Perfect Inscriptions could use a *slight* rework.

This trait currently feels very bad to take & use. The most use it sees is in fractals for the additional +36 power on the passive (as fractal pots give you the missing precision you need).

Two main issues with it, one of which could be considered a bug.

1) Instead of sharing the buff to yourself & 4 allies, it shares it to 5. In instanced content this is particularly annoying, as you either don't share to a 5th (dungeons/fractals), or you have little/no control over which player in the other subgroup gets it (raids).

Proposed change to make it feel better to use, and give it a worthwhile niche: Make it share to self+4 allies, and reduce the duration of the buff from 10s to 5s. Still keeps a decent cost/benefit balance, removes the RNG, and makes you feel like less of a unique buff slave.

2) The bug, or rather, the unintended consequence of how the trait was implemented. If multiple guardians take and use this trait, the first guardian to cast their signet benefits the most, while the last to cast it gets nothing. Example:

Guardian A, B, and C all cast their signets in order.Guardian A casts, loses self buff. Guards B&C now have 2 stacks.Guardian B casts, loses 2 stacks. Guard A has 1 stack, Guard C has 3 stacks.Guardian C casts, loses 3 stacks. Guard A has 2 stacks, Guard B has 1 stack.

Probably hard to fix, but the dungeon/fotm community would appreciate it.

I imagine the 5 person cap is just because all boons cap at 5 people. When the game first launched there was no limit for boons and it broke WvW so they put a cap on all boons.

As for your requested change, it seems to go against the idea of a Signet ... you can have a good passive or use the active, but lose the passive. By being able to keep the passive you eliminate the choice and then it just becomes always use your active on cooldown. My understanding is that right now it is balance so that in a 5 man environment the passive and active will end up being the same party DPS over an extended fight and therefore you would only use it in very quick fights or against breakbars.

@Indure.5410 said:I imagine the 5 person cap is just because all boons cap at 5 people. When the game first launched there was no limit for boons and it broke WvW so they put a cap on all boons.

It's probably coded at 6 targets (self + 5), and then removes it from self immediately after.

@Indure.5410 said:As for your requested change, it seems to go against the idea of a Signet ... you can have a good passive or use the active, but lose the passive. By being able to keep the passive you eliminate the choice and then it just becomes always use your active on cooldown. My understanding is that right now it is balance so that in a 5 man environment the passive and active will end up being the same party DPS over an extended fight and therefore you would only use it in very quick fights or against breakbars.

In its current iteration, it's actually almost always more efficient to just spam it off CD and treat it as a mini Glyph of Empowerment for your squad. If the duration was shorter (significantly less uptime) and if it gave you the buff, you'd be more inclined to hold it for coordinated bursts (generally with breakbars). It also doesn't really fit the theme of the radiance line, as nearly every other trait in that line is about selfish DPS right now.

You also, give up the crit chance trait (50% while you have retal), so you need to use an accuracy sigil to minmax stats (lose out on an air sigil). There are already costs involved with taking the trait, and the current RNG on who gets the 5th buff from it just makes it very unsatisfying. I can probably count on one hand the number of pug guards I've seen use that trait since it was added.

I was conflicted on this trait when it came out and I still am. I want to like it but.. it just isn't worth bringing.

Actually this trait is really under performing when you compare it to it's closest equal trait (Necromancer's Grandmaster trait Signets of Suffering) which gives a 50% increase to passive's effectiveness (along with adding 180 points to "healing power" to the Signet of the Locusts which already gives 25% run speed bonus without the trait ) whereas the Guardian's trait only gives a 20% increase and the duration of passives being available to our allies is only 10 seconds per the Wiki which makes no sense considering the shortest recharge time of any of our Signet's is 20 seconds.

Before anyone goes there, yes Necro doesn't have heavy armor but they do have the top tier for health and in the present condi heavy state of game play the armor difference is rather limited .

Just to be clear I seriously doubt this will be addressed or changed in anyway because of the "The Guardian is in a Good Place B.S." I'm not saying we are broken nor are we unplayable but I am saying that there are issues with our skills and traits that could and should be addressed. Like our Spirit Weapons which most players have given up on using except with very limited situations, how Staff was nerfed, and how are Battle Presence or Empowering Might or Hollowed Ground even worth considering and Tenacious Defense should giving something in addition to just a reduction in the cool down of Virtue of Courage for it being a Grandmaster trait (this is a Guardian base traitline just because it's more viable with a Firebrand doesn't mean it's ok to be worthless for the base Guardian).

P.S. In case it is mentioned that it's all about the game modes. I am well aware of this and I do play regularly in all of them. Please remember I am not saying that any of these things are the prefect answer or that the Dev's are terrible , I totally understand that they are on working something with ALOT of variables and that there is also resource management issues I'm only bringing this up in the hope that some of the Guardian's issue will get looked into at some time.

P.P.S.: Yeah I know but the "The Guardian Is In A Good Place"

Honestly I think the biggest issue with this trait is its placement. Competing with Righteous Instincts means it's pretty much a no-go on any build.If this was in any other trailine, it might be worth bringing as the shared signet uptime in the case of Bane Signet is actually better than Glyph of Empowerment, for example.

Ok but do you see it being picked first in any of the other traitlines as a Grandmaster trait, I don't, personally every other traitline has at least one if not two traits that totally out class this trait as far as utility goes, granted this is only my opinion , that being said I can definitely see taking this trait depending on the traitline it was in if it weren't listed as a Grandmaster. Heck if it lasted longer than 10 seconds for my allies (more like the 20 second that it takes the trait to recharge) it would at be something to consider. I still would like them to explain the rational of why the Guardian only gets a 20% but the Necro gets 50% increase along with 180 to healing power(added to of all things the Signet that gives the 25% movement increase).No I'm not expecting the Guardian to get the increase but I would like to have a clearing understanding of how this balanced out even if I disagree with the overall final decision.

The main problem with this trait is that it competes against an OP condi dps trait, and a OP power dps trait. There's no build in existence that would spec into Radiance and not take one of the other two GM's.

There is one reason to spec into Radiance - to increase DPS. Having a support trait in this tree basically means it won't be used.

Honestly, as long as it stays as a major grand master in the radiance line, it will never ever be used. Why would any power build, in any game mode, use it over righteousness instinct, or in any condi build over amplified wrath.

It is one of these situations were the devs put no thought or understanding of what the trait is supposed to do and other traits it competes with. Guardian has like a dozen of these...

I believe the real problem is not the Perfect Inscriptions, but the Inner Fire trait (gain Fury when you hit something with 3 or more stacks of burning). The main problem for me it overlaps too much with Right-Hand Strength (which is a better option because can stack with fury). Neither a power build or a condi build may want to take Perfect Inscriptions trait, but a support build may want.

To take Wrath of Justice with Perfect Inscriptions is actually interesting for a support build to provide CC and share condi and power damage from the signets. But there is no support trait avaliable on major adept. To change Inner Fire trait into AoE fury (240 range?) could be actually interesting for support builds. Or just revamp completely into a new support trait that is related to damage.