Guild Wars 2

I am usually the type to play a class that solo’s very well. (I often don’t have time to get into a group effectively or dedicate much time at once to the game). I am tired of going warrior because they are easy.

Is there another class I can play that will solo very well? If so, what directions should I take him/her in?

Thanks a bunch, p.s. Good server to play on?

Welcome to the game!

First off, this isnt like other MMOs that you may have played. Its very casual and soloing most everything in PvE is VERY doable regardless of profession. Also combat works very differently than what you may be used to.

I would reccomend checking out the combat 101 guide and the tips for new players.
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/GW2-Combat-system-101-Guide/page/4#post3883422

https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/players/OMG-If-you-only-knew-this-tips-for-new-players/page/5#post4001511

Just remember to explore, find a guild or three and have fun. Although when asking about professions to play, keep in mind that ALL of them are viable and useful. Here in the forums you get a wide range of why you shouldnt play one over the other, and how much better this one is then that one etc. Dont worry about builds/gear types until lvl 80 at least. Just get what you can at your current level. Servers? Dont really matter except for WvW. But im sure theres a list somewhere that has the rankings.

I play a warrior, necromance, elementalist, and working on a mesmer. I have found that each can do very well in solo PvE and in groups for dungeons and such. Much of the game is built around play how you want and group activities. But dont worry, even the biggest group bosses take about 1.5 hours tops (and thats including the 1 hour coordination time before the actual event, it takes time to coordinate 150+ people) and are not required to be in a party to do them. Dungeons can take anywhere from 15-20 mins, and the harder ones a couple of hours if the whole party doesnt know what to do and are expecting to be carried.

Overall though, have fun! Because thats what its all about.

Ranger, Mesmer and, Necro are my favorites for soloing stuff. With these classes you’ll generally have other targets( pets, clones, minions) to divert enemy focus. Although all classes can solo open world stuff fairly easily.

As said, most, if not all, professions are good to play solo. I have leveled one of each class to level 80 and personally I’d say not to use mesmer or elementalist, as the former can have fairly low damage and the latter is very squish, until at least your second character; they have their uses and are good at soloing, it just might take some time to get them to a point where they’re fun to play.

Ranger is – easy, bit boring in my experience, since you can basically have your pet take all the aggro and then pick mobs off from range. Necro is very nice for solo play, has a solid health pool and some good damage whether you go condition damage or power.

You’ve said you’re bored of warriors so possibly guardian is out, although they’re a bit trickier to play than warr IMO. Pretty mobile and full of utility skills, so they’re not bad, and while they have heavy armor they’re squishier than warriors in my experience.

I main an engineer and they’re really good solo, but there’s a bit of a learning curve to them as they have a lot of stuff going on and some people have trouble juggling it properly. If you like a challenge they’re nice however, and are very versatile while having the potential to be top-tier damage-dealers, which makes them good for solo and party play. (I’m biased, obviously, but also: engineers are great.)

Re: servers, these days your server’s main use will be in determining who you play with in World vs World, while open world PvE will have you mixed up with people from every server in your region probably, so it’s not super important if you don’t care about WvW.

Hmm, if you don’t want warrior or guardian I’d actually start with necromancer. In the end I find mesmer the most fun but I know I had real issues on my first one before I had learned a lot of the game’s combat nuances. Let me cast my mind back to that learning curve and remember what each professions cons are for beginners:

Warrior – boring. At least with greatsword/rifle, as my first one was. Longbow/axe/sword combos did better. Still, yes, warrior doesn’t really give you the immersive flavor other prof combat can.

Guardian – my fave as a beginner, especially after thief (see below). Sturdy as all get out. However, of all the professions this is the hardest one to get solid dps out of, so if you’re going solo you’ll have long fights. Safe ones, but long. In a group you’ll shine with support.

Thief – my very first character, and still my RP main guy. Squishy beyond belief until you learn all the dodges and evasions. I’d say only my elementalist died more. Can be quite frustrating to play when you don’t know the game well. On the other hand, stealth is a great way to flee combat if you’re in over your head, or to get to an objective without having to slug it out.

Ranger – meh. Some do great things with this but I’m not a fan of pet classes in any game, so color me biased here. Plus pets come down to choosing which 2 to slot for a fight (and losing the custom name you gave the pet if you swap it away), and having all of one special ability you pick when to fire, the rest being somewhat kitten ily AI’d.

Engineer – I wouldn’t do this as a beginner. It requires the most keyboard dancing as you swap kits in and out with the 7-9 keys, your F1-F4 skills change based on what kits you have slotted, and you don’t learn the weapon swap that most professions use. Playing it effectively takes a lot of skill.

Elementalist – another one I would not suggest for a beginner. I thought thief was squishy, but my ele, man. I hadn’t learned attunement dancing yet when I started her at launch. You have to use all four F1-F4 keys constantly, be aware of how your 1-5 skills change based on which weapon and which attunement you’re in (the key that sends you rapidly away from the enemy on one set will charge you into their midst on another), have extreme situational awareness to dodge hits … this is imo the most complex profession in the game, though at least the keys you hit are closer together than for Engineer.

Necromancer – actually a solid prof to learn on as noted above. Once you get staff fully unlocked it gives you a ton of aoe, and if you want minions to distract mobs you can slot those in your utilities, though I tend to avoid minions as needing too much micromanagement (personal opinion only, remember, I don’t like pet classes). Death Shroud gives you an oh-s—t button when combat’s going poorly. Cons, hmm. The staff is almost pure ground targeting, so it can be hard to use that while moving around if you mouse move like I do. A number of utility skills involve hurting yourself, such as taking on Bleeding or Weakness to inflict a harsher amount of the same thing on the enemy. Also a lot of skills are fairly indiscriminate in what they hit, so you may pull more mobs than you meant to.

Mesmer – very fun once you know how to play it, but it starts out rather confusing on when to summon clones or phantasms and when to blow them up and how. It also needs a number of higher level skills to really shine. At least it doesn’t feel like a “pet class.” The clones etc. are really just fire and forget spells with an off toggle that does damage when used.

That all sounds negative, I know. I’m trying to let you know the pitfalls you’ll face when brand new, not scare you off! I really love playing most professions, mesmer and guardian the most (medium armor classes and elementalist the least), and could give you a much longer pros description of each of the eight. You should certainly try out every single one, because what you love and hate about them will be highly individual to you. I’m sure one of them will turn out to be your absolute favorite, and it may be one I can’t stand