Guild Wars 2

Hi everyone!

It is a completely objective fact that warriors are the best ever, and anyone who disagrees is a sad, sad person (:P). However, after about 400 hours, several exotic sets, etc., I’m interested in gearing up another alt.

I had high hopes for the ranger, but after getting that to 80 and partially gearing him up I was sad to realize there was practically nothing ranger could do that warrior couldn’t do better.

I’ve narrowed my choice of alts down to elementalist (curently level 32) and thief (currently level 80 but with no exotics). Both of these seem really interesting to me, though I need a definitive answer so I can decide which to spring for leveling/exotics on.

Here are a few criteria:
-Excels in open world pve (Orr/Frostgorge mob tagging for maximum loot droppage)
-Able to perform well in dungeons and high end fractals
-Competent enough for the occasional WvW
-Versatile, with a wide selection of viable builds (I get bored of a certain playstyle after a while and need the option of changing things up)
-Challenging to play (I’m talking more challenging than warrior, where I can effectively ignore all but my 1, 2, and 3 skills and still do fine in most environments)
- Kicks butt and looks good doing it (aesthetically)

So which of these, ele or thief, do you feel best personifies the criteria? I am leaning towards thief based on the fact that I am already level 80 their, though the stigma they hold with the general community does worry me.

Also I am open to other profession suggestions if there is one you feel would better suit me.

Thanks!

Engineer, honestly. I started off with a Guardian and have been loving him to death. Recently started a character that is to become my permanent second and he is an Asuran engineer.

It’s fun, quite capable in all scenarios.

guardian…………

Elementalist. Soldier’s gear makes them durable enough to excel in virtually all environments and they bring a fast-paced, challenging playstyle with great support and reasonable damage output.

Random answer: mesmer.

I am too sad to answer this question.

If you want a challenge, Thief is good for that. Very much unlike Warrior play in that you actually have to think about what you’re doing instead of simply willing mobs to disappear into a fine, bloody spray. They are also unwanted in most high-end content, which personally makes me want to play them, just for the kitten you of it all.

Elementalist should also be enough of a departure for you and unlike Warriors, haven’t been pampered and loved by ArenaNet since launch, so they have some issues. However, no one kicks them from dungeons sight unseen, like Thieves.

I guess it depends on if you want that challenge you mentioned to extend beyond the game play, and into the social realm (aka: elitist kitten realm).

Necromancer.

• Tagging stuff in events? You got wells for that.
• Dungeons and fractals? You got a whole 2nd health bar to absorb damage spikes letting you use your gear on more offensive stats.
• WvW? Spreading conditions kills people really fast in groups and when solo you can do really well with a power build.
• Versatile? You got condition builds, power builds, hybrid builds, leeching builds, chill builds, and fear builds.
• Harder than spamming 22222222222? Gotta use a multiple skills to keep the max number of bleeds up and predict enemy movement to land staff ground target spells with any regularlity.
• Looks good? Light armor looks way better than medium does. Not a bloody trenchcoat to be seen.

Guardian, ele, mesmer.

Necromancer glass cannon build is pretty nice too.

Duke Blackrose.4981:

Elementalist. Soldier’s gear makes them durable enough to excel in virtually all environments and they bring a fast-paced, challenging playstyle with great support and reasonable damage output.

Soldier’s gear? Do you mean Knight or is there an armor set I missed somewhere?

Ema.4953:

Duke Blackrose.4981:

Elementalist. Soldier’s gear makes them durable enough to excel in virtually all environments and they bring a fast-paced, challenging playstyle with great support and reasonable damage output.

Soldier’s gear? Do you mean Knight or is there an armor set I missed somewhere?

Soldier’s is Power, Vit, Toughness.

Personally, me ele runs in Rampager’s for a power/bleed build for dungeons, but everyone has their preferences.

There isn’t a real PvE set called Soldier’s, but that is the title that PvP amulets & PvE crests use to denote the Power/Toughness/Vitality stat distribution.

So Knight armor set with a rune or something to give increased vitality?
I took a look at : http://www.gw2armor.com/human/female/crafted/light/display.php which doesn’t show any armor with Power/Toughness/Vitality inbuilt.

Correct, you have to get the armor and weapon from dungeons. Ascalon Catacombs, Honor of the Waves, and Sorrow’s Embrace all have it for sale.

To get Soldier’s jewelry you either need ascended pieces or you can buy exotics from the Temple of Grenth for 42k karma a piece.

Awesome thank you very much!

the guardian is a different play style then the warrior.

Whirl on the guardian cant compete anywhere close to Hundered Blade.
Infact NO skill in this game has the same Burst Multiplier as Hundered Blade.
Its truely an over OP skill the warrior has.

IF u like playing support, tankish, the guardian can fill for a warrior.
But you will start crying when you realize nothing comes close to a 22-43k hundered blade in the guardian’s skill.

If you want another alt, roll another warrior from a different race.
:P
Thats what a few of my friends did, as they also agree, nothing beats a warrior when it comes to any PvE role one might need.

Im even thinking of making a range warrior, so i dont need to retrait.
Range / Banners is a completely different play style then CoF/Fotm farming DPS role.

I’m bias, my Ele isn’t level 80 yet, but I would say Thief.

Definately more skill to play than your warrior, with more unique mechanics to work with. Thief is my Open World & WvW platform of choice. You just can’t beat the open world mobility of a thief. Seriously, who else can chain 3-4 teleports on demand, then vanish to drop all agro and keep moving? Makes a heck of a way to get around maps like Orr

That being said, Ele will give you more variety of play. A thief has fewer weapon options than your warrior which locks you into more narrow builds…. Eles also have fewer weapon options (and no weapon swaps) but have vastly more skills because of attunements.

Either can look absolutely bad kitten while laying waste to hordes of mobs

Personally, I would say ele – only thing I don’t have experience with an ele that you asked about is high level fractals so can’t comment there. Everything else is great. D/D is possibly the most fun character spec in the game. Need to always be concentrating, using doge, placing yourself and constantly switching attunements.

“-Challenging to play (I’m talking more challenging than warrior, where I can effectively ignore all but my 1, 2, and 3 skills and still do fine in most environments)”

Then definitely not guardian. I quit for 2/3 months after just becoming bored to tears with my guardian. It can be fun in dungeons to just switch off and faceroll through stuff but really it isn’t very satisfying. I see guardian as for people who are still in the mindset of the more old-fashioned, static kind of MMO combat. Again, there’s people who love guardian so it’s all opinion but for me it’s far too limited and lacks options.

I have to disagree with the Thief crowd. I’ve played one. They get really repetitive due to the low number of weapon sets and the way weapons are designed. They aren’t particularly challenging to play due to their low skill floor (they MIGHT have a high skill ceiling depending on build).

An Ele, Engineer, or Necro will give you more build options with more abilities to work with.

Attic.1562:

Necromancer.

• Tagging stuff in events? You got wells for that.
• Dungeons and fractals? You got a whole 2nd health bar to absorb damage spikes letting you use your gear on more offensive stats.
• WvW? Spreading conditions kills people really fast in groups and when solo you can do really well with a power build.
• Versatile? You got condition builds, power builds, hybrid builds, leeching builds, chill builds, and fear builds.
• Harder than spamming 22222222222? Gotta use a multiple skills to keep the max number of bleeds up and predict enemy movement to land staff ground target spells with any regularlity.
• Looks good? Light armor looks way better than medium does. Not a bloody trenchcoat to be seen.

Necro is a ton of fun, especially a condition build. The problem I see in answering the OP’s question is not which class to play, it’s what class not to play!

The only negative I have against the elementalist is solo play while leveling can be challenging after face rolling things as a warrior. (warrior is my main as well). It’s a terribly fun class though! I left mine at 40 though because I was having some challenges with it leveling.

I am working on a guardian and a thief right now though and I can’t decide which one I love more!