jan.7915

> @"Armen.1483" said:

> > @"Obtena.7952" said:

> > > What about diversity ?

> >

> > Let's not go down a path that may embarrass you by claiming no one is playing other classes because of Guardian. If you want to claim we don't have diversity ... AND the lack of diversity is the reason people only play Guardian, you have to show BOTH of those things, not just state it like it's a foregone conclusion.

> I don't care what others play. I want to play something other than guardian myself and I can't. Because you simply can't replace DH and FB in raids nor fractals nor WVW. Okay I can play another meta class in WVW and that's it.

> > There will ALWAYS be a top dog in this game (and it's never prevented people from playing other classes either), so it's not a reason to swing the nerf bat at it.

> Yes and for a very long time it is the Guardian at least in PVE: Tank firebrand in raids , heal firebrand in raids and fractals, condi firebrand pretty much broken where there is a possiblity to reset F1, power firebrand dominating CMs with DH (rip) and if you want to play a dps in raids you just go DH if firebrand is not broken there. Yes you have a alacrigade (replaceable with chronos), there is a bs and druid (not mandatory at all) apart from those you can just fill with guardians in MOST raid encounters. And when I say you can it is what factually I see in all raid groups I know and pugs and it is what I play too.

> In wvw... well you know the story I won't say anything here.

> in sPVP guardian is not the only solid pick ofc, but it is a solid pick anyway.

> > Like i said ... Guardian is balance-wise, in a good place ... you just don't understand what Anet's balance target is. Actually, just read the post above this one ... pretty much explains it for you.

> I don't think anyone understands what Anet's balance target is.

> > @"draxynnic.3719" said:

> > First minute of the video: Play what works for you, the balance is such that finding the profession that works for you is more important than what's objectively better. (I'm not sure that's quite true, I think some professions are generally hurting at the moment, but guardian isn't _so_ good that it's objectively better for high-end PvE content than the likes of revenant, mesmer, and other professions that can bring both good DPS and good support builds)

> Well it is not good.. it is BEST. PVEwise DH and FB are the best in dps and supportwise they are the best too with only ALAC being a boon they can't EASILY provide pretty much permanently.

> > 1:00-1:30 If (Nike) was giving advice to a new player starting off... (Let's face it, guardian _is_ simpler to play than a lot of other professions. Being new-player-friendly, however, is not a reason to nerf something.)

> I don't agree. Mastering firebrand is very difficult. However due to the strength it got, mediocre fb players think that firebrand is as mediocre as their skills. I would argue that playing modern power weaver is easier. But there are necro sb warrior and rene that are easier to play than guardian.

> > 1:30-2:30 Guardian weapons have good internal balance. (This is an indicator of good design, not being broken.)

> What about mantras ? Is that balanced too ?

> > 2:30-3:30 Guardian has a wide range of roles it can fill. (Being versatile is not an indicator that any given build is overpowered. Having a lot of viable builds instead of being pigeonholed into one or two is, instead, an indicator of good design.)

> Well being a support and ditching out so much damage means it is a bad design. If you don't know why try playing alacheal in casual fractals and ask your firebrand go full offensive stats and you will see your group dps skyrocket.

> > 3:30-4:00 Guardian is good in all PvE game modes. (Likely because of the versatility factor above. Again, being good everywhere doesn't mean it's overpowered to the point of needing a nerf anywhere.)

> Renegade is good, warrior is good, engi is good too... They do what they are supposed to do but not more. Guardian is overpowered. You never see a raid group with 1 guardian and 9 engies do you ?

> > 4:00-4:45 Aesthetics. (Helps explain popularity, if a significant portion of the player base agree, but looking good does not mean overpowered.)

> you can't know that, it is a taste thing, if you like it doesn't mean everyone likes it lol.

> > 4:45+ Conclusion

> >

> > So yeah, I'm not seeing anything in there that supports your argument that guardian needs a big nerf. Nowhere there does Nike say that guardians are significantly more powerful than other professions or that its essential in any content (it really isn't, everything any guardian build brings to high-end PvE has at least one other profession that can bring the same thing, as opposed to some things like banners and certain traits that are unique to specific professions and mean that you usually want at least one of that profession in instanced content). Instead, he's pretty much saying what we've been saying - it's a well designed profession that can serve in a variety of roles and which has a variety of builds.

> Well I shared the video to show you smb advising everyone to play guardian. Nuf said.

> > Which is the essence of the whole 'guardian is in a good place' line that ArenaNet has been giving for years. It's usually not the thing that's dominant in sPvP (although support firebrand was for a while). It's not the top DPS. It's just something that can provide solid performance in a variety of circumstances.

> Yeah it is not top dps in sPVP, now go ask Anet so it becomes one lol.

> > If you're looking to argue that guardian is too dominant, you'd be better served by pointing towards the Snowcrows raid setup guides. A lot of them _are_ stacked towards guardians (those that aren't mostly stack mesmers, with one that stacks thieves, and one that splits thieves and revenants). But one thing that you'll also note is that _every_ raid build, without fail, has at least one ranger and at least one warrior, and all but two have at least one revenant. There's a reason for this - because those professions bring unique party stat boosts to the table.

> Snowcrows raid setups is outdated for a long time. And anyway it doesn't matter much because ppl play with statics and pugs. I guess all your lack of knowledge comes from looking at numbers without analyzing real game situations behind it. Firebrand given mobs to reset f1 can't be beaten by anything, and it provided permaquickness, fury and might with no to minimal BD gear... that is what I call broken: face it. No alacrigrade can do something like that. Mesmer stacking is gone a long time ago. You can go with thieves to 1 bossfight. Yes, I know exactly what bossfight you are talking about. My static isn't doing it and I never see it in pugs. Only thieves show up there, because it is one of the few raid fights they are strong indeed. Apart from Xera there is Mathias too. Well it is one of the few places where mirage is played in a high level.

> > But what's _actually_ happening is that guardian fulfills one of the original promises of Guild Wars 2: that any profession can fill a variety of roles effectively without being pigeon-holed into one. It's not the only profession that achieves this, but the others that manage this are all more difficult to play and are hence a bit less popular. You shouldn't be asking for guardian to be nerfed because it has versatility - you should be asking for other professions to be brought up to the same level of versatility.

> I am telling you again, I hate playing guardian but I am forced to play it because it is very strong. DH with his bursts and Firebrand with f1 resets and no bd support capabilities. No other class can do it.

You know, world first kills are done until there's a new raid out.until then, why the heck do you have to play guardian even if it is the best? I am sure that a static kills everything even with a meme comp for fun. If yours doesn't allow fun, find one that does.

Can't disagree, I am on and off gw2 and never on top of the meta. Always loved my guardian core with shouts, DH, FB..it was never had.

@time investment for a new ascended set: you get it by playing enjoyable things too be it PvP, wvw, raids,fractals, festivals..I used a low number of income instead of 39g/hr dragonfall wanking.

Hot stats suck about gotta give you that that's mediocre design.

Necro ist good and bad.good because you won't die. Bad because you won't learn what to evade.

So, now, you want to gear a character?

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/User:Tanetris/So_You_Want_To_Gear_a_Character

YouTube has everything on gw2 from jumping puzzle to character builds, and metabattle. Is there for you too.

For crafting and more gw2efficiency.com

> @"draxynnic.3719" said:

> > @"otto.5684" said:

> > > @"Armen.1483" said:

> > > Guardian definitely needs some nerfs. It is the most played class, wherever you go there are overpowered guardians. I'd say it deserves more nerfs so people can start considering playing other classes too. Enough is enough.

> >

> > Well.. beside the a slight nerf to FB dps not much has changed. FmW is a buff outside of group PvE. Even there, assuming you a running mostly a full guardian dps squad, I do not think the difference will be noticeable. The sharing is down, but considering a 1 sec increased duration for self and 5 sec lower CD, I still think 5 dps guardian comp is still possible. The uptime of quickness on 5 guardian players, without any boon duration, goes from 71% to 60%. On 4 players from 57% to 50%. This is marginal stuff, and buff everywhere outside of group PvE. I do no think Anet thought this through, which is a trend.

> >

> > As for guardian being most played class, it is not a performance related thing. It has to do more with lore and aesthetics. People like to play "paladin" archetypes. And has great PvE build diversity. Guardian is probably OP in WvW zerg setting. Outside of that it is either good (PvE) or mediocre (sPvP).

> >

> >

>

> It's also one of the most stable professions. It gets tweaked every so often to be sure, but you could take a pre-HoT core build, or an immediately post-release dragonhunter or firebrand build, and there's a good chance it'll still work (I think the only one that was destroyed utterly was the one based around spamming aegis with Tome of Courage to trigger aegis traits). They may not be optimal, but they'll still work.

>

> Try saying that about, say, Mesmer.

>

> In an environment where ascended (and even some exotic stats) is a significant investment, this makes guardian a good choice because you're not likely to have gone to all that investment only to have it invalidated in the next patch. It also helps that it has versatility to fill a variety of roles, and some of the gear can potentially be shifted to warrior (banners) or rev (alacrity) if the group needs it. Once you've got a guardian going, then you can start working on a more 'exotic' option on the basis that if said option gets an overhaul which compromises it's viability and/or enjoyability, guardian is there as a fallback.

>

> So if you're basing your opinion on the balance state of guardians on how many you see in high-end PvE or even WvW, you may be looking at people who are starting off with guardian because it's a safer investment.

I agree with everything but the point about ascended cost. 10h of medium efficient gaming like finishing your bounty achiev isn't a huge investment of time/effort for an endgame gear set.

Also, I picked guardian because of how gs4 looks.

Unpopular opinion: all Berserker. Makes you l2p a bit but but it's cheap and best for group content

Being a shitter in no DPS gear only makes you live longer until you wipe and being good fos makes fast phases easy kills.

Play Guardian.you have a staple class there and ranger is very good too. Basically all classes are. One trick is to go to PvP with your toon and try it there to see the skills and how it feels.

Gw2 is about enjoying the gameplay, not about gear grind but you First ascended sets will take a while.

From there just do it try around, obviously doing things like the current festival is nice fun and profitable and daily completions are a nice task to complete too.

> @"ArchonWing.9480" said:

> > @"jan.7915" said:

> > > @"Fueki.4753" said:

> > > > @"Roche.7491" said:

> > > > Agree with you. How about in pvp?

> > >

> > > In PvP you are stun-locked and murdered within few seconds anyway, so the extra HP hardly matters.

> > >

> > >

> > Look at meta builds for PvP,if hp wouldn't help then people wouldn't run it.

> >

> > Marauders is wvw gear for some classes, I don't see the reason for guardian as we run firebrand usually.

> >

> > Now open world zerging and story... trailblazer firebrand is very awesome.

>

> I actually agree with this, but sadly that stat is sorta expensive so it's usually not my first recommendation unless I know they have some gold to spare. Getting some Living Story Trinkets with TB is a good idea though.

>

> Open World is often much more about getting from point A to B and C and not necessarily killing everything on your way, so it is great.

Full exotic berserker DH can do all story and pve easily, just not solo group events.

But you can do nighttime events solo to farm bladed armor.

Crafting trailblazer is stupid expensive, wouldn't do it especially since there's no gain over sinister viper grieving in group setups. I went trailblazer exotics and viper grieving accs for balance and crafted ascended for group content. Okay..I got trailblazer accs too but I specially enjoy playing those LW maps..i get that bit everybody has many sets of bloodstone accs.

> @"Fueki.4753" said:

> > @"Roche.7491" said:

> > Agree with you. How about in pvp?

>

> In PvP you are stun-locked and murdered within few seconds anyway, so the extra HP hardly matters.

>

>

Look at meta builds for PvP,if hp wouldn't help then people wouldn't run it.

Marauders is wvw gear for some classes, I don't see the reason for guardian as we run firebrand usually.

Now open world zerging and story... trailblazer firebrand is very awesome. DH is very awesome.dh can cycle focus block into heal(more damage is better there) into f3. You can easily reach crit cap with berserker, extra crit of marauders isn't necessary.

Both works, nobody cares. Run full knight gear and nobody cares either.

Raids, dungeons, fractals and strike mission there's only Berserker stats. Why? because it is easier to push a phase of you push it faster.

This is where the marauders is for beginners comes in. Beginner group suck at dpsnand phase take too long everybody dropping to mechanic damage and then you notice that you drop slower with marauders. But it's a trap.

Tldr:since crafting a set of marauders is a considerable investment it's not recommended at all unless you know why and where u need it and at that point you don't need it anymore.

I just noticed that archon pretty much said the same, sorry.

>Then I realize that running a berserker is like >playing devil may cry at heaven or hell mode. >One hit will kill you in an instant. Less than 1% >DMC players can do it. That is what I call pro. >Untouchable and a complete mastery of the >system.

That's not true.

Yes: http://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Firebrand_-_Solo_Firebrand

This is as good as solo builds get.

You can use the raid build too obsly:https://youtu.be/Z2JeZZFFJ0c

Lots of build work, lord hizen has a weaver, firebrand and herald build updated nfor 2020 I believe and there is more.

Trailblazer is the only reasonable gear to get. There's a build for solo firebrand on metabattle, just do that.

Bladed gear is easy to get and can select trailblazer. Exotic is perfectly fine for open world so that you can get your ascended for content where it matters.

> @"EyzKold.8247" said:

> > @"Sobx.1758" said:

> > > @"EyzKold.8247" said:

> > > > @"Arcaniaxs.4519" said:

> > > > 1 hit...dead? Dude thief can have one of the best self healing in top pve content (raids) with 3.5-6k healing per second ( depending on ur dps ) and im not even talking about the evades! You simply just dodge around and dmg stuff. U want a 1 hit dead thing? Look at warrior's self heal in raids/fractals

> > >

> > > The 1 hit dead is a reference to my character not the target

> >

> > For the most part your observation just isn't true and is "an l2p issue" :p

> Already know that

>

Since you wnat to play guardian soon: guardian isnt squishy because of low hp.

Guardian. Aegis, DH f3, sceptre block.and highest burst u can lay traps and while u gather stuff dies for instant remount ooc.

Thief is good too with shortbow f5 but honestly for chests and mats guardian+skyscale.

For zerging guardian is great too as firebrand and for raids fractal wvw it's hard meta.

Scrapper is the only specc that does use hammer well and gets tanky.

Reaching the specc is done within not even an hour with a hp train and meanwhile you get to finish some maps.

> @"RUNICBLACK.7630" said:

> > >Actually it wouldn't be a bad idea if they changed Force of Will to function more like some of the other traits that grant Vitality

> > >

> > Guardian is already a top choice build, overbuffing there would result in nerfs elsewhere or an op class.

> >

> > I get it, y'all want to be stupid op as the reaper for open world but guardian is right below that, still stupid strong. Power set to one shot packs and Condi set for champs, easy.

>

> I think you've misinterpreted what I was suggesting, I wasn't suggesting that you give the Guard a larger health pool so much as change the way the Force Of Will trait gives it , as it stands it gives 300 points to Vitality which basically gives the Guardian 3000 points to their health pool plus a bonus of 1% (.5% in PvP and WvW) to out going healing which is a totally passive effect. All that I'm suggesting is no longer make it a flat 300 and instead make it a X% of another Stat or from two Stats as it is done on at least 3 or 4 other examples of Traits that give a bonus to Vitality and in doing so you could bring the Trait down from it's Grand Master status to a lesser Trait value(which again almost all of the other Traits are at instead Grand Master) thereby opening up the Grand Master slot to something allows more versatility instead a passive point gain( note depending on the X% this could give greater than 300 points or less that would depend on X% and the Stat(s) involved) so just to be clear I'm not suggesting a blanket increase in Vitality in anyway.

>

> As a side note with the change to Signet of Mercy (change from Healing to Concentration) the Guardian lost any trait or utility that gives us additional healing power, some how mixing healing into this could be helpful, just a thought.

Sorry I misunderstood. That would make sense.

I still don't see the need for more life on a proven solo dungeon runner class because it could snowball very quickly.

> @"Turkeyspit.3965" said:

> > @"jan.7915" said:

> > PS: guardian is one of those Classes that can comfortably solo hot hp using Condi firebrand.

>

> In Viper gear or Dire/Carrion/Trailblazer gear?

Trailblazer makes it easier I believe. I asked in guild and a guildmate said that for hp solo or to carry the train hebruhs for guildies he is using trailblazer accs and his normal raid gearset mix (viper grieving sinister).

I got trailblazer exotics and the accs are the raid mix. Both works but fully trailblazer would be easier u believe. Balthazar was hard because I suck at those things but took less tries than my first Griffon race gold.

>Actually it wouldn't be a bad idea if they changed Force of Will to function more like some of the other traits that grant Vitality

>

Guardian is already a top choice build, overbuffing there would result in nerfs elsewhere or an op class.

I get it, y'all want to be stupid op as the reaper for open world but guardian is right below that, still stupid strong. Power set to one shot packs and Condi set for champs, easy.

> @"Ryou.2398" said:

> I think its the simple matter of certain builds need an hp boost maybe they should put the extra hp in a trait and that would balance things out better but there are other builds where if you had hp you would be way to op, your best bet for now is going a condi build there is a really nice core and firebrand one you can run and trust me its a hek of allot of fun.

Guardian is in an awesome spot(meta at all pve modes). It doesn't need more hp. Marauder gear is the solution, it also compensate with higher crit rating for not having a ranger in party.

If anybody feels that guardian is week it is a purely l2p issue.

PS: guardian is one of those Classes that can comfortably solo hot hp using Condi firebrand.

> @"Saraneth.6021" said:

> So far I am enjoying my condi FB. Some of the tome spells are just beautiful. I am still learning and don't even know what half the stuff does yet. I'm a slow learner so it's going to take a while. Just have to make sure I enjoy it while learning.

>

> At the moment I have a mix of Carrion, Dire and Sinister gear. Just two pieces of Dire while I learn how to play. Was dying too much do this gives me a little cushion.

>

> Currently leveling Armorsmithing and Weaponsmithing to make some ascended gear. I am a little anxious about what that entails so I am trying to not look too far ahead and just do a little at a time which will all add up eventually. So it seems that the best option for ascended gear is all Vipers. I am wondering if there is a little wiggle room to add a little vitality and toughness

No, the best ascended set is not all vipers. It's a mixture. Here: https://snowcrows.com/raids/builds/guardian/firebrand/condition/ Thats for raids. For open world trailblaze is arguably best because you still get very good damage but become tanky.

http://metabattle.com/wiki/Build:Firebrand_-_Solo_Firebrand

For open world you can do whatever, personally i got trailbalzer gear but the raid accs simply because my accs are already stacking up taking inventory slots like mad^^

You cant die by one hit because aegis.

Guardian health is fine, if you want hp run marauder.

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

This is firebrand with power gear. If you can get trailblazer "easily" and wnat to solo things that you are not supposed to solo use the condi firebrand:

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

This is fractals "meta" as in top tier best you could use for even spead clears. its using power. https://discretize.eu/builds/guardian/hybrid-firebrand

https://discretize.eu/builds/guardian/hybrid-firebrand

For raids i believe that somebody said a cpl of days ago (i am only playing gw2 again for 2weeks after a break) that a mixture of traiblazer and vipers (ascended ofc) is a really good raid build too and generally viable even for fractals. For raids its viper and the second dps stat option for condi that i forgot the name of.

So, do what you do because you like to do it. Both works, harrier exotics get u through open world no problem if you really want to play condi but getting that cheap power build fully ascended first opens you the door to fractals earlier.

Just my 2cents.

Condi FB is great to solo hero points, dungeons.. that's where it's arguably meta. It takes trailblazer/viper gear, the core stats don't make it snowball like it can.

FB and DH for open world are very similar as power build, simply getting very cheap berserker Armor ist getting you an awesome build.

Marauder trinkets to get to 15k health is nice.

As I said, you can play fb,DH, core with power and melt trash while still having some tools for harder fights.

Tldr is, play what you enjoy most and certainty join some hp runs to unlock both.

If you want to play condi you can get trailblazer from bladed Armor boxes,have fun running them metas.

The simple fact that getting alts is effortless enable you to do whatever you like and play whatever flavour you feel on any given day.

> @"Turkeyspit.3965" said:

> > @"Kulvar.1239" said:

> > Lowest HP, Low mobility.

>

> These are the main ones, but to be fair, without those negatives, the profession would be overpowered. I play every profession except Ele (I suck at piano) and the utility toolkit the Guardian has access to is amazing, especially in supporting allies., while burst damage is very competitive.

>

> The only other thing I would consider negative, and that is running GS + Scepter/Focus, is that your cleave is tied to GS2. I find in open world metas like Thunrderhead Keep, etc, I can tag a lot more mobs on my Daredevil, Scourge, Warrior or even Herald. It's not a huge problem, but that is why I typically bring different characters out for HoT metas, etc.

After balance patch sword is very close to szeptre. Sword has good cleave. I switched to sword for open world before bad now you can play it everywhere,the teleprt is nice.

> @"Eddbopkins.2630" said:

> > @"asmariya.1096" said:

> > > @"Eddbopkins.2630" said:

> > > Hearing this makes me so sad...i dont really like any other class. I never tried a raid, but if i did id go ele, and hearing that they are the garbage of raids is really dissapointing to hear.

> >

> >

> > If you can commit to the class and learning the proper rotations, Weaver offers some of the highest damage in the game.

>

> Been playing ele since year 2. Learning a rotation isnt the problem. Its the community that only wants perfection and if it isnt then u just get kicked from the group these days. Like i hate condi. I will never play condi on my ele.. So that there is a no go for me.

If u don't want you to play condi ele you can switch to a condi build for condi bosses and you are still being kicked?those groups suck, I didn't have those experiences in my tries last year and last month until now and I am really bad, beginner,at the raiding and even had wife Aggro Not result in a kick.

If you play well you're wanted. ele just got buff,I don't know yet how much but it was meta before and it's meta still for a lot of bosses and meta for fractals.

Look it up at the good guilds websites..mad compare what thsi forum answer is to get the contrast.

All I can say is that u can build ele condi and power and do all bosses very well.thats not me knowing that's me having asked one of the better players a week ago, personally I am not good enough yet and playing DH because even badly done it's okay DPS.

Ps: nothing in GW2 ist hard,No rotations are hard. Nothing compares to really hard skillful mechanics like spray control or even wow raiding. Golem is there for a reason.

Alternatively get the weapon off a collection and mystic forge it to minstrel. Afaik everything you want you can get from elite collection but I am not 100%sure about that.

Lastly teqatl and alike boxes and mystic forge but honestly crafting is just fine.

This was posted in the wrong thread.