Guild Wars 2

Hey all,

Ever since that GS block buff, I’ve fallen in love, specifically, with the block skill on the GS. I carry it in my inventory solely for the skill now, because it’s just oh SO useful in certain situations.

As I dungeon a lot, I just thought I’d write down some of the specific instances in which GS block is incredibly useful. Hopefully this helps instructs other Rangers to improve their dungeoning ability, if only a little bit.

Disclaimer 1

This thread is not meant to convince you that GS is a worthy secondary weapon. These situations listed are very small in the overall scheme of things. I carry my GS in my backpack, and swap them in right before these events, but in no way am I endorsing using GS for the entirety of dungeons (unless of course you’re specced for it)

Disclaimer 2

For most of these situations, a simple dodge or good positioning will work. Although there are exceptions, in most of these situations I list, you should be blocking if

A. you’re lazy
B. you just can’t get the timing right
C. you run out of endurance

But a block is still an incredible back-up to have, if any of the above is to happen, which is why I list them here.

Disclaimer 3

I’ve done a lot of dungeons, but there are many paths I haven’t done nearly enough time to really familiarize myself, so this is by no means a complete list.

Anyways, the List!

Ascalonian Catacombs
1. Kholer Grapple/Pull. It’s one of the most recognizable attacks in the game, and even then people sometimes have a hard time getting the timing down. Yes, you can dodge every single one of them. But if you’re feeling lazy or if you just can’t get the timing down, just block it as soon as he starts charging up.

2. Path 1, running down stairs with fire. in path 1, there’s these stairs which has fire-breathing pillars breathing fire at you as you run down. This is entirely possible to run through without any aid, but I still see people mess it up pretty frequently. If you’re one of those people, just bring in a GS, and block when you think the fire’s about to hit. Easy easy.

3. Howling King. If you ever find yourself in a situation where he’s about to howl and you’re in front of him, block. But Howling King’s howl has such a small radius. The block doesn’t seem nearly as useful as compared to….

4. Colossus Rumblus. I bold this because this is one of those situations where it’s just better to block rather than try to dodge. Currently, the Rumblus’s yell hits a HUMONGOUS radius, and the graphical indicators are really bad at helping you judge how big it is. I’m sure everyone’s had that “….How the heck did that hit me?” experience with Rumblus.

So I just stopped trying to evade it altogether. Whenever he charges his yell, I just block it. No need to worry about if I’m in range or not. There’s no better feeling than to tank his yell in his face then summoning a rez spirit to rez 3 downed allies.

Caudecus’s Mansion
1. Path 3, running that corridor right after SSS. After you kill SSS and you clear the room full of traps, you have to run through this hallway which has 3 nasty riflemen on the opposite side shooting at you. Block and run! You will negate their damage completely and you will have a tremendously easy time getting across.

2. Wahlen. So ideally, you want to dodge every single one of his bombs. Realistically, it’s pretty hard. If you ever find yourself where you’ve dodged too much and have no endurance, just use the block. Not ideal, since his attack frequency is much faster than block’s CD. But it’s still a nice backup to have.

3. Path 3, corridor right after Wahlen. Same as 1 in the list.

Sorrow’s Embrace
1. Path 3, run across the bridge. Not sure how many are aware of this, but there’s a specific run where you have to run through spiders/dredge across a bridge in order to avoid the mobs. You should have absolutely no problems doing this normally, without a GS. However, I always see people die from time to time. If you ever have trouble making this run, just block as you’re crossing the bridge to absorb the worst attacks.

Citadel of Flame
1. Path 2, the sacrificial room. For those of you unfamiliar, there’s a room where players have to survive as long as possible/sacrifice themselves to keep an NPC alive. The GS block is amazing, as it gives you pretty much 3-s of invulnerability (as long as you don’t get hit by melee!).

Crucible of Eternity
1. Subject Alpha. This is the same as Wahlen. You should be able to dodge every single one of his AoEs. But if you ever get in a situations where you’re in the middle of a red circle and have no endurance…block is a great backup to have.

Arah
1. Lupicus. Oh god oh god. I bold this, because I feel GS is a must for this fight, especially in Phase 2. If you block his green projectile things, you save your endurance to use when he actually shadowsteps towards you. You survive THAT MUCH longer because in this fight, endurance is eveeeeerything (IMO).

Snowblind Fractal
1. Boss Same as Wahlen/Alpha, you should be able to dodge his AoE agony circles. But the option is there.

Dredge Fractals
1. Dredge Mining Suit Boss. His bombs/ground pound agony AoE, again, can be dodged. But they can also be blocked. Keep that in mind if you’re missing your dodges a lot

Uncategorized Fractal
1. Harpy’s KD ball. Yes, you can block them. Better option is usually to jump to another platform, but….again, it’s an option.

2. Guitar Hero thing. Works. Blocks it. So easy.

It’s definitely great, especially with it’s new function to block all projectiles within its time limit.

There are times where the block will be overridden, I’ve tried block out on a lot of bosses to see if it’ll work. Usually the big knockdown attacks of bosses will go through your block and down you still.

Thanks for the info on Rumblus, never thought to try it, that scream radius is soo confusing. You are certainly right with that statement, “How the F did I get hit with that?”

Tip for Kholer also, If you have a shortbow equipped, save skill 3 for when you fail to dodge and get pulled. Use 3 right away and you will always live to continue the fight.

Himei.5379:

Tip for Kholer also, If you have a shortbow equipped, save skill 3 for when you fail to dodge and get pulled. Use 3 right away and you will always live to continue the fight.

Does this really work? When you get pulled in you’re knocked down and can’t use your skills while he spins on you.

Ursan.7846:

Himei.5379:

Tip for Kholer also, If you have a shortbow equipped, save skill 3 for when you fail to dodge and get pulled. Use 3 right away and you will always live to continue the fight.

Does this really work? When you get pulled in you’re knocked down and can’t use your skills while he spins on you.

Try it. I do it all the time when for some reason I couldnt see him charge up (due to stacking party members).

Pretty good guide, I started using the GS block more often now

Ursan.7846:

Himei.5379:

Tip for Kholer also, If you have a shortbow equipped, save skill 3 for when you fail to dodge and get pulled. Use 3 right away and you will always live to continue the fight.

Does this really work? When you get pulled in you’re knocked down and can’t use your skills while he spins on you.

Yes it works. You can also just roll out of the AoE

Why use the GS when I can use the Sword for its damage and 3 evasive moves?

Jay.3284:

Why use the GS when I can use the Sword for its damage and 3 evasive moves?

You can, but sword dodges have much smaller windows. I tried it out, but alas my reaction time/dexterity simply isn’t good enough, so I resort to the lazy man’s method of GS blocking. 3 whole seconds of pretty much invulnerability!

Jay.3284:

Why use the GS when I can use the Sword for its damage and 3 evasive moves?

The greatsword block allows you to move around freely, the swords evasion forces you to move in one direction, meaning that you need a bigger area in order to use them. The greatswords block also has a duration time of 3 seconds, thereby making it easier to use.

It’s also worth knowing that, next to the greatswords block, you can also use quickness with the greatswords auto attack, and get almost constant evasion for the quickness duration. And that Swoop is not only an excellent travel skill, but also great for when you need to quickly get out of harms way.

Nice tips, Ursan – keep’em comin’!

Kasama.8941:

Jay.3284:

Why use the GS when I can use the Sword for its damage and 3 evasive moves?

The greatsword block allows you to move around freely, the swords evasion forces you to move in one direction, meaning that you need a bigger area in order to use them. The greatswords block also has a duration time of 3 seconds, thereby making it easier to use.

It’s also worth knowing that, next to the greatswords block, you can also use quickness with the greatswords auto attack, and get almost constant evasion for the quickness duration. And that Swoop is not only an excellent travel skill, but also great for when you need to quickly get out of harms way.

You don’t have to go anywhere in a dodge to dodge it… You can stand in a corner and dodge in the corner and still miss it. This also applies to the swords 3 moves. While it has a 3 second duration; it has 20 second cooldown for that ONE skill, compared to the swords 8 second and 15 second cooldowns.

Quickness with the greatsword’s autoattack… Greatsword’s have kitten damage and using them in auto-attack is a huge drop in DPS compared to the Sword once again. The dps output for the evasiveness is not worth it, especially if you KNOW what attacks to look out for. Also the sword has better travel skills than the greatsword… Turn around and cast 2; then turn around and cast 2 again. ALSO on a lower cool-down than swoop.

Stop being lazy.

Jay.3284:

You don’t have to go anywhere in a dodge to dodge it… You can stand in a corner and dodge in the corner and still miss it. This also applies to the swords 3 moves. While it has a 3 second duration; it has 20 second cooldown for that ONE skill, compared to the swords 8 second and 15 second cooldowns.

Quickness with the greatsword’s autoattack… Greatsword’s have kitten damage and using them in auto-attack is a huge drop in DPS compared to the Sword once again. The dps output for the evasiveness is not worth it, especially if you KNOW what attacks to look out for. Also the sword has better travel skills than the greatsword… Turn around and cast 2; then turn around and cast 2 again. ALSO on a lower cool-down than swoop.

Stop being lazy.

This isn’t a topic about which Ranger weapon is the best. I think you need to read the title again.

Stop acting like a smart kitten

Kasama.8941:

Jay.3284:

You don’t have to go anywhere in a dodge to dodge it… You can stand in a corner and dodge in the corner and still miss it. This also applies to the swords 3 moves. While it has a 3 second duration; it has 20 second cooldown for that ONE skill, compared to the swords 8 second and 15 second cooldowns.

Quickness with the greatsword’s autoattack… Greatsword’s have kitten damage and using them in auto-attack is a huge drop in DPS compared to the Sword once again. The dps output for the evasiveness is not worth it, especially if you KNOW what attacks to look out for. Also the sword has better travel skills than the greatsword… Turn around and cast 2; then turn around and cast 2 again. ALSO on a lower cool-down than swoop.

Stop being lazy.

This isn’t a topic about which Ranger weapon is the best. I think you need to read the title again.

Stop acting like a smart kitten

The topic is how to mitigate damage with a GS. I’m saying you can mitigate damage better/more consistently with a different weapon.

Stop acting like a dumb kitten

Jay.3284:

The topic is how to mitigate damage with a GS. I’m saying you can mitigate damage better/more consistently with a different weapon.

Stop acting like a dumb kitten

Sword doesn’t have a block. Evades aren’t blocks and shouldn’t be treated as such. The greatsword is therefore better at blocking than a sword that doesn’t have access to one.

Sarcasmic.6741:

Jay.3284:

The topic is how to mitigate damage with a GS. I’m saying you can mitigate damage better/more consistently with a different weapon.

Stop acting like a dumb kitten

Sword doesn’t have a block. Evades aren’t blocks and shouldn’t be treated as such. The greatsword is therefore better at blocking than a sword that doesn’t have access to one.

Blocking = Damage mitigation
Dodging = Damage mitigation

The sword has 2 dodges on a lower cool. The sword is therefore better at damage mitigation than a greatsword that doesn’t have as much access.

Jay.3284:

The topic is how to mitigate damage with a GS. I’m saying you can mitigate damage better/more consistently with a different weapon.

Stop acting like a dumb kitten

I know what you are saying, but I don’t know why you persist in doing it in this topic. No one here is saying the greatsword is better then the sword.

“Disclaimer 1
This thread is not meant to convince you that GS is a worthy secondary weapon.”

I was simply pointing out how the greatsword compares to the swords evades, which you quite litterally asked about; “Why use the GS when I can use the Sword for its damage and 3 evasive moves?”. But then you decided to try and be a smart kitten and try to tell me something I already knew, while completely undermining the topics subject. Why did you even ask the question in the first place?

Kasama.8941:

Jay.3284:

The topic is how to mitigate damage with a GS. I’m saying you can mitigate damage better/more consistently with a different weapon.

Stop acting like a dumb kitten

I know what you are saying, but I don’t know why you persist in doing it in this topic. No one here is saying the greatsword is better then the sword.

“Disclaimer 1
This thread is not meant to convince you that GS is a worthy secondary weapon.”

I was simply pointing out how the greatsword compares to the swords evades, which you quite litterally asked about; “Why use the GS when I can use the Sword for its damage and 3 evasive moves?”. But then you decided to try and be a smart kitten and try to tell me something I already knew, while completely undermining the topics subject. Why did you even ask the question in the first place?

Then why even give lack-luster advice when you know better ones?

Jay.3284:

Then why even give lack-luster advice when you know better ones?

Well now. The advise is for people who use GSs. Not everyone uses a sword. Your advise is good advise, don’t get me wrong. I’ve done the calculations and I know sword does way more damage than a GS. I still choose to use GS though just for the utility it gives me. There’s many other reasons aside from damage why you’d use a GS over a sword (leap, daze, da look).