Guardian PvP Worth It?

[Stevenatoir]

Is jedi guardian pvp worth it anymore? should i just stick to my jedi shadow or what because focus got nerfed when other classes are still ****** pumping you and ****. Ive made videos of my damage but i just think its not good enough anymore, if u wanna check it out here it is.

 

[LiquidKarbide]

Honestly, i love my juggernaut and i don't even like the sith. Theyre not the best and they could be better but if you like he playstyle then theyre definitely viable.

[Girltank]

I assume you mean nerfed by 1.2?

 

IMO:

 

focus got buffed. It seemed like a nerf when I first read the notes but honestly I do much better.

 

and yes gaurdians are sweet in pvp.

Edited May 6, 2012 by Girltank

[i_am_sancho]

For focus spec the change is really minimal. I barely notice it anymore. Vigilance spec has been buffed definitely though. Either way, they're both still brilliant in PvP. Nothing wrong with the damage at all.

[Wesgile]

healers would appreciate your guards, especially after 1.2.

try not to dps race with the other pure dps classes though.

[alcek]

Guardian pvp is perfectly viable. Well, good marauders will evaporate you, but they evaporate all classes after all. Other than that - quite enjoyable.

[Protanos]

don't cry try play tech classes...

[zenblend]

For focus spec the change is really minimal. I barely notice it anymore. Vigilance spec has been buffed definitely though. Either way, they're both still brilliant in PvP. Nothing wrong with the damage at all.

 

I disagree about the change to focus being minimal . When I read the changes prior to 1.2 I figured meh, 10% dmg won't make that much of a difference. It shouldn't - but somehow it does. I can't put my finger on it. I know Focus has been nerfed a few times prior to 1.2, making whatshisfaces videos of 10k+ sweep crits a thing of the past.

 

But even then, it was still viable. But now, with it not hitting as hard AND being on a longer CD (and I believe the longer CD is the real issue) - it just can' t put out enough pressure with 1.2 TTK where it's at. Good luck being given 24+ seconds to put pressure on a healer. Our dmg during sweep downtime as Focus is laughable (yes, MS can still do well, but it's not a reliable attack, given the 3rd tick is where the real dmg comes from and landing that 3rd tick is very situational).

 

Couple this with 1/2 the tree having talent points dumped into crap you don't really want or need just to reach the top 2 tiers and voila, you have a spec that really serves on purpose other than trying to relive the good ole days when focus was BA and scary.

 

Then we have Vig, which I know little about prior to 1.2, but I imagine even then was decent. Now it just poopoos out dmg rotations on a very short CD, with better survivability than focus. IF, the master strike talent was higher up in the focus tree, it wouldn't be as sexy. But that's not the case. Vig has a ton of frontloaded dmg, dots, and a little survivability. The talent tree isn't perfect by any means, but you don't cringe on dumping points into garbage as you work your way up.

 

Mind you, Guardian in general is VERY gear dependent and without gear, we are a joke. BUT, once you have the gear, Vig can be very scary. Another thing that may give it a poor representation is: Vig abilities cost a lot of focus, relative to the Focus tree, and as such, if you don't know the rotation and don't manage your focus well, you end up doing little dmg and serving no puprose. But with gear, and with knowledge of what to use when, it's very remindful of MS Warrior from WoW. Good pressure and moderate survivability.

 

I'd honestly rate (with good gear) a well played Vig Guardian on par with Sentinel as far as dmg goes. Yes, it's much more "skill" dependent, but the potential is there. We may be a step behind Sent in pure dmg capability, but having the ability to dance over to Soresu and throw up guard or AOE taunt + Guardian Leap makes up for that small difference in dmg and then some.

 

I was very dissapointed in 1.2 as I rolled up a guardian strictly to pvp as Focus - but now that I have gear and am comfortable with the Vig rotation, I'm having A LOT of fun. Once I really start to learn to use my taunts/stance dance for guard more effectively, it should be pretty beast.

 

I almost don't want to see Focus become strong again.

[Kumakichi]

Is jedi guardian pvp worth it anymore? should i just stick to my jedi shadow or what because focus got nerfed when other classes are still ****** pumping you and ****. Ive made videos of my damage but i just think its not good enough anymore, if u wanna check it out here it is.

 

 

IMHO I have a feeling Sents/Maras and Shadows/Assassins are going to get hit with a nerf due to the non-stop qq'ing on the forums. Its happened three other classes so far and I can see it coming.

 

Until then I'm going to pvp on my 39 Sent and get him to lvl 40 and enjoy that class til they get a nerfing. But I rolled a 25 guardian too. It doesnt take too long to level a character up in swtor.

 

Oh an I also have a lvl 48 Shadow that is incredibly fun to pvp on but again I just see a nerfing coming.

 

Dont get me wrong I dont sweat nerfs and play what I enjoy the most. But Bioware really broke Troopers with there nerfs to where they cant really pvp right as a ranged dps. Luckily I never leveled one of those but I just want to be ready should something weird happen.

[i_am_sancho]

Zenblend, i don't disagree with you there. It's not the damage so much as the cooldown period. I've worked out a sort of rotation that seems to be pretty good for when sweep is off, you just have to try and time it right. I'm finding the biggest issue is when sweep gets interrupted, because it will nerf the damage completely but still put it on cooldown for the full 12 seconds. Which kind of ruins the point of being Focus spec.

The reason i don't really notice the nerf anymore is because i've switched out of using Shii-Cho form and forsaken all the crappy Shii-Cho skills in the tree. Instead i have points put into some more damage and survivability and using Soresu form. In warzones i play more of a tank role, basically supporting healers and sentinels/marauders instead of just doing damage. I've found it can be a really key role, especially in Voidstar, Novare Coast and Alderaan, particularly when the other team decides to launch a mass attack on a node or door etc. Focus spec with Soresu form really can turn the whole warzone around if you use it right and everybody works together. Keeping a healer alive long enough and being able to do huge AoE damage at the same time really is cool.

Drawbacks include not always being able to use a good attack during cooldown periods, and being a MASSIVE target for everyone. And no amount of armor bonus or buffs can keep you alive when you have 4 people attacking you at once while you're stunned. But even that has its benefits...who's looking for the guy bombing the door when there's a Focus Guardian going around taking off a third of everyone's health in one hit?

Remember too, Guardians have many ways of getting out of trouble again.

 

I know that this isn't going to work for everyone, and i would never suggest that it should. I'm also not for a moment going to suggest that this doesn't have any flaws or anything, because everything does. But i would definitely encourage people who are thinking of respeccing to Vigilance or Defense after 1.2 to give Focus Tank a try. You don't even have to tank, just use the Soresu armor bonus if you like. You only lose 3% damage output, but you gain 3% damage reduction and 60% armor rating.

It really is worth a shot. Nothing is more annoying than a Rage Jugg or Focus Guardian that seems almost indestructable. Except maybe being infinitely stunned by a Gunslinger

[alcek]

How i try to play my focus guardian.

The more games i pile on my record, the more refined the use of the forms becomes. Game starts? Don't charge in first, pop cooldowns, look for a bunched group of enemies (best is when a healer is inside it), land a hard sweep. Push the healer, master strike him on the other end, interrupt him. After that most of your skills are on cd. What to do? Easy, soresu, go guard your healers, slow the enemy, taunt their best dps, while waiting for your own skills to come off cd. Rinse and repeat.

In huttball - do we have the ball? If the answer is yes, soresu, go guard the carrier. If not, shii-cho, shien, whatever u have - kill the enemy carrier supporters, or the carrier himself. Changing offense/defense really keeps me busy all the time, and i don't feel like being not useful 100% of the wz duration.

[Solonius]

Its worth it if you like getting tons of medals, kills, damage, protection, and MVP votes.

[Dynospectrum]

Its worth it if you like getting tons of medals, kills, damage, protection, and MVP votes.

 

 

Was going to be my post word for word.

 

My latest (and favorite so far) character is a guardian. I may come to change my mind in time but that's the nature of these kind of games.

[Enfuri]

yes guardian pvp is worth it and is good. With mine I can usually take people 1v2 and can solo pretty much everyone out there. Guardian pvp is fine.

[Jaggedblue]

The beauty of the guardian (I feel) is the defense CDs. Enure gives you +30% health for a short duration on a (i believe 1min) short CD.. that's huge for survivality, its huge for protecting allies. Its like an extra health pot every minute. Focuses Defense.. added in 1.2 (right?) seems like a PvE dps skill, but its awesome in PvP. Gives you a hot that heals 3% per tick while under fire. CAN BE ACTIVATED WHILE STUNNED. It burns focus though, so I use it with combat focus (though as a pure dps spec you might not be as rage/focus starved).

 

Overall I find the guardian is awesome for my playstyle.. which is hybrid tank. Even with a vig/def hybrid spec I can put out good sustained damage when need be, but also be a very strong tank/guard when needed. It is definately not an easy class to master though. I'd suggest Vanguard if you want an easier time.. they don't have as many CDs. Ranged DPS with the option to kite, also good mobility with the right spec.

[Hyryu]

Don't look at the Damage on the leaderboard though. If that is your gauge, you will most often be disappointed. I have gone back and forth with Focus and Vig guard. Focus guard almost always gives me more overall damage and higher single hits with crit sweep but Vig gives me better single target damage and when using guard, I tend to last longer than I do with Focus. They are viable if you play to their strengths. I also agree with gearing your Guard correctly makes a world of difference.

[Sylentjay]

I am running Vigi Guardian in PvP and I wreck shop. I agree with the previous poster that if you are only looking at damage done then you will be disappointed.

 

But if you like to be in the top 3 in medals almost every WZ then you will love your Guardian.

[Wefi]

I cant kill anything fast enough, but i can tank.

only issue is that 3 min cooldowns sucks. if they can lower it to 2/1 or have it reset apon pvp death, i will be happy.

[Sabredance]

I cant kill anything fast enough, but i can tank.

only issue is that 3 min cooldowns sucks. if they can lower it to 2/1 or have it reset apon pvp death, i will be happy.

 

And i think Blade turning should last 5 seconds -skillable in the defensive tree

(equivalent to Mind over matter which increases the duration of resilience by 2 seconds for Shadows)

Edited May 20, 2012 by Sabredance

[DoctorWhorrible]

Some friends asked me to do some guides on how I play my Guardian so I've got 2 episodes up of a series I'm doing on Guardian PvP (youtube link in my sig). So obviously my answer is: Yes. It's pretty easy to play a bad Guardian, but with a little dedication a well played Guardian can really help turn the tides of a battle. I'm not sure there's another class that can switch from heavy damage to protection as quickly as we can. Even in a full Vigilance spec (as opposed to the vig/def hybrid) it is best to think like a hybrid. You should always be evaluating which saber form will be the most beneficial for a given encounter. That "stance dancing" is a large part of what keeps me so engaged in the class.

 

And don't even get me started on how amazing talents like Unremitting and Commanding Awe are. We've got some great tools to utilize for PvP. They may take a little more effort to fully utilize than say a adrenal/relic stacking Powertech, but Guardian is a very rewarding class to play well.