Dragonhunter or Firebrand for PVE?

[tattyana.2356]

I'm a noob guardian and I'm not sure which is better for pve or which is more universally accepted any insight would be appreciated:)

[Omnicron.2467]

Both are really good so just play what you enjoy :)

I personally prefer Firebrand becasue he feels more versatile and I love my axe.Also there are a few things which do not trigger your DH traps which were annoying me, but I really do love Dragonhunter too :)

My first legendary armour will probably be heavy so I can swap between these two specs freely :D

[Ojimaru.8970]

As mentioned above, both Firebrand and Dragonhunter are in a solid spot at the moment. While DH will have to contend with structures (e.g. Jade Cannons) not triggering traps, the most common complaint I've heard (and never understood) with FB was the need to charge Mantras.

My guardian is currently specialized as a DH because I mainly use him for open world content these days, and it's hilarious every time I pop Veterans and Elites with a full damage combo (while having the Light-Roasted Coffee buff).

[CptAurellian.9537]

Both are fine. For open world stuff, I absolutely prefer DH due to its burst, but in instanced content they are more or less on par, maybe with a slight advantage for FB.

[Omnicron.2467]

Well, for Open World the advantage of Firebrand is that Traps do not trigger for things like the octovines in auric basin, the wurms in the triple trouble world boss, and on mobile bosses you are less reliant on them staying put. But otherwise the burst on DH is nicer for open world :)

[Eruaph.4039]

As Omnicron says it is really up to what you enjoy. Everything is viable, what is optimal might be a different story. That said you state you are a 'noob guardian', do you have other characters? Because a Dragonhunter set (generally berserkers) is much easier and cheaper to get hold of compared to a Firebrand set (Vipers or Grieving). So either way you might want to just build a Dragonhunter first and then build up a Firebrand set.

Also what type of pve do you want to do? Everything is viable but having played both I generally prefer DH for open world, the initial cc and bunching options you have and burst means you can solo really easily. While it is annoying that some things don't trigger your traps it's not usually a game breaker in those situations (Like Auric basin). I find though in some situations, like a group of veterans I can easily take them down with DH but FB takes too much time to ramp, and I am usually downed before I can apply enough conditions. For Fractals power builds are generally much better, so DH tends to shine more than FB. In raiding again both are good and you can perform well with either one. Dependent on the boss one will be better than the other.

So the TLDR: DH will get you into any form of pve and is cheap to get. FB you might find some elitist groups in Fractals who won't want you at high end, and the sets are much more expensive.

[Nor.2057]

i had the exact same question in my head since my guard is my least played class (i have em all) and ill do the progression aspect of it will go first DH and progress to FB cause of easy to use and gear being cheap xD.

i just hope on DH i dont get shunned to much for using power build with BOW and GS :expressionless:

[CptAurellian.9537]

With regard to the longbow, I can only repeat what I said in another thread: Do not use it in instanced content, you'll just make DHs look bad.

[Lagos.6938]

While DH is fun I much prefer firebrand for soloing. The burst isn't bad with viper or sinister gear because FB can place its condis so quickly. And having permanent access to the tomes gives the class unrivaled built in versatility. DH does have better breakbar options though.

[narcx.3570]

If you want to do high-end content I would go DH... While FB is certainly fine and does competent condi dps, most high level fractals and fractal CM's really favor a power composition, and DH is literally the top DPS pick for a couple of the raid encounters and is a top choice in all the rest, save but like three or four (Matt, KC, Cairn, arguably Desmina).

[Boba.7918]

Both classes are fun and good to play for PvE, but with higher level content I’d recommend DH > FB. I loved playing FB in raids, but you need another person to step up for the CCs or burst damage for the gains you get with FB.