Guild Wars 2

Hello all, I recently got the game and wanted to ask a very important question to me.

Basically, i came from lotro and have been searching the net reading countless articles, videos, forum posts for 3 days trying to find my most suitable class. (Yep, pretty sad)
Ive wasted alot of time on pretty average mmos, and my severely limited play time has made me turn to a more casual/easygoing game such as gw2, so i really want to get it right the first time.

Im the type of person who likes to have ranged aoe as a definite option in pve and pvp, and solo capabilities with a bit of self heals and survivability. I also like to have a profession in demand for dungeons and pvp.
A few classes immediately popped up and from there i have been trying to find my class through the process of elimination. Guardian… Love the positive feedback, but unfortunately not my play style. Ranger/Necro/Engineers… was really convinced to go with it but the many negative comments made me say NO to it completely. Warr… just too plain, reminded me of lotro. Theif/Mesmer… sounds great but no spectacular aoes, and the sneaky playstyle isnt my type.

So elementalist seems like the most appropriate option (norn for that invisibility) , the only disadvantage is the squishiness but I am really ready to die a little as i heard survivability gets much better. The combos and all for additional damage sounds troublesome but im willing to learn.

I know this sounds like a typical noob question/post, but i have literally done all my research and need one last confirmation. Is the elementalist a truly great profession?

Thanks.

As far as spectacular AoE goes, you can’t go wrong with Elementalist. The ability to know when to switch attunements base on situation is almost a game in itself. Depend on builds, you can spec your Elementalist to be less squishy – not with heavier amour, but knowing how to master the 4 elements and know when to move, when to dodge. You will cast protections, you will throw AoE, you will pew pew, and you will heal.

But it is not going to be easy to master the elements – you will learn through hard work, die a couple of times in the beginning (OK, maybe more), and then you will learn how to move, when to run, etc. But it will be great fun.

Every thing you have suggested to your liking is in every profession, the only thing people can suggest to you is to level one you think you will like to around 30 (40 is usually where it gets a tonne better) if you don’t like it try another profession.

Elementalist’s are pretty fun to play, I would bet best AOE in the game extremely versatile and have 20 skills at their disposal, rather than most other classes that only have 12, but all in all if you like it you play it.
Most needed Profession in PvE dungeons and most useful in WvW I would wager a bet at Mesmer with portals and Time warp.
Warriors can achieve massive dps,
Theif is a good scout profession with crazy 1 shot abilities,
Necro is the master of conditions but not so great in PvP in terms of mobility,
Ranger I can’t say much not played one or will I ever,
Engineers are pretty dam fun,
Guardian in my opinion is the one with the most survivability and very good support

Elementalist was my 1st char I didn’t get a good feel for it so its still lvl 55 lol

Pick one play if for a while see if you like it
Good luck

Thanks for ur replies

Exactly what i needed~

I would strongly recommend trying the professions over listening to comments, especially on here. If you believe the individual professions boards every single one is so bugged/underpowered or just broken that it’s barely playable, but that clearly isn’t the case. (Especially when you factor in that each board also claims 2-3 other professions are so overpowered they’re ruining the game for everyone else.)

I play a ranger as my main and also have an engineer and I enjoy both. I haven’t really played a necro but I regularly see them in-game so I assume they’re popular. Rangers are IMO one of the easier professions because you’ve got your pet to tank so you don’t need to worry about dodging as much. Engineers I think just confuse people. Either they get too many kits early on and get overwhelmed with all the skills or they never use kits and get bored because without them there’s not a lot of variety.

But ele is a good choice too. They get the standard heal slot but also a lot of the water skills heal you. The main thing is to remember to switch your elements as needed (for example earth has a lot of protective skills which complement the water healing).

AtoBoss.2906:

Im the type of person who likes to have ranged aoe as a definite option in pve and pvp

ele, ranger (throwable traps, barrage), necro, engineer (grenades), mesmer, thief with shortbow, warrior with longbow, basically all have that except guardian, though ele is best in it.

AtoBoss.2906:

and solo capabilities with a bit of self heals and survivability.

doesnt matter at all, unless you mean soloing group content.

AtoBoss.2906:

I also like to have a profession in demand for dungeons and pvp.

for dungeons: warrior, guardian and mesmer. This is sad but true (and the mesmer is just there for his elite skill every 3th minute) but anyway, all dungeons are perfectly doable with any classes.
pvp: mesmer, thief, guardian, ele.

If you are basing your choice purely on the class and not the player, then either Guard or Warrior hands down. Those 2 classes will always be loved in dungeons. Now you can make arguments for mesmers and eles which are also good for dungeons. Then there are necros, rangers, engies, thieves. Those classes bring certain skills that are nice but overall meh. The problem is pets/minions tend to fail in dungeons and their AI is just borked. This is coming from someone who has run dungeons and fully geared out a ranger, necro and guard. I love all 3 toons but again, a guard or warrior will never be turned down for any dungeons. Now factoring the player is another deal, where a good player of any class will be better than a crappy guard or warrior. At the end of the day, try a few you think are fun and go with it. You really shouldn’t have a problem finding groups on any toon as long as you are good.