Guild Wars 2

@Perikittenor – i do agree. one of the largest complaints for the shield as of now, assuming no changes can be made to the skills themselves, is that the CDs are way too long (a lot of Guardian CDs are way too long tbh).

i did mention we have a way “around the root”, but of course, that doesn’t mean it’s not a problem. blocking attacks would be a nice change. i even thought of being able to move, with the bubble following (just absorbing projectiles), but that might be OP. :// maybe shorter duration could work.

again, i like the idea of it. a shield with mystical elements attached to it and not being used as a typical shield.. though, seeing as it as almost little to no uses in PvE does say something about the skills.

did someone say kitten?

5 and 6 are pretty nasty. very very nice stats 2.5k armor is a bit low for me personally in WvW but i love the stats. finally got AF about a week ago and it’s given me some room to gear a bit more offensively. slowly working towards GL now : ))

grats on the sticky, buddy!

hmm. i think i like where thsi thread is headed. O___o

Perikittenor.1892:

akamon.2769:

^^^ this is what i think as well. : )) it’s kind of nice that the Guardian shield doesn’t do just what any old shield would do. adds a little more flavor to the class itself. i know it’s hard to fathom and embrace a shield that doesn’t block. but the shield on the Guardian, though does not block physical melee attacks, it’s a group support mechanic and protects the entire group of people from projectiles, which i kind of enjoy as well (though i really only use it for pushing or insta knock back lol)

Aaaah the young and there ideas, i guess you never used it in WvWvW. For if you did, you would know that standing still in the middle of a zerg and activating it and letting it run its course will only end with one conclusion. You my good sir, is dead. So dead you would wish we had defensive block on it.

As it is now, the 40 second cooldown is way to high, to not allow yourself to block attacks directec towards yourself.

ops. sorry for the late reply.

i do use it in WvW. and i do use it differerntly than iw ould in PvE…. but i guess i wasn’t being clear so you didn’t notice. i was referring mainly to PvE mechanics (projectile blocking).. while in WvW, you know it’s most useful as an AoE insta-knockback. see the aprt where i said i mainly use it for the knockback in my original message? you can double tap to heal if you need. but more often than not, i cancel it and you can start moving around again. a neat little trick, in case you didn’t know….

moreover, i too do agree that the CDs on shields are too high. my comment you quoted, i was merely reflecting on the idea of the Guardian shield vs warr/engi shield vs real life shield use and i liked that it was different. nothing more, nothing less. to be honest though, the projectile blocking could be toned up or tweaked a LOT more. never said if it was effective or not. just commenting on the overall “idea”.

if i want defensive blocks, i take focus. or shelter. and oh hey, renewed focus. you know the shield doesn’t do what you want, so why would you expect it to do what you want?

plus, when i am in a zerg, i don’t bring a shield. but smallg roup play? if you use it well, it can be pretty amazing. again, not for projectile blocking. pushback. and heal. mainly pushback.

i agree to a certain extent. perhaps some of these players are new and HOPEFULLY they learn after being downed a few times.

although, there are certain one-shot mechanics that have no tells in this game. and there’ not much that can be done about that, ESPECIALLY if you’re with a zerg and half your screen is covered in particle effects. not complaining, just that i felt some of your observations were slgihtly unfair. : ))

very good points though and hopefully more people becaome aware of these thigns – rezzing vs rallying, confusion self-drops, etc etc

lol.

i need some enlightening though. so i’ve never used supply/stealth traps before. so do you drop them mid-combat when you know you’re up against a stealth class? that’s pretty crazy lol.

just wanted to say thanks to all who’ve been consistently coming out for fights, on all 3 servers.

BG, need i say more.

Mag, it’s been fun! can’t wait to go up against you guys again.

SoR, always.

it’s been a fun week for me (though didn’t get to play erryday). for those that i got to drop cows on, pls, keep ’em. they be a giftD /salute

[edit: oops, grammar. or sth.]

heh, @Doomdesire, whatever floats peeps boats. ; ))

eithinan.9841:

I think the majority of negative things being said about SOR this week and last, is about the players who decided not to play for one reason or another. I personally appreciate every SOR player who is still coming out for the fights.

Specifically [choo]. They have a deep roster and they have consistently put a solid force out on the maps over the last few weeks. You guys are also always fun to compete against if BG has a solid force or I am running with my guild.

thanks for this, Eithinan. no doubt all the ones that are out there enjoy and appreciate the fights as well. yours truly included.

Aurika.6751:

Hey thanks, that was me. I just came back to the game after a few months off and mostly have been roaming those new (new to me anyway) center ruins since the weekend. MONK only has two members and I was the only mesmer until late last night when the other player reached 80 on his.

I’m sure we will run into each other again.

I have had a lot of fun in the ruins and think that removing the lake in the center of the map was the best idea Anet ever made.

WB! and lol, that makes me feel even worse lol. i kid i kid. ; )) really, much appreciated and looking forward to fighting you again. you mainly roam as [MONK]? a lot of the times people will just be running back and forth capping ruins (especially if it’s on the daily or those who still need it for the meta achieve) but you can find good fights here and there.

definitely looking forward to seeing you again! no excuses for last time, but hopefully next time i come better prepared. heh. ; ))) good stuff buddy.

SNUGGLES!!!!!

don’t quit till the naysayers say yay!

sadly, you won’t see me tonight. but HEY i am there in spirit.
GOOO SoR!

for those BG talking about SoR losing spirit and giving up and not putting up fights, please don’t undermine the time and efforts of those on SoR that still put in amazing hard work each and every single day. : ))

but if it’s to offer a little inspiration, by all means, go for it.

[edited for clarity]

:DD i usually watch on my mobile (yes, i know, doesn’t do it justice…) so usually can’t make out most of the fine details… that was you, Dynnen??

i really need to come and play with you guys. heh.

and yes, good point, Aza. to me it always made sense that it shoulda have been that way. that would add quite a bit of utility to the Guardian class. as it stands, it’s melee or “waste” of a trait, almost.

AndrewSX.3794:

(and we could have got Abaddon. I lost faith in humanity back in July…).

harhar, i see wut u did thar.

ahh, kk, i don’t start until late Oceanic : ((
been roaming more than anything lately. so it’s been fun! though more often than not been outnumbered so was looking to see if maybe we could run together heh

heh, great videos again, Amins! i’ve been messing with something similar to your glassier ZD build. definitely takes some getting used to again after having played more “tanky” builds. but always in good fun!D

loved how you two in the first vid kept punting the downed lol. it’s always too much fun.

random thoughts.. if they lowered or changed the effectiveness of searing flames (remove one condition when you burn foe). then paired it up with supreme justice. this could be decent for AoE boon stripping in WvW situations. you’ll just have to find a way to sustain or not do much damage. as it stands…

the fact that it is a grandmaster trait is the only allure it has as a GM trait for me. does that make sense? when in actual fact i feel it could maybe be a master trait tops.

@Omnitek – when do you play usually?

to the Mesmer from [MONK] that made me feel like it was my first hour playing the game lol, and stayed extremely classy, thanks for the humbling experience. we need more folk like you! tried to invite/join you for a quick chat but for some reason wouldn’t work. /salute!

p.s. you’ve just exacerbated my hate for mesmers ; ))

sweet doode. can’t wait to check it out.

lol @ HaNkitten felt the opposite! errwhere i went, i was greeted by friendly folk! >:DDD

@Bash – if u ever get that bug again and need to be killed, you know where to find me. ; )) muahahaha.

^^them fighting words!!

thanks for the fights last night during SEA BG and only a few Mags : (( hope to see more of you guys the rest of the week.

had quite a bit of fun on kitten which map was i on… the bottom left BL. lol. “spawn camped” and a bunch of us kept running in and out, getting some decent fights. and BG has too many omegas! they were able to spare two for the fun as well. ; ))

got owned a LOT. and i’d like to think i took down just as many bodies myself. heh. still tweaking the playstyle on this build. lotta fun though thanks for coming out, BG! will be looking for some Mag players for some fun nowD

^^^ this is what i think as well. : )) it’s kind of nice that the Guardian shield doesn’t do just what any old shield would do. adds a little more flavor to the class itself. i know it’s hard to fathom and embrace a shield that doesn’t block. but the shield on the Guardian, though does not block physical melee attacks, it’s a group support mechanic and protects the entire group of people from projectiles, which i kind of enjoy as well (though i really only use it for pushing or insta knock back lol)

is it me or is it getting hotter and hotter by the post in here?

FrownyClown.8402:

Guess I’m not used to t1 roaming. Sorry for all the raging everyone. Message me in game if you want to duel.

am sure it’s a completely different game. but now you’re here. so just turn all your rage into stomping us and BG!

i’ll hopefully get some roaming time during the week. feel free to message / add me as well if you ever see me on and i’d be more than happy to oblige!

if you have the numbers, why not use them? i’ll enver understand the call for “fair fights” in WvW. s/tPvP is in the game as well (which i play and love as well).

when i roam, i’ve been jumped by zergs. or even small groups of 3, 4, 5+. and who is to blame? no one, but myself. for not having better field awareness (is that what you call it?), or not having better managed my cooldowns, or not having finished my oppoent faster, or at all, and then g-ing-tfo.

on the other hand, i don’t go out of my way to chase solo roamers down.. but i’ve been in zergs or small groups and if a lone roamer happen to cross paths with us, or got stuck fighting another lone teammate of ours.. then sorry , tough luck. i will hit you. not hard though, i promise.

i think roaming is really fun. and can be equally frustrating to deal with being outnumbered. or forces joining on any side. so if you put on your roaming pants, you just have to deal with what that entails.

i can live with that. dying for some sort of soft CC. it can’t be said anymore.. we’re not meant to be mobile. we’re meant to get in a fight and stay there. and we’re definitely not meant to be able to get out of a fight. except most of the other classes we face up against are the opposite of that. so they CAN easily get out of the fight, reset, and come back. the soft CC will definitely help us “live up to our name and game” if this is the case.

keep the shield skills largely the same. the some rework it would need would maybe be CD reduction. maybe tweak the mechanics a bit but don’t comlpetely overhaul them.

Bash.7291:

I need to dust off my roaming gear, it has been so long. Got sick of starting a fight only to end up getting grouped on every single time… I am going to be so rusty though >.<

ayo! long time buddy. funnily, i just switched up to my roaming gear for this match up, too. ; )) though i probably wouldn’t wanna run into you. >:DDD

it can never hurt as long as you’re not strapped for gold / mats or saving for anything else. what stats are you using on your exotic GS? get the same if that’s the same gameplay you’re gonna be sticking with.

though, for the GS, i’m just inclined to say get berserker stats. and then if you’re needing a bit more of other stats, you can easily alter that through the rest of your gear, namely trinkets and what not. or just have your 2nd weaponset be a bit more tanky if you need that and switch to GS for burst – which is what it does well.

just one ascended weapon won’t make or break the game, though if you have full ascended trinkets, the stat differences can add up. : )) so if you can afford to, might as well start making ascended weapons. (though leveling up crafting was kind of tedious lol)

just coming in here to say, good stuff everyone! hoping the devs get an accurate and telling picture of how the Guardians are doing and feeling in various parts of the game right now.

hi guys! i’m from SoR!

.. wait. am i.. is this.. am i in the wrong thread?

oh. uh.. yep. okay. i’ll.. then. i’ll just be over here in the corner then.

thanks, by the way. if you ever need me i’ll just b-okay. okay. see you when i see you.

was just thinking this the other day.

queueing on my main for WvW. and then i’m like “done with daily, what do i do now. OH, i’ve been meaning to world complete on my alt! sweet. lemme just.. oh. wait. nevermind. queue.”

would certainly be a nice improvement to the queueing system if and when they can get around to it.

yea, i’ve been messing around with it too and as nice as having fury is, i tend to take different traits. though that means getting crit chance up one way or another.

good luck with finding the right build! see u on the field soon

Kiff.8157:

Hobbitz.5831:

KISS = gone
DIE = gone
RISE = gone
IRON = wrex out sick
FEAR = ace college, dgins got banned
TW = old and faded, everyone hates his majesty

Hire, GC and Hel have to be getting tired of carrying the server.

you’ve missed out their SEA force.

and then some. : )))

wait, what do green numbers mean? XDDD

good stuff, buddy.
Guardians unite! fight the good fight!

i can see where “perma-vigor” can be an issue. but don’t certain builds have to give up X for Y? you say high crit builds can pretty much achieve perma-vigor. then to get that high crit, and presumably, be more sustianable through the use of vigor.. they had to give up some form of survivability elsewhere – be it toughness, HP, traits, or other rune/sigil based effects. it gives the Guardian’s that want to go a slightly higher DPS route some added sustain. does perma-vigor make you godmode? not even close. but it is abel to give the DPS Guard an edge. perhaps in a cleric’s full healing power build with selfless daring, it can be pretty darn powerful. but again, that build would be sacrificing a lot of damage potential.

and on another note, one thing i’ve always been skeptical about is when changes are made, it’s always extremely drastic. there’s rarely a middle ground. so i’m afraid if this IS in fact touched, it could be changed in a way where one might not even ever notice there’s a 5pt minor trait in that line. though, as long as they’er willing to keep an eye on the changes they make and the impact they have on the game, i’ll always be holding my breath for the Devs.

I do agree that Guardians are in a good place. here’s the thing though, if the rest of the world around the Guardian changes, where does that leave the Guardian? will we be fine forever and can remain untouched and still be in a good place? fact of the matter is, is that the “meta” and other classes are changing or headed in a direction where the Guardian, as fine as they are on their own at present, is starting to shift and dare i say it, shifting ever so slightly downwards.

Keiel.7489:

Reslinal.2359:

To those on SoR who wants to play king maker in match 7, you should also try to play hard next match. Even if you don’t win next match, as long as you keep the match close to the end of the week, BG’s guilds will get tired and may affect their performance against JQ in week 5:)

I’ll see if I can break my leg this weekend so I don’t have to work next week and stay home and play.

i’ll break yours. you break mine? i never had it in me to severely do harm to myself.

SoR WILL NE’ER GIVE UP!!!! if i may say so. : )))
we’ll be back before you know it, guys.

IT’S SUPER EFFECTIVE!

here are some lower case characters.

@OP – not Grimdark, obviously lol, but if i may chime in here as well.

in terms of dungeons, it is ideal to go for as high dps as you can, while maintaining support/sustainability through what we’ve been talking about. these skills have CDs as well so ideally you’ll be able to finish fights ASAP, thus the need for high DPS, so you don’t run the risk of getting caught on your defensive cooldowns when a big hit is coming from a boss or mob. though again, know that while the build you run is important, i do believe that the make-up of the rest of your group is important as well.

for dungeons at least, iwill always play sword/focus as one set and then either GS if i’m going with the build you linked. or hammer, well, for the hammer build. so always have sword/focus on either set. focus 4 is good for pulling, while focus 5 is just good for blocks when you need ’em.

the hammer build, i personally feel, is a little more forgiving if you’re PUG-ing or unfamiliar with the group as the protection does help negate a lot of damage. and if you play with folk who lay down fire fields, it’s helpful to coordinate that they lay them down beforehand, stack might, and then you can start your auto-attack chain. also note, the hammer auto IS very slow, but since in PvE most mobs are rather stationary, it’s very useful and it’s not hard to achieve max DPS on a hammer (PvP/WvW is a different story, though, not saying hammer is bad in a PvP). you’ll get used to it. ; )) and easy access blast finisher for might.

in terms of when to use which CD, it’ll depend on each dungeon. and it really goes by a case by case basis. i’m no dungeon master so am sure many others can offer more help (you can check out the dungeon forums too actually). for example, in CoE Alpha has some nasty one shots so you can time an AoE aegis ahead of time. and for CoF i guess the last boss has a similar mechanic? not too sure don’t run that path too much lol so if you know that move is coming up, party wide aegis to help negate. even if people miss a dodge, the aegis is there for backup (or rather, if you’re with a good team, they’ll know they have aegis up, not have to dodge and can focus on DPS-ing). so it really is a matter of learning when to use reflects, stability, blocks etc for each encounters tell.

other things to note, sometimes you’ll want to punt a mob into the wall (again, Alpha) with hammer 4 is no one else has a pull. other times you’ll want to group the mobs using GS #5.

hhaha, i know i’m not being very specific here, but again best to run the dungeons with people who run them often and you can ask them for tips and help. or watch videos and watch when they do what, etc.

as for staff, i know some peolpe use it, especially for trash mobs and throw a stacking sigil (usually blodolust) on there. though i don’t think staff is that great for dungeons, personally. and many frequent dungeon runners won’t go with scepter (though it can hit very ahrd) because they’ll be melee-ing most of the time. again though, of course, this’ll depend on your group. shield is rather situational in a sense where i feel it excels in PvP/WvW way more than in PvE. though for certain dungeons like CM perhaps where the mobs are range heavy, it could be useful. though focus would still probably be a better choice for the reasons you stated yourself – extra blind, regen, condi removal as well as more blocks/blast finisher/AoE damage.

do know t hough with the sword/focus combo, you will be inclined to AA most of the time, since that’s how you achieve highest DPS with that set. one rotation many Guards that run GS + Sw/Fc will do is GS WW —> GS 4 --> then AA until WW is back up —> WW, and then switch to sword and just AA and reapply blinds as needed for vuln stacks if your party is finding it hard to keep vuln stacks up (with the vuln on blind trait in radiance).

hmmm. hope this helps a bit. lol keep practicing! and ask more questions. people will do their best to help answer. good luck.

[edit: here’s my 2 copper re: Healway build. definitely more beneficial in WvW/PvP situations. since in PvE the things that DO eventually kill you are one-shots or huge hits that take up a good chunk of your health, the sustain and healing you get from the Healway won’t make up for that. so again, the idea, the faster you kill in PvE, the less you ahve to avoid / tackle those big hits]

@Bash – lol i know right? but i mad. haha if these changes are really on the table. and yes, you made another good point. so general consensus is that both the Guard and Mesmer have the least mobility, so more often than not we’re hanging around for a fight (mesmer has stealth but i don’t play ‘em much so i can’t comment too much). and to take away core class mechanics that you’ve mentioned (selfless daring / clones) would be a pretty huge hit.

@Aza – come to think of it.. consecrations and symbols, also Guardian mechanics. but often we hear people complaing about them – no one stays in them, i don’t like being stationary, the fight is always on the move, etc. so again, they have always had that in mind but somehow missed out on our abilities to keep enemies within our melee-ing / stationary abilities range.

again, comes down to giving the Guardian some more CC options. if we’re meant to be stationary. and even then, they’re looking at nerfing our sustain abilities, at least allow us to hinder our enemies movements to any degree whether it be chills, cripples, torment, etc.

[added:

@Amins – XDDD you’re. absolutely. right.]

Lucentfir.7430:

Kyle.3856:

From the ele forums:

Tyler Chapman.1832:

Treborlavok.3504:

just like the guardians 5 trait for vigor on crit… its ok for them to have a 10 second single condition cure at adept…?

The Guardian and Mesmer vigor traits are something that were on the table and will be on the table for change in the future. We don’t like those traits being that easily accessible. While they haven’t yet been changed as long as our thoughts don’t change internally they are part of the vigor rework we want to do.

………. Uh oh….

Really…..so on top of having to be a melee fighter class, with the lowest HP, no real mobility and having every other class being able to outrun us you’re going to mess with this trait. Pretending to buff the DPS…yeah….sure…..please clarify Devs what you actually intend to do with the trait….because right now I’m feeling it’s going to impact guardian greatly. i don’t know if I’m overacting or not but that’s really nothing light to take in, that’s pretty heavy.

so they want us to stay in one spot and can’t chase or run from others. but they don’t want us to be too strong. they want us to be more supportive and defensive. so they will take away our more notable defensive utilities and traits.

and who the frack is this Treborlavok (the one complaining about Guardians vigor and purity traits)? normally i don’t complain “much” about the Guardian class. or i’ve been largely positive with the class. but i HATE it when others complain about classes they don’t play. so now they’re going to mess with some of our core aspects cause some crybaby whines. wtf.

[edit: i’m probably overreacting too like Lucentfir says.. but still. frustating when they keep goign back and forth about where they want us to be. or actions don’t line up with talk. hopefully i’ll come back later when i’m a bit more calm to properly contribute.]

no problem. the build video is pretty new as well so that should prove useful! and all the actual fractal walkthrus, if you will, will give you more than a glimpse of when to use what. : ))

and of course, nothing’s set in stone, and feel free to adjust according to your group’s play level and gear.

heh, they’re fun to play with though! active defensive CD management in a sense. so just practice, practice, practice. get used to activation times, keep an eye on cooldowns, how long blocks last, how long blinds last, etc etc sounds like a lot but it really isn’t. : )) i’d recommend practicing in PvE against mobs that have certain attacks that you can use your various skills for.. though, the best place to practice for fractals.. are obviously fractals. so just start with lower levels to get yoru feet wet as a Guard and slowly work your way up.

aww. i’m missing out on all the fun it seems!

what is work.

i constantly wish i had that room from DBZ where time goes reaaaaaaaaaaally slow. so i can play more. and, i guess, do other stuff too.D

Tarsius.3170:

akamon.2769:

not sure if exploit or not but a bug perhaps? i think, often i’ll be auto attacking and i’ll get to hit sword wave twice in a row. unsure of what causes it exactly, so that’s massive damage from the sword AA chain. just food for thought.

I see this if the target I’m attacking dies at the second chain or I switch targets before the 3rd strike and the new target is out of range. You’ll just keep trying to do sword wave over and over until you actually hit a target. ( so I don’t think it’s exploitable ). Sounds like it might be related to the infinity-spin bug.

now that i think about it, that’s probably it. when i play, i am often switching targets while strafing and that’s when it’s happened the most. so probably related to the same bug. haven’t tested if it actually doesn’t do damage on the repeats (would be interesting to see if this is reproduceable just for the sake of testing) but you’re probably right.

anyways, back on topic. : ))

just a few pointers in regards to the low base health of the Guardian. we’re a heavy class, but have such a low base HP.. and it’s for a reason! a lot of the Guardian’s sustainability comes from the innate defensive nature of our class. learn what your skills do, then learn the encounters and then learn what skills to use in each of those encounters best to survive, while you’re able to pump out damage the whole time using any of the builds above.

it’s been said already but just wanetd to reiterate a few mechanics and skills/utilities that help you mitigate damage – blinds, lots of blinds; blocks (both aegis as well as from focus or heal skill); reflections (Wall of Reflect), projectile absorption (Shield of the avenger) and of course, dodgerolling the big hits. and we have an elite that grants invuln as well for those sticky moments!

Reflections are HUGE in fractals and can make all the difference between a wipe and a decent run, a decent run and a great run. also AoE stability (Stand your ground) and AoE aegis (Retreat or F3 virtue) is massively helpful too for your group when you know. purging flames or hallowed ground can also be useful as well for condi removal or stability – as well as might stacking with fire fields!

here’s a great guide on Fractals for the Guardian by obal actually. do check it out.
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/guardian/Guardian-Video-Guide-for-Fractals-Shown-at-48/first#post2322682

and good luck have funD

Maelwaedd.5842:

hardknockbb.6284:

That’s ok we’re having more fun collecting loot. Got my third precursor.

Did Anet do something to the precursor drop rate? cos I got the legend on friday and someone else in the guild also got another precursor, and i have heard a number of people have gotten them since then too, or it could be i have noticed it more since i got mine

:OOO patiently waiting for one to drop for me >:DD BG, SoS, fall under my blade/hammer pls.

and grats mang!!

as if JI isn’t one of our best tools for landing massive burst damage already ; )))
but i like it. soak up all that deeps, all of it!!!

@OP – what build were you running when testing hammer vs mace numbers?

hammer can be very strong and a lot of the damage from yoru AA comes from the symbol as well. in PvP/WvW against an agile or “good” player, sometimes it can be hard to land the full chain in a 1v1 situation.. so use any one of your hammer 3, 4 (into a wall or sth), 5 to help land those hits, then use what’s left of your hammer 3, 4, 5 to make sure they eat the most ticks from your symbol. and mighty blow does MASSIVE damage. on extremely low CD. and is a blast finisher.

HEY [BLNT]!
haven’t really seen you guys on the field in this match-up yet, but i enjoy your videos.

hope to see you before the week ends. ; ))

p.s. i’ve recently switched back to playing a GS/Hammer build and i’ve forgotten how much fun it is

p.p.s. how do you find the new Focused Mind so far? so Valor I, X, XII? i sometimes find it hard to give up V for the passive condi removal, though medi CDR is almost a must. lol.