Guild Wars 2

I’m coming up on lvl 80 on my norn guardian, and am planning to start doing fractals, dungeons, and wvw. I’m not sure exactly what role/playstyle I want to take just yet, and my current build is more just for running around in pve (greatsword/staff+retreat, save yourselves, stand your ground). I’m working with exotics, and want to figure out my playstyle before I invest in ascended gear

From what I’ve read, my choices in armor are berserker’s, soldiers, knights, or valkyries: Berserker’s for fractals/dungeons once you get to know them, knights or soldiers for learning fractals/dungeons or wvw, and valkyries for support. I’m leaning towards soldier right now since it seems to be a solid choice no matter where or what I play, but I can’t really tell what the trade-off is vs knight’s

Runewise, I see mostly boonstack, melandru’s, strength, dwayna’s, hoelbrak, yak, or orbs. I’d like to get something that I can use while experimenting with different weapons and playstyles. Any suggestions?

For PvE?

Either grab full berserker, or knights armour + berserker trinkets/weapons if you don’t think you could do well with full berserker. Use Scholar/strength runes if you can afford them, if not I heard that flame legion can be used as a very cheep alternative.

(see the stickied post by obal for the PvE DPS guide)

You really need multiple sets of armour if you plan on WvW’ing a well as PvE’ing, a set of soldiers would do well for WvW especially if you plan on zerging.

Ascended armor would be for Berserker

But if you are looking to learn, then go with exotic Knight’s armour + Berserker trinkets for PvE and Solider armour for WvW (zerging, not solo-roam)

you could prob just use solider + trooper runes in the meantime

My main set is berserker + traveler’s (Fractal, Solo-Roam, Dungeons, OpenWorld)
Zerging = solider+trooper

Natsu Dragneel.1625:

For PvE?

Either grab full berserker, or knights armour + berserker trinkets/weapons if you don’t think you could do well with full berserker. Use Scholar/strength runes if you can afford them, if not I heard that flame legion can be used as a very cheep alternative.

(see the stickied post by obal for the PvE DPS guide)

You really need multiple sets of armour if you plan on WvW’ing a well as PvE’ing, a set of soldiers would do well for WvW especially if you plan on zerging.

I do plan on getting multiple sets of armor eventually. Right now I need one armor while I experiment. Can you explain why scholar/strength runes? I’m looking for runes that won’t change make one playstyle far more attractive than another so I can make an unbiased decision.

Charak.9761:

Ascended armor would be for Berserker

But if you are looking to learn, then go with exotic Knight’s armour + Berserker trinkets for PvE and Solider armour for WvW (zerging, not solo-roam)

you could prob just use solider + trooper runes in the meantime

My main set is berserker + traveler’s (Fractal, Solo-Roam, Dungeons, OpenWorld)
Zerging = solider+trooper

Thanks, this was useful. How come knight’s over soldiers in pve?

Meiyeeer.2163:

Charak.9761:

Ascended armor would be for Berserker

But if you are looking to learn, then go with exotic Knight’s armour + Berserker trinkets for PvE and Solider armour for WvW (zerging, not solo-roam)

you could prob just use solider + trooper runes in the meantime

My main set is berserker + traveler’s (Fractal, Solo-Roam, Dungeons, OpenWorld)
Zerging = solider+trooper

Thanks, this was useful. How come knight’s over soldiers in pve?

you won’t need the vit in PvE, so the dps increase from pre stat is good. Guards get away with melee assault cause they can blind stomp with 3 traits into radiance, GS leap, and focus 4

Hmm, ok. I assume the extra vitality is for more survivability in wvw then. You mentioned trooper runes, why those instead of say, boon duration runes?

boon duration runes don’t exist anymore, they are minor

trooper for WvW, so you can combine it with pure of voice for double ccondi removal per shout

For PvE, you got ruby orbs, flame legion runes, scholar runes, strength runes, or travelers, depending on your budget