This Guild Wars 2 Guardian build takes advantage of burning conditions and spirit weapons to do damage. You are going to hear a lot about burning Guardian builds and this is one way to go about making one. We increase condition duration and condition damage as much as we can by focusing on the Zeal and Radiance trait lines. Burning conditions are applied when we use our weapon set, Scepter and Torch, and any of our utilities. Normally spirit weapons do not apply burning conditions but that’s what makes this build so special.
Weapon Choice
As we mentioned in the intro we are going to be using the Scepter and Torch for our weapon set. These will apply the burning conditions we are focused on using for this build. Along with the burning conditions this weapon set gives us an Immobilize condition which is crucial in PvP.
Heal Skill
For your heal skill I would pick up shelter since it also serves a dual purpose of blocking incoming attacks while the others don’t. There is no specific heal that will benefit this build so you can choose whichever you prefer for this one.
Utility Skills
The first utiliy skill you should pick up is Purging Flames which applies burning conditons to everyone around you. This serves a dual purpose of also removing conditions from your allies. Next pick up Hammer of Wisdom and Sword of Justice, these are both spirit weapons and will apply burning conditions after we choose our traits.
Elite Skill
Finally for your elite skill pick up the offensive ability Tome of Wrath. This is your most powerful spell so use it when you need that extra boost to take someone out.
Traits Breakdown
Like we mentioned in the intro the trait lines that will benefit this build the most are the Zeal and Radiance trait lines. For that reason we will max both of these out to 30 giving us the maximum bonus to condition duration and damage. Let’s start with Zeal which will boost power, condition duration and our spirit weapons greatly. First pick up Spirit Weapon Mastery which reduces the spirit weapons recharge by 20%. Next pick up Eternal Spirit which stops the spirit weapons from being destroyed when you command them to attack a specific location. Last pick up Wrathful Spirits which increases spirit weapon damage by 10%.
In the Radiance trait line pick up Inner Fire which grants you fury every time you are lit on fire. Next pick up a Fire Inside which makes your spirit weapons cause burning. Last in this line pick up Right Handed Strength which increases your critical hit chance with one handed weapons by 15%.
The last 10 points are going to be spent in the Virtues trait line, specifically to pick up Improved Spirit Weapon Duration which makes your spirit weapons last 20% longer. And that’s a great way to finish off the traits I think.
Play Style
When you are playing this Burning Guardian build you are going to have to keep the burning conditions on your enemy at all times. That will come pretty naturally as you play but your real advantage comes with your utility skills, specifically the spirit weapons. After choosing our traits they now last longer, will not be destroyed when we command them and best of all they apply burning conditions. So when you call out your spirit weapons keep on using them just like any other ability on a cool down. Every time its up command it to attack that area again. Also don’t neglect your basic mechanics that should be used with all builds. Enjoy this build and leave our questions or comments below!
Dude could u make a guide how to play guardian with those builds? You know, make a video?
I never made a video before but I’ll look into it!!
This build looks fun. Loads of synergy. Thanks for posting it. I’ll give it a shot.
By the way, have any idea how damage scales with power? And does burning damage crit? Asking so I craft one set or another.
Thanks!
Is this build too squishy for PvE ? I’d really like to try this out while leveling…
No this will be fine for PVE. Guardian and squishy dont really go together
I know ^^ but I’ve red that spirit weapon build throws away a good portion of def the profession has. Also what is the uptime on weapons? It would be awful if I found myself using regular weapons skills to fill in the cooldowns between spirit weapons…
This build reduces the cooldown of spirit weapons by 20%, increases the duration by 20% and they don’t get destroyed when commanded so they will be out often. The hammer also knocks down the enemy and they can aggro mobs so it helps with defense.
What is your opinion on this build vs. the ranged scepter/torch crit build? In terms of survivability and damage?
Additionally, how do you prioritize condition damage vs. precision gear in this build?
I would say this has more survivability then the scepter torch since you have the spirit weapons to aggro and knockback enemies. Since we are focused on condition damage so much with this build I would go for condition damage over precision but there’s no reason you can’t have both. I’m working on a scepter shield build right now that you might be interested in. It’s gonna have high DPS along with knockbacks and immobilize for defense so check back soon for that.
Thank you for your input.
Just got my mesmer to 80 and going to roll a gaurdian to change it up for awhile. I like the sound of this build and am going to give it a try..just curious what weapon/weapons you equip for your weapon swap shill? Thanks for the great info
Just go with whatever you like best. If you find it hard staying alive go for a shield and mace if you want more damage go for the greatsword.
Skill even
looks awesome, btw, what runes & sigils best go with this build? thanks
Great build. It work really well and even with those pesky thiefs going stealth the burning sort them
Ok so i use my greatsword what should i use as my second weapon, like you know how i can switch weapons what should be my second weapon?
In your opinion btw