Guild Wars 2

Karicus.8356:

After this weekend, seeing you guys HoD sat in third place, we were getting a little worried.

We were talking about it in guild chat and all sorts of ‘theories’ came up, such as a lot of your guys had transferred off HoD so they didnt have such long que times and the such Or you were backing off a little to get matched against lesser servers next time… all theories I might add.

Short story is, after such great fights last week Against us (SBI) and JQQ we were feeling somewhat worried about you. We like a good HoD fight, win or loose it’s always exciting.

Just logged in and took a peek, however, and as it stands, if NOTHING changes, HoD will take second place in overall score in about 4.5 hours and take first place from us (SBI) in a little under 48 hours (yes I’m sad enough to have created a quick spread sheet hahaha).

We can breath a sigh of relief that HoD is back! Looking forward to some great fights and if you see a little Azurian Thief with a large feathered hat bowing at your corpse or (more than likely) laying at your feet chewing dirt, wave and I’ll see you around.

What a great sport you gu….. WAIT A MIN, did you take StoneMist?! I’ve changed my mind.. LOL Jk

A lot of us on SBI expected HoD to return to potential points lead outside of US primetime during the work week because they have better 24/7 presence. I think someone figured out that if we can get potential points lead back every night this week, we can win this anyway.

I personally use Knight’s (toughness, power, precision) on my armor with the Toughness to Precision trait and Beserker’s on my weapons which is Critical Damage. I also run with 30 points in the trait line that boosts Critical Damage.

While burning is nice, it didn’t feel worth it to spec for condition damage when it’s really all we get.

I’m going with squiggit here. If you want ranged DPS other than guardian scepter, don’t play a guardian. Simple solution.

I personally love playing my guardian in WvW. Traits are set 0/0/30/30/10 and I play Sword/Shield and Scepter/Focus. I have a complete Knight’s set of exotic level 80 armor. I have no problem getting badges and kills in WvW. You just have to play smart and put some thought into your weapon sets (plural for a reason) and the right side of your bar.

1v1 battles are few and far between so not worry about those. For those that would say “but it’s part of WvW so you have to talk about it”, I’ve yet to lose a 1v1.

Now for the bulk of WvW play. For the most part, it’s party/squad/zerg battles. In those situations, I use Scepter/Focus as my annoyance set and spam Scepter #1, Scepter #2, and Focus #4. When you see a low target, Scepter #2, then Scepter #3, then weapon swap, then Sword #2, then Sword #3, and finally spam Sword #1. I rarely even run a utility snare as it’s not needed.

In keep/tower defense situations, you should be on a siege weapon as a guardian.

In keep/tower attack situations, you can be on a ram/siege golem or you can be on dolyak/foe watch. When I do dolyak/foe watch, I spam Scepter #1, Scepter #2, and Focus #4 on foes on top of walls and/or foe siege. When you see someone trying to get in, use Scepter #3, then weapon swap, then Sword #2, then dodge in front of enemy (towards their portal), then Shield #5, then Sword #3. If they’re not dead by that point, the fellow players on your server weren’t helping you enough.

@HellsMachine
ANet never stated that WvW would put players on an equal playing field. In fact, there are interviews that they explicitly stated that WvW would never be a balanced fight. You’re mixing their statements about sPvP and WvW.

The idea that we have no snare or gap closers is completely false.

- Leap of Faith
- Binding Blade
- Mighty Blow
- Zealot’s Embrace
- Ring of Warding
- Line of Warding
- Flashing Blade
- Chains of Light
- Bane Signet
- Signet of Wrath
- Hammer of Wisdom

Razlance.6587:

Cultrix.3172:

Guardian tanking issues inside dungeons

But we aren’t tanks. There is no such thing. You aren’t a tank! Yes, you are tougher than most the other classes, but you shouldn’t be able to chain block. Aegis is fine, l2p.

While I hate most l2p posts, he’s right. You aren’t supposed to be able to stand and tank like you could in previous games and warrior would be a better choice for this in GW2 (highest health tier as well as highest armor class). So stop trying to tank and start playing GW2. You don’t pick the weapon you like to play in GW2. You pick the weapon that works best in the current situation in GW2. If that means, using a Scepter to kite so that you don’t die.

My advice would be to start all dungeons with Mace/Shield on one weapon set and Scepter/Focus on the second set. (For those that like Staff, Scepter’s #3 can snare even foes that Staff’s Line of Warding cannot block so Scepter is the winner when kiting.) This will give you defense up front and kiting capabilities for tougher fights. As you learn what each part of each dungeon will throw at you, you can actively switch sets from one dungeon section to the next. (Yes that means keep an updated copy of each weapon in you inventory at all times. Safe boxes/invisible bags are great for this.)

Nero.9741:

Anyone who says that shield is useless should learn how to play a guardian. #4 is huge, any damage reduction for your group mates is good. It is the role of the guardian, you are not soloing dungeons.

+1

We really need more players that are used to GW1 build creation, theorycrafting, etc. to start posting in these threads. People in GW2 have yet to get to the point that some people in GW1 were with knowledge of mechanics, swapping synergies, skill synergies, skill utility, etc. and it’s really showing in threads like this.

Knuckledust.5621:

Anyone who says the Shield is OK either doesn’t play with it or never used Focus.

You’re going to keep harping on this aren’t you? Focus is a useless weapon in most PvE situations and only really becomes very useful in WvW/sPvP. You like the block on Focus. Problem is 3 blocks aren’t useful in this game at all in PvE. 1 is all you need if you know what you’re doing and you aren’t trying to just stand there and tank. Stop trying to tank and start playing GW2…

Rarely use the signet. Shelter is just too good now that they’ve made it the fastest recharging heal we have. Sure the signet heals for more but Shelter’s block and shorter CD have saved me more than once in WvW.

Hammer is an amazing weapon. It’s got amazing control and passive defense/support. The guardian is built around outlasting your opponents and Hammer perfectly fits that motif.

I’m realizing more and more that people in this game tend to forget you have 2 weapon sets available to you at all times (sorry engineers and ele’s). Maybe they just choose not to use both of them… The game is balanced around being able to use 2 different sets of weapons at any time. You’re supposed to be weapon swapping and swapping a lot at that.

kipz.8701:

I’d like to hear peoples opinion on this. At the same time hoping it’s from people who use a shield in their main setup.

Although the #4 skill is useful theory wise, it’s a pain the the butt to line up and gain effectiveness from it since all of the combat is so hectic and involves alot of running around.

An easy solution would be to instead of a wave infront of you make it a circle around you, I fell the damage it does it pretty much minimal and I only use it for the protection buff anyway. It makes the shield much more viable in Dungeons.

In most PvE situations, it’s actually pretty easy to get your team in the cone. You should be turning enemies around anyway so that any of their cone isn’t hitting allies.

I definitely like the protection on SoJ and the range isn’t bad but I think the damage could get a boost. It’s got uses in all aspects of the game (sPvP, WvW, and PvE) so I can see why they’d want to keep the damage balanced with the rest of what the skill can do.

Eveningstar.6940:

Shield tends to suffer a weak reputation among Guardians partly because Skill #5 is so situational, and Skill #4 while useful, rarely provides anything Focus #4 and Focus #5 don’t.

That’s only guardians that don’t know how to play the class and/or understand the mechanics and insane utility of SoA (#5 skill). I have yet to find a fight where SoA isn’t useful. I can go 15-20 minutes w/o needing a skill on the Focus… I’ve actually been switching out my Scepter/Focus set to Scepter/Torch in PvE because Torch is all around better and more useful. You don’t need blocking in PvE and if you think you do stop trying to tank….

ANet awesome data. Now please give us a way to spread this out in game.

You’ve already confirmed that players can only queue for one map at a time so can you tell us a number in queue for each so that we can spread the wealth so to speak. Without some in game data, queues will continue to spike on certain maps while others go with half or little. When all we see is “map is full”, we’ll continue to play on the ones we always do.

Banewrath.5107:

Apparently you misunderstood my comment and took offense to it instead. And no, protection won`t absorb what a focus block will. Protection reduces incoming damage by 1/3. the focus blocks 3 full attacks no matter what the damage by 100%. Wait till you do some of the crazy events in Orr. Or fight certain mobs that will chain 3-4 attacks that you can only dodge 2 of because your stamina is gone. Or my personal favorite event, Mr Chan and his outpost full of embers that spam aoe ground damage everywhere you step! The little outpost overun by tars is fun too cause they spam projectiles and aoe ground damage and root you. You will also be in for a big suprise when you do the last part of your personal story chain. I won`t spoil that though.

I’m a level 80 Guardian and I’ve played all of the events and dungeons. Wall of Reflection and SoA stop the projectiles. Strafing and dodging does the rest. I played through all of Orr with Hammer and Mace/Shield on swaps. In the dungeons, I run Mace/Shield and Scepter/Focus for the first run through then adjust sets as needed in later runs once I know the areas.

As for you “chaining attack” enemies, the ones that give issues are the ones with knockdown, knock-back, etc. Use your stability utility skills for these. Stand Your Ground is amazing for these.

At this point, I wish we had the ability to link to our characters on a website like ANET said we would have…

Banewrath.5107:

kousei.5914:

I’d rather switch to Hammer than a Focus set for defense. It offers a lot more control and

.

I am in no way making fun of what he wrote. But since the hammer can indeed spam protection I can see why alot of people would feel this way. Now think about that. If you had to go defensive, wouldn`t the first thing that comes to your mind be equipping a shield? Not a hammer, not a focus, but a shield!

What I wouldn`t have given to be able to have an active block like ddo and radierZ has.

First off, I never said I felt the Hammer had more defense than the Shield. I said I’d use Hammer before I’d switch to a Focus set. Shield is the number one defensive offhand. I explicitly stated that Focus was a lot less defensive than Focus. My comment about Hammer was meant purely to put into perspective how crazy it is to put Focus above Shield.

Mace/Focus is utterly useless compared to Mace/Shield. Whatever you can block with Focus #5 you can easily absorb with Shield’s #4 protection or simply dodge/strafe. Now bring SoA’s defensive and supportive utilities into the picture and it’s really common sense to use Shield over Focus not the other way around.

Defensively: Mace/Shield > Hammer > Any/Focus

Secondly, stop comparing GW2 with games that you could actually tank. If you’re arguing you want more block so you can tank, you’re doing it wrong. I’m actually starting to take Torch over Focus in PvE because let’s be honest, if you’re taking damage in PvE (ie: you need a block skill) you need to be dodging/strafing more.

Actually I’ve used all of the weapons. You completely missed and ignored half of my post. I use Scepter/Focus on swap from my Mace/Shield in dungeons when I have to kite for example. Focus is not as defensive as Shield. Focus has 1 defensive skill. I’d rather switch to Hammer than a Focus set for defense. It offers a lot more control and thus defense.

But back on topic… Both Shield skills are defensive. The protection on SoJ is self explanatory. SoA’s knockback alone can be used defensively in multiple ways not to mention the obvious projectile blocking.

If you’re kicked from the game (some error code) or lose connection, you’re spot in WvW should be saved for 5-10 minutes to allow you to get back in without having to queue again.

Last night we were able to get 6-7 guild members through the queue and by the end of the night that number was down to 2 purely because of disconnects.

If you’re only going to pick one, my suggestion would be 10/30/0/30/0 for the symbol and shout traits.

Sounds like you’re trying to fit a weapon into a situation it’s not made for. Have you tried running mace/shield and scepter/focus in the same situation?

I’ve told some of my guildies many times that this game isn’t about picking a weapon because you like it. It’s about picking the best weapon for the situation(s) that’s coming. From what I’ve seen (and I’ve played every dungeon), GS is useless in most dungeon areas. In a dungeon, you want survivability and control and GS just doesn’t have it. There are a few times you can switch to it once you’ve learned the dungeons well enough to know who spawns when though. I’ve gotten to the point where I never run just 2 weapon sets through a dungeon.

Does no one playing this game come from GW1? I’ll get to this statement in a second.

Shield is amazing as is in all aspects of gameplay. I’ve NEVER taken shield off of one of my swaps. I play with it with a mace in PvE and with a sword in sPvP and WvW. The utility of SoA is unmatched and free prot every 30 seconds on SoJ is extremely nice. Yes we have prots on some utility skills but guess what? With SoJ I can 1) combine it with the utility skill to keep it on longer or 2) use a different utility skill because I already have prot every 30 seconds.

Now to my GW1 statement. Some people here must have forgotten that ANET has balanced these skills with both utility skills AND weapon swaps in mind. Learn to use BOTH of your weapon swaps. You should rarely enter a fight and exit a fight and be able to say “I didn’t swap during that fight”. If you see holes in your weapon sets, try combining them with a weapon set and/or utility skills with synergies that fill those holes. Remember just because you read utility skill XYZ should never leave your bar somewhere online doesn’t mean that’s true for your build.

I could go for a ‘fade to black’ system on a sliding timer. That being if someone tries to rez you the timer restarts but once the time is up it’s over.

I know everyone wants to say badges only, etc but you can’t. The system is in place for both WvW AND PvE. You can’t force PvE’rs to buy it with WvW badges unless you split it into 2 items (1 for PvE and 1 for WvW). I wouldn’t mind this as this would also allow them to make the PvE one much cheaper for guilds that just want to run together to do events.

But either way, making it based on badges, gold, achievement points, etc still doesn’t accomplish anything. It’ll still recognize those that farm the required item the most rather than those that can actually lead. The server has to be involved in selecting who should be allowed to show commander icon in WvW if it’s ever going to be resolved.

Why stop at the badges? Make the entire bag that drops just appear in inventory…

A huge reason why many guilds aren’t considering server transfers is the fact that guild upgrades don’t transfer. For example, we’re done with every line of research except Art of War and we’re currently building Level 2 of that. We have 150 slots of guild storage and we’re working on the last 100 slots now. We’re not going anywhere unless all this hard work and influence can come with us.

I am a guild leader that shares the leadership position with multiple members. One of my fellow leaders has had his account hacked and I cannot demote him. This is a huge hole in the permission system and another downside of the single combined “Admin Lower Ranks” permission.

Currently we’re having to use personal storage instead of the guild storage out of fear that the hacker will clear us out.

WvW, PvE, or sPvP??

Woof, better equipment probably won’t help. It’s just that dungeons are meant to test players. You’ve got to kite like crazy. I would suggest keeping a scepter set on one of your swaps in dungeons until you learn them well enough to know what weapon can be used where. Even some of the big bosses that walk right through Wards can still be immobilized

Can we take it a step further and make the priority order:
1) party members
2) squad members
3) allies
… rest same as above

In PvE, mace/shield is always on one of my swaps.

Agree with sinos and syhnz. SoA is an amazing skill and one of my favorites. If you’re using it for only the bubble, you’re only scratching the surface of the utility of this skill.

Nokaru.7831:

Things without target caps are abused heavily in WvW. Line of Warding, Wall of Reflection, Portal Entre, etc.

A small handful of guardians forcing dozens of people on your team to use Stability or Immunity cooldowns to bypass their Lines of Warding is why it should have a target cap; no you cannot dodge through it. The target cap is also applied to everything else in the game that has a positive or negative effect on players. There might be technical reasons behind it not working with this ability, but I am reiterating it should be limited in effectiveness like everything else is.

The game is full of skills that have no limit on the number of effected players. Necro wells, guardian symbols, mesmer temporal curtain, mesmer feedback, most if not all of the ele ground targets, ele magnetic aura, thief choking gas, thief smoke screen, warrior banners,…

I could go on but these are the everywhere. Do some research next time you post please…