Hello! I'm Offense-Armor and I wrote this guide because I was bored. I'm a T2 guardian, but I have a experience in T3 as well. When I was first starting out as a guardian, I can't count how many times I searched "How to be an uber guardian" in google. This guide gives some basic guidelines on how to be more effective at guardian. I'm only going to talk about tactics/gear that I've learned and practiced using. (I don't have much experience going hybrid in T3, so this guide is focused on swords).

******************************* Gear*******************************

Armor : Skolver Set/Chaos Set

Skolver Set : My gear of choice. It gives you the damage bonus very high that you need and has no negative status weaknesses. It also provides piercing defense against toothpicks which are the 2nd most threatening weapons against guardians. You have Moderate freeze resistance with this set.

Chaos Set : Useful for going hybrid with guns or bombs. Status weaknesses hurt, but it provides elemental defense against hammer which is the most threatening weapon against guardians.

Weapons : Final Flourish/Barbarous Thorn Blade , Gran Faust/Divine Avenger , Voltedge/Combuster/Glacius/Acheron , Warmaster Rocket Hammer

Final Flourish/Barbarous Thorn Blade : This is an essential part of your loadout and you should always carry one. It's main use is countering toothpick strikers and preventing them from shield-flinching you to death. Used to punish overeager strikers without leaving yourself open to attack.

Gran Faust/Divine Avenger : This is the 2nd essential part of your loadout. It's main use is to fight against striker using heavy swords. It's okay to double-swing if you think you can get the kill. Mostly you should pair this with your toothpick to combat strikers 1v1.

Voltedge/Combuster/Glacius/Acheron : The main use of this weapon is to charge it up while moving between points, so you can unleash it's devastating charge attack on anyone you might encounter. You shouldn't be using this weapon for direct fighting. There's no reason to not have a charged sword while moving between points. (optional)

Warmaster Rocket Hammer : Used to counter skilled hammer strikers because otherwise they will murder you. (optional if you're okay being rolled by hammers).

Loadouts

Standard Set (for normal use)
Skolver Set
Penta-Heart
Penta Heart or Elite Quickstrike Module
Final Flourish/Barbarous Thorn Blade
Gran Faust/Divine Avenger
Voltedge/Combuster/Glacius/Acheron

Hammer Set (for use against skilled hammer players)
Skolver Set
Penta-Heart
Elite Quickstrike Module
Final Flourish/Barbarous Thorn Blade
Warmaster Rocket Hammer
Voltedge/Combuster/Glacius/Acheron

*******************************General Non-Fighting Tips*******************************

->3-cap points - Cap the point closest to your base first because you'll be too late to the midfight. Afterwards, go to mid and help support your team.
->5-cap points - On X type stages. Capture the bottom point closest to your base and then the bottom point closest to your opponents base. Then go to mid. On Y type stages. Ignore the bottom and capture the 2 points closest to your base. Fight at the top.
->Hold a Brandish charge only while moving between points. Immediately shield once you begin to cap a point. This is because brandish charges take a second to release and strikers can kill you in that time. Shielding will remove the possibility of a surprise attack.
->When shielding on point always have out your toothpick. This is so you can quickly counter any strikers that rush in.
->Remember that your shield activates instantly for yourself. You don't need to wait for the big shield.
->Your goal is always to cap and defend. Guardians are built for defending and counterattacking. Being aggressive is the way to get yourself killed.
->If you need to heal with your shield, always heal yourself just above a benchmark ( 2 toothpick hits or 1 GF/DA hit).
->Try to make sure you have Dash refreshed when you reach a contested point. It can save your life.
->Don't go back to heal at base unless you're close to it. Heal yourself with your shield.
->Your team's highest damage dealers are top priority. It's worth tanking hits with your shield if your teammate can be saved.
->Try to avoid solo capping because you can be easily swarmed by a striker mob.

*******************************Fighting against different opponents*******************************

Gunslingers
Easily your worst match up. You'll never win if the gunslinger knows what he's doing. Your objective is to stall him out as long as possible. Do this by backing away, moving unpredictably, shielding, and dashing. If gunslinger gets careless and wanders too close, swipe at him with your toothpick, so that you don't let down your defenses.

Bombers
Move on and ignore them. Even if you're hybriding, there are stronger gunners who should be designated to take them down.

Swordfish Recons
A favorable match up for you. Simply shield and wait for the recon to attack first. If he does, dash behind him and hit him with a GF/DA. If he is using a toothpick then you should use a toothpick instead of a heavy sword as well. Remember that you have more health and health regen, so you can outlast him.

Swordfish Guardians
It's a very interesting mirror match. If you have a hammer and he doesn't then you win (and vice versa) . If you both have hammers than see the section on hammer duels. If neither of you have hammers then its all about who toothpicks first. Toothpicks can flinch guardian shields, immobilizing the guardian. Shield cancel with your toothpick until you break the other guardians shield. Then wail on him with a heavy sword. Only use your dash if he uses it first.

No-Hammer Strikers
This is the majority of the matchups you'll have(hammer is surprisingly unpopular in T3). Here are some general rules to follow.

->Match whatever weapon he has out. If he has a heavy sword out then you should too. If he has a toothpick out than you should too. If he has any other swords out then use your toothpick.
->Guardian is all about prediction. This is the skill factor and the part that separates strong guardians from decent ones. You should be able to predict what direction the striker is going to attack from and you should already be facing that direction ready to counter. After enough matches it will become almost instinctive. This is the way guardian fights.
->Watch for the breaks in the action. Strikers will usually go all out and use all their boost Then they'll back off and wait for their boost to regenerate. Do not attempt to dash and attack the striker during this time. Instead, you should back away and shield up. Whenever you have a spare moment make sure you shield up.
->Your shield is your life. Don't rely just on your shield to tank hits. If your shield breaks completely then you're probably dead. You should use your shield as a supplement to your dodging and weaving.
->Toothpick combos can get you out of sticky situations. Normally, you should never combo with a toothpick. However, if you need to maneuver around a striker, you can combo. The last hit of the combo moves you a fair distance (like a weaker more dangerous dash).
->Guardian is reliant on counterattacking. Overextending and lunging at opponents leaves you open. If you see an opponent you can back away. They will chase you and you can turn around and GF combo them as they reach you (this is a good tactic to use when striker reengage during breaks too).
->Don't just sit in place as the striker attacks you. You can position yourself to attack from the sides or back as well.
->Narrow corridors are your friend. You can block a corridor and time your GF swings to prevent strikers from getting past you.
->Guardian suffers no knockback. Polaris's only danger to you is the shock. You can dash through a wall of polaris without being affected by it.
->Don't be discouraged if you keep getting beat down. You'll eventually learn the patterns of the strikers and you're counterplay will improve.

Hammer Strikers
There are still a good chunk of people that use hammer and you should be prepared for them.

->Have your own hammer or be God.
->Remember to still match weapons. If he pulls out a toothpick, then you have to use your's too.
->Wait and Dodge. Hammer duels are like dances. It is absolutely critical that you keep moving or you'll be rushed.
->We can separate these fights into two stages : passive dodging and offensive pushes
->Passive Dodging : What you'll be doing for most of the fight. Shielding, using your hammer dash to dodge his hammer dash, and stalling.
->Offensive Pushes : You do these when you have your Dash available. Combine your Dash with your hammer dash to lunge at your opponent (don't combo with the hammer unless you know it will hit). Whether you hit or not, you return to passively dodging until your Dash comes back.
->Punish the opponent for overextending, but make sure you don't overextend yourself.

Team Fights

->When to shield and heal. If your team has an equal or greater amount of players in the fight then you should be shielding while capping/defending.
If you have less people then you have to primarily fight.
->Don't get caught up in the center of a mob. Move outside the chaotic fighting and you might be able to GF combo into the crowd.
->You should be using your GF more often as the team fights get bigger. GF = groups , toothpick = single .

Frequent Question:

How do I get better fast at Guardian?

Play lots and lots of games. Guardian is all about prediction which can be picked up by dying to the same striker patterns over and over again. Another great thing to do is spectate others guardians who are participating in GvG (which usually means they are good). I learned guardian by playing T2 Lockdown 10 hours a day for 6 weeks straight having no prior lockdown experience. Yes, I'm obsessed with crushing all those cupcake strikers.

That's it! This took way longer to type than I thought it would. I don't claim to be an uber pro or anything like that. If you have arguments, suggestions, things I missed, or better formatting/grammar then please let me know.I am very open to criticism because I know there are many many guardians out there who are better than me.

note : the swordfish thing is because people have a tendency to call swordsmen "swordies" .... which is a swordfish.