Guild Wars 2

As most people here are aware, Guardians aren’t all that good at range. I’ve been thinking about it a bit, and I’ve got two suggestions. The first is rather reasonable, the second is more out there and more intended to show what’s possible.

Scepter (Redesigned)

1. Orb of Wrath: Fire a fast-moving orb at the target
   Range: 1200
   Projectile Finisher
   This skill would probably need a cast-time to balance the speed of the orb. The ultimate rate of fire should be roughly the same as before, it’s just the orb that flies faster. I also made it a projectile finisher, since it provides some support and offense. See also #2.)
2. Symbol of Stability: Sear a mystic symbol in the target area, damaging foes and granting Stability to allies.
   Range: 1200
   Cooldown: 8 seconds
   Duration: 3 seconds
   Light Field
   This skill still roughly has the same use as Smite, but also serves as a Light combo field. I don’t like Stability on it, but it’s one of the only boons we haven’t got on our Symbols yet. Ideally, I’d swap the Symbols around, but that would go beyond this excersize.
3. Chains of Light
   Stays exactly the same.

Longbow

1. Arrow of Truth: Shoot an arrow at the target, healing nearby allies.
   Range: 1200
   Projectile Finisher
   This skill should get a short-ish cast time to show “aiming” the arrow towards the target. I wanted a secondary rider on the skill (because just firing a projectile finisher is a bit boring), and a small amount of healing is probably the weakest you could get. I also considered Weakness, but I didn’t want this to be the first weapon to give Weakness, when no other does.
   #2: Symbol of Stability: Sear a mystic symbol in the target area, damaging foes and granting Stability to allies.
   Range: 1200
   Cooldown: 10 seconds
   Duration: 4 seconds
   Build in combo for the weapon combination. Once again, I don’t think Stability is the best fit, but I don’t want to swap around Symbols on existing weapons. It definitely shouldn’t be Swiftness, but others are fair game.
   #3: Cleansing Volley: Shoot a volley of arrows at the air, damaging enemies and removing conditions from allies.
   Range 1200
   Cooldown: 16 seconds
   Duration: 5 seconds
   Cleansing conditions is pretty powerful, but it’s something the Guardian should do well. You could change this skill to provide healing, but that would weaken the skill severely, in my opinion.
   #4: Arrow of Justice: Fire an arrow that explodes on impact, dealing damage to enemies and healing allies.
   Range: 1200
   Cooldown: 20 seconds
   A bit boring, but I originally had a wave-like push-back here, but that felt to powerful with all the control-effects the Guardian already has and I wanted the Longbow to be more Damage/Support than control. The healing here should be significant enough to justify the cooldown and the fact that you actually need an enemy to make the skill useful.
   #5: Intervention Shot: Shoot an arrow at the enemy, teleporting along the line, granting Protection to allies when the arrow hits.
   Range: 900
   Cooldown: 25 seconds
   I wanted a skill that would synergize with the melee-aspect of our profession. I tried to make it different enough from our other teleports, which was rather difficult. I used a more defensive boon, rather than a blind or a burn, again to strike a balance between damage and support.

I felt that this thread could be different from other threads about Guardian’s ranged capabilities, by focusing on what could be done to make our situation better, without actually looking too much at how we currently are.

The symbol of stability is way too much for PvP. With Writ of Persistence (assuming wiki is correct), the symbol will last around 4.5 seconds and giving out stability every second (also last only a second). That’s 4 seconds of stability (since the last 0.5 won’t be able to refresh stability) on a cool down of 8 secs (50% up time). Also, since it reapplies every second, it makes the boon removal useless against it unlike SYG. It’s a mini Hallowed Ground.

Yeah, the Stability is something I don’t like all that much myself, but I did find that if I was going to do a combo field, it should be a Symbol and I didn’t want any duplicates. If we’re going with duplicates, put Symbol of Protection or Swiftness on the Scepter and Symbol of Truth on the Longbow.
Maybe I should have gone with Vigor?

It could be simple as this:

Symbol of Justice:

Sear a mystic symbol in the target area that damages and burns foes (like literally burn them, not like Symbol of Wrath) and granting Fury to allies.

Details:
Deal small to medium amount of damage to target inside symbol.
Burn the target for 1 sec every second it stays inside the symbol.
Grant fury to allies for 1 sec every second they stay inside the symbol.
Combo field: Fire (since we have so much light fields).

I thought up similar things; but I wanted to follow the existing Symbols as closely as possible. What you’re suggesting is a Symbol in name only.

It’s pretty much the same as pre-nerfed Symbol of Wrath except for that it gives fire field and grant fury instead of retaliation.

I had actually posted not but 2 days ago I beleive a post similar to yours on a potential Ranged weapon. Although my choice was simply a shortbow. I choose this becuase even with 900 Range, thats range, but as a guardian we can not be “to” far from our teams. If we are, we simply become less usefull as a whole.

Shortbows are the happy medium. Enough range to keep us alive and usefull at a distance. Without so much range that we become “solo” when guardians are designed to be best in group settings.
The shortbow had a very similar concept, except unlike your longbow. It did more in terms of Boons, conditons, and damage. Rather then straight up heals. I feel the staff already does that quite well.
1. Arrow of Truth-Shoot an arrow in a straight line at the target hitting all enemies in the line of the arrow.(This skill is very simple. Decent range and a peirce effect that way it deals decent damage. The peirce effect makes it very unique among the guardian weapons as nothing else of ours does that.)
2. Alignment-Fire multiple arrows at the target, each arrow dealing damage and stacking a single vunrability(7 stacks). Allies caught in the way of the arrows are healed for each arrow that hits them.(Minor healing).(This is a skill that is always usefull, but becomes even better when used in conjuction with position. As guardians we must be aware of our surroundings. This skill is perfect in that nature…)
3. Symbol of Zeal- Lay down a symbol at target area that gives allies Vigor and damage foes.(symbol-simple. Grants allies the power to move, and hurts foes.
4. Beacon-Arch an arrow into the sky creating a brightlight under the target area. Enemies directly under the aoe are burned and allies receive fury.(Gives it a nice damage, and a lovely boon.)
4-a. Illuminate- The beacon expands all of its light in a final burst, blinding enemies and granting regeneration to allies. Increase the recharge of Beacon(Simple, at the expense of a heavier cooldown you can do some minor control and grant your allies some regen)
5. Zealot’s Arch- Send an arching arrow into the field that explodes in flames creating a fire field and burning enemies.
5-a. Zealot’s Intervention- Port to the fire-area made and send out a wave of flame that purifies a single conditon from each ally in range, and burns enemies caught in its wave. Creates a blast finisher.Increases the Zealot’s arch cooldown.(A port combined with a heavy aoe. This skill is all about choice. It has a very long cooldown naturaly becuaes of its AOE, but combine that with it’s extended cooldown and you have a 50 second cooldown max. This skill offers mobility to the stalwart class, letting her grace into combat when she needs to. Or out of it. Although she would forfit damage.)

The point of this weapon is choice. It has lots of diffrent abbilites..and some of them come at great costs. If you want to give your allies that regen, youll have to live without beacon for a little bit more. Its very AOE intensive, and has great range. But becuase of tis shortbow-life it makes it also right on the Backside of the feild where most ranged attackers are without makeing the Guradian so far away she becomes only a damage dealer. The guardian needs the Bow to have some heavy support, and some decent damage. But Pure heal-damage is to staff-like, and too much control nets it a hammer-range look alike. I think this set just offers plenty of choice and costs. You can play it heavily “supprot” wise, but then you also have very heavy cooldowns for playing it like that. So you could use your beacon to just help your team, or sacrafice it to really “Help” your team. Same with the mobility. Use it to get into the fray of battle when you need to. Or just use it as a heavy damage feild. To balance this weapon is its cooldowns, and it’s lack of great control. With blind and vunrability being its only conditons besides burn(damage). It won’t knock anyone away from a wall anytime soon.
Though any weapon could truely fit these skills. I like your skills alot to!

Ynna.8769

Scepter (Redesigned)
Orb of Wrath: Fire a fast-moving orb at the target
Range: 1200
Projectile Finisher
This skill would probably need a cast-time to balance the speed of the orb. The ultimate rate of fire should be roughly the same as before, it’s just the orb that flies faster. I also made it a projectile finisher, since it provides some support and offense. See also #2.)
Symbol of Stability: Sear a mystic symbol in the target area, damaging foes and granting Stability to allies.
Range: 1200
Cooldown: 8 seconds
Duration: 3 seconds
Light Field
This skill still roughly has the same use as Smite, but also serves as a Light combo field. I don’t like Stability on it, but it’s one of the only boons we haven’t got on our Symbols yet. Ideally, I’d swap the Symbols around, but that would go beyond this excersize.
Chains of Light
Stays exactly the same.

If that is too powerful, they might want to make it a bit less powerful by making only every third shot a finisher, like this:
Power 1:
1. Orb of Judgement: Launch an orb at the target.
Range: 1200
If it hits a foe they are blinded for 1 second.
→
2. Orb of Flame: Send an orb at the target.
Range: 1200
If it hits an enemy they suffer burning 1 second.
→
3. Orb of Wrath: Fire an orb at the target
Range: 1200
Projectile Finisher