Hey guys, as the title suggests, I need help with choosing a main profession. I’ve narrowed my choices down to: Warrior, Ranger, and Necromancer (although if someone has a convincing argument for another profession they think I should play, I’m all ears). I like a mix of melee and range capabilities and want a pretty engaging, active gameplay. I would say my play style is mainly as a direct damage dealer, but I would like a lot of room to implement strategies as well (something I think ranger and necro has over warrior). I can see myself playing mainly in melee and mid-range. I’d also want a class that doesn’t get boring over time. In other MMO’s I’ve played, there would be a few classes that people would consider OP, but the actual gameplay was uninteresting and people would only roll them because they wanted to win, not because it actually interested them. I want a profession that would hold my interest over time and can hold their own in PVP and PVE settings (but they don’t have to be ZOMG LOOK AT ME SOOO OVERPOWERED I CAN FISTkitten SUPERMAN IN THE FACE). Although I don’t need an OP profession, I would like them to be viable at least, with not a great amount of bugs, or bugs that hinder gameplay. I guess it goes without saying, the less bugs the better (something that I think is preventing me from really getting into the necromancer) In terms of play style, I find myself mostly at the front lines dealing damage in big zeros, but in smaller groups or solo 1v1, I’d like the option to kite and put some distance in-between me and who I’m fighting.
Here’s a breakdown of my impressions of all the classes in general:
Professions:
Warrior-
cons: seems like it would get too repetitive over time, not too fond of straight up hack and slash gameplay, despite its range of weapons it seems like it can get boring over time
pros: range of weapons is amazing. They seem like the most forward, damage dealing class. They’re range options are not bad as well.
Ranger-
cons: don’t like the fact that it is mainly pet class, the attacks on the weapons seem a bit clunky to me. I’ve heard that the ranger is the class that people tend to become bored of very quickly and that it doesn’t have a great amount of versatility
pros: best mix between range and melee imo. Although I don’t like pets, I can see myself using the pets strategically and in general, pets are a big help. More complicated than the warrior, but still has some simplicity to it.
Elementalist-
cons: not enough melee capabilities, too squishy, too much focus on AOE (want more single-target options)
pros: versatility is GREAT. I can see myself not getting tired of this class in the long run. I think it would be cool to try and master all the different play styles as well. Theme is cool as well.
Mesmer-
cons: don’t like the play style, too confusing
pros: I just really didn’t enjoy playing the mesmer. It’s probably because of the steep learning curve. I might give it some more time later though.
Necromancer- large amount of ground-targeting skills, not good damage output/only viable builds seem to be focused on condition damage, too many bugs to play effectively
pros: I think I enjoyed playing the necromancer the most. I usually don’t like the dark arts classes, but the necro profession drew me in. I like the progression of range of the weapons (from melee, to 600, to 900, to 1200 in #1 attacks, really allows for varied gameplay). I also liked the attacks as well, although it does have too much ground-targeting for my tastes.
Engineer-
cons: like a more direct damage dealer, seems like too much of a support class, too many bugs to play effectively
pros: really fun class, even though I feel it isn’t the class for me.
Thief-
cons: don’t like the theme, too squishy, don’t like the in and out gameplay
pros: seemed like the best in terms of damage and it has viable long range weapons via the short bow and the pistols, but I just don’t like thief classes in general
Guardian-
cons: not enough ranged abilities, focused too much on defense
pros: its melee capabilities are great and I like the amount of support you can give your allies.
Also, these are just my perceptions about each class based on personal experience, observation and browsing the forums, thus these perceptions may not be true and I would LOVE for someone to disprove any of them (with proof if possible) as it would help me make my decision.
Holy kitten thats a lot. Cudos to anyone who’s read the whole thing and can offer to help. I really appreciate it guys. Happy New Year.