Guild Wars 2

With all the zerg actions these days in WvW, how do you Guardians deal with the massive amount of ranged combat? I play a Mesmer as my main and so most of the time, I just sit back in the group and toss out damage with the GS but as a Guardian, are you not forced to either provide defensive support or charge into the enemy group?

I only ask because I was playing around with my level 32 Guardian yesterday during a zerg and didn’t have a clue as to what my role should be.

If your not in a guild your best bet would be to find a front line commander and stick with them. This can be tricky depending on what server you are on as a lot of commanders don’t run organized groups.
Don’t charge into enemy groups by yourself. Push when your side pushes, fall back when your side falls back. Make sure you’re running stand your ground as CC can be death to a melee train.

If there are no organized groups around when you play then a guardian is not the best choice. They can feel really lacking when your in an unorganized zerg.

I think that charging into the group and laying down some mayhem is what we do best and can be really fun. With all our survival possibilities you can usually get out again alive. You will need to time your assault with what your commander is doing, this can take some practice.
You will also need good condition removal (I have full Lyssa runes for this)

FinalPatriot.8034:

With all the zerg actions these days in WvW, how do you Guardians deal with the massive amount of ranged combat? I play a Mesmer as my main and so most of the time, I just sit back in the group and toss out damage with the GS but as a Guardian, are you not forced to either provide defensive support or charge into the enemy group?

I only ask because I was playing around with my level 32 Guardian yesterday during a zerg and didn’t have a clue as to what my role should be.

Wall of reflection is a godsend. You’d be surprised how many people simply kill themselves outright. Other than that, Staff or Scepter + Shield and Tome of Wrath.

Or, if I feel like it, go in with melee. We’re built for it.

Yea I am level 44 (leveled from 42 last night in WvWvW) and I agree with the OP; very difficult to have any real fun until there’s a push. I am going to pick up a sceptor even though it looks a bit lame in the hands of someone wearing lots of metal but I have no choice.

I am seriously considering moving to ranger due to my experience thus far. Again unorganized at the moment and haven’t downloaded vent to join my old guild seriously yet.

Tyrion.4259:

Yea I am level 44 (leveled from 42 last night in WvWvW) and I agree with the OP; very difficult to have any real fun until there’s a push. I am going to pick up a sceptor even though it looks a bit lame in the hands of someone wearing lots of metal but I have no choice.

I am seriously considering moving to ranger due to my experience thus far. Again unorganized at the moment and haven’t downloaded vent to join my old guild seriously yet.

That is really the problem I’ve had as well. Typically, I run with a small group or when I’m in the zerg, I almost never use vent, mumble, etc. Other than putting up a wall and dropping down some heals, I don’t feel like I benefit the group all that much. This is even worse when guarding a wall during an attack. I really enjoy the Guardian and had hoped to mirror my old Pally from WoW but the comparison is that I’ve always played in tournaments or in 1vX. WvW is a whole new beast.

I ran through WvW the other night just trying to level this Guardian and it makes me reconsider sticking with the class. Granted, I’m only at level 33 now but I just hate leveling. I have considered doing that glass cannon rifle build for the Warrior but they are really boring to level through the first 30 levels. /sigh I miss my WoW destruction Warlock.

Guardian is meant to be on the frontline. You don’t have ANY viable ranged options. I don’t even consider scepter worth the secondary slot, as I’d rather use mace/shield. Scepter bolts never hit the target, and when they do, the damage is so low that the enemy barely even notices. If you don’t have an organized guild out there, I’d recommend you run with something other then a guardian. Guards are decent for havoc squads because they can tank a lot of hits, but if its not organized, a guard would be pretty useless…

I will either run into the frontline and pop all my boons and interrupts while the rest of my zerg assists me.

Even though scepter range isn’t that great, I still find the 3 skill to immobilize amazing to trap and chase down people.

What WvW are you playing where ranged actually matters on a guardian or warrior? In this version of WvW do zergs charge at each other then stop 20 feet away and take potshots until everyone falls over, like it’s the Crimean war or something? Defending towers, you say? Should every class really be good at everything? Guardians are already borderline vital for the retal they can pump out, wall of reflection, stability, protection, light fields, the works.

Just playing devils advocate here. if we buff everything we don’t like about our specific class they become a god. You have to look at balance within the context of all classes, instead of looking at something being nerfed or bad as a personal insult.

Strategically, you have to take the fight to the people using the zerg for protection. People don’t tend to target behind their zerg so if you can get back there, you have a pretty good chance to lay down some smack. It’s key to be organized; you aren’t Rambo either. Get a team of other Guardians and thieves or something. Try to use voice chat.

Dunno if you can judge the strength of a class when upleveled in WvW.

Staff guardians are vital in a good zerg. Initiating with line of warding and empower for the might+heals is awesome, while they may not be dishing out the damage staff provides excellent group utility. I’m not sure what server you’re playing on, but most organized zergs attack by hitting with a melee train and guardians are a vital part of the zerg frontline, providing support in the form of stability/retaliation and walls and providing good damage from hammer/greatsword. Running into a zerg and throwing down a ring, dropping symbols and using them for area retaliation and condition cleanses and the heals that sort of fall out your pockets make guardians an excellent front line class. If you want to go ranged, try necro or mesmer or engie or something because you’re missing out on the most effective roles that guardians can fill.

you CAN do ranged… but it’s not necessary on a Guardian. or rather, we excel at melee that much more. scepter is not bad, but even then i feel it’s more effective up close, but that and the staff can and does give you a little breathing room.

i didn’t level up my Guard in WvW. some peolpe loved it. i first dove into WvW at 21. had no idea what i was doing. didn’t even know the classes fully yet. so i leveled up to 80 in PvE, did dungeons, got gear, etc. learned a butt ton. and THEN brought it back to WvW. i’m a comlpete different beast now. there is so much you can do to soak up damage, interupt, cancel out people’s skills… control, stop them, reflect absorb projectiles, heal, AoE blinds, stack vuln, keep random burning up at all times, full heal your party in super clutch situations from 10 to 20k health… and knock / AoE push people off cliffs… i guess what i’mt rying to say is.. don’t write the Guardian off so quick in WvW.. especially if you’re just leveling while playing WvW.

but then again, it takes time for each class to really fit into your play style, and vice versa. to be honest, i didn’t start truly and fully enjoying my Guardian until 60+. and now, i’m enjoynig him EVEN more. it’s ridiculous. i’ve about 6 different builds and working on more for WvW. there’s full support, there’s hybrids, there’re more DPS focused.. there are some for mobility, some walking fortresses, i even have one built around glacial heart (yes the CD sucks) and chills. and they all work for different situations. never have i felt not useful as a Guard. i can be a bit slow at times, just be near buddies who like to give out swiftness. ; ))

did i mention you can knock people off cliffs?

your role as a Guard, is only depending on what YOU wanna do : )) except maybe super ranged combat. but why do that when you can smash people in the face? and walk to tell the stories of it.

wvwvw has ranged combat? You mean when you turtle up in a zergball, drop heals and sanc and let the oncoming zerg break against you and rangers pick off the enemy at range?

Thats about the only time ranged matters.

Keep warfare is a seige battle, and even then, its decided by the zerg. If your defensive force cant push out and defeat the enemy zerg, then no amount of ranged will save you, and if you cant defent your seige as an attacker, then you are not getting in.

Sitting on walls sniping at each other does not happen, and if it does its do ineffectual as to be ignored.

As a guardian you have some devastating tools for WvWvW, you should always be at the heart of the zerg, where the fighting is thickest. Staff is amazing as a general support weapon, the shear amount of loot bags you can get with it is silly, whilst still providing masses of group utility. and then you can combine with scepter+offhand for a bit of ranged, (I only do this when taking out oil/cannons), or a melee wep for more carnage.

Not saying I dont want a better ranged option, I really really do, but the lack of one does not cripple your ability to contribute in WvWvW.

Tetra Bug.7134:

Staff guardians are vital in a good zerg. Initiating with line of warding and empower for the might+heals is awesome, while they may not be dishing out the damage staff provides excellent group utility. I’m not sure what server you’re playing on, but most organized zergs attack by hitting with a melee train and guardians are a vital part of the zerg frontline, providing support in the form of stability/retaliation and walls and providing good damage from hammer/greatsword. Running into a zerg and throwing down a ring, dropping symbols and using them for area retaliation and condition cleanses and the heals that sort of fall out your pockets make guardians an excellent front line class. If you want to go ranged, try necro or mesmer or engie or something because you’re missing out on the most effective roles that guardians can fill.

^I was going to post something like the above, but this guy nailed it. This is a perfect guide. Staff and Hammer for the win in WvW, with a good set of traits.

After trying the new Neverwinter mmo (so far GW2 looks superior in almost every way) and playing the cleric.. I want my guardian to be able to summon and throw holy spears with a shield offhand. It seems like a very unique and guardian-ish ranged weapon and definitely looks cooler than a sceptor imo.

I like scepter to atack players on walls, since player tend to be still and dont moove much, its nice for spike calls.

Guardian’s really don’t need a ranged option, because they are front-liners. I understand the need for a range option because in pug zergs, usually without a commander, they sit around the 1200 range and fling ranged at each other due to neither side willing to commit to a push.

I’m in an organized WvW guild that has Guardian’s in the front-lines, so I never really see the use of Scepter because we’re frequently in melee range. It is a nice thing to have, but Scepter is actually a poor weapon, regardless if the auto-attack was fixed or not. Smite only hits one target at a time, so it’s not an AoE tool, and in every case Staff is a superior range weapon due to Staff #2 which hits anyone that it passes through to and is spammable, and Staff #3 which can do a pretty good amount of AoE damage if you have a bit of crit and crit damage.