Guild Wars 2

I posted a suggestion last night after reading a post in another thread here and it got me thinking, should shield 5 and focus 5 swap positions?.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/suggestions/Guardian-Swap-Shield-skill-5-with-Focus-skill-5

Think about it for a second, focus 5 is a skill that blocks like a shield 3 times or explodes if it doesn’t and it has a visual effect that has big shields appear around you, it’s clearly primarily based around close combat (like a shield). Now take shield 5, it pushes people away from you to put them into range and blocks projectiles using a magic bubble (like a focus would do).

Now is it just me or does it seem like focus 4 and shield 5 go better together, and the same goes with shield 4 and focus 5?.

What do other guardians think?, i love the sword/shield look – but more often than not i’ll take the focus as my shield as it acts like a better shield than the shield does.

yea, they really should. a shield should block, a magic item should put up a magic buble.

Yeah it would make more sense. Would love to see an option of upgrading it too, so that it heals you for a % of the damage it absorbs before being destroyed.

I like the focus. Maybe they should swap both powers.

I would like the option to move abilities between weapons, that would make the game more interesting.

I dont say swap, but it does makes much more sense a shield be able to block than a focus.
I’d keep 5 as it is (really unique) but would add it as either the effect of making an impassable bubble (maybe too OP), or change 4 that instead of adding protection, would let you block the next few attacks. Make is channeled.

Swapping those 5’s makes sense at first, but it can create some unintentional side-effects that may not be desirable. For example: shield 5 is the “heal” on the shield, with the dome explosion. If you swap that with focus 5, then focus has two abilities that have a healing component. This would solidify it as the off-hand to pair with mace (the healing main-hand) since it would give you a whopping four out of five weapon skills that provide some form of healing! Not to mention, I don’t think this cuts at the core of the problem, which is shield 5 not being very generally useful. Having it on a ranged weapon would make more sense, but I’m not sure it’ll create the situation we want.

I’d rather they just changed shield 5 entirely, because it’s not a very good ability to have on a weapon. Would be great for a utility, but not a weapon skill.

Grakor.3450:

it would give you a whopping four out of five weapon skills that provide some form of healing!

But really, not really. I mean, 300 healing isn’t really cutting it when you’re taking thousands and thousands of damage anyway.

Yeah, I suggested this in a thread a few weeks ago. The shield really needs a block, and it just feels like those two skills should be swapped anyway.

Svarty.8019:

But really, not really. I mean, 300 healing isn’t really cutting it when you’re taking thousands and thousands of damage anyway.

“300” is hyperbole. Let’s avoid trying to make the numbers sound worse than they actually are.

Regardless, arguing healing numbers isn’t the point. The point is that it provides too many healing skills on one bar, and the heals would have to be balanced with that in mind. It wouldn’t really provide any benefit, for one. For two, it would make shield a really awkward pairing with mace, due to the lack of heals (Honor builds would always go focus for the healing.) Right now, it’s clear that they intended for shield to be paired with mace in general theme. The problem is the execution of that idea, and it’s all because of the awkward 5 on the shield. Shifting it to focus 5 wouldn’t help, it’d just move the problem.

I still disagree. The shield is there for protecting a group, not the Guardian alone. If someone has a suggestion to improve Shield 5, I’m all ears, but not a skill meant for personal defense only.

SuperLuigi.3720:

I still disagree. The shield is there for protecting a group, not the Guardian alone. If someone has a suggestion to improve Shield 5, I’m all ears, but not a skill meant for personal defense only.

See the reason i suggested it as is, is because one of the things i expect Anet not to do at this moment is remake/design new skills – the swap makes more sence than what it is now (IMO) and should be very easy to do (basically just swaping 2 skills around).

Also, with the focus having shield 5 it would have 2 moves that protect the group in different ways, focus 4 is a move that grants regenration and removes conditions on group members up to 1200 range away and with shield 5 you have a move that’s designed to help group members close to you . This way if you wanted to go “protect the group mode” you’d use a focus and if you wanted to go personal defense and a bit of protect the group you’d use a shield – seeing as a shield is a personal defense item (basically what shields are for) it just makes much more sence (IMO).
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However i do agree with grakor that the main core of the issue is shield 5 is just not that great (and it really doesn’t fit with a shield at all). Having a shield should provide some sort of block skill, i picked focus 5 as the swap suggestion as it’s the one that makes the most sence for both off hands.
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As suggested in the other forum though, a good place holder would be to simply swap both 4&5 on each, so the shield would have focus 4&5 and the focus would have shield 4&5. Basically nothing at all would change skill wise and people would still use the exact same builds, BUT the shield would have a blocking skill that suits a shield better.

Doing this would only create a visual change – in that you’d have the same focus 4&5 skills BUT you’d have a shield equpped, and that you’d have the same shield 4&5 skills BUT you’d have a focus equpped.

Give me the option to transmutate my focus into a killer looking shield and i’d me more than happy though.

Svarty.8019:

I like the focus. Maybe they should swap both powers.

I would like the option to move abilities between weapons, that would make the game more interesting.

I had an idea before where transmuting would work on not just weapon types but weapon location too. Meaning, a two handed weapon can take on the shape of any two handed weapon, offhanded weapons take on the form of all offhanded weapons. You’d have to work out which animation to use, but for the most part if you wanted to use a staff like a two handed sword or a focus like a shield you could.

NO. Absolutely no. Shield is group defense. Focus is personal defense with some offense. Swapping the #5 ability dilutes both weapons.

I wouldn’t say swap at this point. The bubble is a def ability. As the 3 hit block/exp could be used offensive and does decent damage. I do wish the shield #4 also provided an interrupt or knockdown. The animation is even that of a shield bash type swing. I feel this would just go along even more with a def item like a shield. Having a way to stop channeling. Granted the bubble can move targets back but they just slide back. No knockdown or anything. Also the damage it does for the CD time isn’t that great and the protection granted is cone? why not AOE? I feel like many times I have to run around everything to get allies and enemies in the target cone, or just choose one or the other if I want to apply protection or hit for the small damage it does.

Exedore.6320:

NO. Absolutely no. Shield is group defense. Focus is personal defense with some offense. Swapping the #5 ability dilutes both weapons.

Yet the focus has a group defence skill, it makes no sence that a shield (a personel defence weapon) is a group defence weapon. You say the focus is for personel defence YET that’s exactly what a shield is for, you don’t use shields for group defense – you use them for personel defense.

Swapping 5 on both makes the focus a group defence weapon (2 skills which aid the group) and makes the shield primailly a personel defense weapon (by giving it a skill which blocks 3 times) with some group defence.
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As posted then, how would you feel about making both skills move so the shield at least gets the block skill?, nothing would be changed skills wise (the same skills would be on each – just slighty reworded) but the shield would actully get the blocking skill so it looks correct.

So a Shield would have.
Ray of Judgment (renamed shielding ray of judgment).
Create a shielding ray over foes and allies. Foes are damaged and blinded. Allies gain regeneration and cure one condition (reworded 1st part to fit the shield).

Shield of Wrath.
Create a shield to block the next three attacks. If the shield is not destroyed, it explodes and damages nearby foes.
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And a Focus would have.
Shield of Judgment (renamed Wave of judgment).
Pass a wave in front of you that damages foes and gives protection to yourself and up to five allies (reworded 1st part to fit the focus).

Shield of Absorption (renamed dome of absorbtion).
Create a dome around you that pushes foes back and absorbs projectiles.
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Reworded to make sense for the weapons, but exactly the same skills on the weapons.

I would prefer the 4 protection buff be switched with a version of the focus 5 that has an aoe effect. But for some reason alot of people think that reducing damage by 1/3 for 5 seconds is way better then getting 3 complete blocks over 5 seconds.

I’m with Exedore on this. For a Guardian, the Shield should represent protection. Not personal protection, because that’s not what the Guardian stands for. The Guardian protects his allies.

How exactly is an aoe block personal protection? Would function juat as the protection buff does bit would block damage instead and hit whoever is close to the player. If blocking damage for your party or nearby players isn`t protecting them from harm then I don`t know what is.

I said that the Shield should not represent personal protection. The Shield, as a piece of equipment, symbolizes the core beliefs of a Guardian and one of those belief is that the life of your allies comes before that of your own.

I really fail to see your way of thinking. What does an aoe block or aoe prot have to do with beliefs? One blocks damage , one reduces it. Both protect allies as well as yourself. You can still use protection on yourself when there aren`t any other players around.

If someone takes a swing at you, and I put my shield inbetween you and the swing. Do you still get hurt? Did I not just protect you from harm?

No, Melchor, the Focus does not have a group defense skill. It has a skill that CAN affect multiple party members, but that skill is an attack that requires an enemy to target if you want to use at all. Meanwhile, both shield skills are more than capable of aiding in the defense of an entire group.

If I had to suggest a fix for Shield 5, it would be a skill that grants Aegis and Retaliation to everyone around you for 5s, while the knockback component gets moved to Shield 4 in place of the damage component. But, I’m not even going to pretend to know whether or not that would be balanced.

EDIT: That being said, I don’t have any particular problems with Shield 5 as is. But it seems like all the variations of shield <→ focus threads stem from people not liking shield 5.

hey don’t nerf my focus!

If I were changing shield 5, I’d simply change it in a few ways, all or a couple of these:

1. Remove the detonate, and have the shield provide its healing upon being raised.

2. Provide an Aegis buff to all allies in the area who get affected by the heal.

3. Have damage dealt to any enemies that get hit with the shield when it comes up (in other words, those that would also get hit with the knock-back.)

Shield 5 isn’t impossible to salvage, but it does need some changes.

No need to swap.
Shield means “party protection”.
If you change the skill, you stop to protect your party cause 5° focus protect just you.

In my opinion, the first things to do should be fix the shield bug.
Some times the foe (npc and players) are not pushed back… and this is bad. :\

The second things to do is add a regen uder the shield 5° skill protection.

The third things is create a traits that increase the skills duration.

They should swap both skills on both weapons. Aesthetically, it makes more sense that a shield would block attacks, absorbing projectiles doesn’t count as blocking.

However, I don’t think just swapping the skills is enough, they need to move some traits around. Why do we get a ton of blocking traits in the Valor line when the shield doesn’t block anything? Currently, the shield trait would fit better in the Honor line with the boon traits and healing. Why is the focus trait in the Zeal line when it would gain the most from being in the Valor line?

I hope this isn’t Anet’s way of balancing the class by throwing our traits around everywhere, because that method is just lazy and results in our trait lines and weapon skills being inconsistent.

I use both off-hands regularly and like their skills, but I’ve always felt that the two should be switched. Although I like the look of the shield, so I’ll use that the most regardless.