Guild Wars 2

I stopped playing GW2 over a year ago and am curious what the current state of things is now… particularly for my Ranger and Mesmer for PvE (dungeons, fractals, etc.)

I logged in this past weekend and talked to a few and it seems like high level fractal groups still just want Warriors/Guardians, speed runs want Warriors, and generally one Mesmer can make it into either.

I see that there is an upcoming patch soon that will nerf Warrior GSword, Buff Mesmer Scepter, and Buff Ranger Axe & LBow.

I’m curious because I was able to successfully run high level fractals and various dungeon speed runs on both my Mesmer and Ranger back in the day … but I had a guild then that was happy with me because they knew me as a player. Even back then, without them I would’ve had a much worse time because of the PvE meta apparently disliking Rangers and only ever wanting 1 Mesmer (at most) per group.

So what are your perceptions of the current state of these classes?

Thanks ahead of time.

Sebrent.3625:

I stopped playing GW2 over a year ago and am curious what the current state of things is now… particularly for my Ranger and Mesmer for PvE (dungeons, fractals, etc.)

There is a big balance patch coming up next Tuesday. It has some interesting changes for both those professions.

Sebrent.3625:

I logged in this past weekend and talked to a few and it seems like high level fractal groups still just want Warriors/Guardians, speed runs want Warriors, and generally one Mesmer can make it into either.

A good rule is to do what you can to avoid PUG anyway. Run with friends, associates, and guild mates. When you open yourself up to the general masses, you chances of meeting the “class snobs” increases exponentially.

Sebrent.3625:

I see that there is an upcoming patch soon that will nerf Warrior GSword, Buff Mesmer Scepter, and Buff Ranger Axe & LBow.

It will change a good many things. I suspect a great deal of smaller changes that we havn’t been informed of will add up to influence the changes a fair bit as well.

Sebrent.3625:

I’m curious because I was able to successfully run high level fractals and various dungeon speed runs on both my Mesmer and Ranger back in the day … but I had a guild then that was happy with me because they knew me as a player. Even back then, without them I would’ve had a much worse time because of the PvE meta apparently disliking Rangers and only ever wanting 1 Mesmer (at most) per group.

That tends to be the case in all MMOs in my experience. Forget the word “meta”. It is a trumped up term in my opinion for either greedy players who put possessions ahead of all else, and judge their fun with their items, or players who care to much about what everyone says you should play. I suggest going with what is fun for you and with people you have fun with.

Sebrent.3625:

So what are your perceptions of the current state of these classes?

Thanks ahead of time.

I cannot speak for the PvE perception to be honest. I tend to ignore the mob mentality and play what feels fun and feels like it works with what I am trying to do with the groups or guildies and friends I run with. My personal perception is that “professions” themselves are not nearly as relevant as the builds are. Every profession is very playable and its value lies in what direction you build it to go.

Both Rangers and Mesmers are very good in Dungeons and Fractals. While most people don’t want either of them, that doesn’t make them less good.

Rangers provide the critical counterside to Warriors banners (yes, Warriors bring Discipline and Strength Banner + Empowering Allies [maybe], but Rangers bring Spotter and Frost Spirit).

Mesmers are masters at reflects, even better than Guardians, assuming the enemy does not cleave phantasms. If the enemy does cleave phantasms, then Mesmers are utility bots in non-boon ways.

For fractals specifically, Portal has many uses against both the Molten boss and Mai. For the molten boss, you can use portals to teleport from one side to the other in case you get sandwiched in explosions or the berserker teleports on you while you’re not prepared. Additionally, slotting Medic’s Feedback can be a life-saver if you camp a dead body while attacking (try camping an NPC and not an ally, they might get mad at you for abusing their body).

Of course, there are groups that will melee the Berserker, and that’s fine, too, so don’t slot Portal willy-nilly in this fight. Ask your group beforehand what the plan is, and make sure nobody runs in like an idiot.

personally, I don’t have to deal with many discriminators. mostly because I don’t join parties titled “fotm 9 necro/engi only” or “AC1 15k+ AP required”. But also, whenever I see someone get kicked based on profession or noobieness, I leave. I do see plenty of those, so they do exist, just not to me.
A pleasant side-effect of not joining those parties is I have never been kicked myself. I read about people being kicked to make room for someone’s buddy all the time, yet I never experience it myself because I don’t associate with people that are likely to do that (ie, party snobs).
Anyways, if you are worried about not finding a party with any profession, don’t be. There are always parties to join no matter your profession or skill level. You just have to filter out the parties you don’t want to join.