Guild Wars 2

How often are non-meta (mirror comp) professions taken to raids?

If non-meta classes are taken frequently, which ones are common?

Reason I ask is, I enjoy playing the Necromancer/Reaper. But I feel that I made a mistake as I was talking with the community as a whole and they said basically “If you are not a Mesmer, Ranger, Warrior, or Elementalist you might want to cross raiding off of your goals.”

If that is the case (and be honest. I have very bad anxiety, but if the raiding community is too toxic to not take any non-meta classes, I’ll accept the blow. I already quit WoW for the very same reason, and I love this game too much), is it worth my time and effort to get Viper Gear?

Thanks a ton!

Vernon VonHinkelschmidt.4269:

How often are non-meta (mirror comp) professions taken to raids?

If non-meta classes are taken frequently, which ones are common?

Reason I ask is, I enjoy playing the Necromancer/Reaper. But I feel that I made a mistake as I was talking with the community as a whole and they said basically “If you are not a Mesmer, Ranger, Warrior, or Elementalist you might want to cross raiding off of your goals.”

If that is the case (and be honest. I have very bad anxiety, but if the raiding community is too toxic to not take any non-meta classes, I’ll accept the blow. I already quit WoW for the very same reason, and I love this game too much), is it worth my time and effort to get Viper Gear?

Thanks a ton!

Necro isn’t required for any fight, so there isn’t a need to bring one. There are fights that having one isn’t a burden and can actually help in those fights, but again because it isn’t needed, you can usually find a different profession to plug into the slot where you have the Necro. If there were more fights that benefited from the necro’s kit, things like boon-corrupt and condi manipulation, it would have a more pronounced spot, but until then…

With that being said, there are groups/guilds who will take any profession, as their bar is just clearing the content, you’ll just have to spend some time looking for a group/guild that will take you. Pugs on the other hand, would rather a cookie cutter comp to follow, so there aren’t questions about why there wasn’t enough dps or missed mechanics, you know that with a set comp, what results you should have.

Fatalyz.7168:

Vernon VonHinkelschmidt.4269:

How often are non-meta (mirror comp) professions taken to raids?

If non-meta classes are taken frequently, which ones are common?

Reason I ask is, I enjoy playing the Necromancer/Reaper. But I feel that I made a mistake as I was talking with the community as a whole and they said basically “If you are not a Mesmer, Ranger, Warrior, or Elementalist you might want to cross raiding off of your goals.”

If that is the case (and be honest. I have very bad anxiety, but if the raiding community is too toxic to not take any non-meta classes, I’ll accept the blow. I already quit WoW for the very same reason, and I love this game too much), is it worth my time and effort to get Viper Gear?

Thanks a ton!

Necro isn’t required for any fight, so there isn’t a need to bring one. There are fights that having one isn’t a burden and can actually help in those fights, but again because it isn’t needed, you can usually find a different profession to plug into the slot where you have the Necro. If there were more fights that benefited from the necro’s kit, things like boon-corrupt and condi manipulation, it would have a more pronounced spot, but until then…

So, what does that mean? Should I cross raiding off of my to-do list, and forget they exist at all? I understand not being paticurally useful, but I don’t want to start the timesink of Viper gear for nothing.

Vernon VonHinkelschmidt.4269:

Fatalyz.7168:

Vernon VonHinkelschmidt.4269:

How often are non-meta (mirror comp) professions taken to raids?

If non-meta classes are taken frequently, which ones are common?

Reason I ask is, I enjoy playing the Necromancer/Reaper. But I feel that I made a mistake as I was talking with the community as a whole and they said basically “If you are not a Mesmer, Ranger, Warrior, or Elementalist you might want to cross raiding off of your goals.”

If that is the case (and be honest. I have very bad anxiety, but if the raiding community is too toxic to not take any non-meta classes, I’ll accept the blow. I already quit WoW for the very same reason, and I love this game too much), is it worth my time and effort to get Viper Gear?

Thanks a ton!

Necro isn’t required for any fight, so there isn’t a need to bring one. There are fights that having one isn’t a burden and can actually help in those fights, but again because it isn’t needed, you can usually find a different profession to plug into the slot where you have the Necro. If there were more fights that benefited from the necro’s kit, things like boon-corrupt and condi manipulation, it would have a more pronounced spot, but until then…

So, what does that mean? Should I cross raiding off of my to-do list, and forget they exist at all? I understand not being paticurally useful, but I don’t want to start the timesink of Viper gear for nothing.

If you are wanting to be able to be easily plugged into any pug group/comp as a Necro/Reaper, then that most likely isn’t going to happen at this time, again there are only a few fights were there is a benefit to taking one. If you want to take the time to build a team/group/guild or join one, you’ll have better luck. Even better luck, if you want to seriously get into raiding, have 2-3 classes that have meta builds and you are competent at.

I also edited my original post after you quoted it, not sure if you noticed what I added.

I play a power necro and went to the raid for a while. Its the only profession I’ve had success on. I’m sad you can’t find a group, But I don’t pug so I can’t really speak of what the situation is like. You can find a group, not everyone runs the same thing.

Warcry.1596:

I play a power necro and went to the raid for a while. Its the only profession I’ve had success on. I’m sad you can’t find a group, But I don’t pug so I can’t really speak of what the situation is like. You can find a group, not everyone runs the same thing.

I am just determining if it is a goal I should have in mind. Determining if it is worth it to push Raids or really hit Fractal 100, have full Ascended and a legendary (gen 2) weapon.

I set goals for myself to keep me going since the game lacks a beautiful sense of direction post level 80.

Warcry.1596:

I play a power necro and went to the raid for a while. Its the only profession I’ve had success on. I’m sad you can’t find a group, But I don’t pug so I can’t really speak of what the situation is like. You can find a group, not everyone runs the same thing.

But that is refreshing to see for sure! And you went Power Necro too. I just got all of my exotics, and still need my runes and Hero Points (I unlocked Reaper and Reaper Shroud. So I geared up.)

It’s fun. It’s survivable, and solid in open world. Those things count. I have never found enjoyment with the meta classes, but I have found enjoyment with the off-meta professions. It’s always like that for me. Reaper looks cool, is flashy, and takes a beating.

Vernon VonHinkelschmidt.4269:

Warcry.1596:

I play a power necro and went to the raid for a while. Its the only profession I’ve had success on. I’m sad you can’t find a group, But I don’t pug so I can’t really speak of what the situation is like. You can find a group, not everyone runs the same thing.

I am just determining if it is a goal I should have in mind. Determining if it is worth it to push Raids or really hit Fractal 100, have full Ascended and a legendary (gen 2) weapon.

I set goals for myself to keep me going since the game lacks a beautiful sense of direction post level 80.

If your goal is to be able to pug Raids as a Necro/Reaper, it’s going to be an uphill climb, esp if you are unwilling to switch out on fights were a Necro/Reaper isn’t useful.

If your goal is just to be able to raid a Necro/Reaper, you’ll be better served by joining a raiding guild/group.

I always found something to do. I did the raid to try it. It isn’t my favorite content, I wayyyyy prefer high fractals, but if it’s a goal of yours then by all means go get it.

You probably want to learn to play at least one out of warrior, ele, ranger and mesmer.

Necro is good in several boss encounters but not all of them. I would definitely be happy to take necro in raid 1 boss1&2, raid2 all bosses, raid3 boss1. So it is not that bad as you are pretty useful in 6/9 encounters.

edit: actually even raid1 boss3 you can find a role as the flak shot kiter. So that makes you useful for all bosses in raid wing 1 and 2.

My guild runs a power subgroup and a condi subgroup with 2 condi necromancers in it for every boss except KC and we find it easier and more forgiving than other comps. Yes, we can kill everything. We run:

G1:
- 2 Power DPS Classes
- Power PS Warr
- Magi Druid
- Chrono
G2:
- 2 Condi Necros
- Condi PS Warr
- Condi Druid
- Chrono

Just find a group that plays the way you want to and is willing to make it work and you’ll do fine. If you expect to pub, expect to bring the standard meta stuff and don’t expect to bring your Necro anywhere except maybe Matth (pubs like Plague Signet).

Rising Dusk.2408:

My guild runs a power subgroup and a condi subgroup with 2 condi necromancers in it for every boss except KC and we find it easier and more forgiving than other comps. Yes, we can kill everything. We run:

G1:
- 2 Power DPS Classes
- Power PS Warr
- Magi Druid
- Chrono
G2:
- 2 Condi Necros
- Condi PS Warr
- Condi Druid
- Chrono

Just find a group that plays the way you want to and is willing to make it work and you’ll do fine. If you expect to pub, expect to bring the standard meta stuff and don’t expect to bring your Necro anywhere except maybe Matth (pubs like Plague Signet).

That made my day right there!

Pardon my french, but kitten Mirror Comp.

It looks like I will not be pugging at all. I actually (oddly enough) prefer it that way. When I did raid in WoW, it was always with a guild (unless it was for weekly lockouts on LFR). No matter if we failed, wiped, ect, we had tons of fun, period. And that is the spirit of an MMORPG.

Mirror Comp is the best comp….. In a perfect world vaccum, when you have AI playing each class with perfect gear. Otherwise, it is absolute garbage and whichever theorycrafter created it should apologize. Apologize that it disincludes many professions. Apologize because it made PuGs that much more toxic.

I have run several dungeon groups, leading most of them, and it was the first time seeing that content. We did not kick a single person for what they were playing. We always succeeded, but wiped many times. But the spirit to keep on trying, and try new things was always there.

In Fractals, same story. This should be the spirit of raids. Who cares if it takes you more than one night to clear Wing 1, 2, and 3? No seriously. The idea is to have fun doing it.

The idea is to be challenged, to be proud of your first clear, even if others have done it.

That is why I want to raid. I want to say “I have faced the hardest content GW2 threw at me, and succeeded.” And that is why I hate mirror comp.

In an ideal world, there are 9 professions, 10 raid slots. You should be 100% viable taking 1 of each profession, and having a bonus slot tailored for each fight (maybe you have that guy that swaps toons out every fight because he is special and cannot play one profession too long. Or maybe you are struggling with staying alive so you take a healing druid or tempest to even your odds.)

Vernon VonHinkelschmidt.4269:

In an ideal world, there are 9 professions, 10 raid slots. You should be 100% viable taking 1 of each profession, and having a bonus slot tailored for each fight (maybe you have that guy that swaps toons out every fight because he is special and cannot play one profession too long. Or maybe you are struggling with staying alive so you take a healing druid or tempest to even your odds.)

Okay i understand your enthusiasm and i want this to be true too but comimg from wow you understand that even back in vanilla which was 40 man raid all the way today clases and specs are not taken in raids because there ia always a better class.

12 or so years they still havent done it and gw2 is quite notorious for its not so amazimg balancing, but you ask here for a 10 man group which will take all classes meaning all classes should be usefull and also that 1 spot is versitile meanimg 1 class is not over performimg the other in general so no need to over stack it unless for specific encounters which bringing more will benefit the group.

Now give me an example of a game that has manage that lvl of balance. (take mote in not shotting on your ideals of raiding but that scenario is unrealistic not only in gw2 id say).

Vernon VonHinkelschmidt.4269:

Rising Dusk.2408:

My guild runs a power subgroup and a condi subgroup with 2 condi necromancers in it for every boss except KC and we find it easier and more forgiving than other comps. Yes, we can kill everything. We run:

G1:
- 2 Power DPS Classes
- Power PS Warr
- Magi Druid
- Chrono
G2:
- 2 Condi Necros
- Condi PS Warr
- Condi Druid
- Chrono

Just find a group that plays the way you want to and is willing to make it work and you’ll do fine. If you expect to pub, expect to bring the standard meta stuff and don’t expect to bring your Necro anywhere except maybe Matth (pubs like Plague Signet).

That made my day right there!

Pardon my french, but kitten Mirror Comp.

It looks like I will not be pugging at all. I actually (oddly enough) prefer it that way. When I did raid in WoW, it was always with a guild (unless it was for weekly lockouts on LFR). No matter if we failed, wiped, ect, we had tons of fun, period. And that is the spirit of an MMORPG.

Mirror Comp is the best comp….. In a perfect world vaccum, when you have AI playing each class with perfect gear. Otherwise, it is absolute garbage and whichever theorycrafter created it should apologize. Apologize that it disincludes many professions. Apologize because it made PuGs that much more toxic.

I have run several dungeon groups, leading most of them, and it was the first time seeing that content. We did not kick a single person for what they were playing. We always succeeded, but wiped many times. But the spirit to keep on trying, and try new things was always there.

In Fractals, same story. This should be the spirit of raids. Who cares if it takes you more than one night to clear Wing 1, 2, and 3? No seriously. The idea is to have fun doing it.

The idea is to be challenged, to be proud of your first clear, even if others have done it.

That is why I want to raid. I want to say “I have faced the hardest content GW2 threw at me, and succeeded.” And that is why I hate mirror comp.

In an ideal world, there are 9 professions, 10 raid slots. You should be 100% viable taking 1 of each profession, and having a bonus slot tailored for each fight (maybe you have that guy that swaps toons out every fight because he is special and cannot play one profession too long. Or maybe you are struggling with staying alive so you take a healing druid or tempest to even your odds.)

What you really need is to join a guild that have 1 day of the week that have a" first come first serve " kind of raid, i’m in one for example and i’m on a static, with my static we run the mirror comp so we can clear all wings in less than 4 hours.
But with that guild i always ask if i can join with something different, two weeks ago for example we downed VG as me with Mace/Shield Tank DH. And last week as a condi daredevil ( dagger / dagger ).

I’m worried that people here think mirror comp is exclusively 2x war-druid-chrono-ele-ele. My experience is that any group running 2 war,druid,and chrono would be called a mirror comp. They might have condi rangers, hammer guards, eles,necros, condi mesmer; almost anything in the 4 dps slots. Additionally, even within the set 6 spots, there is a fair amount of variation (2 common builds for warrior, 3 for druid, 4 for chrono). The comp dusk posted would still be called mirror comp as far as I am aware.

As for necro, I see them ran frequently at vg for green circles, and sloth for ad control/projectile. Additionally I see them at escort doing back warg, and trio for saboteurs. I wouldn’t say you can easily do all 9 bosses as a necro, but 4 of them I would consider necro strong in my pug experiences. Additionally at matthias they are pretty common too. So I’d say 5/9 bosses they are pretty common. 5/9 is more than half, but less than all.

You will have to decide for yourself whether 5/9 is good enough to warrant gearing your necro. But I will say this, once you reach raiding, you should stop seeing your progression as character based, and more so as account based. Everyone in this game has at least 5 character slots, and the developers know that when they create content. Choosing to only use one of those slots is unnecessarily limiting your options.

If you find a permanent group they might be more forgiving I think. IDK how the pug scene is tho as I never pug anyway. From what I can tell for some bosses like VG they still ask for necros for w/e reason, so it might not be as bad as you think it is.

Necro got overnerfed last patch imo. I hope they adjust it next balance patch (as well as pretty pls no more mirror comp).

Rising Dusk.2408:

G1:
- 2 Power DPS Classes
- Power PS Warr
- Magi Druid
- Chrono
G2:
- 2 Condi Necros
- Condi PS Warr
- Condi Druid
- Chrono

I would really like to see more of that in pugs. I’d rather give up 30s to 1min to get a save kill. Especially on Matthias it’s annoying that pugs insist on the gold standard while there are comps that are more relaxed to go without getting into time issues. A 2nd necro can dumb things down here but most of the groups take the other way and wipe until the group disbands. I experienced that a lot in the past weeks and ppl often are too non-compliant to try it after bringing up the idea to change the comp.

zealex.9410:

Vernon VonHinkelschmidt.4269:

In an ideal world, there are 9 professions, 10 raid slots. You should be 100% viable taking 1 of each profession, and having a bonus slot tailored for each fight (maybe you have that guy that swaps toons out every fight because he is special and cannot play one profession too long. Or maybe you are struggling with staying alive so you take a healing druid or tempest to even your odds.)

Okay i understand your enthusiasm and i want this to be true too but comimg from wow you understand that even back in vanilla which was 40 man raid all the way today clases and specs are not taken in raids because there ia always a better class.

12 or so years they still havent done it and gw2 is quite notorious for its not so amazimg balancing, but you ask here for a 10 man group which will take all classes meaning all classes should be usefull and also that 1 spot is versitile meanimg 1 class is not over performimg the other in general so no need to over stack it unless for specific encounters which bringing more will benefit the group.

Now give me an example of a game that has manage that lvl of balance. (take mote in not shotting on your ideals of raiding but that scenario is unrealistic not only in gw2 id say).

The game that managed that lvl of balance was city of heroes/city of villains.

Linken.6345:

The game that managed that lvl of balance was city of heroes/city of villains.

rly did they do instanced content like raids and such? really unfamilliar with the game tbh but im curious

You might want to check the training raids we organise:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/5np5xs/eu_training_raid_v16_1401/

We generally take everything as long as the gear makes at least a bit of sense.

We run 3 raid nights with 4-6 different raid groups each night.

Roald.1260:

You might want to check the training raids we organise:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/5np5xs/eu_training_raid_v16_1401/

We generally take everything as long as the gear makes at least a bit of sense.

We run 3 raid nights with 4-6 different raid groups each night.

North America here…. Ouch!

I would do it in a heartbeat if it were NA within 1 month on my Necro. I need to farm up some gold and Hero Points to complete the Power Reaper. I just dropped 30g on Exotics on the TP mind you.

oh you want to go power reaper? You mentioned vipers in your OP so I thought you were planning to go condi. Power reaper is a much tougher sell.

thrag.9740:

oh you want to go power reaper? You mentioned vipers in your OP so I thought you were planning to go condi. Power reaper is a much tougher sell.

If he is running with a guild or group who has the requirement of being able to complete the content, then power reaper is fine, and actually has higher dps than condi necro. Power reaper dps is equal to about that of a Power PS war, without the group benefits that the PS provides. For general pugging? He’ll find it extremely difficult to find a group as a power reaper, not that he won’t be able to, just that it won’t be easy/likely.

thrag.9740:

oh you want to go power reaper? You mentioned vipers in your OP so I thought you were planning to go condi. Power reaper is a much tougher sell.

Power for Open World content. Viper’s for Raiding of course ;-)

Vernon VonHinkelschmidt.4269:

Power for Open World content. Viper’s for Raiding of course ;-)

I also run power for WvW. #livethedream