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The Guardian is widely known as one of the more potent professions to play in Guild Wars 2. In PvP, this doesn't change much, and with the right build plus a bit of know-how, you'll be obliterating opponents before they know what even hits them.
The Guardian - specifically the Willbender elite specialization is an absolute force of nature on the battlefield. If you're new to PvP game modes or want to play a profession that's at or near the top of the meta, then this is the choice for you.
Guardian Strengths And Weaknesses In PvP
You may or not be aware of the four basic roles in PvP. To briefly provide some context for you, we'll list these here, in no particular order:
- Damage Dealer
- Duelist
- Support
- Roamer
The Guardian can be played and built for multiple roles. They have great support builds, but we're going to be focusing on the damage-dealing side of things here. The Guardian is an excellent choice for all game modes, as they have viable builds for large-scale and small-scale battles.
The Guardian focuses on using support magic to either augment themselves or their allies. In PvP, you're going to want to focus on becoming the most lethal instrument of destruction you can be. Guardians are a dangerous opponent, but they aren't the most durable fighters.
As a Guardian, your sustain comes from reactive defense or using utility skills to mitigate damage. This means that while Guardians are certainly powerful, they are not necessarily indestructible.
You're going to have to work closely with your support to keep your pain train running. Guardians aren't the best roamers, as unexpected ambushes can quickly spell your doom.
A Heavy Hitter
Your main focus with the build we're providing will be to deal excellent amounts of burst damage on unsuspecting foes. Often this means getting into the thick of the action and battling in the middle of the map, as your roamers and duelists will be the more mobile force on your team.
As a Willbender, your main strength is your huge burst damage. Your dual-wield sword weapon skills provide you with a ton of lethality, and you'll be an asset in any team fight. The Willbender's strengths lie in its excellent mobility, but it offers very little support for your team. By design, the Willbender elite specialization is selfish, as it uses virtues to buff itself instead of allies.
Its mobility, lethality, and single-minded focus on killing the enemy before they can respond all lead to a fast, responsive play style. The other advantage of the Willbender is it has a relatively low skill floor. While you do have access to a lot of abilities in the form of Virtues (F1-F4 skills), as well as your utility skills. You're not brutally punished for making mistakes, as the Willbender is all about taking advantage of bursts and not executing a complicated rotation.
Willbender Build - Resolute Swords
The best stats to use for this PvP build will be Marauders. This stat selection keeps your Power and Crit high but also gives you a needed boost to your Vitality because you can't deal your damage if you die to a quick breeze. Below we'll take a look at what the major traits chosen do for you.
In Virtues, take the following traits:
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Unscathed Contender |
Strike damage is increased by 20 percent when you have Aegis. |
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Absolute Resolve |
Activating your Virtue Skill 2 (Flowing Resolve) removes conditions from nearby allies. Enhances Flowing Resolve's effects. |
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Indomitable Courage |
Virtue Skill 3 (Crashing Courage) breaks stun and grants stability to you and your nearby allies. |
In Radiance, take the following traits:
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Right-Hand Strength |
Grants you 80 Precision, an extra 80 Power, and your main hand sword skills gain a 20 percent reduction in recharge. This only applies when you have a one-handed weapon in your main hand. |
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Retribution |
While you have the Resolution boon, your outgoing damage is increased by ten percent. |
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Righteous Instincts |
The Resolution boon grants you an extra 25 percent chance to critically hit. You also a stack of Might every second for six seconds. |
In Willbender, take the following traits:
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Power for Power |
Grants you an extra 120 Power and increases the damage from Willbender Flames by 100 percent (doubling their damage). |
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Vanguard Tactics |
Activating Crashing Courage (Virtue Skill 3) grants Resistance for three seconds. Whenever you use an ability that shadow steps, you also gain Resolution and Protection. |
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Tyrant's Momentum |
Lethal Tempo gives you an extra two percent damage per stack but has its duration reduced by two seconds. |
Lethal Tempo is a minor trait that you get from putting points into the Willbender trait line. You can have a maximum of five stacks of Lethal Tempo at a time, and you gain one stack whenever you activate a virtue or trigger its passive effect.
Weapons
For your weaponry, you'll go for the main hand sword and the off-hand sword. The greatsword is a great backup weapon as it offers a little extra mobility and burst.