Guild Wars 2

I’m thinking of picking up an additional character slot and filling it with a class I have not yet tried. There is no rush though, I still have plenty to do with my existing characters.
I have not tried: Mesmer, Guardian, and Necromancer so I’m trying to decide between them, and I’m hoping for some balanced thoughts on each. I did check the profession forums but that wasn’t very helpful because they all seemed focused on expressing unhappiness.

Typically, I tend to lean more toward DPS-heavy casting, ranged and stealth classes, while eschewing tank characters. So far I have a ranger at 80, and I’m currently working on levelling my Elementalist; I think the latter is my favourite so far, just because of the greater complexity.
However, I’m open to suggestions, and it wouldn’t hurt me to try something totally different. Indeed, I am somewhat tempted by the guardian for precisely that reason.

And yes, I know I could just try each out to somewhere between 10 and 20 for an idea, but I tend to dislike deleting characters, so I’d rather stick with whatever profession I create.

So… thoughts?

Just buy 3 slots so you can have one of every class. Necromancer will plow through the levels with there minions. Mesmer is the most difficult to play until you hit level 40, they become extremely powerful but you also have micro manage them a whole lot every single fight or they will go down. I really do not know much about the Guardian, it is not as popular as the other classes, but that in itself can make them nice to have in a group to add more flexability.

Mesmers are complex and tricky and you have to know exactly what all of their skills do because they are very situational. It never gets boring because every encounter is different.
You have to micro manage them though and as said the first 30-40 lvls are hard until you get the hang of the mechanics.
They have good survive-ability and they can be devastating if used correctly.

I have a lvl 15 or so Guardian because I was attracted to the idea of a “sword saint” but to be honest, I find it hard going because I find Guardian boring after playing a Mesmer so long and I feel that my Guardian has an identity crisis due to too many weapon choices.

Ironically I find my Guardian dying more than the Mesmer- I think I just suck at melee classes

Necro I deleted at lvl5 because I couldn’t stand the pets and skills. So no help there I guess.
As you can see I have most experience with Mesmer and tbh it is by far my favorite class. Since you enjoy an Elementalist you might like it too.
oh as an aside, Thief is also great fun.

Typically, I tend to lean more toward DPS-heavy casting, ranged and stealth classes, while eschewing tank characters.

Mesmer has ranged and limited stealth, but rather low damage. Very nice when soloing bosses though.

Guardians have limited ranged capabilities and are more of a support profession, usually more tanky than other professions.

And I don’t know about Necromancers.

In terms of trying things out, you can take a brand new character, go to the mists, and have full 80 gear all skills and traits to try out. There’s the golems to hit, and also characters of each profession to spar (and you could jump in a game if you like, too).

Mesmer start really slow til you get a full utility bar and some traits.
Guardian is great but their range isn’t. Kill speed isn’t too bad, depending how you set it up.

I love my Guardian, they’re tough, versatile and fun to play. But if you don’t like melee much, don’t go for one. I’d advise you to try the warrior you already have a bit longer. If you can get into the melee style but think the warrior is too straightforward/boring, Guardian might be worth trying.

Like most classes, Guardian can feel a bit squishy and weak from level 15-40, but then they really take off.

I’m kind of the opposite. For some reason, I feel compelled to make x2 characters for each class that I’ve played. While I’m usually quite satisfied with Character #1, then are always so many things that I can’t fit into that build. This leads me to make Character #2 to use everything that I can’t use the 1st time around.

While you can always try out a brand new class, keep in mind that playing another character of one of your existing professions could feel very different if you make other design choices.

I have a level 69 mesmer and I just power-leveled a necromancer to 29 for the Halloween event. I love them both and they’re both sturdy professions. But, here’s how they compare to me:

My mesmer is slow. She runs slow, she takes time to set up her illusions, and she kills slowly. She has virtually no area of effect spells. Compared to my other characters, she’s more complicated and requires more thoughtful play. But, she can be very powerful when I’m on my game and she has a lot of unique abilities for clever combat. Her play style really does emulate being a master at manipulation.

My little necromancer, on the other hand, feels very “rawr.” She has loads of area effect spells. And, she has this death shroud ability with super-powered attacks. She even runs faster thanks to a passive signet buff. I don’t use minions on her because I think most of them look gross, which it works out just fine (no offense minion lovers). I just run into groups of monsters and start big ole fights. She is “death incarnate” and she is never scared.

Mesmer has some stealth options, only lvl 20 though so I can’t say too much. It was the first profession for me where switching weapons just clicked.

I love my guardian but from what you said it does not sound like it fits your bill, however, do read the sticky 101, Eveningstar has done a great job there.

Don’t have a Necromancer yet.

Good luck Artemis, have fun!

Thanks for the replies all.

I should have probably clarified slightly more in my original post. No matter what game I play, I tend to suffer from chronic altititis, hence why it has taken me this long to reach 80 on a single character. In my roster I already have:
ranger
elementalist
thief
warrior
engineer

I enjoy them all, and I definitely concur with those who suggested the thief or warrior. While I would like to get three slots instead of one, it would be an extravagance right now. I bought a 2000 point gem card at Best Buy yesterday, which I’m spending on maximum bank space and an extra slot. Presumably, if I get 6 characters to 80, with some luck and planning I’ll have enough gold to buy gems for extra slots ingame.

To my original topic, though, the first profession I actually rolled was a Mesmer. I quickly decided, however, that it was not the class with which I wanted to learn the game. Now that I have a good feel for GW’s mechanics, I’m interested in giving the Mesmer a second chance.

I’m thinking maybe, based on all of your replies, that I will perhaps roll a Mesmer, and then, if that doesn’t pan out, I’ll give the Necro a shot. If neither of those engage me, then I’ll take a look at the Guardian. As I said, I tend to dislike deleting characters, but in this case, if my first choice doesn’t suit me, it’s what I’ll have to do.
I’ll see, I’m still open to ideas, since I don’t actually need to rush into creating yet another alt.

Guardians are hearty, easy to play imo, and a lot of fun in groups. Don’t think of them as WoW paladins. They can be very supportive and dish out heals & boons around. Their ranged options aren’t that great so plan on being melee 90% of the time here.

Necros have a bad rap right now due to all their bugs. If you’re holding out to be a minion master, hold out a bit longer until they’re fixed. Otherwise, they’re great condition manipulators (giving, spreading, negating) and, if played right, can be very hard to kill.

Can’t speak personally about Mesmers but I hear they are complex, amazing at PvP, and terrible at PvE.

In any case, take whatever you choose at least into the teens before you make a hard decision.

I can’t recommend Mesmer enough. It’s my main and I love it. I don’t know where all the comments about being bad in PvE are coming from. I have less trouble on my mesmer than any of my other classes. But it is definitely a thinking class.