Jump to content
  • Sign Up

Playing a guardian, need some advice.


Angel.3916

Recommended Posts

So I finally did it. I uninstalled wow classic and wow retail. It was toxic and making me unhappy.

Now I am starting a guardian but not sure what race or server to play on.

I like the idea of buffing allies and support but also being durable, tanky, and strong.

Also what weapon should I use for level up in? I am thinking a hammer or great sword but i don't know.

I kind of like asura and charr. They are nice monstrous races.

Also what would be a good server for world pvp and some PvE content ?

Thanks all. I am happy to play this game again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to GW2!

Your server only matters for world vs world (PvE maps are shared between all servers) and which one is best is debatable. It might be best to ask in the WvW section of the forum for advice. You'll also need to say if you're looking for an NA or EU server.

Races in this game are almost entirely cosmetic, there are a few racial skills but they're deliberately designed to be weaker than your other skills (so that players don't feel they have to take a specific skill) so go with whichever one you like. I made my guardian an asura because I like the idea of a tiny little girl with a huge sword holding off hordes of enemies, but charr is a good choice too. Maybe try both and see which you like best.

I really like the greatsword on guardian and it works well for me on low level characters, but I have no idea if it's considered a good choice generally. Again my advice is to try out different weapons as you get them while levelling up. Each weapon has it's own skills, so which ones you use does make a difference but it's really easy to switch between them (skills don't degrade or anything, you can have them all unlocked at the same time) so if you get one you haven't used before, or in a while, it's worth equipping it just to see how it feels, and if you don't like it you can swap back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have an asura Firebrand i use for everything. Love the combo.With the firebrand spec i play with the specific axe and focus on one set, scepter and shield for ranged.Greatsword is a good weapon to go with when core, good damage. Personally i prefer one ranged set in addition, without dragonhunter that would be scepter, and i go for shield for cc and blocks. Firebrand is also the go to for support.For PVE and SPVP server is not important. Only important for wvw. Would probably go for a server that is marked as Medium or very full if wvw is your thing. Servers marked as full is not available currently to join.Gw2 wiki is also a good place to go to for details not always remembered, traits etc for each class is mentioned and described there. Im often checking it myself to find details forgotten. Mapchat is also helpful, if someone nearby has an answer to give.

WB and hope you have fun. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Angel.3916 said:So I finally did it. I uninstalled wow classic and wow retail. It was toxic and making me unhappy.

Now I am starting a guardian but not sure what race or server to play on.

I like the idea of buffing allies and support but also being durable, tanky, and strong.

Also what weapon should I use for level up in? I am thinking a hammer or great sword but i don't know.

I kind of like asura and charr. They are nice monstrous races.

Also what would be a good server for world pvp and some PvE content ?

Thanks all. I am happy to play this game again.

Server... I can't really help you there, however it really only matters for WvW.

Guardian is meta in all environments and it's capable of doing exactly what you want from it. However don't think that being tanky and durable in this game is similar to that of WoW. Your defense comes from your ability to time blocks and manage your evades first.. then buffs like protection/Regen and your heals. It may even feel fragile because of how the system is in WoW.

As for race, it doesn't really matter it's all aesthetics. If you want to command in WvW some day though you may want to choose a Norn or char since it's easier to see amongst a large blob of people - but even that is a very minor difference.

For leveling I found (personally) greatsword and sword focus the best. Greatsword has a leap, aoe pull, a strong symbol/whirl combo. Sword main hand has a teleport for getting to mobs faster, has good damage on its auto, and focus blocks 3 attacks before doing big damage when it explodes. Another good reason to use sword/x is in WvW if you want to roam, learning how to use your teleport to gain distance whether in retreating/engaging is very useful too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@"Angel.3916" said:So I finally did it. I uninstalled wow classic and wow retail. It was toxic and making me unhappy.

Now I am starting a guardian but not sure what race or server to play on.

I like the idea of buffing allies and support but also being durable, tanky, and strong.

Also what weapon should I use for level up in? I am thinking a hammer or great sword but i don't know.

I kind of like asura and charr. They are nice monstrous races.

Also what would be a good server for world pvp and some PvE content ?

Thanks all. I am happy to play this game again.

PVP and PVE builds are different.IF you want to tank/support Neither Hammer or GS are a good choice. You'll want mace/shield + Staff, or if you manage to get the Firebrand Specialization (needs to buy Path of Fire Expansion), you should go Axe/shield. Also, being a good high-tier support is rather impossible without being a Firebrand inside the Guardian profession.But the thing is, you'll only be useful in a group setting.

For open world PVE, my best advice is go GreatSword + Scepter/Torch or Scepter/Focus, get yourself exotic Berserker's gear. Healing Signet and Bane Signet are good for starting, Sword of Justice is a must, then grab another skill you find useful (Smite Conditions is a good one), finally, for your Elite (0 slot) grab "Feel My Wrath" it's a shout.For Traits go 223 on Zeal (so second tier 1 trait from the top, second tier 2, and third tier 3 trait), 233 on Radiance, and 111 on Virtues.This will give you pretty much one of the top tier PVE DPS builds in the game for cleaving targets (multiple enemies or gigantic bosses). And it's pretty much the best thing you can take for open world PVE.Do keep in mind, this is a farcry from being tanky or supporty. Guardian actually has the lowest health pool in the game along with thief and Ele, and this build is pretty much a glass cannon.

If you're still picking classes, you might want to go for Warrior.It has the highest Health pool, and you can both DPS and support without compromise (unlike guardian who needs to pick either or).Warriors have one skill type called banners, which are placed on the ground and pulse boons to up to 10 allies around the banner. This is a very requested build, and can be achieved with base warrior (although its usually best to take a Berserker elite).

Anyway... There's plenty of choice, and i'd advise you to mostly experiment at the start, you can freelly respec as long as you're out of combat. And exotic gear is easy to come by.

There's also a few good places to look for more info.The wiki.Snowcrows for end-game PVE builds (Fractals and Raids)Into the Mists and Meta Battle are good resources for PVP and WvW builds.

Also if you're on EU servers, you can try PMing me and i'll show you around.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

I'm researching builds best for leveling for my gaming buddy (who is a very busy person IRL) this pretty much covers what i need to know, but... We are just returning to GW2 after playing for release. I happen to have a stockpile of runes and sigils from my first go through this game . Which would be best for guardian using the advised build in this thread? I think he is using Sword and Torch as well as Sword and Shield and Axe and Shield as a third.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Angel.3916 and @Efaicia.3672

There is a section for Guardians on this forum.

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/forum/15-guardian/

As for Sword on both of your weapon bars (Main Hand weapon), it would not be a very good option as then you will have a cooldown on Sword skills that you have used when you swap weapon bar to the same weapon type. You will gain more options if you have Scepter on main hand as then when you change weapon bar you will still have a weapon without cooldown that isn't counting down. Same if you use two shields for off hand.

This again depends on how you play your character and if you use weapon swap to trigger "on swap" sigils. On swap sigils will also trigger when you change profession skills, so for Guardian, FireBrand and Dragonhunter which have three main profession skills you can trigger this kind of sigil by using one of your professsional skills and change to another F skill to trigger a on swap sigil (or traits that work when one use "on swap" weapon). All On Swap sigil have a 9 second cooldown, so you still need to time it right to be able to use those sigil effecient.

All three (core, FB and DH) make use of F1 passive to trigger burn damage (condition) even on Power builds (Strike damage is the name for direct damage source in this game). This happens after evey third attack (that is why Sword is a good weapon as it have a very fast attack chain to procs burn damage which again can be changed into a small AoE around target from trait or increase damage from Strike damage (10%)).

Aegis (boon) blocks direct hits, but need to be reapplied (passive from F3 and active skills) to block next attack. This make Guardians, FB and DH seem to take more damage then other profession, but you need to time it right and this in combination with condition removal from AoE skills like F2, active cleans from skills and fields.

Combo fields with light (on weapon often belong to "symbol" which can be traited to increase AoE range) that can be finished (skill that trigger combofields effect) can also cleans for group play or yourself (if you manage to stand in those AoEs fields yourself).

Here Focus (OH) is the better weapon as you can blast your own fields or others. Shield have a knock back (hard CC) and projectile denial field (with trait also Protection boon) and a heal.

As for getting most duration on fire condition it probably best to use Superior Rune of Balthazar as it adds 50% duration on Burn duration and 10% on health pool. The other option is going for max Quickness duration from Superior Rune of the Firebrand, but that is a more expensive Rune (around 1 G 20 silver and you need at least 6 pc or even 7 pc if you want underwater (Breather) to keep all bonus active even when you are under water).


Something that is often left out in these type of threads is if you have a mount or not. If you don't have mount then you can have a hard time to keep up with other players during meta events (like killing larger bosses on a map), in that case I would suggest to look into rune that give 25% movement speed until you have your mounts unlocked. Celestial attribute on your back piece, rings and assessories can be a good starting point and Berserker (power, precision and ferocity) for power build or Viper or Trailblazer (condition, vitality and expertise) [expertise adds condition duration]. If you sort Attribute combination linked down here after Major for Major damage type like Power or Condition Damage and pick the rest for minor attribute you should be able to see which combination that exist. Some of these can not be bought from TP, so you need to find what you can get from TP or craft when you have material to craft yourself.

If you have living world season (look for attribute linked down here and where to get rings, back piece and assessories), then you can save your Laurels and buy those from those maps with map currencies that you farm from those maps from NPCs in those maps. Later you can replace those items with better attributes for your build and use those for other characters, as Celestial have all attributes, but with lower numbers then a tri attribute or quad attribute item would have.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Attribute_combinations

Here you have all runes listed and you can filter by using buttons to see which that offer that combo you want.

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Rune

As for Sigil (that you put on weapon as an upgrade) I would recommend to at least have one weapon equipped with Sigil of Cleansing even when you have fields that can cleans condition as it will remove 3 condition every time you use a weapon swap or change between F1-F3 skills. This Sigil can not be bought on Black Lion TP, so you need to have a crafter (as it is account bound) in one of three weapon crafting disciplines (Huntman, Artifiser or Weaponsmith).

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Superior_Sigil_of_Cleansing

FYI in Februar we will have End of Dragon expansion going live, so it is possible that what people recommend as builds today will also change.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Efaicia.3672 said:

I'm researching builds best for leveling for my gaming buddy (who is a very busy person IRL) this pretty much covers what i need to know, but... We are just returning to GW2 after playing for release. I happen to have a stockpile of runes and sigils from my first go through this game . Which would be best for guardian using the advised build in this thread? I think he is using Sword and Torch as well as Sword and Shield and Axe and Shield as a third.

First of, for a Power Build the Sword goes best with Focus instead of Shield. For the main weapon, I advice a Greatsword for highest DPS. The Sigil of Force (main hand) and the Sigil of Impact (off-hand) are favorable in such a build.

Further informartion:

Non-Elite Spec Build for Power DPS: https://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Guardian_-_Basic_Guardian
Elite Spec Build for Power DPS: https://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Dragonhunter_-_Power_Greatsword

Non-Elite Spec Build for Conditions DPS: https://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Guardian_-_Core_Condition
Elite Spec Build for Condition DPS: https://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Firebrand_-_Condi_Firebrand

  • Confused 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guardian is a cool class to play as. Like others have said, world only matters for some pvp content, just make sure to pick the server (NA/EU) where your friends play.

I think that greatsword is the best leveling option for guardian, though scepter+torch is also very fun and gives you some much needed range. You can have two sets of weapons so just play around with the ones you like best.

As for race, I think that "chemistry" between class and race is important. I'm having a hard time imagining an asuran guardian, so charr probably works best. Though lore-wise, norn and human are the best choices for guardians.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...