Guild Wars 2

So, isent it ironic that guardians iconic weapon Shield (also used as profession icon in this very forum) is used by practiclly no one?
At the same time, guardians are looking forward to using longbow, and rangers are going full melee.

I think the problem is that the shield is designed as a back line weapon, while Guards tend to play more front line. There have been a lot of threads about it since the trait change, and many are suggesting changes to make it more frontline oriented where the toughenss bonus actually means something.

If the new WvW borderland maps are as vertical as I think they will be, I’ll give it a new chance there

Vikkela.7261:

If the new WvW borderland maps are as vertical as I think they will be, I’ll give it a new chance there

So another niche weapon. Am I right?

Damage modifier aside, which still isn’t as powerful as other weapons currently, other will have more fun. Pointing to Necro’s and Rangers. And yes, I will at times swap to shield when I’m on maps like Skyhammer (shield and hammer) or trolling on the Mist WvW map.

Crapgame.6519:

So another niche weapon. Am I right?

Pretty much, yeah… I still want to give it a chance. Having less boon duration with the #4 now after patch annoys me a great deal though

Honestly they could improve the shield allot without losing the knock back that keeps it nice in very niche situations.

Just do the following changes

1: Make number 4 a AOE centered on the guardian that grants protection to allies and damages foes.

2: Make number 5 an AOE centered on the guardian that grants AEGIS to allies and knocks back foes.

3: Change the trait so that it reduces shield CD and either Taunts enemies struck with the shield for 3 seconds or grants nearby allies 3 seconds of resistance when you use a shield skill.

Bam problem solved.

On the subject of shields; Someone suggested adding Weakness to Shield4. Its actually not a bad idea, since Glancing blow does 50% damage and can’t crit. Combined with the flat 33% reduction from Protection, and weakness’s low priority on cleanse, that can seriously drop the DPS of any melee flanker caught in the wave.

Which got me thinking about what other soft conditions could be paired with boons to amplify their effect?

cripple and swiftness

guardian underwater is cripple master

starlinvf.1358:

On the subject of shields; Someone suggested adding Weakness to Shield4. Its actually not a bad idea, since Glancing blow does 50% damage and can’t crit. Combined with the flat 33% reduction from Protection, and weakness’s low priority on cleanse, that can seriously drop the DPS of any melee flanker caught in the wave.

Which got me thinking about what other soft conditions could be paired with boons to amplify their effect?

I used to do this with my guardian. Signet of judgement and Radiation field, then blast the poison field with a hammer. Very tanky, but not too useful in prolonged fights.