Guild Wars 2

I’ve got one lvl 80(a ranger), and I’m looking for another class to play with. I’m really interested in the more mobile class, so I’m looking at either a Mesmer or a Thief.

I solo a lot since I often don’t have the time to commit to a group, so my question is which would afford me a better experience? Which is more forgiving of mistakes, both while leveling and at lvl 80?

How about engineer? I find that class a lot of fun to play, though I’m only level 26. I solo a lot, though. It’s mobile, versatile and quite strong. And you can get a flamethrower. ’nough said. Hehe.

BattleCat.2098:

How about engineer? I find that class a lot of fun to play, though I’m only level 26. I solo a lot, though. It’s mobile, versatile and quite strong. And you can get a flamethrower. ’nough said. Hehe.

Actually Engi was my first choice! Unfortunately, silly as it sounds, all the explosions grind my computer to a halt and that drives me nuts(flamethrower 2, 4, and 5 for example all kill my FPS; bomb kit as well).

I’d say thief is probably less painful – it’s squishy, but the damage is not dependent on phantasms/illusions upkeep the way mesmer and it’s a lot easier to deal with solo.

I have both. Thief is more melee, Mesmer more range, as you would expect. I think a Thief is more “fun” to play. YMMV.

I have one Thief and three Mesmers. I say Mesmer’s more fun! Of course I may not be playing Thief at all well, since he was my first alt and I took a build reflecting his RP qualities more than to be effective, and haven’t changed it much since. My long time gaming curse, always taking what looks cool and ending up on the very min side of min-max.

Also of course, all three of my Mesmers were created before the new trait system. Thus they have access to all the fun things that make them shine. Still, they feel far more handy in most any PvE situation except perhaps the Labyrinth, where I don’t know how I’d survive without my stealth.

Well to be honest, my mesmer is a Norn and she seems to plod along compared to my quick human thief. That may influence my opinion somewhat. And then there’s JPs …

I wouldn’t consider mesmer fast/mobile. Thief definitely wins if that is your main goal. Also, mesmer is not fun for many people to level with the trait changes since you don’t unlock key class-defining traits until late in the leveling process. It didn’t bother me, but I’ve seen complaints. I find mesmer lots of fun. If the engineer is a problem, I think mesmer can be pretty flashy with effects too, so that could be an issue for your computer.

Behellagh.1468:

I have both. Thief is more melee, Mesmer more range, as you would expect. I think a Thief is more “fun” to play. YMMV.

I dunno what kind of mesmer you’ve been playing but they are not ranged if you don’t want them to be. S/S and S/F is an amazing set up and you are in permanent melee with. GS is the only real weapon that lends itself to being ranged because the AA says the further away you are, the more damage you do. Staff and Scepter perform better the closer you are to your target, as the bounces/projectiles get to the target quicker; the staff ones especially as the bounces happen a lot faster.

Maybe you prefer to play one of those AA GS mesmers but not all of us do. I love my melee mesemer and I die waaay less than on my thief when in dungeons because the mesmer has so much damage mitigation it’s not funny. If it had to pick, I’d take my mesmer over my thief any day.

Thief, better solo and more mobile. I wouldn’t consider mesmer mobile at all honestly.

Sword/Pistol on thief pistol whip spam is great defensively, toss in some blind fields potentially and yeah, lots of tools to keep yourself alive even if you have less health.

Both are fun and great. Thief is good for solo runs and in Arah, TA and CM. Mesmer is more than a mage. Good dps in close fights, high in range. You need both