Into The Mists - Guild Wars 2 (2024)

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Table of Contents

  1. Weapons and Skills
  2. Traits
  3. Basic Gameplay
  4. Comments

Summary

Hi all, I'm Meri, a roamer from T1 NA. I had a lot of success roaming with a 0-1-6-6-1 build before the patch hits. This new build, which hasn't changed a bit since I crafted it during trait reveals, points me more toward lockdown and full-on burst, considering Honor is no longer as strong a choice as it was before the patch.

Note: This build is designed for SOLO roaming, but can be effective in anything from that to a 20+ man guild raid or a straight blob as a pick team player. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

I would personally say meditation guardian has a low-ish skill floor and a medium-high skill cap. It's nowhere near as easy as some people will complain to you about (maybe it's just a thief, and, well, you close your eyes and beat thieves)- but it's not as hard as some people make it out to be either.

You can only do so much when solo roaming, but ALWAYS remember that as a guardian, you gotta have your team's back. The boons and support you can provide will be detailed later in the guide, and learning how to support effectively is one of the most challenging parts of this new build.


I. Weapons and Skills

Stonecleaver's Blade

  • Weapon Strength:

Stonecleaver's Artifact

  • Weapon Strength:

Stonecleaver's Claymore

  • Weapon Strength:

  • Weapon Strength:

  • Weapon Strength:

  • Weapon Strength:

  • Virtue of Justice21&frac14

    Burn foes with every fifth attack.
    Activate: You and your allies inflict burning on the next attack.

    Burning: 2 s (328 damage) (passive)Burning: 5 s (1640 damage) (active)Blind: 3 sMight: 5 sRetaliation: 5 s

  • Virtue of Resolve42&frac12

    Regenerates health.
    Activate: Heal yourself and nearby allies.

    Passive Regeneration: 3 sHealing: 84Regeneration: 5 sRetaliation: 5 s

  • Virtue of Courage63&frac34

    Grants aegis every 40 seconds.
    Activate: Grant aegis to yourself and nearby allies.

    Aegis: 5 sBreak Stun: 1 sStability: 4 sProtection: 5 sRetaliation: 5 s

  • Sword of Wrath&frac12

    Slash your foe once.

    Damage: 296Range: 150

    • Sword Arc&frac12

      Slash your foe again.

      Damage: 269Range: 150

    • Sword Wave&frac12

      Send out a cone attack, striking up to three foes.

      Damage (3x): 504Range: 300

  • Flashing Blade8

    Teleport to your target, striking them and blinding nearby foes.

    Damage: 67Blind: 3 sRange: 600

    • Fury: 4 sRetaliation: 5 s

    • Fury: 4 sRetaliation: 5 s

  • Zealot's Defense&frac12 12

    Block ranged attacks while casting magical projectiles.

    Damage (8x): 888Duration: 3Range: 600

    • Fury: 4 sRetaliation: 5 s

    • Fury: 4 sRetaliation: 5 s

  • Ray of Judgment&frac34 25

    Pass a ray over foes and allies. Foes are damaged and blinded. Allies gain regeneration and cure one condition.

    Damage: 151Blind: 3 sRegeneration: 3 s (390 Health)Number of Bounces: 4Range: 1,200

    • Fury: 4 sRetaliation: 5 s

    • Fury: 4 sRetaliation: 5 s

  • Shield of Wrath45

    Create a shield to block the next three attacks. If the shield is not destroyed, it explodes and damages nearby foes.

    Damage: 756Duration: 4Combo Finisher: Blast

    • Fury: 4 sRetaliation: 5 s

    • Fury: 4 sRetaliation: 5 s

  • Shelter1&frac14 30

    Block attacks while healing.

    Healing: 4,555Duration: 2

    • Fury: 4 sRetaliation: 5 s

  • Smite Condition&frac14 16

    Cure a condition and damage nearby foes. More damage if a condition is cured.

    Damage with no conditions: 207Damage with condition: 463Fury: 4 s

    • Fury: 4 sRetaliation: 5 s

  • Judge's Intervention36

    Teleport to your target and burn nearby foes.

    Burning: 3 s (984 damage)Damage: 122Breaks stunRange: 1,200Fury: 4 s

    • Fury: 4 sRetaliation: 5 s

  • Contemplation of Purity48

    Convert the conditions you are suffering from into boons.

    Breaks stunFury: 4 s

    • Fury: 4 sRetaliation: 5 s

  • Renewed Focus2 90

    Focus, making yourself invulnerable and recharging your virtues.

    Duration: 3

    • Fury: 4 sRetaliation: 5 s

Weapon and Skill Details

Going with the standard sword/focus greatsword here. The Radiance line I'm taking synergizes well with sword burst and cooldown reduction.

However, I've been known to swap out scepter for sword quite often, depending on the enemy. As a general rule, the enemies to use scepter against are mesmers, engies, and dagger mainhand elementalists. This can and will change based on personal preference.

Build can be adapted as follows.
Scepter/Focus- Greatsword
Sword/Focus- Scepter/Torch or vice versa depending on what you prefer.
Hammer- Greatsword


Traits

Radiance

    • Inner Fire

      Gain fury for 8 seconds when you strike a foe that has 3 or more stacks of burning. This effect has a 10 second cooldown.

    • Right-Hand Strength

      Critical hit chance with one-handed weapons is increased by 15%. Sword abilities have 20% reduced recharge.

    • Healer’s Retribution

      Gain retaliation for 5 seconds when using a heal skill.

    • Wrath of Justice

      Striking an enemy with justice’s active effect triggers signet of wrath’s active ability.

    • Radiant Fire

      Gain zealot’s flame when you critically hit an enemy. Burning duration to enemies is increased. Torch abilities recharge 20% faster.

    • Retribution

      Gain 10% increased damage while under the effects of retaliation.

    • Amplified Wrath

      Burning damage is increased by 15%. Blocking an attack burns the attacker for 2 seconds. This effect has a 1 second internal cooldown.

    • Perfect Inscriptions

      Gain light aura for 3 seconds when activating a signet. Signets recharge 20% faster and have 20% increased passive effects.

    • Radiant Retaliation

      Retaliation damage scales from condition damage instead of power.

Valor

    • Strength of the Fallen

      Lose 1 condition every 10 seconds. Health degenerates 33% more slowly while downed.

    • Smiter’s Boon

      Smite conditions when you use a healing ability.

    • Focus Mastery

      Gain 4 seconds of protection when using a focus ability. Focus abilities have a 20% reduced recharge.

    • Stalwart Defender

      Gain 180 additional toughness while wielding a shield. Shield abilities have 20% reduced recharge.

    • Strength in Numbers

      Nearby allies gain up to 150 bonus toughness, based on your effective level. 600 radius.

    • Communal Defenses

      Grant 5 seconds of aegis to allies when you block an attack.

    • Altruistic Healing

      Applying a boon to allies also heals you.

    • Monk’s Focus

      Using a meditation skill heals you and grants 4 seconds of fury to allies in a radius. Meditation skills have 20% reduced recharge.

    • Retributive Armor

      Gain up to 250 bonus toughness (based on effective level) when blocking an attack. Gain ferocity based on 13% of your current toughness.

Virtues

    • Unscathed Contender

      Deal 20% more damage while under the effects of aegis.

    • Retaliatory Subconscious

      Gain 3 seconds of retaliation and 4 seconds of aegis when stunned, dazed, knocked back, pulled, knocked down, sunk, floated, launched, taunted or inflicted with fear.

    • Master of Consecrations

      Consecrations last 20% longer and have 20% reduced recharge.

    • Supreme Justice

      Virtue of Justice causes burning with 3 strikes instead of 5. When activating virtue of justice, burning duration is increased by 1 second.

    • Absolute Resolution

      Activating virtue of resolve removes 3 conditions from nearby allies. Virtue of Resolve’s passive effect is stronger.

    • Glacial Heart

      Critical hits with hammer chill enemies for 3 seconds. Hammer abilities have 20% reduced recharge.

    • Permeating Wrath

      Virtue of Justice’s passive effect no longer only burns your target, but also burns the area around your target each time it activates.

    • Battle Presence

      Nearby allies gain virtue of resolve’s passive effect.

    • Indomitable Courage

      Activating virtue of courage breaks stun and grants 3 stacks of stability for 4 seconds to affected allies. Virtue of courage’s passive effect triggers every 30 seconds, down from 40.

Trait Details

Valor is the standard three traits you'll see everywhere. Smiter's Boon and Monk's Focus are self-explanatory. If you're in a group, of course make sure only one guard is on Strength in Numbers and the others are all running Communal Defenses. Nothing else to see here, except that Might of the Protector has been nerfed. Smiter's Boon does a good job making us forget about it a little more.

ALTERNATES: Focus Mastery when facing an ele with Shocking Aura (your Smiter's Boon will proc their Shocking Aura, stun you, and put it on full cooldown without healing you), or when roaming with a stealth class (Healing while in stealth and enemies around you will reveal you).

Virtues: This line has been buffed crazily, as all the stats you're losing from the stat removal is 30% Boon Duration. Just by going into the line you get lower Virtue cooldowns than ever before. As for the traits-

-Minors: None of these traits have changed significantly. Boons on virtues have always been a staple of guardian gameplay. As for Virtue of Retribution, NEVER underestimate the crazy damage you'll be putting out with Retaliation with increased power. Last but not least, Power of the Virtuous remains unchanged, giving us another damage modifier.

-Unscathed Contender: This hasn't changed. Benefits well-timed aegis application with a ridiculous damage modifier. If you're not experienced using UC, swap to Retaliatory Subconscious for more defense.

-Absolute Resolution: With the buffs to conditions, this trait is a must-take. You'll find it saves your life in many situations, even against power builds that chill/immobilize you.

-Indomitable Courage: Medi guard finally gets stability. Now that it's been merged with Shielded Mind, it's a strong trait to take even if you are solo roaming for a guaranteed safe stomp, and becomes increasingly effective in a group.

ALTERNATES:
Glacial Heart if using Hammer and not worried about Conditions (I do not recommend this, but it is a viable alternative).

Retaliatory Subconscious: As detailed above.

Radiance: Valor and Virtues are very common in new meditation builds, so the real debate is usually around the third line to take. I've chosen Radiance, as it provides us with the blinds we need and adds lockdown ability and more passive burning damage. On to the traits-

Minors: Blind on Justice activation, Justice recharges on kill. Keeps the ball rolling, allows easier stomps, makes taking camps a joke. Radiant Power helps compensate for the slightly lower crit chance I took in order to get a decent amount of vitality.

Right-Hand Strength: Benefits both sword and scepter, but an 8s cooldown on Flashing Blade helps you get around the map quickly, and pull off escapes under pressure. Provides you with extremely consistent DPS while in sword/scepter.

Wrath of Justice: This trait is a lynchpin of the build. Radiance had always interested me since I came across this trait, and in practice I've referred to it as "Guardian's Panic Strike." However, you can control when you immobilize, and on a relatively short (30s) cooldown, you can set up some absolutely insane burst that wouldn't be reliable before the patch.

Amplified Wrath: First of all, the other two Grandmaster traits are essentially garbage. Secondly, this helps provide more passive damage through burning and timing blocks. The burning keeps up your 10% critical chance modifier as well as adding a (sometimes more than) annoying burning tick to your enemy.

ALTERNATES:
Honestly, for the purpose of this build, these three traits are pretty much set in stone. However, if you want to move away from Lockdown, Radiant Fire is an EXTREMELY strong trait and works well with a sw/f sc/t variant.


III. Stat Specifics & Effects

Primary Stats

  • Health 15305 (+3660)
  • Vitality 1366 (+366)
  • Armor 2566 (+295)
  • Toughness 1295 (+295)
  • Attack 3539 (+1550)
  • Power 2550 (+1550)
  • Critical Hit 40% (+40%)
  • Precision 1751 (+751)

Secondary Stats

  • Condition Duration 40% (+40%)
  • Critical Damage 72% (+72%)
  • DMG Taken from Guards and Lords -9% (+-9%)
  • DMG to Guards and Lords 5% (+5%)
  • Damage 989 (+0%)
  • Defense 1271 (+0)
  • Experience from Kills 20% (+20%)
  • Ferocity 1081 (+1081)
  • Swiftness Duration 30% (+30%)

Boons

  • Aegis

    Block the next attack.

  • Distortion

    Allows mesmers to evade attacks for some time.

  • Frenzy

    Increases damage taken by 25%. It typically seen as a mechanic to offset a beneficial effect such as quickness.

  • Frosty Armor

    Chills foes that hit you.

  • Fury

    20% critical chance increase. Stacks in duration.

  • Haste

    Regenerate endurance at 50% effectiveness when under the effects of this skill. It's typically seen as a mechanic to offset a beneficial effect such as quickness.

  • Invulnerability

    Prevents the target from taking damage or receiving conditions. It is also placed on rallied players for one second.

  • Might

    X damage per attack increase. Stacks intensity.

  • Protection

    33% damage reduction. Stacks in duration.

  • Quickening Zephyr

    Prevents healing. It typically seen as a mechanic to offset a beneficial effect such as quickness.

  • Quickness

    Makes all skills and actions 50% faster.

  • Regeneration

    Regenerates X health per second. Stacks in duration.

  • Rejuvenation

    Regenerates health. This effect is exclusive to the guardian profession through the Virtue of Resolve.

  • Resistance

    Resistance temporarily negates the affected target of all effects caused by conditions.

  • Retaliation

    Does X damage to an opponent each time they hit you. Stacks in duration.

  • Smiting

    Causes every fifth attack to apply burning. This effect is exclusive to the guardian profession.

  • Stability

    Cannot be knocked down, pushed back, launched, stunned, dazed, floated, sunk, or feared.

  • Stealth

    Allows the user to be invisible to enemy players and avoid being spotted by enemy NPCs.

  • Swiftness

    33% movement speed increase. Stacks in duration.

  • Vigor

    Faster endurance regeneration. Stacks in duration.

Conditions

  • Agony

    Agony is an effect unique to Fractals of the Mists that removes a percentage of the player's health every second and reduces received healing by ~50%.

  • Bleeding

    Bleeding is a stackable condition that deals damage over time.

  • Blind

    Causes the target's next hit to miss instead.

  • Burning

    Inflicts X damage per second. Stacks in duration.

  • Chilled

    Reduces movement speed and skill recharge by 66%. Stacks in duration.

  • Confusion

    Inflicts X damage each time a foe uses skill. Stacks in intensity.

  • Crippled

    Crippled is a condition which decreases movement speed by 50%. Stacks in duration.

  • Fear

    Causes the target to run directly away from the caster.

  • Immobilized

    Immobilized is a condition which prevents movement and dodging. Victims also can't turn. Stacks in duration.

  • Poison

    Inflicts X damage per second. Reduces outgoing heals by 33%. Stacks in duration.

  • Slow

    Slow is a condition that reduces the activation time of skills and abilities.

  • Taunt

    Taunt is a control effect that forces the affected target to run towards the source of taunt with all skills except stun breakers disabled while using their auto-attack skill.

  • Torment

    Deals damage every second; deals additional damage if moving; stacks intensity.

  • Vulnerability

    Increases damage the target takes by 1%. Stacks in intensity.

  • Weakness

    Causes 50% of attacks to be glancing and reduces endurance regeneration by 50%. Stacks in duration.

Control

  • Break Stun

    Stun break is an effect which can break control effects on a character.

  • Daze

    Interrupts and prevents the target from using skills for a period of time.

  • Float

    Forces the affected target(s) to move towards the surface.

  • Knockdown

    Interrupts and causes the foe to be unable to move or use skills for a short duration. Knocked down foes fall to the ground.

  • Launch

    Interrupts and tosses a character into the air.

  • Pull

    Shortens the distance between the user and the foe by drawing one of them to another. If a foe is pulled, this can result in an interrupt.

  • Push

    Physically pushes foes away from the player and interrupts them.

  • Sink

    Forces the affected target(s) to move away from the surface.

  • Stun

    Interrupts, immobilizes, and incapacitates foes for a short duration.

  • Teleport

    Teleport to target location.

  • Teleport

    Teleport (alternatively, flash) is a mechanic that causes the user or target(s) to instantly move from one location to another.

Fields & Finishers

  • Dark Field

    Dark Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Blindness
    Leap Finisher: Blindness
    Projectile Finisher: Life stealing
    Whirl Finsher: Leeching Bolts

  • Ethereal Field

    Ethereal Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Chaos Armor
    Leap Finisher: Chaos Armor
    Projectile Finisher: Confusion
    Whirl Finsher: Confounding Bolts

  • Fire Field

    Fire Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Might
    Leap Finisher: Fire Shield
    Projectile Finisher: Burning
    Whirl Finsher: Burning Bolts

  • Ice Field

    Ice Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Frost Aura
    Leap Finisher: Frost Aura
    Projectile Finisher: Chilled
    Whirl Finsher: Chilling Bolts

  • Light Field

    Light Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Retaliation
    Leap Finisher: Retaliation
    Projectile Finisher: Remove Condition
    Whirl Finsher: Cleansing Bolts

  • Lightning Field

    Lightning Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Swiftness
    Leap Finisher: Dazing Strike
    Projectile Finisher: Vulnerability
    Whirl Finsher: Brutal Bolts

  • Poison Field

    Poison Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Weakness
    Leap Finisher: Weakness
    Projectile Finisher: Poison
    Whirl Finsher: Poison Bolts

  • Revealed

    Revealed is an effect applied when stealth is broken, for example by entering combat or exiting a Shadow Refuge circle prematurely.

  • Smoke Field

    Smoke Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Stealth
    Leap Finisher: Stealth
    Projectile Finisher: Blindness
    Whirl Finsher: Blinding Bolts

  • Super Speed

    Activate your slick shoes, enabling you to move at superior speeds.

  • Water Field

    Water Combo Effects

    Blast Finisher: Area Healing
    Leap Finisher: Healing
    Projectile Finisher: Regeneration
    Whirl Finsher: Healing Bolts

Combo

  • Blast Finisher

    Blast Combo Effects

    Dark: Area Blindness
    Ethereal: Area Chaos Armor
    Fire: Area Might
    Ice: Area Frost Aura
    Light: Area Retaliation
    Lightning: Area Swiftness
    Poison: Area Weakness
    Smoke: Area Stealth
    Water: Area Healing

  • Leap Finisher

    Leap Combo Effects

    Dark: Blindness
    Ethereal: Chaos Armor
    Fire: Fire Shield
    Ice: Frost Aura
    Light: Retaliation
    Lightning: Dazing Strike
    Poison: Weakness
    Smoke: Stealth
    Water: Healing

  • Projectile Finisher

    Projectile Combo Effects

    Dark: Life stealing
    Ethereal: Confusion
    Fire: Burning
    Ice: Chilled
    Light: Remove Condition
    Lightning: Vulnerability
    Poison: Poison
    Smoke: Blindness
    Water: Regeneration

  • Whirl Finisher

    Whirl Combo Effects

    Dark: Leeching Bolts
    Ethereal: Confounding Bolts
    Fire: Burning Bolts
    Ice: Chilling Bolts
    Light: Cleansing Bolts
    Lightning: Brutal Bolts
    Poison: Poison Bolts
    Smoke: Blinding Bolts
    Water: Healing Bolts

Stat and Effect Details

Once Force of Will moved into a sub-optimal line, I knew I was going to have to spec for some vitality from gear. Therefore, my weapons and two pieces of armor are Valkyrie, giving me a very survivable 15.3k health. This protects me from almost all cheesy one-shots, giving me a chance to recover.

I didn't bother adding much armor. Guardian survives off blocks and blinds. However, I do run Furious Sharpening Stones. They give me a good amount of stat points, and with the amount of crit this build has, we make very good use of the ferocity.

As for food buff, I've chosen Prickly Pear Pies. Although expensive and requiring PvE to make (oh no!) they are worth it. The immobilize duration from Wrath of Justice is increased to 4.2 seconds, giving you ample time to land burst. In addition, they help you keep up burning, which in turn keeps up the 10% crit modifier. This modifier is worth 210 precision, which is more than the 70 Omnomberry Pies offer. Also, did I mention immobilize? And chill? We'll get to that.

Gear setup:
Weapons: Valkyrie
Armor: 2 Assassin/2 Valkyrie/2 Berserker with Pack Runes
Trinkets: Berserker

I don't bother with Traveler runes. Pack provides swiftness when you actually need it, and sword/greatsword gives you mobility out of battle.

Pretty standard stuff. I wanted to hit 40% base crit chance. 40% was enough when running without Right-Hand Strength or Radiant Power in the old meta, not to mention the insane fury uptime. That's the one stat that likely looks rather low compared to the others, but you hardly feel the fact that it's only 40% in game. Power is above 2,500, ferocity is at maximum value capping out at about 222% and there's enough vitality to keep you alive as well.


IV. Food, Armor, Trinkets & Upgrade Items

Food Nourishment

Prickly Pear Pie





  • (30min)
  • 33% chance to steal life on critical
  • Condition Duration: 40%
  • Experience from Kills: 10%

Utility Nourishment

Furious Sharpening Stone





  • (30min)
  • Toughness: 100
  • Ferocity: 10
  • Experience from Kills: 10%

Armor & Runes

Saphir's Visor

  • Defense:

Superior Rune of the Pack

  1. Power: 25
  2. Swiftness Duration: 10%
  3. Power: 50
  4. 25% chance when struck to grant nearby allies might, fury, and swiftness for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 20 seconds)
  5. Power: 100
  6. +20% Swiftness Duration; +125 Precision

Resilient WvW InfusionDefensive Infusion

  • Toughness: 5
  • DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%

Zojja's Pauldrons

  • Defense:

Superior Rune of the Pack

  1. Power: 25
  2. Swiftness Duration: 10%
  3. Power: 50
  4. 25% chance when struck to grant nearby allies might, fury, and swiftness for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 20 seconds)
  5. Power: 100
  6. +20% Swiftness Duration; +125 Precision

Resilient WvW InfusionDefensive Infusion

  • Toughness: 5
  • DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%

Gobrech's Breastplate

  • Defense:

Superior Rune of the Pack

  1. Power: 25
  2. Swiftness Duration: 10%
  3. Power: 50
  4. 25% chance when struck to grant nearby allies might, fury, and swiftness for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 20 seconds)
  5. Power: 100
  6. +20% Swiftness Duration; +125 Precision

Resilient WvW InfusionDefensive Infusion

  • Toughness: 5
  • DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%

Zojja's Warfists

  • Defense:

Superior Rune of the Pack

  1. Power: 25
  2. Swiftness Duration: 10%
  3. Power: 50
  4. 25% chance when struck to grant nearby allies might, fury, and swiftness for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 20 seconds)
  5. Power: 100
  6. +20% Swiftness Duration; +125 Precision

Resilient WvW InfusionDefensive Infusion

  • Toughness: 5
  • DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%

Gobrech's Tassets

  • Defense:

Superior Rune of the Pack

  1. Power: 25
  2. Swiftness Duration: 10%
  3. Power: 50
  4. 25% chance when struck to grant nearby allies might, fury, and swiftness for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 20 seconds)
  5. Power: 100
  6. +20% Swiftness Duration; +125 Precision

Resilient WvW InfusionDefensive Infusion

  • Toughness: 5
  • DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%

Saphir's Greaves

  • Defense:

Superior Rune of the Pack

  1. Power: 25
  2. Swiftness Duration: 10%
  3. Power: 50
  4. 25% chance when struck to grant nearby allies might, fury, and swiftness for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 20 seconds)
  5. Power: 100
  6. +20% Swiftness Duration; +125 Precision

Resilient WvW InfusionDefensive Infusion

  • Toughness: 5
  • DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%

Armor Stat Totals

  • 1271
  • 583
  • 30%
  • 303
  • 315
  • 168
  • 30
  • -6%

Rune Bonuses

Superior Rune of the Pack

  1. Power: 25
  2. Swiftness Duration: 10%
  3. Power: 50
  4. 25% chance when struck to grant nearby allies might, fury, and swiftness for 10 seconds. (Cooldown: 20 seconds)
  5. Power: 100
  6. +20% Swiftness Duration; +125 Precision

Accessories & Jewels

Mark of the Tethyos HousesOffensive Slot

Mighty WvW InfusionOffensive Infusion

  • Power: 5
  • DMG to Guards and Lords: 1%

Berserker's Valkyrie BackDefensive Slot

(Infused)

Resilient WvW InfusionDefensive Infusion

  • Toughness: 5
  • DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%

Ring of Red DeathOffensive Slot

(Infused)

Mighty WvW InfusionOffensive Infusion

  • Power: 5
  • DMG to Guards and Lords: 1%

Crystalline BandDefensive Slot

(Infused)

Resilient WvW InfusionDefensive Infusion

  • Toughness: 5
  • DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%

Althea's AshesOffensive Slot

Mighty WvW InfusionOffensive Infusion

  • Power: 5
  • DMG to Guards and Lords: 1%

Magister's Field JournalDefensive Slot

Resilient WvW InfusionDefensive Infusion

  • Toughness: 5
  • DMG Taken from Guards and Lords: -1%

Accessory Totals

  • 707
  • 448
  • 466
  • 18
  • 3%
  • 15
  • -3%

Weapon Set Sigils

Stonecleaver's Blade

  • Weapon Strength:

Stonecleaver's Artifact

  • Weapon Strength:

Sigil of Superior Air

50% chance to cause a lightning strike on a critical hit. (This effect cannot trigger more than once every 3 seconds)

Mighty WvW InfusionOffensive Infusion

  • Power: 5
  • DMG to Guards and Lords: 1%

Sigil of Superior Energy

You gain 50% of your endurance when you swap to this weapon while in combat. (This effect cannot trigger more than once every 9s)

Mighty WvW InfusionOffensive Infusion

  • Power: 5
  • DMG to Guards and Lords: 1%

Weapon Set I

Sigil of Superior Air

50% chance to cause a lightning strike on a critical hit. (This effect cannot trigger more than once every 3 seconds)

Sigil of Superior Energy

You gain 50% of your endurance when you swap to this weapon while in combat. (This effect cannot trigger more than once every 9s)

Stonecleaver's Claymore

  • Weapon Strength:

  • Weapon Strength:

Sigil of Superior Hydromancy

You freeze nearby foes for 2s when you swap to this weapon while in combat. (This effect cannot trigger more than once every 9s)

Mighty WvW InfusionOffensive Infusion

  • Power: 5
  • DMG to Guards and Lords: 1%

Mighty WvW InfusionOffensive Infusion

  • Power: 5
  • DMG to Guards and Lords: 1%

Sigil of Rage

10% chance on critical hit to apply quickness for 3 seconds. (This effect cannot trigger more than once every 30s)

Weapon Set II

Sigil of Superior Hydromancy

You freeze nearby foes for 2s when you swap to this weapon while in combat. (This effect cannot trigger more than once every 9s)

  • Weapon Strength:

  • Weapon Strength:

Water Weapon I

Water Weapon II

Upgrade Item Details

Sword/Focus: Air/Energy
Sigil of Air scales with power, and can reach hits of over 2k with enough might stacks. Provides a great bit of extra burst which can go a long way.
Sigil of Energy, with the increased dps and burst, just became the best sigil in the game. Dodge rolls are much more valuable without Vigor on crit from Honor (plus the fact that Vigor got nerfed anyway). Energy sigils. Learn to love them.

Greatsword: Hydromancy/Rage
I know people will tell you to use fire/air on GS for extra burst. However, Hydromancy has been a mainstay of my play for an extremely long period of time. If you can prioritize landing the swap, it can crit for up to 3k as well as apply chill for 2.8 seconds. Chill is, excuse the language, annoying as all hell, and can provide you an extra window to land attacks.

As for Rage, this is just personal preference. It helps in solo roaming but is probably unnecessary for duels. The point of Rage is to burst down your enemy so quick that they can't even pop their "oh shit" skills, or even if they manage to hit one, get them so low they have to panic. Especially with the 4.2 second immob, potential 2.8 second immob from scepter if you take it, and 2.8 second chill from Hydromancy, Rage may soon be phased out in favor of another energy sigil, air/fire sigils, or leeching sigil.


V. Basic Gameplay

This build, like most meditation builds, is designed to be very offensive and bursty; however, part of what makes a guardian a good guardian is the ability to switch from offense to defense on a dime, or better, to combine them in the same rotation. That said, there is no specific rotation that wins fights as a meditation guardian. I’ll provide a few basic rotations in the section below but it’s a lot of “live and learn,” and always will be.

Your burst skills are

Smite Condition
Judge’s Intervention
Zealot’s Defense
Ray of Judgment
Shield of Wrath
Literally every single Greatsword skill
Virtue of Justice

Your defensive skills are

Smite Condition
Judge’s Intervention
Zealot’s Defense
Ray of Judgment
Shield of Wrath
All three Virtues
Contemplation of Purity
Renewed Focus

Lots of skills appear on both lists, which brings me back to the point that you need to be able to turn on a dime, or for the ultimate fluid gameplay, play both offensively and defensively at the same time.


Main Skill Rotation

Shield of Wrath45

Create a shield to block the next three attacks. If the shield is not destroyed, it explodes and damages nearby foes.

Damage: 756Duration: 4Combo Finisher: Blast

Zealot's Defense&frac12 12

Block ranged attacks while casting magical projectiles.

Damage (8x): 888Duration: 3Range: 600

Virtue of Justice21&frac14

Burn foes with every fifth attack.
Activate: You and your allies inflict burning on the next attack.

Burning: 2 s (328 damage) (passive)Burning: 5 s (1640 damage) (active)Blind: 3 sMight: 5 sRetaliation: 5 s

Judge's Intervention36

Teleport to your target and burn nearby foes.

Burning: 3 s (984 damage)Damage: 122Breaks stunRange: 1,200Fury: 4 s

Whirling Wrath&frac34 10

Spin in place and swing your greatsword while hurling powerful projectiles.

Damage (9x): 1,251Combo Finisher: WhirlRange: 600

Binding Blade&frac34 30

Throw blades at your foes, causing damage over time. Bound foes can be pulled to you. The effect ends when a foe moves out of range.

Damage: 369Duration: 10Maximum leash range: 600Combo Finisher: Whirl

Pull&frac34

Pull your foes to you.

Leash Range: 600Range: 900

Symbol of Wrath&frac14 20

Pierce the ground with a mystic symbol that damages and burns foes while granting retaliation to allies.

Damage (5x): 925x5Retaliation: 1 sCombo Field: Light

Leap of Faith&frac12 15

Leap at your foe. On hit, blind nearby foes.

Might: 5 sBlind: 3 sCombo Finisher: LeapRange: 600

Strike&frac12

Strike your foe.

Damage: 296Range: 130

Vengeful Strike&frac12

Strike your foe again.

Damage: 296Range: 130

Wrathful Strike&frac12

Attack with a final, powerful strike that applies might for each foe you strike.

Damage: 443Might: 5 sRange: 130

Above is a simple "all-in" burst rotation, opening with sword, immobilizing the enemy, and swapping to greatsword to burst while immobilized/chilled. You can open with greatsword, open with scepter 3 and save your Signet of Wrath for later, etc. It's all done on the fly. Don't forget to use Smite Condition whenever you can.


Ray of Judgment

Ray of Judgment&frac34 25

Pass a ray over foes and allies. Foes are damaged and blinded. Allies gain regeneration and cure one condition.

Damage: 151Blind: 3 sRegeneration: 3 s (390 Health)Number of Bounces: 4Range: 1,200

Virtue of Justice21&frac14

Burn foes with every fifth attack.
Activate: You and your allies inflict burning on the next attack.

Burning: 2 s (328 damage) (passive)Burning: 5 s (1640 damage) (active)Blind: 3 sMight: 5 sRetaliation: 5 s

Judge's Intervention36

Teleport to your target and burn nearby foes.

Burning: 3 s (984 damage)Damage: 122Breaks stunRange: 1,200Fury: 4 s

Ray of Judgment burst. The goal here is to bounce your Ray of Judgment in your enemy's face like a shotgun. Pop Virtue of Justice right before you use Judge's Intervention. Ray of Judgment can hit for over 1k on a crit, and with the bounces, you'll have your enemy blinded, immobilized, and vulnerable to combos with other skills. In addition, you'll have 6 seconds of regeneration just to begin. However- remember that Ray of Judgment can be an effective condition cleanse if you can land it. It's a much more important skill than some think. It can be extremely useful in a guard vs guard fight, giving you more sustain while helping disable your opponent's attacks and being one of the most effective "hit-trading" skills out there. Never underestimate it.


Greatsword-only

Binding Blade&frac34 30

Throw blades at your foes, causing damage over time. Bound foes can be pulled to you. The effect ends when a foe moves out of range.

Damage: 369Duration: 10Maximum leash range: 600Combo Finisher: Whirl

Virtue of Justice21&frac14

Burn foes with every fifth attack.
Activate: You and your allies inflict burning on the next attack.

Burning: 2 s (328 damage) (passive)Burning: 5 s (1640 damage) (active)Blind: 3 sMight: 5 sRetaliation: 5 s

Judge's Intervention36

Teleport to your target and burn nearby foes.

Burning: 3 s (984 damage)Damage: 122Breaks stunRange: 1,200Fury: 4 s

Whirling Wrath&frac34 10

Spin in place and swing your greatsword while hurling powerful projectiles.

Damage (9x): 1,251Combo Finisher: WhirlRange: 600

Symbol of Wrath&frac14 20

Pierce the ground with a mystic symbol that damages and burns foes while granting retaliation to allies.

Damage (5x): 925x5Retaliation: 1 sCombo Field: Light

Leap of Faith&frac12 15

Leap at your foe. On hit, blind nearby foes.

Might: 5 sBlind: 3 sCombo Finisher: LeapRange: 600

As always, use Smite Condition for extra damage if a condition is applied to you, or if the 1.5-2k crit from no conditions will get the enemy down.


Sword-only

Shield of Wrath45

Create a shield to block the next three attacks. If the shield is not destroyed, it explodes and damages nearby foes.

Damage: 756Duration: 4Combo Finisher: Blast

Zealot's Defense&frac12 12

Block ranged attacks while casting magical projectiles.

Damage (8x): 888Duration: 3Range: 600

Virtue of Justice21&frac14

Burn foes with every fifth attack.
Activate: You and your allies inflict burning on the next attack.

Burning: 2 s (328 damage) (passive)Burning: 5 s (1640 damage) (active)Blind: 3 sMight: 5 sRetaliation: 5 s

Judge's Intervention36

Teleport to your target and burn nearby foes.

Burning: 3 s (984 damage)Damage: 122Breaks stunRange: 1,200Fury: 4 s

Sword of Wrath&frac12

Slash your foe once.

Damage: 296Range: 150

Sword Arc&frac12

Slash your foe again.

Damage: 269Range: 150

Sword Wave&frac12

Send out a cone attack, striking up to three foes.

Damage (3x): 504Range: 300

Add Smite Condition as necessary, of course.


Map Movement

Flashing Blade8

Teleport to your target, striking them and blinding nearby foes.

Damage: 67Blind: 3 sRange: 600

Leap of Faith&frac12 15

Leap at your foe. On hit, blind nearby foes.

Might: 5 sBlind: 3 sCombo Finisher: LeapRange: 600

Judge's Intervention36

Teleport to your target and burn nearby foes.

Burning: 3 s (984 damage)Damage: 122Breaks stunRange: 1,200Fury: 4 s

Flashing Blade8

Teleport to your target, striking them and blinding nearby foes.

Damage: 67Blind: 3 sRange: 600

Both Flashing Blade and Judge's Intervention require a target. This includes Rabbits, Snow Owls, and evil hostile creatures such as Polar Bears and enemy walls. Flashing Blade is up every 8 seconds, making you extremely fast even without Traveler runes.

Fun fact: Judge's Intervention can help you completely avoid fall damage if you teleport to a target right as you hit the ground.

Just watch out for "No Valid Path." Bane of guardians everywhere. However, learn when to use your movement skills, learn the appropriate spots, and you can nike away when in trouble.


Comments

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Devourerofmemes @ 01:00 AM, Tue June 30 2015Reply

Really well written guide, I threw a featured tag on <3

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