Guild Wars 2

first stepping into dnugeons as a Guardian was not easy from my end of the story. you have to really learn the class mechanics i felt. i was given the concept that Guardians should be able to last forever. i felt the same as you though, getting knocked around, health dropping faster.. then i took the time to learn traits, skills, and build my gear / build properly. apart from stability, you can use AoE blinds, AoE aegis, blocks, invulns to negate all of that CC. and it becomes a lot more fun.

yes being in melee can mean more trouble than if you were to be in range… BUT partly also the reason i enjoy it so much more. Guardian play can be rpetty darn intense and reactive.. especially in PvP or rougher higher level isntance settings (tougher dungeons, higher fractals, etc..)

hey so kind of off-topic but not really. mainly being, id no’t think mesmers are by ANY means losing their edge in the game..

anyways, so last night ended up facing a team of 4 mesmers and a thief. how do i take on 2 mesmers and a thief at the same time? Guardian btw.. roamer build. so. many. illusions. and the real deals were stealthed half a second after finding them. : ((

UnrepentantProcrastinator.7420:

akamon.2769:

just doing my obligatory drop-in on the T1 thread. : ))

so.. what’s been going on? :///

Nothing. There was a three-way truce for the last 8 hours.

dangit! i always miss the fun times. : ((

p.s. you(r system) keep(s) double posting ; )) just in case.. you didn’t notice yourself lol

just doing my obligatory drop-in on the T1 thread. : ))

so.. what’s been going on? :///

@Silven / Lexi – Spirit Bunker sounds interesting! i’ve never used the spirit shield either so i might have to give it a shot as well.

@Crap – these are more sPvP focused builds, but many of course with the right tweaks can be easily adapted to suit WvW. the main thing is putting the gear together and achieving the stats you want. for the build you linked in relation to sPvP, the term roamer is used in the sense of going from node to node, or to where as needed as opposed to say a bunker, who would typically sit on one point defending it.

lol. that’s what Guardians are! magic.

@swiftpaw – there you go! i’ve been doing the same and you CAN get pretty creative in terms of “grouping” enemies using shield 5, though at first glance it may seem counterintuitive. and all it’s other uses. again, don’t forget to hit Esc after you burst it for the heal so you don’t stay rooted. i feel it makes a big difference.. though i guess more so in PvP situations where a second could mean life and death.

: )) agreed anything above 30% crit is more than enough to play with crit sigils. 35% is more than fine.

and do try out stacking sigils on both active weapon sets. of course, it gets a little more pricey, but you build up a lot faster (so even if downed or travel, you get ‘em back in no time) and then you can fully utilize other sigils since after full stacks the sigil won’t be doing anything anymore.

that would make it relatively similar to the hammer chains symbol drop. i love having symbol on demand with mace #2, and it’s on a pretty short CD as well. : ))

yes i can confirm i just got one at least two days ago. : ))
maybe someone else even more recent can help confirm.

good luck! what weapon are you wanting to get?

i’ve dubbed CM the official worst dungeon. XDDDD

but agree, teamwork, knowing what you’re up against, reflections, condition cleanses make it a lot easier. but still.. most mechanics are.. not in any way fun in my opinion. the only bit i like are blowing back the missiles from the turrets. the ONLY fun bit in the entire dungeon lol

i’ll take any other dungeon over CM any day.

i wouldn’t mind this either. but it has to be done very deliberately and carefully. though i am also keen to agree that the whole point of stealth is that they are hidden, gone, and the key is actually, you have to REFIND or RELOCATE them. and in this case, retarget them.

again, with thieves, not a problem. with mesmers however, that’s a different story. hmm take last night for example, 3-man queued tPvP. i open up the UI to see who we’re up against. one thief. one mesmer. two mesmers. oo yippee. then another one joins. what are the chances? yep, to round it out, 4 mesmers and a thief.

and it was just tough trying to target any actual player when in reality you may have jsut been fighting two people, but on your screen there were close to 10. you finally find the real one, you call target, stealth. and they’re gone. and it’s easier said than done to (call) target an enemy while trying to stay alive, fending off a bunch who are all attacking you from range, confusing you, dazing you… but maybe that was an extreme case.

i would love if they allowed targets to “hold”. but there’s a catch like someone mentioned, if you were to target anyone or anythign else for the duration that they went stealth, of course you’ll lose target. so it’s not ALL bad for stealth classes. for when you are stealthed, they are forced to not target anyone else if they wanna stay on you.

but i keep having second thoughts. i think having target keeping or holding while stealthed sort of destroys the stealth mechanic.

that’s awesome you’re starting this. just so you know, it’s not AS bad as you think. i may only be one person, but i do ask always in map chat is anyone wants to group up for tPvP and my guild as well. at dragon events, i always try to chat lol but all i ever “get in return” (not even) and peolpe linking their loot.

most arenas i’ve joined now actually have more sustenance than past hotjoins. sure 10v10 can get chaotic, but you’ll get the occasional leader or two that speak up and call out tactics and more peolpe have chimed in than ever before.

so i think the game is not ONLY solo oriented. and i do enjoy the grouped events / instances as well. but te game could definitely use more pro-active-ness in this area. good luck!!

sielfiel.4692:

hello humans! score update!

oh mann. will you be taking care of all score updates from now on? O_____o

i like these new initiatives. keeping eyes peeled.

if you want to stack Bloodlust, ideally you’d have both a hammer and GS with bloodlust on it, so you don’t have to worry about which weapon to be in when enemies die. you build up stacks the fastest this way.

then you can switch back to your regular sigils.

Greatsword with Strength works. with the auto, and if you choose Empowering Might trait, you can easily keep stacks on yourself. paired with the boon duration as well on your build, a good choice : ))

Hammer strength works as well. i at least feel i get a lot of crits with my hammer, though i like having plain old force on mine.

hydromancy is always good. chill is annoying as, in PvP. helps you land the big hits when they’re slowed.

energy as many have mentioned.

i have a build that uses sigil of fire in all mainhands and forces is all offhands. though argubaly, since sword excels at single target damage (though great against multiple e nemies as well), Air COULD be better, but peolpe have done some studies showign that the damage surplus is not THAT much greater compared to Fire and with Fire you get AoE.

Be sure to note the different cooldowns on your sigils. if you do decide to mix in some on-swap sigils, if your on-crit sigils happen to proc right before you needed to switch for any given desired effect, it will get in the way.

ahha, that’s an awesome shot! would ahve loved to see it without the UI. ; )) love the two little dolyaks near the bottom left haha

only deer here. can’t wait to get to dolyak!

pot.6805:

akamon.2769:

Masamoon.3864:

1:06 am PST score update! Bed time for me.

And just for Cuddles here the little Lion Cub. <3

SIMBAAAAAA.

REMEMBER…

Hakuna Matata

and with that, i can solo zergs all day. XDD

Masamoon.3864:

1:06 am PST score update! Bed time for me.

And just for Cuddles here the little Lion Cub. <3

SIMBAAAAAA.

REMEMBER…

agreed : )) i think the Guardian shield is fine as is. adds more gameplay elements i feel as opposed to just “blocking”. don’t forget Shelter heal or Renewed Focus as well if you want to block.

the instant pushback is really to die for at moments. even in PvE it can be immensely useful.

Liquid.9672:

Ultimaistanza.4793:

Score update with Pain Train Choo [Choo], some BG Dragonriders [DR], and Tempest Wolves [TW]

Lol that looks like a break dance circle. Those DR guys must gave been busting some moves.

dance moves vol. 2 should totally have the backspin. oldschool! XDD

i’m more leaning towards… the first build. in terms of raw stats. i didn’t look TOO too closely but that’s what i’d go for. if not, then the third one.

nice setups btw. and torch is definitely very fun. i actually like using it with scepter more. but sword works very well also.

aggressive Guards are fun

LotusThief.4613:

Zaxares.5419:

Unbreakable Sickles will be coming very soon. Stock up on gems!

I’m thinking the sickle the be a crab claw.

and a geyser pops or bubbles overflow when mining! a la the molten mining pick.

in PvE it may be less obvious. PvP needless to say, knockbacks, cancel people’s heals / big moves, and most importantly pushing groups of enemies off cliffs XDDD

i was never a big shield user in PvE unless in dungeons usually. especially against projectile heavy situations – Caudecus Manor for one. and like bojokyut mentioned, against lupicus it’s helpful as well. i even take that trait generate shield of absorp (shield #5) when ressing. cause it’s great for ressign people when under a barrage of projectiles.

and recently, with Braham’s mace and shield skin out, i picked both up and have been playing more mace and shield in PvE lol just cause it’s cool looking. and i’ve been able to make good use of it. most of the time in PvE, you’ll want to group mobs together, and the shield actually pushes mobs away.. so i’ve been practicing usnig this to my advantage.

1) use terrain. push them back against walls or objects so they don’t go anywhere, but you still get the desired effect.

2) in the instances with Braham for e.g. group of enemies split up to fight him and i. i’d kite the enemies so they’re all in a line runnign towards me, shield knockback and push them all towards where Braham was so i could take them all together.

3) if NPC or your allies are in need of some breathing room, bam shield knockback (though won’t work on big bosses due to numoveable unshakable defiant stacks, etc etc) and you can throw on protection on them with shield 4.

also just to note, so many peopel say it’s hard to hit people with shield 4. i find it particularly easy and a great design. i can easily position myself to throw out that cone and hit allies as well as mobs.

it’s not as intuitive as straight blocking, but i feel it actually holds more utility than the warrior’s shield can. the shield is definitely more group oriented for a Guardian. 33% damage reduction for 5s (untraited) for a group or your party can make a huge difference sometimes. and the knockback, experiment with it and you’ll find plenty of uses for it. and if you don’t need the projectile protection, tap 5 twice so you pop it for the knockback, activate again for a heal, then hit Esc key so you’re not stuck in the rooted animation and feel free to do waht you will. beat up on the knock downed enemies. heal or pick up fallen allies. : ))

and most importantly. the shields looks awesome. lol

start off wirh knight’s, mix with either berserkers, valkyrie or soldier depending on what you need. many liek to start with soldiers mixed to get some vitality and extra toughness in.. more conservative but can still be helpful. valyrie is good if you have decent crit chance and you want to add in some vitality. a nice balance. berserkers is for when you know you want to go as all out as possible in the dmg department. the more you play your class and against other content, the more you’ll be able to afford berserkers. many guardians go full berserker as well, but you definitely need to play on your toes more and can’t stand there and take damage.

the pieces with crit dmg (valkyrie and berserker) i usually put on only shoulders/gloves/boots as if you look at it from a one critical damage % per point basis, you’re giving up the least.

toughness is good against direct dmg. vitality can help buffer burst as well as conditions as armor doesn’t affect condition dmg.

though i would settle on a build first, in terms of trait points and then gear yourself around that to reach the stats you’re comfortable with or want to achieve. though in the end, it will come down to gameplay and how well you utilize your build : ))

as you mentioned, there is no “true tanking” in this game. and the aggro table is still a mystery in its complete sense as each mob reacts differently to each situation. though a few pointers – high toughness, damage dealt, proximity all can make a difference. especially high toughness in many cases i’ve noticed. but just know it’s not 100% full proof. so yuo can build for high toughness for starters. which is always nice for a Guard as well. not needed, but nice.

in addition, you can “tank” in this game, if by tank you mean to keep them off your allies so through area denial, cc’s and let your teammates rain down judgment on them mobs. as well as AoE blinds to negate dmg, AoE aegis or blocks, projectile reflects and absorption are other ways you can “tank” in this game. throwing out your boons help as well… protection to mitigate dmg, stability to negate CC, regen to outheal small dmg taken, etc etc

so most weapons will be able to do some of the above to a certain degree, hammer and staff offer a lot of control and area denial, swords/focus for blinds, shield has a great knockback! and utilities like sanctuary, wall of reflection, etc.

glad to see this taking off a bit more!!
let’s go Guards!! i know there a re a ton of vets out here. ; ))

can’t wait to see the footage of this this time.

i usually run when i see a “zerg” or.. odds not in my favor. i know what i can take on. and definitely know what i can’t.

there will be times when i see someone Rambo in, and be able to take on 3, 4, 5 and not dying. because they are skilled. or maybe, the opposition is less. then i’ll definitely jump in an help.

then there are also times when i see 2 rush 5 and they both drop like flies.

magikfox.9658:

You look at the first photo and TW looks so intimidating, so evil. After that you look at the next photo, and you’re like, wow, they have names. They are players. Just like you and me.

aww. and someone’s even acting shy, hiding in that little hut in the back!

if people still need these, i got both Dead Drop and Lost & Found achievements on Sea of Sorrows last night. both maps (wayfarer’s and diessa) actively working!

those are pretty decent stats. how’d you get so much health? which is nice to have, but i don’t feel as a Guardian you need that much : )) personal threshold is around 16k. i have a couple builds ni the 14k to 15k mark as well.

have you run this in WvW a whole lot yet? with this build, it’s a pretty standard hybrid build and you should be able to do more than fine, even for solo. so stick with it for a while, and as you feel more comfortable with the Guard, you can swap in more offensive pieces, etc. or be more specialized in certain areas. tweak the things ya don’t like, etc : ))

general advice for a guard then, depending on what weapon sets and utilities you’re using.. mitigation is key! don’t get tunnel visioned, especially when 1vN or in a group fight. you have easy access to AoE blinds, aegis, stability, blocks, boons, area control/denial. so the more you play, the more you’ll know when you use your heals, use your dodges, which attacks you can take with retal on, which you want to completely avoid, etc.. comes with practice. : )) since you said you’re relatievly new, i will just say learn the class and the best way to do it is through experience. if you come into a few tough fights and don’t come out on top, assess what you could have done better, know what hurt you bad, and then work on those areas. : ))

and don’t be afraid to keep on switching traits, weapons, utilities throughout your encounters. and KEEP HARRASSING YOUR ENEMIES. in many cases, i’ve always felt that’s the most defensive and offensive option and it works well. play aggressively, and your enemies will be forced to be more defensive, and you can turn the tide in battle.

also, it’s helpful to learn other classes skills. if even just a gist. ; )) lemme know if you have any more specific questions though.

i can see OP’s point of view. i saw it more as OP repoting those who were being overly offensive or rude. which is always uncalled for. sometimes being competitive can be healthy for any game, and then comes smack talk, which can be healthy as well.. but it takes but a small step to cross the line. usually these people take leaps and bounds over that line though.

i’ve learnt not to “respond” to these people or try to reach out to them, let alone retaliate. for they don’t even want to be “helped” to start with. i use “helped” loosely and not meaning they do need it. but perhaps i should try to be not just accommodating but more compassionate. in the end, id on’t lose anything. perhaps at the risk of makign them even more upset. :///

i’ve been lucky enough though to say most people i’ve come across, i haven’t come across any of this. well RQ’s but that’s about it. oh, once people told our entire team to uninstall the game. : (( lol

most times where i die or i kill someone, amongst other opponents and teammates, i’ll try to lighten the mood by going “aww” once i got stomped by 3 players. one guy went “:(” which was kind of nice lol. other times, after a nice fight for a point, this guy lost and he said, “u wait here, i’ll brb” and we had at it again.

so it’s not ALL bad. though unfortunate when it does happen/ ://

hey stone cold, you seem quite well versed in the many Guardian builds out there already. and you seemed to do fine with all of them. then i would just ask, which do you have most fun with? : ))

even with a full DPS spec, the Guardian will bring to the table what other DPS classes can’t. vice versa, there’ll always be something that other profs do that we don’t. so sure, warriors or thieves might be able to out DPS us from that standpoint alone, but i wouldn’t worry TOO much about that. see below for a little elaboration on what i feel the Guardian brings to the table : ))

sounds like this is mainly for PvE? in that case, if you’re good at not dying or damage mitigation (and often, you can do this group wide due to the Guardian’s abilities! —> AoE blinds, AoE aegis, AoE protection, AoE stability, regen, retal, and also a ton og wardings / area denail / control, etc etc), by all means, go the DPS route. each second faster you and your group are able to down a mob, that’s 1 second less for that mob to attack you guys. dead mobs = 0 DPS from mobs.

and boon durations are argubly one of the strongest stats Guards can go for if you actively use your boons. they’re AoE in most cases and you have a ton of them, easy access, and work for both defensive as well as offensive boons. many Guards swear by them : ))

which weapons do you enjoy? you can also try any variations of 30/x/30/x/x or 20/x/30/x/x. i’ve been particularly enjoying 10/30/30/0/0 recently. and especially beast with 1-handed weapons. argubly less PBAoE dmg, but even with a one-hand strength build, you can easily swap in GS or Hammer and still do massive damage.

yea, i’ve heard of the cap at 3.1k armor. i technically have a WIP build right now that goes up to 3.4k lol. so that’s not going to be final. and i did tone it down through traits but didn’t get to excessively test its durability in WvW too much yet. i’ll revisit it soon and see how it goes.

ya, definitely easy ways to bring power / attack back up to par.

very neat. watched the opening. subbed and will watch rest during lunch. woot brought my earphones today.

good stuff! the stat spread seems quite nice too. i’m working on my staff Guardian now as well so this will help me think out of the box a bit more ; ))

i love his stuff and he’s extremely knowledgeable. definitely picked up a few more gems from that cast.

: )) perhaps it’s time to invest a little more time into the Guard, Bas. i still have my necro to level too, lol. we can back and forth one another.

when’s the next podcast going to be?

keep doing this, Bas!!

i’m unavailable this week : (( but do keep me in mind for future matchups. and as long as all experienced PvPers are welcome. relatively new still.

i’ll drop my info here anyhow:

IGN: Akaimon
Day Availible: Not this time : ((
NA or EU: NA
Record Capability: None

hope to see more Guards sign up!

if you’re solo, i want to say definitely go with meditations. if in group, both MF or AH works, depending if you want more group utility, then of course shouts >> meds.

AH does work when solo, but the effects are not as great or prominent when in a group setting. so i feel MF’s burst heals work better as opposed to an even smaller stream of heals coming in. that’s how i felt at least : )) there are definitely times where AH still allowed me to come up on top of various encounters with enemies while going solo.

also, i wouldn’t say a 5/30/30/5 build won’t kill anything. although, really depends on your gear setup then. do you mind posting your main stats?

Attack:
Armor:
Crit chance:
Crit damage:
Health:
and i guess Healing Power as well

just for reference, when i run WvW i usually always have Judge’s Intervention and stand your ground on, regardless if i’m playing AH or MF

then if AH/shouts – usually save yourselves. and then hold the line if i know i’m going to be in a group situation. retreat very occasionally, or when covering terrain. though i just use staff now and switch out right away. or GS #3. sometimes if i know JI won’t be of MUCH use, i will use a combination of any 3 shouts. most likely SYS SYG and HTL.. HTL is actualyl i feel very strong. : )) especially when allies are in a pinch. i will dodge roll heal towards them, pop HTL and that arleady helps a ton.

then for MF – usually it’s gonna be smite condition in addition. AoE dmg useful for adding to burst. also good for condition cleanse, though just one. if i know it’s gonna be condition heavy, i might bring in triple meds. i normally don’t choose contemplation over smite or judge’s. but you can mix and match.

i will of course also take Meditation Mastery for faster recharges when running MF, and Superior Aria for AH. so TL;DR if solo, i feel MF is better and you can run 2 meds + 1 shout. though AH works as well.

thanks for posting this. : ))

i knew there was more than something about Spirit Watch that i don’t enjoy playnig it for tPvP as much as the other maps.

thanks for sharing. : )) this was a great read and i love how passionate you are about gaming and the innovation you had to get back in the game. but more importantly, how you remained so positive and seemingly able to overcome what you had to go through!

props to you, good sir. hope you figure out better ways of playing and approaching life as it, and enjoying the hell out of it.

just to let people know, i went on Sea of Sorrows last night and got both the Lost and Found and Dead Drop achievements.

both maps were working as well. by way of background, i was missing 1 refugee item from each map, for a total of 2 items. and i hadn’t done any dead drops before this. go guest at SoS!

oh what. i thought with the ones you got from PvE you COULD use in PvP like normal “skin” items. but if you chose to use ‘em in PvE, there is a super slight chance that you’d get them in chests for PvP. but in fact, the skin is PvE specific? hmm.

i did read in another thread that someone got a few gauntlets from PvP using left over tourney tickets to turn in for chests. out of 8-9 chests that is.

and then in the chests, they’d be random too? ://

videll.9531:

Devona’s Rest
No dirt covered objects at all

May I please get a guest invite from someone to another U.S. server where I -can- get them, if possible? This achievement is all that stands between me and the fused gauntlets.

you don’t need someone to invite you. go back to character selection screen, then select a world, click “Guest” and you’ll be guesting already. then log in using the character you wanna do it with.

i did it on Sea of Sorrows last night and finished both Lost & Found and the Dead Drops, got both achievements. all maps work for SoS as of last night.

i don’t think i’ve seen a single dev response re: all these broken lost & found threads. usually they’re quicker to act on stuff like this. or at least merge all the threads.

am missing the dead drop and lost & found achievements as well so gotta try guesting on diff servers to complete then. : ))

how long have you been with SoR now? a big welcome to you regardless. : )) but yes, as many have said, get on TS and hopefully things will make more sense to you. and of course, there’s a different commander for everyone. so find out who you enjoy running alongside or suits your style and stick with ’em. but do give everyone a chance.

also, are you with any guild? sometimes that helps and can make a big difference as well in terms of being part of more organized warfare.

: )) good luck and enjoy.

when will we see the new rotation?

hey Harbinger, overkill – i assume you mean the armor? do you feel it’s made a notable difference in terms of reduction? i guess it’s hard to pinpoint at times, especially in WvW.. but overall? haha

you have your points definitely. though i want to say for classes that have a stronger or weaker cleansing ability, they would have “built” their character in a way they can cater to that. e.g. more HP if less removal, etc for one.

and while taking traits that passively / actively remove conditions, they are in a sense, indirectly giving up damage or another type of utility gained from taking one trait over another. i agree it’s a balance that needs to be reached, but that is also why there is also class diversity.

some classes will always be better at certain things.

i think when facing classes or builds that are able to freely stack on conditions can be rough. or even facing groups that are condition heavy. sure we all know to get rid of high stacks. or get rid of poison if you need to heal. get rid of that ridiculous burning. that’s all in theory. when you have every condition thrown upon you with ease, even with a ton of condition removal, you might not be able to pick and choose and pin point which condition or which stack to remove.

and then at some times, even after you removed some, they can just as easily stack them back onto you.

so i dont’ think it’s too easy. and since i play Guardian, i haven’t spent much time in the conditions department, but i will argue that if you’re able to stack conditions, or mass transfer/etc, then that’s when they become really strong.

there is the use of chains of light. plus other forms of cc’s. you can always coordinate with your buddies to constantly immo or keep an enemy in place as wel. if you don’t have friends to play with? then place the smite where an enemy is heading instead of placing the target where they currently are, knowing they are going to move out of that area so you get more hits in, then immo at the right time. there are many ways to use it effectively. you can knockdowns, then immob. that’s a good extra window for smite to do extra dmg that otherwise would have missed.

try judge’s intevention into someone’s face, immo then dropping smite. in PvP or WvW. you’d be surprised how long they stand still for. surprise factor will get most, save the very best.

i guess my point is, scepter may not be the perfect weapon, but it definitely deserves way more credit then people give on these forums. even scepter autos hit super hard. depending on target, they can go up to 2k on crits. and yes, moving targets. super i won’t eb sniping anyone at 1200 range. but at 600? and if yuo’re good against kiters, you’ll nail ‘em hard. and most people i’ve played against, when they’re being smacked in the face by magic tennis balls for 1-2k each hit, all they’re going to be doing is running.

and ultimately i am fine with the Guard not be excelled at ranged combat. i chose the Guardian to be in your face. there’s a reason we’re a heavy class.

[edit: oops fixed some typos]

i try to run a variety of builds – one for fun, and two, i guess just to learn as much about the Guardian class as possible. i just have so much fun with it. recently i’ve been speccing more “support” in PvE.. having gone from hybrid to damage oriented and now back to more support focused. but even then, i aim to have enough crit chance and power so i don’t hit like a paper bag with a hole in it. THOUGh still being able to give my allies some breathing room or heals when they need it, blinds or aegis to negate big attacks, or stability when it’s crucial, etc… and while buffing them with shouts or symbols or virtues. and it’s been a lot of fun. wardings are particularly of fun use and CC’s. : ))

crit damage is the one stat i chose to forgo, which i admit i miss, but like others, i make sure i’m running with someone else when i’m running builds that are more leaned towards support.