thread so I know what I want to do when I hit 80.

So when I’m leveling what should I look into, where to put first trait points, weapons?
I already know I want GS. (2 whirls, 1 leap, 1 combo field FTW.)
But what should my other set be? Sword seems awesome love heavy armour types with teleports. And maybe torch?

Any help would be appreciated!

Ps. I feel ya guys, not being able to disengage. I feel ya.

My advice, stick with the necro.

I applaud you for stepping out of your realm and trying the Guard. Welcome friend! It’s been a little while since I started the guardian so I’m not sure about the trait lines. If you’re going towards the full Medi build, I’d alternate between Zeal and Valor for starters… that said I’m not very good with PvE builds.
I will say that Spirit weapons work well in pve, they often do the tanking for you. You can speed things up a bit with “Retreat” skill. For weapons definitely GS. You can use Torch with the Sword as well.
Good luck!

I’d advice to try out everything that strikes your fancy. There’s no better way to discover what works and what doesn’t than trying out things yourself. (Although for leveling up I can’t recommend a Shout build.)

Apolo.5942:

My advice, stick with the necro.

Don’t be such a downer. And if you’re going to be a downer, at least use actual arguments.

Alright thanks guys. And also, looks like guard and necro are in the same boat (preview is sept 5 for those classes)

Holl.3109:

(preview is sept 5 for those classes)

Source?

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/balance/Last-4-professions-in-Friday-s-Skill-Bar/first#post4311038

Thanks.
Disappointing, but at least the mesmer and ele changes look somewhat interesting (judging from the vague pvp changes that have been revealed so far).

Harbinger has a really nice starter guide. It’s at the top of the page.

As someone who has played every class since 80, has everything in ascended gear & has done my fair share of wvw, pve & Spvp.

I’ll tell you one thing

The only thing the guardian does that the warrior doesn’t is apply protection.

Everything else (with the possible exception of condition removal) the warrior can do just as good if not better.

This means that generally speaking with the way WvW & Pve are designed the warrior is better because you cannot make up for stupid people being stupid.

Spvp on the other hand is where the differences come into play, they have more condition removal then warriors for their allies & themselves.
However they also have a much harder time staying on target & cannot burst anywhere nearly as effectively as a warrior.

Take from all this what you will.

Personally I run Greatsword + Sword/Focus. In PvE Torch isn’t very good, and while Shield offers some good support it’s frowned upon. Sword does high DPS, applies blinds, and can block projectiles. It’s my favorite main hand weapon, and with Focus it also applies regeneration, more blinds, and shields you from a few big attacks.

Ragnar the Rock.3174:

As someone who has played every class since 80, has everything in ascended gear & has done my fair share of wvw, pve & Spvp.

I’ll tell you one thing

The only thing the guardian does that the warrior doesn’t is apply protection.

Everything else (with the possible exception of condition removal) the warrior can do just as good if not better.

This means that generally speaking with the way WvW & Pve are designed the warrior is better because you cannot make up for stupid people being stupid.

Spvp on the other hand is where the differences come into play, they have more condition removal then warriors for their allies & themselves.
However they also have a much harder time staying on target & cannot burst anywhere nearly as effectively as a warrior.

Take from all this what you will.

I didn’t know warriors could reflect projectiles. That would require a serious nerf.

Granted a certain other class can do it better and I agree with a lot of the post, but just wanted to bring it up. =p Also, group stability.

It’s true that guardian doesn’t seem to do anything any other class could do better, but the rest tend to be missing something.

ArchonWing.9480:

I didn’t know warriors could reflect projectiles. That would require a serious nerf.

Missile Deflection ( granted, it’s probably not worth traiting for in most cases )

Well, that’s pretty eye opening. How does it compare to wall of reflection?

well the wall is long lasting and covers a large area, so it isn’t really comparable in PvE.

But the warrior one is probably better in solo situations though since you can’t react to it

I haven’t played with that Warrior trait, but having on-demand, unpredictable (for the enemy) reflection sounds more useful that a static wall in most situations. I’ve done some cool things with a quick Wall of Reflection, but that relied on quick reactions, so the Warrior trait would have been equally useful.

For PvE just go full berserker in your gear, using greatsword and sword + focus or scepter + focus to complete the map. Due the large amount of blind and block sources the Guardian has the map completion is utterly trivial with this class.

Things change a ton in PvP and WvW; in PvP you can either go for a tank (holder) role, which means using staff, mace, focus, shield and scepter most of times (hammer and gretsword can be fine along the staff) or go for a dps build (usually based on meditations, using gs + sword/focus, gs + scepter/focus or sword/focus + scepter/torch ). At high level of play 99% of time only bunker guardians are used. In WvW the most common guardian builds -in raid- wield staff + gs or staff + hammer and they are usually tanky and focused in the last 3 lines of traits (mostly for group support=, whereas roaming guardians can go either support or dps.

But notice this: guardians are great in duels, but otherwise terribad in roaming due the lack speed (no constant swiftness) or stealth, and they mobility skills -which are great as close gappers and to enter in combat- are severly lacking for avoiding combat.

As a player which mains both guardian and warrior, imo warriors are in better shape now.

ArchonWing.9480:

Well, that’s pretty eye opening. How does it compare to wall of reflection?

In Pve & WvW wall is much better.

IN Spvp however missile deflection can be quite potent.

It works with sword & mace blocks as well.

I have gotten numerous stupid P/P thieves to kill themselves, & caused allot of other specs to think twice before they open up on me with ranged burst.

Buran.3796:

For PvE just go full berserker in your gear, using greatsword and sword + focus or scepter + focus to complete the map. Due the large amount of blind and block sources the Guardian has the map completion is utterly trivial with this class.

Things change a ton in PvP and WvW; in PvP you can either go for a tank (holder) role, which means using staff, mace, focus, shield and scepter most of times (hammer and gretsword can be fine along the staff) or go for a dps build (usually based on meditations, using gs + sword/focus, gs + scepter/focus or sword/focus + scepter/torch ). At high level of play 99% of time only bunker guardians are used. In WvW the most common guardian builds -in raid- wield staff + gs or staff + hammer and they are usually tanky and focused in the last 3 lines of traits (mostly for group support=, whereas roaming guardians can go either support or dps.

But notice this: guardians are great in duels, but otherwise terribad in roaming due the lack speed (no constant swiftness) or stealth, and they mobility skills -which are great as close gappers and to enter in combat- are severly lacking for avoiding combat.

As a player which mains both guardian and warrior, imo warriors are in better shape now.

This is more or less true.

Arena.net have also said that they want guardians to have a lack of ways to get out of combat but want them to stay in combat easily once there.
The sad part about this is that guardians don’t have access to the needed tools (snares, cripples, chills etc…) in the needed quantity for this role.

That means unless you have a friend with you providing an excess of those things you will be kited rather easily.

Ragnar the Rock.3174:

This is more or less true.

Arena.net have also said that they want guardians to have a lack of ways to get out of combat but want them to stay in combat easily once there.
The sad part about this is that guardians don’t have access to the needed tools (snares, cripples, chills etc…) in the needed quantity for this role.

That means unless you have a friend with you providing an excess of those things you will be kited rather easily.

Yes, the only thing easier to kite than a Guardian is an actual kite.

Thanks.

Everything works in PVE.

Grab the 1 sec burning trait in Valor and just stand there with Aegis, focus shield, mace block and then a couple dodges and things will just melt. I used sword and torch, wall of reflection and just burnt things down. By time I had finished dodging most things were dead. The 1 point traits are all really good. Get used to using your Virtues in combat, particularly Justice to blind.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fVAQBgCAiIH7CwNe+2qUA-w
Here is a good grinding build. Just grab all the 1 point traits. Then work up to Defender’s Flame and Renewed Justice as soon as you can. RJ being a priority.

SPVP seems to be about being tanky to build up might. Then applying pressure with a Hammer or GS.

WvW – Roaming, good luck. 95% of roamers run Nike (run away) builds and catching them is impossible. You are the meat of any good WvW guild. You can mele, blast and support your team with buffs. Most people run a very balanced set up of health, armor, healing power, precision.

Ragnar the Rock.3174:

As someone who has played every class since 80, has everything in ascended gear & has done my fair share of wvw, pve & Spvp.

I’ll tell you one thing

The only thing the guardian does that the warrior doesn’t is apply protection.

…..On the other hand is where the differences come into play, they have more condition removal then warriors for their allies & themselves.

^^ For someone who “has every an 80 in every class”, you really must have not spent much time on your Guardian…

rofl -

1) AoE Stability
2) Reflections
3) Point Controls
4) Hands down best ~~Sustained~~ Grp Condi Removal in game
5) Best ~~ Sustained~~ Group Healing in game (Shout Warrior does better “Burst Healing” – and by better I mean “easier”, because a guardian will output more burst if spec’d to, it’s just much much harder to pull off)
6) Combo Finishers Trump Warrior’s hands down. (Hammer / GS -> Blast (4s), Whirl (10s), Leap 12s)

Amins.3710:

1) AoE Stability

Everyone has access to stability, redundancy does not mean much in a self sufficient oriented environment.

3) Point Controls

Other classes do this better due to the existence of poison.

4) Hands down best ~~Sustained~~ Grp Condi Removal in game

Same problem as 1

5) Best ~~ Sustained~~ Group Healing in game (Shout Warrior does better “Burst Healing” – and by better I mean “easier”, because a guardian will output more burst if spec’d to, it’s just much much harder to pull off)

Same problem as 1, exacerbated by the fact that devs do not want healer specs.

6) Combo Finishers Trump Warrior’s hands down. (Hammer / GS -> Blast (4s), Whirl (10s), Leap 12s)

[/quote]
which would be awesome if we had anything other light fields to trigger, plus hammer sucs all around, if it did not have the finisher nobody would play it.

Apolo.5942:

Amins.3710:

1) AoE Stability

Everyone has access to stability, redundancy does not mean much in a self sufficient oriented environment.

3) Point Controls

Other classes do this better due to the existence of poison.

4) Hands down best ~~Sustained~~ Grp Condi Removal in game

Same problem as 1

5) Best ~~ Sustained~~ Group Healing in game (Shout Warrior does better “Burst Healing” – and by better I mean “easier”, because a guardian will output more burst if spec’d to, it’s just much much harder to pull off)

Same problem as 1, exacerbated by the fact that devs do not want healer specs.

6) Combo Finishers Trump Warrior’s hands down. (Hammer / GS -> Blast (4s), Whirl (10s), Leap 12s)

which would be awesome if we had anything other light fields to trigger, plus hammer sucs all around, if it did not have the finisher nobody would play it.

1 & 4) Clearly you have reading issues: Sustained Group Based.

3) Poison does not equal Point Control.

5) I have no issues healing my group and making it my sole focus. Clearly you need my build and playstle. Feel free to browse around, you might learn a few things.

6) Combo Fields are there to ~enhance~ gameplay. Nuff said.

It’s evident you play GW2 – 1v1. Not Guild Wars.

Move along, nothing to see here.

Amins.3710:

Apolo.5942:

Amins.3710:

1) AoE Stability

Everyone has access to stability, redundancy does not mean much in a self sufficient oriented environment.

3) Point Controls

Other classes do this better due to the existence of poison.

4) Hands down best ~~Sustained~~ Grp Condi Removal in game

Same problem as 1

5) Best ~~ Sustained~~ Group Healing in game (Shout Warrior does better “Burst Healing” – and by better I mean “easier”, because a guardian will output more burst if spec’d to, it’s just much much harder to pull off)

Same problem as 1, exacerbated by the fact that devs do not want healer specs.

6) Combo Finishers Trump Warrior’s hands down. (Hammer / GS -> Blast (4s), Whirl (10s), Leap 12s)

which would be awesome if we had anything other light fields to trigger, plus hammer sucs all around, if it did not have the finisher nobody would play it.

1 & 4) Clearly you have reading issues: Sustained Group Based.

3) Poison does not equal Point Control.

5) I have no issues healing my group and making it my sole focus. Clearly you need my build and playstle. Feel free to browse around, you might learn a few things.

6) Combo Fields are there to ~enhance~ gameplay. Nuff said.

It’s evident you play GW2 – 1v1. Not Guild Wars.

Move along, nothing to see here.

1 and 4- clearly you have reading issues, redundant, see i can do that too

3- no, but guardian does point control through self healing, which gets neutered by poison.

5- me neither but you are doing it wrong, remember the whole “no trinity”

6- good ones sure they are, light, not so much.

Better check your game, guild wars are from guild wars 1 not guild wars 2

Apolo.5942:

Amins.3710:

Apolo.5942:

Amins.3710:

1) AoE Stability

Everyone has access to stability, redundancy does not mean much in a self sufficient oriented environment.

3) Point Controls

Other classes do this better due to the existence of poison.

4) Hands down best ~~Sustained~~ Grp Condi Removal in game

Same problem as 1

5) Best ~~ Sustained~~ Group Healing in game (Shout Warrior does better “Burst Healing” – and by better I mean “easier”, because a guardian will output more burst if spec’d to, it’s just much much harder to pull off)

Same problem as 1, exacerbated by the fact that devs do not want healer specs.

6) Combo Finishers Trump Warrior’s hands down. (Hammer / GS -> Blast (4s), Whirl (10s), Leap 12s)

which would be awesome if we had anything other light fields to trigger, plus hammer sucs all around, if it did not have the finisher nobody would play it.

1 & 4) Clearly you have reading issues: Sustained Group Based.

3) Poison does not equal Point Control.

5) I have no issues healing my group and making it my sole focus. Clearly you need my build and playstle. Feel free to browse around, you might learn a few things.

6) Combo Fields are there to ~enhance~ gameplay. Nuff said.

It’s evident you play GW2 – 1v1. Not Guild Wars.

Move along, nothing to see here.

1 and 4- clearly you have reading issues, redundant, see i can do that too

3- no, but guardian does point control through self healing, which gets neutered by poison.

5- me neither but you are doing it wrong, remember the whole “no trinity”

6- good ones sure they are, light, not so much.

Better check your game, guild wars are from guild wars 1 not guild wars 2

I seriously doubt you play tpvp for coming up with those responses. When you try to make a point, stick the the game mode you play, not the one you know nothing about, or you’ll simply spread misinformations. No, hotjoin does not count.

Apolo.5942:

My advice, stick with the necro.

This guy knows what hes talking about.

Stay out of Guardian.

Rasalhague.8270:

Apolo.5942:

My advice, stick with the necro.

This guy knows what hes talking about.

Stay out of Guardian.

I think that is the same guy who said in another thread he runs meditations in PvE groupcontent

Poplolita.2638:

Apolo.5942:

Amins.3710:

Apolo.5942:

Amins.3710:

1) AoE Stability

Everyone has access to stability, redundancy does not mean much in a self sufficient oriented environment.

3) Point Controls

Other classes do this better due to the existence of poison.

4) Hands down best ~~Sustained~~ Grp Condi Removal in game

Same problem as 1

5) Best ~~ Sustained~~ Group Healing in game (Shout Warrior does better “Burst Healing” – and by better I mean “easier”, because a guardian will output more burst if spec’d to, it’s just much much harder to pull off)

Same problem as 1, exacerbated by the fact that devs do not want healer specs.

6) Combo Finishers Trump Warrior’s hands down. (Hammer / GS -> Blast (4s), Whirl (10s), Leap 12s)

which would be awesome if we had anything other light fields to trigger, plus hammer sucs all around, if it did not have the finisher nobody would play it.

1 & 4) Clearly you have reading issues: Sustained Group Based.

3) Poison does not equal Point Control.

5) I have no issues healing my group and making it my sole focus. Clearly you need my build and playstle. Feel free to browse around, you might learn a few things.

6) Combo Fields are there to ~enhance~ gameplay. Nuff said.

It’s evident you play GW2 – 1v1. Not Guild Wars.

Move along, nothing to see here.

1 and 4- clearly you have reading issues, redundant, see i can do that too

3- no, but guardian does point control through self healing, which gets neutered by poison.

5- me neither but you are doing it wrong, remember the whole “no trinity”

6- good ones sure they are, light, not so much.

Better check your game, guild wars are from guild wars 1 not guild wars 2

I seriously doubt you play tpvp for coming up with those responses. When you try to make a point, stick the the game mode you play, not the one you know nothing about, or you’ll simply spread misinformations. No, hotjoin does not count.

pf, Mesmer can easily heal allies at a rate of 2.8k every 5 seconds while still sustaining some pressure through dps and conditions and with out needing you to step in the small circle, but i am the one spreading miss information…

Apolo.5942:

Poplolita.2638:

Apolo.5942:

Amins.3710:

Apolo.5942:

Amins.3710:

1) AoE Stability

Everyone has access to stability, redundancy does not mean much in a self sufficient oriented environment.

3) Point Controls

Other classes do this better due to the existence of poison.

4) Hands down best ~~Sustained~~ Grp Condi Removal in game

Same problem as 1

5) Best ~~ Sustained~~ Group Healing in game (Shout Warrior does better “Burst Healing” – and by better I mean “easier”, because a guardian will output more burst if spec’d to, it’s just much much harder to pull off)

Same problem as 1, exacerbated by the fact that devs do not want healer specs.

6) Combo Finishers Trump Warrior’s hands down. (Hammer / GS -> Blast (4s), Whirl (10s), Leap 12s)

which would be awesome if we had anything other light fields to trigger, plus hammer sucs all around, if it did not have the finisher nobody would play it.

1 & 4) Clearly you have reading issues: Sustained Group Based.

3) Poison does not equal Point Control.

5) I have no issues healing my group and making it my sole focus. Clearly you need my build and playstle. Feel free to browse around, you might learn a few things.

6) Combo Fields are there to ~enhance~ gameplay. Nuff said.

It’s evident you play GW2 – 1v1. Not Guild Wars.

Move along, nothing to see here.

1 and 4- clearly you have reading issues, redundant, see i can do that too

3- no, but guardian does point control through self healing, which gets neutered by poison.

5- me neither but you are doing it wrong, remember the whole “no trinity”

6- good ones sure they are, light, not so much.

Better check your game, guild wars are from guild wars 1 not guild wars 2

I seriously doubt you play tpvp for coming up with those responses. When you try to make a point, stick the the game mode you play, not the one you know nothing about, or you’ll simply spread misinformations. No, hotjoin does not count.

pf, Mesmer can easily heal allies at a rate of 2.8k every 5 seconds while still sustaining some pressure through dps and conditions and with out needing you to step in the small circle, but i am the one spreading miss information…

If your talking about Mantra healing, then your very mistaken about still being able to do dps/conditions, considering it makes you a sitting duck for the entire channel of the abilitiy, and also has only a 360 radius, which im assuming is compared to symbol healing, which does indeed only effect an area, but is far from our only group heal. and is actually one of the weakest group heals for a guardian…