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Difference between revisions of "Guardian - Core Condition"
 
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As this is a core build, it has options available to free-to-play players as well.
 
As this is a core build, it has options available to free-to-play players as well.
 +
  
 
==Skill Bar==
 
==Skill Bar==
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|profession = guardian
 
|profession = guardian
 
|specialization =  
 
|specialization =  
−
|weapon1 = Scepter
+
|weapon1 = Sword
 
|weapon2 = Torch
 
|weapon2 = Torch
−
|weapon3 = Axe
+
|weapon3 = Greatsword
 
|healing = Litany of Wrath
 
|healing = Litany of Wrath
 
|utility1 = Purging Flames
 
|utility1 = Purging Flames
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===Weapon Variants===
 
===Weapon Variants===
−
* Greatsword - very high burst if using power-heavy variants
+
* {{Tooltip|Scepter}} - strong ranged DPS
−
* Staff - long-ranged option that is good for meta farming.
+
* {{Tooltip|Pistol|Mainhand Pistol}} - good ranged DPS
−
* Sword - non-weaponmaster replacement for Axe
+
* {{Tooltip|Pistol|Offhand Pistol}} - decent offhand; do not replace torch
 +
* {{Tooltip|Staff}} - long-ranged option that is good for meta farming.
 +
* {{Tooltip|Axe}} - very strong mainhand with CC
  
 
===Skill Variants===
 
===Skill Variants===
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code = [&DQEqHxAZLhcmDyYPTAF4AUgBNgExAf4AiRI3AQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]
 
code = [&DQEqHxAZLhcmDyYPTAF4AUgBNgExAf4AiRI3AQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]
 
}}
 
}}
 +
  
 
==Specializations==
 
==Specializations==
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{{Specialization|Radiance|top|mid|top}}
 
{{Specialization|Radiance|top|mid|top}}
 
{{Specialization|Virtues|bot|top|top}}
 
{{Specialization|Virtues|bot|top|top}}
 +
  
 
==Equipment==
 
==Equipment==
−
Ascended gear and stat infusions are not required; you can use exotic gear with the same stats.<br>
+
Ascended gear and stat infusions are not required; you can use exotic gear with the same stats.
 +
 
 
===Viper DPS Equipment===
 
===Viper DPS Equipment===
 
This variant uses equipment similar to existing Condi DPS Firebrand raid builds, making it an easy gearing option for general PVE.
 
This variant uses equipment similar to existing Condi DPS Firebrand raid builds, making it an easy gearing option for general PVE.
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| rune = Superior Rune of the Trapper
 
| rune = Superior Rune of the Trapper
 
| rune-qt = 6
 
| rune-qt = 6
−
| weapon1 = Axe
+
| weapon1 = Sword
 
| weapon2 = Torch
 
| weapon2 = Torch
 
| sigil1 = Superior Sigil of Smoldering
 
| sigil1 = Superior Sigil of Smoldering
 
| sigil2 = Superior Sigil of Bursting
 
| sigil2 = Superior Sigil of Bursting
−
| weapon3 = Scepter
+
| weapon3 = Greatsword
 
| weapon4 = x
 
| weapon4 = x
 
| sigil3 = Superior Sigil of Smoldering
 
| sigil3 = Superior Sigil of Smoldering
−
| sigil4 = Superior Sigil of  
+
| sigil4 = Superior Sigil of Bursting
−
| relic = Relic of the Cavalier
+
| relic = Relic of the Aristocracy
 
}}
 
}}
 +
If you are gearing this character from zero, start with '''exotic quality gear'''. Search the trading post for "Viper's Abomination" weapons. Viper exotic armor is very expensive, so we recommend a budget alternative called Carrion (search the trading post for "Shiro" armor) until you can get Viper gear such as by farming Bladed armor or by acquiring ascended armor. Upgrade to Viper and ascended as you progress. See also: [[Guide:How to Gear a Character]].
  
 
===Free To Play Equipment===
 
===Free To Play Equipment===
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| rune = Superior Rune of Balthazar
 
| rune = Superior Rune of Balthazar
 
| rune-qt = 6
 
| rune-qt = 6
−
| weapon1 = Scepter
+
| weapon1 = Sword
 
| weapon2 = Torch
 
| weapon2 = Torch
 
| sigil1 = Superior Sigil of Smoldering
 
| sigil1 = Superior Sigil of Smoldering
 
| sigil2 = Superior Sigil of Bursting
 
| sigil2 = Superior Sigil of Bursting
−
| weapon3 = Sword
+
| weapon3 = Greatsword
 
| weapon4 =  
 
| weapon4 =  
 
| sigil3 = Superior Sigil of Smoldering
 
| sigil3 = Superior Sigil of Smoldering
−
| sigil4 = Superior Sigil of  
+
| sigil4 = Superior Sigil of Bursting
−
| relic = Relic of the Cavalier
+
| relic = Relic of the Aristocracy
 +
| variant = y
 
}}  
 
}}  
  
−
<br>
+
 
 
==Consumables==
 
==Consumables==
 
Budget consumables are acceptable for use in open world.
 
Budget consumables are acceptable for use in open world.
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* {{Food|Peppermint Omnomberry Bar}}
 
* {{Food|Peppermint Omnomberry Bar}}
 
* {{Utility|Sharpening Skull}} (and variants)
 
* {{Utility|Sharpening Skull}} (and variants)
−
<br>
 
  
  
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===Damage===
 
===Damage===
 
Swap between Greatsword and Scepter/Torch for damage. You should open most fights on Greatsword if you can and once its cooldowns are spent, swap to scepter/torch for better sustained damage.  
 
Swap between Greatsword and Scepter/Torch for damage. You should open most fights on Greatsword if you can and once its cooldowns are spent, swap to scepter/torch for better sustained damage.  
−
 
−
Axe Priority:
 
−
# {{Skill|Purging Flames}}
 
−
# {{Skill|Symbol of Vengeance}}
 
−
# {{Skill|Zealot's Flame}}
 
−
# {{Skill|Blazing Edge}}
 
−
# Fill with auto-attacks.
 
  
 
Scepter Priority:
 
Scepter Priority:
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# {{Skill|Cleansing Flame}}
 
# {{Skill|Cleansing Flame}}
 
# {{Skill|Chains of Light}}
 
# {{Skill|Chains of Light}}
 +
# Fill with auto-attacks
 +
 +
Sword Priority:
 +
# {{Skill|Purging Flames}}
 +
# {{Skill|Zealot's Flame}}
 +
# {{Skill|Sword of Justice}}
 +
# {{Skill|Zealot's Defense}}
 +
# {{Skill|Symbol of Blades}}
 
# Fill with auto-attacks
 
# Fill with auto-attacks
  
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# Fill with auto-attacks
 
# Fill with auto-attacks
  
−
Sword Priority:
 
−
# {{Skill|Purging Flames}}
 
−
# {{Skill|Zealot's Flame}}
 
−
# {{Skill|Sword of Justice}}
 
−
# {{Skill|Zealot's Defense}}
 
−
# {{Skill|Symbol of Blades}}
 
−
# Fill with auto-attacks
 
  
 
Your {{Skill|Virtue of Justice}} passive will also make up a significant amount of your damage through {{Tooltip|Burning}}. Use {{Skill|"Feel My Wrath!"}} off cooldown for Fury and Quickness uptime.
 
Your {{Skill|Virtue of Justice}} passive will also make up a significant amount of your damage through {{Tooltip|Burning}}. Use {{Skill|"Feel My Wrath!"}} off cooldown for Fury and Quickness uptime.

Latest revision as of 17:11, 8 August 2025

The community gave this build a rating, making it second-tier: Good

Focused on: Condition damage

Designed for: Open World, Open World General and Open World Core

Difficulty:
Easy
This build was last updated on August 08, 2025 and is up to date for the August 19, 2025 patch.

Overview

A basic core guardian build focused on condition damage. This build has good damage at range and strong defensive capabilities.

As this is a core build, it has options available to free-to-play players as well.


Skill Bar

Sword/Torch
Greatsword
Utility

Weapon Variants

Skill Variants

  • Hammer of Wisdom - cc
  • Wall of Reflection - projectile hate
  • Judge's Intervention - teleport and damage
  • Hallowed Ground - long-duration stability
  • Sanctuary - high CC against champions and projectile hate
  • Renewed Focus - strong defensive tool


Template Code

[&DQEqHxAZLhcmDyYPTAF4AUgBNgExAf4AiRI3AQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=]
Copy Template Code


Specializations


Equipment

Ascended gear and stat infusions are not required; you can use exotic gear with the same stats.

Viper DPS Equipment

This variant uses equipment similar to existing Condi DPS Firebrand raid builds, making it an easy gearing option for general PVE.

Head
Viper
Shoulders
Viper
Chest
Viper
Hands
Viper
Legs
Viper
Feet
Viper
Backpiece
Viper
Accessory
Viper
Accessory
Viper
Amulet
Viper
Ring
Viper
Ring
Viper
Sword
Viper
Torch
Viper
Sigil
Sigil
Greatsword
Viper
x
Viper
Sigil
Sigil
Rune
x6


Relic

If you are gearing this character from zero, start with exotic quality gear. Search the trading post for "Viper's Abomination" weapons. Viper exotic armor is very expensive, so we recommend a budget alternative called Carrion (search the trading post for "Shiro" armor) until you can get Viper gear such as by farming Bladed armor or by acquiring ascended armor. Upgrade to Viper and ascended as you progress. See also: Guide:How to Gear a Character.

Free To Play Equipment

The following equipment is available to Free To Play players. It is not quite as powerful as the variants above, but holds its own even in instanced content.

Head
Carrion
Shoulders
Carrion
Chest
Carrion
Hands
Carrion
Legs
Carrion
Feet
Carrion
Backpiece
Carrion
Accessory
Carrion
Accessory
Carrion
Amulet
Carrion
Ring
Carrion
Ring
Carrion
Sword
Carrion
Torch
Carrion
Sigil
Sigil
Greatsword
Carrion
Sigil
Sigil
Rune
x6


Relic


Consumables

Budget consumables are acceptable for use in open world.

DPS

  • Prioritize Flatbread Ascended food.
  • /
  • /

Defense

Farming

  • Prioritize Flatbread Ascended food.
  • /
  • (and variants)


Usage

Damage

Swap between Greatsword and Scepter/Torch for damage. You should open most fights on Greatsword if you can and once its cooldowns are spent, swap to scepter/torch for better sustained damage.

Scepter Priority:

  1. Purging Flames
  2. Symbol of Punishment
  3. Sword of Justice (or other spirit weapon)
  4. Zealot's Flame
  5. Cleansing Flame
  6. Chains of Light
  7. Fill with auto-attacks

Sword Priority:

  1. Purging Flames
  2. Zealot's Flame
  3. Sword of Justice
  4. Zealot's Defense
  5. Symbol of Blades
  6. Fill with auto-attacks

Greatsword Priority:

  1. Purging Flames
  2. Symbol of Wrath
  3. Whirling Wrath
  4. Sword of Justice
  5. Leap of Faith
  6. Fill with auto-attacks


Your Virtue of Justice passive will also make up a significant amount of your damage through Burning Burning. Use "Feel My Wrath!" off cooldown for Fury and Quickness uptime.

If you are about to kill a mob, activate Virtue of Justice for a large DPS increase, so long as you have Radiance traited.


Defense

  • Litany of Wrath is a massive heal.
  • Virtue of Courage / "Advance!" provide an on-demand block
  • Shield of Wrath (focus) is a series of blocks
  • Virtue of Justice is an area blind but will reduce your DPS drastically if you don't quickly reset it.
  • Virtue of Resolve removes conditions and provides a small amount of healing.
Retrieved from "https://metabattle.com/wiki/index.php?title=Build:Guardian_-_Core_Condition&oldid=22418"


Ratings

This build has a rating of 5 stars based on 2 votes.
Log in or register to rate this build.
5 stars
Onlywrin gave this build 5 stars • August 2021
When it comes to Core builds this is unquestionably the strongest option. It's cheap to gear and outputs very high DPS for a core build. It's also quite versatile.
5 stars
Jack Armstrong gave this build 5 stars • February 2021
Loving this build--finally my Guardian is what I always wanted it to be but it never quite was. Guardian was the first profession I tried, and I've really wanted to like it, but it always ended up being too squishy for me--sure, it has a lot of defensive tricks, but if you don't play it perfectly, you're dead. No more. Though a Condi build, this one plays just like the Power builds, even using the same weapons. I often like to switch to the Zealous Blade trait and run Greatsword / Sword / Torch. Even in full Dire gear (which I can recommend), the initial burst is surprisingly close to that of the glass cannon Power builds, but now there's a strong follow-up burst of burning damage, and with 23k health 3k armor, it ain't no glass cannon. It's super cool that it's also a core build with cheap gear, runes, and sigils in the Trading Post. You can swap the Virtues trait line for Dragonhunter 3-1-1 (or whatever traits you prefer) for a decent Condi DH. You lose the damage boost and cleave of the Permeating Wrath trait, but gain some of it back with fixed traits Defender's Dogma and Pure of Sight, in addition to modified Virtues and access to traps and a trait that boosts run speed. Because of the speed boost, I often do this for farming, some dailies, etc. Switching Virtues to Firebrand 2-2-3 gives you essentially the Solo Firebrand build, though with different gear and utility skills. Seems like it could be fun to play around with variat

Comments

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