Mace for Healing Firebrand

[Grandtomatoe.2045]

Hello,

I am very new to guardian and also healing characters. I have been playing a healing Firebrand for a few days now and I was wondering how much you guys actually use the mace. It seems like Tome 2 and Tome 3 and extremely powerful when engaged in a big fight so I use those up first. In between those and after they are used up I switch to my staff.

I rarely ever find myself getting into the mace auto attack chain. Are you guys playing this differently? I have tried and axe instead of mace. Obviously there is no healing on axe but the damage/pull/symbol are pretty nice.

Thank You! <3

[Josif.2015]

@Grandtomatoe.2045 said:Hello,

I am very new to guardian and also healing characters. I have been playing a healing Firebrand for a few days now and I was wondering how much you guys actually use the mace. It seems like Tome 2 and Tome 3 and extremely powerful when engaged in a big fight so I use those up first. In between those and after they are used up I switch to my staff.

I rarely ever find myself getting into the mace auto attack chain. Are you guys playing this differently? I have tried and axe instead of mace. Obviously there is no healing on axe but the damage/pull/symbol are pretty nice.

Thank You! <3

Don't use the staff for support. It's horrible. As for the mace, use Protector's Strike to support allies instead of the auto attack. By the time you get to finish the third attack chain for the heal, you can heal your allies with tomes. Not only that, but you can detonate Shield of Absorption to heal allies much quicker than just using the mace auto attack.

[Grandtomatoe.2045]

Don't use the staff for support. It's horrible.

That is interesting. What weapon sets do you use on your support guardian?

[Josif.2015]

@Grandtomatoe.2045 said:

Don't use the staff for support. It's horrible.

That is interesting. What weapon sets do you use on your support guardian?

For support guardian, either mace/focus or mace/shield. Also, make sure when you quote people to leave their usernames in them so that they'll be notified when you responded to their messages.

[Rhyse.8179]

Mace work's best with an Aegis and Quickness build, both of which firebrand gets from it's mantras. With traits to make aegis heal, and quickness to pump out the autoattacks, the mace becomes pretty solid support weapon. It's not a spot healer, like druid, but it puts out a constant level of sustain in a area to everyone around you. Use Protectors strike or your heal mantra to apply aegis at key moments and prevent damage before it happens; that'll be more important then healing. Use your tome of resolve when you need a spot heal.

Combine this strategy with Mystic Rebuke for a more offensive version when you need to solo.

[Zhaid Zhem.6508]

You provide strong heal with aegis (mace #3, shield #4, mantra#6, F3 #2 and #5) with Pure of Heart trait, F2, shield #5 and strong regen with Battle Presence (f2 to allies), mace #2, eventually symbols with Writ of Persistence. The heal on AA is a bit weak/slow, it should not be your reflex if you need Heal. Use AA in waiting for others skills and weapon swap.I recommand you Scepter with Writ of Persistence to provide some Mights or Axe or hammer for CC. Hammer can be good if you're lazy and need just some sustain and protectionIn pve you'll stand between druid and chrono; you can cover some mights, perma fury (with rune for altruism), perma quickness, protection, stab, anti-projectiles etc ; and have better sustain and healing than druid, but no frost spirit, no spotter, no Glyph of Empowerment, no alacrity.In fractals it works great with 4 DPS, or duo with chrono dps but people like to wait 20 minutes in LFG just for a druid+chrono, I don't have the same idea of "saving time" but why not. In raids, well ... as a second healer.

If you're talking about WvW and pvp : staff mace/shiel, hammer is great too.

[Snowjob.7245]

@Hoodie.1045 said:

@"Grandtomatoe.2045" said:Hello,

I am very new to guardian and also healing characters. I have been playing a healing Firebrand for a few days now and I was wondering how much you guys actually use the mace. It seems like Tome 2 and Tome 3 and extremely powerful when engaged in a big fight so I use those up first. In between those and after they are used up I switch to my staff.

I rarely ever find myself getting into the mace auto attack chain. Are you guys playing this differently? I have tried and axe instead of mace. Obviously there is no healing on axe but the damage/pull/symbol are pretty nice.

Thank You! <3

Don't use the staff for support.

Staff provides the most burst healing though skill 2 detonate and skill 4. You need staff in a support build.

You can choose not to run mace if you want the fury from sword instead or might from scepter, or even axe if you want more cc. However, mace provides the highest uptime on it's symbol that gives permanent regen as well as access to more aegis and protection. It's why metabattle suggests mace.

https://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Firebrand_-_Support_Healer

[Riba.3271]

Mace shield in WvW as support is simple:You heal/midigate with aegis -> You use mace 3 and shield 4 to block 1 attack + heal (and keep protection up)You drop mace 2 symbol on allies -> it applies regen and heals themShield 5 -> Block projectiles, clenase conditions or doubletap to healYou shouldn't use mace autoattack almost ever, it is too slow.

I dont play staff as 2ndary weapon either in WvW.

I play greatsword because it usually allows me to apply more pressure to enemy (makes melee bigger), actually lets me focus on my party instead of doing "staying on commander 24/7 and being a boonbot with exact same rotations with no flexibility" and actually ress people caught out behind. Hammer is fine also.

Of course I still have merciful intervention for mobility but without greatsword (or hammer) Guardian is just a healbot with very limited outplay potential.

BattleUsually you start a fight by veiling and premidigating damage by shield 4, after you hear the aegis proc, you use mace 3 and once it procs, you dodge to stay safe and this will help you win the first engage. Then you drop mace 2 on the outskirts of the battle so people get regen behind etc.

After this you can typically swap to gs or hammer and go banish/ress downs.

Another option is to drop hammer 5 instead of mace 2 as soon as you're out of immediate danger and you have enough time to cast it.

[Faction.4013]

Posting here to Bookmark this thread!

Good info here for the future. Thanks all!!

[Azoqu.8917]

@Snowjob.7245 said:

Staff provides the most burst healing though skill 2 detonate and skill 4. You need staff in a support build.

Every time I swap to Staff while supporting from my Mace/Shield, for about 8 seconds I wonder why I ever did it. After you blow the 2 4 combo, you stand around until weapon swap with nothing to do. The weapon is absolutely terrible and I've grown to just camping Mace/Shield instead with even using Axe for a CC in PvE or scepter for range/another constant symbol on swap.

[starlinvf.1358]

@Azoqu.8917 said:

@Snowjob.7245 said:

Staff provides the most burst healing though skill 2 detonate and skill 4. You need staff in a support build.

Every time I swap to Staff while supporting from my Mace/Shield, for about 8 seconds I wonder why I ever did it. After you blow the 2 4 combo, you stand around until weapon swap with nothing to do. The weapon is absolutely terrible and I've grown to just camping Mace/Shield instead with even using Axe for a CC in PvE or scepter for range/another constant symbol on swap.

Thats why you open with Staff, drop symbol, Channel might, and orb for Light Aura, then swap into melee for sustain. You only swap back into Staff during combat when repositioning, or need some kind of range attack when Justice is down. Its a crappy weapon overall, but the Swiftness and easy might is just too much QOL to give up when WvW zerging. If you're not in a zerg, or just feel lazy about it, Scepter's symbol is great when you're offensive spec.