Guild Wars 2

Currencies of Guild Wars 2:

1. Experience
2. Skill Points
3. Traits
4. Coin (copper, silver, gold)
5. Karma
6. Glory
7. Supply
8. Gems
9. Influence
10. Ascalonian Tear
11. Seal of Beetletun
12. Deadly Bloom
13. Manifesto of the Moletariate
14. Flame Legion Charr Carving
15. Symbol of Koda
16. Knowledge Crystal
17. Shard of Zhaitan
18. Badge of Honour
19. Captains’ Council Commendation
20. Candy Corn
21. Ugly Sock
22. Ugly Hat
23. Ugly Sweater
24. Fractal Relic
25. Pristine Fractal Relic
26. Laurel
27. Guild Commendation
28. Guild Merit
29. Pact Victory Token
30. Karka Shell

And soon to add:

1. World Experience

ANet, stop.

The fight can be done solo and it isn’t a required to group up, whether for normal mode or Challenge mode. Just bring a towel and, most importantly, don’t panic.

The Shadow of the Dragon (“Shadow”) cycles between 3 phases.

Phase 1:
1. It’ll hop around the outside of its ring and occasionally call you names (big multi-hit cone of knock-backness). At the same time there will be x Modrem Tendrils that you will need to kill to progress (where x is dependant on Shadow’s HP and number of players in party).

2. If your profession has projectile-blocking or reflect skills like Illusionary Warden, Wall of Reflection or Smoke Screen, you can use it to block the poison bolts the Tendrils throw at you.

3. Otherwise, just skirt around the edge of the circle to avoid Shadow’s cone attack and kill the Tendrils. If you have trouble dodging Tendril melee attacks (1 head-bonk and 1 knockback), then use a ranged weapon.

Phase 2:
1. Once all the Tendrils are cleared, Shadow will dive into the centre of the ring. Don’t stand in the red.

2. This is the part where people panic and lose their minds because they forgot to bring a towel. Really, though, things are very predictable.

3. At every 5 second-ish interval, you’ll see some dirt clouds pop up in a line across the diameter of the circle, followed by rocks popping out. The rocks will deal minimal damage but apply Cripple. Cripple is bad because mobility is your lifeline. To avoid this, stay along the edge of the circle whenever you’re waiting for the next Divine Fire. When Rox tosses the Fire in, be a responsible pedestrian and look left, then right and cross when it’s safe.

4. Once in a while, some seed pods will sprout up. Getting near one will cause them to explode and apply a hell of a Burn. However, take note that these sprout in pairs and have a rather obvious “trip wire” bit running between them. The trick to clear these is to align your character perpendicular (90-degrees) to the pair of Pods, and run straight through. The Seed Pods will explode and you, my friend, will look like an action hero (or something out of the Gangnam Style music video).

5. During all this, Shadow has 3 attacks, which I refer to as “Big-Big-Small”. “Big” attacks are claw attacks that will knock you down and apply Cripple and Bleed. “Small” attacks are bite attacks that will knock you up (hurhur) and apply Bleed. “Big” attacks can be largely ignored by having Stability, while “Small” attacks bypasses Stability (but not Aegis).

6. #3, #4 and #5 will repeat until you achieve the objective of this phase, which is to light up y points around the circle with Divine Fire (where y = 4 or more, depending on number of players in the party). You do this by walking into the white circle of Divine Fire that Rox tosses in, running to the designated spot and pressing “F”. Braum, when he’s not fixing his hair or doing crunches, will shield you with a bubble, giving you 1s of Stability, Protection and Regeneration every second. You can make use of Braum’s shield and ignore the “Big” attacks while channeling the Divine Fire; you will still need to step out of the “small” attacks’ red circle.

7. Once all the fires are lighted, we proceed to Phase 3.

Phase 3:
1. The Divine Fires will create a ring and force the Shadow out of the ground. Because aliens.

2. Rocks will fall from the ceiling and knock you down, but generally don’t deal much damage.

3. During this phase, your goal is to deal as much damage to Shadow as possible within a time limit. The time limit is indicated by the shadowy figures that spawn the centre of the circle and walk towards the edge. The figures are fully invulnerable, so just follow your companion’s advice and focus on the Shadow. Keep an eye out for Kasmeer’s Time Warp for more DPS.

4. Shadow will turn invulnerable at 50% HP, but the phase won’t end prematurely, i.e. you will still be dodging falling rocks until the shadowy figures reach the circle’s edge.

5. Once this phase ends, Phase 1 repeats with changes.

Changes to the 2nd cycle and beyond:
Phase 1: After one cone attack, Shadow will throw rocks down in two volleys. It’s easier to focus on avoiding the attacks before continuing to kill the Tendrils.

Phase 2: After you light one Fire, a Shadowy Figure will appear at the centre of the ring. The Figure will walk towards the last Fire that was lighted and extinguish it. It is invulnerable to all your attacks unless you have the Divine Fire, after which they will die to one hit of a wet tissue.

Phase 3: Nothing.

I have completed this fight on the following professions, so I’ll post my experience and tips for each.

1. Mesmer (Assassin/Berserker build; 6/4/0/0/4; Sword-Sword/Pistol)
My first character to ever experience this fight. Besides getting hit by every blasted attack thrown her way, her DPS was also kitten during Phase 3 as the Phantasms would get hit by falling rocks and be utterly useless. Feedback was of limited use in Phase 1; Sword #2 and #4 were useful for mitigating “Big” and “Small” attacks in Phase 2.

2. Guardian (Berserker build; 2/6/0/4/2; Greatsword/Sword-Focus)
What a cake walk. Retreat! for Aegis and Swiftness during Phase 2, Stand Your Ground! for extra Stability during Phase 3, and Shelter, Shield of Wrath and Renewed as Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free passes. Needless to say this was the guy I used to solo the Story Journal achievements.

3. Thief (Berserker build; 6/6/0/0/2; Dagger-Dagger/Pistol-Pistol)
Being squishy as heck, she had to tread lightly throughout the encounter. I actively cleared Seed Pods and baited “Big” and “Small” attacks away from the areas where she needed to channel the Divine Fire.

4. Hunter (Berserk build; 6/4/0/4/0; Sword-Axe/Longbow)
Another cake walk. Signet of the Wild and Rampage as One for loads of Stability during Phase 3, and Healing Spring for heals and condition cleansing. Used Longbow for the Tendrils and Sword-Axe for Phase 3.

Fay.2735:

<— The aforementioned shiny guild leader ^

…

I’ll be submitting a petition to the Captain’s Council to legislate against super-shiny asuras on ground that they are a public hazard. Excessive shininess at below waist height will cause glaring to regular folk’s eyes, leading into them tripping over said perpetrator or other obstacle and fall to their deaths.

It is at these times that I am grateful that Evon Gnashblade did not get elected for he would simply tell us to buy more Sunglasses from the Black Lion Gem Store.

Einlanzer.1627:

No. Bar breaks are only a thing in some fights, and in those cases they replace the normal control effect, they do not supplement it, so this, IMO, is not a strong counter-argument. The thing is – you can increase the duration of control effects in PvE without interfering with how they impact bar breaks, and you’d have a skill that was generally useful and not one that was highly specialized to work only in specific contexts.

This argument doesn’t change anything.

What’s wrong with having skills that work amazingly in specific context and less so in others? In your example, Basilisk Venom is inaccurately assessed because you only consider a single application from your player character. However, when shared with other players, it is an extremely potent skill to break Defiance Bars. And when the context requires something different, for example the Wyvern Patriarch in Verdant Brink, which has no breakable Defiance Bar, then you switch to another Elite skill. All in all, this gives players a meaningful choice to consider prior to approaching an encounter in PVE, which I would argue is a good thing.

Einlanzer.1627

There is one area, though, that needs splitting and never gets split – and that’s the duration of certain effects like stun, petrify, and stealth. While they’re useful for defiance bars in PvE, the fact that they are mostly balanced around PvP makes them garbage for general use in PvE.

Crowd control skills and their interactions with Defiance Bars are generally balanced around groups, rather than individuals. Hence, it is extremely rare to have a skill that can single-handedly break a Champion or Legendary Defiance Bar. Further, since most non-Champion or higher encounters don’t last very long, the control duration on the existing skills as is are more than adequate. In other words, I disagree with your opinion that crowd control skills, in PVE, are not properly balanced.

Perhaps you could name another example scenario? Especially one that inspired this thread in the first place?

In my five years of playing Guild Wars 2, I would have to say Siren’s Landing is a truly unique experience where I absolutely despise the sight of another player. This feeling is specific to areas around the Grenth and Lyssa Reliquaries. Let me explain.

At the Grenth Reliquary, one of the core mechanics for the Renown (Heart) Quest is to use the “Reclaim” skill from the Ley Organ bundle on Unchained Wraiths (alive or dead) and Reclaimed Wraiths; successfully reclaiming Wraiths awards approximately 20% completion of the Renown track. However, more often than I would care to count, during the course of the 4-second cast time of Reclaim, other players would displace the Wraiths around me either by drawing aggro and running away, or using knockbacks/pulls. To add insult to injury, the Ley Organ would be consumed the moment I used it. So not only would my Renown progression be “stolen,” I would have to go hunt down another Scavenger and another Wraith, and pray I don’t get trolled, again.

Similarly, at the Lyssa Reliquary, a core mechanic involves using Reclaim on one of the Corrupted Fountains. Successfully Reclaiming a fountain also awards 20% towards the completion of the Renown Quest. However, since some of the Horrid Illusions have stuns or dazes that will interrupt the 4-second cast time of Reclaim, and thereby wasting it, the “safer” strategy would be to quickly dispatch any nearby Illusions first. The problem is, while I’m fighting, not only do I have to contend with the enemies, I do not have access to the Ley Organ abilities, which then allows for some other player to waltz right by me and Reclaim the Corrupted Fountain I was fighting for. The kicker to this? Once Reclaimed, nobody else can get credit by using Reclaim on the same fountain.

These flawed mechanics run absolutely counter to the Guild Wars 2 Design Manifesto. Not only am I incentivized to solo these areas, but I would go out of my way to avoid other players, lest they “steal my kill,” so to speak. Considering the proximity of the launch of Path of Fire, I can only hope ArenaNet will consider fixing these two Renown quests, or at least take a second look at future mechanics.

Cheers.

I read a lot of exaggeration in the opening post (and even from some of the subsequent posts). I also see somebody mention that higher-level dungeons are easier to complete at their recommended level, which is partially true and I’ll address that first.

A main part of Guild Wars 2 combat is about dodging and moving out of red rings of badness, yes. But the next part of what defines a player’s skill is his/her ability to choose the right Utilities and weapons for a given situation and use them effectively. Unfortunately, at lower levels most players either don’t pick up the utilities that are truly good, don’t know how to use them, or just plainly don’t have the skill points to purchase them in the first place. Above all else, I believe this is what’s lacking from most beginner’s guides I see.

For dungeons in general, while group DPS, control and support are important, the thing that determines a good run from bad is knowing which mobs are your biggest threats and focusing the team’s effort in taken them down as quickly as possible.

In the case of Caudecus’ Manor, arranged in order of priority

1. Bandit Saboteur (large, high-damage, long duration AOE knock back)
2. Bandir Bomber (ranged AOE that stacks Vulnerability)
3. Bandit Cutpurse (capability to apply 12 stacks of Bleed in a single move)
4. Bandit Enforcer (two high burst damage ranged attacks)
5. Bandit Rifleman (one-shots most moving targets; significant damage otherwise)
6. Bandit Thug (grants allies Stability and Fury)
7. Bandit Hooligan (knockdowns and stuns)
8. Bandit Archer (generally annoying, but not threatening)

You’ll quickly notice that having projectile blocking and reflecting becomes absolutely incredible in this setting. Not a must, but definitely makes life easier. Also, in every path you’ll have to deal with the Cutpurse, so packing at least one form of Condition removal is necessary. Even a level 80 with full Exotics and Ascended items with Toughness and Vitality stats through the roof will hurt from one Cutpurse’s Leaping Death Blossom if unable to remove the Bleed stacks, let alone stacks from two Cutpurses being dumped on a glass cannon Elementalist.

I disagree. Soft CC, is as the nomination implies, soft. If the group needs to break a specific Defiance Bar, then players should be equipping hard CC, e.g. stuns, launches, etc. Furthermore, in encounters like Vinetooth Prime and Wyvern Matriarchs, the Defiance Bar window is far too short to rely on defiance-over-time effects, which again prompts the use of faster, harder CC.

Reasons to play Sylvari:

1) Bioluminescence.

2) Their hair/eyebrows are leaves.

3) The total juxtaposition of a stereotype concept: an “sylvan/elvish” race that’s not quadgabilgillion years old and snooty, but one that’s young (25 years young!) and infinitely curious.

4) Bioluminescence.

5) Fear Not This Night is the default soundtrack of the Grove

6) Their dialogue (“The last straw was the turtle in the desert.” and “Will that Charr eat me? Is it vegetarian?”)

7) Bioluminescence.

According to the wiki, 100 Condition Damage adds

5 damage per second per stack of Bleed (5%),
25 damage per second of Burn (25%),
7.5 damage per attack per stack of Confusion (7.5%), and
10 damager per second of Poison (10%).

With the introduction of Megaservers, all you need to do is be in the same party as your friends to play on the same instance of a PVE map. Once in a party, right click on a party member’s portrait and select “Join in [map]”.

Do note that this only applies to PVE maps. You will not be able to guest into another server’s WvW maps.

I’m not sure if ANet has implemented the cross-server play for open world PVE yet, but I know for a fact that players from different servers can enjoy delving in the same instanced dungeons.

Rhaegar.5120:

thanks for the really interesting points. One question I have in mind is: will we get enough badges with a defensive build?

It depends on what you mean by “defensive”. If all you’re doing is throwing up bubbles, walls and drawing lines all day, then no your contribution won’t count in terms of kills.

Many Guardians – including myself – despair for our ranged weapons because the typical WvW scenes people find themselves in are either two zergs playing footsies in an open field, or attacking a keep. Then over the last week, I decided to ditch the “range” mindset and ran berserk at people. As it turns out, it worked surprisingly well.

The key to success of a melee fighter in WvW is to know where and when to charge. Charging into enemy lines head on will likely get you killed, just as much as charging at their flanks when your own people aren’t willing to push the lines. Timed right, you’ll find yourself in the midst of squishy glass cannons, diverting 80% of the enemy zerg’s attention away from your front lines, and finally, a field of Bags of Loot with the enemy routed.

Dannico gave some good tips of things to do, I’ll add my own, i.e. what I do:

1. Protect siege (Catapults and Ballistas)
Thieves, Warriors and Guardians are keen to rush at friendly siege. Stay near them and ward off the attacks. Circle of Warding stops the initial attack, Banish banishes and Zealot’s Embrace is your best friend when dealing with annoying Dagger Storm Thieves.

2. Watch for reinforcements
During sieges, enemy reinforcements will be trying to sneak past your forces to enter the Tower or Keep. Considering it is much easier to defeat enemies on the ground, stopping them before they get a chance to man siege weapons or rain damage on your own forces is a great boon. So instead of planting your face against the gate, watch entry points into the besieged locations and stop their reinforcements. Watching these flanks also allow you to warn your team of oncoming zergs.

3. Assault Supply Camps and Dolyaks
With just two to five invaders, an undefended Supply Camp will fall rather quickly. Flipping an enemy camp, especially one deep inside their territory typically distracts their reinforcements for a good 10-15 minutes, while at the same time allowing your team to steal supplies to reinforce your own position. Further without supply flowing into the Tower or Keep, the Defenders cannot repair walls and gates.

All berserker. Full glass. Much nuke. Very hype.*

• Only for PVE, except Tequatl and Triple Threat world boss fights.

The best gear is made or forged

Or found. Or through specific achievements.

Stat Priority for a Thief: Power – Precision – Vitality, in that order.

Power builds with no Ferocity is pointless outside of WvW Zerg Frontlines. The extra vitality from Valkyrie or Toughness from Cavalier will allow your squishy thief to withstand an extra ONE regular attack from a boss. HYPE!

Thanks for the great episode. That tip on Epidemic is a real game changer for me.

On the topic of Fear and Terror, Fear is the only “hard” CC that is affected by Condition Duration and is actually a Condition itself (whereas others like Blowout, Pull, Knockdown, Stun and Daze are not). When used on a Defiant Champion or Legendary mob, unless they are outright immune, the Fear Condition will still be applied, hence dealing damage from Terror. On a Condition Damage build, it’s not hard to slip into Death Shroud, insta-cast Doom, slip out of Death Shroud and continue your regular rotation. With Master of Terror, you only need +10% Condition duration and Rare Veggie Pizza to get an extra second of Fear.

Overall I think Takaruza has some good points, but his absolute lack of input regarding a Power Necro is dungeons other than COF P1 really bugged me. Yes, I get that Power Necros can do well in the easiest and most brain-dead dungeon in the game, but what about places like CM, SE, Arah or even Fractals? COF P1 is just a silly DPS run, while there are many dungeons that greatly benefit with the correct utilities; what can a Necro bring to a party in such cases? It would have been really great if he could have provided some insights in those. Unfortunately, as he admits, he doesn’t do anything other than COF P1…

White – Salvage (Basic Salvage Kit)
Blue – Sell to Vendor
Green – Sell to Vendor
Yellow – Salvage (high-level Salvage Kit)
Orange – Salvage (Master or Black Lion Salvage Kit)

The other bosses are purely mechanics based and defensive stats merely provide you a buffer for mistakes, somewhat. However I’ll give some tips specific to Guardians, since you mentioned.

Champion Icebrood Wolf
The fight is all about avoiding its pounce attack. Aegis is perfect for the situation, and so is the Focus’ Shield of Wrath.

Subject Alpha
It’s all about the safety nets you can give your party mates. You achieve this through Aegis (Virtue of Courage) and Protection (Hold the Line, Shield of Judgement). Otherwise, you can also help cleanse the Burn condition with anything from Purging Flames to Absolute Resolution.

Mark T-B34RC3
The key to this fight is to remove its boons. You do this by preventing the bolts from each turret from reach the golem. The most brainless tactic to achieve this is to destroy the turrets, which works, but inefficient as they respawn rather quickly.

The smart way is to block and reflect the turret bolts. The Guardian has three ways to achieve this: Wall of Reflection, Shield of Absorption and Shield of the Avenger. By placing these in between the golem and the turrets, you stop it from receiving the boons granted by the associated turret. If you can otherwise rip its boons, all the better.

Mobs seem to blow through the protection as if it were nothing and i feel like im being hit way too hard even with the permanent protection on.

Important to note that all the Protection, Regeneration and Virtue of Resolve in the game won’t let you face tank a 25-stack Abomination, or fighting one other Risen after a Plague Carrier blows up in your face, or embracing Kol’s stomp. Besides Aegis, please remember that you can do the following to improve your game:

1. Turn with your mouse and not your keyboard
2. Move while using most abilities
3. Dodge

Depends on what is helpful to you.

Unlocking all the previous chapters and completing all the achievements gets you…

Lots of Achievement Points
Lots of Geodes (for Dry Top merchants) and Bandit Crests (for Silverwastes merchants)
Some keys for aforementioned areas
Nomad’s and Sinister ascended trinkets
Mysterious Seed needed to craft the ascended back piece, Mawdrey
Armour pieces needed to complete the Luminescent armour collections, which in turn contributes to the Bioluminescence rare collection achievement
Context to Heart of Thorns and subsequent stories

SynfulChaot.3169:

Charak.9761:

Guess it helps being a guard, can ignore all of sparkis mechanics during slick kill

Yes. You can. Not everyone is loaded with reflects and stability, though. Rangers only get it on an elite. Some professions don’t get it at all.

With the right group comp, Slick may be faster. For random groups? Sparki.

Sparki’s attacks can’t be reflected (sadly), only blocked with skills like Shield of Absorption or Smoke Screen (yes, thieves. USE IT)

Target Name: N/A
IP: 64.25.40.122
Date/Time: 9/1/2013 10:14:48 PM

1 67 ms 73 ms [115.132.111.137]
2 259 ms N/A [10.55.200.45]
3 218 ms N/A xe-8-0-0.edge4.Amsterdam1.Level3.net [212.72.40.233]
4 238 ms N/A ae-52-52.csw2.Amsterdam1.Level3.net [4.69.139.185]
5 238 ms N/A ae-56-221.ebr2.Amsterdam1.Level3.net [4.69.153.201]
6 238 ms N/A ae-48-48.ebr2.London1.Level3.net [4.69.143.82]
7 348 ms N/A ae-44-44.ebr1.NewYork1.Level3.net [4.69.137.78]
8 308 ms N/A ae-71-71.csw2.NewYork1.Level3.net [4.69.134.70]
9 * N/A [-]
10 385 ms N/A ae-3-3.ebr2.Dallas1.Level3.net [4.69.137.121]
11 345 ms N/A ae-92-92.csw4.Dallas1.Level3.net [4.69.151.165]
12 393 ms N/A ae-4-90.edge2.Dallas1.Level3.net [4.69.145.203]
13 444 ms N/A [4.59.197.34]
14 403 ms N/A [64.25.32.9]
15 * N/A [-]
16 421 ms N/A [64.25.32.82]
17 461 ms N/A [64.25.40.122]

Ping statistics for 64.25.40.122
Packets: Sent = 1, Received = 1, Lost = 0 (0.0%)
Round Trip Times: Minimum = 461ms, Maximum = 461ms, Average = 461ms

Lag spikes throughout WvW whenever a group of enemy players take a portal, Waypoint into the map or just load into the vicinity.

The Flame and Frost page gives a preview of the February 26 patch.

And the armor ignoring part (for killing guardian and warriors) is very overrated.

This line tells me a great deal of how much misconception you have regarding game mechanics and class builds. Armour, as in the stat provided by actual armour pieces, mean little to nothing without Toughness. Toughness, on the other hand, is being stacked to kingdom come on most class builds, and more often than not at the expense of Vitality. This is a good thing for Condition Damage builds of any profession.

People prefer Power builds because it provides quick bursts of damage that secures kills; Condition Damage builds do consistent damage throughout the fight while kiting, dancing, etc but run the risk of enemies fleeing, i.e. zomgnobadge.

People also absolutely adore the BIG NUMBERS that pop up for Power builds, but can’t appreciate the string of small numbers spewing off the enemies’ heads.

I’m not an exceptional Mesmer, but here are some tips I’ve taught myself:

1. While in stealth, we cannot target the Thief and thus cannot generate clones. In WvW, you can still target other targets, such as critters, wildlife, NPC guards or other enemies. Clone generation is important to execute Diversion or Distortion.

2. If you use Greatswords and the Thief goes into stealth, count to two, make a quick turn (aka stop keyboard turning!) and fire Illusionary Wave. More often than not, you will catch the Thief just before she Backstabs you.

3. The Sceptre’s Illusionary Counter and off-hand Sword’s Illusionary Riposte, if timed right, will block the Thief’s opener and generate a clone. I’m still not sure if blocking Cloak and Dagger will still allow the Thief to go back into Stealth, though.

4. Otherwise, unless Shadow Refuge was used, you could go into Stealth too! kittenololol

This brings to mind a certain video from September:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh5zjK7ITpQ

Wonder how those eles are doing now…

Cathellos.4835:

Ok. Next thing, the WvW pvp thing. Im not 100% clear onhow it works. I understand that its a GIANT vs battle between servers and I think everyone is the same lvl, so no handicaps? But what do I get from it. Bragging rights, Items, EXP, Gear, or is it all just for PvP fun?

Everybody in WvW are raised to level 80, including upscaling of base stats and equipment stats. However there is a very distinct difference in character effectiveness between a level 40 in random levelling gear and a level 30 blinged out in well-chosen gear.

Generally you get the same type of loot and EXP from farming other players and Keep Lords as you would farming normal creatures and Champions in PVE. However, the rate of income isn’t as stable since you are playing against other players.

HyJinx.4896:

and as far as that golem not taking damage just use condition damage when its not shielded and it will suffer the damage from it while it is shielded… keep that up and they will fall over dead easily

ZOMGWTF Condition damage finally being viable in a dungeon scenario! No wonder people are crying.

ArcTheFallen.7682:

Now…finding a scepter skin that looks good for guards…that’s a diff story

Princess Wand.

Works whether you’re a petite Human Female cosplaying Sailor Moon, or a massive bald ebony Norn Male cosplaying Sailor Moon. It. Just. Works.

Would like to make an important note that the numbers associated with Mirage (and other PoF Elite specializations) are not final and will have changed on launch day.

draxynnic.3719:

Losing most if not all of your offensive capability when carrying an organ makes it a PITA to get the kill and manage to reclaim it before the body disappears, and the story step requires you to reclaim bodies (where at most other reliquaries, I mostly complete the heart by channeling ley energy.

Using Skill #1 (Ley Line Blast) will temporarily unequip the Ley Organ bundle, thereby returning full weapon functionality. The bundle will be re-equipped shortly after leaving combat state.

Hope that helps!

For the majority of my Guardian’s play time I’ve used a Shout build. It looks geared for parties and dungeons, but it works great solo too. This build allows me to venture into Orr without fear thanks to the multitude of Condition Removals (2 each shout, 3 with Virtue of Resolve) and defensive Boons (easy access to Protection, Regeneration and Vigor).

I’ve now switched to a more selfish build for WvW roaming.

Fixed bad links.

Personal Story (Zhaitan) chapters are only unlocked every 10 levels and the experience gained from these stories aren’t enough to push you to the next threshold.

So the answer to your question is level 70 or thereabouts.

Cathellos.4835:

Ojimaru.8970:

Cathellos.4835:

Ok. Next thing, the WvW pvp thing. Im not 100% clear onhow it works. I understand that its a GIANT vs battle between servers and I think everyone is the same lvl, so no handicaps? But what do I get from it. Bragging rights, Items, EXP, Gear, or is it all just for PvP fun?

Everybody in WvW are raised to level 80, including upscaling of base stats and equipment stats. However there is a very distinct difference in character effectiveness between a level 40 in random levelling gear and a level 30 blinged out in well-chosen gear.

Generally you get the same type of loot and EXP from farming other players and Keep Lords as you would farming normal creatures and Champions in PVE. However, the rate of income isn’t as stable since you are playing against other players.

Ok. So what about when you lose to other players? Do you lose money or anything?

Just your dignity. Since the September 2014 patch, armour repair costs were removed along with Way Point travel costs in WvW. So if you die, you suffer no monetary loss.

Yes to all the above

First 80 – Guardian – I like the profession, but I got a lot of negative feedback from pugs as I died a lot in dungeons.

Dying in dungeons is unrelated to how strong a profession is, rather it is about your knowledge of dungeon and its encounters. Guardians are pretty amazing in most of the game, from world exploration to mini dungeons to WvW zerg frontline (disclaimer: please don’t bring your PVE Zerker armour to WvW).

As training wheels, please do the following:
Traits: 5 points into Virtues and trait into Absolute Resolution. This gives Virtue of Resolve an active large heal and condition cleanse and should train you into recognising how, when and why you should activate your Virtues.

Utility: Whatever your build, whatever dungeon you’re running, have Wall of Reflection. As a beginner, you have no excuse to zone out during fights, so pay attention to what you’re fighting. If you see something shooting anything, drop Wall of Reflection. Nine times out of ten, you’ll be a hero for your group.

Second 80 – Necro – I found the class to much more survivable (maybe because I started to appreciate the game’s mechanics!), but pugs are rather “racist” to the class, and I got insta-kicked several times before I could even say hello.

Instead of joining a “All paths 80s zerk speedrun” group, make your own. The discriminating sort will see your Necromancer icon and wander off, the rest will just join up on their own.

Third 80 – Condition Warrior – I liked the sword/sword approach, but pugs would kick me for my weapon and signet selection.

Condition damage is just one of the worst things about GW2 PVE. But if you’re intent on playing one – as above – make your own LFG.

Third 80 part 2 – Power Warrior – I went through the expense to replace all my condi warrior stuff with berserker gear and an axe/mace – axe/sword build. Then the might nerf in the latest patch happened and several “pros” have done nothing but bad-mouth warriors since. I feel like I wasted my time on him.

Haven’t kept up with the QQ on official forums, but they are still viable and wasn’t much affected by the Might nerf. Banners of Discipline and Strength aren’t even affected and those are the major reasons why Warriors are “meta”.

Above all, it’s not “just play what you like”. Instead it’s about understanding why something is good or mediocre before jumping to your own conclusions. A little bit of critical thinking goes a long way.

Cheezy.2039:

I would like this idea if they eliminated the problems some of the dungeon paths have.

Why does no one run SE p2? That’s not because reward/time sucks, that’s because the escort event bugs out half the time making you reset the path. Why does no one run Aetherpath? Of course I can speak solely for myself but the rewards/time are okay but it’s simply not fun. (Unskippable cutscenes, huge timegates, boring puzzles)

Other than that I like that more difficult paths (like HotW) would get a better reward than easier ones (like AC).

Exactly this. Before ANet should even bother with such complicated systems, they first need to actually fix their dungeons. Because face it, even if they make SE P2 or Arah P4 worth 4g a run, while nerfing AC paths to 1g, in their current state nothing would change.

Adeptis.1742:

All super helpful answers! I’m scared to change my key bindings, but I’ll give it a shot if I still can’t effectively dodge after trying the above techniques.

Is there a good heuristic to know what my stats should be for a given level? Should I just make sure my gear lvl requirement is near my level? Some pieces are still from character creation. Should I use my Karma to buy gear, or save for later?

No, don’t spend Karma on gear. Buying low level items on the Trading Post usually cost less than a silver for Fine (Blue) quality items, more than enough to suit your needs.

The worst information is wrong information.

Use all four elements. Ignore the fail troll.

Widow.5849:

Mmmmm, I dunno.
I have banners that currently heal for 32.5k for their duration and I think that’s pretty darn good. I still have to craft 3 more exotic Cleric pieces yet… and upgrade my crappy Green lvl80 trinkets, too.
Even if it’s just me doing support in a dungeon no one’s dying, so I think the Healing stat is doing it’s job just fine XD.

~Mewmewcachoo (warrior – CD)

But here’s the real question: Without a single point into Healing Power, would you still be able to accomplish your support role?

This thread isn’t about whether going full Heal support Skills and Traits is good or not, but whether you gain any notable benefit by stacking Healing Power.

The game has been out for about six months now and people still don’t fully understand Subject Alpha. It’s a sweet creation borne from the brilliance of the Inquest Mind, fused with Dragon energy drinks, likes taking long walks through the Crucible…

He also has a few moves and is really one of the more involved dungeon boss fights in GW2.

Path 1: Submarine
He uses two attacks.

The first is a point-blank AOE flame burst that does 10-20% HP of damage and puts a Burn on victims. If there are enemies at range, this same attack will also spawn Dragon Teeth. Being silly and getting hit by the Dragon Teeth will usually instantly Down the fool.

The second attack is an Earth Spike attack hits in a cone. It’s very hard to dodge this in melee range, but the damage is quite manageable.

On the second and third encounters with Alpha, it will randomly encase a character in crystal. The crystal can be broken with direct damage and blinked out of with the appropriate skills. The crystal, if unbroken, will disable the victim for 30s. If the victim was caught out in range, this will mean likely death from a Dragon Tooth.

In order to avoid the headache of needing to dodge the Dragon Teeth, especially in the second and third fights when the party has to break the crystals, the strategy is to simply stack in melee range, then heal and cleanse through his attacks.

Throughout each encounter with Alpha, there will be Risen Thralls and Risen Tentacles that you can kill to Rally.

Path 2 & Path 3
Subject Alpha’s abilities in Paths 2 and 3 are somewhat different from 1 and a tad bit more complex.

While it retains its fire-based attack, it loses its Earth Spike attack. Instead of a cone, it will mark each enemy in the encounter with two concentric circles. At the centre you will notice one of two distinct visual effects: frost on the ground and mist in the air.

Frost on the ground telegraphs an earth-based attack (I strongly suggest the ANet dungeon team reconsider this vague visual effect). Anything outside of the inner circle will get hit with a fair amount of damage plus 6 stacks of Bleed. Simply standing still (assuming no other circles overlap your inner circle) will keep your character safe.

Mist in the air (again, I suggest a more prominent visual effect) telegraphs an ice-based attack. Anything standing inside the inner circle will be instantly Downed from massive damage. Simply walking out of inner circle will save your behind. Only one enemy will be targeted with the ice attack each cycle.

Most people only know to stack in melee range and “count to 2 and dodge”. It works, but some people just can’t count or take into consideration for latency/reaction time/hand-eye coordination.

Alternatively, if spaced apart in such a way that nobody’s outer circle overlaps somebody else’s inner circle, the party can stand still and pelt Alpha with ranged attacks, only needing to avoid the occasional Dragon Tooth and Ice attack.

Besides the ambiguous visual tells for its one-shot attacks, my only other pet peeve with the Subject Alpha fight is how unfriendly it is to Condition Damage builds. Breaking party members out of Crystal Prisons are top priority, but utterly impossible to do in a timely manner when you’re geared in Rabid or similar gear with very low Power.

There is 9 hits/pulses. I get health for each pulse from the skill (9 pulses). I get health for each pulse from trait 1 (9 hits). I get health for each crit (9 crits). All of the heals are 50% stronger from trait 3.

Correct. Each Siphon is independent of the other, including the Vampiric Rituals, Sigil of Blood, and Runes of Vampirism.

Tool Kit does deserve its Tier 3 spot, especially after the last patch.

The attack speed of Smack/Whack/Thwack are comparable to that of other professions’ Mace attacks. I don’t use that often myself, but it’s okay for situations that require melee.

Box of Nails stacks Bleed and Cripple.

Prybar is a nice clean damage skill with 3 stacks of Confusion.

Gear Shield is 3 seconds of Block. Read: Three (3) seconds where nearly nothing touches you.

Magnet? 1200 range pull? Got a runner? Pull, Box of Nails and Immobilise (Glue Shot or Net Shot). Got a greedy defender on the wall? Pull, Box of Nails, Immobilise. Got a mob to CC? Pull, Box of Nails, kill.

Throw Wrench? By itself, it does sizeable damage. Traited it applies Cripple to EVERYTHING in its path, forwards and back.