Guild Wars 2

I’ve spent hours trying to find a definitive answer, or at least enough information to think of one myself, but there’s too much beating around the bush.

I want to make a character that is still valuable in dungeons and WvW by the time I hit level 80, and is able to be built in multiple ways without sacrificing effectiveness overall, semi-dedicated support included (healing/boons, etc.). I’ve narrowed it down to Elementalist and Warrior. I’d somewhat prefer to do Elementalist, but I can’t find anyone willing to just lay out the problems the class may or may not have without just repeating that if you “learn to play better” then you’ll be “fine.”

I’m too limited on time to just play both, so I’d prefer to sink time into the right one. Will being an Elementalist shoehorn me into a single role that requires a disproportionate effort to contribute as much as a Warrior? Don’t sugarcoat it, please.

Thank you in advance.

Ele and Warrior are both good choices.

I’d say the biggest draw back for the Ele is their squishiness, especially as you’re levelling. However, by the time you get to 80, there are some builds that actually allow you to be pretty tanky. An Ele can switch back and forth between damage and support fairly easily through attunement swapping, your build will determine what you are better at. I think it’s pretty hard to be pigeonholed as an ele though, other than people worried about your squishiness.

It’s certainly easiest to survive as a warrior, as they have the highest health and armor, whereas Elementalists have the lowest health and armor.

I don’t know if that helps any. Good luck

IMO you should go warrior, right now Ele can’t really be built in multiple ways. All current builds that allow us to survive revolve around 0/x/x/30/30 for attunement recharge and the fact that the Water trait line is the only really good one. If you want diversity in styles of play, Ele probably isn’t the best choice. We have good survivability, but our power isn’t there either since we have to sacrifice it just to survive. I only say Warrior because I somewhat know what an Ele is limited to and have no knowledge of Warrior.

That being said, I love playing my Ele regardless because attunement dancing and controlling the battle is very engaging to me.

go ele, d/d is really good right now. ele boon and condition application are very good

Ele D/D is so good it is imbalanced in WvW.

Tank, damage, healing, control and escapes – you’ve got it all!

Nobody except burst Thieves will ever be able to touch you.

Not even whole zergs.

Don’t sweat it so much…if you like Ele, play it!

Warrior are a lot of fun too, play that if you want. Its all good.

Elementalists are a little tougher in the beginning due to being squishier, but they get better.

If anyone is telling you that you are going to be “shoehorn”-ed into a roll, don’t listen. You can be successful with either of those classes and play how you want.

Classic.9174:

I’ve spent hours trying to find a definitive answer, or at least enough information to think of one myself, but there’s too much beating around the bush.

I want to make a character that is still valuable in dungeons and WvW by the time I hit level 80, and is able to be built in multiple ways without sacrificing effectiveness overall, semi-dedicated support included (healing/boons, etc.). I’ve narrowed it down to Elementalist and Warrior. I’d somewhat prefer to do Elementalist, but I can’t find anyone willing to just lay out the problems the class may or may not have without just repeating that if you “learn to play better” then you’ll be “fine.”

I’m too limited on time to just play both, so I’d prefer to sink time into the right one. Will being an Elementalist shoehorn me into a single role that requires a disproportionate effort to contribute as much as a Warrior? Don’t sugarcoat it, please.

Thank you in advance.

I will give a summary of my thoughts and then my answer.

Elementalist:

Pro:
Excellent class. Great Range, AoEs, Damage, Support. Wonderful in Huge WvW Battles and Defending. Great For Dungeon Support. Healing, CC, Damage. Perfect for roaming.

Con:
Squishy. Not much single target damage. Other classes can still deal more dmg than elem.

Warrior:

Pro:
Takes more damage than elementalist. Deals way more damage than elementalist. You can be in the front lines killing things and be in the thick of battle instead of hiding back a bit. You can kill players in 5 seconds tops. AoE Rez, Shouts and Regen Depending on Build.

Con:
Most of their amazing damage is single target use (AoE If near). Bow seems so boring on Warrior. It’s more fun spreading out the damage if you can. Even as Heavy Armor Class they are still a tad bit squishy. Even a Power/Well Necro Build can top off a Warrior.

And my Final Answer:

Elementalist.

They have great range and support skills. Healing people and dealing AoE CC and Damage. Roll with a Staff. After my expereience in WvW Dagger Dagger is fun, but Staff is really the way to go. Dagger Dagger is more a pvp thing.

Oh and +1 Good Answer this if this helped your decision. Haha, I’d like to know if you decided to roll with what I suggested.

Dezarys.1372:

Classic.9174:

I’ve spent hours trying to find a definitive answer, or at least enough information to think of one myself, but there’s too much beating around the bush.

I want to make a character that is still valuable in dungeons and WvW by the time I hit level 80, and is able to be built in multiple ways without sacrificing effectiveness overall, semi-dedicated support included (healing/boons, etc.). I’ve narrowed it down to Elementalist and Warrior. I’d somewhat prefer to do Elementalist, but I can’t find anyone willing to just lay out the problems the class may or may not have without just repeating that if you “learn to play better” then you’ll be “fine.”

I’m too limited on time to just play both, so I’d prefer to sink time into the right one. Will being an Elementalist shoehorn me into a single role that requires a disproportionate effort to contribute as much as a Warrior? Don’t sugarcoat it, please.

Thank you in advance.

I will give a summary of my thoughts and then my answer.

Elementalist:

Pro:
Excellent class. Great Range, AoEs, Damage, Support. Wonderful in Huge WvW Battles and Defending. Great For Dungeon Support. Healing, CC, Damage. Perfect for roaming.

Con:
Squishy. Not much single target damage. Other classes can still deal more dmg than elem.

Warrior:

Pro:
Takes more damage than elementalist. Deals way more damage than elementalist. You can be in the front lines killing things and be in the thick of battle instead of hiding back a bit. You can kill players in 5 seconds tops. AoE Rez, Shouts and Regen Depending on Build.

Con:
Most of their amazing damage is single target use (AoE If near). Bow seems so boring on Warrior. It’s more fun spreading out the damage if you can. Even as Heavy Armor Class they are still a tad bit squishy. Even a Power/Well Necro Build can top off a Warrior.

And my Final Answer:

Elementalist.

They have great range and support skills. Healing people and dealing AoE CC and Damage. Roll with a Staff. After my expereience in WvW Dagger Dagger is fun, but Staff is really the way to go. Dagger Dagger is more a pvp thing.

Oh and +1 Good Answer this if this helped your decision. Haha, I’d like to know if you decided to roll with what I suggested.

It’s definitely something I’m considering. Honestly unless the next few people all tell me about how bad the Elementalist is, I’ll probably roll one.

Honestly all classes bring something to the game in both dungeons and WvW. What matters more is enjoying the class you play … the rest will come naturally.

Just pick guardian and be happy

I have a slight bias to the warrior as it’s my main and my pride and joy. I’ve just always been a melee type of person, so. I also have an elementalist, however, and I can say that if you’re drawn to the casting playstyle (hell I felt like a wizard), then it’s definitely what you want. The cons have mostly already been stated. You’re squishy as hell for quite some time leveling and if you get zerged by multiple enemies you either kite like a boss, or drop dead like a boss. The problem I had was that switching attunements felt like playing the piano sometimes. It’s an absolute blast to do that… until you’re in a really hectic situation and you freeze up and don’t even know which attunement to get into. Others might not have that problem, but I did. When it got really rough, I’d just kitten out. I feel like played right, an elementalist is an amazing support class, but the attunement switching to make it what it could be just wasn’t for me. That’s the cons. The pros are also listed, superior support, decent pinch heals, damage isn’t bad either, fun as hell, wizards, etc.

On the warrior, the con could simply be that you might get bored being a bulldozer. I sort of had a midlife crisis around level 40 where I wanted to play through parts of leveling without armor just for a challenge. Not saying warrior is overly easy… but… Once I got to 80, though I really enjoyed what I became. Right now I play as a tanky, dps support class. I use shout heals for support. I can cleanse debuffs, heal, and do various other things with just three shouts on a very low cooldown. That’s how I preferr to play. Support, yet also in the bosses face. The pros and cons of a warrior versus those of an elementalist are really all going to go back to preference on your part. Would you rather juggernaut or wizard? I see the fun and value in both.