Guild Wars 2

Hi,

Currently leveling an Engi, and I’m liking it. However, so many stories of how weak Engineers are, and also a lot of people saying how they’ve abandoned the class for the Guardian and couldn’t be happier. So, I’m wondering if I should give it a go.

Now, I’m a casual and don’t have a lot of time. So, that’s why I value the opinions of others, so I don’t waste it.

I know Guardians are suppose to be weak when it comes to range, unfortunately that’s what I prefer. That being said it sounds like lots are running with Scepter / Shield and finding it very effective. I basically want to play a support / range build, but have teeth when I need too ( 1v1, roaming, etc ).

What do people think of the Guardian as a range class? Is it viable, or is it really as bad as I’ve heard? Should I just stick with Elixir Gun on my Engi?

Thanks!

EDIT: Sorry forgot to mention that my primary focus is WvW, with some PvE Dynamic Events / Dungeons on the side.

You want to pick the only class that have no ranged build viable.

Scepter shield, is not a ranged combination, because even if scepter have a 1200 attack range, the autoattack is useful only at close distance.

If you just want an heavy class with some ranged\support options, roll a warrior with shout or banners. ^^

edit: changed scepter range, with the right value ^^

Ganzo.5079:

You want to pick the only class that have no ranged build viable.

Well, that’s why I’m asking! I don’t want to level to 80, then come to forums to whine about Guardian ranged skills needs a buff!

I guess hearing how a lot of Engineers have defected to Guardian + a lot of 1200 range abilities + seeing a people use Scepter/Shielf and even Staff = me curious if ranged Guardian would actually be good.

Ranged Guardians are possible, but the options are limited and melee is almost always better.

You can be ranged Guardian if you want but you will get very bored very soon. Staff isn’t propor ranged btw, it’s just aggro everything you’re aiming at + some really useful utilities. Scepter #1 doesn’t fire very fast, the #2 skill does a nice bit of aoe damage, #3 is a bind but there’s really nothing much to it and no other ranged options to switch to, for me scepter is what I use if melee isn’t an option for whatever reason, or if I’m scared of something. :P

I’ve also got a lv80 Ranger, Mesmer and elementalist. Working on Warrior/Necro. If you’re looking to switch classes, there are far better options if you prefer ranged. That being said, one of my good friends plays an Engineer and she definitly does good damage with her grenade kit amongst other things I haven’t learned about till I get round to that class. My advice would be to (if you really enjoy engineer) is find your own way of making it feel useful and doing lots of damage and what not, before listening to the people who say engi sucks. Heck, people say guardian DPS is a joke but I’m pulling off 4-9k crits x4 within 5-10 seconds WITH survivability to boot… soo… all I’m saying is make of it what you want, not what everybody else says.

They dont say guardian dps is a joke, they say ’its a joke COMPARED to any other class that is offensively designed, which it is/should be.

You can build offensively and do respectable damage but why do that if you could play something designed more for that purpose? Anyway as said you can make what you want – personally I find my team prefer me using my class for what it was designed; i.e offensive or defensive ‘support’. Dont read that as guardian cant do other things just that hes not as good away from what suits him best.

As for ranged, dont kid yourself. Guardians cant. At all. Unless you’re spamming support dps randomly with scepter 1/staff auto with support in mind – guard is useless at long ranges.

Random double post glitch.

just no… in PvE, scepter on guardian is just to have a ranged option, and staff almost completely useless in PvE. In PvP, scepter is useless when it comes to dps, and same goes for staff. In PvP many people use staff for its supportive abilities, but I honestly don’t find that worth having as a secondary. There are no viable guardian ranged builds at all. might as well use melee and run up to them and that’d always be more effective.

Every guardian just have to have a scepter in the inventory for 2 reasons in my opinion: #1: You’r going to need it against harder bosses in PvE since some of them simply aren’t melee-able. 2#: WvW, scepter is very viable here with zerg situations for example. Freeze the enemy with S3 and drop S2 and then start firing auto attack. Most will miss but in chaotic situations you can get the whole S2 hit the target and almost all the ranged classes are dropped due to its massive damage. Also when you’r supporting a zerg: wall of reflection, shield of the avenger and scepter can change the tide of battle in a blink. The projectile speed is still terrible tho and needs a fix. THAT is what makes scepter nonviable in 1v1 situations.

@Hicci: You need a Scepter in your inventory because they game sometimes downright requires you to be at ranged, not because the Scepter is a good weapon.

Scepter needs some love but it doesn’t mean it sucks. Scepter packs a real punch and if you didn’t know this then that only shows how little you know.It’s also great for stopping the enemy from escaping.

No it’s pretty much terrible, it packs a punch if it ever hits.

Scepter is no more then a fast melee weapon. In range is terrible.

You basically have to treat scepter like a 600 foot ranged ability. You can spec to make it do very good dps but it is incredibly boring compared to other options.

Arken.3725:

No it’s pretty much terrible, it packs a punch if it ever hits.

Good on Lupicus phase 1 because it automatically hits the first thing in front of you, be it locusts, grubs or lupicus. It’s AFK time.

I run a scepter/torch build in WvW, and sometimes switch for a shield in heavy fights. Usually a staff or GS in the 2nd weapon set.

It is entirely viable, you own’t be super DPS oriented but it gives you a great platform to build a “support dps” build on. Meaning you can do damage, but your main role will be facilitating the damage from your teammates. The Immobilize on the scepter is ridiculously helpful at catching runners, the Smite AoE is a good steady source of damage, the autoattack is slow but it is the only ranged option we really have as guards and it can hit players on the walls of towers/keeps. Zealots Flame from the torch is an incredibly powerful skill with high crit chance and power.

I think it’s often overlooked. If you can play it well, I think it’d work out for you.

I may be the oddball guardian, but the scepter is one of my most favorite long-range weapons out of all classes. Bind, and a quick smite every 6 seconds is way too good in PvE, and in PvP it is pretty effective if used correctly.

The only thing lacking imo, is any love for it. You can’t really improve the scepter via traits really.

Scepter is a kitten in WvW compared to the ranged weps of other professions. You’re never going to kill someone 1v1 with a scepter. PvE is ok because the shots mostly hit but it’s still not epic.

I love staff, but it is NOT a single target DPS weapon (it’s great at AoE mob tagging though in PvE — hands down the champ at that).

So, if ranged DPS is your thing, skip the guardian.

If you like soaking up damage and feeling like an indestructible hero — guardian is for you. Engineer can also be very very good at soaking up damage.

juno.1840:

Scepter is a kitten in WvW compared to the ranged weps of other professions. You’re never going to kill someone 1v1 with a scepter. PvE is ok because the shots mostly hit but it’s still not epic.

I love staff, but it is NOT a single target DPS weapon (it’s great at AoE mob tagging though in PvE — hands down the champ at that).

So, if ranged DPS is your thing, skip the guardian.

If you like soaking up damage and feeling like an indestructible hero — guardian is for you. Engineer can also be very very good at soaking up damage.

You cannot kill someone in WvW with a scepter alone, but it’s a nice switch into that can give them trouble. I’ve won many 1v1s before. But ofc had to switch to gs on cd and vice versa. But making them waste a stunbreak, or take hits from smite is pretty worth it imo.

With the new Spirit weapon change, a ranged build less effective then before.