Guild Wars 2

I have been playing pvp mode since the launch of the game (barely touched pve) so I feel I have a pretty good grasp on what a guardian can do and the different skill combos available to us. By no means am I a pro though. I would like to hear some critics on my build.

My build focuses on spirit weapons and AH along with virtues and a shout of your choice. Here is the breakdown of my traits.

25/0/30/0/15

Major traits are
Zeal – fiery wrath, eternal spirits.
Valor – purity, retributive armor, altruistic healing.
Virtues – improved spirit weapon duration.

Weapons
Greatsword
Scepter/torch

Utilities
Shield of the avenger, Hammer of wisdom, hold the line (you can use any shout here)

elite
Tome of courage

Amulet
Use knights with berserk or all berserk if you are confidant in your dodges and cc.

On my armor I go for precision and critical dmg. On my weapons I go for condition removal on greatsword and torch. This will make sure conditions never take you down on top of your purity trait and healing skill. You will have 3 condition removals every 10 seconds. If you feel that is not enough you can always switch you trait from symbolic power to absolute resolution for an extra 3 on command condition removals . For my scepter I have added precision per kill.

The idea on the gameplay is

Defensively
- you will have protection coming from your virtue plus any shout you would rather use (ie. stability, protection…)
- you will also be able to use retaliation from any of your virtues when someone tries to burst you down. This will inflict a lot of damage to them and little to you due to protection.
- You have your shield spirit weapon that will create a bubble which will severely hinder any kind of range damage. You will also have your spirit hammer that can knockdown anyone who has you cc’ed and unable to use skills. The hammer will still be available.
- Tome of courage is your last chance for survival and needs to be pulled off with skill because it can easily be interrupted. if it fails at first run around activating everything else it offers and then try it again. I pull this off A LOT. Many times I use this for my team’s health and not my own, so its a lot easier in those instance because no one is focusing on you right away.
- You also have your weapons that include an immobilize from scepter, and an aoe pull from greatsword which will knock them down as well as a leap to get in or out of reach.
- Of course you have AH at your disposal. Use virtues or shouts to give you more health. A worthy note is that it will heal you more when your spirit weapons are out due to them receiving boons. Also works with stone dog from ogre runes.

Offensively
Great synergy between weapons.
- Usually open up with #3 immobilize from scepter followed by #2 smite (they will not be able to move away) plus #4 zealots flame (throw the fireball. I have crit for 5.5k). At this point you will want to knock them down with your spirit hammer to follow up with #5 cleansing flame. You should be in melee reach at this point.

- Next you will go into your greatsword combo. Open up with #2 whirling wrath to get as many hits in while they are knockedown. Next put #4 wrath symbol down and activate #5 blinding blade. From here if they chose to stay in melee just activate virtues to get protection and retaliation to eat their burst while you use your #1 auto attack (3rd attack crits for 2.5k). If they did not stay in melee you can pull them to you with #5 and keep smashing. When they try to get away again #3 leap to them. At this point if they are still running switch weapons to immobilize with scepter. Repeat all the combos thereafter. #1 on scepter crits for 1.3k =)

You will take out a large amount of their health and this works on everyone. Keep in mind you can activate shield for extra damage and to add weakness. You should be able to pull 2 of these off during the entire summon. You will also have hammer that you can activate 2-3 times per summon. It will also keep attacking and knock the target away on it’s third auto attack. For the shield I would step in and out of it depending on where the target is. The rangers nightmare.

You will be staying alive while at range and using your spirit weapons and shouts appropriately. When ready to burst do the combo above or just immobilize and follow up with leap to get on target followed by #2 whirling wrath.

People tell me they have a very hard time taking down my build. I often don’t die during games and this is also in the tourneys.

This build works surprisingly well and is very versatile. I don’t think I see Anyone else using spirit weapons much.

Let me know what you think.

Kaizoku Zorro

Glass tank
lolwut

Vennyhedgie.5369:

Glass tank
lolwut

Haha Ya I know. People like to call me a tank because I’m hard to kill. Though I will say if all skills are down and someone stuns and bursts…. you will feel it hurt. That’s Why protection is there.

If you’re hard to kill you’re not glass then. Of course stunning will always hurt, even on a guard.

Ya I get what you’re saying. I guess I put glass there meaning high dps as a tank.

Anyway what do you think of the build?

Here is the link to the build

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQNAR7flYgyBHCSLEm4ER+BWWzIey76hDpIDB;T0AA2CnowxgjAHLOOck4siYUypkdJvSA

glass “tank”

You would be hard pressed fighting against other tanks. Once they kill your hammer its game over.

KensaiZen.3740:

You would be hard pressed fighting against other tanks. Once they kill your hammer its game over.

The great thing about this build is you don’t need to rely on the hammer to crowd control. You have immobilize from scepter on short cooldown as well as the pull/knockdown from the greatsword. You need to switch from one weapons to another and control the fight from distance. When facing melee my primary is the scepter/torch until everything is on cooldown and then switch to the greatsword for some burst and then go back to range as soon as possible.

Other things to take in mind are that even though you can now destroy the spirit weapons it is rare someone actually focuses on them. If they do it’s a good opportunity to burst them down.

If you do get in melee you have plenty of protection and retaliation to out last/dmg them.

To be honest melee is easier to handle then range. There is only one guardian I couldn’t kill 1v1 and he was all healer/tanked out. But he couldn’t get close to doing any damage to me. We just called it a draw.

GS CC is unreliable. Its 5 skill is easily dodged by any decent players. Sceptre is decent but only has a 2 second entangle which can be broken out of. Melee people armed with 2h weapons do ale damage and this will hit your hammer constantly as they hit you.

Only thing I see that can be dangerous in this build is the hammer tbh. You have a slot for 1 possible stun breaker. The weakness of the build is being CC by your opponent.

An opponent with stability would be your worst opponent.

KensaiZen.3740:

GS CC is unreliable. Its 5 skill is easily dodged by any decent players. Sceptre is decent but only has a 2 second entangle which can be broken out of. Melee people armed with 2h weapons do ale damage and this will hit your hammer constantly as they hit you.

Only thing I see that can be dangerous in this build is the hammer tbh. You have a slot for 1 possible stun breaker. The weakness of the build is being CC by your opponent.

An opponent with stability would be your worst opponent.

You are correct in that if my CC from hammer, scepter and greatsword fail it reduces the effectiveness of the build. They will not take every single hit. This doesn’t mean I am all of the sudden worthless. I have two sources of protection for when I get in those circumstances. I have close to 20k life, which is good for a guardian. I have 30 points in Valor to provide toughness. We also have our sweet retaliation to activate which will work against the opponent.

So we do have some good melee resistance built up. Fairly equal footing with other melee. Oh and yes. We have passive healing from AH, if used correctly.

So we can definitely take hits, and we can DEFINITELY dish them out. We have 50% crit chance and high crit multiplier. Trust me they don’t like to fight you melee or range. Range is just less damaging to your health.

You aren’t just a sitting duck once your CC runs out. Those are just to completely over kill your opponent and take advantage of those stats.

I do like to go full berserkers and have save your life sometimes. Sooooo much pain.

I welcome the criticism. What do you play as?

What’s your response to condition builds? The Signet of Resolve, Purity trait and the Sigil of Purity won’t be nearly enough to handle any spec dedicated to conditions, and your Spirit Shield will only block the ones attached to projectiles. I feel like any decent Necro/Engi/Ranger/Condition Thief is going to give this spec a lot of trouble, since they’ll be able to overwhelm you with their sheer variety of conditions and/or rate of reapplication. The low armor has me a bit leery about this build as a “tank” as well, but I’ll take your word for it about being hard to kill.

Although I’m not completely sure how I would make a Spirit Weapon build at this point, I do see a couple potential improvements you could make to your current formula. The first is your runes – Eagle runes are okay for DPS, but Ogre runes would synergize much, much better with your build. You trade precision and crit damage for 165 power, +3% crit damage, and +4% base damage, so you’re still going to hit hard. The important thing, though, is that Ogre Runes give you a Rock Dog. Since your build excludes the Sword of Justice, you’re missing a lot of the damage Spirit Weapon builds normally bring to the table, and the Rock Dog can take the Sword’s place as a source of pressure. Additionally, the Rock Dog can receive boons from your Virtues, your Shout, and your Symbol, meaning more healing for you from AH and more damage from the Might, Retaliation, and Burning (courtesy of Justice’s active effect) that you spread around. Eagle, conversely, offers you nothing but damage, and I can’t help but feel that it’s an inferior choice.

I would also drop 5 points from Zeal and put them in Virtues to grab Absolute Resolution. You’ve only got one symbol in your build, so Symbolic Power is iffy at best, and I really, really think you need a better response to condition damage. AR can provide it to some extent. The bonus to the passive will supplement AH and make you tankier, letting you deal with things like burning and small bleed stacks more easily, and the cleanse can keep you standing when the stacks get out of hand. You also get some bonus boon duration and reduced Virtue recharge for going deeper into Virtues, which is icing on the cake.

One last suggestion – Renewed Focus is way too good to ignore if you go to 20 in Virtues, and it’ll save your skin far more often than ToC. You don’t have any Stability to get the full heal off when in the Tome, and you can bet that competent opponents aren’t going to let it happen without Stability. RF will give you (and your teammates/weapons/Rock Dog) more boons (protection especially), more burning, more healing, and more cleansing, and you get a 3 second invulnerability every 90 seconds. I consider RF a staple even with only 5 in Virtues, but with 20, you’ll be able to keep them popping frequently throughout a fight.

Overall, I’m really not sure what to think about this build, but keep playing tournies and see if it continues to hold up. If it works for you, it works – if you stick to 1v1’s, it very well might, since Spirit Weapons have always been one of the better 1v1 builds in the game. I’m concerned that it will have difficulty surviving outside of 1v1 situations against good opponents, though, since you don’t have much of a response to AoE damage or CC, and even with Absolute Resolution, your condition defense is still subpar.

My two cents. Take it as you will.

I have played as a Guardian since release. I think I know a little a bout how the class works. Just a little

Against experienced players who ca time their CC skills you will have quite a bit of trouble as your damage (I use beserker rigs ad accessories so I know the damage range we are talking about) The spirit weapons are no where near good enough to be used against well seasoned pvpers. The shields flaw is that it is static forcig the guardian to use a ranged weapon….the sceptre. If you are using a sceptre from a static locationn, you have already lost the ranged war. Anyone ad their grandmothers can side step the orbs. Whilst they are doing this they ca take out the shield within 3-5 seconds giving you a utility slot on cooldown that hast done much. Hammer is the same thing. Slap on some stability and laugh at its mediocre damage hitting once every 3 seconds. Ideally it should be used against opponents that do not move much as it will most likely land its hits easier. Or, they just kill the hammer very quickly which leaves you with a utility slot on cooldown.

The last utility I hope would be stand your ground as this will help against CC skills and on a decent cooldown.

now onto conditions. you have absolutely no condition removal skills. losing a condition every 10 seconds may sound like a good idea but not being able to choose which condition is removed can be very crucial. Any high condition based build would love to fight you as your 20k HP would still get chewed through as AH will not heal you enough seeing as AH only heals for something like 79 per boon per ally. This will only be worth while if you have both spirits out and giving them might per crit. Though when they are on cooldown or destroyed, AH doesn’t add up.

Rangers, Mesmers, and especially necro’s will love you so will condition warriors.

If you enjoy the way the build works for you then by all means keep using it. But there are quite glaring flaws to issues with no counters in the build.

I’d change out the shield for the bow. Like others said, condition builds are going to eat you alive.

Also not a fan of the amulet choices.

Knight w/Berserker. Gives you like 21k hp or something, but no toughness at all. Full Berserker is even worse imo. I personally run Berserker w/Celestial or Soldier, but that’s just me.

Other then that it looks fine.

I agre this build is awesome, i used to run 0/5/30/30/5 and was boring, than i tried something simmilar to yours and was epic http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQNAR7flUgKDHCyKEf4ESmCWCBrUEPyz1DFiiYIA;TsAg0CtoqxUjoGbNuak1sKYkxWEA
Maybe 10 in virtes could be master of consetration.

Emapudapus.1307:

I agre this build is awesome, i used to run 0/5/30/30/5 and was boring, than i tried something simmilar to yours and was epic http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQNAR7flUgKDHCyKEf4ESmCWCBrUEPyz1DFiiYIA;TsAg0CtoqxUjoGbNuak1sKYkxWEA
Maybe 10 in virtes could be master of consetration.

Thanks!!

I agree that this makes the guardian more fun to play. I feel that a full 30 points in Valor and honor is great and you will be very hard to take down, but you are also limiting yourself.

For some reason spirit weapons really add to the fun and create good opportunities. I don’t believe your are hurting yourself by using them either.

It’s really up to preference for the guardian. All utilities can be useful if used correctly. I also like the dmg this build offers through Valor and zeal. One of the only ways to really use the zeal trait line effectively.

To the last few posts. Several negatives to the build were pointed out. This included condition removals, stability, runes on armor, amulet, spirit weapons, trait placement and finally the elite.

Condition removals – Lets start here as this is the worst. Got dinged 3 times for it in a row Lol. So to review we have signet of resolve that removes 1 condition every 10 seconds. Purity trait removes 1 condition every 10 seconds. Weapons sigils removes 1 condition every 10 seconds. So basically. Potential for 3 condition removals every 10 seconds which don’t share a cooldown. Not to shabby?
To add to this I have 2 combo finishes with greatsword that also remove conditions. #2 and #5. Given I do have to make effective use of it at the right time. Buts it’s an addition to the above.
Now I have in the past used the Major trait in the virtues tree for 3 condition removals from virtue of resolve. I wasn’t sure if it was overkill on condition removals so I applies it somewhere else.
To you points I might need to bring it back. Especially if I choose to use the other elite that refreshes my virtues. Could be very good change. I would like to hear more on this.

Stability – this is one I definitely agree on being a drawback and the only way to remediate is to use stand your ground (which we can easily do) instead of hold the Iine. This might be a necessary change. I have also looked into using virtue of courage to give stability through the virtue trait line. Problems being it is o. A fairly long cooldown and only 3 seconds. I would also not be able to remove 3 conditions with virtue of resolve.
Stand your ground is probably the better option. Would this fulfill this negative side of the build? I’d like to say so.

Runes on armor – I am happy you pointed this out. I used this before when I used to have the spirit sword instead of shield. I also used to use to use radiance instead of Valor. Turns out Valor is more tanky and damaging if using critical. Looking at my current build I think it makes sense to sacrifice some precision since I have 45%(+5 with sigil) yay more damage =) and pet dog!!

Amulet – I use knights for the power, health and precision. Berserk do add critical dmg. I chose to opt out of additional toughness because I felt health and protection was a good alternative. If I go for toughness I lose a lot of damage potential.

Spirit weapons =] – hammer is pretty obvious in it’s use. Activate when ready as often as possible. Don’t waste it either of course. I think it better cc then any of our other utilities offer. Shield I only started using in the last couple months as opposed to the sword. Sword is unreliable. What you need to keep in mind is that the shield fulfills it’s duty when I take zero damage from a range attack. Of course the opponent will be smart enough to get around it, pull you away, or destroy it once they see none of their hits are hitting their mark. It is still better then reduced damage any other utility will offer you.
The shield will follow you until you start attacking someone. It will then bubble where you are at. You should be using scepter to start out so No problem That you are at range. If the enemy moves to far away all you need to do is activate the spirit weapon and then the bubble is on top of them. They also take damage from it and seven seconds of weakness. Shield also hits multiple opponents, maybe even the same one multiple times. When the bubble is on top of them you change to greatsword and get into melee. If they try to get away you can switch to scepter and the bubble is already over you from going melee. I understand the shield can be destroyed. But if it has sucked up some of the dmg then it has been used correctly. It also messes with the enemy’s playsyle and forces them to adapt. If it happens to be out of reach and helping out my allies instead then I feel it is being used to satisfaction. For team play. Not to bad right? Let me know what you think.

Trait placement – those last 5 points you see in zeal can be applied anywhere. I can’t ever make up my mind on it Lol. To be honest they used to give me that trait in virtues to remove condition. The reason I had changed it is because I saw a guardian inflict 1.5k crits on each tick of symbol of wrath and I was jealous hahaha. Even though it’s only one symbol it packs a good punch if they stay in it. For example if you hit 25% health you auto drop one. Drop another one on Top yourself. Use protection and retaliation (ret already offered by symbol) and use #2 whirl wind. If ANYONE chooses to just stay put and out damage me they pretty much just melt away while I take minimal damage. Works wonders on guardian and warrior. Auto kill for thieves. Use #5 on greatsword if they try to get away while stealth. It still finds them and pulls them back for you to finish them off. Gravy on the cake if used together with #2 smite from scepter and then drop symbols on top. Crazy damage. To your point I can probably accomplish this and instead have an extra 3 condition removal. Give me your thoughts!!!

Elite – never tried the invincible/virtue recharge. Though the way you laid it out makes a lot of sense. I will definitely try it out. I really like tome of courage because it will save your entire teams life and is highly frustrating for the other team. It’s just great support and will save your life as well. Paired with stand your ground it’s an easy heal as well. I’ve always felt invincible was to short even if it recharged virtues. But if my virtues also have 3 condition removals it makes it a lot more interesting. Plus the retaliatio and protection and other boons it offers. I’m definitely willing to try it out.

So long post but I got great feedback so I thought it was needed.

Keep it coming.

Ok your invincible. Good luck lol

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQRAsd7flUgCBnCSOEfIFRWBWa9Yg9zfVK2n8uKARA;TYAqiMFJKyWkrIZRA

I run this all the time and it really rocks. Some might question JI but the combo of the Sword 3 and JI allows you to blink in and take about half a guys health before he can do much.

Kicks total butt in SPVP. Run the knights amulet and whatever runes tickle your fancy. Lyssa, Divinity, Ogre, Melandru… all work.

The 10 in Valor is totally flexible. Put them wherever you want. Initially I went 30/30/0/0/10 and have tried 20/30/0/5/15. Both rock.

Relentliss.2170:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQRAsd7flUgCBnCSOEfIFRWBWa9Yg9zfVK2n8uKARA;TYAqiMFJKyWkrIZRA

I run this all the time and it really rocks. Some might question JI but the combo of the Sword 3 and JI allows you to blink in and take about half a guys health before he can do much.

Kicks total butt in SPVP. Run the knights amulet and whatever runes tickle your fancy. Lyssa, Divinity, Ogre, Melandru… all work.

The 10 in Valor is totally flexible. Put them wherever you want. Initially I went 30/30/0/0/10 and have tried 20/30/0/5/15. Both rock.

I agree with you that build wrecks. Its almost exactly the same one I used until this one. The only difference was I ran Greatsword and Sword/Shield. I felt like I was teleporting and jumping around constantly haha. I never went and got the 15% crit because I used a two hander. The stats are very comparable to my current build as well.

The reason I went from Radiance to Valor was to gain extra crit damage, toughness, and healing from all boons you apply.

Did you try my build? your current weapon set should work just as well.

KensaiZen.3740:

Ok your invincible. Good luck lol

It would be nice if you could try it out for a few games and let me know what you think. The drawback of this build is that toughness isn’t really up to par with everything else.

I find that it is a very fun build to play with. I figure you would be able to tell me if the flow of battle is to your liking or not, since you have also been playing a guardian from launch. I realize spirit weapons aren’t everyone’s favorite utilities but I think it’s worth a shot. Maybe take shield out and add another shout or signet.

My brother who mainly plays a ranger and warrior tried this out and loves it. We went around one game with triple spirit weapons on each of our guardians… hilarious haha. Not as reliable but still fun.

Ive come across similar builds before in sPvP. And this was before the spirit weapon nerf (which meant spirit weapons were invincible).

I wont be using it because of reasons Ive already put across

Haha okay that’s fine.

I agree that when the nerf happened I respecced into a lot of other guardian builds because it felt like they ruined mine =(
I still ended up coming back to it because it just fit my play style. Though at that point I also change to the valor tree instead of radiance. It ended up really buffing damage and survival.

Any Spirit Weapon lovers out there!?!?

Just wanted to point out if it was missed that spirit weapons can now be buffed by your boons. This is an important component of the build since we can heal ourselves to greater effect with altruistic healing by buffing our spirit weapons. Food for thought since you won’t always have your team around to benefit from boon healing, and now if they are you will be healed to the Max because your SW count as additional team members (if there weren’t 5 allies already around you that is).

This will only work in sPvP which is actually imo the beginner zone.
Any decent player in tourney will just smash this build to pieces.
Not to mention decent bleed or Quickness HS Thieves..
Heck even a conditionmancer won’t have trouble peeling off a hybrid “tank”

That’s funny you say that because I mostly only play tourney don’t have any of the problems you mention. And I join with my guild that has plenty of great players. I’ve dueled and beat all of them. And I’m always the last man standing if a battle goes south. Joining solo queue is way easier then against a pre-made team…

None the less what you are saying never happens. I can remove 3 condition every 10 seconds and if that not enough you trait for your virtue to remove 3 more on commend. I also have two combo finishes that remove multiple conditions.

So No I never see any condition damage killing me. Actually I’ve been through many battles where I don’t end up even using my heal skill. And that also happens 1v1.

I have lately been runing around with my last 5 trait points into vigorous precision. A little more passive healing from Ah (minimal) but all the extra dodges are a great bonus. Yet an other option with this build.

Those last 5 points can be applied to a multitude of great traits. All up to what you deem is more important. (Condition removal, damage, stability, dodges…)

Weapon choice: 1h sword, focus (or shield) / greatsword (either air /fire or nullification rune)
Armor choice : Dinivity Rune
Amulet choice : Knight amulet with soldier jewel

Zeal -Spirit weapon Mastery, Eternal Spirit

Radiance – Signet Mastery, a fire inside, Right hand strength

Virtue – Improved Spirit Weapon Duration, Absolute Resolution

Pros: Better spirit weapons

Your spirit weapons provide extra burns, last longer and though they can be destroyed, they come back faster

Pros: quick burst + invincibility

I’m still trying to get better than this, but if you managed to knock down someone, use whirling wraith immediately followed by zealot defense. With the correct set up you will have around 50 crit chance so if your hammer KD crits you get around 3 ~3.5k dmg + 3 ~ 3.5k whirling + 3k~ 3.5k zealots + around 1.5k burning. Pop the defense ability on bubble on shield, use resolve to get rid of 3 condition, use renew focus to stay alive and use another resolve to cure another 3 condition (renewed).
Still experimenting between another weapon or stun breaker. surprisingly i find having 2 weapons is actually better because people get distracted and waste their stun trying to kill that extra weapon.

Pro: Signet recharge

Signet cures 1 condition on auto. coupled with condition transfrom + resolve and maybe nullification on sword, which has extra crit chance, you’re harder to kill using condition.

Con: Spirit weapon no longer immortal

Before the update this build is pretty much invincible in 1 vs 1, now i get into trouble when coming up agaisnt talented players. Also, cc and stun may give you some trouble, but i’m sure you can tweak everything to overcome them. (replace second weapon with a stunbreak for instance and use gs to leap away when someone is trying to 100b you.)

FYI the Cleansing Bolts combo does not remove any conditions from you.

Rather the projectiles themselves can remove a condition from a nearby ally.

Ezrael.6859:

FYI the Cleansing Bolts combo does not remove any conditions from you.

Rather the projectiles themselves can remove a condition from a nearby ally.

Dang hate to say it but you are correct. I haven’t double checked in the game but from internet searches it seems the projectiles will only remove conditions from those in it’s trajectory. Just because you initiate it doesn’t mean you are the one that gets cleansed. Kind of dumb…. is this the same when for example a ranger shoots through the field? I see that it removes a condition but it doesn’t remove it from the ranger then? But who ever his shot happen to go through? It happens all the time so I’m guessing since I am the one in the field the ranger is actually removing conditions from my character?

thanks for the info. If you don’t mind explaining in a little more detail.

As much as I like ppl trying new builds, calling yourself a bunker is definitely wrong here.

Essential things you need as a bunker are stunbreakers. In your build you have 0. So every thief, every mesmer or w/e who successfully stun you (basilisk venom for e.g.) can land his full dmg on you, whithout any interruption. This will result in a fast death, at least if you face ppl who know how to play.
Another thing is that your weapon sets provide zero defense. you have absolutely no block or blind in this weapons.
Furthermore the tome of courage makes no sense here. Because you have no stability in your build, means good players will interupt your nr.5 aka full-heal.

Besides that you won’t do that much dmg to have a real impact. And when your spirit weapons are on cd or gettin destroyed you stand alone.
The amulet will mabye increase your dmg, but takes your survability away.

Overall I would say new but not viable. Still you should have fun with it

Empathetic Fighter.2065:

As much as I like ppl trying new builds, calling yourself a bunker is definitely wrong here.

Essential things you need as a bunker are stunbreakers. In your build you have 0. So every thief, every mesmer or w/e who successfully stun you (basilisk venom for e.g.) can land his full dmg on you, whithout any interruption. This will result in a fast death, at least if you face ppl who know how to play.
Another thing is that your weapon sets provide zero defense. you have absolutely no block or blind in this weapons.
Furthermore the tome of courage makes no sense here. Because you have no stability in your build, means good players will interupt your nr.5 aka full-heal.

Besides that you won’t do that much dmg to have a real impact. And when your spirit weapons are on cd or gettin destroyed you stand alone.
The amulet will mabye increase your dmg, but takes your survability away.

Overall I would say new but not viable. Still you should have fun with it

Your statement aren’t all incorrect. Let me address.

Bunker – there is No point arguing this one because I completely agree =] I used to title this post “glass tank” meaning that you are hard to take down but if all your cooldowns, dodges, skills….. if everything is down you are like glass and will take a lot of damage. This is a dps build though. Since my original post I have made the choice to always use “stand your ground” for the reasons you and others have stated. I have also picked up the trait “vigorous precision” to double my dodges and add some healing. Not my fault everyone I comes across calls me a tank =] I’m just really good at not taking damage.

Weapon set – I only have one blind from my leap. I didn’t chose to ignore all those defensive skills, it just so happens this weapon set is perfect for my play style. I don’t feel like I need to rely on blind or block (aegis still blocks some hits here and there). I personally feel that by staying at range I’m essentially controlling the battle and not getting hit anyways. I used to use sword and shield but found that with scepter/torch I survive waaaaaaay better.

Tome of courage – “stand your ground” helps getting this off. Even with out it I still manage to use the aoe heal. I tried using invincible and decided Tome of courage was more useful… and so did all my teammates.

Spirit weapons/damage – I have spoken about this before. In No way do I feel like I rely on spirit weapons. They are just easy mode. My damage is plenty high as is. Not sure Why you say it won’t have an impact… I tend to take people down pretty fast. If I really felt spirit weapons were the center of the build I would have the cooldown reduced by 20%.

Once again I use this in tournament modes and go many games without dying, so tank or not I am still hard to kill. I recently started going full berserk amulet because I feel I can spare the extra 5k life for more damage… and I still don’t die.

So Yes this is new and viable. Just not the typical guardian that stands in middle and eats all hits because that’s all he was built to do. You actually need to try and NOT get hit.

I would like to duel or see you playing, if you’d like to. Just pm me if you want.
Just to give me an impression of how you play it, cuz copying the build is not the same as smn that knows how to handle it and has plenty exp made with it.

showatt.9413:

Weapon choice: 1h sword, focus (or shield) / greatsword (either air /fire or nullification rune)
Armor choice : Dinivity Rune
Amulet choice : Knight amulet with soldier jewel

Zeal -Spirit weapon Mastery, Eternal Spirit

Radiance – Signet Mastery, a fire inside, Right hand strength

Virtue – Improved Spirit Weapon Duration, Absolute Resolution

Pros: Better spirit weapons

Your spirit weapons provide extra burns, last longer and though they can be destroyed, they come back faster

Pros: quick burst + invincibility

I’m still trying to get better than this, but if you managed to knock down someone, use whirling wraith immediately followed by zealot defense. With the correct set up you will have around 50 crit chance so if your hammer KD crits you get around 3 ~3.5k dmg + 3 ~ 3.5k whirling + 3k~ 3.5k zealots + around 1.5k burning. Pop the defense ability on bubble on shield, use resolve to get rid of 3 condition, use renew focus to stay alive and use another resolve to cure another 3 condition (renewed).
Still experimenting between another weapon or stun breaker. surprisingly i find having 2 weapons is actually better because people get distracted and waste their stun trying to kill that extra weapon.

Pro: Signet recharge

Signet cures 1 condition on auto. coupled with condition transfrom + resolve and maybe nullification on sword, which has extra crit chance, you’re harder to kill using condition.

Con: Spirit weapon no longer immortal

Before the update this build is pretty much invincible in 1 vs 1, now i get into trouble when coming up agaisnt talented players. Also, cc and stun may give you some trouble, but i’m sure you can tweak everything to overcome them. (replace second weapon with a stunbreak for instance and use gs to leap away when someone is trying to 100b you.)

Okay so let me comment on your build since you are using my old one =)

Your trait placements are all focusing on spirit weapons. That isn’t a bad thing except that you end up relying on them a lot more and lose some traits that could be of use to you. Though for the purpose of your build it’s great.
I’m wondering if the signet cooldown shouldn’t be changed since I think you only have one? Also the burning of the spirit weapons is great but you run across the problem that the 1 condition you use is easily removed, and you can almost only apply it with your spirit weapons. since you do apply burning maybe you should go for 10% damage increase in zeal? Thats up to you since you lose 20% cooldown on spirit weapons.
Right handed strength is very good but I believe it’s not as useful if you also use a two hander.
I have found that you can put out higher damage through Valor with extra critical damage. Plus you get healing from all boons as well a condition removal and extra precision. I would at least give it a try to see if you like the change. If not then radiance is amazing with critical % and spirit weapon burning.

Have you given my build a try? You might like it as a variant of your own.

Empathetic Fighter.2065:

I would like to duel or see you playing, if you’d like to. Just pm me if you want.
Just to give me an impression of how you play it, cuz copying the build is not the same as smn that knows how to handle it and has plenty exp made with it.

I completely agree with you. I will try to get in contact after work today. I realize this build is hard to picture when not seen in play =)

What do you play as?

Vidal.5384:

Empathetic Fighter.2065:

I would like to duel or see you playing, if you’d like to. Just pm me if you want.
Just to give me an impression of how you play it, cuz copying the build is not the same as smn that knows how to handle it and has plenty exp made with it.

I completely agree with you. I will try to get in contact after work today. I realize this build is hard to picture when not seen in play =)

What do you play as?

I will play as off-guard to compare these 2 builds I hope you are on EU servers

Here is my updated build

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQNAR7flYgyBHCyKEmIFR+BWWpIeyDXw1DHSRGC;T0Ag0CnowxgjAHLOOck4siYUypkdJvSA

If you need more health you can switch berskerker for knights.

Empathetic Fighter.2065:

Vidal.5384:

Empathetic Fighter.2065:

I would like to duel or see you playing, if you’d like to. Just pm me if you want.
Just to give me an impression of how you play it, cuz copying the build is not the same as smn that knows how to handle it and has plenty exp made with it.

I completely agree with you. I will try to get in contact after work today. I realize this build is hard to picture when not seen in play =)

What do you play as?

I will play as off-guard to compare these 2 builds I hope you are on EU servers

I play on American server

Vidal.5384:

Empathetic Fighter.2065:

Vidal.5384:

Empathetic Fighter.2065:

I would like to duel or see you playing, if you’d like to. Just pm me if you want.
Just to give me an impression of how you play it, cuz copying the build is not the same as smn that knows how to handle it and has plenty exp made with it.

I completely agree with you. I will try to get in contact after work today. I realize this build is hard to picture when not seen in play =)

What do you play as?

I will play as off-guard to compare these 2 builds I hope you are on EU servers

I play on American server

Well, nvm then. Still wonder how it would gone out

Empathetic Fighter.2065:

Vidal.5384:

Empathetic Fighter.2065:

Vidal.5384:

Empathetic Fighter.2065:

I would like to duel or see you playing, if you’d like to. Just pm me if you want.
Just to give me an impression of how you play it, cuz copying the build is not the same as smn that knows how to handle it and has plenty exp made with it.

I completely agree with you. I will try to get in contact after work today. I realize this build is hard to picture when not seen in play =)

What do you play as?

I will play as off-guard to compare these 2 builds I hope you are on EU servers

I play on American server

Well, nvm then. Still wonder how it would gone out

Ya it’s to bad. I really like duels too. All I can say is maybe try it out if you are curious. It’s a very fun build.

Alright so after paying more attention to the cleaning bolts I always see the condition removal bubble pop up above my character when I initiate either WW or blinding blades on top of wrath symbol. I also see conditions drop off so I’m guessing that the bolts remove a condition when they first leave your character.

Can anyone confirm this?

No, the WW/Binding Blades combo doesn’t work on you. You’re probaby just seeing the timing of the 10 sec condition removal you have.

I’ve got a new build!!

Introducing the Invincible fire spirit guardian.

There are actually a couple variations.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQNAR7flUgSCHCSOEfIFRugqH4LeyDXw1DF6QGC-TsAg0CnIKSVkrITRyisFNKZVyGCA

This build focuses on immobilize for vulnerability stacks and uses Greatsword with scepter/torch. Personally fits my play style a lot.

You get increased dmg vulnerability from immobilize and symbols , 10% dmg on burning, stacks of might and burning on block.

Focused on cc which works well to increase dmg. It might be that you prefer using the hammer instead of Greatsword since it offers an additional immobilize and might suit you better. I’m just not a fan of the weapon because it’s really slow.

This second build uses Greatsword with sword/focus.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?fUAQNAR8dlUgiDHCyMEfIFRuA7DAsSR8k31DF6QGC-TsAg0CnIKSVkrITRyisFNKZVyGCA

Instead of focusing on immobilize this build inflicts a lot of blind and therefore vulnerability. Blind skills coming from sword, Greatsword, focus and virtue of justice. You also have the very best mobility. Probably more tanky then the above as well. I just don’t like to be all melee.

They both seem well rounded to me. I also build more in a dueling aspect but these also work great for team work.

Please leave comments. Just started using this as opposed to my old builds.

I should add that sometimes in hot join things can get a little out of control if you don’t have a good team with you. In those instances you can easily switch to knights jewel and signet of resolve. You get 5k of health and an extra 10 second contain removal with a bigger heal. Just at the expense of a little damage.

Though if you have your team or someone to roll with the above builds just reck havoc.