Guild Wars 2

So I read that in the current game Mace/Shield is “not the meta”, not the good choice.

I really like the feel, combos, and animations of mace shield, and I really enjoy dungeons. Plus, I’m pretty keen on my shield skin which has my guild crest on it…

So the question is… just how much worse is this choice from other choices?

Anyone / anywhere I get exact numbers?

Is this one of those case were people are being picky over something as small as 1-5% DPS, or are we talking something like losing 40% and the choice is just flat out disastrous… or…?

What about other 1-hander + shield options? Axe or Sword?
- is my “problem” going to be that I like the shield, like the mace, like either, or like both?

Play PvP.

http://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Warrior_-_Banner_Bunker

There is a viable mace/shield build.

I should have more clearly clarified. I said I enjoyed Dungeons. What I failed to say was they I don’t really enjoy PvP. I never have in any game: MMO or otherwise.

I did notice in some threads that it is considered a good choice in PvP, for the interrupt abilities. But that’s not my focus.

I’m specifically interested in how much worse mace/shield is in PvE / Dungeons than assorted other choices. If anyone has numbers that would be especially desired.

Mace/Shield is primarily CC and defense. It definitely has potential for damage, but not nearly enough damage as axe, greatsword, or even sword. This inherently makes it bad in PvE, since the only thing that matters in current PvE meta is damage.

However, that really only matters if you want to be a hardcore dungeon runner completing dungeons as quickly and efficiently as possible. If you just find a good group of people who don’t care what you use, Mace/Shield is fine. It offers ok damage and good utility/defense.

tl;dr Mace/Shield is not good in dungeons, but it doesn’t matter. Play what you want and enjoy the game.

P.S. Hammer isn’t good for dungeons either but I never stop using my hammer. I love using it and idc if it’s bad.

For dungeons, it’s bad-ish because everyone just wants to speed clear bad AI’s all day. For PvP, it takes too much skill to use but it’s stupidly strong when you’re good at it.

Hello,

Mace/shield is a utility setup, not a damage one. It means you should use it when you want to block / reflect / interrupt things, but not when you want to maximize your DPS. From a DPS point of view, the loss seems huge (I’m sorry I have no figures to provide).

Can you use it in dungeons? Well, if your party does not provide interrupts or reflects and that using these bring value, then I suppose so (not sure) – although you’d probably find yourself camping GS most of the time. Otherwise, i.e. with some other classes doing the reflects/interrupts, then you’d be better off doing what warriors do best: maximize damage for the group.

In any case, why not give it a try? Nothing beats first-hand experience! I’d just advise you to try it in a friendly group, as “experienced dungeoneers” may not be forgiving of such experiments (lots of people take the game way too seriously, to the point of insulting people not “playing” meta – whatever game mode).

Regards.

Hi,

BlackTruth.6813:

For dungeons, it’s bad-ish because everyone just wants to speed clear bad AI’s all day. For PvP, it takes too much skill to use but it’s stupidly strong when you’re good at it.

I love mace/shield in PvP these days. Yesterday I enjoyed interrupting another warrior’s combustive shot three times in a row (then I had no more interrupts available). The amount of active defense it provides is great, and works nicely against melee no-add classes.

As for the level of skill though, I don’t find it particularly difficult to use. The difficulty with the setup is actually that it only works at melee, meaning it takes some kiting skill to get there. Most experienced warriors know how to do that though, as it is a primary skill to have for a class not having teleport or stealth.

I find interrupt-based play immensely fun to play. Aside from the warrior, I’ve enjoyed playing lockdown mesmers the most, or possibly berserker staff elem (with Lighting Rod).

Regards.

Elegie.3620:

In any case, why not give it a try? Nothing beats first-hand experience! I’d just advise you to try it in a friendly group, as “experienced dungeoneers” may not be forgiving of such experiments (lots of people take the game way too seriously, to the point of insulting people not “playing” meta – whatever game mode).

Regards.

Mace/Shield is what I ran for about 2/3rd of the time I was active after launch. Switching from Hammer to Mace/Shield when I started my Guardian – so that I wouldn’t be looking at the same weapon and so similar of animations on two characters.

On both I tried greatsword and hated the playstyle – not its impact, but its animations and just the audio/visual feel of it felt really alienating to me. Both characters tossed their greatswords before they’d made it past level 5 or 6 or so…

So I’m perfectly willing to be “off” from the meta, and willing to get tossed from a group that insists…

But I do want to know exactly how far off I am. And I think I could live with axe/shield or sword/shield if they were superior enough over Mace/Shield (as in, more than a 15% buff to DPS).

I did try */shield on guardian back around launch, but it had too much ‘magical flashy stuff’ going on, so my guardian went Hammer.

Hello,

Kichwas.7152:

On both I tried greatsword and hated the playstyle – not its impact, but its animations and just the audio/visual feel of it felt really alienating to me. Both characters tossed their greatswords before they’d made it past level 5 or 6 or so…

Animations vary from race to race. I’ve always found Hundred Blades to be plain on humans or charrs, but spectacular on asuras (it’s like a dance, you don’t even know if the asura wields the greatsword or the opposite).

Kichwas.7152:

But I do want to know exactly how far off I am. And I think I could live with axe/shield or sword/shield if they were superior enough over Mace/Shield (as in, more than a 15% buff to DPS).

If you like, I suppose you can measure the DPS difference yourself, in the Heart of the Mist, using test golems. Buy PvP weapons (with fixed damage modifiers), then head to some big test golem and measure how much time you need to put it down, the first time using the axe auto-attack, the second time using the mace auto-attack. The ratio of both times should give you the figure you’re looking for.

Aside from the damage, one interesting thing with the greatsword is that it gives you might on critical hits – which you can share with your mates using Phalanx Strength. The axe DPS is very good, so would probably be accepted in a party, but is more selfish I guess.

Regards.