Guild Wars 2

This guide was written as a personal exercise to learn about all of the options my character has and how to use them. It focuses on telling how to use skills and utilities rather than rating how good they are.

Guardians are heavy armored melee characters. Like all professions in GW2 they can be built for doing damage, absorbing damage, healing, or support. They can be built for area of effect, single target, melee or range. This build and guide focuses on a guardian exploring the world in PvE. Not PvP and not dungeons. It is recommended that you change weapon sets and builds if you do PvP or dungeons.

The build switches between two weapon sets: greatsword and mace/shield. The greatsword is used for most fighting. It does a lot of damage, especially AoE. The mace/shield is used for fighting very tough opponents like champions. The build is split between damage and tanking as you will want both during your solo adventuring. If you just want to do one there are far better builds.

Greatsword

Skill 1: Strike, Vengeful Strike, Wrathful Strike
This is a melee cone attack that hits all foes in front of you. It does good damage, has no recharge, and is fast. On the third strike, Wrathful Strike, it gives you the Might boon for each foe you hit which lasts for 3 seconds. You use this attack most of the time while the others are recharging. You want to have the Might boon when you use your bigger attacks for the extra damage.

Skill 2: Whirling Wrath
This is a whirling attack that hits all foes with 600 for high damage. This does better damage than Strike so you want to use it on single targets as well. You can move with it to chase moving targets. It has a recharge of 10 seconds. In general you want to use it as often as possible, but it is a whirling finisher so you may want to combine it with a combo field – see below.

Skill 3: Leap of Faith
This is an easy attack to use with lots of effects. This is a leap up to 600 and a strike on a foe and a blind on all foes near the target. It does about the damage of Strike. It has a recharge of 15 seconds. This is your only defense with greatsword and you want to use it every time it is up for the blind if you are taking significant damage. The leap is also very useful for quickly closing with foes. It is also a leap finisher so you may want to use it for the combos – see below.

Skill 4: Symbol of Wrath
This is a symbol you place on the ground that damages foes and gives your allies retaliation (very short retaliation). It is high damage if the foes stay in the symbol, but not very useful against moving foes. Because it is damage over time you want to get it down quickly so it has time to have effect. It has a 20 second recharge. Against stationary foes you want to use this every time it is available. It creates a combo field: light which you may want to use with a finisher.
Leap of Faith with the light field will give you retaliation for 5s.
Whirling Wrath with the light field will cleanse conditions from allies (but not you).

Skill 5: Binding Blade, Pull
This is a two-step attack. The first does damage to foes within 600 about the same as Strike. If you hit it again it pulls them towards you (some foes are immune to the pull). It has a recharge of 30 seconds. You want to use this to pull all of the foes around you so you can hit them with AoE. Due to the slow recharge and the low damage, only use it when you want the pull.

Mace/Shield

Skill 1: True Strike, Pure Strike, Faithful Strike
This skill cycles through 3 single target melee attacks. The third attack, Faithful Strike, heals you and nearby allies. It is a small heal but steady as you use this skill most of the time. These attacks do a bit more than half the damage of the greatsword Strike.

Skill 2: Symbol of Faith
Creates a small symbol on the ground that heals you and allies in it and damages foes in it. Not useful if you and/or you foe are moving. It creates a light combo field. It recharges every 8 seconds. You want to use it every time it is available if you will not move out of it.

Skill 3: Protector’s Strike
Channels for 3 seconds creating a bubble which blocks the next attack against you or your allies inside of it which ends the shield and does a counterattack against all nearby foes for a bit more damage than a True Strike. If you go the 3s without an attack it grants a short protection to you and your allies and is a whirling finisher. Recharges in 15s. Useful as a block if you are solo. Useful to help protect allies in an event. Use this when you want a block.

Skill 4: Shield of Judgment
A short cone that damages foes about the same as a True Strike and grants protection to you and your allies for 5s (protection reduces the damage you take by 33%). Recharges in 30s. It is worth using if you line it up right. Best to stand behind your foe so your allies are in the cone.

Skill 5: Shield of Absorption
Creates a bubble that pushes back foes when activated and then blocks projectiles for 4s. It is a light combo field. It recharges in 40s. There must be a use for this, but as a melee you do not want foes pushed back and you do not want to stand there getting shot. You probably will not use this much.

Note: Shield reduces the damage you take in addition to the skills it provides. This is the real benefit of the shield.

Signet of Resolve: Passive cures a condition every 10 seconds, active heals you. Recharge 40s.
You want this for the heal. The condition curing is a bonus. Use the heal as needed.

Signet of Judgment: Passive reduces incoming damage by 10%, active grants retaliation to allies and weakness to foes. Recharge 20s.
You want this for the damage reduction. In events you may activate it.

Purging Flames: Creates a fire field around you for 5s that damages foes as long as they stay in it and cures a condition on you and allies each second. It is also a combo field fire that you want to use with a finisher for extra damage. Recharges every 40 seconds. Use this when available but timed with a finisher.
Leap of Faith: gives you Fire Armor for 1s that burns foes that attack you
Whirling Wrath: shoots out burning bolts that cause foes to burn

Judge’s Intervention: This teleports you up to 1,200 to your target and puts burning on nearby foes where you land. It also breaks stun. Recharge of 45s. You generally want this for the burning but the teleport is handy if Leap of Faith is not available. So do not be afraid to use this when standing next to your foe to teleport in place and inflict burning.

Renewed Focus: This makes you invulnerable for 3s while channeling it (you can move) and recharges your virtues. You use this to recharge your virtues. So first activate each of your virtues and then click this to recharge them (so you get their passive benefit again). That makes this grant an aegis, inflict burning on your next attack, and a small heal all to you and nearby allies.

Zeal Adept: Fiery Wrath, +10% damage vs burning foes
You can put burning on foes a lot, so you get the bonus quite often.
Zeal Master: Greatsword Power, greatsword dmg increased by +5%
Straight damage bonus when using your greatsword
Zeal Grandmaster: Zealous Blade – greatsword attacks heal you
The heal is small, but with AoE’s it adds up because you get the heal for each foe you hit.

Valor Adept: Purity – remove condition every 10 seconds
Stacks with Signet of Resolve, very handy as condition damage bypasses armor.
Valor Master: Honorable Shield – gain toughness with shield equipped
A big help, especially at lower levels, when you need to tank something tough with mace/shield.

Honor Adept: Pure of Heart, aegis heals on removal
Helps with tanking. You may want a different trait – you really want this line for the Master.
Honor Master: Two Handed Mastery – two handed skills recharge 20% faster
Since you primarily use a greatsword this lets you use your powerful attacks more often.

How To Fight

Single Foe or Tight Group
1. Attack with Leap of Faith to close quickly and Blind foes
2. Use Symbol of Wrath to damage all foes
3. Move so the foes are in front of you and use Strike 3 times to get Might
4. Using Purging Flames to set foes on fire and create combo field
5. Use Whirling Wrath to damage all foes and combo finisher will cause more burning
6. Use Strike to fight until recharge of Whirling Wrath
7. Use Judge’s Intervention to put burning on foes
8. Use Whirling Wrath on burning foes
9. Use Leap of Faith to blind foes
10. Use Symbol of Wrath to damage foes

Most fights you will end before you use Whirling Wrath again. If you do, use Judge’s Intervention in your next fight (alternate Purging Flames and Judge’s Intervention to cause burning, even though Judge’s Intervention does not create a fire field).

Loose Group
1. Move to the center of the foes
2. Use Binding Blade then Pull to pull them all to you.
3. Use Leap of Faith to blind them.
Continue with Step 2 from Tight Group

Tough Foe
1. Attack with Leap of Faith to close quickly and Blind foes
2. Using Purging Flames to set foes on fire and create combo field
3. Use Whirling Wrath to damage all foes and combo finisher will cause more burning
4. Use Symbol of Wrath to damage all foes
5. Switch to mace/shield
6. Use Symbol of Faith to heal yourself and damage foe
7. Use True Strike chain to heal yourself

You have to determine how tough the foe is while you fight them. If you are healing yourself to full, you can switch to greatsword and use your big attacks for damage, then switch back to mace (your greatsword skills recharge while you are using mace). High damage foes you will just tank slowly with mace/shield.

Tough Foe with Allies
Focus on tanking and protecting allies, not damage.
1. Use Symbol of Faith to heal yourself and damage foe
2. Use True Strike chain to heal yourself
If allies are getting hit use Protector’s Strike, Shield of Judgment, virtues + Renewed Focus to protect them.
Use Purging Flames if allies are hit with conditions.
Use Judge’s Intervention to teleport to foe if they move away.