Guardian #

GW2Mists lists multiple guardian builds. The most common, and the one we need for every single party in the zerg, is the Healbrand. The others can be slotted in to the flex spots, but they cannot replace a proper Healbrand.

Notes on Firebrand Tomes #

Anet did what they could to make the tomes quite straightforward to use. The Firebrand page on the GW2 wiki makes it easy to see what they all do. Here we refer to F1 as the Fire Tome, F2 as the Heal Tome, and F3 as the Boon Tome.

The Fire Tome focuses on burn damage. The Heal Tome gives you regen, healing, and condi cleanse. The Boon Tome gives you stability, protection, resistance, and reflect.

The skills for the three tomes all work in similar ways:

Skill 1 sprays out in front of you in a cone.
Skill 2 is a close-range AoE (240).
Skill 3 is a targeted AoE (range 900, radius 240).
Skill 4 is a medium-radius AoE (360) that also drops a combo field.
Skill 5 is a large-radius AoE (600) that also grants special boons to allies.

Healbrand #

The core GW2Mists Healbrand build is perfectly serviceable, but there are minor variants.

Frontline Aggressive (Commander) #

Frontline Aggressive Healbrand

This is the build our commander tends to run. You’ll note the extra offensive mantras and the use of the axe, which gives a helpful pull when running down fleeing squirrels.

This build also chooses Valor over Virtues for extra self-sustain (additional self-only aegis, protection, toughness, and condition cleanse) and more frequent access to Boon Tome and shield skills. This build focuses more on weapon skills than virtues.

While this is an acceptable variant, it shouldn’t be the most common one in the squad.

Boon Focused #

Guardian healing will never compare with that of scrappers and even tempests. But guardians give a ton of helpful boons. So maximizing boon duration over healing power is also acceptable.

Boon-Focused Healbrand

This build uses the standard mace for its defensive boons (skill #3 in particular) and Concentration sigils over Transference. It chooses Indomitable Courage over Battle Presence for the extra stability, and Magnanimous Maintenance Oil over the Bountiful for the extra boon duration (it is also significantly cheaper).

Rune of Water is a valid choice over Rune of the Monk.

Utility Skills #

You will almost always run at the very least Mantra of Liberation as your elite and Mantra of Lore. “Stand Your Ground!” is another staple.

Most heal slots are occupied with Mantra of Solace, but some do choose “Receive the Light!”.

That leaves one slot that can change depending on party and enemy composition. Here are the most common choices:

Hallowed Ground: Fire field that grants pulsing stability (and quickness and retaliation, with the right traits).
Purging Flames: Pulsing fire damage and condition cleanse.
Signet of Mercy: Passively increases boon duration and revives downed allies.
Wall of Reflection: Long-lasting projectile reflect, particularly useful at choke points.

Trait Options #

Firebrand: The standard choice for Firebrand column 2 is Stalwart Speed. But it has a 7 second internal cooldown. If your party is getting quickness from elsewhere, Legendary Lore is a good alternative.
Honor: Even if you’re not using a mace, Invigorated Bulwark is usually the best choice, but Protective Reviver is defensible without a mace.
Pure of Voice is super helpful for “Stand Your Ground!”, but Force of Will is acceptable if you need increased healing output.

Personal Notes #

Haele #

I run the boon-focused build. “Stand Your Ground!” and empower last over 10 seconds. Boon Tome 5 stability and protection lasts 9. Aegis from mace 3 lasts over 14 seconds, and shield 4 for over 7.

When stacking, I use staff 4 then 2. If we have a distance to run, then I’ll stay in staff and use 3 for swiftness or 5 for the line. I’ll generally pop “Stand Your Ground!” on our way to the encounter.

As we get within range, I’ll pop shield 5, and once we hit, shield 4 and mace 3 come out. From there, you have to see how the encounter is going.

I favour the Boon Tome. Skills 5 and 4 are staples. If things are going well, then I may switch to Fire Tome for the skill 3 pull. I generally won’t switch to Heal Tome unless things are really dire or our scrapper has somehow succumbed.

While you should generally not jeopardize your own life to help stragglers, you’re a guardian after all. It’s hard to resist. When we’re disengaging, there are things you can do to help. Turn around to face the tail and use shield 4, heal mantra, elite mantra, or Boon Tome 1 to help people catch up or avoid a pull.

You can watch me play on my Twitch channel.