Guild Wars 2

“Virtue of Justice: Increased the Burning duration of the passive effect from 2 to 4 seconds in PvP only.”

Deadshot Amulet
1050 Precision
1050 Condition Damage
560 Vitality
560 Expertise

Now, correct me if i’m wrong but did Anet just increase core guard’s F1 burn-on-every-3-hit passive effect of 2s to 4s? The burn duration equivalent of 100%? That’s 15% more than the burn duration of Bal rune’s 45% + duration sigils, + 20% in Radiance. They’re also finally giving us the Marauder equivalent for burn Guards.

I’m going to jump back to my original Burn Burst Guardian main in SPvP with changes like these (gone power DH since HoT). I’m curious how much of an impact performance core burn guard can make now.

Honestly i’d like to see the Core Virtue changes moved to PvE as well… just saying, they are nice changes to the core guards weaker Virtues when compared to the DH.

They also increased the active portion from 1 stack to 3 stacks of 4s burning.

So F1 active can apply some decent pressure.

They want Trogdor in pvp, and I can’t say I don’t like it.

8s burns on VoJ passive. Our auto is our burst.

Yes passive burn proc is now 4 sec instead of 2s without burn duration. Take the new amulet and Balthazar Runes plus smoldering sigil and/or Radiance line and you can probably get 100% burn duration increase . Not that i recommend that but its just a thought. I like the idea of core burn guard with supreme justice now for more aoe burn procs.

I don’t see myself using that amulet if I were to go back to burn guardian. I think chasing burn duration after a certain point is not worth it and I would rather have the extra vitality and power damage from carrion.

The problem with burn guard still remains the same though: little sustain and not enough cover condis.

560 Expertise, traited Torch, and Balth runes allow you just over 100% burn duration, which means you can put your sigils to use in cover conditions. It also means just your VoJ proc burns are going to be worth cleansing even more than earlier because of how long they’ll be lasting. This allows you more opportunity for bursting someone without cleanses since they’ll have been wasted cleansing auto attacks. Both the VoJ increase and amulet let you pressure much more than before.

nice dejavu youre giving me here.

sure that buff will make burn guard a little bit less horrible and will be pretty strong in 1v1s but in actual games it will still be useless because this doesnt change the fact that most of burn guards damage comes from passives and people being REALLY stupid (walking over purging flames, not dodging torch 4)

also the fact that you think you could use permanenting wrath instead of indomitable courage just shows how little you actually know about conquest and actual 5v5 matches.

Burn Burst Guardian was “meta” for a time before HoT released and that build didn’t use Indomitable Courage; though, a lot of Guardians did in tournaments. It’s why Tage underperformed as well as he did (sry Tage your build sucked).

RabbitUp.8294:

They also increased the active portion from 1 stack to 3 stacks of 4s burning.

So F1 active can apply some decent pressure.

F1 needed these 3 stacks rather than a little 1 stack of burn for sure. Same goes for our Torch’s blue flame activation, that still gives a litle 1 stack of burns when it should be 3.

Edit
Added spoiler S5 burn build in OP

Saiyan.1704:

Same goes for our Torch’s blue flame activation, that still gives a litle 1 stack of burns when it should be 3.

Zealot’s Flame applies burn once at the beginning and once at the end in a pbaoe. Zealot’s Fire is where the real damage is, which is why it has good power and burn damage. The Flame is just there to apply burn for those on-burn effects, which is also why its double the duration of the Fire. Or another way to put it, it doesn’t need to apply 9 stacks of burning alone with proper timing. 18 when used after the traited toss.

Ghotistyx.6942:

Saiyan.1704:

Same goes for our Torch’s blue flame activation, that still gives a litle 1 stack of burns when it should be 3.

Zealot’s Flame applies burn once at the beginning and once at the end in a pbaoe. Zealot’s Fire is where the real damage is, which is why it has good power and burn damage. The Flame is just there to apply burn for those on-burn effects, which is also why its double the duration of the Fire. Or another way to put it, it doesn’t need to apply 9 stacks of burning alone with proper timing. 18 when used after the traited toss.

I would agree if pre-hot the start and end burn didn’t do as much damage as every other 1 stack burn Guard had. At the time, approx 800 dmg per burn tick.

It’s clear they’re touching up on the items that missed the burn upgrade. F1 activation is 3 stacks instead of 1. Same for Purging, Judges’s, etc. They just missed Torch’s blue flame and I don’t blame them, I did too for awhile.

There’s no proof (nor does it make sense) that they left it alone for on-burn effects.

What keeps burn guardian from really working, aside from the cover condi issue, is its reliance on needing to maximize utility towards burn stacks rather than defense. Meanwhile, other more successful condi classes only need profession mechanics, traits or weapon skills to apply their condis. Take for example condi engi, it only needs pistols, burning ammo and traits. Condi chrono just uses shatters and traits, condi warrior just uses f1 spam and traits. Etc. All these examples save their utility skills for defense.

If condi guard can apply decent burn stacks with just f1, traits and perhaps torch 4, then perhaps it can save utilities for defense too.

Kuya.6495:

What keeps burn guardian from really working, aside from the cover condi issue, is its reliance on needing to maximize utility towards burn stacks rather than defense. Meanwhile, other more successful condi classes only need profession mechanics, traits or weapon skills to apply their condis. Take for example condi engi, it only needs pistols, burning ammo and traits. Condi chrono just uses shatters and traits, condi warrior just uses f1 spam and traits. Etc. All these examples save their utility skills for defense.

If condi guard can apply decent burn stacks with just f1, traits and perhaps torch 4, then perhaps it can save utilities for defense too.

mesmer use soi which recharge shatter and mainly distortion F4, blink and portal
warrior has condi resistance skill and no dmg skill
engi got condi cleanse utilities and 2 sec block or shrink

guard has best condi cleanses utilities with hp gain and fury and direct dmg too while his F2 cleanse and heal more F3 block/stability (traited) and amazing elite which recharged them….

rephrase pls …

That is exactly my point. To maximize burn stacks, you can take purging flames and judge’s intervention, but if you want to maximize defense, you should take contemplation of purity and smite condition. I think a compromise can be done for the third utility skill which can either be judge’s intervention or purging flames. I would go for the former. Before, you could take 3 medis as a burn guard, but most of your burns would be coming from the teleport and torch 4, which isn’t enough. Thanks to the upcoming changes though, f1 produces much more burning and with the buffs to core f2 and f3, you can probably sacrifice taking defensive traits on virtues for more burning.

JI PF and SC will be standard

I’m thinking, why should we take deadshot? With carrion we can get over 50% crit chance with radiance.

ThatNAESLGuard.6238:

I’m thinking, why should we take deadshot? With carrion we can get over 50% crit chance with radiance.

Because the 900 Vita is too much sustains for what burn burst guard is. And 15% of your crit is only for your main hand weapons. 50% is not enough for Carrion’s 900 power for good raw damages.

If you’ve tried Wanderer’s you’d want to use it if it only had vita instead of toughness.

Saiyan.1704:

It’s clear they’re touching up on the items that missed the burn upgrade. F1 activation is 3 stacks instead of 1. Same for Purging, Judges’s, etc. They just missed Torch’s blue flame and I don’t blame them, I did too for awhile.

There’s no proof (nor does it make sense) that they left it alone for on-burn effects.

The damage of torch 4 is the toss, both in Power and Condi. By applying burning before the toss, that skill can provide itself with any trait synergy you might have, like +7% damage or +10% crit. In that way the skill is self-contained, it lets itself become better rather than relying on something else to set-up. It’s also instant cast and aoe, so it provides a slightly different functionality than landing the toss does. The longer duration and lower stacks signifies that its meant more for application, and less for damage. It makes it more susceptible to cleansing than what shorter duration but more stacks would be. I don’t think they intend that one skill chain to apply 18 stacks of burning every 10s.

When they made the burning changes, they hit Purging Flames, JI, and Zealot’s Fire immediately, which was great. In the case of VoJ active, I think they were initially worried about 5v1 overwhelming that target with burn stacks. An almost instant 15 burns stacks from a single button press wouldn’t be fun for anyone. However, they probably found that it wasn’t the case in pvp so they gave it more functionality. I think it would work even better for Burn DH than base, but its a bit more of an incentive to use the skill.

ThatNAESLGuard.6238:

I’m thinking, why should we take deadshot? With carrion we can get over 50% crit chance with radiance.

Deadshot also allows easier access to 100% burn duration, allowing you to use your sigils for cover conditions or anything else. It trades power damage for much more focused burning. And, some of that power damage is made back by the highly increased crit chance.

Look at this build for a second. Change your armor to 2317 and 2378 in combat and your health to 17245. You have 100% burn duration, can reach 100% crit chance by yourself, and your burns are at 370 a tick. Just like Marauder, you sacrifice a tiny amount of damage for tons more sustain. Deadshot was literally made for burn guardians.

Ghotistyx.6942:

The longer duration and lower stacks signifies that its meant more for application, and less for damage. It makes it more susceptible to cleansing than what shorter duration but more stacks would be. I don’t think they intend that one skill chain to apply 18 stacks of burning every 10s.

If Anet initially designed the start and end engulf flame solely for application then why did they keep its initial design’s damage in line with other burn applications? It used to do 4x the amount of damages.

You guys are forgetting there’s no power dmg on deadshot… that’s a massive dps drop

Saiyan.1704:

If Anet initially designed the start and end engulf flame solely for application then why did they keep its initial design’s damage in line with other burn applications? It used to do 4x the amount of damages.

Only if it wasn’t cleansed. It became burstier in exchange.

ThatNAESLGuard.6238:

You guys are forgetting there’s no power dmg on deadshot… that’s a massive dps drop

This needs to be emphasized MUCH MUCH more.

We do not have a burn on crit trait, therefore all that precision for a burn guardian without any power is WORTHLESS.

Carrion will remain top choice and will be stronger than ever because of the boosted duration to F1 procs

Its funny because no one commended on the new rune, which I think is a blessing to the condi guardian. movement speed has always been an issue for burn guard, and this new runeset deals with just that.

A smoldering sigil + geomancy or doom takes care of cover condi + burn duration for a little bit. But that movement speed is crucial to catch up to other roamers or to simply not be deadweight to the team.

The ability to do dmg has never been an issue with the burn guardian. but the lack of sustain has.

If your issue is sustain on burn DH, run sage amulet instead. Since the build is meditation focused the little bit of healing significantly impacts your sustain. Especially with the resolve buff.

Also, the new lynx Rune is amazing for burn guardian.

My issue isn’t sustains, it’s that we had a bit too much of it. 560 vita is the sweet spot.

Deadshot is a better amulet than Sage for burn burst guard.

Saiyan.1704:

My issue isn’t sustains, it’s that we had a bit too much of it. 560 vita is the sweet spot.

Deadshot is a better amulet than Sage for burn burst guard.

Depends if you take Radiance line or not. With Radiance line and using 1 handed weapons you get free 25% crit chance from that line. Plus pulsing fury from Sword symbol. You really don’t need 1050 precision from Deadshot amulet.

Plus (for me at least) that much precision with no power is not useful for me. With Sage and radiance line your power damage is actually useful,

Spartacus.3192:

Saiyan.1704:

My issue isn’t sustains, it’s that we had a bit too much of it. 560 vita is the sweet spot.

Deadshot is a better amulet than Sage for burn burst guard.

Depends if you take Radiance line or not. With Radiance line and using 1 handed weapons you get free 25% crit chance from that line. Plus pulsing fury from Sword symbol. You really don’t need 1050 precision from Deadshot amulet.

Plus (for me at least) that much precision with no power is not useful for me. With Sage and radiance line your power damage is actually useful,

i use the crit chance for cover condition with scepter with torment and bleed sigils on crits. its nice cover

also its buff the dmg a bit . still carrion yield more total dmg with 1900 power

messiah.1908:

Spartacus.3192:

Saiyan.1704:

My issue isn’t sustains, it’s that we had a bit too much of it. 560 vita is the sweet spot.

Deadshot is a better amulet than Sage for burn burst guard.

Depends if you take Radiance line or not. With Radiance line and using 1 handed weapons you get free 25% crit chance from that line. Plus pulsing fury from Sword symbol. You really don’t need 1050 precision from Deadshot amulet.

Plus (for me at least) that much precision with no power is not useful for me. With Sage and radiance line your power damage is actually useful,

i use the crit chance for cover condition with scepter with torment and bleed sigils on crits. its nice cover

also its buff the dmg a bit . still carrion yield more total dmg with 1900 power

I was running Burn DH last night using Virtues Valor DH lines. Using Dulled Senses and Zealots aggression with Permeating wrath to give Burn Vuln and Cripple on the Passive VOJ procs, Added Geomancy sigil on weapon swap meant I could give 3 condi on AOE basis and bleed on swap. That was enough cover condi for me . Using Sage Amulet and Balth runes and so long as I stuck to team fights and not 1v1 the passive VoJ procs happen a lot.

I run Medi burn and it has plenty of sustain, you just can’t face roll the key board. It is great 1v1, but also does well kiting outside a team battle. It’s amazing how many people run in and out of purging flame. It’s like they just like seeing the stacks of burning pile up on them.
Against a good player I can maintain 6-10 stacks of burn. Against morons I’ve gotten as high as 20.
I’ve tried all the other Guard builds and they just bore me. I love my burn guard.

Mysticjedi.6053:

I run Medi burn and it has plenty of sustain, you just can’t face roll the key board. It is great 1v1, but also does well kiting outside a team battle. It’s amazing how many people run in and out of purging flame. It’s like they just like seeing the stacks of burning pile up on them.
Against a good player I can maintain 6-10 stacks of burn. Against morons I’ve gotten as high as 20.
I’ve tried all the other Guard builds and they just bore me. I love my burn guard.

yup people aren’t used to Purging Flames in pvp and don’t realize how hot it burns! I would kite melee players like rev and warrior around the ring and watch them eat it.

this is the build for burning guard

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vVAQRArf8dnkICVDhlDBeDB8DhD/h6GuXwHYDgKoOzRYFmhA-TpRFwAIeAAAOIAJOBAn2fowRAAaZAA

it yield the best dmg output direct and condition combine with cover conditions

good in 1v1 and also team fight with burning around the area

also PF with DH line with nice pull can work either but you lose the 25% crit chance so less direct dmg

messiah.1908:

this is the build for burning guard

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vVAQRArf8dnkICVDhlDBeDB8DhD/h6GuXwHYDgKoOzRYFmhA-TpRFwAIeAAAOIAJOBAn2fowRAAaZAA

it yield the best dmg output direct and condition combine with cover conditions

good in 1v1 and also team fight with burning around the area

also PF with DH line with nice pull can work either but you lose the 25% crit chance so less direct dmg

Ive been using it with DH line and Zealots aggression , dulled senses for the cover condis. Yes you lose the crit chance from Radiance line but at least in a 1v1 you can use the F1 pull over Purging flames. I do like core burn guard too although you can also replace radiance with honor for writ of persistence. The longer larger symbols help proc more AOE burns in team fights, and of course the healing is good from dodge heals, aegis heals and symbol heals especially with sage amulet.

You should be taking master of consecrations and pf. That’s your biggest nuke.

Core burns cant 1v1 very well, but they do live long enough for a teammate to back up the point. You excel the moment someone downs on either your team or the enemy and they all pile up. Load up the symbols on them with pf and its a team wipe every time the moment they go for their downed.

Gwaihir.1745:

You should be taking master of consecrations and pf. That’s your biggest nuke.

Core burns cant 1v1 very well, but they do live long enough for a teammate to back up the point. You excel the moment someone downs on either your team or the enemy and they all pile up. Load up the symbols on them with pf and its a team wipe every time the moment they go for their downed.

Don’t forget torch 5 in that situation, it’s hilarious.

Gwaihir.1745:

You should be taking master of consecrations and pf. That’s your biggest nuke.

Core burns cant 1v1 very well, but they do live long enough for a teammate to back up the point. You excel the moment someone downs on either your team or the enemy and they all pile up. Load up the symbols on them with pf and its a team wipe every time the moment they go for their downed.

Though you’re correct, it may not work very well against competent players. In those cases smite is a better option. Especially if you’re going against good Mesmers
in pvp. There’s certain classes Burn Guard will never beat and Mesmer in an open field is one of them.

I myself have gotten pretty good with GS + PF. It’s by far my fav burn burst build, I just got to stay clear of foefire’s mid – 0 mobility and 0 range kills the build unless you find a downs to cleave.

At the moment, I can’t run burn burst in Leagues. The build is just too risky compared to power DH.

Saiyan.1704:

At the moment, I can’t run burn burst in Leagues. The build is just too risky compared to power DH.

dont know about it yet but for me its working good atm. 1v1 most wins. i get top state 3 or 4 every game.
and if there is another burn guard just OMG ….

just have to be careful with necro transferring in team fight

but didnt play much yet so fully see it working

i am more theorycraft player so i test lots of build while playing ranked

burn guard stopped working for me in platinum. people usually bring enough cleanse to deal with it. it shines on down cleave though.

I had more success with carrion amulet than deadshot. The extra condi duration from deadshot is nice but you lose a lot of power which is really noticeable in 1v1’s. Sage is also ok with the buffed virtue.

Kraljevo.2801:

I had more success with carrion amulet than deadshot. The extra condi duration from deadshot is nice but you lose a lot of power which is really noticeable in 1v1’s. Sage is also ok with the buffed virtue.

I use sage on my 1H burn build. I like it

Yeah I played core burns but with honor line as well up to plat, that’s about as far as the build can be pushed.

Gwaihir.1745:

Yeah I played core burns but with honor line as well up to plat, that’s about as far as the build can be pushed.

Did you end up switching to double melee or LB meditrapper? I did the same, landed in gold 3, climbed to plat 1 with core burn guard. switched to burn dh, people were abusing the kitten out of my poor cover condi, and then I switched to menders valor/honor/dh double melee. I’m gonna give meditrapper a shot again but just curious how you’re faring.

I’m out traveling for xmas now so probably decaying. But I’ll be running menders with honor/valor/DH with lb/sw/sh for point control when I return. I stick to cop over syg or smite since it gets you out of any bad situation.

Playing with burning DH (Radiance/Valor/DH), Carrion amulet in PvP, Balthazar runes. I did start the season with power DH and a big streak of wins which put me in gold ~1500, but then I hit and incredible lose streak. I swiched to burn and I’m having better results despite lacking the Virtue traitline and any kind of stability. Reasons:

• As a condi DH if you gonna lose a fight you usually last as much as a power DH, but if you gonna win it will happen much faster.
• Burn DH has better matchups than DH, and some of those (vs Scapper, Druid, Warrior, power Rev…) will probably stand higher that power DH in the Pro League.
• Hate projectile so strongly introduced in HoT that made DH lb weak is almost irrelevant with burn DH due most of our damage comes from well placed blocks, AoE fields or even random procs.

Buran.3796:

Playing with burning DH (Radiance/Valor/DH), Carrion amulet in PvP, Balthazar runes. I did start the season with power DH and a big streak of wins which put me in gold ~1500, but then I hit and incredible lose streak. I swiched to burn and I’m having better results despite lacking the Virtue traitline and any kind of stability. Reasons:

• As a condi DH if you gonna lose a fight you usually last as much as a power DH, but if you gonna win it will happen much faster.
• Burn DH has better matchups than DH, and some of those (vs Scapper, Druid, Warrior, power Rev…) will probably stand higher that power DH in the Pro League.
• Hate projectile so strongly introduced in HoT that made DH lb weak is almost irrelevant with burn DH due most of our damage comes from well placed blocks, AoE fields or even random procs.

Yes, you may burst people down much quicker if they are unprepared for a burn guard/DH, but for 1) your biggest nuke (Purging Flames) requires a trait and utility slot that can be filled with a much more useful sustain, and for 2) you don’t have as much cover condi as other classes so it’s honestly really easy to condi cleanse what a burn guard puts on you.

It worked wonders for me at first. I was ok in my placement matches as core burn guard, going 6-4 or 7-3 (can’t remember which) and landed at 1600 mmr. Switched to burn DH (virtues/valor/DH) for the better sustain and team utility until Plat, where burn DH’s weakness was made prevalent. Sure, I survived long enough to be the last alive in teamfights, but I definitely feel like I wasn’t putting in enough work as a dps anymore, especially with an enemy ele present o.o.

I still feel better with burn DH in 1v1s, but that’s just because of how great the duels are, waiting for your enemy to use up their condi cleanse and then comboing them into a 12-stack burning nuke. Although, with even non-mender’s power DH you can hold your own in 1v1s against most of the cast, even though you probably shouldn’t be if you can help it.

Take virtues over radiance. Radiance seems good but really doesn’t outdamage permeating wrath aoe burns.

best dmg so far with group play
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vVAQRArf8dnkICVDhlDBeDB8DhD8hK3hhYJeb3RYFqFQAcuA-TJRHAB3XG4j9HC4kAAwTAAA

might stacks will go high (15 and above) so direct and condi dmg combine with vulnerability is huge

traditional build more focus on 1v1
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vVAQRArf8dnkICVDhlDBeDB8DhD/hyGAVQdeD3L4DyRYFmhA-TJRHABBcSAuvMAAPBgP2fAA

you can go with carrion also and replace CoP with merciful intervention for more direct dmg sustain with another 5k heal

messiah.1908:

best dmg so far with group play
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vVAQRArf8dnkICVDhlDBeDB8DhD8hK3hhYJeb3RYFqFQAcuA-TJRHAB3XG4j9HC4kAAwTAAA

might stacks will go high (15 and above) so direct and condi dmg combine with vulnerability is huge

traditional build more focus on 1v1
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vVAQRArf8dnkICVDhlDBeDB8DhD/hyGAVQdeD3L4DyRYFmhA-TJRHABBcSAuvMAAPBgP2fAA

you can go with carrion also and replace CoP with merciful intervention for more direct dmg sustain with another 5k heal

Funny, I recently swapped out Radiance for Zeal as well. Except i went with Retal on Aegis because that can be devastating in a group. It also syncronizes well with Litany. I left Torch for Shield for more Aegis and a knockback.

Blinding Jeopardy isn’t that great. Go Kindled Zeal. With Carrion amulet, you’d be crazy not to. Once you reach a certain might stack the trait will yield more damage than Radiance’s 15% increased burns and way more than blinding jeopardy could ever possibly dish out. Especially if you decide to go Might stacking with Scepter.

This is the build I’m currently using in PvP:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vVAQRArf8dlsAhyhYzQwbIwPELDEl82/9j/112AVgVAsArJA-TJhAwA62fYcZAAPBAOnEAA

The reasons due I prefer DH + Radiance over Virtues + Zeal are simple: DH provides an F2 with better mobility, damage and root, a cc pull in F1 and (once traited) a 6 seconds block F3. Each block both remove conditions and burn enemies. So I can block 6 seconds with F3, 2 seconds with Shelter (which also triggers both burn damage thanx to the runes and retaliation due Healer’s Retribution), 3 blocks with Shield of Wrath and the still can reset F3 with the elite for another 6 seconds of block.

Leaving DH traitline means losing 12 seconds of block, block cleansing and much utility for my taste. Leaving Radiance means losing a 15% burn bonus damage, plus the burns in blocks. I’m not sure if Permeating Wrath alone balances the lose of damage from blocks, but for sure makes you more vulnerable, and also I find Healer’s Retribution from Radiance stronger than Retaliatory Subconscious from Virtues: last longer, the cd is the same but with HR you known exactly when is going to happen.

Saiyan.1704:

messiah.1908:

best dmg so far with group play
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vVAQRArf8dnkICVDhlDBeDB8DhD8hK3hhYJeb3RYFqFQAcuA-TJRHAB3XG4j9HC4kAAwTAAA

might stacks will go high (15 and above) so direct and condi dmg combine with vulnerability is huge

traditional build more focus on 1v1
http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vVAQRArf8dnkICVDhlDBeDB8DhD/hyGAVQdeD3L4DyRYFmhA-TJRHABBcSAuvMAAPBgP2fAA

you can go with carrion also and replace CoP with merciful intervention for more direct dmg sustain with another 5k heal

Funny, I recently swapped out Radiance for Zeal as well. Except i went with Retal on Aegis because that can be devastating in a group. It also syncronizes well with Litany. I left Torch for Shield for more Aegis and a knockback.

Blinding Jeopardy isn’t that great. Go Kindled Zeal. With Carrion amulet, you’d be crazy not to. Once you reach a certain might stack the trait will yield more damage than Radiance’s 15% increased burns and way more than blinding jeopardy could ever possibly dish out. Especially if you decide to go Might stacking with Scepter.

with carrion amulet to compare traits
ZC over FW – you will need 5 might stacks to compete with 7% more dmg to burning foe . as your enemy wont be always with burning you lose some 7% in between. so i think ZC is more powerful especially in the opening and in between burst.
WS is nice but i think you have enough retaliation sources and torch is nice aoe burns in team fight

BJ over KZ – 10% more condi dmg is nice but with vulnerability combo you can get 15% or even 19% stacks which means more direct dmg also. dont forget also for your allies. and with blind combo with sword and scepter you can have those also as cover condition

Buran.3796:

This is the build I’m currently using in PvP:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vVAQRArf8dlsAhyhYzQwbIwPELDEl82/9j/112AVgVAsArJA-TJhAwA62fYcZAAPBAOnEAA

The reasons due I prefer DH + Radiance over Virtues + Zeal are simple: DH provides an F2 with better mobility, damage and root, a cc pull in F1 and (once traited) a 6 seconds block F3. Each block both remove conditions and burn enemies. So I can block 6 seconds with F3, 2 seconds with Shelter (which also triggers both burn damage thanx to the runes and retaliation due Healer’s Retribution), 3 blocks with Shield of Wrath and the still can reset F3 with the elite for another 6 seconds of block.

Leaving DH traitline means losing 12 seconds of block, block cleansing and much utility for my taste. Leaving Radiance means losing a 15% burn bonus damage, plus the burns in blocks. I’m not sure if Permeating Wrath alone balances the lose of damage from blocks, but for sure makes you more vulnerable, and also I find Healer’s Retribution from Radiance stronger than Retaliatory Subconscious from Virtues: last longer, the cd is the same but with HR you known exactly when is going to happen.

i find that DH is more 1v1 trait for burn guard as you lose virtue trait line so in group fight the burns can stacks much faster

also burn every 3 stack compare to 5th attack is less 40% dmg compare to more blocks which you turn on when need to defense. so you basically burst on defense and pock on offense after you use PF and pull