Guild Wars 2

Hey guys,

Probably going to hit 80 on my first character today (thief) and can’t wait to dig into WvW.

I’ve been mulling which would be my next character as I had a ton of fun leveling. And while I intend to focus most of my attention on the thief, I’m looking for a second character to bring along slowly that can one day be a strong farming character. Strangely, farming copious amounts of XX or YY is enjoyable sometimes when I need a break from PvP.

Any suggestions?

I actually prefer the thief for farming. All that stealth to drop agro on annoying mobs. ^^

But a strong second for farming is the ranger. A speed signet, a speed boost on the warhorn and a speed boost on an elite makes them very fast. Good for getting across the map and outrunning mobs. Plus the pet is useful to grab agro on attacking mobs while you farm the node then run off.

Depends on what I am farming. For underwater I use engineer.
If it is single target things relatively spread out then thief.
If it is multiple things in a relatively small area warrior.
If it is an event with dozens of enemies spawning quickly then guardian(with a staff).

Staff guardian #1 Hero of Tyria!

Which type of farming do you mean? Gathering mats or killing things?

Donari.5237:

Which type of farming do you mean? Gathering mats or killing things?

Oh good point.

I was primarily talking about farming large groups of mobs for whatever component or loot I was looking for.

The more I think about it, the thief is excellent for node farming, but not so bad at solo mob farming, as well. But I guess I was just looking for some aoe juggernaut that could farm the heck out of a bunch of mobs for fun.

I don’t have any clue what the endgame is like—if it was like WoW where you farm 100 mobs to get 2 drops to make a crafting item. Or if it’s just volume—more mobs = more leather/etc.

So I guess I’m asking in the context of GW2’s endgame and what is needed to make the top tier armors/items. What would be a solid class for that?

Thanks for all replies. This game has proven to be surprisingly (albeit pleasantly) robust. Much more to learn than I had anticipated.

Guardian using a staff will get you the best results, especially when farming larger amounts of things, the auto attack is an AOE wave with 600 range, you also get swiftness from the symbol for moving around the map faster.

If you’re solo farming, you may consider necro. Out of my 80’s (ele, necro, mesmer, ranger, warrior), I find that my necro is fastest for mobs. Pull them together, throw a bunch of condis on, and epidemic (spreads all conditions from the target to nearby foes). Just about every skill for a necro is aoe damage. Minion builds are also pretty quick at killing mobs and help keep aggro off of you. The downside is the necro doesn’t have a weapon swiftness skill, but they do have a 25% speed signet and you can always use swiftness runes if it really bothers you.

I’d go with guardian or warrior for aoe mob farm. They have good survival and the right tools for the job. Necro isn’t that bad either, but the others are faster.

rhapsody.3615:

If you’re solo farming, you may consider necro. Out of my 80’s (ele, necro, mesmer, ranger, warrior), I find that my necro is fastest for mobs. Pull them together, throw a bunch of condis on, and epidemic (spreads all conditions from the target to nearby foes). Just about every skill for a necro is aoe damage. Minion builds are also pretty quick at killing mobs and help keep aggro off of you. The downside is the necro doesn’t have a weapon swiftness skill, but they do have a 25% speed signet and you can always use swiftness runes if it really bothers you.

This…my necro is my favorite farming character (though an engie with a bomb kit works pretty well too).