This. This right here. This is the one.

[Dirame.8521]

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PWwAc6JlRw6YgsQmJeMXfPNA-zZxsQaMCisAyMFUYA

The idea of the way to play this PVP build has got me tingling all over. I am so excited at how difficult and fun it's going to be to pull off.

Okay here is the theory; Glacial Heart and Stoic Demeanor activate on ALL CC regardless of weapon choice so let's combine them with burning and a nice chain combo to really amp up their effectiveness.

So what's the skill chain combo?Judges Intervention + Purging Flames at the same time -> Shield of Absorption to knock them out of purging -> Blazing Edge to pull them in -> Switch Weapons + Ring of Warding + Restoring Reprieve to activate Shocking aura -> Glacial Blow -> auto attack -> Banish when the ring of warding is about to end -> Zealot’s Embrace -> Another Glacial Blow maybe and switch weapons and use CDs as they come up.

If you've been paying attention you will notice how many times I would have procced Stoic Demeanor and Glacial heart (6 if you land all your skills and many more if they kept walking into Ring of Warding) whilst also stacking lots of burns!

It works so mathematically well in my brain but I just want to get it right one time.... ?

The build above is the balanced build using Valor. I call it the "sensible build". Sensible to me anyway.... but if you want to be craay cray then you can replace Valor with Zeal or Radiance.

Going Zeal: 3-3-3 or 1-1-3 or 2-3-3Radiance: 1-2-1

The rune of air can also be replaced with Balthazar. The Rune of Air is thrown in as a bit of random to throw your enemies combo off if they are going to hit you while you are attacking them. It works well with Mantra heal.

[Yasai.3549]

Stability.

[Dirame.8521]

@Yasai.3549 said:Unless this is for PvE then....Yu know Glacial Heart doesn't crit right?

Oh sir, Glacial heart is not used for the damage. It's used for the CHILL.Have you ever been hit by chill and slow at the same time? Its very annoying.

Stability.

Tome of Courage active. And Tome of Courage skill 5. I was also thinking I could use Elite Mantra for that too.

[Yasai.3549]

@Dirame.8521 said:Tome of Courage active. And Tome of Courage skill 5. I was also thinking I could use Elite Mantra for that too.

I mean yur entire setup is literally countered by Stability.Guardian doesn't inherently rip boons on their own, and relying on others to do it for yu is a dream.

[Dirame.8521]

@Yasai.3549 said:

@Dirame.8521 said:Tome of Courage active. And Tome of Courage skill 5. I was also thinking I could use Elite Mantra for that too.

I mean yur entire setup is literally countered by Stability.Guardian doesn't inherently rip boons on their own, and relying on others to do it for yu is a dream.

All builds have counters but That's never stopped anyone.

If a player wants to be good, they need to know WHEN to use their combos. Stability notwithstanding.

[Tharan.9085]

That build wouldn't work against anyone with a brain

[Dirame.8521]

@Tharan.9085 said:That build wouldn't work against anyone with a brain

So.... what you're saying is.... it will work then. =)

[ollbirtan.2915]

Sorry to say, but your build is an inferior version of Sagebrand that used to be meta sometime before Feb patch. You ran FB 1-1-1 or 3, and swapped Valor for Honor 3-2-2. Glacial heart, on top of chill, is also an unblockable that added to your PW procs. You would also run Mantra of Truth for extra cover condis and blinds / immob. But now that Honor line is dead, and Mantras are useless Sagebrand, or any kind of Fbrand is just a meme build for funzies in unranked.

[Dirame.8521]

@ollbirtan.2915 said:Sorry to say, but your build is an inferior version of Sagebrand that used to be meta sometime before Feb patch.

I realize what Sagebrand was. Because I wanted to do some research on builds similar to see how to improve it.

This being Inferior though? That is your humble opinion. Unless you have tried the build for 10 days straight and can list all its weaknesses and also what it is good against. In which case I am all ears.

or any kind of Fbrand is just a meme build for funzies in unranked.

Also, your opinion. Or a general community consensus which doesn't equate to truth.

[Xaylin.1860]

@Dirame.8521 said:The idea of the way to play this PVP build has got me tingling all over. I am so excited at how difficult and fun it's going to be to pull off.

The best time I ever had in PvP was back when Interrupt Mesmer was playable. I really can feel the vibe. I've actually been toying around with more CC-heavy builds on my Guardian in open world PvE. Not that it mattered there... but it is a relaxed way of getting a feeling for it. I really love the CC component of Glacial Heard even without Hammer (e.g. Longbow). So don't let yourself be demotivated just because it's probably not going to become meta. =) People are right, though. Stability is a huge issue. It's part of why I stopped playing Interrupt Mesmer.

Some thoughts on your build:

• Do you really need Quickness from Stalwart Defender? If you had one more Mantra instead of Purging Flames you could go for Weighty Terms for even more soft CC. This would also let you pick a different trait on the Virtues Adept tier.
• Do you really need Merciful Ambush? If you stick with Purging Flames and Consecrations, Sanctury could be more interesting because it's another Ward.
• Does Permeating Wrath pay off? Since F1 is part of your rotation, it's probably on cooldown most of the time. It might offer some flexibility when facing an opponent with a lot of Stability, but it doesn't really fit your build.
• In case you're playing without Valor, maybe Rune of the Flock is an option to get some heals/health back? Not sure wether the proc is the same in PvP as it is in PvE. The wiki doesn't tell.

[Dirame.8521]

Thank you so much for the constructive criticism. I really do appreciate.

@"Xaylin.1860" said:The best time I ever had in PvP was back when Interrupt Mesmer was playable. I really can feel the vibe. I've actually been toying around with more CC-heavy builds on my Guardian in open world PvE. Not that it mattered there... but it is a relaxed way of getting a feeling for it. I really love the CC component of Glacial Heard even without Hammer (e.g. Longbow). So don't let yourself be demotivated just because it's probably not going to become meta. =) People are right, though. Stability is a huge issue. It's part of why I stopped playing Interrupt Mesmer.

I loved interrupt mesmer for a long time as well. I wouldn't know what to specc now though as I haven't played it in a while but in my old build, I had boon stripping & stealing because stab was an issue.

Some thoughts on your build:

• Do you really need Quickness from Stalwart Defender? If you had one more Mantra instead of Purging Flames you could go for Weighty Terms for even more soft CC. This would also let you pick a different trait on the Virtues Adept tier.

Because the soft CC from Weighty happens right around you, I am not a fan of it. And since I have to waste two activations in order to make it work on command, I don't feel it is a good choice. Stalwart on the other hand allows for quicker attacks with the hammer which is what hammer needs to be truly painful.

• Do you really need Merciful Ambush? If you stick with Purging Flames and Consecrations, Sanctury could be more interesting because it's another Ward.

I thought of that. I would say it's an option worth considering but Merciful is technically a heal skill that doesn't take up a heal slot. It supplements the mantra heal keeping you alive and works great in team fights. More allies, more heals.

• Does Permeating Wrath pay off? Since F1 is part of your rotation, it's probably on cooldown most of the time. It might offer some flexibility when facing an opponent with a lot of Stability, but it doesn't really fit your build.

Oh that rotation was dream-state rotation ?. I wasn't thinking straight. That being said though I would be willing to sacrifice F1 if it would give my team the edge in a fight. So you also see that rotation as the "no risk no reward" roation. Haha.

What I would really do now that I have had time to think about it is; Activate Purging Flames and Judges Intervention mid-cast into the target. Shield of Absorption to knock them out of the Purging and then Blazing Edge to pull them back in, switch weapons whilst that is casting and use ring of warding. Activate my heal mantra to activate shocking aura and aegis (this because by now the player will do anything to attack you and make you back off if they haven't already) then Glacial Blow into autoattack and as soon as ring of warding is about to run out, banish, Zealot's Embrace, Tome of Justice or switch weapons to Light em up some more.

If I was to hit multiple targets with that rotation then the proccs from the F1 would be great.

• In case you're playing without Valor, maybe Rune of the Flock is an option to get some heals/health back? Not sure wether the proc is the same in PvP as it is in PvE. The wiki doesn't tell.

I have thought of that also. I picked Rune of Air because of the defensive nature. It also makes mantra heal quite a good choice. Especially with smiting condition trait and Monk's Focus.I was also thinking of using Rune of the sunless since it has a shorter cooldown but the fact that shocking aura lasts for 4s and stuns for 1s is too good to pass up.

[Xaylin.1860]

@Dirame.8521 said:Because the soft CC from Weighty happens right around you, I am not a fan of it. And since I have to waste two activations in order to make it work on command, I don't feel it is a good choice. Stalwart on the other hand allows for quicker attacks with the hammer which is what hammer needs to be truly painful.

That's true for sure. I just don't like how unreliable it is in a prolonged fight. It might be on CD when I need it because it can be triggered by so many sources. Fair point on the CC around you. Even though this could be an advantage against some classes.

@Dirame.8521 said:I thought of that. I would say it's an option worth considering but Merciful is technically a heal skill that doesn't take up a heal slot. It supplements the mantra heal keeping you alive and works great in team fights. More allies, more heals.

MA certainly is a better heal. Sanctury still heals though plus negates projectiles.

I also find it amusing how many people overlook it because the animation is quite subtle or mistake it for something else.

@Dirame.8521 said:Oh that rotation was dream-state rotation ?. I wasn't thinking straight. That being said though I would be willing to sacrifice F1 if it would give my team the edge in a [...[...]If I was to hit multiple targets with that rotation then the proccs from the F1 would be great.

Even if all those hits connected, what's an realistic assumption for PvP? Unless you're fighting a Mesmer, you're most likely only facing two enemies at a time. I love Permeating Wrath for PvE and WvW but I never found it too appealing for PvP due to this reason. Weighty Terms would always trigger Stoic Demeanor in close combat. There is no point to it, though, in case you don't intend to ever use up your charges, of course.

@Dirame.8521 said:I was also thinking of using Rune of the sunless since it has a shorter cooldown but the fact that shocking aura lasts for 4s and stuns for 1s is too good to pass up.

That's true. I also like Rune of the Revenant. :3

[Dirame.8521]

@Xaylin.1860 said:That's true for sure. I just don't like how unreliable it is in a prolonged fight. It might be on CD when I need it because it can be triggered by so many sources. Fair point on the CC around you. Even though this could be an advantage against some classes.

You just made me realise that cool down. I will use Liberators Vow, letting go of the daze. It will make the quickness more on-call.

MA certainly is a better heal. Sanctury still heals though plus negates projectiles.I also find it amusing how many people overlook it because the animation is quite subtle or mistake it for something else.

Yea, Sanc definitely has an annoyance potential that I really like so I might just use it over Merciful....... but its just that huge healing that Merciful has that gets me. -sigh- In any case, “CC is king” is the number one rule PvP.

Even if all those hits connected, what's an realistic assumption for PvP? Unless you're fighting a Mesmer, you're most likely only facing two enemies at a time. I love Permeating Wrath for PvE and WvW but I never found it too appealing for PvP due to this reason. Weighty Terms would always trigger Stoic Demeanor in close combat. There is no point to it, though, in case you don't intend to ever use up your charges, of course.

At least the first 4 strings in the combo have a 80% chance of landing especially if you’re stepping into a team fight (I have done crazier strings before, my burst core guard build literally requires Airplane-level flight checks before I unleash it, haha). Landing the Pokeball (Ring Of Warding, this is part of the combo when players usually wake up) will be the hardest part but if you come into a team fight after the first 15s or thereabouts, you increase your chances of landing your skills.

That's true. I also like Rune of the Revenant. :3

Definitely useful against condi.

[Xaylin.1860]

@Dirame.8521 said:

@Xaylin.1860 said:That's true for sure. I just don't like how unreliable it is in a prolonged fight. It might be on CD when I need it because it can be triggered by so many sources. Fair point on the CC around you. Even though this could be an advantage against some classes.

You just made me realise that cool down. I will use Liberators Vow, letting go of the daze. It will make the quickness more on-call.

How dare you get rid of your Daze-Symbol?! But that makes Weighty Terms even more attractive. :p

[Dirame.8521]

@Xaylin.1860 said:

@Dirame.8521 said:

@Xaylin.1860 said:That's true for sure. I just don't like how unreliable it is in a prolonged fight. It might be on CD when I need it because it can be triggered by so many sources. Fair point on the CC around you. Even though this could be an advantage against some classes.

You just made me realise that cool down. I will use Liberators Vow, letting go of the daze. It will make the quickness more on-call.

How dare you get rid of your Daze-Symbol?! But that makes Weighty Terms even more attractive. :p

Forget my high-skill combo-heavy build, I am going to give the people what they want! A brain-dead build!

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PWwAc6JlRwAZIsPmJO+WfvcA-zZxsQaMCisAyMFUYAA friend of mine always warned me that my builds were too crazy. No one can play them except me. So I decided to merge Sagebrand with the DH burn build idea for this masterpiece with very simple combos.

Example: Cast Ring Of Warding then use judges before it activates then Use Sword of Justice whilst your enemy can’t get out of the ring. Walk away as they get downed in an explosion of fire and bleed.

Still love my original build though.

[ollbirtan.2915]

I'm not even sure whether you are trolling at this point. Please, do yourself a favour, get off your high horse and show us how you play this build successfully. I'm especially curious in landing those oh so fast hammer skills.... Can't wait for the video!

[Dirame.8521]

@"ollbirtan.2915" said:I'm not even sure whether you are trolling at this point. Please, do yourself a favour, get off your high horse and show us how you play this build successfully. I'm especially curious in landing those oh so fast hammer skills.... Can't wait for the video!

Haha, I am sorry that I have sounded like I am on a high horse. Didn't mean to.To your request, if I could have recorded a vid, I would have done so already. But alas, i can't. That said though, the principle behind the combo is the same as the trap DH with test of faith. You knock them out of purging flames and pull them back in. It's actually not very original now that I realize it.

Also I have been making builds for a long time. Even if I could show a video of me doing something that everyone else thought impossible people would still say "pff, the people you were fighting were just newbs". I can never win unless I am a well-known streamer.