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What runes should I be using? (WvW)


Rend.5794

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tl;dr at the bottom!Hey all, so I'm still a newbie who's running a core-guardian power build roamer. (I play with a fixed wvw squad of 5-10members, I don't play solo)Gear : 6x Mara armor + 3/3 zerker/mara trinkets + zerker weaponsI've tested some traits around (without runes) and found out Zeal 223 / Radiance 333 / Valor 222 (all utilities are meditation) works best with my playstyle.Stats with currently using Eagles runes :5twNL51.jpg

Basically, what i'm looking for is "decent" DMG and survival.I want to maintain as much retaliation possible with this build and so i think i need to get runes that will help with boon duration. Thing is, i'm not quite sure which secondary stat I need to get (vit, toughness, or power). I cant choose between getting durability, radiance or fireworks. I don't want to feel too squishy or have too weak dmg :/ and since I dont have legendary gear yet, its hard to swap out and test each rune set.

  • Some people recommended using fireworks because i should aim for "max dps before dying instantly anyways"
  • Others recommended durability/radiance because I should rather "try stay alive a little longer and sacrifice some more dps"

tl;dr) With my current set-up, I'm very satisfied with my damage but not too happy about how squishy I feel right now. Usually in a 5 vs 5+ fight, I survive at least a minute thanks to my groups support, But I always end up dying first while the fight goes on without me for like 5 minutes.. and then I feel i'm very useless to my team :(Which rune set would you guys recommend for me to use?

Thank you all for taking the time to read! :)

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Radiance is the one I wouldn't choose.You do not have that many auras/aura uptime I would recommend durability due to the resistance it provides.

Fireworks is nice for the movement speed, but it depends on your group if you have enough swiftness and superspeed.

Earth is also a nice option due to the reflect and the increased incoming healing.

Vampirism could be something experimental you could try, but it depends on how fast you can cleave down enemies.

And sanctuary runes could also be really good ones, they increase your heals by 20% in Form of barrier and it increases health and boonduration.

Top picks I would take are sanctuary or durability.

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I would drop that Zeal if I was you. Zeal is mostly about Symbols doing more damage but good luck trying to get any opponent to stay in them.Trying to build for 100% Retaliation, or even high uptime, isn't really worth the effort of speccing for Boon Duration. I would just spec into Virtues to gain the extra stunbreak and Stability, and the Retaliation on F1-F3. +20% damage with Aegis on for your burst windows is good too. You won't have sustained high damage as a Guardian vs players, you should basically be hanging back Scepter autoing until you can jump on someone (who's vulnerable) with your GS burst. F1+GS2+JI.

I'm no expert when it comes to WvW as I mostly sPvP but here's what I would run:http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PWwAEt3lFwAZeMM2IW+PqrcA-zVRYBRNIG+zoPpQEqALOL6/aB-w

Small scale WvW more or less works like sPvP in terms of how you teamfight. More interesting Rune choices in WvW though.InsaneQR's advice is solid. The rune I have in the editor is something I'd personally be interested in trying. Defender could work out really well for a Guardian with their high amount of single blocks. Can't say it's tried and tested though, maybe Rune of the Defender doesn't even work with Aegis.

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I'm not skilled but you will go down so fast if you go full zerker, due to very low health pool and toughness. Most people in wvw are veterans, keep that in mind. I used to solo roam with core guardian before I changed it to Firebrand support for Zerg. I learned classes that I struggled with and that one class that will always whoop your butt. If you don't have wall of reflection in your utility, you will struggle and lose to Holos, Rangers and Eles. Thief was the most annoying class I've ever encountered. They will run away as soon their hp drops to 25%, and reset combat. Then they will come back for you again. One class I would definitely not! fight is the, Reaper. Core Guardian is a bruiser, Reaper is the better bruiser. Warrior comes second. Yours is a different story, since you're with a team. For me, I would drop radiance, replace it with Virtues. You either want Retaliation or meditation build, can't have both. I suggest having at least 20% concentration, if you go for retaliation. Try this,Zeal 1-2-2, Valor 2 -1-3, and Virtues 2 or 1 or 3-2-3. Your F1, F2, and F3 will all have retaliation. Shield 4 is your main source of Aegis and Retaliation (16 seconds). Optional utilities are "save yourselves" with 15 sec retaliation and Stand Your Ground with 7 second, assuming you have 20% concentration. Lastly, you F3 will become spammable, because of Tenacious Defense trait.

edit. I just checked the editor, come to think of it, you can replace one of the traits with Radiance for more damage. Zeal is important for Retaliation build, because of Wrathful Spirit. Aegis will provide you retaliation when it ends. Zealous Blade boost your Greatsword damage . Shattered Aegis is just a cheery on top.

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If your squad is 5-10 people you should be running support firebrand. Leave DPS to revenants, scourges (from corrupts mainly), power reapers, weavers, spellbreakers, staff daredevils, the rare holos (rifle is less likely than sword), Soulbeasts (make sure they stop firing bow when reflects are up and swap to melee).If you are running support you'll want monk runes , mace+shield and staff, 1200+ heal power. stand your ground for stability, Invigorated Bulwark+Force of Will in Honor, Indomitable Courage or Battle Presence in Virtues.

You can forget about using symbols because without CC they will hit once or twice.

The less DPS in your squad the more you want to deviate away from minstrel and run mixed things like Marshals/Harriers/Celestial/Apothecary to either get power /condi (condi is less investment and resembles sage brand in PvP). However, if you only have core spec + low investment then you will probably be looking at celestial / cleric's + marauder because without firebrand spec you don't have access to much burning without running Permeating Wrath in Virtues.

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  • 3 weeks later...

i love this build, nice sustain, alot HP, armor, selfheal, nice utility and nice damage, its not top tier dps but with 80%+ critchance, 207% critdamage and quickness, + double smite condition you can down people fast enough. Tome of judgement hits like a truck in this build too.

http://gw2skills.net/editor/?PWwAEx7lRw8YgsQmJW+PmPdA-zxIY1o+vQaKE6LDatAU7AIKPOaowyG-e

You can swap skill 9 for whatever you need, more condi cleanse, save yourself, signets, mantras. But MI is awesome in a group.

IMO WvW is not PvE. Only Warriors, Thiefs and Mesmers can go full glass cannon and still survive in smallscale.For your build you should really consider a defensive rune like Dolyak or Durability.

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My two cents: Use Firework runes. The 25% movement is needed for core guard, and the start of combat boons help the only small niche core guard's still have in WvW; teleporting on unsuspecting people and bursting before they can react.

That being said, I would highly suggest you switch Zeal for Virtues if you want to remain core guard. The ~20% damage increase doesn't outweigh the utility Virtues offers, and will help you with the survivability you are lacking. As for stacking boon duration ... don't. You shouldn't be striving for boon duration to just have longer retaliation, you should be making sure you have on demand retaliation (IE symbol of wrath, traited Virtue of Justice, Litany of Wrath, etc) prior to using big burst damage abilities.

Finally, if you want to preserve your playstyle, but gain more advantage consider speccing into Dragonhunter. It can be played like core guard, but gives access to stronger Virtues in larger scale conflicts as well as access to traps. The longbow can be use to help when fighting zergs because even though it isn't great it still provides better range pressure than other guardian range weapons.

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