Hammer for sPVP

[Babacua.3125]

Is it viable? Can anyone link me a build by chance?

[FtoPScrub.5476]

Yes it is viable but not quite meta

https://www.godsofpvp.net/builds/guardian#build_core

[Yannir.4132]

Just saying it's viable is downplaying it harshly. It's actually a really good build if you know what you are doing. It just has trouble fitting into a team for tournaments because of roles clashing as holo does exactly the same things as core Radiant Hammer guard but with a bonus of having ranged attacks, and they can rotate their offense whereas you as a hammer guard will notice that there are moments between hammer 2's when there's just no buttons to press. Also your windows of retaliation are short so you can't deal that super-high damage all the time. That said, I still think it's an amazing build in the right hands.

Some match-ups:Thieves.If you land hammer 5 on them, and they don't have Shadowstep up, you have yourself a dead thief. Also don't let them Steal your Stability from f3. Prioritize CoP and JI as stunbreaks when you need it for this match-up.Scourges.You need to recognize the variant they are using. If they are the DPS kind, wait until they've blown some cooldowns, then burst hard. If they are on the Blood build, just head right in, you should have more cleanse than they do damage.Mesmers.Avoid at all costs. With good timing, you can survive the 1v1 but getting the kill/getting them to back away will be rare. If they get a solid burst on you, you're a dead guard. Unfortunately they have more mobility than you do, so it's hard to get away from them. So try to lean on your team when dealing with them.

[FtoPScrub.5476]

@Yannir.4132 said:Just saying it's viable is downplaying it harshly. It's actually a really good build if you know what you are doing. It just has trouble fitting into a team for tournaments because of roles clashing as holo does exactly the same things as core Radiant Hammer guard but with a bonus of having ranged attacks, and they can rotate their offense whereas you as a hammer guard will notice that there are moments between hammer 2's when there's just no buttons to press. Also your windows of retaliation are short so you can't deal that super-high damage all the time.

How did I harshly downplay anything? Your post literally is just an pointlessly long way of saying viable but not quite meta. Meta = most effective tool/tactic available. Guard is not the most effective, holo is. Guard however, IS viable.

[Yannir.4132]

@FtoPScrub.5476 said:

@"Yannir.4132" said:Just saying it's viable is downplaying it harshly. It's actually a really good build if you know what you are doing. It just has trouble fitting into a team for tournaments because of roles clashing as holo does exactly the same things as core Radiant Hammer guard but with a bonus of having ranged attacks, and they can rotate their offense whereas you as a hammer guard will notice that there are moments between hammer 2's when there's just no buttons to press. Also your windows of retaliation are short so you can't deal that super-high damage all the time.

How did I harshly downplay anything? Your post literally is just an pointlessly long way of saying viable but not quite meta. Meta = most effective tool/tactic available. Guard is not the most effective, holo is. Guard however, IS viable.

You just said it yourself. If "pointlessly long" is describing how the build actually fares against the meta classes, I'm guilty as charged. Viable is just not descriptive enough of a word for it. Anyway, no reason to get upset.

PS. I DID forget to mention that Tournament meta may not be what you are gunning for. For soloQing I'd say this build is better than Firebrand. Just for the self-sufficiency and not needing other teammates to carry their weight. The build swings fights in your favor heavily.

[Math.5123]

@Yannir.4132 said:Just saying it's viable is downplaying it harshly. It's actually a really good build if you know what you are doing. It just has trouble fitting into a team for tournaments because of roles clashing as holo does exactly the same things as core Radiant Hammer guard but with a bonus of having ranged attacks, and they can rotate their offense whereas you as a hammer guard will notice that there are moments between hammer 2's when there's just no buttons to press. Also your windows of retaliation are short so you can't deal that super-high damage all the time. That said, I still think it's an amazing build in the right hands.

Some match-ups:Thieves.If you land hammer 5 on them, and they don't have Shadowstep up, you have yourself a dead thief. Also don't let them Steal your Stability from f3. Prioritize CoP and JI as stunbreaks when you need it for this match-up.Scourges.You need to recognize the variant they are using. If they are the DPS kind, wait until they've blown some cooldowns, then burst hard. If they are on the Blood build, just head right in, you should have more cleanse than they do damage.Mesmers.Avoid at all costs. With good timing, you can survive the 1v1 but getting the kill/getting them to back away will be rare. If they get a solid burst on you, you're a dead guard. Unfortunately they have more mobility than you do, so it's hard to get away from them. So try to lean on your team when dealing with them.

Avoid mesmers at all cost? Core hammer guard is the only class that beats Condi mirage 1v1. There's no way you die vs it with all the Condi cleanses we have access too. You will never kill the Mirage due to the superior disengage, you will however force it off node.

[Huskyboy.1053]

@"AngelLovesFredrik.6741" said:

@Yannir.4132 said:Just saying it's viable is downplaying it harshly. It's actually a really good build if you know what you are doing. It just has trouble fitting into a team for tournaments because of roles clashing as holo does exactly the same things as core Radiant Hammer guard but with a bonus of having ranged attacks, and they can rotate their offense whereas you as a hammer guard will notice that there are moments between hammer 2's when there's just no buttons to press. Also your windows of retaliation are short so you can't deal that super-high damage all the time. That said, I still think it's an amazing build in the right hands.

Some match-ups:Thieves.If you land hammer 5 on them, and they don't have Shadowstep up, you have yourself a dead thief. Also don't let them Steal your Stability from f3. Prioritize CoP and JI as stunbreaks when you need it for this match-up.Scourges.You need to recognize the variant they are using. If they are the DPS kind, wait until they've blown some cooldowns, then burst hard. If they are on the Blood build, just head right in, you should have more cleanse than they do damage.Mesmers.Avoid at all costs. With good timing, you can survive the 1v1 but getting the kill/getting them to back away will be rare. If they get a solid burst on you, you're a dead guard. Unfortunately they have more mobility than you do, so it's hard to get away from them. So try to lean on your team when dealing with them.

Avoid mesmers at all cost? Core hammer guard is the only class that beats Condi mirage 1v1. There's no way you die vs it with all the Condi cleanses we have access too. You will never kill the Mirage due to the superior disengage, you will however force it off node.

I've been playing the GS variant, it's quite strong against condi mirage. I've found that hammer guard isn't so strong simply because it doesn't have the same ability to cleave clones before they're shattered.

[Gwaihir.1745]

@Huskyboy.1053 said:

@"AngelLovesFredrik.6741" said:

@Yannir.4132 said:Just saying it's viable is downplaying it harshly. It's actually a really good build if you know what you are doing. It just has trouble fitting into a team for tournaments because of roles clashing as holo does exactly the same things as core Radiant Hammer guard but with a bonus of having ranged attacks, and they can rotate their offense whereas you as a hammer guard will notice that there are moments between hammer 2's when there's just no buttons to press. Also your windows of retaliation are short so you can't deal that super-high damage all the time. That said, I still think it's an amazing build in the right hands.

Some match-ups:Thieves.If you land hammer 5 on them, and they don't have Shadowstep up, you have yourself a dead thief. Also don't let them Steal your Stability from f3. Prioritize CoP and JI as stunbreaks when you need it for this match-up.Scourges.You need to recognize the variant they are using. If they are the DPS kind, wait until they've blown some cooldowns, then burst hard. If they are on the Blood build, just head right in, you should have more cleanse than they do damage.Mesmers.Avoid at all costs. With good timing, you can survive the 1v1 but getting the kill/getting them to back away will be rare. If they get a solid burst on you, you're a dead guard. Unfortunately they have more mobility than you do, so it's hard to get away from them. So try to lean on your team when dealing with them.

Avoid mesmers at all cost? Core hammer guard is the only class that beats Condi mirage 1v1. There's no way you die vs it with all the Condi cleanses we have access too. You will never kill the Mirage due to the superior disengage, you will however force it off node.

I've been playing the GS variant, it's quite strong against condi mirage. I've found that hammer guard isn't so strong simply because it doesn't have the same ability to cleave clones before they're shattered.

Break your lock and you can mb the ground stopping all 3 incoming shatters. Must have auto promote target off.

Also row blocks shatters and stop a mirage from shattering onto mid.

[Yannir.4132]

@"AngelLovesFredrik.6741" said:

@Yannir.4132 said:Just saying it's viable is downplaying it harshly. It's actually a really good build if you know what you are doing. It just has trouble fitting into a team for tournaments because of roles clashing as holo does exactly the same things as core Radiant Hammer guard but with a bonus of having ranged attacks, and they can rotate their offense whereas you as a hammer guard will notice that there are moments between hammer 2's when there's just no buttons to press. Also your windows of retaliation are short so you can't deal that super-high damage all the time. That said, I still think it's an amazing build in the right hands.

Some match-ups:Thieves.If you land hammer 5 on them, and they don't have Shadowstep up, you have yourself a dead thief. Also don't let them Steal your Stability from f3. Prioritize CoP and JI as stunbreaks when you need it for this match-up.Scourges.You need to recognize the variant they are using. If they are the DPS kind, wait until they've blown some cooldowns, then burst hard. If they are on the Blood build, just head right in, you should have more cleanse than they do damage.Mesmers.Avoid at all costs. With good timing, you can survive the 1v1 but getting the kill/getting them to back away will be rare. If they get a solid burst on you, you're a dead guard. Unfortunately they have more mobility than you do, so it's hard to get away from them. So try to lean on your team when dealing with them.

Avoid mesmers at all cost? Core hammer guard is the only class that beats Condi mirage 1v1. There's no way you die vs it with all the Condi cleanses we have access too. You will never kill the Mirage due to the superior disengage, you will however force it off node.

I'll admit my initial comment may have been too edgy and absolute. But radiant hammer hard-countering mirage is hardly true either.Really depends on who gets the drop on who. These are both specs that rely on surprising the opponent. IMO, Mirage has a bigger toolbox to that end.

[Arcaedus.7290]

@Yannir.4132 said:I'll admit my initial comment may have been too edgy and absolute. But radiant hammer hard-countering mirage is hardly true either.Really depends on who gets the drop on who. These are both specs that rely on surprising the opponent. IMO, Mirage has a bigger toolbox to that end.

I have better luck against mirage on DH in 1v1s. Most mirages have plenty of sustain and gap openers to last through a good 3 bursts on core radiant guard and that's about all you're going to get before they burn you dry of all your sustain. In a team fight with ally support, hammer guard works wonders against them though. If they're too aggressive (use their dodges and blink offensively), a JI + RoW does work wonders on them though.