Guild Wars 2

OK, so I read the forums a lot but there have been a lot of “balance” changes within all the classes. Used to be that warrior was pretty ok for PvE DPS (open world and dungeons). But it seems it’s near the bottom of the DPS pile now. So, if I were to roll an alt strictly for damage in PvE, what is the meanest, baddest class out there now? P.S. I only have a warrior, necro and ranger ATM so those are the forums I read. I’m not up on current of other classes).

Elementalist

guaranteed highest DPS on AOE’s…

When fully buffed with dungeon gear you just ask the rest of your dungeon party to look out for you so you can wipe everything….

1 problem…..: very squishy when glass….

elementalist and thief. Warriors are still okay for DPS though. The only professions with low damage are Necro and Mesmer.

KngGilgamesh.3481:

elementalist and thief. Warriors are still okay for DPS though. The only professions with low damage are Necro and Mesmer.

Necro has very high damage, if you know how to play it. Mesmer is on the lower end of it, but it can still do a reasonable amount of damage.

Argon.1563:

KngGilgamesh.3481:

elementalist and thief. Warriors are still okay for DPS though. The only professions with low damage are Necro and Mesmer.

Necro has very high damage, if you know how to play it. Mesmer is on the lower end of it, but it can still do a reasonable amount of damage.

Unless I am sorely mistaken Necro does not do very high damage in PvE. Zerk D/x does decent damage, but (at the same skill level) is out-damaged by the majority of other classes. Mesmer (with all illusions up) could be counted as among top damage classes. However without illusions (normal state in majority of PvE due to how fragile they are, and the time it takes to generate them), it drops to (literally) the bottom of the pile.

Clarifying on necro: Zerk damage is bound to dagger which does not cleave. While on single target zerk necro does competitive damage, lack of cleave greatly reduces the feasibility of the class. Furthermore, lack of utility makes it less than appealing choice for most groups. Condition damage is largely not viable in PvE.

Argon.1563:

KngGilgamesh.3481:

elementalist and thief. Warriors are still okay for DPS though. The only professions with low damage are Necro and Mesmer.

Necro has very high damage, if you know how to play it. Mesmer is on the lower end of it, but it can still do a reasonable amount of damage.

No it doesn’t and necro has one of the most simple max damage rotations. Necro has mediocre damage at best.

Mesmers have a decently high potential for damage, however the practicality of it isn’t reasonable to expect almost ever. It requires putting out 3 phantasms quickly and then having them stay up, something that just doesn’t happen often. That said it’s still a very nice profession for its’ other aspects.

This is PVE though remember, jump into WvW and Necros are your big bomb damage guys, different environments change things, you won’t see these damage rotations other professions are doing being actually possible and practical in WvW or PvP so things change.

And to the OP, it’s Elementalist pretty easily, thief’s right up there though but limited on it’s AE and big drops in damage for different support/utility options.

problem everybody always says necro bad.. necro’s main weapons will never be dagger, it is a good weapon yes, and it will be your main weapon but it is only part of your attack capability…

It is deathshroud 1 and 4, and 3 or 4 wells, and even 4 maybe 5 marks, if you know howand where to place them .
The fact it can run zerk and leech enough health to stay alive and with full dps stuff they will do quite some dmg… a lot of which aoe. dagger = 2 or 1 target(s), all wells and marks are 5, life transfer/transfusion is 5, they can all be targetted…

And lastly if you have someone who thinks of it, it can outheal most guardians as well.
but it will lower dps a bit. Only thing it cannot provide is aegis and stability.

What ele is for pve is necro for wvw.

Highest is ele or thief, depending on whether the boss is large enough to be hit by many aoes(ele) or small and easy to get behind for backstab (thief)

PaxTheGreatOne.9472:

And lastly if you have someone who thinks of it, it can outheal most guardians as well.
but it will lower dps a bit. Only thing it cannot provide is aegis and stability.

And less dps
And no reflection
And far less blinds
And no cleaves
And no party might
And no protection

But otherwise its the same

Well due to the very nature of balance patches, the highest DPS switches from time to time.

Warrior is very stable with a lot of self buffs that remove some of the need for a supportive party.

Rangers need more help for might and such, but have a somewhat higher DPS potential on bosses in full zerk groups (last time I mathed it out).

Eles at full might can fill their screens with 10ks, but can get wiped by attacks no one ever knew existed. Stacking in pugs can be dangerous.

Guardians can do a lot of damage, but it takes extra vigilance to survive. Also watch those light fields, they are annoying to fire blasters.

Mesmers still do a lot of damage on their own, but Time Warp is amazing in specific fights. Reflects are amazing in others.

The others I haven’t played enough to comment on.

Between warrior, ranger and guardian:

Warrior is the easiest.
Ranger has a lot of self/pet micromanagement and higher prep times.
Guardians need to pay more attention to their surroundings than the other two.

Ele is really hard not to die on if you aren’t very experienced. I wouldn’t advise zerking it until you’ve gotten a feel for the game and the class’s evasion/reflect/heal/block/cc/whatever skills.

OK, thanks all. I will try out an ele. I seem to understand they’re pretty powerful in PvP as well as celestial, but not so great in large scale WvW? I’ll be sure not to step foot into a dungeon until I have some exp under my ele belt

Zania.8461:

Argon.1563:

KngGilgamesh.3481:

elementalist and thief. Warriors are still okay for DPS though. The only professions with low damage are Necro and Mesmer.

Necro has very high damage, if you know how to play it. Mesmer is on the lower end of it, but it can still do a reasonable amount of damage.

Unless I am sorely mistaken Necro does not do very high damage in PvE. Zerk D/x does decent damage, but (at the same skill level) is out-damaged by the majority of other classes. Mesmer (with all illusions up) could be counted as among top damage classes. However without illusions (normal state in majority of PvE due to how fragile they are, and the time it takes to generate them), it drops to (literally) the bottom of the pile.

Clarifying on necro: Zerk damage is bound to dagger which does not cleave. While on single target zerk necro does competitive damage, lack of cleave greatly reduces the feasibility of the class. Furthermore, lack of utility makes it less than appealing choice for most groups. Condition damage is largely not viable in PvE.

Necro’s dagger does cleave on 2 targets now. Same goes to thief.
Only problem is their hit box is way smaller than regular cleave weapons.

Jerus.4350:

Argon.1563:

KngGilgamesh.3481:

elementalist and thief. Warriors are still okay for DPS though. The only professions with low damage are Necro and Mesmer.

Necro has very high damage, if you know how to play it. Mesmer is on the lower end of it, but it can still do a reasonable amount of damage.

No it doesn’t and necro has one of the most simple max damage rotations. Necro has mediocre damage at best.

Mesmers have a decently high potential for damage, however the practicality of it isn’t reasonable to expect almost ever. It requires putting out 3 phantasms quickly and then having them stay up, something that just doesn’t happen often. That said it’s still a very nice profession for its’ other aspects.

This is PVE though remember, jump into WvW and Necros are your big bomb damage guys, different environments change things, you won’t see these damage rotations other professions are doing being actually possible and practical in WvW or PvP so things change.

And to the OP, it’s Elementalist pretty easily, thief’s right up there though but limited on it’s AE and big drops in damage for different support/utility options.

Talking about WvW only, ranger has the highest single target range damage in WvW roaming :P (Point is all the attacks actually hit, unlike some of the big bomb damage other classes do)

don’t forget engineers.

go all out explosives and shred the bosses. this would be using grenade kit + bomb kit + rifle and depending on the groups et up a third utility to suit the needs.

ignore anyone who says engineers cant dps. that just shows they have no understanding how the class works.

kit swap mechanic is the key to engineers in pve.

anyway next bit of advice

the forums are full or both smart and stupid ppl. and when asking what class is best u will get very mixed views. ppl who say X class is bad rarely plays It or does not understand its mechanics.
lets take the necro as example.

there was a time when no 1 ever took engineers / rangers to dungeons either. then suddenly every one relized we are super amazing in a group and when played right can really pack a punch.

long story short. research the class properly. watch youtube guides and read the class forums how to guides. ignoring the WAAA MY CLASS SUCKS post as 99% of the time its a l2p issue.

anyway if u like the class then play it. the “best dps” changes at anets whim.

when the game launched it was nothing but “4 wars 1 mes” and every one else was kicked.

then we had the FGS phase

anyway just enjoy the game in pve. and if u cant get a group MAKE YOUR OWN !!!.

Thaddeus.4891:

PaxTheGreatOne.9472:

And lastly if you have someone who thinks of it, it can outheal most guardians as well.
but it will lower dps a bit. Only thing it cannot provide is aegis and stability.

And less dps
And no reflection
And far less blinds
And no cleaves
And no party might
And no protection

But otherwise its the same

Well I honestly do not care for guardian staff.,.. or ppl should be very used to switching, as I expect most if not all guards to tun S/* and GS… except in wvw.

In dungeons I hope most might comes from ele’s before combat and from warrior during combat. But is someone is quick to swap rhe additional 12 might can be useefull on top of the 14 might from the warrior (if double banner or #5 banner) and the 9 from staff ele or 15 from scepter ele. (or if 2 ele’s why would you swap? as you fail to provide fury….)

And yes for the protection 4 times on wells…. not extremely long but enough to be annoying,

ozmaniandevil.6805:

OK, thanks all. I will try out an ele. I seem to understand they’re pretty powerful in PvP as well as celestial, but not so great in large scale WvW? I’ll be sure not to step foot into a dungeon until I have some exp under my ele belt

I’m just going to drop this here for you https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/elementalist/Guide-DPS-Elementalist-for-PvE/first

It helped me a lot when I started playing ele and is full of good info.

i disagree, i only roll a warrior and 1v1 i make everything melt very very fast. The only prof i have problems with sometimes are rangers. also im in full zerker meta with a few ascended pieces and weapons. If you know how to play your proff you shouldnt have problems with dps. Regardless of all the warrior nerfs im still content with my personal dps.

ozmaniandevil.6805:

OK, thanks all. I will try out an ele. I seem to understand they’re pretty powerful in PvP as well as celestial, but not so great in large scale WvW? I’ll be sure not to step foot into a dungeon until I have some exp under my ele belt

Ele is actually one of the strongest WvW large scale professions. TBH They are great in every game mode, even in multiple ways. You can play frontline Dagger Ele, but you’ll generally see them being the core of the backline group (necros group with frontline). So you’re covered in WvW.

Ele is also strong Roaming, your cele D/D PVP build or a S/D burst build I believe are what most people do there.

Then PVE you have Staff, D/F, and Scepter + LH (variable offhand, typically focus though) all being very nice builds for different scenarios.

Ele does really have it all, great profession… but terribly hard to play sometimes and personally I’m horrible at it

Argon.1563:

KngGilgamesh.3481:

elementalist and thief. Warriors are still okay for DPS though. The only professions with low damage are Necro and Mesmer.

Necro has very high damage, if you know how to play it. Mesmer is on the lower end of it, but it can still do a reasonable amount of damage.

It really depends on the dungeon/pve scenario. Against certan bosses, mesmers have the highest DPS due to reflects.

Argon.1563:

KngGilgamesh.3481:

elementalist and thief. Warriors are still okay for DPS though. The only professions with low damage are Necro and Mesmer.

Necro has very high damage, if you know how to play it. Mesmer is on the lower end of it, but it can still do a reasonable amount of damage.

This thread again. -_-

I’ll try to sum it up in a few key points :

• Necromancer is a selfish class. It means they have excellent self buffs and POOR PARTY BUFFS. -> As such necros are of little value in an optimised group
• Necros are master of condition -> Conditions are sub-par in PvE ATM for reasons that infuriate me
• What necros can do for a party (boon removal, condition cleaning, blinds, vulnerability) others can do it better (mesmers’ null field for both corruption and condition cleaning, thieves for blinds)
• Necros are naturally tougher and slower than other caster classes for balance reasons (2nd health bar makes up for these flaws) -> Nobody gives a kitten about it in optimised runs, where you want to be as glassy, speedy and killy as possible.

In the end, the very concept and features of necros makes them subpar for speed clearing.

However, if you step out of speed running and optimised groups you realise that one spend most of its time :

• In situations where there is no fire field/fury/vulnerability cap.
• In situations where ennemies are mobiles and can’t be LoS’ed
• In situations where fights last for more than 30 sec.

In these cases necros are actually awesome. They are one of the few profession that can self stack 25 might, inflict vulnerability and inflict easily 5k dps AT RANGE ON MOBILE TARGETS while being much more survivable than other classes equivalents. Thanks to the upgraded deathshroud build.

TL;DR : Necros are naturally selfish and tough, therefore not desired in optimised groups. However, in non-optimised environments, they are more efficient and survivable than others.

Addendum : Ele have the most dps in speed runs because of lava font + meteor shower doing insane damage. However, if your target is moving because it was not los’ed, then your’re screwed and the necro comes on top. To convince yourself, try to kill inquest assassins as fast as possible in LW S2E1 with both a staff ele and a DS necro.

Last I heard, if you were absolutely min-maxing for dps, the order from best direct-dps to worst went something like:

Thief>Ele>Engineer>Ranger>Warrior>Guardian>Necro>Mesmer

There are several caveats with that though. Thieves and Rangers best dps builds requires them to be behind the target, which might not be feasible for various reasons (be it no back to get behind, importance of stacking and/or constant mobility to avoid devastating attacks, or the simple bad luck of being the one the boss focuses on). Engineer’s and Ele’s optimal dps rotation take a lot of skill and practice to pull off, which have many either do less damage than their build should allow them to do, or run simpler, but (in sheer damage) less effective builds. And while Rangers technically do better damage than Warriors and Guardians, and Necros better damage than Mesmers. Warriors, Guardians and Mesmers are seen as much more desirable than Rangers and Necromancers thanks to the wonderful party-wide utility that they bring (Banners for Warriors. Might, various defensive boons and a powerful reflect for Guardians, and a number of reflects and out of combat utility skills (like portal or mass invis) for Mesmers)

Finally, all of that depends on near-ideal group and combat conditions (where fury and 15+ stacks of might are always up, party members are able to stand still and focus on dps, and 15+ stacks of vulnerability are on the target at all times) Take those away, and the list of best dpser in a party to the worst can be very different from the order I posted. For example, as Vodcom has put it, while a Necro might not excel as well as other professions in those optimal conditions, they have enough personal might and vulnerability skills to do roughly the same regardless of the group’s skill and cohesiveness as a whole.

Don’t forget to mention that Ele’s role will also vary their damage, a staff Ele (actually really simple rotation) will max DPS but you lose might for the party most likely. A scepter + LH rotation will do much better in that regard, but has it’s own pitfalls. D/F has nice utility and very consistent but lowest DPS on the optimal rotations.

Also, Engineer has a lot of condi damage which can have issues so their potential and actual may vary greatly depending on the group comp. (lots of bleeds which can be easily overwritten by say a mesmer, and this is talking zerk build not condi, it just has a lot of condi damage built in).

Thief is also max 2targets at that level of damage, where Ele/Engi excel in groups of enemies.

But, yeah, spot on as I understand the theoretical list currently, just some additional info to keep in mind.

Jerus.4350:

Don’t forget to mention that Ele’s role will also vary their damage, a staff Ele (actually really simple rotation) will max DPS but you lose might for the party most likely. A scepter + LH rotation will do much better in that regard, but has it’s own pitfalls. D/F has nice utility and very consistent but lowest DPS on the optimal rotations.

Also, Engineer has a lot of condi damage which can have issues so their potential and actual may vary greatly depending on the group comp. (lots of bleeds which can be easily overwritten by say a mesmer, and this is talking zerk build not condi, it just has a lot of condi damage built in).

Thief is also max 2targets at that level of damage, where Ele/Engi excel in groups of enemies.

But, yeah, spot on as I understand the theoretical list currently, just some additional info to keep in mind.

Heh, and here I thought Ele staff was the easy way out, not the optimal DPS build (might stacking nowithstanding)

…but it is another thing to point out: Sometimes, even in speedrun groups, the best build for your damage might not always be the best build for the party’s damage/completion speed.

#themoreyouknow

I thought the DPS list was Ele (staff) > Thief > Engy > UC Guard > Warrior > the rest.

fishball.7204:

I thought the DPS list was Ele (staff) > Thief > Engy > UC Guard > Warrior > the rest.

As I understand it the Thief and Ele are very very close, though certainly a manipulated Meteor is likely unbeatable. And I can’t help but feel the need to point out that Engi has a strong limitation thanks to a heavy addition of condi’s in their damage numbers (iirc it’s like 20-25%?) And I believe Ranger edges out Warrior thanks to this last batch of nerfs for GS.

However, this is not math I’ve done myself but just an avid reader of information those that do the math post. Overall I’d say it’s probably more reasonable to look at them in categories,
1) DD Thief/Staff Ele
2) Scepter Ele, DPS Guard, Engi, DPS War, Ranger, Max potential Mesmer
3) Necro, D/F Ele
4) Support Guard, PS War
5) Your Typical Mesmer when factoring practical application.

Not sure where D/P thief would slot in there, I’d imagine 2 or 3 but /shrug have never seen anyone post up numbers, and this is all of course stuff off the top of my head from a lot of reading of DnT numbers and what not Also, Engi I believe is a clear 3, but the chances of someone actually pulling it off in a fight is slim to none, you literally use dodges for damage in that rotation and getting all your big hitters right on cooldown would take an incredible sense of timing, I feel I do well but I know I leave seconds on the table here and there on blunderbuss/jump shot/acid bomb/Flame Blast.

Jerus.4350:

Not sure where D/P thief would slot in there, I’d imagine 2 or 3 but /shrug have never seen anyone post up numbers.

A usual scenario against a single boss as a D/D thief is CnD (~3-5k dmg), backstab (~8k dmg) autoattack chain, CnD and so on. If you run D/P you gaining stealth doesn’t do any damage, so you miss out on 3-5k (somewhere around that) per backstab (and a usual boss takes a lot of them). The blinding powder can be nice but that’s situational and I would use S/P for that.
I usually run D/D, SB and S/P in fractals and dungeons, depending on the situation.

VodCom.6924:

Argon.1563:

KngGilgamesh.3481:

elementalist and thief. Warriors are still okay for DPS though. The only professions with low damage are Necro and Mesmer.

Necro has very high damage, if you know how to play it. Mesmer is on the lower end of it, but it can still do a reasonable amount of damage.

In these cases necros are actually awesome. They are one of the few profession that can self stack 25 might, inflict vulnerability and inflict easily 5k dps AT RANGE ON MOBILE TARGETS while being much more survivable than other classes equivalents. Thanks to the upgraded deathshroud build.

Actually as a selfish range dps, ranger still excel necro if it’s just one target.
My ranger in SW can hit roughly 4.8k damage without any might (16k~19k with RF), 5.2k with frost spirit up (usually use in SW vine bosses), and 6k with 25 stack of mights (from supply buff in vine). Also, trait it with read the wind, ranger actually hit faster than Necro’s DS. Take that in mind, and add the RF rotation + free vulnerability, you can see that ranger’s self range dps is still higher than necro.

Also ranger is quite survivable thanks to dumb AI who’s willing to hit pet. (Well, you can add pet’s 1k dps in mind too, but I usually don’t count that XD)

Jerus.4350:

fishball.7204:

I thought the DPS list was Ele (staff) > Thief > Engy > UC Guard > Warrior > the rest.

As I understand it the Thief and Ele are very very close, though certainly a manipulated Meteor is likely unbeatable. And I can’t help but feel the need to point out that Engi has a strong limitation thanks to a heavy addition of condi’s in their damage numbers (iirc it’s like 20-25%?) And I believe Ranger edges out Warrior thanks to this last batch of nerfs for GS.

It’s something like that for Engineer. The goods news is that it’s mostly bleeds, which stack in intensity. So only a small portion really run the risk of being knocked off by lesser bleeds (and they usually are lesser, even if everyone’s in full zerks, as Engis put 6 points into the trait line that gives +condi damage for their best build, only D/F Necros do the same.)

…and Ranger’s bump to #4 wasn’t just from the nerfs to GS, but also their old GM signet trait becoming innate and being replaced by Predator’s Onslaught, which gives them a nice damage bonus to anything under the effects of soft CC (cripple/chilled/immobilized) which happen pretty frequently, even before you factor in the fact a Ranger can start every fight with LB Barrage before switching to Sword where the AA does a 2s cripple in the second attack of the chain.

Necro has the lowest dps for dungeons, its already been calculated ages ago.

I can’t do thief. I’ve tried. Twice. I have a level 80 that just stands around LA for crafting. I just don’t enjoy playing that class. But since I love my necro I think I can play and enjoy the ele.

Elementalist is the best class.

ozmaniandevil.6805:

I can’t do thief. I’ve tried. Twice. I have a level 80 that just stands around LA for crafting. I just don’t enjoy playing that class. But since I love my necro I think I can play and enjoy the ele.

You don’t have to, who says you should?
It’s a bit more complicated than just picking a class actually. To deal maximum damage the traits also have to be all offensive and for that one needs a good group.
I have done the story mode dungeons required for traits with my necro and did well. Sure, I don’t dish out that much damage against a single boss but against multiple mobs the damage is insane. And I use that with my thief as well actually – daggerstorm or clusterbomb when the health of my party members is low so I have a good chance of killing any mob they were hitting for them to rally, and it works.

My friend and I have once been taken to arah by a real speedrun group – both of us are noobs when it comes to arah, so we both were carried (we’re not new to our classes though, so when told what to do we did it) – the three of them did all 4 paths in less than 2 hours. That is pretty insane and those are the people who need/want maximum damage and “the best class (for a certain job)” But somehow everybody now thinks that this or that class is required for a dungeon – it isn’t. A necro is just as good as any other class in a pug.

Elementalist has highest burst for 1-3 seconds, and also has highest sustained dps….

But there are some other classes that can pump out more dps in the 10-20 second range…

For example,
A power Necromancer can drop wells, then enter lich form and auto attack and pull ahead in dps at around the 10 second mark….. but will eventually fall back behind the elementalist at about the 20 second mark.

If you are looking for the most sustained dps, elementalist is the way to go, imo.

Aomine.5012:

VodCom.6924:

Argon.1563:

KngGilgamesh.3481:

elementalist and thief. Warriors are still okay for DPS though. The only professions with low damage are Necro and Mesmer.

Necro has very high damage, if you know how to play it. Mesmer is on the lower end of it, but it can still do a reasonable amount of damage.

In these cases necros are actually awesome. They are one of the few profession that can self stack 25 might, inflict vulnerability and inflict easily 5k dps AT RANGE ON MOBILE TARGETS while being much more survivable than other classes equivalents. Thanks to the upgraded deathshroud build.

Actually as a selfish range dps, ranger still excel necro if it’s just one target.

Nodoubt about this pal, I was casting some light on an aspect of the game this is too much forgotten on these forum : GW2 endgame encompasses much more than just dungeon speed clearing.

It has been proved years ago that necros suck in speed runs, however people tend to forget they excel pretty much everywhere else in PvE.

And since ozzy asked which class has the highest dps without mentionning in what circumstances the answer is much more open ended that what some people claim.

Having just recently rescued a Warrior with my lowly Ranger I would tend to agree the poor Warior has become more or less squishy, perhaps it was this particular Warriors play style that put him down but he didn’t last long against two Aetherblade and a Veteran .. While I could hardly keep him from falling myself I revived him after I finished dispatching his adversaries.
I personally like the Elementalist for high DPS or a Mesmer with Shatter swapping weapons to keep three phantoms up and keeping the daze flowing ..
My Ranger is growing as a beastmaster/skrimisher .. I’ll let you know how that goes ..

I’m not necessarily looking for a dungeon speed clear record. I’ve just noticed a marked change in my warrior’s damage output, especially in places like SW. I go there a lot because I love the map but if I’m on my own it seems to take forever to kill any mob (granted I know some are level 83). As soon as one other person shows up the mob melts. So at the end of it I’m just feeling like maybe I can get a better DPS output from a different class. My warrior is not 100% zerker in SW; I have all zerk except armor, which I switched to Valkyrie for a little extra survivability.

However, I sometimes do dungeons, sometimes do world bosses, sometimes like to go farm in Orr, often like to do WvW and I want to get into PvP eventually. If ele can do all that with better results that my warrior, I’m willing to try it out.

ozmaniandevil.6805:

I’m not necessarily looking for a dungeon speed clear record. I’ve just noticed a marked change in my warrior’s damage output, especially in places like SW. I go there a lot because I love the map but if I’m on my own it seems to take forever to kill any mob (granted I know some are level 83). As soon as one other person shows up the mob melts. So at the end of it I’m just feeling like maybe I can get a better DPS output from a different class. My warrior is not 100% zerker in SW; I have all zerk except armor, which I switched to Valkyrie for a little extra survivability.

However, I sometimes do dungeons, sometimes do world bosses, sometimes like to go farm in Orr, often like to do WvW and I want to get into PvP eventually. If ele can do all that with better results that my warrior, I’m willing to try it out.

Assuming you’re doing the same damage output adding a second player will double your damage, it’s essentially giving you 100% extra damage… of course it’s going to feel much faster

As for warrior, yeah they’re ok damage, however if you’re properly set up you should be doing plenty well solo, warriors are actually better on the spectrum when discussing solo dps because of their ability to keep might/fury going better than most professions. Running a 65003 GS+ Axe/Mace rotation should be devastating to things in SW.

Most profession have more or less the same dps as a warrior in a group, except Ele and Thief that have a lot more. The main reason you feel to don’t do much dmg compare to other is problem because of your build.

Hmm, I feel like my warrior kills faster in open PvE. It depends on the place. I always prefer ele in dry top and silverwastes, because of my many “oh ****” buttons. But I do prefer my warrior in other maps and certain dungeons. Well, as you learn ele and compare, you’ll decide for yourself. I do notice that I could be killing something, then someone pops up and it dies in a second. And I realized that my initial hits take something at least 50% down, so that second person is just adding their initial burst damage, making it feel like you’re doing less (which you aren’t).

ozmaniandevil.6805:

I’m not necessarily looking for a dungeon speed clear record. I’ve just noticed a marked change in my warrior’s damage output, especially in places like SW. I go there a lot because I love the map but if I’m on my own it seems to take forever to kill any mob (granted I know some are level 83). As soon as one other person shows up the mob melts. So at the end of it I’m just feeling like maybe I can get a better DPS output from a different class. My warrior is not 100% zerker in SW; I have all zerk except armor, which I switched to Valkyrie for a little extra survivability.

However, I sometimes do dungeons, sometimes do world bosses, sometimes like to go farm in Orr, often like to do WvW and I want to get into PvP eventually. If ele can do all that with better results that my warrior, I’m willing to try it out.

Warrior does has a pretty rough time because most Mordrems can spam PBAOE lasting field, as well as constant KB, and tend to run around too!
It is basically nightmares for all the melees.

However, range dps classes can safely go full zerk Scholar and dish out some crazy damage in that map without getting hit! (My ranger can auto around 4.8~6k with auto, and RS 16~20K on Mordrems)

Aomine.5012:

Warrior does has a pretty rough time because most Mordrems can spam PBAOE lasting field, as well as constant KB, and tend to run around too!
It is basically nightmares for all the melees.

However, range dps classes can safely go full zerk Scholar and dish out some crazy damage in that map without getting hit! (My ranger can auto around 4.8~6k with auto, and RS 16~20K on Mordrems)

THIS! That’s why I always said to noobs I met to always have a ranged and a melee weapon on their active sets while not in dungeons.

Don’t let the negative talk a about necros keep you from choosing it. I have a alt necro and it’s one of my favorite classes. If you don’t plan on focusing on speed run dungeons, necro is a blast. Mine is full zerk d/d a/f. People can rag on them all they want but I find myself reviving a ton of the more popular classes during world bosses and especially in SW. Does it have the best dps? Maybe not, but it has the highest sustainability than any other class wearing zerk gear. Death Shroud and a massive HP pool make necro pretty tanky. I have a meta guardian I use for dungeons and other pug events were people can tend to be elitists. When I want to just chill and have fun I use my necro. Since it is considered a selfish class I spec mine out for max selfishness. Might as well eh?

Play thief oz. Best class ever! xD

Elementalist.

Lotus.1682:

Play thief oz. Best class ever! xD

Oh hi Lotus I have tried a few times to play thief. I have my level 80 still, but it just doesn’t suit my play style; at least not for PvE. I would still like to try it in PvP … eventually.

ozmaniandevil.6805:

OK, thanks all. I will try out an ele. I seem to understand they’re pretty powerful in PvP as well as celestial, but not so great in large scale WvW? I’ll be sure not to step foot into a dungeon until I have some exp under my ele belt

Ele is part of GWEN, so definitely good for large scale WvW and very desirable.

GWEN stands for Guardian, Warrior, Elementalist and Necro. When it comes to large scale WvW, just keep the name Gwen in mind to remind yourself what the best classes for large scale WvW are.

Thief 6/6/0/0/2 d/d can dish out obscene amounts of damage. If you couple it with an ele in party that provides conjures and you spec into improvisation, thief deals the highest conjure damage. Moreover it’s way easier to survive on thief. Thief is the profession where I see the highest numbers.

Elementalist can stack might and provide permanent fury, beside providing conjures and high personal dps. However they are made of kitten and die very easily.

Warrior provides very good steady damage, offers very good offensive party support and got very good survivability with that huge health pool and heavy armor. It’s easy to play and it’s a “safe bet” in pugs.

Mesmer dps varies depending on the situation: if reflects are the main part of a boss battle, they can provide the highest dps, otherwise the lowest.

Engineers deal very competitive dps and can keep up 25 stacks of vuln at all times, which translates in a 25% bonus damage to whole party. It’s only that it’s very rare to find engineers, especially good ones.

ozmaniandevil.6805:

OK, thanks all. I will try out an ele. I seem to understand they’re pretty powerful in PvP as well as celestial, but not so great in large scale WvW? I’ll be sure not to step foot into a dungeon until I have some exp under my ele belt

-There is no way an Aoe class can be bad at large scale fights. Ele is Fantastic in WvW, even better than Necro since they can provide a lot of CC and healing beside massive AoE damage.

-The biggest weakness of Ele is they have the lowest base health and armor among all class, so you will die within a mili second of not paying attention whether it’s PvE or WvW. If someone with decent skill specifically focus you in a big fight, it will be hard to stay relevant, watch out for theif, mesmer and ranger, the first 2 can go unnoticed and wreck you in a second, the 3rd can heavily damage you from a far in a very short amount of time.

Single target-Thief.

AoE-Elementalist.

Hardly rocket science.

Agreeing with what most people sayin’.

1. Ele(staff) aoe and Thief (d/d) single. The ele build is faceroll easy and the thief isnt super complicated either
2. Engineers come close but also offer more group damage through vuln but their damage can be hindered due to condi limitations, Mesmers when stuff goes perfectly that 1% of the time or they make a boss punch themselves in the face.
3. Guard(pure dps), Eles(s/x) less damage but so much more useful to groups! – pairs well with staff Ele
4. Warrior (only need 1 in a group!), Rangers technically do more personal dps but their group buffs arent as good as war. I kinda rank them both equally and would rather have 1 of each rather than 2 war. Thief (s/p) good survival and awesome for tough trash/interrupts/cc
5. Necros (for stuff people have said), Mesmers the other 99% of the time (less if its one that camps GS), Guard(support) I still find them useful from time to time sue me!, Warrior (PS) good if you’re bein lazy and nobody can play the harder ele/engi builds.

Could prolly rank the good dps guards higher, especially if theres more than 1 for UC but. meh.. I think this is pretty accurate.