Guild Wars 2

AC is quite difficult due to the fact the Queen Spider is a wipe for most parties that don’t know how to mitigate the damage. You have to stack in a certain corner and do not move one bit otherwise you trigger her deadly lethal poison. Also, there’s a lot of trash mob skipping and the burrows can be a challenge to a team without dps. I think it’s doable with two 80’s and few lower levels; otherwise you would spend hours in that dungeon. My friends and I did the story on our 80’s.. had absolutely no idea what we were doing, winging it.. and it took us forever to finish. It was fun since we were all on voice laughing our butts off but I wouldn’t do it again. Our guild leader heard about it and took us in to finish it the second time to show how easy it is if someone actually knew what to do in each encounter. I got his point.

As someone who played raiding games for few years, dungeons in GW2 is nothing like raiding. I am sure in coordinated groups, it can be more like it.. but really it isn’t. Team work makes it effortless, yes.. but it’s more about learning the boss mechanics, dodging at the right time, using your utilties and getting past trash mobs.

It’s really difficult for some 80’s to complete a dungeon, let alone on a lower level. I started dungeoneering around level 60 on my first toon with some guild mates. One of my guildies loves to dungeon and he wanted us to come with him. Thankfully he was able to solo some of the more difficult contents and we did wipe few times. I think that’s the best way to do it. I was in a smaller guild then and most people didn’t mind when helping out a lower level toon to level. I guess the best part about that is that I knew what I wanted to do as my endgame content. I am in a bigger PVE guild now and most expect you to be 80 and properly geared in order to be in a party with them.

I know few people ask others in the party to hold the cut scene to get the xp at the end.. and that would probably be the best way to do it. Use your 80 for the run and ask someone to hold the cut scene. AC paths are good for that as well as some others. Some pugs won’t but most will. Or find a guild, ask some guild mates to help you out.

The bosses hit pretty hard and there’s a steep learning curve to dungeons, mainly skipping mobs and learning the mechanics. It can be a quite harrowing experience to those who are just starting to level. Also at lower levels, you are missing some useful utilities that can help in your team so you are essentially being carried. That’s not to say that dungeons can’t be completed at lower levels, it will just be a more painful and longer run. I think it’s better to get your first toon to 80, gear it up properly.. at least to rares before dungeoneering unless someone who has experience wants to take you in to show you the ropes.

IrisTheCasual.3742:

Zoii, next time you go to fractals, I’ll go with you. Friends don’t let friends pug alone.

Iris, is this you I was wondering.. yes! I would love to do fractals with you. I was talking to the fabulous Arah mentor about getting together for a run with you last week. <3

No, not at all.. I play other games if I need a fix. But I find myself becoming bored with the button mashing. GW2 has spoiled me.

And I miss dodging in other games.

A player owned home where we can keep our armors… a closet. Yes!

Quests that are compelling. I didn’t really feel connected to any of the personal quests. I only did it for the xp and honestly, I am on story level 75 story on my main with no desire to finish it. I did enjoy the Arah story mode and that was about it.

Maps like W vs W. I hate mapping but I loved mapping W vs W zones because the setting took my breath away. When I wasn’t looking around for an ambush or a zerg heading towards me.

An expansion pack that we can pay..

New dungeons

New Legendaries

Ability to play/guest internationally

Stampede.5308:

If a guardian can’t remove my conditions, is rubbish. With my guard i have 3 aoe skill that give 2 boons and convert 1 contion into boon. Break stun, stability, protection, regeneration, and other useful things to turn a permadowned zerker
into a war/mesm/ele/necro/thief. I got 12 stacks of might, lots of healing skills and regen and dodging (and with sigils i can dodge a lot) i heal 1.8k AoE for dodge.

I have 4 skills that give Aegis (yes 4) and that can let the war end his hundred blades. These are ALL things that Obal’s build can’t grant to party and yourself. But obal build can do 3k damage of autoattack. GREAT, the same damage that my mesmer do with HIS autoattack.

I think that most of guys write on this post never try out a guardian. And, moreover, never try out a ranger.

Please, learn to play.

I run a zerker greatsword/s+f build and I have tons of conditional removal at my disposal. If traited, popping a Virtue of Resolve cures conditions on allies. Not to mention that Purging Flames and Smite Conditions are condi cleansers that I use as CC which can be used on a zerker guardian. I have those utilities too. Also, If you pop a WoR and do a whirling combo, that is an extra condi remover.. So I am not sure where your misinformation came from.. it’s inaccurate. Not to mention that stabilities, aegis, reflection that you mentioned. I have them.. so yes. I do tons of damage while bringing loads of support (the same support you provide) to my team. Only things I sacrifice is my health pool and I am a bit squishy.. but I don’t find myself on the ground as much as I used to when I first started, and I am not even close to 8000 hours of playtime.

The might stacking is unnecessary role for a guard since other classes do it better and for longer duration. The heal is not needed if you focus with others to damage the boss because that’s one sure way you know that the team won’t wipe. If you are not contributing significantly to dps in PVE, then you are doing it wrong, it’s simple as that.

Furthermore, I play a mesmer as well.. a zerker/assassin combo due to precision for crit. I can say that with personal experience and play time, that mesmers do less damage than zerker guards. I do use a phantasm build rather than shatter build, so that may be the reason why. Mesmers, also can not kill a trash mob as effectively that a guard can.

Stampede.5308:

Please, learn to play.

This…. You have the information and yet counter argue it with wrong information that’s nonsensical. That’s even worse than a player who doesn’t have the knowledge at his or her disposal. There are other alternative to the pure dps guardian. The Hammer guard is much more supportive than the AH/Cleric guards.

Stampede.5308:

Never talked about records, But succes rate. A downed player makes no DPS. If noone goes downed, DPS of 4 player is the same of 5 that continuosly go downed. If the thing is MAKES THE MOST DAMAGE, you only need to play a party with 5 same classes/builds. So, what’s the point of having 8?

Hoping to see you in game, so I can see if u with an Obal’s build guardian, can have a normal run without being downed!

In reality, that zerker guardian did more damage while s(he) was up vs you being up the whole time. Everyone has a heal so you are just over healing while others work hard to take down the boss. So enjoy your tea and crumpets thinking you are carrying the team when in actuality.. the whole team is carrying you. Guards like you is why now I see no guards in lfg. Do you even use WoR.. just wondering.

To OP, I have been on my mesmer more than my guard and haven’t gotten kicked yet. Actually, once I did join a group that wanted no guard. I was on my guard. I joined and told them I was getting on my mesmer. I was kicked while logging into my mezzy. Some people have no patience… Anyways, there are certain classes that I think are better to bring to dungeons and fractals than others. I am leveling a necro but probably won’t bring her to dungeons/FoTM when I get her to 80. She will be used for solo roaming and w vs w.

We have five slots that GW2 gives us to play with.. and leveling doesn’t take an insanely long time like some other mmos.. If you choose to play a class that is discriminated because most player base doesn’t play it optimally.. then well expect it to be harder to get into average pug groups. Like for example, a ranger that knocksback the dredge powersuit while rest of us are trying to position him under the bucket.

But an epidemic against non-heavies is an extreme statement that has no basis. And like many that mentioned it on previous posts. You can always make your own lfg.

Kicast.1459:

Before I was a mesmer.
Now with my guard, I do not feel Op and cheesy like braindead warriors but I feel I am usefull and strong. It is night and day with my old poor mesmer.
Still feel sad for mesmers. They are a dead class left alone for mass fights.

Then you obviously don’t know how to play a mesmer. A mesmer has more support utilities than a guard.. the time warp being quite sexy when dropped right (so I have been told). And with a phantasm build, can have pretty high damage to a single target. The Shatter build having rather insane damage. I do agree they don’t shine in trash or group fights but can’t have everything. Calling it a dead class.. lololol. And I main a guard.

Purple Miku.7032:

AnnieGYG.6842:

Purple, my friend had a simliar experience today trying to pug his 50 in the early day because he needed to go out drinking, 2 warrior, 1 guardian, 2 mes, 1 thief all 14+K APs – Bloomhunger he charged in popped wall of reflect, stood there bashing away – he looks around and the entire team is max ranging with GS/LB/SB – zero feedbacks or smokesreen or focus traited to reflect. They wiped 3 times and he decided better of it and left then to it.

I’m cracking up visualizing this happening LOL

Almost as awful as the last time I had ever pugged TA up when I was still on NA servers… everyone on the team being 10k+ AP except for me and all ranging nightmare tree with dolyak signets, rifles, banners of tactics and defense… omfg…

Something similar happened to me at fractals. There were 3 guildies and 2 pugs, one pug being myself. They all had high AP, almost double or triple mine. And I could tell right away that dps was very low in the group composition. I was on my zerker guard. I sort of suffered through the run until we got to Mai. People running around like crazy during cannon after I asked them not to run on the first wipe.. and second wipe with barely no damage to her, didn’t even make it to first cannon phase on the last wipe. I left.

I do think 3 votes for kick is definitely more fair. Two friends who simply dislike someone can kick a person because of an argument or disagreement.

I have been playing another game, 5 vs 5 pvp or AI (mostly for training) and there’s no kick system. And the players are randomly grouped together unless you make your own party. No kicking system in place so in almost every match so far, there’s been afk-ers during the entire match (and still get the xp), disconnectors, and such. Now I really appreciate the kick from party option.

Lilith Ajit.6173:

I really loved your list of various gears you got.

A guildie the other day pinged knight’s armor with superior runes of exuberance. I nearly cried.

But anyway, I have best luck when I go in with zero expectations. This is the truth, and i don’t know why it is. If I just put, fractal level x, path 1, or even, whenever I put “be fashionable” I usually get. 2 or 3 great players, and 1 or 2 … Not great players. But as long as those not great players understand directions…. It usually turns out okay.

That’s just my anecdotal experience.

It’s true.. some of the most flawless and smooth runs came from no party description. People just knew what to do. It’s amazing when you can breeze through the content and everyone plays well together. When I have put in requirements, it goes either way.. which I find strange. I sort of like pugging and can’t stop myself from doing it. I guess I am a masochist.. but it’s the element of surprise and the unexpected. Yes, I had some hair tearing, painful runs.. but maybe I will think differently when I reach high level fractals.

I do run a semi-meta zerker build but I won’t join a zerker run. Probably for the reason that I don’t fully meet the requirement with the scholar runes. I did get a third set of armor with zerker stats and I may put in the scholars to see if I am ready for it.

I am drooling over the Light of Dwayna.. it’s stunning. I am not sure about reskinning it tho.. The glow is lovely. I sort of like the off-center and I am all about symmetry. I was thinking about doing the LoD on the human mesmer I am rerolling.. eventually.

I don’t use the shield so that’s good

Ezekiel.1985:

voices the female Dragonborn in Skyrim (while there’s not a lot there, she did well on it)…

I would have never, ever guessed that.. and I played so much of Skyrim, I had to buy a second disk to replace it [my progress was saved on the console]. The female human voice on GW2 is not my favorite. Sylvarian female is better I think.. The female necro sylvarian is da bomb when she says, “Rise from death.. my beauty” with such conviction, definitely my favorite. I can’t stand the Norn female voice.. it’s way too masculine.

I actually don’t mind fractals and enjoy them most of the time. And it gives me a goal to work towards which is what keeps me interested in a game. A sense of character progression even if there is none.. but thank you. I just thought I was closer than what is needed to achieve a goal I set in mind.

Ngage.5760:

nor do I want any changes in the game it self.

But you would change the entire premise of GW2 which is to do away with the holy trinity.

Well, if your group likes you to play that role then stick with it. I think Hammer build is best for the supportive guardians more so than the staff if you choose to go that route. I don’t play with the hammer. Would look silly on my tiny human guardian female. (I kid…) The might stacking isn’t that great on a staff tbh. The duration is too short. I used to do the staff/greatsword until I switched to gs/s +f. It’s surprising that I love the dps and dropping the ai like the boss on my guard since I traditionally played healer/support on other mmos.

I personally like the balanced version with extra dps. You will feel squishy if you are used to the clerics and AH at first.. but over time.. you will get used to it. It just takes time and experience, that’s all. Spam F1, 4 and 5 on Focus, Leap of Faith to get over trash mobs, dodging (obviously), wall of reflection I use all the time.. if you use gs 2 with it.. it can be extra condi cleanser.

I think of a guardian as a tactician which is why it’s my favorite professional along with the mesmer.

There is nothing wrong with a support guardian.. after all that is what guardians are suppose to do.. support.. but I think the whole, “Hey I am a healer/tank and that’s what I do” is really limiting the guardian role.. there are so many other supports you provide. The thing is that guards have a great dps potential that you are not utilizing by traiting yourself to be a bunker/support only. Also it’s difficult to gauge who the boss is going to target so you can’t really fully play the bunker role every time.

You should be bringing dps along with support because really killing the boss as quickly as possible is the best thing you can do for your team. Why, because the longer the boss is up, the higher chance the group has to wipe.. everyone runs out of heals, utilities.. ect ect. So dps should also be part of your build because even if you are the last person standing because of your uber toughness and vitality.. you won’t be doing any damage to the boss and eventually, you will die too. I have seen this happen a lot firsthand.

And even if you are a dps guardian, you still provide tons of support, condition cleanser, stability, blind spam, reflections and such.. which bring more to the encounters than you could ever imagine.

Lately, I have seen on lfg.. no guard. I have been on my mesmer more than my guard lately and I don’t have a problem getting in with any groups. I do see no rangers or necros on description sometimes but it’s rare.

Thank you for your help.. ahahahaha I guess this mean more grinding. eh..

kitten.. really..

so wait.. how do I make it ascended with 1850? I got one with 1350 fr?

Yes.. read Obal’s DPS guard guide.. he has a section on how to stay alive. I watched few of DnTs video and it’s great.. just to watch it visually. I really like Brazil’s videos.. he’s one funny dude.

Anyways it takes time to get used to zerker, you will die a lot because your health pool will be even lower than an ele with the zerker build.. but you do get better over time. You can read about all the dungeon encounters on GW2 Dungeon Guide. This really helped me out with the runs and knowing what to do. It even has fractals section too.

And yes keep doing dungeons. I admit at times I got so frustrated with the times I faceplanted but it does lessen more you keep chugging at it. Don’t give up on the zerker. It’s really worth it. But I do have a secondary set, the knights as a backup since I pug almost all the time. It’s also great in fractals as you can just switch to it so you don’t have to leave for repairs.

So I finally got the Prototype Fractal Capacitor and was thinking that I only needed 500 fr and 250 ecto for my shiny backpack.. err no..

Is it true that I need to infuse it first and then make the Fractal Capacitor which means 1000 fractal relics and 500 ectos total?

You can guest at a server with open temple. I check this site to see which one is open. Also my home server does the temple event right after reset too.

Well you never know on the guard section when most people still think Cleric and AH is the way to go.. but yeah totally went over my head.

1. Higher health pool..

2. more speed options.. my guard is a slowpoke

3. A bow on a guard for range.. yes!

I tried the ESO beta and wasn’t too impressed.

Hey.. thanks for this guide

How would you trait a sceptor/torch guard? That’s what I have been using when I solo or in a small group. I mean which skills should I trait in the build you suggested.

hybrid.5027:

full clerics, mace/shield + staff, 0/0/30/30/10

have fun!

You are trolling surely… I mean in an open world where you solo most of the time.. use whatever you want but you suggested the 3 worst weapons for a guard. That would deserve a kick on any team.

A hammer build is something I have not used before personally.. I prefer to slash and hack.. but would be perfect for more supportive guardian role. I have been in fractals with a hammer guardian and it provided nice synergy.

You could get a knight’s set which is definitely more forgivable and I put in soldier’s rune in my knight’s set. I use 10/30/0/5/25 Balanced with extra DPS build. For food, you can do Slice of Candied Dragon Roll or even Mango Pie.

There’s a lot of way to stay alive. Blind spams, Aegis, Focus 5, Renewed Focus. Wall of Reflection I always use for combo finishers and a must really. It saddens me when guards don’t use this (been on my mesmer lately so I get to see how other guards play). It’s a steep learning curve but you will learn to mitigate damage with time and experience.

You could try knight’s armor with zerker weapon & trinket. The knight is tanky enough without sacrificing the dps too much. Also, it’s great for W vs W roaming with sceptor. I have fun with that. For dungeon and fractals; I would trait it with Obal’s balanced DPS version.

Just for the love of god, do not camp a staff, kk. Been seeing way too many of those lately. I would have to say that playing a zerker guard is a challenge because of the low health pool on addition to the support you bring. I enjoy the extra challenge and it’s not just dps slash slash hack the boss down if that is what is off putting for the whole zerker reasoning. You really do have to think on your feet but the knight’s gear is a good compromise.

I pug 95% of time and spend almost all of it in dungeons and fractals.. the AH/Cleric is terrible. You might be the last person standing but then we have to watch you try to solo the boss for like 15 minutes and painfully watch the health bar not move.. or move a millimeter every five minutes. And if you are suppose to be the healer/tank (hypothetically speaking).. why are we all faceplanted on the floor? That defies the whole logic and theory of your role.

I would like to give mad props to Iris for starting this and Laharl for being the best mentor ever. He took me through all four Arah paths, Iris helped with two. Nik with path four despite his initial protestations. :P I learned so much from all of you. Your patience, humor, and grace is amazing. It’s really been a pleasure to be guided by you all. I don’t think I can thank you enough and hope one day.. I can become a mentor too. <3

p.s. I am looking for a meta-mesmer mentor for dungeons. I main a guard and feel I have a pretty good grasp on the ps but still learning on the mesmer. I think I would like to use the mesmer as my main dungeon toon.

Mmmm yeah.. was in COE today.. path 2 with pugs. We wiped at the door, I was strolling into the instance as it happened. One player goes, “Kitten this, you all don’t know how to stack” and leaves. Fortunately, he didn’t own the instance. The rest of us laughed and went our merry way. Rage much?

But yeah sorry that happened to you. The worst is fractals after spending over an hour and the instance owner rage quits. I had that happen too.

spoj.9672:

Most dungeons its better to buy exotic weapons or armour and salvage for insignias or inscriptions now. So that means uncraftable stat combos (soldier, rabid etc). They sell for a decent amount. If you have a unique recipe they can also make a you a fair amount of gold out of tokens.

This..

I use the Blacklion Salvage for the exotics.

You can get Soldier’s inscription from AC which is pretty profitable. Rabid is also good.

laharl.8435:

LittleLepton.8915:

layzoe.6035:

The Whisperblade is definitely a contender. It does match beautifully with the anamaly. I got to see it in person last night.

They match lovely

I have Anomaly, Whisper Blade and Vision of the Mists on my guard, I love the look. I might even be LittleLepton approved finally!

It was yours that I saw together. It does look pretty amazing.

The Whisperblade is definitely a contender. It does match beautifully with the anamaly. I got to see it in person last night.

I second joining the Arah Vet group. Laharl and Iris were our teachers last night for path 2. They both had patience of a saint and it was fun! xD Thank you… <3

I am currently 470-something in artificing and took considerable amount of gold to get there.. more than to craft the anamaly. I don’t think it should have ascended stats… maybe more than the exotic.. but then I heard that Ascended stats are negligible.

Uvatha.5476:

Keep that princess wand cause they look great togethe! (even if I’m not a fan of purple)

The princess wand will stay. It’s one of my favorite skins and I get a laugh whenever I equip it… It’s a zerker transmuted

mahariel.4981:

Not even going to bother reading that block of text, so I’ll just tell you up front ANet don’t have a dungeon team.

That’s very unfortunate. Sort of explains why some of my friends who have been here since beta left and others are left with remaking their toons to level it up to 80. I started few months ago so I still have some things I can work towards.. but the end game is definitely underwhelming. I like to stick with one game for a long time.. possibly even for years off and on.. this I think will have a shelf life which is sort of sad. The end game definitely needs improvement. More than working on a legendary, ls or whatnot.

Thank you all for the replies. Well I have some time (meaning I need to gather up the funds again) to decide what to match the Anamaly. I love it. I love purple so it fits me. I am a guard main and I don’t wear blue at all..

I did end up crafting it instead of buying it off tp.. but I am ok with that since I had all the mats for it. And accruing 200 skill points to spend it sort of made it special to me. I am looking at an Ascended sword actually. But the other swords all look great. It’s really hard to pick just one.

And a photo with the princess wand..

I think joining a small guild is a much better option than pugging. There are so many guilds out there, it may take some time.. but it’s worth it. Guild mates are less likely to kick you from the party and will make more of an effort to teach/guide newcomers. If you want to use the lfg, you can start your own party.. and put in the description, new or all welcome.. and just mention that you are new to the path. Some people might leave but others will stay and will show you the ropes.

Being kicked from a party can be a norm when you start, don’t let it frustrate you; think of it as part of the process.

I main a guard, I second the 10/30/0/5/25 with Sword/Focus and GS as your primary weapons. Sceptor and Focus as your range. I would go with knights armor with berserker accessories and weapon.

Your support comes from shouts, reflection, condition cleansing, blind spams, and stability.. which you will learn in time. Guardians have awesome DPS potential so I wouldn’t waste that on healing support since everyone can heal themselves and it takes away from damage you could inflict.. thereby killing the boss quicker.

I run few dungeons everytime I log in. I don’t mind showing you the ropes.. I am not an expert but could show you the path and also give you some pointers about being a guard in dungeons. Let me know.

I will look into it <3

So I just made it and I love it.. now I need to find a sword to match.

Thank you all.

Jeremy.8469:

I’m looking at something with Good DPS/Self Healing combos…

Guardian

Thank you <3 Anomaly it is xD

I ran the greatsword/staff for a long time and I have to agree, the empowering might isn’t that great. I use to use EM and switch over to gs.. and the cool down to switch wasn’t worth it. I do think it’s better to use sword and focus for dps.. it’s more effective. If we are speaking strictly from faster kill perspective. Staff has its use at times.. but I use it less and less. Only for group survivality or to tag.

I should ask, what is your end game content? Sceptor and focus is very fun for me.. but if you are soloing mostly.. greatsword is great because it clears out mob very quickly. Use 2 and 4 and pretty much wipes everyone out. Sceptor and focus is great for large bosses that don’t move around too much. If you are thinking about doing dungeon or fractals, I would recommend that you use get sword, focus, gs, sceptor, hammer and learn how to switch.

I would only use staff as a secondary support weapon with either greatsword… or sword and focus. I love sword/focus and greatsword as primary. Sceptor and focus for range. Staff only comes out when I see my team is struggling and I need to be the support. Like if we wiped at a boss. Staff is terrible dps. Really, it does nothing. It’s more to keep the team alive and be a support.

Ha yeah.. I switched over to dps guardian from my knight’s armor and I faceplanted all the time. It was so bad but after awhile I started to learn how to dodge, use utilities (blind spam, whirl, leap of faith, reflect, aegis) and you do get better! I did end up buying back my knights armor for pugging because I pug 90% of time and I did feel little too glassy and fragile. I would say to keep both. If you are pugging, use knights with zerker weapon and trinkets. And then use zerker if you know you are in a good group. But honestly going zerker is challenging at first but overall it will make you a better player. I still faceplant at times but I can see a definite improvement and I do feel I contribute much more with my dps.

I am starting to gather enough funds to craft either. I have been going back and forth between the two. I know the Ascended focus has better stats but I just love the look of the Anomaly. I suppose I can transmute it but I don’t want to spend another 100g to do so since I would like to start working on a legendary after this. What should I craft?

Second the gw2dungeons.net. It’s bookmarked and I have completed dungeons with all newbies using it.

Youtube videos: DnT has the best imo, and joining a guild.. yes.