Guild Wars 2

I know these get old, but I need help picking a profession. PLEASE help.

I don’t like being an altoholic and I’m trying to be better.

I recently posted a Q/A on this forum about melee casters…but I realized that’s not really what I want.

I want a class that can do solid ranged and/or mid DPS, solid melee DPS, and has good raw defense/survivability (being able to take damage and use attacks that evade and heal as opposed to survivability that is stunning, running, and kiting – I want to stand and fight).

I don’t have to be the best at any of those 3 but I have to be able to do all of those three.

Only thing is – I do not want to be a Warrior. They just seem too easy and overplayed.

PLEASE help!

Gaurdian.
They have great casting spells with staffs as well as using greatswords. They can heal a lot aswell which makes them great at both dps anf healing. Plus anyone who is running a dungeon will always want a gaurdian . XD im thinking of making one now my warrior is lvl 80.

Artiyum.7062:

Gaurdian.
They have great casting spells with staffs as well as using greatswords. They can heal a lot aswell which makes them great at both dps anf healing. Plus anyone who is running a dungeon will always want a gaurdian . XD im thinking of making one now my warrior is lvl 80.

Can the staff do good damage?

Not so much. The staff is very support oriented. Since the auto attack is an aoe, it can keep upon damage while hitting multiple mobs at once. But for the most part, you trade off decent damage in return for better utility and control.

Right now I see 4 possibilities (other than warrior).

Guardian – melee, survivability – but can he do decent ranged damage?

Engineer – melee (tool kit and some rifle/pistol moves are melee), ranged (obviously), and can have nice survivability with med kit, blocks, invulnerables, etc. – problem is he’s not very good at all of them. (I have a level 30, and he feels UP…probably because engineers are UP)

Ranger – melee, ranged both good – but can he take the hits? Can I, as a ranger, walk into a group of 5 enemies and outlive them without kiting up the wazzoo?

Necro – seems to be the best option atm? Has melee and ranged capabilities. Can take a bunch of damage. How’s a melee necro in PvP?

Who can take more abuse, ranger or engineer?

…do I ask too many questions?

Pinder.5261:

Not so much. The staff is very support oriented. Since the auto attack is an aoe, it can keep upon damage while hitting multiple mobs at once. But for the most part, you trade off decent damage in return for better utility and control.

Okay thank you!

So Guardians can’t do decent ranged damage…that now leaves Engineer, Ranger, or Necro?

Engineer damage tapers off at farther than mid-range. But mid-to-close range, they can be monstrous. You can build them to stand and take hits, or to run and gun. They’re versatile, but also very difficult to pin down.

Rangers aren’t apt to stand and take the hits themselves, but a tough pet (bears) will tank just about anything thrown to them. They’ve got all damage ranges covered, too.

Necros are a bit wishy washy. You can’t always stand toe to toe, but you don’t always have to kite. Depends a lot on your build, skill choices, and how much you like to abuse death shroud. They’re a little more complicated, but, like ranger, can dish it out from any distance.

Honestly, alot of the classes are capable of what you want, but they have to be traited and geared for it. You want massive damage, you will be squishy. You want to be super tough, your damage will take a hit. Since you seem to want to do both. I’d probably recommend going a somewhat balanced route, alot of the condition damage builds (read: DoT builds) have good damage and higher than average survivability.

Adding to that, I think Ranger would suit you best if you cannot be warrior. Spec him for good defense and condition/power dmg and you can be a force of nature up close or at a distance, and still be able to take a decent hit. You won’t be a tank by any means, pretty much everything besides Guardians who spec just for tankiness are squishy when it comes to bosses in this game. So keep that in mind. 50% of all survivability is just playing smart, timing, dodging etc. The other 50% is being a guardian.

But if you go with Ranger, Power/Precision/Toughness/condition dmg is a good mix of stats, not so with most classes, but ranger pulls it off well. Good luck to ya.

I’m surprised no one here has mentioned thief. They are good at ranged and close combat.

Isaac.6041:

I’m surprised no one here has mentioned thief. They are good at ranged and close combat.

They have very little raw survivability, though. Even tanky builds cannot stand and facetank like other classes.