Viable Guardian Build for Solo PvE

[Fade to Shadow.4579]

Hi guys. I've played GW2 from the release until HoT (2016). Now, in 2022 I'd like to come back and play the campaign so I can understand the lore bringing to the end of the saga. 

 

Can you suggest me a reliable PvE build? I've already unlocked Ascended Armor (the tank one) and Ascendend Weapons / Trinket (damage one). I was used to using the Greatsword.  Can it be okay or do I need to change my weapon? 

 

Thank you for the attention. 

[Santo.2419]

Hey, WB.

 

I've hardly played my guardian and don't main him. But since you have been gone this site may of came along.

 

It has 'open world' builds which is basically what you are after. Have a look and see what takes your fancy: 

Guardian - MetaBattle Guild Wars 2 Builds

 

Also 'Vallun' on youtube has some good builds for all classes. have a look on his channel and see if you can find his 'one build for all game modes' for Guardian.

 

Not expert advice, but somewhere to start.

 

[Fade to Shadow.4579]

On 9/5/2022 at 2:34 PM, Santo.2419 said:

Hey, WB.

 

I've hardly played my guardian and don't main him. But since you have been gone this site may of came along.

 

It has 'open world' builds which is basically what you are after. Have a look and see what takes your fancy: 

Guardian - MetaBattle Guild Wars 2 Builds

 

Also 'Vallun' on youtube has some good builds for all classes. have a look on his channel and see if you can find his 'one build for all game modes' for Guardian.

 

Not expert advice, but somewhere to start.

 

Thank you. At the moment I'm using Berserker's Armor and Berserker's Weapons  (Greatsword / Sword+Shield). As trinkets I wear stats like HP&Though. As Elite Trait I've used the Elite coming from Core Game and the DH.  As utility I use Heal, Bane Signet, Stand your Ground, Sword of Justice and Feel my Wrath. I've tryed to switch "Stand your Ground" and "Feel my Wrath" with "Procession of Blades" and "Dragon's Maw"

 

I don't think this kind of build is suitable for me, I do a lot of damage but I'm still a Glass Cannon. 

 

I'd like to play something that allows me to deal damage to 3-4 mobs at time; the ideal scenario would be aggro, let's say 4-5 mobs and then damage all of them at once. With the build I'm using i can focus just 1 enemy at time, kill it and then swap to another mob.

 

Using this kind of set 

[HnRkLnXqZ.1870]

Viable is a very difficult term. I can offer something that keeps you alive and helps you with exploring the maps. But that is not viable from the meta-perspective. 

3 hours ago, Fade to Shadow.4579 said:

At the moment I'm using Berserker's Armor and Berserker's Weapons  (Greatsword / Sword+Shield). As trinkets I wear stats like HP&Though.

Excellent, you already have gear. Instead of forcing you into new stuff, I will try to make you something that works with your equipment:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PWwAEx7lVwcYgMPWJO2PmtcA-zRQYRU/kgLjArqISV/mlBW2AA-e
(you can ignore the trinket/backpack stats, I've just picked something that meets your explanation)

This is the Top-Sustain variant. Your HP pool almost reaches 20k, which is a lot for a Guardian. The utilization of the Valor traitline allows massive heals from all non-trap skills, condition cleanses and AoE damage - more information at Combat Strategies. In addition you get more HP from every NPC you kill.

If you feel this is a bit of an overkill, you can switch the Vampiric Runes for Dragonhunter Runes for more damage. If you still notice the HP recovery exceeds your needs by far, you can try the build below. The average Guardian is fine with the damage-to-HP conversion of Litany of Wrath ONLY.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PWwAEx7lVwcYYMFWJO2T/tcA-zRQYRU/kgPjIkq9qqk5sMwyGA-e

This variant has almost the same HP as the Top-Sustain build above, but significantly lower recovery abilities. You cleanse conditions on weaponswap and gain your additional might passively via Empowering Might by dealing critical hits. To help you survive a little longer, you gain protection when activating your heal-skill, which reduces incoming damage by 33 %. The heal is still sustained. You can also dodge more often. Both the might-on-critical and the protection from heal are group-buffs, so you even have a little support with you.

Combat Strategies:
- after every battle, switch to Sword + Shield
Symbol of Blades is a great gap-closer to get to your enemies quickly, good to start an encounter. If you happen to be attacked by surprise, you can use your shield to block attacks and projectiles, heal up a little, knock your enemies back. In addition you have another block via Zealot's Defense + short-range projectiles.
- switch to Greatsword for fighting multiple enemies. Walk a little backwards (S) while using auto-attack to line up your enemies in front of you. Let your HP drop to 20 % before you cast your heal-skill. It will instantly heal up for a lot and keeps healing while you deal damage.
- if you need a lot of sustain, cast Whirling Wrath after your healing skill. The more NPCs are nearby, the more you heal up.
- you have gap-closers on both weapon-sets and via F2. In addition, Judge's Intervention is also a gap-closer. But it should be used when you are suffering enemy CC attacks as an emergency-button. It also heals you for ~ 2k.
- Litany of Wrath (heal), Judge's Intervention and Smite Condition deal area-damage. They are extremely powerful when you fight NPCs which spam conditions on you. Those skills can be used freely to increase your damage to multiple enemies.
- when you swap to GS, always use Symbol of Resolution before Whirling Wrath to maximize the damage-output. This also helps with Litany of Wrath (heal).

Other Tips:
- Your build lacks a ranged-weapon. I would carry an exotic scepter with you, with the same stats/upgrades as the 1h-sword. Copy/paste your equipment template but replace the sword with the scepter and keybind both equipment templates, so you can switch on demand.
- Shield of the Avenger has 3x casts, blocks projectiles in a dome around your target location. Five seconds each shield. It is very useful in Path of Fire territory, where you have to deal with plenty of ranged NPCs.
- What you slot in for the Elite Skill is up to you. I placed the trap as it deals good CC AoE. The Shout is also a decent option. 


I do not claim the meta to be trash. It is the best possible solution for every situation - if you are an expert with your class. If you are not an expert, you run into problems. Guardian is one of the most optimized classes in GW2 with very few useless skills and traits compared to others. If you follow a few guidelines you can get almost everything working, even the hammer. Not on a meta-level of efficiency, but decent enough to have fun playing the game.

[Fade to Shadow.4579]

19 minutes ago, HnRkLnXqZ.1870 said:

Viable is a very difficult term. I can offer something that keeps you alive and helps you with exploring the maps. But that is not viable from the meta-perspective. 

Excellent, you already have gear. Instead of forcing you into new stuff, I will try to make you something that works with your equipment:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PWwAEx7lVwcYgMPWJO2PmtcA-zRQYRU/kgLjArqISV/mlBW2AA-e
(you can ignore the trinket/backpack stats, I've just picked something that meets your explanation)

This is the Top-Sustain variant. Your HP pool almost reaches 20k, which is a lot for a Guardian. The utilization of the Valor traitline allows massive heals from all non-trap skills, condition cleanses and AoE damage - more information at Combat Strategies. In addition you get more HP from every NPC you kill.

If you feel this is a bit of an overkill, you can switch the Vampiric Runes for Dragonhunter Runes for more damage. If you still notice the HP recovery exceeds your needs by far, you can try the build below. The average Guardian is fine with the damage-to-HP conversion of Litany of Wrath ONLY.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PWwAEx7lVwcYYMFWJO2T/tcA-zRQYRU/kgPjIkq9qqk5sMwyGA-e

This variant has almost the same HP as the Top-Sustain build above, but significantly lower recovery abilities. You cleanse conditions on weaponswap and gain your additional might passively via Empowering Might by dealing critical hits. To help you survive a little longer, you gain protection when activating your heal-skill, which reduces incoming damage by 33 %. The heal is still sustained. You can also dodge more often. Both the might-on-critical and the protection from heal are group-buffs, so you even have a little support with you.

Combat Strategies:
- after every battle, switch to Sword + Shield
Symbol of Blades is a great gap-closer to get to your enemies quickly, good to start an encounter. If you happen to be attacked by surprise, you can use your shield to block attacks and projectiles, heal up a little, knock your enemies back. In addition you have another block via Zealot's Defense + short-range projectiles.
- switch to Greatsword for fighting multiple enemies. Walk a little backwards (S) while using auto-attack to line up your enemies in front of you. Let your HP drop to 20 % before you cast your heal-skill. It will instantly heal up for a lot and keeps healing while you deal damage.
- if you need a lot of sustain, cast Whirling Wrath after your healing skill. The more NPCs are nearby, the more you heal up.
- you have gap-closers on both weapon-sets and via F2. In addition, Judge's Intervention is also a gap-closer. But it should be used when you are suffering enemy CC attacks as an emergency-button. It also heals you for ~ 2k.
- Litany of Wrath (heal), Judge's Intervention and Smite Condition deal area-damage. They are extremely powerful when you fight NPCs which spam conditions on you. Those skills can be used freely to increase your damage to multiple enemies.
- when you swap to GS, always use Symbol of Resolution before Whirling Wrath to maximize the damage-output. This also helps with Litany of Wrath (heal).

Other Tips:
- Your build lacks a ranged-weapon. I would carry an exotic scepter with you, with the same stats/upgrades as the 1h-sword. Copy/paste your equipment template but replace the sword with the scepter and keybind both equipment templates, so you can switch on demand.
- Shield of the Avenger has 3x casts, blocks projectiles in a dome around your target location. Five seconds each shield. It is very useful in Path of Fire territory, where you have to deal with plenty of ranged NPCs.
- What you slot in for the Elite Skill is up to you. I placed the trap as it deals good CC AoE. The Shout is also a decent option. 


I do not claim the meta to be trash. It is the best possible solution for every situation - if you are an expert with your class. If you are not an expert, you run into problems. Guardian is one of the most optimized classes in GW2 with very few useless skills and traits compared to others. If you follow a few guidelines you can get almost everything working, even the hammer. Not on a meta-level of efficiency, but decent enough to have fun playing the game.

Wow this is a lot of stuff, thank you very much for sharing all this informations, apprechiate that. 

 

 

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

Personally I would recommend willbender.  A build that looks something like this.  I know you're thinking that it looks frail due to the berserkr gear and all that.  However, the build really isn't that frail at all.  Power willbender specifically has several "invulnerability" buttons built into it.  These let you obliterate enemies while either healing yourself immensely, or being shielded by aegis.  The off-hands are not set in stone.  I picked scepter + focus for variable engagement distances, however you can also run Sword + Sword for more melee dps.  The build works like this:

While walking around you camp scepter + focus.  When you see an enemy, you use the focus to shield yourself, activate Rushing justice, use ray of judgement  + symbol of punishment, then you switch to the greatsword and start ripping them a new one.  From there, it is ability spam more than anything else.  Now, if you encounter trouble with surviving, your three "invulnerability" buttons are Crashing Courage, Flowing Resolve, and Litany of Wrath.  Crashing Courage will give you a lot of Aegis, letting you block most attacks.  Flowing resolve will heal you immensely, letting you face tank most damage.  Litany of Wrath heals more than Flowing Resolve does, but for a shorter amount of time.  Using these buttons in sequence will let you survive just about anything.  Worst case scenario, switch back to the scepter and just run away.  

The weapon skills come pretty fast, and you'll want to use those before using the utilities.  The trait Restorative Virtues makes the weapon skills recharge very quickly.  You'll want them on cooldown as fast as possible, so given the choice between a weapon skill and utility skill, go with the weapon skill.

[Fade to Shadow.4579]

27 minutes ago, Blood Red Arachnid.2493 said:

Personally I would recommend willbender.  A build that looks something like this.  I know you're thinking that it looks frail due to the berserkr gear and all that.  However, the build really isn't that frail at all.  Power willbender specifically has several "invulnerability" buttons built into it.  These let you obliterate enemies while either healing yourself immensely, or being shielded by aegis.  The off-hands are not set in stone.  I picked scepter + focus for variable engagement distances, however you can also run Sword + Sword for more melee dps.  The build works like this:

While walking around you camp scepter + focus.  When you see an enemy, you use the focus to shield yourself, activate Rushing justice, use ray of judgement  + symbol of punishment, then you switch to the greatsword and start ripping them a new one.  From there, it is ability spam more than anything else.  Now, if you encounter trouble with surviving, your three "invulnerability" buttons are Crashing Courage, Flowing Resolve, and Litany of Wrath.  Crashing Courage will give you a lot of Aegis, letting you block most attacks.  Flowing resolve will heal you immensely, letting you face tank most damage.  Litany of Wrath heals more than Flowing Resolve does, but for a shorter amount of time.  Using these buttons in sequence will let you survive just about anything.  Worst case scenario, switch back to the scepter and just run away.  

The weapon skills come pretty fast, and you'll want to use those before using the utilities.  The trait Restorative Virtues makes the weapon skills recharge very quickly.  You'll want them on cooldown as fast as possible, so given the choice between a weapon skill and utility skill, go with the weapon skill.

I don't have EoD, only HoT and PoF. Thank you anyway.