Guild Wars 2

Hello,

Ive just returned to GW2, after a years break. And my first problem is how to decide on the class to focus.

I usually play the paladin/guardian archetype classes in mmo`s. With experiences from paladin in wow, dark templar in conan, guardian in swtor etc. So i usually like the heavy armor classes the most. However this seems to be my biggest problem in this game, as i constantly feel drawn towards the guardian, but whenever i play it i feel like i dont have enough diversity and options. Maybe im just lacking in info about it?

Im currently standing between ranger, guardian and necro.

What im looking for is a class that brings alot of diversity, and some tricks to play in wvw. For example my dislikes towards the guardian is how narrow the utilities and elites feel. But what i love about the necro and ranger is the wide area of stuff you have like, cc, debuffs etc. I also enjoy how you can play both melee and ranged effectively as necro and ranger. However the guardian seems to be lacking ranged effectiveness?

I would really like som inputs from people who have been in the same indecisive spot before me

When you say that you feel Guardian is lacking diversity and options what exactly do you feel is missing? Is it that you feel that all the skills are similar? Or is it just the lack of ranged options?

For WvW are you solo/small group roaming or are you doing large scale zerg roaming? The three classes you’ve mentioned work slightly differently in each situation.

Heavy armor wearers are in general the worst at long-range options. Keep in mind, there’s no point in having heavy armor if you won’t get in a nice scrap up close and personal.

Guardians in particular have some superb counter-condition, counter-CC, Aegis, Healing, personal damage sustainability, Projectile Handling, and many other goodies. Utility skills are just that – for utility,- and Guardians have lots of that. Neither Ranger nor Necro, for example, have good AoE healing, condition removal, and they have little to none Projectile Handling. The Guardian has multiple options for each of those.

Did I also mention you can move a mind-boggling 1800 range to an enemy, or friend?
1 8 0 0 r a n g e.
And it’s instant.

Yes, the lack of diversity towards the guardians is that i feel the skills goes under the same category if you will. For me it seems like all of theyre utility are buffs in some way. Where the necro for example can choose from pets, cc, signets, wells etc etc. But again, i havent played the guard that much, so if im wrong about please do explain

I play wvw the most, and i try to do all kinds of stuff as much as possible. From roaming, to join the zerg etc.

so far ive played the necro the most, and i love how it works in wvw with the wide area of options, but dont like it much for solo play/pve, this will maybe help with the ontroduction of greatsword? My warrior i really enjoy for like 1 hr, but then i get bored from how predictive it is. Im currently leveling abit on my ranger, and so far it seems really fun, maybe a bit predictive aswell? I do howerver love how i can equip a greatsword.

So to sum it up im looking for a class i can play for everything. Join pve events, dungeons and ofc have fun with in wvw.

I think Seal covered the different types of stuff that Guards bring the party. They’re one of the better defensive supporters so that’s why you see a lot of buffs (like Aegis, Stability, Swiftness etc) in their utilities. Things like Signets and Meditations are less boon focused and slightly more selfish. Consecrations are group wide support (condi cleanse, stab, projectile protection/reflection),

I also enjoy playing Necro in WvW but I only really use him for large group playing. He’s ok for small group roaming but not as good as other characters I have, such as my Guardian.

With regards to your last point I’d say Guardian fits that spot quite well. To get the most out of your class though you can’t just stick with one build across all game modes as they all need different things at different times. Dungeons like CM and SE are projectile heavy so wall of reflection is useful there. Worlds bosses like the Jungle Wurm in Caledon forest can’t be reflected so WoR isn’t as useful there but stability and condi cleanse is.

Im gonna try to sink some more time into my guardian then. Thank you all for some very good response

No response regarding the ranger btw?

In my experience, Rangers aren’t as immediately versatile as you describe them. Considering it from the party’s perspective, Rangers do not bring a lot of useful abilities. No AoE stability, no adequate Projectile Handling, no Stealth or Aegis, healing. But don’t let me bash them!

That said, Rangers perform very well in solo scenarios. A ranger can be a good counter against plenty of things, and has some good selfish utilities – infinite block, self-stealth, weapon dodging, and so on. Not to mention that a ranger is one of the few professions that keep being dangerous when downed.

But, to me, all those things need you to play the game a bit more, in order to appreciate them. I would get my hands busy with one after mastering an “easier to apply effectively” profession, like the Guardian, or the Necro.

+ I love my Ranger!

Have fun and good luck!

Ranger is easily my favourite class (and main) but it’s not without it’s own drawbacks.

For melee you have greatsword and sword/X. Greatsword offers good mobility and defence (swoop, counterattack and hilt bash) along with two evades (one on auto attack, one on swoop). Sword takes a little bit of getting used to (helps if you turn off auto attack) but offers two evades and some fast attacks. With Sword it’s the off hand you choose that helps to broaden your build.

Axe – Offers a pull and a reflect.
Dagger – offers another evade and a cripple (works well with the trait Predators Onslaught).
Warhorn – Grants boons to you and 4 others and is a blast finisher for blasting fields.
Torch – Gives a fire field.

For WvW you’ll generally choose one melee and take a ranged option like Longbow or Shortbow (I prefer Longbow as it has better burst damage and a longer range). But here’s where Ranger’s fall down. They’re quite good at solo/small group roaming. They’re not great at large group roaming. I mean yeah you can do it and they do at least offer a water field for people to blast but they’re largely single target damage which is not great against large groups.

For PvE they offer some decent party buffs (Spotter trait and spirits for example are the ones most commonly requested/used) and a group heal/condi cleanse.

The issue you may have is pet management. You will need to micro manage your pet (and this is where I sometimes fall down when I stop paying attention to it) as quite frankly pets are dumb as a sack of rocks. You’ll need to get used to switching to passive, hiding using abilities, swapping, and healing pets to get the most out of your Ranger.

I’m gonna have to say clock a little more time on your Ranger to see if it lives up to your play style. You can float in and out of melee pretty well if you build for it. You just have to keep an eye on your pet. Necro can be pretty tanky too if you get really good at DS utilization.

You’re assessment of the Guardian is pretty good in that their utilities feel like mostly buffs (and defensive abilities) in effect. I’ve played a lot of characters of this archetype in previous games and I’ve started and deleted 3 Guardians (all into the 30s) so far, and I’m on my 4th try. Probably has to do with Guardian’s combat feeling slow to me when paired with the combat system of GW2.

As for comparing your previous game experience to GW2 a WoW Paladin plays most similarly to a Guardian, Dark Templar feels more like a Warrior with a splash of Necro (maybe Revenant when HoT hits), and SWTOR Guardian is straight up Warrior.

I spent 100g gearing my guardian, and tried out a dps meditation build, quite alot of fun tbh Got me surprised about how much the class has to offer.

Crazy thing is though, it quite dont feel like the paladin archetype im looking for.
However, i went a few rounds on my warrior today. And i think im gonna settle with this killing machine, i like how it work in a very similiar way to the wow paladin with burst on demand.

I swear i could beat myself over how indecisive i am with picking my classes in these games. hehe

thanks alot for the help though