Guild Wars 2

I have it written up on my fractal guide. I’ll just clean it up soon and edit it in.

Brutaly.6257:

My point was that what we need is a general guide to dps specifically in the guardian forum. Not a specific guide to dps in pve.

Im getting extremely bored with all these pointless discussions regarding dps and it would just be great to have a guide “to dps”, that the experts on dps can support.

Done

I ran out of room so I opened a new thread here

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/guardian/DPS-Guardian-Guide-for-PVE-1/first#post3204969

Brutaly.6257:

obal.3218:

don’t have the proper support for pve.

The funny part with this statement is that it was used by a lot of pve dudes just a month back, justifying 30 points in honor, which i said was just an excuse for having a 3k hp cushion. Im glad that people finally seem to agree and have swapped to virtues as the new pink.

Seriously, 30 points in honor or virtues isnt that much of an improvement to support in pve. What matters is what weapon you use and what utilities you bring.

Having 2 more sec on WoR or reduced cool down is just quality of life in pve and ofc makes it easier for non skilled people. Personally i prefer max dps AND support.

With that said, stop bashing on OP, people are enjoying the build and the guide serves a purpose, its a widely used setup which has its merits.

Personally i dont like it at all and think its junk, but thats an opinion since quality is in the eye of the beholder and even though people in here try to state that its an objective observation that its junk, its highly subjective.

Keep it up OP, if you like it and other also do i think any kind of serious write up brings value to the community. But thats also subjective.

PS I said if before and i say it again, we need a dps guide in these forums, maybe we should put some joint effort in that instead of flaming and naming.

The max dps for a guardian would be 10/25/0/0/25 with 10 points up to you since it hits all the general damage modifiers (around 24% dps) and the OP build has none. The paladin 2.5 build has 4288 effective power vs 10/30/0/5/25 zerk with 8258 while using sword and 7077 while using greatsword for bursting considering no sigils and the same food. They aren’t even close in damage.

The best trait for pve is master of consecrations since WoR is the strongest skill for pve. Purging flames and hallowed ground are great as well. You also have the traited resolve that removes 3 condtions. You have blind exposure and renewed justice as well which the OP build does right. I agree honor is a waste unless your running a hammer which the OP is not. The last 10 points can go to shout cd which is a good trait as well, 10 in valor for strength in numbers which is the only worthwhile trait in the line, or whatever else you want. If you play in groups or run with zergs then AH is 30 points that could have been spent to better support everyone or do more dps.

You say you perfer max dps and support, well 10/25/0/0/25 has all of that. If you want absolute max support and small loss in dps then hammer 15/15/0/20/10 has all that plus perma prot. The OP has given many derogatory responses elsewhere and wanted proof of succeeding in pve using dps oriented builds and said his build hits like a truck. Providing numbers and practicality isn’t bashing on the OP or expressing opinion.

Given all the arguing, here is a dps test of the meta build vs the paladin 2.5 build. The bottom line is that paladins don’t hit like a truck and don’t have the proper support for pve.

http://youtu.be/dn1lgmlVP88

(If not available then no sound version http://youtu.be/OohPl30jtOM)

25 Grub Lupi

http://youtu.be/9fUEc4FhR10

Guardian would probably be the easiest class to progress through fractals. Use the hammer build 15/15/0/20/10 with 10 left over as you see fit to radaince to max dps, valor to go more defensive with strength in numbers, or 10 in virtues for more condition removal. Bring wall and shield of the avenger if there are projectiles. The gear should be all zerk unless your having trouble run knights armor + zerk rest. Clerics gear and AH are bad for dungeon/fractal.

The max is higher than that which you can see here http://youtu.be/U67QNskKYHs
I’d rather have force since it’s a steady damage multiplier, it works with reflected damage, and it works on things that can’t be crit. If your group has a lot of dps most fights won’t last long and you will get maybe 3 procs on the air sigil. It’s also a single target hit so it wouldn’t be worthwhile for mobs.

SkyChef.5432:

Oxxy.7068:

…
Also, if you’re bringing a guard without traiting into support just to deal loldps, your group would be better off with an ele or thief.

You really don’t know what you are talking about. Since the day I’ve run w/ very good players, I dropped everything calling “support” guardian w/ loldps. And you haven’t seen Obal hit 40K damage w/ his loldps.

The only support you need as a guardian is 10 in virtues and bring wall/shield/specific boon utilities when needed over bane sig when you don’t. Having 20 is nice for extra removal which isn’t needed for some content or if you have a mesmer take care of it. Having 5 in honor to stay alive for harder content is nice as well as 10 for shout cd if you feel the need for it. The rest of your points can go into dps. I ran the build I did 49k WW with for a bit but settled with 10/30/0/5/25 since it is as effective while being lazy and it is easier with the perma vigor but it still has all the traited support needed.

15 II
15 VI
0
20 II VII (change to IX for underwater fractal)
20 VI IX (can change to I where conditions aren’t a problem)

If you have someone else that has decent condition removal you can take only 10 in virtues and put the other 10 to valor for strength in numbers or 10 in radiance for the +10% damage trait and put the major into the sword or burning duration trait.

Some of it is a little dated. I might eventually do updated ones at 80 now that I’m there . I added a video build guide for now.

It might help if you use the 15/15/0/20/20 hammer build starting out. The dps is still good and your group will have perma prot and allow for more mistakes until you get better.

skeppi.9750:

I’ve got the full zerk setup now and find a lot of deaths happening now usually from condi as groups tend to lack condi removal. I do die from missing a dodge as I’m still learning whats to be avoided on bosses I haven’t fought often enough.

I have another question which is what build do you suggest when running fotm with pugs? is it better to have a tanky setup for these groups and any suggestions.

PS I did try a S/F build but found myself dying a lot in pugs so switched to a 10/15/0/25/20 and find I survive longer but condi’s >_<

I find hammer guard the most useful for high fractals. Run 15/15/0/20/20. The traited virtue and purging flames should be enough removal. Perma prot will make it more forgiving for you and your group. You will also have access to ring of warding and staff line of warding on swap (start out as this then immediately swap after line) for ccing mobs at los spots so they won’t do anything to you for a bit while you put down prot fields and blind them with virtue. Use greatsword on swap if you need to group stuff up instead.

zencow.3651:

I don’t think the play how you want builds are play how you want enough.
These are more accurate:

AH Shout mostly staff camping Guardian
MM Axe camping Necro
Double Bearbow Cleric RegenShout Ranger
Grenade Bunker Engi
Heal Shout Rifle-GS Kill-everything Warrior

Actually, play how you want guards would take 10 Radiant and take Signet of Mercy instead of WoR. My bad.

I was going for the current meta of these builds. Scion is really pushing for his paladin 2.5 and won’t listen to reason so I used that for guardian. I saw the flamethrower engi and shout heal wars were updated/new topics on the front pages of guru profession sections. We really had no clue how to build a bearbow so Brazil just played how he wanted with that. You also can’t go wrong with The new conditionmancer (perfected guide).

They can nerf reflections by adding a fumble dodge while you reflect. There aren’t enough things that cause this currently.

Black Box.9312:

Nike Porphyrogenita.8137:

Black Box.9312:

obal.3218:

Emanuel.9781:

Alright, alright. It’s settled. In the next few days, you’re going to see a real “play how you want” lupicus kill. Actually, i’m not sure if it’ll be possible to kill him in that setup.

Time will tell.

The point was to get a clean run on both play how you want build and a zerker meta build to compare times.

Honestly, that’s all it really comes down to. Time. Everything else is based on the player, not the build. I care much more about efficiency than about speed, which, despite what people seem to think, are actually two different things.

Which run was more efficient after you watched both?

He just admitted that they were purposefully trying to play bad and were using builds they aren’t comfortable running with. If you think that’s a fair comparison, I really hope you don’t hold any sort of political influence.

I didn’t say we were trying to play bad. We were trying to get a clean run like I said to show the difference which was 3x and that was with some amazing rng on the play how you want run where he just stood there and did nothing in phase 3 for the most part. It would have been longer if he wasn’t feeling as lazy as running the builds we had. If I was trying to play bad then I probably would have had to heal up more than 0 times. The only thing I did bad was skill click but I did well with that

Emanuel.9781:

Alright, alright. It’s settled. In the next few days, you’re going to see a real “play how you want” lupicus kill. Actually, i’m not sure if it’ll be possible to kill him in that setup.

Time will tell.

The point was to get a clean run on both play how you want build and a zerker meta build to compare times.

Wethospu.6437:

The real question is, which was more fun?

The play how you want one was at first. After the charm wore off it just became painful.

http://youtu.be/eXTd9YfMJlw

Here is a comparison of play how you want builds vs zerker meta builds against Lupi.

The Play How You Want builds

Guardian – Paladin 2.0bal – 0/15/30/20/5 Cleric with Mercy Runes Celestial/Zerker trinkets and Zerker Weapons
Necromancer – Conditionmancer – 10/30/0/30/0 Rabid/Carrion with Krait/Afflicted Runes http://youtu.be/NDm3nZgFLoo
Ranger – BowBear – 30/20/10/10/0 Rabid with Adventurer Runes
Engineer – Flamethrower Engi – 10/30/0/20/10 Zerker with Scholar Runes
Warrior – Shout Heal War – 30/10/0/30/0 Knight Armor with Soldier Runes and Zerker Weapons and Trinkets

The Zerker Meta builds

Guardian – 10/30/0/5/25
Necro – 30/25/0/0/15
Ranger – 30/25/0/15/0
Engineer – 30/10/0/0/30
Warrior – 30/25/0/0/15

Yaki.9563:

Nike Porphyrogenita.8137:

Yaki.9563:

I don’t understand Lupi kill videos. Is he some kind of test dummy DPS test? He certainly seems to take no skill, judging by the video.

Why don’t you try it for yourself and tell us how easy it is to replicate that video?

I’ll give you some friendly advice: take off your Clerics gear for it or else phase three will be really long.

Hahaha so defensive.

You pressed 8 buttons the entire fight, didn’t move an inch, and never dodged. I don’t know what’s more sad, that you think skill means wearing the right set of gear or that it means autoattacking for 40s and pressing one reflect button to cheese an encounter.

There’s no skill in what you did. If you want to show some skill, do as you suggest and lets see a video of you soloing him wearing cleric’s and no reflect.

I did it back in the day in soldiers and no reflects http://youtu.be/nEC2CmIcBD8

If you think this was easy you probably don’t know much about a Ranger or this fight. The strategy was to flank him for the whirling and for us all to not have to dodge so we can dps it more. I just got lucky I was behind him for the kick and had the sense not to bother to dodge the grub mark since he wasn’t directly facing me.

I’m not sure how calculating effective power of a build, the time it takes to complete content, and picking the traits that benefit your group are opinions.

Learning how to play guardian the right way is better than running a build that will kitten yourself and your group. AH is a waste of 30 trait points that can be better spent to support the group instead of just yourself. If your just starting to play guardian or are struggling then running a set of knights armor + zerker trinkets then swapping to full zerk when you feel comfortable is the best option. The whole point to posting builds and videos showcasing you doing content is for the community’s skill level to grow. Zerker power builds are best for pve and are what people should work towards.

Currently, the best build is 10/25/0/0/25 gs burst + sword/focus rotations with points left for you to put in shout cd, rh strength, etc as it hits all the general damage modifiers and provides the right support . Another and more pug/beginner friendly option would be 15/15/0/20/20 hammer + gs or staff depending on the situation.

durend.6237:

Where’s the naked double bow version?

Sounds unBEARable

http://youtu.be/UikyW7ITpmQ

Other Rangers
DEKeyzToChaos (Phionnah) – http://youtu.be/9f4OgqCJLuk
Brazil (Brasil The Hue) – http://youtu.be/s-cVWh3bKt4
Ceribrocanasans (Crigger)
The Mexican Cookie (Tanja Windbourne)

haviz.1340:

obal.3218:

Fully buffed guard in Arah (prob will never see these numbers )

http://youtu.be/U67QNskKYHs

EXPLOIT!!!

dub-ble spirits.

Lol I see what you did there. Maybe Anet intended us to stack rangers for dungeon groups and we just choose to play how we want and stack warriors instead.

Pip.2094:

With that build what dps can you do?

Fully buffed guard in Arah (prob will never see these numbers )

http://youtu.be/U67QNskKYHs

Use bow of truth and an ogre pet whistle and hope you get a bear spawn. Live the dream.

I was using bladetrail to not get stuck in auto attack and have a delayed whirl. I got lucky I never had to whirl after the bladetrail on my solo then. Good to know.

Yeah whirling wrath really sucks with dodge bugs. I just save it for when I feel safe when I solo or duo him since the dodge after got me killed so many times instead of trying to use it to max the deeps.

Syn Sity.5826:

The Mexican Cookie.3690:

Syn Sity.5826:

Chopps.5047:

Definitely the highlight of the patch haha so funny you managed to pull it off

No, the fact that whirlwind now causes fumble dodges was the highlight of the patch. Anet, ruining guild wars one patch at a time.

Seriously? That doesn’t even make sense lol, haven’t even played my warrior enough to realize

an evade fumbling an evade, anet pls.

Well like, I use ww > dodge for single target lifesteal. That is no longer viable as your dodge after the whirlwind will fumble.

I noticed that too as I got lupi down to 5-20% several times yesterday but got worn down or killed after ww then “dodge” against life steal or the big circle. I finally just accepted how broken the game is with dodging and how clicking F on recycled content is more important than fixing big problems and dealt with it by finishing lupi off on warrior finally.

I don’t remember ww being such a pain like this other than auto attack taking priority over ww going off so this seems like it’s true.

http://youtu.be/vgFYyU3Mo2A
WW → “dodge” bug 4x at least
4:20
5:20
6:25
7:40

Dub.1273:

Be careful haviz, Modbot may ban you for going offtopic.

Too bad this didn’t even last a day. Would love to create a “fixed” chaos storm myself

And cookie, seriously. You really have to learn to push. Although that kick was a good laugh.

Cookie meant to get downed. It wouldn’t be an obal video without a down/death at the end.

We could have just pulled it to the room and jumped off the cliff, but we’re too casual for that.

http://youtu.be/tf_L16XMl3Y

Other PoV
Warrior – The Mexican Cookie (Pary Like A Walruss) – http://youtu.be/O3nZQF_Hlds
Mesmer – DEKeyzToChaos (Gessa Hu) – http://youtu.be/MC98xpyoYr0
Mesmer – waxpax (Mesmeldra) – http://youtu.be/4jyLj8yExp8
Mesmer – Alcarnus – (Vixzie) – no vid

Dwayna is easy
http://youtu.be/QHs0PpRzKh0
http://youtu.be/EPRFNsBqac8

Learn how to run the sparks yourself, use stability to not get petrified (purple status starts blinking use it then and use a tear to remove green status since it will eventually petrify you as well), and use zerker gear and power build. If you do that you should be able to beat it with whatever 4 people you get. Zerk it up.

Broadicea.8294:

Spiky Muffin.9180:

gj
edit: deleted what i first wrote cause it’d point something out which probably nobody would notice and it’d defeat the purpose of the vid unnecessarily. if anyone does notice… pls be quiet for the greater good

She only bugged on the last bit shhhhhhhhh

It happened to us on our first try for the last 25% so we redid it. It happened this time when she was very low so we felt it was fine. Blame it on Ranger.

Nicely done. I’ve been wanting to duo the boss for months but never had anyone willing to go with me

Sad but probably true.

http://youtu.be/EPRFNsBqac8

We tried bears but it just wasn’t happening since they mest the spark aggro up so badly we weren’t getting anywhere with the amount of time to get the sparks in.

Other Rangers
Broadicea (Laila Magnusdottir) – http://youtu.be/Dag2gzSmbMo)
DEKeyz2Chaos (Phionnah) – http://youtu.be/YzfqGlMdOTo
Essence Snow (Essence Array)
Rafiel (Patryxx)

Randall Greyston and Varra Skylark ruin dungeons more.

Thanks for some material to use in my cm speed run vid commentary.

veasna.3675:

Post your builds!

I added them to description. I don’t know the specific traits our mesmer was using other than the numbers but I can check tomorrow.

http://youtu.be/ZrZwLbp4v_c

Other PoV
Thief DekeyzToChaos (Kharissa Ashglow) – http://youtu.be/bfTWrSwjpfg
Mesmer waxpax (Mesmeldra) – http://youtu.be/DHHstWPXjAo
Warrior Tree (Mr Dankies) – http://youtu.be/Pr53MgFVBoM
Warrior Broadicea (Marcus Charrvey) – http://youtu.be/R6EWwFfQ9rQ
Honorable Mention – laharl for helping us while we fine tuned the run

a t s e.9614:

guanlongwucaii.3162:

ok

15 characters

i know its ‘ok’ why would you care : warrior and guardian no worries even without gear.

One kick, swipe, or phase 2 aoe shot is instant down on my guardian at full health.

Focus is what you want since roj is another blind to keep your group alive as well as 6 more vuln and shield of wrath is pretty important to keeping you alive, does a lot of damage, and is a blast finisher. Torch is terrible. Scholar runes are best and 20 in honor is a waste unless your running hammer. The best build for most people would be 10/30/0/5/25.

haviz.1340:

obal.3218:

Make 20+ more threads and maybe they will replace it.

tafu->tata->dredges?

I’m suprised they just didn’t replace the tree with a clown car.

Maybe we should make the same number of complaint threads about clerics gear and maybe they will take it out of the game so we won’t have to endure people running it.

zerk 48 archdiviner solo http://youtu.be/5P7Y4G3lLmU
zerk 48 bloomhunger solo http://youtu.be/Td6ZAB6Lsxc
zerk raving asura http://youtu.be/3EoSxlE2yCw
zerk ice elemental without superheated melee http://youtu.be/yYg2_WU_7rA

I’m a hammer guard in the rest of my videos in my guide but the other one is zerk and did fine. Zerk takes getting used to there but I did fine with it when I played the part. I probably should have just posted videos of that too for the guide along with the hammer build but I got burnt out on fractals. It’s viable with a good group. If you don’t have a good group then running the hammer build and swapping between zerk and knights like I suggested is the best way to go.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/guardian/Guardian-Video-Guide-for-Fractals-Shown-at-48/first#post2934647

I would suggest running the hammer setup in the link and work your way up to the sword.

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/guardian/Guardian-Video-Guide-for-Fractals-Shown-at-48

Nick.6972:

So. Should I go PVT and completely ignore Healing power altogether?
Should I be focusing more or Toughness/Armor?

I mean, There have been times were I literally have saved my team in FOTM from dying with my heals, or maybe we souldn’t have trouble in the first place if I was doing more DPS>=.

Though, I admittedly I hate the fact I can’t kill anything fast enough.
Whirl GS skill deals 3000-3500.

You should really watch this video to see what a guardian is capable of.

http://youtu.be/U67QNskKYHs

Yaki.9563:

obal.3218:

Yaki.9563:

obal.3218:

For dungeon/fractals no. Compare numbers.

http://youtu.be/U67QNskKYHs

I don’t see the cleric gear in that video. It’s just kittenery at it’s finest.

It’s full zerk. You won’t get anywhere near those numbers with clerics. Wearing clerics gear will just prolong the fight and leave room for error like Colesy said. Healing power is about as good as magic find was in dungeon/fractals. If you are new or have zerkerphobia then knights gear is the next best choice after zerker gear for dungeon/fractal.

So you aren’t comparing, which is my point.

I was telling the op to watch it and compare the damage he does to what I did. Maybe that would be an eye opener seeing as how dungeons/fractals are all aimed towards having high dps and the numbers the op is doing with clerics gear will be no where near the ones in the video. Regardless, clerics is probably the worst gear to have for dungeons/fractals. Healing power is a waste of a stat there. The thing to do is use zerker or if your having trouble with that start out with knights gear then go zerker when you feel you are ready. The knights set comes in handy for some things so it’s nice to have both anyway.

Yaki.9563:

obal.3218:

For dungeon/fractals no. Compare numbers.

http://youtu.be/U67QNskKYHs

I don’t see the cleric gear in that video. It’s just kittenery at it’s finest.

It’s full zerk. You won’t get anywhere near those numbers with clerics. Wearing clerics gear will just prolong the fight and leave room for error like Colesy said. Healing power is about as good as magic find was in dungeon/fractals. If you are new or have zerkerphobia then knights gear is the next best choice after zerker gear for dungeon/fractal.