Guild Wars 2

Sorry, I know how much people hate this type of post but ever since I returned to the game a few weeks ago I’ve really been struggling with choosing which class I was going to main.

I know a common answer to this is why even pick a main, just play multiple characters for different content, but I don’t have the time or the energy to play and learn multiple characters at the same time. It burned me off of GW2 originally and wow when I was playing at the start of legion. I just want to decide which class I’m going to play and experience all the content of the game with.

First things first, I have every class to 80. I had gotten that back when I quit about a year after release and when I came back I boosted a rev since it was the only thing I didn’t have max.

The classes I’m really interested in are the Guardian and Ranger. Im not a fan of the other classes – either I don’t like their weapons, their class mechanics or their skills.
My favorite weapons in the game are the Greatsword, the longbow,, sword with a shield or torch, pistols and axes. Both classes get to use the majority of these weapons which is one reason why I prefer them.

I’m not interested in really playing a very supportive play style (for example, druid healer) – I’m mainly focused on doing damage, either power or condition damage is fine with me. I don’t mind being supportive but I don’t really want it to be my main focus.
I’m looking to mostly do lower-tier fractals and WvW content. I plan on dabbling with raids and sPvP but they’re not usually my favorite type of content so my focus isn’t really on them. I also enjoy good survivability and mobility for world bosses and open world content.

For the Guardian, I love the aesthetics of the class itself and the weapon skills, and I really enjoy the theme of being a magical warrior. I generally prefer their weapon skills to the skills of the equivalent weapon on the ranger. Also, I find many sets of heavy armor in GW2 to be gorgeous, while I hate nearly all of the medium armor sets. My biggest issue with the Guardian is the fact that they are so slow! I know I can use Retreat! and staff 3 but I find active speed (over passive speed like the Ranger’s signet) to be a hassle and tend to either forget/not use them. I also struggle with the low HP pool – I’m not the best player so I struggle with using their active defense properly, and I die a lot more on the Guardian then the Ranger.

With the Ranger, I really love the mobility and survivability they bring to the table. The passive speed signet is awesome, and the fact that the pet can tank most difficult enemies I run into, especially with pet swapping, means I very rarely die in open world content. Also, right now it appears that (according to places like qtfy) rangers are much stronger in the current meta. While the meta can always change with a balance update in the future, the present is also really important. I really enjoy the concept (and fashion ability) of the pets as well, although the implementation and use of them feels rather clunky most of the time. I also find a lot of their skills visually boring, and the utility skills don’t particularly interest or excite me. And like I mentioned above, I find nearly all of the medium armor sets to be pretty ugly, making me stuck using the few outfits I own.

Hopefully I’ve provided enough details and information so you guys can help me figure out which class I should focus on. It’s gotten so bad that I’ve gotten 100% world completion on 4 classes trying to settle on one.

I appreciate your time reading and any helpful information and opinions you can provide me. Also, I apologize again for making another one of these posts xD

Let me know if there are any other details or information I could provide to help you guys help me.

The problem with low movement Speed on your Guardian can easily be alleviated by using runes that increase movement speed, such as Runes of the Traveler. Keeping an armor set with those around for when you have to run distances will certainly help in making you feel less sluggish.

There is a trait in the Honor Specialization line called “Force of Will” for Guardians that increases their Vitality by a set 300 at Lvl 80, if you find yourself at a lack for raw HP and don’t want to waste points on Vitality Armor.

In WvW, your role as a Guardian is pretty Supporting but you’re not gonna gear up in Healing Power gear for it, rather you’d be kitting out in Soldier gear and leading zergs or squads like a Commander. You can also roam and flip camps as a Burn Guardian/Dragonhunter if that fits your playstyle more. It’s true that the current meta don’t see many Guardians in pve, but that’s primarily high-end Fractals and Raids. In low-end fractals, noone’s really gonna bother min-maxing anyways.