Update - Friday, July 22, 2011

Straight from Wiki:

Skill Changes

Shield Guardian Shield Guardian: increased casting time to 1 second; increased recharge to 25 seconds [sic]; changed functionality to: "For 1...3...4 seconds, all party members in earshot have a 75% chance to block attacks. If an attack is blocked, all allies in earshot are healed for 10...34...40 Health and Shield Guardian ends."

[edit] Feature Changes

Updated Mesmers in Alliance Battles and Fort Aspenwood to use the PvP version of Mind Wrack.


Interesting change, was it due to ER Bonders? I can't think of any other reason

no

it's like an aegis revert

I was just trying out Shield Guardian yesterday on a PvE N/Mo hero, then someone in my guild tells me it got changed.

So much for trying!

I like this Shield Guardian. Before it was obviously useless except as a minimal-recharge spell for ER to spam. Now its a pressure skill that scales better the more distributed the pressure is. Thoughts:

PvP: Potentially useful. If you have just two characters hit, its a PwK on a shorter recharge. In addition, its a 5s/20r prot that can be saved as an anti-target switch for melee if you time it well.

PvE: Really liking it here. The biggest imbalances in general PvE now can be summed up fairly simply: spirits and minions, which soak up so much damage that you just don't give a RED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GO anymore. Shield Guardian plays nicely into a balanced play that emphasizes neither tank-n-spank nor summoning infinite hordes, but scales up remarkably as you have enemies raging everywhere.

EDIT: wait, heals ALL ALLIES? If that only works on minions (like AoB) thats great and makes monks potentially back on top in party healing. If it works on spirits, thats just flat out insane. Testing now.

Shield Guardian was obviously nerfed due to elly prot builds, and I absolutely hate the new version.

It affects me very much because I have been using shield guardian all the time for a very very long time now.

Its yet another terrible change for PVE, a skill that was completely unused by anything other than the E/Mo build, and now made completely useless for anything in PVE.

It doesnt even affect PVP in the slightest because it isnt a skill that was ever used there. No one is still going to use the new version in either PVE or PVP.

The duration on the new version is far too short for it to be useful, it will be completely wasted on most casts because it will have expired before being triggered.

Oy! Chthon really does not like this....

so instead of nerfing dervs, they are buffing skills to keep up with them?

weird...

Note: if one party member blocks, it only ends on that party member. 40 HP per block * 8 party members = 320 health Heal Party for only 10e best case. PvP you will almost certainly get 2 hits, 3 hits isn't unlikely and 4 hits could happen. PvE, lol heals RED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GOing everywhere.

It lasts 3 seconds on a 20s recharge, its not going to give any kind of heals everywhere as you imagine.

The previous version actually healed a lot better than this one does and was far from useless in PVE, you would know that if you used it right.

NO ONE is going to use the new Aegis in either PVE or PVP. It doesnt matter how nice you try and make it sound on paper, its a skill that will now be used far less than it was before.

I hate to point this out, but there is this thing called +20% equipment, and reaching the 4s breakpoint isn't too hard though it is a bit troublesome.

The previous version was flat out useless for anything other than ER, which is a build that exists for nothing other than a pity bone that was thrown to eles due to the power disparity between them and everything else in the game when it comes to damage.

In PvE, I have 3 people with fairly high prot in my usual build (1 monk, 2 N/mos). Even a ~100 HP every 7 seconds is pretty damn nice, this skill can fit right in.

Can confirm that it works on minions just fine (totally imba for those N/mo builds), but not on spirits (the imbaness would be ridiculous if it kept up defensive spirits).

correct me if im wrong, but i think the +20% only applies to you, and not too party members, like with order of pain

but i still think the skill is worth bringing, if only on a secondary monk like an mm

+20% enchantments should work on all enchantments cast, including stuff like OoP. If it isn't then its a bug. It does work on Shield Guardian.

The only prot builds I use in PVE are either Ether Renewal elly, or Soul Twisting rit.

I have no need to spec my monk, or monk heroes to prot when they handle healing better, the only thing I use monks for anymore in PVE is UA.

Secondary prot builds already have Aegis and Prot Spirit to use, both of which are still superior to the new shield guardian.

There are plenty more spells in the game that are completely unused by anyone altogether, I cant see why Anet would pick shield guardian in particular to change like this over any other such spell.

Shield Guardian at least worked brilliantly for elementalists, and that is the only reason I can see why the skill would get changed like this.

Umm, its not a prot, its a heal, k? Anything that lets you simultaneously heal AND prot effectively with the same line is a game-changing skill.

Think of it as Seed of Life in the prot line. This will be ridiculous in AP monk builds that combine the two, and more than decent in many others.

The long recharge is what kills the usefulness of this skill.

This skill is a remake of Aegis.

I Find it actually better now, It's almost a Anti-Melee skill for monks
to use.
But the thing is, I've never seen any monk builds with it.
I've only seen Aegis as the main Blocking - Protection Skill.

I cant see why anyone would want to run an AP monk build just for this skill, there are too many better monk elites that should be used instead. Its still also 10 energy, thats a lot for a monk to normally be using in PVE without Gole.

... You DO realize that AP monks are essentially ER prot eles that simply take a slightly higher mediocrum of skill to run than "cast ER on recharge", right?

From what I've been using it with so far the skill is pretty lackluster. Better ways to counter a physical heavy area with conditions, summons, and many other skills. Protection has so many other better goodies for monks and minions are suppose to die at some point in bomber builds.

I think someone here is getting a bit too excited.

Bomber builds have always sucked compared to buffed MM builds. Now the MM can carry decent party healing as well? Cool with me. Not like being the bitch of ER was anything noteworthy before.