Guild Wars 2

Hey guys, anyone know what the fastest class in the game is & what skills/buffs/items that requires? I’m more interested in consistent almost-always-on buffs (or innate abilities), not 1-shot, 10sec skills with 60+ sec CDs, if you get mu meaning.

Elementalists seem pretty fast.

I believe rangers get a signet early on to increase movement speed.

Pixel Seven.5472:

I believe rangers get a signet early on to increase movement speed.

It’s only a 10% increase, I think most classes get something similar.

Thief can achieve 25% faster movement speed through signet of shadows, a 3rd tier skill. This is the fastest speed boost with the least requirements. This makes this the best option if you just want speed since you won’t have to invest for traits you might not otherwise use.

Elementalist can achieve 25% two ways. 1 via an air trait that increasess speed over time (up to 25%) while attuned to air (This particular buff doesn’t stack with other movement speed boosts, doesn’t look like you can get a passive speed faster than 25%) Another method requires a trait in the arcane tree to increases movement speed while weilding daggers, and then equip Signet of Air for an extra 10%

Finally necros can hit 25% via a blood magic trait that boosts speed by 10% for equipping a dagger in the main hand and an extra 5% for the offhand, add that with the faster movement speed from signet of the locust and you get the 25%.

There are other classes with boosts but not nearly this fast, usually a passive 10% (ranger and warrior) or requires odd conditions (engineer)

Hyena.2037:

Thief can achieve 25% faster movement speed through signet of shadows, a 3rd tier skill. This is the fastest speed boost with the least requirements. This makes this the best option if you just want speed since you won’t have to invest for traits you might not otherwise use.

Elementalist can achieve 25% two ways. 1 via an air trait that increasess speed over time (up to 25%) while attuned to air (This particular buff doesn’t stack with other movement speed boosts, doesn’t look like you can get a passive speed faster than 25%) Another method requires a trait in the arcane tree to increases movement speed while weilding daggers, and then equip Signet of Air for an extra 10%

Finally necros can hit 25% via a blood magic trait that boosts speed by 10% for equipping a dagger in the main hand and an extra 5% for the offhand, add that with the faster movement speed from signet of the locust and you get the 25%.

There are other classes with boosts but not nearly this fast, usually a passive 10% (ranger and warrior) or requires odd conditions (engineer)

To add to this. Guardians using shouts and staff can get 33% for as long as they want.

Hyena.2037:

Another method requires a trait in the arcane tree to increases movement speed while weilding daggers, and then equip Signet of Air for an extra 10%

Finally necros can hit 25% via a blood magic trait that boosts speed by 10% for equipping a dagger in the main hand and an extra 5% for the offhand, add that with the faster movement speed from signet of the locust and you get the 25%.

Are you sure this actually works? Because normally speed boost don’t stack.

Engineers have a 33% speed boost with Speedy Kits; outside of a fight you can keep it up permanently easily.
Staff Ele can have almost permanent 33% speed boost with Earth #2, Air #5, Air #4. Add either the heal Glyph or the 10 Arcane Power trait and you have it permanently.
Warriors with two Banners and reduced cooldown have 33% speed boost a little more than 2/3. With the Warhorn it should be almost permanently.

I wouldn’t think so either but I checked tested, they definitely do stack.

On the ele for example running between two landmarks with just windborn dagger takes (on average) 17.1 seconds, with signet of air as well it takes 15.3.

Using a full set of Superior Rune of the Centaur can give you 12 seconds swiftness every 15 seconds (assuming you use a 15-second cooldown heal skill), add some Boon Duration or another easy way to give swiftness and you’re permanently at 33% which is the speed cap.

I use this myself on a Thief, with a trait that gives 2 seconds of swiftness on dodging.

You can get a 12s CD healing skill as thief if you use the Signet of Malice and the “-20% CD on signet” trait which is very nice in PvE anyway.

The cap is 33%, Elementalist can achieve a permanent 33% boost easy.

I personally use a Thief and usually can outrun anyone. Basically I have 25% permanent signet boost as mentioned before, to which I add 10 sec swiftness on steal and use heartseeker for fast leaps – I can usually use 5-6 of them before initiative has to replenish. The only problem I have with HS is that it will auto-target mobs on the way, so either you have to turn auto-targetting off or be aware when to use it.
All this coupled with 2-3 stealth skills and dropping caltrops whenever I dodge makes for a very good explorer class that can get you in and out of mob-full caves without much hassle

Warriors can keep 33% swiftness up almost permanently with signet of rage if they have +swiftness duration runes and the trait that reduces signet cooldown. Furthermore, the greatsword spin and charge attacks increase your speed while they’re in use, and this speed is affected by swiftness. I have outrun many a centaur.

On the elementalist, 10 pts in Air Magic & the IV trait perk will get you max speed most of the time while attuned to air. I don’t believe you can exceed 33% total boost, theoretically the ele can achieve 45% boost by equipping signet of Air, if everything stacked. Using Windborn speed on top of the trait perks will not actually make you run any faster but it does remove crippled condition.

The rogue, with the 25% PERMA skill plus the heartseekers is the fastest.
I have some 80s, but the rogue is brillant in this, i usually must stop and wait for my friends, not matter if they are on a 33%.

By the way you cant stack more than a 33%. All classes can get that, thats why the rogue goes faster (by the Heartseekers, they are not “speed”)

Actually, Elementalist are still faster…Ride the Lightning (Dagger off-hand) is the fastest movement skill in the game, and sends you shooting forward a fair distance (Make sure you are targeting an enemy far away in front of you so you don’t actually hit it or be targeting no enemy). It took me a fair amount of practice to get it down, but my Ele has the permanent passive 25%, plus Ride the Lightning every 12 seconds I think it is? (20% Air CD Reduction)

I have a friend who is a thief and even when he is running all out speed build for heartseek or infiltrator arrow either one, I still stay just a short ways ahead of him.

The one thing that I do want to point out is that anyone who uses x6 Superior Runes of Speed will be able use a +40% Swiftness movement speed (instead of the usual +33%). If you really want to move around quickly, figure a way to chain up Swiftness and use the Runes to make yourself even faster.

For Elementalists:
You can put zero points in Precision (Why would you?), and simply use your Air Skill, which is a 10second run for 33% speed increase, (30 second cooldown) and then use the Heal, that gives swiftness while attuned to air, that refreshes every 20 seconds. Stacking these two, I have basically infinite run.

Yeah it is extremely easy for Elementalists to keep perma swiftness going, and they can even do it for an entire group as well using their Staff skill 4 in air, and then the staff skill 5 and using Arcane Wave inside it to do combo area swiftness. You have to have a lot of points in Arcane though to increase boon duration to keep it perma though.

Elementalists – 15% faster wielding a dagger (arcane trait), or Air Signet (5% faster for every 10 seconds moving – up to 25% faster speed)

i think ride the lightning is a good speed skill too. saw an ele use it to fly past a mob and continue on – it was so cool to see!

Cheers guys, some really nice options there I had no idea about.
As I don’t like melee classes much & elementalists/mage-nuker classes aren’t my cuppa either (too squishy among other reasons), and the Charr thief I’ve tried was not my style…I guess of the other 4 I’m playing, necro or ranger might fit the bill. I can only imagine what x6 Superior Runes of Speed would cost lol, but I’ll take a look online tonight.

The ranger has some nice speed tools as well, there’s a passive movement speed signet as well as the elite Rampage as One that gives a long swiftness.

Interesting, never thought to try out the heartseeker for movement on my thief…

usually my running build for thief involves the two utilities shadowstep and whatever signet grants the 25% speed boon, and I use shortbow skill 5 to shadowstep as far as the bow range normally is. So pretty much travel when I try and focus on it is bow #5 > bow #5 > Shadowstep skill > 25% increased running for about 3 seconds before yet another bow #5…

And I’m only level 33 atm so once I can trait faster initiative regen I’ll have less 25% speed boost between my already near constant shadowsteps.