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Guild Wars 2 GS Block Guide

Guild Wars 2 GS Block Guide by Ursan

Hey all,
Ever since that GS block buff, I’ve fallen in love, specifically, with the block skill on the GS. I carry it in my inventory solely for the skill now, because it’s just oh SO useful in certain situations.
As I dungeon a lot, I just thought I’d write down some of the specific instances in which GS block is incredibly useful. Hopefully this helps instructs other Rangers to improve their dungeoning ability, if only a little bit.

Disclaimer 1
This thread is not meant to convince you that GS is a worthy secondary weapon. These situations listed are very small in the overall scheme of things. I carry my GS in my backpack, and swap them in right before these events, but in no way am I endorsing using GS for the entirety of dungeons (unless of course you’re specced for it)

Disclaimer 2
For most of these situations, a simple dodge or good positioning will work. Although there are exceptions, in most of these situations I list, you should be blocking if
A. you’re lazy
B. you just can’t get the timing right
C. you run out of endurance
But a block is still an incredible back-up to have, if any of the above is to happen, which is why I list them here.

Disclaimer 3
I’ve done a lot of dungeons, but there are many paths I haven’t done nearly enough time to really familiarize myself, so this is by no means a complete list.
about a day ago

Anyways, the List!
Ascalonian Catacombs
1. Kholer Grapple/Pull.
It’s one of the most recognizable attacks in the game, and even then people sometimes have a hard time getting the timing down. Yes, you can dodge every single one of them. But if you’re feeling lazy or if you just can’t get the timing down, just block it as soon as he starts charging up.

2. Path 1,
running down stairs with fire. in path 1, there’s these stairs which has fire-breathing pillars breathing fire at you as you run down. This is entirely possible to run through without any aid, but I still see people mess it up pretty frequently. If you’re one of those people, just bring in a GS, and block when you think the fire’s about to hit. Easy easy.

3. Howling King.
If you ever find yourself in a situation where he’s about to howl and you’re in front of him, block. But Howling King’s howl has such a small radius. The block doesn’t seem nearly as useful as compared to….

4. Colossus Rumblus.
 I bold this because this is one of those situations where it’s just better to block rather than try to dodge. Currently, the Rumblus’s yell hits a HUMONGOUS radius, and the graphical indicators are really bad at helping you judge how big it is. I’m sure everyone’s had that “….How the heck did that hit me?” experience with Rumblus.
So I just stopped trying to evade it altogether. Whenever he charges his yell, I just block it. No need to worry about if I’m in range or not. There’s no better feeling than to tank his yell in his face then summoning a rez spirit to rez 3 downed allies.

Caudecus’s Mansion
1. Path 3,
running that corridor right after SSS. After you kill SSS and you clear the room full of traps, you have to run through this hallway which has 3 nasty riflemen on the opposite side shooting at you. Block and run! You will negate their damage completely and you will have a tremendously easy time getting across.

2. Wahlen.
So ideally, you want to dodge every single one of his bombs. Realistically, it’s pretty hard. If you ever find yourself where you’ve dodged too much and have no endurance, just use the block. Not ideal, since his attack frequency is much faster than block’s CD. But it’s still a nice backup to have.

3. Path 3, corridor right after Wahlen. Same as 1 in the list.

Sorrow’s Embrace
1. Path 3, run across the bridge. Not sure how many are aware of this, but there’s a specific run where you have to run through spiders/dredge across a bridge in order to avoid the mobs. You should have absolutely no problems doing this normally, without a GS. However, I always see people die from time to time. If you ever have trouble making this run, just block as you’re crossing the bridge to absorb the worst attacks.

Citadel of Flame
1. Path 2, the sacrificial room. For those of you unfamiliar, there’s a room where players have to survive as long as possible/sacrifice themselves to keep an NPC alive. The GS block is amazing, as it gives you pretty much 3-s of invulnerability (as long as you don’t get hit by melee!).
Crucible of Eternity
1. Subject Alpha. This is the same as Wahlen. You should be able to dodge every single one of his AoEs. But if you ever get in a situations where you’re in the middle of a red circle and have no endurance…block is a great backup to have.
Arah
1. Lupicus. Oh god oh god. I bold this, because I feel GS is a must for this fight, especially in Phase 2. If you block his green projectile things, you save your endurance to use when he actually shadowsteps towards you. You survive THAT MUCH longer because in this fight, endurance is eveeeeerything (IMO).

Snowblind Fractal
1. Boss Same as Wahlen/Alpha, you should be able to dodge his AoE agony circles. But the option is there.
Dredge Fractals
1. Dredge Mining Suit Boss. His bombs/ground pound agony AoE, again, can be dodged. But they can also be blocked. Keep that in mind if you’re missing your dodges a lot
Uncategorized Fractal
1. Harpy’s KD ball. Yes, you can block them. Better option is usually to jump to another platform, but….again, it’s an option.
2. Guitar Hero thing. UNTESTED Must test this when I get the chance…


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