Guild Wars 2

As I mentioned in another post, I have recently returned to Guild Wars 2 after a year absence. I loved the game when I initially played over a year ago, but after playing for only a short time, live stepped in the way and I have not played since.

I have been avidly reading all of the posts and blog entries concerning changes to the game since I last played, and I am really excited to start playing again.

What class would you recommend for a new-ish player to become acclimated to the game once again? I’d like to play a class that is not overly complicated until I get my bearings in the game world… I’d like a class that is also able to survive relatively well, but not be able to “face roll” over all content.

What class would you suggest for a new-ish player? Keep in mind I have played MMOs for years, having played WoW, Rift, Everquest 2, and Guild Wars.

Thank you all for any help you can provide.

Currently the best class for damage in PvE, PvP, and WvW, as well as the easiest class to play is Warrior.

Warrior also has the highest armor and highest HP in the game so it is really hard to die as a warrior.

So if you want to do damage, be tough, and have a simple class to play then warrior is your bet. In fact there really isn’t a reason NOT to play warrior except that it is so simple and impossible to die that it does get boring after a while.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/1ojgdr/what_class_should_i_play_a_summary_of_each/

Some people that may not have a very comprehensive understanding of the game will tell you Warrior, but rest assured all classes are viable and some like thiefs and elementalists do more damage than warriors.

That link should give you an idea of what kind of playstyle you might like.

I believe I have comprehensive understanding of the game, and I will tell you warrior. Viability is just that, a viability. You don’t have the best damage but achieving your potential is relatively easy due to your innate defense.

You ask for “not overly complicated” and “survive relatively well,” that’s exactly warrior. You won’t face roll everything, but you’d be in a good position in all aspects of the game.

I would say warrior given how easy and OP strong it is right now. Guardian is another safe bet though you might find its mobility and early survavility hard.

Guardian imo. While yes the Warrior is most likely the best class atm in pve, Guardians have a major advantage for a newer player. As a class they are much more forgiving of mistakes. Like having Aegis to block that 1hk attack that may hit you from a miss timed dodge. Plus the DPS is comparible to warrior with some builds, and survivabulity is good in many situations.

So I say Guardian for a new player.

Ranger is a good newbie friendly class, good survivability and not overpowered, pet can take the aggro which lets you watch things in pve rather than running circles spamming every button

only cons are nobody seems to like rangers in their party lol, i don’t know why, after watching the bear/bow ranger bots in early gw2 all zerging together they were quite a force lol

Karizee.8076:

http://www.reddit.com/r/Guildwars2/comments/1ojgdr/what_class_should_i_play_a_summary_of_each/

Some people that may not have a very comprehensive understanding of the game will tell you Warrior, but rest assured all classes are viable and some like thiefs and elementalists do more damage than warriors.

That link should give you an idea of what kind of playstyle you might like.

(RE: the OP) Just read this for the first time, and it is an EXTREMELY good guide. Use your past MMO experience to determine how easy/complex and weak/durable you like to be, and you’ll get a shortlist of good candidates for a class.

Since you’ve already said you want something easy and durable, that means that your best bet (according to the guide, and my recommendation as well) would be to start with a warrior (or according to the guide, Necro) then when you get a better feel for the game and decide (possibly) that you want more of a challenge you can change to something else.

For instance, I started with Guardian and I’d agree with its medium difficulty and high survivability rank. I then switched to thief and I’d also agree with the medium difficulty and low survivability ranks it got. Thief really requires careful use and planning or you’re on your face a lot, but I find it very rewarding (and I don’t even care for stealth)

The problem with starting with a Warrior is that everything thereafter will feel weak and slow.

Most classes are very easy in GW2 and don’t have much depth compared to other MMOs. Engineers, Mesmers, and to a slightly lesser extent, Elementalists are the exception.

Dee Jay.2460:

The problem with starting with a Warrior is that everything thereafter will feel weak and slow.

Most classes are very easy in GW2 and don’t have much depth compared to other MMOs. Engineers, Mesmers, and to a slightly lesser extent, Elementalists are the exception.

So true. Mesmers, for some people, make them think “WTF IS GOING ON” before the end of the day, but anyone who has played normal MMOs should be fine with the other classes.

You have 5 slots to begin with. Make 5 chars, tootle them around the respective starting areas and see what kinds of stuff you like. Try out the different weapon sets each class can use. See the animations on skills. Leveling in this game is easiest of any other MMO I’ve played and you get experience for doing practically everything.

Hearts/quests = exp
Gathering = exp
Achievements = exp
Crafting = exp
Events = exp
Killing random mobs = exp
Personal story = exp
Exploring new areas = exp
Unlocking way points = exp

^ There is no down side. Just make a char, get to 10 (less than an hour playing) and rinse/repeat. Delete the chars that you immediately KNOW you don’t like (if any).
If even that seems like too much, just make a char, do the first personal story intro and then go into PvP (crossed swords on top of screen). Char will be a default lvl 80 with all skills and you can see what final results look like on each class.

There are 8 professions, you have 5 slots….go try stuff out.

Try a Ranger to start, then work your way up. There’s no harm in rolling something of each class to see what you like personally. Other than that, prepare for grinding and carrot chasing. Happy trails.

Warrior/Guardian. Really a faceroll even with a bad build…

Dee Jay.2460:

The problem with starting with a Warrior is that everything thereafter will feel weak and slow.

I have to disagree, this depends on the person. I main a warrior and have since I started playing, my warrior has been 80 for a while now and I have been really enjoying leveling a necro and ele. Yes, it is different, but still enjoyable.
There’s nothing like slamming someone into the ground with a hammer, but there’s also nothing like turning into a black cloud of doom or breathing fire.

wvw? thief, hands down. easy mode.

WNFisher.7938:

As I mentioned in another post, I have recently returned to Guild Wars 2 after a year absence. I loved the game when I initially played over a year ago, but after playing for only a short time, live stepped in the way and I have not played since.

I have been avidly reading all of the posts and blog entries concerning changes to the game since I last played, and I am really excited to start playing again.

What class would you recommend for a new-ish player to become acclimated to the game once again? I’d like to play a class that is not overly complicated until I get my bearings in the game world… I’d like a class that is also able to survive relatively well, but not be able to “face roll” over all content.

What class would you suggest for a new-ish player? Keep in mind I have played MMOs for years, having played WoW, Rift, Everquest 2, and Guild Wars.

Thank you all for any help you can provide.

Roll warrior to kill stuff 7 lvls higher than you without dying.

I would say Guardian or Warrior. Guardians can take quite a bit of damage and reflect damage back to the enemy which makes them very hard to kill. Warriors can take quite a bit of damage and have high dps. Both of those classes are easy mode in my opinion.

Sanduskel.1850:

wvw? thief, hands down. easy mode.

This is good to know. I’m working on a thief as we speak. Got em up to level 50 at the moment. He’ll be my 4th level 80.

Take that link with a grain of salt. While much of what it says is true, it’s also wrong in some aspects. For example, it points out mobility as a positive for elementalist (which is actually middle-of-the-pack or lower now after nerfs), but ignores mobility for warrior (which is the most mobile class with GS).

Sanduskel.1850:

wvw? thief, hands down. easy mode.

For an experienced player this is true. High offense and stealth make a good combination for leveling.

But for inexperienced players…not so much. Just yesterday I met a level 80 Thief who did not know about Backstab, despite having leveled with Dagger/Dagger for the vast majority of his time. He also didn’t understand the purpose of Cloak and Dagger.

I myself didn’t learn about stealth moves until level 50 when I first leveled my Thief. I also didn’t appreciate the power of the Shadow Arts tree. The class isn’t quite as intuitive as say…a Warrior.

Carize.8532:

You have 5 slots to begin with. Make 5 chars, tootle them around the respective starting areas and see what kinds of stuff you like. Try out the different weapon sets each class can use. See the animations on skills. Leveling in this game is easiest of any other MMO I’ve played and you get experience for doing practically everything.

Hearts/quests = exp
Gathering = exp
Achievements = exp
Crafting = exp
Events = exp
Killing random mobs = exp
Personal story = exp
Exploring new areas = exp
Unlocking way points = exp

^ There is no down side. Just make a char, get to 10 (less than an hour playing) and rinse/repeat. Delete the chars that you immediately KNOW you don’t like (if any).
If even that seems like too much, just make a char, do the first personal story intro and then go into PvP (crossed swords on top of screen). Char will be a default lvl 80 with all skills and you can see what final results look like on each class.

There are 8 professions, you have 5 slots….go try stuff out.

this.
just make some characters and enjoy yourself

5 races, 5 slots… 5 WARRIORS
and see which race you like best

just being honest

Bawi.9541:

5 races, 5 slots… 5 WARRIORS
and see which race you like best

just being honest

I know 8 guildies who have done this… EIGHT.

I have also been in 15 all warrior parties in the last month…

It’s kinda getting out of hand…

GuildWarsPlayer.5608:

Sanduskel.1850:

wvw? thief, hands down. easy mode.

This is good to know. I’m working on a thief as we speak. Got em up to level 50 at the moment. He’ll be my 4th level 80.

Note that this is only true for Solo/Roaming WvW. In a zerg you will be completely useless. Zerg fights take place 90% of the time at 1200 range and thief is the only class that can’t reach >900 range. also since stealth doesn’t stop AOE’s you will quickly die even when in stealth since all of zerg combat is AOE.

So if you like to roam and go solo then thief is awesome. If you like capturing points and being in big battles, thief is one of the worst classes to take.

Guardian or warrior are your best choices.
Necro is following then as 3rd choice
Thief,Elementalist and Mesmer are very squishy

If you are a beginner and like PvE, roll a warrior.
If you are an experienced player and like PvE, roll a warrior.

Warrior is so strong, that it makes little sense to play anything else, unless you do not like the playstyle. Superior damage, superior survivability, very little skill management for great results.

Ranger is one of the easiest to level up and explore with.
But you’re better off with warrior. That is my favorite profession.
Its easy to use and they are pretty much useful everywhere.

Warrior. As said, they’re far easier than and superior to every other class in the game right now. Disregard all the warrior posters trying to add depth that isn’t there.

If you like monotone and easy play style then Warrior or Guardian are the classes you should try. I do have both classes and I played them for quite a while but after the update and everybody rolling a Warrior or Guardian it becomes boring. I rather play my Necro, Mesmer or Ele instead, but at the end you are the one that has to make the decision. My advise would be, create a class you think could be fun. Level it to 2 and join spvp. Look at the skills, armor and play around a bit with the mobs. Get a feeling of the class you are looking at and figure out if that’s something you would enjoy playing. Saves you a lot of time and headache

I have level 80 Guardian, Warrior, Ele, Necro, Mesmer, Ranger, and Engineer. I’m currently leveling a thief.

I find in WvW, I play my Necro, Ele, or occasionally my Mesmer. For general mapping and open land PvE, I play my ranger. The engineer is fun but I need more practice with it to feel comfortable in WvW with it. Since my Guardian and Warrior hit 80 and got geared up I find myself by-passing them every time I choose who to play. I’m not sure why but they just don’t seem as “fun” to me.

It gets right down to what are you going to be doing most of the time? And what do you enjoy playing?

My first one to get to level 80 was my ranger and I found her very easy to use for the zone map completions and quite fun finding all the pets while doing that.

Flubble.8093:

Ranger is a good newbie friendly class, good survivability and not overpowered, pet can take the aggro which lets you watch things in pve rather than running circles spamming every button

only cons are nobody seems to like rangers in their party lol, i don’t know why, after watching the bear/bow ranger bots in early gw2 all zerging together they were quite a force lol

Newbie should not roll ranger. No one cares if it’s easy to level to 50. It’s easy to level on every profession. All that matters is 80. And ranger is only good in pve right now and tpvp (barely bc all you see is warriors in soloq). Ranger is just harder to play than warrior, no question.

Go with warrior.

It’s the training-wheels class.

Dark Catalyst.1028:

Go with warrior.

It’s the training-wheels class.

Ouuuuuch.

warrior. It may be the noddy version of the game, but its also the most OP.
If mindlessly grinding everything into the dust is your thing with no complexity or skill required, the warrior is for you.

Dark Catalyst.1028:

Go with warrior.

It’s the training-wheels class.

A monster truck on autopilot with training wheels.

Spare yourself future disappointment OP, do what this man says.

Arimahn.3568:

Dark Catalyst.1028:

Go with warrior.

It’s the training-wheels class.

A monster truck on autopilot with training wheels.

Spare yourself future disappointment OP, do what this man says.

With laser beams.

Seriously, though. After playing mesmer and thief, I tried to level a warrior and it was the dullest thing ever. Dull, but unfortunately, very effective.