Guild Wars 2

I’ve owned this game for ages now and I play every so often, I’m not sure if it’s the early leveling system or what, but I can’t get into the game, I’ve gotten one level 80 ele but that got boring fast, not because of the content but because of the class not suiting me so it was a pain to have to make another class. Also how are the classes at the moment? in terms of fun, although keep in mind I solo.

Everyone has a play style that they enjoy, but finding that can be a challenge. You’ll want to identify if you enjoy close combat or ranged combat and then figure out if you want to play support or not. From there you can start looking at classes that suit your liking, but keep in mind that you WILL have “Meta” elitists trying to tell you to play a certain way; don’t let them sway you (unless you like that style). You should play the game how you want to play it.

Thinking ahead with HoT coming up soon i’d make sure you’re reading up on the new changes and “Elite Specializations” that are going to be coming out as these (so far) have been drastically altering the previous paradigm in which these classes were tied to (Ex: Necromancer → Reaper = Ranged → Melee).

My only side note is that the game itself in many ways was not designed for “solo” play (Ex: Arah P4 >_<). I too play solo rather often, but I acknowledge the fact that I can’t do everything alone. Therefore, I build my characters to suit my needs, but I try to twist the build a little more in favor of “team play” – while still leaving the ability to switch back to “solo play” whenever I want.

Hopefully that helps?

sirjosh.9561:

I’ve owned this game for ages now and I play every so often, I’m not sure if it’s the early leveling system or what, but I can’t get into the game, I’ve gotten one level 80 ele but that got boring fast, not because of the content but because of the class not suiting me so it was a pain to have to make another class. Also how are the classes at the moment? in terms of fun, although keep in mind I solo.

I’d recommend first finding a class you like in pvp. Then you can play that class in pvp to level it up, so you don’t have to do all the same content again. You could also go into edge of the mists to level, and maybe get into wvw. You really don’t start getting into it until you get geared up and get some money. I know you don’t like ele, but it is probably the best class for running dungeons, which is the best way to make money. Metabattle is the sight for all the best builds if your unsure of what works for you. Finding a guild would also be good.

It’s hard to know what to say. If you offered a bit about what you like in game play? Maybe start with why the Ele was boring to you. For instance, if Ele game play wasn’t complex enough to engage your interest, your options for a different profession might devolve to either Engineer or nothing. If it was too complex, then Good News! there are a lot of options. If it was something else about the Ele, well … you’ll have to tell us before we can offer any opinions.

sirjosh.9561:

I’ve owned this game for ages now and I play every so often, I’m not sure if it’s the early leveling system or what, but I can’t get into the game, I’ve gotten one level 80 ele but that got boring fast, not because of the content but because of the class not suiting me so it was a pain to have to make another class. Also how are the classes at the moment? in terms of fun, although keep in mind I solo.

You may have better luck joining a guild that can you relate with instead of playing alone.

IndigoSundown.5419:

It’s hard to know what to say. If you offered a bit about what you like in game play? Maybe start with why the Ele was boring to you. For instance, if Ele game play wasn’t complex enough to engage your interest, your options for a different profession might devolve to either Engineer or nothing. If it was too complex, then Good News! there are a lot of options. If it was something else about the Ele, well … you’ll have to tell us before we can offer any opinions.

I never really got into Ele, mostly because of the luck luster of GO HAM AND GO DEEP, which is reflected by their low durability.

Pretty sure you want to play a warrior then. Way tankier than ele by default, and greatsword, hammer, and axe are pretty much the go HAM playstyle. To give you a breakdown of classes.

Elementalist: can be tanky through a ton of consistent healing. Provides great group support, and relies on boons. Can deal a ton of damage. Pretty much good in every game mode, pve, wvw, and pvp.

Engineer: Very much a jack of all trades profession. Great in pvp, ok in wvw, and ok in pve.

Guardian: A support oriented class, very tanky because of blocking and invulnerability. Great in pvp, great in wvw, good in pve.

Mesmer: Not tanky at all, rely on deception through stealth and clones. Almost always deal good damage. Have some great utility. Have a lot of focus on interrupting foes attacks. Ok in pvp, ok in wvw, and ok in pve (although they are in a lot of speed runs due to unique mechanics.

Necromancer: Have a lot of health, but die easily when focused by multiple opponents. Pretty bad in PVE, really great in wvw, ok in pvp.

Ranger: Classic pet class with strong ranged options. Ok in pve, ok in wvw, and ok in pvp.

Thief: Really bursty, really glassy damage class. Great at that in all game modes, but lacks if you want to be the center of attention, or focus on supporting allies.

Warrior: Class that charges into battle. Have really tanky builds, and are really flashy. Great in PVE, Good in WvW, and great in pvp.

How exactly are Necros in detail?

Im a lot like you and play very infrequently but have 4 chars at LV 80 and am currently playing an Elementalist, and sadly I find this class hopeless compared to the others I have played. Guardian, Engineer and Mesmer.
I persevered to get to L80, but it wasnt fun.
The Guardian and the Engineer were fun , the Mesmer less so , but all were far better than the Elementalist.
Maybe try a Char that is least like an Elementalist like a Melee type .

Just some quick things to mention…

(Armor Class – Base HP – Profession) – ref. sources 1 & 2 below

1) T3 – T3 – Warrior
2) T3 – T2 – Revenant
3) T3 – T1 – Guardian

4) T2 – T2 – Ranger
5) T2 – T2 – Engineer
6) T2 – T1 – Thief

7) T1 – T3 – Necromancer
8) T1 – T2 – Mesmer
9) T1 – T1 – Elementalist

This list shows the natural balance inherent to the class of your choice

However, in regards to you Necro query – they have interesting options available to them (especially considering HoT).

Necros are typically seen as a condition heavy class (though in pvp they focus power due to the augmentation to that stat while in Lich Form).

The fact that they are typically condition heavy leads to a lot of mixed views on the class. In solo play this is great because it makes killing things easy, but in team play you could be rendered entirely useless. How? This is due to source counting in the game. As there is a maximum count of 9 sources that can affect a single target at a time you’ll find that occasionally you’ll be incapable of apply conditions (though this is rather rare due to duration times). Consider this: 9 characters (with no condition dmg stats) each simultaneously hit a target for 1 stack of bleeding that lasts for 60 seconds (not real, but roll with it). This effectively cuts off your ability to apply conditions to the target for the duration of those 60 seconds. Keep in mind, however, that most durations are short enough that they fall off quickly (Ex: 9 characters using 3 second bleeds 1 second apart each leading to only 3 sources still being active by the last cast).

There are other methods of play such as Minion Master (which is commonly frowned upon due to minion’s naturally low hp and armor), using Wells (which can be decent for support), high life force gain to keep yourself in Death/Reaper Shroud, and others.

The Reaper Specialization will be much different as it will focus on more melee type combat (though all other previous ranged options are still available). Due to their design you’ll be able to have natural damage reductions that will effectively make you seem more like a Medium or Heavy armor class due to the passive -15% incoming damage from having chill likely on all foes, -33% incoming damage when using Protection, and reducing the remaining 52% incoming damage to 26% by using Weakness. This is why they will be problematic in combat situations.

I suggest you read these pages for more information:
1) http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Necromancer
2) http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Condition
3) http://dulfy.net/2015/05/15/gw2-reaper-necromancer-elite-specialization-livestream-notes/

Sources used:
1) http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Armor
2) http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Health