Guild Wars 2

Aeolus.3615:

Fortus.6175:

This is a very popular build in PvE, works wonders in dungeons, doesnt work too much in big zergs in WvW but in small skirmishes it is really strong

I adopted it because of how well self sustain you are while providing condition convertions while pumping insane damage!

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/guardian/?3.0|1.5g.h2|6.1c.h2|1g.a5.1g.a5.1g.a5.1g.a5.1g.a5.1g.a5|2s.0.2s.0.3s.0.2s.0.3s.0.1g.67|0.5.u64b.u29b.5|0.0|0.0.0.0.0|e

basically it is 0/5/30/30/5 focusing on Pure of Voice for conditions to boons convertions and AH for self healing, full zerker gear with some valkiry or knight as needed, personally I run it with some knight armor and valkiry weapons with full zerker trinkets.

pretty much 1 out of 2 hits are crits and they hit really high, survivability comes from the 1:1 healing power of the dodges and perma vigor, coupled with AH proccing from pretty much EVERYTHING you do.

Hope it helps, for some more WvW focused builds I think soldiers with more into x/x/x/30/20-+ but that isnt my field.

Isnt the build to short in health, link shows 10k hp btw thats way to short in WvW, some skills can take almost the double of that health if requirements are met and this is on guardians wit protection and 3.3k+ armor.

My HP in WvW is 12K and I have 2.8K armour and I survive rather well thanks to damage avoidance. In some scenarios you’ll end up dead no matter what build you run unfortunately.

Aeolus.3615:

Isnt the build to short in health, link shows 10k hp btw thats way to short in WvW, some skills can take almost the double of that health if requirements are met and this is on guardians wit protection and 3.3k+ armor.

Dunno where you saw 10k hp, I checked the link again to see if it was an error but no, it says 14khp, around 19k effective health, let me copy/paste the stats

Power 2064
Precision 1884
Toughness 1366
Vitality 1216
Critical Damage + 111%
Condition Damage + 50
Condition Duration 0%
Healing Power 300
Boon Duration 5%
Critical Chance 50.11%
Damage % 15.5%
Condition Damage % 0%
Armor 2577
Health 13805
Endurance Regeneration + 0%
Agony Resistance 0
Virtue Recharge Rate 5%
Damage & Survivability
Effective Power 4307.18
Effective Health (EHP) 19377
Damage Reduction 28.75%
Reference Armor 1836

Basically you hit as hard as a zerker can in 2 handed sword but sacrifice some burst (good for clearing up trash) in order to attain more boss-fight survivability and cleansing.

14k hp and 2.6k armor, though that can increase by equipping some knight/valkiry stuff and increase your survival even more, which makes it better for WvW in small skirmishes as an off damage dealer.

I have tried several different builds, this one is the best one I could find that brings buff lots of boons, heals, cleansing, while still pumping out a serious amount of dmaage, enough o make you a threat that if you ignore; you die.

In my opinion the simplest build to use is a meditation based build. I know there are others better but when i make pvp (in mists and wvw ) remove condition helps me a lot.
I use in tpvp 0,20,30,20,0 with staff and hammer (radiance 1,6) , in wvw 20,0,30,20,0 with gs ( i take zeal 7 for healing and more dmg with gs ) .The other traits are the usual for a meditation builds. I know that many players prefer shouts . i prefer meditation becouse they have less CD and so i can have two handed mastery in honor which helps me a lot

TLDR:
For PvE grab as many of the +dmg % skills as possible and ignore survivability. Zerker gear and 25 radiance if using 2h or 30 radiance if using 1h. 10 in zeal. The rest wherever. Valor is decent for the crit dmg, virtues is decent for the consecrations and +1% dmg per boon.

For WvW go all out defensive. 0/0/30/30/10, 0/0/10/30/30, 0/5/30/30/5 etc with soldier gear are all fine.

colesy.8490:

To make it short, i don’t care what builds people use in spvp, wvw or pve. I do care what builds people use when im in my team in tpvp and i might care if i still played organized in dungeons.

Pve, pug dungeons/fotm, spvp, and wvw isnt competitive so i cant force people to play my way and i think the same respect should be headed the other way.

You’re saying running a build counter to the group/team’s purpose (winning the fight/defeating the zerg/clearing the dungeon) is respectful? Showing disregard for the good of the team is respect?

It is not possible to have a build that COUNTERS the team’s purpose (and not every team’s purpose is to complete content in the ‘best’ way possible either). There might be terrible builds, but they still add even the smallest contribution. The point being, if it’s not competitive content or you team isn’t aiming for some record, even the worst builds still contribute. How much is definitely debatable but if it’s not competitive or optimized play, it doesn’t matter if people aren’t playing competitive or optimized builds.

Running glass cannon in zergs or pvp can just get you killed. In WvW it makes you a rally bot if you’re running in the thick of fights or being careless with your dodging/mitigation and in pvp, you’ll have a hard time holding a point against something like a bunker necro that will just outlast you, so yes you can have builds that counter your team’s purpose.

This “it doesn’t matter” view is exactly why people run bad builds, and why they continue to be useless, because they think it’s fine to play how they want. It’s not. If you’re taking part in a group activity, be useful or get out.

colesy.8490:

Running glass cannon in zergs or pvp can just get you killed. In WvW it makes you a rally bot if you’re running in the thick of fights or being careless with your dodging/mitigation and in pvp, you’ll have a hard time holding a point against something like a bunker necro that will just outlast you, so yes you can have builds that counter your team’s purpose.

I urge you to read my post again … I specified the difference between COMPETITIVE vs. not-competitive content to make my point. I’m not sure you caught that.

It appears to be worth repeating; If I’m in a team we aren’t doing competitive content, there is no reasonable expectation for me to run the ‘best’ build, other than to cater to someone else’s ideas of what is the correct way to play. Any level of performance that dictates how a player should play or build their character in non-competitive play is just an artificial construction. Therefore, it doesn’t matter.

Even in competitive play, the responsibility to ensure team cohesion is on the people making the team to ensure they get the people they want, not the general populous to adhere to whatever ideas any particular team has as how to play.

The only case where I can think of where someone’s specific build choices does impact PVE is if a few players in the team have conflicting toolsets.

So once again you’re excusing players running bad builds.

Why does the playerbase mentality in this game have to be so anti-skill?

Do you get enjoyment out of playing badly? Do you enjoy leeching off of your party? Do you enjoy “tanking” bosses that don’t even give a kitten about you and switch their aggro every three seconds?

I honestly do not understand the mindset. And then players like me get slammed just for wanting people to actually play decently.

Obtena.7952:

colesy.8490:

Running glass cannon in zergs or pvp can just get you killed. In WvW it makes you a rally bot if you’re running in the thick of fights or being careless with your dodging/mitigation and in pvp, you’ll have a hard time holding a point against something like a bunker necro that will just outlast you, so yes you can have builds that counter your team’s purpose.

…responsibility to ensure team cohesion is on the people making the team to ensure they get the people they want.

Then it’s not really a problem is it? Those who don’t optimize shouldn’t have a problem being asked to ping gear. If non optimize people take issue with it, it’s because they want to be carried.

Pro players asking to be teamed with other pro players I totally fine, just as non optimized people don’t want to team with them anyways.

I fail to see the issue I suppose. For me, pve is all about maximizing damage since guards get so many inherent ways to mitigate damage.

As long as no one cries when they aren’t invited everything is fine really. My guild when we do serious wvwvw not only expects classes to trait a certain way but to gear/consumables a certain way- so that we can meet our objective. Many in this thread see pve the same way. We’re playing the way we want to play and unfortunately that doesn’t mesh well with the non optimized crowd. Which is okay. They should respect that decision to play the way we want. So when a non optimized gets turned down, it’s not that we aren’t allowin you to play the way you want, it’s that bringing you wouldn’t be playing the way we want.

Mutual respect.

/thread

colesy.8490:

So once again you’re excusing players running bad builds.

What you call an excuse is simply the reality of the game. Who says they can’t run bad builds? Who defines what bad builds are? Again, these are just player-made constructions being used as the premise for equally disingenuous statements that non-DPS PVE builds aim to ‘COUNTER’ and ‘LEECH’ from the team’s efforts. Nonsense.

I’m in no position to tell someone what to do and how to play. What makes anyone else think they have that authority? The only choice we have is if we decide to team with players who use ‘bad’ builds.

My personal opinion on the matter .. I would rather have a skilled knowledgeable player run a ‘bad’ build (WETF that is) than a noob who runs the builds people tell him are good.

Proteus.6320:

Then it’s not really a problem is it? Those who don’t optimize shouldn’t have a problem being asked to ping gear. If non optimize people take issue with it, it’s because they want to be carried.

I can agree with that much. It’s the LEAST that these ‘pro’ players should be doing. In fact, I’m certain if the ‘pros’ were so concerned to filter their teams as such, the frequency it happens indicates to me that all this stuff about non-DPS people leeching from these pros in PVE teams is just fabricated nonsense.

Obtena.7952:

Proteus.6320:

Then it’s not really a problem is it? Those who don’t optimize shouldn’t have a problem being asked to ping gear. If non optimize people take issue with it, it’s because they want to be carried.

I can agree with that much. It’s the LEAST that these ‘pro’ players should be doing. In fact, I’m certain if the ‘pros’ were so concerned to filter their teams as such, the frequency it happens indicates to me that all this stuff about non-DPS people leeching from these pros in PVE teams is just fabricated nonsense.

Anyone can run full zerker gear. Until Anet gives us a way to check the traits and utils too though there’s no way to know if anyone is any good. You can be a full zerk warrior with longbow and healshouts dealing less DPS than a cleric necromancer and there’s really no way to tell until someone actually notices you scrubbing it up when we’re already halfway through the dungeon.

That true, so it leads to the questions

“Is gear a good indicator of performance?”
“Can you be good if you aren’t in zerker gear?”

No, you can not be good if you aren’t in zerker gear.

I’d kill for an in-game way to check for gear and traits too.

That’s an opinion that dictates how you wish to play. It’s not something you should push as a fact to shame or harass others to conform to your approach.

Not using zerker gear promotes poor situational awareness and imposes far greater restrictions on damage output.

A good player is one with good situational awareness, is capable of reacting to those situations and maximises their damage output.

Situational awareness and damage output are not the only considerations for choosing gear for a particular situation or content.

It is for PvE.

Sure … if you are soloing. Again, PVE is not a competitive gaming element unless you make it one so how good a player’s situational awareness and damage output is in PVE isn’t as critical to success as you make it seem, nor are they the only factors to consider if a player is good. Being good is more than doing a lot of damage and dodging. It’s also about reading your team and adapting to what others are doing. I would say that’s equally or more important in cases where you are PUGing.

Obtena.7952:

That true, so it leads to the questions

“Is gear a good indicator of performance?”

I would argue no, BUT caution that in a WvW environment, along with some player skill, equipment/gear IS a definite indicator of performance or how you will fair overall in a WvW environment if not solely roaming or playing small group.

Can you be good if you aren’t in zerker gear? Yes.

Most PvE content requires high DPS for optimal performance with high situational awareness and mastery. That is a fact.

Only people without a concept of different possibilities cannnot grasp the idea that people can be good without zerker gear.

It would require nothing less than an highly advanced AI to adjust to a guy moving across the screen in WvW while you fight the rest of the 20 men in the zerg.

There are multiple builds that can cater to different situations. Maximizing damage output without factoring in the utilities of a Guardian will leave you with a sub-par glass cannon. Utilties a Guardian can use are sometimes found in non-DPS trait lines. Like Vigorous Precision.

Anyway, why do you play a game? To have fun. No need to worry about optimizing everything when you can have enough fun just by playing casually. I’m not saying people who optimize don’t have fun though.

Some people just don’t understand how “high level” PvE is played in this game. It’s a total joke when executed well. Everyone runs full damage gear and builds and it just shreds everything because mobs don’t ever avoid damage. When everyone is coordinated and running full damage in a dungeon group, mobs die so fast that survivability barely matters. When you do need survivability, you just time dodges/evades/blocks properly (something most people still can’t do) or cheese the content.

However, in relatively difficult dungeons (ones you can’t do asleep like CoF path1), that method falls apart quickly if people don’t know how to avoid damage, don’t all run heavy damage builds, or don’t use CC well on trash. The longer it takes to kill things, the more survivability stats and traits matter, and the group as a whole shifts that way. Yes, it does make the dungeon longer, but for the average player, it also makes it less frustrating because they’re not constantly dying when they miss dodges or don’t cheese an encounter.

For WvW, it really depends on what you’re doing. Are you roaming by yourself or in a small group looking to gank, looking to do outnumbered fights, are part of a zerg, etc?

In a larger group when you’re front-lining, you want the survivability of AH and honor traits as well as the condition clear. Let the full DPS players in the back such as staff elementalist pump out the damage. But you don’t need full survivability stats since a properly coordinated zerg has lots of group healing and CC.

If you’re roaming looking to gank, you’re in a full damage setup and you pick only fights you know you can win and survive. This is somewhat difficult for guardian because the professions doesn’t have many ways to run from a fight.

In you’re looking for outnumbered fights, as a small or medium sized group, you need survivability and group support. You could go heavy damage, but guardians have few abilities to let them temporarily disengage in a longer fight (things like stealth).

how good a player’s situational awareness and damage output is in PVE isn’t as critical to success as you make it seem

Actually it is. Unaware players die. Players with poor damage output can’t outlast bosses and die. If they’re using a build with poor damage, they’re probably unaware and with poor reflexes too and have probably been carried through dungeons by zerkers.

Being good is more than doing a lot of damage and dodging. It’s also about reading your team and adapting to what others are doing.

Doing a lot of damage and dodging is most of what makes you good. I run exactly the same build on my mesmer in experienced groups and pugs, and while they camp range I run in melee. In fact earlier today on my level 38 warrior, me and a few other people started fighting some champion giant (an actual giant, not a risen one, this one had some different attacks). One of the guys was like “range!” and I just walked in meleeing. A few times I downed from a lack of endurance (probably sloppy dodging on my part), but apart from that I was probably dealing more damage than the range campers were.

That’s a valid opinion and a neat story. There are ways to make up for a lack of situational awareness so that you don’t die … not being full DPS is one and relying on your team is another. Not everyone fits in the ‘pro’ player league you think they should be.

I believe there is more to playing this game with a team than dodging and doing damage because not everyone wants or can play at that level. Again, in non-competitive play, the things you value in a player don’t account for the total sum of what it means to be in a team. That’s not leeching or countering, that’s simply what happens when playing.

Yes, but you watch TV or eat a sandwich while in melee dodging? Those ranged campers can!

Obtena.7952:

That’s a valid opinion and a neat story. There are ways to make up for a lack of situational awareness so that you don’t die … not being full DPS is one and relying on your team is another. Not everyone fits in the ‘pro’ player league you think they should be.

I believe there is more to playing this game with a team than dodging and doing damage because not everyone wants or can play at that level. Again, in non-competitive play, the things you value in a player don’t account for the total sum of what it means to be in a team. That’s not leeching or countering, that’s simply what happens when playing.

No, it’s leeching. You already said some people aren’t capable of dodging and dealing damage, which means other people have to do it for them while they tag along and get the rewards.

You keep emphasising this non-competitive aspect, but even if two football teams are having a friendly, they shouldn’t be expected to slack off just because it doesn’t count towards their position in a league.

Leeching is doing the least possible to get reward. That is not what non-DPS people are doing when they team. They are STILL putting focus and effort towards doing the content. If your going to be sensational and extreme, I see no point in clarifying things to you. Hopefully you will find a team of people that think like you do so you can stop harassing and insulting those that don’t.

Theres no point argueing with someone with guard burn builds in his sig. Thats like a self own and automatic loss of any arguement.

The irony is that I do better with that build than many of the Zerker noob generation you guys are promoting as ‘the best’. It’s about the player, not their gear. I get a good laugh rezzing DPS Rambo who is downed every 15 seconds while telling me I don’t know how to play.

Now that I know you actually play a burn build I can see why you are trying to defend leechers so badly.

I also know to not take any of your posts seriously or to even grace them with a response anymore.

I would actually appreciate that. If you can’t be courteous to people and respect their approach to playing a non-competitive aspect of a game without insulting them, starting by not replying to me is a good idea. I don’t doubt a good number of other people would like to be in my position right now as well. Let’s see if you stick to your guns on this one.

colesy.8490:

No, you can not be good if you aren’t in zerker gear.

I’d kill for an in-game way to check for gear and traits too.

There is assassin gear.

Stop being bad at the game please. Assassin is the new zerker, zerker is the new clerics.

It took you that long to see he has a burning build in his sig?

Wow.

Just wow.

Obtena.7952:

The irony is that I do better with that build than many of the Zerker noob generation you guys are promoting as ‘the best’. It’s about the player, not their gear. I get a good laugh rezzing DPS Rambo who is downed every 15 seconds while telling me I don’t know how to play.

I’m sure if those bads would use your build there would be no difference.

Bad player is bad player … what can I say. It’s not the build.

i play 15/10/10/30/5 LOL

Obtena.7952:

Bad player is bad player … what can I say. It’s not the build.

Then why did you bring it up?

It’s an example that demonstrates performance is more than gear.

Obtena.7952:

It’s an example that demonstrates performance is more than gear.

I can run without traits and still perform better than 99% of player base.

I guess congratulations is in order? or your statement is helping me demonstrate how futile it is to persuade everyone to go full zerkers DPS in PVE based on how poorly everyone plays?

Obtena.7952:

I guess congratulations is in order?

I guess you have no clue what I’m trying to say.

haviz.1340:

Obtena.7952:

It’s an example that demonstrates performance is more than gear.

I can run without traits and still perform better than 99% of player base.

i can run without items and still perform better than everyone…

in terms of dying…

Zackie.8923:

in terms of dying…

That’s not hard.

haviz.1340:

Zackie.8923:

in terms of dying…

That’s not hard.

no, i am the undisputed champion in dying. nobody can match me

Can we please stay on the kittening subject, why does every freakin thread on this forum has to turn onto my kitten is bigger than yours. Every kittening time I click on a thread I tell my self this seems like a helpfull one I can read and about 3 posts later it goes full kitten. God kittening dammit, is it so hard to stay on the freaking subject and leave your zerker egos out if every single kittening thing I click on.

Player asks for best PvE build.

Good players mention berserker-centric builds.

Not-so-good players mention “play how you want”.

Do you not want to know what the best build is?

Actually, he asked for the best PVE-WvW build. That’s not a zerker-centric build. Looks like the ‘good’ players should pay a little more attention.

There is no best build that can be used in both game modes.

So people talk about the best PvE builds and best WvW builds.

I’m not sure you’re qualified to talk about this anyway since you run a burning build.

Oh look, you didn’t last a page not talking to me. So sad for me.

As we know, there isn’t a ‘best’ for both. In that case, it’s reasonable to suggest a hybrid, where your DPS zerker builds are still not relevant.

On another note, I’m more qualified to talk about it than you are … my burning builds are STILL more relevant to a WvW/PVE combined environment than any zerker DPS build your going to push on people.

Obtena.7952:

Oh look, you didn’t last a page not talking to me. So sad for me.

As we know, there isn’t a ‘best’ for both. In that case, it’s reasonable to suggest a hybrid, where your DPS zerker builds are still not relevant.

On another note, I’m more qualified to talk about it than you are … my burning builds are STILL more relevant to a WvW/PVE combined environment than any zerker DPS build your going to push on people.

Your burning builds are total crap for PvE and may or may not be good for WvW, I dunno because PvP is dumb. So you’re maybe 1 for 2 at best. At least I know the PvE zerker builds are good.