Guardian - World VS Support or...something else?

[rk47]

This issue has been bothering me of late. I admit, I went into Guardian and healed a lot in dungeons. I was very happy with its performance, my group is happy too, cause nobody dies (in general) from the constant popping of green numbers. Hold the Line, Stand your Ground, etc.

There's so much good that the Guardian can do in small group engagements. But I realized those things don't seem to turn the tide in World v World much.
What I'd like to know:
- Do boons have a 5 player limit when applied to 'nearby allies' much like offensive AoE max. hit limit? E.g Virtue Activations
- I do get the feeling it's not, since Empower with Altruistic Healing is giving me a shitload of heals during Jormag events compared to Dungeon runs, but confirmation would be great.

I went into World vs. in Shaman gear and didn't feel I was making a difference. I felt there's a lot of synergy with Shout-centric trait. 20% CD, Shouts remove Conditions etc. But I'm not clear how this helps the group a lot. I ran with all 3 utility shouts (Hold, Stand, Retreat) and Renewed Focus for Support. Is this the right pick?

While I do follow the guild, they don't seem to communicate their needs clearly. What's worse, I run without a party, making it hard for me to understand when or what conditions need to be removed from my allies. At the same time I'm worrying about their welfare, I'm not dealing damage either. And that means no badges.

:(

Frustrated with that, I swapped to full CoF setup. Staff - Scep/Focus literally berserker's jewelry and gems and just went shotgunning people with my staff.
I felt happier all I worry about is my HP bar and the white numbers over my enemies. But I don't feel this is what the class is best at.

Any tips would be very much appreciated.

[Spiff]

I'm almost certain the "maximum 5 people affected" cap is in effect for all boons as well, I would guess in larger groups it's a lot easier to consistently hit 5 people.
For WvW: wall of reflection is such a joy, since it's one of the few skills that does not cap at 5 people affected, so you can 'tag' like 20 people and it can at times feel like a real battle changer.

Apart from that when I play my guard in larger groups I mostly play a 'pusher'; often zergs just sit and pew pew away at each other in my experience, everyone looking around to see if it's time to run away.
So you often need a few people to rush/flank and break up/disorient the enemy zerg a bit, only a few classes can effectively do that since you need some semi-scary AoE, defense and preferably an "oh-shit" button or 2.

Also: most people immediately think guards should be support, because they get more AoE boons and healing than anyone else, but you can actually be a pretty solid killer.
Mostly because you get easy access to burning (the most damaging condition) and even specced for dps you have enough defenses to melee (which should almost always outdps range by a fair margin if you get your hits in).

[rk47]

Doesn't burning limit itself by having stacks extending durations only?
And how does it deal with Multi-Guardian with differing Condition Damage stacking Burning?

Yeah, I thought about using JI..

Empower > Judge's Invervention > Activate Virtue of Justice > Orb of Wrath > Symbol of Swiftness on top of myself  and start DPSing.
But mine is a really glass cannon build... so I'm worried I might not last, even with Renewed Focus and Shelter giving around 4-5 seconds of invuls.

[Nija]

I do know that the staff 4 heal and the F2 heal will heal way more than 5 people. I think it's anyone within range.

[rk47]

Been thinking about this for World v World.
The Guardian Bomb
Hitting the tight clumps of enemies with Greatsword and ranges with Scepter / Focus, the Guardian Bomb chances of survival is very unlikely, but when multiple guardians do this at the same time, the amount of damage unleashed is pretty high

Gear Setup
Berserker Greatsword with Superior Sigil of Fire
The Superior Sigil of Fire has 30% chance of creating AoE when critting. A good pick, but rather expensive. Still worth it though.

#2 Whirling Wrath - is your primary damage dealer. Spins the blade and delivers nine good hits of same damage in an area. You can still move when this is happening too.
#3 Leap of Faith - leaps to a target - blinding nearby targets when you land.
#4 Symbol of Wrath - plants a symbol that does 5 hits of high damage and grants allies 5 seconds of retaliation.
#5 Binding Blade - throws a chain to 5 targets within 600 range. This deals damage over time. Triggering pull will knock the enemy down and draw them towards you.

Your Greatsword chain should be clear cut by now. Using Leap of Faith you get close, then Binding Blade > Pull, followed by Symbol of Wrath > Whirling Wrath.
That's your bread and butter. Remember that your AoE can only strike 5 targets max. In a way, that BB>Pull was perfect to optimize the damage output.
The whole build revolves around this. How to improve it further?

Let's go trait first:
Zeal - 30
300 power and 30% bonus condition damage - the Zeal trait line is all about raw damage and how to further increase it.
II - Fiery Wrath
+10% Damage vs Burning Foes. A no brainer. If you don't open up your attack with the Virtue of Justice, then it must be on cooldown.

VII - Greatsword Power
+5% Greatsword damage. Nothing to add.

The last Trait is up to you.

XII - Zealous Blade
Greatsword strikes heals you for 25 is a poor investment. :doh:

I would recommend you take something else:
V - Shattered Aegis
Considering how close you are to the fight and 100% chance of Aegis Breaking - burning damage is guaranteed addition to the enemies around you.
But where do we get Aegis from, aside from Virtue Activation?
Valorous Defense - Passive Valor 5 pt Trait.
Gains Aegis when the Guardian drops below 50% HP.

Theorycraft:
Get in the fight, Aegis broke. Burn.
Activate Virtue of Courage, Aegis breaks again, reapply burns.
Health drop to 50%, Heal. Valorous Defense- trait - Aegis is up and breaks. Burn them again.
Health drop to 50%, Valorous Defense - trait - Aegis is up and breaks. Burn them again.
Hit Renewed Focus. Aegis is refreshed. Aegis breaks. Burn them again.
Hit F3. Aegis broke. Burn them again.
It sounds awfully simple, but it works to keep burning going on your targets.
Their condition removal doesn't work on short cool-down.

Valor 20
+200 Toughness and +20% Critical Damage - Valor reduces incoming damage while still increasing damage output thru Critical damage bonus.
VI - Retributive Armor
5% Toughness goes to Precision therefore increasing Critical chance %

X - Focused Mind
Meditation is instant. Allows instant closing of distance with Judge's Intervention. Crucial to keep that Aegis up till you are melee range.

Virtues 20
Virtue trait reduces cooldown of Virtue by 20% while increasing boon durations by 20%, further increasing your effectiveness.
VI - Master of Consecration
Decreases cool-down and increases duration of Consecration. Wall of Reflection is the main reason for this trait.

IX - Absolute Resolution
Activation of Virtue of Resolve will remove three conditions from you and your allies. Passive regeneration from Resolve is increased.
This is a great way to clear conditions. On the other hand, I might go for Elite Focus to extend Renewed Focus 'Invulnerability' duration to 5. It's up to you!

Healing & Utility
For Healing, definitely take Shelter.
Blocks EVERYTHING for a good 2 seconds before finishing a medium sized heal. Signet heal may seem larger, but trust me, you will stay alive longer with Shelter, when you're in the front line.

Utility 7 - Judge's Intervention
Teleports to an enemy, dealing small damage upon impact and bursting into flames, burning nearby enemies.
Your way of closing in without getting hit. This will start your chain of hurt.

Utility 8 - Save Yourselves!
Steals all Conditions from around your allies and gain all boons for 10 seconds.
This is your performance enhancer. For ten seconds, everyone does 33% less damage, and your chances to crit is increased by 20%..you even regenerate health and retaliate. Use this time to unleash everything you've got. With 20 Virtue, it's extended to 12 seconds. Make it count.

Utility 9 - Wall of Reflection
Reflects all projectiles back to their caster.
It does two things: Protect you from ranged damage and dealing back damage to those who tried to harm you from range. A skill with understated importance.

Elite: Renewed Focus
While channeling, the Guardian is invulnerable for 3 seconds. Once finished, he will then recharge all his virtues.
An elite that boosts survival chances. I love the short recharge. Buys time for 'Round 2' and when combined with Superior Rune of Lyssa can grant a second 'Save Yourselves' for 5 seconds while removing all conditions from the Guardian!

Engagement:
1. Pre-combat
Swap to Scepter/Focus outside of combat.
Activate Shield of Wrath. This gives a 3 second shield that absorbs 3 hits before breaking. However, if it doesn't break, it will explode and damage foes nearby for massive damage. Yes, you know what I'm thinking: this isn't a survival skill anymore. It's a suicide bomb jacket.

2. Engage
Pick a crowd of 5. Judge's Intervention to one of them. You teleported to them. Shield of Wrath explodes dealing massive damage to the poor sod. They know you are here. Your Aegis just shattered and burned them. Reactivate it again. F3. .

3. Explode
Drop a Wall of Reflection. Activate Virtue of Justice (F1), Smite. Swap to Greatsword. Save Yourselves > Binding Blade > Pull > Symbol of Wrath > Whirling Wrath. This will trigger cleansing bolts, removing conditions. Leap of Faith to blind them, buying some time. If your health drops to 50%, Shelter. Whirl again.

4. Last Chance
When your health drops to 50% again, Activate All Virtue > Renewed Focus. If you're wearing 6x Sup. Runes of Lyssa, it will give you a full set of buff and clears you of ALL conditions. Finish the fight. Activate Virtues. Burn them alive.

Gear Setup:
This is a good question. I'm currently debating between having more VIT or focusing entirely on Berzerker. But I will certainly get the CoF Greatsword first to test it out.

Also, been thinking of alternative build to this one with more self heal...

Alternative Guardian Bomb Build
Zeal - 30 - Unchanged
II - Fiery Wrath
V - Shattered Aegis
VII - Greatsword Power

Valor - 20 - Unchanged
VI - Retributive Armor
X - Focused Mind

Honor - 10
VI - Pure of Heart : Aegis heals on removal

Virtue - 10
VI - Master of Consecration

Will this work?

[Zetor]

Yeah, builds like that (along with feedback mesmers and boon corrupter necros) are reliable ways to break up defensive stacking that seems to be pretty prevalent in wvw.