Retribution Core Guardian Pvp GUide: Guild Wars 2 PvP
Build overview
The Resolute Core Guardian is a single target assassin looking to whittle targets down with the Scepter and Focus then eliminate the foe by leaping into melee with the Greatsword and bursting them down. This is a free to play build.
This build has high resolution uptime, which reduces the damage of all conditions by 33%. When you have resolution, you deal increased damage. Resolution also triggers when you utilize a virtue, so the uptime is a flat damage boost!
Weapons
The weapon choices for this build emphasize great ranged poke followed up by incredible close range burst. You utilize the Scepter/Focus combo to engage enemies from a distance at the beginning of a teamfight. You spec into Unscathed Contender which gives you a flat 20% damage increase while you have aegis which is granted passively by your Virtue of Courage. The scepter has great ranged damage while you lay some serious damage onto the target. The focus offers a bit of offense and defense, mainly through Shield of Wrath that can block attacks.
The greatsword is your executioner ability allowing you to jump into combat with Leap of Faith and spin to win with Whirling Wrath. Don’t forget! You have Symbol of Resolution in your back pocket as well, which deals decent damage but more importantly stacks resolution, which increases your damage even more!
Skills
Your utility Skills focus on improving survivability while also offer multiple stun breaks, healing when dealing damage, and even an invulnerability!
Litany of Wrath supports our offensive playstyle by allowing 33% of our damage to be transferred into healing.
Stand Your Ground offers strong resolution uptime, a stun break, as well as some strong stability. This is your main stun break and should be saved when you absolutely need it.
Save Yourselves takes conditions from all nearby allies and gives it to you while also granting a number of boons including resolution. This ability can be used in conjunction with the Smite Conditions skill which will cleanse the conditions you just took and then damage nearby targets. Because of resolution, conditions have less of an effect on the guardian and these Smite Conditions can be used without the need for Save Yourselves.
Renewed Focus is your elite skill and just all around an amazing skill to utilize. Resetting all of your virtues while also giving you a three second invulnerability is essentially a get out of downstate free card. This is on a little over a minute/half cooldown so it can be used liberally!
Traitlines
For this build we run Zeal, Radiance, and Virtues. Zeal improves our strike damage with the Greatsword while gaining resolution when your Aegis breaks. Also while your symbols deal damage, it increases your overall damage!
The Radiance Traitline is the main focus for improving resolution, which while resolution is active, you have 10% increased damage, as well as 40% increased critical strike chance! Healers resolution grants 10 seconds of resolution uptime when using Litany of Wrath.
The Virtures Traitline focuses on making you a powerhouse with Unscathed Contender and Inspiring Virtures. The use of Unscathed Contender allows you to deal significant damage when you have Aegis. This allows you to pepper enemies with the Scepter at a safe distance keeping aegis uptime high. Indomitable Courage allows your Courage Virtue to break stuns, grant stability, and applies Aegis faster than normal!
Amulet, Rune, and sigils
Your choice is Maurader Amulet as this gives you quite a bit of offensive power while balancing out with vitality. You can also run Valkyrie Amulet which improves flat damage and HP but reduces the critical chance down to minimal. But with resolution increasing your critical strike chance by 40% this can be balanced out.
Rune of the Fighter gives some good toughness and power but gives us some might when we use Litany of Wrath. Since we want to be offensively minded this plays out perfectly.
The Greatsword Sigils are Sigil of Battle and Sigil of Cleansing. These offer increased damage and condition cleansing which while we are leaping into combat with the Greatsword we need to be ready to deal some damage! The Scepter and Focus combo runs Sigil of Cleansing and Sigil of Energy to act more defensively giving us some evasive capabilities as well as an additional condition cleansing. When you are swapping back into the scepter focus you are going to be looking to create some distance between any enemies.
Build Playstyle
The overall focus of this build is as a teamfight assassin, where you focus a single target down with your excessive damage by opening with Chains of Light to immobilize the target, then Symbol of Punishment stacking Symbolic Avenger stacks. Follow this up with Ray of Light to continue DPSing, pop Shield of Wrath while swapping into Greatsword. Use Virtue of Justice to gain resolution, gaining flat increased damage. Leap of Faith to close the distance, then follow up with Whirling Wrath onto of the target and finish with Symbol of Resolution.
The rest of the skills are to be used at your discretion and are situational. Virtue of Courage resets on enemies kills so it can be used the most often. Virtue of Resolve can and should be used defensively as it heals and cleanses some conditions. Virtue of Courage is a back up stun break and defensive option and should only be used in emergencies.
