Guild Wars 2

Hello,

I am a new player with a few questions that you have probably been asked or seen threads relate to over 1,000 times. I have harvested a few threads and gained some information but still looking for that bit more.

I have a warrior around level 12 which I started yesterday, I love the questing system and exploration which is fantastic. Problem is I seem to find I die alot or take tons of damage from enemies equal to my level (and in some cases even lower). I read other threads about “Constantly moving”, I grasp the idea of evading (rolling) out of special attacks but standard melee seems to cause alot of damage.
I am not too sure if it’s simply my gear, class or play style. Am I correct in thinking I need to constantly strafe when fighting a mob or is that my downfall?

Next question is relating to skills. I have taken part in a few world quests which are great. Problem is I feel like I am very underwhelmed with my skill set. As a warrior using a 2 handed weapon all I seem to do on a boss mob is:
Auto attack (button 1)
then press special attack (Button 2)
No use for 3,4,5 because they are either engage, get away or situational.
The 6,7 buttons I have are just for utility. Ones a heal and the other is a shout I keep buffed on myself.

Does it get better at higher level? I just feel like pressing 1 button for a boss is a little boring and underwhelming.

Final question is end game content, I think I already know I will probably be going on a mass exploration to unlock all the map, quests and hidden locations. But other than that is it all PVP and WvW?

Thank you for reading my thread, I hope I can get the information

No that’s how warrior is pretty much, auto attack and keep yourself buffed/healed. Any other class besides probably guardian would be better for you if you don’t like that playstyle.

Or you could do something different and go totally ranged or something with your warrior, but then you’re underutilizing him.

Ahh, I see – well if Warriors are indeed auto-attackers then it’s totally not my play style. Think I will venture into ranger class

Healing signet turns you into an unkillable machine. Use skillpoints to buy it and replace your current heal.

You don’t need to constantly move to survive regular fights. I could solo 5-8 same level mobs on my warrior by just standing there and cutting them down. Granted that was in my 30’s but low-level warrior shouldn’t be much harder.

And my GS warrior certainly doesn’t sit there and auto-attack. I use all 5 skills generally when they’re off CD. The real auto-attacking weapons are MH sword or MH axe

IMO the warrior is boring: if i were in ANET’s position i’d have made the 1st game without a boring warrior: using as special ability combos.(attack 2,then attack 3,again attack 3 to apply the combo status,then one of the aviable finishers. or something like that)

However,right now it is,IMO,the most boring class.
I’d rather go guardian,but i prefer more articulate(does this word exist?) gameplay,such as ele,engineer and mesmer.

ButterOfDeath.2873:

IMO the warrior is boring: if i were in ANET’s position i’d have made the 1st game without a boring warrior: using as special ability combos.(attack 2,then attack 3,again attack 3 to apply the combo status,then one of the aviable finishers. or something like that)

However,right now it is,IMO,the most boring class.
I’d rather go guardian,but i prefer more articulate(does this word exist?) gameplay,such as ele,engineer and mesmer.

Believe me, guardian isn’t anymore complicated or engaging… in fact, I use less skills on my guardian then I do on my warrior.

And if the OP is expecting rangers to be more interesting…well…i can say in my opinion, of course, that they’re even worse, although that might be because their class is designed atrociously and ANET refuses to fix the kitten issues.

solado.8206:

I have a warrior around level 12 which I started yesterday, I love the questing system and exploration which is fantastic. Problem is I seem to find I die alot or take tons of damage from enemies equal to my level (and in some cases even lower). I read other threads about “Constantly moving”, I grasp the idea of evading (rolling) out of special attacks but standard melee seems to cause alot of damage.

At level 12 it’s not your gear. You should be constantly moving even as a melee class. And you should understand and take advantage of your “downed” skills. One thing that’s hard to get used to if you’ve played other MMOs is that moving doesn’t interrupt many of your skills, and using a skill usually doesn’t root you in place. You don’t have to dodge all the time – stepping behind a mob will cause them to miss you, and you can step out of the way of projectiles. It takes a little experience though to be able to recognize when the attacks are coming, but I think if you start just by constantly moving you’ll do better.

solado.8206:

Next question is relating to skills. I have taken part in a few world quests which are great. Problem is I feel like I am very underwhelmed with my skill set. As a warrior using a 2 handed weapon all I seem to do on a boss mob is:
Auto attack (button 1)
then press special attack (Button 2)
No use for 3,4,5 because they are either engage, get away or situational.
The 6,7 buttons I have are just for utility. Ones a heal and the other is a shout I keep buffed on myself.

Most of the skills are situational, and again it will take a little experience to get the flow of the class you’re playing. It gets more interesting as you add trait points, but if all of your skills are always on cool down, you’re not being as effective as you can be. It takes a lot of practice to know out of all of the skills on your current weapon (and your swap) and of your utility skills when is the right time to use them. Also keep in mind that a warrior has lots of Combo finishers. You want to be aware of what the folks around you are doing, and hang on to your whirl or leap finisher for when it’s most useful.

There’s a lot more to the combat than what you see on your hotbar – but the only way to really “get it” is to play. You can go to the “Heart of the Mists” which is the PvP lobby essentially and try out any skill or weapon. Your character automatically gets set to 80 and you can change their build into whatever you’d like to try.

solado.8206:

Final question is end game content, I think I already know I will probably be going on a mass exploration to unlock all the map, quests and hidden locations. But other than that is it all PVP and WvW?

That’s a whole lot of content if you do it completely. You’ll probably also want to do some dungeons to earn tokens, and you might want to go do some dynamic events to earn karma.

solado.8206:

Ahh, I see – well if Warriors are indeed auto-attackers then it’s totally not my play style. Think I will venture into ranger class

Ranger is my main – don’t listen to the haters, they can be fun. One tip though… don’t ignore your pet and expect it to just work. The pet is your class mechanic. Put it on passive and tell it what to do instead of just letting it run after whatever you target (or whatever decides to target you). Use the pet skills to complement your build, and swap between pets just like you would weapons. Also, telling a pet to come back to you is a good way to pull stuff into your traps.

So you are doing it all correct.. As a warrior that’s what you do, and try using different weapon’s, for example I open up with a gun or bow.. Then I switch to my two handed sword and own… The warrior is the easiest Class because you don’t have to pay attention really.. But they are a great starter class.. I find my elementalist a lot harder to master but he is also a lot more fun.

I highly recommend finding every weapon your class can use (that’s a lot of them, for warrior!) and unlocking the skills for them. It will give you a chance to try out different options and you might find one or two weapon sets whose skills you just really like. Weapon choice is part of the build, so explore your options! I fell in love with double axes for my warrior, after much deliberation.

I know a lot of people who have issues staying alive around levels 12-18 or so, and here’s my theory: traits. At this level you have access to trait points, but you don’t have many yet, so it’s very possible you don’t have many points in toughness/vitality yet. This will pass in time, if it’s your problem! Check out your attributes, and maybe compensate with gear if you find something handy.

I’ve been playing Pathfinder/D&D lately, and I think GW2 warrior is a lot like a D&D fighter – it seems simple, but the interesting part is in the customisation. Warrior traits are like D&D feats. Once you find a pair of weapon sets and a style you like, you should be able to settle in and enjoy it. Because I find warriors very focused on the weapons, though, do take advantage of the ability to weapon swap (sometimes getting some ranged damage in before the beastie gets to you can really help).

Curuniel.4830:

I know a lot of people who have issues staying alive around levels 12-18 or so, and here’s my theory: traits. At this level you have access to trait points, but you don’t have many yet, so it’s very possible you don’t have many points in toughness/vitality yet. This will pass in time, if it’s your problem! Check out your attributes, and maybe compensate with gear if you find something handy.

12-18 on a warrior or 12-18 in general? On my 9th character now and I don’t think that has been true besides the first. So to me it seems more like an issue of experience. All were glass cannons at low levels, I take a bit of healing later on.

One issue I have noticed is that I used to be way to conservative with using my healing skill. It is very useful to know how much your healing skill will refill your HP and use it whenever your HP drops below this. I was treating it like an “oh sh—” button but it isn’t.

LithePanther.5027:

ButterOfDeath.2873:

IMO the warrior is boring: if i were in ANET’s position i’d have made the 1st game without a boring warrior: using as special ability combos.(attack 2,then attack 3,again attack 3 to apply the combo status,then one of the aviable finishers. or something like that)

However,right now it is,IMO,the most boring class.
I’d rather go guardian,but i prefer more articulate(does this word exist?) gameplay,such as ele,engineer and mesmer.

Believe me, guardian isn’t anymore complicated or engaging… in fact, I use less skills on my guardian then I do on my warrior.

And if the OP is expecting rangers to be more interesting…well…i can say in my opinion, of course, that they’re even worse, although that might be because their class is designed atrociously and ANET refuses to fix the kitten issues.

Rangers are FAR more interesting than either Warrior or Guardian. Of course, if you ignore your pet and treat it like a fire and forget DPS missiles, a good chunk of the game play is removed from it. That’s commonly what unsuccessful Rangers end up doing.

But they do have problems and do need fixing. Of course, when put alongside Warriors, everything looks broken.

Pandemoniac.4739:

Ranger is my main – don’t listen to the haters, they can be fun.

Ranger is my main too, and it’s a lot of fun. But when I alt to my warrior or guardian, it’s like flipping a switch which puts the game in easy mode. Encounters where I’d have to dodge, strafe, pet swap, and use all my skill as both a ranger and a player to defeat, my warrior can just stand there and bash everything to death with just a few skill button presses.

Since I play for fun not for loot, I prefer the ranger. But the haters are right that Anet needs to fix up the class.

Solandri.9640:

Pandemoniac.4739:

Ranger is my main – don’t listen to the haters, they can be fun.

Ranger is my main too, and it’s a lot of fun. But when I alt to my warrior or guardian, it’s like flipping a switch which puts the game in easy mode. Encounters where I’d have to dodge, strafe, pet swap, and use all my skill as both a ranger and a player to defeat, my warrior can just stand there and bash everything to death with just a few skill button presses.

Since I play for fun not for loot, I prefer the ranger. But the haters are right that Anet needs to fix up the class.

But see, I like being more active, so “fixing” it for other folks would break it for me. I have an alt for when I don’t want to work too hard.

Pandemoniac.4739:

Solandri.9640:

Pandemoniac.4739:

Ranger is my main – don’t listen to the haters, they can be fun.

Ranger is my main too, and it’s a lot of fun. But when I alt to my warrior or guardian, it’s like flipping a switch which puts the game in easy mode. Encounters where I’d have to dodge, strafe, pet swap, and use all my skill as both a ranger and a player to defeat, my warrior can just stand there and bash everything to death with just a few skill button presses.

Since I play for fun not for loot, I prefer the ranger. But the haters are right that Anet needs to fix up the class.

But see, I like being more active, so “fixing” it for other folks would break it for me. I have an alt for when I don’t want to work too hard.

The majority of rangers disagree with you because they’re tired of their class being plagued with so many broken, useless traits and skills, being pigeonholed into only a select few weapons, and having to deal with crappy pet AI.

LithePanther.5027:

Pandemoniac.4739:

Solandri.9640:

Pandemoniac.4739:

Ranger is my main – don’t listen to the haters, they can be fun.

Ranger is my main too, and it’s a lot of fun. But when I alt to my warrior or guardian, it’s like flipping a switch which puts the game in easy mode. Encounters where I’d have to dodge, strafe, pet swap, and use all my skill as both a ranger and a player to defeat, my warrior can just stand there and bash everything to death with just a few skill button presses.

Since I play for fun not for loot, I prefer the ranger. But the haters are right that Anet needs to fix up the class.

But see, I like being more active, so “fixing” it for other folks would break it for me. I have an alt for when I don’t want to work too hard.

The majority of rangers disagree with you because they’re tired of their class being plagued with so many broken, useless traits and skills, being pigeonholed into only a select few weapons, and having to deal with crappy pet AI.

I do not think that is entirely the case. Many of us rangers (I main one) do enjoy the class. Yes, only a handful of weapons are really useful. Yes, many traits and skills are not very useful. That is true of most of the classes. There is the problem of the pet AI, but that is only visible in dungeons and PvP/WvW. And you can set the pet to passive and micro-manage it to mitigate some of the issues.

Most rangers I see actually enjoy the class. Like most classes, it could use some attention, but it is not as hated as you may think.

Pandemoniac.4739:

Solandri.9640:

Ranger is my main too, and it’s a lot of fun. But when I alt to my warrior or guardian, it’s like flipping a switch which puts the game in easy mode. Encounters where I’d have to dodge, strafe, pet swap, and use all my skill as both a ranger and a player to defeat, my warrior can just stand there and bash everything to death with just a few skill button presses.

Since I play for fun not for loot, I prefer the ranger. But the haters are right that Anet needs to fix up the class.

But see, I like being more active, so “fixing” it for other folks would break it for me. I have an alt for when I don’t want to work too hard.

Yes fixing up the class would make encounters easier. But only if you insist on using the best gear.

For me, these games have never been about having the best gear. It’s been about doing what I have to to have the most fun. The devs aren’t the only ones who can inject challenge into your gaming experience. You can create your own challenges too. In other games a dungeon had grown routine and boring for my guild. I suggested we try it, but without armor. I’ve deliberately picked traits and spells that “sucked” when creating a character (way too many of my RPG characters have had high charisma as a stat). I’m currently working on leveling another ranger who thus far has had zero deaths. Outside of PvP, you’re not in a contest against other players. The game is what you make of it.

If you feel a “fixed” ranger is too easy, all you have to do is drop down to rare or even masterwork weapons and armor to make it challenging again. That way both you and the people who think the ranger needs to be fixed can be happy. In its current state, only you can be happy. And asking Anet not to implement fixes others want just so you don’t have to create your own challenges is selfish.

Solandri.9640:

Yes fixing up the class would make encounters easier. But only if you insist on using the best gear.

If you feel a “fixed” ranger is too easy, all you have to do is drop down to rare or even masterwork weapons and armor to make it challenging again. That way both you and the people who think the ranger needs to be fixed can be happy. In its current state, only you can be happy. And asking Anet not to implement fixes others want just so you don’t have to create your own challenges is selfish.

Demanding that all professions be normalized so that none of them require much skill to play seems kind of selfish from where I’m standing. Lots of people want lots of things changed, but that doesn’t mean it will make the game better.

You know that group event where the branded champion is raising an army of twelve other branded? My ranger soloed that without dying when the only exotics she had were some level 78 weapons. Most of her armor was masterwork, and her jewelry was 20 levels or so old. It was a long fight because you couldn’t attack the champion until his army was dead, and they kept respawning while the champ was walking through an area infested with branded. I couldn’t have done that on a guardian or warrior even in the best gear. Maybe someone else who’s better at those classes could, but that champ hit hard and the only way I could see to beat him was to not get hit.

I don’t see what about Rangers that needs fixing. They require a little more involvement, but if you’re willing to do it, they can accomplish things in PVE that other classes can’t. They are a really good class to solo (Lone Ranger, ha!) and they don’t need the uberest gear. I do perfectly fine in dungeons. I can contribute in WvW. Every profession has it’s own strengths and weaknesses. Just because one profession does something better than another doesn’t mean something needs fixing.

What’s wrong with having some classes that are easier to play than others? It is traditional for the warrior to be the “beginner” class in MMOs. They’re tough, they focus on DPS, and their class mechanic tends not to be very complicated. It’s not a bad thing for different professions to have different play styles – I never did get the zen of the Mesmer, but my husband’s Mesmer is awesome. Folks on the forums complain about all of the professions, but I have seen each of them built and played well enough that I’m convinced most of the complaints are based on folks not really understanding the profession.

complicated answer… couple of thing here to address:
1) I’ve played pretty much every class till 30 at least.. they are all difficult initially, especially melee… I would highly recommend going ranged initially to stay away from damage in the early levels… pick up a rifle for your warrior… vuln shot, cripple, volley= anything is dead= super easy mode… greatsword warriors get super easy later on…
2) GS warrior is probably the easiest class to play… you can use skills to kill faster/make it more interesting but if you have decent gear you can pretty much face tank as a warrior… even if you’re glass… I’ve never tried a defensive warrior… I run a super glass cannon and even I can stand there and face tank dungeon bosses barely even trying to dodge… if I actually try to dodge, I’ve run CoF p1 dungeons where I’ve never gotten hit besides some random AoE…even as a melee warrior
3) Don’t give up on the warrior… it’s the easiest profession to play… I almost main a warrior but even I have to admit, its super n00b mode… if you’re struggling with a warrior, then you will have trouble with EVERY OTHER class in the game… (maybe only blackpowder thief is easier than that)
4) end game? I enjoy dungeons… there is always PvP but mainly WvW… there are guild missions coming in the next patch
5) there are definitely more things to do end-game than in other games… honestly, end-game is more fun to me… WvW is really fun… getting full exotic gear helps you A LOT, dungeons provide a lot of entertainment… Temple quests in Orr will keep you busy for days, its great… I need to get my Mesmer to 80 so I can get in on all of that gameplay…

Pandemoniac.4739:

Solandri.9640:

Yes fixing up the class would make encounters easier. But only if you insist on using the best gear.

If you feel a “fixed” ranger is too easy, all you have to do is drop down to rare or even masterwork weapons and armor to make it challenging again. That way both you and the people who think the ranger needs to be fixed can be happy. In its current state, only you can be happy. And asking Anet not to implement fixes others want just so you don’t have to create your own challenges is selfish.

Demanding that all professions be normalized so that none of them require much skill to play seems kind of selfish from where I’m standing. Lots of people want lots of things changed, but that doesn’t mean it will make the game better.

You know that group event where the branded champion is raising an army of twelve other branded? My ranger soloed that without dying when the only exotics she had were some level 78 weapons. Most of her armor was masterwork, and her jewelry was 20 levels or so old. It was a long fight because you couldn’t attack the champion until his army was dead, and they kept respawning while the champ was walking through an area infested with branded. I couldn’t have done that on a guardian or warrior even in the best gear. Maybe someone else who’s better at those classes could, but that champ hit hard and the only way I could see to beat him was to not get hit.

I don’t see what about Rangers that needs fixing. They require a little more involvement, but if you’re willing to do it, they can accomplish things in PVE that other classes can’t. They are a really good class to solo (Lone Ranger, ha!) and they don’t need the uberest gear. I do perfectly fine in dungeons. I can contribute in WvW. Every profession has it’s own strengths and weaknesses. Just because one profession does something better than another doesn’t mean something needs fixing.

What’s wrong with having some classes that are easier to play than others? It is traditional for the warrior to be the “beginner” class in MMOs. They’re tough, they focus on DPS, and their class mechanic tends not to be very complicated. It’s not a bad thing for different professions to have different play styles – I never did get the zen of the Mesmer, but my husband’s Mesmer is awesome. Folks on the forums complain about all of the professions, but I have seen each of them built and played well enough that I’m convinced most of the complaints are based on folks not really understanding the profession.

If you want to ignore the issues with rangers, that’s fine.

However, the devs themselves have said Rangers are the most broken out of all the professions, and have been promising a large patch for a few months now to fix it.

Rangers are the ONLY class to have skills that were REMOVED in beta and then put back in for release because they didn’t design a replacement for them in time (or ever…apparently).

Waypoint pet AI is atrocious and is terribly inefficient for any fight involving movement.

Arrows bug on terrain constantly. Longbow is very easy to strafe out of.

Spirits and Shouts are completely useless except in a few circumstances.

Weak weapon variety leads to unvaried build variety (which is a pretty common issue, true).

It’s unbelieveable that sword attack #1 hasn’t been reworked/improved/changed so as to not root you in place and prevent you from dodging effectively.

Rangers are woefully under-represented in the top sPvP teams.

Do other classes have issues? Yes, absolutely. Necros immediately come to mind. But the amount of issues rangers have, especially revolving around their pet, a core class component, is extremely hampering.

Rangers may be weaker in PvP, yes, but PvP is a very different beast than PvE. Thieves are one of the top PvP classes, but I rarely see them in PvE.

If you wish to spend a lot of time in PvP, I might not suggest ranger as a class. If you enjoy PvE content more, rangers are a very good class.