Guild Wars 2

I’ve been trying to make a norn for awhile now, but I can’t decide on which class to commit to. Does anybody have some suggestions on class choices that really “clicked” with their norn characters? Specifically, I’m worried about character animations, voice clips when using skills, and the overall feel of the race/class combo. Ideas?

I love a Norn Guardian!

I’m personally a big fan of my Female Norn Elementalist.

Animations look good, a balance of fluidity and the power of a Norn.

Vocals are great, including the entering specific attunements and my personal favourite gaining Might (“Might makes me right!”) which happens a lot as an Elementalist.

While it’s a primarily magic based class on a more “Ranger-y” themed race, the fact that it’s possible to wade into the midst of combat with dual daggers brings about the “Hands on” approach to fighting that Norn’s are all about.

Other combinations that would easily fit are:

Ranger
Warrior
Maybe Guardian

That said, having played all classes as Norn (I love Norns) all the voice acting and animations for combat are fine and you could pick what-ever your favourite class is to play (Heck, for some of the more unusual classes you could decide to make up your own Nornish lore about why your Norn defies the stereotypical preconceptions and has decided to train as a Necromancer/Mesmer/Thief/Engineer)

I’m partial to guardian or ranger.

Rangers are nice because they allow you to have a pet that represents your Spirit Guide (Snow Leopard, Raven, Bear, and Wolf). The Norn starting area is filled with juvenile animals, so it is easy to expand your collection of pets quickly (You can find juvenile snow leopards, ravens, brown bears, arctodus, alpine wolves, and ice drakes in the Wayfarer Foothills). You can also find juvenile polar bears in Hoelbrak. Rangers are nice, because they can switch between melee and ranged weaponry and still pack a punch. They also fit in well canonically. Eir is a ranger.

Guardians are a very popular class for norns and my personal favorite to roll when I play a norn. The graphics are well done for greatsword and war hammer wielding and the dialogue is appropriate.

Guardian. Or warrior.
The first things that come to your mind when you think about a norn.

Ranger is the Norn Class when you think about it. That being said, my main is a Norn Warrior.

Engineer. Because it makes almost no sense at all. Although, an engi chugging elixirs all day does fit right into the Norn moot motif.

Anything that can fit the hunt motif.

Warrior: Longbow, Rifle, Warhorn, Shouts→it fits!
Guardian: Nothing truly Hunter-ish here. Does not fit! Guardian=resilient prey, not the Hunter!
Ranger: kitten Well ofc this is #1 proffesion for Norns.
Thief: I don’t think so. I mean Pistol/Pistol+Shortbow could work, but stealing is totally against the Honourable ways of Norn. Stealth is ok, wanted even.
Engineer: Actually it fits! Think more of modern ways to hunt…
Elementalist: Shamans. Nuff said
Necromancer: ??? It totally does not fit, but I guess that every Society has its wackos…
Mesmer: Skaalds. Nuff said.

Basically all work, with Special shout out to Rangers, Eles and Engineers…

Engineer. I cannot imagine playing another race as an engi… I love my engineer! Ever since I picked up the order of whispers “sniper rifle”, I feel more epic lol.

Norn running animations can look like they’re moving in slow motion or stepping very bouncily. Those big bodies travel at the same speed as Sylvari or Asura, so the cadence of their steps is slower.

There are some clipping issues, but I’m mostly avoided them so I’m not good at remembering which ones I had to dodge. Nothing excessive, I think.

There are threads around on the Hulk vs Barbie aspects of sexual dimorphism among Norns: that’s one of the easiest things to see at a glance and work out out how you feel about it.

Some people have strong reactions to the voice acting for female Norns. If you think you might be one of them I’d suggest “auditioning” the voice with a sample character. Personally, having my max-height Norn warrior sound like Ivanova is just fine with me, but my young, relatively quiet Norn ranger requires me to use my imagination in the voice scenes.

I see a lot of Norn warriors and rangers around. They’re a good fit lorewise, and the animations seem okay. That said, just about any combination could be justified if you put your mind to it. I’ve recently run into two Norn engineers who seem to bring Norn vitality and love of making big bangs to their work with explosives. Possibly the hardest to explain would be a Norn thief, who might choose to ditch the “thieving” aspect and concentrate on Snow Leopard’s stealth or Raven’s cunning.

I sort of envy players of male Norns for their gear. There’s a grounded solidity to it, mixed with the occasional senseless grandeur of pieces like the cultural T3 stag helm, that’s appealing. The women’s equivalents are often… not so grounded or so grand. Have a look through one of the armor gallery sites to see what catches your eye. You really need only one set of skins, and getting that set can be a useful game goal.

I enjoy my Guardian.

Like to RP him as a “Spirit Guardian” where he vows to protect the Spirits after the sacrifice of the 3 others that were lost to Jormag.

Pretty nifty so far.

I liked the RP on my Thief (Pirate captain) but…I didn’t like the class itself.

NORN GUARDIAN FTW

My main is a male Norn Mesmer. Not the most common combo obviously.
I set the character to the smallest possible size for I dislike the slow run animation of huge characters and made him as slim as possible. Looks great, like if it was a half Norn half Human, just with all the awesomeness of a Norn.

Mesmer GS animations are really good on a mesmer, and so are the sword ones, which both are parts of my weapon sets.

Ranger?…not for me. Human are rangers. Lithe, quick, agile.

Norns are melee. In the berserker traditions.

But that said, I have a Norn engie, Guardian and warrior.

I see a lot of people who think that the idea of a Norn thief goes against a “code of honor” or some other belief system that the Norn have, but if you really take a look at Norn lore we’ve been shown that they don’t adhere to anything like that at all. It’s more a case of individual achievement and character than anything else.

A renown Norn thief who has become famous for always being able to steal from his targets without them noticing, or a Norn assassin who has infiltrated some incredibly well-secured locations and taken down each of his targets would be celebrated just as any great hunter would, but a Norn pirate who regularly raids and steals from the poor and defenseless would be looked down on (or seen as a good foe to beat into the ground).

I guess in terms of the ‘stereotypical’ class for a norn, warrior and ranger would likely be the clear winners as they reflect both the melee fighter and the hunter theme.

I have a stereotypical norn ranger and a not-so stereotypical norn mesmer. The latter is probably as far away from established norn-tropes as it gets.

My first Norn char was definitely the Ranger because Norn society values nature and animal spirits and that fits well with taking care of pets. Also, the Norn value hunters and great battles. Those two things alone fit the Ranger class very well. Not to mention Eir Stagalkin is a hunter herself.

Raf.1078:

Ranger?…not for me. Human are rangers. Lithe, quick, agile.

Norns are melee. In the berserker traditions.

But that said, I have a Norn engie, Guardian and warrior.

Not if you consider their culture. Norns are definitely Rangers.

I would also say that warriors and rangers exemplify typical Norn professions. I play female Norn warrior. On the one hand, I like the fact that she looks like she can carry the heavy armour and the weapons. On the other, I get a bit sick of the sound of her voice as I prefer a healing shouts build, and I also find the GS animations somewhat clumsy. Besides the many warriors and rangers, I also see quite a few Norn guardians around, although the lore around them seems more human to me. The question is, do you want to be typical or more unusual?

Although some professions might not seem the norm, think of the different animal spirits respected by the Norn. Not all of them are like Bear and all about the upfront attack. There’s a necromancer NPC who is a Raven shaman, for example.

OP, have you tried out a few different professions in the Mists on the combat NPCs? That way you get to try out all the animations/shouts with fully unlocked weapons and skills.

There is also a NPC (enemy skill challenge actually) that is a Raven Mesmer. I could definitely see followers of Raven being Mesmers, masters of trickery.

warrior or gaurdian

mainly cuz the last thing ANYONE would want to see is a heavily armed and armored 8 foot tall tatoo clad norn comming at them. if that wasnt bad enough? tick them off enough and they turn into a bear

I love being a Norn Ele, they are just so big and always look so wise

I still think that the class which fits Norn the most is the Ranger. Think about mountains, hunting and living off of the land. I have a Norn Ranger and I’m loving every second of it, haven’t been bored like i’ve been with the other classes/races.

I’ve got a ranger and mesmer, both female Norns. The ranger is rather tall but the mesmer is the shortest possible. I like them both. A lot. When out patrolling the snowy crags and passes, the ranger just seems so . . . Norn. It’s the perfect profession for a Norn.

On the other hand it works for the mesmer, as well. The appealing combination of grace and power makes the mesmer work as a Norn for me. I think of her more as a skald than a mesmer.

Kentura.7890:

I love a Norn Guardian!

They are sick, but if you are a female type use Female Hunter Norn, in future they look sick with armor too.

just rolled a norn necro, never looked back

Gorwe.9672:

Necromancer: ??? It totally does not fit, but I guess that every Society has its wackos…
Mesmer: Skaalds. Nuff said.

Necromancers absolutely fit, and far better than Elementalist. Norn are a shamanistic race, shamanism is to do with spirits, divination, and rituals. They’re not so much with the elements and magic in the sense that Elementalists are. Elementalists are more the “finger wiggler”(Gandalf, Dumbledore, Merlin) types while Necromancers are the ones that would carry totems, runes, and other more “primitive” spellcasting/divining techniques.

Granted, Norn have a very individualistic lifestyle so anything works. Norn Guardian? Sure. Norn are natural fighters, and guardians use magic, in the case of Norn it can be easily explained as spirit magic.

norn warrior

Engineer. You figure, Raven represents cunning and wisdom. What’s more of a “trickster” setup than being the guy or gal in a Nordic/Native American themed race who’s tricky enough to bust out high technology? Also, Norns run into both Dredge
and Charr often enough to give a young Norn plenty of access to tech.

Wolfgang.6489:

I see a lot of people who think that the idea of a Norn thief goes against a “code of honor” or some other belief system that the Norn have, but if you really take a look at Norn lore we’ve been shown that they don’t adhere to anything like that at all. It’s more a case of individual achievement and character than anything else.

Absolutely right.

If you read the Norn lore on the main web site, it is obvious that being sneaky, devious and striking from shadows is perfectly legitimate for Norn. The whole story of snow leopard helping gain vengeance is based on this. The taunt was “you have to sleep some time.” Yeah, that means stabbing an enemy while they sleep is perfectly acceptable to Norn if that is your fighting style.

i think a norn worrior is pretty good

I love playing as a guardian.

Love my thief :P

Max height norn mesmer… giant clones everywhere in WvW!

I have two Norns at 80, a male warrior and a female ranger. Both feel like they fit their professions perfectly.

I love the norn lore and idea, I play as a male ranger, but I was also curious if the warrior class is the most tanky of all, and what about the guardian? Is he supposed to be the cleric rather than the paladin?