Guild Wars 2

Does anyone know of a Sword/torch burning build that is any good? Primarily for Pve? Would such a build be viable?

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQRAsf5dlYgiDnGyNEfIFRuArHEEh+DXw1DI6wGC

I used something like this all the way to 80. Swap out JI for wall of reflection if you need to.

Okay, here’s my tirade against the Sword/Torch combo.

With two-handed weapons, you get a nice mix of offense and utility. You only really need one skill to be the “this deals the damage” skill.

Now, both Sword and Torch are offensive weapons. In turn, this gives you a purely offensive setup. Look at cleansing flames and compare it to the basic Sword 1. Cleansing Flames deals just about the same damage, over a slightly longer time, with a 15 second cooldown. The only difference with it is that it has a cone based AoE. Personally, this is not enough to sell the sword/torch combo to me. There’s nothing beneficial to come out of it. Its just offense. When I use a sword in pvp, I pair it with a focus. Focus 5 helps eliminate bursts against me, and Focus 4 helps cause a bit of chaos and also mitigate bursts. If I used a torch, I’d have very little defense against a burst warrior or thief.

But since we’re talking pve, It can still be useful, but just not that much. The 15 second CD is the killer here.

Cleansing Flame deals low damage compared to Sword 1, but it’s not that much lower and it hits a wider area with greater range. And it removes conditions from friends, take that Staff Necros! But really, all our off-hands just kind of sit there doing nothing, because of the long cooldowns. The best option is to use them all, swap to the other set and keep fighting. That’s why I use Sword+Shield in my “main” set, just because Shield at least gives you a bit of Toughness and quick on-demand interrupt.

By the way, Zealot’s Fire is pretty kitten good. It crits for around 5k and applies lengthy Burning, but then… yeah, it just sits there. Get Scepter+Torch, use Chains of Light and Zealot’s Fire, swap to Sword+Shield and start whacking them, that’s better than just running Sword+Torch.

The same stands for PvE, except I’d rather use Hammer or GS there, maybe Mace+Focus for tough fights. Torch is just a bit of damage, meh.

The sword/torch works pretty good. Like most people I prefer a gs/hammer as it kills faster, but teamed with a mace/focus its pretty good.

For sure viable! I use GS/sword torch in pvp all the time, sometimes changing the sword to scepter. In pve I would say that’s actually what you should do, go from sword torch to scepter torch. If you use a combination burning and crit build, it’s pretty unreal the damage it can do. Start a fight by activating your torch 4, scepter 3 for vulnerability and to root your target, torch 4 again to get some dmg and burning then scepter 2 for massive damage and more burning procs then as they come towards you torch 5. The scepter 2 cool down is shorter than sword cool downs as well so you can keep you damage out put higher while playing from safer distances.

Kita.7819:

Now, both Sword and Torch are offensive weapons. In turn, this gives you a purely offensive setup. Look at cleansing flames and compare it to the basic Sword 1. Cleansing Flames deals just about the same damage, over a slightly longer time, with a 15 second cooldown. The only difference with it is that it has a cone based AoE. Personally, this is not enough to sell the sword/torch combo to me. There’s nothing beneficial to come out of it. Its just offense. When I use a sword in pvp, I pair it with a focus. Focus 5 helps eliminate bursts against me, and Focus 4 helps cause a bit of chaos and also mitigate bursts. If I used a torch, I’d have very little defense against a burst warrior or thief.

I don’t see how “does only damage” is always a bad thing. Sometimes that’s all you want to do. Sometimes you just want to burn things and make them die. I’m sure Necromancers or Thieves (or whatever) use weapon combination that do “only” damage.
And you still have the second weapon-set to complement Sword/Torch.

Kita.7819:

Okay, here’s my tirade against the Sword/Torch combo.

With two-handed weapons, you get a nice mix of offense and utility. You only really need one skill to be the “this deals the damage” skill.

Now, both Sword and Torch are offensive weapons. In turn, this gives you a purely offensive setup. Look at cleansing flames and compare it to the basic Sword 1. Cleansing Flames deals just about the same damage, over a slightly longer time, with a 15 second cooldown. The only difference with it is that it has a cone based AoE. Personally, this is not enough to sell the sword/torch combo to me. There’s nothing beneficial to come out of it. Its just offense. When I use a sword in pvp, I pair it with a focus. Focus 5 helps eliminate bursts against me, and Focus 4 helps cause a bit of chaos and also mitigate bursts. If I used a torch, I’d have very little defense against a burst warrior or thief.

But since we’re talking pve, It can still be useful, but just not that much. The 15 second CD is the killer here.

I would also just like to point out that the sword/torch is pretty far from just offensive… You have a gap closer+blind that can get you away from trouble like a hb frenzy warrior, you have a ranged attack block that does dmg plus removes conditions. You have great aoe dmg and well as aoe team condition removal. Let’s not forget after all that this is a team game, and the more teammates you have alive the less likely you are to die and the more damage you can all out put.

Ynna.8769:

Kita.7819:

Now, both Sword and Torch are offensive weapons. In turn, this gives you a purely offensive setup. Look at cleansing flames and compare it to the basic Sword 1. Cleansing Flames deals just about the same damage, over a slightly longer time, with a 15 second cooldown. The only difference with it is that it has a cone based AoE. Personally, this is not enough to sell the sword/torch combo to me. There’s nothing beneficial to come out of it. Its just offense. When I use a sword in pvp, I pair it with a focus. Focus 5 helps eliminate bursts against me, and Focus 4 helps cause a bit of chaos and also mitigate bursts. If I used a torch, I’d have very little defense against a burst warrior or thief.

I don’t see how “does only damage” is always a bad thing. Sometimes that’s all you want to do. Sometimes you just want to burn things and make them die. I’m sure Necromancers or Thieves (or whatever) use weapon combination that do “only” damage.
And you still have the second weapon-set to complement Sword/Torch.

Just because you have more damage options does not mean you are dealing more damage. Its the same reason why thieves drop so fast. They only focus on offense. If you go sword/torch, where’s your stuns or immobilizes? Where’s your control? What can you do if you can’t reach the enemy?

Kita.7819:

Just because you have more damage options does not mean you are dealing more damage. Its the same reason why thieves drop so fast. They only focus on offense. If you go sword/torch, where’s your stuns or immobilizes? Where’s your control? What can you do if you can’t reach the enemy?

I don’t want to sound condescending, but you know what abilities the Sword has, right? There’s a way to reach the enemy build in. It also has a blind, which is something I consider either control or support. My stuns and immobilizes are in my Utilities and my other weapon. Do you think the Mace is a bad weapon because it doesn’t provide a gap-closer and a stun?

Flashing blade has a 12 second cooldown and is useful in combat. If you’re saving it just to catch enemies, you’re wasting utility.

Mace is different. With Mace, you have moves that can heal yourself and give you protection. It allows more survivability so that you can get off more damage with your torch. By this logic, you can say the shield is total garbage since it lacks decent power. But that’s not why I jump into fights wielding scepter and shield. Knocking someone off of the clocktower wastes precious time for them. It can turn a 2v1 into two 1v1s. No extra damage involved. Just utility.

For the mace do give out any decent heal tho, you have to stand in the little circle and should have some points into healing. If you’re a pvp damage spec, these are both things you can’t afford to do. Not to mention that if you do stand in the circle and get some small heals you’re going to be taking more damage as an easy target, but more importantly your going to put out little to no damage. The sword affords you two ways to mitigate damage completely as well as gives you some more offense. In the great game race of who’s health numbers hit 0 first, in pvp for a damage oriented build, my money is still on sword of mace.

Eleazyair.5716:

Does anyone know of a Sword/torch burning build that is any good? Primarily for Pve? Would such a build be viable?

Yes, a sword+torch burning build is viable. It won’t have the survivability of other builds in most situations, but it will get you through most PvE content and is really fun.

However, don’t forget that you have another weapon set that you can switch to. I have to suggest using a mace+torch / sword+focus build. I use one sometimes, and I’m constantly swapping sets to gain the benefits of every weapon.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQRAsf5dlYgiD3GSNEm4EhNDAGQ8DV86BEjYDB

All sorts of combos can be used with a build with 4/5 instant skills, and numerous blocks, blinds, etc. The traits are also pretty flexible as well with the ability of adding more offense or defense as necessary. Although, this is a pretty selfish build that doesn’t provide much benefits to a party.

Sword + torch is great for when you’re able to kite the enemy or mob, since 4 out of the 5 skills on your bar are useful on the move (and the 2 skill is ranged and blocks ranged, which is nice for when you want to keep up dps out of melee). Since you can move a lot, you don’t have to take as much damage, so the mobility is a kind of defense.

i’m also starting a new guardian with sword/torch but i’m gonna use staff as the alternate and build a altruistic healing build with 0/20/30/20/0 with empowering might and focus of precision and condition damage cuz i noticed torch 5 triggers virtue of justice twice over its duration, spreading burning to everything in the area sword 1 is pretty cool with its 2 slash and 3rd cone attack giving a wider field of attack , sword 2 is a nice gap closer with added blind so it works as a kind of interrupt against mobs, sword 3 is nice against mobs that do those multihit ranged attacks + you throw your own sword of light/mistfire (activating virtue of justice once or twice depending on the rotation) whatever those are are it if youre near enuf and torch 4 is nice to activate and wade into a bunch of em before jumping out switching to staff and healing with staff 4 and 5 to keep em away so thats what my plan for this guard of mine is gonna be, utilities would most likely be shouts for support with maybe a meditation or consecration skill ( signet of judgement is nice for open world pve) depending on the situation. Not quite sure what my elite and healing will be though

playstyle would include alot of kiting, keeping track on what others are doing, and using sword 2 and 3 situationally( is there such a word?) with shouts being the group buff and oh kitten button
with this build i’m hoping to overcome the sheer offensiveness of the weapon set with self healing and constant condition renewal(both passive and active) to keep myself alive to stay in the frontlines where it can shine

Kita.7819:

Flashing blade has a 12 second cooldown and is useful in combat. If you’re saving it just to catch enemies, you’re wasting utility.

Just for the sake of accuracy, FB is a 10 second cooldown. It is certainly a skill with potential beyond a mere gap closer, but I have to say that it does close gaps extremely well, and this isn’t a function you should be ignoring if you want to get the most out of the 1h Sword. The 1h Sword isn’t going to be doing much when you’re at a distance, and FB automatically gives you the initiative when you use it – your opponent has to react to the fact that you just instantly put yourself into a much more aggressive position, and the blind limits their ability to react. It’s an awesome pressure tool in this way. Most fights will last more than 10 seconds, so you’ll still have plenty of opportunities to use FB for pure disruption during the same battle, and the chance to start every fight in such a powerful way is too good to pass up.

Also, I’ll say that I’m not personally a fan of the Sword/Torch combination, but I think you’re missing the main point of using the two together. Cleansing Flame isn’t really a factor – Zealot’s Flame is the draw here. ZF is unique in that it allows you to keep nearby opponents consistently burning. This is good for putting pressure on opponents, but more importantly, it will activate the traits Fiery Wrath and Radiant Power, boosting your damage output by 20% when your opponent is burning. Add the Powerful Blades trait to the mix, and you’ve got a staggering 25% damage boost on your 1h Sword skills before any other buffs are factored in. Zealot’s Fire, the follow-up to Zealot’s Flame, will also benefit greatly from the 20% damage boost, and on top of that, you’ve got the damage from the actual burning condition. Should the burning be cleansed or run out, you can fill in with Virtue of Justice until ZF is ready to go again. In this way, the 1h Sword/Torch offers what may very well be the highest spike/sustained damage available to the Guardian, and that’s the real incentive behind taking the set. To address your concerns about the set being very damage-focused at the cost of control, consider that you’ve still got a second weapon set and a full bar of utilities to work with. The Scepter’s Chains of Light seem like a good match, Hammer and GS have a few different skills that could help, and the Guardian still has CC utilities like Bane Signet/Signet of Wrath and (if you’re feeling daring) the Spirit Sword/Hammer. These are all just possibilities, of course – I’m not necessarily recommending or discouraging any of them.

That said, I’m also a Sword/Focus guy. I’ll accept the lower damage in exchange for tremendous defensive power, excellent utility, and incredible synergy between skills. For PvE, though, I think Sword/Torch is fine, and I’m not going to write it off for more casual PvP, either. I think it’d be a shaky option in competitive play, but perhaps there’s someone out there who can prove me wrong.

I use the sword/torch combo in PvP. It is the most offensive setup you can achieve with the Guardian. I combine that combo with burning skills. It is ridiculous how much dps I put out. I use a hammer for my offhand. The hammer has the best CCs by far.

I used the GS for a while. It doesn’t have the range that I am looking for.

For PvE and WvW, I use scepter and torch. I hate the scepter, but it has 1200 range.

TLDR: Torch is the highest amount of DPS that you can get on a Guardian. Use it.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQRAsf7dlYg67mFyKEf4Eh1DCiQ/VVIeYPwI87IA

Is the only way. I’m no fan of the Sword & Torch too, but 15% one hand crit means bringing a good sigil to trigger often. Since I forgo Altruistic Healing, I’m just gonna go with Sigil of Blood for lifestealing.

Swap to Scepter for Ranged and Focus to avoid burst dmg. Notice that this setup is used for ‘retreating’ when you took a big hit and healing isn’t forthcoming. Focus Shield will absorb 3 blows before breaking, enough time to gather that lost HP back with your shouts. Sigil of Blood on Scepter & Leeching on Focus should help out in recovering stage.

The three shouts are used primarily as such:
Save Yourselves: Dps booster, Damage reduction, Regeneration all in one. Have this up when you start engagement.
Hold the Line: Healing & Damage Reduction. Use this when you start taking damage.
Stand your ground: Use this as stun breaker and stability when you’re knocked down. The Retaliation is just gravy.

What I hate most of this build is Zealot Defense planting your feet on the ground. And Sword #2 not being much use in boss fights. Sure, the Torch #4 will let you keep the target burning, but for condition damage, I rather play Necro, Elementalist or other classes that have more than one source of Condition.

Good luck. I don’t think I’ll revisit this build any time soon.

Some replies on sPvP usage is laughable. Yeah, I’m sure this guy can pull off that sort of numbers without getting flattened in Dungeons with Sword & Torch.
Too much risk, too little reward is what I’d call this setup.

Guardian isn’t about burst DPS nor highest sustained DPS. Other classes can do better. See your profession icon? It’s a shield.

The nice thing about the 1h sword is its fast attack speed, along with its #3 skill, can proc burning every 4th attack quite a few times over a short duration. Torch #4 is great because it deals a nice aoe burning that lasts a long time. Consider an offset with focus for added defense/utility without sacrificing your sword. The way I’m traited (0/30/0/10/30), focus giving me another blind works nice for survivability but also cuz each blind is also vulnerability. In PvE I never die because I’m constantly blinding, retaliation, burning, vulnerabilty…
Also, since the sword/torch wep set is 100% offensive, my utilities are 100% defensive. The balance is nice because in PvE I don’t need constant defensive spamming, just a “Hold The Line” or “Save Yourselves” occassionally.