Guild Wars 2

Surprise. I’m actually pretty clueless and suck at this game.

I’m going to be in a 1v1 duel tourny tomorrow. I’m going to lose in the first match most likely (single elim) because I’m fighting a Mesmer. If it’s a shatter Mes, no problem. But it won’t be. Because conditions are the meta.

WvW is one thing. I don’t know how to deal with them in sPvP. I can give myself the condition removal to stay alive, but I can’t do enough damage to kill them. Eventually, as per tournament rules, we’ll have skills disabled. This will hurt me far more than them since a large number of their condis come from weapon skills and traits anyway. All of my condi removal is from shouts (unless I also trait for Purity).

If I go medis, I lack a large amount of condition removal but have more damage (typically running less tanky with medis). Ugh, you get the idea.

What’s the trick? How do I reliably beat an experienced condition Mesmer as a Guardian in sPvP? What builds work? Which weapons?

That said, I’m having ridiculous amounts of trouble with condition necros as well. The best I can do is starve them of things to convert by playing meditations, but even then I have a very hard time keeping up with the conditions they put out anyway. If I try to burst them down, I’m too squishy to reliably take them down if they’re any amount of tanky before their conditions work me down.

I’m honestly stressing out over this. I found my counter to S/D Thieves, but I can NOT find a way to reliably beat these two professions as a Guardian. For reference, the tournament is profession locked, but not build locked, so I can build dance.

That skill isn’t going to stop a shatter burst. Nor will it remove a condition every 10 seconds. Healing Breeze is pretty much trash — most people will agree — but Shelter and Resolve are mechanically far more useful than a flat heal.

You’re not factoring in the value of anything except base healing without considering damage stopped/reduced by potential passively removed conditions and damage blocked. These are calculations of static value. Effective value is what matters when it comes to theorycrafting and deciding what’s “best” for situations A, B, C, or all of them.

This was interesting and all, but it doesn’t prove anything.

If you’re going to do Kiel’s, make sure you destroy the tokens afterward.

:)

I’m going to attempt to solo T4 today. I will probably fail.

YEAH, TEAM GNASHBLADE!

The Baws.5164:

Basically the title Lol.

Yes.

The Baws.5164:

I really want to work at this character really well, and do mainly WvW as well as a bit of PvE like Fractals… But that’s not really too important.

It’s your lucky day. They’re good at both.

The Baws.5164:

Also, are Guardians good in 5v5 tournaments?

Yes.

Starcraft 2 is highly profitable for Blizzard. It’s basically the NFL of e-sports and gets tons of love from its producer. I think it gets so much good press and revenue because Blizzard gave it love first though, and then players fell in love. Ideally NCSoft will eventually cough up some extra cash for ANet’s PvP development so we can eventually (maybe) see something really come up this game’s competitive formats.

Recent ones. Do they exist?

Seen em. It works great in 1v1, but 1v3+ when they see you coming or engage you themselves is an entirely different story.

Good AoE damage if you run it with staff in zergs, but if you aren’t careful you end up as just another piece of rally bait. I’m a little biased against zerkers in WvW though. Most active T1 [WvW] players are.

Well, your options are basically an AH/EM build or some variant of Healway, so go nuts.

///15characters

The issue is whether you can sustain yourself or not when not getting the drop on people.

ArchonWing.9480:

It also uses the coolest weapons guardians have, so it’s quite stylish too.

I’d be lying if I said that the use of GS and Sword weren’t half the reason I tried to develop a build for myself at all, haha.

Don’t really know why there isn’t one already.

What kind of build do you want: tanky, glassy, or somewhere in between? What are your goals? Mostly small group? Solo roaming?

Silv.9207:

Tome of XXX is the worst elite i’ve ever see on a bunker build. When nyou use it you lose all your weapon and utility skills,

It is circumstantial, I’ll give you that, but it’s still about group support. ToC is easily the most effective group support ability in the game. There’s hardly any way to deny that.

Silv.9207:

every 10 sec a ele can clean conditions and heal a large amount (2k or more) dodging

Whereas we can heal for easily 1-1.5k per dodge as many as 4-5 times within those 10 seconds, depending on boons and builds.

Silv.9207:

Guardian don’t use direct healing, only regenerative healing.

There is no “direct” healing in this game for allies. Between Resolve, Regeneration, and Selfless Daring, we’ve got more than enough healing for ourselves. That’s not even factoring in Absolute Resolution, the #6 skill, AH, meditation heals, or whatever else either.

Silv.9207:

Then a ele bunker that know how to use it’s class can resist longer than a guardian. I’ve a friend that in wvsw kill enemys in 1vs3/4. You can do it whit a bunker guardian?

Look up either “Healway” or “Peacekeeper, Volume 1” on YouTube. I know for a fact that a Healing Power bunker can take on and kill 2-4 targets depending on player and opponent skill levels, and I’m positive there are other Guardian builds capable of 1vX victories.

Silv.9207:

I don’t say that you can kill 40 ppl whit a ele, I only say that block 1 attack while you’re attacked by 10-30 enemy is … useless.

Ele condition removal and passives are also useless against 30 people.

That’s easy. Terrestrial spear a la GW1 Paragons.

No matter what build you run, Tome of Courage will almost always be useful in WvW. If you’re running solo, the obvious choice is Renewed Focus. If you’re feeling a little squishy/selfish/don’t really care a certain night when running with the zerg or a smaller group, RF is still perfectly fine for that as well.

Tome of Wrath is okay, but Courage is just so much better for WvW. A healthy group is a winning group.

Silv.9207:

If the problem si Guardian in berserker build (full berserker build, equip and trait) you’ve not the ability to give might when attack and you can’t heal giving boons to friend, you must use meditation to heal.
I’m not a big player of wvsw but I’ve never be the difference. Ok, whit aegis you can stop 1 attack… but how many enemy you’re fighting? 10? 40? ok, you block one enemy attack over… 50 in 1 sec on all your friends? That’s not a difference, that’s a single block. If you block an enemy skill that give a high damage ok, that can help, but only against that attack.

I’ve try the new map and I think is better for ranged class (whit all the spot where you can stay and fire from the high). But yes, a Guardian can do well.

I don’t say that guardian sucks, I only say: we’re not the best. We can do our work, but there’s a large number of class that can do it well.

Ele and engi can heal better than a guardian (ele has always 2 regen: active and passive, and it’s passive is better than the virtue).
Ele can survive and last longer than a guardian, whit splash healing, condition removal, movement skills and block skills. And a large number of buffs every time they change attunement.

Then if you play bunker your problem isn’t the condition.. for 5 sec? Because you run out of shout and virtue and you’re unable to kill anyone in that world. Expecially in tspvp, the guardian isn’t a good point keeper. I prefer a necro, a mesmer or a ele, that can defend and kill the enemy. Actually, a bunker guardian can only hope to die slowly.

Then if you speack abount a berserker build, you’ve not healing power. If you speack about a bunker, ok, you’ve healing power. A hybrid can obtain a lot of healing power.
But if you want to attack, your virtue heal you by 130 hp and that can’t do the difference between a 11k hp of a guardian an the 18k hp of a war (that have more dps ability and offensive buffs)

Eles have to be in Water Attunement for their passive healing to work, unless I’m mistaken. Ours is active at all times, unless we activate our virtue. We also get Absolute Resolution. We also have more splash healing than Eles via Selfless Daring (it has no cooldown, unlike Ele dodge roll effects). We have more blocks, more blinds, and marginally more boon availability when running shouts and certain weapon sets.

We have Tome of Courage (which is a complete game changer when used correctly), Line of Warding, Sanctuary, Stand Your Ground, and Hallowed Ground, all invaluable in competitive play. We have heavy armor, which is a bigger deal than less-experienced players seem to think, especially compared to light armor.

Why are you worried about how effective Aegis is against 10-40 people? Can you kill 10-40 people with just an Ele?

A bunker Guardian probably won’t kill a bunker something-else, but they aren’t killing you either. That’s one of the drawbacks of playing bunker. But if you’re having problems killing “balanced” or (especially) glass builds in any format, be it WvW or sPvP, I’m going to have to go ahead diagnose that as either not trying hard enough or simply not being good enough at Guardian. Or the people you’re fighting are just way better than you are.

Passives in the hundreds.

Thanks for the input all. :> Despite some votes against it, I’ve decided to go with the C-C-WG setup, though I will try to place the colors a little better than the previewer allows me to once I’ve actually finished farming the set. I’ll use the Wind Catcher and will keep my FDS/LGG rather than going Zenith. I’ll prolly run Zeniths for my other weapons though, like Staff, Mace, and Shield (have you SEEN the Zenith Ward? So awesome.)

The only question remaining now is whether to use the T3 boots or the Orrian boots. :d

My main issue with the no-gold thing is the whole not-matching-my-FDS/LGG thing. It also isn’t all that settling with most of the Zenith skins. The T3 set is also has less of a “brilliant finish” than the Orrian. I mean, it looks nice, but…

You guys should see me try to shop for clothes. :d

For reference, here are some shots of T3 Celestial + Wind Catcher.

I don’t understand how anyone can enjoy a weapon with absolutely no contrast (especially since it looked so nice in GW1), but to each their own.

:(

Torment weapons wouldn’t make sense lore-wise, but boy do I want to seem them in GW2 someday. Oppressor weapons were pretty neat, too.

It’s my standard.

Shouts are very powerful in all areas of the game. I’ve also heard of some real successes with Healway in sPvP. However, if it’s a dedicated sPvP build you’re after, you might want to check out Silven’s build guide: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/guardian/Silven-s-PvP-Guardian-Build-Guide

My issue with T3 + radiant is how weird the T3 looks without the pauldrons. And I think that the radiant vambraces look too weird by themselves. And T3 has been my main set for ages; need some new scenery. T_T Frustration!

I also played a Ret Pally in WoW. If you ever visited the forums, you may have seen the raiding guide by Svayne. :> Est moi.

I play the Healway build (link in my signature). It’s not the biggest damage ever, but the core build utilizes GS and it’s very survivable.

Don’t people just go full glass for PvE anyway?

Hunter.4783:

I can help you by telling you NOT to wear.

1- Orrian armor on a female human guardian. Its so out of character. You should continue with your full T3
2- Orrian leggins mantle portion dyed non abyss. It looks like you have a paper tower coming out your back. It looks extremely bad.
3- Wind/fire/lightning back pieces. As cool as they are, they clip hardcore with your legendary. In fact, it looks like your legendary is going THROUGH it and completely breaks the immersion. The only backpiece i would ever consider using with a GS is the fractal one because of it being positioned in such a way so that it don’t clip with most GSs

Man, you’re just ruining my morning. :d

Blasino.3128:

1) You are too dang bright, I putting on my sunglasses to look at these screenies
2) The gold pechos are distracting, I’m putting post-it notes over them to look at the rest of the outfit.

Kidding aside, You look badA in all of them. I think the sun catcher looks the best (option 3).

I guess in the end I didn’t follow protocol since you were seeking serious fashion advice >.<.

Thanks, I think it’s a pretty cool setup too. My issue with the all-Celest vs C-C-WG (or C-C-Silver, which looks nice too, especially with the Wind Catcher) is the lack of any contrast except for with the weapons. I’m also having trouble matching any good weapons with the C-C-C set, even Zeriths. Very frustrating!

I have a fair bit of farming left to do to complete my set, so hopefully I can figure it out by the time I finish. Worst case scenario, I guess I can just get both catchers and play with each color/weapon combo for a while to see what looks the nicest in the actual game world.

I’m borderline crazy when it comes to what my characters look like in my favorite games.
:<

This is going to seem really stupid to some of you.

After 2-3 weeks away from the actual game, I’ve come back seeking a new look. The latest content patches have given me the opportunity to explore that desire. However, I’ve hit a snag. As it turns out, I love the Radiant pieces. I also love the Catcher backpieces. I also love the Zerith weapons, but I also love my FDS. But most of all, I love the Wind Catcher’s windy effect. And herein lies the problem.

Basically, there are a few options here:

1. ALL Celestial dye, Wind Catcher (that wind effect is SO cool!)
2. Celestial-Celestial-White Gold, Wind Catcher
3. Celestial-Celestial-White Gold, Sun Catcher

I’m comfortable with saying that my current FDS/Lion Guard Gizmo set only matches the C-C-WG set (regardless of Catcher). It does not go well with the all Celestial set at all. If I went all Celestial, I would be replacing the FDS/focus with Zerith weapons.

The bigger issue is that the Wind Catcher looks much better against the all-Celestial set than it does against the Celestial/White Gold set because of the color of the gem (cyan-ish). I also like the Celestial/WG set because of the contrast and the way it matches so well with the FDS/focus, but it’s still pretty 50/50 between whether I like those weapons or the Wind Catcher more. Anyway, it’s all quite complicated…

Also, all Celestial + Radiant pieces + Wind Catcher + Sunrise effect = walking supernova.

Below are front-and-back shots of each of the options that I’m considering. Opinions? >.<"

PLEASE, please reskin Jormag’s Breath to more closely resemble the old IDS. Currently, the flame on Jormag’s is significantly smaller than the blade, making it look very weird and puny, especially in comparison to the FDS.

In addition, the mono-color scheme is really heart-wrenching to see for a GW vet like myself. I’m sure I speak for many when I ask that the hilt be given a gray hue and the blade be moved closer to a silver color, much like in GW1. The contrast was/would be far more appealing than the current “it’s all blue” scheme of the weapon.

I really want to like this weapon, but I can’t when it just looks so bland. Below is a link to the wiki page for and an image of the old IDS for those who may not be familiar with the original version of this weapon.

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Icy_Dragon_Sword

So many interesting ideas so far. :d

It’s like a Paragon with RoJ. I love it. :d

Mariticide.1970:

Maybe. I was worried that an area damage reduction with no negative effect on the guardian would be a bit too over the top. Also, with multiple guardians area effect damage reduction could get insane. By making it single target I was hoping to limit the advantage of stacking. I’m not a dev though.

EDIT: Perhaps changing the skill to work like Merciful Intervention would work? That would keep it single target and would require more timing to make it work?

This is true. Competitive groups would totally stack it, for one. Making it work like MI could be an option, but it’d make it really tricky. Oh, maybe it could be ground-targeted in some way. It absorbs a set amount of damage from up to 5 players?

Blasino.3128:

Skill Name: Justice From the Heavens
Skill type: Elite
Elite type: Consecration

Skill Description: Apply knockdown, blind, and burning to foes while healing, removing three conditions, and applying protection, regeneration, and fury to allies.

Visual: A white light appears on the guardian from above and blue flames spread in the area of the consecration. If target-able the white light appears on the center of the consecrations area.

Cast time: 5 seconds
Recharge: 240 seconds
Radius: 360
Duration: 10 seconds
Damage: 681 (2.25…)
Healing: 528 + (0.1…)
Conditions:
10 Burning: 1s (3,280 damage)
10 Blind: 1s
Boons:
10 Protection: 1s
10 Regeneration: 1s (1,300 healing)
10 Fury: 1s

Damage, knockdown, and condition removal is applied at the initial pulse. Healing, conditions, and boons are applied per second in the consecration.

I’d certainly love to have this for point defense in sPvP. :d

I really like the concept. Being single-targeted on an ally is a little outside of the way ANet likes to do things though. Perhaps some kind of area damage reduction, sort of like the effect from the Urn of Saint Viktor from GW: Factions?

This might be fun. The rules are simple: come up with your own skill—either weapon, heal, utility, or elite—for the Guardian and post it below! If you’re having trouble figuring out where to start, you can try template below to organize your thoughts. :>

Edit: Virtues are cool, too!

Thought Organizing/Posting Template

• Skill name:
• Skill type (weapon, utility, etc.):

If weapon skill —

• Weapon (GS, sword, torch, etc.):
• Skill description (what does the skill do?):
• Cast time:
• Recharge:
• Visual effect(s):
• Numbers (how much healing/damage/condi duration/boon duration, etc?):
  - “Numbers” is where you’d put the nitty-gritty technical stuff.

If heal skill —

• Skill description:
• Cast time:
• Recharge:
• Visual effect(s):
• Numbers:

If utility skill —

• Utility type (shout, meditation, consecration, etc.):
• Skill description:
• Cast time:
• Recharge:
• Visual effect(s):
• Numbers:

If elite skill —

• Elite type (shout, transformation, summon, etc.):
• Skill description:
• Cast time:
• Recharge:
• Visual effect(s):
• Numbers:

You don’t necessarily need to keep to the template or provide so much info, but do try to keep your ideas as close to “balanced” as possible. Don’t be afraid to go a little crazy, though. Good luck and have fun!
__________________________________________________________________

Here’s mine, for starters. =D

• Skill name: Crusade
• Skill type (weapon, utility, etc.): Elite
• Elite type: Active buff
• Skill description: Block all incoming attacks for a short time and gain a large amount of Might, Fury, and Swiftness.
• Cast time: Instant cast
• Recharge: 120 seconds
• Visual effect(s): Blue flame particles radiating upward. Character and movement overlain with a slight but noticeable “shimmer” effect. Maybe something akin to the Blurred Frenzy effect. The visual effects last for the duration of the blocking buff.
• Numbers: Block duration 5s (actual Block, not Invuln). Might (10) duration 30s. Fury duration 30s. Swiftness duration 30s.

As evidenced above, no idea is too stupid or unoriginal. Go nuts!

Can’t tell if trolling or just trolling.

The dredge champion one-shots almost anyone at any difficulty scale. Just watch him and dodge when he raises his arm.

It really is all about dodging and (in late fractals and some dungeons) projectile reflects in PvE.

I think he did fine, especially for a first video.

I’ve seen some AH+EM builds running Soldier runes to cover for PoV and 15 in Radiance with GS or Hammer + Staff to interesting effect. I don’t think it’s standard, but it does what it’s supposed to really well.

Blasino.3128:

I actually run a support build most of the time I’m in WWW. I just chose footage using the healway as its a little more exciting for the wife.

I thought Zealot’s Defense and Shield of Absorption were the coolest skill videos.

Indeed, a lot of Guardians will scrap AH and just go full glass in PvE after they’re experienced enough. I know I do.

Agreed. I actually play AH when I run a zerker build in WvW for funsies (very rarely) so that I have at least some sustainability, but it’s just a little too selfish for my tastes when it comes to supporting the group/zerg.

It’s certainly a solid choice for sustainability and it has synergy with blind/vuln/Might-spamming builds that utilize EM and 15 in Radiance, which is its own form of support, but it’s not my preferred build. I do enjoy having one or two such builds in my group comp though. Dat free Might and dem blinds.

Blue fire. And I played a Ret Pally in WoW.

SUUUUNRIIIIISE!

It’ll stay “Healway.” I was just sort of curious about what people could come up with.

:)

Eeeeveryone wants to live longer. Noooobody wants to take more than 10 seconds to kill somebody.

So, where does that leave us?