Guardian PVP

[Grogg]

Hello all, I am looking at getting into this game and was wondering how Guardians hold in the PVP aspect. I tried to google some info but everything seems to be from a few years ago and I know patches tend to change things. So I was looking for some input from veteran players as to how well Guardians hold up in the PVP aspect of the game.

[Joker]

Guardians are amazing at everything.

[Haker10201]

Pretty much everything is viable for everything, and if you think it sounds fun, you can make it work somehow. Some things excel more than others in certain aspects, but regarding PvP, you can pretty much do what you want and have a good time with it. I can't comment on ranked sPvP, as I only played unranked, but you see a healthy balance of pretty much every profession, and I specifically remember Dragonhunter's (Guardian's 1st elite spec) being very powerful in sPvP, as it relies on placing traps that do insane damage. Firebrand (Guardian's 2nd elite spec) is (or was the last time I played) a literal god regarding PvE damage, they mainly focus on Condition based builds, as their kit largely revolves around fire based attacks, and they absolutely shred in PvE content.

The base spec Guardian also has it's place in the PvP meta. I used to run a LOT of World vs. World with my guild, and our shotcaller mained Guardian. He only played the base class, as the entire point of a shotcaller is to not die and help direct the flow of battle, so his build was based around being as tanky as possible, while providing a lot of sustain and consistent damage to whittle enemy groups down. I personally have played a fair amount of Dragonhunter in both WvW and sPvP, and I absolutely loved it, though I was generally playing off-meta builds because I really like the longbow, even if it's not the best on guard.

So yea, if you're looking to get this game for the PvP, you likely won't be disappointed. I'm not a PvP player at all when it comes to MMO's, but I was actually obsessed with the PvP in this game, because it's sooooo good. Be warned though, Arena net tends to focus more on the story/PvE content than they do on the PvP aspects of the game, but they have been getting mildly better over time. They don't really push out a lot of balance changes when it comes to WvW or sPvP, but the last few years has seen them take steps to remedy that. Specifically, they've started splitting skills between game modes, so skills that were too powerful in WvW didn't get nerfed to the ground so they became useless in PvE.

And to finish it off, this here is your best resource regarding PvP, and builds as a whole: https://metabattle.com/wiki/MetaBattle_Wiki. The builds listed are generally very in depth regarding what you can expect from them, plus a lot of them have suggestions for situational gear/abilities you can bring, and the community does a great job at promoting the really good builds, and giving feedback on the not so great ones.

Here's a video showcasing what Guardian is capable of (Dragonhunter specifically, but if you're wanting to play Guardian, I'd imagine DH would appeal to you a bit more than Firebrand, considering Firebrand is more of a magic based class): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgCP_oOVv08.

[Grogg]

I appreciate the information. Thank you.

[SinisterSlay]

I am pretty sure there is a core guardian meta as well if you want to play the free version.

[DocCovington]

引用自 Haker10201：

Pretty much everything is viable for everything, and if you think it sounds fun, you can make it work somehow.

That is not true for competitive GW2. There are meta builds for a reason. Not everything works, unfortunately. ;)

引用自 Haker10201：

Here's a video showcasing what Guardian is capable of (Dragonhunter specifically, but if you're wanting to play Guardian, I'd imagine DH would appeal to you a bit more than Herald, considering Herald is more of a magic based class): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgCP_oOVv08.

1. The video is for roaming in WvW, not PvP. It's important to add that within a WvW zerg you will likely end up playing the role of supporter as a Guardian (with the elite specialization of Firebrand, not Dragonhunter).
   
   
2. Herald is an elite spec for Revenants, not Guardians...

[Haker10201]

引用自 DocCovington：

引用自 Haker10201：

Pretty much everything is viable for everything, and if you think it sounds fun, you can make it work somehow.

That is not true for competitive GW2. There are meta builds for a reason. Not everything works, unfortunately. ;)

1. The video is for roaming in WvW, not PvP. It's important to add that within a WvW zerg you will likely end up playing the role of supporter as a Guardian (with the elite specialization of Firebrand, not Dragonhunter).
   
   
2. Herald is an elite spec for Revenants, not Guardians...

I had a typo on Herald, not sure why I got the two mixed up, the actual class is Firebrand, so I edited my mistake.

I'll also have you know that "PvP" stands for "Player vs. Player." When a new player asks what the "PvP" is like in this game, they aren't specifically asking "What is viable for Ranked Structured PvP," they're asking, "What can I use to kill other players and have a great time with?" For unranked sPvP as well as WvW, you can quite literally use any build you want, and get some use out of it. I did specifically mention that I did not play ranked sPvP, and I'm confident that if newer players wanted to start playing ranked, they would start out by learning what the meta is, and adapting to it. However, for someone who just wants to participate in the PvP content that this game has to offer, which is largely based around unranked sPvP and WvW, they can do anything they want with any build. Hell, the most fun I've ever had in sPvP was running around on a P/P thief spamming Unload with Ricochet. Was it meta? Nope. Was it effective and fun? You bet it was.

And to touch on your zerg comment... well no. The entire point of a zerg is literally just a blob of players running around following the tag, trying to capture towers. You can do literally anything you want in a WvW zerg and no one is going to call you out on it, UNLESS you're running with a smaller group and they need a specific role filled. You CAN run a support guardian if that's the specific playstyle you want to do on that particular day, but if you want to run a longbow/trap only Dragonhunter with full Viper gear... go for it. Will it work? Nope. Will you have fun? Well, fun is subjective, so you might. Some of the most fun I've ever had in WvW was on my Staff/Fire only Ele. See, ele has a trait called Pyromancer's Puissance (which I just learned was nerfed back in Februrary... thanks Anet for ruining my fun YET AGAIN) that gives them Might whenever they use a Fire ability. So, I'd run around with a staff spamming fireballs/meteors/lava pools and have 25 stacks of might at all time, and oh my god did I dish out some insane damage. Was it Meta? Nope. Was it useful in Zerg fights? Well, sometimes it was, but most of the time I just died immediately. But, it was some of the MOST fun I've ever had, and it made for some really memorable fights of me just massacring people trying to defend keeps lol.

So yea, you can do anything you want in this game if you find it fun. If you want to get to the high level, which would be ranked sPvP, or if you want to roam around in small groups with WvW, you might be forced into specific builds. However, for the average player who's just looking for some good fights, you can do anything you want, I have for 8 years now, and I've never had any drawbacks by doing so.

[strike478]

引用自 Grogg：

Hello all, I am looking at getting into this game and was wondering how Guardians hold in the PVP aspect. I tried to google some info but everything seems to be from a few years ago and I know patches tend to change things. So I was looking for some input from veteran players as to how well Guardians hold up in the PVP aspect of the game.

Each class has at least 1 worthwhile build.
Most have more.
Some classes however require specializations from expansions.

Given that it still changes and leveling character takes time learning game takes time, learning charaqcter takes time. Untill you reach high enough level of character/skill/knowledge what is great and what is bad will likely change. Probably few times.

[Tiberius]

Classes that i find underperforming in spvp are core ele, berseker, and perhaps druid.

The current meta is actually pretty balance. Fck... even renegade is good now.

Guardian is in good position now. Bunker core guard (or the meme burn core guardian), burn dh are pretty darn strong

[aplethoraof]

引用自 DocCovington：

That is not true for competitive GW2. There are meta builds for a reason. Not everything works, unfortunately. ;)

Not everything works, ofc. Your build has to synergise together. But unlike a lot of MMOs, you won't actually lose out a whole lot by going away from the meta. The meta isn't the be-all and end-all for builds.

Many competent PvPers tend to make their own builds and do well.

The meta builds are just the most well-known builds that perform well. There are plenty of other builds that perform well, that aren't covered by the popular websites.

Bottom line - don't be afraid to deviate from the meta and make your own build. If you know what you are doing, you'll do well.

[Clyan]

Guardian is probably one the most OP classes in game.
You can use Dmg gear and still blast out absurd heal - which is why the guardian spez "Firebrand" is ultra popular in PvE end-content.

For PVP you use the same spez and spam Condition (burning) on your prey. It's actually cancer tbh. But a good choice of course.