Guild Wars 2

(I know, I know, another one of these threads! I apologize!)

Hi! I played for the first time this past trial weekend and really liked the game, but I have a couple of questions I didn’t see answers to when browsing this forum (and/or the wiki didn’t help). This is the part where you kind folks come in. Any assistance would be great. I’m sorry this is long!

1) I’m a bit of altholic, but I need to reign that in some here and focus my efforts down. I’m not looking for anyone to decide on a profession for me, as that’s pretty impossible. I know the basic idea of most of the professions, but I do have some specific questions/concerns.

Here’s some info on me:

I’m a huge carebear. Part of the reason I didn’t pick up the game sooner. I have zero interest in any PvP. I will be all PvE, soloing and running dungeons.

I’m a “no” on Necro and Engineer. So those are out.

I’ve predominately played healers and ranged casters in other MMOs. I know the trinity doesn’t exist here, but I prefer a profession that can heal others, to one that can’t. If there’s a profession/weapon/trait combo that does this better than others, I’d love to hear about it.

Questions/Concerns:

I DO like melee professions, but I don’t really like 2Hers. Tried warrior and really disliked the 2Her (greatsword?). Is that one of their integral/most used weapons? Or could I get away with not using it often?

I have a little Thief, and really love the combat on her so far, but most professions of this type in other games suffer quite a bit while leveling. Does the Thief have a tough time in solo PvE?

I see Guardian suggested a lot, and I made one. A bit boring to me so far, but I’m only a couple levels in. Are they decent for farming? Or do they end up killing things slow? I like the idea of them being great for solo and groups, but not if it’s going to take me 2 minutes to kill a single mob.

My first profession was Elem. Love her. Really love her. But then I got on here and started reading how difficult they are to level and master, so now I’m a bit gun-shy about going back to her. Mostly what I am concerned about, is not being “skilled” enough to play one decently at end-game. Anyone have any advice on how to gauge that before I reach cap? Like say, if I’m not dying at level 20? Or something? I don’t want to spend months on a class only to find out later that I suck.

2) I have seen it mentioned in many places that you can deposit money into your bank. Please, someone tell me HOW?? I’ve seen Beta videos where there are “Deposit” and “Withdrawal” buttons on the Bank window, but I do not have those. Do you have to be a certain level? Or is there some other magical way to do it?

3) How does “guesting” work on other servers with a guild? Can you guest to a server and join a guild there? Are there any limitations to doing that, over joining a guild on your actual server?

Thank you!!!

1) Warriors: Almost all the weapons on the class are very viable. You don’t have to use the Greatsword if you don’t want to. 1-hand sword and axes are just as deadly. Ranged weapons are also very powerful. I have to force myself to melee or I will generally kill everything before they get close to me.

Thief: Very good DPS, kind of squishy at the beginning. Overall a very potent class in PvP, but not as much a PvE solo class.

Guardians: A bit little slower than Warrior and Theif. They are good at farming because they are very sustainable. People suggest it a lot because no one likes to die.

Elementalist: You are expected to constantly switch between all the elements to get the MOST out of it. Map all the keys in a convenient way so that you can do it and try a bit. You don’t really have to do all that at the start, but it will be necessary if you get into PvP or really competitive content.

However, you can get away with with not doing that through most of the PvE content. I just load everything up with DoTs and run around in a circle until they die. But I can attunement juggle if I have to. I’m just too lazy to bother with it most of the time.

2) You don’t have to deposit money anymore. All you monies are bound to your account and automatically shared across all your characters.

3) You pick a server to “guest” to, and for the next 24 hours, you can log into that server with your existing characters as much as you want. You can pick 2 servers to do that every 24 hours and then it resets and you pick 2 servers again. You can join a guild on another server and do all the stuff there and your progress will be saved. The only thing you can’t do while guesting on another server is the WvW PvP. If you try, you will automatically be moved back to your own server.

1. Any class can play a support role. If you like Elementalist, play it up. It has a high skill ceiling, but given how much variety in builds there are, you can likely find something to fit your playstyle. If you like healing, certain professions are better than others. Guardian is strong in this. Engineer and Elementalist can play this role as well. Ultimately support in this game has far more depth than just healing.

I haven’t played much beyond Mesmer and Engineer so I cannot comment on each class with solid knowledge to back it up.

2. This feature is no more as gold is account-wide now and the need to put it in the bank was moot. All currencies are account bound now. You can check your currerncy window on your Hero (“H”) sheet to see.

3. You can join a guild and guest in PvE with any server (in your region, I believe). You can join multiple guilds as well. Your account is what joins. Every character you make will be in it. You can choose which one to represent and have access to guild chat, bank, etc. You cannot guest in WvW as you can only represent your world.

As a note, if you find a guild you like on another server but don’t want to pay gems to transfer, delete your toons and then change servers for free. Any achievements, currency, or bank contents will persist. I can confirm this.

Ha. I’m slow on the Post Reply.

Thanks so much guys! Really all helpful stuff, and much appreciated.

The money being shared makes sense now, given that I noted the exact same amount of money on 2 characters yesterday but thought it was because they were the same level. Duh me.

Oh, mentioning Mesmer made me remember I wanted to also ask about them – I’ve seen it mentioned that they can be a bit slow/painful to level up. But once you do, are they a decent profession at end-game? Desired in dungeons, etc.? Or do they remain slow/painful to kill stuff?

And I appreciate the support for Elem, I really do like her. I’m a decently “skilled” gamer, just not very twitchy (thus why I suck at PvP). I’ve almost always switched out attunements during combat, so perhaps I can do ok just mastering that.

Thanks again!

Mesmers are very strong 1v1 duelists. They are not as effective in PvE, given how the AI is coded. Having a lot of decoys doesn’t do much good when the AI just ignores them. Most of their power seems to come from phantasms right now, which people are saying will be nerfed soon.

If you can play an Elmentalist, you don’t have to worry about another class being too hard. :P

1. Can’t say anything about Warrior, other than that it’s one of the most favoured classes in PvE due to their high damage, high armour and high HP and ease of play.

Thief really does not have a hard in PvE if you make use of either the stealth mechanic or their huge amount of extra dodges they get over other classes. It’s just not as straight forward to play as, say Warrior or Guardian. Yes, thiefs are generally pretty squishy, but they have great survival in their own ways, and good damage potential at both melee and range.

Guardians are good at both dealing damage and taking damage. It’s probably the easiest to play class in PvE. But I agree it’s not the most exciting thing to play.

In my opinion Elementalist isn’t worth playing anymore… but this is coming from someone who played one as main since beta and has seen the class receiving nerf after nerf. I’m sure you’ll find other players say otherwise, but I find the Elementalist in a pretty poor state ATM. To sum it up, they’re the squishiest class with the most skills at their disposal in combat. They don’t excel in really anything. If you want high damage on your Elementalist be prepared to sacrifice everything else (survival and support) and still be outmatched by a Warrior when it comes to raw damage.
If you want to go support on your Elementalist be prepared to see low damage output, which isn’t ideal in PvE since damage is the most effective way of dealing with mobs.

2. Money can’t be stored anymore. It’s all stored in your wallet now, which is account-wide.

3. Have never used guest, so couldn’t say.

Sera.2457:

Oh, mentioning Mesmer made me remember I wanted to also ask about them – I’ve seen it mentioned that they can be a bit slow/painful to level up. But once you do, are they a decent profession at end-game? Desired in dungeons, etc.? Or do they remain slow/painful to kill stuff?

I have a level 80 mesmer, but haven’t played it a whole lot. Levelling is a little slow, but not too bad. For me the biggest problem was that I felt I really needed a few high-end traits to get the most out of her, which didn’t happen until I reached level 80 really.
They’re generally pretty well liked in dungeons parties due to great support (reflects and time warp).

I second Solkard’s post. A mesmer can prove exceptionally deadly in a 1v1, but this concept barely exists in PvE because you will more often than not be faced with at least 3 targets. A mesmer’s biggest offense problem is a lack of AoEs, much less PBAoEs, which means that if you are faced with more than 5 targets at once, you will struggle to kill them all and be forced to retreat.

Now, for elementalist. As people have pointed out, the skill cap is pretty high compared to the other classes, but it is still learnable if you are willing. Of the 3 light classes, elementalists have the highest damage potential and compared to other damage dealers they are still able to offer pretty good healing/boon support. A dagger/dagger elementalist excels at taking on groups because of the sheer power of their PBAoEs and the extreme mobility.

While I respect your decision to not bother with necromancers, I suggest you reconsider. Necromancers have high inherent survivability and a LOT of AoEs, which makes taking on groups of mobs cakewalk for them. They can swamp any target with conditions, and the Consume Conditions heal is the only heal in the game that removes every condition from you (the more conditions it removes the more powerful the heal).

You guys are awesome, I really do appreciate all the advice and suggestions!

Lindbur – I might pursue Necro later at some point. I did make one and play it a bit, despite my dislike of Necros in any game. I just found their combat to be… odd. The use of a melee weapon (axe, wth?), spinning it around in semi-close range. I dunno, I think I expected it to be ranged DoTs and AE with dead/demony pet spells, in a more typical fashion. Maybe I do need to give them more of a chance. Especially since Mesmer isn’t knocking my socks off currently.

Ultimately, I’ll end up getting more slots and having most of the professions, but for now I’m keeping my Elem, Thief and Guardian. Then I have to decide between Mesmer (or Necro?), Warrior, and Ranger for the last 2. So many choices, aggghhhh!

The starting Necro axe weapon is a direct damage weapon. Their DoT skills are tied to the Scepter and Staff. Pet summons are located in the utility section. Pets have a secondary ability that appears after you summon them. Other than that, the class lacks the ability to manage pets as well as a Ranger can.

I would not recommend having both an Elem and a Necro. It’s like having a Guardian and a Warrior. They are different, but play kind of the same.

If you make a warrior, you really should carry a greatsword with you (at least in your inventory if not your alternate weapon slot). You might not look well upon it, but it will make your escape substantially easier in the event that you are overpowered by a group of mobs. GS 3 and 5 are efficient gap closers/wideners, and GS 3 has the advantage of evasion while whirling.

Ignore the stuff about “this class is hard!” and play the ones that are fun for you. If you are loving Elementalist, stick with it! Also, the classes change dramatically based on what weapons you are using. So if you don’t love a class at first playthrough, unlock their other weapons and mess about like that. Thief didn’t work for me until I discovered the shortbow, for example. And it took me until almost level 30 to really get interested in my engineer, because I wasn’t taking advantage of the weapon kits that come with the class. (Seriously, flamethrower is one of the most fun class abilities in the game.)

If you like the feel of a class, stick with it. And I also feel like the warrior is distinctly different than the guardian. Likewise for the elementalist/necro/mesmer.

Welcome!

1-hand sword skill 2 is also an effective gap closer, or just carry a rifle or bow and don’t even worry about having to catch them. Stay or run, they’re dead either way. You can use a horn if you want run speed or have a banner as one of the utility skills. Spamming banner 3 and 4 pretty much gets you anywhere you need to go.

Solkard – Ahhh, okies, so the Necro does get DoTs and stuff. Well maybe I will give them another try. I had played one before I even remembered that weapons change your abilities, so I might like scepter and staff better.

I wanted to like Mesmer, because I wanted to play 2 professions in cloth on different races, but I am not enjoying it that much. I think it’s that she doesn’t feel well-equipped for multiple mobs. I realize that might change, but I have a way easier time on Elem. I got into situations with her where I was 100% sure I was going to die because of the sheer number of mobs I had aggro’d, but I didn’t. Meanwhile on my Mesmer, I died at level 2 to three mobs.

I like even the smallest of variety between professions, so they all feel different to me even at low-levels.

Oh, and I definitely would still keep the 2Her around to use on the Warrior.

Thanks again, everyone! It’s so fun yet also a little frustrating being a newb. Trying to figure out how to get money into my bank had me banging my head on my desk.

As I recall when my son ran an earlier trial weekend, you can’t have access to the bank on a trial character. I could be wrong, but that’s what I remember.

The no deposit issue is a fairly recent change.

Warrior can work with ANY weapon combination (one of the things I like best is completely changing my game play in a matter of moments).

If you seriously like to assist other players, then Guardian is the way to go. While most of your “assistance” is either indirectly applied or ground targeted, it can keep a group alive many times longer and without a huge sacrifice to your own damage output. Granted, the Guardian will NEVER win a DPS contest, but it can be speced to put out some respectable damage while having a very high survivablity (and being VERY sought after in most every group in PvE).

Didn’t mention why you discounted the Necro and Engineer and I see someone has possibly changed your mind about the Necro so I’ll advocate the Engi a bit. Engineer is a strange beast, but one I find quite enjoyable. Most all his weapons are ranged to some extent and they don’t exactly fit the “swords and sorcery” mold (possibly why you have discounted playing one). They bring a good bit of group support and can truly lay down some serious damage to groups of enemies. They do lack the surviviablity of some of the other classes and they also lack some basic “utility” skills that are needed to solo some harder hitting bosses (you can still take them down, just not go toe to toe with them). I’m also disturbingly fond of my flame thrower….I named her Burn-a-debt.

Burn-a-debt, LoL, very cute!

There is just something about the concept of Engineer classes in a high fantasy setting that I’ve never really liked, dunno why exactly. But eventually I will have one of every Profession. But to be honest, I thought I had read that they weren’t group-friendly. Perhaps I misread – are they desired in dungeons/group content?

Before I decide on my final 5, I will roll up an Engineer and at least give the first few levels a go. You guys are not making it easier to narrow it down! :p

Engineer gameplay mainly revolves around the kits loaded in their utility slots. If you try one, play it up to around 20 so that you will have enough kits unlocked to get a more accurate feel for the class.

Gotchas, thanks!

Also, I made an Asura Necro on a whim, since I didn’t really like Asura, and doggonit – I like her! The melee is a lot cuter and more fluid on an Asura than the Human I originally tried. I appreciate all the support folks!

Necromancer is good for dungeons, either conditions if youre the only one applying them, or a power deathshroud build that applies tons of vulnerability and even weakness, supporting the team by applying conditions rather than buffing allies.

I love mesmer to death but it probably has one of the lower dungeon DPSes. Mesmer DPS itself is low, but burst provided by phantasms and shatters, (phantasms more so than shatters right now) is quite high. The only issue is they die a lot and some aren’t very good against moving targets. AoE wise mesmers are fine, between sword cleave, GS phantasm, focus phantasm, and the staff as a whole their AoE damage is fine. Phantasm builds probably won’t get nerfed becuase the class already had the 20/20/0/25/5 phantasm build of supreme power nerfed (illusionist’s celerity).

I have solo’d some dungeon paths with a Mesmer, with the right build, they can to anything, PvE, WvW, PvP, dungeons.

Y’all are awesome! I think I might just have to breakdown and buy more slots sooner than I expected, so I can really play around with everything.

Next newb question: Splitting stacks of stuff – I’ve seen Ctrl+click and Alt+Click (and then drag) both mentioned as the way to do this, but neither work for me. Ctrl+Click+Drag just ends up linking the item in chat and Alt+Click+ Drag just moves the stack. I’m trying to split gathering tools btw, if that makes a difference.

It sounds like Guardian or Elemental to me, but others could fill in as well, I just think those two will cover your need for support (it’s more than just heals like others have already said). Elemental has a higher skill cap due to the need to change attunement to be truly effective and that you have to have a bit of pre-planning. Guardian is a very sturdy toon with excellent support skills, good healing, good survivability and reasonable damage considering the other benefits. Obviously it all depends on the build you choose, gear and skill but either of those should do for you.

When you Alt-Click-Dragged, did you put the item into another empty inventory slot? The window to split them only shows up after you’ve designated the other slot in your inventory the new stack of items will go.

Solkard.5136:

When you Alt-Click-Dragged, did you put the item into another empty inventory slot? The window to split them only shows up after you’ve designated the other slot in your inventory the new stack of items will go.

Yeah, but it just moved the whole stack to that spot. Does the splitting window appear nearby the Inventory window? Maybe it’s popping up somewhere else and I’m missing it. Will have to play around with it more during lunch. :p But at least now I know it is Alt+Click!

Oh, and I take it back about Warrior and 2Hers. I thought the first weapon she had was a Greatsword, but it was just a 1H sword that I didn’t care for. I picked up a 2H hammer and it’s AWESOME.

My hardest decision currently is trying to decide if my Guardian is going to be Sylvari or Norn. Looking at the armor gallery for both, Sylvari have a few more heavy sets I like than Norn does, but I really love the Tier 2 and 3 Cultural heavy armor for Norn. Yeah, I’m that silly. Hrm, maybe I will play Guardian and Warrior a bit to see which one I like more, then make/remake that one as Norn. /sigh

Sera.2457:

Next newb question: Splitting stacks of stuff – I’ve seen Ctrl+click and Alt+Click (and then drag) both mentioned as the way to do this, but neither work for me. Ctrl+Click+Drag just ends up linking the item in chat and Alt+Click+ Drag just moves the stack. I’m trying to split gathering tools btw, if that makes a difference.

Alt+Click+Drag is the way to split a stack. Gathering tools can’t be split, however, because they are tools with a finite number of uses rather than a stack of single-use tools. So for example a scythe that says 50 is one scythe that can be used 50 times, not a stack of 50 single-use scythes. Confusing, perhaps, but there you have it.

Chaialyna.1023:

Sera.2457:

Next newb question: Splitting stacks of stuff – I’ve seen Ctrl+click and Alt+Click (and then drag) both mentioned as the way to do this, but neither work for me. Ctrl+Click+Drag just ends up linking the item in chat and Alt+Click+ Drag just moves the stack. I’m trying to split gathering tools btw, if that makes a difference.

Alt+Click+Drag is the way to split a stack. Gathering tools can’t be split, however, because they are tools with a finite number of uses rather than a stack of single-use tools. So for example a scythe that says 50 is one scythe that can be used 50 times, not a stack of 50 single-use scythes. Confusing, perhaps, but there you have it.

Thanks so much! I thought that might be the issue, totally makes sense now why I couldn’t get it to work.

Norn guardians have an advantage if they need to escape very quickly by means of the Snow Leopard form racial elite, but this cannot be used in s/tPvP.

Also, here’s a pic of my ele. My necro looks exactly the same. So don’t be hating on asura! :3