Guild Wars 2

to further facilitate people being able to provide what you’re looking for.. do you have a certain type of play style in mind? there can be tanky, support/healing, hybrids, more DPS oriented, control, mobile, etc etc.. you mentioned PvX, but is there a primary focus area in the game that you have?

good luck with this! good to see the responses from your servermates and guilds.
looking forward to seeing stuff happen.

i really raelly hope that with culling removed, that WvW doesn’t just become completely unplayable. i’m no expert, but i’m assuming if they don’t up it on server side, skill lag will STILL be around and could potentially be worse off?

ultimately depends on your playstyle and how comfortable you are with that. then yuo can finetune and adjust afterwards in areas you want to be stronger, or make up for some soft spots.

personally a starting point for me was 16k HP, 3k armor.. then i started messing with various builds – some with higher crit and crit dmg some with more power, etc etc and i adjust. though i’ve always hovered around the two stats i gave above. i have some builds with close to 20k health but of course you can imagine, lot less dmg. and some builds where i’ve gone to as low as 14 – 15k health, and again, a lot more dmg.

so i guess one thing constant though is i try to main at least 3k armor (roughly 1.8k toughness)

do a necro!!
it’s been pretty fun so far. my other classes are namely Guard, Warr (lvling) and a lowbie Engi.

check out iamoneandiamlegion’s video’s on youtube. lot of great info on the necro and iirc, he has a glass spec as well.

i’ve been tinkering with a symbol build in WvW and it works pretty darn well in large numbers so far. running with hammer and mace. it would definitely be a lot more devastating if the symbol was placed with the first hit, if even on contact. :OO

perhaps that in itself could be a trait. so not something innate to the hammer, but with a choice of going for that instead.

PredatoR.5247:

CDS is a respectable opponenent, broke no rules and put up good fights.
Thanks for GvG’ing,
Looking for more GvG, send mail to J E R I C O.

on behalf of CDS, though i was unfortunately unable to attend the GvG, we appreciate this sentiment.

congratulations [Agg]!! am sure we’ll be scheduling another with you lot soon.
hoping to choose a time i’ll be around as well >:DD

lol not bad. adding on to your “I Like Big Boons (and I cannot lie)”
because they’re virtuous and what not. get it? get it?? lol

i like En Guard, Save Yourseves, GGW as well.

just for fun and waiting to get off work…here goes:

- Boona Fide Bunkers
- Silent Shout-Outs
- ….

okay that’s all i got for now lol.

@wondo – tip of my helm for your post right above. : )) and i personally felt, much needed every so often in the tier 1 threads.

i wanna go home and play! but first.. sushi for dindin!! mmmMmmmm.

now this hasn’t been edited in a while i feel. but it’s a great starting place and where i started off:
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/guardian/Guide-PVE-Guardian-101-A-Beginner-s-Text/first

moving forward, check out the many build threads in this sub-forum (includnig the stickied AH Crit hammer thread)! we have an array of very strong Guardians and are all willing to share their knowledge and experiences with us.

and lucky for you, many WvW focused Guardians do share their builds as well as have youtube channels. a few to note: Christos, Amins, Oozo, Incomingray are all videos i love watching and learning from. Bash, Blasino, Harbinger, Silentstorm all have great knowledge on the class and share their insights. and this is just to name a few off top my head. (Note, all these Guards all have their own play style so check ’em out and see what interests you)

last bu not least, assuming you’re low level now? just level up like you would any character – try out all the weapons, try out all the traits, figure out how some work well with others. know what our strengths are that leave us triumphant, know what weaknesses cause us frustration. and when you’re ready to set on a build, find and choose the gear to match up and augment what you set out to do.

i know this is all kind of general but should hopefully get you started.. and when you have more specific questions – come back! and am sure many will be able to help more. and one thing i WILl say is however, don’t listen and believe everything you heard without trying it first yourself (if you can). ; )) have fun. because that’s what the Guard is.

@Talentless – i enjoyed your BOC talk. i recognize you as a good necro. i’ve also shared many a skirmishes vs [SF] – some small groups, some big groups, and enjoyed them regardless of the outcome. and you ahve some talented players in SF so props to them.

but this, no apologies, more tasteless if anything.

@Andy – mentioned somewhere in the earlier pages, i play this build using a hammer + mace/shield. so very different from Chris’ or many other Healway guards concept of originating and approaching this build. but it works for me. obviously, i’m set up more as a group roamer and definitely not as mobile. thus, using knockdowns/backs/immo/RoW to ensure i can stay on my targets. so control over mobility if you will in this case for argument’s sake. i personally love the shield offhand myself and it works for me.

though i will agree, solo roaming, focus is very strong and especially if you’re playing up the blinds (since again in my build, i don’t have any while with focus sword and GS you have 3 blinds at your disposal.. i get little extra sources of protection instead to mitigate).

and yes, hammer + shield. cliffs are my friends. with two sources of stability, helps a lot with this build ; ))

i frigging love the hammer. just a few thoughts.

- wouldn’t mind more traits. but am more than fine with the way as it is. i feel the hammer is strong enough without traits.

agreed that the cooldown is pretty darn long. even 20 secs i could live with. however, i think 50% on a crit is more than fine. i have a build that utilizes this and though it not being the main focus (hard to be), it’s icing on the cake. if you get what i mean ; ))

hammer chain i love. you get used to the timing and actuall allows you to sneak a dodge in if you need for extra dmg (if traited), heal yourself, reposition yourself. also gives you ample time to switch targets and thus allowing you to place the symbol wherever the crap you want it. on a group of enemies? sure. on top of allies? sure.

banish is awesome. please don’t touch it. use ring of warding before you use banish. knock them aganist a wall or object instead of into the open. knocking enemies in PvP off high ledges? what. could. be. more. fun. than. that. aaaaaaand if in PvE if you’re using it, and realize it was a bad call, just hit Esc and cancel the move before it’s done casting.

Circle of Warding IS a combo field already. and yes, you guessed it. it’s another light field. RoW, Mighty blow combo for AoE retal. enemies are stuck. then have your way with ’em. the ONLy chagne i feel would be the need for it to be castable while on the move, like the recent change to LoW on the staff.

Proumbro.1376:

I find it hilarious that SoR is suddenly full of high school/middle school students. Can I be one to? I want to go back to a simpler time T.T

Proumbro, take me with you? i’ll give you all the goodies from my lunch bag.

wish.3102:

OMG it’s like 35 gold to list this thing on the trading post… I dont have enough….

i JUUUUST might have enough to list that for ya. so whenever is most convenient for you, feel free to send it over. ; ))

like yourself, OP, i have not delved too deeply into fractals yet for ascended gear. would i like to further excel down fractal levels later? sure, perhaps. but right now, i’m more focused on gettign ascended gear for the raw stats first.

so first things first, ascended rings right now can come in the form of basic, if you will, ascended rings. and at higher level fractals, you can get infused ascended rings, which come with an inherent +5 agony resistance. you can also use the mystic forge to infuse basic ascended rings to get that inherent +5 agony resistance.

on top of that, each piece of ascended gear has an infusion slot, of which you can slot in infusions – offensive, defensive, utility. and if you look at versatile infusions, they will give +5 agony resistance, along with a different stat (power, toughness, what have you). so currently my plan is to just get infusions and slot them into ascended gear. but i might not even do that yet because note that if you have say for e.g. an ascended ring and you put an infusion in. then at a later date, decide to ugprade your ring to an infused version, you will lose the existing infusion that you put in. so general rule of thumb is to not put any fancy infusions in until you’ve upgraded to the final version.

and, afaik, as of right now, only rings can be infused.

hope that helps clear it up a bit. if you’re looking to just do PvE/WvW for the ascended stats, don’t worry about infused versions and you CAN slot in infusions for that extra +4 or +5 stats. though they can cost quite a bit, depending how you go about getting them.

i know i’ll get flack for this.. but if specced correctly, a Guardian Scepter can do a TON of damage.

perhaps everyone should learn more about everyone’s classes before making assumptions. not sayign that EVERY scepter Guard is gonna do well.. but don’t discredit those that KNOW how to play before generalizing.

for the longest time i thought it was orichalum. so to this day, i most probs still pronounce it as “ory-ka-lum”

@Absinthe – dangit. i knew that would overshadow the message of my little write up.

now, with all the “bragging” going on. anyone care to share some so-embarassing-i-want-to-glitch-into-and-get-stuck-in-a-wall-and-cry-so-no-one-will-see-my-tears moments?

here’s one. spotted a warrior from JQ (or BG maybe. i donno. i am doing my best to wipe this memory ; ))) ). we had 3 or 4 on my end. we chased. he ran towards a cliff edge as if too escape. i tried to knock him off. failed. “stability! now woudl be a good time to…” before i could finish that thought, 3 of us were feared off the cliff. two went splat, yours truly included, and one survived with falling trait. the two of us that went to zero were just -.- “that was good” said one. and you could see the warrior up top checking us out thinking, much to learn, young padawans. much, much to learn. :pp

sigh. can’t believe we fell for that(HA, get it? get it??). how many warrs run fear me?!? need to learn other classes more. XDDD

[edit: some typos and fixed some stuff]

both are great traits. i often have the “hardest” time choosing traits in the Honor line. i will say from my experience, Empowering Might is not needed for a AH build, but it’s definitely very hepful.

thing is, both seem to compliment melee centric groups more than anything. i personally love WoE better. but like many have said, switch on the go! : ))) if you feel sth isn’t working, go for another trait.

i know i’m late, but just wanetd to pop in and say great fights on JQBL on reset night!!!

first time i got up early and on-time for reset (would be 8am on a Saturday morning for me, GASP still in disbelief i did that) and had a TON of fun.

thanks to JQ and BG for the fun times. ; ))) exploding fist bumps for everyone.

just a little personal share.. i will admit that i have times when i “lose” or don’t perform as expected or get wiped.. and i lose my temper like a 9y/o spoiled little brat. then my ever-so-loverly wife patiently reminds me that there’s no need for that. think about that the next time you see something that upsets you. no, no, not about my wife, but i mean the whole “there’s no need for that” thing. drink a glass of cold water. count to 10 with deep breaths. whatever works for you.

let’s try to keep this.. civilised is the word i’m looking for? we’re all in the same game. we’re all in tier 1. and to be honest, at the end of each day, i frigging enjoy ever moment of it. they say you need to earn respect. i say, if we don’t give it out first, don’t expect to ever receive it in any shape or form. even if it’s to your opponents. or sworn enemies. or random strangers. it goes a long way. i’m still learning myself, but i can at least see as much as that.

Dredrum.2563:

I haven’t seen the SoR server in wvw for the 2 weeks BG has been back in t1? Seriously this is a WvW matchup not WvWvW. Kain would actually bring a fight during FoO prime when SoR sleeps making T1 a much more competitive matchup. This would force FoO to either prioritize or work split on multiple maps, therefore not having the luxury of using a 60+ zerg to just backdoor any action bg takes. There is no 2 v 1 atm, that is part of the problem.

Sucks though t2 is extremely competitive atm, and will likely be 3 weeks if not more to finally get Kain to move up. Big score diff between SoR and Kain atm.

it is easier to type WvW then WvWvW ; ))

set foot into the mists just once this week. GASP. i’ll try to make an appearance tonight regardless. see you all soon again.

(T-1hr before i get off work wooot)

viperior.2461:

Caedas [CDS] also hereby challenges Icoa and KnT in GvG mortal combat.

I don’t care, anybody! We haven’t gotten to GvG at all because most guilds are too afraid to fight us.

hey heeeeeeeeeeeeey. people, stop ignoring my commander!

if you’ve already reached out to Knight, then my bad. ; ))

Monsoon.2589:

Here is a virtual Quaggan burger for you

now all it’s missing a fried Moa egg to complete it. hmm i love me burgers with fried egg. and a malt shake.

last but not least.
@pot – love the armor. tempting me to farm some TA.

after reading and thinking more, Esoteric, i do agree with you. unsure how hard it would be from a technical standpoint, but like in Mike’s statement, he mentioned old ratings would remain, then the WvW dedicated should have something to show for it.

sure, this is just a game, but it’s the fact that people CAN put so much effort into it, look forward to logging on the game, to WvW and fight for their server, that make this game more beautiful than many other games i’ve played.

let’s see what can be done, ANet!

CuddleStrike.8215:

akamon.2769:

loving them updates!! ehmm, i mean photos!!
lol, first one is all “spot who doesn’t belong!” ; ))

added: strangely.. been feeling an itch to level up my asuran… what is this!!!

Do iiiit! Then we can do an update together! =) Severs united one….. :P

will do! you don’t mind afro Asuran, do you?

sweet! just checked it out. i’m mainly looking to WvW ; ))

i’m trying to build a symbol Guard with higher offense as well. though until i can get better gear, it’ll be more on the tanky side for now. do you feel for your control build, it’s tough to get the hamemr symbol off while PvP or WvW-ing? as in.. it’s not as “on-demand” as say from the GS and mace. though with the appropriate control skills, am sure you can. i can just imagine laying the hammer symbol down, trapping them with either #3 or #5 and then switch to GS, drop SoW and just watch the numbers tick.

Aza.2105:

What akamon doesn’t mention about trait X (instant meditation), is the fact that it allows you to use meditations while doing skills. So if you are in mid animation of mighty blow, whirling wrath or ANYTHING, you can use the meditations. This is a big buff, especially with smite condition, because you can deliver some good damage. Basically it allows you to use two skills at once. Were as without it, you have to wait until you finish casting a skill to use a meditation.

thanks for pointing this out! so the way it works is akin to virtues or shouts, where they won’t interupt any existing skill you’ve cued, nor do you have to wait until a skill is done casting before you can use the meditations.

though, as mentioned, aren’t Judge’s and Contemplation instant cast already? seeing how many Guards already use JI with a variety of other skills. that was my point that i felt it wasn’t necessarily worth picking up that trait, since it mainly affects SMite Condition, assuming you’re not using merciful intervention. however, i do see the merit in having smite condition be instant cast as well. by all means, taking trait X will further strengthen your medi build. i personally just prefer to take other traits in that line. : ))

ahh, i didn’t know that. though my stance still holds that since staff is somewhat of a “ranged” / “caster” type weapon vs hammer being a melee weapon.

i take your points and of course a skill shouldn’t be based around people’s ignorance or lack of understanding of the game – didn’t mean that at all. just saying that it’s not completely useless. most people i’ve played against, i’ve been able to trap them and knock ’em around.

sure i agree not much warding is being done if that is the case, but to get out of it, they’d have to use stability (or you could cast it when their boon is up during 1v1 or smaller group fights), or have to use a dodge to get out – giving you more opportunity to land some bigger hits or further CC.

again, i’d love to see improvements made to RoW but i don’t see it as broken at the moment.

sostronk.8167:

Jahn.7019:

Sadly, SoR can’t even give its real estate away. JQ and BG need to pick up their game already then just come out and fight open field.

We don’t want your real estate. Its tainted.

aww, i take very good care of me real estate. been steadily rising in value, mind you. care to invest? oh, wait…

CuddleStrike.8215:

Update from the LOVE and co. Asuras from BG!

<3

loving them updates!! ehmm, i mean photos!!
lol, first one is all “spot who doesn’t belong!” ; ))

added: strangely.. been feeling an itch to level up my asuran… what is this!!!

Jayne.9251:

Hey you

How’s that new baby doing?

o herro! o/
he is tooooo cute. dare i say it, cuter than a baby quaggan lol

we know how toxic as this thread can be at times, so we super appreciate your visits! hold on, i’ll switch up my traits for unlimited condition removal and you can stay as long as need be. ; ))

thanks to Blasino, i’ve been thinking more about symbol builds and good seeing these guides as well! will check our your channel as well. good stuff and well though out builds.

i’d say being able to cast while moving would be more than fine. if the effect the of the ring counts as “control”, then stability should ignore that, which i’m fine with. then once their stability is up, banish them off a cliff! or use your other CC skills. even then, not everyone knows they can roll out of it, etc or even if they do, will most likely be caught off guard and stumble at least once.

since it IS on the hammer, which is a melee, would be weird (for me) that it’d be castable with ground targeting. the staff is a “mystical” weapon if you well, and casting seems fine with that so no qualms with that being castable. wasn’t LoW always gruond targeted though? the recent change was just the castable while moving. unless if it dates back to before official release, then i haven’t followed h ow skills were back in betas.

Mohmohchan.4120:

is anyone here willing to send me an exotic item?

are you still around? i’ll send you one. message me in-game. will be on the weekend ; ))

i’d want to say Fire. as you mentioned yourself, the difference in dmg is not THAT big. and AoE is always nice. if you’re 1v1 obviously air can be nicer for a slightly larger “spike” but in a 1vN situation, fire will definitely be more beneficial than Air.

^^^ what Stooperdale said. if you’re wanting to stack, let people know why. most cases than not, if people see their health dwindle a little, they’ll run or start kiting. and thus, defeats the purpose of stacking in the first place.

SFShinigami.2015:

Jedbacca.6297:

Here’s a lil’ artwork we did

That is actually an “in progress” screen cap. What we were actually spelling was “SEXY FORCE” but nobody got a shot of that.

i would pay a loot bag from my body to see that.

gw2armorgallery (dot) com was a really good site too! but i think it’s down now. as of now, argos’ should be the most comprehensive.

i have 7 armor sets on my Norn Guard now lol and i love ’em all. but have to say, the Norn cultural i adore. T3 in itself is awesome. a lot of people mix and match T1 and T2 as well, and if you think T3 is too pricey. lol.

if you’ve a lot of Karma sitting around, Temple karma sets can be built to be pretty menacing if you’re into spikes. HotW, CoE are also nice choices. i personally love mix and matching, apart from the Norn T3 which i’ve kept as full set (except for the shoulders)

Mance.5640:

I don’t always catapult, but when I do, I prefer 20 necro body guards. Keep loven bodies , my friends.

at work but had to pull this up and watch it. lol. too much fun.
wonder if it’s possible to get a mark cap. XDDD

i wanna say for WvW both 0/5/30/30/5 and 0/0/30/30/10 slpit work as well, depending on who you’re running with and what you plan to do. the 10 in virtues can add a lot for WvW as well. though the AoE blind is hard to argue with as well.

i’m assuming you’re talking about a triple meditation build? i’m no expert but here is a quick rundown:

go 30 down Valor picking up Meditations Mastery (I) for 20% CD reduction and then Monk’s Focus (XII Grandamster trait) for heals whenever you using a meditation.

Utilities would be Smite Condition, Contemplation of Putiry and Judge’s Intervention (unelss if they fix Merciful Intervention somehow, it’s usually.. not used).

If you’re PvE or WvW-ing, the instant meditations trait isn’t really needed as much. argubly can make a difference in s/tPvP. but as per the utility choices above, only SMite Condition takes like a split second to cast whereas both CoP and JI are pretty much instant cast already so imo it’s not the best use of a trait.

so essentially you get three mini heals with your meditations (depending on your healing can heal for around 1.5k give or take). and they’re fun! especialyl JI. know that a meditation build usually isn’t considered to be as group-oriented in the ways of giving boons or providing support for allies. not to say you can’t play a meditation build if not in a group though.

hope this helps.

this thread is awesome. can’t decide between the gorgeous, tranquil locations that seem oh-so-perfect for a wedding IRL. but we’re in TYRIAAAAAAAA. and we’re WEAPON-BEARERS!!

@panikos, then you need to experience it at least once. ; ))) lol

Lupi and Kholer get my vote here.
i enjoy any boss where you don’t just mindlessly mash buttons until dead. where you have to learn their moves, be active and reactive. hoepfulyl we’ll see more fun bosses in the future : ))

everyone’s good at somethnig, and perhaps not so good at other things. grats on geting it done. now never revisit the same path. i accidentally did so the other day since it’s been so long (CoF is easily my least favorite dungeon, on par with CM) and when i saw it i was like “nooo, not this again!” lol.

^^ there’s always something about retaking your map and flying your home colors.

it’s not that bad. like mentioned, p1/3 can be pretty fast. i’m looking for some soldier weaps so will try running this again soon. i quite like the weapons actually. it’s glyphic, but red!

Doomdesire.9365:

Is there anyone that would like to 1v1? I don’t do spvp so WvW duels are the best I can grab…

Looking to fight

D/D eles
Guardians

And every other class, but mostly those 2 ^^

i was gonan say, hey i’m a guard! i’m down!
then i noticed who posted.. :// lol

GekoHayate.2451:

akamon.2769:

will there be cookies?
if so, i’ll be there all day, every day ; ))

Of course there will be cookies, we still have a surplus from last weeks bake sale. Let me just position these confetti carts at the gate to welcome you in…

the Spirits of the Wild seem to be urging to tell me… that something might be amiss.. but i DO love cookies. and confetti on top of that? just remember to wave when you see me stroll on by.

PVT has it’s place but overall, if you’re trying to find a alanced build, full PVT might be a bit too much. there are builds that dno’t utilize crit chance and can be fine without it, but crit chance can be so good. not just for Guards obviously.

that being said, i like seeing decent crit damage as well so i like going for a mix of knight’s and valkyrie armor, and then a mix of knight’s valkyrie and berserker’s jewelry. then my weapons i’ll mix and match as well anything from knight, valk, berserker AND soldier (PVT). then always using food, trait or oils to maintain a additional crit chance.

GekoHayate.2451:

akamon.2769:

holy crap, just realized. we’re RED this week. :OOO

You can still come into the blue keeps.

C’mon dont be shy, those guards are just giving you a welcome home hug.

will there be cookies?
if so, i’ll be there all day, every day ; ))

Liquid.9672:

akamon.2769:

holy crap, just realized. we’re RED this week. :OOO

Yeah it’s about as weird as us being Blue, which hasn’t happened since the BGvHoDvET match in October lol.

i most remember BG being green (how could i forget? >:DD grrr) then you guys came in red last week… o_____O now you’re blue! stop switching!