Symbols are unique to the Guardian class. They pulse AoE damage to enemies and grant boons to allies.
Each Symbol grants a unique boon. These are the most common Symbols that you will come across and their associated boons:
You have a few traits that make your Symbols extremely important:
Spirit Weapons are Ground-Targeted utility skills that are unique to the
Guardian class.
All Spirit Weapons use an ammo Recharge system. You have an additional ammo charge due to the trait .
allows your to hold four charges, instead of three. It also improves its Recharge and causes it to apply
Burning per tick.
With the Condition Quickness Firebrand build, you will only come into contact with .
is used in your rotation to boost your burst and to reduce the amount of auto attacks that you use. It also inflicts Vulnerability and
Cripple. This will boost your DPS through .
Mantras are unique to the Mesmer and
Firebrand classes. For
Firebrand, they take 2.75s to charge and have three ammo counts.
Mantras have a small Radius of effect but also have a slightly longer
Range in front of them in a cone shape. Make sure you are either:
You will encounter two Mantras with the Condition Quickness Firebrand build:
During some encounters the minor trait, in Radiance, can reset the
Cooldown of . If this happens, you should place a or before going into your . This will happen on the following encounters:
While ideally you would not want to enter , it acts as a great safety net for higher pressure situations or topping off ally’s health pools before boss phases.
You have not only access to moderate group heals and condition cleanse, but access to the unique buff Epilogue Eternal Oasis which can increase your subgroup’s outgoing healing by 33%. If your group is struggling with survival, keeping your
Firebrand and healer together can be a great combo for group sustain
Here are some great examples of when you could use :
Much like ideally you would not want to enter , but again it acts as a great safety net for high pressure situations where Aegis,
Stability, Reflects, or
Resistance may be needed.
Here are some great examples of when you could use :
You produce Fury from that pulses 1.5 seconds each pulse for four pulses.
You can use to Pull adds ontop of a boss. This works extremely well at
Slothasor as the adds also reset your . Take care when using at
Vale Guardian as you wouldn't want to "accidentally"
Pull in
Seekers to the group.
Don't use your combo off Cooldown. Make sure you wait for to trigger so you can use from the trait and then use the normal skill . This is to make sure and are always paired and doesn't trigger while you have your equipped.
can be used to give yourself and your subgroup Aegis. You can use this, for example, to prevent the
Knockback from
Gorseval's .
You have a five second Immobilize with when you are on your Scepter set.
is a self heal and it provides Aegis to you and your subgroup. will also give your subgroup
Quickness due to which gives
Quickness when you use your heal skill.
is a flat + 180 Condition Damage. Never use the active of this skill as all it provides is
Immobilize.
blasts a cone AoE in the direction you are facing. This AoE provides Quickness and
Might.
can hold four charges and should be used as a filler when you are on your Scepter set. This utility can also stack up Vulnerability very quickly.
provides Quickness and
Fury to your subgroup. Make sure to use as soon as you engage a boss, but after the boon strip.
The utility that you drop depends on phase times to take a utility skill variation depends on the phase time. Please refer to the boss guides to see what is recommended.
can be taken if you need to reflect any projectiles.
can be a great option for providing Stability to your entire squad.
causes you to gain + 80 Precision and + 80
Power when wielding a one-handed weapon. This will also apply when you use your .
will cause your to be fully recharged when you kill an enemy. This will only trigger if that enemy rewards you with XP when it dies. Check the section above to see which enemies trigger this trait.
causes your Torch skills to gain a reduced Recharge of 20% and and it increases your
Burning duration by 20%. You also have a chance to gain access to when you critically hit a foe. You should wait for this trait to trigger, i.e. get access to , before you use your own combo.
is a flat 10% increase in your Critical Chance when attacking a foe that suffers from
Burning. This trait will always be in effect as you pump out so much
Burning. and boost your
Critical Chance by a lot. also increases your
Ferocity by + 150.
causes your Burning to do an extra 15% damage. It also causes the
Burning you apply through the passive from to last 20% longer.
causes you to deal 7% additional damage to enemies with Burning.
grants you Condition Damage based on 10% of your
Power.
causes your Symbols to do 30% more damage and charge your passive twice as fast.
allows your to hold four charges, instead of three. It also improves its Recharge and causes it to apply
Burning.
will grant your subgroup Quickness whenever you use . This trait has a seven second
Cooldown.
grants your subgroup Quickness whenever you give
Aegis or
Stability.
grants you + 250 Condition Damage when under the effects of
Quickness.
reduces the Recharge of your Tome skills by 33%, but not the Tome
Cooldown itself. It also allows you to retain the passive effects of the Tomes when you use them. This means that your skills have a 33% reduced
Cooldown and will continue to apply
Burning to foes every three attacks even when on
Cooldown.
Open up on Vale Guardian with your normal rotation. You can easily move out of , if it spawns first.
Make sure you don't Pull in
Seekers with . If you're tanking on the side of the arena this should be fairly easy.
If your CC on Vale Guardian is slow, you can delay using . If you are in your , you can use
Chapter 3 Heated Rebuke.
Only use your during the main phase. Don't waste it during the split phase.
You can dip into your and use Epilogue Eternal Oasis before each main phase. This will help your subgroup gain additional healing.
You should go to the Red Guardian during the split phase.
Take care not to Pull in the
Seeker that spawns. If you do get aggro of it, you can use to
Immobilize it.
Your will reset when you kill the Red Guardian due to . This means there is absolutely no reason to skill save here.
You can use a charge from to prevent the Knockback from when you first run to
Gorseval. You can use this to provide
Aegis for your subgroup for every .
You can use for some add control after each Breakbar Phase.
Don't waste during the split phase.
Keep using during the split phase to maintain Quickness.
There is no reason to skill save on the first two Charged Souls. This includes your .
Once you reach the third and fourth Charged Souls, you should not use as it will not be ready.
If you see a Charged Soul is getting dangerously close to
Gorseval, you can use to
Immobilize it.
Dip into your and use Chapter 4 Stalwart Stand. This will grant
Resistance and will make sure that your subgroup doesn't suffer from the pulsing
Weakness.
You can use to help CC. If you are in , you can use Chapter 3 Heated Rebuke as well.
Be careful when stacking and during the Breakbar Phase. Remember that you can spam your twice during the
Breakbar Phase to help you keep up some health.
You can easily contribute to add control at Sabetha by using .
The Bandit Sappers will reset your due to . They spawn every 30 seconds, but you will need to hit them at least once before they die in order for to trigger. An easy solution is for you to use to Pull them into the stack.
Make sure that you don't waste any of your bust as Sabetha goes
Invulnerable. The same applies to the Champions as they will spawn
Invulnerable.
Use often to give your allies Aegis to prevent unlucky
Knockbacks into the Flame Wall or cannon shots.
Keep an eye on your classes that are doing cannons. Save if they are about to come back. This will ensure that they will get instant Quickness.
Use to help CC Knuckles.
You can place on Slothasor before he turns hostile to give him
Swiftness. This way he will approach your team a lot faster.
Killing a Slubling will reset your so make sure you keep an eye on its
Cooldown.
If your Power Boon Chronomancers are not
Pulling in
Slublings efficiently, you can use to help
Pull them in. If
Slublings are running around like crazy, you can dip into and use
Chapter 3 Valiant Bulwark to provide some projectile defense.
If you see that your squad frequently get hit by , you can use Chapter 4 Stalwart Stand in your to provide
Resistance to your subgroup. You can then swap to and use
Chapter 2 Radiant Recovery to cleanse those conditions. If you still see more conditions, you can use .
Keep at eye on people that have to do mechanics. Save your for until they return.
Don't go into your if Slothasor is about to go into his
Breakbar Phase. This is because all conditions are removed at the start of each
Breakbar Phase. Once the conditions have been cleansed, you can restart your rotation.
Use to help CC. You can also use Chapter 3 Heated Rebuke, if you are in .
After each Breakbar Phase,
Slothasor will
Fear your squad. You can use to provide
Aegis for your subgroup to prevent the
Fear.
If you need to, you can swap out for to provide your squad with Stability for after each
Breakbar Phase.
You also have a backup reflect in your . You can use Chapter 3 Valiant Bulwark for every other reflect as it might not be back off
Cooldown every time.
Conditions continue to apply when Matthias uses his , so always continue with your rotation when he uses this attack.
Use when Matthias uses . This will provide people with
Aegis if they forget to
Dodge.
You can dip into your and use Epilogue Eternal Oasis if you see your subgroup getting low. This will help your subgroup gain additional healing.
You can also go into your . You can use Epilogue Unbroken Lines to provide
Protection which will help with the pressure. You can also use
Chapter 4 Stalwart Stand in your to provide
Resistance to your subgroup.
Don't go into your if you are close to the sacrifice. You can easily burst down the sacrificed member if you aren't careful.
Use to help CC.
You can help Pull the Orb before each burn phase by using .
You can use to provide Aegis to prevent the
Knockdown from .
Dip into and pop Epilogue Eternal Oasis before each burn phase. This will ensure that your power DPS classes are at full health.
Use to help with add control. You can easily Pull in adds without losing any DPS.
If you see conditions beginning to stack up due to the shard AoEs then you can use Chapter 4 Stalwart Stand in your to provide
Resistance to your subgroup. You can then swap to and use
Chapter 2 Radiant Recovery to cleanse those conditions. If you still see more conditions, you can use .
You can help to clear shards by placing . Don't waste on the shards.
Hold onto your if players are about to be teleported during the second phase. Use it as they come back from the split phase.
Use to help CC. You can also use Chapter 3 Heated Rebuke, if you are in .
Mursaat Overseer is a basic DPS golem. Use this to practise your rotation.
Use to remove Slow after the
Jade Knights explode.
You can jump during the cast of all of your skills without interrupting then.
Try to spam as much Aegis as possible to prevent unlucky
Knockbacks from . You can use to provide
Aegis.
Use to help CC.
Dip into and pop Epilogue Eternal Oasis during each
Breakbar Phase. If the player targeted by is in your subgroup, they will benefit from increased healing and can survive this phase longer.
You can block with Aegis. You can use this to your advantage by continuing DPS on
Deimos and ignoring the central bubble of protection. If you block with
Aegis you will take some ticking damage for a few seconds afterwards.
You can share Aegis with to your subgroup. This will allow you to block and .
Use to Immobilize the Prides to stop them from damaging Saul.
Make sure to avoid Pulling in the
Tormented Dead with . It will be funny to see but your squad won't be best pleased.
Use to Immobilize the
Tormented Dead if you see it walking back to the group.
You can use to provide Aegis for and .
If you see that your squad is covered in conditions, you can use Chapter 4 Stalwart Stand in your to provide
Resistance to your subgroup. You can then swap to and use
Chapter 2 Radiant Recovery to cleanse those conditions. If you still see more conditions, you can use .
You can use to help CC. If you are in , you can use Chapter 3 Heated Rebuke as well.
You can use to provide Aegis if you see a squad member walking in front of
Dhuum.
You can dip into if you see one of the Reapers getting low. Healing scales like crazy with the Reapers but make sure to use Epilogue Eternal Oasis first.
will be up for every . You can use Epilogue Eternal Oasis to convert the
Torment into
Might. If you missed anyone, you can use to cleanse them.
You have no movement skills with this build. Make sure you aren't in charge of a button at the last 10%. You can, however, use Epilogue Unbroken Lines in your to provide your subgroup with
Protection!
Keep an eye on your classes that are doing greens. Save if they are about to come back. This will ensure that they will get instant Quickness.
Don't waste your burst if the Breakbar Phase is about to start. Your
Burning stacks will just tick into
Barrier.
Try to stay melee after each Breakbar Phase, as you will probably be on your Axe set.
Help break the adds during the split phase with .
Don't waste and during the split phase.
Use to help CC. You can also use Chapter 3 Heated Rebuke, if you are in .
As a Condition Quickness Firebrand, you should always be taking care of the Pillar mechanic.
When you see the big Eye above Adina, you need to take care. This is because
Adina is about to gain
Retaliation and you can easily destroy yourself. Dip into and pop
Epilogue Eternal Oasis to help your subgroup.
During the split phases, you can block projectiles from the Hands with your . Use Chapter 3 Valiant Bulwark to reflect the projectiles.
If your squad has trouble with reflects, you can switch out for for additional 10-man Stability.