Guild Wars 2

As a new player to this game, I would like to experience the content from level 1-80 via one character.
I have played almost all the classes like 10 but I am not sure how they pan out at high levels.

Among all classes (except ranger as I dont like that prof) which has the following

a) Should have a ranged pull so that I don’t have to run to the mobs

b) Should not be squishy (thief was a bad experience and even clothies like ele lose lot of HP when mob comes in range)

c) Should have good dmg so that I can down mobs fast

d) Should not need a lot of micromanaging just to play your character when you are intent on solo leveling via quests

e) Since this character is mainly for experiencing GW2 I am not bothered about the end game aspect for this character.

Consider playing a warrior.
– Has two ranged options (longbow and rifle)
– Good defensive capabilities
– A lot of damage
– One of the easiest classes to play when leveling
– + A lot of variety if you get bored with the current weapon set you are using. (Has the widest variety of usable weapons)
I hope this helps you.

Mesmer is what you want with you criteria.

I’m biased, but I’d say Ranger or Warrior.

I have a lot of fun as my warrior in the open world, throwing myself into piles of Veteran monsters and just killing everything. I’ve been mainly playing my Charr warrior and Sylvari ranger, and things that provide a challenging showdown for my ranger are barely a speedbump for my warrior. However, I find that the Ranger actually does a better job of recovering from mistakes thanks to its pet and stronger on-demand heals (Especially with the Druid elite specialization). Of course, part of my problems with Ranger likely come from running a build I find thematically fun (Currently, he’s running Sword+Dagger/Greatsword because of the newest ascended weapon, with traits all over the place), while my Warrior wears full ascended gear (She’s my main) and is actually optimized (While still being fun for me)

Warrior:
In addition to Bow and Rifle, the warrior’s mainhand Axe, Offhand Sword, and Greatsword all have a ranged attack (And I think Offhand Mace and Hammer have longish-range blows). Rifle is great for pulling enemies, but doesn’t become Great until you go Berzerker (I think its normal burst is overly-niche. Its primal burst is extremely flexible, though.) You also have fast approaches on Sword 2 and GS 5 and a utility skill (You also have ranged utility skills)

Highest base HP pool in the game. Even in full DPS gear, it’s still hard as hell to take down. The Healing Signet is the strongest heal in the game in terms of sustained healing (but it can’t burst heal). It also has good access to active defenses.

Excellent damage, especially on Greatsword and Axe. With a Greatsword, you’ve also got incredible cleave, including a whirling evade, boomerang pull (that also cripples), and a rush (I mostly use it for traversing the map

No real need to micromanage it. It’s extremely straightforward.

For endgame – it has a strong protected role in Raids and Dungeons as a Might Engine, and is fairly straightforward to play (Just use a greatsword and hit things)

Ranger -
Your Axe, Shortbow, Warhorn, Longbow, and maybe Torch are all ranged weapons, with Greatsword and Sword functioning as your melee weapons. Greatsword has a block+knockback that you can hit again to throw. Sword is strong in melee, and provides a lot of evades. Your off-hand with a sword will also provide a ranged attack.

It has a moderate hitpoint pool and medium armor. Not as great as a warrior, but its pet helps with surviving. You also have strong defensive utilities (Signet of Stone, Signet of the Wild), and lots of evades (Especially on Sword+dagger, and Greatsword has an evasive Leaping Charge and an evade on Autoattack, in addition to a block that you can also use to throw). If you do go down against a single tough foe (Or several weak but still healthy foes), your pet can bring you up again.

… Damage is very low, unfortunately. But I don’t run an optimized build, either. Still, I find it passable.

I find it to be pretty simple to play. It may be why I have such low damage

Rangers are also valuable end-game, though as Healers or Condition Damage dealers.

Because I am a shameless show-off in Fashion Wars 2, I have provided pics of my ranger and warrior.

Warrior sounds best. A minion heavy necromancer next and mesmer third.

Leveling a mesmer is a pain in the butt. You have low mobility because passive movement speed doesn’t come into the profession until you get chronomancer, and you do very little DPS (although the spike damage can be OK for taking out weaker mobs, vets and champs will be slow). I guess you can run blink and signet of inspiration, but it’s slowww. Take it from someone who leveled a mesmer, guardian, and thief from 0-80, has one of each class, and mains mesmer.

I would go with most other people’s opinions on here and level a warrior. They do great damage and have good survivability even when built pretty glassy. They have a lot of movement skills that can help you traverse the environment quickly, and there’s both melee and ranged options. Not sure about pulls, but there’s a ton of gap closers that aren’t “running” as well. Despite your non-concern with end game content, there’s just the added benefit that warrior are good in all game modes too.

Best for me is mesmer , then necro

What you described you want is definitely a ranger, maybe you just haven’t gotten far enough with it to get the skills you’re looking for?

And my first character was a Mesmer. Big mistake. Mes is one of my fav’s now but it really does need to be your second or third, at soonest. Positioning is crucial, and the playstyle can be as hectic as thief if you’re running shatters.

But yea, for an easy to level character that has fantastic damage at range, good survivability and never any need to chase things down, Ranger is it.

Asura ranger will let you experience all content. Including unlocking all the pets across the world. Both power and condition ranger are viable. But the most fun build is condi trapper with axe/torch and shortbow. Axe and traps will kill multiple mobs fast. Shortbow for permanent swiftness, so you run around faster.

Asura is generally best for jumping puzzles due to their small stature. Although engineer rifle has a great skill for precise jumps (which is another good AoE class.)

First, This list below based on pre-80, After you hit 80 it will be a completely different story.

1. Ranger – NO. due to your personal taste.

2. Mesmer – NO. Its a pain to do anything pre-80, lack of passive movespeed, although if you want an unique gameplay then YES.

3. Guardian – BIG YES. Scepter/X is one of the best range weapon, good survival, good dps due to recent buff, a bit lack of movespeed as long as you don’t mind it.

4. Warrior – BIG YES. Rifle is not a bad choice, Bow have some nuke option pre-80, great mobility, has highest HP regen in game, great survival ( Range dps cannot compare to Guard in someway ), mostly Melee.

5. Ele – NO. Due to recent nerfs, still have great dps but since you want an easy lifestyle then Ele is out of the list.

6. Thief – NO. Do have great mobility but same as ele.

7. Engi – Unclear since i don’t have good experience with engi so better leave this alone.

8. Necro- BIG YES. Even without elite specs, core necro is already a monster in PvE/Solo exploration contents, highest HP pool, can summon a lot of minions if you feel lonely, Staff/Axe is a good range weapon, Dagger is one of the best melee weapon on necro, also have passive movespeed.

9. Revenant – NO, Without Elite specs Rev is sluggish, but do have heavy range dps due to Hammer spam, after went through some nerfs better stay off this prof for awhile. ( Don’t get the wrong idea, rev is a greatest class to do exploration if you have elite specs )

So probably Necro is on the top of the list then > War/Guard > The rest.

I will throw in my $0.02 here. I will actually agree with Eros on the setup.
Guardian has great support measures, a fair means of mitigating issues, and is party friendly. Scepter mainhand is great, and you can complement with torch for extra damage options, or shield for mitigation options. One of the guardian’s shouts, “Retreat!” gives you a swiftness (+33% movement) burst as well as a free block via Aegis. Benefit of heavy armor, so has more defense than medium or light armors.

Warrior has a strong set of melee options, but the longbow/rifle makes for a good range swap for when you need it. For a ranged perspective, you’re stuck between these two. He has a +25% movespeed trait, but it requires you to hold melee weapons, so you’re short on that category. He does have several mitigations that keep enemies at distance, as well as a launching stunbreaker (Stomp). Fewer mitigations than Guardian, but has more health to make up for it.

For necromancer, again it’s based on clothes, but don’t underestimate him. Axe main, and either dagger or focus offhand gives him a ranged focus. Dagger offhand allows you to send any conditions you get to your enemies as well as create weakness, which cripples enemy damage against you. Minions, minions, minions! They have a good deal of helping you in certain spaces, and an entire traitline has ways to buff your pets. When things look bad, you have shroud to turn to, which is an extra lifebar’s worth, filled by killing enemies and using your axe 2.

I would suggest running necromancer with minion spec, as this utility will help you explore and chart out Central Tyria without as much pain as the other two. Again, axe main and either dagger/focus off. Have a staff on swap, as the marks are more useful than you think.

But if you want my honest opinion, find one you feel comfortable working with, and run with it for a while. If it gets you to do what you want to do, then that’s the right one for you.