Guild Wars 2

What professions fit the Iron Legion best?
I am considering making another charr character and have begun to think what what profession I want to make it.

I have a Warrior Charr and Mesmer Charr. One is in the Blood legion the other in the Ash. So my next character would be in the Iron.

However I want a way to justify other professions other then engineer for the Iron legion. So has anyone made a different profession, not engineer, for the Iron legion and what reason did you make it for?
Thank you all.

Any of the Scholar professions (in your case Necro or Elementalist) could easily fit into the Iron legion. Think about it this way: The Iron legion is dedicated to dominating the battle-field through their use of war machines and weaponry (namely guns) It takes some ingenuity to create the caliber of weapons that the Charr create and since scholars are naturally gifted with magic they could find a way to work that into the legions weapons for use against threats. That’s just the way I see it though, it would make an interesting combination.

Warriors. They use guns themselves.
Hell, i have a Mesmer i RP as a quaestor. He was formerly the commander of a siege engine and used his mesmeric magic to communicate on the battlefield with other elements of his warband.

Anyone that uses rifles, namely Engineer and Warrior. Thief fits into iron legion aswell as ash legion.
Elementalists are a good choice too, since fire/earth magic might come in handy when you try to craft stuff out of metal. And most of the time they arent sneaky enough to be Ash legion imo.

Actually, elementalists can be as sneaky as any other profession without stealth, and more than some (an elementalist might get into places you might not be able to get a backpack of explosives into). I can think of a lot of uses for elementalists in wetwork, despite the flashy nature of their skills.

That aside, elementalist probably is the most suitable of the scholars, due to the applications knowledge of and ability to manipulate elements could have to industry. Engineers and warriors are the obvious ones, and thieves also make a decent use of gadgets.

If you want to avoid those, though, guardian might actually be worth considering – it’s even subtly official, since there are at least some Iron Legion NPCs that are guardians (for an example, see the Meatoberfest fighting ground).

Necoromancer of course!

Most guardian charr NPC I’ve seen are Iron Legion.

The only other profession I see as ACTUALLY making sense in the Iron Legion, other than Warrior, is Ranger. Now let me explain: the Iron Legion actually raises Devourers (some of them become massive) to help fight on the field. As a Ranger, you can naturally tame a Devourer, and therefore raise one to fight on the battlefield alongside siege weaponry.

But roleplay-wise, you’re stuck in a niche. You’d probably be using melee weapons, since it wouldn’t make sense for you to use a bow as someone who would probably prefer guns, and your only pet would be the devourer as everything else Charr-wise makes little sense geographically/territorially. But that’s just my two cents. I’ve wanted to do this for a while, but… man, I can’t figure out how the heck to play a Ranger.

I had a bit of trouble with this too. In the end, I picked Ranger. I figured they’re still excellent marksmen and naturally good at tuning artillery pieces (or at least providing the correct adjustment information). The fact that they use bows, at least for my character, is just a personal quirk/preference.

Warriors work too, but I already had one in Blood.

My elementalist is iron legion. My reason was, that the spirit of iron lives in all Charr like the other elements do. Who better to command that element then an elementalist?

I figured engineers were the best fit for the Iron Legion (my Charr is an Engineer). I don’t get why any of the magic classes would be. Just from the pre-release lore on the Charr, the non-Flame Legion Charr seem very distrustful of magic and magic users. Maybe I’m being too simplistic, but I just don’t see how the scholar classes fit in with the playable Charr Legions

I find it hard to think of anybody BUT Engineers or Warriors belonging to the Iron Legion, and the latter only because they can use rifles as their weapon. The Charr are never shown using magic-powered devices in any of their war machines (except maybe the Ghostblast batteries, but we really don’t have enough information about how they work), and the only spellcasters we ever see are our warband members, the occasional Ash Legion necromancer and Flame Legion Shamans.

If your father was a Gladium, wasn’t he mentioned to be a mesmer during his quest arc? Not like they mentioned which Legion he was from, however.

blood legion = warriors and guardians (they’re the front line of the charr army)
ash legion = rangers and thief (they’re the assassins of the charr)
iron legion = warriors and engineers (they’re the inventors of the charr)

currently charrs dislike and distrust any magic unit, seems because all the elementalist, mesmers and necros belonged to the flame legion, so u can join any side. i preffer blood legion tho

Let me offer some solutions. As mentioned before in another thread, there are LOTS of generalizations. To me, they are fine and all, but if you only have a very small idea of the scope of the Charr Empire, then you’re only going to come into small and overdone ideas. The Blood legion is not all just blood and guts, and the Ash legion isn’t all just assassins and skulkers. That would never work out in a developed society that has gone beyond despotism. Anet wants people to view GW2 as their ‘living, breathing world’ so you can’t just gloss over something and ignore the meat of the concepts. Even in their storylines they demonstrate different roles and some of them are not typical at all. But, lets start from the beginning…

Warrior – A warrior in the Iron Legion could be responsible for vanguard posts. They keep their eyes on the horizon for potential threats to the fortifications, all the time still remaining a loyal soldier to the legion itself. Groundpounders are always needed.

Guardian – Another vanguard type, and protector of supply lines. Or, a bodyguard to an officer type. Guardians to me, form the glue of warband mentality. I think every warband should have one or two. You can be the inspiration of the group, as well as the symbol of endurance and perserverance.

Ranger – an Iron Legion ranger is your scout, your surveyor, and your operative all in one package. I had an idea once where an Iron Legion ranger did beast tending duties for seige devourers, who in turned were used for ballistic warfare like they were in Guild Wars 1. This is an easy pick for me.

Thief – You are the espionage man, the rear guard charr, and the guy who puts the monkeywrench in other people’s machinery. Sabotage, Explosives, and point break assaults. Easily in mind for Iron Legion Thieves.

Mesmer – A mesmer in the Iron Legion (ive mentioned before in another thread) is a stealther, and an illusionist. To me, illusion based roleplay opens many many doors. Misdirection, trickery, and outmaneuvering your opponents have historyically won more wars through history then brute strength. Finesse is a tool that can be taken advantage of by all the legions. And remember on major thing about Charr culture. They are effectively emulating on some scale, the Roman Empire with steampunk elements. Rome was also very well known for its bureaucracy as well. All major empires of history had movers and shakers. Logically, the Charr would be no different.

Necromancer – an Iron Legion necromancer can add his experience with death and undead to allow themselves to adapt to new scenarios involving the undead. My Necro was an Iron Legion and it blew my mind that the first legion mission they give you is one that does that very thing. I won’t spoil it here, but it fit beautifully. The Iron Legion needs that expertise and will use any knowledge to gain advantage.

Elementalist – Iron Legion elementalists can be employed to not just harness, but COMMAND with an authority like no other.. the fires of engines and the molding of earth and steel. I suspect that Elementalist tacticians are used to plan and build new fortifications that can also withstand weather and time. Easy easy easy to think how this sort of caster can be valuable.

Any of that helpful? Just a couple of examples that could lead you out of being pigeonholed.

EDIT: I could do this same sort of list for the other two legions as well.

@DarckKnight: While those are obvious choices, they actually disagree with what we see from the generic charr NPCs. Ash Legion seems to use necromancers quite extensively – given that generic charr necromancers in GW1 are all titled “Ash (title)”, it’s possible that charr necromancers were always primarily seen among Ash and were never really truly part of the Shaman Caste the way the charr monks and elementalists were.

Additionally, we do see generic Iron Legion charr that are guardians, suggesting that guardians may be relatively common among Iron despite their general preference for technology over magic.

Ramethzero.3785:

Let me offer some solutions. …Snip…

Brilliant post Ramethzero, i’m interested to see the same for Blood and Ash

I’ll give Ash a go, then:

Warrior: How many adventuring parties lack the muscle who can beatdown the enemy when necessary? The Ash legion warrior is the guy who can wrestle down a strong opponent, break down a door, or when push comes to shove, hold off or distract the guards while the rest of the team does their thing. Additionally, the legions are independent entities – while Ash concentrates on special forces, it’s still going to need some guards and regular soldiers to hold the line or deliver a killing blow against a weakened opponent.

Guardian: Many of the comments regarding the Ash Warrior also applies to the guardian. While even less subtle than the warrior once they start breaking out the special effects, they can be a significant force multiplier for a small team, and their defensive abilities can be kept in reserve until the rest of the team is in place to do the job, at which point cunning use of wards and bubbles could be the difference between a successful operation and an escape versus failure and capture.

Ranger: This one I’m putting in for completion because it practically writes itself. Nearly as stealthy as thieves, can serve as a guide and survival expert for a team in the wilderness, and an expert in generating stampedes and producing other animal-related diversions.

Engineer: Every special forces unit needs its gadgets. Even on the field, the engineer is the guy who can use the stuff that’s a little too complex for the regular operatives, the demolitions expert (both from knowledge of explosives and knowledge of weak points in construction) and the cat who can MacGuyver up some improvised technology when needed.

Elementalist: The elementalist among the Ash Legion fills a similar role to the engineer – with less ability to produce gadgets to hand out to others, but having an elementalist along might mean you don’t need to carry along heavy and obtrusive explosives when a fireball, earthquake, or other elemental manipulation might carry out the desired act of sabotage. When dealing with real situations rather than game abstractions, an elementalist is also a useful contingency once the explosives the team brought along for the job have been expended, in order to collapse an escape route behind them or to destroy targets of opportunity.

Mesmer: Turn your team invisible or portal them an escape or entry route. Disguise yourself or another as a member of an opposing faction to cause havoc. This one really writes itself nearly as much as thieves and rangers.

Necromancer: Of all the professions, necromancy might actually be one of the most subtle in battle (while mesmers have illusionary tricks up their sleeve, the purple-pink colours of most mesmer offensive magics is quite distinctive). A necromancer could magically spread a plague through an opposing force or sap the strength of a sentry to make them easier to neutralise. Furthermore, with a necromancer along any body you find becomes a resource to produce expendable soldiers for a diversion or to cover an escape.

Might do Blood some other time if someone else doesn’t beat me to it, but really, it’s not hard to see how every profession can have a use on the front line.

Cataclysm.7491:

Ramethzero.3785:

Let me offer some solutions. …Snip…

i’m interested to see the same for Blood and Ash

I appreciate the nod. Lemme give Ash go today, since they are my fave.

Warrior in the Ash Legion: All legions need ‘that’ guy. The get er done and no kittening around guy. The guy that is going to be the distraction. The charr that doesn’t care what you think of the Ash Legion. He’s going to gut you, and has no need to be stealthy or skulking around to do it. I can also potentially see them being duelists. When a champion need be picked, the Warrior steps to tow the line. You don’t like Ash legion policy? Okay, let me introduce you to THIS charr. Another good profession for warrior could be for wartime strategy. Not everyone in Ash legion needs to be a rogue type element. The Ash could never persist without structure. The officer Charr in charge is used to being in command, and that command is not to be effed with.

Guardian in the Ash Legion; You’d think this was an oxymoron but it isn’t. There is a point of view to being the right and the left hand of the Khan-Ur. While the right hand is the muscle, and the left is the brains. A guardian believes in their cause, and the cause is righteous. But, you are saddled with duty you might not always feel comfortable with, but that’s your burden. You know the secrets of some that you cannot speak, but you carry that burden with honour. You are the go-to image of the tired warrior that does Ash Legion business because the younger less disciplined won’t be as thorough as you are. You remember when Ash Legion was pure, and perhaps… with your leadership it still can be.

Ranger of the Ash Legion; Scout extraordinaire. You know the enemy better then they know themselves. You know where they run, they play, and where they keep their information locked up. You also know beasts because because beasts are simpler then the rest of the legions. Beasts can be subtle. You often boast you trained a trained a dog to steal a file straight off the desk of a flame legion commander’s desk, while he was taking a <bleep>. Those were good times.

Thief of the Ash Legion; No one coined the Ash Legion like the Thief. It would be redundant of me to bring up more.

Engineer of the Ash Legion (my main); The engineer is the jobber. The operative. The mightnight bomber. He’s the clever one that gets inside your base, and steals your cookies.. leaving a trail of gunpowder and the smell of brimstone behind. This Charr is scary because he can monkeywrench behind enemy lines. No fortification is safe from the Ash Legion Engineer. He will find the weakness in your defense, and exploit it.

Mesmer of the Ash Legion: No one gets inside your head like the Mesmer. Just as every group needs a thinker and a motivator, this is the Charr the pulls all the right strings. He gets you to drop your guard. He may not even raise his sword to kill you, but will get you in the way you never saw him coming. This Charr likely has people in his pocket, and is not scared to use his leverage to force the enemy to back down.

Elementalist of the Ash Legion; You need someone to infiltrate the Flame Legion? Then this is the Charr for the job. With all the command of the elements, you can bet this charr can assess your resources and have a portable means of destroying your toys with just a shake of their staff and a blurb of arcane commands. The Elementalist is also a forward observer. With enough patience to understand the long view of things. It takes patience and tenacity to command such destructive forces. If only the others understood that this connection tends to mold you into a methodical and thorough soldier. Even front line fighters need air support, and you know what to call.

Necromancer of the Ash Legion; Dead men tell no tales, right? Utter nonsense. The dead talk, only too much. It’s just a matter of asking the right questions, and reading the answers in their entrails. Some may not understand or even like to mess around with corpses and the fallen, but necromancers seem to not care much about this stigma at all. Besides, if the ghosts ever return.. you alone have the power to send them back. You are the exorcist; The misunderstood diviner; and the speaker for the heroes of old. Only those that commune with the dead will hear the tales of glory from those that died for it. If anything, the others should have reverence what you bring to the table. The Charr have no gods. This is true. But the songs of the dead tell you everything you need to know about valor, glory, and the virtue of the legions.

Iron is all about logic, technology and progression, after hundreds of years of tyrannical backwards rule by magic-users, the Iron Legion would never use magic, any class but magic users fit with the Iron Legion, they do after all have their own standing army of soldiers along with their war machines.

I’m sorry you feel that way. If that were true however, then they would have closed those options. The Legions are against religion, not magic. There is a distinct difference between the two. The Shaman class beefed up the Flame Legion, and that’s what got kicked out of the Citadel, not ALL magic using people.

So, I really can’t agree with you there, Grunt.

Just my opinion, but when I think about the Iron Legion only engineers and warriors seem to fit. Thieves and rangers seem like they belong with Ash Legion, and I just can’t bring myself to the more magic oriented classes with a Charr character.

“The Legions are against religion, not magic.”

This. Shaman are untrusted. Not magic users.

Moving onto the Blood Legion! This particular post will most likely be the most common perceptions that one may find within the Charr legions. As a point of clarification for some folks, diversity is important in maintaining a healthy military. Without computer engineers, scientists, weapon developers, medical staff, quartermasters, and all the constituents a country may provide.. military prowess will likely behind first world nations. Extrapolate that idea as necessary.

Blood Legion Warrior: This Charr is the spearhead of any assault. Whether it is to charge in, or to brace against a charge.. this is the Charr for the duty. The Blood Legion could arguably called the greatest of all the Charr infantry. In practice, however, they are not just infantry. You can find Blood Legions manning mortars and gun emplacements. Whether it is a commissioned or non-commissioned officer in the Blood Legion, no one will deny that the Warrior can fill these rolls.

Blood Legion Guardian: I see many of the Guardians to be an elite cadre, not unlike the Praetorian Guard of ancient Roman times. I can also see Guardians being the sergeants of their warbands. Easily, one can also feel they can assume roles of the military police of the Blood Legion as well. These roles can be filled by any of the other professions, but Guardian seems a pretty efficient and logical first choice.

Blood Legion Engineer: For every fort and bunker that has been blown apart by the Blood Legion, there is a need to salvage that fortification or fix or even improve certain strategic locations. This is where their engineer core comes in. No one can deny that the Iron Legion has the corner of the market here, but the Blood Legion can’t always afford to stand around and wait for the Iron Legion to actually arrive. Blood Legion artillery units also often need routine maintenance, while Blood Legion engineers can improve and/or re-purpose outdated models.

Blood Legion Ranger: The forward Vanguard of the Blood Legion needs scouts and infiltrators as well. The Blood Legion employs siege devourers for most of their low cost artillery options, and the Ranger knows not only how to breed them, but keep them in line. It is a pretty scary thing when one of them goes apekitten and starts to destroy the fortress its meant to protect.

Blood Legion Thief: When brute force wont do it during the day, Thieves make best use of night combat. While considered somewhat skulky, night missions are sometimes needed to ensure success. After all, its hard to aim artillery off of the bulwark if certain targets are not properly tagged in the field. Thieves are the Charr you call on. They can get in, mark their targets, and when the kitten storm hits they will be on the fringe – picking off the survivors or the runners.

Blood Legion Elementalist: While the bulk of Charr forces might disdain the thought of the gods controlling their actions, there is no argument that supports that the Charr cannot command the elements. The scorching ruins left behind on past battlefields were not always the doings of Iron Legion cannon fire. The power of the storms of destruction kicked up by Blood Legion elementalists are a brutal display of that.

Blood Legion Mesmer: Considered something of an anomaly, the Blood Legion do not routinely make use of Mesmers in the field. The brutal forces that occupy their ranks however, need strong commanders and cunning strategists, and often need distractionary techniques in order to outmaneuver. This is where the Blood Legion makes the best use of their magic. Mesmers also known to be among the highest military historians among the Charr. After all, one may not only recall the details of past glories, but can also summon illusory constructs of battlefields to theorize on new strategies.

Blood Legion Necromancer: The Blood Legion has no qualms about allowing Necromancers into their fold. In fact, a minority of Charr hold a belief that even in death they can still serve their still-breathing comrades. While this is not a commonly held belief, no one can deny how useful dead soldiers can be when they get up to continue fighting. It is often upon Necromancers to detail funerals and other ceremonial functions as they relate to the glorious fallen. Necromancers possess more knowledge about bodies (living or dead) that they also make natural choices for apothecaries and field medics.

In conclusion, these are basic concepts I feel that are easy to understand. These representations do not break Charr lore, despite some of these seeming to be illogical fits. If there is one thing I cannot deny, is that there is a serious nod to Charr ingenuity. It might not be as pretty as Sylvari, or as technical as Asuran, but they do hold the top mandate of being efficient and practical. The Charr build things to last through battlefields, firestorms, and ghost invasions. It is no wonder that so many NPC’s give a nod to Charr technical prowess in game. If you can imagine how wonderous it must be to produce the most tenacious military in game, imagine for yourself also what must go on behind the scenes to keep that massive engine running. Its samurai level brainwashing that the Charr portray mixed with Roman level civil engineering. That is a recipe for greatness, even if only done in a fantasy setting.

Its no wonder I like them so much.

I’m not sure I agree with your portrayal of the Blood Legion thief – that seems more like Ash stuff. Now, each of the legions is going to dabble in each other’s areas if only to avoid being completely reliant on another legion, but I suspect that rather than being night-time wetwork operatives, Blood Legion thieves serve in traditional light infantry roles – skirmishers, flanking forces, assassination teams to take out key enemy individuals and emplacements on the battlefield, and so on. Stealth is still going to play a role, but the Ash Legion tries to use stealth to avoid having to fight a pitched battle at all – Blood, on the other hand, is more inclined to use a thief’s skills to gain tactical advantages on a battlefield.

Incidentally, I’d also disagree on putting guardians in elite roles. While the three allied legions are primarily anti-religion, there is a bit of anti-magic bias in there as well (largely due to the association of magic with religion, especially elemental and monk/guardian magic). They’re practical enough to recognise that magic is too useful a tool to discard out of hand and to judge individuals by their merits, so while non-magic-using charr might distrust magic they’re not going to let that get in the way of getting a job done, but they’re certainly not going to promote anyone to special roles just because they’re a magic user the way that, say, humans might – in fact, while not actively blocking spellcasters from promotion*, the three allied legions might even go out of their way to reinforce the message that outside the Flame Legion, magic is not a shortcut to rank.

A guardian who’s proven themself might be put into a role where their skills are particularly well suited, such as bodyguard, but most charr officers would probably take a warrior they trust over an untested guardian. From the point of view of charr military command, charr guardians are probably generally treated as warriors that use staves and scepters instead of bows and rifles – a guardian that proves particularly apt at a particular role may garner attention, but there aren’t going to be special units formed of guardians or special treatment given to guardians in general..

*Although it is notable that the Imperators (apart from the obvious one) don’t appear to be spellcasters.

These are just merely examples off the top of my head. Agree with them or not, that’s completely okay and I like to promote differentials like that. I don’t think myself or any one forumer should pigeonhole any legionnaire. I took it upon myself to help broaden player horizons by offering a bit of a (I laugh but..) a ‘realistic’ view of military structure in a fantasy setting. That being said, someone who’s served in the military could even expand upon my ideas quite a bit. I’d welcome the opportunity, honestly.

About the anti-magic bias; for philosophical reasons.. I can’t get into that argument. It would be like saying all (insert racial slur here) are bad because you saw a couple steal a car. I really don’t like to give creedance to that way of thinking. I can certainly understand a situation could arise where you are in a warband with a caster, and (for the sake of argument) they were reckless and casual with their magic. This could be a problem for the warband. In which case it puts the burden of reliability on casters to pull their weight and be responsible with their chosen path. These issues can be handled early in Fahrars, but yeah.. being around someone who throws reckless magic about? Oh hell yeah, I’d have to pull rank on em in a heartbeat. I could see that there could be a problem with the number of failed gladium casters in that regard. I however, can’t speak for the entirety of the Legions themselves. I think outcomes in those regards are a bit deeper then the game seems to project.

As a correcting mechanism, I agree with you.. and the lore only furthers it. Magic is not a guarantee of rank, but I do think it allows greater opportunities for a specialist position.

As for the argument of warrior versus guardian… Yes, it would complete sense to take a tested warrior over an untested guardian. That being said, I personally would rather take a hardened Thief, over an untested warrior for bodyguard reasons. So, given the broad gap you have illustrated, that line of reasoning can go anywhere.

I do however, cannot see a need to engage in classism against the Guardian over something classically overdone as sketchy as say… a Necromancer. Although not stated, guardians seem to be modeled after warriors of code. If Guardians are that very thing, then I defer them back to ‘use magic responsibility or be just as dead as that fool…’ sorta mentality.

Furthermore, I’ve never killed a bandmate with friendly fire so… no need to deal with the implications should they never arise..

Ramethzero.3785:

I’m sorry you feel that way. If that were true however, then they would have closed those options. The Legions are against religion, not magic. There is a distinct difference between the two. The Shaman class beefed up the Flame Legion, and that’s what got kicked out of the Citadel, not ALL magic using people.

So, I really can’t agree with you there, Grunt.

Well itd be a pretty dirt move to just not allow the magic classes into Iron, for the sake of gameplay anyway. Im just saying that i dont believe Iron would make much, if any use of magic at all, they REALLY hate Flame and especially the shaman caste after all.

All of the legions understand that magic is too useful a tool to pass up, and that a skilled soldier shouldn’t be held back just because magic is the method of fighting most suited for them.

However, there is a general prejudice among non-magic-using charr against magic-users – if only at the level that any magic user has the potential to secretly be a shaman infiltrator, or to be tempted to join the Flame Legion. They wouldn’t be deliberately held back, but they’d likely need to work a little bit harder to prove themselves than a non-spellcaster, and other charr will likely be watching them a little more closely for anything suspicious and more likely to view what they see in a negative light. The hypothetical charr commander looking for a bodyguard, for instance, might logically recognise that a guardian’s magic is well-suited to the role, but still feel more comfortable trusting a warrior to watch their back than a guardian.

Furthermore, of all the races, the allied charr legions are probably the most inclined to discourage the formation of social castes based along magical ability – after all, chances are that’s how the Shamans arose in the first place. Furthermore, neither the charr hierarchy nor the individuals concerned seem likely to view being plucked out of their warband to be assigned to a special order based on their profession to be an honour the way it might be among, say, humans. Probably the closest to a “Praetorian Guard” type unit would be a warband of mixed professions (as most seem to be) that happens to be especially skilled in defence – such a warband might be heavily weighted towards magic that can prevent an attack from reaching its target, but it would be chosen for the role because it’s good at it, not because it happens to consist of a particular profession mix. Of course, when push really comes to shove, the people most charr commanders would be most inclined to trust to watch their back would be their own warband, regardless of what professions they might be.

A though provoking way to put it, Draxynnic. Good read.