Just got the game today made a Warrior and Guardian any advice for guides and builds and such please? Ton of stuff seems outdated or super hard to play/not explained well.

[Quickpawmaud.6374]

I plan to level the Warrior normally but I boosted the Guardian. I got super worried about Warrior though after reading some posts on the forums here. Warrior mains seem to be big mad right now. I would like to have a 3rd character to use my second boost on as well. Not really sure what to pick. I like Hunter in WoW and Ranger in DnD so Ranger seemed cool but I don't really like the sounds of any of the elite specs tbh just really like the Core Ranger. Some of the Thief stuff seems cool but I don't usually play glass cannon classes. I like to play sort of self sufficient characters mainly supportive dps type stuff. I would like to try most of the content in the game. I have tried some PvP on my Guardian using a Core Staff and Mace/Shield build I found and my friend helped me tweak a bit. Was pretty fun got most kills and healing in almost every match we did today even though I was honestly just spamming all my abilities in fights not fully understanding what most of them even do. I have been looking at builds on three sites so far those being Snowcrows, GuildJen, and MetaBattle. GuildJen guides seem really detailed and such but also really old and outdated and my friend was sort of baffled by what they picked. The other sites basically either don't have what I am looking for or what is there is not well explained. I am not really looking to be the best or anything just want some simple builds that are easy to play, helpful to other players, and are fun while not being completely terrible. 

[Cyninja.2954]

1. don't listen to the forums when it comes to complaints. Applies to almost every game. Double true if you can't distinguish between hyperbole and constructive criticism and/or have no idea what you will end up playing

2. don't boost unless you know what goal you are going for. The level process is not that long and while it won't teach you how to navigate most of the game, it might give you an overview of what a core class behaves like. If you want to try out professions, enter the Spvp area with level 2 and give different ones a try (even the elite specs). Spvp does not require any leveling

3. Guildjen and the builds there and how up to date they are depends on the content they are designed for. Their pve instance builds for example are similar to Snowcrows or at most 1 patch behind. The same applies to the WvW builds. In general the builds there are targeted at a more casual audience and not super optimized if they are not up to date

Quote

I am not really looking to be the best or anything just want some simple builds that are easy to play, helpful to other players, and are fun while not being completely terrible. 

4. How about we start with: for what type of content? Are you talking open world, instanced content, solo content, Spvp, WvW? You seem to be treating this game like some other MMORPG where you pick 1 build and it fits all. That doesn't work. Back to point 2: maybe familiarize yourself with the game first

I am surprised your friend hasn't been more helpful. At the very least I would have expected for them to tell you that build matters far more to how a class plays than what core class you pick. Thief or elementalist can be just as tanky in certain content and even tankier than warrior.

Edited December 27, 2023 by Cyninja.2954

[Quickpawmaud.6374]

22 minutes ago, Cyninja.2954 said:

1. don't listen to the forums when it comes to complaints. Applies to almost every game. Double true if you can't distinguish between hyperbole and constructive criticism and/or have no idea what you will end up playing

2. don't boost unless you know what goal you are going for. The level process is not that long and while it won't teach you how to navigate most of the game, it might give you an overview of what a core class behaves like. If you want to try out professions, enter the Spvp area with level 2 and give different ones a try (even the elite specs). Spvp does not require any leveling

3. Guildjen and the builds there and how up to date they are depends on the content they are designed for. Their pve instance builds for example are similar to Snowcrows or at most 1 patch behind. The same applies to the WvW builds. In general the builds there are targeted at a more casual audience and not super optimized if they are not up to date

4. How about we start with: for what type of content? Are you talking open world, instanced content, solo content, Spvp, WvW? You seem to be treating this game like some other MMORPG where you pick 1 build and it fits all. That doesn't work. Back to point 2: maybe familiarize yourself with the game first

I am surprised your friend hasn't been more helpful. At the very least I would have expected for them to tell you that build matters far more to how a class plays than what core class you pick. Thief or elementalist can be just as tanky in certain content and even tankier than warrior.

Well I guess I am starting with open world and the pvp matches duo with my friend. So I just want some builds for Core Warrior and Guardian for that. I usually never boost in MMOs only reason I did here is because my friend said it doesn't skip anything and I can still do the story and such normally. I also knew for a 100% fact I would play Guardian as one of my characters so did not worry about wasting the boost. I understand I have to change things depending on game mode. Although I would prefer to have a lot of overlap in different setups so I can get used to things. I was looking at builds for Deadeye Thief and the guy in the video literally said like if you make a single mistake you insta die and I am like no thanks. My friend is not a native English speaker and does not like to talk much.

Edited December 27, 2023 by Quickpawmaud.6374

[HnRkLnXqZ.1870]

Warrior and Guardian are no bad picks for a start. The early levels should mostly be used to get used to your class and try out as much as possible (skills, weapons, passives). The more you know, the easier the endgame will be. For 'most' players, it is best to start the game with a class they enjoy rather than a profession picked by others. Once you reach endgame, you can specialize on different aspects: support, dps, healing, tanking and hybrid-forms. Some classes offer more variety than others, but it is never a strict path into one direction.

Boosting is not bad, but you are more likely to get overwhelmed and quit the game in less than 3 months. It is a mistake both MMO newbies and seasoned veterans tend to make. The game is 11+ years old by now and very complex. That is why most people will suggest you to level one character, preferably your main, from scratch without any boosters. By the time you reach level 80, you are not an expert and far away from understanding most of what is going on. But on the way there, you get used to different customs and mechanics and are less likely to get overwhelmed.
-
There are a couple of content-creators with youtube channels, which are filled with helpful guides about the game and classes. I can recommend these two:
Mukluk - very good explanations, very short videos
Caffeinated Dad - good explanations, tips and build suggestions

Here is a list of more content-creators
https://gw2master.com/contentcreators

[Teknomancer.4895]

Boosting as a new player is less than optimal, but that's only because it gives you too many options all at once, rather than building up a little at a time. As a new player you won't know what to do with most of it at first. IMO the best way to get a feel for your class is to play through the story up to defeating the first dragon Zhaitan. It doesn't take as long as you might think and gives you plenty of time to get used to how the class works. It also gives you the basis of the game's (original) story/characters and leads you around core Tyria to open up and familiarize you with the main parts of the map.

I'd also suggest a couple of older guide channels: Ayin Maiden and Dulfy's guides. Ayin is probably the better choice for tricky things that don't change like jumping puzzles, Dulfy is more overall. Just know that their content may be pretty old and thus might not reflect the current state of the game.

[Tonks.8052]

Sent you a couple of Xmas gifts and a gold piece. Just paying it forward. People here are so helpful. Communities incredible. Good Luck!

[Quickpawmaud.6374]

I understand where you guys are coming from which is why I didn't immediately boost both of my characters. I have tried pretty much every MMO you can think of over the years and only boosted in two of them including this one. You know how many of them I even made it to max level in? Like 3 out of 15+. The leveling content in the vast majority of these games is designed for 3 year olds and heavily disabled people to beat them. On my Warrior rn I can basically just auto attack and do nothing else and have 0 trouble absolutely destroying all of the enemies. This does not teach you how to play the game and just puts me to sleep. Literally everything else about the game is pretty much the best out of all the MMOs I have tried but it is by far the easiest out of all the games in the easiest genre I have played in regards to the story and campaign stuff. My friend told me it gets more challenging and fulfilling later and I believe him but I hate that this genre turned out this way. I don't need to spend 100+ hours learning one ability at a time. I have 100s of hours in ESO already which is extremely similar to this game so I understand the basics already. I love the flavor in the my story stuff so far and had really cool experiences right away in the game. I named my Warrior " the Immortal" and in the first cutscene my character literally mentions how he wants to become immortal. Then the first real player I see in game his character has my irl last name of Faulkner which was completely insane how weird that was and made me start laughing. The one day I played on the game so far was super enjoyable but I definitely think I made the right choice boosting one of my characters so I can choose when to experience leveling and when to experience something else in the game. Especially since I always do lots of research and follow guides and ask questions about games to learn mechanics and such.

Edited December 27, 2023 by Quickpawmaud.6374

[Quickpawmaud.6374]

1 hour ago, HnRkLnXqZ.1870 said:

Warrior and Guardian are no bad picks for a start. The early levels should mostly be used to get used to your class and try out as much as possible (skills, weapons, passives). The more you know, the easier the endgame will be. For 'most' players, it is best to start the game with a class they enjoy rather than a profession picked by others. Once you reach endgame, you can specialize on different aspects: support, dps, healing, tanking and hybrid-forms. Some classes offer more variety than others, but it is never a strict path into one direction.

Boosting is not bad, but you are more likely to get overwhelmed and quit the game in less than 3 months. It is a mistake both MMO newbies and seasoned veterans tend to make. The game is 11+ years old by now and very complex. That is why most people will suggest you to level one character, preferably your main, from scratch without any boosters. By the time you reach level 80, you are not an expert and far away from understanding most of what is going on. But on the way there, you get used to different customs and mechanics and are less likely to get overwhelmed.
-
There are a couple of content-creators with youtube channels, which are filled with helpful guides about the game and classes. I can recommend these two:
Mukluk - very good explanations, very short videos
Caffeinated Dad - good explanations, tips and build suggestions

Here is a list of more content-creators
https://gw2master.com/contentcreators

Been looking at some of Caffeinated Dad videos already they are pretty good. 

[Linken.6345]

I would say a easy open world close to hunter would be engineer mechanist spec.

It  got a easy range power dps + dps aswell as heal spec that give alacrity.

If you want to give the other sought after group buff you need to go into scrapper for a bruiser melee quickness giver.

Why I would say to boost that character is because core engineer can be a pain to level if you chose not to do so the second profession in my oppinon that deserve a boost is core mesmer their elite specs are good too.

Since both of them is what I personaly found most tedious to level up back in the day.

[Quickpawmaud.6374]

I am hesitant to try engineer as it seems to have one of the more complicated profession mechanics with a lot of buttons to press 😆.  Also just the class fantasy of it doesn't appeal to me as much. Will definitely keep it in mind though.

[Randulf.7614]

I have never looked at a build online. Or watched a build video. Or listened attentively to the nonsense about “broken classes” on the forums. I’ve been here over 11 years with 11k hours. Want some advice? Just pick and play what you want and enjoy the ride. You will pick up what you need as you go along. I would not be worrying about builds on day one.

Enjoy!

[Quickpawmaud.6374]

11 minutes ago, Linken.6345 said:

I would say a easy open world close to hunter would be engineer mechanist spec.

It  got a easy range power dps + dps aswell as heal spec that give alacrity.

If you want to give the other sought after group buff you need to go into scrapper for a bruiser melee quickness giver.

Why I would say to boost that character is because core engineer can be a pain to level if you chose not to do so the second profession in my oppinon that deserve a boost is core mesmer their elite specs are good too.

Since both of them is what I personaly found most tedious to level up back in the day.

I am hesitant to try Engineer as it seems to have one of the more complicated profession mechanics with a lot of buttons to press 😆.  As well the class fantasy just does not appeal to me as much. Will keep it in mind though. Might check it out.

Edited December 27, 2023 by Quickpawmaud.6374

[jason.1083]

To be fair, if you're mainly looking for open world and maybe some PvP, you could cut it with your own builds, for any profession, you said you played many MMOs before, you should be able to understand how it works.

Sometimes people make it sound harder than it is, but if you take your time and read you realize it's not rocket science.

 

[Quickpawmaud.6374]

8 minutes ago, Randulf.7614 said:

I have never looked at a build online. Or watched a build video. Or listened attentively to the nonsense about “broken classes” on the forums. I’ve been here over 11 years with 11k hours. Want some advice? Just pick and play what you want and enjoy the ride. You will pick up what you need as you go along. I would not be worrying about builds on day one.

Enjoy!

I understand what you are saying I just find builds helpful when first starting a game. Especially for pvp where you have access to everything right away and really need to have a good setup. If I had tried to make my own it would have taken hours to get started rather than just copy paste and get into playing while reading abilities and such in queue. Also since I boosted my Guardian builds and guides are how I plan to learn how to play the class since I skipped the leveling 😆. 

[Quickpawmaud.6374]

Also I have never really played a healer in an MMO but trying out that pvp Guardian build let me experience something I never would have picked on my own and now staff is like my favorite pvp weapon right now. I am usually a sword or bow guy not a magic guy lol. So following builds is an easy way for me to try out different playstyles that other people have enjoyed and work well for them to see if I like it too.

[kharmin.7683]

1 hour ago, Quickpawmaud.6374 said:

Then the first real player I see in game his character has my irl last name of Faulkner which was completely insane how weird that was and made me start laughing.

I've seen a character with my first and last name and had to do a double-take.  I had no idea that my name would have been someone else's choice.  Was both funny and kinda creepy.

[Randulf.7614]

I understand that, but you are also bringing in some pre-conceived ideas to a game which throws the idea of tanks, healers, how weapons work and other concepts out the window. This isn't a traditional fantasy game or a traditional mmo set up. Obviously if you are happiest doing it this way, then it's not my place to stop you, but I feel you are severely degrading the experience of the game by jumping into things before discovering them yourself. GW2 thrives on discovery, on exploration and it used to thrive on not hand holding (altho the devs seem to moving away from that much lauded philosophy annoyingly).

I'd acertainly encourage discovery and exploration through the open world. Build specifics are not necessary there except in later areas just to help you with the massive difficulty jump between core and expansion content. 

At the very least, ignore nonsense about warriors being rubbish or any profession being rubbish. Certainly there have been balance issues in the past and some questionable decisions still, but mostly it's overblown bias 

Regardless of the path you choose, welcome to the game

[Cuks.8241]

Play what seems fun to you.

Profession forums are all mostly just a lot of whining.

Warrior is fine and a good starter class. Its quite easy and straightforward to play and its very durable baseline. I used warrior for a long time as my progression character in instances. Because it was quite easy to play, lots of health and armour so I didnt die so easily. That way I could focus on mechanics. The only thing with warrior, its not very versatile. But thats fine, you get what you would expect, armored tough guy that swing big weapons.

Warrior right now is in a really good spot in pvp. 

Guardian is just good and very versatile. Used to be THE versatile class. Now we have more of those.

 

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

I have never played core warrior.  But, if I were, I'd recommend starting with something like this for PVE:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PKwAceJlZwSYhsJWJO+SVLNA-DSIUR09PGRS1KVl0zCAUB-e

Know that you can replace the healing signet with Mending if you're dealing with a lot of conditions.  There's a couple of things here that are different from basically every MMO out there.  First, it is the gear choice.  The reason why it is that you'll see gear prefixes with 100% offensive stats is because... they work, really well.  GW2 was designed PVP-up, which means that all of the stats you have at base are good enough to be serviceable even with no investment.  Also, GW2's combat system is more active, encouraging dodging and blocking attacks more than standing around and taking hits.  Out of combat, you'll automatically heal up, so it doesn't matter if you beat an enemy by an inch or by a mile.  These facets combined create the DPS Meta, wherein the best gear to use in almost all PVE content is high or pure offense.  If you need to survive, it is easier to change strategies, utilities, and traits to be more defensive than it is to change gear.

With that build, very few things will survive Whirling Axes.  It gives itself a lot of damage bonuses and buffs, letting it hit very hard, very fast.  Axe/Axe is the primary weapon setup, because it does the most damage and generates a lot of adrenaline.  The weapon swap can be something else, but I have placed hammer there for two reasons.  First, Hammer has excellent crowd control skills, which are great for breaking the defiance bar of enemies.  Second, Hammer does have a high damage combo that Ill use on the regular.  I go Bulls Charge -> Fierce Blow -> Backbreaker -> Fierce Bow, and this will just murder an enemy.  That is... about all you'll need to know about this build.  There's no other special tricks with it.  For utilities, the Healing Signet is taken because it has good, sustained heal without having to actively use it.  Bull's Charge is a good crowd control skill, and does decent damage.  Endure Pain is a defensive skill, which reduces the damage that you'll take from most attacks to 0 for 4 seconds.  You can change that out for something else if you aren't finding yourself in danger.  Signet of Might gives a passive power bonus, and is never actively used.  Signet of Rage, the elite skill, is used to give yourself a bunch of boons.   

Core Guardian is much more complicated than Core Warrior.  The build I would use looks like this:  

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PWwAEt3lVwQYXsJGJO0L/rKA-DSIURUzXG1mCVUB2eWAgKA-e

This build has half the health of the warrior above, and it is more involved, so listen up.  The way that Guardian stays alive is by blocking attacks, and by blinding enemies.  There's a couple of ways to do this.  The primary method is with f1, Virtue of Justice.  The build is set up so it will instantly blind an enemy, and recharge each time an enemy is killed.  Blind is a condition that will cause the enemy's next attack to whiff and miss completely, but it only works on the next attack.  So, if you're fighting an enemy, before they launch an attack press F1 to make it miss.  The backup is survival tactic is Aegis.  Now, Aegis is a boon that works a lot like blind, except instead of debuffing the enemy it buffs yourself, and it will block the next incoming attack.  You'll occasionally get Aegis passively from Virtue of Courage, but you can also get a quick Aegis from the utility skill Advance.  Aside from these two methods, there's a 3-hit block location on the focus weapon, and finally there's Litany of Wrath.  The skill Litany of Wrath heals you for all the damage you do for a short time, and since you'll be doing a lot of damage this makes you nigh invulnerable for a few seconds.  The remaining utility skills are there for damage and boons.  The signet here has a second use, as a crowd control skill to break the defiance bar of certain enemies. 

Something to note about Guardian is that there's a lot more ways to build it, and there's a lot of weapons to go with.  Greatsword is a given, because it does a lot of AoE damage and it has a good toolbox (pulls enemies to you, blinds enemies).  The other weapon can be nearly anything.  I have Scepter + Focus there, to give an option to do ranged damage, and as an additional way to defend yourself.  You can open many fights by using scepter's symbol, using both skills from the focus, and then switching to Greatsword to kill off enemies.  You can also use Sword for a melee version, Hammer for a low-maintenance way of just auto attacking things to death, shield for more group defenses and the ability to stop projectiles, and torch to cleanse condition.  Likewise, and unlike warrior, there is a lot of powerful utilitiy skills that do a lot of different things.  I recommend reading each one, and changing some around as you see the need, because there's a lot of them.

[RavensSorrow.6128]

Hardstuck Warrior Guides

There is the warrior guides on hardstuck. If you scroll down there is an open world core build, start with that. While the elite specializations are usually preferred for groups, for the buffs they give, it's not impossible to run a core through Dungeons, raids, pvp all of it. You'll hit stuff really hard with the greatsword and dual axes will chew through groups. You can even swap out an axe for a mace to get some extra CC for big breakbars. Warrior is a fun versatile powerhouse. Then when you get the elites unlocked you'll get some more fun stuff to spice up the build. 

[Rumpus.1234]

DODGE !

[Quickpawmaud.6374]

17 hours ago, Blood Red Arachnid.2493 said:

I have never played core warrior.  But, if I were, I'd recommend starting with something like this for PVE:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PKwAceJlZwSYhsJWJO+SVLNA-DSIUR09PGRS1KVl0zCAUB-e

Know that you can replace the healing signet with Mending if you're dealing with a lot of conditions.  There's a couple of things here that are different from basically every MMO out there.  First, it is the gear choice.  The reason why it is that you'll see gear prefixes with 100% offensive stats is because... they work, really well.  GW2 was designed PVP-up, which means that all of the stats you have at base are good enough to be serviceable even with no investment.  Also, GW2's combat system is more active, encouraging dodging and blocking attacks more than standing around and taking hits.  Out of combat, you'll automatically heal up, so it doesn't matter if you beat an enemy by an inch or by a mile.  These facets combined create the DPS Meta, wherein the best gear to use in almost all PVE content is high or pure offense.  If you need to survive, it is easier to change strategies, utilities, and traits to be more defensive than it is to change gear.

With that build, very few things will survive Whirling Axes.  It gives itself a lot of damage bonuses and buffs, letting it hit very hard, very fast.  Axe/Axe is the primary weapon setup, because it does the most damage and generates a lot of adrenaline.  The weapon swap can be something else, but I have placed hammer there for two reasons.  First, Hammer has excellent crowd control skills, which are great for breaking the defiance bar of enemies.  Second, Hammer does have a high damage combo that Ill use on the regular.  I go Bulls Charge -> Fierce Blow -> Backbreaker -> Fierce Bow, and this will just murder an enemy.  That is... about all you'll need to know about this build.  There's no other special tricks with it.  For utilities, the Healing Signet is taken because it has good, sustained heal without having to actively use it.  Bull's Charge is a good crowd control skill, and does decent damage.  Endure Pain is a defensive skill, which reduces the damage that you'll take from most attacks to 0 for 4 seconds.  You can change that out for something else if you aren't finding yourself in danger.  Signet of Might gives a passive power bonus, and is never actively used.  Signet of Rage, the elite skill, is used to give yourself a bunch of boons.   

Core Guardian is much more complicated than Core Warrior.  The build I would use looks like this:  

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PWwAEt3lVwQYXsJGJO0L/rKA-DSIURUzXG1mCVUB2eWAgKA-e

This build has half the health of the warrior above, and it is more involved, so listen up.  The way that Guardian stays alive is by blocking attacks, and by blinding enemies.  There's a couple of ways to do this.  The primary method is with f1, Virtue of Justice.  The build is set up so it will instantly blind an enemy, and recharge each time an enemy is killed.  Blind is a condition that will cause the enemy's next attack to whiff and miss completely, but it only works on the next attack.  So, if you're fighting an enemy, before they launch an attack press F1 to make it miss.  The backup is survival tactic is Aegis.  Now, Aegis is a boon that works a lot like blind, except instead of debuffing the enemy it buffs yourself, and it will block the next incoming attack.  You'll occasionally get Aegis passively from Virtue of Courage, but you can also get a quick Aegis from the utility skill Advance.  Aside from these two methods, there's a 3-hit block location on the focus weapon, and finally there's Litany of Wrath.  The skill Litany of Wrath heals you for all the damage you do for a short time, and since you'll be doing a lot of damage this makes you nigh invulnerable for a few seconds.  The remaining utility skills are there for damage and boons.  The signet here has a second use, as a crowd control skill to break the defiance bar of certain enemies. 

Something to note about Guardian is that there's a lot more ways to build it, and there's a lot of weapons to go with.  Greatsword is a given, because it does a lot of AoE damage and it has a good toolbox (pulls enemies to you, blinds enemies).  The other weapon can be nearly anything.  I have Scepter + Focus there, to give an option to do ranged damage, and as an additional way to defend yourself.  You can open many fights by using scepter's symbol, using both skills from the focus, and then switching to Greatsword to kill off enemies.  You can also use Sword for a melee version, Hammer for a low-maintenance way of just auto attacking things to death, shield for more group defenses and the ability to stop projectiles, and torch to cleanse condition.  Likewise, and unlike warrior, there is a lot of powerful utilitiy skills that do a lot of different things.  I recommend reading each one, and changing some around as you see the need, because there's a lot of them.

Says site can't be reached. Edit: I kept refreshing and it eventually worked so idk what happened. Will try it out.

Edited December 28, 2023 by Quickpawmaud.6374

[Quickpawmaud.6374]

7 hours ago, RavensSorrow.6128 said:

Hardstuck Warrior Guides

There is the warrior guides on hardstuck. If you scroll down there is an open world core build, start with that. While the elite specializations are usually preferred for groups, for the buffs they give, it's not impossible to run a core through Dungeons, raids, pvp all of it. You'll hit stuff really hard with the greatsword and dual axes will chew through groups. You can even swap out an axe for a mace to get some extra CC for big breakbars. Warrior is a fun versatile powerhouse. Then when you get the elites unlocked you'll get some more fun stuff to spice up the build. 

https://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Warrior_-_Core_Power_Warrior I found this one before that seems similar. Looks like everybody uses dual axes lol.

Edited December 28, 2023 by Quickpawmaud.6374

[Quickpawmaud.6374]

17 hours ago, Blood Red Arachnid.2493 said:

I have never played core warrior.  But, if I were, I'd recommend starting with something like this for PVE:

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PKwAceJlZwSYhsJWJO+SVLNA-DSIUR09PGRS1KVl0zCAUB-e

Know that you can replace the healing signet with Mending if you're dealing with a lot of conditions.  There's a couple of things here that are different from basically every MMO out there.  First, it is the gear choice.  The reason why it is that you'll see gear prefixes with 100% offensive stats is because... they work, really well.  GW2 was designed PVP-up, which means that all of the stats you have at base are good enough to be serviceable even with no investment.  Also, GW2's combat system is more active, encouraging dodging and blocking attacks more than standing around and taking hits.  Out of combat, you'll automatically heal up, so it doesn't matter if you beat an enemy by an inch or by a mile.  These facets combined create the DPS Meta, wherein the best gear to use in almost all PVE content is high or pure offense.  If you need to survive, it is easier to change strategies, utilities, and traits to be more defensive than it is to change gear.

With that build, very few things will survive Whirling Axes.  It gives itself a lot of damage bonuses and buffs, letting it hit very hard, very fast.  Axe/Axe is the primary weapon setup, because it does the most damage and generates a lot of adrenaline.  The weapon swap can be something else, but I have placed hammer there for two reasons.  First, Hammer has excellent crowd control skills, which are great for breaking the defiance bar of enemies.  Second, Hammer does have a high damage combo that Ill use on the regular.  I go Bulls Charge -> Fierce Blow -> Backbreaker -> Fierce Bow, and this will just murder an enemy.  That is... about all you'll need to know about this build.  There's no other special tricks with it.  For utilities, the Healing Signet is taken because it has good, sustained heal without having to actively use it.  Bull's Charge is a good crowd control skill, and does decent damage.  Endure Pain is a defensive skill, which reduces the damage that you'll take from most attacks to 0 for 4 seconds.  You can change that out for something else if you aren't finding yourself in danger.  Signet of Might gives a passive power bonus, and is never actively used.  Signet of Rage, the elite skill, is used to give yourself a bunch of boons.   

Core Guardian is much more complicated than Core Warrior.  The build I would use looks like this:  

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PWwAEt3lVwQYXsJGJO0L/rKA-DSIURUzXG1mCVUB2eWAgKA-e

This build has half the health of the warrior above, and it is more involved, so listen up.  The way that Guardian stays alive is by blocking attacks, and by blinding enemies.  There's a couple of ways to do this.  The primary method is with f1, Virtue of Justice.  The build is set up so it will instantly blind an enemy, and recharge each time an enemy is killed.  Blind is a condition that will cause the enemy's next attack to whiff and miss completely, but it only works on the next attack.  So, if you're fighting an enemy, before they launch an attack press F1 to make it miss.  The backup is survival tactic is Aegis.  Now, Aegis is a boon that works a lot like blind, except instead of debuffing the enemy it buffs yourself, and it will block the next incoming attack.  You'll occasionally get Aegis passively from Virtue of Courage, but you can also get a quick Aegis from the utility skill Advance.  Aside from these two methods, there's a 3-hit block location on the focus weapon, and finally there's Litany of Wrath.  The skill Litany of Wrath heals you for all the damage you do for a short time, and since you'll be doing a lot of damage this makes you nigh invulnerable for a few seconds.  The remaining utility skills are there for damage and boons.  The signet here has a second use, as a crowd control skill to break the defiance bar of certain enemies. 

Something to note about Guardian is that there's a lot more ways to build it, and there's a lot of weapons to go with.  Greatsword is a given, because it does a lot of AoE damage and it has a good toolbox (pulls enemies to you, blinds enemies).  The other weapon can be nearly anything.  I have Scepter + Focus there, to give an option to do ranged damage, and as an additional way to defend yourself.  You can open many fights by using scepter's symbol, using both skills from the focus, and then switching to Greatsword to kill off enemies.  You can also use Sword for a melee version, Hammer for a low-maintenance way of just auto attacking things to death, shield for more group defenses and the ability to stop projectiles, and torch to cleanse condition.  Likewise, and unlike warrior, there is a lot of powerful utilitiy skills that do a lot of different things.  I recommend reading each one, and changing some around as you see the need, because there's a lot of them.

My friend also recommended something similar. He really likes Hammer and mentioned to get Bull's Charge first. What do you think about "For Great Justice"? I picked that up already since that other build I linked uses it. Why did you pick something else instead? I might replace Endure Pain with that since the game is pretty easy so far.

Edited December 28, 2023 by Quickpawmaud.6374

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

1 hour ago, Quickpawmaud.6374 said:

My friend also recommended something similar. He really likes Hammer and mentioned to get Bull's Charge first. What do you think about "For Great Justice"? I picked that up already since that other build I linked uses it. Why did you pick something else instead? I might replace Endure Pain with that since the game is pretty easy so far.

Signet of Rage accomplishes the same thing as "For Great Justice", but better.  Also, as you play alongside of other players, you'll receive might and fury passively from their traits and utilities.  Similarly, Axe already gives you Fury,   Because of this, giving those boons to yourself is fairly low priority.  Endure Pain, however, is a good panic button to prevent you from dying.  If you wanted something else, Frenzy gives you quickness, which Signet of Rage doesn't give, and Quickness is a rarer and more powerful boon than Fury.  Another option is Signet of Fury, which will give you extra precision passively.