We have a new logo! Thanks to Ren for the work he put into creating it. I’m sure you’ve seen the logo since it’s been placed into our website themes but here is a high resolution shot of the logo so that everyone can get a good look.

I Can’t Heal My Group on a Guardian

The general public has had an outcry about how the Guardian was supposed to be the new monk. False. This is conjecture spread by Guild Wars 2 communities. Let’s take a look at what ArenaNet says about the Guardian on the official website.

The guardian is a devoted fighter who calls upon powerful virtues to smite enemies and protect allies. As dangerous with a staff as he is with a mighty two-handed hammer, a true guardian is a master tactician who knows when to sacrifice his own defenses to empower his allies to achieve victory.

This speaks to a defensive class, not one that can give direct healing support to party members. Currently, the class with the most direct healing support is the Engineer not the Guardian. Wait if there is a class then why all the ex-monk hate for the Guardian? It’s coming from people that have either not looked at the Engineer or just want the Guardian to be something it’s not.

I Can’t Do Enough Damage on a Guardian

It is true that the Guardian doesn’t excel in the area of damage but with the correct weapon set you can get very respectable damage from the class. The Greatsword or Sword+Torch weapon sets proved to be very effective producing damage. The other weapon sets all seem more focused towards the Guardians stated play style.

I Can’t Support My Group on a Guardian

This is usually mixed in with “My Guardian Can’t Heal” so the rumors get started that the Guardian can’t support the group. In actuality, this is where the Guardian excels (assuming skills and traits don’t change that is). Players that played Protection Monks or Paragons will love the Guardian. Unlike the stop and go action of the Monk and Paragon, the Guardian is made to support without interrupting the flow of battle since many support skills are just additional effects on normal combat skills. This lets the Guardian easily support the party during longer battles. Mace+Shield with Staff on swap seemed to be the most powerful support setup. Together they allow for excellent party support and even some control with skills like Line of Warding and Shield of Absorption.

Side Note on Weapon Sets

Do I run this weapon set? No. Actually I rarely run Staff. In fact, I actually don’t like the Staff until you trait Consecrated Ground, a trait which allows all consecrations to be ground targeted. Line of Warding just happens to be a consecration. In my opinion, Staff without a ground targeted Line of Warding just isn’t worth it.

Weapon sets in this game more than any other game must be chosen based on the situations you anticipate running into. Because of this, I usually run Mace+Shield and Sword+Torch or Greatsword as my swap. This allows me to take advantage of Mace+Shield’s support and still get some decent damage and mobility when needed. I do run Staff or even Scepter+Focus as my swap in tougher battles like Champions.

Skills and Traits

Below is a list of some of my favorite skills and traits that give the Guardian its support capabilities.

Weapon Skills

• Mace’s Faithful Strike (final in Mace combo) heals nearby allies
• Mace’s Symbol of Faith grants regeneration boon
• Mace’s Protector’s Strike is a guaranteed block that will protect yourself as well as allies within the shield
• Shield’s Shield of Judgement grants protection boon to all allies it hits
• Shield’s Shield of Absorption has multiple uses. The bubble will protect allies inside from projectile attacks but its knockback can also be used to interrupt enemies or keep enemies off of allies.
• Staff’s Flash of Light (Orb of Light’s detonation) heals allies nearby the explosion
• Staff’s Line of Warding can be used to keep enemies off of allies
• Staff’s Marty can be used to clean conditions off of allies
• Hammer’s Symbol of Protection grants protection boon
• Hammer’s Zealot’s Embrace can be used to keep enemies off of allies
• Hammer’s Banish can be used to keep enemies off of allies
• Hammer’s Ring of Warding can be used to keep enemies off of allies

Heal and Utility Skills

• Healing Breeze is a cone AoE healing skill. It’s a little hard to control so I find that it’s more effective when playing Staff or Scepter+Focus in the mid-line.
• Purging Flames is another AoE condition removal for all allies in its effect.
• Wall of Reflection is amazing at protecting allies from projectile attacks.
• Hold the Line is an excellent shout which grants party wide regeneration and protection boons.
• Retreat is a shout that grants aegis boon which will block the next attack against each ally. A well timed aegis can save a party. This same concept applies to Virtue of Courage.
• Stand Your Ground grants stability to all allies and with the length of some knockdowns in this game that’s a godsend.
• Sanctuary will be an amazing skill for support when they get the in game action to match the description (in other words, the skill currently feels bugged).
• Bow of Truth removes conditions from allies and its command ability rains down healing arrows (looks like Ranger’s barrage).
• Both Bane Signet and Signet of Wrath have snares/control on their active ability.

Traits

• Battle Presence trait shares Virtue of Resolve with the entire party
• Writ of the Merciful trait allows for all symbols to grant regeneration boon
• Strength in Number trait gives all nearby allies +30 toughness
• Selfless Daring trait heals nearby allies when you dodge
• Pure of Voice trait makes your shouts remove conditions

“Crystal Desert” is full

The Year of the Dragon marks seven sensational years of Guild Wars, and we want you to join us for our biggest anniversary party ever.

It’s time once again to throw open the Shing Jea Boardwalk, rev up the Rollerbeetles, and don our party hats for two weeks of festive fun from April 24th to May 8th. In addition to the usual games and gifts, we’re packing this party with drops and activities never before seen in an anniversary celebration!

Besides the normal festival drops, this year the prize is a new charmable pet, the Hound of Balthazar.

For more information, read the following links:

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Seventh_Year_Anniversary_Celebration

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Hound_of_Balthazar

For our first Beta Weekend Event (April 27-29), home-world selection and world transfers will work just as they will when Guild Wars 2 launches.

When you log in to the game for the first time, you will have the opportunity to pick any available server, or home world. If you choose to select a home world that is in a different region from where you purchased your game, you will be logged out for a short period of time while your account is moved to your new region. Once you have selected a home world, all the characters you create will play on this world and will represent it in our world-versus-world (WvW) format.

For more information, visit the original post here: http://www.arena.net/blog/choosing-and-transferring-worlds-in-guild-wars-2

From Friday, April 20 at 12:01 p.m. PDT (noon), until Monday, April 23 at 10:00 a.m. PDT you’ll be able to log in, team up with friends, and play each of the five heroic classes to level 13 as you fight to save the world from the impending demonic invasion.

For more information, you can read the original blog post here: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/4963739/Diablo%C2%AE_III_Open_Beta_Weekend-4_19_2012

https://www.facebook.com/MarkedSouls

We’re counting the days until the first public Guild Wars 2 Beta Weekend Event, which begins on Friday, April 27, at noon PDT (GMT-8) and ends on Sunday, April 29, at 11:59 p.m. PDT (GMT-8). Hundreds of thousands of players from around the world will get their first taste of Guild Wars 2—and rest assured, we’ll be playing alongside them!

For more information, you can read the official blog post at: http://www.arena.net/blog/the-beta-weekend-event-is-coming

Here’s our philosophy on microtransactions: We think players should have the opportunity to spend money on items that provide visual distinction and offer more ways to express themselves. They should also be able to spend money on account services and on time-saving convenience items. But it’s never OK for players to buy a game and not be able to enjoy what they paid for without additional purchases, and it’s never OK for players who spend money to have an unfair advantage over players who spend time.

Read the entire article here:
http://www.arena.net/blog/mike-obrien-on-microtransactions-in-guild-wars-2

The End of Days approaches…. Diablo III will be unleashed from the Burning Hells on May 15, 2012, and you can be ready to play the minute the servers go live by pre-purchasing the game digitally on Battle.net today.

The full article is listed here: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/4612389/Diablo_III_Launching_May_15_%E2%80%93_Digital_Pre-Sales_NOW_OPEN-3_15_2012