NorthernRedStar.3054

There's vastly more OW content than instance-based. One of the strengths of GW2 is offering multiple options to multiple players, and they don't have to like each and every one of them. Hence, the "-- than I like" -part feels out of place, odd and even selfish. Which I'm sure you didn't intend for.

I do like some form of hip protection, but some (i.e. legendary medium armor) of it is vastly oversized and impractical-looking.

Bound-beefed Unload is good for soloing a lone boss from afar. Against mobs and ads, shortbow is always superior - on top of consuming less initiative which you can spend on staff to Vault / Weakening Charge. Aside from open world roaming, dual pistols aren't any good, though. Condi deadeye does use a mainhand pistol, though, and it's a good solo build. There are some workable wvw and pvp builds with a mainhand pistol as well, but they're all condition damage. If you want remarkable power damage from afar, use rifle. Even then, you need to be able to handle the kneel function and know your DPS rotation (which you can upkeep for a minute before it starts to fall off). It's usable in some raid encounters and SOME fractals, but daredevil is generally better due to not having to stand still for prolonged periods of time. Every time you're forced to unkneel and move, you're losing time, initiative and DPS.

You got plenty of CC in smokescale knockdown (SLB F1) / gazelle headbutt (F2) and Path of Scars + Hilt Balt. Stance share is also superior to any utility Untamed might provide currently. Untamed might see play in PvP for its boon corruption ability, if the meta remains any similar to what it is now.

Griffon is the flying Rollerbeetle, essentially. If you're a good rider, it's one of the fastest and best mounts.

On a side note, Countess Anise likes to refer to persons of interest as 'pets'. This strikes as a very god/goddess-esque habit to me.

A spec that reaps "great" rewards on its own versus a spec that _can_ reap "spectacular" rewards with the proper build-up and comp/strategy around it. I could be wrong, but the fundamental signs would point at Vindicator being the winner here. Of course, it does also depend on the final numbers.

Looks like Glossy Black, and perhaps Daybreak and Golden Lion dye.

A bag of flour and a cook book. You give 'em bells and the next thing you see they're queueing up for TACO BELL.

I wouldn't go celestial's on guardian. Either marauder or trailblazer, if you want that tankiness.

Combined it with toyshell infusion on my druid set. Looks effin' nice with appropriate gear setups.

I would not recommend an off-hand torch without the condition damage to support it (offensive playstyle, mind you). For a defensive, damage-over-time build using mace or sword, I'd imagine focus to be better. If you want to go for those sweet burn ticks as guardian, you have to invest in it. Otherwise, you're better off hitting at 'em with power blows. Guardian has decent autos on sword, and the 3rd chain attack hits fairly hard even without critting.

Looks like Guardian, and specifically Firebrand. Not a bad choice, the rotations and flexibility are very enjoyable in PvE. You gain access to DPS (power and condi), support (healer, might and quickness) and tanking abilities. Guardian's also a very solid choice for each section you mentioned: fractals, raids and general PvE.

Lot of variables you're not mentioning. Your experience could be affected by - Being in a high-level zone as a low-level character. - Having less-than-average gear, with no defensive bonuses to health or toughness. - Pulling in too many mobs at the same time while still learning the game. Also, it can very easy to miss stuff during world boss events if there are a lot of players sharing your foot space. Not every effect is marked by orange circles (i.e. Inquest Mark II Golem with its electrified floor tiles). Some of the scaled-up mobs hit very hard, too. But, alas, I'd need more information to provide better feedback.

Broken (design) does not equal overpowered. A very important distinction to make. Broken means the thing in question breaks pre-established in-game rules in regards to what's healthy for the game or generally perceived as "acceptable" - i.e. a healer heals, a dps deals damage, a tank tanks; but a character that does each of those can generally be viewed as (fundamentally) broken. Broken is something that cannot be fixed with numbers game. It's too strong by design, so things have to be broken down and shifted on a mechanical level. Simply being overpowered (and not broken) implies it can be balanced with numbers re-adjustment. TL;DR: Firebrand might be broken; but if you call it overpowered in the current PvP meta, you're misinformed.

It's no wonder, really, that the main door is so easy to break. Poor folks probably ran outta wood a long time ago, so they keep recycling the same planks.

1) Each player involved adds to the boss' hp AND breakbar. Very important, since some bosses contain mechanics related to breaking their breakbar that can end up in a wipe. I.e. Brewmaster Asef. 2) This doesn't matter if there are couples of dozens of players, if not (a) hundred(s). To quote a great player: monke may remain monkey, but monke STRONG together. Same applies to pugs; you go over a certain amount of players and most events become infallible. 3) Gear for full marauder's for the time. When you get better, go for the squishier variants: berserker's and viper's; sometimes diviner's and assassin's. You can mix rather freely, no one's gonna ask you for your gear in fractals.

You need to take Freezie down to 0% health before the heart spawns. Then you need to hit it with snowballs from piles that spawn around after killing the mobs that surround the area - note: don't waste time on the veterans, kill the squishy normal ones. After a period of time, Freezie's health resets and you need to repeat this DPS phase until you've managed to "heal" his heart up to 100% with the snowballs. Obviously, going in with public instance you have no guarantee your group will be able to maintain sufficient DPS at times, which can lead to his enrage timer going off. Still, I have yet to find a public squad I haven't been able to finish this with. Both condi and power builds work fine, but torment is - obviously - particularly effective here. If you can, you can go for condi quickness firebrand to help out your pug group. That's what I've been playing. Great DPS (~40k) with great utility.

Viper is ideal for trash mobs and instanced content. Trailblazer's is superior when soloing tougher content, because some guys (like Vemyen) will be killing you in a single hit, otherwise. Doesn't matter if you're able to dodge well - when you got a boss + 10 ads hitting at you, you're bound to get hit between evade frames at some point. Plus, it doesn't really aid you in maximizing your dps rotations if you have to be dodging every single attack.

Weekly. And not just once, by a single person, I hear.

Your warrior main is showing. No offense.

I mean, GW1 comparisons. Really.

You're pushing for far-reach examples and trying to derive the thread in a direction of your choosing. Ride that boat if it floats for you. Although I have to admit I knew I was wasting my time from the start.

You have never, ever, considered the ability to consistently re-sustain yourself back up a form of damage mitigation? Alrighty then. Also, I suppose dodge frames do not matter either. Plenty of irrelevancies to this topic. Very, very few specs can maintain an optimal DPS rotation at the same time. But, again, this is besides the topic. Is that why the act of tanking generally requires a form of sustain, either innate or outside interference? Which brings us back to point 1: consistent enough healing as a form of damage mitigation. If memory serves correct, in GW1 this would roughly include various on-hit effects and lifesteal.

Since you see fit to mention it; indeed, it does make all the difference in a bunch of encounters. So now it indeed is 1) good base defense and 2) good self-sustain. Scourge is the ultimate PvE easy mode. I doubt no one is arguing against that. Block spam, though; assuming you're referring to guardian? Not quite how it works, particularly after FB received some hefty nerfs.