Mesmer, Elementalist, or Necromancer

Mesmer, Elementalist, or Necromancer

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Posted by: Matt.1938

Matt.1938

I’m new to GW2 and I’m trying to decide which of these 3 professions that I want to play. I’m mainly playing for sPvP, and some PvE, but not too much. I’ve tried the whole concept “play the class you’re good at” or “play the class that you think is fun” but it’s not working. I like all 3 of the playstyles, and the lack of survival is on all 3 so I think that’s more of me just getting used to the playstyle of the class. I don’t want to bounce around between classes. Which one of these classes will do me well in PvP, but also be able to hold its own leveling and in PvE. I’ll be leveling with a mesmer friend more than likely, if that changes anything.

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Posted by: Vaxor.4039

Vaxor.4039

All this classes are weak at the begining of the game (or I’m just noob) but I preffer mesmer.

Gilb Rainyday – Lvl 80 Ranger

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Posted by: BeardMonk.1749

BeardMonk.1749

I’ve played GW2 for a while but im quite a casual player and still feel fairly noob-ish. What you need to remember is that the ele, necro and mes range from being totally squishy to quite squishy in terms of hand-to-hand combat. Just because you Necro is holding an axe does not mean he should be physically toe-to-toe with an enemy.

I play Mesmer. The best thing I learnt to do is stay at range, kite and actively dodge attacks. Additionally, the 3 classes you have described don’t necessarily do a lot of straight up damage so you need to learn what all the different conditions do and how best to stack and combine them. The GW2 wiki has a good section on the conditions and there are a whole host of very good youtube guides out there. Have a look, hear what they have to say and try applying it to your own game (but dont be ruled by others opinions)

Finally, don’t feel that by changing class and starting again you have “failed”, it’s better to start again with a class you come to love then grind on with one you don’t really like. I ditched a L43 Warrior to start my Mesmer. I should have done it a lot earlier.

Hope that helps in some small way

From Essex blud…….. I’ll cut you.

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Posted by: DrixTrix.7168

DrixTrix.7168

All of them, the ele / mes more so than the necro in Spvp though, disregarding the necro on the survive ability front both the mesmer and ele’s have a ton of survive ability you just need to learn all the ins and outs of the classes and how to / when to(and not to) use, waste, run etc.

if you choose the mesmer, im happy to help out just give me a shout in game.

as i play a mesmer i will be biased and say defiantly go for the mesmer more play styles, more fun, more useful abilities, ultimately more to learn and more tricks, again im biased but mesmer will do you just fine in Spvp but you need to invest the time to reap the rewards mesmers can get you.

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Posted by: Matt.1938

Matt.1938

I’ve been leaning more towards mesmer or ele. I like the illusions playstyle of mesmer, but I also like the attunements that ele brings to switch up the skills. I’ve seen that a lot of people run the ele bunker build, but how are they with a damage build in spvp? I’m wondering if the illusion/shatter playstyle would get very repetitive after a while and become boring for me.

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Posted by: Behemoth.2193

Behemoth.2193

Hi Matt. Here’s what I can tell you about all 3 in an sPvP setting

Ele:
The ele currently only has one good build with little to no variation in traits these days. The build though is pretty kitten good though I’ll give it that. Most eles run with scepter/dagger or dual duaggers, mostly because outside of a group support setting staff in its current state is not very good for 1v1s. If played correctly (swapping attunements when needed, cantrips, etc) an ele can take two 2 people and if not he can run away, albeit less effectively since the mist form nerf.

Mesmer:
This class sees a lot of use in sPvP, PvE (dungeons specifically), and WvW with good reason. Access to clones/phantasms, stealth, portal, time warp, good damage and other things make this class seen in all areas of the game very often. Two builds I can think of that see a lot of use are pure phantasm builds, and shatter builds. Phantasm mesmers are very tough in 1v1s because the phantasms hit hard, but if you can get another teammate the fight becomes much easier. Shatter mesmers to an unexperienced opponent will drive them insane due to the frequency of clones all over the place even when after they’re shattered.

Necro:
Necro to me is a class that there is either none of, or a ton of in sPvP matches at a time. Necro is playable, it can kill opponents, and if left unchecked it can apply tremendous pressure in a team fight. There is a ton of build variety, but most of these builds aren’t amazing like the 1/2 builds you see from the others frequently. If you check the forums you will see that necro atm has some issues that are being taken care such as their survivability (because the devs think two lifebars automatically means difficult to kill) due to lack of heals/DS uptime and siphons in their current state being terrible. Most necros run a build with the Terror trait where fear will deal damage (a really good amount too) to make up for the fact that stacking bleeds on popular sPvP classes like eles, guards, and thieves get cleansed very quickly. To help with that necros will be getting burning from trait(s) soon as well as a unique (for the moment) condition that also does damage over time. This means that necros will have access to every condition in the game (although applying confusion is unreliable). Judging by the way ranger got some much needed help and they’re now up there with others, necro (and warrior) will possibly be joining them soon.

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Posted by: Matt.1938

Matt.1938

Thanks Behemoth for the reply. That’s a clear breakdown of each, and I really appreciate it. In a tournament PvP setting (my ultimate goal), which would be more “sought after”. PvP is my main goal, but I know jumping in to PvP from the start you have a huge learning curve. That’s the main reason I’m leveling along the way so that I learn each skill and the uses of it to make me better at the class itself instead of random button mashing. Skill cap doesn’t matter to me at all. I like a class that’s tougher to play, gives me a challenge. I do like a class with varying play styles though to keep it interesting. That way if I get bored of doing alot of damage and want to support, or if a team needs a support role filled, I can switch to that.

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Posted by: Behemoth.2193

Behemoth.2193

Well if you’re new to GW2 there’s no one stopping you from making all three. Currently in tournaments eles and mesmers are sought more. Eles provide good team support and can handle on their own as well as be bunkers (something you see in pretty much every tPvP match). Mesmers are good for offense, and their use of portal to traverse the map to attack/defend offer a huge advantage in organized team play. With changes to necro survivability we may start seeing more bunker necros, but I see that only happening with good siphoning buffs to sustain our massive health pool.

When it comes to being challenging to play, I would say necro or ele take the cake over a mesmer. Necros challenges come from knowing when to use what and where, and from the fact that we lack the survival mechanics that make others surive being CC’d or thrown around like Vigor, Stability, teleports, etc. The devs are working on our survivability by making Death Shroud our survival mechanic, to avoid us becoming boon spamming guardians/eles.
Eles have a learning curve because if you ever watch a good D/D or S/D ele, they are swapping their attunements like crazy throwin out all the right skills (which matters with their Cantrips because they have insane cooldowns).

Play style wise ele has less variation like I said because they have almost no variations in builds that don’t get them killed in 10 seconds. Mesmer has plenty of fun builds with their own specialty such as phantasm, shatter, immortal, and glamour (which caused the confusion nerf due to how powerful multiple glamour mesmers could be in a WvW zerg). Necros have numerous builds, with condi builds, terror/condi builds, minion masters, power/wells, etc.

Like I said, if you want an ele/mes for tpvp be my guest. There’s not a person stopping you from making the other two for hotjoins.

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Posted by: Matt.1938

Matt.1938

So with ele, only the bunker build will work for tPvP? And out of necro or ele, which is preferred on a tPvP team? Or does it depend on what professions the team already has?

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Posted by: Matt.1938

Matt.1938

I’ve decided to go Necromancer, but I’m not sure which build I should go for PvE and which for PvP.

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Posted by: epiphoneknight.6894

epiphoneknight.6894

Bravo! People worship minions for pve. I personally dislike minions with the exception of flesh golem. I am a well fanatic, especially with the trait that makes wells siphon health (later on)

I actually often run wells in pvp too and hybrid survivability with a bit of damage. Sometimes I find myself beating mesmers and thieves here, but rangers are wicked annoying.

Toon: Symbolic Logic
Class: Necro Power!!! (Almost exclusively necro)
Guild: Legacy of Elijah Realm: Sanctum of Rall

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Posted by: Seras.5702

Seras.5702

Mostly PvP? Mesmer. Hands down. They are squishy at low levels, many of their strengths come from talents that you unlock at higher levels. But they’re great in PvP and have a variety of build options.

Flixx Gatebuster, Orwynn Lightgrave, Seras Snapdragon
[TTBH] [HATE], Yak’s Bend(NA)

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Posted by: GuzziHero.2467

GuzziHero.2467

I am levelling all 3 in stages. Theyre at lvl 10 now.

Necro I have not been downed.
Mesmer I got downed once each in story and defeated once.
Ele I got defeated 14 times.

Yeah, I think you have an answer

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Posted by: Mimir.4690

Mimir.4690

I am levelling all 3 in stages. Theyre at lvl 10 now.

Necro I have not been downed.
Mesmer I got downed once each in story and defeated once.
Ele I got defeated 14 times.

Yeah, I think you have an answer

I really struggled with the Necromancer around level 20-40. However, after level 60, this class has just became a major power house and actually has some really good survivability in PvE. I agree, the Necromancer was the right choice.

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Posted by: Seras.5702

Seras.5702

I am levelling all 3 in stages. Theyre at lvl 10 now.

Necro I have not been downed.
Mesmer I got downed once each in story and defeated once.
Ele I got defeated 14 times.

Yeah, I think you have an answer

I almost never die with my mesmer (currently lvl 33). My necro wasn’t too bad, but died more than my mesmer, that’s for sure (stopped playing at lvl 45).

OP asked about primarily PvP and from what I understand Necro is in a sad state in PvP. Mesmer otoh is fantastic.

Both professions gain a lot as they open traits, especially Mesmer. Hard to make a solid decision at lvl 10 imo. Take them to the Mists and test some stuff out. Jump into a hotjoin and try em out. You don’t need to be 80 for that.

Flixx Gatebuster, Orwynn Lightgrave, Seras Snapdragon
[TTBH] [HATE], Yak’s Bend(NA)

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Posted by: Gilosean.3805

Gilosean.3805

I am levelling all 3 in stages. Theyre at lvl 10 now.

Necro I have not been downed.
Mesmer I got downed once each in story and defeated once.
Ele I got defeated 14 times.

Yeah, I think you have an answer

Yup. Ele survivability really depends on player skill. When I was leveling I got downed in every other fight. Now that I know my way around the class, even the karka queen doesn’t put me down while other players who rely on their class’s defensive abilities fall like tons of bricks.

Ele and mesmer both really depend on traits and skills that you don’t have access to at low levels. They’re like D&D wizards – super squishy and ridiculous to start with, but you bear with it because the endgame is great once you know what you’re doing.

That said, the bunker build really is the only viable build atm. I’m not sure how else it could be, since with the ele being the squishiest class we have to make up the lack of armor and HP somewhere.

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Posted by: Matt.1938

Matt.1938

Been watching a ton of twitch players and youtube videos, and I’m going with ele or engi for sPvP. I’ll probably use necro for PvE, but I’ve seen a ton of teams looking for engi’s and ele’s for tPvP teams.

(edited by Matt.1938)