Showing Posts For Christos de Soufre.3802:

Is the Vengeful trait even working?

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

I’ve never actively tested it, but it’s always seemed to work for me..

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

[MM] School of Might and Magic - Guard School

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Might be interested. I haven’t been able to log in a bit (moving, getting a new modem for my main computer), but for the sake of maybe:

  • In game name: Christia Dawnheart
  • Guardian primary, impulsively played secondaries of all other professions
  • Are you applying as a teacher, or a student?: Teacher
  • How many hours on your class do you have?: Between 2,500 and 3,000. Can’t check currently, but it’s a lot for amount of time I’ve actually had my account (almost shameful, really). Primarily WvW playtime, some sPvP, decent amount of PvE.
  • How many builds have you theory crafted?: Plent; primarily WvW-centric builds for roaming, havoc play, zerg play, and competitive play.
  • Would you consider yourself a good contributor to your community?: Reasonably.
  • Are you friendly/helpful?: Reasonably.
  • Would you be willing to prove your skill/knowledge ingame?: Of course.

Interested in talking about this if I’m needed later on. This seems like a really nice idea.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

Trait Ideas for the Virtue line

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

This would pretty much make 30 in Virtues a requirement for everyone. The only thing I can agree with right now is the increase from 1 to 2% bonus damage per boon for Power of the Virtuous, especially with as much boon ripping/stealing/hate as there is these days.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

Top 50 [SOAC] Stunningstyles Tpvp Build/Video

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

How often do you play? I’m not sure how long I’ll be out of commission, and I almost never do sPvP (I’m like rank 13), but I’d be really interested in dueling you with this build.

I would like to see this, always interested in watching some duels. Wish there was a better format for it. I know the games not about duels but I find watching good 1v1s far more entertaining than team matches.

I’m a WvW/SC2/AoE2 player, so I have a certain soft spot for strategic group play. Duels are certainly a nice change of pace though.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

Top 50 [SOAC] Stunningstyles Tpvp Build/Video

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

How often do you play? I’m not sure how long I’ll be out of commission, and I almost never do sPvP (I’m like rank 13), but I’d be really interested in dueling you with this build.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

[WvW] The Healway Guardian

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

I would give my name for the build but anet would censor it… :/

Embrace it, Alex. Open yourself to Healway.

Prepare to be assimilated.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

WvW - Inc Retaliation Nerf-What Compensation?

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

We’re strong because of boons, which everything else keeps getting counters for. If they keep nerfing boons, we keep getting weaker and weaker, even if it is indirectly.

Retal could use a [slight] duration nerf to make the game easier for PvE heroes who go into WvW and blindly spam AoEs on organized zergs, but its damage has been nerfed enough, especially if/when it’s finally fixed in Borderlands.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

god to follow

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Go play GW: Nightfall. You’ll see.

Edit: Or, if you really don’t want to, you can watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxmkAoLC6_4

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

god to follow

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Flavor, mostly. My Guardian was blessed by Kormir.

I don’t know why. I hate Kormir.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

Permanent healing

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Who on Tyria would advocate such builds?

Anyway, the hard counter is immob/stun + spike damage, or condition spam if able. If it was anything close to what I’m thinking, condition removal is very limited after a volley or two. Boon rip/steal every chance you get. A large portion of their survival ability also comes from dodging. Immobilizes and stuns stop that.

Both they and you are forced to abuse every little advantage you can get.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

(edited by Christos de Soufre.3802)

god to follow

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

The racial skills (the ones you’re referring to) are all far less useful than their core alternatives. You also receive all of them no matter which god you choose to be blessed by in the character creation screen.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

Top 50 [SOAC] Stunningstyles Tpvp Build/Video

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

How’s your luck against bunker guardians? Honest question.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

[WvW] The Healway Guardian

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Loving the responses so far. And yeah, it was really just the first thing that came to mind. Spend enough time (7 years+) playing GW1 and the suffix just starts sticking to everything.

would this work as a PvE support build for dungeons and general PvE content? I’m currently leveling in a glass cannon dps build and whilst I enjoy it, its not what I came to do with the Guard. I really want to be a support class as I miss being a dedicated healer, and so I am looking for something to substitute that role.

If you’re looking for a support build for dungeons, this will work. You might want to sub in some extra Soldier’s or Zerker’s pieces just to churn out a little more damage, but you’ll be spewing heals and boons all over your group. You’re also effectively immortal except in high level fractals and a few particular dungeons.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

(edited by Christos de Soufre.3802)

Guardians need a fourth virtue for mobilty

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Oh yes. I’m livid. Also quite stuck in my GS ways, of course.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

Speed options?

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

At 60% boon duration, staff #3 alone can give you permaswiftness.

True story.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

[WvW] The Healway Guardian

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Someone recently asked me, “Why such a personalized name for your build? You can’t even get a guide stickied like that,” referring to the fact that mods don’t like to sticky build that have “names to them” as opposed to naming the build after a particular part of the build (i.e. AH/EM). Or at least that’s what I’ve heard.

Anyway, it’s because there’s nothing…truly absolute about it. AH builds all have one thing in common: AH. Healway variants really only have three absolutes: 30 in Honor, 20 in Virtues, and Absolute Resolution. While I don’t recommend having less than 25 in Virtues and 5 in Radiance, there is always some room for stylistic choices with some of those less important points. Not even Pure of Voice is an absolute with this build. Battle Presence is just as viable with some moving-around of certain parts of the build.

What about the Cleric’s gear? I guess that could be a thing, but I know a lot of people who like to sub in Soldier’s pieces. I do it with my rings, which isn’t a huge deal, but some players enjoy the feeling of throwing on several extra pieces of Soldier’s armor and/or weapons as well. At the end of the day, I’ve always considered Healway a sort of “gateway build.” It has the ability to warp into so many variations of itself to accomplish so many different things to varying degrees of efficiency.

Roaming alone? There’s a variant for that. Small havoc group? There’s a variant for that. Running with the zerg? There’s a variant for that. Competitive play? Variant. Dungeons? Variant. Casual sPvP? Variant. I’m sure you see where I’m going with this.

The way I look at it, many of these variants (even the very slight ones) technically aren’t even “Healway.” At least, not in a mechanical sense — different traits or runes, perhaps? Maybe a Zerker variant for PvE or sPvP? No, not technically Healway. Instead, I base it on what feels like Healway. There’s a particular feel to the build and its reliance on constant streams of healing for up-keep and its particularly active playstyle.

All of that said, I’ve got a question for you lovelies: What would YOU have named the Healway build? I’m looking for something mechanically correct, much like AH.

:)

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

Which armor?

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Yes, details please. What are your goals?

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

Guardian Video Guide for Fractals Shown at 48

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

+1

Good write-up, thanks.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

Guardians need a fourth virtue for mobilty

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Why do people think you should be able to do everything with any weapon?

If you want to do well in multiple areas, you’re going to have to try and open your mind to other ways of playing and, more importantly, other weapons and traits. Our mobility is balanced by our outstanding survival ability, but that isn’t to say we’re “slow.” We’re just a bit slower than some others. That said, our combat mobility is pretty excellent.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

(edited by Christos de Soufre.3802)

Guardians need a fourth virtue for mobilty

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

People just don’t know how to move around as Guardians.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

WvW - Inc Retaliation Nerf-What Compensation?

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

It’s already been nerfed. They just need to fix it in Borderlands so that the nerf actually works there. If they nerf it anymore it’ll be a pointless buff.

Grouch needs to stop crying about things he doesn’t like having to adjust to (like not spamming AoE on organized clusters of players immediately after they blast light fields?) and stick to sPvP. Guru really could have done a better job of finding a host for that show.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

(edited by Christos de Soufre.3802)

Problem with frontline guardians

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

1 Null field to turn all those boons to trash.

Takes some pretty bad Guardians to stand it the field for that long.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

[WvW] The Healway Guardian

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

What’s the benefit of Defender’s Flame over Retributive Armor or Purity? The build doesn’t seem to get any benefit out of opponents’ being on fire, and the damage seems minimal.

The damage is minimal, but it’s there and it hits harder than Retal (in WvW and PvP). I use it when roaming alone or in very small groups because I enjoy what little extra damage it gives me. This build doesn’t have a lot of burst (if any), so being able to chip away at your attackers at all times is very valuable when you’re being focused.

That said, I almost never use it when running in groups/zergs. I’ll usually throw on Strength in Numbers or even Purity instead, depending on how I decide to play. If “SY!” stays on my bar during group or zerg play, I may throw on Purity to counteract the condition bombs I’ll inevitably be dropping on myself. Purity is also really helpful when fighting Necros and certain Mesmer builds. It’s usually worth trading out DF for such fights.

Meditation Mastery is obviously the way to go if you decide to run Contemplation of Purity or Judge’s Intervention. I know that CoP is popular for competitive play.

The reason I don’t recommend Retributive Armor right out of the box is that the crit chance with this build is so low to begin with. The extra 3-4% you get from RA just isn’t enough compared to the guaranteed damage you get from Defender’s Flame or competitive utility of SiN or Purity.

If you’re going for some kind of off-shoot with increased damage via Crit, then RA might be a good choice paired with Maintenance Oil and/or some mixed-in zerker pieces. Maybe different runes. I’m not sure how well that’d go though. Anyway, there’s a good bit of flexibility with the traits. Those given are merely what I suggest starting with.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

(edited by Christos de Soufre.3802)

[WvW] The Healway Guardian

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Almost the exact same trait set up I’ve been using in WvW lately except I’m running increased retal duration since the 25th patch.

So why 3 water and 3 monk and not 2 of each with 2 major sanctuary? Do you believe 100 healing power is better than 10% boon duration?

I have personally found 100 85 Healing Power to be more useful than an extra 10% boon duration, yes. I know a lot of people prefer the extra duration though.

I may eventually change my mind about my preferred runes, but for the moment I’m pretty comfortable with my setup.

Does the build work with Soldier Armor?

It doesn’t hurt to mix some in, but the Healing Power stacking is what makes this build so powerful in the first place. You’ll be able to face tank for an extra hit or two and hit a bit harder, but your sustainability will take a pretty big hit.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

(edited by Christos de Soufre.3802)

Direct me to a solid shoutcaster?

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Looking to see if sPvP is anywhere near as amusing to watch as established eSports such as SC2. Are there any popular casters doing GW2 sPvP yet? I’ve been searching YouTube but am not finding anything overly impressive.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

What is your favorite slot skill?

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Sanctuary. Wish I had more chances to use it.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

Problem with frontline guardians

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

=O

/15surprisedcharacters

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

Problem with frontline guardians

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

At the end of the day, can ANYTHING kill 10 Guardians?

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

[WvW] The Healway Guardian

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Thanks for bringing this back Chris. I’ve ran this build since January when you originally posted it. In PVE, it is essentially God Mode- the heals from VOR ticking around 225 HP, selfless daring rolling for 1.4k HP, 100% retaliation uptime, and a decent amount of Power for sustained damage to not hit like a paper bag. I use Kralkatorrik Chocolate bars for an additional ~200 healing power that was lost to soldier’s ring.

It’s like I’d have to try to purposefully get downed in dungeons. In fractals, I’ve pugged up to PR 42 with this as an alternative anchor build to the classic AH. The survivability is so good, it’s overkill for most PVE purposes so I recently swap to Zerker gear and trinkets, but keep the trait set up.

For WvW, it’s refreshing to be able to hold your own in a 2v1 situation. Only downside of course is zero burst damage since most of the damage comes from raw sustained power, retaliation, and burns from blocks/VOJ. But of course, we can’t have it both ways.

Thanks for sharing it (again)!

Glad you’re enjoying it. :> I must agree that I find it to be a bit of a God-mode build in PvE. I don’t personally run it there because monsters are usually predictable enough to play glass cannon, but I remember it making it much easier to survive while doing 100% world completion in areas I wasn’t familiar with. It also tends to make being the last man standing in Orrian temple events in the wee hours of the night a bit more epic. :P

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

Importance of Crit chance/damage in WvW

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

What are you trying to do in WvW, exactly?

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

Problem with frontline guardians

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

A Warrior running Shield and Endure Pain isn’t running Warhorn for AoE boons and a third shout for group healing and condition removal.

That isn’t a Warrior I want in my group when I’m in WvW.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

RIOT Roaming T1 Guardian POV

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

I’d be more impressed if you’d open recruitment.

:)

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

Power of the Virtuous

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

It really should be 2%. It drives me nuts that it’s 1%.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

Renewed Focus

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Whoa. Can we have that? I want to be able to pop it like a Meditation and just be able to keep fighting while it ticks off like a buff with the awesome end-effect of refreshing my Virtues. I’m serious, I want it. Maybe cover us in blue flame for the few seconds it’s active..

It’d totally be our own, elite version of Endure Pain. Would totally be balanced.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

[WvW] The Healway Guardian

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

… and annoy all the other classes in WvW

All things considered, this is the entire point of the game — is it not?

assuming no big changes after the patch?

No sir, no big changes. We’ve been largely untouched with the exception of the damage nerf via Retal’s 33% reduction in WvW. Nothing that can’t be overcome.

Any chance this build will work with a Greatsword/Hammer build?

I really love the concept of uber sustain (definitely something I wish I had on my Warrior).

Hammer works well with this build. It’s a great weapon, especially for WvW and sPvP. It’s slightly better for group play than solo, but it’s definitely not a bad choice. Your periodic Protection lasts about half a second longer and all boons and heals provided by your blast finishers are affected by your own boon duration and Healing Power (which are each very high). Dem water fields + near spammable blast finishers with 1k+ Healing.

What are your thoughts on a sword/shield combo instead of sword/focus? I’ve been running a healing power guardian for small to large group WvW that uses sword/shield and staff, but was thinking about swapping out the staff for a gs and doing more solo to small group stuff. The times that I’ve been alone on my current build I’ve found the shield knockback to be incredibly useful for interrupting critical skills such as thief stealth, and has also helped me to win several 1vX fights by using it in combination with smart kiting and cliffs. Plus the shield 5 also has a heal on it to benefit from the healing power, let me know what you think.

Shield is a powerful option for group play and has its uses for knocking people out of Refuges (stupid Thieves) or off of cliffs. I don’t like the idea of running it without the cooldown reduction trait, though. Its cooldowns are soo long.

That said, I’ll always prefer Focus for 1xX because of the blocks, blinds, Regen, and condition removal that it provides.

Edit: Reinstated the original build video til I have time to produce a new one.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

(edited by Christos de Soufre.3802)

[WvW] The Healway Guardian

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

On the rampant condition meta (10/24/13): With the Pure of Voice fix and the continuing strength of the condition meta, I’ve changed my rune recommendation to Soldier’s runes for all styles of play. My recommended food is Lemongrass Poultry Soup, though it is quite expensive. Despite the food recommendation, Mango Pie is still a cheap and viable alternative, especially when fighting Power-based builds whose conditions (if any) have only a minor impact on the outcome of the fight. If you can afford to carry around two different types of food, I suggest doing so.

How does it work, exactly?

One of this build’s biggest selling points is its healing potential. Your healing comes from several sources: Regeneration, Virtue of Resolve, and Selfless Daring. Regen and Protection up-times are relatively high thanks to +30% boon duration from the core build (20% from the suggested solo variant). 100% Retaliation up-time is also relatively easy to maintain.

This build thrives against opponents who hit fast, but not for a lot of damage per tick. Your passive healing abilities and heavy armor covers for a lot of smaller hits and your 100% up-time Retaliation constantly punishes inattentive players. Against hard-hitters like glass cannon Thieves and Warriors, you may find issue. The trick to dealing with such builds is to utilize your blocks, blinds, GS #5, and mobility skills to their fullest to either avoid the big hits or give yourself time to recover from them.

When it comes to zerg support, the pros of a Healway build are fairly obvious. Near-constant dodge roll heals of over 1,000 per tick for up to 5 players, high-duration Stability, Regen, Protection, and Retaliation for allies, and extreme burst healing potential when needed via Tome of Courage backed by high Healing Power.

Variations (Short List)

  • Exotics work just as well as Ascended pieces. Don’t let the “gear treadmill” doomsayers fool you. Exotics also allow you to mix and match jewels.
  • Rings do not have to be Soldier’s. If you want to run Cleric’s, Zerker’s, or whatever else, go for it. Experiment with what you’ve got.
  • Hammer and Mace/Shield are both very strong options for the group variation of this build, depending on the needs of your group and your personal preference.
  • The old rune recommendation of 3 Monk/3 Water is still a viable option so long as you run enough condition removal otherwise. Good options include running Purity and Lemongrass Poultry Soup. This prevents you from running SiN for group support or Defender’s Flame for additional damage when solo roaming.
  • Running a Boon Duration food for competitive play is worth considering. Boon Dura food is also MF food, which is a worthless stat in combat. That said, a support build with high Boon Dura for stronger Protection and Stability is always viable.
  • Other foods, including Mango Pie and Omnomberry Cookies, are good alternatives to Lemongrass Poultry Soup. Mango Pie isn’t quite as group-friendly though.

Whatever bits you may choose to tweak and experiment with, always remember to take into consideration what you’re giving up in order to make those changes.

So, in summation:

What can you do with Healway?: You can solo roam efficiently against one or several opponents at a time, with practice. You can roam with small groups. You can zerg support. You can line-break. You can solo fully-upgraded supply camps. You can cross the map with perma-Swiftness with JUST a Staff. You can PvE in relative comfort.

What can’t you do with Healway?: You can’t solo zergs. You probably can’t take down a combination of Necro+Ele, Necro+Mesmer, Ele+Mesmer, or Necro+Thief without a LOT of practice. You probably can’t solo a fully-upped supply camp that includes mercenaries without a LOT of practice. You can’t outrun Thieves (who can?). You can’t deal massive amounts of damage in short periods of time. That’s not all the game is about, though.

Please leave any comments or questions here in post form. Cheers, and good luck.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

(edited by Christos de Soufre.3802)

[WvW] The Healway Guardian

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Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

NOTICE: This build is grossly outdated and obsolete for just about every mode of gameplay. This thread exists only for archival purposes.
____________________________________________________________

What is Healway?

Healway is a WvW build initially designed to allow easy transition from solo and small group roaming to zerg support. This build is ideally for group play, but will allow for success in solo play when needed. The best way to look at what’s presented here is as a guideline, a jumping-off point. Itemization such as trinkets, foods, and weapon choices can be moved around to meet your (or your group’s) needs and preferences.

Again, this build is primarily for WvW. Slapping Zerker gear on over it will make it work in PvE and it’s got some uses in sPvP, but I’m certain there are far better builds for both game types (glass cannons and meditations, for example).

Here’s a quick demonstration of Healway being used for solo roaming. If you are unable to view the first video, you should be able to see this one.

The Build + Variants

Here is a video discussing the build in-depth. (Outdated)

For those of you who like having something to look at on paper, here is an Intothemists layout of the core group play/support build:

http://www.intothemists.com/calc/index.php?build=-7;4NF-40M3kF-90;9;69TT;44;018A289URk65;1CqNYCqNY40FJ;0g;3Vl-sWv1-Z5_B50sVGV350;4F2Coc2Cu;9;9;9;9;84-6J

4/21/2014 — I have a hard time recommending full-on bunker builds for solo/small group (<5) play these days.The following alteration deviates pretty far from the original build. Emphasis is on increased damage, but overall the gearing is still pretty conservative:

http://www.intothemists.com/calc/index.php?build=-7;4NF-40M3JG-90;9;6JTJ;415-18A18-URk65;1CqNYCqNY40FW0-gY10;0Vl-sWv1-Z5_B52sVGV350;4F2Coc2Cu;9;9;9;9;84k3Y

Note: It should be noted that these will not be the strongest setups for EVERY situation, especially if you play competitively. It is up to the player to decide what to change and when to change it in order to play this build to its fullest in any given situation.
____________________________________________________________

One of the key points of this build is flexibility. The majority of the Major traits can be swapped around and experimented with (i.e. Defender’s Flame can be traded for Purity when engaging Necromancers or for SiN if you just like extra Toughness). Runes and food choices also have some room for experimentation and almost every available weapon can be made to work with this build in some way, shape, or form.

Traits NOT to change: Superior Aria, Pure of Voice, and Absolute Resolution. Indomitable Courage has two viable alternatives: Shielded Mind (which now breaks stuns on up to 5 friendlies) and Elite Focus. If you’re running with your guild or with a zerg, you may want your Tome of Courage to last an extra 10 seconds. Otherwise, SM is also a lot stronger than it used to be. My personal preference is IC for the clutch Stability and additional Aegis per 2 minutes, but it isn’t necessarily the best choice for everyone.

The exception to the “do not change Pure of Voice” rule: running Soldier’s runes and/or Purity can free up enough room to run Battle Presence instead. Battle Presence is a very powerful group support tool which IS affected by your Healing Power and by Absolute Resolution. The passive healing to allies even keeps ticking when Resolve is on cooldown! The only issue is finding enough condition removal for yourself without double condi removal on shout. Supplementing with Lemongrass Poultry Soup can help.

Utilities NOT to change: “Hold the Line!” and “Stand Your Ground!” That said, it’s very easy to trade out “Save Yourselves!” for a Consecration or Meditation depending on the situation and group size. When trading out “SY!”, it’s recommended that you run Purity over Defender’s Flame for the supplementary condition removal. However, SiN is just as viable if you’re comfortable with your ability to avoid death by conditions.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

(edited by Christos de Soufre.3802)

Guardian - The OP

in Guardian

Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

I once solo-capped SM.

True story.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

World First 250k Kills Ultimate Dominator!

in WvW

Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Grats Sacrx! Even though I really hate trying to fight against you guys.

Also, I’d pretty much pay to watch/listen to you cast and lead WvW on YouTube. So intense. o_o

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

How Does Guardian Beat New Necro?

in Guardian

Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

I’d have to go with dodging and running condition removal, much like before.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

Range of new Shielded Mind?

in Guardian

Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Good change, but I’ll probably still run Indomitable Courage.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

6/14 Blackgate/ Jade Quarry/ Sanctum of Rall

in Match-ups

Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

lol, sorry Ascii.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

6/14 Blackgate/ Jade Quarry/ Sanctum of Rall

in Match-ups

Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Jesus man, why do you care so much about the forum? Go back into the game and roam then.

I’m cursed. My primitive brain reacts too aggressively when people try to bring my guild/friends into anything even remotely hostile when they had nothing to do with it before. >.> Going to attempt to go back to my usual system and forget that these forums exist now. See you all on the field. Hopefully in slightly smaller numbers than usual.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

6/14 Blackgate/ Jade Quarry/ Sanctum of Rall

in Match-ups

Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

My official stance is that this style of play is softening everyone and their mother (on all sides) to where they probably couldn’t survive for ten seconds in a group smaller than their guild zergs.

Hello bitterest person on BG. I’m calling you out here, mostly due to all the 2v1 whining (btw, notice only BG complains about 2v1, and there’s a reason for this) and some of the greatest irony I’ve ever read. I’m offering you a challenge. No GvG, those are stupid. 5v5 in a sPvP arena, take any 4 of your guildies and face my team in an sPvP match. Then, when we mop the floor with you guys, you can go back to what BG does best. Seriously, why do you think you guys are winning?

Also, fun night in EB. Taking out whatever 2v1 your complaining about, there were still some good fights.

1. BG is not the only one that complains. It’s crazy you’d even try to say that.

2. The mention of GvG was in relation to the GW1 GvG and how it should have been implemented into GW2, but prettier, as a separate game type. It was an excellent game type and should have been implemented.

3. If you want to spar, I’m on the field (usually EBG) for several hours a day during the week. You can find me there. My guild is neither a WvW nor an sPvP guild and I am not going to subject them to some weird grudge match with someone they don’t know. I want 1vX and small-scale fights to be more prominent in WvW, not some call-out match with someone who clearly thinks they’re more witty and skilled than they probably are.

4. I have to actually care about winning in WvW to be bitter. I’m embarrassed for anyone who makes it so obvious that they’re ignoring each other in the interest of spawn camping one side. I even ream out our own commanders when I see them trying to do it.

Thanks for your interest in playing against me in a small-scale match. I’ll be on EBG for another hour or two, depending on how many roamers I manage to come across.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

6/14 Blackgate/ Jade Quarry/ Sanctum of Rall

in Match-ups

Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Edit: It’s all blahblahblah spawn camps, blahblahblah zerg v zerg, blobs, etc. NOBODY discusses roaming groups or small ops. Hurts my soul that the WvW end-game is just blob v. blob with no consideration for small groups or solo players, even in discussion.

My official stance is that this style of play is softening everyone and their mother (on all sides) to where they probably couldn’t survive for ten seconds in a group smaller than their guild zergs. I’m sure dedicated roamers and small group players on each server can agree that our playtime gets pretty boring when we’re reduced to ganking PvE heroes that get cut off from their zergs.

Because most of the people that small group roam don’t bother with these forums, most of the large zerg guilds have a few people who roam around, at least in my experience.

Yeah, I know some of them do, but they’re so few and far between that it’s hard to lock down any decent fights. Especially on EBG. I feel like I’m cheating as a Guardian on BLs since Retal isn’t nerfed there yet (for some stupid reason).

I think it still hits for over 350 there with enough Power. Fighting Rangers and Thieves (and some Warrior builds) isn’t even fun.

I don’t think A-Net would do this… According to pcgamer, there were over 3million copies of GW2 sold. Sadly, I doubt a measly 500 viewers would motivate A-Net enough to create a legitimate GvG system.

I dunno, they keep going on about eSports for a sPvP scene that has like, four people who watch it.

I really think they’re trying too hard to make it work. Sticking to what worked really well in GW1 and improving it here would have been far safer and would have drawn a lot of GW1 players (even PvEers), even if only for nostalgia’s sake.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

(edited by Christos de Soufre.3802)

6/14 Blackgate/ Jade Quarry/ Sanctum of Rall

in Match-ups

Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

No 111k chest thumping from BG?

I’m surprised.

JQ is still hopeless to beat either BG or SoR without one of them ignoring them. :/ It’s a simple coverage thing. I don’t know why you’d even bring this up.

111k

I don’t think A-Net would do this… According to pcgamer, there were over 3million copies of GW2 sold. Sadly, I doubt a measly 500 viewers would motivate A-Net enough to create a legitimate GvG system.

If anything they’ll implement it in their first expansion, hopefully along with dueling & dare I say, personal trading :P

Observer modes for GvG were so popular in GW1; it sort of hurts my heart a bit that they couldn’t implement it here on launch as well. GvG was pretty much the best mode of PvP GW1 had. I mean, HA was okay, but it was sort of gimmicky.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

(edited by Christos de Soufre.3802)

6/14 Blackgate/ Jade Quarry/ Sanctum of Rall

in Match-ups

Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

At least you’re humble about it. Can only imagine how some of your smaller guilds feel.

I also have no idea who Vodka is.. I’m really just hoping to get someone besides CDS or Choo to want to take enough time off from hiding in their zergs to roam. :/ Nobody here wants to argue about anything but PPT though.

Edit: It’s all blahblahblah spawn camps, blahblahblah zerg v zerg, blobs, etc. NOBODY discusses roaming groups or small ops. Hurts my soul that the WvW end-game is just blob v. blob with no consideration for small groups or solo players, even in discussion.

My official stance is that this style of play is softening everyone and their mother (on all sides) to where they probably couldn’t survive for ten seconds in a group smaller than their guild zergs. I’m sure dedicated roamers and small group players on each server can agree that our playtime gets pretty boring when we’re reduced to ganking PvE heroes that get cut off from their zergs. /endrant

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

(edited by Christos de Soufre.3802)

6/14 Blackgate/ Jade Quarry/ Sanctum of Rall

in Match-ups

Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Must not feel very good that TW has to be carried by IRON and FEAR. It’s okay, this is a safe place. You can talk about it.

:)

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

6/14 Blackgate/ Jade Quarry/ Sanctum of Rall

in Match-ups

Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

Just means we’re the stronger server that it takes both servers to stop us. I take it as a compliment. Besides, SoR needs 9 more wins to catch BG.

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate

6/14 Blackgate/ Jade Quarry/ Sanctum of Rall

in Match-ups

Posted by: Christos de Soufre.3802

Christos de Soufre.3802

You know we’re fighting skilled servers when it takes two of them not attacking each other (literally disengaging when their zergs accidentally meet) to spawn lock the other on EBG.

That was sarcasm. Neither of you can compete on your own and neither has the ability to prove that they can.

:)

Chris “Dawnheart” Aerinoh — Revenant, Guardian — Blackgate