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Arken's Discussion on Guardian Weaponry


Arken.3725

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Hello there fellow gurds, I'm here to talk about (and hopefully inform) those who can adjust the current skill-sets of each Guardian weapon. Here's a list of what we have and what I, personally find wrong with them.

Sword: AA is solid, .Symbol of Blades is also good. Zealot's Defense shouldn't root you in place. As a kit that requires you to be in your enemies face, widening the gap has zero sense attached to this.

Long bow: AA is too slow with below-average tracking. Trueshot hits like a wet-noodle. Deflecting Shot requires too much skill for the meager benefit it provides. Symbol of Energy's cast-time is too long with the idea of symbols(in a VERY mobile game) being near-useless, Hunter's Ward requiring the last proc to trap makes this skill too difficult to land.

Axe: AA is great. Symbols are a terrible concept but to me, It's the best one we got. Blazing Edge is phenomenal.

Greatsword: AA is a joke with a meager amount of might attached to the third hit. Whirling Wrath should have its projectiles removed and the damage merged with the physical aspect. leap of faith needs an evade. Symbol of Wrath sucks, like nearly all of them. Binding Blade is too slow and should be unblockable.

Mace: AA is still too slow even with the tiny buff it got. Symbol of Faith takes years to cast. Protector's Strike isn't bad but it's bugged to only work on every other proc.

Scepter: AA has TERRRRRRIBLE tracking(WHY is this still a thing after 6 years?). Symbol of Punishment is decent but again, the concept of symbols suck in a mobile-type MMO. Chains of light needs a slightly reduced CD.

Staff: AA is much better than before but still has REALLLLY bad tracking. Holy strike is solid. Symbol of Swiftness is okay but read my opinion on symbols above. Empower is solid. Line of Warding needs its hit-box expanded.

Focus: Both skills CD's are too long. Ray of Judgement is alright but too obvious and easy for even a below-average player to avoid(light below your enemies feet before it procs). Shield of Wrath is sorta Wrathy??

Torch: Both skills are terribad. Zealot's Fire has terrible tracking on the throw like many other Guardian Skills, Cleansing flame isn't worth using, AT ALL.

Shield: Shield of Judgement is fine. Shield of Absorption is fine but needs to block instead of destroy projectiles.

Hammer: This weapon is just terrible all-around, complete rework for me to even consider this in spvp.

Under Water WeaponryBOTH under water weapons have FAR better tracking than ANY of the Guardians land-based weaponry. WHYYYYYYY. I'm tired of my projectiles missing even though I'm within range, holy geez.

Also, this is strictly from an spvp and maybe even WvW PoV. Thank you.

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@Arken.3725 said:Sword: AA is solid, .Symbol of Blades is also good. Zealot's Defense shouldn't root you in place. As a kit that requires you to be in your enemies face, widening the gap has zero sense attached to this.Long bow: AA is too slow with below-average tracking. Trueshot hits like a wet-noodle. Deflecting Shot requires too much skill for the meager benefit it provides. Symbol of Energy's cast-time is too long with the idea of symbols(in a VERY mobile game) being near-useless, Hunter's Ward requiring the last proc to trap makes this skill too difficult to land.Greatsword: AA is a joke with a meager amount of might attached to the third hit. Whirling Wrath should have its projectiles removed and the damage merged with the physical aspect. leap of faith needs an evade. Symbol of Wrath sucks, like nearly all of them. Binding Blade is too slow and should be unblockable.Mace: AA is still too slow even with the tiny buff it got. Symbol of Faith takes years to cast. Protector's Strike isn't bad but it's bugged to only work on every other proc.Focus: Both skills CD's are too long. Ray of Judgement is alright but too obvious and easy for even a below-average player to avoid(light below your enemies feet before it procs). Shield of Wrath is sorta Wrathy??Shield: Shield of Judgement is fine. Shield of Absorption is fine but needs to block instead of destroy projectiles.Hammer: This weapon is just terrible all-around, complete rework for me to even consider this in spvp.

Yes. People over-glorify all the things that are wrong. Projectiles from greatsword is a dumb idea, it should just have a radius like the way arc divider works on berserker.

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Sword, I think it needs a slight damage buff in all game modes. Zealots defense, plus the self root, has issues with tracking.

LB, well, I gave up a long time ago. Way too slow to be effective in any context. And even when played right, damage is not there.

GS: merging the projectiles from GS2 would be good. I do not have issues with GS3 as a skill. I would love it’s base CD to be 10 secs to help mobility. I disagree regarding AA. Back in the day (before RI nerf), I played zeal/radiance/valor, 10k chains was real, with 4K 3rd hit. What we currently lack is stats to pull damage. Low HP is one. No swiftness or 25% movement speed is two. Most classes do not have to make such a trade off (if any at all).

GS5 needs something to hit more reliably.

Mace: I think the AA is now okay. The symbol is the problem. mace 3 also sucks. It is good that Anet is started moving mace to be more of a bruiser weapon, but it needs much more to be effective.

Scepter and staff AA, I really do not understand why Anet designed them so they cannot hit anything that moves. Scepter would be PvP viable if the AA can hit shit.

Focus, I dunno if it needs a buff. I think moving the trait that supports it from minor adept to minor master, in Valor, would be a huge improvement. This way it competes with the aura instead of smother boon.

Shield, I like the skills, but CD is long. A bit Lower CD could would go a long way.

Hammer, guardians worst weapon. Slow, sluggish and easy to outplay. Needs a rework, AGAIN.

As for symbols. Well.. they do not factor for much. I think the only effective symbol is GS cuz of the damage. But the amount of effort to get an enemy to eat the damage is monumental considering the output. All the other ones can be ignored, except the CC on axe if traited.

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I have a feeling this is comes from PvP perspective.

Symbols are a beast in pve and are unique and interesting skill type that makes the profession feel unique and provide much needed "class flavor". On top they do actually very good damage and provide boons

And also, just because this game has strong mobility, it doesnt mean that everything needs to be mobile or fast paced. Rooting isnt really a problem on sword #3 because of its locking system and range. What it need is increase in its precision or to put it bluntly its "cone" needs to be narrowed

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@"kasoki.5180" said:I have a feeling this is comes from PvP perspective.

Symbols are a beast in pve and are unique and interesting skill type that makes the profession feel unique and provide much needed "class flavor". On top they do actually very good damage and provide boons

And also, just because this game has strong mobility, it doesnt mean that everything needs to be mobile or fast paced. Rooting isnt really a problem on sword #3 because of its locking system and range. What it need is increase in its precision or to put it bluntly its "cone" needs to be narrowed

OP is typically top ten ranked guardian, so yes this is PvP directed. I do agree with you that symbols do not necessary need change. But guardian as a whole does. The current design does not work at all in PvP. RI was a bandaid. Now that it is gone, we need real solutions.

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The only reason why symbols work "decently" in spvp is because we fight over points. I guarantee you if it was a death match mode, they'd be near-useless. This game(especially pvp) is about constant mobility which is great! However, having skills which require you(AND your opponent) to stay in for lengthy periods of time is bad for design if you ask me.

Also, Core and even DH to a lesser extent have VERY few ways of keeping people in symbols. They both lack a good amount of cripples, chill and immobs to name a few.

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@"Arken.3725" said:The only reason why symbols work "decently" in spvp is because we fight over points. I guarantee you if it was a death match mode, they'd be near-useless. This game(especially pvp) is about constant mobility which is great! However, having skills which require you(AND your opponent) to stay in for lengthy periods of time is bad for design if you ask me.

Also, Core and even DH to a lesser extent have VERY few ways of keeping people in symbols. They both lack a good amount of cripples, chill and immobs to name a few.

Talking about mobility, almost all builds in PvP have access to either based increased movement speed and/or swiftness, with almost limited to no sacrifices. on top of other movement speed skills. I am not aware of any build on any class, except guardian dps, that use movement speed runes. Why is guardian excluded?

Just quick comparison of heavy armor classes, guardian is the least mobile, has the least ways to block or evade damage. Also, with the exception of FB playing axe with CC on symbol, guardian also has the least effective CC capability. And of course, lowest HP pool. Is all this balanced against guardian having higher heal capacity? Fuck no.

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@Arken.3725 said:Mobility is another issue I completely agree with @otto.5684. Also, @Lonewolf Kai.3682, try getting the #5 on torch off against a competent team in spvp....tell me how that goes.

Normally don’t have a problem with it. Like most similar skills that require time, ie hundred blades, you have to wait until your target is CC’d. That being said, I mostly just play WvW so take what I say with a grain of salt.

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@Lonewolf Kai.3682 said:

@Arken.3725 said:Mobility is another issue I completely agree with @otto.5684. Also, @Lonewolf Kai.3682, try getting the #5 on torch off against a competent team in spvp....tell me how that goes.

Normally don’t have a problem with it. Like most similar skills that require time, ie hundred blades, you have to wait until your target is CC’d. That being said, I mostly just play WvW so take what I say with a grain of salt.

I know WvW plays differently. SPvP it does not work. It has tracking issues and the odds of pulling the complete chain with interruption are pretty low.

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@otto.5684 said:

@Arken.3725 said:Mobility is another issue I completely agree with @otto.5684. Also, @Lonewolf Kai.3682, try getting the #5 on torch off against a competent team in spvp....tell me how that goes.

Normally don’t have a problem with it. Like most similar skills that require time, ie hundred blades, you have to wait until your target is CC’d. That being said, I mostly just play WvW so take what I say with a grain of salt.

I know WvW plays differently. SPvP it does not work. It has tracking issues and the odds of pulling the complete chain with interruption are pretty low.

Thats a good point. I normally only use it if the enemy isn’t paying attention or the focus is elsewhere. In WvW, Torch 5 is a beast.

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@Arken.3725 You have very valid complaints, but it's always good to at least suggest changes you would like to see (although I can see you clearly implied what changes are necessary). Do you have specific changes that you think would be beneficial for the class, but also reasonable given Anet's track record and vision for each weapon?

I too enjoy pvp (more wvw than pvp though) so I can weigh in here on some of the weapons:

Greatsword:

  • Expand the range of GS 2 slightly (make it 180 instead of 130), remove projectiles, and roll damage over to the whirling attack itself. This would already be balanced since the attack slows your movement speed meaning you can't chase very well with it.
  • GS 4 could receive a new animation that doeosn't involve immobilizing the caster at all, otherwise keep numbers the same
  • GS 5 projectile speed should be increased, and the pull should be 1/2s instead of 3/4s.

Mace:

  • For auto attack, just speed up the entire animation and decrease the damage and healing by a similar proportion. Might be more complicated than I'm making it sound, but it really should be faster.
  • Mace 2 should be a 1 s cast instead of 1.25s cast, and it should be centered/placed in front of you exactly like axe 2.
  • Mace 3 recently got a change, doubt we'll get one soon if ever again..... but I would change it so that fully channeling mace 3 without blocking an attack gives you aegis, and refreshes your f3 aegis timer (if your f3 passive is still up).

Scepter:

  • Scepter 3 should be a 12-15s cd.

Hammer:

  • Hammer 2 should have 420-450 range instead of 300
  • Hammer 3 & Hammer 4 should both have a 3/4s cast time
  • Hammer 5 should be able to be casted while mobile.

Focus:

  • Focus 5 should deal slightly less damage (10-20% nerf), but have its cooldown reduced to 25-30s.

Shield: I think shield is actually one of our best and most balanced weapons. I would argue the thing that needs changing is the trait... it should do something else other than just grant toughness since that's redundant. It could do something like apply an additional 2s of protection to allies-only for both shield skills.

Torch:

  • Torch 4 should be coded as a projectile rather than a ground-hugging shockwave.
  • Torch 5 should cleanse condis on self.

Longbow:

  • Reduce the range buffer on auto attack... seriously this thing strikes targets at like 1600 range. Also, just increase projectile speed.
  • Recent trueshot changes in wvw should be ported to pvp.
  • Knockback on LB 3 should be baseline (add something or change the trait to make it a competitive choice vs. Big Game Hunter).
  • Decrease cast time for LB 4 to 1/2 s, increase projectile speed slightly.
  • Decrease cast time for LB 5 to 2.25s to match Ranger's LB 5.
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@Arken.3725 said:Hello there fellow gurds, I'm here to talk about (and hopefully inform) those who can adjust the current skill-sets of each Guardian weapon. Here's a list of what we have and what I, personally find wrong with them.

Sword: AA is solid, .Symbol of Blades is also good. Zealot's Defense shouldn't root you in place. As a kit that requires you to be in your enemies face, widening the gap has zero sense attached to this.

Long bow: AA is too slow with below-average tracking. Trueshot hits like a wet-noodle. Deflecting Shot requires too much skill for the meager benefit it provides. Symbol of Energy's cast-time is too long with the idea of symbols(in a VERY mobile game) being near-useless, Hunter's Ward requiring the last proc to trap makes this skill too difficult to land.

Axe: AA is great. Symbols are a terrible concept but to me, It's the best one we got. Blazing Edge is phenomenal.

Greatsword: AA is a joke with a meager amount of might attached to the third hit. Whirling Wrath should have its projectiles removed and the damage merged with the physical aspect. leap of faith needs an evade. Symbol of Wrath sucks, like nearly all of them. Binding Blade is too slow and should be unblockable.

Mace: AA is still too slow even with the tiny buff it got. Symbol of Faith takes years to cast. Protector's Strike isn't bad but it's bugged to only work on every other proc.

Scepter: AA has TERRRRRRIBLE tracking(WHY is this still a thing after 6 years?). Symbol of Punishment is decent but again, the concept of symbols suck in a mobile-type MMO. Chains of light needs a slightly reduced CD.

Staff: AA is much better than before but still has REALLLLY bad tracking. Holy strike is solid. Symbol of Swiftness is okay but read my opinion on symbols above. Empower is solid. Line of Warding needs its hit-box expanded.

Focus: Both skills CD's are too long. Ray of Judgement is alright but too obvious and easy for even a below-average player to avoid(light below your enemies feet before it procs). Shield of Wrath is sorta Wrathy??

Torch: Both skills are terribad. Zealot's Fire has terrible tracking on the throw like many other Guardian Skills, Cleansing flame isn't worth using, AT ALL.

Shield: Shield of Judgement is fine. Shield of Absorption is fine but needs to block instead of destroy projectiles.

Hammer: This weapon is just terrible all-around, complete rework for me to even consider this in spvp.

Under Water WeaponryBOTH under water weapons have FAR better tracking than ANY of the Guardians land-based weaponry. WHYYYYYYY. I'm tired of my projectiles missing even though I'm within range, holy geez.

Also, this is strictly from an spvp and maybe even WvW PoV. Thank you.

Hey,I agree with few of stuff but I don't really agree at all that greatsword is terrible .it is pretty strong weapon.about focus 4 being dodged you can weapon stove to bait dodges using it .sword 3 root doesn't matter as it gives projectile block + heavy damage .mace aa still slow but it's supposed to be support weapon .may be they should nerf damage on mace and make it supportive .DH longbow if in good hand is really good except longbow 5 I don't really think DH longbow is that weak . (Edit:i forgot main thing that longbow 3 knockback is needed to traited which is not good . It should be baseline)

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I was excited when Anet said the hammer AA chain was going to be sped up... but I can't tell the difference, at all. Just give all 3 attacks the same activation time and adjust the damage so that DPS is about the same. Same for mace. Using either of those makes me feel constipated.

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@Arken.3725 said:Hello there fellow gurds, I'm here to talk about (and hopefully inform) those who can adjust the current skill-sets of each Guardian weapon. Here's a list of what we have and what I, personally find wrong with them.

Sword: AA is solid, .Symbol of Blades is also good. Zealot's Defense shouldn't root you in place. As a kit that requires you to be in your enemies face, widening the gap has zero sense attached to this.

Long bow: AA is too slow with below-average tracking. Trueshot hits like a wet-noodle. Deflecting Shot requires too much skill for the meager benefit it provides. Symbol of Energy's cast-time is too long with the idea of symbols(in a VERY mobile game) being near-useless, Hunter's Ward requiring the last proc to trap makes this skill too difficult to land.

Axe: AA is great. Symbols are a terrible concept but to me, It's the best one we got. Blazing Edge is phenomenal.

Greatsword: AA is a joke with a meager amount of might attached to the third hit. Whirling Wrath should have its projectiles removed and the damage merged with the physical aspect. leap of faith needs an evade. Symbol of Wrath sucks, like nearly all of them. Binding Blade is too slow and should be unblockable.

Mace: AA is still too slow even with the tiny buff it got. Symbol of Faith takes years to cast. Protector's Strike isn't bad but it's bugged to only work on every other proc.

Scepter: AA has TERRRRRRIBLE tracking(WHY is this still a thing after 6 years?). Symbol of Punishment is decent but again, the concept of symbols suck in a mobile-type MMO. Chains of light needs a slightly reduced CD.

Staff: AA is much better than before but still has REALLLLY bad tracking. Holy strike is solid. Symbol of Swiftness is okay but read my opinion on symbols above. Empower is solid. Line of Warding needs its hit-box expanded.

Focus: Both skills CD's are too long. Ray of Judgement is alright but too obvious and easy for even a below-average player to avoid(light below your enemies feet before it procs). Shield of Wrath is sorta Wrathy??

Torch: Both skills are terribad. Zealot's Fire has terrible tracking on the throw like many other Guardian Skills, Cleansing flame isn't worth using, AT ALL.

Shield: Shield of Judgement is fine. Shield of Absorption is fine but needs to block instead of destroy projectiles.

Hammer: This weapon is just terrible all-around, complete rework for me to even consider this in spvp.

Under Water WeaponryBOTH under water weapons have FAR better tracking than ANY of the Guardians land-based weaponry. WHYYYYYYY. I'm tired of my projectiles missing even though I'm within range, holy geez.

Also, this is strictly from an spvp and maybe even WvW PoV. Thank you.

@Arken.3725 said:Hello there fellow gurds, I'm here to talk about (and hopefully inform) those who can adjust the current skill-sets of each Guardian weapon. Here's a list of what we have and what I, personally find wrong with them.

Sword: AA is solid, .Symbol of Blades is also good. Zealot's Defense shouldn't root you in place. As a kit that requires you to be in your enemies face, widening the gap has zero sense attached to this.

Long bow: AA is too slow with below-average tracking. Trueshot hits like a wet-noodle. Deflecting Shot requires too much skill for the meager benefit it provides. Symbol of Energy's cast-time is too long with the idea of symbols(in a VERY mobile game) being near-useless, Hunter's Ward requiring the last proc to trap makes this skill too difficult to land.

Axe: AA is great. Symbols are a terrible concept but to me, It's the best one we got. Blazing Edge is phenomenal.

Greatsword: AA is a joke with a meager amount of might attached to the third hit. Whirling Wrath should have its projectiles removed and the damage merged with the physical aspect. leap of faith needs an evade. Symbol of Wrath sucks, like nearly all of them. Binding Blade is too slow and should be unblockable.

Mace: AA is still too slow even with the tiny buff it got. Symbol of Faith takes years to cast. Protector's Strike isn't bad but it's bugged to only work on every other proc.

Scepter: AA has TERRRRRRIBLE tracking(WHY is this still a thing after 6 years?). Symbol of Punishment is decent but again, the concept of symbols suck in a mobile-type MMO. Chains of light needs a slightly reduced CD.

Staff: AA is much better than before but still has REALLLLY bad tracking. Holy strike is solid. Symbol of Swiftness is okay but read my opinion on symbols above. Empower is solid. Line of Warding needs its hit-box expanded.

Focus: Both skills CD's are too long. Ray of Judgement is alright but too obvious and easy for even a below-average player to avoid(light below your enemies feet before it procs). Shield of Wrath is sorta Wrathy??

Torch: Both skills are terribad. Zealot's Fire has terrible tracking on the throw like many other Guardian Skills, Cleansing flame isn't worth using, AT ALL.

Shield: Shield of Judgement is fine. Shield of Absorption is fine but needs to block instead of destroy projectiles.

Hammer: This weapon is just terrible all-around, complete rework for me to even consider this in spvp.

Under Water WeaponryBOTH under water weapons have FAR better tracking than ANY of the Guardians land-based weaponry. WHYYYYYYY. I'm tired of my projectiles missing even though I'm within range, holy geez.

Also, this is strictly from an spvp and maybe even WvW PoV. Thank you.

The weapons that need change are LB3/LB2. Buffing one of it is enough. I would choose to buff LB3 making knockback as baseline.Second weapon is Scepter AA. I don't know what the fuck is this. I would love it to be changed to a channeling skills like our downed skill 1. But the longer it cast, the higher the damage.Third is the mace, only Mace2 need to improve its casting.

Not sure why u complain about Torch. Its skill 4 is one of the strongest for single target, while skill 5 is good for stacking mods and it is even stronger with correct trait line.Focus I think is ok, no change needed. The only thing that makes me frustrated is that I have to FACE the enemy to use it. WHAT!?Staff AA is fine, nobody uses AA anyway.

Hammer, forgotten weapons. Never really sees anyone use it on pve. A rare occasion on pvp though.

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@Emferno.5219 said:

@Arken.3725 said:Hello there fellow gurds, I'm here to talk about (and hopefully inform) those who can adjust the current skill-sets of each Guardian weapon. Here's a list of what we have and what I, personally find wrong with them.

Sword
: AA is solid, .Symbol of Blades is also good. Zealot's Defense shouldn't root you in place. As a kit that requires you to be in your enemies face, widening the gap has zero sense attached to this.

Long bow
: AA is too slow with below-average tracking. Trueshot hits like a wet-noodle. Deflecting Shot requires too much skill for the meager benefit it provides. Symbol of Energy's cast-time is too long with the idea of symbols(in a VERY mobile game) being near-useless, Hunter's Ward requiring the last proc to trap makes this skill too difficult to land.

Axe
: AA is great. Symbols are a terrible concept but to me, It's the best one we got. Blazing Edge is phenomenal.

Greatsword
: AA is a joke with a meager amount of might attached to the third hit. Whirling Wrath should have its projectiles removed and the damage merged with the physical aspect. leap of faith needs an evade. Symbol of Wrath sucks, like nearly all of them. Binding Blade is too slow and should be unblockable.

Mace
: AA is still too slow even with the tiny buff it got. Symbol of Faith takes years to cast. Protector's Strike isn't bad but it's bugged to only work on every other proc.

Scepter
: AA has TERRRRRRIBLE tracking(WHY is this still a thing after 6 years?). Symbol of Punishment is decent but again, the concept of symbols suck in a mobile-type MMO. Chains of light needs a slightly reduced CD.

Staff
: AA is much better than before but still has REALLLLY bad tracking. Holy strike is solid. Symbol of Swiftness is okay but read my opinion on symbols above. Empower is solid. Line of Warding needs its hit-box expanded.

Focus
: Both skills CD's are too long. Ray of Judgement is alright but too obvious and easy for even a below-average player to avoid(light below your enemies feet before it procs). Shield of Wrath is sorta Wrathy??

Torch
: Both skills are terribad. Zealot's Fire has terrible tracking on the throw like many other Guardian Skills, Cleansing flame isn't worth using, AT ALL.

Shield
: Shield of Judgement is fine. Shield of Absorption is fine but needs to block instead of destroy projectiles.

Hammer
: This weapon is just terrible all-around, complete rework for me to even consider this in spvp.

Under Water WeaponryBOTH under water weapons have FAR better tracking than ANY of the Guardians land-based weaponry. WHYYYYYYY. I'm tired of my projectiles missing even though I'm within range, holy geez.

Also, this is strictly from an spvp and maybe even WvW PoV. Thank you.

Hey,I agree with few of stuff but I don't really agree at all that greatsword is terrible .it is pretty strong weapon.about focus 4 being dodged you can weapon stove to bait dodges using it .sword 3 root doesn't matter as it gives projectile block + heavy damage .mace aa still slow but it's supposed to be support weapon .may be they should nerf damage on mace and make it supportive .DH longbow if in good hand is really good except longbow 5 I don't really think DH longbow is that weak . (Edit:i forgot main thing that longbow 3 knockback is needed to trained which is not good . It should be baseline)

Yeah man, I never understand the point of buffing mace damage. If i was to use a mace, I am going to support build. The fact is that we need to reach the 3rd strike of AA for the constant healing. Therefore, shorter chain is important. Same goes to mace2.

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@HawkXtream.1538 said:

@Arken.3725 said:Hello there fellow gurds, I'm here to talk about (and hopefully inform) those who can adjust the current skill-sets of each Guardian weapon. Here's a list of what we have and what I, personally find wrong with them.

Sword
: AA is solid, .Symbol of Blades is also good. Zealot's Defense shouldn't root you in place. As a kit that requires you to be in your enemies face, widening the gap has zero sense attached to this.

Long bow
: AA is too slow with below-average tracking. Trueshot hits like a wet-noodle. Deflecting Shot requires too much skill for the meager benefit it provides. Symbol of Energy's cast-time is too long with the idea of symbols(in a VERY mobile game) being near-useless, Hunter's Ward requiring the last proc to trap makes this skill too difficult to land.

Axe
: AA is great. Symbols are a terrible concept but to me, It's the best one we got. Blazing Edge is phenomenal.

Greatsword
: AA is a joke with a meager amount of might attached to the third hit. Whirling Wrath should have its projectiles removed and the damage merged with the physical aspect. leap of faith needs an evade. Symbol of Wrath sucks, like nearly all of them. Binding Blade is too slow and should be unblockable.

Mace
: AA is still too slow even with the tiny buff it got. Symbol of Faith takes years to cast. Protector's Strike isn't bad but it's bugged to only work on every other proc.

Scepter
: AA has TERRRRRRIBLE tracking(WHY is this still a thing after 6 years?). Symbol of Punishment is decent but again, the concept of symbols suck in a mobile-type MMO. Chains of light needs a slightly reduced CD.

Staff
: AA is much better than before but still has REALLLLY bad tracking. Holy strike is solid. Symbol of Swiftness is okay but read my opinion on symbols above. Empower is solid. Line of Warding needs its hit-box expanded.

Focus
: Both skills CD's are too long. Ray of Judgement is alright but too obvious and easy for even a below-average player to avoid(light below your enemies feet before it procs). Shield of Wrath is sorta Wrathy??

Torch
: Both skills are terribad. Zealot's Fire has terrible tracking on the throw like many other Guardian Skills, Cleansing flame isn't worth using, AT ALL.

Shield
: Shield of Judgement is fine. Shield of Absorption is fine but needs to block instead of destroy projectiles.

Hammer
: This weapon is just terrible all-around, complete rework for me to even consider this in spvp.

Under Water WeaponryBOTH under water weapons have FAR better tracking than ANY of the Guardians land-based weaponry. WHYYYYYYY. I'm tired of my projectiles missing even though I'm within range, holy geez.

Also, this is strictly from an spvp and maybe even WvW PoV. Thank you.

Hey,I agree with few of stuff but I don't really agree at all that greatsword is terrible .it is pretty strong weapon.about focus 4 being dodged you can weapon stove to bait dodges using it .sword 3 root doesn't matter as it gives projectile block + heavy damage .mace aa still slow but it's supposed to be support weapon .may be they should nerf damage on mace and make it supportive .DH longbow if in good hand is really good except longbow 5 I don't really think DH longbow is that weak . (Edit:i forgot main thing that longbow 3 knockback is needed to trained which is not good . It should be baseline)

Yeah man, I never understand the point of buffing mace damage. If i was to use a mace, I am going to support build. The fact is that we need to reach the 3rd strike of AA for the constant healing. Therefore, shorter chain is important. Same goes to mace2.

For mace, it is more now a damage weapon, with some sustainability attached. The AA does decent damage and symbol is the highest damaging symbol after GS. Honesty, if they remove the heal completely in favor of higher damage/faster AA chain that would be much better. No one uses the weapon for healing anyway. Same goes for symbol.

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So for Symbols, would something like this possibly help make them more useful overall:

Currently, Symbols do 20% of its total damage every second for 5s for most of the symbols (Think only Symbol of Protection from hammer is the odd one out there).

What if an initial burst of damage did about 60% of a Symbol's damage, and the remaining 40% was split over the 5s duration. No change in total damage output but rather front-loading it to make symbol damage more reliable. The damage from the pulsing effect of the Symbol would become secondary, instead focusing more on Support.

Another idea is to rework Symbols entirely in terms of function:

  • Rather than being ground-targeted AoEs, Symbols will now target either the Guardian themselves or the target of their skill.
  • Symbols are now mobile light fields that pulse Damage and other effects around the target and moves with them.
  • Support-focused Symbols such as Symbol of Swiftness, Symbol of Faith or Symbol of Energy are centered on the Guardian.
  • Offense-focused Symbols such as Symbol of Punishment, Symbol of Wrath or Symbol of Vengeance are centered on 1 target enemy.
  • All Symbols still pulse Damage around them, but Offense-focused Symbols no longer pulse Boons to allies but rather Conditions to enemies (or bonus damage).
  • Duration, Damage or Activation Times might have to be looked regarding offense-focused Symbols in this concepts, given that they'd stick to an enemy and pulse constant damage to them and nearby allies.
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@TheSwede.9512 said:So for Symbols, would something like this possibly help make them more useful overall:

Currently, Symbols do 20% of its total damage every second for 5s for most of the symbols (Think only Symbol of Protection from hammer is the odd one out there).

What if an initial burst of damage did about 60% of a Symbol's damage, and the remaining 40% was split over the 5s duration. No change in total damage output but rather front-loading it to make symbol damage more reliable. The damage from the pulsing effect of the Symbol would become secondary, instead focusing more on Support.

Another idea is to rework Symbols entirely in terms of function:

  • Rather than being ground-targeted AoEs, Symbols will now target either the Guardian themselves or the target of their skill.
  • Symbols are now mobile light fields that pulse Damage and other effects around the target and moves with them.
  • Support-focused Symbols such as Symbol of Swiftness, Symbol of Faith or Symbol of Energy are centered on the Guardian.
  • Offense-focused Symbols such as Symbol of Punishment, Symbol of Wrath or Symbol of Vengeance are centered on 1 target enemy.
  • All Symbols still pulse Damage around them, but Offense-focused Symbols no longer pulse Boons to allies but rather Conditions to enemies (or bonus damage).
  • Duration, Damage or Activation Times might have to be looked regarding offense-focused Symbols in this concepts, given that they'd stick to an enemy and pulse constant damage to them and nearby allies.

Any of this would be potentially really interesting on changing how the Guardians would interact with their Symbols . I'm not sure they would do it but Symbols seem to have been originally from a design/concept point of view appear to have been designed to be a large part of the Guardian play style but as they are presently there is very little usefulness or play/counter play to them something like this or possible something where the Symbol is modified from possible a trait so that their functionality is greater when the Symbol is placed in the area that a Consecration Utility has also been cast in(varying how it modifies the Symbol depending on which type of Consecration the Symbol placed in. Purging Flames could improve overall offensive output, Sanctuary could improve healing, Reflection : possibly defensive, and Consecrated Ground: strong cleansing or limited immunity to Conditions)Example of flawed functionality is Symbolic Avenger trait which as it stands your highly unlikely to be able to take advantage of the damage bonus from this against an active player in a PvP or WvW environment (only if they are really inattentive) it is only really helpful against a immobile Boss , this could easily fixed by allowing the bonus to be applied if the Guardian themselves were standing in the Symbol as well instead of only when the target is in the Symbol.

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