Guild Wars 2

A few have been asking what my hammer build is and I love to share builds so, here it is.

Hambow Medi Burst 2.0 (assuming Tage’s was 1.0)

Difficulty in SoloQ: Intermediate
Difficulty in TeamQ: Expert

Reason: It takes a whole lot more coordination to pull off combo bursts & cleanses on the whim when facing a coordinated team or in high mmr Ranked queue matches. For a player who’s not the best Guardian or is just learning Guard, he’ll have to be an intermediate player to use the build effectively in casual play. (if your mmr is not the best)

During a focus target scenario, you’re forced to use Purification & Virtues a 1/2 second sooner. The need to do so is more prominent in this build because hammer (and bow) is a very slow weapon. No longer can you simply weapon switch+Focus#5 to pull of a sustained heal. That and you need to know how/when to use your skill sets on the whim, given an opportunity.

UTILITIES

ToF:
A no brainer pick but combo usages is not as obvious.

Combos:
F1 spear lands first, + ToF (melee range) + Ham#4 + Pull F1 + Knockback trait with LB#3.
Mix combos depending on scenario or cds available.

Smite Condition
Used for Burst and/or Condi Cleanses. You typically want to use this right before a well timed True Shot + switching to hammer/Hydromancy. The dmg on this combo alone can deal between 4k to 9k to a Golem. People are not used to being in melee range with Bow but again, you have to be very malleable to use this build to it’s full potential. A full combo hit can lower a full healthed Rev to 40% or less.

CoP
The stunbreak & oh crap Condi burst savior. If you know a match is full Power but you prefer a bit more damages then take Fragment of Faith and/or swap Absolute Resolution to Glacial Heart for that extra 1.2k Ham burst.

Why no Judge’s Intervention
It simply isn’t durable in team fights as CoP or SC is. I feel it’s a Duelist utility that’s only great in 1v1 but not so well in skirmish scenarios. CoP & SC are better candidates for what this build is trying to accomplish unless you simply like JI play style!

Build overall Pros
You’ll do exceptionally well in team fight scenarios where you’re coordinating bursts and cc. You’ll have little issues with classes in team fights that you normally can’t beat 1v1. You’ll make a great +1 addition, Virtues makes for good team pickups & your additional CC items makes for great control in cleave scenarios. Your biggest advantage is burst potential as players wont see it coming until you weapon switch.

Build overall Cons
Not the greatest side-point Duelist build compared to Sw/Focus+LB Medi variants. You’re exceptionally weak against kiting foes. In fact, you’ll have to rely on Bow to do any type of ranged bursts if your team is trailing some one off point. If you’re not on a TS3 team, then you can’t coordinate whether or not you’re getting focused bursted yourself. This will make it more difficult to use Purification & Virtues ahead of time, compared to other medi build variants.

Current Class Counters 1v1: Rangers, Mesmers, sometimes Engi or Rev depending on whether you miss a burst or condi cleanse… or if you True Shot reflect yourself.
Current Class Counters TPvP: Rev+Thief focus cc+bursting you, Heavy Condi burst from War without a cleanse. Same goes for Nec. And/Or your bursts is completely negated by invulnerable and left with 0 utility sustain items.

reserved

What exactly is the point of stowing a 4s cooldown skill in any situation apart from hitting on reflects? :<

What i meant in context was, sometimes your auto attack (or any attack for that matter) will go off when you’re moving towards an enemy, triggering knockback on LB. To avoid KB triggering prematurely, stow to cancel it to savor your KB once ToF procs.

It’s just a useful strat when you’re needing to cast ToF before the KB procs. I’m not saying to continuously use Stow in a fight. :p

Hello Saiyan,

I returned to the game after 1 year break and boosted a guardian to 80. I really like the concept of traps and longbow in a heavy armor profession. I do not have ranked pvp experience because my rank was below 20 in season 2. I tried different builds with the longbow and done a lot of unranked matches. Now I am pvp rank 23 and I want to fight in ranked season 3.

I really loved your build (especially weapons and combos) and will try it tonight in some unranked matches. My question is I do not have any team and do not think to take part in any team because I prefer to solo queue. What role I can do with this build in solo queues and should I force 1vs1 against other players?

I ran this build a little while back and it works okay but not great. Mainly due to the limiting factor of the slow wind up on hammer abilities. I used JI instead of CoP and also at times switched out ToF for CoP because the pressure gets too much at times.

If you play with a Mesmer then ring of warden and Moa will drop them quick. Overall it’s the same medi trapper build but with hammer and pack runes. Now if they would only cut down the ridiculous wind up time on hammer skills ….

@Rraith
Definitely try to avoid 1v1’s, especially if you’re uncomfortable. If you typically have issues with Revenants then I highly recommend dueling them, Wars and Engi as they’re the best classes to fight when it comes to learning this particular build type. It’s ok if you constantly lose in a duel, as long as you get these classes to consistently kite and sustain because they wont be able to do that so easily in a team skirmish scenario.

The build is only difficult if you have to think about what skills to use otherwise you should be just fine in casual play.

phokus.8934:

I ran this build a little while back and it works okay but not great. Mainly due to the limiting factor of the slow wind up on hammer abilities. I used JI instead of CoP and also at times switched out ToF for CoP because the pressure gets too much at times.

If you play with a Mesmer then ring of warden and Moa will drop them quick. Overall it’s the same medi trapper build but with hammer and pack runes. Now if they would only cut down the ridiculous wind up time on hammer skills ….

If you played this build anytime before the last couple of patches then it simply wouldn’t have worked. How far back did you use the build?

End of S2 until about a week ago.

Hey False! I think your build could potentially work. I would swap rune of the pack for rune of the traveler. Rather than having 50% swiftness up-time during fights (it’ll probably be less than that though), having 25% constant run speed is game changing for Guardian. The 15% boon duration is also great (bc of trap boons and virtues, plus we deal more dmg the more boons we have).

Hammer is just kind of clunky. I faced a Guard yesterday using LB/Hammer and when he switched to hammer his damage pressure wasn’t that amazing. It wasn’t terrible though. Keep working on the build and finish it. Good luck my friend.

I used Hammer as more of a control than damage unless there were downed players and needed some cleave.

It worked best when I had a knockback against a target with Longbow followed by Hammer 3/zealot’s embrace and then RoW/trap to keep them contained.

It’ll definitely work better if they just decrease the cast time of the Hammer abilities. For now, I just stick with sword/shield.

Hammer’s meant to be slow and hard hitting. They need to improve its burst. Well executed hits should be rewarded with extravagant damage

I probably didn’t play it as well as I could have but for those who want to see it in action as of recent, I have a few raw videos on twitch – not meant to hijack/pimp. I just captured gameplay to review myself and see what I can do different with the hammer.

https://www.twitch.tv/mnphokus/profile

Saiyan – any videos of game play?

I play Hammer/Bow from the first day of HoT, all the 2 last seasons I dint have problem and I could carry almost all team fights, I use in Academy Gaming tournaments too, here its more difficult to face some meta builds in 1v1 situation, because of the players skill level, you should engage fights only to kill and cleave.

But Hammer without JI… I can say to you… You loosed all synergy.
- Ring of Warding + JI trapping for a massive cleave coordinated with your team.
- Banish Stomp JI.
- Banish contest, when you want to remove someone that is contesting a node.
- Might Blow + JI
- You cant kite asking your team a different target away from the battle to reset your status. (With sword focus this is far better)
- You are too slow to cleave a downed far away.
- You cant interrupt fast a ress/stomp.

Guardian is a class that you should be all burst or all supportive and we are slow, we cant have both, this is why we are not meta… but playing full burst at least it works very well in ranked.
Obs: I usually play with Dragon Maw, its decisive in cleave downed, zero problem in normal queues. I dont have problem with conditions.
I use sigil of speed instead of intelligence.

Do you save Dragon Maw for when you’re getting focused or when players are in downed state?

A big thing to note is what you said – difficult to face builds 1v1 – I’ve always saw Guardian/DH has a supplemental class that when untouched, can turn the tides of a fight.

I personally dont see a point in using the intel sigil especially if you’re using 2 medis, id personally take leeching or possibly blood. I also think JI is more beneficial then CoP, guardians already lack movement skills as it is, not to mention JI mixed with RoW, Banish and the LB knock back is really strong and clutch if you use it properly.

phokus.8934:

Do you save Dragon Maw for when you’re getting focused or when players are in downed state?

A big thing to note is what you said – difficult to face builds 1v1 – I’ve always saw Guardian/DH has a supplemental class that when untouched, can turn the tides of a fight.

Dragon Maw is a skill like MOA, you never can miss it, its decisive. I like to use it when:
- I know enemy lost all stun breakers, low endurance, possibly in the end of 1v1 in a node, trap the enemy and cleave with hammer auto and might blow, try to use it when enemie is not waiting for it and is attacking you.
- When its a 3v3 fight, one enemy is downed, you cant let enemy team ress, JI + ring of warding and dragon maw. Your team can kill 3 with this easy. 2 circles of wall inside of each other trapping.
- JI + Dragon Maw + dps combo vs non brain players in situation that they are not waiting for it.

And you are right, DH is a game changer when he is not focused and your enemy team dont know how to kite/reset. You should come as +1 , call the target.. JI for the combos (like a thief). Sometimes you can kill 3 with your damage.
Using dragon maw you lose a lot of sustain but you compensate it killing enemies more fast, sometimes they cant touch you.

Hmm, good points. I’ll definitely pick it backup later today and give it a whirl!

phokus.8934:

I probably didn’t play it as well as I could have but for those who want to see it in action as of recent, I have a few raw videos on twitch – not meant to hijack/pimp. I just captured gameplay to review myself and see what I can do different with the hammer.

https://www.twitch.tv/mnphokus/profile

Saiyan – any videos of game play?

Here you go.

For the record the above video doesn’t exactly show the greatest quality players (I nearly 1 shot a necro :o.. ) but it at least shows my gameplay. It’s by no means a montage vid, just made it quickly.

@mrauls
I don’t use Trav runes because speed increases is a QoL change rather than a performance increase. I’ll lose out on overall dps throughout a fight.

@baroi
You can’t use Mighty Blow + JI anymore. They unfortunately patched that combo.

As I said in my intro, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with JI. I just don’t think it’s wise to teleport inside a skirmish AoE group just to pull off Ring of Warding. I rather use Smite+CoP vs Mes/War/Necro but you can absolutely use JI if there’s no condi bursts on the other team. Most guards use it just fine in casual play so it’s your preferences!

I used to think the same thing man. If it was all about dps everyone would be running rune of the scholar and air/force sigils. Give it a try. The constant movement speed increase does increase performance. It becomes easier to disengage + chase opponents

Saiyan.1704:

phokus.8934:

I probably didn’t play it as well as I could have but for those who want to see it in action as of recent, I have a few raw videos on twitch – not meant to hijack/pimp. I just captured gameplay to review myself and see what I can do different with the hammer.

https://www.twitch.tv/mnphokus/profile

Saiyan – any videos of game play?

Here you go.

For the record the above video doesn’t exactly show the greatest quality players (I nearly 1 shot a necro :o.. ) but it at least shows my gameplay. It’s by no means a montage vid, just made it quickly.

@mrauls
I don’t use Trav runes because speed increases is a QoL change rather than a performance increase. I’ll lose out on overall dps throughout a fight.

@baroi
You can’t use Mighty Blow + JI anymore. They unfortunately patched that combo.

As I said in my intro, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with JI. I just don’t think it’s wise to teleport inside a skirmish AoE group just to pull off Ring of Warding. I rather use Smite+CoP vs Mes/War/Necro but you can absolutely use JI if there’s no condi bursts on the other team. Most guards use it just fine in casual play so it’s your preferences!

You can still JI Mighty Blow

Ezrael.6859:

Saiyan.1704:

phokus.8934:

I probably didn’t play it as well as I could have but for those who want to see it in action as of recent, I have a few raw videos on twitch – not meant to hijack/pimp. I just captured gameplay to review myself and see what I can do different with the hammer.

https://www.twitch.tv/mnphokus/profile

Saiyan – any videos of game play?

Here you go.

For the record the above video doesn’t exactly show the greatest quality players (I nearly 1 shot a necro :o.. ) but it at least shows my gameplay. It’s by no means a montage vid, just made it quickly.

@mrauls
I don’t use Trav runes because speed increases is a QoL change rather than a performance increase. I’ll lose out on overall dps throughout a fight.

@baroi
You can’t use Mighty Blow + JI anymore. They unfortunately patched that combo.

As I said in my intro, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with JI. I just don’t think it’s wise to teleport inside a skirmish AoE group just to pull off Ring of Warding. I rather use Smite+CoP vs Mes/War/Necro but you can absolutely use JI if there’s no condi bursts on the other team. Most guards use it just fine in casual play so it’s your preferences!

You can still JI Mighty Blow

that doesnt count

Booms.3952:

Ezrael.6859:

Saiyan.1704:

phokus.8934:

I probably didn’t play it as well as I could have but for those who want to see it in action as of recent, I have a few raw videos on twitch – not meant to hijack/pimp. I just captured gameplay to review myself and see what I can do different with the hammer.

https://www.twitch.tv/mnphokus/profile

Saiyan – any videos of game play?

Here you go.

For the record the above video doesn’t exactly show the greatest quality players (I nearly 1 shot a necro :o.. ) but it at least shows my gameplay. It’s by no means a montage vid, just made it quickly.

@mrauls
I don’t use Trav runes because speed increases is a QoL change rather than a performance increase. I’ll lose out on overall dps throughout a fight.

@baroi
You can’t use Mighty Blow + JI anymore. They unfortunately patched that combo.

As I said in my intro, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with JI. I just don’t think it’s wise to teleport inside a skirmish AoE group just to pull off Ring of Warding. I rather use Smite+CoP vs Mes/War/Necro but you can absolutely use JI if there’s no condi bursts on the other team. Most guards use it just fine in casual play so it’s your preferences!

You can still JI Mighty Blow

that doesnt count

Why doesn’t it count? Mighty Blow is casting while JI is used, the combo still works.

Ezrael.6859:

Why doesn’t it count? Mighty Blow is casting while JI is used, the combo still works.

Before you could use JI in the end of MB cast, making it more instant when you arrive the enemy.

For me this nerf only made a counter play for it.

This is exactly the build I’ve been using since the patch that buffed CoP, except 9 times out of 10 I use GS instead of hammer. It’s extremely effective and can go toe to toe with most condi builds in a 1v1. It works a lot better in soloq. In team/ranked I find the classic medi trapper build to be more effective.

Also I disagree that power ele/tempest counters this build in a 1v1. I have yet to be beaten by one in either 1v1-like scenarios in pvp, a duel, or wvw roaming while using this build (have fought at least a dozen mediocre to good ones).

Great post! Your assesment of the build is pretty spot on and I hope people start to see the magic of smite condi + ToF + CoP utility combo. JI is great and very useful, but it makes you feel more like a +1er than a strong on-point duelist which is what your build excels at.

Arcaedus.7290:

This is exactly the build I’ve been using since the patch that buffed CoP, except 9 times out of 10 I use GS instead of hammer. It’s extremely effective and can go toe to toe with most condi builds in a 1v1. It works a lot better in soloq. In team/ranked I find the classic medi trapper build to be more effective.

Also I disagree that power ele/tempest counters this build in a 1v1. I have yet to be beaten by one in either 1v1-like scenarios in pvp, a duel, or wvw roaming while using this build (have fought at least a dozen mediocre to good ones).

Great post! Your assesment of the build is pretty spot on and I hope people start to see the magic of smite condi + ToF + CoP utility combo. JI is great and very useful, but it makes you feel more like a +1er than a strong on-point duelist which is what your build excels at.

Thank you sir.

I was scratching my head as to why you said power ele until I read my counter list :p I think I was lost in thought and accidentally put that in. The Ele build that gives dh a hard time is that reflect build variants of theirs but it’s pretty much strictly a duelists build and is not viable in teamq. Edited!

Hmm I’m curious why you say mesmer is a counter to us. Condition mesmer is a HUGE pain in the kitten for us and I could agree that it’s a hard counter but a DH vs power shatter chrono matchup tends to favor DH most of the time from my experience.

Perhaps it is because of the use of hammer? Hammer has trouble against anyone who kites well and has very little tools for dealing with mesmer outside of MB.

Arcaedus.7290:

Hmm I’m curious why you say mesmer is a counter to us. Condition mesmer is a HUGE pain in the kitten for us and I could agree that it’s a hard counter but a DH vs power shatter chrono matchup tends to favor DH most of the time from my experience.

Perhaps it is because of the use of hammer? Hammer has trouble against anyone who kites well and has very little tools for dealing with mesmer outside of MB.

I listed counters specific to this build, yes. Basically any class who can kite this build efficiently in TPvP is a counter if we were to engage them 1v1. There’s other off-meta builds that certain classes have that can beat us in a duel but I didn’t add them as they’re not exactly efficient in tpvp, as oppose to their meta variants.

The classes listed has the highest chance of winning if we were to engage them. That said, you can beat any class if you engage well; if you’re fighting people with low mmr. All except Rangers, they seem to be the worse fight for us.

Disclaimer: I’m a cardboard tier casual.

You mentioned the problem with being kited- I think that’s an understatement. This build seems focused on hammer, but is stuck with default move speed and lacks any tools beyond wings of resolve for mobility. You’re just begging to be forced to default into LB all the time just to have something to do. A smart team will take one look at that and just have a ranged class come and harass, at which point you get one pull into RoW every 40s if you want to be able to even use the hammer.

So given all of the reflect issues in the current meta and your seeming distaste for it, why not just ditch the bow entirely in favor of either GS (mobility, aoe pull into RoW on a symbol?) or Sw+F (TP+burst)?

Loopgru.1026:

Disclaimer: I’m a cardboard tier casual.

You mentioned the problem with being kited- I think that’s an understatement. This build seems focused on hammer, but is stuck with default move speed and lacks any tools beyond wings of resolve for mobility. You’re just begging to be forced to default into LB all the time just to have something to do. A smart team will take one look at that and just have a ranged class come and harass, at which point you get one pull into RoW every 40s if you want to be able to even use the hammer.

So given all of the reflect issues in the current meta and your seeming distaste for it, why not just ditch the bow entirely in favor of either GS (mobility, aoe pull into RoW on a symbol?) or Sw+F (TP+burst)?

Weapon Variants
I feel hammer has a bit more to offer in a skirmish fight than GS or 1-handers. I would use GS if its Whirling Wrath didn’t take so long to execute. Sometimes we’re forced to facetank in order to dish out the 3/4 cast Whirl. GS#5 is nice but hammer#5 does it better. You also get a nice secondary, Hammer#4 that helps in clutch situations

Sword #3 can offer bigger single target burst, if all projectiles hits. It has more mobility but lacks cc, again, not being the best skirmish weapon to use in a team fight.

Handling Reflects
I weapon switch to hammer when I catch myself trying to burst a reflect class (engi, ele. warrior’s shield). I stow my bow or attack another target when I’m unable to weapon switch. Their reflect doesn’t last for ever and it’s definitely not a deal breaker because I have other utilities to use.

Range Harassment
The only harassment I receive (apparently others are in the same boat) is Rev + Thief combo or other CC + Burst equivalent comps. There are no ranged harassments other than another DH or a condi transfering/corrupting Necro. The biggest harassment i’ve seen are melee classes where hammer is best utilized.

You will be on bow longer but that doesn’t mean you’re any less efficient. This build shares the same concept as any other Guardian weapon variant except it’s a bit more prioritized in a team fight.

Posting some more gameplay footages. Have been streaming here and there so there’s a few games in my Twitch past-broadcasts.

Latest Stream vid: https://www.twitch.tv/falselights/v/69201557