Guardian PvE | Dungeon Greatsword, Sword/Focus | Damage Liatrix Guardian DPS v2
Table of Contents
Summary
I am using this build myself for running all sorts of dungeons: starting from CoF and Arah, as well as 28 - 48 daily fractals (though for 40+ fracs better have Soldiers gear for shaman and stuff like that).
This is high damage build, designed for running with an organized group, with support ele stacking Might and Fury and another guardian in Anchor build.
You will have to dodge all sorts of damage/aoe while using full zerker gear, so it's not new player friendly.
If there is no other Anchor/other knights/soldiers guardian/warr/just a tankish character in group you will have a bad time being chased by angry mobs.
Use with caution, I warned you - it's not typical AH/PTV guardian build and always have some knights gear in bags to use in emergency ^^
I. Weapons and Skills
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- Vengeful Strike½Strike your foe again.Damage: 296Range: 130
- Wrathful Strike½Attack with a final, powerful strike that applies might for each foe you strike.Damage: 443Might: 5 sRange: 130
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Weapon and Skill Details
Weapons.
I am not using bers sword because it's not possible to switch Sunrise stats, but I came to thinking it's actually not that bad to have a PVT weapon, as it will give you some health (which you really lack as guardian) and some nice toughness not crippling your dps too much at the same time.
GS is a core weapon for you, you don't change (I don't mean swap here) it to any other weapon 99% cases.
Your best swap weapon is sword, you can change it to focus in ranged scenario (hello shaman in fotm).
Offhand varies: focus for more defense and ability to blast, torch for more dps and more dps 
Shield is something weird for guardian, as it is not really good, but you will use it because of 5th skill usefulness (knocking back fire elems on shaman and shielding party from projectiles in fotm for ex.).
- Staff is not a good option, unless you need that swiftness 100% uptime badly. Every time you use staff for ranged dps kitten dies.
- Scepter is lower dps then sword, but if you have to stay in range - it's your only option.
- Mace is not supposed to be used in this build. At all.
- Hammer might be used for blasting, but I can't imagine any situation where blasting would be that needed (given you are not only one who can blast). You can blast with focus. Hammer will cripple your dps bigtime.
Skills.
- Prayer to Dwayna is a good healng skill, which provides only a bit less healing then Signet of Resolve, but has lower cooldown (only 30 sec). It will be your basic heal, swap to Signet if you need double cond removal every 10 sec.
- Signet of Resolve is your second best healing skill. It removes condition every 10 sec, has 40 sec cooldown and provides strong healing.
- Signet of Judgement is one of those signets you almost never activate. It provides you with 10% damage reduction, which is really strong and useful thing in full bers gear. Also it's a stun break.
- Bane Signet is not supposed to be activated as well. It's an okish skill and provides you with dps bonus. Don't be afraid to swap it for something defensive if you or your party need it (will mention for what later).
- Purging Flames. I came to liking it recently as it's actually pretty good skill and sometimes is overlooked. It provides you with ok burning (esp if no condition dpsers in your group), cleanses conditions, and most important - it's fire field, so you and your party members can blast it for might (you can do it by using 5th skill on focus).
- Save Yourselves is another good dps option. It gives you fury, swiftness (useful for running/skipping/catching up part) and a bunch of other buffs. Beware of "Draw conditions to yourself" part as it can get you in trouble.
- Wall of reflection - use it wisely. It's super powerful group utility skill, one of your primary tasks as guardian is learning to use it.
- Shield of the Avenger - one and only useful spirit weapon after they got nerfed. Golden if you learn to use it on hard bosses to shield your party.
- Sanctuary - awesome skill, more of super-mega-emergency one. Not useful normally because you don't have any traits to improve it, it's small, needs to be casted, your party needs to know it's incoming and needs proper placing. Other then that - it's last shielding skill you drag on your panel after wall and shield are already there.
- Retreat - useful because of 2 things: long duration swiftness and aegis. Aegis completely denies first attack to hit (unless it is one of those unblockable attacks), and it's your only other way to apply aegis on your party after Virtue.
II. Traits
Zeal
Radiance
Valor
Honor
Trait Details
- Swap master Zeal trait if you're going to use scepter a lot (on bosses like fotm shaman).
- Swap master Radiance trait if you're not going to use sword at all in ongoing fight.
Otherwise nothing else super special here.
If you don't want to swap to sword from GS at all, change radiance traits signet mastery and signet cd and run with Signet of Resolve.
III. Stat Specifics & Effects
Primary Stats
- Health 12925 (+1280)
- Vitality 1044 (+128)
- Armor 2455 (+328)
- Toughness 1244 (+328)
- Attack 3497 (+1481)
- Power 2342 (+1426)
- Critical Hit 52% (+52%)
- Precision 2016 (+1100)
Secondary Stats
- Agony Resistance 45 (+45)
- Condition Damage 300 (+300)
- Condition Duration 20% (+20%)
- Critical Damage 55% (+55%)
- Damage 1155 (+5%)
- Damage Reduction 10% (+10%)
- Defense 1211 (+0)
- Experience from Kills 20% (+20%)
- Ferocity 836 (+836)
Boons
Conditions
Control
Fields & Finishers
Stat and Effect Details
High crit is your friend. Warriors with crit banner are your best friends. Eles buffing might and fury too.
Crit and Crit damage value explained:
You have 98% Crit damage. That means every next 1% of Crit hit chance is more and more valuable up to 100% Crit chance. These 2 stats are bound together: more crit chance you have - more valuable crit damage becomes, more crit damage you have - more valuable crit chance becomes. Only exceptions: crit chance is getting more and more valuable only up to 100% total (with Fury counted in, so 80% w/e fury) and after that it becomes a dps loss. Crit damage on the other hand keeps it's value even after 100% - more you have - better. With 100% crit chance every 1% of crit damage gives you 1% overall damage, which is pretty strong dps buff.
Also higher crit chance means that your on-crit bonuses will activate more often.
IV. Food, Armor, Trinkets & Upgrade Items
Food Nourishment
Precision: 100
Ferocity: 70
Experience from Kills: 10%
- (30min)
- Precision: 100
- Ferocity: 70
- Experience from Kills: 10%
Utility Nourishment
Gain precision equal to 6% of your toughness
Gain precision equal to 4% of your vitality
Experience from Kills: 10%
- (30min)
- Gain precision equal to 6% of your toughness
- Gain precision equal to 4% of your vitality
- Experience from Kills: 10%
Armor & Runes
- Defense: 121
- Power: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Power: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Power: 100
- +10% damage while health is above 90%.
- Defense: 121
- Power: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Power: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Power: 100
- +10% damage while health is above 90%.
- Defense: 363
- Power: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Power: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Power: 100
- +10% damage while health is above 90%.
- Defense: 182
- Power: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Power: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Power: 100
- +10% damage while health is above 90%.
- Defense: 242
- Power: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Power: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Power: 100
- +10% damage while health is above 90%.
- Defense: 182
- Power: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Power: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Power: 100
- +10% damage while health is above 90%.
Armor Stat Totals
- Defense 1211
- Power 175
- Ferocity 100
Rune Bonuses
Superior Rune of the Scholar- Power: 25
- Ferocity: 35
- Power: 50
- Ferocity: 65
- Power: 100
- +10% damage while health is above 90%.
Accessories & Jewels
- Precision: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Precision: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Precision: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Precision: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Precision: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
- Precision: 5
- Agony Resistance: 5
Accessory Totals
- Power:692
- Precision:496
- Ferocity:466
- Agony Resistance:45
Weapon Set Sigils
- Weapon Strength: 1045-1155
- Power: 179
- Toughness: 128
- Vitality: 128
- Weapon Strength: -
Weapon Set I
Sigil of Superior Strength60% chance to apply might for 10s on critical. (Cooldown 1 second)
- Weapon Strength: 996-1100
- Power: 120
- Precision: 85
- Ferocity: 85
- Weapon Strength: 832-883
- Power: 120
- Precision: 85
- Ferocity: 85
Weapon Set II
Sigil of Superior Force+5% damage.
Sigil of Superior Strength60% chance to apply might for 10s on critical. (Cooldown 1 second)
Upgrade Item Details
I know Infusions are expensive, but it's +30 Precision in total, so make it your long term objective. You can choose not to put +5P +5AR in gear that is not infused and that will be wise. You can choose to infuse only rings and back, as accessories and neck can't be upgraded yet.
Eagle runes are a good synergy because they have both Crit chance and Crit dmg. Good weapon sigils: Strength, Force, Precision.
V. Basic Gameplay
Your core survival depends on 3 things: dodging, blocking and blinding.
Block everything you can't blind/dodge. Dodge everything you can't blind. Blind everything else. Block is precious and easy to use, aegis is applied naturally only every 40 seconds (not counting manual apply as using virtue/Retreat). Dodge is basic GW2 mechanic and can be improved with vigor buff, easy to use. Blind is tricky thing. Many guardians prefer to ignore it completely, as it's hard to use (you have to apply blind to boss/mob prior to hit for it to work). Using blind is a challenge as you have to remember what boss uses and when and predict it.
DPSing is relatively easy: swap from GS to sword when your skills on one are on cooldown, on sword use "1" for damage, "2" for blind, "4" on torch (press only once when in melee, pressing 2 times in a row will be a dps loss) for even more dps, or "5" on focus to make things go boom (yeah, we have BLAST); on GS apply "5" (2nd press in a row will eliminate DoT effect though!), put "4" on ground and unleash "2" for ultimate punishment, use "3" for blind. Sword "1" attacks are better then GS "1" attacks, keep that in mind. Use Purging flames on cooldown or, if it's really critical, when you need to cleanse conditions from group. Use shield of Wrath when you either need to blast fire/water or need to block incoming damage.
Won't describe other weapon usage as it's pretty obvious.
Main Skill Rotation
This is your basic starting combat rotation. Get close with leap and buff Virtue of Justice to your group, apply DoT, then symbol, then whirl, then put Purging Flames under boss, by now all your GS abilities are on CD, so swap to sword. Activate Shield of Wrath to blast Purging Flames and start spamming "1". Proceed with using blinds when needed and swapping back to GS to blow Binding->Symbol->Whirl sequence and back to sword when it's done.
In my opinion sword+focus deals higher DMG than GS. Don't you think?