The WatchTower Watercooler: A Guardian [Discussion]

[Deathwarder]

So How Do you anticipate using your guardian?

Whether your a Paladin at heart (me) or just adept to being all tanky ( in whatever your digital vice) the guardian looks to deliver. Im really excited at the multiple roles the Guardian looks to possess through its weapon skill set.

I for one see myself maining as a Sylvari ( for the racial protection utility ) with a mace and shield and while off equipping the mace and torch. My take on this duo; is not only can I mitigate damage and deal it; I can also provide heals to my allies- a win win in any pvp/pve scenario. I'm curious as to what role/ playstyle other guards will aim for; how and why.

Haven't given the profession a look yet?, check out this tool:

http://gw2.luna-atra.fr/skills_tool/?lang=en

And share your take on the Guard.

Update [ 02/21]: Guildwars2guru has put up some videos of guardian gameplay revealing some changes an additions to Guardian gameplay

Guardian Changes:
List accredited to Alaroxr

Health Pool:
Previously the Guardian was of the lower health bracket of the professions but now it looks to be in the medium range of health pool.

Before: ~16k
Now: ~20k

Spirit Weapons:

Hammer of Wisdom- Summon an arcane hammer to defend you. 45 second CD
Sword of Justice- Summon an arcane sword to defend you. 30 second CD
Bow of Truth- Summon an arcane bow to remove conditions from you and your allies. 60 second CD
Shield of The Avenger- Summon an arcane shield to defend you. 60 second CD

Weapons Skill Changes:

Greatsword no longer has Symbol of Swiftness and now has
Symbol of Wrath- Pierce the ground with a mystic symbol that damages and burns foes while granting Retaliation to allies. 15 second CD

Staff no longer has Symbol of Protection and now has
Symbol of Swiftness- Sear a mystic symbol into target area, damaging foes and granting swiftness to allies. 15 second CD

Greatsword's Binding Blade has been changed to
Binding Blade- 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. Chain skill. 30 second CD

Changed/New Utilities:

Signet of Judgement
Passive- Reduces incoming damage
Active- Grants retaliation to nearby allies
30 second CD

Signet of Wrath
Passive- Grants you increased condition damage
Active- Immobilizes your target
30 second CD

Signet of Mercy
Passive- Improves healing
Active- Revive a nearby ally
90 second CD

"Retreat"- Grant Aegis and Protection to up to five nearby allies. 60 second CD

"Stand Your Ground"- Grant Stability to yourself and allies. 60 second CD

Hallowed Ground- Consecrate target area, granting Stability to allies inside. 80 second CD

Retribution- Grant yourself Retaliation. 15 second CD

Judge's Intervention- Teleport to your target and burn nearby foes. 45 second CD

Merciful Intervention- Teleport to the nearby ally with the lowest health and create a healing area around them. 45 second CD

Renewed Focus- Recharge all Virtues instantly (Replaces Meditation?) 90 second CD

New Elite:

Tome of Courage- Locks you in place, but grants you powerful support spells. 180 second CD
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Note: There may be some cooldown time changes for other skills that I did not mention above.

If you notice any other changes or want to comment on the above changes, please do so.
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Edit:
Wall of Deflection is now renamed to Wall of Reflection.

[Cuchulainn]

Primary: Greatsword.
Secondary: Mace and Shield.

I'm actually quite tired of 99% of Guardian game-play footage on YouTube being staff users. Staffs are just so damn boring.
BTW, are you from WatchTower? Also, "water cooler" is so Ghostcrawler. I prefer "Illustrious, gem encrusted water fountain" myself.

[Malthurius]

I'll be rolling a Guardian after my Thief main, and I'll be building my guardian to be as offensive as possible to go against it's "tanky/support" tag.

[Deleted]

Although I was originally sold on my Charr being a warrior ever since the Guardian has been revealed and I've seen more and more I feel more towards going for that as my main as in my opinion it is one of the move 'position intensive'(if you get my drift) due to positioning of the walls and seals/glyphs(the things put on the floor) etc. I'm also a protadin at heart. I also like the fires of justice theme to.

[Glytch]

sword and focus and just teleport around shooting lasers

[Arkenaw]

sword 'n shield and greatsword. Staff and scepter look really boring.

[Gisei]

Mace/Shield for more defensive and supportive play.
Sword/focus for more offensive play. Provides blinding and shielding as well.

Utilities
Judge's Intervention- A second warp.
Smite Conditions- To escape heavy debuffing
Hammer of Wisdom- A bit more offense and some knock down

This is all subject to change until I get a feel for the game.

[Deathwarder]

Primary: Greatsword.
Secondary: Mace and Shield.

I'm actually quite tired of 99% of Guardian game-play footage on YouTube being staff users. Staffs are just so damn boring.
BTW, are you from WatchTower? Also, "water cooler" is so Ghostcrawler. I prefer "Illustrious, gem encrusted water fountain" myself.

Greatsword and mace shield? I take it the hard line dps and mobility/defelection is what your after with some healing and mitigation to boot; yeah I thought that was the way i go originally but there's a strong pull in me to hold onto that good ol' board and sword- and the the focus doesn't ( in lieu of the shield doesn't seem far from that.

WatchTower? Sorry never heard of them I just two sheets from the wind and thought the name was fitting for a psuedo-intellectual thread about guardian choices. Hmmm... now gem encrusted water fountain ? sounds more like a jewelcrafter daily..but I give it to you watercooler is kinda soft.

Although I was originally sold on my Charr being a warrior ever since the Guardian has been revealed and I've seen more and more I feel more towards going for that as my main as in my opinion it is one of the move 'position intensive'(if you get my drift) due to positioning of the walls and seals/glyphs(the things put on the floor) etc. I'm also a protadin at heart. I also like the fires of justice theme to.

yeah i do know what you mean...what appeals to me so much about the guardian is not so much its paladin-esque playstyle but in the right hands the guardian can be such a clutch player of the map.. yeah man i see it; and i am definitely going to try to push guard to its brink

[Deleted]

If I decide to go Guardian as my main I'll probably end up with Staff with Mace and Shield for PvP as gives me the better defensive skills for holding down points as I am mpre of that type of player and so I would look to pair myself with a high damage set up. In PvE I would swap the staff to Hammer as I dislike playing casters and would only use the staff when its more useful.

http://gw2.luna-atra.fr/skills_tool/...switch=2f276c5

Using shelter to give extra protection while healing and allows me to do it right in the middle of battle
Wall of deflection so ranged have to get in close which is where I want em to be
Hammer for damage and the knockdown
Mines as I don't have a cripple debuff and these can be be spread out and I hope a little aoe also the bleed is just extra dots
Sanctuary as it just makes me a pain to kill to ranged.

So to me with this build I'm gong to be a pain in the arse to kill and ranged can't just stand away and fire meaning they have to get close eand I'm still on my point doing damage to them.

[Squirrelbanes]

Not a particularly constructive addition to the discussion, but I'm rolling a human guardian so I can pretend to be Logan, get roaring drunk, act like a total arse and bewail that I betrayed everyone.

[Glytch]

Not a particularly constructive addition to the discussion, but I'm rolling a human guardian so I can pretend to be Logan, get roaring drunk, act like a total arse and bewail that I betrayed everyone.

someone's bitter...

[Squirrelbanes]

someone's bitter...

Lol...not at all. I just think it will make for some funny RP in Divinity's Reach.

[Glytch]

Lol...not at all. I just think it will make for some funny RP in Divinity's Reach.

somehow i see dougal being the drunk much more than logan

[Wrathonia]

somehow i see dougal being the drunk much more than logan

Well, other than Dougal being a Thief, he has more of a reason to drink. I'm sorry, but in the book Logan is very much a big kid that really thinks about himself and his love interest more than anything else. He is shallow, dull witted and not prone to strategy. Just "Hulk SMASH!" moments. I am actually pretty offended that he is considered a Guardian when in the book he fights way more like a warrior. Hell, every picture I see of him he usually has a sword and sometimes a shield. In the book all he did was smash things with his hammer. His brother hated him to some degree because of his lack of sophistication in his fighting style.

If anyone is bitter about Mr. Thackery, it is me. I hate him.

[Arkenaw]

Well, other than Dougal being a Thief, he has more of a reason to drink. I'm sorry, but in the book Logan is very much a big kid that really thinks about himself and his love interest more than anything else. He is shallow, dull witted and not prone to strategy. Just "Hulk SMASH!" moments. I am actually pretty offended that he is considered a Guardian when in the book he fights way more like a warrior. Hell, every picture I see of him he usually has a sword and sometimes a shield. In the book all he did was smash things with his hammer. His brother hated him to some degree because of his lack of sophistication in his fighting style.

If anyone is bitter about Mr. Thackery, it is me. I hate him.

Glad to see I'm not the only one who hates him.

[Jovanaar]

Human Warrior - Greatsword / Axe+Shield
Human Ranger - Longbow / Sword+Torch (Set Ablaze + Longbow = great)
Sylvari Necromancer - Staff / Axe+Warhorn (Locust Swarm... <3 )
Human Elementalist - Staff / Scepter+Dagger
Asura Thief - Dagger+Dagger / Pistol+Pistol
Charr Engineer - Rifle
Norn Guardian - Greatsword / Staff
Charr Warrior - Hammer / Axe+Sword
Sylvari Mesmer - Greatsword / Sword+Sword

[Deleted]

I'm going with a big 2h hammer as a primary weapon, with a shield/mace as secondary.

[Tutorial]

I can't say yet really.
I know I want to be a Guardian. I've been going over the skills over and over and I think I'll use Mace and Shield whenever I am support. Scepter and Shield when I need a bit of ranged damage. I'll use sword and shield for regular melee combat.

Greatsword will mostly be used for PvP along with a Hammer.

[Deleted]

I just hope people aren't hell bent on healing. I'm curious to see how much actual healing you can do by putting symbols on the floor.

[Squirrelbanes]

Well, other than Dougal being a Thief, he has more of a reason to drink. I'm sorry, but in the book Logan is very much a big kid that really thinks about himself and his love interest more than anything else. He is shallow, dull witted and not prone to strategy. Just "Hulk SMASH!" moments. I am actually pretty offended that he is considered a Guardian when in the book he fights way more like a warrior. Hell, every picture I see of him he usually has a sword and sometimes a shield. In the book all he did was smash things with his hammer. His brother hated him to some degree because of his lack of sophistication in his fighting style.

If anyone is bitter about Mr. Thackery, it is me. I hate him.

Well said!
And ofc he basically killed one asura and thereby broke another's heart.
Payback's gonna be a total beatch.