Guild Wars 2

I HATED my thief (first character I made) from like 27-75 due to squish; but now I’ve been playing him a while and LOVE the speed factor (stealing, shadow stepping, dodge-rolling, etc).

I am looking for suggestions for a comparably-mobile profession to try.

I DID try Ranger, but the fact they’re all apparently from Louisiana and do everything backwards like a crawfish is REALLY annoying (Hornet Sting jumps BACKWARDS?!?!). Monarch’s Leap and hornet sting shoulda been reversed.

Any other recommendations for an adrenaline junkie?

KarateKid.5648:

I HATED my thief (first character I made) from like 27-75 due to squish; but now I’ve been playing him a while and LOVE the speed factor (stealing, shadow stepping, dodge-rolling, etc).

I am looking for suggestions for a comparably-mobile profession to try.

I DID try Ranger, but the fact they’re all apparently from Louisiana and do everything backwards like a crawfish is REALLY annoying (Hornet Sting jumps BACKWARDS?!?!). Monarch’s Leap and hornet sting shoulda been reversed.

Any other recommendations for an adrenaline junkie?

Ele

And why would you want to have a meele skill that leaps towards the enemy and after that leaps away?

it’s the first half i don’t like on a ranger… i can always not do the second.

edit: unless i just face-planted into an aether captain

I’d recomend mesmer with staff, or an elementalist for mobile professions. I will say that ele mobility has been nerfed a lot as ride the lightnings cooldown was more than doubled to remove the D/D god mode build. Thieves are the most mobile profession with so many gap closers with low/no cooldowns.

Mesmer has blink-teleports, a sword leap immobolize combo, portal, phase retreat on staff which is an amazing leap finisher/defensive move, and access to clone on dodge, vigor on critical hit, and some stealth.

Mesmers do lack sources of swiftness outside of focus offhand as most of their in combat mobility is teleports/leaps. Mesmer DPS only comes from shatter or phantasm burst really which is now easy to counter, meanwhile ele burst mostly comes from S/D in pvp and conjured weapons in pve. Thieves and Eles can out DPS a mesmer by far.

ohhhh pve only – not concerned with pvp/wvw. forgot that bit.

Ehh well mesmers still bring a lot of utility in PvE, but in general for most classes PvE isn’t about mobility as it is in pvp/wvw. In CoE you have stack all the time on most of the bosses and trash mobs.

Hum, if we are talking about fast paced action, staff mesmer is going to bore him to death.

As for your question, anything with a dagger will look like it’s going fast. That being said, try a D/D elementalist, I’m pretty sure you’ll find it fun. You’ll need to get your keys mapped to switch elements easily though.

I hated the ranger sword when I first used it. Once I unlocked all the skills, I salvaged it.

After10 months of ignoring the sword, I recently tried it again. Now I cannot stop using it.

Yes, Hornet Sting is ‘awkward’ and I use it only for emergency escapes, but Vipers is great. The auto takes a bit of getting use to, but has some good leaps. Also I run sword/dagger and dagger #4 is another mobility skill.

I would suggest giving the ranger sword another go.

EDIT: Ranger greatsword has some mobility as well. Running sword/xx and GS gives a lot of mobility as a ranger.

You’re not going to get a high-speed playstyle in PvE.

Warrior with Greatsword, Sword/Warhorn, Bull’s Rush, a banner and Signet of Rage.

Untraited his setup would give you:
Rush – 1200 every 20 sec
Whirlwind – 450 every 10 sec
Savage Leap – 600 every 8 sec
Charge – 10 sec of Swiftness every 15 sec
Bull’s Rush – 600 every 40 sec
Sprint – 600 every 15 sec
Inspire – 10 sec of Swiftness every 15 sec
Signet of Rage – 30 sec of Swiftness evert 60 sec

If you like Shield instead of Warhorn, Shield Bash is 300 every 25 sec.
There’s also Earthshaker on Hammer F1 for 600, and Eviscerate on Axe F1 for 300 every 10 sec.

colesy.8490:

You’re not going to get a high-speed playstyle in PvE.

One of the most PvP elitist statements I have ever read….if you mean you don’t NEED a high-speed playstyle in PvE, then that’s not entirely wrong, but you can certainly PLAY one. I’m not even sure how you can imply that it’s impossible to do in PvE, but doable in PvP….only handful of skills and traits are different between them.

@ OP – Hornet Sting is a great skill if timed properly….and you use the follow up to the skill….. You not seeing that brings your entire game-play ability into question.

One of the most PvP elitist statements I have ever read

You’re throwing that word “elitist” around, yet I don’t think you know what it means.

if you mean you don’t NEED a high-speed playstyle in PvE, then that’s not entirely wrong, but you can certainly PLAY one. I’m not even sure how you can imply that it’s impossible to do in PvE, but doable in PvP….only handful of skills and traits are different between them.

Well sure, anyone can circle strafe around a world boss that stands there, but I’d hardly call it a playstyle since the mobs don’t react to you unlike they do in WvW and PvP.

Again, to reiterate, unless you want to manufacture a high-speed fighting style, you’re not going to get any of it in PvE, whereas you will easily get it in PvP modes.

I thought the purpose of Hornet Sting was pretty obvious with the 1/2s Evade in there. Especially if you’ve played a thief. If you have only used pistols on the thief then maybe not.

colesy.8490:

One of the most PvP elitist statements I have ever read

You’re throwing that word “elitist” around, yet I don’t think you know what it means.
…..

That you are being condescending and dismissive to anyone that dares to imply that any skill is needed to play PvE?

How is wanting to play in a high-speed manner in PvE “manufacturing” it? Again, if you are stating that it’s not needed…that’s true…but how is it harming you if they want to play that way? The fact that you think it’s an invalid PvE style of play because you don’t see it as necessary is EXACTLY why I made my “elitist” comment.

If the OP likes to kill mobs faster, why should that ruffle your feathers?

That you are being condescending and dismissive to anyone that dares to imply that any skill is needed to play PvE?

Barely any skill is required. In open world you just autoattack, and in dungeons you skip mobs and memorise basic attack rotations. CoF p1 is the worst offender, speed runners could complete it purely off of muscle memory, no thinking involved.

How is wanting to play in a high-speed manner in PvE “manufacturing” it? Again, if you are stating that it’s not needed…that’s true…but how is it harming you if they want to play that way? The fact that you think it’s an invalid PvE style of play because you don’t see it as necessary is EXACTLY why I made my “elitist” comment.

It’s manufactured because it’s not necessary. You make use of a “high-speed” playstyle in pvp and wvw because fighting against humans requires circle strafing, evading and good reflexes along with controlled use of abilities rather than spamming cooldowns. In PvE I can literally drop a phantasmal warden against a risen putrifier, they fire a projectile which hits them for like 2.8k and the mob basically dies from me casting that one phantasm. It’s not challenging.

You only made the elitist comment because you disagreed with me, not for me actually being elitist.

If the OP likes to kill mobs faster, why should that ruffle your feathers?

It doesn’t, in fact I’m constantly telling people to do so yet I get “play how I want” spewed at me every day on this forum.

Mesmer is good, but the one thing I hated when leveling mine is the lack of speed. There’s no increased movement speed buff like a lot of other classes have and no on-demand swiftness either. After playing my Warrior, Ranger, Theif, Guardian for a while I feel like I’m moving extremely slow when on my Mesmer.

Zach.3264:

Mesmer is good, but the one thing I hated when leveling mine is the lack of speed. There’s no increased movement speed buff like a lot of other classes have and no on-demand swiftness either. After playing my Warrior, Ranger, Theif, Guardian for a while I feel like I’m moving extremely slow when on my Mesmer.

The mesmer speed problem is addressed by using a focus, and can be further corrected with air/centaur runes and the mirror heal.

nearlight.3064:

Zach.3264:

Mesmer is good, but the one thing I hated when leveling mine is the lack of speed. There’s no increased movement speed buff like a lot of other classes have and no on-demand swiftness either. After playing my Warrior, Ranger, Theif, Guardian for a while I feel like I’m moving extremely slow when on my Mesmer.

The mesmer speed problem is addressed by using a focus, and can be further corrected with air/centaur runes and the mirror heal.

I’ve been wondering about that one … can you use the choir bell/flute/horn for that too? I know the bell can trigger the (6) effect on Lyssa runes.

Engineer. Been my main since I discovered the joys of bouncing around, swapping kits, and killing my enemies with crazy weapons. Perma-swiftness from lvl 20 on, no-CD kit swapping, grenades, bombs, flamethrower, shotguns (rifle), elixirs, turrets…tons of fun. And with all the viable build options, you’ll never get bored.

colesy.8490:

………

Ok….I can see I’m wasting my time so good luck with all that.

Why is it so hard to just admit you’re wrong?

Fast play options are Warrior, Elementalist, Engineer, or Mesmer.

Warrior gets strong very fast.

Elementalist is even squishier than Thief until you start investing in traits.

Engineer will feel incomplete until you start unlocking gadgets and kits.

Mesmer supposedly also have issues at the beginning, but I haven’t gotten that far with them yet.

D/d ele all the way

ok, will look into elementalist and engineer – neither has negatives I inherently can’t ignore (i.e. I can be patient for 20 levels pretty easily).

To answer some snark above:

I used S/D and S/W on ranger – that experience was not spelled out.

I did/do follow up on the skill – it still feels “backwards” to me.

Evade is indeed cool, but that’s why I have dodge roll, I assumed… thus not of as much value to me.

My Thief was primarily d/d.

“Required” for PvE or not, it’s what I like… hence I asked for advice on a profession that would provide it. Plodding forward in a straight line swinging a Greatsword or two axes just looks boring to me as I watch others do it.

It doesn’t matter what you like, you will never fight anything that requires you constantly on your feet in PvE.

I play a full glass cannon mesmer (a light armour class as you know), and like I said I can drop a phantasm and a mob dies, whereas in WvW or PvP I’m required to make good use of distance, teleports, stealth, knockbacks, stuns and careful phantasm placement while I evade big hits and make sure my big hits land.

colesy.8490:

Why is it so hard to just admit you’re wrong?

I’m sure everyone that doesn’t agree with your opinions is “wrong” so I will proudly let you think so.

If your not an Elitist then the forum filters prevent me from stating what you really are (but it starts with Kitten and likely ends with it too).

I’d recommend Ranger with sword/any as your melee set. The sword “root” issue really isn’t a problem – it’s a high-risk / high-reward weapon. Hornet/Monarch can be great as an evade or also for jumping back into a combo field.

colesy.8490:

You’re not going to get a high-speed playstyle in PvE.

OP found the thief’s playstyle high-speed in PvE, so I’m guessing its a matter of taste. I’d advise shatter Mesmer or D/D Ele.

colesy.8490:

It doesn’t matter what you like, you will never fight anything that requires you constantly on your feet in PvE.

I play a full glass cannon mesmer (a light armour class as you know), and like I said I can drop a phantasm and a mob dies, whereas in WvW or PvP I’m required to make good use of distance, teleports, stealth, knockbacks, stuns and careful phantasm placement while I evade big hits and make sure my big hits land.

Well.. I’m pretty sure it goes the same for almost any game. Playing against real players will always be more challenging than a predictable computer.

I’m sure everyone that doesn’t agree with your opinions is “wrong” so I will proudly let you think so.

Yup, normally they are wrong – and i’ll tell you why. When I’m wrong about something, I don’t mind admitting it and accepting the correct viewpoint, whereas you form that 99% of people who will stick to a wrong view no matter what.

If your not an Elitist then the forum filters prevent me from stating what you really are (but it starts with Kitten and likely ends with it too).

And yet I haven’t even insulted you. Why do you feel the need to resort to them?

OP found the thief’s playstyle high-speed in PvE, so I’m guessing its a matter of taste. I’d advise shatter Mesmer or D/D Ele.

There is nothing intense or high-speed about playing around predictable AI combat rotations. The OP may find it “high-speed” with unfamiliar enemies, but after fighting them pretty much once it just becomes a case of honing your muscle memory to play around the weak AI, which if you do open world PvE you don’t have a choice in, you’re going to be killing the same mobs so many times you will know how to fight them inside out without even trying.

Well.. I’m pretty sure it goes the same for almost any game. Playing against real players will always be more challenging than a predictable computer.

Precisely. So there is no way I can answer the OP if he’s not interested in PvP or WvW because there’s nothing I can respond to his query with besides “none” because PvE is a braindead faceroll.

colesy.8490:

….. because PvE is a braindead faceroll.

I think that quote is in the Official PvP Elitist Mandate (it must be typed at least 3 times per week on any predominantly PvE forum).

Seriously, the direct insult was over the line and I appologize. Despite what you think I can easily admit when I’m wrong and what I’m really trying to say is that your instance that a play style cannot exist if it’s not needed is just an absurd notion.

Other than that I don’t disagree with a scaled back version of what you are saying. I just think you are being a huge jerk in how you are saying it.

I think that quote is in the Official PvP Elitist Mandate (it must be typed at least 3 times per week on any predominantly PvE forum).

In CoF p1, you literally stand still and bash skills. You don’t even ahave to dodge. In CoE against Subject Alpha you run up to him, you can just autoattack and when you see a bunch of AOEs, you count to two, dodge and keep attacking.

PvP is a lot more skill intensive.

Seriously, the direct insult was over the line and I appologize. Despite what you think I can easily admit when I’m wrong and what I’m really trying to say is that your instance that a play style cannot exist if it’s not needed is just an absurd notion.

But it’s not really a playstyle since you’re pretty much pretending.

Other than that I don’t disagree with a scaled back version of what you are saying. I just think you are being a huge jerk in how you are saying it.

Most people on this forum are like talking to a brick wall so that’s why I don’t waste my time being respectful.

colesy.8490:

PvP is a lot more skill intensive.

Of course it is….No where in any of my posts have I denied that as a fact.

But it’s not really a playstyle since you’re pretty much pretending.

I fail to see how it is pretending as you ARE actually playing (and in fact, likely killing things faster than another “non-pretending” play style ? ). I seriously think you have a slightly twisted definition of the term “playstyle” that is the root of our disagreement (mostly semantics as I see it). I doubt I can alter your “definition”, so we will just have to disagree on this point.

Most people on this forum are like talking to a brick wall so that’s why I don’t waste my time being respectful.

I certainly understand the difficulty of “suffering fools”, but should you really be posting in this forum with that attitude? That is certainly your choice. Good luck with that.

I fail to see how it is pretending as you ARE actually playing (and in fact, likely killing things faster than another “non-pretending” play style ? ).

The OP offers dodge rolling and shadow stepping as examples of his playstyle with the thief which means he isn’t maintaining full melee uptime, i.e. killing mobs slower. In dungeons, dodge rolling is actually relevant but you do it in a repeatable combat rotation, so it’s not really a high-speed play style.

I certainly understand the difficulty of “suffering fools”, but should you really be posting in this forum with that attitude? That is certainly your choice. Good luck with that.

I don’t particularly care whether I should be posting or not with this attitude, but bads who refuse to acknowledge the flaws in their playstyle (and I say this in general, not related to the OP at all), traiting, gear and skill choices and give me “play how you want” shtick don’t deserve respect. It just so happens that the people who I do respect are equally as condescending towards bads so I don’t even have to post nicely with them either since we can just troll each other.

DO NOT Attempt TO WHISPER KarateKid.5648!!!!

This guy blocks anyone who says “Hello”.
He may sound normal in Forum chats, but be aware of in game conversation. He is anti-social and won’t even reply back to a simple greeting.

DreamyAbaddon.3265:

DO NOT Attempt TO WHISPER KarateKid.5648!!!!

This guy blocks anyone who says “Hello”.
He may sound normal in Forum chats, but be aware of in game conversation. He is anti-social and won’t even reply back to a simple greeting.

Firstly, that was a mistake – I have unblocked you. I tried to block someone spamming about their guild too much and blocked you errantly.

Second – yes, D/D Ele is what I was looking for, so thanks all for the recommendation. 40-eleven button mashes was what it felt like at first, but then I started developing combos, so I like it. Not to endgame yet (only approaching 50), but she’s a ton of fun!