Guild Wars 2

I looked around the forum, and tried a search, but the search terms are kinda too common to help much…

Anyway…

Any kind folks have a suggestion for a GW2 newbie (but a somewhat experienced MMO player) for race and profession combinations?

I would often start with a healer character to get a feel for the game. But reading up on GW2 it seems straight up healers aren’t really needed. I’ve tanked in other games, but have usually been dps (often rogue type characters).

So…any help?

Thanks.

Talcyndl.4761:

Thanks. So it’s basically a pure DPS game?

Not exactly. GW2’s combat system is set up so that it is based around control/support/damage instead of tank/healer/DPS. DreamyAbaddon’s guide explains it better than I can: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/Combat-System-101-Guide/first

The DPS mindset holds that, as the game currently works, damage is more important than control or support. This is due to the fact that, with enough skill, players can avoid most incoming damage by dodging, strafing, and using their skills actively (for example, putting up a wall that reflects projectiles when you notice an enemy charging a ranged attack), and with enough damage, an enemy will die faster, making it less of a threat. Thus there is less need for extensive defensive control or support in highly skilled and organized groups.

However, this does not mean simply stacking DPS and bumrushing the boss guarantees a win. As said before, players must be alert and skilled enough to recognize and dodge/counter incoming attacks, especially when playing glass builds that leave no leeway for mistakes. I have run with a great number of people, and often I’ve found myself having to revive glass players countless times after they failed to dodge big attacks or stand in red circles. In addition, effective groups will employ support and control rather than just stacking pure DPS- the aforementioned projectile-reflecting wall is a form of support, as well as cleansing debilitating conditions. Blinding all enemies with a dust cloud so they are unable to hit you is a form of control, as well as knocking down an enemy before it finishes charging a powerful attack. The essential idea is to defeat a boss quickly so it poses less of a threat over time, while using control and support abilities to make killing it easier or faster.

This meta is not absolute. There will be people who are uncomfortable playing full glass builds, which are reliant on tight party coordination, and will choose to play balanced builds that offer more self-sustain for a small loss in DPS. Or they run often with inexperienced, uncoordinated groups, and prefer anchoring, defensive builds. That is perfectly all right! There are people whose reflexes aren’t as good due to age or inexperience, and will wear gear that is not full offense. Or they simply don’t like being full glass because it stresses them out. Again, that is perfectly all right. There are groups where everything is tightly optimized, just as there are plenty of groups who do not care about speed or min/maxing and just want to have a good time. Both are perfectly legitimate ways of playing. I’ve run with both types of groups, and both finished dungeons just fine. What really matters is that people understand their class, the dungeon, and the combat.

So, ultimately- find what you like, and play it.

Race doesn’t really matter aside from story, looks, and a racial elite skill (which are generally lacking anyway). So race is more about the looks you want and the personal story. Profession, there are no real healers/tanks in GW2.

If you are really new and learning the mechanics and such I would suggest rolling a guardian to start. Good survivability and such.

Thanks. So it’s basically a pure DPS game?

Talcyndl.4761:

Thanks. So it’s basically a pure DPS game?

For a lot of people yes. You will often see people say pure zerker is the only way to roll which isn’t always true. Me I mostly solo roam PvE, don’t do dungeons or fractals or WvW so I play around with my stats. It really depends on what your game goals are.

Yeah, I figured the min/max folks probably overstate the case for the “only” way to play.

Any input on PVP? Any classes to utterly avoid?

And thanks again.

Talcyndl.4761:

Yeah, I figured the min/max folks probably overstate the case for the “only” way to play.

Any input on PVP? Any classes to utterly avoid?

And thanks again.

Personally I don’t PvP. However you said you like a “rogue” style so maybe try a thief. It seems from what I read at least they hold their own in PvP. My suggestion really is to just roll a few professions to see what you enjoy. Every profession has a lot to offer in each aspect of the game. Me I prefer Mesmer because I’m really enjoying making my clones/phantasms dance around mobs. It can be a pretty good show. I’ve heard they can be a force in PvP as well if played properly. They are a bit tricky to play until about L40 or so because they depend a lot on traits but I think in PvP you get access to all those anyway.

Honestly you will get a lot of opinions on what you should play. As I suggested try a few different ones out since you don’t have much to lose if you don’t like it. Just don’t roll a giant Norn or Charr Memser because Mesmers don’t have a passive movement speed boost and with larger characters it makes them look like they move slow as heck.

Honestly, your probably looking at either a warrior/thief. Thief is generally better for single-target DPS from what I’ve heard, though warriors are sort of the all-around class in GW2. Able to solo stuff, provide group support with shouts and banners, as heavies they are more forgiving (you can take a couple hits and shrug it off even if you do manage to mess up), are top-notch dps if specced correctly and are one of the most highly desired classes in dungeons, next to guard/eles. The above are some of the reasons most newbies tend to roll a warrior for their 1st class. Plus its actually prty fun to play a war, despite what most people think. Though the same can be said of really any class, once you become experienced enough with it. http://youtu.be/6D_u9JNGdYA

Its also true GW2 doesnt have a dedicated healer class. The closest is probably a guard that is excellent support, provides regen/protection etc. to the entire group. A guard correctly specced can also match a warrior’s dps. However playing a guard/ele also requires more skill than playing a warrior. I might have recommended a guard but since your starting out and looking for a dps class, warrior/thief is probably the best fit for you.

Thanks guys.

While I have you…

Any suggestions on servers? My game is almost finished downloading, so will have to decide soon.

Talcyndl.4761:

Thanks guys.

While I have you…

Any suggestions on servers? My game is almost finished downloading, so will have to decide soon.

NA or EU server? I’m on NA server Tarnished Coast. It is the unofficial NA RP server and has a good high population and great group of people overall. Very few nimrods and a good community. You will usually find players in every zone where some of the lower population servers have problems with that at times.

NA. Is the PVP pop on Tarnished Coast ok? Or is PVP cross server – so it doesn’t matter?

Talcyndl.4761:

NA. Is the PVP pop on Tarnished Coast ok? Or is PVP cross server – so it doesn’t matter?

As I said I don’t PvP so I can’t give a solid answer. I did run across a new player about a month ago that I helped with some things and he seemed to be enjoying PvP a lot last time I checked in with him. Overall I feel Tarnished Coast is just a good well rounded server with good people. I think many would say the same as it is a popular server. If you should choose it and don’t like it early on you can delete your characters and transfer to another one for free. Just put everything in your bank first.

PvP is not based on server. When you join matches, you’ll be matched with people from every server on either NA or EU (depending on which you are on yourself). Also, as the people before me said, it would be good to try out different professions to see which on you like. Since when you enter PvP (The Mists) you are automatically leveled up to 80 with all yours skills unlocked and access to every weapon, sigil, and rune. The amulets are a bit limited stat-wise, so not every build option will be optimal, but that’s ok. You can still get a feel for the profession there.

Sever is important for WvW and if you want RP community.

Success in GW2 requires some potential for DPS to be successful, but much more importantly you need to AVOID DPS from incoming damage sources. Mobility, positioning, dodging, blocking, etc. are ALL very important to being a successful player (much more so than most other MMOs). Building your character with only the highest possible DPS in mind will still fall short in some areas if you don’t know how (or are unable to) intelligently avoid hard hitting damage sources.

Race doesn’t really matter as the only practical difference are elite skills. (which often aren’t good anyway)
In this game it’s not about going tank,dps or healer,it’s about doing something more or less.
Tank here equivals to bunker, AKA a character able to sustain a long fight and winning by attrite over a long time.
Healer here equivals to support, AKA anything that improves nearby players in any way.
DPS here equivals to zerker or condition characters able to dish out sustained and/or burst damage for quite higher numbers compared to others.

This actually means you can “tank”,“support” and “dps” With ANY profession available.

Generally,people who say “zerker is the only way” only care about speedruns and they’re often covered by thougher allies,also this just applies to Pve. In PvP going pure zerker gear is like asking to die.
This happens cause in PvE mobs are stupid and predictable,in PvP players can choose their tactics against you.

You’re new,but you’re not new to MMOs,often playing a burst class,so you should feel perfectly fine with any profession.
However,for PVE i feel Warrior,Guardian and Ranger have quite an easy time.

But since you’re used to bursty characters,you may enjoy rolling a thief…or a mesmer.
Additionally elementalist and engineer will provide a more difficult (yet rewarding) experience.

Since you’re moving from the usual Trinity…

If you want a healer/supportive role, you can try a staff support elementalist, Guardian, Ranger or Necro.
If you want single target high melee DPS, either Warrior or Thief.
Single target high ranged DPS, mesmer.
AoE melee DPS, Warrior or Guard.
Ranged AoE DPS, Scepter/Focus Elementalist.
Tank, Warrior or Guard
Debuffer, Necro or Thief.
Troll, Mesmer.
Everything, Engineer or Elementalist.

The last two options are the absolute hardest to master, where the Engineer/Elementalist is a skill/reaction time/memory type difficulty, and the troll-type Mesmer is an understanding-the-enemy type difficulty. The easiest is the DPS Warrior.

And for certain classes, race is critically important – especially engineers, because every skill for them is actually two skills. For instance, the Sylvari Engineer gets an additional Invulnerability type skill from the toolbelt that is inaccessible to other races.

Talcyndl.4761:

Thanks. So it’s basically a pure DPS game?

A new player and you already figured it out

While you’re getting your bearings in PvE you could do well with a knight’s set until you are comfortable throwing on some berserker.

Looking at these posts, I fear some folks may steer you very, very wrong. There is no healing class. I wish there was as I loved playing monk in GW1. You can certainly play a DPS class.

I’d say you can’t go wrong with a guardian. They have not received any “buffs” in a while from anet and they are still an amazing class.

-High dps? Check.
-Near unlimited damage mitigation? Check.
-Party wide mitigation? Yup…Check.
-Permanent prot uptime? Check.
-Reflects? Check.
-Might and fire fields? Check.
-High vigor through crit? Check.

Could go on. As long as you remember that your class job is to 1. Deal damage and 2. Bring utility that increases party damage, you’ll be fine with most classes.

Just don’t be like the poster above me talking about supportive staff guardians. The staff has its place in use but isn’t a weapon you want to play….support staff camp guardian = a guardian you don’t want on your team.