So, with perhaps our biggest woe with Guardian solved, Shield finally being viable and becoming the iconic weapon for the class it deserves to be, and, trying to keep away from all the fuss (some warranted, some not so) over Dragonhunter, which I shan’t talk about much here, it got me thinking about a few more of the issues we still have with some traits for the core profession, and a way to address these.
Namely, the poor placement of the Hammer trait on the Trait tree, making it unusable for PvP (seems Absolute Resolution is a must have), the seemingly almost identical-function of Strength in Numbers and Stalwart Defender, despite being on the same trait line and even in the same mastery slot, and the woes we still have with no PvE passive-speed buff for getting around faster (even if I understand why we don’t have access to such a thing in PvP).
So I just came up with a basic way to address all these three things without adding any real power creep to Guardians in general, and without altering too much. I’ll just get to suggested changes.
VALOR
Stalwart Defense and Strength in Numbers combined into;
Strength of the Defender
Nearby Allies (and self) gain 150 Toughness.
Shield Recharge reduced by 20%.
A simple change that combines the almost identical roles of these traits into something that makes sense. You bring a Shield if you want to protect your allies, if you want to protect your allies, you aren’t going to take a selfish 180 Toughness bonus over a group-wide 150 Toughness bonus. Combining these two traits just makes sense.
Open Trait Slot (Major Master)
Move Glacial Heart here;
Critical hits with hammers chill enemies. Hammer recharge is reduced.
It’s not the ideal place for it, but there is some synergy with Altruistic Healing and Hammers constant-Protection application, and PvP builds will be taking this line anyway for the Meditation Trait. Also, this is a defensive line and hammer is a defensive weapon (Protection spam, CC, and a Ward), so.
There’s also not much conflict as it’s unlikely you’ll be wielding Hammer and Shield in one build; Both are defensive weapons that serve a similar purpose but in different ways (CC and group defense), and it usually makes sense to bring something that offers something a bit different for your second set.
You’ll then still be able to take both Absolute Resolution, and use your Hammer competitively, in PvP.
VIRTUES
So we now have an open trait slot here on the Master line, in competition with Supreme Justice and Absolute Resolution. This would be a good chance to get that passive move-speed bonus trait in, except there’s no way it could ever be considered as strong as either of those, so we tweaked it a little to make it seem just as appealing. We’ll also make it a bit more flavorful.
Open Trait Slot (Major Master)
NEW TRAIT:
Swift Justice
For each ready Virtue, gain 10% Movement Speed (Stacking) (Max +25%?).
Upon activating a Virtue, gain 3 seconds of Super Speed.
Taking the mobility focused trait idea to a logical conclusion, while also still encouraging active Virtue use when the circumstances call for it. Alternatively, if it’s decided Super Speed is a thing Guardian should just never have, which would be fair enough, alternatively:
Swift Justice
For each ready Virtue, gain 10% Movement Speed (Stacking) (Max +25%?).
Upon activating a Virtue, you gain Quickness. Durations depends on Virtue.
Justice: 1 Second
Resolve: 2 Seconds
Courage: 3 Seconds
This does a couple things; For a start, it gives us that precious passive movement speed bonus that we sorely lack. Second, it gives us a second offensive option in the Major Master Virtues slot, one that is less focused on Condition Damage and will have value to Power builds also, in particular burst builds. You could also see it as fair compensation for those wounded by the (rightly-deserved, mind) “Feel My Wrath!” nerf. They’d have an option to get their quickness up-time back, although it would just be for them and not their entire party. It also retains the encouragement of active Virtue use.
And yes, you could bring this to PvP, but as nice as it would be and as fun as it would be for some gimmicky burst builds, let’s face it, you wouldn’t be competitive if you took this instead of Absolute Resolution (you really need that exta regen and Condition Removal), and you can’t have both, so power creep is avoided in the place where it matters the most, and the Guardian retains it’s clearly intentional mobility weakness when it comes to PvP game-types.
Supreme Justice would of course retain it’s place in condition builds or for more AoE focused builds.
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I have a few ideas for one or two other traitlines that could do with some tweaking (Radiance/Zeal), but don’t have time for those right now.
What are your thoughts or concerns on these ideas? Good, bad? Got some better alternatives that would retain a good amount of balance in the class, keeping in mind the weaknesses the class is supposed to have? Share your ideas!