Guild Wars 2

1. Reaper – and that’s saying something because base necro is my least favourite class, in fact I actively dislike it. But The GS skills and reaper shroud skills are amazing with great effects.

2. Chronomancer – looking forward to alacrity and the shatter traits.

3. Dragonhunter – not my cup of tea.

1. Dragonhunter
2. Reaper
3. Chronomancer

1) Chronomancer
2) ?
3)?
4)?
5)?
6)?
7)?
8)Reaper
9) Dragon Hunter

NOTHING beats Space and Time

Leonhardt.8164:

1) Chronomancer
2) ?
3)?
4)?
5)?
6)?
7)?
8)Reaper
9) Dragon Hunter

NOTHING beats Space and Time

I main mesmer, and the only class in this game I can’t bring myself to play is necro because I hate the theme/skills. I have never made one because it just doesn’t appeal to me, visually/thematically and also gameplay wise (all that ground targeting/aoe, lack of mobility and active defence).

Despite that I have to say Reaper is way cooler in the skill/animation department than Chronomancer. The greatsword animations are amazing, the reaper shroud skills are fantastic – and I love all the chill access. Chronomancer’s shield and continuum split have nothing on that (alacrity, shatter traits and movement speed are great though).

From the revealed specs my rankings are based on how much better they make my current builds and based on that I can say all 3 can make my current builds stronger but if I had to chose I would go:

1 Dragonhunter
2 Chronomancer
3 Reaper

1. Chronomancer
2. Reaper
….
the unreleased rest..
..
last:dragonhunter

Duke Blackrose.4981:

2. Dragonhunter – Incredible trait synergy with all core specializations.

You srs? Guardians have one weapon that is (semi)effective at > 600 range and they have zero access to cripples outside of this new spec.

How the hell does that constitute as “incredible trait synergy with all core specializations”?

Those of you putting Reaper above Dragonhunter: let’s compare the current wiki entries for the new longbow skills to the new greatsword skills:

LB#1: 574 damage, 3/4 sec cast
GS#1: 646 damage, 3/4 sec cast (with chain that causes chill on third strike)

LB#2: 1641 damage, 3/4 sec cast. 4 sec CD
GS#2: 1520 damage, 1.25 sec cast, 8 sec CD (can be reduced to 0)

LB#3: 615 damage & 4 sec blind, 0.25 sec cast, 10 sec CD
GS#3: 684 damage & 10 sec vuln (x12), 1 sec cast, 10 sec CD

LB#4: 2050 damage, vigor, & burn over 4 pulses, 0.75 sec cast, 15 sec CD
GS#4: 548 damage & blind over 4 pulses, 0.25 sec cast, 20 sec CD

LB#5: 205+1641 damage, cripples, & barriers, 2.75 sec cast, 60 sec CD
GS#5: 760 damage, poison, & pull, 0.75 sec cast, 25 sec CD

I think #1-4 would be roughly tied if they were both melee weapons. But at range 1200, I think the balance easily tips to Guardians. LB#5 is the only questionable skill, given the long cast time and CD.

Out of the ones revealed so far…

1. Reaper
Changes to death shroud look spectacular!
Greatsword skills seem fun and synergize well with themselves and the new traits.
Shouts seem useful, I’ll definitely be using a few.
I love the traits, they look useful and have a number of strong and fun combos.

2. Dragonhunter
New virtues seem a lot more fun to use and stronger in some scenarios.
Longbow skills seem pretty interesting and the weapon has great utility.
Traps are alright but I probably won’t be using more than two.
Traits are ok. They definitely could be better though.
The name though, bleh.

3. Chronomancer
Continuum shift seems epic but it’s only one new ability.
Shield skills seem alright but there are only two and I don’t think there’s enough oomph to make me less sad about not getting a two handed weapon with 5 new skills.
Wells seem ok to me but I wouldn’t use them
The traits are where I get thrown off. They basically all just have to deal with making you move faster and your enemies moving slower. I just wish they played a bit more into what a time mage could do with more traits like chronophantasma. But they are working on them.

Hoping for Druid next!

Spin Echo.8263:

Those of you putting Reaper above Dragonhunter: let’s compare the current wiki entries for the new longbow skills to the new greatsword skills:

LB#1: 574 damage, 3/4 sec cast
GS#1: 646 damage, 3/4 sec cast (with chain that causes chill on third strike)

LB#2: 1641 damage, 3/4 sec cast. 4 sec CD
GS#2: 1520 damage, 1.25 sec cast, 8 sec CD (can be reduced to 0)

LB#3: 615 damage & 4 sec blind, 0.25 sec cast, 10 sec CD
GS#3: 684 damage & 10 sec vuln (x12), 1 sec cast, 10 sec CD

LB#4: 2050 damage, vigor, & burn over 4 pulses, 0.75 sec cast, 15 sec CD
GS#4: 548 damage & blind over 4 pulses, 0.25 sec cast, 20 sec CD

LB#5: 205+1641 damage, cripples, & barriers, 2.75 sec cast, 60 sec CD
GS#5: 760 damage, poison, & pull, 0.75 sec cast, 25 sec CD

I think #1-4 would be roughly tied if they were both melee weapons. But at range 1200, I think the balance easily tips to Guardians. LB#5 is the only questionable skill, given the long cast time and CD.

Numbers arent Final things either, and they probably wont stay that way. Peoples preferences will always be put above what the game actually considers the best.

Spin Echo.8263:

Those of you putting Reaper above Dragonhunter: let’s compare the current wiki entries for the new longbow skills to the new greatsword skills:

LB#1: 574 damage, 3/4 sec cast
GS#1: 646 damage, 3/4 sec cast (with chain that causes chill on third strike)

LB#2: 1641 damage, 3/4 sec cast. 4 sec CD
GS#2: 1520 damage, 1.25 sec cast, 8 sec CD (can be reduced to 0)

LB#3: 615 damage & 4 sec blind, 0.25 sec cast, 10 sec CD
GS#3: 684 damage & 10 sec vuln (x12), 1 sec cast, 10 sec CD

LB#4: 2050 damage, vigor, & burn over 4 pulses, 0.75 sec cast, 15 sec CD
GS#4: 548 damage & blind over 4 pulses, 0.25 sec cast, 20 sec CD

LB#5: 205+1641 damage, cripples, & barriers, 2.75 sec cast, 60 sec CD
GS#5: 760 damage, poison, & pull, 0.75 sec cast, 25 sec CD

I think #1-4 would be roughly tied if they were both melee weapons. But at range 1200, I think the balance easily tips to Guardians. LB#5 is the only questionable skill, given the long cast time and CD.

Not only are those numbers completely meaningless when you take into account potential stat differences, but a simple comparison between the two weapons only accounts for a fraction of what each spec gets. Reaper got a better profession mechanic revamp, better utility skills, and better traits. Meanwhile the longbow is just about the only good thing the Dragonhunter has going for it.

1. Reaper
2. Chronomancer
3. DragonHunter

The hype became real when the announced the reaper. My jaw dropped , hasn’t shut Sense.

Ephemiel.5694:

I love how people keep ranking the Reaper as last, but are unable to even say a reason.

It’s even funnier when you say that while ignoring that a lot of reasons have been posted here already.

Ephemiel.5694:

Have you played with the Reaper? Have you tested everything out? No.

If you play a necro extensively to know its weak and strong sides, you can judge how these new mechanics and traitlines will impact it. And the truth is, while thematically and visually Reaper rocks, mechanically it is sadly lacking – especially when considered in the light of those weak and strong sides of the core prof.

Ephemiel.5694:

I love how people keep ranking the Reaper as last, but are unable to even say a reason.

Ephemiel.5694:

Have you played with the Reaper? Have you tested everything out? No.

All you’ve done is listen to what they say about a spec STILL IN BETA and instantly complain about it.

Umm… just gonna point out the logic flaw here. You accuse people of not having a reason for putting reaper last, then blast them for doing so. Not cool.

Anyways, for the three we got I gotta go 1.) Chrono, 2.)DH, 3.)Reaper. I’m biassed since I main mesmer, but chrono brings a lot to the table. (Just pointing out to the person who made the FF haste comparison, try haste in the FF tactics game. A bit off topic…) DH is cool in concept and I actually enjoy the idea behind the name even if it’s a bit meh. Still need to see the concept vid for it though. Reaper is… awesome in concept. Like many others I’m a bit troubled by the attack speed. I wouldn’t rank anything 9th yet of course. There’s always a chance for a major flop.

There’s a lot of hate in this thread.
Only 3 of 9 elite specs have been revealed and people are already casting judgment and throwing stones…
Hell haven’t even played any of the specs but there seem to be many with expert opinions here.

Thematically:
1. Reaper – The scythe looks insanely cool, the movie monster concept traits are awesome, the creepy “angel of death” look is superb for necro.
2. Chronomancer – I’ve always enjoyed the surreal aesthetic of Mesmer and chronomancer doesn’t dissapoint. The clock-wells and intricate timepiece shield are both of a high visual caliber and time manipulation is a very resonant ability.
3. Dragonhunter – I’ve never found Guardian’s “blue, light and blue light” aesthetic especially appealing. I’m disappointed that they took an underwhelming half measure in carrying the dragon theme into the spec’s look, occasionally tossing it on (like with the longbow skin) and then inexplicably excluding it (like with the wings). I feel like they really missed an opportunity to communicate the whole “witch hunter” thing through the spec’s appearance, leaving us with something that looks like a mix of default guardian and dragon worshiper accoutrements.

Actual gameplay:
1. Dragonhunter – The specialization looks like it might fix the two biggest problems I have with Guardian: virtues and the scepter don’t excite me. Getting a new ranged weapon and more dynamic virtues is a huge plus for me, perhaps enough to make me switch mains for a while.
The trait line looks pretty sweet too, at least for PvE; if you Justice a crippled enemy, then stand between 600-900 units away you’ll get a 35% damage boost. Pair the line with Zeal and your Symbol of Energy can be another 30% damage boost. Taken all together, it’s almost like you’re critically hitting on every attack.
2. Chronomancer – Maybe broken. Maybe gimmicky. In any case, this certainly looks like it may have some of the most unique mechanics of the specializations, and I sure as hell want to try it out for myself.
3. Reaper – Unfortunately, as cool as everything looks, a reaper is still fundamentally a Necromancer and Necromancers aren’t my cup of tea. I enjoy neither their selfishness nor their profession mechanic and weapon sets.

tl;dr From coolest to least cool it’s Reaper>Chrono>DH. For functionality the reverse is true.

Dragonhunter fixes a lot of problems with Guardian. It just doesn’t have the cool factor of the reaper or the chronomancer, but it seems to be adding good things to the class when you look behind the lame name.

I think the problem is more that a lot of guardian players aren’t really interested to play at range with traps like a ranger; they picked a guardian to play a paladin archetype, and the new skills bring them to the opposite of that playstyle.

Arrk.4102:

1. Chronomancer
2. Reaper
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9. Dragon Hunter

DragonHunter, so wrong on so many levels

Spin Echo.8263:

LB#1: 574 damage, 3/4 sec cast
GS#1: 740 , 740 , 926 damage, 3/4 sec cast (with chain that causes chill on third strike)

LB#2: 1641 damage, 3/4 sec cast. 4 sec CD
GS#2: 1852 damage, 1.25 sec cast, 8 sec CD (can be reduced to 0)

LB#3: 615 damage & 4 sec blind, 0.25 sec cast, 10 sec CD
GS#3: 833 damage & 10 sec vuln (x12), 1 sec cast, 10 sec CD

LB#4: 2050 damage, vigor, & burn over 4 pulses, 0.75 sec cast, 15 sec CD
GS#4: 2593 damage & blind , 0.25 sec cast, 20 sec CD

LB#5: 205+1641 damage, cripples, & barriers, 2.75 sec cast, 60 sec CD
GS#5: 926 damage, poison, & pull, 0.75 sec cast, 25 sec CD

These numbers are off because its a zerker amulet vs a settler amulet. If you compared the damage coefficients you can see better what it would be like.

1. 0.6 vs 0.8, 0.8, 1
2. 1.7 vs 2
3. 0.66 vs 0.9
4. 2.2 vs 0.7*4 (2.8)
5. 2.43 vs 1

You can see why they did longbow in zerk amulet since it has fairly low damage coefficients. I changed the numbers in your post to show potential zerker vs zerker amulet damage.

From what we know ’till now, reaper is by far the worst.

Same ‘ol necro, with selfish dps and no help to the group whatsoever. I really hope they havn’t told us everything cause if it is so, then prepare for another 2years of necros being left out of meta.

On topic:

Chronomancer
DH
Reaper

Hmmm… so this will obviously change as more of the specializations are revealed. However, for me, most to least liked:

1. Chronomancer
2. Reaper
3. Dragonhunter
4. ?
5. ?
6. ?
7. ?
8. ?
9. ?

I can’t gauge Druid or Tempest yet, since we don’t know anything about them other than their names. I can get into specific likes/dislikes about the individual specs later, just don’t feel like going into it presently.

The Reaper sounds like a better conceived idea than the alternatives, but I doubt it will be competetive in the long run. It’s built ontop of a poorly designed class that is least effective at melee and they didn’t give the class enough melee tools imo. The shouts are a bust overall and the base class traits for the Necromancer are very poorly developed.

The DragonHunter doesn’t feel like a very well developed idea. Kind of just like an assortment of longbow skills and a range of traps to provide something the class didn’t have before. But overall they look competetive.

Chronomancer is the one that feels the most well balanced as far as vision and achieving a goal goes.

Chronomancer #1, Reaper #2, and Dragon #3 for me. Guardian will never be #9. Some poor class out there is going to end up with spirits

Since we only have 3 that we know about (in terms of traits, skills etc. yes I know there’s tempest for ele and blah blah blah but we don’t know what it’ll bring yet), I’ll rank out of 3:

1. Dragon Hunter (I like using bows and I look forward to using this)
2. Chronomancer (although I don’t use Mesmer much I think the traits will be fun)
3. Reaper (I’m not into close-ranged combat, and I don’t really like the fact everything is basically all about the ‘chill’ condition. There’s more to a specialisation that just ONE condition y’know)

Rated in terms of overall theme:-

1. Chronomancer
2. Reaper
3. Dragonhunter

Rated in terms of name:-

1. Chronomancer
2. Reaper
3. Dragonhunter

Rated in terms of overall final power levels:-

1. Dragonhunter
2. Chronomancer
3. Reaper

So well the theme/name is pants with Dragonhunters, they will still be overall more powerful. Necro’s weaknesses mean even a decent theme/skills can’t save them!

I rate them thusly:

1. Reaper
2. Dragonhunter
3. Chronomancer

To be honest, Reaper and DH are really joint first, as I can see myself enjoying both equally. Chronomancer is not last because I dislike it or something, I actually really like the sounds of it, I just feel I will enjoy playing the other two more.

1. Dragonhunter: I have bow warr, dual bow ranger and bow thief. I love archer classes in MMOs so I must have Dragonhunter! : P

2. Chronomancer and Reaper: Both look like fun, tbh.

My rating for pve with the known elite specs:

1: Dragonhunter (this will probably be in the top 3 dps classes + all the good stuff Guardian already had)

2: Chronomancer (because skill speed + what it already had)

3: Reaper (Necro is still crap in organised groups)

Chronomancer Brings a lot to Mesme, i think, but was not well previewed.

Guardian gets some ranged damage, control, and mobility but may not be useful outside of WvW and HoT content.

Necromancer got another buff to trash mob farming but PvP should also benefit. WvW depends on whether zergs go more ranged; and they might with all the chat about new elite lines.

1. potentially druid. I am very excite for it.. my optimism could end badly though
2. dragonhunter. longbows are cool, and so are traps and junk. I really like it
3. reaper. scythes are cool.. that is basically all. not a fan of shouts though
4. chronomancer. idk, it just didn’t strike me as particularly interesting.

of course that’s only of the ones with currently released information, positions will obviously likely change as more are released

Knighthonor.4061:

Rate the current revealed Elite Specs from best to worst in terms of how they interest you.

A little premature I think, with only three released so far.

If I’m going with usability? Or power it would be like this.

1. Chronomancer
2. Dragonhunter
3. Reaper

If we are going with Mechanical design, how much it adds to the profession.

1. Dragonhunter
2. Reaper
3. Chronomancer

Now if we go with which i’m most interested in playing then its

1. Reaper
2. Chronomancer
3. Dragonhunter

In terms of design the reaper is top down design. Its got the most complete theme out of any of the three. It doesn’t look nearly as close as dragonhunter to being finished though. The problem with the reaper it doesn’t address many of its various weaknesses the necromancer has. While both the Dragonhunter and chronomancer address weaknesses their respective professions have without overwhelming them. The reaper doesn’t do this. And it will be super fun to play but it just wont provide nearly the competitive usability or skillful play that the other two will provide. Not to mention the shouts are extremely lacking aside from a couple while both the chronomancer’s wells and Dragonhunter’s traps provide them with something that can really change the way you can play.

Syione.3046:

1. Reaper
2. Chronomancer
3. Dragonhunter
4.
5.
6.Tempest
7.
8.
9. Druid
I’m not looking forward for my main to be a Druid. Then again we really don’t know anything about it, but it would have to be amazing for me to give up my lb/sb.

People who loved rangers will never run Druids. Because I am hoping it to be a very different style of play from Rangers. Rangers High DPS role and Druid is I am expecting Support role. However, on the other hand people like me who hate Ranger class might give a try to the druid as I have been running elementalist before this.

Rate? based on what? No one has played it yet, so how rate what you havent played? XD