Guardian Balance Notes:

[Darknicrofia.2604]

Guardian

Spirit weapons have not felt solid due to having a few too many restrictions on their use, so the time between uses was reduced for all spirit weapons except the crowd-controlling hammer. Several firebrand skills were too powerful, which became very clear in PvP and WvW games, so defensive tomes received tweaks in those modes.

Spirit Weapons: Fixed a bug that prevented players from animating properly when using these skills while equipped with a two-handed weapon.Sword of Justice: This skill now summons the Sword of Justice at your target's location rather than beside you. Reduced the recharge time between casts from 8 seconds to 1 second.Shield of the Avenger: Reduced the recharge time between casts from 8 seconds to 1 second.Bow of Truth: Reduced the recharge time between casts from 8 seconds to 1 second.Mantras: Fixed a bug in which recharges could get desynchronized between their active skill and their final skill.Mantra of Truth: Fixed a bug that could cause this skill to regain charges slower than its listed 12 seconds.Mantra of Solace: Reduced healing by 10% in PvP and WvW.Mantra of Liberation: Increased the cast recharge from 15 seconds to 25 seconds.Light's Judgment: Reinstated the top-down beam effect on enemies struck by this skill.Tome of Resolve: Reduced the base healing of all healing skills by 15% in PvP and WvW.Tome of Courage—Chapter 1: Unflinching Charge: Removed the aegis granted by this skill.Tome of Courage—Chapter 2: Daring Challenge: Now grants you aegis for 3 seconds in addition to its previous effects.Tome of Courage—Chapter 4: Stalwart Stand: Reduced pulses from 4 to 3 in PvP and WvW.Tome of Courage—Epilogue: Unbroken Lines: Reduced toughness by 33% in PvP and WvW.Tome of Justice—Epilogue: Ashes of the Just: Fixed a bug that could inflict burning on allies in rare circumstances.Retributive Armor: This trait has been reworked and is now called Tenacious Defense, which reduces the remaining recharge on Virtue of Courage each time the aegis you've granted blocks an attack.Imbued Haste: Reduced the attribute gain in PvP and WvW from 250 to 150.Indomitable Courage: Fixed a bug that could prevent Tome of Courage from gaining stun break while in WvW or PvP.Justice is Blind: Fixed a bug that prevented this trait's blinding attack from working with Tome of Justice.Legendary Lore: Reduced the protection granted by this trait from 4 seconds to 3 seconds in PvP and WvW.

[Aeolus.3615]

SW Shield still not casting oine in a while and burning one ammo, while with main hand+off hand, bug not fixed.

Still using the old tool tip.

The trait to reduce CD on virtues it is enteresting.

[Darknicrofia.2604]

Regardless, it feels nice to be able to go back to base radiance guard in PvP without feeling like I absolutely HAVE to play brain dead FB bunker.

[Sorem.9157]

rip harrier/mender fb

[Aza.2105]

Tenacious Defense just seems weak. I can't see how its a true competitor to AH or Monk's focus. Maybe they should of kept the old effect in addition to the new one.

[otto.5684]

As if spirit weapons issues had anything to do with the CD.

Retributive armor change is useless. Compare it to monks focus. 2k heal and 4 sec fury.

[deShinigami.2387]

Another patch without buffs to Dragonhunters.

[Saiyan.1704]

[sPvP] The biggest nerf: F3 Aegis heals... it's also our individual self-sustain utility instead of just our allies...

Why are we forced to play FB Bunker builds now???

[Aeolus.3615]

@Aza.2105 said:Tenacious Defense just seems weak. I can't see how its a true competitor to AH or Monk's focus. Maybe they should of kept the old effect in addition to the new one.

@"otto.5684" said:As if spirit weapons issues had anything to do with the CD.

Retributive armor change is useless. Compare it to monks focus. 2k heal and 4 sec fury.

indeed issues with SW where not the CD between ammo, they their effect and the bugs were and are the issue.I actually prefer the old CD timers, it helped the skill management.

After tried the new trait... it is extremelly weak, completelly useless...

Well the older trait was nothing special either....

Sugestion:Revert the CD on SW, give light aura to Bow of truth, and increase healing coeficient slightly, while on shield fix the still existent "wont cast when in combat with target selected" bug, and add 1 or 2 sec resistance, or aegis to players arround the caster, and fix the tooltip.About the new trait, merge with AH, and creat a new one that makes guardian use hammer and shield :} for more 250 armor to guardian and 4 allies in the same party has the guardian.

[Sorem.9157]

I cannot see Firebrand being even remotely viable on the next meta, lol.

[Azoqu.8917]

So because of PvP (once again ruining balance for PvE), I get to lose Aegis on Tome as well? I find it increadibly stupid that most tome changes were split between PvP and PvE but not that one.

[Aeolus.3615]

@Azoqu.8917 said:So because of PvP (once again ruining balance for PvE), I get to lose Aegis on Tome as well? I find it increadibly stupid that most tome changes were split between PvP and PvE but not that one.

because of the new trait that reduces CD on virtues when blockign with aegis.

[Azoqu.8917]

@Aeolus.3615 said:

@Azoqu.8917 said:So because of PvP (once again ruining balance for PvE), I get to lose Aegis on Tome as well? I find it increadibly stupid that most tome changes were split between PvP and PvE but not that one.

because of the new trait that reduces CD on virtues when blockign with aegis.

Aka the trait that is useless because it only affects Courage and is therefore useless in PvE because Courage sucks?

[Aeolus.3615]

@Azoqu.8917 said:

@Aeolus.3615 said:

@Azoqu.8917 said:So because of PvP (once again ruining balance for PvE), I get to lose Aegis on Tome as well? I find it increadibly stupid that most tome changes were split between PvP and PvE but not that one.

because of the new trait that reduces CD on virtues when blockign with aegis.

Aka the trait that is useless because it only affects Courage and is therefore useless in PvE because Courage sucks?

Yah, go figure Anet, they didnt even fix the bug on SW(shield still bugged);) and they tweaked somethign useless on the SW wich kind amake SW even worse due bad skill/ammo management now... go figure....

[Lonewolf Kai.3682]

Still not gonna use SW.........

[Aza.2105]

@Aeolus.3615 said:

@Aza.2105 said:Tenacious Defense just seems weak. I can't see how its a true competitor to AH or Monk's focus. Maybe they should of kept the old effect in addition to the new one.

@"otto.5684" said:As if spirit weapons issues had anything to do with the CD.

Retributive armor change is useless. Compare it to monks focus. 2k heal and 4 sec fury.

indeed issues with SW where not the CD between ammo, they their effect and the bugs were and are the issue.I actually prefer the old CD timers, it helped the skill management.

After tried the new trait... it is extremelly weak, completelly useless...

Well the older trait was nothing special either....

Sugestion:Revert the CD on SW, give light aura to Bow of truth, and increase healing coeficient slightly, while on shield fix the still existent "wont cast when in combat with target selected" bug, and add 1 or 2 sec resistance, or aegis to players arround the caster, and fix the tooltip.About the new trait, merge with AH, and creat a new one that makes guardian use hammer and shield :} for more 250 armor to guardian and 4 allies in the same party has the guardian.

Maybe the 3rd valor trait should give barrier? It kind of goes with the valor theme, which is a defensive line.

Each time you lose aegis you gain barrier. Something like that would be a lot better I'd say.

[Aeolus.3615]

@Aza.2105It is a defensive line, but barrier feels more towards honor than valor itself.

IMO it is way to hard to make a skill that competes with MOnk focus, it is a reduce on amazing skills meditations that cleanse, heal, damage, wich traited meds kinda feels it is mandatory for every non FB based build.

Even AH is weak compared with MF.

[Slugonaut.9841]

With the Mantra of Liberation nerf the least they could have done is lower the activation cast time since they increased the recharge time by almost 50%.

[Aza.2105]

@Aeolus.3615 said:@Aza.2105It is a defensive line, but barrier feels more towards honor than valor itself.

IMO it is way to hard to make a skill that competes with MOnk focus, it is a reduce on amazing skills meditations that cleanse, heal, damage, wich traited meds kinda feels it is mandatory for every non FB based build.

Even AH is weak compared with MF.

Maybe, but at least its competitive. AH is more universal compared to MF since you don't have to take meditations to use it. You can run mantras, shouts and consecrations. I think for the 3rd GM trait to be competitive it has to provide some sort of sustain that doesn't rely on healing power.

[Falseprophet.1502]

Absolute poor excuse for a balance pass. ArenaNet proves that this class is truly directionless while lacking any sort of identity. Spirit Weapons have become what the axe is to Necromancer. If you want to make them useful, kill the cast time so they don't interrupt any rotation.

[Ryan.9387]

Rip hybrid support firebrand.

Nerfed eight times in one patch.

ggnore

[Aeolus.3615]

@Aza.2105 said:

@Aeolus.3615 said:@Aza.2105It is a defensive line, but barrier feels more towards honor than valor itself.

IMO it is way to hard to make a skill that competes with MOnk focus, it is a reduce on amazing skills meditations that cleanse, heal, damage, wich traited meds kinda feels it is mandatory for every non FB based build.

Even AH is weak compared with MF.

Maybe, but at least its competitive. AH is more universal compared to MF since you don't have to take meditations to use it. You can run mantras, shouts and consecrations. I think for the 3rd GM trait to be competitive it has to provide some sort of sustain that doesn't rely on healing power.

yeah but for non FB traited smite condition is a must, no one can survive playing only a shout build on pvp, that is almost the same as afk player :)Consecrations are for team support, u dont have many boons to take affect from AH as well, still AH must be excenlent on FB mantras.

IT would be a decent trait if worked with any block or incomming hit(i would prefer this), something like a pool that guard could builds over time and spread to allies when needed, rather than have 2k barrier on aegis, sicne barrier wont last longer.If it was with incoming hits would gain barrier and that value would be shared with the AH values.

meanwhile guardian/DH/FB f3 could spread that barrier to allies.

[RabbitUp.8294]

@"Falseprophet.1502" said:Absolute poor excuse for a balance pass. ArenaNet proves that this class is truly directionless while lacking any sort of identity.

This.

It's not even about guardian be good or bad, it's about the class being a pile of skills and traits, with no identity or focus. The only common thread at this point is that guardian is blue. Every patch, I see new traits given to other classes, that I read them and think "that's guardian-y". This doesn't happen with other classes to that extent. Just from this patch, Engi's Purity of Purpose is an extremely guardian-flavoured trait, or what should have been a guardian-flavoured trait anyway.

I still get a chuckle reading the class desciption, how anet still describes guardian as the support class, when guardian is not even the best support amongst heavy armoured professions.

[kKagari.6804]

Noooo my shattered aegis took a hit :(. Still good though!

[Blasino.3128]

After a couple of Spvp matches, it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Granted Harrier/Mender's build definitely takes a hit in this. But full bunker is a little less brain dead as you can feel some more pressure now.

I think with the adjustments with the other professions it kinda balanced out.

Of course as other professions figure out there changes we can get a better idea how these nerfs hit us.