Guild Wars 2

There is a saying that if your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

Hammer is so awesome for the Guardian I have trouble not using it. With the correct traits, it has:
1. Up to 4 kinds of CC – knockback, immobilize, ward and chill
2. Two or more ways to heal you and allies while providing protection – if symbols heal allies along with altruistic healing. If you have rangers or necromancers in your party, you protect and heal their pets while making yourself nigh invincible.
3. High damage – hammers hit hard
4. Combo fields – Some of the best combo fields are with blasts, and the hammer has a blast (that is also is distance closer). You can get retaliation and spread it to nearby allies (healing you if you have altruistic healing), or wait between symbols and blast whatever field your allies have.
5. Some ranged capability – the range of hammer #3 is not bad, the symbol of protection has significant range and hammer #2 is not bad either.

Hammer does it all in one package: damage, control, support and synergy in melee or at range. The only problem? I really don’t know how to use certain weapons because it is so hard to not use a hammer. It is usually hammer + staff, hammer + scepter and focus, hammer + mace and focus, hammer + sword and torch, hammer + greatsword, etc.

Is there any weapon the guardian has that can match to utility and versatility of a hammer? I have not found one.

Depending on your field of play (PvE, WvW or sPvP) the shield is pretty nuts too. Cone protection and the AoE knockback that makes a Light combo field and busts to heal friendlies is godlike.

Well, the hammer has its use, but it’s far from my favourite weapon. I’ll take it in WvW, since all its abilities are more or less useful there, but in PvE, it will remain stored in my backpack unless I feel that my group is in dire need of the protection. The problem is pretty simple: Hammer gameplay feels so sluggish and is incredibly boring. [Autoattack for 7.5 s – MB]*n is a bad joke compared to the versatility of the greatsword.

I’m currently levelling a Guardian in WvW using Hammer/Staff.

At 54 now, I can wade into the thick of any fight and smash faces in a way that my 80 ele and 80 thief could only dream of.

It’s a blast! (pun intended)

I second that the Hammer is the most versatile ‘tool’ in our toolbox, but it shines above the rest in WvW and PVP, but loses to the Greatsword in PVE simply because it was designed to use against players and not AI, also #1 spam is boring like it was said by an earlier poster.

I love the possibilities of the Hammer, being able to control your opponents with the crowd control available is just amazing, just add a Scepter for ranged damage and a Shield for added buffing and CC and you’re unstoppable with the right group.

For a guardian the hammer really is a swiss army knife – highly versatile. Unfortunately it’s also a bit of a downside at the same time. With five slots there is only so much space for all those skills that it’s offensive strength had to be compressed into boring 1,1,1,2 and Symbol of Protection to be the only one that can’t be cast on demad which I find to be a letdown.