Guild Wars 2

Hello to everyone of you guys !
I am very new to GW2 and especially to the guardian class.
Hitting 70 yesterday i began to ask myself about the nearest future of my charr.

The thing is, I more interested in pve (fractals and dungeons) + maby WvW (only in big groups).
So the point is that i need a good PvE build for fractals (playing with some friends – so we are planning to farm those).

My main role would be a tanking dps mainly. Though I dont have all the understanding of the gae right now. And I may be totally wrong about the role I should take. (I was tanking almos all the time in other MMO’s)

So guys, first of all – I need your help with some great builds for fractal farming
(a support elementalist will be in the party for sure) – the weapons and equipment. (Not sure if I will be able to run full zerker – may not be skilled enough + need to do some tanky role – love shield – but its not good for pve as I read already)

I did some nooby theorycrafting and thought of something like this – This build may look very funny to ya, but thats okay – I would love to hear what you guys think about it.

It is focused on 1 hand sword + focus (scepter +shield or torch in ranged fights) and bases on critical stikes + burning ( spirit weapon to aply burning and increasse the damage)
And we all know that 1h sword works just great with burning thanks to the third tripple attack.

also i tried to hold on 15-16k health + a normal amount of toughness (not sure if 2.5r is enough)

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQRAsd7elUgSB33RLEf4Eh1j/1P/VpIeyDTBGhPA-jA0AYrBRTZApRwEBAqAUOXZNRKIW6GiWlNsKdU1CmqESXmY9Kg3AznQEVDA-e

Waiting for your replies ! Thank you !

Wait for the next guardian update for better theorycraft and save some money, but tank on this game is not possible with guardian.

on that build i would raise armor a litle bit more and drop spirit weapons, also change your zeal mastery to focus mastery, but those trailines are being worked out so as i said before better be pacient.

I guess youre talking about the december patch.
But this one is so far away that it makes me still thinking of some gear ill gona buy right after i hit 80.
I have 60g in my pocket and i plan to equip myself full with orange gear right after I have the level cap.
But the problem is I have no idea what gear to buy and which runes to put in – because I am not shure about the build I will run.

One of my main problems is the health of our class – are we really fit to run frcatals with 14k hp ?
If the stories are true – the mobs hit for about 20k in higher level fractals.
I just cant make my mind get all those new things of the game.

As a Guardian, I dove straight into zerker gear with a DPS support build that was posted by Brazil from DnT that allows you to do damage while providing support through blinds, aegis, and condition removal (which has 3 variants for the GS, Hammer, & Sword/Focus) My initial reason for diving right into the zerker experience was that I wanted to be able to provide enough DPS to speed through content (which I’m sure we can agree is optimal for farming.) As for the support aspect I did not want to feel like a warrior wannabe (as I already had a warrior prior to guardian). That being said my suggestion to you would be to go with the hammer variant for Fractals which due in part to the protection boon on the 3rd chain would allow you to sustain some damage while having a slightly higher health pool. In summary.. While I understand you are concerned that you may not be able to roll zerker, the hammer build would allow you to mitigate damage through prot boons, aegis, condition removal, and spamming blinds when slaying groups of mobs through the use Virtue of Justice with traits that allow you to blind when using it as well as the sub trait that renews Virtue of Justice on kills. Let us not forget that offense is the best defense, so killing something faster could be seen as a form mitigating damage as well. If you are interested, I suggest you YouTube Brazil DPS Hammer Build for the trait/gear setup and a more in depth description. As for WvW I cannot say I can be of help in that area as I hold little to no experience there. I hope I was of some help and I apologize for the terrible grammar and lack of information due in part to typing on a kitten phone. GLHF

P.S. I also forgot to mention that 5 points in the honor trait would give you vigor uptime that would allow you to dodge more which is one of the most important factors in survival.

malicea,
Thank you for your precise answer!
This new brazil hammer spec looks very interesting and solid.
The only thing i can’t get – is this sympol created by the hammers third attack really that powerfull? Wouldnt a sword-focus do better with the blinds + attack speed
(more burning )

But for sure you made me fear less the berzerker armor (=

Grimdark,
You are very welcome, I enjoy providing advice to the best of my ability.
To answer your question. The symbol without the 15 in Zeal is lacking, however with it the damage is not far off from Sword/Focus. I normally use the Sword/Focus build for optimal consistent DPS in other dungeons (which you can also find on his channel). As far as burning is concerned with Virtue of Justice and Purging Flames, that is more than enough burn uptime. The burn isn’t necessarily relied on for burn damage, but it is beneficial for the +10% damage modifier on burning foes with the 10 in zeal. The symbol also allows other allies in melee range to benefit from the protection which in turn gives them more sustain to stay in melee range and DPS down the mob(s). The symbol also inflicts vulnerability to foes which also increases the party dps output if not already 25 stacks of vune. It is worth noting that the symbol is pretty much useless in situations where the mobs are moving, however in most cases organized groups will go as far as LoS’ing (pulling the mobs by blocking their line of sight) in order to ball up and keep the mobs stationary for maximum efficiency. I believe Brazil states in the video that alternatively you can switch to greatsword on trash mobs as it is much better for cleave. In short, while the DPS on Sword/Focus is the more consistent max DPS, the hammer offers party wide protection to those in melee range which allows for a bit more sustain on the hard hitters and the damage isn’t too far off. I hope that cleared some things up for you and I’m glad you are seeing the bigger picture.

malicea,
thank you a lot – this clears a lot of my questions.
I will study trough Brazils chanel for the builds and other usefull information.

like I’ve said, thank you a lot !

Classic meta Sword/Focus + GS DPS guard fractal/dungeon meta. It still brings all the utility you’d expect from a guard but with a nice punch.

http://en.gw2skills.net/editor/?fUEQNAsdRlUg6CHFyMEfIFSODRCBtZAQHUVh4BrAGB-jwxAYfBRiAIVIQJvioxWcLiGruGT5SEVDA-e

other variant of this build(just moves 5 kill points into radiance):
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUEQNAsdRlUg6CHFyMEfIFSmCRCBteAQHk/UVIewKgRA-jwxAYfBRiAIVIQJvioxWcLiGruGT5SEVDA-e

Classic Hammer build for high level fractals. Good for pugging, or if your group needs perma protection. My groups runs two guards and one of us runs this build.(Generally the other guard )

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUEQJARSlUg6CHFyMEfIFSmCRCBtPAQ1HiHMFYkHB-jgxAY/ARFCUyrIasF3ioxqrxUuER1A-e

The builds Cat Has Ducks posted are pretty much on the money. I personally run the radiance variant, but it’s matter of preferance. The skills are pretty much the standard setup, though you will find certain dungeons/parts call for different utility and that is something you’ll learn by experience, or observation when watching videos of speed clears. (If you choose to do so).

So the best build for dungeons really depends on your team, when running with good players a 10,30,0,5,25 sword/focus build is best, but I would say when running with pugs a 15,15,0,20,20 hammer build is best because of protection. Also worth noting the hammer build is better for higher levels of fractals (probs like 35+ I guess). Gear is optimized at full zerker for obvious reasons. Knight armor can be used if you can’t use zerk or soldiers armor for sword focus.

Here is a build I used to play months back, It is low-mid dps but it gets the job done, it’s easy to play with and good for getting used to guardian.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQJASWlUgiC3FyIEf4ESmCRCBxUoRe01DKKhYIA-jAzAYLA0GE9BiKAk9UWTgCiVxioxqrxUuER1GcFNbeqt6AA-e

but there is much better build choices now, that build is just fun and easy

Thank you guys a lot.
After reading your posts and looking a Brazil i decided to first try the sword-focus build.

I just love the way of an 1h weapon a little more, never was a fan of 2h weapons – being a tank for the most time of my MMO carrier =)

But the hammer build looks also very cool to me – still it lacks some mobility as it looks for me, in exchange for additional defense.
And I will stick to it for sure if i can’t the SF build at the beginning.

Also those 12k health as a guy dressed in heavy armor looks soooooo weird to me, but i guess i just have to take this as it is.

Regarding the group, I am playing with a friend support Elementalist (Some sort of heal-support build).
Others we have to find first (I was thinking about a messmer – condition removal and maybe a warrior)

just a few pointers in regards to the low base health of the Guardian. we’re a heavy class, but have such a low base HP.. and it’s for a reason! a lot of the Guardian’s sustainability comes from the innate defensive nature of our class. learn what your skills do, then learn the encounters and then learn what skills to use in each of those encounters best to survive, while you’re able to pump out damage the whole time using any of the builds above.

it’s been said already but just wanetd to reiterate a few mechanics and skills/utilities that help you mitigate damage – blinds, lots of blinds; blocks (both aegis as well as from focus or heal skill); reflections (Wall of Reflect), projectile absorption (Shield of the avenger) and of course, dodgerolling the big hits. and we have an elite that grants invuln as well for those sticky moments!

Reflections are HUGE in fractals and can make all the difference between a wipe and a decent run, a decent run and a great run. also AoE stability (Stand your ground) and AoE aegis (Retreat or F3 virtue) is massively helpful too for your group when you know. purging flames or hallowed ground can also be useful as well for condi removal or stability – as well as might stacking with fire fields!

here’s a great guide on Fractals for the Guardian by obal actually. do check it out.
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/guardian/Guardian-Video-Guide-for-Fractals-Shown-at-48/first#post2322682

and good luck have funD

akamon,
yeah all those machanics are really new to me and frustrating. It looks like i really need to get used to all those reflections and skill-survival.
Thank you for the guide – this is for sure another usefull reading (=

no problem. the build video is pretty new as well so that should prove useful! and all the actual fractal walkthrus, if you will, will give you more than a glimpse of when to use what. : ))

and of course, nothing’s set in stone, and feel free to adjust according to your group’s play level and gear.

heh, they’re fun to play with though! active defensive CD management in a sense. so just practice, practice, practice. get used to activation times, keep an eye on cooldowns, how long blocks last, how long blinds last, etc etc sounds like a lot but it really isn’t. : )) i’d recommend practicing in PvE against mobs that have certain attacks that you can use your various skills for.. though, the best place to practice for fractals.. are obviously fractals. so just start with lower levels to get yoru feet wet as a Guard and slowly work your way up.

Hey guys,
looking through youtube i’ve found an interesting video.
I would really like to know what do you guys think about this build and playstyle.

It is some sort of tank-support guardian
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPXOmZneuOs

looks very interesting to me – is it worth it ?
Or is nowdays the only role we are fit for – damage in full zerg ? =)

The old meta, called for guardians to be tankier and be what is called “the anchor”. Though altrustic healing(AH), has never been popular in the anchor meta(or PVE in general), because it is quite a selfish trait line, while not adding much but some extra healing to yourself.

If you are afraid of the squishiness of your guard. Run Knight Armor with zerker trinkets. The added toughness will allow you to take 1 or 2 more hits from trash mobs. I recommend using one of the builds I posted, as it trains you to use the things that make guardians so beautiful, while still being deadly with your weapons.

I use to run a 0/30/0/30/10 build when I was new which will give you more health while bringing the utility you need, just with less dps. May want to start there, since you still get your blind spams, superior aria, and master of consecrations.

Cat Has Ducks,
I am just thinking of a little different role a guardian can perform.
Because it looks like that today we HAVE to run the damage build or we will be not much use in dungeons and fractals.

I personally, like i’ve said before, was more the tank-guy in other MMO’s i’ve played. Maby thats why I’m looking for alternatives.

I’ve rached level 80 today and did some COF runs with a friend.
The problem for me was, not regarding the dying due to little exp as a full zerg guardian (i’ve used the hammer build you have posted), the little mobility the hammer gave me because of its long charging third attack.

Also it wasnt not that much of fun for me to just hit the mobs and trying to dodge their attacks.
Thats why I’ve looked for some sort of support build with more party utility.
But regarding your words it is not much of use nowdays (mace + shield + staff)

I’ve also liked the scepter much more (compared to staff) – could you tell me maby a little abut what makes the staff so special that everyone is using it as the second weapon.

And getting to the point – so this support build is not much of use? I guess the problem is just that other classes are better supports – am I right?

Grimdark.1328:

And getting to the point – so this support build is not much of use? I guess the problem is just that other classes are better supports – am I right?

Guardians bring the ability to completely block an attack for your entire party. Twice in rapid succession if need be. This is more powerful than you understand at the moment. In addition to that, guardians can also reflect for 10 seconds! In arah and fractals this is amazing on so many levels. Then add in team condi removal through purgin flames, and team stability with stand your grand(and hallowed ground)…. The support is amazing. May not be needed at every instance of every dungeon, but those skills alone make guard support powerful.

The reason we build for DPS, is so we can bring the support I mentioned, while helping to make the enemy melt so we won’t have to block many more than a couple of hits. PVE is based around getting things killed quick, since dead things won’t kill your buddies.

For tanking, you should try out WvW zerging. There you can tank/heal like a beast. In fact that’s the guard zerg meta. Tanky like a mofo. PvP also allows you to be tanky, though bunkering isn’t tanking for anyone, as much as just being a rock on a point that is hard to move.

As for the staff question…. Not sure what you mean by it being the popular choice as a secondary. It does give 12 stacks of might, and that’s its only merit in a dps situation. The build I posted doesn’t rely on a staff.(though I will sometimes use staff#4, then switch it off for my GS, then enter into combat so I won’t be stuck with a staff but still give might to start).
Oh I get what you mean by staff being popular. That’s in AH builds. Staff will heal you quite a bit using staff#4 when running a AH build. They are the bread and butter of AH builds. You see a lot of this in WvW. Which I think you may like.

EDIT: I forgot about blind spams! Can make clearing areas so much nicer.
And that hammer build gives protection for every third auto attack. That reduces incoming damage for your party by 33%. And you can give that permanently! That is amazing support. FYI, I love playing guardian. If you can’t tell. Any more questions, I’ll be glad to answer.

Cat Has Ducks,
yeah it looks like I just dont see the whole picture at the moment.
So our best position right now is a high dps – support role. Ok i think i just have to live with this right now =)

I want to try this build today,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GKZP3oyik0
(You also did post it higher)

WOuld you recomend the hammer build over this one because of the protection ?
It looks just a little more mobile to me.
Maybe just because of the faster hitting sword, dunno =)

Right now, as you said, I have a little understanding of how to use my cooldowns.
Is there maby some sort of a rotation – or recommendations how and when.
When i did some COF runs yesterday, I had some issues knowing when my party needed protection and when to dodge – roll, shout or cure condidtions.
I guess that this will just come with time and practice but still, maybe you have some advices.

WvW is great, but Pve was the thing to go for me in all games because of its all time evolving structure and more options of playing it. But I will play all the possible modes for sure =)

Regarding the staff – I’ve just noticed that everyone whos build i looked on youtube (Brazil also) had a staff as a secondary weapon.
But in ranged fights I feelt that a scepter+shield was much more of a use.

Again thank you very much for your great answers and the time it takes you to bring all this to me =)

P.S.
Oh and I just thought that maybe I should start with a aword + focus (second option of this build) because it give a little more chances to survive (blind + 5th skill)
What do you think of it?

Because no one has mentioned it yet, it’s important to note that zerker guards to pretty poorly in wvw. The leading build is called healway and traits 0/0/10/30/30 with full cleric’s gear. It’s a lot more supporty and may be more along the lines of what you were expecting for a guard, but you certainly won’t be breaking any PvE records with it

here’s a video, but i’m pretty sure this guy took some liberties with the build so you might want to look up the original thread.

DrPhro,
yeah I’ve seen this build on “Tap dat mouse” youtube channel.
It looks very amazing and I will try it on WvW and PvP for sure – but first i need to get some equipment for this.
As I mentioned (and totally forgot about the build) on the youtube channel the build is called “WvW roaming \ PVE” .
Do you think it is really not that great in PVE ? yeah it doesnt give that much of support for the party – but the damage seems very VERY high, and the surviving looks just some kind of imbalanced =D

Here is the video I’ve watched
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n10zCIsXxc

@OP – not Grimdark, obviously lol, but if i may chime in here as well.

in terms of dungeons, it is ideal to go for as high dps as you can, while maintaining support/sustainability through what we’ve been talking about. these skills have CDs as well so ideally you’ll be able to finish fights ASAP, thus the need for high DPS, so you don’t run the risk of getting caught on your defensive cooldowns when a big hit is coming from a boss or mob. though again, know that while the build you run is important, i do believe that the make-up of the rest of your group is important as well.

for dungeons at least, iwill always play sword/focus as one set and then either GS if i’m going with the build you linked. or hammer, well, for the hammer build. so always have sword/focus on either set. focus 4 is good for pulling, while focus 5 is just good for blocks when you need ’em.

the hammer build, i personally feel, is a little more forgiving if you’re PUG-ing or unfamiliar with the group as the protection does help negate a lot of damage. and if you play with folk who lay down fire fields, it’s helpful to coordinate that they lay them down beforehand, stack might, and then you can start your auto-attack chain. also note, the hammer auto IS very slow, but since in PvE most mobs are rather stationary, it’s very useful and it’s not hard to achieve max DPS on a hammer (PvP/WvW is a different story, though, not saying hammer is bad in a PvP). you’ll get used to it. ; )) and easy access blast finisher for might.

in terms of when to use which CD, it’ll depend on each dungeon. and it really goes by a case by case basis. i’m no dungeon master so am sure many others can offer more help (you can check out the dungeon forums too actually). for example, in CoE Alpha has some nasty one shots so you can time an AoE aegis ahead of time. and for CoF i guess the last boss has a similar mechanic? not too sure don’t run that path too much lol so if you know that move is coming up, party wide aegis to help negate. even if people miss a dodge, the aegis is there for backup (or rather, if you’re with a good team, they’ll know they have aegis up, not have to dodge and can focus on DPS-ing). so it really is a matter of learning when to use reflects, stability, blocks etc for each encounters tell.

other things to note, sometimes you’ll want to punt a mob into the wall (again, Alpha) with hammer 4 is no one else has a pull. other times you’ll want to group the mobs using GS #5.

hhaha, i know i’m not being very specific here, but again best to run the dungeons with people who run them often and you can ask them for tips and help. or watch videos and watch when they do what, etc.

as for staff, i know some peolpe use it, especially for trash mobs and throw a stacking sigil (usually blodolust) on there. though i don’t think staff is that great for dungeons, personally. and many frequent dungeon runners won’t go with scepter (though it can hit very ahrd) because they’ll be melee-ing most of the time. again though, of course, this’ll depend on your group. shield is rather situational in a sense where i feel it excels in PvP/WvW way more than in PvE. though for certain dungeons like CM perhaps where the mobs are range heavy, it could be useful. though focus would still probably be a better choice for the reasons you stated yourself – extra blind, regen, condi removal as well as more blocks/blast finisher/AoE damage.

do know t hough with the sword/focus combo, you will be inclined to AA most of the time, since that’s how you achieve highest DPS with that set. one rotation many Guards that run GS + Sw/Fc will do is GS WW —> GS 4 --> then AA until WW is back up —> WW, and then switch to sword and just AA and reapply blinds as needed for vuln stacks if your party is finding it hard to keep vuln stacks up (with the vuln on blind trait in radiance).

hmmm. hope this helps a bit. lol keep practicing! and ask more questions. people will do their best to help answer. good luck.

[edit: here’s my 2 copper re: Healway build. definitely more beneficial in WvW/PvP situations. since in PvE the things that DO eventually kill you are one-shots or huge hits that take up a good chunk of your health, the sustain and healing you get from the Healway won’t make up for that. so again, the idea, the faster you kill in PvE, the less you ahve to avoid / tackle those big hits]

akamon,
again thanks a lot !
The picture gets more and more clear for me. So yeah i got the main idea of the zerging in PVE – it indeed looks like the best option possible.
“Kill fast or be killed”
Regarding the Healway build – yeah I was just wondering if it could be ok – but yeah let keep it in WvW , where i will give it a try for sure =)

After I’ll get home from work today I want to try the sword+focus thing.
What I really liked about sword was the way it applies burning to the target – 3 attack count kitten – amazing !
So yeah sword day today =)
Still i am kinda lost with the hammer – from one side it looks totally great
- great dps
- protection
- free symbol
-and some utility it gives with the 3 and 4 skills
- Looks great

But man, this 3 strike kills me =D There were moments when I used my 2 skill not waiting for the 3 hit to land …

Regarding the scepter – there were moments in COF yesterday where i just dreamed of going range , and the staff just didnt made me feel comfortable. Thats why I thought of getting my scepter out for the second weapon.
The only thing I’ve liked about the staf was the speed thing while running arround =)

P.S. Oh just thinking of it – what about ranged guardian dps build ? Is this possible just like other classes are able to? (like pistol rogues- rifle warrior e.t.c.)
I geuss could be very great – because a scepter look like hitting very very hard

Healway is pretty rough in pve since it relies on two things: that there are people near you, and they can benefit from the passive heals. A lot of bosses have you spread out so much that you wont be able to dodge near your party mates, or you need to stack up on them so you can’t dodge, and as akamon pointed out against the ones who can one shot you the passive healing is pretty much useless. If you want to go the support route in pve the anchor or the hammer build are your best bets.

Regarding my mad ideas – the scepter build.
To be honest i feel much more safer a little more far away from the huge things we have to face =)
So as I’va asked you a post higher – what do you think of something like this

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUIQNArfRlUgqCXGyLEf4ESmCRCBteAQIk/UpIe0HA-jgyAYfQsVgoPQEBQqAQyrIasF3ioxqWwUlER1ejioVDA-e

Just a quick draw – also not sure about the torch and the sigils in the weapons
(to be honest I have no idea by now what are usefull sigils and which one are not + which of them stack and which not)

So what do you think of it – should be quite a hard-hitter + providing almost the same support.

I dun think a built focused on scepter is good.
Alot of the time in dungeons, u will be stacking and meleeing mobs whereby honor 5 will be quite crucial for suvival. As can be seen as most suggested builts have at least 5 in honor cause its just that good. And Tyler Chapman have said that they will be reworking the vigor trait on mesmer n guardian as well in future balance patch(I think he said it on the ele forum) to reduce our downtime on vigor or to force us to sacrifice more points to get it.
I will suggest u to still take 10/30/0/5/25 even if u use scepter frequently. Virtue 25 can provide a decent % boost to watever weapons u take and will not be a wasted trait unlike the 20 point trait in zeal where u can only choose either zealous blade or scepter power.

Well I personally don’t feel comfortable without 5 in honor, but the lost vigor can be made up with food and sigils of energy. I’m also not sure what you planned on using the torch for, but focus is almost always the better option, because the blind/regen help so much in keeping your team’s health up. Whether it’s for the second guard who decided to face tank, or making sure that the warrior up front has enough health for his scholar runes, and the emergency block is invaluable. Finally, I don’t really know what you mean by being far away, but if you plan to keep your distance you’re going to miss out on a lot of the VoJ synergies. It’s not bad, just something to keep in mind.
Overall, I can see where you’re trying to go with this, but it’s really up to you how well you do with it.
P.S. You might want to consider consecrated ground. I think it’s pretty underrated, but being able to place consecrations is a huge boost to their utility and can ease the pain on their longer cooldowns.

Sutcliffe,
sounds logicall, vigor gives more survival as dodges and 5 in virtues gives additional damage (in exchange to the 10% we are losing not going into zeal)

To be honest, due to the fact that I am a very new player I don’t know how many boons you aproximatly have while in a fight.
But if there are at least 5 of them up the loss of 5% damage isnt critical, I think.

Dont know, I would really love to here some more people say something about this build – is it even worth trying ?
The melee range is okay due to the fact that you can easely switch the range with a scepter without losing damage because you are to far away to strike the boss.

That should give more tunel – damage, if seen in general. No idea how it works in reality.
Also i am wondering if there is a method to somehow see the dps you are dealing.
Something like a dps-meter or something…

DrPhro,
I thought of the torch as additional damage =)
Also the “Radiant Fire” talent made me think of it as a possibillity.
And I have no idea what to take if not “radiant fire” . Maby you have a better idea of how it could look like.

And what do you think, will the damage be much worse than with a sword ?

And yeah consecrated ground should work better – due to no cooldown reduction on shouts.

Torch #5 move is a net dps loss compared to sword autoattack.

1. if thrown is a slight burst move but not exactly alot more powerful than a autoattack..

I wont take radiant fire..powerful blade n the vulnerability on blind traits are what I usually take in the first 2 slots.

For virtues, I usually take master of consecration n absolute resolution or unscathed contender

Sutcliffe,
yeah normaly you would take powerful blade – but these are options no do do it and take a torch out for additional damage from throwing the flame (+ lesser cd)

Still one thing I am really not sure about – is it worth the blind and the sield from the focus.
I dont know, the idea of a ranged guardian isn’t that bad if it doesnt lose much of the damage to swords.
The main problem is that I have no idea how much dps I am doing exactly !
So it is hard for me to compare if a scepter is that much weaker.

Just to clarify, I am always talking abt dungeon pve situation. I will always take sword/focus over sword/torch. Focus has amazing utility for a guardian.
Focus move #4 : blind ( make enemy miss ), regen (always good), vulnerability if traited (enemy take more damage) and condition removal as well when the beam bounce onto a player.
Focus move #5: super aegis (3 times) really good for ressing downed players or when u out of dodges or u lazy to dodge.
I will only consider taking torch if i am using only ranged battle in a fight but that is a rare case ( actually i dun even have torch in my inventory). My usual load out is sword/focus+gs/hammer/scepter
As for scepter damage, the auto attack damage is really alot lower than sword..I think sword auto deals approximately 1.7x of the scepter autodamage within 2.5s time frame.The last hit of sword auto hits for alot of damage.
However smite is really good against monsters with big hit box and doesnt move much so that all hits on smite connect. In such scenario, scepter should deal more damage but these situation are not very common. eg nightmare tree/jade tentacles etc.
Hope this helps u out.

Sutcliffe,
yeah the sword damage is high and the question is not if scepter has higher dps – the question is how much lower it is =)
I mean that a ranged wepon can give much more utility and mobility (distance is not a big metter for a scepter – though you can get to far with a sword so it cant hit – dps loss)
The question between torch and focus – yeah this one is optimal – a little more dmg (really a little?) or more survival and support.

So what i meen is – in perfect situations, where you just stand and hit, sword should deffently be better than a scepter.
But thinking of a dynamic fight with dodges – void zones and stuff to run arround and get away from – a scepter should give the player the utility to give constant damage and it COULD be biger in the end.

As i said – I just thought of it and I am really not sure if this could work.
And yeah a perfect player will shurely deliver more damage with a sword – but someone not that good might just blow it all up with a wrong roll or just a miss of the swords third attack.

The build itself is just something to think of – I have said already I am to new to this game to know the mechanics and all the fights.
So for sure it can be just a mad mans voice. =)

Anyway I am so much thankfull to anyone here who wrote and explained me something. It really cleared a lot for me and made the game much friendlier to play.

Okay,
I’ve tested it =) and I have to say… let’s just say – I was bored at work , haha
So lets just forget about this =)

I am going to through out some info, since you are a new player. If you run scepter or staff as your main weapon in a dungeon, experience groups will dislike you very much. The DPS loss is way too huge. Scepter won’t go through multiple targets like a cleave will. Scepter#2 can hit multiple targets, but that doesn’t make up for you main attack only hitting one thing.

Also guardians thrive by being close to their teammates in melee range, so you can block, blind, and throw up reflects when needed. Being in the rear with the gear won’t allow you to help your teammates. Guardian work is dirty and in the trenches. You have to learn to mitigate damage actively for you and your team. At times this can be stressful. Like blocking kicks and slaps during Lupicus for your Melee team(during timewarp and feedback). If you miss either of those blocks, 3/5 of your team will likely be downed with little hope of recovery.

As for the torch, I only use it in one situation. Arah Path 1, for the third boss shaggroth(spellcheck). With torch#4, Virtue of Justice, and Purging Flame, I can keep him on fire permanently.

Here is a video of me and my friends doing Lupicus. Watch for when i throw my blocks.