Guild Wars 2

I’m only level 49, so it’s still theorycraft right now, but here’s my original post.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fUUQJARWlo5yD3FyMEm4ERmCROyKFx7eYP04HzIA

What it does:
Designed primarily for group play (dungeons and WvW), it’s designed to move in and out of combat, from the front lines to the back. This way, you can either deal damage with your greatsword or support with your staff, as needed.
It focuses on a reduced cooldown across the board. Since both weapons are 2h, all weapon abilities have a reduced cooldown. All utility skills are consecrations, fully utilizing the Master of Consecrations ability.
Front line fighting:
The front line fighting portion is fairly straight forward. You have 20 points in Zeal to boost your greatsword damage. This can be combined with Purging Flames to give you the Burning Blades combo on your 3 and 5 gs abilities. Your Symbol of Wrath (gs2) is larger, applies vulnerability, and heals allies. This is also where you want to use your virtues for their quick and easy buffs.
When your frontline abilities are all on cooldown, roll out of the front lines, preferably towards an ally who might need healing.
Back line fighting:
This is possibly where the build really shines, since you have the staff’s Symbol of Swiftness and all consecrations able to be ground targeted. I went with this because of my interest in WvW and the often difficult time guardians can have defending keeps due to our fairly lackluster ranged attacks. This allows you to provide a great amount of support/cc at long ranges.
The goal here isn’t to try and Wave of Wrath or orb everyone to death. We know that often doesn’t work well. Instead, make tactical use of your Symbol of Swiftness and consecrations to keep allies alive and provide combo fields/buffs for them. Use Line of Warding and Wall of Reflection to keep ranged people safe from opposition.
If everything ends up on cooldown, switch back to your greatsword and roll back to the front lines. By this time, all your front line abilities should be ready again for use.
Healing:
There’s a lot of healing in this build. I go with Healing Seed because, at my level at least, its single heal gives me what I need and it still provides the regen to allies (most of you aren’t sylvari, so just use whatever heal you think is best here). Sanctuary, Orb of Light, and Symbol of Swiftness can be used to heal from afar, and there’s the obvious Tome of Courage.
Where it suffers:
The build is poor for solo play. Fiery Wrath is easy to use if, like me, you’re wife is an elementalist who loves fire attune. However, the only ways you have of burning foes are Virtue of Justice and Purging Flames. Additionally, the staff just isn’t great for solo play (imo). If you wanted to use this build for soloing, I’d recommend changing it out with a hammer (but at that point I’d also likely drop the consecrations, which would require some reworking of the build).
Summary:
This build is primarily for support, but should ensure you some face-time with your enemies. The intent is to keep you constantly busy by allowing you plenty of options on both the front and back lines, which everything on a 20% reduced cooldown. If you’re interested in defending keeps in WvW, it also allows you a fair amount of options rather than just trying to orb people to death.

This is my current setup, basically tank/support in pve:

http://tinyurl.com/93prwkh

I’m incredibly durable, though I kill quite slowly. Suits me fine, as I feel the guardian is more about staying alive as long as possible – this build/gear lets me do precisely that.

I use the same weapons, gear and trait points with shouts (and matching traits) and healing breeze for WvW. Lets me be more mobile/party oriented while still very defensive/strong.

Current Build: http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#Mccz0V0MMaGvomCFvm9MaxxoMabmsa

Gear: (Armor) Full Vigil of the Soldier, (Weapons) Vigil GreatSword/Staff, (Jewelery) Rare Sapphire Mithril of the Cleric.

Stats: (Power) 1627, (Precision) 999, (Toughness) 1654, (Vitality) 1695, (Attack) 2602, (Critical Chance) 8%, (Armor) 2725, (Health) 18781

Overview: Ok so overall im kinda a jack of all trade’s. I tend to play more of a in your face protector/support type character. I’m the guardian you see running head first into the attacks that are aimed at the squishy people in my groups. One of the first things i tell people when im in a group is if your squishy find my back and stand behind it that way if a mob targets them im there to act as a buffer to soak up the damage. I tend to lead things off with my staff using skill 3 then right into skill 4 then switch to my greatsword then combo from skill 2 into eather skill 3 for damage burst/condition removal or skill 4 for aoe blind. I then normally switch back to staff hit skill 2 wait for it to pass threw the target then explode it for double hit and a quick heal then right back into skill 3 followed up with skill 4. At this point its a rinse and repeat. Over all i tend to be very hard to kill with the hp and armor i have plus well timed aegis clickies.

Current Build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fUMQNAsdRlYgiD3GSNEg4ERli4dPMFaMjXPgYEbIA;T8Ag0ynEOJdS9kyJqaM1IqxWjrGZNrLGEMvA

It’s all about the aegis:
http://gw2.luna-atra.fr/skills_tool/?lang=en&code=3ac9g09c9l9g9h9f70ka0ua6g7e7ni3idipj3

Permanent Protection

This build is to keep the protection buff on you with 99% uptime. There is a lot of synergy when using it with a mace/shield(Protector Strike) or hammer(Symbol of Protection) as a weapon. There is potential for this to work well with a high crit might stacking build as well. Use it how you will, for whatever situation you see fit.

Superior Rune of the Water x2
Superior Rune of the Earth x2
Superior Rune of the Monk x2
Chocolate Omnomberry Cream

The main skills needed are Shield of Judgement, Save Yourselves, Hold the Line.

The necessary traits are 30 points in virtues with Superior Aria.

Rotate skills as the protection boon wears down and fill in skill cooldown gaps by activating virtue of courage.

>> Burn them All! <<
- build (copy,paste): gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fUMQNAR7flYgKD33RKEg4ES2DR6AVwKFxz8gpQjyIA;T4AgyyuEcJ5S1liLqmMNJay2krJZTrCOCA
- weapons: greatsword/scepter+torch
- skills: 2 shouts + 1 consecration.
- traits: zeal, honor, virtues.
- gear: runes of the undead/carrion amulet + carrion jewels.
- stats: high power. high vitality. high condition damage.

You hate them? -> BURN THEM ALL!

[WvW] Godsfire – Burning Build

The build uses Greatsword / Sword|Torch. The stat focus of the build is Carrion gear specific. Power/Vitality/Condition Damage. Damage focus is AoE Burning, single target white damage, and damage done via Retaliation.

Utility Skills:
1. Purging Flames: Consecration – Create a ring of fire that burns foes and cures conditions on allies.
2. Judge’s Intervention: Meditation – Teleport to your target and burn nearby foes.
3. “Stand Your Ground!”: Shout – Grant stability to yourself and allies.

Sigils:
Greatsword: Sigil of Superior Smoldering – 10% Burn Duration
Sword: Sigil of Superior Fire – AoE Fireblast – 5sec CD
Torch: Sigil of Superior Energy – 50% Endurance back on swap. 9sec CD

Gear: Full Carrion Exotic (Jewlery Included)

3 Runes of the Lich –
1. +25 Vitality
2. +4% condition duration
3. +50 Vitality

3 Runes of Balthazar:
1. +25 Power
2. +15% Burning duration
3. +50 Power

Traits: 10.30.0.0.30

ZEAL: 10pts – 100 Power|10% Condition Duration

[Minor] Zealot’s Speed – Create a Symbol of Wrath when your health drops below 25% (30-second cooldown).
[Major] (II) Fiery Wrath – Increases damage by 10% against burning foes.

RADIANCE: 30pts – 300 Precision|300 Condition Damage

[Minor] Justice is Blind – When activating Virtue of Justice, nearby foes are blinded.
[Major] (I) Healer’s Retribution – Gain 3 seconds of retaliation when using a heal skill.
[Minor] Renewed Justice – Virtue of Justice is renewed when you kill a foe.
[Major] (III) Shimmering Defense Burn nearby foes when your health reaches 25% (60-second cooldown).
[Minor] Radiant Power – Deal 10% more damage to foes inflicted with conditions.
[Major] (VI) Blind Exposure – Applying blind also applies vulnerability.

VIRTUES: 30pts – + 30% to Boon Duration |+30% Virtue Recharge Rate

[Minor] Inspired Virtue Virtues now also apply the following boons:
Justice: might
Resolve: regeneration
Courage: protection
[Major] (I) Unscathed Contender – Deal 10% more damage while under the effects of aegis.
[Minor] Virtue of Retribution – Gain retaliation when you activate a virtue.
[Major] (VIII) Supreme Justice – Virtue of Justice causes burning every 4 attacks instead of 5. When activating Virtue of Justice, the burn duration is increased.
[Minor] Power of the Virtuous – Deal extra damage for each boon you have.
[Major] (XI) Permeating Wrath – Justice no longer burns your target, but instead burns the area around you each time it activates.

As you can see the Utility Skills, the weapon setup, and the traits correspond with the point of the build.

The intention of the build wasn’t initially to be so much a glass cannon, however, you end up with: Attack 3135, low Crit. chance 18%, ~1900 condition damage, and a huge increase in Burning duration. With all my bells and whistles blown and a full rotation I can (not just 1v1 but because of the AoE 1vgroup) stack over 55 seconds of Bruning.

Obviously condition removal is an issue, however, being that it can be reapplied VERY easily, it’s not a huge issue. As well the amount of power stacked has your white damage being pretty nasty. The Torch speaks for itself, as does the burst with a Sword.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/en/?fUMQNApeRlYgyC33RMEg4ERWBRi9Qje8jXPgoEZIA;T8AgzymEMJZS1kiJqbMHJOyej7G5NrNGNM3A

That’s what I’ve got going right now. It focuses on consistently switching weapons and keeping your symbols up. In dungeon runs this is extremely good for keeping you (and other melee players as well, you even get healed more and for larger amounts whenever others are near you, or inside you Hallowed Ground and/or both Symbol of Faith and Symbol of Wrath. If you keep both symbols up, AND Hallowed Ground, in a group of melee characters this will make you nearly unstoppable. If you play with a guild that happens to have enough Guardians, FORCE them to run dungeons with you with this build, along with maybe a ranger and/or thief and maybe another Guardian with the same build. I guarantee that you the people in melee range will most likely never die. Note that the #3 skill while downed also heals you (Writ of the Merciful) and when others are in it that heals you more as well, so even if you do go down you will be up very quickly if you have others using the build above with you.

I’ve been experimenting with a new build as I level my second Guardian. I want something a little more aggressive, a little more flashy, which mixes Trait-based support with steady damage. Here’s what I’ve come up with. It’s a work in progress:

Empowering Spirit Weapons

Concept

A Spirit Weapons build that emphasizes synergy between aggressive melee and group support. Spirit Weapons are a constant and steady source of both damage and Burning, while supplementary Traits provide strong Symbolic support and group Might.

Playstyle

Activate Spirit Weapons and head into battle. Short recharges, long duration and Burning on Spirit Weapons provides steady damage and condition spreading. Spirit Weapons attack independent of their controller—they’ll keep fighting even if I’m running away, dodging, or Downed. Invest in high Crit to trigger frequent Empowering Might.

Strengths

• Powerful Spirit Weapons that engage the enemy independent of the caster, providing sustained damage in a hectic and unpredictable battlefield.
• Frequent Spirit Weapon Activation provides strong AoE damage and/or a powerful knockdown.
• Good Symbols. Symbolic Exposure provides 5 stacks of Vulnerability on a wide radius due to Writ of Exaltation.
• Strong Burn-spreading. Renewed Justice provides potentially frequent Virtue of Justice activations for dependable team-oriented Burn damage.
• Strong Crit synergy: Crits provide Vigor to yourself and Might to your allies, catalyzing the entire team’s damage potential. UNCONFIRMED Spirit Weapon crits may also trigger Empowering Might.

Weaknesses

• Inflexible. This build requires at least two Utility slots devoted to Spirit Weapons. Spirit Weapons are fantastic Utilities with this build, but switching out of Spirit Weapons requires you switch your equipped Traits with something else. This does not require a re-spec, thankfully.

• Symbol Dependence: Several of the Symbolic traits are wasted if you take Sword or Scepter. However, Sword and Scepter do work very well with Empowering Might, even without Symbols.

• Somewhat Fragile: Few Traits directly improve survivability in this build, so you’ll need to depend on active defense (dodging) and perhaps a weapon swap in dicey situations.

• Finicky Spirit Weapons: Spirit Weapons occasionally lag behind you. You’ll need to learn to accommodate for relatively stupid Weapon behavior. Furthermore, be aware: Hammer causes indiscriminate knockback.

Variations

• Swap Signet of Resolve for Shelter. Swap Signet Mastery for Searing Flames for boon removal or Blind Exposure.

• Protective Reviver instead of Writ of Exaltation, might work better in Dungeons with Symbol-less weapons (Scepter, Sword)

Gear

Knight’s and Valkyrie’s with a decent smattering of Condition Damage will probably serve you will. Emphasize Crit and Crit Damage, but have enough Vitality/Toughness to survive.

Thoughts? This is still a work in progress, largely conceptual as well.

Hi, i’m leveling a guardian now primarily for wvw (but perhaps for dungeons as well, after i get to 80 and am properly geared). Anyway, i’ve already dabbled a little in wvw and am pleased with guardian’s performance. However, i plan on playing a strictly aoe support/defense/healing guardian in wvw and am looking for pointers on build.

I haven’t read up on the particulars of all of the class’s mechanics, so some things may not work as i intend, and please point out if this is the case. Anyway, here’s what i’m heading for on my wvw guardian. I may explain my philosophy on some of the choices, but first i need to understand how some of the options work to begin with.

Armor:
My eventual goal is full cleric’s or shaman’s gear with 2 each of superior Monk, Water, and Dwayna runes. I may drop Dwayna for Grove, if i decide to emphasize protection more than regeneration.

Weapon:

Staff for sure. Healing bomb on #2, 12 stacks of might (12.75 sec) and healing bomb on #4, swiftness for allies or damage to harass wall defenders on #3, major kittenblocking on #5. Staff, definitely.

Other set could be:
Hammer for protection and blocking (#5), although it’s not too useful for defense beyond those, and i can only get the protection if i’m near an attackable target. Might be good for gate crashing.
Mace for quick cooldown regen. Current projection says 7.5 seconds of regen (1169/tic) on an 8 second recharge. Sexy. Plus the #1 heals, but only if i have an attackable target; #3 is cool too.
Scepter for harassing wall defenders.
Shield is the probable offhand if i take a 1h weapon, since the other two are less outstanding for group support. Long cooldowns are a bummer though.

Utilities:
Stand your ground, hold the line, and save yourselves

Heal:
Signet of resolve. I considered the others for various reasons, but it’s hard to say no to that fat chunk of healing, plus the condition removal helps me out after a “SY!”

Elite:
Renewed focus most likely. Tome of courage is tempting, but the cooldown is twice as long, and i really want to be able to give aegis as much as possible. (edit: actually, on testing, it looks like renewed focus isn’t resetting courage. is this a bug?)

Traits:

Honor – 30 points – 20% cooldown reduction on shouts and share resolve’s regen with allies. For the middle tier, i’m torn between 2h cooldown reduction (staff omnom) or aegis heals on removal or symbols restore health. Since every weapon has one, it’s basically free extra healing. Does the “aegis heals on removal” count only on you though, or on any aegis you’ve applied?

Virtues – 30 points – stun break on courage activation and stronger resolve passive (does that get passed on when you share resolve via above listed trait?). I’m really lost on which tier1 to take. Perhaps longer retaliation, since there aren’t any outstanding options.

Other – ??? – Toughness is tempting, perhaps for the +30 toughness to nearby allies. It’s not a power build at all, but the burn on aegis removal (Zeal V) synergizes really well with aegis spam, assuming i’m able to get renewed focus to reset my aegis. Still nice anyway.

http://www.gw2db.com/skill-builds/1376-the-justice-guardian

This is a PvE build focusing on the fact that Renewed Justice in an amazing Trait!

Radiance is giving me for every Justice activation: AoE blind + AoE vulnerability!!!
Valor is there just for that awesome Aegis lifesaver!
Honor is focused on support / condition removal / and those amazing symbol heal and roll heal
Virtues might for my Justice spam? awesome.. add retaliation to it? even better

Please comment and let me know what else i can make better

Mighty Greatsword Guardian for PvE/WvW

http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#Mccz0M9MmnGaomnGaoap0xVMMsMRs

Equipment:
Berserker’s Greatsword with Superior Sigil of Strength
2 Superior Runes of Hoelbrak
2 Superior Runes of the Fire
2 Superior Runes of Strength
Mix of Power/Toughness/Vitality Armor and Power/Precision/Toughness Accessories (you should have at least ~40% crit chance with traits)

An alternative to the runes used here are Superior Runes of the Monk and Superior Runes of the Water. These offer 30% extra duration for all boons but at a cost of 10% less might duration and 50 less power.

The basic idea behind this build is to build a lot of might stacks for you and your allies while dealing massive aoe damage with the Greatsword. This build shines especially when fighting multiple opponents.
The secondary weapon set and your utility skills largely depend on your personal preference and the given situation.

Zen Einhander for sPvP/tPvP

http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#cccz0M0zMmCrTmmCrTm9MxGGzVbosos8khk707khk707khk7kuW70V7owY

This is just a swashbuckling bunker build that gives you just enough bite offensively to be a bit of a roamer if necessary.

Strengths of the build:

1) Master of condition removal
2) Strong enough to still be offensive while essentially being a bunker build
3) Maximum usage of the 20% CD reduction on two-handed weapons
4) Constant heals through utility and weapon swapping
5) Can solo Svanir, Chieftan, or Lord
6) Two strong combo finishers, one blast and one leap
7) Fun to play if you love melee!

Weaknesses of the build:

1) Very weak to ranged out in the open
2) Low group utility
3) Only 1 stunbreak
4) Offers only 1 combo field

You can replace “Sanctuary” and “Master of Consecrations” but I just find that more often than not, the few seconds I need for my next healing CD to come around if often bought with proper use of Sanctuary, which can fit in any build. For a more offensive option, perhaps go with “Judge’s Intervention” which will also help compensate for this build’s complete lack of ranged and limited gap-closers.

Edit option is missing. Just wanted to add for accuracy the above build actually has 3 combo finishers, I forget about whirl.

Current build: http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#cccz9VmNLbmmNLbmff0xaMockac

http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#cccz0oM9MmanGmmanGmGp0GVMkoMcs08khs707khR7khs707kGL70V7ofD70m

My current build is the Boon Healing spec. I found this spec during my Beta experience and have had great success with this build now in live release. The spec uses as many boons as possible which buff allies and heal yourself in the process. The spec has high survivability and provides excellent support in dungeon groups. The spec also focuses on shouts for utilities which end up turning allies conditions into boons.

For my own stats I’ve chosen Power, Toughness and Healing and I use a full set of Superior Runes of Dwayna on my armor.

My weapons include a mace and shield and a Greatsword. I often run with a Greatsword for normal soloing and PvP despite the weapons suggested below. When I need to be in full support however I switch out the Greatsword for the Sword and Focus.

You can find all of the relative articles on this spec here:

http://guildwars2grandmaster.com/builds/guardian-boons/

http://guildwars2grandmaster.com/guides/boons-conditions/

Weapon Set

Let’s choose our weapon set first. The mace is a good choice since two out of the three abilities will apply a boon to your allies and the other ability will heal yourself anyway. For your off hand weapon a shield would be another good choice since it applies a boon to your allies and will naturally increase your survivability by increasing your armor. In general if you want higher survivability shields are usually a great choice.
For our second weapon set we are going to pick up the Sword and Focus for added defense and healing. Ray of Judgement is a crucial ability you will be using which can remove a condition from allies and also provide health regen. The last ability, Shield of Wrath, will also be useful in adding to your survivability. It’s up to you when to switch weapon sets but a good time is when your main abilities are on cooldown.

Heal Skill

For our heal skill we are going to improve our support role and pick up Healing Breeze which heals yourself as well as our allies in front of us.

Utility Skills

Another way in which a Guardian can provide boons to allies is through their utility choices. The first utility we want is a shout called Hold the Line! which gives two boons to your allies, protection and health regeneration. The next utility is another shout called Retreat! which grants your allies another two boons, protection and swiftness. The last utility we will be using is Stand Your Ground! which gives grants stability and reflects damage back to the enemy.

Elite Skill

For your elite skill you can continue your supportive role and choose Tome of Courage which locks you in place but grants you powerful support skills such as healing. You don’t want to be caught with this skill on cool down so think twice before using it. After choosing these abilities we are left with eight boons in total that not only support your group but will heal yourself as well.

Traits Breakdown

Now that we have our weapon set ready we need to figure out what traits we will be using. Focusing on Valor and Honor will give us an increase to health, toughness and healing.
First in the Valor trait line you are going to want to pick up Strength in Numbers which gives +30 toughness to allies nearby. Next pick up Honorable Shield which will give you +90 toughness while using a shield. Last, to achieve boon healing you will need to pick up Altruistic Healing. Choosing this trait will provide automatic heals for yourself every time you apply a boon to your allies. Pretty nifty ain’t it? Especially since we have a total of eight boons from our weapon set and utilities we chose earlier.
In the Honor trait line we are going to use Superior Aria which recharges shouts 20% faster giving us a more supportive role and increasing self healing. Next pick up Pure of Heart which heals you when your aegis is removed. Aegis is an automatic buff that the Guardian gets which blocks the next attack. Last pick up Pure of Voice which makes all of your shots also turn an allies condition into a boon. And we are using 3 shouts in this builds so this is very helpful trait.
The last of our trait points are going to be spent in the Virtues trait line. Pick up Retaliatory Subconscious which gives you 3 seconds retaliation every time you are knocked back, stunned, dazed, knocked back or fear.

Wrap Up

This Guardian profession theory on boon healing could prove to be a vital role in groups whether it be in PVP or PVE. Almost every skill you have can benefit your group some how and heal you in return. Not only are you playing a tremendously supportive role but you are increasing your survivability greatly in doing so. We are using three shouts so remember to use them often. They have even more importance since they recharge 20% faster and turn an allies condition into a boon now.

Here’s the build that I’m currenlty working on putting together. Only 40% complete of what’s all there (yes, I am lv 80; its the gear I’m “gearing” for. LOL!!) but even at only 40% complete, I’m enjoying this build very much. I feel like I can be “tanky” without being “squishy”.

http://tinyurl.com/97qtmyn

when i do tourneys i run an all healing support build. its very tanky if played right and can be a good point defence build also.

30 Valor IV IX XI
30 Honor III VI XII
10 Virtues III

Healing Skill: Healing Breeze is ok, but this build has so much healing i usually use the signet.

Utilities:
Save Yourselves!
Hold the Line!
Sanctuary

Elite: Tome of Courage

These are all support abilities in my opinion. Save yourselves is sometimes very positional. If you use it and people know you did, they can probably down you fast if you took ALOT of conditions from your group. Hold the Line is obvious, dont need and explanation for that one. Sanctuary is ground target with the virtues trait. This is good for rezzing and saving people in a fight.

Weapons: Staff with Sigil of Superior Life
Mace with Sigil of Superior Water
Shield with any sigil that you want

Using the Sigil of Water on the mace is good for when everyone in your group is capped or near capped on life, this is when i go and fight with my mace, because the water rune procs off attacks. I use Symbol of Faith and Protector’s Strike every time it is up in combat. These are both very useful abilities. Shield of Judgment is another good ability. Protection in a cone and an ok amount of damage. Shield of Absorption is good for knocking people away to rez somebody that is down. If you press it again while channeling, it heals for around 1k-1.6k. I use Orb of light for healing only when im using staff. It heals for about 1.5k Empower grants 12 might to your group after the channel and heals for another 1.5k after the channel. During the channel it also heals you for 80-100 for each boon. Empower applies 3 stacks of might a second to each person around you. Thats alot of healing.

I use 6 armor runes of the guardian and for my water breather you can use whatever. The amulet of the Cleric with a clerics jewel is VERY good.

This is my build, hope you guys like it.

My build on Guild head (link).

With my armor, hammer and accessories my crit chance is at 44% with my hammer. High 30’s% with staff. Since my gear isn’t finalized, it will probably move around a bit before all is said and done. I would like for it to settle around 40-45% BEFORE equipping any weapon. I’m planning to get the magi stat armor set from the HotW dungeon.

I was working towards this build from 65 up until 80 so I feel like I’ve been with it for a while and I’m pretty satisfied with how it feels. I think it runs a good balance of damage and usefulness in supporting a group.

In terms of how it plays, it should be pretty obvious. There isn’t as much condition removal in this as I’ve seen in other builds but the signet+purging flames does me ok for my needs. The main thing is crits. I need them. Crits keep might up (Empowering Might trait) which gives me at least 1-2 stacks throughout most fights (often more like 3-4 even 5 with staff) which means more power and more condition damage not just for me but for nearby allies too. Crits also give me vigor which (Vigorous Precision) for extra endurance regen and since I heal on dodge roll (Selfless Daring) I can dodge often for little penalty (as long as it’s inside the 1 second of vigor) and help myself+group.

My thread on guru: http://www.guildwars2guru.com/topic/70142-after-100s-of-hours-my-final-guardian-build/
Shortened for this post:

Healing + Shout Build:
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUEQJARWlYgyCXFyvDm4EhVBCi9AjwPjXPooDZIA

Equipment:
I use the HotW dungeon exotics which have pwr/vit/tough runed with Superior Soldier.
Exotic Emerald Jewelry which is pwr/prec/tough

The following list are the weapons I use based on the situation I use them in:
GS with Pwr/Prec/Crit & 5% crit chance sigil
Hammer with Pwr/Tough/Vit &5% crit chance
Staff with Pwr/Tough/Vit & 50% energy on swap
Scepter with Pwr/Prec/Tough & 50% energy on swap
Focus with Pwr/Prec/Crit & 5% crit chance
Shield with Pwr/Tough/Vit & 5% crit chance
Sword with Pwr/Prec/Crit & Bloodlust +10 power stacks
Mace with Pwr/Tough/Vit and 30% chance to heal
No Torch

Reasons for the weapons below:

Greatsword and Hammer with 5% crit chance are obvious.
Staff with Energy should also be obvious. If I’m in melee range I’m not using staff, I would switch to staff for an extra dodge which usually means I need to backoff. This allows me to instantly dodge + heal in any situation, sit back and regen with staff 4.

By keeping the 5% crit chance runes on my offhand weapons, I will always have 5% crit.
If I’m swapping to scepter from melee it means I need to get out of range, so the extra dodge + heal is key
Sword for building power stacks
Mace is a pure tank weapon, so the extra heal is nice.

Basics:
Okay so let’s get down to it, explanation time.

First off the actual build is a typical boon/shout build that heals. Many people don’t seem to realize how valuable Altruistic Healing is in a group setting, while both allowing you to support, soak damage, and still deal significant amounts of damage yourself.

The first thing you want is enough health to survive conditions and large spikes, but not spec too much health where it diminishes your e-hp from healing. This is what the 17000~ hp from vit armor and runes of the soldier gives. The toughness from all gear slots really helps to increase your e-hp past that because of the huge amount of heals the guardian has making toughness more valuable once you get an adequate hp pool. In addition, you have a large amount of power for direct damage and retaliation damage, plus precision (and bonus from the major trait) to push your crit chance up to levels where you will apply might and vigor stacks from crit a good amount of the time.

I primarily use GS or Hammer + Staff 95% of the time. Scepter + Focus is situational for times I need to range. I’ll be honest, I don’t use mace, sword, and shield all that much.

Healing:
With Altruistic healing your base heal per boon with this build is 72 for each boon per person (including yourself).
Virtue of resolve = 102 per tick
Regeneration buff = 168 per tick
Dodge Roll Heal = 429 heal per roll in AoE

As you can see, we have a large amount of ways to keep sustained healing. If you are able to time your dodge rolls (also why I use superior sigil of energy on certain weapons) you can “tank” for a good portion of time, including protection boons. In pug dungeon runs, it’s obvious that alot of people don’t use their dodges effectively which is huge for any “tank” type class. A guardian who uses their dodges effectively, with selfless daring, energy runes, shouts, and vigor procs is huge in any group. That in itself is really what sets apart players in dungeons.

Flexibility:
Another big benefit of this build is the flexibility. I’m a firm believer that the Honor and Valor line are the 2 strongest Guardian trait lines. Zeal is overall pretty weak past 10 points, and Radiance is good up to 15 for farming, but isn’t really as useful past that outside of PvP for spike damage builds. Virtues is a strong line and is what I run on my consecration guardian and can also be useful with shouts, but overall I prefer the boon healing build over the increased boon duration build, although both are still valid and useful.

Now as you can see, you can easily switch to a solo meditation build which is ideal for solo farming DEs and MFing, you can also switch out Empowering Might and/or 2-hand Mastery for things like Pure of Voice or Res traits for different situations. This gives you a huge amount of options for a variety of situations in terms of traits, while still being useful with your gear/stat setup.

Conclusion:
This is obviously not the only way to play guardian, and for many people may not even be the “best.” There are many other viable guardian builds based on a situation or playstyle. From my personal experience though, I believe this is the “best” build for me. It is highly flexible, does good damage, provides excellent support, and can be used for a variety of settings.

Hopefully this will help some other guardians out, especially for running some of the harder dungeons in the game.

BURN WITH ME:
http://www.gw2build.com/builds/pve-greatsword-condition-damage-7490.html

This is the build I am in the process of finishing. The Point of this Build is to have a High DPS while staying fairly mobile. This build so far has been great on PVE Single Target, Mobs and Group Events. It is terrible in PVP except in a Zerg where there is a lot of confusion going on. Like all builds it is not perfect and could use some tweaks. Please let me know what you think.
.
Armor:
CARRION DRACONIC SET – (Condition Damage, Power and Vitality)
*if they made a set that was – Condition Damage, Power and Toughness I would use that instead.

Pls make that set

Runes:
2 x Superior Rune of Flame Legion – (1)25 Pwr – (2)15% Burn Duration
2 x Superior Rune of Balthazar —-—-(1)25 Pwr – (2)15% Burn Duration
2 x Superior Rune of the Baelfire —-- (1)25 Pwr – (2)15% Burn Duration

Weapons:
Greatsword – Carrion Destroyer Greatsword
Sword —-—- Carrion Destroyer Sword
Torch —-—- Carrion Destroyer Torch
*I also carry a Scepter in my bag if I need to switch to Ranged.

Sigils:
Each Weapon – Superior Sigil of Smoldering

Trinkets:
Amulet ……. Carrion Amulet
Earings (x2) .. Chrysocola Orichalcum Earring
Rings (x2) …..Chrysocola Orchalcum Ring

Jewels:
Each Trinket – Carrion Jewel

Points of Interest:
1. The combination of Runes give me an additional (55% with GS) or (65% with SW & Torch) duration of my burn condition
2. My two choices in Zeal give me an additional 15% damage output
3. Every symbol and burn inflicts Vulnerability and Blindness
4. Every time I use Virtue of Justice a target is blinded
5. Virtue of Justice is renewed upon killing a foe (even if it is not the targeted foe)

Other Notes:
1. For mobs with knock back I switch out Judges Intervention for Hallowed Ground.
2. For Elite Skill most of the time I use Mistfire Wolves to add a little CC
(works great when going one on one with a Veteran)

Well this is my substitution I would love to hear any tweaks to this you have.

[WvW] Hammertank

I’m sure builds like this have been posted, this is the one I specifically use.

The build uses Hammer|Greatsword to maximize control in the field. The stat focus of the build is Knight gear specific, with three Valkyrie pieces thrown into the mix for more health and some extra Crit damage. Power, Precision, and Toughness are the main traits. Damage focus is AoE white damage, applying boons to allies, selfhealing, shouts, and damage done via Retaliation.

Utility Skills:
1. “Stand Your Ground!”: Shout – Grant stability and Retaliation to yourself and allies.
2. “Hold the Line!”: Shout – Grants Regeneration and Protection to yourself and allies.
3. Signet of Judgement:
Passive – 10% less damage taken.
Active: AoE Retaliation to allies and Weakness to enemies.

Sigils:
Hammer: Sigil of Superior Force – 5% Damage
Greatsword: Sigil of Superior Force – 5% Damage

Gear:
Knight’s: Hammer, Greatsword, Head, Shoulders, Gloves, and Boots.
Valkyrie: Chest, and Legs.

Runes: Screw Runes, full Beryl Orbs. 20 Power, 14 Vitality, and 2% Critical damage x6.

Jewelry:
Rings: Knight’s
Accessories: Knight’s
Amulet: Valkyire

Traits: 0.5.30.30.5

ZEAL: 0pts

RADIANCE: 5pts – 50 Precision|50 Condition Damage

[Minor] Justice is Blind – When activating Virtue of Justice, nearby foes are blinded.

VALOR: 30pst – +300 Toughness | +30% Crit Damage

[Minor] Valerous Defense – Gain Aegis when your health reaches 50%.
[Major] (V) Purity – Lose a condition every 10 sec.
[Minor] Courageous Return – Virtue of Courage is recharged when you rally.
[Major] (VI) Retributive Armor – 5% of Toughness is given as a bonus to Precision.
[Minor] Might of the Protector – Gain Might when you block.
[Major] (XI) Altruistic Healing – Applying a Boon to allies heals you.

HONOR: 30pts – +300 Vitality | +300 Healing Power

[Minor] Vigorous Precision – Gain 1 sec of Vigor when you crit.
[Major] (II) Superior Aria – Shouts charge 20% faster.
[Minor] Selfless Daring – The end of your Dodge roll heals allies.
[Major] (VIII) Empowering Might – Nearby allies gain 5sec of Might when you crit.
[Minor] Elusive Power – Deal more damage at low Endurance.
[Major] (IX) Two-Handed Master – Two-handed weapon skills recharge 20% faster.

VIRTUES: 5pts – + 5% to Boon Duration |+% Virtue Recharge Rate

[Minor] Inspired Virtue Virtues now also apply the following boons:
Justice: Might
Resolve: Regeneration
Courage: Protection

With this setup I have 16.8k Health, 38% Crit, 3255 Armor, 3025 Attack, and about 1900 Toughness. I’ve tried the 0.15.30.20.5 build, but this is my favourite thus far.

http://www.gw2db.com/skills/calc/guardian#7|0|3527|3406|12641|12643|4501|0|0|0|0|20|1828|2280|0|30|1389|2175|1396|20|880|1400|0|0|0|0|0|6|17|2|28045|28036|49962|49962|49962|49962|49962|21031|21080|48788|48788|48788|48788|

A build ive been working on I was trying to mix a meditaion build with a greatsword even after the nerf im not giving up on the greatsword its my main weapon and i plan on using it. please any feed back on the traits and things of that nature will be great I want to make this build perfect for PvE and both types of PvP

Thanks in advance for the feedback in fear it might get lost in the thread feel free to send me a message too =]

http://www.gw2db.com/skill-builds/1619-crithammer

CritHammer build. Suits my playstyle very nicely.
About go go full Knight’s with my gear, with Berserker’s mixed in for the added critical damage.

Karma Crimzin.5079:

http://www.gw2db.com/skills/calc/guardian#7|0|3527|3406|12641|12643|4501|0|0|0|0|20|1828|2280|0|30|1389|2175|1396|20|880|1400|0|0|0|0|0|6|17|2|28045|28036|49962|49962|49962|49962|49962|21031|21080|48788|48788|48788|48788|

A build ive been working on I was trying to mix a meditaion build with a greatsword even after the nerf im not giving up on the greatsword its my main weapon and i plan on using it. please any feed back on the traits and things of that nature will be great I want to make this build perfect for PvE and both types of PvP

Thanks in advance for the feedback in fear it might get lost in the thread feel free to send me a message too =]

http://www.gw2db.com/skills/calc/guardian#7|0|3527|1311|3410|3406|4127|20|2174|2409|0|10|1828|0|0|10|2282|0|0|10|2275|0|0|20|2177|2425|0|0|0|4|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|

keep retaliation up full time

http://www.gw2build.com/builds/simulator.php#1.3.12.7.0.18.4.4.0.4.54.74.69.68.76.8.8.6.152.157.162.0.0.0.0.0.0.198.205.204.216.0.0.30.0.0.30.10

GS Build, did this after some hours of playing the class, not sure if it works though.

Someone’s probably already linked this build, but I’ve been using the generic Altruistic Healing build at 80. 0/15/30/20/5

http://www.gw2db.com/skills/calc/guardian#7|0|3527|3408|1308|12643|3411|0|0|0|0|15|1828|0|0|30|2281|1405|1395|20|866|2274|0|5|0|0|0|16|9|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|

[WIP] support/survival PvE (with focus on dungeons)

I am playing my guardian as a support from the very start. This is my silly build and I plan to gain a government grant to help me further develop it.

The build: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUEQNArdRlYgKCnFyvDm4ESWBDE7BG9Rb01jEyhYIA;T4AZTCmkMpaSxElXGvEeZ9y5l0r1GjNmbA

Please help me with ideas and things that worked for you or didn’t work at all. Point me to some interesting trait/skill/weapon combinations as well as rune options. It will be much appreciated.

Goal:

• survivability
• boons, regeneration and healing for allies
• boons, regeneration and healing for me

TBD:

• further develop trait/weapon/skill set for various scenarios
• tweak out odd traits (e.g. trying out 0/10/30/20/10 and other changes) and runes

Playstyle:

• interrupt with Binding Blade or Shield of Absorption
• snare with Chains of Light
• provide passive Virtue of Resolve
• activate the above mentioned for heal
• dodge and shout (Hold the Line) for additional regeneration
• Save Yourselves! to break stun, boost damage and/or survivability and help with kiting

Weapon options:

• switch focus and shield based on scenario (if the situation calls for it, mainly for the shield’s 5th skill)
• focus/mace depending on the ability to stay close to the enemy and number of melee (support with mace symbol)
• staff mostly for Line of Warding

Trait options:

• 20 % two-handed recharge rate
• ground targeting for consecration
• various changes depending on difficulty (easy? toughness to precision, etc.)

Skill options:

• Sanctuary
• Wall of Reflection

Comments:
So far I have been amazed by how much pounding can the guardian take. I can even survive some chain stuns/kicks with aegis, shout and pull through poison-bleed combination thanks to the 2x 10s condition removal.

I can jump into the fray and get in huge initial damage with leap -> wrath -> justice -> whirl and survive the anger of the NPCs. Roll out with a dodge, get regeneration, heal more if needed while providing regeneration and healing for others by doing this. Now most of the NPCs hate me so much that our party should be ok.

It’s not a big deal, but when doing Twilight Arbor story mode yesterday, I was able to kite and survive Rytlock and Logan with scepter/shield and it felt really good. Staff/scepter works really nice if you need to get in damage while staying on the move.

I’m really looking forward to acquiring some nice exotics and tweaking my build.

Nothing too original, so I’d appreciate input or advice…

Meditation build using GS and scepter/focus -

http://www.gw2db.com/skills/calc/guardian#7|0|3527|12643|12641|3408|4501|0|0|0|0|20|1828|2172|0|30|1389|2281|1396|20|866|1400|0|0|0|0|0|6|17|4|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|

I think of this as a jack-of-all-trades build. I can swap Monks Focus and Altruistic Healing depending if I’m solo or grouped.

I’m still figuring out gear my choices. Originally I was leaning toward “Knight” Draconic armor; however, I’m rethinking that and considering “Cleric” Draconic for the +healing, which I imagine will be helpful both solo or grouped.

Thanks.

So, I honestly do not know what kind of build I want.
I primarily use a greatsword and a scepter/focus, and want to max out zeal.
What build do people think is best: maxed honor with some virtue (http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUIQNAR7dlcgCBXGyIEg4ERWBWW9IeyzeYP4YG3IA)
maxed radiance with some honor (http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUIQNAR7dlcgCBXGyIEg4ERWBWW9IeyzeYP4YG3IA)
or maxed radiance with some virtue (http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUIQNAR7dlcgCBXGyIEg4ERWBWa94f9rgVPin8sHA)?

Fire Legion Build: —- PvE only b/c Renewed Justice >:\

Note: This is mostly theory because I’m planning out my journey, but I’ve tried to avoid Stupid Newbie Mistakes in creating this. If you find any, please point them out to me.
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUIQNAsfRlYgiDXGyIEsNFRuArHA8g+rqQ8wZUR4D

Hey, what’s the big idea?
The idea of this build is to grab most of the big damage multipliers, which are 10% but conditional on circumstances, and ensuring they’re always happening. Also, synergy: many guardian traits support each other in a chain that are extremely powerful when you put them together.

The big 3:

• Fiery Wrath: Increases damage by 10% against burning foes.
• Radiant Power: Deal 10% more damage to foes inflicted with any conditions. Burning, blind, and vulnerability will be passed out like candy.
• Elusive Power: Damage is increased by 10% if endurance bar is not full.

So, if your enemy is burning and you dodged anytime recently, you’re going to be dealing 30% more normal damage. Crits use this enhanced base amount. Oh, and they’re burning. Keeping the Big 3 true is the fundamental goal here.

The Healing power of “go roll in the dirt, you wimp!”
Your main healing chain is going to be Vigorous Precision->Selfless Daring. Crits give more dodges which you muse use for regular heals and because Elusive Power. Your slot 6 of choice and traited VoR are still always available too, of course.

Doc, it’s like a faint Burning sensation all over
Keeping burning up is just as important as the freight-train damage. Your burning sources are Torch 4, Judge’s Intervention, and triple finishing a Purging Flames fire field.

Oh, and we’ll be abusing Virtue of Justice: Justice is Blind, Renewed Justice, Blind Exposure gives you a classic guardian combo of fire, blind and vulnerability.

And Might makes it righter
Finally, we’re going to try and keep several stacks of might up with Empowering Might. Might=both power AND cond damage, and this build loves them both.

It’s Critical you remember EM has a 1s cooldown anyway
Crits feed both Empowering Might and Vigorous Precision, but we’ll mostly rely on rate of attack. Also, full radiance tree + RH Strength on sword.

And if roasting them doesn’t work, hit them with big pointy objects.
As for weapons, after examining them I realized I didn’t have much choice after all. Obviously, you need a torch to help keep burning up. That means a 1h weapon and since the build needs blinds both for active defense and to keep vulnerability up that means sword is the mainhander.

On the other hand, fantasies of stacking 10s of burning, then switching to staff and pumping might to make those 10s a mob’s worst nightmare had to yield to reality: first you’ll need to HAVE 10s of burning. And while you’re waiting for your focus, VoJ, and JI to become available, what’s a burning guardian to do?

That’s right, we:

1. Create a fire field with Purging Flames
2. Whip out a greatsword and proceed to whirl finisher(GS5)
3. pull them back in (GS5 again)
4. Whirl finisher(GS2)
5. Leap finisher (GS3)
   …for 2 blossoms of fire bolts followed by fire armor for all kinds of burn duration.

Oh did I mention that the GS3 blind=>vuln just procced and the double-dipping might stacks from (GS1->3) and Empowering Might are right around the corner as we wait to go back to torch?

9 meters… 7… 6!
That can’t be; that’s right inside the room.
Another fun move I found in the forums is to leap then JI just before you arrive to give you really sick range. 1800 (1200+600) range jump with free fire, blind and vuln party favors as you arrive at your destination. Alternately, since you have two swords, you can leap/swap/leap as a getaway.

What does slot 6, a protection charm, and a kitty bazooka have in common? Nothing!
We’ve already specified the uses of Judge’s Intervention and Purging Flames, the third slot is dependant on what challenges you face, but I’d go with Signet of Judgement for 10% less incoming damage, making it easier on your healing skills… speaking of which, I’d go with the signet, so that you’re not burning your purging flame on something minor. For the elite, I’m going with the Charrzooka. Because I can. Oh, and 4 of the 5 skills cause burning… heh heh heh. Guess what’s going to happen to the next person who points at a guardian 1200 units away and laughs?

Statistically, we should all be dead right now

1. Power
2. Heal&Vit
3. Crit%&Cond Damage&Boon Duration
4. Cond Duration
5. Crit damage and toughness.
   Y? Ask the message limit.

Yes, I’m already aware that this is about as selfish as a Guardian build can possibly get, and that does concern me, but I’m frigging Flame Legion. That’s my (personal) story, and I’m sticking to it.

Pile, slice, roast!

This is the build I have grown to love most. It’s essentially a Greatsword-based mob killer and, though probably not the best one here, I will tell you it is extremely fun to play with! Allow me to show you:

http://www.gw2db.com/skills/calc/guardian#7|0|3527|12643|3407|3949|3411|30|906|2409|2291|15|1828|0|0|0|0|0|0|20|880|1400|0|5|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|

The build pretty much explains itself, but still…:

1) By using Binding Blade, you bind 5 of your favourite mobs.

2) You then proceed to cast Symbol of Wrath, which has been upgraded to cover a larger terrain and will cause vulnerability on all surrounding foes.

3) Immediately after casting Symbol of Wrath, draw your bound lovelies to your newly made killzone and activate Virtue of Justice, blinding them and giving you added Might.

4) Activate Whirling Wrath and start chopping with whatever you have available. Notice you’re healing yourself by doing so.

5) Keep an eye on your Virtue of Justice activation timer and notice that, when the first of your new fanclub falls, it is recharged so you can activate it again, giving yourself more might and blinding your enemies.

6) Repeat the activating of Virtue of Justice for every critter that dies by your hand and marvel at the fun.

Utility Skills are pretty much free to choose, though I tend to go for at least one of either Signet of Judgement or Signet of Mercy (if not both) for added survivability. Signet of Wrath is also useful, as it increases your burning damage, of which you will be dealing out a lot with this build. Judge’s Intervention and Purging Flames can help greatly in giving the build momentum to your first kill.

As an Elite Skill I highly recommend Renewed Focus as this build does not really… build (Eh?? Eh??? …Oh alright…) itself on taking too much damage in a short amount of time. Activating and then quickly “reloading” Resolve and Courage can greatly help in that area, especially since Renewed Focus gives you a few more seconds to get your Signet of Resolve’s reload time down.

Have fun with this build and don’t get those lobbed-off-head-stains on your armour!

Daedalus.3954:

long snip

Having never seen this post before in my life, I, by sheer coincidence, recreated it on my own. Powered by my disappointment with my original build (read: a mess), and my love for the Flame, I overhauled myself to become a Burning machine.

While I really enjoyed the damage-output of my greatsword (Khrysaor – aka "a poor man’s Dawn), in WvW and larger fights I really needed a ranged element. And so, sadly, I benched my GS for a Scepter/Focus. I also double-downed with my damage, creating a crit-friendly, burn-heavy Guardian who uses Spirit weapons for even more fire:

+10 Power
— Fiery Wrath

+30 Precision
— Signet Mastery or Shimmering Defense
— A Fire Inside
— Right-Hand Strength

+30 Virtue
— Improved Weapon Duration
— Supreme Justice
— Permeating Wrath

Beyond that, I use Purging Flames, Judge’s Intervention (this sounds familiar), and Sword of Justice. The word’s out on the spirit weapon’s effectiveness in aiding my damage-output; if it doesn’t aid much, I’ll have to throw it away for some defense instead.

A Final Note: I came here looking for information on the value of Permeating Wrath, to see if I really wanted it.

I was considering going +20 Virtue and putting the other ten points into Toughness, for Defender’s Flame (100% Burn chance when you block an attack): the Focus and Sword both have blocking attacks (Shield of Wrath and Zealot’s Defense, respectively), and I am under the impression the Aegis would work in my favor as well. I would lose the AoE burning, but it would aid my defense a bit, and I’d be able to continue the burning assault even while blocking.

Just looking for some thoughts on this idea, and general opinions on my changes to your build.

Thanks for your time, and sorry about my wordiness (and posting in your direction a full month after your post lol)

Chaz Tank

This is my Guardian build. I really enjoy it and thought I’d share. Our thing is to 2- and 3-man dungeons, regardless of how the game was designed we still think and play tank/DPS (with everyone contributing healing, some more than others). This build is very tanky, and works well for how I play and how my group plays. I don’t PvP and it’s not made for that. I only use certain weapons and that’s a personal and RP choice. Also, credit where due, this build is based on BigTee’s GodMode Guardian Lonewolf build. I’ve made a few tweaks.

Traits:
Zeal: 0
Radiance: 15: II – Signet Mastery
Valor: 30: V – Purity, IX – Honorable Shield, XI – Altruistic Healing
Honor: 20: VI – Pure of Heart, X – Writ of the Merciful
Virtues: 5

Weapons:
DPS weapon set: Berserker’s 1h Sword, Berserker’s Shield, Sigils: Earth, Agony
Tank set: Knight’s Mace, Cleric’s Shield, Sigils: Blood, Water

Trinkets:
Guild Defender’s Backpack, gem: Sapphire
Jewelry: All Sapphire

Armor:
All Knight’s Draconic, Runes: 6/6 Earth

Skills:
Signet of Resolve
“Hold the Line!”
“Save Yourselves!”
“Stand Your Ground!”
Renewed Focus

This build has a great combo of mitigation and healing, and not bad DPS for a traditional tank. I really only die if I screw up. Some of the cool things are all the heals, I have my heal skill, heal on dodge roll, heal on the third strike of my mace, heal on Shield of Absorption, heal on Symbol of Faith, heal when I place boons on other people, heal when Aegis comes off, heal on Virtue of Resolve. I’ve got a 3s invuln that recharges my virtues. Virtue of Justice also renews when I kill a foe, and causes blindness when I use it. And there’s more goodness, didn’t list everything.

Sword/Shield I use for DPS and for jumping around to mobs. Mace/Shield for tanking obviously. I have a stack of Omnomberry Bread but I rarely remember to eat it lol.

I do not ‘save’ my virtues when fighting, if I die I will die with every skill on CD. I will constantly hammer all my virtues and utility skills in a fight when they are needed. When I am down below 50% health I’ll hit my personal heal, and the only skill I really save for ‘those moments’ is my elite.

Now there are miles of text about dodge roll and tanking and you can’t tank and there is no trinity, aggro doesn’t exist and a lot of other crap. Let me tell you that you can tank, I mean stand and tank, you have to be smart about staying on top of the fight, and there are only a couple things that will truly one-shot you, that you will have to plan around tactically with your group. Even the best tank will not anticipate every big hit from a boss and you have to be able to take that hit and survive. This build works pretty kitten good for that.

Anyway, I’m sure this isn’t for everyone nor will everyone agree with my choices, but I love this build and it works very well for me and my pals.

FOR THE VITAE!

The “IcyHot” build
I thought this up while doing some sPvP. Somehow it ended up working fairly well.
The build focuses on knockdown, chill, and dps.
Traits are set at:
Zeal 30 II (Fiery Wrath) VI (Spirit Weapon Mastery) X (Eternal Spirit)
Radiance 20 IV (Inner Fire) VIII (A Fire Inside)
Valor 20 VI (Retributive Armor) VIII (Glacial Heart)

Weapons: Hammer (Sigil of Superior Ice) and Sword (Sigil of Superior Chilling) with Focus (Sigil of Superior Hydromancy)
Runes: 6 Superior Runes of the Ice
Amulet: Berserker’s Amulet with Berserker’s Jewel
Heal: Shelter
Utilities: Hammer of Wisdom, Sword of Justice, Purging Flames
Elite: Tome of Wrath

Power – 2139
Precision – 1816
Toughness – 1116
Vitality – 1410
Attack – 3080 Sword/Focus (Power – 2139 + 941 +200 condition damage)
Attack – 3250 Hammer ( Power – 2139 + 1111 + 200 condition)
Critical Chance 47%
Critical Damage 40
Armor – 2327
Health – 15745

This build tends to work fairly well against bunkers and spike builds when 1v1 or 2v2 etc. I pull out the Hammer of Wisdom before combat and maybe the Sword of Justice as well. I lead with a blind from Sword/Focus and swap to Hammer. Use knockdowns to push enemies out of control points and to interrupt heals etc. Once I get one or two chills to trigger I swap to the Sword/Focus again for another chill. Rinse and Repeat.

Build of fiery doom (PVE): ( copy pasta ) http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUQQJARWlYgSBHCyvD29EhNDC2vaG7TeYK0YGB;TwAZXCqkcpqSRFFPGeE8Y5xxjknRBA

The idea here is to have conditions on the enemy as much as possible. The symbols, spirit weapons and virtues are going to help you achieve that. Symbols will be putting vulnerability on the mobs, you will be putting burning on and so will your spirit weapons. Forget the major trait “Fiery Wrath”, as the minor trait “Radiant power” does exactly the same, except it works for ALL conditions.
Add bonus damage from symbols to the mix and you’re all set to wreck some havoc.

I’m still wishy washy on the gems to use, but this is pretty much the build I’m going for ( currently level 66 ).
The runes are also not set in stone, still weighing the pros and cons of the flame legion ones vs the nightmare ones.

Build: http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#mccV0cM9MmbTCmmbTCm9MxxaVsqckac8kiU707khM7kh

Nickname: Heavy Medic

Goal:

• survivability
• To hold aggro, as well as massively healing yourself and allies.
• Giving buffs and boons to allies

Playstyle:

• Outlasts enemies
• Tanking and soaking up damage, both PVP and PVE
• Providing near limitless ways to heal yourself and others
• Heals while also buffing allies/doing damage to enemies

Perks and Synergy:

• Altruistic Healing is the name of the game. Stack your Symbol of Swiftness and Symbol of Faith while you’re tanking for massive healing. Symbols heal, so both will heal for separate ticks. You’ll get swiftness and regen per tick of both, which heal you with Altruistic. You’ll also get healing per second from regen, and healing per second from resolve.
• Empower gives 3 mights per tick, for 4 ticks, for 5 allies. At level 80, with my healing power (1,241 at the moment, need to upgrade this armor to exotic. I have different armor per build.) it gives 88 healing per might. That’s 264 healing per tick, per ally. At 4 ticks, and 5 allies, you’ll be healed for 5,280, and that excludes the almost 2k healing at the end of empower. (Plus you get to enjoy all the might.) Not bad for a 20s recharge skill
• You’ll want to use your staff to get your stacks of life up, and most of the time you’ll want to be using mace/shield when taking damage. You’ll get the 90 toughness from using it, plus it has Restoration and Stamina sigils. Why is Stamina important? Because every dodge roll, you’ll be healing allies for almost 1.5k HP.
• Faithful Strike is good for healing too, but the trick is to keep symbols down almost constantly. Protector’s Strike + Shield of Judgement + Activating Courage gives you and nearby allies protection for roughly 10 seconds, and you can also detonate your shield of Absorption for a good heal as well.

Utilities are easily variable; But I prefer Wall of Reflection for those dungeons/times in WvW where the enemies insist on spamming ranged attacks. I use Sanctuary for those times when it’s crucial to revive an ally, so you throw Sanctuary on them and anything without stability has trouble hitting/finishing them off. But I change utilities all the time for any situation.

In conclusion, if you’re like me and have a passion for being the center of attention, so to speak, this build might be right for you. My armor is Cleric’s ______ Of the Cleric, and my accessories are all sapphires as well. The only things that can bring me down quickly are the things that can down me in one hit. Even in 10+ Fractals, I have no problems outhealing any damage done to me. And glass cannon thieves in SPVP and WvW are quickly overwhelmed with how easily I can take and outheal their damage.

Obvious cons are this build isn’t meant to do damage at all. It’s for high end PVE and PVP. I wouldn’t recommend soloing with this build unless you like taking forever to kill one creature. I might post an accompanying video later of the build in action, and I might post my DPS alternative, my Shimmering Blade build.

WvW wPvE – “I hate long cooldowns”

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQJARWlUg6CHHyvDf4ERWBRi9AjZ8jXPgoDZIA

This is balanced build made for front line combat in WvW, and is all about high risk and high reward. The goal here is to be able to push the enemy line back with burst aoe damage, and then hold your position with Wall of Reflection and substantial healing.

This build can been seen as gimmicky, but it can be extremely effective with the proper playstyle. I invested four traits to reducing cooldowns so I can stay in combat longer. When guardians die, more often than not, it’s because their skills were on cooldown. There’s no specific rotation for the skills, you must use them as needed so to not waste their potential.

Notes

• The attack that hits is the one the enemy didn’t see coming. Use Judge’s Intervention to catch people off guard.
• Judge’s Intervention is a great escape skill in WvW since there are usually a deer or rabbit in the distance you can target to get away.
• Conditions are this build’s weakness. It’s very easy to just heal through them by stacking both symbols and using empower, but know your limit.
• Swap out “Save Yourselves!” for “Stand Your Ground!” for stability when necessary.
• When someone gets out of reach of your greatsword or hammer while your cc and gap closures are on cooldown, don’t be afraid to swap to staff and use line of warding. If they avoid it by dodging or by having stability, then they were likely to escape anyway. At least with the staff’s longer reach you can keep the pressure on.

This is the link to a thread I made a while ago. It’s something new I been fiddling with; a “Glass-Cannon”-esque kind of build for good damage while still maintaining a bit of survivability.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/guardian/New-Concept-Build-For-Gaurdian/first#post781842

Hey all;

I’m normally an elementalist or thief player, but I’m making my first Guardian. The build is about two months old, but I haven’t gotten around to using it yet, and hope to get any feedback from the group of guardians here. It’s primarily a support build, as a condition eater for allied groups…

Traits:
Radiance 15 – (10: Blind Exposure)
Valour 10 – (10: Meditation Mastery)
Honour 10 – (10: Superior Aria)
Virtues 30 – (10: Vengeful, 20: Supreme Justice, 30: Permeating Wrath)
….aaaand, there’s 5 points unspent. go nuts.

Slot skills:
Stand your ground
Contemplation of Purity
Save Yourselves
Renewed Focus

Main synergies:
1. ‘Save Youselves!’ and ‘Contemplation of Purity’ transfer all allied conditions to yourself, granting multiple boons. ‘Power of the Virtuous’ (25 Virtues) deals extra damage for each boon, ‘Superior Aria’ (10 Honour) recharges shouts 20% faster, & Meditation Mastery (10 Valour) recharges meditations by 20%. All boons last 30% longer (30 Virtues). So the result is, every 48 seconds you get 13 seconds of Might (x2) + 13-26 seconds of Fury, Vigour, Protetection, Regeneration, Swiftness, & Retaliation (& bonus damage as well).

2. Virtue of Justice, blinds nearby foes with ‘Justice is Blind’ (5 Radiance), synergizing with ‘Blind Exposure’ (10 Radiance) causing vulnerability. Burning from Virtue of Justice hits a close AoE with ‘Permeating Wrath’ (30 Virtues), and the burning is extended by 20% with ‘Supreme Justice’ (20 Virtues). All virtues grant Retaliation with ‘Virtue of Retribution’ (15 Virtues). Retaliation duration is extended 25% from ‘Vengeful’ (10 Virtues) and another 30% (30 Virtues). All three virtues refresh 30% faster (30 Virtues), so the Retaliation will extend and stack frequently. The result is, You can spam a pumped up Virtue of Justice every 22 seconds or so, with the other virtues available more frequently too.

Weaknesses of the build:
1. It’s strength is active use of virtues, not passive.
2. Because it invests so heavily in the Virtues trait line, you’re not getting as many of the hard numbers on your key base stats. For example, there’s no bonus to Power, and your Toughness and Healing are rather mediocre. Gear will have to mitigate that, narrowing your options for equipment.
3. Not optimal for soloing. With no party members, you’re not going to draw the necessary conditions from allies with ‘Save Yourselves’, so you won’t take full advantage of ‘Contemplation of Purity’.
4. A clever Necro can turn all your boons back to conditions with ‘Corrupt Boon’ or ‘Well of Corruption’.

Strengths of the build:
1. Near total mitigation of conditions for half the fight. Only fear and blindness will stick, and they’re typically short duration. Switching out the healing skill for Signet of Resolve will mitigate.
2. Flexibility in weapon choice – you’re not limited to builds that rely on one particular weapon to be effective. Weapons that give boons and cause blindness trigger more effects than others, so Greatsword and mace / focus are a good pairing, but all weapons work relatively well.
3. Synergy and AOE spammability of blind, vulnerability and burning conditions.
4. Multiple powerful boons will be up for the majority of the fight as they stack in duration; particularly retaliation, protection and regeneration. Build also offers frequent stacks of might.

Anyways, I analyze systems in real life, so here’s a “synergy map” of the build as I see it. Again, pure theory for now, but any advice would be appreciated. Cheers!

http://www.guildhead.com/skill-calc#mmcM0cM9MmCRlmmCRlm9MGxGVsckaMo8khk707khM7khk7070z7kuW70V7owY8ofy

best bunker spec that ive used so far…

I made a separate thread with my build, how it works, and why it works.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/guardian/Supporty-McDamage-30-10-0-30-0/first#post936084

Hi everyone, I am actualy playing my guardian in a small group, arround 5 6 people in open WvW. This build is mainly based on fight engamement and controling the enemy team while your team should take care about them ( and you can hit them too !!)

Here is my Build :
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUMQJARSlUgiCHHSJEf4ERli4dPMFYUjXPoIEZIA;TgAqsMZJyymlLLZWLQGUA

Explanation :

Weapon : Hammer (hydromancer rune)/Greatsword (air rune)
Armor : Valkiry/Knight (soldier runes)

Skills :
Shelter —--for me the best healing skill of the guardian, 2s block are just pricless + the might boon which heals you.
Retreat —--Running speed and Aegis, I use to chase/back with my groupe.
Judge intervention —--Stun clean and 1200 instant teleport… must have for me if you want to reach melee
Signet of wrath/judgment —--changing according to the group display, the root at 1200 is a quite handy thing.
Tome of courage —--The only elite skill which is worth it in my opinion

Trait :
Zeal : 20 —Increasing damage, mainly with Gs, the 2 minor are a quite nice damage up…
Radiance : 0
Valor : 30 -- The best branch of guardian, thoughness and crit damage + 5% conversion in precision. Here I take the couldown on the teleport and the healing while buffing allies.
Honnor : 20 —The 2 minors are completing each others quite well and are quite usefull, as major I choose the shout coudown and symbole size, to use at maximum the damages/vulnerability on offense and buffing on allies to heal myself.
Virtue : 0

The main idea of this build is to engage the ennemy team with the 1200 range teleportation, and 1) Pack them with the Greatsword, 2) Frost them and keep them on you with the hammer. Then you can have a decent damage dealing, by the 2 of the Hammer, or rooting them with the chains you can use the Greatsword with retaliaton zone and wirl to still make some decent damages.
I tried to maximise what for me guardian lack the most, movement croud control. In my point of view, the main problem of the guardian is the fact that he has no option to keep somebody on melee with him. ( no cripple, some walls working 1/2 and can be break by stability…)

The good thing for me in that build is, you make the work for you team, I don’t usualy practis sPvP but on open map, it’s quite easy to pop in the of a groupe, pack them and just wait for you teamates, ingies or any other class to roll their face on their keyboard and just blindly focus the zone you create.

For the moment, it’s my common everyday build, but I can feel that it can be a lot better and so I am looking for something else, maybe less teamfriendly but more interesting on the side of dealing damage and taking… (the point is, unless you find some brainless guy, if you are a tank dealinkittenage no point to focus you…) in this purpose I start to read this post but didn’t find something really suiting to me, I proposed my build, hoping it will inspire some people to have the same gameplay and finding the drawbacks ^^

These are SPVP builds but you can easily adapt them to be used in PVE

I don’t think I’ve quite seen a build like this around. It’s a Triple Meditation build that can be adapted in match to a shout support build. I’ve actually got quite a few compliments on it and know it’s a solid build after fighting 2 v 1 for several minutes and only losing when a third came.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUEQNAR8dlUgSDHHyNEf4ESmiVCBxUURw31DIiiaIA;T0Ag0CooKyUkoIbRuikFtqYUx5jtIvPA

Now as far as weapons I just like sword + focus and GS but I’ve used other combinations that work essentially the same.

Sword allows for high single target damage with critical hits and will stack might faster since the third hit of the chain counts as 3 crits if they hit. Greatsword allows for fantastic AoE damage for group situations. With runes of Lyssa Renewed Focus takes a step up from amazing to fantastic: 3 seconds of movable invulnerability that charges virtues, removes all conditions and gives you all boons. The precision on them also help critical chance. Virtue of resolve also now removes three conditions, which I wanted since with my lower health pool I was running into problems with Bleeding. Works just light a normal Triple Med build otherwise. However if your team starts complaining “Guardian’s Name here you’re being too awesome! We can’t keep up! Support us for a little bit!” Other guardians may say nay but not you! You start supporting them with little to no loss in damage!

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUEQNAR8dlUgyCXFyvDf4ESmiVCBxUgRw31jEiiYIA;T0Ag0CmoKyUkoIbRuikFtqYUx5jtIvPA

Now your boons heal you. Oh, Renewed Focus is useless you say? I couldn’t hear anyone who said that over the sound of it being even more fantastic now. Draw in all conditions with Save Yourself then go into Renewed Focus to purge everyone? Nice. You can also trade in Contemplation of Purity if you’re dealing with that much aoe condition damage to convert all of them into boons (which heal you.)

Okay I’ve been working between two different builds on my lvl 80. The current one I’m finding only a bit ‘okish’ but not that great. I deal dmg, can keep VoJ up almost constantly, but overall dmg is still a little low.

Weapons:
Sword/Shield & Scepter/Shield

My skills:
Shelter // Smite Condition / Purging Flames / Sig of Wrath

Current Traits:
0 / 15 / 30 / 5 / 20

Raidiance : VI
Valor : I / IX / XII
Virtue : VI / X

This build allows me to keep VoJ if the kills are fast enough. The major factor is having three forms of heals. One, my main heal…two, meditations…three, VoR. I still have issues killing really fast one on one so I’m considering updating to a higher crit build as follows:

Traits:
0 / 30 / 30 / 0 / 10

Raidiance : VI / X / XI
Valor : I / IX / XII
Virtue : VI

This build gives the 15% crit and a stable 5% dmg boost. I’m running 5x Sup Rune of Flame Legion so I still get burn bonuses. The one thing both builds have is blind + vulnerability. With addition to Aegis I can on occasion drop a foe before they do any dmg if they are in lower level zones. In level 60+ zones killing slows down even with massive burning. So with the change I’m hoping that increasing my Condition dmg + Crit Chance will allow higher dmg output overall.

Plixxa is running all knight’s armor, jewelry with emerald gems as well as the guild defender backpack with emerald gem.
Runes of divinity x 6.
Omnom ghost food.
Corrupted hammer (pwr/vit/crit damage) with sigil of blood.

AH hammer build 0/10/30/30/0

signet mastery (for heal)
purity/retributive armor/altruistic healing
superior aria/WoE/empowering might

pwr- 1729
presc- 1812
tough- 2031
vit- 1418
attack- 2840
crit%- 43 w/o food…47% with food
armor- 3242
health- 15825

Attack 3,214
Critical Chance 50%
Critical Damage 51%
Armor 2,511
Health 14,025

Build: 10/25/10/25
+30% dmg when enemy are burned, in condition and when my endurance is low.