help needed for WvW (solo or small groups)
Inevitably, people will tell you to just play AH, so…
Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate
Inevitably, people will tell you to just play AH, so…
Pretty much lmao!
To answer your question OP, I run p/v/t armor with a half and half of p/v/t and knight’s ascended trinkets and use a triple meditation spec. For me it’s that perfect combo of tanky, yet high dps yield. I use hammer / scepter & torch, so while personal mobility is just average, I can really control enemy movements easily with immobilizes and ring of warding.
Mm, I do Scepter or Sword/Focus with staff for mobility, 10/30/0/30/0, knight’s armor with soldier runes + zerker jewelry, using a generic shout build which is what I usually do in pve if I’m not using a GS. Last 10 pts in honor could go to virtues for virtue of justice spam in large groups, but meh. If I’m really by myself instead of in a small group, I use sword instead. In larger fights I stick to scepter, since not being able to attack uphill and at walls, really really sucks. Though it doesn’t matter, my main basis is usage of right handed strength.
Overall, I can take some damage, like people will attack me for a few free hits when I go afk or chatting and I’ll be fine. If I can land a few good hits, random people can do down pretty fast. Usually, I only die due to lag, stupidity, or just being outclassed. And before anyone says people can move, that’s what chains of light is for. Alternatively, you can usually get hits by running past them and landing smite.
You can also try shield; it’s funny to knock people off to their doom.
The staff is almost exclusively for running faster, without it, I can’t escape zergs and whatnot.
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards,
for there you have been and there you will long to return.
for there you have been and there you will long to return.
(edited by ArchonWing.9480)
I like to roam solo or attach myself to small roaming groups; don’t much care for big zergs. My pvp skills are limited, so I need to lean towards the tanky side in order to not die instantly. I have tried a few builds (within fiduciary reason), but never felt quite comfortable. I tried a defensive vit/hpwr build, and a sword dps build, both effective in the right hands I am sure, but those hands aren’t mine.
I mostly use GS and Scepter/Focus for skirmishes and swap GS for Staff for swiftness. I’m one of those annoying people who run from opponents they know they cannot beat, so I pop Shield of Wrath, slap Chains of Light on them, then Retreat and Save Yourselves, and later switch to Staff if need be to keep up swiftness through my escape.
I am not committed enough to have a different set of gear for WvW or to reset my traits for it, so I’ve tried to adapt my PVE gear to my WvW needs. Basically Knight’s armor with offensive stats from the trinkets. My food choices vary a bit, but I always use food.
Basically what I am saying is, a hybrid build is certainly feasible in the jack-of-all-trades-yet-master-of-none kind of way, so long as you accept your limitations, enhance what you do well, and adapt those to what you like doing best in WvW. You need to be comfortable and familiar with your setup.
Gutter Rat [cry] | Gandara | Roaming nuisance
~ There is no balance team. ~
~ There is no balance team. ~
Go for crit build with 2h sword on solo or small group and a meditation or shout build.
1st April joke, when gw2 receives a “balance” update.
I think an AH build could be the way forward: any specific suggestion?
and gear wise: I went Zerk before but it felt way too squishy. Cleric or Valks…am I actually gonna kill anything?
How about knight gear?
thanks Aeolus.3615: any specific build/gear you have in mind?
Ok, I’ve looked around and I’m in between a meditation or AH build? mmmmm what do you think?
If you’re solo, meditations with monk’s focus are better than AH, by a long shot. If you have allies nearby (ideally at least 4 others), AH is viable; but you should make sure you’re giving allies boons as well in order to maximize the healing from it.
Knight’s gear is a pretty valid choice, but keep in mind Guardians have low starting HP. For a good tanky build, you’ll probably want upwards of 15k health, so you’ll want to get some vitality from somewhere. Perhaps a mix of Soldier’s and Knight’s gear would be ideal for you?
I’ve done extensive play with my Guard in PVE and i am now transitioning to wvw. I never really liked Meditations until i started playing wvw, I honestly couldn’t figure out what the point of them was in PVE.
Long story short I think shouts and AH are stronger in PVE, dungeons fractals etc and meditations are more effective against human opponents.
Here’s why. Shouts buff you and your allies and AH is more effective if you have allies to buff that just yourself. Because that’s where all the healing comes from. Shout buffing and condi removal really shine in parties or in groups. Condi removal with shouts can only be done with soldier runes or PoV. Now you can use both and remove two conditions per shout if you do that then its worth while to consider a shout build for WVW. Removing two conditions per shout and buffing yourself would require 30 in Honor so you’d have some defensive options. But for me stacking buffs seems less effective in WVW because while you’re powering up someone can take you out or get away. Also if you’re alone or with only a few players you won’t get the most mileage out of AH.
If you’re tired of seeing players run away from you and you notice that shouts aren’t cutting it in the condition removal department its time to go with meditations. Contemplation of Purity removes all conditions and turns them into boons on you. Its also a stun breaker, which means its a powerful skill for turning the tables in your favor if used properly. The reason why CoP isn’t that great in PVE is because you don’t get hit with as many condi especially debilitating condi like you do in WVW. It really shines when fighting human opponents. The same with Judges Intervention another stun breaker i might add. In PVE mods just stand there so at best its a 36sec Burn. But against a person you can get the drop on them and if your timing is good lock them down with Ring of Warding on your hammer or TP right on top of an unsuspecting victim and tear into them with your favorite skill such as Whirling Wrath or Cleansing Flame. As for those that wish to run its a 1200 range TP so you have a good chance of catching them, doubly true if you use a Scepter, GS, Hammer, or Sword. Scepter can immobilize and pelt their backside, GS has a pull and a leap, Hammer also has a leap and Ring of Warding, and the Sword has an extra teleport, coupled with the torch and its BBQ on the run. This is all from using JI to close the gap.
Unfortunately the other two meditations aren’t so great, Smite Condition doesn’t break stun if it did it would be OP so it’s mediocre at best, and Merciful Intervention is just bad, I can back this up by saying i’ve yet to see positive comments about this skill anywhere on the forum. Go ahead and try it out if you don’t believe me. It sounds great but it has no target priority and in the chaotic wvw battles you have no idea where you will end up. Also if you’re solo who can you heal anyway?
So what do you do with your 3rd slot? Make it your flex utility, i usually substitute with WoR or a shout such as SYG because stability is so useful in wvw. You can pair Save yourselves with CoP as well.
This is what i have found so far from giving guardian an honest try in WVW for about 3 weeks.