Meditrapper vs Radiant Hammer

[fran.8157]

What do you prefer in ranked pvp and why?

[xLiFToFF.5938]

I enjoy them both equally, but lately I’ve been running meditrapper with great results.

[Saiyan.1704]

Neither, I run Zeal/Radiance/Valor - higher burst potential with Shattered Aegis (Mystic Rebuke).

F1 light aura and retal on Aegis shatter also gives excellent retaliation uptime. It outputs more damage than any DH or Hammer + Virtues build in Structured PvP.

I generally stick with scepter & sword but Sword with GS is fine too.

[otto.5684]

@Saiyan.1704 said:Neither, I run Zeal/Radiance/Valor - higher burst potential with Shattered Aegis (Mystic Rebuke).

F1 light aura and retal on Aegis shatter also gives excellent retaliation uptime. It outputs more damage than any DH or Hammer + Virtues build in Structured PvP.

I generally stick with scepter & sword but Sword with GS is fine too.

Curious, what skills do you use, particularly How do you get aegis? Only VoC and shield provide aegis. Do you use shouts and retreat?

[Saiyan.1704]

@otto.5684 said:

@"Saiyan.1704" said:Neither, I run Zeal/Radiance/Valor - higher burst potential with Shattered Aegis (Mystic Rebuke).

F1 light aura and retal on Aegis shatter also gives excellent retaliation uptime. It outputs more damage than any DH or Hammer + Virtues build in Structured PvP.

I generally stick with scepter & sword but Sword with GS is fine too.

Curious, what skills do you use, particularly How do you get aegis? Only VoC and shield provide aegis. Do you use shouts and retreat?

How do you fight condis without mediation as well?

This is what I run: http://gw2skills.net/editor/?vVAQRAsd7enkICVDhlDBeDB8Dhj5h6evPaNYvg6tRrNwVGAA-jZhSAB0+AA8+IA85JBwjyAAs/AA

Talking about the retal uptime and the skills doesn't do much justice. You can test the build vs a single npc in the mists for a general idea of your retaliation proc windows. Or soloing lord and his minions. Only condi class I have issues with are Necros, it's why I generally use Scepter, but asside from that I haven't ran into any other condi issues.

The build's drawbacks are Nec/Ranger/War (depending on skill level). It generally hard counters Engi/Mes on point but i'm guessing the virtues hammer build does that too.

[otto.5684]

Thanks :)

You substitute a bit of survivability for a bit damage.

[Arcaedus.7290]

Meditrapper for soloq, but if I'm queuing for fun with buddies in unranked or duoq, radiant core guard for sure. For a coordinated burst, any core guard/radiant build is a lot more valuable imo

[Sovarica.4368]

Majority of Radiant Hammer builds I've see in ranked seem like a burden to the team, Necro aoe feels way too overwhelming. I don't even know if they can deal with Druids or even Spellbreaker all I know is when I see that build on a teamate I usually end up losing

[Demolicious.5346]

@Sovari.7246 said:Majority of Radiant Hammer builds I've see in ranked seem like a burden to the team, Necro aoe feels way too overwhelming. I don't even know if they can deal with Druids or even Spellbreaker all I know is when I see that build on a teamate I usually end up losing

a burden? radiant hammer builds up until high plat is better than DH in every way?it has so much cleanse that the only real problem is prolonged fights vs necros, you can easely 1v1 most classes if you simply play abit above decently

[Yannir.4132]

@Sovari.7246 said:Majority of Radiant Hammer builds I've see in ranked seem like a burden to the team, Necro aoe feels way too overwhelming. I don't even know if they can deal with Druids or even Spellbreaker all I know is when I see that build on a teamate I usually end up losing

Radiant Hammer is meant for hunting squishies like thieves, holos, mesmers and FA eles. It can teamfight but it's not as good at that than a meditrapper. It works best when it can get the jump on someone.

[Rahvin.4308]

why not both?

Replace radiance with Dragonhunter, replace Valk with Marauder. Replace Smite Conditions with Test of Faith. Hammer/LB, open with spear, hammer 2 into intervention, activate spear, hammer 4, switch to longbow for LB 3, then finish off at range. Drop ring if they're still kicking and start over.

[brannigan.9831]

Whatever you run you need the radiance line period end of story. Retaliation is plentiful and you get tons of damage buffs when its up. It also allows you to run Valkrie amulet and get more health then previous spike dps Guardian builds. After that there are a few ways you can go. I personally like the Radiant Hammer build except I don't run Hammer I run Greatsword and I run Absolute Resolution instead of Glacial Heart for the extra condition cleanse. While I enjoy it feels like as long as they are going to allow Warrior GS to hit so hard we always be second fiddle to them in spvp. We will pass Holo at least most likely when the skill splits hit at least as they are taking a big nerf. Maybe the sustain nerfs Warriors are taking will allow us to inch closer but I still feel they will be superior.

[brannigan.9831]

@Saiyan.1704 said:Neither, I run Zeal/Radiance/Valor - higher burst potential with Shattered Aegis (Mystic Rebuke).

F1 light aura and retal on Aegis shatter also gives excellent retaliation uptime. It outputs more damage than any DH or Hammer + Virtues build in Structured PvP.

I generally stick with scepter & sword but Sword with GS is fine too.

Is that really true? I have my doubts. Greatsword and Hammer should have higher spike. Hammer can hit for 8-10k with mighty blow and glacial heart proc. Sword and scepter just flat out don't hit nearly as hard even with more frequent symbols and the zeal traits and mystic rebuke. Imo, and you don't have to agree, the best thing a dps build can do is spike. People can't react to it. I will try what you are proposing however.

[Saiyan.1704]

@brannigan.9831 said:

@Saiyan.1704 said:Neither, I run Zeal/Radiance/Valor - higher burst potential with Shattered Aegis (Mystic Rebuke).

F1 light aura and retal on Aegis shatter also gives excellent retaliation uptime. It outputs more damage than any DH or Hammer + Virtues build in Structured PvP.

I generally stick with scepter & sword but Sword with GS is fine too.

Is that really true? I have my doubts. Greatsword and Hammer should have higher spike. Hammer can hit for 8-10k with mighty blow and glacial heart proc. Sword and scepter just flat out don't hit nearly as hard even with more frequent symbols and the zeal traits and mystic rebuke. Imo, and you don't have to agree, the best thing a dps build can do is spike. People can't react to it. I will try what you are proposing however.

Hammer burst is a bigger 1trick-ponie, even if you were to surprised some one with Judges. You miss the burst and you have huge low damage downtimes until you try again without Judges. Hammer Guard Bursts, in that regards, are eons away from the 1s insta-down Shatter-Mesmer builds who can burst every 10 seconds.

Scept/Sword excels in consistent pressure, often dealing 1.5k+ in auto attacks alone thanks to higher might stacks with your Aegis's Retaliation procs. Consistency is really what it comes down.

[Deimos.4263]

I usually run Radiant-Hammer-Without-The-Hammer. Just swap in scepter/shield for hammer and change the hammer trait. It works for me.

[otto.5684]

I will not say it does not work, but I have never seen a guardian using hammer do well. You are playing radiant, but either sword or GS.

[brannigan.9831]

Alright I looked at your build and tested it some. Im not convinced its better. It might be better in a duel type situation but in a team fight I believe you would help more by being able spike targets for large ammounts of damage in short period of time which you can do with Greatsword and Hammer but I will try it some more.

[Saiyan.1704]

@brannigan.9831 said:Alright I looked at your build and tested it some. Im not convinced its better. It might be better in a duel type situation but in a team fight I believe you would help more by being able spike targets for large ammounts of damage in short period of time which you can do with Greatsword and Hammer but I will try it some more.

It's a decent +1 in a team fight but I wouldn't go mid with the build throughout a Conquest match. It definitely shines best on side points. Are you EU?

[Dreddo.9865]

I am doing some Meditrapper this season and while I have little experience with the class it fails to impress me. It can't withstand pressure especially condi and damage is sub-par. The main bursts and combo are all telegraphed and good players will avoid them. I might go try radiant hammer (or GS) and see how it performs. But for meditrapper I am not convinced.