Engie or Ele. Both can be very useful support players (water Ele/elixir Engie), both can be useful ranged AOE attackers (staff/grenades)… survivability depends on build, but for solo content a bunker elementalist works fine and an engineer that takes advantage of CC and interrupt abilities can get through pretty well as well.
I can’t speak to group acceptance, though I would think it’s only a minor risk either way.
(also should not that the ranged AOE for both is great for WvW; staff and grenades are both good for attacking people on walls)
Hobwash
[TAS] – The Asuran Squad
Devona’s Rest