Guild Wars 2

I have only been playing this game for a tad over a month. I am enjoying it, however im confused on the Proffession/Class fantasy!

Ex1 Necromancers- After much googling all i can find is Dagger seems to provide highest DPS output. IMHO a Necromancer is a caster type and should be better at Dps as a caster not a semi melee.

EX2 Mesmers- Another Caster type Proffession, yet after much googling, has a higher dps output with a Greatsword.

Ex3-Rangers- Apperently using a long bow is bad, but a sword and an off hand is better? Or a shortbow, and atleast a shortbow is more Ranger/hunteresque

Also it seems that almost every class /proffession has the same gear.. Berserkers?

Guess i am wondering was there ever a time when each proffession actually represented thier specific fantasy, or has it always been this way?

Yes i am new here…. All i have to say for myself is if im playing a caster, i want to be able to dps well with Caster tools (sceptor, off hands, staffs)! As for my melee chars, well then yeah swords and axes, and daggers!

One thing that’s helpful to remember about all aspects of this game: Arenanet do not like following the conventions and doing exactly what’s been done before. They like to start from those conventions and then put their own spin on it.

What’s going on here is a combination of that and players looking for innovative ways to use the skills available to them.

There is no such thing as a dedicated ranged or melee profession in this game, they all have both options and in many cases will be expected to switch between them – not necessarily switching weapons but standing in melee range or further away based on the needs of the fight. Movement and positioning generally is very important to combat.

If it helps at all though mesmers use greatswords as a caster weapon – for them it’s a ranged weapon and they fight by firing beams of magic from the sword or launching illusionary swords. (This happens a lot too, other examples including revenants using hammers as ranged weapons and thieves using staves as melee weapons.)

Rangers can use a longbow and it’s not a bad weapon. I think it’s mainly disliked because of how many rangers tend to use it – staying in one place at maximum range (or wherever they happen to be when the fight starts) firing away with the auto-attack and relying on their pet to keep them safe. (This is commonly known as a ‘bear bow’ because they tend to use bears – either because they’re new and lots of new rangers pick the bear as their starting pet or because they have the highest health so they’re the best ‘tank’.) Which is bad because as I said movement and positioning are very important in combat in this game. If you stay in one place you’re not going to be able to share boons with your party, move away from big attacks by bosses, rally downed allies, or even get the best effect from your skills.

Also because longbow skill 4 is a knock-back which is extremely annoying for anyone else who is fighting the same enemy.

Sword does have better DPS though. And I don’t personally see it as at all in conflict with the ranger archetype. Rangers are characters who travel through the wilds and are self-reliant, like army rangers (not specifically ranged fighters). My ranger uses a sword in DnD as well, and my rogue with the ranger specialisation uses one in Dragon Age. Also fantasy rangers are all ultimately based on Aragon from Lord of the Rings and his main weapon is a sword.

(In fact the only exception I can think of is Warcraft 2 (maybe 1 and 3? and maybe WoW?), where the rangers are an upgrade to the archers and dedicated ranged units. But I think that comes from the needs of an RTS game more than anything.)

To add to what @Danikat said (because I main a mesmer), the casters use melee weapons in unique and novel ways in GW2.

For a mesmer, a GS is very much a magical, ranged weapon. Its autoattack actually deals more damage the farther away you are from the target, and works by shooting a beam of ethereal energy at them. Its phantasm skill (mesmers unique mechanic) uses the GS to summon an illusion to haunt the enemy and deal damage, another one of its skills conjures a GS from the ground underneath the enemies feet to damage them.

Plus it depends on what you want to do. Scepter and staff are both strong weapons on Mesmers but they both have downsides to them that keep them in check (staff being that its skills are clunky and slow and relying on indirect (condition) damage, scepter being that its a one target weapon so even though its fun its usually outclasses by the Sword since it can cleave). Likewise, Staff is incredibly strong on Elementatlists, and is fairly strong on Necros if you have the right build.

@ Danikat.8537

Thank you so much for being a person that realize a ranger isn’t supposed to just be a pet/bow archer character!

@ SouloftheUnicorn.6305

The others explained the weapons pretty well, so not going into detail on that.

In general though melee weapons does deal more damage than ranged, because you have to stand closer, and possibly in more danger. But largely each weapon has its own strengths and weaknesses. Some are good vs multiple enemies, other are good vs 1-2 targets etc.

Now the reason everyone uses Berserker, is well… mostly because the game is very action based, and the better you get at using Active Defenses (blind, aegis, block, invulnerability, dodge, evade, etc), the less need you have for Passive Defenses (Armor/Toughness, Hitpoints/Vitality, Healing Power etc).

Once you learn to use these well enough it is enough to deal with most PVE enemies, and as such, there is little point in investing in other stats than pure damage.

I would however recommend you to try out some other stats while learning the game, and rather slowly shift over as you feel you get more control over your active defenses. Also Berserker stats tends to be the most expensive on the TP because they’re so popular, so nothing wrong with picking a cheaper option while saving up.