Guild Wars 2

depending on how you’re setup, symbols can do a lot of damage, especially since most mobs are rather stationary when you fight them. plus it gives you more staying power and survivability. definitely not as mobile as the sword obviously. both are nice weapons but i am personally more partial to how the mace plays.

i can’t give you a numbers filled scientific comparison of if sword kills faster vs mace, but i’ve seen my mace do some very nice dmg as well. including 1k+ crits on the symbol ticks. mace #3 is fun to use as well, while negating some big hits if timed right and then AoE dmg.

offense: dmg of mace can be very high if not just as, but sword definitely feels faster and more multi-hitting.

defense: mace auto chain heals, symbol for boons + heals, as well as the block. whereas the sword gives you blind which is very useful if timed right and projectile absorption (thuogh i really use sword 3 for dps though)

just super generally, you could try a 10/30/30/0/0 build.

Traits
Zeal – Fiery Wrath (II)
Radiance – Blind Exposure (VI); Powerful Blades (X); Right-Hand Strength (XI)
Valor – Meditation Mastery (I); Retributive Armor (VI); Monk’s Focus (XII)

Link to a quick put together as an example:
http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/guardian/?3.0|c.1c.h17.f.1c.h4|b.1c.h17.e.1c.h4|1n.710.1p.710.1n.710.1p.710.1n.710.1p.710|1n.61.1n.61.1n.61.1i.61.1i.61.1c.61|a2.u6ab.u26b.0.0|2m.7|w.19.15.13.1i|e

am no expert at torch, so i’m sure someone who has more expertise will be able to offer more. but torch #4, you can hit that and let it tick to keep foes burning. if you want some spike you can then toss it. torch #5 is just good for cleansing as well as keeping pressure (but mainly cause it looks AWESOME). and the fast hitting sword and torch #5 will consistently proc VoJ for you, thus gaining 10% extra dmg from fiery wrath and another extra 10% from radiant power (Radiance 25pts).

to add on top of that, you get a huge boost to crit chance with right-hand strength when using your sword (or mainhand weapons).

second weapon set. can either go with scepter + focus or shield to continue benefiting from RHS and it’s fast / multi hitting as well when you’re not at 1200 range (scepter i feel pretty darn effective when you’re mid-kiting). insta immobilize is to die for as well. smite is awesome as well. focus, extra blind, blocks for more mitigation and added AoE dmg.

OR, you could go with the GS if you don’t mind. gives you more mobility with leap of faith. leap of faith paired with judge’s intervention can cover huge distances. WW with JI can surprise burst enemies and scare ’em. also fast and multi hitting to help proc burning. and currently, Leap of faith really works strongly with blind exposure as its aoe blind stacks more vulnerability on opponents then it should. i think.

definitely survivable in WvW as well depending on who you’re with and how you play. you won’t be standing in people’s faces smacking them around, be mobile and avoid the big hits. and keep pressure! all of which the above weapon sets allow you to do.

if in group setting, can maybe change to shouts and use Altruistic Healing instead. i feel like this set up allows you to change it easily depending on the situation.

of course, feel free to mix and match the gear and runes and sigils to your liking to hit the stats you want. for PvE, i don’t feel it’s as big a deal. in dungeons, you may or may not feel a bit squishy, but again, use your skills for dmg mitigation and avoid the big hits. i personally havne’t tested this in dungeons, but i feel should be more than fine. again, no face tanking, but play smart and mobile.

for WvW, i personally have a threshold of 3k power, 3k armor, 15 – 16k health, but depending on build i am willing to sacrifice power or vitality. toughness/armor is something i try to keep at least above 3k at all times. again, personal preference.

hope this helps a bit!

you guys are craycray in here.

but i love you all regardless. some awesome fun 3 way fights the other day.
hopefully will be bringing my super spider mini sidekick onto the fields with me tonight!

to be honest, i just joined the sPvP/tPvP scene and by god is it fun. why didn’t i start earlier? XDD that being said, i did greet people and was lucky enough to find peolpe nice enough to help me out. i let them know i was new to PvP and asked for tips, and most were willing to give tips and we stayed as a well-formed team for a few more matches and were able to win most and i gained a LOT.

had i not said anythnig, just to be in-line with so-called hardcore PvPers, i wouldn’t have learnt anything and probably not have as much. is it that hard to break out of the mould? seems some don’t like nubs. weren’t we all once? how are they supposed to learn? if you’re unwilling to help them with that attitude that anyone who speaks is new, then you’ll keep getting these newcomers who’ll never learn. why not help everyoen get ebtter? so you’ll get better teams yourselves. or get better enemies to play against. all more to the fun factor. no? i might be missing something if not so…

so mark my words. i will keep ranking up. i will keep getting better. and i’ll be kitten but i will always say “HI HOW IS EVERYONE DOING” everytime i join a team / map. right.

i saw somewhere someone mentioned once, if someone gets staked/stomped/finished, that should force a respawn.

or the CD on rally works too.

though i wouldn’t completely take out the downed states or defeated states and the ability to revive someone who’s “dead” dead.

rolls eyes ; )))
i love these pets and glad you found them again.

if only we could have all 3 out at the same time!

just a tiny one, also for the Toad/Frog Boss. if you miss throwing a gem in his mouth and he does the laser tongue attack, you can hide under his chin and take no damage (don’t step TOO far though cause you’ll hit the poisonous water).

^^ that’s a lot of Super skins in the 2nd pic!D
lookin’ good.

hmmm. good points. i’ll give it a shot soon too and see if i can make it work effectively.

also, re: sanctuary, with consecrated ground, if i see someone about to stomp an ally, and i cast sanctuary on top of the downed ally, does the enemy get pushed out of the area as well and can’t re-enter?

logging on tonight to put in some hours for SoR’s Oceanic. ; ))

the Spirits of the Wild beckon. hear them roar!
or screech.
or purr.

woot woot! ahha am sure you are excited Silven. and there are definitely a handful more of great WvWers who roam or do awesome in small group fights : )))

will have to check out the staff / mace+focus build. i’ve been having most fun with the symbol builds so far. quick question for GS / mace+focus builds, would hydromancy be a good alternative to fire as well? or perhaps just on the GS, while the mace sticks with fire. if you’re able to catch them off guard, they slow down, all skills CD recharge slower, as well as does AoE dmg. this helps with landing your big hits as well. just a thought! a nice fire & ice combo XDD

depending on how you’re set up, AH or MF isn’t needed at all to “survive”. i’ve seen various Guardian builds without running those and they more than hold their own.

i’ll say that Battle Presence + Absolute Resolution is nice if:
1) like you, have a decent amount of healing (1lk+ is my personal threshold)
2) running a small enough group and ideally always having people near you
3) like Christos mentioned, when conditions ain’t a thang for you and your group

your setup will get a lot of active healing + passive healing. sometimes i run with larger symbols and healing symbols and on the mace it gets pretty decent heals on a melee centric group and you can control when and where you put down the symbol. and in WvW, in the thcik of things, not everyone will think to move out of symbols. healing on the staff and the fact that you have energy sigils, you can pretty much ehal for 1K plus every 10 seconds as well. you also have additional healing on your shield.

Blasino.3128:

Hey Jax,

With the latest patch, I’m seeing more condition builds lately. When holding mid I’m ok 1v1. 1v2 gets dicey I die about 50% of the time. 1v3+ I’m going to die pretty fast.

Any tips or is this sort of the rock paper sicsors of pvp.

I’m thinking almost at this points something like melundru runs could be helpful to prevent stacking of conditions so easily?

hey Blasino! just adding onto what Jax told ya. since i’ve been messing with PvP more (which is AWESOME fun. i don’t know why i didn’t start earlier), i’ve realized that condition builds are galore and fighting against ranger + engi 2v1 is pretty tough. :///

i was playing one of the symbol nuke builds, and after a few rounds, i switched up the Honor traits a bit. i took Pure of Voice over Writ of Persistence. I felt it was a decent trade off as i was able to handle conditions a lot better, while losing some DPS and boons from the symbols, i at least wasn’t dying as much, even against more heavy condition opponents.

here are a few off top:

- learn when to dodge and how to, but don’t spam it!
- can make a BIG difference learning other classes. if not in super detail, at least learn their big moves or openers so you’ll know how to counter them / avoid them, etc
- furthermore, also knowing their downed state skills and what to expect helps staking them or defeating them
- have enough condition removal, stun beaks, stability
- don’t get tunnel vision, no matter what. know when to engage and disengage. don’t chase half a map just to get one guy, in risk of splitting up with your group (if not solo) and / or running into enemy groups
- this one’s more obscure, but learn to play aggressively (while still playing smart), which from my experience, in general forces your opponents to play more defensively. turn the tide of battle in you favor

ha, i’m learning so much. that’s awesome. one on hand, you can think on-crit procs aren’t as “reliable”, howeer, like you mentioned in PvP setting where those who’ve spent the time know what to expect more often than not, that surprise factor really does make a difference.

good stuff again, Jax!

gotcha. i see you’ve chosen fire. i was deciding between fire and force myself. is going with fire mainly for the added AoE? in terms of adding DPS, i feel it’s one of the best out there, especially with a decent crit build. though i feel Force could be a good contender as well. then again, in terms of those “spike” moments, fire would definitely add more pressure.

Jax.5261:

• They can be a problem, the idea with condition builds is to use smite condition to remove poison/burning instantly while pressuring them to the point it’s hard for them to get conditions on you. Big example is the Necromancer, once you pressure them enough they won’t be able to damage you.

assuming this is where and why taking the trait Focused Mind is almost required for all PvP builds?

thanks, Geko! farming IRL gold huh? i like that. though can’t decide if that makes me feel better or worse yet XDD

@Artemis – what you are referring to is the big picture description of the symbol builds. then listed are 4 variants of a symbol build. : ))

@Jax – quick question – do you think Sigils of Rage are still applicable now after the change? would there be other sigils better suited for the symbol builds?

tried it out last night. was around each and every single map for a little bit and mang, loving this new update so far. only in EBG did i get a bit of skill lag.

was pretty crazy seeing such large numbers on all sides! self server included. O____o haven’t experienced full out ZvZ yet but looking forward to seeing my screen explode with text.

most fun last night though was running a 5-6 man havoc squad. i was definitely more “alert” as i fell most people were running in large zergs.. kept me on edge which was nice.. but i feel with culling gone, it’s even more safe and more effective running havoc squads now since you can spot any zerg 10 miles away. and just hit up all the spots the zerg isn’t at.

and make sure it’s of the rage (unless if all lvl 80 one’s are already of the rage).

just for fun, someone in map chat got one. they said 1 chest.

4 day weekend coming up for Easter. finally will be able to be online a lot more and hope to play with some of you! if you see this and see me on, do message me!

i’ll check out the website as well ; ))

just for fun : ))

Amins’ Zealous Defender – 30/x/30/x/x build
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydi-7h0-oMY

seems to be more “consistent”, to a certain extent, on the mighty blows as opposed to WW’s but still awesome to see this type of power. note that his build is quite viable in WvW but you need to be extra mindful of what’s around you and what’s going on. also, works lot better if you’ve organized small groups with you so you allies can help supplement what you may be missing in more traditional bunker or hybrid builds. even then, it’s able to hold it’s own. i run sth similar and while id on’t see numbers AS high, still fun.D

he details his build in more depth in his other videos titled Zealous Defender.

woah weird.. and VoC is 90s CD untraited, yes? i’ve never really checked in-game just assumed it worked the same as on paper, or according to tooltips. though we know many tooltips are misniformed.. but still.

so what are some of the ranks my fellow allies and enemies have achieved so far?

ahh, gotcha. i just cross checked wiki as well (not ingame now) so if that’s correct, then we indeed do have 5 more points to play with!

lol, this is fun and again, more great stuff CMF. gonna have another watch during lunch to see if i can pick up more stuff.

thanks for sharing the info, OP! and too bad you didn’t get any tickets : (((
most appreciated. just straight facts. ; )) and i wish you luck! if you were to continue to test your luck a bit more.

looking forward to trying it out myself when i get home lol

CuddleStrike.8215:

For those of you who are working or otherwise out.

Score Update! <3

as always, thanks!D

and don’t worry. i haven’t forgotten about you. ; )) my little afro Asura is still in the process of gearing/leveling up!

have yet to test it out at work now.. i guess everyone’s having different experiences, which is to be expected. not sure if it’s just me, but when i alter the grapic settings, to low, for e.g. it’s usually worse in the beginning and takes a logn while for it to settle. then it gets better again.. so maybe give it some time after switching settings before jumping into sth to intensive as WvW?

also, on the side, wonder if we’d ever see the server names in short form – SOR Invader, JQ Scout, BG Soldier, etc etc. would help with the clutter, no?

i’m a big fan of the staves. a few off top adding on to Deified’s list..

- Peacemaker’s i’m slowly working towards
- Kodan is one that i absolutely adore

currently using Memory of the Sky and Wolfborn as well. : )))

if no gem buyers, you wouldn’t keep getting these updates, if anything at all.

at the same time, it’s not like they did the EXACT same thing. ANet does listen and learn. sure not to EVERYTHING we have to say… they do have to pick and choose. i think it’s a decent system. you get a ticket and get to CHOOSE YOURSELF which weapon YOU want. of course, the drop rate of the ticket, who knows what that is. but beats getting a super hard to get skin and NOT be able to use it? at least you have some choice in your hands.

or.. that’s what ANet wants us to think. ; ))) i kid i kid. i am going to go home and tst my luck tonight.

so yes, hoping we hear more about these weapons and if they’ll ever be available in game!

heh, great analysis and “problem solving”, CMF. great stuff and i’m slowly learning or wanting to do that too lol. one small thing, VoC is 90s CD iirc? so 72 would be a 20% reduction, i.e. 20 points in Virtues. (i only watched the video on my mobile, so couldn’t see the detailed numbers, so forgive me if i missed something :PP)

i run with a staff as well, and make sure it’s in an easily accesible area of my inv so i can switch fast. : ))) though nicely, depending on build, staff isn’t a bad weapon to have.. though when going around solo, i would too caution oen to be more aware and take 360 looks while running lol, just in case.

anyways, back to OP, great video!!!! you help up SUPER strong in that 1vX. very exciting fights and good utilization of your skills. that bit where you ressed your ally, right before he got stomped, then proceeded to take him down. oh mann.

looking forward to seeing more videos of yours!

signing up for this too! haven’t used it in a while, but i loved it and it was just right (before the quickness nerf). had cast time, wasn’t spammable and didn’t last overly long but effective enough.

and yes, please look into sigil of rage as well.

aww just when i started to enjoy the Sigil of Rage on my hammer. actually procs way more often than you can notice… hmmm. and sad we didn’t get a duration buff for tome.

and re: symbols, oops, i never even noticed it only hit up to 3 targets (mace and hammer). this included dmg to foes AND boons to allies?

was hoping for more this patch for the Guardian, but sometimes, i guess less is more.

this looks glorious! lol. more hilarious if anything. can’t wait to give it a shot.

assuming we can’t toggle titles on or off? that is quite the clutter of text. hey apprentice toymaker, good to see ya contributing to the efforts of war! ;DD

Talentless.5708:

akamon.2769:

let us all enjoy the last few moments of culling as it stands.

lets… cause then cds/fear zergs won swallow havoc anymore/

heh, you’re extra looking forward to this, ain’t ya? ; ))

really hoping this patch makes WvW!

let us all enjoy the last few moments of culling as it stands.

came in here thinking this was a guild on blackgate with 40 members, and that they were all thieves. stealth bombs! XDD

kuora.5402:

akamon.2769:

i know i should ignore Hockey, but i can’t.
never heard of non-unique guild tags, have we? ; ))

it’s all mind games now. it’s all mind games.

I’ll play mind tricks on you and kira both.

only if they are Jedi mind tricks.

i know i should ignore Hockey, but i can’t.
never heard of non-unique guild tags, have we? ; ))

it’s all mind games now. it’s all mind games.

yes. definitely looking forward to the to-be-introduced ranking system WXP!!

a simple concept, yet one of the most difficult to truly practice – putting oneself in others’ shoes.

all this talk that keeps coming up from whichever side, i’ve noticed, is merely you seeing what is happening from your perspective. try putting yourself in the boots of others.. will you see the field the same way? is the battle turning out to be what you thought YOU’d seent? most likely not. now, that’s just from putting yourself in the boots of ONE other enemy invader who happen to be in the same vicinity as the fight that you are/were at or want to describe. now spread that same concept across all the camps and keeps and towers on all the maps. now tell me that what you see depicts the entire battle at hand.

and this is more a general observation of our world, in game and out of it. seemingly basic, but fun stuff, no?

for the purpose of staying power and making a difference in “zergs”, i find any variation of x/x/30/30/x to still be one of the best.

my standard go to:

0/0/30/30/10
1) 3.0k attk
2) 3.0k Armor
3) 46% crit
4) 70% Crit dmg
5) 300 Healing

recently been playing with a build more for fun:
10/0/30/30/0
1) 3.2k attk
2) 3.0k Armor
3) 30% crit
4) 54% Crit dmg
5) 300 Healing

with dual hydromancy sigils so i get an AoE chill every 9-10 seconds, which i feel helps a lot in large groups.

but basically my main thresholds are 3k attack and 3k armor. i’d feel more comfortable with 3.1k armor but i think it’s more of a psychological thing and it’s still in the end flexible. then HP wise, i like to be at at least 15k and up, but again flexible depending on build and play style. condition removal, the more the better. crit chance and dmg, again, depends on the group composition as well as my build (does it heavily rely on crits for effects that are crucial?, etc).

that being said, x/x/30/30/x are not the only viable builds but in a sense you know you can always “fall back” on this type.

oops, fixed some typos.

congrats to BG last week! major push near the end and well deserved.
looking for another great match up this week. had a bit of fun testing out new builds. so far so good. ; ))

looking forward to the new patch as well. can’t help but have high hopes. dangit. stay done, hopes, stay down!

okay this is probably not the case… so i’m not super familiar with this level yet.. but i’m working my way up to lvl 10 now (and playign lvl 10’s to get there and get some practice). i’ve always been able to see my friend’s / party member’s skull icon.. except on myself, when i would jsut get downed or not have enough time to react to the maw’s beam.. aaaaaaaand my wife was like, “uh… are you zoomed all the way out??”

o________O duh.
okay. that’s probably just me. :///

hey Skull, i put together a little sth and you can see if you like it. it’s very basic without a whole lot of tinkering, but i think it offers good mix of offense and defense.

http://gw2buildcraft.com/calculator/guardian/?3.0|1.1g.h1j|c.1g.h1j.d.1g.h4|1n.7x.1p.7x.1n.7x.1p.7x.1n.7x.1p.7x|1n.67.1n.67.1n.67.1n.67.1n.67.1g.67|0.0.u000.k00.k00|39.7|0.0.0.0.0|e

i personally like having valkyrie and knight’s mixed armor to get my HP up there. and i usually don’t go full zerker on jewelry to retain armor above 3k. which is sort of my personal threshold, but not neccessary. if you want more HP, you can either switch your weapons to valkyrie or swap the exquisite jewels in the trinkets to valkyrie jewels instead. the power shown on the stats table includes 25 stacks from bloodlust in the focus. or like Hektor / Brutaly mentioned, run stacking sigils on another weapon set, which is what i do as well.

again, just what i think is a decent mix. : )) hope this helps. Soldiers is a good choice on runes and with majority of knight’s gear you get high toughness, as well as precision so your AH benefits from that.

I WANT THE MACE!!!

and yes, the hair style is pretty darn cool too.

as in, are you asking for the “shield” to be able to block all attacks on one given ally for the duration of the channel? does that include blocking for ourselves? would be very welcome indeed. then again, might be too strong. something is missing for this skill regardless though.

but yes, active blocking AND for allies i believe to be something that could be incorporated into the game or the Guardian profession.

and just a quick clarification: as it stands, if i activate this skill around 3 allies, and a mob or enemy cleaves them, do i block all 3 of those attacks? or just one of them?