Guild Wars 2

Hi all!

After a long hiatus (4months) from GW2, I’m returning after hearing some awesome changes that took place, especially referring to the April update.
I’ve spent some time reading up on the major changes, and they sound awesome.

My question to you, however, is…

What are the major balance changes that these updates have had? Are certain classes stronger at different aspects? Weaker? Are Warr/Guard still the top dogs in PUF FotM and Dungeons? Are all classes good in sPvP (something I’m wanting to get into now) or are some lackluster?

I mained an 80 Ranger and 80 Mesmer. When I played, I always LOVED my Ranger, but was often discouraged from playing him due to always being told Rangers are fail and the Pet AI ruins their ability to be highly regarded in FotM etc. I leveled a Mesmer due to this very reason…

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated to make my transition a little less daunting. I’m the type of person who really likes to know that the class I’m playing is worth the time put into them. I enjoy playing a class that is needed in group situations, whether PvE or PvP.

Rangers are fine as long as you play them well. Go into a dungeon with a longbow and a bear and you’ll be kicked pretty fast. Bring spotter and frost spirit, and use a sword and warhorn, and you won’t be kicked so fast unless the person doing the kicking doesn’t know what he’s doing.

Bring one of the pets like the jungle stalker and red moa who buffs your team and you’ll do just fine as a ranger in dungeon settings.

It’s a good profession if you spec to help the party.

Thanks Vayne,

Sounds the same as when I was previously playing. I don’t use bears at all and my Dungeon/FotM builds were melee (Sw/WH – GS) so no issues there.

My query is more regarding balance changes since I last played, as I already had a pretty good understanding of how to play the classes.

Any other thoughts? Perhaps even regarding other classes and their new stance in the endgame?

All classes can be considered viable for all content, but classes are definitely not equally good.

Warriors are still regarded as the best class for all content; PvE, WvW and PvP.
With good reason, I might add.

PS – 80% of balance patch notes have been tool tip “fixes”.

The classes I’m currently interested in “maining” would be Guardian, Ranger, Mesmer.

Of these three, where would you rank their general effectiveness in:

Solo PvE
sPvP
Dungeons/FotM

These are the areas I’m most interested in. I often do Dungeons/FotM when I can, and if I don’t have time or am in downtime I will do general mapping.
Since returning and seeing the new rewards tracks that are accessible through sPvP, I will now definitely be getting into that also.

Kiriakulos.1690:

All classes can be considered viable for all content, but classes are definitely not equally good.

Warriors are still regarded as the best class for all content; PvE, WvW and PvP.
With good reason, I might add.

PS – 80% of balance patch notes have been tool tip “fixes”.

As was stated before in other threads, Warriors (hence why there are so many of them) are easy to play but hard to play well. All classes are viable, just depends on the person playing them.

Dusty Moon.4382:

Kiriakulos.1690:

All classes can be considered viable for all content, but classes are definitely not equally good.

Warriors are still regarded as the best class for all content; PvE, WvW and PvP.
With good reason, I might add.

PS – 80% of balance patch notes have been tool tip “fixes”.

As was stated before in other threads, Warriors (hence why there are so many of them) are easy to play but hard to play well. All classes are viable, just depends on the person playing them.

It’s really not that hard to play a warrior well.
A lot of issues, such as sustain, are taken care of passively, leaving room for the player to pay attention on other things during combat, resulting in a play style that is simple to succeed with.
Rotations on a warrior also have very little variance for each situation.

SirLeJosh.7263:

The classes I’m currently interested in “maining” would be Guardian, Ranger, Mesmer.

Of these three, where would you rank their general effectiveness in:

Solo PvE
sPvP
Dungeons/FotM

Don’t know about sPvP.

Solo PvE:
Ranger 8/10: decent AoE skills, great survivability, and a 25% speed boost signet.
Guardian 9/10: great everything, but lacking in speed boosts.
Mesmer 5/10: painful leveling that depends heavily on traits, bugs everywhere, awful speed boosts, the worst AoE damage skills of all professions. Portal is great in jumping puzzles.

Dungeons:
Ranger 7/10: you lose some points for the pet AI, but melee rangers are quite decent in dungeons.
Guardian 10/10: long-term speed boosts don’t matter much anymore and you’re awesome otherwise
Mesmer 6/10: dungeons’ slow pace suits you well, but you’re mostly good for Portal and reflects. You’re not bad, but everyone else is better.

FotM:
If you mean the karma train, everyone’s good enough for it. Mesmers get some extra points for Portal, but it’s mostly useful to others.

dekou.6012:

FotM:
If you mean the karma train, everyone’s good enough for it. Mesmers get some extra points for Portal, but it’s mostly useful to others.

He said FoTM (Fractals of the Mists), not EoTM.

Anyways, of the three, guards probably excel the most in fractals.