Guild Wars 2

FINALY! thank you ArenaNet after 2 years of playing this game I can finally use Shield/Sword cuz its so much worth it there are awesome shield skins to collect now

shield 5 does indeed seem promising

I think I’m going to move away from my Hammer guard and use an Aegis build with X/Shield. I’m excited.

this is a HUGE nerf in pve – and made shield from pretty useless to absolutly useless

where can I see these changes you speak of?

I’m not finding any pertinent dev posts in the forums.

NM.. found it on dulfy. my bad for not checking the web more thoroughly first.

its great that there at least tinkering with it now, but that change doesn’t look that great. its nice to be able to move but the duration is just over a second now? thats not really enough time to absorb anything.

Shield 4 got buffed. Shield 5 got nerfed.

All in all, we’ve gained zero ground on this. I’m glad we’re finally getting a block with our shield, but I was hoping for something better with the bubble.

Black Box.9312:

Shield 4 got buffed. Shield 5 got nerfed.

All in all, we’ve gained zero ground on this. I’m glad we’re finally getting a block with our shield, but I was hoping for something better with the bubble.

is shield 4 for sure buffed? all i saw in the notes was that they normalized the protection duration to 4 secs which is squat. I saw some claim it will also apply aegis, if thats true thats good.

even with the ability to move during shield 5 with such a huge cut in duration they better also reduced the cd by a significant amount.

i see a lot of confusing and contradicting infos
did shield 4 only get nerfed 1 second (pve) or did it gain additionally aegis?
shield 5 is now unrooted and is it 1.25 seconds or 4 seconds or 4 seconds channeling for 4 seconds of shield…im confused

yes, where are you people seeing this? link plz? i cant seem to find anything on it

rajule.8054:

Black Box.9312:

Shield 4 got buffed. Shield 5 got nerfed.

All in all, we’ve gained zero ground on this. I’m glad we’re finally getting a block with our shield, but I was hoping for something better with the bubble.

is shield 4 for sure buffed? all i saw in the notes was that they normalized the protection duration to 4 secs which is squat. I saw some claim it will also apply aegis, if thats true thats good.

even with the ability to move during shield 5 with such a huge cut in duration they better also reduced the cd by a significant amount.

Shield 4 better be granting aegis now. And shield 5 didn’t get a duration reduction. They just bumped up the channel to the full 4 second duration, proving that yet again they have no idea what the problem is.

Black Box.9312:

rajule.8054:

Black Box.9312:

Shield 4 got buffed. Shield 5 got nerfed.

All in all, we’ve gained zero ground on this. I’m glad we’re finally getting a block with our shield, but I was hoping for something better with the bubble.

is shield 4 for sure buffed? all i saw in the notes was that they normalized the protection duration to 4 secs which is squat. I saw some claim it will also apply aegis, if thats true thats good.

even with the ability to move during shield 5 with such a huge cut in duration they better also reduced the cd by a significant amount.

Shield 4 better be granting aegis now. And shield 5 didn’t get a duration reduction. They just bumped up the channel to the full 4 second duration, proving that yet again they have no idea what the problem is.

oh yeah.. I read that part backwards. so I guess it’ll be kind of like the warrior shield ability except it’ll just do projectiles outside the bubble instead of blocking everything.

Checking out the twitch stream video, shield skill 4 has 2 main changes, which are a duration normalization of 4 sec protection for all game modes, and the addition of a 4 sec aegis on top of it.
As for shield skill 5, it wasn’t entirely clear whether the duration increase applies to the channel or the bubble itself. All we know is that is that the bubble will be mobile.

Shield may turn out to be usefull now. As i understand it.

Shield 4: Grants 4 seconds of Protection and Aegis to allies and yourself in the cone.
This is a huge buff,
PvP Gained one second of protection and Aegis(Duration unclear).
PvE Lost one second of Protection and Gained Aegis(Duration unclear).

Both cases are a buff, a one second protection lost in exchange for Aegis is clearly more than enough as a tradeoff.

And for shield 5. As i’ve understand it had 1.25 seconds channel, and that is indeed what it felt like when used got turned into.
Shield 5: Absorb projectiles for up to four seconds or detonate it for some healing.

They never said the healing is removed as a detonation effect. They never said shield will knock back at the end of the channel so it should / will, still knock back at the start.
And we are no longer rooted while using skill 5 on shield, and that is awesome.

The trait is still bad, but hopefully they will look into that.

now how about adding mobility on zealots defense and faster projectiles.

rajule.8054:

oh yeah.. I read that part backwards. so I guess it’ll be kind of like the warrior shield ability except it’ll just do projectiles outside the bubble instead of blocking everything.

Better yet, it’s exactly like engi shield, except absorb instead of reflect, and heal instead of blast. Run around absorbing all the projectiles you need, then pop bubble when you’re done.

Ghotistyx.6942:

rajule.8054:

oh yeah.. I read that part backwards. so I guess it’ll be kind of like the warrior shield ability except it’ll just do projectiles outside the bubble instead of blocking everything.

Better yet, it’s exactly like engi shield, except absorb instead of reflect, and heal instead of blast. Run around absorbing all the projectiles you need, then pop bubble when you’re done.

wouldn’t it be cool if we lived in a world where the more projectiles you absorbed then the more bonus healing you’d get when you popped the bubble.

Ghotistyx.6942:

rajule.8054:

oh yeah.. I read that part backwards. so I guess it’ll be kind of like the warrior shield ability except it’ll just do projectiles outside the bubble instead of blocking everything.

Better yet, it’s exactly like engi shield, except absorb instead of reflect, and heal instead of blast. Run around absorbing all the projectiles you need, then pop bubble when you’re done.

Don’t forget the radius is HUGER for Guardian shield 5.
You are more easily to protect your allies than Engi can.

Plus shield 4 is such a HUGE buff. Very short CD Aegis works so well on some bosses.
It’s even great for PVP stomping, using shield 4 at the right time for your stomping allies.

Now finally Guardian has the best shield skills in the game after like, uhh, 3 years?

Aomine.5012:

Now finally Guardian has the best shield skills in the game after like, uhh, 3 years?

I like the changes – a lot – but don’t for a moment think that I wouldn’t swap even our freshly buffed shield for the Herald’s shield skills in the blink of an eye.

i believe the changes when i see them – in the past other changes have been promissed in live streams by over excited devs and were never implemented

Nemesis.6938:

i believe the changes when i see them – in the past other changes have been promissed in live streams by over excited devs and were never implemented

I know you must be talking about rangers..

Those “exciting changes” for spirits and traps.. Ah…

May I ask where the “aegis on shield 4” thing comes from? Checked the upcoming changes on dulfy and all it says about shield 4 is “will now apply 4s of Protection in both PvP and PvE (was 3s in PvP and 5s in PvE before)”. Did Dulfy miss something or is this aegis just another urban legend?

Nash.2681:

May I ask where the “aegis on shield 4” thing comes from? Checked the upcoming changes on dulfy and all it says about shield 4 is “will now apply 4s of Protection in both PvP and PvE (was 3s in PvP and 5s in PvE before)”. Did Dulfy miss something or is this aegis just another urban legend?

I believe Dulfy just missed the clarification on aegis. If you watch the video posted on the same skill balance page, the devs clearly state that shield skill 4 will have both 4 sec of protection and aegis.

as long as #5 still interrupts…

There are no aegis on shield so pls stop with this nonesense. They nerfed quickness. No buffs but only nerfs. “We are in a good spot” hype continues.

edit: weeeell I was wrong. But shield now will be tempting to use.

edit2: if this shield balance was your idea Irenio, pls balance us more!!!! We need you as our dev !!!

He’s JUST THE MESSENGER. Or did you think he’s abruptly been put in charge of all 8 professions because he was run out in front of the camera to talk about all 8 professions…

Nemesis.6938:

this is a HUGE nerf in pve – and made shield from pretty useless to absolutly useless

This is factually wrong.

Buff did you say?

How going from 5 seconds of Protection to 4 is a buff? Also the Shield #4 already was weak. No word about the useless trait of shield as well. This weapon will continue to gather dust.

What I understand from the stream, it will now apply Aegis instead of Protection. So isn’t a real buff. (might even be a heavy nerf)

Sadly, no words about useless traits and weak skills as well (Wrathful Spirit, Healer’s Retribution, Radiant Retaliation, Battle Presence, Hallowed Ground, Sanctuary, Merciful Intervention, Signet of Mercy, Spirit Weapons and Signet of Courage)

For those who missed it:
http://dulfy.net/2015/09/26/gw2-twitchcon-skill-balance-update-preview/

Shield of Judgment – will now apply 4s of Protection in both PvP and PvE.

• Many have asked for it, glad we got it.

Shield of Absorption – changed to 4s channel from 1.25s channel but in compensation we are no longer rooting you when you use this skill so you can move around with the bubble.

• Absolutely Needed It!!!

Feel my Wrath – increased the recharge from 30s to kitten . It was too strong.

• Indifferent! Maybe a WvW thing?? A Specialization Thing??

Save Yourselves! – Was split between PvP and PvE version, now we are using the PvE version across all modes.

• Needed It! Assuming this was a buff.. .. I don’t use the shout.. .. guess that’s why we needed it :P

I was watching the twitch stream when i saw the buff to shield and save yourself and i literally yelled kittening finally. I use feel my wrath a lot, the kitten recharge probably was needed cause I AA guys that stayed too close to me with impunity.

They still need to buff the shield trait though.

My recommendation is to combine the current shield trait with communal defenses into a single trait. Then fill in the gap with a new trait, or bring back one we lost.

Bear on the job.6273:

They still need to buff the shield trait though.

My recommendation is to combine the current shield trait with communal defenses into a single trait. Then fill in the gap with a new trait, or bring back one we lost.

My vote would be for the trait to cause shield skills to gain an additional effect.

4 could taunt enemies it hits & 5 could grant resistance to allies within the radius at the start.

The guardian could definitely use a taunt (its the only heavy armor prof without one) and what better to taunt with then a shield.

Ragnar the Rock.3174:

Bear on the job.6273:

They still need to buff the shield trait though.

My recommendation is to combine the current shield trait with communal defenses into a single trait. Then fill in the gap with a new trait, or bring back one we lost.

My vote would be for the trait to cause shield skills to gain an additional effect.

4 could taunt enemies it hits & 5 could grant resistance to allies within the radius at the start.

The guardian could definitely use a taunt (its the only heavy armor prof without one) and what better to taunt with then a shield.

This. If they want to make it a channel then something like this is what needs to happen which is what a lot of us reccomended for so long.

But, why would I want to pull people into my bubble, after I just knocked them back, and when it only blocks projectiles?

Saiyan.1704:

For those who missed it:
http://dulfy.net/2015/09/26/gw2-twitchcon-skill-balance-update-preview/

Shield of Judgment – will now apply 4s of Protection in both PvP and PvE.

• Many have asked for it, glad we got it.

Shield of Absorption – changed to 4s channel from 1.25s channel but in compensation we are no longer rooting you when you use this skill so you can move around with the bubble.

• Absolutely Needed It!!!

Feel my Wrath – increased the recharge from 30s to kitten . It was too strong.

• Indifferent! Maybe a WvW thing?? A Specialization Thing??

Save Yourselves! – Was split between PvP and PvE version, now we are using the PvE version across all modes.

• Needed It! Assuming this was a buff.. .. I don’t use the shout.. .. guess that’s why we needed it :P

FMW was the best PVE Elite ever. with 5 guards you could have 100% quickness uptime in dungeons. Even with a single guards it would mean 5 secs of quickness for every single boss encounter because the cooldown was so low unlike TW.

I might sound greedy… but does anybody else feel that they should consider merging Communal Defense and Stalwart Defender? With the recent addition to Shield#4 I see even less reason to run the Shield trait.

It’s… beautiful!

I do have a slight concern about Shield of Judgement though.

Don’t get me wrong, a short duration block was exactly what the guardian shield needed and I am more than happy that it was finally added.

But thinking in PvE tems, a short duration block like that is most useful to react to a telegraphed attack. That usually leaves you with a very short reaction window though. And a 1/2 second cast makes the Shield of Judgement not entirely feasible for that task.
I would propose to reduce the cast time to 1/4 of a second or even remove it entirely. The latter might prove too strong though, which is why I included the 1/4 second suggestion.

step in the right direction!
now: let us turn off aegis effect kittening up all shield skins!
@xaylin – would be nice, but we cant expect too much
at least shield update itself gives guardian more than whole upcoming ‘elite’ spec

I actually might consider using shield instead of focus for something other than Triple Trouble now.

using shield + mace today with shield trait

works really nice actually, works nicer than focus currently.

you know what’s next? fixing the goda$$#%$ sword AA#3 so that it actually hits.

I dunno about you guys, but I logged in, rubbed my shield all over my face, pressed 4 and 5 multiple times and said to myself “we soooo deserve thisssss” …. no…. just me? >_>

I took the new shield for a spin while roaming as a med guard. If you take zeal (for shattered aegis) and are rollin with a party, shield is extremely useful, and actually puts out decent dps due to shattered aegis. The mobile projectile bubble is great for escaping and helping allies escape

Very happy with the shield; it’s a step in the right direction. It could still use some tweaks here and there, but we’ll get to that in time.

In terms of “fixing” shield, I think the next place we should turn our attention to is the trait. It’s honestly not very useful, and is redundant considering shields already provide additional toughness.

Arcaedus.7290:

I dunno about you guys, but I logged in, rubbed my shield all over my face, pressed 4 and 5 multiple times and said to myself “we soooo deserve thisssss” …. no…. just me? >_>

Nah I did the same thing, spent like 30 mins running around spamming #5

Arcaedus.7290:

I dunno about you guys, but I logged in, rubbed my shield all over my face, pressed 4 and 5 multiple times and said to myself “we soooo deserve thisssss” …. no…. just me? >_>

My shield just filed for a restraining order, so no, you’re not alone.

Very happy with the shield; it’s a step in the right direction. It could still use some tweaks here and there, but we’ll get to that in time.

In terms of “fixing” shield, I think the next place we should turn our attention to is the trait. It’s honestly not very useful, and is redundant considering shields already provide additional toughness.

Yeah, agreed: the trait needs some attention. Only Item left I want for the Shield itself is 900 range on #4. That would let you pull some mad-skill saves on allies from the rear line.

Arcaedus.7290:

In terms of “fixing” shield, I think the next place we should turn our attention to is the trait. It’s honestly not very useful, and is redundant considering shields already provide additional toughness.

I agree. It seems the devs were a bit hesitant to approach Guardian traits with this patch. I think the changes are a step in the right direction (even if the Wrath nerf hurts a little), but it still feels like too little too infrequently.

We’re getting there slowly but surely it seems. Here’s hoping we see some tweaks to our more useless traits (I’m looking at you Binding Jeopardy, pretty much every Retaliation trait outside of Virtues, Glacial Heart, Strength in Numbers and Stalwart Defender).

Silberfisch.3046:

I do have a slight concern about Shield of Judgement though.

Don’t get me wrong, a short duration block was exactly what the guardian shield needed and I am more than happy that it was finally added.

But thinking in PvE tems, a short duration block like that is most useful to react to a telegraphed attack. That usually leaves you with a very short reaction window though. And a 1/2 second cast makes the Shield of Judgement not entirely feasible for that task.
I would propose to reduce the cast time to 1/4 of a second or even remove it entirely. The latter might prove too strong though, which is why I included the 1/4 second suggestion.

I would keep the cast on 1/2 second, but have the aegis on yourself be insta cast and then spread it to your allies.

Loving the shield now though :P

Shield is awsome now. What little change what great joy. Burn guard with sinister and shattered aegis … Right timing in SW VW event…. 4 aoe x 5 targets 10+ Cascading aoe burns … Combat log overheating.

First i thought the duration of the aegis is to Low. It would geht op fast if it was longer …

This change brought us a build option for condi and dps builds. Adding wrathful Spirit and AH on a 16 sec CD is somerhing worthwhile. CD reduction trait is now awsome. Yes thoughness is Kinda redundant. Remote it and add 3 sec resist boon. Shield will be best in Slot.

All we need now is some resistance and regen on shield and it’ll be even better

I’ve been having a lot of fun with an Aegis build with the shield in PvP. Loving the Shield #4 buff.

Arcaedus.7290:

I dunno about you guys, but I logged in, rubbed my shield all over my face, pressed 4 and 5 multiple times and said to myself “we soooo deserve thisssss” …. no…. just me? >_>

I took the new shield for a spin while roaming as a med guard. If you take zeal (for shattered aegis) and are rollin with a party, shield is extremely useful, and actually puts out decent dps due to shattered aegis. The mobile projectile bubble is great for escaping and helping allies escape

Very happy with the shield; it’s a step in the right direction. It could still use some tweaks here and there, but we’ll get to that in time.

Awesome! That’s exactly what I’m gonna do tomorrow (didn’t have time to play today). :P

Though I’m not dusting it off, since it was already strapped to my main’s arm since headstart. Yes, I’m one of those stubborn ones haha. While for competitive stuff I dutifully took a focus (sometimes), whenever I could get away with it I ran around with my shield, since come on, nothing looks and feels more like a guardian than sword/shield!

And now I will do the same everywhere, cackling maniacally, and it will be actually useful omg, I rejoice this change.

If I didn’t live in the EU and had advanced equipment for this, I’d bake them a glorious shield shaped cake with little dancing knight shaped figurines on it. :P